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<blockquote data-quote="the Jester" data-source="post: 7471245" data-attributes="member: 1210"><p>Of course, I left out the bit about the idol.</p><p></p><p>They found it on the goblins, a strange, crude, rough-carved idol, made of some soft. Black-and-green mottled stone. It made them uneasy to touch it, and with good reason. </p><p></p><p>When, after leaving Benthum manacled in Carl Hungus' apartment, the three went to find a a place to play for their evenings' drinks (after all, neither goblins nor bandits had had much in the way of coin on them), Hungus for some reason brought the small idol along. When things went so wrong, practically unnoticed in the smoke and flames and panic, an evil spirit rose from the idol. Even if only for a moment, it strove to drain the life from those around it. </p><p></p><p>But in the moment, everyone involved had had too many other things to deal worth to do much more than stave off its attacks and watch it vanish back within the idol.</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>“Should we go to a moneychanger?” Mad Max asks.</p><p></p><p>Dzedz sneers. </p><p></p><p>The coinage situation is... a little weird. The city has officially replaced the old imperial currency with their new money, which is made mostly of brass, excepting the highest value coins. The dwarves of Black Gorge scoff at and won't accept it, but it is now illegal to have unofficial currency in the city. By law, the party is obligated to take those silver and copper pieces to a banker of moneychanger and have them turned into guineas and pence. Naturally, the person doing the changing takes a cut of the value- 3%, to be precise. Of course, he or she has to be licensed by the Bankers' Guild; not just anyone can get in on what the dwarves disparagingly refer to as “the money scam”. </p><p></p><p>Get caught with illegal currency by the White Battlet, and it will be confiscated. Try to pay for something with it, and the merchant is legally obligated to turn you in, though some will instead wink and nod and palm the coin. However, the White Battlet sends people around out of uniform to try to get them to do just that. The penalties for accepting imperial currency are harsh and expensive in a city where most people are already teetering on the edge of insolvency. </p><p></p><p>Word is that Red Bank doesn't use coins at all- a frighteningly uncivilized approach to trade. But then, what does one buy in a community of a few shacks and a beer hall? When one donates one's time and work to his or her neighbors out of necessity, asking only the same in return, everyone shares the food and drink around a communal fire in the evening. You can't spend coins if there are no merchants or stores, and money is meaningless with nothing to buy. </p><p></p><p>“We better,” says Mad Max. “We don't want to lose our money.” He is drunk enough that he's weaving on his feet. Though their performance sobered him up a little bit, he has been hard at work drinking from his wineskin (now pitifully light) to compensate. </p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>After changing their coins, the trio also changes their chosen drinking establishment. After all, the Angry Kocho no longer welcomes them. At the new place they choose, they have a chance meeting with another pair of adventurers, a halfling woman named Shelby and a human man named Kovian. The two explain that they are a part of the faction called the Goblin Killers. They're dedicated to exterminating the races of the Six-Fingered Hand- goblinsoids, lizardfolk, orcs, gnolls, ogres, and kobolds. Unlike most of the other factions that defend the city, the Goblin Killers are prone to wander far afield, searching for infestations of the hated evil humanoids in the wilds surrounding the city.</p><p></p><p>Dzedz finds himself more than sympathetic to their view. After all, his clan (and faction) wants nothing more than to be rid of all the damned orcs in the Black Gorge. <em>Perhaps,</em> he thinks, <em>we can work together on that someday.</em> But what he says is, “Do you guys know anyone who can reattach lost body parts?”</p><p></p><p>No. No, they don't. </p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>“No, I don't,” Lazarus replies. “I'm sorry. Did... did it happen while you were searching for Mileen?”</p><p></p><p>“More or less,” Dzedz equivocates. </p><p></p><p>“Well, I'm very sorry.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Oh yeah, Mileen. Dzedz tells the other two that he's actually supposed to be looking for someone. “She was investigating the megadungeon.”</p><p></p><p>“Megadungeon!” exclaims Mad Max. “Sounds like madness!” And he packs another bowl of hempflower. “I'm in! What do you say, Carl?”</p><p></p><p>“Sure, I just need to drop some food off for Benthum first.