Between Swallowtail and a Funeral
Our heroes are reeling from Kendra's fugue-state moment, and a bit panicky, when a New Friend joins them - Nod the Monk, someone who used to dig at excavations for Petros (and tell funny stories to Kendra, apparently). He's a bit simple, but means well, and the party accepts him with minimal propers. Meanwhile, Kand starts researching several of the things / places / organizations / people in Prof. Lorrimor's notes, which will occupy him for a short little while.
That stands in stark contrast to Sherrif Belor, who offends the party by offering them his notes from his investigation into Prof. Lorrimor's death, and a job patrolling the city - an interaction with Father Zantus doesn't go quite as bad, but I doubt anyone involved walked away pleased with the interaction. Mayor Deverin, on the other hand, tells the party that Petros told her some of the people at his funeral were to be trusted and some not, but neglected to say who was whom, and asked them very pointedly to identify who Petros was investigating before telling the party what she knew.
It wasn't much; however, the party DID get Kendra Lorrimor out of her shell and engaged with the investigation: "Fuck that shit - I want to know who killed my father." High-fives all around, gentlemen - SOMEONE got convinced to put on her big-girl chainmail today. Then there's an argument between Ameiko Kaijitsu and her father, which Vig defuses by frog-marching an old man out and away from his daughter. Drinks on the house! Great cheering! Ameiko blinks away a tear and goes back to work.
On the way home the party is met by a panicked and crying woman - her young son had complained about a monster in his closet, and the parents discounted this until the family dog was killed and the boy was bitten. Probably by a goblin? Upon investigation it was definitely a goblin, who the party finds eating the woman's husband, who it has just killed. It is a difficult night in the Barrett household. Amele Barrett is taken in by the neighbors until her family can arrive from Magnimar to take her and her children away from this place of horror for them. Hopefully the boy Aeren will not grow up to become a villain, intent only on the ruin of our party; but that's generally how that sort of thing begins.
The next morning Ameiko's assistant Bethana comes to the party in a panic - Ameiko did not start the day's stew, and her room was open with a note written in Minkaian, which Bethana has translated into Varisian. Ameiko was asked to meet her half-brother Tsuto at the Glassworks! Assuming she is in trouble the party heads there quickly - Antoine (and Nelson), Nod, Torvan, Vig, and Kendra all hasten there.
Nod swims across the river and arrives first, taking up watch on the roof; the curtains are all closed and no-one is around, but the chimneys of the Glassworks are all belching smoke. Picking a lock the party enters, and hears goblin voices from the factory floor - but Nelson has Ameiko's scent and leads the party down some stairs and into a storage closet, where Ameiko is found bound and unconscious, but alive.
While Kendra tends to Ameiko and most of the party takes up defensive positions, Vig explores the rest of the basement, finding a man snoring on a mattress in another room. Vig attempts to search him but apparently Tsuto - for that is who this is, Ameiko's half-brother - wakes up suddenly, slaps Vig, and attempts to run out down a dark corridor to freedom...
... But Nelson is faster, and so Tsuto surrenders. While some of the party asks Ameiko what happened - and it's fractured, because (a) her brother told her that he, Tsuto, was in charge of the attack on Sandpoint, and (b) her father was blackmailed into putting the ladder against the wall inside the city, and then (c) Tsuto killed her father Lonjiku with molten glass and then (d) beat Ameiko unconscious and tied her up in the basement. That is a difficult day for anyone, I think.
Here are two different artist's version of Tsuto (who has rejected his father's last name, and is just Tsuto. Ignore what the caption says; that is a vain hope that one day Tsuto could find peace and comfort in the world.)
Anyway. The rest of the party questions Tsuto, who seems both willing to describe what he's done, and unwilling to describe why, and gets smacked around a bit by Torvan. Vig suggests that Tsuto is a coward who would not be willing to do the honorable thing and kill himself, to which Tsuto responds in the negative, suggesting that yes, with a knife he would perform the correct actions.
