previously... Chapter 2 — The Long and Winding Road

[Wiz]

Val ponders all that is being talked about, and is glad to see that food is bringing more conversation amongst the party.  Smiling at Rain, she shakes her head.

"It's no problem if you'd rather not go, I just thought we'd make a quick run over there.  I'm mostly curious what he might have to offer for sale that we might not see at a standard shop during the day."

Val smiles at Domino. 

"It's okay, sister.  If his offering seems poor, we simply won't take him up on it, you should probably rest, all of this  among other people again may be making you anxious again.  Barhuce and I will make a quick run over there after dinner, and then be back.  And I'm only having one glass of wine and not stopping at strange bars in alleys."

[farothel]

 

Statblock

Vrilundass 'Vri' Arund

Female NG Half-elf Swashbuckler, Level 1, Init 3, HP 4/11, Speed 30ft
AC 16, Touch 13, Flat-footed 13, CMD 15, Fort 0, Ref 5, Will 1, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 1   
silversheen, MC rapier +5 (1d6+1, 18-20/x2)
cold iron dagger +4 (1d4+1, 19-20/x2)
shortbow (20)+4 (1d6, x3)
Studded Leather (+3 Armor, +3 Dex)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition None

Hero points: 1/1

"Not bad, not bad at all," Vri said as she tried some, "not really the location where you would think to look for this kind of food.  Nice tat by the way.  You shouldn't hide it."

The last was to Rain.  She hadn't seen it before and she didn't really recognise the symbol.  She had never really been good at the whole studying thing.

OOC

 

[madMonk]

Rain-in-Summer

Rain smiles and dips her head in Vri's direction. "Thank you. Though, it is not a tattoo- it is a birthmark." Rain runs a finger over the pattern of stars, tracing them perfectly despite being unable to see them.

"I do not wear my veil to hide the mark of my Lady. My tribe sometimes lives in the Felldales to the west- it is a dangerous, barren land, and the air itself is heavy with sickness. Moreso than the rest of Numeria, but those who brave the cold sands can find a bounty of skymetals. Enough to feed the tribe for many moons. We wear our veils to protect ourselves from the sands and the poisoned air.

"Now that I have left the tribe, the veil serves as a reminder of home. As far as I wander, I have some part of the tribe with me." Rain takes a sip of her drink. "And it helps me blend in. A veil is unusual, but so far as I know, my birthmark is unique. At least in this land."

---

OOC: From what I know, the Felldales are the Western region of Numeria, and includes the site of the nuke that screwed the country up. From what I can see, it seems like it's basically a cold, radioactive, sandy desert. Rain's tribe was migratory, and would live there for three months at a time, looking for phat loots.

 

[farothel]

 

Statblock

Vrilundass 'Vri' Arund

Female NG Half-elf Swashbuckler, Level 1, Init 3, HP 4/11, Speed 30ft
AC 16, Touch 13, Flat-footed 13, CMD 15, Fort 0, Ref 5, Will 1, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 1   
silversheen, MC rapier +5 (1d6+1, 18-20/x2)
cold iron dagger +4 (1d4+1, 19-20/x2)
shortbow (20)+4 (1d6, x3)
Studded Leather (+3 Armor, +3 Dex)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition None

Hero points: 1/1

"Okay, that makes sense," Vri said to Rain.  She wasn't going to say more.  had grown up in a circus, so she had learned from an early age not to comment on people's outfits or general appearance.  And in the circus there were a couple of people with very unusual appearances.

 

OOC

 

[iantruesilver]

Rain Only

The Felldales is a primarily semi-arid shrubland in the western regions of Numeria, with borders to parts of Mendev and the Worldwound to the north, Ustalav to the west, and parts of the River Kingdoms to the south.

 

Despite common belief, the Felldales is not in fact completely desert and badlands. Besides some thin strips of arable land along the West Sellen and some of its tributaries, there is also the occasional if infrequent groundwater reservoir, inland lake and swampland that supports vegetative and animal life in the region.

 

While the flora there is indeed sparse, the Felldales nonetheless still sustains enough to support such strongholds as Aaramor and Castle Urion, which supply and replenish the nigh-constant flow of crusaders into Mendev and the Worldwound, albeit thru heavy taxes levied against such travellers.