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Benthum, it turns out, is concerned for his wife. His story, as best our heroes can put it together (for Benthum isn't a good storyteller, no sir), is that he was only acting as a bandit under duress. He, as well as several of the other bandits that the party earlier slew, were pressed into service by the head bandit of their crew by means of holding their families hostage. </p><p></p><p>“Great, more slaves!” exclaims Hungus. </p><p></p><p>“Just save her, please,” Benthum pleads. “Just bring her back to me.”</p><p></p><p>“We will,” Hungus lies. “Don't worry about a thing.” </p><p></p><p>“They hold them to the north, north of Red Bank.”</p><p></p><p>“Sure, okay, no problem.”</p><p></p><p>***</p><p></p><p>Instead, our heroes head south. </p><p></p><p>The city's great triple gates are always well-manned, which, on reflection, seems a little silly, what with the Breach and all. </p><p></p><p>The Breach is a section of the city's defensive walls that has collapsed. Not only that, at least one attempt at rebuilding it failed, leaving a gaping hole that any attackers can rush through. This means that Fandelose has a fatal chink in its armor. This is yet another reason why the city is desperate. For whatever reason, the Artificers' Guild has proven unable to effect repairs, and whenever a large tribe of Hand folk comes into the area, it takes hundreds of soldiers to properly guard it against attack. It means that, each year or so, when the Scarlet Fist- a large hobgoblin remnant army- comes to the city, Fandelose must pay tribute or suffer a grievous assault. </p><p></p><p>Nonetheless, our heroes pass outside the gates, Mad Max stopping to chat with those of his fellow soldiers who are on duty. </p><p></p><p>Then it's outside with the three of them. </p><p></p><p>The elevated roadway leading to the gates descends towards the plains to the south. Ragged, simple huts cling to the outer wall and are clustered to either side. These buildings are inevitably evacuated when the Scarlet Fist or a similar group comes into the area; they cannot be defended. There are therefore no businesses or temples or fancy homes. It's simply not safe for them. </p><p></p><p>Our heroes, such as they are, follow the roadway south for a few hundred yards before the gorge opens up to their right. They are above the shallow end of it; it deepens as it runs to the west, where dwarven tunnels are hewn from the surrounding stone. The orcs are somewhere around the middle of the gorge. </p><p></p><p>Marble Hall, or its remains, and the megadungeon beneath it, are at the near end. From the top, the party can see four dwarves standing guard over the entryway. A narrow trail cut into the face of the cliff allows an easy descent into the gorge, after which Dzedz leads the two dragonborn to the dwarves.</p><p></p><p>“Hey, Dzedz,” one of them calls. </p><p></p><p>“Gormund,” the wizard nods back.</p><p></p><p>“You taking these two in?”</p><p></p><p>“Yep.”</p><p></p><p>“You know about the fees?”</p><p></p><p>“Not precisely.” </p><p></p><p>“Down those stairs,” the dwarf jerks a thumb at the ruined foundation, “you'll be in the dwarf-works down there. At the point at which it breaks into the megadungeon, you'll each need to pay a silver piece to pass. And you have a pay a gold piece to come back in to the dwarf-works.”</p><p></p><p>“Understood.” </p><p></p><p>“Do you guys have gold?” asks Hungus. “Will they take marks?”</p><p></p><p>The dwarf coughs out a laugh. “We only take <em>money,</em> not stupid city fake coins.”</p><p></p><p>Nonplussed, the party realizes that they don't have the sort of money it will take to come back out of the place. After an animated discussion, the dwarf who has been speaking to them- Gormund- makes Dzedz an offer. </p><p></p><p>“Listen, cousin, I know another way in. A secret way. But, uh...” He holds his hand out expectantly, and the party presses their few precious silver pieces into his palm. Despite looking slightly disappointed, he leads them down the gorge a ways, before taking them into one of the many small caves that pock its sides. “Here.” He indicates a 3' diameter hole, almost perfectly circular, bored into the rock. “Crawl down this and it will take you into the dungeon. But I'm not sure exactly where.”</p><p></p><p>The three adventurers eye the hole dubiously. </p><p></p><p>“Why don't you go first?” Mad Max suggests to the dwarf. </p><p></p><p>“Me? I'm not going down there at all. I'm on duty.” </p><p></p><p>“I don't know if I trust this,” Max states. “I really think you should go first and prove it's safe.”</p><p></p><p>“I never said it was safe,” the dwarf snaps. “You're going into a dungeon. It's almost certainly not safe, and I have a job to do.”</p><p></p><p>“I don't know if we should go down there...”