"Whoa!" Tarton says getting his breath back. "It'll take some getting used to traveling in a group I see." He says mostly to himself as he takes note of those who had to be glared off by the dragon person.
----------------------------------------------------- What should I roll to see what Tarton knows about dragons and this person? Specifically does he think all dragons are evil?
(Since dragons are magical creatures which also live and reproduce in natural ways, I'm thinking that both Arcana and Nature could apply to them; and since the chromatic/metallic split of good and evil dragons is a fairly easy fact to observe, if you make a DC7 roll in whichever one (or both) you want to roll, you'll know that not all dragons are evil ; and a DC9 roll means you at least know that there's a chromatic/metallic split, that the chromatics are the evil ones and the metallics the good, and you can name off most of the colors and metals that the various dragons come in pretty accurately.)
(OC, dragons are also secretive, so depending on the subject, knowing anything much more than that might be quite a bit more difficult...)
Tarton, being small even for halfling's at 2' 5", moves so he is 10 feet away (if not already that far away) so as to not have to strain his neck while looking up and says, "What a delightful introduction. You certainly know how to make someone feel welcome, even after having to drive away a mob. This is my first time seeing a dragon and didn't know they could appear in humanoid form. I am Tarton Fleetfoot, and am filled with joy to even see a silver dragon, let alone be approached by one. I always figured the first dragon I would see would be a green or black one, hopefully from a long distance away."
Tarton gets fidgety for a moment but he stops quite suddenly, as if he has firmly decided he does not feel this is the time to test himself against a dragon, even if it is in humanoid form. And while he does mean what he says, he is also trying to determine if she is trying to deceive them and is not what she seems.
--------------------------------------------- Might as well roll both as well: Arcana: 10, Nature: 11
Erolith turns to see what impeded the group and lays eyes upon Gwydion. Legends and fairytales run through his mind as he gazes upon her. Never before has he encountered a person or creature like this.
Gwrgi smiles as she answers Tarton, and her words fit with what the rest of you remember about the matter, save that Artifex does know the name dragonborn despite Gwrgi never saying it.
"My people come from far away, so I'm not surprised this is your first time meeting one of us. Very far away. Our clans trade and live and in some cases rule in the lands on the other side of the world. We are not true dragons, but the children of dragons that fell in love with human, elf, halfling, dwarf, gnome, even orc in some cases -- dragons tend to view most twolegs races more or less interchangeably ... whatever being that went on two legs who called to the good dragon's love or the evil one's lust ... and took that form to join their bodies with those of the desired ones. Very long ago, in the ages of legend. Now we are a race of people like any other, but mostly unknown in these lands. The priesthood Inveralwyn has called me to numbered a great pioneer and explorer of my people among their founders, so we still keep memory of such beings as me. Elsewhere ... '
She shrugs, seeming to take for granted the complications you can imagine in a being's life who belongs to a race almost wholly unknown in the lands they find themselves in. Though you have trouble imagining anyone fool enough to give Gwrgi too much trouble to her face. After a moment she goes on.
"I fear I haven't been wholly forthcoming with you though. People come through that gate all the time, and the beggars and peddlers always swarm them. If I drove them away from everyone I'd never have a chance to do anything else. But there's something about you that intrigues me. A sense of purpose, and a certain ... uniqueness in how harmoniously such wildly different sorts of people seem to move and act almost as one. Would you consider it rude if I asked you a little more about yourselves? I must admit, I'm full of curiosity. Always tend to be, truth be told." She winks as she says this last.
Regarding draconic lore in general (as opposed to specifically knowing about dragonborn) you all also recall that silver dragons are good. The Black Rose also remembers that they are the friendliest and most sociable of all metallic dragons and delight in the company of humanoids, often befriending several generations of the same family in humanoid form in between periodic returns to their draconic lives
Tarton can't help but look at her silver scales and eyes because he has not seen such a being before as he replies, "You and I are alike in regards to our curiosity then. Though it always seems to eventually land me in some trouble or other. That and my endless talking that I can't seem to stop. But, as much as I would like to talk with you and learn more about you too, we are a bit short on time. From what you've said, it sounds like you're a regular hear. Do you have a boat for hire, or are you here to hire a boat? If we are traveling in the same direction, perhaps we could talk at length then. I hope that wasn't rude of me to say."
