Hireath's page

I'm sorry to hear you're going through burnout. I'd be fine with a sum-up post; we got one book so we could just skip to us turning it in on Friday.

Thirded. I think we're all just going to bed at this point.

Posting to all my games: I will be traveling for the holidays from December 21st-26th. I'll have my phone and may do some posting, but feel free to bot me as needed.

Hireath nods. "Yeah, I guess it's best we go." To the bartender, she says again, "Sorry. We'll, uh, not do that again. Whatever we did." She still isn't entirely sure.

As Vernon catches up, she turns around, (a little unsteadily). "Oh, are you leaving too?"

Hireath is caught completely off guard by the sudden appearance of the halfling bartender. She instinctively starts apologizing, but "Oh, um, I'm sorry-" is about as far as she gets before Lindaer starts berating the man for...attacking Anita?

Her head is spinning too much to really make sense of what's going on. "Anita, are you okay?" Lindaer can handle talking to the bartender. He's good at talking to people. But Anita's on the floor, and she wasn't on the floor before, and something is very clearly wrong.

She just can't quite figure out what it is. Maybe if the floor would stop moving...

"You watch people fight...for fun?" Hireath is clearly very confused by this concept, but shrugs and decides 'to each their own.' She takes another sip of her drink. "I don't know if there's anything like that here. I'm, uh, not the most well-informed."

Under normal circumstances Hireath would have been mildly appalled by Anita's suggestion. These are not normal circumstances.

"Oooh, anything?" She's probably trying to be quiet, but she's not succeeding. "Like, you could make someone fall in love with a table? That would be pretty funny."

"For fun?" Hireath looks a little confused. "I read, I guess. Sometimes I'd pick up books in languages I didn't know just to see if I could puzzle them out. One of the librarians I grew up with was actually the one to suggest I apply here, she said she thought I had the talent for it. With, well, this," she makes a vague gesture that's probably meant to indicate her horns, "I tended to keep to myself as much as possible. Libraries were good for that."

Her parents had never told her as much, but she knew they'd lost quite a few customers over her. Tieflings weren't trusted, and neither were their parents. It was a large part of the reason they struggled so much for funds despite being master alchemists. So she'd hidden herself away as much as possible, in libraries, in the workshop...anywhere there weren't people to gawk at her. Or worse.

Hoping to distract herself from the slightly darker turn her thoughts had taken, she takes a large sip from her mug. "Oh! This is really good. I haven't had anything like it before."

Constitution: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

It doesn't occur to her that the beverage might be alcoholic. She'd heard Anita order butterbeers, which supposedly weren't, and so she happily downs the concretion and orders a second.

"Really, really good." Her already-purple cheeks are becoming distinctly more flushed than before. "So, uh...what do you do? For fun, I mean."

"I won't drink anything alcoholic," Hireath volunteers. Admittedly she doesn't think it's necessary, (where had Lindaer come from that made him so paranoid), but she didn't really want to drink anything anyway. "You said the Butterbeers weren't, right? So that's okay. I'll just stick to those."

She looks around the room curiously. "So...what does one actually do at a tavern? Just eat and drink?"

Hireath looks at the book curiously. "It does look like a good copy. What do you plan to do with it?" She's genuinely curious, as she can't imagine a good reason to have a fake book laying around.

She freezes for a moment at the suggestion of going to the tavern. "Really? I mean...I've never been to a tavern." But this is University, the time for trying out new things, so after a second she nods. "Sure! That sounds...fun?"

Hireath enters the room, still humming to herself. "Artificing Club went great! We actually managed to finish the Lightning Redirector. I think I'm going to really enjoy that club. The people are really nice, and everyone's so eager to learn..." She sighs happily.

"How did things go here?"

Hireath enjoys a rather pleasant afternoon tossing ideas back and forth. She heads back to the dorms with a spring in her step and a smile on her face.

I'd like to try to continue if we can. I think as long as we all expect the occasional slowdown it should be fine. However, if at any point our GM, (or one of the players), feels they can't continue then we have the fast-forward option.

"I'll head off to Artificing Club then. Maybe Leonard will have some insights about the other books. Shall we meet back here once the clubs are over?" Hireath gives the rest of the group a wave as she heads out the door, a spring still in her step.

Only Tuesday and we already have one book. This is going great!

”I’ll talk to Leonard. He said the redirecter was a project they came up with after the previous club president was struck by lightning, but that doesn’t mean there might not be other uses.” Hireath is clearly a little giddy over having the first book in hand. ”I think we should just keep this book on us. Attacking other students is forbidden, so it should be safe in our packs. Anita, do you want to hang onto it? You were the first to brave the kobolds after all.”

