We meet our adventurers once again, this time in the Free City of Greyhawk. The boat that was awarded to them on Intook Island has proven to be a reliable vessel, as the heroes arrived to Greyhawk Port behind the Outward Bound with little difficulty. After relaxing in local hotels for about a week, Ren Fitsparaleen urges the group to meet him at the House of Cards, a gambling den. He wants to reward the group for his rescue, and perhaps, offer them another mission to take. The House of Cards is a popular casino. Owned by Berrun Nasdulf, staffed by thieves guild members, and enforced by half-orc Runt Stotpan, the den is not a place to act foolish. All major races are represented in this establishment. The House is actually one very large room, filled with a bar, a stage for entertainers, and plenty of card, wheel, and dice games. All of the heroes, with the exception of Raena, head to the House of Cards. Instead of the casino, Raena spends time in her local temple. It is during this time that the head of the temple grants Raena with many healing potions and a scroll to resurrect a fallen ally. Father Rando of Hanali Celanil senses that Raena is going to be drawn into an epic battle and must be well prepared. On the porch of the House of Cards, a small man approached the group and tried to sell them a Luck Ring of the Wild Coast, but the group didn’t like the offer. After the suspicious individual tried to pick Flintlock’s pocket (unsuccessfully), the companions forced the would-be thief to hand the ring over. The shady individual turned and ran for his life. The companions enjoyed the gambling den, and the new ring proved useful. Ren gave each hero five thousand gold pieces and convinced the staff to up the playing stakes. With no cap on the betting, all of the heroes except for Lonewolf came out ahead. Lonewolf, frantically betting, lost all of his money, and even considered betting the ninja-to on his back. This display got a lot of attention, and was probably a mistake on Lonewolf’s part, as the Purple Dragon Clan would eventually catch wind of his whereabouts. The biggest winner was probably Gnorman, who was very lucky at the Dragon Cards table, the most popular game in the den.

At the end of the evening, Ren presented the group with the second part of their reward. Each companion made an item request, as Ren asked them to. New rewarded items are as follows: Flintlock: arquebus of accuracy (+4) Raena: Robe of the Healer (free casting of heal spells 3x daily) Gnorman: Boots of Elvenkind (provides nearly silent movement) Nel: Darts of Paralyzation / Death Magic (+2, 25% chance of paralysis, 5% chance of death) Lonewolf: Upgraded katana-Heat (+2, +3 vs. Purple Dragon Clan, emits heat when wielder’s life is threatened) Flintlock received training with the arquebus while in Greyhawk, even learning to fire from horseback. Nel learned how to create her own paralysis poison. Lonewolf used the severed tattoo of a Clan member as a material component for Heat’s enchantment.

*if anyone thinks of something I missed here let me know