Hudson McBay, a sweat-slicked traveling merchant, has acquired a pouch of 20 unrefined gems fresh from the Greyspine mines. He needs reliable guards to escort him along the dangerous trade trail to an outpost tavern for a high-stakes trade meeting. In exchange for keeping him and his cargo safe, Hudson is offering each guard a 10% cut of his total profit from the sale!
📋 SESSION REQUIREMENTS
⚠️ Failure to meet any of these requirements will result in your slot being given to another adventurer.
.Dot
=Where did you go=
We first met at not the Barnacle Inn.. The weather.. nondescript, but everything else was bright and vivid as if brand new. Six intrepid adventurers met there at not the Barnacle Inn, at first separate but soon they would find a common focus. How was that warforged made?!?
You could say, perhaps, that there was a different mission that took place.. Maybe a person named Hudson or something needed some help transporting gems or knick knacks or some other thing, but that didn't matter. All the party was really concerned with was making sure that 3 artificers understood what makes warforged tick as well as possible.
I'm pretty sure we fought some goblins, but as usual Hacker isn't much for fighting and isn't very good at it. I think in total i did 0 points of damage and also healed a couple of people and tackled the quest giver to make sure he wasn't dragged away by goblins.. all in all it was a good time
=Who did you meet=
Valkorian Sunseeker and Nephr-ka-Ra, each an inspiring bard
H01211X, a warforged Paladin of great interest to the party.. also a party member.. technically
2 other artificers, Ember and Aux, together we peppered the warforged with questions, none of us ever having met such an individual before.. this is probably what happens when you have too many artificers in a party..
=What happened=
Oh.. Whoops.. i tend to get a bit all over the place with my notes, this is usual for me
-- Hacker
Oh, and we found A scrap of dirty parchment stamped with a Jagged Tooth Mark. (CLUE RUMOR)
https://youtube.com/shorts/tyMCF2QOTrg?si=d69ZKNA7hwzsAVt5
Dawnport, Forest, Jeweler Stall
-Players- Nephr-ka-Ra, Aux Cloud, H01211X, Ember, Hacker, Valkorian
-Non playable Characters- Hudson McBay, The Jeweler
-Enemies- Goblins
This group composes of three artificers: Aux Cloud, Ember & Hacker, a warforged paladin: H01211X (Horlix), and two bards: Nephr-ka-Ra & Valkorian. They arrived together into Dawnport Harbor and walked into the Barnacle Inn, the main tavern in this new settlement. As they took their seats in the tavern, somebody ran panickily through the door and confronted Horlix. He is flustered and asking for help, panting like crazy. He introduces himself as Hudson McBay, a merchant who has acquired a pouch of 20 unrefined gems fresh from the Greyspine mines. He needs reliable guards to escort him along the dangerous trade trail to an outpost tavern for a high-stakes trade meeting. In exchange for keeping him and his cargo safe, Hudson is offering each guard a 10% cut of his total profit from the sale!
While he is explaining the above mission criteria, the three artificers are busy inspecting Horlix. They are absolutely fascinated by Horlix and his solar panels which he will use to charge his battery, completely ignoring what Hudson had to say. After some small talk between Hudson and Valkorian & Nephr, and a whole lot of convincing later, the group finally stopped admiring the warforged and decided to take up this quest. They had a few drinks and made friends with each other and eventually they embarked.
As they were travelling on the wagon, they reached a fork in the road and they had to choose between encountering bandits or goblins. After some discussion, it was also revealed that Hack was a hobgoblin! Because of that, they figured there was a chance that they could negotiate with the goblins instead of fighting (maybe not the best idea). As they progressed further they reached a road which had cliffs surrounding on both sides. Hack remarked that this looked like a perfect spot for an ambush, and he was 100% correct! A goblin hiding at the high ground fires a arrow which nearly hits the wagon, and he screams in goblin "Surround them!". The party does not understand this except Horlix, who has the goblin language pack installed.
