Coriana, trying to be diplomatic, tries to clarify what Avery is proposing. "I think Khessa was referring to the rift in the earth, not investigating hobgoblins, or are you talking about doing both?"
"There's a whole world down there, almost as vast as the oceans."says Coriana, "No guarantee this rift leads to your family, but then again, the gods sometimes play matchmaker with our fates. I say we check out the rift in the earth. Its relatively local, and underground is a fertile place for treasure hunting."
------- Separately: Entering her study, Coriana finds Kelbeth, the sea elf hedge witch she had met in the city to check on how the setup of the study is going. It seems like it's all in order Coriana will issue a craft order for a book, (10gp). She will also invest 500 gold in trade goods in the storehouse, if she has it.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
Now that The Company of the Grey Chain has a permanent home base, Xanrym will try to acquire (or create, using his Cartographer's Tools) a rough map of the major areas of the Flanaess, at least covering from Nyr Dyv in the top-right corner to the Azure Sea at the bottom-left. The Hellfurnaces / Crystalmist Mountains run along the left side, and he marks the approximate reach of the nations along those mountains: the Kingdom of Geoff, Sterich, the Yeomanry, and the Hold of the Sea Princes. He also marks the rough locations of Orlane, the Dim Forest, the Rushmoors, Hochoch, Oytwood, and the Stark Mounds. And, of course, the Free City of Greyhawk.
When The Company of the Grey Chain gathers in the (Theldrin's) parlor to decide what mission to undertake next, Xanrym sees value and interest in all three jobs:
"If we heed the call of Jacquelyn of the West, it sounds like that will take us back to where The Company began!" Xanrym seems less interested in the specific problem they're being asked to help with and more interested in the possibility of stopping at Orlane on their way to the Stark Mounds to check how the Orlaners are doing now that they've been free from the naga cult for ~6 months. He shows it on his map. "The Stark Mounds are here, just south of the Oytwood. I've never been there, but I've heard that it's a 'faerie forest' and protected by the elves." He looks to Syllen for confirmation of those rumors. He continues, "The Oytwood is bounded on the north by the Javan River, here, near Hochoch. It would probably only take us a week or so to travel from Orlane to Hochoch, down the Javan River, and then west into the Stark Mounds."
"The ruined city of Tamoachan." Xanrym says the name like he's introducing the exotic setting of an exciting adventure, not really thinking about the actual dangers that they could face in an ancient, ruined city. He would love to uncover lost history and knowledge, and maybe they could find lost treasures and magic items that were left behind in the ruins. "Who knows what wonders we could find there?! Aubrek has been an important associate for us these last few months. He followed through with the reward he promised, and he helped us find this manor, near the Free City, for the Company's headquarters. If we come through on another job from him, we'll strengthen that relationship. In the future, it may be useful to have a wealthy and influential ally like the 'Merchant Prince' on our side." Assuming that Khessa has already mentioned her interest in exploring the Hellfurnaces, Xanrym also points out on the map that a journey to the ruined city of Tamoachan would take them across the Azure Sea and close to the Hellfurnaces.
As for the letter from Toska, while Xanrym is no cleric, he does wear the symbol of Fharlanghn around his neck. He would love to do some service for Strider Silvain. "The bones of a forgotten king, grave robbers, yuant-ti. Hm...The Company's experience with evil cults could be an asset here." It also has the advantage of being much closer to the City of Greyhaw than the other jobs. It would be relatively easy to get to the rift: the Cairn Hills are just east of the city. Depending on where the rift is located, The Company could simply hike there. Or maybe take a smaller boat down the Selintan River, and then take one of the other tributaries east and into the hills.
When it comes time to vote, Xanrym casts his vote for Aubrek's mission to the Ruined City of Tamoachan. (The lure of an old, lost city is too much for your librarian/historian to resist.)
Theldrin listens quietly as the Company gathers to discuss their next move, eventually clearing his throat before voicing his thoughts. "I must admit I like the idea of looking for Khessa's family, venturing in search of this nearby rift..."
