Week 33
TL;DR - A quest finally completed, a bit of shopping, trying not to antagonize the Phoenix Guard and the beginnings of a potentially lucrative salvage operation
Options are discussed about what to do next - join the army, raid a vault under the Arachnotitan, or head off on a ship to other parts.
Sorrel sits down to meditate and try to contact her god for advice - nothing is heard, somewhat similar to how she normally reacts, making things confusing.
Jaxzon wants to leave, Sorrel wants to raid the vault, Zer0 would like to find the battlefield or more information about it, Iliqua seems keen on breaking the sewer druid out of jail. A bit of recon is decided on, the Arachnotitan first, then the jail.
The former has been hollowed out a fair bit, salvage teams working all hours. Human guards can be seen, the normal High Elf guards not liking the smell.
The party ask the guards if they can be let through, but are told that they must have a pass - something that can be acquired from the guard captain or the Phoenix Guard. Jaxzon tries to talk his way in, this time without using magic, but the guards do not budge.
Jaxzon stays put, doing some maintenance while the rest of the party head off to find the Phoenix Guard. Approaching the courtyard, a large cage can be seen with a lot of poeple inside and a few guards scattered around.
Sorrel heads inside to talk to the Phoenix Guard, while Iliqua and Zer0 check out the cage. The sewer druid is still inside, along with some of the people that Sorrel cured earlier. Iliqua approaches the cage, but is stopped by a guard - saying that a prior arrangement must be made to see anyone in the cage. An attempt to talk his way around this gets nowhere.
Iliqua asks why the sewer druid is inside, and is told that he was caught selling drugs. The druid being a satyr, talks with the Fae are under way to get them repatriated.
Sorrel is stopped by some guards, is asked why she’s there. She’s let in after checking that Jaxzon isn’t with her. She asks a very tired commander about some of the prisoners, talking about some of those she cured, and asks if they need any help. She gets told that they have them mostly under control.
She also asks about removing the side effects of the Phoenix Fire she received earlier, and also paying to get some of the prisoners. Most of them will be released eventually, though the sewer druid is likely to stay for a while longer.
Iliqua asks for someone higher up the chain for help, the guards knock on the door. Sorrel remembers about asking for access to the spider internals. A contractor fee of 100 gold is required for a group. Iliqua and Zer0 finally gain access, Iliqua asking about the access and getting it confirmed.
Iliqua asks about being allowed to talk to the satyr, making sure that he’s well looked after. Sorrel talks about using the parts of the satyr’s body for medicine, while he’s still alive.
Access is finally granted, with guard supervision required, in one of the interrogation rooms. A few minutes later, the satyr is brought in. He immediately mentions that he’s out of stock of the tree drugs. Iliqua tries to get the guard to stop observing them, but gets nowhere.
After a while, the conversation ends and Iliqua leaves. He sends a message to the satyr to be ready later. While this is happening, Zer0 takes the chance to ask about the battlefield - lots of undead and swamps, and some advice to head to the Phoenix Gate and talk to a guildmaster, who may be able to help gain access.
Sorrel asks what the salvage rights are - illicit materials will be confiscated, but anything else is fair game. The party eventually return to Jaxzon, finding him trying to train his lion to fetch and failing.
A discussion is had on how to proceed - talking to another salvage team being the best option. The party get directed to a nearby pub (Gosling Geese) to find others. The interior is quite run down, a few tables with maps and people around them. Dwarves, humans and elves, as well as a goliath barkeep.
The party split up to talk to each group separately - Jaxzon to the human, Zer0 to the dwarves and Iliqua to the elves.
Jaxzon is offered a job, with a lot of gold on offer, essentially being pack mules.
Iliqua approaches the elves, asking about salvaging, and possible danger within the corpse of the spider. The elves are researching spider anatomy, using a research grant from the Academy - Iliqua offers the party as help.
Zer0 goes to check up with the dwarves - greeting them in dwarvish. A request for information about the spider carcass and what can be found. A lot of money can be made, but a lot of danger needs to be managed first.
Sorrel orders a bunch of alcohol from the barkeep and asks for information - specifically getting to the center as quickly as possible, getting similar information regarding the insects and rumours of the vault.
The party reconvene at the bar and share information - the human lady is tagged as being the most likely to reach the center. Jaxzon talks to her, trying to organise a deal to get to the center, and she asks for a guarentee about helping her cart stuff out or getting charged a fee.
Sorrel walks over to the spider and casts Locate Object, actually getting a response, at the far edge of the range. The party sort of agree to hook up with the human lady, though she needs Jaxzon’s signature on a contract - carrying found loot up to 500 pounds or breaking the agreement means a forfeit of 1000 gold.
The agreement is signed and a time to set off is sorted out - first light the next day to allow everyone time to rest up. Jaxzon heads off to find someone to make saddlebags. Iliqua chats with the elves, letting them know when the party is going in and maybe tagging along.
Jaxzon has some trouble finding what he’s looking for, eventually finding something in the noble district, owned by an elderly gnome. 400 gold is offered for a custom job, as well as soulbonding to his lion. A bit of light haggling, a slight reduction in cost in return for self advertising. Payment is eventually made, along with a request to delay the Phoenix Guards job as part of the deal.
Iliqua, Zer0 and Sorrel head off to find Raistlin to actually finish their quest - finding out that he’s been spending a lot of time at home. Knocking on the door, Raistlin’s majordomo answers and is told that the councillor isn’t seeing visitors. Iliqua mentions that the party are here to return the items they were tasked with retrieving.
The majordomo heads off to ask and eventually returns to escort the party in. The councillor asks Iliqua to leave the box on the table, which he does. The majordomo hands a small bag of gold (100gp) over and the party leaves.
Iliqua and Sorrel discuss the councillor’s state of being infected and who to talk to about it, leaving it to later. Sorrel heads off to find somewhere to unload the stored food, then heads off to talk to the Phoenix Guard.
Jaxzon and Sorrel head to the Scattered Pie shop, Iliqua and Zer0 eventually join them.