Alton would stick around with Gotur and Philip as well for the herbalism talk. He would mainly be interested in possibly purchasing some poison of some sort.
(if they would not be able to help him, Alton would look for another vendor. On top of that, I figured Philip might also be able to hook him up. I just wanted to take advantage of Alton’s proficiency with a poisoners kit; he is after all an assassin)
Phillip turns to Alton and squints his huge eyes into slits, still with his huge smile. The look is a little disconcerting!!
”Hmmm... it’s true! Uh huh... I can coat my arrows and weapons with my.. toxins! Uh huh, uh huh! Yup!...... But I use the poison immediately.....”.
”Hmmm.... to harvest? Or refine the components.. for later use?!.... Mmm?.... That I have not tried! Nuh-huh... nope, nope nope!.... But if you’re skilled, maybe we could try! Uh-huh, maybe, uh-huh!...”.
((OOC: @DM - Phillip is happy to try but I leave it totally up to you what works :-) ))
Phillip would explain to Alton that if it is more interesting poisons he is interested in other than the basic ones that are in the equipment listings, then he should most definitely speak with the merchant prince Jessamine. He would tell you more about her as well as murder in general if any talk of assassination comes up if Syn didn't talk about it during the initial walk. (I think Alton would be VERY interested in this merchant prince...)
Merchant Prince Jessamine - Deals in plants, poison, and assassination
Jessamine trades in plants, herbs, poison, and sanctioned assassination. Murder is illegal in Port Nyanzaru, as it is almost everywhere, but Jessamine has a monopoly on “sanctions” — writs that allow a killing by ordained methods (usually poison or stabbing with a blade). For an added fee, her agents will carry out the assassination, with results guaranteed. Poison is her specialty, and she has a vast personal collection.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
So it's approaching noon hour on this hot sunny day as the party walks from #6 (Souk) to #13 (harbormaster's office). It is a very busy time of day (although what time isn't around here) and the harbor and all of the various docks are just bustling with activity. Dinosaurs hauling boats in and out of he water, humanoid and other races of all kinds loading and unloading ships and boats, and people working in and around various warehouses are some of the things you take in as you slowly enter the harbor section of the city.
Some new pieces of information now that you have a few moments to poke around:
Port Nyanzaru’s harbor can accommodate ships of all sizes. The enclosed, eastern portion of the harbor is reserved for the use of the merchant princes, but the rest of the docks are available for use by any ship. You notice that there are options available to travel by sea given all of the passenger ships and ship hands booking excursions and travelers to come aboard.
Evo, you remember seeing a few different guide ads on some job boards next to the harbormaster's office upon arrival into the city. This is due to the exact reason you mentioned: so new folks to the city and region coming off the boats can get a guide upon arrival. You take a closer look at the board. 1 / 10 / 6
(this roll is not needed -> 2)
(guide info coming up - be sure to refresh this post)
You or anyone else could also enter the harbormaster's office and talk to the harbormaster if you'd like (Zindar). He is currently there.
Here is the guide info that was showing on the job boards. You would see the picture of them along with a blurb they wrote. (all of these corresponding NPC images can be found on the NPC tab). There were 2 posters.
Poster #1 Azaka Stormfang
If you need a guide to get you through the jungle alive, look no further. Trust me, I was born there. I'll be at the Thundering Lizard most nights enjoying a coffee should you want to discuss business. Until then ~
(the Thundering Lizard is another inn close to the one you stayed at last night. Azaka frequents the patio and can be found there sipping coffee most nights)
Poster #2 Salida
I've led countless expeditions through the jungles of Chult. I know secret trails within the jungles. Hire others at your own peril. You can find me at executioner's run.
(Executioner's run is section #2 on the city map which you don't know about yet.)
Also, Evo, you notice the two tabaxis that were in the inn last night at the harbor, looking around for what you assume a potential client.
