How to paint a Raven Silver (Hell's Rebels)

Game Master Jesper Roland Sørensen

Oh dear, how embarrasing…I must be more exhausted than I thought. How fortunate that we have found an honest establishment. Thank you so much” Mirabella says as she reclaims her pouch.

Once upstairs, she replies to Logan.

”She seems honest enough. She certainly handled my little “forget the purse” test well enough. I still have questions, but I say we hand over the papers and hear what she has to say. That can wait untill tomorrow, though. For one thing, I would not disturb Jack and Canacha’s alone-time for all the gold in Cheliax.”

Logan nodded, "Yeah they deserve a little time together. Incidentally we might want to be careful about possible thefts in town. Call it paranoia but part of me would like to set a watch although that's not really practical with just the two of us."

"Well, thank you very much any room is fine. Didn't mean to cause any kind of inconvenience asking."

Mirabella shrugs off her pack and removes her magic cap, returning to her real appearance. She seats herself by the window, peering out over the city.

"I feel oddly safe here, but you make a good point. We can't be too cautious. Tomorrow, I can get a scroll of alarm that will allow me to ward the room against intruders entering without notice. In the mean time, I'll take the first watch and wake you after midnight."

She leans back and sighs, then begins to softly hum an ancient halfling lullaby, letting the stress of the road slowly drain from her.

Subtle nudge...or are everyone too busy canoodeling or fussing with their plant seeds?

@Mirabella: Busy canoodling at the moment.

Ive been busy helping my sister winterize and decorate her home while she still has energy >.> *kicks self in pants*

NEXT MORNING

"yay breakfast! Man i could use the energy...."

She blushed and did a little wiggle. She felt.... giddy. energetic. a little sore... but mostly happy.

"do you think they have a breakfast here? i know in Caliphas most of their hostels and inns serve these big ol breakfasts in the morning. Have you ever been to Ustalav Love?"

She covered her mouth and blushed.. it was the first time she had said the l word out loud...

Bicks will me the team down for breakfast. "Can't be charming on an empty stomach. Who is ready for some diplomacy?"

Next morning, when Logan wakes Mirabella after an uneventful nights watch, she stretches and says ”See, I told you we were safe here. Do you want a quick nap before we join the others?”

Then her stomach rumbles loudly, as if her halfling appetite is voicing a formal complaint about the mere suggestion of delaying breakfast.

”Uhm, I guess we’d better get the day started. We can relax later.”

She dons her disguise cap, once again assuming the identity of Logan’s “sister”. Together, they go down to join Bicks at the table. She does not make much effort to conceal their connection.

Good morning, did you sleep well? I have the stolen documents with me in my pack and we feel that handing them over is the right thing to do. From what we have seen so far, Molly is a honest victim of the thieves guild. That doesn’t mean we should be naive and trust her completly, but she deserves her property back.” she says as she butters a freshly baked roll generously.

”But we should wait for the “newlyweds” to join us. I can’t imagine they are in a hurry to get out of bed,” she says with a knowing smile before digging into her meal.

Later when Canacha and Jack eventually turned up for breakfast, (presumably they realized they where famished after all that activity) Logan beckoned them over and said, "Good morning! Or should I say afternoon? We're just about to have a spot of lunch and well before that I think perhaps we should hand some documents over... We thought you'd want to be around to see it."

Ok so who wants to actually hand them over? I'll do it tomorrow unless somebody gets there first :)

Mirabella smiles, both at Logan’s remark and at the sight of Jack and Canacha walking in together. At this moment, she feels truely happy and thankful for the Silver Ravens’ chance to enjoy the brief moment of peace and companionship.

No matter what Thrune does to any of us, he can never corrupt the beauty of this moment. she thinks to herself, before matters of subterfuge and possible betrayal have to be handled.

Any one of us can hand over the documents. In any case, we should all be there to see her reaction. I’m a good judge of character, but perhaps we should also use magic to make sure she is honest with us. After we hand over the documents, I can use my suggestion spell to suggest she tells us the whole truth about her involvement with the Grey Spiders.”

Mirabella takes the deeds from her pack and places them on the table.

”We had better ask to see her in her office or somewhere else a bit more private. After all, we’re going to be discussing who we really are and why we are in Vyre.”

Mirabella has a +17 Sense Motive modifier, but if she is a high-level rogue or something similar, she might have a hefty bluff skill. Combining sense motive and the suggestion spell gives us a good chance of learning her true reaction. If Logan or someone else takes the initial lead, Mirabella will ask some follow-up questions once she gagues her initial reaction.

