Plague!

[Kenneth New]

It's been two months since you cleansed the House of the Frog. Now it is early in 10th month. The summer campaign season has ended and the war with Morava has wound down for the winter. Neither side has made any real gains. The Royal assault force that came through the Duchy of Gendrukkol found a well-entrenched Elocian force prepared for them. While it couldn't be called a rout, the Royalists were forced to withdraw back across the border, soundly defeated by a much smaller Elocian army.

The city has settled early into winter malaise. Despite assurances from the Ducal Council that the Duchy retains the moral high ground (in both a philosophical and very real magical sense) the people have begun to mutter under their breath. Why have the streets become a battle ground between various gangs struggling for power in the wake of the death of Tovan Lenoc? Why has the Primate of Morava refused to appear in public? Is there any truth to the rumors that he was killed by the Duke's men in the assault on Methale? And why has the plague come to Elocia?

The healers in town (including the more powerful priests) have been kept busy removing the plague from victims as fast as they can. The churches heal on first come, first serve basis, but many other groups have been reserving their magic for those who can pay.

Fear and despair have settled upon the city. The Heroes have been invited to a meeting with Regent¹ Eudemion. An invitation from the great man can mean only another opportunity to serve the nation. As Heroes, the job will entail no payment, but hopefully it means that he has some clue as to where to begin looking for the cause of Elocia's current troubles.

¹By Elocian tradition, Eudemion Zemedec, retains the title of Regent even after the crowning of the Duke, although it has now become purely honorific. He holds several titles, including Mage Protector of the City, Hero of Elocia, Lord High Magister of the Magisterion and Regent of Elocia. The title of Regent has the highest precedence, so it is the title used in general discourse.

[John Niska]

Naturally, Timon is going to attend the meeting with the Regent. He will check on his family, fiancee, and her family. He will pony up the money if anyone of them has the plague and cannot get the cure.

[hubertbartels]

Plague! Talli has been lying low, trying not to get sick. There's little forgery business - what with the constant street violence and the slowdown in commerce. At least, she's got her stipend and the House of the Frog to hide in.

The invitation to dine at Eudemion's table came as Talli was getting completely bored and antsy - she was glad to get out of the house.

At the meeting, we discussed both the plague and the fighting between the street gangs. Unlike the last time plague struck the city, when it spread out from the docks, it is breaking out in spots - usually the poorer parts of town. And hidden by the killing of gang members in the streets, other people are also getting killed. People unofficially working for the government. Informants. All of them have been killed by a single violent cut with a dagger, often to the throat or in between the ribs.

There is only one master list of who these people are - locked in the Tower out in the bay, watched over by the Spider. Eudemion tells us that there three people on the list still alive but all have gone into hiding.

When the dinner is over, we step out onto the street and begin to plan our approach. Timon and the others are going to question people in the areas affected by the plague and see if there is some common thread. Talli decides to look some contacts in the street gangs, starting with the Black Rabbits.

Timon's questioning doesn't turn up much. One of the early victims had claimed that she had become sick after a strange cat brushed up against her legs. This might have been a wizard using a cat to spread the Contagion Spell - or a hungry feline looking for a handout.

Talli ended up at the Black Rabbit Inn. As she entered the common room, she overheard some conversation. "Your father was killed. That leaves only your uncle." "I'm not challenging Leno..." Selina Quick, her contact, was talking with a man in gold-framed glasses, Leno's accountant.

In talking to Selina Quick, Talli learns the Black Rabbits have slowly been losing territory to the Docksiders. Their leader has a new adviser - a magician of some sort. Since then, they've been killing everyone. Even Dannon Harphands. A old friend of her father's who had often played Tablio with him. From the story - a knife flew from the rooftop, struck Hardpans and then flew back to the rooftop. No one saw the assailant. The Docksiders are being completely unreasonable - even attacking the Black Rabbits during an attempt at a meeting to settle the issues.

Back at the House of the Frog, Talli met with the others again. It turns out that Dannon Harphands was on the informants list. Furthermore - that informants list had been taken from the archives in the Tower. Gollo suddenly becomes aware that someone is scrying on us - and that Talli brought the spell into the House of the Frog. The scrying winks out.

