It's dawn on Hedraday, the 12th of Charder, 150 AV. We all meet at breakfast. Paks, Stone, and Brunhilde have recovered. Stone and Brunhilde want to hear about the plan, so Chuck explains that we're meeting Jim and going back to the tower to try to meet with the smugglers. Brunhilde has to take care of some business in Lave (the large city about a day and a half journey north of here), and Stone is going to accompany her to protect her. Brunhilde offers us the scroll, which has an illusion spell (minor image, as well as shield and ghost sound) on it, which she says Jim can probably cast, before she leaves. Miriel thanks her for the help, and we all wish her well on her business.
Miriel suggests stopping by the temple of Madriel to ask for her blessing on the mission and pick up a potion of healing. Chuck, Goldpetal, and Miriel contribute 2 platinum each. Virinia is, as always, pleased to see Miriel, and sells her the potion for the 6 platinum, and gives her (non-magical) blessing, though she says that of course we always have her blessing, "Madriel shines her light on all."
Fox packs us a nice meal, enough for lunch and dinner today. We discuss taking horses. Goldpetal suggests not, in order to pass through the forest. Chuck and Miriel think it would be better to take horses. Paks doesn't care. We eventually agree to take the horses. The four of us head south and meet Jim, who is waiting on his large and beautiful horse.
Chuck gives Jim the scroll.
Jim: "Great, this will come in really useful. Here's my plan: we'll use a lantern to lure the smugglers to the cove. With this scroll, I can create an illusion of Delonia and her henchman, which will fool them even more."
Chuck: "But maybe they already know we're looking for them; they took my notes at the bar."
Jim: "Well, I'm willing to take that risk; if they don't know, we'll be in great shape."
Goldpetal: "We should track."
Jim: "I don't know if you've noticed, but as we've been travelling, I've been checking both sides of the road for tracks."
Chuck: "I've also been tracking, looking for significant changes in the road."
We reach the tower around dinnertime with little incident; we see no tracks of any significance, no Fergus, and no halfling. It looks like we're expecting the usual coastal fog, which will make it very dark, this being the night of the new moon.
Goldpetal suggests that Miriel go up to the top of the tower and maintain a lookout, since she can see in the dark. Miriel says we won't be able to see through the fog, but we should look through the whole tower and make sure there's no one there, then make sure no one can sneak up on us. Chuck says we should remove the ladder that goes down from the edge of the cliff to the beach.
We check for tracks, finding only the tracks of Randall and Reginald from a few days before, then we all go into the tower. Chuck and Miriel head for the top of the tower. They don't see anyone or anything around the tower, but they stay up to watch. The other three head down through the trapdoor. The rooms that were occupied by the smugglers don't have anything in them, but they do look like someone has been through them.
In the crypt, the three see rotting ghoul bodies; the smell is pretty bad. There are some rats, but no other signs of occupancy. They go out through the tunnel to the beach and remove the ladder, bringing it back into the tower. We all discuss our plan of action. We decide to all stay in the tower until the signals are seen and sent.
Jim says there should be no problem fooling people into believing Delonia is there. He also suggests that we hide in the dark and start shooting at the boat when they start coming in.
Paks: "We could try the classic Trojan horse..."
Chuck: "Build a wooden model of the sorceress?"
Paks: "No, hide in crates and get them to load them on the boat."
Jim: "There are probably a lot of people on the boat."
Goldpetal: "We should try to lure them into the tunnel."
Jim: "That might work, but the tunnel mouth is only five feet wide. It's a big beach, and we can all hide in the shadows."
Paks: "Yeah, that worked before."
Miriel: "We should split up; two of us will give the signals, then come down, while everyone else hides at the beach."
Paks suggests hiding behind the various bits of seaweed and driftwood, but is reminded that there are plenty of niches in the cave.
Chuck: "Too bad we don't know the signal for "bug out".
Jim: "Why?"
Chuck: "So we can send the boat away and not have to fight them all."
Jim: "Very smart; no wonder Steve picked you. Unfortunately, we don't know it."
There is more discussion, in which it is decided that Miriel and Goldpetal will stay at the top of the tower to give the signals. Chuck suggests lighting the cavern, and Jim says there should be a torch with the figure of the sorceress, to lend it credence. Chuck teaches Goldpetal and Miriel the timing for the signals, then all the fighters go down to set up and hide while Goldpetal and Miriel stay up with the lantern to signal.
The three down at the beach array themselves in hiding; Jim asks Chuck to stay close to him, so they all hide in a group, away from the lighted area. Miriel and Goldpetal plan to come down after giving the signals, with Goldpetal in the lead with his bow drawn. They will stop before the lighted area of the tunnel, in order to get a different shot on the smugglers and keep them from running up the tunnel.
