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Erkonin (Campaign #1) [Session 46: Making Deals with Devils is Stupid as well as Bad]
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<blockquote data-quote="prabe" data-source="post: 8222531" data-attributes="member: 7016699"><p>Session 35: What Have We Done?</p><p></p><p>Dramatis Personae:</p><p>Orryk - Forest Gnome Monk (Way of the Four Elements, variant)/Wizard</p><p>Mo - Goliath Bard (College of Lore)</p><p>Fiona - Half-Elf Wizard (Evoker)/Cleric (Knowledge)</p><p>Taman - Human (variant) Rogue (Inquisitive)/Ranger (Horizon Walker)</p><p>Joybell - Forest Gnome Paladin (Oath of the Ancients)</p><p>Thneed - Wood Elf Ranger (Hunter Conclave)</p><p></p><p>GM - Everyone Else</p><p></p><p></p><p>2 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 93) (immediately after)</p><p></p><p>Before we got on the boat for our consequence-free boat ride, Taman stopped at a shop and bought a shield. Very good idea.</p><p></p><p>We got to the Gellyannn and boarded for our return to Embernook (and Kalmarn). We noticed that Captain Lamerin had done everything he could to change the appearance of his boat as much as possible -- repainting where possible, shifting things around on deck, and so on.</p><p></p><p>After we boarded, Mo gave Captain Lamerin the gold he’d taken from the bag of money recovered from the sandbar that the wreck had been on (the money given in response to the dragon’s extortion).</p><p></p><p>Joybell asked the captain and the other sailors about other boat traffic on the river and if there had been reports of what was going on. There had been a couple of other ships that had arrived from Embernook, and a few that had headed downriver, since we got to Auriqua. The arrivals reported that the wreck was entirely gone, the work of MOgilla Gorilla on the way up. All of the sailors reported a strong sense that they were being watched as they traveled up the river.</p><p></p><p>To support the captain’s attempt to make the ship look different, Mo tried to use prestidigitation to change the color of the sails. He managed to make a sort of patchy green shade. He also agreed to the captain’s request that he not ride in the battle hammock behind the ship, because that’s very distinctive and would undo all efforts to make the Gellyann look different.</p><p></p><p>Before we set sail we reviewed all we knew about dragons in general and green dragons in specific. Dragons are inherently magical -- they all have magical abilities innately. In addition, many if not most also get levels of one or another (or several) spellcasting classes.</p><p></p><p>Green dragons are lawful evil -- so they’re socially controlling. They can be negotiated with and are willing to do so.</p><p></p><p>(GM: If there’s anything else the party wants to know about dragons before heading out ...</p><p>Orryk: We know enough to make an ill-informed decision.)</p><p></p><p>Mo: There’s a dragon without income and a city that needs protection for less than three kids a year.</p><p></p><p>Mo had an idea that if we got the dragon to agree to be the protector of Auriqua instead of the Tundra Queen, the dragon would just want <em>gold</em> and not want children. He thought this should be our main play in negotiating with the dragon -- brokering this deal. Joybell objected that we didn’t have any right to negotiate for the city or offer the city to the dragon or anyone else. It’s not our place and we have no power over it.</p><p></p><p>Those of us who saw it agreed that the dragon didn’t look all that big when we saw it flying over. But it’s hard to gauge the size of something flying overhead because of a lack of reference points.</p><p></p><p>After about half a day of travel, we arrived at the stone circle and the Gellyann pulled over so that Joybell, Orryk, Taman and Thneed could go see if it looked like it had been used to make a portal to the Feywild during the festival.</p><p></p><p>When we got to the circle, it clearly had not been decorated for the festival at all and didn’t appear to have been used either for regular ritual purposes or for making a portal. Joybell pulled some of the Festival of Firstfruits decorations she’d bought out of her bag of holding and left some decorations on the altar.</p><p></p><p>Taman carved his name on a tree nearby.</p><p></p><p>Orryk: Let’s head toward the dragon…</p><p></p><p>We travelled the rest of the day without incident.</p><p></p><p>That night we could hear the sounds of movement and activity on the shore so Orryk brought Omnath out as a steam mephit and sent him flying around the riverbanks. Omnath saw some gnome-sized winged, reptilian humanoids (winged kobolds). One of the kobolds spotted Omnath, freaked out, and ran away. Omnath could still hear chattering and rustling in the underbrush.</p><p></p><p>Having seen one kobold there were undoubtedly lots of them as kobolds mainly come in groups.</p><p></p><p>Orryk reported Omnath’s kobold sighting to the group.</p><p></p><p>Orryk: Kobolds aren’t worth our time, unless they make themselves to be.</p><p></p><p>The rest of the night passed without incident.</p><p></p><p></p><p>3 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 94)</p><p></p><p>The next day, Mo spent the day changing the color of the sails every hour or so with the prestidigitation spell, so that if the dragon had multiple agents keeping an eye on us, they’d give confusing reports.</p><p></p><p>At various times during the day, the party, while watching the shore, spotted groups of lizard folk on the shore watching the ship. They weren’t doing anything other than watching. Joybell wanted to talk to them to try and find out what was going on with the dragon, but we didn’t stop.</p><p></p><p>Other than seeing the lizardfolk and not interacting with them, the day passed without incident.