Sunny skips over and hugs Corum to help him with his gripe on reality. (^_^)
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"Your minds were not meant for such things, and your souls have been torn in two... insignificant flutter to the multiverse. Planets have died, primate... races extinguished from this theft, from this meddling with time and extraplanar space." It moves to the side of its construct.. apparently just about ready to hop in.
When Sunny said you hadn't stolen anything, the Leng creature scanned her memories, then did the same with the rest of you. When he saw you'd been with Holfstedt Moranni, he was about to say something like "you were with Moranni, but you are not a follower? ... you do not bear his sign."
However, the Leng creature found poorly erased memories.. the moment before you were sent to the dreamspun world. In that memory Holfstedt and Doyle implicated themselves. They were selling the dream machines to the ultra-rich and to powerful factions. Once the denizens of Leng discovered the technology was on Golarion, and showed up with guns blazing, Holfstedt apparently handed over the list of the dream machine buyers... without mentioning he was the buyers' source.
These buyers have been using the dream machines to enter Feyeater's Retreat. Some exist as "phantoms" (to do things like months of arcane research or tinkering in one night of sleep), some inhabit clones.. such as the monks you fought who were abducting KO'd Volksfelt soldiers (for biomass).
You still don't know why Doyle and Holfstedt sent you.
You do know where in Golarion most of these buyers are (which I can repost if you care to go to them)
Or you could try to track down Holfstedt Moranni... go to nearest towns and gather info maybe?
Or we can stall this thread.. hang out in Turtleback Ferry until your dream selves make it back to you.
(Whitewillow, Ilsurian, Pendaka, Turtleback, Sipplerose... are the nearest settlements. All are within 50 miles)
Sunny frowns at the creature/fellow's words though at its seeming attempt to leave she lets go of Corum and skips over to it.
'Hey, hey, HAY! Ye can't jus' leave. Ye bin' all..." Sunny waves her hands near her blond mop, ".. playin in our heads an' stuffs. Ye's got'a do right an' help out things to rights." She explains.
"Well, I must say; I suddenly have a few more questions for Moranni." Said Anumil darkly.
He whipped his rapier through the air, flicking off alien blood, then quickly resheathed it.
"So you have dealt with the Moranni Group before? Nearby? Anywhere you could search for clues to his whereabouts?"
Otholear rifles through Doyle's pockets, and hands items to those nearby.
Intricate pocketwatch DC16
Coin purse (6plat, 6gold, 6silver inside). DC20
His waistcoat DC22
3 labelled potions displacement, sanctuary x2
Intricate pocketwatch DC16
"Ooo! Shiny!" (^_^)
You soon recall your encounter in the upscale dowdy inn here in Doyle's Run. You head there in hopes of finding a clue.
Within you discover a man you'd seen before.. one of Holfstedt Moranni's men. He is poring over parchments while a pen is writing under its own command. The Moranni man surrenders immediately. Between interrogating him - and what you glean from the writings, Holfstedt has gone to his fence in Oppara in Taldor. They are a wealthy family of Crownsgate criminals who apparently have acquired an advanced means of travel to and from Feyeater's.
Anumil smiled at the realization that their next destination is Oppara.
"I love that city! If we can stay clear of politics, we'll have no better time anywhere else!" He said, enthused at the prospect.
At this point he will go out and secure a coach and four for transportation.
Coming back, Anumil paused.
"My apologies if I made some assumptions. Does anyone here have their own mount? I assumed no one wanted to walk to Oppara."
"I won't mind a sanctuary potion then... and I have no mount, though I've never ridden in a coach before... this will be a new experience."
The coach takes you as far as Korvosa... where you take another to Tamran. You find a ship to take to Kerse, and then another coach... part of a caravan to Oppara. It takes a few days more than three months to make the journey. The caravan arrives through Lionsgate... The criminal family you seek is said to be in the Crownsgate District.. to the east.
--- --- ---
Oppara, Taldor’s shining capital atop the Black Cliffs of the Mighty Porthmos, is an ancient and thriving city. Its majestic villas and glittering towers stand watch over a sprawling settlement once plated in gold. At Oppara’s height, it earned the nickname the Gilded City because of the many roofs, spires, and domes that glittered with austere gold plating in the high afternoon sun. The metal was long ago stripped away to pay for the empire’s blunders, but it left behind a bustling, beautiful city beneath. Though the rest of Taldor fades into ruin, Oppara is the example of what the empire once was and what it could be again.
