Session 3: SecondDay - 3 days to opening
General Summary
Another beautiful morning in the Caldera! And so the sun rose on the 2nd day of the 1st week of the 6th month of Year 149 Post-Cataclysm.
Bert & Ros roused themselves first and headed downstairs. Their tabaxi friend was still there, curled up in front of the fire, and 1 gold was on the Bronte & Olaxysis continued to sleep in, and Flip and Anakami had only just started their deep sleep, so would be out a while.
The Carter
A horse & cart emblazoned with the Carter's Guild logo pulled up with a ragged, gaunt human woman driving it. Tethys showed her credentials and asked for the body, avoiding direct eye contact. Ros & Bert obliged - with a bit of trouble- and Tethys threw the receipt at them and rode off.The Agent
Nian came by next with the key for the inspection & gold for the up front payment. She opened the shed in the back for Bert & Ros and neither found anything out of place. It was spotless, in fact, with small bales of straw in what reminded them of horse stalls. But it all checked out, and Bert didn't see anything wrong with the contract, so he signed it - and gained 10 gold in the process! She blanched when she heard the opening date, and after some panicked muttering to herself, offered 50 gold for you to push it off to ANY day other than that day. Bert said he'd need to talk it over with the others, and Nian agreed to return that evening.The Cats & The Secret Entrance
Flip woke up and found a tabby cat at his feet, along with the tortoiseshell he'd found the day before. He cast speak with animals and asked them a few questions to get an idea of who else might be sneaking around the area. The tabby listed off all the names he knew, and Flip realized that he was thinking of other cats. Flip instead asked him to show him around. The tabby led him through the gaps in the walls where the cats were getting through, and back up to the room with the window where the cats had previously entered the inn. And surprise, the cats were all back again! The tabby led a catform Flip out through the window that was previously plugged by Anakami (the wooden plug was on the ground, inside the inn) and along some stone ledges onto the roof. There, the tabby showed Flip a trapdoor & said "need the big one to get in here".The Provisioner
Mantrell, the heavyset green dragonborn, came by, notepad and quill in hand. He shared a price list with the team and gave some basic advice. He agreed to return later in the day once the group had had a chance to review the price list and discuss.The Grove & The Spring Market
Bronte once again headed back to the grove to gather up some materials for her dream den. A successful haul! She also stopped by Altair's place to ask her about the tenant situation, but both her experience in the grove and then later on with a mug of tea proved too discombobulating for her, and she forgot why she was there. She headed to the spring market to pick up an herbalism kit from a minotaur named Kethyka.The Bard
A handsome elven dandy named Illomere visited to make an arrangement: he would play your grand opening for 20% of the evening's take. He is, after all, well known around these parts and he would be a draw - get them in the door. He got negotiated down to 10% until Anakami asked him to come back later. Illomere agreed to return, but only if he didn't find other arrangements - he was, after all, in high, HIGH demand.The Priests
Hoorala, a loxodon priestess of Lathander, and Shuzz, a goblin priest of Waukeen both came by and offered to bless the place - for 25g. Bert agreed to 10g for Hoorala, who was first, and Anakami agreed to 5g for Shuzz. They both performed a notable blessing on the entry of the inn, loudly so passerbys could hear.The Adviser
Later in the evening, Hermanton Teriador, a heavyset loxodon and guildmaster for Fellowship of the Inns, arrived to discuss membership, and see what's what. He found them fascinating, especially Bert & Ros, and doled out some advice for free. He offered the Stouthearts a pro-rated membership cost of 40g. But, since he was so fascinated, he offered it at half-cost. This membership comes with many financial advantages like discounts with Mantrell or Carter's Guild. Finally, it came with advice from his years of running The Mountain Orchid, Caldera City's premiere inn & tavern in The Park District, now run by his grandson. The team agreed.The Advertising
Flip used skywrite to write STOUTHEART INN - OUTER RING & EDRA WAY - SELFDAY in the sky. Ola was out drumming up business.The Cleanup
Bert, Bronte, & Ros all made headway in clearing out the mugs, plates, tankards, cutlery, serving platters, folding linens, etc. After lunch, Bert, Flip & Anakami all made headway in clearing out a room for a kitchen and laying out the common room. A lot of work!The Wake Up Call
