Seldom Spring

"I agree that these weapons would serve you best," Maldorn tells Anafrey. "Though you might want to practice with that strange flail, study what it can do, before you bring it to battle. It looks... strange."

Plugging the vial of snake poison, Maldorn makes a quick mention of it to the party and adds: "I think I might be able to douse my arrows in this stuff. Can anyone think of a better use for it?" If no one comes up with an alternative use for the poison, Maldorn will keep it (Should I assume it works like a vial of basic poison?). 

Then, while still looking around the loot pile, Maldorn picks up the vial of a light yellow liquid and makes a remark about its pleasant floral small. The ranger is interrupted by Erric when the halfling begins to pass the scroll around. Maldorn will have a quick look to see if he recognizes the language. After that, he turns back to the vial in his hands and performs another light tasting, just enough to get a sense of what it is.

Assuming some small talk is happening while the party plays around with the loot and waits on Ebokk and Grout, Maldorn faces Erric and says: "You know what Weric, when I walked around for a bit just a moment ago, I noticed that one of the sailors was acting a bit weird... Grub, I think was his name..." The old ranger taps on his smoking pipe and adds: "He was trying to avoid me, even though I feel extra confident about my charms this afternoon. He could be up to no good, you know. Perhaps you can talk to him after we are done divvying this loot up?"

Erric, you remember overhearing two adventurers talking one time about how a spell scroll only makes sense to one who can use it. It's not that it's an unknown language, it's just one more oddity surrounding the arcane. (Hint: Jambiya's the only party member who will be able to read it at this time — it's [Tooltip Not Found] — but she's below deck as you three are looking over the loot.)

Maldorn, the first vial actually contains serpent venom (injury). You dip your finger into the yellow liquid and dab it on your tongue. Yuck! It has a bitter, yet extremely sharp flavor. It even makes your tongue tingle a little. You don't recognize this one. How something that tastes so awful can smell so pleasant is a mystery.

Jambiya hops upon a stool, and looks at Gramps shrewdly. "What's going on with the crew, Gramps? Everyone seems a little... off. Grout just whisked Ebokk away, others won't quite meet our eyes. Did something happen while we were gone?" She is using her barmaid-acquired skills. Insight: 22

“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Gramps says, looking up from his work to smile at the little goblin girl. “Scrub has been acting a little funny yesterday and today. Maybe he’s not feeling well. Maybe he’s homesick; he only recently joined the crew. As far as the bosun goes, the captain did look awful. If he hadn’t suggested he lie down, I would have.” He looks over Jambiya’s should before leaning in. “And those other two always act a little off, if you ask me,” he says confidentially, but in a joking way.

(OOC: How many arrows could I douse in that serpent venom? Unlike the basic one, the text does not clarify).

“Sorry, I can’t read this gibberish either, Weric. In fact, after tasting this yellow liquid, I don’t think I’ll be able to read anything for the next few minutes.”

Maldorn proceeds to study the stinky floral vile for the next dozen minutes or so, hoping to fully understand it.

One piece of equipment, Maldorn.

Jambiya smiles at the joke. She likes Gramps, and is glad he seems on the up and up. She’ll chat with him a little more, talk to him about the island and how strange it was, with the crabs and the birds and the skeletal gnolls. After ten minutes or so she’ll excuse herself and go topside to find the party. 

Erric will closely examine the ring and the medallion for ten minutes, trying to get a sense from each what they might be and do. He'll note the similarity between the medallion's design and the painting on the ship and ask Gramps about it (and try to jog his own memory about it, history: 6). He'll also ask Gramps or Grout about the navigator's tools to see if they might be helpful on the return trip. "You see all of this stuff, Gramps... do you have any guesses as to what might have been going on with this island and that crew? We saw some strange things, beyond what just a normal shipwrecked pirate might have done." He tells him all about what they found, with the gnolls, the shady patches, the barrows, Flindbar's remains, everything. "Might want to keep some of this from Scrub, who wasn't too keen on magical things happening on board. But I'd love to know if you know any stories that might shed some light on things for us. We're pretty perplexed."

He'll also really closely look at the 'three pieces of an opaque light and dark blue gemstone with yellow flecks' to see if they fit together as a whole, and if they seem magical at all, or were part of a design or ornament.

To the group going over the loot in a more private setting, he'll say: "I'm not good with numbers, but we could each take 22 gold, 76 silver, 206 copper, and leave a gold piece, two silver pieces, and two copper pieces for Ebokk. That's split four ways, with the remainder going to Ebokk. Or we could split five ways. 17 gold, 61 silver, 165 copper apiece and the remainder maybe for the crew for not abandoning us. I'd say maybe the latter option, unless Ebokk wants more of the items than just the beard ring."

Later, Erric will keep an eye on Scrub, pretending to just be looking for a lost button from his coat, but really trying to discretely spy on him.

Deception: 24
Stealth: 21

Up on deck with the others, Jambiya will:

• Check the scroll in the tube.
• Keep an eye out for the little dragon.
• Talk to the group about her convo with Gramps, "He said Scrub just recently joined the crew, maybe that's why he seems uncomfortable around us? Or maybe he's homesick? I like Gramps."
• Talk to the party about the gold distribution, "I think we should split it five ways and give one share to the ship. I know they are getting paid to be here, but they seem like good guys who could use a little something extra. And maybe that means Ebokk doesn't have to tip them or something."

Maldorn nods while still examining the yellow potion: "I'm with Jambiya regarding the fifth gold spit."

Jambiya, Gramps says he's glad he was on the ship and not on the island after you tell your tale. In the end, he gives you a smile and says he's glad you're back safe.

