Session 3: New York Paladin (11/30/21)

Pulyana 17, 1423.

The PCs assault the troglodyte lair as the women and children trogs flee to the east. They gain an early advantage due to a combination of magical attacks and by taking down the enemy's shaman, but the scaled humanoids manage to claw their way back into the fight and even come close to victory, knocking out Bjork. Finally, the troglodyte chieftain and his last remaining warriors are slain. Wounded, they search the cavern lair, finding the remains of the missing Soverat soldies, some treasure and equipment the creatures had accumulated, and a crudely sketched map of Svodnikha which seems to mark out the farms and Soverat barracks in particular. The PCs then follow where they thought they'd seen the surviving trogs flee and they find a natural cavern corridor which spills out south of the village into the Tzarswald, and is partly concealed by the long grasses. It has now snowed while they were below, and a thin layer of the stuff coats the woodland.

A short rest is taken and then the PCs decide to mine up some of the gold, spending until the evening to retrieve three big chunks of the gold vein, and another of quartz. They then head up into the city to trade the stuff and figure out what happens next. Rucia and Aldren bring the gear of the fallen soldiers to Krykba, and Bjork and Nebel'shoy go to sell the remains of the fell miner Aleksei to Lubomir at the Meek & Marrow. Krykba is sad but grateful to find the fate of his lost men, and pays what he promised to the PCs, telling them he has some more work in mind if they can stick around a few days. Apparently contact has been lost with some local tradesmen who were renovating a nearby hunting lodge. Lubomir is conned into purchasing Aleksei's skeleton with some trick magic from Nebel'shoy who makes it speak, and for now the remains are unceremoniously dumped into the corner of the bathhouse.

Our four heroes converge upon the local smithy, Ulbrek, to whom they offer some of their minerals in trade. He gives them a simple evaluation of their prospect, and agrees to put together a trade for some splint mail for the paladin, in return for a personal performance from Bjork. So the bard and druid prepare for said performance while the others visit Tanka the Wise-woman's eccentric shop. She doesn't turn out to be an expert in magical items, but she refers them over to Elizabetta at the House of Alms, who is able to determine that the cursed lantern is most certainly 'Necromancy', the 'N world', which infuriates Rucia, and a fine hand ax they found in the troglodytes' cave is also magical. Bjork performs for not only Ulbrek, but his extended family, and though his storytelling dance isn't quite his best, the magical string enhancement from Nebel'shoy hidden in a bush outside, and Bjork using mage hand to make his cowbell travel about the smithy's house end up impressing them, so much that Ulbrek rewards the minotaur with a shield.

Afterwards they rejoin their companions and return for lodging at the Meek & Marrow, sharing what information they were able to attain. Rucia takes a hot bath, but the attendants warn the dragonborn that a haunted skeleton is now in the bathhouse. Lubomir and Nebel'shoy initiate a competition to see who can lift Bjork on the stage, starting with the forest gnome, who fails...and then 'Spineharrow', a local recruiter for the Red Weather, who also fails. The PCs retire up to their quarters after the paladin returns nude from his bath, and they decide to set up a watch rotation in case a visitor attempts to tamper with their window again. On the very first watch, Nebel'shoy notices a loose board on the floor, and a feline eye staring up into the room at him!

PCs: Aldren, Bjork, Nebel'shoy, Rucia

NPCs:

Tanka the Wise-woman (??? female): A petite but plump old woman with straggly gray hair cut through by streaks of white. Her jaw juts out at a strange angle, her brow is overlarge, and her one left ear is slightly pointed, the other one chewed off, giving the impression that she is either disfigured or not entirely human. She wears torn leather gloves at the end of her stubby arms and a strange cloak above her robe which seems to consist of some form of insect netting, with the hood drawn over her head even indoors. She leans upon a gnarled, long cudgel and carries a half-rotted satchel of tomes and scrolls over her left shoulder.

Ugolev 'Spineharrow' (human male): A heavyset mass of scarred, burned flesh that just vaguely resembles a hairless, middle aged human male. One fiery eye glares at you madly below a singed-off brow, while the other seems to have disappeared into the folds of pulpy red skin that represent the left side of a face. In a stark contrast to these abnormalities, he seems extremely fit for his size, and walks and speaks with a peculiar grace and clarity. His silk shirt, vest and breeches mimic that of city nobility and he also fancies a scarf and rings on four of the seven fingers that remain to him. A jeweled scabbard is slung from his belt, the bone-hilted shashka within a reminder of his inelegant trade.

Ulbrek Anvilfoot (dwarf male): A taciturn dwarf with one stunted leg, and forearms the size of small tree-trunks, Ulbrek stares at you from a pinched face with one clouded eye and tufts of facial hair that he seems to have haphazardly shaven. His head is gnarled and bald save for a few gray strands, and his hands, cheek and chin are all streaked with sweat and soot. A smith’s hammer that seems as if it could crack the very mountains is held with confidence in his left hand, and he wears a dense gray wool robe tightened with a dirty white sash above steel-tipped boots.