Gozran 7
Sanita and Fharn continue their shopping spree but the Captain lets them know that in the morning they will be sailing to New Stetvan.
Gozran 8
The Tailspinner doesn't make nearly as good of time going back towards New Stetvan, but then the crew are actually using sails instead of the spinning wheels. You arrive in New Stetvan around mid afternoon, Captain Rickert sails the ship into her family's docks. Immediately the wounded ship and crew are attended to, word has preceded you. You see one of Captain Rickert's brother and even the patriarch of the entire clan visit the gaping hole where the engine room used to be.
Sanita & Fharn will use their funds they got from selling pirate loot to buy the tome. Sanita also gets in two half-days crafting.
Once in New Stetson, Sanita winces as she sees the clan Patriarch looking at the damage she made. She waits respectfully to the side until (if!) she is acknowledged, and then she bows. "My apologies sir, I know I caused a great deal of damage. But it was a rather... hectic... situation, and I was not sure I could stop the intruder from escaping with his knowledge. I thought it was better to lose one engine room than the secret of making said room."
Fhârn is content to let Sanita handle the relations with Rickets family. I wonder if they will be glad that the ship returned - or mad that the ship is damaged. The distinction will say a lot of what kind of people they are ... Fhârn sticks around, waiting to see if they want a word with him or not. As Sanita addressed the patriarch his mind started to wander a bit. They would probably need somewhere to sleep tonight - somewhere were one could leave a substantial amount of gold without having to worry about it. And preferably stay there for a day or two while they picked up the last things on their list ...
Thomas and Marcus Rickert walk over to Sanita. The elder head of the Rickerts listens to Sanita's tale. Marcus doesn't seem happy, but his rage does not seem to be directed at Sanita. "Your father has more than paid for the damage. And the bounty that we are putting out on the escaping pirates and those who financed them will assure that this doesn't happen again. I'm told that you represent one of the new River Kingdom's that are springing up. If you ever establish a port on Tuskwater Lake, my family would be interested in investing."
Sanita bows. "I assure you, I will see to it that you are sent a message when we begin the construction of the port." She speaks softly, so that her voice doesn't carry more than a few feet away. "Far be it from me to say, but I think those who are there when the construction starts would be more apt to ensure the port is laid out in a conducive manner to work, rather than leaving it to hamfisted neophytes like myself and my friend." She nods toward Fharn, next to her, with an infectious grin. "I'm glad to hear those who got away will be punished, and I hope the tale of death and destruction of their numbers they tell before they are caught will aid in deterring future attempts."
As Sanita and Fharn leave Rickert's Riverboats, Sanita has a feeling of foreboding. It's the first time she hasn't been thrown out of the place and is leaving on remarkably good terms with the family. New Stetven is nicknamed the City of Wooden Palaces due to almost every structure including the roads being constructed of wood. The place is swampy and muddy and some people joke that some day the whole thing will just float out into Lake Reykal. The Dragonscale Throne sits here in the Ruby Fortress. There is a large temple to Lord in Iron called the Bulwark of Gorem. There is a smaller temple to Iomadae called the House of The Guantlet. The Skywatch is based here. And finally there is a magical acadamy and library called The Stone Halls.
Population is around 32000. As a metropolis any item worth 16000gp or less has a 75% chance to be available.
