Hook City (game)
Contents
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 was nowhere to be seen. The battle went quickly at first with man witches falling quickly before us. We thought it would be an easy fight until we discovered that the older hags were much more powerful. Many of our group were put to sleep and every time we would hit the lead witch she would glow yellow magically be healed. In the end Maikill took her out with one powerful stroke that cut her nearly in two. As soon as the witch fell, the witches cauldron exploded extinguished the fire and filling the cave with smoke as black taloned daemon crawled out and disappeared. The battle ended quickly at after this, and we realized that sever of the witches were just young girls from near by villages. We managed to save several of the girls from dieing as their cave became smoke filled tomb, but most of them we not so lucky. That night we built a large fire outside the cave and slept in the clearing as we debated what to do with the witches and if we should peruse the demon or return to Mudtown to hunt for the ilithad.
Day 8
The next morning Jacob awoke and after greeting Temujin confirmed his story. He then informed us that the last thing he remember he was drinking a glass of wine with the young girl the next thing he remembered was waking up here.
With the help of Temujin we were able to identify some skulls we found in the cave as belonging to the Manfri, the only people capable of making the steelgrass armor Bosk had been dreaming about. Jacob said that their village was close by and then turned into a large bird and flew to speak to them.
During this time we received a message from Alistair informing us that he had scried our location and offered to come and meet us if necessary. Still worried about the daemon we saw fly out of the cauldron we decided to call upon him, and suddenly he appeared out of nothingness thanks to his teleportation spell. He was unconcerned with the daemon and had no interest in the Marble head or underground tree.
After about an hour, Jacob returned and informed us that that the Manfri had agreed to let us buy some of their armor and that they wanted to throw a party honoring us. It turned out that the witches had drugged their watering hole and kidnapped about 20 of the Manfri. He also told us that the witches we fought comprised about half of the women of a neighboring village. After waking two of them we learned that the head witch had been killed and that all of the others were talked into helping her. The women had been upset because they blamed the Manfri for planting the grass witch now choked the plains. They also believed that the Manfri had kidnapped some of their own villagers.
We debated what to do with the captives, as it was clear that Jacob's father would not welcome them on his farm and discovered that if we took them to the Manfri as prisoners that they would probably be eaten. In the end Grendel, Alistair, Temujin chose to stay with the witches while the rest of us visited the Manfi.
Taking Buiwerf and the Great Ranthom with us, Jacob blazed a trail through the ten feet high grass. Hours passed and at one point Jacob became lost, but remembering his way after a bit. He lead us into a large clearing populated by grass-woven huts and small ebony-skinned people. We were amazed to discover that the springy floor of the clearing was in fact not cut, but woven into a huge mat that covered the entire clearing.
Three elderly manfri, if you could call them that--for it was very hard to determine their ages, came forward and greeted us. Everyone had a laugh as the chieftain mistook Bosk as a gift intended to be served as dinner, but we became concerned when the chieftain pointed behind him where a great roasting spit was set up. On the spit was a middle-aged liontaur with a large piece of fruit stuck in it's mouth being coated with large amounts of special sauce.
The liontaur worked his teeth and swallowed some fruit and spits out the rest. Speaking quite eloquently he asked if he could serve dinner than be served. The chieftain immediately ran to the Liontaur's side and profusely apologized, informing him that they had thought him a lion of the plains and asked forgiveness for capturing him.
The chieftain seemed very pleased to not be eaten by the now released Liontaur, and introduced himself as chief Barrantadatoda and welcomed Zeoll to his village. Since dinner had been set free, Maikill and several hunters went out to capture a Rapke, or Bounder for the feast while the rest of us were lead to a large drinking hall with open walls where we drank pomfrai, one of the finest spirits in the Wold.
After about an hour, Maikill returned to camp with the Manfri hunters and six unconscious prairie pigs only to find most of the group basically unclothed and dancing wildly about the large pit fire with the manfri. Maikill also partook of the amber liquid, and while not as strong as some drink he has had, by his third drink, the Wold dropped a level, as if he had somehow grown taller--and everything was funny, EVERYTHING. We didn't awake until the next night.
