The tattoo is the red cords of Ilmater making a circle across his forehead, around his eyes and nose, with the cords crossing along his upper lip, an then extending down his face and neck like a fu manchu mustache.
2. Kilt of Holding---700
3. Potion of Healing--50
4. Potion of Greater Healing x 2--600
Total: 8,850
Chen puts all his daggers in the kilt of holding, and wants to give his dagger-bandolier back to the guy who made it for him. He doesn't want anything in return. He just wants it to go to a good home. The potions also go in the kilt of holding.
Chen gives the remainder of his 10,000 gp to the priests at the Temple of Ilmater, and tells them about what Caelyn used to do for the children of the field ward, the fact that she died, and what Renaer Neverember is doing with the orphanage, but that the people of the field ward are still suffering. He wants the money to be used to help the people in the field ward, but he doesn't know how to manage money in a way that it will do the most good. He asks them to do it.
One day, Ace goes up to Chen when no one else is nearby
"Hello Chen-sama. I hope that I am not disturbing you.
I have to be honest with you: I feel a certain tension between us that is not shared with the others. Is there something I have done to upset or offend you?"
"You are a lie. You pretended to be 3 Strings, the terrible minstrel, but now you say you are Ace, wielder of radiance. And, then you told me to attack that lady, because she was a demon. But, she turned out to be just a mean old rich lady. Then you said that Trent was the demon. And, yeah, he looked weird. But, we've known Trent for a lot longer than we've known you. He's even done work for us. He's never lied to us before. But, you have. And, demons lie. So, I think maybe you're the demon."
A thoughtful frown falls on Ace's face. Chen's words make sense. After a moment...
"You were there when Lucian was questioning me when I first arrived here. I did not lie then and I am not lying to you now. I am Ace"
A grin creeps slowly across his face, his muscles ripple as he flexes
"WIELDER OF RAAADIANCE!"
He then whispers "I like that, good title."
"I didn't actually say it was the woman though, just that the demonic presence was near her. But your actions were a result of my own lack of discretion, and for that I am sorry. I'm also not a demon or devil of any sort. Trent however...
Well, I'm certain he got my apology basket of fish jerky."
Another sly smile consumes Ace's face. His mustache twitching
"We can go together and he can tell you himself he's a devil!"
Lucian pauses for a moment to contemplate what Chen is saying, sets his book down and turns to face Chen.
"Well, that's news to me. I'll admit, we don't know much about him; he seems to keep a lot about himself away from the group. Regardless, I've never gotten the sense that he was an evil entity of chaos. What draws you to that conclusion?"
Lucian pauses for a moment to contemplate what Chen is saying, sets his book down and turns to face Chen.
"Well, that's news to me. I'll admit, we don't know much about him; he seems to keep a lot about himself away from the group. Regardless, I've never gotten the sense that he was an evil entity of chaos. What draws you to that conclusion?"
Counting on his fingers, Chen says, "He pretended to be 3 strings. A lie. He said that the rich old lady was a demon. A lie. Then, he changed his story, and said that Trent was a demon. Obvious lie. Then, THEN, when I said something to him about it, he said a bunch of things to try to confuse me into believing he wasn't actually lying, but was using bad discretion, whatever that means, and then something about fish jerky. I told you he was trying to confuse me. But, the point is that then he changed his story once again, and said that if I went over there with him that Trent would admit he was a DEVIL. A devil. First a demon, and now a devil. He lies so much that he can't remember one lie from the next. Demons lie. Ace lies. Therefore, it only makes sense. Ace is a demon. We need to go kill him."
Ok. We'll take this one point at a time and slowly work through each one.
Ace did disguise himself as 3 strings, but maybe that was just a stage name, like how I was Silver Slim(Lucian thinks back and regrets his life choices for a moment). Or maybe he was hiding from someone bad like when you were hiding from Whitecap.
As for the street incident, that was a mess from the start. While Ace did scream "Demon!", he never said it was the woman, you kinda jumped to that conclusion on your own. Ace should have been more clear in his wording, and you shouldn't have punched an innocent woman in the face. I should have just stayed in bed and acted like none of it was happening, we all made mistakes.