We decide that Delonia's figure should turn and head up the tunnel when they arrive. We discuss what would happen if the boat doesn't go back to the ship; Jim says we'll just capture the ship; Miriel says that they probably won't come to shore, not knowing what they'd be facing.
Miriel watches out to sea, while Goldpetal watches around the tower. It's a cold, cold night. It gets to around 10-11pm; it's very dark, with no moon and a little fog. They see the first signal. Miriel takes the lantern and gives the second signal, sees the third, and gives the fourth. She asks Goldpetal if he can see anything through the fog. He thinks he might see a big schooner out to sea, but it's hard to tell in the fog. He looks at the land around the tower again, but can't really see anything. He and Miriel listen to see if they hear anything, but they don't.
Miriel and Goldpetal head down through the tower to the cave, with spear and bow drawn and Miriel watching behind. They stop just before the lighted area, inside the tunnel.
The three waiting hear the splashing of the oars and muffled sounds from the oarlocks. Paks readies her sword, Chuck has his bow ready. Jim is still concentrating on the illusion.
The people in the boat have torches. The group on shore can see that some of the people in the boat are manacled and unhappy-looking; probably slaves. There are two guys in front; one is an older, thin man in a robe. Next to him, holding a torch, is a very tall man, with a rather patrician face, his hair and large cloak billowing in the wind. There are four oarsmen and six slaves.
The older man says: "Something doesn't feel right, Virilius."
Virilius: "I agree, Sambelay, something doesn't feel right; get the men ready."
Jim makes the illusion wave, but from the top of the cliff we hear a woman's voice shouting: "Virilius, it's a trap!" The well-trained oarsmen immediately start rowing back out to sea.
The old man immediately casts a spell; a thick fog stars pouring out of his fingertips. We can't see anything at all. Jim grabs Chuck with one hand, while he grabs his medallion with the other. He tells Chuck he's casting waterwalking on both of them. They rush towards the boat, dropping Chuck's bow and drawing swords. Paks attempts to impersonate Delonia: "Wait, wait, don't leave me! Come back!" Goldpetal and Miriel don't know what's going on, so they stay put.
Paks waits to see what happens. Jim and Chuck continue to rush towards the boat, and can just see the prow. Goldpetal and Miriel stay put.
Jim reaches the boat and swings at the fighter; they exchange blows, but neither scores a hit. Paks heads back to the tunnel to inform Goldpetal and Miriel of what's going on and bring them out to fight the mage. Chuck attacks the magic user with both swords, cutting him with the longsword and stopping his chanting.
As Virilius and Jim are trading blows, they're also trading insults. At one point, Virilius says "Bjorn, distract them." The oarsman with the hook grabs one of the slaves and throws him overboard. Goldpetal heads up the tunnel towards the tower, with Miriel following.
The magic user casts a spell and suddenly Jim sinks into the water. Paks heads up the tunnel behind Miriel; they all run to reach the room under the tower. Paks listens to see if she hears anyone in the tower room, but she doesn't. Goldpetal comes up and heads up the ladder into the tower. The smuggler with the hook starts rowing again. Chuck calls on the slaves for assistance; Jim tells him to go get the slave, which Chuck has already started to do. He runs over, reaches down, and grabs the slave so he doesn't sink. He asks Jim if he should follow the boat. Miriel reaches the ladder and goes up into the tower as well.
The spellcaster in the boat casts another spell; suddenly the rowers start moving a lot faster and the boot shoots away. Virilius shakes his fist and says "You haven't seen the last of me! No one crosses Virilius Asuras and gets away with it." Paks runs up into the tower and out the front door; she sees Delonia running away. "After her, she's getting away!" Goldpetal runs to the door and shoots an arrow, but misses. Chuck pulls the slave out and cuts his bonds, then starts dragging him through the water, goes over to Jim, grabs him, and starts pulling them both slowly towards the shore, through the spooky fog. Miriel starts running all out after Delonia and the others. Delonia is heading south, towards the swamp.
Paks continues to run after Delonia. Goldpetal casts entangle on Delonia, which slows her down quite a bit. She stops running, turns and casts magic missile at Paks, which shakes her. Miriel keeps running at the sorceress.
Paks runs up closer to the sorceress, yells at her to surrender, and yells at the rest of us to come at her from different points. Goldpetal runs at Delonia from another side. Delonia is entangled by the tall grasses. Miriel approaches from yet another direction, standing outside of the entangling grasses and whacking Delonia in the head with a sling bullet.
Paks: "Have you surrendered yet?" Delonia says nothing, and Paks shoots an arrow at her, but misses. Goldpetal comes up to the edge of the circle and shoots his short bow, missing the sorceress. Delonia struggles with the grasses, realizes she can't get away, and surrenders. We warn her not to try anything when the entanglement goes away, and we wait. Miriel pulls out her coil of silk rope.
