secret of the dragon emperor ... part 16!

guys, this has turned into way far the biggest campaign we've ever played. i sure hope you're enjoying it, because we're all really digging this game. anyway, here's the start of our next play session!

GM Elle: Here we go, then. Your donkeys are hitched to the cart, their saddlebags are on, and you're ready to head out of Outskirt toward Dead Eyes Cave, where Gualmond and his adventuring partners told you there's a basilisk. Anything you want to do before leaving town?
MSG: What's everybody's rations situation? Because according to the cart inventory, we've got 28 rations there, and my look at the map says it's about three days to the cave. Multiplied by six of us --
Claire: Seven.
Akane: Yes! Do not forget your unwisely hired cultist donkey-tender!
MSG: Well, technically we haven't checked the cart for her yet, so maybe instead of hiding in there she decided to ditch us. Anyway, six times three would be eighteen, plus another eighteen on the way back to Outskirt makes 36 rations just for the trip.
Claire: Or 42 if Glinssa is hiding in the cart like we told her to.
Ariel: I'm too slothful to do the math, but 42 is definitely a chunk more than 28. Probably we should buy some more.
Sasha: Hey, we know there's snakes and a basilisk in the cave, so it's just a matter of clearing the place out and grilling up whatever we kill. How much meat is on a basilisk?
Akane: Zedeja attempts Beast Lore hoping to learn a basilisk is poisonous to eat, not just from its gassiness. The roll is 15, though, far above her skill. Still, she says, "No eating basilisks! Indigestible, I'm sure!"
Claire: Since Filvius seemed to know some basilisk lore last time it came up, can I roll to see if he knows whether they're edible?
GM Elle: Sure.
Claire: 10 is a success.
GM Elle: You know they're chock-full of poison gas and corrosive stomach acids, and their eyes can turn you to stone. So at the very least you'd need to do a really good job preparing the meat before cooking it, and if you stab it in the gas-bladder while fighting it, the whole thing will be contaminated. In game terms, let's say you'll have to roll bushcraft with a bane to cook it properly.
Akane: Zedeja forbids this kind of culinary. Look, across the square is the store of Master Ulvar, where rations are one silver ... less if a hound haggles for them!
Ariel: Okay, I guess let's make a stop and Fidu will see what kind of deal he can get on some road grub. I guess we might as well get like 20 of them? My Bartering roll is ... 2.
GM Elle: 16 silver for 20 rations, then. Master Ulvar says you drive a hard bargain.
Ariel: Ooh, maybe that's what we should name our cart! "The Hard Bargain." Do people name carts? It's sort of like a boat with wheels, right?
Sasha: The word I'm thinking of is "dinghy."
Ariel: Sure, that's a little boat, isn't it? Wait a minute ... are you saying "dinghy" like a boat or "dingy" like I'm a ding-dong for wanting to name our cart?
Sasha: Let's just assume I said "dinghy" with an "h" so we don't get bogged down in an argument. Be sure you write it that way in the notes, MSG.
MSG: Already done.
Akane: Zedeja says naming a boat is allowable, but do not waste funds buying paint and a brush to write the name on the cart-prow. To make sure no expenditure of such fecklessness is made, she will go into the store and help retrieve rations.
Harriet: That seems uncharacteristically industrious of her, given her normal complaints of age and achings.
Akane: A second purpose is to throw the rations into the cart bed onto the piled sleeping furs, and see if the stowaway cultist is there.
Harriet: That sounds more like the Zedeja we know.
GM Elle: Roll Awareness to see if you hear anything.
Akane: 15 succeeds because Zedeja is so Aware.
GM Elle: You think a little sound of discomfort squeaks out from under the furs.
MSG: Let's go ahead and get moving, then, in case anyone passing by heard that too.
Ariel: Fidu is back in the cart and ready to go.
Akane: Zedeja resumes driving. What is our direction?
Harriet: Isn't it out of town to the south? That's where we came from when we ran into the three downcast adventurers on their way back from Dead Eyes Cave.
Akane: South would be a direction very reasonable. But who knows? Maybe the north gate is closer and we must hurry from town as fast as we can to conceal this cultist. She's paying us to transport her out of town, yes? So the quicker we're out, the quicker she pays and departs from us.
Harriet: Also the quicker Dilfriida can return to riding in the back of the cart, now that I think of it. Maybe the north gate does sound better, since Dilfriida wasn't around for any of the discussion about exactly why we're bringing this other person along.
MSG: I'll say that south is the direction we need to smuggle her out of town because that's the direction she meant to head.
Claire: That's pretty close to a bluff, isn't it? If she's going with us to tend our donkeys, she didn't mean to head any direction except wherever we're going.
Ariel: Does she even know we're hiring her as a donkey-person?
Sasha: I don't think so, but that's not part of Dolora's bluff right now. Assuming the GM makes her roll for it.
Akane: She must! Clearly, it's untrue her motive was southernly.
GM Elle: I think it's more shading the truth than Bluffing, really, so I'll give you a Boon on the roll, MSG.
MSG: 5 and 10 both succeed.
Claire: South it is, then. Filvius starts walking that direction.
GM Elle: If no one makes any further issue of it, you reach the south gate and pass out of town without incident. Once on the road, you find that the thick mists that give the vale its name are especially bad today -- like pea soup. The damp air feels heavy on your skin, and permeates your clothes to work a chill into your bones.
Akane: Excellent! This soupy fog conceals us. Now the cart-sneaker can be unloaded and pay us for our smugglery, then begone. Zedeja insists that it is time.
GM Elle: Glinssa sits up in the bed of the cart and says she thought she was joining your group.
MSG: Dolora says, "I said we had an opening. Whether you actually join or not is provisional."
Claire: Which is why she's riding in the cart with our provisions, Filvius supposes.
Akane: Zedeja is silent at this outrage of deception.
Ariel: Fidu says he's pretty sure we can trust her.
Akane: Obviously more than our bard is trustable!
GM Elle: Glinssa is quiet for a moment, then sighs and says it doesn't really matter what the deal is, she's very relieved to be away from Quasimund and his thugs.
Akane: Very easy for her to say a deal doesn't matter when the deal is changed from, she will pay us for smuggling to, we will pay her for donkey-minding.
GM Elle: Glinssa's brow furrows. She asks, "Donkey-minding?"
MSG: Dolora says that to start with, the group figures she can handle simpler and less dangerous tasks, like keeping an eye on the donkeys while the rest of us go down into a cave. Then we might move her up to other tasks depending on how things work out.
Ariel: If we're setting up the deal here, Fidu will pitch in with his Bartering skills. Like, we'll cover her rations while we're on the road, and she gets maybe 2 silvers a day for watching the donkeys and doing stuff like helping find firewood for camp?
GM Elle: You can roll Bartering with a Boon to sell her on that deal.
Ariel: 3 and 6, easy peasy!
GM Elle: She says she's pretty happy with that, since all she got from Quasimund was room and board and a mug of ale here and there. Then she adds, "Which seems like a pretty bad deal for pledging my soul to Sathmog. I sure hope he doesn't come after me to collect now that I've left."
Claire: I show off my knowledge that I gained from Dranath about how Sathmog's high priest is stuck on a misty island somewhere, so she's probably safe until he figures out a way to get loose.
Sasha: Which we're going to stop him from doing by getting that ancient monster-killing sword everybody says is under the old temple in Outskirt.
Akane: Silence! Why is this information being told to a cultist?
MSG: Well, she's decided not to be a cultist anymore, right, Glinssa?
Ariel: Whatever she says, I'm going to use my Insight to see if she's lying.
GM Elle: She says Quasimund found her while she was down on her luck and desperate, and now that Dolora has encouraged her to have a little more hope, she sees that it was a really bad idea to join the cult. Fidu's insight tells him she's being honest.
Akane: Honesty now does not prevent mind-changing later!
Harriet: All Dilfriida knows is, this chick is still in my spot. How about if she gets down and starts leading a donkey or something so I can rest my short little legs?
GM Elle: She looks like she's a little put off by your gruffness and Akane's bossiness. But she gives up her place in the cart and starts walking.
MSG: I'll encourage her not to worry. A couple of our teammates are kind of rough around the edges, but no one will mistreat her the way Quasimund and Vlort did.
Akane: Truthful. Also, no soul-demanding here.
Harriet: Dilfriida mutters, "Just soul draining."
GM Elle: So is there anything the group wants to discuss on the journey, or should we just move along through it?
MSG: I want to ask Glinssa if she knows what's up with Annabelle. There seemed to be something weird going on between the two of them, and I also noticed some inconsistencies in things Annabelle told us.
GM Elle: Glinssa reveals that Annabelle is another member of the cult and actually gives Quasimund his orders. Her real name is Leanara. Early on, Leanara's seeming kindness was part of what made it easy for Glinssa to sign up with the cult. She made very compelling arguments about how bad the dragon knights were, and her story of the knights killing her whole family made Glinssa sympathize with her. But more recently Leanara has grown more forceful in her demands toward the other cultists, and has revealed a harsh edge Glinssa doesn't like so much. That's more or less the gist of it.
Akane: Zedeja is very interrogative hearing this. She has so many accusing questions. But we don't need to roleplay them all.
Harriet: Thank you for that! We can safely assume Dilfriida becomes highly irritable about Zedeja's questions and tells Dolora and Glinssa to walk farther away from the cart if that keeps up for any length of time.
Claire: Filvius will also ask a lot of questions, trying to learn more about the cult and what it's like to be a cultist. He's more interested in acquiring his own knowledge than in the answers to Dolora's questions, so he probably interrupts a lot and generally makes a pain of himself.
Ariel: Fidu gets tired of all that really quick, so he agrees with Dilfriida that people should take that conversation farther away from the cart.
Sasha: Quackers doesn't care. He's intent on watching the road ahead for monsters. Also, he probably can't hear all that much with the Awareness bane from his great helm.
