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Vanetta bids the team farewell and promises to keep an eye out for jobs that might get them back together again, especially the two elf maidens. (Nothing personal, boys, but sometimes it's nice to just hang with gal-pals.) She swings by the local pub where the caravan masters meet up, checks the job postings and signs on for one heading south across New Thassilon and into Varisia. All this time dealing with the kids has got her thinking she should swing by Korvosa and see if her dad is in town. It's getting more likely as he gets older, so who knows....
Vanetta thanks the King and her linnorm ally for their most wise and gracious decision, and pulls VC Greathammer aside to remind him that he owes them a huge favor for the babysitting job they got pulled into. She works her way around to all the children, thanking them for their friendship and for speaking up on their behalf. She ends with Scourtail, the most adventurous of the lot. "You know, hon, maybe you should join the Pathfinders. You'd get to travel, go on adventures, and you'd never be bored. We'd love to have you. Once you're old enough, of course," she finishes with a twinkle in her eye.
Vanetta listens carefully to Skarde Nineblades' remarks but can't keep her face from showing her disdain at his comments. She addresses his accusation of recklessness by echoing her teammates' words. "We're not the ones that started a fight in the middle of a crowded market street over a child's insult," she retorts with a scalding glare at Manglefang.
"If your warriors had half the "combat prowess" you claim they do, we'd be standing here with broken jaws and tattered clothes. Instead, they surrendered in mere seconds. Though, to be fair, Revna herself put up a decent fight, even though she was clearly outmatched, even by any one of us."
She steps back, bows out, and lets Avontha take the lead on the last argument. Venetta doesn't even bother to speak just stands in awe of the elf maiden's amazing knowledge of cultural antiquities and how the Pathfinder Society has handled archeological digs in the past.
Vanetta lets the other speak first, waiting patiently like a performer following the warm-up band. When Miladistra finishes she steps forward and gestures to the two who haven't spoken. "Linnorm King Estrid, Lord Boiltongue, may I present Khaul Irontoe, Champion of Traag, and Avonathalanthalasa Caldon of Kyonin. I am Vanetta Dariav, Pathfinder and trader." She bows elegantly and continues. "We understand that you've been quite busy in your negotiations with Venture Captain Greathammer for access to the Island of Ancestors, and thank you for taking time to meet us. We hope those negotiations are going well. In the meantime, we've met and made friends with the linnorm children and tried our best to mitigate the consequences of their rambunctious natures." She pauses to look over at the kids with a motherly smile. "But as my colleagues have said, they could certainly use more discipline and an attentive parent. Something I myself know only too well." "We must also make you aware of a potential threat to their safety and to the security of your Kingdom. An agent of New Thassilon going by the name of Efrith was tracking both Lord Boiltongue's movement, and the movements of his children. We did not detain her, as we do not have legal jurisdiction in your Kingdom, but felt it was most imperative that we warn you." "We're not privy to your negotiations with our Venture Captain, so we don't know what you've agreed to or not, but if there's anything we can do to assist with them or to help make the Pathfinder Society's case, please let us know."
"Hey, you, I think your boss bit off more than you could chew," Vanetta calls out to the Ulfen in the Green headband.
She looks down to where Deroff is happily chewing on a Scroobi-brand energizing treat. "Right, good boy? You'd never do that, would you? You're so smart, you know how much you can chew." Her confidence (mostly) restored, she turns her attention back to the one with the bright Red hair.
She raises her shield expecting Red to strike back again.
CRB pg 299 says "Both prepared and spontaneous spellcasters can cast a spell at a higher spell level than that listed for the spell. This is called heightening the spell." (emphasis added) Heightening raises the Spell Level. Haste (CRB pg 343) is normally a Spell 3, but can be heightened and cast as a 7th level Spell to affect more creatures.
The 22 Bon Mot isn't a Crit. Will DC is Will Save mod + 10 (CRB p 445). Based on this post , their Will mod is +11, so their DC is 21. (And in all honesty, I should have noticed that in your earlier post which would have made my post less complicated. Sorry.) It's a success, but just barely.
"Slippin' and slidin. Blinded and stumblin'. You could really have just avoided looking like a bunch of fools by not being so petty about a child's insult," Vanetta chides the bullies as she advances with her rapier already in hand.
Her father's trusty rapier flashes in the sunlight as it strikes at Green.
