The Doors

September 26th - October 1st, Albanus 1

As the party rested, Severus asked Oshan if they could go to Sobel Ka on October 1st.  Though he was puzzled by this delay, the magus agreed, and left to make arrangements for the burial of his foster-brother, Darshev.  Severus and Corvina then spent the next several days purchasing lilies, 500 lead tablets, and a pure black sow.  Over the next three days, Severus, Corvina, Marius, and Gaius inscribed 500 curses -- one for each child killed at Dun Amer.

The rest of the family entertained themselves in a variety of ways.  Marius did some research at the libraries in town.  Leyna studied flute, while Titus taught her some lillendi.  Gaius wandered outside Viridistan's walls -- and discovered a couple secret ways over the walls.  One was a discrete set of handholds carved into the wall in Hawksward (Viridistan's poor quarter).  The other was more disturbing:  a hand-clawed tunnel, leading in from the necropolis.  It looked like the work of ghouls -- but Viridistan's fundati should have prevented undead from entering the city.  

Corvina visited the old abandonned Temple of Dulcea, on Hawksward's edges.  There she found signs that someone was making offerings to the goddess in the temple's attic.  Corvina left a sprig of belladona berries on the table/altar.  On her next visit, she found a small sigil scratched in wax drippings:  a spider, and a question mark.  She erased the spider and drew a picture of a round (human) ear.

On the night of the 28th, the dark of the moon, the band took their pig, curses, and a cart-full of wood outside Viridistan, to a crossroad near one of the many farming hamlets in the Imperial Lands.  Their bonfire drew some attention from the farmer who lived nearby.  But as soon as he saw that they were "witches", he quickly retreated back inside and barred his door, leaving them to sacrifice in peace.  As they finished their rites, a raggedy black hound wandered up, sniffing at the scent of burnt meat.  Titus detected a faint, malignant evil upon it -- which the party took as a very, very good sign.  Just before they left, the hound raised its muzzle and howled.  Its call was picked up by other dogs nearby (and by Corvina), and echoed out over the empty fields.  Satisfied that the Gods had heard their prayers, the band returned home.

The next morning they were ready for the trip to Sobel Ka.  Oshan gave them a few safety tips.  None were surprising -- except that attempting to convert a Sobellian was a capital crime.  The True Gods apparently did not welcome competition.  Titus was also very worried about Sobel Ka's "neutrality."  While necromancy and demonolatry were illegal in the island nation, the Sobellians would trade with anyone -- provided they had a license from one of the great Sobellian Houses.  This meant that he might well run into a nefas person whom he couldn't legally attack.  At first he considered staying home.  But Severus and Oshan pointed out that there were options.  If the nefas person attacked him first, he could retaliate.  Ditto if they broke Sobel Ka's laws -- that negated their license.  And if the evil-doer was a foreigner, the worst punishment for murdering them was a hefty fine.  So unless the nefas person was a Sobellian, there were lethal options available.  They just had to pray they didn't meet a nefas Sobellian, and Oshan assured them that such monsters were not common in Sobel Ka.

A clean teleport brought them to the port city of Sobel Ka, on the island of Sobel.  It was a beautiful city, with low marble halls and white-washed stone walls gleaming against an azure blue sea.  Scores of boats and fishing vessels floated in the harbor.  The first major oddity they noted was the weather:  it was hot, despite the fact that Sobel Ka was in the far northern ocean.  In the mid-90s, humid, with a glorious golden sun overhead.  The second oddity was the people:  they were virtually naked.  Men walked about in loinclothes;  most had their hair braided into a long ponytail that draped down the left side of their head.  Women wore gauzy skirts and shawls... and nothing else.  Worse (for the chaste, male members of the party), they tended to daub their nipples with kohl, making their endowments very difficult to ignore.  Wealthy women rode in slave-bourne litters.  Their hair was elaborately curled, with glittering gems and gold woven into their locks.  Thousands of people hurried about, chattering and happy.  They paid little attention to teleporting strangers.  Dah broke into a wide smile as he surveyed his home, and begged permission to discard his extraneous clothes.  They would love Sobel Ka, he assured them.  It was the only civilized nation in the world.

Oshan led them to the House of Far, one of the five Great Houses that ruled the islands of Sobel Ka.  They were welcomed into a garden, with fountains and trellises covering with flowering vines.  Lady Tennek Far greeted them, and provided many delicacies for their refreshment.  Fruit juices, some delicately fermented.  Sweetened ice shavings, and sherbet-like drinks.  Tiny tidbits of fish, some raw, some "cooked" in lime juice.  Eating proved a bit challenging, however.  Everyone had two slaves, of the opposite gender.  One knelt holding the plate.  The other selected delicacies from it and popped them into the guest's mouth -- so that the diner never had to touch their own food.  Several people found it difficult to avoid faux pas (like grabbing their own food), but the band bumbled through the meal.  Lady Tennek Far graciously did not notice their lack of manners.