</p><p></p><p>During the night, while Thneed and Mo (and Checkers) were on watch, Checkers looked up at just the right time to spot something falling out of the dark night sky. It was about the size and roughly the shape of a cinderblock and it hit the deck with a thud. No one on the deck could see anything up in the sky -- it apparently had been dropped from higher than darkvision could see.</p><p></p><p>Everyone in the party, and in the crew, woke up at that because it was like something punching the ship.</p><p></p><p>On investigation, there was a piece of cloth wrapped around the dust and shattered chunks of a rock. Mo cast comprehend languages so he could read the message written on it in draconic.</p><p></p><p>You owe me a wreck.</p><p></p><p>Captain Lamerin: What was that?</p><p>Taman: Are you familiar with thugs throwing a rock through a window?</p><p>Thneed: It’s a message from the dragon.</p><p>Lamerin: What’s the message?</p><p>Mo: We owe him a wreck.</p><p>Lamerin: That’s it! Come morning, I’m putting you off the ship.</p><p></p><p>That lead to a bit of chaos that culminated in Fiona thwapping Mo for something he said.</p><p></p><p>Joybell, very earnest: I’m very concerned about your proceeding without us. If the dragon wants your ship, it will try to take it with or without us on board. And you won’t be able to fight it.</p><p></p><p>We asked him to keep us on until halfway through the day, just to get us closer to the wreck so we don’t have to walk as far to get there, which he agreed to. He also agreed to let us off and wait for a bit, though not forever, for us to return.</p><p></p><p></p><p>4 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 95)</p><p></p><p>As the ship pulled to shore and we prepared to debark, Mo threw a card from his deck of illusions onto the deck.</p><p></p><p>Mo: This might help you.</p><p></p><p>The illusion was of a lich.</p><p></p><p>The captain screamed until we reassured him that it was just an illusion and maybe having an illusory lich aboard would be helpful.</p><p></p><p>Before we got off, Joybell gave him 100 gold pieces and told him that she’s very concerned and hopes they stay for a day or two because she is worried about him being undefended.</p><p></p><p>As we walked away, Orryk sent Omnath flying back to the ship with a pouch with 25 gp. It also had a note that said “Sorry for Mo.”</p><p></p><p>Mo got in his battle-hammock and flew up high enough to get a bit of an overview as we proceeded down the road. He spotted some lizardfolk walking around out in the distance and we could see some lizardfolk tracks in the road.</p><p></p><p>As we walked, Mo was working on perfecting his performance of “I’m a Little Pork Roast”.</p><p></p><p>After a bit, we ran into a cluster of lizardfolk -- all of them armed with javelins and clubs and carrying shields. Except the one in the middle who had a staff. They seemed a bit puzzled that we were there in the road.</p><p></p><p>Mo: Hello. We’re looking for the Green Lord. Do you happen to know where he lives?</p><p>Lizardman with Staff: Why do you want to see him?</p><p>Mo: Joybell, earmuffs. We want to see if we can make arrangements.</p><p>Joybell: We don’t want him to attack the Gellyann when his beef is with us.</p><p>Lizard Shaman: We can take you to him.</p><p>Mo: Why don’t you tell us where he is and we can go talk to him ourselves.</p><p>Lizard Shaman: We can take you to him. Otherwise you’ll have to fight your way in.</p><p>Mo: How many are in your village? We don’t want to kill you.</p><p>Taman: He does not speak for us.</p><p>Mo, to the party: Huddle up. We could let them get us most of the way there...then kill them.</p><p></p><p>We ultimately agreed to let them lead us. There was a bit of shuffling and negotiation after that as we made it clear to them that we were not comfortable having any of them behind us. They weren’t really comfortable with having us behind them.</p><p></p><p>Joybell, to the Shaman: We will not attack you from behind, I give you my word. If any of my friends try to do so, I will defend you.</p><p></p><p>That calmed their concerns enough that we could proceed.</p><p></p><p>They led us off the road and through the forest. After an hour of traveling, Taman and Thneed were able to point out to the lizardfolk easier paths (doing their ranger naughty word) and we were not hampered by the difficult terrain in the forests. The lizardfolk took their advice without comment, but without acknowledging doing so.</p><p></p><p>After a while, two of the lizardfolk peeled off and left us with an escort of four, including the Shaman. Joybell chatted with them all day, trying to get a sense of what kind of people they were -- she found that they were okay people, the normal mix of good and bad, basically well intentioned, that sort of thing. The Shaman was a druid, so they talked about that and the forest and the natural beauties they’d seen.</p><p></p><p>Mo figured out which one was the most naive and talked to him.</p><p></p><p>Mo: How long have you been patrolling?</p><p>Lizardman: About a month. We eat well.</p><p>Mo: How long have you been living under the Green Lord?</p><p>Lizardman: As long as I can remember.</p><p>Mo: What do you do for fun?</p><p>Lizardman: We don’t have time.</p><p>Mo: That’s a shame.</p><p></p><p>Mo pulled out his pipe and smoked, blowing out smoke rings. He offered the pipe to the Lizardman.</p><p></p><p>Lizardman: It smells like someone killed a skunk and left it in a well and lit it on fire. No thanks.</p><p>Mo: That’s a good description.</p><p></p><p>When we made camp, Fiona cast a tiny hut for the party to sleep in, but the lizardfolk had to sleep outside. Which suited them fine.</p><p></p><p>During the night, some winged kobolds came to talk to the lizardfolk.</p><p></p><p>Kobolds: What are you doing with these?</p><p>Shaman: They want to talk to the Green Lord.</p><p>Kobold: What??</p><p></p><p>After that some of the winged kobolds flew away. After a while, the rest flew off in a slightly different direction.</p><p></p><p></p><p>5 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 96)</p><p></p><p>The next day, Mo talked with the lizard folk about Tallyxtillon, the Green Lord.