He continues after a brief pause, rubbing his beard, "Hmmm... though I wish I would have focused on preparing ways for us to have Darkvision if heading underground. Ah well, I do have Dusk here, " he gestures with a shrug towards the grey cat curled up in his lap.
Bastion Turn: Harvest order for the Food Garden. Unfortunately he doesn't have 500 gp to procure goods for the Storehouse at the moment.
Bastion Turn: Harvest order for the Food Garden. Unfortunately he doesn't have 500 gp to procure goods for the Storehouse at the moment.
The Company set aside 2,100 gp in savings for the future purchase of a ship. I was thinking that one way to grow those savings would be to permit the people managing the bastion's 3 Storehouses (Syllen, Theldrin, and Coriana) to borrow from those savings. As long as no one starts speculating on items with highly variable value (e.g., Beanie Bugbears), then it should be safe to use that money to purchase goods for immediate resale.
Syllen does not seem interested in exploring the ruins of an ancient city. Though he seems more interested in both of the other jobs, Syllen's expressions are extremely muted. He seems more focused on the group's reaction. When he does give his thoughts.
“I am not overly motivated to search for ancient ruins. The only thing we gain from exploring ruins is the opportunity to be first to gain information and treasure. I like both of the other requests but as we only can pick one to start I vote to hunt down the Yuan-Ti. If a powerful sorcerer has taken the remains of the Forgotten King it might be extremely dangerous if not stopped soon.”
When Theldrin voices his fear Syllen will attempt to address it.
“We have 3 members that can see in the dark using familiars and I have some gold saved up from the last mission that I can use for making a scroll for you. I will keep the darkvision spell prepared for any emergency we might find ourselves in.”
Hearing that no one else is interested in exploring the ruined city, Xanrym concedes. He's happy to take on a mission for Strider Silvain and their friend Toska, and he touches the symbol of Fharlanghn as he remembers the last time he saw them. Xanrym volunteers to write a reply, send by way of the Temple of the Far Horizon, to let Toska and Strider Silvain know that The Company of the Grey Chain will soon leave the Free City to explore the rift.
(OOC: @drumdigby - Is the Bastion Turn happening after we received these messages / opportunities so that Xanrym and Khessa can use their libraries to do some research before The Company leaves for the Cairn Hills?)
When Theldrin voices his fear Syllen will attempt to address it.
“We have 3 members that can see in the dark using familiars and I have some gold saved up from the last mission that I can use for making a scroll for you. I will keep the darkvision spell prepared for any emergency we might find ourselves in.”
"Thank you, my friend," Theldrin says with a warm smile.
(Insight Roll: 25) Syllen has no reason to ask Coriana about seeming panicked in front of the others but when he has a chance to speak with her without others.
“You seemed as if something was causing you great fear. I am not arrogant enough to believe I have the power to alleviate that for you but I just wanted you to know that if you wish to talk to someone I am always willing to listen.”
This letter comes right at the end of the three months, so it would indeed happen after your Bastion turn. It seems like there's a consensus on heading into the Cairn Hills to check on the existence of this rift. I'll give you a day to discuss and express character, then the Company of the Grey Chain heads off again.
Coriana will reply to Syllen, "I sort of have two reasons I'm not on the open seas. One, my patron, the source of my powers has let me know in cryptic ways that he will expect a specific favor one day, His power is confined to the seas, so I though staying inland would gain some space. Seeing the kraken, which seems related to him, believe it or not, made me realize his power travels farther than I thought. The idea of returning to the open ocean is still difficult. I also, more concretely, owe a huge some of treasure and the cost of a ship to a pirate queen I was sailing under. If we had gone for that lost temple her people would have spotted me at whatever port, and I'd be a dead woman... unless maybe I had about 20,000 gold pieces to spare..."
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards. DM - The Old Keep
The potion is a backup way for Xanrym to survive in deep water / underwater. Without his mask, he's not a strong swimmer, and now that he has 4 items that require attunement, he knows that there will be times when he will not be attuned to the mask.
