With a sly grin and a wave the Gentleman beckoned Soren’s three companions over. The whole den of thieves watching, the party had no choice but to oblige. They sat and listened to the crime lord’s demands, their attention partially occupied by the platinum blonde hair of their mysterious companion. The next thing they knew, the Gentleman handed them a note and instructed them to put pressure on Starosta Wyatt Fedar. The slick skinned criminal wanted the free reign to eliminate his competition while making some coin from it at the same time, and the party was meant to be the messengers. Reluctantly, the group accepted and headed back to the Leaky Tap for an evening’s rest, but not before seizing the opportunity to mess around with the still hallucinating bar keep of the Evening Nip.
Once back at the Tap, Soren retired, exhausted from her abduction. Triple J earned a little coin serenading a few patrons, and Conan settled in at the bar for another evening of drinking. Before long, Endrin literally climbed his way up to the bar to join his companions. For the first time on their journey, the young gnome confided in Conan, expressing his concerns over their arrangement with the Gentleman and the shroud of mystery surrounding Soren. Around this time, Triple J had just completed another attempt at wooing the bar maid, Claudia, this time far more successful than the last and ordered a drink for his short friend. A mug of ale the size of Endrin’s head was presented to him. The three drank into the night, a single mug of ale getting the better of Endrin. With an arcane flourish, Endrin conjured up a floating disc, flopped backwards onto it, and floated his way up to bed. Conan and Triple J followed soon after.
Triple J was up early the next morning to acquire some flowers for Cluadia while Soren went to rouse Conan. The moment Soren left the room, Endrin pulled out the strange dodecahedron he’d brought with him on this journey. Focusing on it once more, he felt his consciousness drawn inside again. This time the curious gnome, braved the strange object’s trappings for a while longer and delved deeper within, drawing ever closer to the truth of it. A mere instant later, Endrin rubbed his eyes and was sitting back in his room. The party reconvened down below for breakfast before setting off on their mission for the day to convince the Starosta to work with the Gentleman.
Following a tip from Claudia, they headed straight for the King’s Hall in Zadash’s Innerstead Sprawl. Once inside, Endrin approached the dwarf receptionist and nonchalantly said, “We Bring Many Gifts.” With a hearty chuckle the dwarf nodded and disappeared down a hallway. In the brief time the receptionist was away, Conan, eyeing the interior guards, casually reached for his greatsword while Triple J attracted even more attention to him. A moment later, the receptionist returned and gestured for the party to go down the hallway and instructed them towards the first door on the left. The group did as they were told and entered the room on left where they found themselves face to face with Starosta Wyatt Fedar.
Extremely cross and annoyed at this meeting, Wyatt demanded that the group disclose the nature of their visit immediately. Attempting to flex his power, the Starosta denied their request for cooperation with the city’s underbelly. Luckily however, the group had been given loose instructions on how to respond to such an answer and began causing a ruckus in the meeting chamber itself. Slightly taller than the halfling Starosta, Endrin thought it best to attempt to intimidate the portly lord and gusted a note from Wyatt’s hands, blowing his hair back simultaneously. Frightened but not willing to back down, the Starosta screamed for his guards’ assistance, and within moments a contingent of guards flooded the hallway behind the party.
Realizing shit was about to hit the fan, Triple J cast a spell on as many guards as he could, rendering them unconscious. Terrified, Wyatt scrambled under the large table in the center of the room. The remaining guards still awake ran off for reinforcements, and Conan followed. Endrin and Soren combined their talents to reduce the density of the table and then cleave it in two revealing the sniveling halfling. Wyatt attempted to flee, but was caught in a headlock by Triple J. Fearing his imminent demise, the Starosta finally gave in and agreed to pay the Gentleman’s organization, the Myriad, to clean up other crime in the city. Realizing Conan was gone and likely in trouble elsewhere, the party also acquired a pardon from the Starosta before climbing over the sleeping guards and setting off to free Conan who had since been apprehended and taken to the city’s jail.
Successful in their first criminal endeavor, the party made their way back to the Gentleman’s hideout beneath the Evening Nip. Elated with the group’s knack for enforcement and initiative regarding the term “ruckus”, the Gentleman rewarded them handsomely. Soren’s reward came in the form of information as the Gentleman revealed that the Cerberus Assembly had hired his organization to track down and apprehend Soren, revealing the thorough level of detail he was provided with regarding Soren’s appearance and location. Seeing how the group had performed so well, the Gentleman felt it proper to award them with some recognition as well and asked for the groups name. Following a moment of deliberation, the party responded with, “Fifty Charades of Grey, or FCG for short,” and for the first time, the group of misfit adventures conceded that they were stronger… better together than they were apart.
The Gentleman offered a grin and got right back down to business. The Gentleman had more work for them. He offered to pay FCG 1000 gold per member for the head of Mikael the Mincer, a rival criminal dwelling in the sewers of Zadash. Enticed by the potential purse, the party accepted the job. The group spent the rest of the afternoon mulling over old tomes, with the help of Endrin’s newfound ability to comprehend Deep Speech, and the prospective invention of the world’s first beer tower. Endrin revealed the three tomes to be, The Cannibal’s Compendium, The Undead and You; A Guide for the Novice Necromancer, and Raven Queen, Holy Matron of Death. Following a quick trip to the Pentamarket, FCG retired early within the bowels of the Gentleman’s hideout.
They awoke in the grim hours of the morning and set off for the sewers of the the western side of the Sprawl. They waited til the patrolling guards turned the corner before descending down a man hole in the middle of the street. Their noses were immediately assaulted by the stench of sewage, and the eyes of Conan and Soren were rendered useless by the utter darkness of the foul tunnels. Endrin and Triple J each molded female figures with their globules of light, Triple J’s curvaceous and gyrating, Endrin’s slender well postured and almost regal. Their path illuminated, the group set forth.
Down one hallway they spotted a mutated looking halfling bathing and singing to a corpse in one of the moonlit runoff inlets. Proceeding stealthily, they crept by and encountered a fork in their path. One way was seemingly not a part of the sewer’s initial design as it had been caved in from the other side and led down a narrow rocky cavern. A ways down a large gangly creature sat, feasting on the remains of a corpse. Not keen on fighting such a monstrosity, the party chose the other direction.
At the end of the tunnel was a pile of debris. Triple J sought to skirt past without drawing any attention, but as head did, he heard the muffled sounds of a voice coming from beneath the rubble. The voice was strained and female in nature, and it pleaded in Undercommon for help. Not one to leave a damsel in distress, Triple J beckoned the others over and they began removing the rocks from the trapped individual. Each stone removed revealed the slender figure of a Drow woman clad in chitinous bloodstained black armor. Trusting Triple J for his kindness and color of his skin, she revealed that her name was Cylan of Den Hythenos and that her band had been set upon by the creature in the cavern prior. Triple J responded in kind, introducing himself as Xavier.
Endrin quickly identified her armor as that commonly worn by members of the Kryn Dynasty to the far east, while the other members tended to Cylan’s wounds and got her on her feat. Cylan pleaded with them to help her get past the large monstrosity so that she could escape back into the Underdark. Curious and kindhearted, FCG agreed to help and headed back to face the creature.
