Chapter 13: A Ghostly Glow

[Brian]

Condign takes the note from the dwarf. After checking to make sure it is the same one he had handed over, he says, "Assuredly, my lord. If I ever return to the realm of the dead and encounter this man's corpse, I will instruct him to never again deface a 'notarized document.' And no thank you, I know the way."

Condign returns to the others and takes the portion of gold he owes for his armor. "We may as well save the trip to Silverwall for last. What shall it be next, the little shop of wonders or back to the armorer?"

[Ken]

"I opt for the Splendors of the South!" says Belarin. "If I can't find anything interesting there, then perhaps the armorer can enhance this." He taps his new armor, then yelps as his hand hits a particularly pointy spike. "Ouch... oh, that's good armor."

[Jeff]

Just then, one of the outside doors swings open. Along with the sound of the rain you hear angry voices shouting at one another. It sounds like the Kundarak guards are in heated discourse with a small group trying to get inside. Kundarak clerks look nervously up and eye each other. A few guards on the inside step forward, weapons at the ready. You can't get a good look at who has the dwarves all in arms, but a few moments later you see a figure materialize out of thin air, appearing in the center of the main lobby of the bank. The way she appears is instantly familiar to Kal—it is much akin to a Dimension Door spell.

Rainwwater falls from her cloak and quickly forms a puddle beneath her. She quickly throws back her hood and you can see a glow fading from he eyes. As some of the dwarf guards hurry forward to intersect her, she taps at her shoulder as if indicating a dragonmark you cannot see, but winces in obvious pain as well. She is somewhat out of breath as she says to the Kundarak retainers, "I am Soranda d'Orien! My companions and I only seek asylum for a short while. We are under attack." The guards relax somewhat but form a semicircle around her anyway, and then they fall into a more hushed conversation you cannot make out.

Kal and Belarin recognize this Orien heir from the Coin Lords' gala, though they do not know her personally. She was prominent among the House Orien group in attendance.

[Ken]

"Dead body outside the armorer's," mutters Belarin to his friends, "and attacks here? Probably not unrelated."

In a louder voice, he says, "Who? Who is attacking you?"

[Jeff]

The Orien heir's attention snaps up when Belarin speaks. She meets his eyes, then she looks to his companions, one to another, and then locks down on Kal. Her eyes narrow and her head tilts every so slightly, taking sudden, wary interest in your party. She does not answer Belarin, but keeps speaking quietly with the Kundarak guards even as she continues to eye your party.

Kal has felt that look before—the sort usually exchanged between Tharashk and Deneith agents in their cool rivalry, particularly when both are competing for the same client. But he suspects it may also have something to do with standing at the center of the ballroom and being the last one to speak to the sphinx Argushem before the gala ended abruptly.

[Dave W.]

"Or perhaps why you are being attacked?"

Turning to the Kundarak bank officer, "Is there a reason to refuse temporary sanctuary?"

[Ken]

Belarin whispers to his companions, particularly Kal and Condign, "I just had an unpleasant thought. Krez's attack on the Merrow Down may have been more than revenge. What if he's making his big move, targeting every potential rival for the Eye? In weather like this, he could move about as freely as if it were midnight!"

[Darren]

Jumping back for a moment...

"Yes," Kal says, "the Splendors of the South sounds....splendid." He smiles at his joke, not noticing that no one else thinks it's funny.

And forward...

"My lady," Kal says, stepping closer to the Orien women, "my friend asked you a question. Rudeness is unseemly in one of our status." Stepping even closer, Kal lowers his voice even more. "And after all, we have much in common, don't we?" He locks eyes with her and waits for her response.


_____________________
Would it be possible to have a Perception check to see if she's being honest about being attacked and/or her fear seems genuine?

[Jeff]

Kal cannot get that close to the Orien woman—certainly not close enough for private words with her. Dwarves nearly surround her. And, one by one as they are vetted, Orien retainers are admitted into the lobby. Each of them looks travel-ready and armed, but certainly harried. A couple of them have noticeable bruises.

