Picking the kind of lock you want to put over your treasury is picking your favorite failure point.
I briefly considered the benefits of requiring a majority of talismans to be present, i.e. 3 out of 5, to do anything with the account... but ultimately it too has weak points, namely that in the event of a particularly nasty party wipe you won't be able to take out money when you might need it most.
I lean towards Arcane Keys, and maybe we can hide their purpose so that a casual theft is less of a liability.
Also, if you don't want your money to be stolen, invest in things that are hard to steal. Build yourself a castle or something.
It's not the casual theft you have to worry about, but rather than dedicated thieves who are built around stealing. A focused build can do some ridiculous stuff.
Gotta have property for that first, and then you end up having a great big target for enemies to surveil and attack.
Not saying we shouldn't invest in property and real estate, but it's not something we should sink too much of our wealth into.
If we do it, we should wait until Urgor's ancestral city is cleared of Undead, if there is any for sale at that point. It'll be better suited to our party, cheaper, and more secure overall.
That's even more dangerous. Bags of Holding aren't that robust, and having one destroyed is a good way to lose everything stored inside of it.
If y'all are going to opt for the Arcane Keys, you should also specify that each key only ever has access to a certain amount of the money. Or split it up into five separate accounts, one for each party member, so that the loss of a single key doesn't get everything stolen.
If y'all are going to opt for the Arcane Keys, you should also specify that each key only ever has access to a certain amount of the money. Or split it up into five separate accounts, one for each party member, so that the loss of a single key doesn't get everything stolen.
I like this, it's clever.
And if we're in the bank taking out moeny, provided we go as a group, we can just say that everyone takes out an equal amount
[X] Arcane Keys
-[X] But five separate accounts, so that the the theft of one key only puts the a fifth of our wealth at risk.
Uneven geometric patterns mark the face of the five keys, each small enough to be held comfortably in the hand. The more one holds them the more detail is revealed under the careful eye, be it on the head or the cylinder base, order emerging from seeming chaos. The high priestess warns you that they are gold and so easily melted down despite the blessing they had been invested with. One wonders what the fate of those vaults whose keys had been melted or lost is. Is there some span of time after which their keepers can claim it, or are there even now vaults untouched under seals of divine law since the days of the High Realm? What secrets might yet lie in them...
A thought comes to you, unbidden. Those who had landed near Fusil would have had need for a money-changer at least, if not a bank.
"A question before we part about companions of which we were parted from on the road, ones which this city might find just as... strange," you raise a hand as the high priestess is about to refuse. "I do not ask you what their dealings may have been with the bank, all I wish for is conformation that they have reached the city safely through pirates, ogres, and worse. We parted on good terms, but they chose to dare swifter roads. I pray to Abadar the lady is safe..."
Catching on to what you are playing, Mina motions down at the shimmering silver armor she had acquired from Sylestryx's hoard. "She was garbed just so and from a like source, though it would be unwise to speak of it."
"...and our mutual investment likewise," you deliver the second part of the 'prayer' in precisely the same tone, turning what might have seemed some saccharine romantic impulse of which two bit verses are made into much more sympathetic and practical interest.
Akorian Bluff: 1d20+22+6 (Bestow Insight) = 39
vs
Opposed Sense Motive: 1d20+12+10 (Far Fetched Lie) = 33
"Hmm... they didn't wear a mask and that's no common armor... Not common at all to see armor on a mage, is it?" She seems to be convincing herself now, so you leave be until she finally says. "I did speak to a lady of that description, one Erinea Doris. She came here in the company of three others to exchange coin and news on where in Taldor they might find a dragon. Not something you can just ask on the street corner... considering..." 'The Dragon Plague,' the words hang unsaid off the end of her sentence like a bloody morsel even after more than a thousand years. Many blamed it for the dissolution of the greater Taldan Empire, the damage caused to the heartlands emboldening Chelish ambition even as it embittered the other outlying provinces. "Once assured of her discretion, I gave her directions to the Firetongue Coffeehouse in Oppara. The name is an obvious cover, seemingly meant to part the gullible from their money, but it is in truth visited by several bronze dragons involved in banking in the city and beyond. The name and the gaudy trappings are meant to cover any slips by younger dragons, the owner would claim 'illusions gone out of hand' at least once every ten years. It is something of an open secret for those with ears in the right place."
A dragon... why would the survivors seek a dragon? Are they looking for someone who saw the Earthfall with their own eyes, as the most ancient wyrms did? Or do they have some other reason to seek a dragon with one already on their tail?
At least now you have a direction... even if it is opposite of where you must go to recover Gorok's tribe.
***
18th of Kuthona 4707 A.R. (Absalom Reckoning)
The next day is spent following along after Mina and Sirim as they speak of magic, the spells they might learn, and the ones they might use from scroll and incantation. Thankfully the governor is willing to sell you two centuries old scrolls of resurrection that had laid in the palace archives for generations, the legacy of a particularly turbulent part of Taldan history, though one assumes not the only one. Bozbeyli doesn't strike you as the kind of man to leave himself without such a potent protection, no matter how much the five of you might have helped him.