Day 9
Still recovering from the night before we explored the village. The Manfri, although not dealing in coin, were willing to accept gold in trade, not for their stated worth, but more for their intrinsic beauty so they could melt them down and make jewelry. Bosk, after borrowing some gold from the others, was fitted for some armor and both he and Beri ordered a few weapons which would be ready in a few days.
The others spoke to the chief about the witches, and he made it clear that he didn't care what the adventures did with the women. If we chose not to kill then or to hand them over then the Manfri would hunt them own and kill them for killing half their village: twenty men, women and children.
Saying our goodbyes to the Manfri and promising to return in a few days time, we headed out behind Buiwerf and his great ranthom. An hour later we arrived at the Druid Tree and were greeted by Alistair and Grendel. The two witches we had awakened were a bit more amenable now thanks to Alistair's handwork. He then suggested we take all of the witches except for the youngest back their village, where he could compel them to tell the truth so our side of the story is told. As for the little girl and Grendel, they joined his service, one as an apprentice and the other to study at the Star Mage's Guild.
Deciding to make way to the witches village, transported the unconscious witches to their village via stretchers. We arrived there after nightfall and the sight of solid buildings made of wood was a welcome sight. What was not welcoming were the body of men, some 20 in number and armed with spears that greeted us.
The men were reluctant to believe our story, but thanks to Alistair's magic the older witch stepped forward and told her tale, that she and the others joined the witches coven to strike back at the Manfri and they are not ashamed of what they did. It is a sobering tale and many of the men are angry, whether because she and the rest joined the coven or because we had killed a number of their women is unknown. Hse, the leader of this village, decided that his men and would need to talk about what they had just learned at some length. We were invited to stay the night under their protection and setup camp in the clearing.
Day 10
The night passed quietly. In the morning Hse came to us, saying it would be wise if you left today. There were some who would seek vengeance for what we had done, and he didn't want us killing them in self defense.
Alistair, Jacob and the witch teleported back to the farm while the rest of us followed Buiwerf and his great ranthom . Hours passed as the oppressive heat beat down on us as we made our way back to Halfdane's farm. Still having not taken a bath, thusly traveling with matted down fur, Bosk's fur stood out in tufts as the dryness of the swaying grasses brushes against him here and there. Zeoll on the other hand was a walking puffball—it is hard to say which of the Taur's look worse.
About mid-afternoon we broke into the clearing and a horn is sounded to alert the farm's master. Master Halfdane and Jacob greeted us and the Halfdane thanked each of us profusely. He then invited us to stay the day as he has prepared a feast in our honor and, perhaps because of our ragged appearance, allowed us to clean up beforehand in the central bathhouse.
After cleaning up we returned and a cheer was harangued by Master Halfdane himself as he introduced us to his seventy or so workers and family. Master Halfdane motioned for us to sit at the table of honor and to partake of the Rapke and other fare that's laid out before us. A plethora of fruits, breads and meats assailed our senses and all are pleasing to the palate. The Amber wine we grew to enjoy, nakedly at the Manfri village, was also served here--but not as strong nor as intoxicating as the Manfri blend.
When morning came, the buzz of flies and chirping of birds roused us from our slumber. After breakfast, which consisted of bounder bacon and prairie bird eggs, we were rewarded by Master Halfdane for the rescue of his son. Master Halfdane granted us Jacob's Writ of Passage, having signed all of it's rights over to the group. Jacob also thanks us once again for getting him out of trouble--which from the tales last night seemed to be a recurring thing for him.
Days 11 - 14
The next few days were spent leisurely as we waited for Bosk's armor to be made by the Manfri. The time passed quickly as the day of our departure soon came and farewells were made. Temujin seemed truly happy too--perhaps not having to automatically read the thoughts of so many people on the verge of committing some crime against another in Mudtown had something to do with it. As we parted he gave us a slip of paper which had the last known location where he had seen Vellinius.
This time instead of using a great ranthom we were teleported by Alistair to the Manfri village. Soon Bosk was fitted for the armor and weapons, and after payment and many thanks, including another wineskin of pomfrai given to Bosk, we teleported back to the river where the hidden magical door resided.
