Erudisia inclines her head, “Just so, just so, Master Copperskald, but I am not one for airs, and one of the younger of four, so you may call me simply Erudisia. Have you been at the spa long? It is my first day, and I am simply ravenous for recommendations.”
Ilmar keeps the massage fairly short, working on fingers, hands, arms and shoulders. The candles’ invigorating scent works in tandem with their flickering, warm light, drawing out subtle alertness while also deeply relaxing (perhaps). Time passes, faster than Meredith might guess. Eventually, the drow speaks again.
“We’ll… do some work on your back and finish in a few minutes,” Ilmar says, his voice calmly hidden, like a riddle in plain sight. If Meredith lays face-down on the table, the massage continues through this final stage. All seems normal. Until.
The first time it happens, she barely notices. But the second time, her eyes flick open, muted though her vision is by the firm pillow supporting her face atop the massage table. It was a motion that Ilmar made, curling his fingers small to large as he pulled them down across her scapula, first the right side, then, immediately, the left side. Then again. And only twice. The motion of a musician playing a harp… a memory from the bookstore, far to the south, far to the east.
Soon, the massage ends.
“If you would like to continue with a deeper muscle massage,” Ilmar says, “perhaps tomorrow morning? It is late and it is better to receive massages earlier in the day…”
He stands back, allowing Meredith to flip around…slowly… and sit up on the massage table. His eyes have dipped and turned to the side. Not invasive. Respectful. Self-possessed.
Meredith nodded, " Perhaps. Thank you. Do you know where I would find the others?"
Physically she felt more relaxed but she was still starkly aware that none of this was getting her where she needed to be now.
(As Meredith speaks, she makes the connection with memory. That harp-like gesture was a secret Harper greeting she was taught to recognize in the bookshop. The correct response would be to return the greeting, playing air-harp.)
Meredith registers a certain disappointment in Ilmar’s manner. His eyes narrow and dwell for a long moment on Meredith’s face.)
”Of course. You’ll no doubt find… others… in the Lounge you passed through. You do not travel alone?”
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DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters// Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
“It is you,” Ilmar says in his mysterious tone. “I never forget a face, and when I was on a mission to Calimport two years ago and spoke with your employer, Kamal el Kitaeb, I saw you. I was hidden by an illusion. You would not be able to recognize me, I’m afraid. Have the Harpers sent you? Did… Yartar… receive my missive?”
Erudisia
“Erudisia then,” the dwarf responds easily, “of the Moonshae Ffolk if I’m not mistaken? How go things on the Isles? It has been many years since business brought me there. Not my tankard of ale, so to speak, exactly, first of all the sea voyage, and second, the land, which though beautiful holds not enough adamantine or other precious metals to have garnered our interest. Forgive me, you understand you speak now with a dwarf, and I merely offer my own opinion. But at any rate, the welcome we received was beyond expectations if not exactly bursting with hearty celebration as it might have been in our own Halls…” he warms to his theme, obviously accustomed to gabbing. But he speaks too with his hands and with each accent, his coiffure shifts a tiny fraction left on his head until with a start, he presses his lips together, raises his hands up to keep the wig from spilling off his face, and his now-wide eyes dart fearfully to Erudisia, expecting laughter.
“Damn this thing. Damn it to pieces,” he says, under his breath, almost with a sob. Taking a deep breath, he pauses, trying to take hold of his emotions before answering Erudisia's question.
“I’ve been here four days, and in only one more day I can leave,” he glances conspiratorially around the room as he readjusts his wig and continues in a whisper, “with my portrait under my arm…”
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DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters// Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
“It is you,” Ilmar says in his mysterious tone. “I never forget a face, and when I was on a mission to Calimport two years ago and spoke with your employer, Kamal el Kitaeb, I saw you. I was hidden by an illusion. You would not be able to recognize me, I’m afraid. Have the Harpers sent you? Did… Yartar… receive my missive?”
Meredith relaxes somewhat when he mentions Kamal, " I'm not sure....he sent me to Candlekeep quite some time ago. But I'm happy to help now."
Erudisia titters as the dwarf critiques her native Isles. "Fairy trods and moving islands aren't for everyone, and few are the dwarves I've met outside of Norlander parts. I don't imagine anyone can blame you for wanting something more solid underfoot than the Isles can provide," and as she laughs she places one hand gently on Copperskald's forearm, only for a moment, a fleeting brush before he carries on.
