Tales from the Cutthroat Inn: Against the Obscene Cult

... or Fish Wives have Fish Knives!

Session Date
19th day of the Month of the Yellow Moon Dog 4500 CCC (May 19th)

Characters Present
Annapurna, Altanian Ranger
Grafari, Skandik Scout
Green Sonya, Half Orc Barbarian
Red Hawk, Altanian Fighter

Events

• Now returned to the city state after several days in the wilderness of the Dearthwood, the party took some downtime actions. 
• Grafari and Annapurna decided to identify the magic items they picked up last time - a Talking Doll and two Potions of Healing.
• Red Hawk engaged in pit fighting, variously fighting an orc gimp, a troll with one hand tied to a stake, and a Tarantine mercenary.  He lost his first two bouts but was able to beat the mercenary, save his honor, and gain 50gp. However, he made a rival in the form of the troll who was mad he had to fight with a hand tied behind is back, claiming it was the only reason Red Hawk came anywhere close to beating him. The troll's name was Ribbleskin.
• Green Sonya began researching whether or not she could train mice or rats to help her weave clothes out of spider-silk (to be adjudicated later).
• Since they have been without the magical aid of Ion Skamos and Waq Awaqa, they decided to pursue a different hook this week - the case of the missing Litigation Tricksters.
• The party decided to buy a foppish upper middle class outfit for Red Hawk, whose red skin made him look the closest to the deep pink of an Alryan. He would serve as bait while the other Rainbow Warriors waited nearby for him to be ambushed.
• It was decided that all but Red Hawk would head to Shady Street during the afternoon and that Annapurna would scale one of the nearby roofs while Grafari and Green Sonya pretended to be engaged in a dice game.
• On the way, while heading down Slash Street, Grafari was hit in the head by a pot jettisoned from the nearby Firedrake Meadhall.  Annapurna and Green Sonya took him down a nearby alley to tend to his head, and were treated to an odd sight.
• Across the street, at the Grub & Grunt, a fight had broken out between a number of men in pirate costume. They spilled into the street, clashing their cutlasses together and yelling loudly. 
• Before long a party of constables showed up to disperse these pirates, but Annapurna noticed that several of them fled north towards Shady Street with knowing looks on their faces - as if the dispersal was part of a larger plan.
• The trio, including Grafari who had come to his senses, sprinted after the pirates down the Street of Crafts. Grafari and Green Sonya were able to make it down the street and on to Shady street in time to see  the pirates duck down some nearby alleys. 
• Annapurna was blocked by some merchants who had rolled their carts to block the street so they could pack up  and head home.  She decided to use one of these carts to help her onto a nearby roof.
• At this point the bell of the Temple of the Spider God tolled for vespers, which was Red Hawks cue to head up the street.  He made it to Shady Street without much incident. Once there he noticed that most of the Tricksters  had cleared out and the street was mostly empty except for a couple of beggars looking at him expectantly.
• He gave one a silver which prompted the beggar's eyes to grow wide and for him to ask "what is it you want to know?" Red Hawk was confused, being unwise in the ways of the city. The beggar, whose name was "Two Seconds" Demazo, explained that he was a member of the Beggar's Guild, who acted as information brokers in the city in exchange for the Overlord not kicking them all out.
• Red Hawk asked Demazo if he knew where the people abducted from Shady Street were being taken, and Demazo motioned to a smallish, seemingly abandoned stone temple to Pertrasso, Goddess of Deep Water Fish. When this information was relayed later to Annapurna she noted that this meant the kidnappers were "Stone Temple Pirates."
• Shortly after giving this information, Demazo noted the approach of several pirates along the empty street and used that moment to make his exit.
• The pirates attacked Red Hawk but soon discovered that under his trickster garb was a hardened steel breastplate and the thews of a mighty warrior!
• Hearing the fight from the inside of a nearby cheese shop, Green Sonya and Grafari rushed out to aid their friend, while Annapurna provided cover from a nearby roof.
• The fight didn't last long, and despite Green Sonya's best efforts was quite lethal for the pirates.  They were able to save one, but Green Sonya's attempt to use her axe non lethally lead to another's face caving in from the blunt side - revealing that his mouth contained strange octopus eggs!
• Searching the bodies they found that the "pirates" were actually dressed in pirate-like costumes, and also added fishing nets, fishing hooks, and other accouterments of the sea to their outfits. Red Hawk termed them "life stylers"
• However, a band of more genuine pirates was coming drunkenly down the Street of Crafts so Grafari, Green Sonya, and Red Hawk took their prisoner to a nearby alley while Annapurna stayed to watch the pirates.
• Before the pirates could get onto Shady Street, Annapurna noticed a small, robed figure on a nearby roof.  The figure lifted its arms in a wizardly gesture and suddenly a stereotypical depiction of a demon appeared before the pirates.  They ran in terror and Annapurna hid so as to not be sighted by such a powerful magician.
