Session 4

Fact sheet: on the road with Saatia and Santiago

Date: wed 03-08-22

Date in game: an unspecified Tuesday

Players present: Ecchima, Marty, Meinhart, Tuur and Vinnie. Dins was our DM.

Major developments:

we learnt a lot more about Saatia and the ruthless criminal organisation she works for, the Sable Serpent
we learnt war is brewing between Rosaria (the northern kingdom of the Hammerhead) and Kharkhorin (the nation to the east of the Chemlian Sea). It's linked to the invasion of the Bay of Beasts 50 years ago (where Eluviel became a war hero) and the attack on Soliman's holy city Lharsham 2 years ago (although that attack went unclaimed). For our current plans, it might mean:
- we'll need to travel over land towards Crescent Cove
- Eluviel might be busy again with war when we reach him/them
Even as we seem to fumble our way towards a way to help Frei with her exile from Koh'Shar, we appear to let down Enza, who might have family, friends or fellow villagers either still in the ruins of Nawa, or taken prisoner by the slavers of the Sable Serpent
Eldrin discovered Saatia's charming accent is regional to the Sand Sea, so we might meet other people with the same argot
we learnt Fyllion is famous for his bardistry, apparently all over Breheima
we didn't learn anything new about Ezra's family
we met Santiago, another polecat leading his nomadic Finnilash, who mentioned that polecat dancer Mondregen (Storm's rival from the Swan Lake Finnilash) will also be in Koh'Shar
we discovered Koh'Shar had an incident with a circle as well, about 2 years ago, which brought a lot of water and apparently prosperity

Notes

While Saatia is still beguiled by Storm's courtier-moves, we learn:

she's part of the Sable Serpent
- this is a criminal organisation, with hidden headquarters, presumably several secret caches and roving bands of bandits. Saatia was dispatched from one of those gangs
- Saatia reports to Na'Dir, the head of the organisation. This person knows no human values like mercy or restraint, they're only interested in money and the rewards of their crimes
- Simeon Ibn Seif is a long-standing connection to Na'Dir and has a better reputation within the Sable Serpent than Saatia, who indicates she's past her prime and thus no longer trusted with the most demanding or prestigious assignments
- the Sable Serpent is involved in a politicially sensitive negociation in Koh'Shar. Since it's not moving in their favour & the other party (who she refuses to name) could potentially wipe out the Sable Serpent, they hired Simeon as an outside contact: his assassinating the other party would give them an advantage, without leading back to them.
she confirms Simeon is a deranged serial killer who kills for fun
when the Sable Serpent learnt of Ghorann's demise (see session 1), she was sent to this hideout to collect any incriminating correspondence or documentation & to generally loot the place
the Sable Serpent has an unexpected surplus of prisoners whom they plan to sell as slaves. Probably these people are other survivors from Nawa, Enza's village. Might they be her family, friends and neighbours?
if we want to travel to Cresent Cove, she advises us to find a convoy in Koh'Shar to The Vale and cross the Spine, because trouble is brewing in the Sea of Storms & the Chelmian Sea, where war fleets appear to be gathering due to changes in Rosaria (the kingdom in the northern half of the Hammerhead peninsula)
- the king died a few months ago, reportedly of natural causes, though he wasn't particularly old
- though not yet crowned, the crownprince has already started gahtering a fleet to attack the nation Kharkhorin, which he blames for the destruction (6 months before our memory gap, so according to the world, 2 years ago) of the holy city Lharsam, where Soliman is worshipped. The conflict between Rosaria and Kharkhorin has been festering for half a century, when Kharkhorin's fleet crossed the Chelmian Sea to invade the Bay of Beasts and sail towards The Perch... It's in the defeat of these invaders that Lunaire's venerated servant Eluviel gained his reputation as war hero. Remarkably, the prince doesn't like magic

We assume this information is mostly correct.

.

Hali's starry form goes out, through the hatch sunlight filters down, along with the sounds of Fyllion crying in a panic. Frei and Hali go to check. Frei is furious that Simeon got away, but doesn't particularly blame Fyllion. Sarcastically, she suggests he can write a song about the duel, and Fyllion takes the suggestion to heart.

