Speak with Reván
Plot points/Scenes
Reván will be thankful to the party but maintain an air of formality. He will happily answer questions regarding publicly known information about himself and New Goven. However, should the conversation turn in the direction of his prior comments to his wife about guild matters, he will immediately tell them to be quiet before dismissing the guild-affiliated bodyguards that are still lingering around him.
Eventually, Reván dismisses the bodyguards regardless of where the conversation leads. After they depart, he asks the party if they would be interested in some off-the-record work for him. If the characters agree, he will instruct them to meet him the following day at his shop, Goven Couture, in Craftsman's Row. He gives them the code word "Minerva's Shadow" and informs them to provide the codeword to the shopkeeper who will take them to a private room in his shop where they can speak more candidly.
At Goven Couture
The first thing you notice upon entering the shop are the many mannequins, some dressed in elegant dresses or coats, vests, and other men's formalwear, others garbed in military regalia, and still others wearing long, flowing nightgowns or smoking jackets. Beyond the mannequins you can see rows of tables upon which sit various luxury fabrics. On the south wall are bottles of various colored dyes sitting on shelves.
As you enter the shop, the door hits a bell hanging overhead, ringing to announce your arrival. A youthful voice calls out from the back of the store,
"Welcome to Goven Couture! I'll be with you in a moment, but feel free to look around while you wait."You see a young, pink-haired half-elf shopkeeper, dressed in a bright blue sundress under a dark blue, sequined leather vest, speaking with a heavyset, olive-skinned human man, his large form stuffed into an expensive petticoat and silken britches.
shopkeeper
The front of the store is an open floor where several mannequins display finished pieces of formwalwear, military garb, evening wear, and other outfits. There is a counter toward the back of the store, behind which sit boxes of thread, needles, and other sewing equipment. Between the mannequins and the counter sit rows of woven fabric samples laid out on tables, with dye bottles of various colors sitting on shelves on the southern wall of the shop.
If anyone in the party attempts to listen to the conversation between Xara and Archimedes, they may hear some or all of the following conversation:
Archimedes: "I just don't know, do you really think gold is the right accent to the red? You don't think it looks too...ostentatious?"
Xara: "Nonsense, Archie. Have you seen the kind of gaudy crap people have been wearing these days? You take one trip to the opera and you're blinded by reflected lights."
Archimedes: "Fair point, Xara. I defer to your experience in this regard. So you'll have my new outfit ready for the premiere?"
Xara: "Archie, I'm hurt. When have we ever been late with an order?"
Archimedes: "Right, my apologies. I just want to make a good impression. Rumor is Bellas will be attending the performance."
Xara: "Ah, trying to nab a seat on the council?"
Archimedes: "Isn't that what everyone is trying to do at these events, Xara? It's all politics in the Hilltop District. Anyway, I must be off. I leave my business unattended for too long and Percy starts getting ideas."
Xara: "Crack that whip, Archie."
Archimedes will bow to Xara and take his leave. Anyone paying attention will notice he is watching the party on the way out.
Xara is very trusting and quick to provide information to the party. Once the party provides the code word, Xara's expression will turn very serious and they will lock the front door of the shop, putting up a sign that says "out to lunch." They will close the blinds and guide the party into the back of the business where Reván is waiting for them. The back room is filled with several chairs sitting in front of the various looms and mannequins.
After everyone is seated, Xara leaves to clean the front of the shop and watch the door. Reván will commend the party for dealing with the gnoll attack and ask a little about where they came from and what their business is in the city. His demeanor is noticeably less reserved now that the group is away from public eye, and Reván is more relaxed than he was at the carnival.
After some conversation, Reván steers the conversation toward his actual intentions with calling the group to his business. He was looking for some able-bodied adventurers to take a trip to the ruins of Old Goven and recover some lost items from an abandoned estate.
"Did you know New Goven used to be located further north? At least it was until it was hit by an earthquake. Damaged several buildings, killed nearly a hundred people. And mind you, this was after the Sundering had altered the flow of the Tal'rim and Verun Rivers southward. It's no wonder merchants voted to abandon Old Goven and build a new city further south. It was so sudden, a lot of us didn't have time to pack all our things. That's where you all come in. My family's estate was hit particularly hard by the earthquake. We were lucky to all get out in one piece, but unfortunately the section of the estate containing my private study was swallowed up by the ground. I was hoping a talented group of individuals such as yourselves might be able to venture into the ruins of Old Goven and find that old study, to see if some of my writing may have survived."
Reván says he is unable to make the journey himself due to the area around Old Goven being overrun by gnolls in recent years.
Reván is not being 100% honest. A DC 18 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check will convince Reván to admit the estate is not his and that he is hoping to recover some information about a business rival, but will not reveal their name. The following should not be revealed to the party unless they make an exceptionally high persuasion or intimidation check, or later in the campaign if Reván starts to trust them more:
- He does want the party to recover missing writings from a collapsed estate, but the estate in question is the former residence of Lovilas Andan'yarro.
- Reván claims he would have had the writings recovered earlier but he had to establish his wealth before he could hope to pay for adventurers to recover it for him. This a lie; he has always been wealthy enough to pay an adventuring party, but recently he has become suspicious of Lovilas Andan'yarro and is following a hunch there might be information in Lovilas' old estate.
Reván will provide the party with a basic map of Old Goven. He has circled the location of the estate on the map. There are a few other buildings labeled on the map, including the old Merchant Guild Hall, the Goven Library, and the Temple of Corellon.
Reván will offer the party 250 gp per person, with 50 gp paid up front to cover travel expenses and 200 gp paid upon completion of the quest.
Unless the party is particularly persuasive, Reván will simply offer them gold in exchange for any information they can provide. He stresses that he is asking for their help because, as a member of the Merchants' Guild and someone looking to climb the ranks, he cannot be seen directly investigating his superiors without jeopardizing his future.
If pressed for more information, Reván will admit he thinks the city's leadership in recent years has been erratic, costly, and detrimental to the long-term health of the province, but he can't publicly speak out against the city council without risking his own political ambitions.
Reván advises them that if they find anything, they can contact Xara and they will pass the message along to Reván.
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