After sharing the loot, Khessa realizes she still can't afford the purchase she wanted most: a real spellbook!

Although initially she twists her mouth a little, clearly disappointed, she consoles herself by thinking: 'But I don't lack a lot of money, after all. With the earnings from the next quest, you will finally be mine, spellbook of my dreams! Also... there is something I can already afford and that is still quite important to me! Time for some wizardly shopping!?'

And so the blonde arcane warrior buys 10 gp worth of charcoal, incense, and herbs.

'Anator...' she thinks, trembling a little with emotion, while Linene Graywind hands her the precious components 'we are about to meet again!'

Quote from Goddess_Nyx >>

Linene Graywind eyes the adventurers with curiosity as they show her the wares they have to offer. 

"Where did you find this stuff?" she asks. "Not that I won't take it mind, but I'm just curious."

...

"What a boring world would it be without curiosity?" Khessa winks at Linene "I can well understand you! You know, we helped Dazlyn and Norbus, the two dwarven prospectors, exploring and cleaning up a place they had discovered. An interesting place, if a little unfriendly! But now that we cleaned it up, it's not bad. In fact, you know? Maybe now that it's been cleaned it will also be used for Phandalin's good! The dwarves are just talking about it with Harbin. That is, if they managed to get him to open for them - or if they lost patience and broke down his door. However, many of the items we are offering you here come from said 'clean up' operation. And here?" smiles the blonde arcane warrior "Did something unusual happen today here in the village during our absence?"

"Finally!" Linene Graywind exclaims. "Finally we get some people in this town who know what they're doing and actually help out! I won't name names, but let's just say we've been lacking effective leadership lately." 

Linene shakes her head. "Luckily, all has been peaceful today, no sign of that scaly beast that's been plaguing the skies. Maybe it will move on and leave our little town alone." 

Quote from Goddess_Nyx >>

...Linene shakes her head. "Luckily, all has been peaceful today, no sign of that scaly beast that's been plaguing the skies. Maybe it will move on and leave our little town alone." 

"You know?" Khessa comes near Linene and puts her arm around the woman's shoulders in a very conspiratorial manner "I've really got the impression that it will do exactly that, in the end. It will leave the town alone and will never be heared off again. Yes, I really think this is how things will go in the end" she winks, and she goes to the door, smiling, to exit "Have a nice day, my dear, I hope to come and do business again in not a too long time!"

Once out of the trading post, Khessa, incredibly excited about her purchase, immediately looks for her 'Moon Sister' and announces: "Echo! Look! I finally managed to buy some components for an exceptional ritual! Want to come and see while I cast it? You have no idea what surprise... Of course, since it's so powerful, it takes a while to cast it... maybe about an hour... but you will see that the wait will be worth it! If you want to watch, come, just don't interrupt me, ok? Speaking of interruptions... do you know a place where we could stay undisturbed for about an hour?"

Rel, misunderstanding idioms used on the surface as ever, becomes confused by the shopkeeper's reluctance to speak people's names.

"Why do you not 'name names' of ineffective leaders such as Townmaster Harbin Wester?  Is it... considered rude to do so when he is... not present?  When we first knocked on his door to help with the midwife, he thought we were the dragon and... protested that he was too bony to make a good meal.  Is it that... he is ashamed of being skinny?  I myself am perhaps too thin, but I have never been embarrassed about..."

She trails off, hoping she hasn't caused offense.  Returning to more comfortable ground, she finds, again, that she is more pessimistic than her friends.

"Thank you for the shield, Linene Graywind.  And soon, I hope to buy the studded leather armor you have there.  We will all need better equipment soon enough.  These problems.  The dragon.  The... orcs.  I do not think they will go away on their own, despite our wishes."

She only stumbles a little when she speaks of the orcs.

Echo picks up various equipment and then places them back down. Not having any particular interest in weapons or armour, she just wanders the place and takes a look at everything. She circles back to the front and huffs out a little laugh seeing Rel speak of the townmaster. With all seriousness she can master, she says, "it's rude to talk behind people's backs. So next time, we should just tell it to his face!" She laughs, "I bet he's just scared, I wish he took a page out of your book and was more straightforward with everything. If he just admitted it, he'd be less annoying."

