Session 30 - Prodigal Son

10/06/5-10

The party were in the drawing room waiting on Ruben to appear. Cassini said out loud that Vincent's father clearly made a deal with a devil. When Valeyo scolded him for lacking tact, Cassini said Vincent was smart enough to have figured it out, completely missing the point. Vincent himself pretended not to be listening to them, until Valeyo asked how much they would share with his brother. Vincent said that it was up to them as he didn't really mind, so they agreed to share that Vincent was being attacked  for his wealth and the party had saved them.

In the room, were a number of paintings depicting the family, including the siblings and another man, seemingly the sister's husband. Very few depicted Vincent himself. Valeyo asked when he left and Vincent said it was before leaving for university. Suddenly the main door opened and Ruben walked in carrying a bottle of alcohol. He said there was much to talk about and wondered who the party was to his brother. Ruben himself was only a few years older than Vincent, but more youthful looking, having taken better care of himself.

Valeyo shared a shortened story of how they met and Ruben said that he could have sent and army to protect Vincent if he had sent for it. Ruben asked what the party do and Valeyo simply said they were travelers. He asked after their mining business. Ruben said they were fortunate, when one of their lesser mines, originally for copper and coal, turned out to contain gemstones. He pulled out a well-used book, clearly a prop used to tell the story, in which was a picture depicting a large cavern with a variety of different gemstones sticking out of the walls and ceiling. According to him this room ,lead to more caverns full of much the same. He remembered seeing it as a child. Valeyo and Shiek pointed out that this is very unusual and Ruben agreed. He explained that from his understanding the cavern connects to the plane of earth which causes these gemstones to grow. The speech was delivered with such confidence that he either believed it himself or was trying to convince himself. Valeyo asked if the gemstones regrow and Ruben confirmed.

Milivoj wondered how these gemstones don't collapse their own value. Ruben said that they sell them tactically, so as not to flood the market. Milivoj retorted asking why they wouldn't share this wealth with the kingdom ,to which Ruben seemed offended saying they share plenty. Shiek said the story was quite fantastical, causing Ruben to go into a speech about how this is a fantastical story of legend about their father buying the poorest mine in the region and coming up with all this wealth. Vincent looked clearly uncomfortable with the story and his brother's presence. Valeyo asked why their family bothers buying other mines if this one is so strong. Ruben explained that other materials also have value and they also provide jobs to the people near here.

Valeyo asked if they could find gemstones in Stendolin, and was directed to the Atanasoff in Waukeen's Walk. With that Valeyo asked if there was anything else, and when the party said no, they went to leave, unloading Vincent's items from the cart and heading into town. On the way Shiek said that the family was weird and Valeyo said that it is typical rich person stuff. Having experience in mining Shiek doubted the story of the Earth Plane. Valeyo said it was a good one, plausible and clearly rehearsed, but likely false pointing to what Cassini had said. They explained the mechanism of a deal and the origin of tieflings to the party. Milivoj was saying about what an outrageous deal it had to be. Valeyo pointed out that the deals appear to be legal in Dragomir, giving Sazrars' as an example.

Eventually the party approached Stendolin, seeing an arm of the mountain reach towards the town, with a  fort on top. Tall out walls marked the city proper, but buildings spread beyond them, with the city wrapping the ridge of the mountain. Valeyo listed their goals - a priest, a place to stay, the head Boyar and the helmet. He also asked Eletheria and Nikoletta their plans. Eletheria said that they hope to stay the night here and then head south so Nikoletta can master her transformation, before looking for the Fire Giant girl.

Valeyo proposed he and the two of them head south to the ridge and hide in the forest for a bit, so Nikoletta can spread her wings, before going into town to ensure there are no surprise transformations. The rest of the party headed to the gate and the guards asked their purpose. Milivoj said that they are travelers and the guard checked the cart for contraband. He asked about the body in the back and Milivoj told him it is none of his business, pointing out he wouldn't have let him check if there was anything illegal.

Entering town, the architecture was notably different from Dragomir. The buildings taller and slimmer with many domed roofs. In the centre of town was a large domed buildings with spires rising next to it. The dome was painted to resemble the sun, marking it as a temple to Pelor. The main road headed straight in and immediately past the gate, towards the left, was a small tavern called the Gatehouse. The group decided to check it out and it appeared quite noisy and rowdy despite its size. Behind the bar was a gnome man, who went wide-eyed as the group entered. He said he didn't recognize them and they could tell were clearly new in town, by the fact that they were looking at staying there. They asked for 8 rooms and the man asked for 8gp in return. The party was suspicious and the man said he couldn't be blamed for trying. Milivoj was outraged deciding to cause a scene about the man taking part in price gouging and after admitting to not having the room - fraud. As Otto went to leave, the party noticed that the whole tavern was looking at them ready for a scrap. On the way out, the barkeep shouted not to let the door hit them on the way out.

Back on the main road, they soon stumbled across the Golden Road. A sign was hung saying travelers welcome, immediately looking more hospitable. Inside it was full of travelers, unsurprising as this was one of the main stops on the road from Otusta to Dragomir. A human woman greeted them from behind the bar, asking how many rooms they would need, as they were tin bunks in each. She told them that they have a safe space for the cart and horses and there is a guard tower right on the corner to keep the peace. They passed the information of where they are staying to Valeyo using the Sending Stone, before Otto headed out for a walk. He used the Locate Object spell on his walk to try and find his helmet. After about 15 minutes, he felt a ping. He tried to figure out the position of it, by walking around town. The spell pointed to another tavern, called the Dragon Slayers. He returned to their tavern where Valeyo and the others had just arrived.