Vanetta follows everyone else out into the street with a final look back to Efrith. She points two fingers at her own eyes then flips the gesture around to point at the spy. "I'm sure you'll be long gone by the time we report this to the authorities, but know that we'll be watching for you." Having taken longer to reach the scene of the latest impending debacle, Vanetta just sighs deeply as the tension mounts. "It's not gonna matter what we say, guys. Once an Ulfen takes offense - even if it is to nothing more than a silly child's taunt," she says glaring at Manglefang, "they'll never back down. Pretty sure I've heard tales of whole villages being slaughtered over a stray giggle taken the wrong way."
"Okay, maybe that last part's not true." "Let's just get this over with, shall we? We've got better things to do than mop the streets with you lot, and we need to get these 'silly children' (another glare at Manglefang) up to the palace at some point today."
"Crookscale, have we told you any lies or not taken care of you and your siblings today?" Vanetta asks as she kneels down on the floor and begins rummaging through her pack. "We showed you where the mountain goats were and protected you from the spiky-cats. We rescued you from the river. And we even taught you how to swim." She pauses to retrieve a small set of tools wrapped in black velvet. "Efith isn't a merchant. I've been running caravans across Avistan longer than she's been alive. These crates marked with the names of spices are full of weapons and mercenary gear. At best she's a smuggler. Do you think your Father would want you hanging out with a criminal? And listen to what Miladistra said, too. There's just too many things that don't add up here."
The multi-talented swashbuckler stays on her knees and scoots over to the trap door. "So, Efith, you never noticed this door in your new apartment? So you don't know what's down there? Here, let me help you with that, cause we would hate for there to be some bad surprise lurking below that could burst out and hurt our little linnorm friend, right?" She opens the velvet cloth to reveal two sets of picks - cause one always carries a spare set. "You have no idea how many times people lose the key to a caravan wagon." she says by way of explanation to anyone wondering.
Vanetta picks up the cues from her teammates and starts peering around the room closely.
"Nice place you've got here, hon. Been here long? And I've got to ask where you found a linnorm sized day-bed? Cause I bet these kids would all like to have one, wouldn't you, little ones?" Noting how hastily put together the place is, she fully expects Efrith to lie about it.
But then she spots something decidedly out of place and saunters over to a crate marked "golden cardamom" but which is clearly empty. And hiding a trap door. She nudges the crate off the door and points to the exposed hatch. "I suppose you're going to tell me that's just basement storage for more goods?" She scans the crates and their markings to see how legit Efrith's cover as a spice trader is.
She's carried pretty much all these on one or more of her caravan runs and knows a good deal about shipping and storing Varisian fen peppers, Qadiran striped nutmeg, and Anulite paprika .
"Is it that same person from before?" asks Liam. Vanetta listens to Quete's report and his description of the woman. "Yes, Liam, that's Efrith, the woman who was at both the sheep farm and then was 'coincidently' down by the river. Strangely coincidental that she has a linnorm-sized couch, too." To Khaul's question, she replies warily. "I think there's something fishy going on here. Wyrmnapping? Maybe. Or maybe not, but certainly something isn't right." She follows Liam's example and sets her shield onto her left arm but leaves her rapier in its sheath for now. She's confident enough in her reflexes and the hours spent training with her Dad that she knows she can draw it in the blink of an eye when needed. Plus, not having a weapon out might help diffuse the situation - whatever it is. "Are we ready? Let's do this, then."
She steps to the door and opens it with her free hand. "Hello? Crookscale, are you here?"
Vanetta smiles indulgingly to the older woman at the cart as the linnorm's start behaving. She fingers a small blue charm before changing her mind and setting it back down. Suddenly she realizes how quiet the market has gotten and turns to look around for her teammates. "Looks like we've lost a few folks. Come on you two, we need to find the others. Put those hunting skills to use - calmly and quietly if you please." Knowing better than to leave these two here unsupervised, she leads Scourtail and Manglefang away from the merchant's stall in the direction that she thinks Avontha and the other went.
