Episode 1: Majors and Miners - Welcome to Urtu

Episode Summary
The party begins the adventure in 2 mine cars speeding through a mine shaft. The carts are 2m wide, 1.5m deep and have benches that people can stand on and see across. It is pitch black out there. The only light source is above that flashes every 100m. The carts are going as fast as 2 horses.

Occasionally there are woops of 'Yippee! Yaha!' of a friendly NPC Goblin guide named Lalit (aligned with the Sivalai Kingdom) who is steering the mine car. The mine shaft is 2 carts wide and tracks can be seen going both ways. On each side is compacted and compressed dirt. Occasionally, the party passes by other mining tunnels and feel gusts of wind that echo on the ears. It is exhilarating for thrill seekers but not so for people with motion sickness.

It is established that the party belongs to the Namandan Union. Lalit travelled to the Namandan Union to meet them and together, escort the Namandan negotiator, NPC Emissary Makt Teras, over to the Kingdom.

Makt Teras is described as wearing a hooded cloak around her head, sitting on a mine car bench, feeling very uncomfortable and leaning from side-to-side. She is clearly motion sick and nauseous. She is usually a regal, dignified character but at her current state, definitely not looking her best.

Party member, Barra, a Male Human Bard, decides to stand on one of the benches, apes a surfing motion and sings an inspiring song about the party, Team 3 (a parody of ‘Let it Be’) which gets the party roused and excited. Lalit informs the party that they're almost at their destination in about 40min.

Party member, Kaman, the Male Sea Elf Mystic, checks on Makt Teras to see if she's ok. Makt Teras thanks Kaman for the concern and continues putting her head down. In order to make her feel better, Kaman casts a Silent Image of a relaxing beach around the cart. Unfortunately this makes Makt Teras feel worse. She exclaims 'No no, now I feel sick at the beach! Sick at the beach!' Barra is thrilled however as the beach makes him feel very much at home. There is another high drop and Lalit whoops for joy, Makt Teras holds a hand to her mouth to throw up. Kaman cancels the Silent Image quickly.

Barra,rather smitten by Makt Teras, decides to casually chat her up. 'I gotta say...nausea suits ya!' Makt Teras is a bit too ill to fancy a decent conversation and replies in pleasantries.

Fast-forwarding in time, the cart slows slightly and the party is able to see more of their surroundings: there are miner cabins about, miners going about their business, taking a break etc. Considering it is a backwater town deep under the Marabandan Forest, it is quite bustling. The mining population is described as a relatively diverse group of Hobgoblins, Dwarves and Orcs. They mostly have dark vision and have no issues seeing in the dark. The temperature in the mines is in the high 20s Degrees Celsius.

Lalit is still ecstatic from riding really fast in the mine car 'Whaha! This is GREAT! I never get to go this fast normally!' in which Makt Teras looks up sickly '...How fast are you normally allowed to go?!'

The party arrives at Samar Junction. Lalit thanks everyone and says his goodbyes early as he has other matters to attend to. He taxis the mine car for them to disembark. Samar Junction is new territory for the party as they have not been this far down underground before. It is described as a very busy and populated mining sector. Even Makt Teras is impressed and remarks that it is quite an advanced civilization. This meeting she will be attending will be the first formal meeting between the Namandan Union and the Sivalai Kingdom after weeks of prior negotiations.

Party member, Yrsa, a female Goblin barbarian, gathers the party and checks in with Makt Teras. As Makt Teras is still not feeling too good, Yrsa rummages through her backpack and pulls out a pack of sour plum preserves to help with the nausea. Makt Teras says thank you to Yrsa in the most elegant and polite form of Goblin tongue (*Kamsia lu) and accepts the gift. She then appropriately offers it to the rest of the party. All the while, Barra is swooning and impressed at how dignified Makt Teras is. The party is in good spirits. Yrsa also shares that the *preserved plum snacks are unique to her village and are also put in alcohol to flavor drinks.

Makt Teras freshens up her face, un-creases her clothes via magic and returns to her regal self. The party disembarks the mine car and looks at their surroundings proper. The visibility is still relatively poor as they are underground. Barra casts light on his midriff armor, which illuminates his abs and helps light their way down a long corridor. The party forms up with 2 melee members in the front and 2 supports in the rear with the emissary in the center.

