"Let's stop by Melton and break the news," Chrys says to the others. "We can spend the night there, answer any questions the townsfolk got for us, an' help 'em set up with a new constaple, 'cause they're gonna need a real one, now that Frida's gone. After that, we can travel back ta Yartar with whoever wants ta come with us." She pauses. "An' don't forget… there may be a magic pool we need to check out south o' Melton. There were rumors o' that existin' near where we found the horse an' that unfortunate adventurer," she reminds the others. "Might be best ta check it out 'for we reach Yartar, since it's on the way."
Harriet accepts your condolences and gives you all hugs for being so kind and helping to deal with the bodies of her friends, even after you saved her life the day before. As you've noticed, she's clearly been through a lot, and she's still in a very fragile state, although her energy has picked up.
"I was... we were headed to Silverymoon, and so I'd like to continue my journey there, but I will definitely return with you to Melton. I wish you could come with me, because I don't like the idea of traveling alone, and I don't know if I would be trusting enough to travel with strangers right now. We had come from Yartar on our way. I suppose we can think about options and discuss it on the way back. Although, to be honest, I don't know how far Melton is... it's all been such a blur, I really have no idea where I am or how to get anywhere from here."
Ellywick steps over and does her best to give reassurance to the halfling, who she seems to have formed a bond with.
"From here, my dear, we have about a five hour walk... give or take, as long as we don't run into any trouble. Although even if we do, you're in capable company, as these fine folks seem like they can handle anything! And I know the route very well, so we'll get there as quick as we can. And there'll be ale and hot food waiting' for us at the Weary Knight when we get there!"
With that, the gnome starts packing up and getting situated for the return journey to Melton, and when you're all ready, you leave behind the temple and begin walking back on the trail, weaving your way through the sparse forest, retracing the steps you had taken only yesterday, although, with all that you've been through, it certainly seems like much longer. As of right now, it's mid afternoon, so if you get moving now, you should arrive by last light.
(Feel free to continue your conversations with each other during the beginning of the hike.)
Replying to Harriet and Ellywick: "First thing's first, is Melton. We might be walking right back here once we drop you two off, to handle the fiend in the pool. We also have to go to Yartar to claim our payment, unless I'm mistaken. And we'll want to make sure you get to Silverymoon, Harriet. Do you have family there?"
He'll also fall in next to Chrys. "Thanks for having my back in there, plenty of times. You're good in a fight. Get into a lot of them back home? And do you think your deity will be able to help us take care of the fiend? You mentioned you thought we'd need a cleric."
Walking next to Krackle, he'll offer to carry him on his shoulders again. "You really were a big help, little one. Mind if I have a look at that mask? I want to make sure it's not going to give you any trouble."He'll try to spend some time with it as they walk and see if it's anything beyond an ordinary mask.
"Vesper, do you want some healing? Sorry about letting you take the brunt of that zombie's attack. I thought the door gambit would work. How are you doing? You've been quiet."Lumen tries to chat a bit with Vesper later on in the walk back, during a calmer portion of the trek.
When Kess comes back from one of her scouting orbits, he grins. "You seem at home here. And from the way you talk, you pay attention everywhere you go, and it seems like you've been around a lot. I think I've seen you before, were you a bouncer a few months back? Tasked with ridding a traveling minstrel from a tavern owned by someone who didn't appreciate adventurous music?"
"Not a problem," Chrys replies gruffly, giving Lumen a companionable shove in the shoulder. Well, at least where her short shoulder can reach on his large frame. "Marthammor Duin ain't exactly the best deity for takin' care o' fiends. He's somethin' I guess you'd call... a demi-god, or aspect, o' Moradin. Moradin's the one ye'd be callin' on ta do the smashin' o' fiends. Or really any o' the greater deities... Lathander, Helm, ya know the bunch, an' someone who can properly channel that kinda holy power. Fiends usually need more'n a strong fist to disappear... a cleric's the type who's got the hang o' that stuff. For everyone else, it's gonna be a lot messier, I think. And Marthammer Duin... well, the Duin's a quieter sorta god. The patron o' Twilight Tor,"she explains. "I worship him 'cause he watches o'er travelers, and when I set off from my home, that was what I wanted ta do more'n anythin' else. Travel. I felt like I was answerin' His call."
