((And the hermit with the low Charisma score pull out all the stops and rolls a nat 20!!))
Arisa spends pretty much every day for the next week making contacts, around Waterdeep, seeking out people who might know where to find the kind of item that she seeks. She meets with priests, and socializes with a number of wealthy individuals and other people around the well-to-do Sea Ward and North Ward, gathering information on magic items and who might have them for sale in the city.
For someone who is not especially skilled or experienced with mingling and hob-nobbing with high society folk on such a social level, Arisa rises to the task, and is probably a bit surprised by the amount of success with he number of positive contacts that she's able to make in just a few days. By the end of the week, she has indeed found someone who connects her to certain individual who says he can obtain, through his own contacts, an Amulet of the Devout of uncommon rarity, (+1).
He is asking a sum of $500 for the item, and if you're interested in purchasing it, he can set up a meeting for you at the Dezlentyr Villa, which is located on the southeast corner of Delzorin Street and Feather Street.
(Awesome!. Now the socially inept hermit just needs to borrow 350 gold from her companions- and maybe get one of them to come with her to pick up the item, for final negotiations! She’s down to 152 GP. Any takers? Alternatively, could maybe hold and buy after our next haul. )
Vernon will spend the week split between Ovina's and escorting his friends. Depending on when Ovina finally gives him a price tag, he has 727.06G, minus expenses, that he will share when asked. At the minimum he will exchange out some of the small coins for bigger ones, if he hasn't offloaded them by the time he gets his stuff back.
(Thanks!). Arisa will borrow 150 GP from Siobhan and 200 gold from Vernon, promising to pay it back and telling them how this item will benefit the whole group, then she will go purchase the item, with escorts..)
Zyllith will give Arisa 100 gold after the fact. According to her it's mainly so that Arisa's not left completely coinless, or close enough to it. Most of it is in silver coins, though, 600 silver and 40 gold to be exact. You get the sense she probably wanted to reduce some of the bulk in her coinpurse as well.
Also during this time Zyllith will be inspired to search for an upgrade to her outfit to match her new sword. She's looking for stylish studded leather armor. Ideally she would want something like Glamoured Studded Leather armor to really enhance her whole look.
( p.s. also minor housekeeping note, she would have ended up just selling off her old, ruined rapier for whatever she could get for it )
By the end of the week, Siobhan has successfully crafted one potion of greater healing, two potions of healing and two vials of antitoxin, with the supplies she purchased from the herbalist.
Vernon has spent most afternoons and evenings with Ovina, and despite the fact that he was rather oblivious to her charms at first, after a couple of dates, eventually finds himself very much infatuated with the sweet and ruggedly attractive dwarven blacksmith. He spends as much time with her as possible, watching her work during the afternoons and then snuggling together and sharing food, drink and affections with her at the tavern in the Adventurer's Quarter.
During the course of the week, Ovina skillfully reshapes his hammer and repairs the intricate engravings on the head. She even adds a few of her own designs and embellishments; markings and runes that symbolize the loose, but solid alliances between dwarves and gnomes over the centuries. Her workmanship is excellent, and when she's finished, the hammer looks even better than it did before.
She also does an outstanding job on his shield, adding a unicorn that's holding a flaming hammer, with the sentinel's eye as the unicorn's shield. The total cost of the repair and engravings is 10 gp. The total cost of his week of dates with Ovina is 14 gp, not counting any extra gifts he might like to purchase for her.
Zyllith is unable to find any enchanted armor during her week in Waterdeep, although she is able to find a suit of more stylish studded leather armor than her current suit, and a selection of fine clothing that will certainly accentuate her appearance. The armor would cost 50 gp, the clothing 15 gp, and if she wants to sell her current amor, she'd get 10 gp for it.
Waiting for Belkas to let me know how he'll spend the week.
When it comes time for Arisa to go purchase the amulet, Zyllith accompanies her to the meeting place, a villa in the northern part of the city. Once they're let inside the main entry hall of the very fancy home, they meet with a tall, older human man, who's flanked by four armed bodyguards. He greets both of you, and then after the formalities of offering you fine crystal glasses of cinnamon tea, he says,
"As you can imagine, these matters can often be complicated, what with the work it takes to search out and procure such rare items. And as it turns out, you are not the only one who is interested in the amulet. Another bidder has decided to enter the negotiations. Ah... here he is now."
