The Collective - Session 54

This is the fifty-fourth session in The Collective campaign and the third session in the In The City storyline of the Current Arc. Player feedback ranks this session at a 9.25.

Notable Events

 * The party completed their first real assignment for King Stonegate under the supervision of Levin.
 * The burnt homes in the western slums were officially locked down and the area secured.
 * The party made considerable progress in helping the citizens of Paradeen live better lives.

Summary
TUESDAY, MAY 1, 1001: Having descended into the bloodied cellar and being attacked by horrific amalgamations of flesh, the Collective fought back against the abominations. With Flynt descending into the cellar and Rosanhi remaining above ground to keep prying eyes away from the battle, the party was victorious, though everyone (save for Rosanhi and Badger) was covered in a putrid layer of charred flesh and blood

Opting to act as the party's spokesperson due to her current cleanliness, Rosanhi informed the guards and peasantry that the situation was under control and that they should return to their homes. Upon learning from Sergeant Eric that the area is to be quarantined for several days, she instead suggested that the displaced peasants should visit the Church of Arabella to find accommodations there while their homes are rebuilt. Seemingly satisfied by this rather vague order, the guards began to escort the peasants away from the scene while Sergeant Eric followed the party around the corner, immediately expressing shock at their terrible appearance. After confirming that the four missing peasants were likely the same four victims that attacked the party as flesh mounds, Eric thanked the party for their unorthodox assistance and provided them with a pouch of 800 gold pieces for their help. The party, after depositing the message spheres for Levin and still reeking of rotten flesh and gleaming red in the sunlight, returned to their estate to cleanse both their bodies and minds after the horrific revelations made during the investigation.

LOOSE ONE WEEK PERIOD: Receiving confirmation of the investigation's findings from Levin, the party was given notice that the guards will be put on higher alert to keep a look out for signs of Gnorbitt, whom they believe to be the perpetrator of the arson and murders. While Levin works with the king on a new special assignment for the group, their goals are to roam the city and give aid to the people wherever possible, as the king originally desired.

During this time, Gorrn encountered a bardess performing a song telling the tales of their exploits facing off against the Kraken in the far north. Meeting afterwards with her after making a donation to remain anonymous, he offered her somewhat cryptic information regarding whether or not the events were true, and encouraged her to seek out her own understanding and feelings of the events.

Rosanhi encountered a strange creature, an owlbear, having stowed itself away in a stable in the western slums, clearly guarding its clutch of eggs. Though successfully approaching the beast and carefully placing its eggs in a basket, she was unsuccessful in leading the owlbear to the gates and was trampled by the beast, destroying the eggs and allowing the beast to be dealt with by the city guard.

Roscoe resolved a dispute between two Half-Elven men, with one (born in the city) arguing that the other (born in the Forest) did not understand the struggles of living amongst the Humans and that he did not deserve to hold residence here, instead leaving him to continue living in the refugee camp in the eastern slums. After some convincing, Roscoe managed to show him the error of his ways and paved the way for the two to reach an agreement the next day.

Flynt, intrigued by Humanity's culture and wishing to understand it better, encountered a large crowd surrounding a snake oil (yes, really) salesman claiming that his brews could cure any ailment. Seeing through the obvious scam, Flynt confronted the salesman in front of the crowd and convinced them to ignore him, causing the salesman to flee before anyone could demand a refund.

Gorrn, caught between an escaping criminal with a bloodied knife and a large cauldron of peasant's stew about to be ruined by a careless guard in pursuit, opted to save the stew, even providing 3 gold pieces to the peasants to help bulk up their food and keep them fed for longer, much to their delight and appreciation.

Turning a corner one day, Rosanhi witnessed a terrible sight: a man clearly infatuated with his cart, attempting to...fraternize with it in public, to the horror of many an onlooking peasant. Immediately approaching the man, she convinced him to leave the city to be intimate with his "lover" elsewhere, giving him a few gold pieces to purchase a bottle of wine. She was thanked profusely by the populace for this noble act.

Roscoe, during a walk along the docks late at night, successfully managed to scare off several skeevy dock workers from harassing a lone young woman by secretly giving her the image of an owlbear, causing the workers to flee for their lives. Confused but satisfied they were gone, the woman quickly left to get home safely, unaware of Roscoe's involvement.

Flynt encountered a homeless man with his dog begging for money, but before gifting him a considerable sum of money to get back on his feet, learned that he was a drug addict who had fled from the Church of Arabella. He convinced the man, Godfrey, to seek help with the church once more in exchange for the money, promising that he would come and check on him. Godfrey accepted and was escorted to the church, where he was taken in once more.

Gorrn hid a half-naked bard in a barrel as several guards, a scantily clad buxom woman, a fuming portly man, and two goats pursued, opting not to alert them to the bard's presence. After confirming that the bard was only involved with the woman, one Miss Amelia, and not the goats, he let him out of the barrel, where the bard recognized him from a song he had heard down by the docks. The bard promised to dedicate a song to him and gave him a ring of sausages that had gotten snagged on him during his escape through Miss Amelia's larder window, then ran away as the guards returned to pursue him.

Rosanhi, still troubled by the events on the sea and having not seen Calhoun or the others in over a week, decided to clear her head with a stroll around the Church of Arabella. Overhearing a conversation between a few peasants, she learned that a man had been spouting on about the Elves going to war for days and that he was scaring everyone around him. Upon meeting him, he became convinced that she both thought he was crazy and was an Elven spy, attempting to run away before being calmed by Rosanhi's magic and convinced to go home.

Interrupted during a tune to an argument, Roscoe resolved a disagreement between guards collecting old weaponry for the King's weapon exchange program and an old veteran of the war who refused to part with his sword. After convincing the guards to move on, Roscoe attempted to quell the man's fears of Orcs, though did not make significant progress before having the door closed on him.

Flynt, late one night, encountered a young delinquent who had graffitied the phrase 'ORCS ARE PEOPLE TOO' upon a wall. Opting not to punish him strongly due to the good intentions of his words, he seized the paint from the boy and told him that he would not like to catch him doing this again but that he would not be chastised this time.