Chapter 13: A Ghostly Glow

[Darren]

"Worry not, Rinti," Kal says to the girl. "You are not a child here. You are a retainer of House Deneith. You represent me and the House here. Stand tall and be proud. No one can question your legitimacy if you don't let them." Taking his own advice, Kal pushes up his sleeves to expose his dragonmark and strides confidently forward. "Who do I speak with about acquiring some of these wonders?" he says loudly for anyone who will answer.

[Dave W.]

May 6, 2016 13:20:26 GMT -4 Darren said:

"Worry not, Rinti," Kal says to the girl. "You are not a child here. You are a retainer of House Deneith. You represent me and the House here. Stand tall and be proud. No one can question your legitimacy if you don't let them." Taking his own advice, Kal pushes up his sleeves to expose his dragonmark and strides confidently forward. "Who do I speak with about acquiring some of these wonders?" he says loudly for anyone who will answer.

Adamant waits for Kal to stride forward and whispers to Rinti, "I usually try to slump a bit to look unimposing and go unnoticed. Kal has a different method." One eye-gem again attempts the wink.

Adamant stands near by, trying not to be too distracted. Not being a caster, he leaves the serious decisions to his betters. His attention is however drawn to the figurines; perhaps due to a kinship between anthropomorphic constructs.

[Jeff]

Rinti straightens herself and stands taller, though she doesn't exactly move around Kal into full view yet.

Rinti winks back at Adamant, then smiles: "I don't think you cango unnoticed, Adamant. Not really." She pauses. "I'm glad."

May 6, 2016 13:20:26 GMT -4 Darren said:

"Who do I speak with about acquiring some of these wonders?" he says loudly for anyone who will answer.

All eyes flit to Kal immediately. The gnome's eyes narrow. "Myself, young lord, when I am unoccupied with any customer who preceded your arrival." Her tone is strained politeness. Cranky indeed.

After she speaks, you all see something moving, almost squirrel-like, around a thick stone column that's hanging with small mirrors and other wall fixtures. When it stops, you see it looking back at you: a little gray-skinned humanoid that looks like a mixture of mineral and animal. It has wings, nimble digits, and when you look back at it, it opens its mouth in what is either a yawn or a soft hiss. Only vaguely does it resemble a reptile, but it has no scales and a mammal-like demeanor. All of you have seen a homonculus before—a sort of familiar-like construct created by arcanists. Artificer's usually craft their own variety of these things. This is the sort who is made to serve a wizard.

Kal feels Tangat stir beside him, and the dog starts to amble off, sniffing and wagging his tail. Looking in the direction the dog is going, Kal sees at the base of the same stone column is a food bowl, the sort left out for dogs or cats.

Adamant, upon walking among the nearby gallery of statues, finds them fascinating. Most of them are rather small, looking like garden statuary, while others are man-sized. Most of them are weather-worn, their edges eroded by long exposure to the weather, and it makes them hard to completely identify. Most of them are humanoid. Two of them stand out: One is that of a goat-legged satyr, and the detail of his body is still largely intact; a recent acquisition? The other is that of an armored-looking warrior that holds no weapons. When Adamant stands close, he sees the figure is almost his own height and its armor is carved to look very thick. No, not just thick; it is the armor. It must be a golem. But its armor design...sure looks reminiscent of a warforged.

It's clear to Shorak that some of the customers—again, from this unified company—are roving the aisles as if very specifically looking for something. They're not merely browsing.

[Ken]

Belarin says, "Finally. My sort of place. Care to walk with me, Good Streko?"

He looks around for jewelry, rings, and pendants ... and he calls upon his fey talents to look for arcane auras.

_________________

Eldritch Sight is on.

[Brian]

Condign wanders amiably among the collection, hands at his sides so he doesn't accidentally knock something over. His wanderings often bring him close to the other shoppers, where he tries to overhear any conversations.

[Dave B.]

Shorak furtively watches the group's search, trying to discern what they might be looking for, as he slowly browses the shelves, not expecting to be drawn to anything in particular. Potions are what's on his agenda and he doubts those would just be sitting out on the shelves.

