Session 76: Rumours and Riches
General Summary
The party passes the night in their room at the Deluxury. In the morning, Nemara appears and books her own private room, balking at the high price. Armhin was ecstatic to meet a third member of their company, and Nemara easily impressed with her polished storytelling and tales of fighting off the dragon which devastated her hometown.
"It's funny," Armhin said, writing out her invitation, "There's a black dragon actually lairing near this city; it's a good thing we have the Blessed Angels and the Watchers to keep us safe. Really a credit to Prince Zeech's power, you know. Even a dragon dare not challenge him!"
Handing over the invitation, he cast a quick up-and-down glance over the travel-stained warlock. "Of course your ladyship has been on many long adventures, too busy winning fame and glory to stop by the tailors'; will you be honouring a local business for your gala dress?"
The party got a list of recommended businesses for hair-styling, tailoring, and accessories. Nemara tried on the slinky gown she had spent nearly all her then-assets on those months ago in Diamond Lake, and was heartbroken to find that being dragged through sewers, tombs, ferrous rivers, swamps, flooded lava tubes, and hordes of undead had reduced it to little more than a vaguely-oily rag.
After washing up and resigning themselves to the fact that they would, in fact, need clothes (especially since the invitation forbade arms and armour), they set out into town for some reasonably-priced breakfast.
Over breakfast, they heard some locals speaking loudly about the Blessed Angels confiscating several copies of something called the Sinchaser. They supposedly took the bookseller who was distributing them into their Aerie, and he hasn't been seen since. Trislee tapped their shoulders for clarification, and learned that the Sinchaser is an underground publication, full of stories that are distinctly unflattering to Zeech, his court, and even the Blessed Angels themselves. Libellous slander, of course.
Wondering silently how they might obtain a copy, they headed into the market to sell their valuables. The "Blessed Angels" seemed to swoop low over the market fairly often. Trislee watched one taking off, and was startled to recognize it as an Erinyes - a higher-order devil. It took extraordinary power to bind even *one* to a mortal's service, let alone a whole flight of them. What the hells was going on in this town?
With almost as many questions as gold pieces, having nearly doubled their already-impressive assets, the party set about Shopping.
On the way to their first stop, they met a bugbear and his wizard companion, who immediately engaged them in a round of one-upmanship, where no matter what laurels the party produced, B'kruss and his companions waved it off as nothing. "The size of a house, you say!" the bugbear grinned, "Why then that giant my company fought last winter could have used it for a footstool!"
B'kruss suggested a race around the city to prove which was the better mercenary group, but the party refused to sink to his level, and walked away with the sound of the bugbear's jeers in their ears.
"You know," Nemara said, recalling some of the shops the bartender had told them about over lunch, "A poisoner's shop could have some useful things. I mean, you never know what you'll need in this city."
And so they began perusing tinctures and blade oils and concoctions of all kinds. Trislee limited herself to some Truth Serum, but Nemara kitted herself out with all manner of cocktails, excited to add a little bite to her blade.
The city had more than only services for rogues, though; and Trislee found herself exploring the bunker-like magic shop of Iomandi's Wonders like a kid in a candy store. The party found not only magical items of all description, but accessories and ornamentation made from burnt-out magic items. An ioun stone worked into the charm of a necklace, a Robe of the Magi with no arcane magic in its fibres, but still with the impressively-shimmering embroidery and a brooch to match.
The party got many useful items from the grumpy shopkeeper, but realized it was easier to spend that much gold than they thought. Deciding they should save some for clothes and their absent warmage, they retired from the shop and visited one of the tailors Armhin had recommended; a palatial shop called simply LaFond's.
They were beset by a small army of tailors and attendants, bearing measuring strings, pins, sketch-pads, plates of hors d'ouvres and glasses of complementary champagne. The process took a full hour, and cost a pretty penny, but by the end both heroines were outfitted with flattering and classy gowns featuring the exclusive and impressive fabrics of LaFond's; an extraordinarily delicate, shimmering white gauze with an iridescent sheen.
Trislee had hers fashioned into a bustled gown with a blue-silk overdress, while Nemara augmented a slim, silken evening dress with sheer veils fretted with tiny gems for stars. As they stood to be measured, the seamstress working on Trislee exclaimed over their adventures, marvelling that she couldn't believe she got to dress heroes so famous that Zeech himself wanted them at his gala.
"You know I have some friends who fancy themselves adventurers - of course they're nowhere near your level," she said, "They heard that dragon that lairs under the traitors' graves flew back with a limp, and thought they'd raid its hoard while it was down. A Wounded. Adult dragon. In its lair. Did I mention my friends are idiots? They barely escaped with their lives! Untrained commoners shouldn't try to do what you do, am I right?"
Trislee nodded along politely while Nemara froze in her chair, remembering the holes her eldritch blasts had put in Ilthane's wings.
They walked out holding their folded outfit parcels carefully, and headed back into their hotel room. They had much to discuss.
Time of day: ~2:00 pm
Rewards Granted
+26,325 gp (selling gems, valuables, unwanted magic items), and -39,300 gp for:
- Additional room for Nemara
- Arcane Grimoire +2
- Cloak of the Bat
- Glamoured Studded Leather armour +1
- Scroll of Remove Curse
- Bag of Holding
- Two tailored gowns at LaFond's
- Breakfast at a common pub
- Assorted poisons
Missions/Quests Completed
Secured invitations to Zeech's gala (and hopefully access to Lashonna along with it)
Starting to be Recognized as Famous/Rich/High-Society Invitees about town
Character(s) interacted with
Armhin Loratio, the proud proprietor of the Deluxury
Kragen, a humble bartender with a novelty purple brew
B'Kruss, a bragging bugbear and V'Juss, his goblin wizard companion, whose "friendly competition" the party rebuffed
Various service workers
Notes
9th of Reaping
Report Date
26 Jun 2023
Primary Location