Prymptown Courier - v. 2 no. 11

PRYMPTOWN COURIER

Vol. 2, No. 11 (Nov. 1999)

EDITORIAL

I think of this as "The Waffling Session," and it was the second time in a row that my players had
confounded me.  This time, however, it was deliberate, and I had even had some forewarning. 
Peri's player had called me and told me that he and Alex's player were conspiring to get the party to
ditch the mission to Galdol and head back to the abbey of Pholtus to have their seawolf curse
removed. 

But I didn't think it would happen.  The last playing session, no one seemed more than slightly
concerned about the curse.  So I had Trennenport prepped, a little bit about Galdol (I can never get
enough done between sessions), and Moonstone Fortress from the Middle Earth module I'd been
running.  And then, suddenly, all of that was for nothing. 

Luckily, as the party turned around 180 degrees, I had good notes on everything behind them to
draw from.  I've always been a believer in taking good notes, finding it definitely worth the
investment of my time to keep from having to ad lib entirely.  Some people swear by DMing by ear,
but not me.  Someday I hope to have something akin to the Volo's Guides (or the Pale Falcon's?)
ready for the South Province.  But that's yet another project to throw on my heap.  For now,
I'm just too busy DMing.

Incidentally, this issue has something unusual at the end of it.  It's the long-awaited backstory of
Gabriel Lanovastorm.  For some time now, I've been sketchy on details of what Gabriel would know and not know about the Province, because I never had the time to think about it.  So now I've started, and is it ever going to be a long story!  I've broken it up into two parts, with the first one coming this issue.  Enjoy!

SEVENTEENTH SESSION

Cast:
Barada, Neutral male Flannish human mercenary (1st level fighter)(played as NPC).
Alexander Petrok, Lawful Neutral male Oerdian human templar of Zilchus (1st level paladin variant).
Perpegilliam Brown, (Chaotic)Neutral male Hairfoot Hobniz footpad (2nd level thief). 
Hristo Neutral Good male Wesevud ("Central") noniz ex-town watchman and rogue (1st level fighter/1st level thief).
Vladamir Kostitov, Lawful Good male Oerdian human prestidigitator for the Governor's Guardsmen (1st level illusionist). 
Gabriel Lanovastorm, Mentherim-Dwur ("Common Hill") veteran (1st level fighter)(played as NPC).
Enlock, Neutral Good male Oerdian apprentice (1st level magic-user)(played as NPC).

Setting:  The villages of Dargvolyavi and Dargveto, the towns of Dargvonesa and Shargallen, abbey of Pholtus; Ahlissan Coast.

Coldeven 4th.  Godsday.

Ahead was the village of Dargvolyavi.  It was a
small, unwalled village and its population looked to
be little over 200.  Riding doubled up on two riding
horses and two ponies, they would reach it quickly.

But Peri and Alex called for everyone to stop.  They
had been discussing matters over the last few hours,
and had decided that they really needed to turn
around and go back to the abbey of Pholtus to have
the seawolf curse removed from them.  Vlad couldn't
believe he was hearing this.  Everyone had agreed to
proceed to Galdol, and no one had argued against it
until now.  Apparently, other members of the party
had begun to worry about the curse, but had not
wanted to be the ones to say anything about it. 

As the others turned their mounts around to retrace
their steps, Vlad realized that his plan had failed.  It
had been hard enough to convince them to pursue
this once, let alone a second time.  And this mission,
to wipe out the pirates based on Galdol, had been
given to him by the laird of Prymp himself.  Vlad
sighed, and tried to catch up with the others.

Night fell long before they could return to Dargveto. 
A campsite was set up, and four one-man watches
were assigned for the night.  After dining, Enlock
stayed awake as the others curled up and tried to
stay warm before drifting off to sleep.

Coldeven 5th.  Waterday.

After packing up, they resumed their trek back east.
Later that morning, they encountered a tortoise
moving across the road, heading north towards the
coast.  They left it alone and continued.

At midday they rested, but not long after pressing
on, they saw a large body of men on foot coming in
the opposite direction, along with men on horseback
and others in wagons.  They carried no flag to
identify themselves, but neither were they showing
any signs of hostility.  The two groups came within
hailing distance of each other, and Alex rode forward
to speak for the group.

