Session 1 Summary
Josh Ervin
Sorry it took so long to get around to writing this. It’s been a busy week.
Looking back, this first session seemed like a bit of an info-dump, with so many NPCs and a couple of different plot threads being introduced, it might seem like a bunch of random stuff just thrown together. From here on out things shouldn’t prove so complicated, and everything will make sense (hopefully) as the campaign goes on.
I’ve decided before jumping into the summary of the last session, I’m going to also keep a running list of NPCs you’ve encountered/become aware of so that we can avoid too much confusion. One of the unfortunate aspects of fantasy naming conventions is that it’s often difficult to keep track of who’s who. This should help.
NPCs
Eenak Darkstaff – Local talismonger (magic item salesman). Was attempting to trade a “magic lamp” for Brog’s crystal. Wants the crystal to sell to “interested parties”. He has offered the PCs substantial monetary reward to find the crystal.
Brog – Cook at the Blinded Basilisk inn. Got the crystal from his former employer. Was trying to trade crystal for money (or a genie that grants wishes).
Squint (The Kid) – Urchin. Stole the crystal (and the lamp) while Brog and Eenak were making their transaction. Current whereabouts are unknown.
Morwyn Oakhorn – Owner of the Blinded Basilisk Inn. She came into ownership of the Inn when her father was executed for murdering customers. Her relationship with her father was, according to Brog “not very close”. She is currently very unhappy because of her missing child.
Mela Oakhorn – Baby. Morwyn’s daughter.Went missing the night before.
Loleena – Barmaid at the Blind Basilisk. Lives in an apartment behind the Pits with her boyfriend, Forlyn. Owes rent money to Najrick
Gorkys Brownwood – Traveling merchant, currently staying at the Blinded Basilisk. Has many opinions on a variety of topics.
The Urchins – Group of pickpockets who live in the main plaza. They know Squint, but have yet to lead the PC’s to him.
Najrick Breakwater – Owner of The Pits, a gladiatorial fighting club.
PEOPLE YOU HAVEN’T MET:
Forlyn Adderbrook – Loleena’s boyfriend. You haven’t met him yet, but judging from the note found in their apartment, he’s currently being held for ransom by someone name “Dast”.
WHAT HAS HAPPENED SO FAR:
The Market
The PC’s while wandering about the Dock Ward Market, were interrupted in their shopping when a young boy (who you later found out was named Squint) came running around a corner, pursued by two men, Eenak and Brog. The boy tripped and dropped both of the items he was carrying; a clichéd, Aladdin-style lamp, and glowing yellow crystal. The crystal hit the ground and cracked, releasing a power blast of energy that knocked most of the people in the market place on to the ground. For a few moments afterward, everyone in the crystal’s blast glowed with a yellow energy, then felt different in a currently indescribable way. The lamp began emitting a thick blue smoke, which quickly formed a giant tentacled monstrosity that began teleporting around, eating bystanders.
The urchin grabbed the crystal and ran. He was briefly chased by Brog and Eenak, but upon seeing what was in the lamp, Brog turned his attention to punishing Eenak for his inaccurate claims about his merchandise (“That’s not a pretty genie-lady!”). The PCs managed to destroy the monster, which they identified as some kind of Balanoth, a creature from the Far Realms, a dimension (or dimensions) full of maddening horrors. Upon inspection of the lamp, it was determined to be a magic container for storing creatures from other realms. The lamp was made specifically to contain that type of creature.
Upon questioning the Eenak and Brog, it was determined that he crystal had belonged to Brog, who was trading it to Eenak when it had been snatched. Eenak was trying to obtain the crystal (and others like it) for an unnamed client. Eenak offered to pay the PCs to track down the crystal for him. Brog maintained that the crystal belonged to him, and if the PCs should find it they should return it to him. He offered the PCs free food and drink from the inn he worked at. Eenak left his card with the PCs and hurried off, telling them to contact him if they found the crystal. Brog took the PCs back to The Blinded Basilisk, the inn where he worked, in order to ply them with food and drink.
Aetava performed a ritual to ascertain what the most rewarding course of action would be. The ritual gave three answers to his three questions:
1. Keeping the crystal for himself would prove more rewarding than giving it to Eenak or Brog.
2. Working with the other PCs would prove more rewarding than working alone.
3. The “crystal’s original owner” would have no preference for the crystal being given to Eenak or Brog.
The Blinded Basilisk
Upon entering the inn, the PCs met Loleena, the barmaid, and Gorkys Brownwood, a merchant who was staying at the inn (and currently eating his breakfast). The main room of the inn seemed otherwise empty. The sound of a woman crying emanated from down the hallway. While Brog brought the PCs food and drink, Loleena explained that the crying was Morwyn, the inn’s owner, who had apparently awoken that morning to find her infant daughter, Mela, missing.
