The maitre'd looks a bit shocked and grins at Craben's (partially true, but still a bit crazy from his persepctive tale) tale. "Of course good sir, and I am the Open Lord of Waterdeep. Now, you obviously cannot pay for this, and while I would normally question sending you to the executioner's run... Wakanga would also throw me in there if I billed him. There is another option for you to work off your debt. I trust you won't run away from us?" Several of the Chultan guards have moved in towards you at this point. You see a couple of patrons have also stopped eating and are looking on at you all.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll tell them about this when I talk to them tomorrow. Anyways I know some people who are at that other inn and they’d be glad to do some task in order for you to get your money more directly.”
The maitre'd looks a bit concerned now but then he snaps back to his current stance. "Well, my good sir. You can see why I might not want to let you out of here so quickly... And we only need one for the job anyway. I am very glad that you're willing to accept." He then turns to the other huge Chultan men and sends them off, as they simply stand in the corners of the room, watching their boss. "All I simply require from you is... a performance. You see, we've scheduled a man named Vartak to come and play for us, but he hasn't shown up for tonight. Play a nice tune and maybe I'll cut a bit off of your debt." He then slings his arm over your shoulder and guides you towards the empty stage. He then opens a side closet and you see over thirty different kinds of instruments, some of them you've seen before, while others are incredibly foreign. He then pats you on the back. "We shall be expecting your performance." only to then head off back to several tables, waiting on them and ensuring that they are having a fabulous time. You still notice a couple bouncers have their eyes on you.
While he is in front of the instruments Craben will pray to Deneir again for Guidance (aka casting guidance on himself). He will choose to take no instrument (since he doesn’t know how to play anything) and will instead get up on stage and clear his voice loud enough for everyone to hear him and look at him.
”Hi everyone. My name is Craben and the matrie’d has aloud me to come up a speak a little bit. As you can tell I’m not from here. I’m from Baldurs Gate and am here on a mission from Syndra, a friend of mine and Wakunga. I’m here to learn as much about Chultan culture, music, history, art, tradition, and religion as possible. And I have to say that I love it all. Since all of you are teaching me so much I thought that it would only be only fair if I share a little bit of my culture with you. I am a cleric of Deneir God of Books, Literacy, and Scribes. I want to share with you guys a Deneir hymn from Baldurs Gate”
With that Craben will begin to sing.
”When Deneir rolls up his sleeves He is writing down all his thoughts There is truth in his word. And facts in his books Well Deneir wasn’t joking When he taught man to write It wasn’t for no reason that he Gave man this gift.
Deneir is an awesome God He reigns from planes above With Wisdom, Books, and Love Deneir is an awesome God”
The crowd begins to immediately perk up as Craben begins his story on the stage. As he finishes his introduction and his song there is a great applause as the group then looks at him expectantly now that he's introduced himself as their performer. Even the maitre'd looks pleasantly surprised by Craben's song. He also seems to wonder if this man is telling the truth, given that he's been keeping up this "charade" for the whole time... Nevertheless, the group looks on; will Craben manage to successfully keep his momentum during the build-up of his performance?
At the end of his song Craben will take a slight bow.
”Thank you everyone I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m not much of a performer. However something I have recently become is an adventurer. When my friend Luskan Johns died I promised him that I would leave my library and go see the world. Needless to say I’ve been living up to that promise. I’d like to share with you all my first adventure where I helped put down the Duchess of Rot.”
Craben will then tell them story of that adventure using some exaggeration to make it more dramatic. He’ll use the Thanaturgy cantrip to to add to the suspense. Booming his voice when appropriate, making ominous sounds, dimming the lights, having the door swing open, etc.
Several people jump at the stories, cheer at the moments of heroism, and everyone is on the edge of their seats against the terrible ooze Duchess of Rot that almost killed all of you! Once the story is completed there is a great applause. This is the most raucous that Kaya's House of Repose has been for some time, and although the maitre'd looks clearly uncomfortable by this fact, he is too enraptured by Craben's tale to really care. He does seem to be even more nervous, seeing that now he's dealing with an adventurer... and it would make sense for a foreign adventurer to be in an alliance with a foreign friend of a merchant prince...
Nevertheless, dinner is winding down and people are finishing. Craben still holds their attention in the palm of his hand... how will he finish his performance?
"Thank you everyone; you have truly been fantastic to me. I see that we are winding down here so I would like to end tonight with a little goodnight song my mom use to sing to me when I was a little kid.