GM Elle: All right. Toward the end of your first shift on the road, an hour or so after passing through a small village, you happen across a couple of travelers. One is injured and limping along. The other is helping the injured one. They have similar features -- maybe a brother and sister or two cousins. Both of them are young, somewhere in their late teens.
MSG: I'll hail them and ask if they need any help.
Claire: I'll hail them and offer to heal the injured one in exchange for information.
Sasha: I'll put a hand to the pommel of my sword in case they're monsters in disguise.
GM Elle: The injured one is the brother, and he quickly says no thanks to the offer of help. They'll make it the rest of the way back to their town on their own. The sister looks at him dubiously and says she's getting worn out and that she's worried about how much slower he's been getting. She says she thinks they should accept the help. He replies that they definitely don't have any information to trade, so it's no use anyway.
MSG: Does it seem like he's bluffing about that?
Ariel: I'm using my Insight to find out!
GM Elle: Dolora thinks he sounds pretty convincing. But Fidu, you're sure he's lying.
Ariel: I'll try to Persuade him that for sure his health must be worth a useful trade, considering if they don't make it back to town tonight something bad could happen to them and then whatever he's hiding wouldn't be useful anyway. I roll an 11, which is a success.
GM Elle: Roll another die for the Bane I'm saying applies due to him being incredibly stubborn. He does appear to be seriously wounded, but is struggling to avoid showing it.
Ariel: Oh, poop. My second roll is a Demon.
GM Elle: That's such a bad result that the sister re-thinks her argument and gives in to him.
MSG: Dang it.
Ariel: Sorry!
Sasha: I tell him if he got injured fighting a monster, don't worry, I'll take care of it.
GM Elle: The two of them look like they're just going to push onward back toward their village.
Claire: Doggone it, even as greedy for knowledge as he is, Filvius doesn't want to just let them get eaten by a bear or something if they don't make it home. I'll tell them to wait up so I can heal him.
GM Elle: The brother appears skeptical but is hurting too much to argue.
Claire: I succeed with a 10 on my roll and heal him for 11 points of damage, plus one non-permanent severe injury if he's got one.
GM Elle: That gets him all the way back to full health. He looks amazed but seems to be biting his tongue against thanking you. The sister rattles on and on about being grateful, though.
Claire: I'll ask them if they'll at least tell us whether there's something dangerous on the road ahead that injured him.
GM Elle: The sister opens her mouth to say something, but the brother jumps in before she can start. "Not on the road, no. Stick to the road and you'll be fine."
MSG: Dolora says that's what we're planning to do.
Claire: Pretty stingy with the information, but I guess I'll take what I can get.
Ariel: Ooh!
Sasha: What?
Ariel: Quick, give me the rulebook! Mm-hmm ... mm-hmm ... okay! Before they get out of sight, I'm going to designate the dude Filvius healed as my prey.
Sasha: Wow, are you that pissed at him for not telling us what happened?
Ariel: No, but it seems like there must be something not on the road that he doesn't want us poking around at, right?
Akane: Zedeja was thinking just this as well.
Ariel: Well, if I designate someone as my prey, I can follow their scent for a whole day. And the book doesn't have to say I need to follow it to them -- I can follow it the other direction if I want, right? So if we want to, I can figure out where they were coming from that he got injured at and that they don't seem to want us to know about.
GM Elle: That's definitely within the rules as written, I think. But you've overlooked at least one important detail.
Ariel: I did? Boo! What is it?
GM Elle: To follow the scent, Fidu will have to get out of the cart and track it on foot.
Ariel: Aw, crud. Never mind, I guess. That will be way too much work.
Harriet: I believe this is one of those places where it would have helped to know what was said in character. Do the rest of us know about Fidu's tracking notion?
MSG: Considering Elle already said he overlooked the important detail of having to walk, I don't know why he'd keep it from us.
Ariel: That's true, I guess.
Sasha: Then Sir Quackenscrump is going to demand you lead us on the trail back to wherever he got injured. Maybe it was a monster that injured him, and he's trying to keep all the glory to himself by bringing an expedition back to kill it.
Ariel: I guess if I have to.
GM Elle: In that case, about half an hour after you begin tracking, you come to a spot where the road twists between two hills. You can see that one of the hills appears to have had a landslide occur on the side of the hill facing away from the road. It's not extremely obvious from this angle, so you might easily have missed it if it weren't for the scent of your prey leading off in that direction.
Ariel: Fidu points it out and says, "Dang. It looks like the reason they didn't want to give us information is, they broke that hill and hoped no one would find out about it. Guess I can get back in the cart and we can just keep going down the road, then."
Sasha: Not so fast, fuzzball. Maybe the landslide uncovered a monster lair and they found it, but the monster ran them off.
Harriet: Why would they want to hide the fact that they found a monster lair, though?
Sasha: Obviously the same reason I said before: so they could come back later and kill it and hog all the glory for themselves.
Akane: Another possibility: monster treasure.
Sasha: I guess there's that too. And don't you have a treasure hunting ability along with that prey hunting ability, Fidu?
Ariel: Yes, but I don't have the energy to use it right now. I'm down to 2 willpower points and it takes three, which to Fidu means he's just too tired.
Sasha: You were resting in the cart for hours though. Elle, shouldn't that count as a Stretch Rest?
GM Elle: No, because then any downtime where a character was sitting around would count as their Stretch Rest whether they needed to take one or not. You have to declare it.
Claire: I'm down a couple of WP, so I'd be fine with a rest.
Harriet: Dilfriida could use one as well, since she hasn't fully regained her points after that illness.
Ariel: Fine, I guess I'll rest too. And then I guess I'll spend the WP for my Treasure Hunter ability. Where's it say the greatest treasure is?
GM Elle: You're pretty sure it's in the direction of that landslide.
MSG: Dolora wants to check it out. Even if there's no treasure, I'll be getting knowledge about landslides.
Claire: Same here.
Ariel: I guess I have to go in case the trail is actually leading past the landslide somewhere and not just up to it.
Sasha: Seems like a group effort, then. Anybody staying behind?
Akane: Someone must watch the donkeys.
MSG: That's why we hired Glinssa.
Akane: Someone must watch Glinssa watching the donkeys!
Harriet: I'll volunteer for that.
GM Elle: Interesting. Everyone else heads out on the trail, then.
Harriet: The moment they're out of sight, I tell Glinssa I only volunteered to shut Zedeja up. I say, "I'm going to sneak after them, and when everyone gets back and you're still here with the cart, hopefully it'll stop her from continually complaining every time we need you to watch the donkeys."
Akane: More halfling treachery!
GM Elle: Glinssa nods and says she appreciates that. However, it will take a bushcraft roll for you to follow the group's trail.
Harriet: I don't particularly like my odds of making that roll. Can I just keep an eye on the landslide spot and navigate by that?
GM Elle: There are places where you'll have to go in and out of some dense thickets of trees, so you still have to roll, but I'll give you a double Boon.
Harriet: My second roll is a 2, so I make it.
GM Elle: This means you're actually taking a more direct path than the rest of the group. Draw initiative to see who gets there first. The group had a head start, so I'll give them the advantage of drawing two cards.
MSG: 5 and 6.
Harriet: 8 for Dilfriida, which is fine. I didn't want to arrive first anyway.
GM Elle: All right. As the rest of the group reaches the collapsed hillside, everyone sees that the entrance to some kind of tomb or crypt has been revealed by the landslide.
MSG: Did you have to have to jump right to tombs and crypts? Couldn't maybe have said, "bunker or basement or maybe crypt?"
Claire: Like that would have fooled anybody.
Ariel: Yeah, you'd have been the first one to say, "It's a crypt" if she said it that way.
Sasha: At least this way there's a mystery. Is it a tomb, or is it a crypt? Your version makes crypt a dead giveaway.
Akane: If "crypt" is a dead giveaway, does "tomb" have admission fees? I thought both were the same.
Harriet: Haha, no a tomb is an underground vault for burying the dead. A crypt is a large chamber underneath a church that might or might not be used for burial purposes.
GM Elle: I did not know that. MSG, feel free to speculate about it being a bunker. Hell, maybe it's a storm shelter. In any case, what do you do?
MSG: I'll --
Sasha: Stand aside while Quackers checks for monsters.
Akane: Zedeja urges caution! We do not know what injured the brother. Could be a sharp rock that trips unwaries onto another sharp rock.
Sasha: Oh I'll be careful, all right, using my Spot Hidden of 7. Should I roll, gamemaster lady?
GM Elle: Go for it.
Sasha: 15. Looks clear to me. Somebody get a light over here so we can go in.
Ariel: I have an oil lamp, but I probably left it in the cart. It's heavy.
Claire: Filvius uses his magic trick, Light, to put a light on Sir Q's shield.
Sasha: Awesome.
Claire: While I'm right there, I also look at the entrance and see if I can see anything that might explain the teenager's injury. Ooh, I get a 3 for my Spot Hidden.
GM Elle: The entrance is basically a rough stone arch opening into a tunnel that leads down. Just inside the arch, you see a groove in the floor that looks like a guide for a sliding door. The floor past the groove, you notice, is dusty except for a single footprint and spatters of blood around it.
Claire: I'll point that out and say that maybe we should poke the floor with something long
Sasha: You got anything?
Claire: It's been a while since I looked at my equipment list ... but actually, I have a staff. That ought to work. Oh. But I also just noticed that bone mask I found. Was I ever able to get that thing off, or have I been walking around town and everywhere with it on this whole time?
GM Elle: You get to make a WIL roll once a shift to take it off. I'm assuming you did that somewhere between the Temple of the Purple Flame and getting back to town.
