19970530 ShoppingTrip

<H1> Do Your Own Damn Shopping </H1>
<BR><P>
<H2> Role Call </H2>
</P>
<TABLE>
<TR>
 <TH> Name </TH>
 <TH> Profession and Level </TH>
 <TH> Player </TH>
</TR>
<TR>
 <TD> Daeron </TD>
 <TD> 5th Elf Cleric </TD>
 <TD> Ray Chiang </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
 <TD> Anders </TD>
 <TD> 1st Human Fighter </TD>
 <TD> Matt Miller </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
 <TD> Prince Donner </TD>
 <TD> 5th Human Fighter </TD>
 <TD> John Speck </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
 <TD> Grackle </TD>
 <TD> 3rd/4th Half-Elf Fighter/Thief </TD>
 <TD> Mark Whisler </TD>
</TR>
<TR>
 <TD> Colin </TD>
 <TD> 4th Human Fighter </TD>
 <TD> Jim Yonemura </TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<BR><P>
<H2> Session Summary </H2>
</P>
<P>
The group finds a nice inn to stay in. The next day, Daeron takes the
scenic route through the city to the Great Library. During his trip,
the priest is amazed at the audacity of human civilization--the absence
of any signs of nature (i.e. no trees).
</P>
<P>
On their way, they pass through the market. There, Donner goes looking
around for Nightcloth and the powder that George needs, but discovers
that the item in question is quite rare. He gathers some leads, with
the most likely candidate being an eccentric old alchemist named Bellairno.
Another possibility is an adventurer who trades in magical weapons and
ingredients named Grandon. They continue on to the Library.
</P>
<P>
Upon ariving at the Library, the group becomes familiar with the
Library's pricing structure (10 GP per day, plus taxes) and begins
researching. Donner and Colin head to the cartography section in
hopes of finding maps of the Plateau. Daeron finds his way to the
elven texts on ancient history. There he reads the following:
</P>
<UL>
<LI> Kennetar was once the seat of the Kingdom of the West
<LI> Hensen is a classic example of humanity's foibles and insanity
 <UL>
 <LI> There are nine factions which make up the main governing
 total of the city:
 <UL>
 <LI> The Judges of Unerring Wisdom
 <LI> The Brotherhood of Liberty
 <LI> The Faithful
 <LI> The Lions of Justice
 <LI> The Speakers of Truth
 <LI> The Guardians of Law
 <LI> The Freemen
 <LI> The Peacekeepers
 <LI> THe Questers
 </UL>
 <LI> As if the nine factions weren't difficult enough to keep
 track of, there are also five known alliances:
 <UL>
 <LI> The Dark Pact
 <LI> The Grey League
 <LI> The Bright Alliance
 <LI> The Fathers of Freedom
 <LI> The Defenders of Law
 </UL>
 <LI> The city is ruled by the head councillor with the aid of
 a ruling council.
 </UL>
<LI> The name of the fortress that oversaw the capital was known as
 Parthenel.
<LI> There were many "threats" to the area
 <UL>
 <LI> Factional infighting
 <LI> Overindulgence in luxuries
 <LI> Vulnerable to the Imperium or the Fanatics of the South (Fanatics
 of Babel)
 <LI> House Marvad (connected to the Imperium)
 <LI> The elves perspective (as reflected by the text) on the Fanatics
 indicates that they are human purists.
 </UL>
</UL>
<P>
Daeron finishes the text, and considers that there is much more to learn
about the Plateau and its history. Looking outside, it appears that
several hours have passed. He decides to return to the library the next
day to continue his research.
</P>
<P>
The group approaches a small building. The place is a morass of
gadgets, equipment, and knick-knacks. Inside, an absent-minded old
man comes out and introduces himself as Bellairno. The group finds the
powder that George requires and inquire about Nightcloth. Bellairno
mentions that he doesn't have any Nightcloth, but he will begin
inquiries.
</P>
<P>
The next day, both Daeron and Kill'Dar return to the library. There,
they go through more texts on ancient history.
</P>
<UL>
<LI> One human text describes the Plateau geography. There are three
 landmarks on the Plateau between the Imperium and Kennetar.
 <UL>
 <LI> The Teeth. This is an odd rock structure approximately one
 week's travel East of the Plateau.
 <LI> The Fang. It appears to be a large rock approximately 1 day
 southeast of the Teeth.
 <LI> An ancient abandoned village. It is located approximately
 five days from the capital. There is a 100 foot tall watch
	tower and is approximately halfway between Kennetar and the
 capital.
