We're all here! We made it! Perfect attendance! The heavens cry out in delight! The Horde consists of Paul (Marik), Mike (Skeeter), Chris (Gruul), Chuck (Galen), Tim (Antok Six-Hearted) and Bruce.
The session opens on the 32nd day of the 3087th Stay. The characters and their allies are near the Venturer Guildhall, in the not very agreeable company of the trader Grunvey Jhegg, his men, and a large array of dugun fugitives and slaves from the world of Eafa.
The characters are hardly alone in their travels. They actually stand at the head of a very impressive caravan with over 700 members (not counting beasts).
| Who | Comments |
|---|---|
| Antok, Galen, Gruul, Marik and Skeeter | More like a natural disaster than people |
| 11 bausker bearers | Hired from Calchithra by the PC's |
| Jielshefthra | Bausker leader, Culchichuk's younger sister |
| Gant, Belk, Vinja and Derk | Faian guards hired from the gutters of Eohel for 200 clavars. Equipped with Eafan steel corselets, reinforced leather limbs and helmets, plus hand weapons and shields on the characters' clavar. Will go as far as the Garden, maybe farther. |
| 350 dugun fugitives | From the tayfal mines at Drumbek |
| Three wagons drawn by 18 Eafan cattle | Carrying the characters' various purchases |
| Vul-Gelten Isek ("Isaac") | Dugun healer, leader of the Drumbek fugitives |
| Geth-Shugun Ches ("Charles") | Massively-muscled dugun, leader of the Drumbek fugitives |
| Vul-Ortog Tieg ("Tim") | Dugun weaver, leader of the Drumbek fugitives |
| Grunvey Jhegg | Paturki Venturer with serious ethical issues |
| Jaugulchef | Bausker matriarch, works for Jhegg |
| 9 bausker crossbowmen | Jaugulchef's relatives, Jhegg's hirelings |
| Gaffad! | Corrupted Living Weapon leader, works for Jhegg |
| 8 corrupted living weapons | Gaffad's men |
| Jelf | Paturki sorcerer trained by the Ecularium, works for Jhegg |
| Yunt and Ont | Paturki sorcerers, work for Jhegg. Ont's right arm has been crippled since his encounter with Gruul |
| 300 dugun slaves | Taken from Eafa by Jhegg and his men. Some look to have been forcibly abducted. |
| 200 Eafan cattle | Another of Jhegg's investments |
The characters brought back three wagon-loads of goods from Eafa, plus three wagons. The more important items among their acquisitions include:
| Item | Cost Each | Cost Total | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Fine Thrusting Bastard Sword with a Basket Hilt | 15,000 | 15,000 | 3 lb |
| 5 Fine Spears | 400 | 2000 | 4 lb each |
| 6 Metal and Glass Statuettes | 2000 | 12,000 | 30 lb each |
| 7 Steel Corselets, Eafan Light (PD 4, DR 6) | 1950 | 13,650 | 28 lb each |
| Fine Composite Bow | 2880 | 2880 | 4 lb |
| Fine Silver Necklace with tayfal gems (+1 reaction bonus) | 5000 | 5000 | - |
| Iron Medium Shield (PD 3, DR 6, 14/80 hits) | 300 | 300 | 30 lb |
The characters' four Faian guards are equipped with four of the corselets, plus various hand weapons and shields (not shown in the list). Most of the other goods are intended for one or another of the characters' personal use.
Beyond the military ironmongery, the characters brought back a large quantity of ethef date wine and bolts of colorful spiral-woven fabric. Hidden among all of this are parts for a spiral loom, stolen from the Tsellef Workshop outside Eohel.
The characters, particularly Antok, decide that they would like to ensure the loyalty and continued support of their Faian hirelings and (to a lesser extent) the dugun fugitives. The Faian guards are 75-point characters; their base cost as an Ally Group is 10 points. The base cost for an Ally Group of 100-200 dugun is 25 points (it should be 30 points, except that many of them are only 50-point characters or less). At a 6- frequency of appearance, the duguns will cost 13 points. Point costs for a smaller subset of the dugun fugitives (e.g., the leaders, or the most-impressive dugun) are normal for group size.