Although the point of the meeting was to allow Oshan to negotiate a trade agreement with the House of Far, Tennek Far seemed more interested in chatting with Leyna and Corvina.  She was particularly curious why Leyna chose to become a warrior.  While a woman was, of course, free to do as she chose, Tennek Far couldn't understand why a woman would pick such a brutish, "masculine" trade.  Leyna admitted that some days she wasn't sure why she did this -- but she didn't know what else to do.  Tennek Far hastened to assure her that she would find her true calling some day.

Eventually, Oshan did manage to grab Tennek Far's attention long enough to hammer out the details of their deal.  And after that, the band headed out into the streets of Sobel Ka for shopping.  (For a complete shopping list, click here.)

Titus precipitated their first encounter as they walked along the sea-wall at the market's edge.  From the water, the paladin heard splashing and a woman's voice calling, "Hai!  Hai hai!"  Looking down, he spotted a mermaid with milky white skin and blue hair.  She was selling a set of exquisite, pearly armor made from enchanted sea shells.  "Nine tousand!" the mermaid kept calling, in broken Rostillan.  "Nine tousand!"  When Leyna tried on the armor, she found that it became as light as silk in the water and she could swim freely.  This delighted the mermaid (and her two sisters lurking beneath the water).  When Leyna sadly shook her head and said she couldn't afford it, the mermaids were quite solicitous and fished up a handful of clams for her (so the poor woman wouldn't starve on the surface).  Leyna in turn gave them a gold piece -- which the mermaids seemed to find pretty, but confusing.  That puzzled the party.  "Do you want nine thousand gold for the armor?" Severus asked.  The mermaid made a little "ugh"-ing noise.  So what did they want nine "tousand" of?  After some investigations, the band figurd out that she wanted 9,000 gp "worth" of trade goods.  Jewelled combs, mirrors, that sort of thing.  And they could probably get that for 4,500 gp.  Corvina and Dah then spent some time finding high quality articles for the delighted mermaid, and the party took her luminous armor.

Leyna found a pair of boots being sold by two scruffy sailors from Vardane.  She showed them to Gaius, who was excited to find that they not only made your more dextrous, but helped you move silently too.  The only catch was that they were lined with what looked like human skin.  Worse, Titus found that they had an unclean aura about them.  Severus tried to convince the sailors to give them the boots, arguing that it was a capitol crime for them to be selling such things without a license.  The sailors scoffed as his feeble "shake-down"... until Severus whistled for the guard.  At that, the sailors threw the boots into the ocean and ran off into the crowd.  A helpful mermaid retrieved the boots and offered them to Titus ("Dropped?").  And the band filed them away for further study.

The final major encounter was a woman Gaius met, wearing elaborate robes lined with fur and stitched with runes.  She had potion for sale which helped you recover spells after you cast them.  When she realized that Gaius was a Rostillan, she became hostile and defensive.  She was licensed, she snapped.  As the rest of the family wandered up, Titus confirmed that she was indeed nefas.  A necromancer, probably, or demon-worshipper.  But how were they going to kill her, legally?

As the woman began to edge away nervously, Severus spoke to her in Franskan -- the language of the necromancers of the Valley of Ancients.  What was she selling?  Hearing a familiar (and malign) tongue, the woman calmed down.  Demon's blood, she said in Franskan.  Very potent.  Still eyeing Titus, she asked why Severus was with a paladin.  Severus replied that Titus was his property, and very valuable.  At that, the necromancer brightened and chattered a bit about how difficult it was to get paladins these days.  Poor things were nearly extinct.

Trying to lure her into breaking the law, Severus asked if she had any soul-stones for sale.  (Soul-stones are enchanted gems that hold souls;  highly nefas, and illegal even in Sobel Ka.)  If she had enough, he'd be willing to trade Titus for them.  Eyes gleaming with avarice, the necromancer stalked about Titus, examining him from every angle.  A quick spell (detect good) proved his virtue -- and drew her attention to Leyna and Marius.  "What a splendid collection you have!" she gasped.  "I'll pay you 8 soul gems for the three of them."  Severus bargained her up to 10 (her entire store).  And when she produced her "payment", he said to Titus, "She's broken the law.  You can kill her now."  The necromancer's eyes widened in shock... and the paladin lopped her head off with one swing.  The party then summoned the city guard and presented the evidence of the woman's criminal acts.  They were somewhat disturbed to find that the squad leader appeared to recognize soul-stones on sight.  Apparently illegal trading wasn't that uncommon in Sobel Ka.  The guards apologized for the inconvenience they'd suffered, and cleared them of wrong-doing.

After this, much buying and selling ensued.