Chuck reaches shore and checks the slave, who is not doing very well. Jim: "Where is everyone? Let's go see what happened." Chuck grabs a torch as they go into the passage. They help the slave up towards the tower room. They get to the room underneath the tower, with Chuck still looking around to see if he can figure out what happened. Then Jim says "Hey, what's that," and points at a small shoe print. The whole party is wearing boots. Chuck looks at it and looks to see if there are any other prints; he sees that it looks like it was someone going up the ladder.
Jim gestures for silence, and they go quietly up. As they get to the top, they see the halfling in the shadows by the door of the tower, looking out. He doesn't notice them. Chuck tries to sneak up on him, gliding soundlessly towards the door with his sword in hand. He taps the halfling on the shoulder with his free hand. The halfling jumps a foot in the air and yelps.
Chuck: "What are you doing here?"
Halfling: "I'm looking out the door; what are you doing here? I'd just like to say that I'm amazed at your composure, Chuck. Not only can you run through mist and water and do nothing useful, but you can also ask straightforward questions. Good thing I decided you weren't worth following. I was also trying to stop the slavers."
Chuck: "Perhaps we could have cooperated?"
Halfling: "I want nothing to do with you, sir; I serve the Lady Miriel."
Jim: (Rolls his eyes) "Chuck, don't take your eyes off of him for one minute."
Jim goes out to help with the sorceress.
Halfling: "I'm going out to greet my mistress."
He walks out the door. Chuck drops his flint and steel next to the slave and tells him to warm up, then heads out after the halfling.
Jim: "Ho, what's going on."
Paks: "We have this one entangled, and she has surrendered to us."
Jim: "Nicely done!"
Paks: "She's given us her parole, and we're going to tie her up."
Goldpetal: "Who are you; why are you here?"
Halfling: "Why are you here? Who are you?"
Goldpetal: "It's my job to be here."
Halfling: "Yes, I know it's your job Goldpetal; it's also mine."
Goldpetal: "Who sent you?"
Halfling: "Who sent you?"
Goldpetal: "Grilliam."
Halfling: "Who sent him? And who sent him?"
Goldpetal: "The gods. Do you claim to be a god?"
Halfling: "No, I'm just me." (He approaches Miriel.)
Miriel: "Do I know you?"
Paks continues to watch Delonia, who seems to be considering escape.
Halfling: "Why, no, madam, not yet, but I know you; I am Milo, and I have been sent by Madriel to serve you and protect you." (He kneels down and kisses her hand).
Paks calls to Chuck and asks for manacles. Jim and Chuck come over, swords drawn.
Jim: "Sorceress, if you try ANYTHING, you're dead."
Miriel: "I haven't heard of you from Madriel or Virinia."
Halfling: "I have my honor, what more do I need?"
Miriel: "I don't know you."
Halfling: "Isn't Madriel the goddess of mercy?"
Miriel: "What does mercy have to do with it? I don't trust you yet; you had the chance to meet us before and instead you show up here, under suspicious circumstances."
Jim is vigilantly watching both the halfling and the sorceress.
Chuck: "Miriel, do you want a set of manacles?"
Miriel: "No, it's not right to manacle someone just on suspicion. Just keep an eye on him."
Jim: "Chuck, don't let him out of your sight."
Paks: "Delonia, what's going on?"
Delonia: What do you want to know?
Paks: "What's the smuggling plan?"
Delonia: "I was hired by Virilius Asuras. We trade slaves to the rat men at the swamp, they give us poisons, which Virilius sells at a high profit."
Paks: "Do you know his contact in the north?"
Delonia: "No, I don't know, but these were vary rare poisons. I hope you sold them; they were worth a ton of money!"
Paks: "Yes, we know. Who's your contact with the rat men? Where and when?"
Delonia: "Sysy; she runs an outpost at the swamp, we trade with her there. I don't want any more contact than that with the rat men; they're pretty gross."
Goldpetal: "Does she trade with anyone else?"
Delonia: "I don't know the details, but she's the only rat person who will trade with humans, and she's got a pretty good business going. She's neutral and has contacts with all the various tribes."
Paks: "What's her outpost like?"
Delonia: "Well, I know there's a cave complex underneath it, but I haven't been under there and don't want to."
Paks: "How many guards do you travel with?"
Delonia: "Just a few. No one wants to go in the swamp; we travel light and go in and out as quickly as possible. The rat men are danegerous, but the money is good, and Virilius is very powerful."
Paks: "What was the going rate?"
Delonia: "Three hundred gold per delivery, but I had to pay the others."
Paks: "Would you be available for hire?"
