“Thank you Custodio!” Falen was correct. As soon as the restorative spell effects finished their funny bone painful tingle through Falen’s body, he felt alert and focused. The telepathic “noise” had subsided, giving way to something much more.
As the noise dissipates, Falen quickly comes to understand that there is the potential for so much more, but it will take a lot of practise. He won't be able to read anyone's mind with more training and some focused effort, but his senses have expanded beyond what is normal for either a human or a hobgoblin.
"I've heard of Amba but I've never been to The Equinox," Tuck says. He gets up from the table and follows Falen out of the hall. Mutt breaks away from Vitus to follow the kobold.
"I'll tag along. See what she has I might be able to use."
Vitus quietly followed the others. In his years living in Bluffside, he'd seen many parts of the city but hadn't been in every store. He looked around in wonder at the various trinkets and artifacts at each place.
As usual, he preferred to look as inconspicuous as possible. His clothing was plain, with the only significant indication of his status being a simple and small crest of Tyche up on his heart. He sported his new dagger at his side but his new crossbow was in his ratty old haversack. He carried the new shield on his back but he stayed close to the other adults so it seemed more that he was a squire holding a shield for a knight than having it on for himself.
The young cleric of Tyche finds that Falen and Tuck have a comradery that is quite genuine. They chat as they walk while Mutt eagerly runs ahead then comes back. Several times, the big dog comes up to Vitus and urges him to 'play'. The two Exemplars turn to watch in bemusement several times as Mutt tries to break through Vitus' natural state of being.
Once they reach The Equinox, Tuck orders Mutt to stay outside. The dog whines but follows the kobold's command.
Inside, the shop is a wondrous maze of magic. There is almost anything that a budding adventurer could need and Amba is a gracious host to her customers. The cleric of Tyche watches as she diplomatically 'puts off' the gnome with a grace that leaves the large-nosed gnome red in the face. He quickly exits the shop.
Tuck lets Falen take the lead with the shop owner. The kobold looks for something that will help him in a pinch. He does a good job of blending into the backgound.
Aust Thale said:
Falen was pleased to make Amba’s acquaintance. At Oakfirst’s description, he found himself intrigued. He straightened his tunic and put on a “new” face with his magical hat, a modified version of his own with a whisp of grey hair. It was a common look for his repertoire, especially when purchasing wares. He could remember it for return trips.
Amba was as advertised. Fey perhaps? She was talking to a cheeky gnome who was clearly interested in nothing the Equinox had to offer. When it was clear that was the case, she excused herself to attend to Falen.
Falen looked about the Equinox and inquired on the scrolls he was after. As she found them, he unloaded the gold necessary to purchase them. He feigned focus on it to look at her more closely. She was indeed striking. Her ebony features almost Drow, or at least what he knew of them. She moved with grace. Her voice was soothing, almost musical. And her manner was purposeful and efficient without being detached.
Not being sure what anyone’s allegiance was in Bluffside, he was polite but not too chatty. However he was admittedly embarrassed at the quantity and diversity of scroll requests. She suggested several, evidently seeing a pattern in his choices.
He was perhaps a little too exuberant in his excitement. This was the first time in recent memory, if ever, he’d come across this abundant a source of spell scrolls. Otherwise he’d picked them up along the way, along with a handful from his old wizard mentor. Amba was mildly tickled with his armful of scrolls, if not also mildly concerned with his display of means to obtain them. He played it off intentionally, mumbling a preference to purchase a 2nd hand spellbook were she to acquire one. All-in, he left with 23 spells and 30 scrolls, 7 of them being duplicates. He put them carefully into his magical haversack, separating the duplicates into one side pocket with the remainder in the main part of the backpack. He politely squared up what he owed her, sharing that he would be interested in the future in more exotic spell scrolls as well. She seemed to be happy that Falen was not being cheeky. Or perhaps she was pleased with the gold he provided to obtain the scrolls. Either way, she nodded appreciatively at his suggestion to do more business.
Despite her elegant features, Falen doesn't detect any sign that Amba might have elven blood, let alone an ancient bloodline of a near mythological and infamous elven people that has never been proven to exist in the world. Yes, there are ancient tales of dark elves living in the Underearth, but Lord Max once told him that such tales were often dark dirges sung by bards during holidays devoted to death rites.
Yet, there are the Nevaequarlani, or Navae... also known as the Dark Souls. An elven people who swear that they are descended from both the elves of surface world and these legendary dark elves of the Underearth. Perhaps Amba is one of these Navae? No, more likely she originally comes from somewhere to the south. Peoples from the Exicalan Coast, as well as visitors from Assylonia and Gath, often walk the streets of Tânger. That city has a very cosmopolitan demographic, after all.
"I hope to see you again," she says to him. Her voice is like exotic honey. She turns towards Tuck. "Did you find anything that you might like to purchase?"
Tuck isn't surprised that she had noticed him.
"Yes, I'll take all of these items." The kobold appears next to Falen with a pair of goggles, an interesting looking box, a nice looking bag, and several potions.
"All excellent choices," she says with a smile.
Tuck pays the woman and stows everything into his haversack, except the goggles. Those he puts on and looks at in a mirror. He nods and turns and thanks Amba.
