Quote from: Novastar;818878Just noticed this thread here....



My Badass Balls?

Grab her Boobies?

Are your players 13 years old?!?



...I'm going to keep reading. Hopefully it gets better, my friend. :banghead:

EDIT:

THEY'VE NEVER SEEN THE THREE AMIGOS!!!

...are you sure they aren't pod people?

I can forgive the stupid joke names, but I agree that not knowing the Three Amigos is unforgivable.

*** Session 8 - Cast of Characters ***

 M'Balz Al-Badassi: A human rogue from the city. M'Balz is the member of a noble family with political connections, but is bored with his wealthy lifestyle and instead performs as a masked scoundrel for hire know as Al-Caliph.

 Gra'bir Boubi: A human warrior from the desert tribe of the Wah'na Poq-yah tribe of the Haunted Lands. A superb hunter, Gra'bir has come to the city of Huzaz to look for a quest to prove himself a great warrior.

 Adanband: An elf scholar and sorcerer from the city of Huzaz.

 Butrus: A dwarf priest with a fervent faith and damaged memory.

*** Session 8 - Scene 1 (of 7) ***

The group takes a moment to replace their armor and rest up. Adanband also studies his spell book and finally gains mastery over the stinking cloud and flaming sphere spells he had been researching.

Despite being partially fatigued from the fight with the carrion crawlers and Butrus' belief they are wasting their time on fairy tales, the group decides to move on with exploring the sewers. Gra'bir and Butrus take the lead, with M'Balz and Adanband behind them.

Gra'bir leads the group to the north, continuing to find various intersections of sewers; many of them have access to the surface. When they eventually hit a T-intersection, they head back west towards the palace.

The sewers do not go very far before turning back to the south. They decide to follow it back towards where they came in since the layout of the sewers appears to be a large grid.

As they near the point they had explored before, they spot a high mound of mud and refuse that has collected in the middle of the sewer canal. Gra'bir looks at it carefully, saying it does not appear natural.

M'Balz looks around to find a small stone. Finding one, he hurls it at the mound. It suddenly shakes to life, with a host of eyes and mouths emerging from it; it is a huge gibbering mouther.

Gra'bir takes a few steps further back and lets loose with his bow, but misses. M'Balz draws his bow as well, but finds no luck injuring the creature.

Adanband also attempts to attack with an arrow, an acid arrow, but the creature appears to eat it.

Butrus prefers the direct approach, moving in to charge at the monster with his mace. But the creature sloughs off the attack and responds by biting him several times; the deep wounds burn with acid.

As he writhes in pain, Butrus is spit upon by the gelatinous beast. He finds himself blinded.

Gra'bir tries to help with another arrow, but still cannot damage it. M'Balz has no better luck. Butrus calls to the Loregiver to give him a flaming blade. He blindly slashes at the creature with it, injuring it.

Adanband moves in to help Butrus. He smacks into it with his staff, causing some injury. The gibbering mouther bites several times into the sorcerer, causing him immense pain.

While Gra'bir still cannot find his mark with an arrow, M'Balz has better luck but scores only a glancing hit.

Regaining his sight, Butrus stabs into the mound again with his flaming blade. Adanband takes the opportunity to move back so can start a spell.

The gibbering mouther strikes out at Butrus, biting him another couple of times. Gra'bir decides to drive the creature back by dropping his bow and striking out with his lance but the blob shifts out of the way of its path, dodging an arrow of M'Balz in the process.

Adanband conjures a flaming sphere and moves it to attack the beast. As it burns the creature the intense heat can be felt by Butrus, causing him minor burns as well.

The mouther does not appear to like the sphere and attempts to move away. Adanband has the flaming sphere pursue, as does Gra'bir. He stabs into the monster with his weapon, managing to use its reach to avoid the heat of the sphere.

M'Balz follows up the attack with an arrow that scores a solid hit. Butrus, meanwhile, is badly injures so he calls on the Loregiver to heal himself.

Adanband is also badly injured from his wounds, as the acid continues to burn him. He tries to focus on attacking the fleeing creature with the magical ball of fire he conjured.

Gra'bir follows up with another deep stab with his lance. M'Balz tries to finish it off with another arrow, but misses.

Butrus quickly heals Adanband before he succumbs to the burning acid on his skin. It gives him enough time to finish off the creature with his flaming sphere. It melts into a burning, slagging mess.