[Joe]

May 6, 2016 15:19:04 GMT -4 Ken said:

Belarin says, "Finally. My sort of place. Care to walk with me, Good Streko?"

He looks around for jewelry, rings, and pendants ... and he calls upon his fey talents to look for arcane auras.

_________________

Eldritch Sight is on.

"Absolutely. And, while I'm here, perhaps I can get some of these items we found looked at in terms of their value. Let's see..." He combs through his memories and, nodding, reaches back into his haversack. He removes a jade griffon figurine. "Never did manage to figure out if this was magical or how much it might be worth in trade here. I may need your assistance, my friend, in the dark art of...what is it? Ah, yes, haggling." Streko shivers and scrunches up his face in mock disdain. "I'm sure these gnomes will be happy to trade or quote prices. Perhaps they have garments of sufficient magical charm to protect me. Or another ring, perhaps? Oh yes, indeed, let's look, closely, dear Belarin. Nothing soothes the soul so much as ensuring those who have died or assisted in your safety are honored appropriately by making yourself harder to kill, wouldn't you agree?"

[Darren]

Kal nods at the gnome and stands with his arms folded as though he means to wait. Gradually, he starts to stroll along the aisles, his hands moving to be folded behind his back. As he glances at the other shoppers, one hand finds its way to the hilt of Skyfang, tucked among the straps around Kal's right leg....

_________________
Kal will cast Detect Thoughts on one of the shoppers who is clearly searching for something specific.

[Jeff]

When Belarin uses his fey power to open his arcane sight, he finds a myriad of soft lights spring up across the store around objects large and small. Most are faint, remnants of preservative and abjuration magics that probably gave them greater resistance against breakage, or weather.

But in immediate response, though, a mirror affixed to a column near him brightens in its own magical intensity and an image of himself appears within it as though he were standing directly in front of it, even though he's not standing there. Then it fades. When it does, Belarin finds that he is likewise illuminated in a magical aura. It's divination, like the magic he used himself. He seems to have been tagged with using detection magic. But only he and anyone else using such magic can even see this.

The gnome proprietress looks over at him, as does the homonculus. No one else seems to notice.

Condign and Shorak begin to wander.

---

Individually, if Belarin looks at something, I'll tell you if it's magic or not.

I'll post again later regarding Kal's spell. (Long weekend ended on a scary note, but all seems much better at present: My wife took a nasty spill down some basement steps, hit her head, blacked out, and many hours later after many scans she's home doing well but is very achey and on meds. I'm home today to keep an eye on her and the kiddo.

[Dave W.]

May 6, 2016 14:52:37 GMT -4 Jeff said:

When Adamant stands close [to the armored statue], he sees the figure is almost his own height and its armor is carved to look very thick. No, not just thick; it is the armor. It must be a golem. But its armor design...sure looks reminiscent of a warforged.

"Condign!" Adamant shouts, eye-gems a bright blue, "Come see..." The warforged tries to mimic the statue's pose, "Do you see the resemblance?"

Then quietly, more thoughtfully, "It makes one think..."

[Brian]

Hearing Adamant call out, Condign turns, his gold eyes searching for danger. Then he sees his warforged friend posing next to a statue and his stance eases. His hand moves away from his mace.

"I think you have been too long in the rain," he tells Adamant. He peers more closely at the statue. "There is, though, a resemblance. Perhaps you have a long-lost brother someone in Eberron."

[Ken]

Belarin inclines his head at the gnome proprietress and taps his index and middle fingers to his head in salute, and continues looking.

"Indeed," he says to Streko, "I'm more than happy to help with the haggling. Let's see what we can find."

Belarin keeps his enhanced sight on the lookout for necklaces, pendants, or even rods that might carry some enchantment.

[Jeff]

Quick note: I edited my post above to expand a tiny bit about Belarin's detection. Forgot to before.