Another day down and progress has been made - but there's still a LONG way to go. Worry crept at the edges of every discussion - what kind of inn are we trying to run? What is the vision? What needs to be done to actually open? Will we get it done in time? How do we handle all these people? WHAT ARE WE DOING?!?!?!Ola's Day in the City
Ola returned from her day abroad. She met Thenarr, the blue dragon dockmaster at the SkyDocks, who was of ill temper, but agreed that Ola could serenade the workers later that afternoon. She crooned to the dockworkers in Eastern Stores, and even made up a jaunty tune: "The Cheapest Ale in the Caldera ... at the Stoutheart Inn!", which caught on very quickly. One of the dockworkers - a halfling named Top - was so impressed that he offered to show her around the Stores district and drum up more business. But he led her into an alley, and she was jumped by 3 other members of what she learned was the Shadow Blades gang! After an intense struggle, Ola flew away and continued on her business. She then went to the Spring Market where she used illusions to augment her music, and drummed up even more business. Then back to the SkyDocks where it turns out she was just already too tired, and rather than confusing things too much, headed back to the Stoutheart Inn.Nian, Not What She Seemed
Nian came back with affirmation from her client that SelfDay doesn't work for her client, and that an offer of 50 gold was on the table to push the grand opening back. The group informed her that this would not work, so she kept bumping it up (with increasing tones of worry) until she got to 125 gold, and was even willing to kick in 50g of her own money for 175g if you push it back. When the group held steady, she cried out that the group didn't know what they were getting into, and she couldn't accept responsibility for this. She ran out the door and Ros followed. As soon as Ros stepped outside, she spied a hooded figure ducking down along the roofline (as well as a number of dockworkers walking by who sang "Cheapest Ale in the Caldera ... at the Stoutheart Inn!"). Undeterred, she pursued Nian stealthily. The loxodon proved surprisingly swift, and Ros bumped into some passersby, giving her location up. Nian shouted "you don't want to get involved in this ... you don't want to get involved!" and then ran off. Ros let her go, but returned in a fury.Mantrell, Returned
Mantrell the provisioner returned to discuss shop. [We'll do this part offline]. Mantrell suggested that they would need more staff than they think, and suggested some strategies - including hiring off duty Shield members to serve as security. At an additional price of course!Illomere, Not What He Seemed
Illomere returned to offer his services, but was rebuffed by Ola and Flip who've had past experience - and knew that it shouldn't cost more than a few gold - real minstrels make their money on tips. Illomere wanted to prove his worth, and did a musical duel with Ola - easily besting her. Flip broke in with a drum solo and held his own, and Illomere spun to pay attention to Flip instead. SPROING a string broke on Illomere's lute, and his facade fell: MOTHERFU ... he said, then realized where he was, then got angry and shouted FUCK YOU ALL, and promised that they were wrong to cross him, and that he'd write the worst songs ever about them - and stormed out.Bert's Bad Decision
Ros ran out to the shed and pounded on it, screaming at whomever may be inside. Bert and Bronte followed, and both tried to assuage Ros - but only Bert did it in the worst possible way by directly telling her to "Calm Down". Ros stormed into the inn, and Bronte stayed behind to get a read on the inn - but came up empty.The End of SecondDay
That night, the crew barricaded themselves into the inn and set a watch order: Flip, Bronte, Bert, Ros, and Anakami. Flip and Ros strategized ale making. Anakami and Bert strategized provisioning. Bronte meditated, hoping for a deep connection with Charlotte during her dreams. Ros communed with her ghost friends to learn the art of persuasion. Bert had one last smoke and looked up at the lone moon in the sky, and again heard a voice in his head. He shrugged. Flip headed outside with (now three!) cat companions, and shapeshifted into a cat form himself. The four of them prowled around outside, multiple eyes to keep the crew safe as everyone else headed off for bed.Rewards Granted
- +2g from your tabaxi friend
- +10g for rental income
- -10g for a blessing from Lathander
- -5g for a blessing from Waukeen
Missions/Quests Completed
Anakami of Tree Home
Report Date
06 Mar 2022
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