Brand shakes his head, "Well that was fortuitous! I must admit though, I find Donnae somewhat intimidating; I would have probably left the seeker to his business and gone to the Temple of Aieda; but perhaps that's just my mother's influence."
"I hope you get to meet Glory Rhani; that would be an exciting way to finish your time here. Do you think it's likely? She must be very busy."
[[ Brand focuses on the food for a time (and hopefully has ordered appropriate wine(s) for the courses), and checks to see if Minton looks like he is enjoying both. Once he has made a dent in his meal, he reminisces about the last/first time he came to the restaurant and then prattles on about food for a time:
"If you have time before you go, I can also recommend YYY in Portside -- the area is a little rough -- but they have some of the freshest fish in town; it is much simpler fare than here, but excellent."
"I can also recommend some places in New Ninevah, if you like." etc]]
[[ After a time: ]]
Brand pokes the remains on his plate, looking of any succulent morsels that he has missed, "It's really only dawning on me now -- what it must have been like for you, living in the School. Not being able to shop, eat out, drink at an inn...it would be unbearable for me."
Skewering a small portion of curried egg, he smiles, "But -- if it's any consolation -- I have to say that the suggestion you made earlier will probably be very helpful. I know you have vowed not to betray details of any confidences, but that insight alone will probably save many lives. I don't really think I made a good first impression on Madame Salid and my father certainly didn't!"
He considers for a moment then continues, "In fact, on a purely selfish matter, I have been worried that when you leave, my access to Nathaniel -- and the library -- may become much harder. Your suggestion may even help in that regard, though I fear that may be an optimistic viewpoint."
Minton sits back in his chair replete from the exquisite lunch he has just finished. "That was every bit as good as you said it would be," he says tapping his stomach.
He picks up his goblet and adds, "And the wine is excellent... though I've probably had a little too much of it and should stop now."
Belying what he just said, Minton smiles, takes a sip and places the goblet back down on the table.
"Haneena may think she rules the roost, but she doesn't. She may have the ear of the archmagus, but she can't really stop you from visiting any of the masters, if they want you to."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Minor confusion...I thought we just had the first course, now it reads like the meal is over...i did have a little more stuff to cover.
Edit: I meant the "skewering of the last morsel" in reference to the first course...so, on that basis, I'm just continuing the conversation...I hope that's OK ]]
"Haneena may think she rules the roost, but she doesn't. She may have the ear of the archmagus, but she can't really stop you from visiting any of the masters, if they want you to."
"Interesting. So, was my father right to approach her, or are there other avenues he should explore, or that I should explore? I know Narrim, but not well, obviously I know Nathaniel, and you suggested I speak to Mistress Vidon are there others it might be worth approaching?"
[[ Minor confusion...I thought we just had the first course, now it reads like the meal is over...i did have a little more stuff to cover.
Edit: I meant the "skewering of the last morsel" in reference to the first course...so, on that basis, I'm just continuing the conversation...I hope that's OK ]]
[[No worries.]]
"Haneena may think she rules the roost, but she doesn't. She may have the ear of the archmagus, but she can't really stop you from visiting any of the masters, if they want you to."
"Interesting. So, was my father right to approach her, or are there other avenues he should explore, or that I should explore? I know Narrim, but not well, obviously I know Nathaniel, and you suggested I speak to Mistress Vidon are there others it might be worth approaching?"
"I can understand why," says Minton. "That woman's brain is the strangest I've ever heard... So fast, she forgets nothing, and she could make her thoughts unintelligible to me, if she wanted... She could tell you everything about the doings of the School and its involvement with the Crown."
He then considers for a moment and then says, "If it's access to information about the School's dealings with the Crown that you want, then I think funding would be your best bet. The Crown thinks that coin that come into the School from the King's Patronage and private students should be sufficient, but it is not. While it might be enough to keep the School running, it is not enough for the School to do the research that the archmagus and some of the masters want."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand sits back in his seat, at least peripherally aware that this is well outside his expertise. He sighs again, and takes an uncharacteristic gulp of wine. "She sounds phenomenal."
"I wish you were not leaving."
He puts the wine glass down and signals a waiter for more. "Do you...have any idea of the sorts of sums of money that would be useful; I'm sure my father probably has this knowledge, but I have to admit I am curious."
