"I magic'd it clean! I am pretty good at it, got to be on cleaning duty pretty much ALWAYS at the cloister! Sometimes they wouldn't let me do the magic thing, rooms weren't as nice then!"
Her grin widens as Cico bows before her and waggles her eyebrows at Lyss. She gives Cico a friendly pat on the head,
"Welcome! Arise! We have great works and stuff to do! Oh, and you're going to love our ghost!"
Edvord let's loose a smile and guarded smile. He gives a slight nod to the others as they leave, "This may not be my sort of establishment... but it beats the alternatives. Speaking of horses Aldrik, whatever did we do with ours? Problems for another morning... they are just animals after all. Speaking of animals... wonder what the others will elect to do about the new animal we picked up?"
"Mouse and Buttercup are at the casino, still. We will pick them up in the morning, though hope the parking isn't too costly... Feels like that was half a year ago, and really it's barely been a few hours!"
Aldrik slides one of the tankards over to Edvord. "This was nice. Reminded me a bit of when we were kids, before you went off to Candlekeep. Running around in the woods with toy swords. "
A slightly more relaxed than usual Edvord politely accepts the beer, the mage picks up the rapier and runs his eyes across it, "Eventually everyone puts away their toys... though some toys are more useful than others. I do not believe our last 'half a year's' worth of acquisitions is of a nature that Father would approve, but it was surprisingly profitable. Intriguing where this association might lead... though I do not believe all of your new friends approve of me. Speaking of new friends, I would like to return the conversation to an earlier point... do you think they will make the smart move, or would they double cross their new benefactor. Such an action while seemingly valiant would not be advisable... or safe."
Cico follows along with Aimee and Lyss, avoiding eye contact with Kerri as they make their way back to the inn.
As they walk along he becomes more conscious that he hasn't said anything for awhile and that can make some people uncomfortable.
"It is dark," Cico finally says.
As they continue, he decides that may not have been the best conversation continuing statement he could have made.
"Why does your ghost live in the inn? Was it there's before?" he asks then pauses. "Is it an old ghost? If they're old enough they might remember the magician who trapped Primara in her current form."
Aimee carries on happy with that but answers Cico's questions,
"He owned the place till he died, think someone killed him? Dunno how old he is, you could ask him? He likes breaking things, so let me know when you're gonna chat him up!"
She continues thoughtfully,
"How do you get a head of a troll without it growing the rest of the troll back?"
"Yes, I will converse with your ghost," Cico says. "Does he have a name?"
He walks along a few more steps, listening to Aimee's last question.
"Do you have the head now?" Cico asks without any indication that he thinks of this as anything other than a normal question. He pauses for a moment to think before he continues on. "Perhaps you would need to keep the head in some sort of container, locked in place, suspended over an acid bath, such that anything growing down from the head would be destroyed in the acid. We could likely adapt some brewing equipment for the job."
He stops and looks at Aimee.
"Is there a reason you would not want the rest of the troll?"
The next morning Edvord and Aldrik arrive at Trollskull Alley. Aldrik rides atop a particularly pampered looking Mouse - Amelia had retrieved both horses and used her charm and influence to get a two for one deal on Buttercup’s grooming, leaving Mouse looking like a particularly large poodle. She did not allow Edvord further use of her horse after her abandonment. Breakfast at the Reinholdt manor was a tense occasion, though Amelia had smirked the whole way through - particularly when Lady Oriana started waving burning sage in Aldrik’s direction.
Trollskull Manor’s windows have been painted in the last day - presumably by Lif the poltergeist. In beautiful stained glass are heroic images of each of you surrounding a handsome yet ghostly half-elf holding a tankard. The main bar area has been set up with chairs in a circle for the meeting, and a piece of chalk hovers in front of a blackboard labelled ‘Agenda’
"Nah, no heads yet! We gotta get one though for our place, it's called trollskull but didn't come with one! Oooohh, that's a great idea! Lyss, we need to get a tube of acid ready!"
