An Interlude

[greyarea]

The party leaves Master Grüber's office. They are passed in the hall by Jayson, who was called for. By the time you've left the Alderhall, Jayson has sprinted back. He calls two footmen and gives each of them a message.

He explains to you, These footmen will let the inns know you are to have a few days board paid for by the Town of Wolford. He looks around almost conspirationally and says in a low tone, If your treasure is in this wagon, I suggest taking it to the bank at once. You know where it is. As to whatever Items of Power you may have recovered, there is a sage in Mercat Square who can help you find their origin.

He waits for a tinker's wagon to pass before he continues: I know you are no big fan of the senschal. He can come off as a bit gruff at times. He has a lot on his shoulders, especially with Sir Taris away for so long. I do know that there have been some bad things in the countryside as of late. We lost a patrol to a band of ogres recently which is quite uncommon in these parts, and the Captain of the Guard is concerned about the return of the Haberdashers as well. All that is to say that we may be calling on your assistance in the future. Please keep an open mind.

Where to?


OOC: Please update your characters with the new XP and level up. I will roll new HP when you are ready.

[badams30]

Grimes - FIghter

Grimes nods at Jayson and says "Thanks for the advice. Much appreciated."

As we take our leave, Grimes looks at the others and says "I think he's right, we need to get this coin to the bank, and then get the items to the sage. The sooner we do that, the sooner we can square away loose ends and relax." He chuckles and says "Oh yeah, and pay off our relucant porters. And if you all don't object, perhaps we could offer them standing employment with us?"

Grimes will aid our porters in getting the wagon to the bank, assuming the group is still down with the plan to go there. Grimes feels a twinge of pity for hitting the one fellow, so he'll happily pay the 200 GP (100 gp each) to the two men from his share. If the group is okay with hiring them as porters/torchbearers, Grimes will offer the men employ, and will pick up half their tab. (we can discuss a fair wage.)

[Spanningtree]

Dieter - Mage

Dieter will thank Jayson. Agreeing with Grimes he will help everyone make their way to the bank to deposit all of the gems/coin. He will keep the arm bands with hime for now to pay the sage and others as they go. He is fine with trying to hire the two porters.

Once at the sage he would not only like the items ID'd but would like to see if there are any scrolls available for purchase to copy into his spell book (or general).

[greyarea]

The banker of course deposits your sums. He's a bit awed by the amounts of coin (Looks like a dragon's hoard, he mutters at one point as he counts it) and takes some time to get all squared away. He pulls you aside (it takes waaay too long, and you get antsy as they check and double check amounts) and says, You have been upgraded to a special vault. Only a few exist here at Wolford, although there are more in the Capital, where there is more wealth.

He hands you a special type of crystal ball. This will allow you to keep watch over your deposit at all times to ensure it is safe. The ball only works for that one location. It will also tell you the current amount in your vault. The bank will use a small amount of your holdings for loans so that we can make our income, but it is still yours. You can see the difference there, he says, pointing to a small part of the ball where a small number floats. This will ensure you that your gold is in safe hands with us. Further, you can use the ball to contact myself or my associate to arrange entry to your vault or to make withdrawals after hours. The contact is sound alone, so perhaps I should introduce you to my associate so you know his voice as well.

He whistles and particularly ugly half-orc (perhaps on that 10.5% that can't even barely pass as ugly humans) appears who says, in perfect Common, I'm glad to be of assistance, in a voice that sounds like gravel scraping the bottom of a boat. You can't help but feel from his eyes and his manner that he may be even more intelligent that the main banker. He disappears back into the dark office.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The sage at Mercat Square is a tall, thin, wizened high-elf, with a long nose and very pointy ears. His grey widow's peak extends nearly to his spectacles which perch upon his bony nose like a frightened sparrow. His long spindly fingers extend from the arms of his long yellow robe and examine each item in turn. He examines some with a special crystal and others with a pair of pince-nez. Some require spells and others just his keen eyes and mind. He drops liquids in potions and examines the effects and consults tomes he pulls as from no-where on his belt. One item causes him to pull out a long wand and mutter words of power in an language you cannot understand nor believe could come from a demi-human throat.

