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At the Juggler at night.
Mirella snuggles next to Devan, to tired to do anything but fall asleep in his warm arms. As she fades off to sleep she vaguely hears him say something about not getting any rest.
Her sleep that night is troubled with one particular dream standing out. In the dream: she was standing down the street looking at the Sailor's Delight. Surrounding the building there seemed to be a red cloud that made it hard to see everything clearly. As she strained to see better, she realized that the front door was dripped water and she could hear a grating voice screaming from inside. "I am the queen of this building. It was given to me!" the voice seemed to be ranting.
She started to walk closer and saw a young girl move quickly past her to the front door. The door opened and a inside was the ugly sea hag grinning with an evil smile. As the girl stood at the doorway, rats suddenly appeared around her feet and carried her into the brothel. The door slammed shut and she knew the girl was dead.
She started to walk forward and suddenly realized there was a whole crowd of people around her. The crown was all of which were moaning as if they were sick. They streamed past her and moved in the direction of the Sailor's Delight. As the first people in the crowd entered the red cloud rats appeared again around their feet and they were carried into the Sailors Delight.
Mirela screamed and yelled for the others around her to stop but they seemed to not hear her. No matter how hard she yelled, more and more girls would walk past her into the cloud to carried away by rats into the Sailors Delight.
Mirela was suddenly pushed from behind and turned to see her mother behind her, her face showing the full signs of the Red Veil.
You were supposed to save us! her mother moaned as she reached out to push Mirela back, slowing forcing her closer to the cloud herself. You just left us! Why?. She was pushed back again and heard the sounds of rats coming closer. She spun back around to see the door to the Sailor's delight swollen and dripping with water start to swing open...
Mirela suddenly opened her eyes, as Whisper pushed her again in the chest with her paws. The wolf having jumped up on the bed after Devan had left and was clearly impatient for Mirela to get up.
As reality slowly wormed it's way into Mirela's brain, the lingering horror of the dream made her shiver. After wrestling with the pup for a bit she dragged herself out of bed, and threw herself into the comfort of the morning observances to Old Deadeye. She had managed to get herself into some semblance of a civilized mood before she headed down to join the others at breakfast. During that time, assuming nobody else asks for them, she takes the identified wand of Cure Moderate wounds the the Mithral Dagger (Replacing her own dagger that was hanging on her belt).
As Devan headed out to go shopping, she still was feeling a bit off, so she quietly slipped away to do her own purchases. Knowing where she had bought some arrows last time she headed again to Fletcher's to see if she can pick up more of the silver arrows.
As soon as the shop opens she walks in.
Good day Master Fletcher. 'ow are you and your family 'olding up? I 'ope the recent bugs that 'ave been going around 'ave missed you all?
As they get down to business:
I was wondering if you still be 'aving more of those silver arrows I bought from you before? They did work quite well against the Imps last time, and I would be liking to buy the rest of them from you if you still 'ave them for sale?
I would also be interested in maybe a 'alf dozen arrows with Cold Iron arrowheads if you wanted to make them. No rush, but maybe you could be making some for me as a special order to pickup sometime?
Not having wanted to wake Mirela, Devan slipped down to the main room of the Juggler and started in on breakfast, famished after the long day. When the priestess joined them he made plans to go shopping before their trip to the Citadel, tilting his head a bit but smiling in agreement as she decided to go off on her own. Perhaps something with the rat-folk or with their underwater excursion was troubling her...the musician was sure she would offer an explanation if she had an issue with him. She seemed a direct sort.
Later on, the bard studied himself in a mirror at the shop, grinning and nodding his agreement with the shop owner. "It's certainly flashy enough...let's hope its bite is as good as its predecessor." Paying the man the difference between the two, Devan hurried off to join the others so they could go meet with Kroft.
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Wizard 0: Acid splash, Mage hand, prestidigitation, read magic. 1:Mage armour, Vanish, Magic weapon, (S)Colour spray.2:Spectral hand, Spectral hand, (S)Blur | Subtle misdirection 6/6. Bonded item 1/1. Pearl Lv1 1/1
After dinner, Twilight retired to her room and brought out the two wands she carried. As she had done before, she studied their magics to see if she could glean any more insights into how they were made.
