Seeing that it is three against 1 against, Tangletop realizes he is not going to get to keep the shiny spyglass. He relents and agrees to Pen's reasonable offer and he accepts the shiny gold coin as well. The brownie sadly waves the party goodbye as they exit the building and starts to clean up the glass off the floor.
It is around 3:00 PM in the afternoon. Having accomplished much by clearing most of the upper ruins of the Gauntlight, the party heads back to Otari to eat, rest, report in to Wrin, and level up. 25 minutes later the party is back in town.
"Good idea, Pen. We should probably give her a chance to look at everything we recovered," Jon says as they re-enter town. "Afterwards, why don't we look into transferring the runes on those magical weapons onto ones we're already using? And I'll need to look into getting some thieves' tools. We can't always rely on finding keys laying around."
"All great ideas, fellas. I also have some questions for Wrin regarding what learned at the Gauntlight."
The party makes its way back to Wrin's Wonders, the curio shop where you initially met the tiefling merchant. The shop has very little foot traffic and you makes you way back to the central dome whose ceiling is painted to resemble a night sky featuring the constellations of the Cosmic Caravan.
As you knock and enter, you see Wrin sitting cross-legged on the rug, as before, but this time, she is accompanied by a human male dressed in breastplate armor with a spear with a heavy metal wedge as a spearhead. Wrin smiles as she sees the four of you and motions to the human male. "My goodness, I was just talking about the four of you to my friend, Garidan. What stories do you bring me from Gauntlight Ruins? Was I right to be concerned? Please, you may speak freely."
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Mac introduces himself, his cousin, and the other party members to the human soldier (?) chatting with Wrin. "Well, we foiled the ludicrous plan of some gremlins who were trying to raise giant flies to ride on and invade Otari. It turns out these gremlins were driven above ground by some mushroom-eyed monsters from below, so it seems there is an underground level to the lighthouse. We found 2 different sets of staircases leading down. What else? We found a shrine to some elder god, Nhimbaloth. We learned that a group of 4 adventurers (?) who recently bought food from Crook's Nook were seen going underground. There is a swamp dragon around also in the area, who has a lair in the underground level. The ruins were populated by a number of wisps - fought at least 3 of them. On the island to the NW, we entered a building where we ran into a brownie, found one of the staircases down, and fought a raven-winged doll, who had a black gem in its back. We also found some portraits and learned of a drow named Volluk Azrinae. The gremlins also told us about a cloaked stranger who visits the lighthouse and leaves a trail of leeches with a glowing lantern. So we have a ton of questions:
1. What do you know about Volluk Azrinae, a drow from the Darklands who served as apprentice to Belcorra?
2. We saw a portrait of a smirking woman dressed in a purplish-red gown with a high collar. Its plaque read, “The Lady of the Light". What did Belcorra look like in life?
3. As stated, we found this gem on the doll's back. What can you tell us about it?
4. The swamp dragon was described as having scales like fish, is green with wings. It can walk, fly, and swim. It spits liquid that burns armor and weapons. It is not very big but quite vicious. Any idea what that could be?
5. 2 wisps who can animate corpses guarded the shrine to Nhimbaloth. Anything else you can tell us?
6. We found some treasures while we cleared out the ruins. Would any of them interest your curio shop?
7. We found a carving of a flying bird on one of the bows of the boats. Do you recognize that symbol.
8. The underground level to the lighthouse merits further exploration to determine the threat level it poses to the town. That's all I've got for now."
1.
2.
4.
7.
Garidan stands up, his metal gear clanking. As he straightens, the newcomers realize that the bearded and tall, 40 something year old man is in fact a half-elf with his tipped ears almost hidden behind long hair. On a chair hangs a heavy and rugged coat that has seen better days. So has his armor. So if this was a soldier, then he has been out of service for a long time. Someone with interest and knowledge of weaponry would certainly recognize the strange, rather short spear.
