Sapphire:Sessions:20200222

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After a day's journey to the nearest gate, the group returns to Sapphire.

Chalker speaks to the emperor regarding contact with Malprin.

Alastor establishes a residence in Colvin, capital of Malprin with financing from Chalker. The gate in the residence is kept carefully hidden. Alastor uses the gate to move merchandise, giving Trace a cut of the profits.

Shawna meets with Lady Thire. From Belandrie: "their place" is protected by mages, and Belandrie's group is mapping unknown areas. The Thieves Guild fragments are cooperating with one another. A few "dark elves" have been flushed out; there is a "nest" of them in Verdon.

Shawna visits Taybor Cove, home of Tina, the brave girl who walked to Sapphire to save her town from mind control.

Construction on Chalker's Old Town properties is completed by the end of the month of Rain Time.

Charesoon's shrine in Sapphire has moved, and it takes Chalker a week to locate it. The same old woman seated in front flashes him a gap-toothed grin. He apologizes for the "recent disagreement" and her smile widens into a full set of teeth and fangs. Chalker: "Do you make your children out of humans?" "No, they have to do it themselves. I enable them if they are devout enough." "Do you have a race of devotees that started as dwarves or halflings?" "Are you offering some up?" Chalker detects that Charesoon is "pissed" and "twarted [sic]". He asks, "Where is your other son? And should I be afraid?" "He is bound by the First, and yes, very much." "Do you consider yourself evil?" "Of course not." "Me either," Chalker replies, and starts to back away. The old woman stands up, her fangs now resembling saber teeth. Chalker: "Tell Phor he's a lucky god." "Mensep won't always be near." "Next time, will you be in a better mood?" "Will you be dead?" "I'm the son you wish you never had."

Chalker looks around for Mensep, who steps out of an alley and tells him, "You'll be delivering the message around the first of next year." The "dark halflings" are neither Mensep's constructs nor Charesoon's. Mensep: "It's a very delicate situation." He adds that "Shawna and her companions will be called, unless Belandrie falls into it." Chalker refuses to take the next message. Chalker: "Where's Ven?" Mensep: "In his grave, near the bowels of the Troubled Lands." "The dark halflings aren't from around here?" "Yes."

Intrinsius begins regularly leaving offerings at the temple of Santash. The priest there says Santash is pleased with him. Intrinsius: "In spite of my failures, I'm trying to do better."

The new year 2437 begins on Blooming Time 1.

On BT 3, Rory reports that the area where Belandrie is hunting the dark halflings is nearly 3000 miles away, to the west and slightly north. The maps Rory has obtained are over 400 years old and have few details. He has made copies and marked the gate locations.

Trace announces that within the next couple of months he will apply for the designation of Master Mage.

BT4 - Chalker visits Lady Thire. "I'm headed to an unknown land, searching for the dark halflings. Please tell the Illustrious One that I am on my way and would like to speak with him." The city Belandrie is in presently is called Pinehurst. Lady Thire is still investigating the dark elves; "They hate other races because they 'destroy Nature'." Chalker verifies that Belandrie has been alive since before Year 1 of the present age.

Shawna has gone off southward. She quells a bandit gang, killing some and rehabilitating others.

Ahn-Lee and Kimtri have gone to Ordin and expect to be away at least a month.

BT6: At 4:00am Chalker, Intrinsius, and Cal go through a gate and come out 30' below the Smiling Robbers Saloon in Pinehurst. Trace had constructed a tunnel which leads up into an alley. Due to the time difference, here it is 10:00pm on BT5. They hear raucous singing, and there are bards onstage playing a lute and a flute. Most of the patrons are human except for a couple of goblins and a half-orc. The group enters and is seated. Pointing at the half-orc, Chalker orders "ale for my friend over there." Intrinsius gets up and dances with the waitress.

When the ale is delivered, the half-orc raises his mug and salutes Chalker. Chalker beckons him over. The half-orc gives the name Loop and says he's a "roving fighter" currently between jobs. His rate is 3cp per day, or 1cp with room and board. He has been a lot of elves around lately. Chalker offers him 1cp retainer. "We'll meet some elves tomorrow, and if you survive, I'll hire you." Chalker detects metal on Loop -- two throwing knives, a short sword, several crossbow bolts with iron tips (but no crossbow). Aura: Greedy, brutish, very strong Gauder worship.

Chalker writes a note to Shawna.

Intrinsius returns to the table and sits down, saying, "This isn't my type of place -- they're not nice people." He has detected Magery on several people, mostly low level, but there's a merchant at the bar who is higher level.

Chalker floats a coin across and taps the merchant on the shoulder; the man comes over and slides into Cal's vacated seat. His name is Dar Crippen -- "Mister Crippen" -- and he sells "magic talismans, potions, and art objects." He visits several cities regularly. He is incredulous that Chalker and his group comes from the Calventine Empire, saying "Most won't know what 'the Empire' is." Chalker: "You look out of place." DC: "This place is challenging. The duke isn't happy with this place but he doesn't shut it down." (The Duke's full name is Bartholomew Carothers Jorgensen; he stands 6', 200 pounds, muscular.) DC knows that "elves are wandering around looking for something or someplace;" he doesn't like elves "because of Yasseph." He's not a follower of Asseraah, though. Aura: Level 3 mage; strong psionic mind shield; both good and bad; scarred by a demon (mauled, now mostly healed). DC claims his mother named him Dar due to "her sense of humor." He experienced "an unfortunate event" so he avoids Yasseph and elves.

Chalker: "You have a link with demons, so I'm told." DC: "Got caught between demons and elves, wrong place at the right time." "Nice meeting you. Hope you get over your phobia of elves and demons, and remember when to run." "I have a feeling our paths will cross. I will visit the temples of Roo and Cor and Mensep." "Tell Roo I said hi, but don't mention me to Mensep." "Coming to this tavern was a mistake; I have yet to meet --" DC doesn't finish his sentence. He brings out a set of bones, tosses them on the table, then sighs dramatically, "I will see you again." He rises and walks out.

Chalker waves Cal over. "Let's get us a room and see who follows." They get three rooms at the Rush Inn (recommended by their waitress). They're positive they weren't followed. They discover in each room a trapdoor in the floor that leads to a tunnel. Chalker and Cal each drag furniture over their trapdoor. Intrinsius lights a candle and waits.

Around 1:00am the trapdoor slowly rises and a guy emerges. As he starts to turn around Intrinsius grabs him and flips him onto his back. Somehow the guy slips away from Intrinsius, shoves himself feet-first through the trapdoor, and falls flat on his back on the tunnel floor, the wind knocked out of him. Intrinsius throws the trapdoor wide and lands astride the guy. The tunnel is only 5' high, so Intrinsius is obliged to keep his head down. The guy says "shit" as Intrinsius pulls a knife. Intrinsius sees that this "guy" is a teenage boy.

Intrinsius marches the boy to Chalker's room. "He tried to rob me." Chalker: "What's your name, dead kid?" "Denny." "If you lie, I'm gonna cut off something. Is the tavern owner in on this?" "No, sir. One of the bartenders and two serving women." Chalker places the point of the knife between Denny's eyes and asks for information. Denny: "We go after newcomers, take things they won't miss." Chalker sighs, says "Remember this," then kicks Denny down an open trapdoor.

In the morning Loop is waiting for them. They go to the Paladin & Priest Tavern where an elf ranger is guarding the door. Chalker recognizes the elf from the Malprin campaign. The elf says he's met six half-orcs in the past month. Loop says he has four half-siblings.