Hook City (game)
Contents
The Game
Here you can find the latest posts in this game.
Current Events
The latest Great Migration of the Southern Continent has barely subsided and Hook City is already back to conducting business as usual. Do our selected group of heroes have what it takes to rise up from the muck of Mudtown to gain fame and fortune in Hook City?
The Story so far (from a player's point of view)
Day 1
The original group (Padre, Bosk, Valla, Sanji, Ariman, Lenwe and Naru) met by chance as a halfling was being chased down the street by a group of mercs and their merchant employer. Standing up for the outnumbered halfling they matched blades with the mercs in the small one's defense. When the great minotaur, Bosk, fell to numerous blows the strategy changed on both sides and calmer minds prevaled. Turns out the little halfling was indeed a theif and was forced to return the stolen property.
With Bosk healed and once again in the realm of the living, the group decided to sit down together in a local tavern. Xeron, who had witnessed the fight decided to join the group at this point... as did their future employer, a merchant named Penn. He hired the group to protect his goods for a week while he awaited entry into Hook City. As a group they agreed to take on this job, as protectors.
Once at Penn's camp, a few mercs picked a verbal fight that was avoided by a well placed spell and a bit of diplomacy. That night the camp was attacked by goblins. Once the fight was over the group found that these were not goblins, but a group of novice mercs using magic gear to appear as goblins. They identified themselves as members of the Ironband company, a merc company with a dirty reputation that Penn had hired but fired them when they attempted to extort additional payment from him.
Day 2
Xeron, Sanji and Valla scouted out their camp while the others questioned the survivors. At this point there was a 'changing of the guard'. Maikill the half-orc brute joined the group in hopes that he would get to smash something. Lenwe disappeared without even saying something. Naru and Ariman felt the job was too tough and decided to leave. They were replaced by Motley, a gnome rager, and Grendel, a half-orc priestess of Flower.
Once everyone was introduced, Penn instructed the group to make an assault on the Ironband camp as he considered those mercs to me a present and immediate danger to the lives of everyone. With little rest and much magical resources spent, the protectors attacked an established merc company. With Xeron, Sanji and Motley stealthily leading the way (with the remainder of the group not far off behind) we assaulted the Ironband.
A dwarf on guard duty caught us approaching and raised the alarm. The battle was intense as both sides moved quickly to engage. A total of 9 Ironband members took on our 8. As we felled them one and two at a time, Maikill fell from many wounds and Valla was rushed by 3 of the Ironband and fell. Sanji fell while attempting to get the attackers of Valla. While one attacker prepared to 'finish off' Valla, Grendel cast a command spell to force him to drop his arms. Unfortunately for Valla, the sword dropped point first into his chest further worsening his plight. Maikill was healed and rejoined the fight only to be dropped by a solid sling shot a moment later. The Ironband broke off when most of their members had fallen, though Bosk caught one before he could escape, leaving a total of 2 members of Ironband as survivors.
Back we go to our camp with our wounded who were promptly healed by Penn's temporary guard. After the loot is sorted and the remaining prisoner's dispatched there is a hidden Ironband stash to find and loot somewhere in a seedy tavern here in Mudtown. Sanji checked out the Bucket of Blood Saloon as Bosk went to sell our aquired loot and Maikill dumped some dead bodies that were laying around our campsite. Sanji was sent packing with a death threat if she ever returned. Maikill was scared off by some brain eating monster and left the horse and cart in Pig Alley, where it was easily taken by a lucky citizen of Mud Town.
As our group settled in for some much needed rest we realized that Penn hadn't returned from a quick errand and was now a couple of hours past due. Leaving a small guard behind (no pun intended Motley), the group found an informant who saw Penn being lead into the back door of the Bucket of Blood Saloon. Our group charged in the back door and found Penn captive of a rival merchant named Gordo and his two thug Mercenaries.
Even though we outnumbered them, the two bodyguards of Gordo were dangerous. One even wielded a magic sword! Penn made it clear that Gordo was off-limits but also that his fate was tied to our success against Gordo's men. All fought well. Maikill, Bosk, and Padre fell to the deadly opponents while Xeron and Sanji were unstoppable. Turning his blade and body into flanking positions time after time Xeron struck vital blows on both opponents. Sanji, who had been rather ineffective for the early part of the fight was obviously bluffing as she laid out their strongest with but a single blow from her rapier.