"Good afternoon, brave adventurers. That is quite a story you have to tell. My name is Garidan Hemlock. I'm pretty sure we've all met before at some point in the past decade, but it is unlikely anyone of you would remember me. I am Otari's Night Guard and usually sleep at this our of daylight. So the only time we could've met was when you were stumbling home drunk from the tavern or something alike." He grins friendly.
”Hey there, Garidan. I’m Hagrym. The wordy questioning dwarf is my cousin, Maclin. Jon and Penflower are the other two in our intrepid band. Pleasure to make your official acquaintance! I kid, but Maclin is right. Our little journey has resulted in more questions than answers about that place!”
Wrin sits in her lotus position as she listens to Mac's thorough tale of the group's exploits, smiling at the mention of the gremlins' plans, with a more concerned look regarding the wisps and the name of Nhimbaloth. She patiently listens to the dwarf's tale and questions, while looking to Garidan for any help he can give on the subject. "You have been very busy today and it's not even supper time, though I do hear Hagrym's stomach growling so I will be brief." She winks at the cleric. She drinks some wine to quench her thirst and commences:
"1. I am more of an expert in the Occult or Spirit Lore than history. I defer to my friend, Garidan, on that matter.
2. I defer.
3. Wrin holds the gem in her hands as she concentrates and her hands glow with magic. "This is a soul gem, meaning it holds the soul of a sentient being. It does not radiate a powerful aura, so it is not the soul of a celestial or a devil or demon. Since you found it on the back of a doll, the gem was most likely the force that animated the creature. I would not be interested in this."
4. The creature you describe does not appear to be a natural creature. If it is a dragon or related to a dragon, you require an expert in arcana, which I am not. Garidan, your opinion?
5.Of Nhimbaloth, I can well versed. She is the Outer God of swamps, despair, and will-o'-wisps (hence their appearance in her shrine). It is said that she extends her seven-fingered hands into the world to work evil from the darkness of deep space. Nhimbaloth, known as the Empty Death, is said to be to able to see through will-o’-wisps, and her trace is left behind in a symmetrical pattern of seven divots along the shoreline, said to be her fingerprints. Her presence and worshippers so close to Otari concern me. After all. who built the shrine?
6. I will buy all the jewelry and spyglass you have found. The weapons do not interest me and the snare and other miscellaneous equipment that you have can be sold at the Market."
"7. A flying bird is not familiar to me. What say you, Garidan?
8. Yes, please continue exploring so we may assess the threat accurately."
1. You do not know much more about Volluk other than what the party already knows.
2. You can confirm that the portrait, as described, is an accurate representation of the sorceress, Belcorra Haruvex. You believe that she took the moniker of the Lady of the Light, because of the wisps, as she is rumored to have been a secret worshipper of Nhimbaloth, according to the tales that you have been told.
3. Unfortunately, you could not recall enough lore to identify the swamp dragon.
4. You recall the bird, in your night watch duties, as the symbol of the Osprey Club, Otari's unofficial thieves' guild, said to operate out of the Crook's Nook and headed by Yinyasmera, the proprietor.
"Hm, yes yes. I can try to fill some. blanks, but not much, unfortunately. First, I, too, have no knowledge about that Volluk person, I'm sorry.
But, according to tales, I can confirm that the portrait, as so described by you, is an accurate representation of the sorceress, Belcorra Haruvex. It is generally believed that she took the moniker of the Lady of the Light, because of the wisps, as she is rumored to have been a secret worshipper of Nhimbaloth." Garidan pauses and scratches his head.
"Your description of that swamp dragon doesn't ring a bell, too, but I know exactly what that bird is. You all know the Crook's Nook? Well, by night, if you watch carefully, you can see some shady folk enter and leave. Yinyasmera, the proprietor is not what she tells you. While it's true that you do get the best seafood in town at her tavern, the building’s attic serves as the guildhall for Otari’s thieves’ guild, the Osprey Club—a function that’s perhaps the town’s worst-kept secret, as evidenced by the building’s very name. And that is the bird in your symbol, an Osprey."