Bruce promises each character 5 bonus experience points at the end of the session to purchase either the Faians or the dugun as an Ally Group. Antok announces his intention to gain the Faian guards as allies. Gruul, Galen, Marik and Skeeter discuss potential ways to share out the cost of allying the dugun amongst them.
The scene around the Venturer Guildhall is uncommonly cheerful, particularly considering the current miserable state of the Venturers. It is clear that a number of the returning Venturers feel they have done very well for themselves. The marketplace spills out of the Guildhall courtyard and into the surrounding shantytowns, with the following goods very obviously on sale:
There are also several traders leading strings of unhappy-looking dugun, though few of them appear to be actually offering them for sale at the Guildhall proper. Galen purchases two books from a local bookseller, one on Strategy (The Art of War) and one on Politics (The Prince), for 50 clavars each.
The characters have a short opportunity to talk with some of the merchants as Grunvey Jhegg makes preparation to take the caravan further into the Forward Gallery. Marik goes to talk to some of his old friends at the Venturer Guildhall. He wants to see if there are any weapons masters available who need employment and are interested in travel. He finds Durell Trellmen, a Sangorn ex-Red Pike who can't find a job because every army left in the Forward Gallery hates him: he has no love for Prince Gufteng or Doorway City, and the Red Pikes aren't hiring. He claims to be a master of spear and pike, and that he was once First Pike of a 100-man Company. He asks for a wage of 20 clavars/day. The characters negotiate with typical cleverness: "So, you say you can only train people, and only with weapons... hmmm..." Antok suggests, "Offer him 14, but tell him we have a good dental plan." In the end Trellmen agrees to a wage of 15 clavars/day and signs a deal to train up the characters' dugun companions once they get to the Forward Gallery.
The characters also gather a few interesting rumors. Marik talks to a local trader who tells him that a gaurman told him that a large group of hurbauskings came back on board four days ago. They didn't say why they had been out in Eafa, but their muzzles were bloody and they looked very well fed. The gaurmen at the Ramps just stood aside for them.
Galen hears that the lung-sucker plague has started to spread in Doorway City, but a kiss from the old bausker witch Calchithra will cure it instantly. Gruul offers some corroboration for this story, as he hears that two Red Tower mages have brought back the horrible seven chokes fever from Eafa. Even worse, the Red Tower is in league with the Secret Bausker All-Mother. They plan to release the disease when the Ramps close, devastating the Forward Gallery.
The characters largely discount these rumors, beyond some wise-ass comments about how odd it will be if the Red Tower actually ever does any of the terrible things people attribute to them. Then they hear that the Sangorn seer Rulwind says that the world of Nauahl will be Yaggo's next stop. The world is poised to undergo a cluster shift and the surrounding turbulence will draw Yaggo in to the world. After that, he will proceed on to Firesky but the journey will be very long. They had been rather counting on Firesky as Yaggo's next destination, so they immediately have Marik sit himself down to perform an augury. Marik verifies the seer's information. Antok suggests that Bruce is the referee, and he doesn't need to follow the demands of the spreadsheet if he doesn't want to.
The characters return to the caravan as it is ready to depart. He impresses on them the importance of speed. He wants to get out of the Forward Gallery before the Boarding Ramps close: he has already paid off Prince Gufteng's revenue officials once and doesn't want to have to do it again. He explains that he also wants to get to the Garden quickly, as he has a reliable buyer for his dugun there. He refuses to say any more about who the buyer might be.
On hearing this, Antok whispers to Marik, "You should cast the ux-thray av-slay elt-may on him…" Marik suggests that this would be rude, and that the results would come as no surprise to anyone. He also indicates that it is in the characters' interest that Grunvey survive to reach the Garden, though his value to them may dissipate rather rapidly after that point.
Galen, noticing that Grunvey might be in earshot of this discussion, deftly changes the subject. He advises everyone around, "Just be careful about oorthoi sausage around paurkend villages. You might chip a tooth." Antok takes the bait, musing "I wonder if the oorthoi are like otters when they eat paurkend. They'd need to get a couple of rocks to break the hard outer shell." Marik recalls Antok's well-known dietary preferences and pointedly refuses to take part in the conversation.
