Opening [Meta] How often does bardman work on his song? Answer: When he gets a chance in small periods where he'll work on it, then get frustrated and take a break for a few days.[/Meta] You make your way through the swamp for about a half hour. You come across a river bend. You can see the creatures have been making their way towards you, in the darkened morning sky you can still see small beads of light. You are a bit a way, then the river before you is full of creatures. Lizardfolk, lurking in the depths. You aren’t sure how many due to the shadows and the depths, it could be a dozen, and it could be a hundred. As you approach, they fall away, retreating into the depths of the swamp waters. Up in some trees two hundred feet+ away are some elves with bows observing. On an outcropping of rock above the swamp nearby them are some humans in leather armor with crossbows, daggers and short swords just observing. As you get closer, or move away, they likewise move off into the wilderness. Arriving in Tyrnalaia Tyrnalaia was built on the side of the river. It looks like an ancient city of stone that slowly sunk into the swamp over hundreds, maybe thousands of year. Built on the old skeleton of a city is a new one, part wood, part stone. Areas that have fully sunken into the swamp have rope and wood bridges connecting parts of the city, with docks all around. As you approach you can see people in small skiffs coming and going from the city. There is only a single path from the south approaching by land. It looks like the path has been built by people piling rocks and stone on the area for a while, then it turns into wooden planks which become elevated and are a long, twisted bridge over the swamp itself. Even in the day, the canopy overhead provides a lot of shade. It isn’t terribly hot, but extremely humid. You are forced to walk in a single file as the rope bridge isn’t wide enough for more than one at a time. The bridge seems healthy enough to support a horse or Cuch, but getting a camel across is going to be tough. You approach the end of the bridge and two ancient stone towers stand there, reinforced by wood planks with wooden battlements at the top. You can see archers above you from the towers, from the makeshift wall surrounding the city, and looking to your sides you see lizardfolk in the waters with only their eyes and snouts sticking out. At first you mistake them for alligators but you see the javelins tips and other weapons on them. Also, one of the lizardfolk in the water is wearing an eyepatch, a tell-tale sign it probably isn’t an alligator. At the gate are six skinny people in wrappings. They have patch-male leather pieces on them, but you aren’t sure if it will actually do anything. Their faces are mostly covered, and what aren’t you see patches of pale skin and deep sunken eyes. Scraggly hair falls from beneath their helmets. You look about you at the other guards on the battlements, and you can’t make them out very well. But they are similarly covered by bandages. They all seem to be outfitted with shortbows and spears. Some have heavy crossbows or longbows. A woman is sitting in a chair at the base of the gate with a bucket of steaming water and some fabric. He face isn’t covered like the rest, but she does have a couple of boils on her cheek. As you approach, she doesn’t seem to notice you [DC check], but is taking some cloth, soaking it in the hot water and applying it to boils on her right arm. At her side are two short swords and she has a longbow on her back. The gate is a series of wooden poles lashed together with a frame that has been driven into the ancient stone. It doesn’t look very sturdy. Beyond it you see no other guards, but lots of people inside the city itself. Amid the sounds of nature, birds, things in the water, and insects about you, there is the white noise of coughing, moaning, and low voices talking off in the city itself. Just beyond the gates, many people are moving about, mostly hooded and cloaked. As you get closer, the woman is wearing a leather vest, but it seems ill sized for her. She’s a scrawnier woman, and seems swallowed by the leather. On her arms are scars in the patterns of symbols and shapes, but they don’t seem to be in any language you know [DC check]. She looks up at you and you see two bright violet orbs staring back at you. Her facial expression doesn’t change, she just looks back to her arm and continues doctoring herself. Bardman offered to heal Brida the Sergeant. Then Alaise healed her 6 guards. Two of them gave Alaise their addresses written on pieces of paper. Alaise asked if they would be interested in signing on as mercenaries when the party left town and they said yes. The party questioned Brida, she said the city was run by “The Guild”. Apparently Kaleth was heavily populated by former thieves, rogues, assassins, brigands, pirates, and slavers from other realms who came to Kaleth to retire for various reasons. Here they are asked to leave their former ways behind and seek redemption by helping the less fortunate. She said the Guild were the closest thing Tyrnalia had to a local government and while they tried to do good and be fair, they were not necessarily nice people to lawbreakers. The party asked about the laws, and Brida said no murder, theft, normal