Savage Tide Session 50

The party left the fleeing arenae sorcerors and hurried to the basement door. Mendel bellowed a few stark words of warning to intimidate any remaining pirates as Dacien released his arcane lock and the party headed down the rickety stairs. The basement was deserted however, as the elven party members secret doors that Faldak confirmed a group of at least ten had fled through. The basement contained a small forge for melting metal down, coins skimming and stamping - Mendel promptly swept the tools into his bag. They also found a jail cell holding a red skinned pirate, with a strange scaly crab-like claw for a right hand. He was unconscious, badly beaten, and in some distress, so the part patched him up and carried him along. They also found a hidden shrine to Demogorgon, with a grotesque statue leering at them as they emerged through the secret door. Amongst the pirate belongings they found a silk bag with a bird embroidered on its front. each time the party put their hand in a yellow canary emerged and fluttered about their heads. They decided to keep this away from Felix for now.

Questioning the captives, it appeared the human knew little of the existence of aranae in the Minting House. The aranae captive was more sullen and offered little more of use. It seemed the coin-skimmers Dacien trapped in the basement had fled through a hidden underground passage, full with sulphurous fumes. The narrow passage seemed a natural fissure, a rarely used escape tunnel. This lead to a trap door in the ceiling, which opened up into an abandoned butchers shop, where a band or aranae and forgers waited in ambush. After a bit of a fraught battle, the party captured two rogues who found themselves hidden and invisible behind Dacien's wall of force. They gave in to questioning but knew little else of importance, seemingly dupes  in the aranae's plan. The party stripped them of their belongings and sent them back to their lives as forgers, neglecting to mention they'd taken all of their equipment and their livelihood.

The party made their way through town, not spotting the cache of magical weapons hidden in the bottom of a traders wheelbarrow, and leaving a squabble between a priest of Thanatos and the gnomish golem maker over a body lying in the gutter. Dacien picked a spot to erect his magnificent mansion as a base of operations for the party. The party entered and explored their new home, other than the host's spacious locked quarters, and shut their prisoners away. After an expansive banquet, Harliss was scryed and found in the Rattlebox, gambling and drunk, so Felix and Antony went to retrieve her.

The others interrogated the prisoners, Dacien ready with an ESP spell to check their thoughts

• The aranea was stubborn and ready to die for his secrets - although was willing to share information if they sent him home to the Savage Baronies (which Felix felt was a test to assess the party's magical prowess). He wanted the party to die in a battle with the Crimson Fleet, and also baited them to debase themselves and torture him. In the end, he was killed with hte Cymric Dirk
• The red skinned prisoner called himself Jerome LeShiv, with a brother Longshanks also in the fleeet, He was weak, and ravaged by the 'red curse' the party had seen afflict the pirates of the Sea Reavers  in the Crimson Fleet. His right hand was becoming increasingly crablike. He begged for cinnabryl jewellery, so Anthony handed some over, and it seemed to ease his condition from worsening. He then explained he was also a mutineer from the Fleet (Harliss vouched for him), and stopped in town before making his way home. He mutinied when Cold Captain Wyther was humiliated in front of his (already unsettled) men - by captain Vanthus returning, now a changed dark creature, and beating him into submission and stealing his ship. His ship 'Up the Nooga' was in port. The Eighth Coil captured him for Cold Captain Wyther and were due to take him back. He described the pirate base and its location - 'The Wreck' as it was known is hidden on the north west shore by powerful illusions and magicks that block teleportation. The base was a collection of outbuildings around a strange structure - a series of captured prize ships stacked in a column around a large tree trunk. There were maybe 40-50 pirates still in the base and loyal to the captain, who also had some 'monsters' he kept hidden and at his disposal. One was a demonic creature that his in  a hut near the entrance that used telekinesis to move a boom from the harbour entrance.

Jerome LeShiv

Jerome and Harliss were willing to help the party in their assault on the Wreck. A small group went to check on Jerome's ship which they found abandoned in port. However they were followed back by an invisible aranea who tried to stop them as they re-entered the mansion.This drew a crowd who raised an alarm. Knowing the party would be in trouble leaving the mansion if they waited too long, they resolved to leave as soon as possible. A leaping demon was waiting outside for them, with the aranea. Dacien tried to leave a trap for them as a delayed blast fireball but the aranea caught the party in a web around the deadly gem. Not realising the significance of the gem, Felix tried to burn the web away from the trapped party with a potion of fiery breath - which triggered the fireball and engulfed the party. With several members barely alive, they party limped away and hid at Red Foam Whaling. hoping they would not be found. 

The next morning, Mendel convinced the others to visit Rhemus Caldakar, the golem maker, as a source of potential aid against the pirates.

Savage Tide Session 49

In their hovel, the party further questioned Harliss and discussed what to do next. When talk turned to paying a visit to Tyrlandi, Mendel felt the presence in his mind again as Tyrlandi spoke to him through her greater scrying spell. She informed the party that she had a visit from both the monks and the harpies, looking to cement alliances and unite against the parties efforts in the town - and wondered what had happened next. She did not respond to any further questions.

The city was still bustling an on alert, so, fearing reprisals, the party set to sneak out of the city. They went in the direction of the north gate, but saw a swarm of thugs and leaping demons, so veered across the river. They scanned the eastern perimeter wall for possible exits, and found a gang of street kids gathered round a makeshift exit. Throwing a liberal amount of copper coins in their direction, the party left through the wall and stayed overnight in the shrubland outside using Dacien's rope trick.

The next day, the party looked for another way back into the city. Heading south, they found a path leading from a hatch in the wall toward the rocky shoreline. There, they spotted several bloated corpses, mostly human, but some animal too. The party examined the bodies from afar and saw signs of surgery on the discoloured cadavers - but unwilling to get too close, they left well alone.

