OOC: Alright, so let’s see. Gold is fairly valuable to the average person, right? So, likely 10k gp would go far to help with the families of the slain. Therefore, Solomon will have loaded 6000gp, the remaining 1400 pp, and the already mentioned gems into the bag of holding

Elon walks up to Brundir, “can you arrange a courier to deliver half of my claim (400gp) to the nearest Temple of Torm. Tell them it’s an offering for blessing for the group.”

Bründir seems taken aback momentarily, but beams a wide smile to the elf, "ye're generous beyond compare. I'll get the quartermaster fer a horse and rider."

When you reach the guard post along the north road, the war seems somewhat distant until Alvernia's forces approach. Their camp belied its size, but seeing it stretch for miles along the wide trade road was a breathtaking sight. Outriders were the first to appear, first some with strange banners, then more with banners of Alvernian lords. Following them was a parade of various lords' forces ranging from hundreds of archers, to men-at-arms in various degrees of arms and armor, and poorer levvies rallied to bolster numbers.

At the heart of this colossal force, a contingent of cavalry rode with a man at its center, armored in gleaming plate and bearing an ornate circlet on his brow. Behind him rode a dozen similarly-armored men, some distinctly older, some seemingly young for positions of prestige.

At the rear of this honor guard rode a familiar figure, imposing without a mount, but truly intimidating astride a draft horse that dwarfed the smaller warhorse. At his approach, Bründir stepped up alongside the road, "Sir, our little endeavour seems to have paid off, but I'm sure I don't need to tell you that by now."

A horned head turns to meet the dwarf, "You all have done exceptionally well," he breaks off from the column and a squire follows close behind. Commander Talvus dismounts and hands off the reins. With a nod, the squire rides back into the column.

For the rest of the day, Talvus and Bründir march along the road with you, but Bründir's formation keeps the rest of the army out of earshot. "Our next objective is Scalebane Keep, the closest major holding to the Alvernia-Dalenor border. We will reach the end of the north road and be in Dalenor by nightfall. From there, it is a half-day march to Scalebane, so we will halt before it so scouts may assess the situation. Without giving away the full force." Smiling in a scheming, knowing way, he looks to you all, "Alvernia may have scouts, but I believe you will prove more effective. I can't place why, just that I have a good feeling." 

As the day winds into afternoon, then evening, Bründir arranges modest sleeping accomodations and security for your recent plunder of Szazzul's hoard. Talvus calls you to his campaign tent, the same as where you had met him. As before, maps and books lay scattered across a central table, "Here is where we plan the first step toward the end of the war..." He begins...

(More to follow once I get sleep!)

Poring over the maps and strategem, Talvus describes his plan going forward, "We will halt our march within an hour or so of the keep and use the forest as cover. Now that the raiders have been dispatched, we should be able to mask our numbers, if not our entire presence in Dalenor." As he points to the landmarks, you can see that Scalebane Keep is terribly close to Coldscale Forest.

Talvus gives a beckoning wave and a pair of squires approach and he hands each a letter, "Take these to the Prince's tent and the Quartermaster. They will need to see these immediately," once gone, he turns his attention back to you and the war table, "We stand on a precarious tactical position. Scalebane is a long march from Alvernia, so it is a crucial foothold for us to secure supply lines and reinforcements. On the other hand, should we be defeated or move to slowly, then our army is forfeit as they are routed and harried back to the homeland."

The minotaur settles into his modest camp chair, a throne for any smaller soldier, "I'll spare you the hopeful words and get to the ugly truth: We are desperate. Yllera and Dalenor hold, at best, a fraction of Alvernia's strength. However their combined force and strategic placement make it so that Alvernia must fight one and suffer attack from the rear."

A dwarf, likely from Bründir's company, enters with a few platters of food and another enters with drinks, "Bründir has told me of your deeps in Coldscale, and the battle against Szazzul. I must admit that I'm beyond impressed by your results. I could have sent three companies and only gotten half of one back from the deed. If we had marched without eliminating the force, it would have been more than a toll on our forces; we would have been decimated and unable to even hope to reach Dalenor. That being said, I consider you a sort of honor guard among the mercenaries anf auxiliaries. It will be another day and a half of marching before we reach Scalebane. When we get there, you will be dispatched as advanced scouts."

The squires from before return, the first reporting Talvus' presence being demanded by the Prince, the other stating that the quartermaster is prepared. "Well, I must be off for now. Please see the quartermaster if you require provisions. I have let him know that you are not to be barred from any of his supplies.

For those that wish to see the quartermaster, he holds an area of camp populated by dozens of wagons and thrice as many guards. He is a bookish, impatient gnome and is attended by several colorful characters. He introduces himself and several others including a scribe, master smith, master enchanter, and spymaster. His wares vary from the mundane to the exotic, but all have a cost. Soldiers receive a stipend for service provided and the quartermaster provides things beyond the standard allowance of food and shelter.

