Library Of Untouchable Books

After winning the gladiatorial battle of K-Ball, the group, some of them quite battered and beaten, leave the arena. They immediately call for an audience with the Duke, Lundbaar Gnusbat. They want their money.

They enter into the meeting room they were in before and soon the Duke, a grey skinned gnome enters the room. The group demands The Order's money. The Duke explains that it will take time to accumulate that much money. They will have their well earned money by the evening.

He offers them a chance to become the house's new gladiatorial team, which they quickly decline. The Duke pauses, he seems to be thinking or even sensing something. He inquires to Maddox about perhaps a book in Maddox's possession. He inquires as to whether Maddox wishes to sell the book. He is a collector of such odds and ends. It would be of no use to Maddox. Maddox declines.

Curious About The Book

He says that he would even pay for the privilege of seeing such a rare item. Maddox declines. The Duke thinks for a minute and decides to end the meeting. The group is welcome to their best room to have as much food, drink and companionship as they may desire, until their meeting this evening. He leaves and the watch captain, Gad Skymane, escorts the group to the area of the casino in which the luxury rooms are.

Gad, along with four security guards escort the group down a long corridor which ends with a large door. Gad produces a large cylindrical key and opens the door. The door, massively thick opens to reveal a lush and beautifully large room. On one side of the room is a long table piled high with an assortment of food and drink. On the far side is an area with beds, each with a sheer curtain separating the beds from each other and the rest of the room. On the side opposite the food table is a bathing area, again separated with a sheer curtain. In the center of the room is a depression which holds many chairs and couches for lounging and entertaining.

Gad, bids them do as they please. Companionship can be arranged, female, male or beast, according to individual desires. Gad and the guards leave.

The Lap Of Luxury
3,000 XP

Araxie heads to the bathing area and immediately doffs armor, disrobes and jumps into a large bath of warm water, which itself is bathed in the warm light of a chandelier above.

The rest move about the room looking at all it has to offer. Deshani moves to the food table and begins to eat and to pocket food away for later. Maddox collapses onto one of the couches to tend to his many wounds, both light and grevious. Val wanders around the room looking at the many pictures lining the walls. Each is an oil painting depicting multiple bodies writhing together in various states of undress. The expressions on the faces could either be that of exquisite ecstasy or excruciating pain. He notices along the wall, at floor level, there is steel grating. This all bothers him. He thinks to himself...."I should probably stop breathin..."

That is as far as he gets as he collapses to the floor. At the same moment Deshani falls to the floor food clattering out of her hand. Araxie's body slips underneath the water and her chest no longer rises and falls with breathing. Maddox feels the room spin and is just able to resist the urge to sleep. As he falls to his knees upon the floor he puts his hand to his chest and pushes healing energy into himself with lay on hands. Feeling his constitution return, he stands and quickly surveys the room. The room is quickly filling with a white mist. He sees his companions fallen and has to choose which ones to run to first. He moves as quick as he can to Val and performs the magical healing spell again. He then runs to each as best he can.

Goblin, Man's Best Friend

Outside the room and down the corridor, stands an invisible goblin, Droop. He has snuck into the casino via the sewer system and is now looking at four very tall hooded guards, standing at the door at the end of the hallway, peering into it using some sort of crystal.

He has come to work with and for The Order. He was there in the sewers while Maddox and Val came into the production area of Wonder Ale. He had heard Maddox tell "Mother" Gug that the goblin clan works for The Order now. And he heard "Mother" agree. So he is off to fulfill his life's mission. He downs a potion of invisibility and makes his way through the sewer system he knows like the back of his filthy hand.

He peers down the corridor and watches the four guards. In the other direction are 2 more guards about 100 feet away. He conjures several wolves and sends attacking the four guards while casting silence so as not to alert the other guards.

The battle is fierce but eventually the two warring parties decimate each other until he is able to slip near the guard holding the key. Slipping the key off of the guard he opens the door and opens it hiding behind the now open door.

Some mechanism must have kicked in because there is a whooshing sound and the mist is visibly being pulled down and into the grates along the floor. Soon the air is clear and the characters stand looking towards the door as Droop begins to appear and introduces himself.

As the group digests the information of this newest uninvited member of their party, they discuss what they should do. They move the bodies of the guards inside the room. Maddox moves towards the door. As he closes the door he looks closely at it. The door is made of heavy steel, six inches thick with numerous locking bolts along its height. He takes the key and closes the door. Inserting the key into the door on the roomside he decides how best to break the key off in the door. The key is solid metal and quite large.

Please Don't Touch Anything

The silence in the room is abruptly broken by a loud crashing sound as they all turn towards the bathing area. There they see Droop holding his staff above him towards the ceiling and a large chandelier, which used to be above the goblin, now crashed down on the floor. Droop shrugs and immediately begins to pick out the best and pretties glass crystal pieces and place them in a sack, all the while smiling away.