Goodnight, sleep tight, Don't let the bedbugs bite. Wake up bright, in the morning light. To do what's right, with all your might."
And at that, the crowd gives a very polite, but still quite loud set of applause. As Craben steps off the stage, the maitre'd comes up to him and nods his head in contentment and surprise, his grin simply replaced by a hint of admiration. "Well... I must say... That was quite the performance. You have both my sincerest of apologies and thanks. Whenever you wish, either you or your friends can achieve our deluxe service for simply one gold. Also, feel free to play again whenever you wish!" He then hands to you a room key for room 207, and with a great bow, returns to his own job once more.
Ok, so now let us have MightyLemur narrarate the story of Craben between now and 2400 hours (assuming he heads to the room at midnight)!
There are two things Craben notices first when he is finished: he is thirsty and tired. He wants a drink, but nothing alcoholic, so he settles for water. He sits down at one of the tables, drinking and thinking. Some people ask him for more songs and stories, but he politely refuses the requests. Some ask him other questions, like how he managed to make the door slam shut when no one was at it, or how he managed to make his voice louder, which he responds simply with "magic". He sits there for a while enjoying the feeling of respect towards him which he had not received before. After he is finished with his drink and "answering" the questions, he asks if there is any kind of library to calm his nerves. They say that there is a small library in his room. Craben is very underwhelmed by it. First of all, it was small. Very small. Second, he had already read every book there.
He decides to retire to his room early. When he enters his room, he is surprised by the warm, luxurious feel, which makes him feel even more tired. He flops down on his bed and falls asleep almost instantly, deciding to sleep a bit until midnight.
Midnight strikes and as Craben is watching the water clock, his reverie is suddenly interrupted by the same person that he met earlier: this "Soggy Wren" character. The obviously intoxicated (if not a tad bit moreso from earlier) Chultan hands Craben another bottle, albeit it different this time. He then accompanies it with a simple: "Yacan'tdishcushbishnesswitnemptyglash!" He then produces a wine glass from... somewhere? and hands it to the foreigner as well. Not minding whether or not Craben drinks the drink Soggy Wren continues. "ThankshfercominWatcher. I'vesgotshhometinferyoutodo. FirshhmeetwitKlevinintheGrandShouk...thenyoushhhouldmeeetPo. E'shinthaOl'City. AND THEN youshreturnshtome. QUESTIONS?!"
OOC: Sorry for Craben centered stuff still. I swear it's almost over (which is partially why I'm speeding up this roleplaying segment a bit right now).
You all wake up to the sun bleeding into your windows... it is now daytime in the port city of Chult. You look outside and you see that the town is already quite busy, Chultans of all shapes and sizes run through the streets eager to begin a new day. Although currently there is not a cloud in the sky you do notice several puddles throughout the town hinting that the rain most likely just stopped. Breakfast is being served at your respective inns, please feel free to detail what (and how much / little you all would like to eat), and then you all reconvene out in the Red Bazaar at 915 hours (whereupon it begins to become an extremely heavy downpour). In addition (when I get to it) you have received two new quests:
A Snake in the Grass: Meet with Klevin in the Grand Souk Grand Prize of the Oracle: Meet with Po in the Old City
Craben is served a delicious plate full of exotic fruits he has never heard of. He is also offered some egg of an animal he hasn't heard of either but can only assume it is from a dinosaur. He only eats the fruit before making his way to their meeting spot; excited to tell them how nice the House of Repose is and of where he must go in order to get some information.
Yosben wakes up to a simple but delicious meal. A small loaf of bread stuffed in fruits was given to him. He realized how much he loves Chultan foods. He stays in the common room of the inn, assuming Craben will come to him
You exit the Thundering Lizard and find that the day is quite nice. It's a bit cooler than yesterday, and the rain has settled to be nothing more than a simple mist. Nevertheless, the land of Chult is normally hostile in some way, and you are met with quite the heavy wind. Nevertheless, you push forward and make it to the Grand Souk. In this humongous tent so many shops jump out at you, from several artisanal shops to even some that seem to sell canoes. The western end is occupied by grand villas bearing decorative banners, all near a decorative stonework palace which houses the city’s seat of power. You arrive at a large storefront bearing a sign written in both Common and the native Chultan tongue. It reads: “The Weave of Life”. The shop has a decorative variety of garments and trade goods with an astounding variety. A young damaran man with dark hair and green eyes stands behind the end as he immediately notices you all as well. With no customers currently perusing his wares he beckons all of you over: "Goeie more! Or hello there! Welcome to the Weave of Life, I am Klevin, your humble shopkeep. Here we have an item for all! Look here gnome, I believe that this elegant amnian silk with dimetrodon scales would go perfectly with your hair, as well as complement your eyes quite nicely!" He shows off a beautifully crafted scarf that shimmers in the light. He then watches, expectantly waiting your reply.