After a short time she sighed and put them aside. She had already learned all she could from them and investigating them further revealed no new secrets. The time for study was over, she wanted to actually apply her knowledge and craft her own wand. But for that she would need supplies which would have to wait until tomorrow.
She took out her holy symbol and examined the dual magical auras that played about it. Her expanded knowledge of melding magic with physical objects along with her deepening understanding and faith in Callistria had brought her to the cusp of her project. It wouldn't be long now until she was ready to perform the ritual that would forge a link between her arcane knowledge and faith in the divine. And for that preparations would have to be made.
With a yawn she stretched and prepared for bed. She glanced at the closet and her crypt outfit that hung within. She had hoped that she would never have to wear it again. "Moldy crypts, filthy butcher shops, polluted waters and now a true sewer. I was supposed to by ingratiating myself into the ranks of nobility and dining among the elite, how did I end up so far away from those goals.". As she laid back she though "This is all the queen's fault, and for that I will have to repay her inconveniences in kind"
The next morning she awoke early and performed her daily observances before spending a little longer in the chapel as she began to make her preparations for the ritual to come.
After a quick breakfast, she headed out to do a little shopping herself. Normally she would have gone to Tasha and Alexi's shops, but with them closed and the Acadamae also barred shut, she was not certain where else to buy materials for the wand she had in mind. As a result, she spent the morning asking about for an alternate supplier.
As the party reconvenes, Twilight dons her the heavy coat and boots along with the scarf stuffed with perfumed herbs. "Do we want to stop by Lavenders? If they are selling plague cures they might also be a source for anti plague concoctions. I have none left and it would seem prudent to stock up before heading into the sewers and facing lycanthrops."
Atticus nods at Twilights words.
"I would also like to stack a few items. Blanches for Mirela´s arrows and some more alchemical items can do wonders!"
When the half-elf mentioned Lavender's again (the bard had nearly forgotten about the 'miracle cures' offered by the woman after all the activity the previous night), Devan thought for a moment, then nodded. "It might be worth looking into, I agree. Hopefully this Lavender has figured out an effective cure for the Veil, but it could be that she's working with the people behind it. It's the most twisted scheme to enrich one's self that I could imagine, but people are all kinds of messed up. Lamm is a prime example."
Devan didn't understand much about alchemy, but he understood the basics of it enhancing items and people. If the Professor could give them an edge against the ratmen should it come to blows, the bard was all for it.
The musician's dark eyes drifted to the south and the Citadel, then he added, "Let's go see Kroft, first. I'd like to see if they were able to turn out river excursion into something positive." He looked at the others for affirmation, ready to get the morning started and start to work on the already-lengthy list of tasks the group had set out for themselves this day.
Wait! Before we go to the Citadel, can we get the coins you buried from the man you and Nargun saw die?
I did be granted a minor miracle that can tell if the objects do be spreading the Veil. But I can only do it once and on a area about the size of a tavern table.
So if we could be bringing all the things that might be infected together in one place it would 'elp us to eliminate as many thing as possible at one time.
After that we can go see this Lavender. I do be thinking it is more likely she do be just selling snake oil, rather then working with the cause of this, but anything do be possible. I would be happy if she did be 'aving a real cure but... At the last you can hear the skepticism in her voice.
Devan smiled at Mirela, nodding, "Of course. It'd be useful information to give Kroft and know ourselves before we continue our hunt." The thought of digging up the possibly infected coins honestly gave the musician anxiety, but he had seen the priestess's work in curing the young girl, and trusted her to do so again if needed.
If no one objected, he led the group to the side of the abandoned building Nargun and he had buried the coins in, making sure no one saw them before he led them inside and to the loose pile of earth where the bag of silver was hidden.
Fletcher's shop is open and he does still have the 15 silver arrows that you spurned the last time. "Glad to be of service to a priestess of Old Deadeye," he says making the proper genuflecting sign. "Of course I can fashion some cold-iron arrows as well. Half a dozen should be no problem, provided I can get the ore from my supplier. With the Blood Veil around, no telling who is open and who is closed. Come by tomorrow and pick up the rest. No need to pay in advance." he says, pushing your money back to you.