Tarton adjusts the hood of his cloak to hide more of his face as he becomes self conscious of his different eye colors and patch of white hair.
"You've shared your story with us, so I see no harm in doing the same," The Black Rose said with a warm smile. "I may not have known the rest of this group for very long, but make no mistake, we are indeed a team." He turned and glanced at the others, a camaraderie reflected in his eyes.
"I'll leave it to others to speak for themselves, but I'd gladly share some of my background with you if you do the same. However, we are really in a hurry. Perhaps we can talk on the way if we're headed in the same direction? Having a travel partner who knows this river well would be a great boon.”
"I am more than delighted to hear the tales of one so well traveled. Alas, such tales are not to be rushed, so if I may be so bold as to ask for you to accompany us directly, we really must be leaving. Though I'd hardly call day old acquaintances a team, we do have a shared goal, and thus a shared interest in each others well-being"
Artifex says all this with a polite bow of their head, seemingly unaffected by urgency, despite their agreement in the need for quick movement
Gwrgi smiles and nods as she speaks to you, though you are a little disconcerted by the feeling you get as the conversation goes on that she is sometimes addressing all of you, no matter which individual or individuals she is literally speaking to, as if you were all one person. With The Black Rose's more detailed recollection of the draconic lore he knows, he idly wonders if this is an effect of silver dragons befriending several generations of mortals and perhaps therefore seeing individuals more interchangeably than the members of shorter-lived races do; then he reflects that in any case that applies to the dragons themselves, and might or might not apply to the race of dragonoid beings they had given rise to.
"Oh, you don't know what you're letting yourselves in for inviting me to accompany you. I'm as curious as the day is long and I'll probably talk your ear off. But I'd be delighted to come along. I have nothing on my agenda at the moment; just came into town to visit my old friend Myrtea, and to see if the chapter house here in Llandovion had heard anything further about some strange rumors from the north. Goblin zombies or some such madness. Why in the seven million plagues of Gehenna would any fool reanimate a goblin?! Their own god Mablugiyet won't have a thing to do with the poor things if he can get a hobgoblin. ... you see, there I go already with the chatter chatter!
But anyway, no I don't have a boat; but I travel by water frequently and can tell you who's best to deal with. For instance ... ", she points, "avoid him like you would a pack of jermlaine." She points to the most prosperous and tidy-seeming of the wharfside businesses; a well-groomed individual whose features call to mind a curious but singularly pleasant blending of an elf and halfling raises one eyenrow and gives her a faint amused wave in response to her look ... which she either ignores or does not see; the shadows of her eye ridges leave it somewhat in doubt which it truly was.
Erolith’s eyes widen at the mention of reanimated goblins and shares a brief look of concern with each member of the party.
”Fortune has smiled upon us this day to have such a chance encounter. We are encouraged and happy to have you accompany us on our venture to the north. I would love to hear more of what you know concerning the region and what we should expect,” Erolith says to Gwrgi.
”Come, let’s see if we can book river passage with your acquaintance.”
Gwrgi chuckles again. "You misunderstand me. I meant to say that that you should not have dealings with that man unless the world is on fire. And then he'd probably be too busy trying to sell you a squirt gun for an extinguisher to actually be of much use. He might as well actually be a jermlaine, given how absolutely reliably he can't be trusted. I do know three or four excellent keelboat pilots and a raftsman or two, but at this season the Okjahlid begin their annual trading season with more settled lands ... such as it is... and most folk that actually navigate the craft for you are busy bust busy.
Artifex raises an eyebrow upon hearing this, glancing at the others. "We may want to consider going by land instead in that case. Slower to be sure, but offering it's own variety of beauty and entertainment. A swift departure seems like more of a priority than how fast we actually get there, and with the only immediately evident option being one you say is better avoided, I'd much rather risk the road. I'll not get swindled by an A’Tel’Quessir if I can help it, else I could hardly style myself a trickster. Call it a matter of professional pride"
Gwrgi looks at Artifex seeming a little startled; she seems to have been on the verge of going into a trance or reminiscence about the Okjahlid trading season, and Artifex' eaction has helped her get back on track, "It's not so bad as that, actually. I was getting distracted in my memories. I was about to say, before I drifted off, that even for such travelers and road guardians as the Aino Aaltonen, I'm a bit of a ***** myself and rivers my best beloved roads. In fact, old Zanexi was saying the other day I could have been a river guide. I didn't tell him that was one of the masks I hid under during ... a troubled time in my life ... and I picked up enough from he guides I blended in among that I was able to actually fill in at a pinch. There's a riverkin couple, friends of mine, but before they got married they were locked in the most ruthless competition you can imagine between their rival boatyards. They were both too proud to have their yard subsumed into the other's, so now they carry on as if they still hated each other in business and they find it the most wonderful way to work out marital spats! You should see the lines that back up on the quays when the word goes around that someone heard the Rhysvarnons squabbling again!" She chuckles. "They're getting along pretty well now though. so I'm afraid there will probably be no killer bargains to be had buying or renting boats from them. More to the point, their prices will be fairly similar so we need not waste time comparison shopping either. But I'll vouch that they give good value." She thinks a moment more.
