Adventure Path Reign of Winter

Game Master Almonihah

Sakitu is glad to wait in the hideout while Selena and Fin go out for the rescue. With those two gone, she approaches Quasit. "Wow. What a surprise. I mean Selena. Right? Well, you guys all seem good with her so I am too."

Quasit is sitting cross-legged on the floor as Sakitu approaches, sipping on a cup of wine and lost in thought about something or other. She looks up at Sakitu and smiles.

"I can't stand the little twerp to be honest." she says, then rolls her eyes. "No surprise there, right? But I think we can trust her, and she might be useful. So what can you do?" She rubs at her chin and looks off toward a corner. "I'd still like to know why she's here though. She doesn't really strike me as the underground freedom-fighter type somehow."

The long and stressful journey has taken a toll on Sakitu. She slumps into a chair. "I just hope we can be done with this whole thing soon. I never realized that an 'adventure' would be like this. Maybe my parents were right. Maybe I should have gone to visit my aunt."

Quasit finishes her wine in a quick long swallow, then nods. "You really should have." she agrees, looking back up at Sakitu. "This sucks."

She holds a straight face for about 3 seconds before busting a laugh-snort through her nose.

Bulvi nods sagely. "I agree, I should have gone to visit your aunt as well... still it would be like walking through the nine hells frozen over from here so you'll have to just accept you're stuck with us."

Maka's excitement and joy faded as Bulvi inquired about Hace. "I'm sad that he is gone and angry that he left without saying goodbye...but I know he had his reasons. Hace is real smart like that, I'd actually gotten a little used to him thinking for me." The fire monk admitted with some embarrassment. "Believe it or not there are a lot of problems that can't be solved with fire."

Maka's uncharacteristic sadness was characteristically quickly thrown off with a toothy grin as she threw an arm around Bulvi. "But that's why it's good he left me with friends. We can keep each other company and help each other out. Then when we solve this witch problem we can get a boat! I hope Hace will be back by then."

With a look of sudden realization, Maka pushed off Bulvi and smoothly rolled in to a somersault. Putting some distance between herself and the Ulfen warrior and ending in a defensive posture. "Let's spar! The others will be a bit and I'm all fired up thinking about fighting a dragon! Whoever wins gets to be on top?"

Bulvi chuckles, he secures his the scabard onto his sword tightly so it wouldn't come off in the fight. "Alright but later we should talk more... before we're surrounded by monsters again."

The ulfen man bangs his sword against his shield and nods. He quickly tries to catch Maka off guard by rushing her. If he was quick he'd throw her off balance or even to the floor by ramming her with his shield. He kept sword read to attempt to parry any lets or fists... or elbows coming towards him.

As Bulvi rushed her, Maka merely rolled to the side. Her shoulder leaning in to Bulvi's shield and using its force to send her to the side. While Bulvi's strength might have sent many tumbling, Maka's footwork delivered the energy where she wanted it. "Why later, can't talk and fight at the same time?" The fire monk said with a teasing grin. In a flash she returned a flurry of blows, coming wide and testing his defenses.

Like the dragons of which she often spoke, Maka's large frame belied the speed and grace of her movements. Her strikes and dodges flowed in to each other, efficiently carrying the momentum from one movement to the next.

Does Bulvi have a beard?

Where are Maka and Bulvi having their wrestling match? Please indulge me for a little bit. I'm trying to play Sakitu as a very emotionally driven character, which is totally not me in real life. Right now she's very much in a feel-sorry-for-me state. Not trying to be whiny and pathetic, just playing with the character.

"I know I do not know you that well, but are you going to be alright? You seemed quite upset earlier. Yang Shih needs to burn off some energy. I was planning on playing hide and seek with him and explore this place a little. If it would lift your spirits you are welcome to join."

Sakitu offers a weak smile back at Tezuzu. "You know, that sounds like it would be fun." She starts to stand when Quasit and Bulvi reply and her demeanor immediately deflates. Small tears begin to form in her eyes and she collapses back down on the floor. "Really? You guys don't want me here? You think you'd be better off without me?" She dramatically flops her head down into her folded arms, hiding her face between her knees. Her shoulders start to tremble.

"What? No! Saki! Come on, we were just joking around and saying we all would have been better off not coming to this miserable place. Your aunt's house is probably much nicer... I mean, it better be." She nudges at Sakitu with her foot. "Geez girl, how could you think that? Heck I want to *be* you when I grow up."

