Bibi is immediately taken aside by Yinyasmara herself. "Excellent. Three out of four ain't bad. As promised, here's your reward." She hands the halfling a sack of 50 gold coins.
"You're good. Real good. You want a job? Just need the tattoo and I'll pay for it."
With the return to town Elena makes her way over to see Morlibint, delivering to the proprietor of Odd Stories a stack of books. She discusses the library that the group found, and even makes note of the old diorama of Absalom that was there. The chat is brief though, and she leaves quickly (unless Morlibint asks her anything).
===============
As the day wanes Elena heads to The Rowdy Rockfish. Her head aches from the botched attempt at reactivating the portal, and the quiet tavern suits her mood best.
She orders a mug of ale and sips it slowly, feelings of homesickness invading her thoughts. Last year Nikoder and Lavran took me out on the town to celebrate my twenty-second birthday. Now I'm halfway across the inner sea, exploring Gauntlight with new friends. Is this my new normal?
Elena retires after dinner, taking time with her books before going to sleep.
Noroc is happy to get back to town and away from the dank unpleasantness of the lands under the Gauntlight.
The next morning, yesterday's drizzle has become a downpour, which is almost as unpleasant as the caverns...but not quite. It does, however, make it easy to avoid checking in with Wrab. He hastily scrawls a message recapping the party's latest adventures and tosses a coin to a local youth to have it delivered to Chertel Manor.
It takes another full day to recover from his enfeeblement, but it's another full day of drinking and eating and more drinking at The Rowdy Rockfish, so that's okay with Noroc.
Morlibint is ecstatic at the arrival of more books. He looks over the lot and then counts out 20 gold coins for them. "You lot are amazing! I'll keep taking them if you keep bringing them!"
Inside forearm or deltoid.
Carrufikus returns to Otari and spends some of his time chasing butterflies and seeing where they lead him.
At some point he returns to the Rowdy Rockfish and engages in a conversation with Brelda Venkervale. When he finds out about the disappearance of her son, Lasda, the gnome gently inquires.
"I am so sorry to year of this. Do you know where he was seen last? Has it been a long time?"
"Oh that's kind of you to ask. It's been many months at this point, actually just over a year. He was last seen walking north out of town with a strange figure in a hood. That's it. I've given up at this point." Her lament is intense.
Full day will be trying out my new Earn Income skill
During the (I'm guessing) low-key celebration of Elena's birthday, Bibi nudges Tal.
For you, Papa! This way you don't have to hog mine!! ;-)
She hands him a flask full of Beerswizzler beer
15 Calistril, 4721 AR
Feeling much refreshed after a good night's rest, Elena starts her day with her usual morning preparations: consulting her books. It's during that time that she finds a couple books that she forgot to bring to Morlibint. Shaking her head, she says to herself, "Just where was my mind yesterday?"
She does take a few moments to attempt to identify one of the potions they found: a tree-smelling potion.
========
After breakfast he heads over to see the wizard, delivering yet more books to him. "I've a few things to do still today, but I may be back to see to perume your scroll collection."
========
Elena crests the rise that puts Wrin's Wonders into view. The ring of 'standing stones' and canvas covering make the shop unique, and the diviner smiles at the sight. After all, she's had numerous interesting and insightful conversations with Wrin, gazing up at the stars as the two talked deep into the night.
She gives her friend a hug by way of greetings. "Do you remember a gem that I sold to you recently? Would you happen to have it, and be willing to sell it back? I believe I've learned its purpose, and that it might contain a soul within it. Slotting it into a construct we found could allow me to communicate with it. Of course, I'd buy it back from you and share whatever we learn from it. Do you have it?"
** spoiler omitted **
During the (I'm guessing) low-key celebration of Elena's birthday, Bibi nudges Tal.
For you, Papa! This way you don't have to hog mine!! ;-)
She hands him a flask full of Beerswizzler beer
The grumpy Elf looks about to admonish Bibi. For a heartbeat and a breath, there is nothing. Then Talborel accepts the flask and samples the brew. He reaches out and just lightly touches the Halfling on the shoulder in thanks.
Tal spends the week retraining to improve his Crafting skill. Morlibant looks like the best likely teacher.
Tal is definitely a scholarly type. (Bibliophile, Trained in Arcana) so he'd like to take advantage of the better training at Odd Stories if possible.
So that's a week for training, I need to shop (both sell and buy) and I'd like to inquire about any stray jobs (quests) about. Inkeholtz Manor says Employment but I don't know if that's downtime employment or if that very attractive NPC needs some Questing done. Really, if anyone needs anything down in our dungeon, I'd like to know about it.
AND... I need a Diablo style stash. Someplace I can securely store stuff. I see a couple of possibilities in the Otari files.