"Sorry, but I have no idea," says Minton with a chuckle. "You would need to talk to Haneena or the archmagus about that, but I suspect it must be in the hundreds of Engles over the course of a year."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand chuckles, "I suspect that might be somebody else's problem then. and that it's beyond my pay grade, but you never know."
He looks around the restaurant again, checking out the clientele [[checking once more for people taking any interest in them]], then his attention returns to Minton.
"I can't believe how much has changed in the two months I've been away. As I walked to meet you I saw more families fleeing the city with all their worldly possessions stacked in a cart. It's insane: Everything I know about history says it's certainly not the way to build an empire, it's the way to build a rebellion."
"You may be right to leave now, before things get even more ugly."
Minton doesn't reply and instead asks Brand about the family estate and the wine-making process.
With regard to people taking an interest in them, there is a man and a woman seated at another table eating lunch. They are both expensively dressed, but they look ill-matched. He is elderly, rather corpulent and thoroughly engrossed in his food while she is young, just picking at her plate, and occasionally looking furtively in Brand's direction.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand happily describes the process, the sources they use for barrels, and the various wines they make and how they differ, mentioning at the end the recent debut of his father's secret project of the last few years: their first brandy. "It's not the best brandy out there, but it does capture the unique flavours of our wines. And it's very drinkable." He says with a smile.
Brand sips his wine then continues, "While father is undoubtedly the Master of the Vines, but a lot of credit must go to Grigor [[??]] and his team. Their job is the day to day care and tending of the Vines, the barrels and the processes. We've even sent some of them down south to improved our southern wines. Most of our wine is produced here, but we need to expand our southern production: you wouldn't believe how much we lose in transporting it. The ocean journey is not kind, nor is the desert crossing. Of course, the Southern Vinyard is still a long way from the city, we had to place it in the foothills of the mountains to get the right sun and temperature all year round. But the transport is much kinder to the wine. Perhaps this is something that we should take up with the School! If we could ensure that our wines survived the journey south, at least the premium ones, then we would do very well indeed. Hmmmm. Now there's a thought."
Brand stares of into the distance for a while then glances in the direction of the woman at the next table before returning his attention to Minton.
"Well, listen to me, I'm starting to sound like my father now. We can't have that!"
Brand pauses, "Wines are interesting enough, but tell me of these biographies you plan to write..."
[[ If wamzut is mentioned (I think he was mentioned the day before), then Brand will request a singed copy, happy to pay in advance.
Let the conversation go for a while, then when opportune:]]
Brand lowers his voice a little, "Speaking of [wizardly|extraordinary|outrageous] things...Eddard happened to mention there had been an abduction at the school... Do you know much about it? Were the victim or perpetrator anyone I might have known from before?"
[[ Happy for the wine stuff to be real or deleted. Re Southern Vinyard, was thinking they ran a small one before coming north, OR it's a new venture.
Was also thinking Grigor was either a local or some other race with a good undertaking of local conditions.
Brand happily describes the process, the sources they use for barrels, and the various wines they make and how they differ, mentioning at the end the recent debut of his father's secret project of the last few years: their first brandy. "It's not the best brandy out there, but it does capture the unique flavours of our wines. And it's very drinkable." He says with a smile.
Brand sips his wine then continues, "While father is undoubtedly the Master of the Vines, but a lot of credit must go to Grigor [[??]] and his team. Their job is the day to day care and tending of the Vines, the barrels and the processes. We've even sent some of them down south to improved our southern wines. Most of our wine is produced here, but we need to expand our southern production: you wouldn't believe how much we lose in transporting it. The ocean journey is not kind, nor is the desert crossing. Of course, the Southern Vinyard is still a long way from the city, we had to place it in the foothills of the mountains to get the right sun and temperature all year round. But the transport is much kinder to the wine. Perhaps this is something that we should take up with the School! If we could ensure that our wines survived the journey south, at least the premium ones, then we would do very well indeed. Hmmmm. Now there's a thought."
Brand stares of into the distance for a while then glances in the direction of the woman at the next table before returning his attention to Minton.
[[At the moment, the woman is listening intently to what the man is saying, which—from what Brand can make out—has something to do with the animal husbandry of cattle.]]
