The Inn of The Fourteen Virtues

A great deal happened this session; but no combat took place.  It was sort of an unusual session for Swords of the Northlands; other than some spot and sense motive checks the dice didn't get much use.  Al G., however, had to pay his first quarter for rolling a 1 on a d20!

Party at the start:
Mace Blackstar (Mike D.; Human Fighter)
Wilbered The Silent (Tom S; Human Cleric)
Castor Bean (Steve B; Human Bard)
Trygvie (NPC; Elven Wizard)
Kane (Al G.; Human Monk)
Zuran (NPC; Human Fighter)

When we ended last session, the players were scattered about on the battlefield.  Over half of the group was unconscious and the rest barely had a dozen hit points between them.  They managed to stabilize the unconscious and wounded characters, slung them over some of Mummar Hafiz's mules and set off immediately after having gathered some gold from the fallen orcs.  The greataxe and armor of the half orc leader, as well as a single potion bottle, all detected as magical so these too were gathered up.  As they were plundering, two of the orcs who had been knocked out by Trygvie's sleep spell got up and began to run away.  The group was too weak to pursue and instead decided to attempt to reach Bramwald before the escaping orcs could return with reinforcements.

The next morning, they limped into Bramwald and went immediately to The Inn of The Fourteen Virtues.  The innkeeper, Timber Tulane, was horrified by their wounds and immediately sent his people scurrying about to gather clean linens, bandages, etc.  A servant was sent to fetch a healer.  Soon a humble cleric named Corrik Eccko presented himself and cast enough heal spells upon the party to at least render them all conscious again.  A grateful Mummar Hafiz sang their praises to whomever would listen and insisted on paying for their rooms.  After a little more healing, the players began asking for ale and wenches, but it seems that Tulane ran a clean inn -- the strongest thing on the menu was herbal tea and women guests stayed in a separate dormitory which was kept locked at night.  The rooms were simple and spotlessly clean; each featured a copy of a book entitled, "The Fourteen Virtues," which, upon inspection, proved to be a religious tract extolling the virtues of modesty, chastity, piety, generosity, etc.  Castor inspected the book but found little of interest there.

A polite elf introduced himself to the party as Curry Woodspice, assistant and butler to the great Cleric MacKurian.  Woodspice asked the party to meet MacKurian at his mansion that evening and the party agreed to do so.  Wilbered appropriated the half-orc's half plate armor which he hoped the Cleric MacKurian could help identify.

After getting cleaned up and resting for a bit, they were met by the elf Curry Woodspice who led them to a large, old and somewhat run-down mansion on the edge of town.  Here they were greeted by Cleric Endrew MacKurian, a High Priest of St. Alfonso and a member of the High Council of Blackmoor.  MacKurian was very old and frail and walked with the aid of a staff.  He invited them to have food and wine and told them that he needed the group's help.  MacKurian related that he was from the Great City of Blackmoor and did not own the mansion he was staying in; that was given to him to use by the Great Council (a group of oligarchs who, along with the Duke of Blackmoor, rule Blackmoor). 

Earthsblood had first been discovered in Bramwald by the late Lord of Bramwald, Baron Cornover, half a dozen years ago and had transformed this sleepy little farm town into a boomtown almost overnight.  The earthsblood was a magical substance that, if refined, could power furnaces and lamps, serve as an ingredient in magical potions, cure boils, warts and baldness, etc.  Baron Cornover did not get to enjoy his newfound wealth, however, for he died soon after its discovery.  Apparently attempts led by Corrik Eccko, Priest of Pelor, to contact the dead Baron via Speak with Dead spells did not meet with success.  The money injected into the local economy transformed the town's few landowners into fabulously wealthy "Earthsblood Barons" while the commoners labored in the Earthsblood fields for a few silvers a day, hoping one day to strike it rich themselves.   The rich of Bramwald went in for all sorts of strange fads and modes of conspicuous consumption --- they dressed themselves in outlandish fashions and could often be seen riding their palanquins through the streets, decked in gold and finery.  Although there was no sizable body of water around, there were four ships in town --- each owned by a wealthy family seeming grown mad through their newfound riches.  The most disturbing new fad was a form of sanctioned slavery and it was this that MacKurian wanted their help with.