So... A week? More/Less? Retraining, shopping and a little poking around for quests and a storage locker.
The grumpy Elf looks about to admonish Bibi. For a heartbeat and a breath, there is nothing. Then Talborel accepts the flask and samples the brew. He reaches out and just lightly touches the Halfling on the shoulder in thanks.
At the quiet beat, Bibi becomes serious, looking the elder right in the eye. With the touch, she slowly nods in respectful acknowledgement. Unable to maintain the straight face any longer, she gives him a big smile and a wink.
Hey, Papa--I'm going to poke around town while you're doing your thing--I want to see if I can ferret out any gossip on the locals. You looking for anything I might be able to uncover?
She starts with Carmen Rajani at Blades for Glades.
I hear, sir, that you are a decendant of Vol Rajani. I thought it might interest you to know that we found something in the Gauntlight that is VERY cool--it's a model/map of Absolom from FIVE HUNDRED YEARS ago--right when the Roseguard did its thing!! Otari is my hero; but all four of them probably helped build that thing! She's hoping to get a conversation going, and will center it on Vol using
______________________________
I figure this wont' take a whole day, so she'll also head over to speak to Magiloy. Bibi will drink a few brews and be both critical & appreciative. If she thinks she can warm her up with that, she'll approach something...sensitive.
You know, ma'am, I heard a rumor that you tried to brew suds with goblinpepper...please, dont' leave!! I TOTALLY respect that!! Grampy Bozak brews a PARSNIP ale, can you imagine?!?! I'm your biggest fan, by Cayden's Kegtapper, adventurous brewing is what we Beerswizzlers do!! How did that brew fail? And what other craziness have you tried??
Greasing these wheels might take...
__________________________
Will spend time with Yin, if she's available. Will chat her up, and drop inquiries about her specifically, see if she nibbles on anything. Basically looking for what she wants, savvy?
considering who we're talking here (and what we're talking about), i'll roll (even though that's probably not correct...)
____________________
why not talk to a fellow halfling?? let's go see Jala Highstepper at the Farmer's Guildhouse!
shoot the breeze to the extent she's willing, talk business if that's all she wants.
_________________
Will find my way to the Guardhouse at some point, to peruse their gear & see what is available. If I can take a moment to speak to Captain Longsaddle..
SIR! I'm sure you're keeping the roads safe, what what? Hey...if you ever have something special, or a little off the beaten path, you think might be too hot for your boys, my team and I might be available to help. We've seen some...stuff down in the Gauntlight, and if there's ever any trouble on the roads that require a strike team, give us a shout! We might be of use.
____________________
Bibi's purchases come from the Otari Market. If possible, she'll approach Keeleno Lathenar cautiously.
Excuse me, sir. I know you're busy, but I'm burning with curiosity. If you could...you're open every day, except for that one day in the spring. Please, why is it you close on Gozran 5?
<--HERO POINT REROLL BELOW
__________________
Definitely take time with Wrin as well. I'm sure she'd appreciate the historical signifigance of the map we found. If she's interested, I'll give her as much detail as I can, as well as discussing the Roseguard.
I'm guessing you'd need an item in-hand in order to perform your fortune telling service, right?
__________________
Definitely go to the library and speak to Vandy Danderdash. I figure the best way to warm her up is to speak of a topic I'm familar with...
_________________
One evening will be spent at the Otari Fishery. Bibi will challenge some of the folk to games of balance and reaction! She's hoping that this will not only be fun, but might ingratiate herself to Miss Tanderveil, that the owner may open up a bit to her.
___________________
Finally, Bibi spends some time at the Rowdy Rockfish during its less busy times, trying to figure out if Brelda has any services outside of the normal that she'd provide.
_______________
If there are any days left (I really don't know how long all this would take!), I'll spend them plying My Trade to make some coin.
The week in Otari is pleasant. It's certainly sunnier than the ruins of the Gauntlight.
Bibi's week out results in some major help.
Fortunately, the gem hasn't gone anywhere. You can buy it back at the same price. She also has luck with the potion. It's a potion of Bark's Skin. She wraps the day 10 gold coins heavier after dropping the books to Morlibint.
A good student and a good teacher make for light work. Tal has no problems training a new skill. A little bit of light shopping rounds out the week. Finally he finds that for the price of 1 copper per day, Gallentine Deliveries offers lock boxes big enough for anything smaller than a suit of plate armor.
Remaining Days:
Bibi: 4
Elena: 6
Carrufikus: 7
Noroc: 7
Peldur: 7
Tal: 0
TRACKER
The week in Otari is pleasant. It's certainly sunnier than the ruins of the Gauntlight.
Bibi's week out results in some major help.