After casting about for a bit, Twilight eventually finds a small, dingy magic shop owned by a bleaching gnome named Falstaff, or at least that's the name he gives. In the Old World, names meant power, and many of the Old Folk had different names for different occasions. Twilight only assumed that this was the case with this particular fellow.
He didn't say much, and one of his eyes was white with blindness. His shop was cluttered and disordered, not at all like the well organized pickings at Tasha's.
Eventually, the priestess/wizard finds what she needs to craft the wand warding against evil. She pays her coins, which are slid unsmiling into a dirty leather bag under the counter, and leaves.
Before heading to the Citadel to check in with Croft, the group returns to the area around All the World's Meats where Nargun and Devan had their encounter with the unfortunate vagrant, and buried his suspected gold.
Soon the leather pouch is dug back up, the suspect coins still clink and rattle innocently enough inside.
After the small bit of work needed to unearth the bag of coins, Devan stepped back, suddenly nervous as he glanced down at the mundane-looking sack he and the dwarf had put the coins in. He felt somewhat silly for his hesitation, but only had to look outside to remind himself that the possible corruption on those silver sails was deadly. Reaching down, he grabbed the top of the sack and pulled out the bag, setting it on the slowly-warping floor of the building they were in. He then nodded to Nargun to retrieve the coins they had fetched from the Direption, turning his head and forcing a smile at Mirela. "All's ready."
Let's put the leather pouch and maybe the cloak close by and I will test them all at once.
Once they have everything gathered Mirela casts Detect Disease on the 5 foot area containing all these items.
Everyone stands back as Mirela casts the disease identifying divination over the two sets of coins. The set from the Direption indicate there is no disease present on them. However, the coins dug up from the ground, once belonging to a beggar who died from blood veil, indicate the presence of that same disease upon them, though the trace is very faint.
Twilight had read about bleaching at the Acadamae and felt pity for Fallstaff. It seemed like a cruel end to one's life, slowly withering away over an extended period of time as one's emotions faded to nothing mirrored by the decline of one's health. It was certainly a fate that any follower of Callistria would find abhorrent.
She paid for her purchase and left the depressing shop, returning to the inn to store the materials and rejoin her friends.
She watched with interest as Mirela cast her spell and announced the results. Frowning she said "Well, that is a surprise. If the coins on the ship weren't contaminated, the coins on the beggar could have picked up the affliction from being handled by the beggar himself.
But it still seems like too big a coincidence that the ship, marking itself as being a plague ship and seeming to have only a single crewman dedicated to Urgathoa would be sunk just before the veil started."
Mirela lets the others know exactly what she sees as she observes the items.
Then after Twilight's comments she things for a moment and replies:
These coins did be buried for at least a day. If someone sick touches something and it can still be spreading the Veil for 24 hours after that... That do be concerning.
The door of every inn, store or bucket on a corner well could start spreading the plague if one sick person did be touching it.
She shakes her head in frustration.
Go ahead and take those coins.She points at the clean coins. Those do be safe, I suggest we bury the other coins and go talk to Kroft.
Devan's brow furrowed as Mirela spoke of the items she was examining, announcing the ship coffer's content as 'clean'. How odd, though perhaps the extended time in the river water had washed away the taint of the Veil. Bending down, he took the clean coins and pocketed them before helping to re-bury the Veil-afflicted silvers, doing a much better and thorough job of patting the dirt down and making it seem less disturbed. As much as he could, anyway.
While he was working, he kept thinking on things. The Direption, the beggar, the coins. They were all tied together. Suddenly, he turned to the others, dark eyes serious as he spoke, "The little girl you cured...she was hiding something when I spoke to her about when she had fallen ill. There was something she didn't want to talk about...I'm willing to bet it was silver sails. Their place is pretty close to the east bank of the Jeggare, pretty close to where the ship went down."
Regardless of the discussion that might elicit, he agreed with the priestess that their first priority was to go meet with Kroft. "Let's go see what she has to say, then visit Lavender's. Maybe we can see Brienne after that."
Atticus thinks for a moment and adds. "Well we could clean the coins by cooking them in hot salted water or use a low acid. This should kill all and everything. But you are right Devan, the more we learn about this epidemic the better!"
