The Great Receptionist 01

[Corwin]

18:49 <•Kotono> ----
19:00 <•Kotono> Mellanics at dawn already moves. It already lives, the wide and clean streets of the city busy. Horse drawn wagons come and go, carts pulled by strong men joining them. Already shops open and streetside vendors prepare their stalls. The scents of thousands of breakfasts fill the air as with the summery sunshine comes the start of another day. For one Skaya, it begins in one particular way
19:00 <•Kotono> that...OOC: Going to give you a chance to set yourself up with a typical start of day, describe yourself and fill yourself in. I'll roll off of that.
19:03 <Skaya> She's fallen in a routine. Her parents would be horrified! But Skaya doesn't mind it too much, picking up as assortment of pastries to share with the other receptionists on the way to work. Sugar is a bit expensive, but it's really great at stimulating the brain!
19:05 <•Kotono> roll 1d100 just warming up the bot mostly
19:05 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 just warming up the bot mostly --> [ 1d100=10 ]{10}
19:09 <•Kotono> That's easy enough - you get them from a smiling baker's wife and off you go. The warm morning air promises a hot day as you weave through the streets. The Heroic Guild is a big building with a large open plaza inside. Here is a large area. To the left is a bar and restaraunt, where members eat, drink and recover after missions. To the right are various traders who do business here, purchasing
19:09 <•Kotono> and selling useful essentials from rope, arms and armor, to even minor potions. The center is a great circular table where a dozen ladies work, various boards with various bits of information, offers, bounties and jobs pinned to them. It's where you work, already busy with people coming and going. For you, it's where you work and...OOC: Go ahead and set yourself up.
19:14 <Skaya> Throwing her arm in the air, Skaya waves cheerfully at the girls as she dodges past the people in the way. Once at the table, she drops off her pastries and grabs one for herself. "Already this busy?" she asks, hopping on the table and munching on her doughnut.
19:19 <•Kotono> Most are busy but one's free. A honey blonde with an easy smile and one of those figures another woman would kill for. Big in the right places, slender in the others and just the right amount of height to make it all work. She takes a pastry and smiles your way, "The summer rush," she says in a knowing tone. Reene, a simple farmer's daughter with enough brains to do well here. She has a little
19:19 <•Kotono> bite of her pastry and then delicately licks one slender finger clean. "Too many jobs, not enough people. Far better than deep winter though, don't you agree?"
19:21 <Skaya> "Oh definitely, the heat never bothers me anyway!" Skaya cheerfully agrees. "Anything exciting happen overnight?"
19:26 <•Kotono> "I didn't hear anything, nothing urgent anyway," she says after another nibble, then puts her pastry aside. "Though I heard Miss Milla will be back today. She took a job that ranged towards Newkingsland."
19:28 <Skaya> "I always thought that name wasn't very suitable," Skaya muses, seeing no need to stop. And if the others are too slow, she might even grab another one after! "It certainly didn't age well."
19:34 <•Kotono> Others are coming to nab them when they can, a chorus of light gratitude and thanks as they hurry along. The two of you linger however, "I thought she should get a nickname, but apparently her father disapproves." Lowering her voice to a whisper and leaning in, a conspiratorial look on her face, "I once overheard them arguing and it came up. He said if that bothers her, she'll never be strong
19:34 <•Kotono> enough to make a mark on the world."
19:37 — Skaya laughs at that response. "The city! Milla is a very cute name." With a matching conspiratorial look, she voices, "Ah, but she can just change it on her own. That's one of those things that a father can't decide for his grown up daughter, you know."
19:39 <•Kotono> With a knowing look, "Ah, but what daughter can easily go against her father? Especially a strong father like that who also runs where she works? You'd need to be a hero of Tempus to be that brave!" Meanwhile you can see more people coming in - lines are starting to form.
19:42 <Skaya> "It's easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, I heard," Skaya muses. It's probably her motto, at that. "Still, I should get ready. Back in a flash!" It wouldn't be in a flash, she can't teleport, but she does swiftly disappears into an employee only room to put on the clothes serving as her uniform here. Clean and proper, and far more comfortable for this workplace as opposed as the clothes she travels in.
19:44 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
19:44 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=7 ]{7}
19:48 <•Kotono> From there the day begins. For instance..."Heya, Skaya!" A big, smiling lug of a man. Max, a wanderer from Kellym or somewhere further west, who's lingered here a few seasons. Over six feet tall, muscles for days. Broad as a building, a big smile on his face and white teeth that belie his human appearance. He wears a gray headband, a dark blue vest and loose, flowing pants. He puts a sheet of
19:48 <•Kotono> paper down and then a sack. "Took care of this and got the wolf fangs to prove it, claiming the bounty." On a glance it's a typical request - a farmer's being harrassed by a set of feral wolves, eliminate them.
19:50 <Skaya> "Heya, Max! Good to see you back safely," Skaya responds, before taking the paper and sack both and meticulously comparing the proof against the commissioned request. It wouldn't do to slack off on the job. "How was it?"
19:54 <•Kotono> The fangs in the sack match wolf fangs - you've seen them plenty of times. "They weren't bad. I had a friend help so we broke up the pack." Reaching up to slowly rub his fist, the remnants of scabbing there, "Even if one got me right in the hand." Leaning in, "He bit down so you know what I did? I took my other hand, forced its jaw open and sent it flying! Right into a tree!" Meanwhile you can
19:54 <•Kotono> see another aide - Jenny, you think her name is, she's new - putting up more notices. A lot more, well over two dozen.
19:56 <Skaya> "Great job!" she tells him cheerfully. "Sometimes, a bit of brute strength solves all sorts of tricky problems!"
19:57 <•Kotono> "Yep! I can tell you all about it over lunch?" Max offers, "Well, once you get me that bounty."
19:59 <Skaya> "Bounty, bounty...." Skaya spends a moment to confirm the successful completion of the request on the documents and takes care of the reward. "Here you go! And as for lunch, I'm really sorry but I promised to eat with Reene today. Perhaps next time?"
20:02 <•Kotono> "Next time!" Max chuckles and goes, taking his money. As he goes another of the girls slides up to you - Darie. Pretty average in a country girl cute sort of way. She murmurs quietly, "Do you see that? More requests going up. We're going to be so busy once people catch up to all of them." Her simple, elegant uniform is pristine, not a speck wrong on it. Not even the slightest stain of sugar.
20:04 <Skaya> Maybe it's prestidigitation. That's the best cantrip, after all. There's nothing it can't do! "It's good for job security, if nothing else," she responds to Darie. "And plain old security, come to think of it."
20:06 <•Kotono> "Well, it keeps us receptionists busy," Darie huffs out, "Even if my feet will hurt again. No chances to sit down or even get a breath of fresh air."
20:07 <Skaya> "We could each pick one of them and ease the load?" Skaya offers with a grin. "Less paperwork to process that way."
20:09 <•Kotono> A blink at that before, "Oh, I almost forgot about you," she says, then eyes the board. "Are you going to?"
20:10 <Skaya> "Let's take a look, see if there's anything shiny?"
20:12 <•Kotono> OOC: Looking for anythign in particular? Also one moment.
20:12 <Skaya> OOC: A general idea of what sort of tasks are there, if they're local/requiring a week of travel, whether it's all monster extermination or other stuff like investigations
20:20 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:20 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=51 ]{51}
20:21 <•Kotono> There's a wealth of options. There's local ones, ones that require travel. There's monster removals, investigations, guard jobs and all sorts of odds and ends work. A new batch was just put up, afte rall. You're free to narrow your interests further.
20:23 <Skaya> Humming to herself, Skaya discards the distant ones, as well as anything requiring a full-time job like a guarding mission. She just wants to help out, after all, so she can't create more work for her friends by abandoning them for a while. But investigating anything in Mellanics or even some odd and ends job she could do after her shift works. She doesn't get tired as easily as the other girls, after all.
20:25 <•Kotono> roll 1d3+1
20:25 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d3+1 --> [ 1d3=1 ]{2}
20:31 <•Kotono> There's two good jobs that fit those parameters. 1. A local tavern, the Salty Skies, needs someone to investigate who's been raiding their basement supplies. They've lost two kegs and a few bottles of wine already. The locks are bypassed so it's probably a skilled thief or something magic. 2. A venturing wizard needs an evening escort out into the countryside to gather certain reagents. Pretty
20:31 <•Kotono> easy work, just protect her if anything happens. Should last 3 evenings.
20:33 <Skaya> Magic could get pretty complicated, and unless they're paying more than the price of a healing potion, that's just not worth it. While there's risk with an escort to the countryside, Skaya actually feels that one is better, so she picks it. "This one," she voices, handing it to Darie. "Mind doing the honors for me?"
20:39 <•Kotono> Darie takes it, reads it over. "Oh, I know the person who put this one in, I took her request," she says, "Her name's Sanda Weathers. Has a limp, so you'll need to stay sharp."
20:40 <Skaya> That and Expeditious Retreat. Great spell. "Never ran across her before. What's she like?"
20:44 <•Kotono> "Quiet," Is the answer, "She's a bit of a bookworm, but she's friendly if you get past a layer of scholar." A wrinkle of her nose, "A heavy layer."
20:45 <Skaya> "So a less chatty me without doughnuts?" Skaya voices, before punching out at air. "Or that? Got it! And the limp you mentioned? Old wound?"
20:50 <•Kotono> "I think so," She answers, "I never asked."
20:51 <Skaya> "I suppose it doesn't matter. Right! I'll stop by after work, then!"
20:52 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:52 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=25 ]{25}
20:56 <•Kotono> From there the rest of the day is busy. Busy, busy, busy until in the afternoon - you hear it like a wave. A murmur of interests, of noises as one person enters. A brunette with short brown hair, wearing artfully mud splattered splattered traveling clothes. She's quite tall for a woman and in good form, moving with a natural grace. Milla enters in to the attention of all, gaze taking in the
20:56 <•Kotono> entire guild.  With all eyes on her she struts up to a receptionist, ignoring the line. "Renee," she says, placing a sheet of parchment down. "It's done. One less ankheg nest."
20:58 — Skaya winces at the thought of monster bugs, before immediately focusing on something else. A natural grace like that befits a dancer, so there's no surprise here. Could probably use a companion with prestidigitation, though.
21:00 <•Kotono> Probably so. Still, she smoothly collects her money, and after, "Thank you, everyone. Keep up the good work!" She calls, meeting several sets of eyes as she looks about, including your own. Then she heads back, deeper into the administrative offices.
21:01 <Skaya> If she can skip the line like that, she can surely tell Daddy no! She'll never understand rich girls. So Skaya just puts that all aside and focuses on work. It's pretty busy!
21:05 <•Kotono> Indeed it is, and soon enough the end of the day comes. With a job in hand, the only question is as the sun begins to set: Now what?
21:06 <Skaya> There were no special requirements, so Skaya heads towards the home of Sanda Weathers, after a quick detour to grab a meat skewer for dinner.
21:07 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
21:07 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=96 ]{96}
21:08 <•Kotono> As you go? Hm? As you pass by an alley, you catch a glint of something in the fading light of sunset - a small golden coin lying on the ground of the alley. It's otherwise dirty and muddy, nothing unusual about it for an alley. A bit of trash about, but nothing interesting to the normal eye.
21:09 — Skaya naturally picks it up, using a handkerchief to keep her hands clean and wipe the coin properly. Lucky!
21:10 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6 perception for other coins or anything out of the ordinary?
21:10 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6 perception for other coins or anything out of the ordinary? --> [ 1d20=9 ]{15}
21:10 <•Kotono> OOC: Do you have any K:N ranks?
21:11 <Skaya> OOC: I do indeed. 3 ranks, +7 roll
21:11 <•Kotono> OOC: Throw 'em.
21:11 <Skaya> roll 1d20+7 K:N
21:11 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+7 K:N --> [ 1d20=1 ]{8}
21:12 <•Kotono> Skaya wipes the coin clean. It's a single gold piece, quite a lucky sum to find. Sure, there's a bit of white residue you wipe off along with the mud, but nothing too troubling. No sign of other coins or anything.
21:13 <Skaya> If only she could casually use the best spell! With a shrug, Skaya proceeds onwards to her destination.
21:15 <•Kotono> OOC: Small loot post, enjoy extra money I suppose.
21:16 <•Kotono> The house of Sanda Weathers is a small city apartment. A side alley entrance, a crude wood sign showing herbs and a wand above the door. Nothing fancy at at the least, though well kept and not yet deeply weathered, like all of the rebuilt city.
21:17 — Skaya approaches the door and knocks firmly!
21:20 <•Kotono> OOC: ARe you still in your work uniform?
21:20 <Skaya> OOC: No, it's only for work. Skaya is dressed in travel clothes.
21:20 <•Kotono> The door opens. Just a crack really, a single brown eye glimpsed along with a hint of a woman's face and brown hair. "Ah. Are you from the Heroic Guild?"
21:21 <Skaya> "That's right, Miss Weathers! I'm Skaya, and I accepted your commission. Escort for three evenings to collect herbs just out of town, I believe?" Always confirm the job beforehand! Very important.
21:28 <•Kotono> The door opens. Sanda Weathers is a slight woman, perhaps five feet tall on heels and 100 pounds soaking wet, generously. She wears a light dress with a heavy belt, full of pouches. In one hand is a smooth wooden cane with a shiny metallic handle. She steps back slowly, "Come in."
21:29 <Skaya> "Thanks!" Skaya says, coming in as invited.
21:34 <•Kotono> It's a cosy little shop full of herbal remedies and potions. Small but packed with shelves of various goods, lit by a few glowing rocks atop the shelves. It's shadowy but manageable. Once you're in she turns, "Interesting. Statsistically, I expected a man with far more muscle mass."
21:35 ⇐ Iddy quit (uid408070@lunarnet-1BB5E9E.uxbridge.irccloud.com) Quit: Connection closed for inactivity
21:36 <Skaya> "I'm pretty strong though!" Skaya tells her with a smile. "I mean that literally. I suppose there are certainly more powerful people who take commissions, though you would be hard-pressed to catch them doing local escort jobs."
21:44 <•Kotono> "I suppose that makes sense," Sanda agrees, "Well then, I'll provide light so that won't be any problem."
21:45 <Skaya> "Sure thing! Just a few things for easier cooperation. Is this just a precaution, or are you expecting trouble? Are you looking for any herb in particular? Do you need assistance with that, or should I just focus on protection fully?"
21:50 <•Kotono> "Good questions," she begins, one arm crossed under her bosom. "It's a precaution by and large, but I know that in a race, most any hostile creature will outrun me. Statistically speaking, my odds of survival are quite low if it comes to that. My odds rise greatly if I have support with me. I'm looking for several. Moon's Song primarily, but also night lavender, vanillabloom and kingsblossoms."
21:50 <Skaya> "Got it. Did you want to go right away, or start tomorrow, Miss Weathers?"
21:51 <•Kotono> "Tonight is preferable," Is her answer, "Can you do that?"
21:52 <Skaya> "Of course! Let's go, then!"
21:52 <•Kotono> A nod, "One final matter. Should events warrant, are you able to carry me and still run swiftly?"
21:53 <Skaya> "Definitely. If it seems dangerous, I've already planned to do just that."
21:55 <•Kotono> A tap of her staff's head and it glows with light. The little shop is much better lit now. "This will provide illumination. Please be alert, as predators may be drawn to the light."
21:56 — Skaya nods her agreement. She might not need the light, but the actual excursion does require it.
21:59 <•Kotono> OOC: This is a good point to pause here, it's time and this was purely the character setup before we feel out the action.
21:59 <Skaya> OOC: Sure thing.

