SESSION 10.5 Downtime

General Summary

Week 1

Rowan

After a good nights rest Rowan decides to meet up with Silvia and take her back to Enbarr. They enjoy banter back and forth along the travel back. When they arrive, they give each other a farewell hug and head their separate ways. Rowan makes use of his trip back to Enbarr by going to see Giselle and briefly telling him of his adventure before asking if she could teach him anymore about tarot reading. She says that the best way to learn is to get practice, so she tells Rowan to do a reading for her. Due to Rowans reading he is able to have a shared vision with her in which he sees the two of them deep in the moonlight cavern. Giselle explains that the crystals seen in the vision look like they could serve as a better conduit for readings if she were to get the right one. Giselle says that if he is ever going to head to the moonlight cavern to let her know if she could accompany him. Rowan agrees to let her know when he plans to head back and thanks her for the reading training before heading back to Askr.

Zenaster

For the first time since coming back from the feywild, Zen decides to pay a visit to the Askr Inn to see how they’re doing. Sej was surprised to see him and welcomes him back stating that he missed his performances. Zen then says that he had some bittersweet news to share, he and his party were able to buy a house which should be done in two weeks. Sej knew what this meant but he was happy for Zen regardless. Zen said that he would still come back and perform every now and again, which made Sej happy. Later that night Zen started his performance as usual only something unexpected happened this time. A Tiefling woman came up and started to sing along to the tune he was playing. After their performance she introduced herself as Cassandra. She told him that she had been keeping an eye on him since before his hiatus and was pleased to see him continue again. She asked if he was a full-time performer and after stating that it’s more of a hobby for him, she was impressed and revealed that she’s actual a singer at the upper-class districts opera house and asked if he’d be interested in a gig that would pay a decent chunk of change. Zen tells her he fells a bit bad because he told Sej he would still come back here every now and again to perform and she tells him he still should since with his talent it would be an easy way to pick up some extra coin. She then hands Zen a card with the address of the opera house on it and says to come back when he has the chance. Zen decides to go sooner rather than later and shows up a few days later. Cassandra pleased, that Zen showed up begins to explain how the opera house operates. They hold grand performances once a month at the end of the month. They hold rehearsals if Zen wants practice, or he can try to wing it if he thinks his talent strong enough. Afterwards she says that she’s usually around here and if he needs her for anything can find her at the opera house, to which Zen says he’s usually at the inn or afterwards his soon to be new house.

Reed

Reed gets right to work on his many mixtures with the help of Jessica. During what little free time he had between his projects, he decided to stop by Daisy’s to see if she could help with the flowers. Upon arrival she greets him and agrees to help him start planting the flowers. They lay out a section for feywild soil, regular soil, and synthetic fey fertilizer. They do an experiment and plant 3 seeds in each type of soil as a test run. Daisy tells Reed that she will tend to them and that he’s more than welcome to come check on them whenever he likes. Reed then rushes over to Ivan’s as he has an idea for a new bottle to use for his Greenbottle Special. As it turns out, he and Ivan have the same idea to make the bottle out of emerald. Ivan is fully on board with this and says he’ll start preparing right away. He says they’ll have to get the emeralds from Ward Pendleton’s shop in the upper-class district. Reed says there’s no immediate rush as he needs to get the gold first. With the plot in motion they are both determined to take down Redd Bluphial.

