Shipwrecked in Saltmarsh

     Fianna drinks to Lucky, but not to excess.  She’s already been kidnapped and enslaved once, she prefers to keep her wits about her.

     She does compliment the dulcimer playing though, to the establishment owner or manager.  Whether it deserves it or not.

Kelnan enthusiastically agrees to Karg's offer. "Oh, I haven't seen a proper library in months!"

Afterwards he will join the others for a polite drink, and excuse himself to return to work on his new items in peace.

Although Molo's performance was uneven and punctuated with argument (and brought in a total of 9 sp with tips), Hanna is willing to give him at least one more night to perform. You suspect she might have actually enjoyed watching Molo anger some of her more annoying regulars, and besides, she doesn't have another musician at the moment.

Kelnan spends his evening examining the book - it's a spellbook, containing a few spells he was until now unfamiliar with. (The book’s contents include dancing lights, comprehend languages, Tenser’s floating disk, and shatter. ) The bag is magical, as is the stone. (Both have been added to Kelnan's inventory. Kelnan has attuned to the stone, for better or for worse.)

Day 5:

Fianna, Molo, and Dain wake late, but their plan is to shop today: selling and buying what they can. (More on this, shortly.)

Katernin wakes early, and spends time meditating in her temple, and catching up with her acoyltes.

Kelnan is invited to visit Krag in Fireborn's private library later in the day.

A shopping expedition, part one:

Dain, it turns out, was quite exact with his appraisal of the golden items. A visit to Winston's store results in offers matching Dain's values precisely - human skull (20 gp), apple (5 gp), rose (5 gp), and set of five small discs (5 gp each) - if Fianna is willing to sell.

Winston has no tin whistles, but the old halfling does have a copper sackbut as tall as Molo, if you're looking for a new instrument to learn. (20 gp.)

He also has a lot of other odd items - wind-up toys, skulls, candles, skulls-with-candles, candy, wigs, vials of acid, and pink wool sweaters, among other unusual wares.

Katernin smiles when her acolytes arrive, holding a new bundle of flowers she planned to plant outside as her own personal memorial to Lucky. She explains all that's happened in the past few days. "These have been stressful times, but I hope for more productive days in the future. These people need my help, and I'm hoping I'll be able to provide the help they need."

     Fianna collects the 55 gold pieces and reluctantly parts with the golden oddities.  She passes easily on the opportunity to purchase a 'sackbut' - the name alone making it a non-starter for her.  She was just looking for the whistle so as to play soft, gentle melodies in the quiet time, not to make a show of things...  She'll pass and look again some other time.  She'll poke around Winston's and examine the other wares, finding many of them interesting, delightful or just odd, but not particularly interested in any of them.  She does pass at the vials of acid, but then breaks herself away from the thought.  She'd be as likely to spill it on her foot as to do anything constructive with it.

     She will buy, either from Winston or elsewhere, 30 gold worth of incense, charcoal and various herbs and four small leather coin purses.  With these items in hand she hurriedly goes back to her room...  With the door locked and secured, Fianna will rush to prepare and cast a spell.  Arcane designs sketched out, incense and herbs mixed and burning, Fianna kneels upon the floor and concentrate and mutters a rhythm of words and sounds that stretch, adjust and reweave reality... From time to time the magical sigils are adjusted, the mixture and burning of incense and herbs adjusted, the room becomes heavily scented and lightly smokey and the muttering changes, adjusts, and eventually turns into a summoning whistle.  Words and scents and smoke all coalesce and combine and into the world stretches a blue-green pseudodragon with faery influenced wings...  "mmmrreeeeeeow?" the creature asks.  Fianna smiles and gently reaches out to it...  Find Familiar cast.

     After Fianna and FinFIn get acquainted with one another, Fianna would divvy out the remaining gold and split it up amongst the party members.  As such, Fianna would make up four small coin purses each with four gold in them.  Four times Fianna would give FinFin one of these purses to carry in their mouth and send the pseudodragon out into the skies to find Fianna's friends.  Watching through the familiar's eyes, the dragon would fly above the city, finding each companion in turn and following them until there was a moment when they were alone.  At that point the small flying beast would swoop down, drop the bag in front of them and land (or hover) a couple feet away.  

     "Don't be startled, Dain" or Katernin or Molo or Kelnan, Fianna would say in her own voice through the pseudodragon.  "I'm just playing with my new friend here and delivering some goods.  This is FinFin, a new friend of mine.  In the bag is a little bit of gold.  I'm sorry it's not more but we'll be getting a bit more once Fireborn has his meting in a couple days.  In the meantime I wanted you to meet FinFin and get at least a few coins!"  The familiar world interact more with each, if they so wished.  Left to their own reactions, FinFin is very similar acting to a friendly but intelligent cat - playful and happy to be scratched under the snout but also a bit aloof and haughty.  Fianna, thanks to the Voice of the Chain Master Eldritch Invocation, can perceive through FInFin's senses, communicate with them telepathically and (as displayed above) communicate through them with her own voice...

((TLDR - Everyone gets 4 gold pieces dropped off to them in a small coin purse and meets FinFIn, Fianna's familiar pseudodragon!)) 

"I did have a fine ney last week, said to be made from a minotaur's horn," says Winston apologetically with a shrug, "but it sold. I'll keep my eyes out."

He does, however, carry incense, charcoal, some dried herbs (including some unusual ones), and small leather coin purses. (Need fresh herbs? You'll have to go to the green market. But he has enough for your spell...)

(Can a pseudodragon familiar really talk in your voice? I know they can "magically communicate simple ideas, emotions, and images telepathically with any creature within 100 feet..." But I'm happy to hear you out on that! Also be advised that the pseudodragon's magical resistance isn't conferred to PCs per RAW. Just an unfortunate FYI!)