Neither the cloak or the bag that the coins were in appeared to be diseased.
After re-burying the tainted coins, and pocketing the few from the Direption, which appeared safe, the group heads back towards Citadel Volshyenek.
When you get to Kroft, you find her to be slightly relieved. "Davalus and the Queen's Physicians are moving out of the Citadel, thankfully. My soldiers and I have been at their beck and call since they were empowered by her Royal Highness, and they have been running us ragged. Trips here and there throughout the city, but I haven't seen one solid step towards ending the plague or even determining how to begin to."
"Anyway, they are moving to an old warehouse in West Dock, th Hospice of the Blessed Maiden, they are calling it, and turning it into a hospital and laboratory of sorts. Will still have to provide them details for but not the whole blasted regiment at once. Well, enough of that, tell me what you have found?"
Whispering under his breath with a smile Atticus tells the others.
"We have a rat on our tail. Looks as if it is Ben."
In the warehouse
Looking at the others Atticus shakes his head sadly.
"It seems that the plague has been brought to this city on purpose. We are trailing it to the thrice damned goddess of undead. Very dangerous, hard to counter, very contagious." He then adds what they found out and how, providing the cloak as evidence.
As Atticus points out their tail Mirela makes sure Whisper is well heeled and not giving away the fact that the tail was detected.
I wonder why.... Mirela mumbles under her breath as she wracks her brain to figure out what the Rat is watching them for.
Later with Commander Kroft.
Are these physicians something that the crown 'as used before, or is this a new creation?
Then later after the discussion of the plague has tailed off she asks.
Commander, do you know anything about wererats in the city?
They contacted us and offered to 'elp with the plague if we did a service for them, but I do be a bit worried about what we do be walking into.
Devan's brow furrowed a bit in confusion as Atticus informed them of their watchful rat-friend, but the musician otherwise makes no move or give any indication of surprise. Probably the rat-folk following them to ensure they performed their portion of the agreement. Fair enough, in the bard's mind.
Devan listened patiently as the Professor explained the situation with the coins and plague with Mirela filling in the gaps. After Atticus extended the cloak to Kroft with the holy symbol of Urgathoa stitched into it, Devan added on, "Nargun and I found a beggar who was dying of the Veil when it was first spreading, and we buried the coins he had found so that they couldn't spread the disease any more. With that box being full of coins, I wonder how many more boxes with tainted silvers made their way into the hands of the unwitting?" He shook his head, then continued.
"Finding this Andaisin's whereabouts is key to stopping this. From what we know, she's likely done this kind of thing before, on a smaller scale, and as long as someone is actively fanning the flames we'll never get the fire put out."
The musician looked at Kroft after Mirela asked her wise question, wondering what the Field Marshal thought of the arrangement. The rat-person had seemed sincere, but could also just be a good liar and setting the group up as a proxy coup faction that would create a power vacuum someone else could step into.
"The Queen's Physicians, led by this Dr Davalus are a new phenomenon to Korovsa. Apparently this doctor was known to Queen Ileosa back in Cheliax, and she summoned him here once the plague broke out. The others were brought by him. None of them are known to me."
"It is interesting to hear that the coinage is tainted, but that also explains why the bankers of Abadar were first and hardest hit. How and why one would infect the currency is too awful to contemplate. I agree we must find this Andaisin's whereabouts and stop the Urgothoan cult before things get worse."
About the wererats she pauses, and answers as thoughtfully as she can. "We have been aware of the presence of creatures in the sub-levels below the city for some time. Whether it be otyugh or wererat or other, the general public thinks they are fairy tales, and we keep it that way to maintain peace and order. I don't know any of the wererats specifically myself, but we have a live and let live policy with them at present. I have no particular reason to trust or not trust them anymore than an everyday Korvosan."
Kroft does not have anything else for you at the moment, but she agrees to notify you at your inn as soon as she does.
With Kroft offering no leads on the mysterious Andaisin, Devan bid the woman a good morning and exited the Citadel with the others. With the Veil still spreading like wildfire and those working to fan the flames still at large, finding a workable cure seemed the next logical step.
