Callistro grins, I am sure this place will do us just fine, a bit of floor and a bedroll will do. We have a ship waiting for us just off the island and we have access to some teleportation magic too.
|
"Oh, uh... sure, why not?" Oriole answers Marine.
They look a little displeased at Callistro's answer, though. "A ship? Darling, that will take forever." They shake their head. "If you don't have a better option, I have a magical means. It's not perfect--we'll have to have a stopover in Elysium while I find a contact of mine, and it's imprecise so there will be some walking--but I can get us there with a few interplanar teleport spells."
Callistro grins at the idea of some interplanetary adventure. That sounds exciting, if you can get us somewhere near Kintargo then I think our teleportation magic can take care of the rest he says looking at Jayma hopefully.
Jayma's eyes brighten at the mention of teleportation, and she gives Oriole an appreciative nod. "Oh, I wholeheartedly agree. Teleporting directly to Kintargo is considerably more civilized than another month at sea, but I believe I can do rather better than a stopover in Elysium."
She pauses a moment to consider the situation. "With a little overnight preparation, I can teleport myself, Twyl, and three others directly to Kintargo. The difficulty is that there are rather more of us than that."
She counts on her fingers, her expression becoming increasingly resigned. "Myself, Twyl, Marine, Callistro, Dr. Lazarus, Oriole, and Grandmama. Seven in all. I shall need to make several journeys. The first carries myself, Twyl, Marine and two others to Kintargo. I then teleport back with Marine to collect the remaining two."
Again, she pauses, then raises a finger. "And there is a further nuisance. The distance is greater than a thousand miles, so I shall not be able to place us precisely. We should expect to arrive roughly ten miles from our intended destination, which means I shall need additional slightly less powerful teleportation spells to get everyone into the center of Kintargo."
She gives Oriole a small, amused smile. "Still, that is considerably preferable to twenty-four hundred miles of ocean, pirates, sea monsters, and whatever else Marine is hoping we'll run into along the way."
Jayma looks around the room. "Unless someone has a better suggestion, I am quite happy to begin preparing tonight and have us ready to leave first thing in the morning."
"Oh, you don't need to bring me along for that!" says Grandmama with a wave of her hand.
"I'm quite willing to travel with you," says Oriole, "but I can also transport myself if necessary."
For someone who was intentionally isolating themself, Oriole is surprisingly prepared to host a dinner party (though the invisible servants help). Their questions for the heroes are mostly about Fallenta (with whom Oriole has never worked) and about Swirly. Even now, Oriole is starting to build up ideas on how they want to portray the villain on stage.
Sipping his brandy, Dr. Lazarus will defer to Jayma, who is more familiar with Fallenta's theater work than he.
However, he briefly responds, "Fallenta Sumac d’Venenoux introduced herself to us in Kintargo." He continues, "As you're no doubt aware, she's a famous human director and playwright whose productions have delighted audiences throughout the Inner Sea region."
Lazarus concludes, "As producer, Fallenta recommended we specifically recruit you, Oriole, for the leading role." He refills his snifter.
As the person most familiar with Swirly, Marine fills Oriole in on the party's nemesis.
"So, Swirly, he's a Fey creature that dressed up as a jester. He always spoke in verse, though it wasn't always very clever verse. He could be charming and affable to his underlings like myself, but was cruel and sadistic towards enemies. He was like a cat playing with its food - always thinking that he's one step ahead of us - until we flushed him down his own throne to the First World." Marine explains.
Jayma inclines her head towards Thurston with a smile. "Quite so. Fallenta is an extraordinary woman, and I assure you, darling, that she's a formidable presence in the world of theater. Her productions make an audience feel that they are witnessing something truly important, even when the subject is delightfully absurd. More importantly, she understands that the stage should belong to the performers as much as the director. She wants to tell our story, but she also wants us..." and here she waves her hand to include Oriole, "... to have a hand in telling it."
She then glances towards Marine, and her smile turns faintly mischievous, "As for Swirly, Marine is quite right about his cruelty, though I think she's being rather charitable with her characterization of his verse. He delighted in humiliation and confusion, and he seemed to regard suffering as merely an amusing flourish. He could not imagine that anyone would refuse to play the role he'd assigned them. In the end, that was precisely the seed of his downfall. We took advantage of this weakness and surprised him with a different ending to his story."
Oriole takes copious notes and is already trying out some voices and mannerisms. "Like this?"
Ultimately, Oriole agrees to Jayma's transportation plan, and the party returns to Kintargo without incident, now with the diva accompanying them.