Recently the rich began showing off semi human slaves.  These creatures were called slinks.  The slinks looked human, although their eyes, ears and heads were small and bald and they never spoke, needed rest or needed food.  They seemed perfectly happy and obedient to be slaves of the wealthy, but the greater the assurances of the slink owners, the more uneasy MacKurian became.  "No creature would willingly submit to slavery," argued MacKurian.  "Find out who is getting the slinks and where they are coming from and I am authorized to pay you 5,000 gold!"  MacKurian also gave each party member  a cure light wounds potion and identified the potion taken from the half orc defeated last session as another cure light wounds potion.

MacKurian said that Baroness Riga Cornover, Silas Ogelthorpe (owner of the exclusive barrel franchise) and Mikhael Gorchaboff (owner of the Winged Victory Inn) were the most well known slink owners.  Since Gorchaboff's Inn was just up the street, the players elected to begin their investigations there after having tracked down Zuran's family.

Curry Woodspice, MacKurian's butler, offered to show them the way to "shantytown," a place where the workers and other new arrivals lived.  Shantytown proved to be a squalid ghetto of huts, lean-tos, tents and other improvised shelters in the southeast part of town.  After having poked around for a bit, they located Zuran's father and the two had a tearful reunion.  Uzna, Zuran's father, related that he and the rest of the survivors from Nudlo were now working in the Earthsblood fields for a few silvers a day, trying to get by and hoping one day to strike it rich.  The worker's shantytown was rife with rumors of workers being replaced by slinks since the slaves didn't need food, water, rest or wages.  Uzna and his comrades didn't know where the slinks came from.  Finally they decided to go to the Winged Victory Inn to hopefully interview Gorchaboff about the slinks; Zuran decided to spend the night with his family and agreed to meet them the next day at the Inn of the Fourteen Virtues.  One of Uzna's comrades offered to walk them back to the other part of town so they didn't get lost in the winding streets.  This commoner pointed out Craft Street, where goods ranging from clothes and shoes to weapons and armor and jewelery were made and sold.  He also indicated a small vegetable shop which seemed peculiar since no one ever seemed to shop there.  As they neared the Winged Victory and The Inn of Fourteen Virtues, he pointed out The Drunken Bear; an establishment which might suit the adventurer's tastes more and the party decided to be sure to go there later.

As they approached the Winged Victory Inn, they saw a group of commoners protesting the use of slinks as waiters in the Winged Victory, chanting, "We want human waiters, not stinking slinks!"  Apparently most of these commoners had lost their jobs as waiters and servants at the Inn when Gorchaboff had replaced them with slinks.  As the players watched, a group of soldiers in banded mail and red tabards and cloaks broke up the protest and dragged the people away.  The Winged Victory itself was a huge structure with a walled garden and uniformed guards at the entrance. 

One of the attendants at the entrance took a look at their battered traveling clothes, muddy boots and ragged beards and informed them that they were not properly dressed for The Winged Victory.  They made some noise about having traveled a long way to eat at their friend Gorchaboff's Inn and wouldn't Gorchaboff be upset if he discovered that his friends were turned away, etc., etc., etc.  Finally the attendants relented and said that they could be seated on the patio.  Inside the courtyard, slinks in spotless uniforms hustled about with trays and napkins.  A rather imperious maitre d' named Carl seated them at at table in the courtyard with lamps hung from trees overhead.  Carl greeted them rather coldly, glancing dissaprovingly at their muddy boots and rough clothes and weapons and gave them menus decorated with strange runes.  He told them that the slinks would bring them whatever they wished providing they held the menu while ordering.  Mace walked over and looked in the windows of the restaurant, causing the maitre d' to snap his fingers and cluck dissaprovingly.

