Author: Cliff

← Session 13 | Campaign Summary | Session 15 →

Last time, our heroes teleported into the mansion of a spooky noblewoman on the outskirts of Sugar’s Crossing. They avoided her ire (possibly re-directing it to the mayor of Templeton) and entered the city of Sugar’s Crossing.

Sugar’s Crossing is so named because it straddles a major river, and the beets from the surrounding fields are refined in the three great mills on that river.  The owner of the mills are always vying for power in the city. Lady Evelynn owns one mill. The others are owned by the Miller and le Grind familes. The bridge over the river is fortified against attack, and the fort for the garrison is right next to it.  Instead of a city hall, there’s a forum: an open area where people give speeches and hold debates to influence policy.  The storyteller’s theater is on the west edge of town, near the main road.

The theater has two big plays each day that are free to the public. These are basic, staple stories of the history of Sugar’s Crossing. There are rotating exhibitions that one can pay to see. One can also hire experts to expound on any subject one is interested in.  Lucia attends the morning’s free show. It covers the founding of Sugar’s Crossing, and the rivalry of the two old mills that face each other across the river: Miller & le Grind.  A pair of star-crossed lovers are torn apart by the family strife, and must meet in secret under the bridge.  They decide to abandon their family and flee the strife. Each builds a canoe. They meet in the middle of the river and lash their boats together to form a catamaran, which is more stable than their separate boats.  They set off down the river, never to return.  The play ends when an actor dressed as Lady Evelynn bursts in, throwing the stage into chaos.

While Lucia is watching this history lesson, Gleador looks for someone to gossip with. He finds a chatty, clever halfling named Pan who runs a food stall.  Pan sells ground & spiced meats & starches wrapped in leaves, kinda like Indian samosas. Gleador asks for the latest gossip. There’s always competition and backstabbing between the mills as they vie to control town policy.  The harvest party barge came through a few days ago. You just missed it.  It sets off from upriver when harvest begins and slowly winds down the river, stopping in each town for a celebration and to buy & sell crops.  Gleador asks if Pan heard about all the trouble at the Fairmeadow Fair, especially the living statue that disrupted the auction. The food stall has a split counter: one at halfling-height, the other at human height. Pan climbs up to the human counter to lean in conspiratorially and whisper in Gleador’s ear.  Pan says the auction is sometimes used to launder contraband. It’s a bit of an open secret. No contraband was noticed this time.

Gleador and Lucia meet up after their morning expeditions and go back to the theater to hire a specialist.  They ask for an expert on the story of Saarland. They are in luck! One of the storytellers who lives at the theater is a refugee from Saarland.  They go into a back room and meet Soren, an Elf woman.  Gleador coughs significantly at Lucia, trying to send a message. Lucia understands and prays to know what here is evil. Soren is not evil, but she does ask what the performative coughing was about.  Gleador explains that they had to be sure she wasn’t evil. Soren isn’t sure how coughing helps them determine that.  Gleador says that evil people get mad, not inquisitive like Soren.

They start explaining why they are interested in Saarland. When they mention a robot smashing up the auction in Fairmeadow, Soren has to stop them. She’s unfamiliar with the word “robot.” They explain that the living statue was holding coins like this, and they produce the coin from Saarland.  Soren is emotional. Here is a relic of her lost home.  She wants the coin. As a survivor of Saarland, she has a claim to it. Our heroes resist, since they promised to give it back to Pepe. Soren says she won’t tell them the story of Saarland unless they give her the coin.  Gleador tries to convince her that by telling them about Saarland, she’d make them bearers of the lost city’s culture, inspiring them to get justice! Soren isn’t quite convinced.  She wants more assurance. She notices that Lucia is a Paladin, and asks her to swear a quest.  Lucia swears to find who stole the coins.

Soren tells the story of Saarland. It was an Elven city in the woods to the north. It was surrounded by a living wall of close-set conifers and brambles 150 feet high.  One night, the wall on one side of the city suddenly caught fire. The residents organized to fight the fire, but were ambushed by masked invaders. At the same time, on the other side of town, looters appeared and struck the bank, storehouses, and even took valuable tools from artisans’ workshops. The sudden, coordinated attack threw the city into chaos.  The fire spread across the entire wall.  Some raiders were killed once the residents re-organized to the new threat, but their bodies burst into flame. There were no prisoners to question, and not much evidence to look through.  It took three days to contain the fires, and two more days to account for the missing, injured, and slain. Soren only slept once in that time.   The attacks were so precise, people were sure the raiders had inside help. But who?  Some people were missing, but did they flee for their lives during the attack, or leave with the raiders? The unrecognizable corpses of fallen raiders might be Elves from the city, or humans, Orcs, plenty of possibilities.  Some said that the raiders fire-based attacks proved they were demons. The looting convinced others that these were bandits, although the force was larger and better organized than usual bandits. Still others feared this was the vanguard of an invasion.  The community was shattered, and the survivors fled and scattered.  Soren has never returned.  The roads that led to Saarland have not been maintained, so after 10 years the forest has surely overgrown them.  Soren suggests that the sentries that patrol the outskirts of Sugar’s Crossing could find the old paths.  Gleador & Lucia thank Soren for all the information and promise to solve the mystery.