"Good to meet you, Garidan," Jon, another half-elf with a plaid shirt under leather armor and a black duster. A double-barreled pistol sits in a holster at his hip, with a whip and shortsword on the other.
"Otari has a thieves' guild?" Jon scratches his head. "Passing through I always thought it was just a sleepy little town with honest folk and a lumber mill. I should probably double knot the drawstring on my knapsack from now on."
”Welp? Let’s not do anything to get crossways with any thieves’ guild. I wouldn’t want them threatening us or any of our friends back here in town. Garidan, want to go get some dinner with the group? As Wrin said, I’m hungry and I get grumpy when I get hungry. Wrin, would you like to go with us as well?”
Mac nods politely at Wrin's responses and appreciates Garidan's input. "Thank you both for the information. If what you say is true, perhaps 4 thieves from the guild went investigating in the ruins and their fates are unknown. Maybe this Yinyasmera would appreciate us looking into the matter on her behalf. Belcorra was a secret worshipper of this outer god. Now, the appearance of the wisps makes sense. We fought 2 wisps that are vulnerable to sunlight and "animate" corpses - corpselights, I think they are called. We fought another kind of wisp that shocked Jon with electricity, but we killed it before it could do more harm. Can any of you tell me more about wisps and the different types that exist, over a meal, perhaps? Thank you for buying the treasures, Wrin. We will continue our investigation of the lower level after resting, eating, and buying some gear. But as Hagrym stated, let's get some chow."
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Penflower nods silently at all the comments.
"In the past, the thieves have never actually bothered any Otarians. They're loyal to the town. but beware, or any of you are outsiders." Garidan explains.
"Dinner sounds good, how about some seafood?" he suggests with a grin.
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"In the past, the thieves have never actually bothered any Otarians. They're loyal to the town. but beware, or any of you are outsiders." Garidan explains.
"Dinner sounds good, how about some seafood?" he suggests with a grin.
"Seafood, right. I suppose as I'm a stranger in the town with an exotic weapon, nimble fingers, and a penchant for stealth, I should be the one to try to get in with the ne'er-do-wells. I'm not too good at lying though. You might say I'm a..." he pauses for comedic effect, straight shooter!"
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Penflower says "I'll visit Morlibint to talk about the dragon. I'll also talk about art and see what he's interested in among the things we found. I'm also curious about this black gem. If there's a soul trapped here, we might want to free it... But if it was behind that doll's aggressiveness, we might not want to. I'm not the most knowledgeable person to know about souls, but it might be worth looking into. In any case, I'll meet you all in the Crook's Nook? Or is only Jon going?"
Wrin smiles at Hagrym's offer but politely declines to join them on their meal. With regard to the wisps, she offers the following information:
"In terms of power, the corpselights that you have encountered are among the weaker members of the wisp family. On the same power level are the flickerwisps, which sound like the type that shocked Jon. They can also confusion in their enemies. Then there is a jump in power level to will-o-wisps, who shock, feed on fear, and can turn invisible at will. They are followed by a void glutton, a seething sphere of glowing eyes and on another power level. It is a nasty bastard that can immobilize you and feed on fear and are almost impossible to hit due to their size and speed. The most powerful type of wisp I have researched is a dread wisp that haunts the Darklands and can inflict void damage upon touching you. This whole wisp family is immune to most magic, except for force barrage and revealing light. Be careful when dealing with wisps. I hope that helped."
With that information you head for lunch. Where to? The Crow's Casks (tavern), Crow's Nook (tavern known for best seafood in town), or the Rowdy Rockfish (quietest tavern). You enjoy your meal as you speak among each other.
At the Crow's Nook, Garidan enjoys the company and not being alone for a change. "I have a. few days off. There's a new guy, with whom I will do some job sharing. it's been hard the past few years."
The party exchanges small talk on how they all got to know Wrin and at the end, Garidan asks. "Can I come with you? To the Gauntlight, I mean. As I understand, you're going back there. It sounds interesting and I'm always good for a mystery to solve."