</p><p></p><p>“You guys do what you want,” says Gormund. “But I've shown you what you paid me to show you.” And with that, he marches back out into the gorge.</p><p></p><p>“We can trust him,” Dzedz assures the dragonborn. “He's my cousin. And he's right; this isn't going to be safe no matter what.”</p><p></p><p>“I'll take the lead,” offers Carl Hungus.</p><p></p><p>Thus begins the first foray of many that the new heroes of Fandelose will make into the megadungeon beneath Marble Hall.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="the Jester, post: 7471245, member: 1210"] Of course, I left out the bit about the idol. They found it on the goblins, a strange, crude, rough-carved idol, made of some soft. Black-and-green mottled stone. It made them uneasy to touch it, and with good reason. When, after leaving Benthum manacled in Carl Hungus' apartment, the three went to find a a place to play for their evenings' drinks (after all, neither goblins nor bandits had had much in the way of coin on them), Hungus for some reason brought the small idol along. When things went so wrong, practically unnoticed in the smoke and flames and panic, an evil spirit rose from the idol. Even if only for a moment, it strove to drain the life from those around it. But in the moment, everyone involved had had too many other things to deal worth to do much more than stave off its attacks and watch it vanish back within the idol. *** “Should we go to a moneychanger?” Mad Max asks. Dzedz sneers. The coinage situation is... a little weird. The city has officially replaced the old imperial currency with their new money, which is made mostly of brass, excepting the highest value coins. The dwarves of Black Gorge scoff at and won't accept it, but it is now illegal to have unofficial currency in the city. By law, the party is obligated to take those silver and copper pieces to a banker of moneychanger and have them turned into guineas and pence. Naturally, the person doing the changing takes a cut of the value- 3%, to be precise. Of course, he or she has to be licensed by the Bankers' Guild; not just anyone can get in on what the dwarves disparagingly refer to as “the money scam”. Get caught with illegal currency by the White Battlet, and it will be confiscated. Try to pay for something with it, and the merchant is legally obligated to turn you in, though some will instead wink and nod and palm the coin. However, the White Battlet sends people around out of uniform to try to get them to do just that. The penalties for accepting imperial currency are harsh and expensive in a city where most people are already teetering on the edge of insolvency. Word is that Red Bank doesn't use coins at all- a frighteningly uncivilized approach to trade. But then, what does one buy in a community of a few shacks and a beer hall? When one donates one's time and work to his or her neighbors out of necessity, asking only the same in return, everyone shares the food and drink around a communal fire in the evening. You can't spend coins if there are no merchants or stores, and money is meaningless with nothing to buy. “We better,” says Mad Max. “We don't want to lose our money.” He is drunk enough that he's weaving on his feet. Though their performance sobered him up a little bit, he has been hard at work drinking from his wineskin (now pitifully light) to compensate. *** After changing their coins, the trio also changes their chosen drinking establishment. After all, the Angry Kocho no longer welcomes them. At the new place they choose, they have a chance meeting with another pair of adventurers, a halfling woman named Shelby and a human man named Kovian. The two explain that they are a part of the faction called the Goblin Killers. They're dedicated to exterminating the races of the Six-Fingered Hand- goblinsoids, lizardfolk, orcs, gnolls, ogres, and kobolds. Unlike most of the other factions that defend the city, the Goblin Killers are prone to wander far afield, searching for infestations of the hated evil humanoids in the wilds surrounding the city. Dzedz finds himself more than sympathetic to their view. After all, his clan (and faction) wants nothing more than to be rid of all the damned orcs in the Black Gorge. [i]Perhaps,[/i] he thinks, [i]we can work together on that someday.