Casting a simple locate objects spell, Alistair located the gold coin he had buried in the ground and stood on top of it. At the edge of the sargrass plains, where tall grass once met the outer walls of South Hook City, there only lay a river unknown to any here. At the edge of it began to glow the faint outlines of a rune inscribed door as Alistair incanted a long series of magical syllables unknown to us. In short time a solid door appeared and Alistair opened it to reveal the lower levels of the Hook City Docks. He Magically locked the door behind him and escorted everyone outside where we stood upon the docks of South Hook.
Turning to the rest of us, he thanked us for helping Jacob and his family before motioning for his new apprentice and for Grendel to join him. Alistair said one more farewell before heading off.
We then heading to the Administration complex, and after spending about three hours going from line to line we finally got our Free Company registered. The only hiccup occurred when the clerk asked what the name of our group was, an issue we had never settled. In the end we decided to call ourselves the Iron Adventurers. Xeron then shocked us all by announcing that he was leaving the group, feeling more comfortable being with the people of Mudtown. After that we made a trip to the catacombs before each going our separate ways, having tasks which would take a few days.
Days 14-15
Valla and Zeoll investigated the tower which Valla had seen for sale on our last visit to the city. They learned that the tower was being sold by a cousin of the late owner and that it was said to be haunted. Valla bought it, and after much signing of documents was given the keys and all the paperwork necessary to have the title and deed transferred over.
After having secured the title and deed to the tower, Valla and Zeoll went back to inspect it. Under much protest from Zeoll not to enter the tower without their other friends, Valla entered anyway--Zeoll followed behind as he was not about to abandon his new friend, no matter how impetuous he was. Inside the tower was a dilapidated looking parlor, with stairs to the right going up to the second level. Valla purposefully left the front door wide open, but Zeoll's dog would not enter--no matter, as soon as both were in the door slammed closed behind them. Standing in front of the now closed door were two little identical twin girls who were human and looked about eight years old each, but they were as beautiful as any elvish princesses the pair had ever seen. "Tea time!" both said in unison as they rushed Valla and Zeoll. There was no time to reaction as both girls rushed the pair of Iron Adventurers and disappeared into their respective hosts. It was a strange feeling, like being three feet thick and being able to look at your body from the inside looking out, but not being able to affect said body. Before the pair realized their bodies, which included their ability to speak, were not under their control, they were moving upstairs to a series of rooms--one in particular, the twins room. For nearly the next ten hours they had a tea party. Both Valla and Zeoll were dressed in bonnets, their hair had been done up in curls and nearing the end of their ten hour ordeal, each were wearing copious amounts of makeup, in particular, blue eyeshadow--"You can never wear too much blue eyeshadow, right sis?" To which the twin sister concurred and added, "Or red lipstick." The pair was ghastly to look upon in the near mirror and as they felt the power of the twins beginning to lessen their hold over them both, one sister said to the other, "I think it's clobbering time." They both rose up in unison, moved away from the tea table they had elaborately set up and began pummeling each other senseless. After several blows, Valla's body succumbed to the non-lethal beating and passed out. Zeoll's body stood triumphant over the elf's and then he began beating his head against the wall. All it took was a couple of blows and he too was out like a light. how much time passed was uncertain, but as each were about to regain consciousness, they could feel the twins once again slip into them. "Tea time!" This went on again and again until Zeoll managed to force back the twin that was trying to enter his body. With swift legs, Zeoll took up Valla--who had yet again succumbed to his twin entity, and fled downstairs to the front door to escape. "Don't come back!" yelled the twin as she chased behind him. Then as he opened the front door, Valla turned to him, looked him straight in the eyes and said in a little girls voice, "If you come back, we'll roast your eyes and eat your flesh." Then the ghost left Valla's body and the pair exited the tower--the door swiftly slamming shut behind them.
Cesar went to visit the temple of Alemi and to receive his blessing Cesar met with the robed cleric and was soon greeted by other brethren in the temple who were more than willing to give their time in exchange for Cesar's to teach him about the ways of Alemi. After much talking, which lead to supper that Cesar did partake of, the hours passed. Before he knew it, two days had passed and the clergy there had basically accepted Cesar as one of their own--having found the warrior had a natural aptitude for clerical studies, all that was needed was for him to pass the Rite of Alemi to join their clergy.
