After resting from the fight with the Skaladraxes, the party is pulled into a town mystery: a fire at the Otari library and the theft of the Rose Argent heirloom sword. The drunk local Carman is the prime suspect. The party tracks him to the Smuggler's Refuge, talks him down over two visits, returns him (and the sword) to the guard for a 10 gold bounty, and Venris quietly pockets Carman's ~110 gold coin sack. Downtime fills in vault lore (the doll "Mr. Beak" was Borbo, a servant of Vollok) and a long shopping/selling day.
The party recently defeated the Skaladraxes and lost a beloved NPC nicknamed "Giga Chad." They returned to Otari to rest at the Crook's Nook.
| 00:00:01 | Pregame and recap Table chatter and the GM's recap. A recall-knowledge gag about an NPC (Venris vs. Velquoro) plays out. References to a recent victory over the Skaladraxes and a fallen NPC nicknamed Giga Chad/Chadus set the table before play resumes. [S19 · 00:00:07 · turn 0002 · scene 001] |
| 00:04:36 | Library fire and the stolen Rose Argent The party reconvenes at the Crook's Nook after resting, then is alerted to a fire at the Otari library. Arriving, they find a section of the library burned and the Rose Argent (Rosar Gentis) heirloom sword stolen from its pedestal. Captain Longsaddle (Lardis) and proprietor Vanderbash blame Carman, a local drunk who had publicly claimed the sword as his family heirloom. Witnesses saw Carman leave with his trademark hammers; the case was smashed. Cid investigates the crime scene and finds a wet patch and beer droplets, earning a hero point. [S19 · 00:06:52 · turn 0034 · scene 002] |
| 00:31:35 | The bounty: bring Carman back The guard captain offers a 10 gold bounty to bring Carman back alive (initially misspeaking 'dead or alive'). Vanderbash and the priests stress Carman is a years-long menace who has crossed a line. Cid leans on his new thieves' network and learns Carman frequents the Smuggler's Refuge, a smugglers' cave about an hour north of town where teenage 'wannabes' hang out. The party debates whether to take the job. [S19 · 00:30:33 · turn 0175 · scene 003] |
| 01:04:20 | Rin's: identifying the vault loot and omens Part of the party visits Rin (the psychic) to identify magic items recovered from the vaults. Identified: a wand of quench (3rd level), a scroll of hypercognition, a vial of black adder venom, a +1 striking pickaxe, and a +1 potency chain shirt. Rin charges 10 gold for services. She tries to read omens/stars but the fog ('foffin') is too thick and she declines until tomorrow. Society/recall checks establish the last invasion of Otari/Gauntlight was roughly a couple of weeks (later pinned to 30 days) prior. [S19 · 01:17:55 · turn 0374 · scene 004] |
| 01:26:14 | Smuggler's Refuge: scouting Carman Veve (B V) and Venris head to the Smuggler's Refuge guided by teenage hangers-on, who hit on Veve the whole way. They find Carman sitting on a crate admiring the recovered Rose Argent (a rose-and-thorn pink-tinged blade, judged a +1/+2 striking weapon with extra magical properties). Carman is hostile to Venris, insults Veve, and talks of fleeing to Nidal. Tension nearly turns to violence. The party scouts and confirms Carman brought supplies, prepared to run. [S19 · 01:34:03 · turn 0458 · scene 005] |
| 02:03:10 | Downtime: reading vault notes (Borbo/Mr. Beak lore) Back in Otari, the party rests and reviews recovered notebooks. Abus reads notes revealing the goblin in the tank / soul-bound doll the party defeated (Mr. Beak) was Borbo, a devoted servant of Vulk/Vollok who voluntarily gave his body and soul for a promise of immortality, becoming the bodiless doll. The notes reveal Vollok's obsessive, one-sided relationship with Belkhorum. Party earns 30 XP for the books (located on level 2, room B2). [S19 · 02:17:35 · turn 0609 · scene 006] |
| 02:15:27 | Shopping and selling day in Otari A long downtime day of selling and buying. Necromancy books sold to Moblint's Odd Stories for ~25 gold (worth far more, ~2.5k 'on pop'), unlocking the shop's support (+1 circumstance bonus to forgery/decipher writing/learn spells, 10% discount). Identified items handled: crafter's eyepiece, +1 chain shirt, a ventriloquist's ring (cast ventriloquism, +1 deception, 60 GP). Venris quietly hides extra books and crystals from Abus (deception checks). Various runes and gear sold/bought; Genia's/Mara's shop offers earn-income via thievery. Society checks pin the last invasion to exactly 30 days ago, tied to Cid's banishment anniversary. [S19 · 02:12:09 · turn 0587 · scene 007] |
| 03:07:49 | GM aside: going off-book Out-of-character, the GM floats that the party's choices around Carman and the sword could take the campaign 'off book' into improvised, open-ended territory with real consequences. He weighs prep cost vs. the appeal, mentions using a community supplement, and asks how far the players want to deviate from the module, leaving it to their in-character decisions. [S19 · 03:09:12 · turn 0860 · scene 008] |
| 03:30:52 | Confronting Carman: talking him down The full party returns to the Smuggler's Refuge at night. Carman, drunk (minus 4 to his Will/diplomacy interactions; Veve suffers -4 vs him), rants that the Rose Argent is his family's, that he tried four times to be mayor and lost, and that the sword's luck would let him win. He admits the library fire was just a distraction. Through aided social checks (Cid aids, Veve's nat-20-tier result), the party promises to help him square things with the town and to be his 'girlfriend,' calming him. He agrees to return but refuses to release the sword. [S19 · 03:39:14 · turn 0979 · scene 009] |
| 03:53:38 | Return to Otari, the sword surrendered, and the coin pouch The party brings Carman to the Otari garrison. Captain Longsaddle is almost annoyed they returned him alive. A Will save (DC, at -4) decides whether Carman surrenders the sword; he fails (must beat 8, +4 bonus) and the sword is yanked from his hands. He is arrested, begging the party to talk to the captain and lower his sentence. The captain hints he may 'lose the key,' and tosses 10 gold as reward (caught by Venris; split V V 7 / Venris 3). On the cave-to-town walk Venris noticed Carman's jingling sack of coins (~110 gold) and, via thievery, lifted it; Carman later 'trusts' him to hold it, letting Venris keep 10 and expecting 100 gold back. Session ends with talk of leveling pending XP accounting. [S19 · 03:56:16 · turn 1057 · scene 010] |