Hearing Khessa call for her, she hops out and enthusiastically replies, "I do! I wanna see! Do you want help-? Oh, I'm sure the Stonehill Inn has rooms you can borrow- unless you need somewhere bigger? Or outside? There's a bunch of just open fields around here."

Quote from guyu >>

...Hearing Khessa call for her, she hops out and enthusiastically replies, "I do! I wanna see! Do you want help-? Oh, I'm sure the Stonehill Inn has rooms you can borrow- unless you need somewhere bigger? Or outside? There's a bunch of just open fields around here."

"Yes, for that ritual I think I'll feel better outside!" admits Khessa; she then follows her 'sister' to an open field of her choice and, under the impassive gaze of the surrounding mountains, she begins the magical procedure.

The tall warrior-mage starts fetching a brass brazier and burning in it charcoal, incense, and herbs with a penetrating scent, chanting ancient formulas and slightly swaying her body to the rhythm of the invocation.

As the ritual comes to life, the form of the invocation becomes more rhythmic and faster, at times hypnotic, until, in the end, when the substances in the brazier have been completely consumed and even the last clouds of smoke are dissipating in the air, a small winged creature descends from above, several meters above the summoner's head... although it's hard to tell how long it had been there! No one has seen it approach... Did it appear out of nowhere?
Always behaving as if everything were perfectly normal, the little creature leans on Khessa's shoulder. It looks like a bat. But the familiarity with which he deals with Khessa and the light of intelligence in the back of his eyes makes one suspect that he is something else.

"See how cute?!" Khessa scratches him under his fur "You can touch him, he won't hurt you. He is our new friend. A magical friend. He is my 'familiar'. A celestial spirit who came down from heaven with the important task of being good company for us! And he will also help us to free Phandalin from Cryovain's threat! He can do a lot of things! He can see without light, just like a real bat! But in addition, he can see and hear things for me. And he can even touch things or people in my place. He understands what I tell him or what I think... Look!"
To better demonstrate, the blonde arcane warrior first enchants a pebble by making it shed a purple light, then she turns to the familiar: "Anator, could you please bring this magic stone to a brave girl who, in truth, is a star?"
And promptly the bat flies to Khessa's hand and takes the purple pebble to Echo.

"What's more," Khessa adds, "he can also disappear" (the bat promptly vanishes into thin air) "and then reappear next to me!" (and here he reappears on her shoulder).

"I called him Anator," the voice of the tall warrior-mage grows sweet "like one of my brothers, the one who died during the drow slave raid. Anator died trying to protect us. And I believe that wherever he is now, he never stopped trying to do it. This spell summons a celestial spirit... And I think the spirit that was sent to me may be Anator's. He would have come, if some celestial power had proposed this to him. I think it's him" and caresses him. "Welcome back, Anator! We'll get the others back too. This is a very dear friend of mine, do you see? Echo is her name and she also, like me now, can do magic. But her most beatiful magic is the one of her heart. You can trust her as you trust me. And I hope you'll be a friend (if not a brother) for her just like you are for me!"

(OOC: I do not imply that Khessa is right when she believes that the spirit of her familiar is the spirit of her dead brother Anator... This is only what Khessa thinks. At the DM's discretion, she might well be absolutely wrong)

Since the summoning is finished, a particularly high-spirited Khessa recovers her brazier, hides Anator (perched on her shoulder) with her abundant golden locks and proposes to Echo: "Shall we go back to the others?" and while she is still speaking, she is already farstriding in direction of Phandalin "We still have to organize the expedition to the gnomes... and I think there is a good chance that we will meet the bulk of the orc troop (they must be somewhere, affter all, and we still have to meet them). I would therefore like to ask another friend of ours (I mean Tookrashk) to accompany us! It should like to help us killing some Orcs, as we can let it eat them later (or take them to its lair as a supply for the future). With its help, beating orcs should be easier. And it would also be a good test to see if it can cooperate well with us. Why not test with the orcs, before trying the cooperation against the dragon?"

...and this is in fact what she proposes, when he finds Rel and Jasper (after introducing Anator to them too).