Potion of Tongues (750gp)
Potion of Remove Curse (750gp)
Beneficial Bandolier (1000gp)
+4 Composite Shortbow (+1 STR) (32420gp)
Scroll of Break Enchantment (1125gp)
+3 Darkwood Light Shield with Shadow enhancement (13000gp)
+5 Adamantine Flail with Shock (don’t ask)
+4 Sickle (32310gp)
Amulet of Proof against Detection and Location (35000gp)
Verdant Boots (12000gp)
+3 Club (18300gp)
The Stone Halls is one of the few large stone buildings in the city. It is so heavy that it apparently is slowly sinking into the swamp. The mages don't care, they simply construct another floor above, which accelerates the process. Presently there are two stories above ground and four stories below. There is a wager as to what will happen first, will the building find the bedrock or will it fall over. The bottom floors are lit with continual light lanterns and the bottom floor has the cantrips and 1st through 2nd spells and various apprentices to help. The second floor has 3rd through 5th level spells and the remaining floors are off limits to visitors. Since you are not a member, daily access is 10gp times the highest level spell (up to 5th, 6th and higher is for members only) you wish to have access to. This grants you the authority to copy the spells at your normal scribing cost or you can hire a magical scribe to do it for double the normal scribing cost (max 2nd level spells available via this method). All spells in the core book are available. 90% chance for those in the Advanced Players Book. 75% for those released by Paizo in another book. No racial spells are available.
Sanita starts to pay 20gp, and then stops. "How much is it to join the guild, and what are the requirements for joining and maintaining membership?" She asks, before handing over any gold.
She also scratches at her back, feeling like there is a karmic target there. She almost wonders if it's worth it to go up to the Castle so the the Seneschal and King can scream at her and have her thrown out of town again.
Holbrecht is both amazed and flustered over the situation with the sprint ships. He can't seem to pull himself away from them, but all the same he has been unsuccessful in getting any closer. Thus far all he has are a few scribbled observations from the outside. Watching them sail whilst the wheels turn often finds him making copius assumptions of how they all work, and even more of how he thinks they should work. An opportunity finally arises when he sees the two non-Rickert personnel emerge from the vessel.
Finally he may have an opportunity to learn about these unusual mechanical marvels. Deciding to follow them, he has a hard time keeping up, and even curses the inefficiency of the dwarven leg length to hip width ratio. However, he is comforted to see he did not catch up to them once he sees their destination.
There's no way he would enter such a poorly designed, mismanaged, and clearly unstable structure known as The Stone Halls. "Bah... stone halls indeed. Any dwarf worth his salt would.... or well, should.... I think they should... they might not. That actually poses a good question, worth investigating at the least." He draws a paper from one of his scroll boxes, and his familiar inkpot and pen, scribbling more notes as he often does. Mumbling to himself he makes a note for himself to refer to later, "How many dwarves blanche at name stone halls, for structure in New Stetven... like so..." He then proceeds to spend more time drawing it than originally intended, to include his best guess of the measurements. He is still doing so when his 'quarry' returns.
As the two finally extricate themselves from the haphazard structure, he begins speaking to them immediately. Though possessed of a smidge more charm than the average dwarf, it doesn't extend to his personal interactions well, as he tends to forget niceties to get straight to his point as best as he is able. "AHA! There you are. I've been waiting outside... well obviously since I am outside... maybe not obvious, as I could have been inside elsewhere.... certainly not in THERE... I guess that was presumptous of me..." he trails off mumbling to himself before returning his conversation to them. "Either way, I would love to discuss what you know of these sprint ships... if you know... unless they did something to your memories... to prevent.. maybe they would employ drugs... poisons? Or there are magics to do as much... But I digress. I have notes, and would love if you could confirm any of them for me, or correct any errors to my assessments."
He shuffles through ink-smudged papers, with his ink-stained hands, licking his fingers now and then to turn pages while leaving black spots on his tongue for doing so. He produces a few crumpled notes, in barely legible scrawl, with smeared drawings covered in changed and corrected measurements, and holds them up for inspection.
As they close the distance to the Hall of Stones, the spring in Fhârns steps makes it seem as if he hadn't sold the Ring of Jumping! The mage grinned like a kid in a candystore as they approached - full of anticipation. Destor spoke of this place - filled to the brim with magic! They hadn't had the time nor the funds to visit the Hall on their way to Sanitas family, but he intended to make up for the squandered opportunity with a vengeance!
