While not thrilled Bulvi begins removing his weapons, two pistols, two warhammers, a longbow, two daggers, javelins, three longswords and a club. "I should really sell some of these now I see it all in one pile."
Kalchine's fluffy eyebrows and ears raise in surprise at the small armory Bulvi divulges himself of. "You could start a weapons shop with that collection," he comments.
He casts a subtle glance at Maka, Selena and Sakitu. Though Fin, Bulvi and Quasit are assuredly dangerous with their weapons, three remaining ladies were as dangerous without them.
The maftets have done little to keep their queen secured unless they also have some sort of magic inhibiting preparations.
Once you're disarmed, the maftets lead you into the larger and more ornately decorated and carved of the two buildings. After a couple of turns you emerge in a larger room, decorated with red and green tiles and poles of finely carved wood. A maftet with purple skin and black fur, wearing a plain gold crown and a larger golden necklace sits in a small throne in the chamber.
"Welcome to the Golden City, strangers," she says, waving you to a number of seats (all obviously built for people with wings and tails) on the opposite side of the room from her throne. "I am Queen Esmyra, ruler of our Island of Buyan."
Once you're seated, a pair of maftets come to each of you, offering you cups of some sort of honeyed drink, bringing one to the queen last. Once she's taken a sip to moisten her throat, she launches into a speech.
"We have lived in our beautiful Golden City on this island since before the time of our grandsires’ grandsires. Always we have been masters of our realm, living in peace, hunting, and gliding upon the thermals—until two days ago. Then strange creatures from the depths of the sea emerged upon our island’s shores. They demanded that we swear loyalty to their rule. We fought them, but individually they are more powerful than my people, and several of my warriors were killed. These enemies have demanded that I be chained to the old sacrificial rock below the city tomorrow at dawn or they will invade our island and kill all of my people. The creature you fought earlier is merely one of the horrors that our enemies can command. We cannot stand against them, so tomorrow I go to my fate to save my people. But with your arrival, perhaps the tide can be turned, and the fate of myself and my people can be rewritten.”
She pauses to gauge your reactions.
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Quasit sits politely and listens demurely to the queen. She sips the drink with the best grace she can manage. Once the queen finishes, Quasit nods for Bulvi to translate.
"Queen Esmyra, thank you for you gracious welcome. I am called Quasit by my people. Perhaps it is indeed fate which has brought us to your shores--for before today we knew nothing of your people or of these sea creatures you speak of. But I for one do not believe in coincidence."
"I am going to be honest with you, because I believe we must help each other. Under no circumstances should you be surrendered to these enemies. I think they will kill you and will not honor the bargain. My friends and I were directed to come to your island in search of a magical artifact, hidden in a tree of your forest. We had intended to look for it and leave when we found it, without troubling your people. But we have an enemy of our own that seeks to obstruct our search, and I would not be surprised if this enemy is the one behind your mysterious new strange creatures of the sea. No doubt she wishes to dislodge your people so she can control this island and keep us off of it. She has made such attempts to obstruct us before, and is growing increasingly desperate as we near the end of our search, because she knows that our success means her demise."
"Tell us what you'd like us to do."
Kalchine sips his drink and watches Quasit with obvious pride. She is more impressive than she thinks and he wonders if she realizes what a leap she has made from what he understands is a rather paltry beginning. Street rat to powerful adventurer comfortable talking to an alien queen.
Queen Esmyra permits herself a small smile as Bulvi translates Quasit's words. "This is what I would ask of you, bold and strange warriors. I will go to the sacrificial stone as I said, but you will wait, hidden in ambush, for those who would come to take me. Slaying them will be your first blow against these invaders. If you can do that... perhaps we will have a chance. We can make plans for how we can fight together to defend this island."
"But we ask much of you, warriors. What do you ask of us in return? There is little in our power we would not do for you if you save us in this our hour of greatest distress."
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"Well, as I mentioned, we are here to seek a magical artifact hidden long ago inside a tree on your island. We had intended to search for this tree, but perhaps you know where this tree is already?"
"And while I don't wish to sound like a mercenary, some of my companions may feel that protecting you isn't our mission here. If there were to be some sort of appropriate compensation...?"
"What can you tell us about these creatures who attack your island. What do they look like? What powers do they have that make it hard for your people to fight them off?"
"A tree with hidden magic?" Queen Esmyra frowns in thought for a moment. "There is an old legend about a tree that hides something from a powerful witch. We could show you to it after the threat is gone. As for compensation, we will give you what we have of gems and jewelry if you save our lives."
