Episode 27-29: Escape from Poo Corner

Dates Played: February 24, March 9, and April 19, 2016

Quest Information

 * "The Slave Port"
 * 13-14 Araḫ Tišritum roughly mid-September. High 87F, low 77F. Dry season, 1% chance for light rain daily
 * Drok-Nir in Perskebeth, hex 1110
 * Level 5-6

Primary Cast

 * Craganor, battle cleric of Inanna
 * Daric, camel merchant
 * Ebo Darwishi, Perskebethi exile
 * Gimble, gnome evoker
 * Ket-Ramat, soldier-scout
 * Lugal, Mage of Learning
 * Samman ibn Shakhs, professional pit fighter

Summary
Where did it all go wrong?

In hindsight, there was much that could have been done to avoid their fate. Perhaps they should have kept a lower profile in the Perskebethi port city of Drokh-Nir. The party made a big show in the market near the port. Riling up those children may not have been wise, it seemed to draw some attention.

Then there was the bar. Sure, Samman's friends seemed like good folks, but there were a LOT of people there. It's entirely possible someone overheard their conversation and reported them to the guards.

Some things they did perfectly fine. Gimble's spy mission utilizing his silver raven to map out the slaver's stockade worked brilliantly; they gained the full lay of the land, even getting a glimpse into the security measures (high walls, lizardfolk & centaur guards, a building construction that would defy escape). It appeared to be a perfect success, undetected by the enemy forces.

Better still, Daric's short infiltration into the stockade was nothing short of miraculous. Aided by Lugal's invisibility spell, the timing couldn't have been better: right at quitting time, folks more interested in heading home to their families than making sure the door was locked. Daric saw much: the many offices of an efficient, if dark and disgusting, business enterprise; the opulent furnishings of the stockade's beautiful commandant (apparently the sister of the woman defeated by the party in the attack on Selihm); and, incredibly, a sheaf of papers that apparently contained a list of "cargo", most likely the captives taken from Selihm. Fortune did not smile fully on Daric, however. His invisibility held up, but his timing didn't, for the manager locked his office before Daric could steal the documents. If only he spoke Perskebethi!

There is no doubt one big mistake was trying to enter the stockade from the underground tunnels. Pit toilets are unmistakably foul, and attract all sorts of foul denizens. The first handful of oozes met were easily dispatched, but that otyugh was one vicious beast. Why, oh why, did Ket think following the trail of gnawed bones would be a good idea? That particular battle seems to be going acceptably well, until Gimlet decided to blast the giant, fetid shitpile with a ''thunderwave. Now the entire party smelled of filth, and'' it made a lot noise to boot, which may be why the patrols found the party.

How did that patrol know the party was down there? The fight with the otyugh did make a lot of noise, but the tunnels were large. The Grey Guard soldiers should not have found the party that quickly on noise alone. They must have been followed. Perhaps they were betrayed by Samman's friends. Perhaps the old cleric they befriended in Selihm was really a double agent. Perhaps his ward, the quiet monk, turned them in. Perhaps they attracted the city watch's attention in the market.

The band of adventurers found themselves battling all the way to the exit. The initial patrol was bad, but the party was nearly fresh and had plenty of stamina and spells to deal with their attack. It was the wave after wave of lizardfolk afterwards that was their undoing. When the gnome was felled by an assassin's blade, and the Mage of Learning, Lugal, was caught afoul by an unseen spellcaster's fireball, things went really south. Eventually, the bulk of the group was defeated, bound, and dragged through the city streets, humiliated by a populace indoctrinated into believing that slavery was perfectly acceptable.

But that was all months ago. Daric, the sole, free member of his party, has little time to reminisce. He has new allies, they have a plan, and, with the blessing of the gods, his friends will be free again.

To be continued ...

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