The Bastards of Erebus - Session 7: Down with the Bastards!

Dramatis Personae

Alizander Carmelizzia - Human (Varisian) sorcerer – works and performs at Cayden’s Blessing
Carlos Santiago - Half-orc (Alkenstarian) wizard – works at Rhialto’s Tonics and Talismans
Nagiphax - Cyclops-kin rogue – works at the Beer Golem Tavern
Slavé – Tiefling (appears human) rogue – detective in dottari employ

Tavo Dechirent - Human cleric of Pharasma – employed as a mortician and coroner
Vaeden Corleone - Human rogue – former nobleman, often seen at Alfred’s Smithy

Oathday, 26 Rova, 4708 A.R. (continued)

Alizander jumps down the hole in pursuit of the escaping rogues. He misjudges the distance of the jump and lands heavily on a pile of crates and furniture that Dravano the Digger used to reach the ceiling and claw his way through the earth. Dazed and prone on the ground, Alizander is just able to register that he is deep within the secret hideout of the Bastards of Erebus, and that there are several more tiefling rogues and thugs nearby.

The battle against the Bastards of Erebus continues, and several more party members climb or jump into the hole leading to the Bastards’ lair. The leader of the Bastards, a cleric of Asmodeus named Palaveen, joins the skirmish from an adjoining chamber. He sends his two controlled wolf skeletons into the fray, hoping to create enough confusion among the party that his rogues can finish them off. Unfortunately for Palaveen, Tavo manages to wrest control of one of the undead wolves and pits it against the other one. Carlos is rendered unconscious early in the battle, but manages to come to his senses and, having exhausted the majority of his spells for the day, resorts to using his exotic, double-barreled wheel-lock pistol. The combatants are surprised and shaken by the weapon, never having experienced or seen such an unusual device before. Carlos uses this to his advantage and fires off several good shots, including one that fires clean through Palaveen’s hip. During the battle, the Bastards recognize that Vaeden is the most tactical-minded of the attackers and set upon him. Vaeden takes down several of the tiefling rogues before finally succumbing to his wounds and falling unconscious. Nagiphax, working tactically with Vaeden, also manages to bring down several Bastards.

Slavé, meanwhile, remains above-ground and rushes over to the tiefling thug that Tavo and Nagiphax left bound in the church. Slavé reveals his tiefling heritage to the thug and tricks him into believing he is a friend of the Bastards who wishes to join their group. He unties the thug, who urges Slavé to follow him through the church and into the Bastards’ underground lair to circle around and enter the battle from behind, hopefully to take the attacking party by surprise. Slavé agrees in order to see if he can learn anything about the Bastards and the hideout. The thug leads Slavé deeper into the lair, pausing in a hallway guarded by four of the Bastards’ hell dogs – fighting dogs that have been fed a steady diet of tiefling blood – and indicates to Slavé that there is a secret door here leading to Palaveen’s chamber. Not wishing to get into a situation that he can’t get himself out of, Slavé bluffs the thug into thinking the heated battle on the other side of the door is about to spill into the hallway, and the two retreat back into the church. Slavé decides the thug is of no more help to him, and fires a crossbow bolt through the poor sod’s neck.

The battle between the rest of the party and the Bastards finally comes to an end with the death of Palaveen, marking a major victory for the Returners against the criminal element that has been allowed to fester within Westcrown. Searching through the Bastards ill-gotten gains, the party finds many of the items that were reported stolen from various tradespeople in the city. In addition, they find a note among Palaveen’s things that suggests a connection between the Bastards of Erebus and another organization thought to have been eradicated over 200 years ago. The note reads:

“Palaveen – While we appreciate the work of your Bastards, the Council never intended this association to be anything more than that. We shouldn’t need to remind you that if your tiring applications continue, we’ll need to solve this problem in a manner less concerned with your continued good health.”

Several party members recall the tales of the legendary Council of Thieves, the most influential criminal organization to have graced the streets and halls of power of Westcrown. Said to have assembled in the late 4200s, the Council of Thieves was an amalgamation of numerous gangs and thieves’ guilds in Westcrown that came to dominate city’s underground element, so much so that at its height in the 4300s the at least half of Westcrown’s noble families were rumoured to hold ties to the Council. Many leaders of the Council of Thieves were said to have become wealthy enough to purchase land and titles for themselves, or blackmail others into bequeathing the same. In the end, the Council became too powerful for its own good, and is believed to have been eradicated in the late 4400s. Could it be that the Council of Thieves still exists, or is the Council alluded to in Palaveen’s letter an upstart organization capitalizing on the Council’s mythical status? The thought weighs heavily on the Returners’ minds.

Treasure

· Studded leather armour (4) – from tiefling rogues – 50 gp

· Light crossbow (4) - from tiefling rogues – 70 gp

· Crossbow bolts (40) - from tiefling rogues – 2 gp

· Short sword (4) – from tiefling rogues – 20 gp

· Thieves’ tools (4) – from tiefling rogues – 60 gp

· Potion of Disguise Self – from Palaveen

· Wand of Cure Light Wounds – from Palaveen

· +1 Breastplate – from Palaveen

· Morningstar +1 – from Palaveen

· 470 gp – from rogues and Palaveen

· Gems (stolen) – returned

· Pearl (stolen) – returned

· Masterwork dagger (stolen) – 151 gp

· Masterwork rapier (stolen) – 160 gp

· Masterwork jeweled short sword (stolen) – 600 gp

· Masterwork light mace (stolen) – 152 gp

Experience Awards

· Tiefling rogues (6) - 1200 xp

· Wolf skeletons (2) - 800 xp

· Palaveen - 800 xp

· Hell dogs (avoidance via bluffing the Bastards) - 440 xp

· Story Award (defeating the Bastards) - 3600 xp

· Story Awards (returning stolen gems) - 1800 xp

· Total - 8640 xp

· Per PC (6) - 1440 xp

· Fame Point (defeating the Bastards) - 1

· Fame Point (returning stolen gems) - 1

· Total Fame Points (Council of Thieves Part 1: The Bastards of Erebus) - 5

Current XP Totals Per PC (after session 7)

· Alizander, Carlos, Slavé, Vaeden – 5255 xp each (advance to level 3)

· Nagiphax – 4735 xp

· Tavo – 4595 xp

· Croso, Orem – 2875 xp