--- from Taldor, Echoes of Glory
Road weary, Anumil has the coach drop the party off at the front of an upscale inn called "The Black Pearl".
Giving his name as "Anumil, Lord Rythen", and crossing the Concierge's palm with platinum, he got a suite with a private bath for the companions.
Tossing his hat onto the rack with a flourish, he gazed around the plushly appointed common room.
"I don't know about the rest of you, but after three months of travelling I need to bathe, have my clothes cleaned, and sleep before I can even think about following the trail again."
Arcthyl avoids the stereotype of grunting, though it takes some effort, and with a little scowl agrees that " a bath and clean clothes would be fine."
Corum holds back some tears, as Oppara reminds him of the elvish race. Its influence waning over the years, as the long life spans of elves seem to be catching up with them.
"We can see a show too I bet and get a decent wine here."
The concierge returns with a few choices of clothing for each of you...
"If you care to have what you are wearing laundered, please leave it by your door."
The clothes brought to each of you consist of something similar to your current attire, a finer version, and an outfit suitable for a courtier's dinner party.
"If that will be all... Thank you once again.. for making our establishment the choice for your stay.", and bows before departing.
After a long luxurious bath in the hotel's classic Thassilonian style bath complex, Anumil relaxed in the parlor having a drink of a decent house wine and reading one of the city Broadsheets, looking for Oppara local news and gossip.
Arcthyl will bathe and change... slip outside to look at the city from the porch of the inn... taking in the sights from there...At reflective moments like this, it occurs to him that having an animal companion is something he actually regrets not doing... it would be nice to have a little company sometimes... After a while, he'll come back in and order food and drink, join the others if they are all down, bathed and dressed.
Sunny spends the trip enjoying the ocean voyage. alternating between helping the crew with their duties as much as she can and other wise skipping, scampering, climbing and swinging about the vessel. (^_^)
Upon arriving at the new, great and wondrous city Suny looks about in awe and amazement at all the sights, smells and sounds there are to take in.
You are served up platters of scallops, shellfish, buttery savory-spiced noodles with mushrooms and tiny seared peppers stuffed with meat.
The only performance tonight is of the trending "Comedic Tragedy" genre. "And you are..." A story about a bitter scorned ex-apprentice reluctantly teaching magic to his old master after he'd lost his memory.
Corum shows up impeccably groomed, and samples the plate daintily.
He nods in approval.
"We need to get any equipment we need here. This city should have everything!!"
"OOOO! SHROOMS!" Sunny exclaims, having presented herself to the meal in her bestest shirt.
Arcthyl enjoys the meal, not eating as daintily as Corum, but still not gorging himself or anything... just eating heartily. "Mmmm... good... very good.. shrooms? oh you mean mushrooms, yes? They are very tasty."
You are able to enjoy for a while, all the gilded city has to offer. The reason for your arrival awaits. All you know is that those you seek are a wealthy crime family who does business or runs their operation in Crownsgate. From what you know of their relation to Holfstedt Moranni, they trade in rare artifacts.
"So how do you suggest we go about finding these folk we are looking for? Seems like just going to Crownsgate and asking around openly is likely to get us in more trouble than not. I think we need to be sneakier than that, yes? Maybe we could pretend to be collectors on the hunt for what they deal in?"
Anumil read thoughtfully about a murder in Canal Row while sampling the rich edibles sent up on platters.
He snorted with amusement at the notices for the "And You Are..." show, then tossed the newssheet on the table.
"Hm? Oh yes Arcthyl, that sounds like a good approach. I just wish we knew what they looked like." He said, then popped a succulent into his mouth.
He looked around at his companions.
"Does anyone need equipment upgrades, before we go looking for trouble again?"
"We may be able to use magic!!"
Could you please, master Dm, review my Suny's and try and work out which Suny should be in this game? Not sure if you can peruse all my avatars and I am sorry for the extra work load. *Hugz*
How much money might the character's have? I am also not sure if I've asked this before.