Having gotten their attention and forestalled the mayhem for the moment, Vanetta starts picking up the few items that got knocked onto the street and returning them to the merchant. She knows how it feels to have to pick up after "natural disasters" like these when they happened on her caravan runs. And in this case, actions and setting the example will speak louder than words. As she hands back a beautiful charm bracelet to the elderly saleslady with a sympathetic smile, she turns to the children and lets them see her face fall slightly. "I'm a little disappointed in how you two specifically are behaving. I know you're excited to see all of this," she says with some sympathy,"and the goods are indeed quite lovely. But look over there at Brulivex and Oridius." Vanetta pauses to point out where Khaul and Liam are tending to the others. "They're not knocking things over; they're not causing problems. You can express your excitement by complimenting the craftspeople on how wonderful their goods are, instead of destroying those very same goods."
"STOP!" Vanetta yells at Manglefang and Scourtail as she strides up to the pair roughhousing in the street. "If you insist (wrongly) that these are your father's things, who is going to explain to Him how they got broken? Hmmm?" She glares pointedly at the two trouble-makers. "I'll gladly tell Him that you two couldn't behave like civilized beings in public and maybe should be sent back to the cave, not to be let out for at least a few decades until you've matured."
Vanetta watches Miladistra dive in and realizes she's flailing like Crookscales did earlier. She quickly strips off her weapons and gear, hands her hat and tunic top to Tomaz the Teamster and dives in to help her friend. "C'mon girl, you know better. Keep it calm, deep breaths, and relax," she advises her. "Hey, where's Deroff? I bet he can doggy-paddle and help keep you afloat if you just got an unlucky mouthful."
She proceeds to show how it's done, mostly in an effort to keep Miladistra calm. Though she does sneak a few peeks back to the shore. Just to make sure her tunic hasn't wandered off, of course.
Vanetta watches closely as Liam and Crookscale emerge from the water. "There you go. Now you can swim just like you siblings!" She leads her newest friend over to the mystery woman to make introductions of the two, then turns back to the shoreline. Sailors and locals alike clamber out of the river, and she arranges to help the hunky teamster bring another sailor to shore. "Thanks everyone for helping. Thanks for rescuing so many of your fellows," she says with a special smile to her teamster. "I'm sorry for the trouble they've caused, but we'll all do our best to make it right. " "Won't we, young ones? " she asks the linnorms pointedly in a "mom" tone that clearly brooks no defiance.
You lying b#@$*. So, is she law enforcement, royal secret services, opposition party, or what? "I see... Well, I'm ..." "Crookscale!" Vanetta shouts as the linnorm goes into the drink. Then she realizes how that came out. She turns back to the mystery lady. "No, that's not my name, that's the linnorm that just went in. You know, you could help, too, if you have the means," she suggests even as she turns her back and rushes back across the shore. More nimbly that one would expect of a woman of her age, Vanetta clambers onto the rocks nearest Crookscale. She sees the linnorn settling down at Miladistra's calming words. "There you go. Now watch Liam, see how he's moving his arms under the water. Don't be afraid of the water, just keep moving your forelimbs like Liam and kick a little with your back-legs. Great!"
Rhaegal tips Vanetta off that someone in the crowd is watching them. She quickly scans the faces...
and spots the woman from the farm. "Sure, I'll do that. But in the meantime, you get those damn kids under control, if you can. I know they respect your dragon voice," she encourages the kobold.
As the dragon roars at the trouble-makers in the boats, Vanetta steps away and makes a bee-line for the mystery woman. "Excuse me, ma'am. Didn't I see you at the farm earlier? Are you a fan of the linnorm kids? Would you like an introduction?"
Vanetta watches with appreciation as the burly teamster peels off his shirt and dives into the water to save one of the citizens. She makes a note to get his name and thank him properly later - whether that's with a beer, a mention of his name to the mayor or maybe even to King Estrid, or some other more "personal" thanks to be determined by his tastes. But satisfied that at least someone is helping, she turns back to the linnorm on the shore. "Brulivex, dear, look at all these people helping their fellow citizens," she begins with a wave of her arm at the Pathfinders, summoned creatures, and townsfolk all doing their best out in the water. "You all are citizens of Halgrim too. You've got a duty as citizens to help, and you've got even more of a duty to help as the children of the King's right-hand. Please, won't you get out there and save some of them, too. I know you can do it."
Vanetta hands off Brulivex to Miladistra with a nod and a smile at her friend's support. She turns in the sand towards the gathering crowd and raises her voice to be heard over the roaring "Please, folks, help your fellow citizens. We'll try to get the linnorms to behave, but we really need some of you to be heroes and rescue the people in the water," she says as she focuses on a few that look like they're more capable swimmers including a couple of teenage boys that were fishing along the banks and a broad shouldered teamster.
