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  1. Journals

Session 09

Session
2021-03-13

Session Nine

The Shipwreck's Spoils

After their adventures aboard the sunken Marshal, the party spent the next several days resting, recuperating, and selling off the ship's plundered treasures.

Though they kept the Marshal's magical items—with Elegy claiming the Gauntlets of Ogre Power—they removed several of the patches from the Robe of Useful Items: the one containing four potions of healing, the one containing a silver coffer worth 500 dragons, and the patch containing ten gems, each worth 100 dragons.

From there, the group stopped by several jeweler and antique stores to sell off some of the treasures they'd accumulated. A well-timed distort value spell cast by Solaris doubled the perceived value of the coffer, which the group had filled with the gems. Some clever words saw them part with the lot of it and leave with just shy of two thousand dragons in hand—more than enough to cover the repairs to their new home.

It didn't take long for the group to spend a small fraction of their new wealth; they proceeded to visit several curio and pawn shops, and ended up amassing a small collection of curiosities of their own. The last shop they visited was the Old Xoblob Shop, a small and deeply strange establishment that Solaris knew to pop up in various parts of the city at random and had this time appeared close to their home base of Trollskull Alley.


Expanding Acquaintances

Between their comings and goings, various members of the group also managed to make the acquaintance of a few more of their neighbours. Of note were Embric of Steam & Steel, the fire genasi husband of Avi, and Tally Fellbranch of the Bent Nail, the carpentry shop that was to provide their new furniture. On a few separate occasions, different individuals also spied a human man watching the Manor.

The passing days also saw some familiar faces stop by.

One was Ulkoria Stonemarrow, who dropped by unannounced to inspect her former home and speak to Elegy. She had a job offer for her fellow Order member: of late, shoddily-crafted magical items had trickled into circulation. These were not just a threat to the Order’s reputation, but to the safety of the buyers.

The case had made its way to Stonemarrow, and she now offered it to Elegy’s nascent adventuring companions. Were they to track down and apprehend the crafter, the Order would show its gratitude through gold, a magical item of equivalent value, or the scribing of glyphs of warding on the grounds of their property done by Stonemarrow herself. Elegy accepted the job—they’d at least look into it, if not solve the problem—and Stonemarrow departed.

Another visit came from Renaer Neverember, who sought out Beatrice specifically to deliver a letter on behalf of another. Inside were five tickets to The Rise of Tiamat—an opera set to be staged at the Lightsinger Theater—and a note. Written in a bold, curling hand, it simply read:

Renaer tells us you're a good bet.
If you are interested, go to Private Box C at intermission on the 12th of Ches. Formal attire is required for admittance.
—M.

This wasn’t the only written correspondence to reach their new address. In addition to Beatrice’s opera, Nedria herself had received a formal invitation to a Fey Day ball. The ball was being thrown by House Cassalanter on the 19th of Ches, and invited Lady Nedria Mirielle and her entourage to attend would be her public debut to high society.

Finally, unbeknownst to the party, a half-elf man known to some as Cypran departed from Trollskull Manor to pay homage at the Plinth. His worships were delayed when Sebine Silversee, a familiar face at the Plinth, sought him out. The conversation was brief; she only wanted to let him know he was… being observed, after a fashion. Beyond that, there was little she could say.


New Attentions

The Cassalanters’ weren’t the only eyes on Nedria and her set.

It was while Val was still out—alone, somewhere near the Waterdeep Market—that he felt a tap on his shoulder, a hand in his pocket. When he turned to see who it was, the person was gone. Instead, he was left with a note—an address, which read:

43, The Rise, The Mountainside

Number 43, Val soon discovered, was the address of House Mirielle’s Waterdhavian estate. He was welcome in past its wrought-iron, through its carved front doors, into its entrance hall, and was greeted by Lady Demeter Mirielle.

The elder Lady Mirielle was Nedria’s estranged mother, and she wasted no time in welcoming Valentino into her parlour and offering him a proposition. If he were to keep an eye on her dear daughter for her—and, perhaps, to keep her abreast of Nedria’s activities—she would return to him his darling Bella Donna, the ship on which he’d served.

Valentino declined her offer; he needed time to think, he said. She acquiesced but, as a show of good faith, gifted him the ship’s billethead. Before he left, she also strongly suggested he keep their meeting to himself; there was no need to upset Nedria by telling her. Val found himself inclined to agree and all but fled back to Trollskull Alley with the Donna’s billethead in hand.

He arrived back to see the fruits of a discussion between Nedria herself and Solaris.

Nedria was sure she’d been watched of late, and was sure she knew by whom. Or, rather, by what. For the past few days, a small silvery owl had taken up residence in one of the trees outside the Manor. It hadn’t done anything and it seemed to be blind, but Nedria was sure it had been watching her. Furthermore, she was certain it had an aura of magic around it; transmutation magic, to be exact.

She sought a second opinion from Solaris, who promptly declared her paranoid, then ignored that opinion and cast moonbeam on the owl.