Party
- Ethan — Elf Wizard (Hag)
- Jacob — Half-Orc Fighter (Myk)
- Slyvestor III — Halfling Warlock (Bear)
- Tenoch — Lizardfolk Druid (Gaz)
Adventure
After their frosty reception from the city guard, and having witnessed the book pyre openly burning in the streets, the party decided to find somewhere quiet to cast Ethan’s spell to detect a Gloam Crossing. Slyvestor, intuitively familiar with city streets, lead the party past the pyre and through several alleys to a tavern on a very quiet street named the Scholar’s Demise.
Inside the tavern is empty and the inn keep congenial, the party arrange rooms for the evening before ordering food and drink. As they sit in discussion two of the Drow city guard enter and begin to cajole some form of protection money from the inn keeper. Ethan and Tenoch overhear reference to the inn’s alien visitors and Ethan makes to confront the guard but Tenoch prevents him. Once they have parted Ethan gives the inn keeper gold to cover his losses, for which he’s very grateful. When asked about curfew in the Dark City he advises the party be back behind locked doors before the moons have merged.
Ethan heads upstairs to cast Detect Gloam away from prying eyes in their room before the party make their excuses and leave to investigate. They return to the square in which the pyre of books still burns, though the crowd has thinned out, and once there detect the presence of a Gloam Crossing in an abandoned building that may have been a tavern or coach house.
Jacob and Tenoch break through the planks barricading the rear door whilst Ethan enters stealthily through the front door. Ethan is able to get to the back door and spots a simple pit trap before the rest of the party enter, preventing them from falling to the cellar below where the Gloam Crossing is.
Heading into the dark cellar the party are immediate set upon by a two-headed giant who holds a conversation with itself throughout the ensuing fight. Despite having had their weapons and foci stripped at the gates, and a critical hit from the Ettin on Jacob, the party easily defeat the creature with a combined effort of Tenoch’s bear form, Jacob’s eldritchly summoned blade and the combined magic of Ethan and Slyvestor.
They cross through into a cellar in Solemburg and Slyvestor is able to put the maid within at ease before she raises an alarm. Heading out into the city they go to the temple of Life and Light, a place of worship to the Gentle Mother, wherein a portly cleric informs them that a 1,500gp donation will secure them the scroll required to aide their companion and that they might either sell their magical wares at the College of Magic or pawn them at the Temple of the Miser in order to raise the funds.
Opting to try and sell the Gloam Scope to the College of Magic they head up the hill. Within the entrance hall Ethan’s otherworldliness attracts the attention of an Enchanter named Ford who offers to help them. They take tea whilst waiting for an expert from the Conjuration college and Ethan shares that he is from a far land; a place that translates as the plane of twilight, where there is no sun and everything is bathed in silver light — a place of joy, magic and dance.
Jenson the Conjuration researcher arrives and after looking through the scope takes the party to meet Professor Oswind, a red-headed Gnome who’s the most senior Conjuration wizard in the college. After assessing the Gloam Scope she offers to buy it and all but Slyvestor agree, he is unwilling to part with it at first and states he wants 5,000gp for it — to which Prof. Oswind immediately agrees… After a few moments she expresses that she’s unwilling to live with the guilt of ripping them off so thoroughly but isn’t sure how to proceed as she can’t attain sufficient wealth within their time restriction.
Ultimately the party agree to leave the scope with her and take enough money to the Temple of Life and Light to make their donation and obtain the scroll they need. She promises that if they return upon the morrow she will have located sufficient magical artefacts within the college with which to trade with the party.