Aimee has to think a long time as to why she wouldn't want the rest of the troll. She smiles as says,
"Well, I would like all of a troll but I think it would get me in trouble if I did?" She gives a glance to Kerri and lifts her eyebrows and mouths - TALK LATER
She then continues on a tangent thought,
"Thing is, I had a whole troll not more than a week ago! Killed it myself, Lyss helped! There may have been others there but I'm pretty sure the troll ate them or something! I should have demanded to keep it! At the time I was homeless, but how many times do you get a troll delivered to you!"
---
At the inn she yells,
"We're home Lif! Great work on the windows! You are a handsome spirit! You remember Cico? He walked around ad said mean things about the inn? He is a friend now and we've got a plan to get ourselves a troll skull. I'm going to bed!"
Kerri stares at the blackboard in contemplation for a few moments before adding her own. *Edvord to apologize, properly.* She underlines it, and after a few moments of thinking circles it.
Cico is pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the room Aimee shows him for the night. His rest was not as quiet as he was used to. The events of the day in Blue Alley required time to process and left his brain running for half the night, but when he was finally able to calm his thoughts he found he had reached a deeper level of understanding of himself and the darkness around him. He found he could even shape the shadows into forms; a chair, a small door. But the sound surprised even him. He hoped he had not woken anyone with the roar of the mountain lion that echoed just before dawn.
While he had tried to engage Lif in conversation, his attention had been elsewhere. Perhaps this morning would be easier.
When he comes down to the main room and sees the chalk hovering in the air, he looks around at the work that still needs to be done.
He greets the brothers with a smile, genuinely happy to see them both this morning.
"I can not turn a real unicorn over to Mirt," Cico says in way of hello. "Helping keep an intelligent creature trapped for eternity is wrong."
But then he waves his hand around the room.
"Will Mirt still loan them money without Primara?" Cico asks then looks at the hovering chalk. "Lif, did you hear any stories about a unicorn being trapped as a statue by a wizard?"
As Aldrik dismounts Mouse, he hands Edvord the paper-wrapped package from Mouse's saddlebag.
"It'll smooth things over, Eddie. Just try and be charming this time, yeah? Remember what Grandmother would say: don't pee in the cereal bowl, otherwise we will all miss breakfast."
Aldrik pats his especially fluffly warhorse and makes sure the newly repaired lance is secured to the horse. (I've assumed 2g to fix the damaged parts of the 10g lance to remove the -1 penalty from the slime). He heads to the inn door and opens it for his brother.
Edvord accepts the outstretched paper package from Aldrik, "Appreciate the gesture brother... do you really think this will make a difference? I have always had a knack for books, not people."
As Edvord enters the room he notes the 'Edvord to apologize properly' written on the board. The man gulps, takes a big breathe in, and approaches Kerri.
"The last few days were a bit trying... we all did what we thought we had to to survive. I am not the best when it comes to this, but..."a flustered Edvord holds both the outstretched paper package and the potion that was acquired during the grease antics to Kerri.
"some of my measures may have been ill thought out, I believe you deserve these more than I do."
Kerri breaths very hard out of her nose. "No thank you, I dont need a reminder of that humiliation. You keep it," she smiles, but it doesnt reach her eyes. "Like I said back then, I'm not interested in anything that... wizard... would give to us."
((Kerri is very much hyper focused on the bottle and did not notice the package in the moment, and if she did she's assuming its something from that maze of rooms.))
Aimee shrugs as she walks, still smiling happily,
"I magic'd it clean! I am pretty good at it, got to be on cleaning duty pretty much ALWAYS at the cloister! Sometimes they wouldn't let me do the magic thing, rooms weren't as nice then!"
Her grin widens as Cico bows before her and waggles her eyebrows at Lyss. She gives Cico a friendly pat on the head,
"Welcome! Arise! We have great works and stuff to do! Oh, and you're going to love our ghost!"
Edvord let's loose a smile and guarded smile. He gives a slight nod to the others as they leave, "This may not be my sort of establishment... but it beats the alternatives. Speaking of horses Aldrik, whatever did we do with ours? Problems for another morning... they are just animals after all. Speaking of animals... wonder what the others will elect to do about the new animal we picked up?"
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
"Mouse and Buttercup are at the casino, still. We will pick them up in the morning, though hope the parking isn't too costly... Feels like that was half a year ago, and really it's barely been a few hours!"
