PCs are invited by Midri to the capital city, Ithasa. On their way, they see a man getting run down by a robot, who claims that the man is a wanted fugitive. They intervene and defend the man from the robot. The man is Nez Baltima, and he claims that he used to own a shop in town square, but a series of unfair accusations against him by his customers landed him in jail. When he escaped from jail, an inevitable working for the city's Temple of Cuthbert (inevitables are powerful and intelligent construct creatures from the lawful plane of Mechanus) was sent to retrieve him. He asks the PCs' for help clearing his name at the city's Temple. PCs follow a side trail to check out what seems to be an abandoned shrine and a well to a nameless deity. William Watt takes a swim and discovers that his spells have stopped functioning underwater. He rolls a natural 20 and swims back up barely. PCs bottle up some of this water and head for the city.
The city has expanded beyond its walls, and a slum community surrounds the city. As the PCs are traveling through the hastily built structures to the city gates, they run into a couple of thugs calling themselves the "Ravagers". They demand "bodyguard fees" for safe passage, which isn't well received by the PCs. Combat breaks out, and PCs make short work of the thugs. The city guards from the walls arrive to investigate. Apparently, more and more of these Ravager thugs have been preying on merchants and travelers heading for the city, and inevitables seem to take no action against them for some reason. The Royal guard tries to intervene sometimes, but their numbers are few and the Ravagers are quite vicious and powerful. PCs then head into the town.
PCs arrive at the Town Square, where Nez immediately heads to one of the shops and starts yelling off to the shopkeeper inside about how he is going to get his shop back. The shopfront used to say "Baltima's Breathtaking Baubles", but now it says "Cadenza's Curious Curio". Nez and the PCs then head to the Temple of Cuthbert. There, they run into a group of monks training. One of the high clergy, a short man named Earl Newsgrave with bushy white beard and hair, comes out to address Nez, and PCs learn that there have been a number of complaints made by Nez's customers, about the quality of the items Nez sold to them. An investigator from the Temple was dispatched, and Nez did not take it well. Nez punched the investigator in the face, and was promptly arrested. Later, when Nez escaped the prison, an inevitable was sent to retrieve him. Nez was screaming about how unfair it was, then he just shut up at some point. He then was taken away by the Temple back to prison.
PCs go to the palace to report to Midri that they have arrived. Midri welcomes them and informs them that she has prepared the embassy building for their use. PCs go to the embassy, unpack, and stretch out their legs. Shortly, a number of explosions wrack the embassy and brings the building down, causing massive damage to the PCs. In addition, large boneclaw monsters spring out of the nearby area and attack. PCs manage to dimension door/fly away to safety, back to town square.
[END OF SESSION 1]
PCs consult the merchants to see who would be powerful enough to orchestra such an ambush, particularly, the ability to control such number of powerful undead creatures. No one is able to really give an answer, although Edward Khazif, a powerful merchant and the head of the Khazif traders, jokingly mention that Mizra of the Barou family may have the power to do so. PCs then head over to the palace to report to Midri what happened, only to find out that she has gone to the Council building. They head over there and is stopped by the guards, commanded by a woman in full plate. She introduces herself as Captain Kareyn Judith Lance, and she asks for identification and their business for entry to the council. PCs show them Midri's letter as proof, and Captain Lance agrees to let them in, if they remove their arms and armor, as well as spellcasting components. She also says William Watt is banned from entry because he has a divination magic active continuously and the council members do not want to be scanned. Carmina and Cynbel enter.
Inside the council, PCs first see that a four-armed inevitable named Ophnia stands at the center of the room. PCs then talk to Markus Bantura, the Executive Legal Secretary to the throne. He asks them whether they can confirm that Sir William, the knight tasked with protecting Midri, was killed, to which the PCs confirm. Bantura smugly reveals that due to a law, the member of the Royal guards who fail in their duty is punished by stripping him and his family of their possessions and title. PCs are shocked, and they protest to Midri about this, but Midri can't do anything. PCs also tell Midri about the ambush at the embassy, and Midri is shocked. She immediately orders the Court Magician to investigate the matter, and tells the PCs that any lodging expenses they incur while in the city shall be recompensed. PCs leave, and discusses what happened with the rest of the party. Captain Lance grieves about what's going to happen to John Nottidge, the only surviving member of Sir William's family. PCs ask her about the council and how it functions.