Probably an empty sleeping quarter. The space sounds a bit cramped so probably not too out of the way from the rest of the group.

@Saki Part of the fun of role playing is getting into the skin of someone other than yourself. It's perfectly fine and dandy RP as it gives something to play off of. I am enjoying it at least.

Tezuzu will reach out with a clawed hand before briefly pulling back and hesitating for a moment. As he continues he places it gently on Sakitus shoulder reassuringly "Well I for one am glad you are here. I would feel cheated by the fates where it otherwise. You seem timid and unsure, but underneath that I sense a strength fueled by a warm heart unmatched by most." He will retract his hand doing his best to hide his lack of comfort touching another person."I believe we will need someone with that kind of warmth to thaw the frigid evil we face."

He will then turn away from the others abruptly as Yang Shih hops out of his box before mentioning "You're welcome to join as well 'Alexia', just mind that you don't cheat. Yang Shih hates it and I really don't want to deal with his tantrums this late in the evening."

He kneels down briefly to give a small treat to his friend and muttering a word in tengu under his breath as he scratches its ear with his claw. "He won't hide until we close our eyes and start counting." He covers his eyes with his hands."While we are searching you should tell me of this Aunt of yours. I would be delighted to hear more about her."

Yang Shih chirps loudly and impatiently "Yhip Yhip"

Once Tezuzu starts counting he will scamper off quickly looking for places to hide.

Stealth: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

Sakitu scoots away with a slight move when Quasit nudges her, only making a halfhearted attempt at getting away. Sniffles can be heard coming from her hidden head. "You don't really mean that," she says, her voice muffled because of her position. She moves enough to peak one eye out at her friend. "Or do you? Do you really mean that?"

Before Quasit can respond she raises her head a little more and finds Tezuzu's gaze. Echoes of his clawed touch still on her skin. "You really think I can help?"

The words from her friends seem to quickly be bringing about a change in her demeanor. Mention of her aunt brightens her up even more. She now scoots closer to Quasit and leans against her legs.

"My aunt lives in Tian Xia, Minkai to be more correct. My parents think they sent me there to visit her. I suppose by now they have figured out that I never made it. Anyway, I've only met her a few times when I was younger. She's my mom's younger sister. A lot younger and she is really fun." Sakitu starts to giggle.

"I remember one time, the last time she visited us, she played a trick on my dad. We were having dinner and when he wasn't looking, she dropped a stone in his soup. When my dad went to take a spoonful of soup and he found the stone, he tried to hide it cause he didn't want to make my mom look bad. So then my aunt sneaked another stone into his soup. My dad tried to hide that one too. Before long he had five stones piled hidden in his lap. He was really getting confused about what happened. All of us knew what was going on so we all burst out laughing when he innocently asked us if there was anything unusual about our own bowls of soup. It was really funny"

As she tells the short story Sakitu's usual cheer comes back. Her melancholy fading as quickly as it appeared.

"So now, how do we play hide and seek with your fox?"

Tezuzu will listen intently as Sakitu finishes her story "The first thing we need to do is close our eyes and count to 100." he closes his eyes but before he begins to count he adds "But please do not call him 'my fox' he is smarter than most animals and takes offense to that sentiment. We are partners."

After he finishes his counting and begins his search he will mention "My family was originally from Tian Xia, Kwanlai, before the clan was banished. My late grandfather would tell me stories of his homeland, but usually only after a little wine. I never pressed him for more while he was alive. It always seemed to make him sad, but I wish I knew more than I do."

After some time searching he will let slip "If you ever plan to visit I would implore you to save your coin to hire a caster to magically transport you there. My earliest memories are of the desolate frozen wastes of the crown. Traveling overland is treacherous, my clan was decimated by the journey."

Fin instinctively pets Myrda and scratches behind her ears while observing...before recalling it was no ordinary wolf. With a sheepish grin, he whispers, ”Sorry, Selena...been a long time since I’ve been around a wolf or dog...old habit...isn’t guarded on the outside, or at least appears not to be...weird that there’d be children here...think we’ve seen enough...we should head back...”

Not sure if they apply, but I’m only trained in the two knowledge areas below...
Knowledge (Geography): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Providing Myrda seems ready to leave, Fin heads back with the wolf to the bathhouse to report to the others...

