Come to think about it, I haven't given a lot of thought to what we are going to do if Gavhaul finds an untimely end before we meet up with the Pathfinders.
Aren't we still expected to smuggle the adamantium and whatever we found across the border in order for the rest of the expedition to get paid, which will fall to whoever inherits the position of leadership? Since we are not intending to kill anyone else.
It does not matter what we are expected to do, we will get paid as long as the Aspis do not get anything out of this. If Gavhaul dies, then we need new leadership, and the dwarves are on our side. With this power block we can force Leontas' hand to keep working for us.
[X] Have Sirim talk to the Gnome prince
-[X] We know that he is in the ruse. We want an in and a cut in exchange for our cooperation.
Either we get an in and can probably murder Gavhaul with this, or the prince ends up dead and we win anyway, because the dragon would be alone and without allies.
Unfortunately updates over the next three days will be a bit slow and they will be certainly be late tomorrow for vacation reasons (i.e. I will be visiting Budapest for the first time)
Unfortunately updates over the next three days will be a bit slow and they will be certainly be late tomorrow for vacation reasons (i.e. I will be visiting Budapest for the first time)
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Aug 11, 2024 at 9:02 AM, finished with 20 posts and 6 votes.
[X] Try to reveal the fey lord's bluff -[X] Kori switches his Channel Vigor buff to the Spirit effect as a Move Action and Sirim uses Shadow Enchantment to cast Bestow Insight (+4 Intimidate) on him, raising his Intimidate bonus to +27. Mina casts See Invisibility. --[X] "Before we hunt down the Dragon, we should deal with its accomplice." Kori directs his gaze toward the duplicitous Fey Lord, the rest of the party's attention following his. "Or does the so-called Fey Lord deny that it is working with the Dragon which just carried off the village's treasure?" -[X] If combat breaks out, Sirim casts Haste on our party and Leontas, and Mina casts Glitterdust on the Fey Lord if she can do so without also affecting allies (random bystanders don't count as allies). Otherwise, she uses Ear-Piercing Scream on it. Gorok attacks using his new bow, while Cob takes the opportunity to hide using Stealth.
Against the gnome's word you have nothing, a shadow of a shadow of suspicion, so all that's left to you is to say nothing and risk being caught out by foes all around... or speak now, speak boldly: "Before we hunt down the dragon, we should deal with its accomplice." Catching the treacherous spirit-kin with your gaze you face the fey lord as the others do the same, trusting that you know what the Hells you are doing. So do I... so do I. Before the gnome can answer, certainly before any of the locals can do more than gape at the accusation, you finish: "Or do you deny that you're working with the dragon which just carried off the village's treasure?"
A ruffle of disturbed silks is all that marks the flinch, but it is enough in sight of every witness with their wits still about them... the jig is up and you are ready for the bloody dance to come. Only... it doesn't come. The princeling recoils deeper into himself.
"Pray, good sir, do not think me treacherous for wishing to seem the hero without risking the lives of my companions and the good people of Fusil. Tis true I did not wish to fight a dragon here and now. Did you? Nay, none of us but the master merchant and, of course, the bold son of the mountains were willing to make a foe of him. But I knew suspicion would fall upon me and mine by the very circumstance of the beast's coming so I had to... no, that is beneath me, I choose to make some show of fighting it off."
That... is not unreasonable. The tone of wounded pride at least strikes an honest chord in your ear, at least until Mina passes a thought through Sirim: "One of the others cast a enchantment on him, one that grants a defter tongue, whether speaking truth or lies."
Looking around the far less populous field you can see that the locals and even some of the sellswords are nodding along. Some of them are looking at him with scorn, yes, but for trying to make himself seem brave, not any greater treachery. The only ones who do not seem sold on the notion are Gavhaul, whose eyes are still on the sky where the dragon had vanished as though he could drag him back through sheer force of will, and Captain Leontas, who seems to be contemplating if he has perhaps prayed too hard not to encounter more demons and got an even worse tangle for his troubles.
Mina Spellcraft (DC 17): 1d20+12 = 26 (Success) ...Rolls revealed: Fey Lord Bluff: 1d20+15+4 (Enhanced Eagle's Splendor) = 22
vs
Akorian Sense Motive: 1d20+14 = 19 (Failure)
What do you do?
[] Pretend to accept the lie, at least you know the fey are playing you false somehow. You will know to be wary on the search for the dragon
[] Have Sirim ask the fey lord point blank what kind of game he's really playing
[] Offer him the chance to 'redeem himself' for his hesitation by joining you in the search for the dragon... as soon as you are out of sight of the village capture him or whatever other fey he sends with you for interrogation
[] Write in
OOC: To be clear the spell is Eagle's Splendor, he just has something on him that doubles the bonus.