Yosben blushes, for no one has ever complimented his looks before, or anything similar to it. "I thank you for the offer, but for now I will pass. It is not vanity I am after right now."
Klevin frowns a bit as Yosben denies his offer, that look then changes to confusion at Craben's question, and then understanding covers. "Ah... yes, just come with me." He then turns around and beckons you to enter a small building behind the stand. As you enter you see that the whole room is covered with fine garments, dresses, and robes; all of which are obviously very well made. He then gestures around "By the way... all of this is for sale." Giving the lot of you a wink as his demeanor then changes a bit and he continues talking. "I believe I know why you are all here. You are the current group of adventurers Syndra has hired, no? Either way, the alliance has a job for you. You see, several of my merchant allies are being run out of business, for there are several smuggling rings that have popped up, ruining those who are on the side of the law... Of course, I still have quite the business, speaking of which. Darling, I believe that these garments would suit you perfectly, truly complementing your eyes." He takes some sea blue vestments and proudly displays them. (after Gwen responds) "At any rate, one of my contacts has informed me that some sort of artifact is being smuggled into the city. It seems as if the smugglers are using a secret passage that leads from the docks in Tiryki Anchorage to somewhere near the Docks of the Harbor Ward. As the southern docks are largely unpatrolled, and any guards would be obviously conspicuous whereas most Chultans would not bat an eye at a foreigner doing something strange, it would please me greatly if you investigated."
The maitre'd looks a bit shocked and grins at Craben's (partially true, but still a bit crazy from his persepctive tale) tale. "Of course good sir, and I am the Open Lord of Waterdeep. Now, you obviously cannot pay for this, and while I would normally question sending you to the executioner's run... Wakanga would also throw me in there if I billed him. There is another option for you to work off your debt. I trust you won't run away from us?" Several of the Chultan guards have moved in towards you at this point. You see a couple of patrons have also stopped eating and are looking on at you all.
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll tell them about this when I talk to them tomorrow. Anyways I know some people who are at that other inn and they’d be glad to do some task in order for you to get your money more directly.”
The maitre'd looks a bit concerned now but then he snaps back to his current stance. "Well, my good sir. You can see why I might not want to let you out of here so quickly... And we only need one for the job anyway. I am very glad that you're willing to accept." He then turns to the other huge Chultan men and sends them off, as they simply stand in the corners of the room, watching their boss. "All I simply require from you is... a performance. You see, we've scheduled a man named Vartak to come and play for us, but he hasn't shown up for tonight. Play a nice tune and maybe I'll cut a bit off of your debt." He then slings his arm over your shoulder and guides you towards the empty stage. He then opens a side closet and you see over thirty different kinds of instruments, some of them you've seen before, while others are incredibly foreign. He then pats you on the back. "We shall be expecting your performance." only to then head off back to several tables, waiting on them and ensuring that they are having a fabulous time. You still notice a couple bouncers have their eyes on you.
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
While he is in front of the instruments Craben will pray to Deneir again for Guidance (aka casting guidance on himself). He will choose to take no instrument (since he doesn’t know how to play anything) and will instead get up on stage and clear his voice loud enough for everyone to hear him and look at him.
”Hi everyone. My name is Craben and the matrie’d has aloud me to come up a speak a little bit. As you can tell I’m not from here. I’m from Baldurs Gate and am here on a mission from Syndra, a friend of mine and Wakunga. I’m here to learn as much about Chultan culture, music, history, art, tradition, and religion as possible. And I have to say that I love it all. Since all of you are teaching me so much I thought that it would only be only fair if I share a little bit of my culture with you. I am a cleric of Deneir God of Books, Literacy, and Scribes. I want to share with you guys a Deneir hymn from Baldurs Gate”
With that Craben will begin to sing.
”When Deneir rolls up his sleeves He is writing down all his thoughts There is truth in his word. And facts in his books Well Deneir wasn’t joking When he taught man to write It wasn’t for no reason that he Gave man this gift.