Carvey

Carvey decides to pay a visit to Forged from the Heart to see which of the sisters is there. Luckily for him Rena, whom he’s looking for is manning the smith right now. She greets him as he enters and asks how he likes his new sheath and sharper weapon. She then explains their uses since she wanted him to hear directly from her instead of passed on to him by his friends. He thanks her for the detailed explanation and then asks her about her mana-smithing and if she could potentially enchant his sword and sheath with wind and blinding respectively. Rena says she’d be able to do so however she needs the right materials. For what he’s looking for, he would need the core of a wind elemental and some darkling essence. She then begins to say that she unfortunately doesn’t know where to find these monsters or the items, but if he can find them then they can discuss the pricing later. Luckily Carvey is able to recall that he’s once fought darklings in Montdon forest. Carvey once again thanks her before leaving and makes his way towards his home in Dreemur forest. After a day or so of travel, he makes it to his village to see how they are doing. He makes his way to the village elders house where he’s greeted and welcomed back. Carvey then asks how things are and the elder says that besides the local wildlife getting a bit restless, the village has been doing fine thanks to his help. Carvey inquires about the wildlife but the elder assures him that they are able to handle it and that it’s not a problem. Although hesitant, Carvey decides to trust in the elder and says that should they ever need him, send a message or messenger to the AA in Askr and he will come as soon as possible. The elder then thanks him and sees him off before he heads back.

Ren

During the night after the party, Ren has a dream in which Adenine communicates with him. She starts off by apologizing for taking control of his body. She says that as an apology she’ll answer any questions he has to the best of her ability. Ren then questions what she meant by her outburst towards Aurelia. She then begins to explain a little lesser-known truth about their world. There are seven higher beings that look over Mira and its various planes that are known as the “True Gods of Mira”. She goes on to tell Ren that most of the common life on Mira are completely unaware of their existence entirely as they choose to watch over while remaining out of sight. Due to this reason, she states that she is confused as to why Aurelia would show herself off to mortals in the first place. However, once she had the chance to speak to Aurelia face to face, she couldn’t help herself and took over Ren’s body. As for her question, she believes that the True Gods have some connection with the Awakening however she doesn’t know how. She then says that their best bet of getting the answers they seek is to try and find more of the True Gods and ask them directly. Faemoira, whom looks over the material plane, is the next True God that she believes they should try to pursue. She’s heard claims that individuals in desperate need of help have been aided all over the nation by an unseen force which she believes is actually Faemoira. Although she’s currently unsure of the best way to get in contact with Faemoira, she says she’ll look into it and will contact Ren once again when she figures something out. In the meantime, she also states that should Ren have any questions he’s free to attempt to contact her and if she’s available she’ll attempt to help him if possible.
During the middle of the week Ren picks out a day to go see Laurelle. He makes his way to the library to see her and upon arriving asks her if she’s available to go out to the upper-class district with him to which she replies that she’s always has time for him. She ends up closing the library early for the day and they head out to the upper-class district. The first thing they do when they get there is browse around the different shops in the marketplace that she likes to check out from time to time. Ren, making small talk, eventually asks her why she choose to work in a library. She explained that she loves reading and wanted other people to be able to enjoy reading, so she choose to be a librarian so she could help people by recommending them books she thinks they would like based on their personalities and reading ability. Eventually during the conversation, they pass by Ramsey Gordo’s Bistro and Laurelle states that she’s always wanted to go there but due to the price she was never able to get there. Ren then offers to take her and although hesitant at first, she gleefully accepts. Ren and Laurelle end up both getting the Ramsey Special. After some chitchat their food arrives and a huge bull beastman brings them their steaks. He then crosses his arms and waits for Ren to take a bite. Although a bit awkward Ren cuts off a piece and eats to, to which he’s surprised how amazing it is. Laurelle follows suit and also says it’s amazing, Ren then says he wants to extend compliments to the chef, to which the beastman speaks up and says he is indeed, chef Ramsey Gordo himself. Ren then personally compliments him, and Ramsey walks off with a confident smile on his face. After the main course, Laurelle asks Ren if he wants to share a dessert. Ren agrees and they both enjoy a delicious dessert to make for an amazing ending to their Ramsey Gordo experience. Ren walks Laurelle home and they agree that they both had a great time, and they should do it again. Laurelle gives Ren a wink before heading inside and Ren stops to think what that could have meant for a while but ultimately decided they she probably just had something in her eye.