Delonia: "To YOU guys?"
Paks: "Well, we keep running into each other."
Halfling: "I'm sure Grilliam could test her loyalty."
Delonia: "I'd be happy to work with you, if you don't take me to Grilliam."
Halfling: "When and where is the next meeing with Sysy?"
Paks: "You don't have to answer him; he's not with us."
Miriel: "We can't not take her to Grilliam, we agreed with him to take her back. What happened with the boat?"
Chuck: (Coughing) "They got away; the sorceror was too powerful. They threw a slave out to distract us; we saved him and left him in the tower."
At this point, we all decide to go back to the tower. The halfling, Milo, tries to get Miriel away, but she refuses all persuasion, insisting on having Chuck with her at all times. Goldpetal suggests they go to the top of the tower.
Jim: "Not without Chuck."
Paks suggests somewhere outside, in bow range. Chuck says no. Milo agrees to Chuck watching, out of hearing range. Back in the tower, the slave has a nice fire going; Jim goes over to the fire to warm up. Chuck gets his flint and steel back. Paks tries to sense hostility or evil from Delonia.
While Miriel, Chuck, and Milo go up the tower, Paks and Goldpetal discuss Delonia.
Paks: "So, how can I rescue this woman?"
Goldpetal: "I don't know if I'm interested in rescuing her. If we can use her, that's great, but.. she's selling people to these unnatural creatures. She deserves no mercy."
Paks: "But I detect no evil in her. Perhaps we can save her from herself."
Goldpetal: "All the smugglers are going to do is find another smuggling point. If we shut down this one, they'l go somewhere else. If we can use her to get at the ratmen..."
Paks: "Or the smugglers."
Goldpetal: "If she's just a pawn, they're far worse than she is. But how do we convince Chuck and Miriel? Or do we? Do we try to convince Grilliam?"
Paks: "Convincing Miriel is: Madriel is the goddess of mercy and compassion. Have mercy and compassion here. Convincing Chuck, now, that's a little harder."
Goldpetal: "Hmm."
Paks: "And then there's always the question of, can we really trust her? No matter what she says?"
Goldpetal: "Do you think we could convince Grilliam to suspend sentence, contingent on her helping us?"
Paks: "For me to trust her, she'd basically have to renounce the whole scheme, and renounce any loyalty to the ratmen or to Varilius. If that's not enough for Grilliam..."
Goldpetal: "Funny, that would make me trust her less. She doesn't stay bought."
Paks: "Well, then there's the whole idea that it would be under duress anyway."
Miriel and the others come down from the tower.
Paks: "So, Miriel, can I talk to you for a few minutes?" (Drags M outside.)
Paks: "So, you seem very set on bringing this woman to justice. I don't feel the need for justice here. Madriel is the goddess of mercy and compassion, and I think it's time for mercy. Also, if she is to be sentenced to death anyway, it would be better to give Delonia a chance to redeem herself first."
Miriel: "Well, I certainly think it's a good idea to let her redeem herself, and if you're willing to take responsibility for her, I'm willing to do it, but I really don't think it's a good idea to trust her. Do you have any reason to think that this is a workable idea, that she will actually try to do good?"
Paks: "I don't sense any evil from her. Do you think you might be able to convert her?"
Miriel: "That's something that's really beyond my experience, but I have great faith in Madriel, and I think that if Delonia's at all willing to try, she could be converted."
Paks: "Convert or die is an old story."
Miriel: "I'm not so sure that a conversion under sentence of death will really mean anything - she might still try to escape."
Paks: "I think that there's a chance."
Miriel: "Well, as I say, if there's a chance, I'm sure Madriel can bring some good out of this. But what do we say to Grilliam? I don't want to lie to him."
Paks: "Nor I, definitely not. I would just like to give this woman a chance to redeem herself before we take her to him, and if she's successfully been converted, then we ask Grilliam for mercy."
Miriel: "But again, what do we say to him? Do we tell him this?"
Paks: "My plan was to get that all accomplished before we see him again."
Miriel: "It sounds like that means going to the swamp now."
Paks: "Either that, or taking her to the temple of Madriel, rather than the temple of Hedrada, first, and having a senior priestess try to convert her."
Miriel: "That would work for me; if we take her to Virinia, since we're serving the town and council, we haven't violated our agreement with Grilliam, and we're doing the right thing by both Delonia and our contract with Grilliam."
Paks and Miriel rejoin the party to find the slave, whose name is Thar, telling his story.
Goldpetal: "The slavers were going to sell you to the rat men."
Thar: "They were going to sell me to Slytherin? My god, you saved me! That's a fate worse than death."
Halfling: "What would they do to yoiu?"
Thar: "They eat the flesh of slaves, they have evil breeding programs, they practice all sorts of torture. Haven't you heard?"
