IN THE SHADOW OF THE SPIRE
SESSION 2A: WELCOME TO PTOLUS
March 18th, 2007
The 16th Day of Amseyl in the 790th Year of the Seyrunian Dynasty
BREAKFAST AT THE GHOSTLY MINSTREL
Tee had apparently spent the night researching: “Did anyone else read through these?” She waved her Delver’s Guild membership papers. (Agnarr: “Read?”) “It looks like we paid for a full year membership, at a level that grants us access to the Guild library and maproom and the waystations they have under the city that have emergency supplies and such. I think maybe we joined the Delver’s Guild in order to get into the library, though I can’t imagine what we’re looking for. It’s not clear if appointments are customary for the library, but maybe whoever we’re meeting there can give us some indication of what we’re searching for. It might be worth going to the guildhall and trying to find out more information about how the guild works. Oh, the membership also gives a 10% discount at Ebbert’s Outfitters, so I’m going to go back over there today and see if I can get a refund for what I bought.”
Agnarr said, “I believe in the guidance of the red elk. I believe we have been brought together for a reason. I believe it has something to do with the sickness Tee and I saw near Stonemarten. I believe our gods have altered time, memory, and reality to bring us together to fight an unbelievable evil. If these Delvers can help us locate this evil, then by all means let us go and meet them. Before we journey to see them, we should go to this supply place and purchase gear. I suspect that once a glimmer of knowledge is granted us, action will soon start and little time will be had for such side trips. Just let me finish my ham steak… oh, and these potatoes… oooh, are you gonna finish that biscuit?”
Tee stared at the barbarian for a moment, taken aback. Then she shook her head and suggested that, since all of their clothes appeared to be custom made for them, it might be a good idea to see some of the clothiers around town and see if they could track down who made them (and what they might be able to tell them about their lost time).
Elestra agreed. The mention of the library had intrigued her particularly. “I think we should take a look at the library before we meet there on the 17th. As guild members we should have access, and I don’t think it would look too suspicious for us—“ She stopped and looked at Agnarr. “Well, for Ranthir and Dominic, at least, to gather what information we can there. We should also try to catch Jevicca Nor tonight.”
Agnarr shook his head. “I don’t know. I think there might be something between us. I should meet her by myself. I’ll use my natural charisma to see if I can get some information out of her.”
As the group continued to discuss their options, a taller woman with mousy brown hair wearing beaten-up armor wandered into the common room and headed their way. She bid them greeting, and Agnarr invited her to sit down. She introduced herself as Cardalian, chatted idly with them for a few minutes about delver business, and then wandered towards the kitchen to grab some food for herself.
SHOPPING AND SHIVVEL
The group headed to Ebbert’s to pick up supplies. Agnarr was free with his money and offered to buy equipment for those who had found themselves without any cash upon waking up. When Dominic deferred, Agnarr started piling the priest’s arms full of everything he might need. “After all, we’re going into the dungeons,” Agnarr said. “It’s dark down there.”
As they left Ebbert’s, Dominic staggering under the weight of his “gear”, Ranthir got one of his many pouches or belts caught on the door handle. He managed to free himself, but as he hurried to catch up with the rest of the group, he noticed that some sort of beggar was trying to grab one of his pouches. “Ummm… excuse me,” he said as he pulled on the pouch. “That’s mine.”
The beggar hissed at him and started pulling harder – he had dark rings around bloodshot eyes, extremely bad breath, and seemed to be shaking severely. Ranthir cried out for help. Tee and Dominic took off at a run for the watch house just across the square, while Agnarr turned back and tried to grab the beggar. The beggar proved slippery, though, and Agnarr eventually had to chase him down several streets before clubbing him unconscious with the flat of his greatsword.
Meanwhile, Tee and Dominic had found two complacent watchmen in the watchhouse. The watchmen headed out into the street, were pointed in the right direction by Ranthir and Elestra, and eventually met up with Agnarr coming back with the beggar slung over his shoulder. Upon closer inspection, they all noticed that the beggar’s fingers were stained black.
“Another damn shivvel addict,” one of the watchmen said. Even Tee had no idea what they were talking about, but apparently shivvel addicts were becoming quite a problem. “He was most likely trying to pick your pocket for enough money to get his next fix.” The watchmen took a brief statement from Ranthir, and left the party to go on their way.
The party headed down the stairs in Delver’s Square into the Undercity Market. Passing through the tight rows of brightly-colored stalls and the like, they passed down the short stone corridor leading to the Delver’s Guild offices. There they met with a harried and largely confused woman name Gorti, who confirmed that all five of them had stopped by the offices and purchased their memberships together. Ranthir had also asked her to set an appointment at the Guild Library in Oldtown, specifically asking that information regarding the caverns beneath the sealed city of Dwarvenhearth be gathered for him to look through. Unfortunately, he hadn’t even hinted at why he might be researching those caverns… or, at least, Gorti didn’t remember.
Then – following Tee’s year-old knowledge of the city – they began canvassing clothiers, leatherworkers, and bowyers, trying to find where their equipment might have come from.
They discovered that Tee and Elestra had purchased several outfits of clothing from a place called Saches’ in Midtown. (The head seamstress there was a woman named Marta.)
But the rest of their afternoon was largely fruitless. From a bowyer named Navaen, Tee confirmed that the short bow she had found was, indeed, Hyrtanian. But none of their other equipment could be traced back to a definite source here in Ptolus.
