I'm afraid I don't see a way to sign up to this [...] binding sounds dangerous and... a strange thing to suggest.
Bryn responds to Oden and Kenton's concerns "I definitely don't want any of you to feel pressured into accepting this. I value our relationship - I'd go as far as saying friendship with some of you - far too much for that. I am happy for you to return the helmets and I can offer the deal to other travelling adventurers, though I still hope the Prawn's Pawn will be your first stop when selling the treasures you find on your journeys. In regard to the contract, I am a business woman and these helmets and the wand were not cheap to manufacture and we need to make a profit from them. If the adventurers who take on our offer terminate the contract early, they would need to pay 200 gp for each month remaining of the 6 months and then return the helmets at the end of the six months. I would prefer you not enter into the contract if you are not going to at least try to explore at least two shipwrecks a month though, so it is not just me renting out four magical helmets and a wand for 200 gp a month, as that would take far too long to pay off the initial investment. The magical binding is... well, lets just say that I have some paper and a quill from Feywild, which makes a contract much harder to break. Given that I would be trusting an adventuring party with five magical items, just hoping they don't just run off with the items and just hoping they actually send back valuables they find in any wrecks they explore is not a reasonable business strategy, so a magical contract is required. I think the deal on offer is a fair one, but I would prefer you do not take it up if it is going to impact on our current relationship and just ask that you return the helmets."
Bryn says, "I don't want to cause conflict within your group either, how about you discuss it between yourselves and get back to me. Leave the helmets and I'll get Piotr to put them out the back for the moment. If you haven't decided whether you want to take up the offer before you need to depart Brokenbank, it will still be open next time you are back as long as no other group takes up the offer in the meantime."
Oden says: "That is fair. Why don't we visit Faendal to find out what his part in the contract is and then decide. We were going to visit him anyway. Whatever we decide, Bryn, I don't think I speak out of turn saying that we value your friendship and we know that you don't mean anything ill by setting those terms."
"And even if we don't like Faendal's agreement, it doesn't sound like we necessarily have to sign both of them," Beatrice says, beginning to turn to the door. "It would help to know what the magical binding involves though, and how lenient it is, in case we get stuck in a dungeon or something for a month."
I need not be a part of this, if you all agree,Kenton says quietly. You are the Heroes of the Isles, after all,he adds with an approving grin - but then grows more serious. I think Oden's suggestion is a fair one, and would be glad to have some time to think this over.
[I take it you are leaving the helmets and visiting Faendal at Dread, Wrath and Beyond (Yes, it is a cheesy name, but it suits my Dad-joke humour)? If not, let me know what you are all doing. If you are:]
You return to Dread, Wrath and Beyond and enter once again into the small waiting room with bench-seats. The same as last time, a single table sits in the middle of the room with some papers arranged neatly on it and some charcoal pencils stacked into a pyramid on top of the paper.
[For Kenton: There are no visible internal doors, though it is much bigger on the outside than it is on the inside, so you assume there is more to the shop.]
A small creature launches itself into the air from the bench-seats again. It flaps its leathery wings and holds up its hand up in the (fairly) universal wait symbol, in a firm but non-threatening way.
It flaps its way over to one corner of the room, waves its hand in what appears to be just a regular part of the wall and suddenly a mouth appears in the wall. There is a 5 second pause, after which a dry and formal sounding voice says "Welcome to my shop. I am busy doing something important. If you have an item you want identified leave it on the table and come..." the creature flaps half a meter along the wall, waves again, a mouth appears and the voice continues "...back in an hour. That will be 10 gold. If you are interested in buying one of my scrolls or items, mark your choice on..." the creature repeats the process with a third mouth appearing "...one of the order forms on the table and come back in an hour."
Kenton can roll Arcana checks if he wants to (the other two party members that have proficiency in Arcana did not pass), on DC15:
"Faendal?" Beatrice calls. "It's the Heroes of the Isle - Bryn said something about an agreement?"
She turns to the others. "I think we should hear them out, try and find out what is involved in the magical binding, and discuss it as a group - if more of us are uncomfortable with it than are comfortable with it, we'll decline, yeah?" she grins, eyes darting between each member of the group.
A few moments pass, as the winged creature hovers in the corner. You then hear a voice from a part of the room none of you were looking at, as Faendal appears, walking towards your group "You have reconsidered the salvage work then? I am very pleased." You have not heard this level of excitement in Faendal's voice before. He then looks around and asks "Where is Bryn with the contract?"
"We haven't agreed to it yet. We wanted to hear your terms, too, before deciding. Some of us are worried about the magical binding aspect of the contract, maybe you can explain exactly what it entails?"
