The Thursday Game 2/21/19 – It’s Racing Day! It’s Racing Day!
Recap of the February 21st in the year of our Lord 2019 –
Note: The ranger could not join us this time.
Welcome to Dinosaur Race day in Port Nyanzaru! The Warlock wanders the town seeking information and townsfolk are happy to oblige. Exposition time! Townsfolk confirm there are undead in the jungle encroaching the city. A group called the Order of the Gauntlet is an association of paladins and clerics who have recently moved into Chult with a mission to destroy the undead. Two rivers lead out of the city; the Soshenstar leads to the southwest, the Tiryki leads directly south. The Order of the Gauntlet have established Camp Righteous and Camp Vengeance down the Soshenstar. But rumor is that one of them was recently lost. Of note, we do not know the deities the Order worships, but the common deities in Chult include Helm, Torm and Tyr.
Folks tell us the schedule for the races today with the four-legged dinosaurs at 10 a.m., the two-legged dinosaurs at noon and the No Holds Barred race in the afternoon. The Monk decides to take Wakanga’s advice and places one hundred gold on Big Honker in the No Holds Barred event.
Suddenly, a fight breaks out in a corral where dinosaurs and riders are gathering. Two men from different teams yell insults at each other, weapons are drawn, and one stabs the other. Town guards pour in to restore order. One of the guards takes a suspicious double take at the Monk. He walks up and asks his name. Two other guards stride purposely to join the first. The guard address the monk, “Ifan Talro’a was bludgeoned to death last night with a staff and you were the last person seen there who had a staff. You are accused of murder!” The guards escort the Monk to a jail cell to wait for trial in the morning. The Paladin follows pleading to speak as the Monk’s advocate.
Also, this argument does not work against the guards.
The rest of the party goes to Ifan Talro’a’s searching for evidence in hopes of freeing their friend. We find the villa on lock down. The Warlock charms one of the employees to allow the party to see the murder scene. The Cleric notes there was no lock on a door leading outside to a balcony. Mode of entry?
The Druid finds footsteps in loose soil in the garden and makes a plaster cast. Cunningly, the Druid takes the form of a bloodhound and sniffs the ground to pick up the murderer’s scent. The party makes its way back into town, but the Druid is unable to pick up the trail among the thousands here for Dinosaur Day.
The party heads to the Harbormaster’s to try to catch a break in their investigations. We ask the Harbormaster if he has noticed any newcomers to town, specifically one who uses a staff. The Harbormaster says the only newcomers to town are a raft filled with survivors of the Order of the Gauntlet Camp debacle. Also, there was an odd hunter that came up from the Tiryki river with messages for Ifan. Increasingly, it looks like we need to hire a guide and search down one of the rivers.
Meanwhile back at the jail, Cindra enters the dungeon and vows for the trustworthiness of the Monk to the guards and frees him with divination magic. Now free, the Monk gets word that Big Honker won the race for a not very spectacular 14 gold in winnings. All the odds were on Big Honker after all.
We check on the bulletin boards located around town. The party discovers guides are registered through someone named Jobol. We listen as he describes the various guides and decide someone named Musharib fits the party’s budget. Musharib talks of his quest to reclaim Hrakhamar, his clan’s ancestral forge. He tells us that If we assist him in obtaining Hrakhamar, he will waive his usual five gold per day guide’s fee. We agree to join him in his journey down the Soshenstar river towards the Kobold Mountains.
Time to go shopping for our trip! We purchase two canoes for 100 gold, supplies in the form of food, insect repellent, tents and rope. The Cleric offers to supplement this with summoned food and water. We meet Musharib with our assembled supplies and set out from the port to the river’s mouth. Once there, we make camp for the night and a long rest while our Druid invokes the protection of the Gloaming Court. We travel peacefully until the third day when, as we row, two Jaculi suddenly drop from trees overhanging the river.