The Long Road - Game Thread

Insight check on Ravia’s false bravado: 9

Snrk!

Besides the history check ...

Hildigrim asks, "What is it about Jacobson that you feel makes him weak?"

Jorin will also Insight Ravia: 14

(While that is a fine roll by Jorin, Ravia did not respect his Survival skill, and has her guard up. She is excited about the item she is going to get in town, but seems a bit intimidated when thinking about the deal.)

Ravia (to Hildigrim): "Jacobson has strength and many attractive qualities. (leers, then resumes) But he is cautious when bold acts will gain more glory. And this town of... fisherfolk (disdain)... is no reason to slow us down, by even a day."

(History check 19) Hildigrim had visited Elmwood when he was younger, as part of the family business. The town is larger than the last time he visited (even though you are experiencing a year-old memory), but it is still a simple fishing community, and a convenient port for those working around the Moonsea. The nearby manor is something new, some well-to-do nobleman or wealthy adventurer, probably.

Ravia looks around the town center, then marches to a jovial man speaking to a small audience. (Tymora is the goddess of good fortune and gambling.)

“Indeed, indeed! Tymora smiles on you all and she smiles on this village most assuredly! One can only imagine what good fortune awaits this village in the near future!” The man appears to be finishing a small impromptu sermon of some kind when Ravia flashes some signs in the priest’s direction.

“Sadly, friends, I must go, but go with good fortune! Remember to see me at the Gate of Good Fortune in Mulmaster. Tell them Wylan Burral sent you and you’ll get a free spin!” This last encouragement is enough to clear the crowd with plenty of smiles. The man approaches the party and motions to an area behind a small farmhouse, and Ravia motions to follow.

Pascal mentally sighs and follows. This whole thing is just disappointing that cults have managed to trick these townsfolk

Quillary also follows, still unsure that anything they do here will affect the outcome.

Still glancing curiously at the new manor, Hildigrim follows Ravia.

(OOC: I've found some notes online, that were not mentioned in the module. Elmwood is a protectorate of the Culkin family in Mulmaster, so this mansion belongs to those people. So let's say that they've been making expansions to the previous lodgings, so Hildigrim could guess who lives there, even if the mansion itself is new.)

Seeing the party, the jovial man introduces himself. "I am Wylan Burral, a priest of Tymora and a freedom fighter currently stationed in Mulmaster, dedicated to the removal of Vorgansharax from Phlan." (That is a reference to a dragon, who was eventually slain during the past year.) He looks serious for a moment, but then starts to snicker. Ravia joins him in a laugh (but only after seeing him laugh first).

Before any of you can give your names, Ravia speaks up. "They are with me... Do you have it?" Wylan reaches inside his coat to start pulling out a cloth-wrapped object (fist sized), but slides it back in when a town guard walks towards your group. The guard doesn't recognize Ravia or the five members of the party. He finds you suspicious looking, and wants to know what’s going on.

Pascal starts talking loudly (just to the group, pretending the guard didn’t see him), “Oh my! What a lovely ring! That is gonna be one lucky lady! It cost how much? My goodness, a gift from your uncle, the governor? Now that’s something!”

Quillary dutifully sticks her hand out. Turns out she has a braided twig ring on her hand that she absent-mindedly made on the circuitous route here.

Hildigrim smiles at the guard. "Tymora bless you," the human-sized halfling says. "We are so happy to have found Priest Burral here. We've traveled from Waterdeep to speak with him about our faith." He waves a hand at the priest. "And have just found out the good news."

The guard still eyes the group warily, but with that explanation wanders back to his patrol.

Your group felt internal resistance as you were spinning your tale of a happy relationship. You had the urge to drag the guard deeper into the alleyway and hack at him with your weapons... After the guard is out of sight, the urge goes away, and after a bit of vertigo everything feels normal again. (Or as normal as a magical memory flashback can be.)

Wylan hands the bundle to Ravia, saying it has the instructions "your man" was looking for, and if they actually work will prove incredibly powerful. Ravia unwraps it just enough to expose a pair of strange red crystals, and then covers it up again... When your party looks up, Wylan has already hustled away.

Satisfied, Ravia orders a swift retreat back to the caravan to tell Jacobson that they didn’t find another way around.

OOC: So, you're saying we should have dragged him into the alley and hacked him to pieces?

Quillary hangs back at one point to "tie her shoe" and when she is out of earshot of Ravia, asks the skygods, "Those red crystals, what were they?"

Jorin is uneasy at the sight of the red crystals, thinking they are magic in nature, he spits on the ground to ward himself from their power.

Pascal licks his lips hungrily toward the crystals.

(Your group deviated from what happened in the memory (the guard lived), but it was minor enough that you were able to bend the rules without breaking them. But it is a warning that you will be stressed if you push too hard away from what had happened... It would have been more stressful on a personal level if you acted like murderous savages.)

Quillary was not able to get a good look at the crystals (mostly covered up), and that is also true of the "sky gods". At some point, you are told they are probably used for a magic spell or item, but they can't identify them from the brief glance. (But red crystals... probably fire related.)

Ravia does stash the bundle out of sight, especially as Pascal seems overly interested.

On the way out, you see some other guards (including the one from the alleyway) talking with some of the fisherfolk, and laughing about some story. This seems to put Ravia in a dark mood, and she mumbles something under her breath.

For those with passive Perception of 14+ (or if Hildi and Quillary decide to share the information later):

One of the guards hears something, and asks innocently if the woman said anything. Ravia politely replies that the guards must have been hearing things. She then tells the party to pick up the pace. (This includes Ravia stepping back to pull Quillary forward. "You can tie your boot laces after we are back with the caravan.")

When the party returns, Jacobson scolds Ravia for not finding another way around Elmwood. She snuggles up to him and says she really, really tried, and maybe she can make it up to him right now. Being a man, he suddenly changes his mind to agree that options and time are short, and decides to forgive Ravia and your group for not finding an alternate path. She is still rubbing her hands on his chest, as Jacobson says the caravan will roll through town after a 15 minute break. Then he decides to make that half an hour, as they climb into the back of the lead wagon and close the tarp.

Pascal leans over to the group, “Seems like the fire ain’t the only thing gettin’ hot.” Pascal bounces his hooman eyebrows.

Quillary muses. “What if this is the critical moment in this event,” she nods towards the wagon. “And we are not there to see it?”

(OOC: The PHB lists 1 minute to doff light armor, and 5 minutes to put it on... I was tempted to have Jacobson say the wagons roll in 8 minutes, then change his mind to needing 10 minutes.)