Narrative

Day 40 began with discussion of the pit made against the merfolk at the start of the dome. Sir [uncertain: Counting Fibo] was supposed to remove it.

The party tried to teleport and made it to the outskirts of Azureside. The cherry trees there looked diseased, and there were abandoned bushels. Morgana felt as though the earth itself was plagued, connected to the Poison Dragon.

The party headed into Azureside and met up with Alana, the Pact leader. Alana explained that plague had overtaken the town of Heartmoor. Carl had left town, and Alana and the guild had been trying to run things in his absence. The town had taken a lot of damage.

The party entered a cobbler’s shop that was being used as a town hall. Several local figures were present: Greysock Soulspindle, an elderly male gnome in a cobbler outfit; Ahlabre / Alizabesh Azure, an elderly human woman in priest robes; and Captain Spratt, a thuggish male half-orc with a sailor look. The town’s problems had been bad for the last six months and poor for the last six months.

The dragon was expected to come tomorrow for payment. Some thugs had been stealing the offerings left for the dragons and possibly stealing from other townsfolk. They were thought to be hanging around Firevine, and possibly at a dodgy pub called the Cheery & Cherry, with the notes preserving the odd phrasing “Cheery & cherry.” The party set up the town square for an ambush against the thugs.

The local temple was made out of seaweed stone, which was immune to the dragons’ acid. The plague was unlike anything Paralitha had come across; cholera and death were noted in connection with it. The plague seemed to be a concoction of different ailments, with magical involvement linking them together, and it was contagious.

Morgana tried to heal the land. She felt venomous creatures fighting against her efforts and felt a presence airwise. She saw a female figure above the lake: a monstrosity with scorpion tails, snake heads, and a female face. A swarm of birds came and smashed through, and the ground was restored to its natural state, perhaps even better than before.

At about 15:00, the party hid and waited for the thugs to come steal the offering. Two shadows moved in from the Firevine side of the city. They went into buildings and seemed to hide. One pointed upward, then the figures slunk away from the square and back into town. They looked human.

A fireball went off at the top of the bell tower. The party identified attackers at the tower: a half-elf wizard, a dragonborn rogue, and a pigeon aarakocra rogue. All three were killed. In another building, the party found two shoes. Two blackjack clubs were taken from the rogues. The notes describe them with enthusiasm: “I think they are amazing & I can’t use any other weapons.” The clubs were named Bok and Bosh.

The party subdued two other henchman types, described as humanoids, and questioned them. Their names were Tim Anderson and Barry. They said the three dead attackers had asked them for help. They all met at the Cheery & Cherry, the pub to which the party had sent the sailor for rumor spreading. Tim Anderson and Barry had done three jobs for the attackers. The attackers had come into town about a week ago, and there were rumors that they were working from the sewers. It seemed like the local thugs were responsible at first, but then these other people came in.

The blackjacks were made from scorpion leather, described as cured and tanned skin, with jellyfish tendril cords. At about 15:30, the party went to the Cheery & Cherry. A guard on the door had the same armour as the dragonborn and aarakocra. The guard went in to get the “boss,” apparently because they had been told not to interfere with the party.

The pub was filled with people, possibly townsfolk, but about six people stood out as the same sort of people the party had encountered. A dwarf guarded the stairs. The party assumed the guard had gone upstairs to the room where the boss was. The boss was human, with black eyes, and otherwise looked normal. He was flanked by two hyenas and wore rings associated with snake, wasp, jellyfish, and scorpion. He told the guard to bring the party in.

The boss was with the Dollarmen. The Council with Mercy from Brookville Springs was mentioned, though the boss said he did not work for anybody. He claimed this was the easy town, and that he was the poor-quality one who had been sent to the easy place because he was not good enough for anything else. He warned the party away from venturing farther into the cursed lands.

The party attacked the boss. Morgana’s Moonbeam revealed his bottom half as a snake, and he was utterly murdered. The party subdued one of the henchmen and killed the rest. Geldrin left the room clutching the skin book to intimidate people.

Ulfarun, an elf, was next in command. Gnoll Longfang tried to stab Ulfarun in the back. The party told Ulfarun about all the pillagers of the village and the stealing. At about 16:30, Dirt played cards with the remaining Dollarmen.

The party learned that the dragons came pretty early and that a different dragon came each time. The last one had dark smoke coming from her, and before that there had been a two-headed dragon.