The battle begins! A total of 12 goblins start rushing to the group and the wagon from the shadows. They are surrounded from all sides and will need to hold their ground. Ember the artificer was shot by the goblin and she was injured critically, she went down unconscious as she is in trouble. Horlix went near her and used "lay on hands" to heal her, while swinging his sword to the nearest goblin and defeating him. Aux Cloud then uses fire bolt as he hits one of the goblins straight in the face and it dies. Hacker also moves around the battlefield, providing support and attacking the goblins, he was hit but he survived. Valkorian sings a tune, he casts a sleep spell and manages to subdue two goblins and put them to sleep. Nephr-ka-Ra was doing a great job avoiding all the goblins attacks because of his Ozempic, ummm i mean his slender frame! The goblins keep hitting his wraps only! Ember wakes up and in her rage, fire bolts the same goblin that struck her earlier, killing it! Suddenly, two goblins ambush Hudson and starts to kidnap him, grabbing both his legs are dragging him away! The group tries to thwart them but it took them a few tries but they managed to stop them, with the help of Hacker jumping onto Hudson and grabbing him. Aux Cloud did a fancy manouever and actually misty step to one side and fire bolt the goblin in the back! Only one goblin was left and he was swiftly dealt with. The group had successfully rescued Hudson and they got the horses back to the wagon and moved on to the destination. They also managed to salvage 14 gold 22 silver from the goblins. Additionally, *rumor* the group found a scrap of dirty parchment stamped with a jagged tooth mark. Hudson recognizes it and mentions that someone in town might know more about this.
The group finally arrives at the meeting location. Hudson successfully talks to the person in charge for the jeweler and delivers the 20 pieces of unrefined gems. He tries to negotiate for a better price for the group but he doesn't seem like a very charismatic type, contrary to what he told to the group earlier. He only manages to get 300 gold pieces. Valkorian gives him some support by giving him but he was too lame. Hacker steps up and convinces the jeweler with his technical knowledge about the gems, raising the price to 600 gold pieces wow! The jeweler even remarks that she would contact Hacker again in future as she needs smart people like this. Hudson was so happy that he even increased the cut to 20%, netting 120 gold pieces each! (don't fact check the math please xD)
The end!
Field Journal of Ember Surtgard — Entry 01
Location: Dawnport
It has only been a few days since stepping through the planar gate from Sigil and stepping out into Dawnport on the Material Plane. Calling this place a city is probably quite generous considering it is barely a few months old, but there is certainly no shortage of noise and construction happening all at once.
I started over at the Barnacle Inn, where by some bizarre alignment of fate I ran into two other artificers—Hacker and Aux. Naturally, getting three of us at the same table meant the conversation was immediately elbows-deep in design theory and arcanotech. But all of that came to an abrupt halt when a Warforged paladin named H01211X walked through the tavern door.
We were immediately fixated on him. In fact, the three of us were so thoroughly absorbed that we completely failed to notice a flustered merchant named Hudson McBay standing right there trying to hire him. It only dawned on us after the fact that Hudson was desperately pitching an escort gig to an outpost tavern to sell twenty raw gems from the Greyspine mines. Once we realized there was a promised 10% cut of fresh gemstones on the table—which would be prime stock for lenses and focusing crystals for the firearm project I've been sketching out—we were completely hooked in. Along with two bards, Valkorian and Nephr-ka-Ra, we took the contract and set off.
Once we were on the road in the wagon, Hacker, Aux, and I were engaged in rigorous debate regarding his construction and power cycles. He seems to harness some form of solar power to charge himself, which kept the three of us locked in speculation about planar radiant conduits versus photovoltaic plates. Even stranger, when looking closely, he appears encrusted with actual plant matter and moss. Mother’s workshop never mentioned anything remotely close to a botanical-composite build, then again considering the Plane of Fire was not bereft of much flora to begin with I guess it's hard to say for sure if it's just some missing reference…
Wait, where was I? Right, the ambush.
We took the route heading west, where Hack smartly observed that the canyon path framed by steep cliffs looked like a classic textbook ambush spot.
He wasn't wrong.
Goblins ambushed us from the high ground almost immediately. I actually had the fastest reaction of the entire bunch—but my mind was still half-preoccupied calculating Horlix's solar-cell efficiency, and frankly, goblins are infuriatingly short compared to anyone I practiced against back home. I completely miscalculated the elevation, whiffed my opening attack, and before I could adjust my stance, a goblin darted in with a rusty dagger and dropped me flat in one clean stroke.
Mortifying. Honestly, being dropped flat by a rusted shiv hurts far worse than even Father's longest lectures on highborn deportment.
Once I scrambled back to my feet thanks to H01211X marching over to channel Lay on Hands (with Nephr-ka-Ra helping topping off the remaining damage), spitting dirt and thoroughly furious, my immediate response was to cast Grease on five of the little wretches that were grouped up in a vaguely phallic phalanx. Watching some of them lose traction and flail wildly was deeply gratifying. After that, I also channeled a Fire Bolt directly into one of the goblins. Reduced it to ash on the spot, then caught another with flame before the skirmish ended.
