Shifty Louts Session 40 - Draughts and Dwarves

17 Mar, 2026

Players

Kennard Kennarde the Barbarian (Onyx), Akos the Acrobat (Divus Luna), Hindlick the Tulwyn the Zealot (Connor), Orlandus the Acrobat (Divus Luna)

Summary

25th of Kelen

The group finds itself on the ground floor of an abandoned house. Kennard and the group exit and find themselves in a back alley. A muddy street, empty, cloudy overhead, and empty save the ringing of temple bells. A lone nun of Peoni walks towards the great spires of the temple as Akos rushes forth to explain his situation.

Thedware assists in taking the group to the field hospital in the back of the Temple, gathering the High Priest, Jerom. After some debate of what to do with the chest of gold, the two Barbarians leave as Akos is told to stay and coalesce as both the nuns of the Order of the Balm of Joy and the brothers of the Irreprochable Order attempt to staunch the spread of the corruption within Akos’s body.

The two Barbarians, Hindlick and Kennard, ask Thedware of any herbalist or physicians to whom Thedware tells of Araleen, a man of average medical knowledge, but who has become more and more absent-minded recently. The two Barbarians find the physician's house empty, save for tons of drying herbs and a coded treatise on two specific herbs, one being the common false onion.

The two barbarians continue their search, finding water bearer, dragonshead, and the Tulwyn-poison summersweet. The two leave a single khuzud crown for stealing. While continuing to pack up, Orlandus enters and asks the two if his order for Halea’s Brandy, an aphrodisiac, is available for pick-up. The two barbarians convince him it is and hand him a phallic-shaped bottle.

Orlandus tells of his need to win over his paramour, a senator’s daughter. The breathtaking, ravenhaired daughter, Maeghel, captivates him, as Orlandus proclaims her the most beautiful woman in Coranan.

As the Orlandus siloquies, 4 Khuzud enter the shop, a strange sight this far west, as the Dwarves tend to keep to the beyond the eastern shores of Lake Benath. The four speak of the need to pick up a draught of Hru’s Strength.

The two barbarian’s fumble around, eventually finding as Orlandus speaks of the dwarven gold the three have come across. The leader of the group of dwarves, Eliver, loudly proclaims that's the lost gold of Clan Barkhazad. A priceless heirloom of a clan that’s nearly 1,400 years old. Such a lost treasure will most certainly be wanted by the King of Azadmere, the King of the Dwarves!

Aftermath

Treasure Found:

• The coded herb book of Araleen the Physician
• 1 Water Bearer - 6d
• 12 False Onion (dried) - 3d/per (36d)
• 11 Dragonshead (improperly stored) - 8d/per (worthless)
• 14 Summersweet (dried) - 9d/per (126d)
• 1 Halea’s Brandy (uncorked) - 30d
  • Total haul = 198d

Foes Encountered:

• n/a

Rumors:

• Thedware is a nun at the Temple of Peoni
• Jerom of Borskin is the High Priest of the Temple of Peoni in Coranan
• The Temple of Peoni in Coranan is operated by the Order of the Balm of Joy and the Irreproachable Order, who treat and heal the sick
• The Khuzud crowns are from Clan Barkhazad and are estimated to be over 1,400 years old. The King of Azadmere will want them!
• The Khuzud explorers (Eliver, Moried, Theal, Wid) will take the group of Shifty Louts eastward across the Salt Route of Tharda into Kaldor, then to Azadmere. A dangerous trek!

Deaths:

• Akos the Acrobat is convalescing at the Temple of Peoni to treat his mummy rot (functionally written out of the campaign)

XP Awarded:

• n/a

Notes

• The Dwarf gold is now held by a party that has no idea of its origins! The Dwarves will want to know how and where they got it
• The Herblore and Potions articles provide dividends once more. They really fleshed out and were used to great effect this session.
• The Coranan article gave excellent ways to introduce characters and potential plot hooks
  • Araleen the Physician
  • Orlandus, being a thespian of an NPC group that entertains Thardic senators
  • Orlandus’s paramour, being a senator’s daughter, also written about in the Coranan book, made for an excellent plot hook for the Halea’s Brandy inquiry
• The depth and breadth of the Harnworld stuff, when used properly, add so much depth that it becomes a fully realized world. When it clicks together, IT CLICKS!
• Midkemia’s Press Cities table single-handedly opened a new section of the evolving campaign through a serendipitous dice roll of Dwarf explorers looking for supplies!
• I have to read The Salt Route, Moleryn, Taztos, Trobridge, On the Edge, and The Kingdom of Azadmere for homework!
  • The Salt Route, Moleryn, Taztos, and the Kingdom of Azadmere will be the most important for the immediate sessions.