"Time of the Tarrasque" is my current homebrew Pathfinder campaign. For an index of past session summaries, see The Story So Far.
Our heroes include:
- Edel Naergon, high elf bard (archivist) 5.
- Fatou Damiri, human wizard (evoker) 3/cleric of Yaziel 2; and Nochaesh, owl familiar.
- Jumari Boneface, half-orc inquisitor of the Lost Egg 5.
- ZhaZha, half-orc cavalier (order of the dragon) 5; and Zafira, camel mount.
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Last time, our heroes solved the mysteries of the elemental shrines in the cyclops ruin, earning each of them a magical treasure. After completing their study of the site, the caravan continued onward, and was attacked by a pack of jackalweres. The adventurers defeated these monsters, but not before the kobolds they were escorting suffered their first casualty of this journey.
The heroes stopped one jackalwere from bleeding to death so that they could question him. They bound him and healed him just enough to become conscious again. Edel's attempts at diplomacy did not make it cooperative enough, so Jumari took over, and thoroughly intimidated the creature. She learned that the jackalweres had attacked in order to seize food (the people) and treasure (their stuff). The inquisitor and her companions had just wiped out his entire pack. Other packs roamed the desert, but he did not know where they were now. He also knew nothing about the death cult or its activities. When the jackalwere had no more to offer, he guessed that he wouldn't be allowed to live. In desperation, he shifted to jackal form to slip out of his bindings, but a blow from ZhaZha's pick stopped him from escaping. This time, they left the jackalwere to bleed out in the sand.
After two nights' travel, the caravan reached the small town of Dal-Raman, located at the edge of the sandy part of the Lokoran Desert. Permanent stone buildings clustered around an oasis, with the rest of the settlement consisting of simple brick buildings and tents. The party could also see some dry riverbeds that must carry water in the wet season. At the center of town was a marketplace busy with the start of the day's business. Fatou spotted a prominent sign depicting a centaur drinking from a large barrel. (She recognized the creature from her reading, but had never seen one.) When she pointed it out, her companions agreed to go visit the place--almost certainly a tavern of some kind--when their escort duties allowed.
The kobolds headed for a small caravanserai to one side of the market, near the water. Vartoranax was welcomed by the owner, a human named Akil Alim, who had hosted the merchant on previous journeys along this trade route. The kobolds needed little help with their handful of monitor lizard steeds, but Akil called over his servant Amad to see to the larger travelers' camels. This servant appeared to be a burly man at first, but when he came closer, looked more like an animated wooden statue. He and Akil bore identical glowing runes on their brows, which allowed Fatou to conclude that Akil was a summoner and Amad his eidolon. ZhaZha insisted on tending to her own camel--who did not suffer being handled by strangers--so Amad merely shrugged and tended to the other mount, Alexandra. He proved to be very effective in handling the normally-ornery beast.
Jumari asked Tyrrentyg how long the caravan would remain here. The herald informed her that Vartoranax would spend a day here to meet with some local contacts, and that the larger folk were free to spend much of that time as they pleased. The heroes took advantage of this, selling the loot they had collected since Burburan, and using that money to acquire some new gear. Jumari found a spellcaster who could enchant her breastplate, so left her armor there for the day. (Fatou cast a mage armor spell to provide some protection as they moved on.) The inquisitor also purchased a cold iron spiked gauntlet and a silver spiked gauntlet, so that she would be prepared for creatures requiring those special materials to injure.
[Now that ZhaZha has the banner class feature, she needs to find, buy, or make her own personal banner. She lacks the necessary skills to make one herself, but the idea of buying a fancy one strikes her as a slight on her half-orc heritage. We will need to resolve this question later.]
Moving about the market, the PCs could see that the town's population was approximately half human, a quarter halfling, and the rest a mix of other races, mostly elves and half-elves. The vast majority of humans and part-humans, and all of the halflings, belonged to the darker-skinned types common throughout Asasor, while the elves seemed to all be pale-skinned high elves like Edel.
After taking care of some of their shopping, the heroes investigated the tavern. On closer view, they could read the establishment's name, "The Thirsty Centaur," which was written in both Common and Elven. Inside, the proprietress was a very attractive high elf woman, who greeted the newcomers in slightly-accented Common and introduced herself as Miriella. At Edel's query about drinks, she claimed she had a couple house brews that she was quite proud of, so the bard chose one of those. Miriella's garb was simple and utilitarian, as well as modest (baring only her face, her long red hair, and her lower arms), all quite appropriate to tending a bar. She wore one piece of jewelry, a silver pendant in the shape of cluster of leaves and seeds, which Edel recognized as a holy symbol of the Faerie Sovereigns (one of whom is his own patron deity). The bard tactfully inquired, in Elven, if Miriella would like to meet after work; she seemed amenable, favoring him with a positively blinding smile.