Claire: Whew! Okay then, I'm going to prod the floor with my staff, right where that footprint is.
GM Elle: What exactly do you mean by "prod?"
Claire: Um ... I guess I angle the staff forward and down until the tip touches the floor. Then I'll press on it with more and more force until either something happens, or I get a good portion of my weight on it.
GM Elle: Got it. The slight pressure at the start doesn't do anything. But once you get a decent amount of oomph behind it, pushing on that spot causes the flooring stone there to click downward slightly, at which point spears jab out from each side into the space where you'd be if you were stepping there.
Ariel: Yikes!
Sasha: Looks like that kid got lucky he didn't have his whole body in the way of those spears.
Claire: Can I see where the edges of that flooring stone are?
GM Elle: Yes, it's a middle stone that extends most of the way across the passage, but there's space on either side where you could step.
Claire: I'll test those spaces too.
GM Elle: As soon as you remove pressure from the trigger stone, the spears slowly withdraw into the walls again. The side stones appear to be solid and don't set anything off.
Claire: I'll tell everybody it looks like we just need to not step on that middle stone.
Sasha: Naw, what we need to do is have you push the trigger again and then a couple of us break the spears. Otherwise somebody's going to be running out to escape from whatever else is in there and get speared because they forget about the trap.
Akane: Yes, this happens in one Indiana Jones film. If the halfling was here and if Zedeja knew Indiana Jones films, she would say to leave the trap alone because it's the betraying thief character who is speared. But since neither is true, she approves of the mallard's plan.
Claire: Sure, let's do that.
GM Elle: Between Quackenscrump's sword and Dolora's huge club, you manage to destroy the spears.
Claire: I'll keep testing stones ahead of us as we move forward.
GM Elle: Normal marching order with Sir Q up front and then Dolora, Filvius, Fidu, and Zedeja?
MSG: Works for me.
Sasha: Sure.
Akane: Zedeja demands this order, in fact.
GM Elle: All right, then. As the group heads into the passageway, Dilfriida arrives at the site.
Harriet: I'll hang back at the edge of the trees until they're all inside if I can. Then I'll sneak in after them. Tell me if I have to roll.
GM Elle: You'll have to roll once you step onto the stone floor. The question is whether it's an opposed roll or not.
Akane: Opposed, certainly. Regardless of crypt or tomb, Zedeja is alert for menaces.
GM Elle: There you go, then. Roll your Sneaking opposed by Zedeja's Awareness.
Harriet: 7 succeeds for me.
Akane: 6 succeeds more prominently for Zedeja!
Harriet: I'll push my roll and become angry. The thought of Zedeja noticing me is highly aggravating. But I get a 13, so she still wins.
Akane: Halt, everyone! There is sneakery from behind!
Harriet: If I hear that, I'll announce that it's just me.
Ariel: Oh, hi, Dilfriida!
Akane: Zedeja scowls at this unacceptable appearance. "You are supposed to be watching a cultist!"
Harriet: I'll say I did watch her, and since I saw that she was watching the donkeys like she was supposed to, I decided my job there was done.
Akane: If we are cartless and donkeyless when we return, you must pay for new ones, halfling.
Harriet: Sure, whatever.
GM Elle: The passageway slopes down into the hill, takes a bend at a landing and descends even further, until you come to a small chamber centered on a stone sarcophagus.
MSG: I thought tombs and crypts were both supposed to be large chambers.
Harriet: Aha. The plot twist is that after making us think it would be a tomb or crypt, it's actually a sepulcher.
GM Elle: The question is, regardless of the technical term, are you bold enough to enter and possibly open the sarcophagus?
MSG: I think both Dolora and Filvius have a keen interest in gaining knowledge of the precise technical terms.
Claire: Absolutely.
Harriet: Unfortunately, Dilfriida is the one who's there, and she hasn't nearly my vocabulary.
Sasha: Quackers says he's for going in and popping the lid on that thing.
Akane: There should be testing and searching for more spearlike devices!
Sasha: Be my guest.
Akane: Zedeja spots the hidden with a 9. Her value for the skill is 14.
GM Elle: There are no visible trip mechanisms. It appears to be untrapped.
Sasha: I'll give it a heave, then.
GM Elle: It's very heavy. Test strength with a Bane.
Sasha: A 6 and a Dragon. Super easy.
GM Elle: The lid topples open and crashes to the floor. The whole chamber resonates with cracking stone, and dust whirls up into a cloud. When it settles, you see a skeletal corpse in funeral finery, and you find two treasure cards worth of treasure.
MSG: The infamous treasure deck. I hope it turns up better than it has in the past.
GM Elle: On one finger of the skeletal hand you see a gold ring. It's not particularly ornate and lacks any inset gems, so it's worth about 12 gold pieces.
Claire: We're so rich.
Ariel: What's on the other card? Because if it's not any better than that, I'm going to ask my Treasure Hunter ability for a refund on those WP.
GM Elle: In the body's other hand you find a magnifying glass.
MSG: Who sets up a deadly spear trap to protect one gold ring and a magnifying glass?
Claire: Okay, the rulebook says a magnifying glass gives a Boon on Spot Hidden checks, so I say we take it and go over this sarcophagus and the whole room top to bottom. I'll hand it to Zedeja, since her Spot Hidden is so great.
Akane: How much rolling should be done, gamemaster?
GM Elle: One for the interior of the sarcophagus, one for the body itself, I suppose, and one for the room.
Akane: Sarcophagus! 14 and 4.
GM Elle: You find that the once-fine fabric lining the inside of the casket can be pulled loose, revealing inscriptions all the way around the interior. You see that through the magnifying lens the inscriptions appear to glow.
MSG: What do they say? I'll crowd in to look over Zedeja's shoulder.
Claire: Filvius wants to know too. I'll elbow Dolora out of the way.
Akane: Could be cursed! Zedeja averts her gaze. The dwarf and elf can look as they wish. She holds up the magnifier.
GM Elle: I assume you're both going to try and grab it, so draw initiative cards.
MSG: 4.
Claire: 8.
MSG: Hah! Got it! I try to read the glowing script.
GM Elle: It doesn't glow for you. It just looks like gobbledegook.
MSG: What the hell? Damn it.
Claire: I'll grab the magnifying lens.
GM Elle: To Filvius, it appears to be magical script. As you continue reading, you feel your mind filling with mystical knowledge.
Claire: I keep reading.
GM Elle: Unfortunately, the magic is foreign to you. It seems to be from another school of wizardry.
Claire: I'm pretty ticked about knowledge I can't use, so I give the lens back to Zedeja and say, "Looks like a curse, all right."
Akane: This requires Bluffing, yes?
GM Elle: Correct. Make a roll, Claire.
Claire: 6.
Ariel: That's good!
Claire: Not with my Charisma, it isn't. My Bluffing is only 4.
Akane: Cease your lies! Zedeja examines the script.
GM Elle: If you read through the entire thing, you can make a Mentalism check.
Akane: Success with 7.
GM Elle: The glowing script impresses the spell Enchant Weapon in your mind, then disappears forever.
Akane: I know this spell now?
GM Elle: You can cast it once, then it will disappear from your mind. Or you can write it down in your grimoire and learn it as you normally could do with a spell from a spell book.
Akane: Writing! We still have not acquired the supplies for it. Zedeja will have to keep this in her head until we do.
GM Elle: Regardless of further searching, that's all you find in the chamber.
MSG: I hope I was right about hiring Glinssa. This will be a pretty poor exchange for two donkeys and a cart full of stuff if she's gone.
Ariel: Honestly, I don't feel like it was that great an exchange for my 6 Willpower Points I had to spend tracking the way here and then Treasure Hunting.
GM Elle: Well, you can get the WP back, and when the group returns to the road, you find Glinssa still waiting by the cart for you.
MSG: There we go. I told you.
Akane: Hmph. Acceptable performance for such a short period proves little. Zedeja remains a skeptic.
GM Elle: So between the travel and the detour to the, ah, sepulcher ...
Harriet: Good.
GM Elle: ... it's now nearing the end of the day. Are you going to pull over soon and set up camp?
MSG: I'd kind of rather get some distance between us and the grave we just robbed first, but sure.
Claire: I agree with going at least another mile or two, unless it's getting dark already.
Akane: Zedeja allows this.
GM Elle: You can get a bit more travel in before dusk comes on. Then it's time to set up camp. Who's putting up the tent?
MSG: I think I've got the highest Bushcraft skill.
Claire: I'll help, since I'm second-highest.
GM Elle: That gives the roll a double Boon then, one for help and one for the tent.
MSG: All three rolls make it.
GM Elle: Who's on first watch, then?
Ariel: Not me, I'm beat! I can barely keep my eyes open.
Sasha: Quackers is good to stay up.
Harriet: I'll join him on first watch.
MSG: I'll take second watch with Glinssa.
Akane: If the cultist is watching, Zedeja must watch the cultist.
Claire: I'll be on first watch with Sir Q and Dilfriida.
GM Elle: All right, then, with that covered, let's see if there are any encounters for the night ... looks like the answer is no. The next day dawns as most do in the Vale: slowly and hazily as the sun rises and makes a diffuse ball of light through the ever-present mists. The day passes without much to note. Midmorning or so, you take the right fork in the road toward the mountains. Around lunchtime, you pass a titanic statue jutting from a grassy hill some distance away from the road. Only the waist up is visible, a figure of a heroically proportioned man raising a sword high in salute or challenge. You can tell that it's enormous, but because of the mists and distance, you're not sure exactly how enormous, or how far off it is.
Claire: Filvius thinks that we should go and find out. Maybe there's knowledge to be gained from that statue.
Sasha: Quackers says you're welcome to dash over there and then hoof it to catch up, but he's on a mission to slay a basilisk, and he's got no interest in detours that have a low probability of monsters.
Akane: Zedeja also opposes this investigation. The statue is ages old. We will pass it again on our return.
Claire: Fine. But at least inwardly, Filvius is taking that as a commitment to have a look at the statue on the way back.
GM Elle: By the end of the day, then, you find yourselves nearing the foot of the Kummer Mountains once more, where the road peters out just short of a rocky pass. A modest farmstead occupies a hillside overlooking the broken road ...

