Session 5

Fact Sheet: arrival in Koh'Shar

Date: 17-08-22

Date in-universe: an unspecified Thursday

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

Major developments:

our situation in Koh'Shar is pretty complicated
- we ran afoul of of Koh'Shar's richest council member, Nasser merchant-king of the oasis. He now associates us with Frei. Since he's convinced she tried to murder him, this isn't a great first impression
- council member Jahadi merchant-king of trades was found dead, we presume murdered by Simeon Ibn Seif & the city is very restless. People aren't allowed to leave
- Akram is the acting captain of the guard and seems to trust us, mostly
- because everything is so tense, no one is available to help Enza at the moment
- who was watching Eldrin & why? Can all rats talk here? Why is a lot of food so decadently extravagant in this desert town?
we did some basic shopping: the next morning, we need to pick up Eldrin's sword from blacksmith Manzur & Storm's improved armour
we curried favour with Skourja, queen of respite (commonly called princess of pleasures), just like Mondregen, the bully from Storm's Finnilash (family uniti). Fyllion was in disguise, so for the moment we don't know if Skourja knows of him
we lied rather a lot
- we didn't mention Simeon has a personal vendetta against us
- we didn't mention anything of what Saatia revealed about the Sable Serpent : its negociations with someone on the council stalled, so they awarded an assassination contract to Simeon. At the moment we have no confirmation the contract was for Jahadi
- we didn't mention our memory loss, pretending we have no idea why the Nameless Demon attacked us & killed Ghorann
- we glossed over all the details about the ring with Marduk's family crest
Fyllion found a haunting message on his body
Ezra bonded with the magic of the desert sand!
based on the bloody letter Fyllion received, we presume Saatia was killed by Simeon (provided Fyllion shares the letter the next morning)

Notes

Near sunset, we arrive at the eastern gate of Koh'Shar with Enza, Frei and Saatia Mehrabi. There's only one guard.

Frei is nervous & hangs back, she prefers someone else should talk. She's hoping we'll credit her with catching Saatia even though that's stretching the truth a bit. Since she just wants to re-integrate the city, she'll give us the bounty.

Fyllion steps up to the challenge to talk us past the guard. With all his usual flair, he calls us Frei's humble assistants, learning from her what valour in battle is, and honour and leadership. The guard Yusuf is a little incredulous, all the more so because he recognises Frei. He hasn't time to deal with us:

Jahadi, king of traders, was found dead this morning
the whole city is feeling tense over this unexpected and untimely death
since Jahadi bankrolled the guard, everything wrt crowd control and crime prevention/fighting is up in the air, adding to the tension in the city
Akram, a strong human man with a black beard and black hair in a bun, was his second in command & is now attempting to keep control of the guard and by extension of the city

As Yusuf sends us into the city to find Akram, he warns us we should keep a low profile! In thanks, Fyllion gives him bardic inspiration.

As we walk,

we're all worried about Simeon being here & fulfilling his contract
Frei tells us while busking in the street is not really forbidden, performing in a bar or in the center of the arts would be more lucractive for Fyllion
we reassure Enza she can stay with us & we haven't forgotten her request to help Nawa
we notice many people are trying to leave the city, but the guards refuse to let them leave.

We pass through an older part of town, with family houses and open spaces, in contrast to the other overbuilt areas. Suddenly, in the middle of the crowd, we're accosted by an arrogant-looking high elf, with dark skin and long dark hair. His expensive robes and his retenu of guards (with gilded weapons) and scribes reveal it's Nasser, king of the Oasis. He yells at Frei: "exile means exile, how dare scum like she return uninvited, and who are we sand-stragglers to hang out with such filth"

Frei can't get a word in edgeways & neither Eldrin nor Fyllion can reason with him. With the bribe of the Saree handkerchief, Storm can stump him for a moment, but before he can react, another large figure appears on the market square: Akram, acting captain of the guard steps between our group and Nasser, after his guards warned him of our arrival.

