Storm King's Thunder

"untrustworthy isn't the same as hostile and we have no bones to pick with them, no reason not to use the front gate"

Ink is pretty worn out from the walk up here, and doesn’t feel very insightful. 

The magical items that Flint identified are a rope of climbing, a pouch filled with dust of disappearance, and a saddle of the cavalier.

Announcing yourself at the main gates of the Yakfolk Village is a simple matter. You are met by a trio of massive, shaggy bull Yakfolks, and brought to the large hut of the chieftain.

The biggest of the Yakfolk dwellings, this grand hut stands on a raised piece of ground. The entrance to the hut is covered with a beaded curtain, and faces an outdoor campfire.

The Yakfolk chief, adorned in many bright colors, welcomes warmly you into his home and immediately orders warm food and drink to be brought. He introduces himself as Kartha-Kaya. “You must be exhausted from your journey,” he says in a low, booming voice. “You are welcome to rest here as long as you like—and when you have had some time to recuperate from climbing the stair, you are welcome to share your reason for traveling so far to this place.”

The interior of the hut is one large chamber dominated by a shallow, 10-foot-diameter, circular pit. A campfire in the middle of this pit keeps the hut nice and warm.

Cushions are piled up towards the back of the hut, where there are also baskets laden with foodstuffs, and painted clay vessels. These vessels—containing wine, water, and nourishing broth—are brought forth by two Yakfolk women. Kartha-Kaya tells you that these are his wives, Imberu and Nahala.

Between the fire pit and the south wall is an ornately engraved bronze gong and a wooden mallet that has a head padded with yak hide. The gong and the mallet hang from a wooden frame.

Attending the chief and his wives are three naked moon-elves, two males and one female. They follow orders and assist in bringing foodstuffs to you.

"your hospitality is appreciated chieftain. May I ask, has your village had any troubles from say... a Chimera, of late?"

“The monster is known to us, but we have learned to coexist. We leave it alone, and it leaves us alone. Did you happen to encounter it?” The chief booms his question.

"yes we did, however we found ourselves unable to 'coexist' as you did. to be honest I was half hoping it had been a thorn in your side and removing it was worth reward. such is the life of a bounty hunter"

"You have quiet a nice set up here. I grew up hearing of your tribe's greatness. I assumed it was all just stories." He glances around, his eyes lingering over the slaves. "Nice setup here. How do you handle the giants in these parts? I have dealt with their variety before and have had mixed results."

Ink observes the elves. Looking for signs of distress, coerced servitude or possible signals they may be trying to send Ink or the others.

//

Ink also looks at the chief's wives and the elves, curious as to whether they're eating or not... // Perception 17 

Quote from Gimpster >>

"yes we did, however we found ourselves unable to 'coexist' as you did. to be honest I was half hoping it had been a thorn in your side and removing it was worth reward. such is the life of a bounty hunter"

 “But of course! This is joyous news.” Chief Kartha-Kaya calls for his pipe, which is brought by the female moon elf. “Now we are able to safely travel from our village again. I do not have much to give you, though I would would be happy to negotiate some payment. But first, we celebrate! Sit, please, and join me in a bowl of our own celebration leaf.” The chief lights the dried contents in the massive pipe bowl, inhales deeply, and passes the pipe around. 

"While I would love to, my lungs got singed pretty bad fighting that Chimera and the idea of smoke, no matter how good it sounds, is probably a bad idea." Don indicates some singed bits on his cloak.

As you all sit enjoying the drinks, fresh food, and warm atmosphere, Chief Kartha-Kaya answers Don. “Aye, there are fire giants living in the mines below us. A tribe of them...moved in recently,” says the chief. “We have an understanding with them as well. We provide them food, and they leave us alone.”

Ink notices that these moon elves aren’t looking any of you in the eye. They keep their faces down, and quickly obey when spoken to. They assist the Chief’s wives in serving you all the food and drink that you desire, but aren’t allowed to smoke the Chief’s pipe with you.

Quote from Hardcopi >>

"While I would love to, my lungs got singed pretty bad fighting that Chimera and the idea of smoke, no matter how good it sounds, is probably a bad idea." Don indicates some singed bits on his cloak.

 (Go ahead with a Charisma check)

Crownsguard is remaining emotionless. He’s elected that his best play here is that of a dumb machine. He tries to appear much more robotic than usual.

Deception: 23

 Persuasion 15

After observing the chief and his wives, Ink ate a little food as a matter of respect towards the hospitality being shown. When offered the pipe, he says, "Unfortunately, I cannot partake in that... smoke, ash and fire don't always agree with me..." As he says this, his hands twirl and he creates a minor illusion within his hands depicting a fireball blossoming on repeat. Ink goes through the somatic motions again and at their crescendo, the illusion of the fireball disappears.... However an illusion mimicking what lays behind the gong appears and a few seconds after that an owl appears within the illusion... Hidden.

// Quill's Stealth Check w/ advantage 16 

Kartha-Kaya snorts, obviously offended that Don and Ink have refused the pipe. But he leaves it at that, and instructs his elven slaves to keep passing it around (it’s very big).

After a good stint of time, the chief exhales a big ring of smoke. “Now is time for negotiations. I am reasonably impressed that you were able to deal with the chimera, and am sure you have considerable power at your disposal. Before we get to business, may I ask why you’ve come all this way?”

The chief doesn’t seem to notice Quill appearing behind the gong. 

"We've outstanding negotiations with Duke Zalto that we're here to settle. Our benefactors recommended we go from top to bottom, regarding the forge and its mining operations - so we're doing just that," Ink replies matter-of-factly.

"With that said, Don here," Ink nods in Don's direction, "had mentioned wanting to do some possible side business, after observing your idyllic village."

"Of course! We are always happy to entertain business propositions. What did you have in mind?" The yakfolk chief continues blowing big smoke rings, and encourages Matrix and Flint to do the same. At the same time he orders the slaves to provide some entertainment. One of the male elves begins to play a small drum, and the other two elves dance listlessly to the beat. While they dance, Kartha-Kaya's wives refill your drinks and offer you more refreshments—dried fruit, cooked roots & squashes. 

"Are you sure you don't want to try our smoking leaf? It has medicinal powers," he says to Don & Ink, once more offering his oversized pipe with a bullish grunt. "It keeps you healthy and happy."

Don walks toward the dancing elves, eyeing them like one would cattle his hands behind his back. "Interesting, what keeps them so docile?"

//Don is gonna try and look into the female elf's eyes when his back is toward the chief. He demeanor is that of a buyer almost, someone admiring the work of the chief. He wants to see if the elf is "in there" or if she looks drugged. Dull eyes, dilated, etc. 

Perception: 21

The female elf keeps her eyes downcast, and avoids Don's gaze. 

"They have a good life here," says the chief, blowing another smoke ring. "They are fed well, and they have a purpose."