The Long Road - Game Thread

6. He was planning an interactive masterpiece

The party walks up to Calypso's group. She was told by Rooster about his suspicions, and they were ready to go to Marigold's shop to arrest her, but she wanted to hear directly from the party first.

The bard’s eyes bulge as you declare him as the agitator of the undead. When Hildigrim wants to use Identify on him and the harp, he is outraged and refuses. Calypso is willing to find out if the harp was cursed. With Hildigrim's casting, he announces that the harp was never cursed. Rooster sputters that being mistaken about the harp being cursed doesn't make him a criminal. Then the party lists the other 6 details that make him more suspicious than Marigold, BB, or Regis.

Regis starts spinning out explanations ("I'm naturally friendly. I wasn't trying to pass the spiritroot mark to anyone.") But after a few seconds, he lets out a tired sigh, and does a facepalm.

"So what if I am the one who did this! Turning Amphail into a ghost-infested Town of the Dead would be great for tours, and adventurers, and... and... and I would’ve gotten away with it, too, if it wasn’t for you meddling fools!”

One of the guards reaches to restrain him, knocking Rooster’s wig off in the process. As the wig leaves his head, Rooster’s face shrivels and changes into that of a human male with grey skin, as if he were undead. He hisses at you as he bares massive fangs, and you see the holy symbol of Kelemvor branded into his forehead. There is a collective gasp, and Rooster’s form dissipates into mist.

“I don’t think that was Rooster – at least, not any more.” Calypso turns a wary eye out towards the town. “You’ve helped more than you know, adventurers. Take our thanks, and go carefully in the coming days – you have likely earned the ire of a powerful creature. Though he was once a trusted clergy of Kelemvor, he is now an abomination that must be hunted down.”

Later in the day, word gets back to you that Rooster was never in the area. The imposter was Glandon, a former resident of Amphail and outcast priest of Kelemvor, who became a vampire several months ago. But that is a problem to be dealt with by Calypso and her guards.

(There are 5 more things to be dealt with, to wrap up this module. I will go through them quickly, so if you wanted your character to make a witty comment or take action, we will backtrack as necessary. Reminder that the characters are staying at Level 5.)

(1 of 5) Drusk leads Jorin to the largest church in Amphail. The cleric casts Greater Restoration on Jorin, who feels his life-force returning to him, as he reverts to his true age.

The cost for the spell is 450 GP, which needs to be paid within the next 24 hours.

Drusk was holding onto the collective funds that were intended for the tavern. That amount is 415 GP. Drusk also remembers that he still has a 50 GP citrine gem, from their first adventure in the cottage. He adds that to the small chest with the other coins. "We can pay the costs of that spell. It is worth it to have Jorin back as he belongs, but now we will have to get more loans to make the Road's End tavern/bistro a reality."

Pascal is weighing his options... Fine, I guess we’ll pay for Jorin’s youth. The big baby...

Haha

In all seriousness though, Pascal observes the whole trial with a surprised look, “Well... Anyone else not see that comin’? I feel like he kinda tipped his hand sometimes, you know? But I definitely wasn’t expectin’ vampiric identity theft...”

Quillary just shakes her head at the proceedings with Rooster. “Nobody gets out of this alive, not even those who choose undeath.”

She will contribute 10 gp to Jorin’s recovery (it is basically all she has left). And a disgruntled rat from her hat.

(2 of 5) (OOC: I think Calypso is supposed to be tough but still friendly. I made her more of a jerk, for this reason. It doesn't look like the party will ever be back to Amphail.)

The party is outside the church, discussing their finances (will pay in a few hours for the spell, but haven't done it yet). Black Bart approaches the party, looking nervous and a bit guilty. (He is the elf weenie who rode with you in the wagon to Amphail, and boasted to the other guards about how important he was to your party.) "I'm sorry about the big guy getting aged, and glad he was restored. As Calypso said, those are the risks of being an adventurer."

Each of you receives a fancy pendant with the sigil of Amphail on it. "Calypso said these are your "carrots" for a job well done. They mark that you are valuable allies of the town guard, and are allowed certain liberties inside the town limits. Congratulations." Bart then scurries off while the party is distracted looking at the pendants.

Drusk stares at the pendant, then looks at the party with a forced smile. "With our debts, a more tangible and coin-like reward might have been nicer."

At that moment, a woman in rags bumps into Hildigrm. "Pardon sir. Alms for the blind?" Hildigrim and Quillary notice this beggar is not a middle-aged woman (actually a teenager), and has softer hands than you would expect. Beneath the thin cloth over her eyes, her eyes are looking directly at Hildigrim's face.

