The State of the Blog (and the Tim)

In the process of looking up something that I had shared here a couple of years ago, I realized that I had not posted anything new since August. I've been meaning to post a few things during that time, but lacked the motivation to make it happen. So here's a very quick update of where things stand in the many lands of Studded Plate. (Warning: There's a bit about a friend I lost very recently at the end of this column. I'm still figuring out how to talk about it online...or in general) 

Freeport and 5E: The 5E and Fantasy AGE versions of Death in Freeport were released just as I was finishing up that last post in August. I intend to run one version or the other sometime this year. I also have a few items to compose "Freeport and..." articles about at some point: the latest Unearthed Arcana articles (only two since August), Ghosts of Saltmarsh, and possibly Kobold Press's Tome of Beasts (which I'm slowly making my way through). And whenever I acquire Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, I will almost certainly have something to say about using that book with Freeport.

Time of the Tarrasque: This Pathfinder campaign went on hiatus back in 2019, and to be very honest, I'm not sure if it will ever restart at this point. 

The Kynthiad: The solo Greek myth BESM game that I run for my wife Erika is still going, though the end of the campaign is finally approaching. In our last few sessions, Kynthia has been instrumental in definitively ending the Trojan War--with Troy emerging victorious, and many Greek going home without their kings. Now we just have to figure out how she's going to stop Typhon's return, which will make a fitting conclusion to the story--and free up some headspace for me to run other games. 

Building the Bestiary: I would almost certainly have added another installment or two of this series by now, except that the pandemic has forced us to go online for most of our gaming, which means I'm producing far fewer LEGO minis for games. (We do play occasional games in person within our "bubble," but I've been GMing far fewer of those than I used to.)

On a related note, I have not purchased any of the new Minifigures series that have been released since the pandemic started. If and when I do, I will post reviews, but I don't know if that will happen before the end of mandatory social distancing.

Pathfinder Society and Starfinder Society: Erika and I are still heavily involved in organized play for Pathfinder (1E & 2E) and Starfinder. All of these games have been strictly online since March or so, except for occasional games within our "bubble" (such as the Starfinder AP we started recently). I earned my third GM Star for Pathfinder Society 1E just before the end of 2020, but Erika has shot way ahead of me there, and is closing in on her fifth (and final!) GM Star. She became a Venture Officer for our local store about a year ago, so has been running a lot of games for that venue, as well as for several online conventions. We're both playing a lot more PFS 2E and Starfinder now than we have in the past, because it's easier to find games to play in now that we're online. Erika has GMed a couple of 2E scenarios so far, and her first Starfinder game this past month. I haven't tried GMing 2E yet, but have a few Starfinder games under my belt, and intend to run more as I get more familiar with the system. (I still have a ways to go before my first GM Nova, though.)

Grey Angels: I have been intending to write more about the (new and old) adventures of Trick Tillinghast, one of my characters in the long-running "Grey Angels" campaign (using Buffy/Angel Unisystem) that revived for a "reunion arc" at the end of 2019. Sadly, our main GM, Cassandra Lease, died rather suddenly at the beginning of this month. All of us in the game have been close friends with her for upwards of 15 years, so we're all still reeling from this loss. At some future date, we may try to find some way to continue playing in the world that she invited us to help her create, because it would be a damn shame to never again revisit those characters. But we're nowhere near ready to contemplate how to do that yet, apart from agreeing that some day, when we're ready, we very much want to have a long, involved discussion about it. Sharing stories about Cass among her circle of friends has been very helpful to us, and very necessary. When I'm ready to, I will probably share some more stories from the game here, in her memory. She would have liked that. 

I received this Abe Sapien figure as a gift from Cass early on in the Grey Angels game. She used the movie version of Abe as the visual reference for the Tritons, the sea demon race from which my very first GA character, the mage Baz Olmstead, was descended.

What I'm playing, and what I'm planning

It's been nearly three months since my last blog. I've been busy with many games, I just haven't had a lot to present here.

My "Time of the Tarrasque" Pathfinder home game remains on hold. The player who had a scheduling issue has been in his new job long enough to have our usual game day free again, so now we just have to contend with 1. wonky schedules from the holidays (mostly settled by now), 2. the last half year of inertia, and 3. me finding a way to move forward with less risk of burnout. I have a few ideas for how to deal with some of that in the short-term (such as a brief skip ahead to the next exciting bit, with a little bit of hand-waved XP and gear to go with it).

There is one project that I want to resolve before we resume that game. I've been running a Greek myth-based BESM game for my wife Erika for the past decade or more, on and off. We've reached the endgame stretch, and she and I both want to give it a proper conclusion rather then let it collect dust in limbo. That game is also a homebrew campaign, and while it is not nearly as crunch-intensive as "Time of the Tarrasque," we are at a point where I need more prep per session than I used to for most of its history. (These days, I'm juggling gods, mortal and demigod heroes, and the imminent threat of Typhon's return, all of which demands a bit more brainpower to pull off.) I'm hoping to wrap that up this winter and spring, and be able to devote my full attention to Tarrasque again sometime before summer.

Falling Rock, my Shoanti ranger
for Giantslayer/Shattered Star

Meanwhile, I am still gaming regularly, it just hasn't been as much of my own games:

• I'm still very active in Pathfinder Society, as both player and GM. I'll be reaching ing my 3rd star as a PFS GM (60 games GMed) sometime in the next month or two.
• Some of us regular PFS GMs have started a separate group in order to play through a couple of adventure paths in PFS mode. We've just finished Book 1 of Giantslayer, and are ready to start Book 1 of Shattered Star. We'll be alternating between those two AP's after each book (with one GM for each series), and playing occasional bits of Emerald Spire to fill in some advancement gaps.
• I GMed my first Starfinder game at Fallicon (Lexington, KY) back in November, and have run and played a few more Starfinder Society scenarios since then. 
• Our local group isn't nearly as keen on Pathfinder 2E as they are on PF1 and SF. However, Erika was recently (and finally!) made a Venture-Agent. In order to fulfill those duties, she needs to be willing and able to run 2E as well as 1E at the store and at cons, so we'll be trying to get that on the schedule a bit more often going forward. (Ideally, she also needs to become more familiar with SF, but there are a handful of us who can run that while she focuses on learning how to run one new system at a time.)

