"Guys, there's this man who is willing to teach me a stronger spell than the ones we all have, but he's asking for 2 of my spells in return, plus 400 gold coins. Now, I don't know if you can learn that spell yet, but I'm sure in time you will, so what I suggest is that you let him copy some of your spells too, and make him lower the price. Then, you can copy the spell from me later. What do you say ?" Winded from his uncharacteristically long speech, Ami looks at them hopefully.
Tolik seems rather distracted. "Oh, hmmmm? Yeah, that'd be fine I suppose. I've got those gold ingots too if you need some money." He scratches his head, then adds, "Oh, I suppose I need to come with you, don't I? Well, I'll run grab a couple of those ingots, and we can go."
"Yeah, OK, but let's wait for Ratlin. Oh, and don't mention the ingots before we offer your spells, or he might not lower the price."
Tolik gets the ingots from his horse, then takes his spellbook and follows Ami. "Gee, I suppose I should ask, what kind of spell is this?"
"Well, he has several," answers the gnome. "One places a false magical trap on a treasure chest, while another alters existing fire to create sounds and sights of some magnitude. He also has a spell to detect magically hidden things or people. Lastly, he has a spell which creates an itch or rash on the target, making it difficult for them to concentrate on anything else." Ami thinks for a bit. " I tend to go for the itching one," he says. " Sometimes we need to distract our opponent so Ullar or Forte can have a chance at him..."
Ratlin walks over and hears this last bit, "Seems to me the only spell he has of worth is the one for detecting the magically hidden things. I wish to prepare for the spell I will cast later, I will not be able to go with you. Most of the spells I have, Tolik does as well now anyway."
"Suit yourself, Ratlin" answers Ami as he and Tolik head back to the elven scholar's place. " I still think we should get the itchy one," he tells Tolik on the way. " And remember, once we get there, let's try for him to accept spells from you and to lower the price before offering those ingots."
Once the two mages get back to the scholar, Ami tries to haggle him down from the 400 gold in exchange for Tolik's spells, hoping to at least halve the price, trying to remember how Dakath used to talk when handling business transactions, and trying to do the same.
Still feeling a little annoyed with Ratlin, Tolik leans to Amibar and whispers, "I agree with you, but if we can pick up more than one with a discount, I think we should go for it. Any additional knowledge is good, and even the most odd spell has uses."
"Yes, you may be right, Tolik," nods Amibar. " We shall have to see what bargain we can arrange with this scholar."
The fellow seems inclined to deal, copying over two additional spells from Tolik's book along with Amibar's, then dropping the price to only 200 gold coins. Amibar has plenty more than that in his pack, and thus pays in cash rather than try to sell the fellow Tolik's gold ingots. He is not conducive to any quantity discount, and for another 2nd tier spell, he will charge 600 more gold pieces.
Amibar is happy for the discount, but frowns at the price for the additional spell. " I think I'll just take one this time," he sullenly tells the man.
Unfortunately for Amibar, he proves unable to comprehend the workings of the Irritation spell. The trading magician seems most put out, but will provide him another choice to exchange. Taking Ratlin's suggestion, Amibar chooses the spell to detect magically hidden objects, which he is able to understand without terrible trouble, as the spell is more along the lines of those he already can use.
Ticked off and embarrassed at his incompetence, Ami quickly makes to leave the scholar's, not caring to spend a great amount of money only to fail again. He avoids meeting Tolik's eye on the way, and is silent until they reach the inn, where he goes up to his room, only coming down for dinner.
Tolik pats the gnome on the back. "I don't even know where to begin with that spell. I might be a little better at picking up the simpler spells, but you're able to hand spells far more complex than I can try." He doesn't try to start a conversation, but rather just tries to console.
Ami doesn't look up, but his stooped form straightens somewhat as they make their way back to the inn.
Tolik allows himself a little smile as they walk back to the inn in silence. 'Ahh,' he thinks. 'Not a bad day.'
That evening, as the party dines, they find Stubbs a much more congenial host. Besieged once again by Ullar's questions, he settles down to speak. "First thing, the woman appeared to know you. She described you rather well, though I suppose such a group as yours would be hard to miss!" He chuckles, swabbing a dirty glass with a white cloth.