The lead rider of the other group was a human in
platemail armor, and he waved for the band to clear
the road.  He referred to them as rabble, and was
going to ignore Alex entirely, but Alex was so
offended that he announced his class and title. 
The mounted knight now took notice, and
introduced himself as Sir Dobrev.  He served Prince
Davim Darmen, whose lands they were on.  It was
his task to escort this caravan east to Trennenport. 
He informed them that Prince Darmen ruled from
Dargvonesa, but was unwilling to converse with
them any farther.  Again he waved them out of his
way, and this time the caravan left them in its wake.

That evening, after much more walking and riding,
they managed to reach the village of Dargveto again.
The stablehand looked puzzled at them as they
asked him to take back for the night the horses they
had so recently bought from him.  The High Tide
Inn stood not far from the short docks.  The
innkeeper, Strasil, was sitting inside by an open
window painting a seascape.  He was at first
terrified of the group of armed men swaggering into
his establishment, but the band was polite and
explained themselves as traveling adventurers.  His
work was quite impressive, as several party members
remarked to him.  The party took all the rooms he
had to let and settled down for a good night's sleep.

Coldeven 6th.  Earthday.

Dargveto was once again left behind, and the riders
set out early to follow the Lantern Road eastward. 
They traveled in silence.  Five days remained until
the next full moon.  The shipboard combat against
the seawolves was replayed in each of their minds
over and over.  Who had been badly injured? 
Would even a scratch have been enough to infect
them with the curse?

Again, it took most of a day to reach their
destination.  The town of Dargvonesa looked to
have around 1,800-1,900 citizens.  It was an
unwalled town, except for one section of it on the
east side.  Guards posted at the entrance to this
walled section informed them that this was the royal
compound of the prince. 

Alex immediately wanted an audience with the
prince, and spoke with the guards to have it
arranged.  As it turned out, Prince Darmen would
give audiences the following day.  Alex was
disappointed that being Chief Templar of the
Chapel of Zilchus in Prymp did not get him an
audience immediately, but agreed to wait. 

Peri, however, grabbed Hristo by the arm and
hung back from the others.  Alex noticed and was
immediately suspicious, but Peri did his best
innocent routine and Alex was tired.  Finally, the
rest of the party went in search of an inn.  Peri
and Hristo went up to the guards Alex had been
talking to and made an appointment to see the
prince before Alex's appointment.

During all of this, Vlad had wandered into the
nearby moneylender's shop and was speaking
with its proprietor about the prince.  Rumor was,
the prince was a powerful illusionist.  This was an
amazing coincidence, because Vlad was certain
that he was ready to train to become a better
illusionist.

Barada and several of the others went searching
around town for an armory, to replace Barada's
lost armor.  On one street, they found a weaver's
shop, a leatherworker, and an armorer.  The man
had chainmail for sale, and Barada bought a new
hauberk and hose for 25 Ivids.

Coldeven 7th.  Freeday.

A strong breeze blew off the bay as the band
emerged from the inn.  Alex went in search of a
chapel to Zilchus and was disappointed to find
that Dargvonesa had only chapels to Celestian
and Hextor, as well as a shrine to Pelor. 
Afterwards, he and Vlad met up so they could get
to the prince's compound. 

Peri and Hristo were already at the prince's
compound.  The audience hall was two-stories
high, with a solar running the length of one wall of
the upper level.  The opposite wall was decorated
with various trophies, paramount being the skin of
a gigantic snake.  The floor was strewn with straw
mats, and at the far end of the hall was a dais and
single throne.  An old, skinny man in regal-looking
robes sat there, and this was Davim Darmen. 

Peri introduced them as merchants, a ruse which
they were able to pass off thanks to Hristo's
skill at appraising.  The prince was especially
impressed because Hristo's estimate was slightly
high.  Peri had nothing to ask of him except
favorable relations in the future, and the prince
did seem impressed by the Hobniz's courtly
manners and civility. 

Meanwhile, Alex and Vlad were being made to wait
outside.  Alex was more vexed than last night that
the prince was making him wait.  Then he saw Peri
and Hristo being escorted from the compound. 
Alex was furious, but there was no time to do
anything about it.  The prince was ready to see
him.  Upon entering the hall, Alex announced
himself.  Prince Darmen was suspicious at once of
what the templar of Zilchus wanted in Dargvonesa.