Still grinning, Hireath hands the book to Anita, (or anyone else who wants it). ”Yes, let’s go back to the dorm. We can head to the club meetings once we’ve had a chance to discuss our next steps.”

Hireath bows, (somewhat clumsily), to the Book Wyrm. That was amazing! I didn't know Lindaer could talk like that. She takes the book from the elderly kobold with a smile, then digs through her pack for the library card for Astral Fires and the Endless Sea.

Hireath hands him the card. "Well, I think we're done here. Let's rejoin the others." She's nearly bouncing with excitement as they leave the hall. Upon seeing Anita and Vernon, she grins and shows them the book. "The Book Wyrm accepted our tribute. Let's get out of here so we can discuss our next steps."

Hireath stands there awkwardly with the bags of coins, firmly keeping her mouth shut. Lindaer's got this. I'd just make things worse if I tried to talk.

K. Planes: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Hireath looks away from the telescope immediately. She has no desire to spend any more time looking through it than she absolutely had to.

"Well, I suppose that was more...peaceful...than the other options." She laughs shakily and with more than a hint of hysteria. "Whatever you changed it to...it shows oblivion now. Nothingness. Just nothingness, and those who desire only to spread that nothingness to everywhere."

She wraps her arms around herself as she steps away from the telescope. Focus. Calm down. It's over.

"That's...that's probably enough. Like I said earlier Vernon, Anita, you don't have to look. Lindaer can do the talking, and I can always snatch the book if talking doesn't work. You two could always wait outside with the guards."

Hireath doesn't let go of the telescope. She swallows hard. "Thanks Vernon. I appreciate it. I...that..." she shakes her head, unable to find words.

Unfortunately that was only one eye. Before what she's seen can fully sink in, she forces herself to look through the telescope again with the other eye. Don't think don't think don't think justgetthisoverwith...

Hireath stares in a strange mixture of fascination and revulsion. Unbidden, the thought occurs, I wonder if my ancestor is here? I wonder...

Her eye burns, but she barely notices. There's so much pain in the Abyss that her own physical pain seems irrelevant.

"Both green. Looks like any evil plane will work." Hireath swallows hard. "Guess it's my turn. Just leave the setting there; no point in changing it."

She's shaking as she takes her seat. Not because she's afraid of whatever she sees hurting her. No, Anita and Lindaer were both physically fine after looking through the telescope; she trusts that she will be as well. Nor is she afraid of being mentally scarred by the experience.

She's terrified she won't be.

There's fiendish blood in her. She tries to forget it, tries to act as normal as a young woman with horns and a tail can, but tieflings have a reputation for a reason. Evil is quite literally in their blood, and while they may be capable of choosing otherwise, it's a taint they can never fully be rid of.

Hireath puts her eye to the telescope, terrified that she's going to see the scenes that so horrified the others, and a part of her soul will say yes. Yes, that is how it should be.

"I guess we need Low Ethics, High Morals. Which seems backwards; shouldn't High Morals be the good planes? Maybe it was done that way on purpose to trick people..." Hireath shakes her head, forcibly stopping herself from going off on a further tangent. "It doesn't matter. I'm still ready to pull you away." She braces herself as she waits for Anita to turn the dials.

Hireath's shoulder's slump. "I guess we do have to look at hell. Lindaer, I'll be ready to pull you away if things go wrong again."

Which they almost certainly will.

"Oof!" Hireath tries to catch herself as she falls, but not being particularly athletic she simply hits the ground hard. Once her legs are freed, she halfheartedly tries to prestidigitate the webs off her clothes.

"No idea what placed it, but they've probably put traps all over the place. They might just check on them every once in a while." She pales at the sound of her own words. "So, uh, maybe we should try not to be here when it comes back? Let's just get this over with as quickly as possible."

She strides over to the telescope and sets both of the dials to LOW. Then she steels herself and looks through the eyepiece.

Hireath freezes as Lindaer takes aim at the web, not wanting to risk getting hit by the fire herself. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to have done much good.

The brief pause does give her enough time to calm down. Focus Hireath, nothing's attacking you yet. Just cut yourself loose. She pulls the dagger from her belt and tries to slash at the sticky strands.

Dagger: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3
S. Damage: 1d4 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

'Tries' being the operative word. She continues to dangle helplessly.

"Um, Vernon, Lindaer, if I give Anita my dagger do you think you could boost her high enough to cut me free?"

Hireath screams as she's suddenly flipped upside down. "What the...help!" She struggles to free herself from the webs around her legs.