They arrive at a mining cart depot of 12 mining cars with a small shack. There is an illuminated mining area nearby with the sounds of miners hacking away. There is also an area with cargo crates stacked 4 or 5 high. Lalit prompts the party to follow him and he will lead them to NPC Karim, who runs the compound.

They follow on and arrive at a small square with 3 buildings: 2 of them look like bus shelters with walls that look like rest stops for people to sit, eat, and do simple cooking.

Some of the miners idling around become annoyed by Barra's midriff light and scowl at him to turn the light off as it's glaring. Yrsa tells Barra to turn down the midriff light in response. Barra decides to tie his cloak around his midriff to dim the light. The miners thank Barra in halting Common, while Yrsa says *paiseh, paiseh! in apology.

Barra muses about trying to hook up with his former teacher but was turned down because he was a miner.  You know, miners have a really hard life. I wanted to date this girl and she said she couldn't. Because I was a miner. So just imagine, all of them can't get any dates. Ever. It's just horrible.'' ' At this point, Makt Teras heaves an audible sigh and tells Yrsa that at any point during the negotiation, Sergeant Barra should not speak, comment or be involved in the meeting and should be put on patrol duty instead.

They arrive at the cabin location where they see Karim, a middle-aged, male Half-Orc with a hefty pleated beard with gold ringlets, waiting for them, smoking a cigar. He introduces himself and tells the party to make themselves at home first, the other ambassador has not yet arrived. He gestures that there is a stone building where Makt Teras can wait first.

Yrsa signals to Kaman to inspect the room to make sure there are no traps. Kaman politely excuses himself and checks the room, seeking extra insight by touching the gem on his forehead. The small stone room has a single table and 3 small chairs around it, a bookcase, and an unlit lamp. There is nothing unusual that Kaman could sense. Yrsa then invites Makt Teras into the room. Makt Teras thanks Yrsa and dismisses Team 3 so they can stand down and rest. She switches on the small lamp in the room, takes a seat at the table and sits and writes some notes in her book.

Kaman decides to stand guard outside the building. Yrsa will check with Karim if this is the arranged meeting venue. Barra wants to stick around and wait in the room. Yrsa notices the unease and 'mild panic' within Makt Teras at Barra wanting to hang around near her. To put her at ease, Yrsa says party member Kie, female Halfling Monk, will be around as well, much to Makt Teras's relief.

Yrsa and Barra decide to look for Karim outside the stone building at the main square. Karim calls over Lalit to illuminate the area for the 2 of the adventurers, knowing that they don't see well in the dark. After exchanging pleasantries, Yrsa asks Karim if the meeting would take place in the stone building. Karim confirms that it is the meeting venue and the NPC Ambassador Djemana will be arriving to engage with Makt Teras and will be bringing her own Honour Guard.

Barra 	takes a jab at Karim about not being able to find a date because he's a miner and Karim laughs it off. Barra then asks Karim what materials do they mine in these parts. Karim says iron ore, velspar, coal, silver, gold and other ores that get shipped back to the Sivalai Kingdom. Most of the mines are primarily iron. Some people also come down to prospect and some hunt Umber Hulks, Fire Snakes and other creatures, but they exist much further away from the area. Hunting them was something Karim’s late husband used to do.

Barra asks if there're Intan mines. Karim says that Intan Crystals are very rare down here and if anyone finds them they would usually keep it a secret, but then again, Intan is found everywhere else in Marabanda. There is also no real demand for Intan from the underground mines in this area, within the Sivalai Kingdom - there are resources elsewhere more abundant. Yrsa asks if a mining permit is required to start mining, Karim says that it is not needed and anyone can have a go. The town's miners are mostly sent from the Sivalai Kingdom but else anyone from other parts of Urtu can mine as they like.

Yrsa asks Karim for more information about Ambassador Djemana, but he doesn't know any more other than what the party already knows. For some reason, Barra keeps complimenting Karim on his gorgeous beard and Karim strokes it consciously in response. It turns out it's because Barra is unable to grow facial hair and is thus envious.

