Taking Care of Business Report
General Summary
Taking Care of Business
Wanesun 2321 to Hearthseek 2322
2022-08-24 Back safely at Mav Mayot, the Venatore spent a few days drinking and entertaining their friends, the Council, with their exploits and the dangers of the temple dungeons. The first morning, Wanesun the 18th, saw the departure of the elven princess Tilani and her escort, Sir Jaffin, with an understanding that the Tuathi greatly appreciated their heroics and a promise that the companions would hear from her again.
Princess Tilani
Sir Jaffin
Brannon spoke to the Venatore about letting him, as treasurer, and the rest of the council take over the ordering, purchasing, and selling of magic items, explaining that the Venatore sought to continue keeping pressure on the Temple's cult, while the Council had more time and a bit more influence as leaders, to travel and interact with shops and merchants.
The gnome, Keegen Dugal of Hillsboro had just finished up enchanting Abebane's spear when Brannon put the order in for a bag of holding for Rudy , and a Cloak of Protection for Crasokk. Rudy and his goliath friend Pavuu spent several days in Hillsboro, meeting the people of that town. Rudy asked about local entertainment, while Pavuu seemed to want to learn more about his neighbors. His stature and brusqueness did raise some concerns among the villagers. The two caused quite a bit of gossip for weeks after they left.
Wanesun 21st
So days after their return from the temple, the Venatore decided that the resources available to them in Mav Mayot and the Korlon Hills wasn't enough. They chose to travel to Brineven City, capitol of the grand duchy to look for better equipment and magic. Elyot, intent on crafting magic robes to protect her in the temple dungeons chose to stay behind. Soon a greater discussion of who would be best suited going to the city and conducting the companions business ensued. It was decided that Allamir, Lucca, Lerikan, Balan, Rostam and Rudy would go to the city. Landryn arranged a coach and suites of rooms at the Silver Elm Inn in Brinhenge Park for the team.Fulton Silk and Virion Presfaren Scout Dornath
Wanesun 23rd - 25th
The Council spymaster, Fulton Silk, expressed interest in scouting out Dornath. Known to have ties to the temple, a haven for river pirates and smugglers, and a village for people seeking a place to lie low and disappear for a while, most of the council was fairly certain that Dornath would pose a problem for the domain at some point in the future. Virion decided to follow along, but as an elf, he would not enter the village, but scout the surrounding area. Fulton made his way into the village and noted that the two main buildings were the Riverside Hostel and the Boatman's Tavern and Market. Spending some coin (though not too much) at the Boatman's Tavern, he saw the place full of what he assumed were river pirates. Several smugglers met with the "riverfolk" trading for goods "found" by them. The owner of the tavern, Sloan served drinks while the one server, a woman named Loris, surveyed the crowd as she slipped from one table to the next. What seemed unusual to Fulton was that no riverfolk laid a hand on her, even in jest, she was definitely off limits, and the tavern patrons all knew it. Holding court with a little over a dozen sailors was a man who the sailors all called Captain. His name was Talinth and a stolen glance or two between Loris and Talinth told Fulton all he needed to know.
Captain Talinth
Loris
Meanwhile, Virion circled the village. Though there were maybe a dozen farms and hunter cabins outside the village proper, the main village looked to be only a dozen or so buildings. Dornath couldn't have more than 200 folk living here, and less than half in the village proper. Spying into homes and shacks, he noted that many had arms and armor in easy reach in their homes, an attack would raise a well-manned militia to protect the village, and many of the weapons he spied had seen previous use and were sharpened and ready to go.
Skulking between buildings in the village proper, he noted screams, then crying, coming from the village jail, certainly someone was being tortured inside, and it raised old memories of drow entertainments he had been forced to view. There had to be at least a few dozen thugs and ne'er do wells roaming the village, for what purposes, he couldn't tell. When a cry went up many of the thugs close to the disturbance stepped in. A village guard of 5 showed up on the scene soon after, but the attacker was already a bloodied pulp, and no one saw anything that would help the watch.
Futon made his way to the second largest building, the Riverside Hostel. There were over two dozen rough-looking patrons inside, maybe five or six looked to be locals. The bartender Wulf served watered down ale while the presumed owner, Derek Rennar, looked on from a raised area on one side of the common room. Between Derek and the common room were four guards, who stopped anyone from approaching the man. Two serving wenches Dara and Pearl, floated through the room. One of the patrons grabbed Dara's ass as she swayed past, and nearly lost a finger when she whipped her knife out and pointed it at his wrist. "Wanna keep that blood in yer body?" She asked with a smirk. Careful not to let his guard down, Fulton mixed for a while, noticing that he saw that some of the toughs hid the triangular symbol of the earth temple, and others the start symbol of the fire temple on their clothing or possessions. Derek wore one of the triangular jet rings proudly on his finger.