...and in case I need a Stealth check on the way back...
Stealth: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29

Upon arriving back to his friends, he wonders what he’s walked into as he sees Quasit drinking, a game of foxy hide and seek, as well as what sounds like another Maka/Bulvi ‘sparring’ session...

”Ahem...I’m touched you were all so worried about us...if you can gather ‘round, I’ll fill you in on what we saw before I take a warm bath and hit the hay...”

Fin sighs and continues. ”No patrols...easy approach...simple gate, no lock...no guards on the grounds, unless those statues can come to life...no sign of the dragon, other than the ice I assume it breathed to cover one face of the clock tower...and, oddly, there appear to be children in the tower. Selena, do you have anything to add?”

Yes, I think our general preference was to shop in the morning...

K Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
K Nobility: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Selena is more like a wolfish version of Sakitu, so a humanoid with wolfish features

Selena glares at Fin with a clearly "don't touch" look.

"I'm suspicious of those kids, and does magic really need to be said? Unlikely to not have the at least the basic approachs covered, then again they may want to avoid irritating the beast and thus leave the basics undone, trusting the dragon to be enough on it's own." speaking quietly of course.

Quasit takes in this report. "Children?" she asks, clearly a little confused and surprised.

Fin nods. ”Yeah, Q, I found it weird as well...they came outside, gathered some snow, and went back into the tower...no idea why.” He shrugs.

"You think someone inside is using them as servants?" she asks.

Was the group thinking morning shopping?

That's fine with me

Again, Fin shrugs. ”Perhaps...or worse. Maybe hostages to leverage certain key locals? Don’t know why they’d use children as servants when adults would seem to be more able...but I just don’t know...”

"Hostages would be more likely of tenuous political alliances rather than to bring an enemy to heel. Otherwise they'd have been guarded rather than running in the open like that. In the former case, the children stay and are not rescued out of duty and to maintain the political stability, while in the latter rescue would be attempted unless the kids are simply written off as lost. Servants is possible, or orphans, depending on what goes on at the tower normally before the dragon. Additionally, they may have been like the guardian dolls that guard the border, in which case the kids themselves are disguised defenses."

Selena discusses these ideas with a seemingly forced coldness.

Tezuzu shrugs towards fin "Worry would be counter productive."

Upon the mention of children Tezuzu will place his claws between the ridge of his beak as though he has another migraine and as he hears Fins theory adds "You are thinking of what would make sense in place like Cheliax. I fear there is something more simple and highly more sinister involved here." as he responds he trys to shake the odd feeling in his gut he gets by agreeing with Selena on this subject.

He claps his hands together before speaking "In any situation it cannot be good for the children. I had requested a few days to concentrate my magic into restoratives, but I suppose this news raises the urgency for the rest of you? Is that correct?"

He then pauses for a moment as if generally curious in the answer before quickly following up with "I shall rescind my request at your command Quasit."

He will then turn to the rest "I have not seen which of you can use magic, but I suspect the witch can at least. Do you suppose any of you can prepare defensive spells? I ask not entirely for myself, but for my companion. If there is a fight he will want to be a part of it."

He then will begin to speculate "If we cannot convince the cleric who houses us to join the fray? Perhaps we can beseech her to accompany us to the gates and call upon her rebellious goddess to grant us protection. A ward against cold magic would free up my own limited magic."

I would love it if someone would offer to cast Mage Armor on Tez's familiar or a few of us unarmored folk. Yang is built as a combat familiar but his AC is trash. If he dies Tez loses his magic. Seeing if the cleric would be kind to buff us with resist energy (cold) would be nice too.

"I'm not sure we should wait too long. If Bella is being held captive, every day may count for her safety."

"We can ask Solveig to join us, but I suspect that since she's responsible for this whole resistance organization, she probably won't want to risk it. If she dies, the resistance dies."

She sighs. "Well, if there are kids, there are kids. Obviously we won't intentionally hurt them if we get into a fight, and we'll try to not let them be used as hostages against us if we can help it. And if it turns out that they're something more sinister than they appear, we'll just have to deal with that, preferably in a nonlethal way. But we have a job to do. The dragon is our top priority."

"If things are as lax there as it sounds like, then hopefully the kids will just hide and scatter right away once we move in."

"I think we should rest tonight, sell our loot tomorrow morning, then hit the clock tower tomorrow night. Sound like a plan?"