Antony snuck through the hatch at the wall and past a priest that was sweeping grime and gore away from the back of a dark stone building and cellar hatch. He passed by and circled round to the front of the building. Two guards with rheumy eyes and blackened eyelids stood staring out to the harbour - around their necks hung black scythe and skull pendants, dark symbols of Thanatos, the entropic Grim Reaper. Antony engaged them in small talk and found out they were waiting for the infirm and injured to be brought to them by those in the city, and were willing to pay for the privilege. Heading back, Antony caught the eye of the priest on cleaning duties and found out that, for a bribe, he was willing to bring out belongings from the bodies that were brought to the temple. Hearing that a pirate of the Crimson Fleet was brought in recently, and wanting a diversion to allow the party to enter, he made the transaction, and acquired a cinnabryl bracelet for Harliss to use.

In the city, the party dodged several patrols to make their way to Porphyry House to speak with Tyrlandi. Her guard, a burly human, and her madam, a gnomish woman, led the party up a secret flight of stairs to the top floor. Tyrlandi, the beautiful exotic woman, was sprawled on a chaise-longe, sucking on lollipop as she waited for them. Her heritage seemed to be part nymph but tainted by entropic fiendish blood. The faint sound of a child crying could be heard. The party recognised the symbol at her neck as that of Talitha, the Queen of Treachery. Tyrlandi greeted them curiously, eager to learn about their aims in the city and seeking to get information from them about their various goals and the information they had learnt about the palace. She answered the parties questions, but demanded locks of hair in return, gaining them from Felix, Antony and Mendel. She explained that she wanted to rule the city, unrivalled, and saw Kedward as her biggest rival once the Crimson Fleet were dealt with. She wanted the harpies in her pocket too. She did share information with the party if they chose to go after Kedward - that Rhemus Caldakar, his gnomish travelling companion of old who was now running a golem making business, was friends on the surface but secretly desired Kedward's imp familiar Matylda, and was plotting to kidnap her. Kedward was also a diabolist and could call upon demons to aid him. She also let the party know that the Eighth Coil wer einfiltrated by araenae, and we paying the harpies to torture and interrogate Harliss - but she had been intercepting the payments to try and keep Harliss alive.

The party left with their information and set about taking on the eighth coil hideout. They tried to sneak round the back of the building but were spotted and a prolonged spellcasting battle ensued, involving pirate thugs and araene sorcerers. Fireballs and lightning bolts rattled the building as the party drove into the ranks, locking several others in the basement. In the end, several aranae escaped via fly, but the party did have one unconscious foe alive for interrogation.

Savage Tide Session 48

(brief synopsis from last session)

The party were resting up in  Dacien's retreat, when Mendel felt the hairs prick up on the back of his neck. Dacien's detect scrying was trigger, as the image of a strange exotic woman appeared in his mind, peering over a pool of rainwater, and clutching two red-stained cobblestones in a blood-soaked rag.

She was idly watching Mendel through her sensor, biting her lip and playing with her hair. A symbol hanged around her neck that Dacien recognised - as an unholy symbol of Talitha, the entropic immortal of thievery, murder and lies. She eventually spoke, and only Mendel heard her  invite the party to Porphyry House, a little petulant they had not been already.

On returning to the city, Antony went looking to buy some real estate. He examined the district around a tower they believed to belong to Kedward Bone. The first house he knocked on was answered by an old gnomish woman who mistook them for body part sellers for the golem business. None of the properties were particularly lavish and well built. Eventually, they found an abandoned slop house come drug den, and started making it their own. However, as the party entered the city to plan their attack on the Harpies, they saw signs they might be being watched, as tiles fell off the roof of a nearby house.

The party planned an assault on the Birdcage to rescue Harliss, which involved an invisible Zhedd and Banshee scouting ahead, and then retuning to the party who were split in two less conspicuous groups. The city gates were shut and "Unite against the Seven Strangers' daubed in paint on their surface, so the city felt even less welcoming than before. Subtlety was lost on the party when it came ot the assault, as Banshee and Zhedd appeared on the streets, and then they teleported en masse into the gilt cage that held Harliss. Confusion effects disrupted the party's efforts, as the tower erupted into a mass brawl of harpies, a demonic statue, and terrified brothel patrons. Eventually the party regained their composure enough to regroup with the unconscious body of Harliss and flee the building. After a small sidetrek to recover a geased Mendel who was setting out to become the town's newest, biggest and not-so-brightest gigolo

One harpy managed to flee the Birdcage, and the city seemed to be on alert as the party regrouped at the doss house. Harliss started to answer their questions...

Savage Tide Session 47

Outside Red Foam Whaling, Mendel had been patrolling the docks, trying to act nonchalant as he kept an eye on the outside of the building. He hadn't spotted the figure in the shadows opposite the abandoned structure, who ducked back into darkness and cast invisibility. When Mendel heard and saw the effect of Gerald's blade barrier cause the whole building to shudder, he activated his fly spell and dashed to the roof. Spotting the large man-spider attacking Faldak and Antony he let loose a volley of arrows. The invisible figure spider climbed up behind him and sunk a dagger between his ribs, narrowly missing Mendel's spleen.  The large beast below saw the new threat and reacted - two images appeared; one drew upon a psionic aversion to instil a morbid allergy to spiders in those around him, the other charged at Mendel and stabbed him with the scimitar. The images coalesced into one form towering over the archer.

Zhedd started summoning a band of air elementals to try and grapple the foes, and the rest of the party moved to try and join the battle on the roof. Gerald took a chance and called down a flame strike that engulfed the trio fighting on the roof, hoping Mendel would evade the damage. He did - but the foes didnt as they were bathed in fire, which narrowly missed Felix as Dacien telekinesed him to the roof. The final assassin was grappled by the elementals but had enough breath in him to utter the word he needed to dimension door away.

The party gathered the loot from their foes, including 400 gold in skimmed coins suggesting ties to the Eighth Coil, and explored the abandoned building. They found equipment, make up and clothing used to make the building appear haunted, and bunk beds that hadnt been used in some time. A conference room had signs of an attack - chairs overturned, blood spatter and disembodied fingers on the floor. The final room was more disturbing - strips of shed spider skin and exoskeleton hung from the ceiling to fill the room. The party pulled these down from afar to reveal a grotesque effigy depicting Demogorgon - made from stitched together parts from human bodies, and animal parts. Piled hurriedly at the base of this were some treasures and a sack containing the clothing and gear of a female pirate - and the tell-tale earring the party recognised from their adventure in Kraken's cove from Harliss Javell. Perhaps it was her sewn into the effigy... In amongst her belongings they found a scroll, broken seal depicting a harp, from King Koryn's agent that read

Esteemed Tyrlandi, The bearer of this note is a friend and associate of mine. If you could aid her, I would once again be in your debt. Please extend her every courtesy - Zimon Alveneer

The party recovered and next day stopped off at the Rusty Shunt. Lars said he'd just heard that Zimon's body was hanging in the plaza. Tyrlandi, he explained, was a bit of a mystery, but that any visitors would have to per her the proper tribute.

