Chapter 9: Fools Diamond and the Color Scarlet
Session Date: 6/7/2018
Downtime:- Moana - Moana attunes to his trident while fishing. The trident does regular damage + 1d6 lightning damage when a melee attack lands. Over the week he collects 10 dead (some slightly charred) fish and piles them in Varis' house.
- Khadgar - Khadgar, while studying with Merle, finds a scroll containing the spell "Identify". He chooses to attempt to transcribe it into his own spellbook. He succeeds.
- Varis - Varis traveled in and out of Mespirita and did not share where he was going with the party.
- Rotting fish smell cannot be washed out
- Moana learns the secret of the Lake of "Diamonds"
- Dwarven Dusk Wine and a Date
- The New Guild In Town
- Return to the Isles
Plot points/Scenes
Varis' Abode
Varis returns to his home late in the afternoon at the end of a long week. immediately, his sense are assaulted by the stench of dead and rotting fish. He looks over at a pile of fish in the corner of his house before realizing Moana is in the room too. Varis: "Why are there dead fish in my house?!" Moana: "Well I caught them for you." (a 14 Intelligence level ladies and gentlemen.) Varis takes the latest one caught and cooks it but makes Moana throw the rest out ("I will put them back then.") Meanwhile, Khadgar realizes he needs a pearl worth 100 GP in order to cast identify.Tradewinds Markets
Gavin and Khadgar meet up with Moana at the markets and browse the shops. Moana is prepared to see what his "diamonds" are worth. They walk into a large building full of beautiful silks, garments, household items, and weapons. Moana saunters up to the counter. Moana: "Tell me where the high brow stuff is." Shopkeep: "Aye, what can I do for ya?" Moana: "Well, more like what I can do for you. I recently acquired these from the Lake of Diamonds." lays down four 'diamonds' "and, what can I get for these?" Shopkeep: A faint smile flickers across his face before returning very serious and intrigued. "Ah! Now then, I've heard those are very difficult to acquire. Most impressive." he picks them up and is inspecting them. Moana: "Yes, I know. I swam all the way to the bottom of the lake, fought monsters, and well the sea is my thing so it was no big deal." Shopkeep: "I see. Well, these do appear to be very pristine specimens." Moana: "So what will you give me for them?" Shopkeep: "Hmm... I could do... 1 copper piece." Gavin: "You do realize, these are diamonds, right?" Moana: "Maybe we should take out business elsewhere." Shopkeep: "Alright. You drive a hard bargain." The party is now paying attention. "How about... 2 copper pieces?" Moana: "I am just insulted. Forget it, we are leaving." Khadgar was reading this whole team and realizes he is alone in the guys shop. He looks up and the merchant nods towards the door. Khadgar turns and leaves, almost walking into the door frame from looking at his book while walking. The merchant shakes his head and laughs as the party leaves. They wander down and find a weapon stall with a grizzly bearded man behind the cart. Moana again tries to sell his gems or trade them for a new harpoon. The merchant is amused and then sees they are totally serious. Kinder than the last, this merchant explains that what Moana has is not a diamond, but Kelpetite, a similar looking gem to an unknowledgeable person, but very common and not at all as durable or useful. All the merchants in Mespirita know to look for them. Moana then purchases a new harpoon and even pays a little extra for the merchants kindness. The party also asks where they could find a pearl. The man points them to a booth just down the alley. As they approach they see a half-elf woman with long blond hair with braided flowers and gems throughout it. She has a very distant look and when they approach she looks at them waiting for them to speak. Khadgar: "Hi, I was wondering if you have any pearls in stock. Which are your most expensive?" Merchant: In a dreamy far off kind of voice "Pearls, how wonderful." She pulls a small box out. "These are the finest ones I have. These range from 60-80GP." Khadgar: "Oh, well thanks anyways." Moana: "I flip a coin onto the cart. Come on. We know you can do better than that." Merchant: "But... that's all I have." *meekly and defensive, almost sad. Moana: "Well that's not good enough." Khadgar: "I'm so sorry. Please ignore him. Thanks for your time." Moana: "My father always said money always worked. I guess he was wrong." Khadgar writes an message to Esmeralda asking if she might be able to help them get a pearl of the caliber they need. He sends the message with his owl familiar, Hedwig, with the instructions to bring her response to the tavern.The Laughing Pelican
The party then all joins Varis at the tavern, who had been there in sore need of a drink after what happened at his home, and talk to Edmund. Out of the blue, Rachel walks into the tavern. Gavin: "What is she wearing?" DM: "uh.... a very nice red dress." Moana: "uh... Hi." more miserable attempts at flirting which leads to an audible head hitting the bar... it's Varis'. Gavin: "So uh... why are you hear?" Rachel: "Well, ever since you all rescued me, I have been kept inside the mansion. I wanted to stretch my legs and maybe come talk to Melissa if she was here, she has always been a good friend. But I don’t see her right now." Queue party playing up Moana while Varis and Edmund move several seats away. Gavin plays some very fitting romantic music. Earns a copper piece and Moana has advantage on flirting rolls. Moana: "uh, Rachel, can I buy you a drink?" Rachel: "Oh, thank you!" Moana: "Edmund, give us the good stuff. Your finest quality. The whole bottle." Edmund is floored and the party is trying to convince Moana to just have 2 glasses for him and Rachel and not friendzone her by buying her a drink with the rest of the guys. Also Varis hears 'finest quality' and slides back over to the group. 'Hey guys, what's up?' Edmund motions for them to move in closer and whispers that he has a small cask of Dwarven Dusk Wine. The cask is very rare and would cost at the very least 1000 GP. Instead, Moana purchases 5 glasses at 68GP each. Edmund goes to a back hallway and returns with a small dark wooden cask with dark metal binding and dark red velvet. Gold insignias are embossed on the wood. He breaks open the cask and pours the wine. He passes out the glasses before returning to the back hallway. Moana takes 2, gives Rachel a suave head nod and the 2 move to small table for 2 in the corner of the tavern. The rest of the party stays at the bar. Moana decides to spend his Gold Piece! (This is an out of story element like inspiration where after several good ideas, roleplaying, or inventive solutions, the player gets a gold coin to spend whenever they choose to modify the story or plot) The first one of the campaign and it is a momentous occasion. His story component is that Michael is out of the picture and broke up with Rachel. She also is slightly into him because he is basically her prince charming who saved her from the curse. So they have a lovely evening and the two get up as Moana is going to walker her back home. Gavin and Varis see this and Gavin suggests Varis pretend to rob them and let Moana be the hero. So Varis stealths out and waits for them in a dark alley.A Dark Alley in Mespirita
