Lia laughs at Velon. " You would enjoy that wouldn't you. " She runs her fingers down his cheek. " We will let Perry have all of that fun. I am not that trusting. "
Mari shakes her head at Perry. " I will stay with the rest of you. "
Morgaine upon hearing of a shopping trip to Waterdeep, gets ready and offers being an escort for Penelope. Once they arrive, she stays more the back as a helper and carrier for the items. She does look at a few items, but she tends to keep an eye on Poljen. Her heart swells every time she does so.
Before the Blaze goes through the portal, she says a small prayer over them and when it't her turn; she has her sword at the ready and steps through to the room on the other side. She is happy to be among her friends once more and is ready to fight along side them once again.
The two undead men lead the way down the passage, which quickly opens up to a terrace. You find that you are close to a hundred feet above the ground, near the top of a very tall structure. Far to the west, you can catch a glimpse of some vast body of water, almost certainly the Sea of Stars. Closer by, your view is filled with miles upon miles of farmland, interspersed with various towns. In the nearer fields, you can glimpse figures moving among the crops. Frankly, the view is both beautiful and peaceful.
The group is led to a spacious and comfortable lounge area with multiple places to sit or lay down. Multiple servants, mostly a mixture of living humans and elves, can be seen. Whether male or female, all are pleasant to look at. Every single one of them has incredibly long hair, though most have tied it into a long braid or styled it into an elaborate construction on top of their heads. Each also bears a thin silver chain with a lock around their neck.
A fair sized table contains refreshments, wine and clear water, along with smoked meats, fresh fruit, and various other delicacies.
One of the two undead men who led you here points toward a large doorway in one side of the room, "The baths are that way, as are the masseuse tables, although some guests find it pleasant to receive a simple neck rub while socializing in here. The attendents will see to any need you wish for. The lemon cakes you requested should be ready before long. If you have any other requests for the kitchens, let me know and it will be done."
Those familiar with Thay would be all too aware that nearly all of the laborers in this nation are slaves, and about 2/3rds of those slaves are undead besides. So the peaceful farmers thing is something of an illusion.
The long hair is a mark of slavery, by Thayan law, slaves are never allowed to cut their hair, unless it gets to where it interferes with their work. By tradition, most of the free men and women here shave their heads entirely and wear meaningful tattoos on their scalp instead, although the practice is beginning to fall out of favor of late.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Seeing the slaves and their situation, Lawrance finds himself sympathetic and significantly disturbed. Recalling what it was like to have a collar and lose his magic, he wonders how many of these people would jump at a fair chance for freedom. In the link, he says #A truly ugly, stagnant class system. If you're not powerful, you're a slave. Born and die a slave, unless you somehow have value greater than a warm body to these oligarchs. I think, once the Queen of Dragons is stopped, I may have a new duty to seeing Thay brought low and these people freed. This is reprehensible to a civilized society. The use of undead as tools bothers me far less. After all, once you're dead, what use is the container that held your soul?# He takes some time to obliquely study the collars, when he can, with the idea of magically releasing them somehow.
Arcana 11
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Lia grits her teeth at the slaves and digs her fingernails into her palms. She responds to Lawrance through the link. " This is repugnant to me. Count me in for helping you here afterwards. This place makes me ill. Creatures living unnaturally and the living enslaved. They are no better than our enemy. To think that Osmund is involved with this. " She doesn't partake of any of the food or drinks and paces around angrily.
Velon responds through the link, "great, I was hoping to spend my retirement with Mr. Wizard." More seriously he adds "these people would get along well with Sune once freed."
Velon is friendly but chooses not to try the food and drink.
Perry glides swiftly over to the buffet table and grabs a plate. He creates a charcuterie platter of salted meats, cheeses, fruits, and breads. "Ooooh I'm so excited!"the bard exclaims. He also pours himself a tasteful amount of fine wine and makes his way over to a gaggle of elves to mingle.