Zhedd scryed for Harliss, clutching the earring as he leant over the pool. A view of a woman, lit by the rising sun, unconscious and badly beaten and dehydrated, lying on a straw-strewn cage floor. This reminded the party of a structure they had seen in the city - the Birdcage, run by the harpies that called themselves the Sister of Lamentation. The party toyed with visiting the Birdcage or Tyrlandi first - and fearing that Tyrlandi may have double-crossed Harliss, decided to explore the Birdcage first. They wandered through the city and found the crooked spire - its walls covered in graphic lewd images of debauchery, pain and pleasure. They mulled around outside, indecisive as Zhedd eventually asked some gulls to fly and and peer in the glass top - but they couldn't see enough to report. Felix caught up with one pirate patron as he was leaving and persuaded him to share some of the details - the brothel was not for the faint-hearted, but that if Felix had the stomach for it, 'Vivisecta' was the one to ask for.

Walking through the city, Felix spotted a passer by try to leave a scrap of paper in one of his colleague's pockets. He grabbed the pickpockets hand and shooed them off - it turned out to be a warning that 'one of the party was not who they seemed' and to come to the Deacon's Aria at midnight to find out more. This building turned out to be a theatre, in the grand guignol style, putting on bloody and visceral displays including a striptease and a play about a doppelganger. The theatre owner, Abethany, was intrigued by the party's tale and interested in having them as consultants to make some of their displays more technically convincing and graphic. Gerald mooted the idea that the party could hire out some of the actors for a private job, and suggested returning once the plans were more concrete.

The party remained in two minds about what to do next, so to stall for time went looking for a suitable 'gift' to give Tyrlandi. They went to the market, but left empty handed after Mendel insulted the perfumer, so went to the docks looking for other ideas. It seemed a city where pirates came to relax rather than sell off their goods, but a word in the right ear might  reveal someone more desperate to be rid of their spoils.They were stopped by a nervous street hustler with a large coat lined with trinkets he tried to off-load to the party. As the party were distracted, some invisible assassin slipped form the crowds on the docks, along with some disguised leaping demons. They pounced on the party, Mendel and Faldak receiving knives in a variety of vital organs, and the demons tried to abduct the others. Antony laid low an assassin with the Cymric Dirk - and was struck by the mental image of the minting House, the assassin's hideout and heart of the Eighth Coil, as its deepest secret was revealed. A passing wizard happened to see the shadowy dagger in action, and uttered a short prayer before attacking the party and trying to claim the dagger for himself. The party later found a holy symbol of Masauwu on him, confirming his interest in that immortal's unholy artifact. The party fought off the attackers in quite public display of power that caught many bystanders in magical effects and drew a larger crowd. Antony was abducted by a leaping demon to an abandoned warehouse. Before the demon could pummel Antony into the ground, he used the bracelet of friends to call Mendel to his side, who dispatched the demon with ease. They left the warehouse to ifnd themselves in the eastern quarter of the city near a dark austere orphanage. Back on the docks, Zhedd's solid fog and Dacien's wall of force kept people at bay long enough for the party to gather themselves, the loot, and escape back to their hideout.

They resolved to rest up and return in the morning. They had three targets - Tyrlandi, the Sisters of Lamentation, and the Eighth Coil. Finding a gift for Tyrlandi was to be first on the list.

Savage Tide Session 46

The party licked their wounds in Dacien's Secure Shelter. Felix and Faldak were raised, and plans set for travelling back to Farshore in the morning to obtain unguents and diamonds to restore Lenny (now a mongrel dog) and Antony.

A few times Faldak and Felix felt a presence in the back of their minds, trying to intrude on their thoughts; Dacien's detect scrying spell triggered and showed the mage an image of a bald headed monk standing over a font filled with blood, a rictus grin showing on the lower half of a face devoid of skin.

Back at the hideout in Scuttlecove, the party decided to re-enter the city but a bit more discretely. Antony and Felix led a more diplomacy-focussed group, with Faldak as their bodyguard. They tried to sneak back into the city, but were stopped at the gate by a group of thugs. Antony's quick thinking bluffed the groups way past the guards, and they headed straight for the Rusty Shunt inn. The innkeep Lars Landicaster met their entrance with a steely glare and a 'Get out!' - word had gotten around about the attack on the palace, and Lars didn't want any more trouble getting back to him, his inn, and again mentioned that he'd 'seen too many good people die'. Antony and Felix calmed him down and persuaded him to reveal more about what he knew. In the back room of the inn, Lars explained that he hoped the party were good enough to do what needed to be done - if they were smarter about it. Lars knew of the Protectorate - King Koryn's agents in the city - and that they had recently been wiped out to a man. They had a base of operations at Red Foam Whaling - an old pirate hideout that preyed on whalers in the locals seas, but had long since been abandoned for the Protectorate to use as a front. Lars was happy if the King was doing something about the city, curious to see how the party would tip the scales.

They spent the rest of the day traipsing around the city, and avoiding roaming gangs of monks, leaping demons and thugs. The market was an interesting source of potions and magical trinkets, even golems. The queue for the Violated Ogre was greater than the party's interest in seei,ng an ogre being violated. They also stopped by the Rattlebox - a gambling den offering cock fights, rot roulette and five stones run by a grumpy dwarf named Figwater. He'd heard rumours about the palace being haunted but thought it was actually a front for smugglers.