In any case, I'll meet you all in the Crook's Nook? Or is only Jon going?"
"I hope you'll all stay downstairs in case something goes south. If you hear a gunshot, you'll know I would like assistance," Jon says.
The party has a late lunch/early dinner at the Crook's Nook. A dark skinned lanky and striking woman oversees the servers to ensure the efficiency of the tavern's operations. The party identifies her as Yinyasmera, the proprietor of the establishment.
Hagrym was excited to dine at the Crook’s Nook. He had more gold in his pouch than normal, so he planned to enjoy himself with the best seafood meal the place could serve him. He sees the proprietor of the place, and nods at Jon, expecting his group mate to attempt to make “friends” with the other inhabitants of the place.
The cleric grabs an empty table and waves at the server. ”Cold drinks for me and my friends, and bring us your most delicious dishes, thank you very much!”
At the Crow's Nook, Garidan enjoys the company and not being alone for a change. "I have a. few days off. There's a new guy, with whom I will do some job sharing. it's been hard the past few years."
The party exchanges small talk on how they all got to know Wrin and at the end, Garidan asks. "Can I come with you? To the Gauntlight, I mean. As I understand, you're going back there. It sounds interesting and I'm always good for a mystery to solve."
Mac raises his mug of ale and looks at Garidan. "Pleasure to have another warrior in the band, and a knowledgeable one at that. I am sure you will put your spear to good use in battle. Have to have you. Cheers!"
Seeing Yinyasmera, Mac waves his hand over at her. Assuming she stops by the table, he will motion for her to lean in, "We've been to the ruins near the lighthouse and we know about some of your men, maybe 4, going down there in an Osprey-marked boat. Did they come back? If not, we should talk." Mac smiles and lets her take the lead. Either she is interested or not.
Yinyasmera comes over the party's table, wishing you an excellent meal. As Mac directs her, she leans in and listens to him. A look of shock passes over Yinyasmera's face for the briefest of moments, before she quickly composes herself. A smile returns to her face, as she whispers, "I am interested. Please visit me in my office after your meal." She moves away from the party's table and continues to visit the other patrons in the establishment.
After the meal, assuming you visit her office, two guards, who have been advised to expect you, allow you inside. The office is cluttered with papers and receipts regarding the inn's establishment. Yinyasmera is seated behind the desk in an oak chair and invites you all to sit in the wooden chairs set before the desk, though she is not offended if you stand. "It seems you are well-informed about my business. I could deny everything, but it would not serve much purpose. Yes, four of my employees went missing several days ago without my permission. It is unusual of them to not report in to me. I did not know of where they had visited, but now that you mention the ruins, that makes sense. There's always been rumors of hidden treasure at that place." Looking very serious, Yinyasmera stands and walks around the desk. "Here's the deal and there's no haggling to be done. I can promise you a 50 gp reward if you can find out what happened to my employees and bring them back to me. Alive preferably, but if deceased, I need definitive proof. What say ye?"
Pen finds himself at Odd Stories, the bookstore owned by the human wizard Morlibint. A sign above the front door depicts a stack of open books with lines of magical energy rising from the pages. Upon seeing you, the wizard smiles and welcomes Pen inside. After offering you some tea, he asks what you have been up to recently. When Pen mentions his adventures in the ruins, Morlibint's eyes light up, as he asks about the details and is intrigued about the corpselights, the wisps, the gremlins, the haunt, the raven-winged doll and any other detail that Pen gives him. When questioned about the swamp dragon and its description, Morbilint pauses for a moment.
"My friend, a swamp dragon that is not. Perhaps to the uneducated minds of the gremlins and others like it. But what you're describing, bit its color, size, and fish scales, is more of distant cousin to a true dragon: a drake. These creatures are smaller than a horse, amphibious, can fly, and are driven by instinct. They are ravenous and bestial. They have powerful jaws and thick-scaled tails that they use to rend their opponents in combat. For ranged opponents, they rely on a breath weapon of acid, apparently, from what you have described to me. Be careful with these creatures. Where they lack in reason, compared to true dragons, they make up with ferocity. What I will tell you is that drakes, like dragons, like to keep a hoard of their treasure. So if you defeat one, be sure to search for it. Also, if you find any drake eggs, I would be definitely interested in purchasing them so please keep me in mind."
