"Lloth. Be careful."
"Lloth. Be careful."
Sir Galavaine will take the mysterious cloak, potion and scroll to Rufus and Byrne in the hope that they can identify the items. He spends sufficient time to get a decent answer. If the mage cannot help but the Church can then the holy priest moves onto Calmert.
The knight finds walking hard, it feels like waddling with all those pies resting inside his stomach. Never take on a halfling or gnome again. Not at pie eating anyway.
Sir Galavaine tests the items with Pettry if the mage and church prove unhelpful.
Tarmin nods at Andre's wise division of the loot, she replenishes her store of arrow and also takes one of the vials of holy water.
With the plan in mind, Andre heads towards the trading post in order to sell the band's extraneous equipment.
"A potion to control the unliving? That way lies evil, friends. We should give that to the temple for destruction."
Gnobby takes the potion.
"If it saves lives, I'm using it. You can thank me later."
The holy warrior hands over the potion to Gnobby with a second glance. He shakes his head at Andre above the gnome but says nothing.
The cloak he leaves with the elves for them to decide and follows Andre. "If you need more wealth then I will help. The townsfolk have been most kind here. They deserve our protection."
"Buy your stuff and we can get back to the dungeon."
Gnobby has managed to pick up more pies on the road, but eats them quietly. The sting of losing to Podo still on his mind.
Sir Galavaine stays quiet at the doorway, since nobility can come at a price in these shops. He nods and waves Andre to take the lead.
Gnobby looks at the shopkeepers and cannot refrain from speaking as he shakes his fist at them: "These prices are ridiculous. I cannot believe the authorities don't arrest you for profiteering. Charging people besieged by evil this much to defend themselves, you should be ashamed. You give honest thieves a bad name."
Andre sells all the equipment the group had recovered, and begins passing out the coin. "I agree with my little friend here. The Wise Fool encountered a Shopkeep like yourselves at one point in his travels. The Wise Fool went to him and saw he was charging five silvers for a loaf of bread! 'Why is this?', asked the Fool. 'It is simple,' the Shopkeep replied. 'I am in a small town, and the villagers have nowhere else to go. Am I not allowed to make a living?' The Fool simply shook his head and said, 'You are, sir, but they are not required to purchase from you. You make nothing of your own, and are dependent upon them. Perhaps you should keep that in mind.' The Shopkeep ordered the Wise Fool out, and he left readily. The Fool passed through this same village a year later, only to find the shop under new ownership. Prices were much fairer, and the Fool inquired on this. 'Oh, the old Shopkeep died the next day,' said the new Owner. 'Buried in a pauper's grave. The only people that came to his funeral were those to whom he held debts.' The Fool bought that loaf of bread that day, and shared it with the new Owner. 'May your funeral be visited by all of those you hold dear,' was his response before he went on his travels again.
"Money may help you in this life, but one cannot buy themselves passage into the Heavens." He purchases a few things from them, and makes his way to the shrine to donate the rest of the money to them.
Just loud enough as they leave, Sir Galavaine adds, "...and sometimes our wisdom falls on stony ground. The seeds wither and die."
He clasps Andre's shoulder with renewed friendship in his example and turns his back on the shop.
As the group departs, Gnobby returns to the shop with a conspiratorial whisper. He moves to a table and takes out his dagger and shortword and imagines the jeweled daggers and swords he has seen before.
When the shopkeeper is distracted, Gnobby begins an encantation. He concentrates on his illusion and waves the shopkeeper over to his side. He can be seen to drop a series of daggers and longswords with jewel-studded hilts into a large sack. After his done, he cinches up the sack.
He turns to the shopkeeper. "How much will you give me for what is in this sack? I would not like word of this transaction to get out, so I understand the price will be reduced to pay for your discretion."
If Gnobby gets a reasonable offer on this sack full of cheap hardware, he will take it. Either way, he quickly departs the store and joins his friends on a trip to the moathouse.
Gnobby nods. Before departing he shares some information with a look of contempt for the truth of the following statement: "I was warned by a good person that this exchange we are doing is dishonest, and the goods would turn to base metals if I continued. But I was also warned by many a goodie two-shoes to refrain from lots of pleasurable activities when I was young, and no dire consequences followed."
Gnobby points to his hands, "No warts here!!"
Before departing, Gnobby adds: "I think discretion here is key. Rufus and Burne don't want to get involved here."
"A potion to control the unliving? That way lies evil, friends. We should give that to the temple for destruction."
Sallandrya will not go to the trading post with tho others, she will try to maintain that she is not part of this group as to better observe the town's reactions to her friends.
Minor recton please - Sallandrya will ask Andre to please ask if they have a strength bow available for sale, and if not if she can have one ordered for purchase.
How much gold did we get by the way?
I checked the campaign info but I don't think the final total is there.
Andre examines the haul they've amassed just in their initial foray. "That's not insignificant. Pick out what you need from this, and we can sell the rest. They'll be ready for us this time, so we'll need to be twice as prepared as before."
For my part, all I'm picking up are a few essentials - a hammer and a dozen iron spikes, just in case we decide to barricade ourselves somewhere (or block off a section of dungeon), a larger quiver, another dozen arrows, a whetstone and a waterskin. That's well within my budget. The remainder I will set aside with Ostler to purchase room and board here for approximately a month, as well as stabling for my horse. The rest, however much that may be, is donated to the temple to St. Cuthbert. No saving cash for this poor knight!
Poco is buying no gear. He will just find what he needs. He begins to walk back towards the moat house.
Gnobby follows Podo. He looks around for the group, and hands Podo a pie as they walk.
"A platinum piece will buy lots of pies."
"Let us clear some of the areas we missed along the way. Someone should keep watch in case they are preparing to attack. There are some cells close enough to look in now. Can Podo and Gnobby do the honours?"
Sir Galavaine refers to his map and points out one or two areas that should be investigated. His meticulous and organised methods show a slow and steady approach.
Bow at the ready, eyes looking for movement in the shadows, Sallandrya nods to the brave Cleric.
With a glance to catch Sallandrya's eye, Tarmin takes a position at the far entrance, peering into the gloom.
Gnobby peeks in alertly.
Podo also peers into one of the areas pointed out, hoping to catch a glimpse of something shiny or colorful.
Can Sallandrya make a Wisdom or Intelligence roll to guess at why the defenders have not set up traps or posted some guards in this area or in the upper level? Even a guess perhaps
"Let's move on. To the rooms next to the ogre. Perhaps a different direction would suffice to surprise them a little. My ambush would be later on or back in the courtyard in truth."
Sir Galavaine keeps a lantern lit and shining forwards to help others see. He is ready to hand it over to Pettry.
"Well, maybe the massive fortification builders are on holiday. If it is this easy to go to town and return, we should do it often."
"A wise tactic, Sir Galavaine," Andre agrees. "We must have put a larger dent into their forces than I imagined - I would have expected a sentry or two here to delay us and report our intrusion. Stay wary, but perhaps we are closer to victory here than we originally believed."