Erudisia wonders if she hears anything more between his words than he is saying, to show such evident distress and then speak of such an urgent desire to own a portrait. "Are you an art collector then, Master Copperskald? Or is it perhaps something you've painted in an art therapy here at the spa?" she asks. "You must be very proud of it, if it is so. What is its subject, and do you find yourself needing a new muse now it is nearing completion?" and she throws her head back and laughs, one hand to her neck, as she watches his reaction.
"Come, tell me all about it, I'm fascinated by you."
Ilmar’s gaze drills piercingly into Meredith for a moment, uncertain. Then, an almost imperceptible nod. He quietly opens, then peeks out of the door left and right to be sure no one is there. Relaxed ogre grunts rumble quietly from the room down the hall, otherwise, nothing. He closes the door, inhales deeply and releases a long breath.
“Three months ago,” Ilmar begins, his breathy voice even more conspiratorial than before, “I received a haunting vision of an old friend. I haven’t seen her in… well over a century. She told me then that she planned to build a temple to Sune, a peaceful retreat, here where once there was only a hot spring. Sylvarie is her name, and she appeared, in my vision, to be suffering. It was as if… as if her face was being reflected in a broken mirror. I was between assignments,” he says, making the harping gesture once again, “and so I had time to look into my former friend’s activities since we last parted ways. That led me to Silverymoon a month ago, then to this temple.” He pauses, listening once again.
“From the moment I arrived here, I instinctively suspected that the goings-on at the bathhouse hid some dark secret. I decided to investigate by posing as an aesthetician seeking employment…”
He pauses again, awaiting a response from Meredith.
Erudisia and Bell
The dwarf seems to recover, mostly, utterly taken with Erudisia. Indeed, he begins to blubber just a bit. Erudisia senses she has made quite an impression upon him. (I’m going to say that with that 27 crit, Giblet Copperskald is more or less Charmed by the fey warlock…).
“Come,” he says, showing what Erudisia guesses would be his usual confidence if not utterly eviscerated by his wig woes, “sit here on the arm of my chair. We’ll be friends, I can tell, I can tell.” He adjusts to allow room there for Erudisia to half-sit if she wishes. Either way, he continues, his voice lowering to a breathy whisper, almost covered by the graceful music coming from nowhere, now like a viol consort playing menuets.
“I am an art collector, yes. Of dwarven earthenware artfully decorated. But no, not in the way that you’re thinking. And no, NO, not art therapy, no…,” he chuckles, wooden, as if the idea that he would need some kind of therapy were slightly ridiculous. His eyes go wild for a quick second and his hands pat his beard to ensure it remains in place. It had in fact been drooping slightly, showing his chin to be as bald as the rest of his head. “No. But, my dear, if you do not mind my being so forward, it’s just that you… you cast a spell, hahaha… the painting is why I came. Not something I made. Something I commissioned. So to speak. A portrait of myself. In my prime.”
His voice cracks slightly and he must take a sip of ale before continuing. His eyes shift all around the room, falling on each guest in turn for a moment.
“I’ll wager I’m not the only one here for a portrait… and I wonder why the others want them.” His eyes fall on Erudisia once again and the flirty joviality returns.
“I assumed that is why you are here." His voice lowers a level. "You’ll need to speak to the woman who left when you arrived. Morganna. But she is not to be disturbed while she is at work, and she is at work on it even now… every night…”
Erudisia causes her lip to tremble, to turn her head ever so slightly away, eyes downcast. “Me? Cast a spell?” She puts her Moonshae accent to work. “Do not make a joke of me, Monsieur, though I am sure you do not mean your words to be such a barb.”
”I had heard that this place may help my woes, but the form I did not know. They paint a portrait? And…?”
Ilmar’s gaze drills piercingly into Meredith for a moment, uncertain. Then, an almost imperceptible nod. He quietly opens, then peeks out of the door left and right to be sure no one is there. Relaxed ogre grunts rumble quietly from the room down the hall, otherwise, nothing. He closes the door, inhales deeply and releases a long breath.