Jack nods to Mirabella. "Good idea. Maybe Lady Mayapple fled from the Grey Spiders and that's how they ended up in possession of the deeds to her properties. But she may have been in league with them and had some sort of falling out. We should proceed cautiously."

Logan catches Molly's eye and says, "Miss Mayapple, ma'am may I have a word in private?"

Once in her office Logan tells her, "Thank you for seeing us. Well this kind of unusual, we ahem came across some papers that were formerly in the possession of some rather unsavory characters in Kintargo. I've no idea how they got them, but it's pretty clear the papers belong to one Molly Mayapple of Vyre. We thought you might want them back..."

I've no idea what sort of reaction we're going to get here. Molly Mayapple might just be an extremely rich former adventurer, or maybe she's one of the queens, or maybe she's the thieves guild mistress or worse!

As Logan hands over the papers, Mirabella removes her magic cap, revealing her true halfling form.

”From what we have seen and heard, you are an honest person. But we have our reasons for caution that go beyond any entanglement with the Grey Spiders. If we determine that we can trust you, we will explain further, but for now, we hope you will forgive our little subterfuge and this extra measure of precaution.” Mirabella says gently before lacing her final words with magic.

”I suggest that you tell us the whole and unabridged truth about your involvement with the Grey Spiders thieves guild.”

Suggestion - DC 16

Her spell cast, Mirabella watched Molly intently to gauge her reaction.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (9) + 17 = 26

Sense motive Logan: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
Will save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

At first Molly looks at Logan judgingly to try and determine what he and the others want. ”I don’t mind talking in private, however I will call a two of my attendants to be there. I’m sure you will not try anything, but you’ll excuse this old woman for preferring a little bit of security against customers I don’t know.” she says without any malice in her voice and rings a bell for which a pair of humans, one male and one female, joins you as she leads everyone into her office.

The office is quite large with a spare room on the side, it’s decorated moderately and it’s clear it is mostly used as her private apartment as well as office. As Logan explains the situation and show her the deeds she begins to tear up and excuses herself to go into the side room, leaving you alone with her attendants for a few minutes before returning. Having collected herself she returns to thank you all from the bottom of her heart. ”There is no use to try and coerce me with magics, I understand where you come from but the whole truth is my only involvement with them is that I’m a victim of their crimes. And with these deeds stole I lost access to property. I will have to reward you for giving me these back.” she says and reveals a bag she carried with her back in from the side room. She hands it over to Logan, who can tell the bag itself weighs almost nothing but the inside reveals it contains 800 platinum pieces, which should have made the bag weigh much more than it does. ”It’s my old haversack, it is quite handy when you like me are short without much muscle strength to carry regular bags. Now I would assume it’s your turn to explain yourself in full, including why you think I was anything but a victim of the Grey Spiders.” she says turning quite stern in her expression expecting this to be a serious matter to discuss.

Despite Molly's resistance to the suggestion spell, Mirabella is satisfied with her story.

"As I said, we apologize for our use of deception and magic. You see, we are part of the Silver Ravens, a group working to free Kintargo from the current Thrune regime. We have come to Vyre to rally support from our cause." she begins.

"We found the deeds in a hideout that served as a base for the Grey Spiders before they were routed from Kintargo by the Hellknight Order of the Torrent. From the documents, we suspect that at least one of the guilds leaders escaped to Vyre and has continued operations here. Since we did not know your specific connection to the guild, we had to be careful. In particular, in these documents, you are referred to as "a fellow rat". Can you explain what that means?"

Jack opens his mouth to reply but Mirabella beats him to the punch. He simply nods as the halfling says pretty much everything he'd intended to say. "Some of us hadn't even been born when the Order of the Torrent raided and broke up the guild," he adds.

He'd forgotten about the 'fellow rat' bit, so he listens intently to the old woman's reply.

Molly looks over the note and thinks to herself for a few moments. ”The only thing I can think of is that she is referring to the race I and the person, who has written this note belongs to. You see I am not a normal halfling, I’m a wererat so perhaps this person is one as well. Whether or not the hellknights captured one back than I have never heard. If you are the Silver Ravens from Kintargo I can only assume that you have come to Vyre to form an alliance of sorts with one of the kings or queens? I happen to be on relatively good terms with the current Queen of Delights, if perhaps she is the one you have chosen to seek aid from. She is rather more approachable than the last few disappointments. And I would certainly rather be friends with her than the other four together.” she answers.