He continues after a brief pause, rubbing his beard, "Hmmm... though I wish I would have focused on preparing ways for us to have Darkvision if heading underground. Ah well, I do have Dusk here, " he gestures with a shrug towards the grey cat curled up in his lap.
Xanrym says, "I don't know how long we'll be underground, but I did pay Syllen to create a scroll of Darkvision for me a couple of weeks ago. If we are trying to sneak into a dark area held by our enemies, you or Syllen can use the scroll to grant me Darkvision. That will at least give me one day when I can scout far enough ahead of the group in the dark so that our light give me away. But I guess our group will generally have to carry a Light underground. There's just no avoiding that! If we find creatures living in absolute darkness, like those Troglodytes in the naga's lair, we'll just have to know that they'll probably see our light coming long before we see them."
The insightful among you will note a brief panicked look on Coriana's face whenever the Azure sea or sea travel outside the Nyr Dyv is mentioned.
Xanrym likes oration and reciting stories, but he's less good at observing others. Since the rest of the company settled on the mission sent by the Pilgrim's Path, he probably didn't notice noticed Coriana's look this time.
[[If I was not a new character I'd be saying something about reptile cults...]]
Once they've all agreed to go explore The Rift, Xanrym does start talking about the first adventure in Orlane and the "reptile cult": snakes and troglodytes and the naga. He explains how the cult leader, Garath Primo, had summoned an evil spirit into a giant snake, creating a Spirit Naga. The naga had the power to charm and dominate innocent people, forcing them to do her bidding. "But it sounds like this is something different," he says. "Grave robbers, yuan-ti, and a prophecy? Unfortunately, it sounds like we'll need to get going right away. The grave-robbing cult already has a head start. We won't have time to gather much information about the Yuan-Ti or this 'rift' in the Cairn Hills."
That evening, Xanrym will try casting Enhance Ability on himself to help him recall anything he has read or was told about the 'Forgotten King' and the prophecy related to his bones. Or, barring that, anything he may have learned about Yuan-Ti when researching information about the previous reptile cult they encountered.
Xanrym - History: 22 (Advantage from Enhance Ability. Same bonus in Religion if that's more appropriate for tales of a prophecy and cults.)
Facility: Library Order: Research - Topic: The Undying King that the Spirit Naga mentioned
)
When The Company was setting up the manor, Xanrym decided that he could finally start building his personal library. He has always imagined having a sizable collection of rare and important books some day, but he didn't really know how to go about acquiring and organizing such a collection. Xanrym lures Orryn, an older gnomish scholar whom he met at the Great Library, to come live at the manor and help him with his personal library. He also tasks Orryn with a puzzle that he had never been able to solve. The Spirit Naga said that she was the consort of the "Undying King." He tells Orryn about The Company's first adventure and the dungeon lair of the cult and its naga in the Rushmoors. Perhaps Orryn will have more luck than Xanrym did in finding out what evil spirit or demon the naga could have been referring to when she mentioned the "Undying King."
When The Company purchased the manor, Xanrym noted the size of the grounds and that there are already flower beds there. The flower beds hadn't been tended recently, so they were dominated by deadheads and weeds, but he felt that there was some potential there. In particular, from his time in the Garden Quarter, Xanrym had some grasp of the simple business of selling flowers and perfumes. It's much more straightforward than finding buyers, sellers, and trading in goods that flow through the ports of the River Quarter! Xanrym hoped to create a garden at their manor that would be both beautiful to behold and useful for the cultivation of popular flowers that could generate some income for The Company.
