Write up follows:
At Pinelaquin’s, Deja and Talion spent some time talking with the town’s mage as well as Notary public. Deja was feeling that it was possible for her to maybe embrace some of her deeper concerns and see if she had an aptitude for wizardry. “Laq” ran her through a number of possible thoughts and postulations before Deja had to admit, that she didn’t know squat about magic.
But she could learn. It would be difficult, and would be embarrassing, and there was no guarantee she’d ever be really good at it, but if she wanted to, Laq was willing to give her the chance.
Deja took it.
For the next 2 weeks she was to come back to Pinelaquin’s where she would be performing rote and redundant tasks for 12 hours each day, in order to train her mind to better enter the state needed to perform wizardry. She left and Talion was asked to stay behind. The Ranger and party leader had a long talk with Laq about the group and his skills as leader, identifying that many times the Speaker for the Dead and the Paladin often run rough-shod over his leadership attempts.
For a trade, Pinelaquin was willing to offer Talion the use of a Rod of Might in exchange for the Ranger finding a ring that a Lizardman Chieftain had on him. If was gold and silver with 3 horseshoes on its surface. Seems a former adventuring companion of the Half-Elf Notary had faced off against a Lizardman Chief called Ardi and was killed; his belongings taken as loot by the reptilian. Pinelaquin wants the ring back – no questions asked. Talion agreed and they shook hands and parted.
Magnus and Valerie for their 2 week period made it their business to devote their time and help to the Lost Children of Tyr Orphanage. It was appreciated by the kids and the staff to have their help as they added their strengths to helping out the disenfranchised. Magnus also visited the Hospice a few times to give words of support to this suffering there as well as dole out a bit of healing each day. A couple of judicious uses of his Cure Disease blessing went a long way towards having the healing community being very appreciative of the paladin.
For Valerie, besides her time with Magnus, the Half-Orc Druid also had the enjoyable company of Ned Shakeshaft on many occasions. The reformed smuggler would often spend his off hours with the Half-Orc and at least on two occasions, the two of them had been seen together at a quiet booth at the Saucy Winter Wench sharing a candlelit meal within ear shot of the local minstrel.
After getting stabbed in the foot at an earlier fight, Valerie wanted to at least ameliorate the possibility. Hitting the town cobbler, she got into a heated racist diatribe against the Journeyman cobbler tending to her. He was rude, condescending, and terrible to the Half-Orc, so much so, that the master cobbler had to come out and take over the sale, especially after the Master had found out the Journeyman was price gouging Valerie in the process. Eventually it was resolved and the boots were to be finished within a week as requested.
Veldryn spent a week studying the white opalescent rock we had gotten from the mansion as well as the Book on Philosopher stones – only to learn after much time and study that the rock was not as hoped, but instead a focus gem to replace any material components for lowest level Water school arcane spells.
She then went off to Pinelaquin and explained her findings, wondering if he had a market for it here. He was not very helpful in that regard, but did let her know that she could try better at Dilabria or even Cymbarton. They talked a bit longer and then Veldryn returned to further her studies.
As for Talion, he was enjoying his time without responsibility for now; taking up to drinking during the day and watching the ships roll in and out in the evening. One day while at the bar he was approached by a traveler with some scarring on his neck and a travelled look about him, identified as Vonar who reported that he had recognized the young bounty hunter from his time in Dilabria. They talked about jobs past and Vonar did understand the Talion was hooked up with a paladin for now…and was he out of the bounty business?
 |
| The group of men Talion saw on the docks. |
Talion recognized him as Malloc, a mid to high ranking member of the slaving group known as the Lyceum. He had run afoul of them 6 or 7 months ago in Dilabria when he brought in an escaped slave for a crime he had committed and had NOT returned him to the slaving guild as Malloc and the Lyceum had requested…then demanded. It had come to blows outside a tavern by the stables and Talion defended himself, and also where he met Deja who took out a thug who was going to back stab the Ranger.
The constabulary had gotten involved and they sided with Talion – his first duty was not to the Slavers and whoever was upset their slave had run away, but to the King’s Law and Justice – and the slave had to answer for those crimes first and foremost. Malloc had declared that he’d remember this slight and word on the street was they had tried to find Talion a few times after this but with no good results.
Until now.
Malloc seemed to be giving the matter some thought and then had his men reload the schooner. One of them had gone down to the Wharfmaster and was arguing with Kurly Lodbrock for a bit before getting a few coins and returning to the ship. Talion watched as they cast off lines and then sailed north out of Saltmarsh.
Curious, he went down to the Wharfmaster where Kurly and a number of the other locals were chit chatting. He joined in and the conversation was just on the guy who had been here. Seems he had originally arrived last evening and paid for a week of dock space, but today came very agitated and said they wanted a refund as they had pressing business north to Karon. Kurly didn’t want to refund the money and after the conversation had gotten pretty heated, just to get him off the docks, gave him a partial refund and told them to “git”.
From there Talion then went to the Notary to learn what he could about the Lyceum. They were a mid-sized slaving guild, 26 of them, and apparently 3 years ago during a period of expansion, took out a loan from a local trading guild, The Order of the Kraken. The same guild that Grabbi Ogansdottr ran. The same guild that she had been hung 2 years ago, buried, and her body is missing. The same guild that was sponsoring the smuggling the party had been breaking up. And the same guild that seems to be funneling their smuggled goods into arming the lizard man tribe further south at Dunwater.
4,500 nobles. And the loan was still open on the books – unrepaid.
With the end of the 2 weeks coming up we all reconvened at the Saucy Winter Wench and shared across the board all we had learned and done for the 2 weeks and what we hoped to have come up tomorrow with the Council. Ned Shakeshaft was on board with us, and Oceanus the Sea Elf from Deephome was also glad to be a part of the group. To make it a bit official, Veldryn had taken to drawing up a contract on loot and treasure division and the party all agreed it was fine and made sense. We all signed it and on the morrow, Spiritmonth the 4th, we would be on our way to meet the Council and then get out permission to take care of the problem at Dunwater.
No comments:
Post a Comment