Jasper sitting at a table at the inn for quite some time. He gestures to the bar keep or maiden to order some food. “Good afternoon! All is well in Phandalin today? If you could, I would like some stew, bread and some water. Thank you. My companions may be joining me. Could you please steam up some cabbage? And bring an assortment of fruits if you have some? Oh! Eggs, bacon, and porridge.” Jasper smiles… “Thank you again!”

Echo helps clear out a flat area in the field, then sits on the soft grass and watches Khessa work. About to fall asleep towards the end of the hour, she blinks up from where she's layed down and spots the little creature descending from the skies. She gasps, "is that..?!" She immediately sits up and comes over to pet the little thing as invited. Cooing, she scratches Anator behind the ear, "he's like a little sky puppy... so talented!!" Hearing the origins of Anator, Echo's voice cracks a little and she exclaims, "that's so wonderful!" She gives Anator a few more pets on the head, "you are here to watch over Khessa? Thank you so much, I bet Rel and Jasper would like to meet you too, we all got Khessa's back!"

As they walk back to town, Echo considers, "oh that's right, the gnomes are still waiting for the news! I don't know where we would find Tookrashk though? Do we need to get more meat for him to come back out? Maybe I'll get a bite with him too..."

(ooc: It's so sweet Khessa named the bat after her brother ;w;)

"I do not think he needs more meat now... we, with Adabra and Tom the butcher, arranged regular delivery..." reflects Khessa "But 'getting a bite with him' might strenghten the idea that we are the same pack. I like it! And to find Tookrashk I hope we can simply wait by Adabra's mill until he shows up. I think he comes every day for his meal"

"Oh," she adds, smiling "Anator seems to like you much. He tells me he feels a real 'affinity' for you. Not sure what he means exactly, but the fact that he likes you does not surprise me a bit! Anator had always been kind-hearted - and expecially attracted to kind-hearted people as well".

As the girls of the Moon and the Sun return to Phandalin, Khessa starts looking for her companions to agree on the next steps. Her first bet is the Stonehill Inn - and it is a partial success, for she finds at least Jasper, sitting at a table with some really tempting good food on it. There are even cabbages!

"Oh, Jasper, dear!" the blonde arcane warrior goes to meet him with open arms, holding him in an enthusiastic hug and kissing him on the cheek "Cabbages! You always are thoughtful to me!" pulling her lips from his cheek, she fixes her blue eyes into the elf's, clearly flattered by what he has done.

And it is just at that moment that, intrigued by the enthusiasm of the tall warrior-mage, the bat pokes his head out of her flowing cascade of golden curls and starts to stare at Jasper with a questioning expression.

Khessa soon realizes this and explains: "Oh, right, I haven't introduced you yet!" and brushes the hair off his shoulder, to show the bat completely "Jasper, this is my brother Anator. During the raid drow that indelibly marked my life, he was brutally murdered, in front of my eyes. Thanks to one of the spells that training with all of you I was able to learn, I was finally able to call him back. What you see, is his new form, but I'm sure the spirit is always his! And I'm also sure you will become very good friends!"

Then he turns to Anator, speaking to him aloud rather than telepathically, for the elf's benefit: "Anator, this is Jasper. I met him here, in this village. He is a companion you couldn't find a better one! You must know, Anator, that since that hellish night I have never been able... to be at ease in the dark. But Jasper, with his sacred powers, is capable of making me see in the dark! As if it were no longer dark for me! To see in the dark as clearly as you can! Do you understand? You have no idea what a relief it was... Plus, you see?" she points to the cabbages with a broad gesture of his hand "he is always so thoughtful to me... it's... you understand..."

"Anator!" blushes for a moment the blonde arcane warrior, to whom the familiar obviously spoke telepathically "But what kind of question this is? It is only my business, isn't it? Oh, well, or I should say our business..." looking to Jasper for a moment, then focusing again on her brother "But, certainly not yours!"

"Anyway" she smiles again at Jasper the tall warrior-mage "I'd say he likes you! You will definitely get along!" (unseen by Khessa, the bat winks at Jasper for a moment) "You know what I was talking about, with Echo, on my way here?"

And she explains the idea of ​​asking Tookrashk to accompany them, on the journey to the gnomes, to use him as an aid against the orcs, who will probably be nearby.

