Tagor spent the next few years drifting across Ralios. During his travels, he came across a strange mound inhabited solely by cats - a stock of more or less crossbred shadowcats, housecats and nonyxes. Several of the cats possessed rudimentary intelligence and a few had brainpower equal to that of a human. They all worshipped Yinkin or a minor darkness-spirit. One of the cats was of a restless and adventurous nature and when Tagor left the mound, this cat went along with him. A few seasons later, Tagor and the cat (who took the name Hannibal) came to Dorflik. A new high priest, Bostrix Wolffang, had just come to office and a few vacancies were being filled. Tagor introduced himself as a priest on leave and Hannibal as his allied spirit. Bostrix made Tagor chief priest, with command of the acolytes as his main duty.
In spite of Tagor's good and always reliable work he has never been popular, especially among the acolytes. Even Bostrix fails to find any endearing qualities in him. Hannibal, however, has become very popular in the temple, in particular making friends with the familiars and other cats. The fact that Hannibal is not an allied spirit has never been discovered, which is a good thing for Tagor: he has been living a very comfortable life, with a high degree of social status, and all of this could be lost if the truth were to come out. Everything was going just fine until one week ago, when Hannibal simply disappeared. He has been gone for a few days at a time before, but always returned. Now it looks as if he isn't coming back and there are only two weeks to go before (high) holy day, at which time questions are bound to be asked.
The basic reason for his absence is a prankplayer from Delela named Fionullan, who came to Dorflik last season and learned the local Trickster spell of Become Cat. She has used it a couple of times and in her transformed state encountered Hannibal, who has fallen in love with her (if you can imagine a lovesick cat). One week ago she cast the spell with Extension 11, giving it a three week duration (she had traded this spell from a total of four Issaries priests). Hannibal and Fionullan usually met in the backyard of a cheap inn, "the Wolverine", or at a travelling Donandar shrine, "the Four Rebberniggs". When these players left town, Hannibal and Fionullan were with them. They had been invited to Yolg Goldsnatcher's clan in eastern Dolemay, but only a day's travel from their destination they were seized by a squad of Grabfood Flying Raiders. Because of the group's musicianship, their were spared from being eaten and 'invited' to the clan leader's festival. The Four Rebberniggs and the cats are now scheduled to entertain at the birthday party of Jonazal, mother of Razaakan priest of the Shadowlord.
"My familiar, a small grey housecat with a black spot on his chin, named Hannibal, disappeared one week ago. He wears a red collar with his and my name on it. He can speak a little Stormspeech. It happens that he is gone for a few days, but not as long as a whole week. I want you to find him before (high) holy day, and if anybody has kidnapped him, I also want them punished. This mission will of course count towards your temple duty time."
Asking Tagor about Hannibal's whereabouts and suggesting that he ought to know where he is, because of the link between priest and ally, will get the reply that some kind of magic is blocking the communication. This is a lie: there is no communication to block. Besides, no common magic could block the priest - allied spirit link, though your average initiate might not be aware of this. If severely pressed, either now or later, Tagor could reveal (after swearing them to secrecy and perhaps offering a reward) that Hannibal is an innately intelligent cat, and no spirit at all. He will not at this point explain about the cat mound (we don't want the party going off on a wild cat chase, do we?). Another fact he won't reveal is that Hannibal has access to a Guided Teleportation; thus he can't have been kidnapped, he must have run away of his own free will. If the players decide that Tagor's duplicity is bad enough to warrant turning down the mission, let them spill the beans to Bostrix. The high priest will be furious at first, but then realize how unique Hannibal is and order the PCs to find him.
Alorna: The chief priestess of initiates is always both busy and helpful. She doesn't know anything useful in this case, however. Her low regard for Tagor is barely concealed, such remarks as "I don't blame Hannibal for running away" slipping out. The idea that Hannibal might not be an allied spirit has never crossed her mind.
Yakapuh: Everybody knows Yakapuh, but Yakapuh doesn't know anyone. An exaggeration of course, but he is absent-minded. The preparations for (high) holy day bore him, so he will be found having a quiet drink somewhere. He will suggest that the party has a look in the cat register, maybe they could find some useful information there. As he gets drunk, he will reminisce about the good old days when he was in the Voria cult, lots of flowers and little furry animals (cats, for instance...).
Astower: Is aware of what spell the local Trickster shrine teaches, who the 'priest' is and that this person (Kellarme) has gone under ground for the time being. He fails to see any connection between this and Tagor's problem. He also fails to see why he should be polite or helpful to the player characters; information will only be divulged in response to direct questions.