From what you said about discretion, it sounds like Ace was trying to apologize to you for the misunderstanding. Albeit poorly.
Lastly, as a general rule of thumb, anyone can lie. I can assure you that not everyone that lies is a demon. I have lied, the children at the orphanage have lied, and you have lied. Remember the dwarf you had turned into stone? You lied to Xanathar and he zapped the dwarf. None of us are demons or devils, and Ace probably isn't either.
Chen looks down, furrows his brow, pauses for a long beat, and says, "I wish Kherek was still here. He'd know what to do."
After thinking some more for way too long, Chen looks up at you with a really confused look and says, "But, what about the fish jerky? What does that have to do with it?"
Hmm, I've done that once already. I'd rather not impose it on him a second time.
Better yet! Why don't you ask Ace to go to the Temple with you? From what I understand of Divine magic, some of the first spells available to the faithful can identify if someone is a demon or fiend or whatever else.
"Good idea!" Chen goes to find Ace again. When he finds him, Chen (thinking he's out smarting the Demon boy) says, "Lucian says you and me need to go to the Hospice [OOC, the Temple of Ilmater in Waterdeep is called The Hospice of St. Laupenn]. It's full of sick people. So, there will be plenty of helpless souls for you to eat there."
We go to the Hospice, and I find one of the clerics I've been talking to during some of the downtime we've had. "This guy has been going on missions with me and my group, but I figured out he's a Demon. He says he isn't, and Lucian said I should ask you. He says you can find out for sure. I don't want to kill him if he's not one."
You have 20% off your total
Chen buys (without attempting to haggle)
1. Wis Tattoo----7500
The tattoo is the red cords of Ilmater making a circle across his forehead, around his eyes and nose, with the cords crossing along his upper lip, an then extending down his face and neck like a fu manchu mustache.
2. Kilt of Holding---700
3. Potion of Healing--50
4. Potion of Greater Healing x 2--600
Total: 8,850
Chen puts all his daggers in the kilt of holding, and wants to give his dagger-bandolier back to the guy who made it for him. He doesn't want anything in return. He just wants it to go to a good home. The potions also go in the kilt of holding.
Chen gives the remainder of his 10,000 gp to the priests at the Temple of Ilmater, and tells them about what Caelyn used to do for the children of the field ward, the fact that she died, and what Renaer Neverember is doing with the orphanage, but that the people of the field ward are still suffering. He wants the money to be used to help the people in the field ward, but he doesn't know how to manage money in a way that it will do the most good. He asks them to do it.
One day, Ace goes up to Chen when no one else is nearby
"Hello Chen-sama. I hope that I am not disturbing you.
I have to be honest with you: I feel a certain tension between us that is not shared with the others. Is there something I have done to upset or offend you?"
"You are a lie. You pretended to be 3 Strings, the terrible minstrel, but now you say you are Ace, wielder of radiance. And, then you told me to attack that lady, because she was a demon. But, she turned out to be just a mean old rich lady. Then you said that Trent was the demon. And, yeah, he looked weird. But, we've known Trent for a lot longer than we've known you. He's even done work for us. He's never lied to us before. But, you have. And, demons lie. So, I think maybe you're the demon."
A thoughtful frown falls on Ace's face. Chen's words make sense. After a moment...
"You were there when Lucian was questioning me when I first arrived here. I did not lie then and I am not lying to you now. I am Ace"
A grin creeps slowly across his face, his muscles ripple as he flexes
"WIELDER OF RAAADIANCE!"
He then whispers "I like that, good title."
"I didn't actually say it was the woman though, just that the demonic presence was near her. But your actions were a result of my own lack of discretion, and for that I am sorry. I'm also not a demon or devil of any sort. Trent however...
Well, I'm certain he got my apology basket of fish jerky."
Another sly smile consumes Ace's face. His mustache twitching
"We can go together and he can tell you himself he's a devil!"
"That's just what a demon would say."
Ace slumps over in total defeat. sighing slowly, as if it was a death rattle.