The opera star is eager to spend some time exploring the city. When the adventurers check in with Fallenta, she’s delighted to hear they’ve secured Oriole to play the villain in the opera, and she says she’ll see to arranging the performer’s accommodations.
The party won’t have time to sit idle, however, for their jobs as coproducers of the opera now begin in earnest!
First, Fallenta requests they begin securing funding for the opera. She’s already sunk much of her own money into the production, so they must find sponsors to subsidize the remaining costs.
"I do have some leads for you, of course. I've got the names of eight wealthy and/or connected locals who've sponsored theatrical productions in the past. Now, some of these sponsors are... eccentric and might have their own demands in exchange for their donations, but you should also know that it’s tradition in Kintargo for sponsors to prove their intention by providing valuable gifts to those they’re sponsoring as proof of their commitment. The general idea is that these gifts will eventually feature in some way in the production, although such isn’t required.
"Don't feel you have to devote every waking moment to this, but I'd like you to speak to all of them within the month."
Jayma's eyes light up at Fallenta's mention of eight wealthy and eccentric potential patrons. She gives an amused little smile at the thought of having to sweet-talk the wealthy out of their money. "Oh, I do believe this is rather more my sort of adventure."
She glances toward her friends with a knowing look. "And, if my experience is anything to go by, a task involving eight people, each with specific ideas about how they'd like such generosity rewarded, will take somewhat longer than one might initially assume. We had best begin at once." With that, she rises and gives her cane a little flourish. "Come along, then. Let us go and persuade the rich to pay for our masterpiece."
Sipping his brandy while Fallenta talks about funding, Dr. Lazarus takes careful notes in his writing pad.
When Fallenta finishes, Lazarus refills his snifter and rifles through his overstuffed book bag. The stodgy old elf mutters, "Eccentricities? I wouldn't know anything about that." He begins leafing through Curiosities in Kintargo, unaware Jayma has risen to leave.
Oriole takes copious notes and is already trying out some voices and mannerisms. "Like this?"
Marine claps her hands appreciatively. "You've got the voice down, but not the limmericks. I know you ain't the scriptwriter, but try speaking in verse." She suggests. "Something like - 'Fee Fi Fo Fum, you heroes are dumb!'"
Jayma's eyes light up at Fallenta's mention of eight wealthy and eccentric potential patrons. She gives an amused little smile at the thought of having to sweet-talk the wealthy out of their money. "Oh, I do believe this is rather more my sort of adventure."She glances toward her friends with a knowing look. "And, if my experience is anything to go by, a task involving eight people, each with specific ideas about how they'd like such generosity rewarded, will take somewhat longer than one might initially assume. We had best begin at once." With that, she rises and gives her cane a little flourish. "Come along, then. Let us go and persuade the rich to pay for our masterpiece."
Marine rolls her eyes. "Boooring. Where's the fighting! The dueling!" But she she shrugs, rolling her shoulders and nodding appreciatively towards the Gnome. "But we did just have my kind of fun adventure, so you should have your fun now, Jayma."
Before the Gnome goes, Marine calls out; "Wait! Hang on a second, Fallenta. Could you tell us a bit more about these eight wealthy and/or connected locals so we can prepare for our visits?"
"Well, one never knows. And yes," says Fallenta with a nod, "I have the list here."
Daughter of Baron Canton Jhaltero, a noble on Kintargo’s Silver Court, Lady Aphigenia Jhaltero is a patron of the arts and an avid opera fan. She’s a vivacious woman with a passion for all things musical, eager to entertain proposals of shows to fund. However, she also has a peculiar quirk: she only sponsors a show if its producers win over her “little pet.” "Unfortunately," Fallenta notes, "I don't know what Aphigenia's current favorite pet is."
The inexorable Davlu Bernai, head of the Bernai Silver Company, is a notable philanthropist who runs a charity dedicated to “improving the morals of Kintargo’s downtrodden” and often sponsors performances she deems “uplifting.” Although her charity does provide aid, her definitions of “appropriate morals” are rather restrictive, and she’s quick to turn her gimlet glare on anyone who suggests she should be more flexible.
An imperious, stately woman, Lady Eldonna Aulamaxa is head of the Kintargo branch of the Aulamaxa noble family. Though she attempted an opera career—and fancies herself a retired performer—her reviews were decidedly uncomplimentary, and she never achieved the fame of her more acclaimed cousin, Delour. Resentful at her lack of success, Eldonna instead projected her hopes for operatic stardom onto her daughter, Cadenza, and pulls strings to get her daughter cast in roles every chance she gets.