Though Nasser tries to intimidate Akram with threats of cleaning house when or if he becomes the guards' new responsible sponsor, Akram leads us to Jahadi's former mansion, now the HQ of the guards with offices and dorms. Before we walk away, Storm snatches the handkerchief back.

.

We step into Akram's office.

Saatia Mehrabi's bounty is 200 gold, but the guard can't pay right now. Akram will pay us himself, she's worth it because the info she'll provide. Eldrin wants to know her fate: Akram explains she'll probably be tortured all night long for information and then hung in the morning.

Frei tries to intervene so Akram admits they don't have the manpower to execute her right now. Akram inquires if he should worry about us staging a prison break, but Eldrin assures that's not an issue. Akram is willing to Mi'Kal the mage to interrogate her without torture. We're welcome tomorrow at 8 o'clock sharp, as witnesses.

Since Eldrin's slip of the tongue revealed us as a crew, Fyllion offers our help if more bounty hunting is needed. Akram appears open to the suggestion: Jahadi didn't appoint any heirs, hence the confusion. The cororer hasn't determined cause of death yet.

Storm turns the attention to Frei's situation. It takes Storm's elbow in his ribs, but then Fyllion procures the letters out of the tiny luggage. We explain our understanding of the situation as best we can, glossing over some of the weirder parts of our adventure & keeping an eye on Frei so she doesn't go off. Akram responds:

Ishmael Ghorann was the court wizard of the Vale before he was exiled from there
Marduk also went missing today from Nasser's entourage
Jahadi and Akram felt they had to exile Frei, more because of politics than because of evidence: when fire-breathing fiends attack Nasser, she should have been more discreet about being a fire-breathing fiend who hates Nasser.

Frei snaps at Akram about being set up, but Eldrin can restore her self-control. Fyllion distracts everyone from the building tension by mentioning Ghorann is dead, killed by a devil (Hali shows her compendium). Akram asks us to confirm it's the wizard, not his son & he's worried the devil will follow us, because the fiery creatures showed up at both sites of the known circle events (the Salt Warf and Koh'Shar), each time a few weeks after the event...

Fyllion also mentions Ghorann had Simeon Ibn Seif as a prisoner, and we saw him escape towards Koh'Shar. Akram immediately calls the guards and increases their shifts, because this is very bad news to him. Fyllion creates a minor illusion of the horse simeon rode, so the guards can look for it. Eldrin offers we'll help find Marduk, provided Akram gives us a letter of recommendation, to facilitate our interventions like interrogating people.

Storm confirms Saatia remains quiet but also notices she's clearly observing the building very closely: how many guards, where are the doors, which windows are barred, etc. Frei asks Eldrin to put Saatia to sleep until we're back, guaranteeing she won't spill the beans on our little white lies... Fyllion offers to use suggestion on her, while Storm offers his primal savagery claws, but in the end we settle for Akram's promise that she'll be safe till we return the next morning.

Can Akram point us to the best tavern for a bard as famous as Fyllion (and his crew)? A fancy tarvern to perform and earn coin, though that might help Simeon find us? Or a modest tavern where we can keep a low profile...? Akram hasn't heard of Fyllion, so he suggests we find Skourja, the queen of respite. The people still call her the princess of pleasures & she can advise us.

Since Akram wants to get to work, we get some final info:

should Akram be unavailable, all his guards are dependable & we can confide in Basri, his second in commmand (an high elven man with a stocky build, dark hair and skin a little paler than Nasser)
on the market right outside the guards' HQ, we'll
- find a shop to sell our odd collection of loot, esp. with Frei and Ezra in charge
- find a smith to reforge Eldrin's broken sword
Saatia will get a meal and spend the night in the holding cells
Eldrin's questions reveal Koh'Shar holds common laws about public indecency: don't pee in the streets, use a public toilet or visit a tavern.