From the dragon's hoard:

• Dagger +2, +3 v. goblinoids, orcs, and kobolds
• Helm of Underwater Action
• Leather armor +2
• Long sword +1, +3 v. lycanthropes (snake hilt)
• Philter of love
• Potion of giant strength
• Potion of invisibility
• Potion of undead control
• Ring of invisibility
• Ring of protection +2
• Rod of striking, 8 charges (black wood)
• Scroll of ward v. lycanthropes
• Scroll with two magic-user/elf spells: locate object and magic jar
• Wand of polymorph self, 3 charges

From the Ogres:
Two spell scrolls -- one with Auditory Illusion and Stinking Cloud, the other with Dispel Magic, Fire Ball, Feign Death and Suggestion

The sage hears Dieter's request for more scrolls. He smiles and chuckles. I haven't any scrolls of anything, I'm afraid. I'm not a salesman of potions or magical items: merely a student of history, languages and artifacts. It's difficult to tell if he's lying or not but his eyes seem to dance with a certain mischief as he speaks. His voice is like wind through chimes. I can identify nearly any item of magical nature and read nearly any language placed before me as well as interpret any that I hear. I have travelled to far away continents and other planes of existence, been to the seven heavens and nine hells, and have had conferences with mages, sages, wizards, warlocks, demons, demigods, witches and fairies. I serve only to discover and interpret, not to sell nor trade. I'm quite sorry I cannot help you out there.

He charges you 650 GP for the identification. Now, is there anything else you need identified?

Actions?

[Spanningtree]

Dieter - Mage

Dieter will thank the banker and his associate as they depart.

I also have these potions that we are unsure of. Taking out the white powder urn, black powder urn and unidentified potion. He will thank the sage for his time and pay him 1 armband and a fire opal.

OCC: Dieter is carrying the following party treasure BTW:

9 x 100gp armbands
Sack with 11PP, 3X50GP black pearls and 5 x 100Gp diamonds, 8 x 100Gp green pearls and 20 x 50GP fire opals

1 armband and 1 fire opal removed.

The urns and the potion came from the upper levels of the caves if no one objects.

Dieter would express interest in all of the scrolls as well as the wand.

[greyarea]

The sage quickly identifies the potion as one of Super-heroism. Easy enough.

The two urns take him some time and lots of experimentation. He finally comes with the two and smiles. I take it you found these near a pool of some sort. The black urn contains an oil that has been blessed to work with a particular type of scrying pool: to clerics as a crystal ball is to a mage. Pouring this in the pool will allow it to act as a crystal ball. The white urn contains powder that, if I'm not mistaken, will turn to a poison gas when contacting the same pool. It is a trap, usually, for those that do not know which urn to use. I've seen this once before, in an evil crypt. It's been a long long time, but when you're as old as I am, everything seems to have occurred a long long time ago.

He charges an extra 100GP to identify the three items.

Actions?

[Craigers07]

Furuk - Fighter

Furuk grabs the Potion of Giant Strength after it has been identified.

"Not much else here I need. I'm tired and am ready to relax with some food and drink."

[Spanningtree]

Dieter - Mage

Dieter will grad the scrolls and wand. One of you muscle heads needs to grab the potion of heroism. He'll say eyeing his comrades. He'll leave the urns with the sage.

OCC: Made a mistake on my math there, Dieter hands the sage 7 armbands and 1 opal to equal 750GP. Whatever folks don't grab from the pile we'll divvy up at the tavern.

[badams30]

Grimes - Fighter

At Dieter's suggestion, Grimes will pick up the potion of Super-Heroism. "Well, my last one worked pretty well against the dragon, so if no one objects, I'll take this one."

Grimes will clean up Einar's cloak and give it back to him when he next sees him. As for other loot, Grimes would be interested in the ring of invisibility for the sneak attack possibilities it would convey, and to a lesser degree, the helm. He's not a fan of being underwater, so it's not his top choice.

He snickers while looking at the philter of love. "Heh heh... this could come in handy.... heh heh..."

Grimes order of action will be:
Get his gear and weapons repaired, polished and his clothes replaced.
Re-equip with rations and other items
Convert a chunk of his share to gems, electing to keep most in the bank.
Offer 100GP each to the porters, and ask them if they'd like to remain in our employ. If they do, Grimes will give each of them an extra 50GP and tell them to get suitably equipped and be ready to go soon.

[greyarea]

For Grimes, getting gear and weapons repaired and polished will run 25GP. All other costs are as in LL or AEC books.

Converting to gems isn't likely, as there are few here at Wolford. The best gems in town, even better than those owned by Sir Taris' estate, are owned by you. The bank will gladly hold your assets for you, though, and with the special crystal ball, you can feel safe with your gold there.

Theo and Karl are very excited with the payment and offer of further employment. It is the most money either have ever had. They reequip themselves sparingly, opening accounts at the bank for the rest. They want to be as light as possible so they can hold more good for you all. Theo also mentions that he was trained in carpentry and Marcus that he has been a handyman himself. If you decide to build a fortress, they are eager to help (or if you decide to convert Skull Mountain into your base). Their loyalty to you seems exuberant due to the vast sums you've offered to pay them.

Both The Rat and Pig and The Pikeman have available rooms for you. You've stayed at The Rat and Pig before and it is the more comfortable of the two. The Pikeman seems to attract a less savory sort.

An acolyte from The Shrine of Garth approaches you as you make your way around Mercat Square. He tells you that the resurrection ceremony for Einar will take place in two days hence.

Actions?