</p><p></p><p>They told him that he’s big and old. He appears to them to have learned some druidic magic, but he also definitely has other magic as well. They said he’d been in his current lair for some time and has modified the populations of local kobolds somehow -- there are a lot more winged kobolds than would be normal and some other weirder kobolds as well.</p><p></p><p>Mo: So why was he doing the river scam?</p><p></p><p>The shaman said that he didn’t know what the dragon had in mind but he might have been trying to get some sort of control over the (largely) human societies in Embernook and Auriqua because he seems to like having control over the local societies.</p><p></p><p>Mo: Do you worship him?</p><p>Shaman: We try to avoid him. When we can’t, we try not to displease him.</p><p>Orryk: Do the kobolds worship him?</p><p>Shaman: The kobolds consider him to be a revered ancestor. He’s had some influence on their development and their form as a race. Lots of kobolds can do magic around here. The dragon uses them as his tools.</p><p>Joybell: So the lizardfolk doing the scam at the wreck were in his employ?</p><p>Shaman: The ones who live close to him can’t avoid him.</p><p>Thneed: How do your people get along with the kobolds?</p><p>Shaman: We don’t like them tons, but they’re closer to the dragon and we don’t want to anger him.</p><p>Mo: Is he bigger than a giant ape?</p><p></p><p>When the lizardfolk just looked confused at that, Mo cast polymorph and turned himself into a MOgilla Gorilla, size huge.</p><p></p><p>The lizardfolk, taken a bit aback, agreed that the Green Lord was about that same size, though he’s longer.</p><p></p><p>We took that information and figured that the Green Lord is an adult dragon, about 100 years old, perhaps. Could be worse.</p><p></p><p>Joybell, to the Shaman: What will happen to you when we get to the Green Lord? We don’t want to call you to his attention.</p><p>Shaman: We can pass you off to the kobolds.</p><p>Mo: Do you feel oppressed by the dragon?</p><p>Shaman: If he were gone we wouldn’t have to avoid him.</p><p>Mo: How many of you did you say there are?</p><p>Shaman: I didn’t.</p><p></p><p>We were not sure how to use the information that they don’t like the dragon.</p><p></p><p>Thneed: If we do fight the dragon in his cave…</p><p>Orryk: Does the dragon live in a cave?</p><p>Shaman: Of a sort. He lives in a cenote. There’s water at the bottom of a large hole. The main entrance to his cave is under the water. There are ways to get to him that don’t go through the water -- that’s how the kobolds get to his chamber.</p><p></p><p>As we had these conversations, we continued to proceed.</p><p></p><p>The day passed without incident. During the course of this day (and the previous) we saw parties of lizardfolk in the forest -- mostly just walking by or going off on their own business.</p><p></p><p>When we made camp, Fiona again cast a tiny hut for the party to sleep in with no objection from the lizardfolk.</p><p></p><p></p><p>6 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 97)</p><p></p><p>The next day, we resumed on our way. We didn’t see any more lizard folk around, as we had been the previous two. We also didn’t see any of the kobolds, but that was less surprising. When one of us commented on it the lizardfolk told us they don’t like day.</p><p></p><p>Toward the end of the day, the forest started becoming more thicket-y and underbrushy. The thickets and underbrush started form twisty and turny little mazes of brush.</p><p></p><p>The animals we saw were all watching us -- deer, squirrels. Expecting the usual level of conversation she got from squirrels (not a lot of depth or vocabulary), Joybell decided to talk to one.</p><p></p><p>Joybell, to a squirrel: Hello.</p><p>Squirrel: Good day.</p><p></p><p>This was a bit creepy and disconcerting.</p><p></p><p>Joybell: Is someone watching through your eyes?</p><p>Squirrel: Yes.</p><p>Joybell: Is it the Green Lord?</p><p>Squirrel: Yes.</p><p>Joybell: Tell him hi for us.</p><p>Squirrel: Good day.</p><p></p><p>During the course of the rest of the day, Joybell occasionally talked to the squirrels, as she had opportunities -- in the same vein as waving at security cameras.</p><p></p><p>Toward the end of the day, the Shaman leads us to a cave with kobolds. After some discussion in Draconic with the kobold who appeared to be in charge, the Shaman and the lizardfolk agreed to stay the night with us on the outskirts of the kobold village. The kobolds appeared to believe that we were there to kill the Green Lord and didn’t want to be responsible for taking us to him and getting killed themselves.</p><p></p><p>Ultimately, it was agreed that the kobolds would take us to Tallyxtillon in the morning. And they hoped we’d fit in their tunnels.</p><p></p><p>Joybell talked to the Shaman in Common and asked if they could wait for us, maybe half a day back, before where we talked to the squirrel, so they could lead us back to the road.</p><p></p><p>Joybell: We’ll know if we’re going to live or die in half a day or so, so you won’t have to wait long.</p><p>Shaman: We can wait.</p><p>Joybell: We’d hate to have to fight our way through all your people.</p><p></p><p>FIona cast a tiny hut and made a safe place for us to camp overnight.</p><p></p><p>During the night, we heard some argument between the kobolds and the lizardfolk. The kobolds were not thrilled that we’d been brought there and were not inclined to let the lizardfolk leave.</p><p></p><p>The folks who can understand draconic (and who translated for the rest of us) got the sense that the kobolds felt that if the lizardfolk brought us here to kill the Green Lord, they want the dragon to eat <em>them</em> when we fail.</p><p></p><p>In our hut we spoke quietly among ourselves, trying to get at least a sense of what our goals and aims were.</p><p></p><p>Mo: My nanny killed a dragon single-handedly. The way she told it it was a giant, ancient dragon.</p><p>Thneed: That’s the way I’d tell it too.