"I think heading to Lavender's to check out this cure won't take too long. And if we can verify it's legit, then so much the better." The glum tone in his voice left little doubt how he thought this would turn out, but due diligence was required in a case like this. After they paid the herbalist a visit, they could descend to the sewers to help the wererats with their internal issues.
Atticus nods at Devan words."This epidemic is truly horrifying and any chance for a cure is good news!"
Do you have an idea about that epidemic? It seems it wasn't by accident it came here... maybe if we found why , we could narrow the who, and how to get rid of that disease. Do you have historical references about epidemics, Professor, and how they were fought?
Twilight fidgeted in her crypt outfit, it was hot and itchy and she did not like it at all. "Off to Lavender's then. With luck they will have a cure, or at least an antiplague or two. Worst case they should sell scented herbs I can wrap in this scarf to keep out the miasma."
Lavender's is a well-known and noted perfume boutique that stands amid a row of tightly packed shops just off Summoning Street in the Heights district only a few blocks from the still-closed Acadamae.
When you arrive near the shop, you see a queue of anxious Korvosans stretching back in a line four blocks from Lavender's itself, which stands out with its distinctive amethyst-shaded windows. Many of the people in the queue look healthy, but several bear the early symptoms of Blood Veil: hacking cough and red blisters. All the people look exceedingly anxious and most look quite hopeful.
A pair of callers walks up and down the outside of the queue, hawking the beneficial properties of something called Lavender's Luxurious Liniment. "It's the everyday elixir of the common Korvosan. It wakes you up in the morning and calms you down at night. It soothes aching joints, tired feet, sore hands, and throbbing heads. It takes the pain out of cuts, burns, bruises, and blemishes. It smells like chastity, confidence, and respectability, and tastes like honeyed dewdrops over snow clouds. Most miraculously, though, Lavender's Luxurious Liniment dispels blisters, minimizes swelling, calms the complexion, and erases all symptoms of the common blood veil complaint! Save your life, or that of your loved ones, for a mere 2 gold sails!"
On their way to the shop, Devan spoke to the others in halting words, nearly stumbling as he looked up, trying to remember details from something he had heard in passing a few years back. "A few years ago, Vendra, the owner of the store, had a silly promotion of 'a free imp with every purchase'. It went about as well as expected, of course. She's quite adept at calling attention to herself." He stopped for a moment, then started to walk again, brow furrowed.
"Maybe she happened upon a cure by pure luck, though. Who knows?" The musician frowned the rest of the way to Lavender's, trying to think positive but having little luck.
He sighed as they arrived to find a lengthy line outside the shop, the young man listening to the callers as they promoted the 'miracle cure' of Lavender's Luxurious Liniment. As the price was called out, he pursed his lips and shook his head, looking back at the others. "Selling cures to the Veil for two gold? Those preventive things cost more than that."
Devan looked at the long line anxiously, then back again to the others. "If we try to move past these people, they might riot. But can we really sit here and let them be bilked out of their money, if that's what is happening? Atticus, you can tell what this liniment is should we get some, right? What do you folks want to do?"
This Lavender liniment sounds too good to be true. If it was efficient, you wouldn't need that much praise. And it won't be so cheap, I guess.
After a few seconds pause
Don't get too close to the crowd. There are many sick people in here. Couldn't you badmouth the liniment, Devan, so the crowd goes away?
"This is utter bullmanure! This can´t work! I can make some potion that strengthens the body, but the flask alone is is worth a few silvers.
This can only be fraud!"
Hearing Devan´s words Atticus can only shake his head.
"Devan, a lot of people will sell their last tunic to buy a piece of flavored water. We have to do something!"
Twilight was a little surprised at how quickly some of her companions condemned what they saw "Lets not do anything hasty. We don't actually know what is being done here, right? While I am certain it is a scam, do we drive all these people away without actually knowing what the score is? I mean, shouldn't we at least entertain the possibility that someone is doing the right thing by selling a remedy at cost or even at a loss?" Although she didn't believe that anything altruistic was being done here, she also was concerned about the possibility of starting a riot if the people in line saw their hope being threatened.
Twilight secured the scarf about her nose and mouth, glancing at the infected in line. While adjusting her hat she continued "lets procure a dose of this miracle elixir and then we can make a proper assessment."