*** Session 8 - Scene 2 (of 7) ***

After the fight is over, Gra'bir uses his lance to autopsy the creature to see if it had anything of value inside. He discovers a pair of tourmalines and a topaz.

Once they've taken a moment to recover, Butrus insists they leave the sewers as he and Adanband have been badly injured and are exhausted of their powers.

Gra'bir and M'Balz lead the others to a nearby manhole exit, not wanting to risk getting caught exiting back into the gardens after hours. Gra'bir climbs up and lifts the drain cover slowly, peeking out. He finds one that appears to be in an alley.

The fighter goes first, then lifts the others out. As they exit, a pair of young boys pass by. Scared by the sudden emergence of the group, they yell something about "chuds" being real (referring to the local legends of cannibalistic humanoid underground dwellers who live in the sewers) and run off.

Making sure they know where they exited so they can come back later, the group heads back to the Al-Badassi home to rest for the night.

While everyone else goes to their guest rooms and has the servants draw up baths, the head servant tells M'Balz his father wishes to see him. The rogue nervously complies, knowing his father has likely found out about his recent arrest.

Steeling himself, M'Balz enters his father's study. Mabad sits behind his desk, wearing his sleeping robes. He calls out to his son, asking what he has done to dishonor the family now.

M'Balz claims he was chasing a thief. Mabad says he must have been chasing the thief in the sewers, noting he smells awful.

While his son tries to lie about defending the honor of the city by catching the dirty thief, Mabad relates he has heard a most disturbing rumor. When asked what the rumor was, Mabad says he heard of a rotten, unappreciative son found drunk in the public gardens.

M'Balz tries to play dumb, though says he did have a run-in with some guards while catching the thief. Mabad warns him that any further such run-ins would lead to him being exiled from the family palace. M'Balz calls the situation unfair, but accepts his father's judgement.

His father goes on to bemoan the strange habits his son has subjected him to for years. He says it is perhaps time to take M'Balz more under his wing and give him a nice desk job in the ministry. M'Balz tries to act appreciative as Mabad goes on to say it is also time M'Balz was married and how he plans to arrange a marriage to a woman with nice wide birthing hips.

Mabad relates that of course, once he is married and working at the ministry he would not have time for his friends or adventures. M'Balz, not wanting to lose his inheritance, agrees. Backed into a corner by forcing to admit his father's plan pleases him, M'Balz is told he will be expected at the ministry the first thing the next morning.

His father then dismisses him, saying his odor offends him. M'Balz decides to bathe and go to sleep without talking to the others first.

*** Session 8 - Scene 3 (of 7) ***

The next morning, M'Balz reports to the ministry as ordered. He is shown his duties by one of the junior assistant ministers, who takes him into the basement where he is given a task to sort the archived receipts. He finds the archive room to be piles of unsorted receipts for the last three years.

The assistant minister tells M'Balz to sort them by date, department, and amount; and when he is through, he can move on to the older archived receipts that are not as well ordered. M'Balz realizes he could spend the rest of his life in the basement, sorting papers, but begins working.

Meanwhile, Butrus awakens at the palace and begins looking for his companion. He is told by one of the servants that M'Balz has gone to work at the ministry.

The priest decides they should go visit their friend to see what is going on. Adanband agrees to go with but Gra'bir begs off, saying he wants to sell off the gems so they can divide the treasure.

Butrus and Adanband arrive at the ministry and ask to see M'Balz. They are informed he is hard at work in the archives, but can relay a message to him.

Thinking quickly, Butrus lies and tells him they have been sent to assist M'Balz in his work. The attendant lets them through, giving them convoluted directions to the archive.

Down in the archives, M'Balz is surprised to see Butrus and Adanband show up. He explains to them about his father forcing him into the job to avoid being cut off by his father. Butrus blithely notes that is likely to occur in due time regardless.

M'Balz tells them he has a few ideas to get out of his situation. As he has been placed under the most junior minister, he plans to bribe the man to get out of work. But he says nothing to his friends, instead asking them to meet him in a few hours at the Coffee House of the Oaken Gnome.

After they leave, Butrus forms another plan. He tells Adanband that if M'Balz's plan doesn't work, they can just set the archives room on fire and get him kicked out of his job.

*** Session 8 - Scene 4 (of 7) ***

Meanwhile, Gra'bir finds himself at the shop of Marghab Goldman, a jeweler. He shows him the gems he found under the sewers.