Pleasantly exhausted from a day of metal work, Fhârn emerges from the Hall with his sights set at a refreshing meal and a warm bed. However, his plans seems to have been thwarted - there was someone speaking to him. He blinked in the twilight gloom and noticed the dwarf cleric, his eyes quickly fixing themselves on his holy symbol. The raven perched on his shoulder also peers down at the dwarf, but his interest in the symbol seems more related to its shine, rather then meaning.
As the dwarf rambles on, Fhârn exchanges a quick glance with Sanita. He seems a bit too eccentric to be with the pirates, don't you think? "Ah, the sprint ships. Wonderful creations - truly!" With a quick look at the dwarves stained hands he shrugs and offers him a firm handshake. "I'm fairly certain we haven't met. I'm Fhârn Uðrrúna and this-" he nods towards the bird "- is Munin." He pauses to let Sanita introduce herself in a way of her own choosing before continuing on. His curious glance lingers on the notes presented. "But I'm afraid they did prevent us from addressing such matters - oaths silence as well as any spell. Now, I couldn't help but notice you wore Brighs symbol - has your devotion to the goddess led you to search for such knowledge?" He pauses for a grin, strangely invigorated by the conversation. "But I digress, let me offer a drink and we can speak of other matters - I haven't met another worshipper in a long while!"
-----------------------------------------
Sanita blinks at the dwarf, and watches Fharn interact with him for a second, before she responds. Her voice goes breathless. "Oh! They're very fun ships! So fast, well, you know, faster than regular ships, which are also fast, but not as fast as the fast ones, but really fast otherwise! Well, I guess there's things that are faster, like lightning elementals or sound elementals or flying carpets or giant rocs, but for things that go on the water, they're fast. Well, dolphins are probably faster, but I'm not sure that counts since they're in the water and not on the water. Then again, I've heard they like to surf on ship wakes and that's on top of the water so maybe that counts as well? What do you think, I think it should count, really it should." She pauses for a deep breath and continues as she pears at the papers. "Oooh! He's an artist Fharny!" She grabs Fharn's arm with girlish glee. "Pay him to do a drawing of us! Mom and Dad would be so happy if we got them one of us in town! Please!" She bats her eyes at Fharn.
Sanita's obviously suspicious of the dwarf asking about the sting ships, and looks ready to assume he's working with the pirate organization.
Sanita has palmed an alchemist fire while clinging to Fharn's arm.
"Why, yes - Anything that would please your Mother simply must be done. I was thinking of picking up something, but I think he is more likely a sculptor. Perhaps a bronze statute?" A bit expensive for a blunt object, but I'm sure we'll make it work! The large age snorts in amusement, with a drop of sarcasm.
The raven perched on the tall mages shoulder looks down at the little woman as if expecting her to start drooling any second. He rubs his head with his wing and deftly switches shoulder, taking cover behind his masters head. If experience serves right, that should be sufficiently a sturdy object to shelter behind *Cahaw!* he thought smugly to himself.
Holbrecht nods in agreement of Fharn's assessment of the ships and looks at the offered hand, before stopping to wipe the tips of his fingers on a page with enough ink already on it to make little progress in cleaning his fingers. "Oh, yes, introductions. I've forgotten them again haven't I? I'm Holbrecht Bastionne," he shakes Fharn's hand, "and have recently arrived from places further south." He moves to shake the bird's 'hand' before catching himself "of course I shouldn't shake hands with the bird...or, I guess Munin's its name... it has no hands.. so how do I... oh it doesn't matter..., I have come based on my father's word that I have family ties within the house of Garess." His tones rises enough that this almost comes out as a question, but it's unclear what he's asking if he is at all.
As Fharn delivers the bad news about the secrecy of the ships, he looks crestfallen, and then the man mentions his holy symbol. At first he looks confused, before looking down at what Fharn is referring to, "What? Oh this, yes. Follower of Brigh. Well as much as she has followers... more of a student... but she wasn't really a teacher as much as the priests... she's a goddess... which I guess it does mean I'm a follower. Yes, I've been called a priest of hers even. I trained with her priests, which I am now because of it. Her work in the field of clockworks and mechanical contraptions is astounding, and I had no better instruction outside of her priesthood."
