Friends and Baubles in The Playground - Session Recap

July 10, 2029 - Session 2 Notes

Sebastian - Dm

Harold - Collom Grolson - Barbarian/Goliath

Alex - Terentus - Rogue / Garlean

Wes - Kayden - Evolutionist / Feroxian

Holden - Manson Black - Paladin / Haman

Amy - Zenoira "Zenny" - Bard / Zenorian

EJ. - Olin - Human - Wizard (Illusionist)

NPC/Opponents

Pluck - Nezumi woman who works for Historia as a guide to Tiberian Customs

Pierre Orakmi - Kor/Sovatami hybrid.

Beth - Wants us to get a Ring from ____ Noble, who Olin know is an arsehole

Marsus - a name only, but a major Crime Lord in Tiberias

Meekcan - a name only, but a powerful wizard, who is Olin's father

Session Notes

As we were leaving where Riger was killed, I noticed a round object rolling away from where he was standing and put it in my pocket pouch. When I had a moment, I took a closer look and it was the Pearl that Rerniv had placed on the table when we were getting our rewards for escorting her to the Palace and that Riger took as his part. I guess that the Aspect had no use for it and sent it back to us, because it has a different part to play with our Fate that it didn't want to interrupt.

Now that I’ve learned a lot more about Zonai lore thanks to Zonoira telling us some of their lore, I believe that it is important to give the Pearl back to Rerniv, the next time I see her and let her live her new life having her own Pearl back, that has to have meaning beyond just its magical functions.

As we get ready to leave the Palace and celebrate our arrival in Gosper, Pluck tells us... we are gonna be picking up the final members of your group on the way to the Bar. The drinks are gonna be paid for to a certain degree. They are Human male name Olin and a Garlean man named Terentus...fuck it considering how things have gone, I'd prefer to save some money on a place to rest for the night. So I'll let you all crash on my Airship, Pierre trusts you so.. it isn't fully paid off yet so I can't leave the lot with it and I'm going to request for you all not to ding it up. If you do I'm gonna tell Pierre about it." I’ll show you around when we get there and the Captain’s Quarters are off limits, unless I invite you in.

We picked them up and met the two: Olin, he’s a Wizard and son of the famous Wizard Meekcan. From what I can tell he’s been exposed to the nobility quite a bit, but is on the outs with his family for now, and while still being a bit haughty around the edges, I have a feeling will be a good addition to round out the party’s skill set.

The other Terentus, seems a bit of a rogue and quite the gambler, who is also part of the rich parent class who appears to be on the outs with his family as well. Again, he seems well suited to our team and from what I saw later will be an important part of what we do.

We are traveling from the Palace with Pluck to a Tavern, called The Playground, a notorious place in Gosper. Pluck tells us it is one of those places that everyone needs to experience at least once. Me, I’m not so sure about that, it sounds like a place where drinking, gambling and debauchery are the primary aims of the place. However, if the rest of the party is going there, it is my place to be with them. Though I will not be all that comfortable there.

While in the carriage Mason and Pluck talked quietly for a while and then there was an awkward silence and Mason looked deep in thought. Pluck unloads her charmed pistol and hands it to Kayden, he immediately takes it apart and then rearranges it a little and puts it back together as we arrive at The Playground. 

As we go to the door there is a huge Dragon Born male guarding the entrance. He looks at Pluck and shakes his head, and tells her “You have to give her up, she died years ago.” Pluck just glared at him and pushed by him. After we all got in the lift to go to the correct level, she was holding on to a locket. Eventually, she looks at the rest of us, “he was talking about my daughter, and handed Manson the open locket, and she nodded and he passed it around to the rest of us. It was the image of a female Nezumi child. This is the reason I bought the airship, I need to finish paying off the 2,000 gp to take her back to Kalana.

Terentus piped up that he’d get it for her tonight while gambling. She just smiled a sad smile and looked down at the floor deep in thought. 

We got out of the lift at a level that had a nice bar, Terentus flirted with the bartender, while we got two private booths and separated for a while.With Zenoria, Manson and Pluck in one and me, Terentus and Olin in the other. We spent a little time talking and planning what to do next. Terentus seemed focused on getting that gold for Pluck and Olin talked a bit more about who he was. Then we decided to go gambling in the next room while waiting for the others 

We went to the gambling area and found a table, Terentus showed me how to bet and to stop when the cards got close to totalling 21, and both Olin and I placed our bets. I really didn’t know what I was doing, and the dealer gave me three cards and I counted that I was close to 21 and held up my hand. The next thing I knew the dealer was pushing a big-ass pile of gold pieces in my direction. Somehow, I had put my 10 gp on a high stakes spot and won. The dealer looked at my expression and laughed. Sometimes you win. You playing again?

I told him I was going to walk away and figure out what just happened, I had never seen that much gold before and put it in my bag. I watched Terentus and Olin play again, then the woman who called herself Beth was losing big at the table and put an obviously magic weapon there as her collateral for a bet. She had asked if we were adventurers to collect something for her. If we could find what she was collecting she might have 10,000 gp for what we found.

Terentus asked for more information, but she wanted to play this hand. I got to thinking about the obviously magic dagger and placed a 25 gp bet on the table. Terentus won and got the dagger, Terentus tucked away the dagger and began to smile. Then we talked more with Beth about what she was “collecting. It was getting a ring from a noble (Olin knew the guy, a real winner and arsehole), but it wouldn’t be easy and it would be best if the noble disappeared, so he wouldn’t be coming around looking for revenge later. 