Aust Thale said:
Falen parted from her with a question, “I’m curious. Why did you name your store the Equinox? Oh! I’m also curious as to your opinion on who the most significant (or powerful…take your pick) wizard in Bluffside would happen to be. Hope to see you sooner than later. “
"My father chose the name when we first came to Bluffside," Amba replies. "He loved the sun and loved magic and felt the name was a good choice. There might have been more to it, but he kept that to himself. I keep the name to honour him."
"As for those wizards who are the most powerful," she muses. "The obvious choice is the Headmaster of the Academy of Arcane Arts, Finus Lomusin. However, politically, the Head of the Wizard Council, Gruber Hustberon, has a more significantly more powerful position in Bluffside. There are also many retired wizards who were once adventurers and now live in either the Wizard District or New City, but they tend to keep to themselves and don't get involved in magical matters or the city's politics." She smiles. "Ivar Thorn comes to mind. But... he's not a wizard. He's an elementalist and a cleric of Sky and Air."
During his encounter with Amba, Falen tests his newfound telepathic ability, particularly as to his Mindsight locating intelligent beings in and around the Equinox. He does not attempt active telepathy with anyone around, but he passively “listens” to those in the shop for thoughts in languages he understands (which is extensive). He surmises it may take awhile before he is fully vested with these abilities, but practicing it is better than not, if no other reason than to learn to focus.
Amba comes up as humanoid and Falen sense she is intelligent. Falen already knows that Tuck's mind is sharp. The kobold's instincts are better than average. Vitus too. Falen can sense Mutt outside, as well as another animal inside. He pinpoints it to what he thought was a stuffed owl on a high counter. The owl is very much alive, and sleeping.
There are many people going about their business outside the shop. Workers, traders, nobles, and other mundane folk. All humanoids. At the edge of his senses, there is something else. Someone who is not humanoid. An aberration. Falen's Mindsight locks on but then he sees two glowing eyes in his mind.
"Do not so casually probe the minds of others, outlander," the voice chastises Falen.
"Or next time, you might get hurt."
Then, there is nothing. The aberrant man vanishes completely from Falen's mindsight.
Spoiler for Aust Thale Only: Amba has an INT score of 18. The mysterious aberrant man had an INT score of 29.
The Palace:
TaranTheWanderer said:
When they arrived at the castle, Vitus once again, looked around in wonder.
Vitus had known the inside of the Palace would be grand, but it is larger than even he thought possible. Could there be some sort of magic at work in the structure?
Aust Thale said:
Upon his arrival with the others in the palace mortuary, Falen performs the same activity. He does not engage anyone with telepathic ability. And he doesn’t share anything with anyone present regardless of what he “hears”. He will do that later.
He does make a point to edge as close to the magically sealed area closest to the party as he can, where he intently focuses the ability to locate intelligent beings on the other side of the barrier. Surely the Five and willing Wizards would have thought to deploy spells of this sort. Nevertheless, he continues as he listens to the questions put to the dead. He does attempt to sense any intelligence they may have, spell induced or no. He doesn’t sense anything. Clearly, these skills have their limits.
No matter how hard Falen concentrates, he cannot sense anything from the magically sealed area. nothing. Not even the minds of animals or insects. It is like the area above the main floor is a void that cannot be probed. It is unnerving.
Akos looks and carefully notes details of the closed off areas. If the ancients used fey weave he might be able to discover something new, unfortunately he doesn't really have time to study it in peace as they pass through.
There is massive open staircase that spirals up to the heights of the first floor's ceiling. There is an obvious magical barrier where the stairs meet the ceiling. There are also four sets of stairs that ascend up the interior walls -- north, south, east, and west. The stairs look as though they were sized for someone akin to Sir Tymbeck.
ScottDeWar_jr said:
Vincenzo bows back to the mortician, but does not comment. His face, however belies his silence for he has a few thoughts about the deity of the loyalists.
Neurotic said:
At the greeting Akos nods "It was kind of spontaneous decision, and we apologize for any inconvenience, but we need to start doing proactively something against the enemy. And given their fanaticism, it is hard to get something from them alive. As unpalatable as it is, there are magics that can question the dead. And we need to do it before they are buried or burned. We won't be long, if you allow us?"
TaranTheWanderer said:
Vitus was nettled by the implication that invoking Tyche in any way was 'unpalatable'. Regardless of the task - even discovering the journey of the Butcher - communing with the goddess was a joy and a privilege. That said, in the back of his mind, he was nervous. He'd heard awful things about the nefarious murderer.
Through it all, he just kept quiet and in the back of the group, trying to keep out of the way and as small as possible.
"A prudent choice," Mortician Felbrigg replies. The woman leads them to a back room that is colder than the front room. "There is some minor magic here that reduces the temperature and the room is enchanted with
gentle repose magic."
There a half a dozen stone slabs with bodies on them, which are covered with burlap coverings. She pulls back several of the coverings until she finds both the enchantress and The Butcher. Both have been stripped bare. The Butcher's (un)natural red skin colour makes the fiend-touched man stand out. There is no hair on the man's body. There is only the pitch black short-cut hair on his head and rough stubble on his face. His entire body is covered with Infernal-style tattoos.
"He's quite the specimen," the mortician says. She seems impressed with the man's physique. "At first I thought he was a true half-fiend, but his physiology makes me think he's probably more humanoid than fiend."
She looks at Vitus and bows again. "I will leave you to call upon your goddess."
She then looks at Akos. "When you are done, Loremaster, please put the coverings back over them. I know they were your enemies but in here, they are under my charge."
