Bressol listens calmly as Bilyur berates Ivory, who grows increasingly more irritated with the gnome, but doesn't say anything in her own defence, simply baring her fangs and giving a low growl as he comes closer to her. As Bilyur walks out of the room and gives his parting comment, Bressol gives him a thin smile and says 'Thank you for educating me on the past of my companion. I'll keep it in mind.' He then says in Gnomish, 'Me and her seem to be playing a similar game. The knowledge of her sins will give me comfort when I overleap her myself.' He then brushes off this comment by telling Ivorythat it's a common Gnomish farewell, who of course didn't understand.
As you reunite with the party, you mull over your encounter with him, and still can't make heads nor tails of his motives or morals. He seems opposed to Ivory, so maybe you should just run on the basis that the enemy of your enemy is your friend, but then again, he seemed to be plotting to backstab her before he even learnt of her misdeeds, so perhaps he's more immoral than you thought, even though he did seem to show a lot of genuine empathy to Hugh and was clearly sympathetic for him due to his condition. You don't know much about him or his past though, so it's probably too early to pass a definitive judgement, but perhaps the rest of the party will have a clearer idea when they meet him.
[Love when characters have high Passive Insight like Bilyur does as then I can give players lots of food for thought on an NPC, since you'll be the ones that will have to decide where you sit with him!]
Selvidos bows her head back to Xarkris, and says 'It is a pleasure to meet fellow dragon-kin. May I compliment you not only on the lustre of your armour and shield, but your scales too. I fear my own have dulled without starlight, yet yours clearly shine bright with valour. I always say that the way one maintains their appearance acts as an insight to ones determination as an adventurer, and I can see that you are an excellent example of that truth in practice.'
{Self note: I can insult Ivory to her face by speaking Gnomish. Good to know. lol}
So far, Bilyur's stance on Bressol is neutral. He's met many a good man with an evil mind, so Bressol may be trying to convince himself of his ability to be evil. On the other hand, he seems not to care about Ivory's deeds, so Bilyur doesn't care about him. He enjoyed verbally thrashing Ivory, though, fairly certain he could outtalk any pithy attempt to defend herself she might have provided, and slightly disappointed she didn't try.
Xarkris nods his head and replies, “You are too kind. I do not detect a single blemish or the slightest loss of shine on your stunning crystal scales. You are as magnificent as you have ever been.”. Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the emotional bond he is starting to feel toward Selvidos, he nervously glances to Sly, hoping she will take over the conversation with the great dragon. After all, what could he hope to trade, except his precious Sentinel Shield, which has become part of him. What would Selvidos have that he could possibly want?
Sly gives a polite bow towards the dragon. The wizard gazes at the mountains of gold with fascination. She had heard many tales of dragons and their penchant for amassing treasure, but had never seen it herself.
"Greetings, great wyrm. 'Tis but a pittance of baubles next to thine great hoard, but your conjecture stands true; we seek an exchange."
The tiefling makes a motion towards the pile of emeralds.
"These precious stones were ferried through several dangerous locations, all the way from Leri's Mountain Roost. They are nothing less but the pride of the great lord that once ruled over that ruin."
Sly also gives a brief description of the armor pieces, but she doesn't expect them to interest the dragon.
"If these are of interest to a dame with your inclinations, I seek to part with them in exchange of gold of equal value. I also seek a particular, valuable pearl, should you find yourself in possession of one."
[Translation: Sly wants to sell all the emeralds. If the dragon has a pearl worth 100 gp, such as the one needed for Identify, Sly would take it instead of an equal amount of gold.]
