Keiko waves farewell to Fantasia even as she's ushered out the door. "What a nice Azer," she remarks as they resume their walk.
Right... Tris was finishing up the new crew rooster, adding the names and professions of the new recruits. Really, this should be Ashk job, but it felt weird to give the man a job which included recruiting himself. And this way, I can keep an eye on things. She finished the last few names just as her Belor and Beafort returned to the table. She greeted them with a nod then pointed to the list.
"We'll need to get these people up there somehow. Can the ship and?" Too many for the gyrocopter I guess, unless Beaufort makes many many trips ...
Their order at Fantasia's completed, the party decides to head back to the Great Fire Library where they found the scrolls and books before. The tiefling librarian is still on duty, the same bored look on her face and her nose still in a book but it's a different book. Three books, including the one you say her reading earlier, sit next to her.
She looks up when you enter again. "You're back, I see. And you've made a new friend." she says, indicating Keiko. "And...sigils? Well, I'm impressed. Go ahead and head upstairs."
she motions behind her, pulling up the little partition that helps divide the counter from the staircase leading up to the restricted section. "Don't take or break anything or we'll have words." she says, leveling a glare at each person as they ascend. "If you find what you're looking for come and let me know and we can negotiate a purchase."
The staircase is large and uncomfortable to climb, having been built for giants. However, the upper floor is worth it. Lit by glowing blue lights (and in fact, there are sections of the library that are completely dark - light damages more fragile books and scrolls) there is everything up here that you could possibly want but couldn't find downstairs. Tomes on every subject. Scrolls of every level.
Beaufort and Belor order each other beers which both turn out to be terrible-tasting, except neither of them mind.
Belor answers Tris after swallowing a particularly large gulp. "The ship can indeed land - she doesn't have stilts or wheels or anything, so perhaps "land" isn't an good way of putting it. She can get really low to the ground." he takes another gulp.
"We could do multiple trips," suggests Beaufort. "How many people did you want to propose?"
Spare seems to have no trouble with the stairs as whenever it might be difficult he kicks off the ground and flies a bit before landing to stroll on.
At the top of the stairs Sparel takes one step into the library and stops dead in his tracks. He stares wide eyed at the contents. A single tear rolls down his otherwise stoic face.
"It's beautiful." he says barely holding back a faint choke in his throat.
"If you want to join, I might have something for you to do. You must be able to fly, right? Or teleport?" She cocks her head at Elinesha. "You think you could find the crew down on the surface and get a status report? Perhaps help them with any tasks they still have to do? I need to know what the plan is and don't have an easy way to communicate."
"Both actually, but I prefer flying when I have the chance. The wind in your hair and the open skies are a beautiful thing." She sighs wistfully. "Sure, I can do something as simple as that. Of course, I'll need to know where they are, but I can help them out with whatever they're still getting done. Just point me to them."
A few moments later Sparel shakes off the initial awe and majesty of this room and immediately begins to look for what the group needs.
Talking mostly to himself as he walks...
"Oh, they're using the Dewy system. Interesting choice. I always though the Bracken system would have been more efficient for such a large space. I wonder what motivated that? ..." He continues to ramble excitedly as he goes about his work.
She stands up and simply teleports up to the deck before shifting back into her natural form. Spreading her wings and launching herself into the air, she takes to the skies, heading straight for Bloodcove at her top speed.
Keiko is similarly awed by the massive library, albeit a little less audibly so, and spends several minutes just slowly turning, drinking in the place.
"Soooo, we can buy scrolls from here? Or pretty much anything written?"
Keiko is similarly awed by the massive library, albeit a little less audibly so, and spends several minutes just slowly turning, drinking in the place.
"Soooo, we can buy scrolls from here? Or pretty much anything written?"
"so it would seem. "
Oh God so many things I will never read or care that is exists...
"Sparel Take as much time as you want in here just make sure you get me to music books for Lima. I am going to wait outside"
Prae leaves the library and turns and walks up the side of the building to go hangout on the roof
"So ze heat finally got to you, eh Spa?" Lu suspiciously eyes the mage as he cries over some books. But then, there is *a lot* of books ... she thinks to herself looking around. Maybe I ought to ... Focusing less on the elf, and more on the bookshelves, Lu looks around to see if she can find anything either about Pharasma, curses or transmutation magic.
Search roll to help find the items on the shopping list
Perception
1.1k - Scrolls of: Cure Moderate Wounds, Cure Serious Wounds, Gaseous Form, Resist Energy, Elemental Touch
19600gp - 3x Greater Create Demiplane (1 to create the plane, 2 to create a pair of permanent portals (one for the cannon, one for the crew [we could be cheap on this but ...]), 2x Create Demiplane (to add the Bountiful [infinite food stores yey!] and the Structure [or Theme, as to be decided later]) and a scroll of Permanency (Cl 17) to hold the plane together
Reconstructed spellbook Manual of Binding (GP 21,215)
1 book of lute pirate music, 1 book of metal music
Suggested trade-in: TBD
Seeing as browsing is popular and Sparel has the shopping under control, Keiko wanders off, really just looking for anything that'd catch her eye.