Kaman, feeling like the situation is going too well for comfort, decides to keep an eye out more. Yrsa decides to go back to report to Makt Teras with her findings.

Barra disturbs Kie for being too quiet and tells her that she needs to talk more and wants her to practice chatting with him. In response, Kie says 'I was trained to appreciate silence because that is where the deepest thoughts arise. Something that you might gain from!' Kaman tells Barra that it's just Kie's nature to be quiet as she's a Monk. Barra gets agitated, brushes him off and says he'll do as he wishes. He runs off and decides to talk to as many people in the area as possible.

Barra 	chats with the idling miners waiting around and performs a song for them on his lute. The miners perk up and ask for another song! A more up tempo one! Barra performs another song ('Upstairs Boy', a parody of Uptown Girl) and the miners are enthralled!

He chats with a NPC miner Damar, who reveals that he and the others couldn't mine much lately because of the Fire Ignits. They are hostile, scaly reptile humanoids the size of Halflings. They were last seen in the Southern Tunnels but the miners don't really go down there much anyway.

Kaman asks Barra if they should share that information with Makt Teras 	to which Barra agrees. Yrsa suggests Kie go tell instead but Barra insists that he can go because he'll do a better job, unlike Kie who doesn't really talk. 'I talk when it's necessary' she shoots back. To defuse the situation, Yrsa praises Barra for 	doing a good job socializing because if he didn't, they wouldn't have discovered this information. Barra then returns compliments to Yrsa like complimenting on her hair etc.

The party learns from Karim that it will take roughly 6-8 hours before ambassador Djemana will show up. In the meantime, Kie updates Makt Teras about the Fire Ignits. Yrsa reassures Makt Teras that they wouldn't be an immediate problem but just a note in case the miners encounter trouble, it might be from these creatures. Makt Teras thanks Yrsa and says she will let ambassador Djemana know about this later

Outside, Barra asks the miners if they've got anything good to drink, for which they say they have some vodka with them. Barra eggs Kaman to drink with him. The miners also talk about other alcoholic beverages found in the Sivalai Kingdom like Teh Jorno and Alf but they don't have those currently. The miners offer Barra and Kaman some vodka which they describe as 'hearty' and 'paint thinner-ish'

Barra is fired up and wants to kill monsters but Kaman reminds him that they're supposed to wait for the ambassador. He cautions Barra to perhaps drink less than what was poured as they're still on duty. Barra doesn't care and has a few drinks of which, he's still fine and not drunk.

Since there's a few hours more to go, Kaman decides to detect magic around the vicinity. He discovers that each of these mining carts around have a small magical glow to them. Else there isn't any other noticeable magic except a smear of Intan around mage globes to illuminate areas around a workshop area. As far as he knows, the ambassador is to arrive from the West entrance of the compound. Kaman finishes his sweep of the area, returns to the party to update them and wait around

Yrsa decides she'll find Lalit and talk to him about learning to steer one of the mine carts, just in case they need to make an escape. She finds Lalit asleep in one of the mine cars, his cloak pulled over his head and tilted back. Yrsa pulls out a preserved plum and puts it under Lalit's nose to wake him. Lalit wakes and laughs at Yrsa's trick. Yrsa asks him if it's possible to learn how to drive one of the mine carts of which Lalit says it does require quite a bit of skill and years of training. It is a passed down skill from 'father to daughter to son to uncle'. Yrsa insists again if Lalit can show her. Lalit gives her the basics on lever operation. Basically, it's not a super complex thing to learn and Lalit was just joking that it was really hard. Yrsa gives him a pack of preserved plums as thanks. In return, Lalit shares some of his dried fruit rations with Yrsa. He also jokes and says 'Remember, tell everybody that it takes YEARS of practice!' and taps his nose

With a few hours to go, Barra sings another inspiring song just to keep people's spirits up.

2 mine carts pull up eventually and guards with plumed helms and spears, alight. A humanoid creature is seen, draped in a dark blue cloak and strangely enough, has an insectoid head with compound eyes and small mandibles. The party do not know anything about this 	creature or have any prior knowledge.