"What do you think?" finally asks the tall warrior-mage "We could go to Adabra already now, to find out if Tookrashk is still coming to regularly collect his meat ration and at what time of day... then meet him there tomorrow and talk to him".

"Oh, one last thing that comes to mind..." Khessa proposes "Do you remember that potion you found? The one we don't know exactly what it does? What would you say if we just tried to taste it? Maybe we could figure out what it is? its effect. Do you want to try? Or if you prefer can I try it? It is worth trying to find out what it does... it could be useful in various situations, couldn't it?"

Jasper eyes widen suddenly at the sudden arrival of Khessa. And of course Echo. With Khessa’s hug and kiss, Jasper sighs a little and with his eyes opening, he notices the small creature in Khessa’s golden hair. “Who is this?” Jasper asks. Khessa answers along with the gratitude of the food. 
“Your brother!” Jasper exclaimed curiously. Jasper looks in Khessa’s eyes and then to the tiny bat, “It’s very good to meet you Anator.” Jasper takes some berries from the table and offers them.

”Tookrashk huh? Could be helpful if the manticore can work with us. Maybe we should head out to the mill today and stay the night there?” Jasper suggests. “Might save some time. Bring some extra meat rations to keep Tookrashk happy on the road.”

Jasper brings out the coins, the sending stones and potion. Jasper gives Echo and Khessa their share of coins. “You said to taste this potion?” Jasper looks at it intently and uncorks it. Carefully pouring a small drop on his tongue. Waiting to see how he feels. 

"Sure, a night at the mill, so we are ready as soon Tookrashk comes!" approves Khessa, while Anator enjoys the berries kindly offered by the elf "Sounds quite good to me. And as for extra meat for him, one thing Echo thought and I liked a lot is the idea to eat together with our friend. This might help Tookrashk get the idea that we are... a pack! That we are friends cooperating together".

"Anyway," the blonde arcane warrior starts looking around "we will need also Rel... Do you know where she is?"

But then she realizes that Jasper is tasting the potion and her focus changes: "Oh, great! What tastes it like? And more important, can you understand what its effects are? So curious..."

“Yes definitely! Eating with Tookrashk might do just that. Maybe letting it take the first meat too.”

Jasper tasting the potion gets a bitter feeling. “It’s a bit gritty.”

”I haven’t seen Rel since we arrived. I hope she is alright. She was really quiet since this morning.” Jasper looks a bit concerned thinking how he responded to her actions in the night. Jasper looks at the entrance, “Should we go look?”

As a few moments pass and Jasper becomes restless. “Please enjoy the food. I’m going to go walk around and try to find Rel.” Jasper stands and drops two gold pieces on the table. “I’ll be back.” Jasper gently touching Khessa’s cheek as he walks away.  

Looking around, Jasper walks over to Barthens Provisions and looks around.

Perception:  14

Jasper gains the inexplicable urge to climb something. He feels a surge of strength in his body and feels as if he could climb as fast as he could walk. Potion of Climbing

If Rel is outside, you can easily spot her.

Rel politely takes her leave of Linene Graywind and walks outside.

She studies the small shrine to the goddess of the surface elves' goddess of luck.  Standing still, looking.  Then closing her eyes.

Feeling very small somehow, here beneath the sun and sky.

Jasper see’s Rel at the Shrine and stops himself from calling out. He approaches quietly but in full view as to not seem sneaky. Jasper pulls a moonstone from his prayer pouch and holds it tightly. Closing his eyes, he prays out loud but softly, “Selune, Goddess of the Moon, hear my prayers. May your light shine on those in darkness. Bring peace to the innocent and swift vengeance to those who prey on the weak. Give me strength and courage to see your will done. And compassion to those in need. Tymora, Goddess of Luck and Good Fortune, hear my prayers. We travel the roads and wilderness with good purpose. To bring hope and safety to the people of Phandalin as well as the surrounding area. A dangerous threat lies in the mountains that Must be stopped.  We go to the gnomes for help and also for a friend. Bring us good Fortune on ours travels as we meet this future...” Jasper grows quiet for a few moments and opens his eyes.