The jeweler comments on the shininess of the gems. Gra'bir says they have been given a special acid wash, a rare technique.

Goldman offers Gra'bir 1200 dinar for the trio of gems. Gra'bir, not knowing much about the value of gems, agrees it is a fair bargain.

With the deal made, Goldman also offers the banking services of his business partner, Samaan Sachs. He notes they can offer very competitive service rates. Gra'bir, however, wishes to keep his money with his current banker. He feels much more comfortable once his money is safely held by the trustworthy brothers, Emran and Hani Lehman.

Gra'bir then heads back towards the ministry, encountering Butrus and Adanband along the way. He tells them he has sold the gems for a good sum and deposited their money in their accounts.

Butrus catches Gra'bir up on their meeting with M'Balz and his plotting. Gra'bir admits he wouldn't mind spending some of his new money on a drink.

As they talk, Butrus explains his theory that M'Balz will eventually be disowned for his activities. Unless, he speculates, they can gain favor by doing something heroic. Gra'bir notes the Great Al-Badassi is not someone who appears to be easily impressed.

Gra'bit, however, thinks the idea could have merit. He suggests they go see Mabad personally to offer their services. Butrus likes the idea, saying they have plenty of time before they are to meet with M'Balz.

The three head back to the ministry. When they meet the attendant this time, Gra'bir says he has been sent there to speak with the Great Al-Badassi. When asked what his business is, Gra'bir lies and says he has been given a task to perform by Al-Badassi and needs some clarification.

The attendant explains he will need to confirm some details. He leaves for some time and when he returns he explains he has spoken to Mabad. He tells them Al-Badassi was happy to hear from them and glad they have arrived.

Continuing on, the attendant explains they have been given an assignment to head to the nearby village of Star's Hollow on a "goodwill tour". Around this time a small contingent of mamluk soldiers arrives. The attendant explains they are there to escort them to Star's Hollow, for their "safety".

Gra'bir starts to put together they are being exiled from the city, just like Mabad did with Rory. Butrus tries to interject they will need to go back to the palace first to get their things, but the large men with spears insist there isn't time.

*** Session 8 - Scene 5 (of 7) ***

Later that afternoon, M'Balz uses his coffee break to sneak off to the Oaken Gnome. But looking around, he finds no friends but is approached by Kazaam, his family genie.

Kazaam greets M'Balz with his usual large smile and pleasant laugh. He tells him he has a message from his father. He tells him there is no need to wait for his friends, for they are gone.

M'Balz asks after his friends but Kazaam says only they have gone away and he will likely not see them again. He tries to appeal to M'Balz's pragmatic nature, asking if it is not time for him to settle down and learn the family business.

Trying to find an angle, M'Balz says he wants to return his friend's belongings to them as a matter of honor. Kazaam offers to fly the goods out to them, and M'Balz attempts to get the location out of the genie but the djinni is no fool. He tells M'Balz his father would not want him to know, and cheerfully but seriously notes he sees the glint of the efreeti in M'Balz's eyes but reminds him his family is a noble one.

M'Balz relents, but still wants Kazaam to go ask them about their belongings. When the genie flies off, M'Balz can tell he is heading in the direction of Star's Hollow, which would fit with his father's usual modus operandi.

After he returns, M'Balz gathers their belongings from the palace as well as their money from the Lehman brothers' bank and gives them to Kazaam to deliver.

Once the genie is gone again, M'Balz packs up his own things. He then gets ahold of one of the horses from the stables and sneaks out of the city.

*** Session 8 - Scene 6 (of 7) ***

Later that evening, out in the desert, Butrus quietly forms an escape plan with his companions while the guards make camp. He is concerned the guards may eventually kill them.

Gra'bir suggests Adanband use his stinking cloud spell to allow them to escape. Butrus uses his entanglement spell as well.

Once the guards are distracted, they make their escape. Butrus leads them towards Star's Hollow, assuming the guards will not expect them to go that way. Gra'bir, meanwhile, tries to cover their tracks.

A short time later, M'Balz approaches a group of mamluk soldiers with torches ahead. They appear to be looking around for tracks. M'Balz approaches them slowly, then bursts into a gallop as he gets close to get by before they can react.