"Well, listen to me, I'm starting to sound like my father now. We can't have that!"
Brand pauses, "Wines are interesting enough, but tell me of these biographies you plan to write..."
[[ If wamzut is mentioned (I think he was mentioned the day before), then Brand will request a singed copy, happy to pay in advance.
[[LOL. A 'singed' copy? Hot off the presses, or do you think it is going to be full of hot gossip?]]
[[Minton does mention that he has been writing the life story of Wamzut, but goes on to say that he will only be making these stories publicly available if the subject of the story agrees. When Brand ask about Wamzut's life story, Minton replies cryptically that he hasn't been permission for that, yet.]]
Let the conversation go for a while, then when opportune:]]
Brand lowers his voice a little, "Speaking of [wizardly|extraordinary|outrageous] things...Eddard happened to mention there had been an abduction at the school... Do you know much about it? Were the victim or perpetrator anyone I might have known from before?"
[[ Happy for the wine stuff to be real or deleted. Re Southern Vinyard, was thinking they ran a small one before coming north, OR it's a new venture.
Was also thinking Grigor was either a local or some other race with a good undertaking of local conditions.
[[Grigor Bron now exists on the World site under Brand's father in the 'People' category.]]
When asked about the abduction, Minton replies that a young student has gone missing. Perhaps spirited away by an Arion worshipper who snuck onto the grounds and then disappeared himself during all the excitement of the avatar's manifestation.
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---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[At the moment, the woman is listening intently to what the man is saying, which—from what Brand can make out—has something to do with the animal husbandry of cattle.]]
[[ Damn.Welcome to rural and regional Empire. Wine growing and animal husbandry. I have this strange feeling Brand is not necessarily in the right head space at the moment. ]]
[[LOL. A 'singed' copy? Hot off the presses, or do you think it is going to be full of hot gossip?]]
[[ lol. I think a singed copy is precisely appropriate for Wamzut! Needs to be authentic hellfire tho. ]]
[[Grigor Bron now exists on the World site under Brand's father in the 'People' category.]]
[[ Cool! Is the southern venture new, or just expanding an existing one? My vote would be new; they may have a small vineyard elsewhere, but doing Engelian style wines in the foothills down south sounds like a new venture, which is why some of Grigor's people would be sent.]]
... Minton replies cryptically that he hasn't been permission for that, yet
Brand tilts his head to one side, "Do you think that will happen any time soon?"
When asked about the abduction, Minton replies that a young student has gone missing. Perhaps spirited away by an Arion worshipper who snuck onto the grounds and then disappeared himself during all the excitement of the avatar's manifestation.
"Amazing! These two events happened at exactly the same time? That's one hell of an opportunist, or one hell of a coincidence."
[[At the moment, the woman is listening intently to what the man is saying, which—from what Brand can make out—has something to do with the animal husbandry of cattle.]]
[[ Damn.Welcome to rural and regional Empire. Wine growing and animal husbandry. I have this strange feeling Brand is not necessarily in the right head space at the moment. ]]
[[LOL.]]
[[LOL. A 'singed' copy? Hot off the presses, or do you think it is going to be full of hot gossip?]]
[[ lol. I think a singed copy is precisely appropriate for Wamzut! Needs to be authentic hellfire tho. ]]
[[Grigor Bron now exists on the World site under Brand's father in the 'People' category.]]
[[ Cool! Is the southern venture new, or just expanding an existing one? My vote would be new; they may have a small vineyard elsewhere, but doing Engelian style wines in the foothills down south sounds like a new venture, which is why some of Grigor's people would be sent.]]
[[New. It's an experiment being attempted by a relative of Brand's mother with help from Grigor and co.]]
... Minton replies cryptically that he hasn't been permission for that, yet
Brand tilts his head to one side, "Do you think that will happen any time soon?"
Minton shrugs and just says, "He did not give me permission, and the ways of wizards are many and strange... I feel I should wait a few years at least."
When asked about the abduction, Minton replies that a young student has gone missing. Perhaps spirited away by an Arion worshipper who snuck onto the grounds and then disappeared himself during all the excitement of the avatar's manifestation.