"Her companions didn't talk much. I got the impression they were priests or some such, as they wore thick hooded robes, even in the heat, and never looked up even. She seemed to be running the show. She was quite strange herself, dark-skinned, tall, with piercing blue eyes. None of us knew you were coming, so I told her so, and she left, on horseback. A couple of the villagers said she headed north." He shrugs "I don't have any idea where she was going or if she'd be back, but I would think so, as the only thing up there is Threshold and some mines. Rough town for such a striking lady. I'd guess she'll be back through here within the week."
Forte listens intently to the description, sighing softly when he hears of the men traveling with the woman.
"Doesn't sound too much like friends of ours, I'd say," observes Tolik quietly so Stubbs doesn't hear him, "Doubtless someone under the Bishop's control."
"I don't like the fact that she may be back before the week is out. We may have to leave sooner than that." Rhune adds
"What, and miss our 'friends?'" ask Tolik, the sarcasm not as heavy as would be expected. "No, really, I think you and Asif need your wedding, and this is probably the best chance you'll have for a while." He shrugs, "If she shows up, we'll deal with it. But until then, why worry when you should be happy?"
"Thank you Tolik. I suppose you are right. This may be the only chance we get for a long time." she turns her frown into a smile and takes Asif's hand in hers.
"I agree with Tolik.." says Ullar. "We can continue to run from any one 'pursuing' us, but sooner or later we will run into a band of hired mercenaries, as this area is swarming with them. To be honest, I don't have a clue why the Bishop is doing it this way. If he really wants us captured, he just has to send some of his elite-troops and we would be in real trouble. Somehow I think he expects us to lead him somewhere, but I don't know where. It's all in this blue tube but we just can't seem to open it. Perhaps there is some information regarding the gnolls here." says Ullar, scratching his chin, which still needs to be shaven.
"You know come to think of it that might be the thing, Ullar. I think the Gnoll said something about it being a place. You know maybe someone here could open it. Once we find out what the villagers think of the bishop maybe we can ask around." she says to the party
"Don't worry about that Rhune, just concentrate on your wedding! We had more obstacles in our way than this lady and we managed to survive..." the warrior says, trying to get Rhune to relax a little.
Rhune looks at her friends and starts to giggle, "Thank you all. with friends like all of you, this will be the best wedding of all. Just sort of wish my family could be here. but since they are not we will make the best of it." She says relaxing finally and starting to enjoy the thought of getting married.
Ratlin adds, "Maybe if I examined the tube? Which reminds me, the pearls are going to cost around 1200 gold florens but the jeweler is willing to trade gems for them. I know that I certainly do not have the money even for one gem so the decision is up to you whether or not you want to know the properties of your items."
"I don't mind if you examine the tube but let's wait for just a moment, till we are at least somewhere else than here." Rhune says to the man.
"So you think it would be a good idea to wait until we leave this town right?" Ratlin asks.
"It's certainly not a good idea to do it in the open, nor to speak about it in public, since it most definitely will get us unwanted attention." Ullar replies.
"How many pearls did he have?" asks Forte. "I'd like to find out more about the mace, so I'm willing to contribute whatever I have toward buying these pearls...."
"I believe he had enough for all of the items to be identified." Ratlin replies.
Tolik nods. "It looked like he had enough, but they were about 10 times higher quality than what we would need. And higher quality doesn't necessarily bring better results, just higher price." He shrugs. "We should have asked the Arab, he no doubt would have had something a little closer to what we need."
"But could we buy just SOME of the pearls, instead of all of them for 1200 gold florens?" asks Forte. "Even if we can't get all of our stuff identified because we can't afford all the pearls, we could at least get some of it identified."
"Then I suggest you decide amongst yourselves what you want identified. Then we can buy the pearls for those items alone. We can always get more later." Ratlin replies.
"Good idea Forte, As anxious as I am to find out about this silmar blade, I think I can wait until I have more free cash on hand. I will pass on an identification for now. Thank you though Ratlin" Arkady says.
