Session 62: Dreaming Good Dreams

The day starts with Magnar getting dragged off by Rikard to get new armour. It turns out that Magnar already had armour but needed a quick lesson on how to wear it. The a quick trip to the apothecary to get some of the 'good stuff' to put some 'lead' in Magnar's 'pencil' when he goes back to Anselma.

During the night, they all start dreaming about cats, except for Rikard. The whole party wakes up in a new town, this time a city. Anselma & Owle are both cats and respond to Magnar who tries working out what had happened. He looks out the window and the city is made primarily of marble blocks and bright. A couple of cat statues can be seen here & there, along with a small family of leopards in Arne's tree, Other cats can be seen around the view.

Going out Magnar finds that the apothecary is now beside Arne's and there's the tavern beside his. It is now called The Ulthar Catspaws. Walking in he sees a miniature Tabaxi sitting where the Halfling sits, and a tiger-like Tabaxi standing where the Orc normally stands with green stripes instead of orange. The barman behind the bar says hello to Magnar and appears to be Baldwin as a Tabaxi saying they have always been Tabaxi.

Timble wakes up, comes down and thinks he hasn't fully woke up. He seems to be confused too though both him and Magnar are both their normal species. Keller comes next and is also bewildered, before slipping off and changing into a lynx and returning to prank the other two.

Archi arrives in town and finds the same strange layout noticing the cats all around and where his apothecary shop. He goes to Arne's.

By this time Arne has woken up with two cats jumping up and down on his chest making noises. He goes to feed them and finds parts of a pig carcass to feed them, and the leopard family in his tr3ee. Thinking it's a dream he goes back to bed only to be woke up again, this time by Archi who is still bewildered.

This has woken up Rab who thinks something suspicious is going on involving drugs or magic. They make their way up to the Catspaws and meet the rest. Rab is freaking out and pricks his finger while Keller gently scratches Magnar's leg where blood starts to appear at the wounds showing they are fine in that way.

During this time Archi casts a couple of Detect Magic spells to see if it is involved picking up nothing here. Arne also remembers hearing such a place in a rare book of magic once saying that Ulthar is in the Dreamlands, and known as the city of cats, while Timble finds out the same from Tabaxi Baldwin. Baldwin also says that they should go to one of the Temples of Bast to get checked. They also think maybe it's some type of aftereffect caused by the Dollmaker's shenanigans.

Keller also talks to a cat calling itself Freddy, in the bar after it tries to eat food from the player's breakfast. Keller is told the best thing is to check the temples as the ones in the southern part of the city as they are close by.

They eventually find their way on the southern main thoroughfare a temple to Bast and talk to the priest who appears to be a variant of Father Tossil. He could help if a set of relevant pages are returned to the temple. A break-in recently led to a few cats being killed, and the pages took. They used the sewer entrance at the other end of the passageway beside the temple, near the other smaller door.

It appears that a creature named the Larva Mage had it's minions take it and they are part of a cult deep underground in the lower sewers. The mage works with a specific type of Seer that Timble immediately reacts to, and it appears that they were sent here at the whims of the Seer that Timble is hunting.

At this stage Timble runs off to get in the sewers and kill this creature.

Rab manages to get four healing potions of Tossil before bringing up the rear of the party to stop them being attacked from behind.

They go down and start traversing the walkable ledge at the side of the sewer until reaching a part they have to climb down, of which appears to have been used. There they find that this place has been overgrown and badly eroded though Rab can tell that it is still sturdy enough not to fall in on them.

A path has been cut going north here and they follow it. It looks as well a few a few hundred yards that the sewer passage has had the water backed up at one point with the main flow having a pile of detritus bult up. Magnar carries Timble over and through this.

There they are travelling when Arne feels something like a sharpened clawed finger goes across his ankle. Looking down he sees a strange warped hand sinking into the water. Timble hears Arne slightly panic and sees the hand too before hopping down of Magnar.

They take up the position, and 5 twisted humanoids burst out of the water and attack biting Timble. They hit back with Magnar killing one hacking it into small pieces. Rab cuts up one leaving it barely alive, Archi accidentally hits himself with a Ray of Cold, Keller entangles the four remaining killing one, while Timble finishes of another and injuring another. Arne finishes off the remainder.

They get together and work out these are a form of Star Spawn Grue, weak creatures used to do the basic work of the Star God Cults and Deities. They heal up and push forward with Timble leading the way.

They arrive in a large chamber with a huge circular pool of water with am artificial island in the middle and water pouring down sewage tunnels north, south, east and west. On this island is the larva mage and she has noticed them appearing.

At the same time Archi finds her hot and wants to make larval babies with her.