The evening show is about to start, and Lucia wants resolution for that cliff-hanger from the last show.  This show, about Lady Evelynn’s arrival 20 years ago, is a glitzy musical, as opposed to the more dramatic, serious play from this morning.  Lady Evelynn’s outfit is covered in rhinestones. There’s a back-projection system to represent her giant shadow.  The three mill owners circle each other, first one direction, than another.  Lady Evelynn’s arrival does not inspire le Grind & Miller to team up against her. The two-way duel is now a three-way rivalry.

After that show, Gleador and Lucia seek lodging.  In Halfling towns like Sugar’s crossing, family home, apartment complex, and hotel all blend into each other.  Homes are large to accommodate extended families. Some homes have rooms set aside for guests, and some homes charge for those rooms. Gleador and Lucia find some extra-large rooms that fit them.  Gleador has a debility from a previous adventure, so they decide to stay another day to let him rest.  With Lucia’s help, he recovers on the morning of the third day in Sugar’s Crossing.  When she’s not healing Gleador, Lucia attends the special exhibitions at the theater.  She learns a lot of things that may be helpful in future adventures.

GM note:  I made a custom move for listening to stories. Lucia got Hold that she can spend to boost the result of a Spout Lore roll in the future. Spend the Hold and tell us what play or recitation told you this information.

GM note: I was sure they’d at least go look at the river and spot some old foes hiring a boat, but they never left the theater.  I could have forced them into seeing what I wanted them to see by putting the theater on the opposite shore, but I didn’t think of it.

GM note: Well, now they are chasing down a legend. This is far from where I thought the secret coins quest was going to go. Lucia swore a quest, so it’s definitely taking priority over learning about the Oolite robot, and after they went through such trouble to get information about the robot!

← Session 13 | Campaign Summary | Session 15 →

← Session 12 | Campaign Summary | Session 14 →

Last time, our heroes arranged to meet the mayor of Templeton in a magically-protected area, despite the best efforts of the mayor’s special forces. (Why does she even have special forces?!)  They disrupted the mayor’s attempt to teleport in, and all three of them ended up somewhere unknown.

They rush up towards the edge of hyperspace, breaking through the surface into water. They rush up through water, breaking the surface into darkness. Their eyes adjust and they realize they are in an indoor swimming pool. One wall and part of the ceiling are covered in thick curtains, so whatever daylight might be outside does not reach in here.

While our heroes and the mayor are trying to figure out what’s going on, the double doors at one end of the room swing open. Light streams in, backlighting a figure in the doorway and throwing a huge shadow on the far wall.  It’s a female figure, about human size, wearing the kind of robe that might cover a swimsuit.  The last section of each finger is as long as the rest of the finger. Our heroes can’t tell from this distance if they are an extravagent manicure, or claws.  She says, “You’re not on the guest list. How did you get into my house?”

The mayor, a female Dwarf wearing a fancy dress is having trouble staying afloat, as in Lucia, the plate-clad Paladin. The lady of the house notices their distress and says, “Let me give you a hand.”   The shadow on the back wall peels itself off of the wall, becoming three-dimensional and solid, but still see-through. Its giant hands reach into the pool, cutting dark voids through the water, and waiting, palm up, next to the struggling figures. It would be undignified to snatch them up without their permission. Lucia and the mayor climb aboard and are lifted out of the pool. The shadow’s hands come down on the tile floor surrounding the pool and sink into the surface, so Lucia and the mayor’s feet are gently lowered to the floor as the shadow becomes two-dimensional again.  Gleador swims to the edge and pulls himself out. The mysterious woman again demands to know how they got in.  Gleador starts recounting the story of last session, an exciting tale of assassins and chases! The mayor interrupts. She’s the mayor, and these two are dangerous criminals. The mysterious woman shuts her down. “First of all, don’t interrupt.  As I must often point out, my estate is outside city limits, so I answer to no mayor.  Finally, I don’t recognize you.  The two ruling class women exchange formal introductions.  The mayor of Templeton is named Eroc. Their mysterious host is Lady Evelynn.