For Tsuto the correct actions are to go after Torvan, but the party quickly sets Tsuto down again, wounded close to death, and only saved by the quick actions of the friendly monk Nod.
A discussion is had about the role of justice, and who should perform justice sorts of actions. In the end it is decided, sort of, that Tsuto should stand trial of some sort - mostly because Ameiko wants Tsuto's story heard.
Personally, if I was a fucked-up nihilist, disowned by my mother's husband because I was the living testament to my mother's infidelities, this is perhaps the best thing my sister could do for me. Plus, it sounds like Lonjiku may have killed Ameiko and Tsuto's mother so that's another level of fuckedupedness.
But I digress. There are still goblins in the glassworks! Speaking of fuck-up-ed-ness I give you the common Varisian goblin - during the combat one goblin goes to throw a sheet of glass at the party, loses his grip, and ends up braining himself with the glass and bleeding out on the floor. Another goblin grabs a ladle-full of molten glass, but instead of throwing it at the party he trips, killing a different goblin with the glass and knocking himself out on the floor.
Goblins. Damn. The party captures 3, kills 3, and 2 escape.
Goblins are fucked up.
Ameiko is taken back to the temple to heal and recover, and Tsuto and the three unconscious goblins are taken to the jail, and then the party returns to the Glassworks basement to head down the passage that Tsuto tried to escape through. The musty and damp tunnel leads to a smuggler's cove, with a crappy dock and a fairly deep channel for smugglers to row in and out of. A side passage, however, leads to an ancient cavern, which at one point was bricked up but recently cleared. The party is attacked by a SinSpawn - and, just for the record...
That stands in stark contrast to Sherrif Belor, who offends the party by offering them his notes from his investigation into Prof. Lorrimor's death, and a job patrolling the city - an interaction with Father Zantus doesn't go quite as bad, but I doubt anyone involved walked away pleased with the interaction. Mayor Deverin, on the other hand, tells the party that Petros told her some of the people at his funeral were to be trusted and some not, but neglected to say who was whom, and asked them very pointedly to identify who Petros was investigating before telling the party what she knew.
It wasn't much; however, the party DID get Kendra Lorrimor out of her shell and engaged with the investigation: "Fuck that shit - I want to know who killed my father." High-fives all around, gentlemen - SOMEONE got convinced to put on her big-girl chainmail today. Then there's an argument between Ameiko Kaijitsu and her father, which Vig defuses by frog-marching an old man out and away from his daughter. Drinks on the house! Great cheering! Ameiko blinks away a tear and goes back to work.
On the way home the party is met by a panicked and crying woman - her young son had complained about a monster in his closet, and the parents discounted this until the family dog was killed and the boy was bitten. Probably by a goblin? Upon investigation it was definitely a goblin, who the party finds eating the woman's husband, who it has just killed. It is a difficult night in the Barrett household. Amele Barrett is taken in by the neighbors until her family can arrive from Magnimar to take her and her children away from this place of horror for them. Hopefully the boy Aeren will not grow up to become a villain, intent only on the ruin of our party; but that's generally how that sort of thing begins.
The next morning Ameiko's assistant Bethana comes to the party in a panic - Ameiko did not start the day's stew, and her room was open with a note written in Minkaian, which Bethana has translated into Varisian. Ameiko was asked to meet her half-brother Tsuto at the Glassworks! Assuming she is in trouble the party heads there quickly - Antoine (and Nelson), Nod, Torvan, Vig, and Kendra all hasten there.
Nod swims across the river and arrives first, taking up watch on the roof; the curtains are all closed and no-one is around, but the chimneys of the Glassworks are all belching smoke. Picking a lock the party enters, and hears goblin voices from the factory floor - but Nelson has Ameiko's scent and leads the party down some stairs and into a storage closet, where Ameiko is found bound and unconscious, but alive.
While Kendra tends to Ameiko and most of the party takes up defensive positions, Vig explores the rest of the basement, finding a man snoring on a mattress in another room. Vig attempts to search him but apparently Tsuto - for that is who this is, Ameiko's half-brother - wakes up suddenly, slaps Vig, and attempts to run out down a dark corridor to freedom...
