"I. Am. Trying!" Sara says through clenched teeth. "They are surprisingly Dodgy."
Capricia pursues the fleeing jellies, pelting one with another stone.
for
Your plan finally starts to work, as Sveng again damages each of the "children" equally, maximizing his damage. With the magic missiles and rocks eventually damaging the remains enough that the ochre jelly ceases to exist.
"Excellent, my new friends!" the swan maiden shouts. "My friends call me Atratus."
She rewards you with a treasure she seized from poachers several years ago: a curious assortment of gears, mechanisms, oils, and tools. These supplies can be sold in Lotheedar for 1,000 gp or used for various town improvements, in which case they are worth 3,000 gp.
She also presents you with another treasure she has protected from a lover she took many millennia ago: the Subtle Mask . She knows little of the mask’s history, only that it was once worn by “a singer whose voice left kings weeping and mountains low.”
The Nightingale bows to Atratus, "We are honored to be counted among your friends. You may call me Nightingale. If you need any more help you may ask for me at Onara's Pub in Stachys."
Looking at the offered mask, The Nightingale asks, "This appears to be a priceless treasure. A singer who could make kings weep you say? I shall research the legends surrounding this mask. We are again in your debt."
The Nightingale inwardly comments that this research would be more appropriate to Valeria, before bowing deeply to Atratus and returning to the coach to change back in her more socially accepted attire.
Sveng fixes his cuffs, and wipes a bead of sweat from his forehead. That was risky Sveng. Perhaps unnecessarily so. He turns and inclines his head to Atratus. "Well met. We hope that your piece of nature may remain peaceful from now on. If new qualms arise, please consider us your first point of contact to resolve them."
Valeria emerges from the coach minutes later, and shares her initial thoughts to the group in regards to the Subtle Mask.
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Later when they arrive in Stachys, Valeria informs Onara that one of her maids has decided to help out here at the pub, free of charge. "She will remain on my payroll, dearest Onara, but for the next few months she will serve you in any capacity you see fit love. Please try to teach her a thing or two about mixing drinks properly yes?"
Valeria then debriefs one of her 'maids' and instruct her agent to run up to the Betony Estate if a lady dressed in swan feathers, breastplate, chainmail and bow ever shows up. "She will go by the name of 'Atratus' but she may be reluctant to share her name with you. You shall organize a meeting between herself and The Nightingale in the gardens behind the Betony Estate if this person ever shows up to Onara's pub. Make sure I am notified as soon as possible so that I can... summon The Nightingale forthwith and not make this swan lady wait too long. Understood?"
Hargus lowers his bow as the ochre jellies are finished off. "Well met, Atratus. I hope that we can continue to be allies going forward."
Once Valeria finishes in the carriage, he takes his turn, changing back into Eregos. Once he steps out, it's as though the Forest Knight never existed, his armor once again resplendent, the mask gone.
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Capricia, stoic as ever, merely nods at Atratus before giving her name. Sidling up next to Sara, however, the ghost of a smile appears at the corner of her mouth as she whispers, "Hmph! I was once told my singing made sweet babies cry."
Sara is busy scraping up some of the oozing remains into a jar, when she burst out into laughter. Nudging her friend with her shoulder she whispers back "Now you will have to let me hear your song. It's the only way I can judge. Pleeeease." she begs.
Once the baker has her promise from her friend for a song, she hurries over to the wizard who is busy thinking. Not that it stops Sara from interrupting, just something she notes "Master Fickleblooper, what do you think ingesting the remains of an ochre jelly will do to a person." she slips the full jar of yellowish gunk into her pack as she asks, genuinely curious.
Fashioned to surround the wearer’s eyes and cover the forehead and cheekbones, this mask is made of porcelain inset with blue and green gems and decorated with golden filigree. When donned, the mask seems to disappear, leaving its golden patterns as tattoos on the wearer’s face and coloring one of the wearer’s eyes green and the other blue. The wearer can remove the mask normally, causing it to appear as a porcelain mask once again.
Sara will experiment in very small amounts on herself and any willing parties, spreading it a dollop on toast... like jam. SMALL amount. The question is whether it is a delicacy or something she will slip into a bad person's kitchen.
Valeria shares all her knowledge of the new Subtle Mask with the group and assists Sveng with learning the proper command words. To her amazement the mask does merge with Sveng's face seamlessly, leaving golden patterns on his face and turning his eyes in two different colors.
"Impressive item, dear Sveng... I am curious to see what other wondrous powers will be unlocked by our collective heroics!"
