Book 2: They Watched the Stars

Chapter 3: What Remains

Or, Shop Therapy

The group, bloody and bruised, hobbles towards the port town of Egede taking all that they can carry with them from the Mermaid’s Tears. When they arrive, exhausted from nearly a week of lake travel, their first concern is lodging. The heroes find the tribesmen at the Stately Hog and are told that all their rooms are covered already in appreciation. Sakuachi was sent by her seer Grandma because of an ancient evil was waking. Even though she only remembers parts of her hallucinations on the boat, Sakuachi continues to try to make sense of what she saw. Yoi-ko hangs with Ulikuq and Innumma, drinking and talking. Hector chats up the inn keeper to find good stores for supplies in the town and to find out what “rules” might be important to know about ahead of time. Ulikuq and Innumma tell Yoi-ko that they will set up a stall to sell the weapons and such, this way the group will get the most for the weapons. Sammakko rests and gathers his energy to be as charming as possible when supplies need to be procured. The group hears that the Committee for Moral Rectitude is in charge and likes to play on the populace’s fear of outsiders. The innkeeper is not impressed with them and believes that the Committee is corrupt. After Ulikuq and Innumma sell the basic weapons, the group goes to the shops and start purchasing needed supplies. There are some five-finger discounts to help the budget.

When they are done the group returns to the Stately Hog inn through the plaza of Iomedae. There, a group of committee loyalists approach, brandishing swords and shields, telling the group to leave because of their demonic influence. Sammakko steps up and starts to charm the heck out of them. The zealots are not impressed and prepare to attack. Preemptively, the heroes strike. Yoi-ko and Hector execute a cooperative attack, with the monk grabbing and tossing the wicked zealot to the warrior who slams her into the ground with his maul. Sammakko flagellates the other two zealots with a dark tendril, castigating them severely for their false beliefs.

After dispatching the zealots, a cart bearing a dwarf named Gaar Steelflare arrives. The dwarf rambles about the Committee and trials and how evil “bears the seeds of its own downfall.” Then he releases goo from a box which is called Living Evil, stating that if the group defeats it they will be proven to be good. While the group is confused by the lack of logic in the statement, the Living Evil attacks!

Combat is Savage; the malevolent slime flailing and ensnaring its intended prey in a corrosive grasp. Yoi-ko is killed but is saved by Hector while the warrior and the sorcerer fight off the beast. Yoi-ko, revived and vengeful, uses his blazing blasts to finish off the living evil.

Gaar was amazed and the committee and the people of Egede treat the heroes as… well, heroes. A letter from Dr Ritalson arrives with instructions to help Sakuachi in her quest and a promissory note for 400 gold. Sakuachi also has news about having a lead on a caravan which the group may travel with in the near future. While the group heals from their encounters, they also restock on needed items and upgrades. With the kinder and more helpful attitude of the townfolk, the group enjoy their remaining days in Egede.

Treasure: 400 gp