In the desert up ahead, the rest of the group can hear a horse approaching. Gra'bir readies his lance, but sees it is a sole rider. Looking more carefully, he can see it is M'Balz.

Gra'bir signals him over and greets him. Butrus explains M'Balz's father cast them out of the city.

At first, M'Balz is confused why his father would have exiled them for no reason. It becomes much clearer once he realizes Gra'bir tried to speak to him at the ministry. He chides them for trying to talk to his father, saying his father doesn't particularly like them, especially the dwarf. Butrus says nothing, but mentally notes he was the only one Mabad actually liked.

M'Balz drops the matter, agreeing with Butrus the only way to win their way back into Mabad's graces would be to perform a heroic deed to bring honor to his family.

After weighing their options, the group decides to look for the island treasure on the map they got from the dead sailor at the brothel. Since Star's Hollow is along the water, they elect to continue their journey to there and find a ship.

*** Session 8 - Scene 7 (of 7) ***

After marching through the night, the group arrives in Star's Hollow by the middle of the next day. To keep a low profile, they decide to stay at the first nasty flophouse they find, the Independence Inn.

They are barely up in the morning before a wanton harlot appears in the doorway. She starts to greet them asking if they are new sailors in town when she recognizes M'Balz.

Rory quickly approaches M'Balz, saying how excited she is he finally came for her. He tells her they need to find a ship. Rory is excited M'Balz plans to take her on a cruise.

M'Balz tells Rory he will work on finding the ship, and will meet her later that evening at the (fictional) restaurant, "The Golden Slug". Rory assumes he is referring to Jojo's because of its terrible cuisine. She tells him she will meet him there in her finest dress.

After she leaves, M'Balz tells the others it is imperative they find a ship and leave quickly. They begin looking around the village, heading past the "sores and boils alley" where the lepers dwell and the village center with its run-down gazebo and statue of the great warrior Kasim Al-Pulaski.

When they arrive at the harbor, they find a single large ship there, named the Wanderer. It appears to be somewhat rundown, and the captain is a boisterous large man with an eyepatch who gives his name as Captain Rayyan.

M'Balz elects to have Adanband handle the negotiations. He tells the captain they are looking for a ship to purchase, but backpedals a bit when Rayyan (who quirkily calls everyone "boss") asks if they are sailors.

Rayyan tells them they don't want to handle the ship without experienced sailors. He offers his services, saying he has sailed all over the world.

A circular conversation emerges for the next several minutes as Adanband negotiates back and forth between hiring Captain Rayyan for a small tour (though notes the last time he was hired for a three hour tour it caused him months of problems) or hiring him for the several days it will take to get to the island they are trying to get to (which they can tell is near Ruhh Island).

Finally, Butrus calls everyone together for a side conversation. M'Balz wants to avoid giving the location of the island but since it isn't really near anything there isn't a good way to do that (with Ruhh Island being uninhabited and all).

They eventually settle on a price of 400 dinar. The captain takes 200 of it upfront and deposits it in the local treasury.

While they wait for him to return, the group is approached by an old woman. M'Balz asks what she wants. She introduces herself as Mashirah, the hakima of the village.

Mashirah explains she has seen four visions related to M'Balz and his friends. He asks the wise woman what they were.

The first vision she describes as a comet that falls from the sky with a flaming serpent emerging out of it.

The second vision is described as a dark version of the Grand Caliph's palace sitting out in the desert, surrounded by powerful genies.

The third vision is a wave in the sea made of swords. It crashes into the land, drawing blood.

The final vision is of high cliffs, with a yak-man surrounded by faceless beings in the sky.

M'Balz takes particular notes of the one about the yak-man, thinking of Alknar. The wise woman warns them that all her visions eventually come to pass – some quickly, some far in the future. M'Balz tells her they will take her warning seriously.

When Captain Rayyan returns, they sail out of the harbor. M'Balz notes Rayyan has no other crew and must be planning to perform all the tasks himself.

*** Session 8 - Session Notes ***

Yes, this campaign is still active it was just that illnesses, work trips, deaths in families, and other events kept disrupting our usual game night for nearly three months before we could get back together again. Luckily, when we were finally able to resume everyone was able to make it.

The session did not at all go like I thought it would; I had the rest of the sewers mapped out which included a couple more dungeon-esque encounters followed by a big reveal and plots involving city politics.