Selvidos smiles broadly at Sly's offer of riches, and says 'Whilst I have received several of these stones from past adventurers, never have I seen such a vast amount brought at once, and I deeply respect the perseverance you must have had to bring them here, so I hope I can reward you aptly for it. What's more, the iridescence of a gemstone is far more enticing to my eye than a coin; the refraction of light through the crystal is far more delightful than the simple sheen of gold.' She places a clawed foot onto a pile of coins, pushing it forward towards you and separating it from the rest of the mass. She then turns with a flick of her tail, and says 'I also have a pearl that would fit your description perfectly; I can see you are a mage from the tome you carry and the disc you have summoned, so the magical qualities of this item will likely hold more interest in your heart than mine, since I do not care for arcane relics unless they hold divination properties. Therefore I shall gladly part with it, and I hope you will find it satisfactory in our exchange.' In exchange for all the emeralds, she places a pearl of power on top of the pile of 350 GP that she had pushed forward, which should work just fine for identify, seeing as the pearl isn't consumed in the casting. She shows no interest at all in the scraps of metal; if she is uninspired by the shine of a coin, then there is no doubt that hunks of iron are even less desirable. You imagine that it would be valued much more by Crataclak, as would any magic items you don't care for any longer (in case you want to exchange the ersatz eye or pot of awakening you've been carrying around without a use for gold)
{{I actually think Bilyur is blind in one eye. Some guy with a scimitar slashed it in like dungeon 2. I'll have to verify, but don't ditch the ersatz eye yet.}}
{{I actually think Bilyur is blind in one eye. Some guy with a scimitar slashed it in like dungeon 2. I'll have to verify, but don't ditch the ersatz eye yet.}}
[Oh no, he's fine, you're right in thinking that someone slashed him near the eyes with a scimitar but that was back in Dungeon 3 across the bridge of his nose just below his eyes. I think I phrased it as 'very nearly could have blinded him' at the time which is probably where the confusion came from!]
{{I actually think Bilyur is blind in one eye. Some guy with a scimitar slashed it in like dungeon 2. I'll have to verify, but don't ditch the ersatz eye yet.}}
[Oh no, he's fine, you're right in thinking that someone slashed him near the eyes with a scimitar but that was back in Dungeon 3 across the bridge of his nose just below his eyes. I think I phrased it as 'very nearly could have blinded him' at the time which is probably where the confusion came from!]
OH YAYYY! BILYUR'S NOT BLIND AND WE CAN STILL SELL THE EYE!!!
Sly appreciates the fact that her estimations of the emeralds value was correct, agreeing to the exchange. She pockets the money with the intent of distributing it once the group met back up. The wizard is also happy about the gemstone. She had not learned the requisite spell yet, but those who failed to prepare were preparing to fail.
As she touches the pearl, she becomes aware of its significant magical properties. This was clearly worth much more than the equal amount of gold she would have received from the dragon.
After stowing the coins away, the tiefling, still grasping the gem, gives another bow, much deeper than the first. "Thank you kindly, esteemed wyrm. This is a treasure of great utility and will surely further facilitate our pursuit of the Blood Archivist. In the unlikely event that we should be able to reconvene, I shall strive to produce aught that will satisfy your interest in divination magicks."
With that, Sly bids Selvidos goodbye and waits a moment for Xarkris and Bilyur, before continuing on.
Next, she will seek out Crataclak, moving west and then south. On the way there, she discusses what to sell.
[I think selling the pot of awakening makes sense, but I'd hang on to the ersatz eye. Byliur might still have his eye, but who knows if we ever need it later!]
{Because of Bilyur's monastic oaths, he is not allowed to carry 'excess treasures that gleam in the eyes of man or woman.' This means that he will not take his share of 87.5 GP, as that is definitely what he would think of as 'excess' and not simply what is required to survive. His share can be split among the party.}
{Because of Bilyur's monastic oaths, he is not allowed to carry 'excess treasures that gleam in the eyes of man or woman.' This means that he will not take his share of 87.5 GP, as that is definitely what he would think of as 'excess' and not simply what is required to survive. His share can be split among the party.}
[I'd say Sly will hand out the share as soon she has sold all she needs to. Bilyur is then free to redistribute the amount he thinks of as excessive. And in any case, Sly considers the Pearl of Power she effectively purchased with the parties gold as part of her share. So everyones elses share is likely going to be 100+ gp, depending on how much we're going to get from selling the armor pieces and pot of awakening.]
