Into the Darkness

Sergeant Ollo was quite pleased with the squad's resolution to the incident at the Dragonfly Pagoda, and learning of the suspicions about the corrupt labor leader, Jeremin Hoff. Hoff resides in an elite social club called the House of the Planes, an exclusive Underworld place in the Undercity ruins. The Kobold mage had told the squad of a secret back door that Hoff used to bring her in for the initial meeting.  

"Speaking to Hoff at the House of the Planes is probably the best way to proceed - but we don't have enough probable cause to go down there in uniform; you folk will need to go down undercover. We can provide you with costumes and disguises, we have an entire Wardrobe department of such things."

"Or we can just take off our tabards..." suggested Valcos. 

"...or that..." agreed the Sergeant.

 The Undercity was a subterranean labyrinth of villainy and criminal activity, but Valcos was only familiar with them by reputation; as a smuggler and con man, Valcos found it easier to operate as a lone wolf rather than part of a gang or criminal organization.  Mulligan’s, a dive bar was the fortified main entrance, but was not suitable for this foray; rather, they would use a concealed entrance in the Raptor's Rest graveyard. 

The squad found the entryway that the Kobold Mage had mentioned, a particular sarcophagus containing a stairway down into the depths.   This led down to a landing area, which had two tunnels, one which ran west and one north. They went west, but the tunnel swiftly turned north, meeting up with the other tunnel.  The floor of this broad cavern appears strangely clean and polished. There was a crumbling building to the west. To the north, a crevasse opened and ran under the northern wall.  There was a small pile of armor and weapons in the middle of the northeast tunnel.

Grimwald stepped forward to examine the pile and found himself engulfed in a large, corrosive cube of slime. His skin burned as the acid tried to digest him.  Pumpelly launched a salvo of Magic Missiles while Valcos and Simi used their rapiers. Eventually, the cube lost cohesion under the squad's relentless assault.

The pile consisted of plate armor, a tower shield, and a mace, all emblazoned with the holy symbol of the demon lord Asmodeus. 

Up ahead the long crevasse cut through the center of a large cavern. The crevasse was spanned by a crude stone bridge. At the western side, a barricade had been made from detritus, and the barricade was under attack by three ghouls.

Longbow, javelin, and crossbow took the ghouls from behind, and the squad defended the bridge as the ghouls attacked. The ghouls fell, and the squad approached the barricade. The barricade had been built by a pair of Rat-folk named Kekker and Gref, who turned out to have been fleeing a narcotics deal gone bad. After separating lies from the truth in their story (the ratfolk were horrible liars), the squad had crude directions to the back door of The House of the Planes.

Vargouille Creature

The squad descended the stairs, where they were attacked by a pair of rogues. The squad pushed them back but were surprised when a pair of vargouilles joined the attack. 

The creatures were disgusting, and were destroyed after their defeat; there was no way for the squad to take them prisoner, and there was no way the squad was going to release them.

The rogues had ten doses of a recreational drug known as Grolna, which were taken. They might be useful to explain why the squad was here, given Valcos' criminal record and infamy. 

The squad located the landmark pond as they neared the back door, but were attacked by a grick. 

The Grick

After the grick was defeated, the squad recovered a bloated, half-eaten corpse of a wizard from the pool. The squad took the rotting leather bracers and an Everburning Torch, which Grimwald attached to his shield.  

Around the corner from the pool was the sought-for door of iron-banded wood set in a frame of white brick. It was locked, but Valcos had no difficulty (natural 20) in unlocking it.  

Valcos by Bugge

 Valcos, by the artist friend Bugge!

Valcos with Clubs

 Thinking of switching him to use a pair of clubs. 

Valcos with his drumsticks.

The Sting of the Dragonfly

 The morning after the incident in the Menagerie, Sgt. Ollo brought the squad to the office of Lieutenant Lavarsus. “Ollo’s report says you didn’t screw up the menagerie call too badly, but we have bigger problems than that - someone has stolen the device called the Gravedigger, a magical excavator." The Lieutenant shook his head in disgust. “I’ve got my best people—no, not you—pulling double shifts until we figure out who took it and how in the hells they pulled it off." 

"You have you reported some missing persons—a wandering wizard and some randy zookeepers. Well, half the reports on my desk are about the same thing. Now, I can’t have my top detectives chasing down every runt who didn’t hold mommy’s hand at the fair. So instead I’m putting you on it. Track down these strays and see if there’s more here than just a bunch of drunks and runaways. And for Abadar’s sake, don’t mess it up, or I’ll have you investigating the latrines in the holding cells."

Sgt Ello suggested that the squad start with the missing Minkaian stonemasons and give us directions to the Dragonfly Pagoda.

The Dragonfly Pagoda was still under construction, and is sponsored by the Minakai to highlight the  majestic culture of the Empire of Dawn. Crews have been rushing to finish the structure, and the crews, foreign and domestic, are often at odds from the pressure and hared conditions.

