Hepisod Date IRL 10/13/2024

Dates Spanned On Ilia Khah: M04W2D12-13, Year Restriction 446

Events Summary

The party cleans up after the assassination attempt from Hepisod 1. Mayor Tina Johnson congratulates them for preventing a disaster and has the body of the assassin't carted to an Eldath temple for last rites and a thorough investigation. Kelzyr bids farewell to his trainer in Victor Baptiste, who promises to advocate for him in the IFL as well as get a personal letter home to his Rhamuur. The party then attends an auction for the clipper ship Ruthless, hosted by H.E. Copperpacker. They plot to rig the event against Mountport's advantage, employing a variety of underhanded tactics. So much chaos ensues. Despite their efforts, Mountport still wins the Ruthless. After the auction, the party rests. Haneastacia spends her night with Dornise Faywiles, the museum director, and Kelzyr receives notice his immediate future league duties are officialy suspended. The next morning, they head to Fisk's quest to explore a cave dungeon. Along their hike, they witness a naked gnome fleeing some shrubbery in terror but find no immediate danger that follows him. In the dungeon, the party is trapped and ambushed by skeletons. They are readily defeated, but not without a fight that takes its toll.

The Hepisod Anatomy, in Detail, by 'Stage'

Stage No. 1 ~ Assassin't

• Mayor Tina Johnson rushes over and brings her personal guard, Mick 'Fingies' Stevenson. She congratulates the party on stopping what could have been a true disaster and checks sure that Kelzyr is alright.
• Mayor Johnson suggests letting the city handle the rest of the affair, especially after learning of the magical nature of the would-be assassin's death, step one being carting the would-be assassin's body to a nearby temple to Eldath. The party is in delightful agreement with this.
• Before departing, Kelzyr seeks an audience with Victor Baptiste. Having done most of the work to calm the crowd, Victor is able to spare a few moments.
• Kelzyr is assured that Victor will talk to IFL higher ups and advocate not only for his safety but for his ability to take care of some other business that is not spoken plainly. Kelzyr is also able to give Victor a letter, promised to make it safely to Rhamuur. They hug before saying a more definitive goodbye, for an unspecified amount of gravely uncertain time.
• Then the party travels to the temple. An uneventful walk, they meet Tina and Fingies with the assassin't in front of the temple.
• By the fountain, they encounter Cousin Mitchell Csatlos talking to an old friend of his, the Paladin called Barin of Whayleave. Mitch is excited to encounter yet another valued acquaintance and part of his church family in Louis.
• The tone changes as news of the body is brought forth. Mitch takes matters exceptionally seriously, ordering the Paladin and healer Feoria to attend to the body, last rites, and a full investigation. He claims that a team of himself, Barin, and Feoria will suffice for the evening, dismissing a nearby initiate of the temple to rest early and be completely discreet about the matter.
• Mayor Johnson is satisfied the investigation is in good hands, imagines she will have questions for the party, but decides those should wait until a larger public and journalist presence follows the next day. The party is dismissed to catch their boat auction.

