secret of the dragon emperor ... part 29

holy mole sauce, folks, we're almost to part 30 of this beast!

GM Elle: All right. Grim-Grum collects his things from his cousin's place and Glim-Glam watches him head east into the wilderness, his head and shoulders towering up above the treetops until he disappears in the distance. Then she turns to you with a grunt and says she's going to do some spring cleaning before she butchers the pigs to roast them for dinner. In case you don't take her point, she adds, "Plenty daylight left for you to head back to that inn."
MSG: I tell her it was good going business with her. Then I'll look at Zedeja to see if she's about to order everybody to hit the road.
Akane: She was. But now she sees a dour dwarf looking at her and says, "What is it, dwarf?"
MSG: I'll just shrug.
Ariel: Well Fidu is beat, so he's going to go get in the cart and rest. Wake me up when we get to the inn!
Sasha: So you can go inside and go back to sleep?
Ariel: Exactly, except with some eating dinner in between.
Akane: Zedeja commands the group to proceed inn-ward. "March!" she says.
GM Elle: Assuming you all obey --
Harriet: Or coincidentally start heading for the inn, in the case of we who refuse to bow to Zedeja's browbeating.
GM Elle: Or that, right. You head north along the road once more, making your way out of the rolling hills toward the more level region that the road passes through as the haunted marshes grow visible ahead to the east. Suddenly, you all have an eerie sensation of being small and vulnerable. The sky darkens for just a flash, as an immense shadow passes over you. Anyone who looks up needs to make a WIL save against Fear.
MSG: Well, Dolora definitely can't skip the opportunity to see what makes a shadow like that, so I guess I'm rolling. That's a 15, so I'll become Scared and push the roll ... a 12 makes it.
Claire: Like hell is Filvius going to avoid looking and let Dolora know something he doesn't ... fail. I'll get Scared too ... and roll even worse on the push, so here comes the Fear.
GM Elle: And the table says ... Wild Panic. You're going to flee the scene as fast as you can and not stop running until you succeed on a new WIL check.
Claire: Which will be a while, since I just made myself Scared and that gives me a Bane on WIL rolls.
Ariel: I'm sleeping. Did the creepy small feeling get through to me even though I'm napping?
GM Elle: I'll say no.
Ariel: Woohoo! Sloth pays off!
Sasha: Quackers makes the roll with no problem. And obviously he's looking up since it might be a monster. Is it?
GM Elle: Let's finish everyone's Fear checks.
Sasha: If we have to.
Akane: Zedeja rolls a Dragon. This has benefits, yes? Can she spot a cowardly elf about to run and command him?
GM Elle: Yes, but wait until the checks are done and I tell everyone what they see.
Harriet: Dilfriida already felt small, so if she feels even smaller, she's going to reflexively try to duck under the back end of the cart to hide rather than looking up.
Heddy: Brandywise can't even conceive of looking up in these circumstances. I'm just marking her Scared on general principle.
GM Elle: Only one character succumbs to Fear, then. Everyone who looked up sees a great silhouette outlined against the sky -- broad, batlike wings and a serpentine tail and neck. It can't possibly be anything other than a dragon. Zedeja, what's your command to Filvius?
Akane: Do not run, you cowardly elf! Our mallard will leap to protect us! Don't you wish to learn what a duck knight looks like getting swallowed by a dragon?
GM Elle: Make a Persuasion roll on top of that and if you succeed I'll let Filvius have another WIL check against the Fear.
Akane: Failure. Obviously an elf of cowardice is beyond even the persuasion of this mage.
Claire: I guess Filvius breaks and runs, then.
Akane: No, we must Initiate! Others may stop him.
Claire: Good point.
GM Elle: Here are the cards, then.
MSG: 8.
Claire: 10, so I guess everyone gets a chance to dog-pile on me.
Ariel: Fidu might be offended by that if he was awake. I get 7 in case someone screams from being a scaredy-pants and wakes me up.
Sasha: Quackers is on 3.
Akane: Zedeja, 4.
Harriet: 5.
Heddy: 6.
GM Elle: Sir Quackenscrump is up, then.
Sasha: I'm yelling at the top of my lungs, "That's right, you better keep flying, you big chicken dragon! You don't want to take this crew on!"
Harriet: Please let the dragon already be too far away to hear that.
GM Elle: Zedeja?
Akane: I attempt Levitation of the elf. Probably he is too Scared to be willing, so it's a Bane on this roll, but still I succeed. He is lifted directly in front of our dwarf and falls slowly to the ground. "Seize him, dwarf!"
