SESSION 269: Siege on the Gangrenous Pt. 18 – Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay
The journey to the Purple (or Pink whatever it is) forest does not go as smoothly as advertised.
Day 206 Continued (Jones TownàCrab-Wilds): Waiting for the ferry down in the gutter. Mensar was jovial discussing the plan and talking about his five kids. The ferry was on its return. We were bored until… Wendul ran up gasping for breath, “Oh good I made it. Sirs I’m sorry I have been very busy”.
All eyes turned to the other Wendul.
What the hell is going on?
This Wendul gave an odd grin and then began deflating like a whoopie cushion. This revealed yet another imp standing in the bag like remains of that Wendul, “Game is up nerd time to pay up”. “Yes. Yes Groz right away. Sirs I hired Mr. Groz here to be a stand in while I researched a new spell at the library. That place is a staggering receptacle of knowledge.. I could spend the rest of my years there mining knowledge. I have expanded my repertoire with ‘fly’ and have now incurred some… debt… Mr. Groz is due 500 gold pieces and the library another 2000”. Boris and Raul were still processing the whole imp in a flesh bag thing that they just started doling out gems without complaining as they had been trained by El-Cheapo the one-legged. The imp gobbled back his portion and threw the rest in a sack and began waddling off to the library, “So long and thanks for all the booze!”. Wendul ditched his ‘study rob’ and geared up.
The ferry arrived and disembarked a small group of sketchy characters, including an irritable slave hunter whom our gang entered into some verbal sparing with, Mensar pushed them along before any further comments could be fermented. They probably made an enemy with that brief interaction on the gang plank.
The Captain seemed extra crusty today due to the swamp having an inordinate amount of debris floating about due to the multiple days of crab-scratch-fever. The prominence of rubbish allowed for a group of nine giant black ants (with oversized mandibles) to move across the waters of the Jones Town moat (lake). The gang didn’t catch the big bugs on the surface of the swamp but they were not flat-footed when the insects started coming over the gunnels. They leapt to action. Varsamage gave us our second sampling of how knights roll, “That one is mine sub-humans and I will slay it in single combat!”. This didn’t really cause any trouble. In fact when the fight did end for the rest of the gang there was a protracted back and forth. The knight’s ongoing battle provided entertainment for all. The carcasses were tossed over and they made the far shore ten minutes later. Mensar stepped up and began describing ‘the safe way’ to the weird spire within the purple forest, “It only about two miles in a straight path to the forest edge but we are gonna keep our heads down and travel through the great ruts and trenches of the crab’s shell. This will help us avoid notice. From the dragon in particular but may just take most of the day”. They marched into the deep grasses ringing the swamp towards the edge of the world… er shell. They were other folks moving through the grasses somewhat parallel to the explorers but they appeared not to notice our presence. Mensar suggested ducking down and moving slowly thattaway.
They made their way into a maze of ruts and trenches created by a millennia of soil accumulation closing the spaces between the coarse nature of the crab’s exoskeleton of wart-like tubercles and spines. The smallest of which being horse sized. The path was torturous and progress greatly slowed by the uneven surface. An hour or so in Sasha spotted tracks, humanoid, going in the same direction and looking fresh.
“Don’t worry. Totally expected. We scavengers and explorers know the best passages. Proof that we are on the smart path”, Mensar shrugged off the ranger’s concerns.
The two thieves were less skeptical and just rolled with it. Sasha grudgingly accepted the answer but slowed down just a bit more since she was on point. She had a bad feeling about this.
It was not long.
The pathway narrowed the ‘wall’ rose higher and shadows began to appear. A couple of minutes later a white and black barred feather was found sitting in the middle of the path. “What’s this”, came form Sasha. “Let us take a look see”, Mensar walked forward and scooped up the feather. “Oh it is a Hoopah feather. You raise it over your head and go ‘Hoopah! Hoopah! Hooppah!’ and then the magic happens”. The magic was a number of well hidden folks atop the two sides of the ridge, about 12 – 15’ above us, to make their presence known. “Hoopah! Payment is needed to pass through our pathways”, Mensar giggled. “Benny! Quit screwing around and get the jewels”, was shouted down. “Come on only my five kids call me that. Alright friends we all know about your murder spree and we all know the B.A’s had da bling. Time to dummy up if ya know what’s good for ya”. This caused the urge to kill to rise but our hobos were in a ‘murder alley’, of which there was no doubt even for our blockheads. The thugs did not seen to understand Boris’s negotiation technique and the price began escalating. The dwarf was near raging but the brigands had great cover. Boris tried a new tactic, “Give us the guide, whatever his name is and we will give you more than your previous ask”. “Give us more than that and you have a deal”, the voice was stern and confident. Raul whispered to Boris, “We are in a tight situation and we don’t have a ‘get out of jail for free card’ AND we really do have more treasure than we can carry”. “Deal”, Boris confirmed. “Put the jewlery in a sack and then move along and do not stop until you reach the forest. We will be watching”. This was when Mensar – Benny started to protest vociferously, “Ah come on guys I got five kids to feed it ain’t my fault”. Camillus grabbed and bound the weasel, Ramrod menaced him, Raul dropped a small sack full of jewelry and they pressed on. Boris fumed, he had learned how to be a proper cheapskate. Fifteen minutes later the pathway opened up and they stood before the Purple forest.
In the not too far but not too close distance the spire stood above the foliage.
The B-Team: Boris, Ramrod, Raul, Sloth, Willy, Sasha, Wendul, Gurn, Ike, Katre, Camillus & Lady Versamage
ROLECALL
Raul the Voyager (MD9) 267070 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 Dwarven Lord (D9) 368995 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)
Ramrod the Cloned Magsman (T9) 176176 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 (L8) 179451 xp +10% <XXXXXX> CRT 1d20/IV or 1d6/G (vs. s, m)
Missing ten teeth
Sasha Plasha the Warden (R7) 125280 xp +10% <200000> CRT 1d10/III
Gurn Hammerhand the Dwarven Swashbuckler (D5) 29968 <36000> +5% CRT 1d12/III
Wendul the Magician (W6) 51716 <80000> 5% CRT 1d8/I
Camillus the Myrmidon (F6) 54987 <64001> +5% CRT 1d20/IV
Willy the Reformed Burglar (T6) 30104 <40000>10% CRT 1d14/II
Agolloch the Eye of Purity (Lawful; XXXX) Sword
Ike the Duck (DF6) – AVATAR form.
Katre Elf-Girl and Swordsman Conjuror (E3) 10157 xp <16000> +0% CRT 1d8/II
Lady Versamage Knight Errant (K6) 60000 xp <85000> +5% CRT 1d16/IV
RESERVES
Elapsed Campaign Time
(650 b) days at beginning of session
665a (from Session 264) (also applies to recuperation)
Join us for session Two-Hundred-and-Seventy when we ask the questions:
So what are we gonna do with Mensar (Benny)?
What weirdness stands before us?
Will we finally find a gateway home?
Will Versamage’s single combat thing become a problem or is there a solution?
Tale of the Tape
Just buggering about.
KILLS
Driver Ants (9)
LOOT
-nope-
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