Emissary Makt Teras stands waiting at the stone building with Karim while the party forms up around them. Karim prompts the surrounding miners to be on their best behavior as the 'ambassador may not have a sense of humor', in response Ambassador Djemana suddenly utters 'the ambassador does have an excellent sense of hearing however!'

Ambassador Djemana has 2 bodyguards in formal armour which resemble the Queen's colour guard. They have enamel, black shoulder guards with trimmings and ornate breastplates. Ambassador Djemana alights from the mine car like a cautious praying mantis and acknowledges everyone around the area. Barra is very amused that ambassador Djemana is clearly an insect creature but is excellent at perfecting humanoid movements.

Djemana thanks Karim kindly for setting up the meeting and proceeds to the stone building with Makt Teras. Barra observes where the emissary is going to sit as he intends to send her a mental message. In the meantime, he chats with the other guards outside. They seem standoffish but rather at ease. (NPC Satat, is the Hobgoblin guard, NPC Ilan is the dwarf guard with a bushy beard) Ilan decides to walk around the cavern and asks if Yrsa would like to join him on their patrol. Kaman joins as well.

Kaman decides to ask Ilan about customs and traditions about ornaments in his beard as he notices that he has ringlets in his beard too, similar to '''Karim. Ilan''' says that the ringlets are an identity of one's clan, rank, family and even an indication of how well their children are doing at school. Kaman listens more about Ilan's 'beard story' and tells him perhaps he should tell Barra about this too as Barra is into beards. In the meantime, Barra is trying to send a mental message to Makt Teras

Makt Teras ‘radios’ back to Barra that everything is absolutely fine and thanks for checking in. Yrsa looks at Barra and learns that he's 'bothering' the emissary via mental messaging and gently tells him to knock it off as Makt Teras is occupied with negotiations. Yrsa directs Barra's attention to Ilan and tells him to ask about his magnificent beard. Barra decides to call Karim over and ask about his 'beard story'. Karim is not keen on telling his story but Kaman and Barra try to convince him to share when suddenly, Yrsa hears an obnoxious screeching sound coming from the Southern cavern...

Yrsa swears in Goblin (*Simi Lan Jiao!) then asks Barra and Kaman 	about the sound. Barra suggests it could be those Fire Ignits the miners were talking about and they should go investigate. Yrsa calls one of the nearby miners and asks about the sound. He says it's probably from the Fire Ignits. he is not willing to investigate as he's afraid. Barra is raring to go check out the commotion but Ilan the guard motions the party to guard the stone building. Yrsa instructs Kaman to stand by the door while Kie, Barra and herself go to the main cavern area.

The screeching nails on chalkboard sound rings out again and this time Kie and Barra hear it clearly. There is also the sound of large booming footsteps coming from the Southern tunnel. A pair of deep, glowing red eyes peer from the darkness. It takes a step forward, shoves a mine car out of the way. It is a giant metal bull: a Gorgon! It is described as being the size of the tunnel it came through.

The Gorgon strides forward, ripping metal tracks and wood from the ground. It eyes the party, roars and exhales a huge cloud of gas. Everyone except Kaman and Ilan get hit by toxic gas. Barra and Yrsa take a whiff and feel a numbness in their  nostrils. They quickly put their cloaks around their face to stop themselves from directly inhaling the gas. Kie unfortunately smells the gas and feels a constricting numbness. She feels body start to slow down. Kaman sees from a distance that Kie's body is starting to speckle and turn to gray: she is petrifying! The same thing starts to happen to Satat and Kaman sees that half of his face is starting to turn to stone.

Yrsa readies her battle axe, harnesses her rage and shouts 'PICK ON SOMEBODY YOUR OWN SIZE!' she charges straight at it. Making a reckless swing of her axe, she discovers that it has no effect as the bull is made of pure metal! The axe bounces off like striking a steel wall.

Barra taunts the Gorgon to charge at him and sings a discordant melody (a badly sung out of tune stanza of 'Unchained Melody') to distract it. The Gorgon glares at Barra, confused as if saying 'oh. That sound?!' Drips of dark, mechanical fluid emit from its ears. It shakes its head and moves immediately to the stacked crates.

Yrsa tries another reckless swing of her axe which lodges between 	mechanical compartments on the bull’s metal hide. The bull is temporarily immobilized and snarls at her, registering the hit.

