Erik Soong's Call of the Netherdeep

Morgan thinks about their already too long to-do list. He doesn't want to push something else into a hypothetical future now that they have the chance to talk right away.

He looks around at Prolix and his companions, a bit impatient.
"Maybe I'm being a little careless too, but I'm not sure the Ready Room is any better than here. Why don't we just talk outside, away from prying ears?"

He glances at the magic items and picks up the gold-trimmed goggles.
"This fits perfectly on my hat..."

OOC: Once the items are identified, if there is something useful, we'll share them according people needs of course.

Ylis shrugs. Could this Prolix dude actually have information we need? 

"I think the guy wants us to take him to our house." Yis says sotto voce. "I think that's a bad idea."

Ylis shrugs again, "There's a lot of abandoned buildings, let's go into that one," she points.

Quote from TeethAgatha >>

 

OOC: Once the items are identified, if there is something useful, we'll share them according people needs of course.

 OOC: Ironically, all of our Identifiers quit.

Trying to be discreet, Morgan points a finger at Ylis and casts Message.

"I'm not sure we had time to talk about this. When I (or we?) spoke with Question, she talked very highly of this Prolix. I'm by no means an expert, but Question sounded like one to me, and she said that Prolix is the real expert. However, after seeing her reaction when we showed her the jewel... maybe we should be more careful before showing it around next time. That's why I suggested a more private place to talk."

He pauses for a moment and starts walking in the direction of the abandoned building indicated by Ylis.
"On the other hand, Question also said that the longer we stay here with the jewel, the more we risk attracting attention... and bringing danger not only to us, but to innocent people as well."

Ylis nods to herself. Yeah Question did say good things about Prolix. It was probably the gross digging in demon corpse and pulling gunk out dripping with demon guts and grabbing the box thing and not cleaning it...ew Ewwww!

All that just turned her off from dealing with the guy.

Frekor grabs the three rings that were on the demon's body and puts them in his pouch, he'll appraise them later with the group. He then got closer to Prolix and firmly grabbed his hand that holds the box and looked at the item intently pretending to be curious about the box, but also to show that he hasn't earned his trust yet. There is something else he is hiding.

-It was inside a demon, it might be dangerous. Maybe we should keep it so it doesn't hurt anyone. Unless, you know what it does?- says with the intent of making Prolix telling them what's the importance of the box. (OOC: I think I should do an Intimidation check, but it could also be Persuasion. I'll still roll one since I have the same modifier for both checks, so you can change the name of it.)

(Intimidation check: 2.   Mote of Possibility reroll: 12.  will know if it works when the DM post.)

Prolix balks at Randa’s repeated question. Then seems to be baffled by Morgan’s very strange pointing while mumbling something at Ylis. Both seem to be staring at each other in some kind of staring contest. Prolix starts to back away, thinking he stumbled upon a group that might be just a bit off, when Frekor snatches at Prolix’ hand. He stumbles back, held upright by Frekor’s unyielding grip.

“It… it is incredibly dangerous! What is inside needs to be carefully addressed with gentle hands. As much as I am grateful for you fishing it out of that demon...” He tugs on Frekor’s grip. “Ah! Your hands are as gentle as a horizonback is small, and the company half as polite! Best leave such matters to experts like myself, but… if you insist on fixating on this artifact, then…”

Prolix catches Morgan’s odd expression and Prolix immediately relaxes in Frekor’s clutches. “Okay, I have no idea what’s in the box. I just knew that Aloysia would be interested in it and that was enough for me to need to get my hands on it. I also thought I might try to bargain with you to stop whatever Aloysia is planning, with it being the reward. But… those eyes remind me of my beagle.” He catches Morgan’s gaze again and, with his eyes welling with tears, looks away. “I couldn’t risk bringing the old boy here to Bazzoxan, the city where demons snatch full grown men up off the street. A little dog would be nothing but a snack to them. He deserves better than that.” He sniffs back tears.

“Aloysia must be stopped. She leaves a trail of bodies wherever she goes. I don’t think she ever kills them directly, but she just puts them in a position to die easy. You can have the box, just stop her. Please.”

Morgan's eyebrows shoot up.
"Did he... did he just say that my eyes remind him of his beagle?"

Morgan blinks a couple of times, then bursts out laughing.
"Well... That's a novelty. We'll talk about that another time... Prolix, why don't you tell us more about this terrible Aloysia? And we'll show you something that may require your expertise."

Once they reach a place away from prying eyes, Morgan invites Randa to show the Jewel of Three Prayers to Prolix.

