Session 31 - Divergent Paths
General Summary
15 Quickening - contd.
Returning to the Restless Raven, Citrene and Lus wanted to go explore the city some more. Both Denye and Janora declined, preferring to remain at the inn and relax after the mission. Jilken offered to play chaperone for the two visitors while Ell vanished on business of his own.Wandering out into the city was surreal for Lus and Citrene. Never before have either of them seen this many people...particularly so many tall people. Two and three stories buildings loom along the streets and the cries and shouts from buskers, merchants, and others rang through the afternoon air. Jilken directed them towards a market district with booths set up displaying produce and all manner of other goods from weaving and dyes to woodworked carving and glassblowers.
Near the entrance to the square, Lus found a street food vendor, a halfling man of middleage with a tray of sausages wrapped in buns. Running up excitedly, Lus ordered six, but realized that she had no coin to buy the sausages. Jilken covered them, but thought that the man's price of six silvers was a bit high and presented the halfling with three.
The vendor grumbled, "Ask me to cut me own throat why don't you? But aye, I'll take that deal and even throw in a small pot of mustard." Wrapping the sausages in waxed paper he handed them to Lus, who promptly turned to offer them to Citrene and Jilken.
Jilken looked at the sausage dubiously and turned to ask the man what kind of meat was in the sausages, but in that moment of distraction it seemed that the vendor had vanished into the crowd. The Aiel declined, but Lus and Citrene both devoured three each. The breading was dry and chewy and the sausage itself had an odd, gamey taste. Shrugging the two chocked them down as the three continued to wander the city.
Meanwhile, Ell had returned to the Keep and enquiring about the Archive, the young noble was shown deep into the mountain side. Wayfinder Minorus Emorin was in the reading room, a large circular room with a ring of desks spread out, broken by passageways that lead into book filled chambers. The ceiling of this chamber is covered with a beautiful mural of the Zriavli system, Vestra itself shining like a blue/green gem.
The Wayfinder was working at one of the desks, with a few books lying open, which she consulted occasionally as she wrote notes. At Ell's entrance, she looked up and smiled before rising to greet him. "Welcome back, Master Darnet. I trust that your mission was a success and you are all well."
"Indeed it was," replied Ell. "I apologize for interrupting you, but I was hoping that you could spare me a few moments of your time."
The Wayfinder smiled, "Of course, of course. What can I help you with today?"
"Well," answered Ell, "I have a few subjects really. The first was an odd adventure that happened while we exploring that fortress. We got pulled away to another place that I'm pretty sure was another dimension of some sort. While there I heard this poem about the place that mentioned several deities. Iknew a few of them, but there was one that I had never heard of, a goddess Milani." Going into more detail Ell shared the poem about the Founding of Starfall and some of what the party had experienced there."
The Bur'an elf was quite amazed and seemed incredibly interest in this sanctuary and questioned Ell about every detail as she wrote copious notes. "I cannot say that name is at all familiar to me, but let us consult the index and see what can be found." In the end, the two were only able to find one reference. In a copy of an ancient tome (early Second Age) there was an entry listed among a group of demi-gods or regional powers. Unfortunately the entry only consisted of two titles and the first line and a half of description. The titles given were, The People's Voice and Mistress of Valor. The description was that of a tall woman with rainbow feathered wings, flowing flame red hair and lightly pointed ears. The rest of the page was blank with a note scrawled across that said the original page had been unreadable.
Shalana suggested Ell speak with Dor at the Library in Haven. "I'm afraid the Index is not nearly as good as her memory. She may easily recall some other records that I have not."
Ell smiled broadly, "Well this is already more that I knew before. Thank you for you assistance and suggestion. I will be sure to speak the Librarian when next I am in Haven. I did have one other question for you, if you can spare the time." At the elven woman's nod he went on, "I've recently heard tell of a new drug, something called Mirage that seems to have shown up recently. Have you heard anything about this?"
The Wayfinder thought for several moments but was unable to recall anything, "Nothing that the Watcher has said nor anything in the Council meetings. I don't really leave the Keep much these days, but if it's a new drug in the streets, your best bet for information would be the city constables."
With that in mind Ell thanked her again for her help and made his way out of the Keep and back down the stairs. Remembering the letters waiting for him, the noble began making his way across town towards the family warehouses.