You look to see another person being escorted into the estate, and when the figure pulls their hood down, you see a young man in his mid twenties, dressed in fine cloth. He looks at Arisa and smiles with a wide, confident grin.
She instantly recognizes him. It's Ferghus, a man she knew a few years ago, but has not see since then. He was a friend she spent time with briefly, back when they were both first learning to study magic. He was always struggling, not just with his understanding of The Weave, but also with his own station in life. The generous person she is, Arisa would offer him help with his studies, and at one point, even helped him financially. Unfortunately, due to Ferghus's excessive pride, he grew to be extremely resentful of Arisa, which caused their friendship to sour. Eventually they lost contact.
When he sees her, Ferghus says with a sly grin, "Well, well...What an unexpected coincidence this is. Hello, Arisa."
After crafting her potions, Siobhan will give one Potion of Healing to Zyllith and the other to Arisa, keeping the Potion of Greater Healing in reserve. She also keeps the two antitoxin doses in her pouch, to keep on hand depending on where their adventures take them.
“Fergus…. I’ve been well. I hope you are as well. Fate IS curious, sometimes. So- you are also interested in this Amulet? I assume you also have the funds available and have repaid your err…other debts? How the , should we decide who can purchase it?” The tension in Arisa’s voice is palpable. She doesn’t attempt to hide her discomfort in the situation, while she truly doesn’t wish Fergus ill, she does not trust him or his intentions with the amulet. She looks to Zyllith for any ideas, hoping Zyllith knows Arisa well enough to sense the situation..
Ferghus answers, not at all trying to hide the smugness in his voice. “I am well, indeed, Arisa. Clearly better than when you last saw me. And if you’ll recall, I paid back every single coin that you loaned me, so fortunately, my finances are no longer your concern. But yes, I am here for the amulet, and there’s a very simple method to determines who walks out of here with it. We simply bid for it, am I right?”
He looks towards the older man in charge, who responds with a nod and looks towards Arisa. “You are correct.”
”Arisa, the original agreed on price was $500 dragons. Since you arrived first, I’ll let you open the bidding.”
“Well, 500 is certainly a fair price, but I can offer 520- and perhaps there’s something of interest aside from mere gold a purveyor of items such as this might be interested in?” Arisa studies both the seller and her former friend (insight 21 in log). She waits for Zyllith to do the persuasive part.
The older man looks towards Ferghus, who gives his head a slight, conceited flip and answers with his own bid.
"I can't imagine what you could possibly have that I might want, Arisa. What I want is right here, and I'm willing to pay 600 for it."
Arisa
You have enough history with Ferghus to know that he definitely has a calculating, devious side to his personality. When you were younger, you didn't notice it at first, probably due to your youthful naïveté and your willingness to see the good in people... and he did well to hide it behind his charm and good looks, which you easily fell for.
However, the more you got to know him, you begun to recognize his penchant for scheming and manipulation, which he was able to use to compensate for his lack of smarts. He's certainly not stupid, but you eventually realized that any "legs up" he got in life were gained more to his sense of trickery and cunning rather than through mere intelligence and hard work.
Seeing him now, you realize that he's not much different than he was before, just more polished in his manner, and his looks have only improved as he's gotten older. Still, you were never quite sure why he grew to resent you so much after you offered him such generous favors. That was always a bit confusing to you, and it hurt you when he ended the friendship. You tried so hard to help him through your genuine kindness, but clearly it didn't stick and he turned away.
If you had to guess, you'd put the odds at 50/50 that he doesn't really want the amulet, he just knows that YOU want it. Then again maybe he does want it; he's certainly acting like he has the means to obtain it, which begs all kinds of questions, like what's he been doing to earn that kind of coin, or who's he tricked into giving it to him, and why now, if in fact, it is not mere chance to suddenly meet him in these circumstances.
Arisa looks to Zyllith, and then at Fergus “I can certainly match that, but I’m curious- what is your interest in this item? I plan to use it to help fight a looming threat- you might have heard of the attacks on goldenfields and nightstone. I was there. I helped to repel the invasion on goldenfields. But what is clear is these were not isolated incidents- A looming crisis is coming, for all of the civilized people in these realms, and I have to do what I can to stop it.. sometimes, money shouldn’t be the only consideration in these sorts of transactions..”