Harriet: I'm next, but I'm not coming out from under this cart.
Heddy: I'm cowering with my hands over my eyes.
GM Elle: All right, so Quackers yelled full-out and Zedeja barked orders at both Filvius and Dolora, so Fidu needs to make an Awareness check. On a success he wakes up.
Ariel: "Barked" is also kinda offensive, you know. And my awareness is pretty good so I make it. "What's going on now? Why's everybody yelling?" I guess I'll trade cards with Dolora and wait.
MSG: I guess I'm trying to tackle Filvius, then. How's that work in this game?
Claire: It's an opposed Brawling check.
MSG: Bleh. My Brawling sucks.
Claire: Probably not as bad as mine!
Ariel: Would you guys just roll? I want to get back to my nap.
MSG: I fail with a 14.
Claire: Ooh, I succeed with a 4. What's that get me?
GM Elle: Nothing, really. Dolora's failure means she faceplants.
Ariel: I guess it's my turn, then? But nobody answered me, so I'm still not sure what's going on. Um, should I roll INT or maybe Awareness to figure it out?
GM Elle: Awareness.
Ariel: Nope, no clue. I guess Dolora got mad at Filvius for being a know-it-all or something. I'll just watch.
Claire: I take off running for the nearest cover, then. Are there trees nearby or anything?
GM Elle: I'll roll the 12-sider. On 1-11, that's how many rounds you are away from the nearest clump of trees. On a 12, you happen to be pretty close to Hanhgrav's burial mound and statue, which might seem like a good hiding place to you. 
MSG: That could be fun.
GM Elle: Nope, 3 rounds. By the way, the dragon does not turn around at Quackenscrump's challenge. It's winging majestically away into the distance at enormous speed. New initiative.
MSG: 6.
Claire: I get the 1! Yes, I'm high-tailing it for those trees.
Ariel: 8 for me.
Sasha: 3 again.
Akane: 4 again!
Harriet: 5 again for me as well. Are you sure you shuffled these, Elle?
GM Elle: At least passingly. It's really sort of moot since Claire got the 1 and the only person faster than Filvius is Fidu, who's last this round. Claire, you do get to start rolling to overcome your Fear this round.
Claire: Nope, I'm elfin' it for those trees.
Sasha: Quackers is still watching the dragon. It might still turn around.
Akane: Zedeja will Round Rest to gain back WP. Ah, 6!
Harriet: Still cowering.
Heddy: I forgot to mention that I had the 2 card, so I was supposed to say this sooner, but I'm doing the same thing this round as last round.
MSG: Dolora will move after Filvius and blow her horn to give him a Boon on his next WIL check.
Ariel: Ooh, good move! In fact that's good enough Fidu thinks you've got it wrapped up, so he doesn't need to try chasing Filvius down.
GM Elle: Initiative again, then.
MSG: 5.
Claire: 2!
Ariel: I got the 1, kind of a waste since I'm not doing anything.
Sasha: You would always wait and trade with someone.
Ariel: That seems like a lot of work.
Sasha: I'm on 6, then. You can skip me when my turn comes around because I'm still staring at that dragon.
Akane: 9 is the initiative of Zedeja.
Harriet: 7.
Heddy: 8. Do Het and I even need to keep drawing?
GM Elle: Anyone who wants to just sit and be a bystander is free to do so.
Claire: I'm up then, right? My WIL roll this time is ... 14. Another fail. I keep running.
MSG: I'll blow my horn again.
GM Elle: Seems like it's just Dolora and Filvius then, so there's no need to draw. If Claire wins, she goes first, and if Dolora wins, I'm guessing MSG will trade with Claire so that Dolora's Musician ability is still active when it gets to Filvius's turn.
MSG: Yep. 
Claire: Whew! This time my roll's an 8. I guess I'll stop and pant for a bit to regain my breath and composure, then head back.
Sasha: Is the dragon out of sight yet?
GM Elle: It is by the time Filvius gets back.
Sasha: Damn. That was a heck of a monster. We'd better get to fight one of those someday.
Akane: The speed of our experiencing seems poor for killing dragons soon. Probably Zedeja will age to death first.
Harriet: Is Zedeja talking about that out loud? If so, Dilfriida will certainly make a crack about the day not being able to come soon enough.
Akane: Tolerance of a halfling accelerates it! But Zedeja warns, if a halfling tries to dance on her grave, she will return skeletonly to devour the offender.
Harriet: Dilfriida says something like, "Go ahead and try it. You're already halfway to being a skeleton anyway."
