From their location in the Dwarven Hive dungeon about 120 NE of
Fransica the party is transported to the Undercity Market in Ptolus
1/2 a world away. This was accomplished by the appearance of a
Golden Vortex. This is a randomly appearing teleportation effect
that is the result of the Chaos forces operating in Ptolus.
The room they appear in is 30'x30' and is unremarkable in it's
aspect. It is located in an area described on page 423. The first
thing (other than their quick view of this room) the party will
notice is the cold temperature. It is about 45 deg. Because the
party members came from and equatorial climate, this is very cold to
them. Next thing they notice is the smell. It is s combination of
the moldy, moist air and the rankness of the city at large. It isn't
nice and it's very different than anything they have smelled before.
The room is made of stone and doesn't appear to have any exit. There
is no door or other opening. However when they search this small
area they will find (with a DC 15 Perception roll) that in the east
wall near the N. is an area that is not stone but mortared brick of
poor quality. While it is very sturdy, it may be attacked and
destroyed.
Material
Hardness
HP
Break DC
Masonry wall (1 ft. thick)
8
90
35
Once the mortared area has been knocked down, they will hear the hum
of conversation. There is a passage way leading to the E. that show
light in the area beyond. They will come out in the Undercity Market
near the Wall of the Lost.
They arrive in the City for the first time on the 5th of Birth
(sometimes misspelled as Berth) in the year 721.
As you are looking at some items for sale you see a shadow shaped
like a flying bird land on the shoulder of the rather rotund man
on the stall next to this. It leans toward the mans ear and you
see it's beak move. Then is turns into smoke and disappears.
SET PIECE
Give them a chance to look around the Undermarket. They will notice
that they are attracting a lot of attention. No one is being rude,
but particularly the human females (Vixen) are being oogled as they
are wearing the normal clothes of the southern continent which are
leather armor and little else. They look very out of place in the
cold city of Ptolus. After a while (not long) they will be
approached by Solvi.
Solvi Yektya,
female human Rog2: CR 2; Size M (5 ft., 5 in. tall); HD
2d6+2; hp 12; Init +2 (+2 Dex); Spd 30 ft.; AC 12 (+2 Dex); Attack
-2 melee, or +3 ranged; SV Fort +1, Ref +5, Will +4; AL N; Str 4,
Dex 15, Con 12, Int 11, Wis 18, Cha 11. Languages Spoken: Common. Skills and feats: Appraise +1, Bluff +4, Decipher
Script +3, Disable Device +5, Gather Information +5, Hide +6,
Knowledge (Local) +6, Listen +8, Move Silently +7, Search +4, Spot
+9, Tumble +4; [Evasion], Sense Motive +3, Persuasive.
Solvi will approach them with caution and position herself in front
of where the party is headed and bow deeply. She sweeps the brown
felt hat with a huge golden feather off her head revealing long red
hair. She bows deeply to the party and says "Good morning gentle people. If you have a moment of time to
spare to learn something to your great advantage please harken to
me. It may pay both of us well!"
A Sense Motive check of 20 reveals that she is in earnest and has no
hostile intent. A roll of 25 will reveal she is hoping for profit
from the encounter.
If the party does not stop to listen she will say "That's OK. I
suppose you already have your gate receipt and identification
papers". If they continue on... so be it. Their next
encounter will be with the City Watch.
If the party stops to talk she will continue on to say
"You don't look like you are from around here and maybe could use
some help finding you way around. Let me first say that I am an
independent person who offers information of all kinds for
insignificant amounts of silver. I am not in anyway connected with
the authorities and swear I will keep all your secrets as if they
were my own romantic encounters. I ask only a fee of 2
shinys and for this I will put myself at your disposal for
the remainder of this rather gloomy day. I guess you already have
your identification papers and have paid your tolls at the gate
right?"
An additional SM check at the same DC will reveal she is on the
level with this offer.
If the party denys her offer she shrugs and says "Be it so new
bloods. May the gods protect you" and walks off. It will only
be a matter of time before the city watch decides to investigate
these weirdos and interview them.
The rest of this section will assume they pay her the silvers.
The first thing she will ask is if this is their first time in the
city. If they say no, she will look at them sidelong and make a
Sense Motive of her own at a DC 20. She will do this each time they
tell her something as she is actually trying to impress them with
her perceptive ability. She will never call them liars, but if she
detects a inaccuracy she will offer an explanation of what the
consequences are.
Next she will ask if they have their IDs. She will explain to them
that this is necessary and that she will get it for them.
Then she will ask which gate they came through. Then she will ask if
they paid the tax. If they say no she will say "Wrong answer!
You have paid your tolls but the recept was lost when your purse
was dropped into a puddle. It would be nice if one of you could
soil your purse to bolster this claim. By the way it is illegal to
enter the city in any way other than the gate if you plan on doing
any commerce." She walks around the entire party and says "It's
not much of a story but it's better than nothing. This tale and a
crown will get us out of any difficulties."
Smiling she says "Pay attention if you please. You were acosted
by a group of 20 ork bandits halfway between here and Charenbug
who stole everything you had including your papers. You were taken
in by some villagers in a hamlet called Novanak who gave you these
pitiful clothes and weapons you now bear. I hope I don't need to
tell you to keep all items of value carefully hidden at all times.