She grins. "But before I got to travelin', I was a captain in the guard. Gave my parents a real shock, I did, not goin' in to the family business o' smithin'. I ain't got much talent for that, though... like ya said, I prefer a good scrap to workin' at the forge. Protectin' Twilight Tor helped sate that urge for a good tussle 'fore I left home. And askin' the Duin to guide my path as his consecrated warrior sorta helps me channel all that energy into somethin' more positive than a tavern brawl. Still guardin', ya could say. Just different things now."
She looks up at Lumen, squinting, then peers behind her back at Kess. "Say... I ain't real big on diplomacy, so I hope ya won't mind me bein' blunt... but what's up 'tween you an' Kess? You two know each other or somethin'? She an ex-girlfriend o' yours and hasn't recognized ya yet? C'mon, spill the beans!"
Reposting this as a reminder, since a lot has happened during the past few weeks.
During the past few days that you've spent traveling and interacting with Lumen, you have occasionally felt that there was something vaguely familiar about him. You've often just figured that he has "one of those faces" that seems to be easily recognized, or perhaps easily mistaken for someone else. After all, you've run across many half orcs during your life in the north, and whether it's the simple stereotype of feeling like many of them look alike, or if he does in fact look like someone you've met in the past, you have never been quite certain enough to push it.
However, in this moment, as he's standing there in front of you right now, singing his altered tavern hymn, it suddenly strikes you that yes, you have indeed met him before. Where, you cannot say, although given your history, it could very well have been at one of the inns where you worked as a bouncer.
That part is still a mystery, but as you stand here in this underground temple of sorts, waiting for the uncertainty of impending battles with any number of creatures that are sure to put up a fearsome fight, and as you prepare to face encounters that will test your own skills, as well as your bond with these new companions who stand beside you, it rings true in your mind that you definitely know Lumen from somewhere...
"Um... yes. Well, no... and yes. I don't know." Kess managed to blurt out the last bit, her usually composed personality becoming a point of bluster; she seemed flustered and rattled by Lumen's questioning. "I... look, I feel so awful to say it like this, but you just have one of those faces, okay Lumen? I know I have seen you somewhere, but I have been to many a place in the past few years across the North. I wish I could remember more specifically, I really do. But I... I don't. I really don't. I'm sorry!"
"Thanks Lumen!" Krackle would reply as he scampers up on to the shoudler of the half orc. "All that helping makes me tired. He would add as he works to position himself on his moving companion. When the half-orc mentions looking at the mask, he takes one hand and grabs hold of the mask tightly. "I uhh.. you can see the mask from here! There is nothing to look at on the inside so I think I will keep it on!" He would say as he sits on Lumens shoulders and lets his feet dangle down bouncing off of his chest. Maybe Krackle should get a few extra coins because I am such a good helper?" He would ask from behind the mask with a small clawed hand held out.
Chrys, noting Krackle's burgeoning greed with a bit of worry, decides to walk by Lumen a bit.
"Y'know, there's a story that got passed 'round in Twilight Tor for a bit. It's 'bout a poor man who once found a magic goblet. The goblet, see, was magic, 'cause if ya filled it with tears, them tears would turn into proper gemstones. But before he found that goblet, that lil' fellow was a happy guy despite bein' poor. He had a big sister who loved him, see? So 'twas hard for 'im to make tears to fill up that cup with. Still, the lure of gettin' more gems was so great, he found ways to make 'imself sad in order to become rich. An' as his tears piled up in that cup, so did his need for ev'n more gems. In the end, that man ended up sittin' on a mountain o' gems made from his tears, with a bloody knife in his hand, sittin' on the slain body o' his beloved sister."
She eyes Krackle as she finishes her tale, waiting to see what the little kobold does.
The party bard listens the the stories about the Duin and Chrys' family. "I'm glad you decided to travel. And Kess, well, I swear I've met her before. Someone that looked like her threw me out of a tavern I was performing at a long time ago. Proprietor and I didn't share an artistic vision. Anyhow, it's obviously not her. Maybe I just had a vivid nightmare. Could make for a good song. Also, that's a very good memory about the pool. We'll have to figure out what we're doing. Bringing Harriet to Silverymoon, coming back here to finish off the fiend in the pool, going back to Yartar to get our payment, or going to find the other pool."
Lumen's not very aware of the kobold's reaction to the requests for the mask and continues ferrying him along on his shoulders. "More coins? Maybe so, we'll have to talk about that. Don't forget about the gold you owe Vesper for her loan. Nothing better than a settled debt."
When Kess has her reaction, Lumen nods slowly. "...Okay, sorry about that. Might have mistaken you for someone else."
