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And He Called It A Mine

Claw Recap
2021-03-13

Nokelume 23rd, 989 IaC

  • After escaping from the gathering crowds surrounding the corpse of their recently slayed demon, the party headed out of the Huddle of Bucktuck City towards the Barbed Bird
    • The group passed by a pet store called Familiar Friends, but it was closed
    • Making their way through the Gavilane District, the party made attempts to blend in an look unassuming, but Lambchop began to make a bit of a scene and Kel worsened it attempting to stop him
    • Unhindered, the group made it back to the Barbed Bird in the evening
  • Walking into the Barbed Bird as the fights began for the night, the party was spotted by Belfeguard Horpskorter, who hailed them, asking about his stolen ring
    • The party skirted the issue, so Belfeguard changed the subject to the area beneath the tavern
      • Belfeguard often witnessed people disappearing into the area below, not coming back up, and asked the party what they knew about it, which they lied about and covered up
    • Mera began to casually insult Belfeguard, eventually goading him into a fight
      • One of the bookies asked Mera to take it easy on Belfeguard, as he was terribly weak but was loaded and pumped a lot of money into the tavern
    • With neither Mera nor Belfeguard willing to back down, they entered the fight pit
    • Belfeguard was quickly beaned in the side of the head by a beer mug, but put up his dukes, getting two quick hits on Mera
    • Kel attempted to cast a spell to aid Belfeguard, but was caught by one of the bookies and was extorted to avoid a confrontation
    • Unwilling initially to attack the feeble Belfeguard, Mera used Mirror Image, dancing around him and confusing him
    • Belfeguard swung out again at Mera, only managing to hit a clone
    • Mera, getting tired of the match, took out her dagger and nearly stabbed Belfeguard with a crit, but Kel used her magic to protect Belfeguard, leaving him barely conscious
    • Belfeguard attempted to strike Mera again, taunting her despite his condition
    • Mera let loose with her shadow skunk, releasing it from her shadow to attack Belfeguard
    • The skunk tore out Belfeguard's neck, instantly killing him
    • Kel rushed down to save Belfeguard, convinced by Ilryn to use her diamond on him as he was rich and could likely pay her back
    • Back to life, Kel had Belfeguard give her some money, and he dished out a load of platinum as "pocket change"
  • Meanwhile, the other party members engaged in separate pursuits
    • Lambchop began drinking the wines he bought from the Cantankerous Crook, impressing some folks with his fortitude
    • Cora, seeing that Mera was distracted with her fights, began rifling through her bags looking for her hat
    • Hearing a ruckus downstairs, Steve came down to check out what was going on
  • Mera, after winning her fight, was forced to stay in the ring against a new opponent that called himself The Snake
    • Despite Mera's best efforts, the Snake managed to coil himself around her, and began to bend back her spine
    • Mera shot out a Darkness spell in panic, but it didn't stop the Snake, who had become bloodied from all the mugs thrown at him
    • Ilryn attempted to help Mera by throwing mugs herself, but she couldn't manage to hit the Snake off
    • Despite attempts to pry him off, Mera couldn't find the strength to do so, and was overwhelmed
    • Eventually, the Snake managed to cut off Mera's blood flow, knocking her unconscious
    • Mera was whisked to the sidelines and revived as another combatant stepped in to pummel the Snake, though she did receive 5 gold for beating Belfeguard
  • During Mera's second fight, despite Kel's attempts to stop her, Cora managed to find the Unknown from Mera's bag and run off with it
    • Kel gave chase through the tavern as Cora headed towards the stairs, bumping into Steve
    • Steve recognized the hat for what it was, keenly aware of its history and curse
    • He allowed Cora to put on the hat, interested in the knowledge it contained
    • Steve then asked Cora what she knew of the Thousand King, and she recounted some details she was able to recall due to the hat
      • The Thousand King was a usurper and a tyrant that once attempted to control the Kalhastian Empire and even greater Atavar many hundreds of years ago
      • He was known for his signature ability to siphon the power of his followers through arcane tattoos, gaining significant might from their belief in him
      • He led a series of coups after installing his agents in key positions throughout the Empire and beyond, culminating in a bloody war that finally led to his defeat
      • While the Empire made attempts to erase him from the world and destroy the implements that granted him power, the Thousand King himself was never confirmed to have been killed, along with many of his loyal followers
      • Noesis thought the Thousand King was a little bitch
    • Kel warily let Cora go after she scared the shit out of her
  • Back at the bar, Lambchop was roped into a drinking competition with the champion of the bar
    • While the bout started off even, Lambchop soon surpassed his rival, easily taking down an entire barrel of ale
    • Awarded 50 gold for his victory, Lambchop was also given a crude crown of tin, designating him as the new champion
  • The group eventually made their ways to bed
    • Mera managed to scrub the filth from the Snake off of herself in the bath
    • Ilryn was visited in the night by Avra, who tasked her with bathing her pact weapon in the blood of a recently killed humanoid, and eating the demon heart she found