Evo will busy himself looking at the notices before heading to the tabaxi,
"Hello there, aye saw ye yesterday at the inn but didn't have a chance to speak with ye! Meh name is Evo. Ye two wouldn't happen to be guides would ye?"
If they answer in the affirmative he will continue,
"Meh group and aye are looking for something called the soulmonger. Ye know where that is or maybe be able to lead us to a place we could find out where it is?"
Evo, the tabby-ish tabaxi with the eye-patch responds: "Well hello there sir. Oh yes, we saw you last night. We knew you'd be around. Knew that Eku wasn't going to cuttttt it. I'm River. River Mist. Pleasure to meet you."
The other greyish-white one says "Yes, that's right. Eku is a fool. Hello. I'm Flask, Flask of Wine. I am River's brother and fellow guide."
River says "We saw you talking to Eku and had to leave. Lissssssssten to me. Merchant prince Jobal and his band of guides are ussssseeelessssss. Total waste of gold. If you hire the two of us, we will never lead you astray. River and Flask are up to the task!"
The brother Flask rolls his tabaxi eyes and then says "Ok River, he getsssss it. Look man, we're fast, reliable and we know what we're doing. Jobal's flunkies want to prolly charge you 5gp a day and 30 upfront? That issssss the standard rates and that isssss ridiculous. We don't work for Jobal. We have our own... network. We offer us both for only 4gp a day, no payment upfront. And if you agree to share any loot we might find, well you pay us nothing then."
"The sssssoulmonger? Sssssseeems everyone wants to find it these dayssss. Well I know it's somewhere in Omu. We help you get there. Yessssssss."
River interrupts, trying to take back the power of the conversation "Yes. My brother is right. Everything he sssssssay is right. We do not follow sheep and work for Jobal." the tabaxi spits. "What sssssay you" as her tail kind of slinks around in an interesting way.
Evo is very interested in the back and forth between the two as they answer his questions,
"Nice to meet you River Mist and Flask of Wine. Good to know yer price is flexible. And ye know where Umo is then? How do ye feel about working with other guides?"
The brother Flask responds "Wwwhhhhhhhell friend, I mean, does anyone know EXACTLY where Omu is? I think not. It is a lost city, after all. We know the general direction though."
The sister River responds "Are the two of usssssss not enough?" and she kind of slithers her tail again. "We are not against travelling with otherssssss, but if they work for Jobal, and most of them do, then we want nothing to do with it."
Flask"Yessssss. We sssssibling team."he looks around, and then says "We are Zhentarim."
((Would any of your characters know about the Zhentarim? Meta if you've never heard of them -> The Zhentarim is an unscrupulous shadow network that seeks to expand its influence and power base throughout Faerun. If you think your character should be able to roll a history check to determine if they do, then go for it. If your background supports them already knowing about them (maybe Alton?) then that is fine too.))
Alton, you know this, and for everyone else who is interested because it's kind of cool, please consider it meta.
The Zhentarim, previously known as the Black Network, is a mercenary company, and greater mercantile organization in Faerun who, over their 200 years of existence, has had a storied history as a cadre of self-serving thieves, spies, assassins and malevolent wizards. The Zhentarim have become more visible in recent years, which is why Alton has likely heard of them. The group currently works to improve their reputation amongst common people. The faction draws employees and associates from many walks of life, setting them to tasks that serve the goals of the Black Network but aren't necessarily criminal in nature.
Alton, you wouldn't really know though how much of a player the Zhentarim are in Port Nyanzaru or Chult even with the roll.
Flask responds "Either or. Harbor in the day, and the inns during the evenings. We won't be available for very long though, mark my wordssssss!"
Phillip cheerfully accompanies the party to the docks and stays within earshot of all that’s being said.
While on the docks and in the sun, he uses shape water to gather up some nearby water, and form it into three palm-sized watery-balls, that he starts to magically juggle. If there are any children nearby, he’ll playfully entertain them with simple tricks. If not, he’ll just entertain himself.