Inside, Mace saw a large lavishly decorated room with tables set with linen and sparkling silverware.  More slink waiters hustled about.  A huge pool in the center of the room held a full sized ship, complete with rigging and sails, and the most lavishly dressed diners were seated at tables aboard the ship, eating and drinking.  The players ordered lavish dinners by holding the menus and speaking to the slinks.  Mace attempted to order the lobster without holding the menu and the slink seemed not to hear him.  When Mace picked up the menu and ordered again, the slink nodded and hustled off to fill his order.

As soon as the food arrived, Mace picked up his lobster, took a bite and began complaining loudly that he demanded to see Gorchaboff right away.  The Maitre D' scuttled over and began wringing his hands as the players pushed away their plates with disgust and began complaining about the meal.  They demanded to see Gorchaboff but the Maitre d' wrung his hands and said that the owner was not on the premises.  The Maitre d' could not say for certain where Gorchaboff was, exactly, but told them that Gorchabof had an office at the Earthsblood Miner's Guild and they could make appointments to see him there between the hours of 9 am and 5 pm.  After it became apparent that Gorchaboff was not going to come and introduce himself, the players got up, refusing to pay for their meal, and began to depart.  Mace grabbed the plate and took it with him, saying that perhaps his lobster might be fit to feed to a dog.  There was a brief tense moment where the maitre d' and the guards attempted to prevent Mace from leaving with the restaurant's china and linen, but Mace ended up taking the lobster and leaving the plate, dripping butter as he went.

Finally they went to the Drunken Bear where they ran into Tom, Dick, Harry and Larry -- the four muleteers who had travelled with them in Mummar Hafiz's caravan.  A minstrel was playing a popular song called "The Ballad of Lord Leodoc" which chronicled this ancient hero's exploits in the War of Ending about 100 years ago, mentioning his Castle Greyspire on an island in the northeastern sea as well as the death of his lady which caused Lord Leodoc unending grief.  There was plenty of drink and wenches so the party was much happier then they had been in The Inn of Fourteen Virtues.  Mace got into a long and rambling conversation with the drunken bartender about matters in town.  The bartender loudly said that he didn't like the slinks and didn't trust all these "fancy pants new rich people in town, what with their fancy clothes and big hats and rings on every finger and whatnot..."  After they drank their fill, they stumbled back to The Inn of Fourteen Virtues, hammered on the door till a sleepy servant let them in and clattered up the stairs, probably awakening everone in the place.

The next morning dawned painfully for the hung over crew.  They gathered themselves up and stumbled downstairs for breakfast.  In conversation with Mummar Hafiz, they learned that it was a crime to injure or attack a slink in town and that the Monitors (mercenary guards hired by the Earthsblood Miner's Guild) enforced these laws. 

After finishing breakfast, they went down to the Miner's Guild to try to get an appointment to see Gorchaboff.  The guild was a large and elaborate building with fluted columns, fancy cornices and other ostentatious ornamentation.  Across the square from the guild hall stood the much more modest town hall.  Two of the monitors stood on armed guard in front of the Guild hall.  After a hushed conference in the square, the party approached the Guild Hall and asked to see Gorchaboff.  The guards directed them to a reception area inside.

Inside the hall was all gaudy marble and frescoes.  Elaborate staircases led upstairs from the huge echoing reception hall.  A receptionist sat at a small desk in the hall.  A directory beside the desk read:


The adventure ended here.

character/player:	class/level:	XP at start:	XP award:		XP at end:
Mace (Mike D.)	human FTR 7th	27435	567		28,002
Wilbered (NPC)	human CL 7th	24827	567		25,394
Castor (Steve B.)	human Bard 6th	18931	567		19,498
Trygvie (NPC)	Elven MU 6th	20653	284		20,937
Kane (Al G.)	Human Monk 7th	24442	567		25,009
Zuran (NPC)	Human Fighter 4th	8318	284		8,602
Rhyneh (Tom S.)	Human Rogue 5th				10,000