Born in Westcrown, Lord Ivran Xerysis relocated to Kintargo to look after his family’s holdings in the city shortly after the Silver Ravens’ revolution resulted in Ravounel’s independence. Now a member of the Silver Council, Ivran is wealthy and well-connected, and although Kintargan gossip holds that he has the humor of an undertaker and the charm of a wooden post, he’s known to donate to artistic endeavors that catch his interest.
Lady Mialari Docur is a prominent figure in Kintargo, most known for her academy, Lady Docur’s School for Girls. She’s highly influential and has a well-known love of the theater, often sponsoring productions.
Opera divas tend to be outsized personalities, and Ricovial Cebarinne proves no exception. During his career, the mercurial tenor was known for being a perfectionist. His rivalry with Oriole was legendary, and sparks often flew between them—not all of them antagonistic, though the two never fully struck up a romance. When Oriole retired, Ricovial was very publicly scathing about them “giving up,” even though he retired shortly thereafter. Theater gossips hold that his heart wasn’t in it anymore without Oriole to clash against (though if asked, Ricovial dismisses any such suppositions as preposterous). Now, Ricovial runs a voice training school for aspiring singers out of his lavish estate and dedicates some of his personal fortune toward funding operas he deems worthy of his time.
Salmon magnate Tevandis Sastrien is a prominent Kintargan merchant and philanthropist who’s branched out into funding the arts. Recently, inspiration struck him to use his donations to promote his products, and so far he’s funded a salmon-themed series of paintings, salmon sculptures, and even—in a venture with somewhat unsettling results—an interpretive dance about the salmon’s epic migratory journey upriver to spawn.
Though they look the part, Vaizeth Ilviak is an atypical Kuthite. They follow a splinter sect of the faith that holds Zon-Kuthon’s current condition is a result of him martyring himself to save his sister Shelyn from an unnamed great evil. As the orthodox faith of Zon-Kuthon views such beliefs as heretical, Vaizeth fled their homeland of Nidal. They resettled in Kintargo, where they’ve become a patron of the arts. They’re very enthusiastic about “showing a friendlier side of the faith” by engaging in such philanthropy.
After taking copious notes of the potential sponsors, Dr. Lazarus considers the eight individuals. He says, "I look forward to visiting these fine upstanding citizens. As for whom we should visit first..." the well-read Doctor continues, "...alphabetical order is tried and true." Lazarus has no preference.
"Works for me!" Marine replies. "You guys can do the talking, I'll just stay in the background and look pretty."
Callistro grins, I am sure you will find some useful way to help out. Where do we want to start?
Jayma goes over the list of potential patrons with considerable care. When Thurston suggests dealing with them in alphabetical order, Jayma purses her lips. "I confess, I might have arranged this little parade somewhat differently, but if we are to call upon all eight, then the precise order hardly matters."
She taps her fingers against her cane in contemplation for a moment. "Very well, let us start with Lady Jhaltero. She would have been my first choice in any event." A small smile crosses her face. I am particularly intrigued by the identity of this mysterious favorite pet of hers."
Her expression brightens with anticipation. "Let us not waste time, then. We shall begin first thing tomorrow morning. I am quite eager to see what sort of people these potential patrons turn out to be."
The party can meet with Aphigenia at the Jhaltero Estate in northeastern Kintargo; she receives all visitors in a colorfully decorated parlor, the walls of which are covered with dozens of posters and fliers for previous plays and operas she’s helped to produce in the past.
Aphigenia is a blonde human woman clad in a ruffled purple gown. She reclines on an armchair, fanning herself idly throughout the entire meeting.
“My butler tells me you all have a show to produce,” the woman says, motioning over a maid bearing a tea tray from the corner. “You absolutely must tell me all about it, my dears. Let’s see if your charming venture will benefit from my guidance.”
Jayma settles into a chair and arranges the folds of her coat with the usual care before accepting a cup of tea. Twyl sits on her shoulders looking his usual irresistibly cute self. When prompted to speak by their potential patron, she responds. "Lady Jhaltero, how delightful to meet someone with such a genuine passion for the stage! Our production is a prepostera opera based on the extraordinary, but entirely true, adventures of our little group. It features a most disagreeable fey villain, and a truly magnificent climax involving a colossal porcelain ship. There is danger and sorcery mixed together with a generous amount of absurdity. And, we are fortunate enough to have secured Oriole for the production, which will make the musical portions absolutely extraordinary."
After Aphigenia gives her reaction, Jayma then gives the woman a conspiratorial smile, and stroking Twyl, adds in a curious tone, "But enough of our little production for the moment. I have heard the most wonderful things about your little pet, and I confess I have been looking forward to the opportunity to make its acquaintance. I'm sure my little Twyl here will be happy to make a new friend. Might we be permitted a glimpse of this delightful creature?"
