Might and magic, Lords of the Contested Lands

Game Master Chyrone

Now hopefully her dice live up to her words.

Knowledge local: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

You've heard of this one guy at the commercial zone. One who has specialized in importing goods, mainly foods and drinks, from the other countries. Goats not being kept in Stone City, goat meat and milk from Avlee comes in through this guy's trade connections.

He's reputed to have a reliable timetable, but might need some persuading to keep a cut set aside for a specific customer.

"Oy'd say we are friendly acquainted at best. We met up a few times, coincidental and not, though never at her home. She seems to appreciate green among all the grey, that is the city. An ice breaker, oy'd reckon. Likely, you'll have to do some searchin' for her house."

He rests his chin on crossed fingers.
"Oy'm not much versed in the city's noble houses and their socializin' outside of familial business, it is not of interest te me. But from what she's shared, favors are met with favors."

"So, yes. You can relay i ask her for a favor, in the form of a signed request for my admittance to the city's archives. In return, she'll most likely ask for somethin' to do fer her before she would."

He unchains a particular feather from his collar. It is white with particular specks.

A thrush's feather.
"Oy was the first dwarf she met wearing something like this, so this aught be proof it was oy who sent ye."

Accepting the feather from Darius, Strom rests back on his chair, then reaches down to give Sage a scratch on the head. The lynx had been patient, as was her way, quietly watching and listening, occasionally standing to stretch before circling the floor for a more comfortable position to wait.

"Ah'll go first thing in the morn'. Thanks for this. Whatever comes of it ah'll find you in the fields."

Strom retires for the evening. When day breaks he sets out to find Lady Greenbriar in the housing zone of the city.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

You find the shop with a little asking around, and are pointed at a shop with a sign hanging above the door.
[William's Imports]

It looks well kept on the outside, and when you enter, it is equally tidy inside. Shelves with pots, jars, dried consumables, are what decorate most of the interior. The counter in the back oversees all, being slightly above the ground level.

A dwarf, with pepper and salt colored hair, a pair of spectacles on his nose, sits behind the counter, looking up from a ledger he was reading.

You see many things with that perception, wandering the streets of the not so small residential district for hours. The architecture is what the traders from Avlee would have to say about it. It looks solid, functional, and the houses in the wealthier area, actually have small gardens.

Naturally, there are a few pubs, as well.

4d20 + 2 ⇒ (13, 11, 3, 13) + 2 = 42
Tie Daniel, Green: 1d2 ⇒ 2

Linguistics via Orator feat in place of diplomacy to improve his attitude toward Severa: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

"Ho, friend," he says approaching a nearby butcher across the rows of offal and selected delights. "Do ya know a sensible woman by the esteemed title of Lady Greenbriar? Ah believe she resides somewhere in this neighborhood."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 + 2 = 27

His nose directs him to a tray of warthog jerky. "And five sticks o' that." He fishes in his pocket for a silver piece.

"An excellent choice, sir. Imported from Avlee. And fer that silver, i'll add two strips of Erathian jerky too. There's quite a difference between the two. Erathian seems a little stronger in taste, while Avlee warthog seems a little softer te chew on."

At the question of Lady Greenbriar's residence, he points towards a section perhaps a block further.
"See the higher houses? Tha's where par' no' all, bu' par' of the nobility lives. I don' go there meself, though i' shouldn' be hard te find. I believe there's only several in tha' particular block. Supposedly some have a family crest near their door."

"Ah take your meaning, and ah don't dispute it. Thank you for the direction, friend. We'll meet again soon."

Accepting the jerky, Strom wraps it into his pack, not eating any ow before speaking with a member of the noble class.

He follows the merchant's directions and finds the street with the crests. If it's not obvious which belongs to Lady Greenbriar, he knocks on each door in turn until he finds the right house.

"Wha' is yer business with the lady?", he asks politely, but not opening the door further.

Still, his mood lightens, if it were less so before.
The air is polite, but his DC for requests is a little higher than the base friendly plus Cha.

Severa continues chatting and mentions the ambassador, how highly connected he is with the political power players of Stone City, how good the reputation for William's Imports is, and other matters.

Linguistics via orator to improve attitude: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21

Then she brings up her actual, specific business here. "The Ambassador gets cranky when he can't get good, fresh goat milk from Avlee. But it certainly brightens his day when he can. Think you could set some aside for a recurring order? I could come by regularly to pick it up."

Diplomacy proper to make a request: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (10) - 2 = 8
Hopefully that's DC 0+William's Cha if he's moved to a helpful attitude. *crosses fingers*

Strom produces the thrush feather.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11 Ow. Hope the door is slammed in my face.

Retry? You cannot use Diplomacy to influence a given creature’s attitude more than once in a 24 hour period.

As a professional businessman, he is not going beyond friendly, for someone he's seeing for the first time.

The talk about the ambassador being a power player in Stone City, actually steals a chuckle from him, and he pushes his spectacles upwards on his nose.

"He's no' power player among Stone City's own business, if it doesn' involve Avlee's concerns. No more than one of our own influences Avlee's internal affairs if i' doesn' affec' us."

*leans to the side*
"I can arrange somethin' of a surplus fer startin' after the comin' shipmen'. If he wants a steady order sooner, well he'll have te make an interestin' proposition, fer me te cut inte the currently allocated stock."

Ow. Hope the door is slammed in my face.

As you wish. XD

The manservant/butler looks at the stranger, holding up a feather.
....a stranger, holding up a feather.
........holding up a feather, and a hopeful look.