Grunvey leads the caravan on a long, curving route around the outskirts of Prince Gufteng's territory, heading towards the Kupri stronghold of Venda's Fount. Along the way, it is clear that many of the dugun are suffering from culture shock. To them, the Forward Gallery smells stale and is full of such ugly people (at least compared to the tsians they were used to seeing).
Antok and Skeeter pass the time by exchanging insults about teeth and tails. Skeeter complains, "There's nothing wrong with my teeth." Antok examines the very British mess of dentition visible in the little bausker's mouth and informs him, "Oh yes there is, you poor deluded little man." Antok continues on to tell the other characters more about the body hair of Dost human womenfolk than any of the other characters ever wanted to hear: "She had the finest beard, and her back hair was so long..." Skeeter helps things not at all by insisting that instead of following Jhegg's plan and going to the Garden by way of the Warrens, the characters should take their dugun on a safer route, across the Deck. Nobody believes him, which makes him try to persuade them all the harder. Amazingly, open violence does not break out.
For some of the characters, the two hour journey to Venda's Fount is the longest two hours of their entire lives.
Venda's Fount looks very much like other densely-populated settlements in the Forward Gallery. The central city stands behind strong walls dotted with fierce towers, stretching from the central Stacks to about a bowshot's distance from the edge of the Warrens. Shantytowns spread out from the walls, with only a few open passageways leading to the main gates. Signs of habitation extend upwards to the seventh level of the Stacks. Lengths of Unbreakable Rope stretch back down to the boulevard floor, supporting both cable-drawn cars and flimsy-looking aerial tenements.
The main gate to Venda's Fount is open, but manned by armored Kupri hoplites. The locals seem unhappy to see Jhegg, but they prove willing to issue him a substantial bronze medallion and give the caravan entry. Jhegg walks back to the characters to explain the local rules to them. He tells them that the large bronze medallion is his safe-passage within the city, and without one the characters will be subject to arrest and punishment if they stray from Old Honor Way (the central street of the city) or the boundaries of the Market. He explains that the Market is bordered by yellow lines drawn upon the ground, and that they must make certain to stay within them.
Jhegg further explains that the caravan will need to stay in Venda's Fount for a couple of hours. He needs to talk to his cousin Chirug Hrev, who lives in a nearby shantytown, to arrange some medical care for the wounded sorcerer Ont, and to hire a guide for the trip through the Warrens. He promises to be back as quickly as he can.
The characters listen to these warnings and agree to wait with the caravan. Jhegg heads off in the company of Yunt and Ont with his safe-passage medallion prominently-displayed.
The characters take quick stock of the local population. They notice that the shantytowns surrounding Venda's Fount are inhabited by an eclectic mix of species, including Kupri, mongrel humans, and bauskers, with a few clockworks on the edges. The inothkuk settlement stands off from the others, crawling up the Stacks to the fourth level. However, inside the city they see only Kupri humans, with paurkend and Yierdo dwarves working in various menial professions. It is bluntly obvious that some of these folk are actually enslaved. Significantly, they don't see a single bausker within the city walls.
The past wealth of the Kupri is evident in the stone construction of most of the buildings, though almost every building shows signs of decay. The ruins of the Dockman's Order Hall stand near the city walls as a visible reminder of the city's loss of power.
It is also quite clear that the Kupri are expecting trouble. Most of the Kupri men on the streets are armed, though many of them carry nothing more threatening than a substantial knife. There are stacks of barricades placed around the Old Honor Way, ready to block off streets and alleys in the event that the walls do not hold. The scent of salted pandith fills the streets. And the characters see two work parties of paurkend rolling massive water barrels to strongpoints, watched over by metal-armored Kupri hoplites.
Gruul attempts to talk to some Kupri about the lack of bausker residents, but finds that his powers of persuasion are not sufficient to break through the locals' armor of hostility. One of them snarls at him, "Next time when you're whoring out your mother, you'd better offer a better bargain" Gruul is bluntly surprised by this response, but very politely refrains from pounding the fellow's skull in.