Sveng does seem intrigued by the mask, although he frowns slightly at the changes it makes to his face. Sveng always valued his professional but neutral and forgettable features. Still, the benefits far outweighed the risks, and lately he had been gathering more and more attention on his name anyways so he wasn't sure how much being looked over was really possible anymore.
Eregos will absolutely pass on trying any ochre jelly until such time as he can be sure that it won't kill him. He doesn't think Sara malicious, but he knows all too well that bad things can come of good intent.
He, likewise, is impressed by the performance of the Subtle Mask. He wonders if the markings could be disguised in any way.
To Eregos' question, Valeria posits that a minor disguise, be it mundane or magical, would probably conceal these subtle facial markings.
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The tase of the ochre jelly is akin to moldy sweat socks, leaning towards raw sewage. It is nasty smelling as well as disgusting to taste. It doesn't seem worth any more than rotten garbage to you. Maybe a wizard might find it useful as a spell component, but not in any way any of you are aware of.
There doesn't seem to be any way to hide the tattoo without making the mask non-functional. You can, however, take it off to make it a regular porcelain mask as you like, however.
Officially know as “Bugbear Wood” for the creatures that used to infest it, most locals refer to this old oak forest as Beggarwood, as it offers reasonable shelter and food for the poor, as well as easy access to the nearby Oppara highway so the desperate can ply trade goods to whoever passes by. Local nobility consider the forest and its occupants a blight, but not a big enough embarrassment to waste the resources trying to wipe it out (especially since the inhabitants are adept at hiding and have few permanent possessions or homes to destroy). Sir Gul Gusairne sends a few soldiers out to accost the roadside market the beggars establish from time to time, taking whatever goods or coin they like, but anything more thorough would require committed support from Barons Telus and Okerra, and neither cares to aid.
"Hello my good little boy! would you mind taking us to whoever's in charge?" she asks to the nearest youth, offering a gold coin for incentive.
"In charge? Well, ain't anyone here that would make that claim. But folks around here like to talk if you're buying their goods. Even more so if you brought useful things in trade!"
"We brought something much more than useful." the warm brunette says as she kneels down and opens her basket that she had nestled against her hip. "We brought something Tasty."
The small bite-sized scone she pulls out is no longer warm, which is a shame, but one cannot bake and travel at the same time. The atrocity is partly made up for by its lovely flavoring with netmeg and honey. "Here, a free sample so you can tell all you know about them." offered with kind eyes and a smile.
Capricia worries a bit about Valeria flashing gold before these hard off, possibly desperate people; on the other hand, tempting them may show if they're honest people just down on their luck or if there's another reason they live in a forest...like bandits.
For now, Capricia remains stoic and keeps an eye on the beggars.
Valeria will go around the stalls or areas where people are gathered, and make small talk, inquiring about what they have for sale and letting people know that Stachys village is rebuilding and that they need both labor and building material.
"Did...did you just happen to have a scone on you?" Sveng looks morbidly curious.
"A scone, no.." she opens the basket to show Sveng that it is filled with them.
She had given him a wry smile but tempered it to explain why, figuring Sveng would appreciate that more than playful teasing "When you have nothing and never had, sometimes something decadent can temp a mouth to open. Scones are not so beyond reach that they will create a divide too great to overcome. More fancy than a cookie, less fancy than a tart. Dense and small, so easy to transport, so... perfect. I believe." Sara appears pretty confident in her choice of pastry.
Her brown eyes catch his, then she asks "Would you like one?"
Sveng's lip twitches and an almost even smile comes up, followed by contemplation upon Sara's follow up. "I do not think I have ever heard such confidence in choice of pastry. It is hard to turn it down in that case, with such a capable salesperson behind it." He nimbly takes a scone, taking a modest bite, and chewing slowly. "Mhmm...perhaps we shall win over Beggarwood with pastries alone. A bakery is a small price to pay for loyalty."
The Beggarwood has about 25 permanent residents living in caves, tents, and tree houses mostly gathered around Bear Pond at its north end, with another 25 transients present at any given time.
While Sara is making friends with her scones, everyone does seem a little suspiscious. Valerie overhears one woman say "If'n there is trouble, the Four Hoods will help us sort it out as they always do..."
You definitely pick up on the fear and loathing of Lotheed, and especially his croony, Sir Gul Guisairne.
Upon overhearing the woman, Valeria inquires, "I beg your pardon Madame. We seek no trouble at all and we are looking for trade goods that could help us with our town improvements. We would very much like to speak to those Four Hoods if a meeting could be arranged. Where can we find them?"
While Valeria works toward making allies, Capricia decides to learn what she can of possible (likely?) future enemies.