That night the party regrouped, snuck back into the city and made their way down to Red Foam Whaling on the waterfront. The place seemed abandoned, and in a poor state of repair. The party snuck round the side over the water, leaving Mendel on watch outside. On the jetties around the other side, they spotted a dark haried woman trussed up and gagged. Sensing a ruse, Dacien started telekinesing her body towards the party, at which point she turned toward Antony and suggested he kill his mage friend. The fight was on, as three figures - human but with spider-like features to their faces, mandibles, slightly faceted eyes - emerged from hiding and tried to assassinate Faldak.

Gerald summoned a blade barrier to divide the battlefield, having healed Faldak so the dwarf could remain in melee. Dacien hid beneath the piers and cast spells, disintegrating one enemy.His telekinesis held the woman  captive until Felix managed to rip her throat out - causing her to vanish. Zhedd summoned creatures to distract the enemy.

As the batle reached a peak, a larger humanoid - a warped combination of spider and man, almost as if a spider was bursting through the skin of it's human shell - appeared in the air and swept down on Faldak brandishing a scimitar that crackled with dark energy. It slashed at the dwarf and grabbed Antony in its jaws, as the summoned creatures dove towards it.

Outside the building, Mendel looked up from the prostitute he was talking to and heard the cries of battle - and wondered if it was time for him to join yet.

Updated map containing locations and information party has collected

Savage Tide Session 45

The vampires behind the wall of force retreated, calling out about the party's powers and resources and alerting their allies to Mendel's blessed weapons. A deep resonant voice called out "Introduce them to the Eviscerator Scarabs!".

Two giant beetles came down either side of the entrance hall, their black carapace glistening with a sickly green ooze that seeped out from every joint. Their legs were attached to cords of twine that linked them to a web of broken glass and bone that hang form the ceiling.As they waddled forward, their mandibles clacked together with a deep echoing hollow thud, that reverberated around the party's skulls. Felix managed to counteract the effect with his bardsong to allow the others to fight off one beetle whilst the other was trapped behind the wall of force, being mauled by two of Zhedd's summoned crocodiles. Gerald prepared to face what was behind the double doors, and as he saw them start to open, summoned a blade barrier in their place. Unfortunately he was so focussed on the spell, he didn't have time to rest to the fact the doors were being flung off their hinges into the room, and caught a flying lump of oak to the side of the head.
The wall had barely come into existence before a portion of it vanished, and a group of the shabbily-dressed vampires emerged, led by another, agile one in Thothian dress. "Give us the promised one!" they cried, as they crowded in on Dacien. Dacien's disintegrate spell made short work of the head vampire, but the others tried to grapple him away. Zhedd swept down on Banshee to pull him away from the mass of flailing arms just in time.

Another voice echoed in the party's heads - this time telepathically; a thin whispering paranoid voice like dry papyrus. "Who are you? You're here for me? You know my name, don't you!" it fretted. The party ignored this interruption and pressed their advantage in the battle, only to spot a pale evil-looking beholder lurking in the remains of a small ball room, floating above a pit thick with purple, throbbing webbing. Various party members succumbed to it's charm rays but avoided the other effects, as it came into the room. Zhedd caught it within a cloud of solid fog, which when uncovered revealed no sign of the beholder.

The party then prepared to take out the remaining eviscerator scarab behind the wall of force, with Dacien clearing the obstructing solid fog with an anti-magic field. As the wall dropped, the party let loose their attacks, but Dacien was caught out by the on-rushing beetle, and sliced in two by its wickedly sharp mandibles. The party found time to bring Dacien back, noting that they were low on components for further raise dead spells, and Gerald began the casting to remove the charm effects from the party. his casting was interrupted by the antimagic ray of the beholder, re-materialising the other side of the blade barrier. After fighting to another stand-off, the party decided to regroup in daylight in the palace grounds.

Quite crowd of locals had gathers to view the commotion - and Zhedd had spotted two harpies that had flown over to investigate, then abruptly disappeared. The locals quizzed the party on who they were working for and what they were doing, surprised to see someone brave and return from the palace. A quintet of cowled monks, the skinless lower halves of their faces glistening sickly in the sun, watched the party and followed them over the palace wall. They demanded a tax for trespassing from the party, which was paid, but didn't stop the party proceeding, instead going ahead of them into the palace. The party stormed this again, to face the beholder and the monks, who were quickly dispatched. The beholder tried to fend off the party's frontal assault, only to be caught out by Antony leading Dacien over the roof and in through the ceiling. Gerald caught the beholder in a flame strike which was also powerful enough to burn off the strange purple webbing. A second one destroyed the beholder, sending its gaseous form down through the tunnel to the area below.

Trying to press their advantage, the party hurried after, but without preparation blundered into a trap that set off an unholy keening wail. Felix, Antony, Lenny and Faldak fell prey to the scream and their bodies, stiffened as they died of fright, fell into the pit. Dacien telekinesed them back out, as a female creature, her lower half that of a spider, emerged muttered "I think you best leave". The paranoid voice was heard again, and when Mendel asked who it was, it answered in a trembling voice "yes, you would want to know." They asked about Dacien being the 'Promised One', and the spider-lady replied "Not for what he is now, but for what he will become. It is his destiny."

The party fled to the surrounding wilderness to recover and raise their friends, hiding in a secure shelter as they plotted their return to Scuttlecove.

Savage Tide Session 44

Back at Fort Gerard, Stephen was left to use the electronics he had salvaged to begin repairs to the reactor control systems, whatever they were. Faintly Macabre mentioned to Dacien that she thought Stephen’s strength and resolve would continue to weaken due to his proximity to this strange power source – the bloodroot might stave off his craving for now, but would only ever be a temporary effect. Faintly expressed an interest in adventuring and considered meeting the party in Farshore  in the future. Faldak and Mendel took guard duty on the roof of the fort, whilst Zhedd scryed for the Shadow elves to no avail. After a day’s rest and recuperation, the party teleport back to the capital of Emerond.