When Sanita jumps in and chatters away at him he just keeps shaking his head, and when finally given the chance he corrects, "Um, no. Not elementals, or carpets, or birds, or fish. Those are not machinery, they do not compare, well, technically... since she's comparing them, they are compared....and may also be fast or faster... but that's not the nature of my inquiry, as none of those are wonderful machines." as he goes through the points in his head, he does some light finger counting, as if taking mental notes. "It's not the speed that interests me, it is how they are buil..I'm not an artist! I don't waste my time with motionless colored images. I focus on wondrous contraptions." He shows the three locks hanging from his belt with pride. "Or a sculptor. As in I'm not one, again lacking motion or function. Actually, I consider myself an architect, engineer, and craftsman of machinery big and small and all manner of little device with moving parts known as clockworks." He notices the woman look of suspicion, but clearly by the look of confusion on his face, he has no idea why. Maybe she doesn't understand clockworks.
Sanita looks sad. "Oh, that's a shame. I'm Sanita Or'Fana. Of the Lodovka Or'Fana's." She waves a hand at the dwarf. "Fharny, I'm getting bored, he's not an artiste, why are we talking to him again?"
His eyes dart back and forth, as he considers things in his head, "Wait, don't go. What if I could do something to prove to you... well, not you... so much.... as for you to tell them... so they could entrust me.... being a secret and all... Just let me do something so you can tell the Rickerts I can be trusted with the secret of the ships. that and if I could help them improve.... oh such a momentous day that would be.... maybe I could even design a more productive model... What do you say?" He nervously wrings his hands, and looks almost desperate to do anything to learn about the ships.
Sanita grins and kisses Fharn on the cheek. "Oh, he's so cute, I guess it won't hurt to let him see the engine, will it Fharny?" She looks over at Captain Rickert's very large, very dour brother, who's in charge of the dock, and who's still speaking to the good Captain. "See that man there, go tell him you are an associate of the well dressed man that had a tour of the engine room earlier, and that Sanita Or'Fana, the full name now, or he won't know which Sanita you mean, it's a very common name here. Sanita Or'Fana said you were to have a tour of the engine room you'd not likely forget anytime soon, and she'd take responsibility for you after your tour." She dimples at the dwarf.
Once the dwarf heads over to ward the Rickerts, Sanita leans in and whispers in Fharn's ear. "I think he's a bit too stupid to be part of the pirates, but I can't be sure. If he's legit, we'll let him go with an apology and a warning about sticking his nose into Family Business." Then she grins. "On the other hand, we could just tell him we rescued him from the Rickerts, who were convinced he was part of the pirates... if he's not, I'm sure Paul won't mind, and it'd make us look good if he's innocent. Paul should get the message and the worst he'll have is a bonk on the head if he's innocent. If he's a stooge of someone, maybe they'll have dropped something or reveal themselves if they think he got some info. I'll have to rent a wagon for our return trip though, so we have a place to stash a truss'd up dwarf." She looks thoughtful. "Might be cheaper to buy one though, and a pair of horses. I guess we could use them in the kingdom..."
Holbrecht turns to try and see the man she indicates through the crowds, and upon doing so smiles wide as his eyes alight with joy. He begins to make his way over.
Fhârn remains quiet, trying to both simultaneously not screw up Sanita's plan and get a hunch of the dwarf. "Fhârny"? Sounds like something lil' sis would say when she was five! He chuckled lightly, hoping it sounded as an agreement. As she pointed out the Ricket brother he started to put the pieces together - and upon the mention of a 'well dressed man' and 'unforgeable tour' he had to struggle to suppress a groan. He looked after the dwarves back with a mixture of pity and wonder as he rushed off towards his fateful meeting with Paul. He truly burns for this! Hmm, isn't there a better way ... ?