While waiting for the gnome, Kal sees a sign hanging above her counter: IDENTIFICATIONS 125 GOLD PIECES

Kal casts his spell when a woman walks out of one aisle and proceeds into the next one, well within his range. Doing so is not as conspicuous as he might have wanted, for it requires verbal and somatic gestures, and even grasping the hilt of Skyfang as a focus for his sorcery. Easily, Kal gleans the primary thoughts in the woman's mind: Third, the giants' wheel of water / For keeping time, where lives the Binder's daughter She keeps repeating this in her head as she walks, eyes searching.

Instantly, the homonculus leaps from its perch on the wall, glides through the air, and then reattaches itself on the ceiling directly above Kal. A harmless cone of light emitts from its eyes, shining in sparkling green upon Kal. Even more eyes turn his way now.

"Excuse me," the gnome proprietress says to her customer, interrupting him. She stoops behind her counter, then rises again with a handheld sign that looks like it might have been knocked over, and she places it back on her countertop. It reads: SPELLCAST ELSEWHERE PLEASE

The woman whose thoughts Kal has detected spins on her heels and regards the gnome, her sign, then Kal with the cone of green light upon him. Kal must decide whether to shift his detection to someone else to glean their thoughts, probe deeper within the woman's mind (which she would become aware of), or cease the spell altogether. Other than some of his own companions, Kal sees the man the gnome is speaking with and one other customer, another man who is part of the same group. He has to be able to see his target to use the spell on them, and these are the only ones he can see at the moment.

Meanwhile, Belarin sees only larger objects are displayed on shelves across the store (or by themselves, in the case of those objects too big to be shelved). However, there are a few glass cases arranged around the owner's desk which display jewelry, pendants, wands, rods, and various talismans.

[Jeff]

Meanwhile, as Condign speaks with Adamant where the warforged stands next to his stony counterpart, they both hear the scuff of hard-soled boots nearby. Then a figure walks around the corner and into their aisle, looking like she's both browsing and listening to all around her. She wears the chain mail, green tunic and cape, and half-faceplate helmet of the Order of the Emerald Claw. And with a start, Condign recognizes the young knight he met and spoke with briefly at the Coin Lords' gala up on the balcony. He remembers their parting words as well.

She stops walking, hand quickly going to the hilt of her longsword on instinct, then she releases it, trying to force a calm upon herself. She obviously remembers him, too. Condign knows his appearance is hard to forget among humans.

"Tiefling," is all she says in greeting, then looks between Condign and Adamant.

No one else is aware of her yet, or if she is here alone.

[Jeff]

Shorak, in his aisle wanderings, certainly finds no potions; if they sell any here, they're probably locked away or displayed where customers cannot freely pick at them. When he does pass by one member of the other group here—a surprisingly older man who looks like he's in dire need of a night's rest—the fellow nods and offers a grim smile in greeting. The man looks like he's on a desperate search, but he seems genuinely friendly. One of the few times Shorak's not felt instant suspicion from another person involved in the hunt.

Then Shorak's eye is caught by a little gleam of light. He looks up and sees a familiar object hanging from a hook by a string: In the Common tongue, it would be called a sleep-safer or nightmare-ward, but the Drow meaning is more like "ward against the dream hag." Fashioned from a large constrictor snake skull and what appears to be a ruby-like gemstone embedded in its mouth and eyes (but Shorak knows is really a rare type of petrified tree sap), the talismans are known to be an extreme allergen to night hags. While such hags were not an everyday problem for the drow, their folk stories were filled with cautionary tales against hags of all types, who laired in the deep jungles with other dangerous fey. The night hag was considered the most dangerous, for they could disturb not merely the dreams of sleepers but even the reveries and trances of the drow. Sleep-safers were hung near the resting places of drow children to guard them against such terrors. But Shorak knows that sleep-safers are also distinctively a Arus'tar invention; they did share the secret of their creation with some of the other Vulkoori tribes, though.

Shorak's not seen one in many years.

[Brian]

Condign nods at the Claw soldier. "My lady."

[Jeff]

The Emerald Claw knight's face twitches at the perceived sarcasm.