We start discussing our next move (for the next morning, we'll need rest and recovery first):

killing Saatia is against our code, although she grins that it's the only sensible proposal she's heard
Eldrin would like to let her go & is willing to buy her freedom with his share of the loot we found. Saatia appears agreeable to this, promising she won't tell anyone we were there... but we're too worried about Saatia retaliating, and we wouldn't accept his payment anyway
we can go to the Sable Serpent's current hideout and free the enslaved prisoners. This would of course please Enza & taking the freed people to Koh'Shar would set up our reputation in that city. Saatia warns us we're no match for Na'Dir, so we're worried about the odds of survival. Additionally, can we really change the culture of slavery in this area?
we can take her to Koh'Shar and
1. try to convince her to help us stop Simeon's assassination (given he fled with a horse, he'll probably reach Koh'Shar without any problems)
2. try to exchange her for a reward, similar to Frei's plan with Simeon, although we have no info if such a reward for Saatia exists, or would be sufficient to allow Frei to return into Koh'Shar society
3. allow her to escape, either upon arrival, or secretly arming her before handing her over to the guards (Fyllion's suggestion that he shift into Simeon till he's alone, we don't seriously entertain)

We decide to vote in the morning. Fyllion insists Storm gives him the massage he's owed. Storm obliges, but there appears to be a mismatch: Storm only knows physio-therapeutic massages to improve one's physical condition, while Fyllion was expecting a more sensual experience... When the first roll of the game turns out to be a NATURAL ONE for Fyllion's constitution, everyone can hear him whine over Storm's whispered instructions to "just breathe through the pain". Using lamp oil on Fyllion's delicate skin doesn't improve the experience, poor dear.

We loot the bandits:

for everyone, desert-ready garb including eye protection
leather armour with handmade serpent insignia - Saatia has studded leather armour, clearly of better quality... but none of us dare search her, never mind strip her of her armour
4 waterskins, 4 rations
daggers, 2 crossbows, 3 scimitars, which Fyllion takes to use & sell

We loot the skiff (sort of a husky sled):

it's mainly empty cages, crates & boxes: they were hoping to find exotic animals in Ghorann's hideout
thick linnen to shelter the horses from a sandstorm if need be

While Ezra chooses silks to sew new pants, Fyllion goes to find his personal manacles (Simeon threw them somewhere in the pit).

How can we keep Saatia contained through the night? Wrap her in all the chains we can find (Eldrin objects)? Stuff her in one of Ghorann's crates (Ezra objects)? Finally, Hali interrupts Storm's brainstorm of cruel ideas and ties a bell to Saatia's manacles, so we'll have a warning if she tries to move too much.

.

Fyllion and Ezra build the shelter for the one remaining horse. Ribbing Fyllion, we suggest he make a balad of all his bad ideas: asking Hali to turn into a chicken for eggs to supplement our rations, asking Storm for a restorative massage without establishing a safeword, suggesting Hali becomes a horse to help pull the skiff through the desert...

Hali asks Saatia if tomorrow is Saturday, so she can play bagpipes, but it turns out to be Tuesday.

During the first watch, Fyllion (outside) notices there's still (or again) coming a smoke plume coming from Nawa, while inside Ezra and Saatia have a hate-filled staring contest. Saatia tries to rile up Ezra, but they have the last laugh when Saatia falls asleep without managing to get any closer to escaping.

During the second watch, Hali keeps watch with the horse upstairs: in the far distance, she sees shapes moving - they're hunched over and galopping... they're more dretches! Probably, they're not directly on our trail but maybe they're still looking for us...?

During the last watch, Frei keeps watch with the horse upstairs. Eldrin gets into a quiet and intense conversation with Saatia about the value of every life and about the pirates' code to not work with authorities: Eldrin boasts about the Young Kraken & she promises to remember the name. Since she lives in the Sand Sea, far away from any ocean, this feels more like a threat than a promise. She wonders if we're actually pirates, or just wet wannabe bandits, and in Eldrin's subsequent explanation, she gets them to spill the beans about our magical memory loss, connected to the circle near Nawa. She repeats her warning that most of us aren't cut out for the ruthless life of banditry in the desert: she claims might makes right & that's the only way to protect your life and privileges here.

