SESSION 254: Siege on the Gangrenous Pt. 12 – Lost in the 3rd Dimension – Welcome to Jones Town
The B-Team slink their way to Jones Town and have a bitey first night. 
(Moving from Area 1 to Area 2. Illus. by Skullfungus)
Day 185 continued- Status normal: water supply – 148 pints (8p/person+12 for Herb); Food – one day: “Let’s go to the village, I’m getting hangry”, They fell into line with Boris. They figured that even though the settlement was only three or so miles away the going would be slow across this broken and jagged carapace. About half way there they stopped for some precious drops of water as Wily pulled out his telescoping spyglass to get a better look. It was a ramshackle place on stilts that appeared to raise it above swampy waters. Movement could also be seen, certainly humanoid but too far for details. During the discussion of his observations a growing screeching noise could be heard. The source was seven pony-sized flying insects. Eyeless abominations resembling mosquitoes with certain bee-like characteristics (imagine this yourself). The insects were going to intersect with the hobos. The bugs were gross and big and the gang did not want to take any risks missiles were loosed. The pre-emptive strike made it clear that the bugs crossing our paths was trajectory and not intent, well it was now as the things course corrected and attacked. For the first and not last time today Camillus would be drained of vital fluids as one of the creatures grappled her as it plunged its vile proboscis deep into her chest quickly inflating its abdomen with her juice. The bugs were big but not huge and presented a commensurate challenge. There was a loss of blood but nowhere near enough to prevent the eventual slaughter. Camillus ever the badass simply yanked out the sucky-tube and then stuck a rock in her bloody wound to plug it up, “Lets go ya Nancy’s I’m sure ale awaits”. Boris liked this idea immensely and started pumping his stubby little legs. They marched on.
Closing the gap to the town to about a half mile Wily once more snuck ahead to conduct reconnaissance. Halving the distance, he stopped and once more pulled out the spyglass. The town was most certainly populated by humans of various sizes. More little ones than expected, perhaps halflings. Also, more than a few with mobility issues, kinda lurching around. Looking a little further abroad he could see a line of grey smoke moving from the bank of the swamp filled crater where the town was centred, “Hmm, what do we have here do you think Agolloch?”.
The sword was somewhat indifferent but also a bit curious, “Humans doing what they do. Living like rats… but rats are vermin. So where there is vermin we will find chaos.. to smite. Yes. Indeed. The town is interesting my host we should investigate it directly”. Agolloch thought this was sufficient to get things rolling without having to really push Wily in the right direction.
“I agree, the town should be explored”.
His musings were interrupted when he saw a band of nine scavengers armed with spears and carrying empty sacks moving towards his quadrant.
They appeared to be on a line towards the bile lake and would not observe him or the main party unless some made an effort to call attention to themselves. Then without warning the whole damn place started to shake vigorously causing a great commotion. The scavengers hunkered down clearly being familiar with the periodic occurrences one experiences when living on top of something living. Wily scoped the rest of the party. They were getting tossed all over – rank amateurs. The shake down didn’t last long, under a minute. The scavengers got up and continued their trek. Wily watched them for a few more minutes before trekking back to the rest of the hobos. Filling everyone in Wily fell back into line as Boris recommenced the trudge once more, “Let’s back-track those villagers”. It didn’t take to long for them to get to about the same spot on the crater wall. Stone block steps led down to a dock. At the end of which was a bell on a pole. Across about a ¼ mile of swamp was the shanty-stilt town and docked alongside was a ship (30’ x 15’) with no sail instead a plume of smoke arose from a stack centrally located midship. It was a technology, much like the artefacts seen in distant Denethix.
If only Len-ardo was still with us he would be giddy – “For Science!”. Boris grew bored and gave the bell a wack. Activity quickly occurred along the distant dock and then the ship began moving towards our gang.
(Almost to scale..)