When the party move towards the harbour master, he’ll dispel all his spells and follow close behind.
Phillip, there are indeed children around. They were quite amused by your tricks, and laugh and run around you until their parents call them away. :D
((I think I am going to do a condensed version of the Harbormaster with limited RP and you can do the same with any follow up questions you might have. I think if I RP each NPC in detail, it'll take a lot longer to get going. Let me know if you guys are ok with that. I am happy to RP each one though in detail, I just thought I'd ask. If you want to RP, just do it and then I will give back. Otherwise, for some NPC's I'll condense it.))
Ok so the harbormaster is quite an impressive looking half-dragon. You can find him on the NPC tab listed as Zindar. Most of his time is spent dealing with the hundreds of disputes, traffic jams, and other minor problems that crop up every day on a busy quayside.
He would explain that he is very busy, but would also be welcoming to any new folks to the city. By the look of you, he'd likely get the sense that you were a band of adventurers of some sort. He would actually think that you all were guides looking for work! If you asked him about guides, he'd point you to the board you just looked at, or to go see the merchant prince Jobal.
If any of you did talk to him for a few more minutes and might confirm his suspicions that you are in fact adventurers, he might tell you about some work he needs done if the party would be interested. (I will present this now to the party due to PbP to save time. Perhaps one of you could scribe the quests that you might want to go back to?)
Zindar would explain all of this to you. Zindar is a secret member of the Ytepka Society. The Ytepka Society, also known as the Triceratops Society, is based in Port Nyanzaru and dedicated to preventing any individual or group from abusing power and upsetting the natural social order. In many respects, the society’s goals are similar to those of the Harpers which all of you would likely be familiar with (maybe not Phillip! But he'd know the Ytepka Society).
Zindar knows that three pirate captains are attacking merchant ships heading to and from the Bay of Chult. The pirate ships are called the Dragonfang, the Emerald Eye, and the Stirge. Zindar has permission from the merchant princes to offer a bounty of 2,000 gp for each pirate ship that is captured and brought into port, and a bonus 500 gp for the capture of each pirate captain.
After you leave the harbormaster's office, it's about 2:00pm. What might be next for the party?
Alton would stick around with Gotur and Philip as well for the herbalism talk. He would mainly be interested in possibly purchasing some poison of some sort.
(if they would not be able to help him, Alton would look for another vendor. On top of that, I figured Philip might also be able to hook him up. I just wanted to take advantage of Alton’s proficiency with a poisoners kit; he is after all an assassin)
:)
Other than that, I’m good to go to the docks.
Alton Thorngage- (Klein’s One Shot String Adventure)
Holden Stonefist-(A Tale of Mercenaries)
Fenrick Wolfsbane- (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden)
DMing-Ctleath13’s Lost Mines of Phandelver and Ctleath13’s Out of the Abyss
Phillip turns to Alton and squints his huge eyes into slits, still with his huge smile. The look is a little disconcerting!!
”Hmmm... it’s true! Uh huh... I can coat my arrows and weapons with my.. toxins! Uh huh, uh huh! Yup!...... But I use the poison immediately.....”.
”Hmmm.... to harvest? Or refine the components.. for later use?!.... Mmm?.... That I have not tried! Nuh-huh... nope, nope nope!.... But if you’re skilled, maybe we could try! Uh-huh, maybe, uh-huh!...”.
((OOC: @DM - Phillip is happy to try but I leave it totally up to you what works :-) ))
GILLAIN OF ATHKATLA - Human Paladin - Into the Mists PHILLIP THE GRUNG - Grung Eldritch Knight - Tomb of Annihilation
ROBWIN WINDROBE - High Elf Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak EVE DARKSHORE - Tiefling Warlock - Rime of the Frost Maiden
ASH OF THE FIRE - Tabaxi Rogue - Ghosts of Marshswamp LIA STARBORN - Aasimar Bard - Out of the Abyss
Phillip would explain to Alton that if it is more interesting poisons he is interested in other than the basic ones that are in the equipment listings, then he should most definitely speak with the merchant prince Jessamine. He would tell you more about her as well as murder in general if any talk of assassination comes up if Syn didn't talk about it during the initial walk. (I think Alton would be VERY interested in this merchant prince...)