Upon arrival at the construction site, the squad discovered that the workers have been ejected from the structure by a band of worker Kobolds. Hostages have been taken, so technically the masons are not missing as such. 

The squad seems out and speaks with the head architect Ama Uomi. The site hired a gang from Absalom’s Undercity called the Stonescales.They have barricaded themselves inside the half-completed temple, refusing to leave or release their prisoners until their demands are met.  Ama Uomi provides a useful blueprint of the structure and asks the squad to rescue the hostages while causing minimal damage, emphasising how flammable the structure is.

Kobold Warrior

The squad splits into two teams. Valcos and Simi are sent to scout and infiltrate the structure while the rest of the squad try a peaceful approach by the front door.

The main group heads up the stairs and into the hall, encountering a scalding steam trap that they leap over.  They encounter Kobold crossbow snipers, who they capture. and proceed through the Atrium to the Antechamber, where they discover a dart trap, triggered by the sigil in the floor. 

While that is going on, Simi and Valcos capture a kobold after jimmying a shuttered window, capturing him  and slaying the guardian giant spider. The chamber is dominated by a raised dais bearing a smaller version of the red gate-arch that marked the temple’s front doors. Three bronze bells of varying sizes hang from the arch’s crossbar. The whole room is crisscrossed with strands of webbing.  

Both groups found themselves on different sides of the area leading to the stairs upwards. Simi and Valcos headed up the stairs and opened one of the double doors at the end while the others made their way across weak areas of flooring and uncertain ground. Thye Kobolds inside the room at the top of the stairs attacked; Simi had discovered the Battle Leader of the Stonescales and his band of elite warriors. Simi and Valcos fought the Kobolds while the others supported them with spell and longbow. Once the battle leader was down, the others surrendered to Simi.

Simi negotiated the safe return of the hostages in exchange for conditional amnesty for the Stonescales. Their dragonblood sorcerer claimed that the Battle Leader had been responsible for the deaths, and as such was taken into custody for trial. 

Ama tells the squad that the person who won the bid to provide local labor to the Dragonfly Pagoda project as well as to arrange building materials, housing for the foreign workers, etc., is notoriously corrupt. He arranged for the Stonescales to work as a way of expediting construction. She urges the squad to pursue the lead.

Hoff resides in an elite social club called the House of the Planes, an exclusive Underworld place in the Undercity ruins. The Kobold mage tells the squad of  a secret back door that Hoff used to bring her in for the initial meeting.  

 List of the Missing Persons

• Anastatia Corvis: A human merchant who came to Absalom to sell ice wine.
• Archibald Knight and Minera Frum: The halfling menagerie owner and his human veterinarian lover.
• Dragonfly Masons: Minkaian stonemasons working on the Dragonfly Pagoda.
• Elama Mohaso: A dwarven scholar who came to the city to study.
• Kemeneles: A human wizard originally from Taldor who trained at the Arcanamirium decades ago. His apprentice is staying with Simi's mom while we find his master..
• Lyrma Swampwalker: A gnome ranger from Vidrian who came to Absalom to see the fair.
• The Sachta Family: A family of Jalmeri tourists.

Note: All the missing persons were looking for lodging when they disappeared.

Come to the Menagerie! - (part two)

Having caught their breath, the party decided to check the veterinarian's office and Mr. Knight's office for any clues as to the causation of the aberrant behavior of some of the exhibit creatures. The vet's office was a large wagon with double doors to accommodate large patients. A metal operating table took up most pf wagon, with cabinets full of medical implements (or tools for torture, depending on the temperment of the user).  Simi and Valcos tossed the wagon for items of interest, finding some healing potions, a baton with a pointing finger, a dose of an Anti-paralysis ointment, an Anti-Plague potion, scrolls of Speak with Animals and Charm.

Others searched the owner's office and found some cash, an Owlbear Talisman, a Tanglefoot Bag, and a blowgun with three sleep darts.  

The party then went in search of the missing boy Jerov. 

They discovered him safely barricaded in the Ankheg's chamber.  Unfortunately, they also discovered the escaped Angkeg, which blasted them with a corrosive acid.

Ankheg

Valcos summersalted to the other side of the beast and attempted to douse it with Alchemical Fire. he failed, injuring himself. Jorin fired a frostbolt at it, and Mr. Gone began pounding it. Simi paused to heal, and the battle was joined. The Ankheg was subdued, and the child rescued.

The party discovered a menagerie employee named Remy, who confirmed that the exhibits had gone berserk after the had watered them; the rust monster had escaped, and eaten the locks of the other cages. No residual trace of the "loco weed" taint had been found.

By that time, Simi's mother Lirafel had come. The other animals were handed over to the druids for handling and disposition, and the menagerie declared forfeit to the city. The squad reported to Sgt. Ollo, who commended their work and dismissed them to quarters.  

Simimel Microhero

 

Simimel