[Corwin]

19:02 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
19:02 <•Kotono> OOC: One sec for Kobot.
19:03 → Kobot joined (~dunefar@lunarnet-82C188CE.hr.hr.cox.net)
19:04 <•Kotono> Thus you head out into the darkening city and towards the gates out. As you do, a bubble of light in the encroaching night...OOC: Do you have low-light/darkvision?
19:04 <Skaya> OOC: Darkvision 60
19:07 <•Kotono> The bubble of light you're in would ruin a human's night sight, but your superior vision helps. The eastern gate out of town is manned but open, a few nods your way from guards at position. Once outside you see night covered plains with spotty trees, more the farther you get away from town. AS you go...OOC: GIve me a base perception check, I'll have Sanda roll one as well.
19:07 <•Kotono> roll 1d20-1
19:07 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20-1 --> [ 1d20=15 ]{14}
19:08 <Skaya> OOC: I'll take 10 for 16
19:11 <•Kotono> You soon notice something. Sanda's gaze stays down, focused entirely on examining plants and herbs as you go. Just going along, a bright beacon of light as she begins to search. Soon enough she kneels before some blossoming flowers, getting to work. "Statistically," she begins as she works on the pale white flowers, "Danger is most prevalent when one is most distracted. I am very distracted
19:11 <•Kotono> right now."
19:15 <Skaya> "Doesn't that depend on your definition of danger?" Skaya muses, keeping an eye out. "If you're referring to something or someone that can bring you harm, then statistically the probability is the same whether you're distracted or not. I suppose if you include accidentally sabotaging yourself, like walking off a cliff to pursue a herb, distraction would be bad. But that's a crazy level of focus, don't you agree?"
19:15 <Skaya> She crosses her hands behind her head, walking by Sanda's side. "Of course, if you define danger as the actual outcome, then yes, you'd be more less likely to suffer harm if you are aware. Statistically-speaking."
19:18 <•Kotono> "Mmmm," A throaty little noise as she works, trimming and harvesting herbs. "That's what I mean. I'm more likely to walk into a wall when I'm engrossed in a book rather than when I pay attention to my surroundings."
19:20 → •Nephrite (opped) joined 
19:20 <Skaya> "Ah. Isn't it more comfortable to enjoy a good book with a cup of tea?"
19:23 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
19:23 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=82 ]{82}
19:24 <•Kotono> Snip, trim, gather. "Yes, but sometimes you have to walk somewhere," she answers, finishing up and rising. "That's the vanillabloom. I'm hoping to find Moon's Song and at least one of the others." In the meantime, your sharp senses and darkvision help. You notice something - a little ripple of the earth a few feet to Sanda's side. She seems oblivious to it, going on. "At best, we might find
19:24 <•Kotono> all four tonight and make excellent progress."
19:29 <•Kotono> OOC: K:A check, +4 circumstance bonus.
19:30 <Skaya> OOC: Taking 10 for 21
19:31 <•Kotono> A click. You've heard of them plenty, particularly in Girm. Ankhegs, borrowing, acidic hunters that make trouble and are carnivores. They can even spit acid in a pinch and are not easy prey. Based on the ripple, one of you is about to get a late dinner. Probably Sanda, but you can't rule yourself out.
19:36 <Skaya> Wow, is Sanda that unlucky? They haven't even gone that far from the city walls! While Skaya could grab her and run, she decides to first see if she can make use of that ambush to set off one of her own, and she pulls Sanda away while stomping at the rippling ground!
19:40 <•Kotono> OOC: Trying to make an attack? If so make an unarmed attack roll, but +2 circumstance bonus for turning the tables on it. If not go ahead and clarify a little bit.
19:41 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6+2+4 inspiration, stunning fist
19:41 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6+2+4 inspiration, stunning fist --> [ 1d20=18 ]{30}
19:41 <Skaya> OOC: Stunning fist is Fort DC15
19:42 <Skaya> roll 1d6+3 damage
19:42 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d6+3 damage --> [ 1d6=5 ]{8}
19:43 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+6
19:43 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+6 --> [ 1d20=4 ]{10}
19:43 <•Kotono> OOC: Success, that's a failed save.
19:44 <•Kotono> OOC: How many rounds is tunning fist?
19:45 <Skaya> OOC: 1 round. Init?
19:48 <•Kotono> SLAM! Your stomp htis something harder, a chittering cry of pain as suddenly - ! OOC: One free round both of you, you stunned it. Go ahead, Skaya. Right now it's hidden by dirt but you know where it is and it's not really moving thanks to stunning. Dirt's probably cushioning the damage a bit, though.
19:49 <Skaya> "Ankheg tried to sneak up on you," she tells Sanda. "If you have some ray prepared, this will go faster. It won't stay stunned for long."
19:49 <Skaya> roll 1d20+2 init
19:49 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+2 init --> [ 1d20=19 ]{21}
19:50 <•Kotono> roll 1d20 Sanda
19:50 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20 Sanda --> [ 1d20=13 ]{13}
19:50 <•Kotono> roll 1d20 Ankheg for next round
19:50 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20 Ankheg for next round --> [ 1d20=11 ]{11}
19:51 <•Kotono> OOC: Init is Skaya (21) > Sanda (13) > Ankheg (11)
19:51 <•Kotono> OOC: Open.
19:51 <•Kotono> "Ah...ah..." Sanda stares at the ground, "Oh. Both statistically probable and improbable at once. How c-curious!"
19:51 — Skaya decides to trade quality for quantity and strikes twice! She's already there!
19:51 <Skaya> roll 2#1d20+4
19:51 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 2#1d20+4 --> [ 1d20=18 ]{22}, [ 1d20=19 ]{23}
19:52 <Skaya> roll 2#1d6+3
19:52 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 2#1d6+3 --> [ 1d6=6 ]{9}, [ 1d6=2 ]{5}
19:53 <•Kotono> OOC: Dice are seriously on your side.
19:57 <•Kotono> Two heavy stomps slam down, loud crunching sounds below as dirt packs down and gives way. At the same time Sanda shakily stands and limps forward, and with a brave cry, slams her lit staff down on the ground, "Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" Quite loudly, no less.
19:57 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+3
19:57 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+3 --> [ 1d20=12 ]{15}
19:58 <•Kotono> Which doesn't seem to have a noticable impact, at least. For whatever that's worth. OOC: It's stunned and now no longer stunned. Go Skaya.
19:59 <Skaya> "Why," Skaya can't help but voice. "How about cantrips? Anything that shoots from somewhere not melee range?" But this means she really needs to bet everything, so she strikes out twice more!
19:59 <Skaya> roll 2#1d20+4+4 stunning fist x2, inspiration x2
19:59 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 2#1d20+4+4 stunning fist x2, inspiration x2 --> [ 1d20=12 ]{20}, [ 1d20=5 ]{13}
19:59 <•Kotono> OOC: 1 hit.
19:59 <Skaya> roll 1d6+3, Fort DC15 or stunned for a round
19:59 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d6+3, Fort DC15 or stunned for a round --> error: malformed expression
19:59 <Skaya> roll 1d6+3
19:59 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d6+3 --> [ 1d6=1 ]{4}
19:59 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+6
19:59 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+6 --> [ 1d20=20 ]{26}
20:01 <•Kotono> Another crack below as you strike, "I'm a researcher, n-not a battle mage," she cries out, "I'm a sh-shopkeeper! It's statistically better to hit things than waste spells on it!"
20:01 <•Kotono> Then her staff comes down again, slamming as you hit it, the beast not going still quite yet.
20:01 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+3
20:01 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+3 --> [ 1d20=19 ]{22}
20:01 <•Kotono> roll 1d8+1
20:01 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d8+1 --> [ 1d8=8 ]{9}
20:02 <•Kotono> A louder CRACK at that final blow seems to be enough. At least no surge out, no attack - is it dead? At the least Sanda slams her staff down again and again, and it's sure not showing signs of attacking or dodging.
20:02 <•Kotono> OOC: Free act.
20:03 <Skaya> "Who am I to argue with statistics like that?" Skaya asks with a snort. "Now, I know it's not a herb, but we can sell some of the parts. The acid pouch for sure."
20:06 <•Kotono> Stopping now and breathing heavily, "Y-yes," Sanda rests on her cane, looking down, "With what we'll get from that, I can just buy the rest of the herbs I need and have plenty left over!"
20:07 <Skaya> "That works!" Skaya readily agrees. "Same as before, I'll keep watch and you grab what fetches the best price?"
20:09 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+10
20:09 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+10 --> [ 1d20=7 ]{17}
20:10 <•Kotono> It's gruesome work - it's a big creature indeed, six legged and yellowish brown. Parts are harvested, Sanda working away in the light as...
20:10 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:10 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=30 ]{30}
20:10 <•Kotono> Which takes a good hour, but you're left along. With the sack, scales, tongue and other parts, you're loaded up with harvest from the monster.
20:14 <Skaya> "Say, what are you planning to do with the herbs?" Skaya asks as she carries the heaviest parts.
20:15 <•Kotono> As you walk back in the night, "I run a shop and go through a lot of them. Herbal cures, that sort of thing," She answers, "Though I also make potions and they're ingredients for them, too."
20:19 <Skaya> "Makes sense," she agrees. "Going to need a few of the parts of that ankheg as well, or it's all going to be sold off?"
20:24 <•Kotono> "We can sell it all off tomorrow," Sanda offers, "Are you available for that? The money it brings me is more useful."
20:25 <Skaya> "Sure thing! Want to stop by the Guild around lunchtime?"
20:29 <•Kotono> "Sure!" With that agreement you make it back to town safely. Anything to do to cap off this job?
20:30 <Skaya> It's late enough that a nice, hot bath and a book to read before sleep is all Skaya has the energy for. But tomorrow will bring fresh excitement!
20:35 <•Kotono> Indeed, the next day comes. First of all, you arrive and..."Good morning," Renee says, "Oh, did you finish that request last night?" Amid the busy guild she takes a moment to talk to you, "Do you want to turn it in yet?"
20:36 <Skaya> "I actually did," Skaya responds. "Miss Weathers is coming around lunchtime, so I figured we could do that then. You'd never believe what happened!"
20:38 <•Kotono> "Oh?" Leaning in to smile and in a quieter voice, "Tell me! I haven't heard anything yet."
20:38 <Skaya> "An ankheg tried to ambush us! Right outside the city!"
20:40 <•Kotono> "No!" A gasp, "One that close to the city!?"
20:41 <Skaya> "I know! We stomped it, but it was a huge shock."
20:45 <•Kotono> "Wow!" A loud gasp, "
20:45 <•Kotono> OOC: Gah.
20:46 <•Kotono> "Wow!" A loud gasp, "I've heard they've been coming east, but another one and this one that close to the city's scary," she says, "What if one tries to attack in Mellanics? It would be chaos everywhere!"
20:47 <Skaya> "Just the one won't be an issue, but if there are many...." Skaya trails off helplessly. "Hey, think Miss Milla knows something about it? She went to exterminate an entire nest of them."
20:50 <•Kotono> "Hmmm. She might," she says, then side eyes the growing line. "If you want to go talk to her, probably best that you do it soon. So that you have time to tell me what she says when you get back, too."
20:50 <Skaya> "I'll go for it!"
20:54 <•Kotono> "I hear she's in the back today," A gesture back, "Go find her, I'll cover for you.":
20:54 <Skaya> "Thankies!" With a wave, Skaya slips towards the back.
20:56 <•Kotono> It's quieter here. People coming and going at work, but you can hear Milla's voice as you approach a quiet side office, "...twenty more!" Just a fragment, but it tells you she should be in there.
20:57 — Skaya knocks politely and waits to be acknowledged!
21:00 <•Kotono> "Enter," Not Milla's voice. A man's voice that you know well enough - Picke Knightson, the current head of the Heroic Guild.
21:01 — Skaya opens the door and slips in!
21:06 <•Kotono> Picke Knightson has the same hair and general features as his daughter. He's a tall man, strong bodied and with a neutral,s teady gaze. He sits by the window of a quiet general use room, while his daughter longues on a table and regards him with a smile of excitment and pique mingled together. Nonetheless he gives Skaya an even look, "Yes?" he asks, to the point.
21:09 <Skaya> "I was hoping for a few minutes of your time," Skaya says, glancing between the two of them. "Since Miss Knightson recently returned from a successful eradication of a nest of ankhegs, I wanted to ask if there seemed anything unusual about their presence or their numbers."
21:11 <•Kotono> Milla nods your way at that acknowledgment, "We were just talking about that," Picke meanwhile goes on, "Have you noticed something yourself, Skaya?"
21:11 <•Kotono> "I think she has, father," Is her answer, "It's obvious if she came here asking that question."
21:12 <•Kotono> "Yes," Picke agrees with a little rumble of smothered amusement, "So tell us what you've noticed."
21:13 <Skaya> "I took an escort mission and went out of town to help Miss Weathers collect some herbs, and one of them tried to ambush us," Skaya responds, politely ignoring the family drama. "I was surprised to find one so close to the town, plus I don't remember them being nearby before. It's really not something an ordinary traveler could deal with."
21:17 <•Kotono> The two share a look before Milla says, "There's been too many of them," she declares imperiously, "Girm's trying hard but they're spreading into Kellym and now here. They're getting to be a real problem. Unfortunately, what you saw matches what we've gathered."
21:18 <•Kotono> "Good work," Picke answers with a long look to you, "You've gotten better if you took on one alone and won."
21:19 <Skaya> "Thank you, Sir," she responds. "Might I recommend a notice on the board? That way everyone would be more alert for the signs."
21:22 <•Kotono> "I'll consider that," He says, "Keep taking night jobs as well, if you're doing that well at them and you can manage."
21:23 <•Kotono> "Wasted at a receptionist," Milla declares, a little look your way, "If you broke a ankheg before you with just your fists."
21:24 <Skaya> "Actually it was with my boots," Skaya feels the need to point out. "I'm not touching bug monsters with my hands." She smiles at the father and daughter pair, and curtsies. "Thank you for your time. I'll get back to work now?"
21:25 <•Kotono> Milla hops up, one fluid leap from sitting to standing. "I'll walk you back," she declares, "I'll see you later, father."
21:25 <•Kotono> Picke merely looks amused and waves her off, "Back to work," he agrees.
21:26 <Skaya> "Sure thing!" Skaya agrees, holding the door open for Milla.
21:28 <•Kotono> Once out Milla takes your arm, leading you towards the back - where you recall practice areas are - and not towards the front. "So you took on an ankheg all by yourself," she says, "I want to see those skills first hand."
21:31 <Skaya> "I did get lucky enough to spot its ambush and turn that on the ankheg," Skaya points out. "They're scary grapplers, if that didn't work I would probably run away. But a spar is fine! I'm always happy to exchange pointers."
21:41 <•Kotono> "A spar is excellent," Milla agrees, "And ambush or not, you killed one. Unhurt from the looks of it. Was it a perfect victory?"
21:43 <Skaya> "I didn't get hurt," Skaya affirms. "What are the rules for the spar?"
21:48 <•Kotono> "Nonlethal force," Milla lists off as you head outside. Here are several cleared patches of dirt, training grounds. An archery range to the side, several fighting circles and even a long lane for mounted combat practice. Right now only a few people are here and using it, a backdrop of noise and effort to your conversation as the summer's sunshine pounds down.
21:50 <Skaya> Good thing she hadn't changed yet. "Ready when you are," she tells Milla. Probably. As a dancer she's probably far faster than Skaya, so hopefully she would hold back some.
21:53 <•Kotono> Milla leads you to one of those circles and cracks her knuckles, 20 feet away from you. "Ready," she grins back at you, "Let' s see how long you last, girl!"
21:53 <•Kotono> OOC: Init.
21:54 <Skaya> roll 1d20+2
21:54 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+2 --> [ 1d20=2 ]{4}
21:54 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+8
21:54 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+8 --> [ 1d20=3 ]{11}
21:54 <•Kotono> OOC: She wins init, we'll sort this out next time since it's 5 minutes or so until pause and no sense starting that with what little time we have left.
21:54 <Skaya> OOC: Sure

[Corwin]