Sparel heads into the apparently trackless library and begins to search, while Keiko and Lucrecia look on a more casual basis.
Sparel is going to be gone for hours, searching the library for everything he's looking for specifically, but he comes back with the name and location number of everything he's looking for. The lute pirate music is free (with a purchase of at least 5,000 or more) but the book of metal music is 3,000gp. When somebody goes to protest the unfairness of that book cost, the librarian scoffs. "Please, this type of music hasn't even been invented on the Material Plane yet. Its value is just as high as it should be."
Unfortunately, the librarian isn't as interested in the intended trade-in items. The belt is not impressive to her at all. "I'm a wizard," she protests, "What am I supposed to do with being stronger?"
Fortunately, she is interested in the rapier, its powerful magical qualities intriguing her. There is still a large balance on their order, though, which means that the pirates will have to offer up additional items, currency she'll accept or decrease the number of things they're asking for.
Sparel reaches into his bag and holds out a ring . He shows the group to get their approval before offering it to the librarian to make up the difference. If no one objects he holds it out the librarian for her inspection.
She inspects the ring with detect magic and raises an eyebrow. "A powerful example of such an item, but even if I were to accept it, you would still be thousands behind. Propose a balanced transaction."
"Will this suffice for the additional difference? "
Sparel withdraws an amulet and presents it for both the group concensus and to the librarian.
Edit: "In addition to the ring of course."
Briefly contemplating to go back to her original 'plan A', Lu continues to look around inside the library while Spa wrangles the librarian.
"Hmm." Tris looks down at her writing, adding the numbers up. Four to crew each cannon, so that we have a spare. They can swab the decks too. 24. Ashk to keep the numbers straight, if the Captains allow it. 25. Goghurt to care for the cannons, if we want a goblin on board. 26. Prae surely would want Fenster around... 27. Sparel can serve as both doctor and carpenter, if needed. Perhaps a cook and a cartographer? But the pathfinder can surely handle the later. But a good cook can certainly keep the morale high. "Twenty-eight. And I need to find a good cook..."
As Tris is tallying up the count of crewmates that they need to recruit, a (very!) attractive young woman walks into the tavern that they occupy, swaggering and swaying and generally attracting a lot of attention. Especially from the men in the tavern, whose tongues drop to the floor as they stare at her.
She walks very pointedly and directly to the table with the three of you sitting at it, and leans down on the table right next to Tris. She flashes a winning smile. "Hi!"
The prevailing theories involve either appeasing Pharasma or earning the favor of another god, but most of the theories state that it's not likely the lamia race can be redeemed. Diefic intervention can do most anything, though.
Lucrecia finds one interesting story about one particular lamia matriarch who fell in love with a celestial being and was granted a new, beautiful and completely-humanoid body for her devotion. Of course, this same lamia was later tempted and betrayed her angelic lover, and was returned to her lamia form because of it.
The first section that she finds (and spends a couple of hours in, browsing and reading) is the section on the afterlife. When mortals die, their souls leave their bodies and travel to the Great Beyond, traveling along the River Styx until they reach Pharasma's Spire. There, Pharasma decides based off of their actions during life, where they're destined to go.
When Pharasma decides, they travel to a plane matching their fate and become a petitioner, a special type of outsider. After some time as a petitioner, most souls metamorphose into an example of the type of outsiders from that plane. It's certainly possible for the original Keiko Gasai to have become a psychopomp, if Pharasma had decided that the Boneyard was her ultimate place in the Multiverse.
On the redemption of evil outsiders, she can only find one example, that of Eludecia, the succubus paladin of Erastil. In the story, Eludecia had fallen in love with an angel during a tour in the Material Plane, and had drawn from her adoration a strength that allowed her to resist her demon lord's wishes. Together, she and her angelic lover fought to keep her lord, a powerful balor, from entering the Material Plane. Eludecia is a success story, and still fights the forces of evil alongside angelic legions. There are dozens of stories, however, of good-aligned outsiders falling to evil.
She is easily able to find many accounts of different serial murderers, the most interesting being that of Mangvhune, the Temple Hill Slasher.
Keiko is quite pleased by her findings, and the thoroughness of the library. After some of the reading, she spends some time just sitting and thinking. I wish I could remember more... I, I THINK Keiko was a kind-hearted girl? I can't remember anything specific, but that's the feeling I have.. I SUPPOSE that might have changed when things got ugly and she ended up in the Boneyard? Maybe? Hmm... After all that angst, she decides to read something heartwarming, and the tale of Mangvhune really scratches that itch.
