Master Melrathkior's Insight 8

Ah yes, my lady, do please take a look.  Is there anything that... catches your eye?  He doesn't even really look at you, so focused is he on Nate and on preventing any recasting.

Soar, there is precisely one item on this stall that has any magic at all.  Everything else is a dud.  But a pair of gauntlets lying near the back, half obscured by some flashy (and completely non-magical) trousers, glow with a soft light of abjuration magic.

Soar starts to closely examine, like a credulous rube, everything he offers up, marveling at some of the prettier ones. "Wow, that ring is very nice! But I think Kelemvor wouldn't really understand. You really do have fine taste, Master Melrathkior!" She asks to see the trousers. "Hey guys, do you think these would look good on me? No? Too much clashing with the chainmail?" She sighs disappointedly, handing back the trousers. 

"I guess there's really nothing here for me. Maybe I'll have to look elsewhere. Actually, what about those gauntlets? Mine are starting to feel a little small now that I've switched to swinging a sword rather than a hammer. Can I try them on?" She gives him, again, her winningest smile.

The trousers?  Why certainly.  They are a fine item, and possess the mystical power to attract the romantic affections of those you meet in the moonlight.  I was sold them by a happy newly-wed woman, who wanted their magical gift to be passed to another.  Ah...perhaps the colour is not for everyone.  Hmmm, indeed. 

Ah, the guantlets?  Another new item, they... can assist with learning of musical instruments.  Yes, indeed, study with any teacher of the lute or lyre and you will pick up the instrument at twice the speed of your fellow students.  Take these, and you will be a master of music in practically no time at all.  I can sell them to you for the low price of twenty gold pieces. 

He hands them to you to try on.  They fit perfectly.

Nate, still very much an amateur with magic, gets completely flustered when Master Melrathkior instructs him to stop casting the spell and he sees some of the townsfolk look concerned. He realizes he made a rookie mistake... "Oh! Gosh! I am very sorry. I didn't mean to...."

and then Nate sees Jalt step in and then realizes that maybe this Master Melrathkior person is a master of bullshit.

Nate reads the situation as the half-elf pulls back and reels himself in after seeing the beast that is Jalt as well as the others. He changes his mind about wanting to do business with this guy.

"Ok... I won't cast the spell. I don't have any need for the ring, and I think I've seen enough here. Have a great day ahead!"

Oohdearwhatashameyouhavetogopleasedotellallyourfriends, he says as he ushers Nate away from the stall before returning his attention to Soar.  Well, my lady, what's it to be?  For thirty gold, I will throw in the trousers as well; can't say fairer than that.

Soar is not a brilliant or wise paladin, and does not know much about magic beyond what Kelemvor has revealed to her, but she would know that abjuration magic has nothing to do with musical talent, I am guessing. So she knows that there is something else going on with the gauntlets. And she knows how to read people and can tell this guy is full of it. When turning back to show the trousers off to Nate, Jalt, and Elspeth she gives a wink to her friends before turning back to Melrathkior.

Hearing his pitch about the gauntlets, she lets her face grow bored. "Music? Not really my passion. But they do fit well. They were basically forgotten over there, so I'll take them off your hands for 5 gold pieces because I like your style, Master Melrathkior. It's a very generous offer, when I could get some from the armorer down the street for a lot less. You'll not even know they're gone, and be 5 gold richer. Plus, I will tell everyone I see what a great deal I got, at The Marvellous Master Melrathkior's Magical Mechanisms. Does that sound like a deal or what?"

Persuasion:  18

Soar, you get as far as 5 gold pieces because DONE! he shouts in a loud voice, grabbing the gauntlets and thrusting them into your hands.  Well, milady, what a fantastic purchase, I'm thrilled for you, you have a keen eye and a bright future in music, I look forward to hearing tales of your songs as you sing before kings and princesses and the like.  Well, lovely day, thank you for stopping by.  Do tell your friends.  He shoos you all off, and is immediately on to the next passing stranger, insincerity oozing from every pore.

You are left standing in the middle of the street, looking at each other, your horses watching you politely.

Perhaps there are other shops in town that you might find what you are looking for, Nate. Jalt says Elturel isn't too far from here so we have sometime to look before we depart.

Soar raises one of the gauntlets, index finger pointed up, and pauses, about to offer a rejoinder, and thinks better of it. She didn't believe he'd take a lowball offer like that and now is concerned she's been played for a fool, yet again. But then she looks down at the gauntlet and trusts that her instincts will turn out good in the end. 