 

Besides that, there are still communities that subsist here and there, whether native Numerians, nomadic Kellid tribes, or descendants of refugees from Sarkoris from a century ago when the Worldwound displaced much of the neighbouring country's population. Some of these communities indeed rely on trading with neighbouring Ustalav, or raiding other less fortunate folk to eke out their precarious existence, amongst the various hazards of this land.

Oblivious to much of the conversation at the table, Violet kept to herself beside Val, quietly beginning to imitate Domino in taking the first bites of her food, poking a single sweet potato wedge with the tines of her fork, albeit stabbing a little too hard and getting three on her fork on her first go, and haphazardly trying to shove the whole menagerie into her mouth wholesale.

 

The android imitated the motion of chewing, but didn't immediately pick up on the fact that she needed to swallow, and in effect resulted in her speaking with her mouth full when she opened her lips, "Ohh whaao!  Dihf ihf… waow…"

 

"Fwawl, cwan I cwuom?"

[madMonk]

Rain-in-Summer

The Shaman smiles at Violet. "You need to swallow your food in order to gain nutrition, to continue functioning. As so," Rain says, taking another bite of her food. 

"Try to use your tongue and soft palate to propel your food towards the back of your throat- this should initiate a swallowing reflex. Be careful not to inhale while attempting to swallow, or you may choke." The shaman look at Domino and Violet pensively. "At least, that is how swallowing works in organic creatures. I wonder if such mechanisms are maintained when constructing an android?"

 

[Wiz]

Val looks over at Violet, smiling. 

 

"You'll get the hang of it.  And as far as I'm concerned, you're welcome to come.  After all, you have to learn about money since you're getting a share of the common treasure.  I don't know if I'll be the best example of how to bargain and such... but whether I haggle well or poorly you're sure to learn something useful, and may even find it very funny."

[iantruesilver]

After Rain's calm instruction on how to swallow, Violet's attention returned primarily to consuming her food. Throughout, she remains intensely amazed at the sensations elicited from the meal.

 

Alliandra comes about every so often to refill drinks and take away your finished plates, and time seems to slip away soon beyond your recall.

 

 

(( Feel free to continue roleplay at the table or move on to other activities for the evening. I'll advance the story when it is appropriate. ))

[Wiz]

Val finishes her one glass of wine and has eaten three quarters of her food. 

"I'm ready to go and I'll meet anyone outside who wants to check out the Midnight Snack Shack with me."

As Alliandra comes back around, she nods to the waitress, gesturing to the unusual way she's stacked her pork tenderloin atop cheese-covered sweet potato slics and topped with the mushroom gravy.  The investigator also hands her a coin.

"The food was excellent, could I get an old bowl to put the rest of this in for our dog, he's out in the barn and I didn't want to use your dishes for that.  Here's another gold to keep the party going for anyone who wants to keep going, they all have their keys.  If there's any left at the end, you keep it, if there's a shortcoming, I'll make it up in the morning."

When all of that is done, Val will drop her backpack in the room and lock it; she will keep wearing her armor and her bandoliers, keeping her pistol holstered at her side while she waits by the barn for whomever is going.  Val will give the bowl of food to the dog and look over what might be easiest to carry while she waits for any other shoppers to arrive.

Edited April 15, 2023 by Wiz (see edit history)

[farothel]

 

Statblock

Vrilundass 'Vri' Arund

Female NG Half-elf Swashbuckler, Level 1, Init 3, HP 4/11, Speed 30ft
AC 16, Touch 13, Flat-footed 13, CMD 15, Fort 0, Ref 5, Will 1, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 1   
silversheen, MC rapier +5 (1d6+1, 18-20/x2)
cold iron dagger +4 (1d4+1, 19-20/x2)
shortbow (20)+4 (1d6, x3)
Studded Leather (+3 Armor, +3 Dex)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition None

Hero points: 1/1

"Speaking of that dog," Vri said to Alliandra, "we rescued him from a small cage, but we can't really take him with us.  Would you be interested in having a guard dog for the inn?"

 

OOC

 

[ccanary]

 

T'Sarra Khonnor 

HP 4/11  | AC 18(+1 vs robots) |  Fort (2) - Reflex (3) - Will (2) 

 

 

 

 

---

T'Sarra was not relaxing her guard for a second. She avoided anything alcoholic, and stuck with water to drink, being careful to taste it before taking much. Fool her once shame on her, and all that.

"Do we really need to buy and sell tonight?" she asked frowning.

