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<blockquote data-quote="Pacio49" data-source="post: 2067930" data-attributes="member: 28472"><p><strong>A week about town...</strong></p><p></p><p>Flush with their newfound wealth and tantalized by their success at rescuing the damsel in distress, the party decided to take several days of rest and do the things that they do in town. Laeka went to the temple of Povra and joined in the festivities and religious celebrations, engaging in sparring and battles when she wasn't walking about town with her kobolds. She found them a home among the warriors of Povra, and to the best of her knowledge they are still offering religious classes to the young followers of the God of War by taking part in the non-lethal scenarios swiftly dubbed "kill the kobolds". Used to this sort of abuse, the kobolds think that they might actually be able to complete the journey toward goodness if it means they don't die permanently every time they're beaten up.</p><p></p><p>Marcus busied himself in the marketplace, looking for a set of new spells (<em>Although Tol Vehara is the so-called Last City of Free Magic, the prohibition against training anyone past 3rd level so as not to invite the wrath or scrutiny of the Knights of the New Order means that wizards do not automatically gain 2 spells each level... they have to buy them</em>). Arien accompanied him to a point and visited with several of her own contacts in the marketplace, looking for the possibility of locating and purchasing a weapon with magical abilities that the druid could use. Her friend Betta who is an herbalist/folk healer told her she'd check around with her merchant friends to see if there were any that could be scrounged up. While Arien was waiting, she decided to investigate the training that would be necessary to get her ready for being a Dust Rider. </p><p></p><p>Skalar and Valar, ranger and rogue, both decided to stake out the Sapphire manor in their own way, with Skalar watching the physical comings and goings of people in and out of the Sapphire manor via the streets, and Valar taking his time to poke around in the underbelly of Tol Veharan society. Valar manages to get the White Masks interested enough in his suspicion that they say they'll assign one of their spies within the Sapphire household to check out what's happening with the triumphant return of Ymanoura. They also reward his account with the guild for bringing them the political leverage that could possibly be gained by revealing that Ymanoura had broken the veil and actually been directly exposed to the Taint in the Blasted Lands, as well as the socially-sensitive matter that the daughter of one of the three 'noble' houses which maintained residence in Tol Vehara had run off with the farrier's apprentice. </p><p></p><p>Skalar finally recalled that part of the wealth of the Sapphire family allowed for them to actually own several of the treetop dwellings in the canopy above their downside manor. He trudges off with a sigh of exasperation at having allowed his quarry to leave... if she did in fact leave. He returned to the Howling Wolf tavern and decided to stay there for a while.</p><p></p><p>Yovaire took some time to outfit himself better and practiced his skills patiently, awaiting the rendezvous date so that the party could actually get their shopping done. Tanin spent the time at the Howling Wolf and visiting the Gardens of Pleasure and the temples of Rathsha, the Love Goddess in her more ... scandalous ... nature. A few notches on the belt later and a good deal more poor, Tanin spent the rest of his time indulging his dog with bacon and milling and swilling at the Howling Wolf.</p><p></p><p>Arien and Marcus returned to the Howling Wolf after their days out and about and gathered the party together to go and pay a visit to one of the more prominent Agents in town. They took with them a map that they had recovered off of the body of the goblin adept from Dorecan Manor, to see if any of the Dust Riders could help them decipher where the map depicted and how to get there. (Something about the writing on the map that, when deciphered, spoke of a legendary magical sword being held there). </p><p></p><p>Arien and crew wandered blindly into the southeastern district of the city, known for its bustling economy almost totally devoted to equipping and supporting jaunts into the blasted lands. Even the beggars on the streets claimed to have treasure maps aplenty, and small independent entrepreneurs tried to establish themselves as bona fide Agents for the Dust Riders. Of all the Agents, however, only five had managed to turn their business into lucrative, sustainable wealth, and therefore there are only five Agents who run entire compounds. From the brilliant but quite insane Mad Madge's Agency, to the more serene Serdigo's Agency whose Dust Rider cadre seemed more interested in lore than wealth. The party, quite incidentally, ended up wandering into the first of these compounds