"I am intrigued that you agreed to perform this act without compensation..." Etriel Darastrix raises an eyebrow. "You are under the orders of Shandar, then? Or maybe under the orders of the Speaker of Targos, his friend Naerth?"
Danon smiles, saying “I am fast, glad to help!” Then he turns back to the two waiting for a reply to Etriel’s question, trying to hear who directed this little charade.
Right around now, Cirim is giving her last compliments to Shandar and is leaving the bar. Once out, she will try to communicate with Sparks. If he is past 100 feet, she will go in the direction he last reported they were heading.
"The compensation was we were repaying a debt. Surely the person we were repaying is not important. We have already said too much, I don't want to upset them further."
The other one seems to have no qualms in giving more, and interrupts "Yes. Shandar didn't ask us. Naerth did. If we say that publicly, you will let us go right?"
"Sounds like you got into debt with the wrong kind of people. I am willing to let you go if you tell the truth." Neldak looks around at his companions for their opinions.
Etriel Darastrix nods: "Yes, you may go after you have admitted this publicly. I will make sure that you do not suffer any consequences. Naerth probably ordered you to do this to favor his friend Shandar - the Speaker of Targos is trying to favor his friend's election as Speaker of Good Mead; evidently even at the cost of resorting to deception".
The foreign traveler is thus ready to lead the two back to the city to expose the farce...
You lead them back and they will come into the mead hall, looking quite sheepish and the one who spoke up about Naerth repeats the fact that they were sent here to pretend to be scared away by Shandar and make him look heroic (unless pressed, they do not mention Naerth as the one who sent them). Shandar very loudly denies it, saying you must have paid them to try and rig the election yourselves, and some people seem to believe him, but it is clear that the seeds of doubt have been sown and he instantly is stopped being treated so heroically. This stunt may have gained him a vote or two, but it has lost him more than he gained, both in this election and beyond.
The election day comes with no more complications, and you get elected successfully! (And I have now got to invent some things for that, as the module just says "If the characters fail to expose the deception, Shandar is elected town speaker" and no information about if the party get elected. I think it assumes that the party don't accept Olivessa's offer and instead she is speaker. Oh well.)
Well... Etriel Darastrix is fine with letting Olivessa become Speaker, if you prefer... She was interested in Good Mead having a good guide... As a career, our eladrin huntress is fine with being a traveler (and adventurer), at least for now.
Otherwise, if we want to let our foreign traveler be elected, she will then work with Olivessa to improve the situation of Good Mead as best she can (as discussed in previous posts).
But I imagine that our heroes will soon have other problems to deal with... So Etriel will leave with his companions anyway, while Olivessa will govern in her absence.
As far as interactions with other towns goes, I am happy to say that Etriel is the town speaker which could bring benefits, however day-to-day running of the town and any immediate decisions, Olivessa handles while Etriel is off adventuring, and the town is under instruction that if Etriel does not return within a given time frame (that you may decide), Olivessa is treated as Speaker until confirmation that Etriel has died or is otherwise unable to return to the post, at which point a vote will happen as to if people wish for Olivessa to keep her post or for an election for possible replacement.
As far as interactions with other towns goes, I am happy to say that Etriel is the town speaker which could bring benefits, however day-to-day running of the town and any immediate decisions, Olivessa handles while Etriel is off adventuring, and the town is under instruction that if Etriel does not return within a given time frame (that you may decide), Olivessa is treated as Speaker until confirmation that Etriel has died or is otherwise unable to return to the post, at which point a vote will happen as to if people wish for Olivessa to keep her post or for an election for possible replacement.
Fine with that!
Now...
Etriel Darastrix will likely split her time between the duties of her public office and the private pleasures of exploring the rest of Icewind Dale (and involving any of her companions who wish to accompany her - and especially seeking the company of Danon).
Do we come across any potential leads for new quests over time?
Yes, but that entirely depends on how you want to go about it. Basically, each town has a quest, and then once you level up and move to the next chapter, there are also quests outside of the towns.
There are rumours that encourage you to check out other towns, but equally, if you would prefer, now you are speaker you could choose to just go to another town to discuss trade or other topics of your choice. Let me know if you want to head anywhere in particular or if you want a few rumours.
It might be interesting to discuss trade... Especially considering the sacred water we could provide.
We could start with the city closest to Good Mead (excluding Targos, since the Speaker of that city wanted a different outcome of the elections and therefore may harbor a grudge and therefore not offer very favorable trades).
"In Dougan’s Hole, people live in fear of winter wolves that haunt the outskirts of the town. As big as horses they are, and smarter than normal wolves."
"In Easthaven, they caught an evil wizard who killed some adventurers. The town militia plans to burn the wizard at the stake. I hear the captain of the guard is looking for adventurers to help with another task that may or may not be related."
From those, I suspect that Easthaven might still be your first destination.