Val resurrects the guards into his personal zombies. The creatures stand, their robes in tatters from the wolf attack and no longer hooded their frightening faces are revealed. They appear as some sort of devil with series of sharp bony horns covering their faces. They stand slightly swaying awaiting for Val to give them a command.

Araxie begins to don her armor. There is a fight coming and she isn't gonna be caught unarmored.

As Maddox stands near the door readying his sword to break the key in the door, there is a polite knock on the door. The group stands looking at each other. Eventually, Maddox opens the door. Outside is the captain of the guard. He is accompanied by four more guards, each in their robed garb. They all enter and Gad Skymane makes his pleasantries.

An Awkard Position

Two of the guards move around the room in opposite directions as Gad speaks. Soon one of the guards pulls back the curtains to one of the sleeping areas. There in front of him are four zombie versions of himself. His hand goes to his sword as he looks back to Gad.

Gad raises his eyebrows and asks, "care to explain."
Without missing a beat, Val says "you said anything goes." "We can do whatever freaky shit we want"
Gad shrugs. Yes....that is what the rooms are meant for.

Gad then produces a scroll. It is the promissory note they have been promised. Maddox opens it and inspects it. The Order is now the holder of some 300,000 gold.

Money Reaquired
1,000 XP

The group thanks him and moves off. They are done here.

They return to the Order's keep. Once there Maddox allows Droop to take an oath to serve the Order. Droop looks confused and shrugs and says "we'll see" and lays down at Maddox's feet. Maddox not feeling completely comfortable with this creature loose in the keep, ties him up.

Planar Nightmares

The night is filled with visions for each of the group. Dreams and nightmares of flashing images of a huge beast. Feet crushing the bones of people. Walls and buildings crumbling from a large tail. The screams of people and animals as they die horrible crushing deaths. Each of them have a final image of being engulfed in a giant mouth and falling down into blackness.

Each of them awake from the nightmare. Deshani begins to quickly jot down details of her nightmare before it eventually fades. She immediately decides to run out to the city's library, Prism Library. On her way she meets up with Val. They walk together in silence for a while until they both turn into the library. They pause, look at each other curiously and ask simultaneously why they are coming to the library. They then simultaneously explain to each other about the dream. They had the same dream and both had decided to come to the library to research what they had seen.

The Library Of Untouchable Books
5,000 XP

The enter the library, a vast building with a soaring ceiling. Book shelves stretch off into the distance and a small gnome walks towards the two mages, his feet padding softly in the silence of the library. They ask to see a book which would explain the creature in their shared dream. They describe the visions and the librarian, Ponkoss Gnokmoss, says no, he has no book like that.

Something in Ponkoss' manner, catches Deshani's suspicious nature. She demands why he is hiding the book. Ponkoss is visibly nervous. A wooden and metal creature on spindly legs approaches and in a mechanical voice, asks the group which book they are looking for. They tell the automaton the same criteria given to the librarian. The automaton begins to tell of the book but the librarian cuts it off. He gives in and says, ok there is a book but they can't get it yet. The library is being renovated in that area. After several attempts at subterfuge and Deshani offering various levels of threats Ponkoss gives in.

There is a book like they describe but the book resides in a place in the library where no one can go. Decades ago the previous librarian, a Bardyl Gylex, was tasked with protecting the books of the library. He discovered a scroll which would create golems which would protect the books from theft or damage. He set about to create them and once created he gave them the command "don't let anyone touch the books". Golems being simple creatures followed his command slavishly. When Bardyl went to retrieve a book, they killed him. He assumed they would understand that he could still touch the books.

Now no one can access the books in that area. No one.

Vall and Deshani decide to test this out. They drag Ponkoss along with them as he directs them to the spiral metal staircase leading down to the level where the book in question is kept. Val says he has a plan. He tells Deshani to stay at the top of the stairs. He grabs Ponkoss and together the two descend into the dreaded wing of the library.

Down in the next floor, the library floor is made of cobblestone and the walls polished rock. The corridors are lit with glowing orbs lining the walls. Ponkoss nervously directs Val towards the desired book. Once in front of the book, Val looks around...no sign of any golems. He casts a portal to outside the library and prepares to grab the book. Ponkoss grabs on to the back of Val's garments and holds on tight. Val deftly grabs the book and immediately the large empty room is filled with the noise of rocks grinding on rocks. The cobblestones of the floor begin to pull together quickly and in a shower of grit and dust, a 10 foot tall golem made up of the cobblestones from the floor reaches for Val and the little librarian.

Val jumps towards the portal as he feels stone hands rake across his back. He jumps through the portal grasping the book to his chest. When he and the arriving Deshani look back through the shrinking portal they see the golem with it's hand smashed flat on the floor, and Ponkoss' arms and legs just visible among the viscera and blood that is smashed beneath  the golem's hand. Dusting himself off and adjusting his book under his arm, the two of them stride up the stairs and sit on the large stone steps of the library and open the book.