"Our enemies are strange, skinless monstrosities, seeming like the torso of one of our people atop the body of a horse. They spread sickness about them--some warriors survived their first attack only to die screaming from a fever that started shortly after the battle." She shudders at the memory.
"As you have seen, they have a few allies that are other sorts of horrible monsters, but the majority of them are these horrific diseased horse-things."
Bulvi continues translating before adding. "Does anyone know what these flayed centaur things might be. For a moment I was thinking maybe a Leukodaemon with the plague angle and horse features but that doesn't hold up to the description."
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"A tree with hidden magic?" Queen Esmyra frowns in thought for a moment. "There is an old legend about a tree that hides something from a powerful witch. We could show you to it after the threat is gone. As for compensation, we will give you what we have of gems and jewelry if you save our lives."
Quasit nods. "I think we understand one another. You'll have our help."
"Would you mind if we looked about your town until tomorrow? Maybe buy some supplies and sample your cuisine? Oh, and the elf would like a bath."
"Does anyone know what these flayed centaur things might be. For a moment I was thinking maybe a Leukodaemon with the plague angle and horse features but that doesn't hold up to the description."
Quasit shrugs and shakes her head and looks around to see if anyone else can name that beast.
"Foul waters? Perhaps fixing the water will help." Selena suggests.
Bulvi looks between the two women and sighs quietly, the pair might well help save the world together but they'd never get on. He made sure the sigh was quiet though as getting caught between the two of them seemed like a good way to ruin a good day.
"That's a better lead than I have Fin so I'll keep that in mind when we track it down. So cold iron is a save bet. I should have tried to pick up some cold iron bullets back on earth now I think about it. I doubt they have any here."
Kalchine adds any information he knows to the party's knowledge of the nucklelavee.
He notes Bulvi's sigh and the cause and gives a little nod of agreement.
"Of course you are welcome to stay here in the Golden City until our foes are defeated and you need to continue your journey," the Queen says. "You might find it most comfortable to camp in the plaza. I fear we have no specific accommodations for guests."
Bulvi translates the Queens message and almost everything asked by his allies... almost.
"Fin they have no spare accommodations for visitors. At this point it's fair to say they're incredibly isolations and we'd have to be inconveniencing someone in their home. There is a perfectly fine ocean you'll have to make do with a gorgeous tropical beach and it's soothing waters that are mostly monster free. I'm not asking that. Though you should try to pick up a metal tub or something we can fit into the bag of holding when we find somewhere with such craftsmen."
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"Fin, tell ya what. Why don't you take Sakitu and fly down to the spot where the nuckleheads want to do their queen sacrifice and scout it out for good hiding spots and all that. And while you're down there, if you two want to frolic in the waves, all the better. Any sort of frolicking really, I'm open-minded. Oh and if Selena wants to go along and look for contaminated water, I suppose that can't hurt."
"Meanwhile, I'm going shopping here. And having Naftet food. Maka, we have jewelry to buy. And maybe fancy soaps or perfumes. Probably not shoes sadly, the paw people probably don't have much to offer there."
"Bulvi, let the queen know that we will set up a camp near the plaza as she suggests. She should send for us in the morning when she's ready for us."
Queen Esmyra seems quite happy to talk about her people and the Golden City. In spite of the... grandiose name, the Golden City consists of a grand total of two large buildings which provide communal quarters for the entire extended tribe of just under two hundred maftets--apparently they're quite comfortable with sharing close quarters. You get the impression most of them spend most of their time outside, hunting, fishing, gathering from the forest, or crafting whatever they need in the plaza or nearby their homes. It sounds like they have a barter-based economy, with individuals looking to make a swap often meeting up in the main plaza to discuss trades.
They don't have any baths beyond the ocean.
Bulvi will head with Quasit to the plaza, hoping that his linguistic skills will be of use once again.
Queen Esmyra chats with you for a little while longer, obviously curious about where you came from and how you arrived here. After a while, however, she regretfully dismisses you, saying she needs to prepare herself to be 'bait' tomorrow.
Exiting back into the plaza, you see there's a few activities going on there right now. A half-dozen maftets are drilling with their weapons--scimitar-like swords, mostly--in one corner. In another, several adults ride herd on a swarm of younglings, those old enough to be trusted outside but not old enough to work. The rest of the plaza has a few knots of chatting maftets, most of whom quickly orient on the party and either start staring again or start peppering you with questions.
When Bulvi communicates Quasit's desire to make some trades, several of them express interest, offering a variety of jewelry (made of gold or copper, some with a few small gems), fine garments in maftet styles (the pair of maftets who offer these laugh about how your lack of wings and tails will make the openings on the backs awkward), and painted pottery... assuming you can find something they're interested in trading for.