Short Synopsis
Maram il Vass gives Iluna a sending stone. He tells her to contact him if the party is ever interested in paying for the location of Grazz’t’s six six-fingered half-human children.
The adventurers deliver Xaven, the drow alchemist, to the drows at the Sporedome. On the next morning, Kimmurial arrives with the party’s payment. Xaven may have a way of curing the demonic transformation that has afflicted many of the fire giants. To accomplish this, Xaven needs a living fire giant to draw blood from and to conduct experiments. The drows ask the party to retrieve a fire giant from Maerimydra. The party requests a healer and the drow provide a dwarf named Grim Milestone.
The party sets out to Maerimydra. Upon arriving at the outpost that guards the entrance to the city of Maerimydra, the party bribe a fire giant for entry. Iluna buys a pack of hellhounds and Illidan buys a pup. After talking with the fire giant guard, they realize that he is not sympathetic to the demon-cursed fire giants. He agrees to aid them by sending one of the demon-cursed fire giants down the tunnel to the outpost. The party encounters the lone demon-cursed fire giant and takes it down. They teleport back to the Sporedome and the drow alchemist, Warlan and others will spend a ten-day trying to find the cure.
Long Synopsis
Maram il Vass reminds the part that he has information on the location of Grazz’t’s six six-fingered half-human/half-demon children. Due to insufficient funds, the party is unable to buy this data, but Maram il Vass hands Iluna a sending stone to keep in touch. The party departs and picks up the human ex-slaves before turning to the Sporedome Pharmaceuticals.
Upon arriving at the Sporedome, the adventurers deliver Doctor Xaven, the drow, alchemist to Solom. On the next morning, President Kimmurial arrives with the party’s payment – a +1 dagger of returning of Warlan, a +2 sword for Jax, and 5,000 GP (or a lesser magical item) for the others. The drows are very concerned by the rapid transmission of the demonic contagion caused by Grazz’t-19. Given the urgent need for a cure, the mercenary party (aka as “Merck”) is granted an Emergency Use Authorization to help the drows develop a cure. The Phase 1 Trial will require a “healthy” fire giant volunteer that has been infected by the demonic contagion. They suggest finding a volunteer in the highly infected city of Maerimydra. The City is ruled by Hledh Hellspawn, the grand-daughter of Grazz’t-19. The drows provide them a teleportation scroll and some supplies for their journey. In addition, they are joined by a well-traveled health clinician known as Grim Milestone, the dwarf cleric.
The Merck party travels to the outpost that guards one of the many passages to Maerimydra. Iluna, with a helpful touch of a *tongue* spell from Khazad, negotiates with one of the fire giant guards. Like so many pharmaceutical companies, a hefty bribe gains quick access for the Merck party. Iluna purchases a pack of hellhounds and Baroj buys a hell-pup. After talking with the fire-giant guard, they realize that many fire giants are concerned about the demon-infected fire giants, also known as the fiendborn. Baroj explains that they are researchers seeking to cure the fiendborn, and persuades the fire giant guard to send a “volunteer” down the tunnel to meet the party.
The party lies in wait when a fiendborn comes bounding down the tunnel. Khazad, seeking a double-blind research design, tries to cast *blindness* and *deafness* on the fiendborn. Unfortunately, the fiendborn resists the spell. The party attacks the fiendborn with weapons laced with drow-poison. Unfortunately, Warlan suffers a lab mishap that results in major bleeding and poisoning. Khazad traps the fire giant in a *forcecage* spell. Grim Milestone heals the clumsy gnome while the party discusses how to persuade the fiendborn to become a volunteer. Warlan uses panels of *walls of force* to restrain the fiendborn. They carefully prod and poke the fiendborn until it falls unconscious. Warlan uses the teleportation scroll and the Merck party heads back to the Sporedome.
Xaven begins conducting Phase 1 Trials by using the fire giant as his first “volunteer” to assess the safety, side effects and efficacy of a potential cure. Warlan offers his assistance as a wizard and artificer. They expect that it will take a ten-day to find a potential cure and then to distribute it among the “sick”.