</p><p></p><p>Joybell asked if she could start the conversation with the dragon, because she’s really not comfortable with offering Auriqua at all -- it’s not ours to offer and she wasn’t convinced that it would really be a trade up from the Tundra Queen, even with the price of up to three children per year.</p><p></p><p></p><p>7 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 98)</p><p></p><p>The next morning there were 3 kobolds ready to take us to the Green Lord. Three of the lizardfolk left the village, but the Shaman remained to go with us.</p><p></p><p>As with the lizardfolk, there was a bit of shuffling as we made it clear that we weren’t going to let any of the kobolds be behind us. Eventually we wound out with the Shaman leading the way with the three kobolds immediately behind him. They accepted that without too much argument.</p><p></p><p>We spent half the day proceeding single file through many narrow passages, taking various turns and with side passages coming in and out, heading generally down. In several places we had to squeeze through. At times, Mo was riding flat on top of the broom because that made it a bit easier for him to navigate the tight passages. Taman tried to keep a mental map of how to get back out as we were proceeding.</p><p></p><p>Around noon-ish we arrived at a sharp dip in the path, with water in it.</p><p></p><p>The water disappeared and we went down a steep incline and then back up it. After we got back up to the top of the incline the bottom of it re-filled with water (like the U-trap in a sewer line).</p><p></p><p>(Note: My notes about this entire conversation are terrible and very spotty. I’m not good at taking notes about conversations I’m involved in and then I was sort of being gobsmacked at what was going on.)</p><p></p><p>Joybell started with asking how we could turn his ire away from the Gellyann and turn his attention away from travel and trade on the river.</p><p></p><p>Tallyxtillon: I want to shape the decisions of the governments in Embernook and Auriqua.</p><p>Joybell: What decisions?</p><p>Tallyxtillon: Embernook’s people won’t turn on each other. And there are protections there.</p><p>Joybell: But what are the decisions?</p><p>Tallyxtillon: They’re all too connected to the Basalt Henge. Why should druids be interested in rock?</p><p>Joybell: As a member of the druidic faith and someone who trained at the Henge, I can talk to that. Rock, earth, is the foundation on which plants and ecosystems live. Without rocks, the other elements are out of balance and without support. The Basalt Henge strives to maintain balance and that provides a foundation on which forests like this one can live.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: The problem with Embernook is that I want to control the government.</p><p>Joybell: That won’t work there. The Administrator is powerful.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: My agents have been unsuccessful. I cannot get a toe-hold over the people or any power over the government in either city.</p><p>Joybell: You’ve chosen your territory poorly. Auriqua is under the protection of the Tundra Queen. Embernook is under the protection of a powerful entity as well.</p><p></p><p>Joybell got the sense that Tallyxtillon thought there was more than one entity protecting Embernook. Huh.</p><p></p><p>Joybell: Maybe you need to find a different territory….</p><p></p><p>As she said that, she realized that she was basically setting him to go be a problem for other cities and other people without such powerful protections and got very quiet.</p><p></p><p>So Mo stepped in.</p><p></p><p>Mo offered him a 1000gp gem, which he wasn’t overly interested in. He wasn’t disinterested, but it wasn’t going to be a big motivator either.</p><p></p><p>Mo: We’re working on a long-term plan to deal with the Tundra Queen.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: What’s your plan?</p><p>Taman, waving his rapier: Stab her with this.</p><p>Tallyxtillon, laughing: Not much of a plan.</p><p>Mo: We’re starting with her underlings and working our way up. But our interests may be somewhat aligned.</p><p>Thneed: If your agents have failed, you need better agents.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: Are you offering your services?</p><p>Joybell, immediately concerned: For what?</p><p>Mo: For a single, discrete service, maybe...</p><p>Thneed: Have you tried opening diplomatic relations?</p><p>Tallyxtillon: The problem with that is they then know you’re there and are coming from the outside.</p><p>Joybell: So you want to subvert them from within?</p><p>Mo: What do you want from us?</p><p>Tallyxtillon: If you can cause Auriqua to break its deal with the Tundra Queen that would be helpful to me.</p><p>Mo: They would be unprotected from the cold fey and giants and other dangers of the north.</p><p>Taman: If you would protect them from those dangers…</p><p>Tallyxtillon: I would prefer the town to break their deal without my mention….but as long as the city is undefended.</p><p>Joybell: If we leave the town undefended, how would you treat them? Would you treat them well?</p><p>Tallyxtillon: I would treat them the way I’d treat any other servants.</p><p>Joybell: Oh, dear.</p><p>Mo: I think we can get them to break their deal. We can give it a good shot.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: If that’s what you’re offering….</p><p>Mo: On one condition. That you not slaughter the citizens indiscriminately.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: Oh, I’m very discriminating.</p><p>Mo: There are great riches in the town, but the lives of the citizens are not part of the deal.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: Hmmm. Well. I think that if you want to make a deal where you cause the town to break their deal with the Tundra Queen and I don’t kill and eat you right now, I need collateral. Some reason for you to come back.</p><p>Mo: I’ll offer my broom of flying with the battle hammock. Also all the money I have available.