Xanrym convinced a young woman, a simple flower-seller whom he met in the city, to help tend a garden at their base. He found her reselling flowers in the city: she had a good eye and nose and was able to make money selling bouquets that she made from flowers she had purchased from other flower growers. Her dark skin showed her to be one of the Flan people, and she still followed the Old Faith. She was excited to move to the manor and to have her own gardens to tend. She quickly cleaned up the flower garden and planted some new flowers: from "starts," bulb, and seed. With Syllen's Plant Growth spell, some of the flowers are already in bloom and ready to be cut after just 1 week! She assembles 10 bouquets and takes them to sell in the flower markets in and around the Free City of Greyhawk. Xanrym also introduces her to some perfume vendors he had met during his stay in the city so that she can start selling flowers to them and learning how to extract oils and make perfumes herself.
Updated: edited and expanded the description a bit.
“There are many powers in this world greater than any of us. You are truly a strong individual to be able to gain power from such a being even if it is a double edged sword. Hopefully we find enough power or gold to solve your pirate problems. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need help and feel free to describe the pirates that may hunt you. My abilities can allow us to avoid others when needed."
Anything else before you head off into the Cairn Hills? Are you taking Heckle? Are you otherwise walking or purchasing some horses? Do any of you have any other modes of travel?
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Coriana, trying to be diplomatic, tries to clarify what Avery is proposing. "I think Khessa was referring to the rift in the earth, not investigating hobgoblins, or are you talking about doing both?"
"There's a whole world down there, almost as vast as the oceans." says Coriana, "No guarantee this rift leads to your family, but then again, the gods sometimes play matchmaker with our fates. I say we check out the rift in the earth. Its relatively local, and underground is a fertile place for treasure hunting."
-------
Separately:
Entering her study, Coriana finds Kelbeth, the sea elf hedge witch she had met in the city to check on how the setup of the study is going. It seems like it's all in order
Coriana will issue a craft order for a book, (10gp). She will also invest 500 gold in trade goods in the storehouse, if she has it.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Now that The Company of the Grey Chain has a permanent home base, Xanrym will try to acquire (or create, using his Cartographer's Tools) a rough map of the major areas of the Flanaess, at least covering from Nyr Dyv in the top-right corner to the Azure Sea at the bottom-left. The Hellfurnaces / Crystalmist Mountains run along the left side, and he marks the approximate reach of the nations along those mountains: the Kingdom of Geoff, Sterich, the Yeomanry, and the Hold of the Sea Princes. He also marks the rough locations of Orlane, the Dim Forest, the Rushmoors, Hochoch, Oytwood, and the Stark Mounds. And, of course, the Free City of Greyhawk.
When The Company of the Grey Chain gathers in the (Theldrin's) parlor to decide what mission to undertake next, Xanrym sees value and interest in all three jobs:
When it comes time to vote, Xanrym casts his vote for Aubrek's mission to the Ruined City of Tamoachan. (The lure of an old, lost city is too much for your librarian/historian to resist.)
The insightful among you will note a brief panicked look on Coriana's face whenever the Azure sea or sea travel outside the Nyr Dyv is mentioned.
[[As a player, I am open to Coriana being asked about the whole ocean hesitation but she will not just start talking about it.]]
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin listens quietly as the Company gathers to discuss their next move, eventually clearing his throat before voicing his thoughts. "I must admit I like the idea of looking for Khessa's family, venturing in search of this nearby rift..."
He continues after a brief pause, rubbing his beard, "Hmmm... though I wish I would have focused on preparing ways for us to have Darkvision if heading underground. Ah well, I do have Dusk here, " he gestures with a shrug towards the grey cat curled up in his lap.
Bastion Turn: Harvest order for the Food Garden. Unfortunately he doesn't have 500 gp to procure goods for the Storehouse at the moment.
The Company set aside 2,100 gp in savings for the future purchase of a ship. I was thinking that one way to grow those savings would be to permit the people managing the bastion's 3 Storehouses (Syllen, Theldrin, and Coriana) to borrow from those savings. As long as no one starts speculating on items with highly variable value (e.g., Beanie Bugbears), then it should be safe to use that money to purchase goods for immediate resale.
Upon hearing Xanrym's suggestion, Coriana offers up her storehouse turn to party fund use and takes her own money out.