Vanetta watches in horror as the *children* harass the townsfolk. *This* is why I never had kids, she reminds herself. Well, that and I was always on the move... Though that certainly didn't stop Dad, she finishes the thought with a fond chuckle. She looks at how each of them are acting and notices Brulivex hesitating to join in the so-called fun. Her memories of her own dad, and how she always wanted to be like him give her a strategy. "Brulivex, what do you think your father would want you to do? He's part-ruler of this realm, and these are his citizens. Do you think he'd want them tormented? Or should rulers protect and help their people?"
"Scourtail, did you happen to tell your father that you were coming to visit? Have you presented yourselves to him and the Court since you arrived?" Vanetta asks even though she's pretty sure she knows the answer and isn't going to like it. She slips Deroff a small bit of some manticore that she carved off just for the pooch. "Who's a good boy? Who's going to get into flanking with me next time, huh, good boy?" With a scratch between the ears (and another bite of manticore haunch), she sends her new friend back to his mama with a wistful smile. Well aware that healing is outside her baliwick, she goes to talk to Oridius about maps. She tells them of the maps that she and her caravan masters use to plot their treks across Avistan and beyond, and asks the wyrmling about the maps they like best.
"Go on, get out..." Vanetta begins to taunt the one fleeing before Avontha lights it up again with another massive blast and a magic missile for good measure. Instead she nods in appreciation to the elf and weaves her way through the crowded pack of allies, patting Deroff on the head as she passes. The other one was at least smart enough to back up to a boulder to prevent getting flanked, so Vanetta just gets close enough to stab it.
The manticore's spike catches Vanetta in her left arm, but she shakes it off. "Well, thanks for dropping down to visit. Not too bright, are you, giving up the one tactical advantage you have?" Vanetta asks the spikey bat-cat wearing the bright Red collar.
Then in a flash, she dances across the green grasses keeping out of the cat's reach to set up a flank with Khaul.
The tip of Dad's old rapier pierces Red's shoulder just behind the thich, dark mane. "See, that's what you get for landing. Of course, you could just fly away and leave us be."
Faster than the eye can see, Vanetta's rapier practically leaps into her hand at the first sign of trouble. Maybe not the best option for this fight, but the warm leather grip feels natural and reminds her of the man who gave it to her, her Dad. "Pretty sure my Dad killed a good few of these bat-cats," she taunts the one flying overhead.
Then she turns her attention to her teammates before setting her shield into position. "Looks like you're the only one that'll be able to reach 'em, 'big guy'" she says to Khaul with a little playful encouragement.
Hunting and the wilds are a little outside the swashbuckler's bailiwick, though she's seen enough to get around. She's also seen enough to know an expert when she sees one. So when Miladistra snaps out of her reverie to start hunting, Vanetta catches the lovely elf's eye and smiles. "I know that you know how to find goats, right girl? You've got this," she says in encouragement.
"Oh, wait, I think those are goat tracks over there, aren't they?" she says as she points to a spot off the trail.
Vanetta smiles at how easily Khaul made a new friend. It'll be good for both of them, but especially for Oridius to have someone to look up to. She strolls over to the shepherds to check on how they're doing. "Sir, Ma'am," she begins respectfully to the land-owners. "I know it'll take some time to get all your flock corralled and calmed down. And to replace the ones that got eaten. If there's anything we can do to help, please let us know." This is probably how they expect us to use that palm-grease money, but I don't want to go splashing it around unless these folks ask and tell us how much.
Vanetta strides across the field, making a purposeful beeline for Manglefang with a hard-eyed expression on her mature face.
Draconic:
"You wanna gobble me up, do you? Come on, let's see you try. If not, just leave with your clutchmates. Now. Or so help me to Ragadahn, I will put you in your place, child." Her angry-mother tone makes it clear that she's not messing around, is in no mood for jokes, and is likely to try spanking the big brat if he doesn't back down. Even as difficult as that would be, it doesn't mean she wouldn't try - and he'd better believe it.
Even if an earthquake or avalanche could bury them at any moment, Vanetta's simply relieved to be off that damn boat and back on dry land. She reflects on what she knows about Ulfens as the team makes their way through the streets.