Back with the others, Jilken had guided Lus and Citrene towards the center of town where a large green park sprawled, filled with a number of statues, recreational areas, and even a pond with an arching fountain. At the far end of the park, stood the Cathedral of Fate. While not the only temple within Wexwood, this temple of Istus was by far the largest. Enormous stained-glass windows depicted scenes of the Weaver in her various works.
Always keeping an eye out for followers, Jilken took the opportunity to scan the crowd. The elf didn't spot anything unusual, but Lus who had been doing their own scan, pointed out a gnomish child who had been following them for the last ten minutes or so. The bard pointed the kid out to the other, but got distracted when, just past Temple Row, they spotted another food vendor, this one selling paper twists of roasted and spiced nuts. As Jilken had given each of them a few coins, the bard bought three.
Jilken turned to the kid, who was gazing intently in a shop window full of baked goods. Dirty and wearing ragged and patched clothing, the child was most likely belonged to one of the various gangs of street children that inevitably roamed in larger cities like Wexwood.
Smiling to herself, Jilken pulled out two silver coins and rolled them around her fingers. Calling out, "Hey kid," the elf flipped one of the silver pieces to the urchin and beckoned him over. The tail looked startled and confused but approached warily.
Jilken smiled again and said, "You look like someone who knows a lot about this town. Maybe you can tell us a few things."
The gnome child looked even more confused but grunted, "Depends, what you wanna know?"
"First," chuckled Jilken, "A piece of advice. When looking for some to practice certain skills on, you might not want to pick someone who carries as many weapons as I do. Catch my drift?"
Looking at the elf the kid shrugged, "Wasn't going for you." Pointing at Citrene, he added, "They were my mark, but yeah I hear you."
"Those folks are still my friends," said Jilken deadpan, "So rather than trying to steal a few copper that they don't even have, keep that coin and spread the word that we shouldn't be messed with." Holding up the other silver piece, the elf added, "You can earn another if you keep following us and warn off any potential problems. I really don't like killing kids."
The street kid gulped and nodded, "I kin do that."
"Good," nodded Jilken, "So now that we are associates, do you know any fighting pits or other underground fun to be had? Kids like you know everything that happens in town."
Scratching his greasy hair the gnome kid thought for a moment and said, "Well the Chasm down near the eastern gate has the occasional bareknuckle fight night. But the big thing around is the cockfighting ring over at the Twisted Spoon."
Jilken looked confused, "Are they like giant birds or something? I don't think I would have a hard time killing a chicken."
The kid blurted out, "You don't fight them! You get a scalebird and you enter it to fight other birds. Or you make bets on other people's birds." Changing subjects, he added, "So all I gotta do is watch your back and warn off trouble and you'll give me another sil'er."
Jilken nodded, "I might have another errand or question for you, but yeah that's the deal." Spitting in his hand, the kid held it out. Jilken did likewise and shook hands before flipping the coin to the boy.
Lus turned to look at Jilken and asked, "So we're renting our own street urchin?"
"Why not?" the elf replied, shrugging. "It's easier than having to chop off a few fingers when he or one of his friends try something and now we have a native guide to the city."
"That's a good point," agreed the bard. Turning the kid, Lus asked, "So what do you think is the most interesting thing in town? What or who should we go see?"
The boy grinned, "That's easy. Old Granny Mirwu over at the Rainy Boulder. She has the most amazing mushrooms!" That got both Citrene's and Lus' attention and with a laugh, Jilken started leading them toward the old woman's shop.
Arriving in the warehouse district in the westering light, Ell found Marla in the office going over the books. The young man was a little surprised to see her here instead of Port Frost, but the head clerk explained that she had needed to come into town to check the books every now and then.
Presenting him with the letters that had arrived from Haven a couple of weeks ago, she also informed Ell that the gnome he had written about, Master Rightspoon had shown up a week or so ago. She had set him up with a workshop in Port Frost, but had not checked in recently.
Ell also asked about any odd cargos or goods coming through recently, but Marla only shrugged, "Most of the recent cargo has been the usual winter wheat and textiles coming up and ore and metals going back down."
After some more small talk and additional questioning, Ell made his way out into the evening street and headed back toward the Restless Raven and his waiting room.
The Rainy Boulder looked the same as the last time the party had visited. A low building of stone, a verdant layer of moss covering the roof where the spray from the waterfall kept the air thick with moisture. Stepping inside, mushrooms, mosses, and other fungi covered the shelves and tables. The ancient gnome proprietress smiled at their entrance and greeted them, "Ah yes the elf, welcome back. Oh and you've brought some new friends."
