Akiro and Shalora (and Mischief) went straight to the Inn of the Wise Piper to relax, and with her newfound wealth, Shalora wasted no time upgrading to one of the inn's more luxurious rooms. Jiri decided that he would spend more time interrogating Sesserak at the jail, while Iacobus went about town searching for alchemical, magical and other items that could help him accelerate his recovery from the centipede poison that still affected him, and that might also be of use to the party when they confronted the Blood Vow in their lair.
Despite his best efforts, Jiri gleaned only a little more knowledge from his interrogation of the kobold, for assessing a lizard-like creature's facial expressions, or lack thereof, and tone of voice were a challenge indeed. The dwarf learned that:
. Chief Roaghaz supposedly was the most powerful sorcerer in the world;
. the tribe numbered "a hundred hundred warriors -- too many for bigfoots, ears and arrows, and stupid beards to defeat;"
. the narrow tunnels and many traps would give the bigfoots and stupid beards a hard time, and she would not reveal their locations;
. the "back" door that the stupid beard kept asking about was also a "front" door;
. "now that tower is broken, Blood Vow would cause no more trouble for bigfoot town;"
Sesserak asked that the bigfoots release her. She promised that she would leave and go far far away, would not cause problems for bigfoots, and would not go back to the Blood Vow tribe because Chief Roaghaz would kill her for her failure and for causing problems with bigfoots. For those same reasons, Sesserak would refuse to guide the party to the Blood Vow lair or to act as a peace broker, even though Jiri suggested that a parlay with Chief Roaghaz might save the lives of many Blood Vow. If she was going to die, then she would prefer to die at the hands of the bigfoots than at the hands of Chief Roaghaz, who would declare her a traitor regardless of parlay attempts. Still, despite the death sentence, Sesserak would not betray her people. "Me no traitor to the Blood Vow tribe," she said. "If bigfoots and beards and ears and arrows want kill Sesserak too, then you do it… Blood Vow are blood of the dragon, not scared of death… Will go to meet mighty Dahak, creator of dragons… and maybe Duke Vapula…"
That was all Jiri managed to learn from the stubborn kobold. Her fate would depend on the outcome of the companions' upcoming encounter with the Blood Vow tribe. Jiri did convince a hesitant Deputy Mulle to sell him a pair of manacles.
Meanwhile, Iacobus wandered Belhaim's muddy streets and briefly visited a number of merchants (all of whom had already heard rumours about his involvement in the exploration of the collapsed Witch Tower) and shops, including:
. Xemne of Demgazi at Xemne's Tonics, the apothecary located across the green from the Inn of the Wise Piper -- Iacobus was less than pleased with the selection of alchemical goods and their costs, lack of potions, and with what he perceived as Xemne's overly flighty personality and indifference to his needs -- but what more could a dedicated Abadaran expect of an obvious Shelynite with Qadiran blood?;
. Caspar Tymek's General Store -- the man was friendly enough, but all he had in his shop were mundane goods -- no magic or alchemical items;
. Phedra Delbin at Delbin's Devices -- the town tinker, Phedra was a timid woman who clearly wanted to be helpful to Iacobus, but was uncertain what exactly Iacobus was looking for -- she made animal traps, locks, manacles for the garrison, and other such items, and even admitted to having an enchanted frost blade that she would be willing to sell for no less than what she estimated was a market value around 8,000 gold pieces or for an equivalent credit note from Lady Devy. Iacobus himself was not certain what he was looking for in the tinker's shop, but he tried to convince Phedra to lend him the frost weapon, as he would be using it for the purposes of protecting Belhaim from the kobold menace, but though she wanted to aid the young man, she was reluctant to let a stranger borrow such a rare and valuable weapon;
. and Banker Eupaphenia Targas at the House of Abadar (without a doubt one of the most impressive and elaborate buildings in the village, with its rich decorations and high, thick, stained-glass windows). Banker Targas was clad in fine golden robes, and was evidently very busy filling out documents from behind a counter in a wing of the temple near the entrance. Banker Targas knew who Iacobus was and acknowledged the value of the service he had rendered to the community (while barely sparing a glance at him), and she urged him to be quick about his business. When Iacobus explained the nature of his affliction, Banker Targas indicated that the House currently had three scrolls with the power of restoration available for sale (700 gold coins each), a wand that could cure significant (moderate) wounds with 39 charges (3,510 gold coins), and a potion that could cure some of his (light) wounds. At 50 gold, the latter was the only item in his price range, and the good Banker agreed to sell it to him at the reduced price of 45 gold since Iacobus was a member of the faith; and though Iacobus tried, Banker Targas would be bargained no lower. Iacobus bought the potion. The Banker did inform him that she would pray that night for Abadar to grant her the power to lessen Iacobus's affliction, and that she could cast that blessing on him if he returned the next morning. She also reminded him of the House's vault service, should he and his companions need to place large sums of money in safekeeping.
