Bell nodded, turned and walked to the small bar area. With a flurry of arm waving, she explained what Erudisia had asked for.
Satisfied she had gotten the order across, she leaned her back against the bartop and waited - almost relaxing in the calm, quiet atmosphere - when, suddenly, she took a sharp intake of air.
The words sprang into her mind as if someone was speaking beside her. Bell squinted to spy Erudisia across the room, jotting something in her personal book.
Hello?
Belltried to think without showing she was 'brain-ing'. Halflings, though that one seems bored with the world. Or, the dwarf. He looks like a good, fatherly figure.
Bell might notice a wince from Erudisia, as her words cease mid sentence. Clearly, the messages can only be of a certain length.
The discomfort is, however, momentary and Erudisia closes her book while Bell is at the bar. She stretches, long and languid, then stands and begins to walk around the perimeter of the room, doing what she can to time her pace to Bell’s return so that Bell and her might reunite with drinks in hand, just within conversational distance of the mature dwarf, as if by chance.
Long years at the ballet make this sort of society pincer movement perfectly pedestrian.
(Also, is this the bath-house or bath-house adjacent? I assume it’d be better to swim before a pedicure?)
(This main building is the bath house. It is now around 8pm, so you get the sense they're "fitting you in" for these night time services but anything else would have to wait until morning.)
Meredith, while changing and in-between your own stifled sobs, you hear a whispered conversation from the nearby lobby area. Saeth is speaking to someone, an unfamiliar woman’s voice. Your Passive Perception score is just enough to hear the woman ask, rather harshly, “Silvershield?,” followed by a pause, then more whispering.
By the time Meredith has changed into a robe, locked the chest with her belongings, and stepped back into the hallway, Saeth is there in his white, sleeveless tunic, his sure hands clasped in front of him relaxedly. To either side of him, another human wearing a similar white, sleeveless tunic, one male, one female. Both are sturdy and calm-looking.
Little One backs out of the changing room. “Robe too small for me…,” he apologizes. He is naked except for his headband and a large robe wrapped around him like a loincloth which he holds in place with one hand. The smell of hay and musky ogre perspiration on this humid summer evening is… bracing.
“This way, please,” says Saeth, and he leads Meredith and Little One into the Lounge. The female attendant stops at the desk in the Lobby, sits, and assumes a pleasant expression. The male follows after Little One.
There is a sudden silence and a stifled gasp when Little One enters the room. He seems oblivious, or, used to it, and maintains a neutral expression. After he passes, there is some tittering, but the guests go back to what they were doing. The bartender shows no reaction. Erudisia and Bell see the procession through the lounge as Bell awaits the completion of her ordered drinks.
Saeth leads Meredith and Little One to a door in the north wall of the Lounge. He opens the door, and with a smile, beckons the pair onward into a hallway with two doors on its western wall, both slightly ajar. Saeth knocks politely on the first door, and when a voice responds behind it, “Come,” he swings it open.
“A late arrival, requesting a massage, Ilmar?,” Saeth says.
“Yes, of course,” the voice responds in a contourless hush.
Saeth turns to the bard. “Meredith,” (if you gave your actual name in the ledger?) “you will be in good hands with Ilmar, our head aesthetician. Please…” He gestures for Meredith to enter.
At the door, Meredith finds a chamber furnished with a bed whose frame can be tilted and folded into different positions. The room is dimly lit by a shrouded lamp. Shelves and counters hold an array of perfumes, oils, and lotions, and scented candles that fill the space with a pleasantly invigorating scent. The sole occupant of the room is a drow male, age difficult to determine, with a muted purple complexion and short, white-gray, tightly curled hair. He wears a simple belted silk robe, whose sleeves he begins to tie with thin cords to allow freedom of arm movement, and flat, white slippers.
Saeth leads Little One to the next door, with the additional attendant taking up the rear. The three disappear into the room, but not before Little One shoots Meredith a concerned glance telling her, ‘I am here.’