Eventually, when they're past the log bridge and closer to town, he pulls out his lute and begins strumming on it, playing a bit of a fanfare, and singing some bars of a new song he's been working on, about contests, about travels, of mosquitos and unfriendly towns, of friendly gnomes and sleepy bugbears and ominous caves that are not caves, of too many goblins, deeply terrifying statues, hidden cubbies, and the undead, of barbarian torture rodeos, of masked villains, of treasure and fiendish pools, of tough noble dwarves, helpful if deeply concerning kobols, knowledgeable, efficient, yet forgetful elves, quiet, compassionate, and skilled humans, of triumphs and partial triumphs, of mysteries solved and more mysteries found. Of.... pies. Yes he even sings of pies. It still needs work and it's unfinished, but it sticks in your head.
You now realize that it was him. Your memory is suddenly jogged... it all comes back... that night at the tavern in Triboar, when you had to throw out an inebriated and unruly half orc bard, whose style and reckless energy was too much for the crowd and who refused to settle down. That’s why Lumen seems so familiar... he was that very same half orc, even if he’s not admitting it right now... you are positive.
Krackle would listen to the dwarf from behind the obsidian mask, his facial expressions hidden from Chrys... "That isn't a very good story... " he would say as his feet dangle from the half orc... "couldn't he make someone else cry into the cup? Like.. poke them in the eye or something? Then he could have kept his sister and the gems!" The kobold would say almost excitedly. "Then He could buy lots of things and not be sad!" He would add as he rubs the chin of the obsidian mask as though he were trying to figure out a way to find this magical cup.."If I had a cup like that, I could pay Vesper back in gems! We should find that cup!" The kobold would reply getting excited now, standing up as his tiny clawed feet bite into Lumens shoulder.
"Ow, Krackle, watch your feet,"Lumen says, slinging his lute behind him. He reaches up to start to gently detach the kobold from his shoulders, and also reaches for the mask, remembering his earlier concerns about the mask maybe being cursed, and knowing he'd cut the straps to take it off Frida.
"I think it'd be good if we take turns with the mask. Frida had it and she ended up running a goblin cultist crime ring. Let's take it easy. We're sharing what's in the lockbox, we should also share the benefits, or the burden, of that mask."
Vesper sends a Message to Lumen. Put the mask in the bag. I'm not so certain that the mask didn't influence Frida somehow. I want Dundragon to examine it before we do anything.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
"I agree with Vesper. Who knows what foul sorcery was worked upon that mask?" Kessdarra shrugs sheepishly at Vesper. "Um... no offense."
If Lumen would notice it, there was a sudden glint of recognition now whenever the lady elf glanced in his direction. Kess' pace has also noticeably increased, and she suddenly seems a bit uneasy.
Unbelievable. I can't believe it. He's the same... the same... goosey drunk! The same one that tried to serenade me with that off-key rendition of an old sonnet from Silverymoon and made comments about my figure! Well now... he's actually a nice man and a talent, when he's calm and he isn't in a drunken stupor. Who would have thought I'd run into him again...?
"Kid, why don't ya take the mask off. It's turnin' ya into something ugly. Can ya even hear yourself? Ya wanted to help people before we got into that there temple, an' now ya want ta poke people in the eye. Whatever's gotten into ya, it's comin' from that mask, an' I don't like it. I thought ye were different from other kobolds, 'specially 'cause Silver saw somethin' special in ya. I don't think he'd be happy to hear his brother talkin' bout wantin' to blind other people for money on account o' a cursed goblet." She sighs. "An' it's the world's biggest lie that money can buy ya happiness. What money can buy ya is comfort. There's a real big difference 'tween bein' comfortable, and bein' happy. I hope ya won't have to learn that the hard way. Now. Give the mask to Lumen, or we ain't goin' a step further. I ain't brinin' a curse into a town that's still reelin' from recoverin' from the last one."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"No, the mask is mine!" Krackle would shout as he clutches on to the mask and holds it tightly to his small snout. "Silver was a meanie that left us. Don't be a meanie and take my mask!" He would plead as he practically hangs from the mask if someone tries to pull it from this thin tiny fingers
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
And that was all Vesper needed to know that he shouldn't have the mask.
Athletics to snatch it: 13
Despite not being that much of a weightlifter, Vesper snatches it from Krackle and puts it in her pack. "This mask is no good. We have to get this to Master Dundragon."