We decide to look into the Docksiders. They often like to hang out at the Dama Fortuna, a gambling house near the docks. Walking in, Talli strikes up a talk with Boyo Darcovey (Dark Boy), one of Docksiders.

Dark Boy denies the story, saying it was Lefty of the Black Rabbits that attacked Zoring, the leader of the Docksiders during the meeting. The magical advisor was an childhood friend of Zoring. Kasmir was his name. Kasmir uses a large blade to fight and can heal as well as toss magical spells. Kasmir does not sound like our assassin. Dark Boy promises that the Docksiders will stop fighting if the Black Rabbits recognize the new leaders of the gangs in the city.

[Quick description - my or Talli's spelling may be off. I may have missed other parts - perhaps Timon can fill them in?]

[hubertbartels]

So... we're down on Docksider terroritory. Fr. Cassander has just bribed a bruno from the Docksiders gang - a guy named Armand, to go take a hike elsewhere when Timon casts his detect object spell. He gets a hit right away - 25 feet away. Our wizard tries not to act surprised - but the target begins moving away quickly. We give chase.

The target is moving between buildings and warehouses, heading for Northpoint. With Lor'themar and his wolf tracking and Timon in the air, we are able to follow him. But only Gollo's Monk Speed allows him to catch up with him.

Our chase has left the crowded docksider quarter and headed to a windy cliffside road, climbing the heights to Northpoint above. It is on this road that the wolf and Gollo finally close the distance. The assassin, a human and not a local, decides to escape by leaping off the road to land on the shingled beach far, far below. Somehow, he is able to barely survive the landing. Gollo, in a example of monkish powers, jumps and lightly lands next to him. One blow and the assassin is knocked out.

As we let down ropes to haul him and Gollo back up, Fr. Cassander casts a sending spell to Eudemion. The mage shows up moments later. The assassin is a person of interest and Eudemion's got top people arriving in a flying boat to take the assassin in for questioning. We also come along for the ride up to the Duke's flying castle.

Present at the questioning as well is the Duke of Elocia and Lord Pentheid - head of the Duke's secret service.
It turns out that Radowyn is one of four people sent by the Crown to cause trouble in Elocia. The others are Tenssea, a diviner, Kasmir, a song mage, and a druid, Meloussian. Talli leaves during the questioning - she can't watch. Lord Pentheid finally sucks Radowyn's soul into a crystal prison.

Meloussian is a woad-soaked, long-haired druid, often in animal form. Kasmir is a dark blond man with powers of suggestion and Tenessa is an older graying woman with powers of scrying.

With the information that we have, we decide to go check out their hideout near the North Gate. It is an old flophouse with two entrances. Going inside, the rooms are shielded from detection but there is no one home. Apparently, the people we are looking for have recently decamped. We start to look for clues.

Suddenly, an fire elemental rises up to attack us. Fang has to hack at a tenement wall to get to it to help fight it. Gollo spots a small mouse, casting a spell in the doorway. Then a fireball blooms in the middle of the room. The mouse is casting again and a wall of fire erupts, setting everything else on fire. Andrea is able to kill the fire elemental but Timon goes down, dying from the fire damage. Talli has left the shielded rooms to warn the others in the flophouse with a call of 'Fire! Get everyone out! Fire!'

Fighting our way through the crowds down the stairs, we find Meloussian has set the adjoining buildings on fire. He's now a small sparrow, flying away. Fr. Cassander has managed to save Timon's life and get him outside the burning building. Eudemion shows up and calls forth a massive winter storm to fight the spreading fire. A heavy snowfall begins to fill the streets. To her disgust, Talli has to walk home through two feet of snow.

Fang's brought home quite a few of the displaced people and given them shelter in the old factory next to the House of the Frog. The storm doesn't let for two days.

[Kenneth New]

Lord Pentheid has passed along the location of your enemies' current hideout. It's the same location mentioned in the undistributed fliers you found - The Old Blueware Pottery Works (Kyaneon Keramikerion).

