World of Greyhawk: Company of the Grey Chain

Khessa also seeks the other companions' opinions: "It still seems like our best bet to me... Or do we want to try something else first, to recover the letter? I really don't know what to do—other than send someone, invisible, to search for it blindly. But at this point, we might as well look for it after trying the potion to gather clues as to its location... right?"

I reckon it sounds like you’ve got a plan with that potion. Just let me know who’s drinking it and we’ll see what happens.

If no one objects, Theldrin should drink it (as our best "Investigator") to spy on the Warduke and try to see clues as to where the letter the Greens coveted might be kept.

Coriana will volunteer to be the one to actually go in invisibly and collect the letter but definitely leave it to someone else to get a clue where it is.

Quote from Painted_Beyond>>

Khessa congratulates her fellow adventurers and pats each on the shoulder as she leads them to Alaric's cabin to retrieve his token: "That's quite an accomplishment... 
we should be able to obtain the Horned token, thanks to the charade resulting from our excellent teamwork."

Xanrym is happy that they pulled it off, but he's distressed to hear that there was an argument with Alaric about the ruse.  He was hoping that The Company could rely on Alaric as an ally if they ever made it back to Critwall.  He also expresses some worry about the grumbling from the Horned Society.  He's not so optimistic about getting the Horned Society's token, and he reminds them of the difficulty they had: "Their leader, Hierarch Warduke, was instantly suspicious.  They were ready to kick us out of the mess hall or start a fight right there.  I was able to placate them, but agreeing to 'murder' Alaric for them and throw him off the ship was a sort of test they set for us.  If we didn't do it, they were implying that they'd throw us off the ship.  It earns us, or at least Syllen and me, another audience with Warduke, but their token was not part of the deal.  I can ask about it, but I suspect that getting their token will cost us something more.  Since we're stealing the letter, it's probably easier just to steal their token so that they don't immediately suspect us.  Or it might be easier to get the Wegwiur's token.  That way, we only need to get the letter from the Horned Society."

"All that remains is for us to obtain the Greens' token..." the blonde arcane warrior reminds her. "For that, we need the Horneds' letter. Do you have any idea where they're keeping it? Perhaps one of us could steal it invisibly, if we knew where it was..."

Xanrym shakes his head sadly.  "Unfortunately, unless Syllen noticed something, we're at the first stanza of that one.  I had enough to do just to prevent them from throwing us out or attacking us for the mere attempt at conversation.  I didn't see anything to indicate where they might keep the letter.  When I next meet with Warduke, we'll see whether there are any clues.  You're all welcome to join me in that conversation, but if you do, be careful what you say.  I believe that the Horned Society are happy to come to blows with anyone that they perceive as an enemy or even just weak.  Not surprising for the followers of the Scourge of Battle!"

Quote from werelemur >>

"Of course, we'd be limited by the ten minute duration..." Theldrin muses out loud as he rubs his beard. "So I'm not sure that gives us enough time."

Xanrym agrees with Theldrin: "Yes, it seems like you could easily observe them in their room and see nothing useful within that time."  Xanrym thinks for a moment before suggesting, "Maybe I could 'push' the idea?  Make them think about the letter or even worry that it has already been taken.  Then, once I leave them, you could observe their room while they check to make sure that it's secure or move it to another place.  Once we know where it is, we could try to take it.  Hopefully, we can get it from them today so that our friends can escape before the Broken Crown makes their move." 

Xanrym also points out one remaining problem with their plans: "Even if we get the letter for the Greens and get their token, we'll have to move fast!  We'll need to get down to the cargo hold and find the relics before the Horned Society discovers the missing letter and makes trouble.  Or, even if they don't notice, I suspect that the disappearance of the Greens is going to arouse suspicions and maybe even get Nithrissa involved.  We'll want to get the relics and get off the ship before that happens.  Otherwise, we'll be fighting the Broken Crown, Nithrissa, and maybe even the Horned Society just to get off the ship."

(OOC: To be clear, Xanrym is suggesting something like this: 

1. Meet with the Wegwiur to try to get them to give us their token.
2. Meet with the Horned Society to follow up on Xanrym's initial conversation and to make them think / worry about the letter.
3. Theldrin uses the Potion of Clairvoyance to see (though not hear) whether the Horned Society check on the letter after we leave them.
4. Finally, hopefully having learned where they're keeping the letter, we steal the letter and either borrow or steal a crown token.
5. We deliver the letter (or at least its contents) to the Knights of the Hart and exchange it for their crown token. 
   At this point, we have 3 crown tokens, and the Knights of the Hart are probably ready to depart.
6. We use the 3 crown tokens to gain access to the cargo hold, hopefully finding the Forgotten King's bones quickly.
7. We take the Forgotten King's bones and get them and ourselves off of the ship as quickly as possible, hopefully without having to fight through the Broken Crown, Nithrissa, and the Horned Society to escape.