"Amazing! These two events happened at exactly the same time? That's one hell of an opportunist, or one hell of a coincidence."
Once again Minton shrugs and says that he didn't find out about the missing student for a couple of days because of everything that happened, and especially because of what happened to him. He then goes on to say that Master Narim or Mistress Althea would know more.
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---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Althea is the new librarian, correct? She replaced Nathaniel when he became too frail to work in the library...is that right? Pretty sure Brand has met her since he's only known Nathanial as a very frail person. If not, he would ask who she is and what she's like. ]]
[[ Hopefully he gets the low-down if he doesnt already have it, and if he does know her, would still say the following, unless it's already known to him. ]]
"Mistress Althea, I've met her a few times when searching for books, but don't know her well. What is she like and what does she do when not tending musty old books?"
[[ Tech question: is there a way for you to create a layer in the World Anvil map (they support layers, it seems) that I can write on and/or upload to? I'd like to add the two banks, Lamane's, Salted Meet etc. They don't need to be exact, but it's be useful ]]
[[ Althea is the new librarian, correct? She replaced Nathaniel when he became too frail to work in the library...is that right? Pretty sure Brand has met her since he's only known Nathanial as a very frail person. If not, he would ask who she is and what she's like. ]]
[[Mistress Althea started helping Nathaniel in the library, and Brand would have met her there, but her proper role is that of the master apothecary for the School.]]
[[ Hopefully he gets the low-down if he doesnt already have it, and if he does know her, would still say the following, unless it's already known to him. ]]
"Mistress Althea, I've met her a few times when searching for books, but don't know her well. What is she like and what does she do when not tending musty old books?"
"Mistress Althea only helps occasionally now, and she mostly spends her time with her plants. She has a special house made entirely of glass, you know. It keeps the air warm and allows her to grow varieties from the homelands; plants that don't grow here normally."
He then goes on to say, "On his good days, Master Nathaniel still tends to the books with the aid of a helper, a young woman with a dubious background named Velma Smit."
A scowl comes over his face as he continues, "I warned him at the time that she might try to steal some of the books, but he ignored me..."
Then he relents.
"And, truth be told," he says, "None of the books have gone missing, so maybe she has turned over a new leaf. She's an alumnus from a poor family, and is working off her King's Patronage looking after Nathaniel and his books."
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---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"Not really sure," Minton says, "but I heard her thoughts when she was brought to the School the first time as a newly discovered innate sorcerer, by the city guard I might add. All she wanted was to get anything she could out of the experience and then run away, even if it just meant stealing the archmagus' silverware."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist) Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon. The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand shakes his head, "Well that was fortuitous! I must admit though, I find Donnae somewhat intimidating; I would have probably left the seeker to his business and gone to the Temple of Aieda; but perhaps that's just my mother's influence."
"I hope you get to meet Glory Rhani; that would be an exciting way to finish your time here. Do you think it's likely? She must be very busy."
Minton shrugs and says, "Probably not, but at least I should be able to see the Eternal Flame."
As Minton says this, the first course is served. The food is as good as Brand remembers it.
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Brand focuses on the food for a time (and hopefully has ordered appropriate wine(s) for the courses), and checks to see if Minton looks like he is enjoying both. Once he has made a dent in his meal, he reminisces about the last/first time he came to the restaurant and then prattles on about food for a time:
"If you have time before you go, I can also recommend YYY in Portside -- the area is a little rough -- but they have some of the freshest fish in town; it is much simpler fare than here, but excellent."
"I can also recommend some places in New Ninevah, if you like." etc]]
[[ After a time: ]]
Brand pokes the remains on his plate, looking of any succulent morsels that he has missed, "It's really only dawning on me now -- what it must have been like for you, living in the School. Not being able to shop, eat out, drink at an inn...it would be unbearable for me."
Skewering a small portion of curried egg, he smiles, "But -- if it's any consolation -- I have to say that the suggestion you made earlier will probably be very helpful. I know you have vowed not to betray details of any confidences, but that insight alone will probably save many lives. I don't really think I made a good first impression on Madame Salid and my father certainly didn't!"
He considers for a moment then continues, "In fact, on a purely selfish matter, I have been worried that when you leave, my access to Nathaniel -- and the library -- may become much harder. Your suggestion may even help in that regard, though I fear that may be an optimistic viewpoint."