17:57 <•Kotono> Init is Milla (11) > Skaya (4)
17:59 <•Kotono> Milla's fast but beckons you forward, as...OOC: She's giving you first shot. Go ahead and open as you please, one moment.
18:00 <Skaya> Alright then! Skaya dashes ahead, leaping towards Milla once she's close enough to kick at her head!
18:04 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6+2+4 charge, cunning insight, nonlethal, Stunning Fist Fort DC15
18:04 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6+2+4 charge, cunning insight, nonlethal, Stunning Fist Fort DC15 --> [ 1d20=9 ]{21}
18:05 <•Kotono> She's smooth. PErhaps it's knowing you're coming or simply how good she is, but she dodges at the last second. A weave aside as she nods, an intense gaze as, "Again! Do that again!" she commands. OOC: Holding, go.
18:06 — Skaya pretends to agree, hopping back before coming at her again. But her jumpkick is just a feint, and she decides to go for quantity over quality this time as she punches out upon landing!
18:07 <Skaya> roll 2#1d20+4+4 cunning insight x2, nonlethal, Stunning Fist x2 Fort DC15
18:07 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 2#1d20+4+4 cunning insight x2, nonlethal, Stunning Fist x2 Fort DC15 --> [ 1d20=13 ]{21}, [ 1d20=16 ]{24}
18:10 <•Kotono> OOC: One hit.
18:10 <Skaya> roll 1d6+3
18:10 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d6+3 --> [ 1d6=1 ]{4}
18:10 <•Kotono> OOC: Immune to stun, so no save needed.
18:12 <•Kotono> The first blow is a narrow miss, but the second? The punch is toof ast, getting her in the side of the jaw and lip. She smiles after, reaching up to wipe away a thin trail of blood. She licks it off her knuckles before, "You can punch like that and you're a receptionist?" she asks, holding up her other hand to stop you.
18:14 <Skaya> "I like it," Skaya responds, stopping as requested. All around, a good showing! It definitely explains how with a bit of luck she could take down a nasty bug monster.
18:16 <•Kotono> "Mm." She wipes her mouth again, no more blood but she licks her knuckles clean again anyway. "You have real potential. I'll be keeping an eye on you."
18:19 — Skaya smiles happily. "Thanks! If I could be of any minor help one day, please don't hesitate to bring me along, Miss Knightson." And she didn't even hit that hard! That's actually a problem, but one that will solve itself one day, Skaya believes.
18:23 <•Kotono> "Guts too," she comments, "Good." With that she gives you a look and walks away, leaving you to your own devices.
18:25 <Skaya> With that Skaya rushes to change clothes in an empty employee only room and join the others at the reception. A shower would've been nice as well, but that's not in the cards. If only she were a wizard, they have so many utility spells for great convenience! Perhaps she needs to save up for a set of magic items for that.
18:26 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
18:26 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=90 ]{90}
18:26 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
18:26 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=92 ]{92}
18:31 <•Kotono> It's getting close to lunch. It's been summer busy and you don't have a lot of time do anything but work. That's when it happens - a man and a woman. Both with black hair and similar features, naturally pretty. The Delanie twins, both barely adults. Familiar faces who do low level work. Regis Delanie limps in, his side visibly blood stained and leather armors badly damaged. At his side is Rina
18:31 <•Kotono> Delaine, face bloodied from a cut and visibly pale, an arm wrapped around her middle. "M-monster!" Regis cries out as eyes turn to him, as his sister slumps to her knees. "It wiped out the caravan we were guarding!"
18:32 <•Kotono> Near you Darie gasps, a hand to her mouth. She drops the bounty she'd been counting out and stares, "That's horrible!"
18:34 <Skaya> "Hold on for a moment," Skaya requests of her current customer and vaults over the desk. A few quick steps bring her to the twins, and she takes a closer look at their wounds. The first task is to provide first aid, if it's needed.
18:37 <•Kotono> OOC: Got any ranks in Heal or a related skill? I presume you do the way you reacted.
18:38 <Skaya> OOC: I do indeed. 1 rank for +2, I'll take 10 and use cunning knowledge to get 16. That passes the First Aid DC15, but the thing is, I'm unclear on how to tell if they even need first aid from the skill's description.
18:40 <•Kotono> OOC: It directly applies first aid. More, I'll cover it in the response.
18:42 <•Kotono> On a quick check - bad laceration on the left side for Regis, along with lots of lesser trauma and scrapes all over. Rina's in worse shape, her head wound is a bleeder and you really don't like her color. It suggests internal injury. For now, pressure on Regis's wound is easy to supply as dozens of voice rise up in various concern. Rina looks on at you, "Feel horrible," she offers succinctly.
18:44 <Skaya> "Tell me about the monster that attacked you," Skaya requests, keeping an eye on Rina's condition. "Also, was there any poison?" She doesn't ask if it's still chasing, the city guards can deal with that sort of thing, surely.
18:51 <•Kotono> "Big and yellow, moved fast. Six legs, but blob-like," Regis reports as people watch, "Big mouth, had claws and a tail too. Used all of them." He coughs after, "Spat out a cloud that made people sick and smelled terrible."
18:55 <Skaya> "Darie, toss me my bag, will you?" Skaya requests, thinking about it.
18:55 <Skaya> OOC: What's the knowledge to recognize it?
18:57 <•Kotono> Nothing about it comes to mind - you have no idea what it is offhand. Darie meanwhile runs up with your bag as you hear a commotion in the back. Picke strides out, nodding to you once as you work. "At least you two came back alive. Good," he says, "How bad off are they, Skaya?"
18:57 <•Kotono> "Sorry," Rina whispers, "We couldn't stop it. All we could do was run away."
19:00 <Skaya> "These moments can come," Skaya agrees, telling Rina, "Drink this," before feeding her a potion. Cure Light Wounds would definitely take care of the worst injuries first, which would be the head and the internals.
19:01 <•Kotono> roll 1d8+1
19:01 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d8+1 --> [ 1d8=1 ]{2}
19:01 <•Kotono> The potion is taken, a murmured grunt of pain. Her head wound is smaller now and her color's not as severe. Meanwhile Regis says, "We're the only one swho got away. It swallowed them whole."
19:02 <•Kotono> Picke's expression turns tighter at that, "You did fine to live. We'll handle it from here," he answers.
19:04 <Skaya> "Guild Master," Skaya tells Picke, "I think Regis and Rina should be fine now with some treatment and proper rest."
19:05 <Skaya> As she awaits acknowledgement, Skaya takes in the twins' wounds again. If the monster doesn't ring a bell, just what could account for all of their injuries? Is there such a creature?
19:08 <•Kotono> It would have to be a creature able to bludgeon, beat, rip, wound and overall with lots of versatility. It's not like any local you can think of. The best comparison you can think of is the time you read about a monk who mixed fists with swordplay. It doesn't fit the normal patterns.
19:08 <•Kotono> "Good work," Picke says, "Both of you, rest. We'll handle the rest. Darie," he doesn't even look back, "Go tell Milla to be ready to leave within the hour."
19:09 <•Kotono> "Yes sir," Darie bows her head and hurries off, fast.
19:10 <Skaya> She definitely needs to talk to Picke, but that can wait until things settle with the twins. She curtsies and returns to her customer to finish the job, but then takes her break and checks the escort mission the pair took. Where did they go, what the caravan was carrying, even to see if there's any name associated with the request that seems familiar.
19:26 <•Kotono> That's not too hard to check out. IT was a simple escort mission from Mellanics to Fyner, started today. The name on it is Orbene Allard, a merchant who you dimly recognize the name of. He's hired for this before, you think.
19:28 <Skaya> Then all that's left is to check recent statistics. The world is dangerous and people die, people on escort missions even more so. But have there been any recent failed missions, strange attacks or missing caravans in the area?
19:30 <•Kotono> Nothing unusual like that, according to what you scan over.
19:31 <Skaya> It's a shame she doesn't have anything solid, but she might not be exposed to everything to begin with. Thus, Skaya looks for Picke!
19:39 <•Kotono> Picke is getting ready, coming out of his office. He's in his gear - loose clothes, metal bracers, a rope belt, sturdy traveling clothes and a sack on his belt. "Need something?" he asks as you come up, "Be quick, I'm leaving with MIlla soon."
19:42 <Skaya> "Yes, Guild Master," Skaya responds. "I've spent some time studying up on monsters both local and esoteric. To the best of my knowledge, the monster Miss Delanie described does not exist in nature. Furthermore, the pair's wounds don't match any single monster I'm aware of, nevermind anything local. My first thought was a chimera or some sort of illusion magic used by a sapient attacker."
19:44 <•Kotono> "You might be right," Picke says, adjusting his bracers. "It's not a normal monster, which suggests something dangerous. A stinking cloud spell and an illusion could explain the monster." Satisfied with his bracers, "It might also be something new or something unique."
19:48 <Skaya> "I would be extremely surprised if magic did not factor into this somehow." She supposes it could be extra-planar, but anything strong enough to rampage on Prime like that would have innate magic anyway. "And that suggests a guiding intent, as I mentioned. Would you like me to look into things here? I could investigate Mister Allard's merchant company, to see what drew the attack to this particular caravan."
19:53 <•Kotono> "Yes, do that," Picke agrees, "We'll be back once we've tracked it down or the trail's cold. Have whatever you can ready by then."
19:54 — Skaya curtsies and doesn't keep Picke further. It's already lunchtime, so she decides to wait for Sanda to come. There's been some excitement, but it doesn't prevent her from ensuring that her previous job gets resolved and perhaps finding a partner for some local investigative jobs.
19:57 <•Kotono> With one ball in the air, the other drops in. Sanda's dressed like she was yesterday and meets you promptly. "Well then, let's go make our money," she offers to you, "Do you know what merchants tend to pay the most on average?"
19:59 <Skaya> "I do look into things locally," Skaya responds, having changed clothes as she would be heading out. "Foreign is a bit harder, but I do keep track of what we're trading with other towns, which should be indicative of more lucrative prices elsewhere."
20:06 <•Kotono> "Lovely," Is Sanda's answer, "The more we make off this, the better. Lead on!"
20:09 <Skaya> Orbene Allard is a merchant, so they might as well start at his business. Perhaps she can even learn a bit about his latest caravan while bartering with the store clerks.
20:12 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:12 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=41 ]{41}
20:12 <•Kotono> OOC: Quick heads up, he's more of the traveling and trading type than own a shop type. So you'd know you're barking up a wron gtree here, feel free to adjust the line.
20:13 <Skaya> OOC: Strike
20:14 — Skaya uses her knowledge to pick the top store that deals with monster reagents and components. If they don't offer a price she finds reasonable, then she and Sanda could travel to a more specialized store and try their luck there.
20:18 <•Kotono> OOC: We'll mostly handwave this since it's loot selling, but do you have any skills that can apply? I'll hav eyou and her chata fterwards.
20:21 <Skaya> OOC: I do have all the skills, but taking 10... Appraise with cunning knowledge at 21, Diplomacy with cunning knowledge at 20, Blueff with cunning knowledge at 22, plus a bunch of knowledges including local which would be 21 with cunning knowledge.
20:23 <•Kotono> You get good prices - a little depressed thanks to a lot of stock being sold, but nothing serious. Afterwards the two of you walk out and Sanda's smiling, "That will buy a great many herbs! I can't believe it was so easy to defeat one. It was surely a statistical anomaly." OOC: :Loot.
20:25 <Skaya> "It was what you'd call a fortunate encounter," Skaya agrees. "Then again, the risk was disproportionately high. Would you be interested in working together on something far safer?"
20:26 <Skaya> OOC: Incidentally, what's my pay for the work? Or are we just splitting the 285 gold?
20:26 <•Kotono> OOC: 5 gold since it was simple gathering and a fairly safe job in theory. I'll make a separate post in loot, good catch.
20:27 <•Kotono> "Oh?" A question, "If it's as profitable as this, certainly."
20:29 <Skaya> "No, no, this is clearly a freak accident. Then again, perhaps we'll chance upon something interesting?" she muses. "There was an investigation mission at the Guild. Something about ale disappearing from a tavern, possibly via magic. Shouldn't take too long to look into, and I could use a mage's insight. As for the possibility of fortune, if it's some band of thieves who were prolific, there's usually a decent finder's fee."
20:34 <•Kotono> "Mmm..." A consideration but not a long one, "Even if it regresses to the mean, it's possible it'll be well worthwhile. I accept."
20:35 <Skaya> "Let's meet tonight at the Salty Skies, then?" Skaya offers. "I'll pick the mission and wait for you. It's probably the best time to see if anyone's acting out of sorts."
20:38 <•Kotono> "I'll be there," Sanda promises, "What array of spells would you recommend?"
20:42 <Skaya> "The ability to look for and understand magic is very important. Message could be useful, as is the spell to open small compartments. Prestidigitation-- but I don't need to tell you that, surely you always have it? That's such a great spell!" She can't stop grinning at the thought. "I always found Grease to be very versatile. The magic to detect hidden doors might come useful? Maybe a mist for defense, just in case?"
20:43 <•Kotono> "All good spells, it's things a mage's staff can't do," she says, "Unlike magic missile or a heat ray."
20:45 <Skaya> "Those are pretty basic in battle magic, I read. The debilitating spells offer more of a benefit, but can be hit and miss. But direct damage is often great, and few things can resist an element around here."
20:45 <•Kotono> "Yes, but I have a 100% success rate against ankhegs with my staff," Sanda comments, "That's worthwhile."
20:47 — Skaya laughs. "That's true!"
20:49 <•Kotono> WIth that and a nod Sanda goes off and...OOC: Any prep for that real quick? We're near session send so just want to cover that real quick.
20:50 <Skaya> OOC: Let's see. Before that, I would like to go and investigate that caravan. It can probably be an OOC knowledge check, just so I know who went on it, if there were any fresh hires on the team, what it was carrying, if there were any threats and so on. Presumably he had contacts here at the very least and he was likely renting some warehouse space.
20:51 <•Kotono> OOC: Sure, K:Local or anything reasonably associated will work.
20:51 <•Kotono> OOC: +4 circumstance bonus since you have guild info to draw on.
20:51 <Skaya> OOC: As for the Salty Skies, I want to show up there before the dinner rush and and just gather information by listening to the regulars while waiting on Sanda. Maybe something interesting will happen and a wild hook will appear.
20:52 <Skaya> OOC: Taking 10 for K:L 21, then
20:58 <•Kotono> OOC: Was a sec so we'll open with that info real quick next time.

[Corwin]