Aldrik slides one of the tankards over to Edvord. "This was nice. Reminded me a bit of when we were kids, before you went off to Candlekeep. Running around in the woods with toy swords. "
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Threestrings bows graciously at the donation, completely oblivious to how much he’s actually been given.
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
A slightly more relaxed than usual Edvord politely accepts the beer, the mage picks up the rapier and runs his eyes across it, "Eventually everyone puts away their toys... though some toys are more useful than others. I do not believe our last 'half a year's' worth of acquisitions is of a nature that Father would approve, but it was surprisingly profitable. Intriguing where this association might lead... though I do not believe all of your new friends approve of me. Speaking of new friends, I would like to return the conversation to an earlier point... do you think they will make the smart move, or would they double cross their new benefactor. Such an action while seemingly valiant would not be advisable... or safe."
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Cico follows along with Aimee and Lyss, avoiding eye contact with Kerri as they make their way back to the inn.
As they walk along he becomes more conscious that he hasn't said anything for awhile and that can make some people uncomfortable.
"It is dark," Cico finally says.
As they continue, he decides that may not have been the best conversation continuing statement he could have made.
"Why does your ghost live in the inn? Was it there's before?" he asks then pauses. "Is it an old ghost? If they're old enough they might remember the magician who trapped Primara in her current form."
"Hard to say." Aldrik says. "If that thing is real, then do we tell..."
He pauses, glancing around. (Eavesdroppers? Perception 6 )
"The benefactor such, or find a way to set it free and pretend we never found it? It's not like we've worked out any contracts with the scoundrel."
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Aimee responds to Cico with a pleasant,
"Yup, happens a lot at night!"
Aimee carries on happy with that but answers Cico's questions,
"He owned the place till he died, think someone killed him? Dunno how old he is, you could ask him? He likes breaking things, so let me know when you're gonna chat him up!"
She continues thoughtfully,
"How do you get a head of a troll without it growing the rest of the troll back?"
Cico thinks about the ghost for a moment.
"Yes, I will converse with your ghost," Cico says. "Does he have a name?"
He walks along a few more steps, listening to Aimee's last question.
"Do you have the head now?" Cico asks without any indication that he thinks of this as anything other than a normal question. He pauses for a moment to think before he continues on. "Perhaps you would need to keep the head in some sort of container, locked in place, suspended over an acid bath, such that anything growing down from the head would be destroyed in the acid. We could likely adapt some brewing equipment for the job."
He stops and looks at Aimee.
"Is there a reason you would not want the rest of the troll?"
The next morning Edvord and Aldrik arrive at Trollskull Alley. Aldrik rides atop a particularly pampered looking Mouse - Amelia had retrieved both horses and used her charm and influence to get a two for one deal on Buttercup’s grooming, leaving Mouse looking like a particularly large poodle. She did not allow Edvord further use of her horse after her abandonment. Breakfast at the Reinholdt manor was a tense occasion, though Amelia had smirked the whole way through - particularly when Lady Oriana started waving burning sage in Aldrik’s direction.
Trollskull Manor’s windows have been painted in the last day - presumably by Lif the poltergeist. In beautiful stained glass are heroic images of each of you surrounding a handsome yet ghostly half-elf holding a tankard. The main bar area has been set up with chairs in a circle for the meeting, and a piece of chalk hovers in front of a blackboard labelled ‘Agenda’
Gilgin Hardhammer - Mountain Dwarf Cleric (Forge Domain) - Icewind Dale
Petal - Forest Gnome Druid (Circle of the Land - Forest) - Unsung Heroes of Embera
"His name is Lif, I'm sure you'll hit it off!"
Aimee shakes her head,
"Nah, no heads yet! We gotta get one though for our place, it's called trollskull but didn't come with one! Oooohh, that's a great idea! Lyss, we need to get a tube of acid ready!"
Aimee has to think a long time as to why she wouldn't want the rest of the troll. She smiles as says,
"Well, I would like all of a troll but I think it would get me in trouble if I did?" She gives a glance to Kerri and lifts her eyebrows and mouths - TALK LATER
She then continues on a tangent thought,
"Thing is, I had a whole troll not more than a week ago! Killed it myself, Lyss helped! There may have been others there but I'm pretty sure the troll ate them or something! I should have demanded to keep it! At the time I was homeless, but how many times do you get a troll delivered to you!"