Escape Artist, Grappled: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 - 2 = 18

Hireath can carry her supplies and up to 50 pounds of copper as a heavy load.

"Right." Hireath is decidedly unenthusiastic about that part. "Hopefully looking at the Celestial planes will provide the mark. If it doesn't...if it doesn't than Lindaer and I can look. Anita, Vernon, you don't have to. I think Lindaer should be able to negotiate, and if necessary I could probably steal the book without a distraction."

She shoulders her supplies and grabs a sack of copper. "Are we ready?"

A...dance? Hireath finishes her stack of coins. I'm glad I'm going to be unnoticeable during that!

"That certainly sounds like it will be impressive, if we have to resort to that. Unfortunately I don't know yet who else is going to be in the Artificing Club; I didn't see anyone else approach the booth. I'll find out tonight." She finishes the last stack of coins and stands up, dusting off her hands.

"Just to be certain I understand; the plan is for us to skip Lore and visit the Library now. First we'll drag all this coin to the Book Wyrm and see if we can convince her it's enough. If we can't, are we implementing Plan 'Distract Them and Steal the Book' immediately, or are we going to explore the rest of the Library first? I'm fine either way, I just want to be sure we're clear."

"I talked with Leonard this morning. They have a pound or two of copper to spare, but it would take two weeks to requisition more." Hireath folds her arms and glares at Vernon. "I certainly hope you're not suggesting dismantling the Lightning Redirector. Leonard's been perfectly nice to me and is already helping us as much as he can. Sabotaging a project he's spent months working on would be a poor way of repaying that."

She goes back to counting coins. "I do agree that exploring more of the Library would be a good idea. Anita pointed out that we might find more copper there. And I have to admit it would be nice to get all three books. That's an accomplishment that seems to garner a lot of respect around here. Impressing the professors early can only be a good thing."

Besides, imagine the look on that stuck-up blonde's face when she has to beg us for a book!

Hireath looks over the gathered goods critically. "About three quarters? That's a lot...but it would be hard to get the last bits. I don't think continuing to pursue the copper trade would get us much more, unless we're able to find some in the Library itself like you suggested. Diminishing returns." She rests her chin on her hands thoughtfully. "However, what we have might actually be enough. I may not be good at talking to people myself, but I'm a shopkeeper's daughter. I've seen a fair amount of haggling. If we can't find the rest of the copper, we can still offer this to the Book Wyrm. 7,500 copper in exchange for a book that's useless to her." Hireath smiles. "That's still a pretty good deal, and she's not going to get a better offer from the other groups. Not with you already clearing out the town of all the copper they had."

Hireath sits down and starts helping Anita count out the pieces. "If she's too proud to accept, then we can plan the heist."

"Hireath, those scrolls you made fetched a decent price. I think even if our plan fails and we're expelled, you could make a living. At least enough to support your family." Anita says to her half apologetically.

"Yes, well...I kind of tried that, to raise some tuition money in case I got in but wasn't offered a scholarship. Unfortunately there's only so many scrolls of Comprehend Languages you can sell before the market becomes over-saturated. I simply don't know enough spells to make it work long-term." Hireath sits up straighter, a determined look in her eyes. " If I want to be successful I need to learn a larger variety of spells, and maybe how to craft other items as well. Which is why we're not going to be expelled. Even if we can't get this book, we'll find another one."

Hireath bristles at the tone. I was just asking a question, not trying to cheat! Her tone icy, (though still polite), she says, "Thanks" and leaves.

Well that was a waste of time. I should have just gone to Alchemy. Nothing good ever comes of skipping class!

For now she heads back to the dorms, hoping to reconvene with the others. She meets Anita there and stares at the large number of sacks bulging with copper. "That's amazing Anita, were you able to get all ten thousand? Leonard said they might have a pound or two lying around but they'd have to put in a request for any more, which would take a couple weeks." She grimaces. "So unfortunately we won't be able to get much help from the Artificing Club."

Hireath runs up to the half-awake upperclassman. "Hey Leonard, uh, it's Hireath, remember we talked yesterday? I was wondering if I could ask you a couple questions about where the Artificing Club gets its supplies."

Hireath is fine with that plan. I left the conversation somewhat open-ended because she could also help Anita at the shops, but I think looking for Leonard is probably the better move.

Hireath dashes back to her room and grabs a few scrolls. "I've got two scrolls of Comprehend Languages and one scroll of Mage Armor. Hopefully they'll sell for a decent price."