The Kundaraks ignore Adamant, but they do eye the party as if to make sure they're not a new problem.

Your overall sense is that trust is becoming hard to come by in this race, even amidst people who would normally be coolly in a state of mild allegiance. It feels uncomfortably like wartime—a sensation familiar to most of you.

---

No, not nearly enough interaction for such a check. Anyway, that would be insight, not Perception.

[Dave W.]

May 3, 2016 19:00:41 GMT -4 Jeff said:

The Kundaraks ignore Adamant, but they do eye the party as if to make sure they're not a new problem..

Adamant says nothing more but spreads his arms and shows his open palms, a sign of peace. He steps back a step.

[Joe]

Streko quietly watches all that transpires, concerned that there will be little room to maneuver if hostilities break out. He shuffles up to Kalarian and speaks in a loud whisper, using his birth language. "Perhaps getting on their good side and convincing them to join us, or at least share information regarding the current affairs of the race, as it were, might be wise. Safety in numbers and all that."

[Dave B.]

Shorak keeps back from the newcomers and the guards, but stays alert for any danger that may be forthcoming. He waits to see how the situation develops.

[Darren]

Kal considers Streko's words, then shakes his head. "There is no more to be gained here. We cannot get involved in everything that takes place in this city. If she is a rival, then let us be glad she is delayed. If she is a would-be ally, let us be glad she is currently safe. Either way, we have our own business to attend to and should be moving on."

[Brian]

"Agreed," says Condign. "We need to be fully prepared before a fight is forced on us." To Belarin, he adds: "I would feel safer in armor. Could we finish that business first?"

[Ken]

Belarin nods. "Let's be off."

[Dave W.]

Adamant moves to the doors, "I'll resume the tail of the procession."

[Jeff]

The Kundarak guards move aside to allow you to depart. As you go, you can see the Orien agents staring after you with continued interest.

And then back in the gloom and the rain you go. Though the streets are still largely vacant, eyes watch from windows and peer from alleys. Shorak is aware of them. It's not the first time he's felt eyes upon him after leaving the bank. But for that very reason, the Kundarak dwarves generally police the vicinity near their vaults—they do not want a reputation of their customers being robbed shortly after leaving house grounds.

Shorak is accustomed to evading thieves, but it's become a new task of his watching out for so conspicuous a group. Adamant, in particular, stands out as the tallest and most obvious of the party. Nevertheless, he leads the group uneventfully back to the Black Iron. There Condign, with several bags of gold now in hand, is able to complete his earlier transaction with Hular, the half-giant smith. His daughter leads the tiefling to a room for privacy, where is able to don his new armor. As each component is strapped onto his body, he feels it fit nicely even though the weight is slightly greater than what he's become accustomed to.

Outside the "changing room," the half-giant Solarca stands, ready to assist if needed. "If you don't mind my asking," she says to Condign, "Is your company wrapped up in the scavenger hunt? I have heard several customers speak of it."

Meanwhile, the rest of the group is free to discuss where to go next.

---

Brian: Are there still items listed in Condign's inventory not actually being carried by him? Just want to see if all is still as indicated.

[Brian]

Condign smiles as the familiar weight of armor settles on his shoulders and back. This is how a warrior should arm himself. He straps his belt around his waist and tucks the mace in next to the braid of hair. He hated to leave his sword at the Inn, but he understood with a fighter's intuition that he would not have the capacity to carry armor and both weapons without fatigue becoming a problem. He runs his hand over the metal plating. Yes, this will work nicely.

"Your shop has excellent craftsmanship," he tells Solarca. "I would tell my friends, if I had any apart from those gathered with me." Then he pauses, considering her question. "This town is consumed with the scavenger hunt, it seems. That makes us all involved in one fashion or another." Thunder cracks, and he is forced to wait for the sound to recede. "I heard someone sunk a ship in the harbor, reportedly over this ridiculous hunt."

__________________________________________________________

I'd played with Condign's items before we left the Inn. I knew he would run into an encumberance problem, so I decided to leave the sword and any other items I deemed unnecessary until I got his weight carried just below encumbered level. Also, don't forget that Condign get a +1 to his AC when he is wearing armor.