Turns out that we were then due payment of bounty from Gordo, which was a large reversal from the opening positions. As a group we were paid 1000 gp. Grendel patched up both ally and enemy, not allowing any that fell to meet Gargul that day. Upon leaving, we encountered an elf who was set upon by the same monster that attacked Maikill. Having half of our team wounded we invited him to help us transport Penn to the gates of Hook City with his goods. There Penn paid us, gave us a letter of recommendation and bid us farewell. Here too, Padre and Motley left our little rag tag group.
Now we've crashed at an Inn for some much needed rest and recovered much of our injuries. Where we go from here is yet to be determined. Also there is the matter of what name we will choose to go by as we settle in to a lengthy stay in Mud Town.
Day 3
Last night we were unable to agree on a name and decided to spend the night regaining our strength and scribing a few scrolls. The next morning we over heard a merchant complain to the bartender about the brain eater. We put out word that we could be hired to deal with th creature and then headed out to blow our cash on armor and spell components.
As night fell we learned that the last victim of the braineater was a man by the name of Black Harris and that there was a 5000gp for the capture or death of the Brain-eater. Deciding to investigate, we made our way to the first victims residents.
We met Mac MacGuiness' wife, who was now in charge. I'm afraid we scared the poor woman half to death, but we learned that Mac had a junk shop and dealt with some strange items. Next were two of Felton Gros' sons. We had to “convince” them to answer our questions and learned little. Last was Black Harris' general merchandise store, closed and locked up--mostly like by Harris himself just before he was killed. After asking around we learned that Felton Sr. had visited the store about a week ago, for what reason was unknown.
Checked though some old records and learned that Old Mac sold a puzzle box to Felton Sr., who then gave it to Black Harris to sell on commission. The records indicated that the box was originally bought from a homeless person, a term often associated with stolen items. The box was said to be about about 6" square and made of some sort of wood, maybe mahogany, but other than that was unremarkable. This was our only lead, so we pursed it.
Worrying that Blacks shop would soon be looted and the puzzle box would be lost we proceeded to Blacks shop in an attempt to secure and protect it. To do this Maikill had to knock down the door, which Grendel and Bosk later mended.
After a brief search Maikill found the wooden box matching the description of the one we were looking for. We then began to search the building, and Maikill cautiously ascend the single flight of stairs. After he paused a moment he caught sight of someone standing in the backyard of the store--It was his mother. In her right hand she held a bloody handaxe. Then under cover of darkness she ran away. The sight was too much for the half-orc and he dropped to the ground crying and stroking the hair of a near by doll.
Although we wanted to go out and investigate, in our current condition we would have been no match for what was out there. In the end we decided not to venture outside and to hold up for the night inside the house. That night Sanji then suggested the group hold up in the shop for a few days and claim it as their head quarters, we had to admit that it sounded like a good idea.
In the morning Bosk whipped up a decent meal for us, and found an extra set of house keys in the back of a kitchen drawer while looking for silverware. Outside, unbeknown to us, people were already moving about and from the way they were stopping and talking to each other, something had happened.
As Bosk cooked Beri managed to slide another piece of the puzzle out of the way. When he got bored Valla studies the puzzle box and proceeded to dissembled the entire box, leaving nothing remaining but a diamond shaped red and black gem at what was once it's center. Day 4 After breakfast we stepped outside and asked some passersby what the commotion was all about. It didn't take long to find out that there had been another grisly murder, a merchant by the name of Hammond Delves has had his skull cracked open and eaten. Gossip has it that his partner, Chipper Wanes--who cannot verify his whereabouts the previous night, committed a copycat murder to take full control of the business so he could pay off his gambling debts. They ran a livestock business and some say they also dealt in rare animal curiosities.
In the course of our talks with the streetfolk, Valla tuned into a familiar voice nearby. His nemesis, Zamnoodle, was talking tersely to a lone individual. Zam was accompanied by six of his companions from the looks of it. They appeared to be offering the man protection from themselves at an outrageous price. We quicklyoffered to ass ist the man, and after a few choice words from Zamnoodle the group turned to leave. They walked about thirty feet down the road and then turned and began firing arrows at us. Before we knew what was happening battle had begun.