Alex explained that he was representing Prymp for
the church, and needed to know if the prince's
loyalties were to Prymp or to Zelradton.  Darmen
declared that in any conflict with the Herzog, he
would side with the free towns of the Ahlissan
Coast.  However, the audience was at an end and
Alex was asked to leave.  However, Vlad asked for
an extension.  Vlad now revealed himself as a fellow
illusionist and asked if the prince would train him. 
Alex was still made to leave, so that he and Vlad
could discuss terms in private. 

Unfortunately for Vlad, the prince's terms did not
sound reasonable.  He wanted 32 gold Ivids for
each day of training, and 200 more Ivids for each
spell he needed replaced.  Vlad promised to return
when he could afford to do so.

Irritable and disappointed, the band left
Dargvonesa and took to the road.  It was still
early enough that they could return to Shargallen
by nighttime. 

And they did.  They went straight to the Naval
Garrison to drop off their heavier armor and larger
weapons before entering the town.  Vlad checked
the docks to see if The Cormorant had returned,
and found it hadn't.  From here, Vlad planned to
travel by ship back to Prymp, avoiding the last
stretch of the overland trip.  Later, he would have
to find a new vessel.

It was decided that it was too late in the day to
set out to the south and look for the abbey of
Pholtus.  Most everyone spent the remainder of
the day drinking in the Happy Nymph Tavern. 
Peri drug Hristo out to go gambling again.  Hristo
was suspicious, and still felt bad about picking the
lock on that shop for Peri the last time they were in
Shargallen.  Peri explained that he had left
something in the shop earlier that day and that was
why Hristo had to let him in.  This mollified the
Noniz, whose gambling skills were vital to Peri's
plans for the night. 

Their first stop was the Blue Boar Hostel, where
a few locals were playing  Nine Men's Morris, a
game like tic-tac-toe.  Unfortunately, they were
playing for copper Vels, and Peri remembered there
was an unmarked building where gambling for
higher stakes was going on last time they were in
town.  After finding it again, the Hobniz hobnobbed
with the local thieves.  He was speaking to one
named Mladen about who trained thieves in this
area.  Peri had been thinking that he might be
ready to train again already.  Mladen had received
his training in Porton from a man named Fikri. 
Hristo was just ahead of breaking even when they
called it a night.     

Coldeven 8th.  Starday.

The wind had died down, though it now looked
like it would rain.  the band had one final
destination before them, and that was the abbey of
Pholtus.  They knew it was somewhere south and
east of Shargallen, and so they set out down a path
leading away from town.  The path led to an open
pit stone quarry just a mile away from town.  Here the
path continued south, while a second, smaller side
path lead east into hillier terrain.  This second path
was the one the band chose.  They rode along it
throughout the morning, passing some goats along
the way.  After noon, they came across some goat
herders.  Vlad stopped to tell them about the strays
they had seen earlier, but the herders seemed
unconcerned.  The goats belonged to the abbey,
and the goats had still been on abbey land.

The abbey was a walled complex with an unguarded
entrance.  The band made their needs known to an
acolyte, and he quickly escorted them to Abbot
Basil Kuriv.  The Abbot was a tall, kindly-looking
man who listened patiently as the band explained
the nature of the curse they were concerned about.
Seawolves, Kuriv explained to them, must be
lycanthropes.  Luckily, he could remove the curse
of lycanthropes, but the abbey would have to
receive an impressive donation for his services.  He
asked if they were all followers of Pholtus, to which
Vlad replied truthfully that he was, and Peri replied
falsely that he was. 

Several member of the party suggested sums which
the abbot shook his head at.  Peri was getting upset,
and told the abbot that clearly he must have a price
in mind and why don't you just tell us?  But the
abbot scolded him for his insolence, explaining that
if they wished the curse to be lifted that they do so
on his terms.  It was suggested by Gabriel that,
perhaps, they could go on a quest for the abbey in
exchange, and the abbot gave this deep
consideration. 

