Gearing up (Moore, Ithea)

[Merc]

Hoppity hop hop.

[Anastasia]

> roll 1d20+34 Vul'lath gemcutting
<Kobot> Ko-SagetorisAquarium rolled 1d20+34 Vul'lath gemcutting --> [ 1d20=1 ]{35}

You meet with Vul'lath the next day. All four of you are there as you meet with him. "The majority of the work is done, thanks to magic and many hands. We have an idea of the total value now. Including the costs incurred to process all the materials, we're looking at approximately 400,000 gold in value. It could swing by up to 50,000 either way."

Loot post will be delayed until final value is figured out.

[Merc]

Ithea whistles. "Well, Baleruk's probably pretty pleased."

I'll hold off on split post in Loot until then, but assuming 400k, I'll go with the CODA split method of treating Aurora as a character: 200k to Baleruk, 40k to Aurora/Crystal/Stille/Moore/Ithea. I'll update the Aurora funds then. In case I forget, remind me that I need to make a pixie donation adjustment to Aurora fund (need to remove 11,955 gold).

[Anastasia]

So noted.

Stille whistles right after, "That should take care of Lady Crystal's debt, no?" He flashes her a smile, "And if not, I would be glad to contribute, for I already have the greatest treasure." He reaches out and takes Ithea's hand.

Crystal blushes, "Ah, thank you, but that will pay off my debt and leave me with some coin to spare. Ahem!" Coughing a few times, "So we won't return any to Mineral?"

[Merc]

Ithea snorts, and pulls Stille closer to give him a peck in the cheek. "That was entirely too cheesy, you know," Ithea notes, before looking towards Crystal at the mention of Mineral.

"...hrm? Thought you said it was a Githyanki ship?" Ithea asks, before furrowing her brow. "No wait, you said they were escaping Mineral when they got lost. Ah, stolen cargo?"

[Anastasia]

Vul'lath grunts here, "Anything from Mineral is stolen. The natives do not approves of others coming to poach the treasures there. One can find a king's ransom by merely looking around themselves, yet the elementals there will attack if you take the barest scrap of treasure. As far as they are concerned, it is for the natives and the natives alone." He then steeples his hands, "But once successfully removed from Mineral, such treasures are usually fair game. Unless one wishes to score favor with the natives of Mineral."

[Merc]

I was about to post: "What would gaining favor with them mean for Aurora? If gemstones and such aren't supposed to leave Mineral, can any materials? Any sort of trading or such?" Ithea asks.

However, would a K:P check give Ithea that information without having to ask for it?

[Anastasia]

Sure, go for it.

[Merc]

[22:10] <@Mercury> roll d20+42 K:P
[22:10] <Kobot> Mercury rolled d20+42 K:P --> [ 1d20=17 ]{59}

[Anastasia]

The possibilities are as follows, listed in order from the most likely to the least likely.

- Trade of certain things from Mineral. They do make some magical items there, usually in exotic materials or out of gemstones.

- More understanding if things go wrong in Mineral when you're there. This won't let you get away with taking the treasure there, though.

- The attention of the archomentals of the plane. While the archomentals of Earth have some influence there, the natives do run the show. You don't know much about them, however. They're painfully obscure, as few deal with the locals in any way but bloody ones. Mineral tends to be isolationist.

[Merc]

Ithea muses for a moment on what she does know of Mineral.

"Have the natives of Mineral mentioned anything about this lost ship's stolen cargo or such before? Or was it just considered that it would end up 'fair game' as you put it?" Ithea questions Vul'lath.

"I'm honestly kind of split here. Building better relationships with other planes is great, but if they've already given up on it... what are your own thoughts on it?" She asks of the others. "I take it you're leaning towards returning it since you brought it up, Crystal?"

[Anastasia]

"It is only right," Crystal agrees, "We are reasonably entitled to gains for our heroism, but stolen goods are best returned to the owners. Theft is a terrible thing, a loss that can be felt most keenly."

Stille hums, "I say we keep it," he says, "Lady Crystal isn't wrong, but it is our efforts that found it and it's going to a better cause than to sit pretty in Mineral."

[Nephrite]

Moore folds his arms and thinks. "Well, it was Baleruk's idea originally, wasn't it? I don't know if he'd really be happy with us just taking his share without even asking him at all." Moore says. "But I think I agree with Crystal's sentiment regardless, but understand the other side too. They obviously didn't launch a full retrieval operation for this at all. I think we should return as much of it as we don't really need. So clear Crystal's debt with it, see what Baleruk thinks, then if anyone else needs the money for something, and return the rest."

[Merc]

"It's a nice thought, but that sort of compromise defeats the point of returning the treasure. If we kept a portion, we'd basically have to lie and say that all we found was what we'd returned since based on what we know of them, they wouldn't react kindly to us claiming a 'finder's fee'. That's a terrible way to start off a relationship and more likely to turn it negative," Ithea points out with a shake of her head. "It'd be best to not bring it up at all rather than to get in contact with them."

"As for Baleruk, he's definitely going to be against this. I'm assuming you haven't met him, so I'm just going to say he's really...bombastic. I didn't want to bring it up with him unless I was certain that we should return the treasure. Doing so while there was uncertainty would just invite a lot of loud headaches on all our parts."

Ithea muses on it a bit more as she gives a half-hearted listen to any further arguments from the others.

Late to do some chores I was leaving 'til today, so I'll not post again until late afternoon probably.

[Anastasia]

"I'd say it's best to avoid bringing him in for that, yes," Sage Vul'lath seconds. "It will not go well."

Stille leans back and spreads his arms, smiling at Ithea before settling in. "Hence not returning it. We will put it to a better cause and the diplomatic issues it entails are troublesome. But if you are not certain, I can ask dear Balyss to divine Selune's will and wisdom on the matter."

"I fear it is a question of right and wrong," Crystal says, "I just feel as if there is something wrong here." She then sighs and bows her head, "Perhaps I am self defeating. It is one thing to take treasure from vanquished evils, but this is not a matter of evil at all, but happenstance instead. It is akin to finding a mugger's cache of stolen coins and you know who he stole them from."