“Three months ago,” Ilmar begins, his breathy voice even more conspiratorial than before, “I received a haunting vision of an old friend. I haven’t seen her in… well over a century. She told me then that she planned to build a temple to Sune, a peaceful retreat, here where once there was only a hot spring. Sylvarie is her name, and she appeared, in my vision, to be suffering. It was as if… as if her face was being reflected in a broken mirror. I was between assignments,” he says, making the harping gesture once again, “and so I had time to look into my former friend’s activities since we last parted ways. That led me to Silverymoon a month ago, then to this temple.” He pauses, listening once again.
“From the moment I arrived here, I instinctively suspected that the goings-on at the bathhouse hid some dark secret. I decided to investigate by posing as an aesthetician seeking employment…”
He pauses again, awaiting a response from Meredith.
" So there is a dark conspiracy here? I've seen nothing yet......do you have any tips for peeking beneath the surface if one were so inclined?"
" I would think my first action would be to look for this temple of Sune......perhaps your friend left some sort of trace or clue there..."
“I have not made… progress toward unraveling the enigma,” Ilmar answers. “I am suspected. I was not covert enough and asked too many questions. I fear for my life, in fact,” he says, his tone still flat, distant. “I dare not escape, for to discern my whereabouts is easy magic… I think they could find me. A gut feeling. But I can tell you this. Morganna is not what she seems. I saw her in the Lounge before you arrived… she is hard to miss. Beautiful and slender moon elf with shining black hair. And the same is true of Glitter, the kobold handyman here. And, Azirssa, an athletic sun elf with copper hair and red mantle, the temple’s fitness director. There have been moments. I’ve looked at her and thought I saw… I don’t know what I thought. Someone… else.”
“Ah, but this IS the temple of Sune. Or was. What is now called the Temple of the Restful Lily was built a century ago, by Sylvarie, as a temple to Sune. Now that I am thinking about it – Sylvarie even created a tome… or, tomes… that would magically transport converts to the Temple. That was long ago, thought only moments in the life of an immortal…”
Erudisia and Bell
The dwarf looks as if he’s watching someone drown a puppy, so aghast is his ashen countenance when Erudisia’s lip trembles.
“No, No!, I am sorry, I said the wrong thing, of course, of course I did not mean you had cast a magic spell, but only that I felt ensorceled as if some servant of a great lord of the sky had risen in the heavens like a shining star upon the fragrant… Oh!, no! I have said the wrong thing again, forgive me but I…,” he carries on for a bit, but when the conversation resumes and talk of the portrait resumes, he bends forward, his false beard hanging down slightly from his ears to reveal his upper lip, moist with perspiration.
“They can paint a portrait which does, it does have actual magic imbued in its colors… which can undo the… the fate that has befallen me… and make me whole again. And tonight is my chance! When Morganna returns.”
Bell’s Manicure/pedicure is now completed by the wordless attendant, who stands, bowing slightly to Bell after having done a nice and calming job on her hands and feet, and motions to Erudisia to come to her station.
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DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters// Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
Bell smiles as she inspects the work done. Being able to relax was 'nice' AND her nails have not looked this good in ... well, as long as she can remember.
“I have not made… progress toward unraveling the enigma,” Ilmar answers. “I am suspected. I was not covert enough and asked too many questions. I fear for my life, in fact,” he says, his tone still flat, distant. “I dare not escape, for to discern my whereabouts is easy magic… I think they could find me. A gut feeling. But I can tell you this. Morganna is not what she seems. I saw her in the Lounge before you arrived… she is hard to miss. Beautiful and slender moon elf with shining black hair. And the same is true of Glitter, the kobold handyman here. And, Azirssa, an athletic sun elf with copper hair and red mantle, the temple’s fitness director. There have been moments. I’ve looked at her and thought I saw… I don’t know what I thought. Someone… else.”
“Ah, but this IS the temple of Sune. Or was. What is now called the Temple of the Restful Lily was built a century ago, by Sylvarie, as a temple to Sune. Now that I am thinking about it – Sylvarie even created a tome… or, tomes… that would magically transport converts to the Temple. That was long ago, thought only moments in the life of an immortal…”
" I think I know the time you speak of, where are we exactly.....geographically speaking. Ok, so some of those in charge or at least in positions of authority are not who they appear to be.....fiends? Monsters? People? Fay?", the last word came out with a slightly hopeful tinge that she didn't mean to express.