My children's high school has a D&D club, which they have both deep-dived into, and both are running games of their own. Now that they have a lot of school friends that they can play with regularly (both in person and online), Erika and I don't get to game with them as often as we did in the past. (They have both cut way back on PFS, though one of them still plays when it's not a school night and they don't have another game going on.) That will change somewhat when Tarrasque resumes, since our eldest child joined that game shortly before the latest hiatus, and is just as eager to get back to it as the other players are.

The same kid has recently started running a (very occasional) D&D 5E campaign for that adult home group to help fill time during the hiatus. All of the PCs are "mudborn," a small race of anthropomorphic axolotls. That's been great fun, and we'll all looking forward to doing more. (I greatly envy this kid's free time, when they can just do more prep/tinkering whenever the mood hits!)

Looking further ahead, all four of us will be attending Lexicon again (here in Lexington, KY) at the end of April. We're also looking into the possibility of attending GenCon, but that's more likely to happen next year due to some other travel plans this summer taking precedence. 

"Hammer of Hylax," Trox envoy
from a Starfinder Society scenario

Expect to see more posts here as we get closer to resuming "Time of the Tarrasque." I also intend to get back to producing more installments of my "Building the Bestiary" series. In addition, PFS and other games provide a constant demand for me to produce new brick-built RPG minis that fall outside the limited purview of that BtB column, so I may start a second series to showcase some of the more interesting models among those minis. 

Time of the Tarrasque: Another Hiatus (and the State of the Blog)

I've decided that I need to take a break from running my "Time of the Tarrasque" campaign. One of my players recently started a new job that makes him unavailable at our traditional gaming time, and finding an alternate time that is good for everyone is proving elusive. I've also been feeling some GM burnout lately (this game takes a lot more effort to prep than, say, running an occasional Pathfinder Society scenario), and the last couple sessions have suffered for it. We hope to resume the game at some future date, but I can't say how long that will be at this time.

I've also decided to cut back on how often I post to this blog. I managed to keep up a rate of one post every week for over 4 years, but I missed a week or two this summer due to a shortage of free time. And with Tarrasque on hiatus, I won't have those session summaries to post for the duration (though I may occasionally report on other games that my group uses that time for). Instead, I'll be aiming for 1 or 2 posts per month, on whatever topics inspire me enough to write about them.

Needless to say, I won't be doing #RPGaDay this year. I only just now recalled that it happens every August, so I've already missed the first week. I did take a quick look at this year's list, but the format has changed from discreet questions to mere one-word prompts, which I find less inspiring than past years.

One project that I do plan to tackle here soon is a new "Building the Bestiary" installment (or two). (We [mostly] have our house back in order following the construction we did this spring, so we have some of our clean, flat work surfaces back again!) By design, that series sticks pretty close to the D&D Monster Manual and first Pathfinder Bestiary, but Tarrasque and PFS have also kept me busy building monsters from later sourcebooks. So I may need to start a sort of companion series showcasing the more interesting models that fall outside "Building the Bestiary's" current mandate.

Time of the Tarrasque #27: A New Year Dawns

"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.
• Skarlo Rockhopper, gnome summoner 5; and Skuttledust, scorpion-like eidolon
• ZhaZha, half-orc cavalier (order of the dragon) 5; and Zafira, camel mount.

-----

Last time, our heroes experienced some frustration when trying to find out more about the resistance, who did not trust the newcomers yet. They did, however, learn a bit more about the upcoming winter solstice festival.

During the week before the solstice, ZhaZha found employment as a guard at a gnomish shop, where her size and watchfulness did much to discourage troublemakers. In her free time, she worked on making her banner. [This led to the conversation between her and Jumari appended to last session's summary. They have yet to share any of that discussion with their companions.] Jumari also found some work as hired muscle, but was not trained to be a soldier, so earned less. Edel's performances during this time were enjoyable enough, but garnered him a disappointing amount of coin.

With Skarlo's help, Fatou located a gnome illusionist willing to allow her to copy some spells from his spellbook (for the usual fee). The young wizard also shopped for arcane supplies, and scribed a handful of new spell scrolls (including enlarge person for Skarlo, as thanks).

Fatou also wished to meet the priests who would be leading the solstice rituals. Yaziel's cleric made a good first impression on the four leaders, who eagerly explained some of the basics of their faith. In return, they listened attentively to Fatou's talk about her own, as about the gods of the giants. Of the local priests, only Banwyn was familiar with the Javanian faith, but all knew something about the elementals gods--especially the earth god Genesib, who is popular among gnomes. Edel joined her for this meeting, and made an even stronger impression on them. Skarlo tagged along, too, because he was related to the two gnome leaders.

On the eve of the Winter Solstice--the last night of the year in most calendars--Jumari went into the forest around Galdar to find a secluded clearing with a view of the night sky. Her devotions at each new moon involve stripping nude to pray under an open sky, so she needed solitude. (ZhaZha offered to watch her back, but the inquisitor declined. She was still close enough to Galdar to be seen by a few nocturnal travelers, who all gave the scary skyclad albino half-orc in a trance a wide berth.)

Jumari rejoined her companions well before dawn, when the pageant was due to begin. They made their way to the marketplace, where a wooden platform had been erected, with four simple thrones in two tiers. The religious procession began at the river at the break of dawn. The four leaders marched with an honor guard from the banks into the center of town to the raised thrones.