"So, this place seems really nice," Perry says. "Is this what you all get to do all day? How's life up here? What's the Great Tharchion Mistress like? I'm from Neverwinter you see, they call it the Jewel of the North. It's a beautiful city and a huge trade hub! There are so many fine silks and rugs and a huge fish market…"
The chit chat goes on for a time until the lemon cakes appear. He says to two of the elven women and one of the elven men, "Say, would you three like to join me in the mineral bath? We can continue this wonderful conversation while we relax." Perry then takes a plate of the lemon cakes and wine to the spa for a bath followed by a full body Elven massage. He has a pleasant time with the elves.
Perrry gets a few simple but not very informative answers from the servants as they fawn over him. Soon enough he and the three he'd chosen are naked together in the mineral baths, with hands helping to cleanse and relax the tiefling.
A human man with a slender form and remarkably bright blue eyes steps up to Lia, "You seem upset mistress, is there anything that we can do to help?"
I can skip to the next event at any time, just let me know when you guys think the RP potential of the scene is tapped out.
Lawrance seems lost in thought (unless they do bring some reading material worth looking at), looking at the slaves irregularly and trying to understand the society better.
Nothing needed from me, for RP wise. I'm good to go when the others are.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
As Velon watches the party split as Perry heads to the baths he tries to catch Poljen's eye and give him a nod to maybe go and keep an eye on the tiefling, knowing that Poljen's mindset is often that of a protector. He does the same with Morgaine. If he can't get the message across to either he'll go himself to keep Perry safe and, perhaps more importantly, make sure he doesn't say too much.
Poljen rolls his eyes at Velon's direction, but then sighs and nods. He finds a place to stand just outside the room where Perry is...letting his guard down with sycophants loyal to the wizards of Thay. Assuming Morgaine accompanies him, he lets her lean against him while they make sure the tiefling does not give away important information or get attacked.
Lia is trying hard not to share her thoughts out loud when the human engages her. She studies him in mounting anger. Her green eyes glitter. " This is offensive. Slavery is an abomination. All of you should be worshipping Sune. She would grant freedom and not chains. "
Perry is laughing and playing in the bath with the elves. He sticks his head halfway in the water and blows some bubbles that rise to the surface. "Ah, the mildly unnerving undead butlers weren't kidding! This is very relaxing. You all are just great! I'm jealous of that beautiful elven skin, you all are so lucky you don't age so quickly like the rest of us. Ahhhhh," he says, feeling satisfied and relaxed. He gives the elves shoulder rubs and receives them in return.
He communicates over the mental link, "Are you all sure you don't want to try these baths? Mari? Anyone? Cratol, this would relax even you I think."
After all the fun, Perry hops out of the water and dries himself off. "Well, I must thank you for spending the last few hours with me with your pleasant company. I'm afraid I'm here on business however, and have audience soon with your mistress along with my companions. Farewell, lovelies!"
He gives them each a kiss before heading back to the main group to prepare for their dinner with the Tharchion. He comes back and sees Lia's face, over the mental link he says to her, "Is everything alright dear? I know you're upset, but try not to show it if you can, okay? We have to try to make a good impression if we can. You aren't a deceiver like I am, I know that. But this is the life I've had to live since I was born. Sometimes we all have to do things we aren't proud of in order to survive. And in the meantime, we might as well make the best of it. It will be okay soon. I'm here if you need to talk."
Perry nods to Velon, "Any chance dinner time is close?"
Ready to move on whenever everyone else is. Happy to continue the RP with poor Lia retroactively if needed like a side story.
The man replies, "I can see that you are upset mistress, but I am happy where I am. I have seen how free men of my station live in your lands, and it is much the same, the strong control those who are not. I would not be a lord in your lands either, and my life is good here. So why would you choose to hurt me?"
Before Lia can respond, another figure enters, a human man in red robes. He has shaved and tattooed his head since the last time he was seen, but there's no mistake, it is your old companion, the necromancer Osmund.