Gruul finally achieves some measure of success with a Kupri food vendor. After he pays an exorbitant 10 clavars for a bowl of uru-based Kupri stew, the vendor tells him, "We can't trust bauskers 'cause they all work for Old Mother Bausker. Can't trust clockworks either, 'cause they work for Old Mother Bausker too." Gruul is confused by this statement, and tells the Kupri, "But clockworks are bigger and can kill bauskers. They should rule the bauskers." The vendor refuses to respond. Gruul tries another question, asking, "If you don't like bauskers, then why do you let them live in the shantytowns outside?" The vendor, obviously losing patience, spits back, "Cause the shanty people are lazy and don't want to do any work. And bauskers work so cheap. Won't talk to you no more, fur-lover. Yer bausky's waving at you." Gruul turns to see Skeeter hopping up and down and waving at him in a way calculated to get the food-vendor's attention. Gruul calms himself with soothing images of all the ways Skeeter could die, then stalks off.
The characters manage to learn that it is legal to kill a bausker in Venda's Fount if you find it outside the Market boundaries. And it doesn't matter how you get it past the yellow lines. Knowing this, all the other bauskers spend their time in Venda's Fount hiding among the dugun.
Galen tries to gather information from the criminal underworld of Venda's Fount, but manages to offend them instead. He notices that he managed to misplace 500 clavars.
Before Grunvey Jhegg returns, the characters talk to the bausker leader Jielshefthra. She agrees to accept 60 clavars/day on behalf of her eleven relatives to continue working for the characters through to the Garden.
On the way out of Venda's Fount, Gruul talks to the first clockwork he sees in the shantytown. "Can you read? Can you teach?" The clockwork whirrs back, "Yes." Gruul asks if the creature would accept a job teaching dugun how to speak and read Market Tongue out in the Garden. He reassures the clockwork that, "There will be bauskers around. Twelve of them. Thirteen if you count the insane one." The clockwork looks at Skeeter and agrees, "He's insane." Gruul practically falls on the floor laughing.
The clockwork introduces himself as Inverse Fitted Gimbal and proposes a price of 7000 clavars for 300 days of service. Gruul is astounded: "seven thousand! That's much too much. Do you know how long it took me to earn seven thousand? And I had to kill people to get it." The clockwork points out that he can speak and read eight languages. He eventually accepts a slightly reduced price of only 5000 clavars for 300 days. The characters agree to pay him every 50 days. Gruul grumbles, "You better be good..."
Inverse Fitted Gimbal joins the caravan. Skeeter jumps up and down, begging, "Can I fix him?" Gruul grumbles, "No you can't. He's not broken. Yet."
Grunvey Jhegg brings back a Kupri guide named Ullgul Wek. The two of them lead the caravan into the Warrens. Ullgul Wek points out that he's carrying about 300 Reds to open clavar barriers people have shut in front of them. He also mentions that the route he plans to take will go fairly deep into the Warrens, as he needs to keep to passages large enough to accommodate wagons. Antok suggests clavar locking doors behind them with Reds or Oranges. The other characters agree that this is a good idea.
The whole caravan extends for almost half a kilometer, with the characters' part of the line accounting for about half of that. Most of the Warren passages are only wide enough to fit a single wagon, with some space on either side for walkers. The dugun march four to a rank. The characters let Jhegg's group go first. They spread their wagons out among the dugun. A quick survey turns up about forty dugun who have some sort of weapon (primarily maces and clubs). The characters divide these folk into four groups, set one of the Faian guards at the head of each of them, and place them evenly through their part of the caravan. The characters themselves stay at the rear except for Antok, who gets the job of baby-sitting Grunvey Jhegg up at the front of the line. Everyone agrees that this is for the best, even though Antok is fairly likely to kill the guy. Everyone also agrees that Marik should have a couple of other characters nearby: if there is trouble, his magic can swiftly convert them into a (literal) flying squad.
The characters notice that Jhegg's guards are much more spread out through his part of the line, as he cannot trust his enslaved dugun to carry weapons.
Antok points out that he can use Ogango's Sparrow to keep track of what's going on up and down the line. He mentions that anyone else can use it, except Skeeter. Antok refuses to hand him something bright and shiny that flies. At this point Skeeter pipes up, "You promised me shiny!" Antok rather disgustedly does some quick magic and hands him a block of ice to play with. The other characters fantasize about having bausker stew for dinner.
On the subject of stew, Galen asks "Is there anything to eat in the Warrens?" Antok's response is blunt: "Us."
Antok is walking up at the front of the line, chatting with Grunvey Jhegg about whether or not the caravan really needs Ullgul Wek when a dugun scream rings out from behind.
