Session Fifteen - March 21, 2004

Wherein the ongoing story of the FtF campaign may be found ...

Session Fifteen - March 21, 2004

Postby Matt » Thu Sep 16, 2004 6:15 pm

Sweet Sweetback’s Baaaaadass Whorehouse Raid

Larane 1, 730 TR


The morning breaks. Jond is not planning on opening the shop. We wouldn’t let him, anyway. As far as Jond knows, he’s the only one who can make fanosel for Ivor.

Jond informs us of where precisely the other drug dens are. Then we give him a sleeping draught and put him in the cellar. The party splits up for the morning. Imarë, Arlen, and Kamen stay at the shop. Everyone else goes back to the Tabard & Hearth. At the Tabard & Hearth, Anders says that Arva is here and wants to see Ardeth. She comes down and tells the party that the acting troupe in Aleath has disbanded and she is looking for other opportunities. Anders has no further news of the red-haired man or our current mess, but he does have a message for Ewen: that Colm of Kells, one of the masters at the Harper’s Guild, wants Ewen to contact him ASAP. Anders says Colm looked very upset.

Ewen goes to see him. Colm is overjoyed to see that Ewen is alive. He has bad news; Pelisa of Thoff is dead. She was one of the bards at Theron’s party. Colm found the body; the guards had only found the guard from her building, who had been stabbed in the eye. Her room was undisturbed, but she had been raped and butchered. Three diamonds had been carved into her body-one on each breast and one on her groin. This seems reminiscent of the charge worn by the man who commissioned Ewen’s song to Bevan. One last bizarre detail: the key to her door had been left in her mouth. Perplexed and saddened, the party returns to the apothecary. Those that stayed are brought up to speed.

Plans are made (at length) for a night raid on the drug dens. Bevan takes a nap. Jond wakes up. We ask him about the diamonds, but he’s never seen them. He does reveal Ivor’s full name, which turns out to be Ivor the Pale. Ivor enjoys castrating men and eating their testicles. He also puts out their eyes. This information causes some discussion among us. Arlen mentions that according to legend, Naveh has a cat that has been castrated. We get Jond to admit that he has seen the testicle ritual. He says Strek and Jond got one testicle apiece. After some extreme pressure Jond admits that the first time he saw this ritual it was being performed on his father. Then he breaks down and weeps. Arlen no longer strikes him.

That night, with Jond once again drugged and tied up in the basement and a large, heavy object placed over the trapdoor to the root cellar, we set off for the drug den. Arva, who thinks we’re all crazy, returns to the Tabard & Hearth and orders a bath. Bevan and Imarë go in the den first, with the rest of hanging back and prepared to dash in at the first sign of trouble. One Drellis of Bee answers the door. Bevan holds a dagger to his manhood while Imarë goes out to whistle to the rest of the party that they should come in. Bevan interrogates Drellis. He says Ivor is downstairs in the basement (which is where Jond said the ritual-chamber was). As we’re talking, a man with a sword comes out of one of the rooms. He demands to know what’s going on. Arlen tries to assuage the stranger, but it doesn’t seem to be working, so he draws his sword and attacks. Arlen wounds the man, but his opponent casts a spell that inflicts a wicked smash to Arlen’s throat. The stranger announced he is Sir Meleanger Kolen, a knight in service of the Earl of Techen. The two parley, and declare a truce. Kolen returns to his room.

In the meantime, Drellis has wet himself. He says Prelis is being castrated tonight, and Parmen is downstairs. Drellis shows us a spiral staircase with a hidden ‘down’ direction. We make Drellis go down first, then Bevan, then Arlen, Dascomb, Ardeth, Kamen, Imarë. At the base of the stairs there is a tunnel that ends in two doors. Behind the one on the right, Drellis says, is the fanosel factory, and behind the other is the ritual-chamber. The party goes through the latter.

There is no one there. The room is an arched underground chamber with a bloodstained altar. There is no sign anyone has been there recently.

At the same time at the Tabard & Hearth, Arva gets a massage and converses with her masseuse about various matters. The only really interesting thing the man says is that the murdered harpist was rumored to be a virgin. Also he mentions a rumor that the murderer was from Rethem or Kanday.

Back in the ritual-chamber, Drellis is freaking out. We ask him about various matters in the Prelis case. He says the red-haired man is a Navite and his real name is Orgon. He is “close to the god.” We think there is something strange about the altar, but can find no sign of a hidden door or such. At this point Drellis informs us that Parmen is really upstairs. So we proceed up. Parmen is indeed tied up in one of the upstairs room. Drellis tells us he is terrified of Orgon. Orgon is one of the Lords of the Temple. Ivor wants to supplant him. Ivor was charged with the Murder of Hollo. Every month a victim is chosen by drawing; that person has to die. In Navek it was the ratcatcher. The Bringer of Evil Dreams required his death, for reasons known only to himself, the Thief of Heaven. Ivor failed. He was given a second chance. Eventually he did manage to kill the ratcatcher, but very inelegantly. There were people who interfered, people who witnessed, and people who came looking for an answer. Ivor’s superiors were most displeased, so he is trying to kill them before they can kill him. We suspect Orgon is next on the list. Ivor has much more in mind than mere drug dealing.

We take Drellis and Parmen back to the Tabard & Hearth. Drellis says he’s getting the hell out of town, and demands 10 shillings. Bevan does a whiparound and gives him 15. He departs immediately.

Anders is very grateful for Parmen’s return, and says his master will be very grateful as well. We tell Anders that we know about his master and would prefer not getting mixed up in the ecclesiastical squabbles of the cult of Naveh if possible. We show the 3-diamond charge to Anders; he doesn’t know it. In any case, our staying at the Tabard & Hearth is now on the house, and powerful if crazy people owe us favors.
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Matt
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