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: Money works less well as collateral than one would expect. Especially with adventurers.</p><p></p><p>Mo then offered him a locket that he pulled out from under his armor (and which none of us had ever seen).</p><p></p><p>Mo: This was a gift from an admirer. I’ve worn it since I left my village and I would definitely come back for it.</p><p>Tallyxtillon: So you’d come back. What about them?</p><p>Taman: We’re a group.</p><p>Joybell: We’re the Wonderful Band.</p><p></p><p>The Green Lord thought for a moment.</p><p></p><p>Tallyxtillon: I will hold the river travel that concerns you so as your collateral. I will cease interfering with travel on the Hochor River, for the time being. If, after the Festival of Stars, Auriqua is still under the Tundra Queen’s protection, I will start destroying every ship that passes the sandbar that my wreck was on.</p><p></p><p>That was the final word in our conversation and the kobolds led us out past the U-trap.</p><p></p><p>Mo, as we walked away: That’s not an improvement.</p><p>Joybell: We have three months.</p><p></p><p>We ended as we walked through the tunnels following our kobold escort.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="prabe, post: 8222531, member: 7016699"] Session 35: What Have We Done? Dramatis Personae: Orryk - Forest Gnome Monk (Way of the Four Elements, variant)/Wizard Mo - Goliath Bard (College of Lore) Fiona - Half-Elf Wizard (Evoker)/Cleric (Knowledge) Taman - Human (variant) Rogue (Inquisitive)/Ranger (Horizon Walker) Joybell - Forest Gnome Paladin (Oath of the Ancients) Thneed - Wood Elf Ranger (Hunter Conclave) GM - Everyone Else 2 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 93) (immediately after) Before we got on the boat for our consequence-free boat ride, Taman stopped at a shop and bought a shield. Very good idea. We got to the Gellyannn and boarded for our return to Embernook (and Kalmarn). We noticed that Captain Lamerin had done everything he could to change the appearance of his boat as much as possible -- repainting where possible, shifting things around on deck, and so on. After we boarded, Mo gave Captain Lamerin the gold he’d taken from the bag of money recovered from the sandbar that the wreck had been on (the money given in response to the dragon’s extortion). Joybell asked the captain and the other sailors about other boat traffic on the river and if there had been reports of what was going on. There had been a couple of other ships that had arrived from Embernook, and a few that had headed downriver, since we got to Auriqua. The arrivals reported that the wreck was entirely gone, the work of MOgilla Gorilla on the way up. All of the sailors reported a strong sense that they were being watched as they traveled up the river. To support the captain’s attempt to make the ship look different, Mo tried to use prestidigitation to change the color of the sails. He managed to make a sort of patchy green shade. He also agreed to the captain’s request that he not ride in the battle hammock behind the ship, because that’s very distinctive and would undo all efforts to make the Gellyann look different. Before we set sail we reviewed all we knew about dragons in general and green dragons in specific. Dragons are inherently magical -- they all have magical abilities innately. In addition, many if not most also get levels of one or another (or several) spellcasting classes. Green dragons are lawful evil -- so they’re socially controlling. They can be negotiated with and are willing to do so. (GM: If there’s anything else the party wants to know about dragons before heading out ... Orryk: We know enough to make an ill-informed decision.) Mo: There’s a dragon without income and a city that needs protection for less than three kids a year. Mo had an idea that if we got the dragon to agree to be the protector of Auriqua instead of the Tundra Queen, the dragon would just want [I]gold[/I] and not want children. He thought this should be our main play in negotiating with the dragon -- brokering this deal. Joybell objected that we didn’t have any right to negotiate for the city or offer the city to the dragon or anyone else. It’s not our place and we have no power over it. Those of us who saw it agreed that the dragon didn’t look all that big when we saw it flying over. But it’s hard to gauge the size of something flying overhead because of a lack of reference points. After about half a day of travel, we arrived at the stone circle and the Gellyann pulled over so that Joybell, Orryk, Taman and Thneed could go see if it looked like it had been used to make a portal to the Feywild during the festival. When we got to the circle, it clearly had not been decorated for the festival at all and didn’t appear to have been used either for regular ritual purposes or for making a portal. Joybell pulled some of the Festival of Firstfruits decorations she’d bought out of her bag of holding and left some decorations on the altar. Taman carved his name on a tree nearby. Orryk: Let’s head toward the dragon… We travelled the rest of the day without incident. That night we could hear the sounds of movement and activity on the shore so Orryk brought Omnath out as a steam mephit and sent him flying around the riverbanks. Omnath saw some gnome-sized winged, reptilian humanoids (winged kobolds). One of the kobolds spotted Omnath, freaked out, and ran away. Omnath could still hear chattering and rustling in the underbrush. Having seen one kobold there were undoubtedly lots of them as kobolds mainly come in groups. Orryk reported Omnath’s kobold sighting to the group. Orryk: Kobolds aren’t worth our time, unless they make themselves to be. The rest of the night passed without incident. 