Askr
The group finally gets a good nights rest in their own home after their journey in the feywild. Upon everyone waking up, Reed, Ren, and Zenaster decide to go to Celeste's to see if they can pick up their new clothes so they can look dapper for their reunion party. Upon arriving they notice the lights are off however when they tried the door it opened. Reed says "Hello" to see if anyone is there and Celeste comes out from the back with a look of shock and then a smile on her face. "When Bryn came by and wanted to gather everyone at the AA, I suspected you guys would be the reason. I'm glad to see you're all well." She's able to guess why they're there and comes out with their clothes all ready for them. She says that she hopes they like them and says she'll see them at the AA and not to worry, her lips are sealed until they arrive. They bring the clothes back with them and everyone gets all dressed up. The crew makes their way to the AA with their new friends in tow.
When they make it to the front door they want to plan a spectacle so they ask Pippin to use thaumaturgy to spruce things up. He slams the doors open and causes the floor to tremble a bit, then the group slowly and dramatically walks into the AA. Once they're all inside, Pippin slams the doors shut and as that happens the group poses. After a silence that felt like an eternity (although only a few seconds have passed) Broca gets up goes on one knee with his arms open wide and yells with tears in his eyes, "Little Buddy!". Reed runs into Broca's arms and everyone cheers for the parties safe return. Reed then grabs Broca around the neck and asks him how him and Naru are doing together. Broca gets excited and tells Reed that they've been on two dates so far. Reed is a little skeptical and asks him if they were "Broca" kinda of dates or actual dates. Their skepticism is calmed a bit after he explains that he took her out to Ramsey Gordo's Bistro in the upper-class district. The group is happy for him then they set out on their way to catch up with everyone.
- Rowan approaches Sylvia and they embrace each other. Sylvia then goes on to explain that she got worried about him after he didn't respond to any of her letters. She then came to Askr in an attempt to find him, she remembered that he's part of the AA and went there to get leads. She then found out that he and his party have been missing on a quest for quite some time so she stuck around in Askr to wait a bit longer for his return. Rowan apologized then promised her that he would tell her the next time they planned a big mission. Rowan then ordered to drinks and they began to catch up some more.
- Zenester goes to approach Suel as he noticed he came to see him. Suel nervously laughs and says "The feywild huh? You're fucking nuts you know that." Zen agrees and they both laugh. Suel says that he grew concerned after Zen stopped showing up at their usual meet up spot so he did some digging around and found out about his parties feywild adventure. He says he's glad that the world didn't lose such a promising up and coming thief. Zen then starts to inquire if Suel had gotten anymore info about their targeted heist. He gives him more information such as their best bet being entering through the garden out back, however, it's guarded by golem sentries so he suggests a decent sized party. One half to cause a distraction, and one half to go disable the golems and break inside to free the slaves and take their loot. Zen then explains that since his group is here currently, he wants to introduce him to Reed, who also happens to have thieving capabilities. Suel says that sounds great but he can wait til they've had time to chat it up with their fiends first. Zen agrees and then they end up chit chatting over a few drinks.
- Ren seeing Laurelle quiet and reserved at one of the tables decides to go over and see her. She seems to hold back some tears as she said she was worried after he stopped showing up at the library. She asked around and heard that he had went missing, to which Ren replies that at least that rumor is better than the one claiming they were dead. Laurelle looks at him and after a long sigh hugs him and says that she's glad he's a live. Ren apologizes for worrying her and then goes about showing him his new outfit as he had promised. She said it looks great and reaffirms about their plans to go out for a day in the upper-class district. Ren says that sounds great then they both sit down to share some drinks as Ren explains his adventures in the feywild.
- Carvey looks around and his eyes catch Dustine who then waves him over. Dustine says that she's impressed that he and his party made it back in one piece from the feywild. She states that she's now impressed with him and that he's caught her eye. She remembers that he wishes to join the guards and she offers to personally train him out of respect for him now. She tells Carvey to seek her out at the guard barracks in the upper-class district when he's ready for some training.