Merchant Prince Jessamine - Deals in plants, poison, and assassination
Jessamine trades in plants, herbs, poison, and sanctioned assassination. Murder is illegal in Port Nyanzaru, as it is almost everywhere, but Jessamine has a monopoly on “sanctions” — writs that allow a killing by ordained methods (usually poison or stabbing with a blade). For an added fee, her agents will carry out the assassination, with results guaranteed. Poison is her specialty, and she has a vast personal collection.
I will make the harbor post later this morning!
So it's approaching noon hour on this hot sunny day as the party walks from #6 (Souk) to #13 (harbormaster's office). It is a very busy time of day (although what time isn't around here) and the harbor and all of the various docks are just bustling with activity. Dinosaurs hauling boats in and out of he water, humanoid and other races of all kinds loading and unloading ships and boats, and people working in and around various warehouses are some of the things you take in as you slowly enter the harbor section of the city.
Some new pieces of information now that you have a few moments to poke around:
Port Nyanzaru’s harbor can accommodate ships of all sizes. The enclosed, eastern portion of the harbor is reserved for the use of the merchant princes, but the rest of the docks are available for use by any ship. You notice that there are options available to travel by sea given all of the passenger ships and ship hands booking excursions and travelers to come aboard.
Evo, you remember seeing a few different guide ads on some job boards next to the harbormaster's office upon arrival into the city. This is due to the exact reason you mentioned: so new folks to the city and region coming off the boats can get a guide upon arrival. You take a closer look at the board. 1 / 10 / 6
(this roll is not needed -> 2)
(guide info coming up - be sure to refresh this post)
You or anyone else could also enter the harbormaster's office and talk to the harbormaster if you'd like (Zindar). He is currently there.
(sorry, I will make a new post)
Here is the guide info that was showing on the job boards. You would see the picture of them along with a blurb they wrote. (all of these corresponding NPC images can be found on the NPC tab). There were 2 posters.
Poster #1 Azaka Stormfang
If you need a guide to get you through the jungle alive, look no further. Trust me, I was born there. I'll be at the Thundering Lizard most nights enjoying a coffee should you want to discuss business. Until then ~
(the Thundering Lizard is another inn close to the one you stayed at last night. Azaka frequents the patio and can be found there sipping coffee most nights)
Poster #2 Salida
I've led countless expeditions through the jungles of Chult. I know secret trails within the jungles. Hire others at your own peril. You can find me at executioner's run.
(Executioner's run is section #2 on the city map which you don't know about yet.)
Also, Evo, you notice the two tabaxis that were in the inn last night at the harbor, looking around for what you assume a potential client.
Evo will busy himself looking at the notices before heading to the tabaxi,
"Hello there, aye saw ye yesterday at the inn but didn't have a chance to speak with ye! Meh name is Evo. Ye two wouldn't happen to be guides would ye?"
If they answer in the affirmative he will continue,
"Meh group and aye are looking for something called the soulmonger. Ye know where that is or maybe be able to lead us to a place we could find out where it is?"
If also an affirmative he asks about their rates.
((Condensing this for the pbp format.))
Evo, the tabby-ish tabaxi with the eye-patch responds: "Well hello there sir. Oh yes, we saw you last night. We knew you'd be around. Knew that Eku wasn't going to cuttttt it. I'm River. River Mist. Pleasure to meet you."
The other greyish-white one says "Yes, that's right. Eku is a fool. Hello. I'm Flask, Flask of Wine. I am River's brother and fellow guide."