“Meredith," says the drow, by means of introduction, when she turns back to enter the room. "I am Ilmar, as Saeth said. Please sit. We can start with your hands and feet, depending upon your comfort level.” His voice, like most drow, is soft, hushed, and conspiratorial.
(Meredith, please roll Insight.)
BELL and ERUDISIA
As the door closes between the Lounge and the Massage Room hallway, separating Meredith and Little One from Bell and Erudisia, the bartender hands Bell the fruit cocktails with little paper lily flowers on toothpicks (instead of umbrellas) floating above. Bell joins Erudisia– who has made the rounds of the room and perhaps exchanged a brief smile or nod hello with other guests – just in front of the dwarf in the corner with his perfect copper hair and beard. The hollow glumness in his eyes has transformed into anxiety – very well masked – as he notes the approach of the pair.
(Bell and Erudisia, please roll Insight once again.)
An updated map:
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters
( [the voice responds in a contourless hush.] -> I loved this. Such a fun description of a voice.)
Erudisia Insight: 9
A little distracted by Meredith and Little One’s entrance and exit, she toys with the idea of communicating with them, but the intrusive nature of the spell might make them jump and they are in a far more attentive situation.
“What did they call this, Bell?” asks Erudisia, on receiving the drink. “May we join you?” she asks the dwarf, taking to sit on the nearest seats before a refusal can be offered.
(Bell -- and Erudisia too if she rolls an 18 or higher Insight -- somehow notices that the dwarf's anxiety has to do with his appearance. Specifically, his hair. You can study his hair now that you're at close range, if you want to, but he may notice you studying it. Roll Perception or Nature DC15 to understand what might be the source of his anxiety. Roll Deception DC15 to study his hair without him noticing.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries //Dev Horndin Curious Critters
Bell nodded, turned and walked to the small bar area. With a flurry of arm waving, she explained what Erudisia had asked for.
Satisfied she had gotten the order across, she leaned her back against the bartop and waited - almost relaxing in the calm, quiet atmosphere - when, suddenly, she took a sharp intake of air.
Who should we talk to first? The Halflings look friendly, the Drow intimidating, the Human like he can’t get away from us. Testing. Testing. Respond.
The words sprang into her mind as if someone was speaking beside her. Bell squinted to spy Erudisia across the room, jotting something in her personal book.
Hello?
Bell tried to think without showing she was 'brain-ing'.
Halflings, though that one seems bored with the world. Or, the dwarf. He looks like a good, fatherly figure.
The Dwarf! I missed him completely. Yes, perhaps he can tell us more about the elf Saeth left with. Purely in an academic sense, I.
Bell might notice a wince from Erudisia, as her words cease mid sentence. Clearly, the messages can only be of a certain length.
The discomfort is, however, momentary and Erudisia closes her book while Bell is at the bar. She stretches, long and languid, then stands and begins to walk around the perimeter of the room, doing what she can to time her pace to Bell’s return so that Bell and her might reunite with drinks in hand, just within conversational distance of the mature dwarf, as if by chance.
Long years at the ballet make this sort of society pincer movement perfectly pedestrian.
(This main building is the bath house. It is now around 8pm, so you get the sense they're "fitting you in" for these night time services but anything else would have to wait until morning.)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters
MEREDITH
Meredith, while changing and in-between your own stifled sobs, you hear a whispered conversation from the nearby lobby area. Saeth is speaking to someone, an unfamiliar woman’s voice. Your Passive Perception score is just enough to hear the woman ask, rather harshly, “Silvershield?,” followed by a pause, then more whispering.
By the time Meredith has changed into a robe, locked the chest with her belongings, and stepped back into the hallway, Saeth is there in his white, sleeveless tunic, his sure hands clasped in front of him relaxedly. To either side of him, another human wearing a similar white, sleeveless tunic, one male, one female. Both are sturdy and calm-looking.
