Finishing business
From last time:
“Are the PCs going to hunt down the Best Team? Or will they just get revenge by living their best lives?”
The answer? They did not lead their best lives.
Seriously injured but hungry for revenge — that was the Worst Party as they set out into the swamp last Saturday.
They split up into an advance team consisting of Cedric, Beffa, and Bret and a rear guard consisting of Oika, Makalbly Jane, Eunice, Awnzo, and Jeumes. (The rear was well-guarded!)
The advance team came across the body of Bramey, the member of the Best Team the PCs first met in the caravan to Sancta Vela. Back then, he was alive, though. Now? Dead. And following a vampire-prevention protocol that she had just made up, Beffa cut off his head.
The advance team continued their pursuit of what remained of Best Team.
The rear guard followed up and dutifully processed Bramey's personal effects. Among other things, a short sword, a silver-sealed envelope, and a scroll made it into the collective Worst Party Pile.
After more night swamp wandering, the advance team found the two remaining members of Best Team when Loacken stabbed Bret in the back.
The funny thing about the back of a wizard that doesn't neglect his bent over dumbell rows on Back Day: It's a little harder to get a short sword through traps of steel. Loacken once again failed to close the deal, and Bret was able to Magic Missile back.
The enemy cleric came forward to support Loacken, but as Worst Party Strategist Makalbly Jane predicted, he was a little low on the spiritual firepower at this point. Soon, the rear guard showed up, and the Worst Party had Loacken unconscious. Beffa cut off Loacken's head as part of “vampire prevention.”
Eunice paralyzed the enemy cleric with some basement centipede dart venom. Though he could not move his face, he looked very uncomfortable as the party discussed whether or not his head should be cut off to somehow prevent vampirism. The Spinner of Worst Party Discussion landed on “preserve him for later interrogation.”
Returning to Veros
The PCs took a break to see if Bret could learn Identify (he could not; the Worst Party tradition continues).
With that out of the way, they took a path that they thought would take them back to their lodgings at Veros. They had Jeumes swim ahead and take over advance scouting. He spotted a pack of skeletal riders, which the PCs chose to avoid.
Heading west on the boardwalk, they came across a fast-moving pink cloud. Quickly, the PCs split into two groups, forcing the cloud to make a choice, which most clouds have trouble with. It left one group alone and enveloped the other. It darkened as it drew blood from those trapped within.
It was too much blood from Awnzo, who hit the negatives again! His beefy colleague Bret hauled him out, while Cedric covered by hacking the cloud with the SafeSword. The enemy cleric was also drained of some blood, which catalyzed him bleeding out on his own.
A flurry of staunching, healing, and improbably low sword damage rolls later, the cloud dissipated.
Back to good ol' Obet's house
Upon coming back to their home away from home, Obet's shop/home in Veros, the PCs found him and other townsfolk stomping about the boardwalks, waving their arms up and down.
After trying to talk some sense into them and getting only angry gurgling, Makalbly Jane turned the Power of the Goat upon them, sending them running inside.
Another round of verbal persuasion was tried. Then, Eunice picked the lock on the back door and entered Obet's building.
Some of the Worst Party went down to the basement to talk to Wargyn, Obet's skeletal grandfather and undead guardian. They learned about the correlation between this strange townsfolk behavior and the appearance of PowerBlood in the local market, then speculated on the relationship between correlation and causation.
It was a collegial conversation until Beffa again made a skeleton faux pas by asking Wargin if she could put his skull on her head.
The Worst Party was kicked out. Upstairs, they trapped the deranged townsfolk in Wargyn's basement and barred the trapdoor with the enemy cleric's body, some of their bodies, and a chair. After a night of being bounced on the trapdoor by the tireless trapped townspeople, the enemy cleric's spirit finally left his body.
When the morning came, the townsfolk had no idea why they were confined or what had happened the night before. Eunice could not accept this new age psychobabble and tried to will Obet into accepting responsibility for his actions.
In the meantime, the other two townsfolk really wanted outside, and Oika realized she did as well. So, she let them go, and went out herself with Awnzo and Bret others to enjoy the morning air.
The talk with Obet wasn't going well, so Makalbly Jane cast Charm Person. Obet finally believed that he should stop drinking PowerBlood (though he wasn't sure he could), and they had an informative talk about the Priest of the Good Moon.
The PCs made camp in Best Team's old room, securing the door with regular locking (instead of Wizard Locking) and started looking through their loot, which included a contract with Lich Bros. Group, a large magic sealed bag, and a warning letter from Lich Bros. Group to the Gnomonics Institute.