Randa pulls back her shirt a little to show Prolix the necklace, whilst also holding out her hand for the box.

Frekor let's go of Prolix's hand before they leave the place, but remains vigilant of his actions. After they reach a more secluded place, he stays behind Prolix, but at a safe distance just in case he tries to escape or do something nefarious.

The party walks around the corner of the crematorium, finding that it is, perhaps unsurprisingly, not a place people like to hang out. It is deserted here. Ash continues to emanate from the smoke stacks, raining down upon the heads (or hats) of the party.

Prolix takes a deep breath, mentally preparing a very long-winded speech on Aloysia when Randa exposes the amulet carefully nestled under her armor and undershirt. Prolix gasps. “That is clearly a very important object. I can sense that it is both powerful and ancient… what is it?”

While waiting for a response, Prolix holds up a finger and pulls out a sketchpad. He begins making rough sketches of the object. His artistic ability pales in comparison to Questions, but he is more focused on getting a general idea and then begins noting ever detail he can find on the amulet.

Jacaranda smiles enigmatically, " The Jewel of Three Prayers to some."

"Question highly recommended that we speak with you about this..." Morgan says, stressing the importance. "She mentioned that Mr. Prolix is an 'actual archaeologist'. We are counting on your discretion."

Prolix gets a little flustered, his orange hue darkening in the cheeks. "Well, yes, um, naturally she would. The Jewel of Three Prayers, of course it is! Look at the round... ness of... it." His eyes dart to each of the party members and realizing he was caught off-balance, changes strategies. "Okay, it doesn't actually look like the legendary jewel, so pardon me for not immediately recognizing it. It's just an almost entirely plane gold circle with some tracing in it! Though it does have what appears to be.... hmm... yes, okay. I can maybe see it now."

He digs in a reference textbook on botany, then frantically flips through the pages. "Yes, alright, look here. I thought it was a flower traced into the gold, but it's not. Do you see it?" He looks up at the heroes and seeing nothing but blank stares, furrows his brow. "What, you don't see it? It's right there. Look, look." He points to some text, then tugs on the amulet still attached to Randa's neck. The delicate chain somehow holds up to the forceful pull. "Nothing?" He rolls his eyes and flips the page to a highly detailed drawing of a moonflower seedpod. 

"A seedpod for the moonflower. Moon? Moon Weaver? Look at the border of the amulet too. The outside of it almost looks like another petal, but it runs almost like a horseshoe around the seedpod. Or rather, much like a bow, no? This is the symbol of the Moon Weaver, cleverly hidden in what might be dismissed as a golden rose in profile. Sehanine's color is silver, so you can see why I might have missed it at first. But what do seedpods do? They open. I imagine this will change to look more like the elaborate amulet of legend."

Prolix takes a deep breath, not shy about how proud he is to recall ancient esoteric lore on the spot.

"You know, I my organization owns and operates the Crystal Chateau, a university in Ank’Harel. If you are ever there, swing by and meet me. I plan to return once Aloysia is stopped here. I miss my dog. I will let you peruse the library halls for more information on the jewel if you like."

Ylis squints at Prolix and the amulet wanting to see what he is talking about. The Moon Weaver is after her Lady Patron. Not that she hasn't seen the amulet before and maybe it looks a little different now....

Nope, not seeing it.

OOC: Is Ank'Harel far away?

Quote from Wysperra >>

OOC: Is Ank'Harel far away?

 DM: Yes. It is on another continent. See the jumbo map I found on Reddit.

You are on the big continent on the right (Bazzoxan is on the right side of that). Ank'Harel is in the middle of the bottom-left continent.

Randas hand remains outstretched and her eyes lock onto Prolixs with a hungry promise when he yanks on her neck.....

"Hey, she showed you hers, you have to show her yours."

Ylis stands with a hand on a cocked hip.

Quote from Erik_Soong >>

Quote from Wysperra >>

OOC: Is Ank'Harel far away?

 DM: Yes. It is on another continent. See the jumbo map I found on Reddit.

You are on the big continent on the right (Bazzoxan is on the right side of that). Ank'Harel is in the middle of the bottom-left continent.

 OOC: Yeah well we're not getting there anytime soon.

"Very well. Now that you've told us what it looks like, and what it doesn't... thank you..." Morgan says, trying to keep the irony out of his voice. "Can you tell us something... useful? What is it? How can it be used? Question thought it couldn't be a coincidence that brought us here to Bazzoxan... could it be related to the rift? Are we putting everyone else's lives in danger just by being here with this thing?"

Morgan sighs, trying to calm himself.
"You know... something along those lines. Helpful maybe?"