The Tale

This is the story of five young men: a stargazer, a poisoner, a thief, a sage, and dabbler in all things. Although each had their own path to where they stood, this was the beginning of their adventure.

The Black Key

It all starts in an outlaw camp outside the city of Tarantia; no place for handsome boys like these. They were down to the last few silver among them, and soon they wouldn't even have the money to survive on the fish-head stew, or even the sewer rat on a stick they'd grown accustomed to. It was time for some work. Not the kind where you shovel shit or burn the dead. No, they were looking for work only the "skilled" could do. They were gonna steal stuff.

The thief and the dabbler had made their way around town and learned much of its ways. They of course stayed mainly to the Old Quarter as they'd look terribly out of place in the new parts of town on the other side of the river. That was a place for nobles and wealthy merchants, not the unbathed and ungroomed.

The dabbler noticed a man just sitting in a park, sometimes taking money sometimes giving it. He approached the man. The dabbler spoke and introduced himself as Thorar. The old man turned out to be Theodore Sibelius of the Sibelius Gang who controlled the Avenue of Lions. Theodore directed him to his brother to set our boys up with some work.

The boys paid a silver for their meager belongings to be looked after by a guy who did that sort of thing and set off to meet Andre Sibelius in the Green Man Tavern. The Sibelius gang happen to be followers of Mitra, a charitable god who cares for cripples and coincidence. As coincidence would have it our boys did have a cripple, Hugo the poisoner, our puzzlingly attractive hunchback. Also, Andre Sibelius couldn't help but take the sage's name, which was also Andre, as a sign of kinship.

And so, with a cripple, a bit of coincidence, and the right words, they received their first quest. They were tasked to find a simple black iron key held by a man known as the Prince of Thieves who had recently died. They had to do it quick, as the family was away in Argos. They set out that very night, crossing the river into New Tarantia. The boys felt great discomfort in this part of town. They had heard rumor of thieves getting their hands chopped off and the worst being hung. But they had planned at great length and it was a good plan. Don't get caught.

When they saw the compound where the "Prince" lived it became obvious they should wait till dark. Hugo had another plan, he'd drug some wine bottles and gift them to the mourning servants. The others thought the idea was great, they dropped off the wine with a note "from a servant who has lost a master". They hoped this would work.

When night fell and the only light was from the crescent moon the boys scaled the wall and snuck up to the door. Lix, our thief, made easy work of the door and they were in, none the wiser. They went room to room and came upon a woman in her room passed out. The wine did its job, she didn't stir. They passed shrines to Mitra and found a room with scrolls searching the genealogy of Lucius Vasalius, the Prince of Thieves they guessed.

In another room they found a crossbow in pieces, Andre the sage could see the quality was superb and that it looked to be the makings of one that could even reload itself.

Thorar made his way up the stairs and upon reaching the sixth step, his hairs stood on edge. He dodged a crossbow bolt just in time. It was a trap. Being the dabbler he was, he had some skill with traps but he knew Lix the thief would be able to quickly detect any others so they could get to the goods faster. Lix chose to be extra careful, and thankfully so, he found that the second to last step would trigger another trap, but it didn't seem to be another crossbow.

The upper floor was much nicer than the lower, here you could truly see the wealth. Lix inspected the master bedroom door, the two sconces on either side could be moved. The traps were set with great precision, it would be near impossible to untrap this door, he had to guess.

He pulled the sconces down and opened the door on the right. A crossbow bolt struck directly into the other door. He was lucky, if he had opened the other one his head would be sporting a new hole. He felt woozy though, and not from shock… the poisoner checked his hands. Lix had been dosed with belladonna from touching the doorknob. If Hugo didn't do something quick his thief friend would be hallucinating and this job might be lost.

Lix knew he might only have a few more minutes of clarity and used his skills to search the room for the key. He found some jewelry and pocketed it, then found the key they had been quested to find along with a blank codex. He checked the closet and a chest and under the bed, and then gave the closet another look. He pushed the clothing aside and saw a safe and an altar, not to Mitra, but to Eremis. This was Lix's god, the god of thieves. On the altar was a fine dagger emblazoned with the sign of Eremis, a gold statue and some candlesticks.

