Guess Who's Running the Asylum?
October 18, 2000
The Tale
Pazdul sat back in his comfy chair, scarcely noticing the grime he'd left on the arm from his earlier visit. There really was nothing better than open air dining, although he wondered what would happen when Winter came in full force. As it was, he was glad of the candle, which he frequently used to warm his hands while he ate. He'd been colder and had a lot less to eat, but that was long ago and far away, or so he liked to believe.
As he started in on the fifth course of his third meal, he saw the waiter approaching, guiding another man with him. He'd never bothered to learn the waiters name, nor had the waiter learned his, so he was a little surprised at the intrusion.
"There he is," said the waiter quietly to the other man, "A dirty beggarly looking urchin with more gold than sense. Pazdul, you said? I'll try not to remember that."
"Uhm sure," said the other man as they drew nearer.
"Come, sit, eat!" called Pazdul, always eager for more company.
"I'm afraid I can't," said the young man, impressed by the number of dirty plates stacked near the young mage. "My master has bid me return with you quickly, that he may give you tidings of the girl himself."
"The girl?" asked Pazdul, distracted by a roll which he had dropped on the ground. He and Miranda both reached it at the same time and, though the rat was trickier, brute strength won out and he hauled his prize, and the rat, high in the air. The messenger shuddered involuntarily at the site, particularly when Pazdul stuffed the whole roll into his mouth, barely allowing the rat time to escape. "Oh! The slave girl. Yes, I must learn more of her."
And so began the adventure. Pazdul soon met the priest who had cured the girl, but not fully. He wanted Pazdul to round up some men to help care for her on the path to Rakir, a sanitarium just past Gypsum. He offered his messenger and an apprentice healer; Pazdul would find others to join them. They agreed to leave later that day.
The messenger arranged a horse and carriage for a week. Pazdul found Blatz, drunk unto unconciousness, and KARNACK, but he found none of the others. He heard that Roland was treating his rash for infection and that Durgrat was working as an enforcer for a local moneylender, forcing the recalcitrant to honor their agreements, but of the others he heard nothing and in the end they elected to travel without them.
They rode north into Gypsum where they arranged rooms and spent the night. They asked after Troy and discovered that he was a mountain man and not seen in town often and that a ranger named OakLeaf was looking for him. Pazdul met with OakLeaf and discovered that Troy was thought to have orc blood and was considered a brigand. The two swapped tales of Troy's suspected evils, then agreed to help each other when he was located. Troy, according to OakLeaf, is part orc, maybe as much as half, and has a misshapen eye, a sure sign of trouble.
Pazdul was also asked to look for a couple of stonecutters who had gone to Rakir and not returned. There was some disagreement about what might have happened to them, but most seemed to think Yeti were the most likely culprits. Yeti, Pazdul learned, are giant fur-covered men who live in the snow. Thus armed with information and a greater calling, they left in the morning.
They spotted the tracks from the stonecutter's wagon, but of the cutters there was no sign. They made their way to the asylum and were, reluctantly, admitted. Quiet and subtle questioning, combined with Miranda finding some sort of strange suckered tentacle, led them to suspect something bad might have happened in the sanitarium. The Doctor, though friendly enough, seemed to be avoiding the question, saying only that one of the residents had killed some odd beast as it tried to creep from the sewers.
A clandestine investigation of the Doctor's premises turned up only evidence that he had disected the creature and saved the parts. When directly questioned about what had happened to all his patients, he grew somewhat evasive and said they had gotten better and left with his assistant. The group was unconvinced, but having no hard evidence, chose not to pursue him.
In the morning they began checking the exterior of the asylum, then headed up to the tracks, which were actually closer to the asylum than they had guessed. Returning to the asylum, they found the doctor gone, the patients left to tend to themselves.
Tracking him, they found themselves staring at a large glacier with a single spire of black stone rising from the ice. They entered carefully and investigated. They found many things, mostly useless. They also found a temple which showed some strange slug-like creatures enslaving Old Ones. There was also a great cloud of steam in the ice caverns, something none thought likely to be a good sign.
Further investigation led them to the doctor and his patients. They were busy burning up wood in an attempt to melt the ice wall in front of the glazier. Waiting a few moments, Pazdul put most of them to sleep. As the group advanced, two of the suckered things appeared before them and another behind. The sucker things inflicted a grave wound on KARNACK, though he fought valiantly. In the end, there proved to be three of them, one somewhat stronger than the others, all vanquished partly due to the loss of their familiar.
Long hours followed as Pazdul and Grimlock worked to shatter the stone while the others, fueled by their inhuman strength, repeatedly snapped their bonds and were slept by Pazdul, who sought not to harm the spirits of the patients or the doctor. At long last, the icon was toppled and smashed. As the icon broke, the charm over their friends failed and they rejoined the group. They all made their way to an exit hastily as the ice closed in on the long forsaken tunnels
They returned to Gypsum, not much richer, but considerably wiser.
Experience
Character Base Bonuses Total Roland Did Not Attend 3436 Pazdul 1000 Story Goals: +1083
Roleplaying: +600
Other: +5809374 Blatz 600 Story Goals: +751
Roleplaying: +225
Other: +905727 Durgrat Did not play 2146 Theron Did not play 3565 KARNACK 1000 Story Goals: +1083
Roleplaying: +300
Other: +2305588 Bob 100 Story Goals: +108
Roleplaying: +200
Other: +13601768 Grimlock 1000 Story Goals: +1083
Roleplaying: +300
Other: +10003383 Third Level requires 3,000 experience points. Fourth Level requires 6,000 points.