3 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 94) The next day, Mo spent the day changing the color of the sails every hour or so with the prestidigitation spell, so that if the dragon had multiple agents keeping an eye on us, they’d give confusing reports. At various times during the day, the party, while watching the shore, spotted groups of lizard folk on the shore watching the ship. They weren’t doing anything other than watching. Joybell wanted to talk to them to try and find out what was going on with the dragon, but we didn’t stop. Other than seeing the lizardfolk and not interacting with them, the day passed without incident. During the night, while Thneed and Mo (and Checkers) were on watch, Checkers looked up at just the right time to spot something falling out of the dark night sky. It was about the size and roughly the shape of a cinderblock and it hit the deck with a thud. No one on the deck could see anything up in the sky -- it apparently had been dropped from higher than darkvision could see. Everyone in the party, and in the crew, woke up at that because it was like something punching the ship. On investigation, there was a piece of cloth wrapped around the dust and shattered chunks of a rock. Mo cast comprehend languages so he could read the message written on it in draconic. You owe me a wreck. Captain Lamerin: What was that? Taman: Are you familiar with thugs throwing a rock through a window? Thneed: It’s a message from the dragon. Lamerin: What’s the message? Mo: We owe him a wreck. Lamerin: That’s it! Come morning, I’m putting you off the ship. That lead to a bit of chaos that culminated in Fiona thwapping Mo for something he said. Joybell, very earnest: I’m very concerned about your proceeding without us. If the dragon wants your ship, it will try to take it with or without us on board. And you won’t be able to fight it. We asked him to keep us on until halfway through the day, just to get us closer to the wreck so we don’t have to walk as far to get there, which he agreed to. He also agreed to let us off and wait for a bit, though not forever, for us to return. 4 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 95) As the ship pulled to shore and we prepared to debark, Mo threw a card from his deck of illusions onto the deck. Mo: This might help you. The illusion was of a lich. The captain screamed until we reassured him that it was just an illusion and maybe having an illusory lich aboard would be helpful. Before we got off, Joybell gave him 100 gold pieces and told him that she’s very concerned and hopes they stay for a day or two because she is worried about him being undefended. As we walked away, Orryk sent Omnath flying back to the ship with a pouch with 25 gp. It also had a note that said “Sorry for Mo.” Mo got in his battle-hammock and flew up high enough to get a bit of an overview as we proceeded down the road. He spotted some lizardfolk walking around out in the distance and we could see some lizardfolk tracks in the road. As we walked, Mo was working on perfecting his performance of “I’m a Little Pork Roast”. After a bit, we ran into a cluster of lizardfolk -- all of them armed with javelins and clubs and carrying shields. Except the one in the middle who had a staff. They seemed a bit puzzled that we were there in the road. Mo: Hello. We’re looking for the Green Lord. Do you happen to know where he lives? Lizardman with Staff: Why do you want to see him? Mo: Joybell, earmuffs. We want to see if we can make arrangements. Joybell: We don’t want him to attack the Gellyann when his beef is with us. Lizard Shaman: We can take you to him. Mo: Why don’t you tell us where he is and we can go talk to him ourselves. Lizard Shaman: We can take you to him. Otherwise you’ll have to fight your way in. Mo: How many are in your village? We don’t want to kill you. Taman: He does not speak for us. Mo, to the party: Huddle up. We could let them get us most of the way there...then kill them. We ultimately agreed to let them lead us. There was a bit of shuffling and negotiation after that as we made it clear to them that we were not comfortable having any of them behind us. They weren’t really comfortable with having us behind them. Joybell, to the Shaman: We will not attack you from behind, I give you my word. If any of my friends try to do so, I will defend you. That calmed their concerns enough that we could proceed. They led us off the road and through the forest. After an hour of traveling, Taman and Thneed were able to point out to the lizardfolk easier paths (doing their ranger naughty word) and we were not hampered by the difficult terrain in the forests. The lizardfolk took their advice without comment, but without acknowledging doing so. After a while, two of the lizardfolk peeled off and left us with an escort of four, including the Shaman. Joybell chatted with them all day, trying to get a sense of what kind of people they were -- she found that they were okay people, the normal mix of good and bad, basically well intentioned, that sort of thing. The Shaman was a druid, so they talked about that and the forest and the natural beauties they’d seen. Mo figured out which one was the most naive and talked to him. Mo: How long have you been patrolling? Lizardman: About a month. We eat well. Mo: How long have you been living under the Green Lord? Lizardman: As long as I can remember. Mo: What do you do for fun? Lizardman: We don’t have time. Mo: That’s a shame. Mo pulled out his pipe and smoked, blowing out smoke rings. He offered the pipe to the Lizardman. Lizardman: It smells like someone killed a skunk and left it in a well and lit it on fire. No thanks. Mo: That’s a good description. When we made camp, Fiona cast a tiny hut for the party to sleep in, but the lizardfolk had to sleep outside. Which suited them fine. During the night, some winged kobolds came to talk to the lizardfolk. Kobolds: What are you doing with these? Shaman: They want to talk to the Green Lord. Kobold: What?? After that some of the winged kobolds flew away. After a while, the rest flew off in a slightly different direction. 