Chuck: "We're not from around here."
Thar: "Neither am I, but I've heard!"
Thar's story is summarized for Paks and Miriel. Thar lived in an area called Durover, which was overrun by Calastians who sold him into slavery. He's passed through many hands since then; recently he found himself on an island in a stockade, from which a bunch of slaves were rounded up onto a ship. The next thing he knew, he was being pulled out of the water by Chuck.
Thar: "Thanks again for saving me."
Milo: "Did you reach an agreement with Delonia for helping us?"
Paks: "No, there's no agreement yet."
Chuck: (To Delonia) "Who have you informed about us besides the wizard, and who stabbed me?"
Delonia: "I have no idea."
Chuck: "Who else have you told, who did you talk to when you escaped?"
Delonia: "I just ran out to the woods; I was waiting for Virilius to come so I could restart operations. I didn't expect you guys, but when I saw you, I hid out to warn my benefactor, and it looks like it's going to be my death."
Paks: "Maybe not just yet. I'd like to talk to you about that. There's...I'd like to save you if I can, but I'm operating under a commission from Grilliam to break the slave ring and bring the perpetrators to justice. The only way I see to save you is a religious conversion."
Delonia: "Are you serious? A religious conversion? You know those Hedradan guys, if it's not on paper, they don't believe in it."
Paks: "I was thinking of a conversation with a priestess of Madriel."
Delonia: "They just talk and talk and talk. Couldn't you just put me out of my misery?"
Paks: "Well, if you'd rather die..."
Delonia: "I guess it's better than death...yeah, I'll talk to her. It's not so easy to convert, though. I'm a follower of Enkili, and he'll be pretty mad if I convert."
Paks: "I can certainly understand your concern..."
Delonia: "Well, Enkili's been very good to me...my luck seems to have run out, but, you know, that's bound to happen... I can talk to your priestess. If it's a choice between Grilliam or Virinia, I'll take the latter."
Paks: "I was hoping you'd say that."
Delonia: "A choice between death or boredom. I guess I'll take boredom."
Paks: "Unfortunately, our group has several factions. One wants to let the slave Thar beat you up; others don't trust you. But talk to the priestess."
Delonia: "Well, we'll let things take their course."
Halfling: "If you'll help us against Sysy, maybe Grilliam will let you live."
Paks: "I'm hoping if you can swear off of the slave trade..."
Delonia: "I see where this is leading; if you want me to help you go to the swamp to help talk to the rat man trader, I can do that. If it's my life at stake, sure. Slaving's just a way of making a living, you know."
Paks: "If I can get that to be your sentence, would you honor it?"
Delonia: "Sure!"
Halfling: "When is the next meeting with Sysy?"
Delonia: "Usually we head out the next morning in that cart...that you guys stole...and then take the horses...that you stole...and then get down there in a couple of days."
Halfling: "You only meet Virilius once a month?"
Delonia: "Yeah, it's a cush job; we sit around the rest of the month. You broke up the best gig ever!"
We have further discussion of how to manage the mission to the swamp. Delonia says we don't have to be in much of a hurry. The ship probably won't send messages, and they never rushed to get there. The ship won't send anyone to the swamp, because they don't want to mess with the Foamers, the rat men pirates. Jim nods knowingly; these rat men ply the seas around the swamp. We finally plan to go back to town, take Thar to the healers, get the cart, masquerade as slaves, hire men at arms, and head to the swamp. We discuss heading back to town now or resting first and finally agree to leave right away. Paks rides with Delonia, Miriel takes Milo, Jim takes Thar. Chuck follows Delonia and Paks closely. Goldpetal rides in front.
We get back to town and head straight for the temple of Madriel; the priestess are already up giving dawn prayers. They take in Thar right away. Miriel, Paks, and Delonia go to talk to Virinia about the plan. Milo goes into the temple to pray. Chuck follows Milo to watch him. Milo tries to duck under a bench, sneak over and surprise Chuck.
As the three women reach Virinia's quarters, she welcomes the two of us, looks at Delonia, and asks what she can do for us. Paks explains that we have the commission from Grilliam to round up the smugglers, we found Delonia and recaptured her, and she is under sentence of death, but we would like to let her redeem herself before that sentence is carried out. We ask if a senior priestess can talk to her.
Virinia: "I'll talk to her myself."
Paks: "I hope you can convert her to Madriel; I don't see any other way for her to be saved. Then she can help us, paying her debt to society that way."
Virinia: "I see what you want. I appreciate and understand your feelings of mercy and compassion, and your desire to give the opportunity for redemption. These are all traits that Madriel brings out in us. Everyone deserves a second chance. I'll talk to the notorious Delonia, but slaving is wrong, even to Madriel, and Madriel doesn't believe in forced conversions. We will only trust in her change of heart if she converts of her own free will. However, I will talk to Grilliam and see if he will allow her to try to help you capture the smugglers and free the slaves."
