Gnomes, Tomes & Catacombs: Episode 18

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== Synopsis ==
The party's journey unfolds as they traverse various locations, from Eridon and the Shelterwood to Stromheim and the ruins of Copperhill. Upon arriving in Stromheim, they uncover the city's recent history of turmoil, including a devastating fire and subsequent demon invasion. They learn about a stolen necklace tied to Joris, a prisoner, and plan to retrieve it from a tomb outside Copperhill. After a perilous exploration involving undead and golems, they successfully recover the necklace and present it to Queen Kiara Sanguine, who agrees to release Joris in exchange. However, their admission of theft and other actions leads to their arrest by the Queen's decree, culminating in a tense confrontation with the court.
==Recap==
===Day 186 (Saturday, 1511-02-02)===
The ship leaves Kurshwikk and enters the sea.
===Day 201 (Sunday, 1511-02-17)===
Little Jimmy's Pirate ship arrives in Eridon with the party. They land near the Shelterwood west of Newfort. Brad Barbo arranges Little Jimmy's pirate ship to come back in two weeks. Brad also asks that Little Bobby be kept alive.
The party head into the woods. Brad Barbo smells a whiff a poison noxious gas ahead of them, and he is reminded of a gas that killed some of his pirate crew when they were fighting bellow deck with a wizard. Gerald Knott knows of specific powerful magic spells that can cause that.
Before the party simply more around the poision, Gerald sends his owl to scout around and sees the source. The owl discovered a Green Dragon 100 feet away.
Brad and Gerald start to retreat. Kumo & Pearl calls out them on cowardice. Kumo tries to provoke the dragon first with an illusion of the sound of someone choking to death, then with some blind crossbow bolts. The Dragon does not stir.
The party don't go west because they don't want to encounter the Dragons' Mother from the Overgrowth, so they head east of the Forest, but not so far as to get to Newfort. They see the Shadow Mountains in the distance as they camp
===Days 202-204===
The party head north though the Tetherwilds, avoiding wildlife like elephants and lions.
===Day 205 (Wednesday, 1511-02-20)===
The party arrive in the ruins of Cauldron. From a distance they see a plume of smoke coming from it.
There are no Demons or people here. The smoke is actually steam rising from the town's name sake, the hotspring. Around the hotspring the famous execution crane & stadium seating has been broken. The party find signs of the Drekissin & Mistryan looting.
Deciding the solders probably took everything of worth, the party continue on north before camping for the night.
===Day 207 (Saturday, 1511-02-23)===
The party arrive in Stromheim in late afternoon. Kumo wants to rob Wyatt's cousin Grendle. Gerald points out that Wyatt has some serious criminal connections and it wouldn't be wise to cross him. Pearl and Kumo are again disappointed at Gerald and Brad.
The party enter the city gates. Gerald does his Old Gnome Act to get his Staff inside. Brad tries to smuggle in his Phase Dagger, but it is spotted and removed from Brad, as well as a vial of poison when the guards search his bags more thoroughly. Bard understands Malakai dislike for the gate guards.
The party go their separate ways in the city. Gerald goes to the library and finds out the history of Stromheim in the past few years.
:There are some weekly publications here in town. Skimming through them, you (Gerald) know life was going well at the start of in 1509. Then there are these weird murders some Nobles in nearby cities were Assassinated and all of a sudden the major temple in the city burns to the ground. The city goes on full lockdown, no one is allowed in or out of the city. Everyone inside is searched. There is a huge investigation and there's all sorts of concerns about guards busting down houses and arresting people left and right. Eventually it settles down after a group of clerics and their acolytes down south in a swamp have been arrested, people come to the conclusion that those are the ones responsible for burning down Stromheim's Major Temple. The city and the gates open again, commerce resumes.
:Then all of a sudden, at the start of 1510, these Demons appear out of nowhere coming up the south road, trash the city walls a little bit, but they get repelled. Then Scouts go about, and it looks like all the cities to the south have fallen. Many refugees slowly make their way to Stromheim from all sorts of places. A food shortage hits, all of the farms that normally produce food and send it to Stromheim are falling apart, and so there becomes starvation in the city for a few months. Thousands of people die, the bodies are all thrown into a big pit together and burned because there's there's too many bodies. Eventually the population lowers enough and enough people leave that it's sort of stabilises around the end of 1510.
:At the moment there is this awkward situation where there's barely enough food to feed the people, the existing reserves are being eaten through pretty quickly. The guards are on high alert, anyone seen doing anything suspicious or out of places is arrested. The jails are full, the executioner's block is busy. Life has generally gone to hell in a hand-basket. Queen Kiara Sanguine, age 21 or 22, is having a tough time in all of this, and is trying to rule with an iron fist.