The capital Izmira was busier than on the party’s last appearance, but as the green-skinned Emerondian’s spotted the party, they dropped to their knees and bowed their heads in hushed whispers. Keen ears made out the phrase “Keeper of the Heart of Emerond” being repeated, and most eyes were following Gerald. The king greeted the party warmly, having heard from his gardeners that the deterioration of the plants had been halted. In the palatial baths, their heads anointed with scented candle, the party reported back (but kept the detail of Stephen’s existence silent) and shared their concerns that the Shadow Elves might return. The king agreed that a small trusted honour guard could be placed under Gerald’s command at the fort – he seemed to accept without question Gerald’s status in the kingdom. By way of thanks, we rewarded the party with several items from his armoury – plant-based weapons, armour and trinkets that might aid them on future quests. He agreed to allow the Church of Asterius to trade for their unique liquor, and also small amounts of the weapons.

The party spent much of the next few days travelling between Farshore and Sasserine, resting, resupplying and catching up on progress. Ji’s monastery was well underway, Mendel checked in with the Church of Asterius and Manthalay to discuss shipping additional cargoes to Farshore (Aloysius has ideas to fleece all parties involved, and set about sourcing appropriate goods). The alchemist had identified the fruits from the Isle of Dread as potent hallucinogens, and thought they could find value in the drug trade or development of alchemical gasses. Antony had Nosmo ferry passengers between Farshore and Sasserine, and also start spreading the word about the new route and port to other ship owners. Dacien asked the Temple of Ixion to send acolytes to Farshore, and teleported some there directly. Zhedd picked up his gloves for the Witchwardens, and then they were set to go.

The next stop was to call in the favour from the Church of Asterius to get the party introduced to King Koryn of Ne’er-do-well – so they could follow up on their leads to track down the shadow pearls in Scuttlecove. Dacien teleported the group to Crossroads, the capital, and went from there to an inn named the Inappropriate Eel. Crossroads was an odd city – beautiful buildings and marble statuary lined the once fine streets, but now were covered in graffiti, defaced and anything of value broken off and sold on. Half the populace were wearing featureless masks and very little eye contact was being made. The party found the inn on the harbour front and, leaving a special coin with the innkeeper, waited to be summoned.

A few hours later, they were shown in to a back room where a handsome man, with perfectly manicured fingers, lounged in a large cushioned chair. He introduced himself as Koryn and explained a bit of the history of Ne’er-do-well, Scuttlecove, and why his and the party’s goals were currently aligned

Ne’er-do-well: originally a kingdom of two islands called Artesia and run by artists, poets and musicians, mismanagement caused it to fall into ruin and become a home for the unfortunate, desperate and criminal elements. Koryn worked to shape this into what he called his ‘anarchy’ – a state where anything is legal, as long as it causes no physical harm, and where people are free – as long as they acknowledge Koryn’s rulership. He was proud that this was a place where people could find whatever they wanted – at a price. The masked visitors were those wishing to keep their presence, motives and identity secret.

Scuttlecove: a small port  on the volcanic swampy island of Lesser Ne’er-do-well, Koryn let his former travelling companions and pirates Kedward Bone and Rhemus Caldakar take up positions there. Kedward was a dashing pirate who fell to the ravages of a disfiguring disease, and became a recluse with strange predelicitions and drug dealing. Rhemus was a gnome sorcerer that has a business selling body parts. About 10 years ago, a group of exile Monks of Dire Hunger from the (Egypt-like) nation of Thothia petitioned Koryn for safe harbour and he allowed them to take residence in Scuttlecove. They built a palace, but then vanished a few years ago, leaving a haunted building behind. A sect of powerful Bellisarian wizards used to run a brothel in Porphyry House, but were ousted by a mysterious woman calling herself Tylrandi – who was seldom if ever seen. A group of coin skimmers, who make a living shaving gold off coins, named the Eighth Coil, had also become quite rich and powerful in the city.

What had raised Koryn's concern was the arrival of the Crimson Fleet, a powerful group consorting with demons and operating from a magically hidden base near Scuttlecove. Now the city was on the brink of civil war between the factions and Koryn feared for his reputation with the Alphatian Empire if this become too unruly, and also that one power group might seek to rival him. He wanted to put down any thoughts of rebellion – at arm’s length with nothing to be traced to him – by having the party investigate what was going on in Scuttlecove and tip the scales in one groups favour as they saw fit. Koryn wanted his anarchists in control.

So, if the party sought out the Crimson Fleet’s hidden base of operations, and took them out, Koryn could see stability returning. And he was willing to offer the party the resources of Ne’er-do-well, the favour of a king, in return. Koryn left at that point, and Felix, a rakasta agent, entered to brief the party further. He had been sent by Koryn to find Zimon Alvaneer, Koryn’s trusted spy in the city, who had disappeared without trace.  When Felix got to the city, he found out the Protectorate, Zimon’s network of agents loyal to Koryn, had been killed to a man. He returned quickly to gather a larger group and help him look into this. One potential port of call in the city was the tavern Rusty Shunt, run by a former pirate Lars Landicaster, who had a noble heart.

The party were shipped in Scuttlecove and saw it for the bustling depraved shithole it was. They saw demonic apes, robed disfigured monks, harpies and other creatures amongst the bustling, fighting crowds. All eyes were on them as they arrived, sizing them up as potential marks. They made it to the Rusty Shunt, but Mendel’s questioning put Lars on edge, and he didn't reveal much. Anthony spoke to the patrons and heard more about the city – apparently dashing female pirate that the party thought might be Harliss Javell was seen asking questions, and might be linked to a group of mutineers from the Crimson Fleet. Lars warned Antony off asking too many questioned, and Felix sensed some regret behind his words that maybe others asking questions in his care hadn't fared well.

The party decided to head through the thronging streets and explore the ‘haunted palace’ first, and in broad daylight (via the Plaza of Hanging Ruin, a mass crucifixion site run by the monks) went over the wall and broke in through the front balcony. In the entrance hall, decorated in Thotian style, they were attacked by shadows that lay hidden in large canopic jars. A vampire entered and told them they were trespassing, and left as swarms of other vampires attacked from either side. Dacien sent an arcane eye after the head vampire, but it stopped working once it got through the keyhole. As the party fought off the vampires, Zhedd and Felix who had been waiting outside on guard, arrived to warn them that a crowd was gathering by the gates outside.