(sorry folks, there was more to this session, but it's getting late and this post is already pretty darned long! to be continued!)

secret of the dragon emperor ... part 15!

a new day dawns in the town of Outskirt!

GM Elle: So when morning arrives, everyone recovers everything you'd normally get back after a shift rest -- except Dilfriida, who wakes up feeling awful and loses -- ouch, 6 hit points. Dilfriida finds herself wracked with chills and fever, unable to keep anything down. This gives her the Sickly condition.

Sasha: Does she have the runs too?

Hettie: Sasha. Do we really need to know this?

Sasha: Hey, I'm just thinking ahead to when we get hit with an extra cleaning bill from Vagnhild.

GM Elle: Let's just say she doesn't. But she's certainly not going anywhere in her present condition.

Hettie: She won't be going anywhere except the town graveyard if she takes another hit point loss like that.

Claire: If Filvius feels better, he'll start tending her.

GM Elle: Oddly, my reading of the rules is that basically nothing happens from that until tomorrow morning when it's time for Dilfriida to roll.

Claire: Wow, so we're stuck here another 24 hours?

Ariel: Could we maybe put her in the wagon bed and have Filvius treat her while we're going?

Akane: No. A halfling befouling our wagon from all orifices will not receive Zedeja's tolerance.

Hettie: Zedeja has tolerance?

GM Elle: My reading of the rules also gives no indication that there are restrictions on the character's activities while sick, aside from the Bane on CON-based checks from being Sickly.

Akane: Excellent. Sick halfling walks, tended by elf, no inconvenience to anyone.

MSG: I think having a companion staggering along feverish and vomiting would probably make Dolora even more dour than usual.

Ariel: I know I'd get tired of hearing her being sick.

Sasha: Well, I'm betting there are monsters that can smell sick prey and will come right after it, so Quackers is fine with Zedeja's plan.

Hettie: Dilfriida refuses to go along with that plan. I'll stay here and croak before I'm forced to march across the countryside sick by a senile old crackpot.

Claire: Too bad I can't roll to learn my Heal Wound spell until the end of the session.

Ariel: Yeah, that's a crummy rule. But ... the old dude who taught you can cast it, right? What if we take her to him?

Sasha: Let's send somebody to ask him. If the price is too high, it might just be cheaper to wait and pay for the rooms again and let Filvius roll his Healing check.

Hettie: Except that if he fails his check, there's a good chance of me dying. If I hear any of this and know that the old guy can heal, I'm just going to crawl up that hill and pay whatever his rate is. Assuming I have that much.

GM Elle: Well, you'd previously been sleeping in the dormitory, and no one said they were moving into a private area for discussions, so I think it's reasonable to assume Dilfriida hears about the old man's healing abilities.

Hettie: Excellent. I'll take my 2 remaining hit points and head for that hill.

MSG: Are you really down that much?

Hettie: 6 points from the disease, and I was already missing ... wait. This is embarrassing, I seem to have subtracted the 6 points from WP, not HP. If I put it in the right place I've got 7 HP left, not 2.

GM Elle: I guess we can rewind that ...

Hettie: No, from a roleplaying perspective, Dilfriida would be pissed that everyone was even talking about making her walk behind the wagon while sick, so I think she'd head to the hermit regardless.

GM Elle: All right, then. Is anyone going to go with the thief?

MSG: Not if she's got a whole 7 hit points.

Claire: If she's well enough to get up and go, I'll let her.

Ariel: Don't look at me! You know I'm not down for unnecessary efforts.

Sasha: Quackers will go along just on the off chance another troll shows up and needs killing.

GM Elle: Then the two of you get to the hermit's place without issue. He says he charges 5 gold for Heal Wounds, or 10 or 15 if you want him to use a higher power level to heal more damage.

Sasha: Do we need that?

GM Elle: Based on the spell description, I'll say no.

Hettie: I hand the gold over, then. 

GM Elle: He intones the mystical syllables of the spell, lays his hands upon your diseased flesh, and -- wow, this isn't your day, Het. He rolls a Demon. That causes a Magical Mishap.

Sasha: Is there time for me to step further away?

Hettie: If this is bad, I'm demanding my 5 gold back.

GM Elle: Hm. I roll an 18, which causes him to become one age category younger.

Sasha: Damn, then, he should pay us for that.

GM Elle: Let's see how it affects his stats, though. He gets +2 on Strength, Agility, and Con, -1 on Int and Wil. So, he's clearly surprised, but he tries to play it off by saying, "There, that was just me getting myself ready." He fails his Bluffing check, though, so you can tell it was a major magical foul-up.

Hettie: I'm calling him on that lie and saying it looks to me like he just had a big-time bit of fortune and he should cut his price in half both because of the benefit to him and to reassure me he's actually in faith a good healer.

GM Elle: You can roll Bartering, and I'll even give you a Boon because of his shock at suddenly being decades younger.

Hettie: My Bartering is terrible, though. 6 and 16 both fail.

GM Elle: He shakes off his bewilderment and says he doesn't think a discount is in order, but he will try again for no extra charge if you want him to.

Hettie: I need to be healed somehow.

GM Elle: This time he rolls an 11, which is a success. In addition to removing the disease, you're healed for 6 points.

Claire: All righty, then. Are we heading out when they get back?

MSG: Even if it's not Glinssa, we still need to hire someone to tend our donkeys while we're in dungeons, don't we?

Claire: With any luck someone who isn't a member of a cult that would kill to get its hands on our stuff.

Ariel: I really wanted to use my Insight on her though!

MSG: You know what? I'm giving a couple coppers to a town urchin to send him or her to Graminger House with a note for Glinssa. It will just say, "Heading out of town in an hour. Offer still stands." And I tell the urchin not to give it to anyone but her. They need to ask for Graminger at the door, and then ask him to get Glinssa.

GM Elle: Vagnhild probably has a quill and ink you could borrow, but she tells you parchment is a silver a sheet from Master Ulvar's.

MSG: I'll pay it, I suppose.

Claire: Can I just say, this seems like a really dubious hire to me?

Ariel: Probably to everyone.

Sasha: Out of character, sure. In-character, Sir Q doesn't know about it yet, so no opinion.

Akane: It is unsanctioned by Zedeja. Thus, illegitimate.

GM Elle: Anyone else doing anything while waiting for Dilfriida and Sir Q to return?

Claire: I think we should go looking for someone with donkey experience to hire. If we come up bust and Glinssa really shows up, I guess we'll figure out what to do about it then.

Ariel: I like that idea.

Akane: Approved. Zedeja delegates the task to the hound of silver fur and silver tongue.

Ariel: Hey, I said I liked the Idea, I didn't say I want to go out and do the legwork on it.

Akane: Your skills are mercantile. Who else would do this? Akane? Filvius? One is excellent for commanding but less motivational to outsiders. The other is brash and lacks charm.

Ariel: Okay, okay. I guess I'll ask Vagnhild where she thinks I might be able to hire a donkey handler we can trust.

GM Elle: She tells you a couple of people in town who might be willing to do it as an odd job. You can roll a Charisma check, with a Bane if you want to complete the search in less than an hour.

Ariel: I actually don't want to try very hard. It sounds like a lot of work, and anyway, I still want to try my Insight ability out.

Akane: Treachery.

GM Elle: If you try half-heartedly, roll with a Bane. If you're just faking it, don't roll at all.

Ariel: Faking it sounds best, at least until we see if Glinssa shows up.

GM Elle: Okay, MSG, roll a die. On a 5 or under, the note gets to Glinssa and she's motivated to come and talk to you in less than an hour.

MSG: 5 exactly.

Ariel: I'm kind of moseying around the town square with the statue keeping an eye out for Glinssa coming back. 

GM Elle: Roll Awareness with a Boon since she's not trying to hide. 

Ariel: Ooh, Dragon!

GM Elle: You definitely see her, and you also notice her looking back over her shoulder toward the stairs she just climbed from the boarding house street to the town square. There's something uncertain or hesitant in the way she does it.

MSG: Like she could be worried someone is following her.

Claire: Or like someone has been walking with her most of the way giving her advice or orders and she's checking in with them one last time.

Ariel: Ughhhh. Okay, well, I'll head back toward the inn so I get there pretty soon behind her.

GM Elle: To see who gets to the inn first, somebody draw an initiative card for Sir Q and Dilfriida. Glinssa gets the 5.

Sasha: We show up on 6.

GM Elle: In that case, Dolora, Filvius, and Zedeja are in the common room when Glinssa enters. Make an Awareness check.

MSG: 4 makes it.

Claire: 14 does not.

Akane: 16 is a failure even for the vast Awareness of Zedeja.

GM Elle: Dolora notices that as Glinssa looks around the room upon entering, she spots Annabelle helping someone at another table, and immediately casts her gaze downward. Instead of continuing to look around, she heads straight for an unoccupied table and sits down.

MSG: Hmm. That's curious. I'm going to wave Annabelle down the next time I can get her attention.

Ariel: Do I get inside before then?

GM Elle: Yes.

Ariel: Do I notice Glinssa sitting all by herself and our group sitting at another table from her?