We could probably split up and do #1 and #2 at the same time.  That might save us some time and make it easier to get the letter before the Broken Crown attacks the Knights of the Hart.

)

"Okay..." Khessa agrees. "Then Coriana and Theldrin, who have already spoken with the Wegwiur, can return to them—and I could accompany them."

"You and Syllen," the Blonde Arcane warrior tells the Bard "have already spoken with the Horneds, so it makes sense that you should return to them. Perhaps accompanied by Avery, in case the Horneds decide to start a battle—or even just threaten you."

[[ OOC: Ready to do #1 and #2... ]]

That split works fine for Xanrym, but he wonders whether Theldrin should accompany him to the Horned Society instead.  (He's not sure whether Theldrin will need to see the Horned Society's room before he attempts to view it with magic.)

Hmmm... It depends on how "obvious" the location is to be explored. But OK, so to be on the safe side, we can send Theldrin with Xanrym and Syllen, while Avery accompanies Coriana and Kessa.

First of all, you head down into Alaric’s room, and find a metal coin sitting on the table. A depiction of the Broken Crown’s insignia on one side. You collect your first Crown Token.

Khessa, Coriana, and Avery - Coriana leads you into the Wegwiur’s room. This time, the women are the ones performing morning rituals while the men drink a strong smelling earthy substance and talking lowly. One of them looks up at Coriana, “Welcome back. You looking to play Omens again? Didn’t really go too well for you last time, how are your birds?” The women chuckle.

Xanrym, Theldrin, and Syllen - You go to walk into the Horned Society rooms, but the head of the priests stops you and signals to talk to him on the deck. “Heirarch Warduke is still resting, we can talk on the deck. And to be honest, I haven’t decided whether I should tell him the job is done. You employed a lot of magical trickery in that assassination. And I wonder whether it was us who was deceived. To be sure, the Shieldlander looked dead, but we’ve seen enough to know that isn’t a surety.” He stands with his arms crossed suspiciously.

Theldrin takes a breath and is about to reply to the head priest, but then thinks better of it, deciding that Xanrym's skills in diplomacy would be far better here.

Khessa isn't sure how to respond to the Wegwiur—nor whether it's better to simply play their game again or simply demand the token, asking what they want in return.

Confiding in Coriana, the blonde arcane warrior simply smiles relaxedly, confident that, with Alaric's demanding business taken care of, everything will now be fine.

Quote from drumdigby >>

First of all, you head down into Alaric’s room

Before the group splits up...

The success of both of the conversations is critical to their plans.  Since Xanrym stopped concentrating on the illusion once Alaric was out-of-range, he again casts Enhance Ability.  Since the group is splitting up, he will upcast it with a 3rd level slot.  Then, as the his group heads to the Horned Society's room, he turns to Syllen to say in Elvish, "We enter the 'dragon's lair' once more, my friend, where there's danger even in conversation.  I would not feel safe if it were not for your eyes and ears.  We will rely you to warn us if something is amiss!"

Action: Cast spell (LVL 3 slot) Enhance Ability (CHA) on himself and Coriana
  Both Xanrym and Coriana have advantage on CHA ability checks for the duration.
Bonus Action: Grant bardic inspiration to Syllen

Concentration: Enhance Ability (CHA) on himself and Coriana

Bardic Inspiration:
  Coriana (since post #6850) <== AFAIK, Coriana used her Heroic Inspiration and did not need the bardic inspiration to pass her Performance check.
  Syllen (since post #6892)
  Once within the next 1 hour, when the you fail a D20 Test, you can use the bardic inspiration to roll 1d8 and add the number rolled to the d20, possibly turning failure into a success.
  If you use the bardic inspiration, but the D20 Test still fails, you keep the inspiration die because of Xanrym's Unfailing Inspiration.

Quote from drumdigby >>

Xanrym, Theldrin, and Syllen - You go to walk into the Horned Society rooms, but the head of the priests stops you and signals to talk to him on the deck. “Heirarch Warduke is still resting, we can talk on the deck. And to be honest, I haven’t decided whether I should tell him the job is done. You employed a lot of magical trickery in that assassination. And I wonder whether it was us who was deceived. To be sure, the Shieldlander looked dead, but we’ve seen enough to know that isn’t a surety.” He stands with his arms crossed suspiciously.