" Oh and are you sure that there's no one from Baldurs Gate here at the moment?"
Erudisia listens to the dwarf’s apologies and compliments, and does the best that she might to take them in the spirit that they are given. She smiles at him and reassures him as she can, but her smile struggles to meet her eyes, and there is little twinkle in them, for there is now a liquorice taste in heart, and a banked burning in her gut, as she sees the produce of her efforts on the poor man. Despite herself, her heart is too heavy to stay perched beside him, like a song bird, and she slips down onto the foot of his lounger.
Errantly, she picks her plait free, so that her reddy-brown hair is loose and fans over her shoulders, over her face in part too, when her eyes are turned toward the ground. The style in which she wore her hair before she left the hall of her mother and joined the ballet…
As he details the magic on offer here, she feels the urge to confess to him, to confess her history and to reassure him. To avoid magic of change and vanity, to counsel him that a sense of inferiority is not so easily cast away even when blooming, even when from the outside he is become conventionally beautiful for his kind.
But she is here to seek and save Alana, and now she knows the form and danger of what is on offer here. She is saved by the aesthetician, and she begins to drift to where Bell has sat like a deflating balloon.
“Master Copperskald, it has been my pleasure. Do not forget me if we do not speak before the completion of your commission tomorrow and onward travel. I would write to you, to know at least this magic is fruitful, if you would allow it.”
So saying she head on her pedicure, beginning with her toes.
She takes out her book as she sits and writes to each of the Shield.
“You don’t know where you are?,” Ilmar asks, his voice rising slightly for the first time, a sparkle of excitement or… hope… in his eyes. “Did you travel by teleportation circle then? Is there one nearby I can use if the need arises?” He pauses, takes a breath, centering.
“Ah, but no. I will not leave yet. You are here. Perhaps together we can solve this riddle and find my devout friend.”
“We are in Faerûn, east of the Sword Coast, east of Yartar and just on the northern edge of the High Wood. The nearest human town is Silverymoon.”
“I couldn’t tell you what the nature of the mystery here is, only… only that here in the Temple of the Restful Lily… beauty truly is only skin deep!”
“But no, there is one from Baldur’s Gate a human male, a member of the Flaming Fist recovering from a terrible leg injury.”
Erudisia and Bell
The halfling woman who spoke earlier stands up, asking to see Bell’s nails, her wife saying, “Oh just leave her alone and let her enjoy some peace?”
The dark-haired elf with deep blue eyes reenters the lounge with sensual grace.
“Mr Copperskald, we are ready for you,” she says in quiet tones that carry across the room.
Erudisia has just settled into her chair and the stylist has just begun working in her hands. As the dwarf stands and surreptitiously adjust his perfect copper hair and beard, the woman introduces herself to Erudisia.
“Welcome to the Temple of the Restful Lily,” the elf says to her. “I am Morganna. Are you… Bell?,” she asks warmly, within earshot of Bell but directed at Erudisia.
“I hope that everything is to your satisfaction. In the morning you may join in our scheduled exercise routine and a complimentary breakfast of fresh, natural, and low-fat options prepared daily by our own chef-d’cuisine and her staff.”
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DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters// Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
“You don’t know where you are?,” Ilmar asks, his voice rising slightly for the first time, a sparkle of excitement or… hope… in his eyes. “Did you travel by teleportation circle then? Is there one nearby I can use if the need arises?” He pauses, takes a breath, centering.
“Ah, but no. I will not leave yet. You are here. Perhaps together we can solve this riddle and find my devout friend.”
“We are in Faerûn, east of the Sword Coast, east of Yartar and just on the northern edge of the High Wood. The nearest human town is Silverymoon.”
“I couldn’t tell you what the nature of the mystery here is, only… only that here in the Temple of the Restful Lily… beauty truly is only skin deep!”
“But no, there is one from Baldur’s Gate a human male, a member of the Flaming Fist recovering from a terrible leg injury.”
" Silvery moon? I don't think I know it...."
" Anyone here you DO trust?"
" Dammit.......I need to get to Baldurs Gate and now even Erudisias friend isn't here............"
" Teleportation......of a sort....an item which will likely need to recharge.....even if it works in the opposite direction which is undecided ..."
