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Keys from the Golden Vault Session 13
Starring
Varrow, level 4 gnome Thief Rogue
Stayzie Diamondz, level 4 orc Champion Fighter
Elowen Fernwhisper, level 4 wood elf Circle of the Moon Druid
Chéri Powder, level 4 human Illusionist Wizard
Taveen, level 4 aasimar Warrior of Mercy Monk
No longer affected by Chéri’s Suggestion spell, Quentin is now sure the wizard is causing problems. He angrily demands Taveen tell him where he’s at, and Taveen points him to one of the back hallways. Quentin rushes back there, snapping at nearby guards to fan out and surround the party by entering the two employee hallways toward the backrooms.
Taveen lets him go, and turns his attention back to the tournament area, while Elowen catches up with the others as they finish looting the vault and heading back to the security room.
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Inside the vault, Chéri, Stayzie, and Varrow find 5,000 gp and several items of value, including a Wand of Magic Detection, and a bejeweled +1 greataxe. Most goes right in the bag of holding, while Stayzie eagerly hefts the axe.
They also find several soul contracts in an unlocked box, and Varrow identifies Verity’s brother. He smashes the vial of holy water over it, and it bubbles and dissolves, presumably freeing the tiefling from the magical hold the casino had on him.
Wumpus, the recently freed prisoner enlisted by Varrow, calls out that Quentin and several guards are approaching the north hallway. Stayzie clears up his little loose end by knocking him out and tying him up, then greets Elowen as she enters.
They hear a nearby door rattling and shaking — the northern hallway door that Varrow had secured earlier. They’re prepared to run south, but a pair of guards block their way.
The door to the north then bursts open as Quentin’s hellhound unleashes a torrent of fire, melting the door!
Quentin is angry, but also impressed that the party made it this far and overcame his security systems. He’s willing to cut a deal. The party can keep 1,000gp, return the rest, and walk away, no questions asked. He’ll even still hire Stayzie as entertainment.
Of course, they refuse and attempt to counter-offer for more money, but the main sticking point are the other soul contracts. Quentin can’t have those leave and word get around about the casino’s actual hellish ties.
With the party refusing to return the stolen goods, the fight is on! It’s Stayzie, Chéri, Varrow, and Elowen (in cat form) vs four tough guards, a hellhound, and Quentin, who uses the cultist fanatic statblock.
The trio who fought the bone naga last session are also still heavily injured, without time to take a short rest, and sitting at around 25% of their hit points.
Thankfully they roll well on initiative. Stayzie uses her new magic axe to blind Quentin and many others, while Varrow starts blanketing the hallway in ball bearings as they shuffle their way south, avoiding the nastier foes.
Elowen is thinking differently, however. In cat form, she heads north, slips past Quentin and the others, and makes it inside the circus prep area (A12). She remembers about the animal uprising, and the gentle lion, Emrys!
Unfortunately, none of the animals are in their cages, they’re all preforming in the circus next door.
As the others battle their way down the hallway, relying on enemy blindness and ball bearings to slow them down, Elowen casts speak with animals and shouts down the tunnel to Emrys and the monkeys. The time is now — we’re getting out of here!
Fans initially think it’s all part of the show, until the lion comes charging down the tunnel, and greets Elowen. The druid then casts summon beast to create an image of the lion, but more undead-looking and covered in chains. An avatar of vengeance for animal cruelty!
The creature rushes back into the circus area, causing mass havoc, and keeping the trainers at bay.
Taveen begins hearing all this, but he’s settled in to play the finale of the Three Dragon Ante game in the tournament area. The monk is determined to win, despite the active heist going on, and the danger to his party.
With Stayzie not around, it’s just him and two others competing for top prize, and it comes down to the 3rd round of card play. He almost gets into a brawl with one of the players, but when the action in the backrooms starts spilling out into the casino itself (and pulling the guard away), Taveen rushes to the display case, smashes it open, and takes the golden statuette, yelling, “I won this fair and square!”
The hellhound proves the most dangerous opponent as it unleashes another fire breath attack down the hall, which Varrow only narrowly survives.
The three-person party struggles with the two guards to the south, until Chéri uses his last Suggestion spell to create another hilarious fanfic drama between he and another guard, rendering them both distracted.
But the real clutch move was bringing the lion to the fight, as Elowen opens the door back into the hallway, and Emrys tackles Quentin from behind!
The gnome casino boss screams as he’s mauled, prompting the hellhound to turn around and save him.
The lion knows the hellhound is ‘wrong’ and dangerous, and he scoops up Elowen as they race out of the hallway and onto the casino floor.
Thanks to the multiple distractions, the other three finally make it out of the southern hallway as well.
Meanwhile, one of the guards with Quentin was Garret, Verity’s brother, and he was acting confused and hungover since the dissolved contract. Instead of battling the party, he ran out, with the party calling after him.
Thankfully Verity is there and quickly explains the situation, and the pair create another distraction on the floor, helping to sow chaos and allowing the party to quickly make their escape.
The lion is a bit too big to fit on one of the rowboats, however. Varrow tosses them one of the potions of feather fall from Trench, and Elowen gets an amazing Neverending Story moment of gliding out of the waterfall exit on the back of a lion, as the monkeys from the circus clamber on for an epic escape.
Heist successful, and despite the incredible danger and lengthy fight, the party managed to not kill a single person, save the brother, and make off with a huge ol’ pile of loot!
Live post-session discussion:
Next session: Downtime and level up!
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