GM Elle: Yes, no roll necessary for that. It's not too crowded in here at the moment, and the light is good.

MSG: I'll try to get Fidu's attention and gesture him to come over to us.

Ariel: So ... which table is closer to the door, Elle?

GM Elle: Glinssa's is.

Ariel: Okay, I'm going there, then, and when I sit down I'm going to say, "Wow, my feet are so tired."

MSG: I'll work to avoid doing a facepalm.

GM Elle: Ariel, roll a die. If it's odd, Annabelle notices you and Glinssa sitting awaiting service before she spots Dolora trying to wave her down.

Ariel: 1.

GM Elle: She heads your direction.

Ariel: Awesome! When she gets close, I'm going to ask Glinssa a question and use my Insight to see if she's lying.

Sasha: What are you doing?

Akane: This seems overt.

GM Elle: What's the question, Aers?

Ariel: I say, "I'm having crudzy luck finding anybody to help our group with our donkeys while we're out adventuring. Do you know anybody who'd be interested?"

GM Elle: She immediately says, "What? No!" And you know that she's lying.

MSG: Wow. That was brilliant.

Ariel: So then when Annabelle gets there, I'll ask her the same exact thing.

GM Elle: Are you using Insight on her too?

Ariel: No, Fidu doesn't care what she says.

GM Elle: She says there ought to be lots of people in town who'd be interested in good-paying work. Then she asks if the two of you want something to eat or drink.

Ariel: I say no, I just sat down at the first table I came to because my feet are tired.

GM Elle: You do need to roll Bluffing for that.

Ariel: Uh-oh, I didn't think about having to roll. Whew, I get a 13 and my Bluffing is 14.

GM Elle: Annabelle seems to buy it and looks meaningfully at Glinssa, who says, "Oh ... um ... I know it's still pretty early, but I kind of need a drink pretty bad." The serving maid replies that the time is no problem if she has the coppers. Glinssa puts a hand in her pocket and dejectedly pulls out three coppers, which is one short. Annabelle frowns.

Ariel: I'll take out a copper and put it on the table and say it seems sad for somebody in need to come up just a copper short of what they need. I don't need to roll Bluffing for that because it's true.

Sasha: I'll say it is. Why are you trying to hire this chick again, MSG?

MSG: You're not there.

Ariel: So when Annabelle goes off to get the tankard of mead, I'm going to ask Glinssa really quiet, "Quick, and this is yes or no. If we hire you, are you going to turn on us at some point?" I spend another two points on Insight.

GM Elle: She says no, but she can't be seen leaving town with you. She's telling the truth.

Ariel: Well, poop, I can't think of a solution to that right this second. Maybe we could hide her under some sleeping furs in the back of our cart? Only she'd need a reason to go out in the stables where it's parked. Is it parked in the stables?

GM Elle: Yes. Annabelle is coming back with Glinssa's tankard, though.

Ariel: I'll take one of my boots off and rub my foot. I'll kind of have to turn away from the table to do that, where it won't look like I'm talking to Glinssa.

GM Elle: Once she's dropped off the tankard, she comes over to the group's table and asks if Dolora needed something.

MSG: Fidu threw my plan there off, not that it was much of a plan. Now that she's here, I'll just ask her for another mug of mead.

Ariel: Ooh, good. When she goes to get that one, I'll tell Glinssa that when she finishes her drink, she should go out the front door but then walk around to the stable entrance and hide under the sleeping furs in our cart. Hopefully there's only one cart there. Or just one with sleeping furs anyway.

GM Elle: She looks a little dubious, but gives a nod.

Ariel: Okay, then I'll put my boot back on and go tell the group they've got time for maybe one more drink and then we should be hitting the road.

Sasha: Are Dilfriida and me back yet? Because if we're hitting the road, I could use some of that one more drink action.

GM Elle: You arrive around the same time Annabelle brings out Dolora's tankard.

Ariel: When you sit down I tell you there's time for one more drink, but you need to order it when I tell you to.

Sasha: You're telling people when to order their drinks now? Who do you think you are, Zedeja?

Akane: No thinking you are me, hound!

Hettie: What about me? Can I order a drink?

Ariel: You should order one when Annabelle gets back with Sir Quackenscrump's.

Sasha: I'm very confused.

MSG: I think I see where this is going. Dolora tells everybody to just humor Fidu.

Akane: What! Telling everyone is the responsibility of Zedeja! Stop being such assumers!

Claire: Filvius wants to know what the deal is. He feels he's being left out of some crucial knowledge.

Ariel: If Annabelle isn't nearby, Fidu will tell everyone his plan. Sir Quackenscrump will order a drink right after Glinssa gets up and goes out the door. Then when his drink comes, Dilfriida will order hers. That will keep Annabelle busy while Glinssa sneaks into our cart in the stables. 

Sasha: What about Vagnhild?

Ariel: Um ... I'll go to her and ask if she needs us to pay any extra for cleaning up after Dilfriida being sick. Then I'll try to keep her chatting a while after that. Oh, and I guess I need to return the keys to the private rooms.

Sasha: You can tell her the story about the old pruney guy making himself young again.

Ariel: Well, I can't because I don't know that story.

Sasha: I'm sure we'll tell you once the drinks start flowing.

Ariel: That's too late! I need to be talking to Vagnhild while Annabelle is getting drinks and Glinssa is sneaking into our cart.

Sasha: All right, then I'll tell you now.

Akane: Zedeja insists to know why anyone is sneaking into our cart.

Claire: What about the stableboy?

Ariel: What stableboy? Is there a stableboy?

GM Elle: Odd, there's a stableboy. Even, it's a stablegirl.

Ariel: Wait, what roll means there's no stable anyone?

GM Elle: It's a 5, so, stableboy. Vagnhild runs the inn and also serves as sort of the town mayor, so I don't think she's got time to care for customers' horses and donkeys. There's a stableboy, and I'm sure there's also a cook who's been making the food you're eating while you're staying here.

Claire: Filvius will go out to the stables and give the stableboy a couple of coppers to go wherever we bought the donkeys and ask if they have a third donkey and how much it would be. I tell him to come in the common room and let me know the answer when he gets back.

Ariel: Ooh, that was good thinking.

Akane: Zedeja opposes all this planning and shenaniganning. She has so much disapproval for hiring a cultist donkey-minder.

MSG: I'll tell her -- and I'm keeping an eye out for Annabelle not being nearby for any of this, Elle -- I'll tell her Glinssa just wants to get away from the cult and is paying us to smuggle her out of town. Bluffing roll of 4.

Akane: It's believable, then. But Zedeja wants to know the smuggling price. Who negotiated without her permission?

MSG: I'll tell her it was Fidu, because we thought it should be someone old and wise and because his Bartering ability is so good.

Akane: Okay, tolerable. But next time I must know to begin with!

Hettie: Is it time for Quackers to order his drink yet? Because Dilfriida really needs it to be time for her to order her drink after that.

GM Elle: It does look like Glinssa is about to drain the last of her tankard.

Ariel: Fidu gets up to go talk to Vagnhild.

GM Elle: She's behind the bar cleaning glasses at the moment.

Ariel: Okay, I head over there.

Sasha: Say the word when Glinssa heads out the door.

GM Elle: You see her walking that direction.

Sasha: I'll wave Annabelle over, then.

GM Elle: Ariel, Vagnhild tells you she already cleaned up the dormitory area, which was where Dilfriida was sleeping, right? It wasn't too bad, because she leaves a spare bucket right outside the dormitory door in case of drunken vomiting, and Dilfriida managed mostly to get everything in the bucket. So no need for an extra fee. She does thank you for returning the keys, though.

Ariel: I'm going to ask her if the old guy on the hill has a magic trick to look young sometimes and old other times.

GM Elle: She says, "Do you mean Dranath?"

Ariel: I say I don't know if I mean Dranath. I don't think any of us got his name. He's the old hermity guy in the hut on the hill.

GM Elle: She says that's Dranath, and she's not aware of him playing any magical tricks.

Ariel: I'll tell her the story about the magical mishap, then, and if Annabelle comes over to ask her to fill up a tankard for Sir Q, I'll say, "Hang on a minute, I'm almost done with this story."

Claire: Meantime, I'm keeping an eye out for the stableboy getting back. If he comes back before we're ready to go, I'm going to figure out another errand to send him on.

GM Elle: Okay, with all this strategy coming together, I'll say it's going to come down to Fidu Bluffing with a Boon to occupy Vagnhild and Annabelle long enough that Glinssa can get in the cart -- assuming she's actually going along with this plan and trying it.

MSG: I'm going to be pretty ticked if she ditches out on us.

Ariel: All right, my Boon rolls are ... a Dragon and a 19.

Sasha: We're on fire with those Dragons tonight. That's what, two for me, two for Aers, and one for MSG?

Akane: So many bonus advancement marks. Zedeja has none.

Hettie: Maybe she needs to do less of the ordering people around and more actual utilization of her skills.

Akane: Probably it's good advice. But her weakness of "overbearing" prevents her.

GM Elle: Thanks to the Dragon, I'll say you get into your tale of Dranath's age reversal right as Annabelle shows up, and you do such a good job telling it that she willingly stands and listens in rather than trying to interrupt.

MSG: Nice job.

GM Elle: That means once you've finished all the drinks you've ordered, you can gather your stuff up, hitch the donkeys to the cart, and head out of town. Which I think is a pretty good place to end the session.

Claire: Yes! Time for some spell-learning.

GM Elle: Participation mark for everyone, and definitely a mark for solving a tricky situation without violence. I'll count the fist fight as defeating dangerous enemies for Quackers, Dilfriida, and Dolora. Weakness points for everyone, but nothing for exploring a new location. So four marks for the brawlers and three for everyone else.