The first pair represented the Faerie Sovereigns of Autumn and Winter, who ruled supreme during the season that was ending. The elf druid Daenestra wore hides and antlers to show her devotion to the Autumn prince, Basaran, lord of animals and the harvest. The gnome Felvar, repesenting the sinister Winter Queen, Maridor, wore a long gown of black leaves, and had turned his skin and hair snow white with either makeup or magic. (As explained last time, a layperson always represents the goddess of cold and death; Maridor is an essential part of the annual cycle, but those who favor her above the other three Sovereigns are not welcome in civilized lands.)

The second pair represented Spring and Summer, whose power was secondary during the autumn. Skarlo's cousin Banwyn, a gnome cleric of the Spring Princess, Nalanimil, was dressed as the fertility goddess in vines and scarves and not much else. This revealing costume showed off the small but obvious bulge of her pregnancy. Beside her was Ornthalas, a high elf priest of Vanatar, the Summer King and lord of light, who was dressed in a shiny breastplate, a mirror-like shield, and a helm with a metallic unicorn horn and mane. Although both Daenestra and Banywyn carried quivers and slung bows, Ornthalas was the most conspicuously armed member of the group, with his spear trailing a banner of woven flowers.

When the four actors reached the platform, they performed a bit of sacred mummery, speaking ritual words as they exchanged partners. Winter remained ascendant on Her holiest of days, but took Spring as Her new consort. Autumn joined Summer in decline. With Banwyn and Fulvar being a married couple, the new ruling pair's ritual kiss lasted longer than strictly necessary--to some knowing cheers. The Sovereigns then assumed Their seats on the four thrones, with the two gnomes taking the more exalted seats.

Representatives of the town's most prominent businesses and families took turns offering gifts to the Sovereigns. This took quite some time, as the "gods" gave their thanks for each gift. This part of the ceremony allowed the party to take better note of the crowd. They spotted a number of kobolds watching the proceedings from the edge of the crowd. Most of these were gathered on the side of the market closest to their garrison (a cluster of elven stone buildings surrounded by a kobold-built palisade). Jumari and Fatou could tell that the kobolds were on edge throughout the ceremony, and spotted some who openly sneered at the gift-giving.

While that was still going on, Fatou and ZhaZha noticed a disturbance as a new group approached from another direction. This proved to be two satyrs, one of which started playing his pipes and dancing as the pair approached the stage. The other carried a  fancy hunting horn, held aloft to let the crowd get a fine look while he pranced up to the stage. He bowed and, speaking in Common, presented the horn as "a gift from the satyrs of the forest to the true gods of the land." Some of the kobolds understood his words, and clearly took offense. Those reptiles translated into Draconic for their fellows, and a handful of kobolds rushed off in the direction of the garrison.

The satyr remained kneeling, and exchanged greetings with the actors. Autumn presented a wineskin to the satyrs in thanks. They sampled it, and praised Daenestra's work. A bad of musicians near the stage was given an unseen cue, and started to play. The two satyrs joined in with their pipes, and led the dancing that followed. With the solemn part of the festival concluded, the rest of the day was for celebrating the return of the sun. Stalls around the edges of the market square provided ample food and drink of many kinds.

The four actors remained on the platform for a while longer. Skarlo went to his cousin and, somewhat awkwardly, congratulated her on her pregnancy. The gesture pleased her and her husband, so he asked when the baby would be born. Banwyn expected their child to arrive in late spring, which she felt would honor her patron goddess.

Fatou offered to buy drinks for all her friends. The two half-orcs, however, declined, resolving to stay sober in case of any trouble. (Jumari also wanted to keep her face veiled.) Instead, they wandered around together, feeling lost among the followers of this strange religion. ZhaZha made sure to inform Edel that the kobolds were antsy, but the elf was determined to join in the carousing. He even asked to take Skarlo for a spin, and the gnome agreed--though he left Scuttledust with Fatou, for her protection.

The wizard tried to keep an eye out for the return of the kobolds who had gone to the garrison, but got too caught up in the festivities. After some time, the party heard a commotion nearby: one of the two satyrs was arguing with a kobold wearing rich, fancy robes and bearing a dragon-headed staff.  Going closer, they could hear that the satyr was insisting that the kobold join the party. The kobold and his two guards all wore insignia of garrison officers. The small reptilian was angry, insisting that the fey mind its own business and behave itself. Just as the party arrived, the argument turned into an exchange of insults in multiple languages.

Edel attempted to intercede and make peace: this was a festive occasion, which everyone should celebrate in their own way, and there was no need for such hostility. He succeeded, and the other two backed down. (Edel and his companions were somewhat disappoionted that they didn't get to join in a fight after all.) The satyr feigned boredom, and asked Fatou to drink with him instead. She agreed, and was led off to the nearest drink stall. Skarlo followed to keep an eye on her.

Jumari then addressed the kobold: "Don't you have somewhere else to be?" The kobold scoffed, and stated that wherever it chose to go in this town, it would. It soon decided that the half-orc and her friends were not worth its time to talk to, and walked off to where some kobolds were erecting a sunshade for it to sit under.

The two half-orcs decided to "wander" in front of the kobold to "accidentally" block its view of the continuing festivities. This gave Jumari time to determine the kobold's alignment (faint evil). It wasn't long before they were accosted by one of the junior officers, who barked at them to move along because they were blocking the view. When Jumari stubbornly replied in only Orc, the officer signaled the handful of soldiers beside the spellcaster, and they all leveled their crossbows at the half-orcs. At that, ZhaZha feigned difficulty getting her camel to move out of the way, but she and Jumari withdrew. The kobolds just glared at them and cursed them in Draconic.

