Above & Below

As you approach, you get the sense these three aren't shamans. They breathe the smoke from the dried vegetation in deeply, and one coughs and laughs at seemingly nothing. Another spits into the fire. The biggest one, wearing the deer skull, raises an eyebrow as you stop a few feet from their group. 

"Yeah?"

Nice skull, Brask replies.  We're looking for a Sister.  Need to talk to her about... stuff.  He sniffs the smoke experimentally.

"Okay...who's sister?" He frowns.

You get a faint whiff of the smoke as you inhale. Roll a CON save.

23

Magic woman.  Brask wiggles his fingers around in the manner of a spellcaster.  Powerful.  Scary, apparently.  You never heard of 'em?

One of them inhales as you reveal which Sister you're talking about, and starts to cough uncontrollably. The big one frowns deeper and grins. "Yeah, we've heard of 'em. Not many folks traveling through looking for 'em, though. Drunken fishermen will tell you there's one that lives out in the middle of the sea. I ain't seen her, though."

As you inhale a little of the smoke, you can almost feel it working its way into and through your body. It feels...nice. You feel at ease. Gain advantage on your next ability check.

Cheers, says Brask, feeling like he could talk his way into or out of anything.  Which one of you's got a boat?

They look at each other with some combination of confusion and amusement. 

"We don't need to risk going out there," the big one speaks up. "Dumb, poor fisherfolk do it for us. But most of their boats aren't fitting you and your friends, there." He nods at the rest of the party.

One of the others rubs his face and looks around. "We better get going. Don't want to be late again."

The big man smudges out the burning leaves and picks up his pack. "Good luck, big man."

Where ya goin'?  Brask asks, putting a little sign of displeasure in his voice at the abrupt departure.

One of the men sneers at you. "It ain't none of your b-"

"Relax," the big man interjects sternly. "We've got work to do. Can't sit around all day inhaling sea smoke."

Yeah, whatever losers.  Feeling some of his old self coming back, Brask grins again and heads off in search of a fishing boat.

Kurama gave the three men a polite nod before following after Brask.  He paused for the briefest of moments as he neared the smoke,  his curiosity of its uses and effects nearly stopping him.  But remembering the words of the Sister, he continued on his way and made a point to hold his breath until the smoke was well behind him!

As you continue to walk up the path into town, you do notice more fishing boats, but they're all extremely small. Most are canoe-shaped boats that would fit two average-sized humanoids. This certainly doesn't look like any official dock district, though.

The hustle and bustle of the city almost resembles that of Oshait - it's at least the most people you've seen since you've been down in the "below". The scale doesn't compare to Lovilra, of course, but it's reminiscent of home. 

A few burly men carry felled trees down the main thoroughfare, while other folks call out from their market stalls on the sides of the road. A tavern's chimney billows gray smoke into the gray air. There aren't many horses, although two or three pass you as you make your way further into the city. You see another pair of men wearing bones, dressed similarly to the trio from earlier. A very modest church sits at the top of a small, wooden staircase. An intricately carved raven sits above the doors.

"Almost feels like Gorta," Pip looks around.

Brask stops a random passer-by, by standing directly in their path and forcing them to stop.  Hey.  Who has the biggest boat here?

Roll a persuasion or intimidation check, and a random d20 luck roll.

Intimidation (with advantage from the smoke): 11

Luck roll:  3

You happen to step in front of a middle-aged man wearing plain, brown clothes. He has a not entirely unkempt dark beard. He almost trips on his own feet as he stops short of running into you. 

"Uh...uh...don't know who, but they'd be up at the northern docks. Shouldn't be hard to find. Turn right off this road before you leave town. Once you get over those dunes with the homes, you'll see all the boats." He nods sheepishly and quickly steps around you, jogging down the street and looking back to be sure you aren't following.

Brask watches the man run off, waiting for him to turn back, and when he does, flashes him a wicked grin and rests his meaty hand on the handle of his maul.

Then he laughs and turns to the others.  Northern docks, yeah?  You wanna send Cadmael up ahead?

If there's no objections, he will follow the man's directions, headed up the road and turning right.  

Effort does, indeed, send Cadmael up ahead:

Perception: 20

As Cadmael starts to cruise northward across town, he notices some people picking up their pace as they cross the streets. Rain starts to pelt him in the face, and up ahead, he can see that darker clouds are starting to unleash even heavier rainfall. You may want to get inside, he thinks.

Most people seem to be rushing to their homes, but a few also hurry inside the tavern. The church also has its doors open, and a few people nervously cram underneath the tents of the street-side market tables. 

"We can't stay out here. Judging from the local behavior, this rainstorm isn't something we want to be caught out in." Eying the raven carving above the church, Effort makes her way for the building with a purposeful stride.  "Ravens have been the symbol of one of the Sisters.  We might as well try our luck at the church first," she says as she walks.