Huh. Maybe I'll suggest *that*. That would go well! Heh... Lu remarks as she closes the last book on the topic and heads back to Spa and the negotiation.
Tris is tall, broad and muscular for someone of the sorcerous profession. Her skin is of a light shade of brown, more due to natural pigmentation then any noticeable sunlight exposure. She has dark hair, long and wavey if a little bit rebellious. Aquamarine eyes with a little glimmer of something just beneath the surface of a deep sea, but the impression lasts just a moment.
She wears an emerald green dress with a high collar, clashing with the local flavour.
__________________________________________________________________
Tris straitens in her chair, looking up from her notes. Pretty. Polite, but a bit forward. Hmm. Wonder what she heard ... "Can you cook?" Tris asked, her accented common clearly not local - but very proper. (Probably know that it is Nidalese with either Know(Geography), Linguistics or a recent visit there : ) )
Elinesha gives the woman a once over. "Hmmm, pretty with a definite magical aura. Yes, I think this is her." She smiles cockily and pulls up a chair opposite the woman. "Not one of my talents I'm afraid. I met your lovely engineer Aiesha when I came across your ship a little while ago and we talked for a bit. She suggested I stop by and see if you needed anything while you were out. And sitting around on your ship all day waiting for you to get back would be so boring, so I thought I'd come see what the rest of you are like while I had the free time."
My engineer? Tris raised an eyebrow. My ship? My my my ... She glanced at the knife-strapped vampire and raised her eyebrow a little bit more. And how the heck did she get up there? *Probably* didn't snatch the gyrocopter, would have noticed that. Flying? Teleportation? Magic ... I haven't seen any griffins around!
"Interesting ..." With a quick spell she dried the ink and put her notes away, making a small triangle by putting her fingers together once she was done. "What *did* Aiesha suggest, exactly?"
The young tiefling woman looks at the assembled requests and the three items Sparel is offering up - very common items, but valuable nonetheless, and one item that is rare and valuable in another caliber entirely.
They're weighed against several scrolls that are simply unavailable on the Material Plane - things that don't sell very frequently but are still very rare.
She thinks. She stands up from her desk, "I'll be back in a few hours. I need to scribe something and bring you your order - you've been approved. Don't go very far." With that, she leaves, opening a subtly-placed door behind her and going in, her tail weaving through the doorway just before she closes it.
---
Meanwhile, Praetorius goes back to Fantasia's to pick up their order. He goes into the ostentatious shop and greets the friendly azer. Fantastia spreads his arms and hugs Praetorius heartily. "I have got quite the surprise for you, Praetorius! Come over here, I show you your order."
He takes Praetorius into the back, into a showroom. A large black flag hangs between two pylons. On it is a classic skull, with fires blazing deep in its eye-sockets and a particularly fiendish grin on. Three of its teeth are made of gold. Crossed behind the skull are two lightning bolts that audibly crackle with electricity.
"It will always wave in the wind, even when there is no wind. It is actually electrified and will shock anybody who touches it." He runs his hand through his beard. "I am very proud of this one - it will strike fear into the hearts of your enemies for sure. Now, come and look at this."
He takes Praetorius away from the flag and behind it, to a mannequin with a stunning green dress on it. The dress is floor-length and even drags a little bit on the ground, like a wedding dress but less of its length is on the ground. The dress is scaled and constantly gleams. "The train will never get caught on anything. The dress is made of livingsteel, which gives its wearer some small protection and also makes the dress effectively indestructible - it will always repair itself over time even if broken. Only if completely destroyed, reduced to nothing, will it not spring back."
"A command word, 'cocktail', reduces it to a knee-length dress and removes the sleeves." Fantasia smiles widely, "For those times when you need a casual party." He says the command word and it turns into a cute little cocktail dress. "The same command word returns it to its original length. At either length, the command word 'pan-seared' will light the dress aflame, but the flames will not harm the wearer or, in fact, anybody else. They are merely to stun your enemies at a party into thinking you are the center of the universe."
Sparel finds something near the scribe shop to amuse himself. Coffee shop of what not.
After Fantasia has shown him the two items a few tears roll down Prae's face
"Fantasia you are the greatest man I have ever met if ever I need some Tailoring work done I will be sure to visit"
Prae gives Fantasia a big hug that lasts an almost uncomfortable 20 seconds
"Do you have a business card? or two? I would love to be able to recommend you to my Father"
Fantasia is not uncomfortable with the hug for one second, and gives Praetorius a pair of iron tabs with his name, address, and the sigil printed on the front of his store for giving away to people. "Always happy to facilitate my own business, I am glad you enjoyed."
He sticks around while Praetorius stores the things that he bought and then goes to attend to another customer.