they came across. . . Brindella's Agency. </p><p></p><p>Brindella's Agency is run by none other than the most famous of gnomish agents, Brindella Whipplethorpe Stockwhistle, grand-daughter to Paldinky Besmircher Stockwhistle, the gnome who enlisted with the human armies on the advice of a series of visions sent to him. Paldinky used his boon from the humans to buy the complex which became the cornerstone of his own wealth, and he was also one of the scandalous gnomes who went into business not in the moving and trading of spices and agrarian products, but in the supply and maintenance of 'those damned fool humans' who wanted to run off into the Blasted Lands and get killed. It turned out to be a good investment, as for every ten horses, saddles & tack, saddlebags and weeks worth of iron rations he lost, he would gain at the very least a wand or other magical item to sell. He wandered off after his granddaughter Brindella won the Agency from him by cheating at a card game. He was proud that the little gnompling he had dandled on his knee had managed to swindle the swindler, and bequeathed all of his wealth to Brindella before retiring into a gnomish kibbutz where, as Paldinky termed it, he would serve out the ignominy of farming to get a head start on the karmic penance he'd have to burn off in the next lifetime for having so much damned fun in this one.</p><p></p><p>But I digress. Brindella was a sneaky gnome and a savvy business-gnomwin, but she had a heart of gold and truly believed that good was the all-important motivation and ideal in the world (NG). Her roguery and skullduggery added to her reputation and soon, Brindella was a name well respected among the latter-day Dust Riders. Although her compound was built mostly for gnomes and others of normal stature in store, she did make concessions in the past few years to accomodate all the big folk by adding human-sized quarters inside her compound.</p><p></p><p>It was into Brindella's compound that the party walked, following Arien. A retired paladin now working as a blacksmith and with a noticeable limp from badly-healed adventures eyed them over and then nodded to the gnomes on the pallisade to stand down. "No evil here, be welcomed," he said, and then turned back to his work at his forge.</p><p></p><p>Arien was quickly met by Brindella, and when she began to ask about the map and becoming a Dust Rider, Brindella cut her off impatiently.</p><p></p><p>"Never seen the place, dearie . . . I hope you didn't pay too much for it."</p><p></p><p>"Oh no," the druidess replied. "I didn't buy this, I found it out in the Blasted Lands. In a place we think was called 'Dorecan Manor'."</p><p></p><p>Brindella sniffed and glanced over her spectacles at the woman. "Dorecan? Been abandoned for years, after Thornwattle and his boys done near cleaned the place out. You stayed at the Farmhouse, then? What brought you into the Blasted Lands? Heroism or wealth?"</p><p></p><p>"Both," grinned Valar, and was stared at by the others. "What?"</p><p></p><p>Arien told the story in broad strokes, and Brindella listened attentively, then said, "All right, if even half of your story is true, then I think we'll get along just fine. Standard contract includes mounts, lodging, organics, food, and fencing at 90 percent to the house. After you come back a couple of times and make it worth my while to invest more into you, we can talk. Whaddya say? And is it just you, hon, or is the whole lot of you?"</p><p></p><p>It took Arien a moment to understand what was happening, and then she realized Brindella thought she was applying to become a member of Brindella's Agency. She asked more about how that all worked, and Brindella, realizing that Arien wasn't applying, took the time to fill her in. Agents could handle things one of two ways. Either they did direct business with the Dust Riders, buying and selling with cash or credit, or else they signed exclusivity contracts with one Agency house and stayed with them. In exchange, the Agent housed them in between jaunts, provided fresh mounts and disposal of those mounts too Tainted to be used as food for the South Banks miscreants. It 'cost' 50,000 gp for the Dust Rider to 'buy into' the Agency, which essentially opened up a credit account. The Dust Rider brought back items that could be fenced off or sold, and of the 90% that the Agent kept of the money, half was considered to be applied to their back bill. A Dust Rider could buy out at any time, settling the accounts once and for all, or they could continue to make jaunts and bring back stuff to be cleansed and sold. Brindella kept the books, and everything was on the up and up, with signatures and witnesses and standard values set by an agreement between the five major Agents and approved by the Trader's Guild. </p><p></p><p>When Arien mentioned that she wasn't really a Dust Rider yet, Brindella nodded and said she knew, because those who were <em>real</em> Dust Riders were known by all the major Agents, herself