Before the rise of the Witch Queen, the neighborhood now known as the Ostrakidion was a solidly middle-class district dominated by the Blueware Pottery Works. At its height, the pottery works produced dinnerware, vases, pitchers, and other small items. [Amphorae, urns and larger vessels were made in the Kykloneon Pottery Works across the plaza). Elocian Blueware, as the product of this factory was known, was highly valued and sought by discriminating buyers from around the Sea of Endymion and further south. Made with a fine grained, pale white clay, it was decorated with deep blue images in a few distinctive designs (fish and fishing scenes, farming scenes and scenes of youths playing sports). After the blue glaze was applied, a smooth and clear finishing glaze was added in a tertiary firing. The making of this clear, glass-like glaze was a well-kept secret.

After Elocia was conquered by the Witch Queen, the Pottery Works became a secret location for rebels to meet. They kept the secret until the Insurrection of 1181. When the insurrection failed, the insurgents were hounded through the streets. Some of them took refuge in the Pottery Works. The forces of the Witch Queen laid siege to the building and eventually forced their way inside. Considerable damage was done during the fighting, but the worst damage wasn't to the property. Many of the master craftsmen were killed in the struggle. Among the many casualties was the technique for producing the glassy finishing glaze that had made Blueware distinct.

The Pottery Works was reopened in 1194, but the ceramics produced were inferior in quality. They had the same beautiful designs, but lacked the durability and gloss of the original. The product from this period is called Pseudo-Blue (Pseudokyanea), although very little of it remains.

The neighborhood deteriorated with the value of the Pseudo-Blue. Lack of proper maintenance caused the roof of the factory to collapse in 1233. No one has bothered to repair it since. The building is infested with rats and is often used by squatters. In 1275, a group that would later become Heroes of Elocia drove a nest of harpies out of the building. The city put it on a list of structures slated for demolition in 1289, but no action was taken due to lack of funding.

[hubertbartels]

Talli's account continues...

After a long discussion, we decide to talk to Boyo Darcoey at the Dama Fortuna to see if he can be of any help. Talli and the others plan to head over there after evening. But first, Timon is going to swing by the Magisterium to see if he can learn the 'Detect Scrying' spell. He never makes it. About 10 minutes from the House of the Frog, he is ambushed by a 'Call Lightning' storm cast by Meloussian. Timon takes shelter in a nearby building and teleports back to the House of the Frog.

He finds himself in a 5x5 cell, lightless and with no mean of leaving it.

A few hours come and go. Fr. Cassander begins to worry - shouldn't Timon be back by now? We leave the house and are ambushed as well by one of Melroussian's 'Geyser' spells. The druid is watching the house in the form of a pigeon and throwing down spells when the opportunity presents itself.

Fr. Cassander, realizing that his friend probably teleported back, begins to search the House of the Frog. Searching the basement finally turns up the 5x5 room. We take stock of our situation and decide to make for the Magisterium again. Fang will be the obvious target while the rest of us, led by Talli's knowledge of the back streets and alleys, will sneak away from the House of the Frog.

Fang gets trapped by a 'Spike Stones' spell, followed by a 'Fireball'. Although he manages to make his way out of the spiky street, Melroussian has already left.

At the Magisterium, Timon learns the anti-scrying spell. This lasts for 24 hours and should help us in protecting outselves from Tenissa the Diviner.

Later that evening, we drop in on the Dama Fortuna gambling house. Talli finds Boyo Darcovey drinking at a table. We sit and tell him that the Docksider's council - and their leader, Zoarin, are under the effects of a spell cast by Zoarin's 'new' friend, Kasmir.

With a quiet bribe - Talli's Returning Dagger - we get Boyo to call in his cousin, Ludo, who sits on the council. While we are waiting for Ludo to arrive, Timon notices Caspian Amber at a nearby craps table. He's been winning most of the evening.

Ludos arrives and after dispelling the magic cast by Kasmir, he is willing to help us in unmasking Kasmir. The Docksider's council will be meeting tomorrow at the Stevedores' Union Hall and Kasmir will be there.

The next morning begins with Fang and Gollo shooting all the neighboring pigeons. One flies off, leaving in a straight line. Then we head to the Union Hall, again taking back passages in the city. At the Union Hall, Fang gives a stern warning to disguised humans - actually elves from the Mooncaller gang - before entering.

Barging into the meeting room, we find six Docksiders and Kasmir. Ludos is under the Song Mage's influence again. Gollo jumps into action while Kasmir stands up and drops a 'Confusion' spell into our midst. Andrea runs in and jumps onto the meeting room table, swinging her halberd. We are trying to hit to subdue.