”A wererat…uh, well yes, I guess that would explain it.” Mirabella says, for once at a loss for words. She quickly moves on to other topics.

”Contacting the Queen of Delights sound like just the right thing. Could you help us with an introduction - and perhaps a bit of advice on how to deal with her?”

"I certainly can help with that. You have come to Vyre at a very fortunate time, the Queen of Delights is holding one of her monthly banquets in 2 days time. It would be no problem for me to arrange for you to be my guests and accompany me there, where those the Queen favor can come together to share a meal, air grievances and jockey for her favor. There are certain rules you will have to follow, how does that sound?" Molly asks.

”A banquet? We get to forge alliances by attending a banquet?! You hear that, Canacha? We’re going dress shopping!” Mirabella exclaims, then curbs her enthusiasm a bit.

”Um, I assume this is not your run-of-the-mill Kintargo banquet, given the position of the queen and the culture here in Vyre. What are the rules?”

"It can be a little different here, I'll go over the details concerning the banquet itself before we arrive. But for preparation you shouls all prepare fine clothings (100gp +), wearing older fashions, or any outfit not worth alot, or worse wearing obvious armor would be considered a faux pas at best if not an outright insult. Buying a small gift for the Queen is a good idea anything worth more the 500gp is consider bribery and looked down about but also anything worth less then 10gp is considered cheap. They can be anything but she is particular fond of spiders, onyx jewelry, and fine mead. She might like other things but I can only remember those of the top of my head " she answers Mirabella's questions.

Any clothing you buy in Vyre worth at least 100gp will be considered the newest fashion. You can get free reign to design your choice of gift and clothing. Vyre is big enough to fine anyting so give me your best ideas in details. Might earn some extra points from the Queen. Might be worth gathering some information and know nobility when out looking around.

She smiled at the idea of dress shopping, though frowned when it was suggested it be from an older date. that precluded having something made probably at least without a serious bribe on the work.

"fashions from when i was a kid huh. I can try and remember what ma and da wore to functions. Do you know of any seamstresses nearby?

She asked with a hesitant smile. She still felt guilty about the subterfuge.

"I think you misunderstood me dear. It's anything new that is fine. All the things I listed are not to be worn if you want to impress her and the other guests. Perhaps I spoke a little to quickly." Molly corrects herself at Canacha's question.

Logan murmured, "Interesting." when Molly described the ball and appropriate gifts for the Queen. He considered if there was anything else that might make a suitable gift, preferably something unusual that would make them stand out.

Kn: Nobility: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (13) + 17 = 30

"well thats good. I dont think century old Ustalavian fashion would quite fit the bill. The question about the seamstress still remains however."

She smiled and colored only slightly at her mistep. Sometimes she heard what she wanted to hear that was for sure. All her designed for a black and red gown with frills poofed... for the time being.

Molly, Are there any particular customs, who talks to whom, when gifts are presented, times when one can have a private conversation with the queen that may be helpful for us to know? Are there matters in the city we should be aware of so we do not look foolish?"

Logan remembers a rumor about the current Manticce Kaleekii, the current Queen of Delights should be a witch with an uncanny knack for whispering to spiders and a fondness for flowers with black petals.

"There are plenty of seamstresses around town, each with their own style. You just have to take a look around town and see what you like." Molly answers Canacha and turns to Bicks question. "I will walk you through all the details later so you have it fresh in mind. But useally the Queen will offer a conversation tropic with each course served. Gifts are given during the final course. It might be best to wait untill the banquet concludes before you make your case. Give the Queen a chance to judge your character during the dinner will make an alliance easiere if you impress her well."

For the record, I predict THIS to be an accurate depiction of Canacha's banquet experience from start to finish.

Mirabella sends Canacha a warm smile. "Don't you worry, sweetie. We saw several dressmaker shops when we were out shopping. I'll make sure we're both outfitted in style to dine with a queen, true royalty or not. Same goes for you gentlemen. New clothes for everyone!"

She has a few follow-up questions for Molly:

"Would you recommend that we try to conceal our true identity, or would that risk causing offense if we are discovered? You mentioned that armor is frowned upon. What about visible weapons?"