GM’s note: Phew, it was a pain not referring to them by name! Narration got much easier from her on.

As Gleador continues, Eroc also continues her protests. These ruffians attacked her and are in league with dangerous forces. They should be locked in a dungeon!  Evelynn bristles. “How dare you suggest that I have an dungeon here?  What have you heard?”  Since Gleador has amused her with his story, Evelynn offers the three of them traditional hospitality: one night’s stay. They are also free to leave immediately if they wish.  She is hosting a party tonight, but they simply can’t attend, not in those clothes.  Eroc’s dress may have been acceptable, were it not soaked, but that filthy adventuring gear is right out.  All three accept the offer of a night’s rest, and Evelynn summons a butler to show them to their rooms. Jayce is a very proper butler, a male human with dark hair going grey at the temples. His square jaw is clean-shaven, and his posture is perfect. As he leads them past Lady Evelynn towards the rooms, Eroc scoffs that she is given the same treatment as her kidnappers. Evelynn grabs Eroc’s mouth between a thumb and forefinger (those long gold fingertips are definitely claws, not decorations), pulls her face close, and hisses, “I have offered you hospitality. Do not disrespect me!” Eroc is thoroughly cowed and scurries after Jayce and our heroes. Evelynn stays in the pool room.

Jayce leads the three of them through the unnecessarily large and twisting halls of the mansion. Each section of hall is separated from the next by large double doors. Jayce pauses at a few doors, listening through them for sounds of the party, then selecting a new route. He offers Gleador and Lucia adjoining rooms, but thinks it best if Eroc’s room was a ways off. Each room has a four-poster bed, big windows, typical mansion stuff.  There’s a door to the hall, but also a door from one room to the other. There’s a lock on each side, but Gleador and Lucia want access to each other, so they open both sides. Jayce returns and offers to have their clothes cleaned and dried. He looks them over with a practiced eye and selects nightclothes of the proper sizes from a wardrobe in one of the rooms. (a shin-length shirt and a soft pointy hat with a puff at the tip, like Geppetto wears in Disney’s Pinocchio.)  He waits discreetly in the hall for them to change, then takes their dirty clothes.  Lucia keeps her armor with her, of course. Before leaving, Jayce asks them to stay in their rooms, and says that breakfast and their clean clothes will be brought up in the morning.

Of course, Gleador isn’t going to stay put.  He selects a chimera form for spying on the party downstairs.  A gnat for flight and stealth. Sand for toughness. A coral with contact poison to discourage people from trying to mess with him. If a party guest notices and swats him, his tough body will resist the impact, and they will swiftly develop an itchy rash. He flies down to see what he can see. The ceilings are high and there’s a dull roar of conversation, so no one notices the buzz of his wings. There’s a main hall where guests enter from outside, an adjoining hall with drinks and hors d’oeuvres, and a third hall for dancing. Side chambers are available for people who want to converse more privately.

Everybody who’s anybody in the town of Sugar’s Crossing is here. Sugar’s Crossing is a mill town on the river a few days travel west of Fairmeadow. The human population of Sugar’s Crossing is small. Party guests are elves, dwarves, and halflings mostly. There are some Naga (kinda like snake mermaids) from down south. The port city on the same river as Sugar’s Crossing is in the territory of a Naga ruler called the Sea Viper. There’s also a Dryad from the forests to the north. She’s roughly humanoid, but made of wood and leaves. She’s bound to a tree, and that tree is in a corner of the room, in a pot with wheels and a handle so she can transport it.  The owners of two of the major mills are here. The naga are indeed emissaries of the Sea Viper. Gleador recognizes the Valerie Balfour as the owner of the shipping company whose ledger he read back in Templeton.  Gleador also spots Hama, the agent who brought the living metal statue to auction at Fairmeadow. The last important person he notices is Mayor Eroc! She slipped into a side chamber and is trying to attract the attention of some dwarven soldiers.  Sugar’s Crossing is a bigger, more important town than Fairmeadow. Pepe and his deputies can keep Fairmeadow safe, but Sugar’s Crossing has a garrison of soldiers to protect river traffic, the mills, and other important infrastructure.  The region is a loose federation of independent city-states, and they provide security to Sugar’s Crossing on a rotating basis.  Right now, there’s a dwarven garrison, and Eroc probably has some contacts with them.