MSG: Awesome. Nice game, Elle.

Ariel: I'm enjoying this town stuff even if I keep napping through most of it!

Sasha: Yeah, good times. But you know what, I think I'm going to voluntarily disqualify Quackers from the weakness mark. I don't think I mentioned monsters more than once or twice, and not even in an annoying way.

Akane: The weakness of Zedeja, impossible to dispute.

GM Elle: Whatever floats everyone's boat. All right, maybe next time you'll make it to another actual adventure!

will we, dear readers? stay tuned and find out!

secret of the dragon emperor ... part 14!

so folks, there are 11 adventures in this dragonbane campaign book we're working from, and so far our intrepid band of heroes have gotten through ... 1. by my math, that means it could take us over 140 of these blog entries to finish the whole thing. yikes! (not that we have a fantastic track record of finishing campaigns or anything.)

with that in mind, here we go on the next one!

GM Elle: All right ... after marking experience last time, did anybody manage to get a skill up to 18 and score a new Heroic Ability?
Sasha: Yes! My Riding hit 18, and as soon as I read "Dragonslayer," I knew that was the one for me. If I use it against a monster, I get an extra d8 damage.
Ariel: Ooh! Nice! Only ... how did you get better at Riding? You haven't ridden anything this whole game.
Sasha: The rules don't say you can only put a mark in skills you use for the session. I figure Quackers has just been thinking a lot about how riding somewhere would get him to the monsters quicker. Soon as I get up to 60 gold, I'm all over a riding horse.
Harriet: In other words, several dozen sessions from now.
MSG: I feel like I have to point out that in order to get to the monsters any faster, you'll either need to leave the rest of us behind or get all of us horses too.
Sasha: That's on you guys.
GM Elle: Any other new Heroic Abilities?
Claire: My highest score is still only 16.
Akane: Zedeja, the same.
Harriet: Dilfriida got her Knives score up to 18, and I was vacillating wildly between Assassin, Dual Wield, and Fast Footwork until I realized I only had enough WP for 3 Heroic Ability uses before I'm out. So I took Focused instead. It felt rather underwhelming, but I can at least Backstab 4 rounds in a row now, if I have to.
Sasha: Borrring. You should have put one of your decent scores in Willpower like I did.
Harriet: Ahem. I've peeked at your sheet, Sasha. You have 5 scores at 14 or better. I have 2. 
Ariel: Hey, why did you suddenly hide your sheet like that, MSG?
MSG: No reason.
Harriet: Good grief. Don't tell me all of your ability scores are 14 or above.
MSG: Okay, I won't tell you that.
Sasha: Anyway, what's the deal with peeking at my sheet, Het?
Harriet: For one thing, should any of us be having secrets from one another in this household? For another, I've actually never seen you spend a single Willpower Point, so I wanted to check whether your Heroic Abilities were simply all terrible. Which, to my surprise, they were not.
Sasha: I mean, when your regular attacking and defending numbers are as good as mine, do you really need to pay attention to what your Heroic-Schmoic Abilities are?
Harriet: Certainly not. I mean, not unless you value opportunities to save your fellow characters from mortal harm or something of that sort. But ... honestly, I do apologize for looking. I should have asked and not just presumed upon our familiarity. In my defense, Ariel was looking too.
Ariel: Hey! Sash, I swear, it was basically an accident. You were away from the table and I said something like, "I bet Sash's character is as awesome as she is," and somebody rolled their eyes at me I think, so I looked in order to prove it.
Sasha: Haha, I was basically joking-mad about Het's sneaky peeking, but that's hilarious, so I'm glad I pretended.
Akane: Still, it is role-playing protocol not to sheet-peek, yes?
Harriet: Absolutely. As it also is to tell someone else how to run their character, such as by implying that they should use their Heroic Ability to defend others at least occasionally. In real life, I'm highly ethical, but I'm afraid at the gaming table I'm as much a scoundrel as Dilfriida.
Claire: Meanwhile, high atop a central hill of the town of Outskirt, where dwells a mysterious hermit full of enticing knowledge ...
GM Elle: Right. Let's get straight to that. Do you head straight to the old man's hut, Claire?
Claire: You bet. Filvius is hot on the trail of some paid-for knowledge, no detours to be tolerated. I march straight up the hill and pound on his door.
GM Elle: It turns out you don't need to do that, because you find him out in his garden tending vegetables.
Claire: Super. I holler at him and wave as I'm walking up, then.
GM Elle: He looks up from his work. His wrinkled features clench up for a second, then he gets to his feet and dusts off his knees and says, "Don't come closer just yet. Your friend smelled intolerably when she was last here -- you haven't come in a similar condition, have you?"
Claire: I say, "Do I look like I'm covered in troll yack?"
GM Elle: He squints and says no, but his eyes aren't what they used to be. He walks closer, asking if you've decided what questions to ask him.
Claire: Sure. First one is, "I hear you're a mage. How do I cast the most powerful spell that you know?"
GM Elle: He says, "By paying me three gold pieces to tutor you for a shift, then practicing until you've mastered what I teach you."
Claire: I really meant he should tell me the exact process, so I tell him that.
GM Elle: He says that the most powerful spell he knows is complex enough that you will have to ask him numerous questions to learn it, and that's more than you have purchased with the treats you brought him. So you'll have to be satisfied with the answer he's given.
Claire: Okay, well, no, I don't have to be satisfied with it. But I guess I have to accept it. My next question then is what the secret knowledge is that's hidden in that image on the ruined ceiling temple.
GM Elle: He says, "There's not really much hidden there. It just shows the crown of Eledain, the Dragon Emperor. You've probably seen it on all the milestones along the roads here in the Misty Vale, if you've been traveling here much."

