Session 093 - Together Once More

General Summary

33th Planting - contd.

Dreford - Three Bells

The rural party arrived at the inn around mid-afternoon and after settling in, they discussed the various lines of investigation they had been working on. The team visiting Kessforte had learned a handful of things…including that it was definitely directed and personal as the imposters used the party’s names. The urban party had done their own investigation and found that in addition to the fires, they had heard rumors of undead attacks as well as a strange new religious enclave called the Ministry of Idle Hands. Ell was all for heading over to see what could be learned at this Ministry, but the general vibe was to wait until the concert/fundraiser were over,
Janora recalled that there were still several items needed for her tattoo. She told Ell about the jewelers’ and the waiting order for lapis lazuli. The young noble was more than happy to take care of it, but suggested that he might be able to get a better deal.

Dreford - Grumpy’s Emporium

Following the witch’s directions, it wasn’t difficult to find the goldsmith in question. Ell, Ranunkel, and Denye stepped into the well-lit shop and were looking around when they were greeted by the owner, Slightly Miffed Goldhammer. Ell opened the conversation all casually, introducing Ranunkel as a stone expert and himself as a traveling collector and asking about interesting pieces or spectacular gemstones. While the owner was considering that, Denye spoke up and asked about ivory. He did have some, but explained that it wasn’t something he usually carried, but he had taken a few pieces in a trade. Vanishing into the back, he returned with a small box. Opening it he displayed a set of four ivory sticks about 5 inches that had each been carved in the shape of a femur. The wizard spent a few minutes examining them with mundane and magical senses, but determined that they would work fine for her spell. Handing over the required gold, Denye thanked the owner and bid goodbye to Ell and Ranunkel before heading back to the inn to use the downtime on her research.
Turning his attention back to Ell and Ranunkel, Slightly Miffed showed them a chunky necklace of gold plates, chased with electrum, and holding a large star ruby. Ranunkel was impressed by the goldsmithing, but mentioned that they were hoping to see some lapis. The owner was surprised but drew their attention to another necklace and matching earrings with clear quartz beads and lapis teardrops. SM also expressed amusement that they were second customers this week to ask about the semi-precious stones. That led Ell to admit that Janora was a friend and they had come in to see about completing her transaction. After exchanging some coin, Slightly Miffed promised that the powdered stone will be delivered to the tattoo shop by noon tomorrow.

Dreford - Various

The other items Janora needed to collect were widoweel blood as well as several different types of wood. The witch recalled that widoweels were something of a local menace that invested the water of the harbor near the slaughterhouses and fisheries. Jilken offered to go with, just so folks weren’t traveling by themselves. She also offered to do the hunting and listened carefully when Janora told her of the venomous bite and the need to be careful. It was a short walk down to the harbor and while it took some time to find, they were able to kill several and collect the blood. Jilken did get bitten, but managed to shake off the paralysis of the venom.
That accomplished the pair turned their attention to the wood. Oak was easy to acquire, there were plenty of local trees. Redwood and ghost cypress were going to be a bit harder to find. Redwood was common, but mostly found in the Timberland. Ghost cypress was much more uncommon and only grew on the Orc islands. Jilken suggested that they try a carpenter, particularly a specialty shop that might use unusual woods. This seemed like a reasonable suggestion and indeed within the hour they had found both the redwood and the cypress. Satisfied, the pair stopped at the Black Ink Pearl to drop off the ingredients they had collected. Master Tod wasn’t in, but the girl with the purple hair was happy to take the items and promised she would make sure they were given to the Tortle artist.

34th Planting

Dreford - Three Bells

The party wakes the next morning and over breakfast decides that it would be better to hold off on doing anything until after the fundraiser. Both Denye and Janora decided that they would lay low and stay at the inn while the others went to the event. Ell had arranged for a wagon and it took all of the party to carry out Ranunkel’s statues and all of the pastries that Tear had created.

Dreford - Grand Gazebo

The party arrived at the Grand Market a couple of hours before noon and found Maestro Zelhana Veroni directing chaos around the main stage. She waved and quickly made her way over to greet them. The Maestro seemed quite cheerful and gave Ell and the others the run-down. There were three bands scheduled and she had several other craftspeople who set up booths and donated profits to the cause. She also inquired if they had wanted to speak or have any part in the performances but only Ell agreed, asking to go between the second and third acts. Ranunkel and Tear were both quite happy to tend their tables while Jilken and Ha’aash patrolled, just in case the imposters tried something.
The show started with a group called Silverback that seemed to gather some interest so that when Maestro Zelhana took the stage, there was a crowd paying attention. She welcomed everyone to this concert, speaking of the tragedies focusing mainly on the orphanage and the needs of the surviving children. The second band was The Goodberries and seemed to be a local favorite. Ell took the stage after and spoke passionately about helping one’s fellow man and the needs of community as well as his pride and gratefulness for donations, including thanks for the bands, the church of Milil, and the Maestro specifically. He got a round of applause, but it doubled when he announced the third act, My Alchemical Romance. Apparently they were a fairly famous act and made an excellent closer…especially when the lead singer announced that he was personally donating 1K GP to the cause. Maestro Zelhana finished everything off with her thanks and a final prayer/blessing.
Everyone was feeling great after such an amazing event and the team got to meet all the bands and offer their thanks. The Maestro promised that she would follow up once the accounts had been tallied. Fully satisfied, the group headed back to the inn to check on their friends and consider what they would do next.

