Lost Lab of Kwalish

"Just great..." Leann grumbles as she walks in with the others. The symbol of Torm is on her shield, clearly proclaiming her as a follower of the God of Justice. She holds her head up high as she looks over the assembled fiends.

Quote from WhiteByakko >>

Omiy gave Hondo a proud look of “see that worked”, and steps into the bar. A bit of a headache from the noise and the heavy smell of smoke, she will consult the paper that Zadara gave them first. 

 The paper has rhe following written on it:

"Bow to the right; bow to the left. The first key turns; the

last door bends. Lift the left; lift the right. The leg extends;

the second key lights. Address the door, magnificent. It

opens to the touch.” 

Ooc: there arent any of my usual typos in that message. That's what it really says. Its in common, written by Zadara.

"This place is an old haunt of a neighborhood legend," Gearbox informs you. "The children recite a rhyme about the githzerai scholar: 'Bring me three coppers, I'll tell you a lie. Bring me three smiles, by evening you'll cry. Bring me three Bleakers, in madness you'll die.'"

“They sound scary. Good thing I didn’t bring them anything then.” Omiy says to Gearbox. She hands the piece of paper to Hondo, “looks like that’s how we open the portal, if we can find it.”

She walks towards the corner of the bar, pushing aside the crowd as she squeezes in, “excuse me, hi,” she stops before the room to see a marilith sitting in their booth, “Rule of Three?” She asks, “wow, I heard that you have song written about you. We’re looking for a portal in this place, apparently you are the one to talk to.”

Ooc: I should clarify. "Private" booths are just that, private.  those wiggly lines are curtains.  This place is set up for discreet meetings. I could have obscured him from the players, but that's work I didn't want to do. 

Certainly, though other patrons and employees in the place would know he's there...

Omiy would have flagged someone down to ask where he is then. 

The creature you approach seems offended. "Do I look like a servant? Do I look like your personal guide? No? Then stop treating me like one before I eat your entrails.  Oarsman is for private business: no law, no Rule-of-Three answers, shut your trap and get out!" The entire place gets quiet, and every demon, devil, yugoloth, and other unsavory character in the bar turns to look at you.  A circle of creatures pulls back from their table.

Make a diplomacy check

What is diplomacy check? Persuasion: 16

Lol that was sad.

”So that didn’t work,” Omiy comes out the booth, her hands spread out as she says to the party, “We are gonna have to find the portal ourselves.”

Ooc: Yeah, sorry Persuasion.  I'm taking this straight out of a 3.5e book. Different skills.  (It was a DC 20, so don't feel too bad about the roll).  Also, I call RoT a githyanki earlier.  I meant Githzerai... I just messed up/

A githzerai scholar parts the wall of spiky and deadly creatures with a wave of his hand. "Did someone mention me? They call me, I call myself, the world knows I am Rule-of-Three." He scatters coins to the offended devils and yugoloths, gestures at the table, and the bar carries on as if the shouting never happened. Cards are dealt, ale is poured, and the noise returns to deafening levels.

"New in town?" asks the elderly githzerai, stroking his wispy beard and watching you carefully. "Your type, your disposition, your shining characters don't generally come to the Lower Ward, the wrong side of Sigil, the Styx Oarsman. I like the cheap beer, rough company, and rampant rumormongering. What brings you here?"

"They did." Leann tells him, gesturing to her companions. She shifts her shield, not trying to hide the symbol of Torm, but at least turning it away from some of the more powerful-looking demonic beings.

"Yeah, sorry about making a scene." Omiy says, embarrassed. She shows him the crystal rod and the instructions that Zadara gave them. "We are looking for a portal that leads to Kwalish. Zadara pointed us here."

"I've never been to Kwalish, not that i recall anyhow.  Yet, I am a keeper of secrets, a spinner of yarns, a teller of hard truths.  I may know of the portal you seek, but this is Sigil; one can scarcely swing a dead tressym without it disappearing into a portal and popping out of another in the same room.  What did she tell you about this portal?"

Ooc: I don't mean to make you keep telling the story over and over. You can just show him the letter (or not) or if you really dont want to, you can just say "my character tells him" etc. 

What letter? Omiy will show him the letter.

"Apparently many years ago, there was a creature, called a mercurial, roaming between the portals, causing a lot of distress. Until he was caged. We were told that Kwalish followed the mercurial into the portal, possibly to study what lies on the other side. The rod points to the location of the creature if it's near." Omiy explains.

Rule of Three takes the page written by Zadara and stsrts to read, walking to the table by the chandelier where a mireor is mounted to the wall near the bar.  Muttering ro jumself as he reads the cryptic verse.  Alright. "I think I've solved it, deciphered, worked it out," he announces.  Turning to the group, he pontificates, "My reputation precedes me, I'm certain.  You know well I tell what I know when it suits me for a price paid me thrice.  So, what, in exchange for my assistance, will you offer in exchange, patronage or emolument?" The gith asks, shrugging, turning his head away, open hand toward you.

"Eh, patronage, guys." Omiy holds out her hand in the same way towards the party, tilting her head at the gith, "what you say, we pool 50 gold each?"

Gearbox whispers to you guys, "Psssst! <Rule-of-Three accepts only offerings of three related things as payment; such as a green, a stinger, and a jinx or a joke, a proverb and an insult for example. A Xaositect factor once paid with a slap, a tickle and a wink which the wise man found amusing, but prospective clients are warned that despite any claims to the contrary, this is likely to be found funny only the once.>"

Rule-of-three stands by, patiently.

“Oh, I’ve got a lot of those,” Omiy says, she turns around and says in her best cheerful voice, “- What do you call a hobgoblin with one leg?” She waits a second, “A hopgoblin!”

>OOC< PAGE 100 of the THREAD, like Feels like rolling over the ODOMETER (or if you're old enough, the score in ASTEROIDS)!

RoT looks unimpressed.  We're not looking for anything valuable or magical, just a set of three things.  While your thinking of something to offer, anyone may make a perception, arcana or religion or insight check.  Each check is for a different thing you could see or know right now as you stand in the bar.

If it was uncertain, everyone, even people who took time to craft extra things, is here in the bar.

"I have another one for you," Omiy says, undiscouraged, "How much do tritons weigh? 3000 kg! Got it?"

Perception: 8