Meanwhile, Jumari and ZhaZha had noticed that they were the only half-orcs in the place. Most of the patrons were humans, elves, or half-elves, with a sprinkling of halflings and gnomes. This made them both feel acutely out of place, and ZhaZha grumbled to herself as Edel continued to chat up the elven woman in their shared native language. (The cavalier finds it the height of rudeness when other people choose to speak a language she doesn't understand instead of including her in the conversation.)
The companions eventually left the Thirsty Centaur in order to do more shopping. While they did so, a pair of liveried retainers cried out, "Make way for Elder Usama!" Behind them, an elderly human man in fine clothes and light armor rode upon a camel. ZhaZha needed only a glance to tell that the mount was of good, healthy stock. (She coveted the animal briefly, but it was male, which she felt would cause unwanted trouble with her party's two female camels.) Meanwhile, Edel and Fatou spotted a cloaked figure following the elder, trying very hard to not be noticed, and two half-orcs a short distance behind it. They alerted their friends, who briefly weighed the advantages of warning the man versus coming to his rescue. But then they saw two human men lurking under cover ahead of the tiny procession, and there was no need for debate.
ZhaZha drew her bow and shot at (and missed) one of the half-orc stalkers, while yelling, "You're giving us [half-orcs] a bad name!" Fatou cast protection from evil on the cavalier. Edel cast hideous laughter on the closer of the two human ambushers, causing the man to fall to the ground in plain sight. The other human stabbed one of Usama's retainers, and the man crumpled immediately.
The cloaked figure revealed herself to be a half-orc woman when she clutched at something around her neck and cast hold person on the elder--who saved. Jumari cast expeditious retreat and dashed forward, yelling "Run!" at the old man. Usama spurred his camel forward, drawing a scimitar and slashing the man who had hurt his servant. He called to the other retainer to get the hurt man to safety.
The crowd around the ambush site quickly fled the scene, making it easier for the heroes to reach the assassins. This allowed ZhaZha to charge and challenge the spellcaster, hitting with her pick. Fatou moved up to hit the caster and one of the other half-orcs with burning hands, and Edel hit the leader with an arrow. The half-orc cleric judged ZhaZha to be the biggest threat, so cast blindness at her. The cavalier resisted, and began savagely cursing her foe. Jumari moved into the thick of the melee, where cast blistering invective, burning all of her enemies.
One of the half-orcs moved to flank ZhaZha, and landed a sneak attack with his flail. The cavalier hit the other half-orc and started moving around him to reach the caster (who was putting out her burning clothes). By now, the heroes could see that all five attackers wore ebony disks around their necks--unholy symbols of the death cult's vile god, Asmolon. Their leader cast contagion and moved toward the elder again, but Jumari pursued and struck her down.
The two male half-orcs flanked ZhaZha again; one hit her, but then collapsed. [He had used orc ferocity to attack that one last time.] ZhaZha hit the other one, and Fatou followed with a shocking grasp spell. The cultist spotted the cleric's holy symbol and insulted the moon goddess as he swung at her, but then keeled over himself.
Meanwhile, Usama finally landed another blow on his opponent. Jumari moved around to flank that enemy, and the elder's camel bit the man hard enough to knock him out. "Good job, Ba'ir!" his rider cried. Jumari went to the injured retainer and stabilized him, and Usama dismounted creakily to follow her and check on his servants. Fatou helped heal the victim as well, while ZhaZha tied up the caster.
Edel took away the rapier of the man who was still laughing, and held it to his throat moments before the spell wore off. When it did, the cultist channeled negative energy, which did hardly any damage other than making the stabilized wounded start bleeding again. [Edel's readied attack proved even less effective--he rolled a natural 1 to hit the man he had at sword-point.] ZhaZha finished the cultist off with her pick.
Jumari went to each of the cultists, and smashed their unholy symbols (which gave Fatou no opportunity to add to her collection of holy symbols--which might be just as well, given that the Lord of Endings is anathema among followers of the Javanian gods). ZhaZha went to the elder's camel and enthusiastically praised it.