Jeez jeah, they really don't like Irriseni, she recalls as she sees a poster for a play with an ice-witch villain. Even though that war was over a thousand years ago, and didn't really affect this part of the Lands. Her gaze continues taking in the small nuances of local culture
but is interrupted by a handful of local children who splash muddy snow on her boots. She stops just in front of the mothers and pretends not to have overheard their comment as she addresses the kids. "Wow, you guys are just as energetic and rambunctious as those linnorm kids, aren't you?" she says with just enough oversweetness that the parents should be sure to catch her true meaning. "But not nearly as destructive." She turns to the mothers and adds with a wink, "At least I hope not." "But, hey, since I mentioned it, we're actually looking for those linnorns. You haven't heard through the grapevine where they might be, have you?"
"I don't have it, silly boy," Vanetta tells Deroff with a laugh as he rushes off to Miladistra looking for his treat. When he returns to sniff her hand again, she repeats herself still enjoying the little game they're playing. "Maybe Khauls' got it," she cheekily tells the happy dog, hoping the dwarf smith doesn't mind playing along, too. As they board the boat, the team notices Vanetta's uncharasteristic unease. "I've run caravans from one end of the Inner Sea to the other, and far beyond. But caravans don't sink into the briny," she says in her defense, but follows it up with an an accepting sigh. Retiring to a quiet spot, she tries to recall what she knew of the language of dragons from that kobold she worked with on the caravan run through Druma. Now that was a profitable run. But poor old Jelikarill never got used to the team calling him 'Jelly Roll.' The pleasant memories of that run bring the draconic tongue back to her in no time.
He offers a bow to Vanetta. "The hammer may be me weapon of choice. But I'd never be within me trusty shield. Now that I did forge meself. And she's a beauty don't ya think?" "Oh, yes, absolutely," Vanetta gushes as she inspects the shield. "Very sturdy, but also such nice craftsmanship. I love the little details like the way you worked with the grain of the wood. Very nice." She truly is impressed, as she always is when seeing fine handiworks that would be far beyond anything she could ever hope to do herself."Howdy Vanetta!" Miladistra goes for the full hug. "Yer lookin' mighty fancy. Uh, I'm not sure if we can invite them to a party, but I do play the pipes fairly well." She pulls out her piccolo. "Pardon ma manners, I'm Miladistra and this spoiled feller is Deroff." Deroff accepts all pettings and licks the woman's hand. Vanetta returns the hug, a little surprised by the elf maiden's warmth. Ever since I went to Kyonin to finally meet my mom, I've felt like full-bloods are all looking down on me. Weird, too, cause I didn't feel that way before the visit. It's nice to be reminded that not all elves are snooty b%#+*es like the nobles fawning around my mother. Of course, these two are Pathfinders, so of course they're awesome people. Vanetta comes out of her momentary reverie and smiles widely. "As soon as we're done with this briefing, we're hitting the shops to get cold weather gear and supplies. And snacks for a certain pooch and dragon," she finishes with another belly rub for Deroff.
Thank you, Vanetta, for keeping track of all of this! No problem. Given that half our party is level 5, and we're playing up, I wanted to make sure that all of the level 5s got all the help they're entitled to. I'm curious as to how many people get meaningful reputation in more than one faction. You have to buy the boon to get reputation in another faction, right? I suppose that's not very hard. And there is diminishing rewards at the higher tiers of reputation. Just had never thought of doing that. You don't have to buy Faction boons in 2e. You're thinking of SFS. I don't find that the higher tier 2e faction awards are that great. That said, Vanetta does have the Admired boon from Horizon hunters, but sadly it overlaps and doesn't stack with stuff she gets otherwise (not sure why I bought it, now that I think about it in retrospect.) Mentor boons are available at Liked, which is only 20 rep, so 5 sessions possibly adjusted if you do pick scenarios with the appropriate faction tag. Having a backup, second Mentor boon has 2 other benefits. If 2 PCs have them but they're both the same faction, it would sure be nice for someone to be able to offer another option (especially true in the case where the only one available at a table is Magical Mentor for spellcasters. What if the lowest PC doesn't have spells?) Also, in the case where only 1 PC has any, and they can offer 2, then everyone getting a level bump can benefit from both. All of my PCs will at some point get 2 Mentor boons, and then go back to champing the faction they really identify with to get to Admired, at least.
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