"Anything else I can help you with, my friend?"
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Penflower takes the tea with much pleasure as he recounts the tale, paying special attention to art pieces they found. He even asks Morlibint if he'd like to buy some of the art he describes, so he can bring it with him next time.
About the drake, he says "We should get some acit protection, then. Any idea where I could find some?" He also considers its ferocity. He wonders what would be the best approach, to either be cautious or to meet aggressiveness with more aggressiveness. But he has time to discuss this with the others.
Yinyasmera comes over the party's table, wishing you an excellent meal. As Mac directs her, she leans in and listens to him. A look of shock passes over Yinyasmera's face for the briefest of moments, before she quickly composes herself. A smile returns to her face, as she whispers, "I am interested. Please visit me in my office after your meal." She moves away from the party's table and continues to visit the other patrons in the establishment.
After the meal, assuming you visit her office, two guards, who have been advised to expect you, allow you inside. The office is cluttered with papers and receipts regarding the inn's establishment. Yinyasmera is seated behind the desk in an oak chair and invites you all to sit in the wooden chairs set before the desk, though she is not offended if you stand. "It seems you are well-informed about my business. I could deny everything, but it would not serve much purpose. Yes, four of my employees went missing several days ago without my permission. It is unusual of them to not report in to me. I did not know of where they had visited, but now that you mention the ruins, that makes sense. There's always been rumors of hidden treasure at that place." Looking very serious, Yinyasmera stands and walks around the desk. "Here's the deal and there's no haggling to be done. I can promise you a 50 gp reward if you can find out what happened to my employees and bring them back to me. Alive preferably, but if deceased, I need definitive proof. What say ye?"
Mac extends his hand to Yinyasmera, "Deal! Just tell us your four employees' names, descriptions, and any discerning features, such as scars, tattoos, etc. in order to identify them. If they're alive, we will bring them back to you."
After leaving Crook's Nook, Mac leaves the party and heads to Blades for Glades to speak to Carmen Rajani and sell the weapons.
Garidan adds some of his own thaughte towards Yinyasmera. He smiles at her. "If you wanted your business to stay a secret, then step one, don't call it the Crook's Nook. And step two, that supposedly secret entrance or exit at the south-western wall between the boat house and the rocks is fully observable for anyone coming from the fishery. A nightly patrol, for example." He pronounced the words business and secret in an almost mockingly slow voice.
Penflower takes the tea with much pleasure as he recounts the tale, paying special attention to art pieces they found. He even asks Morlibint if he'd like to buy some of the art he describes, so he can bring it with him next time.
About the drake, he says "We should get some acit protection, then. Any idea where I could find some?" He also considers its ferocity. He wonders what would be the best approach, to either be cautious or to meet aggressiveness with more aggressiveness. But he has time to discuss this with the others.
Morbilint ponders the question. "Acid protection? Nowhere I can think of in town. You would have to travel to Absalom to find some. That's about 3-day journey one-way on foot - 75 miles."
Yinyasmera comes over the party's table, wishing you an excellent meal. As Mac directs her, she leans in and listens to him. A look of shock passes over Yinyasmera's face for the briefest of moments, before she quickly composes herself. A smile returns to her face, as she whispers, "I am interested. Please visit me in my office after your meal." She moves away from the party's table and continues to visit the other patrons in the establishment.