Heddy: Brandywise says this sort of talk makes her unhappy ... also, that she can think of much better places to dance than on a grave. There's a bit of a lift of her eyebrows in Dilfriida's direction as she adds the last bit.
Harriet: My awareness roll is a 15, so her meaning glances off me like monster pee off a mallard knight's back.
Sasha: Quackers resents the idea he'd ever let a monster pee on him. That monster would be dead so fast ...
Harriet: Monster blood, then.
Sasha: That, I'm okay with.
GM Elle: To move things along ... after this sort of talk goes on for several more hours, you arrive once again at the Road's End Inn. The sun is a westering patch of glow through the ever-present mists of the vale and work is winding down on the painting and patch-work of the building's exterior as you roll up.
MSG: Have they got the place in shape enough for business? I could go for a nice meal and sleeping in a real bed.
GM Elle: They're not offering a menu, but there's stew and ale, and you can rent a private room if you want. But they say the mattresses aren't coming until tomorrow or the next day.
MSG: Damn.
Ariel: Fidu just wants a quiet place to roll out his sleeping furs, so he'll take a room.
Sasha: I'll have some of that ale before bedtime. And I guess my oath means I've got to ask Brandywise if she wants to raise a glass together.
Heddy: That's the sort of invitation I'll never turn down. I'll ask Dilfriida to join us as well.
Harriet: Dilfriida is awkwardly unused to so much socializing, but more than happy for a repeat of the previous night.
Heddy: Brandy will try to see about making it more of an extension and continuation than just repetition.
GM Elle: Just to let you know, all the private rooms will be claimed if you spend too much time partying.
Heddy: That's all right. If things progress in that direction, I'm sure we can find a cuddlesome corner somewhere, maybe behind the bar. What do I need to roll to attempt some innuendo and encourage Dilfriida into taking a lead toward a more intimate bedtime configuration?
GM Elle: That sounds like a Performance to me.
Harriet: Gamemaster's prerogative, obviously, but I would suggest a Boon on that Performance roll due to the amount of alcohol Dilfriida consumes, followed by a Bane on Dilfriida's Awareness check to see if she takes the hint.
GM Elle: I'm all right with that.
Heddy: The Boon lets me succeed on Performance.
Harriet: Hmm! I succeed on both dice, so the Bane didn't foil my Awareness.
MSG: Now they both need to make a Sneaking roll or the whole place will know what they get up to.
Harriet: Scandalous, but not unreasonable.
Heddy: I fail a CON check on my drinking for the evening, if you want to give me a Bane on the Sneaking.
GM Elle: Banes for both of you. Why not?
Heddy: Failure.
Harriet: A Dragon and a 16, both successes given my stealthiness.
Heddy: Apparently you coax a pronounced bleat from me at one or more points, then.
Ariel: I feel like I should be covering my ears for this! I mean, "me" I, not "Fidu" I. He's asleep.
Akane: Zedeja would also have removed herself from sight of halfling revelry in early evening.
Harriet: I don't think we need go into any further detail anyway.
Heddy: Let's compare notes after the session, though.
GM Elle: In the morning you head for Outskirt, then. Do you want to make any plans about what you'll be doing when you get there? Glinssa is nervous about going back where she might run into Quasimund and her other former cult-mates.
MSG: I'm wondering if we might need to trade in our cart for a wagon. I think we came pretty close to filling up the whole 50 weight units worth of cargo space a couple of times on this trip.
Claire: The donkeys and their saddlebags too? That's almost another 30 weight units, isn't it?
MSG: I guess that's true. Do we know if there's a bank in town? We've racked up a lot of loot I'd rather not get robbed of if someone comes along while we're in a dungeon.
Akane: Our cultist must defend it, then! Why are we paying her otherwise?
Harriet: I thought it was so that our donkeys would be safe from wandering off in our dungeoneering absences.
GM Elle: There is a bank in town. You've either heard of it already or you could ask Gualmond and his party and they'll tell you. Glinssa looks alarmed at the prospect of having to fight off gangs of robbers while everyone else is inside a dungeon.
MSG: I'll assure her she's free to run if she thinks she's in danger and can't get the cart and donkeys away.
Akane: Unacceptable!
Claire: Back to the real subject -- do we have anything we think might be magical? I can check for that with my Sense Magic trick, to make sure we're not selling off something that's more valuable than it looks.
Harriet: Dilfriida says she has that ring she found in the Magna Woods. She does not say that she has Hanhgrav's crown, which she pilfered from his corpse's head in the tomb. But she'll ask Filvius if they can check the ring out in private, because she doesn't want Zedeja interfering in her business.