As soon as Akram pays us 200 gold for Saatia & promises to look into Frei's reinstatement, a guard leads Saatia away. Eldrin gives her a golden coin to keep Saatia safe, overriding the guard's assurances that such bribes aren't necessary.

While Eldrin uses the HQ facilities to pee, Enza explains she's a refugee from Nawa: can Akram help her out with a place to stay or to look for survivors? With regret, Akram explains the guard is really short-handed right now... he can't do anything for her.

.

With Ezra's insight we find a trustworthy shop & Eldrin as our quartermaster barters very well for us! We're pretty sandswept, but that's not really unusual and thanks to Ghorann's silks fashioned by Ezra, we look mysterious rather than scrubby... so we get 300 gold out of the sale!

Since we agreed to visit Skourja, Frei leads us to the fanciest tarvern in town: the Moonflower. While we walk, we discuss some strategies:

Eldrin and Ezra wonder if we should use the stick & carrot method: horrify the audience with Hali's bagpipes, so Fyllion's lute will sound twice as delightful? Hali sends the chess pieces to attack Eldrin for this suggestion
Frei and Storm convince Fyllion to shape-shift into a halfling so Simeon won't find him as easiily: Tommy Lutish will also play the lute.

On the way, Hali notices

some runes drawn all around the market: this is a hallowed site. It's a center of communion, where everyone can understand every language, perfect for trade!
a statue of a regal woman, with a short veil covering her eyes. It looks familiar but Hali can't place it... behind the statue there's a big temple, outside of which an older man is standing. He's looking at us, specificially at Eldrin. He appears interested and perhaps a little concerned. As soon as he notices we notice him, he nods and walks inside.

Likewise, Ezra notices a squeaky voice addressing the clever cat-looking adventurer. It's a small rat, sitting under a market stall. The top of its head is translucent, showing off its brain! The rat informs Ezra the conversation is telepathic, so any further replies should not be out loud, because talking to themselves makes Ezra look like a dope.

At the rat's insistence, Ezra kneels to talk on the same level. The rat gives them a mission: the rat will give a valuable trinket in exchange for green kalachite, an incredibly valuable cheese available from that very nice and fancy vendor nearby.

Ezra picks up their share of the loot (we get 65 gold each & keep 35 in the bank, overwhelming Enza when we give her that amount of gold). Ezra tries to buy the cheese packed with wonderful spices (which give the green appearance), but it's 70 gold per block... Ezra decides to show a letter of introduction from their mother, making the vendor accept an offer of 50 gold in exchange for the potential of such esteemed patronage. He wraps the cheese beautifully! Ezra promises their mother will be impressed.

Fyllion was practising new voices for his halfling shape so we don't really notice Ezra's giving the package to the rat. The rat hops behind a grate & returns with

a ring with a big diamond: 100 to 120 gold
a signet ring, with a recognizable brand

After a comical handshake, the rat disappears with his cheese, and Ezra returns to our group. Upon seeing the signet, Frei pales to the most wan orange we've ever seen on her: she recognizes Marduk's emblem! HOW will we explain this??

where was the ring found, was Marduk in the irrigation tunnels which link to Nasser's oasis? We don't know
who was the rat, was it a shape-shifted person, could that have been Marduk himself
can we get this into evidence without putting more suspicion on us

Ezra decides to hide the ring under their clothes between their boobies.

.

As long as the shops are still open, and we're here on the market, we decide to sort our shopping first:

in the previous shop, Eldrin & Ezra sells the diamond ring for 120 gold (50 for Ezra, 70 for the bank)
Fyllion, Hali, Ezra & sell their current leathers in order to get new studded armour. Being taller & because the shop doesn't have a lot of stock, Storm opts for an upgrade, which'll be ready by tomorrow morning. Before we leave, Fyllion boasts of Tommy Lutish's impending performance to the shop keeper
Eldrin finds a blacksmith to repair their sword: the crew has seen them use the part that resembles a dagger with a jagged edge, but in a scabbard, they also have the crossguard and the other pieces. Manzur, the blacksmith is fascinated by this damage, though Eldrin mentions they weren't involved in the battle that broke it. Fixing it would cost 10 gold, although repairing is barely worth it. Eldrin offers 20 gold if the smith makes the sword the top priority both in speed and in respect for this emotionally valuable piece. Eldrin will return in the morning - the smith doesn't want an advance (he's endeared that Eldrin has a personal connection to the blade & who knows what might happen in this city)