The fight got messy, though—H01211X ended up surrounded by three goblins at once, taking a critical blow that briefly brought him down before we managed to rally and get him back up. It was right around then, when his frame took some structural damage, that I could swear I caught a glimpse of packed soil and dirt settled within his internal chassis rather than clean brass gears or fluid couplings. A botanical-composite core? Fascinating. Meanwhile, two sneaky goblins grabbed Hudson by the ankles and tried dragging him off into the brush like a sack of ore, though Hack tackled the merchant to pin him down while Aux used Misty Step to reposition and pick off stragglers. Valkorian put several to sleep with a song, and the field was finally cleared. We scavenged 14 gold, 22 silver, and a curious scrap of dirty parchment stamped with a jagged tooth insignia that warrants some investigation later.
When we finally delivered Hudson to the outpost tavern, it turned out his earlier bragging about his silver tongue was entirely hot air. He was a complete pushover at the table and nearly surrendered to a meager 300 gold offer from the jeweler.
Thankfully, Hacker stepped in and proved to be an exceptionally sharp negotiator. He pointed out that our party had three practicing artificers capable of precision-cutting and faceting the unrefined stones right there, completely flipping the leverage. The jeweler was so impressed that she agreed to 600 gold—doubling the payout—and Hudson was thrilled enough to bump our escort share from 10% to 20%.
Operational DTTM: 582D06H54M
Unit: H01211X
Quest giver: Hudson McBay
Quest objective: Deliver <Quest giver> to Jeweler
Reward: 10% cut of fresh gems
Allies: Valkorian, Aux, Ember, Nephr, Hacker
Transportation: Wagon
Log: escorting <Quest giver>. idle mode location <Transportation> reach. idle mode set to true.
Operational DTTM: 582D10H24M
Unit: H01211X
Encounter: 11 Goblins
Log1: Action Longsword Target Goblin01... Result: Target Goblin01 Neutralize!
Log2: Action Lay on Hand (1) Target Ember... Result: Target Ember Stabilized!
Log3: Action Longsword Target Goblin02... Result: Target Goblin02 Damaged!
Log4: Action Longsword <Divine Smite> Target Goblin03... Result: Target Goblin03 Neutralize!
Log5: Goblin04 Action Scimitar Target H01211X... Result: System F@i1ur3! 01001!
...//Boot H01211X-Eldath.Protocol-KotG...
Core: online
Power: stable
Optical: functional
Audio: functional
Chassis: intact
Joints: Left Knee, Faulty detected
Moss integrity: unchanged
Unit: H01211X
Status: Suboptimal
Operational DTTM: 582D10H27M
Unit: H01211X
Encounter: 11 Goblins
Result: <Encounter> all Neutralize!
Operational DTTM: 582D11H37M
Unit: H01211X
Quest Result: --
Quest giver: Hudson McBay - Survived
Quest objective: Deliver <Quest giver> to Jeweler - Complete
Reward: 10% cut of fresh gems - Reward alter <10%> to <20%>
Actual Reward: 122.37 Gold
It is a strange feeling indeed to be back amongst the living. Though I am sure that would be the simplest way of describing it. In my current state, it seems like I do not have to worry much about the demands of keeping my physical coil nourished and rested. But everything comes at a cost I fear. I must admit I do miss having the sensation of tasting the myriad flavors of food, and of course, liquor… even the feeling of closing one’s eyes as sleep embrace the consciousness. I will have to dig deep in my memories to relive such feelings when I do feed and rest this body.
Dawnport is as lively as it can be for settlement on the frontier. It was the closest place I could reach once leaving the tomb. I no longer remembered the surrounding. By my estimate, maybe a hundred years have passed. But, can a century brought so much change? A nagging thought that perhaps, the entire tomb was somehow… transported… might have some truth. But that is a question to answer at a different time.
*****
(Below is the written account of Nephr's first adventure, written in a story format. Recollections may vary.)
Adventuring seems to be the main draw here. One of the first souls I started talking to, this elf named Valkorian, was quite generous with his knowledge. He even asked me to wait with him for opportunities to earn gold and friendship at the Barnacle Inn, a local tavern. And today proved to be the day.
A group of curious looking figures were hunched over a table not far away. Their gear reminded me much of the reclusive gnomes in the employment of the Pharaoh back then. Valkorian called them Artificers, and he figured they were waiting for opportunities as well. The way they talk and argue about numbers, the workings behind things, mathematics… it was an entire new language. Almost… magical.
And then a living statue walked in! By Thoth! I have only read about constructs independently moving, talking and thinking like a living being, and here one just sauntered in. I was about to ask Valkorian about the magic, or perhaps a divine blessing that might power such a thing, when the three artificers swarmed the construct; admiring and fawning over its function.