River says "We saw you talking to Eku and had to leave. Lissssssssten to me. Merchant prince Jobal and his band of guides are ussssseeelessssss. Total waste of gold. If you hire the two of us, we will never lead you astray. River and Flask are up to the task!"
The brother Flask rolls his tabaxi eyes and then says "Ok River, he getsssss it. Look man, we're fast, reliable and we know what we're doing. Jobal's flunkies want to prolly charge you 5gp a day and 30 upfront? That issssss the standard rates and that isssss ridiculous. We don't work for Jobal. We have our own... network. We offer us both for only 4gp a day, no payment upfront. And if you agree to share any loot we might find, well you pay us nothing then."
"The sssssoulmonger? Sssssseeems everyone wants to find it these dayssss. Well I know it's somewhere in Omu. We help you get there. Yessssssss."
River interrupts, trying to take back the power of the conversation "Yes. My brother is right. Everything he sssssssay is right. We do not follow sheep and work for Jobal." the tabaxi spits. "What sssssay you" as her tail kind of slinks around in an interesting way.
How will you respond?
Evo is very interested in the back and forth between the two as they answer his questions,
"Nice to meet you River Mist and Flask of Wine. Good to know yer price is flexible. And ye know where Umo is then? How do ye feel about working with other guides?"
Then pausing and thinking about the princes,
"And what happens if we cut Jobal out?"
The brother Flask responds "Wwwhhhhhhhell friend, I mean, does anyone know EXACTLY where Omu is? I think not. It is a lost city, after all. We know the general direction though."
The sister River responds "Are the two of usssssss not enough?" and she kind of slithers her tail again. "We are not against travelling with otherssssss, but if they work for Jobal, and most of them do, then we want nothing to do with it."
Flask "Yessssss. We sssssibling team." he looks around, and then says "We are Zhentarim."
((Would any of your characters know about the Zhentarim? Meta if you've never heard of them -> The Zhentarim is an unscrupulous shadow network that seeks to expand its influence and power base throughout Faerun. If you think your character should be able to roll a history check to determine if they do, then go for it. If your background supports them already knowing about them (maybe Alton?) then that is fine too.))
((Gotur'd have no reason to know of them that I can see. He's letting Evo handle the conversation, as he's the one whose been screening guides.))
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Alton History: 18
He would also listen like Gotur but not speak. Allowing Evo to take charge of the conversation.
Alton Thorngage- (Klein’s One Shot String Adventure)
Holden Stonefist-(A Tale of Mercenaries)
Fenrick Wolfsbane- (Icewind Dale: Rime of the Frostmaiden)
DMing-Ctleath13’s Lost Mines of Phandelver and Ctleath13’s Out of the Abyss
Evo nods taking that in,
"Good to know, good to know. Ye do make an imposing team!"
He doesn't want to say he has no idea what 'Zhentarim' is but will ask the team later.
"Okay, we're still in the early planning stages. We can find ye here or at the inn?"
Once they are well out of earshot he will ask the party,
"What's a Zhentarim?"
((OOC once he finds out what the Zhentarim are they are definitely not getting his vote for the job!))
Gotur shrugs. "They looked like tabaxi to me."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Alton, you know this, and for everyone else who is interested because it's kind of cool, please consider it meta.
The Zhentarim, previously known as the Black Network, is a mercenary company, and greater mercantile organization in Faerun who, over their 200 years of existence, has had a storied history as a cadre of self-serving thieves, spies, assassins and malevolent wizards. The Zhentarim have become more visible in recent years, which is why Alton has likely heard of them. The group currently works to improve their reputation amongst common people. The faction draws employees and associates from many walks of life, setting them to tasks that serve the goals of the Black Network but aren't necessarily criminal in nature.
Alton, you wouldn't really know though how much of a player the Zhentarim are in Port Nyanzaru or Chult even with the roll.