Fearing that she is a pickpocket, Hildigrim pats his clothing to check his belongings. All of his stuff is still there, and he also finds a folded up note that he didn't have before. Hildigrim secretly passes it around to the rest of the group, so everyone can read it. On it is written:

The "beggar" hold out a clay pot, still asking for alms for the blind. (The pot is large enough to hold 5 pendants.)

Quillary looks at the others. “I have no need of money, but you seem to, and I have no concern with cities and guards and their preferences.” She hands her pendant to Hildigrim. “Do with it as you will.”

OoC - Huzzah, we did it!!

When the wig falls off Rooster and he reverts into his vampire form, Jorin lets out a sound that's somewhere between a shriek and a growl, then reflexivly throws a punch at the creature, connecting only with fleeting mist.

Jorin has 59gp and a gem worth 10g, he'll put all but 5gp into the pot for his restoration.

Getting road's end up and running is foremost on Jorin's priority list.  After all, he'll be leaving soon and needs to make sure his friends are taken care of.  He, like Quillary, is happy to shed the pendant to help bring this about.

(OOC: I figure people would take this option, but I had to check first.)

Everyone slips their pendants into the pot. The "beggar" reaches out and pats Hildigrim's shoulder. "Thank you, thank you."

Hildigrim almost topples over. He is not sure how it is possible to slip a 20 lb. sack of coins and small gems into someone's clothing without being noticed, but he now has 1200 GP worth of loot.

The "beggar", still pretending to be blind, uses the wall of the building to guide her as she quickly walks to an alley opening, and disappears from sight.

Everyone restore your inventory money.

• Jorin gets back his 54 GP and 10g gem.
• Hildigrim gets back the 40 GP he spent on the scroll. (He will need more gold to copy spells into his spell book, but that can be negotiated later.)
• Quillary gets back the 20 GP for the scroll, and the 10 GP donation in post 2591.
• Drusk gets back the 15 GP for the scroll, and reclaims his 50 GP citrine gem.

With those expenses out of the way, and the 450 GP spent on the Greater Restoration, there is 690 GP left over from the pendant sale. That is added to the "party funds", which is now at 1106 GP worth.

(3 of 5) Jorin wants to check out this belt / sash that was used to enhance the zombie. He has the others help the investigation, especially Hildigrim with the arcane research.

It doesn't appear to be evil or have anything to do with necromancy. After taking whatever precautions you can, Jorin puts it on to see what it does. He spends 10 minutes become attuned to it, and discovers it is a belt of stone giant strength.

(Jorin should add it to his inventory. Add this to the customized Notes for the item: "Once per day, the wearer has advantage on one saving throw that might otherwise result in a level of exhaustion.")

Drusk only has one 3rd level slot at present. He will cast Remove Curse to remove the spiritroot mark from Jorin. By the next morning, he does the same for Hildigrim.

(The remaining ghosts around town are not violent, so Drusk figures Hildigrim wouldn't mind another 24 hours of seeing more ghosts.)

(4 of 5) Pascal had floated the idea of having Marigold as a patron of the tavern, since the Road's End already has a ghost.

The party stops by Marigold's shop. There is an evil ghost floating around somewhere (turned by Drusk in the last fight), so the party suggests that Marigold might like to capture and rehabilitate it, as part of her crusade to show the positive side of necromancy. She did ask to know if any spooks were roaming free, after all.

Pascal asks if she would be willing to provide funds for the tavern. She is not, but makes a counter-offer... If the tavern will have a posting board (Drusk says that can be arranged), then she would like an advertisement for her Gentile Necromancy shop to stay on that board for the next year. In return, she will provide 2 "house-trained" zombies that can act as waiters in the tavern, until their bodies rot into pieces.

Drusk sniffs at the decaying flesh of one of her demo zombies, and then puts a finger on the putrescent slime coating it. He does not think zombie waiters will help the appetites of the tavern customers.

After thinking some more, Marigold instead offers a friendly ghost for the manor. The ghost used to be an elvish maiden, but she no longer remembers her previous name or how she was during life. She does like to clean, so Marigold has been calling her "Poita". This ghost can do the work of maintaining the upper floors of the manor, and help out with the dish washing in the kitchen. Poita would also be able to keep Lif (the ghost at the bar) company when the party is away.

(Would the party be willing to advertise for Marigold's shop for the next year, in exchange for either the 2 zombie waiters or the ghost cleaning maid?)

Jorin is absolutely delighted by the belt.  It looks quite nice with his breastplate and he spends a few minutes looking for very large things to lift (as he can now bench press 690lbs).  The idea of the zombie waiter doesn't sound too appealing, but the ghostly maid is just fine with him.  He also think that Lif will appreciate the company.  Jorin, for one, is fine with advertising the gentle necromancy.  After having cleared Marigold of wrong-doing, his mildly ill-will towards her has faded.