stuff like that. She admitted that she herself had sizable bounties on her head in other realms and when the party asked “For what?”, she responded with “for murder, theft, all that type of stuff.” Brida talked about the swamp boils disease, how they didn’t know much about it but it had been around for about 6 months, but really ramped up in the last three months or so. They asked Brida about the Order of the Phoenix, but she seemed to not know much about it. She did refer to the party as “Transgressors” a couple of times, which they thought was odd. The party entered the gate and stood in the south gate courtyard. They could see roads running to the northwest, north, and northeast from their position with the land giving way and some areas of the city being built on docks over the river that spilled into the sunken city’s limits. They stopped and talk in the courtyard just outside of the south gate. They discussed their plans, Helios is arguing with bardman over healing the people or just finding the order A little boy with boils tugs at Helios’ sleeve and asked, “Are you a Teefling?” Helios noded and summoned some flames in his hand. The boy’s father came trotting over, smelling like a fisherman, and apologized to Helios then ushered his son away. The party discussed more on what to do and Helios made a comment about finding “The Guild” and how they were already probably listening to them. Asher said, “Well, to the nearest tavern. Theives always hang out in taverns.” A half orc leaning against a nearby wall spoke up, “That’s very observant. You want to ask the guild questions? I can help.” The woman had short blonde hair and soft green eyes, and prominent ears. She wore leather armor and was outfitted with a rapier and hand crossbow. She said, “Lets go get that drink.” Alaise said, “Sure let’s go” and Helios began asking her a question. She ignored Helios, taking Alaise by the arm. Alaise stopped saying, “Why don’t you answer my friend’s question first.” She frowned, and Asher took off down the street in search of the tavern. The woman trotted ahead with Asher. The party went to the tavern where Thokoli waited outside with Cuch. Along the way, the woman made a comment that half-humans like herself and other humanoids were usually safe from the disease much to the relief of everyone but Thokoli and Gillia. She made the point that it wasn’t impossible for non-humanoids to get the disease, but it was very rare. Inside the tavern the woman ordered drinks for herself, Asher, Bardman, and Helios, with Gillia and Alaise obstaining. Bardman cast detect poison and disease, sensing some disease from a couple of the patrons but not from the food and drink. They asked the woman questions about the disease. She said they didn’t know too much about it, other than it became prevalent over the last few months. She said roughly 20% of the people who contracted it got better in 6 weeks or so, roughly 10% of the people catching it died, but those were predominantly children, the elderly, or those who were already sick. It didn’t seem to be fatal to health adults. She said the city was populated by roughly 5,000-10,000 people, but she wasn’t sure how many. She told them of the areas in town including Central Ziggurat with the City Hall, 4 Temples (Humility, Redemption, Peace and the Elements), City Message Board, Boatworks, The Fishing Docks, Lizard town, Hunter’s docks, Weaponsmith’s docks, Lumberyard, Gristlescratcher island (hag’s town). When asked about “Hag’s Town”, apparently there was a hag living a day or so to the northeast who was terrorizing local villages, the Hag agreed to leave citizens of Kaleth alone if they named a part of the city after her. Her name was Filthy Bonnie Gristlescratcher. At one point, inundated by Bardman’s multitude of questions she put a finger on his lips and said, “You sure are pretty but you should learn to shut your mouth.” To which Bardman responded by licking her finger. The party asked some more questions, and the woman answered to the best of her knowledge. She likewise had never heard of the Order of the Phoenix. At this point Helios and Bardman began arguing over whether or not to try and help cure the disease. Eventually Bardman got up and went upstairs with Gillia to listen to music. Helios asked the woman a few more questions [I can’t remember what now]. At one point someone asked her about Corrive. She said that many of the people who came here to retire in the swamp were former slavers (and some of the refugees former slaves). They had little love for Corrive. Before leaving, the woman introduced herself as Keena after getting the party’s name. She joked that she was off to spread nasty rumors about the party. She also told Alaise that Half-Elves were susceptible to the effects of the disease, but she was lying to mess with him. Alaise, Asher, and Helios went upstairs after hearing some singing and noticing more people from downstairs were going upstairs. The upstairs bar, which seats 25, now had about 35 people crammed in there and the three got to the top of the stairs. They could see Bardman singing and playing his lute alongside a female halfling playing fiddle and a gnome man playing tambourine and flute. Bardman had given Gillia 20 gold to help her mingle with the crowd, which she