An Interesting Read

Finding the appropriate section, after a bit of looking, together they read of The Tarrasque. The World Ender. A mythical creature spoke only of in legends and fairy tales. A creature summoned from the Outer Planes to descend upon a land and devour and destroy it entirely. The Tarrasque which is unkillable, unstoppable, unthinking and unreleneting. The summoning is a terrible and horrific affair but such a ritual is only hinted at and not written of in this tome.

With a shudder both Val and Deshani look at each other before closing the book. Perhaps they should share this with the others.

The Ship Formerly Known As The Mirasandra

Meanwhile, Maddox, Araxie and the groups newfound goblin speak with the mage in charge of the retrofitting of Araxie's new ship. Maddox offers him the promissory note of money which is owed to the Mage's Guild for the ship. The old mage beckons them to follow him to Captain Araxie's new ship. After a long and slow walk to the docks controlled by The Order, they approach a tall tower structure on the cliffs looking down onto the sea....and a large wooden ship with many workers bustling about it giving it the final touches.

Above the ship is a large balloon structure floats anchored to the ship with numerous ropes and metal wiring. They descend a gangplank onto the ship. They are given a tour with it ending in the quarter-deck's hold. There in the center of the hold is a vast crystal sphere. Inside is a roiling, swirling mist. As the group approaches it...the swirling mist quickens and then quickly forms a face filled with rage as it smashes against the inside of the crystal sphere as it seems to be trying to attack the group which stands in front of it.

Surrounding and coming off the sphere are many metal wires, conduits and tubes, each leading along the walls and ceiling trailing off onto unseen parts of the ship. They are told that this crystal sphere holds an air elemental. The energy of this creature is siphoned off and sent to various parts of the ship. This is the ship's power source.

A Magical Song And Dance

Maddox meanwhile has been feeling left out, being the only one who hasn't been able to visit the old woman's magical shop. He has heard tell from the others and he feels he should be deserving of a enchanted magical store visit. He implores Val to show him how do call upon Madam Tuqill and her magical emporium. Val tells him that it requires singing and dancing.

Maddox reluctantly agrees. Val begins his song and dance amid the crowded streets of Baldur's Gate. He sings while swinging on lamp posts in front of shady dockside taverns. He kicks and turns, prestidigitating showers and rainbows all the while signing gracefully as greasy and crooked men turn to watch. Maddox follows suit as best he can. Kicking and twirly awkwardly in his armor. Maddox's voice begins to fill in beside Val's and the dockside spectators even begin to join in. Soon the magical music swells and men, women and children along with Maddox and Val are dancing in choreographed synchronicity down the wet and dirty streets. As the music and dancing come to a crescendo, a crooked wooden house comes into being seemingly sandwiched in between two buildings.

The music fades and people return to their daily drudgery. They will speak of this in hushed and awed tones for years to come until it too fades into myth.

They see again the crowded little shack, with it's odds and ends and brick-a-brack stacked and shoved into nooks and crannies. They find in the center a large table with stools for each of them to sit. Val goes to sit in the large ornate chair only to find it occupied by the small woman, Madam Tuqill.

She looks to Maddox and admonishes him for being late. He should have been here long ago.
Deshani soon infuriates the old woman to the point where she snaps her fingers and the rug beneath Deshani's stool moves and wraps Deshani up nearly smothering her.
Maddox respectfully ask for something magical...armor perhaps. She tells him to look around. Eventually he finds a shield with the image of the moon etched in excellent detail. He nods approvingly and takes it. Madam Tuqill reminds them of the task she had asked of them.
Deshani meanwhile continues to berate the old woman and soon the group finds themselves outside near the docks again, people bustling around them and the emporium no where to be seen.

Morkath's Seminary & An Disgruntled Ex-Captin

The group leaves and returns to the cliffs and the large tower building nearby. As they approach they see many young people move about in small groups, many with books in hand. The name carved in the stone lintel above the door says the name of this building is 'Morkath's Seminary'. Entering the building they come to a large common room with many long tables with groups of students clustered in various areas. Off to the side is a long table where Araxie and H set off to settle the cost of the firearms that H outfitted onto Araxie's new, as of yet, unnamed ship.

The negotiations are fierce and begin to heat up. Tensions are not helped by the half drunken unwanted attentions of a sailor who approaches Araxie. Hearing her talk of huge sums of money the sailor, who introduces himself as Captain MacKensey...well, just MacKensey now. The Order took his ship from him and gave it to some female. Some bitch.

Araxie introduces herself as said bitch.

MacKensey apologizes and as a peace offering allows Araxie to buy him a drink. Araxie decides to recruit MacKensey in aquiring some crew for her new ship. As it will be needing some men and woman with naval experience. Her only crew so far being Orson Goosecry who she believes will be of absolutely no use once they set sail. But she'll find a purpose for him.