It was at this time when a man came bursting into the tavern and started asking if the construct was the one that signed up for the job. He led the construct to the bar to discuss details, and of course, the artificers naturally followed suit. Valkorian said we better join in, and that man was Hudson McBay, the opportunity we were waiting for. Soon, all of us crowded around both the man and the construct.
Between the gasp of wonderment and curiosity, the stuttering of the construct and Valkorian asking questions, I learnt that Hudson was a traveling merchant. The artificers were Hacker, Ember Surtgard and Aux Cloud. The construct had a very strange name; H01211X, and pronounced "Horlix". It very much sounded like how the Pharaoh would tag a prized possession in his treasury catalog.
Hudson was looking at hiring some protection, bodyguards to be exact, for his travel across the wilderness to meet with a jeweler in another settlement. Hudson had procured some quantity of unpolished gems from the Greyspine Mines. Confident in his mercantile acumen, he stated that he could sell them at a high price. Thus, fearing for his safety, he would require escorts.
Hacker, one of the artificers, offered to look at and appraise the gems, but Hudson immediately scoffed at the idea, and haughtily stated that only the jeweler he had in mind was to appraise them. This created some interesting reactions amongst the artificers.
I noticed the artificers were losing interest with the merchant as Valkorian asked more question. When Horlix abruptly agreed to help Hudson, the mood immediately shifted and all three artificers now eagerly wanted to join. The payment offered was a cut, a tenth of the total, earned from the sale of the gems. With everyone agreeing to this, the party was formed, and we headed out of Dawnport on the merchant’s wagon.
The first few hours of the journey was pretty uneventful. More discussions about Horlix were going between the artificers, with Valkorian joining in now and then. Looking at Horlix, I wondered about the curious similarity we might share; two beings existing outside of time. But unlike the curious artificers, I doubt clerics and priests were to marvel at the sight of a walking dead, and instead blast me outright with holy bolts and scriptures. Time will tell.
The wagon reached a fork in the road. According to Hudson, one leads to the highroad, and was rumored to be watched by bandits. The lowroad, on the other hand, was said to be riddled with goblins. When Hacker made a nonchalant comment about the goblins, everyone finally realized that Hacker is a hobgoblin! It was not immediately recognizable under the equipment and gear he was wearing. With this, the party urged Hudson to take the lowroad, confident we could parlay with the goblins.
Passing through a valley road, we found it to be unnaturally quiet, and the place looked very suited for mounting surprise attacks. Guarded, we proceeded with caution. Then we heard a high-pitched guttural sound. Looking up on a cliff, we saw a lone goblin, snarling with a nocked bow pointed at us. Hacker approached the goblin, and started to converse, while the rest of us began to take a defensive stance.
To our horror, we realized Hacker spoke a different dialect of the goblin tongue and was not able to communicate. Suddenly, Horlix muttered something strange, and began talking like the goblin. Relieved, we finally thought we could began negotiation. But we were wrong. Either Horlix mangled the translation, or the goblins were not planning to let us go.
A shriek, answered by hoots and savage whistling, and a flight of arrows came raining down on us. Barely able to dive for cover, some of us were caught flat-footed. Hudson managed to crawl under the wagon for cover. The goblins rushed in.
I must say that the chaos and confusion of it all was a good wake up call for me. The world is still a dangerous place.
Poor Ember was struck down by a goblin wielding a rusty, wicked blade. Starry wisps of radiance and smoldering bolts of fire filled the air as we bombard the goblins with magical attacks. Some hit, but the goblins were very nimble and many. They soon got closer to the wagon. Horlix managed to revive Ember, and with soothing words of healing, I managed to heal Ember's wound more.
In angry retaliation, Ember summoned a field of slippery grease under some goblins, causing them to slip and fall. Valkorian uttered a magical lullaby that put other goblins to sleep. Horlix took the vanguard position against three of goblins, swinging his sword at the greedy creatures. Aux Cloud moved swiftly in battle, and was felling goblins left and right with his bolts of searing fire. At one point Aux Cloud even disappeared in a billowing cloud as a goblin strike, only to reappear behind the goblin and blasting it down with vengeful flames.
Two of the goblins managed to reach Hudson, and in the chaos, began dragging him away. They seem to know who holds the fattest coin purse. It seemed... calculated. Hacker, now fully recovered from his initial surprise, roared and lunged towards Hudson and grappled him, using his heavy frame to pin Hudson and prevented the goblins from pulling the merchant away. This act surprised the two goblins, and the party easily dispatched them without mercy.
