Session 20: The Gang Opens a Bar Report

General Summary

The Rat Pack decides to deal with their ghost problem finally. Kouvian clarifies that not all ghosts are evil and that it was here first. The rest of the gang did not seem to share his compassionate views for the undead, but they acknowledged his concerns at the very least. Azid went directly to the library to do some research while Glebnor and Geasle went shopping.
Azid discovered a book called "Seance's for Dummies" and quickly copied the ritual down onto a sheet of parchment. He returned to the manor to try and execute the ritual but with no success. Luckily, Glebnor and Geasle had purchased a Luigi Board to speak to the dead, and they could communicate with the spirit.

It's'a Me! The Ghost!

Everyone was expecting the ghost of a child from the orphanage, but they were surprised to get a man in his thirties. The spirit identified himself as Lief, the former owner of Trollskull Tavern, and he listened as the group rambled on about leaving in coexistence with him. When finally given a chance to speak, he told them that he appreciated how friendly they were and was sure they were nice people, but he didn't want to be a ghost in the tavern. Instead, he wanted to see them reopen the tavern and run it successfully, and then he would let them put his bones to rest.
Eager to please, Azid asked where his bones were. Lief told him that a hag had killed him on the manor's third floor. The hag had a demi-plane that Lief had stumbled into up there. Shocked, the group learned of a demi-plane in their house. Azid went and found the portal leading to the hag, and Lief told him that he thought he could open it, but could only do it once, so he wanted to be sure the business worked out first.
The group got right to work with getting a business license from the guild and furnishing the place. They settled on the name Top Shelf Hags for the tavern. Azid hand-delivered invitations to the neighbors. A sign was made. Geasle brewed a deadly concoction called "Geasle's Diesal," but Frillo and Eddinna insisted they also supply some outsourced beverages. Kouvian broke out his cooks' utensils and began working on a menu. Finally, Scraps got some old ladies to serve as eye candy.

The Assassin Strikes... and Strikes Again!

After a successful launch, Lief wanted to make sure things ran smoothly. So the group continued their business for ten days as Frillo and Eddinna handled operating Top Shelf Hags. While this went on, Geasle was hunting for cockroach wings for his brew when he was shot in a back alley. It was late into the evening when Azid finally decided that someone should go and look for him and found him on death's doorstep, figuratively speaking.
As Geasle went to rest in the basement, Azid went off to investigate. Kouvian had heard rumors that a pirate was asking about Geasle, so they decided to start at the docks. It paid off, and thanks to their reputation, they found out that the pirate was a large-toothed alien named Clonk. With a name and physical description, they started asking around for the alien. It took some time to realize, but they remembered that Clonk was the best friend of Ratchet, a gladiator that Geasle had eaten alive in a sparring match. Clonk had tried to kill Geasle before on Collier but had not been seen since they escaped the planet.
The Appleton boys had told Kouvian they'd let him know if they saw him, but it was quickly determined that the assassin was hanging around Wasp Steet. Everyone was going to head to the boarding house to check it. That's when Geasle was shot again in the streets! This time the would-be assassin was spotted and tried to run. The Rat Pack gave chase, but Scraps caught up to him first and held him at bay while Kouvian, riding a war horse, came in to trample the fiendish pirate.
With the assassin dead and business running smoothly, the group decided it was time for Lief to lead them to open the portal to the hag's lair.

Rewards Granted

650 XP to Azid, Geasle, Kouvian, Glebnor, Scraps, and Giluru.