He looks around and gives a sardonic smirk, "I am glad to see you accepted my invitation, I wasn't certain if you would."
At the new arrival, Lawrance looks up and understands from his friends' reactions that this is the former group member that has brought much ire. Listening closely, he waits for Velon to take the lead and hopes for a good outcome to the negotiations.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?" "Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied ― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Velon steps forward, intent on getting between the red wizard and any Blaze members who hold a grudge. He had met the man, but took it less personally as he had not travelled to Greenest with the original party. "Greetings, Osmund. We look forward to discussing the business you referenced."
Lia takes a few steps forward as Osmund speaks. Her voice is raw as she is barely in control of her emotions. " Osmund, you bastard. I knew you were evil when you wanted that necromancer's spellbook. You are surrounded by slaves and the undead. What a waste of skin you are!"
Osmund nods to Velon, "It should be interesting. My mistress asked for a group with skull busting talents that we could plausibly deny any association with. Naturally I thought of you. I do hope that you do not take my departure personally, an opportunity presented itself, and I had to take it."
He winces as Lia berates him, but doesn't look the slightest bit ashamed, his voice turns harsh as he replies, "So much for no hard feelings. Listen you vain brownnoser of the most empty headed deity anyone can name, I had work to do, I still have work to do, and if dealing with a few undead is the price to pay to finally get my wife back, I will pay it a thousand times over. Get over it, or get out. But remember what happened at Moray, worse than that is coming thanks to Szass Tam, far worse."
Just then a servant comes around the corner with a large platter of pastries, several still steaming from the oven, he calls out, unaware of the tense conversation he's interrupting. "Honored guests, we have lemon cakes and a few other fruit pastries."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Perry sees that the situation is tense and can feel Lia's anger rising. But he really wants more lemon cakes for later. He attempts to swipe a few without her noticing.
Sleight of Hand: 19
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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Lia laughs at Velon. " You would enjoy that wouldn't you. " She runs her fingers down his cheek. " We will let Perry have all of that fun. I am not that trusting. "
Mari shakes her head at Perry. " I will stay with the rest of you. "
Morgaine upon hearing of a shopping trip to Waterdeep, gets ready and offers being an escort for Penelope. Once they arrive, she stays more the back as a helper and carrier for the items. She does look at a few items, but she tends to keep an eye on Poljen. Her heart swells every time she does so.
Before the Blaze goes through the portal, she says a small prayer over them and when it't her turn; she has her sword at the ready and steps through to the room on the other side. She is happy to be among her friends once more and is ready to fight along side them once again.
The two undead men lead the way down the passage, which quickly opens up to a terrace. You find that you are close to a hundred feet above the ground, near the top of a very tall structure. Far to the west, you can catch a glimpse of some vast body of water, almost certainly the Sea of Stars. Closer by, your view is filled with miles upon miles of farmland, interspersed with various towns. In the nearer fields, you can glimpse figures moving among the crops. Frankly, the view is both beautiful and peaceful.
The group is led to a spacious and comfortable lounge area with multiple places to sit or lay down. Multiple servants, mostly a mixture of living humans and elves, can be seen. Whether male or female, all are pleasant to look at. Every single one of them has incredibly long hair, though most have tied it into a long braid or styled it into an elaborate construction on top of their heads. Each also bears a thin silver chain with a lock around their neck.
A fair sized table contains refreshments, wine and clear water, along with smoked meats, fresh fruit, and various other delicacies.
One of the two undead men who led you here points toward a large doorway in one side of the room, "The baths are that way, as are the masseuse tables, although some guests find it pleasant to receive a simple neck rub while socializing in here. The attendents will see to any need you wish for. The lemon cakes you requested should be ready before long. If you have any other requests for the kitchens, let me know and it will be done."
Those familiar with Thay would be all too aware that nearly all of the laborers in this nation are slaves, and about 2/3rds of those slaves are undead besides. So the peaceful farmers thing is something of an illusion.