Claire: I'm good with that.
Akane: Zedeja peers at both in suspicion. But she knows -- insisting to observe equals a halfling refusing to have the magic sensed. So she decides to badger the elf later for information.
Harriet: In that case, once we're alone, I'll ask Filvius if he wants in on a secret no one else knows.
Claire: Boy, do I ever! What is it?
Harriet: I show her the crown and say I want to know if it and the ring are magical.
Claire: Two castings of Sense Magic coming right up! What do I find out?
GM Elle: The ring is magical and has the ability to activate the Light trick, but your Sense Magic only tells you the kind of magic, not how to use it. The crown is just very pretty and sparkly.
Ariel: Doesn't that mean the ring might as well not be magic in the first place?
GM Elle: I think it's up to the characters to decide whether there might be some way to uncover the magical trigger.
Claire: As a mage, would Filvius have any idea how to figure something like that out, if there aren't any spells in the book for it?
GM Elle: Sure. If you found some gizmo in the real world, and you didn't know what it was, how would you figure it out?
Ariel: Ooh! Look up where the next Antiques Road Show stop is going to be! And when, I guess. Is that show still on?
Sasha: Pawn shop, maybe?
Claire: I guess there're probably parallels to those in this world. Hey, like maybe the old hermit in Outskirt! He seemed to be pretty in-the-know. We could ask him while we're in town.
Harriet: Dilfriida would be "cool" with that. It probably doesn't occur to her that the hermit had rather a poor reaction to some of Filvius's behavior last time.
GM Elle: Meanwhile, Glinssa would at some point repeat her nervousness about going into Outskirt and says maybe the group could help her find a farm to stay at or something.
MSG: Oops. I'll apologize for ignoring her. We've been in and out of town a couple of times now ... are we familiar with the locations of the nearby farms?
GM Elle: Yes. In fact, you've been to one of them -- Old Man Mifaldor's place. You took those bandits there to work off their debt to society.
MSG: I'm not sure a place with known bandits is the safest for Glinssa to hide ... but I also guess we're overdue to see how putting the bandits there worked out. Maybe they've become productive citizens and Mifaldor will be grateful enough for the help that he'll be okay putting Glinssa up for a day or two.
Claire: Wait. Wasn't it Mifaldor's barn that the troll was in? That was inside town, not outside.
GM Elle: Hang on ... okay, you're right. I should have checked my notes more carefully before announcing that. In that case, the outlying farms are all owned by people you're unfamiliar with, unless they happened to be eating in the common room of the Three Stags at some point while you were there. Even then, you probably don't know them by name.
Akane: Another obstacle! Will farmers take in a cultist when we admit to them she is one?
MSG: I wasn't planning on telling them.
Akane: What an irresponsible dwarf.
Harriet: Dilfriida will chime in that she's an ex-cultist, and also call Zedeja an old hag in the process.
Akane: She has a tattoo!
Harriet: Well, we haven't ascertained the location of any tattoo parlor where she could rectify that situation, have we?
Akane: Excuses.
GM Elle: Let's skip ahead and say you find a place about half a mile outside town that would be willing to take her in. Make a Bartering roll to see what sort of deal you get on her lodging.
MSG: Does Fidu want to do the negotiating, Aers?
Ariel: Huh? What? He's napping in the cart. Do you want to wake him up?
MSG: I guess not, but my Bartering stinks. And I roll an 18.
GM Elle: They'll charge you eight silver, then -- about what it would cost for a meal at an inn and a single room. But she'll be sleeping in the barn and getting the same supper as a farmworker.
Ariel: Wow, you really should have woken Fidu up!
MSG: I'm pretty sure I can afford it, out of my share of the party's wagonload of loot.
GM Elle: How much of that loot is in the form of jewelry or gems, by the way? Outskirt is a frontier town, not a big city, so there may not be a good market for too large a load of luxury items. The crown, for instance, is probably going to be outside of anyone's budget if you want to get a decent exchange for it.
MSG: Let me look at our cart inventory sheet ... looks like a 50 sp bracelet, two 80 gp bracelets, a 90 sp brooch, a 70 gp amulet, and that mastercrafted broadsword from Dead Eyes Cave.
GM Elle: The silver jewelry you can exchange without issue. The gold bracelets and amulet you'll need to Barter to sell, and you'll have a Bane on the second one and a double-Bane on the third.
MSG: We'll definitely leave that up to Fidu then.
Ariel: Sure thing! I make it on the first roll -- kinda barely, but an 18 is a success because I'm awesome that way. Then I make the one with the Bane ... but boo! I fail the double-Bane one. What's that mean?