She checked to make sure that all the buttons on her long coat were securely fastened and then tugged on her gloves to ensure that none of her skin was exposed before adding wryly "Although I am certain that anything that is marketed as smelling like chastity should be avoided if at all possible."
Atticus understands intuitively that no alchemical remedy can cure all the things that the callers are hyping, and even if there were it would cost a hundred times or more the price being asked.
Devan cocked his head to the side as Atticus and Nargun implored him to speak out against the supposed remedy, looking again at the line of people crowded outside Lavender's. When Twilight spoke of restraint and the possibility that this cure might offer at least 'some' relief, the musician seized on it.
"You see all these people? For some of them, this shop offers their only hope, and I wasn't wanting to take that away from them until we knew for absolute sure this was a hoax? Not to mention that things might turn violent..." He looked down the line, then continued.
"I agree that we should get a sample of this magic cure...now the question is whether to wait or try to get to the front of the line. Which will probably also cause a riot. What do you all say? I'll start speaking out against the cure if that's what you all agree on. Or maybe we can flash some gold at one of the callers and get them to fetch us a dose. I don't want to walk past any of these people for fear they'll turn on us."
Satisfied with her bundling up, Twilight says "Why don't we secure a spot in line while Devan sees if he can find a way to get a few doses in a more expedient manner, maybe passing the guard a few coins or going around back and seeing if they would be willing to part with a few doses for a little extra."
As you stand considering options, another half-dozen people, looking peaked and downcast, arrive to stand in the ever-growing queue of shoppers looking for a quick cure to the Blood Veil.
At the front of the line, several blocks away, two beefy security guards, dressed all in black with lavender bow ties, scan the crowd warily, looking for any signs of trouble.
Devan nodded at Twilight's suggestion, waiting for one of the criers to come close and smiling invitingly as he waved them over. "Hey, friend...this sickness is really spreading through the City, ain't it? Thank goodness me and my lady's managed to avoid it so far."
The bard then looked slyly up and down the line, then leaned in closer, "But it's best to always be prepared, right? I'm a man of means, and there's a couple gold here I'm willing to part with as an expedite fee for your trouble if you can manage to slip in and get me a dose of that Liniment when your travels up and down the line take you to the door. I'd rather not keep standing in line with folks who have the plague, you know? Anyways, what do you say? Will you help a chum out and allow me to help you out in return? Here's the two gold for the cure, and let's say another...five, when you get back. That way you can grease a pocket if you need to and still have plenty to yourself."
The musician flashed another smile, pulling two gold coins out of his pouch discretely but leaving it open long enough for the shop's employee to see that he had the money to follow up on his claim.
While Twilight and Devan claim a place in line, Mirela hangs back with Whisper to avoid having the wolf scare the already desperate people.
Then she watches carefully, to make sure nobody tries to harm or pickpocket her companions as Devan flashes his gold around.
Devan speaks to the barker, and the man spies the glint of gold in his purse. "Make it 10 sails, govn'er, and I'm your man." He tips his head to the line of muggles waiting to get inside the shop. "Can't do it out here though, or it'll be chaos. Meet me round back in 15, eh?"
If Devan agrees to the extra grease, the man nips the pair of coins from his hand and skips back toward the shop with some extra pep in his step.
When you circle around the queue and head for the back of Lavender's, you see a narrow alley, about 5' wide, separating the store front from living quarters for store proprietors etc that is built behind. The perfumery is the third storefront back of the street, and you wait patiently behind. Eventually, the man, holding a small lavender box, emerges from the rear entrance to the shop, and triumphantly presents it to you. "One cure of Lavender's Luxuriant Liniment, sir. Now, I believe we agreed up on a gratuity?" He holds his hands out expectantly.
Devan smirked and nodded. "Right rotten scoundrel you are, you have a deal." The musician whispered what he was doing into Mirela's ear, then idly strolled away from the line, taking a roundabout route before working his way to the back of Lavender's.
When the man showed up several minutes later with the promised 'cure', the bard grinned and nodded, taking the box and opening it to confirm the liniment was inside before stowing and quickly counting out ten gold coins and handing them to the man. "Of course. A promise is a promise. One promised gratuity for one promised plague antidote." Devan smirked and arched an eyebrow before taking his leave.
