The Sharn Inquisitive - highlights, vol. 3

 THE SHARN INQUISITIVE - Still only 3gp/year! -  Now printed twice weekly! - Sul, Olarune 16, 1000 YK

 

LOAN OFFICE HIT BY IDENTICAL BEAUTIES

Owner offers own reward

 

SHARN, Downstairs - The usually quiet Wir morning was shattered as alarms rang out from the neighborhood Gold Tank Reserve.  Eyewitnesses report a group of identical human women entered the Gold Tank, barred the door, and relieved the site of an undisclosed sum.  "They trashed our security clockworks like they were drunken buffoons," cited one employee (who asked to remain anonymous).  They went on to say that the robbers were well armed, both mundanely and magically, and seemed to know exactly what to expect during their heist.  Owner Ambrost Mugland has offered three thousand Brelish marks for information leading to the capture of the culprits.   "The good citizens of Sharn deserve to know they can conduct business in safety, and if I can aid in that, so be it, " he added.   The Sharn City Watch are asking that any tips be directed to the sergeant on duty at the Downstairs Watch Office on Balderdash Street.  The culprits are to be considered armed and dangerous; if spotted, citizens should not approach or attempt to apprehend.

 

WHO IS "THE BOO"?

Threat or menace?

 

SHARN, Downstairs - The usually quiet Sar daytime was batted about like a cat toy as neighborhood residents were accosted by an oddly costumed character who would sneak up behind them and yell "BOO!".   No violence or other crimes were reportedly done by this person, although all in their wake were left startled and very confused.  "Why can't we have peace?" questioned Bokskar Druuk, owner of a local lobster roll kiosk. "We get enough rowdies around here during the evening.  We should be able to spend our daylight hours quietly, not jumping out of our boots because of some practical joker!  I was in the War, damn it!  For how long are to put up with this?"  Eyewitnesses weren't able to determine sex or race due to the flamboyant costumage of the culprit, only able to agree that they seemed 'really batty'.  The Sharn City Watch are asking that any tips be directed to the sergeant on duty at the Downstairs Watch Office on Balderdash Street.

 

 

OVERDOSE DEATHS CONTINUE

Shiver me timbers!

 

SHARN, Fallen -  The rate of deaths attributed to shiver usage continue to climb in the Fallen district.   In the past week, eight more fatalities were reported, and authorities speculate there are likely more being unreported.   "Fallen has long been a hotbed of unsafe and unregulated narcotics sales and abuse," cited  Lord Mayor Cathan ir'Demell, "and I have and will continue to give further support to all those employed in stopping those behind this crisis."  Shiver, a soporificant and mild hallucinogen, is legal within Breland, but only through House Jorasco dispensaries, which see to the manufacturing of shiver with much fewer rates of addiction and to aid of those wishing to kick their habits.  House Jorasco pleads with anyone dealing with shiver or other addictions to visit any House ward or clinic for help.  "While there are cheaper sources of shiver, their manufacture has no overview or safety standards, and can be cut with almost anything," House representatives warn.  

Beggar Dane says:

"During the so-called 'Witching Hour' - are curses half price?  Asking for a fiend."

The Life and Times of a Dead Man - Episode 14 - The pornographic slime

Gattlebee tells the companions that what he needs is in the freezer. Zita inquires about what Gattlebee needs, but he assures her that she doesn’t need to know. She tries again, and he says it’s all that is left of his marriage. 

He unlocks the doors and ushers the companions inside. They enter what used to be a tasting room. As they watch, two things drop from the ceiling behind the bar. The constructs start chanting, “Good day. Welcome to the Yeast of Day brewery. I hope you are enjoying your tour.” 

The two clockwork tavern keepers come around from behind the bar. One of the clockworks grabs Sabrina, and the other attacks Dol. Audrey Rose throws a bomb at one construct while Sabrina slips the bond. The constructs attack Sabrina and Dol again, who both fall unconscious. Zita tumbles behind the enemy and stabs them. Audrey Rose throws bottled lightning at one of them. It fizzles and then closes in on Gattlebee. 

Hendra flanks the other construct with Zita, who daggers it. Hendra stabs it too. Gattlebee takes a five-foot step away from his construct and throws bottled lightning at it. Audrey Rose throws bottled lightning as well. The construct attempts to hit her but misses. The other construct hits Hendra but does not grapple her. 

Zita stabs the construct on a vital junction. It collapses. Audrey Rose destroys the last construct with bottled lightning. 

Sabrina argues with Gattlebee about the circumstances. Neither is happy with the other. 

We enter the brewery proper. There are large-size brewing tanks throughout the room. Gattlebee heads to the back, where the cold room is located. As they cross the open floor, Zita and Hendra notice that the dust on the floor has recently been disturbed. Sabrina hears metallic thumping coming from somewhere in the room. 