Paks: "I understand, and she does have a strong faith."
Virinia: "Give me a few moments."
Paks: "Thank you. I have faith in the gods. Good luck, Delonia."
Delonia rolls her eyes as we all leave.
Virinia: "Come back in two hours."
Miriel goes to the dawn rites and finds Chuck watching the benches, standing in the doorway.
Jim: "That halfling is so much trouble. Chuck, you can bring him to the inn if you want, or I'm sure he'll find us. How much trouble can one little halfline make...oh, no..."
Milo sneaks up, expecting not to be noticed.
Jim: "Oh, there he is now."
Paks decides to wait near the temple, and goes to a nearby bakery for a fresh loaf of bread. Milo goes with her. Miriel decides to stay at the temple for the rites, then talk to Virinia when she's ready, then meet everyone back at the Laughing Ogre for lunch. Goldpetal goes to the woodland shrine to meditate. Chuck and Jim go to the Laughing Ogre for food and rest.
Fox greets Jim as an old friend, asking about Rick. Jim says Rick's still running things, even though he's getting old. From their conversation, Rick is clearly a pretty senior Vigil, maybe Jim's boss.
Fox: "I'm so happy to see you, Jim...you're never here enough. It's usually safer with you around, even though there's usually trouble when you show up!"
When Miriel finishes the dawn rites, an acolyte comes up with a message from Virinia, who tells her that she has contacted Grilliam, and that Miriel should go now and come back to the temple after lunch to discuss with Grilliam what should be done with Delonia.
Miriel leaves the temple and looks for Paks, doesn't see her, and heads back to Laughing Ogre. She finds Chuck and Jim and gives them Virinia's message, then has a small snack and goes to lie down until lunch, as it was a long night with little sleep.
Paks enquires after Enkili's shrine with the baker. He says there isn't actually one in the town, but that she could always go down to the Conch and Trident and gamble; as Enkili is a god of gamblers and sailors, sometimes worship is just a roll of the dice. Paks goes out of town to pray in a field, asking Enkili not to take offence and expressing her hope that her actions were Enkili's way of giving Delonia luck. She flips a coin and makes a wish - if she has acted according to Enkili's wishes, let it come up heads. It does. Feeling reassured, she returns to the temple of Madriel, running into Milo there. An acolyte sends them all away until after the noon ritual.
At lunch, Chuck asks Jim about Milo.
Jim: "I don't really know much about him; I've never seen him before. He's clearly a sneaky guy, following you around all week the way he did. I tried to follow him, but even though I'm a good tracker, he still got away from me. I don't really like halflings anyway, but this one...he gives me the willies, he's trouble."
Milo asks Fox for a room; Fox gives him a rate of two gold per day, at which he blanches slightly. Miriel suggests that he stay at the temple of Madriel. Milo says he'll consider it, then goes out to sleep under a tree in the garden.
After lunch, we all go to the temple; Chuck and Jim still don't trust Delonia and want to be there. Even though he doesn't trust her, Jim thinks she could be used. We find Grilliam at the temple in Virinia's office.
Grilliam: "I heard about your exploits, scaring off the smugglers and capturing this Delonia. You've proven your worth, and started to earn the money I gave you. Hello Jim, thanks for helping out. This is a very serious matter.
Jim: "Yes, slaving is very serious."
Grilliam: "Well, I've heard your plan for giving Delonia a chance. I'm willing to waive the death sentence if she helps you to get into the swamp and raid the trading post."
Jim: "Yeah, I think we could use her. That's exactly what I want to do; this is a good group, and I think we could put an end to this smuggling and slavery, at least for now."
Chuck: "What about letting Thar have vengeance?"
Everyone ignores this, as it would not fit with our plans. Miriel goes over the plan and asks Grilliam about providing us with some armed men. Grilliam thinks about this while Jim asks Delonia how many men she typically went to the swamps with.
Delonia: "Just a few. It wouldn't be good if you showed up with a lot. I usually brought six slaves, with four men at arms."
Milo: "It would probably be suspicious if you showed up with a halfling."
Delonia: "No, we had plenty of halfling slaves. King Verduk has been selling you off."
Chuck: "Could we really disguise ourselves as slaves?"
Jim: "Sure, at least for a cursory inspection."
Miriel: "We could get up to the door at least."
Grilliam: "Well, I don't think I can spare any men."
Jim: "We could probably find some men at arms to go with us."
Grilliam: "I really don't think any can be spared."
Jim: "Well, I'd rather go with people we know and trust."