Caeda

Caeda begins her week by checking out the town more since she’s still not really familiar with the city. After familiarizing herself with the slums, lower-class, and middle-class she directs her attention towards the new church that was built while she was in the feywild with her party. Caeda begins sniffing around (literally) and is eventually greeted by a father of the church. Caeda is caught off guard by his sudden appearance but quickly reflects with a statement of how the church was so recently constructed. The father then begins to explain that this church was built for a place of prayer and worship towards the “All Mother” who he then explains is a being that helps out individuals during times of peril. Eventually a sister who introduces herself as Katherine comes up and greets Caeda as well. Caeda asks why she decided to become a sister at this church, and she says that her son had emerged unscathed from an accident and she could feel that a presence was nearby that had helped him. She believes without a doubt that it was the “All Mother” who saved her son. After looking around for a bit longer, sister Katherine comes up to Caeda and asks her If she had anything extra she could donate to the church. She asks what they need the donations for and sister Katherine asks Caeda to follow her. She brings her to a room which is being treated as a ward for those who are unfortunate and can’t afford proper medical care. Sister Katherine explains that they accept any food donations that the more fortunate can spare in order to help those who are sick or hurt. Caeda explains that she doesn’t have any food on her at the moment but would come back and donate when she’s available to. The sister and father then thank her and wish for the All Mother’s protection to bless her. She then thanks them and heads on her way.

Week 2

Ren and Rowan

After talking over their plan to check out one of the wonders of Askr, Ren and Rowan decided to head to the lower-class district at night to see if they could encounter the voice that is mentioned. They stake out for the night but end up hearing nothing, Ren then asks Rowan if there's anywhere they could go to see if they could get any leads. Rowan, being a man of culture, suggests they go to The Cat's Meow. After their arrival, Katrina recognizes Rowan and she welcomes him back. Rowan greets her and she asks if he's here to see Nahla again. Rowan regrettably denies this and instead asks if she's heard anything about the rumor they're chasing. Katrina says she overheard a few patrons talking about something similar and tells the duo that they were last heard heading to Birmington's Bar for a drink. Rowan thanks her and tells here that he'll be stopping by another night for the usual and then heads out to Birmington's alongside Ren. As they enter they are greeted by a halfling behind the bar counter. They decide to ask the bartender about the rumors and he tells them that the latest news on it was that the voice could be heard on clear nights. As the people who heard the song tried to follow it they became gradually more and more tired until finally passing out and waking up the next morning right where they had fallen asleep. The strangest part is that there were no reported injuries or stolen items either. Birmington let the duo know that the weather mage had predicted clear skies for tomorrow and says that it may be a good night to try and hear the voice.
They end up taking his advice and once again wait around in the lower-class district for awhile. As the time nears one in the morning, they begin to hear the singing mentioned in the rumor. Ren feels himself starting to lose consciousness but ends up recovering from it, meanwhile Rowan has not felt its effects yet. Rowan, remembering that they may forget what they're doing if they hear the song, decides to write down some notes with his magical tattoo. Upon getting closer, the sensation of drowsiness hits them again, however they're both able to shrug it off. Ren tries to think of what could be causing this and determines that it's a spell-like effect being thrown out from the voice. He asks Adenine if swapping could help him overcome this and she states that while swapped she's still limited by his body. She then says that she can still provide help in the form of her blessing however. Ren accepts this from her and thanks her as he casts the blessing on himself and Rowan. After overcoming yet another wave of drowsiness, the duo begin to hear the voice very clearly coming from an alleyway. They both agree to confront who or whatever is singing this song and as they turn the corner they see a beautiful feathered lady singing by herself. The lady notices them and turns their way unintentionally amplifying the effect of her voice. With sheer willpower the duo manages to shrug off the most power effect of the spell yet. Seeing as how they both resisted, the feathered lady starts to back up against the wall and cower a bit. Rowan approaches her and asks why she's trying to lure people into this alleyway. She begins to defend herself by explaining that they aren't being called by her voice and that harming people was not her intention. At this point she is terrified of what the pair will do to her. They then ask why she's singing if she isn't doing it to lure in unsuspecting people. She explains that she's trying to train her voice so that she can sing without projecting the magical effect to it, however as she is now, she has no control over it. She then states that she chooses to sing at night because she knows that less people are around at that time. They agree that she seems very genuine in what she's telling them, so they take a step back and take a more gentle approach by introducing themselves and asking how she got here. She tells them her name is Vivianna and that her flock got attacked by some hunters while they were traveling. Her wing got badly injured during the fight and she's still not properly able to fly yet. She fled to Askr to try and get help but was met with hostility instead, so she decided to hide away and train her voice. Ren and Rowan step away for a moment to discuss their options with her and they ultimately come up with the decision to help her. They ask if it's possible for her to sing without charming people and she tells them that others in her flock have much more control over their voices, so with practice she should be able to as well. They both promise to take her in and help find her flock with her. She chooses to trust them and Rowan casts invisibility on her, so they can guide her to their dorm (knowing that in a week they will have a brand new house and much more room for her.)