As the arrows flew at us Bosk and Maikill quickly charged forward directly at Zamnoodle, killing him outright. With their leader dead, the rest become infuriated and attack us wildly with the bulk of the group surrounding the Taur. The battle seemed to be an even match, but with all their attacks focused on the taur, Grendle was able to offset their damage by healing him through the power of her prayer. Our hope was short lived though, as several attacks against the taur found their mark and quickly sent him unconscious. If it wasn't for a few daring moves on our part, we most likely would have lost the battle. Fortunately Xeron lunged forward and skewering a woman named Jillian and sending her into unconscious agony at the end of his blade while the same moment, Grendel plunged her dagger deep into the male warrior's collar bone, sending spurts of blood up her blade hanging in midair until it splashed down on her-- he was out of the fight. With that, the fight was over and there were several bleeding and dead.
Grendel stabilized friend and foe while the gentleman we had assisted introduced himself. His neme was Jacob of Greendale, scholar by trade, but on an errand for his father in the Sargrass Plains in this case. He was delivering a package for him to Magister Alistair in Hook City proper. Although he had no money, his script of conveyance allowed him to bring along personal bodyguards into Hook City, a luxary we could not otherwise afford. We quickly agreed and brought both Jacob and the prisioners back to the shop.
That day we learned the reward for the brain-eater has risen to 10,000gp, and that the gang members that escaped were Lilly's brothers and that they would probably looking for her. We put out word, but feared for her safety and would not let her leave until healed. Mud town was not a friendly place to injured and unarmed women. Grendel then worked her charm and the next thing we knew Hemust and Jillian were in our employ working the shop for us. The only hiccup that night as when Lilly and Xeron got into a heated argument after she insulted his mother, but it as soon resolved.
Day 5
Rested from the nights sleep Grendel cast her Identify spell on the small crystal. It revealed the true nature of the gem--it is a magical compass. When placed on a thin strip of wood that is floated in a bowl of water, the red end of the gem pointed to something other than North. Over breakfast we questioned Lilly about her visitor, having heard her conversing with someone during the night. Naturally she denied it. After breakfast we gave her back one dagger, some gold, and an invitation for her and her brothers to join us for a meal. We then let her go.
The mood was a little glum, talking mainly about the recent murders and lurking bain eater until Sanji announced that she found some trinkets on the shelf that were most likely forgotten because of all the dust covering the box they were in. A note explained that they were charms were made by the halflings of Greendale and would bring the bearer luck once a week when needed.
This cheered us up and Valla, Grendel and Maikill decide to go talk to the family of Gerald Hunsinger, the latest victim of the brain-eater. They learned that Gerald had left behind a large family which sold books, scrolls, artwork and offered a copying services. The books, scrolls and artwork were bought from travelers who sold them and from other cities. Though the Hunsinger family does make copies and some original artwork from time to time, the last people Gerald talked to were Kweku the ink maker, Yosef the baker, and Numitor the calligrapher. Afterward Everyone reconvened back at the shop.
After talking with Jacob we learned that was to enter the city proper in two days, and that he only required protection at night. We then decided to hunt for the braineater. Grendel used the gem to create a makeshift compass and we slowly made our way through Mudtown and ended up at an apparently abandoned building which we assumed to be a small warehouse. We tried everything we could think of to gain access, but the locks were beyond our capabilities and the door remained impervious to our repeated charged and we were forced to return to the shop empty hanged. Day 6
The next morning Lilly and her two brothers joined us for breakfast. At first themeal was a little award as one of her brothers was convinced the massive taur planned to eat them, but his fears subsided as soon as Grendel brought out some of her famous biscuits. While they ate they informed us another murder had occurred last night, this time the ink merchant was killed inside his shop.
After they left it suddenly dawned on us that Yosef was most likely the net target on the braineaters list. Grendel rush out to find him with the rest of us closely on her heels. We explained the situation to him, and he seemed to understand the danger. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His clenched hands loosed as he began to talk, "Num...
BOOM!
The back of Yosef's head exploded in a ball of flame that engulfed him, his shop and washed over us. Half of the group was injured and the other half unconscious, Yosef was clearly dead. Bosk and Maikill pulled every away from the fire, and then Bosk healed Grendel. The two of them then helped heal everyone and we returned to the shop. That evening we split up, but somehow everyone ended up at Numitor's house, the man whose name was spoken before Yodef's head exploded and whom we expected to die next. In our attempts to help him we accidentally set off a trap he was using to keep the braineater away. It set his house on fire, fortunately he was not inside.