Meanwhile, Fatou was in some trouble. The satyr had offered her a drink, and her lack of tolerance to alcohol left her too drunk to notice him getting handy, or to understand her owl familiar's warnings. Fortunately, her friends tracked her down her before the satyr got any other ideas, and extracted her from the fey's clutches. Fatou fuzzily thanked her friends, who took her back to the inn to sleep it off. Skarlo pointed them towards a shop where they acquired some alchemist's kindness for her. With Fatou safe again, Edel returned to the party as quickly as he could.

(ZhaZha has attached her new banner to her lance, and is working on a way to attach it to her armor so that she can display it with her hands free. During the day of the festival, the rest of the party noticed it, but only Fatou immediately picked up on the resemblance to the Tarrasque symbols in her home village.)

-----

One of our players has started a new job that, unfortunately, makes scheduling this game more difficult. It may take us a couple months to find an alternative time slot that works. 

Time of the Tarrasque #26: Hurry Up and Wait

"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.
• Skarlo Rockhopper, gnome summoner 5; and Skuttledust, scorpion-like eidolon
• ZhaZha, half-orc cavalier (order of the dragon) 5; and Zafira, camel mount.

-----

Last time, our heroes fought a pair of primitive dragons and recovered one of their eggs. They then finally reached their destination, the elven forest of Fendorlis, and the kobold-occupied border town of Galdar. They gladly parted ways with the kobold caravan, and met a young gnome named Skarlo Rockhopper who is interested in seeing the desert. Skarlo confirmed the existence of a local resistance effort, so the party promised to take him with them if he could put them in touch with the rebels.

Skarlo went to talk with his contacts, Pyntle, a female gnome who worked as a street entertainer, and Theren, a male elf who was a warrior of some kind. He told them about the newcomers he'd met, who were interested in the resistance. Teren and Pyntle were surprised that Skarlo would suggest that half-orcs join them, but the summoner explained that they had worked for the kobold caravan, but didn't like them much. The two rebels decided to watch the group, and asked Skarlo to find out more about their capabilities. 

Meanwhile, the others discussed Jumari's paranoia. She explained that her parents tried to kill her as an infant, and she expects other people to try to, too. (ZhaZha opined that everyone is trying to kill everyone else in her home village, but that's just training.) The conversation then changed to the dragon egg. ZhaZha offered to train it for Jumari if she hatches it. Fatou suggested the cavalier might be able to train it as a mount. 

Skarlo returned to the inn later in the day, to report what his contacts had told him. Jumari replied that she didn't plan to stick around just to be watched. ZhaZha wondered aloud if the rebels expected their party to fight someone to impress them, and said, "I don't want to kill things just for the sake of killing things...I don't believe I just said that." (Edel and Fatou were also shocked by this statement.) Jumari insisted that if Skarlo's friends wanted them to do something, they needed to let them know what. She suggested that they could give more information on the caravan they arrived here with, and Edel suggested they might be able to sabotage those kobolds. In the end, they sent Skarlo back to request more enlightenment about what the resistance expects.

While the party waited to hear back about that, ZhaZha suggested that they look for signs of the death cult here in Galdar. The other agreed, and also tried to learn more about the local resistance, and whether there were any problems that outsiders could solve. They found no trace of the death cult. (Most of the people they asked assumed they meant the Winter Queen--the faerie goddess of death and darkness--and knew nothing of Asmolon.)

The townsfolk were very close-mouthed about the resistance. Jumari and Fatou sensed that some of them knew more than they were willing to say, but were afraid to talk to outsiders--especially a group that included half-orcs. Fatou offered her two friends some coin to go have a nice meal while she and Edel talked to more people; the cavalier and inquisitor readily agreed. By this time, the party had also noticed of elves following them, so splitting the group would also test their tail. 

As Fatou and Edel continued asking questions about town, they did not gain many answers to their questions. However, they did hear that the locals planned to hold their usual Winter Solstice celebrations in a week, but were worried about the kobolds interfering. Since the occupation of Galdar, the kobolds had mostly let business continue as usual, but they gathered taxes on all trade that passed through the town, and forbid some things like other races gathering in armed bands. (Fatou believed that one of the elves continued to follow her and Edel, but the bard saw no sign of this.)

Jumari and Fatou went to get food, and easily spotted the elf following them. They continued to be nosy, mostly just for the sake of hearing what others said about them. They attracted a good deal of attention, but could not understand most of the bystanders' comments (which were in their native Elven, Gnome, or Draconic). Fatou had been generous with her coin, so they sampled food from many shops (favoring those with "barbeque" or other roasted meat), and brought quite a few leftovers back to share with their friends. 

Skarlo was unable to locate Teren (who was probably busy watching the newcomers), but did find Pyntle. The summoner told her more about the group--two could fight, one wore a holy symbol, one told stories--and Pyntle relented enough to tell Skarlo that the resistance may have work for them by the solstice. 

After the gnome reported this to the party, Jumari opined that she might need to leave town, to avoid causing trouble. However, and ZhaZha wanted to find work to earn some money if they found nothing better to do during that week. Edel could easily make some coin performing. Fatou planned to replenish her supply of wizardly materials and scribe some more scrolls. 

-----

[We stopped there because I found myself underprepared for a full session, and some of us were more tired from the week than usual. In order to have a more productive session next time, we continued the conversation via email. What follows summarizes that discussion and exposition.]

The Winter Solstice celebrations in Galdar normally begins with some sacred pageantry, led by local religious leaders and their assistants, to mark the changing of the seasons. This is followed by a great deal of raucous partying. 

Skarlo learned from his contacts that the resistance was concerned that the kobolds might interfere in these celebrations--especially if any of the local fey showed up, which they have in the past. Fey are wild and unpredictable, so tend to make the kobolds twitchy. The rebels wanted the PCs to stay near the religious leaders and protect them if there is any trouble. 