The steam paddler pulled up a little while later our guys hopped on board and got fleeced for ten gold each. Ha ha! nobody noticed the invisible guy we saved some sheckles. It was the Jones Town ferry and we had another stop before getting to the town. Another dock on the farside of the swamp. This being around the time when it was figured out that this would be another wacky place. Along with a trio of screwball humans, one with a sack on his head another a sickly and mopey woman and the third clearly a pirate (the advertising on his eye path really gave it away) with blunderbuss strapped across his back. And! An imp in cargo shorts being held up by suspenders. “Sorta feels like home don’t it”, came from Raul. Ramrod reluctantly snorted in agreement. The ship turned around and pointed towards this Jones town. Our gang decided all to hang out along the starboard rail to see if they could capsize the ship… for no good reason. Rat bastards.
Perhaps they could have prevented the sickly mopey woman from being eaten by the swamp beast or maybe she was the best choice. They quickly chopped down the beast. The ship just kept on chug-a-lugging along. Getting to dock the gang got a good look at Jones Town. It was a patchwork of scavenged material hammered together by a horde of weirdos that survived being absorbed by the hex-crab. No two buildings were the same. Just looking at the warren of pathways and passages connected by planks, ladders, and bridges was headache inducing. They disembarked and took their first dozen steps down the rickety dock.
“WOH There big folks. You look like new meat. In the friendliest of intentions of course”. Standing before Steve and Dolec’s toes was a small imp with big ambitions sporting an oversized orange jumpsuit. “Take a look before you, Jones Town. A great big mess that goes up up up! You my friends need something on the inside…and that is me. Grik. Your extraordinary guide. So let’s get some coin as the meter is running. Vroom! Vroom!”. Saff liked the little red goober but the leadership team were skeptical. Ding-We tried to get things rolling but the tiny carnie was a tenacious thing.
It paid off as he got his payoff. “Let the tour begin whatcha need friends?”. Food, drink and rest was the order of the day. “Lemme take you to the best the Gutter has to offer the bar of ‘illest’ repute – Izzy’s Tavern”. They began weaseling their way through the slum district. This the lowest part of the city was defined by shanty houses and shacks built from partially digested materials salvaged from the lake. Rope bridges and ladders connecting clusters of buildings. It smelled of cooking food, stale swamp and desperation. The folks here were a sickly lot. Heck some of them even appeared not to be living, in the classic sense. Bimbles had higher standards than this, “Hey red ball! Is every part of town as gross as this?” “Heck no holy roller. Things get better and better. What did you expect to find in the gutter?” “Let’s kick it up a notch”
“Sure, why didn’t you say so. Follow me next stop the Dawn/ Dusk Market”. Grik lead them deeper into the gutter and then to a secluded alley way with a ladder going up to a trap door. “Up there friends. Then cut across the square and you will see yourself before the doors of your destination. Before you remember this IS now the appropriate time to tip your guide and don’t forget to close the trap door afterwards”. Grik successfully fleeced some more coin and then reminded all that he also does bar mitzvahs.
The market was thriving selling and trading all sorts of interesting things. Shops, stalls and stands all over the place. Loud and smelling of a thousand different spices and herbs. If only Steve was here. He would immediately see this place to be a gourmand’s secret weapon dealer. Sadly, these mooks completely don’t get it. Reaching the Inn a sign hung before the door marking it as Copper Ginny’s. The gang rolled in and garnered some eyes and heckles – “Ha, hard to miss the latest meals they gots no clue. Welcome to Jones Town free kool-aid with every visit. Har Har”. The guffaws rolled through the tavern before the patrons returned to their previous activities losing interest in our hobos. Rolling up to the bar Boris ordered repast and booked a private chamber for the horde.
After all the rationing over the last few weeks they all indulged, it did not hurt that the food was rather good and the ale smooth. It was a bit of a gorging and they decided to retire early so they could plot and plan in private. Loretta the innkeeper brought then to their chamber and only lingered long enough to point out their premium view of the swamp and the mountains beyond the currently inert hex-crab’s shell.
They quickly found that they had little energy to plot so sleep it was. Then the very unlikely occurred their chamber was invaded during the dead of night.