included, by name if not by sight. Being an exclusive contractee to Brindella's agency meant that when the time came, Brindella would make sure that Arien received proper training and became a 'real Dust Rider'. She and anyone else in the party who met the exacting requirements to begin the training. </p><p></p><p>Arien also balked a bit at the price, not liking the idea of starting 50,000gp in the hole to someone. She was afraid of reneging on the deal or dying without repaying, and didn't want to saddle her brother with the debt. Brindella shrugged off her concerns, saying that true death cancelled all debts in cash, but multiplied those in spirit. "With all the spiritual repayment I've got coming to me, I should be born a saint." For Brindella's side, the risk was minimal. Lose a few mounts and supplies against the possibility that someone might not come back, but if you win then a competent Dust Rider who went beyond the Outer Fringe of the Blasted Lands (where the party has been 'playing', as she said), could easily bring back 50K's worth of magical treasure in a single jaunt.</p><p></p><p>She also mentioned that most of her best Riders don't come out for months at a time, and when they do they drop off mounds of loot that Brindella sells, and they rarely ask for any of it because after a week they're back into the Blasted Lands again. </p><p></p><p>"You can tell the real ones because they're hooked. Not like on the smokeweed or the bottle, but there's something in the very land itself that seems to speak to them. I wouldn't know. I'm just their Agent, but I do know that there are those who do it for the glory and gold, and they don't last too long. And then there are those who do it for something else, something personal between them and the Blasted Lands. You see the same thing with sailing gnomes. They can only survive if the conditions on the seas are right, yet they aren't happy at home. There's something vital missing from their lives when they're not on the seas. Same thing with my boys and girls. They come out with great riches and great relics from the past. Some, they keep, but very rarely do any cash out their account. Until they retire, and then they retire for good and travel far away from the Blasted Lands altogether. And when they cash out their accounts, they could live like minor princes every last one of 'em. After a while, they'd stop counting, and I hate temptation, which is why every credit transation and item appraisal is signed for and witnessed by two gnomes or a paladin. And besides... once you buy out your initial contract, I only keep 30 percent of the fence. Which means that there's quite a few of my boys and girls who I know are gone because the priests have told me so, but I can't bring myself to touch their accounts. I keep it in trust if I can't find the family or next of kin, but I always settle my debts."</p><p></p><p>Arien and the party spend the night with Brindella at her complex, enjoying her hospitality (and loving the fact that she has an <em>everful keg of beer</em>. The next morning, after more discussion, Arien decided that not signing the contract was more folly than doing so, and she signed on to become one of Brindella's Dust Riders (in training). Brindella taught her how to make claim markers, and instructed her in how to read them when she came across them. Every marker was tied to an Agent, and it was a matter of professional courtesy to respect the claim of another for one month of abandonment. Now that Arien had signed on with Brindella, she got her own markers and her 'finds' were under the protection of Brindella's Agency. Some might claim-jump, but when you had the markers which pointed to one of the major agents, most thought twice.</p><p></p><p>When asked what their plans were, the party used Brindella's dining room as a place to discuss what they were doing next. At that point, the group decided that they really wanted to return to the Blasted Lands and to revisit the Dorecan Manor to try and find any loot that the new monster occupants might have brought into the formerly 'abandoned' location in the Fringe lands of the Blasted Lands.</p><p></p><p>The party saddles up the next morning on fresh mounts provided by Brindella (and marked against Arien's account) and set off. As they crossed Hope's Bridge into the South Banks, though, one of the White Masks guildmembers managed to stop by and deliver a message for Valar. The intermediary didn't know what it meant, but said it was from Valar's handler. It said simply "The watcher in blue has been found asleep in the streets. Go visit your aunt." In the cipher of the White Masks, Valar understood that the spy in the Sapphire Manor had been found dead, and that his handler thought it best that he get out of town for a while. Since that was where the party was heading anyway, it was with a shrug and a grumble at the perfidy of the beings that ran these particular Cosmos that Valar headed out. When he informed the party of the news that his suspicions regarding Ymanoura were most likely correct, he said "The only thing that feels worse about being wrong is the fact that this time I was right."