Khadgar casts light on Moana's trident (yellow) and a scarlet red for one of the Kelpetite crystals. Varis, very drunk, falls asleep and misses Moana and Rachel on the way to her home. After safely getting Rachel home, Moana heads back. Varis wakes up and attempts his fake robbery on the alone Moana. Varis: cloaked, disguised. and very drunk, "Give me all your ~hiccup~ money." Moana: "I want to drop kick him. - Nat 20" 16 damage later, Varis is out cold on the ground. Moana now sees it is Varis. "Oops. Sorry." He leaves 2 healing potions then runs off... and sleeps in Varis' bed.The Laughing Pelican
Meanwhile, back at the tavern that same night, as Moana and Rachel leave, an owl swoops in and drops a small bag and message in front of Khadgar.Khadgar,
Once again I want to thank you for what you and the others have done for our people. It so happens I know the nature of your request. A single pearl is a small token if it will help you continue to help the people of this world. Use it wisely. The isles seem to be in a state of peace, but we could always use proven adventurers to visit and help us in our needs. Not every quest is life or death you know. Even simple deeds have a great impact on people's lives. Please visit whenever you feel like it. You are all always welcome here.
~ Esmeralda Nightshade
Gavin and Khadgar wonder if there might be something more. Something... magical. Khadgar: "I cast identify." DM: "A word comes to your mind. Speaking it aloud, you see a faint glow around the parchment. A hidden message lies upon it." Khadgar: "It's a secret love letter to Varis!"
You're welcome, young wizard. When we next meet I expect you to be more advanced in your skills.
~ Usila
(you can assume she is the one who informed Esmeralda why a pearl would be requested, not for money but for magic. also... it so happened the message could only be uncovered using said spell so...) The next day, the party is deciding what to do. Moana gives the book he took form the cartographer's tower to Khadgar. However, Khadgar cannot read it (knowing only common and Draconic). Moana can read it... sort of. Some phrases and words dont make sense. From what he can tell, it is some sort of History or chronicle of this area. Some geographic features seem familiar, but names of people and locations or unfamiliar to him. The party starts debating going to Azurea, the capital of Merridorn. However, Gavin and Varis seem very reluctant to go there. Even so, it would take days of travel to get their on foot. The party wanders around town and hears of a stranger in town looking for adventurers back at the tavern. The party returns to the Laughing Pelican and see the stranger in very clean and official looking garb. An insignia of 2 crossed black sabers on an azure circle is located on his left shoulder. Khadgar: "Uh, hi." Stranger: "Oh hello! Do I detect adventurers here?" He is super animated and lively. Khadgar: "uh... yeah." Stranger: "Wonderful! I am here looking for adventurers. Would you be interested in joining an adventurer's organization?" Gavin and Varis OOC: "oh no! it's a pyramid scheme!" Khadgar: "Well, what would we get as guild members?" Stranger: "Members of the Blades of Selara pay 70GP/month and in exchange, in places where bases are established you would have free high quality lodging, free stable services, a network of stables to borrow horses for a journey, and contacts in new towns you enter. By showing your insignia, you could receive discounts in markets, or even free transportation or crafting services!" Varis: "and... where would your base here be?" Stranger: "Well, I was just talking to Melissa here about expanding the Laughing Pelican to include a guild base here." Gavin: "and Melissa, how do you feel about that?" Melissa: "Well, we could use some renovations, and they are paying us for space as well as providing a stream of adventurers coming through our doors. This sounds pretty good for business." Gavin: "Well, you see... uh, what's your name?" Stranger: "Malachia Greenwood" (pronounced Mal-ack-eye) Gavin: "Well you see... we are already local heroes here. You know Rachel? The governor's daughter? We saved her. People already come to us for help. Why should we pay to be a part of your club?" Varis: "How about, the first month is free?" DM: "So... he is considering this hard. having local heroes be the first members in this branch would look very good for him in the main headquarters." Malachia: "Very well. Most applicants have to prove themselves by going on an adventure with a seasoned member, but seeing as you are already local heroes and seem to be able to take care of yourself, I'll agree to to the first month free and grant you the rank of Rookie." Just then, there is a knock on the door. Melissa opens it, and a black raven flies in and delivers a letter. Melissa opens it and looks at the party. "It's for you." Varis reads to himself:
Adventurers,
It seems the peace on these islands was short lived. Dark forces move in the shadows beyond our sight, but it appears they have made a mistake. We believe we have news on Zelena and her ilk. Please come as soon as you can to the Regent's Manor in Ur.
-Usila
Varis (to the group but more directed at Malachia): " Well, it seems the Regent of the Isles of the Dancing Scimitar has requested our help again. Well guess we gotta go Malachia." The party all receives their insignias for the guild. Malachia is ecstatic. The guild already has made an agreement with Ahab, the dockmaster. The party goes there to book passage.
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