Xin-Shalast 101

“Xin-Shalast 101”
Rise of the Runelords episode
Episode no.	Episode 101
Date	2010
Game Master	Abbe
Characters	Honeypot Nathaniel Nell Velicia
Episode chronology ← Previous Next → "Reaching Xin-Shalast" "Rendez-vous in Xin-Shalast "
Rise of the Runelords chapter list

In this chapter the heroes start exploring Xin-Shalast by stealth, cunning and disguise.

Xin-Shalast 101

Morgiv the Skulk.

I decided we should sneak into town. We all did and we could sneak passed the giants and on through the city but then I thought we ought to get some rumors from the giants camp. It could be important to know if they were up to something we should know of or if there were any dangers in town that we should watch out for. I sent Nathaniel to scout out the first part of the enormous city, keeping out of trouble, while Honeypot and I sneaked into the giant's tent camp. I could hear that the giants were talking, but I didn't understand giantish. Honeypot, who knew giantish, wasn't as good at sneaking close as me. Instead we decided she would disguise herself as a giant using the ring I told her to get. We sneaked into a tent where we heard snores from. She stood next to a sleeping stone giant and her appearance turned into a copy of it. She left the tent and started walk around among all the giants. I followed in the shadows, always keeping close to her. She overheard some conversations and talked to some other stone giants. From that we quickly learned that the giants didn't like the harridans but liked to build things with stone. That might be useful. Perhaps I could convince some of them to come back to Turtleback Ferry and repair Skull's Crossing, improve Fort Rannik and even build some new things in town. Then we heard of an organized resistance. It was very low key and not many giants talked about it or even knew that it existed. We met patrols while walking the camp. They were usually made up of a rune giant and a handful of storm giants or a harridan, about twenty lamias and several vrocks that looked like some kind of harpy.

We were returning to Velicia to discuss what to do when Nathaniel told us using the telepathy that there was a whole underground city too. He had seen many entrances that he thought were connected. We discussed and decided to try to find the resistance leader. We all went this time but when we met giants all but Honeypot, who was still looking like a stone giant, hid. She found out that the leader was called Eyukak. She was even led there and we others followed stealthily. Eyukak was a stone giant but had a guard of storm giants. Honeypot asked to be allowed to talk to him alone and that her friends would be allowed to meet him. Eyukak agreed and they went into his tent while the guards stood outside. We sneaked in the back bypassing the guards without them noticing. Eyukak turned out to be from the other side of the mountains. There an old civilization ruled that was thousands of years old, but not as old as the Tassalonians. They were some kind of monk giants. They wanted to return to their land and to be able to escape they wanted some big distraction.

I told the others to tell him that we could arrange that. He just wanted to know about it a little before it happened so they could use it. We agreed to make sure he would know. He then told us about the city.

There was a big round building withe a dome. It was inhabited by yeti, or abominable snowmen. They were lead by a yeti called Vorgor.

The lichen covered glacier was replaced further in by a fungi jungle. It was very dangerous and filled with rotting heaps of compost. Honeypot said that some of her friends was rotting heaps of compost. Really disgusting.

Then there was the arena. It was a heptagonal building with a big seven pointed star inscribed. A devil kept court there. Next to it there was the hippodrome. It was called the Vomax Circus.

Then crematoriums in the undertaker part of the city

There was also a keep placed a little outside of the city clinging to the mountainside. There giants who were warrior and not workers lived. It kept them close to the temples and not far from where the dragons cave was supposed to be. Eyukak told us of legends of a great warrior and general called Turengate. He was a giant who lived and worked in this city and the legends told of a book he wrote that if you read it you became the worlds best general as he was. It was rumored to be in the castle. Nathaniel had also heard of Turengate. In his stories he had been a human, but most of the stories was otherwise alike.

On the very other side of the city along the last part of the golden road still within the city were all the temples located. It was called temple row. There many evil gods were worshiped. A big brown temple was for worship of Lamashtu. The giants kept away from temple row leaving mostly lamias and harridans. Eyukak also told us that the harridans created the rune giants from fire giants.

There was an evil blue dragon who lived in a cave higher up in the mountainside above the temples. I thought attacking it would be a great distraction for the stone giants to allow them to flee. There was also the added bonus of the treasure. Velicia wanted as usual to force it to serve her. She really want an evil beast to ride.

While he had been talking I had noted things that made me think he wasn't really a stone giant, but in disguise. Honeypot agreed. She had seen it too. She changed back to herself and said that suggested that he should take his true form too. After some consideration he agreed and changed to an Oni. It was some kind of ogre mage. He continued to tell us about the occlusion field around the highest part just outside of town, where Karzoug lived. He told us that everyone need an amulet to get through the barrier, but if you do wear one every guard would know everything about you. We thanked Eyukak and returned out into the ruins.

When we walked through the ruins Nathaniel stopped to take a leak. Then a strange man appeared and asked Nathaniel to follow him. Nathaniel told him of his companions, us, and that we could be trusted by him. We all retreated into a ruin and started talking. He was of a race called skulks. They were pale, fat and living underground. He told us of a prophecy telling of our coming to save his people. They had been enslaved a long time, but Mesmina had led them to freedom. Now he thought we were the new saviors that would come and save his people from the hidden beast. It was some unseen monster that preyed on them and the victims could be seen again, but were then changed. From his description we guessed that it was the work of a vampire.