Praetorius returns just as Sparel is going into the library again, having been called by the tiefling wizard. She announces that she's ready to hand over their order, and slides forward a platter with the scrolls on it. "Use them wisely. That's powerful magic." she says warningly, but lets the pirates take the items and go.
"Of course. Thank you. " Sparel says genuinely.
As the group gathers outside he asks, "Where to next?"
Belor leans forward on the table towards Elinesha. "We're working on getting crew right now, and as Tris just said, we're looking for a cook." He glances up and down at her. "If you don't know one of those, maybe you can help me with something."
He stands up, walking over towards her and gesturing up and down his body. "In case you can't tell, I'm not exactly human. Or alive. And, well, the undead creeping out of the ocean seems like it attracted some hardcore anti-undead zealots. I don't know as much about them as I'd like, and that's not something I like."
Elinesha leans back. "Well, I'm new to the area so I don't know one personally. But I'm willing to listen to a proposal."
She looks over Belor calmly. "Well, I hardly see anything wrong with you. Besides, relationships with sentient undead have certain... advantages. So are you asking me to just find out more about these obnoxious little do-gooders or are we talking more stab them while they're not looking? Don't get me wrong, I'll do either, I just want to be clear what you're asking."
Belor raises an eyebrow. "Somebody interesting indeed. No, if I needed her just killed, I suspect I could do it myself, and if it comes to that I will be involved." He draws a knife - a very black, very sharp and very impressive-looking knife - and begins to play with it. "But I'm suspicious of her. I'm unsure that she's everything she appears to be, and I want to confirm that. And if she's exactly what she appears - A Pharasmite here in the area to rid it of the curse of undeath, I want her redirected away from me and my crew or destroyed. She doesn't ever need to know that vampires fly above her in addition to the draugr below."
Elinesha smiles. "I enjoy a man that's not afraid to get his hands dirty. I've known far to many spell casters that prefer to sit around and let the hard work be done by others. Alright. How much do you know about this Pharasmite then? I'll need somewhere to start if you want me to track her down." She leans forward, suddenly looking more serious and folding her hands in front of her, clearly thinking over the situation.
"Spell caster?" Belor crinkles his face inquisitively. "I'm no spellcaster. But regardless, this woman - her name is Emelia, and she's an undead-hunter. Word has it she's got some divine powers and word has it she's very, very good at her job. Quite powerful too."
"Last I heard she was actually at sea, headed towards the Eye of Abendego - apparently the undead ships sail from inside of it."
"Well, the large black knife did give it away. I only meant that most mortals I've interacted with are spell casters of some sort and they have a tendency to get dull after a while. 'Oh, please slay my foes for me while I sit back here'. 'I command you to retrieve a dangerous artifact for me while I stay here and do nothing'. Useless." She scoffs and leans back in her chair. "Still, you're not mortal either. I think it will be very interesting working with your crew." She shakes her head slightly.
"So a divine caster of some kind. If she's an undead hunter, she might even be an inquisitor. Still, if she's here for undead, she won't be overly prepared for someone like me." She trails off, still thinking. "If she's at sea already, then this is an interesting opportunity. Do you know if she'll be returning any time soon, or will she be hunting for a while?"
"I believe we've got the Apothecary and a Trader, correct?"
Spare begins to look for either of those
"Correct!" Lu slips out of the shadows, where she had been hiding fearing another visit to Fantasia. "Zen ze dungeons, zen home."
"oh yes, your thrall. I keep forgetting about him."
"Clarke is known to hitch-hike around in the Shackles, but hasn't swung past this port yet." Tris interjects her answer. Tapping her notes with her feather pen, she circles the word 'cook' a few time then dries the ink with a quick spell. Then she folds the paper and puts it away in a small pouch. If she truly intends to investigate *all* undead attacks, she will no doubt want to look into the ship that came aground here. Hmm. "But she might come around, eventually. I can look into her whereabouts myself if you want Captain? With the little information given it might be a longshot."
"Honestly, so do I. I made a note ..." Lu chuckles.
The pirates tour around the gigantic marketplace, having idle conversation with those they pass and trading viciously with the merchants that they come into contact. Eventually, trading away the half-plate and the full plate armor they'd gotten in the arena, they manage to get the rest of the consumables they wanted and Keiko manages to garner her flask of endless sake.
After a flurry of haggling and barter Sparel speaks to the group
"I believe we have everything we came for, correct? Please be certain. It's possible that after we leave we'll no longer have our barter privelages. Outsiders can be petty like that. Regardless, when you're all ready I'll send us back to the prime and then shortly after the ship."
After thoroughly enjoying the first few sips of INFINITE ALCOHOL, Keiko sits down and carefully counts through the things that she had requested, making sure the potions, elixirs, scrolls, and wondrous items she wanted are all present. After making doubly sure, and moving them to her own storage, she gives Sparel an affirmative nod. "I for one am good to go. I've had plenty of this city for now."