The Master Of Zooz

[Malchik]

When the group has finally got together you search the museum thoroughly.

 

You find two things.

 

There is an empty space on the wall on the first floor with a faded document. A scrawled note is written on it. It says. "Sord aufforised for remouval for temperory period to be pollished." The paper had been there for several years. There is no indication of who authorised it or when and where it was taken.

 

In a small bookcase close to this location are several monographs and books on the Master of Zooz. Most tell you no more than you already know but of several by Zarim Bembolia one in particular catches your eye.

 

It is called 'The Lost Swords 2 - the Merchant of Golconar'

 

In the first volume I set out to explain why I believe there has to be a sword in the Master's home town of Zooz. Here I will look at the best documented of the other missing swords. Volume 3 will look at the Knight's Sword of Akitaron. I wish there was also a volume 4 but no one has found any clue as to the elusive ninth sword.

 

Of the four missing swords that of the Merchant of Golconar is the only one that can be placed with relative certainty. As with all the swords they changed hands many times over the years but some 150 years ago this was held by a wealthy merchant of Golconar. He had made his money from the distillation of incredibly beautiful perfumes that had interesting side effects. They were in great demand in Papred and twice a year he would ship crates of them to the capital. He hired mercenaries to help him guard the cargo from pirates and always travelled with them.

 

Unfortunately on what was to be his last trip he misjudged the lure of the value of the cargo even on his mercenaries. A day out of Golconar they commandeered the ship slaying the merchant and the crew. They spared only the cabin boy as he had knowledge of where the captain kept keys and the precious cargo. No doubt they would have disposed of him too had things not gone amiss for them.

 

The mercenaries had made a serious mistake in killing the crew. They were inexperienced sailors. On the previous trip the passage had been easy but the seasons had changed and when a storm blew in from an apparently cloudless sky they were helpless. They did not even think to furl the sails. The ship capsised and went down with mercenaries, cargo, bodies and the sword. The cabin boy, who in spite of his youth knew the sea well, was able to survive several days until picked up by a fishing smack returning to Dohoti.

 

Several attempts have been made to locate the wreck to regain the precious cargo (the secret of the manufacture of the perfumes died with the merchant) but none has succeeded as no one can dive deeply enough. It is very frustrating.

 

The article goes on to berate various 'authorities' for not doing more to find it.

 

There is no sign of volumes one or three.

[tiaxanderson]

"Hmm if we are to get that sword of the bottom of the ocean... We will need some assistance."

"We will need the help of an inhabitant of Shallara."

 

<thoughts>

Most troubleling.. I know nothing about them... nor there exact location.

So we have some problems.

1 We will need to travel there.

2 We need to make friendly contact.

3 We need to know the location of that ship.. but perhaps they know something.

4 At least one of them needs to come with us..

</thoughts>

 

"Say Baba,

Can I have a word with you?"

 

Tiax discusses the list of problems he just thought up.

 

"We have still much to do and... What about the situation here?"

[phawk69]

"It's no wonder he won't open this foul pit to the public" T'skar says to Kalmer.

 

After they have found the sword missing, T'skar quaffs one of her restore magic potions and heads into the room where the old man is blissfully unaware of anything. She concentrates and gathers her magic around her. She then places her hands one on either side of his greasy head, suppressing a shudder, and releases the new spell. She closes her eyes and enters his mind, asking him where the sword went, moving along his thoughts trying to find out what happened to it. The sword of Zooz, where is it? You authorized it to be cleaned, but it hasn't come back, who took it? Where has it gone? Who was curator before you?

[gnaag]

Gnaag woke up with a painfull feeling in his head. Something was trying to get out from it. Gnaag wasn't sure what it was. But he knew it was connected with the wine he had drunk previous day. He remembered something very important he had to do after waking up.

 

Museum. Nothing special. Many old things all around him. Gnaag didn't knew why did people collected them. That time could be spent by much more important activity. Shoveling maybe...

 

"So what do you think about it. I don't think I understood what we are supposed to do now. Can you help me out?"

 

Said Gnaag after others raised their heads from strange book they had found.

[tiaxanderson]

"If the man knows something, T'Skar will find out. If not..... Well" *Short pause*

"I hope you like to swim" Tiax said with a smile.

 

"But I know what you mean" Tiax resumed with a more serious face "I wonder how much this city can tell us. Atleast we should keep the peasants and the nobles pleased with our visit."

 

"Our goal is to find the sword without the point and take it with us. Perhaps if we think it is appropiate we should gather all the swords, but the retrieval of the pointless one has our priority."

 

"If you do not have a clue what to do, do not think your stupid or dumb. Asking is also no crime. Do the best you can, it is something we can only ask. We cannot ask more than that of any of us. And no one is a burden..."

[Malchik]

The old man wakes up with a start. But t'skar gets a nasty shock as part of her spell backfires. Part of the man's mind is powerfully shielded although certainly not by him. Any attempt to get information on the sword by mind coersion will fail. But for the spell to be there he must know something.

 

"How did you... Thieves, robbers!! You've come to steal the sword haven't you? Well you'll never find... It's not here. Being cleaned. Now get out!"

 

Sael (where is he?) can tell at once that the man is lying.

[phawk69]

Clutching her head, T'skar staggers back. She moans and says "Ooh, he knows something, someone has put a block in his mind, but I'm sure it's not him. How serious are you about teaching him to swim Tiax? Maybe something a little more subtle like Kalmer and Ara questioning him with sharp objects will help.” Giving her head a shake she says “For now, it might be easiest if he was unconscious,” with that she gathers a quick spell and sends him back to sleep, “This will only last a short time, so best to bind and gag him so the city guard doesn’t come to see what all the noise is about. Meanwhile, lets search the whole building to see if there is anything else here, or even the sword itself - there seems little enough order, and there could be a polishing room in the basement or something. Might work to split up into groups of 2, so if one misses something, the other might see it. Say two groups upstairs, one on this floor, and one downstairs?”

[karkarinus]

"Well, you don't have to be a Dayone brain surgeon to know that he's lying!" Says Kalmer, in an unfittingly maverick fashion. Let's split up and make the most of the time we have to find this sword. We'd be wise to be in pairs with a good mixture of abilities: tracker or thief, mage, fighter and so forth. For example - myself and Sael, T'Skar and Gnaag, Baba and Mandrake, and Tiax with Ara. What say you, group leader?"

[Baba-John]

Baba enters the museum looking sheepish. Sorry I took so long getting here, but………………. :(

 

He says no more but instead starts searching the museum methodically with Mandrake. He searches everywhere, in cupboards, under the bed……………………..

[Malchik]

In your searching very little of interest is found until Baba-John and Mandrake move the foul nest of filthy sheets resting on a trestle that Fardeep uses as a bed. There is nothing under the bed but the bed itself is surprisingly heavy for what it is made of. Moving the sheets you discover a sword apparently identical to the one you have in your possession - the Sword of the Master of Zooz.

 

For a moment you just look at it trying to work out why and thinking it was no surprise the man was as cranky as he was when he presumably slept on it every night.

 

In the basement Ara finds a copper pan attached to a long handle. Gnaag finds a set of whistles that make bird noises. Sael finds something that looks drinkable and accidentally imbibes a sleep potion. T'skar finds an area devoted to local costumes.

 

Tiax finds a strange little book which contains an article on how important codes are in written communications within Bashkher.

 

He reads 'it is common for people to use anagrams of their names or nicknames when wishing to make a point while keeping their whereabouts and real identity a secret'.

 

Kalmer finds nothing more useful than a box of carrots.