Stormgrove Manor:
"I will make sure everything is prepared," Gerey says.
"I will have the food put out on the main table."
"There is a smaller bathing room on this floor as well," Gerey replies.
"It is not so grand and the upstairs bathroom. It will take time to gather the water from the well and heat it. No magical fonts here, I'm afraid."
Breva is awed by the fine house the finer hospitality. He partakes of a bath before selecting a modest empty room where he goes to offer up prayers for their successes today and for the blessing of greater success tomorrow. He can't resist a quick peek into the library just to see how extensive it is.
Once the water is piping hot in the downstairs bathing room, Breva gets his chance to ease his aches. A young waif of a girl provides him with towels and soap but doesn't attend to him while bathing. The home is not a bathhouse, after all. Still, anything he needs is within arms reach and Breva can't help but be impressed by the small room's efficient layout.
Once upstairs, the paladin finds his room is equally as efficient, if not overtly large. The library is well laid out but a bit more chaotic in its design. It is lined with shelves on every wall, but the books aren't stacked in neat little rows. There is not a speck of dust in the medium-sized room. There is a good-sized table in the center of the room and three chairs laid out around it. It looks as if someone was reading a large book on horticulture and left it open to come back to later. Breva notes the books in the glass case along with silverware, several family trinkets, and a fine clockwork timepiece arrayed behind the books. The books are pristine and setup in a long ordered line. The titles hint at family history and magical texts compiled by a wizard. They are all marked with the Stormgrove Family Crest. Could the dead wife of Tim's friend have been a wizard?
On the other shelves, Breva finds books on the history of the city. There are books on military traditions and the various guilds of Bluffside, especially the Trader's League. There are also treatises on the Wizard Council and the various churches and temples set up in the Temple District. While most of the information about the Temple District is general, Breva finds a book that is the personal diary of a knight of the Purifier who lived and died over 50 years ago. The man's name was Sir Oswyn Tibborde. It is not a name Breva recognizes but the man seems to have been a stout warrior who fought against the tyranny of the giants and humanoids of Khogshk in the Kniyan Mounts to the north of Bluffside.
Tim bows politely.
Tim says, "Thank you most kindly Warden Gerey, a bath would be most welcome at this time. Please have the large tub prepared when you get the chance. In the meantime, I'd like a snack. A small cheese wheel and a mug of ale will do nicely."
Tim smiles as he heads up to his room to un-armor himself, and to await the snack and the bath gong.
Scotley said:
He gestures at the surroundings. "Sir Tim your friends house if very fine and a most welcome change from what I am used to."
Tim pauses halfway up the stairs, and turns to address Breva's comment.
Tim smiles at Breva, and says, "I was given that key as a courtesy. I am still quite new here, having only been in Bluffside for about a month; in essence, I am what you would call "an honored guest," although I haven't yet done anything to deserve that level of generosity; beating up a couple of thugs, and bagging a shape-shifting murderer are a good start, I suppose, but the task that would help me establish my reputation here, and to earn my keep, so-to-speak, eludes me still. When we catch the renegade, I will feel a lot more at ease with accepting such generosity as has so far been bestowed upon me. Right now, I feel like a freeloader."
Tim chuckles half-jokingly as he retires upstairs to await his meal and bath.
It isn't long before Eririel knocks on Tim's door and lets him know the food is ready. "The tub is quite large, Sir Tim. It will take Charita and I a bit of time to fill it after heating the water," she add through the door in a lilting voice.
Tuck follows Tim's lead and bows to Gerey.
"Thank you, Gerey," the kobold replies and he waits until everyone else has used the bath before taking one himself. Kobolds aren't so particular about that.
"You are quite welcome," the warden replies. He bows again and heads off to the kitchen.
"I guess I'm next," Vinccenzo says. The Sectarian Guard takes his turn in the lower bathing room after Breva is finished. The water is changed and reheated before he enters. Once he finishes, he heads upstairs to eat a plate of food he takes with him, rest for several hours, and then study his spellbook. He comes back down just in time to speak with Tuck and the others.
Back downstairs, Tim finds the food and some drink laid out on the table and the others gathered around it talking about the next day's activities. Mutt lies near a large fireplace gnawing on a large bone that Gerey found for him. The warden has also placed out a large bowl of sweet-smelling water for the big dog.
The large knight gets a chance to eat a bit before the gong goes off. A slip of a girl, Charita, comes into the dining hall to let Tim know that his bath is ready for him. "Don't wait too long, or it will go cold and we can't be reheating it over and over," she says plainly. She curtsies once and then leaves the room as quickly as she came.