((If she has voice of the chain master it can))

As she tells her stories to Weasel and Dinah, Katernin finds that her acolytes' sympathies for the dead are mixed. They feel bad that the boy Lucky was killed, but as a recent employee of slavers they never really trusted him. As to the death of Seth, and of the smugglers, she finds they have as little sympathy for the guards as they do the smugglers. In some ways, they give a little more benefit of the doubt to the smugglers. Typical of many of the longtime human residents of Saltmarsh, they care little for the Guard, the King, the kingdom, or for that matter, the Dwarven mine or pirates. Smugglers, on the other hand, are an old, if maybe rash and ill-advised, tradition. But both Weasel and Dinah feel that violence is never the best solution, and regret all the death – with the definite exception of the skeletons and other undead, which they abhor.

Katernin smiles a little, "Seems I still have a lot to learn about this town. Thank you for helping me out so much, really."

Quote from BaconExpert982 >>

((If she has voice of the chain master it can))

( You are correct! So many rules I don't know! Thanks.)

A shopping expedition, part two:

Next stop on the shopping trip is the Dwarven Anvil, on the main street of town. It's a blacksmith's shop run by an elderly, dark-skinned woman named Mafera, and her mute son, Jasker. The forge has a single anvil with a clear sign of Dwarven origins. They are extremely busy, making hooks, nails, harpoons, knives, fishing weights, and a lot of other stuff.  A small shrine to Moradin is visible under the eaves, though it is somewhat neglected.

They sell all things metallic (at standard PHB prices), including blades, metal armors, and metal shields. (Fianna may purchase daggers here, and Molo a shield, should they choose to.)

Asking around, Fianna has learned that "unusual" (magical) items can be obtained exclusively from a foreign tiefling priest named Captain Xendros, at a place on the far edge of town called "Faithful Quartermasters of Iuz", for prices that range toward the exorbitant. 

     Fianna will buy three daggers from Mafera and her son and inquire if they know of someone who would be doing trade in leather or studded leather armor.  ((not sure if Studded leather would count as metal armor, guessing not.)) She would also look about and praise their craftsmanship and promise she will be back for more when her finances are a bit healthier... 

     And she will thank them for the tup on Captain Xendros.  She'll tell them she will have to visit the character at some point, they sound interesting indeed, if out of her price range.

((How does a cantrip in a spellbook work exactly? I'm guessing the others I need to copy to my book (with money we don't have yet) to use them but there's not really a way to add cantrips to a spellbook in dndbeyond))

Molo shops around for the biggest, meanest looking shield he can carry

Dain will spend some time getting to know FinFin.  He’s intrigued and interested in this strange creature that speaks with Fiana’s voice.  Can we talk to her through it?

He will also go to the Dwarven Anvil.  He will ask if he can renovate the shrine to Moradin.  He will also ask if he can do some work there?

He will and sell his frilly maul back to where he bought it from and give the proceeds to Molo.

((Yep, Fianna can perceive through FinFin's senses so can indeed communicate long distances))

Fianna will buy three daggers from Mafera and her son

Molo shops around for the biggest, meanest looking shield he can carry

He will and sell his frilly maul back to where he bought it from and give the proceeds to Molo.

 

They would be happy to have you clean up the old shrine, although Mafera admits that she and her son are followers of Procan, not Moradin. Maybe it'll make the miners happy. (Dain recalls hearing grumbling about this place among the Dwarves at the mines. "How did humans came into ownership of such fine dwarven tools?" A few even suspect treachery.)

As to work, they are very busy, but can't accommodate another smith employee as there's just the single forge and anvil. (If you'd like to use the forge and anvil after hours, roll a Persuasion check and make a good argument/deal to them!)

(How does a cantrip in a spellbook work exactly? I'm guessing the others I need to copy to my book (with money we don't have yet)

(Yes you'll need to pay to copy the spells and make them available. For each level of the spell, the process takes 2 hours and costs 50 gp.  No you can't add cantrips. (Discussion here.) Good question, though! Not sure why this adventure included a spellbook with a cantrip. For this instance only, I will treat it like a reusable spell scroll as ritual: 10 minute casting time as you decipher the alchemist's old notes from his book; or, alternately, you may swap cantrips during a long rest. Fair enough?)

A shopping expedition, part three:

Kester’s Leather Goods, near Hoolwatch Tower.  Some of you visited previously; Molo bought a fine set of bright purple Chuul leather armor there. She sells all things leather (at standard PHB prices.) Kester runs this tannery, where she produces smooth, colorful leather for every purpose and sells both the cured hides and items she fashions from it. She is keenly interested in acquiring hides from exotic creatures to craft into expensive leather.

In addition to the Green Market, little tailor shops, rundown snack stalls, and the like (together with the occasional street peddler), you're now pretty familiar with the major commercial vendors in town.

As the day winds down, Kelnan is preparing to take Krag up on his invitation to see (and help with) Fireborn's library. (Any special research interests tonight?)
...And Molo is (perhaps?) preparing to try again entertaining drunken fishermen (if you're prepared, roll another Performance!)

Dain will try and convince the owners of the forge that more work going through the forge can only be good for business.  He will offer to spend the first hour of each night working on their unfinished stuff for them, for free.  But he also ensures they know he may not keep working here for long.  Part of the deal will also be to allow other dwarves to pray at the shrine.

Persuasion (+3) 11

If successful, he will start working 3-4 hours each evening.  As agreed his first hour will be on work for the forge.  His others will be on stuff he deems too difficult for the other smiths to accomplish.  He will also tidy up and clean the shrine.