Gattlebee opens the door. This room is freezing cold. There are crates and barrels everywhere. Gattlebee reaches up on top of a high shelf and pulls down a silver ring; he pockets it. “That’s everything. We can go now.” The group turns to go. 

As they head towards the exit, two creatures appear. One appears like a diabolical cactus, and the other looks like a wyvern. The cactus person, Dewey Daystar, tells the companions, “Hold it right there. Reach for the sky. I know you got the alchemist, Gattlebee. He has committed crimes against nature. … None of you are going to leave this building.”

Dol attempts to daze Dewey Daystar. It doesn’t work. Tweetie bear attacks the drake, but it avoids him. Dewey gestures, and his green skin turns brown. The drake starts a dodge parry dance with Tweetie bear; neither can hit the other. Sabrina uses hypnotic stare on the creature. It retaliates with an attack of opportunity against Sabrina. 

Hendra runs forward and shoots the creature. Zita dashes toward the drake. Dol was moving toward the catwalk when a pornographic slime suddenly emerged. She runs away. Tweetie Bear enlarges and continues its dance with the forest drake. Hendra is unable to charge. Meanwhile, Zita closes in and stabs the drake. Audrey Rose throws a bomb at it. 

The pornographic slime pursues Dol, who continues to outrun it. (Jim yells, “It’s coming after you.”) Tweetie Bear wrestles the drake to the ground and breaks its neck.  

Daystar yells, “You’ll all pay for that.” He gestures, and hail starts falling on the group. Zita falls unconscious, and Sabrina dies. 

Audrey Rose throws a bomb at Dewey Daystar, but it doesn’t appear to do much damage. Suddenly, he turns into a bear. 

The pornographic slime closes on Audrey Rose, but her shield protects her. On the other side of the room, Dol pours a potion down Zita’s throat. The bear claws at Hendra and grapples her. 

Audrey Rose throws an acid bomb at the bear. The ooze wraps itself around the bear’s head and suffocates it to death. A little cactus form of Dewey Daystar is found within the ooze. 

Dol searches for Gattlebee so that they can get the hell out. Zita drags Sabrina’s corpse toward the exit. They hightail it out. Audrey Rose checks on Sabrina, but she is truly dead. Dol finds Gattlebee and directs him to leave. Bosley helps Zita carry the body. The party makes it safely out of the Yeast Brewery. 

Gattlebee disguises himself as Sabrina. They stuff her body in the bag of holding.

Sabrina is in a long winding line of people. Standing before her is a grey elf. She seems confused and asks, “Where are we?” Sabrina hears music. Two skeletal women in colorful flowery dresses approach her. Sabrina asks the elf about the two skeletal women, but the elf is no longer paying her any attention. One of the skeleton women is playing an instrument. She asks Sabrina, “Why are you so worried about money?” She hands Sabrina two silver pieces. Sabrina is wearing a tunic and has nowhere to put her money. Sabrina claims to have lost her two silver pieces and asks for two more. The lady hands Sabrina two silver pieces. Sabrina still has only two. She throws a silver piece into the woman’s guitar case, a pitch-black void. “I’m not sure you are worth it,” says a falcon-headed figure behind her. He’s got weapons struck throughout his body. “You’re really desperate to get out of here, aren’t you?” he asks. Sabrina asks, “What do I have to pay?” He grabs Sabrina by the head. “Oh, I see what you can do.” He hands her a collection of shiny cooper cubes and instructs her to swallow them. She swallows them. 

Zita and Bosley are trying to stuff Sabrina into a bag when she awakens. Everyone is shocked to see her alive. They make the twenty-minute trip to the Broken Barrel. Phoebe is behind the bar. Audrey Rose tells Phoebe that they were ambushed by alchemical goblins. She’s surprised to hear about them because Ambrose wouldn’t usually hire them out. She’s less surprised by Daybreaker and his drake. She recognizes the goblin gang as the Chemical Kids. Phoebe needs to look into what’s happened. She gives the companions each 250 gold. 

We need an in with one of the religions to get a cure light wounds wand; otherwise, they must go to a House Jurisco hospital. They can also go through the Pathway society. 

The companions wind their way home, resting and preparing for their future adventures.

They get 1100 XP.

The Life and Times of a Dead Man - Episode 13 - I Love A Parade

The companions have completed their surveillance and prep work. Audrey Rose distributes the anti-toxins she created. Sabrina takes the broach and leads the charge to Vashon Gattlebee’s house. The house is barred with chicken wire and topped with barbed wire. Audrey Rose picks the lock at the front gate. Sabrina steps into the yard and hears a boom, deafening much of the party for a few seconds. Bosley and Sabrina stagger back as a spray of liquid splashes past them. The shed's wall suddenly grows a mouth and says, “No solicitors.” 