- Caeda, not really knowing anyone decides to stay with Pippin and Croix at the bar area with Bryn. Pippin asks what they're supposed to do at these parties and Caeda just shrugs. He then asks her what everyone is drinking and she explains that it's alcohol. Pippin begins showing interest in it and wants to try some. Caeda then calls over Bryn to get some alcohol for Pippin and Croix to try. After Bryn fills up some glasses for Caeda, Pippin, and Croix, Bryn then inquires about how they met these two. After a short explanation about how they can't understand Croix, Bryn tries to talk to her. As usually, the only word that Bryn could make out is when Croix said her own name. Bryn is shocked that even with her vast knowledge of languages as she's traveled around the world a lot, she's never heard anything like her language before.
- Reed is eventually greeted by Ivan who explains that he, like everyone else, was worried when Reed had stopped coming by his shop. Reed tells him the cliffnotes of his adventures in the feywild and then says that he has an even bigger project he's cooking up. Ivan looks happy with this then mentions that there seems to be another merchant peddling wares similar to but not as high quality as Reed's. He explains that the merchant goes by the name of Redd Bluphial, and he seems shady but has an incredible way with words to lure in customers. He tried to get Ivan to make him a blue phial for his "Bluphial Deluxe" but refused as he felt it was a blatant rip off of Reed's Greenbottle Special. Reed gets slightly angry and tells Ivan that he'll blow him out of the competition. Ivan says he looks forward to working with him again and looks forward to the battle of merchants.
When things settle down a bit, Zen calls Reed over to meet Suel. They meet and greet then get down to business. Suel explains the heist to Reed and asks if he has any knowledge of golems to which Reed replies that he only knows what they are and not how they function. After hearing about the details and especially the loot, Reed is onboard with the whole plan. Meanwhile, Pippin and Croix are getting a little too familiar with alcohol. Caeda tries her best to tell them to pace themselves and Croix seems confused as to why, and continues to drink, same as Pippin, who is having none of Caeda's shit and continues to drink his heart out. During all of this Rowan decides to introduce Sylvia to Pippin and Croix. When he gets there, it seems as if they are having a drinking battle. Pippin by this point is completely out of it as he greets Rowan. Caeda explains that she has no idea how this even happened and just puts her hands on her face and onto the bar counter. Pippin then states that he can out drink Croix easily, then goes on to ask if it's normal that he can't see straight. Rowan becomes worried and tells Pippin to stop, to which he spouts like a child "Lalala I can't hear you! You can't make me!". Rowan growing irritated, tries to grab Pippin to force him to stop, which ends up being unsuccessful as Pippin dodges out of the way with drunken ease. Pippin then tells Rowan to fuck off and turns invisible, drink in hand at which point Rowan sighs and hears Pippin gulping down the alcohol while invisible somewhere. Rowan then goes over to Croix to check on her when Sylvia finally comes up and assumes that he's trying to hit on her and take her home while she's drunk. Sylvia asks if Rowan has any shame and Rowan, shocked, starts explaining that Croix is a friend and he was just checking up on her. Rowan then asks Bryn if she has any non-alcoholic drinks to give Croix and she explains that she thinks it would be better for his friends to learn the hard way what alcohol can do to them. After getting bombarded and shot down from all sides, Rowan says "fuck it, if I'm being treated as the villain here, I may as well shut up and join them." then orders two drinks for him and Sylvia.