was busy doing. Laura Gamwort was a female halfling with a square face, with golden hair and hazel eyes. She wore leather armor and had a rapier. Laura had an animal companion, a hunting dog named Adas. Jaufre was a male rock gnome with long face, gray hair and narrow green eyes. He wore studded leather and wielded a short sword. The party watched bardman play three more songs with the duo much to the happiness of the crowd. Afterwards the party mingled with the two musicians who introduced themselves and said they’d be playing the tavern for the next 3 weeks. Bardman tried to convince Laura to meet Cuch, but finding out that would put her mastiff in contact with a dire wolf she declined. Afterwards the party left and headed towards the temples. They found their way to the central ziggurat with the four temples surrounding it with the temple of humility to the north east of it then the other three positioned in a crescent to the east, southeast, and south. The party located the temple of the elements, which had an altar to Silvanus in the center, with the four elemental gods in four extensions of the central temple. The party tried praying and looking about with Bardman and then Helios talking to Brother Althalos Lunadream, a 23 years old male human monk, with long, straight, grey hair, golden eyes, and silky brown skin. He stood about 5'4", had a round build, and an an oval, slightly repulsive face with a stubbly beard. He answered questions about the temple and didn’t seem to know much about the disease. He did seemed concerned that Helios was probably raised in the 9 hells and probably didn’t know much about temples or altars, and offered to show him what those things were. Thokoli had gone out to the market around the temples and bought offerings for them. Bardman went to pray to Silvanus, while Gillia, Helios, Asher, and Alaise all went to pray to Kossuth. Everyone prayed, with Helios getting some advice from one of the 4 acolytes, a girl who’d been asked by Althalos to help Helios (since Tieflings are obviously handicapped when it comes to communing with the gods). Helios did as she suggested, crossing his legs, sitting down and activating his mantle of flames. Two other acolytes and Brother Althalos tried to extinguish him with water. While Helios wasn’t successful, he did feel… something. After all running out of ideas, Asher approached Brother Althalos and asked, “Have you heard of the Order of the Phoenix?” To which Althalos responded, “Oh yes, of course!” He went on to explain apparently they have monasteries in Kaleth although they don’t normally take guests. Asher told him a little about the Auril situation and that they were seeking assistance. Althalos seemed sympathetic and invited to give them all a place to stay for the evening. Post Game You all travel to the shelter where Althalos lives along with the 4 acolytes. A monk of the four elements, he talks to the party as they go. You all notice that Thokoli seems a bit pale after leaving the temple. After asking a bit further, he discloses quietly, where Althalos can’t hear, that he did receive a vision from Istishia, the Lord of Water, while praying. Apparently, the lord of water was pleased with their work allowing Auril to have more sway in the land, and said he would “Bless their next sea travel if they invoked his favor.” Thokoli said this a little cautiously. He continued, “However, Lord Istishia also warned that attempting to ally with Kossuth would draw his ire. And he also said that the good luck traveling would not protect Asher, who he said needs to ‘turn from his fiery ways and seek the purity of the ocean.’” Thokoli stops a little concerned and says, “The vision was of sea, with creatures talking to me and visions of events happening in my head. But I think Lord Istishia was suggesting in order to purify his being, Asher should fling himself into the ocean and drown himself.” Thokoli is obviously bothered by his vision from the god. Meanwhile, Gillia shares the information she gleaned while talking in the tavern. Apparently, sickness isn’t uncommon in Tyrnalaia. Apparently the barrier to the shadowfell is weak in this part of the swamp, hence the abundance of will-o-wisps. The disease is called the wasting disease or “Swamp Boils”. According to the townsfolk, it has been a disease around for a long time, but few have historically contracted it. Some of the things the locals consider weird are: People who don’t eat fish haven’t been getting sick. But that isn’t very many people as fish and swamp-water food at a common staple here. Despite this, the fishermen have been examining their fish and they don’t appear to be unhealthy. People are recruiting for a group of bandits who are suspected to be working for the Yuan-Ti, they reside northeast of the city. A local merchant’s daughter keeps getting kidnapped by the local wood elves. Lizardfolk tribe to the east has reported having issues with another, larger lizardfolk clan who have become increasingly aggressive. Some locals think a member of the Guild is corrupted by bandits and pirates outside of the city, and that this is an attempt to weaken the adult/fighting population in preparation of an upcoming siege. Gillia has no idea which of those rumors/stories might have merit and which ones don’t.