" Give me a brief rundown of the different areas here.....and any outbuildings......"
“It is many days travel ftom here to Baldur’s Gate..,”
“Let us say I do not MIS-trust the guests…”
“If you leave and can take me with you… please… but if you can help me find Sylvarie, even better…”
“You are in the main building, the Bath House, the original temple, built around a healing hot spring which is the back room, the pool.”
“Behind the pool are the shrine and the tower. The shrine is the original offering place to Sune, fallen now almost back to nature after years of disuse.
The tower holds the painting studio, and the rooms of Morganna and Saeth, Azirssa — the physical coach I mentioned before — and Greensong, the blind wood elf who is the spa’s chef d’cuisine. Her bloodhound Morty is always by her side…”
You hear in the next room Little One shifting to the edge of his massage table — it groans and nearly buckles — and then the hallway door opening and Saeth’s voice offering parting tips to the ogre.
“You should go,” Ilmar says. “My room is the first door on the right in the hallway to the guest rooms. A marker shows my name…”
And with that he opens the door for Meredith and gestures politely toward the lounge.
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DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters// Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
(Before responding to this new situation, and having her hands done, Erudisia sent that 25 message to all the others. Does Little One, Meredith or Bell reply anything telepathically of 25 words or less).
Meredith thought back to Erudisia, ' Have discovered an agent working to investigate the owners and searching for a friend. No Silvershields here. And we're near Silvery Moon....geographically.'
“It is many days travel ftom here to Baldur’s Gate..,”
“Let us say I do not MIS-trust the guests…”
“If you leave and can take me with you… please… but if you can help me find Sylvarie, even better…”
“You are in the main building, the Bath House, the original temple, built around a healing hot spring which is the back room, the pool.”
“Behind the pool are the shrine and the tower. The shrine is the original offering place to Sune, fallen now almost back to nature after years of disuse.
The tower holds the painting studio, and the rooms of Morganna and Saeth, Azirssa — the physical coach I mentioned before — and Greensong, the blind wood elf who is the spa’s chef d’cuisine. Her bloodhound Morty is always by her side…”
You hear in the next room Little One shifting to the edge of his massage table — it groans and nearly buckles — and then the hallway door opening and Saeth’s voice offering parting tips to the ogre.
“You should go,” Ilmar says. “My room is the first door on the right in the hallway to the guest rooms. A marker shows my name…”
And with that he opens the door for Meredith and gestures politely toward the lounge.
Meredith bids him farewell and heads towards the lounge.
(Before responding to this new situation, and having her hands done, Erudisia sent that 25 message to all the others. Does Little One, Meredith or Bell reply anything telepathically of 25 words or less).
Nothing from Little One. He dozed off during his massage, Erudisia might suspect...
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DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters// Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
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Erudisia inclines her head, “Just so, just so, Master Copperskald, but I am not one for airs, and one of the younger of four, so you may call me simply Erudisia. Have you been at the spa long? It is my first day, and I am simply ravenous for recommendations.”
(As Meredith speaks, she makes the connection with memory. That harp-like gesture was a secret Harper greeting she was taught to recognize in the bookshop. The correct response would be to return the greeting, playing air-harp.)
Meredith registers a certain disappointment in Ilmar’s manner. His eyes narrow and dwell for a long moment on Meredith’s face.)
”Of course. You’ll no doubt find… others… in the Lounge you passed through. You do not travel alone?”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
Meredith somewhat awkwardly returned the Harper Sign.
Meredith
“It is you,” Ilmar says in his mysterious tone. “I never forget a face, and when I was on a mission to Calimport two years ago and spoke with your employer, Kamal el Kitaeb, I saw you. I was hidden by an illusion. You would not be able to recognize me, I’m afraid. Have the Harpers sent you? Did… Yartar… receive my missive?”
Erudisia
“Erudisia then,” the dwarf responds easily, “of the Moonshae Ffolk if I’m not mistaken? How go things on the Isles? It has been many years since business brought me there. Not my tankard of ale, so to speak, exactly, first of all the sea voyage, and second, the land, which though beautiful holds not enough adamantine or other precious metals to have garnered our interest. Forgive me, you understand you speak now with a dwarf, and I merely offer my own opinion. But at any rate, the welcome we received was beyond expectations if not exactly bursting with hearty celebration as it might have been in our own Halls…” he warms to his theme, obviously accustomed to gabbing. But he speaks too with his hands and with each accent, his coiffure shifts a tiny fraction left on his head until with a start, he presses his lips together, raises his hands up to keep the wig from spilling off his face, and his now-wide eyes dart fearfully to Erudisia, expecting laughter.