</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Pacio49, post: 2067930, member: 28472"] [b]A week about town...[/b] Flush with their newfound wealth and tantalized by their success at rescuing the damsel in distress, the party decided to take several days of rest and do the things that they do in town. Laeka went to the temple of Povra and joined in the festivities and religious celebrations, engaging in sparring and battles when she wasn't walking about town with her kobolds. She found them a home among the warriors of Povra, and to the best of her knowledge they are still offering religious classes to the young followers of the God of War by taking part in the non-lethal scenarios swiftly dubbed "kill the kobolds". Used to this sort of abuse, the kobolds think that they might actually be able to complete the journey toward goodness if it means they don't die permanently every time they're beaten up. Marcus busied himself in the marketplace, looking for a set of new spells ([i]Although Tol Vehara is the so-called Last City of Free Magic, the prohibition against training anyone past 3rd level so as not to invite the wrath or scrutiny of the Knights of the New Order means that wizards do not automatically gain 2 spells each level... they have to buy them[/i]). Arien accompanied him to a point and visited with several of her own contacts in the marketplace, looking for the possibility of locating and purchasing a weapon with magical abilities that the druid could use. Her friend Betta who is an herbalist/folk healer told her she'd check around with her merchant friends to see if there were any that could be scrounged up. While Arien was waiting, she decided to investigate the training that would be necessary to get her ready for being a Dust Rider. Skalar and Valar, ranger and rogue, both decided to stake out the Sapphire manor in their own way, with Skalar watching the physical comings and goings of people in and out of the Sapphire manor via the streets, and Valar taking his time to poke around in the underbelly of Tol Veharan society. Valar manages to get the White Masks interested enough in his suspicion that they say they'll assign one of their spies within the Sapphire household to check out what's happening with the triumphant return of Ymanoura. They also reward his account with the guild for bringing them the political leverage that could possibly be gained by revealing that Ymanoura had broken the veil and actually been directly exposed to the Taint in the Blasted Lands, as well as the socially-sensitive matter that the daughter of one of the three 'noble' houses which maintained residence in Tol Vehara had run off with the farrier's apprentice. Skalar finally recalled that part of the wealth of the Sapphire family allowed for them to actually own several of the treetop dwellings in the canopy above their downside manor. He trudges off with a sigh of exasperation at having allowed his quarry to leave... if she did in fact leave. He returned to the Howling Wolf tavern and decided to stay there for a while. Yovaire took some time to outfit himself better and practiced his skills patiently, awaiting the rendezvous date so that the party could actually get their shopping done. Tanin spent the time at the Howling Wolf and visiting the Gardens of Pleasure and the temples of Rathsha, the Love Goddess in her more ... scandalous ... nature. A few notches on the belt later and a good deal more poor, Tanin spent the rest of his time indulging his dog with bacon and milling and swilling at the Howling Wolf. Arien and Marcus returned to the Howling Wolf after their days out and about and gathered the party together to go and pay a visit to one of the more prominent Agents in town. They took with them a map that they had recovered off of the body of the goblin adept from Dorecan Manor, to see if any of the Dust Riders could help them decipher where the map depicted and how to get there. (Something about the writing on the map that, when deciphered, spoke of a legendary magical sword being held there). Arien and crew wandered blindly into the southeastern district of the city, known for its bustling economy almost totally devoted to equipping and supporting jaunts into the blasted lands. Even the beggars on the streets claimed to have treasure maps aplenty, and small independent entrepreneurs tried to establish themselves as bona fide Agents for the Dust Riders. Of all the Agents, however, only five had managed to turn their business into lucrative, sustainable wealth, and therefore there are only five Agents who run entire compounds. From the brilliant but quite insane Mad Madge's Agency, to the more serene Serdigo's Agency whose Dust Rider cadre seemed more interested in lore than wealth. The party, quite incidentally, ended up wandering into the first of these compounds