Bosk, Beri and Ransey each spent the next two days training at the Woldian League of adventurers. The accelerated training, rich food and more accelerated training went on, and in the end of their trainer, Master Buar, congratulated each member who stuck it out and earned their badge. "Wear it with pride, you're now part of a vast network of brothers and sisters, a family that looks out for each other. But also remember, like fish that goes bad in three days, don't overstay your welcome."
Maikill spent a while in the catacombs and admired a suit of black rhino armor. It wasn't black per se, but from the hide of a black rhino that was a darker gray in color. It's bestial nature sung to the half-orc's heart and he knew he had to have it. With most of the day spent waiting at the Catacombs, it was much later when Maikill had his new gear and had exited the city proper to make his way back to Black's. Sanji and the others had been busily cleaning the place while the group was gone and making it ready for business, they even had the front sign taken down to have it repainted with a different name. They were also glad to hear everyone was still alive, but was saddened at the loss of both Grendel and Xeron from their group. After eating several servings of Sanji's cooking, which was much to his liking, Maikill excused himself and went out in search of his uncle. The rest of that day and the next two brought no success, but he had laid the foundation of whom he was seeking and perhaps those people he had talked too would give him word at some later time about his foul uncle--then he would pay.
Day 16
In the morning we all reconvened at at the shop. Valla and Zeoll looked bushed and had remnants of makeup on their faces. Bosk, Ransy and Beri had just finished their training last night, supped mightily with the rest of the WLA chapter house and slept just as well in their barracks beds to find themselves this morning a little sore as they had breakfast with the rest of the group. Cesar seemed a bit more introspective perhaps, maybe it was the amount of wisdom he had received the last few days that he was still processing in his mind and spirit, but like Maikill and the rest, it was abruptly interrupted by the burnt offerings Sanji served in the guise of bacon and eggs.
Remembering the map Temujin gave him, we quickly examined it. The only word on the map was, The Madrigal. Determined to learn more Beri, Bosk, Valla and Cesar head back into Hook City to visit the WLA and because Cesar needed to go to get his horse. At the stables it was clear that Whiner had been very well cared for. Although unsuccessful in learning about the Madrigal, upon exiting the city they stopped by a small construction place called Gil's and paid to have some additional rooms added onto the shop.
Ransy and Zeoll had better luck and learned that the Madrigal was an inn and where it was located. It was described as a ramshackle medium sized building set out on the water. It has a pier that leads out to it about 50' in length and there are several small boats tied to both the pier and there is a wraparound porch that encircles the inn itself--it seems to get more popular as the night approaches and the sound of singing and merriment can easily be heard from the shoreline.
As dinner time approaches we reconvenes back at the shop to share what we learned.
Loose Ends
Valla's Tower
Haunted and requiring an exorcism.
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: Iron Adventurers
Current Roster
Bosk Deox [James] - Minotaur - Cleric 1/Rogue 1/Ranger 1
Maikill [Kelly] - Half-Orc - Barbarian 3
Beriothian [William] - Elf - Rogue 2
Ransy [Wilson] - Human - Paladin 2
Cesar [Nick] - Human - Fighter 2
Zeoll [Cayzle] - Liontaur - Bard 1/Druid 1
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
Grendel [Jay] - Half-Orc - Cleric 1/Wizard 1
Xeron [Alain] - Human - Rogue 3
Valla Crudarian [Marty] - Elf - Wizard 3
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 later to be found working with Vellinius
Yosef, Arriet and her two children - rescued by the group and have left with Roy to start a new life. The children were later found with Vellinius with elongated faces and an odd purple hue
Magister Alistair - High level mage that lives in North Hook and is a family friend to the real Jacob the Lesser
Chief Barrantadatoda - Leader of a small Manfri village several hours away from Master Halfdane's farm
Jacob Halfdane - Son of Master Halfdane that was rescued from a coven of 13 witches
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