The characters spring into action. Marik swiftly casts Flight upon Galen, Gruul and himself. The three of them rocket forward. In contrast, Skeeter hides in a convenient wagon. Antok feeds Ogango's Sparrow and sends it to check out the area while he keeps a close eye on Grunvey. And Gaffad gathers up the two nearest living weapons and heads back down the line, lookin' to be the baddest.
Galen is the first to arrive on the scene. He sees absolute chaos. Two dugun are very obviously dead, their blood sprayed across walls and floor. Five more are standing in obvious shock as a figure in a grimy gray cloak leers.
Galen lands and approaches the situation carefully. Gruul, right behind him, has no such reservations: he goes crashing into the figure and is more than a little surprised when it raises its hood to display the rictus of death. The creature is Long-Waiting Hatred, an unliving denizen of the Warrens apparently accidentally released from behind a clavar barrier by the scout. He is even more surprised when it raises its hands to display two fistfuls of scythelike claws. His surprise turns to dismay when the claws pass right through his shield as if it weren't there, slashing him bloody. But his dismay is short-lived, as it is swiftly replaced by an unthinking berserk rage.
Galen and Gruul attack Long-Waiting Hatred, slowly chopping it into pieces. Gaffad and his two men have the misfortune to arrive on the scene just as Gruul delivers the final blow, reducing the thing to nothing more than its ragged cloak. Gruul looks up at Gaffad, fixes him as an enemy, and attacks. His first flurry of blows cripples Gaffad's arm. His second practically decapitates the him. And though one of the living weapons almost manages to incapacitate Gruul with an arm lock, the rest of the fight is brief and one-sided.
By this time, Antok has gotten some idea of what is happening from Ogango's Sparrow. Unfortunately, all he sees is Gruul and Gaffad fighting, so he quickly concludes that this is some kind of double-cross on Grunvey Jhegg's part. Faced with this conclusion, he does the obvious thing: an aggressive floor lunge at Grunvey Jhegg. Jhegg proves to be fairly agile as a foe, avoiding Antok's attacks long enough to squeak out a cry for help. But it isn't enough, and Antok spears him through quickly, then turns to face the sorcerer Jelf. Jelf quickly decides that he is no match for the blood-stained savage, so he stuns Antok with magical fright and grabs an Odysseus potion from inside Jhegg's jacket. He drinks it down and vanishes from view. Unwilling to let a magician escape from his wrath, Antok responds by consuming two Argus elixirs. His magically-augmented sight allows him to see Jelf running for his life. He gives chase, following the Paturki sorcerer through a maze of corridors until he gets close enough to down Jelf with a skillful spear cast. He quickly loots the body, then uses the Flensing Knife to extract Jelf's heart. Mmmm... Minty.
Antok returns to the caravan with blood running down his chin. He is carrying several items of obvious value taken from Jelf's body:
He is disappointed to find that someone else has already looted Grunvey Jhegg's body. He suspects that either some of the nearby dugun or the scout Ullgul Wek might have been responsible, but he has no evidence. And the dugun are obviously not telling.
Gruul estimates that the group will lose a half-day mopping up and convincing the duguns that the characters are actually heroes before the caravan will be going anywhere. The characters don't have to take much time to figure out that their erstwhile guide has fled. Jaugulchef, her bauskers, and the surviving living weapons are nowhere to be seen, but the characters have some confidence that they are not likely to have gone far from the caravan. Or if they did, that they won't be coming back...
The session ends with the characters out in the middle of the Warrens, wondering how they're going to handle the chaos that has befallen what used to be Grunvey Jhegg's caravan. Each character gains four experience points plus five bonus points for Ally Group (or similar social advantages).
Antok spends one point each on Apportation and Haste, the two spells he was able to learn by eating Jelf's heart. He also spends ten points buying the four Faian mercenaries as an Ally Group. Galen spends his bonus points on a +1 Reputation as liberator of the dugun. Gruul, Marik and Skeeter pool their points to buy the fugitive dugun as an Ally Group. Their presumption is that the thieves, cowards and weavers are Skeeter's friends; the intellectuals and the perverts are Marik's friends; and the violent maniacs are Gruul's friends.