Painting the town Red

Mendez, Thesis and Chen find themselves, after a rather wet night, in the remarkably upscale Red Harvest, a drinking den popular with merchants plying the waters of the Furnace Coast. While Chen finds himself listening to the ramblings of a drunken merchant pummeling him with endless and tedious facts and figures of his burgeoning trade empire and how he is going to turn his local trade in a continental operation.  Thesis and Mendez, decide to waste a rather impressive amount of gold at the feet of the two dancing girls, the sisters Hamia and Chandra Dashiella.  Apparently the toast of the the harbour quarter of Febril, they seem to have quite a large throng of on-lookers looking to open negotiations over their virtue for the night.

Amazingly enough, Mendez and Thesis find themselves stumbling to the girls' apartment towards the end of the night. Sharing a meal and some drinks, they chat and exchange stories. The girls tell of their childhood in the south, before they had to flee as local nobles started squabbling amongst themselves, forcing people of their lands as armies of mercenaries rampaged across the countryside.  While dancing is not the best of jobs, it does offer the possibility of catching a rich merchant's eye.

Night Swimming

The small ship sped away from the Furnace coast, its black sails and hull making it almost invisible on a overcast night like this. Its Captain was standing on the aft deck, his eyes still fixed on the small boat that they were leaving behind. Already it was disappearing from view as its crew were making for Febril.

The captain offered up a prayer to the Dark Queen for the crew they were leaving behind. They were volunteers. They knew they would most certainly die, they knew that no ship could wait for them this close to the Furnace Coast, but still they volunteered. He knew they weren't...real people...not like him, but he had to respect their bravery and dedication to their queen.

Looking one final time at the shimmering lights of Febril in the distance, the captain wondered if this city, these humans, would ever understand what was going to happen to them.

Magnaminous Magnificence

The hunt for magical items was more hazardous than expected. While the cut-purses and robbers in the market district were more than enough to deal with, the absolute audacity of the so called 'magic' merchants in the marketplace was much more detrimental to the wealth of the party. While some of their potions and scrolls were possibly real, most of their wares seem to be forgeries and counterfeits. 

Finally after, haggling, shouting and menacing stares from Thesis and Durin, the party learns of Szandor Antonius the Magnificent, a rather eccentric Wizard living in the most affluent part of the city. While not throwing parties and entertaining the nobility of Febril, he is known for receiving adventurers with goods to sell and buy, and seems to derive most of his income through this trade in curiosities. If anything, the fact that he gets return business is a sign of some trustworthiness. 
Arriving at the mansion, the party is greeted by a stunning young woman, who introduces herself as " Szandor Antonius the Magnificent's Chief Chamberlain". She tells the party that 'His Magnificence' is waiting for them in his reception room and is expecting them. The party is then escorted through the occasionally running into more of His Magnificence' servants, which are  all looking very similar to his chamberlain. 

At first, Durin thinks that they might be twins, but then he is forced to consider the possibility of triplets. However, the appearance of a fourth servants rapidly exhausts his vocabulary, and he comforts himself with the fact that Dwarves don't get many children anyway, and twins are completely unheard of and so there is no need for him to even know the term. It's not like he is one of those fast breeders, like kobolds, orcs or ...well, humans.
They are finally escorted into a hall, sumptuously decorated with elaborate tapestries hanging from the walls, their gold and silver threads reflecting the rays of the afternoon sun from the vast skylight above. Standing at the far end of the hall is a middle-aged portly, man. His head is completely shaven, and his grey eyebrows form a rather odd contrast with the jet-black goatee he is stroking in a suitably sagely manner.

Aaah, I have been expecting you. I think that I might some items that might interest you. 

He points to an oak table on which there are laid out a seemingly random array of items. Moving over he to it, he picks up a finely crafted bow which he shows Mendez, grinning.

Your reputation as a bowman precedes you, Sir. I have here a finely crafted bow, made by Elvish  craftsmen of the lost city of Sarnath, may its glory shine again. I will not bore men like you with the minutia of my business, so suffice to say, I am extending a generous offer to such champions of St. Cuthbert as the rumours say you are. 
 I am willing to part with this for a price of 2000gp. ((Composite Long Bow +1 for 18 Strength))

He then picks up a small pearl hanging from a chain and waves it in front of Chen. 

And for you, I have this Periapt of Wisdom. The pearl, as you can see, was handpicked by Aquatic Elves and it was enchanted by a high-ranking cleric of Sashelas. It is yours for a mere 3000 gp. ((Periapt of Wisdom +2))


A smirk appears on his face as he turns to Thesis.

Well my friend, it would appear that you are in need of some additional protection. If stories about your recent exploits are true. I have here a small trinket that may help to protect you from your own foolhardiness. 

He opens his palm to reveal a ring forged from adamantium. 
It brings luck, wards off the blows of your foes and may be the wisest investment your ever make.