"Maybe I'll become a famous bard! What a story that would be," she says to her friends, ready to move along. "Let's get going. That man was hilarious." She swaps her gauntlets for the new ones, stowing the old ones in her bag. She spends the next ten minutes following the group wherever they go, constantly holding up the gauntlets to her mouth to make horn noises, or tapping an out-of-sync rhythm on Corala's saddle, or playing some amazing air lute. She's trying to get a better sense of the magic Kelemvor hinted that the gauntlets possess.

"Hey, thanks, Jalt... That sounds great. But first, how about we attend to your business now? Or do you prefer going alone? And thanks for sticking up for me back there. I'm just still learning this whole magic thing."

Nate then laughs at Soar and smiles thinking about how nutty that entire interaction was!

Elspeth stands near the back of the crowd, managing to see the amusing scene play out all the same thanks to her glasses. She manages to resist the urge to laugh at Melrathkior's unorthodox bargaining methods, and moves closer to the group as they leave the stall.

"Interesting man. Good bargaining back there, Soar. I'll be expecting to hear your music sometime soon though." She warns jokingly. "Forget about looking around for now, let's go find that smith friend of yours, Jalt."

(Can Elspeth find anything of note about the make of the gauntlet if she examines it while wearing the eyes of the eagle? )

Elspeth, a few minutes of examining the gauntlet doesn't really tell you much, even if Soar hands one to you.  It takes about an hour to learn about a magical item.  Soar, you are noticing that the gauntlet is changing its appearance, beginning to match the rest of your armour in colour and even a little in design, but you are not sure if that's the magic, or there's something else.  You suspect the latter.

If you go looking for Kaerus Thambadar, you easily find a smithy with an old sign reading Thambadar over the door, as everyone in town seems to know the name.

"Looks like this is the place, right Jalt? Do you prefer we wait outside?"

You can come with if you'd like. Jalt replies This isn't a secret transaction. Jalt would walk in and in fact ask Can we find Kaerus Thambadar here?

Good day, good day.  I'm afraid not, Papa moved to Elturel a few decades ago to serve the paladins there.  I'm Dorik Thambadar, his eldest.  I'm happy to assist you with what I can, or you could visit Papa if you prefer.  He's amiable, and seems not to mind being somewhat in the shadow of his rather famous father.

(Soar is just on her horse, or after dismounting and entering the smithy, in the background, looking at her gauntlets, every once in a while pretending they are secretly musical instruments and giggling to herself.)

Good day Dorik, Jalt says as he produces the bag which has the splint armor, 2 scimitars and greatsword. My family has worked with your dad for quite some time. I was wondering if these could be repurposed. The three weapons to be made into one sword with the symbol of Bahamut on it. And this splint armor, if we could make 2 sets of armor for me and my companion. I know that it would only make for on set. But I'd be willing to pay the difference. What say you?

Ah, I... see, Dorik says, staring at your face and trying to remember some connection.  Well, let me take a look.  He spends about twenty minutes inspecting the armour and the swords, before coming back to you.

I can certainly manage the greatsword.  I assume these are the weapons of some slain villain, that you wish to bring back into the light?  He chuckles; such sentiments are common enough in this land, and many of our paladins wield such blades, reforged by Papa or by me.  The metals could be melted down I think, and something of good quality forged.  It would take around a tenday, I think, and I would ask you sixty gold pieces for the task.   You understand that it will perform no better than a regular greatsword, and simply be more impressive to look upon.  

For the armour, you are correct that I could not fashion two full sets of splint armour from this alone, but I can take these metal pieces and apply them to two fresh sets of leather, adding some newly-forged pieces as well.  I assume you are keen to preserve the distinctive colouring, the golds and blues and purples, no?  What I add would be plainer, but I can produce two sets of splint for 70 gold pieces each.  Or if you wish me to seek out or create metals that will match the original, that will raise the price considerably.

The armour is a less.. demanding task than the sword, so the materials you provide will save you money.  The sword, because of the craftsmanship required, is the more expensive item.  And the armour will take three days to complete.

Soar says, “Jalt, perhaps if we have business in Elturel we could seek his father’s help in this task? Not that your work wouldn’t be just as good, Dorik! We just have some things to do in Elturel and it may take a while to sort them out, during which we could be waiting on weapons and armor. What do you think, Jalt?”

So if my math is correct, 200gp for the work to be done by the son of Kaerus... long time ally of the Platinum Cadre? Jalt asks as he reaches into his coin purse