He listens carefully to Sanita but his eyes are fixed on the dwarf, tracking him and counting the moments until it is to late to intervene. Shaking his head, he whispers back. "You are right - he is certainly no pirate. I think his interest is genuine, he has the same fervour I would expect if Will got the chance to champion Iomedane or if Ana got to beseech Pharasma. At worst, he is an unwilling pawn set to intercept our course. Anyone with malicious intent should have done better research then expect a simple word to be enough. Luckily, I can know for sure - but I'll need his cooperation." He grins and straightens himself. "Besides, I rather not get caught with an hog-tied dwarf in my luggage. Might reflect poorly on our kingdom!" He nodded towards the raven on his shoulder which quickly took flight, racing after the dwarf.
Munin swooped across the open harbour and caught up with Holbrecht in good time before he managed to earn a surprise visit to the kingdom come (it wasn't officially founded yet, after all!). Deftly the raven landed on the top of his head and leaned forward until he could meet the dwarfs eyes. "Caw! Boss wants a word with you - before you speak to the Rickets." The raven shuffled around a bit, preparing to take to the skies again should the dwarf fail to heed his advice. No sense in catching an impromptu headache intended for another. Caw!
Sanita rolls her eyes as Munin takes off. "Fine, but you're on the hook with the Rickerts. I'll toss you under the prow with out a second thought, Fharny." She tells him with a rolled eye. "I am sooooo glad you are not in Masamura's spot as our chief of espionage, you have absolutely no eye for intrigue and politics." She sighs. "Remind me to have Masamura set someone on you to watch you and keep you from getting taken advantage of."
Holbrecht starts at something landing on his head, to look up and cross eyes in order to try and focus on what it was. "Oh, you are the bird... Munin, right? I never imagined he spoke... oh I hope he doesn't mind I didn't shake... I still don't see that I could.... I should ask.. You weren't expecting me to shake hands... claws.. no talons with you? Is that what this is about? Did I miss the etiquette cues again." He sounds worried, turning back toward Fharn, eager to return in case it ruins his chances to witness the ships at work.
As soon as he returns he asks outright, "This isn't about not shaking Munin's talon is it? I didn't mean to... or mean not to... well offend. If that's the problem. It isn't is it?"
Sanita eyes Fharn, and subtly steps on his foot.
"Oh, no, not at all deary. We just realized that the Rickerts are in a bad mood right now, since someone tried to sink their ship earlier this week, and you might not want that tour right now. Tell you what though, we have a few days we need to spend here and then we're going to the Green belt, there's an expedition underway right now. I have it on good authority that there will be a Rickert dock being built there in the future, you might get hired on to work at it if you're down there and have established yourself. If you'd like, you can ride down with us. We can talk and get to be friends. Plus, if you're an engineer, they'll be plenty of jobs down there." She gives the dwarf a beaming smile.
//During Holbrechts absense
Fhârn laughs in good humour. "Have a little faith, my dear Sanny. I'm not quite as foolish as you foolishly fear!" He crosses his arms across the chest and pulls the warmth out of his voice, burrowing his eyes into the back of the dwarf. "If he is truly hiding something, I can find it. And it will be so much easier if he cooperates. The mind is a fragile thing, you know!" His mood lightening again, he gives her an apologetic look. "Besides, Ana should be able to compel him to a truth-telling, should we manage to get him there." And, he seems competent enough. Who knows, he might be able to help with the constructions ...
//When he comes back!
When the dwarf returns, Fhârn greets him with a sympathetic look and apologetic smile. "Sorry to threat you like a jo-jo, but I needed a moment to converse with my dear companion. Nothing about etiquette. In a similar vein -" he gives Sanita a sideways glance and sighs. Luckily, his sturdy boots protected his feet from the worst of the assault. "- I'm afraid the Rickets won't share their secrets so easily." He laughs heartily and gives Sanita a teasing look. "No matter how cute the dwarf!" Turning back to the dwarf, he continues. "You see, as you no doubt heard, the Rickets ran into some trouble earlier. Trouble looking to pry their secrets. Trouble that is in the Boneyard now. Seeing the lengths they are willing to go to protect their designs - and the length people are willing to go to find them ... I'm sure you understand why we can't share them and that the Ricket's won't, without a significant show of good faith. I'm sorry. He pauses and once more gives Holbrecht an apologetic look while gauging his response. Stroking his chin, he assumes a thoughtful look. I wonder how he feels about the job offer?