Wulf
Derek
Dara
While sneaking around the village, Virion caught the attention of an old hag, who introduced herself as Hruda, she was apprentice to Mother Screng, the village herbalist, although she moved much more adeptly than a crone her age had a right to. She noted how odd and dangerous it was for an elf to be wandering through Dornath and invited Virion to their shop. She gave directions and left, cackling. When Virion visited the shop he met Mother Screng, who seemed even older than Hruda, and a bit more circumspect. The two hags told him that the village lord, Thalar Kearne, would disappear on the nights of no moon and cultists would visit ancient caves to the north on those nights, where inhuman sounds sometimes escaped from the darkness. Virion felt uncomfortable with the hags and purchased some giant wasp venom and left.
Hruda
Mother Screng
Fulton, while wandering through town, was making his way past the smithy when the smith, a large man named Otis, greeted him. Otis was a bear of a man with an unkempt and dirty beard. Fulton got the distinct impression that the smith, who didn't seem all that intelligent, was fishing for information about Fulton. Otis spoke of shoeing horses, while asking if Fulton had come in on horse, then how he came to town. He said he wasn't very good with armor or weapons, but if Fulton had a blade or two that needed sharpening, or a sword perhaps, he would be willing to help, best prices in town, actually the only price in town he laughed.
Otis
Having an eventful day, Fulton and Virion met up and compared notes. Adding up the people who could give them problems, they realized that about two dozen temple recruits were at the Hostel, another dozen pirates at the Tavern Market, one to two dozen ne'er do wells around the village at any one time, a dozen or two cultists and if rallied a militia that they could estimate starts at about thirty. Though Dornath is a small village, there are a lot of transients, and the transients are the ones who could put up the biggest fight. As they were talking a female elf approached their campsite. She introduced herself as Mederei, a former companion of Maleon's and Reynulf's. She was a member of Maleon's Misfits before the couple settled down to protect Hillsboro. She asked what the pair was doing here and explained that others kept watch on Dornath as well. As she walked into the darkness, she mentioned that Virion should put that wasp venom to good use.
Mederei
Tales of Brineven City
Wanesun 26th
The trip by coach took five days, passing through Hillsboro, then taking the south road to the bridge at Caer Inthras before heading across the farmlands to Brineven City. Allamir took a deep breath as they entered the city, his family lived in Brinhenge Park and he knew the Silver Elm Inn was truly one of the best inns in the city, catering to nobles and the wealthy. Rostam found himself thrilled to be in civilization again. Lerikan and Lucca had been in cities of the old empire, but found themselves relaxing into the din of the streets, while Balan and Rudy found themselves wide-eyed with the number of people, the sites and the smells. Balan's Krall may have been a good-sized town, but not compared to the duchy's capitol, and Rudy was from a village, wide-eyed, she took in all the sights and sounds. The carriage wended its way through the crowds, mostly on foot, and traveled through the Northgate heading south through the district of Highhaven before turning east to Brinhenge Park. The Silver Elm Inn was truly an impressive sight. It looked like an immensely large tree stump. A portion of the stump was gone, and the carriage entered that way to an area where the companions disembarked. Porters and waiters swept their travel bags away to their rooms, except for Rudy, who wouldn't let go of her bag. The courtyard was the hollow of the tree and the surrounding stump was thick enough to have rooms and suites carved out from it at least two stories high. Proving that it wasn't all dead, the crown of the stump was ringed with trees that had sprouted up from the Great One long ago. As darkness fell, lanterns and magical lights appeared throughout the courtyard, making it seem almost surreal. The innkeeper, and slim elven male named Tuallis greeted the companions, though he appeared to be briefly startled by the catfolk and the dragonborn. They were shown their rooms and asked their orders for dinner. After a brief time freshening up from a long trip, the companions ate dinner as Tuallis asked of their plans and needs. By the next morning, Tuallis had a host of runners and messengers for the companion's use. Allamir sent word to his family, House Kelleth, of his return to the city. Even though Kelleth Manor was located in Brinhenge Park, only minutes from the Silver Elm, Allamir stayed with his companions instead of returning home. He sent runners to the Ducal Court, asking to meet with someone to discuss the Gnarled Hills Lordship and maybe formalize ties with the ducal capitol, and sent out requests that he have his rapier enchanted.
Tuallis
Lucca and Lerikan sent out runners looking for magical items, Lucca sought a greater enchanted shortsword for Crasokk while Lerikan looked for magical plate mail for Adrea Ravensworn. Rudy also sent out runners looking for a cloak of displacement, something she had heard about from stories of heroes gone by.
Rostam and Balan however, went shopping. With the smaller carriages provided by the Silver Elm, Rostam began looking for furnishings. He was taken to a store in Oakenbank, the craftsman district. Here he found the store Chip Off the Old Block. Two brothers seemed to argue incessantly, but the finely carved and constructed wooden furnishings that surrounded them told Rostam he was in the right place. Negotiating for many pieces of fine furniture, Rostam left the store 100 gold lighter. When he touched the items and disappeared into his genie lamp, appearing quickly without the items, he may have stopped the brothers from arguing for the first time in recent memory. From there, the carriage took him to N'dala's Silken Treasures. N'dala was a native of the Golden Coast, which boasted some of the same designs and outfits as the Eastern Kingdom of Durtharr, where Rostam was born. N'dala had many ottomans, throw rugs and curtains, silken pillows and accessories. Rostam was overjoyed and spent quite a bit of gold before entering his genie lamp and returning. Again causing a wide-eyed gawking from the merchant. Hist third visit was to Anselmo's, an antique store specializing in the unique. Finding several works he absolutely had to have, he spent another 50 gold before transferring the items to his genie bottle.
