Flesh from Stone

The Clerk and the Captain, by queer fish

"**Flesh from Stone**" (1x09) is the 9th episode of Dun-Johns and Dragons.

### **Previously on *Dun-Johns and Dragons***

The party, having been tasked with finding the missing captain of the Westerhaven City Guard, located him and a number of other individuals who had been petrified by a group of basilisks. They defeated the basilisks and harvested the acid from their stomachs that would let them restore the petrified people, then stowed the statues in the Portable Hole and headed back toward the city.

### **Part I**

Upon returning to the city, Magpie goes to the tailor and picks up the new clothes she’d ordered. Yoolna and Zander go to the blacksmiths they’d engaged and pick up Yoolna’s boomerang dagger and Zander’s upgraded armor. They make their way to the office of the captain’s clerk and present him with the petrified Captain Olo. They also notice that the stonemason has now lost an arm as well as his previously broken leg. Stone, Zander, and Magpie go off in search of a cleric with expertise in restoring petrified people, while Father Buckitt, Dugluss, and Yoolna go to an alchemists’ shop for advice or supplies to try and make a restorative potion out of the basilisk acid.

The first group goes to the Borough of Souls and enters the temple of the god Torm. They speak with a priestess who tells them that the order can restore the captain, but that if the city needs their services, the proper officials will need to speak with the high priestess and pay the appropriate fees. Stone is frustrated with what he perceives as bureaucracy, and goes to leave. Magpie, lingering behind, flashes her Scroll of Pedigree and asks how much of a donation would be required to restore the captain as a personal favor; the priestess says it would be 250 gold.

The second group heads to the Mercantile Quarter. Yoolna appears nervous crossing the bridge into the area, but makes it across without incident. Navigating through the streets, a redheaded man gets their attention by tossing pebbles at Father Buckitt’s bucket, then disappears behind a fence. Father Buckitt follows him over the fence, where he finds two new-looking buckets, which he takes and puts in the Portable Hole, then climbs back over the fence and tells the group that their quest has been blessed by the Great Bucket. They find the alchemical shop and Dugluss consults with the owner, a tortle, who allows Dugluss to use his workshop to create a restorative potion. They test a few drops on the stonemason’s broken-off hand and it works. They have enough to use on two of the statues, and enough ingredients to make one more batch of the same size.

The first group heads back to the clerk’s office. Magpie, feeling very competitive, wants to take the captain back to the temple immediately and have them restore him so they can beat the other group, but Zander and Stone overrule her and they wait for the others to return.

### **Part II**

When the second group returns, they apply the potion and successfully restore the captain. They explain who they are and how he came to be here, and he thanks them and introduces himself properly as Captain Hans Olo. [The players collectively groan while Dave gloats.] They ask why he left the city and who sent him; he cannot remember, but he says whoever sent him must have been someone he trusted or wanted to obey. They show him the other petrified statues they found, but he doesn’t recognize anyone, though he does remember seeing the frankencreature already petrified when he arrived on the cliffs. Magpie asks who in the city would have the power to assign him such a task; he says that although he doesn’t answer directly to them, he does fear some members of Prince Tara’s Wolf Pack. They ask about possibly meeting with the Prince himself, but Olo says no one apart from high-ranking politicians has seen him for four years. He gives them 300 gold as a reward, and says he will try to get them in touch with someone higher-ranking about the Butcher case.

Dugluss successfully mends the stonemason’s broken arm and leg and they use the remaining potion to restore him. They explain to him what happened and learn that he’s been petrified for a year. Somewhat dazed, he leaves to seek out his wife, who was pregnant when he left. The clerk thanks them all again, and they take the remaining statues and turn to leave. As they go, Stone asks the captain and clerk if they happen to see someone else who looks like Stone, who goes by the name of River, to please let them know.

Upon leaving, Zander goes off to shoplift some produce. Yoolna and Dugluss go back to the alchemist’s shop to make another restorative potion. Yoolna asks the owner if he has any memory potions; he says he’s never made one before, but could conduct trials if they had enough people to try it out on. Failing that, he recommends consulting an arcanist at one of the temples.

Magpie, Father Buckitt, and Stone go to visit  Makaria at The Penumbra headquarters and tell her about their success in recovering Captain Olo and that they credited The Penumbra with helping find him. Makaria seems to hint at a romantic past with the captain but does not elaborate. They explain about the captain’s missing memories, and Makaria also suggests consulting someone at the temples. She offers them information with which to blackmail such a person, in exchange for them eradicating a mysterious moss that has been encroaching on their sewer network and interfering with Penumbra business.

The party regroups at the Maiden’s Cellar and sets up in their accustomed storeroom. They apply the restoration potion to the petrified elf woman, who seems surprisingly unfazed to learn what has happened. She introduces herself as Mariah Anning, a famous fossil hunter, and they learn she has been petrified for a few months. She thanks them for rescuing her, but when Father Buckitt cheekily asks for payment, she leaves in a huff. Next they restore the half-orc; without a word, he immediately crashes through the door into the barroom. Spotting the bar, he calms down and orders a drink. They learn he is from the wilds and doesn’t know when he was petrified, but he doesn’t like cities and has no interest in traveling companions, so as soon as he finishes the drink, he leaves. Father Buckitt pays the barman for the ruined door. The party settles down in the storeroom to spend the night.

## **Featured Characters**

### **Player Characters**

* Dugluss Deep-Forge
* Father Buckitt
* Magpie
* Stone
* Yoolna
* Zander Brushspark