Waiting for everyone to arrive, Oden asks Piotr if he'd be willing to buy the Sahuagin jewelry he collected, then he spends some time looking through the souvenirs section.
Gilbrid looks confused by The Champion's pacifism [you can re-roll the persuasion check, as your actions have given advantage].
Whether Gilbrid swings at The Champion again will depend on that re-roll, but right at the moment he has the greataxe raised to swing. One of the (many) local Zhelezo guards sees Gilbrid attacking someone who does not seem to be defending themselves and starts rushing over, though she will not make it this turn.
Oden, Piotr has a quick look at the headdress, necklace and bracelet and says "Well they are certainly interesting and well made. I think we could definitely find a buyer if they have an interesting story behind them." Assuming Oden explains their origin, Piotr agrees to purchase them for 95 gp [if you want to RP the explanation, I'll allow a persuasion check (with advantage if the sales pitch is good enough) to sell them for more].
With a 14 investigation, the most interesting thing Oden finds is (1) A mummified goblin hand for 7 gp. There are also lots of "I visited Brokenbank and all I got was..." type souvenirs, plates with "Brokenbank, gate to Exandria" and pendants with Brokenbank written on them etc.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Oden frowns and the bands on his cheeks go dark at the idea of haggling over the trinkets of those Sahuagin killers, let alone giving them a story that sells. Then, he closes his eyes as he realises this is not about his pride anymore, and these are not his spoils alone, but the group's.
"They have a story, alright... the bracelet belonged to one of the Sahuagin who attacked Flora Isle, but was hunted down by a vengeful group of survivors. The headdress and necklace, well... They belonged to the Sahuagin leader, a witch of the depths with the powers to sink ships and drag entire islands to the bottom of the trench. The same vengeful group brought her down, too, and all that amazing power... lost! Unless it lies dormant in the very artifacts she was wearing, waiting for the next champion to wield them, or the next victim to infect.
You'll probably find people who saw the Sahuagin leader wearing these, you would have seen her, too, we're you not trapped in the inn waiting to be saved by the same aforementioned vengeful group. Now, give me a good price and treat me to something sweet then some water and salt, I have a bad taste in my mouth."
Piotr looks impressed by the story but also concerned by your distaste and says "You do not seem happy about selling these items and I think I understand why. The well-deserved antipathy you have for sahuagin is common with people along the coast and I'm guessing that maybe you do not want to give value to the craft of these vile creatures? I tend to agree and knowing that they have been produced by sea-devils in my mind reduces the value of them as just decorative pieces, despite how well crafted they are. I think - if you and your group are willing and Bryn agrees - that we could sell the items as a celebration of your victory over the sahuagin who sank Flora Isle instead. If you are all willing for us to journal the battles you fought against the sahuagin and for you to all sign a plaque to go with the items, I think we could find a collector who would pay a fair amount of coin for these as a set. I would think with these framed as collectors items celebrating the victories of the Heroes of the Isle, we might be able to pay 200 gold. Does that sound fair and put you more at ease?"
Piotr looks impressed by the story but also concerned by your distaste and says "You do not seem happy about selling these items and I think I understand why. The well-deserved antipathy you have for sahuagin is common with people along the coast and I'm guessing that maybe you do not want to give value to the craft of these vile creatures? I tend to agree and knowing that they have been produced by sea-devils in my mind reduces the value of them as just decorative pieces, despite how well crafted they are. I think - if you and your group are willing and Bryn agrees - that we could sell the items as a celebration of your victory over the sahuagin who sank Flora Isle instead. If you are all willing for us to journal the battles you fought against the sahuagin and for you to all sign a plaque to go with the items, I think we could find a collector who would pay a fair amount of coin for these as a set. I would think with these framed as collectors items celebrating the victories of the Heroes of the Isle, we might be able to pay 200 gold. Does that sound fair and put you more at ease?"
That does put Oden at ease, and he says: "Yes, a trophy of the hunt. I like that, and if everyone agrees, we have a deal. Huh, it makes me wish I pulled the devil's teeth out, too."
"On the subject of trophies, what can you tell me about this piece?", he asks, showing the mummified goblin hand. "The true story if you will, not the sales pitch. If it helps, consider it bought."he adds, bringing up his coin pouch.
[I misread Oden's 12 as a 17, but I'm OK with keeping the outcome. The Prawn's Pawn can probably offload the 'Heroes of the Isle collectors items' for a profit to some fanboy/fangirl.]