Now if you will follow me, I'll take care of the last bit of
business and then we can relax. By the way, be sure and guard your
thoughts around the City Watch or the Constables as they sometimes
have mages with them."
You hear the sound of horses hooves on stone. When you look
toward the sound you see a centaur carefully picking its way down
the broad stairway out of the light and into the dim of the
Undercity market. No one else takes any notice,"
She takes them across the market to a permanent stall that has the
symbol of the city on a banner overhead. She tells them to stand off
some distance from the stall and asks them for 8 silver pieces
explaining they need the receipts from the gate. She then goes up to
the old man sitting behind a desk and says "I am the docent for
this group of unfortunates who have lost everything in a bandit
attack. They have nothing they will sell in the city, but have
lost their entrance receipt. They are very law abiding people and
are interested in obtaining a duplicate of their papers which were
lost due to an unfortunate spill into a deep puddle. I have agreed
to advanced them the entry toll and an extra fee for your effort."
She then counts out the silvers and in return is given slips of
paper. Solvi then gives one to each of them. As she does she says "Sorry
this was so expensive, but I thought it advisable to pay more than
the normal toll to prevent any troublesome questions".
When the party looks at these they are amazed! They are blank block
printed forms. This is totally unknown in the lands the party comes
from and their exactness of the printing (not the written parts) is
very surprising. The paper too is of much higher quality than they
are used to.
Solvi then says "We should make our way to the Old Town where
the Administration Building is and get you your identification
papers. We have a story and we have your entrance papers so there
is little chance of difficulty now so we can take our time and
enjoy the sights!"
As they are heading up the stairway to the surface "You notice a
Lizardman lounging on the steps leading to the surface smoking a
long wooden pipe and smiling. The smoke smells funny"
When they are up to the top of the stairs read this: At the top of the stairs there is a contingent of the City Watch
(show them the picture) who look at you closely as you come up.
The top of the stairs are puddled and the cobblestone plaza is
muddy and slippery. You can smell rain, and looking up it looks
dark and threatening; itis just about to rain. The odors of damp
clothes and people, moldy wood, wet straw, rain-slicked stone, and
burning wood and coal mix together to create a unique aroma. These
smells mingle with the odors of cooking food, domestic animals,
garbage, and sewage. You see there are a number of buildings
surrounding the courtyard and several signs promising goods for
sale. There are a couple of 2 horse carriages and a 1 horse
surrey that have small wheels in the front and larger wheels
in the back that are shaped like small houses but are made out of
light wood and shellacked canvas. There are a score of people in
the plaza going about their business. To the west you see a cliff about 200 ft high with a steep
stone ramp leading to it.You see a second cliff not quite as high
with more buildings and behind that is a dark gray spire that is
so tall it disappears into the dark clouds. You can see what looks
like a wooden hut floating from the first cliff to about 300' in
the air that is secured to the ground with a rope. As you take in
this scene you notice a person on a flying carpet travel from the
buildings on the bottom heading over the top cliff.
It will take about 15 minutes to get from there to the admin
building.
They will go to Tavern Row St. to Sunrise St. to Dragon St. to
Emperors Rd. to Dalenguard Rd.
The list of Midtown buildings is on page 198.
The admin building is #55 and on Dalenguard Road. Look at page 313
for a building list of this district.
Once at the Admin building, Solvi will take them to the registrar
and get them fixed up with their ID papers.
There will be one random encounter and one color encounter on the
way. If time allows, detail the important buildings on the way.
170 Cloud Theatre "A good place to see a play, but there are better
places around for music"
,178 Tillies Furnishing, "Don't know"
177 Midtown Dancehall "Lots of fun really informal but watch
your purse if you know what's good for you"
175 Old Goose, "Ya hungry? Lets have some lunch. The place has good
food and the prices are good too.
174 North Point Restaurant "Gnomish food... If you like that sort of
thing"
184 Copper kettle, "Good copper goods but a rude staff"
183 Good Eats "More gnome food with some halfling specialities. HUGE
portions and pretty cheap."
255 Wood Market (fire and lumber)
Old Goose Restaurant - Not detailed in the city doc. Run by
Unos the Centaur Warrior 3 (Crossbow)
The Old Goose (page 221) is a quiet local pub where most of the
clientele knows each other.
This place sells beer and wine and has a short menu of rather salty
food. It's mostly pub fare
Ale, Beer, Mead, Jack (hard apple cider)-Mug 4 cp or 6cp for Cities
Best Brew (stout)
sausages with bread and cheese 5sp
thick soup - 2 sp add 5 cp for a loaf of bread
toad in the hole or Chefs Stew 3 sp
Bread Brown Molassas loaf of 2 cp add a cp for butter or cheese
Delvers Guild off ice 424
Dungeons that are ready:
DARK RELIQUARY - Undead Mansion and Dungeon
CULT OF THE EBON HAND - Chaos worshippers are kidnapping childeren
THE CAVERNS - Serpent caves and the Giants Staircase
DARK TIDINGS - A rescue mission from the Delver's Guild
RATMEN - Kill them in the sewers for 3gp a tail