Tim is soon lumbering back up stairs and relaxing in the large tub of water. It is first time he's been able to truly relax in two to three days. Gerey enters the room and pours in another bucket of hot water before bowing and heading back out of the room. The day's activities are soon washed away and Tim leaves the main bathroom as tidy as he can. It will likely take the maids a bi of time to drain of the water and clean everything.
Back downstairs, he finds Tuck talking about a guild that deals with the thickets.
JustinCase said:
"There are a few kobolds in the Guild of Roots that tend to the various thickets in the city," Tuck says when he has a chance to talk to the others, either before bed time or soon after. "I can ask old Xozzin Moonbone if he knows about that magic gimmick of yours, Akos."
Scotley said:
This done he returns downstairs to collect a modest meal and a glass of wine. "We are best that you have contacts in the city I pray they can give us the information we need.," he responds to Tuck. "I lack the contacts or the knowledge of the terrain, but if one of you will point me in the right direction tomorrow I will do my best to help."
"Hmm, while I've heard of that guild," Vinccenzo says to Breva. "I don't know any of them personally either, so you're not the only one without contacts. Of course, they're not as welcome in the Wizard District. We have our own gardeners and growers with magical talents."
"Tuck, Rooters aren't very fond of outsiders traipsizing through their thickets. Can you get a permission or at least let them know we will be looking?"
"Sounds like you've had dealings with the guild," Vinccenzo says to Ákos.
Gerey comes in and addresses Ákos.
"Loremaster, the lower bathing room is now ready for you." He turns to the others and asks them if they need anything else before he retires to his room.
"Young Puck will come in and clear away the dishes after you are all done," the warden adds.
"I will make sure the cook is here at dawn to prepare a hot breakfast. Do you have any preferences?"
"Hot is good, but I don't need anything special," Vinccenzo says with a yawn.
"Well, I'm off to bed. See you all in the morning." The Sectarian Guard fills his plate one more time and heads back upstairs to his room.
He bows to Tim.
"Charita and Eririel will make sure all your clothes are washed, mended, and folded for the morning, Sir Tymbeck."
One by one, you all head to bed for much needed rest.
Neurotic said:
Akos bathes and enjoys fine wines and life while he can. But he retires fairly quickly after the bath. It WAS after all an exciting day. And the next promises nothing better.
Ákos finds the bathing room in near pristine condition. The staff are working hard to clean it in between uses, although there is the smell of his companions lingering in the room. It competes with lilac and lavender. The water is hot and it almost puts him to sleep in the tub. Gerey rouses him and the Loremaster heads upstairs to sleep.
Tuck is the last to bath in the lower bathing room and head off to bed. And, somehow, Gerey and the maids find a way to get Mutt into the large tub on the second floor. The scrub the dog from head to toe and groom him. Tuck barely recognizes his packmate when the big dog climbs up onto the bed next to him. He certainly smells clean. Tuck notes the scent of rose petals. Mutt doesn't seem to mind.
The night is uneventful and sleep is easy. It might be the last uneventful night for a while. There is no way to know. The staff of the house are up before dawn and rouse the group of adventurers before the sun rises completely above the horizon. The number of staff seems to have tripled overnight. Each one of you has a footman attend to you and a dozen maids rush through the house cleaning. Washstands are prepped and grooming of hair is offered. The smell of roasted meat and freshly baked bread drag you all downstairs.
Once the curtains, windows, and shutters are all open, you can see that the fog has lifted and the sky is clear. It looks like its going to be a warm day. Beyond the windows lie several choices. You can investigate the thicket in the daylight, after speaking with Tuck's contact, or take the doppelganger to the Lord Commander. Plus, at some point, you have to figure out what is up with the missing guards. But are they missing or did they run off on their own? And, of course, there is the renegade and his planar enclave. You have the magical key to get in but can you get out afterwards if you don't have the right magical phrase.
Ákos seems certain he knows what to say to get you in and out, but you only have one crystalline flower to act as a portal key back at Oakfirst Manor. If it is consumed when you enter, you won't be able to come back to Bluffside without finding another in the planar enclave. Could there be another type of key that the sorcerer uses to get in and out?
And his damn Loyalists seem to know where to find you in the city. They keep coming after you. And there are the rumors of the Rising Swords mercenary company being entrenched in the shadows of the city. Will they be coming after you all too?
Yes, many options.
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OOC:
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You can now change up you spells and each PC gains back hit points for resting. Since most of you weren't badly damaged, you should be back up to full health. However, Breva took 4 points of temporary Charisma damage from one of Mani's psionic attacks, so I believe he only gains back one point or is it more than that?
The library in Stormgrove Manor gives a +2 circumstance bonus on any Knowledge checks related to Architecture and Engineering & Local and +4 circumstance bonus on any Knowledge checks related to History & Religion.
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