As natives of Fendorlis, Edel and Skarlo know that the solstices and equinoxes are the principal holy days of both the Faerie Sovereigns and the druids. The principal actors in Galdar's religious drama will represent the four Faerie Sovereigns as those deities change partners with the progression of the seasons. The Winter Queen and Summer King exchange consorts (Spring and Autumn) at each solstice and equinox; one of those two monarchs, along with their current consort, are ascendant during each season. Winter and Autumn are the current ruling pair, but at the solstice, Autumn will decline and Spring will ascend. (At the vernal equinox, Summer and Spring will become the ascendant pair, and so on.) 

Skarlo is related to two of the actors: his cousin Banwyn is a priestess of the Spring Princess, Nalanimil, and her husband Felvar will play the role of the Winter Queen, Maridor. (Maridor is a sinister goddess, feared rather than worshiped by honest folk, but she remains an integral part of the yearly cycle. She has no priests of her own among good-aligned elves, gnomes, and fey, but clerics of the pantheon honor her as part of the whole of nature. Here in Galdar, a layperson always plays her role.) The summoner knows that the other two leaders are both high elves: Daenestra, a female druid who will represent the Autumn Prince, Basaran, and Ornthalas, a male priest of the Summer King, Vanatar. 

-----

"...a fat camel with big jaws."

[And finally, we had a brief session with just Jumari and ZhaZha's players, in order to address the potential conflict between them once the inquisitor finally learns the cavalier's religion. ZhaZha acquiring the banner class feature at this level provided the perfect opportunity to explore that.]

Jumari found ZhaZha sketching images in the dirt, and asked what she was doing. The cavalier explained that she was designing a banner, which would help their party remember that they had help at hand. She belonged to the Order of the Dragon, but was having difficulty drawing one, because she had never seen a true dragon. (Despite Fatou identifying the two amphipteres they had fought as dragons, they didn't fit her mental image of one.) The thing that the people of her village drew has powerful limbs and a lot of teeth. But given her limited knowledge with strong beasts, she was afraid that her drawing looked too much like a fat camel with big jaws.

A dragon--this specific dragon--is the most powerful thing that ZhaZha could think of. It had been ages and ages since any of her people had seen one, so they only had crude drawings. Jumari asked if she follows or worships it. ZhaZha revealed her incredulity at Jumari not having figured it out when they were in Gorza's Well. She hesitated to name it because, based on Jumari's reactions in the past, she was afraid the inquisitor would want to kill her. Jumari was still confused, so ZhaZha had to explain bluntly that she and her family worshiped the Tarrasque*. The leaders of her tribe all wore its symbols. Jumari was surprised-she had never seen its symbols before to recognize them. She reassured ZhaZha that she wasn't going to kill her--she liked her, and would miss their friendship. (Also, it was far more fun to tease Edel together.)

ZhaZha guessed that Fatou might have a better idea what it looked like, due to her extensive book-learning. Jumari reminded her that Edel had spoken of it, too. (ZhaZha confessed that history mostly went over her head--she'd rather be pointed at things to fight now.)

Jumari wanted to kill the Tarrasque, because it ate her god. Edel wanted to kill it because it ate his king. ZhaZha wanted to be the best rider ever, and the hardest thing to ride must be the Tarrasque. If she could ride it before they kill it, she'd be content. Jumari believed Edel would agree to that. But ZhaZha worried that another one might not appear within her lifetime--which, as a half-orc and a warrior, was bound to be short.

ZhaZha explained that the Tarrasque's cult was not a death cult (which she knew Jumari was violently opposed to); instead, her people revered it for its strength. Granted, her religious views might not exactly match her family's, but she wasn't with them now.

She asked Jumari what she thought of being "the white orc" now. Jumari claimed that as she long as she gets to destroy Ras Raduz, she didn't care about what happened to herself. She just didn't want to die for some stupid reason first.

ZhaZha showed Jumari her drawing, asking her if seeing it on a banner would inspire her to fight. The inquisitor wasn't comfortable with the idea of gaining support from a Tarrasque banner, so asked if she could add an egg to it. She explained that the birthmark on her face was in the shape of a broken egg, her god's symbol. (She repeated the story of the Tarrasque and Lost Egg's origins that she had told her companions before.)

ZhaZha's new banner design. (Drawings
used with her player's permission.)

As they talked, ZhaZha modified her drawing, and decided it would be much easier to depict just the dragon's head rather than the whole body. She had saved a few scraps of yellow-brown amphiptere hide from what they sold to the kobolds, and planned to cut the dragon head device out of that and mount it upon a red canvas background; she would also add a cream-colored broken eggshell to the design. Jumari recalled that their new gnome acquaintance, Skarlo, was a leatherworker, so suggested that he might be able to assist with the work, or at least with finding the right tools and supplies.

The two friends struck a deal: ZhaZha would ride the Tarrasque, then the others would kill it. They might never get that chance, but at least there would be plenty of death cultists to kill together along the way. (ZhaZha stated that if she died before then, she did not want to be reincarnated as a gnome. Being that small would make it even harder to achieve her dream.)

With the difficult part of the conversation past, their talk turned to lighter subjects--such as ZhaZha thanking Jumari for setting her up with Morag. 

* The Tarrasque is not a dragon, but in my setting's cosmology, it is the cursed spawn of the dragon gods, so its worshipers usually consider it to be one.

Time of the Tarrasque #25: Why Are Those Clouds Green?

"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.

This is the session that we planned to introduce our newest PC, played by my daughter, so I knew that the bulk of the session would be role-playing that. However, my players prefer to have at least one fight each session to help blow off steam at the end of the week. Therefore, before we started, I asked if they would rather have a fight before that meeting, because I couldn't guarantee having one afterward. They pretty much unanimously agreed that they wanted a fight first.

-----

Last time, our heroes interrogated the surviving assassin who attacked Elder Usama, and learned that she feared Jumari, an albino half-orc, because a "white orc" was destined to slay her master. The inquisitor and her friends then assisted with the criminal's execution by Peacekeeper Morag. Afterwards, ZhaZha's friends encouraged Morag's interest in the cavalier, while Edel spent a night getting better acquainted with the tavern-owner Miriella.