Eregos looks over the residents of the Beggarwood, looking to see what's for sale as he considers Sir Gul Guisairne.
"Now why, if I knew them, would the Four Hoods wish to see you? No, no, my dear. I imagine they would consider this a trap by someone intent on collecting the bounty on their heads... up to fifteen hundred gold, as I recall that retches Sir Gusairne claiming!"
"Gusairne? The Count's sheriff? now, do we look like starved nobles to you? anyone willing to help do this dog's duty is not only desperate but probably also not the sharpest tool in the shed, if you know what I mean. But have it your way. If those leaders of yours don't want to see us, it's fine by me, I can do my own announcements for the people..."
Lady Valeria then 'commands' her 'men' and 'ladies in waiting' to erect a small stage for her so that she can make an announcement to the folks of Beggarwood. When the heroes arrive closer she whispers to them, "Pssst! I intend to do a speech for them, to give them hope or something, and invite them to relocate to Stachys. We need hands to rebuild.. suggestions? what should I say? Bimble! you look like you've had a turn or two as a speechwriter in the past? can you get quill and paper out and start writing something? Eregos, Capricia: can you build me a stage? not higher than a soapbox but just something to help me see everyone... Sara, Sveng: can you both move through the camp and 'announce' a 'formal announcement by Lady Valeria Tanessen of Stachys' in say, half an hour? oh my... I hope I didn't put my foot in my mouth on this one..."
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Capricia gives Eregos a quizzical look after receiving Valeria's orders; it's clear she's never built anything like a stage before, but she's willing to give it a go.
Sara seems rather excited about this one having spent most of her life idolizing the great speakers of their time. Before Bimble can open his mouth she babbles out "I'd suggest taking some of the early Renith's passion and twisting in the logic of the four senators of the post. They knew how to speak to all classes, even if they're actual intent was for power." she babbles on a bit before she realizes she is not doing her requested job, and then heads out to the audience to help drum up their expectations.
Eregos looks at Valeria, blinks a couple times, then says, "You are aware I have no idea what I'm doing with this, right? I mean, I know it's not exactly a difficult task, but...well, I'll see what I can do."
He gets to work with Capricia who appears to know as little as he does.
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Sveng waves a hand absentmindedly. "Yes, yes, I shall help build anticipation. Eregos don't worry about building anything fancy, a good box or two will do just fine."
"Psssssst! Sara! don't go girl! you seem good at this! here: put it on paper, in whole or in parts... I'll read it several times before the start so I don't sound like some emotionless clockwork golem!"
Eregos looks at Valeria, blinks a couple times, then says, "You are aware I have no idea what I'm doing with this, right? I mean, I know it's not exactly a difficult task, but...well, I'll see what I can do."
He gets to work with Capricia who appears to know as little as he does.
"Drats... I might break a heel on this thing... hmmm... how about you just hold the reins of a horse and I'll sit on the saddle to do the speech? can you keep the beast still so I can use both my hands to hold papers up there?"
"I can try," Capricia tells Valeria. Hopefully by now she knows that when I say 'try' I mean 'there will be risk involved for others.'
A bit belatedly, the ex-pirate looks around for a carrot or apple to keep the horse occupied.
"Oh brother... never mind Capricia... I'll ride the thing in circles while I talk... like some kind of military commander inspiring the troops... I hope they don't call me 'The New General' after this! ...but this means I need to memorize the speech! quick, finish it Sara! and keep it family friendly please!!"
Sara looks up from her scribing, frowns and crosses out a lovely passage about rolling in the hay, an analogy about getting along in whatever environment you find yourself. Then she finishes up and hands it over. "Emphasize this part here, lower into sympathy here, laugh or light chuckle... And... You can do this. Good luck "
Eregos was at least more familiar with horses, so he took the reins from Capricia and made soothing noises to it as he held it.
Eregos finally gets control of the horse, while the people watch you all fumble about. It turns out to be quite comical, and more than a few chuckle and point your way.
Finally, an older woman speaks. "Ok, ok. Clearly you are not with Gusairne... you are trying too hard and not running anyone through in the process. I might be able to introduce you, but you will need to come with me unarmed."
Sveng happily volunteers his basically useless weapons over.
Capricia utterly refuses to hand over her weapons, especially her precious falcata. Perhaps she's still feeling the sting from being laughed at by these people, but she whispers a reminder to her friends that these folks have been living as glorified bandits for years and ought not be trusted. They're likely filled with anger at their situation and might like nothing more than to take out their gripes against a local noblewoman and her retinue.