Claire: Damn it. Okay, then I take off my backpack and get out the map and the two statue pieces, and I say, "So what's the deal with this stuff, then?"
GM Elle: He spends a considerable period of time just blinking and looking from you to the things you've shown him and back again. Then his eyes widen and he tells you to put it all back away again.
Claire: I'll do that, but I probably can't help rubbing my hands together eagerly before I do. I say, "Sounds like we're talking now."
GM Elle: He tells you the same basic story that Annabelle told Sir Quackenscrump when you first got into town. But he adds some information you haven't heard as much about. He tells you that the pieces of the statue are currently being sought for by the Cult of Sathmog and the Keepers of the Immaculate Flame -- a fanatical group of knights and monks who worship Eledain and want to use the sword to usher in a new age of rule by Dragons. He tells you that if either of these groups finds you have the map or the statue pieces, they'll use any means at their disposal to acquire them. If they have money enough to buy them, they'll try that. If not, they'll use force to take them, without hesitation. He also tells you that the Cult of Sathmog want the sword to bring back their master's high priest, Azrahel Koth, who is entombed on the Misty Isle in the north of the Vale. The sword can free or kill him, and is the only way to get through the deadly mists that surround the isle.
Claire: Strike one and two on my first questions, but big-time score on question number three! I wish Dolora had told us all about that Truth Society Annabelle claimed to be in so I could ask him about that.
MSG: Sorry, I was a lot more interested in getting us to the Temple of the Purple Flame than going over all the nitty gritty.
Claire: I guess it doesn't matter anyway, since I'm all out of questions now.
GM Elle: The old man cautions you to be very careful who you reveal all of this to. But if you decide to turn it over to anyone because it's too much for you to deal with --
Claire: Filvius says he has complete confidence that we can handle it.
GM Elle: He says, "Yes, yes. But if you decide otherwise, the Keepers of the Immaculate Flame would be a much better choice to go with than the Cult of Sathmog, who could plunge the entire world into darkness if they have their way.
Claire: Okay, then, high stakes. I guess I'll tell him I have plenty of gold to spare if he could spend a shift teaching me a new spell right now.
GM Elle: He says considering the burden your group is bearing, he can certainly make time. He tells you his most powerful spells are Heal Wound, Lightning Bolt, and Purge, but that you'd have to know Treat Wound, Lightning Flash, or Banish to learn one of those.
Claire: Sweet, I have all three of those prerequisites. Kind of like the idea of boosting my lightning damage or damage to undead ... but realistically, we probably need me to beef up the healing. Oh, and it looks like Heal Wound is a prerequisite for Resurrection, so I guess that seals the deal.
GM Elle: The lesson is involved and takes a lot of focus. It turns out he's right that you do ask a lot of questions.
Claire: I was probably going to do that regardless.
GM Elle: True. So mark off the 3 gold and at the end of the session, you can roll to learn the spell in place of rolling to increase your magic school skill.
Claire: I guess that represents the practicing he was talking about.
GM Elle: Right. 
Claire: Okay, guess I'll head back to the Three Stags then. What's everybody else been up to?
Ariel: If you were gone a whole shift, probably Fidu took a nap.
Sasha: Sir Q is hanging out drinking mead, but after a while he starts to wonder if Filvius snuck off to kill more monsters without him and he wonders if he ought to go check on the elf.
GM Elle: Are you saying he actually does go check?
Sasha: No, just that he wonders if he should. Then he probably has another mead and stops worrying about it.
Akane: Zedeja awaits the return of our diseased mage.
Harriet: Dilfriida is sitting around in her towel waiting for her laundry to dry.
MSG: I'm waiting to see if Glinssa shows back up. Or if Annabelle shows back up to give me more of her Truth Society scoop.
GM Elle: For the time being, there's no sign of Glinssa. But Annabelle shows up for her shift a little after noon.
MSG: Great. When it looks like she has a free moment, I'll ask her if she wants to tell me a little more about the Truth Society.
GM Elle: She's cleaning up a table during a lull between busy times when you ask, and she looks a little surprised, then says, "Well, I don't know if there's all that much more to tell," and keeps working. "We're just a society that loves truth and knowledge, and it will obviously be bad for that if those terrible Eledain worshipping knights get the sword and take everything over."
MSG: I'll ask her what particular areas of knowledge are her favorites.
GM Elle: You notice her kind of scowl at that. She finishes stacking mugs and dishes on her tray and wipes down the table with a cloth. "Lots of different things," is what she says in answer to your question. "Right now though, I'm mostly focused on learning as much as I can about the dragon knights and how to stop them."
MSG: Uh-huh. That seem kind of suspicious to anyone? She's head-over-heels about knowledge, and the knights are terrible because they're a threat to that ... but the main knowledge she's interested in is the knights?
Ariel: It doesn't seem suspicious to me, but that's because I'm napping.
Sasha: Right when we could use your Insight ability to see if someone's lying.
MSG: I'm going to say, "Well, I don't know too much about the dragon knights, but at least they're against that Sathmog cult, right? Sathmog is the worst."
GM Elle: Annabelle says, "Maybe I'm not the best person to ask, because the dragon knights killed my whole family." She seems visibly upset when she says it.
MSG: Great, now I feel bad. I apologize and say I didn't realize the situation was so personal for her. Then I'll add that my friends and I are like she is -- very interested in knowledge but also eager to make sure no other people's families get killed by fanatics out to enslave and rule the world.
GM Elle: She just says, "Excuse me," and takes her cleanup tray in the direction of the kitchen.
MSG: I guess I'll go back to the table with the rest of the group, then, looking more dour than usual.
Akane: Zedeja suggests it's faulty to accost diligent workers in their duties. Now service to our table may have reduced efficiency. "This should be remedied with a large tip. Be sure to leave one at the end of dining or drinking."
MSG: Dolora grumbles that she'll think about it.
GM Elle: So toward dinnertime, Filvius returns from training.
Claire: I'll fill everybody in on where I've been and what I've found out. I'm not going to play up the fact that I basically wasted my first question ... instead I'll say the old dude told me all the different spells he knows that he could teach us. When I get to the part about the statue pieces and map, I'll be a little careful about how I talk about us having them. "I showed him some of that stuff we found, and he opened up like a book. Sounds like we've got to watch out for fanatical knights on top of cultists."
Ariel: (That's what she said.)
Sasha: Haha, that one was actually pretty good.
Akane: Zedeja immediately examines the room for apparent knights. Do I discern any?
GM Elle: At some point in the afternoon, that dark-haired woman in plate armor came back into the common room and sat at a corner table by herself.
MSG: Any sign of dragon emblems or symbols on her? I roll a 2 on a Spot Hidden check if I need one.
GM Elle: You can't see any such signs. But you do notice that when Annabelle goes to take her order, the serving maid seems to be forcing a bright attitude toward her.
Ariel: I bet she's a dragon knight and Annabelle is plotting to kill her for revenge.
Sasha: Are you actually back downstairs now? And did Dolora share that info about Annabelle's family with us? And are you actually betting? Because Quackers thinks that's an okay bet to take, considering Dolora obviously stepped in it with the maid and got her in a bad mood.
MSG: I probably would have chimed in about Annabelle's family being killed by dragon fanatics when Filvius brought it up. But I don't think I ever got around to telling the group about the Truth Society or how Annabelle said they'd give us 50 gold pieces for each piece of the statue. So if that's part of what's making you suspicious of her ...
Ariel: No, I'd actually forgotten all about that.
Sasha: Sure would be good information for the rest of us to know, though. Hint, hint. Anyway, how much are we betting?
Ariel: I dunno ... a gold piece?
Sasha: You're on.
MSG: Most likely when Filvius talks about the two groups being after the statue pieces, Dolora would bring up the fact that there may be a third group, because Annabelle told me this Truth Society would give us 50 gold for each piece of the statue if we found any.
Ariel: Fidu is kind of annoyed that you hid that money-making opportunity from us.
MSG: I was more concerned about the knowledge than the money. Anyway, now you know.
Claire: Well, I don't like the idea that there's a third group and the prune-faced hermit didn't know about them. After all the work that I went through to get that knowledge, I want it to be as close to the whole story as possible. So I'm going to say the Truth Society's probably a scam, and Annabelle's working for one of the other two groups.
Ariel: It's the cultists. Or maybe not, because she does seem awfully nice.
Akane: Hmm. The arm-wrestling opponents had cult tattoos, yes? And we did see this suspicious serving girl talking to the leading mallard of them.
Harriet: When he came in and sat down, I'll point out. It was rather her job to talk to him in that situation.
MSG: Whether she's a cultist or just angry at the dragon knights, though, it seems like we have confirmation from the hermit that both of these groups are bad news in one way or another, which sounds to me like all the more reason for us to keep the statue pieces, find the other two, and then get into the tomb under the temple and take whatever treasure's there for ourselves.
Claire: And whatever knowledge is there.
MSG: Is there a difference?
Claire: Just sayin'.
Harriet: Dilfriida points out that if we're stealthy enough about it, we could always sell the statue pieces to Annabelle after we've used them and gotten away with all the treasure.
MSG: Mmm ... seems a little dishonest to me.
Ariel: Fidu says it seems like just good business to him. She didn't say the fee for the statue pieces was only good if the loot was still in the tomb, did she?
Akane: Again, the wiseness of our hound. Zedeja agrees that this is the best plan. Thank you for coming up with it, Fidu.
Harriet: Dilfriida indignantly points out that it was her plan.
Akane: A statement of greed only, not a plan. It took an older and furrier mind to refine it.
Harriet: I'm going to go check if my things are dry yet.
Akane: As soon as the thiefly halfling departs, Zedeja asks the elf how he feels. "Any throbbing in your troll scratches? Feverishness?"
Claire: I don't know, am I feeling bad, Elle?
GM Elle: As I said, the day's lessons took a lot out of you. You can make a Healing check to see if you think it's anything more than that.
Claire: 12 is a success.
GM Elle: Now that Zedeja has mentioned it, you do feel a little less rejuvenated by your dinner than you'd expect. Your ears may have a bit of ringing in them too.
Claire: Great.
Akane: Bedtime for this elf! He must be tended! Where do we buy an herbal concoction?
GM Elle: Master Ulvar's store seems the likeliest place.
Ariel: I'll go over and haggle for some.
GM Elle: The store is closed when you get there. But you know Ulvar and his son use the back half of the building as their home, and he'll answer if you knock.
Ariel: I do. I'll say I'm sorry to disturb him, but we have some sick friends and we need herbal concoctions. I'll try to get his town spirit going and tell him they got sick because of fighting off the troll that was endangering everyone down on South Street, and I know good townpeople like himself would probably want to do their best to help the town's defenders out.
