2025-05-01 Campaign Session Notes

Characters

• Fern ‘Assistance’, a syderean sorceror
• Young Gnangren, a beaverfolk fighter
• Ebony in the current (aka Ebb), a basteti rogue
• Quinn Amaris, a human cleric of Konshu

Somewhere in the streets of Zobeck…

Ebony is approached by a nephew of Black Eye, who enquires is she would be able to (and be interested in) assist in a matter that requires both some delicacy and some outside assistance, as a favour to the Mouse King. It appears that there have been a series of somewhat random robberies, muggings, and even a few unfortunate deaths in recent weeks, the blame for which is being laid upon various street gangs, all of which claim no responsibility or knowledge. This is upsetting the natural order of things in the streets and alleyways of Zobeck, and the Mouse King is not amused. The reward is offered as a favour owed, plus the choice to return any or all of the recovered stolen goods should the culprits be found. Any justice meted out is an option to be left to the discretion of the group.

Being somewhat intrigued by the task on offer, Ebony seeks assistance. She had recently made the acquaintance of a syderean by the name of Fern, when they met and bonded over their mutual comparative heights at an inn elsewhere in the city. Fern, whose middle name is apparently ‘Assistance’ jumps at the chance to poke her nose into other peoples’ business but suggests that the two of them might need a little additional help in running some thieves down. Fortunately, having been in the city a few months, knows the lay of the land and is aware of just the sort of sturdy and reliable help that might be available, in the form of Young Gnangren, an unusual beaverfolk who has been seen around town asking about maps and the general lay of the land beyond the city walls. They find him wandering the docks asking the dockworkers there about river flows and other such trivia. Gnangren is apparently deep in conversation with a young human, Quinn, also new to the city, who also appears very interested in well, nearly everything.

Soon a plan is made to meet up later and search for clues in the general areas where robberies have been most commonplace. Splitting up to better hunt for information meantime, the group reconvene later, Ebony having been prowling the rooftops seeking any information that may be present from above the streets. The loose plan is to set Gnangren and Quinn as bait, with Ebony and Fern watching from above and behind respectively, and see what occurs, the robberies having been increasing in frequency over the past few days and weeks to almost a nightly occurrence.

As the sunlight fades into early evening, although the bait is not taken, a cry is heard a street or two away and the group rapidly head in the direction of the commotion to discover a body on the floor bleeding out from a head wound, their possessions scattered around them as if hastily rummaged through in search of anything valuable. Gnangren provides basic first aid, accompanied by Quinn, and confirms the body is not yet a corpse while Ebony takes to the rooves once more, having spotted a small pawprint by a puddle near the scene. Meantime a couple of the guard arrive to see what is going on, and take the victim off to the Temple district to seek recovery. Ebony follows a scant trail above street level to a quiet street, leading to a boarded up building that once claimed to be the Kolchak Counting House and Repository. Evidently a fire once raged through the upper floor, with the roof in a state of disrepair. The doors are chained shut and locked and the lower windows boarded up.

A plan is made to enter the building once Ebony returns with this information. She will climb to the roof and see if there is a way in, while the others loiter in the street below, trying not to draw attention to what is obviously a breaking and entering about to occur. She makes her way down a set of stairs into the main reception area of the counting house to find the front doors still closed from the inside. With Fern’s assistance to hold the chain taut Gnangren strikes at a weak point with his longsword and breaks a link to open the doors. Nobody seems to notice and the group slip inside.

A brief search of the lobby shows dust, mould, broken furniture, damp, and a strong smell of old smoke, which is largely ignored in pursuit of a lair of the thief Ebony believes to be hiding out in the building. The vault appears already well looted, but opening a locked door leading into the manager’s office reveals after some searching, a secret trapdoor under a worn and fire damaged rug along with the means to open it up.

Ebony descends the rusted ladder to a secret chamber below where she disturbs a small monkey like creature at some kind of shrine or altar which is strew with bright coins, baubles and other knickknacks. The creature shrieks and runs away to the back corner of the chamber where it appears a second hidden vault lies. Ebony pursues.

As she enters the doorway chasing the creature she notices a substantial pile of coins and gems in the centre of the vault floor. This pile begins to rise up and swirl around, whirling coins about the room in a metal maelstrom. At this point the others arrive to the fight, Gnangren taking the doorway, Fern standing behind throwing some spells into the fray. Quinn, while trying to aid Fern, steps into the swirling coin storm and is pelted with hundreds of fast moving objects and falls to the floor unconscious. Ebony meanwhile has cornered the monkey creature, which uses the tendrils attached to its back to snatch her dagger from her but is soon run through by rapier and a blast of magic missiles from Fern.

Fern’s use of detect magic reveals a particular coin at the heart of the maelstrom that seems to be the root of the problem, and shortly the coins cease swirling around and fall back to the floor. They are hastily gathered up into a sack or two and the group relocate to the office above to pause and rest up. After some hours Quinn wakes up and investigates the altar below, claiming it to be a shrine or offering to the arch devil Mammon, an aspect of greed. Who knows how long this shrine has been used or for what purpose?

Gnangren is concerned by the news, and takes it to the authorities, or at least, to the temple of Lada, where it turns out is also where the guards had taken the robbery victim to recover. Gnangren is told, if not assured, by a priest that the Mammonite shrine will be taken care of.

The group appear to have solved the recent spate of robberies and Ebony seeks a meeting with the Mouse King.