[/i] But what he says is, “Do you guys know anyone who can reattach lost body parts?” No. No, they don't. *** “No, I don't,” Lazarus replies. “I'm sorry. Did... did it happen while you were searching for Mileen?” “More or less,” Dzedz equivocates. “Well, I'm very sorry.” *** Oh yeah, Mileen. Dzedz tells the other two that he's actually supposed to be looking for someone. “She was investigating the megadungeon.” “Megadungeon!” exclaims Mad Max. “Sounds like madness!” And he packs another bowl of hempflower. “I'm in! What do you say, Carl?” “Sure, I just need to drop some food off for Benthum first.” *** Benthum, it turns out, is concerned for his wife. His story, as best our heroes can put it together (for Benthum isn't a good storyteller, no sir), is that he was only acting as a bandit under duress. He, as well as several of the other bandits that the party earlier slew, were pressed into service by the head bandit of their crew by means of holding their families hostage. “Great, more slaves!” exclaims Hungus. “Just save her, please,” Benthum pleads. “Just bring her back to me.” “We will,” Hungus lies. “Don't worry about a thing.” “They hold them to the north, north of Red Bank.” “Sure, okay, no problem.” *** Instead, our heroes head south. The city's great triple gates are always well-manned, which, on reflection, seems a little silly, what with the Breach and all. The Breach is a section of the city's defensive walls that has collapsed. Not only that, at least one attempt at rebuilding it failed, leaving a gaping hole that any attackers can rush through. This means that Fandelose has a fatal chink in its armor. This is yet another reason why the city is desperate. For whatever reason, the Artificers' Guild has proven unable to effect repairs, and whenever a large tribe of Hand folk comes into the area, it takes hundreds of soldiers to properly guard it against attack. It means that, each year or so, when the Scarlet Fist- a large hobgoblin remnant army- comes to the city, Fandelose must pay tribute or suffer a grievous assault. Nonetheless, our heroes pass outside the gates, Mad Max stopping to chat with those of his fellow soldiers who are on duty. Then it's outside with the three of them. The elevated roadway leading to the gates descends towards the plains to the south. Ragged, simple huts cling to the outer wall and are clustered to either side. These buildings are inevitably evacuated when the Scarlet Fist or a similar group comes into the area; they cannot be defended. There are therefore no businesses or temples or fancy homes. It's simply not safe for them. Our heroes, such as they are, follow the roadway south for a few hundred yards before the gorge opens up to their right. They are above the shallow end of it; it deepens as it runs to the west, where dwarven tunnels are hewn from the surrounding stone. The orcs are somewhere around the middle of the gorge. Marble Hall, or its remains, and the megadungeon beneath it, are at the near end. From the top, the party can see four dwarves standing guard over the entryway. A narrow trail cut into the face of the cliff allows an easy descent into the gorge, after which Dzedz leads the two dragonborn to the dwarves. “Hey, Dzedz,” one of them calls. “Gormund,” the wizard nods back. “You taking these two in?” “Yep.” “You know about the fees?” “Not precisely.” “Down those stairs,” the dwarf jerks a thumb at the ruined foundation, “you'll be in the dwarf-works down there. At the point at which it breaks into the megadungeon, you'll each need to pay a silver piece to pass. And you have a pay a gold piece to come back in to the dwarf-works.” “Understood.” “Do you guys have gold?” asks Hungus. “Will they take marks?” The dwarf coughs out a laugh. “We only take [i]money,[/i] not stupid city fake coins.” Nonplussed, the party realizes that they don't have the sort of money it will take to come back out of the place. After an animated discussion, the dwarf who has been speaking to them- Gormund- makes Dzedz an offer. “Listen, cousin, I know another way in. A secret way. But, uh...” He holds his hand out expectantly, and the party presses their few precious silver pieces into his palm. Despite looking slightly disappointed, he leads them down the gorge a ways, before taking them into one of the many small caves that pock its sides. “Here.” He indicates a 3' diameter hole, almost perfectly circular, bored into the rock. “Crawl down this and it will take you into the dungeon. But I'm not sure exactly where.” The three adventurers eye the hole dubiously. “Why don't you go first?” Mad Max suggests to the dwarf. “Me? I'm not going down there at all. I'm on duty.” “I don't know if I trust this,” Max states. “I really think you should go first and prove it's safe.” “I never said it was safe,” the dwarf snaps. “You're going into a dungeon. It's almost certainly not safe, and I have a job to do.” “I don't know if we should go down there...” “You guys do what you want,” says Gormund. “But I've shown you what you paid me to show you.” And with that, he marches back out into the gorge. “We can trust him,” Dzedz assures the dragonborn. “He's my cousin. And he's right; this isn't going to be safe no matter what.” “I'll take the lead,” offers Carl Hungus. Thus begins the first foray of many that the new heroes of Fandelose will make into the megadungeon beneath Marble Hall. [/QUOTE]
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