One antitoxin would cost 50 gp -- a bit much for something so situational. As for supplies, I think Arduinne is mostly set for the next week or so, but we do need to hire a cartographer and/or chronicler.
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"Perhaps ... I'll try not to let myself become too bored," Arduinne says wryly to the Varisian man, rolling her shoulders halfheartedly. "Could be worse -- at least we'll have horses." She glances around silently for a few seconds. "Back at the College I heard about a spell -- very powerful -- that could let the caster fly, for hours at a time," she adds, grinning to herself at the thought. "If I could do that, I'd travel all day."
Arduinne's just got basic survival gear -- blanket, bedroll, one-person tent, lantern with oil, wineskin, 50 feet of hemp rope, and 5 days of trail rations. She's got more than 20 gp to spare for any of the more expensive equipment the group as a whole needs, and she's open to suggestions as to what they might need.
"These are amazing," Arduinne says upon taking a bite of one of the cakes. She remains quiet, focusing her attention on the little treat for a moment while the others speak, then gets a kerchief to wipe her face. She stands regards Lord Kaijitsu with a smile and simple "thank you" as he leaves, then pockets one of the medallions as Tsutamu gifts them. "I've got the basics for travelling, but suppose it couldn't hurt to look around. Never have gone out of my way to just explore the wilderness, though," she says in a voice that's less than upbeat, as though she clearly expects it to be a dull and tiring affair. She walks back to the Kaijitsu manor's entrance and pulls her boots back on once it's clear their business is finished.
Yeah, I'd rather just gloss over getting the extra supplies and going on our way.
"As you can see, my Lord, the survey is in capable hands," Arduinne speaks up brightly, tilting her chin towards Zindelo. "As for the horses ... you could consider it an investment in the timely discovery of the ideal location and resources for your business." She gives a small smile to Lord Kaijitsu. "But if not, your caution would be understandable," she adds, following with another sip of tea. It wouldn't do to appear desperate, after all.
Once tea is served, Arduinne raises her cup to carefully test the temperature against her lips before taking a drink. With a glance to her right, she briefly shares a look with Zindelo before turning to watch Lord Kaijitsu speak. His statements about the necessity of coastal settlement make sense, in a way, and she considers to herself that her brother may have similar designs for expansion. She nods silently to Cedric, deciding to leave the talking to him for the time being.
The pristine façades and oddly-angled streets of this area were somewhat familiar to Arduinne, as she had travelled this way several times on errands from her apartment in the Grand Arch neighbourhood. After being escorted through the gates, her eyebrows rise as she takes in the place -- a home for someone clearly very wealthy and with exotic tastes, with an immaculately-tended garden and architecture that was outlandish even by Magnimar's standards. When the majordomo doffs his shoes and Jubal himself follows suit, Arduinne takes the hint and kneels to slip off her brown leather riding boots, noting that the interior of the place appeared similarly foreign. She curtsies to Tsutamu as he leaves and silently takes a seat on one of the cushions, glancing to her companions curiously. "Master Breakbottle, where did you say these people were from?"
"That's as good as anything," Arduinne says as she rises, "I don't have anything that would make a fitting gift, besides." She seems eager to move on.
It isn't at all surprising that House Breakbottle is fairly well-established in Magnimar, but the mention of illusions seems to catch Arduinne's attention. The good Master Jubal is a mage, then -- at least that might prove to be conversation material in the future. She nods amicably to him as he departs and helps herself to more wine while listening to the others chat.
One the others share their stories and eyes turn to settle on her, Arduinne merely shrugs an eyebrow and stares into her wine glass for a few seconds with a tiny sigh. "Not much to say about me ... grew up in Korvosa. My father and two brothers ran the family trade while I was sent off to school at Theumanexus College. I travelled for a couple of years before settling in here three months ago, and my brother Francis happened to catch word that the Council of Ushers here were financing an expedition -- so here I am," she says, downing the rest of her wine. Sense Motive DC 12: It seems Arduinne doesn't much enjoy talking about her life's story, but is going along for politeness' sake.
"None, thank you," Arduinne replies to Jubal, eating another olive and sitting back in her chair. "I anticipate meeting your Lord," she adds with a small smile to the courier. At Dove's query, she does indeed cast an odd look in her direction, but says nothing further.
"I may be able to help in that regard," Arduinne says in reply to Jubal's inquiry about demons. She glances to Zindelo. "I studied the Outer Spheres in school. Some are worse than others ... but they have their weaknesses, and they can be killed or banished." She takes another drink of wine. "What do the rumours say about these demons?"
Upon arriving at Master Breakbottle's manor and being welcomed inside, Arduinne takes a seat in one of the appropriately-sized chairs in the drawing room, crossing her legs and glancing about the room with idle interest. The building's location, size, and furnishings spoke of old money; she was inwardly glad that their expedition had such direct support of one of the wealthy and connected local houses. One of the servants pours her a cup of wine and departs, and Arduinne soon raises it to her lips, taking a sip before speaking. "I'm not familiar with the wildlife. As for recovering the heirloom ... I suppose, if it's nearby and the reward is worth the effort." She pauses for a moment while helping herself to some olives and cuts of cheese from the platter set before them. "We'll also need a cartographer, and perhaps someone able at hunting." She looks around at the others hopefully. "My brothers tell me I'm awful at it," she adds flatly, sticking an olive with her fork and eating it. , likewise to recognize the Foxglove name.
