Game Notes November 1 & 8

Gameplay begins as Floyd and Scaramouche arrive in Ostrogoth with news of Doogal’s escape (see the Oct. 25 addendum Floyd Flies Solo). There, he is greeted by the party and informed of the upcoming soul auction and the party’s part in it, as well as the events of the last few weeks (as noted in the October 25 session notes). Virgil asks Floyd if there are any Fifty Gnomes in Ostrogoth, and Floyd decides to test this theory by posting correspondence with the organizational symbol outside on the flagpole.

Upon exiting the Wayfarer’s Guild Hall, however, he is shocked to discover a sign advertising the exhibition of an upcoming puppet musical mocking the exploits of the Order of the Abbey, to be put on by Mitchell. Floyd, who hadn’t really been all that upset by Mitchell’s resurfacing before, finds the situation gravely changed. The party heads for a tavern called the Hammer and Nail in search of the ½ Orc and Halfling in bandages. Floyd deftly solicits the information he needs from the bartender at the tavern, and also learns that Mitchell heads up a group known as the Forty-Nine Gnomes, a bardic consortium designed, seemingly, to openly mock Floyd Fiftynames, the one person who gave Mitchell as second chance. Faced with this abominable show of gratitude, Floyd loses his mind for a time.

The bartender informs the party that the ½ Orc and Halfling are here, but they have six others with them. Coincidentally, the ½ Orc comes downstairs around that time and has a conversation with the party, informing them that they were hired by Elliott to retrieve the pieces of Visgoth’s soul, for what purpose they are unaware. The Halfling in Bandages also shows up, displays a preference for drinking chicken broth, and makes an uneasy peace with the party, though it becomes clear that they will meet again when it becomes necessary for them to retrieve the soul pieces in the party’s possession.

Upon exiting the Hammer and Nail, Floyd sends Scaramouche to Dreia with correspondence summoning Lil’ Skimpy and a task force to Ostrogoth to help deal with the Forty-Nine Gnomes situation. The party waits for the auction at the Wayfarer’s Guild Hall. Prior to this, Skimpy and his band show up, and Floyd is talked out of having them obliterate the Forty-Nine Gnomes altogether, however, Skimpy and his group do seek out the bardic consortium and the Forty-Eighth Gnome, bringing Forty-Eight back alive and destroying the rest of the group with a flesh-eating bacteria (an act that sits well with no one). Deciding to take advantage of the Fifty-Gnomes’ presence in Ostrogoth, Brix and Virgil commission Skimpy’s group to keep an eye on the Fist of Set. Skimpy protests that his group was not designed for stealth, but the party puts them on the job anyway. The result is the delivery of a set of gnome ears and the head of Lil’ Skimpy to the Wayfarer’s Guild shortly after. Brix sees fit to resurrect Lil’ Skimpy, but after discovering that Skimpy was condemned to Hell, Brixmore resurrects him under the condition that he follow the path of a paladin. Skimpy returns, and is sent home to Dreia.

The night of the auction arrives, and the party goes to their appointed room to await the event. After a time, Jarrod arrives, informs the party that he will be their proxy, and takes their first bid. The party makes a low bid, hoping to get an idea of what the high bids will be. Jarrod relays this information, and returns, confused and put out, indicating that one of the groups has not shown up for their appointment. Since the party was not the highest bid of the first round, he reveals the high bid, and gives the party a chance to trump it. The party throws their second bid into the ring, considerably more than the last. Jarrod leaves and returns, informing them that they have been outbid. The party begins to propose a third bid, but they are interrupted by the arrival of Malus and Harves Raeth (the missing bidding party), who take Jarrod into their possession, informing him that he is about to join Visgoth’s army. The party, sensing that the Fist of Set may take advantage of this situation, bolt from the room to face them.

Along the way, Floyd runs into Delphin, and convinces him to come along to fight the Fist of Set, after explaining the de facto dissolution of the Council of Shadows resulting from the capture and thrall-i-fying of their leader. Delphin agrees to join them, and Floyd messages Bjorn (formerly Eric) to inform him that they’ve found his twin. Guy, Virgil, Axe, and Brix enlist the help of Kleppos and Tok, and the Fist of Set agrees to meet the party outside of town. They do so, near a large tree on the outskirts of Ostrogoth, where they finally meet the entire fist of Set: Thumb, One, Two, Three, and Four. Thumb, speaking for the group, informs the party that they did not bring enough backup.

(At this point the Nov. 1 Session ends, and the Nov. 8 Session begins)

What follows is a flurry of prep spells on either side of the fight, and a furious melee that begins when Floyd teleports into the middle of the action. Thumb creates a blade barrier that blocks Delphin and a summoned polar bear from joining the fray, but further spellcasting efforts on the part of the FoS casters is disrupted by a silence spell Floyd places on Axe at the end of the prep. The Fist of Set is formidable, but the party’s pre-fight strategy proves solid, and the gang takes down Four (a Weapons Master who primarily uses a trident), Two (a rouge with the ability to feint at will), and Thumb (a divine spellcaster). One (a dervish fighter) and Three (an arcane spellcaster with a soul-stealing sword) escape when One swoops in to save Three and teleports away.

The party, having roundly defeated the Fist of Set (though they come up short in obliterating them), gathers their spoils, and heads back to the Wayfarer’s Guild for a respite.

End of Session.