Oden: Piotr responds "Well, there is a fascinating story about that... dried out old hand? Yuck! That story is that some sailor or traveller obviously fooled Osian into buying it. We do have a lot of 'interesting' items that Osian is convinced to buy or trade. Fortunately there are almost as many customers who are willing to buy those items from us later with a decent mark up, hence Bryn and I not putting a stop to his impulse purchases. If you ask Osian, he might have more of a story about that gross looking hand, though I'd take whatever he tells you with a grain of sea-salt."
The Champion: Gilbrid hesitates and doesn't swing down on your kneeling form, but he does not back down either and instead yells down at you "GET UP YOU COWARD. I'M WARNING YOU, YOU NEED TO FIGHT OR RUN OR I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU KNEEL!"
Then there is a crash. One moment Gilbrid is standing over you, the next he is sprawled out on the ground, the greataxe flying from his grip, as the Zhelezo guard tackles him to the ground. The ruckus has caused Hektor to return to the back of his workshop hesitantly while the other worker tentatively approaches the front of Hektor's Hammer. The Champion, you are up.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
The Champion: Hektor's interest in what you are saying is piqued and he moves closer.
Zhelezo guard's athletics: 16
After rugby-tackling Gilbrid the Zhelezo guard is starting to crawl off him and reach for her manacles when you move towards them and reach out. She grabs your outstretched hand and clamps one end of the manacle to your hand and the other to Gilbrid's ankle and growls "BOTH OF YOU STOP,NOW!!! Sit, wait and we will sort this out!"
You hear more Zhelezo approaching and one of them calls out "Renzir, what is the comotion?".
Renzir (the Zhelezo who manacled you) calls back "I saw this oaf (pointing to Gilbrid) swinging an axe on this dingbat (pointing at you) as he was kneeling and praying or something... then this dingbat (pointing at you) grabbed at me after I saved his life."
She then asks Gilbird and you "Alright you two, start talking! What the crap is going on?"
“I accidentally blackmailed this shopkeeper for goods at the behest of a pirate and I was trying to come back to make it right, but this man here seemed to think I was trying to come and threaten him again, so he started to get all worked up - understandably- and then the guard heard the commotion and came to intercede in what he believed was an attempted murder - understandably - but it wasn’t so I tried to break it up before it was a fight and someone got hurt, and then he manacled me because he thought I was trying to assault him... understandably. But this is all just - one - big - misunderstanding.”
[I misread Oden's 12 as a 17, but I'm OK with keeping the outcome. The Prawn's Pawn can probably offload the 'Heroes of the Isle collectors items' for a profit to some fanboy/fangirl.]
Piotr responds "Well, there is a fascinating story about that... dried out old hand? Yuck! That story is that some sailor or traveller obviously fooled Osian into buying it. We do have a lot of 'interesting' items that Osian is convinced to buy or trade. Fortunately there are almost as many customers who are willing to buy those items from us later with a decent mark up, hence Bryn and I not putting a stop to his impulse purchases. If you ask Osian, he might have more of a story about that gross looking hand, though I'd take whatever he tells you with a grain of sea-salt."
"I'll try to separate truth from tale, then.", Oden says smiling. "Totally unrelated, but do you know if there's a shrine to Deep Sashelas on this island?"
Oden: You would already know that Deep Sashelas is only worshipped by sea elves and is considered myth by land-dwellers. Even other intelligent sea-dwelling creatures do not worship him and instead have their own sea-gods or worship the gods of the land-dwellers. Deep Sashelas is neither a Prime Deity or Betrayer God and does not fit well into the land-dwellers' stories about The Founding, The Age of Arcanum and The Calamity.
Even in the deep sea most "worship" of Deep Sashelas is done by haphazardly organised celebration, during which friends and kin tell of stories about the Dolphin Prince, including tales about how he had created the sea elves and about how he has aided those in need over the years. From these stories you know that usually Deep Sashelas would not appear directly to assist worshippers, instead providing more subtle help (appearing as a twinkle of light that when followed led to safety, appearing as a natural occurrence (such as air bubbles escaping from a sea-bed vent) that alerted people to an incoming threat, assisting by redirecting a giant turtle or other sea creature towards attacking sahuagin and similar). Given this, you understand why most land-dwellers consider Deep Sashelas to be a myth as this 'help' could be put down to coincidence, but even before he directly contacted you, you knew with the core of your being that he existed. [This feeling of connection to Deep Seshelas is common to all sea elves, it is not just an Oden thing.] This connection is also what makes you (and your people) aware that Deep Sashelas does not wish to expand his influence and that he does not require shrines or churches, even in the sea.