(Everything from Common to Rare magic items are available. Going to try an availability system since, being in the field, many magic items are either unavailable or in short supply. For any magic items, Common=70% chance, Uncommon=45% chance, and Rare is 15% chance. Potions and scrolls receive a +20% chance as they are consumable. Wands, staves, rods, and magic items with functions based solely on charges (Wand of Lightning, Staff of Healing, Ring of the Ram, etc.) receive +10% chance. As for pricing, Common magic items are 300gp, Uncomon are 1000gp, and Rare are 2500gp. You can attempt to haggle for a lower price, but the gnome tells you up front, "Supply is standard, magic is business, friend.")

Solomon’s eyes are a-twinkle with the prospect of new spells! “To be honest, I’ve never had so much money before! I can finally buy new spells!” 

Solomon will run over to the library of scrolls, looking over the labels of each. The first that he looks for is a scroll of Summon Greater Demon (74, which I think passes?) then he’ll look for a scroll of Dream (34, which I think fails), then for a scroll of Telekinesis (75, no), then Conjure Elemental (40, no), maybe Contact Other Plane (49, chaching), how about Feign Death (23 ho ho no), Bestow Curse, (18, also yes), and good old Cone of Cold (11.) Oh, and a Ring of Spell Storing (60, unfortunately no.)

So, that’ll be Greater Demon, Contact, and Curse for a total of 6000gp, or 600pp. Correct?

Additionally, Barlow, Solomon would like to see about that little project of ours.

Condensing everything down, your collective wealth from Szazzul's hoard totals to 40,000gp. I saw 10,000gp donated to families of the fallen, and 400gp donation to the temple of Torm. Solomon's bill comes to 6600gp with the scrolls. Total thus gar then comes to 17,000gp. Remaining wealth is 23,000gp divided as you like.

I also wanted to ensure maximum fairness for the project mentioned above. From Szazzul, you took a collection of scales, blood, and bones. The army's master enchanter and smith can assist in forging magic items from these, though some additional costs, and possibly materials, are required. Solomon had plans to modify his Arcanomechanical Armor into a pseudo Dragon Scale Mail. To do this, it requires the most pristine scales from your fallen enemy as well as 3 of the 4 vials of blood. As such, only 1 can be made and remaining scales can be used to fashion a +1 scalemail as well. The bones and 1 blood vial are still available for use in crafting various magical items if anyone is interested. I'm always interested in crafting magic items, so if you have an idea or desire, please let me know.

OOC: Great, now question. One of the things that I was wondering about my [Tooltip Not Found] is would the mods be transferred if I magically created a new piece of it (via its transference ability), or would the mods be lost?

Rex's eye catches a shield, looking closer it is a +2 79  +1 18 plain old shield. Glancing to the side he spies a rod 36 but can't figure out what it does. Nothing else on the table catches his interest and he waits outside for the others, striking up a conversation with the quarter master's guards.

After discussing things and buying things, Solomon catches Rex leave and follows after him. “Hey, Rex, didn’t see anything you like in there? We probably won’t have time to restock for a while.” However, he gets an idea, “Oh! I have an idea. Maybe a bean will cheer you up.” Solomon plants a bean, 68, 10.

OOC: Oh no. Oh dear. Oh no.

Elon discusses with the smith and magic men was to improve his blade, maybe adding a dragon bone handle.

//let me know if I need to roll on it or anything. I was thinking, maybe another +1 or even some kind of acid effect//

Elon will also take a couple healing potions

The master smith and enchanter look over your blade and the collection of bones presented. After mumbling and a bit of arguing, they agree that they can make an improvement on your weapon using the materials provided. The services come with the standard requirement like any of the special wares, but the latent magic already present allows for quicker work - 1500gp paid out to the quartermaster. In exchange, your weapon becomes a +2 short sword and will be ready by the time the army reaches Scalebane Keep.

As for Solomon, the master smith jumps at the opportunity to work on your armor and the master enchanter seems frustrated by the extra work. However, they put their heads together and finangle a way to make it work by infusing the current armor with the scales and using blood as a catalyst to bind the scales with the dragon's traits. Unfortunately, there is just not enough acid to infuse the protective qualities desired against the elemental aspects. If a supply of acid could be had, then the final enchantment can be infused to the armor for the full effect. Due to the overall quality of the craft, making even a semi-complete set of this armor will cost 4000gp. (Until you can obtain a supply of acid, it will not have advantage against dragon breath weapons or resistance to acid damage. All other bonuses apply.)

As Rex strikes up a conversation, the guard explains that they are posted around all supply wagons, but the guard is especially heavy around the specialty wares for obvious reasons. Fear, desperation, entitlement, or just outright greed creates numerous problems for the supply lines.

As Solomon drops a bean, 10 bight-pink toads spew from the ground! A passing soldier, curious, goes to pick it up, only to have it turn into a giant iguana in his hands. The creates bites the soldier, but his armor blocked most of the effect. A hailstorm of crossbow bolts and spears fall on the lizard, and it *poofs* into a pink cloud. The remaining toads hop away and general panic is followed by anxiety as soldiers steer well away from them, lest something more terrible arises.

