Cualdron - Jzadirune

Kegan’s shop is an entrance to an underground area built by Jzadirune. Kegan claims he didn’t know about the underground until the inhabitants threatened him and his rat. He claims he knows little about Jzadirune. Appears built by Gnomes, at least the parts he was in. Back at our house, Elwin is met by two members of the Halfling Protection Society and after a brief talk, he departs with them, on ‘HPS business’ More likely a day of parties and mischief. Discuss among the rest of use whether to go to Red Gorge or explore the exciting bowels of Cauldron. Snorri wants to retrieve the dwarven child. Decide to go underground first. Look over the piles of supplies that Snorri bought for the overland trip. Aerrion suggests asking Jenya if she has any stuff we might use underground. Aerrion and Brak drag Kegan to talk to her. She knows some of Jzadirune. Also offers some sunrods and mentions Zanathors might have some more. Kegan is taken by the St Cuthbertians for further ‘discussions.’ Meet back at the house. Decide to explore Jzadirune in the morning. For tonight, food, drink and party. Head to the Growling Bow tavern. Hear a rumor that Kegan Geld was arrested by the Cuthbertians. Word spreads fast here. Will have to mention to the Cuthbertians the leak in their temple. Aerrion attracts the attentions of a human girl named Jil. They dance and talk much of the night. She works for the Iron Crown caravan company, a competitor to our Singing Blades. Hear another rumor about a missing city guard.

Next morning. Have breakfast then head towards Kegan’s shop. Gracie, Aerrion and I carry a couple of small bags of flour rigged for quick tossing. Aerrion’s idea. Might reveal where the hidden ones are during a fight. Worth a try. The body is gone when we arrive and the door down is crudely repaired. Snorri and Brak quickly smash it open again. So much for a quiet entry. Head down. I lead since our expert treasure finder Elwin is still off partying with the HPS. Stairs down lead to a landing then a room. Sounds of chirps, birds and giggles come from 12 masks around the walls. A dim light comes out of a half open door to the south. The markings on the doors are Gnome glyphs. East door is an A. A bunk room. Been a while since someone slept here. While looking at the south door, I sense something behind me by door A. Mention it to Brak. Before Brak can do much, the critter attacks as does a second hidden elsewhere. Aerrion and Gracie toss flour bombs, trying to find the critters. Snorri starts swinging his axe wildly about. I back into the corner and prepare to shoot the first one that dares show itself. Aerrion tosses another flour bomb. This one works, revealing a critter. I shout and shoot it. Snorri also hits it. I shoot and hit a second time, dropping it. Aerrion moves to find the other one. Snorri swings blindly but gets lucky and hits, dropping it as well. We spread flour down two small tunnels. Move to door J. It is locked. There is a keyhole in the middle of the rune. Sigh! Where is that Elwin when we need him? Close door A.

Explore the west passage out of the room. T intersection. Long N/S hallway. S hallway appears walled at end, unlike our map. Several doors in the hallway. Each door as a glyph and is closed.
Examine the hallway. Snorri finds the north end of the wall is actually a pivoting panel. When he opens it, a acrid smell comes out. Looks like a pillaged alchemical lab. A small tunnel leads out to the west. As Snorri enters, a pile of rags strikes at him. Hits for effect and starts wrapping around him. Aerrion tumbles in, trying to cut it off Snorri. A good tactic. Brak uses his barehands to try ripping it away. Snorri strikes at Aerrion with his axe but misses. Crazy dwarf! I guard the hallway since shooting into that mess would most likely strike a friend. Gracie also tries cutting at the rags. Brak yells and with a mighty effort, rips the rags off of Snorri. The tattered remains fall lifeless to the floor. Search the room. Find some alchemical supples. Gracie finds a hidden door at the north end of the lab.

Snorri goes through the hidden door. An E/W hallway. Four alcoves. Makeshift wall blacks the east end. Search the hallway. Each alcove has a mass of gears in it. Aerrion turns one. Noisy. Gears turn, ropes move. He turns them in each alcove. At the west end, a large room. Piles of rubble. Fans overhead are now turning. A large shape is covered by a fluttering sheet. Someone pulls the sheet off. Gears grind and it starts moving. I am looking at the stairs at the south end of room leading down. Snorri tries to hold the thing. It shrieks. I move, shoot and miss. Gracie tries tossing the sheet over it again but fails. I move and shoot again. It shrieks, affecting much of the party. Snorri goes down, Gracie and Aerrion are stunned. Shoot again, this time for effect. When Aerrion can move again, he jabs his rapier into it, dropping it. Heal Snorri and Aerrion. Discuss the merits of dragging the metal critter to the surface. Decide to leave it in the middle of the room, covered up. Maybe no one will notice it’s busted? Search the room before returning back to the surface. Cuthbert places guards around the shop.

Oosana

XP: Kills - 300, Story - 100, Roleplay - 50
everyone gets an action point.

Back in Town

When we get back to Cauldron from our caravan run, the city is closed to further refugees. Since we have jobs and a place to stay, we are considered residents. Labor is now cheap as those refugees that were allowed in are desperate for work. Some of those not allowed in are resorting to banditry. Notice more guards and beggars. Leena catches us up on happenings while we were gone. Four kids were kidnaped from the halfling’s orphanage. The St Cuthbertians are upset with this. Some of the barred refugees are rumored to be settling in an abandoned village to the south. A St Cuthbert priest has abandoned his post in Red Gorge according to gossip. Leena suggests we might want to talk to Jenya, the acting priestess at the St Cuthbert temple.

