Episode 203 - A Night in the Gnome Quarter

A role-play heavy episode which pits Jaela against her daily sacrifice to the Raven Queen, this time in full view of the party. The party then heads to Toby's house where they meet his mother, have dinner, and rest up before figuring out what they can actually do about the Nareevians.

## **Story**

Terth Bahknug has escaped and the party has to decide what to do. For Toby pleads with the party and tells them they can't possibly destroy the source of the magic that is keeping Nareev afloat. Twenty-four hours wouldn't be enough time to figure out a way to both fight off the Nareevians and save Glaine, the Jewel of the East. Leaving the power source intact means they have time to figure out a proper solution. Toby offers his home as a place for the party to rest up and regroup.

The party makes their way back outside through the tunnel made by Steve the Gnollem, but before they fully leave the White Spire, they hear a moaning from underneath the rubble. Aludra does the heavy lifting until she spots Stewart, a steward of the White Spire, with the lower half of a fallen column crushing the lower half of his body. To move it would mean immediate death, and his death is exactly what he asks for of the party as he moans in pain.

Jaela is eager to comply with Stewart's request as she feels the silent call of the dagger of the Raven Queen. Sinu the Red still lives his unnatural life and so Jaela must perform a daily kill. Steve intercedes and demands that Jaela explain exactly what she means to do and Toby is horrified when he realizes what's going on. While Steve continues to try to talk Jaela down, Toby *Polymorph's* Stewart into a starfish, hoping that the regenerative abilities of a starfish will heal his crush limbs while in that form. He empties one of the jars of formaldehyde and cleans it with *Prestidigitation* and fills it up with some water from his canteen so Stewart won't dry out.

The party then continues on to the gnome quarter, which is a place bustling with activity. There are people hawking wares, children playing being chased by mechanical creatures, and the occasional person running around with their butt on fire. But definitely no guns and no elevators. They made their way to Toby's two-story, middle class home, with the first story dedicated to the the confectionery store and bakery known as *The Treacletart Store*. Inside, Toby's mother Conteza, welcomes her son's friends into her home, and offers dinner and place to rest to ease the stress she can see on their faces. She cooks up a traditional gnome dinner of sweets and candy made up of peppermints and spaghetti with maple syrup and pop-tarts on top. The party takes a look at Toby's room where he is embarrassed to show even more posters of the party hanging on his wall, this time including crude drawings of himself drawn on top.

As night settles in, the party goes to sleep, with the exception of Steve the Gnollem, who does not require sleep and so just remains still but with his eyes wide open. During the night he is the only one to witnesses Jaela slip out of the home for an hour an a half or so before returning.

## **Trivia**

* The party will be level 14 in the morning.
* Conteza has a very deep voice that is in no way an attempt to own Toby or Tim Lanning by Michael DiMauro.
* Toby's rat, Snake, sleeps in his bed when Toby's away.
* Toby has four mentioned siblings: Breah, Pan, Sams, and his missing brother Snatch.
* Toby's great grandfather Warllie is known as Warllie, the Treacletart.

## **In This Episode...**

### **Cast and Player Characters**

* Michael "Thrifty Nerd" DiMauro - *Dungeon Master*
* Tim Lanning - Toby Treacletart
* Mike Bachmann - Steve the Gnollem
* Jennifer Cheek - Aludra Wyrmsbane
* Nika Howard - Jaela

### **Non-Player Characters**

* Old Man Weck
* Stewart the Steward
* Conteza Treacletart

### **Pets/Familiars**

* Jerry
* Snake

### **Locations**

* Glaine, the Jewel of the East
	+ White Spire
	+ Treacletart House

### **Quest Log Updates**

* [LEVEL UP] - Level 14
* [Active] - Curse of the Raven Queen
* Save the shrinking high city of Galanthis

### **Quotes**

**"Mom! Don't let that spooky robot sleep in my bed!"** ~ *Toby Treacletart*

## **Rolls**

* **Recap**
	+ Nika - 14
	+ Bachmann - 9
	+ Jennifer - 6
	+ Tim - 5