EDGE OF ANARCHY- The Halls of Enchantment

Things we learned during 'The Hunt for Skeener': 

 

-Aerodus: Hmmm...argues against slitting a prisoner's throat...could he be the only member of the party with a healthy conscience? 

-Baelgren: One ruthless SOB (we kind of knew before, but now it's a fact).

-Lucien: Despite proclaiming he is terrified of being united with his otyugh lover, he is the first to follow Skeener into the sewers:  brave hero, stupid idiot, or closet monster fetish?  You decide. 

-Lugo: Turns out he's a decent grappler, maybe a career change is in order.  It's rumored that the VWF (Varisian Wrestling Federation) is looking for future stars.


     You all stare silently as Lugo stands, shaking, face pale from the foul deed he has just committed.  At his feet lies the corpse of your rival, Skeener.  In one hand Lugo holds a bloody sword, in the other, Skeener's freshly shorn head.  The blood dripping onto the floor echoes eerily in the dark tunnel.

     (Nice to see another adventure starting off in such a positive light!)

     It's becomes apparent rather quickly that retracing their steps through the damp Korvosan underbelly might not be as easy as initially thought.  Intent on their foe, the companions traveled quite a distance before apprehending Skeener; down ladders, into cramped side passages, through flooded chambers, not to mention the handful of confusing intersections and absolute darkness.  Putting the theory into practice only confirms their suspicions, and, after a short period of time that feels like an eternity, they are hopelessly lost.  Debating their next move, the group realizes they are being shadowed and waste no time in uncovering their secret admirer; a small, filthy, malnourished, rodent-faced man with a badly burnt and useless right hand that he keeps pressed to his chest.  The man seems incapable of making eye contact and has the disgusting habit of licking his damaged appendage mid-sentence.  Pressed for information, the companions discover the poor creature is named Samp.  It seems Samp somehow manages to eke out a living in the sewers and has noticed Skeener coming and going in the past weeks or months.  More importantly, he knows of Skeener's 'secret destinations'.  For the bargain price of five gold sails, he agrees to lead the group wherever they would like to go.  They flip flop between:  a) "Let's get the #*ck out of here before we get killed"  and  b) "What if Skeener's got some sweet loot hidden somewhere?!?".  Greed wins out.

     Samp cautiously leads them deeper into the sewers, often sniffing the air like a mouse, mumbling to himself, and licking his hand vigourously before making decisions.  A few times, the party members look at themselves in confusion as Samp suddenly stops and reverses his direction.  When they hear the loud shuffling noises of an all too familiar and smelly monster, they understand why.  Lucien is quietly thankful for Samp's keen senses.  Yet even Samp isn't infallible as he is later ambushed by some humanoids while scouting a good distance ahead of the party.  Thinking Samp alone, they act like schoolyard bullies.  When they attempt to do the same to the PCs, things don't work out so well.  There are a few tense moments though; the first assailant, a filthy human charges them, followed by a terrifying rat-man hybrid who seems almost impervious to weapon damage.  Thankfully his resistance does not extend to the arcane, and although some members sustain injury, he is finally brought down with magic.  Samp is shaken, but obviously relieved that the rat-man, whom he calls Girrigz, is dead.

     The group presses on.  Soon the tunnels become larger, the craftsmanship in many sections more detailed, even the stench lessens...until they reach the huge reeking, garbage filled chamber that is, according to Samp, their destination.  Samp tells the companions that Skeener would come here, cross the floor and 'disappear' on the other side, though he never witnessed how.  He refuses to follow them, though he promises to wait.  Reluctantly, the characters clamber down the stairs into the pit that is the floor, sloshing through knee-high muck and refuse.  Their reluctance is well deserved, half the way across, they realize they are smack dab in the middle of an otyugh den, and the den is occupied!  Assailed on all sides by miniature versions of the vile monster they encountered in their first trip to the sewers, they retaliate.  As they slay one of the juvenile otyughs, they hear a disturbing sound approaching from one of the large tunnels leading into the chamber.  Momma Otyugh is coming and she's going to be plenty mad when she finds out somebody has been slicing her babies!  Panicked, the foursome make their way up the steps onto the landing opposite the way they entered.  Wondering what to do next, someone notices a small indentation at chest height in the center of the wall.  The indentation is in the form of a seven-pointed star, exactly like the medallion found in Skeener's possession.  Putting two and two together, the group is able to activate some type of magical portal that transports them away from the awful tentacled reach of Momma Otyugh.

 

     From here the companions begin to descend an ornate spiral staircase and are assaulted by a hideous tentacled creature that drops from above and seems able to surround itself in darkness.  Terrified and wanting nothing to do with it, they fight it to a standstill and both parties retreat, licking their wounds.  The rest of the exploration fares no better, investigating only a half-dozen chambers find them confronting an exploding gas-filled zombie, a room that plays with their perception of reality (Baelgren was sure the others were losing their marbles), and, last but not least, a creature with the torso of a beautiful woman but very little else that is beautiful (see image at top of blog).  Smelly, dirty, and injured, the group decides enough is enough when they find a small crudely dug side tunnel that leads to a cliff face with a rope leading up.  They seize the moment and escape.  It should be noted that the halls and chambers they saw were obviously ancient and many of the walls and doorways were adorned with intricate carvings.  All were illuminated with magical globes, and the whole place seemed to hum with power, though the source of the power remained a mystery.  At some point in time, hundreds maybe even thousands of years ago, this place was of some great import to some powerful person or group.

     Scaling a cliff with a churning ocean one hundred feet below them in the middle of a windy night might not seem like a good idea to most, but to these tired and terrified companions it seemed an easy choice.  Luckily they survived unscathed (the climb that is, the rest of the adventure likely left emotional scars that might never heal).  Finding their bearings, they made their way into Korvosa, safely avoiding guard patrols enforcing the mandatory curfew.  Baelgren retires to his abode while Aerodus feels obliged to provide accommodation for the other two mooches (any bets on how long it takes before he snaps and kicks them out?).

     The next day, as Skeener's head starts to rot, the group deliver their prize to Laori.  She gleefully accepts the head as well as the scourge Skeener had alledgedly stolen, playingfully snapping the horrible weapon in the air while winking at Lugo.  With her bubbly attitude and dressed in a white healer's uniform, the beautiful elven woman doesn't seem to fit the role of priestess of a god of pain and suffering.  "A bargain is a bargain, you've gotten me what I wanted, thus I will maintain my side of the deal.  I will contact you when all is in order.  Don't be afraid Lugo, I can guarantee our time together will be...unforgettable."  With that, Laori giggles and retreats into her work chambers with one last mischievous wink.  All present are left with a queer feeling, eerily similar to the one felt when confronted with a thousand pound otyugh...