Next, we return to the guard station but only find Basri with a guard, as well as 2 guards watching Saatia. Akram is on his way to Nasser to warn him of possible danger. Basri doesn't know when Akram will be back, but is willing to send Akram to "the tavern where Tommy Lutish will be playing". Frei figures this proposal will do, so we accept.

As we walk through the districts we notice it's a vibrant, dense and overwhelming city: there are plants everywhere, water is flowing magically upstream, rich buildings are built next to simple buildings...

Ezra and Hali notice Eldrin is quiet, is it linked to the man from the temple? Eldrin didn't notice the man, but Frei figures that was Sabor, the main religious leader following Soleman. Since the priest's attention is not the reason behind Eldrin's mood, we learn they're anxious and restless about leaving the sword behind, probably for the first time in a long time, or even ever.

Frei wants to go see her mom & takes her leave at the door of the tavern. Fyllion invites her mom to see the show, but Frei prefers not to introduce her mom to her friends.

.

We continue on through the busy streets and shortcut alleys. Luckily, this area is similar to the Thalm Sashari's districts where Eldrin grew up, so they can orient themselves pretty easily. We don't have to worry about getting lost, even if Frei should leave us.

We arrive at the tavern The moonflower: it's is an elegant, sensuous and imposing building with beautiful details, hanging plants and delicately fluttering voiles. Before she departs to find her mom, Frei mentions Skourdja is a little weird, and very into the arts.

When we enter, Ezra hangs back, keeping an eye on the space and all of us. There's a lot of fountains, showing off their limitless access to water. Enza feels very intimidated by this luxurious space and its extravagant clientele and clings to Ezra.

An assistant points us to Skourdja's office & Fyllion leads us in. We leave our weapons on the table at the door: Tommy keeps their lute & Hali keeps the bagpipes. In Skourdja's inner office everything is even more lavish than in the common room: gorgeous draperies hang from the ceiling, refined art hangs on the walles, there are fresh flowers everywhere.

Skourja, officially the queen of respite and called princess of pleasures by the public is a half orc woman, about 1m85 tall with a shapely figure and thighs that can crush a man's head like a sparrow's egg. She's wearing a refined white dress with white lace. Her long black hair streams down her back, and her black lipstick matches her hair, accentuating her gleaming tusks poke out from between her lips.

upon seeing Storm, she mentions another polecat, Santiago. When Storm mentions we've met him too, she grins wryly he stole several pieces of her silverware, but before animosity can grow, Fyllion reassures her we were also robbed by Santiago
she explains Mondregen is staying one of her finest rooms in the Moonflower right now. Storm acknowledges Storm and Mondregen are both from the Reinsinger Finnilash, famous all over the Hammerhead for the Swan Lake ballet. Skourja appears to pick up on some tension within the dancing family, but doesn't dig deeper
Ezra pretends they're our body guards. Skourja appears to accept that for Enza, and for Eldrin, who doesn't want to introduce themselves
Hali and Fyllion present their instruments and perform

Thanks to a combination of skill and fortune and a little bit of magic, Skourdja is completely delighted by the unusual duet between bagpipes and lute.

we get six free rooms (a grand room for Fyllion and Hali each, normal rooms for the rest of us)
Fyllion and Hali can perform on her stage tonight & will be allowed to keep any tips they get
at Fyllion's cheeky suggestion, she agrees to have posters made, on the condition Tommy Lutish gives her an autograph!