A trio of wretched spawn, the most degenerate of vampiric spawn and notoriously bestial, crashed through the large viewing window. Unlike their broken and mangled faces their gazes were hypnotic. Gurn and Ramrod fell under the control of the Spawn and moved to defend them. Shit got messy. Not surprisingly. The hobos were able to defeat the first two creeps forcing them to convert to gas. The third was insistent and took a bite out of the ever bold & brave Camillus. Blood sprayed as her lifeforce was diminished. Camillus don’t care though. She just kept swinging until the third also turned to gas and began floating away. The gang did not know what to do next. The vampires were not really dead. Just defeated. Their control over Rammer and Gurn still in place.
What to do?
What to do?
ROLECALL
Raul the Voyager (MD9) 262984 xp +10% <360000> CRT 1d12/III
Fezzi-Gig (Neut: XXXX) Sword
Serious wound: permanent loss of CHA -4,
Removed one of his own nostrils.
Boris the Electrical Dwarven Lord (D9) 364909 xp +10% <400001> CRT 1d20/IV
Serious wound: permanent loss of CHA -3, carved up face
Wound: Bad leg (-5’ MV)
Multiple Injuries: lost 25 teeth (7 remaining), drools a lot CHA -1
Serious Injury: Brain Drain -2 INT
Serious wound: permanent loss of an eye (-1 to missile fire)
Major Corruption: Crackles with electrical energy
Ramrod the Cloned Thief! (T9) 172090 xp +5% <280001> CRT 1d20/II
Serious wound: Bad Back (-1 stone CC)
Scars: Neurological damage to hip, noticeable limp (-5’ mve)
Missing eight teeth talks with a lisp
The Henchmen
Sloth the Bopper (L7) 177408 xp +10% <178800> CRT 1d20/IV or 1d6/G (vs. s, m)
Missing ten teeth
Sasha Plasha the Warden (R7) 123237 xp +0% <150000> CRT 1d20/IV
Gurn Hammerhand the Dwarven Swashbuckler (D4) 27925 <36000> +5% CRT 1d12/III
Wendul the Magician (W6) 49673 <80000> 5% CRT 1d8/I
Camillus the Myrmidon (F7) 87854 <120001> +5% CRT 1d20/IV
Willy the Reformed Burglar (T6) 28061 <40000>10% CRT 1d14/II
Agolloch the Eye of Purity (Lawful; XXXX) Sword
Ike the Duck (DF6) – AVATAR
Katre the Elf-Girl (E3) 8114 xp <XXXX> +0% CRT 1d8/II
RESERVES
BoB is the lone lawn ornament for the Basilisk Knights.
Brett & Jermaine Kobold Cooks & Eavesdroppers Extraordinaire – Cooking & Cleaning
Chung Li needs 12 weeks (74 days) and a stack of coin to rewrite his lost spell book.
Elapsed: 33 days (from group A)
Elapsed Campaign Time
604 (630) days at beginning of session (also applies to recuperation)
Join us for session Two-Hundred-and-Fifty-???? when we ask the questions:
Are we going to do anything about the enthrallment?
Are we even watching the three fart clouds?
Does anyone remember we are completely out of supplies?
Explore Jones Town?
What’s the deal with the imps and ghouls mixing with the townsfolk?
Really, what are you going to do next?
Are those metal clad footsteps and shouting we hear beyond the door?
Do we remember that we are on top of the hexagonal carapace of a kaiju sized crab-thing?
And for that matter why isn’t it moving?
Really (pt. II), what the actual heck is going on?
Tale of the Tape
Location hex: ??dreamlands??4th Dimension??Somewhere else??
Raul is now the proud owner of Queasy Bert’s Green Shield of Capitulation
Lady Versamage’s bones travel along inside a sack (4 days)
Camillus was drained of life force from degenerate vampire spawn
KILLS
Screechers (7)
Swamp monster
Wretched Spawn (3) -defeated to gaseous form
LOOT
nope
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