:One of the most recent articles that you (Gerald) have talks about when Count Vicious and his army camped outside the town after destroying Copperhill. They camped out for a little while, there were some meetings between envoys. The newspapers are filled with rumors of what could have happened but no one really knows what was said. After a couple days the army just marched away without attacking the city in any way shape or form. The army looked to be Two to Three Thousand in size, and appeared to be an army of living not an army of the undead.
Kumo and Pearl go to the tavern "Dirty Thieves" where Kumo has contacts. The bouncers have doubled in number since the last time Kumo has been here. Kumo asks around about Joris and Grendle, his people don't know Wyatt beyond he the Wizard is from Copperhill, but say Grendle the head of The Family in town, with the rank of "Father". Kumo is ask where he's been and he and Pearl spin an exaggerated tale about the Green Dragon (which the claim is named Xoron), which they saw in the Shelterwood. Kumo uses the story to sells a fake weapon, he summons his pact weapon as a Emerald Green dagger, that Kumo claims he pilled from the jaw of the dragon, which a newbie thief for 10 gold. The veteran thieves see though the trick, but stay quiet, letting the newbie learn his lesson the hard way. Kumo and Pearl leave the tavern since the weapon will disappear after 60 seconds.
Brad meeds with a deputy and finds out about Joris. Joris is being held gagged and bound so he can't cast any spells. Brad then tries to visit Joris in the Dungeons, but the Jailor stops him, not letting him in without a writ from someone in authority.
Brad meets with Gerald and explains he can't find out what Joris stole in order to free him. Gerald tries a sending spell, saying the party is trying to get him out of jail and asking what he stole. Joris responds that he didn't steal anything but his dead companion, had stolen the Queen's Mother's Necklace. 
The party convince at the Ruby Lounge, a high class tavern & inn. Kumo rejects the tavern for being a waste of gold, and he with Pearl go find a more cost efficient inn, The Tuckered Hag.
Inside the Ruby Lounge, Brad Barbo is recognised by a Lady Marjorie Thorne. After talking for a little, Lady Thorn flirts with Brad and prepositions him to follow her upstairs. After the lady is gone, Brad talks with Gerald about feeling sketched out by the Lady, and that he is Gay. The lady also wore a fancy necklace with red garnets on a golden chain, Gerald wonders if it is the same necklace ask Joris about it with a Sending Spell. Joris berates him for thinking the first necklace he saw was the one in question, and says it is probably in the "Hill Tomb" outside Copperhill, buried with Joris's companion.
Brad and Gerald leave the Ruby Lounge and head to stay at The Tuckered Hag instead.
===Day 208 (Sunday, 1511-02-24)===
The party at the The Tuckered Hag the next morning discuss their plans. Gerald and Brad want to find the necklance in the tomb and give it to the Queen in order to free Joris. Kumo is insulted that they are going to go Grave Robbing, but agrees to come along.
The party decide to first go see the Castle and update the Queen her on what they know. They speak with the chancellor that they think they know where the necklace is, and they are granted an audience. The party enter the Throne Room before the Queen arrives. It is a large room with the throne at the end of it.
After Queen Kiara Sanguine arrives, the party are the first in line to speak. The Queen says she will give the party one favor in exchange for the necklance, and if they want to use it to free Joris, they are welcome to. She then has the party speak with her Court wizard about the "Hill Tomb". Brad gifts the queen the amulet that Malakai had gifted him.
In a separate room, the Court Wizard shows Gerald on a map 4 main tombs outside Copperhill, some over than the Breaking of Arcadia, some more recent. Gerald specifies it is called the "Hill Tomb" and the wizard checks a book and that one of the four tombs is designated with that name, the more recent North-Western Tomb of the four. Gerald asks about trading spells with the Court Wizard, and the Court Wizard declines, saying if he needs new spells he'll just go to the Wizard Airship.
The party decide to leave Grendle for now, and leave the city to head back to Copperhill. They make their way north up the road.
===Day 210 (Tuesday, 1511-02-26)===
The party arrive to the Copperhill and it is in ruins. The wooden buildings have been burnt to the ground and the stone buildings have been knocked down. There are no bodies anywhere around. The town vault has been busted open and looted. Kumo makes an illusion of a unopened safe that fools Brad until he touches it. Devin goes to pick up a spellbook, but it is an illusion as well.
The party search the town. Gerald finds the town jail and goes downstairs and finds a person in a cell. Gerald gets close to the bars and sees that it is a zombie in the jail cell. The zombie is dressed in prisoner's garb. Gerald gets the rest of the party. They stand away from the bars out of the zombie's reach. The body isn't rotten or decayed, it seems to be a fresh zombie. There is a single blood stain in the middle of the chest that could be a month old.