Carvey

Carvey decides to meet up with Dustine at the barracks in the upper-class district. She's in the middle of training some new recruits and she gives them ten when she sees Carvey arrive. She's surprised to see him so soon after his adventure in the feywild. Carvey asks her if the offer for training is still on the table. She tells him of course it is and then quizzes him by asking him if he knows what it means to be a truth knight, especially a knight of the Queen's Blade. Carvey says he's unsure and she tells him that a knight must first and foremost be selfless and willing to defend those who are weaker than they are. Carvey says he's capable of doing so, however Dustine asks him if he's really sure. She asks if he's willing to take on a young green dragon to prove his resolve. Carvey says that he's willing and Dustine says for him to assemble his troops (ask his party) and when they're ready to come see her. She'll accompany them on his quest to slay a dragon and enter his way into true knighthood.

Caeda

Caeda chooses to spend her week with Croix and Laurelle in the library. The two of them make decent progress with her when Ren and Rowan join in about four days into the week to also attempt to help teach her. Upon seeing them walk in, Croix uses her new greeting she learned and asks them how they were doing. Ren gets excited that she's learning, but also remembers to keep his answer simple and says he's doing well before then asking her the same question. She pauses for a moment to think of her response before saying "good". They spare no time in grabbing chairs and joining in on the lesson. Caeda has a brilliant idea to see if she can recognize any scripts instead of vocal words. Laurelle says that's a great idea and starts grabbing books of different languages scripts. After going through what seems to be all of them, she comes across a book containing Espurian script. When presented the book, Croix is able to understand the characters written in the book and starts reading from it in her own language. Laurelle is slightly concerned that she knows this script as it's a very alien and rare script most commonly connected with mindflayers and beholders. Laurelle also remembers how well she behaves and that Croix is a good person, so that puts her mind at ease. She believes that if she combines infernal script with the espurian script, since they're similar in more ways than espurian to common, she should be able to teach her more efficiently. Using this new knowledge, Laurelle states that she will continues to teach Croix for the rest of the week using this new method. The group is excited and gives Caeda kudos for the idea of using script instead of languages. Caeda takes it in for a moment and then they leave Croix to Laurelle and head their separate ways.

Zenaster

Zenaster wants to put his sticky fingers to good use so he comes up with a plan to do a little bit of shoplifting. He heads to the middle-class district market and spots a Bluphial stand being run by a human who looks oddly like Rowan. Zenaster masterfully sneaks by the stand buys two Bluphial Deluxe's with his five finger discount, as well as acquiring a bonus of their safe holding their profits for the day. Just as fast as he snaked his way in he was out. He decides to pay Reed a visit at the dorm since he knows he's got beef with Bluphial. He meets up with Reed and tells him about his fun he had for the day and tosses a Bluphial Deluxe at him. Reed then examines the product and can tell just how cheaply its made, however he also found out due to his reverse engineering of the product that there was an addictive component to it. Meanwhile Zenaster busts open the lockbox and takes his newfound coinage, which he gives a few to Reed. The two then hang out for a bit and Zen helps Reed with his motivational skills.