Miriel: "Well, okay, I guess that's why you hired us. Is there any help you can give us, though, perhaps some healing potions?"
Virinia: "Sure, we can provide you with some healing potions."
Jim: "I think the group of us can handle a group of rat men."
Paks: "Did Delonia convert?"
Virinia: "No, she has not converted; Grilliam has waived the death sentence if she helps us, on her solemn word of honor (spell)."
We agree to go rest, then head out to the swamp tomorrow.
Back at the inn, we talk over our plans and what has happened so far. Chuck suggests telling the harbormaster about Thar's experience, to see if we can find out anything about the island. Goldpetal disagrees, pointing out that we already know that we've been watched in that part of town. Miriel suggests asking Grilliam to send someone. Milo says that we of course don't want to go to the harbormaster during the day, but that he can go down there unseen in the evening. Miriel again says that we should let Grilliam do it. Paks asks Fox where we might hire men at arms, but Fox says go that we're the only adventurers that have been through lately, and there are no real mercenaries around. We might be able to hire some wanderers down at the bars near the docks, but that's about it.
Everyone sleeps. Delonia stays in Goldpetal's room with Milo. In the morning, we get blankets and rags from Fox for disguises. Just at dawn, before we set out, Virinia shows up. "I had a very prophetic dream last night. A giant swan came to me and gave me this prophecy, and showed me much about your future.
Virinia: "This was a real sign; we have here one of Madriel's greatest artifacts, Madriel's Tear." She gives Miriel a phial of crystal, with a glint of gold inside. "The legend is that after Madriel tricked her mother Mormo, this is the tear she shed for her betrayal of her mother."Virinia's Prophecy
Many perils lay before you,
It will be long ere we meet again,
And some of you may not return.Three titans bestride your path
Mormo, Chern, and Gormoth
Wicked, vile, and tormented.Witch of Red, Witch of Green
Serpent mother Mormo
Is their Queen.Beware the Witch in Green
For she is death!Beware the Witch in Red
Filled with deceit and lies,
Still the truth will out.Chern, lord of disease,
His minions fester like
a fouled wound.Gormoth, the Warper,
Twisted, Lord of Pain
His torments a final test.Milo, newest companion:
Between light and dark lies shadow.
Your lot has been cast,
But for good for ill?Goldpetal, Faithful of Denev:
The land is wounded, it cries out in pain!
The marsh is twisted, foul.
All is not what it seems.Chuck, the Bereaved:
You stand between two great losses.
One behind, one before you.
The trial will make you stronger.Jim, ever Vigilant:
Beware the twilight and its warden.
Many are seeking you,
Do not be found!Paks, the Brave:
Madriel has chosen you,
Tempered in a forge of trouble,
Are you worthy of the Redeemer?Miriel, the True:
Gifted healer!
Your skills will be sorely needed!
At your time of greatest fear,
Surrounded by suffering and pain
Remember Madriel's tear!"
We have all heard this story: Mormo was Madriel's mother, the queen of serpents, full of magic and lies. Madriel helped the gods fight her by using her powers of healing, and this was painful and draining to Mormo, since she was full of evil and pain. Madriel regretted having to do it, and it was very traumatic for her, but she had to help the people who were being destroyed by the titans.
Miriel asks if there was more to the dream, but Virinia says no, this very dire prophecy was all. She wishes us the best and blesses us all. (In the next adventure, each of us will get one chance to re-roll). She also gives us two healing potions. We distribute the potions to Chuck, Paks, and Jim, who are most likely to need them.
We leave for the swamp. Milo suggests riding ahead and scouting, while the cart comes behind. We could leave the horses nearby to help with our escape if needed. Jim says the swamp is very dangerous, and it's really death if you don't know what you're doing. Miriel suggests sticking together, if it's as dangerous as Jim says.
Since they're marked on the map, it is suggested that we visit the standing stones. Jim says he's been up there before but it's been a while; maybe we should check out the standing stones to see if people are worshipping the titans again. Goldpetal says he may be able to extract some information from the land there.
Paks: "Is it out of our way?"
Miriel: "No, the road marked on the map leads from there."
Jim: "Yeah, that's how I remember it."
Milo: "Delonia, have you gone there?"
Delonia: "Sure, we use the standing stones as a landmark to find the road to the swamp."
Milo: "You never actually got close to the stones?"
Delonia: "No, we never climb up the hill. That's where people worshipped titans; it'd be crazy to go up there."
We're travelling with two horses pulling the cart, Jim's horse, and two more we borrowed at the inn.
Paks: "Those with armor should be guards; that would be me and Jim. Delonia will drive the cart; the other four are the slaves."
It's a very overcast day, and we move more slowly with the cart than we do walking, so it's getting dark by the time we reach the tower, where we set up camp. Milo goes up to the second floor. We bring up the ladder from below the trap door.