The familiars: Several of the temple cats are intelligent, and some of them might consider having a word with the PCs. Unless they have something more interesting to do. It is common knowledge among the familiars that Hannibal is a strange one - even for a cat. He prefers to spend his time alone, often sniffing around after food and females among the lower class taverns on the east side of town. The best sources of information are Blarad, Bostrix' huge (SIZ 3) shadow cat, and Fixer, Alorna's striped tabby. They know that one of Hannibal's favourite haunts was the backyard of a place called the Wolverine.
The cat registry's firebrand is a zoologist, Ivar Lunchmisser, who is an expert on the feline species. He is an almost unstoppable source of information - even a Yinkin cultist would be bored within a half hour - but with his help the file on Hannibal is easily found. "Cats are interesting animals from a scientific point of view. Here in Dorflik, for instance, they are so numerous - close to 1200 - as to form an important part of the specific ecology. Furthermore, one can point out that the cat is a most intelligent animal in proportion to its size; one must congratulate you orlanthi for your choice of phylia. If one examines the habits of a cat, one first sees that it is a nocturnal carnivore. Its eyes are quite specialized for night activity, look here (pulls out a large parchment with a cutaway view of a cat's eye on it), the pupil is unlike..."etc etc etc. If the players have obtained a description of Fionullan-as-cat from Kertil and Reper, Ivar can also locate two cats matching this description.
Name: Hannibal
Sex: Male
Birthday: unknown
Birthplace: unknown
Parents: unknown
Pedigree: unknown
Appearance: Singlecoloured grey-brown-grey (grbrgr), with deviating black chin.
Green-yellow eyes.
Weight: 4.8 kg
Length: 58 cm (tail 26 cm)
Height: 24 cm
Owner: Tagor Stormrider
Name: Raxera
Sex: Female
Birthday: 1618/storm/death/clay
Birthplace: Dorflik
Parents: F Truxa, M unknown
Pedigree: see Truxa, file CR-1618-17
Appearance: Singlecoloured black, with deviating white nose. Green eyes.
Weight: 3.1 kg
Length: 53 cm (tail 20 cm)
Height: 22 cm
Owner: Merchant Mix
Name: Coal
Sex: Female
Birthday: 1624/fire/illusion/wild
Birthplace: Dorflik
Parents: F Nimba, M unknown
Pedigree: unknown
Appearance: Singlecoloured black with deviating white nose. Green eyes.
Weight: 3.0 kg
Length: 54 cm (tail 21 cm)
Height: 24 cm
Owner: Emma Sprucecone
The owners of the black cats can easily be traced. Raxera hasn't left the house all season and Coal has been dead the past three weeks.
Most of the information in the city description can be picked up by asking around, if the PCs are unfamiliar with Dorflik. There are also many fanciful hypotheses in circulation that purport to be explanations of recent events, i e some guy in a hood sidles up to a PC and offers a hot rumour for a silver - "Bostrix Wolffang is an illuminated ogre" - whereupon he rapidly scurries off.
The garbage heap in the backyard can be examined, which will yield a few cat skulls. The soup can also be inspected. You don't have to be a gourmet to realize that it stinks, but it takes some careful sifting to find bones of undoubted carnivore heritage. Under stress or threats Kertil and Reper will confess that they sometimes catch cats and add them to the menu, but they leave cats with collars alone. If Hannibal is described, Reper will admit that he was in their backyard about a week ago with another cat, which was black with a white nose. Kertil thinks that the cats belonged to one of the guests who left at the same time the cats ceased to appear. The guests that left one week ago are: one solitary merchant, a group of travelling players and a pair of mercenaries.
The merchant: Moldar the clothing merchant is now staying at an inn called the Sarek. This is a person of inflated self-esteem who has little time for non-customers. He will reveal that his business was low and he couldn't afford any better inn than the Wolverine, but now he is quite rich and can spend more on lodgings. His fortune was made from a bargain purchase of blue clothing that he could sell at a tidy profit. He does not deal in cats or any other kinds of animal.
The players: These called themselves the Four Rebberniggs and performed at one of the city's market places. The party can ask around there, most of the pedlars and regular customers have at least vague memories of the players. Some of the citizens who attended these performances recall that at one time two cats were part of the show. They fit the description of Hannibal and his friend. Someone will also remember that a thane of the Niamor clan (which belongs to the Dolemay tribe) was impressed by the troupe and invited them to Yolg Goldsnatcher's court.
The two mercenaries: These hardworn adventurers only stayed at the Wolverine at all because they had the bad judgement to pay Kertil for three days in advance, sight unseen. They are now in the employ of an alchemist who desires protection from burglars.