I actually did purchase a mule as part of starting wealth (which I may revert, if horses are gifted to us), because Arduinne has no desire to hike for days on end with almost 80 pounds of gear on her back. The weight of feed is an issue, but we could consider pooling our funds to buy a cart for 15 gp, which can carry up to 300 pounds. If we load it up with nothing but feed, it would be enough to keep five horses fed for six days, which should be more than enough for our purposes. (And the horse drawing the cart would be able to bear a rider as well.)
A small grin slowly takes shape on Arduinne's countenance in response to Jubal's quip. "Aye, that would be preferred. Asfaloth may be trustworthy, but we cannot be so sure about the other horses," she says playfully. As the Lord-Mayor passes her a copy of the charter, she slips it into the polished wooden scroll case at her hip, and once they are dismissed, Arduinne curtsies again and makes to leave the square with the others.
Arduinne arrives shortly after Zindelo and Dove, and finds herself accosted by the page but a moment after entering the square, whom directs her to them. The attractive human woman strides confidently and gracefully towards the table in the monument's shadow, wearing traveller's garb that is at once practical, yet clean and presentable enough for polite company. Her auburn hair is pinned up in the fashion of the local women of higher status, yet it seems slightly tousled, as though it had the tendency to actively defy attempts at making it appear too neat. Her eyes scan the others standing near the table as she approaches -- a clean-cut fellow in robes who appeared to be writing, an oddly-dressed woman carrying an over-large mace across her back, and a swarthy young man dressed in the Varisian style. Arduinne glances at the latter for an instant longer than the other two; she recognizes his face, but only once he introduces himself is her memory jarred. That's it -- she had hired him as a guide about three months ago when she first came to Magnimar. "Ah, I remember. Pleased to see you again," she replies, offering her hand to him, the corner of her lips rising into a little smile despite herself. She did remember him as being polite and charming to a fault. "Have you been well?" Arduinne turns and steps back a pace in mild alarm as she notices the tiger, previously hidden from her approach. She eases a bit once Dove introduces herself, but keeps her distance from the animal. Soon enough, a gnomish man approaches them, his valet and decorative armour making his status apparent, followed shortly by the Lord-Mayor and his entourage. Arduinne exchanges pleasantries with each of them in turn, curtsying to the Lord-Mayor, Master Jubal, and then the knight Cedric. Afterwards, she remains still and silent, the only questions on her mind having already been posed by Dove and Ser Cedric.
@Arduinne- I see Zindelo as having been in service for over a year with his aunt so, that matches up. What do you think of the guide idea for a link? Sounds like a fine idea! She may not remember him that well, but it's something to go on.
Three months, at least. She'd have taken up residency there.
Certainly a possibility. I omitted specifics apart from the fact that Arduinne's brother Francis helped to arrange it -- so, sure, we could say Lady Jana is her patron, although I don't know if that would provide an opportunity for our characters to have met each other previously.
I honestly doubt Arduinne would have rubbed shoulders much with the nobility in Magnimar. Her family is considered merchant class rather than noble, although they do have some business contacts in the city. However, she likely has been living in Magnimar for a few months at least, so there's ample opportunity for her to make a chance meeting with one of the others here. (And despite appearances, Arduinne isn't the type to get hung-up on the social class of her acquaintances.)
My profile should be in order. Thanks for having me.
Submitting Arduinne for your consideration. Full character sheet is linked in the profile.
All right -- I've revised accordingly.
Staryth: Very nice. Having family members receive the letter is fine, even encouraged, but if they are in Geb as opposed to Nex they would be beyond the scope of the various detection magics being used. Hm, does this mean the Council's divinations have a limited range? Because the way I've written my character's background so far, getting the letter (while she was in Cheliax) was the primary reason Arduinne came to Nex. Would the powers-that-be in Nex have sent agents abroad as well?
Background updated. I took the mysterious stranger angle I mentioned earlier and ran with it.
DM Carpe: I expanded the "contacts / friends" section on my character sheet a bit -- is that kind of what you're looking for? Any specific additions or alterations you want to recommend?
Arduinne: I'd like to see you develop your reasons for coming to Nex a little, perhaps she could be aware of her connection to the Archmage Nex and want to travel to his homeland to explore it? What has she been doing thus far in Nex? Obviously there are a great many places of interest to a student of the arcane. Sure. I think it would require a happy accident for Arduinne to come to any conclusions about being putatively related to Nex by herself -- although she's interested in finding out why she can do what she can do, she just isn't the sort to have the obsessive patience it would take to dig up that kind of information on her own through research. Maybe it's possible that before travelling to Nex, Arduinne met a mysterious stranger who seemed a bit too familiar with her, or received a vision or half-remembered message in a dream? As for what my character would be doing, you did mention that the land beyond city walls is home to all sorts of nasties -- if there's any money to be made keeping them at bay, she'd take on that kind of work. She'd possibly even seek out a more skilled mage living in town for advice and practice, someone who shares her sensibilities but isn't overbearing, a private mentor if you will. Other than that, she'd buy or rent a place to sleep, and spend her free time seeing the sights of Quantium and sampling the local cuisine (she loves good eating).
Submission: Arduinne Winterbourne, CN female human sorcerer 1
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