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"12 hour should be more than enough time to acquire any necessary tools. Team, if you could choose a single spell level 5 or below that would be most useful for us to have access to, what would it be? Currently, I'm interested in Teleport or Emergency Force Sphere, but are there any other ideas?" Koro inquires.
Nephre shrugs. "Got everything I need already. Guess I'll find some way to entertain myself until later."
Lehkazeran returns a number of hours later with a bounce in his step having gorged himself on enough blood to last a couple of days in case the journey waylays their group.
After all those who went out into Hyraeatan during the twelve hours return, Salvis meets you all in a giant chamber that's been clearly set aside for grand arcane rituals. There's sigils, runes and eldritch etchings over most of the floor and even partly on the walls and ceiling.
Those of you who are attuned to such magicks can easily feel a small hum of power echoing from the within the room.
"As I said, I will be able to transport you to a small town near your target. You'll have to travel the rest of the way there under your own ability."
With that, he begins the incantation, and you are soon whisked away.
You note that it appears Salvis is somehow being assisted by his sword in performing the spell that teleports you all.
You arrive at a town that is obviously inhabited by gnomes, as not only are the industrial folk everywhere, but so are their strange inventions. Clockwork assistants follow many, small gyroscopic creatures fly through the air or scurry along the ground on some important business and there is the constant clang, clank and whir of machines.
Nephre frowns down at the little folk, then around at her group.
"So which one of you's doing the talking?" she asks.
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Ozzie pauses a few moments to absorb the scene. One of the flying gyrocopters nearly clipped his ear, but he managed to narrowly duck it. What interesting possibilities there could be with an army of those things under his command. He noted that Lady Crimson's team must've arrived elsewhere, since he only observed his group with Koro. This only solidified the idea that this was a competition.
None of his team jumped forward into the hustle and bustle. Ozzie muttered to himself briefly and coughed to cover it up, testing that his Tongues was picking up the local dialect, and approached someone that seemed like a local guard, or perhaps foreman. Whatever he was, he was watching the nearby traffic intently.
"Excuse me, could you recommend a local tour guide? I'm prepared to be generous."
A guide would be an excellent asset to discover details about the local area, make travel arrangement, and get to know the who's who. It was also fun to see how long it would take for the guide to double-cross them.
Sio looks around for a moment, briefly closes her eyes (gaining Blindsight 30ft and Scent 10ft), taking in what she can notice about her new surroundings. She then looks over at Nephre, "While I do have some skill in diplomacy, I suspect I am outstripped in that area by others here; I am content to follow the lead of another."
Dr . Craven looks around with bemused interest as his pack jingles with the chiming of beakers and vials.
Well, miss countess, as usual I follow your lead. I'm not a great liar so...well, you know.
"I'm not much of a talker, but I can be friendly." Rattlebones saunters to the gnome being addressed by Ozzie.
"Hiya. I know we look funny, but we're just passing through. Who can guide us around so we get out of your hair?"
Lehkazeran looks around, taking in the sights and smells with interest—it'd been a bit since his last trip to his 'homeland' and he was back sooner than he expected.
Resisting the urge to snap up some of the spinning-flying things, he holds his tongue as the others begin talking to the locals. Being polite has never been his strong suit. Respectful hierarchy he could do, hence why the Sovereignty was such a natural fit, but he suspected his best contribution here would be silence and allowing for his appearance to speak for itself.
Dymer looks around with keen interest at the clockwork automatons around them and the gnomes all over the place. There's a subtle difference between the gnomes of Golarion and the gnomes of this new place, but Dymer can't quite put his finger on it. The crowd though... crowds never change. Dymer listens to snippets of conversation as the people drift by, and Dymer tries to surreptitiously mark those who are watching him and his group.
The Gnomish guard turns at the sound of Ozzie's inquiry, and his eyes go wide at the sight of the goblin before him. Then he spots Dymer and Lehkazeran and he begins shouting. "Goblins and a dragon man! We're under attack! Jorvyn, sound the alarm!" However, he pauses mid action at the sight of Koro, as it seems the old man is perhaps in charge.
Craven steps away from his monstrous companions and quietly chuckles to himself.
This is getting interesting.
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The Crimson Countess will establish add the members of her team to her collective.
Getting her bearings after the teleportation, the Countess looks around her.
The red armored woman will confidently step forward and calmly address the gnomes.
"Calm yourselves, we are travelers, seeking information and mean you no harm. I acknowledge that some among us may be a bit unusual, I assure we do not intend you harm. We are a chartered band of adventurers from Cormyr, so we are quite a long way from home."
Nephre does her best to suppress a sneer. These little things would think of them as monsters... Well, not that monster was an in at least her own case, but they obviously hadn't caught on to that bit. Hopefully this 'Countess' could convince them to calm down. They seemed like a boring fight, and one that would just cause more problems.
Thanks to both the soothing words of the Countess, and the calming presence of Koro, the guard visibly relaxes. He bows respectfully to the obvious noble. "Apologies m'lady, the sudden appearance of your unseemly companions was quite a shock. Usually when goblins show up out of nowhere, it heralds an invasion force." He waves away another gnome guard heading towards the party, obviously the above mentioned Jorvyn.
"From Cormyr you say? That is indeed a long way off. What brings you here?"
Dr. Craven folds his arms, causing his pack to jingle again. He looks very disappointed, the kind when a show you were looking forward to is cancelled.