Faction list

Savage Tide Session 43

Dacien reckoned the party had around 10 seconds before the building would collapse around them. The whole structure groaned and creaked. Rubble fell form one of the floors above, and along with it a giant bloated gruel-encrusted toad, the size of a wagon. The toad splashed into the water that surrounded Mendel. Near what remained of the entrance, other threats were now also visible - a swarm of piranha-like tadpoles, a mass of large rats with exposed brains struggling to stay afloat, and a ghostly female figure flitting between the remnants of a mangled series of pipes. The quiet after the explosion was broken by the sound of whooping and screeching from a band of oversized apes that had also been revealed by the blast.

The party tried to group to escape. Antony manged to topple the cyborg off the seating area and over the balcony, into the waiting mouth of the toad below. Stephen appeared from above, dropping the 3 stories onto what remained of the ground floor with a sickening crunch. Desperation plastered on his pale face, he pleaded to the party. "Please, in here, it's the only thing I can think to undo this! A drinking game, like roulette - it could kill you, but it might repair this damage!" Dacien tried to buy some time by conjuring a pillar of stone to support the floor underneath the reactor, as the party moved into the room Stephen had indicated. By this time, Zhedd had fled, teleporting away with Faldak to try and get to safety. Outside, they both spotted four shadow elves in front of the main complex, one in the process of summoning two large earth elementals. Faldak's eye was caught by the fine dwarven waraxe one of the elves was wielding...

Back inside the temple, Stephen led the players into what he referred to as the games room. A large metal table dominated the room, surrounded by several chairs connected to the ceiling with cables. The centre of the table appeared to the a flat polished gem, within which flickered green pixelated text and the image of a deck of cards. Stephen slammed his hand on the screen, a card appeared and, when nothing happened, jumped up in disgust. Dacien tried next, and a series of cards appeared which left him naked and surrounded by gems.

Gerald and Lenny were next, and suddenly the whole building morphed around them. The frog shaped imagery disappeared to be replaced by sturdy dwarven craftsmanship, the temple of the frog replaced by a plain dwarven fort (DM: struck me after maybe it should have been shaped like a dwarven head?). Lenny's coat all of a sudden looked more thick and glossy, and the sound of mechanical pumping could be heard echoing from the newly formed dungeons below.

In the main entrance chamber, Mendel dispatch the ghostly figure, whose choral wailing was having little effect on the party. The other creatures were caught in the dungeon of the new Fort Gerald. Dacien tried calling out to Weewak but had no response, but dwarven faces built into the wall did respond to questions, and were commanded to pump out the water from the basement. Stephen was extremely grateful to the party, but started to refer to Gerald as 'my liege' and show him deference. Stephen left the party to check on his mechanical creation upstairs, as they explored the rest of the complex. Much of the contents had been reshaped to be of dwarfish design. They found the giant toad in the basement, along with a distillery, and were able to dispatch it with arrow fire. Several explosive devices were collected from around the building, and carefully placed in a bag of holding.

Once the building was clear, Stephen explained that the power output of the complex should prevent further damage to the kingdom of Emerond, but the damage that the shadow elves had inflicted would need additional technology to repair and allow the kingdom to flourish again. This could be found in the craft that brought the 'cyborgs' here - an invisible stealth ovoid. The next day, after Dacien returned to Farshore to buy some clothes and bring along the Witchwarden Theurge Faintly Macabre to help Stephen with his vampiric condition, the party went hunting for the cyborg craft. The tracks from the shadow elves led to a tree and disappeared, but Zhedd communed to find the location of the craft to the southwest. With Banshee's sonar, they found the craft and after a fair bit of experimentation managed to gain access. Antony played with the controls and almost got whisked away into space, but, with Stephen in tow, was able to be rescued by the rest of the party. Stephen cannibalized the crafts electronics and thought he had enough to make a start on repairing the reactor controls.

Savage Tide Session 42

The rest of the party held off, as Mendel stepped forward brandishing the sun blade above his head, bathing the room in light and warning the vampire to retreat. The rest of the party stalled as the light from the blade grew. The creature spoke something, but Dacien's tongues spell had worn off and he couldn't translate. Instead, an answer came from a disembodied voice that echoed around the chamber. The vampire then backed off around the corner and out of sight. The two phanaton broke out a vial of stonebreaker acid and between them started dissolving the putty around the large red faceted window to flood the room with the light from the setting sun. Zhedd scrambled along the ceiling to do likewise with a stoneshape spell.

Back in the corridor, sitting in the silence area, Antony noticed a movement in the corner of his eye and spotted one of the large dog-like machines from the room to the north stalking along the corridor. Dacien reacted quickly and put a wall of ice in place to slow it down. Faldak, reluctant having been warned by Dacien that the creatures will take pleasure in ripping through his armour and weapons, took up a guarding position in the corridors as the other made their way into the main room, with the dire wolves from Zhedd’s summons squeezing behind the dwarf to offer support. The wall only delayed the creature for a couple of rounds as it tore through the ice and made short work of the wolves too.