GM Elle: You can roll Bartering, but with a Bane because you interrupted his dinner and because he knows people in need of medicine aren't in the best bargaining position.
Ariel: I roll a 12 and a 13, which are both easy for my Bartering of 18.
GM Elle: You manage to touch a little of his community spirit, then, and he lets you have the concoction for 8 silver instead of 1 gold.
Ariel: So that's 16 silver for two?
GM Elle: He agrees to that, although he mutters something about how maybe you should have taken up a collection around town beforehand instead of putting the whole burden of Outskirt's gratitude on him.
Ariel: I tell him thank you and I go back to the inn.
Akane: Zedeja begins treatment immediately in one of our rooms.
GM Elle: You do need to pay for the rooms for the night, though -- and Vagnhild tells you that since Alfilia is back in town, there's another customer bidding against you for the second private room. So you'll get a Bane on this roll too.
Sasha: This town is turning into a bunch of skinflints.
Ariel: I ask who this Alfilia is.
GM Elle: Vagnhild nods in the direction of the woman in plate armor. "She's been in and out of town the last few weeks. Not too talkative about her business, but she has good coins to pay with."
Ariel: I'll try the same idea I did with Master Ulvar, that we need the room for our sick friends who got a disease helping the town out.
Akane: But only one sick friend. The other is acquainted, but unfriendly.
GM Elle: Sounds like you're making an argument against Fidu's angle with the innkeeper. I'll say the Bartering roll is now opposed by a Charisma check by Zedeja.
Ariel: Thanks heaps, Akane. I roll a 3 and a 4 though, so hopefully you have a tough time beating those.
Akane: 10 for Zedeja.
GM Elle: Sounds like the deal is good again, 17 silver and 6 copper.
Ariel: I'll pay it, but I'm going to ask Filvius and Dilfriida for a gold piece each to pay me back for the concoctions.
GM Elle: All right, then Akane can make a Healing check with a Boon opposed by the disease's virulence.
Akane: 8 and 15.
GM Elle: The disease rolls a 9. Zedeja will have to keep tending Filvius for a shift, but that and the night's rest should fix him up.
Akane: Zedeja will sleep in this room when the patient lowers in fever, then.
Ariel: I'm worn out with all this Bartering, so I'll go to sleep in the other room.
Sasha: Still drinking here.
GM Elle: As the evening wears on, then, you see Quasimund and his scum come back in.
MSG: I'm watching carefully to see how Annabelle interacts with them.
GM Elle: Make a Spot Hidden check, then. 
MSG: Yikes. Demon.
GM Elle: Not only do you not see anything, but the angry bald guy notices you and comes tromping over to your table. "What's with all the staring at us, dwarf?"
Harriet: Am I back with my things on yet?
GM Elle: Yes.
MSG: I'll try to bluff him by saying I was thinking about challenging him to an arm-wrestling rematch since he beat me so badly last night. I roll a 4, which is an easy success against my 14 in Bluffing.
GM Elle: He says he's not going to get tricked into another arm-wrestling con job after the halfling cheated last night. "So if you want some kinda rematch, let's take it outside." He makes his hands into a couple of big, meaty fists to make sure you know what he means. You see his companions back at the table take note.
MSG: I'll very calmly say --
Harriet: Dilfriida butts in before you can. "You want a fight? Great, let's make it a three on three. Losers pay the winners a gold piece each!"
GM Elle: Uh-oh. He gives a savage, gap-toothed grin and shouts back to his table, "Hear that, guys? We got a fight here!" Imvir stands up immediately. Glinssa seems to hesitate a second until Quasimund the mallard glares at her.
MSG: Awesome. Sash, Sir Quackenscrump isn't going along with this, is he?
Sasha: You bet he is!
GM Elle: Vagnhild pipes up that you're all paying customers and she doesn't want to see anyone get badly hurt, so she volunteers to mind everyone's weapons while you go out and take care of whatever you feel like you have to.
MSG: I'll put my weapons in Vagnhild's care, but I'll also try to Spot Hidden to see if any of our opponents are trying to sneak something along. Is that one roll, or one for each of them?
GM Elle: One each.
MSG: Vlort I roll an 18 for, Imvir a 3, and Glinssa a 6, so success on the last two.
Sasha: You bet I'm doing the same. Dragon on Vlort, 5 on Imvir, 7 on Glinssa, so that's success on the first two.
Harriet: Dilfriida also watches, but with a 19, an 18, and a Demon.
GM Elle: No one notices any funny business except for Dilfriida, who is positive that Glinssa's got something hidden in one boot.
Harriet: In that case, I'll try to use Sleight of Hand to hide one of my daggers. 5 is a success.
GM Elle: Vagnhild rolls a 4 and puts a hand to your shoulder before you step away. Rather than saying anything, she raises an eyebrow at you and flicks her gaze to the spot where you tried to hide your dagger.
Harriet: Blast it. Okay, I'll say, "Oh, wait, there's this one too," and hand over the dagger.
GM Elle: When you all get outside, Vlort says you've got to take off your armor. "Hardly a fair fight if we're busting our knuckles on your steel and landing useless blows on that leather."
MSG: Fine. I'll take off my leather and helm.
Sasha: It's a lot of work, but I guess I'll get out of my plate too.
Harriet: I sincerely doubt that Vlort is interested in the fight being fair, but I'll take my armor off too, I suppose.
GM Elle: You can all make an Awareness roll. Vlort is going to try to charge you while you're all occupied with your straps and catches.
MSG: Missed mine.
Sasha: Quackers makes it.
Harriet: I missed mine as well. I suppose I'll push it and get Angry, since Dilfriida is thin-skinned. Sadly, I miss the re-roll too.
GM Elle: Sash is the only one who gets to draw for initiative against Vlort, then. Here, I've mixed up the 1 and the 2.
Sasha: Great. All that and I still get the 2.
GM Elle: Everyone else can draw from the remaining cards.
MSG: 5.
Harriet: 10
GM Elle: Imvir and Glinssa on 7. Vlort heads straight for Dilfriida -- he's got a bone to pick with her for beating him at arm-wrestling last night. He gets a Boon on his roll for catching you with your armor half over your head. Do you want to dodge?
Harriet: Absolutely. I also spend 3 WP on my Hard to Catch ability to gain a Boon on the roll. 5 and 18, so I slip his grasp.
GM Elle: Sasha?
Sasha: Sir Q's ticked that Vlort pulled that one, so he's aiming to conk the guy good. 17, but I'll push and get Angry. Nope, that's a miss too, 11. We're stuck using Brawling, right?
GM Elle: Yes. MSG?
MSG: I'm going to sing a quick, stinging song about how cheaters never prosper, giving our enemies a Bane until my next round.
GM Elle: Their turn, then. Imvir goes for Sir Q and misses. Glinssa goes for Sir Q also and misses as well. New round.
MSG: I draw the 4.
Sasha: I get the 1!
Harriet: Dilfriida is on 8. Late in the round as usual.
GM Elle: You're in luck, though, because the bad guys have the 9.
Ariel: Holy moley, did our side just win by all drawing cards that beat the other team? That's never happened! Has it?
Sasha: Not that I recall. Since somebody told me I ought to use my special abilities more often, Quackers will use his Ill-Tempered ability to get a skill boon on Brawling. Whoo! Dragon and Demon. Definitely taking the Dragon there. I'm picking the extra damage die. Does he try to dodge?
GM Elle: Your Dragon means he'd need a Dragon to dodge, and he has a Bane from Dolora's song, so definitely not.
Sasha: 8 points of damage, then. MSG?
MSG: I'll keep up my singing.
Harriet: Dilfriida will try taking out Vlort. But I miss.
GM Elle: Vlort's getting angry at your singing. He's going for Dolora.
MSG: I didn't say I moved up before singing, so he'll have to break away from Sir Q and Dolora, right?
GM Elle: Yes. I didn't say he was the brightest. Sash and Hettie, you can both get free swipes at Vlort.
Sasha: I like how that Ill-Tempered thing worked, so I'm doing it again. Damn, 18 and 19.
Harriet: I get a 14.
GM Elle: Vlort's attack on Dolora includes a Demon. Oof. He slams his hand into something hard and hurts it. He'll get a Bane on his attacks for the rest of the combat.
MSG: Sounds good to me.
GM Elle: Imvir and Glinssa stay on Sir Q. Both miss again. New round.
MSG: 3. We're off to a good start.
Sasha: 2. Even better. Keep the countdown going, Hettie!
Harriet: Sorry, 6. Not right at the end this time, at least.
GM Elle: It doesn't matter, because they draw the 1.
MSG: Fine by me. That means they definitely still have the Bane from my singing.
GM Elle: Double bane for Vlort with his hurt hand. He definitely misses. The other two on Sir Q ... miss and ... Dragon, but also a miss, so Glinssa takes the worse die.
Sasha: Quackers tries his Ill Temper one more time. Nope, 12 and 9.
MSG: I'll leave off singing and take a crack at Vlort. 10 is a miss.
Harriet: Vlort moved away from me and the other two moved up on our knight ... am I free to go after Vlort without triggering a free strike?
GM Elle: On an odd roll, yes; on even, one person has you within reach. That's a 5, so go for it.
Harriet: 19.
GM Elle: New initiative.
MSG: I hope the townfolk aren't watching. It makes for a pretty sorry fight if no one has Brawling skill apparently. 5 for me.
Sasha: 7.
Harriet: Aha, 1!
GM Elle: Enemies on 2.
Harriet: Dragon, exceptional. I'll roll the extra damage die, for a total of 10 points.
GM Elle: Vlort is down for the count, then. Imvir and Glinssa try for the mallard again. 5 hits for Imvir. 9 misses for Glinssa. Do you dodge?
Sasha: I've got hit points out my feathered ass, so no.
GM Elle: 6 points, then.
Sasha: Ouch!
MSG: I'm taking a pop at Imvir. Miss.
Sasha: Me too. 7 is just what I need! 8 points.
GM Elle: New initiative.
MSG: 4.
Sasha: 8.
Harriet: 6.
GM Elle: 5.
MSG: Trying to take down Imvir ... nope.
GM Elle: 19 and 11 for Imvir and Glinssa.
Harriet: 16.
Sasha: Lucky 7 again! 10 points this time.
GM Elle: He drops like a sack of potatoes.
MSG: For my round I'll dust my hands off and ask Glinssa if she wants to discuss that job offer now.
GM Elle: She glances toward the window. Most of the patrons inside are looking out to see the fight, including Quasimund. Through clenched teeth, she says, "Boss is looking." Then, louder, she says obviously she can't beat all three of you, so it looks like you win. Before she heads inside, she says she doesn't have a gold piece for the wager, so you'll have to see if Vlort's got enough on him. 
MSG: Does he?
GM Elle: If you search him, you find 24 silver and 5 copper. You notice Vagnhild watching from the doorway with her arms folded.
MSG: I carefully count out 20 silver and put the rest back. 
Harriet: What's Imvir got?
GM Elle: 4 silver.
Harriet: That and Vlort's silver is pretty close to a gold piece. I'll take all but the 5 copper.
Sasha: You can have my share too. I was just in it for the action. Sir Q goes back to  his mug of mead.
Harriet: Dilfriida says, "Sweet," and follows him.
MSG: I'll head back inside too, then.
Claire: Nobody wants to put their armor back on?
Ariel: Or even pick it up?
Sasha: Dammit. Obviously I'm not leaving my plate armor out there. Thanks for ruining my cool exit, Claire.
MSG: Can we assume Dilfriida and I also got our armor back on?
GM Elle: Yes. Even if you'd really forgotten it, Vagnhild would have said something before you got inside.
MSG: I'm starting to take a shine to her. She runs a pretty good place.
Sasha: Just to head off any sarcasm, I'm 100% going to get my weapons back from her too.
Harriet: Likewise.
MSG: And after doing that, I'm going to look around and see if Glinssa's somewhere I can have a talk with her.
GM Elle: No, she's sitting with Quasimund, who seems to be quacking angrily at her.
MSG: Ah, well.
GM Elle: Everybody mark off you coppers for however many more mugs of mead you drink and we'll move on to the next morning, then.
MSG: I'll use my 10 silvers to buy a round of mead for the whole room, assuming there are 25 people or less there.
GM Elle: Everyone is very appreciative ... with the possible exception of Quasimund, who doesn't turn the free drink down, but doesn't take on any of the festive mood either.
MSG: No, once things quiet down, I'll retire to my spot in the dormitory upstairs.
GM Elle: Okay, on to the next dawn.

(actually, we broke for dinner at that point, and I think this is a good spot to break between posts!)