But in seeking a scroll of regeneration you must make your way beyond the city walls. No matter how welcoming Cassomir might be to the druids of the Wyldwood the most powerful of them refuse dwell within its walls, so herbalist after herbalist informs you, and not even the majordomo of the palace can say differently, though the man admits it's odd that none of them are offering to serve as go-betweens for such a large sum as you are offering. The question now before you is if you should dare the mangrove swamps outside the city, seeking its druid keeper, or make due with what you have?
Gorok argues for it, Cob against, he'd rather stay in the city and watch the princess' entrance, caught up in the fervor of the city. As for Mina and Sirim, they are obviously looking forward to add many of those spells to their repertoire.
Do you seek out the spell of regeneration beyond the walls of Cassomir?
[] Yes, if ever you should need such healing then the need will be dire
[] No, stay and watch the princess' entrance
[] Leave at once, you have the spell for it, you can go
One of the Regenerate scrolls was for Sylestrix and the other was just o have in case of an emergency. We can try to find one in the next major city we visit.
@DragonParadox, if we vote to leave immediately, we'll still be able to sort out the pirate loot, meet with Urgor and Leontas, and speak with Oka, right?
[X] Leave at once, you have the spell for it, you can go
@DragonParadox, if we vote to leave immediately, we'll still be able to sort out the pirate loot, meet with Urgor and Leontas, and speak with Oka, right?
I'm not inclined to try and get a regeneration scroll from here. They were only intended as a present to Sylestrix and an emergency use for us, we can try again elsewhere.
We don't know how far our sketcy rep has spread, and there's a risk of the Druids having noticed Gorok taking the bones of his people back.
Also, @DragonParadox how did the following bit from the last update go?
---[ ] Ask the governor if he can help lend some weight to our requests to make certain unusual purchases, such as a scroll of Rune of Rule, or a scroll of Raise Dead from a reputable temple, if he can do so without causing any trouble for himself or his faction with his political rivals.
Reading it now I see "or" in the write in, but I rather did want both.
Shame, shame on the Taldor Empire if the governor can not get us such a trifling spell. Oh, how far they have fallen.
Shame.
Oh, I missed it in the shopping list above.
Shame, shame on BeepSmile for his reading comprehension failure.
Shame.
Edit: We should consider now what spell(s) we want in the third Ring of Spell Storing, going forwards. Just so we don't forget to take advantage of it.
I only wanted the ring for easier True Skill + Sharesister shenanigans.
Unless the Azlanti survivors need a Dragon for something really specific, like one of their hearts as a ritual spell component, I believe they are just hoping to speak with an older, knowledgeable Dragon to get a better idea of what happened in the aftermath of the Earthfall.
Dragons inherent a lot of racial memories, so there is a decent possibility they can find one who knows relevant information, or who can at least point them in the right direction.
Edit: We should consider now what spell(s) we want in the third Ring of Spell Storing, going forwards. Just so we don't forget to take advantage of it.
I only wanted the ring for easier True Skill + Sharesister shenanigans.
I know you said yes to Sirim-in-Gorok being a valid target for the oils, but can Sirim posses Gorok and then use a RoSS with Sharesister in it on Kori?
For regular day to day use, I would probably say to have Mina keep it at hand. Sirim can cast Mirror Image and Shield spells into it, both great defensive magic that isn't on a Witch's spell list.
@Goldfish
You know, the Teleport scrolls are nice, but unless they are at higher level than 9, we can't take our entire group with one?
Even without the Iruxi, just our core-group are 5 people (not counting the statuefied Toad and the dream-cat).
Teleport level 9 would be good for the Caster plus 3 more people.
@Goldfish
You know, the Teleport scrolls are nice, but unless they are at higher level than 9, we can't take our entire group with one?
Even without the Iruxi, just our core-group are 5 people (not counting the statuefied Toad and the dream-cat).
Teleport level 9 would be good for the Caster plus 3 more people.
We can make it work. First we use Reduce Person scrolls on the Iruxi and have them hang out in our Bag of Holding along with Sirim, then Mina uses the Teleport scroll.
We can make it work. First we use Reduce Person scrolls on the Iruxi and have them hang out in our Bag of Holding along with Sirim, then Mina uses the Teleport scroll.
They don't count against the passenger limit while they're inside the Bag of Holding. It's an exploit that works by RAW because the interior of the bag is a separate nondimensional space which the bag is attached to, not necessarily inside the bag itself.
If we stay to see the princess's arrival, y'all know we're going to end up staying for at least a day or two after that, too, right? Something is going to happen to get out attention or we'll be targeted by someone. We have made friends here, but we've also made enemies.
We can Teleport directly to Augustana, but it will still take several days to create the Dancing Slurk 2.0, we'll have to find a reliable crew for it, and we'll have to sail back to Cheliax. All in all, even in a best case scenario, we're still a couple weeks from returning to Gorok's tribe, and that's after being away for months. I would hate for our delay to end up causing the loss of Gorok's people.