He eyed them but he felt he must check the safe first. The safe was built beautifully, there were no weak points he could see, it was free standing but might have been attached to the ground. When Lix told this to Thorar, the dabbler pushed he weight against it trying to see if it would budge. It did, ever so slightly. It also, let out a stream of gas, the two of them immediately felt sleepy, and ran out of the room. They passed out in seconds.

Although they may look different Lix and Andre are brothers, twin brothers. They share a special bond, and when Lix passed out Andre could feel something was wrong and raced upstairs. Luckily Hugo heard him and warned Andre in time for him to skip the second to the last step. Andre used his smelling salts to try and wake the two, but the gas was powerful and they would not stir.

Hugo knew of a way to wake them up, but it wouldn't be pleasant. He made his remedy and handed it to Andre to administer. It had to go up a place a brother shouldn't be poking around. But he did it. Lix woke up soon enough, and Thorar not long after. They went to leave. Lix couldn't move from the door though. His god had placed that dagger there for him to take. If he didn't at least try and get it he would never forgive himself. Andre could tell his brother was up to no good but stood by him when he explained what he must do.

Lix took a towel and held it to his face, drawing a token of his god from his pouch. He kissed it and asked Eremis for his blessing. He raced into the room, his eyes burning from the gas, he made it to the closet. The thief grabbed the knife, dropped the token, and raced back out. Andre slammed the door shut behind him, making sure his brother was alright. They left the compound. All was free and clear, no alarm was raised so they made it over the bridge with no problems.

They made their way to the Green Man Tavern and handed over the key and jewelry. Although Andre Sibelius remarked on how little they stole, he admired their professionalism and punctuality. Thorar remembered the knife of Eremis and placed it on the table. Lix visibly sighed, and told Sibelius the knife was for his god, he couldn't give it over. Sibelius noted its exceptional craftsmanship, however, showing great generosity, he let it go. He followed Mitra but respected other's beliefs. Lix was lucky.

They didn't make enough to get rich, but they made enough to live in Old Tarantia another week. This was only the beginning of their adventure.

Under the Pirate's Thumb

The group grew. Their good fortune had been noted by two other guys in the outlaw camp, a doctor and a stargazer. The stargazer quickly latched onto Tharar and helped him fence the loot from the last job. He was named after King Conan, and having some Cimmerian blood, he fit the name well. Conan stood a good head above the others, and it could be Tharar was just too intimidated to tell him to get lost.

The good doctor Ambrose on the other hand came to the boys with the best invitation; he had a job for them. He had looted a dead body earlier in the day and found a map among the possessions. It looked like a treasure map. The boys had never seen one before of course, but they were adventurers now and and they could just tell there was a promise of gold somewhere on that scrap of leather. They could feel it in their bones, and besides, it was their only lead. With payment to The Sibelious Gang due any day, they had to take the chance.

Andre the sage and his new doctor friend made haste to the library to see what they could learn about their map to glory. Quickly they learned it was a map of the sewers, particularly the area under the bit of city called the Pirates Thumb. The others bought supplies, while Lix and Conan went out for a drink instead.

They felt they were prepared enough and and walked out the city to the bay where the sewer entrance they thought best was. Lix used his superior climbing skills to make it to the entrance and sent rope over for the others to follow. They made it to the cave entrance when Conan told them to go ahead while he kept watch. They couldn't help but agree it was smart to have a lookout, so they went on without him.

For a while they couldn't tell if they were going the right way, but the sage saw a marking with an arrow. It said OTD, Old Tarantia Docks. They followed the passage, but before long the walkway widened and they found themselves facing a large puddle. Tharar walked through it and noticed a disturbance in the water. A small creature jumped onto his chest, and another jumped past his face. Ambrose yelled "Leeches!". This might seem an over-reaction, but it was not; the leeches were huge and they jumped easily with shockingly good aim.