Faendal looks very disappointed, says "Oh, I see" and the excitement and joy leaves his voice. He tells you "The binding nature of the contract you would need to discuss with Bryn. All I know about it is that she said that it is impossible for either party to willingly break the contract without great pain. My terms are simple and would be the same for you as they would be for any other adventurers that take up the job. I would ask that whoever takes up the salvage job keeps an eye out for my ship on their travels. It is not really a "wreck" like the ones that they would be searching for Bryn, as it has not sunk. It floats near the sea bed rather than on top of the water, as it did before I had to abandon it. I'd give the people taking on the salvage job a way of telling if my vessel was close by, which would also draw my vessel to them and allow them to board it easily and safely. It may take weeks or even months, as I am not sure where my vessel is currently located, but I know that it has not been breached since my... well, since I fled here. When they found my vessel I'd get them to recover some items from it for me and to send them back instantly with a wand I have created. I can be patient and I would ask that they wait until they can send my the items to me immediately before boarding my vessel. If they follow my instructions exactly, I would pay them 10,000 gold for their troubles. Possibly of more value, they would forever have my gratitude. If they follow my instructions to a T it will not be dangerous either... well no more so than exploring any other wreck or travelling the Lucidian Ocean would be anyway. I am unable to do it myself, for the same reasons that I have had to make my home here on Brokenbank, but I would be able to provide sufficient guidance to make the operation run smoothly if my instructions are followed. Now, if that is all, I will return to my work out the back. If you want to purchase anything, fill out the order forms. If you want anything identified, leave it on the table."
Faendal responds "I do not know of any way to remove a curse from an item only from a person, I suggest that if nobody has been cursed by the item that you simply dispose of it" and he keeps walking towards one of the walls, away from you all.
He stops, sighs, turns back and asks "if you are asking me to assist with the disposal of a cursed item I may be able to assist. Wait here for a moment." He then walks through the nearest wall.
A few minutes later you all hear his voice from a direction none of you are looking in (again), as appears and approaches the group "just let me get this chest ready, then bring the item to the table in the middle of the room."
He opens the chest and looks impatiently at The Champion.
Bryn responds to Oden and Kenton's concerns "I definitely don't want any of you to feel pressured into accepting this. I value our relationship - I'd go as far as saying friendship with some of you - far too much for that. I am happy for you to return the helmets and I can offer the deal to other travelling adventurers, though I still hope the Prawn's Pawn will be your first stop when selling the treasures you find on your journeys. In regard to the contract, I am a business woman and these helmets and the wand were not cheap to manufacture and we need to make a profit from them. If the adventurers who take on our offer terminate the contract early, they would need to pay 200 gp for each month remaining of the 6 months and then return the helmets at the end of the six months. I would prefer you not enter into the contract if you are not going to at least try to explore at least two shipwrecks a month though, so it is not just me renting out four magical helmets and a wand for 200 gp a month, as that would take far too long to pay off the initial investment. The magical binding is... well, lets just say that I have some paper and a quill from Feywild, which makes a contract much harder to break. Given that I would be trusting an adventuring party with five magical items, just hoping they don't just run off with the items and just hoping they actually send back valuables they find in any wrecks they explore is not a reasonable business strategy, so a magical contract is required. I think the deal on offer is a fair one, but I would prefer you do not take it up if it is going to impact on our current relationship and just ask that you return the helmets."
“I think it’s a fine deal. Bryn, if the others agree, I’d be more than happy to be the first to sign.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
Bryn says, "I don't want to cause conflict within your group either, how about you discuss it between yourselves and get back to me. Leave the helmets and I'll get Piotr to put them out the back for the moment. If you haven't decided whether you want to take up the offer before you need to depart Brokenbank, it will still be open next time you are back as long as no other group takes up the offer in the meantime."
Oden says: "That is fair. Why don't we visit Faendal to find out what his part in the contract is and then decide. We were going to visit him anyway. Whatever we decide, Bryn, I don't think I speak out of turn saying that we value your friendship and we know that you don't mean anything ill by setting those terms."
"And even if we don't like Faendal's agreement, it doesn't sound like we necessarily have to sign both of them," Beatrice says, beginning to turn to the door. "It would help to know what the magical binding involves though, and how lenient it is, in case we get stuck in a dungeon or something for a month."
"I am not sure of this contract. Magical binding is... dangerous..."
I need not be a part of this, if you all agree, Kenton says quietly. You are the Heroes of the Isles, after all, he adds with an approving grin - but then grows more serious. I think Oden's suggestion is a fair one, and would be glad to have some time to think this over.
Kenton follows Oden and Beatrice if they leave.
[I take it you are leaving the helmets and visiting Faendal at Dread, Wrath and Beyond (Yes, it is a cheesy name, but it suits my Dad-joke humour)? If not, let me know what you are all doing. If you are:]
You return to Dread, Wrath and Beyond and enter once again into the small waiting room with bench-seats. The same as last time, a single table sits in the middle of the room with some papers arranged neatly on it and some charcoal pencils stacked into a pyramid on top of the paper.