Erric:

You spend 10 minutes holding onto the ring and concentrating on it ... and are rewarded with something right up your alley. (OOC: As far as I can tell, this is a homebrew item of the module creator's design. They call it a ring of inspiration. Here's what the module says: "This ring enhances the effect of any Bardic Inspiration dice gained by the wearer. When rolling a Bardic Inspiration die, the wearer may roll the die twice and take the better result. The wearer can have up to three Bardic Inspiration dice at a time, but may only use one per turn. The wearer retains unused Bardic Inspiration dice for up to 1 hour.")

You also concentrate on the medallion for 10 minutes, but receive no arcane knowledge concerning it. It appears to simply be a medallion that is very likely be a holy symbol. When you show it to Gramps later, he says it's the symbol of Valkur — also called the Captain of the Waves — the patron of sailors and ships. When you ask about the navigator's tools, the old sailor shrugs and says bosun Grout seems to have his own way of doing things.

When you point out the loot and ask Gramps about what he thinks might have been going on, he smiles. "Looks like a pirate's treasure to me." He picks up a few items. "Jewels. Fine silver. Poison. Weapons. The little gal says the pirate ended up being the captain's father?" He raises his eyebrows. "Looks like you've found what he traded in his family for."

The three pieces of an opaque light and dark blue gemstone with yellow flecks appear to just be three gemstones. They don't fit together in any way that you can figure out.

Later on, while keeping an eye on Scrub, he seems to be working as usual. You do notice he remains separated from you four adventurers as much as possible, not making eye contact or talking with any of you unless forced to.

Maldorn:

Before the part about Erric following Scrub, Grout does come out of the captain's cabin, saying Ebokk is sleeping. "We'll cast off in the morning," the big man says. "I don't want anything to keep the captain from getting a good night's sleep." You approach Grout to ask if he saw anything: "I never heard a single blow of that horn I lent you. I guess that means you and your crew saw no danger while waiting for us, right?" The ranger extends his hand, hoping to not only get an answer to his question but also his horn back. Grout hands over the instrument. "Was all quiet here," he says with no emotion.

Jambiya, you have yet to see the little dragon. But Maldorn lets you smell the vial of yellow liquid. It smells wonderful — like a spring day — and you say so. You wonder if it's just a vial of perfume.

“That would explain why it might taste so bad, perfume is made from a lot of weird stuff,” Jambiya says. “Now hand me that scroll Erric said he couldn’t read.”

OOC: You mean you can't tell what it is with the post saying [tooltip not found]? It's protection from evil and good.

The Lost Mystical Tooltips of Hyrule!

OOC: Erric cannot as yet inspire himself, right? So the ring would be useless to him but very useful to anyone around him?

He explains in-game what the ring does. "So who finds me most inspirational?" he asks, with a grin. (OOC version: who makes the most rolls that would be useful to add a d6 with advantage to?)

When Grout says "Was all quiet here," Maldorn squints his eyes, trying to pick up on any signs the bosun might be hiding something. 

-> Insight check: 8

Later, back with the party, the old man laughs at himself: "Perfume? I never met anyone fancy enough to wear such things. That explains why it threw me for a loop. Would anyone like this? If no one has a specific use for it, we might as well just sell it when we have a chance. Or perhaps, this would make a good gift to Seldom himself." The smoke is clearly having the effect on Maldorn of making him speak his mind a bit more freely than the usual.

Turning to the third and final vial on the pile, he then says: "How about this here potion of climbing? I'd say one of us who is not very naturally athletic should hold on to it, but that makes three of us, really..."

To Erric, he responds: "We all know you are bound to torment Jambiya with your songs more than any one else here. Give her the ring already..."

(OOC: Should we go ahead and add a fifth of the coins found to each of our inventories?)

"You inspire me to want to cut off my ears... if that counts" Anafrey would reply with a smile and a wink after picking up the flail once more and attaching it to her belt. Once she had the flail she would feel herself relax a bit more. "You all can have any of it you want. I might be interested in the daggers and my share of the coin as well but that is about it. If I learned anything the past couple days... it is that I need more backup weapons." She would add before taking a small sip from her flask. 

“I’ve the dagger we found at the mirror mansion, so I don’t think I need another. But I’ll keep the scroll, might be useful,” Jambiya says.

OOC > If, in the many days since the mirror mansion, Jambiya has not attempted to identify any special features of the fine-bladed elven dagger, she will do so now to ascertain if it is magical or not and what it might do. 

OOC: Correct, Erric, you can't inspire yourself.

DM rollz: 10

Maldorn, you can tell the bosun is hiding something, but you have no way of knowing what.

OOC2: As far as I'm concerned, if you are all in agreement with splitting the coin five ways, go ahead and add your share to your equipment so you don't forget.

Jambiya, Erric's communion with the ring reminds you that you've never taken the time to do the same with the dagger. You follow suit, touching and concentrating on the weapon for 10 minutes. This is what you discover about it:

Redmane's dagger: When you hit an orc with this magic weapon, the orc takes an extra 1d4 piercing damage and must succeed on a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or become frightened of you until the start of your next turn. Also, you can use a bonus action to cause this weapon to shed bright light in a 10-foot radius and dim light for an additional 10 feet, or to extinguish the light. (I have updated your character sheet.)

Anafrey would take the daggers.. and the whip if no one wants it before finding a nearby barrel to sit on. She would take some time to study the weapon... occasionally swinging it about and holding it close to her face... looking for any indicators of who made it or how old it is. "So when do we head out?" She would ask the group.

Magic flail: Weapon (flail), legendary (requires attunement)

Two-part chain-linked iron rod. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. When you hit a creature with an attack using this weapon, you can use a bonus action to attempt to disarm the target, forcing it to drop one item of your choice that it's holding. The target must make a DC 13 Strength saving throw. On a failed save, it drops the object you choose. The object lands at its feet.