Session 18: Bargains Made

As the canoloth came charging toward them, its tongue whipped out, searching for Terlis. If it could get a hold, it would pull him back toward its deadly maw of fanged teeth. But Terlis was too quick and dodged the questing tongue. The party then jumped into action, hitting the canoloth with arcane energies and missile weapons, while Kiki tried to close the distance. Realizing it was outnumbered, the canoloth turned tail and began to run. Overhead, Riya was running along the roof of a warehouse looking for something to drop on the canoloth, while the rest of the party struck a killing blow before it could get far.

Concerned that this demon dog might not be alone, the party continued to investigate the splashes of blood and discovered a trail of blood that led further back into the cavern. Eventually, it lead into a side storage cave. The party carefully entered the smaller cave. The cave was still quite large and a variety of shipping crates were stacked in the far end. There was a growling noise as two more canoloths appeared from the tangle of shipping crates. The party was readying their weapons, when deep laughter caught their attention. A figure materialized at the apex of the stacked shopping crates. It was as large as an ogre but leaner with blue skin and small horns coming out of its forehead. It wore chain mail and carried a glaive. It was an Oni, or ogre mage – devious creatures from the Jotunheim system.

The oni clearly had control of the canoloth and ordered them to hold position. It appeared that he wished to parley. Stepping forward, Clancy addressed him. He returned the favor, explaining that he was Labnax. He was the former guildmaster of the Den, having served in the position before Gragim. He held a deep grudge against Gragim, for it was Gragim who had seen him deposed from his position for alleged embezzlement. When Clancy pushed him on whether he was indeed embezzling, he carefully avoided answering the question.

Apparently, Labnax had used his canoloth pets to close the lower docks and put pressure on Gragim. After learning of the party’s goals, Labnax gave them an ultimatum. If they killed Gragim, Labnax would re-appear and “solve” the lower docks problem, thus ensuring his re-appointment from Famax. He would then grant them whatever they so desired. If they refused his generous offer, then they would all become food for his pets. The party agreed to his proposal, although they were not necessarily honest in their commitment to it.

As the party returned from the lower docks, they were met at the top by a partol of Red Fang soldiers as well as Commander Neega – the commanding officer of the Red Fangs. She was initially stand-offish, although she softened somewhat at the sight of the dead canoloth. Still, she would probably have caused some problems for the party had Clancy not placed a charm on her. Ultimately, she simply bid them on their way.

The party returned to the Den and Clancy again messaged Gragim. Intrigued, Gragim invited two of the party up to meet with him. Clancy and Kiki went up to meet with him. They explained that they had killed the monster troubling the lower docks. They were looking to get started in the dresium trade and in return would appreciate a chance to meet one-on-one with the Grevious Wound. At this point, Clanga burst into the room. He had seen the two enter Gragim’s inner sanctum and was concerned that Gragim was going to have them killed. He explained that the Dark Stars were participating in the Bloodfest on the morrow and killing them now would leave a hole in the calendar. Gragim smiled and explained that after the party had finished their commitment in the Bloodfest, he would be happy to arrange a meeting between any survivors and the Grevious Wound.

While Clancy and Kiki held their meeting, Rhorog came over to the rest of the party, anxious to get the boxing match promised earlier in the day started. First, Riya faced off with Zhang. Zhang was able to get in a few good punches, but Riya’s superior unarmed combat skills won out and she was able to knock Zhang unconscious. Several partymembers noticed someone leaning over the balcony of one of the upstairs booths, observing the fight. It was none other than Ebrut of the Grevious Wound. Once Clancy returned, he was informed of this and sent his familiar in spider form to investigate. The spider found four membrers of the Grevious Wound in the booth - Ebrut, Gruzza, Shajyre, and Zalmo. Clancy used his spider to cast suggestion on Ebrut, asking him to return to this ship. Ebrut immediately stood up and headed down the stairs, ignoring his compatriots who asked where he was going. He headed into the kitchen and through a meat locker where he opened a secret door. The door took him down the stairs to a guard station, where two Red Fang orcs and a strange monstrous creature called a troll waited on guard duty. He passed them with a nod and headed down a corridor. When the corridor turned to the left into a wide hallway, he proceeded to one corner and opened another secret door and then proceeded down a long narrow corridor with steps going down until he came out into a large internal cavern with several docks. One ship was located on the docks. Ebrut entered the ship, looked around confused, and then headed back to the Den.

Meanwhile upstairs, there was a significant delay before the next match as the champion had to be located. Finally, Rhorog indicated that they were ready to go. After Riya was introduced (as “Bob the Killer”), the current champion was introduced as none other than “Ebrut the Brute.” Entering the ring was none other than Ebrut. He towered over Riya, but the match started off with her hitting him in the gut for a stunning strike. When he recovered, Ebrut knocked Riya with several blows that nearly knocked her senseless. However, she was able to use her ninja skills to keep Ebrut off his game and finally gave him a roundhouse blow that knocked him to the ground for good. Riya then nearly collapsed to the ground herself. The crowd went wild. As Ebrut was helped to his feed by his mates, he gave Riya a look of appreciation. Its doubtful that many had giving the Goliath such a beating.

As the party left the Den for the evening, they were greeted with a strange sight on the streets. Coming up the main thoroughfare was a strange group. At the outer edges were the same blind grey-skinned humanoids that they had battled so long ago in the sewers under Arkesth. At the center of this group were three nighmarish figures. Taul and gaunt humanoids, they had tentacled faces that looked something like a squid or octopus. They had an alien and inhuman quality to them as they marched up the street. From their education, they now knew these creatures to be illithids. It appared that another of the bidding parties had arrived.