Fortunately, the gem hasn't gone anywhere. You can buy it back at the same price. She also has luck with the potion. It's a potion of Bark's Skin. She wraps the day 10 gold coins heavier after dropping the books to Morlibint.
Contemplates his belly button and practices hitting trees.
A good student and a good teacher make for light work. Tal has no problems training a new skill. A little bit of light shopping rounds out the week. Finally he finds that for the price of 1 copper per day, Gallentine Deliveries offers lock boxes big enough for anything smaller than a suit of plate armor.
Remaining Days:
Bibi: 4
Elena: 6
Carrufikus: 7
Noroc: 7
Your first couple of days are pretty bad, and you almost got caught on the first, nearly ruining your career in Otari. Thankfully though over time things just keep getting better:
Day 1: 1 Silver
Day 2: 1 Silver
Day 3: 8 Silver
Day 4: 1 Gold, 6 silver
Fortunately, the gem hasn't gone anywhere. You can buy it back at the same price. She also has luck with the potion. It's a potion of Bark's Skin. She wraps the day 10 gold coins heavier after dropping the books to Morlibint.
Contemplates his belly button and practices hitting trees.
A good student and a good teacher make for light work. Tal has no problems training a new skill. A little bit of light shopping rounds out the week. Finally he finds that for the price of 1 copper per day, Gallentine Deliveries offers lock boxes big enough for anything smaller than a suit of plate armor.
Remaining Days:
Elena: 6
Carrufikus: 7
Noroc: 7
After a couple of days doing nothing (or as close to nothing as possible), Noroc finally wakes on 17 Calistral feeling...good? Not weak, not tired, not cranky...actually good.
This sensation is news to him after a couple weeks of...of whatever it is they've been doing in the vaults under Gauntlight.
As he climbs down from the Rowdy Rockfish's attic and grabs a bite from there, he contemplates something that's been niggling at him since seeing it. He opts to go to the Dawnflower Library and see what he can find on Belcorra and her servants. Particularly if one was named Volluk Azrinae.
It takes the remaining week, but Noroc eventually finds enough records to begin piecing a story together.
Volluk was the groundskeeper for the lighthouse during Belcorra's time alive. Given the culture and the timeframe, "servant" is FAR too strong of a word. There's simply no way Belcorra would even acknowledge his existence, let alone consider such a man a direct servant.
Remaining Days:
Elena: 6
Carrufikus: 7
15 Calistril, 4721 AR (continued)
Elena purchases back the gem the group had acquired from Mister Beak, stowing it in her pack. With the doll she collected previously.
With a few other items to sell for the group, she makes her way around town to find good prices for the various items. In the end, she sells off the silver hatchet, fear gem, and gears that they had found. She also makes some of her own purchases, and by the time she's done the sun has moved two hours past its zenith.
With a few projects in mind, she heads back to where she's staying and begins the task of scribbling the spell to her spellbook.
Satisfied, she gets some early rest.
16 Calistril to 12 Calistril, 4721 AR
Elena spends the rest of her quiet time studying to learn one of the spells she knows Wrin can teach her. During that time she discusses spider anatomy, the adhesive properties of their webbing, and how they construct their traps. She makes brief forays into the wilds nearby to collect samples, observe the tiny creatures, and takes down copious notes. It's a long, laborious process.
And it thoroughly reinvigorates her.
"I think I have enough figured out now," Elena says on the 6th day. "Let me jot down what you've got and I should be able to replicate the spell."
21 Calistril, 4721 AR (continued)
Elena makes a point to meet with the others after dinner. "I've been meaning to bring this up to you all, but felt that we all needed a break away from Gauntlight. That said, I want to show you something."
The wizard retrieves a doll from her pack. It's shaped like a goblin, but has no arms or legs. She flips it over, pulls out the gem from Mister Beak, and inserts it into the slot.
Then she watches and waits.
The wizard retrieves a doll from her pack. It's shaped like a goblin, but has no arms or legs. She flips it over, pulls out the gem from Mister Beak, and inserts it into the slot.
Then she watches and waits.
As Bibi is nursing her 2nd (or 3rd??) beer, she idly watches Elena take out the doll, then flip it over. Her eybrows rise as she sees the gem come out, and she breaks out into an eager grin as Elena inserts the gem.
Oh boy! This can't POSSIBLY miss!!!
the thief does place her beer mug down, and her hand does drift to her rapier, but the smile never wanes.
As soon as Elena inserts the gem into the unfinished doll it begins sobbing and wailing in Goblin. The head looks around and then tries to regain its composure, switching to a pigeon Taldane. The lament is about betrayal, over and over again "Meany master betrayed Borbo!"
It'll take a gentle touch to turn this into a two-way conversation.