"Oooh! Pets! I'm pretty good with animals - some might say I'm a master at dealing with animals. Let me have a go at it!" Marine yells excitedly.
Before entering the estate, Dr. Lazarus downs one of Marine's special coffees.
When the Doctor is led into the parlor, he studies the posters and playbills on the walls. "You have a quite impressive resume, dear lady." He continues, "I'm well-versed in these productions." He mutters, "To be fair, I'm well-versed in many things." He can't help himself.
At the talk of her pet, Lazarus is not nearly as excited as the group. He doesn't particularly fancy animals. And he's found the feeling to be mutual. Politely ignoring the offered tea, Lazarus sips from his brandy snifter, in part to hide his ambivalence at meeting her coddled beast.
Callistro smiles, enjoying listening to the group promote their production, he however chooses a different tack.
Of course, we have all also heard of your great knowledge of all matters operatic. I am very certain we would benefit greatly from your input into our production.
Lady Jhaltero seems delighted by Jayma's description and laughs appreciatively. "Sounds positively design. Truth is stranger than fiction, as they say, though I'm sure you're embellishing here and there--if not in the retelling, then surely in the production. I do especially adore comedic operas!"
She smirks at Callistro. "I'm not sure you believe that, but I don't see it matters anyway. You're the ones putting on the show. You don't need my knowledge, just my funding."
"Anyway, it’s bad luck for me to sponsor a show without approval from my dear Princess Sweetie—she’s such a little connoisseur.”
Aphigenia rings for a maid to bring in her pet. The adventurers might be surprised to see the pet isn’t a dog or cat, but a strangely adorable monkey-like creature with iridescent wings. "Isn't she just the sweetest?" says Aphigenia, "She's a faerieling! Very rare."
All four adventurers immediately recognize that this creature is no harmless house pet, but a beast called a skull peeler, known for its hunting habits of hiding in trees before severing its prey’s head with its long tongue and cracking it open to eat the contents.
Skull peelers are no real threat to adventurers of their skill, but the maid pushing the cart bearing the animal's cage probably wouldn't survive an attack. Although the beast seems pretty docile for now.
Marine goes deathly silent as she recognises the danger. She silently approaches the cage, manually regulating her breathing so that she's perfectly calm. Once adjacent to the cage, she attempts to take Sweetie out of the cage and hold onto it with her bare hands, making sure to hold it far away from the maid.
Jayma's expression of polite delight falters slightly as Princess Sweetie is wheeled into the parlor. She takes an instinctive half-step back, while Twyl immediately dives into the safety of her sleeves at a mental command from his mistress.
Jayma chooses her words with care. "Oh, my dear Lady Aphigenia, she is certainly... an extraordinary little creature, and I can quite understand the appeal of something so rare and, um... unusual."
She pauses a moment for a short breath before continuing. "However, I fear there may be a rather unfortunate misunderstanding concerning your delightful companion's nature. What you have here is not, I'm afraid to say, a faerieling, but a so-called, skull peeler. A rather dangerous predator in fact, whose preferred method of feeding involves removing one's head and making a meal of whatever it finds within. I assure you, I would not mention such a disagreeable matter were I not genuinely concerned for your safety, and indeed for the safety of your poor maid."
She offers Aphigenia a sympathetic smile, hoping to avoid embarrassing her. "I do appreciate that you have grown fond of the little darling, but I should hate for anything dreadful to happen to either of you. Perhaps the wisest course would be to arrange for Princess Sweetie to be removed to a suitable habitat, under the care of someone equipped to manage such creatures. You could then acquire a new, and doubtless equally delightful, companion whose attentions are rather less, um... fatal to yourself and your staff."
While she waits to see how Lady Jhaltero reacts to her entreaty, Jayma keeps a close eye on the beast and tightens the grip on her cane in preparation to defend both women if the creature decides to revert to its usual nature and try to kill them.
Sipping his brandy, Dr. Lazarus looks up as the skull peeler is wheeled in. Well aware of how dangerous such beasts are, he stands and mutters, "Madam. I'm afraid my colleague Jayma is correct. Your pet poses a very real threat to the well-being of you and your staff."
Standing back and gripping his hammer, the Doctor watches the situation carefully.
Callistro steps up behind Jayma. Yes, the darling creature seems harmless I am sure. But, as with many things, looks can be deceiving he says with a wink.
Princess Sweetie is placated and settles back against Marine, giving Aphigenia an approving nod.