Minton sits back in his chair replete from the exquisite lunch he has just finished. "That was every bit as good as you said it would be," he says tapping his stomach.
He picks up his goblet and adds, "And the wine is excellent... though I've probably had a little too much of it and should stop now."
Belying what he just said, Minton smiles, takes a sip and places the goblet back down on the table.
"Haneena may think she rules the roost, but she doesn't. She may have the ear of the archmagus, but she can't really stop you from visiting any of the masters, if they want you to."
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Minor confusion...I thought we just had the first course, now it reads like the meal is over...i did have a little more stuff to cover.
Edit: I meant the "skewering of the last morsel" in reference to the first course...so, on that basis, I'm just continuing the conversation...I hope that's OK ]]
"Interesting. So, was my father right to approach her, or are there other avenues he should explore, or that I should explore? I know Narrim, but not well, obviously I know Nathaniel, and you suggested I speak to Mistress Vidon are there others it might be worth approaching?"
"I can understand why," says Minton. "That woman's brain is the strangest I've ever heard... So fast, she forgets nothing, and she could make her thoughts unintelligible to me, if she wanted... She could tell you everything about the doings of the School and its involvement with the Crown."
He then considers for a moment and then says, "If it's access to information about the School's dealings with the Crown that you want, then I think funding would be your best bet. The Crown thinks that coin that come into the School from the King's Patronage and private students should be sufficient, but it is not. While it might be enough to keep the School running, it is not enough for the School to do the research that the archmagus and some of the masters want."
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand sits back in his seat, at least peripherally aware that this is well outside his expertise. He sighs again, and takes an uncharacteristic gulp of wine. "She sounds phenomenal."
"I wish you were not leaving."
He puts the wine glass down and signals a waiter for more. "Do you...have any idea of the sorts of sums of money that would be useful; I'm sure my father probably has this knowledge, but I have to admit I am curious."
"Sorry, but I have no idea," says Minton with a chuckle. "You would need to talk to Haneena or the archmagus about that, but I suspect it must be in the hundreds of Engles over the course of a year."
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand chuckles, "I suspect that might be somebody else's problem then. and that it's beyond my pay grade, but you never know."
He looks around the restaurant again, checking out the clientele [[checking once more for people taking any interest in them]], then his attention returns to Minton.
"I can't believe how much has changed in the two months I've been away. As I walked to meet you I saw more families fleeing the city with all their worldly possessions stacked in a cart. It's insane: Everything I know about history says it's certainly not the way to build an empire, it's the way to build a rebellion."
"You may be right to leave now, before things get even more ugly."
Minton doesn't reply and instead asks Brand about the family estate and the wine-making process.
With regard to people taking an interest in them, there is a man and a woman seated at another table eating lunch. They are both expensively dressed, but they look ill-matched. He is elderly, rather corpulent and thoroughly engrossed in his food while she is young, just picking at her plate, and occasionally looking furtively in Brand's direction.
---
Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand happily describes the process, the sources they use for barrels, and the various wines they make and how they differ, mentioning at the end the recent debut of his father's secret project of the last few years: their first brandy. "It's not the best brandy out there, but it does capture the unique flavours of our wines. And it's very drinkable." He says with a smile.
Brand sips his wine then continues, "While father is undoubtedly the Master of the Vines, but a lot of credit must go to Grigor [[??]] and his team. Their job is the day to day care and tending of the Vines, the barrels and the processes. We've even sent some of them down south to improved our southern wines. Most of our wine is produced here, but we need to expand our southern production: you wouldn't believe how much we lose in transporting it. The ocean journey is not kind, nor is the desert crossing. Of course, the Southern Vinyard is still a long way from the city, we had to place it in the foothills of the mountains to get the right sun and temperature all year round. But the transport is much kinder to the wine. Perhaps this is something that we should take up with the School! If we could ensure that our wines survived the journey south, at least the premium ones, then we would do very well indeed. Hmmmm. Now there's a thought."
Brand stares of into the distance for a while then glances in the direction of the woman at the next table before returning his attention to Minton.
"Well, listen to me, I'm starting to sound like my father now. We can't have that!"