"I'd say it all depends if you're going north or south. If you're headed south, towards the Bay of Spirits, then land or river travel really are pretty equal options so its a mstter of which you find more pleasant. North, though, the roads by land grow swiftly worse as you pass the shadow of Cricket Tor and the Ulvnessfjell Bore on the other side of the valley, and if you go far north of that there are no properly planned roads at all, but a tangle of paths and trails that grow wilder and fainter by the myldir. Srill up to you, of course, but if you're going north I'd say stick to the ricer unless your destination is more than a commot or two away from the river valley I'd go by water. And I'd be happy to accompany you as long as we find each other's company mutually agreeable, in any case."
Tarton was too distracted by the dragonoid figure and silver scales, along with his own questions he would like to ask, to pay much attention to what Gwrgi said.
"Excellent!," Gwrgi grins, seeming to take no offence at the misunderstanding. She leads you to the two conjugally joined boatyards, giving you excellent exercise since they are situated at opposite ends of the quays. There, you find that the happy couple is celebrating their tenth anniversary upriver in the Feywild lands hoping the Witchlight Carnival will make one of its appearances: but a riverkin apprentice in the second shop tells you, AFTER you have walked the full distance to both, that they left instructions that both shops should sell the kind of river 'guideboat', as the style of craft is known, which you want for the same price at either yard ... sixty gold ceiniogs apiece. You gulp for a moment, but those of you who have experience in boating must admit that these are sturdy and excellently made craft and look more useful than the rowboats you know for a fact go for not much less than fifty. Each boat has a cross-section somewhere between a canoe and a ship's longboat, and can be propelled either by a sail and mast set amidships in the boat or by three sturdy sets of paddles whose number indicates the intended passenger count of each craft when paired with the seat facing backwards in the bow that you could imagine either steersman or passenger occupying. The price still brings a twinge to Artifex' soul, but they had remembered on the way over that 'Zanexi' is the first name of your employer; and chatting with Gwrgi as you walk you establish that she was indeed referring to the same individual. It is up to you how much to reveal about your mission, but Gwrgi at least gathered from the conversation that you are acting in Mr. Leewamba's interests. She assures you she will speak to him about covering the expense of the boats, and then has a short whispered conversation with the apprentice that ends with the apprentice appearing quite happy to accept a small purse from Gwrgi as a deposit and allow you to take the boats.
====================
(OOC: House rule. Anyone who does not have a penalty in Athletics. and has a +1 bonus or more in Nature, can be assumed to already be able to handle a boat of this type; and anyone who does not have a -1 penalty (or greater) in both is able to learn in three days of training by Gwrgi*. Each boat can hold four Small or Medium size creatures without stretching the margin of safety, and there will be no problems with the navigation itself as long as there's at least one character in each boat able to handle it; having more, though, will improbve. Each creature's gear is included in the calculation; and a full boat (four passengers) is able to hold twenty five pounds more in addition to that). Gwrgi advises that each boat have at least two in it, but otherwise leaves the decision as to how many boats to buy and how to distribute the party among them up to you)
* The Black Rose and Tarton, having connections to river gnomes, are more familiar with these boats, and can learn unless they had a -2 penalty or worse in both Nature and Athletics
"I see Mr. Leewamba still had surprises for us. I'm thankful he's considerate enough to also cover our travel costs and that you are here, but do you need some gold to offset what you've just paid?" Tarton asks Gwrgi.
Then, noticing that The Black Rose has gotten quiet, he asks, "So, The Black Rose, if you know how to handle this type of boat, would you be willing to teach me? I should be able to learn how to handle this type of boat soon enough."