The companions walk down the path, and Sabrina sets off another trap. Bosley, Zita, and Audrey Rose are all deafened. Audrey Rose is sprayed with a jet of purplish liquid. Sabrina steps on the porch, and something activates. Little pellets hit Sabrina and Bosley on the face and hands. Sabrina bangs on the door and continues to be hit by pellets. Bosley steps off the porch. 

Since no one is answering the door, Zita picks the lock. Sabrina steps inside. She’s in a sitting room. Meanwhile, the rest of the party continues to be pelted by pellets. Vashon Gattlebee is standing amidst his alchemical lab. Sabrina shows him the broach and tells him that Phoebe sent them. Gattlebee needs to pack his bags before the party can leave.  

Inside the cage are food bowls, greenery, and water. Audrey Rose can’t see the creature, though. The others see something scamper under the tables. Suddenly a six-legged chameleon erupts from the tables. The chameleon knocks a bottle over at Bosley’s feet; it explodes. 

Gattlebee tells the companions to take care of Slick and that there’s a potion to give it. Unfortunately, Bosley, Zita, and Audrey Rose are deafened, so they don’t hear his instructions. Bosley throws a Ray of Frost at it, and Zita attempts to double-dagger it. Dol calms the creature. Hendra finds the green and silver potion and moves toward Slick. Zita double-daggers the animal, which sets it off again. Dol throws the potion into the creature’s open mouth, turning it back to its normal size. 

Gattlebee finishes packing, places Slink back in his cage, and locks it. Gattlebee hands them a bag with three thunderstones, two cure light potions, and three tanglefoot bags. Gattlebee disguises himself as Dol, and Dol disguises himself as Gattlebee. 

They start taking the route that they charted out to the brewery. As they travel the course, they see more and more people in costumes and masks with instruments. Audrey Rose and Zita use their hats to change into costumes. The group and their parade escort start going through the bottleneck bridge. They see a couple of short, cloaked figures smoking cigars at the ambush point Zita had initially mapped out. 

Sabrina tells Gattlebee to change into a parade goer; she does the same. The short figures come out at them. Hendra shoots them with a crossbow. Dol throws a tanglefoot at one, and Audrey Rose throws a bomb at the other. Bosley walks up and spell strikes one of the goblins. The goblin goes to throw a bomb at Bosley and misses and throws it behind himself. Another goblin throws a bomb. The end of the bridge is now encased in fog. 

Sabrina goes through the cloud and becomes nauseated. A crossbow bolt zips past Zita’s head. Audrey Rose throws a bomb at one, and Zita aims a crossbow at the other. Bosley stabs the goblin. It attempts to retaliate but misses. A goblin throws an alchemist bomb at Audrey Rose, knocking her out. 

Sabrina makes it to the other side of the bridge. Zita pours a healing potion down Audrey Rose’s throat. The goblin throws a bomb at Zita and hits her and Audrey Rose. 

Sabrina and Gattlebee run to the Yeast of All brewery. Dol heads to the Broken Barrell. 

Bosley and one of the goblins engage in combat. Zita pours another potion down Audrey Rose’s throat. Once she’s up, she takes her own potion. Bosley runs the goblin through and saves the potion. The remaining goblin calls for backup. Bosley, Audrey Rose, and Zita slip away and head toward the Yeast of All brewery. 

Gattlebee takes his hat off and approaches the woman outside the Yeast of All brewery. She slaps him, unlocks the door, and storms off. 

Everyone gets 1300 XP. 

The Life and Times of a Dead Man - Episode 12 - BOO!

As a reward for their work, the companions received 1000 gold each. Flush with her winnings, Sabrina goes to the racetrack.

Zita asks Charlie what he knows about aberrant dragon marks. Charlie suggests that the dragon mark may have been caused by the drugs the boy took. Charlie suspects there may be more going on and recommends they keep their eyes open for this Black Sugar. Zita next asks Charlie about the Dolgrim. Charlie finds it odd that the Dolgrim called the boy emissary. Next, Zita asks about Ambrose Muglen. Charlie has heard that Ambrose would do anything for money. He’s surprised that Ambrose is interested in alchemy. Charlie recommends we continue working with Dunsley. 

Dol goes to the cemetery to see if there have been any recent changes in the recently dead. Some deaths stand out, but nothing like what Dol described. He leaves his name and Audrey Rose’s as possible contacts if something arises. 