GM Elle: Roll a d20 and take that many gp off the price.
Ariel: Woohoo! Only 3!
GM Elle: Now roll another Bartering check to sell the mastercrafted broadsword at Okald and Badinor's smithy.
MSG: Can I tell them a rousing story about our adventures in getting hold of that sword, to give Fidu a Boon on his Bartering?
GM Elle: Sure.
MSG: I succeed pretty easily.
Ariel: My bartering roll is a piece of cake.
GM Elle: In that case, they'll give you 70% of what they think they can sell it for, which is 120 gp. That works out to 84 gp
Ariel: Oh! And what about Hanhgrav's sword that I got from his tomb?
Claire: You totally should have me check that for magic before we sell it.
Ariel: Super! Do it!
GM Elle: The greatsword is magical. You sense that you could spend WP to activate a spell that's permanently sealed into it.
Claire: Sweet. I do that. How many WP, and what happens?
GM Elle: It costs 4 WP, and activates an Enchant Weapon spell at Power Level 2. That means attacks with it count a 1-3 as a Dragon instead of just a 1 for the period of a stretch. You can only use the power once a day.
MSG: Dang, that's a pretty great greatsword. But can anybody besides Sir Q use a sword worth a damn? I can't.
Claire: Me either.
Ariel: Um ... no, my sheet says I suck at swording.
Akane: Zedeja needs only fists of Iron and Power!
Harriet: Even if Dilfriida possessed a decent Swords skill -- which she does not -- it seems unlikely a halfling could wield such an enormous weapon with any success.
Heddy: All my weapon skills are 5 except Knives, which is an 8.
Sasha: I mostly want to keep using my broadsword and shield so I can block missile attacks if I've got to. But it would be nice to have a kick-ass magic greatsword if we come across some reallly super-tough monster. I say we keep it.
GM Elle: Based on how expensive just a mastercrafted greatsword is, you suspect it would be hard to sell for a decent price in Outskirt, much less for the price a magical greatsword would be worth.
MSG: That settles it as far as I'm concerned. So with all that trading, we come out at ... 656 gp, 310 sp, and 260 cp. How do we want to split that?
Heddy: Brandywise says she wouldn't feel right taking a share of anything beyond the gold we've gotten since she joined the group.
GM Elle: That's only the 39 gp and 80 coppers from the bandits' chest, you know.
MSG: Converting everything to gold and dividing by 6, I come up with 114 gp, 9 sp, and 3 cp each. If we let Brandy have 4 gp, 9 sp, and 3 cp each, that will be a round 110 gp for the long-term party members, and 29 gp, 5 sp, and 8 cp for Brandy.
Heddy: That seems more than fair, considering I was proposing my take would be 1/7th of the 39 gp and 80 copper pieces. Does Glinssa get a share?
MSG: She's supposed to get 2 silvers a day plus room and board for minding the donkeys, and Dolora told her she'd get at least some cut of loot. But Zedeja isn't aware of that.
Akane: Beware an aged mage gaining knowledge of your subterfugings!
Heddy: If Dolora lets me know on the sly, then, I'll give Glinssa 4 of my gold pieces once we meet back up with her.
Akane: Why would we do this? The cultist is at a farm to the east. Our next goal is to the west. She is an inconvenience of detouring!
MSG: We still need someone to watch the donkeys if we go in a dungeon.
Akane: We have a satyr with weapon skills of all 5's, plus Knives skill only pitifully improved over the rest.
Heddy: Yes, but I'm much too fretful to stay alone with our cart and donkeys while everyone else disappears into a cave or some ruins for hours.
Akane: Zedeja will instruct bravery into you.
Harriet: Dilfriida tells Brandy not to worry. "Nobody listens to Zedeja except when they're trying to get her to shut up."
Heddy: She still makes me nervous.
GM Elle: All right, what else are you going to do in town before staying the night and heading out for Oracle Cave?
MSG: I'm going to buy a heavy warhammer as an upgrade on my large wooden club.
Claire: Dilfriida and I are going to talk to the old hermit, right?
Harriet: With certainty. I'll invite Brandy along too.
Heddy: That's very kind of you.
Ariel: I'm going right to the inn for dinner and then it's bedtime!
Sasha: Quackers will be doing some drinking in the Three Stags' common room.
Akane: Zedeja also will have dining and retiring. Wait! I just recalled -- there is a spell in the head of Zedeja that needs writing down! She will buy supplies for writing from the town store and do this.