Little One backs out of the changing room. “Robe too small for me…,” he apologizes. He is naked except for his headband and a large robe wrapped around him like a loincloth which he holds in place with one hand. The smell of hay and musky ogre perspiration on this humid summer evening is… bracing.
“This way, please,” says Saeth, and he leads Meredith and Little One into the Lounge. The female attendant stops at the desk in the Lobby, sits, and assumes a pleasant expression. The male follows after Little One.
There is a sudden silence and a stifled gasp when Little One enters the room. He seems oblivious, or, used to it, and maintains a neutral expression. After he passes, there is some tittering, but the guests go back to what they were doing. The bartender shows no reaction. Erudisia and Bell see the procession through the lounge as Bell awaits the completion of her ordered drinks.
Saeth leads Meredith and Little One to a door in the north wall of the Lounge. He opens the door, and with a smile, beckons the pair onward into a hallway with two doors on its western wall, both slightly ajar. Saeth knocks politely on the first door, and when a voice responds behind it, “Come,” he swings it open.
“A late arrival, requesting a massage, Ilmar?,” Saeth says.
“Yes, of course,” the voice responds in a contourless hush.
Saeth turns to the bard. “Meredith,” (if you gave your actual name in the ledger?) “you will be in good hands with Ilmar, our head aesthetician. Please…” He gestures for Meredith to enter.
At the door, Meredith finds a chamber furnished with a bed whose frame can be tilted and folded into different positions. The room is dimly lit by a shrouded lamp. Shelves and counters hold an array of perfumes, oils, and lotions, and scented candles that fill the space with a pleasantly invigorating scent. The sole occupant of the room is a drow male, age difficult to determine, with a muted purple complexion and short, white-gray, tightly curled hair. He wears a simple belted silk robe, whose sleeves he begins to tie with thin cords to allow freedom of arm movement, and flat, white slippers.
Saeth leads Little One to the next door, with the additional attendant taking up the rear. The three disappear into the room, but not before Little One shoots Meredith a concerned glance telling her, ‘I am here.’
“Meredith," says the drow, by means of introduction, when she turns back to enter the room. "I am Ilmar, as Saeth said. Please sit. We can start with your hands and feet, depending upon your comfort level.” His voice, like most drow, is soft, hushed, and conspiratorial.
(Meredith, please roll Insight.)
BELL and ERUDISIA
As the door closes between the Lounge and the Massage Room hallway, separating Meredith and Little One from Bell and Erudisia, the bartender hands Bell the fruit cocktails with little paper lily flowers on toothpicks (instead of umbrellas) floating above. Bell joins Erudisia– who has made the rounds of the room and perhaps exchanged a brief smile or nod hello with other guests – just in front of the dwarf in the corner with his perfect copper hair and beard. The hollow glumness in his eyes has transformed into anxiety – very well masked – as he notes the approach of the pair.
(Bell and Erudisia, please roll Insight once again.)
An updated map:
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters
Bell - Insight: Dirty 20
Bell - Insight: Dirty 20
( [the voice responds in a contourless hush.] -> I loved this. Such a fun description of a voice.)
Erudisia Insight: 9
A little distracted by Meredith and Little One’s entrance and exit, she toys with the idea of communicating with them, but the intrusive nature of the spell might make them jump and they are in a far more attentive situation.
“What did they call this, Bell?” asks Erudisia, on receiving the drink. “May we join you?” she asks the dwarf, taking to sit on the nearest seats before a refusal can be offered.
(Bell -- and Erudisia too if she rolls an 18 or higher Insight -- somehow notices that the dwarf's anxiety has to do with his appearance. Specifically, his hair. You can study his hair now that you're at close range, if you want to, but he may notice you studying it. Roll Perception or Nature DC15 to understand what might be the source of his anxiety. Roll Deception DC15 to study his hair without him noticing.)
DM for Candlekeep Mysteries // Dev Hornd in Curious Critters
:( Bell - Nature: 6
Meredith Insight- 7
((And we’re back. Oh no, Poor guy))
Perception: 22
Deception: 13.