18:59 <•Kotono> The Salty Skies traded in cloth and dry goods from Kellyn and further west. No fresh hires you can find out about, it's either on the level of trust of long time employees or temporary employees like guild members for defense, and it was carrying expensive Kellyn-patterened cloth. No threats that you've heard about or can easily dig up.
19:02 <Skaya> At least the immediate suspicions can be dispensed with. Skaya resolves to check in with the guild master once he's back from his expedition, and to spend the evening with a relaxing investigation of the Salty Skies.
19:03 <•Kotono> OOC: Going to investigate that then, just to update us since last session?
19:04 <Skaya> OOC: Yes. I'm going to head there before the dinner rush and listen to rumors and conversation, and Sanda should show up during dinner for us to look into stuff together.
19:08 <•Kotono> It's a tavern. Nice enough and not terribly run down or anything, as you begin to listen in. It has tables and one long bar, plus a big fireplace for people to gather around. It has that taverny smell of booze that permeats everything, and yo uswear can get you tipsy without a single drink. As you do...OOC: Diplomacy for GI then.
19:10 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6
19:10 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6 --> [ 1d20=4 ]{10}
19:15 <•Kotono> Unfortunately, listening in doesn't net you anything particularly relevant - just day to day details about people's lives. As you listen in, you see Sanda come in. She's wearing a hooded shawl , hood up and mostly hiding her face as she comes in. Not enough to make her unrecognizable to you, but enough to stand out.
19:16 — Skaya waves her over!
19:27 <•Kotono> Sanda approaches, carefully going past a barmaid and taking a seat. She glances around before, "Statistically, how many of the people here do you think are criminals?"
19:30 <Skaya> "Maybe one or two?"
19:32 <•Kotono> A soft hm from Sanda before, "Well, the odds are in our favor then," she whispers to you, before, "So do you have any leads yet?"
19:33 <Skaya> "Not yet," Skaya admits with a shrug. "Have you eaten already?"
19:35 <•Kotono> "Not yet," she says, "Except for a little snack instead of lunch."
19:36 <Skaya> "Then let's order something before looking into things?" Skaya offers. It's not clear how long this will take, after all.
19:39 <•Kotono> Getting food isn't hard - a decent soup and some bread, along with vegetables. Sanda nibbles on her bread as, "So what is your plan here?"
19:41 <Skaya> "First, establish a baseline for how things usually go," Skaya responds, dipping the bread in the soup and nibbling on it. "Might help us spot something later on. Second, just ask the owner for his story and look at everything in person. We're better equipped than regular people to spot something off."
19:45 <•Kotono> Sanda sticks to her bread, slowly working on it rather than eating in truth. "Hope to get lucky?" Sanda asks, "Low odds of success for the first approach, but a high reward if the odds are defied."
19:47 <Skaya> "I won't deny that luck is a factor, but it's also a matter of specialty, wouldn't you agree? If there's magic, then luck aside, only a mage would have good odds of spotting it. If there are hidden doors, then there's a certain skillset for spotting them as well. Since the request is so open ended, I'm hoping to narrow things down a bit before coming up with a more detailed plan."
19:55 <•Kotono> "Hm." A little agreement as she stops eating, bread half gone at most. "Then I'll follow your lead in this, Skaya."
19:55 <Skaya> "Thanks! And if you have an idea, we'll try it."
20:00 <•Kotono> OOC: Okay then, ball is in your court. How are you apporaching this problem?
20:00 <Skaya> Once they've eaten and paid for their food, Skaya will take the lead and approach the owner with the request from the guild. First, they should see the scene of the crime!
20:07 <•Kotono> The owner is a taller man, sour faced and with six fingers on both hands. He wears an apron over peasant clothes, nothing fancy at all. "From the guild, right?" he asks, short cut black hair and a searching look. "...you are the Heroic Guild and not the Sewing Guild, right?"
20:08 <Skaya> "Did you request the aid of the Sewing Guild as well?" Skaya asks curiously. "Well, I suppose it's not like we require exclusivity. But yes, we are indeed here about your request to the Heroic Guild."
20:08 <•Kotono> A half smile at that, "Good. What do you need to get this done?"
20:10 <Skaya> "Can you give us a bit more information? How often do you experience the thefts? When did they start?" She starts with the basics, for now.
20:19 <•Kotono> "Three times so far," Is the answer you get, "A week ago."
20:21 <Skaya> "How about the locks? Did you replace them? And if so, did you keep the old ones?"
20:25 <•Kotono> "Yes, I have them," he says, "I can get them if you want to see them."
20:27 <Skaya> "Yes, them and the cellar."
20:30 <•Kotono> They are gotten and given to you. They're a fairly simple lock and key combination, nothinge xpensive at all. Old too on a glance.
20:33 — Skaya is actually pretty skilled at both opening such locks without a key and the theoretical knowledge of them, plus she dabbles some in making simple traps. One thing that usually happens is that forcing the lock open without a key would leave scratches if not outright damage on the mechanism, so she takes a closer look.
20:36 <•Kotono> It's subtle -t he sign of good work - but you can notice a few little tells like that.
20:38 <Skaya> "See this? Or that tiny scratch here?" Skaya asks Sanda, tilting the lock towards her. "I think we can exclude magic or a proper key." Not entirely, of course, but it won't make too much sense. "Pretty skilled work, too. I wonder why they couldn't just take a few requests at the Guild instead."
20:41 <•Kotono> Sanda leans in and peers, "Oh, I see it now," she says, "Then why would someone skilled do this? Logically, they could do far better. It can't be a monetary motive, at least in the sense that the goods taken are the root cause of it."
20:45 <Skaya> "It's pretty stupid," Skaya agrees. "Criminals get caught a great deal, and it's definitely better money to work properly."
20:46 <Skaya> Next should be seeing the basement for any other clues. Perhaps they'll get lucky and get a hint for the identity of the thief or thieves! They can't be that smart if they're doing this.
20:46 <•Kotono> AS you're lread to it, Sanda continues, "Then logically speaking, there must be an underlying motive. Likely a personal one, don't you concur?"
20:50 <Skaya> "I wouldn't be so quick to exclude idiocy, but yes, there can be other motives at play. Stealing wine to cover up for something else, or stealing out of a desire to harm the business."
20:53 <•Kotono> Meanwhile you're taken into the basement. It's a basement with various thigns here, including a rack for wine and several kegs stacked up. It's quite full of various things and dark, only a lantern carried by the owner shedding any light at all.
20:54 — Skaya has darkvision! She decides to explore the place properly, to see if there are signs of kegs or any other objects moved recently. It's kept dark and rarely visited, so perhaps she'll spot something of interest.
21:01 <•Kotono> OOC: Perception check, +1 bonus for darkvision.
21:02 <Skaya> OOC: I'll take 10 and use inspiration for 21
21:04 <•Kotono> There's some signs of things being moved, yes. There's definitely been things moved around here.
21:07 <Skaya> "Ah, sorry, could I ask about this here?" Skaya speaks to the owner. He has the light, and once he's closer he could see what she's talking about properly. "I wanted to confirm if you were the one who moved things here." Some of it could be legitimate, so eliminating that might show them what to focus on. Or it could be a dead end! Such is life.
21:07 <•Kotono> "
21:07 <•Kotono> "Yeah, we move kegs in as we use them," he says, "Looks normal to me, most of it does anyway." He checks them all before, "Except this one. This box here looks moved, and I don't think it's been moved in some time."
21:08 <Skaya> "What's in it?"
21:08 <•Kotono> It's opened and checked. It looks like an entire box of beer steins and the like.
21:09 — Skaya moves it according to the scuff marks to see what's beneath it.
21:10 <•Kotono> Just normal dirt, like the rest of the floor. However, the lantern light plus your own good vision lets you notice the dirt's recently been moved, as if someone dug there. Sanda kneels, "Signs of digging," she remarks, "I know what it looks like, I work with lots of herbs."
21:12 <Skaya> "Oh yes," Skaya agrees, trying to recall what buildings surround the Salty Skies. Maybe it's a bigger robbery plot!
21:14 <•Kotono> There's another tavern, a bakery and a shop that specializes in hunting equipment (bows, arrows, tracking materials, sturdy clothes and so on).
21:15 <•Kotono> Sanda withdraws a little spade from within her clothes and starts to dig, "It's possible, statistically speaking, that something was hidden here."
21:15 <•Kotono> Meanwhile the owner stays back and out of it, letting the two of you work.
21:16 <Skaya> "This is stranger than I expected," Skaya admits. "I agree, we should dig it up." For the owner's sake, she adds, "Would be nasty if someone with ill will left a little present here. Anyone like that come to mind, by the way?"
21:19 <•Kotono> "Not that I can think of," He says, "Nothing remotely like that."
21:20 <•Kotono> Meanwhile Sanda digs away and finds...nothing. Nothing at all. She frowns before, "So if nothing's here, then either nothing's here, or he's searching for something buried here and is guessing, or he's doing it for some other reason entirely."
21:20 <•Kotono> The owner's eyes narrowing, "Digging for something? I got this place five years ago, it's been owned by a few other people before, in case it means anything."
21:21 <Skaya> "Who owned it before? And was it always a tavern?" Skaya inquires at that.
21:22 <•Kotono> "An old man, Winters Smith," He answers, "Died and I bought it cheap, and it was a tavern. Rougher than it is now, I think, but the old man bought it new in the rebuilding."
21:26 <Skaya> "Who did you buy it from?" Skaya asks curiously. "Was there a next of kin? Did they tell you anything about the previous owner?"
21:29 <•Kotono> "No, he died without family, war widow and his sons died in the war," Is the answer, "Had money after the war, so he was rich before it or he got rich in the war." A scowl, "Black market profiteer, probably."
21:29 <•Kotono> "Distasteful," Sanda murmurs at that, as...
21:29 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+4
21:29 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+4 --> [ 1d20=20 ]{24}
21:30 <•Kotono> ...Sanda frowns. "Curious and strange. Statistically speaking, that would make sense, but...It may be we're only brushing the edges of a far more dangerous story. Enough dirt blocks detect magic unfortunately, so any searching would need to be done the hard way."
21:34 — Skaya hums to herself. "We could try to arrange for an ambush, but who knows how long it will take? And if our presence gets leaked out, it could fail. Or we could dig up the ground here properly tonight. I'm fairly confident in my digging skills."
21:35 <•Kotono> "As am I, particularly because something just tried to whisper intrusive thoughts in to my mind," Sanda notes, "I discerned them, but it wanted me very much to start digging down ehre. Logically speaking, it has to be a magical item then, hence my observation about detect magic rather than non magical treasure or something else."
21:39 <Skaya> "Let's continue this discussion outside," Skaya immediately says.
21:41 <•Kotono> The owner is already moving, nearly running as you're plunged into darkness. Sanda looks unbothered, "I suppose that makes logical sense," she says, slowly following.
21:44 — Skaya takes Sanda's hand, unbothered by the darkness. Leading her outside is child's play, and once the basement had been locked once more, she asks her, "So it was a magical influence? A compulsion?"
21:45 <•Kotono> "A compulsion, but it was not difficult for me to overcome. Logically, our culprit must be remarkably weak willed." A sniff, "I doubt eithe rof us are in any real danger."
21:47 — Skaya blinks. "A triggered compulsion would be ridiculously difficult, so you mean someone actually cast it on you? While we were in the basement? And we never noticed? Don't most of the basic spells along those lines require a direct line of sight?"
21:49 <•Kotono> "Now that you mention it, yes," she says, "But I'm certain no one was there. Some sort of cursed item, perhaps?"
21:51 <Skaya> "I never saw anyone either," Skaya agrees. "Though if you checked with Detect Magic and didn't see anything, it would mean the packed dirt is blocking it. But would a compulsion go past enough dirt to block a basic detection spell?"
21:54 <•Kotono> "Normally not," Sanda says, "Logically, if itis something, it's abnormal. Which means it's likely valuable if isn't just a cursed mess." She smiles slightly, "We may make more money out of this than I expected."
21:55 <Skaya> "Seems likely! So what do you think, wait till tomorrow, have you memorize the mental protection spells and once we're warded against evil, we'll try to dig up the ground properly?"
21:59 <•Kotono> "I suppose if your'e worried that your will isn't strong enough," Sanda says, "But statistically speaking I'm not that worried if we dig it up tonight."
22:00 <Skaya> "Why risk it? If it's an item that can keep on trying to seize your will, one absent moment is all it needs from you."
22:02 <•Kotono> "Very well," Sanda says, as...OOC: We'll cover that next time, as pausing time looms.
22:02 <Skaya> OOC: Ok

[Corwin]

19:01 <•Kotono> OOC: What's your play then, just to refresh from the pause point.
19:03 <Skaya> OOC: Skaya will swap her SLA for Protection from Evil, and ask Sanda to load up on them as well. Then, we'll ask the owner to barricade the door and return in the morning to dig in the basement.
19:06 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
19:06 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=60 ]{60}
19:07 <•Kotono> The night passes and preparations are done. It's a gray morning, overcast and promising storms soon enough. The summer heat turns humid, sticking to all of you with humidity's wrath. Sanda wears a light, summery dress and sandals. "I'm quite prepared, whenever you are."
19:10 <Skaya> "Glad to hear it! How many of the spells can you cast?"
19:14 <•Kotono> "I prepared four," Sanda answers, reaching up to adjust her hair.
19:19 <Skaya> "Let's try this. I'm going to dig and you're going to stay by the door and look over me," Skaya proposes. "We'll keep talking, so you should figure out if I'm affected with the urge to dig. Just hit me with a spell, then, and we'll wait it out to see if it's short-term control or something nastier. If I'm immediately back under that control once the spell fades out, we'll just have to run away for the time being.
19:19 <Skaya> Hit me again with the magic, and we'll seek out specialized help."
19:23 <•Kotono> "Statistically...hm. Alright," Sanda says, "Dig away, it's still not a powerful compulsion."
19:24 <Skaya> "There's an element of luck I quite dislike in such things," Skaya mutters, nevertheless deciding to first move the barrels out of the way towards the corners of the room. If there are scuff marks beneath them too, it would let her know if the digging was concentrated to that spot beneath the box of glasses or not.
19:27 <•Kotono> You find three other places have been dug under, just like under the barrel.
19:30 <Skaya> "Right, so let's just try digging elsewhere for now," Skaya decides, before picking a spot. Her aim is to dig enough to remove 3 feet of dirt from the ground. It's unfortunate that she'll be dirtying the premises, but that much should let Sanda glance over everywhere with Detect Magic. If someone buried an artifact here and wanted to hide from magical sight, they would probably do that much to hide it.
19:31 <•Kotono> OOC: There's a flat amount of luck invovled in this, so give me a d100.
19:31 <Skaya> roll 1d100
19:31 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=8 ]{8}
19:31 <•Kotono> You're only a few minutes in, only needing the spell refreshed once when CLINK. Your shovel hits something solid as it digs, something metallic sounding.
19:32 — Skaya clears the dirt around it, while asking Sanda, "Does this have the feel of magic to you?"
19:34 <•Kotono> "Nothing," she says, as you dig up a small metal lockbox. It's locked, a lock built into the box itself. "But if something's inside of it, the metal may be enough to block divinations. Statistically speaking, it's more likely than not the case, by about 75% to 25% at a minimum."
19:35 — Skaya checks it for any traps, but if none are there, then she'll try to open it!
19:39 <•Kotono> OOC:Perception.
19:40 <Skaya> OOC: I'll take 10 and use inspiration for 20
19:40 <•Kotono> No trap sthat you can find, but it's firmly locked.
19:40 <Skaya> OOC: Same for disable device, 10 for 21
19:42 <•Kotono> No good. It's quite a high quality lock, not just a typical low quality one. Someone spent some serious money on t his box.
19:42 <Skaya> "Huh. That's a good lock."
19:49 <•Kotono> You see Sanda peer at it, "High quality," she agrees, "The odds are against anyone but a talented lockpicker being able to undo it. The box will be worth some money if it can be opened without destroying the lock."
19:52 <Skaya> "Let's try to do what we can, first," Skaya muses, putting the box into her haversack. It's not quite clear if there's anything in the box that can affect someone's mind, or what defenses would prevent that, but surely dimensional storage would work?
19:52 <Skaya> OOC: If I got masterwork thieves's tools, could I try again?
19:55 <•Kotono> OOC: Yes, you can try again.
19:56 <•Kotono> The box is put into the haversack. Now what?
19:59 <Skaya> There are proper tools for every occasion, and some of them are for the time-honored practice of opening locks! Once Skaya has secured a quality set of them, she will invite Sanda to her inn and after getting some food and drink delivered to her room she'll just keep working at it. If the lock is an amazing, one of a kind lock, then she's out of luck. But if it's just very good quality, perhaps she could figure out the mechanism.
19:59 <Skaya> OOC: If I can basically take 20 and have her assist, then along with the masterwork tools I should be able to pass DC31 (7+2+2+20). Would that be enough?
20:01 <•Kotono> It takes some time to get it right - it really is a high quality lock. But after enough time you get a loud POP and the lock is undone.
20:02 <Skaya> "It's true what they say, quantity is a quality of its own!" Skaya cheers. "Do you mind wasting one of the protection spells on me now? If we stick together, the short range should cover both of us."
20:08 <•Kotono> It's done, just like that,the spell cast. "Protection from evil lacks any radius like that, unfortunately."
20:10 — Skaya opens the box and takes a look inside!
20:11 <•Kotono> Inside is a gold ring. It wobbles and wiggles visibly, the air around it distorting. Yet your mind stays mercifully clear. "Oh goodness, it's magical but I'd need to study it properly," Sanda says, "But I'm about 95% certain it's cursed."
20:13 <Skaya> "How strong does the magical aura feel?" Skaya asks curiously.
20:15 <•Kotono> "Strong," Sanda says, "Quite powerful at a minimum."
20:16 <Skaya> Nodding, Skaya closes the box again and drops it in her haversack.
20:19 <•Kotono> So you have it in your haversack again. Now what's the play?
20:21 — Skaya hums. "Well, it's probably the thing our robbers were after. I still want to dig up the rest of the ground just in case for completeness's sake, but I bet this is it. However, we haven't actually resolved the request. This is kind of putting the wagon before the horse, huh?"
20:24 → •Nephrite (opped) joined  ⇐ Iddy quit 
20:26 <•Kotono> "We cut off the problem though," In thought to herself, Sanda says, "That's a good point, but if we solve this?"
20:31 <Skaya> "It would be a pain if someone came after us next, or after the owner," Skaya voices. "Not to mention dangerous, if they're callous enough. So how about we have the owner put some version of events out there, to his customers? As for the story, what if he says that the people he hired found someone's been digging in his basement and discovered traces of magic, so they stopped and went to look for magical protections?"
20:31 <Skaya> With a shrug, she says, "If he explains that they'll be returning the next morning, even if they think it sounds suspicious they might still come, because waiting means losing on everything. And if they don't come, we just publicly show up the next morning and announce how we've retrieved the item. That should keep the owner safe, at least.
20:31 <Skaya> If they do bite, then as long as we spend the night there waiting in the basement, we could get them as they break in."
20:34 <•Kotono> "Bait them out and barring that,let them know the search here is fruitless," Sanda considers, "That is a good plan."
20:35 <Skaya> "I considered just waiting for them before, but since we had no idea when it would happen I didn't want to waste a week and sleep uncomfortably on the dirt floor. But now we have a shot, since we've showed up quite openly. So how about it? Want to go tell the owner about this, and then we'll meet once it gets dark and stake out the inn?"
20:45 <•Kotono> "I'm fine with it, since it has the bet odds of success," Sanda agrees, after a moment's thought. "Yes, the best odds by the math I'm doing."
20:46 <Skaya> "Let's hope for the best, then!" Since it's still morning, she can stop by work for a bit, and then meet up with Sanda by the inn come evening and try to catch the would-be robbers.
20:47 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:47 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=11 ]{11}
20:47 <•Kotono> OOC: One moment.
20:57 <•Kotono> Work is busy but passes well enough - after all, you are on a mission right now. Come evening the storms are past and the coolness of a summer evening after train lingers in the air. How are you going to settle in exactly?
21:00 — Skaya decides to stay in the basement with Sanda. Since she has darkvision, they won't need any light. So long as the owner locks them in and goes to sleep, they could just wait and see if someone comes after them. Not as exciting as staking out the building, but they don't really have the manpower for that with just the two of them, nor is Sanda actually trained for this sort of thing.
21:07 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
21:07 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=30 ]{30}
21:07 <•Kotono> OOC: Perception.
21:09 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6
21:09 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6 --> [ 1d20=14 ]{20}
21:13 <•Kotono> It's in the small hours of the night that you two wait when you hear the door to the basement opening. Slowly and carefully, but you hear it.
21:17 <Skaya> Luck is with them! Skaya uses the prearranged sign of tapping Sanda's shoulder thrice and then prepares her ambush. They're partially hidden by the barrels, so once the robber or robbers step in Skaya will take them down!
21:21 <•Kotono> The figure that enters is a man. Fairly normal looking, if on the slender side. He's wearing good clothes, if unadorned and simple. Dark hair and a knife in one hand, gaze already darting around the room.
21:21 <Skaya> It's ambushing time!
21:22 <Skaya> OOC: Going to charge and smack him
21:24 <•Kotono> OOC: Go for it.
21:25 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6+2+4 charge, inspiration, stunning fist Fort DC15
21:25 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6+2+4 charge, inspiration, stunning fist Fort DC15 --> [ 1d20=16 ]{28}
21:25 <Skaya> roll 1d6+3
21:25 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d6+3 --> [ 1d6=2 ]{5}
21:30 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+4
21:30 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+4 --> [ 1d20=11 ]{15}
21:30 <•Kotono> OOC: We'll pause beofre we get into this combat. IT's a little early but Saturday stuff. You hit but he just made the DC to resist stunning fist, so Thursday we'll pick up with Sanda's surprise round action then deal with init.