Gerald conjured a blade barrier back in the control room, knowing that there were two of the dog-like creatures, to avoid being flanked. Mendel dashed after the vampire and found him in a small chamber in the centre of the control room, dominated by a large white ‘throne’. The vampire was stood at the back of the room, near some vents in the wall, from which came the sound of chittering and squeaking. Mendel’s blade dug deep into the vampire, and it fled as a gas through the ventilation shafts. Mendel then found himself flooded by hungry rats that poured out of the vents to carpet the room and the archer. The window now free of its frame, Gerald and Lenny began creating water to conjure jets to wash the swarms of rats into the blade barrier and clear the room. Dacien took more time to examine the throne – with comprehend languages he was able to decipher the writing in the room too. The throne had a red dial on the left arm with the words RECORD, REWRITE and REPLAY etched around it. The dial currently pointed at REWRITE. Inserted into the right arm was a rectangular object that had flashing lights within, and written on the edge of this was a name “Stephen ‘The Rock’ Rocklin”; similar cassettes lined the wall with other names (one of them was ‘Mendel’), but also ‘Temple Indoctrination 1’ and ‘Temple Indoctrination 2’. Dacien sat in the chair, moved the dial to ‘REPLAY’ and his mind was flooded with images from the life of Stephen Rocklin. This started with a ceremony in front of a large crowd and a large metal ship of some kind; a flight through space; a banner depicting the leaping frog they had seen outside, but with the writing now legible reading ‘Terraforming Horticultural Expeditionary Force: Rigel Outer Galaxy’; the metal ship taking damage and crashing in a barren rocky  mountainous area; an argument with another officer on the ship; Stephen leading an escape attempt with some other green-tinted skin folk in a smaller ship, which was shot down; Stephen meeting some native elves and humans, and showing them the frog symbol; the building of the frog-shaped temple; Holding some of the humans and elves down in the throne and pressing ‘rewrite’; seemingly years later, one of the strange golems the party met outside attacking the temple building and damaging the large white tank the party had seen earlier; the golem being slain and tied to the altar and its brain removed; the people fleeing the temple as Stephen tried to repair the tank (bent over the terminal that the party had found recently damaged); Stephen researching in books from the locals a creature that had a certain longevity and resistance that might allow him to remain and maintain the building despite the dangers; and finally, Stephen mulling over a decision. The onrush of the mental images dazed Dacien and left him confused for a moment. Fortunately he recovered his senses to aid Faldak in fighting the mechanical dog, and ended the combat quickly with a disintegrate spell. The second mechanoid has slink down a side corridor to the levels below. Feeling battered from the series of encounters, the party teleported back to Sasserine to rest.

Dacien spent the night pouring over the diary they had recovered, which mirrored the story he had seen upon the throne – that Stephen Rocklin was part of a horticultural terraforming crew looking for new planets to explore, their ship The New City was struck by a missile whilst scanning Mystara, and crashed; the prime directive of his training did not allow for engagement and interference with native creatures, but Stephen felt, in the absence of any hope of rescue in the short term, interaction with the locals was necessary. This led to a rift with his commanding officer, and Stephen led a mutiny to escape in a life boat. That was shot down by the main ship, and crashed in this swamp, where, using the frog imagery from their vessel, they convinced the locals they were agents of the Frog God. The explorers then used the brainwashing powers of their memory recording technology to indoctrinate the locals into working with them, and with the terraforming engine, building a community that would allow them to interbreed and survive. Things went well for some time, until a cyborg sent by the corps security force tried to destroy all evidence of their presence here. This damaged the reactor power source, making the area dangerous for his  colleagues. Stephen commanded them to leave and build a new life in the surrounding areas, whilst he remained and tried to repair the damage and keep the terraforming engines running. The locals had spoken of a creature that had very hard to kill and could grant this power to others, so Stephen set off to investigate. His last entry was simply ‘what have I done?’

The next day, several of the party woke up to find much of their hair left on the pillows, and a general feeling of lethargy. This struck Lenny the worst, who found his skin highly sensitive and fragile. Something about being in the area of the temple had a prolonged effect on her. Dacien decided to visit the Witchwardens to enquire about possible solutions to Lenny’s problem. He also mentioned that they had met a powerful undead who might need some guidance. Dark Priestess Annah Teranaki welcomed the visit and information from Dacien. She alluded to some interference from the ’fool’ immortal Ixion during the last war (~4 years ago) which had altered something Annah described as the Radiance to drain entropy instead of energy/magic from the plane. This was having damaging effects on the undead that the Witchwardens were trying to help – and the vampire in control of the Radiance energy here was a prime example of the short sighted effects of Ixion’s interference. Draining of entropy was weakening undead, and causing any hungers that they might keep in check to come to the fore and be much stronger. Annah did not know much about the Radiance itself, but alluded to more happening in Glantri, and claimed to be researching more now it was directly impacting them – but that its powers could transcend magical effects, and cause damage that might be resistant to normal magical healing. Dacien requested something for Stephen to help control his hunger, and Annah gave some bloodroot. Zhedd had heard that this could sate a creature’s hunger for blood temporarily, but also that in a distilled form it could enhance it and drive vampires into a raging bloodlust.

The party gathered, had a fleeting moral crisis, and teleported to the Temple to try and peacefully deal with Stephen. However, he was waiting for them and hit Faldak with the heat beam weapons the party encountered before on the golems. Antony swiftly tried to call a truce and managed to convince Stephen to hold off attacking further whilst Dacien telekinsed the bloodroot towards him as a peace offering. Antony’s words worked and gave the party time to explain that they were in fact here to help. Stephen confirmed the background, but added that there had been some pale elves here that had wanted to investigate the technology inside the temple themselves – likely the shadow elves that the party had heard of in league with Bargle. They had damaged the terminal in the main reactor room, which meant the power levels were running lower and that explained why the terraforming engine could not sustain the structures within Emerond. Their tampering had also alerted the security cyborgs to the existence of the temple here, and they had arrived recently to try and remove all trace of the technology from the area. Stephen could not face them alone, but the party offered to take them out instead.

(EDIT: Lenny also asked about having the damage from the radiation cured; Stephen knew of no sure way to do this, but did mention a 'game console' on the lower level that could help albeit with a risk)

Stephen called out to ‘Weewak’ and the same disembodied voice from yesterday answered. Stephen asked for a report on intruders, and pinpointed the location of the 3 cyborgs in the temple, as well as drawing a holographic map for the party. As the cyborgs were mainly on the lower levels, they then prepared t o assault the temple nave through the gap in the ceiling they had seen previously. The party spotted several of the black cylinders with glowing red gems they had also seen outside onthe walls, scatted around the supporting pillars of the temple. The cyborgs were slow to react, but again responded with their lasers when threatened. Faldak was identified as a novel species, so a preservation protocol was engaged and they trapped Faldak in an immovable force field. Antony tried to exploit this tactic but using his hat of disguise to appear as unusual as possible. Zhedd spotted a giant toad on the levels above coming to investigate the commotion, and conjured  a wall of teeth to catch the cyborgs. One was dispatched b y Dacien’s magic, and the one o nthe lower level fell to Mendel’s arrows. Before it died, it ejected a glowing green rod, which detonated in a crackling purple sphere. However, this explosion caught the other black cylinders in its blast, which set off a chain reaction of explosions, removing much of the floor and all supporting pillars from the temple. An ominous groaning sounded from overhead...