Dreford - Three Bells

Janora and Denye had spent the morning engaged in personal pursuits and were happy to hear that things had gone well. After getting a bite to eat Ell suggested that they check out the Ministry of Idle Hands. After hearing what the urban team had discovered, it did sound suspicious and the party agreed to ride out to take a look.

Dreford - Ministry of Idle Hands

As the party approached the enclave, they saw that the gates were open and several wagons moving in and out. As they got closer, Denye sent Helenwye up to get a better look at the complex. Sitting on Forest’s back, she linked minds and described a tannery, slaughterhouse, two barracks, enormous laundry, main house/temple, and several barns. The wagons were being unloaded by normal looking people, although there were also large clay golems that worked alongside.
The party walked in and began crossing the open courtyard under the shadow the large statue of a humanoid figure holding a sickle and a laundry paddle. Spotting a figure who was wearing nicer clothes standing on dock of the laundry, speaking to a wagon driver. The team started in that direction and it wasn’t long before she noticed and met them halfway. She introduced herself as Laycie Sparspray, one of the clerics of Tolios and in charge of the laundry. Ell introduced them as travelers and she was more than willing to share the tenets of the god of labor, the Great Foreman who promised peace in the afterlife in reward for a life of labor. When they had more questions, Laycie suggested they go up to the temple to speak with Overseer Feywine.
Heading up to the main building, Ell led the way up the stairs and pulled open one of the doors to discover a long entrance hall with wall statues of Tolios, braziers set before them, and a desk with a smiling young woman who asked how she could be of service. Asking for the overseer, they were led into the next room, a scriptorium by the desks lined up in straight rows. In the center of the room was a larger desk on a raised dais. The figure behind the desk was dressed in a more ornate version of the robes worn by the half-orc cleric and stood up to approach the party. As she neared, the party saw that she was wearing a mask of gold and the only part of her face that was visible were the eyes. She introduced herself as Overseer Loraelor Feywine and answered a few more of their questions and even invited them to come by for the evening service. She claimed to have had a vision that Dreford would be a welcoming home for the god of labor and was quite happy to report that they had indeed managed to put down strong roots and find a welcome from at least some of the guilds.
While Ell and Ranunkel kept her talking, Janora, Denye, and Jilken were looking around the room. The Aiel tried to speak to one or two of the scribes, but they just seemed to ignore her. The warrior did however get a look at a couple of the volumes being copied, but they seemed to be harmless texts. Likewise, Janora found that one side of the room wasn’t copying books, but were instead performing calculations and balancing account books. One thing that did catch her eye were the lamps placed on each desk. They burned with the same white-hot fire that filled the bellies of the clay golems and made the eyes water and waver to look at it. Denye had been focused on these constructs, trying to understand how they worked. The primary spell on the clay seemed to be enchantment based and the fire was used as a source of motive force. There were hints of a second spell buried under the first, but Denye lost interest when she realized that the controlling flame was in fact balefire. She held onto her composure and relayed this over the link just as the Overseer was inviting them to stay for a few hours until the worship service. Ell begged off politely and the party left shortly thereafter. A cold rain had started and while it wasn’t dark yet, the light was starting to wane, so the party wasted no time in heading back to the Three Bells.

Dreford - Three Bells

On the way back to the inn, the party had discussed the Ministry and all of the red flags they had spotted. Jilken recalled that Tolios had been a power long, long ago in the human civilization of southwestern Umberfell during the reign of the Bur’aiel empire. It had been wiped out when the enslaved peoples rebelled and the god was forgotten. That didn’t seem to explain why this group was here now, but everyone agreed that whatever they were about, it probably wasn’t good. The use of balefire was also alarming and seemed to point to a possible connection with the imposters. By the time the party made it to their rooms, they had decided that they needed to investigate more, but it would wait until morning.
Arriving at the inn the party went directly to their rooms to change into dry clothes. The fire had been built up in the common room and a letter for Janora was laying on the table so it was clear the staff had been in. Most of the party decided to have dinner down in the common room so that they could listen for rumors. Janora said she wanted to do something first, but would be down shortly. That task was scrying once more. She had spent the day considering how she had been blocked. Meeting the Overseer, the witch found her aura somewhat familiar. Pulling out the piece of chalk out of a pocket of her cloak, Janora laid it out on the table before pulling out the rest of her equipment. The spell took some time to complete, but was successful and Janora came out of the vision swearing. She quickly cleaned up before heading downstairs, using the link to inform the others that they now had firm confirmation that the Ministry were responsible for the fires.
Using the earrings, the party was able to have a private conversation in the crowded common room. Janora and Jilken were all for heading back to the enclave and confronting the leadership. Denye and Tear were willing, but wanted to wait until tomorrow. Ell suggested that they should talk to at least Commander Rimes, perhaps even the Tyrant to discover how things stood politically and hopefully get some backup. Ranunkel suggested they go to the guild of churches as well…the Ministry was claiming to be a religion after all. Eventually even Janora agreed that they would be better served waiting and the party settled into the inn for the evening.

Report Date

05 Apr 2024