Nokelume 24th, 989 IaC

  • In the morning, Lambchop decided to prepare a delicious breakfast of demon heart soup
    • Making his way into the unused kitchen of the Barbed Bird, he began boiling one of the demon hearts, seasoning it with some dried herbs
    • He then began adding some of Soup's various powders, turning the soup red a spicy and also thickening it greatly and adding other bizarre flavors
    • He then poured a bottle of wine into the mixture, completing his masterwork creation
  • Ilryn and Lambchop attempted to partake of the stew, but could not keep it down
    • With plenty of leftovers, Lambchop decided to just leave the flame on, reducing it down to a sandy red mixture filled with hearty lumps of demon flesh
    • He also dumped out the remaining 40 pounds of rotting boar meat
  • Steve, not wishing to leave his books behind, stuffed them into the bag of holding as the group headed out for the day
    • The party, well aware of their wanted status, decided to stick together in case things went south
    • Making their way up to the East Cliffs to get another diamond, the party stopped by a pie shop and some bakeries for an actual breakfast
  • In the East Cliffs, the party saw some arcane, green lights flashing from an alleyway and chose to investigate
    • Peering around a corner, the group witnessed the Left Hand and 5 armored mages from the College of Buckhold speaking to each other
    • Listening in, the party heard the Left Hand ask if "the mother and child in the Huddle" had been "dealt with", and if "the demon corpse" had been transferred to her quarters yet
    • With the other mages answering in the affirmative, the Left Hand disappeared in a flash of green light after tasking her group to finish with their "experiment" here and to "kill the dog"
    • The 5 mages gathered around a man that was being held at the cuff by one of them, examining him and making remarks on his appearance and symptoms
    • Deeming this experiment a "failure", a larger armored individual with a large, black sword cut through the man's back as another mage burned the corpse
    • The mages grabbed a whimpering dog by the scruff and killed it, also throwing it on the burning pile
    • At this point, they noticed the party, and began to approach them
    • The party ran as the mages watched from a distance, quickly giving up the chase and heading back into the alley 
  • Arriving at the Unknown, Kel was once again forced to deal with the strange gnome running the place
    • "Feeling the colors" of more diamonds, Kel was made to settle on one worth 320 gold, which she bought
    • Kel also bought two platinum rings that the gnome had already fitted her for for 200 gold
    • Running low on cash, Kel offered one of the emeralds the group discovered in Thaloss Zinir, which caused the gnome to have an existential crisis
    • He offered Kel 600 gold for the one, and Steve offered his, which the gnome gave him 1800 gold for
    • Mera used "psychological magic" to try and get free stuff
    • The group left the Spark as the gnome closed up shop early due to his shattered psyche
  • The group made their way to Belfeguard's house, finding his friend Unknown at the door
    • The group had some trouble getting in due to Raphael's particular personality, only making their way through after he convinced himself he was high on "letusin" and Ilryn disguised herself as Belfeguard
    • Inside the house, Raphael sat down on the couch as the group found Belfeguard crumpled up on the floor unconscious
    • While it seemed like the house was once a fancy place, it looked like his had been converted into a bachelor pad by Belfeguard and his friend
    • Kel healed Belfeguard and brought him back to consciousness, asking if the could stay in his house for a while
    • Belfeguard, still angry at Mera for literally killing him, refused to let her stay
    • Mera was too proud to eke out an apology
    • Rafael showed the party a "cool trick", smashing Belfeguard's head into the side of the mantle, knocking him unconscious
    • The group left the house as Rafael began practicing his wrestling moves on the unconscious Belfeguard
  • Looking to make a little more cash, the party headed up to the Climbing District, traveling through a tunnel into the cliffside to the mines
    • The group spoke with the foreman, who told them of the rock that was impeding the mine's progress
    • The rock apparently had a strange aura, and affected dead bodies in the mines, creating shadows that attacked the living
    • The foreman wished for the party to simply get rid of all the nonsense going down in the mines, promising them 3000 gold if they did
    • Lambchop "swindled" some lanterns at market price from the foreman as some of the group members took pickaxes
  • The party ventured into the mines, warily making their way through the unfamiliar environment as the air grew thick and difficult to breathe
    • Noting the gases and dust in the air, the party decided not to light any open flames or utilize any fire magic
    • Ilryn attempted to go mining, but her pickaxe was "broken" and "didn't work"
    • As the group delved deeper, they discovered they were being followed by shadow-like apparitions that could slip in and out of the cracks of the caverns
    • The party encountered the corpse of a large bulette, but found no lacerations, evidence of hunger or disease, or anything else that might have naturally killed it