5 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 96) The next day, Mo talked with the lizard folk about Tallyxtillon, the Green Lord. They told him that he’s big and old. He appears to them to have learned some druidic magic, but he also definitely has other magic as well. They said he’d been in his current lair for some time and has modified the populations of local kobolds somehow -- there are a lot more winged kobolds than would be normal and some other weirder kobolds as well. Mo: So why was he doing the river scam? The shaman said that he didn’t know what the dragon had in mind but he might have been trying to get some sort of control over the (largely) human societies in Embernook and Auriqua because he seems to like having control over the local societies. Mo: Do you worship him? Shaman: We try to avoid him. When we can’t, we try not to displease him. Orryk: Do the kobolds worship him? Shaman: The kobolds consider him to be a revered ancestor. He’s had some influence on their development and their form as a race. Lots of kobolds can do magic around here. The dragon uses them as his tools. Joybell: So the lizardfolk doing the scam at the wreck were in his employ? Shaman: The ones who live close to him can’t avoid him. Thneed: How do your people get along with the kobolds? Shaman: We don’t like them tons, but they’re closer to the dragon and we don’t want to anger him. Mo: Is he bigger than a giant ape? When the lizardfolk just looked confused at that, Mo cast polymorph and turned himself into a MOgilla Gorilla, size huge. The lizardfolk, taken a bit aback, agreed that the Green Lord was about that same size, though he’s longer. We took that information and figured that the Green Lord is an adult dragon, about 100 years old, perhaps. Could be worse. Joybell, to the Shaman: What will happen to you when we get to the Green Lord? We don’t want to call you to his attention. Shaman: We can pass you off to the kobolds. Mo: Do you feel oppressed by the dragon? Shaman: If he were gone we wouldn’t have to avoid him. Mo: How many of you did you say there are? Shaman: I didn’t. We were not sure how to use the information that they don’t like the dragon. Thneed: If we do fight the dragon in his cave… Orryk: Does the dragon live in a cave? Shaman: Of a sort. He lives in a cenote. There’s water at the bottom of a large hole. The main entrance to his cave is under the water. There are ways to get to him that don’t go through the water -- that’s how the kobolds get to his chamber. As we had these conversations, we continued to proceed. The day passed without incident. During the course of this day (and the previous) we saw parties of lizardfolk in the forest -- mostly just walking by or going off on their own business. When we made camp, Fiona again cast a tiny hut for the party to sleep in with no objection from the lizardfolk. 6 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 97) The next day, we resumed on our way. We didn’t see any more lizard folk around, as we had been the previous two. We also didn’t see any of the kobolds, but that was less surprising. When one of us commented on it the lizardfolk told us they don’t like day. Toward the end of the day, the forest started becoming more thicket-y and underbrushy. The thickets and underbrush started form twisty and turny little mazes of brush. The animals we saw were all watching us -- deer, squirrels. Expecting the usual level of conversation she got from squirrels (not a lot of depth or vocabulary), Joybell decided to talk to one. Joybell, to a squirrel: Hello. Squirrel: Good day. This was a bit creepy and disconcerting. Joybell: Is someone watching through your eyes? Squirrel: Yes. Joybell: Is it the Green Lord? Squirrel: Yes. Joybell: Tell him hi for us. Squirrel: Good day. During the course of the rest of the day, Joybell occasionally talked to the squirrels, as she had opportunities -- in the same vein as waving at security cameras. Toward the end of the day, the Shaman leads us to a cave with kobolds. After some discussion in Draconic with the kobold who appeared to be in charge, the Shaman and the lizardfolk agreed to stay the night with us on the outskirts of the kobold village. The kobolds appeared to believe that we were there to kill the Green Lord and didn’t want to be responsible for taking us to him and getting killed themselves. Ultimately, it was agreed that the kobolds would take us to Tallyxtillon in the morning. And they hoped we’d fit in their tunnels. Joybell talked to the Shaman in Common and asked if they could wait for us, maybe half a day back, before where we talked to the squirrel, so they could lead us back to the road. Joybell: We’ll know if we’re going to live or die in half a day or so, so you won’t have to wait long. Shaman: We can wait. Joybell: We’d hate to have to fight our way through all your people. FIona cast a tiny hut and made a safe place for us to camp overnight. During the night, we heard some argument between the kobolds and the lizardfolk. The kobolds were not thrilled that we’d been brought there and were not inclined to let the lizardfolk leave. The folks who can understand draconic (and who translated for the rest of us) got the sense that the kobolds felt that if the lizardfolk brought us here to kill the Green Lord, they want the dragon to eat [I]them[/I] when we fail. In our hut we spoke quietly among ourselves, trying to get at least a sense of what our goals and aims were. Mo: My nanny killed a dragon single-handedly. The way she told it it was a giant, ancient dragon. Thneed: That’s the way I’d tell it too. Joybell asked if she could start the conversation with the dragon, because she’s really not comfortable with offering Auriqua at all -- it’s not ours to offer and she wasn’t convinced that it would really be a trade up from the Tundra Queen, even with the price of up to three children per year. 7 Harfastin 748 (Campaign day 98) The next morning there were 3 kobolds ready to take us to the Green Lord. Three of the lizardfolk left the village, but the Shaman remained to go with us. As with the lizardfolk, there was a bit of shuffling as we made it clear that we