Having been ready for anything up to and including violence, Bibi gives only a mild start at the actual result.
Hey hey there, no meany masters here. It's OK Borbo, just let it all out, yeah, WAIL baby!! After a few moments of letting the lamentations out, she switches to trying to calm this...person?...down with a soothing voice.
Who was your master, and how did it betray you?
<--apparently she's not as soothing as she likes to think.
"Easy there, Borbo. You're among friendly faces now. We're not your master, and we'd like to understand and help if we can," Elena continues speaking with the goblin doll, her voice low and soothing.
Noroc isn't sure how to talk to a doll...or whatever Borbo is...but he gives it a try.
Bibi is correct, he says gently, motioning to the halfling. No one among us is going to harm you. We have no intention of being "meany masters" to you or anyone else. He introduces himself and his companions. Now that you know us, Borbo, we'd like to listen. Can you tell us what you remember?
”Indeed, Borbo. You are with friends now and we all like hearing stories!
"No stories. Just rest. Please let Borbo go." The only person Borbo is at all willing to talk to is Noroc.
"I tell you of my meany master. Warn you so you know. then Borbo sleep forever. Please?"
Elena looks pained that Borbo wants to 'sleep forever'. After all, it's a wonder that she wants to study. Quietly to Noroc she says"Can you convince it to share its tale and stay with us here?"
Noroc nods slightly and does his best with the little one. Please tell us of your master, yes, he begins gently, and then we can talk about you wanting to sleep. We will listen while you speak.
The story is full of non sequiturs and bouts of wailing, but you get some useful information, however trustworthy you think it is:
Master Volluk was a “powerful masterbrain drow occultist artist man” who had a relationship with a “book lady down below” and who worked for “Mistress Belcorra, who is very frightening and absolutely none of my business.”
Borbo continues, "Master Volluk thinks he's the grand pooba big big as well as a meany."
The rest of the story covers information you already knew, including the secret compartment in the lab which you found previously.
At the end of the story, he just start crying.
Bibi sighs quietly, saddened by this poor thing's tale of woe. She says in a small voice Borbo, do you know how we can help you sleep forever?
"SMASH THE STONE, [url=https://paizo.com/campaigns/v5748p75ivllc/gameplay&page=49#2428]FREE MY BODY."[/b]
"SMASH THE STONE, FREE MY BODY."
"I think Desna would want us to free this poor soul. What possible trouble could he get into once he is free?"
"Anyone with a hammer should be able to shatter the stone. There are magics bound to the stone, but nothing that should prevent a good hammer blow I think."
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Bibi pulls out her new mace. This should work.
She reaches for the stone, giving those in the group who haven't spoken yet, time to object.
Thank you, Borbo. Have a nice rest.
She pulls out the gem, deliberately places it on the ground, lines up the mace shot, and shatters the gem.
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A sense of peace and calm radiates from the shatters pieces for a brief second...
"Now that we've had a nice rest, should we return to the Gauntlight and see what we need to explore next? It really would be nice to rid this place of evil."
"Now that we've had a nice rest, should we return to the Gauntlight and see what we need to explore next? It really would be nice to rid this place of evil."
At the least, we need to release the shell that once was Borbo from that tank below the Lighthouse, Noroc says in agreement. There are more places to investigate, as well. He's not happy about stumbling about in the dank tunnels, but the evidence of taint has been far too much to ignore.
Bibi leads them back to where they left off--the north wing of the (what, 2nd?) level down, she checks the door.
Bibi gives Peldur the go ahead.
The walls of this room are only partially completed and bear the telltale marks of chisels and picks. Discarded stone-working tools lie against the unfinished walls. Elena confirms that there is magic in the room.
"There is magic in that chamber, though from what I cannot say. It could be from the tools, or fromt the walls themselves."
Unwilling to let the mystery be, she steps into the chamber. "Let us search the place, turning over anything that could be noteworthy."
Looks like one of the picks in here is magical
"Isn't that nifty, Bibi? A magical pick. Maybe you won't break that so easily." Carrufikus follows along, keeping his eyes wide open and looking for danger.
Carrufikus doesn't find anything else of note in the room.
"There is magic in that chamber, though from what I cannot say. It could be from the tools, or fromt the walls themselves."
Of course, *I'M* in here!
"Isn't that nifty, Bibi? A magical pick. Maybe you won't break that so easily."
Ummmm...I don't think that pick will fit in my case with the others, my friend...
Peldur wanders around the room, staring intently at random things, like they each might be of intense interest.
Ummmm...I don't think that pick will fit in my case with the others, my friend...
No need to get saucy, Bibi. You don't have to use that sort of language against a friendly jibe.
Elena smirks at the banter, taking the pick up and studying it. The process takes all of a minute.