---------------------------- Acrobatics +5, Nature +0; need to be taught how to handle the boat
(Since dragons are magical creatures which also live and reproduce in natural ways, I'm thinking that both Arcana and Nature could apply to them; and since the chromatic/metallic split of good and evil dragons is a fairly easy fact to observe, if you make a DC7 roll in whichever one (or both) you want to roll, you'll know that not all dragons are evil ; and a DC9 roll means you at least know that there's a chromatic/metallic split, that the chromatics are the evil ones and the metallics the good, and you can name off most of the colors and metals that the various dragons come in pretty accurately.)
(OC, dragons are also secretive, so depending on the subject, knowing anything much more than that might be quite a bit more difficult...)
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ill take a shot, see if Artifex knows anything more
Nevermind lol. Arcana/Nature, 8 and 7 respectively
With a gracious smile, The Black Rose executed a deep, respectful bow. "Nice to meet you," he said, his voice warm and sincere.
————
Arcana: 11
Nature: 18
Tarton, being small even for halfling's at 2' 5", moves so he is 10 feet away (if not already that far away) so as to not have to strain his neck while looking up and says, "What a delightful introduction. You certainly know how to make someone feel welcome, even after having to drive away a mob. This is my first time seeing a dragon and didn't know they could appear in humanoid form. I am Tarton Fleetfoot, and am filled with joy to even see a silver dragon, let alone be approached by one. I always figured the first dragon I would see would be a green or black one, hopefully from a long distance away."
Tarton gets fidgety for a moment but he stops quite suddenly, as if he has firmly decided he does not feel this is the time to test himself against a dragon, even if it is in humanoid form. And while he does mean what he says, he is also trying to determine if she is trying to deceive them and is not what she seems.
---------------------------------------------
Might as well roll both as well: Arcana: 10, Nature: 11
Erolith turns to see what impeded the group and lays eyes upon Gwydion. Legends and fairytales run through his mind as he gazes upon her. Never before has he encountered a person or creature like this.
Arcana roll = 11
Nature roll = 11
Gwrgi smiles as she answers Tarton, and her words fit with what the rest of you remember about the matter, save that Artifex does know the name dragonborn despite Gwrgi never saying it.
She shrugs, seeming to take for granted the complications you can imagine in a being's life who belongs to a race almost wholly unknown in the lands they find themselves in. Though you have trouble imagining anyone fool enough to give Gwrgi too much trouble to her face. After a moment she goes on.
Regarding draconic lore in general (as opposed to specifically knowing about dragonborn) you all also recall that silver dragons are good. The Black Rose also remembers that they are the friendliest and most sociable of all metallic dragons and delight in the company of humanoids, often befriending several generations of the same family in humanoid form in between periodic returns to their draconic lives
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Tarton can't help but look at her silver scales and eyes because he has not seen such a being before as he replies, "You and I are alike in regards to our curiosity then. Though it always seems to eventually land me in some trouble or other. That and my endless talking that I can't seem to stop. But, as much as I would like to talk with you and learn more about you too, we are a bit short on time. From what you've said, it sounds like you're a regular hear. Do you have a boat for hire, or are you here to hire a boat? If we are traveling in the same direction, perhaps we could talk at length then. I hope that wasn't rude of me to say."
Tarton adjusts the hood of his cloak to hide more of his face as he becomes self conscious of his different eye colors and patch of white hair.
"You've shared your story with us, so I see no harm in doing the same," The Black Rose said with a warm smile. "I may not have known the rest of this group for very long, but make no mistake, we are indeed a team." He turned and glanced at the others, a camaraderie reflected in his eyes.
"I'll leave it to others to speak for themselves, but I'd gladly share some of my background with you if you do the same. However, we are really in a hurry. Perhaps we can talk on the way if we're headed in the same direction? Having a travel partner who knows this river well would be a great boon.”
"I am more than delighted to hear the tales of one so well traveled. Alas, such tales are not to be rushed, so if I may be so bold as to ask for you to accompany us directly, we really must be leaving. Though I'd hardly call day old acquaintances a team, we do have a shared goal, and thus a shared interest in each others well-being"
Artifex says all this with a polite bow of their head, seemingly unaffected by urgency, despite their agreement in the need for quick movement
Gwrgi smiles and nods as she speaks to you, though you are a little disconcerted by the feeling you get as the conversation goes on that she is sometimes addressing all of you, no matter which individual or individuals she is literally speaking to, as if you were all one person. With The Black Rose's more detailed recollection of the draconic lore he knows, he idly wonders if this is an effect of silver dragons befriending several generations of mortals and perhaps therefore seeing individuals more interchangeably than the members of shorter-lived races do; then he reflects that in any case that applies to the dragons themselves, and might or might not apply to the race of dragonoid beings they had given rise to.
