Blunderdome

Billy spends a day performing the tasks that Jank normally does.  After being mistreated, spit on, yelled at, ordered about, Billy started keeping a very low profile.  Routine checks on the door, were followed by sneaking off and wandering about the battle market.  When the party returns, Billy discloses that there are only two gnoll patrols inside the market.  And other than Kardiswan, there are a few bugbears, a flind, and a ogre who enjoys strangling opponents.  Billy also notes that there is a fighter who doesn't seem to be there willingly.

Kushi and some of the party go off to try to recruit Haleen, others continue to wander around the battle market.  And after Haleen is on board, a general plan devised, the brave party starts a scrap in the main hall.  The Three Jaw Tribe is set loose on the other gnolls, and the party focuses on the heavies in the room.

Billy starts things with a shot at the ogre, as Luce moves on stage to draw him closer.  The party groups in on the stage, but the bugbears seem to be taking their time finishing their drinks and gearing up.  As the ogre falls, the bugbears are moving in.  The two moving in the main aisle are met by Luce and Kushi, with cover fire from Billy.  The lone bugbear is met by Haleen and Lars.  The bugbears fall quickly, the party is then drawn back into the fight when Kardiswan appears in the ring and strikes Haleen with his vicious-looking great-axe.  Kardiswan shows himself to be a very dangerous foe wielding his axe, so Lars makes attempts to grease his weapon and succeeds on the second try.  This turns the battle to the party's favor, and Kardiswan falls attempting to retrieve his weapon.

Any remaining gnolls flee Kelmarane, anyone the party made an alliance with remains in Kelmarane.  While word is sent to Almah that Kelmarane is clear, the party searches (ransacks) the battle market.  The party finds the gear of the Lions of Senara.  Oxvard and Felliped reclaim their gear, and give the gear of their fallen comrades to the party.  Billy, begins to refer to Oxvard as chief, and joins Oxvard on burial detail.  First, the fallen Lions of Senara, then the priests of the church, then clearing out the battle market.  Billy seems unusually attentive to Oxvard.  Fillaped helps for a while, but later starts searching Kelmarane for maps.  The Moldspeaker feels pity for Kardiswan, as if he was destined for great things and had fallen from his path.

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Session Characters:  Luce, Kushi, Lars, Billy.
Session XP:  2100 XP each
Session Loot:  +1 ring of protection, +1 cloak of resistance, masterwork chainmail, +1 dagger, wand of bull's strength (8 charges), silversheen (4 doses), +1 amulet of natural armor, +2 cloak of charisma, slippers of spider climbing, small silver masterwork flute (130 GP), three (3) potions of cure moderate wounds, potion of expeditious retreat, two (2) masterwork breastplates, masterwork flindbar, +1 halberd, five (5) daggers, ring of feather falling, +1 lawful outsider bane greataxe, four (4) large garnets (400 GP each),

Game Update: Payout

Two party members accompanied Uncle Tolo and Armando to Katapesh to liquidate some loot.  With Uncle Tolo's assistance, the party was able to generate a bit of cash.

150 GP - Per each Almah's remaining payment
500 GP - Per each payout for liquidated loot

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Unallocated items:  +1 longsword, ring of jumping, ring of the ram (37 charges)
Party Fund:  845.85 GP
Each party member receives: 650 GP

Note:  If I have forgotten who spoke up for any of the items, let me know.  Somebody in the party has to be able to use a (medium) longsword.  I'll check the PC sheets.

Get Me To The Church On Time

Uncle Philler Tolo and Armando return from an unusually quick trip to Katapesh.  In their company is a feisty wayang witch named Hazel.  Uncle Philler suggests that Hazel would be a benefit to the party's effort to reclaim Kelmarane.  With the party already full of unusual characters, Alma agrees.

Making their way back into Kelmarane, the party makes for the south western apporoach.   With the gnoll allies in tow, the group makes for the graveyard behind the church.  Exploring the graveyard, they meet a kindly but grumpy priest.   Suspicious, the party detects that he is undead.  He leads them into the church where he slams the door and bars it to separate the party from their gnoll escort.  Kushi gets raked early and looks a bit worse for wear.  The creature is tough, with the party's weapons not fully affecting the monster.  After he is defeated, the group explores the church and finds an interdict seal in the basement of the church.  Even the chime of opening is insufficient to break the seal.

The party moves on to explore the remaining buildings of the down, and walk by the gatehouse without engaging any gnolls.  The gnoll on watch doesn't seem too interesting in the gnoll escorted group of fellows.  Finally taking the plunge, they go up to the main entrance of the battle market where they are greeted by a goblin in a jester's outfit.  Jank, as he is known, escorts them in to the main area of the battle market.  The party refuses his direction to get on stage, insisting instead to wander the stalls.  Dejected Jank returns to watch the front entrance.

After casing the building, the party gets the idea to get Billy to stand in for Jank for a day.  With some shopping, Kushi gets some help overcoming her fever with 50gp of antiplague.  And Billy gets a dose of stimulant to help him stay awake.  The party returns to the old slave market to rest and recuperate overnight.

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Session characters:  Kushi, Lars, Luce, Billy, and Hazel.
Session XP:  387 XP each.
Session Loot:  none.

Game Update: Character Advancement

Kushi, Lars, Luce, and Billy have advanced to the third (3rd) level.

Who's That Knocking At My Door? or Little Pig Little Pig Let Me In!

On their journey back to Kelmarane to search for Felliped, the party was attacked by a blood lizard.  The party got to experience the disgusting blood spew attack of the lizard, fortunately Jon was able to hop out of the way.

Once back at their forward base, the group begins to search door to door along the east end of the south road.  Stealthily searching each building, they discover Felliped.  He is in hungry, ill-equipped, wounded, but able to move out.  While the party prepares to return to the monastery, Jon and Billy sneak over to the battle market.  Billy sets up watch and covers Jon, while Jon climbs up to the balcony where the howler's tent is located.  Jon tosses some alchemists fire over to the tent, and it immediately catches on fire.  Jon hops down, and he and Billy return to the party and leave Kelmarane with shouts of fire in the distance.

Later that night, a band of gnolls show up and signal a parley with the guards on watch.  Lars is summoned to translate.  The gnolls are from the Three Jaw Tribe, and enemies of the Kulldis tribe that now occupies Kelmarane.  He grudgingly states that he has been ordered to offer his help to the forces of Lady Almah.  Dashki shows up and helps further the discussion with the gnolls.  Almah trusts Dashki, but not the gnolls, and she whispers to Lars "if the gnolls look like they will betray us, cut them down and Dashki too if it comes to that."

Lars instructs the Three Jaw gnolls to use their hideout as a base and ambush any gnolls that patrol near that building.  Lars renames them with more common sounding names Scrotanium, Scrotor, Testeclese, Testicullus, and Nads (the leader).

The party returns to Kelmarane and investigates the tannery, where Jon thought he saw an old woman.  Well the old woman turned out to be a harpy.  The party surrounded the house and knocked on the door.  When the harpy answered, there was and immediate beat-down starting with a musket shot to the face.  Her first action is to surrender and offer her help in defeating Kardswann, leader of the gnolls and ruler of Kellmarane.

The party gathers up Nads' group and plans to approach the guardian dire boar, with the guise of a gnoll delivery.  The ambush strategy worked very well, except for Luce, who took a proper goring for the team.  The party returned to the monastery to discuss the next step.

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Session Members:  Luce, Lars, Kushi, Jon, and Billy
Session XP: 880 XP each.
Session Loot:  gold necklace worth 130 GP, ring of the ram (37 charges)