(( Note: Zyllith would have bought the upgraded, more stylish armor and clothing before this, so she's definitely looking more impressive then a typical adventurer off the street :D ))
Zyllith looks back at Arisa then turns towards Ferghus. Unlike Arisa she doesn't know this man at all, neither his desires nor intentions, he's just a stranger to her. Yet it's quite clear to her that he's an obstacle to the item Arisa needs, and that means she needs Arisa to have it.
Leaning forward towards Ferghus, Zyllith is happy to lay on the charm in an attempt to resolve this in their favor, peacefully.
"Aye, what a might grand bloke ye are. Ol' mate of Arisa are ye? Always lovely ta' meet more friends, ya? Me name's Zyllith, an' as she mentioned we be working together ta' prevent a terrible fate. No doubt a fine lass as yerself would be happy ta take yer part in preventin' a future tragedy. But nae ta' worry, no' expectin' ye ta run a charity 'ere. Clear ye both 'ave need o' this trinket. As luck would 'ave it, we managed ta' secure tha' backin' o' dragons, nae called Dragon's Aces fer nothin'. Be easy ta' just outbid ye' but would jus' be a waste o' coin fer us both, don' ye think? What say we find another, simpler way ta' decide who gets it? Rather than showerin' Waterdeep in platinum suns."
Responding to Arisa, Ferghus throws his head back in an accented eye-roll.
"Oooohh my... you haven't changed a bit, Arisa. Always so dramatic and self-important, just as you always have been. Listen to yourself! You talk of invasions and looming threats to all civilized folk in the Realms... as if you're going to be the one to save us all. We should all bow down to your pompous and grandiose pontifications of greatness. Well, I know you better than most, and I've heard nothing of these invasions you speak of that will doom us all if we do not place all of our trust and resources into the hands of one simple girl who thinks she's better than she really is."
Turning to Zyllith, he answers,
"Tell me, lady Zyllith, you sound like you've been to places near and far from here; what did she say to bring you into her web of imagination and epic storytelling? Because, clearly she has done just that, with your talk of dragons who are supposedly on your side in this big, imaginative war that will surely bring an end to humanity."
"I have no intention to play along with with your little game of "who's more important." I have my own backers, and I don't need to pretend that they're any more grand than they really are. That said, you seem like you know that value of negotiation, at least better than Arisa here, so I'm inclined to hear your offer before outbidding you and walking out of here with the amulet."
"So tell me, Zyllith. What do you have in mind? What you proposing to offer me to walk away and let you have it?"
Arisa feels her face flush with anger at Fergus’ response. In her mind’s ear, She could hear all the admonishments of her mother warning her about “slick city-folk that couldn’t be trusted”.
For a moment she pictured even whacking the jerk with her staff, or blasting him with a firebolt… he would not think so lightly of this ””self important girl” then!.
but she simply takes a breath, and looks at the person selling the item, pointedly ignoring Fergus entirely. “It’s ultimately your decision. We will match this one’s offer. Fergus here has always been dishonest in his means and rude in his manners. I am simply a cleric serving my goddess. I believe I was called here to acquire this item, for the purpose I explained to you. What I have said about the danger is true- I have not the capacity nor the need to lie, as Fergus does so well. I am no storyteller- but perhaps the tale of the battle of golden fields would be worth a moment of your time- as it is the Granary of the North..”
she pours some water from her waterskin onto the table before them, and as ahe does, the water animates, and illustrates the key moments of the battle shape water while Zyllith narrates. (With help from Arisa)
Zyllith remained defiantly in front of Ferghus, refusing to back down from his posturing. He was really starting to anger her with his attitude and that made Zyllith even more determined to get that amulet from him. Not that she was about to show any of that to him.
"Whot? Pardon? Ye' suggestin' Arisa 'ere twas sweettalking me inta' her good graces or somethin'? HA! I love tha' lass dearly an' all but she's no' really tha' silver tongued devil ye' make her out ta' be. If'n anythin' twas tha' other way around. As fer tha' dragon bit, I'm speakin' from personal experience, havin' talk ta' tha' big lizard meself. No' like I expect ye' ta' believe tha', 'course, no' wit' yer grand backers' will ta' fulfill. I can understand tha', 'cause unlike you neither of us assumed yer backers were any less important then our own."