[For Kenton: There are no visible internal doors, though it is much bigger on the outside than it is on the inside, so you assume there is more to the shop.]
A small creature launches itself into the air from the bench-seats again. It flaps its leathery wings and holds up its hand up in the (fairly) universal wait symbol, in a firm but non-threatening way.
It flaps its way over to one corner of the room, waves its hand in what appears to be just a regular part of the wall and suddenly a mouth appears in the wall. There is a 5 second pause, after which a dry and formal sounding voice says "Welcome to my shop. I am busy doing something important. If you have an item you want identified leave it on the table and come..." the creature flaps half a meter along the wall, waves again, a mouth appears and the voice continues "...back in an hour. That will be 10 gold. If you are interested in buying one of my scrolls or items, mark your choice on..." the creature repeats the process with a third mouth appearing "...one of the order forms on the table and come back in an hour."
Kenton can roll Arcana checks if he wants to (the other two party members that have proficiency in Arcana did not pass), on DC15:
The creature is a homunculus, as per the Create Homunculus spell. The mouths are from the Magic Mouth spell. These suggest that the person that owns this shop is a very powerful arcane magic user.
This is what the order forms indicate the shop has in stock. Items 100gp or less and scrolls 400gp or less have a 'qty' box next to them on the order forms suggesting there may be multiples of those items and scrolls.
Kenton's Arcana 24
Remarkable, Kenton says. It's been some time since I saw such a creature.
Once again, Kenton will take a back seat as the others know these people much better than he.
"Faendal?" Beatrice calls. "It's the Heroes of the Isle - Bryn said something about an agreement?"
She turns to the others. "I think we should hear them out, try and find out what is involved in the magical binding, and discuss it as a group - if more of us are uncomfortable with it than are comfortable with it, we'll decline, yeah?" she grins, eyes darting between each member of the group.
A few moments pass, as the winged creature hovers in the corner. You then hear a voice from a part of the room none of you were looking at, as Faendal appears, walking towards your group "You have reconsidered the salvage work then? I am very pleased." You have not heard this level of excitement in Faendal's voice before. He then looks around and asks "Where is Bryn with the contract?"
"We haven't agreed to it yet. We wanted to hear your terms, too, before deciding. Some of us are worried about the magical binding aspect of the contract, maybe you can explain exactly what it entails?"
Faendal looks very disappointed, says "Oh, I see" and the excitement and joy leaves his voice. He tells you "The binding nature of the contract you would need to discuss with Bryn. All I know about it is that she said that it is impossible for either party to willingly break the contract without great pain. My terms are simple and would be the same for you as they would be for any other adventurers that take up the job. I would ask that whoever takes up the salvage job keeps an eye out for my ship on their travels. It is not really a "wreck" like the ones that they would be searching for Bryn, as it has not sunk. It floats near the sea bed rather than on top of the water, as it did before I had to abandon it. I'd give the people taking on the salvage job a way of telling if my vessel was close by, which would also draw my vessel to them and allow them to board it easily and safely. It may take weeks or even months, as I am not sure where my vessel is currently located, but I know that it has not been breached since my... well, since I fled here. When they found my vessel I'd get them to recover some items from it for me and to send them back instantly with a wand I have created. I can be patient and I would ask that they wait until they can send my the items to me immediately before boarding my vessel. If they follow my instructions exactly, I would pay them 10,000 gold for their troubles. Possibly of more value, they would forever have my gratitude. If they follow my instructions to a T it will not be dangerous either... well no more so than exploring any other wreck or travelling the Lucidian Ocean would be anyway. I am unable to do it myself, for the same reasons that I have had to make my home here on Brokenbank, but I would be able to provide sufficient guidance to make the operation run smoothly if my instructions are followed. Now, if that is all, I will return to my work out the back. If you want to purchase anything, fill out the order forms. If you want anything identified, leave it on the table."
“Faendal, wait! I need other help! I think I have a cursed scepter.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
He turns back, looks at you, sighs and says "I can remove the curse from whichever one of you is cursed, it will be 90 gold."
”I’d be much happier if you removed the curse from the item.”
Paladin - warforged - orange
Faendal responds "I do not know of any way to remove a curse from an item only from a person, I suggest that if nobody has been cursed by the item that you simply dispose of it" and he keeps walking towards one of the walls, away from you all.
“How...?” The Champion watches Faendal leave a bit flustered.
Paladin - warforged - orange
He stops, sighs, turns back and asks "if you are asking me to assist with the disposal of a cursed item I may be able to assist. Wait here for a moment." He then walks through the nearest wall.
A few minutes later you all hear his voice from a direction none of you are looking in (again), as appears and approaches the group "just let me get this chest ready, then bring the item to the table in the middle of the room."
He opens the chest and looks impatiently at The Champion.
The Chsmpion reaches into the bag of holding and pulls out the scepter, putting it on the table
Paladin - warforged - orange