Jim: "Should we put a bale of hay on the trapdoor?"
Paks, "No, we want to hear them. Should we set an alarm with something noisy, maybe some chains or manacles?"
Jim: "Well, I know alarm spell." (He casts it around the tower.)
Jim says that this is the first time we've been just sitting around together. He offers to answer questions and tell stories.
Jim: "Do you have any questions about the swamp? I've been there a lot."
Paks: "Rodents of unusual size?"
Jim: "Yes, lots."
Paks: "Dangers?"
Jim: "Well, the rat men, of course. There are many tribes, always warring. There are the Diseased who worship Chern; they infect humans and free them into the population to spread disease."
Chuck: "Are they the poison makers?"
Jim: "No, those are the Forge Crawlers; I don't know them, but I've heard about them. Then there are the Gorgers; they feasted on the blood of Gurak the Ravenous, and now they're filled with an unquenchable hunger. They really like to eat people. Then there are the Twisted, they might be even worse, they worship Gormoth the Warped. They're all mutated, with extra arms, legs, double tails. They like to take human prisoners and perform weird experiments and torture them."
Delonia: "You know, Sysy's part of a tribe of witches; I think they worship Mormo. I know she can cast spells."
Jim: (Looks at Goldpetal.) "You know, when I explored the marshes, there were a lot of elven ruins; I think elves used to live there. Once I penetrated deep into the march and I saw this giant tree, swarming with rat men; I think it used to be an elven city, now it's been made into a rat men city." Goldpetal is horrified. "I heard the rumor once that when the gods killed Chern, they interred his body under the Mourning Marshes, trying to resurrect him, and that's why it's become so twisted and vile."
Madriel: "Could they really do it? How?"
Jim: "I have no idea. I don't believe they could, but, then again, who knows."
Milo: "Even if they could, the gods defeated him once, and now its nine to one."
Goldpetal: "You are too young to rememeber, but the Titan's War is not something any of us would wish to experience again."
Jim: Personally, I don't ever want to see Chern. He caused enormous devastation among elves and men; they say he destroyed a whole race of elves."
Goldpetal: "He did worse than that."
Jim: "Let's not stray too far from each other or even off the path; there are some dangerous creatures in there."
Goldpetal: "Do the paths shift?"
Jim: "Sometimes, especially near the swamp hag's place. She has all sort of tricks, and she's tamed all sorts of nasty beasts."
Paks: "We've already run into giant spiders and spider goblins, are there creatures in the swamp which are unrelated to the rat men, but equally harmful?"
Jim: "Sure, tons!"
Paks: "Like what?"
Jim: "Giant frogs."
Paks: "That doesn't sound so bad?"
Jim: "They have sticky tongues which can pull you into their maws."
Paks: "How big are they?"
Jim: "Twenty to twenty-five pounds."
Paks: "I could handle that."
Jim: "There are also giant lizards, as big as ponies with giant spines. There are mire worms, twenty feet long with poison that will kill you almost immediately. There are snakes, rats, mosquitos, giant insects, and spider-eyed goblins, but the rat men like to caputure and eat those. There's also the hag, but we should definitely avoid her. She knows all sorts of spells; we'll stay away from her. And then there's one more thing: have you ever heard of swamp gobblers? This is another great old legend - they're supposed to be weird creatures; they sort of look like furry bipeds and they're voraciously hungry. Usually you can get rid of them by giving them food and they'll go, but if you fight, they'll be vicious. The story is that they're a race of halflings who found themselves in trouble and prayed to Enkili for luck. Enkili says sure, but you have to play a game with me. They agree, and he pulls out a 300-sided die. He says if I roll anything but 162, I will lead you to a place where you'll be free from trouble, but if I do roll 162, you'll have to live with my curse. The halflings try the die a few times; it seems fine, so they decide to take the bet. What they don't know is that the die always comes up to the number of pimples on Enkili's ass, which he can change at will. So they lose and they're turned into hairy bipeds who steal food. At least, they start with food, but then they steal and eat the horses, then the people."
Miriel: "Do you know the trading post, and that part of the swamp?"
Jim: "No, not really." Goldpetal: "Why do you go to the swamp at all?"
Jim: "Oh, I was on missions, keeping tabs on the rat men; they've been more aggressive and vicious lately."
Paks: "What's typical in an establishment like the trading post? How well staffed is it likely to be?"
Jim: "It depends on the tribe. If it's the Diseased tribe, they'll be very well organized. The gorgers, on the other hand, aren't very organized."
Paks: "What if it's the tribe of witches?"
Jim: "I don't know about them. All the tribes have huge warrens underground, though."
With these fine thoughts, we all go to sleep.