The Long Road - Game Thread

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Hildigrim can now dodge uncannily.

How soon before our bartender and ghost maid (who Hildigrim couldn't have been following around yet — whoops!) arrive?

Fanny the ex-guard, who will also be delivering the magic case for Poita the ghost maid, won't arrive until 2 days after Wintershield. The repairs to the manor won't be finished until 3 days after that.

(OOC: Uncanny Dodge is a very useful. But I thought you were doing Wizard until 3rd level, and then getting that 5th of Rogue? No problem if you changed your mind, I was just curious.)

Jorin had spent his earlier years working on how to properly use two weapons at once (two weapon fighting style from 1 level of fighter) and has now gained enough experience swinging them that he can attack twice with his main weapon (extra attack from lvl 5 barb)!  Huzzah!

OOC: No, rogue 5 and then wizard 2. That way, Hildigrim can find his psionic focus between now and the next level up.

On the way back to the Road's End Quillary's spores seem to be questing here and there, and at one point a very dead rat in a gutter gets swarmed by them, then stands up and totters along next to the druid, who looks down at the animated dead thing and makes a gesture. The spores abandon it and the thing falls limp again. Quillary makes a face, but is she offended, or curious? Maybe both!

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

OOC: No, rogue 5 and then wizard 2. That way, Hildigrim can find his psionic focus between now and the next level up.

(Oh, right, for some reason I was thinking Arcane Tradition was picked at L3 instead of L2. Thanks.)

Drusk looks at Quillary's new hobby. "Did Marigold's talk get you dabbling with strange magics?"

"I... am not sure. I am still not convinced there is anything gentle about forcing a creature one way, or the other, across the veil. What just happened," she gestures uncomfortably behind where the rat was, "Is more of a puppetry, than necromancy... I think. There is no life force, just an animating force... the difference may be, eh, academic, I suppose." Troubled Quillary returns.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

Troubled Quillary returns.

Drusk grins, and waves his wand carelessly. "Don't make me use the wand of smiles on you... If this puppetry is part of the natural order that you have access to, then you should be joyful about knowing more than you did before.

"And it is certainly safer than standing next to Jorin." Between Jorin's magic belt and his improved fighting techniques, his demonstrations of the speed of his battle-axe swings makes Drusk decide to stand a little further away.

Jorin flourishes his axe and smiles at Drusk.

"Quillary, your, uh, spores....what did they just do?  Perhaps you had the Merigold should compare notes."

Pascal raises a finger, “Actually, I got experience in the mushroom department. See, there’s a brand o’ mushrooms that ain’t worth eating. I think it’s called Quarter Steps... Anyway, we had some giant ants make a nest back near the bayou. One little spore got loose, turned the whole thing into a zombie infested mineshaft. Didn’t last long though.”

Quillary perks up at Pascal's comment. "I should like to see that," she admits. "I've spent a lot of time examining the fungus that grows in the wet and the dark, and on the bodies of those moved on, both plants and flesh. But though I've been to many places, I have not seen the native life in the swamps and bogs. Should like to visit, perhaps do some studying. Do the wetlands get much fire, I mean, naturally occurring, not from zealous chef-sorcerers," she quirks a smile. "I am especially fascinated by the combination of new life and old... substrate, after a fire."

"Where do you think Shinebright acquired his wand?" Hildigrim asks apropos of nothing. He draws his own wand and waves it about, causing beautiful music to fill the air around the party. "I'm appreciative of my musical wand, but I'd be fibbing if I said I wouldn't be interested in one as powerful as that one." He smiles. "It was exhilarating to use it." As the music continues, Hildigrim speaks a couple arcane words, and four glowing orbs appear slightly in front of the party. They begin floating in random patterns with the music, staying just ahead of the party. Sometimes a couple of the orbs would combine, creating a slightly brighter single orb before separating again. Hildigrim watches the lights, holding a look of concentration as his eyes follow their patterns and his hand continues to wave the wand.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

Quillary perks up at Pascal's comment. "I should like to see that," she admits. "I've spent a lot of time examining the fungus that grows in the wet and the dark, and on the bodies of those moved on, both plants and flesh. But though I've been to many places, I have not seen the native life in the swamps and bogs. Should like to visit, perhaps do some studying. Do the wetlands get much fire, I mean, naturally occurring, not from zealous chef-sorcerers," she quirks a smile. "I am especially fascinated by the combination of new life and old... substrate, after a fire."

 Pascal shrugs, “We got fire giants, if that counts. They tend to bring some fire ‘lonside em. That was how I got my powers anyway.”

(OOC: Sorry to interrupt the conversation and banter. You can continue it before the next morning, if you want.)

Once back at the Road's End (after the riff-raff in the basement are led away by city guards), Drusk suggests getting an early night's rest. The repair and construction workers will be starting at the crack of dawn, to get enough work done that they can start their Wintershield celebrating as early as possible.

To your annoyance, nail hammering and wall sledgehammering starts a little before dawn.