[Corwin]

19:15 <•Kotono> A direct hit, right in the stomach. You stagger the man a moment, a loud oomph of air escaping his lungs. In that moment Sanda chants and a wobbling, noisy orb flies out, a strange sound of echoing reverb in the room.
19:15 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+3 touch
19:15 <•Kotono> OOC: Sec for bot.
19:16 → Kobot joined (~dunefar@lunarnet-82C188CE.hr.hr.cox.net)
19:16 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+3 touch
19:16 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+3 touch --> [ 1d20=17 ]{20}
19:16 <•Kotono> roll 2d6
19:16 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 2d6 --> [ 2d6=5 ]{5}
19:17 <•Kotono> That hits the man in the arm, a paind cry amid the strange noise that echos in the basement as...-! OOC: Init.
19:17 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6
19:17 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6 --> [ 1d20=2 ]{8}
19:17 <•Kotono> roll 1d20 Sanda
19:17 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20 Sanda --> [ 1d20=7 ]{7}
19:17 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+5 knife wielding man
19:17 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+5 knife wielding man --> [ 1d20=4 ]{9}
19:18 <•Kotono> Init is Knife-Wielding Man (9) > Skaya (8) > Sanda (7)
19:19 <•Kotono> Before any of you can react further, the man cries out in pain and grunts out, "You won't have it!" he cries, before stabbing out at Skaya.
19:19 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+5
19:19 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+5 --> [ 1d20=18 ]{23}
19:19 <•Kotono> OOC: AC?
19:19 <Skaya> OOC: 16
19:20 <•Kotono> roll 1d4+2 and Fort, Skaya. Poison in case you have any modifiers or immunities.
19:20 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d4+2 and Fort, Skaya. Poison in case you have any modifiers or immunities. --> [ 1d4=2 ]{4}
19:20 <Skaya> roll 1d20+5+4 cunning insight
19:20 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+5+4 cunning insight --> [ 1d20=16 ]{25}
19:21 <•Kotono> OOC: HP after that? Add it o #elysium topic.
19:22 <Skaya> OOC: 19
19:23 <•Kotono> A stab that gets Skaya in the meat of her left thigh. It burns terribly but when it's pulled out, the bleeding isn't excessive. Then with a battlecry Skaya darts out from cover, racing at the man and swinging her staff with a loud battlecry.
19:23 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+3
19:23 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+3 --> [ 1d20=20 ]{23}
19:23 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+3 crit?
19:23 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+3 crit? --> [ 1d20=2 ]{5}
19:23 <•Kotono> roll 1d8+1
19:23 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d8+1 --> [ 1d8=2 ]{3}
19:24 <Skaya> OOC: That's Sanda! And she should go after me, but let me just follow her now.
19:24 <•Kotono> OOC: Sorry, had a stupid.  I figured that was coming. Still, hard to argue with a natural 20.
19:25 <Skaya> Since Sanda insists on fighting in melee, Skaya shifts to flank with her and strikes out at this impudent robber!
19:25 <•Kotono> With a heavy blow to the man's head, he collapses in a heap. His knife falls from his grasp, blood trickling from the side of his head where Sanda smacked him. She pauses at this, "Perhaps, statistically speaking, I should look into weapon lessons?" OOC: Free act.
19:26 <Skaya> "You know..." Skaya starts to say, raising a finger before shrugging. "Sure, let's look into it? Mage knights are amazing!"
19:26 <Skaya> She takes the time to grab the man's weapon, wrapping it in cloth to avoid the poison, and checks him for more weapons. Then, she does her best to ensure he doesn't expire before facing justice.
19:29 <•Kotono> He has another knife tucked into his boot, a little modification for a sheathe there. He also has a coinpouch and a little bit of cloth wrapped bread and sliced fruit.
19:30 <•Kotono> OOC: HEal check if you're trying to stabilize him. If you're going to keep trying until he dies or stabilizies, give me five in a row and we'll reassess from there.
19:31 <Skaya> OOC: Taking 10 on Heal with inspiration, so that's 16. Should be enough to stabilize?
19:32 <•Kotono> It takes some bandaging and checking of his head - you suspect internal injuries - but he's stable for the moment.
19:32 — Skaya takes the weapons, and merely checks the coin purse for any documents. She's not robbing this man. After, she makes sure to tie his hands and feet securely. It's a skill, she knows a smidgeon of most of them.
19:33 <•Kotono> No documents, just a mix of copper and silver coins. OOC: Ah, the most dreaded skill of all. Terrifying.
19:33 <•Kotono> Meanwhile Sanda dusts herself off, "I'll consider that," she agrees, "Maybe I have unrealized talent despite my lack of strength?"
19:34 <Skaya> "There are many ways to fight," Skaya agrees. "Some include brute strength, that being the direct approach. Some are about flexibility. And others are all about proper planning, so it should be doable." She nudges the injured but stable man with her foot. "Want to give this man to the authorities? Or to call the owner and have him take it from here? We fulfilled the request, after all."
19:35 <•Kotono> "Let the owner call the guard, we did our job," Sanda remarks, eyeing him, "Statistically speaking, the guard is a waste of time once danger has passed."
19:37 <Skaya> "If you judge by the merits of stopping a crime in progress just in time, you would be right. But what about preemptive crime prevention? Or about handling the boring bureaucratic job of keeping criminals away from law-abiding citizens?"
19:41 <•Kotono> "A waste of time for civilians," Sanda counters, "Not that their job is worthless."
19:43 <Skaya> "If it's a waste of time for ordinary people to be doing this, but the job itself is important, then having the guard around for it makes sense. I don't know about statistics here, though," Skaya admits. "Want to call the owner while I'll bring this guy up?"
19:51 <•Kotono> That's easily enough done. The owner looks him over, "That's the thief?" He asks, "Got all trussed up like a pig! Great work!"
19:53 <Skaya> "He's pretty badly injured, but there's no threat to his life for now, at least," Skaya responds. "And he's definitely the culprit. Not only did he fall for our trap and break in, but he admitted in his own words that he wouldn't let us have it, whatever it is. Now, if the guards were to question him about his accomplices, this would be wrapped up perfectly."
19:54 <•Kotono> "
19:54 <•Kotono> "They will," The owner promises, "Are you going to stay for that?"
19:55 — Skaya glances over at Sanda. It doesn't really matter to her that much, but she's as curious as any lover of mystery.
19:57 <•Kotono> "You can if you want," Sanda says, "I have no intentions of it."
19:58 <Skaya> "I'll keep watch on things for you, then," Skaya tells the owner. She smiles at Sanda, asking, "See you tomorrow at the Guild?"
20:01 <•Kotono> With that Sanda goes off and...OOC: Going to watch things and then get in on the interrogation or...?
20:02 <Skaya> OOC: I'm fine with just observing how they do things around here and hearing the results, no need to interact here
20:03 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+1
20:03 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+1 --> [ 1d20=10 ]{11}
20:03 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+1 opposed
20:03 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+1 opposed --> [ 1d20=19 ]{20}
20:04 <•Kotono> It's fairly simple. The guard drags him off to their watchhouse and puts him in a cell. After a healer tends to him further, they slap him awake and demand answers. However, he resists briefly before passing out - nothing but incoherent defiance.
20:05 <Skaya> Well then. Good to know the guards are incompetent. She'll know better in the future!
20:07 <•Kotono> OOC: Anything else there or going to go rest/move on?
20:07 <Skaya> OOC: Clean and bandage my wound, then rest and move on, yes.
20:16 <•Kotono> The next day rises blazingly hot. Not a cloud in the sky and summer's heat in full wrath. It's hot enough that people slow down - the guild hall isn't as packed as usual. One of the aides, Aliee, wipes her brow and turns to you in a lull. "So hot," she says, "Hopefully this only lasts for the day."
20:17 <Skaya> "This is where magic would be so useful," Skaya responds with a sigh. "Comfortable temperature on demand."
20:23 <•Kotono> A rather red faced woman to begin with, Aliee makes a show of fanning herself and her long brown hair. "So useful," she groans, "Maybe that mage friend of yours can help. It's just so hot!"
20:27 <Skaya> "I can ask when she stops by," Skaya promises. "Has Guild Master returned already?" It all depends on how far away the attack took place, and whether he decided to investigate further or not, so she couldn't make an educated guess herself.
20:29 <•Kotono> "Not yet," she says, as fortune is with you. You see Sanda coming in, wearing a light, summery dress and looking fresh as a daisy. Not a single droplet of sweat, a straw hat going along with her dress and sandals. Several eyes take her in and Aliee murmurs, "Look at her! She's not sweating! That's not fair! That's like Tempus never knowing a casualty of war!"
20:29 — Skaya waves Sanda over!
20:39 <•Kotono> Sanda comes over, a content smile on her face even as she gets envious stares by the bucklet load. "Good morning, Skaya," she greets, "Statistically, it's quite the unusually hot day, isn't it?"
20:40 <Skaya> "Well, it's summer," Skaya returns. "Good morning! Are you using amazing magic to stay cool?"
20:43 <•Kotono> "Of course," Sanda answers, "Logically, it's the only sensible solution here. I can't imagine going otherwise."
20:44 <•Kotono> Aliee's glare is poisonous as she fixes a smile on her face, "It must be hard being so gifted."
20:44 <Skaya> "Can you share the magical wealth? I'll pay you if it holds for the entire work day!"
20:45 <•Kotono> Without missing a beat, "No, not particularly, but I can see how it would be to someone like you." Sanda responds. Then to you as she ignores Aliee and the venom sent her way, "I suppose, I do have a back up memorized just in case."
20:47 <Skaya> "Nice! How does my half of the reward from the Salty Skies owner sound like?"
20:55 <•Kotono> "That sounds even better," Is Sanda's answer, "I can live with that."
20:56 <Skaya> "Then go for it! I'll handle the paperwork in the meantime."
20:57 <•Kotono> Relief. Pure relief after a bit of magic, as it's no longer so miserable. A happy sigh as the reward is collected by Sanda, who then says, "Now, can I put in a request for someone to give me some training and assess my talent level in combat?"
20:58 <Skaya> "I'd be happy to take that job," Skaya offers to her.
21:03 <•Kotono> "That's good," Sanda agrees, "Shall we then?"
21:04 <Skaya> "We shall indeed!"
21:09 <•Kotono> OOC: Any particular plans to assess her?
21:11 — Skaya will do a series of trials to test Sanda's strength and endurance. Even though her injured leg won't allow her to test for agility properly, manual dexterity would be a good substitute. After understanding her physical conditioning, testing various weapon types to see which ones might work best for Sanda would follow!
21:12 <Skaya> OOC: So get a baseline of her stats, figure out her classes, suggest classes that could expand her list of weapon options and skills while merging arcane magic and melee combat. Give her an honest recommendation and see if she likes it.
21:14 <•Kotono> OOC: Give me an int check, I suppose. Not huge but want something to split ties.
21:15 <Skaya> roll 1d20+4
21:15 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+4 --> [ 1d20=14 ]{18}
21:21 <•Kotono> She's a little stronger than average, but only a little. Her speed and endurance are naturally poor. She has no makings of a warrior - except she learns fast and has all the right instincts. Better than you've seen before. She's a natural without the bodily talents to support it.
21:31 — Skaya taps her lips in thought, before telling Sanda, "Looks like you're covered on the arcane side, so it depends on what role you wish to have in battle at this point. A duskblade covers the melee route and will build up your strength and your melee skills. Your process will be a bit slower, but your magical expertise will be able to cover that gap, and provide much needed versatility."
21:31 <Skaya> She mulls it over a bit more, adding, "A warmage relies on the same analysis, but instead powers up your spells. From what I've read, they would be absolutely crushing any opposition, and if you were to summon a magical sword, you could be a powerful opponent. Either option would also keep you better protected in a fight. Of course, if you were to follow my own path then you could turn your entire body into a weapon and be ready
21:31 <Skaya> to fight in more situations."
21:33 <•Kotono> "Hmmmm." Sanda pauses to have water afterwards, the training ground quiet due to the heat, few braving it. "Logically, you've put in a good show for you rown talent pool."
21:35 <Skaya> "All four options would be great, either as a true career or a solid basis to propel you towards true arcane swordswoman specialization. Ah, I use the sword as a basic example, but any weapon works here, really. In any case, I could provide some training to get you started if you so wish, or locate another trainer if you'd prefer that. It's all up to you!"
21:40 <•Kotono> "I'd be willing to hire you," Sanda agrees, "It makes the most sense and I know you know how to fight."
21:41 <Skaya> "Sounds good to me. I think we work well together. If nothing else, statistics bear that out~"
21:45 <•Kotono> "Now then, how much do yo ucharge?" Sanda continues, "We can work out a reasonable rate."
21:50 <Skaya> True enough. It's one thing to help a friend for free, and she's doing this consult because she wants to be Sanda's friend. But she really can't work for free, it would send the wrong message. A spell cast on demand would go for something like 10 gold coins, won't it? While Sanda used half that to hire someone to guard her a couple of evenings. So in that case... "How about five gold for a day's training?" she suggests.
21:51 → •Nephrite (opped) joined 
21:53 <•Kotono> "Hmmm...hmmmm...expensive," she decides, "Very expensive. But I think it's reasonable for now," she decides, "I can afford it for a time."
21:58 <Skaya> OOC: I think it's good there
21:58 <•Kotono> OOC: Okay then, it's right at pausing time so we'lls tart with something fresh tomorrow, this was mostly the climax and wrapup.

[Corwin]