We told her we’d talk some more in a bit, if she was still here and that we needed to talk with the rest of the party first. The other booth was still shut up tight and the bartender just laughed and told us we might need to wait a bit. Finally, the booth opened. Pluck and Manson looked a bit disheveled and Zenoria, was chuckling. While waiting Terentus had been hitting on the bartender while we were waiting and he was receptive. They made arrangements to get together later. It was the start of an epic night, and good things were going to happen for us all.

Terentus tells the rest of the party about Beth’s offer for us to collect a ring for her. Pluck knows Beth and probably why she is looking for the ring. Terentus asks if there is a place to sell the dagger in here. Pluck tells him that it’s down on the 6th level. We decide to think more on Beth’s collection job and first go to the 6th level. As we go towards the lift the operator, looks at Zenoria and tells her that she might not want to go down there, since her bits and pieces are valued by many who are down there. We tell him that we need to go and he sighs and casts a bit of magic on her to make her look like a Drow. 

In the lift he tells us what is on each floor, then at the 5th floor, Olin was piqued by the description and the darkness and asks to get off there for a moment. He told us later that the dissonant whispers were getting to him and something came up to grab him. The lift operator cast a spell to get him back on the lift and he seemed a bit shaken when he managed to get the slime off his arm.

We proceeded to the 6th floor and while walking to the weaponsmith’s booth, Zenoria sees a Zenorian arm for sale. She is sickened by it and we have to drag her back to us, she wanted to save the arm. We negotiate with weaponsmith and Terentus buys a wrist sword and then sells +1 Dagger of Venom for 2,600 gp. He immediately gives 2,000 gp to Pluck who was speechless and couldn’t believe what had just happened. She looked at me and asked if I’d be willing to put that in my bag of holding, to attract less attention while in this den of thieves. I agreed and told I would give it back to her whenever she asked for it.

Then suddenly Zenoria starts acting strangely. She is attracted to a sword and walks over to it, grabs it, then bares it, and starts walking towards the dealer who has the Zenorian arm. Kayde seeing what is happening hit her with a nonlethal blow to the back of the head, knocking her unconscious. Then we all heard in our heads, “you’re denying your weapon’s purpose.” The sword is laying on the ground close to Zenoria and Olin takes his cloak and wraps up the sword. It almost seemed like the sword was talking to Olin as he was wrapping it up. But he didn’t tells anything more. We looked at the weaponsmith, who had a sad smile on his face, but when Olin motioned with the sword, he just waved us away and seemed relieved that we had the sword and that he didn’t.

We hustled Zenoria out of there, thankfully, the illusion spell was still in effect - she looked like a Drow. A couple of groups were eyeing us and one stood down when we looked and glared their way, but the other seemed like they were going to attack. We made our way quickly to the lift and got there just before the others did. 

Once inside the lift operator quickly got us out there, he had been watching what was happening and told us that the lift would be out of service for a little while. Now to figure out what to do with a cursed sword that Olin is carrying and the others tend to Zenoria. She came too and didn’t know what came over her. We told her about the cursed sword and what she attempted and why she had the big lump on the back of her head. She thanked Kayde for stopping her.

We got out of the lift and get ready to leave The Playground. Terentus sees the bartender once more, talks for a moment and Pluck says she will come back to get him. Then we see Beth, who again told us she was collecting a ring for someone and gave us the Noble’s name (which I can’t remember right now). Ollin knows the guy and Terentus has heard of him. Ollin says the guys a real douche, but powerful in his own way. We talk some more and haven’t decided if we want to do it or not. We will decide later and Pluck tells us she can get find Beth if we decide to do it.

Then we quickly get in the carriage and are taken to where Pluck’s airship is. The Nezumi guard hits on Pluck and she just ignores him. We go into the airship and you can tell its been her home for a while. When entering Pluck goes over and lights an incense still and pours a little water into a container beside a box saying. “My little Starflower.” and kneels down in front of the little altar. 

Manson kneels down beside her. Once they are done, we talk for a bit.

We ask if we need to set up guards and she chuckles, “it won’t be necessary, not here. Marsus owns this airship port and no one will bother it. He is the reason that I haven’t left with the ship yet, despite being able to fly away. He has a long reach throughout Ennidu and I don’t want to be made an example of. 

We talk more about Beth’s deal and want to sleep on it.

Then Zenoria and I notice that Pluck has a glowing deep purple tattoo of a centipede on her right shoulder. From my talks with Thorbaran, I recognized that it is an arcane branding similar to a rune symbolizing her status as a family member of the "Mukade Oni". 

From what Thorbaran told and showed me, it is a family composed of Kalanian Nezumi and the Tieflings born from the Oni lineage they work alongside. These Oni protect the family as a whole and are fed and appeased by members of the house. When one is branded by this mark, they are given a Shiranui weapon that requires the branding to even call upon an Oni to start their path as a Warlock.

The mark glows when the weapon assigned to that Member of the house is close enough to it. A certain radius. Being given powers by this Oni in exchange for demands that must be met. Their souls are allowed to pass to the spirit realm so long as the deed the Oni requests is done. Losing only a piece of themselves as part of the bargain. If it isn't met, they are devoured by it. Given the color of her eyes (her sclera not having become blackened), she hasn't made the deal yet but with it glowing. It means the weapon is somewhere on the ship.

When I asked her about the glowing tattoo, she smiled a sad smile and looked at Terentus, then the rest of us. Since you all have done so much for me I’ll tell you the story behind it.

There are many more things that happened that night, but I need to get some sleep and will finish the entry tomorrow before we leave for the Palace in the morning.