When he finally works up the nerve to talk to Nev again, he makes a horse joke. "So I figure we can find an abandoned house between here and the next town, and let these horses move in, and then we can buy a large stagecoach and some camels for the next leg of the journey. That work for you, Ms. Drahm?"
"Doggear Brakespine, are you selling these poor horses for glue or something?"
"And do you remember what he said that made you want to put on the amulet?"
"Oh yes. "Horrible things. Things that would happen to me. To you. ToGentoa. I had to trust that you would not stop until we were all safe. He seemed so...powerful, though."
"I'm only a mere mortal, but I think that heaven needs a new lawyer. They probably prevented a lot worse from happening, but what they got was pretty terrible."
"Well, I can't speak for the Heavens but, if Jalienni is any indication, the Hells will cheat any way they can to winGentoa's stewardship."
"I also don't know why you need a steward in Genny's life. You're doing a good job to raise her, and you have good protectors. And again, I'm a dumb goliath, and though I'm completely enraptured by her, but I don't really know why there is such a fuss on such a scale about who raises her. Is there a prophecy that tells why they're so interested in her, what she's supposed to do or not do when she grows up?"
"Do you remember when that town would not let us in and made you all do circus acts before they would open the door.Gentoa...unleashed...magic. It wasn't controlled but it was raw and powerful. We were kidnapped shortly after that but I've had some chances to think about it. The Heavens and the Hells...and maybe that cloud giant Marduk...all see her potential. They probably see it better than us. Additionally, the Hells might see some advantage to having the daughter of Milil in their fold."
Neventi sighs. "You might be right. Maybe she doesn't need a steward. But she might be best off having one in the end. If for no other reason than it will just end this feud between the gods."
"Greetings Neventi. It is good to meet you without the corruption of your mind. Your offspring enjoys drawing on my shin guards, as well as covering them in mud. The mud is difficult to remove."
"Oh by the gods," Neventi says with a laugh. "You do not need to let her do so in the future!"
When Nev responds with her glue comment, Dog lets out a big guffaw. About the minotaur, Dog says "I'm sorry that happened to you. But the bright side is we don't have to feel any sense of guilt that he fell from a great height in an unpleasant manner."
Riding west, Dog nods as he listens to Nev talk about stewards. "Well, we have more of this long road to travel, and time for the answer to present itself. Why don't we visit each of the three possible stewards? We'll have to be careful around Aucasia, of course, but it might be good to know what she's like. Maybe she had nothing to do with the Hells' cheating and would be a decent option for you. Then move along to the capital and meet the king and see what he's like. Then move along to Marduk. Or we could just skip Aucasia given everything they've tried to pull."
[MD I'm trying to find the most recent map but failing, if you have it handy...]
Dog will also fill in Althus and Martin on the story thus far (in or out of character, feel free to ask questions and we'll try to remember the answers!).
"Where are you from, Althus? Martin? How did you get to Masa? Have you ever been to the west? I'm from the plains north and east of the Cloudspire Mountains. My parents fled their herd and found work with a mage who was more of an archivist and librarian. Neither were very strong or courageous, at least, I didn't think so when I was growing up. They were very smart though. I wanted to be as big and strong and brave as the stories I read about goliaths as a child. So I left home early and took up with mercenaries and militia that found having a big brute around helped them do what they wanted. I made some friends, but most of the people weren't the brave sorts I'd read about in stories, so I stopped doing that, and then fell in with the circus, as a bouncer, strongman, general helper. That's where I met Gregory -- Gash here -- and Tock. Then the demons came and ruined the circus, and fleeing from them we found Nev and Genny surrounded. We traveled on and learned a bit more about the prophecy in which we seem to play some part -- I'd still like to find out what's going on with that. And you know the story of us finding Bulwark in the labyrinth as we searched for Genny and Nev after they were taken. It feels like this has been the better part of a year, but I think it's really only been a month, maybe two?"
Riding west, Dog nods as he listens to Nev talk about stewards. "Well, we have more of this long road to travel, and time for the answer to present itself. Why don't we visit each of the three possible stewards? We'll have to be careful around Aucasia, of course, but it might be good to know what she's like. Maybe she had nothing to do with the Hells' cheating and would be a decent option for you. Then move along to the capital and meet the king and see what he's like. Then move along to Marduk. Or we could just skip Aucasia given everything they've tried to pull."