"Let's stop by Melton and break the news," Chrys says to the others. "We can spend the night there, answer any questions the townsfolk got for us, an' help 'em set up with a new constaple, 'cause they're gonna need a real one, now that Frida's gone. After that, we can travel back ta Yartar with whoever wants ta come with us." She pauses. "An' don't forget… there may be a magic pool we need to check out south o' Melton. There were rumors o' that existin' near where we found the horse an' that unfortunate adventurer," she reminds the others. "Might be best ta check it out 'for we reach Yartar, since it's on the way."
Harriet accepts your condolences and gives you all hugs for being so kind and helping to deal with the bodies of her friends, even after you saved her life the day before. As you've noticed, she's clearly been through a lot, and she's still in a very fragile state, although her energy has picked up.
"I was... we were headed to Silverymoon, and so I'd like to continue my journey there, but I will definitely return with you to Melton. I wish you could come with me, because I don't like the idea of traveling alone, and I don't know if I would be trusting enough to travel with strangers right now. We had come from Yartar on our way. I suppose we can think about options and discuss it on the way back. Although, to be honest, I don't know how far Melton is... it's all been such a blur, I really have no idea where I am or how to get anywhere from here."
Ellywick steps over and does her best to give reassurance to the halfling, who she seems to have formed a bond with.
"From here, my dear, we have about a five hour walk... give or take, as long as we don't run into any trouble. Although even if we do, you're in capable company, as these fine folks seem like they can handle anything! And I know the route very well, so we'll get there as quick as we can. And there'll be ale and hot food waiting' for us at the Weary Knight when we get there!"
With that, the gnome starts packing up and getting situated for the return journey to Melton, and when you're all ready, you leave behind the temple and begin walking back on the trail, weaving your way through the sparse forest, retracing the steps you had taken only yesterday, although, with all that you've been through, it certainly seems like much longer. As of right now, it's mid afternoon, so if you get moving now, you should arrive by last light.
(Feel free to continue your conversations with each other during the beginning of the hike.)
Replying to Harriet and Ellywick: "First thing's first, is Melton. We might be walking right back here once we drop you two off, to handle the fiend in the pool. We also have to go to Yartar to claim our payment, unless I'm mistaken. And we'll want to make sure you get to Silverymoon, Harriet. Do you have family there?"
He'll also fall in next to Chrys. "Thanks for having my back in there, plenty of times. You're good in a fight. Get into a lot of them back home? And do you think your deity will be able to help us take care of the fiend? You mentioned you thought we'd need a cleric."
Walking next to Krackle, he'll offer to carry him on his shoulders again. "You really were a big help, little one. Mind if I have a look at that mask? I want to make sure it's not going to give you any trouble." He'll try to spend some time with it as they walk and see if it's anything beyond an ordinary mask.
"Vesper, do you want some healing? Sorry about letting you take the brunt of that zombie's attack. I thought the door gambit would work. How are you doing? You've been quiet." Lumen tries to chat a bit with Vesper later on in the walk back, during a calmer portion of the trek.
When Kess comes back from one of her scouting orbits, he grins. "You seem at home here. And from the way you talk, you pay attention everywhere you go, and it seems like you've been around a lot. I think I've seen you before, were you a bouncer a few months back? Tasked with ridding a traveling minstrel from a tavern owned by someone who didn't appreciate adventurous music?"
"Not a problem," Chrys replies gruffly, giving Lumen a companionable shove in the shoulder. Well, at least where her short shoulder can reach on his large frame. "Marthammor Duin ain't exactly the best deity for takin' care o' fiends. He's somethin' I guess you'd call... a demi-god, or aspect, o' Moradin. Moradin's the one ye'd be callin' on ta do the smashin' o' fiends. Or really any o' the greater deities... Lathander, Helm, ya know the bunch, an' someone who can properly channel that kinda holy power. Fiends usually need more'n a strong fist to disappear... a cleric's the type who's got the hang o' that stuff. For everyone else, it's gonna be a lot messier, I think. And Marthammer Duin... well, the Duin's a quieter sorta god. The patron o' Twilight Tor," she explains. "I worship him 'cause he watches o'er travelers, and when I set off from my home, that was what I wanted ta do more'n anythin' else. Travel. I felt like I was answerin' His call."
She grins. "But before I got to travelin', I was a captain in the guard. Gave my parents a real shock, I did, not goin' in to the family business o' smithin'. I ain't got much talent for that, though... like ya said, I prefer a good scrap to workin' at the forge. Protectin' Twilight Tor helped sate that urge for a good tussle 'fore I left home. And askin' the Duin to guide my path as his consecrated warrior sorta helps me channel all that energy into somethin' more positive than a tavern brawl. Still guardin', ya could say. Just different things now."