GM Elle: In that case, Filvius, Dilfriida, and Brandywise head to the town's central hill and climb the worn stone stairs up and past the ruins there to the hut where Dranath lives.
Claire: Once we get there and he answers the door, I'm going to ask him if he can teach me another spell for 3 gold. That Heal Wound spell he taught me is pretty good, so maybe he knows something else useful too.
Harriet: Are you just informing the game master of this intent, or is it a part of conversation on the way there? Dilfriida's not possessed of any better people skills than Filvius, but perhaps our new scholarly companion might advise a more tactful way of approaching the subject.
Heddy: I would definitely do that if I'm aware of what Filvius is planning.
Claire: Well, learning the spell was an acquisition of knowledge, and Dolora's not around to hear me touting Dranath as a source of information and lessons, so I'd probably brag about the idea of increasing my spell list.
GM Elle: Brandywise prevents you from being too tactless, then, so we can skip over any aggravated reaction from Dranath. You do notice he's still looking in the healthy prime of life after that magical mishap de-aged him.
Claire: I'll congratulate him on how much less wrinkled he's looking and ask him what other spells he's got that he could teach me.
GM Elle: He'd rather you ask him for the type of spell you're interested in. As an alternative, you could pay him a gold piece to tell you his Rank 1 spells, or two gold for his Rank 2 spells.
Claire: I'm feeling pretty rich, so I'll shell out 3 gold for both.
GM Elle: In that case, his full list is: Sense Magic, Dispel, Protector, Magic Shield, Banish, Ensnaring Roots, Lightning Flash, Treat Wound, Heal Wound, Lightning Bolt, and Purge
Claire: Jeepers. Now I have to look all of those up to know which one I want!
Sasha: Or you could just look up Lightning Bolt, since it sounds pretty awesome as far as I can tell.
Claire: Actually, before looking them up, I should ask -- do I know what all of those spells do?
GM Elle: You know Lightning Bolt is an upgrade for your Lightning Flash spell. You can roll your Animism skill for each of the ones you don't know.
Claire: Let's see ... okay, I just used up a bunch of good rolls, because I made it for all of them.
GM Elle: Go ahead and read the book, then. While you're thinking your choice over, Dranath and Dilfriida can discuss the magic ring. He asks you where you got it and to describe anything about its discovery that you can remember.
Harriet: It's been forever and a day for me as a player, so I honestly don't recall. Can I look it up in the notes?
GM Elle: I have them right here. You found it while camping. There was a fallen milestone near your camp, and Dilfriida noticed while examining it that it had a secret compartment. The ring was in there. With that information, Dranath says he believes he knows what the ring is and what it does. He'll reveal its secret for 5 silver pieces.
Harriet: Dilfriida is amenable to paying that.
GM Elle: He says it's a ring placed there for servants of the Dragon Emperor to use in time of need. By evoking the name of Eledain and asking him to light the way, it will activate the Light magic trick. You do have to spend your own WP to cast it. He lets you know that each ring typically has only a few uses.
Harriet: How will I know when it's running out?
GM Elle: Either by casting Sense Magic on it to see if it's still magical, or by trying to use it and discovering it no longer works. Claire, has Filvius settled on a spell?
Claire: I'm waffling between Ensnaring Roots and Lightning Bolt. Ensnaring Roots is kind of weak -- it just ties one person up until they break loose. But Lightning Bolt is like Lightning Flash, so it costs double the WP to cast indoors, and you can't cast it when your allies are close to an enemy or they might get zapped too.
Sasha: You know you want Lightning Bolt.
Claire: Okay, yeah, that's true. I'll give him 3 gold to teach me. It takes a shift, right? I'm guessing Dilfriida and Brandy don't want to hang out that whole time.
Harriet: Dilfriida got what she came for. She asks if Brandy wants to head back to the inn for some revelry.
Heddy: I do ... but there are ruins here on the hill, right? I wouldn't mind poking my scholarly nose into them and seeing what there is to see. From my skim of the notes, I seem to remember that the two of you rolled very badly during your examination of the place and didn't find anything out.
GM Elle: That's true. You can roll Myths & Legends when looking at the painted ceiling of the ruined temple.
Heddy: Success!
GM Elle: You see a pattern there that reminds you of the stylized crowns that are etched into the stone of the Misty Vale's ubiquitous milestones. Both of these are connected, you think, to the legend of Eledain, the Dragon Emperor.
Heddy: Interesting. I'll also casually stroll about and see if there are any cozy corners where I might entice my new friend to a brief bit of private revelry before we head back to the inn and the press of the crowds.
