Elwin didn't consider himself a devout man, but the idea of praying crossed his mind as the others mentioned various planes of existence that they might need to travel through.

He silently maintained his stoic look, however, even as his fingers itched in anticipation of excitement.

Quote from Grotex >>

The High Elf nods in approval, adjusting his thick spectacles.

"Ah...yes, indeed, the Bathhouse is ran by a Water Elemental, whose unpronounceable Aquan name simply translates to "The Spa". Very nice place. Troublemakers tend to drown uncontrollably, though...I've always suspected the Spa does more than just wash people and give amazing massages...it most likely guards a passage into the Plane of Water....."

He snaps out of his monologue to himself, and stares at Tam.

"Ah em Yes, sorry! Where are my manners?"

He straightens himself a bit, and extends his hand.

"Salutations Madam, I am Liluminoy Catharel, humble and RESPECTED (shoots a furious look to Gavin) Director of the Three Peaks Grand Observatory! A long and perilous journey which I would rather not discuss for now (another furious Look to Gavin). You seem like a Ranger type, if I may be so bold? Are you from the Planar Rangers? You certainly seem to know about the Planes..."

He searches in one of his robe's inner pockets, and pulls out a small vial of water. He hands it to Tam.

"Take this, it is my membership vial to the Hotsprings. I go there all the time. The Spa is an elusive character, but very dedicated. Few can Actually communicate with it, but chances are, if you can, it could help you. Not much is known about the Elemental, except that it showed up some 50 years ago, and has been running an exceptional business since then. No one knows who cashes in on it. But whoever does is probably filthy rich."

He wanders off to a desk full of astronomy tools, and grabs a small hand sized Astrolab and sextant.

"As for the navigational tools. Well, lets just say I could part with these. Great tools when you're in the field, but in my line of work, I need something a little...bigger" (he points as the giant house-sized telescope peering into the Thunderstorm above).

"You can keep those. I'll just put it on Gavin's tab, as usual." (The Dwarf grunts and nods) 

Tam extends her hand in greeting, "Director Catharel, very nice to meet you. You can call me Tam. The one in red is Tori, the tall guy is X, and the stoic is Elwin." She shakes his hand firmly with a small squeeze of respect at the end.

"You've been most helpful, and we will prize these tools very much. Thank you for your generosity. I've been keen to work with these for some time, but never gained the opportunity. Perhaps a quick tutorial? Anything magical about them?" She smiles warmly at him.

Gathering herself and pocketing the vial, "Now, before we get ahead of ourselves. Let's stop at a shop for water-breathing gear and maybe some fire resistance. I've got nothing like that on me at the moment."

To Dr. Catharel, "Sometimes you can get more with honey than with might. Does this elemental or spa owner fancy anything in particular? Maybe a gift or some kind of prize would help the crossing go smoother. We can pick it up along the way, too."

Roll an Investigation check. DOES the Spa have any kind of weaknesses?

Liluminoy looks at the astronomy instruments. "Well, they do glow slightly when they are near a Planar connection...."

Investigation Check = 23

I'm thinking she might get an advantage between her planar training and her ranger features? If so above, if not, then: 18

-----------------------

Tam's face lights up, "Fantastic! That will come in handy. Anything else? I hold it like this, right?"

"Well...the Spa does enjoy music...and scented bath salts...that's about all I can think of..."

Tam may indeed use her Arcana skill to use the Astrolab. She does, and as she starts to rotate the intricate copper and bronze rings, she finds the closest portal to the Plane of Water! It is indeed right down the street, in the Hot Springs, inside the Huge Waterfall which cascades off the cliff of the High Peak, down to the valley below...

Tam let's out a holler of triumph, "Holy shit I did it!" 

Beaming at Director Cal, "I know exactly where to go! This is so exciting. Thank you, thank you."

Looming to Gavin and the group, "Ok, let's head to get the gear and maybe a music player, then into the deep!"

To Tori with face full of mirth, "Wanna see how my sex-tant works?"

Tori shakes her head and laughs. “Only if you are offering private lessons…”

OOC: Okay, go ahead and write me a list of all the gear/things/people you wish to procure before you head out to the Hot Springs. I will tell you where to find it all and how much it will cost, or what rolls you need, and we can "fast forward" through the whole gear procuring phase

(OOC - Tori has taken Water Breathing as her 9th prepared spell for this new level, so we can ALL (up to ten creatures) breath for an hour under water. The only thing is that she must maintain concentration, so make sure to bring a potion too just in case.)

X, probably doesn’t have anything he really wants other then maybe something to make sure he doesn’t sink like a rock, cause he’s heavy, and can’t swim)

(( Elwin wouldn't think of anything else he needed, gear-wise. ))

I would like to know the prices on the following , please:

• Potion of Healing
• Potion of Resistance
• Potion of Water breathing
• Potion of Comprehend Languages
• Bag of Salt
• Bath Salts
• Floaties
• Fishscale flippers: Gain +20 ft movement in water. Can take the dodge action as a bonus action when fully submerged in water.
• Singing Conch: Once per day, can be used to take advantage on soothing an aquatic beast w/ animal handling check.
• Bender’s Conch Shell: A conch shell the size of a chicken’s egg. While held in the users mouth, the user can speak with aquatic animals at will.
• Ring of Fire Resistance (for fun)
• Gloves of swimming and climbing (for fun)
• Ring of Mind Shielding (for good luck)
• Beach towel
• Music box 
• Bow and ribbon
• Oil

That's it at the moment.