19:08 <•Kotono> It's the next morning that you arrive early by chance - the heat is lessened thankfully, a cloudier morning that suggests afternoon storms - and you find someone waiting for you. Rina Delaine is there, head bandaged and leaning against the reception desk. She looks up when you enter and calls, "Skaya, over here!"
19:09 <Skaya> "Good morning!" Skaya greets her brightly, coming over at her beckoning.
19:09 <•Kotono> Rina stays leaning against the desk, Darie shooting you a sympathetic smile as she prepares for the opening rush. "You gave me  potion, right? It means I owe you one."
19:11 <Skaya> "Okay," Skaya agrees. She intended to charge the guild as a running expense and receive reimbursement, but with the guild master away on an urgent investigation there was no time to broach the subject yet.
19:14 <•Kotono> "Which means once I heal up, Regis and I will be looking for more missions. I hear you've done some yourself." After a moment, "Want to try teaming up for one?"
19:15 <Skaya> "We can do that. Is there anything in particular that caught your interest?"
19:18 <•Kotono> "Not yet, we'll see what's available once I'm back in fighting shape," Rina smiles at your answer, all sharp angles and edges. "Something to shake off the rust from a healing rest."
19:19 <Skaya> "That's fine! I prefer missions that don't take me away from town for too long, so please keep that in mind."
19:21 <•Kotono> "No big travelers," Rina slowly gets up off the desk, a slight grimace. "Got it. Get you some real experience out there, girl."
19:22 — Skaya gives her a thumbs up and a bright smile!
19:24 <•Kotono> With that she goes and your day begins, which...
19:24 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
19:24 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=7 ]{7}
19:27 <•Kotono> Is mostly busy and quiet. Nothing unusual there. It's nearing sunset when you're wrapping up for the day. It's then that you hear the gulid doors open and look over, as you do so many times a day. Picke has returned, Milla besides him. You see Milla is notably pale, but walks upright and with vigor. Eyes turn to him - mostly adventurers turning in requests at the end of the day or receptionists
19:27 <•Kotono> - and he says, "No need to be alarmed. Whatever that thing was, it's dead."
19:29 <Skaya> So a chimera, by the sounds of it? "Welcome back, Guild Master!" she greets them, before bringing over some chilled water to Picke and Milla.
19:33 <•Kotono> Cheers at that from many, cries of congratulations and relief. Picke takes the water while Milla shakes her head. After drinking down deeply, "Thank you, Skaya. I'll put out a notice about it tomorrow, but in case any of you run into another one of them? There's more than stinking clouds if you kill one. Poison and not a weak one. Milla got exposed and she's still recovering." A glance at his
19:33 <•Kotono> daughter, who merely looks on and nods slightly. "It was so bad we had to burn the corpse.  Spread the word about it and to treat one as a top tier threat."
19:34 <•Kotono> "I'll see to it," Milla murmurs to Picke at that and then heads on back, walking quickly.
19:34 <Skaya> "I'll help," Skaya promises, concealing a wince. That sounds pretty out of her league.
19:35 <•Kotono> Picke just nods, and you head back with Milla. Once out of the outer lobby and with privacy, "Thank you," Milla begins, voice tight, "But I can handle this myself."
19:37 <Skaya> "If you honestly don't want the help, I'll step back. But where's the harm in letting me pitch in?"
19:40 <•Kotono> "It's just a report, two people writing it doesn't make it any easier," Milla retorts, taking a short, shallow breath. "I can write one in my sleep."
19:41 <Skaya> "Okay then," Skaya relents. "Please allow me to congratulate you on your victorious return."
19:41 — Skaya decides to let it go and return to the main hall.
19:42 <•Kotono> A smile flashes across her face, "Thank you." she says, and quickly hurries off, at far more than a sedate walk. You return and find Picke still there, chatting with Aliee. She looks on with open adoration as he explains, "...and then Milla had to leap up and away, because it had stinging thorns fly out of it somehow. Whatever mage made this was far too talented."
19:45 <Skaya> "How intelligent was that thing?" Skaya asks curiously, rejoining the group.
19:49 <•Kotono> "Smarter than a dog, not as smart as a person," Picke says, "Something like that. Smart enough to aim for vitals too, and with skill beyond that of a monster. Smart enough to use its stinking clouds, or whatever that was since it didn't quite match the spell I know, to try and box us in to gain an advantage."
19:50 <•Kotono> Aliee sighs at that, "Still, I know that would be no match for you, sir!"
19:50 <Skaya> "It sounds like an incredible battle," Skaya agrees.
19:52 <•Kotono> "Would've been better if Milla didn't get poisoned," Picke says, a scowl coming to his face, "I'd suggest a single warrior to keep it busy and a backline of mages and archers to dispatch it safely. Spread them out so it can't get all of them with its stinking clouds, which it was able to conjure at a distance."
19:52 <•Kotono> "Oh...oh...not like I'd do anything but run if I saw one, of course," Aliee admits with a blush, a hand to her chest.
19:53 <•Kotono> "Yeah, but wasn't talking to you," Picke says with a grin at her, "Skaya here's the type to get in trouble and fight one. Figured she came to the same conclusion if she's asking smart questions about it."
19:54 <•Kotono> Aliee blushes deeply as a few nearby people listening in laugh at that, "Ah, sorry, sir, "Aliee ducks her head at that.
19:54 <Skaya> "Using mages to blow the clouds away could work," Skaya mutters to herself, before glancing up. "Ah, I'd prefer to abstain. Let's just catch the mage that made it!"
19:55 <•Kotono> "Which means you eavesdroppers better be paying attention to that, too," Picke raises his voice, "These things are strong enough to end up with most of you dead." Then back to Skaya, "Even smarter, going to be busy with that for awhile. Speaking of, if any of you get good leads on that, there will be a request on the board for more information. Come to me directly."
19:58 <Skaya> "Ah, Guild Master, this talk of mages made of think of something. What would be the best options in town to approach about dealing with a curse on a magical artifact?"
20:00 <•Kotono> With a cocky grin, "Put in a request for it along with information on whatever you have," Picke answers, "Or talk to Milla or myself if you think it's too dangerous for that."
20:01 <•Kotono> A few eyes turn to you at that, Aliee side eyeing you herself. "A curse? Like something that turns a princess into a goblin?"
20:01 <•Kotono> "Could've used one of those awhile back," You hear one voice mutter, getting some murmurs of agreement with that.
20:02 <Skaya> "Wow, that's such a horrible curse. I don't think I could fight a goblin in the future."
20:08 <•Kotono> With a chuckle Picke shakes his head and turns to go, "Good work today, but it's about closing time. Go ahead and finish up so you all can go get some rest."
20:11 <Skaya> As she goes about this, Skaya wonders if maybe she can just put up a notice after all. But do they even have mages capable of breaking curses?
20:12 <•Kotono> You recall some like that, yes. It mostly goes through a few sources, but it is the sort of thing that's needed from time to time. As you do...OOC: Okay, you have several opportunities and things you might want to do. Go ahead and lay them out for me? This can be your first chance to do what you want if there's something you want to investigate, poke in to or just mess around with.
20:13 <Skaya> OOC: It might be the best time to look into decursing the One Ring. Let's get together with Sanda and talk about it!
20:16 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:16 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=91 ]{91}
20:17 <•Kotono> It's not too hard to get an afternoon meeting with Sanda. The storms are here, rumbling outside and with the downpour of rain heard. You're in the back of her shop - a nice little apartment, cozy and with all sorts of plants and potted herbs growing. Sanda sits with you at a wooden table, "So you're ready to look into decursing that ring?" OOC: Go ahead.
20:20 <Skaya> "Yep. I asked the Guild Master about it, but there's no real promising lead. Unless you get very lucky, it would take you months of study at the very least to be able to try your hand at removing the curse yourself, right? So, we could post a notice about it and hope for the best. Or we could try to approach Miss Cerine instead. What do you think?"
20:24 <•Kotono> "Hm." A single noise before, "Or, we could get a scroll of a spell that can remove a curse and I could use that scroll," Sanda suggests, "That's also an option, isn't it?"
20:26 <Skaya> "Of course. I didn't mean to imply we were limited to those choices. But a scroll as strong as a person, magically, is both rare and far more expensive than hiring them to cast a spell. And it's always nice to make more friends!"
20:30 <•Kotono> A little hm at that before, "You favor hiring someone then?"
20:32 <Skaya> "It depends on the price but yes. I'd like to at least get an estimate, and given all the rumors, perhaps Miss Cerine will offer a trade? I wouldn't mind having an exciting adventure in lie of paying!"
20:41 <•Kotono> "She's rather...testy, I understand," Sanda says in thought, "We'd need to approach her properly as well. Then again, if I were so hurt to be called the Half Woman, I'd statistically have far more unpleasant encounters than pleasant."
20:42 <Skaya> "Wouldn't it be fine if we're polite? There's no reason to use nicknames like that, especially for people stronger than us."
20:58 <•Kotono> "I suppose, but I've heard stories," Sanda answers, "I would think that we would be fine, statistically speaking."
21:00 <Skaya> "If you know anything aside for rumors for why this is a bad idea, we won't do it."
21:04 <•Kotono> "Nothing but stories," Sanda says after thinking a moment, "Rumors, really."
21:04 <Skaya> "Then let's do it! But very, very politely!"
21:06 <•Kotono> A nod at that as...OOC: Any particular plan on how to make contact? Just a quick check before I move you along.
21:07 <Skaya> OOC: We'll approach Merchant's Interests and inquire about contacting Cerine there. She was the former leader, after all.
21:08 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
21:08 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=4 ]{4}
21:08 <•Kotono> OOC: Gimme a quick Charisma check? +1 circumstance bonus.
21:14 <Skaya> roll 1d20+4
21:14 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+4 --> [ 1d20=12 ]{16}
21:18 <•Kotono> It's not too hard to get a recommendation to go visit her estate - just a bit of talking and smiling. You're soon enough there - a large estate surrounded by other estates in the far eastern part of Mellanics. It's quiet out front, save for a single man checking a row of bushes near the house.
21:19 <Skaya> "Hello!" Skaya greets him as she heads towards the house with Sanda.
21:22 <•Kotono> The man turns - older and with a limp. A bit on the larger side, wearing dirtied, plain clothes. "Are you here for Miss Cerine?" he asks.
21:23 <Skaya> "We are indeed here for an audience," Skaya agrees.
21:26 <•Kotono> "Go around the back," Is the instruction, "Miss Cerine is there."
21:26 <Skaya> "Thank you," Skaya responds, following after it.
21:32 <•Kotono> The back is far different - an open garden. Row of trees and flowers form paths, all curving around the center, where a large, man-made lake sits. One that has water burble up and form natural fountains. The waters are more than deep enough to swim in, a clear crystal blue color that shines under the sunlight. Standing by that pool is a woman in plain skirt and blouse. Nothing interesting there,
21:32 <•Kotono> but she turns as yo uapproach. The left side of her face is red and black, some sort of burn or acid damage dominating, though the eye is intact. Her blonde hair is gone save for a stubble, leaving her practically bald. Her left arm is gone, replaced by a wood arm that moves just like the real thing, yet with a strange rippling that makes it hard to watch, as if the wood itself moves like
21:32 <•Kotono> muscles can. She leans heavily on a cane, as her right leg is the same wood as her left arm. Both legs are deeply scarred and torn, angry red dominating. She simply lets the two of you approach, eyes on the both of you.
21:34 <•Kotono> Sanda is silent behind you, save for the soft intake of breath when she first lays eyes on Cerine.
21:37 — Skaya isn't so easily shocked, she's seen slaad. If anything, Cerine seems to have a nice temperament. "Sorry for intruding, Miss Cerine," she says in greeting. "I'm Skaya and this is my friend Sanda. We have a referral from Merchant's Interests?"
21:39 <•Kotono> Her voice belies her body - soft, encouraging, gentle. "They sent word ahead," she answers, "Young women, what is it that you require from me?"
21:41 <Skaya> "I was hoping to receive a consult regarding magic, and to commission a spell to decurse a ring. And since I'm used to doing some work at the Guild, I don't mind paying through a few missions, if that would be preferable."
21:43 <•Kotono> "One mission will suffice," Cerine answers, going forward slowly. She leads the two of you to sit by the lake, she hikes up her skirt to let her legs - real and fake - soak in the waters. "It's best not to fool with cursed items, or regrets will follow."
21:44 <•Kotono> "Statistically speaking, yes," Sanda agrees, keeping her voice down, matching Cerine. She even hikes her own dress enough to match her in soaking her legs. "Or with offers that are unusually generous, ma'am."
21:46 <Skaya> It's that gap, isn't it? Between the forbidden things, which are fun, and the danger they clearly bring. That's why she wants to do it, more than any rewards! "Since we don't know about the mission, it may not be unusually generous, merely generous in an ordinary sense," she points out to Sand with a slight grin.
21:47 <•Kotono> "It's a simple request: Shoudl you find anything that can repair my broken body, or even knowledge of such things that aren't commonly known, you will report it to me as soon as possible." Cerine requests.
21:49 <Skaya> "That is unusually generous," Skaya changes her mind right away. "Miss Cerine, aside from forging replacement limbs, may I ask what avenues you pursued tried in way of healing?"
21:59 <•Kotono> "A Regenerate spell," Cerine explains, "However, the war culled most who could cast such a spell, and any stores of those scrolls were expended. There are a few of Tempus's church who can still manage it, but that is not an option. Because of that, I've been investigating alternative options as well, thoug have not found any promising ones. The procedure to become partially golem has far too
21:59 <•Kotono> many drawbacks, for instance."
22:01 — Skaya nods slowly. Reincarnate would probably be an option as well, but it'd require a specialized skillset to cast. "Why isn't Tempus's clergy an option?"
22:04 <•Kotono> There's a pause before, "I was responsible for War Leader Morgan's death." she says before, "I don't want to go into it, it's a sad story."
22:05 <•Kotono> "War Leader...that's a very high rank in the Tempus church," Sanda remarks, "I recall the name as well."
22:06 <Skaya> "I didn't wish to dredge up painful memories," Skaya voices. "I merely wished to understand the situation. If a scroll is created and purchased through an intermediary, is that not a possible option?"
22:07 <•Kotono> "If you can find one, but I have not. Such scrolls were used up quite completely during the war, and with far less able to cast or scribe a scroll of it afterwards, it is exceedingly difficult to get one. A great deal of influence is required." Cerine explains, "Let alone the fact that a fair few are used internally, for Tempus's lot suffer the wounds of battle just as any other."
22:08 <•Kotono> "Hmmmmmm." Sanda muses, kicking her legs back and forth in the water. The splashes go about as, "Logically, I know how I can work around it, but it's hardly without expense or difficulty."
22:12 <Skaya> "That's true. Not every problem has an immediate solution," Skaya agrees with a sigh.
22:16 <•Kotono> "If you can use that to heal me, I'll reward you well," Cerine promises, "So keep your eyes open, and if you can make any plans you can come up with work..."
22:17 <Skaya> "Got it!"

[Corwin]

