A Meeting in a Tavern - October 6, 2024

 - Dallas Stars (Sport puck?)

- In the city Port Carling at the mouth of the Sapphire River where it empties into the Cobalt Gulf (the largest city in the Kolstad Dominion), in the Captain's Keep tavern near the port (one of the nicer taverns), Caleb is playing cards with a group of sailors while Soliana tries to hide in plain sight because she's never been in a tavern before.

- In waltzes a blue lady with blue hair and asks the bartender for their best drink, then asks one of the sailors (Aiden) what their playing and flops into an empty chair. Her name is Niniel.

-  Soliana is practically hiding under the table when a woman (Poetry) starts making illusory fire to entertain her, and Soliana Prestidigitations back some dancing flames on her drink.

- Zemma the kobold is fetching food and drink because she was getting some for Poetry and other people started thinking she was the waitress. 

- Someone tries to pickpoket Caleb, and that person finds his dagger at their wrist very quickly.

- There is lots of conversation over cards.

- Soliana reminds Caleb about the shipping manifest from the Silverwind Traders and Aiden says he can show them the offices in the morning.

- On her way back to the boat someone tries to mug Niniel, and she bitch-slaps him with a tentacle (8 cold dmg) and yells for Caleb something about carrying his weight.

BATTLE WITH A MUGGER

- Bandit1misses Aiden twice

- Niniel Hexes the Bandit Leader and then backs up a bit and then she throws a ball of water at his face (Eldritch Blast) for 10 force and necrotic dmg.

- B3 runs up to Niniel and misses twice.

- Poetry steps out of the tavern doors and bursts into flames, then the flames steps off of her and become another version of her but made of fire which then throws a ball of fire for 14 fire dmg to B1.

- B2 shoots Poetry for 10 piercing dmg.

- Zemma runs out the door and up to B3 and slices into him with a battleaxe for 19 slashing dmg

- Soliana hands a Healing Elixir to Poetry through the door then casts Sacred Flame on BL for 7 radiant dmg

- Caleb runs out the door straight up to BL and misses with his rapier 

- BL then also misses Caleb with his sword

- B1 knocks Aiden unconscious in two hits

- Niniel moves her tentacle over to B1 and smacks him for 8 cold dmg then Niniel steps away from B3 and shoots another ball of water (Eldritch Blast) at BL for 12 cold and 4 necrotic dmg.

- B3 misses Zemma and then hits her for 6 bludgeoning dmg

- Poetry drinks the potion and regains 5 HP and then the fire version throws another ball of fire to B3 for 5 fire dmg.

- B2 misses Poetry with his crossbow

- Zemma cries out and turns into a saber-toothed cat (anthropomorphic) and slashes B3 to death then runs around behind BL

- Soliana runs back to the window to see again, sees Aiden's down and casts Magic Missile at B1 and he goes down, instant regret.

- Caleb using the distraction of the saber-toothed Zemma stabs BL run in the gut for 22 piercing dmg.

- BL Disengages and starts to run away

 

- Niniel moves up next to Caleb and Zemma and tells B2 he can either run or end up dead like his other friends.

- Poetry reaches down and casts Cure Wounds on Aiden for 6 HP then her fire spirit throw another ball of flame at B2 for 4 fire dmg.

- B2 runs away up the path next to BL.

- Zemma runs up to 10' behind BL and readies an attack in case they turn around to come back.

- Soliana collapses and mutters, "I think I just killed someone."

- Caleb shoots a warning arrow after then with his short bow.

END OF BATTLE

- Niniel and Aiden finally head back to Aiden's ship.

- Caleb finds 20 GP in the pockets of the fallen muggers

- The next morning the bartender tells Caleb good job about running off those bandits, and that there's an old man on Wanderer's Way (points at a hill up the window) and says the old man's name is Foxglove. 

- Aiden then leads the newly formed party to the Silverwinds Traders offices where the clerk says that it'll take a day or two to find the information because the information from a year and a half ago is stored down in archives. (Caleb pays a GP for this information which Soliana offers to pay back since its about her book, but he says what's a GP between friends? Soliana has never had friends before.)

- Since they have to wait anyway, they go to see Old Man Foxglove to kill the time.

- Soliana ends up telling the group about how her parents were murdered on the walk up the hill.

- An older human man in a green robe with a frizzy cloud of white hair opens the door and then invites them in when he hears they might be looking for adventurous work. (Sir Grispin Foxglove)

- They are invited inside and he has lots of books, so Soliana is comforted.

- Niniel reads him as an absent-minded professor type not a person putting on a jovial act and Caleb notes that the parlor they are in is quite cluttered and dusty with books, but the room across the hall is a workshop of some kind.

- Sir Foxglove says that he has been studying the lay lines, but they have been staring to move about a year ago. He is confident that something is happening in the ocean.

- He is very interested to learn Niniel is from the ocean. She is a bit loath to share information.

- He has arranged for a modest brig called the Storm Caller to go to the place where he thinks are happening, which was hard to arrange after the Moon Shadow when missing (Should have been back like 4 months ago.)

- Niniel has not heard of nor where the sailors on her boat talking about it. They just talked about the icy expanse that they avoid.

- Niniel gets right to the point about how much he is planning to pay, which is 100 GP ea. up front and 300 GP each on their return.

- He suspects there is some kind of magical disturbance or anomaly in this particular location in the ocean, and he just wants to know what that is.

- Sir Foxglove's title is inherited.

- Captain Thomas Gringamore is waiting on his ship when they are ready to set sail.

- As the group is leaving Sir Foxglove's Niniel receives "instructions" to build a small stone cairn in the yard of the cottage. 

- Niniel makes an excuse to the group that she wants to ask Sir Foxglove a question, so she goes back inside and asks him where a picture from her book is, and he tells her that while he doesn't know exactly, he believes it might be a location on the southern continent which is known for its jungles.

- After that she goes behind a bush and builds the cairn as instructed. Further instructions are received to put the item from the black pouch on top of the cairn and when she does she chants an incantation over it that she didn't even know was in her head and which she understands none of.

- Niniel catches up with her new friends and she makes Soliana ask a stranger for directions, which she is terrified to do.

- The find the Gilded Flask on Fishhead St per the directions, and Niniel makes Soliana also talk to the shop keep, even though the bell on the door scared her. 

- While Soliana makes a list of the ingredients she wants, Niniel inquires about Potions of Water Breathing (80 GP), but he could also sell her the recipe and the ingredients for about 30 GP a pop instead, but then Poetry (who knows how to use her Herbalism Kit) would take about two days each to make (each).

-