Holbrecht looks horrified when told that someone intentionally tried to destroy one of the ships. "That's abhorrent! Why would anyone want to destroy such a thing? Unless they hate wonder... or mechanical things... but that still doesn't make sense... why would someone hate that.... oh it could be insanity... that would be likely. Did you say they may dock elsewhere? I would love to be there when that happens, maybe I could even design a special dock to accomodate them... that could ensure a decision to dock more frequently... and I would get more chances to study them. I would appreciate the chance to do some engineering work, something of real substance and value."
He has stopped even looking at the two as he talks, already back to the drawing board on dock ideas for the ships. "So, first establish the depth of river base down to the solid rock...." he scribbles notes and numbers, "... of course source of materials determines..." he writes with a stubby ink-stained finger in the air "...base will determine the width of planking for supporting..." he breaks into a flurry of mumbling and scribbling.
Sanita watches the dwarf for a minute, and then leans in close to whisper in Fharn's ear.
"Either he's a really good actor, or he's nuttier than the average gnome. Or both."
Hmm. He seems more concerned with the ships then the implication of where he might have ended up ... Ah well, looks like fervour then. The tall mage puts an hand on Holbrechts shoulder, leading him away from the harbour and towards one of the cities many taverns. The raven takes the opportunity to jump back to his masters shoulder. "Insanity or simple greed my friend, both powerful motivators. Let us retire and find some hot food. The troves of the Hall of Stone were filled with wonder, but sadly lacking in the nutrition department."
Holbrecht just mumbles an agreement, something about nourish the mind, but stays focused on his scrawls as he allows himself to be led to a place to eat.
Gozren 9 and 10
Sanita, Fharn and Holbrecht if he wishes spend the next few days collecting magic. Holbrecht takes the time to visit the only other two significant stone buildings in the city. Unlike The Stone Halls the Ruby Fortress and The Bulwark of Gorem seem to rest on a firm foundation. For their part, Sanita and Fharn come to the conclusion that either Holbrecht is an incredible actor or he really is as scatterbrained as he appears. By the morning of Gozren 11 the group is ready to continue their journey.
Gozren 11 and 12
Traveling by road you eventually come to the Free City of Restov. Being a relatively wealthy city and the home of the Aldori swordlords, dueling is relatively common here and is considered to be a legitimate means of resolving differences. The largest church in the city is dedicated to Erastil.
Arriving in Restov, Holbrecht's only concern is whether this is the city where he will be building his specialized docks for the sprint ships. Learning otherwise, he has no interest here.
Fhârn takes the opportunity to try and learn a bit more about the dwarf. Since he was apparently 'his' responsibility, he might as well. Come the second night, Fhârn asks if Holbrecht would be willing to participate in a Share Memory spell. While Fhârn himself feels that Holbrecht is legit, it never hurts to check once. Or twice.
"We came of on a bad start my friend - but we cannot be to careful! This spell allows us two to share a single memory. I was thinking we could start with when you first met us - if you had hostile intent, it will show..."
The mage extends an open hand for the cleric to grab, urging him to close his eyes and relax if he does. Soon they both find themselves navigating the twisting currents of Holbrechts memories. They are only semi lucid swirls on the tide now, but somehow they find the memory they came looking for.
He repeats the same procedure every evening, assuming Holbrecht complies, choosing a new memory each time. After a while, he lets the dwarf pick and choose himself what memory to show - should he feel those are relevant to prove his trust. Or just too plain funny to not share!