But then the PCs did the unexpected and left. I knew M'Balz would have to get called out on his antics again but I expected him to talk or plan his way out of it; the plan by the others caused further problems and before I knew it I had to put together the village of Star's Hollow and add some new NPCs into the mix.

Various notes on the session:
* Three of the PCs gained a level last session, which is how Adanband gained some new spells. That really helped them survive the later encounter with the gibbering mouther.

* Because it was described initially as a large mound of refuse, the gibbering mouther was thought of by the players as the Great Trash Heap from Fraggle Rock.

* Terrible rolls and an indecisive Adanband player meant the gibbering mouther encounter actually took up nearly half an hour of play.

* The "chuds" comment was a reference to the movie "C.H.U.D.", which was a reference most of the group caught (which makes me wonder how they saw that but not Three Amigos; for shame).

* Mabad's comments about getting M'Balz a wife was heavily influenced by Nigel Hawthorne's scene at the end of "The Madness of King George".

* M'Balz job at the ministry was intentionally the lowest possible job I could see him being given as a means of punishment by his father.

* I gave a long, rambling set of instructions to Gra'bir as to how to find the archives room, complete with various left and right directions and letter/number combinations for each room, hall, and stairway. The intent was to make the ministry seem like a large, overly complex bureaucracy.

* In game, M'Balz actually called it the Inn of the Oaken Gnome (making up the name on the fly) but I changed it to a coffee house to better fit the setting.

* The references to Goldman, Sachs, and the Lehman brothers are of course jokes at the expense of the financial institutions.

* The gems were actually worth 2500 gp, not 1200, but Gra'bir neither correctly identified their value nor tried to haggle.

* When the PCs came up with the idea to try and talk to Mabad, I knew I had to kick them out of the city to stay in character. I used Star's Hollow since that's where he exiled Rory.

* The "goodwill tour" is of course a joke that they are being sent on a meaningless journey to get them out of the way (inspired by the goodwill tour of Africa the VP is sent on in the movie "Dave").

* There was some question as to how Kazaam knew where to find M'Balz. I claimed dramatic license and just told the players "he's a genie..."

* I knew the PCs would try to get away from the soldiers, but I never actually expected anyone to go to Star's Hollow so I had to invent up the village on the fly.

* I didn't have time to look anything up during the session, so the Gilmore Girls-specific names/references were added later in the write-up (again, Wikipedia was the source; I've never seen the show).

* Rory's "new sailor in town?" line was a rather quaint cliché of a joke, but still worked for humor value.

* Kasim Al-Pulaski is the Al-Qadimization of Casimir Pulaski, whose statue is in the Gilmore Girls version of the town.

* Captain Rayyan is modeled heavily after Kurt Russell's titular character from "Captain Ron".

* The negotiation scene took forever in game as the PCs argued in and out of game about what the best thing to do was to secure a ship to the island without having to actually pay much upfront or let the captain know where they were going.

* Originally I don't recall if I actually told them the treasure island was off of Ruhh Island (I think at one point it was going to be more of a mystery they had to solve); but I just assumed I did for this session to keep things moving.

* The old wise woman's visions were something I kept meaning to incorporate into the campaign for several sessions now but always forgot. My initial plots for the campaign revolve around four major world threats, each identified with one of the four elements.

* The PCs have already encountered clues about three of the four threats/visions, though they may not have realized it yet. The fourth will be revealed in time.

*** Session 9 - Cast of Characters ***

 M'Balz Al-Badassi: A human rogue from the city. M'Balz is the member of a noble family with political connections, but is bored with his wealthy lifestyle and instead performs as a masked scoundrel for hire know as Al-Caliph.

 Gra'bir Boubi: A human warrior from the desert tribe of the Wah'na Poq-yah tribe of the Haunted Lands. A superb hunter, Gra'bir has come to the city of Huzaz to look for a quest to prove himself a great warrior.

 Adanband: An elf scholar and sorcerer from the city of Huzaz.

 Butrus: A dwarf priest with a fervent faith and damaged memory.

*** Session 9 - Scene 1 (of 10) ***

On the open seas, the group watches the coastline of Star's Hollow fade away as they make their way into the Suq Bay. Captain Rayyan begins rambling on, starting to talk to M'Balz.

He begins speaking of how he is happy to be out of Star's Hollow, for a new woman in town has been after him. According to the good captain, she seems rather skivvy to him. He tells M'Balz that he's sure he knows the type, but the rogue insists he does not.