Gleador doesn’t want soldiers waiting for them at the edge of town, but he’s always got a plan. He flies back to his room, returns to elven form, and rings for Jayce. There’s a small bell mounted on the desk in his room. When he strikes it, he realizes there’s no clapper inside, but he hears a faint tone far away outside the room. Jayve appears shortly, and asks how he can be of service.  Gleador says he feels bad about the enmity between him and Eroc, and wants to reconcile. Could Jayce please bring Eroc here so Gleador can make peace? Jayce thinks it’s a mark of civilization and right living to seek reconciliation and promises to bring Eroc forthwith. He returns, taken aback, to report that Eroc is not in her room. Gleador feigns worry. Jayce says not to worry, stay here, he’ll have her found.  Gleador and Lucia wait for what seems like a long time before there’s another knock at the door. Jayce isn’t there.  This is a servant they haven’t seen before: a petite female Tiefling. She wears a waterproof leather jacket and cap. The bill of the cap is narrow where it joins the cap to accommodate the two vertical horns that extend from her brows to just past the crown of her head. Her skin is red and curved tusks jut outward from her bottom lip. In contrast to Jayce’s perfect posture and diction, she slouches against the doorframe. (She probably works outside most of the time, away from polite company) “Hey, uhh, we found Eroc. She’s fine. Everything’s fine, but y’all need to stay in your rooms. Can’t chat tonight.  Maybe in the morning?” Our heroes thank her for the information and start to inquire further, but she’s already turning away saying, “Yeah, yeah” with a half-wave.

Gleador has scouted the party and brought trouble to his adversary for doing the same, both without implicating himself. That’s a good night’s work, and with no other pressing business, our heroes rest for the night. Gleador levels up and gains the ability to transform into pure elements. He can be a buffalo made of fire, or augment his already formidable stealth capabilities by turning into wind.

GM’s note: Gleador is insufferable to NPCs, which means he’s delightful to a GM, and this new power will only make that stronger. I look forward to scrambling to deal with the new level of shenanigans he’ll try in the future. Also, there’s a Druid power to imitate other humanoids, the shocking and unheard-of power that makes Andro so dangerous. Gleador didn’t take that power, thoughtfully preserving my NPCs raison d’etre.

In the morning Jayce brings a cart with trays of food on top and clean clothes underneath. He took the liberty of preparing traditional human and elven breakfast food.  Lucia gets delicious bacon and eggs. Gleador isn’t as pleased. He is served river fish, not sea fish like he would get back on the Sapphire Islands. There’s also the breakfast salad of lempins, leafy vegetables which are quite hearty, but less tasty than oatmeal. Jayce did add tasty berries, but Gleador is still telling himself “It’s the thought that counts”  When breakfast is over and our heroes are dressed again, they ask Jayce if they can greet Lady Evelynn as they leave.  Jayce says he’ll inquire and returns shortly to say that Lady Evelynn will see them off. He leads them to the front door, past Eroc’s room. The door is open, and a servant is already cleaning it. Jayce says she didn’t stay for breakfast.  Lucia suspects she never got back to her room after being discovered last night.

Lady Evelynn greets them at the front door wearing a fabulous dress in rose and purple with gold accessories. She wears small round rose-colored glasses that clip to her nose and have no earpieces. She accepts our heroes’ thanks for her hospitality.  Gleador prods Lucia and Lucia asks if Evelynn heard about the metal statue that disturbed the auction at Fairmeadow Fair. Evelynn’s lots were called before the statue was activated, so she got paid. Lucia starts awkwardly explaining the strange coins found in the statue’s possessions, and how they are trying to understand the mystery. Lucia produces the large rectangular coin they’ve been carrying, but Lady Evelynn has stopped listening. She sees the coin and says, “Oh no, there’s no charge. It’s my pleasure to host travelers.” Lucia insists. She wants to know about Saarland, the source of these coins. Evelynn instructs Jayce to point them towards the storytellers in town, and ushers them out the door.

As they walk the considerable distance from the front door to the gates of the estate, Jayce explains that Sugar’s Crossing is home to halfling storytellers, a combination of oral historian and actor. They have a multi-storey round building in town (it resembles Shakespeare’s Globe Theater from our world). They walk past a topiary garden. All the bushes are shaped like predators: wolves, eagles, and stranger beasts not native to this area. Lucia asks “What are those?” and Jayce helpfully explains that they are bushes that are grown in special metal frames and trimmed twice a week to maintain specific shapes.  With that, they reach the edge of Lady Evelynn’s property. The road before them leads to Sugar’s Crossing.

GM’s note: Most of the characters in this session were inspired by League of Legends characters! Lady Evelynn is K/DA Evelynn. Jayce is Debonair Jayce, and the tiefling is K/DA Akali.

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