The long hair is a mark of slavery, by Thayan law, slaves are never allowed to cut their hair, unless it gets to where it interferes with their work. By tradition, most of the free men and women here shave their heads entirely and wear meaningful tattoos on their scalp instead, although the practice is beginning to fall out of favor of late.
Seeing the slaves and their situation, Lawrance finds himself sympathetic and significantly disturbed. Recalling what it was like to have a collar and lose his magic, he wonders how many of these people would jump at a fair chance for freedom. In the link, he says #A truly ugly, stagnant class system. If you're not powerful, you're a slave. Born and die a slave, unless you somehow have value greater than a warm body to these oligarchs. I think, once the Queen of Dragons is stopped, I may have a new duty to seeing Thay brought low and these people freed. This is reprehensible to a civilized society. The use of undead as tools bothers me far less. After all, once you're dead, what use is the container that held your soul?# He takes some time to obliquely study the collars, when he can, with the idea of magically releasing them somehow.
Arcana 11
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Poljen does sample the food and drink, but for the moment does not get a massage.
Lia grits her teeth at the slaves and digs her fingernails into her palms. She responds to Lawrance through the link. " This is repugnant to me. Count me in for helping you here afterwards. This place makes me ill. Creatures living unnaturally and the living enslaved. They are no better than our enemy. To think that Osmund is involved with this. " She doesn't partake of any of the food or drinks and paces around angrily.
Velon responds through the link, "great, I was hoping to spend my retirement with Mr. Wizard." More seriously he adds "these people would get along well with Sune once freed."
Velon is friendly but chooses not to try the food and drink.
Perry glides swiftly over to the buffet table and grabs a plate. He creates a charcuterie platter of salted meats, cheeses, fruits, and breads. "Ooooh I'm so excited!" the bard exclaims. He also pours himself a tasteful amount of fine wine and makes his way over to a gaggle of elves to mingle.
"So, this place seems really nice," Perry says. "Is this what you all get to do all day? How's life up here? What's the Great Tharchion Mistress like? I'm from Neverwinter you see, they call it the Jewel of the North. It's a beautiful city and a huge trade hub! There are so many fine silks and rugs and a huge fish market…"
The chit chat goes on for a time until the lemon cakes appear. He says to two of the elven women and one of the elven men, "Say, would you three like to join me in the mineral bath? We can continue this wonderful conversation while we relax." Perry then takes a plate of the lemon cakes and wine to the spa for a bath followed by a full body Elven massage. He has a pleasant time with the elves.
Perrry gets a few simple but not very informative answers from the servants as they fawn over him. Soon enough he and the three he'd chosen are naked together in the mineral baths, with hands helping to cleanse and relax the tiefling.
A human man with a slender form and remarkably bright blue eyes steps up to Lia, "You seem upset mistress, is there anything that we can do to help?"
I can skip to the next event at any time, just let me know when you guys think the RP potential of the scene is tapped out.
Lawrance seems lost in thought (unless they do bring some reading material worth looking at), looking at the slaves irregularly and trying to understand the society better.
Nothing needed from me, for RP wise. I'm good to go when the others are.
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
As Velon watches the party split as Perry heads to the baths he tries to catch Poljen's eye and give him a nod to maybe go and keep an eye on the tiefling, knowing that Poljen's mindset is often that of a protector. He does the same with Morgaine. If he can't get the message across to either he'll go himself to keep Perry safe and, perhaps more importantly, make sure he doesn't say too much.
Poljen rolls his eyes at Velon's direction, but then sighs and nods. He finds a place to stand just outside the room where Perry is...letting his guard down with sycophants loyal to the wizards of Thay. Assuming Morgaine accompanies him, he lets her lean against him while they make sure the tiefling does not give away important information or get attacked.