As Arisa prepares the retelling Zyllith moves next to the watery display to follow along, "Ah yes, Arisa has tha' right o' it. After all yer mighty friends would definitely want to know 'bout the threats to their bottom line. So why don' we educate ye' on the real goin's on outside tha' city walls. Then ye and yer backers can determine if stoppin' it might be worth a single trinket, yea. If yer still no' convinced then, well I'd be happy ta wager the thing on a game o' skill o' yer choosin'. But first, listen to this..."
Zyllith would join Arisa, narrating the events with her usual flair.
The older man in charge listens to the heated exchange between parties, then watches part of Arisa's watery presentation. About halfway through, he waves his hand and says,
"That's quite enough, I do not need to see more. Everyone has a story. Yes, Arisa, I am well aware of your interest in this item and the purposes for which you would use it. Ferghus, you have come with your offer as well, but I care not for any personal squabbles you may have with each other. That is highly inappropriate for such a meeting as this. If you choose to place outside wagers with each other, there is a time for that, and it is not right now."
"What matters here in this moment, is price, so let us get back to that. The amulet will go to the highest bidder. Ferghus stated his last bid at 600, which you said you would match, Arisa. So, I will ask Ferghus, will you bid above that?"
Fergus grumbles under his breath, and then regains his composure, although he shoots a sneer at Arisa and Zyllith. "Yes, of course. I apologize and regret that this proceeding has been unfortunately drawn into a show of entertainment and swagger. I will raise my bid to 700."
The man in charge then looks back at Arisa for her answer.
(Insight 15 to see how high this is likely to go.. Arisa sees this as a necessity, and is too stubborn to walk away from it. She has 600 gold on her (well moat is in silvers and platinum)
Belkas mostly stays inside, practicing his illusions and avoiding crowds. He will obtain, or ask others to get for him, packages of pepper and flour that Crowley could drop on opponents from above. Pepper to affect their eyes and flour in case they encounter an invisible opponent. He will also need ingredients to resummon Crowley if something should happen to him.
--
(Sorry for the silence. I was away on a work trip with unexpectedly overwhelming amounts of work and almost no internet connectivity.)
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((And the hermit with the low Charisma score pull out all the stops and rolls a nat 20!!))
Arisa spends pretty much every day for the next week making contacts, around Waterdeep, seeking out people who might know where to find the kind of item that she seeks. She meets with priests, and socializes with a number of wealthy individuals and other people around the well-to-do Sea Ward and North Ward, gathering information on magic items and who might have them for sale in the city.
For someone who is not especially skilled or experienced with mingling and hob-nobbing with high society folk on such a social level, Arisa rises to the task, and is probably a bit surprised by the amount of success with he number of positive contacts that she's able to make in just a few days. By the end of the week, she has indeed found someone who connects her to certain individual who says he can obtain, through his own contacts, an Amulet of the Devout of uncommon rarity, (+1).
He is asking a sum of $500 for the item, and if you're interested in purchasing it, he can set up a meeting for you at the Dezlentyr Villa, which is located on the southeast corner of Delzorin Street and Feather Street.
(Awesome!. Now the socially inept hermit just needs to borrow 350 gold from her companions- and maybe get one of them to come with her to pick up the item, for final negotiations! She’s down to 152 GP. Any takers? Alternatively, could maybe hold and buy after our next haul. )
Vernon will spend the week split between Ovina's and escorting his friends. Depending on when Ovina finally gives him a price tag, he has 727.06G, minus expenses, that he will share when asked. At the minimum he will exchange out some of the small coins for bigger ones, if he hasn't offloaded them by the time he gets his stuff back.
(Siobhan will happily pitch in for Arisa’s amulet - she offers to contribute 150 to the cause.)
(Thanks!). Arisa will borrow 150 GP from Siobhan and 200 gold from Vernon, promising to pay it back and telling them how this item will benefit the whole group, then she will go purchase the item, with escorts..)
Zyllith will give Arisa 100 gold after the fact. According to her it's mainly so that Arisa's not left completely coinless, or close enough to it. Most of it is in silver coins, though, 600 silver and 40 gold to be exact. You get the sense she probably wanted to reduce some of the bulk in her coinpurse as well.
Also during this time Zyllith will be inspired to search for an upgrade to her outfit to match her new sword. She's looking for stylish studded leather armor. Ideally she would want something like Glamoured Studded Leather armor to really enhance her whole look.