Xanrym starts with a jest: "Still resting?  Hm!  I look forward to dining with Hierarch Warduke if his breakfast was so formidable to require such rest!"  He means to imply that he doubts the priest's excuse for leading them away, but then he just laughs and moves quickly to the next matter.

"You set us a task, and we have completed it in our own way," Xanrym says.  His voice is pleasant but firm.  He sounds upset, like a customer who suspects that he has been cheated but who is trying to control his anger and indignation so that he can resolve the matter without causing a scene.  "You are not wrong, sir!  My associates and I," and here he gestures to Syllen and Theldrin, "are skilled in various magicks, and we use those skills to complete the jobs our Company undertakes successfully, efficiently, and as subtly as we can.  Would you demand that a mason build you a temple while setting aside his best tools?  Or that a tailor sew you a robe with the poorest materials?  What a poor result that would yield!  You should expect a knight to dress in heavy armor and charge at you on horseback with a lance in hand.  You should expect a dragon to fly overhead, spreading death and destruction with its breath.  And you should expect our Company to accomplish any job we accept using a deadly combination of steel, magic, and -- yes -- even trickery!"

Then Xanrym fixes the priest with an intent stare and says grimly, "We threw Alaric's body off the ship and tossed his fawning scribe after him for good measure.  But you said that you wanted to 'send a message.'  Have you seen what happens to a body that falls from this height?!  He would have been unrecognizable!  So, we used a spell to ensure that Alaric's body will be identifiable after it hits the ground.  You wanted us to put a knife in Alaric's back, and we did exactly that.  If you had other requirements in how you wanted this task accomplished, you should have specified them before the deed was done.  But now it's too late.  We completed your task, killed Alaric, and threw him overboard, as you asked.  Now, it is time for the Horned Society to fulfill your end of the bargain."
Deception: Best of (25 & 18) = Unable to parse dice roll.
Advantage from Enhance Ability.  Minimum value from Silver Tongue feature.

Concentration: Enhance Ability (CHA) on himself and Coriana

Bardic Inspiration:
  Coriana (since post #6850) <== AFAIK, Coriana used her Heroic Inspiration and did not need the bardic inspiration to pass her Performance check.
  Syllen (since post #6892)
  Once within the next 1 hour, when the you fail a D20 Test, you can use the bardic inspiration to roll 1d8 and add the number rolled to the d20, possibly turning failure into a success.
  If you use the bardic inspiration, but the D20 Test still fails, you keep the inspiration die because of Xanrym's Unfailing Inspiration.

Quote from Ben_Evolent >>

Deception: Best of (18 & 21) = Unable to parse dice roll.

(OOC: Hm.  Final result should be 21.  Possibly just a typo in that roll macro to grab the max.  I decided to split out the rolls because the tooltips don't always work, and I like to see whether Enhance Ability is helping at all. I assumed that it would be a Deception check because it seems like the key question is whether the priest believes that we actually killed Alaric or not. Xanrym often tries to avoid telling a direct lie, but he can do it when it serves our purpose!)

Xanrym, Theldrin, and Syllen - The priest uncrosses his arns and nods: “I suppose that will have to do for now, although I warn you that Warduke will not be please if he gets wind of Alaric surviving his fall. Now, I also suppose you are owed a reward. The Heirarch has granted me leave to give whatever you desire for the completion of this mission, within reason of course. Alternatively, you may also be granted an audience with Him Most Holy, although I cannot garuntee it will go well for you. Heirarch Warduke is… temperamental at the best of times.”

Coriana responds, "The birds have flown the coop, their part in my story is done. I think my companions would like to try their hand at Omens."

Theldrin remains quiet but gives the priest a polite nod.

Khessa is a little perplexed—she'd expected a direct request, like 'Hey, what would you like in exchange for lending us your token?'—but she trusts Coriana, who's already dealt with the Wegwiur.

The blonde arcane warrior wonders what the game is all about and prepares to do her best anyway...

Khessa, Coriana, and Avery - Mayara gasps at Coriana’s announcement, looking at her meaningfully. Your last conversation with her echoes in your mind as you feel the ire of your patron upon you. 

The Wegwiur men smile at Khessa’s request, “And what are you waging, warrior? Just truths again, or something meatier?”