“Damn this thing. Damn it to pieces,” he says, under his breath, almost with a sob. Taking a deep breath, he pauses, trying to take hold of his emotions before answering Erudisia's question.
“I’ve been here four days, and in only one more day I can leave,” he glances conspiratorially around the room as he readjusts his wig and continues in a whisper, “with my portrait under my arm…”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
Meredith relaxes somewhat when he mentions Kamal, " I'm not sure....he sent me to Candlekeep quite some time ago. But I'm happy to help now."
Erudisia titters as the dwarf critiques her native Isles. "Fairy trods and moving islands aren't for everyone, and few are the dwarves I've met outside of Norlander parts. I don't imagine anyone can blame you for wanting something more solid underfoot than the Isles can provide," and as she laughs she places one hand gently on Copperskald's forearm, only for a moment, a fleeting brush before he carries on.
Erudisia wonders if she hears anything more between his words than he is saying, to show such evident distress and then speak of such an urgent desire to own a portrait. "Are you an art collector then, Master Copperskald? Or is it perhaps something you've painted in an art therapy here at the spa?" she asks. "You must be very proud of it, if it is so. What is its subject, and do you find yourself needing a new muse now it is nearing completion?" and she throws her head back and laughs, one hand to her neck, as she watches his reaction.
"Come, tell me all about it, I'm fascinated by you."
Insight: 7
Persuasion: 27
Meredith
Ilmar’s gaze drills piercingly into Meredith for a moment, uncertain. Then, an almost imperceptible nod. He quietly opens, then peeks out of the door left and right to be sure no one is there. Relaxed ogre grunts rumble quietly from the room down the hall, otherwise, nothing. He closes the door, inhales deeply and releases a long breath.
“Three months ago,” Ilmar begins, his breathy voice even more conspiratorial than before, “I received a haunting vision of an old friend. I haven’t seen her in… well over a century. She told me then that she planned to build a temple to Sune, a peaceful retreat, here where once there was only a hot spring. Sylvarie is her name, and she appeared, in my vision, to be suffering. It was as if… as if her face was being reflected in a broken mirror. I was between assignments,” he says, making the harping gesture once again, “and so I had time to look into my former friend’s activities since we last parted ways. That led me to Silverymoon a month ago, then to this temple.” He pauses, listening once again.
“From the moment I arrived here, I instinctively suspected that the goings-on at the bathhouse hid some dark secret. I decided to investigate by posing as an aesthetician seeking employment…”
He pauses again, awaiting a response from Meredith.
Erudisia and Bell
The dwarf seems to recover, mostly, utterly taken with Erudisia. Indeed, he begins to blubber just a bit. Erudisia senses she has made quite an impression upon him. (I’m going to say that with that 27 crit, Giblet Copperskald is more or less Charmed by the fey warlock…).
“Come,” he says, showing what Erudisia guesses would be his usual confidence if not utterly eviscerated by his wig woes, “sit here on the arm of my chair. We’ll be friends, I can tell, I can tell.” He adjusts to allow room there for Erudisia to half-sit if she wishes. Either way, he continues, his voice lowering to a breathy whisper, almost covered by the graceful music coming from nowhere, now like a viol consort playing menuets.
“I am an art collector, yes. Of dwarven earthenware artfully decorated. But no, not in the way that you’re thinking. And no, NO, not art therapy, no…,” he chuckles, wooden, as if the idea that he would need some kind of therapy were slightly ridiculous. His eyes go wild for a quick second and his hands pat his beard to ensure it remains in place. It had in fact been drooping slightly, showing his chin to be as bald as the rest of his head. “No. But, my dear, if you do not mind my being so forward, it’s just that you… you cast a spell, hahaha… the painting is why I came. Not something I made. Something I commissioned. So to speak. A portrait of myself. In my prime.”
His voice cracks slightly and he must take a sip of ale before continuing. His eyes shift all around the room, falling on each guest in turn for a moment.