"I've got one gem and quite some money, still, so it could be possible. However, can't we throw in a horse. They are sacred in this village, and I'm sure we can come to some understanding.." says Ullar, not eager to give away all of the money.
"I don't know. He seemed more interested in the jewels." Ratlin says.
"If I can Ratlin, I will help you with the pearls." Rhune says to the man.
"Thank you Rhune, I'm sure the others will appreciate it as well." Ratlin replies with a smile.
"How much time do you need for this spell to work? Didn't you need to stay in physical contact with them for 8 hours or so?" Ullar asks.
Ratlin looks thoughtful for a moment and grins, "How silly of me! I only need one pearl for all of the items but I must be sequestered with the items for the 8 hours without interruption. I also need an owl's feather and some wine. So if we can get the pearl, and the feather, then I should be able to start tomorrow morning."
Ratlin remembers that he is only powerful enough to use this spell on two items, though his memory of the other details is true enough.
He looks over at Tolik, "You can help with the feather right? At least in finding one?"
Tolik, hesitates, but nods. "Yeah, I doubtless could. The owls here aren't quite like the owls at home, but I'm sure I could run down a nest or a fallen feather. I'm just not sure this is the best time to try this. I'd like more time to see if we can raise the odds of success, then give it a shot when we find some better priced pearls. Paying over ten times what we need seems a little ridiculous, but I guess its not my call. If it matters than much, we could give it a shot."
Forte looks a little disappointed, and glances wistfully at his mace for a second. "Tolik's probably right. We should wait until we can get some more inexpensive pearls."
"The value of the stone matters not. The minimum of 1000 gold is mainly to ensure a good quality stone. And if you want the tube checked out, I may need to identify it to learn it's true value. Please go find the feather for me and I will begin preparations."
Ratlin looks over at the others and adds, "Decide what you wish to have identified now, for I only have the power to do two items. Once you have decided, gather the money needed for the pearl and come to my room. I will be there preparing."
Tolik scowls, visibly annoyed and not bothering to try to conceal it. Whispering to Amibar he asks, "What is the cost of the pearl required? I thought it was considerably less than 1000 gold pearl, I thought something, oh, a tenth that value would complete the spell with no major differences, except perhaps flavor. Am I misinterpreting?"
The gnome raises his hands and shrugs. " I don't know, that whole spell was beyond my understanding." The thought seems to bring him down a bit. "Ratlin does seem a bit eager to try out the ritual, even if it means using way too expensive reagents," he adds.
"Ratlin, I don't think we should spend 1200 on a pearl if one of 100 gold pieces would be sufficient. Let's do this identification some other time, ok?" says Ullar, who seems to be troubled by some dark thoughts.
"100 gold is not sufficient. One thousand is. An extra two hundred gold will not hurt will it?"
"Har? I thought you said you only needed a pearl worth 100 GP, but now it is 1000? And there is only a pearl worth 1200 present in this village?" Ullar asks.
"Did I say 100? My mind must be going. Sorry. Then I guess we can wait." Ratlin grins a bit and scratches his beard. He looks over at Tolik and asks, "Can you still get that feather for me for later anyway?"
Then, the elf turns to Ratlin, still scowling. "Oh yes my liege," he announces, with a deep, over-exaggerated bow. With one last dirty look cast in the mage's direction, he does his best to storm out of the inn, though his small frame and odd appearance make this an almost comedic gesture.
Ratlin chuckles slightly, shaking his head and goes to his room.
Tolik grunts, barely acknowledging he heard Ratlin. The elf continues to storm out the door, and doesn't bother to indicate whether or not he plans to get the feather for Ratlin.
As he gets off by himself, he mutters, "Jeeze, just like home, 'Do this, do that.' What do they think I am, a winged go fer?" ((OOC: Pun intended)) He kicks at the ground in fury, and his whole body quivers with rage.
But he quickly cools off, unable to stay overly mad for a long time. He begins to look for some signs of an owl as he walks, and sure enough he spies a nest high up in the tree. 'Right before bed would be a perfect time to grab one, while its gone,' he thinks, trying to make sure he remembers to get it.