they came across. . . Brindella's Agency. Brindella's Agency is run by none other than the most famous of gnomish agents, Brindella Whipplethorpe Stockwhistle, grand-daughter to Paldinky Besmircher Stockwhistle, the gnome who enlisted with the human armies on the advice of a series of visions sent to him. Paldinky used his boon from the humans to buy the complex which became the cornerstone of his own wealth, and he was also one of the scandalous gnomes who went into business not in the moving and trading of spices and agrarian products, but in the supply and maintenance of 'those damned fool humans' who wanted to run off into the Blasted Lands and get killed. It turned out to be a good investment, as for every ten horses, saddles & tack, saddlebags and weeks worth of iron rations he lost, he would gain at the very least a wand or other magical item to sell. He wandered off after his granddaughter Brindella won the Agency from him by cheating at a card game. He was proud that the little gnompling he had dandled on his knee had managed to swindle the swindler, and bequeathed all of his wealth to Brindella before retiring into a gnomish kibbutz where, as Paldinky termed it, he would serve out the ignominy of farming to get a head start on the karmic penance he'd have to burn off in the next lifetime for having so much damned fun in this one. But I digress. Brindella was a sneaky gnome and a savvy business-gnomwin, but she had a heart of gold and truly believed that good was the all-important motivation and ideal in the world (NG). Her roguery and skullduggery added to her reputation and soon, Brindella was a name well respected among the latter-day Dust Riders. Although her compound was built mostly for gnomes and others of normal stature in store, she did make concessions in the past few years to accomodate all the big folk by adding human-sized quarters inside her compound. It was into Brindella's compound that the party walked, following Arien. A retired paladin now working as a blacksmith and with a noticeable limp from badly-healed adventures eyed them over and then nodded to the gnomes on the pallisade to stand down. "No evil here, be welcomed," he said, and then turned back to his work at his forge. Arien was quickly met by Brindella, and when she began to ask about the map and becoming a Dust Rider, Brindella cut her off impatiently. "Never seen the place, dearie . . . I hope you didn't pay too much for it." "Oh no," the druidess replied. "I didn't buy this, I found it out in the Blasted Lands. In a place we think was called 'Dorecan Manor'." Brindella sniffed and glanced over her spectacles at the woman. "Dorecan? Been abandoned for years, after Thornwattle and his boys done near cleaned the place out. You stayed at the Farmhouse, then? What brought you into the Blasted Lands? Heroism or wealth?" "Both," grinned Valar, and was stared at by the others. "What?" Arien told the story in broad strokes, and Brindella listened attentively, then said, "All right, if even half of your story is true, then I think we'll get along just fine. Standard contract includes mounts, lodging, organics, food, and fencing at 90 percent to the house. After you come back a couple of times and make it worth my while to invest more into you, we can talk. Whaddya say? And is it just you, hon, or is the whole lot of you?" It took Arien a moment to understand what was happening, and then she realized Brindella thought she was applying to become a member of Brindella's Agency. She asked more about how that all worked, and Brindella, realizing that Arien wasn't applying, took the time to fill her in. Agents could handle things one of two ways. Either they did direct business with the Dust Riders, buying and selling with cash or credit, or else they signed exclusivity contracts with one Agency house and stayed with them. In exchange, the Agent housed them in between jaunts, provided fresh mounts and disposal of those mounts too Tainted to be used as food for the South Banks miscreants. It 'cost' 50,000 gp for the Dust Rider to 'buy into' the Agency, which essentially opened up a credit account. The Dust Rider brought back items that could be fenced off or sold, and of the 90% that the Agent kept of the money, half was considered to be applied to their back bill. A Dust Rider could buy out at any time, settling the accounts once and for all, or they could continue to make jaunts and bring back stuff to be cleansed and sold. Brindella kept the books, and everything was on the up and up, with signatures and witnesses and standard values set by an agreement between the five major Agents and approved by the Trader's Guild. When Arien mentioned that she wasn't really a Dust Rider yet, Brindella nodded and said she knew, because those who were [i]real[/i] Dust Riders were known by all the major Agents, herself included, by name if not by sight. Being an exclusive contractee to Brindella's agency meant that when the time came, Brindella would make sure that