“I’ll wager I’m not the only one here for a portrait… and I wonder why the others want them.” His eyes fall on Erudisia once again and the flirty joviality returns.
“I assumed that is why you are here." His voice lowers a level. "You’ll need to speak to the woman who left when you arrived. Morganna. But she is not to be disturbed while she is at work, and she is at work on it even now… every night…”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
Erudisia causes her lip to tremble, to turn her head ever so slightly away, eyes downcast. “Me? Cast a spell?” She puts her Moonshae accent to work. “Do not make a joke of me, Monsieur, though I am sure you do not mean your words to be such a barb.”
”I had heard that this place may help my woes, but the form I did not know. They paint a portrait? And…?”
" So there is a dark conspiracy here? I've seen nothing yet......do you have any tips for peeking beneath the surface if one were so inclined?"
" I would think my first action would be to look for this temple of Sune......perhaps your friend left some sort of trace or clue there..."
Meredith
“I have not made… progress toward unraveling the enigma,” Ilmar answers. “I am suspected. I was not covert enough and asked too many questions. I fear for my life, in fact,” he says, his tone still flat, distant. “I dare not escape, for to discern my whereabouts is easy magic… I think they could find me. A gut feeling. But I can tell you this. Morganna is not what she seems. I saw her in the Lounge before you arrived… she is hard to miss. Beautiful and slender moon elf with shining black hair. And the same is true of Glitter, the kobold handyman here. And, Azirssa, an athletic sun elf with copper hair and red mantle, the temple’s fitness director. There have been moments. I’ve looked at her and thought I saw… I don’t know what I thought. Someone… else.”
“Ah, but this IS the temple of Sune. Or was. What is now called the Temple of the Restful Lily was built a century ago, by Sylvarie, as a temple to Sune. Now that I am thinking about it – Sylvarie even created a tome… or, tomes… that would magically transport converts to the Temple. That was long ago, thought only moments in the life of an immortal…”
Erudisia and Bell
The dwarf looks as if he’s watching someone drown a puppy, so aghast is his ashen countenance when Erudisia’s lip trembles.
“No, No!, I am sorry, I said the wrong thing, of course, of course I did not mean you had cast a magic spell, but only that I felt ensorceled as if some servant of a great lord of the sky had risen in the heavens like a shining star upon the fragrant… Oh!, no! I have said the wrong thing again, forgive me but I…,” he carries on for a bit, but when the conversation resumes and talk of the portrait resumes, he bends forward, his false beard hanging down slightly from his ears to reveal his upper lip, moist with perspiration.
“They can paint a portrait which does, it does have actual magic imbued in its colors… which can undo the… the fate that has befallen me… and make me whole again. And tonight is my chance! When Morganna returns.”
Bell’s Manicure/pedicure is now completed by the wordless attendant, who stands, bowing slightly to Bell after having done a nice and calming job on her hands and feet, and motions to Erudisia to come to her station.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
Bell smiles as she inspects the work done. Being able to relax was 'nice' AND her nails have not looked this good in ... well, as long as she can remember.
" I think I know the time you speak of, where are we exactly.....geographically speaking. Ok, so some of those in charge or at least in positions of authority are not who they appear to be.....fiends? Monsters? People? Fay?", the last word came out with a slightly hopeful tinge that she didn't mean to express.
" Oh and are you sure that there's no one from Baldurs Gate here at the moment?"
Erudisia listens to the dwarf’s apologies and compliments, and does the best that she might to take them in the spirit that they are given. She smiles at him and reassures him as she can, but her smile struggles to meet her eyes, and there is little twinkle in them, for there is now a liquorice taste in heart, and a banked burning in her gut, as she sees the produce of her efforts on the poor man. Despite herself, her heart is too heavy to stay perched beside him, like a song bird, and she slips down onto the foot of his lounger.
Errantly, she picks her plait free, so that her reddy-brown hair is loose and fans over her shoulders, over her face in part too, when her eyes are turned toward the ground. The style in which she wore her hair before she left the hall of her mother and joined the ballet…
As he details the magic on offer here, she feels the urge to confess to him, to confess her history and to reassure him. To avoid magic of change and vanity, to counsel him that a sense of inferiority is not so easily cast away even when blooming, even when from the outside he is become conventionally beautiful for his kind.