Sakitu, you should definitely take the Cloak of Resistance +1 if you want it. And a caster really needs to take that Icicle Wand. Selena makes the most sense, but any caster should consider it.

Fin nods. ”Sounds like a plan to me, Q. I’m gonna grab a warm bath and then hit my bunk, busy day tomorrow...”

The ranger grabs a bottle of wine and heads to the warm springs...

Sakitu, fine by me if you want the cloak of resistance...

"We can ask Solveig to join us, but I suspect that since she's responsible for this whole resistance organization, she probably won't want to risk it. If she dies, the resistance dies."

Tezuzu will nod, ”My thoughts exactly, but perhaps we could have better luck convincing her to escort us to the gates and grant us protective magic before we strike. An abjuration against cold should last a while if we hit them hard and fast.” he shrugs ”If a priestess of the goddess of rebellion turns away from lending their divine grace to our cause which is rebellious and treasonous in nature than what really is the whole point of her religion now anyways?”

Eyeing up Quasit he asks ”I can ask her myself, but I think today has shown us that you are far better with convincing words than the lot of us put together. I would ask this small favor of you if you could try to convince her on our behalf.”

”And if it turns out that they're something more sinister than they appear”

Tezuzu shakes his head ”I don’t mean to imply it is certain that they are more than children, but merely that if the witches are involved it is likely to be for a more twisted profane reason than politics. I fear for their safety.”

Once the planning is done Tezuzu will stretch his arms ”Ah yes I could use a bath myself as well.”

Tezuzu will spend the next half hour preparing goodberry in his last two open spell slots and casting them and then take a bath before reading his puzzle book and sleeping.

Goodberry 1 & 2: 4d4 ⇒ (3, 1, 1, 4) = 9
INT check (puzzle book), DC 10: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

I agree Sakitu can make the most use out of the cloak. I can’t even offer to take the wand if Sakitu or Selena doesn’t want it for some reason. He can’t activate it as a wand and doesn’t use non-natural weapons. So if neither wants it just sell it I guess?

After a long series of grunts, shouts, and thuds, Maka emerged from the side room. Still in the process of putting her clothes back on, several new bruises were visible on her body. "I won both sparring matches this time!" She said with a thumbs up to the group. Taking a seat and pouring a cup of sake from her jug, Maka looked like the cat that stole the canary. "I maybe cheated a little. Strip sparring rules made it too easy."

Fin sighs and continues. ”No patrols...easy approach...simple gate, no lock...no guards on the grounds, unless those statues can come to life...no sign of the dragon, other than the ice I assume it breathed to cover one face of the clock tower...and, oddly, there appear to be children in the tower.

"Good, we don't have to both with any trickety trick tricks and can just go fight! Oh wait, what if Tezuzu was right and the dragon is running an orphanage? We shouldn't fight him if he is actually a good guy!" Maka's face dropped to a look of utter disappointment at her realization. "Wait! If he's a good guy we can make friends with him and then I can fight him just for fun. Okay we are still good." Maka's crisis ended as quickly as it began.

Fin nods. ”Sounds like a plan to me, Q. I’m gonna grab a warm bath and then hit my bunk, busy day tomorrow...”

Once the planning is done Tezuzu will stretch his arms ”Ah yes I could use a bath myself as well.”

In all the excitement of dragons and sex, Maka had forgotten about the bath house. "Yes! Let's go take a bath!" She exclaimed before looking looking at Selena with a welcoming look. "You should join us." Without waiting for a response, Maka grabbed Quasit and Sakitu's hands to pull them along with her.

Eyeing up Quasit he asks ”I can ask her myself, but I think today has shown us that you are far better with convincing words than the lot of us put together. I would ask this small favor of you if you could try to convince her on our behalf.”

Quasit nods. "Sure. Can't hurt to ask."

GM, Quasit will look for Solveig before going to bed and make this request. We can role-play it out if you like.

"Yes! Let's go take a bath!" She exclaimed before looking looking at Selena with a welcoming look. "You should join us."

Quasit bursts out laughing. "Yeah Selena! You totally should..."

Without waiting for a response, Maka grabbed Quasit and Sakitu's hands to pull them along with her.

