Session 5: ThirdDay, Afternoon+Evening - 2 days to opening
General Summary
Continued Renovation of the Stoutheart Inn
Ola returns from her busy morning, announcing "I have music and companions!" as she walks through the front door. "Classy entertainment," she stresses. She starts hunting around for a space to house the companions that will pass the next day's inspection (for the safety of the companions). The group spends a while debating the right place, but finds a split of the first floor & second floor room will do, above the Dream Den. She enlists Bronte, who just that morning had finished her Dream Den. Bronte finds some excellent cloth which Ola calls "perfect whorecloth". Bert & Bronte spent the remainder of the afternoon decorating the main room - and everyone learned that Bert had much more style sense than one would think of a halfling paladin from the Ramshackle Coast! He also committed 30g to get a big chandelier for lighting (from Jurak, the repairsmith - a big discount because "nobody likes hobgoblin aesthetics" said Thistle & Heather with a sneer). Bert also coordinated the purchase & installation of 6 privies @ 3g apiece, and 2g for some simple wooden dividers that they will cover with "whorecloth", as Ola put it. Thistle & Heather both asked - are you actually ok with the Reborn? Not just feigning it for a good price? After all, the only reason you could get this done is the nobody wants to hire us. Bert convinced them that he - and the rest of the group - were completely fine with them. "You're good folk," said the pair of halflings.Flip's Advertising
Flip decided to fight fire with fire when it comes to the town crier - the only thing that will make up the difference is an EVEN LOUDER VOICE! He rushed outside and shouted loudly about the grand opening coming this SelfDay. Struck with inspiration, he then shapeshifted into a bird and convinced other flocks of nearby birds to help get people's attention to look up into the sky towards the skywriting declaring "DON'T BELIEVE THE LIES - STOUTHEART INN GRAND OPENING THIS SELFDAY". He headed over to the SkyDocks, where he found a particularly busy moment - both one ship arriving and one just leaving! He flew up to the incoming ship and danced around the deckhands, drawing their attention to the skywriting. A number of them took note - both of the odd bird who was dancing around them, rather than following them in (as the other birds normally do), and of the message in the sky. Flip headed down to land, only to have his polymorph expire on him only a few meters from the raised platform of the SkyDock! He transformed back into his satyr self and hit the platform running, shouting out "Stoutheart! Stoutheart! Selfday! Selfday!" from one end to to the other - and then he dove off the platform, transforming into another bird when he was just out of everyone's sight. The crowd of dockworkers rushed to the edge and exclaimed back and forth about the disappearing satyr. Flip heard a supervisor shout "GET BACK TO WORK!" as he flew away from the SkyDock and over to the Autumn Market. At the Autumn Market, Flip again convinced other flocks to again draw attention to the writing in the sky. Tired, Flip turns back into himself and picks up a brewer's kit & ingredients for a total of 21g2s, and then heads home.Altair, Again - Finally!
Anakami made her way to visit Altair in his office, blew past Thedd and headed straight up to his office. He invited Anakami over for a coffee at his favorite coffee shop - and the two had a big long discussion.- "What!?!? Don't sign anything without my review!"
- "Consider me your lawyer, on retainer for whatever you need. I owe Beregast my life and this is the least I can do to repay him."
- "This rental agreement looks pretty boilerplate. Nothing out of the ordinary. But the punishments for violation can be severe, depending on how aggressively the tenant pursues it. A basic violation might be only 5g. If there is ill intent, the landlord can actually forfeit the property. This goes back to the squatter laws and the challenges in trying to chart a course through multiple different former governments and multiple different landowners. The courts have typically ruled in favour of the tenant."
- Nian? She's fantastic! Very well known and respected. She's on the up and up. You should have taken her up on her offer! That's a huge sum of money. And how little of an inconvenience for you to accommodate. Oh well.
- Sondron? What a piece of shit! The most evil, conniving, duplicitous lawyer in all of the Caldera. And a legal mind to match! A real nightmare when it comes to running a government. She really knows how to exploit every loophole, every uncertainty ... she will come after you, and it will all be legal - or at least, untraceable. You've got a real problem there. My advice? Don't even talk to her! Just send everything my way.
- The Shadow Blades are a real problem. I hadn't thought to look into the registered occupants - what are the odds? They have only 3 months to claim ownership. I am sure they will do anything they can to scare you off!
- The town crier? They're just a paid announcement service. You can go talk to them in this building. I don't really know how they work.