But she is here to seek and save Alana, and now she knows the form and danger of what is on offer here. She is saved by the aesthetician, and she begins to drift to where Bell has sat like a deflating balloon.
“Master Copperskald, it has been my pleasure. Do not forget me if we do not speak before the completion of your commission tomorrow and onward travel. I would write to you, to know at least this magic is fruitful, if you would allow it.”
So saying she head on her pedicure, beginning with her toes.
She takes out her book as she sits and writes to each of the Shield.
They offer form changing magic here, a portrait they paint that makes you beautiful. Morganna, an inauspicious name. Something’s not right here. Be careful.
Meredith
“You don’t know where you are?,” Ilmar asks, his voice rising slightly for the first time, a sparkle of excitement or… hope… in his eyes. “Did you travel by teleportation circle then? Is there one nearby I can use if the need arises?” He pauses, takes a breath, centering.
“Ah, but no. I will not leave yet. You are here. Perhaps together we can solve this riddle and find my devout friend.”
“We are in Faerûn, east of the Sword Coast, east of Yartar and just on the northern edge of the High Wood. The nearest human town is Silverymoon.”
“I couldn’t tell you what the nature of the mystery here is, only… only that here in the Temple of the Restful Lily… beauty truly is only skin deep!”
“But no, there is one from Baldur’s Gate a human male, a member of the Flaming Fist recovering from a terrible leg injury.”
Erudisia and Bell
The halfling woman who spoke earlier stands up, asking to see Bell’s nails, her wife saying, “Oh just leave her alone and let her enjoy some peace?”
The dark-haired elf with deep blue eyes reenters the lounge with sensual grace.
“Mr Copperskald, we are ready for you,” she says in quiet tones that carry across the room.
Erudisia has just settled into her chair and the stylist has just begun working in her hands. As the dwarf stands and surreptitiously adjust his perfect copper hair and beard, the woman introduces herself to Erudisia.
“Welcome to the Temple of the Restful Lily,” the elf says to her. “I am Morganna. Are you… Bell?,” she asks warmly, within earshot of Bell but directed at Erudisia.
“I hope that everything is to your satisfaction. In the morning you may join in our scheduled exercise routine and a complimentary breakfast of fresh, natural, and low-fat options prepared daily by our own chef-d’cuisine and her staff.”
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
" Silvery moon? I don't think I know it...."
" Anyone here you DO trust?"
" Dammit.......I need to get to Baldurs Gate and now even Erudisias friend isn't here............"
" Teleportation......of a sort....an item which will likely need to recharge.....even if it works in the opposite direction which is undecided ..."
" Give me a brief rundown of the different areas here.....and any outbuildings......"
Meredith
“It is many days travel ftom here to Baldur’s Gate..,”
“Let us say I do not MIS-trust the guests…”
“If you leave and can take me with you… please… but if you can help me find Sylvarie, even better…”
“You are in the main building, the Bath House, the original temple, built around a healing hot spring which is the back room, the pool.”
“Behind the pool are the shrine and the tower. The shrine is the original offering place to Sune, fallen now almost back to nature after years of disuse.
The tower holds the painting studio, and the rooms of Morganna and Saeth, Azirssa — the physical coach I mentioned before — and Greensong, the blind wood elf who is the spa’s chef d’cuisine. Her bloodhound Morty is always by her side…”
You hear in the next room Little One shifting to the edge of his massage table — it groans and nearly buckles — and then the hallway door opening and Saeth’s voice offering parting tips to the ogre.
“You should go,” Ilmar says. “My room is the first door on the right in the hallway to the guest rooms. A marker shows my name…”
And with that he opens the door for Meredith and gestures politely toward the lounge.
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure
(Before responding to this new situation, and having her hands done, Erudisia sent that 25 message to all the others. Does Little One, Meredith or Bell reply anything telepathically of 25 words or less).
Meredith thought back to Erudisia, ' Have discovered an agent working to investigate the owners and searching for a friend. No Silvershields here. And we're near Silvery Moon....geographically.'
Meredith bids him farewell and heads towards the lounge.
Nothing from Little One. He dozed off during his massage, Erudisia might suspect...
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters // Chierhy Nbenbe in Culuril's Strixhaven Adventure