"I'm with Domino and Rain, couldn't it wait until morning when more shops are open and we have more options? After what happened last time I'm reluctant to split up, though to be fair all sticking together didn't help much last time. Still, we don't know that we've seen the last of her Unholy Pee Priestess' friends. I'd want us all watching each other's backs."

She nodded then swore as she knocked over her tankard of water accidentally, swearing.

 

 

[iantruesilver]

After a little bit of negotiation with the innkeeper, with Alliandra adding in a good word here and there, Vri manages to pawn off the dog for an amount of 12gp 5sp.

 

With hot baths arranged for the rest of the party, Violet joins Val and Barhuce at the stables, ready to visit the Midnight Snack Shack after watching the dog enjoy the leftovers from Val's meal.

 

At the Midnight Snack Shack

Making their way down a couple alleyways, turning a pair of corners, the trio step into a small shop, the only one nearby that is still open at this hour.

 

 

Within, they find an assortment of foodstuffs, which consists primarily of jerkies, candies, nuts and dried fruits, crispy fried thin slices of vegetables, along with some juices and other refreshments, as well as all kinds of knickknacks all neatly displayed on various counters and shelves.

 

   

 

 

Behind a set of counters at the back, a catfolk watches with one eyelid open and the other closed, as though he was half asleep.

 

Edited April 17, 2023 by iantruesilver (see edit history)

[Wiz]

Val sees a haphazard display, and frowning... pondering she does what she always does when dealing with chaos, she tries to find the underlying order.  Looking at how all of the nicknacks are displayed she tries to figure out if there is any kind of pattern to how it is set up.  In her analysis, she keeps the positioning of the catfolk as part of the setup, since he is probably the owner and the only individual who is a person of interest.

[farothel]

 

Statblock

Vrilundass 'Vri' Arund

Female NG Half-elf Swashbuckler, Level 1, Init 3, HP 4/11, Speed 30ft
AC 16, Touch 13, Flat-footed 13, CMD 15, Fort 0, Ref 5, Will 1, CMB +2, Base Attack Bonus 1   
silversheen, MC rapier +5 (1d6+1, 18-20/x2)
cold iron dagger +4 (1d4+1, 19-20/x2)
shortbow (20)+4 (1d6, x3)
Studded Leather (+3 Armor, +3 Dex)
Abilities Str 12, Dex 17, Con 10, Int 12, Wis 12, Cha 15
Condition None

Hero points: 1/1

After checking up on the dog and getting it settled in with its new owner, Vri heads of to the baths, taking the rest of the bottle of wine with her.  Soon she's soaking in hot water while having another glass of wine.

"This is life as it should be," she said, sipping her wine.

 

OOC

I'm not sure how the baths are set up, if there's multiple people in the same room, so the speech can either be to someone else or more to herself.

[Inash]

 
Barhuce

Barhuce raises one eyebrow then considers what the barmaid had actually said about the Snack Shack. "You know, I don't think Alliandra actually said this shop would have gear or would be interested in what we have, just that it would be the only place open. That said..." He steps forward, into easy conversation range with the proprietor. "Good evening. I've been told that your beaver tails are 'to die for' and it got me curious about what a beaver tail is, as well as what might be sold at a shop that is open only at night. We decided we didn't want to miss the opportunity to see what you carry."

Statblock

Barhuce
M NG Human (Kellid) Alchemist (CryptBreaker), [B]Level[/B] 1, [B]Init6[/B] 4, [B]HP[/B] 7/9, [B]Speed[/B] 30
[B]AC[/B] 15, [B]Touch[/B] 12, [B]Flat-footed[/B] 13, [B]CMD[/b] 13, [B]Fort[/B] 3, [B]Ref[/B] 4, [B]Will[/B] 0, [B]CMB[/B] +1, [B]Base Attack7 Bonus[/B] 0   
[B]1d8 v undead or constructs, DC 14 Alkahest Bomb (5/day) [/B] 3 (1d4+4, x2)
[B]  light Mace [/B] 1 (1d6+1, x2)
[B]  Dagger [/B] 1 (1d4+1, 19-20/x2)
[B]  Lamellar Cuirass[/B] (+2 Armor, +2 Dex, +1 Deflect)
[B]Abilities[/B] Str 12, Dex 14, Con 13, Int 18, Wis 10, Cha 10
[B]Condition[/B] None 

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