Deneir is an awesome God He reigns from planes above With Wisdom, Books, and Love Deneir is an awesome God”
The crowd begins to immediately perk up as Craben begins his story on the stage. As he finishes his introduction and his song there is a great applause as the group then looks at him expectantly now that he's introduced himself as their performer. Even the maitre'd looks pleasantly surprised by Craben's song. He also seems to wonder if this man is telling the truth, given that he's been keeping up this "charade" for the whole time... Nevertheless, the group looks on; will Craben manage to successfully keep his momentum during the build-up of his performance?
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
At the end of his song Craben will take a slight bow.
”Thank you everyone I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’m not much of a performer. However something I have recently become is an adventurer. When my friend Luskan Johns died I promised him that I would leave my library and go see the world. Needless to say I’ve been living up to that promise. I’d like to share with you all my first adventure where I helped put down the Duchess of Rot.”
Craben will then tell them story of that adventure using some exaggeration to make it more dramatic. He’ll use the Thanaturgy cantrip to to add to the suspense. Booming his voice when appropriate, making ominous sounds, dimming the lights, having the door swing open, etc.
Several people jump at the stories, cheer at the moments of heroism, and everyone is on the edge of their seats against the terrible
oozeDuchess of Rot that almost killed all of you! Once the story is completed there is a great applause. This is the most raucous that Kaya's House of Repose has been for some time, and although the maitre'd looks clearly uncomfortable by this fact, he is too enraptured by Craben's tale to really care. He does seem to be even more nervous, seeing that now he's dealing with an adventurer... and it would make sense for a foreign adventurer to be in an alliance with a foreign friend of a merchant prince...Nevertheless, dinner is winding down and people are finishing. Craben still holds their attention in the palm of his hand... how will he finish his performance?
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
"Thank you everyone; you have truly been fantastic to me. I see that we are winding down here so I would like to end tonight with a little goodnight song my mom use to sing to me when I was a little kid.
Goodnight, sleep tight, Don't let the bedbugs bite. Wake up bright, in the morning light. To do what's right, with all your might."
Day 30, 1853 hours
And at that, the crowd gives a very polite, but still quite loud set of applause. As Craben steps off the stage, the maitre'd comes up to him and nods his head in contentment and surprise, his grin simply replaced by a hint of admiration. "Well... I must say... That was quite the performance. You have both my sincerest of apologies and thanks. Whenever you wish, either you or your friends can achieve our deluxe service for simply one gold. Also, feel free to play again whenever you wish!" He then hands to you a room key for room 207, and with a great bow, returns to his own job once more.
Ok, so now let us have MightyLemur narrarate the story of Craben between now and 2400 hours (assuming he heads to the room at midnight)!
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
There are two things Craben notices first when he is finished: he is thirsty and tired. He wants a drink, but nothing alcoholic, so he settles for water. He sits down at one of the tables, drinking and thinking. Some people ask him for more songs and stories, but he politely refuses the requests. Some ask him other questions, like how he managed to make the door slam shut when no one was at it, or how he managed to make his voice louder, which he responds simply with "magic". He sits there for a while enjoying the feeling of respect towards him which he had not received before. After he is finished with his drink and "answering" the questions, he asks if there is any kind of library to calm his nerves. They say that there is a small library in his room. Craben is very underwhelmed by it. First of all, it was small. Very small. Second, he had already read every book there.
He decides to retire to his room early. When he enters his room, he is surprised by the warm, luxurious feel, which makes him feel even more tired. He flops down on his bed and falls asleep almost instantly, deciding to sleep a bit until midnight.
Day 31, 0000 hours
Midnight strikes and as Craben is watching the water clock, his reverie is suddenly interrupted by the same person that he met earlier: this "Soggy Wren" character. The obviously intoxicated (if not a tad bit moreso from earlier) Chultan hands Craben another bottle, albeit it different this time. He then accompanies it with a simple: "Yacan'tdishcushbishnesswitnemptyglash!" He then produces a wine glass from... somewhere? and hands it to the foreigner as well. Not minding whether or not Craben drinks the drink Soggy Wren continues. "ThankshfercominWatcher. I'vesgotshhometinferyoutodo. FirshhmeetwitKlevinintheGrandShouk...thenyoushhhouldmeeetPo. E'shinthaOl'City. AND THEN youshreturnshtome. QUESTIONS?!"
OOC: Sorry for Craben centered stuff still. I swear it's almost over (which is partially why I'm speeding up this roleplaying segment a bit right now).
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
"No, I think I have everything. I hope you just remember this tomorrow."
With that Craben will go back to his room and sleep.