Stage No. 2 ~ The Copperpacker

• Players arrive at the 'auction' (more a perverse take on the pennyraffle) for the sailing ship called "Ruthless" being held at the memorial to Tim Johnson in Mountport's Viewport Square.
• The handsome Kolb host, H.E. Copperpacker, wealthy seafarist, philantropist, and, uh, bicyclist, greets the party as his humble prospective patrons. He warns them there is only eighty-six minutes until the drawing for a winner begins, briefs them on the auction setup, and invites them to go forth, mingle, eat, drink, and spend as much as they want in the vague hope to somehow trounce the City of Mountport's huge and legally mandated advantage.
• The party decides a rigging is in order, and spends quite a while implementing a peculiar orgy of just about every insane plan they came up with, with the exception of arson, thanks be to Skialta. I will now recount your, what I hesitate to call strategy. That is not to cast any hate or lack of gratitude. I was giggling like an idiot pacing back and forth in my bedroom the whole time and barely containing myself as you rolled along.
• First, they ask Copperpacker if he'd disqualify Mountport. He must fear their tax code and fines quite a lot, as he did not budge.
• The party goes off to actually read Mountport's ridiculous laws that constitute their cheating in all 'gambling events concentrated in large, public games of pure chance for large, predetermined prizes, their fixed, net value meeting or exceeding 50gp, and with no natural limit on the number of contestants with stakes, financial and otherwise, in the contest.'
• Louis hangs back to ensure Eldath is okay with their morally questionable schemes. While she seems to give him the sense that there is something wrong with trying to rig a fair and public auction, she also gives him the pass that his being on Mainland Ebonreach and in Mountport to ally with VSL is important. This sense convinces him to cooperate, though he will continue to have relatively little involvement with any parts of the contest rigging schemes that could truly be ethically questionable.
• Hanna checks out the ship. It's a damn good vessel, an updated and very well loved take on an old design for Ebonreacher couriers of the past needing reliable and speedy transit, rain or shine. It will need some fixing up to be truly safe and ready, but nothing major. It's in worthy condition. But she is aware that not every contestant is as savvy as she. Of the little fixes that need done, she is sure she can spin them to appear like larger issues than they really are.
• Fisk takes the lead using this information to try and help convince some of the wealthier folks to withdraw, with some clever presentation of facts and fibbing or fabrication to fill the gaps. Kelzyr prepares to smear algae and barnacles on the side of the boat to help this argument along.
• Louis spends 15gp to buy-in and earn ten dozen tickets more. As he places his entries, he inspects the names visible to him up top. They are: City of Mountport, Gauze Coco, Katie & Amanda, Bella C., LINC-ex, KARL, VLSC Mus. Tr.
• Recognizing the Verdantial Library of Science and Commerce for being connected to his own faith, he decides to talk to their representative, an associate historian and their museum trust's director of outreach and acquisitions in Dornise Faywiles. He pleads his mission to her, but is unable to persuade her to give up her own bid outright. She does have her sympathies, though, and does donate him the money for another fifty dozen entries for VSL and Co.
• Haneastacia buys 84 tickets, and Fisk spends enough for another 60 on top of that.
• Meanwhile, Kelzyr goes for a brief swim and smears the ship undetected. Fisk and Haneastacia will use this as another piece of evidence as they go around lying to people about the state of the ship up for grabs, in the hopes to sow doubt and help their own chances.
• Firnas and Louis will continue to plead the case that making donations for a holy cause to enter the auction will reflect well in the afterlife and is simply the right thing to do. The passing of the proverbial collection plate will earn them an additional 32 dozen entries.
• First stop for Haneastacia and Fisk is an arrogant rich prick called Gauze Coco, and they seem to convince him the whole thing is a scam with ease. At first, Mr. Coco does not care at all. All he wants is to be the first of his wealthy friends to own a boat. That said, he does seem interested in the fact that he could get a better boat if he gets his money back. He blows up and confronts Copperpacker, in an incident that will eventually get Theophania 'Tiff' Copperpacker involved by way of tossing Gauze Coco into the sea. Fisk takes the commotion to briefly slip away and reappear elsewhere.
• Amidst the commotion, Fisk talks to Clay Armen of the duo casting entries under the name of LINC-ex. They chose their name because they are both ex-employees of the Linus Innovations Nautica Company, one of the most advanced and reliable teams of innovators in maritime history. Fisk's routine to lie about the state of the ship is not effective, and Clay leaves and takes his associate Skoh Amit with him. It is around this time Coco 'splashes down' and Tiff checks to be sure her husband, H.E. Copperpacker, is alright.
• As Tiff walks back to ticket purchasing station at Tim's Monument itself, Fisk interrupts her. He convinces her to take Coco's tickets out of the pot and burn them, and she begins to sift for them and do so. No refunds, of course.
• Louis talks to Gauze Coco about what happened, and he reveals that he doesn't dig chicks who are so keen to chuck a man overboard. Firnas will follow and convince him to ask Tiff to donate the rest of his tickets to VSL and Co. The justification given is that he will in some sense own their adventures afterwards on the boat they win, and none of his friends have anything like that.
• This brings the party to a grand total of 3,367 tickets just in time for the drawing. As per the complicated set of rules, it takes quite a while. But eventually a winner is declared: The City of Mountport.
• The party agrees it should try to use its apparent sway with Tina and not consider the boat lost just yet, but it is time to get some rest ahead of a cave adventure before reporting to the temple for any of that.

Stage No. 3 ~ Honk Shoo

• The party makes it to their various accommodations, details unspecified for the most part, to enjoy the benefits of a long rest.
• Haneastacia had been slipping away throughout the evening to enjoy libations and conversation with the glamorous Miss Faywiles. She decided to follow the auburn haired museum director home to spend the night with her. Ooh la la. Space slut indeed.
• Shortly before Kelzyr is off to bed, he receives a knock at the door from an unfamiliar IFL board member. His 'request' for the rest of the season off is approved without question, though the league will go on without him. He is advised to keep himself safe, and is told he can expect to keep his league standing in Adamantine for the next season.
• The party meets at their morningtime rendezvous location and treats themselves to a mobile breakfast so they can hit the trail faster. Fisk is eager.

Stage No. 4 ~ Cave on!

• The party begins their hike to the cave entrance. It is mostly peaceful, save for a curious interruption. About forty-five minutes in, a stark naked gnomish man emerges from the shrubbery to the party's right and sprints off to the left, basically ignoring them. Instead, he pleads to a higher power, tyrant matron Kalei above, to save him from whatever is right behind him. The party waits with readied weapons until waiting gets boring and they can be certain enough no threats are actually chasing the nude panicker. The rest of the walk to the cave mouth is uneventful.
• Fisk briefly briefs the party before navigating them through a field of traps he has previously set off and to the door to the dungeon part of this cave dungeon. He leads the party through to the room with the skeletal remains and the hanging adventurer, a warning to intruders.
• The door slams shut behind them once everyone is in. Fisk has never had this happen to him before.
• A small army of skeletons rises from the remains and gear of several adventurers to lose their lives in the dungeon in years, perhaps centuries, prior.
• The party quells the skeletons, but not without a serious beating, and it seems as combat/initiative comes to a close they are looking for an opportunity to take a short rest and recharge, if they can afford one.