( p.s. also minor housekeeping note, she would have ended up just selling off her old, ruined rapier for whatever she could get for it )
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
By the end of the week, Siobhan has successfully crafted one potion of greater healing, two potions of healing and two vials of antitoxin, with the supplies she purchased from the herbalist.
Vernon has spent most afternoons and evenings with Ovina, and despite the fact that he was rather oblivious to her charms at first, after a couple of dates, eventually finds himself very much infatuated with the sweet and ruggedly attractive dwarven blacksmith. He spends as much time with her as possible, watching her work during the afternoons and then snuggling together and sharing food, drink and affections with her at the tavern in the Adventurer's Quarter.
During the course of the week, Ovina skillfully reshapes his hammer and repairs the intricate engravings on the head. She even adds a few of her own designs and embellishments; markings and runes that symbolize the loose, but solid alliances between dwarves and gnomes over the centuries. Her workmanship is excellent, and when she's finished, the hammer looks even better than it did before.
She also does an outstanding job on his shield, adding a unicorn that's holding a flaming hammer, with the sentinel's eye as the unicorn's shield. The total cost of the repair and engravings is 10 gp. The total cost of his week of dates with Ovina is 14 gp, not counting any extra gifts he might like to purchase for her.
Zyllith is unable to find any enchanted armor during her week in Waterdeep, although she is able to find a suit of more stylish studded leather armor than her current suit, and a selection of fine clothing that will certainly accentuate her appearance. The armor would cost 50 gp, the clothing 15 gp, and if she wants to sell her current amor, she'd get 10 gp for it.
Waiting for Belkas to let me know how he'll spend the week.
When it comes time for Arisa to go purchase the amulet, Zyllith accompanies her to the meeting place, a villa in the northern part of the city. Once they're let inside the main entry hall of the very fancy home, they meet with a tall, older human man, who's flanked by four armed bodyguards. He greets both of you, and then after the formalities of offering you fine crystal glasses of cinnamon tea, he says,
"As you can imagine, these matters can often be complicated, what with the work it takes to search out and procure such rare items. And as it turns out, you are not the only one who is interested in the amulet. Another bidder has decided to enter the negotiations. Ah... here he is now."
You look to see another person being escorted into the estate, and when the figure pulls their hood down, you see a young man in his mid twenties, dressed in fine cloth. He looks at Arisa and smiles with a wide, confident grin.
She instantly recognizes him. It's Ferghus, a man she knew a few years ago, but has not see since then. He was a friend she spent time with briefly, back when they were both first learning to study magic. He was always struggling, not just with his understanding of The Weave, but also with his own station in life. The generous person she is, Arisa would offer him help with his studies, and at one point, even helped him financially. Unfortunately, due to Ferghus's excessive pride, he grew to be extremely resentful of Arisa, which caused their friendship to sour. Eventually they lost contact.
When he sees her, Ferghus says with a sly grin, "Well, well...What an unexpected coincidence this is. Hello, Arisa."
After crafting her potions, Siobhan will give one Potion of Healing to Zyllith and the other to Arisa, keeping the Potion of Greater Healing in reserve. She also keeps the two antitoxin doses in her pouch, to keep on hand depending on where their adventures take them.
“Fergus…. I’ve been well. I hope you are as well. Fate IS curious, sometimes. So- you are also interested in this Amulet? I assume you also have the funds available and have repaid your err…other debts? How the , should we decide who can purchase it?” The tension in Arisa’s voice is palpable. She doesn’t attempt to hide her discomfort in the situation, while she truly doesn’t wish Fergus ill, she does not trust him or his intentions with the amulet. She looks to Zyllith for any ideas, hoping Zyllith knows Arisa well enough to sense the situation..
Ferghus answers, not at all trying to hide the smugness in his voice. “I am well, indeed, Arisa. Clearly better than when you last saw me. And if you’ll recall, I paid back every single coin that you loaned me, so fortunately, my finances are no longer your concern. But yes, I am here for the amulet, and there’s a very simple method to determines who walks out of here with it. We simply bid for it, am I right?”
He looks towards the older man in charge, who responds with a nod and looks towards Arisa. “You are correct.”
”Arisa, the original agreed on price was $500 dragons. Since you arrived first, I’ll let you open the bidding.”