Lix had an empty bag and tried his best to cover his face with it as he ran across the water to safety. He was tired of standing still and the call of treasure was too strong. Tharar quickly followed with Ambrose close behind. Soon their faces sported a blood sucking parasite each. They clawed at their faces to rip the leeches off while Lix looked on in shocked amusement, unable to help. He thought they were just being sissies but when he saw the damage done his smirk faded. He worried for his brother Andre who wasn't the fastest guy around. Although one did make its way to his twin's face, it must have been full as it dropped on it's own before he could even react.

Now safe, they collected themselves. Wounded and shaken, they pressed forward. Then an unbelievably foul smell hit their senses. Most were immediately nauseated while a few could only just hold themselves together. Ambrose didn't even notice, luckily for him, his lack of a sense of smell was a blessing for once. They came to an open chamber where there were multiple divergences. In the center of the room was a pool, it seemed to be the source of the ghastly odor.

As Lix approached the pool he saw a bubble forming in the goop. It expanded unnaturally and seemed to be heading right for him. With well placed steps he was able to make it to the next closest passage quickly without slipping. Andre followed him at his call. The others went the other way around and were soon cornered by more bubbles of ooze. Tharar was first out and about to be cornered. He chose instead to use his dagger to pop the bubble of foul ooze. He jabbed at the bubble and was met with a loud pop and was immediately knocked back with such force. He hit the wall behind him and fell to the ground. It hurt, and it smelled worse. Andre took a lantern to the passage he was in and saw it was far too small for any of them to fit through; he and Lix would have to go back in the room with the sludge. They were greeted with a giant bubble waiting for them. Andre picked up a rock and flung it at the mass. Even though they were a few yards away they were still met with a strong blow sending them back into the passage.

Ambrose and Hugo had popped another bubble sending stench into the air, but this one was smaller and didn't have any real force behind it. They started popping them as they formed and found all but their noses had safe passage. They dodged the larger bubbles and popped the smaller ones and eventually all had made it through. Those who didn't feel sick before felt it by now, with Tharar and Andre vomiting and dry heaving once there was nothing left.

They quickly left behind the stench then slowed to a more sustainable pace. Perhaps they had made too much noise because soon enough a bat had flown right onto Andre's pretty face. It scratched at him as he flailed about trying to get it away from him. The bat moved to his neck and cut into him. Felix felt his brother's great danger and pushed the others aside trying to make for Andre. The bat had cut deep and was draining his blood. Lix swung at the bat and managed to grab it away. The wound was terrible, Hugo and Ambrose rushed to treat the injury. Andre was not well; they had to get him out of those caves. They knew it would be difficult against the dangers they passed so they chose to scout ahead.

Tharar went ahead and noticed slightly drier land down one dead end passage. He made it down the other and came back with burns on his chest and back. Some sort of ooze or creature under it had thrown acidic volleys at him. That was not a safe place to go.

Ambrose and Lix chose to check out the dead end Tharar had first gone down. A few things he mentioned seemed out of place. Lix quickly noted something was off about the far wall. There was a pool of water and he could see odd parasitic creatures in it, but he wanted a better look past it. He extended his legs to perch on each side of the wall and was able to make his way closer to the odd spot in the wall. It had been mortared up and there was something behind it. He could tell it would be near impossible to get what was behind it before the caves flooded for the nightly flush, they would have to come back.

After much debate it was agreed they should leave the way they came in. It was treacherous but it was known. If they continued down the cave the other way they would likely pop out among pirates who would know what they were up to. They'd be gutted like fish and their adventure would end.

They snuck past the bats, held back the ooze and covered up every bit of flesh as they passed the leeches. They were free from the cave, but, Conan was gone. They hoped he was not captured and they were not walking into an ambush, but they had to get Andre away. They snuck out, seeing nothing they made a harness and guided Andre over the rocks. They saw a ship coming for them, and a man yelling out to them. It was Conan, he had made nice with a fisherman. If it had been pirates who knows what their fate would have been. They loaded Andre into the boats and made way for shore.

Conan was clearly annoyed to hear they got nothing from the caves. Oddly he didn't think they needed to go back for what was behind the mortared wall. They shrugged it off as some Gunderlander buffoonery and got Andre home safe.

They had spent money. They came back injured. They had nothing to show for it. Sure there was clearly something down there, but until the party was healed, it would have to wait.