Balan's night was a bit more sedate. He asked about selling his magical shield in return for magical plate mail. Tuallis knew immediately the place for him and sent him by carriage to Pharrel's Shields, an armorer in Oakenbank. Pharrel was a blue dragonborn and immediately deferred to the bronze Balan. After some negotiation, Pharrel agreed to take the shield and work on the plate mail, but he also invited Balan to attend a dragonborn tea ceremony. A teahouse on Neldath Hill was run by a copper dragonborn family, the Megaras. Pharrel made all of the arrangements, and the next night, Balan met them at Megara's Teahouse. Neldath Hill was the center of the University, and many young students frequented the teahouse in an attempt to learn a different culture. Balan, Pharell and Alva Megara conducted the old ceremonies while her husband Gorlin attended the other patrons. Through conversation, Balan learned that Gorlin the younger attended Neldath University and discovered he had the gift of sorcery. Young Gorlin was now looking to go out into the world of adventuring.
Allamir took a different journey. Being a native of the city, one morning he took at carriage to Neldath Hill and made some inquiries for Elyot. She sought to sell her wand of scorching ray and acquire a spell and a cantrip, along with some blank books and some diamond dust. After convincing them that it was for Elyot, Neldath University was free to offer a scroll of the cantrip Amanuesnsis to their former librarian, and the wizard Arugal, Elyot's former mentor in the magical arts provided Allamir with a copy of the Scrying spell. Both the university and Arugal gave Allamir magically sealed letters to deliver to Elyot.
Jhaness
Rudy and Lucca got bored with the Silver Elm, deciding to hit their roots, they made their way to the rougher side of town, Southbank. There they found the Witch's Bride Tavern. Its owner Maraal had to come over to them and ask them to calm down. They had a rowdy night, and after a few hours were tipsy, but not yet drunk. They stumbled back to the Silver Elm on foot, with Lucca bumping into people almost as if on purpose. His coin purse a bit heavier on returning, than when he left.
Balan spent the second week exploring the city. He found a curious statue in Brinhenge Park called Dragon Monument. It was a fine carving of a dragon, silver in Balan's estimation, but there was not plaque or history. He was determined to research the monument and the dragon.
By the end of the second week, Allamir had received a visit from his sister Sevarra, serving the downtrodden of the city. He was able to speak with a minor functionary at court, Hallan Lamroth, who agreed to a continuation of talks to further refine the relationship between the grand duchy and the Gnarled Hills lordship. Lucca finally was able to acquire a greater shortsword enchantment for Crasokk, Adrea's enchanted plate mail was completed, along with Balan's enchanted plate. Rudy's feather of feather falling was also done.
On the last night before leaving, Rudy and Lucca made their way on foot to Neldath Hill and Jesslin's Wonders. The single door beckoned, though Rudy only intended to rearrange her shop and cause a bit of grief. On examining the door however, Rudy must have set off a magical alarm, the street blared with the words, "Thief! Thief! Guards!" Hearing the local watch approaching the two companions quietly slinked off into a nearby alleyway and made their escape.
The companions made their way back to Mav Mayot on the 10th of Hearthseek and arrived back on the 15th.
Meeting of the Council, Hearthseek 2322
The Council of the Gnarled Hills met early in Hearthseek, after the new Year's festivities were complete. The council meeting lasted a few day, and while Landryn Caldett was in attendance, unlike previous council meetings where he took a guiding role, he sat and watched the council govern itself. The domain was stable and required little attention to its stability and no leaders were reassigned. The Council formerly declared ownership of the Ironstar Hills, requiring more patrols and a wider net of influence. Abebane suggested a road connecting Dymrak Village to the existing road, while Brannon off-loaded gems, jewels, and objects acquired from the Temple to support the construction of Mav Mayot. Landryn then stood before the council. He asked for permissions to build Caldett Manor in Dymrak Village. It would be his home and the de-facto home of the council should they visit the settlement. His family would sponsor it, requiring nothing from the council. The motion was approved. The council also voted to clear the lands around Mav Mayot for a settlement, which they named Kamin, a residential neighborhood was built in Kamin, and another built in Dymrak. The council then heard reports from Diplomat Allamir's time in Brineven City, he was granted leave to build an embassy building in the city, but needed funding. The council waited on its decision. The council then voted to commit the final funding to Mav Mayot. Though it would take three months to complete, the fortress and surrounding settlement would become the center of the domain. The council adjourned noting that a groups of companions would need to explore the hills on the eastern side of Fell Pass, but that's a story for another time.
Lerikan Brightwater
Rostam Qajar
Fulton Silk
Allamir Kelleth
Balan
Lucca Antinori
Rudy
Virion Presfaren
Report Date
05 Sep 2022
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