"Unfortunately I can't check out the Artificing Club until later. For one thing they don't have a separate workshop; they meet in the Alchemy Classroom. Maybe Vernon and Lindaer could look around while they're in class and see what kind of supplies they have? The first club meeting is this evening, so I can also ask Leonard then." She considers for a moment. "Or I could try to catch him while he's headed to class."

"If kobolds are nocturnal, then if we're not going to be able to get the coins we should probably act now. They'll be sleeping, or inattentive at the very least." She considers for a moment. "I could actually probably get in and grab the book without anyone noticing. There's a...not a spell, exactly. But I can make people ignore me. Combine that with an illusion of the book still on its pedestal..." she shrugs. "By the time anyone noticed anything amiss, I should be long gone."

Hireath isn't much of one for stealing, but this is all part of the assignment so it doesn't count as far as she's concerned :)

Hireath consults her timetable. "It should be. Looks like we've got Alchemy first." She hesitates, clearly uncomfortable with what she's about to suggest. "Do we have any idea of where to start exchanging coins? If so, I could..." she visibly winces, "...maybe skip class?"

Hurriedly, hoping to finish explaining before her classmates decide she's lazy, she adds, "I've studied quite a bit of alchemy, so I doubt we'll cover anything today I don't already know. We were worried about our classmates noticing what we're doing and catching on. If we, or I, did the exchanging during class, that would be less likely. It would take several trips, but I could hopefully get the coins back here so we'd have them ready later."

Hireath wakes up feeling a bit better about the whole situation. It's only been an afternoon, and we've already located one of the books and have at least some idea of how to get it.

Contemplating her spell book, she tries to figure out which spells would be useful. Hmmm. I should always be with one of the others so I can probably get by without Detect Magic, and Vanish might be more useful than Grease... She spends a rather pleasant hour in this manner.

Feeling much more prepared, she heads out to the common room. "Morning Anita, did you sleep well?"

"We could also maybe fake the mark, if looking at the Heavens doesn't work. I know a spell that can change my physical appearance, eye color included. I'll make sure to prepare it."

Seeing Anita yawn, Hireath stifles one as well. "Yes, I think some sleep would do us all good. See you tomorrow."

Hireath gapes as Lindaer casually counts out fifty gold. "Um, okay. Uh, a single gold piece would buy all your meals for three to four days. A scroll like the ones we scribed would normally be worth around 25 gold; in places that aren't magical academies not that many people can make spell scrolls so they cost a lot. Unfortunately this is a magical academy so I doubt we'd get anywhere near that much here. 50 gold..." She tries to think of a way to describe it. "50 gold would cover about 5 months worth of living expenses, if you were careful."

Hireath flushes purple at Anita’s pointed comment regarding her lack of funds. ”Well, it’s not like any of you have that much either.” That retort seems to be all the she can manage, and she keeps her gaze firmly on her hands as Anita makes tea, clearly embarrassed.

At Anita’s apology though, she raises her head. ”It’s, well, it’s not alright, but...” But you did look into hell and then face down a dragon alone, she thinks but doesn’t say. Instead she smiles, although it’s a little weak. ”I accept your apology. Besides, you’re not wrong. I only have about five gold to spare.

Hoping to get past the awkwardness, she focuses on the planning. ”If we want to try and cover the cost, I do have a couple extra scrolls as well that I scribed before I came here. There must be a shop around here that would buy them. As for exchanging the money to copper, are there any banks around? They might be able to do it for us. If so, between the four of us I think we could carry it all. You’re right though, it would attract attention.”

She starts flipping through her spellbook. ”I have a spell that could probably knock all the guards unconscious at once. If we went when the kobold’s normally sleep, maybe we could sneak past the rest of them. Does anyone know whether kobolds are nocturnal or diurnal? Also, how far away from the door was the book? I have a spell that would turn me invisible for a few seconds, if it was close enough for me to just dash in. She closes her spellbook and leans forward.

”Of course, there’s also the third option. We could simply ignore this book for now and try to find one of the others. Although I suspect they’re all guarded in one way or another.”

I suspect the bank question would be a K. Local check, (which Hireath doesn’t have), but have no idea what to roll for the kobold question. Nature?

Fine with me, but thanks for asking :)

"Ten thousand?!" Hireath looks shocked. "How could anyone ever afford it? I certainly don't have anywhere near that much, even if I converted the little gold I have. There's got to be some other way of getting that book."

Hireath sits down at the table. "So you already found one of the books? That's great! What do we need to do in order to obtain it?"

Hireath brightens as Anita returns. "Good! I'm glad everything went well. It has been a long day; maybe we should head back to one of the dorms. We can go to my room if people want."