"I am intrigued that you agreed to perform this act without compensation..." Etriel Darastrix raises an eyebrow. "You are under the orders of Shandar, then? Or maybe under the orders of the Speaker of Targos, his friend Naerth?"
Danon smiles, saying “I am fast, glad to help!” Then he turns back to the two waiting for a reply to Etriel’s question, trying to hear who directed this little charade.
Right around now, Cirim is giving her last compliments to Shandar and is leaving the bar. Once out, she will try to communicate with Sparks. If he is past 100 feet, she will go in the direction he last reported they were heading.
...And in the meantime the reply to Etriel’s question is... ?
I swear I responded... Oops.
One of them starts talking,
"The compensation was we were repaying a debt. Surely the person we were repaying is not important. We have already said too much, I don't want to upset them further."
The other one seems to have no qualms in giving more, and interrupts "Yes. Shandar didn't ask us. Naerth did. If we say that publicly, you will let us go right?"
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
"Sounds like you got into debt with the wrong kind of people. I am willing to let you go if you tell the truth." Neldak looks around at his companions for their opinions.
Etriel Darastrix nods: "Yes, you may go after you have admitted this publicly. I will make sure that you do not suffer any consequences. Naerth probably ordered you to do this to favor his friend Shandar - the Speaker of Targos is trying to favor his friend's election as Speaker of Good Mead; evidently even at the cost of resorting to deception".
The foreign traveler is thus ready to lead the two back to the city to expose the farce...
You lead them back and they will come into the mead hall, looking quite sheepish and the one who spoke up about Naerth repeats the fact that they were sent here to pretend to be scared away by Shandar and make him look heroic (unless pressed, they do not mention Naerth as the one who sent them). Shandar very loudly denies it, saying you must have paid them to try and rig the election yourselves, and some people seem to believe him, but it is clear that the seeds of doubt have been sown and he instantly is stopped being treated so heroically. This stunt may have gained him a vote or two, but it has lost him more than he gained, both in this election and beyond.
The election day comes with no more complications, and you get elected successfully! (And I have now got to invent some things for that, as the module just says "If the characters fail to expose the deception, Shandar is elected town speaker" and no information about if the party get elected. I think it assumes that the party don't accept Olivessa's offer and instead she is speaker. Oh well.)
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Well... Etriel Darastrix is fine with letting Olivessa become Speaker, if you prefer... She was interested in Good Mead having a good guide... As a career, our eladrin huntress is fine with being a traveler (and adventurer), at least for now.
Otherwise, if we want to let our foreign traveler be elected, she will then work with Olivessa to improve the situation of Good Mead as best she can (as discussed in previous posts).
But I imagine that our heroes will soon have other problems to deal with... So Etriel will leave with his companions anyway, while Olivessa will govern in her absence.
As far as interactions with other towns goes, I am happy to say that Etriel is the town speaker which could bring benefits, however day-to-day running of the town and any immediate decisions, Olivessa handles while Etriel is off adventuring, and the town is under instruction that if Etriel does not return within a given time frame (that you may decide), Olivessa is treated as Speaker until confirmation that Etriel has died or is otherwise unable to return to the post, at which point a vote will happen as to if people wish for Olivessa to keep her post or for an election for possible replacement.
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Fine with that!
Now...
Etriel Darastrix will likely split her time between the duties of her public office and the private pleasures of exploring the rest of Icewind Dale (and involving any of her companions who wish to accompany her - and especially seeking the company of Danon).
Do we come across any potential leads for new quests over time?
Yes, but that entirely depends on how you want to go about it. Basically, each town has a quest, and then once you level up and move to the next chapter, there are also quests outside of the towns.
There are rumours that encourage you to check out other towns, but equally, if you would prefer, now you are speaker you could choose to just go to another town to discuss trade or other topics of your choice. Let me know if you want to head anywhere in particular or if you want a few rumours.
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
It might be interesting to discuss trade... Especially considering the sacred water we could provide.
We could start with the city closest to Good Mead (excluding Targos, since the Speaker of that city wanted a different outcome of the elections and therefore may harbor a grudge and therefore not offer very favorable trades).
Neldak being fond of the group will stick around and maybe be searching for those rumors.
OOC: Looking at the map either Dougan's Hole or EastHaven would be closest.
Haven then? Sounds more inviting than a Hole... 😉
Cirim is good with wherever, so EastHaven is good!
Rumours from Easthaven and Dougan's Hole then:
"In Dougan’s Hole, people live in fear of winter wolves that haunt the outskirts of the town. As big as horses they are, and smarter than normal wolves."
"In Easthaven, they caught an evil wizard who killed some adventurers. The town militia plans to burn the wizard at the stake. I hear the captain of the guard is looking for adventurers to help with another task that may or may not be related."
From those, I suspect that Easthaven might still be your first destination.
After joining more my signature got out of hand so I am now a proud member of the extended signature club!! :)
Yes, let's head to Easthaven!
Seconded! Neldak would be interested in heading to Easthaven.
Danon nods and votes for heading to Easthaven!