Osian is just finishing a sale and is at one of the counters.
Osian fully believes everything that he tells you and does not further embelish what he was told just to make a sale.
He says that an elf of strange appearance sold him the item and excitedly says "He told me the wondrous origins of the hand, that it once belonged to a powerful goblin shaman who lived ON THE BACK OF A GIANT TURTLE in a mind-boggling place called Asarius... IN XHORHUS!!! The goblin shaman had their hand cut off many years before BY A MINOTAUR for breaking some law, but had been made to keep the hand as a reminder of what had happened. The elf apparently won the hand in a game of cards and had been using it TO PLAY PRACTICAL JOKES!!!" he lets this comment sit for a bit. He then continues "It doesn't have any magic or anything, but I thought it was worth a few gold... I mean 7 gold [with your perception and knowledge of the shop (and business in general) you know that there is a markup] and he needed money to complete his journey to Rumblecusp for something he called 'TravelerCon' which he tried to convince me to come to."
"Huh... Yeah, it's a steal, really! Thanks!" Oden sits somewhere with the hand, thinking of his first practical joke with it, but his mind soon wanders to his contact with the Dolphin Prince. He focuses on that memory, trying to feel if this plane touches another somewhere nearby. (Detect Portal)
[Just in case you missed it, The Champion replied to the guards]
The Champion: Most the Zhelezo guards look stunned and confused, though Renzir does not seem as fazed and she says "right, you [pointing at Hektor], follow me and these two oafs to the guardhouse. You [she points at The Champion] do you have anybody that can back up your story about being tricked into "accidentally" blackmailing Hektor, or someone local that can vouch for you? If so we can fetch them. We want to get all sides of the story before deciding what to do next."
Hektor starts chiming in "I was told not to worry about the helmets anyway by..." but is cut off by Renzir, who says "save it for the guardhouse when we can do this formally."
[I'm going to need to check map scale to see what pings for Oden's Detect Portal.]
Oden: You do not detect any 'planar portal' within 1 mile, but you do feel the connection between the helmets and a place of constant wind, as well as a connection between Reguh's cloak and The Elemental Plane of Water.
Waiting for everyone to arrive, Oden asks Piotr if he'd be willing to buy the Sahuagin jewelry he collected, then he spends some time looking through the souvenirs section.
Investigation: 14
Gilbrid looks confused by The Champion's pacifism [you can re-roll the persuasion check, as your actions have given advantage].
Whether Gilbrid swings at The Champion again will depend on that re-roll, but right at the moment he has the greataxe raised to swing. One of the (many) local Zhelezo guards sees Gilbrid attacking someone who does not seem to be defending themselves and starts rushing over, though she will not make it this turn.
Oden, Piotr has a quick look at the headdress, necklace and bracelet and says "Well they are certainly interesting and well made. I think we could definitely find a buyer if they have an interesting story behind them." Assuming Oden explains their origin, Piotr agrees to purchase them for 95 gp [if you want to RP the explanation, I'll allow a persuasion check (with advantage if the sales pitch is good enough) to sell them for more].
With a 14 investigation, the most interesting thing Oden finds is (1) A mummified goblin hand for 7 gp. There are also lots of "I visited Brokenbank and all I got was..." type souvenirs, plates with "Brokenbank, gate to Exandria" and pendants with Brokenbank written on them etc.
Oden frowns and the bands on his cheeks go dark at the idea of haggling over the trinkets of those Sahuagin killers, let alone giving them a story that sells. Then, he closes his eyes as he realises this is not about his pride anymore, and these are not his spoils alone, but the group's.
"They have a story, alright... the bracelet belonged to one of the Sahuagin who attacked Flora Isle, but was hunted down by a vengeful group of survivors. The headdress and necklace, well... They belonged to the Sahuagin leader, a witch of the depths with the powers to sink ships and drag entire islands to the bottom of the trench. The same vengeful group brought her down, too, and all that amazing power... lost! Unless it lies dormant in the very artifacts she was wearing, waiting for the next champion to wield them, or the next victim to infect.