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Theldrin would be happy to finance the Storeroom with the party funds: Trade order to purchase supplies to sell, 500 gp.
Bastion Turn: Recruit order for the Barrack (so we'll have 4 defenders, at least).
Syllen does not seem interested in exploring the ruins of an ancient city. Though he seems more interested in both of the other jobs, Syllen's expressions are extremely muted. He seems more focused on the group's reaction. When he does give his thoughts.
“I am not overly motivated to search for ancient ruins. The only thing we gain from exploring ruins is the opportunity to be first to gain information and treasure. I like both of the other requests but as we only can pick one to start I vote to hunt down the Yuan-Ti. If a powerful sorcerer has taken the remains of the Forgotten King it might be extremely dangerous if not stopped soon.”
When Theldrin voices his fear Syllen will attempt to address it.
“We have 3 members that can see in the dark using familiars and I have some gold saved up from the last mission that I can use for making a scroll for you. I will keep the darkvision spell prepared for any emergency we might find ourselves in.”
[[If I was not a new character I'd be saying something about reptile cults...]]
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
Hearing that no one else is interested in exploring the ruined city, Xanrym concedes. He's happy to take on a mission for Strider Silvain and their friend Toska, and he touches the symbol of Fharlanghn as he remembers the last time he saw them. Xanrym volunteers to write a reply, send by way of the Temple of the Far Horizon, to let Toska and Strider Silvain know that The Company of the Grey Chain will soon leave the Free City to explore the rift.
(OOC: @drumdigby - Is the Bastion Turn happening after we received these messages / opportunities so that Xanrym and Khessa can use their libraries to do some research before The Company leaves for the Cairn Hills?)
"Thank you, my friend," Theldrin says with a warm smile.
(Insight Roll: 25) Syllen has no reason to ask Coriana about seeming panicked in front of the others but when he has a chance to speak with her without others.
“You seemed as if something was causing you great fear. I am not arrogant enough to believe I have the power to alleviate that for you but I just wanted you to know that if you wish to talk to someone I am always willing to listen.”
This letter comes right at the end of the three months, so it would indeed happen after your Bastion turn. It seems like there's a consensus on heading into the Cairn Hills to check on the existence of this rift. I'll give you a day to discuss and express character, then the Company of the Grey Chain heads off again.
Coriana will reply to Syllen, "I sort of have two reasons I'm not on the open seas. One, my patron, the source of my powers has let me know in cryptic ways that he will expect a specific favor one day, His power is confined to the seas, so I though staying inland would gain some space. Seeing the kraken, which seems related to him, believe it or not, made me realize his power travels farther than I thought. The idea of returning to the open ocean is still difficult. I also, more concretely, owe a huge some of treasure and the cost of a ship to a pirate queen I was sailing under. If we had gone for that lost temple her people would have spotted me at whatever port, and I'd be a dead woman... unless maybe I had about 20,000 gold pieces to spare..."
Coriana - Company of the Grey Chain
Wagner - Dragon Heist: Bards.
DM - The Old Keep
(OOC: In case I hadn't summarized it before...)
During their break, Xanrym spent some of his treasure from Aubrek:
The potion is a backup way for Xanrym to survive in deep water / underwater. Without his mask, he's not a strong swimmer, and now that he has 4 items that require attunement, he knows that there will be times when he will not be attuned to the mask.
Xanrym says, "I don't know how long we'll be underground, but I did pay Syllen to create a scroll of Darkvision for me a couple of weeks ago. If we are trying to sneak into a dark area held by our enemies, you or Syllen can use the scroll to grant me Darkvision. That will at least give me one day when I can scout far enough ahead of the group in the dark so that our light give me away. But I guess our group will generally have to carry a Light underground. There's just no avoiding that! If we find creatures living in absolute darkness, like those Troglodytes in the naga's lair, we'll just have to know that they'll probably see our light coming long before we see them."
