Shenanigans: Episode 162

__NOTOC__
==Recap==
===February 3, 1512===
It is a winter day in Bergshire and Shenanigans is almost empty. The cleric Elpida is drunk and depressed over his goddess, Matrigal having disappeared from the sky and his losing all his powers.
Desmond is unhappy with Elpida's moodyness bringing down the atmosphere of the bar, so gets the party to bring him along on a journey to see an old friend of Desmond's, Mighty Mighty Pickle, who lives deep in the Pocket. Desmond claims MMP has magical spells that Buck and Shag can learn.
The party head northward towards Kurshwikk. Halfway there the party come across a dead messenger with a knife in his back, surrounded by some forest gnomes. The gnomes flee at the sight of the party. Buck grabs one of the gnomes and questions him, but the gnomes claim the messenger was already dead when they found him. On the messenger is a love letter addressed to a "Winnie".
The party continue on their journey ahd arrive at Kurshwikk and go into a tavern. The party is sick of Elpida and want to make him more manageable, so try the half-elf bartender's suggestion of getting a bag and poking holes in it to fool Elpida that Matrigal has returned. Elpida assumes it is a false god in the sky.
The party then talk with a Cleric of Malkis in the town square who is enjoying being random and talking about chaos, but Sir Walker out does him, which upsets the Cleric of Malkis.
===February 5, 1512 (day after New Moon)===
The next day the party get a barge-boat ride upriver with the cousin of the Kurshwikk bartender. The half elf boat captain is actually half-brother to the half-elf bartender, but the term cousin is used instead. The boat is rowed by a group of intentured servants. This day Elpida is sober now, but still depressed and bringing the mood down.
The first tower the party come across a 2-storey stone tower. The party investigate and are told by the resident that Mighty Mighty Pickle lives up the river more. A mile south of a rock that looks like an elephant.
The boat rows for the rest of the day and stops at an inn along the river. The party step into the main tavern building and smell the stench of death. The party search around and find no bodies on the first floor of the tavern. There is an attached stable with a horse tied up there. There are deep footsteps near the stables with dragmarks.
Upstairs the party find a survivor, a scared little girl. She said she was hiding in the room and heard strange groan noises last night. Upstairs there is no sign of any dead bodies. The party leave the little girl with the boat captain and go investigate the drag marks outside.
The party follow the drag marks outside as the sun goes down. The party eventually see a hulking silhouetted figure ahead of them that Elpida thinks is a Umber Hulk and warns the party to avert their eyes. Sir Walker points out the inconsitency with the creature having bladed arms, but Elpida is still certain, then recalling a legend about some demigods defeating one.
The party return to the inn and go inside with all the boat crew and baracade all the exists on the ground floor, then set watches.
During Buck's watch, he hears a noise. He goes investigate, and gets stabbed in the back by the little girl, and falls unconscious. The noise wakes up Elpida who goes down stairs and patches up Buck's wounds before the little girl stabs him which knocks him unconscious. The boat captain then is woken up and goes downstairs to investigate and is also attacked.
Shag wakes up with the noise. Shag wakes up Sir Walker and they both head downstairs. Shag knocks the little girl unconscious as Sir Walker heals up the Boat Captain to help. Shag ties up the unconscious little girl to a chair. Shag takes a amulet off the girl's neck and casts detect magic, but the amulet and the kitchen knife aren't mundane items.
===February 6, 1512===
The party wake up and wait for the little girl to wake up. She claims ignorance over everything that has happened. The amulet she was wearing was her mothers.
Ask Shag interrogates the girl, Sir Walker notices the creature from last night coming up to the rear tavern door and alerts everyone. In the light of day it is clear it isn't a Umber Hulk but is a Hook Horror.
Sir Walker braces the door shut as the Hook Horror tries to get inside. Buck and Shag goes upstairs and throw spells at the Hook Horror, Shag with a magic missile and Buck with a flaming sphere. The door to the tavern catches on fire, so Elpida throws some water on it. The Boat Captain unchains and arms his indentured servants.
The Hook Horror gives up trying to get past the lower door and climbs up to the window where Buck and Shag are, using it's massive hooks to climb quickly. Buck and Shag flee from the Hook Horror. Sir Walker rushes upstairs to intercept the beast. Sir Walker tanks the blows as Buck & Shag throw more magic missiles to finish off the Hook Horror.
With the battle over, Buck calls out for the indentured serveants to liberate themselves. Using their improvised weapons, they kill the boat captain. Sir Walker arrives in the room afterwards, and everyone claims the Hook Horror killed the Boat Captain.
One of the former indentured servants makes themselves the new captain and agrees to take the party the rest of the way on their journey in exchange for their freedom.
The party, with the little girl still tied up, head up river. Shag continues to question the little girl, maybe aged 6, and she says she has no memory of attempting to kill the party, or killing her mother 30 years ago. The party are unable to get any concrete answers from her. Sir Walker casts Detect Evil, but finds no evil on the little girl. They try dunking her in the running water of the river, but it has no effect.
The barge reaches the elephant shaped rock. The party go to find Mighty Mighty Pickle's Tower, but the barge crew don't wand the murderous little girl left on their barge. The party compromise and leave the little girl, still tied up to the chair, on the riverbank.
The party walk a mile south of the rock and find the 5-storey tower, which is guarded by 2 trolls. The trolls are playing a game of rock-rock-rock. The party try to get past, but visitors are not allowed. Elpida distracts the trolls by playing Rock-Rock-Rock with them as the rest of the party sneak inside.
Upstairs in the power the party find Mighty Mighty Pickle, who is literally a pickle with limbs. He was magically cursed over a decade ago. The party tell Mighty Mighty Pickle that Desmond is cured, and Mighty Mighty Pickle is upset that Desmond didn't share the cure.
Mighty Mighty Pickle invites Elpida inside the table, and tells Elpida to keep hope alive while his god is gone, since that is what his god wants. Meanwhile, Buck goes into another room and steals 2 magic wands, a magic dagger, and some potions.
The party return to the barge, but the little girl has escaped. The ship crew says that she turned into hundreds of spiders and crawled away. The party get on the barge and head home.
===February 10, 1512===
The party return to Bergshire. Shag delivers the letter from the dead messenger to Winnie.
The party go into Shenanigans and report in about Mighty Mighty Pickle. Desmond is surprised that Mighty Mighty Pickle is still cursed, so hires another group of adventurers to find a cure for it, then give it to Desmond so he can take credit for helping out Mighty Mighty Pickle.
Shag tests his new magic dagger in some practise combat with Sir Walker. The magic dagger scores a hit, and Sir Walker starts to magically bleed. The party rush to the temple to get Sir Walker patched up.
Elpida drinks one of the stolen magic potions and goes into a coma for just under 2 weeks.
== Experience ==
1350 exp each
== Significant NPCs ==
* Desmond
* Little Girl - Last survivor of the inn attack
* Mighty Mighty Pickle - Wizard trapped in the body of a Pickle
== Significant Locations ==
* Bergshire - Shenanigans
* Kurshwikk
* The Pocket - Abandoned Inn, Mighty Mighty Pickle's Tower
Category:Shenanigans Episodes