Arien received proper training and became a 'real Dust Rider'. She and anyone else in the party who met the exacting requirements to begin the training. Arien also balked a bit at the price, not liking the idea of starting 50,000gp in the hole to someone. She was afraid of reneging on the deal or dying without repaying, and didn't want to saddle her brother with the debt. Brindella shrugged off her concerns, saying that true death cancelled all debts in cash, but multiplied those in spirit. "With all the spiritual repayment I've got coming to me, I should be born a saint." For Brindella's side, the risk was minimal. Lose a few mounts and supplies against the possibility that someone might not come back, but if you win then a competent Dust Rider who went beyond the Outer Fringe of the Blasted Lands (where the party has been 'playing', as she said), could easily bring back 50K's worth of magical treasure in a single jaunt. She also mentioned that most of her best Riders don't come out for months at a time, and when they do they drop off mounds of loot that Brindella sells, and they rarely ask for any of it because after a week they're back into the Blasted Lands again. "You can tell the real ones because they're hooked. Not like on the smokeweed or the bottle, but there's something in the very land itself that seems to speak to them. I wouldn't know. I'm just their Agent, but I do know that there are those who do it for the glory and gold, and they don't last too long. And then there are those who do it for something else, something personal between them and the Blasted Lands. You see the same thing with sailing gnomes. They can only survive if the conditions on the seas are right, yet they aren't happy at home. There's something vital missing from their lives when they're not on the seas. Same thing with my boys and girls. They come out with great riches and great relics from the past. Some, they keep, but very rarely do any cash out their account. Until they retire, and then they retire for good and travel far away from the Blasted Lands altogether. And when they cash out their accounts, they could live like minor princes every last one of 'em. After a while, they'd stop counting, and I hate temptation, which is why every credit transation and item appraisal is signed for and witnessed by two gnomes or a paladin. And besides... once you buy out your initial contract, I only keep 30 percent of the fence. Which means that there's quite a few of my boys and girls who I know are gone because the priests have told me so, but I can't bring myself to touch their accounts. I keep it in trust if I can't find the family or next of kin, but I always settle my debts." Arien and the party spend the night with Brindella at her complex, enjoying her hospitality (and loving the fact that she has an [i]everful keg of beer[/i]. The next morning, after more discussion, Arien decided that not signing the contract was more folly than doing so, and she signed on to become one of Brindella's Dust Riders (in training). Brindella taught her how to make claim markers, and instructed her in how to read them when she came across them. Every marker was tied to an Agent, and it was a matter of professional courtesy to respect the claim of another for one month of abandonment. Now that Arien had signed on with Brindella, she got her own markers and her 'finds' were under the protection of Brindella's Agency. Some might claim-jump, but when you had the markers which pointed to one of the major agents, most thought twice. When asked what their plans were, the party used Brindella's dining room as a place to discuss what they were doing next. At that point, the group decided that they really wanted to return to the Blasted Lands and to revisit the Dorecan Manor to try and find any loot that the new monster occupants might have brought into the formerly 'abandoned' location in the Fringe lands of the Blasted Lands. The party saddles up the next morning on fresh mounts provided by Brindella (and marked against Arien's account) and set off. As they crossed Hope's Bridge into the South Banks, though, one of the White Masks guildmembers managed to stop by and deliver a message for Valar. The intermediary didn't know what it meant, but said it was from Valar's handler. It said simply "The watcher in blue has been found asleep in the streets. Go visit your aunt." In the cipher of the White Masks, Valar understood that the spy in the Sapphire Manor had been found dead, and that his handler thought it best that he get out of town for a while. Since that was where the party was heading anyway, it was with a shrug and a grumble at the perfidy of the beings that ran these particular Cosmos that Valar headed out. When he informed the party of the news that his suspicions regarding Ymanoura were most likely correct, he said "The only thing that feels worse about being wrong is the fact that this time I was right." [/QUOTE]
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