We split up for the day. Gracie tries her luck fishing in the lake. Aerrion goes with her. This upsets the fishing guild and they complain to the city guard, who confront her. After a brief discussion, she gives it up and heads back to town. Elwin tries to visit Gretchen at the orphanage. An orcish type calling himself Patch give Elwin a hard time and refuses to let him in to see Gretchen. Elwin tries to find another way in. Talks briefly with a dwarf gardening in the back. After trying and failing to climb a tree to hide, he gives up and joins Snorri in the nearby tavern, the Disarming Letter. Brak goes to the Kordite temple and thereafter rounds up beggar types to clean up parts of the city. I have taken the afternoon to enjoy a hot bath.

Leena comes in later and says that Jenya would like to see us at dinner to discuss a possible job offer. Time to round up the herd. Meet back at our house later. Gracie and Aerrion are debating the merits of sinking a boat. As long as they don’t start on the merits of house burning! Prepare and head off to the free supper. Leena knows a shortcut. A bit later, we hear a shout behind us. A mist is flowing out from an alley. We move toward the mist. I move ahead. Hear the sounds of a beating and a voice. “Stay away from the orphanage, you got that?” Three humans come out after that. They appear surprised that we are there. Their faces are ½ white and ½ black. I remember hearing about a group calling themselves Jesters with similar attire. After sampling the mist and not being affected, move into it. The rest confront the three thugs. I find a male person attired as a St Cuthbert priest, mostly unconscious. As I tend to him, hear a noise overhead. Sounds like someone jumping from one building to the next. Snorri starts yelling for the watch. Sounds of combat. Moments later, two Jesters are dead, the third runs away. Don’t know about the person on the roof. The priest wakes up. Name is Rufus. Wants to go to the Cuthbertian temple. Going that way anyway. I ask him about the orphanage. Apparently, the Jesters don’t like the Cuthbertians looking into the kidnapings. Proceed on to the temple. Leena is already there. No guards show up. Probably just as well. At the temple, the two Jesters are taken by two assistants. We are led to a waiting room. Rufus thanks us for our help. A bit later, a woman shows up. Jenya. Led to another room. Others are here as well. Food and drink are served. Good but basic fare. Jenya speaks of things. “Not all agree with our efforts to help. Don’t have the manpower to do it all. Would like our help. The Cuthbertians feel assaulted from both inside and outside the city. The orphanage kids were only the latest of several kidnapings throughout the city. They were Decon, Lucinda, Terran and Evelyn. Gretchen is very protective of her charges. Tells Elwin to mention Jenya’s name to Gretchen to gain her audience. Talk of the kidnappings take much of the dinner time. Some talk of the refugees in the abandoned village. Talk turns to employment. Jenya offers to pay for our help. Initial offer is 2000 gold plus some potions. Aerrion bargains her up to 2500. If we go to Reg Gorge, they would like the defector priest back alive. Jeyna recommends Zanathors as a provisioning store. Gracie and Aerrion mention that one of the Jesters was the city guard that confronted her about fishing. Red Gorge is 3 to 4 days away. The Jesters belong to the Last Laugh thieves guild. Head back after dinner. The rain has stopped. Quiet trip back.

Snorri and Aerrion tend to the supplies for the trip to Red Gorge. Gracie, Elwin and I goto the orphanage. Patch lets us in after Elwin shows the letter from Jenya. Meet Gretchen. Ask to look at the site of the abduction. City guard has already looked at everything. Locks looks unbreachable to us. Kegan Geld is the locksmith who provided the locks. See no sign of forced entry. Question several of the staff. Patch is nervous as Gracie questions him. He was asked to watch Terron specifically. Gracie tries to intimidate him into talking further but fails. I try a softer approach. Patch admits quietly “has been occasion where I have had to deal with the Jesters. I hate to think they were involved.” I thank him. We don’t learn much else.

Head over to Kegan Geld’s lock shop. It is about noon and the shop is closed. Go back to the house for lunch. Snorri and Aerrion are there moving supplies into the house. During lunch, the two elves provide entertainment by bickering over how to make a hammock. Afterwards, Elwin, Aerrion and I go back to Kegan’s shop. Open now. Enter. Many locks on display. Kegan comes out. A Gnome. Elwin speaks first. Kegan maintains no one in the city can overcome his locks and he hasn’t made any extra keys. He doesn’t seem totally convincing. Aerrion locks the door. Badger Kegan a bit. He starts looking over his shoulder before going into a “I am being beaten up.” act. I tumble through the curtain concealing the back of the shop. Aerrion follows. He suggests kicking the door under the up staircase. Do so. It smashes in and falls down. Hear something drop behind me. It attacks and hits. It is humanoid but hidden. Its skin changes color. Aerrion rips the curtains from over the windows. The light shows our opponent briefly. We get him after a brief fight. Kegan starts sobbing that someone named Jack is going to die. His pet rat. Taken by creatures from below. Both short and tall ones. They are also the kidnappers. Short are white. Tall are blue and hairless. Kegan gave up the keys to the city and orphanage to save his damn rat. Might kill it myself. Search the place. Find a tattered leather map of Tazudra, the area under the city. Also find a spell book. Kegan claims to know nothing of when they will strike again. I look down the stairs. They go down about 30 ft before turning left. Kegan doesn’t like leaving the shop untended but likes living more. We take some of his locksmith tools so he can do work while away.

Oosana

XP 100 story, 100 RP, 100 kills.
Everyone gets an action point.
Brak gets a reputation point for cleaning the streets.

Cast of Characters

Elwin - Halfling- from Greyhawk, treasure finder
Brak - Human - Cleric of Kord
Snorri - Dwarf - Fighter type
Leena Darkwater of Blackwell - enchantress
Oosana Jokarn - Half Desert Elf of Rhennee heritage - Scout
Aerrion - Grey Elf -Swashbuckler
Gracie Nightbreeze - Drow

Later arrivials
Jian - Human war mage