Kie struggles against petrification. She refocuses herself, channels her thoughts into areas of her body and revitalizes parts of her limbs that were frozen. With great effort, she wrings her arms of dirt and gray dust! She overcomes her condition and discovers she can move and act once again!

Ilan tells the party that he'll stay and protect the VIPs while they fight the bull. He readies his machete and shield.

Kaman steps up to the crates, concentrates into the gem on his forehead and hexes the Gorgon. Next he summons positive energy within himself and channels it to Yrsa, Kie and '''Satat. Yrsa''' and Kie feel the kind hands of destiny on their shoulders and feel assured.

Satat 's eyes glow with golden light which gets brighter and more intense. All of a sudden, the lights in his eyes go out and his hands freeze into agony. He is petrified permanently.

The Gorgon takes the opportunity and lunges towards Satat's frozen form. The impact knocks him over, shattering him into 4 pieces. Satat is no more. The Gorgon bears into Kie as if saying 'you're next'

In agony, Yrsa yells 'HE WAS JUST DOING HIS JOB!!!' and rushes to the rear end of the Gorgon. She swings her battle axe with all her strength into its rear leg. The blow rips into its flank and a blast of mechanical organic fluid spews from the wound.

Barra casts Tasha's Hideous Laughter in the form of a knock knock joke to distract the Gorgon. Miraculously, the spell works and the Gorgon bursts into a laughing fit of moos! It falls to the ground with a gigantic thud and laughs uncontrollably! Barra then sings a song of bardic inspiration to Kie (a parody of 'All Star') to get her fired up.

Kie readies herself and charges the Gorgon with her fists, targeting its head and the black fluid coming out of its ears. She furiously pummels the bull, her fists catch fire and launch ghostly forms of snakes which tear into mechanical parts! The Gorgon, stops for a brief moment to register the strikes to its face and continues mooing uncontrollably.

Kaman looks over to try to save the crumbled form of Satat but realizes that he has turned to powdered dust due to the Gorgon thrashing about on the ground. Changing course, Kaman backs up a good distance from the beast, centers a red dot on the Gorgon's head and does an Eldritch Blast, but it misses.

Barra continues casting hideous laughter at the Gorgon. The beast continues its laughter unable to stop.

Yrsa runs forward and slams her axe into the bull's head with a resonating BONG sound, yelling *KAN NI NA!!. The Gorgon shakes its head, and comes out of the laughter spell, trying to find its bearings.

Barra moves up to the Gorgon, does a hero pose revealing his abs. He lets rip a thunder wave into the Gorgon. 'That's called stage presence friends!' The sound ripples across the Gorgon and causes cracks and damage to its metal body but doesn't have much effect. Barra sings a song to Kie to boost her (an impromptu parody of 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star')

Kie moves swiftly toward the bull and punches the Gorgon in a flurry of attacks. A glyph appears on the Gorgon’s forehead, it glows orange and turns to a blinding white. White cracks ripple across its skin and something within overheats!

The party shields themselves from the impact from searing white light. They duck as the Gorgon explodes in a mechanical burst of light, dust and parts. It is destroyed!

Team 3 collect themselves and look around. They see Satat's broken form in dust. They whip over to see Ilan stagger out of the stone building. His armor is slashed open and he clutches his chest. 'The ambassador! They've taken the ambassador! It was a distraction!' he heaves and collapses to the ground, unmoving.

END OF SESSION

Next Episode 2: A Miner Problem

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Cultural Notes

* Kamsia lu is actually Hokkien, a Mandarin dialect, for 'thank you'

* The preserved plum snacks are an actual thing, they are called Seng Bue and are a common Chinese preserved snack. They are commonly eaten during the Lunar New Year and can also be used to flavor beer. You can go to a hawker centre in Singapore and request for Beer with Seng Bue.

* Paiseh is 'sorry' in Hokkien. Now you can learn to speak Urtu Orcish too!

* Simi Lan Jiao! In Hokkien loosely translates to 'the fuck was that?!'

* Kan ni na is a terrible Hokkien swear which loosely translates to 'fuck your mother!'

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