Episiode 1: there is no honor
Lavinia Vanderboren hired each of you to assist her. First she needed to get her parent's boat back. Then she needed help accessing her vault. Finally, you found the lair of the Lotus Dragon gang and cleaned out the den of thieves. Treasure was found.
Part 1 (June 16, 2007)
Each of you received a letter from Lavinia Vanderboren, inviting you to dinner at her estate. From her decorative manor house in the Merchant district of Sasserine, it is not difficult to tell she is a minor noble in Sasserine. At dinner, she asked for your help in finding out why Sollar Vark, the man the harbormaster put in charge of her ship, denies receiving her payment of harbor fees and will not restore her ship to her. She needs the ship in order to get her father's ring, which will help her access the family vault under castle Teraknian (sp?). After accessing the vault, she'll pay each of you 200gp for your services.
An investigation of the ship revealed several odd things: the ship was moored quite far from the dock, riding low in the water, and had more than one person guarding the ship. The guards didn't want to let anyone on the ship, and raised an alarm after Xander failed to dispatch the guard at the fore of the ship. Sollar Vark himself made it to the deck after a few rounds, and you dispatched him. However, as he attempted to flee, he called out "Burn them! Burn them all!" Below deck there was all manner of screeches of monkeys and parrots, a terrific crash, and a woman's scream. Below deck, the cage of one spider-like creature had been broken open, and the woman with the torch had been bitten. You dispatched the critter and prevented the fire.
You searched the ship and found the missing payment as well as the signet ring Lavinia required and a note. You summoned the watch to assist in straighting this out, and there was plenty of evidence to point to the foul deeds of Sollar Vark.
Loot
- 6 set of a rapier, leather armor, buckler, light crossbow
- Masterwork rapier
- Masterwork studded leather armor
- Masterwork buckler
- An earring and a silver ring (Appraise check required)
- 55gp
Part 2 (July 21, 2007)
After doing such a splendid job restoring her ship, Lavinia offered 100gp for each person per month to remain in her service. Her first assignment was to help her access the family vault, where she had never been. Upon entering the vault in Castle Teraknian, the party was "greeted" by it's guardian, an iron cobra. However, after Kimble asked Lavinia to prevent her ring to it, it backed off. Then Kimble found the switch revealing the second chamber: an octagonal room with seven monsters. The piece of paper which you found tucked into the ring contained the code to the vault, with the key being the number of eyes on each monster. Twenty chests were revealed, however, only one still contained gold. Luckily, aside from gold it contained ledgers indicating money her parent never collected from establishments in Sasserine (though it will be a tight season if she cannot recover the missing gold). On the way out, Lavinia asked the clerk if anyone had visited the vault, and in fact her brother Vanthus had been several times in the last month.
Lavinia, worried about her brother and hoping to redeem him, asked you to look for him. You searched the Azure district and found a connection to a woman named Brissa Santos, but both her trail and his was cold. In Shadowshore district, you found that he had purchased lamp oil, rope, and a boat and set out some three weeks ago. The next day in the market district you met a man named Shefton Rosk who, for a price, let you to 'Vanthus's hideout.' He took you to Parrot Island, showed you to the trap door, and then took his leave.
Under Parrot Island, you were quickly met by the hungry dead (pirates)! There were five in the entrance hall, then a huecuva (undead priest) who had fallen from Olidammara's graces, and finally four more hungry zombies. You pulled a body from the water, which had been gnawed on by zombies and monstrous crabs alike, and it was tattooed with a dragon clutching a flower. Through a water-filled cave, you found another body, this time with a note identifying him as Penkus and describing how Vanthus left him there to die. Upon searching the room, you found a secret vault containing pirate treasure.
Though the note makes Vanthus look bad, Lavinia still clings to the idea that he can be redeemed. She asks that you continue your search for him.
Treasure
- 200gp each for payment of services rendered in part 1
- Gold holy symbol to Olidimmara worth 50gp
- Masterwork silver dagger
- Masterwork studded leather armor
- Gold ring worth 120gp
- Masterwork dagger
- 7500cp, 1500sp, 10,000gp
- Assorted colorful gems worth 250gp
- Potion of cure light wounds
- Potion of lesser restoration
- Potion of invisibility
- Potion of barkskin +3
- Potion of cure serious wounds
- Elixer of swimming
- Wand of mage armor (11 charges)
- Wand of cure light wounds (36 charges)
Please consider this large bounty a hint that you can finish the next dungeon in one push! :)
Part 3 (August 4, 2007)
Armed with a note indicating a connection to the Lotus Dragons, the party went to the Taxidermists Guildhall in the Sunrise district. Upon questioning the taxidermist, the taxidermist disappeared. The party subdued him before he could escape, and learned that the Logus Dragons use a trap door in his shop to come and go from their guildhall beneath the streets.
Leaving him tied up, the party invaded the lair of the Lotus, dispatching guards before they could raise an alarm. They fought another spider like creature and a zombie bugbear before finding the suite of Rowan Kellani (the daughter of minor noble family in Sasserine). She boldly offered them a job, however the party refused. She ordered her pet dragon, Gut Tugger, to attack. However, she became wounded quite quickly and escaped by a mysterious means, leaving the party to deal with Gut Tugger. After dispatching him, the group cleared out the rest of the den of theives, encountering a poison-making kobold, a clever but foul-mouthed torturer, and the half-elf who had tricked them into looking for Vanthus down a certain zombie-infested hole in the ground. Among the findings were the racy love letters between Vanthus and Rowyn describing how he trapped and killed his parents on their own boat, 'dealt' with the PCs, and used Brissa to attain the wealth of a smuggling operation, which is where he has apparently gone. The party found and returned one chest containing money stolen from the Vanderboren vault.
Treasure
- 540gp, 20pp, a pouch of garnets and bloodstones worth 600gp
- 4 large casks of rum, 1 half-full (or half-empty)
- Novels: adventure stories and erotica (no value)
- Alabaster statuette of a succubus worth 350gp
- onyx statuette of a displacer beast worth 100gp
- a silver statuette of a rearing unicorn worth 500gp
- Stuffed stirges, cobras, small monstrous spiders, giant shrew the size of a cat (no real value)
- 2 jewelry boxes (coffer) worth 150gp
- the darkwood one contains seven silver and gold chain necklaces and bracelets worth a total of 200gp
- the iron one contains a dozen rings and earrings worth a combined 550gp
- Clothing (woman's): three courtier's outfits (30gp each), a noble's outfit (75gp), a flowing (and scandalous) robe of shimmering lavender silk worth 450gp
- A collection of exotic and expensive perfumes (24 total), 20 are worth 20gp each, 3 @200gp, and one intoxicating perfume which grants a diplomancy +10 bonus for 1 hour (6 doses, 200gp per dose)
- 5400gp worth in two chests from the treasure vault
- 1000gp each reward for honesty in returning Lavinia's money.
- +1 glamered chain shirt
- 234gp, a set of silver flensing knives with ivory handles worth 200gp