Gorkys ran his mouth about his various theories about the disappearance and in doing so revealed a few facts.
- The inn has long been associated with people who stayed there going missing. Usually these people were newcomers to Shadowport.
- Various theories had been put up to explain why people disappeared, from ghosts, to faeries, to “Lorvac’s Curse” – the leftover traps and monsters from Shadowport’s former status as the dead king’s citadel.
- Local rumor had it that the rooms on the left side of the hallway were the ones where people disappeared. People who regularly stayed at the inn knew to request rooms on the right.
- Thorm, the former owner of the inn, was arrested and executed a few weeks ago. He had apparently been selling merchandise from his missing customers, and was accused of murdering his tenants for their money and things. No bodies have ever been found, but justice in Shadowport doesn’t always require physical evidence.
- No one has gone missing from the inn since Thorm was arrested, until last night.
The PCs briefly met Morwyn, who had little to add, and retreated back into the kitchen after a brief greeting. Brog and Loleena also noted after being questioned that Thorm “wasn’t a very nice man” and both believed he was responsible for the missing guests.
The PCs then decided to go to the Shadowport Plaza, the open area where Gorkys said lots of pickpockets were known to operate. Perhaps they would be able to find the missing urchin (and the crystal) there.
The Plaza
The Plaza houses many of the city’s former government buildings, and the tradehouses belonging to the Five Families who “rule” Shadowport. The PCs also noticed it contained a large permanent teleportation circle, a symbol of the Empire’s former glory when mages and nobles could travel from one city to another instantaneously by using magic.
After looking around for awhile, the PCs found a group of urchins. Although at first they claimed to have no idea who the PCs were talking about, eventually one let slip he’d seen a fellow urchin named “Squint” showing off a glowing crystal less than an hour earlier. After much haggling, the urchins agreed to track Squint down. The urchins spread out, but eventually all but one of the urchins returned to the PCs without any information on Squint’s whereabouts. Upon questioning, they urchins had no idea what had happened to the urchin who had not returned, noting that “she doesn’t hang out with us much anyway.”
The leader of the urchins claimed that Squint might be at the Pits, a gladiatorial arena of questionable legality. The urchins led the PCs there.
The Pits
After arguing with the bouncer about having to pay to get in, the PCs eventually paid their silver pieces and entered the Pits. Inside they found a crowded, smoky hell where drunken patrons placed bets on people fighting each other (or monsters) in a giant pit. After questioning several patrons (who knew nothing), they decided to track down the owner of the establishment, one Najrick Breakwater.
They found Najrick in the “backstage” area of the Pits with two of his goons, beating up someone who owed him money. The area was full of caged monsters, and also contained several apartments that Najrick rents to those who need a place to stay. Revec engaged Najrick in conversation while Venner snuck around to investigate one the apartments whose door seemed to have been bashed in.
During his conversation, Revec learned the following things:
1. Squint the urchin often came to the Pits, but Najrick had kicked him out and banned after the boy tried to steal from Najrick about a week ago.
2. The apartment with the broken door belonged to a young couple who owed Najrick rent. The couple consists of Forlyn and Loleena (the barmaid at the Blinded Basilisk). Najrick would be very grateful to anyone who tracked the pair down (so he can get his money).
3. Revec also learned about how much money can be made by fighting at the Pits.
Meanwhile, Venner was sneaking around in Loleena’s apartment. Besides the door being kicked in, the rest of the apartment was also a mess, with tables and chairs being overturned, and papers strewn all over the floor. Most of the papers were betting slips, but one was a note –
“We have your boyfriend. If you don’t get us the money he owes us, we’ll start cutting pieces off of him and throwing them in the river.
-Dast”
Venner also found a pail containing used diapers and an empty milk bottle in one of the closets. There was no other evidence that a baby regularly lived in the apartment (Najrick certainly didn’t mention that Forlyn and Loleena had a child).
Upon leaving the Pits, the PCs decided to go back to the Blinded Basilisk and cofront Loleena about what they just learned.
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And that is where we ended. Let me know if I left something out or forgot something, or if you have any questions. I’ll see everyone Wednesday night.