19:03 <•Kotono> After a moment of looking out over the waters, "So you have a cursed ring, you said?"
19:05 <Skaya> "Here it is," Skaya responds, retrieving the metal lockbox from her haversack. Since she hasn't locked it properly, opening it is a simple matter and the gold ring is revealed!
19:07 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
19:07 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=68 ]{68}
19:08 <•Kotono> roll 2d3 1 Skaya 2 Sanda 3 Cerine reroll duplicates
19:08 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 2d3 1 Skaya 2 Sanda 3 Cerine reroll duplicates --> [ 2d3=2 ]{2}
19:08 <•Kotono> roll 2#1d3
19:08 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 2#1d3 --> [ 1d3=1 ]{1}, [ 1d3=1 ]{1}
19:08 <•Kotono> roll 1d3
19:08 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d3 --> [ 1d3=3 ]{3}
19:08 <•Kotono> OOC: Wills ave.
19:08 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+10 Cerine
19:08 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+10 Cerine --> [ 1d20=16 ]{26}
19:14 → Iddy joined (uid408070@lunarnet-1BB5E9E.uxbridge.irccloud.com)
19:16 <Skaya> roll 1d20+4+4 cunning insight
19:16 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+4+4 cunning insight --> [ 1d20=2 ]{10}
19:19 <•Kotono> Your head gets foggy when you see the ring. You have a simple but strong desire to wear the ring, to hold it, to make it yours and yours alone. It's terribly important to you, you need it in your life and on your finger.
19:25 — Skaya reaches for the ring!
19:28 <•Kotono> Cerine's eyes narrow as her own hand goes out and...OOC: Dex check, opposed.
19:28 <•Kotono> roll 1d20+2
19:28 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d20+2 --> [ 1d20=4 ]{6}
19:31 <Skaya> roll 1d20+2+4
19:31 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+2+4 --> [ 1d20=17 ]{23}
19:33 <•Kotono> You're far faster! Got it! Cerine tries to grab it but you're simply much too quick for her, the ring in your hand at last.
19:34 <Skaya> With a blank smile on her face, Skaya put the ring on! It seems like it would fit her pinky, so that's where it goes.
19:40 <•Kotono> It feels nice on your finger. You feel relaxed and content, dazed. You just sit there until suddenly? Sanda's waving her hand in front of your face as full clarity returns to your mind. Cerine is standing and says, "Are you in your right mind once more?" she asks, "This magic circle spell should suppress the effects."
19:41 <Skaya> "Don't tell me. This ring is imbued with the power to make one relax?" Skaya blinks, looking down at her hands. "I haven't felt so content in ages!"
19:43 <•Kotono> "I'll know once I study it," Cerine says, holding her hand out, "Give me the ring."
19:43 <Skaya> "Oh, okay," Skaya agrees, trying to take it off.
19:43 <•Kotono> "You spent several minutes sitting there," Sanda points out, "Logically, it had to be some sort of curse."
19:44 <•Kotono> The ring comes right off. You hand it over and Cerine takes it, puts it back in the box and closes it shut. "I think I recall reading about a ring like this," she goes on, "But not the details, I'll have to look it up. I have that book in my collection, I'm sure of it."
19:45 <Skaya> "Thanks for keeping an eye out!"
19:51 <•Kotono> "Rest here, I shouldn't be long," Cerine limps off, "The book should give us a good idea before I analyze the ring directly."
19:51 <•Kotono> Sanda glances over at you, "Was it that hard to resist?" she asks, "I didn't even feel anything this time, like it didn't even try. Statistically speaking, perhaps it knew a 0% chance of success was pointless?"
19:52 <Skaya> "Sure thing," Skaya agrees, before asking Sanda, "So I didn't hear or see anything once I put it on? It felt like it would be relaxing to put it on and I did, and it was relaxing. Even though it's technically cursed I feel like it properly fulfilled its promise."
19:56 <•Kotono> "You didn't react to anything," Sanda agrees, "A curse of obliviousness, or like those who eat too much of the wrong herbs and sit in a daze for hours."
19:56 <Skaya> "Not bad in small doses, but I'd probably die if I don't eat for a while. What a weird curse, huh?"
20:04 <•Kotono> "A poison apple of a ring," Sanda concludes in thought, "Would it last so long that you sit there until you die of dehydration?"
20:06 <Skaya> "Who knows? That's, what, three days or so? I don't think we should do an experiment."
20:13 <•Kotono> "Let's not," Is the agreement and soon enough CErine comes back. She holds a scrap of paper, passing it to you.
20:15 <Skaya> "Thank you," Skaya says politely, accepting and reading it.
20:21 <•Kotono> Duke's Daze
20:21 <•Kotono> A cursed ring used to spellbind a duke of the Empire Of Noon well over a century ago. It's said that the duke put the ring on and sat in his study, only to be found later in the same day. While the ring was able to be removed, the cursed object was sealed away. However, it was stolen in the fall of the Empire of Noon thirty years ago.
20:22 <•Kotono> "A little bit of history is in that box, if not glamorous history," Cerine concludes, "Whomever made it was thankfully did not or could not make it difficult to remove. Still, it's a troublesome thing."
20:22 <Skaya> "Huh." Skaya sighs in disappointment. "So its only use is as a trap?"
20:23 <•Kotono> "Yes." Is the answer, "Unless magical study reveals more than the history says."
20:24 <Skaya> "Would you be interested in further magical study of it, Miss Cerine?"
20:30 <•Kotono> "Mmmm. Yes, I believe it could be a useful thing even if it's as described," Cerine says, "However, the value of cursed items is minimal. I'll offer you two hundred gold coins to sell it outright."
20:34 <Skaya> Since it was found by the two of them, Skaya glances over at Sanda for her opinion. Honestly, if this treasure by that black market profiteer was only worth two hundred gold coins, that goes against all common sense. But at the same time, she's not a mage and it's a dangerous curse to fool around with.
20:37 <•Kotono> Sanda purses her lips before, "Logically, something like that has notable historical value," she begins, "Historical value does affect material value, as even cursed the ring is a part of history. Further, it would be negligent to sell it before we fully understand the properties of the ring. There may be some other aspects to it that we do not know that would impact any reasonable sale price.
20:37 <•Kotono> I suggest that we have the ring fully studied and factor in the historical value before any final sale price is determined."
20:38 <Skaya> "Do you want to study it yourself?" Skaya asks her curiously. "We'll need to take some precautions, of course."
20:38 <•Kotono> "Not in the slightest," Sanda says, "I merely want a fair and proper sale value for it."
20:39 <•Kotono> After a few moments of staring at Sanda, expression placidly neutral, "You ask me for a favor, then you wish to negotiate better terms after I make a generous offer?" she says, quite slowly and carefully.
20:41 <•Kotono> "It's only fair," Sanda insists, undeterred. "Is it not?"
20:42 — Skaya snorts in amusement. "This is honestly amazing, it's not often I'm left speechless."
20:44 <•Kotono> "As am I." Cerine finally agrees with you, her maimed body shivering with a suppressed sigh. "I can't even find anger in the face of that."
20:44 <•Kotono> "A fine sign that a logical argument has no easy refutation," Sanda agrees.
20:45 <Skaya> "Let's put it off for now, then?" Skaya proposes. "Sanda, we can discuss our future plans together first. Ah, to blatantly change the subject, I mentioned that I also came to consult on something with Miss Cerine. May I do so now?"
20:45 <•Kotono> "Go ahead," Cerine says, taking that subject change with eagerness.
20:47 <Skaya> "Recently, our guild ran into a spot of trouble with what I can only imagine is a chimera," Skaya responds, before filling Cerine in on all the information that the guild master decided to release within the guild. If it's public, no one could blame her for speaking of it! "On the face of it, this seems to be a new situation. But at the same time, I don't believe someone can outright start with something like that without
20:47 <Skaya> building up to it."
20:54 <•Kotono> A lengthy pause before, "I haven't heard of it in particular, nothing close to that. My best guess would be Ahms or Bluehill. There's a wealth of caverns, caves and underground waterways that the draining of Lake Ahms revealed. It's a natural labyrinth and I know that several mages that want privacy have sought lairs there. A mage who wants to do those experiments would have privacy there, and
20:54 <•Kotono> if so, word of his creatures might be known there."
20:56 <Skaya> "So Miss Cerine thinks it is a homegrown mage, rather than one of the foreign nations making trouble for us?"
20:57 <•Kotono> "Most likely but I could be wrong," Cerine concedes. "There's no way to know without more information."
20:59 <Skaya> "How about possible candidates for this mage? I haven't been here that long, so I wouldn't know if there was someone researching this magical avenue."
21:04 <•Kotono> "I have a few ideas, but no one I want to implicate until I know more," Cerine says, "Is the guild interested in an consultation, officially?"
21:07 <Skaya> "Unfortunately not," Skaya admits. "Might I inquire what it would take for Miss Cerine to consult officially?"
21:09 <•Kotono> "An agreement of confidentiality and more information. People's reputations and lives can turn on these things, and a false accusation can ruin a life." Cerine says at last, "Or even a poor understanding of the facts of the matter that turn heroism into villainy."
21:10 <Skaya> "Admirable conditions. I will talk to Guild Master and return once I have his answer, then."
21:14 <•Kotono> "Let me know," Cerine agrees, "Then, if that's all?"
21:15 <Skaya> Yes, Miss Cerine. Thank you so much for sparing your time for us today!"
21:21 <•Kotono> Thus you and Sanda leave. Once you're back on the street, "Was the ring that compelling to you?" she asks.
21:22 <Skaya> "I don't really care that much either way," Skaya admits. "It's fun to investigate it but we can just outsource the process or sell it outright. It's not much and I feel it should cost more, but  money's a secondary concern for me."
21:23 <•Kotono> "Still, a profit is a profit," Sanda says, "I'll sleep easier with an extra pile of gold coins than without."
21:25 <Skaya> "Want to sell it for two hundred gold and then we split it, then? Or want to pay Miss Cerine to look into the ring some more? It might have amazing functions left to be discovered."
21:26 <•Kotono> "I'd say we get it examined in case it does have anything useful," Is the answer you get back, "Then sell it for whatever we can unless it's worth keeping."
21:27 <Skaya> "I don't think she'll keep examining it for free, though. How much are you willing to sink into that research?"
21:32 <•Kotono> "Mmmm..." A little chew of her lower lip, "50 each? If it goes past that then it's not really worth destroying any base value."
21:35 <Skaya> "I suppose we can try," Skaya says dubiously. It seems underwhelming for the time of a great mage, but hobbies do exist. "In any case, no rush. It wasn't as amazing as I hoped, so we'll be back to boring jobs now. Or adventure off to Ahms for a spot of danger."
21:37 <•Kotono> "That's athought," Sanda muses as...OOC: It's a little early but let's pause here, we don't have quite enough time to start anything new this week. We'll resume next week when we aren't missing sessions. This nicely ties off this bit and you can follow it up at leisure. For my reference next time, what's your current list of todos, if any?
21:38 <Skaya> OOC: Sure. Currently, I want to talk to Picke and see about a fact-finding mission to the lake's caverns and about inviting Cerine to share her suspicions. Otherwise, I'm open to random encounters.
21:42 <•Kotono> OOC: Picke sounds good as does Cerine. We'll work that out and thefinal verdic ton the ring next time, along with anything random. Nice to get things moving.

[Corwin]

19:05 <•Kotono> Ah, working away after that. It's busy in the heart of summer again and hours pass as you deal with adventurers. No time to talk to Picke quite yet, even as a young man smiles and takes the bounty you give him for a task completed. "Thank you," he says, brown hair, a bit short but with a good face and a charming smile. "Those giant rats put up a fight!"
19:08 <Skaya> "But you sure showed them!" Skaya cheerfully agrees.
19:10 <•Kotono> He laughs and blushes, "Yeah, I did! At this rate I'll be able to form my own group and take missions that make it worth it, even splitting the rewards several ways."
19:11 — Skaya nods sagely. "Having someone to watch your back can be invaluable."
19:15 <•Kotono> "Yeah, so keep me in mind. The name's Will," he introduces himself, but before he can go on? Aliee comes up and leans in, murmuring into your ear, "You're requested in the back."
19:16 — Skaya gives Will an apologetic look, and with a few parting words excuses herself to head towards the back.
19:20 <•Kotono> Aliee slots in and smiles, "Will, was it...?" she begins as you head back, finding Picke waiting for you just inside. He nods shortly to you, "Been messing with fractions, have you?" he offers right off.
19:21 <Skaya> "I'm sorry?" Skaya asks, tilting her head. He couldn't possibly mean....
19:23 <•Kotono> With a dry chuckle, "Forgive this old man's sense of humor. I heard you visited the half woman."
19:24 <Skaya> He did! How crude! "I consulted with Miss Cerine, and was hoping for a chance to talk to you about it, Guild Master. It seems that you had the same thought?"
19:26 <•Kotono> Turning and lead you back, and as you walk, "She passed on the information as a courtesy," he goes on, "No one likes to see wizards unleashing strange horrors on the people. Well, no one who isn't worth punching."
19:27 <Skaya> "My thoughts exactly. In fact, I was thinking of offering to join the investigation, if there was already a team being assembled to look into the caverns Miss Cerine brought up."
19:31 <•Kotono> A side eye glance back your way, "I haven't decided on a team yet," he says, bluntly. Leading you into his office once more, he goes and takes a seat. "On one hand, I want to send my best people because this is a threat. On the other hand, it's fumbling around on a maybe and could eat up months of time for nothing." Sitting back, arms crossed as he regards you, "But sending a promising receptionist
19:31 <•Kotono> and a few friends she gathers is free, and offers a reasonable chance of success at a reasonable investment. I like it when people solve my problems for me."
19:33 <Skaya> "I don't mind traveling for free, but asking other people to spend weeks if not months of effort on a risky task without any benefits might be pushing it," she admits. "Even if it's a nominal reward, getting people onboard would be easier."
19:36 <•Kotono> A hm and a nod, "500 gold coins as a front end payment for supplies and travel," he offers, "1,000 on success, long with any loot you manage to find on the trip." No hesitation there, "That acceptable?"
19:37 <Skaya> "That should easily cover 4-5 adventurous people," Skaya affirms. "And since we're on the topic, of sorts, is there a problem with the Guild formally asking Miss Cerine to consult? Or are there some issues with that?"
19:40 <•Kotono> "As long as it stays all business," Picke says, "Keep it professional. Speaking of, your companion made an impression. Intelligent and foolish in equal measure, I hear."
19:41 <Skaya> "What else could it be?" Skaya wonders with a frown. Miss Cerine is a wizard, not a courtesan! "Ah. That happened. It was amazing!"
19:42 <•Kotono> That draws another chuckle out of Picke, "Be careful of that sort. She'll either end up dead in a ditch somewhere or an archmage. It can be fun seeing which way it goes, though."
19:43 <Skaya> "At least we're not at a place where if you insult someone, they immediately seek to end your life and all of your extended family's."
19:48 <•Kotono> With a nod at that and then, "So here," he grabs a bit of scrap paper and writes on it, "Take this to the front desk for your gold. Assemble your party as you see fit and go."
19:50 — Skaya thinks about the people she'd met as she accepts the paper. Is there someone capable of any healing? Because that might come pretty useful.
19:52 <•Kotono> Not that you've met as of yet.
19:55 <Skaya> That's unfortunate! Even as she goes to exchange the note for gold, she reflects on the Delaine siblings. She hasn't seen Rina and Regis covered in glory, exactly, but they do have a strong relationship with that monster. Who knows if they'll recognize an important clue? And they might be quite motivated to go after it, too. Of course, it all depends on whether she thinks they are capable of going with her.
20:00 <•Kotono> OOC: Are you fishing for any particular info?
20:01 <Skaya> OOC: Yes! How skilled are they? It can be some mechanical info on levels/classes, it can be anecdotical info on what they did, it can even be vague ideas of what combat positions they fill out
20:02 <•Kotono> They're decent - not great but not bad, solid enough that losing to that monster was a warning bell. You could certainly do worse.
20:03 <Skaya> Well then! Skaya decides to look for them!
20:06 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:06 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=55 ]{55}
20:06 <•Kotono> OOC: Quick diplo for GI.
20:07 <Skaya> roll 1d20+6
20:07 <Kobot> Skaya rolled 1d20+6 --> [ 1d20=15 ]{21}
20:13 <•Kotono> You find them in one of the wide, straight streets of the rebuild Mellanics. Sitting outside at a cafe, eating an early dinner together. They're talking quietly, voices kept low, but Regis has a rolled up scroll in his hand.
20:14 <Skaya> "Hey there!" Skaya greets them, approaching their table. "I hope I'm not interrupting too badly?"
20:15 <•Kotono> The two look up, a bit of a startled look on Regis's face. "Skaya?" Regis says, a moment of surprise. As he recovers Rina is faster, "Come join us, Skaya."
20:16 <Skaya> "Thanks!" She pulls over a seat and joins them as invited.
20:22 <•Kotono> After a beat then another, "So..." Rina smiles a little bit, "What are you here for, Skaya?"
20:22 <•Kotono> "Taking us up on our offer?" Regis follows up.
20:23 <Skaya> "In a manner of speaking," Skaya responds with a smile of her own. "Are you interested in looking for a bit of revenge? I'm going to try and find the mage who made that thing, and I thought you would want in."
20:24 <•Kotono> "You have a lead?" Regis asks, suddenly all business. "Tell us more."
20:24 <•Kotono> "We owe whoever made that," Rina's voice is low, quiet.
20:26 <Skaya> "I don't want to get into it too much in public, but what I have are some deductions by the best and the brightest of Mellanics. I intend to follow up on that, and I got the Guild Master to finance this investigation for supplies and a bit of a reward should it bear fruit."
20:29 <•Kotono> The two share a look, "Somewhere private, then?" Regis asks, getting up.
20:30 <Skaya> "It's better to be safe than sorry."
20:47 <•Kotono> It's not hard to hop back to the guild and a private room, where you can .... OOC: Go ahead.
20:52 <Skaya> "There's a natural labyrinth in the vicinity of Lake Ahms," Skaya says, spreading a rudimentary map of the region on the table in the room. "They go all over between Bluehill and Ahms, and make a perfect spot for a crazy mage and his experiments. As for the creature you fought, it is in no way natural. All signs truly point towards a man-made chimera beast. Finally, since we haven't had any other reports, this strongly suggests a
20:52 <Skaya> local mage is biding his time and preparing. That brings us back to where he could do that, and so I'm interested in exploring these caverns."
20:55 <•Kotono> "Alright, that sounds like a lot of speculation," Rina says, "Looks dangerous, there could be who knows what in those caverns."
20:55 <Skaya> "Fortune and adventure?"
21:01 <•Kotono> "That too," Regis admits, "How much is it paying?"
21:02 <•Kotono> Rina peers down at the map before she says, "That's also a lot of area to cover. You're right, this won't be a short trip."
21:04 <Skaya> "We have a pool of five hundred gold for supplies, and some two hundred each upon success on top of that," Skaya responds. "I was thinking of inviting a wizard friend, which should allow for more versatile means. As for the search itself, I figured we could see how things are in Ahms and Bluehill first. Perhaps there's some information the locals overlooked that we'll be able to use to focus better."
21:08 <•Kotono> "We owe you one," Regis says, "We're in," he says after he and his sister share a quick look. "Who's the wizard friend of yours?"
21:10 <Skaya> "Sanda Weathers. She runs a shop, but I think her schedule is flexible, and she's been interested in expanding her horizons and learning to fight recently. I figure there are decent odds of her going for it. How about you guys? Do you have someone in mind? We still have a spot if we need to use one."
21:14 <•Kotono> "We could use a healer," Rina says in thought, "We know one, but..."
21:14 <•Kotono> "Well, we know two," Regis points out, "But both have a bit of complications."
21:15 — Skaya perks up! "A healer? I was just wishing we could recruit one. Who are these two?"
21:27 <•Kotono> "The first is named Anne and works at a orphanage, but does work on the side to help pay the bills. She's capable but very devoted and follows Moore, the Duke of Songs." Hmming at that, Regis smiles a little, "She'll turn on the charm to make you give extra to help the orphans. She's a half elf, which means she can see in the dark better than we can, which would be useful in caverns. The second
21:27 <•Kotono> is Marken, who mostly works out of Fyner but comes this way a few times a year. He's about due this way and is a good sort, sturdy and strong. Used to follow Tempus, but fell out and picked up with Shaundakul now.  He knows the roads now and knows how to travel, but probably isn't as good in a cave or somewhere inside. He's best outside on the roads."
21:27 — Skaya nods slowly as she takes all that in. "And the complications?"
21:30 <•Kotono> "Anne will charm and guilt you into giving to her orphanage," Rina's blunt about it, "It's hard to say no to those kids when you meet them. She also spends as little as possible on her own equipment to better see to them. Marken's the wrong specialization for this. I'd want him on a caravan guarding mission, or tracking someone outside. Inside he's not as good."
21:34 <Skaya> "Nothing is really so forbidden so as to exclude the person," Skaya muses. "Do you think either will go, if offered? It might mean leaving the orphanage for a few months for Miss Anne, and the job might be out of the comfort zone of Mister Marken."
21:34 <Skaya> *forbidding
21:37 <•Kotono> "Either's possible if you frame it right," Rina goes on, smiling a bi tnow, "Make it worth Anne's while and she'll go, and Marken's just the matter of being willing to owe him a favor."
21:39 <Skaya> "Why don't we invite them both, then?" Skaya proposes. "That way we both have redundancy for any healing, and the two of them can excel at other things rather than just be potion replacements with legs."
21:41 <•Kotono> "It'll mean a bigger loot split and more personalities," Rina muses, "Five to six is really the maximum size for a group like this, so we'll just hit on it."
21:44 <Skaya> "Let's give it a try, then?" Skaya proposes. "Let's go meet Miss Anne, and then have a chat with Sanda. We can afford to wait a couple of days to meet with Mister Marken afterwards."
21:46 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
21:46 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=55 ]{55}
21:53 <•Kotono> You soon reach the Glowing Heart Orphanage. It's a large building with three stories, build near the outskirts of town. It has a large dirt yard where children play. Several dozen of them at play, more on the outskirts or glimpsed on the sides of the building, or even watching from windows within. It's a newer building and well kept, newer to your eye than the original rebuild of Mellanics.
21:53 <•Kotono> Various women watch over the children, clad in plain dresses. As you approach, "That's Anne there," Regis points to a brown haired woman, slender and with more height than you'd expect - you can glimpse a hit of hard boots rather than softer shoes. She's overlooking several children running around and playing tag, lost in their own merriment. She's pretty in a plain, unadorned sort of way, at
21:53 <•Kotono> least to your eye.
21:55 — Skaya could've joined in a game if Anne were playing something, but since she's just looking over them that makes things simpler. She walks over!
21:58 <•Kotono> As the three of you approach, Anne looks up and smiles. "Welcome back, Rina and Regis. Have you come to help the orphans today?"
21:58 <•Kotono> "Rina! Regis!" The children turn as they're bombarded, children crowding around them, "Welcome back, Auntie and Uncle!"
21:59 <Skaya> It really would be too crude to interrupt while they are saying hello, so Skaya waits with a pleasant look on her face. If she's not introduced, she's capable of doing it herself once she's not getting in the way here. First impressions are important!
22:03 <•Kotono> As this happens Anne comes up to you, a soft smile on her face. "Are you here for donations, or perhaps to hear about the Duke of Songs?" she asks, taking out a necklace hidden by her dress. It's a symbol of a hand open with a ball of light in it, painted nicely. "I'd be happy to help you with either."
22:06 <Skaya> "What a pity, it's actually neither!" Skaya says, smiling back at her. "I'm here to make your acquaintance, Miss Anne. My name is Skaya, and I work at the Guild."
22:08 <•Kotono> Anne offers you her hand before she continues, "Oh, the Heroic Guild! You're Regis and Rina's coworker? They do good work there, and they're quite generous." Speaking of, the two are being pulled away, Regis smiling and Rina shaking her head with a fond look. Soon enough they're helping play tag, parted away.
22:09 — Skaya shakes it! "I like the work we do. It's very satisfying, and I get to meet a lot of interesting people. Their stories can be quite exciting, too!"
22:11 <•Kotono> "I hear the same from them," Anne agrees, "Dangerous work, but exciting work."
22:13 <Skaya> "It can be dangerous," Skaya agrees. "Miss Rina and Mister Regis experienced that side of it not too long ago."
22:15 <•Kotono> "I'm glad tos ee they're alright. Do I have you to thank for that?" She asks, a look of concern as she holds a hand to her chest.
22:17 <Skaya> "I don't like to discuss 'what ifs'. Maybe it would've been alright if I did nothing, but why chance it?" Skaya voices. "Still, it was a very dangerous situation. But now that we know a bit more about it, we're headed together to investigate it in more detail. When I brought up other companions, they mentioned that you might be interested in it as well."

