Great-grandchild of the sister's gibbon's friend of the nephew of the Campaign that Would Not Die, now in 3.25e Møøse Trained By: Hugh Foster

Breakfast in the Ruins

Minensal, 7th December 2100, midnight

• Battered and weary, the companions help with the rescue efforts for some time but eventually return to the Happy Cheese and grab some sleep.

Minensal, 8th December 2100, mid-morning

• With Mornaeros dead, the citizens begin to emerge and start putting out fires and clearing up. The damage looks terrible, but with a majority of stone or part-stone buildings, it’s limited to the buildings actually flamed.
• This is, it turns out, the first time more than one dragon has attacked the city, which has resulted in more widespread damage and less effect from the defenders.
• Baylock forays out and quietly liquidates some of the items from Hesmar the Bard's house, after which he can definitely afford to pay his bill at Hesyas the Smith's. He also drops into the theatrical outfitters and spends several gold on a quite splendid array of accessories for his disguise kit.

• Gilhetar, First Citizen of Minensal and Merchant Prince

  Baggy goes to the Magistracy and asks to see Gilhetar. Despite the kicked-anthill air of the place, she does get a quick audience. "I've been hearing good things about you people," says the First Citizen. Baggy explains that the promised Cultists are ready for delivery. "Come in the morning if you will," says the First Citizen. "We're a bit busy today!" Baggy agrees, and leaves.
• Hesmar the Bard gradually realizes that he's not going to be released, and protests forcefully despite his gag, until Baylock bends his nose again.
• Baylock goes to investigate “Arenira’s Magic Shop” in the Trade district, hoping to pick up something defensive. This is festooned with stars and windchimes and arcane symbols, as is the proprietor Arenira.  However, all she has for sale are an assortment of low level scrolls and potions, at list price, and “the Thing”; a shapeless piece of stone that positively hums with magic but resists Identify spells. She wants a thousand gold for it but has no idea what it is for. It’s been there a while. Baylock puts it on the scales which rate it at ten thousand gold, so he haggles for it and eventually gets it for eight hundred. He part-exchanges Hesmar's jewelled inkwell for it; Arenira correctly feels it will fit right into the ambience of her premises.
• On getting it home, he has Nazariel and Chambu cast an assortment of Detection spells on it; it does not show up as Good or Evil but does radiate Chaos and an astonishing strength of Magic. Identify simply vanishes into it and returns nothing.

Minensal, 8th December 2100, mid-morning

• Baggy, Chambu, Nazariel and Lynlir set out to escort the prisoners to the Magistracy. Baylock goes along, but remains in the outer offices when the others go in, still taking pains to reduce his obvious connection to the others. This doesn't work, however; Gilhetar's intelligence service appears to know what it's doing.
• The City Constable, Alsar, is there when they arrive, accompanied by several burly watchmen, and greets the presentation of the prisoners with great pleasure. The tattoos are displayed and the guilty are bundled away in the direction of the cells.
• Gilhetar thanks the PCs and makes them honorary citizens and Guildsmen – this entitles them to a 5% discount at any Guilded trader in the city. He smiles slightly. “After last night,” he says, “You may find a lot of grateful merchants in any case. For a while. The mob’s memories are short.” It occurrs to the party that the prisoners' assets will probably be confiscated; Baylock daringly asks if they may have the Happy Cheese and Gilhetar smiles and nods.

Minensal, 10th December 2100

• Life becomes rather quieter in the city. Buildings are rebuilt, funerals are held, several scorched but grateful citizens come to thank one or another of the PCs – usually Baggy – and some bring their produce; sausages, cake, bread, apple pies and so on.
• Word of the Guild discount has filtered down to the membership, and the party enjoy their improved prices.
• The deeds to the shop turn up - with everyone's name on; Gilhetar really does have his finger on the pulse. A franchisee is interviewed for and a promising apprentice at the town's other cheese shop named Synion is delighted to find himself a propriertor years before he could have expected to be.
• Chambu adds a small shrine to Bahamut to the side of the shop, and holds some services

Minensal, 11th December 2100

• Mechanus. I mistakenly described Baylock's surroundings as "squares" whereas they should have been cogs. Caught on the hop without access to the MoP!

  Baylock takes the Thing to the mageguild, who are quite aware of it, and initially amused that he's bought it until he scales it for them. After that they want to buy the scales! Two wizards have written papers on it but nobody has any idea what it can do.
• Back at the shop, they're still puzzling over it. Baylock attempts a blind activation [and rolls a Natural 20!] - he vanishes, leaving the Thing behind.
• After a few hours, Chambu tries a Sending and locates him in a very peculiar place indeed. From the description he recognizes it as the Clockwork Nirvana of Mechanus.
• Chambu spends some time trying to work out a way to retrieve him, while Baylock spends some time wandering the cogs looking for something to eat. Plane Shift will only put Chambu within 500 miles of his target, and without some sort of Teleport he won't be able to move closer very quickly.
• Finally, Baylock happens on a local, a very peculiar little creature consisting of a bronze ball on spindly legs with a big round eye in the middle. It's carrying a baroque polearm but seems disinclined to use it. It states that Baylock should not be here - with which he agrees - but seems confused by his accidental arrival. It hurries off for assistance, leaving him alone once more on an empty cog.

• Monodrone

  A short while later, it returns, accompanied by a larger and even more bizarre creature, this equipped with five probable arms and five eyes. After listening to his tale - getting a bit plaintive now as he gets hungry - it agrees he shouldn't be there, and Banishes him back to his place of origin, much to everyone's relief.

Hesyas' Forge, Minensal, 15th December 2100, pretty early!

• Eagerly, the party head off to Hesyas' to collect their orders.
• Sure enough, when they turn up to pay their balance and collect, he not only knocks 5% off the original prices, he throws in a Dragontooth dagger each. Crafted from the fangs of Mornaeros, they are Masterwork (so +1 to hit) and deliver an additional 1 point of Fire damage with each hit. “Not only did the dragons miss my premises,” he says, “a little bird tells me that thanks to you I don’t have to expect more robbery attempts from that lunatic cult.” [Value, if sold elsewhere, will be 600gp]

Pentadrone and Monodrone

Session Date: 13th October 2021