Those Undead Blues - Part 1 and 2

Adventure Summary

In today's adventure, the party decided to rough it out and secure some basilisk liquid on their own, rather than paying for the lot at the local apothecaries. So they took a ride into the countryside, where the basilisk cave was. There, they encountered a rather saggy old hag, who turned out to be quite a nasty handful until Sir Gingerbeer stabbed her with his shiny sword. It wasn't a complete waste however. The strange old coot was the one rearing the basilisks, and she happened to have quite a few treasures in her lair. The basilisks were also quite easily dispatched, though Orly was stoned in the process. Well, there goes Orly. It's now Notrly.

Returning to town, Az and Gingerbeer started arguing about how they were going to procure the last two ingredients of the potion - a lammasu's heart and angel feathers, and this degenerated into fisticuffs, shenanigans, and a largely exploded warehouse. Now bereft of a warehouse, and still lacking in funds, our adventurers decided they'd take a quest from the Church of Mystra!

Apparently, some petitioners had come to the Church to gossip about caravans that went missing along the High Moors. Gingerbeer thought it was a great quest, and the lot of them decided to go immediately. Afterall, the weather witches claimed it would be sunny all the way, and the forecast was favorable. It wouldn't take more than a day!

It rather took more than a day. It took several days in fact, as the High Moors were flooded and our adventurers were soaked in a thunderstorm. They were even ambushed by ghouls in the rain. After felling the ghouls, the party took shelter at an inn called the Roadside Rest, which was owned by a pair of beautiful women, who took a shine to Sir Gingerbeer's shiny armor. They offered to put up Sir Gingerbeer in the VIP room, and the others in a reasonably comfortable room for the night, for free, no less. It was a steal!

However, it turned out that Sir Gingerbeer had bitten off more than he could chew when he woke up to discover the ladies chewing on his neck. It seemed the two of them were vampires, and they were eager to have Sir Gingerbeer for dinner! Oh noes! D: Luckily, Sir Gingerbeer's screams for help woke Az and Subway, and they rushed to the rescue. The party drove off the vampires, and even set the inn on fire in the process. More property damage!

As luck would have it, they managed to hitch a ride from a merchant, Saheed, who was staying at the inn for the night before it 'accidentally' burned down, and he offered to take them as far as Thunderstone, which was his next stop. The trip was relatively uneventful, and it was a much deserved rest, or so it seemed, at least until the party reached Thunderstone.

Az, in his infinite nosiness, decided to scan Saheed's goods while the merchant was unpacking, and discovered that there was more to the jolly Calishite's flour business than meets the eye. Sir Gingerbeer went to fetch the watch, leaving Az and Subway to stall for time. This did not turn out too well, though, as Saheed, now somewhat suspicious about Az and Subway's loitering, decided to slip Az a poisonous drink, and called on his men to detain the two at a nearby tavern. This led to a scuffle, and Subway killed one of Saheed's helpers just as Sir Gingerbeer arrived with the guards.

The party was arrested, and investigations were conducted. A visiting cleric from Waterdeep (Azathar *coughcoughnashrancoughcough*) who happened to be in town then volunteered her services, eager to punish perpetrators in the name of the moon. As it turned out, Saheed was in fact a shady merchant. He was trafficking in weapons, and his men maintained an extensive underground complex that was linked to a warehouse on the outskirts of town, housing enough equipment for a standing army, and then some.

As Sir Gingerbeer confronted Saheed's associates, and took them away to the watch house, Az and Subway sneaked into the compound to investigate. They found evidence of a conspiracy, and also found out something worse - Saheed was not just a merchant, but a rakshasa, a powerful and evil creature from the outer planes. Saheed was immune to all of Az's magic, and was giving the two of them a hard time when Sir Gingerbeer returned with the watch. Of course, Saheed's men took that opportunity to turn the tables, and a dangerous battle ensued. Even the visiting cleric joined in.

Of course, the battle was far from over. As Saheed turned tails and fled, something loud and terrifying, combined with screams of terror and yells of "It's alive! It's alive!" resonated throughout the underground warehouse.

Something was coming for the adventurers. The question was... what? :o

Stuff from the Old Hag and the Vampire Sisters:

1. Cauldron of Potion Brewing - Helps capable potion makers make potions better! Also, keeps potions in it fresh if a lid is used. Additionally, +2 to Craft (Alchemy) checks.

2. Leather Armor +1 of Silent Moves - Recovered from the old hag's last victim. This grimy, stained, and torn armor adds +5 to Move Silently.

3. An evil looking mace - A Mace of Fell Power. This +1 mace is EVIL. It can be used to channel negative energy, and increases the caster level of any evil cleric wielding it by +1. 3/day, an evil cleric can cast an Inflict spell through it as a swift action on a successful hit. In the hands of a good or neutral character, the mace does not function, and instead inflicts a temporary -1 level.

4. Shiny Mirror - Mirror belonging to a former priestess of Mystra. Worth 500 g. Can be used as a scrying focus.

5. Shortsword - Looted from the vampire sisters. +2 Shortsword that adds +1d6 acid damage.

6. Longsword - Looted from the vampire sisters. +2 Longsword. 1/day Casts Poison spell on hit. Fort DC 16 neg.

7. Well-worn Oven Mitts - Looks can be deceiving. Actually a pair of Gloves of Giant Strength +4