 </UL>
<LI> Another elvish text describes some of the history of the last King
 of the West.
 <UL>
 <LI> The text appears mainly to condemn King Grith.
 <UL>
 <LI> The King apparently never trusted anyone.
 <LI> He ruthlessly used people and was responsible for the
 "rape of the land"
 <LI> After ravaging most of the lands of the Plateau, he
 moved the capital to the city on the lake.
 <LI> Around the time of the Darkness, the city sank into the
 lake.
 </UL>
 </UL>
</UL>
<P>
At the same time, the rest of the party goes to Grandon's to check
for Nightcloth. There, they see a shipment of weapons that Grandon
has brought from the Imperium. Being a weapons merchant, he doesn't
have Nightcloth. The group decides to check with Bellairno tomorrow.
</P>
<P>
Later that evening, the group has just finished dinner, when two
adventurers walk into the inn. One appears to be a half-orc while
the other is a well-dressed fighter. They both sit down while the
fighter begins reading. Donner and Daeron believe that the fighter
may be capable of casting spells. Not wanting to disturb the
stranger, the group waits until he finishes. Afterwards, Grackle
and Daeron go and talk to the two. They introduce themselves as
Graden and Ciarda. They provide some additional information:
</P>
<UL>
<LI> There are kobolds to the east.
<LI> Babel is south of the Vales
<LI> There are rumors of a wyvern living out near the Teeth.
</UL>
<P>
Finding potential allies, Grackle and Graden exchange
passphrases (Graden: "My mother's name was Alice." Grackle:
"My favorite bird is a grackle.")
</P>
<P>
The next day, Daeron goes to talk to the historical archivist, Isaac
Balfour. He learns some more of the geography of the Plateau.
</P>
<UL>
<LI> Hensen
 <UL>
 <LI> During the Cleansing, one alliance withdrew from the city.
 <LI> The Dark Pact was banned from the city, but it is rumored that
 they still exist.
 <LI> The Dark Pact consists of the Judges of Unerring Wisdom,
 The Brotherhood of Liberty, and the Faithful.
 <LI> The city is polarized around the nine alignments (thought to
 be an act of the gods). Each of the factions corresponds to
	the nine alignments.
 <LI> During the Darkness, the Dark Pact ruled over the city.
 <LI> The current head councillor is a member of the Speakers of
 Truth.
 </UL>
<LI> Parthenel
 <UL>
 <LI> The city was sacked by the Lich King
 <LI> From there he spread his dark forces.
 </UL>
<LI> The City of Brass (Dolnath)
 <UL>
 <LI> The entire city is full of giants.
 <LI> It is believed that the population of the city never quite
 recovered from the Cleansing.
 </UL>
<LI> Forked River
 <UL>
 <LI> The forked part became fouled and eventually dried up.
 </UL>
</UL>
<P>
In the meantime, Donner bargains with Bellairno to get the Nightcloth
by trading in some Remorhaz juice. Unfortunately, Nightcloth is
extremely rare and expensive, and the group doesn't have enough
money and trade to buy the Nightcloth.
</P>
<P>
Bellairno suggests that the group could go after the wyvern. Apparently,
the wyvern has enough components important to alchemy that they can
easily get the Nightcloth. After dicussing things, they group decides
to go after the wyvern so that they can get the Nightcloth and
some possible additional items in trade. Bellairno suggests sending
his assistant along in order to perform the procurement of the
wyverns body parts.
</P>
<P>
The next morning, the group picks up Anders and go out to the Plateau.
</P>
<TABLE>
<TR VALIGN="TOP">
 <TD> <B>Day 1:</B> </TD>
 <TD> Nothing unusual happens. </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="TOP">
 <TD> <B>Day 2:</B> </TD>
 <TD> Nothing happens. Towards the end of the day, they can see a ridgelin in the distance (the Teeth?) </TD>
</TR>
<TR VALIGN="TOP">
 <TD> <B>Day 3:</B> </TD>
 <TD> Midday, the group approaches the Teeth. It looks like a safe place to camp, since the rocks jut out about 50 feet in height. While exploring the perimeter of the Plateau, the group fights a group of 12 giant spiders. They succeed and rest at the area under the Teeth. </TD>
</TR>
</TABLE>
<H2> Foes Fought </H2>
<P>
12 Giant Spiders
</P>
<P>
Base Experience: 1348
</P>