"That...sounds like a lot of traveling. I'm not sure the Hells will let us get away with that. But I like the way you are thinking about it. Maybe we should prioritize visiting possible stewards in the order of preference instead of order of convenience. That way if we are satisfied with one, we can stop. Finding a suitable steward quickly may be more important than the best possible steward at this point. It has been two months since this nonsense began. Do you think Aucasia should be the first top in that case?"
Althus takes a moment to think before replying to Dog, "Well, I'm from a small village on the coast, and haven't had much of an opportunity to travel, other than to Masa. I was sent here, and almost immediately afterwards, all this chaos started. The rest is history, that you've seen.
Talking about visiting the possible locations he offers, "I managed to acquire some items that may help us cover a lot of the distance. It sounds like Alcondria is in top two of our list and I have two items that with high probability will take us there, given the Helm of Teleportation Gash has. So even if one doesn't give a satisfactory result then the other will."
Tock looks up ahead on the road, "We should reach the next town today. Lets find a proper place to rest, have dinner and then I have a proposal to make."
In the late afternoon the party makes it to the outlying farms and houses of Tinosa. Tinosa is not a notable town. It appears to have a sizable population with an array of crafters, artisans, and merchants and somewhat less reliance on agriculture. The gates of Tinosa do mark it as somewhat different than some of the other cities the party has visited. To the left and right of the city gates are giant announcement boards. The signs posted to them are professionally made and applied to the boards with care and thought. The boards include announcements for city events (Winter festival is in two tend-days), businesses (Buckley's General Store is on Dither Street), and even personal communications (Kenda Gimmelbrock is marrying Mendry Tinkertrap in 3 days.)
Two advertisements immediately stand out. The first one stands out the most and is posted in austere, black and red letters at the top of the left hand board. It simply reads:
Guests of Aucasia Visit us at 12 Kindling Road Crafting District
The other is much smaller, and located at the bottom right-hand corner of the right-hand board. It is written in a florid font of white and light blue on a much smaller placard of gray. It reads:
Sanctuary of the Aasimar 3 Findley Avenue Temple District
Both posters look fairly weathered and have been posted for at least 10 days.
Dog mutters to Nev that boy they are really rolling out the welcome mat, aren't they? He suggests getting lodging in a third place to not tip their caps about final decisions and to give themselves options. Then they can talk about visiting both places this evening. Besides, most of their gold came from those devils so it's not like they aren't already footing the bill.
He asks a friendly-looking local person where both of those addresses are and then asks about a nice place to spend the night.
Martin, Dog, Althus, and Bulwark lead Gentoa and her mother to a reputable inn recommended by one of the town criers, who will probably receive a kickback for the recommendation. Gash and Tock, intending to meet the rest at The White Crane later, head off to find a magic shop for components. They end up at a hole-in-the wall establishment not quite in the slums of Tinosa, which honestly don't look all that bad compared to other slums. Wildow's Bits and Bobs is a charming, dark little shop filled with dusty scrolls and odd-shaped bins filled with components and magical trinkets.
(Tock can purchase what magical components he needs. The entire party will spend 6 gold for three rooms and two meals each. The adjacent stables charge 9 sp per mount, for an additional sum of 5 gold, 4 silver. )
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Dog volunteers to go check out either or both of the two addresses on the board. It seems prudent, given their role as protectors, to see if they're safe. He'll pick the Sanctuary of the Aasimar first, and go take a look, sending Stitches in ahead to look and listen, inviting anyone else who wishes to join him to come along. Ideally someone who's a bit more stealthy than Dog. He considers casting disguise self on himself to look like a tall male elf before he leaves the area near the White Crane, but decides against it. "If they're watching, they already know we're here."
He'll still lean against a wall a bit down the block from the address and send Stitches around the top of the wall of the building, peering in windows, looking for anything hinky, or anything heavenly, or anything hellish keeping an eye on the place.
As Tock and Gash arrive at The White Crane later and hopefully before Dog heads off, Tock will make his proposal.
"With everyone here and everything out in the open, I'd like to offer this toNeventi," and hands his Headband of Intellect to her.
"You need to take an hour for it to start working. It will help clear your thoughts and make better plans. I think Dog has one as well and it's been good for him too."
