Episode 14, "Conrad's Redemption? -- Part Two"
Campaign Date: Year of the Serpent, Ducet 1-16
GM: Joe Fryer
Characters:
Isabella Noble-1 /Scholar-3/Thief-1 (Andrew Smith)
"Bloody" Turpin, Border Kingdom, Soldier/Thief, level 3/3 (Dave Nelson)
   Slink, Follower of Turpin, Thief level 3 (NPC)
   Various and sundry followers of Turpin
Vegeta, Southern Islander, Barbarian, level 7 (Marlon Kirton)

Prologue:
The adventurers return from the Northern City of Imsouth bearing a book, several scrolls and a couple of pieces of artwork.

Log:
Day 1-12 The Trip home
Nothing happens of any interest. Except that a bluish comet is noticed in the western sky in the late evening. The comet becomes more and more visible until it is easily seen during the morning.

Day 13 – Arrive back in Kordava
The adventurers arrive back in town and must ferry themselves back across the river as no ferrymen are in sight. A large gathering of people is seen on the opposite shore.

Upon reaching the opposite shore they find some sort of ceremony or gathering of people in dingy blue robes. The cultists applaud and cheer as old people willingly commit suicide by jumping off a cart with a rope around their neck.

Isabella (having meet Al previously) has been waiting out by the ferry crossing and spots the party and makes introductions. After some mighty bargaining Turpin sells Isabella the book and scrolls for 400sp. Vegeta punches out Isabella’s man servant and discovers that he is not as pure as he once was when he acquires a Corruption point for his unmotivated violence.

Returning to the tower they find Al nearly unconscious and some distorted froglike creature in the basement near Conrad. Reluctantly the heroes attack the beast. Slinky is left for dead and Vegeta kills the horrible creature just before he is swallowed whole after being entangled on its sticky tongue.

Day 14 – Curling up with a (not so) Good Book
With Al’s assistance Isabella reads the scrolls (which tell the unfortunate history and demise of Imsouth at the hands of the Deep Ones) and chapters 1-3 of the Fh’Khagnic Oracle book. Turpin & Co. rests Vegeta does some shopping

Day 15 – More Light (Blasphemous) Reading
Isabella and Al read chapters 4-7. Turpin & Co. rest some more.

A note is delivered from a Knepf-Ra (leader of the Brotherhood of the Blue Flame) demanding that “HIS” book be returned by the next day… or else!

Day 16 – Who is the Knepf-Ra guy anyways
Our heroes wait until noon when Knepf-Ra promised to send a messenger to pick up the book. Vegeta punches out the messenger and he is quickly (and securely) tied to a chair. They question the messenger but the messenger does not fear death and actually welcomes it. The party finds what they want to know and kills the messenger and makes it look like a suicide (which isn’t difficult at all – the death goes completely unnoticed in a city overflowing with death and suicides)

Isabella uses her crystal ball to scout out Knepf-Ra’s temple and gets a very good idea of the layout. The adventurers go to the temple and listen to a sermon/speech for several hours. Around midnight they hatch a plan to distract the guards. The henchmen dress up as Mitra followers and shout insults at the guards – 2 guards chase them into the streets. The rest of the party attacks the remaining door guards and take them out. A couple rooms into the building and our heroes meet their match when the guards get in a couple of luck hits (criticals) and lay Turpin low. Vegeta stands his ground against grim odds and is victorious. The party flees the temple and returns to Al’s tower.

At the tower they find Conrad gone and Knepf-Ra appears to taunt them, telling them that his distraction worked and he was able to lure the heroes away and steal Conrad. Now his diabolical plans will succeed…. Evil laugh, etc., etc.

Day 17 & 18 – As the World Turns
The party rests for 2 days at the World Turns inn.

Day 19 & 20 – Elder Signs ‘R Us
The party manufactures many Elder Signs (protection symbols) with the help of one of the Brotherhood members who is talked into sacrificing himself for the cause (but not quite the cause he thought).