"...Urp!" says Quasit as her arm gets yanked. She's not laughing anymore. "Hey! I took a bath last week! And you guys took a bath last night! How clean do you need to be?" But in the end she surrenders to Hurricane Maka and just lets herself get carried off to the tubs. "Fine, fine! But don't peek! I'm not used to bathing naked with other people! And definitely no boys allowed, so don't even think about that one Maka!"

"...Urp!" says Quasit as her arm gets yanked. She's not laughing anymore. "Hey! I took a bath last week! And you guys took a bath last night! How clean do you need to be?" But in the end she surrenders to Hurricane Maka and just lets herself get carried off to the tubs. "Fine, fine! But don't peek! I'm not used to bathing naked with other people! And definitely no boys allowed, so don't even think about that one Maka!"

"Svachchhata, bhakti se bhee badhakar hai." Maka replied with a wide smile. "Oh uh, being clean is important. No peaking, no boys, got it!" Maka continued to drag her friends along, delighted to have finally convinced them to take part in an important family bonding event.

"Oh uh, being clean is important. No peaking, no boys, got it!"

Tezuzu will move to intercept hurricane Makas path ”I do not believe you have ‘got it’, Maka. I am not sure what the norms are where you are from, but in most civilized society it is frowned upon to mix baths.” He will wag his hand in a condescending manner as he continues ”So please put Quasit and Sakitu down and follow me. We shall be joining Bulvi and Findurel for our bathing.”

If you haven’t caught the hints Tez has been laboring under the assumption Maka is a man. Tall athletic build, short hair, bundled up in winter clothing. Easy enough mistake for his birdbrain to make.

Maka gave Tezuzu a confused look. "...what? Oh, yeah I want to take a big group bath too but Quasit said no peeking, no boys. Don't worry though, we'll make sure to keep the dirty water out of the clean water. "

”I do not believe you have ‘got it’, Maka. I am not sure what the norms are where you are from, but in most civilized society it is frowned upon to mix baths.”

Fin shakes his head at the Tengu's naivete. "Then I guess the Elvish societies I was raised in would be considered uncivilized to you, my friend...not only were mixed baths common, we even had mixed hunting parties, sans clothing, every Midsummer's Eve..."

Recalling the baths in the Monks' cave, he says in a lighter voice, "You are also 'misreading' Maka in one key aspect, my friend; I can assure you, she is all woman..."

Seeing as the women wish to bathe in privacy, he bids them good night. "As our presence would make Q uncomfortable, and I suspect Sakitu as well, I will leave the springs to you ladies. I shall wake early and bathe then, before we journey to market. Enjoy yourselves and I'll see you in the morning..."

Fin bows and retires to his bunk...

"Then I guess the Elvish societies I was raised in would be considered uncivilized to you, my friend...not only were mixed baths common, we even had mixed hunting parties, sans clothing, every Midsummer's Eve..."

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't be elves if you didn't dance naked on a lonely hilltop under the Midsummer moon. Man, humans are so boring." opines Quasit as she's dragged away.

Her voice can be heard echoing back up the corridor as she disappears from sight. "Oh, and this is just a bath-- don't punch me! I keep my violence and my bathing distinctly separate..."

Recalling the baths in the Monks' cave, he says in a lighter voice, "You are also 'misreading' Maka in one key aspect, my friend; I can assure you, she is all woman..."

"Well I might be part dragon too. Wait...Tezuzu did you think I was a boy?" Maka laughed as she finally understood the Tengu's assumptions. "That's funny, I can never tell if birds are boys or girls either."

"Yeah, I guess you wouldn't be elves if you didn't dance naked on a lonely hilltop under the Midsummer moon. Man, humans are so boring." opines Quasit as she's dragged away.

"We've really got to visit Fin's home once we get that boat!" Maka responded.

Her voice can be heard echoing back up the corridor as she disappears from sight. "Oh, and this is just a bath-- don't punch me! I keep my violence and my bathing distinctly separate..."

"Of course, don't be silly! Baths are for cleaning, not getting dirt..." The echos of Maka's voice joined those of Quasit's.

Tezuzu will take pause at Findurel’s remark as if frozen in time as the gears in his mind turn trying to process his statements before his pupils expand like saucers. ”AH.... yes...I suppose... uhhhhhhh... Yes.... I have err...made an error.”

Grateful for his feathers that are most certainly hiding his furious blush he will ignore his usual pedantic instinct to point out to Findurel the qualifier of ’most’ he used and immediately bow deeply and apologetically towards Maka.