GM Elle: Roll Spot Hidden.
Heddy: Also a success. 
GM Elle: While looking, you come across a small niche. There are some runes of an archaic flavor carved into it. Roll Languages to see if you can decipher them.
Heddy: I'm rolling up a storm here. Ah, but this one I miss. A 16 against my Languages skill of 15.
GM Elle: No luck reading the runes then.
Heddy: And what about cozy corners?
GM Elle: Well, it's a bit musty and ruin-y in here, but there are certainly spots you could make use of for a bit of privacy as long as no one actually enters the temple and starts looking around.
Heddy: Again, because of Dilfriida's oath, I attempt some bold but indirect hints at the idea of a bit of frolicking.
GM Elle: Roll Performance or Persuasion.
Heddy: They're the same numerically, and in any event, I roll a 19, so my point is probably lost on her. When it becomes obvious to me that I'm failing in my flirtations, I suggest we head back to the Inn.
GM Elle: In that case, back at the inn, Fidu is asleep in the room -- I assume he and Zedeja are sharing as normal? And that Fidu will make a Bartering roll to negotiate a lower rate from Vagnhild?
Ariel: We were on the road an awful long time and I had to listen to a whole bunch of arguing from Zedeja, so I think I was probably too lazy to barter today. I'll just pay the normal rate for dinner and the room. Plus we just divvied up all that money, so I'm feeling pretty rich.
Akane: Zedeja has no feelings of richness, so is definitely sharing the hound's room. But! Not asleep yet, remember. She must write down a spell in her grimoire.
GM Elle: All right. Sir Quackenscrump went straight to drinking upon getting to the inn. What does Dolora do after her shopping?
MSG: Probably go back to the Three Stags and get some dinner, then see if whoever else is around wants to share a room instead of sleeping in the dormitory.
GM Elle: When Dolora orders dinner, Annabelle the serving maid is very friendly and says it looks like the dwarf and her group have done well on your adventures, since she notices the shiny new warhammer in place of the rough wooden club you used to carry.
MSG: I'll tell her we've done okay. I don't think I want to make much chit-chat, since we know now that she's a member of the cult of Sathmog.
Ariel: Oh, that's right! I was probably giving her the stink-eye while I was eating. Not so much that I'd wear myself out by stink-eye-ing her the whole way through dinner, though.
GM Elle: After you've eaten, she asks if whether you'd like anything else to drink.
Sasha: If I noticed Dolora eating, I'd probably have come over from the bar and encouraged her to drink up to get over being her usual dour self. So am I there for that?
GM Elle: The common room isn't that big, so I think it's doubtful you'd have missed one of your companions coming in and having a meal. Unless you want to tell me you've already had so much to drink that your Awareness is impaired.
Sasha: Nah, Quackers can handle his hooch. And since I'm there for Annabelle saying that, I tell her to bring us a pitcher of ale or mead to share.
MSG: I guess I'm stuck helping drink it, then.
Sasha: That's the spirit!
GM Elle: When Annabelle comes back with the pitcher, she casually asks, "So have you folks had any luck with that map of yours?" and in a lower voice she adds, "Come across any of those statue pieces I told you about?"
MSG: I'll tell her the map has helped us find several places to adventure at, but no luck with the statue pieces. Since that's a lie, I assume I need to roll Bluffing ... I make it easily with a 4.
GM Elle: She seems disappointed and maybe even momentarily suspicious, but then cheerfully tells you to let her know when you need a refill on your pitcher or if there's anything else.
MSG: I tell her we'll be sure to do that.
GM Elle: A little while later, Dilfriida and Brandywise return. Will you join Dolora and Sir Q at their table, or find a corner of the room to yourselves?
Heddy: That's a more challenging question for Brandywise than you might think. She'd definitely like some more time alone with Dilfriida, but she's also supposed to be Quackenscrump's drinking buddy, so she might feel obliged to sit at the group table.
Harriet: Dilfriida remains somewhat oblivious to Brandy's attentions -- or she might just be uncertain how to deal with them, since all of this is very new to her. I think she'd be inclined to head toward Dolora and Sir Q.
Heddy: I'll sigh inwardly and follow along, then tell myself it's probably for the best, since the knight's oath at the fountain would probably make him come over and invite himself to drink with us or vice versa, and he wouldn't really be able to take no for an answer. Say ... have we figured out the repercussions of failing to live up to one of those oaths?
GM Elle: Not yet -- nobody's tried to go against theirs.
Heddy: When we sit and order our food, I'll let her know we're also interested in getting a room for two for the night.
