The party meets Cankerblossom at the Black Cabaret at the Mooncalf, and captures another harpy disguised as a beautiful woman there. Haden Greymark joins the party. They're ambushed by harpies in the bone well cavern in the harpy Eyrie, but beat them. They find "Christopher Cotton" chained up there, actually the harpy duchess Hecate in disguise. They defeat Hecate and free the real Christopher and the changelings.
This was Ajer's last game, but Christian joined us playing the trickster warlock Haden Greymark. Christian introduced his character briefly (my notes):
Warlock, trickster, pact of the blade. Twenty-something, brash, impulsive, naturally talented. Told off his family, prodigy student at school, wants to use his natural talent for the benefit of the world, but uses his talent to make questionable decisions. Sought out an otherworldly source, ejected from his school for stealing from school. Has not had the courage to return to his family.
I asked what Haden's appearance was - bearded or clean-shaven, full head of hair or bald? Was he from Hollin? Christian said that Haden was clean shaven but had wild hair, and wasn't from Hollin, but somewhere else like the second biggest city.
Christian also mentioned a little later in the game:
Beholden to a fey overlord. He's following instructions of some fey - he didn't really look at what he was signing.
I asked if the fey was benign or evil, and Christian said he didn't know yet.
Since Christian was new I asked the other players if they wanted to re-introduce their characters. Dan re-introduced Virgil (again, my notes):
An orphan in another village, like an Oliver Twist. He started pickpocketing at the local market, but tried to steal a little money from the master of the thieves' guild, and ended up apprenticed to him. Virgil struck out to earn his fortune in Hollin, but wants to give it to support an orphanage in another place. He's lighthearted, noble at heart. Virgil doesn't have direction but has a general goal.
I mentioned that in Game 2, Virgil seemed to be kind of a religious doubter. Dan said yes, Conan's Crom is a trickster god, so Virgil wants help from god but if god doesn't help him, then screw god.
Fayne also re-introduced Elgis:
Elgis is the son of a noble who used to be on the Board. He was trained by the finest trainers when he was younger. He created a scandal for his father - he was accused of letting someone out of prison - and was banished from his family. He wants to pay his own way and outdo his father.
Mike said he would bring Kiltak's background to the next game.
At the end of Game 2, the players said they would investigate the Black Cabaret first and then look for the harpies in the cliffs above Lofton.
The Black Cabaret appears at different venues around Hollin, and that night they were performing at the Mooncalf, Braddock's inn and tavern. They went there:
The Mooncalf is a large inn and tavern at Market and Quay Streets in Braddock. It's on Braddock's market square, near the docks and the bridge to the old town, Lofton. The Mooncalf and the market square are the heart of Hollin in many ways, certainly the social heart. You already know the Mooncalf if you're from Hollin, and the party would have seen it going to Gregor the Naturalist's house nearby.
The Mooncalf is large - its footprint is large and it has six floors above ground. The ground floor is the tavern, with an open courtyard, a barroom, and a pipe room for enjoying a smoke. It also has a few basements, including a labyrinth of opium dens that's famous worldwide.
I put down a map of the Mooncalf's ground floor.
Mooncalf ground floor
I asked which of the several entrances they would enter, and they picked the north barroom entrance, by the bar. Just inside they were greeted by the Mooncalf's owner, Miss Miller, and her head waiter and sommelier, Vincent. They asked about the Black Cabaret, and Miss Miller and Vincent pointed them to the courtyard. Kiltak and Elgis got drinks, tipping the bartender.
They went to the courtyard.
The courtyard is packed with people eating and drinking and laughing. The Mooncalf's upper floors are open above the courtyard and patrons up there are looking down watching.
The Black Cabaret is already underway there. They've set up a long stage on wine barrels on one side of the courtyard, under the opening that goes up through the Mooncalf's six floors.
The Cabaret is a theater of the absurd. Among other zaniness, there are two men in a horse costume onstage, and clowns are putting different things in the horse's mouth, and then surprises come out the horse's rear. They put an egg into the mouth, a flapping live chicken comes out the back.
A few jesters are bouncing on trampolines. Their jumps reach the spectators watching from the higher floors, and at the apex of their jump, they hand the spectators a fruit, take their hat or drink, or moon them.
Cabaret girls, led by the beautiful Anise, dance the can-can and sing. When they're not performing, they go out into the crowd, mix, and charm the men.