"Oh, you don't know what you're letting yourselves in for inviting me to accompany you. I'm as curious as the day is long and I'll probably talk your ear off. But I'd be delighted to come along. I have nothing on my agenda at the moment; just came into town to visit my old friend Myrtea, and to see if the chapter house here in Llandovion had heard anything further about some strange rumors from the north. Goblin zombies or some such madness. Why in the seven million plagues of Gehenna would any fool reanimate a goblin?! Their own god Mablugiyet won't have a thing to do with the poor things if he can get a hobgoblin. ... you see, there I go already with the chatter chatter!
But anyway, no I don't have a boat; but I travel by water frequently and can tell you who's best to deal with. For instance ... ", she points, "avoid him like you would a pack of jermlaine." She points to the most prosperous and tidy-seeming of the wharfside businesses; a well-groomed individual whose features call to mind a curious but singularly pleasant blending of an elf and halfling raises one eyenrow and gives her a faint amused wave in response to her look ... which she either ignores or does not see; the shadows of her eye ridges leave it somewhat in doubt which it truly was.
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Erolith’s eyes widen at the mention of reanimated goblins and shares a brief look of concern with each member of the party.
”Fortune has smiled upon us this day to have such a chance encounter. We are encouraged and happy to have you accompany us on our venture to the north. I would love to hear more of what you know concerning the region and what we should expect,” Erolith says to Gwrgi.
”Come, let’s see if we can book river passage with your acquaintance.”
Gwrgi chuckles again. "You misunderstand me. I meant to say that that you should not have dealings with that man unless the world is on fire. And then he'd probably be too busy trying to sell you a squirt gun for an extinguisher to actually be of much use. He might as well actually be a jermlaine, given how absolutely reliably he can't be trusted. I do know three or four excellent keelboat pilots and a raftsman or two, but at this season the Okjahlid begin their annual trading season with more settled lands ... such as it is... and most folk that actually navigate the craft for you are busy bust busy.
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Artifex raises an eyebrow upon hearing this, glancing at the others. "We may want to consider going by land instead in that case. Slower to be sure, but offering it's own variety of beauty and entertainment. A swift departure seems like more of a priority than how fast we actually get there, and with the only immediately evident option being one you say is better avoided, I'd much rather risk the road. I'll not get swindled by an A’Tel’Quessir if I can help it, else I could hardly style myself a trickster. Call it a matter of professional pride"
Gwrgi looks at Artifex seeming a little startled; she seems to have been on the verge of going into a trance or reminiscence about the Okjahlid trading season, and Artifex' eaction has helped her get back on track, "It's not so bad as that, actually. I was getting distracted in my memories. I was about to say, before I drifted off, that even for such travelers and road guardians as the Aino Aaltonen, I'm a bit of a ***** myself and rivers my best beloved roads. In fact, old Zanexi was saying the other day I could have been a river guide. I didn't tell him that was one of the masks I hid under during ... a troubled time in my life ... and I picked up enough from he guides I blended in among that I was able to actually fill in at a pinch. There's a riverkin couple, friends of mine, but before they got married they were locked in the most ruthless competition you can imagine between their rival boatyards. They were both too proud to have their yard subsumed into the other's, so now they carry on as if they still hated each other in business and they find it the most wonderful way to work out marital spats! You should see the lines that back up on the quays when the word goes around that someone heard the Rhysvarnons squabbling again!" She chuckles. "They're getting along pretty well now though. so I'm afraid there will probably be no killer bargains to be had buying or renting boats from them. More to the point, their prices will be fairly similar so we need not waste time comparison shopping either. But I'll vouch that they give good value." She thinks a moment more.
