After Action Report; Cauldron Session 1

After 6 days on the river, the party was especially happy to reach dry land. Of course, they still had to hike up the side of Cauldron. They were pleased to see that entry to the city was only 1sp. It was a cold and wet day as they made their way to The Tipped Tankard Tavern. A mugging in an alleyway attracted the party's attention. Originally thinking the victim was getting beat up for his poor fashion sense, the band of adventurers took the situation more seriously when they were told to bugger off. The group succeeded in driving off three street thugs who were beating up a priest. The priest, Ruphus, asked the party to escort him back to his temple, which they did. Once there, the acting high priest, Jenya, solicited the party's support in finding 4 children that had gone missing from the local orphanage-- the latest in a string of disappearances in the city. The party were convinced by an offer of a potion of cure serious wounds (each)-- and 2500gp for the safe return of all the children. The party accepted the offer. Once finishing their business at the church, the party went in search of Szigfel, the gnome. They were disappointed not to find him in the local tavern. The next day, they returned to the church to learn what a sacred relic had divined of the missing children's presence. It gave them clues in the form of a riddle. The group then visited the local equipment store, Skie's Treasury to see if the gnome might have tried to sell the golden bowl there. Skie, a gnome, thought that the adventurers might have been telling a racist joke about ' a gnome walks into a shop with a golden bowl...'. Convinced of their meaning, she agrees to let Szigfel know where to find them if she sees him. They then went to the orphanage to gather more clues about the children's disappearance. There, they learned that the local locksmith, Keygan Ghelve, had made the locks for the orphanage. This info along with the riddle from the Star of Justice, convinced them to pay Keygan a visit. Keygan, another gnome, showed off his wares. His shop led to a second clue mentioned in the riddle. Gavlin's explorations induced a fight in which a strange-looking humanoid was killed (by Kurgan), while Locke heroically pushed Keygan into his own fireplace in an attempt to subdue the gnome. Burned and beaten, Keygan submitted....

Keygan told the party that about 3 months earlier, Tiervan Wispwort, Aeryk Gylbar (a local barrister) and Keygan were sitting in the locksmith's front room exchanging gossip. On this particular night, a group of tall humanoids appeared and said they had come up from Jzadirune, the old gnomish community below Cauldron. The gnomes were amazed. The three of them had visited Jzadirune before the Vanishing, 75 years earlier. Their memories of that time were fond, but distant. Tiervan wanted to return. Tiervan went with the tall ones to see if he could recover any ancient potions. Aeryk's law clerk, Jorl Seerkin, went a few days later to find historical records. Keygan was tempted to explore Jzadirune, but remembered his father's warnings about the plague. In return for helping the gnomes explore their ancestral home, the tall ones wanted a set of skeleton keys to Ghelve's locks in the city. Tiervan urged Keygan to do it. He agreed as long as the houses of gnomes were not tampered with. Tiervan and Jorl were gone for a couple of months. Aeryk advised waiting until the friends returned before informing the town guard. About 2 weeks ago, Keygan confronted the tall ones over the whereabouts of his friends. They refused to answer his questions. When he made idle threats about going to the guards, they responded by kidnapping Jasper Drundlesput, his nephew. The message was clear: keep quiet. Keygan shows contrition and asks if the party will let Tiervan's grandson, Fonzig, join them in their quest to rescue the children and find out the fate of the other gnomes.

Screen Shots

The Temple


The Magic Mace Riddle


Locksmith Fight