GM Elle: She says she thinks you're in luck, because one of the inn's two private rooms is still unreserved for the night, as far as she knows.
MSG: D'oh. I forgot there were only two real rooms in this place. Not much of an inn, is it?
GM Elle: I don't think it's every been said there are only two rooms, just that there are only two available. There are probably some long-term boarders -- townfolk who prefer the inn over a boarding house, or adventurers who've prepaid to have rooms held for them whenever they're out of town. I'll roll randomly here if you're in desperate need of the details. Looks like there are three other rooms besides the dormitory.
MSG: I guess I should have spoken up earlier to ask Quackers my question about sharing a room.
Heddy: What would be the going rate, then?
GM Elle: She tells you that it's 5 silver per person.
Heddy: A bit steep given my minimal funds, but I'll go ahead and give her 10 silver pieces and then smile a happy smile at Dilfriida -- nothing too forward or naughty.
Harriet: I'm going to roll Awareness to see if that gets through to Dilfriida, since Brandy hasn't mentioned rooming with me before. A 9 says it does. Dilfriida probably colors a bit awkwardly and glances to see if Dolora or Quackenscrump are reading anything into the situation.
Sasha: Quackers is busy drinking.
MSG: Dolora probably looks a little grumbly over missing out on the room. But it's an unspecific sort of grumbliness, so you don't necessarily know what it's directed at.
Harriet: I'll hope it's just her usual unspecific grumbliness then and try not to worry much more about it.
Heddy: Is there, by the way, a bath at this establishment?
GM Elle: Annabelle says that there certainly is. The rate is 6 coppers.
Heddy: I'll give an overt sidewise glance at Dilfriida and ask Annabelle if that is per bath or per bather.
Harriet: Dilfriida thinks she knows the answer to this and chimes in that Vagnhild only charged them 6 total for her and Filvius to bathe together earlier in the week.
Heddy: I'm a little surprised to hear that and probably look at Dilfriida blinkingly.
Harriet: If I notice that, I'll explain. Something along the lines of, "Yeah, I don't normally make a habit of bathing so often either, but we were covered in troll puke."
Heddy: That momentarily relaxes me, but then my eyes widen as I realize that could have indicated a ménage a troll involving a very disturbing sort of fetish. Can I roll Beast Lore to reassure myself that the scenario is not actually something to worry about?
GM Elle: Sure.
Heddy: Whew. That's a success. I'll ask Quackenscrump to please pass the ale.
Sasha: Are you thirsty enough to drink straight out of the pitcher? Annabelle just got you seated, right?
Heddy: I would definitely be willing to drink from the pitcher to wash away that embarrassing and nauseous thought.
GM Elle: Annabelle is a good server, though, so when she saw the two of you joining Dolora and Quackenscrump, she brought along two fresh mugs when she came to take your order. By the way, give yourself an experience mark on Beast Lore for "ménage a troll." Genius.
Heddy: Thank you!
GM Elle: You're welcome. Now, unless anyone wants to roleplay out more of the pre-bedtime activities, I think we can wind this session up here.
Ariel: I'm already in bedtime mode, so that's great by me.
Sasha: No objections.
Akane: Zedeja's only roleplay is the scritch-scritch of writing a spell.
Harriet: I'll go with the group's consensus, but I wasn't entirely averse to seeing where the evening would take Dilfriida and Brandywise.
Heddy: We'll just have to LARP that part on our own time, hmm?
GM Elle: Experience questions! This session may be a little slim. Everyone gets participation, and I'd say the same for giving in to your weaknesses. But no defeating a dangerous enemy or exploration of new territory.
MSG: Maybe a little exploration for Dilfriida.
Ariel: Was there even an obstacle for us to overcome without violence?
Sasha: I say we count having to stop Filvius from running off into the wilderness and getting himself lost because of that dragon.
Akane: There was much attempted stoppage, but actually, didn't all attempts fail? The solution turned out to be, an elf finally makes his saving throw.
GM Elle: I think I'm still willing to count it. There was a lot of creative use of abilities, even if most of them failed. That's three experience marks apiece, then.
MSG: I'm glad you're in the mood to be generous, because I was going to argue that Dolora at a minimum should get a mark, since her Musician ability helped Filvius make that saving throw. Then I might have gotten glared at if you gave me a mark and no one else got one.
Claire: No one would have glared, duh.
Ariel: I might have said "fooh" though.
Sasha: Eye-rolls for me. Watch, like this.
Harriet: Positively savage, Sasha.
GM Elle: Until next time, then!