The old man thanked the heroes for their timely intervention, and introduced himself as Usama, one of the elders who ruled Dal-Raman. Edel said he was welcome, then Jumari asked why the death cult wanted him dead. Usama could not answer that with any certainty, but as an elder, his death would cause chaos. The two half-orcs made sure that the attackers were all dead, except for their leader. Fatou asked the elder if there was a more private, shady place where they could question her. Usama gestured at a nearby house, obviously one of the finest in the town. "My home is right here." He showed them inside, then sent servants to help bring the bodies in off the street.
[We will conduct the interrogation, and possibly some further talk with Usama, over email.]
The heroes stopped one jackalwere from bleeding to death so that they could question him. They bound him and healed him just enough to become conscious again. Edel's attempts at diplomacy did not make it cooperative enough, so Jumari took over, and thoroughly intimidated the creature. She learned that the jackalweres had attacked in order to seize food (the people) and treasure (their stuff). The inquisitor and her companions had just wiped out his entire pack. Other packs roamed the desert, but he did not know where they were now. He also knew nothing about the death cult or its activities. When the jackalwere had no more to offer, he guessed that he wouldn't be allowed to live. In desperation, he shifted to jackal form to slip out of his bindings, but a blow from ZhaZha's pick stopped him from escaping. This time, they left the jackalwere to bleed out in the sand.
After two nights' travel, the caravan reached the small town of Dal-Raman, located at the edge of the sandy part of the Lokoran Desert. Permanent stone buildings clustered around an oasis, with the rest of the settlement consisting of simple brick buildings and tents. The party could also see some dry riverbeds that must carry water in the wet season. At the center of town was a marketplace busy with the start of the day's business. Fatou spotted a prominent sign depicting a centaur drinking from a large barrel. (She recognized the creature from her reading, but had never seen one.) When she pointed it out, her companions agreed to go visit the place--almost certainly a tavern of some kind--when their escort duties allowed.
The kobolds headed for a small caravanserai to one side of the market, near the water. Vartoranax was welcomed by the owner, a human named Akil Alim, who had hosted the merchant on previous journeys along this trade route. The kobolds needed little help with their handful of monitor lizard steeds, but Akil called over his servant Amad to see to the larger travelers' camels. This servant appeared to be a burly man at first, but when he came closer, looked more like an animated wooden statue. He and Akil bore identical glowing runes on their brows, which allowed Fatou to conclude that Akil was a summoner and Amad his eidolon. ZhaZha insisted on tending to her own camel--who did not suffer being handled by strangers--so Amad merely shrugged and tended to the other mount, Alexandra. He proved to be very effective in handling the normally-ornery beast.
Jumari asked Tyrrentyg how long the caravan would remain here. The herald informed her that Vartoranax would spend a day here to meet with some local contacts, and that the larger folk were free to spend much of that time as they pleased. The heroes took advantage of this, selling the loot they had collected since Burburan, and using that money to acquire some new gear. Jumari found a spellcaster who could enchant her breastplate, so left her armor there for the day. (Fatou cast a mage armor spell to provide some protection as they moved on.) The inquisitor also purchased a cold iron spiked gauntlet and a silver spiked gauntlet, so that she would be prepared for creatures requiring those special materials to injure.
[Now that ZhaZha has the banner class feature, she needs to find, buy, or make her own personal banner. She lacks the necessary skills to make one herself, but the idea of buying a fancy one strikes her as a slight on her half-orc heritage. We will need to resolve this question later.]
Moving about the market, the PCs could see that the town's population was approximately half human, a quarter halfling, and the rest a mix of other races, mostly elves and half-elves. The vast majority of humans and part-humans, and all of the halflings, belonged to the darker-skinned types common throughout Asasor, while the elves seemed to all be pale-skinned high elves like Edel.
After taking care of some of their shopping, the heroes investigated the tavern. On closer view, they could read the establishment's name, "The Thirsty Centaur," which was written in both Common and Elven. Inside, the proprietress was a very attractive high elf woman, who greeted the newcomers in slightly-accented Common and introduced herself as Miriella. At Edel's query about drinks, she claimed she had a couple house brews that she was quite proud of, so the bard chose one of those. Miriella's garb was simple and utilitarian, as well as modest (baring only her face, her long red hair, and her lower arms), all quite appropriate to tending a bar. She wore one piece of jewelry, a silver pendant in the shape of cluster of leaves and seeds, which Edel recognized as a holy symbol of the Faerie Sovereigns (one of whom is his own patron deity). The bard tactfully inquired, in Elven, if Miriella would like to meet after work; she seemed amenable, favoring him with a positively blinding smile.