Lus smiled back at Mirwu before asking, "This is amazing, what kind of mushrooms do you have?"
The elderly gnome smiled, "That all depends on the effect you are looking for. I have mushrooms that will put you to sleep, mushrooms that will let you breath water. Or perhaps mushrooms that help you move very quickly, or mushrooms that will make you never move again."
"But do you have garlic mushrooms?" asked Citrene.
"Garlic mushroom?" pondered Mirwu, "I though I knew all the varieties of mushroom but I've never heard of that kind? Do you have any samples?"
Lus interrupted, "What is the most tasty mushroom you have?"
"Most tasty...that would have to be the blackmoss mushrooms." Pulling a large glass case off the wall the gnome presented them with a large flat mushroom of a very dark brown. "If you are simply looking for flavor, these would be my personal favorite."
"So what do they do?" asked the bard."
Mirwu snorted, "They taste good...don't need anything else."
"Oh," said Lus, "I was looking for something with a little more interesting side-effects. Which is your favorite mushroom?"
"Well," cackled Mirwu, pulling a small glass vial down from a shelf. "This would be my favorite. Anybody who inhales the spores files into an incontrollable rage."
Lus scoffed, "That doesn't sound like a lot of fun."
"Just think about throwing the vial into a crowded tavern and the bar fight that would break out," cackled the old woman. The party discussed several different mushrooms, but ended up buying a few including one that Mirwu promised would give Lus some interesting visions.
Before leaving Jilken told Mirwu about their experience with the Spores of Ollamaas and asked if she had ever heard of such a thing. The elderly woman looked shocked, but did confirm that they were a magical mushroom that had been created by the Deathspeaker's army during the first Great War. "But that is ancient history. No one alive for the last thousand years knows how to create those."
Jilken shrugged and replied , "Well someone seemed to have learned. We killed him...but I really can't say if he will stay dead." On that ominous note, the party made their farewells and stepping out into the now evening streets began making their way back to towards the inn.
As they walked, Lus ate the magic mushroom. For ten minutes or so nothing really happened, but eventually the bard realized that all of the buildings, trees, and people looked like mushrooms themselves. Resisting the urge to begin trying to eat all of the mushrooms, the bard giggled and enjoyed the trip.
16 Quickening
The next morning Janora and Denye were up early and arranged to have one of the side rooms set up with a breakfast buffet. As the others filtered in and piled plates full, the party gathered around the table and began discussing pleasantries and Lus filling the others in on everything they had seen and done last night.As the food was finishing, Janora spoke up, "So what are folks feeling? I know you," the witch pointed at Ell, "had mentioned some debrief and discussion of future plans. I'll be honest, now that things seem to be settling down a bit, I think I might head back to Bay Moon for a while. It's been a strange, but lovely couple of weeks, but I need to work on a couple of projects."
"That's fair," replied Denye, "It have been good to work with you. I have one or two things to follow up on, but I may be leaving myself for a time."
Janora smiled wryly and said, "I don't say this often, but I regard all of you with fondness."
Denye beak-grinned, "You as well, may our paths cross again."
"I'm not leaving quite yet," laughed Janora, "we still have quite a bit of loot that we need to sort out."
Jilken agreed and added, "I may have a possible lead for myself as well, but aye, we should split up the loot before we go."
With that the party pulled everything out and began sorting through it. The coin was the easiest to split and quickly dealt with. , Denye was able to describe all of the important objects. Most of the material goods the group marked for sale, except of course for those that Denye, using a combination of Detect Magic and ritually casting Identify a number of times to describe were claimed by the various party members.
As the last of the treasures were put away, Lus asked, "What about us? How are we supposed to get home?"
Denye chirpped, "I have glyphs for a teleport circle in that Water Temple. If I can find someone who knows the spell it will be easy. Why don't you come with me to speak to Dawnblossom?"
Saying their goodbyes the three left to find the Tayledras wizard. Jilken was not far behind and with a wave to Ell and Janora went looking for the Shin'a'in encampment and the war leader Quillon. Janora went back up to their room and spent the rest the day relaxing before heading to Bay Moon in the morning. Ell, left sitting in the side chamber, pulled out the two letters and read them again pensively before striding out and up the stairs towards his own room.
Report Date
10 Sep 2021
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