[Dave W.]

May 10, 2016 9:31:04 GMT -4 Jeff said:

[The Emerald Claw warrior] stops walking, hand quickly going to the hilt of her longsword on instinct, then she releases it, trying to force a calm upon herself. She obviously remembers him, too. Condign knows his appearance is hard to forget among humans.

"Tiefling," is all she says in greeting, then looks between Condign and Adamant.

No one else is aware of her yet, or if she is here alone.

Adamant moves out of the clownish pose and stands next to his tiefling friend. "Clearly a friend of yours," Adamant places his left hand on Condign's shoulder.

"Please Lady Claw, this is not the place for violence. We are simply shopping."

[Brian]

Condign shrugs off Adamant's hand. "The garlic and silver are located at the rear of the store," he tells the Claw soldier, his expression tight. "You may wish to consider procuring some."

[Dave W.]

"Condign." Adamant moves between the two warriors. "This is not the place."

"Did you leave your reason in Dolurrh? We have a lot to accomplish today... too much to waste our energy in picking meaningless fights."

[Brian]

Condign's eyes fix Adamant's. "Do you call what happened to the Merrow Down meaningless? The lives lost?" He hesitates, then adds, "They were your friends, too."

[Darren]

May 10, 2016 5:58:55 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Quick note: I edited my post above to expand a tiny bit about Belarin's detection. Forgot to before.

While waiting for the gnome, Kal sees a sign hanging above her counter: IDENTIFICATIONS 125 GOLD PIECES

Kal casts his spell when a woman walks out of one aisle and proceeds into the next one, well within his range. Doing so is not as conspicuous as he might have wanted, for it requires verbal and somatic gestures, and even grasping the hilt of Skyfang as a focus for his sorcery. Easily, Kal gleans the primary thoughts in the woman's mind: Third, the giants' wheel of water / For keeping time, where lives the Binder's daughter She keeps repeating this in her head as she walks, eyes searching.

Instantly, the homonculus leaps from its perch on the wall, glides through the air, and then reattaches itself on the ceiling directly above Kal. A harmless cone of light emitts from its eyes, shining in sparkling green upon Kal. Even more eyes turn his way now.

"Excuse me," the gnome proprietress says to her customer, interrupting him. She stoops behind her counter, then rises again with a handheld sign that looks like it might have been knocked over, and she places it back on her countertop. It reads: SPELLCAST ELSEWHERE PLEASE

The woman whose thoughts Kal has detected spins on her heels and regards the gnome, her sign, then Kal with the cone of green light upon him. Kal must decide whether to shift his detection to someone else to glean their thoughts, probe deeper within the woman's mind (which she would become aware of), or cease the spell altogether. Other than some of his own companions, Kal sees the man the gnome is speaking with and one other customer, another man who is part of the same group. He has to be able to see his target to use the spell on them, and these are the only ones he can see at the moment.

Meanwhile, Belarin sees only larger objects are displayed on shelves across the store (or by themselves, in the case of those objects too big to be shelved). However, there are a few glass cases arranged around the owner's desk which display jewelry, pendants, wands, rods, and various talismans.

My mistake...for some reason, when I looked at the sheet, the components for the spell just said, "A piece of copper" instead of V,S,M. Anyway....

Kal smiles harmlessly as a few balls of colored light dance around his fingers. He looks around at the other shoppers and the gnome staring at him, then appears to notice the cone of light, then with a shocked expression he looks back down at the balls of light. "This?" he says, all innocence. "Sorry! I was just trying to pass the time while I wait my turn..." The lights wink out, and Kal goes back to folding his arms and strolling aimlessly around the shop.

Although he wanders down another aisle, he tries to keep the shopping woman in sight while also looking for anything that might resemble a mill or a water wheel....

Kal will drop Detect Thoughts and quickly cast Prestidigitation...and then release that....