Saatia suggests this is their chance to let her go... but Eldrin rejects her with a moving explanation they'd never betray the family they found in our crew.

.

To settle the vote, Fyllion turns into our captain Magpie & proposes "we do the right thing": go to Kohshar, hand in Saatia, look into either helping Enza free her people or stopping Simeon from his assassination. Ezra, Frei, Fyllion, Hali and Storm agree, so with an apology to Saatia, Eldrin also accepts the plan.

As we prepare to leave, we fill the skiff with 250 gold pieces' worth of supplies: the letters in the tiny luggage, several bolts of silk selected by Ezra, some small gold items and spices, the weapons, the most valuable-looking magic ingredients (for Hali to use & for us to sell), as well as a barrel Hali can fill with 37 liters of water 3 times a day.

Enza wonders if we can pass by Nawa, but we prefer to go straight to Koh'Shar.

.

We'll need to travel for 2 days.

For day 1, Storm rolls a NATURAL ONE for our travel weather: the air is unnaturally clear ahead of an approaching sandstorm! We use the linnen, the bandits' desert garb & the silk... but only Enza, Ezra and Storm make it through, everyone else takes damage. Fyllion sings us a marching song so we avoid exhaustion.

By the evening, we get into a long stretch of desert - there's sand everywhere, there's nowhere we could shelter... As we crest a dune, we see a caravan with people on horses. The carts have lamps & the leader is another polecat!

Storm approaches the leader, while the others huddle out of sight. Storm spins a yarn about memory loss and being lost, and Santiago is pretty chuffed to see someone of our kind so far from everything. Normally, their caravan would rob a lonely traveller blind, but tonight, they'll settle for a lively conversation. When Santiago orders the caravan of polecats, elves and other people to make a camp, the others join Storm and Santiago, Hali leading the horse, and Fyllion disguised as a polecat. When Santiago notices Saatia in chains, we quickly gab that it's a kink thing & he shouldn't question it. Santiago doesn't recognise Saatia, and Saatia doesn't recognise Santiago, despite his distinctive jewelry, including a necklace with a big black opal, and the fact that his arms are blackened from fingertips to beyond his elbows.

The evening's entertainment starts: Santiago shows off a weird earthenware alchemy jug as the key to his Finnilash's survival (his family and companions, travelling in the caravan). It can pour champagne and wine, olive oil and lobster bisque, bedouin tea and unlimited water... With some input from Ezra, he even manages to pour us a cocktail from Ezra's home region. We make merry with biscuits and food, Hali's bagpipes and Fyllion's songs.

Santiago has heard of the bard Fyllion and recognises the lute. He's very surprised, he didn't know Fyllion was a polecat. Fyllion blufs that he prefers to pretend he's an elf, and with a wink and a nudge asks Santiago to maintain this confidence. Santiago agrees, and changes the subject to his favourite song: the lusty maiden and the goat
Santiago mentions there's another polecat travelling towards Koh'Shar: Mondregen is another dancer on his züchtungsreise, away from the tribe that's famous for Swan Lake. Santiago met them in The Vale, just over the edge of The Spine (the mountain range separating Rosaria and Breheima). Santiago feels Breheima is an area with many interesting cultureal practices, so journeying here for inspiration makes sense for anyone, not just Storm... but Storm is pretty surprised his rival would also show up in Breheima!
Santiago confirms Saatia's rumours about Rosaria, with the king dying and the prince preparing for war - perhaps Storm will debut a new choreography on the prince's name day, or his coronation, or on the eve of battle? Though this might bring honour to the Reinsinger Finnilash, Storm wouldn't want to hurry art. Fyllion, Hali, Santiago and the others nod in understanding

During these conversations, Saatia reveals her accent is regional, so not very exceptional at all... Eldrin doesn't quite know what to make of this.

