Pizazz's Ravenloft and Beyond

“We should experiment a bit, too,” Ketch suggests.  “Leave the book here while we search for help.  See if the plague of bugs stays here or follows us.  Perhaps split into two groups as well, to see if both are equally afflicted with the bugs and the dreams.  Of course it couldn’t be as easy as leaving the book behind… but we should still try.  Perhaps put back right where found…?”

"Doubt it will work but that might be the best way to check. The cave is a different plane and if that would not break the curse, then distance truly does not matter." The entrance is not that far and if the group is about to visit Mordenkainen, it's in the same Ward anyway. They might also get lucky and spot their guide. "Shall we go?"

In a city such as Sigil, it seems like finding one particular teen boy would be difficult. But it seems 'being found' is an important talent for a tout. It seems the touts have a bit of a network because just a bit of asking around and eventually Etain appears.  Today in Sigil the weather is cold with a mucky rain. It's really more of a drizzle, but the wetness falls down onto building tops and streets all the same, dribbling away into complex mazes of gutters, spouts, and drains, that keeps most of the water from pooling on streets. Still though, the grimy water leaves brown streaks as it runs down walls and fills drain ways. People use a variety of hoods and umbrellas to shelter themselves and keep the filth off. One good thing is the air feels much cleaner with the smoke being washed away. 

A shorter figure approaches and throws back his hood, stepping casually under an eave, revealing Etain's face. "Hoy bubs! I heard youz were back in town!  I had anuther bit o biz with a Tiefling for the last bit, but...anyway, neither 'ere nor there to you.  Whats new with you lot?" 

You explain you're looking for someone who can help with curses or the like, a sage.  He pops a finger up in the air, and nods, "Ya of course! I know the dark o that one. I know just the place!" 

He leads you through the tight city street, across slick cobblestone roads, up stairways and down alley's on his way through the tight city streets until you emerge onto a street called Thistlewind Way. Half-way up you see a sign hanging out over the road from a four story run down building, reading "The Healing Hovel".  You push open the door and see a large waiting room full of miserable looking creatures. They look generally diseased or injured. A front desk sits with a gnomish woman behind it who looks up behind thick glasses.  Etain strolls up to the desk. "Hoy. We got some VIP biz over here."  

The gnome looks back, unimpressed, "100 gold emergency fee or ya wait like all the rest." 

He looks back at you, popping his eyebrows. 

Of of you forks over the exorbitant fee and you're shown through into a large room with many curtains forming small rooms.  You shuffle into one such room. Someone on the other side of the curtain seems to be badly off, and farts every minute or two. The curtains don't stop the smell. 

Eventually a dark skinned human looking woman, though she has a certain...presence...about her, walks in. She wears a white smock though it has several nasty stains on it.  She glances around at the very tight space in the room.  "What's all this now? Who's the patient?" 

She gets Meepo to sit up on the bed, and take his boots off. She examines the script.  A rat squeaks by and she glances down, troubled, kicking at it, then looks back to the group. "Okay then. So...if I got this right, some cursed item is writing on your friend and...you want it to stop.  Well, look, you said you already tried a remove curse spell....which is about as much as I'd do here, for a fee..."

She touches Meepo's foot and suddenly Meepo flops back on the bed, his eyes glazed over as he stares at the ceiling. 

Meepo....you have suddenly been transported somewhere else.  You feel the sweltering sun beating down as you take shelter in the shadow of a tumbledown tower. In the distance, a vast army is on the march across mud-churned farm fields. The need to hide from that force overwhelms you, and you quickly retreat inside the tower.

Inside the tower’s half-ruined walls, you discover a boar spear that is driven shaft-down into the ground, and whose head is adorned with three crowns. One limb of the spear’s crossguard bears a narrow silver circlet. On the other hangs a crown of adamantine, shaped to be worn over a helm. Around the spearhead is a golden crown adorned with emeralds. You feel the need to seize one of them—but before you can....

Meepo's eyes unglaze and he looks around, realizing he never left the Healing Hovel....and has just experienced a vision. 

The woman puts her hand on Meepo's forehead, checking him over for a moment, then sighs heavily, a dark look on her face, "Yer looking at some sort of greater power here. When it comes to these sorts of things, you gotta do your best to learn all about what's causing it, what the...power wants...and ways to satiate it, or...destroy it. Just tryin to break the hold on ya might not work."

"Meepo see thing..." Meepo says, telling both this nurse? and his companions. He describes the vision as much as he can, including the three crowns. "Meepo no know but anyone else know three crowns means? Meepo need one crown... Meepo know that much."

"If we're paying them 100 gold to tell you what I have already told you, I'm taking my fee out of the party funds!" Ketch glowers.

"That's fair, though we did get some vision for Meepo. Do you think that would be enough to get there with the amulet?"

"Meepo not sure." Meepo says with a frown. "Meepo try if Meepo friends not think other options available."

“There’s options.  See Lafla and shake him down for source of his wish.  See Mordekeinan, shake him down to an easier name and see what he can do.  Seek other sources for a wish, try to destroy book, test out abandoning it or see if distance changes things…  but I can deal with bad dreams, even the occasional bug in my chowder…  you’re the one with the major script-toes disease going on…  what do you want to try?”

"Meepo need find crown." Meepo says with a glance to Ketch. "Meepo wonder if someone knows what crown is. Maybe guide small Big help find someone know history of many places..." He glances to Lionel. "Meepo worry vision from past, and not place go now. Like learn more about crowns before try amulet."