She looks up at Lumen, squinting, then peers behind her back at Kess. "Say... I ain't real big on diplomacy, so I hope ya won't mind me bein' blunt... but what's up 'tween you an' Kess? You two know each other or somethin'? She an ex-girlfriend o' yours and hasn't recognized ya yet? C'mon, spill the beans!"
"I didn't take much damage, so I don't need any healing. I'm doing fine though, thanks for asking."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More
Kess
Reposting this as a reminder, since a lot has happened during the past few weeks.
During the past few days that you've spent traveling and interacting with Lumen, you have occasionally felt that there was something vaguely familiar about him. You've often just figured that he has "one of those faces" that seems to be easily recognized, or perhaps easily mistaken for someone else. After all, you've run across many half orcs during your life in the north, and whether it's the simple stereotype of feeling like many of them look alike, or if he does in fact look like someone you've met in the past, you have never been quite certain enough to push it.
However, in this moment, as he's standing there in front of you right now, singing his altered tavern hymn, it suddenly strikes you that yes, you have indeed met him before. Where, you cannot say, although given your history, it could very well have been at one of the inns where you worked as a bouncer.
That part is still a mystery, but as you stand here in this underground temple of sorts, waiting for the uncertainty of impending battles with any number of creatures that are sure to put up a fearsome fight, and as you prepare to face encounters that will test your own skills, as well as your bond with these new companions who stand beside you, it rings true in your mind that you definitely know Lumen from somewhere...
"Um... yes. Well, no... and yes. I don't know." Kess managed to blurt out the last bit, her usually composed personality becoming a point of bluster; she seemed flustered and rattled by Lumen's questioning. "I... look, I feel so awful to say it like this, but you just have one of those faces, okay Lumen? I know I have seen you somewhere, but I have been to many a place in the past few years across the North. I wish I could remember more specifically, I really do. But I... I don't. I really don't. I'm sorry!"
"Thanks Lumen!" Krackle would reply as he scampers up on to the shoudler of the half orc. "All that helping makes me tired. He would add as he works to position himself on his moving companion. When the half-orc mentions looking at the mask, he takes one hand and grabs hold of the mask tightly. "I uhh.. you can see the mask from here! There is nothing to look at on the inside so I think I will keep it on!" He would say as he sits on Lumens shoulders and lets his feet dangle down bouncing off of his chest. Maybe Krackle should get a few extra coins because I am such a good helper?" He would ask from behind the mask with a small clawed hand held out.
Chrys, noting Krackle's burgeoning greed with a bit of worry, decides to walk by Lumen a bit.
"Y'know, there's a story that got passed 'round in Twilight Tor for a bit. It's 'bout a poor man who once found a magic goblet. The goblet, see, was magic, 'cause if ya filled it with tears, them tears would turn into proper gemstones. But before he found that goblet, that lil' fellow was a happy guy despite bein' poor. He had a big sister who loved him, see? So 'twas hard for 'im to make tears to fill up that cup with. Still, the lure of gettin' more gems was so great, he found ways to make 'imself sad in order to become rich. An' as his tears piled up in that cup, so did his need for ev'n more gems. In the end, that man ended up sittin' on a mountain o' gems made from his tears, with a bloody knife in his hand, sittin' on the slain body o' his beloved sister."
She eyes Krackle as she finishes her tale, waiting to see what the little kobold does.
Vesper also pays attention to Krackle's reaction, to see if a personal theory of hers is correct.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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The party bard listens the the stories about the Duin and Chrys' family. "I'm glad you decided to travel. And Kess, well, I swear I've met her before. Someone that looked like her threw me out of a tavern I was performing at a long time ago. Proprietor and I didn't share an artistic vision. Anyhow, it's obviously not her. Maybe I just had a vivid nightmare. Could make for a good song. Also, that's a very good memory about the pool. We'll have to figure out what we're doing. Bringing Harriet to Silverymoon, coming back here to finish off the fiend in the pool, going back to Yartar to get our payment, or going to find the other pool."
Lumen's not very aware of the kobold's reaction to the requests for the mask and continues ferrying him along on his shoulders. "More coins? Maybe so, we'll have to talk about that. Don't forget about the gold you owe Vesper for her loan. Nothing better than a settled debt."
When Kess has her reaction, Lumen nods slowly. "...Okay, sorry about that. Might have mistaken you for someone else."