OOC: Fantastic! Question, if say, four Acidballs (a fireball changed to deal acid) were dropped on an area, would that provide enough?

Solomon happily drops another 400pp on the armor.

//we could maybe wring the acid out of evelyn's cloak...//

OOC: Pfft

Elon, satisfied with the results of his enchanted blade, joins up with Soloman and Rex

OOC: Wow I miss one day and so much happens.

Evelyn will peek around at the staffs (Staff of the woodlands 19 ) as well as stop to admire any bows on display (+2 Longbow 84 , +1 Long bow 15 )

 OOC: +2 Longbow it is. 2,500gp yes?

One of the bows catches her eye. She picks it up, weighing it in her hands and getting a feel for the weapon, before nodding to herself.

"Yes, I'll take this!" She exclaims happily holding the bow in the air. She hands over the coin over, taking time to affix her new weapon and sets the old one aside. She leaves, admiring her new purchase, and joins up with the rest of her group.

Solomon, avoiding the pink toads despite his curiosity, eyes up Evelyn’s new bow, “Wow, that’s excellent find, Evelyn! I managed to get a few new scrolls that should help us out in the future, provided I have enough time to transcribe them that is. Also, one thing, I wouldn’t suggest touching those toads. Bean magic is... very unpredictable.”

(Sorry for the radio silence everyone! Working nights, absolutely terrible stretches of days with no breaks, and building a deck when I'm not at work. Minutes seem very precious. I'll have an update very soon!)

As the forest fades and you enter Dalenor, the army takes a southward bend along the Coldscale Forest. A squire approaches your group - one of the two from Talvus's tent days before - and states that your presence has been requested by the prince and his war council. Once everyone is assembled, he darts off, leading you all through the army's camp and to the central pavillion tent.

As you enter, a herald announces your presence and the room suddenly falls silent as every head turns your way. Fiery, young commanders sit alongside grizzled veterans and gray-bearded lords at a massive U-shaped table. Seated at the center is a regal figure easily in his late-twenties. On his right sits a proud, if elderly, warrior in ceremonial plate. To the left sits a finely-dressed tiefling with modest horns that curve back over his head and seem to blend in with his hair. 

The central figure stands and waves you forward, ""So these are the ones that Talvus spoke of. Lords and commanders, take note of the past few days and the relative peace we have experienced. It is solely because of their actions that such a trip was possible. From within Coldscale, a small army had amassed which would harry our forces the entire way while a mighty dragon assailed us every mile of the way. Were it not for their great success, it would have been war simply to come this far, and we would likely have reached Dalenor at only half our might." The regal man moved and spoke in a way that captivated the room. His natural charisma was obvious as he walked to the center of the table where all could see him, "Adventurers, I am Prince Reinwulf, and with the assembled might of our army, we will push Dalenor back and make them vie for peace. However, you will come to play a crucial role in this effort." The prince waves and a team of squires bring a knee-high table to the middle of the assembly's focus. A massive sheet stretches across it and depicts the easter area of Dalenor where the army marches. To your surprise, Talvus stands next to you.

"Now then," the prince begins, "We have received word that Dalenor's army is already on the move, but we outpace them by a half a day. Therefore, we must push directly to Scalebane Keep and hold the ground against the approaching army. Commander Talvus'  forces will lead the vanguard with support from our lords' forces. Once the gateway has been opened, the rest of the army will charge to hold the gap and flood the city." The prince pauses to let everything - implications and all - sink in. "Now, the vanguard rushing a guarded gate will only result in disaster. We need someone to scout and infiltrate the defenses. Commander Talvus has volunteered you for the duty. The keep is currently barred from entry, but I believe you can find ample resources to enter. Once you have opened the gate, set a signal and the vanguard will be at the doors before you can make the descent to greet them."

The prince beams with pride over his plan and the room is generally receptive. It's clear this has been planned, argued, changed, and rehearsed time and time again. Talvus steps forward to the prince's side and addresses you all as well as the congregation, "Brothers- and sisters--in-arms, I support our prince's plan without hesitation, but please hear me. My forward scouts have reported a contingent occupying Scalebane for the last two days under the command of one of Dalenor's most capable commanders: Valen the Blessed. He marches with his own force as well as an advance force of Dalenorian soldiers. Their numbers are estimated at 800 currently. In an open field, this would be a paltry roadblock, but in a fortified keep, we must consider each of them to fight as three against us." Turning back to the party, Talvus smiles, "I have no doubt that our adventurers here can handle it."

Solomon is having a bit of a moment right now. He’s face to face with the prince and being put on a very high pedestal. He swallows hard and nods, “Of course, Commander. We are more than capable. I hope that we might prove that to the rest of this dignified congregation as well.”