After taking a circuitous route back, the musician met up with the others and said, "I don't want to sit in line all day for something that 'might' happen...let's get out of here. Best thing we can do is get away from these sick people."
Assuming the others got the hint, the musician led them a short distance away and produced the miracle cure-all, handing it to the resident alchemical expert, Atticus.
The man pockets Devan's coins with a slight smirk. "Pleasure doin' business with ya. Lemme know if you want another dose for your ladyfriend, same price, same service." he strolls back to the door, the coins jingling in his purse as he walks back inside.
As the group walks away from Lavender's, they see another half-dozen or so slightly sick people form up in the end of the queue, which still stretches several blocks from the actual store.
The light purple box opens to reveal a potion-sized dark purple bottle with a stylized golden "L" stamped on the front. The cure-all smells pleasent, perhaps a hint or rosewater, when opened, and has a pretty pastel tinge of purple to it. The liniment has a slightly-oily consistency and is mostly translucent in nature.
Atticus looks at Devan and shrugs.
"No time for that now. But this is not forgotten!"
Assuming this do be a fake, we do be needing a plan on how we will break this to people. Lavender do be making a lot of money, so will not like people disrupting the sales, and people do be desperate so they will not want to believe.
We need to be careful 'ow we do this, or there may people who do be taking their anger out on us.
Thinking of their upcoming meeting with Ben the wererat, Devan nodded at Atticus' reasoning. Verifying this miracle cure was important, but it was a question mark. The group had a solid agreement with the wererats in return for their help that would likely help the city in its struggle with the Veil. They could deal with this later.
When his lover spoke, he listened and then nodded in agreement. "Wise words. Though we might want to take ourselves out of it. Atticus or any of you...are there laws against this sort of thing? Maybe we could heap the task of calling out the woman on Kroft, should the sample prove fake."
Unless anyone had something to do at Lavender's or elsewhere in the city, Devan was content to walk back to the Juggler and meet with their wererat guide to the sewers they called home.
"Well..." Twilight trailed off, lost in thought for a moment. "To be honest, while I'm not a fan of Lavender taking advantage of the desperation of these people, I have to admire their audacity. That being said, if this does prove to be fake then Lavender's ruse is discovered. I would suggest just revealing the deception to the people and letting them deal with the matter as they see fit. They are the ones who are being taken advantage of after all. Let them settle the matter."
She took the bottle and sniffed the contents. "It does smell nice though." Twilight dabbed a couple of drops onto her scarf before wrapping around her face once more "If it works against the plague that is great, but as long as it helps keep the smell of the sewer at bay, then at least it will have served some purpose. Lets go meet our rat."
Leaving the mystery of Lavender's Luxurious Liniment behind for a bit, the party returns to their lodgings at the Yellow Juggler, where the elixir is safely stowed for future investigations by the Professor.
You arrive before the scheduled time with the oddly-feral Ben to grab a bite to eat in the kitchen and gather your gear for more underground explorations.
Just a few minutes before the appointment, the hooded figure appears in the common room, motioning for you to follow. Without saying a word, he turns and leads you out the door and into the streets of plague-ravaged Korvosa.
Climbing up you are soon in Midland, in the heart of commercial area when Ben stops. He lifts the grate of a sewer hidden at the end of a deserted alley and you are surprised to find rough-hewn steps that lead down. The unsavory aroma of sewer and the dank dampness are the first things you note while descending. Below the darkness is nearly complete, a little light entering from above the only illumination. You can make out the ancient stone walls and the stone walkways that line either side of the effluent, an unspeakably foul mix of waste, run-off, garbage and who knows what else that runs down the center of channel that might be 3-4 feet deep.
Devan's brow arched as he spied the stairs leading down into the sewers, wondering if that was an addition or was an original part of the construction. Reaching into his pack, he took out the strange little stone he had purchase, soft, pale light emanating from it. He placed it above his head and let go, the device circling above him as it casts its ghostly light. Pulling out his rapier, he waited for Nargun to take the point position before following.
Nargun position himself just behind the wererat, and follow him, his big axe ready, just in case
Being underground didn't trouble the dwarf, of course, and despite the dim light and foul odors, he seems quite at home