• The rest of the party interrogated their captive and learned that he was a lay member of the cult of Partress and that they were kidnapping people to sacrifice so that they would have enough blood to summon a number of "mist demons" into the city and "undo the Overlord." Red Hawk noted that this was a bad trade off since the Overlord may be a dick but mist demons are hardly any better.
• The captive, whose name they discovered was Ralfos agreed to meet them later at the Cutthroat Inn and begin a more noble life as a member of the Beggar's guiild, since Red Hawk said he had a contact with them.
• The Rainbow Warriors then decided it was time to enter the temple. They had learned from Ralfos that the boarded door was actually false - the boards did not connect to the wall and merely added extra weight to the door.
• They were greeted with a long hall that ended in a great archway and had a door on either wall. They elected first to check the rightmost door and  found that beyond was a largeish room with a great granite bowl in the center.  Upon the bowl was written something in Orichalcan, which Annapurna was able to roughly translate as "The Self is the Only Worthy Sacrifice."
• Green Sonya, after some hesitation, dripped 1hp of blood into the bowl and  found through some telepathic means that she could thrice in her life summon fish to her aid. Red Hawk attempted to follow suit but was informed that he lacked faith since he had waited to see if it was efficacious.
• Down the beyond the left door they found a room with tumbled dressers and a set of robes crudely piled into a nest.  This chamber was home to a small number of cockatrices, causing Green Sonya to close the door without a moment's hesitation and the party to consider how to best jam it, since they lacked spikes or stakes.
• They decided to use a sharpened torch, but the process of making it attracted a group of six steam mephits which appeared through the archway. 
• Green Sonya was able to explain to the Mephits that she had made the proper sacrifice, and Red Hawk presented a pendant that belonged to one of the "pirates" they had killed and the two together made the Mephits think they belonged there.  They even went so far as to move a statue in the next room that allowed access to the dungeon beneath.
• There were two stairways down into the dungeon and Grafari determined that one of them was trapped.  They decided, since they could avoid the trap, that this one would be the best to go down since it would be more likely to lead to a treasure room or the leaders' chambers and they could fight them while still fresh.
• Beyond they found a secret door that led to some sort of personal quarters - perhaps those of a priest - but it was currently unoccupied.  They saw that he had several texts laid out, some of which were historical and religious but some where letters referring to "the other two sisters" "Glaukos" and "the Spire." They also found a coin purse here.
• Despite seeing another secret door leading out, they decided to return to their initial path and found that beyond the trap was a room full of garbage. This room also had a tunnel leading to what Annapurna guessed was the Overlord's sewers. Red Hawk came to the not unreasonable conclusion that the trap, and one of the piles of garbage, were set up to keep some sewer creature away from the dungeon.
• Exploring further they found a kind of corridor of secret doors, but while exploring it their torchlight attracted an occupant of one of the rooms.  She appeared as a young but hideously unattractive woman with fishy lips and huge, unblinking eyes.  Later they realized that this sea hag had only half-assed her disguise due to being disturbed in the night.
• She attempted to turn Annapurna into a goldfish, unsuccessfully, and the party attacked.  She shot a lightning bolt at Grafari and Red Hawk. Grafari was able to dodge out of the way and only take damage from the searing heat, but Red Hawk only survived through some luck that mortals are unaware of.
• She then screamed for aid and a slew of cultist/pirates arrived through a secret door to aid her. 
• Unfortunately for her, Green Sonya chopped her in the calf where her two handed ax and then Grafari stabbed her in the throat as she buckled. Annapurna then shot a number of arrows into the oncoming cultists. 
• Grafari shouted "where is your god now" as he backed away and slunk into the shadows, and the combined shock of combat and this insult caused the cultists to flee...
• All except one, an acolyte who, upon arriving blasted Green Sonya with a brilliant radiance.  
• Red Hawk then ran up to him and severed his head from his neck, proving that this cultist could die like other men.
• With the cult in route and the leaders dead, the Rainbow Warriors picked up what treasure they could and freed two tricksters whose sacrifice they had interrupted.

Monsters Defeated

13 Cultists, 1 Acolyte, 1 Sea Hag

Treasure Gained

250gp, 8ep, historical texts worth 50gp, 6 citrines carved into the shape of eyes (50gp each), a jug with strange magical symbols on it, and a dagger seemingly made out of fish bones. The characters are also awarded 700gp in reward money from the Trickster Kogmeni Goldtooth (this does not count towards xp).

Xp Per Player

503