After the meal, assuming you visit her office, two guards, who have been advised to expect you, allow you inside. The office is cluttered with papers and receipts regarding the inn's establishment. Yinyasmera is seated behind the desk in an oak chair and invites you all to sit in the wooden chairs set before the desk, though she is not offended if you stand. "It seems you are well-informed about my business. I could deny everything, but it would not serve much purpose. Yes, four of my employees went missing several days ago without my permission. It is unusual of them to not report in to me. I did not know of where they had visited, but now that you mention the ruins, that makes sense. There's always been rumors of hidden treasure at that place." Looking very serious, Yinyasmera stands and walks around the desk. "Here's the deal and there's no haggling to be done. I can promise you a 50 gp reward if you can find out what happened to my employees and bring them back to me. Alive preferably, but if deceased, I need definitive proof. What say ye?"
Mac extends his hand to Yinyasmera, "Deal! Just tell us your four employees' names, descriptions, and any discerning features, such as scars, tattoos, etc. in order to identify them. If they're alive, we will bring them back to you."
After leaving Crook's Nook, Mac leaves the party and heads to Blades for Glades to speak to Carmen Rajani and sell the weapons.
Yinyasmera smiles at Mac, "Good. You can recognize my employees by the bird tattoo they each have on their right shoulders. Their names are Otto, Gorul, Shad, and Ziskilly." She gives you rough descriptions of each. "Please return as soon as you have news regarding my men." With that, you are dismissed from her office and escorted out.
Carmen Rajani greets Mac upon his return with a cheer. He is still nervous about the upcoming election. As always, he starts complaining, "Ya know, it is not fair that a Menhemes has been in power since the town's founding. Yeah, Oseph may be a descendant of Aesephnna, the cleric of Erastil, but so am I! So what makes him special?! Vol Rajani was a no-nonsense swordswoman from exiled royalty in Nidal. She was the Roseguard's fighter. And yet my connections to my descendant have done crap for me. Even worse, I do not even get to wield Vol's beautiful longsword, which is mine by right. No, instead it is on display in the Dawnflower Library's museum. Can you believe that?! And does Oseph help me get it back? No! That arrogant bastard does nothing to help me!"
Athena, Carmen's daughter, yells out, "Dad, let it go. Hopefully, you win the next election. Stop bothering Mac with ancient history." Carmen grumbles and buys the weapons, paying Mac 50% of each item's value.
Mac inquires and Carmen is a skilled enough weapons crafter that he can transfer potency runes from one weapon to another. His fee for doing so is 4 gp for each weapon, including labor and will take 1 day.
Garidan adds some of his own thaughte towards Yinyasmera. He smiles at her. "If you wanted your business to stay a secret, then step one, don't call it the Crook's Nook. And step two, that supposedly secret entrance or exit at the south-western wall between the boat house and the rocks is fully observable for anyone coming from the fishery. A nightly patrol, for example." He pronounced the words business and secret in an almost mockingly slow voice.
Yinyasmera does not smile. "I do not like you, night guard. Leave my establishment now." She walks away.
Mac inquires and Carmen is a skilled enough weapons crafter that he can transfer potency runes from one weapon to another. His fee for doing so is 4 gp for each weapon, including labor and will take 1 day. To what weapons do you want the +1 potency runes transferred to? Does Mac have Jon's pistol to leave it or will Job stop by later?
Jon accompanies Mac to Blades for Glades to examine Carmen's handiwork. When he hears the price for the transfer, he frowns.
"4 gp to transfer a simple potency rune? 14% is asking a tad much, don't you think? Any smith in Absalom wouldn't dream of charging more than 3.5 gp for a job like this. Don't you agree that's a bit more reasonable?"
However the haggling goes, Jon will pay the price and relinquish his pistol to Carmen. He'll also ask about selling him the rapier after the transfer to knock 1 gp off the transfer fee.
Later, he will go to market to seek out thieves' tools and buy 2 sets of replacement picks as backup.
Mac rues, "I agree, that sucks Carmen. I wish you luck in the election. If i had a vote, I would vote for you."
Mac sells his halberd for 1 gp and buys a Greatpick for 1 gp. He instructs Carmen to transfer the potency rune on the morningstar to the greatpick.