Neventi is extremely touched at Tock's offer. She leaves Gentoa to play with Bulwark and Althus while she attunes to the headband.
Dog and Tock:
Dog and Tock take this opportunity to head to the temple district of Tinosa. It is not as grand as the one in Masa, but it does have a shrine to Tymora and several notable temples. The address on Findley Avenue appears to be a masonry shop. It has a large yard full of different kinds of stones, some of them in various stages of being sculpted into decorations for the temples or wealthy patrons. The building next to the yard is unlit.
Stitches creeps along the half-wall of the yard towards the building, climbs an old drain spout, and then crawls under the eave to the first window it can reach. Nothing appears to be moving inside. Dog, looking through Stitches' eyes, cannot make out much through the dusty windows. A giant kiln or maybe a mixing machine (like a concrete mixer) or...something related to masonry, which Dog is not familiar with, rests in the middle of the room. Work benches with half-finished projects and tools line the walls.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
When Dog starts doing his thing, Tock whispers to him, "I'll go take a look around outside."
And slowly creeps throughout the yard, looking at the stones and stuff. He has a distinct feeling that this would be a perfect place to hide an entrance to a hidden cellar or something along those lines. (stealth check: 17) Once he's covered a bit of ground he will activate his Gem of Seeing as well.
Dog flips is vision back from Stitches, and answers Tock. "I just see things that look like masons might use. How would this be a sanctuary of the aasimar? Did you see anything in the yard that was carved particularly heavenly?" He sighs. "Well, I think it'd be fine to go knock on the door and ask about the notice. It might be nothing, just a wrong sign. It might be something we can learn. If it's a trap, we can handle ourselves, right?"
He takes another look around the street for anyone who's taken an interest in them, and gives one circuit of the shop to see other entrances, alleys, other people nearby. If still nothing and if Tock's amenable, Dog will walk with him to the front door of the shop and knock politely.
Tock looks around as well, trying to double-check if they're at the correct address. And then makes another round around the yard to check if the statues and stuff resembles anything they've encountered before.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
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"Doggear Brakespine, are you selling these poor horses for glue or something?"
Neventi shakes her head. "It is all a haze."
"Oh yes. "Horrible things. Things that would happen to me. To you. To Gentoa. I had to trust that you would not stop until we were all safe. He seemed so...powerful, though."
"That is such a relief to hear, actually."
"Well, I can't speak for the Heavens but, if Jalienni is any indication, the Hells will cheat any way they can to win Gentoa's stewardship."
"Do you remember when that town would not let us in and made you all do circus acts before they would open the door. Gentoa...unleashed...magic. It wasn't controlled but it was raw and powerful. We were kidnapped shortly after that but I've had some chances to think about it. The Heavens and the Hells...and maybe that cloud giant Marduk...all see her potential. They probably see it better than us. Additionally, the Hells might see some advantage to having the daughter of Milil in their fold."
Neventi sighs. "You might be right. Maybe she doesn't need a steward. But she might be best off having one in the end. If for no other reason than it will just end this feud between the gods."
"Oh by the gods," Neventi says with a laugh. "You do not need to let her do so in the future!"
When Nev responds with her glue comment, Dog lets out a big guffaw. About the minotaur, Dog says "I'm sorry that happened to you. But the bright side is we don't have to feel any sense of guilt that he fell from a great height in an unpleasant manner."
Riding west, Dog nods as he listens to Nev talk about stewards. "Well, we have more of this long road to travel, and time for the answer to present itself. Why don't we visit each of the three possible stewards? We'll have to be careful around Aucasia, of course, but it might be good to know what she's like. Maybe she had nothing to do with the Hells' cheating and would be a decent option for you. Then move along to the capital and meet the king and see what he's like. Then move along to Marduk. Or we could just skip Aucasia given everything they've tried to pull."
[MD I'm trying to find the most recent map but failing, if you have it handy...]
Dog will also fill in Althus and Martin on the story thus far (in or out of character, feel free to ask questions and we'll try to remember the answers!).