The group all gathered at the Inn for supper, where Iacobus reported on his general disappointment with the townsfolk he had encountered -- for the most part, he deemed them either lazy, unhelpful, none too bright, and even "not much to look at" (this last remark aimed at Phedra Delbin and Xemne of Demgazi); Jiri shared what little more he had learned from Sesserak; and Shalora was able to provide Iacobus with some treatment to mitigate the effects of the centipede poison. The party also asked Talia Orem what she had heard about the disappearances of the Kells and Bophre Malak; she essentially confirmed what Arnholde Devy had told them. She knew of no one else who had gone missing recently. Talia also added that although she never wished ill on anyone, in some ways, she was comforted that the wizard Hunclay was dead. While the wizard did very little business in town personally, he always spooked her. Talia heard that he worshipped devils and collected evil books.
That evening, a man nervously intruded on the party, desperate to ask Shalora a question. It was the man whose face Silas Gribb had "stolen" the day before -- he introduced himself as Marvon Pascis. Marvon and his wife worried that Silas's magic had cursed Marvon, and he wanted to know if that were the case, and if there were anything Shalora could do to help him. Iacobus could not believe just how stupid the man could be. Shalora assured Marvon that no harm would come to him as a result of the spell, and she even used some of her own magic to boost his morale. The man left the inn thankful and reassured.
The next morning, Iacobus was annoyed to find that only now did Shalora and Jiri decide to visit the local temple of Sheylin -- the Shrine of the Seven Roses. The magus thought the group was going to head to the Blood Vow lair first thing in the morning, and ended up grumbling about poor work ethic and (lack of) punctuality among Shelynites.
Shalora and Jiri got a very warm reception from Nilos Genser, local priest of Shelyn, who was playing his lute and singing songs of love and peace with a half dozen youthful followers in a garden behind a simple cottage decorated with flower pots and numerous whimsical and beautifully carved wooden sculptures. The man hugged Shalora and Jiri, and was especially surprised and pleased to meet a dwarven follower of the Eternal Rose -- a first for him; but his eyes really lit up at the sight of the tall and beautiful elf. Nilos hoped that the party would be able to find a peaceful solution to the kobold situation -- the village had never had problems with their draconic neighbours until now. After a while, the conversation turned to ways in which the Shrine of the Seven Roses might be of assistance, and Nilos was willing to sell the adventurers a potion of healing (cure light wounds) for 40 gold coins -- something they normally keep for followers in need. Shalora gratefully acknowledged Nilos's generosity and was happy that some of her recently earned money would go to the Shrine. Nilos also indicated that the Shrine had additional items which they were not in a position to part with at the moment, including a deep red sphere ioun stone and wand of lesser restoration with 43 charges, among other things left unnamed.
After the visit to the Shrine, Shalora and Jiri stopped by Sensina Hides, a leatherworker's shop, where the elf made an unusual request: could they fashion a neck harness for a fox that could hold a potion flask, by early afternoon? The friendly shop owner, Theon Sensina, was up to the challenge, and delivered the goods in a timely manner. Theon held the view that the kobolds had always been trouble, and that they had become worse of late. He was certain that they were preparing for war.
The party also paid a visit to Isadorer Malak, at the Malak dairy farm across the river from the inn, to see if she had any more information to share about the disappearance of her daughter, Bophre. Isadorer was a kind but evidently heartbroken woman. The Malaks had seven children, and Bophre was their eldest. Isadorer confirmed what Arnholde Devy had previously told the party -- that Bophre was a lively young girl who liked to go on walks in the woods or along the river bank. And then one day three months ago, she never returned from one of her walks, and though folks searched for her, no trace of her was ever found. Isadorer still believed in her heart that her daughter was still alive, and her family was willing to give their life savings of 200 gold coins for her safe return.
It was early afternoon, and still the party was not ready. Just as they were preparing to hit the road, Shalora decided to visit the Dodgion Livery behind the Inn, where she purchased a combat-trained light riding horse. Akiro could not contain his excitement when he saw the animals at the livery, and on the spur of the moment also bought a pony, which he brought back to the Inn's stable.
By mid-afternoon, the party was finally ready to make the short half mile journey up the overgrown quarry road to the Blood Vow lair...
Yeah, that seems about right for when the party lets the elven girl and the mute dictate the party's activities.
ReplyDelete:-)
ReplyDeleteI don't remember the horse's name… refresh my memory?