[Jeff]

"Did they?" Solarca says after Condign mentions a ship. She doesn't seem to know anything about it.

"I suppose that is true, though. Everyone is involved. Business has picked up in the last two days alone, ever since...well, the storm began. And whatever happened at Lorsmarch Palace that night." She pauses. "You're not from this city, and by your accent not even the Five Nations. Am I right? I envy you. You no doubt have somewhere to go, and enemies to fight."

---

EDit: AC +1 bonus from fighter class feature accounted for now.

[Brian]

"I am from far away," Condign replies softly. "So far it seems like the other side of the world." He suddenly shakes off his melancholy and smiles. "Yes, I must be going. Thank you for your time, my lady. You have been most kind."

Condign leaves the changing area and rejoins his friends. "Time for the little shop of wonders," he tells them. "We need to outfit the rest us."

With a final, grateful nod to Hular, he escorts everyone outside, Shorak and his keen vision at his side.

[Dave B.]

"Let's go to the temple after the Splendors of the South. If we need to, we can shop for healing potions while Adamant attends to his devotions." Shorak says as he leads the party to the mystical shop, while keeping an eye out for any trouble that may affect their progress. The half-drow moves smoothly through the rough weather, seeming to easily find himself under awnings and other overhangs, so as not to get overly drenched.

[Jeff]

To the very southwestmost corner of Marketplace Shorak leads the party, finding the driest route possible. At times, this means going through a tunnel only one level below the surface—which is about the only level he's comfortable venturing to, as the sewers of Stormreach are vast, labyrinthine, and full of dangers—and then back up again. You see places where the flooding has gotten so bad, whole sections have been swallowed up entirely. The holes for water to drain in becoming getting fewer.

As you approach your destination, you encounter a group of men and women walking boldly through the street wearing only thin robes now plastered to their bodies by water. Some are human, some are half-orcs, and one is a handsome male elf. All of them are barefoot and their only adornments are long strands of seaweed. Streko and Adamant recognize followers of the Devourer, arguably the most feared of the Dark Six (certainly around the Thunder Sea).

"Submit to the storm!" the elf calls out to your party and the other cultists repeat the chant.

"Submit to the storm!"

"Submit to the storm!"

Their leader, a human woman who's taller than the half-orcs, points at Shorak and the rest of you as you look for the best way around them. "Join us? There is safety in his wrath!"

[Darren]

Kal looks over at Belarin. "Odd occurrences do have a way of bringing out the crazies, don't they?" Kal steps forward. "My friends, we simply need to get where we are going. Today is not the best for a sermon. Perhaps we can talk another time?" With that, Kal begins to move forward, intent on passing them by.

[Brian]

"Please make way," Condign says over the noise of the storm. Water dripping from his helm, he pushes forward with Kal, positioning himself as a bodyguard would to protect his lord.

[Ken]

"Stormreach likes cults, doesn't it?" says Belarin quietly to Shorak, remembering their encounter in town with the fire cultists.

"By the way, Shorak," he whispers as they move past the chanting cultists, "now that I think of it, in retrospect, do the actions of those fire cultists make any more sense to you now?"

[Dave B.]

May 5, 2016 15:03:15 GMT -4 Ken said:

"Stormreach likes cults, doesn't it?" says Belarin quietly to Shorak, remembering their encounter in town with the fire cultists.

"By the way, Shorak," he whispers as they move past the chanting cultists, "now that I think of it, in retrospect, do the actions of those fire cultists make any more sense to you now?"

Shorak keeps Condign between him and the cultists as they pass. Looking to Belarin, he whispers back to him, "None whatsoever, to be honest. But, the actions of cultists never make sense to me, really."

[Jeff]

"You have denied him!" the leader howls, then laughs and shakes her head. "He will not forget, or ever forgive!" The Devourer cultists continue past, though, and do not accost you, making gleeful noises until the sound of the rain swallows them up.

