Chapter 11: City of Stone

## Scenario Text

You enter Muskar, a historic trading town. However, you find it completely silent. The entrance is guarded by statues. As you advance warily, an arrow flies towards you. A blindfolded girl emerges carefully from an alley. "Careful," she speaks in a hush, "the town you look for is no more. A den of gorgons walk these streets, and they have turned every one of us to stone. I have been desperately searching for a way to turn my loved ones back, and drive these snakes out of my hands, but I fear it is a losing battle. They camp in evert exit this town has."

What do you do?

## Calen

Calen has a sword dressed with mercury and helps Jack kill the first gorgon to produce venom for the townsfolks' petrification. He kills several more gorgons and eventually deals the killing blow to the mother gorgon.

## Jack

Jack asks Mika about the number and distribution of gorgons in the town and is informed that there are nine gorgons and one gorgon mother. He then asks Ba'az if there any substances available that could particularly harm gorgons, and how one could be cured from a gorgon’s petrification. He learns that gorgons are vulnerable to mercury and that the venom in a gorgon’s hair is used by them to dissolve the petrification so they can eat their victims. Jack shares this information with all of the other players. Jack uses the mercury to dress the edges of his sword and one of Calen's to do more damage to the gorgons. Jack uses a combination of wheatgrass and burning animal fat that Ba'az informed him smells like human flesh to lure a gorgon, then sets nearby wood on fire to create a smokescreen as Calen and Mika kill it and acquire venom from its hair. Jack encourages the townspeople he freed to help him fight the gorgons around half of them join him. Eventually, they kill the gorgon mother and all the townspeople are depetrified. Mika thanks Jack for saving her town and family and, inspired by his heroic actions, asks to accompany him on his adventures.

## Jatin

Jatin instructs Solomon to help Jack for a little while, in which he, under strain, produces a small amount of mercury for him. Jatin and Solomon split a Tonic of Whispers to render themselves inconspicuous and take the Chaos Horse to fly above the town’s bookstore, Jatin connected to his horse via rope in his descent. They take the following books: Empoirot’s Catalogue of Potions Volume 1, Empoirot’s Catalogue of Potions Volume 2, Habits, Dwellings and Features of Land Beasts, Drills and Stances for Young Knights, A Cautious Man’s Guide to the Fearsome, and The Arcane Around You and I. Jatin and Solomon return and Solomon makes a few boomdust bombs to distribute among those fighting the gorgons.

## Kate

Kate begins sneaking around the town to the shopping block, slowly and carefully, where she loots a few potions and medicines from the apothecary and several weapons from the armory. Kate arrives at the bookstore shortly after and takes Mountains, Rivers, and Landscapes of the Countryside, and The Geography of Southern Leonnesh. As she exits and returns to base, she is caught and petrified by a gorgon. Kate's petrification is broken by Mika.

## Michael

Michael instructs his Void Crawler to go forth and kill gorgons and drag their bodies back to be harvested for venom. The Void Crawler quickly finds a gorgon, crushes its neck after a brief scuffle that leaves it with a few claw and tail scars, and brings it back to be harvested. Michael finds his Void Crawler in front of the Gorgon Mother, torn and hardened, lying immobile on the ground. He buys a horse and wagon to transport it.

## Nicole

Nicole encourages depetrified townspeople to accompany her to a safe building. Around half of the freed townspeople follow her. Nicole's breakaway party are ambushed by a gorgon and several of them die.

## Nick

A blindfolded Nick uses his Librarian’s Glove to navigate through the town, stealing a sword and crossbow from the armory and medicine from the apothecary.

## Ending

Jack, Mika, and Calen arrive at the dwelling of the already injured gorgon mother, standing before a torn and hardened Void Crawler, which lies immobile on the ground. Jack, Mika, Calen, and dozens of armed townspeople eventually manage to kill the gorgon mother, with Calen delivering the killing blow, although there are several casualties. Mika embraces her freed parents and turns to Jack.
“Thank you, brave adventurer, for breaking my town free of the gorgon’s venom. I have considered joining the profession for a while, and your ability to save people has finally inspired me to make the decision. If you would allow me to accompany you, I would be honored.”