I have no idea about the follow-up. Leaning towards accepting the explanation, but then we just gave them a warning that we know something is afoot, so perhaps we could double down and invite them to a dragon hunt.
Which is bound to be unsuccessful so long as they are not taken care of, so it's most certainly will lead to an escalation that I don't know is worth the trouble. There is also a matter of Gorok wanting his tribe to live nearby; making enemies of the fey might be ill-advised.
...that said, if we get all the treasures to ourselves, the trouble might be worth a whole lot. More than the 3 thousands Pathfindes are willing to pay, I would assume.
I don't think we are going to come out any better on this exchange, even if we force it to continue. We have an audience to account for, after all. Calling the Fey out and making it admit to some duplicity is better than nothing.
We know they're lying, and they should assume we know they're lying. Anything else relevant they say will probably be a lie as well, and even if we can discern the falsehood from the truth, that doesn't meant we'll get anything useful from them. Meanwhile, the audience will be hearing and likely believing the lies.
[X] Pretend to accept the lie, at least you know the fey are playing you false somehow, you will know to be wary on the search for the dragon
[X] Have Sirim ask the fey lord point blank what kind of game he's really playing
Switching.
Let's try this?
I guess we'll have to backstab Gavhaul very soon anyway, better to do it together with some fey, instead of trying to fight him after we just battled a dragon.
It very much depends on the word, Kori is very good at lying and intimidating for what it's worth. You made this particular fey flinch not just hard enough for you to notice, hard enough for Tyn and the rest of the humans to notice.
"Sirim, ask the tongue-bitter what he's about." When all the cuts are counted you do no care about the villagers getting their treasure back, nor, for that matter, for Gavhaul getting them. Indeed, should they be lost than you will still profit from the Pathfinders' offer. If there's a deal to be cut, then roll it out. You stare intently at the gnome, so different in mien and manner from the shopkeepers of Augustana or the engineers of Almas, and hope.
"Ah... politics, how I have not missed thee..." the shadow mage proclaims, an edge of self-deprecation to his words. "The envoy of the Court of Resplendent Morn has managed to steal a march on the newcomers from the Court of Veils, the same ones the keth woman and her allies were trying to set us up against. As the local power they had first pickings at dealing with Fusil, but now that the dragon has claimed it, it is open season for the newcomer fey on the goods. They are hoping to ally with the dragon against the other fey."
"Not that I doubt you, but did he provide any surety that this is not just the third lie in the quiver?" you ask back.
"Scouts of the Court of Resplendent Morn have encountered the dragon before and they have recognized its nature, a young lunar dragon, likely to have descended from the Black Above along with the Azlanti vessel. That much at least we can divine to verify. As for the rest... it does make sense that if the keth are unhappy with the newcomers than so would their native fey allies, and this scheme to use the dragon against them is all too familiar to what the thieves were attempting to do with us," comes the thoughtful answer. "The dragon being a newcomer also aligns with the age of the rumors, though of course we cannot exclude it already being an ally of the local fey and thus the theft planned between them. Though there is one quirk... I hesitate to share for it has the air of folklore and wistful thinking to it."
From the looks Mina gives him over Cob's head you guess she had said the same thing that is going through your mind: 'Say it anyway, can't hurt to have it on the table.'
"It is said the fey may not explicitly lie and, so far at least, this one seems to have avoided such transgressions, if the whole of the web holds together: The reason he did not strike the dragon is because he did not wish it for a foe, true but incomplete."
Gorok's head twitches in the direction of the shade, answering some question you cannot hear.
"One who knows far more of the land than I confirms the truth of it, so long as the fey are not tainted by the touch of other Spheres, particularly those below."
Gavhaul's talk of demons abroad suddenly comes back to you. In the place of the rush of blood that comes before battle, a headache is already starting to pound at your temples. "Is he willing to explain why he wants the artifacts? Is it just a way to get a leg up on rivals?"
There is a pause then: "Not without payment in kind. He would know why we are seeking the contents of the chest."
That costs you nothing, for in truth you aren't looking for the goods at all, it is the survivors you would speak to if survivors they are in fact alive. "Because our employer wants them, because they are valuable."
Another moment of silence falls. "They seek the 'mind-core' to deny it to the Court of Veils. The Court of Veils seeks to to deliver it to Queen Frilogarma and thereby reverse their exile." The name... this is a name of ill omen. What a mind-core might be you could not say, the well of memories does not run that deep, but if it is sought by spirits and dragons come down onto the world than surely it must be a thing of great worth.
Akorian Lore Azlanti: Insufficient to attempt check DC 35 (Can be attempted tonight with Insight Leaves and magical enhancements)
What do you do?