"Well that's just silly, Princess Sweetie is such a sweetie! And I got her from such a reputable, um, dealer who... really? Are you sure? Oh dear, that's alarming. Maybe we need to--"
Skull peelers may not be intelligent enough to be considered people, but as animals go they're rather bright. Enough to pick up some language. Enough that this one seems to understand a little Common. Enough that she realizes she's been found out and tenses in Marine's arms.
All of the adventurers see it. The creature was mostly satisfied to live in this comfortable environment and be fed. But she was starting to get bored. She was going to attack at any time.
But Marine soothed her. It would have been fine, for a little while at least.
But now she knows it's her only chance. Her long tongue starts to lash out--
--but almost everyone sees it coming.
Lazarus, Callistro, and Jayma's turns.
Initiative:
Dr. Lazarus
Callistro
Jayma
Princess Sweetie
Marine
Dr. Lazarus resists saying "I told you so", and instead warns the maid, "Please step back, dear lady."
Keenly ready to protect the household from the beast, The Doctor waits for inspiration from Callistro before devising an attack stratagem.
Cognizant of not wanting to be labeled a killer in the estate of an important donor -- not to mention all the distasteful blood -- Lazarus draws his hammer and adjusts his grip to attack non-lethally. Twice.
+2 Gr Striking Returning Astral Cold Iron Grabthar's Hammer (w/ Stratagem), +CA, +non-lethal: 1d20 + 28 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 28 + 1 - 2 = 31
Callistro will quickly step forward and glare at Dr Lazarus. Now, now Doctor, if we went around attacking everything that might be a dangerous monster where would we be. This girl is perfectly safe he says as he lays a divine blessing on the maid.
Jayma, on alert from the moment she identified the true nature of Princess Sweetie, is not surprised to see the creature tense to attack. Jayma decides that the best thing would be to remove the skull peeler from the equation long enough to clear the room of non-combatants before deciding what to do with it.
Pointing her cane at the creature, she says, "Begone!"
When the skull peeler disappears into an extraplanar puzzle room, Jayma calls out to Aphigenia and her maid, and waves them towards the door. "Ladies! For your own safety, I suggest you leave the room immediately while we take care of this unfortunate development."
As Callistro gets closer, Princess Sweetie's impossibly long, barbed tongue lashes whip-like, not at the maid but towards him! It never had a chance, though if there was any lingering doubt that this was a dangerous creature it seems to have been cleared up.
Aphigenia gasps and her hand goes to her mouth. The maid shrieks and faints dramatically, falling into Marine's newly vacated arms.
Lazarus's hammer hits once, battering the monkey-like thing quite brutally. The second hit is much worse.
Aphigenia clears her throat several times, speaking in a stilted manner. "Well. I shall.. have to.. vet my sources more carefully. In future." Her voice is unusually high as she stars at the new red spot on the carpet. "Yes, well. Hm. Technically you briefly passed my test before you, um, killed her. And in any case it seems you may have saved the lives of at least one of my staff, so I suppose I owe you at the very least the, um, sponsorship you were requesting."
In addition to her pledge of sponsorship, Aphigenia provides the party with gifts of an accompaniment cloak and an elaborate silver tea service set worth 3,000 gp.
She then asks them to leave immediately. She's not angry. She just wants to sit in a quiet room for a while.
Dr. Lazarus gently corrects her, "Ahem. Madam, your pet is not quite dead. We took care to simply knock her out. For your safety. If you need help removing Princess, we can help."
Lazarus asks Jayma, "Anything you can do to help the dear lady?
The Doctor then turns his attention to the unconscious maid. He gently taps her awake and asks, "Are you alright? Do you need healing? Im a Doctor ... of some renown."
Jayma allows the spell she'd started casting to fade away when Thurston swiftly settles the matter with a pair of decisive blows. As Aphigenia stammers through her explanation, Jayma follows the noblewoman's gaze to the unfortunate red stain on a the carpet. Nodding to Thurston, she quietly murmurs a few words of magic and flicks a finger toward the floor.
A brief shimmer of arcane energy passes over the stain and it vanishes without a trace. "There now. No need to let an unpleasant incident spoil an otherwise perfectly agreeable afternoon."
When Aphigenia offers them gifts, Jayma returns a neat little curtsy, and with a gracious smile, says, "Thank you ever so much for your generous sponsorship, Lady Jhaltero, and for these rather lovely gifts. I assure you we shall put them to excellent use."
With a practiced gesture, she tucks the cloak and tea service away into her sleeve, then turns to her companions. "Come along, my dears. I believe our hostess has had quite enough excitement for one afternoon. Let us leave her to a little peace and quiet."