Once everyone are done asking questions, Mira asks for directions to the queen's estate. Using her disguises (the magic cap and alter self if needed), she acts as a messenger or delivery girl to get close to the queen's staff. From her own experiences as a slave, she knows the help is often the true source of scuttlebut.

She discreetly inquires about the coming banquet, guests of interests, what type of dishes are being prepared, unusual decorations etc.

Disguise w/cap: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (8) + 18 = 26
Diplomacy - gather info: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30

"Generally you are not required to offer up a name if asked, but it will be frowned upon if you tell a lie and the Queen catches you doing it. You can choose not to say anything, but if you want an alliance you will have to offer it at some point, and there won't be any moments you are alone with her so might be better to be upfront if she asks you. Weapons are fine, most nobles in Cheliax would often wear a sword or rapier to such events." Molly answers Mirabella's questions.

Mirabella as you arrive to the manor you notice a rather unuseal guard at the entrance. It's a 7 foot tall figure with pale skin and terrible scars standing watch, it seems to watch anyone nearing the manor intently you get the sense that you won't be able to enter and will have to leave any message with the guard.

Mirabella wisely backs off and returns to Molly's rather than risk causing an incident.

Mirabella, I can give you a few extra gifts the Queen likes for that high gather information you rolled. She fancies salacious works of art, fancy potion vials and Ustalavic novels, these gifts idea along with what Logan learnt is something that might earn a few extra points in her book as long as you don't gift have items of the same type more than once.

On her way back to the Seven Apples, Mirabella takes her time looking at shop windows and talking to affluent shoppers who might know where to find items that match the Queen of Delight's specific tastes.

After a few hours, she has a list of 10 potential gifts in her journal, complete with prices, a sketch and where to find them.

Full list of potential gifts with images and descriptions

"I found plenty of items that are certain to spark joy with the Queen. I suggest we limit ourselves to a maximum of three items and stay well below our total gift budget of 500 gp. I say we use Molly's generous gift of platin coins for both gifts and new clothes. Then we can divide the rest. I also suggest that we purchase a potion of mage armor for each of us, since we have to leave our armor behind."

By the way, who wants the Handy Haversack? Mira already has one.

"As long as we present the gift or gifts with black flowers I suspect it will go down well." interjected Logan who felt a night bloom bouquet would make an excellent addition.

"I kinda wanna keep those books for myself... little reminder of childhood i guess.." She began a bit morosely his pale fingers absently tracing along the bindings....
"But if you think they work the best We should give them to her. I mean you've been prety spot on today so why stop now? Besides ive been a bit .. uh... preoccupied. Glad you are here to keep me straight with Mely gone."

She beamed brightly at her bestie halfling buddy.

ooh ooh Canacha wants it.. in face *licks it* dibs! besides Mirabella is stronger than i am and she has one!

"It's custom to bring the Queen a gift each rather than together, if only a few of you bring any presents it might affect her view on you and damper any talks of an alliance afterwards. So take it into consideration if you want to have two of you attend without a gift." Molly adds to Mirabella's suggestion.

”Of course you can keep the books if you want to, sweet Canacha. A bit of home to bring with you to your new life in Kintargo. Any of the other items will do just as fine to please the Queen, I’m certain. And there are plenty for each of us to bring one,” Mira says and wraps her damphir friend in a warm hug.

Then her face takes on a look of pure mischief.

”Besides…the gifts were not all I found. I visited a seamstress who has just the right kind of dresses for both of us. And the current fashion is anything but straight and narrow. We’re going to be showing quite a bit of skin. Better hold on to your girl here, Jack, cause she’s going to be driving all the gentlemen guests wild…if I don’t get them first!” she teases, her voice thick with suggestive undertones.

It’s quite clear that the exotic atmosphere in Vyre and the relaxed mood after months of tense rebellion is bringing out a wild and seductive side of Mirabella that none of you have seen before.

That’s the ladies wardrobe settled. How about it, fellas? Your girls are ready to party? I suggest we each pick a gift from the list. Mirabella picks the spiderweb vial.

"I know little of Vyre's fashions, I'll trust your judgement with the seamstress Miri." replied Logan, "As for the gift, I'm going to be a traditionalist and go with a Nightbloom bouquet..."

Ready to move on I think.