[Corwin]

19:01 <•Kotono> "I might be. What's the expected income and the splits?" she asks, suddenly all business.
19:04 <Skaya> "You'll be earning two hundred gold if our investigation bears fruit, and we expect to collect some prizes along the way we'll all share equally," Skaya responds, unbothered by the shift to business. "We have five hundred gold to purchase gear and supplies, but having healer support would mean we could reserve some of them in case we need to use them later."
19:06 <•Kotono> "Not bad." Anne says, looking out over the children. "Bringing hope to the orphaned and forgotten requires a certain amount of money. They'll be very grateful for this and any other help you can give them. Clothes, food, living expenses for our staff, it all adds up so quickly. It takes so much effort to let them have happy, carefree days of play like this."
19:10 <Skaya> "We could probably do something with second hand goods," Skaya muses, "though it'd have to be after we're done with the investigation. I doubt even a diviner could predict what resources we'll have left by then."
19:21 <•Kotono> "Well, consider me interested," Anne says at that, "I have no objections."
19:24 <Skaya> "Nice!" Skaya cheers. "We'll take a couple of days to prepare before setting off, so if you have some recommendations about gear or supplies let me know. Ah, we've also been planning to go and invite a wizard along. Want to come with?"
19:30 <•Kotono> "It's for the children," Anne agrees, "I'm happy to go along for their sakes."
19:32 — Skaya finds it admirable to see a person work so hard on charity, but she's fairly sure she would've been bored out of her mind within a day. Since it's like that, she can only wait for Rina and Regis to finish playing with the kids. She won't get roped in!
19:42 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
19:42 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=76 ]{76}
19:42 <•Kotono> Rina and Regis soon return, "So she signed on?" Rina asks.
19:43 <Skaya> "We'll be working together," Skaya responds, nodding. "I was thinking of having us stop by Sanda's place now, if you're free to go?"
19:46 <•Kotono> You get agreement to that and...OOC: We'll pick up next time, still not on the right side of not bleghfughfuclgh sick. Getting better but. If I've rebounded tomorrow I'll see if you're around to get some extra in.

[Corwin]

19:01 <•Kotono> OOC: Okay, refresh me on your current aims since I've been smacked in the face with a cold.
19:02 <Skaya> OOC: Let's grab the twins and our cleric and go recruit Sanda
19:03 <•Kotono> OOC: Sounds good.
19:05 <•Kotono> You find Sanda at her shop. She's whistling and restocking, working away as she does the unglamorous work of a storeowner. She turns as you enter, "What a crowd. Are you looking for a family size order?"
19:06 <Skaya> "What sort of family are you envisioning, here?" Skaya can't help but asks curiously at that.
19:12 <•Kotono> "Successful daughter," A point at you, "Mom and Dad," A point at the two siblings, which makes Rina and Regis both make an EW expression and then at Anne she pauses before, "The family friend along for the ride?"
19:12 <•Kotono> "That's - no!" Regis shakes his head, "Absolutely not."
19:13 <Skaya> Isn't she the oldest of them all? But it's okay because she ages very gracefully! Cheered up by the thought, Skaya is all too happy to tell Sanda, "Wrong, all wrong! Ah, but maybe not about the family friend?"
19:13 <•Kotono> "Glory of hope onto you," Anne murmurs politely.
19:13 <•Kotono> "Oh?" Sanda asks, "How interesting. But tell me more, since statistically speaking, there has to be a good reason for the crowd."
19:18 <Skaya> "We're forming a party for the purpose of investigating that chimera we looked into together," Skaya gets right to the point. "There is decent pay and plentiful opportunities to train various combat skills, though the duration might end up being a couple months since the distance makes travel back and forth impractical. Are you interested in hearing the details?"
19:25 <•Kotono> Sanda takes several moments to think that over, "Certainly," she says, "Though that is a long time to be away from mys hop, isn't it?"
19:26 <•Kotono> "It's not a short trip," Rina agrees, "It may be a little much for a shopkeeper."
19:26 <•Kotono> "It's for a good cause as well," Anne says, "More than one good cause."
19:29 <Skaya> "I suppose it depends on a variety of factors, such as whether you can afford to close the shop for a few months, or if you could get by hiring someone to sell products and take orders?" Skaya muses.
19:29 <Skaya> "The pay itself is two hundred gold per person, and an equal share of anything we come by. Some of the expenses are being covered as well. Plus I think it would be interesting. We're after a mage, after all, so if we find any notes you would be the one to benefit the most from that knowledge. Statistically speaking?"
19:33 <•Kotono> "Hmmm...." Sanda considers, "That is tempting," She adds, before, OOC: Give me a diplomacy check with a +4 circumstance bonus.
19:33 <Skaya> OOC: I'll take 10 for 20!
19:36 <•Kotono> "I think I can make it work!" Sanda says, "Particularly if the income works well enough for it, and I do have someone who can run the shop until current stock is exhausted."
19:37 <•Kotono> "If you're sure," Rina adds, a hand on her hip and a note of questioning in her voice.
19:38 <•Kotono> "Quite sure! I've already run the numbers inmy head and done the math." Sanda concludes.
19:38 <Skaya> "Nice! We need a couple days for a bunch of preparations, so there'll be time for that." And it'd be pretty great since Sanda could practice her combat skills with other people, too.
19:38 <•Kotono> "Yes, I'll need to make preparations," Sanda agrees, "We can leave three days from now?"
19:39 <Skaya> "That sounds doable," Skaya agrees, with a glance at the others to confirm.
19:39 <•Kotono> You get general nods from that and this raises one question: How are you going to prepare, anyway?
19:43 <Skaya> They'll all need to have the standard adventuring pack, as it's often called. That would be good for redundancy, and a nice bonus for the more magically-inclined. Then, Skaya will check the information on temperature and weather conditions for the region they're going to be in and prepare winter clothing if it's necessary.
19:43 <Skaya> They should also bring more torches, just in case, and a decent amount of preserved food and water. Regular food they could buy nearby later, after all. Finally, they might as well inquire about a carriage headed that way to save on travel time? Though she might as well ask!
19:44 <Skaya> "Actually, now that I think about it, can anyone here ride a horse?"
19:44 <Skaya> Aside from her, of course!
19:45 <•Kotono> Rina and Regis both raise their hands. Sanda nods, "I've ridden one a few times, enough to get by."
19:47 <Skaya> "Great! It's a bit pricey, but we could outright buy a carriage and a couple of horses for two fifty gold by my estimate. Maybe a bit more with the saddles and everything, but it could be a good investment. It does eat up half the money for supplies, but we'll get everywhere faster, have a nice cover during rain and wind and carry supplies more easily."
19:51 <•Kotono> "Traveling well makes sense, but it makes us more of at arget," Regis points out, looking up from inspecting some of Sanda's goods. "A carriage says money to bandits. We'll need to be vigilant if we do."
19:52 <•Kotono> "Seen it happen too many times, even with ones that don't have a baggage train or any sign of cargo. If you catch some rich man or noble, their jewelry alone can be worth a great deal, and horses are always valuable." Rina concurs, "Our party can fight, though, and five of us can take almost any bandit scum."
19:52 <•Kotono> "Hm. Then statistically speaking," Sanda speaks up, "We'll need to buya few extra shovels, too."
19:52 <Skaya> "A wise woman had said, once, that bandits are just walking money purses. Another wise woman independently reached the conclusion that if anyone attacks her, it means they are giving away their stuff."
19:55 <•Kotono> "We'll bring them hope, or at least try. At worst, they'll bring hope to orphans," Anne clasps her hands together, "That will dowell."
19:56 <•Kotono> Regis take sa long breath before he chuckles, "We sound like a seasoned group already. Good. Bandits choose to live outside of the law and steal money, goods and lives away to satisfy their own greed. As long as we're all in agreement about that, we should be alright."
19:57 <•Kotono> "Poverty is actually often a motivating factor, though it does nothing to excuse them," Anne speaks up, "The poor desperately grasp for anything they can, and at a point some cease to care about what happens to others, so long as they get what they need."
19:57 <Skaya> "I'll take care of it, then. And I'll also see if there are any escort or delivery missions along our way while I'm at it," Skaya voices. "Since we're doing the work anyway, it'd be free money."
19:58 <•Kotono> "That's good thinking," Sanda agrees, "We can add extra profits by that."
19:59 <•Kotono> Rina and Regis share a long look, sigh, and Regis takes out a few coins, then passes them to Anne. "There. Less need for the poor, right?"
20:00 <Skaya> "Is this an impromptu donation, or did you bet on us?"
20:00 <•Kotono> "Thank you," Anne's smile is beautiful, "Proper aid and care can prevent tragedies such as banditry. Please remember that as you go forward, everyone. Charity can be the hope that saves others from despair and falling into evil."
20:01 <•Kotono> "No, we just know how this goes," Rina slumps, "Anne has us trained, huh?" she mutters afterwards.
20:02 — Skaya laughs. "I'll just be going around buying supplies, then. So if you have any special requests, let me know!"
20:08 <•Kotono> "We will!" Sanda agrees as...OOC: Most of these supplies are completely mundane so we can breeze over them since you had a list. Go ahead and work up a list and post it in loot, along with any SRD relevant prices. If  something isn't priced, ask in thread and mentiont hat.
20:09 <Skaya> OOC: Yeah, I know. I also wanted to recruit Marken, though that would be on my own (or with Rina or Regis for introductions), and if he arrives within these three days.
20:10 <•Kotono> OOC: Sure. One moment.
20:10 <•Kotono> roll 1d100
20:10 <Kobot> Kotono rolled 1d100 --> [ 1d100=63 ]{63}
20:22 <•Kotono> It's the afternoon of the last day when you get lucky. Rina drops in and, "Just saw Marken, he's back in town," she calls to you.
20:23 <Skaya> "Let's go and say hi?"
20:30 <•Kotono> You find Marken cooling his heels in a quiet, tree shaded tavern. It's away from the main streets, the air as cool as an autumn day. Well dressed men and women work as servers, with the various guests likewise well clad. Merchants in silk or velvet, the well off enjoying food and perhaps a game with others, the scent of rich drinks and good food in the air. Only one doesn't match (besides
20:30 <•Kotono> yourselves) as you enter. A dark haired man, weathered and tired looking, drinks what looks to be pure water from a big glass mug. He's wearing traveler's clothes with hints of heavier armor concealed beneath.
20:32 <Skaya> Yep, it's a traveler! Skaya approaches him with Rina, waiting for an introduction.
20:33 <•Kotono> Rina leads you in, "Marken," she greets, as you see eyes turning to the two of you. A great many don't hide a look of surprise or dislike. "Sorry to bother you, but we have a proposition."
20:34 <•Kotono> A pair of servers approach but Marken holds up a hand. They nod and turn around, "I'm listening," he says, gesturing to the seats near him. He makes eye contact with another server and then nod, going off. "Don't worry about the tab," he adds, "The owner gave me a free pass." He looks to you as he says that.
20:36 <Skaya> "It's a novel experience to be looked at with such scorn!" Skaya says cheerfully, taking the proffered seat. "My name is Skaya, and as you've surely gathered I am Rina's friend. A pleasure to meet you, Mister Marken."
20:39 <•Kotono> "Skaya, Skaya," He repeats the name, "One of the receptionists in the Heroic Guild here, I believe?"
20:40 <•Kotono> Rina takes it as well, as within moments a waiter comes. He places large muts of water in fron tof each of you, but yours has a slight pink-red tint and Rina's a green tint.
20:42 <Skaya> "I'm flattered that you'd remember hearing about me," she says brightly. "Ah, but I also actually freelance a bit, whenever the fancy strikes me."
20:45 <•Kotono> "Knowledge is gold," Is the answer, a little smile on his face. After another drink on his part and Rina enjoying her own, "What's your proposition?"
20:50 — Skaya takes a sip of hers as well out of politeness!
20:50 <Skaya> "We're going to investigate the vicinity of Lake Ahms and its caverns. We already have another healer onboard, so if there are two we could be reassured and make use of your traveling knowledge as well. The pay is two hundred gold upon success, plus an equal split of anything we come across. Our supplies get covered as well, so we're getting a carriage and horses to get around."
20:52 <•Kotono> It tastes like fresh strawberries and sweetness. "How long will it run?" he asks, "That sounds like a good part of the summer season."
20:53 <Skaya> "A few months would be my estimate," Skaya responds, smiling as she glances down at her drink. Flavored water? What a unique concept. "Are you otherwise committed?"
20:55 <•Kotono> "I may be," He says in some consideration, "Who else is involved?"
20:58 <Skaya> "Miss Anne from the Glowing Heart Orphanage and Sanda Weathers, a local wizard. Rina and Regis as well, obviously. It is my hope that you find it an interesting challenge and become the sixth on our adventure."
21:00 <•Kotono> "In truth you're well set," Marken admits quietly, "But...but...you're right to seek another. Plus I've yet to travel those caves deeply."
21:03 <Skaya> If she's honest with herself, Skaya would love there to be another wizard along for the ride. But powerful enough wizards would just prefer to stay home. Even Sanda is likely only coming because they became friends and because she awakened that desire for action. Ah well, if she must, Skaya herself will pretend to be a wizard! It's all about the preparation!
21:03 <Skaya> "I think it will be great. Also, you really have to save Regis if you're his friend."
21:08 <•Kotono> A real smile at that, "He knows Regis, Rina," he looks over to her.
21:08 <•Kotono> Smiling at that, "He could use the aid. So could I."
21:08 <•Kotono> "Alright, I'll sign on, but there's a possibily I'll be pulled away. If it happens I won't be able to say no. If you're alright with that, I'll accept."
21:09 <Skaya> "That's fine," Skaya agrees. "If it's in the area, we could even help."
21:11 <•Kotono> "It's in the capital, so possibly," He says, "But cross that road when we come to it." He offers you his hand out, "We'll have a full group for this."
21:12 <Skaya> "So we do!" Skaya agrees, shaking it.
21:16 <•Kotono> With a handshake you seal a new friendship, and from there...OOC: I'm going to pause this a bit early so yo uhave time to whip up that loot post.
21:17 <Skaya> OOC: Sure thing!