I will not bore you with haggling, since an impatient warrior like yourself would prove a danger to my furnishings if things get a bit heated. So I will give it to you for 6000 gp. Not at all an unfair price would you say?((Ring of Protection +2))

Something is Rotten in the State of St Cuthbert

After the torture of the St Cuthbert navy training, Mendez heads back with Eolar to the dormitories.
“We may be at sea for several weeks or more. Enjoy your meditating, I’m hitting the town.”
Whether it’s the claustrophobic feeling of the well ordered but stifling, city within a city or just the fear of the up coming adventure, Mendez feels unsure about his grim faced patrons. Something feels wrong.
The unfortunate Thesis has asked Mendez to help negotiate for certain items. Febril is a cosmopolitan city but a large, green skinned Lizard-man would still be an unusual sight. Mendez himself is still having trouble adjusting to his friend’s transformation.
Storing his armour, sword and bow and taking only a dagger for protection, he leaves all his possessions behind with Eolar in the church buildings.
He collects Thesis and Chen before leaving the compound. Durin and Wer are welcome to come along but seem to have disappeared.
The three friends travel from market to market looking for their own specific desires. Mendez is looking for a bow.
A composite longbow.
A composite longbow for a man as strong as the athletic Mendez.
A magical composite longbow for a man as strong as the athletic Mendez.
Although he’s prepared to pay well over the odds for it, he doesn’t feel optimistic. Still he searches on. Magical arrows would also be useful… And a magical buckler?
(Magical (+1) composite longbow for strength 18 = 2,800gp)
After everyone’s either found what they were looking for or given up, they head back to the compound to drop off their supplies.
Then whispering his suspicions to the other two, they head back out to spend their last night in a ‘Lap dancing’ bar.
They are all still unarmed, though Mendez is confident that his friends can take care of themselves (and him) even without weapons.
Mendez takes only 300gp out with him though. (Just in case).
He spends the money freely, buying drinks for anyone who catches his eye or shares a joke with him.
Pretending to be far drunker than he really is, he asks the reluctant Chen to stay until any sign of danger has passed.
After that, Mendez endeavours to go home with one or more of the exotic ‘dancing’ girls.
He will also try to wake up in time for the morning tide?

Stone Cold Sober

Chen uses the afternoon to peruse the market places to see what is on offer. Knowing that they'll spend the next few days, or even weeks, upon the ocean he's thought of some interesting kit that might help along the way.

Once his purchases are made, he stores them back at the lodgings offered by St Cuthbert before joining Mendez and Thesis. He gratefully accepts Mendez' offer of a drink, and reciprocates in kind, but no wine, mead, or beer pass his lips. Indeed, he remains the very image of sobriety amongst his raucous friends. At a respectful moment - before the party becomes too loud and brash - he retires back to his quarters to meditate and pack his bag for the upcoming adventure.

It was good to listen to Mendez again - as ever he is full of new and outlandish stories, many of which are enough to redden the monk's cheeks! He also realizes that he enjoys Thesis' company more than he expected. Though he finds Thesis' plan to stay with a 'woman of the night' somewhat distasteful, the warrior seems to be even bolder and just as selfless as the monk himself.

He pens another message home. He describes at length, and with disgust, at what another - less enlightened - monk can be capable of. He sees it as a stern warning that The Balance within his home monastery must be preserved, and states as much in clear ink. He smiles. He is becoming more confident, less meek, as he learns more of life. He writes down what he can recall of Harpies - viscious, evil flying women who sing so sweetly - and Basilisks - strange eight legged beasts which can turn flesh to stone in a glance.

He tries to describe the sensation of being petrified and realises that he can't! As a statue he saw nothing, heard nothing, knew nothing. He effectivly ceased to exist. Instead he describes the strange feeling of being returned to the land of the living. The strange creeping feeling of sensation returned; the slow re-awakening of one's mind as if from the deepest slumber; the bizarre cognition that no time had passed - that in what seemed like the blink of an eye, Durin and the Basilisk had been killed, Catidsis had dropped to the floor, and Thesis had been bloodied beyond recognition.

Feeling uncomfortable he turns his writing to more arcane matters. The helm that Catidsis wore, that Bodush had taken such an interest in. He describes it in detail, hoping that the monastery's library will shed some light on its purpose. He also mentions the gong that had sounded so loudly and confused his magical friends.

He ties the letter to the pigeon's leg and wishes it "All Gods' Speed".
He returns to the bed, where he falls somewhat uncomfortably asleep, one arm cradling his new belt that had somehow been neglected from his letter...

Young, gifted and green

"Well, I don't feel nearly as bad as I would have thought considering that I was electrocuted a number of times, fell 60 foot and had myself cut to pieces." Thesis mused as he was lying on a particularly soft matress supposedly stuffed with the downy fur from the belly of some exotic cat like creature. "And I think my head has cleared up a bit too - I was thinking all lizard-like back then for a while"

"Those clerics can't be so bad after all - they have worked some kind of miracle in raising me from the dead. "

----

Although Thesis could never think it, being from the wrong time, realm and universe, the words "We can rebuild him" might come to mind. He is in fact better, faster, more intelligent, stronger, and considerably better looking than ever before.

Thesis is now 10th level with 2 bonus humanoid levels. He used his extra attribute point to regain one of his lost intelligence points and now he can Whirlwind like a giant Moulinex Mixer on speed :)

They want you, They want you, They want you as a new recruit

The long trek to Seawell was nothing compared to this. Having thought that their problems were over after the stern Admiral Flaertes had left them in the hands of the  down-to-earth First Mate Olaf. They couldn't be more wrong. Even the hardiest of the adventurers struggled with the hauling, the climbing, the endless drills and the hot baking sun over Febril Harbour.  The running of this ship was going to be hard work!

Still, Olaf was good company, a veritable encyclopedia about the archipelagos off the furnace coast, and his rather outlandish drinking stories during the all too few breaks were a source of great amusement. 

Less amusing was the company of Vidar, the sergeant in charge of the Marines, a rather quiet man, who only seemed to open his mouth when berating one of his underlings, he nonetheless seemed capable at his job.

The two exhausting days of training  that followed was worth it, though. Being able to actually maneuvre the ship in position to open fire at an anchored dingy seemed a greater achievement than what it actually was. 

The party decided to spend the afternoon sampling the delights of Febril before turning in.