On day three, the party meets another group of orlanthi adventurers (five in all) who are looking for a friend of theirs. This is partially true: they are looking for someone, namely their Talon. Yes, these are ogres, but the only way to find this out is to pry their mouths open. Of course, alert players might become suspicious when they claim (if asked about their origins) to be members of the Kilwin clan; there is no such clan. The Talon was captured by trolls and is now destined to be the festival's star attraction. These ogres are unaware of this. They will describe Bogren to the PCs and then wander off in another direction.
One day's travel yet to go, the party spots a pair of colourful wagons. No life is visible, the place looks deserted. The wagons will prove to be empty of people and most of the gear is gone as well. There are enough odds and ends lying about to identify the owners as entertainers, and if someone thought to get a description of the Four Rebberniggs' mode of travel, this is it.
The players were captured by Grabfood Flying Raiders, as explained in the Background section. The abduction took place just one and a half days ago, some tracks are still visible. Tracking will reveal that large humanoids, normal humanoids and giant insects have milled around here. The tracks only cover the immediate area (the raiders flew off with their catch). Searching the area turns up a piece of paper dropped on the ground, which seems to be a poster in Darktongue.
If none of the player characters know Darktongue, one of the Niamor can provide a translation. Going there is a good idea anyway, since they can give directions on how to find the Grabfood trolls. None of the clansmen will go with the party, they feel it's not their business. An approximate translation of the poster:"Big Birthday Party! Food for everyone. More drink than you can guzzle. Party games: guess the steak, guess the fight. Trollball: Machosnaft Maulers vs Ratsnack Raiders. Also: Ham Beetle Skeet. Music by the Dryad & the Bonkers. Greetings from Razaakan! P.S. Argan Argan cheated Issaries blind!"
Three days by foot into Corolaland lie the Grabfood clan headquarters. But long before the adventurers get that far, they are spotted by flying patrols. These trolls are not hostile, they will just insist on inviting the PCs to a party. The patrol leader easily recognizes them as non-Dolemay and wants to have a few laughs at their expense (watching their reactions to the following events will do very nicely), so he gives them a lift. This will cut down travel time (from Niamor to the party) to one day.
An approximate schedule:
-19.00 Eating, drinking, chatting.
19.00-19.15 Tribute to Jonazal.
19.15-19.45 Trollball.
19.45-20.00 Drinking.
20.00-21.00 Ham Beetle Skeet competition.
21.00-22.30 Guess the Steak / Smashball.
22.30-23.00 The Four Rebberniggs perform.
23.00-00.00 Concert: Dryad and the Bonkers.
00.00- The Surprise Fight is revealed.
The sun sets at 20.00, but it's a very clear night (-10% in melee, missile
combat is impossible because of the crowd).
5. Speaker's stone: This is where all announcements will be made from. It is also the place Razaakan will be when delivering the homily to his mother.
6. Ham Beetle Skeet: Sling marksmanship competition. Any species is allowed to enter. First prize: five litres of Razaakan Redbrute.
7. Machosnaft Maulers vs Ratsnack Raiders: A 'friendly' game between two of Halikiv's best trollball teams.
8. Dryad and the Bonkers: East Wilds folk music. A dryad lead singer (with her uprooted tree planted on a wagon) and six great trolls on drums, percussion (hollow logs, lead kettles etc) and backing vocals. The dryad is strangely enough content with her life; she is well treated and gets to travel a lot.
9. Cargador the Vampire: A bored vampire in a wooden cage, wearing silver slave collars. If disturbed his only comment will be "Buzz off". Cargador has been Razaakan's prisoner for a long time and is kept as a pet to be displayed on special occasions.
10. The Surprise Fight: Guesses on who the surprise opponent will be can be entered up till 23.00. Anyone who gets it right wins the privilege of striking the first blow. As the night draws to a close, the time has come for the big event: the fight. From the covered cage a human is brought out, who fits the ogres' description of their lost 'friend'. He is released into the centre of the party grounds, the expectant troll warriors forming a circle around him. When his gag is removed the prisoner starts screaming something that sounds like a lot of obscenities in a guttural language. Most of the trolls stand stock still, some cast spells - none try to interrupt the ogre. In a sizzling explosion that dazzles all except the Grabfood trolls (with their dark glasses on), a figure starts to take shape in front of the prisoner. When the being has reached its full stature everyone can see, hear and smell it for what it is: a Fiend of Cacodemon! With a unanimous roar all the warriors attack the demon and its invoker. After a tremendous battle that lasts for minutes but seems like an eternity, the Fiend is overcome. Jonazal starts drumming and singing (her music provides spiritual protection for all those listening - they cannot be possessed by any means). The big fight is all over, especially for the six trolls that were killed.