"Where are you from, Althus? Martin? How did you get to Masa? Have you ever been to the west? I'm from the plains north and east of the Cloudspire Mountains. My parents fled their herd and found work with a mage who was more of an archivist and librarian. Neither were very strong or courageous, at least, I didn't think so when I was growing up. They were very smart though. I wanted to be as big and strong and brave as the stories I read about goliaths as a child. So I left home early and took up with mercenaries and militia that found having a big brute around helped them do what they wanted. I made some friends, but most of the people weren't the brave sorts I'd read about in stories, so I stopped doing that, and then fell in with the circus, as a bouncer, strongman, general helper. That's where I met Gregory -- Gash here -- and Tock. Then the demons came and ruined the circus, and fleeing from them we found Nev and Genny surrounded. We traveled on and learned a bit more about the prophecy in which we seem to play some part -- I'd still like to find out what's going on with that. And you know the story of us finding Bulwark in the labyrinth as we searched for Genny and Nev after they were taken. It feels like this has been the better part of a year, but I think it's really only been a month, maybe two?"
"That...sounds like a lot of traveling. I'm not sure the Hells will let us get away with that. But I like the way you are thinking about it. Maybe we should prioritize visiting possible stewards in the order of preference instead of order of convenience. That way if we are satisfied with one, we can stop. Finding a suitable steward quickly may be more important than the best possible steward at this point. It has been two months since this nonsense began. Do you think Aucasia should be the first top in that case?"
(Pow!)
Road to Aucasia the Warlock
Road to King Hadrian the Mage King
Road to Marduk the Cloud Giant
Althus takes a moment to think before replying to Dog, "Well, I'm from a small village on the coast, and haven't had much of an opportunity to travel, other than to Masa. I was sent here, and almost immediately afterwards, all this chaos started. The rest is history, that you've seen.
Dog, what is a circus?"
Tock will confirm everything Dog is saying.
Talking about visiting the possible locations he offers, "I managed to acquire some items that may help us cover a lot of the distance. It sounds like Alcondria is in top two of our list and I have two items that with high probability will take us there, given the Helm of Teleportation Gash has. So even if one doesn't give a satisfactory result then the other will."
Tock looks up ahead on the road, "We should reach the next town today. Lets find a proper place to rest, have dinner and then I have a proposal to make."
In the late afternoon the party makes it to the outlying farms and houses of Tinosa. Tinosa is not a notable town. It appears to have a sizable population with an array of crafters, artisans, and merchants and somewhat less reliance on agriculture. The gates of Tinosa do mark it as somewhat different than some of the other cities the party has visited. To the left and right of the city gates are giant announcement boards. The signs posted to them are professionally made and applied to the boards with care and thought. The boards include announcements for city events (Winter festival is in two tend-days), businesses (Buckley's General Store is on Dither Street), and even personal communications (Kenda Gimmelbrock is marrying Mendry Tinkertrap in 3 days.)
Two advertisements immediately stand out. The first one stands out the most and is posted in austere, black and red letters at the top of the left hand board. It simply reads:
Guests of Aucasia
Visit us at 12 Kindling Road
Crafting District
The other is much smaller, and located at the bottom right-hand corner of the right-hand board. It is written in a florid font of white and light blue on a much smaller placard of gray. It reads:
Sanctuary of the Aasimar
3 Findley Avenue
Temple District
Both posters look fairly weathered and have been posted for at least 10 days.
While entering the town, Tock will look around for a ... weird shop.
DM:
Looking for spell components for the following spells (in order of priority):
* Augury - specially marked sticks, bones, or similar tokens worth at least 25 gp - 1 set
* Continual Flame - ruby dust worth 50 gp, which the spell consumes - 1 unit
* Warding Bond - a pair of platinum rings worth at least 50 gp each, which you and the target must wear for the duration - 1 set, as in 2 rings
* Ceremony - 25 gp worth of powdered silver, which the spell consumes - a few sets. Or holy water would work as well I guess.
There was a lot going on in Masa, should've done some of it there...
Martin will just follow someone. First one doing anything but shopping, he’ll come with
Paladin - warforged - orange
Dog mutters to Nev that boy they are really rolling out the welcome mat, aren't they? He suggests getting lodging in a third place to not tip their caps about final decisions and to give themselves options. Then they can talk about visiting both places this evening. Besides, most of their gold came from those devils so it's not like they aren't already footing the bill.
He asks a friendly-looking local person where both of those addresses are and then asks about a nice place to spend the night.