- You need to get in touch with me? Just send a messenger!
The Town Crier
Anakami headed over to the Town Crier's Guild and met Lessen, a female halfling, who acts as central clerk. "Most of the town crier's announcements comes from the government or associated nobles. It's primarily for distributing news. But sure, you can purchase an ad, or pay for your own announcement. It's 5s for each 20 words, rounded up, per segment of announcement. If you want something that blankets the city, that's 24 segments, so 12g for a 20 word announcement. " Anakami filled her in on a false advertisement. "Well that's unfortunately not our problem. We don't certify false advertising - what a nightmare it would be for us! That's between you and your guildmaster, or if it's outside their purview, well, that's what the legal system is for." Anakami was visibly disappointed - so people can just mess with other businesses? Is there any chance it was just this one crier? "Well, check the notice board right behind you. That lists all the announcements for all the segments." Anakami scanned the dozens of posted notices behind her and realized that there was no notice about a postponement of the grand opening. She relayed this to the clerk, who narrowed her eyes. "A false announcement, you say? Well that's very serious indeed. If one of our criers is announcing something that they were not given ... that's a real problem for us. And now it's our problem. We'll investigate and get back to you - but it may take a couple days or weeks to get to the bottom of this." Anakami paid for another announcement to counteract the effect of the false notices -- details to be figured out offline.Fenir's Play
Ola and Ros headed over to Fenir to check in on his play. Fenir was alone in the bookstore, and upon seeing them threw up his hands in delight. "It's so wonderful that you are here! I haven't felt so inspired in ages! " He closed the bookstore and rushed them into the back to speak with them. "The play is based off the Darkening of Elladrell, and Beregast the Bold's heroics in saving us from the Shadowfell. It talks of how he and his companions: the haughty Antala the elf lord, the comical Geminus the gnome, and the ferocious Hathyk the hobgoblin, defeated the Mad Queen Maeve and sent her invading army back to the shadow realm. I myself am playing the great Beregast the Bold, and I have a troupe that I am calling out of retirement to play the other roles ... but I am hoping that you, Ola, will play the role of Dessyna, the elven noble whose realm was invaded, and who pleaded with Beregast to save them. It's only the start of the play, and then you can go back to whatever else you need to do." He looked at Ros and exclaimed, "and of course I have a part for you as well! It's .. uh ... the elf maid to Dessyna! I have a costume that will fit you perfectly!" He then showed the two the costumes that he was putting together for the play. Loose fitting, billowing, and very sheer - in multiple colours. "Don't worry," he said, "This is all very tasteful." "Well, I just wanted to check that we won't have actual fornication on the stage," Ola began. "I wouldn't want to distract from ... " But she didn't get a chance to finish. "Goodness me!" exclaimed the irritated Fenir, his nostrils flaring. "What kind of artist do you take me for? My goodness, I would never ... I have never ... " he became flustered. Luckily, Ros was there to rescue the situation. "It's just that everything you describe is so titillating," she said. "We were both just so swept up in the erotic nature of the story, we couldn't imagine how it could restrain itself!" That seemed to placate, and even flatter him. "Yes, very good!" he said. "I am sorry, sometimes I don't know my own influence! I shall take it as a compliment!" And the two returned back to the Stoutheart, having both been roped into the opening act of the play.Blessings of the Gods
During the day, two priestesses came by to provide blessings. First up was Hennet, a dwarven woman who had half her body and face covered with burn scars. "I know what you're thinking," she said, "how can someone like me worship Tymora, the goddess of good fortune? Well, how many survivors of the Cataclysm do you know - ones who were right in SkyTop? I know of two - me and my sister." She then recounted her life in the caldera - longer than the caldera itself. She was rescued by sheer luck, and though she was taken prisoner several times by the various factions vying for the caldera, she always escaped death. And now look at her! She's able to witness this marvel of a new city, and to praise her good fortune. Bert nods sagely and then talks her down to 3g for the blessing (from her initial proposal of 17g). The second priestess looked eerily familiar - it looked almost exactly like Henneth! On closer look, you could see the scars were different ... This was Perth, Henneth's twin sister. "Good luck?" she scoffed. "My sister is crazy. We have been afoul of the worst luck I have ever seen. The only thing that staves it off is to appease Besheba, Tymora's twin sister and the goddess of misfortune." Perth gave you much the same tale, but told from a different point of view. Each successive step in her story heaped more and more misery upon her shoulders. She learned of Besheba and how Besheba can be appeased through sufficient prayer and sacrifice. "You know about appeasing the gods, don't you?" she asked Bert. She offered to appease Besheba on their behalf for only 10g, but the party was having none of it. They thanked her and sent her on her way. As the group reentered the Stoutheart, a wind caught the door and slammed it shut. The force of the door slamming shut caused the supporting structure under the lousy keg of ale to crack and then crumble - and the keg shattered on the ground and poured all of its contents out into the main room. The only construction that had not been replaced by the Reborn.Sondron, the piece of shit