---
At the inn she yells,
"We're home Lif! Great work on the windows! You are a handsome spirit! You remember Cico? He walked around ad said mean things about the inn? He is a friend now and we've got a plan to get ourselves a troll skull. I'm going to bed!"
---
On the agenda Aimee writes -
Lif talk to Cico about wizards
Cico talk Aimee up the mountain
Kerri stares at the blackboard in contemplation for a few moments before adding her own. *Edvord to apologize, properly.* She underlines it, and after a few moments of thinking circles it.
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
Cico is pleasantly surprised by the cleanliness of the room Aimee shows him for the night. His rest was not as quiet as he was used to. The events of the day in Blue Alley required time to process and left his brain running for half the night, but when he was finally able to calm his thoughts he found he had reached a deeper level of understanding of himself and the darkness around him. He found he could even shape the shadows into forms; a chair, a small door. But the sound surprised even him. He hoped he had not woken anyone with the roar of the mountain lion that echoed just before dawn.
While he had tried to engage Lif in conversation, his attention had been elsewhere. Perhaps this morning would be easier.
When he comes down to the main room and sees the chalk hovering in the air, he looks around at the work that still needs to be done.
He greets the brothers with a smile, genuinely happy to see them both this morning.
"I can not turn a real unicorn over to Mirt," Cico says in way of hello. "Helping keep an intelligent creature trapped for eternity is wrong."
But then he waves his hand around the room.
"Will Mirt still loan them money without Primara?" Cico asks then looks at the hovering chalk. "Lif, did you hear any stories about a unicorn being trapped as a statue by a wizard?"
"I highly doubt Mirt would actively keep a unicorn imprisoned if he knew the actual scenario that was going on," Kerri says.
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
As Aldrik dismounts Mouse, he hands Edvord the paper-wrapped package from Mouse's saddlebag.
"It'll smooth things over, Eddie. Just try and be charming this time, yeah? Remember what Grandmother would say: don't pee in the cereal bowl, otherwise we will all miss breakfast."
Aldrik pats his especially fluffly warhorse and makes sure the newly repaired lance is secured to the horse. (I've assumed 2g to fix the damaged parts of the 10g lance to remove the -1 penalty from the slime). He heads to the inn door and opens it for his brother.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag
Edvord accepts the outstretched paper package from Aldrik, "Appreciate the gesture brother... do you really think this will make a difference? I have always had a knack for books, not people."
As Edvord enters the room he notes the 'Edvord to apologize properly' written on the board. The man gulps, takes a big breathe in, and approaches Kerri.
"The last few days were a bit trying... we all did what we thought we had to to survive. I am not the best when it comes to this, but..." a flustered Edvord holds both the outstretched paper package and the potion that was acquired during the grease antics to Kerri.
"some of my measures may have been ill thought out, I believe you deserve these more than I do."
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
Kerri breaths very hard out of her nose. "No thank you, I dont need a reminder of that humiliation. You keep it," she smiles, but it doesnt reach her eyes. "Like I said back then, I'm not interested in anything that... wizard... would give to us."
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
(did Kerri also not take the package Aldrik gave Edvord?)
DM for Out of the Abyss | Edvord Reinholdt for Killilli's Waterdeep Dragon Heist | Sergeant Cernan for Viper's Descent
((Kerri is very much hyper focused on the bottle and did not notice the package in the moment, and if she did she's assuming its something from that maze of rooms.))
Elra Skylash - Human Cleric | Vanzaren Tanidoni - Half Elf Wizard
Mindartis Liadon - Eladrin Barbarian | Naivara Siannodel - Half Elf Ranger
Arrila Evenwood - Half Elf Paladin | Callaphe of Setessa - Human Rogue
Katernin Nemetsk - Aasimar Cleric | Melody - Tiefling Bard
(the parcel is open on one end, and has sunflowers, lilies, and some smaller flowers that all are yellows and whites)
Aldrik makes eye contact with Edvord and then looks at the parcel, then makes a motion with an open hand. Give it to her.
Aldrik Reinholdt in Dragon Heist
Daventry in The Candlekeep Mysteries, and her bag