Thank you!

Torment looks at Tam's list and raises her eyebrows: 

"If she gets one, I get one!" she says, regarding the entire list. 

"Also, I'd like a trident, a waterproof pack and a seahorse." 

OOC: Why do I feel like a cashier right now? Lol

Okay, here goes:

At Ruskor's Castle of Junk, you may find:

-Potions of healing, water breathing and comprehension for 25GP each

-Potions of Resistance, for 50GP each

-A bundle of random junk including the bag of salt, Bath salts, medieval floaties made of sheep blatter (OOC I Cannot wait for X to wear those😂😂😂), a small music box (there are many to chose from, up to you as far as what music plays), a beach towel, a bow (hair I assume, not arrow?)and ribbon, and a vial of oil for a grand total of 25 GP/bundle.

-Waterproof backpacks for 20 GP each (fully sealed, 60lbs capacity)

-An old rusty Trident for 2.5 GP

-Fishscale flippers for 30GP a pair

-A Singing conche for 75GP (only 1 in stock)

-a Bender's Conche shell for 150GP (only 1 in stock)

-Gloves of swimming and climbing for 200GP a pair

-Rings of Fire Resistance for 500GP each

All prices listed ALREADY INCLUDE the 50% "Hero discount".

Ruskor looks at Tam and Tori's lists. "Going underwater, eh? I've gotcha covered...that's a tall list, though...take a seat and relax for a minute, me' wife is making pork ribs...he disappears in his underground dungeon of "stuff" for about an hour, during which you all listen to him and his wife constantly shouting at each other from across the huge warehouse

"Honey, how long on those ribs?"

"In a minute !!! Stop thinking with your stomach!!! And you should REALLY consider eating a salad every once and a while!!"

Eventually, after an hour, Ruskor emerges from his hole, and lines up almost every item on the list. They may not be brand new, but by Moradin, he's got it! 

He stares proudly at the Party. "No false advertisement here! Well...except for the Sea Horse...I don't have a Sea Horse...sorry...if ever you can get me one, though, I'll give ye' 2000 GP fer' it."

As the Party is shopping at Ruskor's, Gavin walks in, and throws his Dwarven buddy a sack of gold.

"Here's 2500 right here, get'em what they need, will ya'?They're working overtime, and I've gotta get back to running the Tavern before I get a drunken riot on me' hands, and more damage to it...by the way, remind me to add Mind Flayers to my Business Insurance Policy. Before I go, I gotta say...ya lot are the craziest ones of all. But if ya' pull this off, then this wizard will owe US, and he could seriously end this War, or at least help us in some crazy unpredictable way. No joke, he's old and senile, but I've seen what he can do...Turn buildings into Monsters, shape bridges, travel through places you could never even imagine, just fer' fun...if we keep him on his A game, he could be our most powerful asset. But no matter what happens, DO NOT LET HIM GET DRUNK, OR DO DRUGS OF ANY KIND!"

(OOC: I'm literally sitting here researching how much gold she has and doin' the math. Then her handsome dwarf strolls in! *swoon* lolz)

Tam will take the following:

• bundle of precious items (bow and ribbon are for the music box and bath salts gifts, soapstone carved music box that can stand up to water and  plays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyieFu7BnHE)
•  
• 3 vials of oil
• 2 Potions each of healing, water breathing, resistance, and comprehension
• A waterproof backpack
• Fishscale flippers
• A Singing conche
• Bender's Conche shell 
• Gloves of swimming and climbing
• Ring of Fire Resistance
• She also picks up thieves tools
• Some of those ribs, if they're done
• She's sad they don't have any mind shielding rings, but asks that they keep an eye out for one

--------------------

Tam looks at Tori and winks, "Yah, no funny business!" She then swings her arms around Gavin's burly neck and plants a good one on his cheek, "You're the best." She goes on to make googly eyes at him still attached.

Merry Christmas😜

Every item actually comes neatly wrapped in a little present box

(( OOC: Quite the Christmas boon! Awesome! And a Thank You and a Merry Christmas to you too! ))

Elwin's eyes bulged as he took in the treasure trove they were offered. He looked at Gavin in amazement, and gave a nod of thanks at the man who was becoming more of a patron to him than his arcane one.

It took Elwin a minute to do the math in his head. "Half of 2500... ok... and half again... so, um... wait.... yeah, that's right. 625 gold apiece for us each to get a "fair share" of the gold. Added to what I already have...."

Finally, with a budget in mind, the young man started pointing out what looked helpful. His attempt to not smile like a child in a candy shop, only partially successful, resulted in an odd-looking smirk instead as he picked out his wares.

Finally, the tally came. Elwin winced a bit as he realized he'd have to add almost everything from his own pocket to not wind up cutting into anyone else's share, but, fair was fair. And it's not like they weren't getting a ridiculous deal.

As soon as Ruskor handed him the goods, the warlock immediately began transferring the contents of his old backpack to his new one, adding his new goods as he went (except for the ring and gloves, which he immediately put on, in that order.) When he was finally finished, he looked wistfully at his old carry-all before turning back to Ruskor.

"Need an old backpack? It's served me well, but I don't need two, so might as well sell him. One gold, right?"

Done! You now have 2 gift bundles, between Tam and Elwin.