After a bit more conversing, Theo manages to get everyone's attention and calms them down for a special announcement he and Bryn are about to make. Once everyone is quiet, Theo clears his throat and states that due to the Greenbottle Brigade's bravery for going into the feywild and making it back alive they will now be promoted to Silver rank. Upon hearing this, the hall begins to boisterously cheer for the party at their achievement. When the opportunity arises for them, the Cruspell sisters go around talking to the party explaining that their orders are finished and that the prototype is ready for them to take a look at. Reed asks Risette if she'd be willing to help him with another secret project and she excitedly agrees to. After everyone settles down again, Laurelle asks Ren about his new party members. Ren then explains that he met them during the feywild and that he wanted to introduce her to them, unfortunately Pippin is out cold, so he settles with only Croix. Upon greeting Croix, like everyone before her, she is only able to pick out her name when she introduces herself and doesn't know what language she speaks. Laurelle then tells Ren that she used to be a teacher and would be more than happy to teach Croix how to speak common during her time in the library. Ren says that sounds fantastic and that he would bring her over for lessons during the day. As this is happening, Reed makes his way over to Daisy to speak with her. At first she is flustered because she feels that it was her fault for showing them the way to the feywild and that she might have accidentally sent them to their deaths. Reed assures her that this isn't the case and that it was quite the opposite. Daisy then begins to explain to Reed that although she was born in the feywild, her mother was cast out afterwards and they were forced to seek refuge in Askr. Eventually, her mother, Steph, set up a flower shop and named it after her daughter, Daisy. They lived a relatively normal life until Daisy's mother had passed away. Daisy then took it upon herself to run the shop in memory of her late mother. As Daisy took a sip of her drink, she's met with a Moondew Lily and a vial of seeds as she lowers her glass. Reed then asks her if she would help him grow these flowers and Daisy agrees saying that they're very pretty. As she inquires about soil, Reed pulls out a bag of it. He says he needs some time to reverse engineer it to make some fertilizer, and they both come to an agreement that Reed would come to her when he's ready to start planting. Daisy then tells Reed that she isn't the only one who felt guilty about the whole thing and suggests gathering his group up to talk to Theo. Reed agrees with her once more, then as she takes another sip of her glass, Reed slips the letter from her father to her and leaves all before she's able to lower her glass.
The party then regathers together and Reed calls for a round for everyone plus one. When Theo is finished handing the drinks out the party invites him to sit down and drink with them. The party looks at Theo expectedly and although he tries his hardest to hold it in, he begins to tear up and express how he felt responsible for allowing them to go on the quest that led to their disappearance and possible deaths. Reed reassures Theo that that wasn't the case and Theo began to exclaim how happy he was that they all returned safely. After some drinking and chatting, Theo states that he notices their new friends and asks about them. Ren exclaims that Croix can hold her own in a fight and asks if she could be formally added to the guild as a part of the Greenbottle Brigade. Theo says that he doesn't see a problem with that and will sign her up later in the evening. Jessica begins to speak and shocked, Reed asks when she got here. She exclaims that she's been here the whole time talking with the others but that her presence just isn't very noticeable unless she specifically speaks up. Theo, as a joke, continues the conversation as if Jessica isn't here and she just says "Yeah, that's about right, and proceeds to sit down next to them and start drinking." Theo then says that since they have reached silver rank and have so many members of their party, they now qualify for guild housing in the residential sector of the middle-class district. After hearing the price, the group exclaims they don't currently have enough and that they'd get back to him on that. Bryn then brings to their attention the magical items that she appraised for them. She says that they've found a staff of flowers, key of mystery, bagpipes of illusions, cape of billowing, illuminator's tattoo, and a masquerade tattoo. After thanking Bryn, the party then divvies up the rewards amongst themselves.
Reed then begins to ask Ren who Adenine was and upon seeing the conversation turn serious, Theo and Bryn take the hint to leave and go to tend to the others. Ren then explains his relationship with Adenine to the group and how she normally isn't so aggressive. He also states that he has no idea what she meant when she said her outburst and that the only thing worth noting that happened approximately one thousand years ago is The Awakening. The group then decides that since Ren is still okay with Adenine they shouldn't have to worry about anything. Things start to settle more and everyone begins to leave the party. The group asks if Theo and Bryn can watch over Croix and Pippin and they tell them not to worry and go enjoy themselves. They then head to the upper-class district for the first time. Reed stops by the merchants guild to speak with Aaron Traed to pay his membership dues as well as ask him what the deal with this Redd Bluphial character is. Aaron tells Reed that he's an up and coming merchant who sells shitty "Wal-Mart" (A well known shop set up by the Greatwall family that is known for it's cheaper alternatives to brand name items.) versions of Reed's merchandise. Reed asks if he can sue but Aaron tells him that it's just different enough that he can't take any action. He then explains that although he's supposed to be impartial he would love to see Reed kick his ass. To which Reed replies he would do both physically and metaphorically with his products. They both have a laugh and Reed walks out to meet back up with his party.
