(G135 10/03/2012 (Sat) - KT - JF(GM) , AP)
DAY 119 (9th Flamerule) continued ...
Once again, dear reader I must go back to the 10th of Flamerule, day 119 since
the start of this tale and recount the adventures of Oz after the arrest of
his, not exactly friend, not exactly comrade, Fenrir.
So, without further ado, to continue...
Oz bought some nice clothes and went to the palace and talked to a clerk in
the Estate Office called Nurt Hesher.
When leaving he head a town crier calling out 'Local Merchant Murdered In
The Street! The Dark Bringer Strikes Again!'
Groaning in frustration, Oz decided that he needed to go to ground and
formulate some new and very urgent plans as it very much looked like Fenrir's
days were numbered.
In any event though, he followed Hesher and some friends in the evening, into
the Smiling Siren Festhall but he did not get a chance to 'charm' him.
That night Oz spent in the Mighty Manticore Tavern.
DAY 120 (10th Flamerule)
Today Oz carried out a large number of errands.
1. He learned Fenrir had been captured by the Grey Hands.
2. He had Kip investigate some orphanages for him. He was told straight away
that their is an orphanage in Castle Ward in the same block as the Theyan Embassy.
Also Trades Ward close to a roofing company. There was one more in Dock Wards
that had a terrible reputation and is not far from The Angry Coxswain Tavern.
Later he learned that it was the Castle Ward one that De Rosen had funded.
3. He sent out his raven, Corek, to spy on the Thunderstaff Villa. It reported
the comings and goings over the next few days. Today he saw that the Villa was
heavily guarded. There were twenty guards on the front gate alone. Four watchmen
turn up in the morning and one was allowed in while the others waited. Two hours
later he came out. The next day the raven said, 'Not much, but a robed woman
was allowed into the house and stayed for several hours before leaving again.'
4. He went to the Ogma Temple and paid over the going rate to be allowed to
become a member of the church without having the required religious knowledge. He
learns his 'true' name as a result of this.
5. He gave Machelle the Bard some gold to rent him a room near the Grey Serpent.
He also gets her to find out about 'houses bought in Castle Ward in the last
12 months'.
6. He hires a young warrior called Edvard Marr to carry out his guard duty in
place of him with the City Watch.
Finally he bought some newspapers and spent the night at the Temple.
DAY 121 (11th Flamerule)
This morning Oz sent out an urchin to buy him some more papers, then he went
to collect a letter from Kip from the temple regarding the orphanages.
He then charmed an urchin and sent the information he had discovered on to
the Blackstaff Tower.
As he passed the Market Square he saw the body of Riffle hanging in a crows cage.
DAY 122 (12th Flamerule)
In the morning Machelle arrived at Oz's grotty single room in a rent-house not far
from the Grey Serpent and gave him a list of 13 houses. Discounting those that had
been bought by temples and guilds and the like that
left eight.
He read with interest in the broadsheets that the city planned to bring in a bill
requiring all magic users in the city to be registered.
In the evening he checked if there were any messages at the Grey Serpent, but
there were not.
DAY 123 (13th Flamerule)
In the papers today, the death of Shamil Jayness was announced. He had been killed
in a wizards duel that broke out in the streets of Sea Ward.
A couple of hours after noon, there was a knock on the door. It was none other
than Maliantor of the Grey Hands, still gathering information regarding the
attack on Maaril's Tower.
She also seemed to know about Jesker, Wathuss and the Vanguard of Serterous,
much to Oz's annoyance as it has taken him weeks to find out.
So they swapped information. He told her what he knew and she told him that the
Grey Hands were now searching for Gilliard De Rosen in the Undermountain where
they believed he was now hiding.
She wished him well on his quest saying, 'There are always bands of crazy
people trying to bring back some dead god or whatever, they are usually not as
dangerous as they first appear. I wish I could offer more help, don't you know,
but we have our hands full at the moment what with everything else. Hitting the
crocodiles nearest the boat and all that!'
She gave him two hundred gold before she left though.
Oz was worried that he had been found, but no ill had come of it. There was to
be another burning today, so disguised as a cleric he got close to the poor
victim, none other than Wenvelle who until quite recently had been under the
Halls of Justice with you know who.
She was frantic with terror. There had been a heavy rain and the wood was so
wet it had to be dried so while they waited Oz had a chance to charm her and
talk to her. She was shackled in a prison wagon.