”Forgive my ignorance.”

”I Shall Bathe Later Tonight After The Ladies Have Finished.” he says ridged in posture as he turns to make a retreat down the other end of the tunnel.

If one listens closely his muttering can be faintly heard echoing off the walls ”Inconsistent......variance.... mammalian.....dimorphism....statistically..... mammaries....wingspan.....hair.....labels....chaos.....reptiles.....primate s....biology....”

Sakitu jumps in whole heartedly to the game of hide and seek. It seems like just the activity that she needs to relieve her stress.

As Fin and Selena relay their observations from the tower, Sakitu looks confused. "What about the trolls? I thought there were going to be trolls there." A horrid though crosses her mind. "Maybe they turned the trolls into children. Or the children into trolls. Or maybe the children turn into trolls at night. That can happen, right?" The more Sakitu thinks about it the worse the situation seems.

...

Maka grabs Sakitu's arm and begins dragging her back to the bathing room. At first Sakitu resists but only at first. "Oh. A bath does sound like it would be fun. I mean, as long as it's just us girls."

She almost skips down the hall, her cheerful and bubbly voice also joining Maka's and Quasit's. Her anxieties from a few minutes ago behind her. "Tezuzu looked a little bothered. Maybe even embarrassed. What happened?" she asks innocently.

Selena follows along but only puts her feet in, and hesitantly. She doesn't bring up any conversation, seeming content to listen and think.

Come morning Solveig rises early, seemingly occupied with messages she recived just before morning. Likewise, Ringeirr returns with a surprise of his own.

Ringeirr has a bundle and message from Rustgar - the clockwork priest several of the group member met with before meeting with Tezuzu.

Those who head to check out the merchants are easily able to sell whatever they wish for 1/2 value. Purchasing goods proves to be a bit more troublesome. Cloaks are the easiest to find so you all can assume that any of the cloaks you have asked about can quickly be purchased. Enchanting items is possible, but timing isn't in your favor. Anything you wish to enchant won't be ready for several days. The bundle from Rustgar includes the shield Bulvi asked about, an enchanted bow that will meet Fin's needs, a Sash of the war champion, and monk's robes. Both the sash and robes currently have the broken condition. As such they do not currently work, but also do not count at their full value (75% value) for wealth. They can be mended following normal rules and/or sold (half of 75%).

"What about the trolls? I thought there were going to be trolls there." A horrid though crosses her mind. "Maybe they turned the trolls into children. Or the children into trolls. Or maybe the children turn into trolls at night. That can happen, right?" The more Sakitu thinks about it the worse the situation seems.

"Most likely the lazy jerks are sitting inside the clock tower eating and drinking and making the kids serve them." says Quasit. "The whole point of using trolls as your guards is that they're big and scary looking -- I don't think turning them into kids would serve their goals. And don't forget there's a witch in there too. The kids might be working for her. Until she decides to cook them up and eat them anyway."

A new thought occurs to Quasit. "Saki, when you take a bath do you do it furry or non-furry?" she asks, seemingly genuinely curious.

"Fin I think you broke Tezuzu... He's going to be peering at every mammalian humanoid he sees for a month I suspect." Bulvi shakes his head at the elf. "You have turned his world upside down."

"Trolls I had almoat forgotten about those... what with the dragon."

Once the shopping starts and Quasit learns that enchanting might take several days, Quasit cautions her friends. "It's possible that once we deal with the dragon, we'll have to immediately make our push to reach the Hut, and once we find the Hut we might leave White Castle and Golarian and go to some other Plane. Which means we may not be around next Oathday to pick up any bundles of crafted items. I'd recommend we buy what we can find now, equip it now, and call it good."

Fin rises very early the next morning, an hour or so before dawn, and heads to the warm springs Solveig had mentioned. He disrobes and goes through stretches and exercises for several minutes before taking his bath. The ranger closes his eyes after easing into the water, totally relaxed after just a few minutes, the hot water doing its work. He goes over in his mind the previous night’s reconnaissance, picturing in his mind how best to approach and enter the tower...it seemed too easy and he suspected it would prove much more difficult in reality...he frowned when thinking about the statues on the tower grounds. Are they just statues?