[I'd say Sly will hand out the share one she has sold all she needs to. Bilyur is then free to redistribute the amount he thinks of as excessive. And in any case, Sly considers the Pearl of Power she effectively purchased with the parties gold as part of her share. So everyones elses share is likely going to be 100+ gp, depending on how much we're going to get from selling the armor pieces and pot of awakening.]
Bilyur agrees with Sly.
{Shiver, should we wait for Xarkris and Eggo or just bring the whole party to other dragon?
[Sorry for the delay, I think it's fine if the whole party can go to Crataclak together if nobody has any objections, however the reason I have been holding on off is that I have been considering whether or not to bring on new players, with the reasoning being that as this next room is the final unexplored room in this rest dungeon, it's the ideal place to put a new player or two if we did. I would say that the majority of me is thinking against it, seeing as we're a year into the campaign and I've already boosted the party with new players when the numbers get low several times before, however I wanted to ask you guys to see what your thoughts are, as it would definitely boost progression, so if we decide it's necessary, now is our best and likely last time to do so]
[Currently we're 3 active players with Eggo taking a break right? I guess one or two more couldn't hurt, but I also feel like the DM is the one who is impacted by this the most, so I'll go with whatever you prefer Shiver.]
[As a DM I'm more than prepared to do all the work necessary to make sure any new players are caught up to speed and are integrated into the campaign well, so I'm fully prepared to put in the additional effort needed to add new players this far in (even though it's only 11% of the way :P) My main thought when thinking to bring on new players was that when it comes to posts, it would spread the load amongst the party much more and hopefully liven things up a bit too, so if Rhino isn't against it, I think I will try and bring on some new players, just because it will boost the rate at which the campaign is going, and also having them around will hopefully improve things for you guys as well!]
[No word from Rhino after about a week so for the sake of progress I think I'll work on releasing a recruitment thread soon, I'll keep you guys updated]
Bressol listens calmly as Bilyur berates Ivory, who grows increasingly more irritated with the gnome, but doesn't say anything in her own defence, simply baring her fangs and giving a low growl as he comes closer to her. As Bilyur walks out of the room and gives his parting comment, Bressol gives him a thin smile and says 'Thank you for educating me on the past of my companion. I'll keep it in mind.' He then says in Gnomish, 'Me and her seem to be playing a similar game. The knowledge of her sins will give me comfort when I overleap her myself.' He then brushes off this comment by telling Ivory that it's a common Gnomish farewell, who of course didn't understand.
As you reunite with the party, you mull over your encounter with him, and still can't make heads nor tails of his motives or morals. He seems opposed to Ivory, so maybe you should just run on the basis that the enemy of your enemy is your friend, but then again, he seemed to be plotting to backstab her before he even learnt of her misdeeds, so perhaps he's more immoral than you thought, even though he did seem to show a lot of genuine empathy to Hugh and was clearly sympathetic for him due to his condition. You don't know much about him or his past though, so it's probably too early to pass a definitive judgement, but perhaps the rest of the party will have a clearer idea when they meet him.
[Love when characters have high Passive Insight like Bilyur does as then I can give players lots of food for thought on an NPC, since you'll be the ones that will have to decide where you sit with him!]
Selvidos bows her head back to Xarkris, and says 'It is a pleasure to meet fellow dragon-kin. May I compliment you not only on the lustre of your armour and shield, but your scales too. I fear my own have dulled without starlight, yet yours clearly shine bright with valour. I always say that the way one maintains their appearance acts as an insight to ones determination as an adventurer, and I can see that you are an excellent example of that truth in practice.'