Gerald casts read memory as a ritual, but he just gets a void. Like there is no mind or memory left inside the zombie. The party put down the zombie, then Kumo searches the body, but it has nothing on it.
===Day 211 (Wednesday, 1511-02-27)===
The party head to the "Hill Tomb". The tomb is sealed with a set of double copper gates. Brad finds no traps on the gates and Gerald finds no magic on it. Brad opens the gate and musty air comes out. Behind the door is a 10 foot wide and 10 feet high curing corridor into the hill. The party go inside. They arrives in a fork in the road, and Gerand has his owl scout around, and he just sees more tomb.
Gerald is afraid since it reminds him of the crypt in Fortune. Gerald asks Brad to check the first body near the entrance. The skeleton rises as an undead skeleton. Brad destroys the skeleton in a single blow.
Gerald wants to send Joris a message asking where in the tomb that Joris's companion is buried, but Kumo said to save the spell slot for now, and he'll scout ahead first. He heads down the centre corridor and arrives at a natural cavern that has pews and an altar where funerals would be held. Gerald sees with his owl the symbols of Voraci, Reluna and Martha on it. Kumo then head down the left and passageways all the way to the end. In total Kumo estimates there are around 400 dead interred here, each with a name.
Gerald then casts the sending spell, asking for the name of Daft's companion. Joris replies saying it is a hidden staircase under the altar and it is guarded by a golem. 
The party go to the altar and are confused until they decide to move the altar and find the staircase. Barbo wants to sneak down, but Kumo goads him into fighting the Golem. Pearl makes herself invisible.
The party go down the stairs and find themselves in another large natural cavern. In the centre is a golem. Brad asks the invisible Pearl to go find the necklace while the rest of the party fight the Flesh Golem.
Kumo fires his magical crossbow at the Golem. Gerald casts slow on the Flesh Golem. Brad melees the Golem with his magic sword. Then a Clay Golem appears from the back of the cavern. Gerald creates a fireball and throws it at the Clay Golem. Brad finishes off the Flesh Golem, then the whole party focus on the Clay Golem as Pearl indivisibly sneaks around the room and eventually finds a sarcophagus. The sarcophagus is made of marble with a carvings of four people having adventures.
Gerald casts geese on the Clay Golem and it falls prone. The Clay Golem stands up, casts haste on itself, and charges towards Brad as Kumo fires more shots into it. Pearls pushes the lid off the sarcophagus. Inside is a deceased female warrior wearing a fancy necklace, which Pearl takes. Brad gets some hits in against the clay golem then using his fancy footwork, creates some more distance. The clay golem charges Kumo and knocks him concussions. Haste then runs out.
Pearl starts moving back towards the party. Gerald throws some magic missiles at the Clay Golem, finishing it off. Kumo recovers and stands back up.
Gerald is annoyed that Pearl didn't help with the fight, but Brad points out she was doing what he asked. Gerald storms off out of the chamber. Brad and Kumo rob the sarcophagus of wealth, a scroll, and the weapon and shield. Outside they takes the items to Gerald and he detects no magic on them. It looks like she was buried with new gear, that her companions took her good gear and got her new gear to be buried in. The scroll is non magical and just explains who the person is. Her name was Ashanda and she travelled with Joris and 2 other people. It goes though who her family and friends were. Then it lists her adventures across Arcadia.
The party set out for Stromheim.
===Day 213 (Friday, 1511-02-28)===
The party return to Stromheim. Brad hands over his weapons properly this time, and the party head inside.
The party easily get an audience with Queen Kiara Sanguine in her Court Room. Brad presents the necklace. The Court Wizard authenticates the necklace. The Queen offers the party a favor in return for the necklace, and Brad asks for Joris to be released. The Queen agrees. Pearl asks for an autograph, and the Queen obliges her.
Gerald gives warning to the Queen about the undead in the Tomb. The Queen asks if Joris is the necromancer, and Gerald says he believes it was Count Vicious. The Queen is incredulous over the accusation of her Count. Gerald adds that he found a crypts full of the undead in Fortune, and Queen Kiara Sanguine is further incredulous.
High Cleric, Father Bronstone, says that he inspected Fortune some years ago and found no undead. He has heard these rumors for a very long time. Gerald and Brad say they will submit to a read memory spell. The Court Wizards asks why Gerald and Brad were even in the crypts. Gerald replies he was looking for a Philosophers' Stone, and they found it. Gerald then admits they took it from Count Vicious's own keep.
The Court Room goes silent. The Court Wizard asks what happened to the stone, and Gerald and Brad say the stone was destroyed in an explosion in Copper Hill.
The Queen asks them to confirm if they are admitting to her that they stole from a Count of her Kingdom. Brad confirms. The Queen orders their arrest.
Category:Gnomes, Tomes & Catacombs Episodes