Bandaluthia Session 25

Bandaluthia Session 25.

Having defeated all who opposed the Animals, the seven were left to secure the temple, converse with the prisoners and reap the magical bounty. Qu went to the door from which the Animals entered, and became lookout. Gus went to protect Ratsel, just in case there were more of the nefarious devils lurking. Shaniqua went to see the two human clerics with Coolio, but Hollenlord came into cover for Coolio, and Coolio went to search the other chamber with Jacob instead. Whilst one of the prisoners was quite vocal in her bid for freedom, (her name it transpired was Celia.) the other took on the form of Shaniqua. Not quite Shaniqua herself, but a similar being. The new half drow/half wild elf then tried to charm Shaniqua. This startled the young elf(?)maiden to almost quietness. Gus came to the cells with a key Ratsel had found, and when he saw Shaniqua on the verge of tears, and Shaniqua whispering that she had been ‘spelled’ Gus tried to intimidate the prisoner. Alas, both women looked scornfully as the 6’8” 350lb Gus rattled the cage. Celia then convinced Gus, Hollenlord and Shaniqua to let them both go.

Jacob and Coolio fleeced the antechamber of all its magic and Ratsel had declared it was time to leave. As the prisoners were being given their stuff back, Coolio noted that whilst there were two humans as prisoners, there was now only one, and an elf. He immediately produces his crossbow and demanded answers. All the Animals took to arms once more, but Celia again diffused the situation by declaring that she was a paladin of Bahumet, and that Elodee (the once human now elf) was in fact not evil, but was going to be a sacrifice to Glasya. The Animals thought it best not to linger, and to let the ladies go about their business once the Animals were safely away from this, now obviously fake consulate.

Upstairs the Animals led the ladies. As the first of the Animals (Hollenlord and Jacob) entered the upstairs, they heard the familiar shouts of “Stop! In the name of the law” In the room were a dozen City Guard, 2 paladins and 2 clerics of Bahumet. At this point, Celia, who was at the back with Gus, tried to turn back away from the 16 law enforcers. Hollenlord and Jacob entered the room, swords away and moved to the right and up against the wall. Qu went in and was ushered left. All the Animals, Elodee and Celia were ushered in. Immediately upon her entrance, Celia was arrested by the Paladins and taken away. The commanding officer then addressed the rest. He asked for the leader, and there were four responses, all claiming leadership of ragtag bunch. After much babbling, the CO lost his much tested temper and decided to arrest the lot, and sort it out in Finsbury.

As the Guard moved in to apprehend the suspects, a whirlwind started up in the middle of the room. Within a second, it became a whirlwind vortex, and everyone, guard included, became unstable. From within the vortex D’Jarra-Leon shouted to enter the swirling twister. Some neither saw nor heard the wizard. Gus did, and picked up Coolio, pushed Shaniqua in then he leapt in. Jacob grabbed his dog, Helmutt, and jumped. Hollenlord tugged at Ratsel’s robes, and Affe tried to coax his master to step into the unknown. Elodee ran into the Vortex just as the Vortex closed.

The disorientated Animals found themselves downstairs at The Satyr. Ratsel, Shaniqua and Coolio all threw up. The others were alarmed that Qu had not come through. Qu had been left to answer for the Hartorian Consulate debacle alone. Too answer for the countless bodies. Too answer for the Temple of Glasya, Princess of Hell. Too answer for the child abuse. Too answer for the fake Consulate. Qu had a lot to answer for.

Down stairs in The Satyr, sat Jo-Arne, Louis Silverblade, Freddie Carver, D’Jarra-Leon, Thelonius and The Four. A surprising mix. Much to the dismay of the Animals, it transpired that Elodee was in fact a plant by the Guild. She had been put in the Hartorian Consulate as a Guild spy. It also turned out that Elodee is half doppelganger, and so very useful. So much so that Jo-Arne had requested involvement, and that the Animals had very nearly got her killed. After some heated debate from the Animals, who claimed they had rescued her from certain sacrifice, D’Jarra-Leon quietened the bickering and moved on to more pertinent business. The Four had rattled one to many Esquillan cages, but had stolen, recovered, liberated the entire contingent of Stargazer within Bandaluthia that was in cartel hands. The problem was that now the Four were targeted, but the product had to be shipped somehow to Palanthia City. The Animals were reticent until the figure of 300,000gp was mentioned. They then fell over themselves to offer any aid.

The plan was made that the Stargazer would travel in a bag of holding, and get delivered to Safira, the lady Azul, a General of Ruth’s Guild in Palanthia City. D’Jarra-Leon would teleport the Animals to the city limits; they should deliver the job then walk back to Bandaluthia. Once this plan had been made, Jo-Arne and Louis left them to the finer detail. One of these details would see the Animals travel back to Bandaluthia via the Vorpell mountain range and find the Crypts of Aver’Thaal-Aferlo Khan. The Crypt should be searched and the spell books of his apprentice G’Zair-Elrin should be bought back to D’Jarra-Leon.
Aver’Thaal-Aferlo Khan was the wizard who invented the ‘Wizards Tests’ long before the Cataclysmic Destructions some 440 years ago. The apprentice to this infamous mage was G’Zair-Elrin who was a bookish man, and was rumoured to have the most complete spell compendium in history. D’Jarra-Leon explained that until now the Crypts location had been a mystery, but the Guild had provided a fluke happenstance which showed G’Zair-Elrin’s last journey book. The Cataclysm happened whilst the apprentice buried his master. With this information, a piece that D’Jarra-Leon omitted from the Wizards College team set to locate the Crypt, D’Jarra-Leon had Thelonius align the stars for the next month, and that the Crypt should be visible on the Aprille Equinox.

The party leave with a Guild ranger/guide for the journey home. His name is Roth, and he is an elf. The teleport has a near disaster as Ratsel forgets to hold the bag of holding, but manages to grasp it as they fall from 1000 ft outside Palanthia City. The bag had a feather fall spell cast upon it, and those holding it were safe. Ratsel’s fingertips caught it just in time. Inside the City, the Animals and Elodee head for The Blue Dragon. Here they meet Safira, The Lady Azul and give her the product from the Four. She invites them to stay as her guests, and offers them magic as payment for the delivery.

It is here where we left. The Animals have never been more than two miles from home, and now they are staring down the barrel of a 2000 mile trek. How they will fare not even the Gods, Probability and Nature know. The Tea-Maker however, has a good idea!