Reed

At the start of his second week, Reed went over to Risette to start theory crafting on how to perfect the design as his new secret weapon. After many hours of back and forth, the two of them came up with a solid plan and Risette got to work with it. Reed had spent the past two weeks slaving with next to no sleep only to be gifted by the success of his first true Greenbottle Special. After cackling in sheer excitement for several minutes, Ren gets woken up and looks up to see a bloodshot, baggy eyed and psychotic looking Reed rubbing a his new creation against his face. Ren pretends he didn't see anything and goes back to sleep as Reed eventually passes out from sheer exhaustion.

The Greenbottle Estate

It's the dawn of the day that their new home is completed. Rowan receives a letter addressed to Professor Jasper and hides the letter for now waiting to read it when he's alone. The party was requested to see Theo at the AA however, Reed had some quick business to take care of and sprints to Daisy's. Reed practically knocks the door down when he gets there due to his excitement and calls out to Daisy upon arrival. She comes up and greets him with a good morning and he reveals the true green bottle special to her. He asks for her hand for a moment and spritzes some of his magnum opus onto her wrist. Time seems to move in slow motion for Reed as he waits for her to bring her wrist up to her nose to take a whiff of ecstasy. The moment draws near, her nose gently catches the scent of his new and improved greenbottle special and she feels elated for a split second and almost loses herself. She comments on how amazing this is and can't wait to get her hands on a bottle of it. Daisy then asks Reed to come to the back of the shop with her. Reed pauses for a second confused on what she means, he starts to get excited only to be shot down by her explaining that she wants him to check the greenhouse with her. Daisy shows Reed that the three seeds in the fey soil budded spectacularly, two of the three seeds budded in the fertilizer, and that unfortunately none of the seeds in the regular soil made it. Reed entrusts the remaining eleven seeds in Daisy's care and she says she'll take care of everything here. Reed states that he couldn't have done it without her and that they're gonna go far together. Daisy blushes for a second then sees him off as he sprints to catch back up with the group.
After they party gathers at the AA Theo begins to guide them to the residential district which now houses the illustrious Greenbottle Estate. After being asked who wishes to do the honors of unlocking the door first, Reed emphatically takes the key from Theo to open the front door. Everyone began excitedly exploring their brand new home. After looking around for a bit, the gang checks out the basement where Theo then hands Reed two keys for his lab. As Reed goes into his brand new alchemy lab, the invisibility that Rowan cast on Vivianna wore off exposing her to Theo who choose to ignore the fact that they're parading around with a siren. Rowan then decides to take Vivianna to her room for her to stay at. Theo then decides it's time to leave the party to their own devices and heads back to the AA after congratulating them on this milestone achievement of theirs. The party continues to excitedly explore their new home and new rooms. Reed calls upon Jessica and presents her with a key to the lab stating that she's receiving a promotion. Jessica then passes out upon hearing this, Ren then takes her to her room to be placed gently on her new bed. After settling down for a bit, the party then hears a knock on their door. Reed goes to answer the door and is greeted by Suel. Suel mentions how nice their new place looks and Reed invites him in to sit down and relax. Unfortunately, he comes bearing bad news for Zen and Reed, it turns out that rookie thieves had attempted to break into Augustus' manor and after being effortlessly thwarted, Augustus saw it fit to reinforce his security. One of the security measures was that he hired a high-class wizard to set up a magic barrier for the front of his house causing their previous plan of a distracting nigh impossible at the moment. Additionally, he had more golems installed in the rear garden. Suel pulls out the schematics for the garden and states that the controls for the golems have to be somewhere nearby, most likely within the garden itself. The golems appear to have some sort of sensor for vibrations as he attempted to step one foot in the garden only to be met with the red blinking eyes of the nearest golem. Suel's new plan consists of the entire group going towards the back and half of the group distract the golems while the others attempt to locate and shut off the golems. A bit of good news though, Suel claims to have heard that Augustus has recently purchased a vase that could potentially fetch a high price. With a game plan in mind, the group fetches the others and tels them about the details of the plan. The group collectively agrees to begin the heist under the cover of night to avoid drawing any unwanted attention.