Reluctantly, he steps out and dries off. He dresses and gathers his gear and heads in search of breakfast. Surprised upon seeing Ringeirr, he is doubly surprised by the bundle the man has brought them. His eyes open widely as he sees and admires the bow; he reaches out and takes it into his hands. Fin brings it up, as if to fire, admiring its balance and pull.

He looks to Ringeirr. ”Well met, my friend. Tell Rustgar his champion has a superb eye for bows; it is exquisite...is he an Elf by chance? And how much do I owe him for this beauty?”

Fin will definitely be picking up a Cloak of Elvenkind, along with some arrows. GM, not trying to be greedy just asking, would either the Efficient Quiver (1800 gp) or Boots of Elvenkind (2500 gp) also be available at this market?

Despite the bustle of the merchants squeezed around too few buildings, crowded porch areas, and make shift alley ways by late morning those who have been shopping manage to find a few more sources of gear.

Fin, the quiver is fine. Further, all others can find additional items of interest at or below 2,000 gold value. If it's close to that feel free to ask.

Ringeirr smiles at Findurêl's response, "Alas he is a human, but from what Rustgar told me he has an eye for fine craftsmanship. I imagine if you asked Rustgar yourself he would simply say that what you and your fellows are doing is quite enough. However, if you're asking me his little monastary could use whatever gifts you can spare."

As they moved through the market, less bothered by the cold than most of his companions. "Heavier armour... that would give me a better chance. Full plate is expensive but now is the time to get it if ever there was one. If I can find someone to repair that sash it will be useful when it's fixed. Maybe we can find an alchemist to buy some potions from."

Thanks, GM.

Fin reflects on Ringeirr’s words. ”It would’ve cost me 2,000 gold to have my own bow enchanted...I’ll send that gold to the monastery, if you don’t mind carrying it there upon your way back. Give my thanks to Master Rustgar and his champion as well...and my thanks to you, Ringeirr, you’re a good friend and even better man...”

The Elf bows and prepares to leave for the market with his friends.

=======================

Fin nods in agreement with Quasit’s caution on shopping. ”Aye, I had not thought about that, but I agree...once we set off those fireworks to signal the others, things are liable to move fast...”

Once at the market, Fin is pleased to find a Cloak of Elvenkind and an Efficient Quiver; he has enough to purchase both. The ranger will also purchase up to 120 assorted arrows to fill the first two compartments of the quiver, putting his old and new bow in the remaining compartment. He holds back a wave of emotion, as he recalls a memory of his father; his dad had always been well equipped and had a quiver of similar make. Following in your footsteps, father...not in the sand, but in the snow...

Ringeirr gladly accepts the gold to give to the monastery. He corresponds with Solveig, it is clear he isn't happy to hear the news of children possibly being held within the tower. He entrusts any further assistance for the party to Solveig and heads out of the compound. Although Solveig is busy with preparations she is available to the party.

Quasit's desired purchases:

Mithril chain shirt +1 (2250g)
Short sword +1 (2310g)
Cloak of Resistance +1 (1000g)
Potion of Fly (750g)
Potion of Resist Energy (cold) (300g)

Those are all good Quasit.

Tezuzu will awaken at the breaking of dawn and performs his meditation and spiritual communion.

Upon greeting the others he will draw out of his backpack 5 small cloth bags tied off with twine each with a scrap of paper tied to the end names scrawled in delicate calligraphy. Maka, Bulvi, Sakitu, Quasit, Findurel. ”Pressed for time this is the best I could do. These are my gifts to you they should be good for a few days they will heal minor aches and pains and provide great sustenance.”

Inside each bag are three healing berries mixed in with a few crushed spiced pecans. Makas bag will find an addition of few chili coated dried grasshoppers and a single honey roasted beetle with a single small note with the words ’I hope these additions makes up for my earlier foolishness’

Tezuzu will take in the smells of the market reminiscing ”You know it is good to be back here it has been quite a while.” he will beam cheerfully before his tone will turn slightly dour ”It is nice to take in before these streets run wet with the blood and chaos that is to come.”

He will spend some of his time at the market looking for a trader that might sell some dried exotic bugs and stock up on them before he no longer can.

Upon greeting the others he will draw out of his backpack 5 small cloth bags tied off with twine each with a scrap of paper tied to the end names scrawled in delicate calligraphy. Maka, Bulvi, Sakitu, Quasit, Findurel.

"Aww thanks!" Maka accepted the gift with a shoulder crushing hug.