Where was I in all this chaos? *cough*
Whilst initially, some of my magic did hit the goblins, I was then caught in a strange death duel with one of them. Neither of us could hit the other, and while this goblin was injured, it was still moving so nimbly, managing to evade my daggers and spells. Interestingly, the goblin was also unable to land hits on me with its cruel looking blade.
Curse it all! I wondered if I had offended Sekhmet, or if I should offer thanks to Khonsu for this strange luck.
In the end, the goblin was felled by Ember’s fiery wrath, and Aux Cloud’s menacing flames chased and blasted the last goblin in the midst of retreating. The party survived! And Hudson, though shaken, was able to recover from his shock.
We gathered the dead goblins into a pile, and took whatever valuables on them. Curiously, a weathered piece of parchment, bearing the symbol of a Jagged Tooth Mark, was found on one of the goblins. An identity of a clan, perhaps? This may warrant future investigation.
I decided to take the left ear of the goblin that I dueled with. Perhaps in the future, it could be fashioned into a fetish of luck or ill fortune, who knows? May Isis guide me on this.
We continued the journey and soon arrived at the location. Hudson led us to the place where the jeweler was, who turned out to be this gruff dwarf. Expecting to see the marvelous skills that Hudson boasted about, what we witnessed in the end was a fumbling attempt at hoodwinking a true expert at his craft.
The dwarf almost turned us away with a meager offering, but Hacker stepped in, and counter offered the dwarf an alternative; that with the skills offered by him and the other artificers, more gems can be processed easily and that the jeweler can rake in the benefits of selling higher quality products. Impressed by this pitch, the dwarf grudgingly agreed, and even raised the offering price for the gems.
Hudson looked defeated, and increased the initial promised cut, allowing us to receive a more sizable reward.
Overall, an interesting enterprise, I feel.
I am glad that this job turned out well, and along with knowing Valkorian, to have met with the artificers Hacker, Ember and Aux Cloud. The construct Horlix was also an interesting character. I now look forward to future adventures and to meet new people.
Dawnport
I didn't imagine today would turn out as eventful as yesterday. I still haven't gotten rid of the durian smell on me, and here I am, dragged into another fight. At least I'm faring better than yesterday — managed to hit and eliminate some enemies. Perhaps I'm finally getting used to this environment.
So, back to the story. Here's how it goes:
It was a sunny day. I was walking along the streets of Dawnport on my way to the Barnacle Inn to get myself a drink and calm my nerves after yesterday's fight, when I caught myself looking at a mysterious green being — somewhat metallic, yet still moving. Probably a mechanical life form. I wanted so badly to learn more about it; my inventor personality demands it. But then again, I can't just walk up to him and say, "Hey, I want to study you — can I?" Hmm. Dilemma. Ah, forget about it. I moved toward the inn.
Oh, I met Hacker along the way. At the inn, we met another artificer — hmm, I think her name was, erm, Ember. Right, yes, that's it. She says she's not from this plane. Go figure. So anyway, as we were happily chatting away, in comes the metallic machine again. Ta-da! What a surprise. We meet again, my green friend.
Apparently, I'm not the only one attracted to this wonderful living being — my new friends are as well.
We discussed and inferred the origin of this creature and how it operates. Such fascinating creatures, oh my — my eyes are shining. While this was going on, a beat-down guy suddenly rushed into the inn, seemingly out of breath. He latched onto the metallic guy, who was standing in the center of the room. He said something about gems and stuff, but I wasn't particularly listening — still marveling at the mechanical being. I must study it. Perhaps a probe at it. It looks like my friends have similar thoughts, so we approached those two guys curiously. But we got called out — something about hiring us as guards or something as well. Never mind, that doesn't matter, as long as we can study the mechanical being up close. So I readily agreed.
Then all of us — erm, I think six in total, including the mechanical being named H01211X (cool name, by the way), some paper-wrapped guy called Nephr-Ka-Ra, and a bard named Valkorian — went on our merry way in a wagon with Hudson, the one who hired us.
Then shit happens, bla bla bla — met some goblins, bla bla, killed three, bla bla. I'll spare the boring details; that's not important. What's important is we learned that the source of H01211X's power is solar power. Wow. Amazing.
(Note to self: Better not let others know I can speak Goblin, or I'll get blamed like poor H01211X.)
Anyway, we reached our destination, and Hudson started talking to this old hag — for some reason I can't recall her name — and we received some gold. 120 gold, to be exact. Nice. I can stop eating the durian jerky now.
Yeah, that's all. Thanks for listening.