I had the idea that Suny simply skips around and uses her Ninja skillz to seek out information. However, on reviewing the character that i think is 'Your' Suny she doesn't have the easy skills to do that during day light hours. If this is the right Suny she'll be climbing walls and roof tops at night to try and ferret out information.
You each have about 8000g.
Ninja skilling for info is fine.
Stealth and perception
knowledge local for who to talk to
profession sailor for getting info at the docks (port city... most stolen goods come through the docks.)
"Well, with that taken care of, now we need to find those people.
"Ideas?" Asked Anumil, buckling down to business.
He pours his companions a glass of fine wine.
For thinking.
Arcthyl asks Corum, "Do you have some kind of magic that could find them? If so, I say go head and use it... and if you don't know the proper magics, perhaps we could hire someone to cast such a spell?"
Plus spreading some of the shine around to help people be friendly and talkative and maybe a little bit tipsy. 500 Gp or so? (^_^)
Anumil leaned back. He swirled the wine in his glass, thinking.
"I have heard of Personal Investigators, for hire by private individuals with the money to do so, to track down thieves and kidnappers and such. Perhaps we could engage one?" He said, questioning.
Corum has a scroll made of a spell that locates objects.
Given they are looking for a group that has rare artifacts, Corum explains: "We need to find out what sort of objects this group has, and I will use magic to find them."
Sunny disappears on her own for a while, and returns slightly damp.
You get the destination names for the unbelievably pricey random objects (all sound like businesses... Ivory Antiquities, Gaelmato Enterpises, Ikatowi Gemcutters and Jewelers, Morrelson and Sons Oddities and Finery). All that should be left to do is find out which are in Crownsgate.
You are spotted as you attempt to sneak off the ship. You are able to tumble past the sentry and over the rail into the water... good as gone.
"You're all wet, Sunny... go for a swim?"
Now with the group 'settled' down in a relaxing establishment Sunny spends her time wandering around the city, often disappearing for days and nights on end.
Though she does always return 'home' most often it's not wearing the same shirt she left in. Though she obviously understands some aspect of 'fashion' since she does tend to actually wear such now as she scampers about the city.
At Arcthyl's question, even as she skips over to the balcony/window sill to wring out her shirt.
"I were lookin' in'a ship an' I found stuffs." She explains. "There wus boxes an' boxes an' boxes an'... well, lots'a boxes an' they had lots'a stuff in 'em." She nods energetically.
"An' tha' stuff had writin' on it." She breams brightly at her friends.
"I bin practicin' me learnin' of tha' squiggles an' there wus names on tha' stufs," She begins to count off on her tanned fingers, " Names like 'Ivory Antiquities, Gael-Mato Enterpises, Ika-Tow-y Gemcutters and Jewelers, Morrel-Son and Sons Oddities and Finery'..." Sunny counts off the words she remembers reading. As she comes to the end of the list she frowns.
"Though... them peoples? I dun't think they liked me lookin' all about. They got all shouty an' grabby an' stuffs." She chews thoughtfully on her lip for a moment."I dun't think they followed me home...." She spins about and glances out the window.
"Least ways.. I dun't think they did..."
"You did well, Sunny, I am impressed!... that could be just the information we need to progress. Corum, Anumil? what do you think?"
Anumil waived his glass.
"I think we have a lead now. Let's follow it."
Corum reluctantly adds:
"Maybe magic isn't always the answer??"
Sunny bounces over and hugs her friend Corum,
"Aye! Magic is all'a ways bein' tha' bestest answer!" She encourages him, "Is jus', different peoples got's different magic, is all." (^_^)
You take the center bridge over the canal into Crownsgate. The streets here are hard-packed earth, but remnants of the old cobblestone are still found at the edges of the old drab and weathered buildings... tenements, warehouses, and factories - you hear the semi-rhythmic clangs and rumbling of those still in operation.
There are a few shops which cater to the frugal traveler, and to those who pass in and out of Oppara often by trade.
You do not immediately see any of the rare goods dealers from the list of businesses Sunny acquired.
Anumil will go with Arcthyl up the street, Arcthyl taking the left side, Anumil taking the right side.