(5 of 5) The party has another day to recover in Amphail before the wagon ride back to Waterdeep.

The party is drinking in a smaller tavern called the "Stone Stallion". (The Stag-Horned Flagon is closed yet again for more repairs. The owner included some choice obscenities in the note on the door.)

Drusk to Quillary: "Will you be staying in Waterdeep? You were thrown together with our group to save Dynegall. But you've proven resourceful and courageous, and work well with out group. I haven't asked the others, but you would be welcome to continue doing jobs with us. An acquaintance left recently, so you could use the room Illena previously used. And maybe you'd like the work we are doing to make the Road's End Tavern Bistro a reality."

During that conversation, Fanny strolls up and sits down, smacking her mostly-empty beer mug onto the table top. (She was the earth genasi soldier who was in the wagon on the trip from Waterdeep.)

"You mentioned this tavern during the ride here. From what you just said, sounds like it is going to happen. Are you hiring? I'm tired of being assigned to baby-sit that idiot Bart, and the new boss Calypso isn't much better. I was thinking of retiring from the guards. You lot seem like better employers. Besides a bartender, you'd get a bouncer for the same price. With me around, you won't be closed as often as that Stag-Horned Flagon place. Win-win!

"What do you say? I still have to wrap up a few things before leaving the service, but it sounds like you still have some things to do before your place opens."

OOC: Thank you, Q, for helping us put everything together. That wasn't an easy puzzle. I surely didn't see Rooster turning into a vampire!

Hildigrim makes a face when Marigold asks if she can post an advertisement for her gentle necromancy. However, when she suggests Poita, the halfling's demeanor changes to one of sweetness. "Wouldn't she be a balm for Lif?" he asks. "That proposal is much more agreeable to me than the zombies."

Awesome! We got a ghost maid now.

Pascal playfully elbows Hildi, “Oh, I agree, mon frere, Lif oughta enjoy the company of a lovely lady!” 
Though, funny enough, if she’s actually a Ghost, then she has a higher CR than Lif, a poltergeist.

With Marigold...

"Mm," Quillary says at the offer of a ghost. "Does this woman not have a choice in her own dispensing? Or is she drawn to an object or a place, that we might guide her to the... Road's End?" She looks around to see if she got the name right.

In the Stone Stallion...

Quillary is drinking with the others, enjoying a rest, finally, and entertains Drusk's offer gladly. "I would indeed, appreciate a place to stay a while. I have not spent much time in settlements, and Waterdeep was... big," she finishes lamely. "It would be interesting to explore. I would, of course, expect to carry my weight, or pay for my lodging. I will need to find some way to earn coin."

At Fanny's appearance and request for work, Quillary looks around suspiciously for Bart, but not seeing him, recuses herself from the conversation, as she is not a part owner of the establishment.

Hildigrim gives Quillary a huge smile. "Ah, you've love Waterdeep," the halfling says confidently. "The City of Splendors and Jewel of the Sword Coast. There's something exciting at every turn." Hildigrim begins running on about Waterdeep, talking about everything from the Yawning Portal to his family's business, from the walking statues to the Open Lord. It's a lot of information, and Hildigrim is so absorbed in his own dialogue that he has no idea whether anyone's listening.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

At Fanny's appearance and request for work, Quillary looks around suspiciously for Bart, but not seeing him, recuses herself from the conversation, as she is not a part owner of the establishment.

Drusk corrects Quillary. "You were not around when we obtained the deed to the manor. But this" (tapping the small coffer of funds for the tavern) "was almost all from the recent jobs in Dynegall and Amphail. So you are part owner, unless you don't want to. Your observations are worth hearing."

Quote from Quasimodal >>

"You mentioned this tavern during the ride here. From what you just said, sounds like it is going to happen. Are you hiring? I'm tired of being assigned to baby-sit that idiot Bart, and the new boss Calypso isn't much better. I was thinking of retiring from the guards. You lot seem like better employers. Besides a bartender, you'd get a bouncer for the same price. With me around, you won't be closed as often as that Stag-Horned Flagon place. Win-win!

"What do you say? I still have to wrap up a few things before leaving the service, but it sounds like you still have some things to do before your place opens."

 Pascal rubs his chin, “Mon cher makes a good point. How are you with very particular elves, by the by?”

Quote from JcAndD >>

 Pascal rubs his chin, “Mon cher makes a good point. How are you with very particular elves, by the by?”

"Got no problems with elves, particular or otherwise. Just problems with idiots who should behave better."

(OOC: No harm if the party doesn't hire Fanny. I just figured it would be easier for me to have one of the tavern hirelings with a basic background, instead of them all being generic.)