Day 31, 830 hours
You all wake up to the sun bleeding into your windows... it is now daytime in the port city of Chult. You look outside and you see that the town is already quite busy, Chultans of all shapes and sizes run through the streets eager to begin a new day. Although currently there is not a cloud in the sky you do notice several puddles throughout the town hinting that the rain most likely just stopped. Breakfast is being served at your respective inns, please feel free to detail what (and how much / little you all would like to eat), and then you all reconvene out in the Red Bazaar at 915 hours (whereupon it begins to become an extremely heavy downpour). In addition (when I get to it) you have received two new quests:
A Snake in the Grass: Meet with Klevin in the Grand Souk
Grand Prize of the Oracle: Meet with Po in the Old City
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
Craben is served a delicious plate full of exotic fruits he has never heard of. He is also offered some egg of an animal he hasn't heard of either but can only assume it is from a dinosaur. He only eats the fruit before making his way to their meeting spot; excited to tell them how nice the House of Repose is and of where he must go in order to get some information.
Yosben wakes up to a simple but delicious meal. A small loaf of bread stuffed in fruits was given to him. He realized how much he loves Chultan foods. He stays in the common room of the inn, assuming Craben will come to him
Gwen's breakfast consists of two toasted slices of bread along with some type of meat and eggs, which she fasions into a sandwich
"The hero sought to save the world.
"If I keep trying, I'll be able to win," the hero thought.
But the harder the hero fought, the further the world seemed to tumble away.
Drowning in doubt, the hero could not even save themselves.
Hero, if you still believe in a brighter future, hold in your heart a thorn that can pierce all doubt."
~ Guild Wars 2
Day 31, 847 hours
You exit the Thundering Lizard and find that the day is quite nice. It's a bit cooler than yesterday, and the rain has settled to be nothing more than a simple mist. Nevertheless, the land of Chult is normally hostile in some way, and you are met with quite the heavy wind. Nevertheless, you push forward and make it to the Grand Souk. In this humongous tent so many shops jump out at you, from several artisanal shops to even some that seem to sell canoes. The western end is occupied by grand villas bearing decorative banners, all near a decorative stonework palace which houses the city’s seat of power. You arrive at a large storefront bearing a sign written in both Common and the native Chultan tongue. It reads: “The Weave of Life”. The shop has a decorative variety of garments and trade goods with an astounding variety. A young damaran man with dark hair and green eyes stands behind the end as he immediately notices you all as well. With no customers currently perusing his wares he beckons all of you over: "Goeie more! Or hello there! Welcome to the Weave of Life, I am Klevin, your humble shopkeep. Here we have an item for all! Look here gnome, I believe that this elegant amnian silk with dimetrodon scales would go perfectly with your hair, as well as complement your eyes quite nicely!" He shows off a beautifully crafted scarf that shimmers in the light. He then watches, expectantly waiting your reply.
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3
"Hello, Klevin. I'm Craben its a pleasure to meet you. I've been informed that you have some information that may be useful for someone like me."
Yosben blushes, for no one has ever complimented his looks before, or anything similar to it. "I thank you for the offer, but for now I will pass. It is not vanity I am after right now."
Klevin frowns a bit as Yosben denies his offer, that look then changes to confusion at Craben's question, and then understanding covers. "Ah... yes, just come with me." He then turns around and beckons you to enter a small building behind the stand. As you enter you see that the whole room is covered with fine garments, dresses, and robes; all of which are obviously very well made. He then gestures around "By the way... all of this is for sale." Giving the lot of you a wink as his demeanor then changes a bit and he continues talking. "I believe I know why you are all here. You are the current group of adventurers Syndra has hired, no? Either way, the alliance has a job for you. You see, several of my merchant allies are being run out of business, for there are several smuggling rings that have popped up, ruining those who are on the side of the law... Of course, I still have quite the business, speaking of which. Darling, I believe that these garments would suit you perfectly, truly complementing your eyes." He takes some sea blue vestments and proudly displays them. (after Gwen responds) "At any rate, one of my contacts has informed me that some sort of artifact is being smuggled into the city. It seems as if the smugglers are using a secret passage that leads from the docks in Tiryki Anchorage to somewhere near the Docks of the Harbor Ward. As the southern docks are largely unpatrolled, and any guards would be obviously conspicuous whereas most Chultans would not bat an eye at a foreigner doing something strange, it would please me greatly if you investigated."
DM of Tomb of Annihilation (and more) Group 2 and Group 3