Session 9: The one where Elias finds Euxine Wares (January 11, 2022)
Last session, our heroes faced an unexpected supernatural threat. Sirens were approaching the Bright Horizon and First Mate Carol Withers at the helm had been hypnotized to direct the ship towards some large rocks. Through hugging sirens, catapulting rocks, and Jack Sparrow-ing Carol up into the rigging, the party (with some help from Ana Cardi) managed to kill the sirens and stop the ship from becoming too damaged on the rocks.
The job done, they were given 300gp each (with Jeremias receiving an extra 300 to give to Ana later, as she had disappeared). The merchant Thom offered Jeremias anything he wished, and was asked to show the party around Arkos when they arrive.
We pick up as the ship, after that short diversion, approaches the city of Arkos. Its gold domes, tree-lined avenues, and green-covered peaks greet them in the distance.
- Before the ship arrives at port, Captain Nanda del Becco pulls Jeremias aside
- Elias denies knowing what she’s talking about
- She says he left something in the brig, and it seemed like the kind of thing
he wouldn’t have wanted to leave behind
- She holds out a small brass cylinder
- He clearly recognizes it and becomes immediately nervous and on edge
- Elias says he’s never seen this before in his life, and says the
Captain can keep it
- She asks if she can sell it, and he says yes, succeeding a deception check
- She says to herself she’ll need to remove the inscription first
- Elias tries to convince her that it’s junk, and that he can just
get rid of it for her
- She hands it over to him
- Elias dangles it over the side of the ship like he’s going to drop
it, thinks better of it, then puts it in his pocket and walks off
- The Captain watches him go curiously, then goes back to staring off towards Arkos
- The ship pulls in to dock and workers both on the ship and on land immediately
start securing it with ropes
- The damage to the ship is also noted, and repairs start being planned
- Thom approaches to the party and offers to show them around the city
- Thom asks if the party is from the north, and Rormir answers “North of this dimension”
- Thom leads the party to the southwest, giving a brief history as he goes
- He explains that Arkos is a volcanic island and that the entire
island used to look like the lush green mountains off to the south
- The majority of the island was flattened in an incredible feat of engineering some time ago
- The remaining mountainous area is where all the farming and production takes place due to the rich volcanic soil
- The mountainous area is referred to as The Heights
- The party sees trolleys moving around on thin grooves cut into the streets
- Heph asks how the trolleys are powered
- Thom says there is an enchantment on the tracks which stretches throughout the city
- The enchantment is powered by volcanic activity beneath the earth
- Heph spends eleven minutes casting ritual Identify on the tracks
- He learns that the tracks are made out of normal stone
- It’s faint, delicately-carved runes in the stone which carry the enchantment
- The spell seems to be some variation on Telekinesis that doesn’t require an active caster and that can be spread out across an entire city
- Throughout these eleven minutes Elias stands quietly lost in
thought while Thom and Rormir chat
- Rormir tries to explain what he meant by “north of this dimension” and an incredibly awkward conversation takes place
- Heph finishes, thanks them for waiting, and they all continue on
- They head out from residential areas and towards the commercial district
- The buildings start to thin out and the streets become narrower
- The arrive at an area with jewelers and Thom asks what kinds of jewelry they’re looking for
- In response to this Thom takes them to another area with stores
that seem much less busy
- He says he doesn’t do business with these people, and that they more commonly work on contract with large businesses and governments
- Elias almost falls into an open manhole, and Rormir
grabs him just in time
- Elias doesn’t notice any of this and just keeps walking
- Rormir sees a sign on a store with a hawk similar to that on the
Bands of Loyalty
- The name of the shop is Euxine Wares
- Elias suddenly notices it and says “Hey, it’s the place!”
- Rormir asks Thom where people go for entertainment
- He points downtown
- He recommends Charlie’s Pockets as a good falafel place and The Ruby Inn downtown as a good place to stay for those with means
- Heph asks where he’s going to stay, and he says Aqua Vita, which is
nearby
- Heph says they’ll catch up with him later after they do some shopping
- Thom then walks off towards Aqua Vita, and Elias shakes himself out of his thoughts to call out “Thanks for your help, Tim!”
- Heph turns to Elias to ask him what’s going on with him
- Elias refuses to talk about it, though
- The party approaches the entrance to Euxine Wares
- There’s a man with a clipboard standing there, who asks if they have an appointment
- The party says they do not, so he marks them as walk ins
- He then asks what they’re looking for
- Rormir asks for paper and a quill to draw something, which the
man gives him
- Rormir draws the ring they’re interested in on the paper, and the man marks them down as potential customers
- The man then asks them to rate their experience so far
- The party enters the shop
- It’s an open floor plan with dark blue, velvety carpet
- Items are placed on shelves and hung on the walls around the room
- A lot of the items seem to be jewelry, but there’s also other things like a sword and a belt
- There’s a man sitting behind a desk who stands up as they enter
- He introduces himself as Henry Randall and explains that he is the artisan responsible for all the items in the shop
- After some unsuccessful conversation, Heph shows him the ring
- He recognizes it and looks surprised to see it
- The party learns that Henry hasn’t had direct contact with
the buyer of the rings, instead going through intermediaries
- They also learn that the masks were not purchased here
- Heph says that his employer likes to be discreet, and that seems to convince Henry that the party is associated with the original buyer of the rings
- Rormir says they need five more rings
- Henry says “Ah, so you’re looking to make a small order”
- Elias says yes, this is just to stock back up
- Henry asks for a deposit
- Rormir tries to convince Henry that his other
contact must have left some credit for purchasing more rings
- He doesn’t remember credit being left, but assumes there was some miscommunication between parties
- He heads through a door behind the desk to check if any credit is available
- Elias sneaks out a window to see if he can spy on what’s happening
in the back
- He gets into the alley next to the store undetected
- Rormir searches around the room and determines that besides the
main magic of all items on display there’s an additional enchantment placed on
them
- Heph confirms this
- Elias peeks through a window into the back room, but he can’t see
much besides shelves packed with paper-filled boxes
- He sneaks back into the main room before Henry gets back
- Henry returns and says there is no credit on file
- Heph says that they’ll need to sort that out
- Henry says the deposit for the rings will be 1000gp
- He says to coordinate with his other contact if they run into her
- The party leaves the building, and the bouncer holds the door open for them
- The party heads to Aqua Vita Bar & Inn
- It looks fairly quaint
- Much of the construction is wood as opposed to the marble of many of the buildings around here
- Rormir asks for rooms where they are unlikely to be overheard
- Alphonse, the man behind the desk, says that would be one of the two suites on the top floor
- The party reserves both suites for the night for 10gp total
- Rormir straight up asks Alphonse where the black market is, and he leans forward to say he’s not sure, but they’d probably have the best luck looking in The Heights
- He hands the suite keys to the party
- Each suite has two queen beds
- One of the suites has a slightly better view of the mountains
- They each have large wash basins and complementary soap, which Elias pockets
- As they’re settling in and planning their next steps, they spy Henry out the window walking down the street