As you drag yourselves downstairs, Lif has a pot of coffee brewed in the main room of the ground floor. Two cups have already been poured, being sampled by a pair of humans, one you haven't met, the other you have. (The images are in the "spoiler", which all of you can look at.)

The woman in your mid-30s you recognize by reputation. Vajra is the leader of the Force Grey, a cadre of specialized adventurers. She wields the Blackstaff, which makes her the highest ranking wizard in Waterdeep. (Unlike Finethir, you know that her abilities, with or without a magic staff, are beyond questioning.) She sips her coffee, and quietly evaluates the five of you.

The man is more familiar. Renaer Neverember hails you, and starts pouring more coffee for the party. "I want to hire your services for today. If you are available and interested, I will explain the job offer..."  (CCC-WYC 1-1  "Back to the Burning")

Quillary does not really know these people, she has only heard of them recently. She likes that the woman carries herself so confidently, and as a result she ignores Renaer. What she cannot ignore is the noise of the construction. "Would we be better served meeting away from this racket? The cellar? Outside?"

Pascal waddles down in his large pajamas as Lif passes him a coffee. He sips it and gives a little half-eyed smile, “Mornin’, y’all. Go on bought that offer.”

Hildigrim walks in, his nose in a book and Volo on his shoulder. "Sausages, eggs, biscuits," he orders distractedly. Halfway into the room, he looks up to see if anyone else is down and spots the visitors. He half smiles at Neverember, then stops at his tracks when he sees Vajra. The book slips from his fingers, hitting the floor with a bang. The noise breaks his paralysis, and he bends over and scoops up the volume quickly, his owl flapping its wings to keep from falling off. Standing back up and clutching the book to his thin chest with both arms, he nods. "Good morning. Hainard's hairy toes, is that the Blackstaff? It is, isn't it?"

Quote from DirtyDogP >>

 "Good morning. Hainard's hairy toes, is that the Blackstaff? It is, isn't it?"

Vajra has a grim smile, as she is both familiar and uncomfortable with the awe.

Quote from Mingofaust >>

What she cannot ignore is the noise of the construction. "Would we be better served meeting away from this racket? The cellar? Outside?"

Renear looks to Vajra and raises an eyebrow. With a sigh, she looks over the room, analyzing the acoustics, then picks a spot to cast Silence. The spell not only prevents sounds from inside that area, but also prevents sounds from passing through that area. You can still hear the noise of construction, but only indirectly, from echoes and vibrations from the outer walls. The noise is muffled enough that you would think it was going on in a different building.

Quote from JcAndD >>

He sips it and gives a little half-eyed smile, “Mornin’, y’all. Go on bought that offer.”

Renear: "Ah, this will be a long story. I'll give you the overview first, then a few more details.

"You are familiar with the Lady Blackstaff. I'd like your group to escort Varja Safahr and a gnome historian named Tinker Nimbledigits. They will need to use a magic circle in the cellar belonging to Finethir Shinebright. He has ignored our requests to use his cellar. Word has gotten back to me that he owes you a great debt, and won't be able to refuse your request." (You only rescued Shinebright yesterday, so word got back to Renear rather quickly.) "Assist Varja and Tinker as needed... In return, you asked about getting a loan to help start your new restaurant. After Varja and Tinker have completed their task, I will cover the initial costs and administration with the local guilds (250 GP value). When you are ready to open your restaurant, I will help spread the word for the first 4 ten-days (bonus to the die roll for how the business is doing). Also during that time, if there are any weeks when profits are below expenses, I will cover the deficit. I will also give you 2 potions of healing now, with 3 more at completion.

"Have you ever been to the Moonsea, far to the west of Waterdeep? There was a village named Elmwood, a small farming community located on the southern shores, southwest of the city of Mulmaster. You've probably heard that it was destroyed a little over a year ago, when a devastation orb (a manufactured weapon of raw elemental destruction) went off. Rumors are that it was an attack by one of the cults of Elemental Evil. But without survivors, it was difficult to piece together what happened.

"We have recently acquired a shard of a devastation orb, which spells of divination have linked to that explosion in Elmwood. Finding out what happened during that tragedy will aid our political dealings with the officials in the Moonsea... The shard might reveal more of importance, but that will require special magic circles to augment the spell casting.  The closest ones that we can use, without paying an unreasonable cost, are underneath Shinebright's home. Your relationship with the elf wizard, along with your successes in various adventures, are why we came to you."

Renear leans back in his chair, to drink more coffee while he waits for your response.

The alligator stopped listening after Raenar offered funding.

Pascal just has his mouth open in a goofy position towards the rest of the group.

Quillary is appreciative of the sudden quiet. "Are we to do this today, then? I would gladly help my friends with their dream of building ownership and the provision of eating and drinking."

Jorin enters the room, shirtless and sweaty, patting dust off his pants with one hand and holding a sledge in the other.  “I could not sleep with this noise, so, I decided to join them.”  He sees the guests and makes his way to where the group is and takes a seat, dropping the head of the maul on the floor.

Jorin rolls his eyes at the mention of the Gnome’s all-to-gnomey name and then shares in Pascal’s surprise at the terms of the offer.