The cleric lets the others handle the ins and outs of the shopping chores. He took the chance to experiment with some healing techniques he had thought of while the group was in the light tower. He had considered some ways the at he might be able to combine his healing magic with other non magical techniques and after a bit of testing.c he was pleased with the results.
Carman has a greatpick for sale and he agrees to transfer the rune to the weapon,
At the marketplace, when you go to sell items or buy items, you run into the owner: Keleeno Lathaner, a human, who immediately questions you, "Are you druids or do you work for the Stone Ring Pond? Because if you are, I don't deal with your kind."
After meeting with Carman and leaving him the weapons, Mac stops by the marketplace. Upon hearing Keleeno's greeting, Mac speaks, "No, we're not associated with any druids. May I ask what is your gripe is with them? What did they do to you? Perhaps, we could help..."
”Stone Ring Pond? Never heard of them. Like cousin Maclin says, we aren’t grouped up with any so called Druids. Pretty sure Torag would boot me out of the clergy if I were messing with Druids too awful much!”
Keleeno cannot hide the scorn on his face as he continues, "Those damn druids let a werewolf into their midst named Jaul Mezmin. Some 30 years ago, Jaul went crazy and killed several druids and citizens of Otari, including my beloved wife, Ayla. I've never been the same since then. The town put a bounty on the werewolf and the druids say they have taken care of the problem as no werewolf attacks have occurred in the last 30 years, but still, I need proof! I need to see his head! Those damn druids to the north apologized to the town, but that did not bring back my Ayla!" The human merchant reaches under the counter and pulls out a painting of his beloved. After a few minutes of staying quiet with his eyes closed and just gripping the painting, Keleeno snaps out of it. He places the photo under the counter and regains his composure. "Apologies...what will you be buying or selling?" The rest of the transaction proceeds normally.
After dinner and the less friendly encounter with Yinyasmera, Garidan parts with the group. "I understand you have some errands to run and get some rest. I'll do the same. I'm still adjusting to the new schedule and will try to get an early night. When you're ready to leave once again towards the Gauntlight, pick me up at my place." He leaves his address.
Kaz takes a look at the photo produced of the merchant’s wife. He wanted to ask more, making sure the lady was deceased instead of maybe just ran off with someone else, but he couldn’t think of a way to ask that without being punched in the snoot. Instead, he wrote down the name of the werewolf, figuring that would be a good piece of lore for their travels.
He stood back and let Mac continue his transaction.
"I am sorry to hear that Keleeno. A werewolf? That is awful. We will speak to the druids and try to learn anything else." After the sale, Mac will visit the druid grove to get their side of the story, which seems to be in town, according to the map. After that, Mac will hang with Hagrym. The next day, Mac will visit the museum in the library to see Carman's family's sword and do some research on ghosts and spirits and werewolves.
Jon will go to Morlibint and show him the fancy keys we got and the soul gem to get his take on them, then head to the Crow's Casks and try out Magiloy's latest concoctions.
With regard to the keys, Morlibint assumes that they are keys for doors in the Gauntlight. With regard to the soul gem, he tells Jon that he is marveled at the mastery of magic to be able to harness a person's soul in a gem and then place that gem in a doll to animate it to life. He ponders that, perhaps, if the party placed the doll in another specially prepared doll, it could bring that doll to life, perhaps allowing communication with the trapped soul inside. Or the party could decide to smash the gem and let the soul free to seek judgment before Pharasma.
2nd day of Lamashan
4721 AR
The party spends the next 2 days researching, studying, praying, honing and retraining combat skills in order to advance your talents. By 6:00 PM the next day, Carman Rajani delivers the +1 pistol and +1 greatpick to Jon and Mac respectively and thanks them for their patronage. It will be dark soon and certainly by the conclusion of the half hour trek to the Gauntlight. Is the party heading back to the ruins at night or do you prefer waiting for the next morning?
My vote is to head out next morning. Mac thanks Carman for the excellent work as usual, as he practices with his magical greatpick.