Martin, Dog, Althus, and Bulwark lead Gentoa and her mother to a reputable inn recommended by one of the town criers, who will probably receive a kickback for the recommendation. Gash and Tock, intending to meet the rest at The White Crane later, head off to find a magic shop for components. They end up at a hole-in-the wall establishment not quite in the slums of Tinosa, which honestly don't look all that bad compared to other slums. Wildow's Bits and Bobs is a charming, dark little shop filled with dusty scrolls and odd-shaped bins filled with components and magical trinkets.
(Tock can purchase what magical components he needs. The entire party will spend 6 gold for three rooms and two meals each. The adjacent stables charge 9 sp per mount, for an additional sum of 5 gold, 4 silver. )
Dog volunteers to go check out either or both of the two addresses on the board. It seems prudent, given their role as protectors, to see if they're safe. He'll pick the Sanctuary of the Aasimar first, and go take a look, sending Stitches in ahead to look and listen, inviting anyone else who wishes to join him to come along. Ideally someone who's a bit more stealthy than Dog. He considers casting disguise self on himself to look like a tall male elf before he leaves the area near the White Crane, but decides against it. "If they're watching, they already know we're here."
He'll still lean against a wall a bit down the block from the address and send Stitches around the top of the wall of the building, peering in windows, looking for anything hinky, or anything heavenly, or anything hellish keeping an eye on the place.
Vanilla d20 rolls:
20 3 19 20 14
As Tock and Gash arrive at The White Crane later and hopefully before Dog heads off, Tock will make his proposal.
"With everyone here and everything out in the open, I'd like to offer this to Neventi," and hands his Headband of Intellect to her.
"You need to take an hour for it to start working. It will help clear your thoughts and make better plans. I think Dog has one as well and it's been good for him too."
He then nods to Dog, "I'll come with."
(Awesome. Let’s get her some gauntlets of ogre power too!)
Gash - Lvl14 Goblin Wizard - The High Court of the Aasimar Queen
Neventi is extremely touched at Tock's offer. She leaves Gentoa to play with Bulwark and Althus while she attunes to the headband.
Dog and Tock:
Dog and Tock take this opportunity to head to the temple district of Tinosa. It is not as grand as the one in Masa, but it does have a shrine to Tymora and several notable temples. The address on Findley Avenue appears to be a masonry shop. It has a large yard full of different kinds of stones, some of them in various stages of being sculpted into decorations for the temples or wealthy patrons. The building next to the yard is unlit.
Stitches creeps along the half-wall of the yard towards the building, climbs an old drain spout, and then crawls under the eave to the first window it can reach. Nothing appears to be moving inside. Dog, looking through Stitches' eyes, cannot make out much through the dusty windows. A giant kiln or maybe a mixing machine (like a concrete mixer) or...something related to masonry, which Dog is not familiar with, rests in the middle of the room. Work benches with half-finished projects and tools line the walls.
When Dog starts doing his thing, Tock whispers to him, "I'll go take a look around outside."
And slowly creeps throughout the yard, looking at the stones and stuff. He has a distinct feeling that this would be a perfect place to hide an entrance to a hidden cellar or something along those lines. (stealth check: 17) Once he's covered a bit of ground he will activate his Gem of Seeing as well.
Tock and Dog:
Tock's instincts fail him this time. He finds no evidence of a cellar entrance anywhere in the yard, mundane or magical.
DM and Dog:
Tock heads back to Dog, looking disappointed. "The yard seems clear. Anything in the house?"
Tock and DM:
Dog flips is vision back from Stitches, and answers Tock. "I just see things that look like masons might use. How would this be a sanctuary of the aasimar? Did you see anything in the yard that was carved particularly heavenly?" He sighs. "Well, I think it'd be fine to go knock on the door and ask about the notice. It might be nothing, just a wrong sign. It might be something we can learn. If it's a trap, we can handle ourselves, right?"
He takes another look around the street for anyone who's taken an interest in them, and gives one circuit of the shop to see other entrances, alleys, other people nearby. If still nothing and if Tock's amenable, Dog will walk with him to the front door of the shop and knock politely.
Dog and DM:
Tock looks around as well, trying to double-check if they're at the correct address. And then makes another round around the yard to check if the statues and stuff resembles anything they've encountered before.