Rowan finally decides to check out the letter that was addressed to his other identity. The contents of the letter stated that the sender knew his real identity and that their boss wishes to meet with Rowan. Rowan is then requested to meet alone in an alley in the upper-class district. After reading the letter, Rowan decides to seek help from Ren since he's been hanging out with him more often. Rowan goes on to explain about his secret pastime. Rowan reveals that he journals his sexual experiences under the alias of Professor Jasper. Rowan then asks if Ren could accompany him to the meeting site while staying away at a distance while invisible and helping only if absolutely necessary. A most gentlemanly man appears almost out of thin air and greets Rowan. He informs Rowan that his master wishes to test Rowan's mental fortitude and the he must pass this test if he wishes to receive anymore information about the task his boss wishes of Rowan. The man bursts his shirt open in an attempt to charm Rowan, yet he is unaffected. Upon passing his test, the man asks Rowan to take his hand and close his eyes. Rowan discreetly shrugs at Ren then tells the man he's not closing his eyes. The man then pleads but Rowan won't budge so he just activates the teleportation circle and they both disappear before Ren's eyes. Rowan looks around after reappearing and notice an elaborate high-class brothel called the "Carnal Carnival" despite the name giving Rowan Vietnam flashbacks, he can't resist what beauties may await him inside that brothel. While walking up the the entrance, the man introduces himself as Midnight Jones, he gets the door for Rowan. Rowan walks in with Midnight Jones right behind him, once they make it through the small waiting room Rowan sees an absolutely beautiful woman waiting for him whom Midnight Jones greets by kneeling to. Just by looks alone, Rowan feels temptation start to overcome his body as if he's feeling compelled to start kneeling and worshiping her, however he breaks from of the charm at the last second. She applauds him for overcoming her presence and introduces herself as Calypso Succubi and reveals that she is a greater succubus whilst her employee, Midnight Jones, is an incubus. She then explains that she had been keeping tabs on Rowan for quite a while and that not just anyone is allowed to enter an establishment of this caliber. She then tells Rowan that his first experience here will be free of charge, however further experiences will cost either a favor, or quite a bit of gold. Rowan asks what they have here and Calypso simply asks him to tell her what he wants. Rowan requests a slime girl for his first partner in this "carnival" and to his surprise, Calypso summons just what he asked for from the back. Rowan experiences a little bit of heaven for an unspecified amount of time. Upon leaving the back room, Rowan goes to see Calypso who can tell he's satisfied. She then asks a request or challenge of Rowan, she wishes for him to leave reviews on all of their girls. Rowan accepts this as one of his biggest challenges yet. Before leaving, she hands Rowan a card and says that should he wish to come back, simply bring that card back to the alleyway you entered from and the teleportation circle will activate. Rowan tests it out to leave the place and just as she said, he was teleported back to the alleyway. Ren runs up after seeing Rowan reappear and asks if everything with alright. Rowan glowing and beyond joyous ecstatically says that everything was excellent. He then explains to Ren what awaited him in that unknown land and how it's everything he's ever dreamed of. Ren then tells Rowan that this is actually one of the Seven Wonders he had read about. The two were taken aback by indirectly encountering two of the seven wonders all within two or so weeks. They laugh and talk about it more as they walk back to their new home.

Report Date

14 Mar 2021