“Well, 500 is certainly a fair price, but I can offer 520- and perhaps there’s something of interest aside from mere gold a purveyor of items such as this might be interested in?” Arisa studies both the seller and her former friend (insight 21 in log). She waits for Zyllith to do the persuasive part.
The older man looks towards Ferghus, who gives his head a slight, conceited flip and answers with his own bid.
"I can't imagine what you could possibly have that I might want, Arisa. What I want is right here, and I'm willing to pay 600 for it."
Arisa
You have enough history with Ferghus to know that he definitely has a calculating, devious side to his personality. When you were younger, you didn't notice it at first, probably due to your youthful naïveté and your willingness to see the good in people... and he did well to hide it behind his charm and good looks, which you easily fell for.
However, the more you got to know him, you begun to recognize his penchant for scheming and manipulation, which he was able to use to compensate for his lack of smarts. He's certainly not stupid, but you eventually realized that any "legs up" he got in life were gained more to his sense of trickery and cunning rather than through mere intelligence and hard work.
Seeing him now, you realize that he's not much different than he was before, just more polished in his manner, and his looks have only improved as he's gotten older. Still, you were never quite sure why he grew to resent you so much after you offered him such generous favors. That was always a bit confusing to you, and it hurt you when he ended the friendship. You tried so hard to help him through your genuine kindness, but clearly it didn't stick and he turned away.
If you had to guess, you'd put the odds at 50/50 that he doesn't really want the amulet, he just knows that YOU want it. Then again maybe he does want it; he's certainly acting like he has the means to obtain it, which begs all kinds of questions, like what's he been doing to earn that kind of coin, or who's he tricked into giving it to him, and why now, if in fact, it is not mere chance to suddenly meet him in these circumstances.
Arisa looks to Zyllith, and then at Fergus “I can certainly match that, but I’m curious- what is your interest in this item? I plan to use it to help fight a looming threat- you might have heard of the attacks on goldenfields and nightstone. I was there. I helped to repel the invasion on goldenfields. But what is clear is these were not isolated incidents- A looming crisis is coming, for all of the civilized people in these realms, and I have to do what I can to stop it.. sometimes, money shouldn’t be the only consideration in these sorts of transactions..”
(( Note: Zyllith would have bought the upgraded, more stylish armor and clothing before this, so she's definitely looking more impressive then a typical adventurer off the street :D ))
Zyllith looks back at Arisa then turns towards Ferghus. Unlike Arisa she doesn't know this man at all, neither his desires nor intentions, he's just a stranger to her. Yet it's quite clear to her that he's an obstacle to the item Arisa needs, and that means she needs Arisa to have it.
Leaning forward towards Ferghus, Zyllith is happy to lay on the charm in an attempt to resolve this in their favor, peacefully.
"Aye, what a might grand bloke ye are. Ol' mate of Arisa are ye? Always lovely ta' meet more friends, ya? Me name's Zyllith, an' as she mentioned we be working together ta' prevent a terrible fate. No doubt a fine lass as yerself would be happy ta take yer part in preventin' a future tragedy. But nae ta' worry, no' expectin' ye ta run a charity 'ere. Clear ye both 'ave need o' this trinket. As luck would 'ave it, we managed ta' secure tha' backin' o' dragons, nae called Dragon's Aces fer nothin'. Be easy ta' just outbid ye' but would jus' be a waste o' coin fer us both, don' ye think? What say we find another, simpler way ta' decide who gets it? Rather than showerin' Waterdeep in platinum suns."
(( Persuasion: 14+8 = 22 ))
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
Responding to Arisa, Ferghus throws his head back in an accented eye-roll.
"Oooohh my... you haven't changed a bit, Arisa. Always so dramatic and self-important, just as you always have been. Listen to yourself! You talk of invasions and looming threats to all civilized folk in the Realms... as if you're going to be the one to save us all. We should all bow down to your pompous and grandiose pontifications of greatness. Well, I know you better than most, and I've heard nothing of these invasions you speak of that will doom us all if we do not place all of our trust and resources into the hands of one simple girl who thinks she's better than she really is."
Turning to Zyllith, he answers,
"Tell me, lady Zyllith, you sound like you've been to places near and far from here; what did she say to bring you into her web of imagination and epic storytelling? Because, clearly she has done just that, with your talk of dragons who are supposedly on your side in this big, imaginative war that will surely bring an end to humanity."