We followed some foot prints we found and located Numitor in a near by house, or so we thought. It ended up that Numitor was at Yosef's shop and whose head exploded, we were actually talking to Yosef! We learned that he was enslaved by Vellinius, a tentacled monster who inserted something in his head and was manipulating him with it, and that the brain eater was a doppelganger who was working for him. Numitor was able to procure a strange animal that would remove the parasite from my brain. Trough a series of events Black Harris was the last person to have the animal and we figured out that it was being kept in the warehouse and how to gain access to the building. We quickly brought Yosef, his fiancée and her children to our shop where Hemust, Sanji and Jillian could protect them and then set out to retrieve the animal. When we arrived at the warehouse we were surprised at how much larger and nicer the inside was than the outside would have suggested. We were even more surprised that in addition to finding the the animal we were looking for in a locker, we also found that several people were being held captive in them against their will. We quickly rescued them, and in return Ransy and Cesar joined our party.
We brought the cage containing the animal back to the shop, and as soon as the cage was lowered to the floor and opened, the nearly blind mole scampered directly towards Yosef. Reaching down and picking it up, Yosef placed it on his shoulder, and the mole moved directly to the back of his head. The moles very long, almost prehensile, nose worked furiously as it twitched about and sniffed rapidly around the area where Yosef said he had been bit--then it stopped. Looking as if it had been paralyzed, it's nose stoped moving about as it remained firmly pressed against Yosef's old wound and the mole inhaled and exhaled slowly but deeply. To the careful observer, one could almost see little sparks of light around the tip of the moles nose. The mole had done it's job.
Day 7 The next morning, as everyone began stirring about and rising to some coherent consciousness, a knock came on the door. A small boy, no older than ten years, was standing at the door and presented us with a sealed letter and said, "I'm to wait and take back your answer". The letter said:
To the previous owner(s) of key #90,
Last night, in addition to securing your own items from your locker, you procured items that were not yours. We try to maintain anonimity between our clients and in this case we have not released any information to the owners of storage units 81-87 of which you broke into. They have demanded compensation and we limit such compensation to 100gp per locker. The fee to have the lockers you damaged repaired is 50gp per locker--two such lockers in this case. Therfore your total balance due is 800gp payable immediately upon receipt of this letter. The messenger boy who delivered this letter has been instructed not to speak of what he sees or hears, but then again he knows nothing that could help you if you choose to interrogate him. If you feel that you cannot pay now, or harm/kill the messenger boy, we will be left with no other course of action but to firebomb you relentlessly until your establishment and everywhere you sleep is left in ashes. Please sign and remit payment to the messenger boy now. Thank you and have a nice day.
After much debate, we agreed to pay the fee and planned to stake out the warehouse in an attempt to catch Cesar and Ransy's kidnappers. The boy accepted the 800gp and note. Bowing he said politely, "Thank you ma'am, have a nice day!" With that done, the boy took off at a fast clip down the street.
After breakfast Yosef and Arriet left with some of the captives from the lockers and we escorted Jacob into the Hook City to deliver his father's package to Magister Allistair. We were in shock when he opened up the box and discovered that it was filled with brains. He then told us that the man we though to be Jacob was really doppelganger and asked where the real Jacob was.
The doppelganger told us his name was Temujin, and we learned that his memory was impaired. From time to time he would forget his true identity when transformed into someone else. Prior to our encounter with Zamnoodle's gang, Temujin had been a member of Vellinius cult along with Yosef and Numitor. All three of them had willingly accepted the worm, not understanding the consequences of their action. Temujin was only able to over come the Vellinius control by cutting the worm out with an axe. He then explained to us that the real Jacob was a Druid and a Monsterologer who wad befriended him. It was only after learning that Vellinius wanted to enslave Jacob and gave the Task Temujin that he turned to the drastic step or cutting out a portion of his own brain to protect his friend. After that he took Jacob's box and sent him back to the Sargrass Plains in order to protect him. Sine that time Temujin had been disguised and Jacob and secretly killing the other cult membersand removing their brains, parasite and all, during the night. After learning this, Alistair excused himself for a moment and stepped over to a nearby armoire and opened it. On the inside of the door is a finely wrought and highly polished silver mirror. The magister began incanting a spell and soon brought up an image of a man resembling Jacob, but in tattered clothing, lashed with vines against a dirt wall. Pulling back the image he saw a cauldron and a witch--her disheveled hair, rotted teeth and threadbare robes crawling with vermin were a disgusting sight to behold--the large cauldron before her boils in anticipation. Allistair recognized the area as the Sargrass plains, and through the use of his magic we were brought to the Sargrass Plains to rescue him.