When Kasmir finally goes down, the only one still confused is Lor'themar's wolf. Gollo manages to pick up the wolf and toss him into a locked room. Lord Penthied is summoned to come fetch Kasmir while Timon dispells the magic on Zorin.

Zorin agrees to hold a meeting between the Docksiders and the Black Rabbits. It'll take place at the House of the Frog.

The next day, Lord Pentheid sends a message that he's been able to determine that Melroussian and Tenissa might be at their safe house in the Ostrakidion. The old house, once occupied by the Cult of Zenda. That's the next target.

[hubertbartels]

The adventure continues...

The Ostrakidion is an old building, once a factory turning world-famous porcelain, now almost a ruin. Most of the roof is missing or sagging. It is huge - facing one side of the city plaza. The wooden doors are closed. The rear doors are probably in poorer repair - rotten and more accessible. We scurry around to the alley to the back of the huge structure. Talli follows, trying to avoid the worse of the half-frozen mud and slush. The gate to the kiln yard of the Ostrakidion is no longer completely closed. Lor'theamar notes that about a half-dozen locals have passed by this way and squeezed themselves through the back gate.

In the kiln yard, surrounded by the remains of brick kilns, we study the huge building before us. There is a large wooden door leading into the factory floor. Proceeding to step inside, our eyes take a moment to adjust to the dim light in the Ostrakidion. The air reeks of rat urine. We are on the ground floor of the old factory. There is a rotten stairway to a walkway around the walls on the second floor. Anything not nailed down has long since disappeared.

One of the local pops up out of the shadows and tries to kill Gollo. Gollo simply cold-cocks him. A fireball blooms on the factory floor. Fr. Cassandar responds by throwing down a daylight spell, revealing more locals armored in hauberks lurking in the shadows. Talli quickly stabs one of the now revealed thugs while Timon lays down a wall of ice on the second story walk. It freezes the thugs on the walk about to pepper us with crossbow bolts as Melroussian that threw the fireball.

When the icewall goes down, Gollo runs across the factory floor and up the stairs. The crossbow men all drop dead as the druid takes bat form to flitter up to the factory's rafters.

From the sky through the ruined ceiling, a lightning bolt stabs down at Timon. Talli and Lor'themar's wolf are busy with another of the armed thugs as Andrea and Fr. Cassander are looking for Tenissa. They know only she is aiding Melroussian with her spells and that she is flying and invisible somewhere in the building.

Melroussian has now taken the form of an air elemental to hover in the air, out of reach of our weapons. But Gollo makes an amazing jump and grapples him, slowly choking him.

Meanwhile, Tenissa's luck has also changed. The fly spell has been dispelled and Lor'themar's Faerie Fire spell has illuminated her in light. Having dropped into Andrea's range and without her invisibility to hide her, Tenissa has no chance against Andrea's falchion. The diviner is stuck down.

An amulet crumbles, Tenissa sits up and smiles, her hands raised in surrender.

Above her, Gollo has still choking the life out of the struggling air elemental. Timon throws an array of magic missiles at the air elemental. The druid changes form again and drops.

We call in the guards. Lord Pentheid shows up to take charge of his new prisoner. Tenissa promises to assist Lord Pentheid and gives three names of Crown informants as a sign that she has changed sides.


Airboats arrive to take us all back to the Palace. During the ride up, Tenissa smiles at Lord Pentheid while Fr. Cassander offers help in bringing her relatives and family out of the kingdom of Moravia. All of us are invited to stay for dinner.

During the dinner, we discuss other issues - the problem with the Docksiders and the Black Rabbits. The elven Moonflowers are to be warned that the Fairy Dust has to come off the market. Talli drops a hint that she has an interest in the Crown Seals from Moravia.

The upshot is that all of bills for the month are picked up by the Duke. He wants the House of the Frog restored at his expense. He also covers the catering costs of the party that will settle the gang situation in Elocia.

A few days later, there was a massive party at the House of the Frog. All the gang leaders were invited. The Docksiders and Black Rabbits finally drop their feud and Zorin becomes capo de capo of the gangs in Elocia.