Eventually, when they're past the log bridge and closer to town, he pulls out his lute and begins strumming on it, playing a bit of a fanfare, and singing some bars of a new song he's been working on, about contests, about travels, of mosquitos and unfriendly towns, of friendly gnomes and sleepy bugbears and ominous caves that are not caves, of too many goblins, deeply terrifying statues, hidden cubbies, and the undead, of barbarian torture rodeos, of masked villains, of treasure and fiendish pools, of tough noble dwarves, helpful if deeply concerning kobols, knowledgeable, efficient, yet forgetful elves, quiet, compassionate, and skilled humans, of triumphs and partial triumphs, of mysteries solved and more mysteries found. Of.... pies. Yes he even sings of pies. It still needs work and it's unfinished, but it sticks in your head.
Kess
You now realize that it was him. Your memory is suddenly jogged... it all comes back... that night at the tavern in Triboar, when you had to throw out an inebriated and unruly half orc bard, whose style and reckless energy was too much for the crowd and who refused to settle down. That’s why Lumen seems so familiar... he was that very same half orc, even if he’s not admitting it right now... you are positive.
Krackle would listen to the dwarf from behind the obsidian mask, his facial expressions hidden from Chrys... "That isn't a very good story... " he would say as his feet dangle from the half orc... "couldn't he make someone else cry into the cup? Like.. poke them in the eye or something? Then he could have kept his sister and the gems!" The kobold would say almost excitedly. "Then He could buy lots of things and not be sad!" He would add as he rubs the chin of the obsidian mask as though he were trying to figure out a way to find this magical cup.."If I had a cup like that, I could pay Vesper back in gems! We should find that cup!" The kobold would reply getting excited now, standing up as his tiny clawed feet bite into Lumens shoulder.
"You missed the point of the story. The point of it was that greed causes people to get hurt."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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"Ow, Krackle, watch your feet," Lumen says, slinging his lute behind him. He reaches up to start to gently detach the kobold from his shoulders, and also reaches for the mask, remembering his earlier concerns about the mask maybe being cursed, and knowing he'd cut the straps to take it off Frida.
"I think it'd be good if we take turns with the mask. Frida had it and she ended up running a goblin cultist crime ring. Let's take it easy. We're sharing what's in the lockbox, we should also share the benefits, or the burden, of that mask."
Vesper sends a Message to Lumen. Put the mask in the bag. I'm not so certain that the mask didn't influence Frida somehow. I want Dundragon to examine it before we do anything.
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
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"I agree with Vesper. Who knows what foul sorcery was worked upon that mask?" Kessdarra shrugs sheepishly at Vesper. "Um... no offense."
If Lumen would notice it, there was a sudden glint of recognition now whenever the lady elf glanced in his direction. Kess' pace has also noticeably increased, and she suddenly seems a bit uneasy.
Unbelievable. I can't believe it. He's the same... the same... goosey drunk! The same one that tried to serenade me with that off-key rendition of an old sonnet from Silverymoon and made comments about my figure! Well now... he's actually a nice man and a talent, when he's calm and he isn't in a drunken stupor. Who would have thought I'd run into him again...?
"Kid, why don't ya take the mask off. It's turnin' ya into something ugly. Can ya even hear yourself? Ya wanted to help people before we got into that there temple, an' now ya want ta poke people in the eye. Whatever's gotten into ya, it's comin' from that mask, an' I don't like it. I thought ye were different from other kobolds, 'specially 'cause Silver saw somethin' special in ya. I don't think he'd be happy to hear his brother talkin' bout wantin' to blind other people for money on account o' a cursed goblet." She sighs. "An' it's the world's biggest lie that money can buy ya happiness. What money can buy ya is comfort. There's a real big difference 'tween bein' comfortable, and bein' happy. I hope ya won't have to learn that the hard way. Now. Give the mask to Lumen, or we ain't goin' a step further. I ain't brinin' a curse into a town that's still reelin' from recoverin' from the last one."
"No, the mask is mine!" Krackle would shout as he clutches on to the mask and holds it tightly to his small snout. "Silver was a meanie that left us. Don't be a meanie and take my mask!" He would plead as he practically hangs from the mask if someone tries to pull it from this thin tiny fingers
Athletics to hold on to the mask! 0
And that was all Vesper needed to know that he shouldn't have the mask.
Athletics to snatch it: 13
Despite not being that much of a weightlifter, Vesper snatches it from Krackle and puts it in her pack. "This mask is no good. We have to get this to Master Dundragon."
Xenophon: Topaz Dragonborn Fighter (ixi's Dragon of Icespire Peak)
More