"I'd say it all depends if you're going north or south. If you're headed south, towards the Bay of Spirits, then land or river travel really are pretty equal options so its a mstter of which you find more pleasant. North, though, the roads by land grow swiftly worse as you pass the shadow of Cricket Tor and the Ulvnessfjell Bore on the other side of the valley, and if you go far north of that there are no properly planned roads at all, but a tangle of paths and trails that grow wilder and fainter by the myldir. Srill up to you, of course, but if you're going north I'd say stick to the ricer unless your destination is more than a commot or two away from the river valley I'd go by water. And I'd be happy to accompany you as long as we find each other's company mutually agreeable, in any case."
===================
Pop quiz time! INT rolls, please
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
Tarton was too distracted by the dragonoid figure and silver scales, along with his own questions he would like to ask, to pay much attention to what Gwrgi said.
INT in log: 3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
That's gonna be a 22
“Forgive my misunderstanding. We would be wise to defer to your judgment and experience,” Erolith says to Gwrgi.
INT roll = 6
After Artifex spoke about them hardly being a team yet, the Black Rose had grown noticeably quiet.
————
INT: 15
"Excellent!," Gwrgi grins, seeming to take no offence at the misunderstanding. She leads you to the two conjugally joined boatyards, giving you excellent exercise since they are situated at opposite ends of the quays. There, you find that the happy couple is celebrating their tenth anniversary upriver in the Feywild lands hoping the Witchlight Carnival will make one of its appearances: but a riverkin apprentice in the second shop tells you, AFTER you have walked the full distance to both, that they left instructions that both shops should sell the kind of river 'guideboat', as the style of craft is known, which you want for the same price at either yard ... sixty gold ceiniogs apiece. You gulp for a moment, but those of you who have experience in boating must admit that these are sturdy and excellently made craft and look more useful than the rowboats you know for a fact go for not much less than fifty. Each boat has a cross-section somewhere between a canoe and a ship's longboat, and can be propelled either by a sail and mast set amidships in the boat or by three sturdy sets of paddles whose number indicates the intended passenger count of each craft when paired with the seat facing backwards in the bow that you could imagine either steersman or passenger occupying. The price still brings a twinge to Artifex' soul, but they had remembered on the way over that 'Zanexi' is the first name of your employer; and chatting with Gwrgi as you walk you establish that she was indeed referring to the same individual. It is up to you how much to reveal about your mission, but Gwrgi at least gathered from the conversation that you are acting in Mr. Leewamba's interests. She assures you she will speak to him about covering the expense of the boats, and then has a short whispered conversation with the apprentice that ends with the apprentice appearing quite happy to accept a small purse from Gwrgi as a deposit and allow you to take the boats.
====================
(OOC: House rule. Anyone who does not have a penalty in Athletics. and has a +1 bonus or more in Nature, can be assumed to already be able to handle a boat of this type; and anyone who does not have a -1 penalty (or greater) in both is able to learn in three days of training by Gwrgi*. Each boat can hold four Small or Medium size creatures without stretching the margin of safety, and there will be no problems with the navigation itself as long as there's at least one character in each boat able to handle it; having more, though, will improbve. Each creature's gear is included in the calculation; and a full boat (four passengers) is able to hold twenty five pounds more in addition to that). Gwrgi advises that each boat have at least two in it, but otherwise leaves the decision as to how many boats to buy and how to distribute the party among them up to you)
* The Black Rose and Tarton, having connections to river gnomes, are more familiar with these boats, and can learn unless they had a -2 penalty or worse in both Nature and Athletics
Famh Thrawn Fiadhaich - 'half elven' sorcerer (wild magic) 2, Sleeping Gods - A Dragon Warriors campaign in the Lands of Legend
Quspira Inirali - tiefling cleric (Life domain) 4, Painted's "He'll be the father of my child"
---RETIRED HEROES' REST HOME---
Sae Ivui Nailo - wood elf rogue (inquisitive) 5 , Sea of Death: Captain Hailstorm's Lost Treasure
Ryshraxea "Shra" Naranthi - tabaxi artificer 1, Nyx's Tomb of Annihilation - Group 1
"I see Mr. Leewamba still had surprises for us. I'm thankful he's considerate enough to also cover our travel costs and that you are here, but do you need some gold to offset what you've just paid?" Tarton asks Gwrgi.
Then, noticing that The Black Rose has gotten quiet, he asks, "So, The Black Rose, if you know how to handle this type of boat, would you be willing to teach me? I should be able to learn how to handle this type of boat soon enough."
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Acrobatics +5, Nature +0; need to be taught how to handle the boat