Black Spaghetti Hack Session 06: The Road to Testaccio

The party flees San Spotello, fearing retaliation from crime boss Don Danny, after they, the party, destroyed Don Danny’s daughter’s wedding cake. They know they need to cross the river to reach San Basel, where the treasure’s located, but aren’t sure which route to take.

To the west is the city of San Uzzano. Unfortunately, the road between Spotello and Uzzano are crawling with mercenary forces, and one of these will want to recruit the party. The party, not wanting to be recruited, decides against that.

So north or south?

It’s possible the witches in the southern marshes will have a way to get the party across the river. But, witches being witches are scary, so the party decides against this. This leaves the north route through the Butchers Wood and Paleface Mountains on a rumored smuggler’s road that’s now home to ogres.

Not great choices, but the decision gets made and it’s the north route. So, off the party goes. They encounter a farmer and buy some food from him and try to learn what they can about the road ahead. The farmer dispenses rumors:

Monte Luca is the next town on the road and supposedly some children there have been afflicted by a curse there. The farmer’s not sure, but tells a story about an ancestor of the current ruler having had congress with a snake.* And if that wasn’t bad enough, Monte Luca’s other notable feature is that it has an ancient hedge maze ruin near it.

Besides that, the party asks the farmer if the local sausage makers are actually cannibals.

This is one of those bits of information that’s stuck in the party’s attention more than I would’ve guessed. The farmer says he doesn’t think they’re cannibals, but that they may work with local crime bosses disposing of bodies.

At this point, the party realizes it’s nearly nightfall and they need to find a place to stay. Ha’des asks if the farmer will put them up for the night. The farmer agrees. Ha’Des overpays in silver, and the farmer says he’ll rent them a bath tub. They party bathes and sleeps in a barn. Nothing happens. Morning comes. The party sets off. They figure they can reach Monte Luca by nightfall if there’s no incident and fortunately for them there isn’t.

The one encounter they have is with a group of kids who tell the party about:

• Rivers of rats seen going west three nights ago.
• Bolli Bentpot was attacked by Don Danny’s goons.
• Don Danny is going to kill whoever ruined his daughter’s wedding cake and is heading to San Uzzano to find them.

The kids start asking questions back to the party. Don Hector fails to convince them that they’re just common travelers. Nico and Ha’Des start getting uncomfortable at all the interest from the kids, and just set off down the road. Don Hector follows, and the party is now moving fast. They want to get as far away as they can before anyone realizes where they’ve gone.

The next encounter isn’t until they’re almost in Monte Luca. As they near the town, the party sees a group hammering a sign into the ground saying: PLAGUE! KEEP OUT!

The party thinks this is a bluff to cover for the cursed kids story they heard from the farmer, and Nico tells the townspeople that Don Hector is a doctor. Don Hector leans into the part and the townspeople are convinced. They tell the party to find Countess Mathilda. The party reaches town and finds the streets empty and the houses shut up. Don Hector shouts “Hello!” They hear a door slam and movement in houses but no shout back. The party enters the town square.

Laid out before them in the middle of the town square is a long table heaped with food stuffs.

Adventurers go into adventurer mode: Ha’Des goes to the table. Nico sneaks across the square to the far side. Don Hector goes to the nearest door and knocks on it. A voice replies: “Get inside you idiot!” The door opens. A loud cawing comes from above the buildings.

Don Hector goes inside the building right as the sky turns black with crows. In the midst of the crows are two human bird hybrids**. They start singing over Nico’s head. Nico manages to resist their charm spell and force his way into a nearby building. Ha’Des however gets caught in the square as the crows descend. Injury ensues, but Ha’Des manages to get inside a building. Nico manages to resist another song (using his earplugs). And Don Hector gets told how the Countess’s (awful) children got cursed and brought this flock of evil crows upon the town. Ha’Des learns that at the rate the crows are eating, the town will be out of food within a few weeks.

Every one waits for the crows and monster children to eat. Once done they fly off, and the townspeople emerge to clean the filth splattered town square. Guards arrive, and they and the townspeople escort the party to the Countess, still believing Don Hector is a doctor.

* Rumors tend to be a mix of relevant and irrelevant lore. The snake story and the sausage makers are background details that never got investigated. The sausage makers might have become recurring enemies. Whether they were cannibals or not I will never tell!

** Straight-up harpies, but I made them cursed children that the party wants to avoid harming despite the harassment.