Episode 9: Shantytown

The team ventures beyond the city walls of Terlis, leaving behind the safety and restrictions of the Moratorium on Magic, to explore the Shantytown that lines the road to the north. What manner of creatures make their homes there, and what secrets are waiting to be discovered?

### **DM/GM Intro**

*It started as a simple dungeon run…*

*From out of that dungeon, a powerful artifact of chaos magic known*
as the Secret Keeper’s Amulet. With this item, our team is able to communicate
directly with you, the watchers of the time stream, and receive your help - and
hindrance.

*The moment they got their hands on this amulet, their lives were*
forever changed.  They were thrust into an epic quest by members of The
Natural Order, an association of wizards who have been tracking the
disappearance of The Wardens, Ain’s legendary, 100-foot tall protectors.

*When our team found and freed one of these Wardens, their*
interaction with it created more questions than answers.  Questions about
Ain’s lost history, questions about secrets the Wardens still hold, locked
inside their minds, questions about what could be capable of overpowering and
imprisoning them.  Questions they hoped could be answered - in part - by
visiting the library of Nightstone Abbey in the grand city of Terlis. They set
out to meet a man named Hermil Fesh, known to the Natural Order as The Scholar,
who also happens to be the mentor of James Quillus. He intended to show them an
important book, one of the few still in existence that dates back to before the
War of Ideas to Ain’s Aureate Age.

*But the moment Fesh unlocked it from safekeeping, he was attacked*
by thieves who managed to steal the tome and flee into the city, even as our
team killed several of their number.

*These events frustrated one of Nightstone’s administrators, Audric*
Lucern, who seems to be assisting in the enforcement of Terlis’ Moratorium on
Magic, a new decree issued in response to numerous magic-related thefts like
the one our team witnessed, and a murder executed by arcane means. Lucern
confronted our team in the middle of Terlis and demanded the confiscation of
Fahima’s magical baby phoenix, Meep.  In response, Fahima told Meep to fly
away, an act of defiance Lucern promised would not be forgotten.

*The following day, the team decided to make an agenda.  They*
ate a hearty breakfast, defeated a group of goblins to loot a special new
saddle, which allows Lily to ride on Uggo’s back, and did some browsing at a
specialty-shop.  But their agenda was interrupted when Siv spotted one of
the thieves that had gotten away… and the chase was on! Through the city
streets and along the rooftops the team pursued the masked figure, eventually
trapping it inside a building, using their magic and their intuition.  But
when Siv made his way inside to confront the rogue, he was gravely injured, and
once again the thief slipped through their fingers.

*As we ended last week, the team, helping a stabbed and sliced Siv*
Redthistle, blood running from his face, escaped a gathering crowd drawn to the
commotion of the chase.  They made their way through alleys and side
streets, eventually coming to the northern entrance of Terlis. Setting their
sights on the Shantytown along the north road, they exited the Terlis, and took
their first steps outside the city walls, and beyond the reach of the
Moratorium on Magic.