Well, you must have gathered Del says We just thwarted one part of the plan. They were harvesting roots... Del fills in whatever Tagrec did not know But now the restoration druids are a little less clueless.

There is dissention in the hag ranks. A letter from Greyelf using threats to make that first coven we destroyed do their errand. We faced only two this time, someone from their HQ was demanding they get a third on their own, while their ex-partner was refusing to join, citing some scam or another in the fens

Red Sails, out of my home town, was in their shipping supply chain. Maybe it was just hired to move stuff, but you'll recall before, this Captain Akwot has suspiciously good luck avoiding losses from gnoll raids. So there is probably a deeper connection. You might want to short their stock, invest in a competitor, something like that - their business is about to be disrupted.

Not sure if you can monetize this, but the Naica kid was briefly 'king' of the Fool's Court. He was trying to get the fools more entangled in the pixiewood trade and such. We run him off, but he is at large.

Tagec looks interested.  "Good to know.  So, who's running the fools now?"

Eggric points at Quentin and says. a little jealously, "He is.  Eggric was THIS CLOSE to being king of the fools."

"Eh, is that so?" Tagec looks at Quentin with interest. "That could be useful, but I must say it's not a qualification that is likely to help your bid to join the royal family of Lomalos. Don't worry, Eggric, you will always be a king of fools in my eyes."

"Okay, I promised you more, and it sounds like you are interested in Red Sails.  They say that Captain Akwot has connections among the pirates of the western coast, and that the pirates were responsible for killing the bronze dragon that used to guard the river mouth. It may be purely coincidental that Akwot beefed up his security with ogres at the time, or possible that he was afraid of pirates raiding his warehouses.  But things have changed at the Red Sails buildings. I'm told that all the workers have been replaced.  The dock workers only load to and unload from the dock. Nobody goes inside any more but the ogres. Anything else you have to share?"

"I know something!" pipes up a tiny pixie child who managed to sneak in on Mindartis's shoulder, zipping into the air.  "There are gnolls in the north forest and they are fighting against a giant tree! The tree is fighting back, and some of the locals are helping it."  She lands on Mindartis's shoulder again and gives his ear an affectionate kiss, whispering, "I still think YOU are the greatest fool of them all."

"A giant tree?  Well, that's new," Tagec says. "I wonder if they're looking for a replacement for their Pixie Tree source?  Though I can't imagine any other tree being as...magical. By the way, I heard that there's a squad of hill giants heading north from the Bolgen Hills. Your hags may have found new allies. Tough luck on the tree defenders.  Anyway, time for me to be moving on.  It's not healthy to stay in one spot for too long, people catch up.  I usually don't give anyone a forwarding address, but...well, never mind, maybe we'll meet again. You can always contact me through the network.  Any other little thing I can help you with before you go on your way?"

Checking with Raven by Message Is it worth using Tagrec to move some of our merchandise? We have a few bits of jewelry  and hag mementos, not sure if we care about getting top coin. Probably we oughta gift him the knitting basket, professional courtesy and all

"Don't see why not."  Raven agrees by return message.

"How many gnolls are there?" Mindartis asks, curious.

Maybe there is other business we can do Del says, getting M to hang and open the tapestry if Tagrec is interested First, I think you should have this he says, producing the hag's knitting basket You can think of it as touching or funny, whichever. But there are some items you might be able to profit from while helping us. Jewelry, hag souvenirs that might have a niche market, and so on

((list is in the shared doc, but since no one objected, we gave the gnoll lord gear to Eggric already))

The pixie child shrugs at Mindartis's question and says, "Lots."

Tagec accepts the basket graciously.  "Thank you. If I ever return to the one-legged sock business, this should be very useful.  I'm not really in the business of moving merchandise, but I have connections.  I'll take care of your swag as a personal favor, in earnest of our continued future business relationship.  And the profit margin should be decent, since it's not even stolen."

(List all items that you are handing over to Tagec for resale, please.)