Brand pauses, "Wines are interesting enough, but tell me of these biographies you plan to write..."
[[ If wamzut is mentioned (I think he was mentioned the day before), then Brand will request a singed copy, happy to pay in advance.
Let the conversation go for a while, then when opportune:]]
Brand lowers his voice a little, "Speaking of [wizardly|extraordinary|outrageous] things...Eddard happened to mention there had been an abduction at the school... Do you know much about it? Were the victim or perpetrator anyone I might have known from before?"
[[ Happy for the wine stuff to be real or deleted. Re Southern Vinyard, was thinking they ran a small one before coming north, OR it's a new venture.
Was also thinking Grigor was either a local or some other race with a good undertaking of local conditions.
When asked about the abduction, Minton replies that a young student has gone missing. Perhaps spirited away by an Arion worshipper who snuck onto the grounds and then disappeared himself during all the excitement of the avatar's manifestation.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Damn.Welcome to rural and regional Empire. Wine growing and animal husbandry. I have this strange feeling Brand is not necessarily in the right head space at the moment. ]]
[[ lol. I think a singed copy is precisely appropriate for Wamzut! Needs to be authentic hellfire tho. ]]
[[ Cool! Is the southern venture new, or just expanding an existing one? My vote would be new; they may have a small vineyard elsewhere, but doing Engelian style wines in the foothills down south sounds like a new venture, which is why some of Grigor's people would be sent.]]
Brand tilts his head to one side, "Do you think that will happen any time soon?"
"Amazing! These two events happened at exactly the same time? That's one hell of an opportunist, or one hell of a coincidence."
Once again Minton shrugs and says that he didn't find out about the missing student for a couple of days because of everything that happened, and especially because of what happened to him. He then goes on to say that Master Narim or Mistress Althea would know more.
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
[[ Althea is the new librarian, correct? She replaced Nathaniel when he became too frail to work in the library...is that right? Pretty sure Brand has met her since he's only known Nathanial as a very frail person. If not, he would ask who she is and what she's like. ]]
[[ Hopefully he gets the low-down if he doesnt already have it, and if he does know her, would still say the following, unless it's already known to him. ]]
"Mistress Althea, I've met her a few times when searching for books, but don't know her well. What is she like and what does she do when not tending musty old books?"
[[ Tech question: is there a way for you to create a layer in the World Anvil map (they support layers, it seems) that I can write on and/or upload to? I'd like to add the two banks, Lamane's, Salted Meet etc. They don't need to be exact, but it's be useful ]]
"Mistress Althea only helps occasionally now, and she mostly spends her time with her plants. She has a special house made entirely of glass, you know. It keeps the air warm and allows her to grow varieties from the homelands; plants that don't grow here normally."
He then goes on to say, "On his good days, Master Nathaniel still tends to the books with the aid of a helper, a young woman with a dubious background named Velma Smit."
A scowl comes over his face as he continues, "I warned him at the time that she might try to steal some of the books, but he ignored me..."
Then he relents.
"And, truth be told," he says, "None of the books have gone missing, so maybe she has turned over a new leaf. She's an alumnus from a poor family, and is working off her King's Patronage looking after Nathaniel and his books."
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
Brand affects a look of mild concern, "Is Nathaniel safe? What is her background?"
"Not really sure," Minton says, "but I heard her thoughts when she was brought to the School the first time as a newly discovered innate sorcerer, by the city guard I might add. All she wanted was to get anything she could out of the experience and then run away, even if it just meant stealing the archmagus' silverware."
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Tyrus Mountson: Lvl 3 Dwarvish Bard; Waterdeep Campaign (Dragon Heist)
Nanoc the Younger: Semi-retired Lvl 2 Rogue / Level 2 Barbarian Human; The Knuckle, Mror Holds, Ebberon.
The Honourable Jaden Fellan: Level 3 Human Eldritch Knight; Band of Sunswall
AKA: Phillip Berrie: writer, editor and academic thrillseeker—a little knowledge is a dangerous thing.
"Hmm. Well lets hope that the lessons of the School are a little more positive than the lessons of the street."
[[ He would probably try to dredge up an Aieda quote from his mother. ]]
"Is she far through her studies?"