The caravan left Dal-Raman the next day, leaving the sandy part of the desert behind. North of the town, the terrain consisted mostly of arid hills, with some grass and shrubs.

On their third night out from Dal-Raman, as the caravan approached a gap between two hills, they could see a large creature trying (and failing) to hide behind one of those hills. ZhaZha and Fatou could also see a second creature lurking behind the other hill. Nylrynn, the kobolds' guide, turned and started back towards the caravan, but was rushed by one of the creatures. It was an amphiptere, a large serpent-like dragon with spindly wings that it used to glide just a few feet above the ground.

As Fatou cast bless and Jumari cast expeditious retreat, ZhaZha charged the amphiptere and skewered it with her lance. It retaliated with a claw and a tail strike against the cavalier. The other dragon attempted to sneak closer and failed, alerting the rest of the group to its presence. Jumari moved to the midpoint between both dragons, suffering a blow from the nearer dragon's long tail, then cast blistering invective; the wounded dragon caught fire. ZhaZha's camel bit the burning camel, knocking it unconscious.

The cavalier then rode closer to the other amphiptere, and struck it with her lance (though not with a charge). Edel and Nylrynn both shot it. Jumari took another opportunity attack as she moved to flank the dragon, and narrowly avoided a crit (due to having her judgment applied to defense). Zafira the camel finished off this one as well.

ZhaZha and Jumari skinned the unburnt dragon's hide, thinking it would fetch some decent coin. The party as a whole searched the area for loot (none) and tracks (yes). They found tracks that led (after a long walk) to a hollow in the side of a hill. Jumari found a large, leathery egg inside. Edel was certain I was an amphiptere egg, so she fashioned a sling to help her carry it until she decided what to do with it. The group's best guess is that it wouldn't hatch for a couple more months.

The heroes returned to the caravan, and Vartoranax and Tyrrentyg asked to examine the egg. Jumari allowed them, with her supervision. Neither kobold had seen this kind of egg before. The merchant offered to buy it from her, but Jumari decided she did not want to sell it. (It might be valuable, and eggs are a symbol of her faith.)

After the next night's travel, dawn revealed a line of green along the horizon to the north. "Why are those clouds green?" asked Fatou. Edel tried to explain what a forest was to his desert-born friends. The grass here was more lush and green as well; Zafira ate it eagerly, so ZhaZha decided to trust the new greenery. Jumari, on the other hand, was unsettled by the vegetation, and the growing noise of insects, birds, and small mammals Meanwhile, Edel was ecstatic at the sight of green everywhere!

Shortly before the next dawn, the caravan reached a river that flowed into the forest, and followed it a short way to Galdar. They could not see the town until they were almost within it, because the forest trees obscured it. More trees were scattered throughout the town, and most of its buildings seemed to be made of wood. Fully two-thirds of the inhabitants were high elves, with most of the rest being half-elves and gnomes. They did, however, see a scattering of kobolds acting as guards outside certain buildings. These kobolds wore uniforms with an unfamiliar device (a black scale with the letter "O" in Draconic); ZhaZha concluded that they all belonged to the local garrison.

Most of the party noticed that the non-reptile races avoided the kobolds, and gave the caravan a wide berth--and many dirty looks--as it passed through town. They saw only a single half-orc along the way--and he seemed to be avoiding all the other races as much as possible.

The center of town held the largest open space in Galdar: a marketplace where the road ended at docks along the river; barges ferried goods and people across the water here. The kobolds headed for a caravanserai near this crossroads, which marked the end of the journey for which the party was hired. All four of them wanted to get paid and depart as quickly as possible, and finally be quit of the kobolds. Vartoranax paid them the agree-upon wage for the trip, plus a fair price for the dragon hide [approximately the cost of materials to craft the dragonhide armor and shield that could be made from it]. Fatou made a point of saying farewell to Nylrynn, the guide who they had fought beside a number of times. But apart from this, our heroes were in a hurry to find a place to sleep where kobolds didn't.

Shortly after they left the caravanserai, Fatou noticed a gnome following them, riding a human-sized scorpion. The scorpion seemed to be made of crystal, had only four legs, and bore a glowing rune that matched one on the rider's brow. She concluded that this was a summoner and his eidolon. Once the cleric alerted the others, they stopped to find out what the gnome was up to.

He introduced himself as Skarlo Rockhopper, and asked if they were from the desert. (Their camels made this pretty obvious.) The gnome wanted to go with them to see the desert. He didn't like it here, where there were kobolds. ZhaZha asked what he thought of death cults; he declared them "not good."

"You're awfully trusting. That makes me worry," ZhaZha remarked. "What were you before?" Skarlo didn't blink at the question, but simply said that he didn't know. Sensing her friends' confusion, Jumari explained the theory that she and ZhaZha had evolved: Not everyone who is reincarnated becomes a gnome, but all gnomes have been reincarnated as such. (The only two gnomes that the half-orcs have known well up to this point--Jubair and Morganox--were both reincarnated into gnomes. Skarlo's claim to have been reincarnated just reinforces that theory, and the gnome did not try to contradict them.)

Fatou then asked about the eidolon. Skarlo explained that he summoned her with arcane magic. "She hurts things, and carries my stuff."

Edel asked where to find a good inn. Skarlo offered to take them to the one where some of his family worked. The inn proved to be full of elves and gnomes, and had been built to accommodate the two races' very different sizes. Once side had a higher floor, so that gnomes could sit level with the larger races. A number of tables spanned the drop-off, to accommodate mixed groups. Skarlo was obviously well-known here. Most of the patrons took his big scorpion in stride, and even greeted her by name--Scuttledust--and she greeted them in return in the same languages. Skarlo arranged for a private room where they could eat and talk.