[] Share what you just learned with Gavhaul
[] Ask the fey if they are in the market for someone to remove their rivals
[] Go after the dragon, see what its stake is in all this is
[] Write in
OOC: Welcome to fey politics, it is like regular politics, but fey... Sirim hates it more than usual and he's a former member of the Umbral Court.
Ugh, it looks like we're going to be dealing with Fey entirely too much for a while to come.
That Mind Core sounds important. Probably something very valuable if the exiles believe it will allow them to buy their way back into the good graces of their queen. Azlanti magitech spirit/AI?
Kori's +10 bonus for Azlanti lore is far from the DC 35 needed to pass that Knowledge check, but we can take a swing at it tonight. Channel Vigor for a +4 bonus, Heroism for a +2, and Bestow Insight from Sirim's Shadow Enchantment for another +4. They will get us to a +20. We can also have Mina cast Hermean Potential for a reroll, and if that fails, we can also cancel the Bestow Insight spell for another reroll. And if those fail, we can try in the morning after drinking the Insight Leaves tea.
Ugh, it looks like we're going to be dealing with Fey entirely too much for a while to come.
That Mind Core sounds important. Probably something very valuable if the exiles believe it will allow them to buy their way back into the good graces of their queen. Azlanti magitech spirit/AI?
Kori's +10 bonus for Azlanti lore is far from the DC 35 needed to pass that Knowledge check, but we can take a swing at it tonight. Channel Vigor for a +4 bonus, Heroism for a +2, and Bestow Insight from Sirim's Shadow Enchantment for another +4. They will get us to a +20. We can also have Mina cast Hermean Potential for a reroll, and if that fails, we can also cancel the Bestow Insight spell for another reroll. And if those fail, we can try in the morning after drinking the Insight Leaves tea.
Talking about buffing Knowledge, we might consider getting our hands on Ancestral Communion.
Not a priority, but if you need a decent option for our last Level 2 spell next level...
I'm not sure how we should proceed. I don't think we should share any of this with Gavhaul, however. That's just needlessly sharing information since he's already motivated to find the stolen treasure. If he wants to track down the Dragon, that will give us an excuse to accompany the expedition on the hunt.
[X] Ask what aid they are willing to provide us to prevent the Mind Core from falling into their rivals' hands, and what reward we will receive if we succeed in doing so?
Talking about buffing Knowledge, we might consider getting our hands on Ancestral Communion.
Not a priority, but if you need a decent option for our last Level 2 spell next level...
Good for fluff, but not worth using for one of Kori's limited spells, IMO. It provides an Insight bonus, so it won't stack with Bestow Insight, which we can already use thanks to Shadow Enchantment.
Good for fluff, but not worth using for one of Kori's limited spells, IMO. It provides an Insight bonus, so it won't stack with Bestow Insight, which we can already use thanks to Shadow Enchantment.
Gavhaul: Wants the Azlanti loot and the adamant, is willing to kill for either. We get paid just for keeping it out of his hands, nevermind getting our own share of it.
Danger unknown, but if we can get him without Leontas and his mercenaries, we can probably take him.
Young Lunar Dragon: As far as we can tell it might just be a typical dragon who wants the shiny, or it genuinely has some interest in keeping the macguffin out of mortal hands and taking the rest of the loot was just a bonus.
CR9, so extremely dangerous to us, we'd need either allies or a well-prepared field of battle.
Court of Resplended Morn: Local Fey, want the shiny, don't want the other fey to have the shiny (or to stay alive). Might want to ally with the Lunar Dragon and maybe if we can convince them with us, to take out the rival fey or at least keep the loot from them.
Danger completely unknown.
Court of Veils: Intruder-fey and very unpopular with the local fey. They want the macguffin-part of the loot for political reasons.
Danger unknown, but we have some hints:
Firstly the crew of thieves wanted to send us against them, thinking we might have had a chance, so not too far from our CR.
Secondly the Resplended Morn agent here thinks they might succeed in getting the macguffin from the Dragon (or they wouldn't care about preventing it) so not too far from their CR either.
In conclusion, leaving the dragon be and hunting the Court of Veils instead would likely net us a decent reward from the Pathfinders and the local Fey, but wouldn't get us the Azlanti loot. And we'd still have to deal with Gavhaul soon.
Hunting the dragon on the other hand gets us the loot, but we'd then have to fight over it with Gavhaul and the Court of Veils most likely.
So I see two viable options:
1. We do some merc-work for the fey, leave the dragon his shiny and focus on the adamant and Gavhaul afterwards.
2. We try to ally with the Dragon and the Fey to deal with the rogue fey and Gavhaul?