You'll probably find people who saw the Sahuagin leader wearing these, you would have seen her, too, we're you not trapped in the inn waiting to be saved by the same aforementioned vengeful group. Now, give me a good price and treat me to something sweet then some water and salt, I have a bad taste in my mouth."
Persuasion: 12 14 (where's my bard?)
Piotr looks impressed by the story but also concerned by your distaste and says "You do not seem happy about selling these items and I think I understand why. The well-deserved antipathy you have for sahuagin is common with people along the coast and I'm guessing that maybe you do not want to give value to the craft of these vile creatures? I tend to agree and knowing that they have been produced by sea-devils in my mind reduces the value of them as just decorative pieces, despite how well crafted they are. I think - if you and your group are willing and Bryn agrees - that we could sell the items as a celebration of your victory over the sahuagin who sank Flora Isle instead. If you are all willing for us to journal the battles you fought against the sahuagin and for you to all sign a plaque to go with the items, I think we could find a collector who would pay a fair amount of coin for these as a set. I would think with these framed as collectors items celebrating the victories of the Heroes of the Isle, we might be able to pay 200 gold. Does that sound fair and put you more at ease?"
That does put Oden at ease, and he says: "Yes, a trophy of the hunt. I like that, and if everyone agrees, we have a deal. Huh, it makes me wish I pulled the devil's teeth out, too."
"On the subject of trophies, what can you tell me about this piece?", he asks, showing the mummified goblin hand. "The true story if you will, not the sales pitch. If it helps, consider it bought." he adds, bringing up his coin pouch.
The Champion’s follow up persuasion check 14
Paladin - warforged - orange
[I misread Oden's 12 as a 17, but I'm OK with keeping the outcome. The Prawn's Pawn can probably offload the 'Heroes of the Isle collectors items' for a profit to some fanboy/fangirl.]
Oden: Piotr responds "Well, there is a fascinating story about that... dried out old hand? Yuck! That story is that some sailor or traveller obviously fooled Osian into buying it. We do have a lot of 'interesting' items that Osian is convinced to buy or trade. Fortunately there are almost as many customers who are willing to buy those items from us later with a decent mark up, hence Bryn and I not putting a stop to his impulse purchases. If you ask Osian, he might have more of a story about that gross looking hand, though I'd take whatever he tells you with a grain of sea-salt."
The Champion: Gilbrid hesitates and doesn't swing down on your kneeling form, but he does not back down either and instead yells down at you "GET UP YOU COWARD. I'M WARNING YOU, YOU NEED TO FIGHT OR RUN OR I WILL KILL YOU WHERE YOU KNEEL!"
Then there is a crash. One moment Gilbrid is standing over you, the next he is sprawled out on the ground, the greataxe flying from his grip, as the Zhelezo guard tackles him to the ground. The ruckus has caused Hektor to return to the back of his workshop hesitantly while the other worker tentatively approaches the front of Hektor's Hammer. The Champion, you are up.
“Everyone, please! I’m not here to cause trouble, I’m trying to tell you you’ve got one less pirate preying on you.”
The Champion tries to peel the guard and the man apart, just to keep them from hurting each other.
persuasion 14 adv/dis 7 enhance ability still going
athletics 15
Paladin - warforged - orange
The Champion: Hektor's interest in what you are saying is piqued and he moves closer.
Zhelezo guard's athletics: 16
After rugby-tackling Gilbrid the Zhelezo guard is starting to crawl off him and reach for her manacles when you move towards them and reach out. She grabs your outstretched hand and clamps one end of the manacle to your hand and the other to Gilbrid's ankle and growls "BOTH OF YOU STOP, NOW!!! Sit, wait and we will sort this out!"
You hear more Zhelezo approaching and one of them calls out "Renzir, what is the comotion?".
Renzir (the Zhelezo who manacled you) calls back "I saw this oaf (pointing to Gilbrid) swinging an axe on this dingbat (pointing at you) as he was kneeling and praying or something... then this dingbat (pointing at you) grabbed at me after I saved his life."
She then asks Gilbird and you "Alright you two, start talking! What the crap is going on?"
“I accidentally blackmailed this shopkeeper for goods at the behest of a pirate and I was trying to come back to make it right, but this man here seemed to think I was trying to come and threaten him again, so he started to get all worked up - understandably- and then the guard heard the commotion and came to intercede in what he believed was an attempted murder - understandably - but it wasn’t so I tried to break it up before it was a fight and someone got hurt, and then he manacled me because he thought I was trying to assault him... understandably. But this is all just - one - big - misunderstanding.”