The group then makes their way to Gemerous Returns where they can trade in their gems for some gold. Upon entering, a gnome pops out from behind the counter claiming to smell the sweet scent of gems. He then welcomes the party and introduces himself as Rubeus Saphrous. Reed shows him one of the gems and he studies it very carefully, even licking it at one point. He can taste that these are rare foreign gems and he's intrigued. Reed then dumps the rest on the counter and Rubeus goes to fetch Ward Pendleton, who owns the other side of the shop "The Shining Pendant". After some talking they come up with the price of two thousand seven hundred gold. After some arguing they still won't raise the price until eventually Reed works his magic and manages to get them to settle with the price of two thousand seven hundred gold and one copper. They all agree with this price and both parties end up happy with the trade in. When they leave the store, they decide to go buy the house and one months rent then split up the remainder evenly. Rowan and Carvey began to grow tired and decided to head back to the dorm early. With two less members in tow, Reed and Zen ask if the others are okay with taking a scenic route back to their dorm. The others are cool with it and so they take them to Augustus Argento's manor. The group is impressed with how large the estate is and Ren asks if this place holds any value to them. Zen says that it doesn't but maybe they can get ideas on some additions they can add to their own estate. Reed eventually notices the golem sentries and points it out to Zen. Suddenly, Caeda picks up a scent, and gets reminded of something but she can't quite pinpoint what it is. This causes Reed and Zen to admit that maybe the rumors they heard was true and the owner is a slave owner. Ren then questions how they know the owner if they were only inspecting the manor for "inspiration" and Zen caves and reveals that there's more to the story. He learned that the owner is a slave owner, which is highly illegal, and Zen wants to help liberate the slaves. After prying a bit more, Reed reveals the golem security statues in the garden. Ren then asks about the quest giver and if it's an official quest. Zen tells him that it's an unofficial request and although hesitant, Ren says that he doesn't mind participating as long as there are actual slaves that need to be rescued.
After that they begin to make their way to Celeste's as Caeda wishes for some modifications to be made to the cape of billowing. When they arrive, Celeste jokingly says that they just couldn't stand to be away from her for more than a few hours. After some laughs, Caeda asks if she could somehow modify this cape into a scarf of shawl as it is very tacky as it is now. Celeste dawns the cloak and instantly identifies it for what it is. She says she can work with it and that the work will be done sometime tomorrow. Celeste then also reveals to the party that she has Greenbottle Brigade jackets planned for the entire party as a gift for reaching silver rank. The group is excited by this then thanks her before leaving. They then make their way to Forged from the Heart where they greet them and prepare their weapons for them. They come out with a Basilisk Sheath for Carvey, and a Poison-Fang Rapier as well as a Phase-Fang Dagger for Zen. After giving the items to them, they then reveal the prototype armor which comes in light, medium, and heavy varieties. Impressed with the armor, Zen immediately buys the light variety. The others wait and see about the cost of possible additions to the house before the spend their gold.
They then decide to go back to the AA and pick up Pippin and Croix. They see Theo and Bryn chatting amongst themselves as Croix seems to be eating a light snack and sipping on a presumably non-alcoholic beverage. They state that they had no success in communication other than hellos and goodbyes and she picked up that to ask for another drink, she could get their attention and point to her empty glass. The party thanks them for taking care of her and then starts to talk business with Theo. They ask about additions and he says that it's approximately one hundred gold per additional room as a base cost. They end up deciding they were content with the base model and give him the money along with one months taxes. The party then takes Pippin and Croix back to their cramped dorm and waves Zen off as he travels to the Askr in which he's been staying at all while keeping in mind that in two short weeks they will have a brand new home to live in.
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