Captain Lance tells them that long ago, the desert was a lawless place, full of violence. From the chaos, six warlords manage to rise above the rest. A sort of uneasy truce was agreed on. There is a strip of desert which is quite fertile and arable, but a dangerous purple worm lives there, preventing people from settling the area. A group of adventurers, led by Ithasa the Bright Blade, manage to fell the beast eventually. Each warlord wanted the land for him/herself, and open warfare seemed inevitable. Fortunately, Ithasa stepped up once more, and manage to negotiate an agreement between all of the warbands, to share the new land. A new city named after Ithasa was formed in that land, and Ithasa was asked to be its king. Ever since, his direct descendants inherited the crown from him and continues to rule to this day. The late king who just passed away was Ithagier. His only child is Midri Al'Kaire, who is now next in line to the throne. Each of the six warbands became six great families, and each sent a representative to form a Council to advise the king. PCs also learn that there are druids in the city, but they are not well liked, because one of the members of the party of Ithasa was a druid named Fulgor the Black, and it's no secret that he opposed killing the great purple worm. There is also a rumor that the druids have gone mad, and the woods are no longer safe to travel in.
PCs head over to the Fulgor woods to look for the druids. They immediately notice that the something is wrong. There are signs of violence, claw marks and blood trails all over the place. They also notice number of chests scattered about. PCs open a few, to find out that they contain grisly remains of dead animals/humanoids. In addition, some of them are rigged to explode when opened. They were about to head deeper in, when unnatural winds begin to pick up all around the woods. PCs immediately head back to the town square.
PCs talk to more NPCs at the town square, and a carpet seller named Odi-Rum invites them to the RASA. It is a fast growing movement that is quickly deduced by the PCs for what it is: a scam and a cult. PCs listen to one of the lectures given by Ramajin, the leader of the RASA movement, while Carmina sneaks around the place with her ring of invisibility. She finds some people unloading books in the back, and sees one of the RASA people open up a secret stairway in one of the rooms and go below. Carmina sneaks away and reports back to the PCs.
[END OF SESSION 2]
PCs go to the Temple to see John Nottidge get kicked out into the streets. They give him encouraging words and his brother's armor. PCs then head over to the council. Cynbel and Zenith attend. They are introduced to the members of the council:
Midri Al'Kaire, next in line to the throne.
A powerfully built man named Cadeemah, representative of the Rakesh family.
A woman with very similar looks to Midri. Mizra of the Barou family.
A man dressed well in a suit, tie, and a fancy hat. Wayne Na'gabe who runs the mines and casinos.
A serious looking middle aged man. Zed Mullihan who was elected and represents what used to be the Seerian Farmers.
A fat man who laughs a lot. Edward Khazif of the Khazif merchant family.
And an empty seat for the Mineria family, who is believed to be no longer around.
The council begins to discuss the matter of Midri becoming the next ruler of the city of Ithasa. They have different ideas which you can read about in the chat logs.
PCs are then invited to Barou residence by Mizra. When they arrive, Mizra coldly greets them and advises them to keep their heads down. PCs leave and sleep in midair inside a rope trick cast by William Watt. They are briefly interrupted by an inevitable who detected their presence and decided to investigate, but they are otherwise left alone.
Next day, PCs are contacted by Ferric Na'gabe, son of Wayne. Wayne apparently wants the PCs to clear out some dangerous monsters their miners have run into while digging. Wayne is willing to pay them 5000g in gold and gems, in addition to any loot the PCs can recover, but he leaves a clause in the contract that says that he gets to pick one item from the loot and keep it for himself. William Watt, Cynbel, and Sir Zenith agree, sign the contract, and go inside the mines. They are directed by injured miners to where the monsters were sighted, where they run into a large number of mummies. PCs clear out the monsters, and find loot. One of the items they find is a longsword with a powerful aura. When William Watt takes a closer look, he collapsed without a word.
[END OF SESSION 3]