He didn't get too much from her before a paladin guard moved him on, just that
she had been 'deep under' the Halls of Justice and that she was 'guilty by
association' because of a boy-friend she had only known three months.
Perhaps then, the gods took pity on her, because when the flames were lit
around her, once more a deluge of rain put them out. The crowds talked about
whether it was the gods or a powerful druid, but either way she was taken off
again to no one knew where.
While he was in the square Cavu came and talked to him and took him back to
the Singing Sword where he introduced him to a gentleman called Alduin.
Alduin was from Tethyr, far to the south, in the city on a mission from his
patron, a silver dragon called Parthuunaxx. He was staying on since his patron
and Cavu's patron apparently shared undisclosed common interests.
While there Oz paid Katrina the maid more gold to keep watching Cavu.
Today Oz also arranged with Raya to look up the addresses on his list. She
said ok and that she would have the info in a few days.
In the evening Oz showed Alduin around the city and looked out a few of
the addresses himself.
They then went down to Dock Wards to look at the house of Paul Treeman,
the person who had been breeding devil-chickens.
Oz arranged with Dyne and Stripe Myrtle to act as look outs and set up the
break in for that night.
DAY 124 (14th Flamerule)
Since they were being watched from the other houses in the street, neighbours
peeking through curtains and that sort of thing, Oz decided to wait and they
all came back in the morning.
A small crowd formed, but Oz had prepared a ruse and pretended they were health
inspectors. He tried the door but there was no discernable lock. In the end they
borrowed a crowbar from a neighbour and Alduin got them in through a window by
ripping off all the planks and smashing the glass.
Once the portal was open, a small but deadly devil-chicken flew out and attacked
them! It was the size of a normal chicken, but rather more scaly and evil
looking. They killed it after a flurry of blows and feathers. It sizzled and
boiled as the acidic blood leaked out of it on the ground.
They entered the house and fought three more of them in the next room. On more
than one occasion Alduin was magically compelled to go and fetch corn for the
chickens. Their pecks were also poisonous and with each peck they could feel
their dexterity being sapped.
They killed another one in the filthy bedroom before going down a spiral
staircase to the cellar. A dirty corridor lead to a crossroads. Down one was a
set of six doors and the others had a door at the end. Listening they heard
devilish clucking coming from the south and west doors.
They opened the door to the south, which was where Treeman carried out his
crazed experiments. It contained tables, cages, feathers and blood.
Two more devil-chickens attacked and although Oz and Alduin killed them, they
were now so pecked and poisoned that Oz could hardly move. He just managed to
make it outside by the time he stiffened up completely. The Myrtle brothers
then took him to the Temple of Ogma.
Alduin opened all six of the doors and discovered Evan Blint, a poor man who
had been held captive by Treeman, a crazed woman, sixteen cats and then finally
another devil-chicken which he killed.
He then looted the rooms he had opened up and left. Treeman was still down
there though, barricaded behind a door further in from his laboratory, but
since they could do no more they left it to the Watch.
Alduin met up with Oz and Roberta was there to heal them up (at a price!)
and they went to watch the burning at the Market Square.
There was a huge crowd as none other than Zoltan the Magnificent was to be
executed. He was a well known performer of magic and mystery in the city
and had played to audiences in all the best festhalls.
However, part of his act involved summoning a small demon to do his biding.
This clearly put him in contrivance of the new law and he was to be executed
as a result.
Oz attempted to get close enough to the prison cart to cast charm, but as it
came out of the Halls of Justice to the square he could see it would be wasted
as Zoltan was already dead!
Ulfred read out the charges to the corpse at the stage area where the
executions were held and even asked the body how it plead, entering a plea of
'Guilty' when no answer was given.
The crowd didn't think much of this though and as they grew restless, Ulfred
called a guard to fetch some diamond dust and resurrected Zoltan right on the
execution pyre!
Once more he read out the charges to a very confused and annoyed Zoltan. Before
the crowd grew even more angry he ordered the fire lit. The crowd had hoped
Zoltan would escape in some magical and wonderful way or would go up in a
shower of fireworks, but much to their disappointment he burned like an ordinary
man.
Still, it was a first for Waterdeep, that a man was resurrected in order that
the city could kill him again a few minutes later.