Sondron swung by the Stoutheart and asked for an ale - business proposition for you. Ola poured her a drink but asked for 5s. "Not exactly the cheapest ale in the Caldera, is it? You're lucky nobody sues you for false advertising ... But let's not worry about that. We'll give you 500g to take a vacation. Just go away. No strings attached. We give you 500g, and you leave. You should take it! It's a great offer, and ... honestly, there's just so much that could happen between now and then. My clients are good people, but they are a little hot headed. Hopefully we won't have a repeat of the incident in the streets ... " The party would not move. "Well," Sondron said with a sly grin, "I tried. But I'm quite glad you didn't take the offer. Quite. Glad." She sneered as she left. "Good luck with the tenant!" she shouted over her shoulder.The Bouncers
Later that night, after dinner, Quinn, Cheff, and Loryl from the Night Guard came by. "Cheff and Loryl will be leading your guard duty for you," he said, "I made sure to place the request personally. I can get by with some replacements for the night. I know the Shadow Blades are out gunning for you now, and I want to make sure you're safe. NO FUCKING EXPLOSIONS!" he said in unison with the others. Cheff & Loryl stayed behind to get to know you and the layout of the place. Cheff reminisced of the Ramshackle Coast with Bert & Ros, and Loryl told them tales of his days as a nomad in the Dread Wastes. Both of them described how they were both really down on their luck, and were wandering around homeless and both up to no good in Caldera City. Quinn apprehended them both and mentored them - rehabilitated them and they eventually joined The Shield. What you don't know about Quinn, they said, is that he's done that with hundreds of ex-criminals. He's a big softie. You all heard a big yawn coming from the doorway as your tabaxi guest walked into the room, stretching and scratching himself. Apparently had a wonderful rest in the cozy bed you made for him upstairs - and the kitchen construction didn't seemed to have bothered him that much! He looked around, smacked his lips together, and then suddenly entered a fighting stance with a low growl. "What in the name of the gods?" said Cheff & Loryl. Your tabaxi guest made a run for the door. Bert tried to cast Hold Person on the tabaxi but it was shrugged off. Ros enlarged a chair to twice the size to block the tabaxi's path. But the tabaxi guest was too fast. WAY too fast - supernaturally fast. He leapt onto the chair, over across a table, onto the bar, and threw himself into the door, knocking it open. By the time the rest of the group reacted, the tabaxi guest was already long gone. "What in gods name are you up to?!?!" said the guards. "How did a Shadow Blade get in here?" They took some time to explain: Hsshht, as he's called (for both the sound of hushing someone, and the sound a quickly drawn knife makes across the throat of a victim), is the most feared assassin in all of Caldera City - and a member of the Shadow Blades.The Morning News
There was a knock at the door, and a small halfling messenger stood with an envelope. "Stoutheart Inn?" he asked, and when the answer was given in affirmative, he handed over an envelope and took off. Inside the envelope was a greenish parchment that looked to be a newsletter of some sort called "The Watchful Eye - Keeping watch on necromatic activities in Caldera City". It was a front and back one page newsletter with tips on how to ward your home from necromancy, top 10 signs that your friend is a necromancer, short blurbs of dire news from Amon-Ra, and its main article was: "Dead Body found in Stoutheart Inn - Possible Necromancy from Newcomers". The article was primarily an interview with a down on his luck halfling who was hoping to make a quick, but honest, buck by doing odd jobs for people, when a fairy at the Stoutheart Inn tried to pawn a dead body off on him. He couldn't tell if she was selling it, or trafficking in it, or if she was trying to seduce him to the dark arts - all he knows is he ran like hell and reported it to The Shield. The article then goes on to speculate that The Shield may be in on it, as no arrests have been made. The date on the newsletter was the following day - FourthDay, and the day before your Grand Opening. Alongside the newsletter was a small note: "I thought you would want to know."
Anakami of Tree Home
Report Date
04 Jul 2022
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