On the stage, Hali and Fyllion's skill holds (aided by mutual inspiration and guidance)! Even Mondregen thinks it's a funky little moment, though he hasn't spotted Storm yet. Together, Fyllion and Hali earn 100 gold in tips, no doubt aided by the chess pieces gathering the coins (at Storm's suggestion) and dumping them in the dancing tiny luggage.

As the performance continues and time marches on

Enza calms down a little as no one sends her away and people no longer feel the need to stare at her as the grubbiest member of our odd group
Hali and Fyllion get some free food, while Ezra is disgusted at some of the menu items being consumed, either because the item is insane (who needs dragon egg frittata or endangered seaserpent caviar in the middle of the desert) or because of the sometimes inflated prices
Eldrin insists the bagpipe is a means of war & shouldn't be played on a Thursday. Fyllion leaps to the defence of Hali as his fellow musician, and Hali creates a bubble of water splashing on Eldrin's head. Still feeling the beguilement of the magic Fyllion used in Skourja's office, we feel that's fitting!

For the night, we decide to stick together in Fyllion and Hali's rooms. As the luxury rooms, those each have a double bed and a sumptuous sofa.

While the others prepare to retire, Ezra and Storm wait for Akram. It's late at night when he arrives with a guard. In one of our rooms, Ezra hands over the signet ring, claiming we found it in the irrigation tunnels. Akram figures it might be good news or bad news : it's a family emblem, so does it point at Marduk or his family, and what does it mean it was in the irrigation sewers...? We leave him to this puzzle.

.

We retire to bathe and relax and sleep:

Enza, Ezra and Storm share a room, with Ezra on the plush and spacious couch
Eldrin, Fyllion and Hali share a room, with Fyllion on the equally plush and spacious couch

While undressing for his bath, Fyllion makes a startling discovery:

written on his body, from knees to chest, he reads the text
remember your promise to Skara: you're Fyllion, prince of the fey court, and you must never again return to the land of the fey. They are coming for you
it looks hurried, with greasy charcoal, or a finger
it's unclear when it was written, since neither of his massages had required him to disrobe completely

Fyllion tries to hide his panic on his return to the room, but Hali notices something's off... Fyllion confides in Hali about the note : Fyllion knew someone was after him, but this confirmation is chilling. Also, he'd figured he could gather power by performing & pleasing people so he'd be able to return to the Fey court, so this warning is unsettling. Worst of all, he doesn't even know who Skara is?

Hali writes it down in her compendium, and they decide to talk it through with everyone in the morning. For the moment, Eldrin remains preoccupied with their sword and they don't really comment.

In the other room, Enza and Storm relax and sleep deeply, finally recovering from the ordeals in the desert. However, on the comfortable sofa (absolutely as luxurious as Ezra's childhood), Ezra has a nightmare in the pre-dawn light: they're swept up in a sandstorm once more! When they startle awake from the coarse and grating sensations, there's a tiny sandstorm whirling around Ezra, shy at first, but then responding to Ezra's mood: as a ranger, they've bonded with the magic of the land and they've become a swarmkeeper of the sand! When Ezra tries to pet it, the sand winds around their arm like a pet snake. It's awkward but completely adorable!

At the same time, Fyllion, still too worked up to sleep, notices someone pushed a satin-finished cardstock envelop under the door, in the few seconds his eyes were flitting over the rest of the room. Gingerly he picks it up... As soon as he opens the letter, a metallic tang rising from the letter reminds Fyllion of freshly spillt blood. A bloody earring rolls out into Fyllion's twitching palm, and he recognises Saatia's signature jewelry! The accompanying letter reads:

Meinhart made an illustration of the horrible present Fyllion is trying to hide

Just for the record, this is not how I wanted for this to go down, but there are forces out there in the desert that even I cannot afford to disobey.
I haven't forgotten my promise, our rendez-vous will have to wait. Don't get killed by anyone else in the meantime.
Regards, Simeon

Episode Line-up

Previously: session 4 On the road with Saatia and Santiago

Up next: session 6 Let the bodies hit the floor