When Ullar mentions the Centaurs, Stubbs smiles broadly, "Ah, you met Loshad? Magnificent fellow, he is. Doesn't get up here very much, though the elves talk to him on occasion. A bit of a stickler about his kind, but once you get past that, he's a good fellow. He likes the elves hereabout okay. Doesn't drink or eat our food, so I haven't talked to him, but he comes here once in a while."
"Do you have any other 'regular' guests which visit your Inn?" Ullar asks, while enjoying dinner.
Stubbs nods his head, "For certain, we have many travelers heading from Arezzo to Threshold that stop in for a drink. We serve all comers equally, as long as they do not mean any Callari harm."
"And who is the leader of this elven community? I'd like to introduce myself to him" says Ullar, with a faint smile, as if he is trying to hide the real reason why he wants to speak to their leader.
Stubbs smiles, "Haven't been in an elven village before, huh?" He shakes his head, "No leader here, my friend. It's a communal place, tenuously under the Warguard's protection, but so far away, they run things themselves. Nobody really has a reason to need a leader, so they just don't bother with one. Elves are like that, as are my people!" He chuckles a bit.
When Ullar speaks of the goblins, Stubbs shakes his head, "No goblins around here. The Callari wouldn't like that much. They keep to the woods down southeast of here. Never seen one up this far." He seems more than happy to talk with any of you about anything you wish, as this time he has several young elven serving maids working the tables, where dozens of Callari elves have come for dinner, and seem very interested in the group's activities.
"Hmm.. thank you. I'm interested in anything you can tell me about that area. I've heard some stories regarding Threshold, could you tell me if they are true? Is it really a town full of outlaws and outcasts of the society?" Ullar asks.
Stubbs nods his head. "Oh yes, it's a rough town. Because it's so far away from any real authority figures, it's rife with crime. Slavers, gangsters, smugglers, everything you could imagine. There is a church representative there, but he doesn't have much power, and it's rumored he's in the pocket of the gangsters himself"
"But who is running Threshold? A gangster-clan leader, or is it total anarchy? And does the Bishop send any patrols that way?" asks Ullar, wondering if he is not flooding Stubbs with questions.
Stubbs shrugs, "Truth be told, I don't know that much about it. As for leadership, which you seem to care a lot about, if I might say, the Bishop has a representative there. Powerful fellow, by all regards, but it's also said that he is in with the unsavory sorts around there. I don't know for sure. I have heard that he is very strict with outsiders, and runs things pretty tightly unless you have an inroad. Sherman, Shermalan, something like that is his name. Never been there myself. Don't want to go either."
"And what about those mines north of Threshold. Could you tell me anything about that area? Who inhabit and work in those mines, or are they already depleted? Any dwarves?" Ullar continues.
"The mines are not much use, from what I've heard. Only further north is there anything good, and that's Death's Head country. No one goes up there and returns. One fellow who did said that they took his whole group and put their heads on pikes, then ate the rest! Not nice at all, they aren't. As for the mines near the town, I think they are just warehouses for other things going on up there. I know that not much in the way of goods comes through here from there, though we do get some small riverboats that pass in the night, with who knows what cargo."
Rhune shudders at the thought of someone taking heads and then eating the bodies.
Ullar looks puzzled at this remark. "Mines used as warehouses? What would they store in there? And do you know if there is any particular reason why those riverboats pass at night? I bet it's not quite legal what they are pulling off in Threshold!"
The innkeeper smacks his head, "I think he's got it!" He grins widely, "No, my friend, I suspect it's not legal either. As for the warehouse mines, I don't know, and I don't want to know!" He says with a mock shudder.
Stubbs sighs for a moment, "But it's not all bad. They do a good trade in lumber, which they bring down to Arezzo on massive river-floats, lashed together. There are some good people up there. They just have a lot of bad ones, too!" He smiles at this small jest.
"In case we end up in that town, do you have any names of contacts we can trust?" asks Ullar, while passing over a couple of gold pieces to Stubbs.
Stubbs cheerfully takes the coins, shaking his head, "Like I said, I've never been there, and I don't know anyone there well enough to recommend. I wouldn't trust anybody, were I you!