"I have no intention to play along with with your little game of "who's more important." I have my own backers, and I don't need to pretend that they're any more grand than they really are. That said, you seem like you know that value of negotiation, at least better than Arisa here, so I'm inclined to hear your offer before outbidding you and walking out of here with the amulet."
"So tell me, Zyllith. What do you have in mind? What you proposing to offer me to walk away and let you have it?"
Arisa feels her face flush with anger at Fergus’ response. In her mind’s ear, She could hear all the admonishments of her mother warning her about “slick city-folk that couldn’t be trusted”.
For a moment she pictured even whacking the jerk with her staff, or blasting him with a firebolt… he would not think so lightly of this ””self important girl” then!.
but she simply takes a breath, and looks at the person selling the item, pointedly ignoring Fergus entirely. “It’s ultimately your decision. We will match this one’s offer. Fergus here has always been dishonest in his means and rude in his manners. I am simply a cleric serving my goddess. I believe I was called here to acquire this item, for the purpose I explained to you. What I have said about the danger is true- I have not the capacity nor the need to lie, as Fergus does so well. I am no storyteller- but perhaps the tale of the battle of golden fields would be worth a moment of your time- as it is the Granary of the North..”
she pours some water from her waterskin onto the table before them, and as ahe does, the water animates, and illustrates the key moments of the battle shape water while Zyllith narrates. (With help from Arisa)
Zyllith remained defiantly in front of Ferghus, refusing to back down from his posturing. He was really starting to anger her with his attitude and that made Zyllith even more determined to get that amulet from him. Not that she was about to show any of that to him.
"Whot? Pardon? Ye' suggestin' Arisa 'ere twas sweettalking me inta' her good graces or somethin'? HA! I love tha' lass dearly an' all but she's no' really tha' silver tongued devil ye' make her out ta' be. If'n anythin' twas tha' other way around. As fer tha' dragon bit, I'm speakin' from personal experience, havin' talk ta' tha' big lizard meself. No' like I expect ye' ta' believe tha', 'course, no' wit' yer grand backers' will ta' fulfill. I can understand tha', 'cause unlike you neither of us assumed yer backers were any less important then our own."
As Arisa prepares the retelling Zyllith moves next to the watery display to follow along, "Ah yes, Arisa has tha' right o' it. After all yer mighty friends would definitely want to know 'bout the threats to their bottom line. So why don' we educate ye' on the real goin's on outside tha' city walls. Then ye and yer backers can determine if stoppin' it might be worth a single trinket, yea. If yer still no' convinced then, well I'd be happy ta wager the thing on a game o' skill o' yer choosin'. But first, listen to this..."
Zyllith would join Arisa, narrating the events with her usual flair.
Sylnache Ashrain - 7th Sojourn
The older man in charge listens to the heated exchange between parties, then watches part of Arisa's watery presentation. About halfway through, he waves his hand and says,
"That's quite enough, I do not need to see more. Everyone has a story. Yes, Arisa, I am well aware of your interest in this item and the purposes for which you would use it. Ferghus, you have come with your offer as well, but I care not for any personal squabbles you may have with each other. That is highly inappropriate for such a meeting as this. If you choose to place outside wagers with each other, there is a time for that, and it is not right now."
"What matters here in this moment, is price, so let us get back to that. The amulet will go to the highest bidder. Ferghus stated his last bid at 600, which you said you would match, Arisa. So, I will ask Ferghus, will you bid above that?"
Fergus grumbles under his breath, and then regains his composure, although he shoots a sneer at Arisa and Zyllith. "Yes, of course. I apologize and regret that this proceeding has been unfortunately drawn into a show of entertainment and swagger. I will raise my bid to 700."
The man in charge then looks back at Arisa for her answer.
(Insight 15 to see how high this is likely to go.. Arisa sees this as a necessity, and is too stubborn to walk away from it. She has 600 gold on her (well moat is in silvers and platinum)
Belkas mostly stays inside, practicing his illusions and avoiding crowds. He will obtain, or ask others to get for him, packages of pepper and flour that Crowley could drop on opponents from above. Pepper to affect their eyes and flour in case they encounter an invisible opponent. He will also need ingredients to resummon Crowley if something should happen to him.
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(Sorry for the silence. I was away on a work trip with unexpectedly overwhelming amounts of work and almost no internet connectivity.)