The Cabaret's MC, Cankerblossom, quietly appeared at the party's side and introduced himself. Cankerblossom was a Russell Brand type in a long coat with brass buttons all down the front. A cabaret girl working the crowd came around and gave Elgis fruit from a basket; when she moved on Cankerblossom leaned in and quietly told Elgis, "Yeah, probably don't eat that."
Dan said that Virgil wanted to jump on the trampoline, and Cankerblossom said that if Virgil could best him in a Performance contest, then Cankerblossom was in the know and could help the party out. Elgis Help'ed Virgil on his performance, which Dan described as:
Amazing - jump off Elgis's mighty shoulders, bounce off the wall, somersault, trampoline, steal a hat, give the hat to a sexy wench.
Dan rolled low for Virgil's Acrobatics, even with advantage from Elgis's help. He used an inspiration point, but rolled low again.
Cankerblossom got on the stage and sang two songs. One was about how a horse with four legs can't dance a 3/4 time waltz, and the second was about how he'd murdered the Company's second-to-last Master of Revels and thrown the body off Lofton Bridge. He rolled an 18 for Performance and bested Virgil.
Elgis asked Cankerblossom if he'd really murdered the Master of Revels or if it was just a song. Cankerblossom was noncommittal, saying that time passes and memories fade; I suggested that the cabaret was called the Black Cabaret for a reason.
They refocused - they were looking for a harpy in disguise. The harpy they'd beaten at the Volsteads appeared as a woman, and Mike asked if the harpies could appear as men or anything else. I said that the Ring of Greater Pulchritude they'd taken from the previous harpy gave the wearer Disguise Self, so yes. But they didn't immediately see anyone that might be the harpy.
They did spot Gregor the Naturalist at a table, watching the Cabaret with some friends, and they went over to say hello. Gregor introduced them to Kasskar, the rogue trader who lived at the Mooncalf; Beale the Goldenpiper, bard and historian of the City of the Dead; and Vesper Cotton, the second son of the Cotton House trading house. As they shook hands, Vesper mentioned that his smith Kazola was making weapons for the party (from Game 2).
I mentioned that just as Gregor was a good go-to for Nature questions in Hollin, Beale might be helpful with History. I also said that Kasskar had been a PC in the original surreal Hollin campaign, and might be helpful with "fucked up" things in Hollin that no one else could answer.
They also noticed Yorvick Volstead with some friends at another table, and Yorvick waved them over. Yorvick introduced the party to his friends: Parja, the Company's Secretary of the Admiralty; Captain Burns, the intrepid explorer; and Anya, the Company's Keeper of the Lion's Mouth. Yorvick eagerly told Parja, Burns, and Anya how the party had saved his baby Violet.
The players asked what the "Lion's Mouth" was, and I said it was an elaborate iron mail slot on the side of the Great Council Hall. In theory Hollinders could leave the Company any information there, but everyone knew the Lion's Mouth was actually for snitching on your neighbors and naming names.
Now a conspicuously beautiful woman came in and approached the stage, with a few eager men in tow. Kiltak immediately approached them and told the men "leave now"; Mike rolled 19 on Kiltak's Intimidation and the men left with their tails between their legs.
Kiltak introduced himself to the woman. The woman introduced herself as Ursula and looked Kiltak up and down. Hamza shook the woman's hand, with his hand wearing the Ring of Greater Pulchritude, and Ursula immediately became alarmed and hostile.
Hamza asked if she wanted to talk somewhere else, but Kiltak Grappled her and rolled a 20 on his grapple attack. Ursula dropped her disguise, becoming a harpy, and the Cabaret crowd freaked out and backed up against the walls. They tied up her hands and feet, and they interrogated her, with Kiltake threatening her and Hamza putting a "spear crackling with green energy" in her face. She said in broken speech that the kidnapped changelings were in the harpy Eyrie above Lofton, that they were alive when she left the Eyrie, and that they "looked tasty."
The party took Ursula's broach and gave it to Haden, since Charisma is warlocks' primary ability.
The Quite Flattering Broach
Diplomat skill feat:
You master the arts of diplomacy, gaining the following benefits:
They decided to take Ursula with them, tied up, and make her guide them to the Eyrie. They left the Mooncalf and crossed the bridge carrying the harpy, with the Mooncalf crowd and the market square crowd watching them in astonishment.
At this point, Haden officially joined the party, going with them toward Lofton. Vesper Cotton, who'd previously worked as an Admiralty medic, also joined them as a healer.