    • A number of corpses were found littered around the cave in varying states of decay, some already skeletons
    • The number of shadow figures around them increased as the party progressed, making small attempts to attack them as they moved
    • Kel discerned they were undead with her Eyes of the Grave
  • Eventually, the group arrived at a larger section of the cave, where they felt a strange humming sensation
    • The corpses that were great in number before had all been cleared out in the larger cave
    • Cora, drawn by the prospect of another curse due to Zevian's Nail, led the way towards the hum as the shadows scattered from the light of Lambchop's lanterns
    • Around a rock pillar the group discovered the source of the humming: a large rock, wisping with black, flame-like energies surrounded by shadows and a ghost-like entity
    • As the ghost started to speak to the group of a new world of peace, Ilryn started blasting
  • The party began hostilities with the apparitions and rock, apparently
    • A group of shadows snuck up from behind, which Ilryn tanked as she turned to Eldritch Blast the rock, to minimal effect
    • The ghost at the rock unhinged its jaw and screamed at Ilryn as Cora rushed up to the rock and attempted to pull the curse out, but was unsuccessful
    • Kel managed to FUCKING DESTROY the shadows around Ilryn using the power of god
    • The shadows across the room dogpiled Cora, reaching out at her and sapping her strength
    • Lambchop began smashing through shadows to get closer to the rock as Steve investigated it and Mera blasted chumps with spells
    • The shadows snuck around and began attacking Steve as well, but he deftly dodged and shielded himself out of harm's way
    • The ghost screeched out and attempted to terrify the group, though Mera was the only one affected
    • In turn, Mera stayed rooted and summoned her skunk to attack the ghost on her behalf
    • Ilryn kept blasting, unable to use her whip as the flames would ignite the air
    • Cora Misty Stepped out of harm's way, greatly weakened by the shadows
    • Stepping in to protect the group, Kel let loose another Turn Undead, absolutely fucking destroying everything around her
    • The remaining shadows became complacent and confused when Lambchop finally used Dustmaker to destroy the rock, sending the ghost into a frenzy
    • The angered ghost entered the body of Lambchop and began to attack the party, but was quickly incapacitated by Mera's Hypnotic Pattern
    • Steve took out Lambchop's manacles and shackled him while Kel used the power of Patalir to force the ghost into a state of penance
    • The group smashed up Lambchop and Mera took him down with a friendly stab to the side
    • When the ghost escaped from his body, Cora Misty Stepped back in, and with the last of her strength, drove her Nail into the ghost with the power of the divine, destroying it for good
  • Tired and haggard from the battle, the group took a short rest to collect themselves
    • Kel approached the tired Cora, and used Remove Curse to take off her hat, despite her fighting to keep it on
    • Regardless, Cora still wanted to keep the hat, but Mera was easily able to pry it away from her due to her sapped strength, promising to sell it to her for a steadily increasing price
    • During this time, the now confused shadows wandered around aimlessly, and the party decided to simply leave them alone
  • The group headed back towards the surface of the mine, seeing no more shadows on the return trip
  • Back in the mine's staging area, the group confronted the foreman for their reward
    • The foreman was obviously surprised, as if he did not expect them to survive
    • After some arguing, the group figured something was strange as they convinced the foreman to pay them, or else
    • The foreman scrounged up about 1320 gold, definitely short of what was promised, and to make up for it, supplied the group with a chest full of gems containing small black wisps inside
    • Suspicious, Steve identified the gems as the foreman waited anxiously, discovering that they contained human souls, harvested from individuals that had been tricked into coming into the mine and given to the foreman as a trade for ensuring more victims
    • The group took what they could from the foreman, but ultimately decided to leave him alone
  • As evening approached, the group headed out of the city gates and approached a small, covered cliffside cave in order to fulfill Evelforth's wish to put a small undead child to rest
    • Lambchop pushed aside the boulder covering the cave entrance and the group entered, finding the child at the back, slowly plodding towards them
    • Kel released a dark curse on the boy, which Cora swallowed into her sword
    • With the curse released, the boy was still undead, and the group uneasily put the boy down, with Steve dealing the final blow with his Firebolt, putting the child to rest
  • As the group collected themselves from the ordeal, the moonlight trickling in from the mouth of the cave was clouded by 5 figures that blocked the entrance
    • The party recognized the 5 figures as the mages they had seen earlier in the day
    • The mage with the large metal staff spoke, condemning the party for their thievery and misplaced heroics, claiming that the time for speeches had long past
    • ILRYN BLASTS

Inspiration: Kel fucking destroying the shadows with her Turn Undead