Quentin holds himself back from commenting about the bid part. Always hating it as it makes him sound like he’s only interested in the title. However he does tell Eggric, “You can challenge me for Kingship whenever you wish.” 

Items:

1 Bracelet of Carved Jade Skulls @50gp

matching moonstone rings 2@150 gp; diamond ring 100gp

mithral chain shirt (this might be above his scale - we keep if he cannot pull the coin, no hard feelings)

Statue of illithid, crystal ball on base, 3 carved hyena skulls, bone dagger (these might have no value, we can keep if there is no market. Or maybe they are clues?)

Eggric's eyes light up.  "How about now? Spitting contest?  Arm wrestling?  Booger shooting?"

Tagec smacks him on the back of the head. "You already have a job, Eggric." 

The pixie child adds, "Anyway, we'd have to get a bunch of the fools back together.  There has to be an audience for it to count. I mean, there's some of us here, but if they missed the show, the rest of them would be cranky and maybe not believe us."

Eggric sighs. "Okay, Eggric will wait. But your days are numbered, King Quentin, okay?"

"The hyena skulls look like they only had...sentimental value," says Tagec.  "The words carved in the foreheads are, basically, Fido, Ripper and Spot.  But I can flip the rest for you. Wait here."  He disappears into the hatch in the floor, and after a while, reappears with a sack of coins.  "This should cover it, I assume?" (There are about 2000 in gold in the sack.)

Mindartis smiles at the young pixie, "And what's your name little one?"

After a quick look around (and assuming no objection) Del answers Fair enough for a day's work, as they say. Always a pleasure doing business, and I appreciate the information and the tales. A good story line you know, always appeals to the bardic sort. If you have a specific line of inquiry, I don't mind keeping an ear out.

All get 400 gp more. We can get errands done, Q can banter with the goblin, M with the pixie, etc; any major actions before heading to the Hall? I guess Del might like to do some banking - an account would make donations and transfers easier, if there is a branch of the bank that serves Free and Slate cities

"Will see you again I am sure."  Raven tells her once-upon-a-time mentor, then moves off with the others. She stows her part of the gold and then nods to Del.  "Back to the hall then?" She asks/confirms.

The pixie says, "I'm Flitterbug. You smell like the Feywild. Are you from there?  They tell me you are Eladrin, and I've never seen one before."

Tagec answers Del, "Any information is welcome, and I am willing to pay for it...in return information, or in coin, or in labor. It's a profitable business, but keeps you traveling...and makes enemies. If you happen to come across Feegle and he's alive, tell him to contact me."

(You are free to do errands, you still have most of the day ahead of you.  There is not a widespread banking system covering the Westwoods. Most banks are specific to their particular court or kingdom.  But if you find a merchant who has businesses in both locations, you could arrange for a Bill of Exchange.  Oopsie.)

Mindartis nods and smiles, "Yes I am, spent most of my life until recently there.. Good to meet you Flitterbug. I'm Mindartis, but you probably knew that already."

"Yep," she says. "When I am as big as you, I'll be a gnoll fighter, too, and when they see me coming, they will RUN AWAY faster than anything." Looking at Quentin, she whispers, "So, what should we call the new king?  The last one was the super...something wizzy lord. But he was boring."

"Well he's a Wizard too," Mindartis whispers back, "a bit snobbish. Fantastic dancer... hmm..." he starts thinking.

Raven takes time to write a letter to her father.  (Will PM you with that when I actually get a chance to write it in RL...)  She would then take some down time, unless we are preparing to do something, then she'll stay with the others.  If just running errands though, she will take some time to herself and relax in a bath or something.

Quote from Astalda >>

((There is a banking system in Talaveroth, and money left in one branch can be withdrawn at another, thanks to magical communications and security. However, you will only find large branches of the bank in large cities in the Westwoods.  Prosperous farming communities may have a bank as well, but are unlikely to be able to deal with very large sums (such as over 1000gp.) Non-cash items stored with a bank incur a small fee, but can't be deposited in one branch and picked up at another.))

(( from post 1184; Del used it before for donating to the Abbey. Not to be a nudge, but....))