The Champion has never looked more sheepish.
Paladin - warforged - orange
[I was wondering about the low DC :D ]
"I'll try to separate truth from tale, then.", Oden says smiling.
"Totally unrelated, but do you know if there's a shrine to Deep Sashelas on this island?"[Is Osian around?]
Oden: You would already know that Deep Sashelas is only worshipped by sea elves and is considered myth by land-dwellers. Even other intelligent sea-dwelling creatures do not worship him and instead have their own sea-gods or worship the gods of the land-dwellers. Deep Sashelas is neither a Prime Deity or Betrayer God and does not fit well into the land-dwellers' stories about The Founding, The Age of Arcanum and The Calamity.
Even in the deep sea most "worship" of Deep Sashelas is done by haphazardly organised celebration, during which friends and kin tell of stories about the Dolphin Prince, including tales about how he had created the sea elves and about how he has aided those in need over the years. From these stories you know that usually Deep Sashelas would not appear directly to assist worshippers, instead providing more subtle help (appearing as a twinkle of light that when followed led to safety, appearing as a natural occurrence (such as air bubbles escaping from a sea-bed vent) that alerted people to an incoming threat, assisting by redirecting a giant turtle or other sea creature towards attacking sahuagin and similar). Given this, you understand why most land-dwellers consider Deep Sashelas to be a myth as this 'help' could be put down to coincidence, but even before he directly contacted you, you knew with the core of your being that he existed. [This feeling of connection to Deep Seshelas is common to all sea elves, it is not just an Oden thing.] This connection is also what makes you (and your people) aware that Deep Sashelas does not wish to expand his influence and that he does not require shrines or churches, even in the sea.
Osian is just finishing a sale and is at one of the counters.
Oden goes over to ask Osian about the hand. "No spicing please, just the bare story." He pays for the hand while Osian tells his tale.
Osian relays the tale that he was told when he bought the goblin hand. I'll get you to roll an insight check.
Insight: 17
Osian fully believes everything that he tells you and does not further embelish what he was told just to make a sale.
He says that an elf of strange appearance sold him the item and excitedly says "He told me the wondrous origins of the hand, that it once belonged to a powerful goblin shaman who lived ON THE BACK OF A GIANT TURTLE in a mind-boggling place called Asarius... IN XHORHUS!!! The goblin shaman had their hand cut off many years before BY A MINOTAUR for breaking some law, but had been made to keep the hand as a reminder of what had happened. The elf apparently won the hand in a game of cards and had been using it TO PLAY PRACTICAL JOKES!!!" he lets this comment sit for a bit. He then continues "It doesn't have any magic or anything, but I thought it was worth a few gold... I mean 7 gold [with your perception and knowledge of the shop (and business in general) you know that there is a markup] and he needed money to complete his journey to Rumblecusp for something he called 'TravelerCon' which he tried to convince me to come to."
"Huh... Yeah, it's a steal, really! Thanks!" Oden sits somewhere with the hand, thinking of his first practical joke with it, but his mind soon wanders to his contact with the Dolphin Prince. He focuses on that memory, trying to feel if this plane touches another somewhere nearby. (Detect Portal)
[Just in case you missed it, The Champion replied to the guards]
[Oops, yes, missed it.]
The Champion: Most the Zhelezo guards look stunned and confused, though Renzir does not seem as fazed and she says "right, you [pointing at Hektor], follow me and these two oafs to the guardhouse. You [she points at The Champion] do you have anybody that can back up your story about being tricked into "accidentally" blackmailing Hektor, or someone local that can vouch for you? If so we can fetch them. We want to get all sides of the story before deciding what to do next."
Hektor starts chiming in "I was told not to worry about the helmets anyway by..." but is cut off by Renzir, who says "save it for the guardhouse when we can do this formally."
[I'm going to need to check map scale to see what pings for Oden's Detect Portal.]
Oden: You do not detect any 'planar portal' within 1 mile, but you do feel the connection between the helmets and a place of constant wind, as well as a connection between Reguh's cloak and The Elemental Plane of Water.
Surprised to feel another 'place' for the first time, Fingolin makes a mental note to try this regularly on their travels.