After three days, the companions receive a message slipped under their door from Ceseli, who wants to meet. They go visit her that day. She has good news. She has been able to sell some of her grandmother’s goods and has a portion of their payment ready. She gives them one thousand gold. (Everybody gets 166 gold, 6 silver, and 6 copper). Her money is still tied up in legal and bureaucratic red tape. Zita asks Ceseli if she’s been in contact with Ambrose. She hasn’t heard from him in a while. 

Audrey Rose asks the group if they should hire someone to look after the house. While Charlie agrees it’s a good idea, the companions don’t want to spend the money. . A trained servant would be 2 gold and 1 silver a week. The group debates how to hire. Audrey Rose wants to go to the agency to find someone. Zita and Sabrina wish to interview and hire someone for the group. 

The companions receive a message from Phoebe inviting them to the Broken Barrel. They head there and are served drinks by the goblin they’d previously met. Phoebe leads them to the meeting room. She shows them a signet ring on her index finger. It depicts three towers interconnected with bridges with a crossed pair of keys. Hendra and Zita recognize it as the symbol of Sharn. The ring indicates that Phoebe is in the employ of the mayor. The ring is authentic. The lord mayor is not the most powerful person in the city; the city council is. He is, however, a direct line to the crown and has been mayor for twenty years. 

Next, Phoebe asks the group if they’ve heard of Vashon Gattlebee. Bosley and Hendra had heard of him before because he was in the paper. He’s an alchemist who has created a new explosive. Ambrose is interested in getting the formula for this new explosive. The mayor wants to bury it. Phoebe wants the companions to escort Gattlebee from his home to the Broken Barrell, where he will be brought to a safe location. The adventurers ask to borrow a hat of disguise. Gattlebee wants to stop at an old brewery, The Yeast of All, not too far from the Broken Barrell. He’s supposed to be expecting them in four days. That gives the companions time to scout out the route. They’ll each be compensated 500 gold upon successful delivery. Expenses within reason will be covered. Phoebe hands Audrey Rose a cameo broach as proof for Vashon. She gives the group a map. Gattlebee’s home is in Foundation. The quickest route from the Foundation neighborhood to the Downstairs district is across the Bottleneck Bridge that goes from one plateau to another. She marks all the places along the map for them. 

[Bosley copies Obscuring Mist into his spell book, and Audrey Rose copies False Life.]

Hendra spends her time in the Downstairs neighborhood buying drinks hoping to gather information. She finds out that alchemists all over the city are trying to replicate the formula but are instead blowing up their own labs. Dol researches points where the group may get ambushed. Zita gathers information, and  Audrey Rose checks out the Bottleneck bridge. Sabrina investigates. They all discover that Gattlebee’s house is a townhome structure with a sizeable garden in front. It’s overgrown with a sticky bushy flower. The front yard has a tool shed and a chicken wire barb wire fence. The Yeast of All brewery has been out of business for a while, and the windows are all boarded up. 

Dol and Hendra check out the Yeast of All brewery. Sabrina tries to see if she can set up a parade. Audrey Rose observes the people observing the house. Zita manages to chat up a botany professor. He tells her that the bushy flower is a poisonous variety of plants that will sicken and cause wisdom damage. The group discovers that the bottleneck bridge is the best way through the neighborhood. Vendors set up booths throughout the day. At night the city watch puts up a checkpoint to help deal with drunken rowdies. The Yeast of All is definitely closed. 

Audrey Rose makes two bottles of antitoxins. Hendra looks over local deeds and paperwork and discovers that The Yeast of All brewery was owned by Gattlebee’s wife. Zita investigates possible sewers that might be able to help the group. Hendra researches local politicians to see who would be interested in gaining the formula. From what she can tell, the crown wants to keep the secret buried. Zita investigates Gattlebee’s wife. She finds out that their marriage ended when Gattlebee told his wife about the research he was doing. They divorced about a year and a half ago. She also finds out that Jazeem’s newest play is about to open. 

Audrey Rose makes two more bottles of antitoxins. Bosley investigates the route. Hendra investigates Gattlebee. She discovers that he used to be a student at the local university. His demeanor put off other students and professors. He was brilliant, but his behavior kept him from being as successful as he could have been. He is a loner and prefers to stay that way. Zita explores the route and can get a good vantage point where the Bottleneck bridge meets Downstairs. She sees something peculiar. Someone has been smoking a lot of cigars here. She thinks someone has been setting this spot up for an ambush. Audrey Rose makes two more antitoxins; she now has six. Zita finds that some of the stalls are under renovation. She suspects that these are avenues of ambush. She decides to turn these stalls into the city so they get shut down. 

Audrey Rose investigates the Downstairs neighborhood. Dol does the same. A vigilante is seen from time to time around the area, but the locals think nothing of it. Finally, the group develops a selection of alternative routes we can use if we need to bug out. 

The group is awarded 300 XP.