We arrived in a large clearing in the Sargrass Plains in front of a Druid Tree where we were quickly greeted by the lord of manor, Jacob's father. He informed us that his son had fallen in love with a beautiful girl who claimed to be from a near by farm. After his disappearance there was search and they learned that no such girl lived at that farm. We then learned that a tree like the one from Alistair's vision was close by the farm. Traveling was slow because of the ten foot tall grass that grows there, but we were able to follow behind a Great Ranthom with a driver that matted down the grass in front of us. Several hours later we arrived at a tree with a large hole at it's base and a small trail of smoke exiting from it. find the narrow passage warm and humid inside the core of the Druid Tree. Sap and muddy ichor drip and ooze from the rooted walls. Figuring that was where Jacob must be, we descends down deeper into the bowels of the earth. Hearing chanting down one of the passages Grendel said a quick prayer to shield Maikill from harm, after which the chanting from the North ceased. Knowing we had been discovered, Maikill and Ransy charged forward enemy be damned, when a dozen or so glass-grass dagger's fly at both Maikill and Ransy--smashing themselves to fine dust and jagged glass-like pieces as they impact on the warriors armor that shower the pair. Opposite the pair are a dozen or so witches, foaming at the mouth and drawing more glass-grass daggers for another salvo. To make matters worse, Jacob is nowhere to be seen.
Loose Ends
Vellinius - Mindflayer
Still on the loose in Mudtown.
Yosef, Arriet and children - Possible evil cultists
Headed South with Roy the beggar garbed ranger.
Shanghai'd - Warehouse
Find out who kidnapped Ransy and Cesar
Archives
The full past history of game posts can be found here.
Characters
These are the characters, past and present, that have been featured in this game.
Group term in Hook City: Free Company...this will take a while to decide on a name, just jotting down the term used by DMJim.
Current Roster
Bosk Deox [James] - Minotaur - Cleric 1/Rogue 1
Valla Crudarian [Marty] - Elf - Wizard 2
Xeron [Alain] - Human - Rogue 2
Maikill [Kelly] - Half-Orc - Barbarian 3
Grendel [Jay] - Half-Orc - Cleric 1/Wizard 1
Beriothian [William] - Elf - Rogue 2
Ransy [Wilson] - Human - Paladin 2
Cesar [Nick] - Human - Fighter 2
Past Characters
Ariman Couatlfang [Jason] - Human / Cleric / 1
Lenwë Palantír [Ed] - Half-Elf / Wizard / 1
Naru Aetherwind] [Adam] - Human / Wizard (Enchantress) / 1
Padre Sixtus [Drew] - Human / Cleric / 1
Motley Anklebiter [Dominic] - Gnome / Barbarian / 1
Sanji Remeid [Eric] - Human / Rogue / 1
NPCs
Venbolio Penn - Quality spell component merchant and first employer of the group.
Gordo - Owner of the Bucket of Blood saloon
Vellinius - Mindflayer
Temujin aka Jacob the Lesser - Doppelganger
Sanji - once a pc, now an NPC that runs the company's shop.
Hemust and Jillian - former Noodle gang members, who now work for the group at the shop
Lilly, Burwotti and Cade - Halfling siblings that were part of the Noodle gang
Roy - shanghai'd ranger that left under unhappy circumstances
Yosef, Arriet and her two children - rescued by the group and have left with Roy to start a new life
Magister Alistair - High level mage that lives in North Hook and is a family friend to the real Jacob the Lesser
Geography
History
Here you'll find links to all the events and history relevant to this game.
DM Pages
Here are all the resources a DM will need to run this game.
Hook City Fiction
Here are any stories written about Hook City Characters/Game Events