Rayyan continues, saying the woman's name is Rory. M'Balz quickly says he has never heard of her but Butrus recalls the name and asks if it is the same woman that M'Balz was supposed to marry. Captain Rayyan tells him he would not want to marry that woman, saying that sea lane has seen a lot of traffic, saying those are some rough waters and something about a lot of flotsam and jetsam floating around there.

M'Balz heads off to the other side of the boat to avoid any more discussion. Butrus apologizes to the captain, saying the subject is a touchy one for M'Balz. The priest, grinning mischievously, says he believes M'Balz is in love.

Captain Rayyan then starts talking about how stranger things have happened in Star's Hollow. He asks Butrus if he's ever heard of the Sma'rufs. Butrus, who was not involved in the earlier adventure, says he has not.

The captain says they are good people, who live over in Sma'ruf Village just a little ways outside of Star's Hollow. He describes them as a strange lot; gnomes who paint their faces blue.

Rayyan explains a good deal of his money comes from selling the gnomes sarsaparilla berries, which they call Sma'ruf Berries (another of the gnomes' eccentricities is replacing various words with their clan name).

Other tales the captain relates involve a magic flute said to be held by the gnomes, as well as how many of them were recently killed by an evil sorcerer in the nearby hills named Gar Ghul'mal despite hiring a couple of outlander mercenaries to protect them (a knight named Johann and his halfling squire, Pirlouit).

According to the captain, Gar Ghul'mal had been suspected of using dark magic for years, but was protected by his uncle, Bey Balthazar. Rayyan asks Butrus if he has heard of Balthazar; hearing that he has not, he explains Balthazar is also a sorcerer of some repute with a raven as his familiar (which Rayyan warns to look out for).

Captain Rayyan then starts talking about all the Sma'rufs he's met. He says there is Pap'ya Sma'ruf, the village elder (who wears a fancy red hat the captain likes), along with Hef'ti Sma'ruf (a warrior), Bra'ni Sma'ruf (a scholar), Han'dee Sma'ruf (an artisan), Joq'i Sma'ruf (a jester), and Ta'lur Sma'ruf (whose profession the captain can't remember). He also mentions seeing a baby Sma'ruf (though can't recall the name), and being unsure who the parents are since he's only ever seen a single female in the village (who he describes as having an unnatural hair color he suspects is the work of sorcery). He is just starting to talk about a savage Sma'ruf in the village that he believes was raised by squirrels in the jungles between Star's Hollow and the town of Zill.

Around this time, M'Balz is seriously debating killing the captain just to shut him up about the Sma'rufs. Gra'bir offers that he already knows a lot about the Sma'rufs.

Captain Rayyan takes the opportunity to change the subject, saying it is not Sma'rufs or sorcerers they need to fear out in the ocean; but rather, it is pirates they should be worrying about.

True to form, the captain begins rambling on about the pirates he knows – the Shark of Suq Bay, the Reaver, and Zargar Quarterman. He explains to Butrus he should be the more worried about Zargar, whose name comes from the pirate calling dwarves "half-men" which he then likes to chop up into "quarter-men".

Butrus asks Rayyan if he avoids the pirates by outrunning them. The captain laughs at the idea his vessel could outrun anything, but says he is an excellent sailor so they shouldn't have any trouble.

*** Session 9 - Scene 2 (of 10) ***

 Later that day, M'Balz notices a ship closing in on them from the south, only 200 yards away. He can't understand how Butrus and Adanband, who were on watch, managed to miss it for so long.

 He calls out to the captain, calling him an idiot and saying a ship is closing in on them. Captain Rayyan says that is no good, pointing out the ship could be pirates. The ship is too far away to make out, but it does have a black background; Rayyan indicates that is not a good sign.

 Butrus, thinking quickly, asks Rayyan about the flag for a plaque ship. Rayyan tells him that is a good idea, and describes how the flag should look, with its black and yellow checkered pattern. Adanband assists in making the flag. While Butrus puts together the flag, M'Balz wraps up his body in fake bandages. Gra'bir follows suit.

 Rayyan looks at the flag and says it is not the best he's seen, but they can give it a try. Meanwhile, the other ship closes in to a hundred yards. Onboard, various humanoids can be seen as the crew; they are clearly pirates.

