Death, pickles and raiding!

The Laughing Moons get a good nights rest in their own beds -  a rare occurrence as of late. Various tasks are done around the HQ:

• Rurrick uses the magic anvil to hammer a master-craft mace into a enchanted weapon using a bar of mithril taken from the Dwarven Golden Citadel, A number of items are identified, lore is consulted, spells are memorized and more.
• A visit to the Cardinal (leader of the local Imperium forces) takes place where bills are paid for all the work to rebuild the Laughing Moon Tavern and Inn. As well, the Heroes, update the Cardinal on the status of the quest to find the Rod of 3 Parts. Future plans for the Mo0nLanding Outpost are touched upon.
• An enchanted sheet of vellum.. turned out to be 2. Both radiating illusionary magic. Namfoodle casts dispel magic to remove the illusion.. which removed the magic of the sheets and now the party has 2 non-enchanted sheets of vellum.
• The chamber of pillars looks to have an infestation of spiders again! So Aust and Nanfoodle (with his trusty firebolt cantrip) clean the webs and kill one spider. A small crack near the ceiling is found where the spiders seem to be entering from.. something to deal with at some point..
• Arjun does some praying and more to his goddess Tiamat.
• Nanfoodle decides to open one of the Dwarven puzzle boxes on his own. After casting dispel magic which seemed to have some effect, the gnome mage figures out the puzzle and opened the chest to darts being fired out, 3 into his chest! TWO failed saves versus poison later, the gnome arch-magi is lying face-first into the chest. Unfortunately, no one else was around.. all had gone up into the outpost.
• Rurrick found the gnome …. DEAD. Aust performs a raise dead spell.. Nanfoodle is back.. but extremely exhausted!
• Reinhard focuses on his prayers to Heironeous, as well does extensive work rebuilding the Laughing moons HQ after the dual attack of the Drow elves and then subsequent giant tentacle from the Chained One.
  

Pickle Mania

The party goes a little crazy on the Thurr Tynne’s famous Green Flaming Red Pickles. Tynng the old human cook has become an expert at cooking the magical veggie. They have to be just perfect to have the enchantment work. Thurr Tynne is charging 50 gold per pickle:

• Arjun decides to lose his bat wings (NOoooo) and gets Long horns on his head, 3 times the length! He quickly has another pickle.. no visible effect! He has another! A raincloud appears over his head and follows him around for a while! Arjun takes another pickle! All his clothes start talking to him and each other! His boots are arguing with his shirt, his pants with his gloves! Another pickle! Arjun was so distracted he failed to flame it correctly and it is fried to a cinder! Another pickle: the fates decide: an ancient hero befriends the dragonborn. A 100’ LONG ANCIENT RED DRAGON appears! Arjun and the dragon become friends, except this happened in the middle of town so the townsfolk are screaming and running about. Arjun is told by this ancient beast he can call upon the dragon ONE time..
• Rurrick has a pickle! The warrior tank receives a medallion and is invited to a secretive guild: The WolfHead Mages Guild! Rurrick takes another pickle! He switches bodies with.. wait for it - one of the party whom has not had ANY pickles yet! MORTHOS! How to get back to their own bodies?? Whom has a pickle? Does Morthos need to? Rurrick has another.. nothing happens at first.. then battle is heard out in the entrance way to the HQ. The magical guard just cut down a young messenger bringing Rurrick (in Morthos’ body) a portrait! It is a portrait of a morphed Rurrick AND Morthos (DM: Connor you need to create this in art!). EDIT: The messenger is healed up and quickly leaves!
• Morthos (Rurrick) gets sweaty – buckets of sweat.. He is continually thirsty.
• With that Morthos and Rurrick return to their respective bodies! Although Morthos is still sweating buckets! Morthos decides to have another pickle! He gains the ability of a high priest to destroy/turn undead ONE time…
• Aust.. the bard decides to have a pickle.. Tynng cooks up the veggie and passes it to the his boss.. and watches in horror as Aust is petrified!
• Rurrick – Has one.. more.. pickle! Gains a magical cloak of protection and flying!

The party is stunned at the bard’s demise.. unsure of whom to turn to or what to do. They realize the Cardinal – as well as local commander of Imperium forces is a a priest of the God Emperor (Overlord of the Imperium) and may be the only one in the local area whom can help. A visit for an audience - they remember the ½ ogre clerk likes his gold tip counted out into his big hand – and the Cardinal is found to be in the midst of a session with binding a demon..?

A few minutes later and the Cardinal agrees to perform a restoration spell – with appropriate level compensation (gold and magic)

On the return, they recall seeing a poster for Rurrick at the Imperium HQ.. a WANTED poster. DEAD or ALIVE. 5000 gold. (Queue the Good, the Bad and the Ugly music) It seems one of the pickles taken previously is catching up to him!

Aust is restored. More tasks are completed about the HQ. Both puzzle chests are opened one filled with platinum and gold. Some exploration down the passage to the UnderDark (towards the no-mans land zone between the Drow house and the Laughing Moons) finds a small cavern which had been missed on previous exploration. The small room has a spring with lukewarm water bubbling up. It seems there is some type of enchantment in the water and the moss and mushrooms in this room. After some investigation, it seems there are curative and restful abilities to the water.. Staying in the room and water for 2 hours is equal to a full 8 hour rest! Plans and some setup for this room include tables, and resting areas and more. The Warlock offers to create a permanent unseen servant and multiple mage hands to provide massage and service!

Arjun speaks with their resident dragon whom he had given the black dragon(?) orb to.. Arjun is told that much will happen in a few weeks. The Paladin of Tiamat prays more.

The party prepares for the assault on the Black Duke’s underwater hideout. Scrying shows one of the previous foes - a sergeant in the Black Duke’s forces - in a small room reading a book. Thus Morthos is prepared to use the magical potion of teleport circle – a ONE way teleport for a group.

Aust talks to the Laughing Moon Tavern and Inn staff. The party prepares spells and weapons. Armour is polished. Weapons sharpened. They are ready.

The potion is imbibed and spell invoked and with a flash and shock of force the party appears in a large chamber – but NOT the small room of the Sergeant! It seems the potion of teleportation is not always precise..

They stand in a circular 30’ wide room, stone walls going up into darkness 50’ up.  The party stands upon a large door or hatch about 20’ wide that looks to open down…?  

Looking around the heroes can smell saltwater. The ground, walls and hatch below are wet.

Looking about.. they hear a young voice. “Now I am an adventurer too!” 

Mishapp looks about happily,  wearing ill-fitting leather armour and holding a rusty shortsword. The 11 year-old human boy and one of the staff at the Laughing Moon Tavern and Inn has come with the party!