[Jeff]

Before Kal gets very far, a young man—practically an adolescent—in the same armor as his companions comes rushing out of an aisle, clutching what appears to be a large stone gear. From his strain, it's obviously quite heavy. "Captain—!" he begins, but goes quiet when he sees your party also in the shop now. He goes up to the older man talking with the gnome and they exchange whispered words. The older man turns back to the gnome. "How much for this piece, mistress?" he asks, not trying to sound as conspiratorial as his young companion.

The gnome nods. "That is merely one component, but the remaining parts of this clepsydra were never recovered."

"A clespydra...?" he says, seeking clarification.

"A clepsydra is a water clock, yes. This one was used by the Nujahda giants centuries before they descended into the hill giants of that region. I will sell this to you for seventy-five galifars. It is extremely old, but has no companion pieces and that limits its value."

The captain frowns, but agrees. He withdraws some platinum and gold coins from his pocket, counts them out, and hands them to her. Word gets quickly around among the company. "This has to be it," someone says.

"We'll soon find out," the captain says with a grim smile. They gather and ready themselves to leave. The burliest among them steps over and takes the stone gear from the younger one, and slips it into a huge but otherwise empty travel pack.

The gnome stares at the group with an inscrutable expression, then turns to regard Kal at last. "How may I help you, Lord...?" The gnome stops, as if minding herself from saying d'Deneith aloud with practiced discretion.

Meanwhile, the Emerald Claw knight remains calm at Condign's words. Her face doesn't change when the tiefling mentions the Merrow Down. There is no need to cross blades in this place. This is not a field of battle. This is civilian's ground, and this shop is a fixture of this city. I have too much respect to insult Von Ruthvek by slaying an aggressor in her shop."

The commotion at the center of the store does district her, and she quickly turns away from tiefling and warforged both.

A few moments later, she emerges from an aisle within sight of the counter, gnome, and those who linger near the front. She feigns disinterest at the gathered company, but it's obvious she's curious about their purchase.

---

Kal's Perception check = 12

The component was a glitch on my part, Darren. Sorry. All spells will always list V, S, or M, or a combination of those. If a gold piece value is associated with a material component (not counting the copper coin, I'd say), then you don't need it as long as you have a spellcasting focus (Kal can use a dagger, Streko can use his holy symbol, etc.).

[Brian]

"A puppy may bite," Condign says as the Claw soldier walks away, "but rarely does she have the teeth to cause harm. Best you stay close to your master lest you learn a painful lesson."

Condign takes a moment to gather himself. His anger has been harder to control recently. The smallest things seem to set him off. Whether it is an aftereffect of their journey to Dolurrh, or some new manifestation of his long-held frustrations, he doesn't know. And now isn't the time to ponder it.

"Nothing here appeals to me," he says to Adamant. "Maybe the others have found something useful."

He approaches the front of the store where the others are congregated.

[Dave W.]

Adamant clenches his fists at Condign's continued aggressiveness.

May 10, 2016 12:33:04 GMT -4 Brian said:

"Nothing here appeals to me," he says to Adamant. "Maybe the others have found something useful."

He approaches the front of the store where the others are congregated.

"Perhaps I will go outside. There is nothing for me to do here." He marches to the front door and steps out in the warm rain.

[Ken]

Belarin says to Streko, "Ah! Rings, jewelry... and wands? Let's examine the wares."

He walks over to the glass cases, choosing first to examine the rods and wands. He offers a greeting to the proprietor. "Well met! Tell me about these interesting items, please."

[Jeff]

Belarin finds her display cases to be extremely deep, but when he looks upon them he sees an impressive collection of very old jewelry and strange ivory or wooden fetishes that might just be wands of a more tribal sort. Yet in contrast to much of the store, nothing in these cases exhibits the telltale glow of magic.

The gnome nods and offers Belarin a professional smile. "I am Valexa Von Ruthvek. Welcome to my shop." Her accent is barely Zil at all; she sounds like a gnome who's lived most of her life in Stormreach, not Khorvaire. Her voice is weathered and cracked, like her face. She walks over to stand opposite the counter from him and then taps one brown finger on the glass. "These have all been shielded from your sight, young man. If closer examination is required of something, I will withdraw it from the case."