11.Smashball: Three utterly drunk (marinated) dwarfs in a sack. The sack is hung up on display, so bets can be placed on what's in it. Then a game of Smashball is played with it, after which the resulting pulp is eaten by the lucky winner (those who guessed right get a share as well).
12.The Four Rebberniggs: This is a last minute entry. Actually, there are only three Rebberniggs, one of their members disappeared five years ago. The group includes a musician, a (female) dancer, an elf vocalist and two cats. The elf is nervous, but the trolls tolerate him so he will eventually work up his courage (with the help of some beer). If confronted by the adventurers, the members of the group will explain how they wound up here and insist that the cats joined them voluntarily. The cats avoid contact with the adventurers, Hannibal eyes them suspiciously.
13. Jonazal's cave: Off limits.
14. Raazakan's cave: A private little party is gathered here. It is open to anyone with the guts to climb up the swaying rope ladder and face down the unfriendly-looking trolls at the top.
Talking to the various guests at the party (mostly trolls, but a few humans from the Storm Bull cult and a mad shaman can be found as well) will only reveal trivial information and conjectures, e g an explanation of the rules for trollball or lines like "The mystery fight? Well, it sure ain't you, you're too puny, har har har".
Catching Hannibal is not easy. The only time he and Fionullan will be in plain view is during their performance. Interrupting them then will bring a horde of irate trolls down on the PCs. He will eventually (after the Fiend-fight) decide to carefully approach the adventurers and ask them what they want. Particularly clever players might figure out some way to trap him before then, in which case the conversation will take place at that point instead. It is important that the PCs talk him into voluntarily going with them. If they use force, Fionullan will employ her spells to free Hannibal - and if that fails, the Rebberniggs will tell the trolls. He can be convinced by appealing to his sense of duty (he is an initiate, after all - an Orate roll might help to remind him of this), but an absolute requirement is that Fionullan can come along: his life was dreary and pointless before he met her. Fionullan will play dumb unless something occurs to force her hand. But once she realizes that they're going back to Dorflik, she gets an idea for a great stunt. She will use a Lie on some appropriate (i e not too bright) PC: "I'm your new allied spirit". Being a very fast talker, she can probably dispel any doubts the PC might have about this, and in an emergency she still has another Lie.
A couple of hours after leaving the party, the adventurers will notice that they're being followed by trolls on flying insects. These aren't looking for a fight, they just want to hand over the payment for the cats' performance: 500 bolgs and lead statuette (1 enc) of Kyger Litor. If fired upon, they'll simply turn back. The adventurers need two days to find their way to Niamor. They can get back to Dorflik in five days if they cut down on sleep and use their knowledge of the route from the trip out, thus they can arrive just in time for the (high) holy day. Completely exhausted, of course.
The celebrations are probably more impressive than any the PCs have ever seen, unless they've been to Kilwin or Dorflik before. But they are destined to be remembered for a different reason. In the midst of an invocation, Bostrix Wolffang will suddenly break wind with an impressive amount of noise. A ghastly stench fills the temple. Everyone present (including Bostrix) is utterly confused and the proceedings screech to a halt. Then Fionullan transforms back into human shape. A naked woman with bright red hair saunters out into the middle of the temple, cracking awful jokes ("I've always heard the high priest was an old fart" etc) at the top of her voice. These are inexplicably amusing, the congregation will find themselves laughing fit to burst. Bostrix, however, has Countermagic up and is not amused. Foaming at the mouth and with murder on his mind, he charges at Fionullan, but she easily outdistances him (laughing all the while). When it becomes apparent that he can't catch the Trickster, his attention will turn towards the ones who brought her into his temple. Depending on the PCs previous actions, it might or might not be immediately evident that Fionullan was with them. In the former case, they will have to flee through the streets of Dorflik with a berserk Bostrix at their heels. In the later, they have the option of sneaking away quietly before Wolffang makes the connection. In any case, the high priest will be indisposed for a while, so Jillian Yellowhair takes over and concludes the ceremonies.
It is possible that the PCs also will want to take their revenge on someone, namely Fionullan. Whether or not they can track her down is up to the GM. She is not really a malicious person, like some other eurmalites, she just has a very active sense of humour and a short attention span. In fact, her way of thinking might be said to resemble that of a cat, which is one reason she was so comfortable in that form. She can be quite charming when she chooses - it is hard to imagine any but the most ruthless adventurer actually doing her any harm.