"Well.. I hope that one day I can earn your trust, Chen-sama. If there is anything I can do to mend our relationship, please, let me know"
Chen goes to Nijal, Gary, and Lucian, "We need to kick Ace out of the Reputable Fellows. He's a demon."
(JIM YOURE TEARING ME APAAAAAAAAART)
Lucian pauses for a moment to contemplate what Chen is saying, sets his book down and turns to face Chen.
"Well, that's news to me. I'll admit, we don't know much about him; he seems to keep a lot about himself away from the group. Regardless, I've never gotten the sense that he was an evil entity of chaos. What draws you to that conclusion?"
Counting on his fingers, Chen says, "He pretended to be 3 strings. A lie. He said that the rich old lady was a demon. A lie. Then, he changed his story, and said that Trent was a demon. Obvious lie. Then, THEN, when I said something to him about it, he said a bunch of things to try to confuse me into believing he wasn't actually lying, but was using bad discretion, whatever that means, and then something about fish jerky. I told you he was trying to confuse me. But, the point is that then he changed his story once again, and said that if I went over there with him that Trent would admit he was a DEVIL. A devil. First a demon, and now a devil. He lies so much that he can't remember one lie from the next. Demons lie. Ace lies. Therefore, it only makes sense. Ace is a demon. We need to go kill him."
Ok. We'll take this one point at a time and slowly work through each one.
Ace did disguise himself as 3 strings, but maybe that was just a stage name, like how I was Silver Slim(Lucian thinks back and regrets his life choices for a moment). Or maybe he was hiding from someone bad like when you were hiding from Whitecap.
As for the street incident, that was a mess from the start. While Ace did scream "Demon!", he never said it was the woman, you kinda jumped to that conclusion on your own. Ace should have been more clear in his wording, and you shouldn't have punched an innocent woman in the face. I should have just stayed in bed and acted like none of it was happening, we all made mistakes.
From what you said about discretion, it sounds like Ace was trying to apologize to you for the misunderstanding. Albeit poorly.
Lastly, as a general rule of thumb, anyone can lie. I can assure you that not everyone that lies is a demon. I have lied, the children at the orphanage have lied, and you have lied. Remember the dwarf you had turned into stone? You lied to Xanathar and he zapped the dwarf. None of us are demons or devils, and Ace probably isn't either.
Chen looks down, furrows his brow, pauses for a long beat, and says, "I wish Kherek was still here. He'd know what to do."
After thinking some more for way too long, Chen looks up at you with a really confused look and says, "But, what about the fish jerky? What does that have to do with it?"
Kherek's decisiveness was one of his virtues, but his chosen courses of action weren't always the wisest choices. May he rest in peace.
As for the Fish jerky, that's a weird preference. Ace is about as eccentric as one can get, so I'm not surprised.
"Maybe demons eat fish jerky. You should do your mind magic on Ace to make sure."
Hmm, I've done that once already. I'd rather not impose it on him a second time.
Better yet! Why don't you ask Ace to go to the Temple with you? From what I understand of Divine magic, some of the first spells available to the faithful can identify if someone is a demon or fiend or whatever else.
"Good idea!" Chen goes to find Ace again. When he finds him, Chen (thinking he's out smarting the Demon boy) says, "Lucian says you and me need to go to the Hospice [OOC, the Temple of Ilmater in Waterdeep is called The Hospice of St. Laupenn]. It's full of sick people. So, there will be plenty of helpless souls for you to eat there."
Ace points enthusiastically to the door
"HAHA! THE ONLY SOULS THAT WILL BE EATEN TODAY ARE THE SOLES OF OUR FEET ON THE WAY THERE!
ONWARD CHUM!"
We go to the Hospice, and I find one of the clerics I've been talking to during some of the downtime we've had. "This guy has been going on missions with me and my group, but I figured out he's a Demon. He says he isn't, and Lucian said I should ask you. He says you can find out for sure. I don't want to kill him if he's not one."
Ace stands silent, chest puffed out, familiar smile, in the power stance.