 As the ship continues to close in, it appears to notice the flag. It immediately begins to turn around, but lets loose a flight of arrows before leaving. Butrus and Gra'bir get hit by arrows, but suffer only minor wounds.

 Captain Rayyan tells Butrus that was good thinking. The priest praises the Loregiver for granting him the wisdom lacking in his fellow crew to save them. M'Balz praises Butrus for being only half as stupid as he thought he was.

 The captain goes on to say he saw the flag, a quartered man, as well as the name of the ship, the "Whack-a-Dwarf"; it was clearly one of Zargar Quarterman's fleet. He notes there are still many perils left to face on their journey.

 M'Balz wants to yell at Captain Rayyan, but Butrus argues with him that it was their own fault for not setting watch. They also decide to take down the plague flag before anyone decides to sink them and spend some time making a more authentic-looking flag.

*** Session 9 - Scene 3 (of 10) ***

 No one pays attention to Butrus' suggestion for setting watches and they all go to sleep. Later that night, they are woken up by a quick jolt as something causes the ship to violently rock to one side. Gra'bir, unable to react fast enough, falls over the side of the ship into the cold water.

 The others hear the loud splash. Gra'bir yells for help as he tries to stay afloat but is sinking under the waves.

 Butrus grabs a rope and throws it out to Gra'bir. In the dark sea, he spots a giant sea turtle that must have inadvertently surfaced under the ship.

 Gra'bir goes under the water before he can get the rope. M'Balz grudgingly dives into the water to save him. He grabs the warrior and ties him to the rope so Butrus can haul him in. Nearby, the sea turtle ignores them and swims off.

 Once he is back aboard, everyone decides to go back to sleep; this time with a watch.

 The next morning, Captain Rayyan emerges from his cabin discussing the virtues of a nice, uninterrupted night of sleep after a long day of sailing.

 Butrus asks the captain about fishing equipment and decides to fish for some fresh food.

 M'Balz tells the captain they should tie down at night. Rayyan mistakes him to mean laying anchor, but when M'Balz clarifies they are to tie themselves down the captain says there are no sirens to worry about in these waters. M'Balz, getting frustrated, tells the captain the purpose is to avoid falling in the water; the captain tells him he wouldn't want to fall in the water, as that could be dangerous.

 Butrus explains they had some trouble the previous night with Gra'bir falling overboard, and that Gra'bir is not a good swimmer. Captain Rayyan helpfully notes that if he isn't a good swimmer he shouldn't go in the water, pointing out he could drown.

*** Session 9 - Scene 4 (of 10) ***

 The next several days pass uneventfully at sea. On the morning of the fourth day, Captain Rayyan says they will be approaching the city of Wasat soon. He explains he plans to stop there briefly for supplies, to make sure they have plenty of fresh food and water for the rest of their trip (as Ruhh Island is another couple of days to the north).

 Butrus is concerned about pirates in the harbor at Wasat. M'Balz doesn't want them to appear healthy to others, lest it prevent them from using their plague gambit again. Rayyan, however, points out they won't be let into the city if they are a plague ship.

 Instead, he suggests they just try to appear as merchants or something. He explains that a great many ships pass through Wasat so they shouldn't draw too much attention.

 Off to the side, Gra'bir and M'Balz wonder if they could find a better captain in Wasat; though that would have the risk of a captain smart enough to steal the treasure for himself.

 Captain Rayyan begins his customary rambling, talking about how he wants to stay on the side of the bay with Wasat and away from the other side, as that is where the City of the Dead is located. He tells the others they definitely don't want to go there.

 M'Balz and the others have not heard of the city, so Rayyan explains it was once the city of Abbudin. According to the captain, many years ago the city was ruled by Bey Rasheed Al-Fayeed. Al-Fayeed allied himself with a large number of genies and desert tribes, hoping to become an independent caliphate.

 The caliph of Wasat opposed him, and the Grand Caliph sided with him. A minor war broke out, and the genie forces of the Grand Caliph destroyed the city in the process.

 Al-Fayeed and his oldest son, Ihab, survived the assault on the city and fled north to their family palace at Ber-Gethay. But it, too, was eventually reduced to ruins. The Al-Fayeeds surrendered and were exiled from Zakhara, with their current location unknown.

 According to legends, treasures can still be found in both the City of the Dead and Ber-Gethay. But according to Rayyan, both areas are haunted and cursed, and no one has ever returned from them.