Lia is trying hard not to share her thoughts out loud when the human engages her. She studies him in mounting anger. Her green eyes glitter. " This is offensive. Slavery is an abomination. All of you should be worshipping Sune. She would grant freedom and not chains. "
Perry is laughing and playing in the bath with the elves. He sticks his head halfway in the water and blows some bubbles that rise to the surface. "Ah, the mildly unnerving undead butlers weren't kidding! This is very relaxing. You all are just great! I'm jealous of that beautiful elven skin, you all are so lucky you don't age so quickly like the rest of us. Ahhhhh," he says, feeling satisfied and relaxed. He gives the elves shoulder rubs and receives them in return.
He communicates over the mental link, "Are you all sure you don't want to try these baths? Mari? Anyone? Cratol, this would relax even you I think."
After all the fun, Perry hops out of the water and dries himself off. "Well, I must thank you for spending the last few hours with me with your pleasant company. I'm afraid I'm here on business however, and have audience soon with your mistress along with my companions. Farewell, lovelies!"
He gives them each a kiss before heading back to the main group to prepare for their dinner with the Tharchion. He comes back and sees Lia's face, over the mental link he says to her, "Is everything alright dear? I know you're upset, but try not to show it if you can, okay? We have to try to make a good impression if we can. You aren't a deceiver like I am, I know that. But this is the life I've had to live since I was born. Sometimes we all have to do things we aren't proud of in order to survive. And in the meantime, we might as well make the best of it. It will be okay soon. I'm here if you need to talk."
Perry nods to Velon, "Any chance dinner time is close?"
Ready to move on whenever everyone else is. Happy to continue the RP with poor Lia retroactively if needed like a side story.
The man replies, "I can see that you are upset mistress, but I am happy where I am. I have seen how free men of my station live in your lands, and it is much the same, the strong control those who are not. I would not be a lord in your lands either, and my life is good here. So why would you choose to hurt me?"
Before Lia can respond, another figure enters, a human man in red robes. He has shaved and tattooed his head since the last time he was seen, but there's no mistake, it is your old companion, the necromancer Osmund.
He looks around and gives a sardonic smirk, "I am glad to see you accepted my invitation, I wasn't certain if you would."
At the new arrival, Lawrance looks up and understands from his friends' reactions that this is the former group member that has brought much ire. Listening closely, he waits for Velon to take the lead and hopes for a good outcome to the negotiations.
“Can you tell me the difference between a witch and a wizard?"
"Sure, a wizard is what they call you when they want to hire you, and a witch is what they call you when they're getting ready to run you out of town.” SunWolf replied
― Barbara Hambly, The Witches of Wenshar
Velon steps forward, intent on getting between the red wizard and any Blaze members who hold a grudge. He had met the man, but took it less personally as he had not travelled to Greenest with the original party. "Greetings, Osmund. We look forward to discussing the business you referenced."
Lia takes a few steps forward as Osmund speaks. Her voice is raw as she is barely in control of her emotions. " Osmund, you bastard. I knew you were evil when you wanted that necromancer's spellbook. You are surrounded by slaves and the undead. What a waste of skin you are!"
Osmund nods to Velon, "It should be interesting. My mistress asked for a group with skull busting talents that we could plausibly deny any association with. Naturally I thought of you. I do hope that you do not take my departure personally, an opportunity presented itself, and I had to take it."
He winces as Lia berates him, but doesn't look the slightest bit ashamed, his voice turns harsh as he replies, "So much for no hard feelings. Listen you vain brownnoser of the most empty headed deity anyone can name, I had work to do, I still have work to do, and if dealing with a few undead is the price to pay to finally get my wife back, I will pay it a thousand times over. Get over it, or get out. But remember what happened at Moray, worse than that is coming thanks to Szass Tam, far worse."
Just then a servant comes around the corner with a large platter of pastries, several still steaming from the oven, he calls out, unaware of the tense conversation he's interrupting. "Honored guests, we have lemon cakes and a few other fruit pastries."
Perry sees that the situation is tense and can feel Lia's anger rising. But he really wants more lemon cakes for later. He attempts to swipe a few without her noticing.
Sleight of Hand: 19