Xanrym likes oration and reciting stories, but he's less good at observing others. Since the rest of the company settled on the mission sent by the Pilgrim's Path, he probably didn't notice noticed Coriana's look this time.
Once they've all agreed to go explore The Rift, Xanrym does start talking about the first adventure in Orlane and the "reptile cult": snakes and troglodytes and the naga. He explains how the cult leader, Garath Primo, had summoned an evil spirit into a giant snake, creating a Spirit Naga. The naga had the power to charm and dominate innocent people, forcing them to do her bidding. "But it sounds like this is something different," he says. "Grave robbers, yuan-ti, and a prophecy? Unfortunately, it sounds like we'll need to get going right away. The grave-robbing cult already has a head start. We won't have time to gather much information about the Yuan-Ti or this 'rift' in the Cairn Hills."
That evening, Xanrym will try casting Enhance Ability on himself to help him recall anything he has read or was told about the 'Forgotten King' and the prophecy related to his bones. Or, barring that, anything he may have learned about Yuan-Ti when researching information about the previous reptile cult they encountered.
Xanrym - History: 22 (Advantage from Enhance Ability. Same bonus in Religion if that's more appropriate for tales of a prophecy and cults.)
(OOC: In that case, Xanrym gives the following orders for this Bastion Turn:
Order: Harvest - 10 exquisite floral bouquets (worth 5 GP each)
Order: Research - Topic: The Undying King that the Spirit Naga mentioned
)
When The Company was setting up the manor, Xanrym decided that he could finally start building his personal library. He has always imagined having a sizable collection of rare and important books some day, but he didn't really know how to go about acquiring and organizing such a collection. Xanrym lures Orryn, an older gnomish scholar whom he met at the Great Library, to come live at the manor and help him with his personal library. He also tasks Orryn with a puzzle that he had never been able to solve. The Spirit Naga said that she was the consort of the "Undying King." He tells Orryn about The Company's first adventure and the dungeon lair of the cult and its naga in the Rushmoors. Perhaps Orryn will have more luck than Xanrym did in finding out what evil spirit or demon the naga could have been referring to when she mentioned the "Undying King."
When The Company purchased the manor, Xanrym noted the size of the grounds and that there are already flower beds there. The flower beds hadn't been tended recently, so they were dominated by deadheads and weeds, but he felt that there was some potential there. In particular, from his time in the Garden Quarter, Xanrym had some grasp of the simple business of selling flowers and perfumes. It's much more straightforward than finding buyers, sellers, and trading in goods that flow through the ports of the River Quarter! Xanrym hoped to create a garden at their manor that would be both beautiful to behold and useful for the cultivation of popular flowers that could generate some income for The Company.
Xanrym convinced a young woman, a simple flower-seller whom he met in the city, to help tend a garden at their base. He found her reselling flowers in the city: she had a good eye and nose and was able to make money selling bouquets that she made from flowers she had purchased from other flower growers. Her dark skin showed her to be one of the Flan people, and she still followed the Old Faith. She was excited to move to the manor and to have her own gardens to tend. She quickly cleaned up the flower garden and planted some new flowers: from "starts," bulb, and seed. With Syllen's Plant Growth spell, some of the flowers are already in bloom and ready to be cut after just 1 week! She assembles 10 bouquets and takes them to sell in the flower markets in and around the Free City of Greyhawk. Xanrym also introduces her to some perfume vendors he had met during his stay in the city so that she can start selling flowers to them and learning how to extract oils and make perfumes herself.
Updated: edited and expanded the description a bit.
Syllen takes a moment to process Coriana’s words.
“There are many powers in this world greater than any of us. You are truly a strong individual to be able to gain power from such a being even if it is a double edged sword. Hopefully we find enough power or gold to solve your pirate problems. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need help and feel free to describe the pirates that may hunt you. My abilities can allow us to avoid others when needed."
Anything else before you head off into the Cairn Hills? Are you taking Heckle? Are you otherwise walking or purchasing some horses? Do any of you have any other modes of travel?