Geldrin, Invar, and Morgana went to try to repair something, while Dirt and Alana headed over to the cobbler’s town hall to tell the town leaders about the Dollarmen and ask for help with the crossbow. Frilleshanks, a gnome jeweler, might be able to help. Jerome, the innkeep at Saphire Shores, was also noted. Saphire Shores had a Goodking house style and was described as a “right glass for the right beer” kind of pub.

Frilleshanks helped Geldrin streamline “Snake Slayers,” and Frilleshanks’s apprentice, Joel, a dwarf, would help operate it.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures mentioned include Sir [uncertain: Counting Fibo], Morgana, the Poison Dragon, Alana, Carl, Greysock Soulspindle, Ahlabre / Alizabesh Azure, Captain Spratt, Paralitha, the female figure above the lake, the half-elf wizard at the bell tower, the dragonborn rogue, the pigeon aarakocra rogue, Tim Anderson, Barry, the sailor sent for rumor spreading, the door guard at the Cheery & Cherry, the dwarf guarding the stairs, the black-eyed boss / snake-bottom boss, Mercy from Brookville Springs, Geldrin, Ulfarun, Gnoll Longfang, Dirt, Invar, Frilleshanks, Jerome, Joel, and Frilleshanks’s apprentice.

Groups and factions mentioned include the merfolk, the Pact, Alana and the guild, townsfolk, thugs stealing dragon offerings, dragons, venomous creatures, humanoid henchmen, the three dead attackers, sewer-based rumored operators, the people at the Cheery & Cherry who stood out as matching earlier attackers, the Dollarmen, the Council with Mercy from Brookville Springs, pillagers of the village, and the remaining Dollarmen.

Places mentioned include the pit made against the merfolk at the start of the dome, the dome, the outskirts of Azureside, Azureside, Heartmoor, the cobbler’s shop acting as town hall, Firevine, the town square, the local temple made from seaweed stone, the lake, the bell tower, another building where two shoes were found, the Cheery & Cherry / Cheery & cherry dodgy pub, the sewers, upstairs at the pub, the cursed lands, Brookville Springs, Saphire Shores, and Goodking house style.

Creatures and creature-like beings mentioned include the Poison Dragon, dragons collecting payments, venomous creatures opposing Morgana’s healing, the female-faced monstrosity with scorpion tails and snake heads, a swarm of birds, the half-elf wizard, the dragonborn rogue, the pigeon aarakocra rogue, two hyenas flanking the boss, the boss’s snake lower half, a dragon with dark smoke coming from her, and a two-headed dragon.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Items, offerings, and resources mentioned include the pit made against the merfolk, abandoned bushels near the diseased cherry trees, offerings left for the dragons, dragon payments expected tomorrow, the seaweed stone temple immune to dragon acid, the contagious magically linked plague concoction, the town square ambush setup, the fireball at the top of the bell tower, two shoes found in another building, two blackjack clubs named Bok and Bosh, scorpion leather made from cured and tanned skin, jellyfish tendril cords, the door guard’s armour matching the dragonborn and aarakocra, the boss’s rings associated with snake, wasp, jellyfish, and scorpion, Geldrin’s skin book used for intimidation, cards played by Dirt with the remaining Dollarmen, the crossbow that Dirt and Alana sought help with, and “Snake Slayers” streamlined by Frilleshanks.

Magic, spell effects, diseases, and environmental effects mentioned include the attempted teleport to the outskirts of Azureside, Morgana sensing the plagued earth, the Poison Dragon connection, the plague overtaking Heartmoor, cholera and death noted with Paralitha’s assessment, magical involvement linking multiple ailments together, the plague being contagious, venomous creatures fighting Morgana’s healing of the land, Morgana sensing a presence airwise, Morgana’s vision of the female-faced scorpion-and-snake monstrosity above the lake, the swarm of birds smashing through, the ground being restored to its natural state or better, the fireball at the bell tower, Morgana’s Moonbeam revealing the boss’s snake lower half, the dragon with dark smoke coming from her, and the earlier two-headed dragon.

Weapons, tools, and combat resources mentioned include the blackjacks Bok and Bosh, the fireball, Morgana’s Moonbeam, the skin book used for intimidation, the crossbow needing help, and Snake Slayers.