Hali asks about Santiago's magical scarring on his hands: with roguish charm, he confesses he tried to steal a magical artifact from a wizard, and it didn't go so well. North of The Spine, people give him the cruel moniker Foxglove!

Mood lightened by Ezra's story of the chests that weren't chests (our tiny luggage and the mimic) and thoroughly delighted by Fyllion's rendition of The lusty maiden and the goat, Santiago suggests we look up Skourja, the princess of pleasures, who runs all the brothels and taverns in Koh'Shar.

From his alchemist jug, Santiago pours a measure of olive oil, so Fyllion can ask some human woman from the caravan for "a proper massage". Meanwhile, Hali offers a game of chess on Ghorann's chessboard... but when she tries to set up the pieces, those snap back at her: "We don't know you, we don't serve you! You have to beat us in a game before we respect you!". Though startled by this discovery, Hali rolls a DIRTY TWENTY and earns the chessboard's respect & the pieces can now function as tiny servants!

Fyllion returns from his massage, cheerily satisfied and boasting to Storm. Since the group heard Fyllion's complaints the previous night and convinced by his account of this more sensual massage, the group decides Storm's massages can count as torture, should we ever need to convince another prisoner to co-operate. Storm is quite hurt, since both his offer and his massage were made in good faith. Spurred on by Eldrin, Fyllion demonstrates the woman's gentler massage techniques on Storm: Storm melts under his hands, a new world has opened for Storm - now we can play good masseur and bad masseur!

Eldrin checks Santiago's offer of hospitality: for one evening we can rely on him, so we all take a long rest during an uneventful night.

.

When we wake up, the caravan is gone! They took our horse and our gold, though they left us

the skiff
Saatia, still manacled
some rations and 2 waxy cubes of pemmikan (this mixture of tallow, jerky and herbs restores one hitpoint per cube) on a silk handkerchief
- Hali takes the pemmikan, to make sure our strongest healer never goes down
- Ezra immediately recognises the handkerchief as their family's work & disinterestedly drops it. Storm also recognises the embroidered logo from Saree, a very prestigious fashion house and quietly picks it up, wondering, like everyone else, why Ezra would disregard such fine work

Since Hali can only shapeshift for an hour (be it as a horse as Fyllion suggests, or as a camel, as Storm proposes), we all work together to pull the skiff, while Fyllion sits on it, to sing a song of encouragement! The desert is hot, but only Ezra gets exhausted.

When we reach the top of a last dune, we finally see Koh'Shar! Eldrin informs us it looks very different from the stories they'd heard about it: they thought it was a sizeable city with a bunch of greenery, organised around an oasis... but this vista shows us a lot of lush fields surrounding a very tall city, as if layers and layers of new buildings have been stacked onto previous structures.

Frei leads us through these fields of young but very fertile looking agriculture & doesn't seem surprised. Storm notices

everything is less than 2 years old: the trees, teaplants, shrubs are all young still and even a lot of the buildings are new, just willy-nilly stacked on top of each other
the plants and fields appear to form a circle around Koh'Shar, apparently contained within a band of faded symbols burned into the ground

Hali, Eldrin and Fyllion recognise these symbols as runes but can't quite decypher them. Frei confirms 2 years ago a circle appeared here: it brought a city within a forest, for a day or two. People came out of the city & talked to Kohshar and a lot of water flowed out, which remained (along with several plants & animals).

Frei doesn't know much more: she was travelling with her dad before the city appeared, and it disappeared again before they returned. All she knows, is that such circles aren't particularly rare in the Sand Sea, just as Enza has already told us. The peculiar thing about the circle that transported us, appears to be the fiery devils travelling along.

About the event transforming Koh'Shar, Sabor the cleric might tell us more:

were they simply travellers, coming for trade?
were they followers of Soliman, travelling where he wills it?
were they, as Sabor believes, messengers from the gods?

Fyllion knows about plane shifting people or areas... Fyllion can manage to plane shift a person, so the amount of power needed to plane shift an entire city is extremely daunting.

Episode line-up

Previously: session 3 From the beartrap into the death pit

Up next: session 5 Arrival in Koh'Shar