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
{Self note: I can insult Ivory to her face by speaking Gnomish. Good to know. lol}
So far, Bilyur's stance on Bressol is neutral. He's met many a good man with an evil mind, so Bressol may be trying to convince himself of his ability to be evil. On the other hand, he seems not to care about Ivory's deeds, so Bilyur doesn't care about him. He enjoyed verbally thrashing Ivory, though, fairly certain he could outtalk any pithy attempt to defend herself she might have provided, and slightly disappointed she didn't try.
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
Xarkris nods his head and replies, “You are too kind. I do not detect a single blemish or the slightest loss of shine on your stunning crystal scales. You are as magnificent as you have ever been.”. Feeling slightly overwhelmed by the emotional bond he is starting to feel toward Selvidos, he nervously glances to Sly, hoping she will take over the conversation with the great dragon. After all, what could he hope to trade, except his precious Sentinel Shield, which has become part of him. What would Selvidos have that he could possibly want?
Sly gives a polite bow towards the dragon. The wizard gazes at the mountains of gold with fascination. She had heard many tales of dragons and their penchant for amassing treasure, but had never seen it herself.
"Greetings, great wyrm. 'Tis but a pittance of baubles next to thine great hoard, but your conjecture stands true; we seek an exchange."
The tiefling makes a motion towards the pile of emeralds.
"These precious stones were ferried through several dangerous locations, all the way from Leri's Mountain Roost. They are nothing less but the pride of the great lord that once ruled over that ruin."
Sly also gives a brief description of the armor pieces, but she doesn't expect them to interest the dragon.
"If these are of interest to a dame with your inclinations, I seek to part with them in exchange of gold of equal value. I also seek a particular, valuable pearl, should you find yourself in possession of one."
[Translation: Sly wants to sell all the emeralds. If the dragon has a pearl worth 100 gp, such as the one needed for Identify, Sly would take it instead of an equal amount of gold.]
Selvidos smiles broadly at Sly's offer of riches, and says 'Whilst I have received several of these stones from past adventurers, never have I seen such a vast amount brought at once, and I deeply respect the perseverance you must have had to bring them here, so I hope I can reward you aptly for it. What's more, the iridescence of a gemstone is far more enticing to my eye than a coin; the refraction of light through the crystal is far more delightful than the simple sheen of gold.' She places a clawed foot onto a pile of coins, pushing it forward towards you and separating it from the rest of the mass. She then turns with a flick of her tail, and says 'I also have a pearl that would fit your description perfectly; I can see you are a mage from the tome you carry and the disc you have summoned, so the magical qualities of this item will likely hold more interest in your heart than mine, since I do not care for arcane relics unless they hold divination properties. Therefore I shall gladly part with it, and I hope you will find it satisfactory in our exchange.' In exchange for all the emeralds, she places a pearl of power on top of the pile of 350 GP that she had pushed forward, which should work just fine for identify, seeing as the pearl isn't consumed in the casting. She shows no interest at all in the scraps of metal; if she is uninspired by the shine of a coin, then there is no doubt that hunks of iron are even less desirable. You imagine that it would be valued much more by Crataclak, as would any magic items you don't care for any longer (in case you want to exchange the ersatz eye or pot of awakening you've been carrying around without a use for gold)
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
{{I actually think Bilyur is blind in one eye. Some guy with a scimitar slashed it in like dungeon 2. I'll have to verify, but don't ditch the ersatz eye yet.}}
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
[Oh no, he's fine, you're right in thinking that someone slashed him near the eyes with a scimitar but that was back in Dungeon 3 across the bridge of his nose just below his eyes. I think I phrased it as 'very nearly could have blinded him' at the time which is probably where the confusion came from!]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
OH YAYYY! BILYUR'S NOT BLIND AND WE CAN STILL SELL THE EYE!!!
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
Sly appreciates the fact that her estimations of the emeralds value was correct, agreeing to the exchange. She pockets the money with the intent of distributing it once the group met back up. The wizard is also happy about the gemstone. She had not learned the requisite spell yet, but those who failed to prepare were preparing to fail.