Finally, Kuriv decided that the church would accept
one hundred gold Ivids and a quest.  He had a young
acolyte in his charge who had trained to become an
adventuring cleric.  Kuriv told them that they must
make this Brother Andel a member of their party at
least until he had a chance to encounter the undead. 
This was an appealing arrangement to the pary, who
had lacked clerical aid on their adventurers since
Abraham died.  And they knew the perfect place to
find undead -- the second dungeon level of Skull
Keep.  They agreed to take Brother Andel there as
soon as they had returned to Prymp.  Peri produced
treasure equal to one hundred gold Ivids from off
his person to close the deal.  A few suspicious eyes
turned to the thief, but the stares turned to looks of
gratitude.  Pleased with the agreement, the abbot had
rooms prepared for the party to rest in until that
evening, when the abbot would be prepared to hold
the ceremony. 

When everyone was gathered together again for the
ceremony, they were brought to an incense-filled
chamber and told to sit in a ring with the abbot.  The
abbot began a long chant, saying magical words and
invoking the name of Pholtus many times.  Finally, he
called out to the lycanthrope curse, and commanded
it to cast itself out from those afflicted with it.  Hristo
crumpled up into a ball, and Peri and Enlock appeared
to also be in pain.  Slowly, boils raised to the surface
of their skin, and as the others looked on in horror,
the boils ballooned out into the shape of seals.  And
then the boils popped, and it was over.

The next morning, they left the abbey with their new
companion.  Upon returning to Shargallen that
afternoon, the party's four horses were taken to
Beregond's stables, where Beregond was more than
willing to buy their steeds.  In fact, he was looking to
establish a horse market for the coast, and would
be grateful of the band could connect him with any
horse breeders.

That only left the task of hiring a ship to transport
them home.  Vlad spoke with a shipsmaster, bragging
that his band of adventurers was experienced at
fighting both pirates and sea monsters.  This had an
unexpected effect of making the shipsmaster
suspicious of these adventurers as magnets for
trouble, but his suspicions were overcome by the
promise of one gold Ivid per passenger.  And so it
was arranged that, upon the next morning, the band
of the Grinning Gargoyle would set sail for their
home town, their quest at an end.

GABRIEL'S STORY, PART ONE

Gabriel Lanovastorm buried his face into the
wooden tankard he had been drinking from.  His
new companions of the Grinning Gargoyle Band
were droning on about what they wanted to do. 
They could not agree on anything.  Why did they
not see things as clearly as he did?  What they
needed was just to get out of Prymp.  The town
was stifling them.  There was no adventure to be
had there.  Not like the adventure Gabriel had
getting to Prymp...

Bronzegate was a town nearly twice the size of
Prymp on the shore where the Iron Hills met
Dunhead Bay.  Bronzegate was not as well-known
as Irongate with its famous canal, but there was
Gabriel's father, Thorin, who was a great hero. 
However, as long as Gabriel lived there he lived in
his father's shadow.  So Gabriel knew that he would
have to travel far to bring his own honor to the clan. 
There was no more conflict-torn neighboring land
than the South Province, so that was precisely
where he needed to go.  This would be a Kirnum-
Var, or personal quest of honor in a foreign land.
He took on the name of Gabriel, which was an
Oerdian name, and modified his clan name so that
it would not be recognized if his quest ended in
failure.

But traveling through the South Province proved
difficult for him.  He quickly found out that he had
to avoid the army, which routinely killed dwarves
for being spies.  This changed his plans
dramatically.  He did not dare go to Zelradton now
where he planned on recruiting other adventurers. 

For a long time, Gabriel stayed west of the Ruksi
River, along the province's scarcely populated west
coast.  There was a half-dozen or so villages
between the shore of Dunhead Bay and the Ruksi
River.  Farmers struggled to till the rocky soil, and
much woods had been left unspoiled near the hills
to the south.  There was a better life to be led in the
fishing village along the bay, and for a few short
months Gabriel was caught up in the bliss of rural
life.  He had always loved the sea, and would have
became a sailor if his father had not been such a
hero. 

During the time he spent there, mostly in the port
villages of Stevoksal and Yudolzok, he heard of the
pirates based in the north.  And he learned the
names of wicked places, such as Galdol and
Trennenport.   These were just the sorts of places
that needed a hero like Gabriel still longed to be.

One day he packed up all his worldly goods --
which were not many -- and bade farewell to all the
friends he had made amongst the fishermen.  He set
off north, hugging the coast, intent on reaching
Galdol. 

He would never make it.

TO BE CONTINUED