They looked south over Lofton as they reached the apex of Lofton bridge. Lofton was Hollin's old town, long abandoned and overgrown. They could see the ruins of Lofton Castle, the Gradskans' old seat of royal power, away to the southeast. The ruins of the Cathedral of Gradska, the old seat of the Gradskans' religion, was away to the southwest. The high cliff faces of Durning Hill and Brice Hill were beyond those, on the left and right.
Ursula told them that the Eyrie was in the Brice Hill cliff face. Climbing the cliff face would be daunting, but they could easily hike up the back of Brice Hill and rappel down.
They continued on Market Street, one of the few streets in Lofton not completely overgrown. As they walked, a silver and red bug two inches long crawled out of the ground and landed on Hamza. Hamas rolled a DEX save to brush it off, but only rolled a 6, and the bug bit Hamza for 6 damage. Kiltak attacked the bug and rolled 15, killing it. Ajer said that as Kiltak crushed the bug on Hamza's body, "there's a sickening crunch like Kiltake broke something."
Three more silver bugs crawled out of the ground, and the party ran. Kiltak had the highest Athletics and rolled for the group, succeeding, and they outran the bugs.
They hiked up the back of Brice Hill and looked down the cliff face from the top. They found a series of ledges going down, to a ledge with large empty nests on it. The party navigated down the ledges easily, except Kiltak, who was still carrying Ursula. He rolled Athletics to climb down with her, but only rolled a 2. Kiltak fell down to the ledge safely, but he dropped Ursula who - still tied up and unable to fly - fell down the cliff face and died.
On the ledge with the nests (A), they found two tunnels, entrances to the Eyrie.
The Eyrie
They went inside, to B. There they found plateaus (F, I) and tunnels and very different elevations (C, E, H, J). But in particular, they immediately noticed the area in the middle of the cavern - the "bone well" D - was 500 feet lower than B. Looking over the ledge, they saw thousands of bones of the harpies' victims had been discarded there over time.
The 20 feet down to F was a little too high to just jump without getting injured, and they dropped a rope down. When half of the party had gone down, harpies suddenly attacked out of every adjacent tunnel - C, E, H, J, but also the tunnels to L and M.
The harpies used their claw attacks on the party, but also used their Luring Song to try to Charm them. However, the party defeated the harpies.
They continued to M. Here the found:
The man immediately begged them to free him, saying he was Christopher Cotton - Vesper's older brother. However, they asked if the man was wearing any jewelry. Initially I said no, thinking that Disguise Self would also disguise the jewelry. But then I realized the party had been able to see the jewelry on the other harpies, even when disguised, so I said yes instead.
Even though the party now knew or suspected that "Christopher Cotton" was actually a harpy, I still read them what "Christopher" said:
The man says he is Christopher Cotton. Christopher says that he was out a couple of nights ago with Livingston, the Anhault Charter Company's Master of Revels. They went to the Black Cabaret, where the MC Cankerblossom introduced them to two beautiful women. Livingston and he were very gallant, and bought the women drinks. They got friendly and all left the Cabaret together, laughing and touching each others' arms and making double entendres, and slipped into a back alley. But there the women suddenly turned into harpies, and seized them in their cruel talons and flew away, high into the air.
Christopher says he had never flown before. Christopher starts to cry and says that as the harpies carried them high over the city, he wet himself.
Chistopher struggles to continue, looking at the ground instead of looking the party in the eyes. He says the harpies chained them up here and tortured Livingston for a long time, but they bickered the whole time, because some wanted to stop torturing Livingston and eat him. Eventually the hungry hapries argued that they could eat Livingston and still have Christopher to torture, and they won out.
Christopher breaks down and sobs and says, with great difficulty, that the harpies ate Livingston. You see Christopher's glance fall on one of the chained-up skeletons, and you realize that the harpies ate Livingston right in front of him.
They fought the harpy - the last harpy Duchess Hecate - and defeated her. They beat her with nonlethal damage so they could interrogate her, but Virgil didn't Persuade her for information, and Kiltak decapitated her.
Kiltak took Hecate's Necklace, which was similar to Golnaz's Ring and Ursula's Broach:
The Necklace of the Cool Appraising Stare
Diplomat skill feat:
You master the arts of diplomacy, gaining the following benefits:
They went into L and found the real Christopher.
They'd found the changeling children in M, and I asked if the party would tell Mia and Zoe that their babies were changelings. They said yes. We discussed how they would then find the missing human children, but they didn't have any leads for that yet.
They decided to take a long rest.