"Whenever the lady requires assistance, she puts out a notification.
Arrivin' te call fer favors is most unusual."

You get a sense this is not an outright dismissal, but it's not the most welcoming of first impressions in response to your introduction. "Wait here.", he says in a way that suggests he's uncertain of you, and he closes the door in your face.

Five minutes go by. Then 10. When you get the idea he isn't coming back, the door opens. "Follow me."

The interior is finely decorated. There are a few pictures on the corridor's walls. You are led into a spacious living room, and in one of the comfy looking chairs, the cozy looking armchair, sits a dwarf woman, expectingly awaiting your entrance and taking a seat on a chair opposite her and the small table between the chairs.

Picture of Lady Marlene Greenbriar
It is as Darius described, she is young for one to hold the title of matriarch of a noble house. Shaymara's grace, she could as well have been an older cousin to someone of your age, but one just past the threshold of middle age. A graceful air about her, yet with quite an inquisitive look in her eyes.

In a corner behind her chair, stands an easel, with a painting depicting a hovel village near a lake, with lush green trees in the background. You recognize a dwarven village in Avlee if you saw one.
Perception 12: There is still a faint smell of freshness coming from its direction.

"Bring us some tea, please.", she asks of the butler.
He brings some shortly.

"So, i am quite surprised. I had not put out a word for assistance, and someone just comes knocking at my doorstep. Of all things, a man from Avlee, it turns out. What brings you here?"

Severa nods, trying to chuckle along in a friendly way. "Indeed, imagine if everyone controlled everyone else's business. Chaos!" Then she shrugs as she turns a little more serious "Of course, he does have many personal and professional connections, for example related to customs inspections, import/export tariffs, and the like. If you run into a problem, I could discuss it with him and try to help you find the right person to talk to as quickly as possible." She tries to make it clear that she is not suggesting something corrupt, only the ability to make key introductions, provide useful information, and the like.

"Perhaps ready access to these professional resources is worth establishing a steady order as soon as possible?"

I'm happy to roll any other checks you want. I just know I can't officially reroll that same request against DC 10+target's cha mod unless GM says so, it counts as a different request, or something like that.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

"That's lovely," Strom says of the painting. "A landscape so familiar Ah feel like Ah've been there. You're quite talented, mah Lady.

"So Ah come to you, hat in hand and hoping for a blessing so that Darius may be allowed entry into the historical archives to look for clues. He believes you can get him that access. In exchange, although Ah believe Darius' selfless labor in service to Stone City should be more than enough, Ah offer you my service, though Ah know that you have not requested it. Ah would perform whatever needs doing if it helps to cure the land here and allows mah brother's spirit to rest in peace."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

"I'll hand ye a freebie bi' of advice, one negotiator te another.
If yer comin' on someone's behalf, be sure tha' whatever you're offerin' the other party, is backed up before hand by that someone. Otherwise ye're left with empty hands te bargain with. The suggestions of a lesser import tariff sounds nice, bu' i need some sor' of proof tha' he's offerin' me tha', if i'm te arrange somethin' fer very short notice."

That's lovely," Strom says of the painting. "A landscape so familiar Ah feel like Ah've been there. You're quite talented, mah Lady.

She sips from her tea.

Once you conclude your story,
.."My condolences. Many have lost friends or family when the vile forces forced their way through."

In this case, the dungeon overlords from Nighon, tunneled their way towards Stone City's tunnels. Marauding their way through part of Stone City, while going to the surface, on towards the surface of the continent.

"Personally, i have my doubts about Mr. Darius' success, in his quest for revitalizing the land. But it would be a pleasant surprise, if it turns out as he hopes it will. From my understanding, the land has been this way for hundreds of years, if not beyond a millennia."

She ponders about whatever she could use you for, seemingly looking past you, sipping her tea. Then she looks back at you.

"There is no particular situation i need help with, though there is something i would like to obtain from Darius. He showed me a particular pendant he wore. A joint effort creation, to utilize a personal defensive measure, by him and a Bracadan mage who holds shop in the commercial zone. A man known as Zahfir. For personal reasons, i would like to have one as well."

Strom shifts his weight. Magical pendants are expensive to create, else everyone would have them. He needed to clarify her request.

"Indeed. Ah will go find this Bracadan mage, representing your interests. Pardon me for asking: will you be covering the cost of the creation of this item?"

"But it would require the both of them to make another, is what i believe to be the case."

Once dismissed, Strom gives Sage a good scratch under the chin and heads off in the direction of the commercial zone.

Once there he looks around, engaging with a nearby shopkeeper as to where the Bracadan mage may be found.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

Lady Greenbriar bids you good day, and with a slight accent to her pronunciation, does so in Avlee dwarven.

The shop she mentioned, located in a corner shop at the commercial zone, is hard to miss. A sign hangs above the door.

Zahfir's Magical Means.

As you enter, a small bell rings. A set of gloves hovers towards you, making an inviting gesture towards the counter in the back.

Contrary to the size outside, the interior's size is much larger than the outside would reasonably have allowed it to be.

Trinkets, vials, ornaments, are some of the things on the shelves. Glass cabinets near the counter display wands, rods, and other items.

A tanned human, in his mid to late twenties, in an outlandish but fashionable attire, stands behind the counter. A shortly trimmed beard and hair tied behind his head.

"Welcome, honored customer. How can i help you today?"
Picture of Zahfir