Locations with resources or services include the cobbler’s shop serving as town hall, the seaweed stone temple, the Cheery & Cherry pub, Saphire Shores, the Goodking house-style pub described as a “right glass for the right beer” kind of pub, and Frilleshanks the gnome jeweler’s ability to help streamline Snake Slayers.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The pit made against the merfolk at the start of the dome was supposed to be removed by Sir [uncertain: Counting Fibo]. The exact nature of the pit, why it was made against the merfolk, and whether Sir [uncertain: Counting Fibo] actually removed it remain unclear.

Azureside’s cherry trees looked diseased, and abandoned bushels were present. Morgana felt the earth was plagued and connected this to the Poison Dragon. The relationship between the diseased land, the abandoned harvest, the Poison Dragon, and Heartmoor’s plague remains unresolved.

Alana said plague had overtaken Heartmoor while Carl was away and Alana and the guild were trying to run the town. The town had suffered heavy damage. The cause of Carl’s departure and the full extent of the guild’s authority are not stated.

The plague had been bad for six months and poor for six months, was unlike anything Paralitha had encountered, and appeared to combine different ailments through magical linkage. Cholera and death were noted. Its source, mechanism, and whether the dragons, Poison Dragon, venomous creatures, Dollarmen, or cursed lands are responsible remain open.

The dragon was expected tomorrow for payment, and thugs were stealing offerings left for the dragons and possibly from townsfolk. The dragons came early, a different dragon came each time, the last one had dark smoke coming from her, and one before that was two-headed. The payment arrangement, the dragons’ identities, and the consequences of missed payment remain unresolved.

Morgana’s healing of the land was opposed by venomous creatures and accompanied by a presence airwise. She saw a female-faced monstrosity above the lake with scorpion tails and snake heads before a swarm of birds smashed through and restored the ground. The identity of the female figure, the meaning of the birds, and the reason the ground became even better than natural are unclear.

The ambush in the town square revealed two human-looking shadows from Firevine who hid in buildings, pointed upward, and retreated before the bell tower fireball. Whether these two shadows were scouts, bait, local thugs, Dollarmen, or connected to the sewer rumors is unresolved.

The half-elf wizard, dragonborn rogue, and pigeon aarakocra rogue attacked the bell tower and died. Two other humanoid henchmen, Tim Anderson and Barry, said those three had asked them for help. The attackers had arrived about a week earlier, met at the Cheery & Cherry, and were rumored to be working from the sewers. It seemed as if the first problem was local thugs, then other people came in.

The blackjacks Bok and Bosh were made from scorpion leather and jellyfish tendril cords. Their odd construction connects them to the boss’s animal-themed rings and the venomous / poisonous imagery around the plague, but no direct link is confirmed.

The Cheery & Cherry door guard had armour matching the dead dragonborn and aarakocra, suggesting a shared group or supplier. The pub contained about six people who stood out as the same sort of people the party had encountered. Their exact identities and roles are not recorded.

The black-eyed boss was with the Dollarmen, mentioned the Council with Mercy from Brookville Springs, and claimed he worked for nobody. He described himself as the poor-quality one sent to an easy town because he was not good enough for anything else. His remarks imply a hierarchy or assignment system behind the Dollarmen, but who sent him and what the Council with Mercy relationship means are not clear.

The boss warned the party away from venturing farther into the cursed lands. His warning may be self-serving, but it also suggests the cursed lands contain dangers or secrets important to the Dollarmen, dragons, plague, or Poison Dragon.

Morgana’s Moonbeam revealed the boss’s bottom half as a snake. This transformation or hidden form, together with his black eyes, hyenas, and snake / wasp / jellyfish / scorpion rings, reinforces the venomous creature theme but is not explained.

Ulfarun, an elf, became next in command after the boss was killed, but Gnoll Longfang immediately tried to stab Ulfarun in the back. The internal structure, loyalties, and succession politics among the Dollarmen at the Cheery & Cherry remain uncertain.

Dirt played cards with the remaining Dollarmen at about 16:30. The outcome and any information gained from this card game are not recorded.

Geldrin, Invar, and Morgana went to try to repair something, while Dirt and Alana asked for help with the crossbow. The object being repaired is not specified in the raw notes, but Frilleshanks later helped streamline Snake Slayers and Joel would help operate it.

Frilleshanks, a gnome jeweler, could help with the crossbow / Snake Slayers, and his apprentice Joel, a dwarf, would help operate it. The exact nature of Snake Slayers and how it relates to the dragon threat or the coming payment remains to be clarified.

Jerome, innkeep at Saphire Shores, and the Goodking house-style pub described as a “right glass for the right beer” establishment are noted without a clear immediate role, but they may be relevant contacts or locations.