Once they were sequestered, ZhaZha asked what Skarlo had done to piss off the kobolds. He replied that he stole some material components from a spellcaster. This was near The Eye; the kobolds took over his family's home there not long after the Tarrasque's last appearance. Skarlo pulled out a map to point out places he mentioned. (The northeastern end of the continent is known as the Dragon's Head and the Neck, for its shape. The Eye is a lake near the center of the Head.) Skarlo's family had traveled south, away from the invaders, but now the kobolds are here, too.

Edel said he was from Dorthyra, and pointed to a part of the map in the southern reaches of Fendorlis. Kobolds overran his home as well. He briefly described his travels since then: through one desert, through The Shield and over the Dragonspine Mountains, and across another desert to get here. He had heard from other elves closer to The Stairs that there was a resistance cell in this city. When Skarlo confirmed this, Edel expressed his belief they could be of assistance to each other.

Skarlo explained that he did small jobs for the resistance, and they are starting to trust him. One such task is informing them of people passing through town. That's what drew his attention to their caravan when it arrived. Edel opined that, now that their contract with the kobolds has ended, he wouldn't mind if some misfortune befell them. Skarlo offered to inform his resistance contacts that he had found some people who wanted to help.

Edel proposed that if Skarlo could introduce them to the resistance, and if he would be willing to help them with some unfinished business back in the desert (destroying a death cult), then they would gladly take him there on their return.

Fatou noticed that Skarlo wore two wooden holy symbols, one of Vanatar, the unicorn King of Summer, and the other of Genesib, the god of earth. She expressed her curiosity about them, and showed the gnome the giantish symbol of the four Medan gods that she had acquired. Skarlo had not seen such a symbol of all four elemental gods as a group before. (On the other hand, Skarlo had recognized the symbols of Nalanimil, goddess of spring, on Edel's bow, and Fatou's symbol of the moon goddess Yaziel.)

Jumari expressed a wish to be out of the forest by the new year (in about a week), or at least outside it for that night. (She craved open sky for her devotions then.) 

Skarlo asked about the bundle the inquisitor carried. She showed him the dragon egg and explained what it was and how they had acquired it. She is still unsure what she'll do with it, but for now will try to keep it safe and warm.

-----

Next time, the conversation with Skarlo will continue, and our heroes will try to gain new allies.

Going forward, our party will consist of:

• 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.
• Skarlo Rockhopper, gnome summoner 5; and Skuttledust, scorpion-like eidolon.
• ZhaZha, half-orc cavalier (order of the dragon) 5; and Zafira, camel mount.

Skarlo Rockhopper: (L) on foot; (R): mounted on his eidolon Scuttledust.

Time of the Tarrasque #24: A Story to Tell Her Camel

"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.

-----

Last time, the caravan reached the town of Dal-Raman, located at the edge of the sandy part of the Lokoran Desert. Our heroes were given a day's liberty by their employer, Vartoranax, while he conducted some business. They spotted a tavern, The Thirsty Centaur, which turned out to be run by a high elf woman, Miriella, who took a liking to Edel and encouraged him to visit her later. While shopping in the market, the party foiled an assassination attempt on Usama, a town elder. Usama offered his house as a place to question the surviving assassin, then his servants helped drag the bodies in off the street.

The elder wished to send a runner to the settlement's chief lawman, Peacekeeper Morag, but worried for his servants' safety following the attack. ZhaZha and Fatou volunteered for escort duty, while Jumari and Edel stayed here to question the prisoner.

Peacekeeper Morag

Usama's servant led them to the Peacekeeper's office, a utilitarian stone barracks located a short distance from the market, with a small, windowless jail attached. The staff here was human, except for a single halfling and their chief. Morag was a tall, muscular half-orc who wore a chain shirt and carried a small arsenal: a longbow and quiver, an orcish double axe, and a bandolier of alchemical weapons. (He also wore a symbol of the Javanian pantheon next to his badge.) Once ZhaZha informed him of the attack on the elder, Morag promptly agreed to go with them to Usama's house, and hear more of the details on the way.

Meanwhile, Edel healed the bound half-orc woman just enough to wake her. She opened her eyes, saw Jumari, and seemed disturbed enough by the sight of the veiled albino half-orc that she refused to meet the inquisitor's eyes. Edel began the interrogation by politely asking her to explain the attack, and managed to persuade her to talk. She was sent to kill the elder as a holy mission from her master, to spread fear of their god. She was not allowed to speak her master's name, and refused to tell where his training cave was. When asked why she chose Usama as her target, she replied that the other elders were more careful. (The old man seemed outraged at this, but subsided after a moment of self-reflection.) She did not know if any other attacks were planned.

Jumari asked how she got up the Escarpment. "I walked." This confirmed the inquisitor's guess that the assassin came from some ways to the south, so Jumari asked if she belonged to the Ghost Fist clan. She denied it--"I serve the god more directly"--but did know enough about where that tribe's territory (south of the Escarpment, west of the Stairs) to avoid them on her way here. Jumari stepped closer and pulled back her veil to reveal her white skin and prominent red birthmark. "Why are you afraid of me?" The other woman seemed absolutely terrified of her, and shrieked, "Only the White Orc can kill the Master!"

Fatou, ZhaZha, and Morag entered Usama's house just in time to hear that outburst. Edel quickly brought the Peacekeeper up to speed as Morag examined the assassin's dead accomplices. He discovered that each of them had the name "Ras Radaz" tattooed in Halfling script somewhere on their bodies. The prisoner flinched as he read the name aloud. Edel and Fatou recognized the name as a legendary assassin in the death-god Asmolon's cult, and the leader of the force that killed the half-orc hero Gorza. When Edel asked the cultist how she followed a supposedly dead assassin, she proclaimed, "The Master has transcended death!" She then looked at Jumari again, and fainted. Morag took the opportunity to examine the woman more closely, and found the Ras Radaz tattoo on her as well.