Finally you approach the high southwestern wall of the Marketplace district, right near where a tall stone threshold opens into Southwatch (it is in there some of you ventured several days ago, journeying to the Black Freighter). You can see that open gate, and though it no longer has people idly passing through on errands, you do see, unmistakably, a squadron of Emerald Claw soldiers.

There are eight of them, standing in a wide military formation, effectively blocking entry into Southwatch on the ground. They're spaced far enough apart that a spell attack would not likely hit all of them—not uncommon for soldiers when expecting to deal with spellcasters. In the gloom and the rain you can't make out any words among them, if there are any. They seem wary of anyone who would approach but don't look like they're watching anything beyond the gate itself.

Von Ruthvek’s Splendors of the South is easy to spot, since the sign declaring its name is practically glowing between two blazing braziers that jut from the stone wall and defy the constantly-falling water. There are two entrances to the shop: a ground level one and another at the top of a spiral stairway winding up above it to a second door. It looks like the ground level is closed, though several shaded windows glow with light. Standing at the base of the stairway is a cloak-wrapped hulk of a figure with no weapon. Standing eight feet tall, easily as tall as the half-giants you've recently seen, it actually looks like chains have been wrapped around his body so as to keep the cloak on, but they don't bind his limbs. The hood is voluminous.

"That...man...isn't normally there, my lord," Rinti says to Kal, obviously afraid of the figure.

As you near, coming within easy line of sight of the Emerald Claw knights—but again, they don't seem especially interested in anything not approaching the gate— the cloaked figure points your way. "Customers with coin only," he says in an utterly emotionless and monotone voice.

[Brian]

Condign withdraws the money from his pouch and shows the man: eight copper and six silver. "To be fair," he says, "you did not specify what kind of coins."

[Darren]

May 6, 2016 0:05:17 GMT -4 Jeff said:

As you near, coming within easy line of sight of the Emerald Claw knights—but again, they don't seem especially interested in anything not approaching the gate— the cloaked figure points your way. "Customers with coin only," he says in an utterly emotionless and monotone voice.

Kal does not pause in his step. He jingles the heavy purse at his belt. "That won't be a problem," he says as he walks past the giant.

[Jeff]

The tall chain-wrapped figure steps aside, making no further utterance—not even a grunt of acknowledgement. When you pass him by, those who look at him glimpse gray flesh and many...stitches? Rinti clings to Kal's arm for a moment as they pass the hulk.

Up the stairs, and through the front door you go...

Von Ruthvek’s Splendors of the South is certainly larger on the inside than it appeared on the outside, though it's really just a series of rooms rather than a single larger space—though the ceilings are surprisingly high. You pause at the entry when you first walk in, because it's just so much to take in. Your first thought is that this is a small museum, not a shop. Back in Sharn, Morgrave University is said to boast galleries of Xen'drik antiquities. It seems the only thing keeping the two places from being direct rivals is the Thunder Sea itself!

Though somewhat cluttered, it's all very organized. It looks like a place where expeditioners into Xen'drik's lost civilizations come to sell their finds rather than carting them off to Khorvaire. Stone tablets, conical tents, slabs of jade, ancient coins, well-weathered exotic weapons, pottery, figurines, strange timekeeping devices, furniture, gamepieces...just a few of the things you see here.

There are other customers milling about. They don't look like idle art collectors. They look somewhat hurried, and all of them are armed. One particular group seems to dominate the clientele at present. No insignia or uniform identifies them, but their similar equipment, armor (leather and chain mail), weapons, and race (human) suggests they are part of a unified group. One of them, a middle-aged man, is speaking with a very distracted-looking gray-haired gnome. The gnome, who stands upon a dais next to a bank of tables in the center of the shop's largest room, is dressed smartly, and for a gnome she looks exceedingly old—and cranky. Her black eyes dart this way and that even as the man speaks with her. She looks twitchy.

"That's her," Rinti says meekly, "That's Von Ruthvek, the owner. Maybe best if she doesn't see me here." The girl stands deliberately behind Kal.

Various customers take note of your group, but no one approaches.

---

Keeping the description brief (for me). If you want to look more closely at a type of thing, just say so.