weren’t going to let any of the kobolds be behind us. Eventually we wound out with the Shaman leading the way with the three kobolds immediately behind him. They accepted that without too much argument. We spent half the day proceeding single file through many narrow passages, taking various turns and with side passages coming in and out, heading generally down. In several places we had to squeeze through. At times, Mo was riding flat on top of the broom because that made it a bit easier for him to navigate the tight passages. Taman tried to keep a mental map of how to get back out as we were proceeding. Around noon-ish we arrived at a sharp dip in the path, with water in it. The water disappeared and we went down a steep incline and then back up it. After we got back up to the top of the incline the bottom of it re-filled with water (like the U-trap in a sewer line). (Note: My notes about this entire conversation are terrible and very spotty. I’m not good at taking notes about conversations I’m involved in and then I was sort of being gobsmacked at what was going on.) Joybell started with asking how we could turn his ire away from the Gellyann and turn his attention away from travel and trade on the river. Tallyxtillon: I want to shape the decisions of the governments in Embernook and Auriqua. Joybell: What decisions? Tallyxtillon: Embernook’s people won’t turn on each other. And there are protections there. Joybell: But what are the decisions? Tallyxtillon: They’re all too connected to the Basalt Henge. Why should druids be interested in rock? Joybell: As a member of the druidic faith and someone who trained at the Henge, I can talk to that. Rock, earth, is the foundation on which plants and ecosystems live. Without rocks, the other elements are out of balance and without support. The Basalt Henge strives to maintain balance and that provides a foundation on which forests like this one can live. Tallyxtillon: The problem with Embernook is that I want to control the government. Joybell: That won’t work there. The Administrator is powerful. Tallyxtillon: My agents have been unsuccessful. I cannot get a toe-hold over the people or any power over the government in either city. Joybell: You’ve chosen your territory poorly. Auriqua is under the protection of the Tundra Queen. Embernook is under the protection of a powerful entity as well. Joybell got the sense that Tallyxtillon thought there was more than one entity protecting Embernook. Huh. Joybell: Maybe you need to find a different territory…. As she said that, she realized that she was basically setting him to go be a problem for other cities and other people without such powerful protections and got very quiet. So Mo stepped in. Mo offered him a 1000gp gem, which he wasn’t overly interested in. He wasn’t disinterested, but it wasn’t going to be a big motivator either. Mo: We’re working on a long-term plan to deal with the Tundra Queen. Tallyxtillon: What’s your plan? Taman, waving his rapier: Stab her with this. Tallyxtillon, laughing: Not much of a plan. Mo: We’re starting with her underlings and working our way up. But our interests may be somewhat aligned. Thneed: If your agents have failed, you need better agents. Tallyxtillon: Are you offering your services? Joybell, immediately concerned: For what? Mo: For a single, discrete service, maybe... Thneed: Have you tried opening diplomatic relations? Tallyxtillon: The problem with that is they then know you’re there and are coming from the outside. Joybell: So you want to subvert them from within? Mo: What do you want from us? Tallyxtillon: If you can cause Auriqua to break its deal with the Tundra Queen that would be helpful to me. Mo: They would be unprotected from the cold fey and giants and other dangers of the north. Taman: If you would protect them from those dangers… Tallyxtillon: I would prefer the town to break their deal without my mention….but as long as the city is undefended. Joybell: If we leave the town undefended, how would you treat them? Would you treat them well? Tallyxtillon: I would treat them the way I’d treat any other servants. Joybell: Oh, dear. Mo: I think we can get them to break their deal. We can give it a good shot. Tallyxtillon: If that’s what you’re offering…. Mo: On one condition. That you not slaughter the citizens indiscriminately. Tallyxtillon: Oh, I’m very discriminating. Mo: There are great riches in the town, but the lives of the citizens are not part of the deal. Tallyxtillon: Hmmm. Well. I think that if you want to make a deal where you cause the town to break their deal with the Tundra Queen and I don’t kill and eat you right now, I need collateral. Some reason for you to come back. Mo: I’ll offer my broom of flying with the battle hammock. Also all the money I have available. Tallyxtillon: Money works less well as collateral than one would expect. Especially with adventurers. Mo then offered him a locket that he pulled out from under his armor (and which none of us had ever seen). Mo: This was a gift from an admirer. I’ve worn it since I left my village and I would definitely come back for it. Tallyxtillon: So you’d come back. What about them? Taman: We’re a group. Joybell: We’re the Wonderful Band. The Green Lord thought for a moment. Tallyxtillon: I will hold the river travel that concerns you so as your collateral. I will cease interfering with travel on the Hochor River, for the time being. If, after the Festival of Stars, Auriqua is still under the Tundra Queen’s protection, I will start destroying every ship that passes the sandbar that my wreck was on. That was the final word in our conversation and the kobolds led us out past the U-trap. Mo, as we walked away: That’s not an improvement. Joybell: We have three months. We ended as we walked through the tunnels following our kobold escort. [/QUOTE]
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Erkonin (Campaign #1) [Session 46: Making Deals with Devils is Stupid as well as Bad]
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