Images of the layout, and the effect of the explosions below

Savage Tide Session 41

The trees of the mangrove swamp began to form a 'V' ahead of the party, blocking their path forward and herding them back towards the perimeter wall. Duckweed and roots began to spout up between the trees making passage even more difficult. An ancient gnarled treant (known as a Gakarak) emerged from a nearby tree and demanded the 'sticking meatsacks' left its home, not wanting 'more intruders like the others'. The party paddled/few back a ways and discussed how to get around the blockade; they decided retreat wasn't an option and so planned a way to deal with the treants. When it reappeared nearby, there was a flurry of fireballs and flame strikes that drove it into a retreat and allowed the party to press on.

A few hours later, the party came to an island in the midst of the swamp. In the midst of the overgrown island sat a jade green building in the shape of a large frog, with two multi-faceted red eyes and an open mouth. Two stone walls enclosed an overgrown garden that led up to a gatehouse and courtyard around the base of the building. At the entrance to the garden, were two wooden jetties leading out to the swamp, with the bones of eels and crocodiles scattered in the water underneath. Beyond this, there were signed a other small jetties and buildings, a small settlement long since swallowed by the thick jungle.

Mendel and Faldak lead the party out onto the quays, which strangely quivered as they landed, and held them fast. Two mimics that were pretending to be the jetties, came to life and tried to grapple the warriors. With some frantic chopping and further magical fire, the two ooze-like impressionists were defeated, but the noise of the battle had drawn the attention of the gakarak which emerged from the trees and called upon more treants to join him. Gerald conjured a blade barrier to deal with animated trees, as Dacien blocked with retreat with a wall of force and Zhedd's summoned fire elementals hemmed them in. Mendel tried to attack the gakarak with his alchemical arrows, and Faldak used his potion of invisibility to catch it by surprise. The dwarven woodchipper launched into action, and in moments, all that was left was a cloud of splinters.

Antony scouted ahead through the enclosed garden, and spotted two humanoid figures atop the strange stone walls, moving in a strangely unnatural motion, and periodically bending down to examine the top of the wall. They hadn't seemed to spot him, so he pressed on. A drawbridge led from the garden into the main courtyard around the frog-shaped building. In the gateway, a red dome shaped object was on the inner wall, surrounded by a yellow and black striped panel. Antony snuck forward, and saw a set of large double doors between the frog's legs,with the a circular symbol above the doors depicting a frog in a helmet jumping on a starry background. Strange writing in an alphabet no-one recognised circled the emblem. The doors were ajar, and it was dark beyond. Somewhere in the dark a light was flickering, and an animal grunting could be heard.

Antony beckoned the party forward, and the noise alerted the humanoids on the walls. A burst of flame erupted from their back, and they leapt into the air to land in the courtyard ahead of the party. They spoke a strange language, but Dacien's tongues let him translate their odd way of speaking. He caught phrases such as "Target acquired", "New species identified, engaging containment protocol". The figures looked like humans, but with strange metal plates embedded in their skin, and an unnatural look about them. They lit up Faldak with a red light, and a tube appeared on one's shoulder. Mendel fired an arrow at that creature, and the response was "Attack protocol engaged, prioritising targets". A force field erupted around Faldak and tried to encage him, but he escaped. The other creature drew a strange dark rectangular weapon and fired it at Mendel, searing him with arcs of burning light. The attacks nearly brought Mendel to his knees, before Dacien warded him against fire damage. Faldak almost destroyed one of the creatures, but heard it call out "Critical damage - ejecting core!", and it exploded around him. The other was defeated but did not exploded. One the bodies, the party found various unusual objects. Mendel managed to get the weapon to fire after some experimentation, but put it away for now.

A buzzing noise above their heads drew the party's attention upwards. In the mouth of the frog, was a swarm of strange small winged lizards, buzzing about a trough of rotting meat which sat before a set of doors. Magical explosions and ice took care of the lizards, allowing the party to explore the doors. One was full of mangled bits of metal, which appeared to form a set of shelving, and hid a metal box which held bandages and alchemical type items. The other doors led deeper into the building. There the party found strange doors that were either jammed or flung open at their approach, and beyond were abandoned, well-appointed washrooms and bedrooms. Most of the rooms looks as though the portable contents had been removed in a hurry, although Dacien did find a book that Antony thought might be a diary - again, written in this new script. A further room held a series of metal cabinets, which made whirring noises and flashed their gem-like lights upon the party's approach. This had a strange effect on Antony and Faldak, who attacked the party until Dacien and Zhedd could ward them with a protection from evil. Mendel attached the largest cabinet in the room, and was struck by a bolt of electricity that somehow ran around him and flew into a door opposite revealing another room beyond. Concerned about the powers of the strange metal cabinets, Dacien used telekinesis to block the doorway with large wardrobes, which allowed the party to explore the other rooms beyond. Antony snuck ahead into a large room with a balcony filled with pews that looked down on a frog shaped altar - bound on top of the altar was the body of a humanoid figure, held down with ropes. Another room held a large white metal silo, covered in dents and with a yellow and black triangle painted on its side. Another metal cabinet was in this room, but smashed, and Mendel spotted traces of blood spattered around its base. White robes with blue brooches were hung on the walls - a white pattern on the brooches turned black on entering the room.

The party found some stairs leading up and there came across a large room with a hexagonal vat hidden under tarpaulin, guarded by two metal dog-like creatures that Dacien thought similar to extraplanar sentries that can rend armour and weapons with ease. Leaving that room alone, they followed some stairs leading up to the head of the frog - the room was caked in shadows despite the afternoon light filtering through the red faceted eyes. Two hovering metal creatures emerged form the shadows to attack the party, seemingly near invulnerable to most attacks until the party used light spells and the sun blade they recovered from the Isle of Dread  to hold them back, after Dacien had sent one to the Plane of Shadow. As the last automaton fell, a pale human figure emerged from a chamber in the centre of the room, looking at the party with tired red eyes. As it spoke, two pointed teeth protruded over its bottom lip - clutching a device at its neck it said "Please leave".