Flask responds "Either or. Harbor in the day, and the inns during the evenings. We won't be available for very long though, mark my wordssssss!"
"We'll decide in the next few days and be in touch. Have a good afternoon, a pleasure meeting ye both."
They both nod and walk away.
Will anyone want to speak with the harbormaster? Or, is it time to peace out of here and do something else?
I think with taking all of the harbor in and talking to the tabaxi siblings, it's getting close to 1:00pm now.
"Might as well chat with the harbormaster while we're here."
DM: Forged in Chaos, Spiders of the Abyss, The Sundered Way, Champions of the Citadel
Active Characters:
Breldo, Halfling Ranger | Kathryn, Wood Elf Rogue/Ranger | Kroshav, Dragonborn Paladin | T'laren Farsiel, Wood Elf Fighter | Trill, Kenku Bard | Val "Janellae", Mark of Shadow Elf Warlock
Evo nods and follows Gotur to speak with the harbor master.
Phillip cheerfully accompanies the party to the docks and stays within earshot of all that’s being said.
While on the docks and in the sun, he uses shape water to gather up some nearby water, and form it into three palm-sized watery-balls, that he starts to magically juggle. If there are any children nearby, he’ll playfully entertain them with simple tricks. If not, he’ll just entertain himself.
When the party move towards the harbour master, he’ll dispel all his spells and follow close behind.
GILLAIN OF ATHKATLA - Human Paladin - Into the Mists PHILLIP THE GRUNG - Grung Eldritch Knight - Tomb of Annihilation
ROBWIN WINDROBE - High Elf Wizard - Dragon of Icespire Peak EVE DARKSHORE - Tiefling Warlock - Rime of the Frost Maiden
ASH OF THE FIRE - Tabaxi Rogue - Ghosts of Marshswamp LIA STARBORN - Aasimar Bard - Out of the Abyss
Phillip, there are indeed children around. They were quite amused by your tricks, and laugh and run around you until their parents call them away. :D
((I think I am going to do a condensed version of the Harbormaster with limited RP and you can do the same with any follow up questions you might have. I think if I RP each NPC in detail, it'll take a lot longer to get going. Let me know if you guys are ok with that. I am happy to RP each one though in detail, I just thought I'd ask. If you want to RP, just do it and then I will give back. Otherwise, for some NPC's I'll condense it.))
Ok so the harbormaster is quite an impressive looking half-dragon. You can find him on the NPC tab listed as Zindar. Most of his time is spent dealing with the hundreds of disputes, traffic jams, and other minor problems that crop up every day on a busy quayside.
He would explain that he is very busy, but would also be welcoming to any new folks to the city. By the look of you, he'd likely get the sense that you were a band of adventurers of some sort. He would actually think that you all were guides looking for work! If you asked him about guides, he'd point you to the board you just looked at, or to go see the merchant prince Jobal.
If any of you did talk to him for a few more minutes and might confirm his suspicions that you are in fact adventurers, he might tell you about some work he needs done if the party would be interested. (I will present this now to the party due to PbP to save time. Perhaps one of you could scribe the quests that you might want to go back to?)
Zindar would explain all of this to you. Zindar is a secret member of the Ytepka Society. The Ytepka Society, also known as the Triceratops Society, is based in Port Nyanzaru and dedicated to preventing any individual or group from abusing power and upsetting the natural social order. In many respects, the society’s goals are similar to those of the Harpers which all of you would likely be familiar with (maybe not Phillip! But he'd know the Ytepka Society).
Zindar knows that three pirate captains are attacking merchant ships heading to and from the Bay of Chult. The pirate ships are called the Dragonfang, the Emerald Eye, and the Stirge. Zindar has permission from the merchant princes to offer a bounty of 2,000 gp for each pirate ship that is captured and brought into port, and a bonus 500 gp for the capture of each pirate captain.
After you leave the harbormaster's office, it's about 2:00pm. What might be next for the party?