Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer Creatures
Frozen Sick
D&D Beyond Basic Rules
Basic Rules (2014)
Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in- Marketplace
Monstrous Compendium Vol. 1: Spelljammer CreaturesFrozen SickD&D Beyond Basic RulesBasic Rules (2014)Sign in to view your library & saved favorites.
Sign in
"Hmm, yes. A new sword would be good," Vars replies, tapping the pommel of his left-hand short sword.
Having made your agreements, completed your equipment resupplies you are rdy to depart yet again from the Northgate.
the weather is cold, the sky is overcast, but you are all in good spirits and good company.
(I"m assuming we had a short rest if anyone can regain spells, etc.)
(Also, if we still have the wagon and donkey, I'm assuming we bring it to carry stuff with. Our donkey is named Ironass, and yes the head wizard is...)
Once we clear the gates, Sparhawk gathers the party around him.
"Ok my friends, I have asked our new friend Lir to swear an oath of loyalty to us. This will officially make him part of our crew."
He looks at the little elf and smiles, putting his hand on the elfs shoulder.
"Lir, what words would you say or do you have a custom for this that I may learn from you?"
While the others shop, Bjorn decides to promote himself to quartermaster and see if Sparhawk cares. He visits a few bars looking for guys who have been knocked in the head a few times and lived, to look after the wagon (and to inflate our numbers to scare off highwaymen).
Job qualifications: You have a weapon and know how to use it. You're not smarter than me.
(We should take the wagon I think. Don't wanna be too near the artifact)
(Congrats on your promotion)
You are able to sift through a slurry of applicants at the bar and settle on two men of medium stature whom seem to be proficient with bludgeoning weapons and are familiar with caring for beasts of burden. They agree to a wage of 1 sp each per day plus food. They go by the street names of Dub and Squib.
Lir looks up at the man and says - "We once swore by Correllon, by Lolth, and many other gods and fiends, and Things Outside. And we were left to wander, lost, trapped in a form like a cage - all for swearing by powers above.
There's a strange fierceness in his eyes for a brief moment.
"I am bound to Her by my blood, sweat and tears. I'll wander with you and yours - not lost. Coursing like a river to the sea."
And he spits on the ground.
Sparhawk seems satisfied by Lir's oath. He looks at the group. "I, Sir Sparhawk, knight of the Pandion order, swear to be a loyal and trustworthy friend, companion, and captain to you during your travels with me. Should any harm befall you, I will do everything in my power to assist you. I will be fair in all of my dealings with you. You will receive an equal portion of all that our group is paid for our jobs. You may leave our crew at any time once a job is completed if you so choose."
He looks at Lir again, and spits on the ground.
"Now, you are part of our crew Lir. We welcome you with open arms."
Then, done with the formalities, he smiles, and gives the elf a huge bear hug, oblivious if it makes him feel uncomfortable.
"Alright, lets get going."
(While we travel)
”Bjorn, I feel you have a good understanding of our tasks. would you mind catching up
the new crew? I feel Abernathy is part of this as well.”
Frangipani sniffs Lirs face after he has made his oath then bites off a small piece of his hair, chewing it experimentally. Seemingly satisfied she nods to herself and retreats behind the two new hires and entertains herself with making small puffs of wind play around their beards and clothes as they walk..
Druidcraft.
Sparhawk gives Frangipani a gem carving kit. He adds in a few ear rings and nose rings from Bugbear Bernard. He gives her the bag of uncut gems.
“something to work with my friend while we travel”
" Shiny."
Notes of seaweed, fish and brimstone.
"Aye, we don't want anyone confused. Here's how it is:"
(Cliff's Notes version, with possible conspiracy clues in bold:)
ABERNATHY
- Abernathy Softbotham, aka Abernath the Infernal, a member of the Arcane Brotherhood, has a huge bounty for his safe return. Kutoti Irongrass, aka the Ironmage, put up the bounty. They're friends.
- Abernathy departed without warning, to "the tower" (from his notes), to attempt a spell he stole from Thay.
- The spell required a stolen Thayan artifact, which he expected to be delivered to him, but it never arrived. (He then decided to try to make his own.)
- He had a map outside his teleportation chamber. On the map were icons of towers, one in Chult (just east of a large lake), one in the Spine of the World (roughly halfway between Luskan and Mirabar, but then a ways north), and one in Ruathym. This is probably how he left, but where he went is anyone's guess.
- A giant monster escaped his basement and the mansion was destroyed.
GRIN'DAL
- Grin'dal hired Bernard and his gang to steal an artifact from Ship Kurth, Fist's ship. The artifact was to be delivered to the Brotherhood.
- The gang is mostly dead now, save for Hotep the minotaur and an unnamed dwarf assassin who's eluded us twice.
- Grin'dal's lair is in a mine somewhere in Mirabar. Lothar Frostbane in Mirabar will fill us in when we arrive.
THE CAVE
- Vars purchased a map to a buried treasure from a stranger in Luskan.
- We found the location between Luskan and Mirabar.
- There's some ground left unexplored, and an underwater passage too. We did recover some gems already.
- The map has two icons, though. A key and a door. We believe the place we found is marked by the key.
THE HARPELLS
- Fist's first job for us was delivering a letter to Irongrass, from Arcturo Harpell. We have no idea what it said.
- The Harpells are mages in Longsaddle. Recently they discovered a buried temple which got the Brotherhood's attention.
THE BARON
- Dietrich Thorston, aka the Baron, is launching an expedition to Chult to retrieve the skull of the first storm giant for his wealthy patron, Donkey Hoetay.
WEEVIL
- A serial killer called the Weevil is hiding in Mirabar. Pretty large bounty. There's at least one party after him already.
"I think it's pretty clear: Abernath's Thayan artifact never got delivered because Bernard stole it. But then, it was also stolen from Thay, so it's hardly as if Abernath or the Brotherhood had any rightful claim to it either. They're all thieves, in the end." Bjorn grins at Sparhawk. "Even the nice ones."
"By the way, Cap'n'tain. There's one of them towers near where we're going. The ones on Soft-Bottom's map. Should we try and find it?"
Frangipani is quietly hoping that they run across the serial killer they had heard about earlier....Beetle...or somesuch....but the tower sounds interesting in the meantime.
Sparhawk listens intently at Bjorns summary, amazed at how he has put things together and that if his mind is focused, he is quite shrewd.
“well said Bjorn. Let’s look at the portal on Abarnaths map compared to Vars cave. It will be a good thing we brought along Reginald for the portal”
Your first day of travel is uneventful. You make your way up the familiar blackford road, encountering a few travelers who kept to themselves. The weather gets colder as you gain elevation out of the city and some snow flurries begin to fall. You are able to make it just past Blackford crossing before you will need to make camp, unless you wish to push on into the night.
“Let’s make camp near here and set up a watch schedule.” Sparhawk says, looking for a good camp site that would be safe and easily defendable.
Lir takes first watch and wild shapes into a wolf for his shift (2 * turns 4 hours).
(Advantage on stealth and perception).
Frangipani takes second watch....a small blue-black feline replacing the canine sentinel.