D&D Campaign One: Scalebreakers - 012
The Sooty Tankard
The massive gates of Kraghammer remained closed to the group. The guards, strictly bound by the lockdown orders, denied all entry but hinted that the official reasoning was only half the truth. Yet, where a door closes, a business often opens: Gimbal, a dwarven merchant of tourist merchandise, offered to smuggle the group into the city illegally, through an old ventilation system/sewers-hybrid. After skillful negotiations, the "Scalebreakers" drove the price down to 10 gold per head. Before the descent, the group used a final short rest on the mountainside for a moment of truth. Keithara revealed her tragic past: she is accused by her family of murdering her sister Odelia and is now on the run. To ensure her safety in the city, she announced she would magically alter her appearance. The group pledged their full support, and Ran handed her his Nature's Mantle as a token of solidarity.
The path inside led through old ventilation shafts. Arrin caused brief nervousness with Thaumaturgy, making the mountain seem to rumble, but the real danger lurked in a nest of scrap metal. Three Rust Monsters and three Carrion Crawlers attacked from ambush. While Gimbal panic-fled, the fight became precarious for Skarn: his armor was damaged by the rust effect, and a crawler's poison paralyzed him momentarily until Arrin could cure him. Finally, Ran's hyrax, Hercules, ended the battle. Gimbal reappeared shortly before the fight concluded, still terrified and confused, but showed the group the final obstacle toward Kraghammer: an old iron gate, which Skarn pried open and made passage to the city.
Kraghammer greeted them in the evening, gloomy and unrestful. From the Middle Slab, Gimbal led them down to the poorer Bottom Slab and the tavern "The Sooty Tankard." On the way, they witnessed a tense situation: workers were demonstrating, and a menacing guard in black armor was extorting protection money from merchants. In the tavern, the search for Balder remained unsuccessful for now, but the innkeeper referred them to the magic shop "The Starry Anvil" and its owner, Olema, as both Balder and Olema share the skill of rune-magic. The evening ended wildly: Skarn lost 100 gold gambling against a Tiefling, which Jebeddo boldly stole back using Mage Hand. Arrin, on the other hand, overestimated his constitution during a drinking contest and had to be carried to his room, drunk, by the third round.