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Ozzie hadn't even realized right away that his features reverted to something more goblinoid. That damn ritual must've caused some slight warping. That would be hilarious to recreate if he ever met any other shapeshifters. Bah, it was probably time to find a local form anyways
The goblin stepped back and allow his hood to manifest, and pulled it up. Now which gnome outfit would be the least conspicuous? A guard? No, too much of a pain to pull off for any significant length of time? A porter? Actually, these mini machines seemed to have replaced too much of the foot traffic. Perhaps a peddler, no a scholar. A gnome scholar would be a great cover. He could pickup on the local fashion, to make an inconspicuous scholar's assistant in no time.
"Would you believe I flew all this way to be called an unseemly dragon-man?" Lehkazeran replied in his low, gravelly voice, taking time to roll each syllable around in his mouth and taste it like he would a sweet morsel.
He hid it well, but below the surface he was frustrated; such disrespect didn't happen often back in Hyraeatan, and especially not from mortals. He'd worked hard to cultivate his reputation there, and he was proud of it. Still, he knew how to swallow his pride when necessary, and he reminded himself that he also prided himself on his mental discipline. Sure he could snap at the gnome, but that wouldn't be helpful, now would it?
Lehkazeran smiled at guard without showing his teeth and stretched his wings before folding them back. No sense outing himself as a vampire, too. At least not until it was dark and he got hungry...
Rattlebones waits and watches. He was not the sociable type.
"Work," Nephre replies shortly, her arms crossed as she looks down at the guard disdainfully. "You work as an adventurer you end up traveling."
Sio accepts being added to the Countess's collective, then uses any nearby shadow to fade into the background and observe.
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The daevic may share information stored in her eidetic cache with any creature included in her bond, though for them the information functions like a normal memory, not one with perfect clarity. Similarly, any information shared with the daevic by a member of her bond is filtered through the lens of that creature’s mind and cannot be made more accurate by storing it in her eidetic cache, and the daevic cannot retain complex information (such as a memorized spell) through the base ability of this bond. The daevic may add or remove a creature from this bond as a standard action.
Dymer's ears perk up for a second at the gnomish guard's alarm at the group's entry, but he quickly goes back to observing the surrounding environment while the Countess smooth-talks her way through the potential disaster.
Thanks to the almost near magical words of The Crimson Countess, the guard has dropped all his caution and trepidation, "Ah! Adventurers! Wonderful, wonderful! My suggestion is to check out the Silver Crane tavern, you're likely to find a guide within. If you any more questions or need assistance, feel free to ask me."
It would appear that a few of the flying copters seem to watching the party.
Sio mentally communicates this to the other members of the collective, though still keeps an eye open for other events; those devices are known now, and in her experience it's what you don't see coming that causes the most trouble.
She should know, she specialises in being what you don't see coming, after all.
"To the Silver Crane!" Rattlebones appears to perk right up when a tavern is mentioned.
"That would probably be a good idea. Let's go, get a drink into Rattlebones before he perishes, and do something to get the attention of our to-be employers. Any suggestions?" Sio sends.
"I also figure on remaining hidden; my talents are more... limited if someone knows I am coming, after all."
Dr. Craven nods cheerily, though such an act appears a bit unnerving for a a man with his extensive scarring. He then follows behind swaying as he walks, which causes his pack of alchemy to jingle loudly.
Nephre just waits for the others to get the talking done. There'd better be some constructs to smash in this tomb, or at least some interesting traps. She was getting bored.
The Silver Crane is a moderate sized traditional tavern, classically furnished. The large fire place warms the common room nicely, and there's currently a decent crowd, both among the tables and seated at the bar.
It doesn't take much effort to find somebody with solid knowledge of the local area. He introduces himself as Niwin Valmop, and as you chat, he pulls out a map. He points to a small town icon "We're here, in Tinktonk. From the sounds of what you're describing, the vault is probably here, in these foothills." He says, indicating a spot that seems to be about a half a days ride from Tinktonk.
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Dymer walks into the tavern in the back half of their large group, and immediately takes a short step to the left after passing through the doorway, not only as a way to be courteous to others passing in and out, but he's also keenly aware of the dangers of silhouetting oneself in a new area. Part of the group gathers around the one known an Niwin and Dymer walks around the outer ring of the group, subtly keeping an eye out for threats. That doesn't stop him from peeking through the shoulders of the rest to look at the map that Niwin produces.
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Ozzie quietly slipped the group to find the washroom. It was fortunately empty, and not as bad as some he visited. There was even two washbowls, at varying heights. He found his prize to one side, a relatively clear mirror.
The gnomish face looking certainly had the right looks. The eyes looked drawn like they'd spent too many years peering over manuscripts. He sighed he noticed he had to fix the overly perfect nose.
Back in human shape, he returned, finding the others settled at a pair of longtables. A gnomish gent seemed to point out locations on a map, so he casually sat and watched. Ozzie wondered about how much consideration they should place on redirecting any competition, but it wasn't his party so it wasn't his plan.
Lehkazeran doesn't take the subtle route of entering the building as some do, instead stopping hard as soon as he enters the door to survey the room, causing a some short stops behind him as the others briefly halt. Surveying the room, he keeps an eye out for any reactions they give to the group in general, and himself in particular, before carrying on in the rest of the way and finding seat.