Sellswords of Punjar, Session 1: Smashing the Gates

The adventure takes place in a crime-ridden city Punjar, specifically in a slum district alternately known as Old Punjar or Smoke. It is a densely populated and poorly patrolled area of Punjar where many nefarious deeds take place away from the watchful eyes of the masters of the great city. Two factions that vie over control of the district, the Thieves' Guild and the Beggar-King, are in all but open war with each other. Rumors abound that the ridiculously arrogant and self-styled Beggar-King has begun hiring mercenaries in the hopes of bolstering is poorly equipped and untrained vassals of beggars and finally defeating the Master of Smoke (the leader of the Thieves' Guild). So far all of his attempts have failed and he grows ever more desperate. Who knows to what depths he may go in search of allies.

Aletha, Jym, Mina, and Regnor all found themselves at a disreputable watering hole called the "Horny Hippogriff" seeking drink and information. They overheard many tall-tales and rumors listening to the other patrons and the ever-present owner and bartender, Six-fingered Sam.

"The Beggar-King makes his lair in the slums surrounding an ancient charnel tower on Rat Catchers' Row. Once the tower was sacred to the Thieves, who used it to cremate their most honored thief lords. Truth is, the spirits of the old Canting Crew still haunt the tower. Foolish is the soul that would dare disturb their resting place..."

"I hear tell the Beggar-King is looking to hire a few good swords to his cause. Must have a king's ransom, for the purses he's offering to mercenaries. 'Course, what good is gold if you don't live long enough to spend it?"

"The smog lurking over the slums? A magical plague says I, sent by the gods to punish those over-reaching beggars. Only ill can come from dabbling in black magic, but them beggars was never the wise sort. If they were, wouldn't be beggars now would they?"

"Stories hold that somewhere in the rat's nest of tenements is a fountain dedicated to the Old Gods. Dark, forbidding thing, where warlocks used to meet to work their wicked rites in days of yore. Solve the mystery of the fountain, and you'll solve the mystery of the Thing that haunts the slums, if the stories are to be believed."

"'Ware the smoke lurking over the Beggar-King's lair. I've seen it take a man and reduce him to nothing but bones and gristle in the time it took me to tell you as much! Stay low and stick to cobbles and you should be safe, but avoid the slate-road at all costs!"

"I've heard tell that Old Mother Zeb'oltha herself answered the Beggar-King's call for allies. If you're wondering why the Thieves haven't moved on the beggars, don't look any further. Mother Zeb'oltha is a nasty one, a demon-blooded black sorceress, who ain't above using folks for spell components, if you get my drift. You'll know her by the eunuch bodyguards she keeps, but by then it's usually too late."

"Truth of the matter is, the beggars are all dead. Their boss sacrificed his kin weeks ago; all to earn the patronage of some fell power. Don't know if it worked, but it seems a beggar's soul ought to be worth as much as any other."

"Many people of varying importance have gone missing. Word on the street says the the Beggar-King has been paying for his mercenaries by selling slaves to a third party. It may be that slavers are once again working out of a hidden underground network of caves and tunnels. Wasn't so long ago when the slavers preyed on us common folks, was it?"

After gathering information and pooling their knowledge the party decided to investigate the Beggar-King's lair together, each for their own ends. It was not hard to find his rotting demesne on Rat Catchers' Row. The only accessible entrance appeared to be a narrow alley blocked by a tall iron gate topped by sharp spikes and leering gargoyles. The heavy lock securing the gate was cast into the face of a snarling devil. Over and above the patchy slate tiled roofs of the complex of dilapidated tenements hung a black swirling cloud concentrated around the top of an old charnel tower. Heeding the warning against taking the "slate-road" the party opted to not try and climb over the walls and roofs. and inspection of the spikes revealed them to be trapped cautioning against trying to scale the gate either.

The rogue inspected the lock in the mouth of the devil's face and not seeing any obvious traps attempted to pick it. The first attempt failed which set off a well hidden trap and the jaws of the mouth slammed shut around Mina's hand and arm. One of the sharp canines pierced her skin and she felt a toxin course through her blood. The rest of the party watched in horror as Mina's skin and eyes turned gray from the poison. Aletha and Jym helped Regnor pry apart the metal jaws of the trap far enough for Mina to withdraw her damaged arm. Jym examined the wound and determined that the symptoms matched those of "shadowstuff toxin" a rare and magical poison that slowly change the infected into mere shadow and they cease to exist. Jym gave her his expert opinion that she had only a few hours to live unless they could find an antidote.

Aletha, tired of watching her companions be stymied by the locked gate, used her Eladrin fey-step ability to teleport onto the other side of the gate. From the inside she was able to target the vulnerable gate hinges with eldritch blasts, causing the whole thing to come crashing down into the rain-slicked cobblestones. After the echoes of their violent entry died away the party attempted to salvage what remained of their stealth and headed deeper into the complex down the alley.