The heroes asked Morag and Usama for their opinion of what to do with her. The two men agreed that the cultists was too dangerous to leave alive. They exchanged a few words that seemed to be some sort of shorthand from long practice, then agreed that a prompt and public declaration of her crimes, followed by a swift execution, would be best. Usama ordered a servant to fetch his trumpet, and a small procession formed, with the adventurers assisting Morag in carrying the bodies to the market square. They ascended a platform that sported a pillory at one end and a chopping block at the other. Having noted Edel's interest in the instrument, Usama allowed him to blow the trumpet to get bystanders' attention.

A crowd soon gathered, and the elder gave a brief speech about the attack on his person. Morag effortlessly lifted one of the dead assassins with one hand and used the other to rip away clothing to display the tattoo. He instructed the townsfolk to report to him if they see anyone with the same tattoo--"and let me do what I do best." He then asked ZhaZha, who was carrying the living cultist, to hold her up for him. He unslung his double axe, stretched a bit, then skillfully beheaded the criminal. The spray of blood drew cheers form the crowd, a few of whom chanted the Peacekeeper's name until Morag spoke again, declaring justice done in the elder's name and ordering the crowd to disperse. More quietly, he thanked ZhaZha for her assistance as he cleaned his blade on the dead woman's clothing. He told her to leave the body for his people to dispose of, and gave permission for her and her companions to take anything of value from the bodies.

This looting yielded a handful of healing potions and a number of masterwork weapons and suits of light armor. They claimed some for themselves, and collected the rest to sell in the market. The real prize of the lot was a scabbard of vigor that all agreed ZhaZha should take.

The cavalier's friends had seen the admiring looks the Peacekeeper gave her, and took action to encourage him. Before departing the platform, Jumari invited Morag to have dinner with them. Edel had his own plans for the evening, but cast heroism on ZhaZha before departing (then cast heroism on himself en route to the Thirsty Centaur). Fatou bought a fine meal for the others at a nearby inn. After she and Jumari finished eating, they slipped out of the inn to leave the two warriors alone.

The moon was still full, so the two priests went their separate ways to spend time in private devotions. Jumari started a new tattoo to commemorate this latest "inquisition," but has not quite settled on its form. [Fatou might ask Jumari to use her skills to provide her with a tattoo of her own holy symbol, but it seems unlikely that the half-orc would do that for another god's faith.]

Miriella, faerie priestess and
proprietor of the Thirsty Centaur

Edel found Miriella at the tavern, and had a long and fruitful conversation with her as they became better acquainted. The elven woman had left Fendorlis when kobolds invaded the forest and destroyed the temple and distillery where she worked. She bought a small brewhouse here in Dal-Raman, and spent the next few years repairing it and starting over. She was very curious about where the bard was from, and his adventures since leaving their homeland. He told her many stories of his travels, and mentioned the caravan he traveled with now--but not what race his current employers were. Miriella was surprised that two of his companions were half-orcs, but he explained that they were stalwart companions, and eager to help him drive out the kobolds.

Since leaving Fendorlis, Miriella has had occasional news about rebels fighting the kobolds in Galdar, the border town where Edel was headed. A woman known only as "The Red Swan" led the rebels, and the priestess suggested that the bard seek out her help. Miriella did not know how to find the Swan, but did know that she and some of her people were among those who swore the Oath of the Bloody Tree. Edel had heard of this group, who swore to eliminate the kobold conquerors and reclaim their homeland. Miriella described most of the Sworn as fanatics, but admitted that they did provide some of the most effective resistance to the invaders so far. Their talk soon turned to more pleasant things, and both were pleased to experience the other's skills in the love goddess Nalanimil's arts.

Across town, ZhaZha soon forgot her mild irritation at her friends' blatant maneuvering. Morag had quickly sized her up as a seasoned warrior, and the two half-orcs eagerly discussed weapons and fighting techniques, long after they finished their meal and left the inn. The cavalier praised the Peacekeeper's fine axe, and he allowed her to try her hand at it. She was clumsy at first, but soon grew steadier with it, though it would never feel as comfortable to her as a pick or lance. While sparring, Morag finally propositioned her, and she only needed a moment's thought before agreeing. Morag had treated her with far more respect than any of the brutish louts back home ever had, and she had thoroughly enjoyed his company so far. ["And she will have a story to tell her camel," as her player put it. Whether she ever tells her other companions anything about it remains to be seen.] 

Before ZhaZha left Morag's home the next morning, he expressed his desire that she would visit him whenever she next passed through his town. She readily agreed: "We can trade tips."

Edel's farewells with Miriella were cordial as well. He promised to bring her news of home if he came back this way.

The caravan left Dal-Raman at dusk. The kobolds expected the journey to Galdar to take five days. Along the way--and well out of earshot of the little reptiles--Edel informed the others of what he had learned about Galdar and the rebels there.

Jumari also she felt very strongly about her new identity as "the White Orc." ZhaZha agreed with her, and earnestly wished to avenge Gorza, the hero for whom her home village was named.

-----

My teenaged daughter has asked to join the campaign, and the other players were happy to welcome her to the game. They all already have some experience gaming with her, primarily through Pathfinder Society. We will be introducing her character (a gnome summoner) once the party reaches Fendorlis, which should be next session.

She will start at the same level (5th) so that I will only have to track one XP total for everyone. Our last couple sessions have gone a long way to correct the amount of wealth the PCs should have, but they aren't completely where they should be yet, so the new character will be starting with wealth approximately on par with what they have when they meet her. 

Time of the Tarrasque #23: Death Comes to Dal-Raman

"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.

-----

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 attackers is incapacitated with hideous laughter (d6) while two are on fire from blistering invective (d4's).

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.]

Elder Usama under attack (photo by Jeffrey Jones)