Otto shared his findings and the party discussed their plans for the following day. Otto said he could possibly help Vincent, if he could get his hands on some diamonds. Valeyo pointed out that Ruben shared a store where they could buy some and Shiek pulled out the golden amulet he said they could sell. Before heading to bed, Shiek went to bring the Skystone barrel to their room, but was interrupted by the barkeep, who asked him why he was doing it. She explained that they prided themselves on their security and they work close with the guard to ensure the patron and their good's security. Sheik asked if he was not allowed to bring it and she said she would prefer otherwise but ultimately relented.

11/06/5-10

Feeling refreshed after a long rest in real beds, the party prepared for their tasks. They said their goodbyes with Eletheria and Nikoletta. Valeyo sent then a message on their way out before, Shiek, Otto and he began looking for Waukeen's walk. They were pointed to a domed entrance to a long covered street of the bazaar. Valeyo began looking for places to sell the amulet, trying to determine if it has more value as an art piece or just gold. The low popularity of Melora here meant that it's value as an art piece was limited. They found a currency trader and Valeyo sold the amulet for 120gp.

Shiek meanwhile, came across an apothecary. A symbol caught his eye, one often used in Almanat to symbolize that the vendor traded in less than legal substances. A half-orc woman was running the shop and she asked how she could help and he pointed out the symbol saying he needs poisons. She inquired about his budget and after hearing it said it was quite on the low end. She listed her wares, but nothing caught his eye.

The party approached the Atanasoff store where all manner of gems were being stored. Bags overflowed with stones, both cut and uncut and behind the stall was a burgundy tiefling. Valeyo greeted her and introduced them as friends of his brother. After some confusion with regards to which brother she explained that she lives in town, so she was unaware that Vincent was back. They moved on to their reason for being there and after explaining their need she produced a bunch of lower quality diamonds marked with an R. She explained that since they have lower aesthetic purpose they sell them for spell components instead. They produced 300gp between them and got the diamond. She asked if they were adventurers, before finally introducing herself as Diane. She wondered if her brother hadn't asked them about a job. She said she had some trouble and needed help, but wanted to talk tonight at her house, where it is a bit more private. She explained she lived south near the base of the mountain. Valeyo asked about the fort on the mountain of it was a Lord's house or a defensive building. She explained that calling it a fort was a bit of a joke, it used to be the seat of power of the King of Stendolin, before Dragomir's Conquest, now it is where the First Boyar operates from. Him and the priest of Pelor run things, though others also hold power. They agreed to meet in the evening and made their way home.

Cassini, while still in the tavern, went up to the room to grab something. He was surprised to find Eletheria's staff leant up against the wall with a piece of parchment tied to it. It read "Thanks for getting us this far, we couldn't have done it without you. I have nothing else to give to express my gratitude. Thank you.". He grabbed the staff and began attuning to it.

On the way to the tavern the party discussed whether to deal with Simona and Blazh first or the job Diane was offering. Shiek pointed out that if they took too long doing the job, Simona and Blazh might leave. They soon returned to the tavern, where Cassini shared the note Eletheria had left. They gathered around the body of Ysomir and Otto began his prayer to Sardior, holding out the diamond to touch Ysomir. The diamond was absorbed by his body in a flash of ruby light and his eyes opened, as he took a deep breath. He asked where they were in a pained voice and Milivoj welcomed him back. Ysomir asked what happened, but Milivoj said that they didn't need to talk about it right now and heeded to rest. Otto healed some of his wounds and Ysomir fell asleep.

Valeyo proposed going to meet Blazh now and Milivoj said it might be best if he skipped the meeting, considering what happened last time. On the way Otto used his spell once more and felt like helmet was still there. Outside the tavern was an iconography of a Red Dragon with a crown, whose head had been cut off. The tavern was not as big as the Golden Road and had some tables outside. It was not very busy at this time and seemed to be more of a tavern, without any accommodation. There were no faces that the group immediately recognized. Manning the bar was a minotaur and at the bar, with a long stiletto knife sticking from the top of it was Otto's helmet. They approached the bar and Valeyo asked if the tavern's name was just a boast or true. The Minotaur said that it is more of a boast. The next question was about the helmet and the barkeep said a patron left it saying some people would come looking for it. Valeyo told him it was them, but the man insisted on getting a name. Valeyo shared it was Simona and the Minotaur pulled the stiletto out of the helmet. Looking at it, there were 6 puncture holes, the two at the front being bigger.

Otto took the helmet and gave it a once over. The holes were definitely from within the helmet. Valeyo asked if she said anything, the man said she said that it wasn't sure if the people were "Truly trustworthy, but some were looking the right way.". She was helping out a friend at the time. Valeyo said they were taking the helmet and the man responded that he would let her know they swung by. He offered them a drink and said it was for a friend with a smile.

As they left Valeyo suggested Shiek might need to followed him at one point. They discussed what their next move could be. Valeyo said that he knows how Thalia operates and could crack her codes. Shiek brought up Ignacy the apprentice, but Valeyo dismissed him as able to craft what Vincent does. Otto also pointed out that they could be trying to rile up the giants and destabilize the peace to bring down Dragomir. The decided to meet with Diane first and then potential send Sapphira and Shiek to follow the minotaur.

The party arrived Diane's and see about the job. She greeted them and said one of their regrowing mines, had some elemental creature take residence and prevent extraction. Shiek asked about the creatures, but she said all they know is there is a large rock man causing trouble and injuring workers, but they don't know what is further down. Valeyo asked why the Sila or Boyar are unable to help, but she said that the Head Boyar Borek said they are spread thin. For rewards she offered a 1000gp each. As Valeyo was negotiating for the reward, saying that they could steal more gems and they need more reward the door opened. She turned towards it and said "Welcome home Tomo.". The party turned to see the minotaur from the Dragon Slayers enter, look at them and say "This will be fun.".