... But Nelson is faster, and so Tsuto surrenders. While some of the party asks Ameiko what happened - and it's fractured, because (a) her brother told her that he, Tsuto, was in charge of the attack on Sandpoint, and (b) her father was blackmailed into putting the ladder against the wall inside the city, and then (c) Tsuto killed her father Lonjiku with molten glass and then (d) beat Ameiko unconscious and tied her up in the basement. That is a difficult day for anyone, I think.
Here are two different artist's version of Tsuto (who has rejected his father's last name, and is just Tsuto. Ignore what the caption says; that is a vain hope that one day Tsuto could find peace and comfort in the world.) Anyway. The rest of the party questions Tsuto, who seems both willing to describe what he's done, and unwilling to describe why, and gets smacked around a bit by Torvan. Vig suggests that Tsuto is a coward who would not be willing to do the honorable thing and kill himself, to which Tsuto responds in the negative, suggesting that yes, with a knife he would perform the correct actions.
For Tsuto the correct actions are to go after Torvan, but the party quickly sets Tsuto down again, wounded close to death, and only saved by the quick actions of the friendly monk Nod.
A discussion is had about the role of justice, and who should perform justice sorts of actions. In the end it is decided, sort of, that Tsuto should stand trial of some sort - mostly because Ameiko wants Tsuto's story heard.
Personally, if I was a fucked-up nihilist, disowned by my mother's husband because I was the living testament to my mother's infidelities, this is perhaps the best thing my sister could do for me. Plus, it sounds like Lonjiku may have killed Ameiko and Tsuto's mother so that's another level of fuckedupedness.
But I digress. There are still goblins in the glassworks! Speaking of fuck-up-ed-ness I give you the common Varisian goblin - during the combat one goblin goes to throw a sheet of glass at the party, loses his grip, and ends up braining himself with the glass and bleeding out on the floor. Another goblin grabs a ladle-full of molten glass, but instead of throwing it at the party he trips, killing a different goblin with the glass and knocking himself out on the floor.
Goblins. Damn. The party captures 3, kills 3, and 2 escape.
Goblins are fucked up.
Ameiko is taken back to the temple to heal and recover, and Tsuto and the three unconscious goblins are taken to the jail, and then the party returns to the Glassworks basement to head down the passage that Tsuto tried to escape through. The musty and damp tunnel leads to a smuggler's cove, with a crappy dock and a fairly deep channel for smugglers to row in and out of. A side passage, however, leads to an ancient cavern, which at one point was bricked up but recently cleared. The party is attacked by a SinSpawn - and, just for the record...
GROSS.
But being intrepid and bold heroes our party has no problem putting it down. A bit later they find some jail cells and two other Sinspawn, who appear to be role-playing a game of 'prisoner-and-jailer' and it's difficult to tell how sexy they plan to be. And again:
GROSS
But the party knows what we do with monsters - Massive Amounts Of Damage. Even the addition of a Vargouille:
And a fucked up mutant three-armed goblin:
Are not enough to dissuade our Heroes from their quest. It's touch and go and probably good that an Oracle of Pharasma was along to help with healing. Thanks Kendra! We feel bad that you got petrified by a Vargouille scream and then nauseated by a mutant goblin vomiting acidic blood all over you.
Sorry.
Anyway. The party explores the rest of the ancient temple complex - filled with strange runes and undecipherable inscriptions - until they come across a strange temple, with statues of Lamashtu, Deskari, and Urgathoa:
Wow. I thought that mutant goblin was gross. I mean, Damn.
Anyway. In the room is a Quasit, who gives the party a little bit of trouble until Nod manages to grab her in a grapple and smash her into a paste of bones and Quasit slime.
Our band of Heroes then Destroys the statues and loots the complex. Let us praise them as Heroes, for that is usually the other way around, as far as order of behaviors go!
And with that, we must draw the curtain for another week.
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