The only thing thin enough that could block Belarin's arcane sight would be metal or lead. But he sees only glass. Then he realizes that such materials could be rendered invisibility and would, by being invisible, also go unnoticed by his magic-detecting eyes.

None of the pendants or fetishes look new, but all do appear to be in good condition. Another symptom of the presence of magic. Valexa indicates neat calligraphic labels besides each case. They read:

Marsh of Desolation
Kapaerian Island
The Wasting Plain
Valley of Shadows
Menechtarun
Southern Xen'drik and Everice

"These relics have been founded in various parts of the continent. Understand, this is not a House Cannith estate. If you seek to benefit from the legacies of the Shattered Continent, speak to me of your interest and I will tell you what, if any, I can provide. This is provided you are not impoverished."

---

Belarin's Intelligence (Arcana) check = 22

[Ken]

Belarin, impressed by the presentation, says, “Thank you, Madam Von Ruthvek.” He looks at one of the cases more closely and reads the label. “’The Wasting Plain’ … in Xen’drik, yes? My interests lie in the areas of concealment and confusion. I’m also looking for a gift for a lady friend of mine, with unusually dark tastes. What do you recommend?"

[Darren]

May 10, 2016 11:56:06 GMT -4 Jeff said:

Before Kal gets very far, a young man—practically an adolescent—in the same armor as his companions comes rushing out of an aisle, clutching what appears to be a large stone gear. From his strain, it's obviously quite heavy. "Captain—!" he begins, but goes quiet when he sees your party also in the shop now. He goes up to the older man talking with the gnome and they exchange whispered words. The older man turns back to the gnome. "How much for this piece, mistress?" he asks, not trying to sound as conspiratorial as his young companion.

The gnome nods. "That is merely one component, but the remaining parts of this clepsydra were never recovered."

"A clespydra...?" he says, seeking clarification.

"A clepsydra is a water clock, yes. This one was used by the Nujahda giants centuries before they descended into the hill giants of that region. I will sell this to you for seventy-five galifars. It is extremely old, but has no companion pieces and that limits its value."

The captain frowns, but agrees. He withdraws some platinum and gold coins from his pocket, counts them out, and hands them to her. Word gets quickly around among the company. "This has to be it," someone says.

Kal casts an interrupt!

Sorry, but the nature of play-by-post makes this somewhat awkward. Were we sitting around a table, I would have burst in during your description here....

Kal clears his throat before the transaction finishes. "Ah, my good woman, perhaps you would consider a competing offer? I have a hundred galifars here that says that item is mine...."

May 10, 2016 11:56:06 GMT -4 Jeff said:

"We'll soon find out," the captain says with a grim smile. They gather and ready themselves to leave. The burliest among them steps over and takes the stone gear from the younger one, and slips it into a huge but otherwise empty travel pack.

The gnome stares at the group with an inscrutable expression, then turns to regard Kal at last. "How may I help you, Lord...?" The gnome stops, as if minding herself from saying d'Deneith aloud with practiced discretion.

Meanwhile, the Emerald Claw knight remains calm at Condign's words. Her face doesn't change when the tiefling mentions the Merrow Down. There is no need to cross blades in this place. This is not a field of battle. This is civilian's ground, and this shop is a fixture of this city. I have too much respect to insult Von Ruthvek by slaying an aggressor in her shop."

The commotion at the center of the store does district her, and she quickly turns away from tiefling and warforged both.

A few moments later, she emerges from an aisle within sight of the counter, gnome, and those who linger near the front. She feigns disinterest at the gathered company, but it's obvious she's curious about their purchase.

[Dave B.]

Shorak offers a friendly nod and smile to the man and then becomes distracted by the sleep-safer hanging from the ceiling. He just stares at it, a slight befuddled look on his face. This seems so out of place, yet it brings back fond memories of his childhood. He has to ask where they got this item. But, Kal seems to be drawing some unwanted attention, as usual. He makes his way towards the group Kal seems to be trying to outbid for a wheel of some sort.