Meanwhile, Jumari and ZhaZha had noticed that they were the only half-orcs in the place. Most of the patrons were humans, elves, or half-elves, with a sprinkling of halflings and gnomes. This made them both feel acutely out of place, and ZhaZha grumbled to herself as Edel continued to chat up the elven woman in their shared native language. (The cavalier finds it the height of rudeness when other people choose to speak a language she doesn't understand instead of including her in the conversation.)
The companions eventually left the Thirsty Centaur in order to do more shopping. While they did so, a pair of liveried retainers cried out, "Make way for Elder Usama!" Behind them, an elderly human man in fine clothes and light armor rode upon a camel. ZhaZha needed only a glance to tell that the mount was of good, healthy stock. (She coveted the animal briefly, but it was male, which she felt would cause unwanted trouble with her party's two female camels.) Meanwhile, Edel and Fatou spotted a cloaked figure following the elder, trying very hard to not be noticed, and two half-orcs a short distance behind it. They alerted their friends, who briefly weighed the advantages of warning the man versus coming to his rescue. But then they saw two human men lurking under cover ahead of the tiny procession, and there was no need for debate.
ZhaZha drew her bow and shot at (and missed) one of the half-orc stalkers, while yelling, "You're giving us [half-orcs] a bad name!" Fatou cast protection from evil on the cavalier. Edel cast hideous laughter on the closer of the two human ambushers, causing the man to fall to the ground in plain sight. The other human stabbed one of Usama's retainers, and the man crumpled immediately.
The cloaked figure revealed herself to be a half-orc woman when she clutched at something around her neck and cast hold person on the elder--who saved. Jumari cast expeditious retreat and dashed forward, yelling "Run!" at the old man. Usama spurred his camel forward, drawing a scimitar and slashing the man who had hurt his servant. He called to the other retainer to get the hurt man to safety.
The crowd around the ambush site quickly fled the scene, making it easier for the heroes to reach the assassins. This allowed ZhaZha to charge and challenge the spellcaster, hitting with her pick. Fatou moved up to hit the caster and one of the other half-orcs with burning hands, and Edel hit the leader with an arrow. The half-orc cleric judged ZhaZha to be the biggest threat, so cast blindness at her. The cavalier resisted, and began savagely cursing her foe. Jumari moved into the thick of the melee, where cast blistering invective, burning all of her enemies.
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One of the attackers is incapacitated with hideous laughter (d6) while two are on fire from blistering invective (d4's).
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The two male half-orcs flanked ZhaZha again; one hit her, but then collapsed. [He had used orc ferocity to attack that one last time.] ZhaZha hit the other one, and Fatou followed with a shocking grasp spell. The cultist spotted the cleric's holy symbol and insulted the moon goddess as he swung at her, but then keeled over himself.
Meanwhile, Usama finally landed another blow on his opponent. Jumari moved around to flank that enemy, and the elder's camel bit the man hard enough to knock him out. "Good job, Ba'ir!" his rider cried. Jumari went to the injured retainer and stabilized him, and Usama dismounted creakily to follow her and check on his servants. Fatou helped heal the victim as well, while ZhaZha tied up the caster.
Edel took away the rapier of the man who was still laughing, and held it to his throat moments before the spell wore off. When it did, the cultist channeled negative energy, which did hardly any damage other than making the stabilized wounded start bleeding again. [Edel's readied attack proved even less effective--he rolled a natural 1 to hit the man he had at sword-point.] ZhaZha finished the cultist off with her pick.
Jumari went to each of the cultists, and smashed their unholy symbols (which gave Fatou no opportunity to add to her collection of holy symbols--which might be just as well, given that the Lord of Endings is anathema among followers of the Javanian gods). ZhaZha went to the elder's camel and enthusiastically praised it.
The old man thanked the heroes for their timely intervention, and introduced himself as Usama, one of the elders who ruled Dal-Raman. Edel said he was welcome, then Jumari asked why the death cult wanted him dead. Usama could not answer that with any certainty, but as an elder, his death would cause chaos. The two half-orcs made sure that the attackers were all dead, except for their leader. Fatou asked the elder if there was a more private, shady place where they could question her. Usama gestured at a nearby house, obviously one of the finest in the town. "My home is right here." He showed them inside, then sent servants to help bring the bodies in off the street.
[We will conduct the interrogation, and possibly some further talk with Usama, over email.]
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| Elder Usama under attack (photo by Jeffrey Jones) |
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