On the day of the banquet Molly joins the party as you are starting to get ready. She is dressed in her finest if slightly used dress and drops a few advice for the banquet. ”Tonight’s banquet starts at sundown, the doors will open an hour before for visitors to arrive. But I would suggest we arrive at the last possible moment before arriving, not quite late but certainly not early enough to appear too eager. Manticce (The Queen of Delights) has very little patience for beggars. Remember to be respect for not only to the queen but also to her guests even if you think they might not deserve it. I would avoid talking about religion at all during dinner time. And also the Queen’s husband will be in attendance, but you must speak of him.”

The banquet itself will be a social event where you will score points throughout the evening based on your performances. You could even loose points if you behave poorly so be on your best behavior. If you at any point manage to reach 0 points the event will end with you being told to leave or risk the Queens ire.
The banquet will consist of a four course meal where you have to show you have the knowledge and skills to properly eat the dishes. With each course I will ask each of you if you want to attempt eating the dish right away, which requires a knowledge (geography or local) or profession (cook) check, or if you want to wait and see how the other guests eat the course. Once the proper way of eating the course is determined you may look in the spoilers I make with each course to roll the checks I ask for. I think using the spoiler here will make the banquet run smoother. During each course the Queen will start a conversation topic where you answer to the question will matter more than your check but the diplomacy, bluff and intimidate skills can be used.
I just need to know how the what gifts Canacha, Jack and Bicks will be bringing and how you all dress and if you carry weapons as well as which you carry with you

”Understood. We’ll be on our best behavior. I’m a little confused by your remark about the Queen’s husband. Do you mean that we should make sure to mention him, but not address him directly?”

Mirabella's party setup:
Dress: The new hotness, which should be guaranteed to turn a few heads and raise a few pulses
Gift: The spiderweb potion vial
Gear: As part of the party prepearations, Mirabella will purchase a Pathfinder Pouch in a color matching her dress and use it as a small clutch or handbag. Here, she will store a mix of potions, scrolls, wands and other backup supplies. I'll post the exact content tonight.

I did read my post twice and still missed it.

"Ops slip of the tongue, I meant you must not speak of him." Molly corrects herself at Mirabella's question.

"Ah come to think of it, perhaps it is a little unsual having a dead man at a banquet table, but you kinda get used to strange things here i Vyre. It might be a grisly affectation of the queen, but the bones are more for decor than conversation, which is why we don't speak of him. Are everyone in that finest clothing so we can start heading to Cobweb Manor?" Molly asks the party.

I'm gonna start the event soon, I just like to make sure everyone has picked a gift and you have picked up clothing at least a 100 gp. I'm also going to be running a point tracker in the gameplay map, to keep the scores a easy place to locate. There is nothing secret about it, just a heads up.

Canacha will indeed endow this queen with the set of books from ustalav. and her dress is certainly fire. *nods nods* she will stap her pistol to her calf under the gown, and he abacuus on her hip belt in case calculations are needed.

Jack picks the onyx spider brooch for his gift and buys a dapper noble's outfit (worth 100 gp). He grins as he spots Canacha packing her abacus for the banquet.

Canacha's bringing sexy baaaaack!
Bringin' an abacus to do some maaaaath!

Bick gets some high-quality meed and some appropriate drink wear that is subtly embellished with onyx. As a simple person and a medic, he sticks to formal whites, a flat front jack, and a band collar. The outfit is loose enough to move in but has a narrow enough cuff at the wrist and ankles to care for someone if he needs to. He also also carrying a star knife.

Gather information: 1d20 + 20 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 20 + (3) = 29 to see if there is anything that can be added to the drinkware to make it even more appealing.

Allright, looks like everyone are all dressed up, has a gift and is ready to partyyyyy! As promised, here is a short summary of do's and don'ts.

"A dead husband just sitting around? As if this evening was not already interesting enought. Do we present our gifts when we arrive or later in the evening?"

Mirabella is ready to leave. She looks stunning in her midnight blue and gold dress, her natural auburn curls cascading down over her bare shoulders. She has chosen a few pieces of discret jewelry, relying on her natural charm (and the dress' quite scandalous clevage) to do the most of the work.

Logan was dressed up to the nines in a rather stiff but black silk suit with a lustrous sheen, in the latest Vyre style. Underneath this was a formal white shirt. The ensemble managed to make Logan almost dapper but the shirt had been starched so it itched terribly and there was some sort of cravate thing that restricted his breathing which he didn't dare touch because he'd never get it back on again if he ripped it off like he longed to.

"Eh a dead husband? Oh now you've done it, I'm getting curious..." said Logan brightly, "I'll try to pretend I'd never heard of that!"

His AC will be 6 lower.