As she touches the pearl, she becomes aware of its significant magical properties. This was clearly worth much more than the equal amount of gold she would have received from the dragon.
After stowing the coins away, the tiefling, still grasping the gem, gives another bow, much deeper than the first. "Thank you kindly, esteemed wyrm. This is a treasure of great utility and will surely further facilitate our pursuit of the Blood Archivist. In the unlikely event that we should be able to reconvene, I shall strive to produce aught that will satisfy your interest in divination magicks."
With that, Sly bids Selvidos goodbye and waits a moment for Xarkris and Bilyur, before continuing on.
Next, she will seek out Crataclak, moving west and then south. On the way there, she discusses what to sell.
[I think selling the pot of awakening makes sense, but I'd hang on to the ersatz eye. Byliur might still have his eye, but who knows if we ever need it later!]
{Because of Bilyur's monastic oaths, he is not allowed to carry 'excess treasures that gleam in the eyes of man or woman.' This means that he will not take his share of 87.5 GP, as that is definitely what he would think of as 'excess' and not simply what is required to survive. His share can be split among the party.}
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
He should be fine with taking like 10GP tho
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
[I'd say Sly will hand out the share as soon she has sold all she needs to. Bilyur is then free to redistribute the amount he thinks of as excessive. And in any case, Sly considers the Pearl of Power she effectively purchased with the parties gold as part of her share. So everyones elses share is likely going to be 100+ gp, depending on how much we're going to get from selling the armor pieces and pot of awakening.]
Bilyur agrees with Sly.
{Shiver, should we wait for Xarkris and Eggo or just bring the whole party to other dragon?
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
[Sorry for the delay, I think it's fine if the whole party can go to Crataclak together if nobody has any objections, however the reason I have been holding on off is that I have been considering whether or not to bring on new players, with the reasoning being that as this next room is the final unexplored room in this rest dungeon, it's the ideal place to put a new player or two if we did. I would say that the majority of me is thinking against it, seeing as we're a year into the campaign and I've already boosted the party with new players when the numbers get low several times before, however I wanted to ask you guys to see what your thoughts are, as it would definitely boost progression, so if we decide it's necessary, now is our best and likely last time to do so]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
I am indifferent about adding new players.
[Currently we're 3 active players with Eggo taking a break right? I guess one or two more couldn't hurt, but I also feel like the DM is the one who is impacted by this the most, so I'll go with whatever you prefer Shiver.]
[As a DM I'm more than prepared to do all the work necessary to make sure any new players are caught up to speed and are integrated into the campaign well, so I'm fully prepared to put in the additional effort needed to add new players this far in (even though it's only 11% of the way :P) My main thought when thinking to bring on new players was that when it comes to posts, it would spread the load amongst the party much more and hopefully liven things up a bit too, so if Rhino isn't against it, I think I will try and bring on some new players, just because it will boost the rate at which the campaign is going, and also having them around will hopefully improve things for you guys as well!]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
[No word from Rhino after about a week so for the sake of progress I think I'll work on releasing a recruitment thread soon, I'll keep you guys updated]
Xaul Lackluster: Half-Orc Fathomless Warlock: Warlock Dragon Heist
Borvnir Chelvnich: Black Dragonborn Barbarian: Dragons of Stormwreck Isle
Pushover Gerilwitz: Tiefling Wizard: Acquisitions Incorporated
Callow Sunken-Eyes: Goliath Arctic Druid: We Are Modron
DMing The 100 Dungeons of the Blood Archivist and The Hunt for the Balowang!
Killer Queen has already extended this signature, though not by much!
Sorry, didn't realise my message failed to send until you sent that. Lol. I have no objections as long as the new players seem to be a good fit.
[A paper drops out of a flash of light and drifts to the ground at your feet] -(extended sig)-
Agreed….recruit away!