...And so, the clerics of the Temple of Tehuti, teaming up with the monks of the Chubang Deon, set out toward the sea caves to the northeast, in search of a fabled mystical artifact...


(Temple disadvantage: Lack of numbers/understaffed
Temple disadvantage: the cult of Calum
Chubang Deon advantage: very disciplined
Advantage: team-up bonus
Result: everything cancels itself out

Roll: 2d6

10:47, Today: The GM rolled 3 using 2d6 ((1,2)).

Disaster!

The evil cult of Calum The cult says that Calum is the goddess of blood and oaths. Other religions say that Calum is just an evil spirit that's tricked them into worshiping her, not a legitimate goddess at all...

Jaesin Je, Vans Terk, one of you (whoever posts first, I guess) describe how the expedition to get the Rod of Purification failed. Be sure to mention:

--Did the cult of Calum steal the Rod, or was it never in those sea-caves at all, and the rumors were unfounded?

--Were there other dangers besides the cultists? If so, what were they?)

Calum, trickster goddess that she is (except in her followers' eyes), revels in deception.

Thus it was that the cult had initiated the rumor that the Rod of Purification could be found in the sea-caves to the north.  A trick to lure those who would seek its powers (or, as Calum adherents would rationalize/explain, a test to cull out the naïve and gullible).

Sadly, it was a trick that the Chubang Deon believed, leading them to enlist the Temple of Tehuti's aid.

The effort was disastrous, for not only was the Rod not in the caves, but the caves were home to a fever of stingrays, which did not take kindly to the incursion into their home . . .

(13:55, Today: The GM, on behalf of Vans Terk, rolled 2 using 1d3.

13:55, Today: The GM, on behalf of Jaesin Je, rolled 1 using 1d3.)

The clerics of Tehuti lose two members.

The monks of Jaesin Je lose one.

(On the bright side, you each get to recruit now, if you wish... I'll try to find the time to help you with that (presuming you wish to recruit) in the next day or two or three...)

(Bards and Druids escort mission:

Random Druid Advantage: Bonhomie (These people love the forest, are in tune with one another, and commune with the elements. They are united and morale is high.)
Random Bard Advantage: Mobility.
Team-up advantage: +1.

11:49, Today: The GM rolled 11 using 2d6+3 ((3,5)).)

The mission to escort the Sefonian emissary was a total success.

Reed, Varanda, one of you (I don't care which) tell about the one thing that amazed and pleased the emissary more than anything else he experienced on his travels through the forest.

(Then I'll tell what benefits come to each of you...)

(Mages and Clerics mission: Find the Missing Rich Kid (or at least what happened to him)...

Random Mage Advantage: Well-staffed
Random Clerical Disadvantage: Poorly-staffed
Team-up Advantage: +1

11:55, Today: The GM rolled 7 using 2d6+1 ((4,2)).)

The missing boy belonging to the wealthy family is found unhurt... but the mages and clerics don't end up getting much of the credit they should have gotten.

(Darrell, Varanda:

--one of you post where the boy was found.
--the other one of you post why you didn't end up getting as much of the credit as you deserve.

(Suggestions on where the boy was:
--wandering in the catacombs?
--lost in the city's Strange Quarter?
--playing in the city's rooftops in the smog?
--Something else?)

When the above is posted, I'll tell you what happens next.)

In reply to The GM (msg # 4):

The emissary was most impressed by how the bards essentially created a bubble of peaceful and Serene music around the entire escort Entourage group while The druids use their magic to push away clouds of the mist and essentially open up a tunnel of sorts within the banks of mist that they wove through. It would have been a stifling and somewhat creepy sort of seen but the music combined with seeing the missed move actually made it more mystifying and wondrous then terrifying. The combined efforts of The druids and bards working together made what could have been a tense trip into a pleasant nature hike.

(The Druids have gained a new Advantage: An impressive chunk of money.

The Bards have gained a new Advantage: The goodwill of Roland Fest.

Druids, if you want to try to launder that money into something else (goodwill? of city citizens or of Fest himself by giving it back? the Preparations advantage?) Let me know.)
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 18:57, Mon 27 Sept 2021.

(Mission: Monks and Clerics in The Bad Quarter...

Random Monk Advantage: Very Disciplined
Random Cleric Disadvantage: The Cult of Calum
Team-up Bonus: +1

17:09, Today: The GM rolled 9 using 2d6+1 ((2,6)).

Success, but with a complication.

Vans Terk, Jaesin Je:

--One of you tell me: What did the threat turn out to be?

(Suggestions: a vampire? a strangely-powerful zombie? A skeletonized undead party of adventurers? Something else entirely?)

--One of you tell me: Even though you were victorious, what one bad thing happened?

(Suggestions: there was one civilian death? One of your own number died? (If so, I'll determine which randomly) Something else?

--One of you tell me: What role did the Cult of Calum serve in making things harder than they would've had to've been?

(Yes, this means one of you will answer two questions, or else each of you will pick a question and I'll answer the one neither of you picks...)

After all questions are answered, I'll tell more about what happens afterward...)

After spending the afternoon in prayers, the Clerics of Tehuti and the monks moved to the Bad Quarter to patrol, looking for whatever was causing trouble there.

It took not much time to detect the evilness of an abandoned old temple. Assembling to investigate, they saw some ghouls exiting the temple in search of prey, being directed by a Cleric of the Cult of Calum.

In the ensuing combat, another Cleric of Calum appeared trying to ambush them, While some clerics and monks were wounded, they were able to finish with the ghouls and to burn the evil temple where that necromancy was done, but not before the ghouls could kill and wound some bystanders and allowing one of the Clerics of Calum to flee

(...Orrrrrrrrr one of you could answer all three questions. I guess we could do that.)

Roland Fest gives the Temple a donation... Not quite as large as what he'd promised, but he cited the harmed civilians and the escaped cultist as "problematic..."

He also splits the reward with the monks, for helping.

(Each of you gain a temporary Advantage, Payment For Ghouls. It'll go fast, though...)

In reply to The GM (msg # 5):

After being called on by some of the more prominent individuals in the city to aid in the search for a missing child - one of the more esteemed family's heir it sounds like - the University put forth their efforts using their best Diviners to try locating the child. Given the time that had passed since he went missing of course, they also reached out to the Temple for additional aid - just in case the child was found injured or worse.

Their activities proved fruitful of course as it was found through their magics that the child had gone into the underground tunnels beneath the city for 'an adventure'. While the tunnels were near endless and many were similar to another, the Diviners were able to pin-point specific details about the location to help in the search. Given such knowledge, it seemed the child would be found within a day or two at most after they had found his location...


OOC: Leaving the resultant 'who found the kid' and the complication for the Clerics to fill in.