“I can beseech an answer from Gruumsh on the crowns tomorrow…he would be grump and perhaps deceptive if I sought another answer today.”

From Meepo's suggestion, Etain scratches his head, "Geez. You lot sure go the dark o' Sigil fast. It ain't how sharp your sword is, but yer wit, and also...who ya know. Alrighty, ya wanna find some history geek. Gotchya."  He scratches his head once again, and nods to lead you all from the Healing Hovel.  You emerge back out onto the street and he glances back and forth in thought.

"Soooo. I could take ya to the great library. I mean, the faction headquarters are where all the latest rumors are and such...and good source of whats happenin. But...if yer lookin fer history...the library be a bit more to yer likin. It's sorta a kept secret of Sigil. Since it's run by the Dabus and an' doesn't have any political or belief leanin, people sorta always forget bout it. It's...uh...really big though. It'll likely take ya days to find somethin pertinent...."  He smiles, "I like that word. Pertinent. Sounds neat sayin it. Anyway, library, or...heard you mention goin back to Laffa, or...just waitin till tomorrow, or, we can try ta find ya a Mordenkainen again, though I ain't seen him at the Fortune's wheel in a few days so, he might be tough to track down." 

"Meepo need someone know history, not somewhere search books for history." Meepo speaks up. "Otherwise, if no help, then go find sad wizard." Meepo shrugs though. "Not sure how sad wizard help out, but Meepo friends think find him good idea."

Etain nods, "Oh...right. Yes. Ok...well....lets go see Laffa then....." 

Etain leads you through the city streets. The main thoroughfares are familiar to you know, as are some of the notable locations such as the Yawning Rat. You find the 'day crew' is present, but it includes Laffa who is playing a game of solitaire. Nearby an older woman leans against the wall chatting with him.  A bowl of watery stew sits half-uneaten next to him. 

He glances up as the group approaches and sighs, "Ahhh, great, they're back. What now?" 

"Meepo want know what found out while cursed." Meepo says to the wizard. "Meepo see 3 crowns, Meepo must get one..." He lift sup the leg of his britches, showing off one of his feet. "Meepo also want know where you got wish..."

Lionel did not like that company and had a feeling the company did not like him either. Still, he felt like that had to be said. "Zikran is dead. We found him and had to kill him. You wanted to pay for it, how about information as payment? About that curse that you managed to get rid of".

Laffa sits back from his cards and food. He motions at the woman, and she shrugs and wanders away.  He looks around the group, rather disgruntled. "Zikran was a high mage. You think it's so easy to kill him eh? Very well. He'd never let his wizard book out of his grasp. Show me and I'll believe you." 

Meepo shrugs and begins looking through his bag.  It was there earlier, he remembers seeing it this morning.  He begins digging through the bag and finds the book is missing!

As Meepo continues to fail to find it, but keeps looking, Laffa lets out a cackle, "Ha! Nice try...as they say. Either way, seems like yer causin him problems, so I can appreciate that much. One of you touched the book? Fools, I even warned ya."  He rubs his hand down his face, "Where I got the wish, that's not....let us say....reproducable. If wishes were growin on trees round somewhere..well....lets just say I wouldn't be sittin here eatin this slop."  He glances at the man behind the bar who looks up at him suddenly, his hands going out to either side in a "why bring my food into this?" sorta look.  Laffa shrugs, "Oh...aye...the crowns. I found out some info, but not about them. I found out where Zikran got the book from though. He got it from a young noble brat named Machil Rillyn. Machil is from Crux...that's a town on the world tree. You know, Yggdrasil. Full of trading houses cause it's easy to move stuff around if you're based on one of the universes bones. Anyway, if you really want info on the book, chase down Machil or his house Rillyn maybe." 

Meepo gives up looking for the spell book. It has definitely vanished from his bag.

Laffa says, "You know, if you let me read your mind and see an image of Zikran's dead body, I'll even do you one more solid. I'll tell you how to get to Crux. There's a portal from Sigil to a ruined prime world known as Ranais. Ranais has a portal to Crux in the ruins." 

Mordekai thinks back to Quinn's words about the body of Zikran being lies. Was it even Zikran they fought? Or just an imposter? He thinks back to Ketch removing the head. That head itself would be useful right now, but Mordekai suspects they left it back with the body. He mutters quietly into his cloak, "Quinn, if you have any powers to help us convince a person of our point of view, now would be a time to use them?"

Quinn chitters and Mordekai feel a rush of energy flow into him.  Deceit and confidence surge within you.  (Advantage on Charisma based checks for 10 minutes.). Quinn meeps, "Does this help?" 

Sweat breaks out on Meepo's scales. He searches, and searches, and searches, but... The book is lost... He cannot believe it. He has failed in his one thing he must do. How could this happen... He turns to the sad mage and gives him a glare, his hands going to his hips. He speaks in dracconic...

If the mage does not know dracconic... He would then speak in common. "Meepo need know where book went." He snaps at the sad mage. "Meepo had other wizard's book in pack. Meepo need know, now, where book go to."

It was even somewhat fair. And Meepo had enough problems already to cause a delay in their search. "Go ahead, look for yourself. I'll allow it." Lionel sat down at the Laffa's table and recalled the images of the battle and the body on the floor.