Zoom 2024-07-02 21:00

Sorry, we're a bit behind on the Zoom session write ups. Here is a brief synopsis of last Tuesdays session
* As already reported, we handed in Thirson's holy symbol to a cleric of SARN (though Garaf had apparently already tried, unsuccessfully, to flog it.) This led to us being offered a 'speak with dead' to Thirson as he apparently has something he want to tells - though we have to ask the right questions.
* We have a meeting with a high ranking official and a GARM Lizardman priest. Whilst not naming the item directly, GARM want their hand back, and will return the goblet along with other concessions to Hentron for it. In private, the official tells us that as the Lizardmen are in severe difficulties and are overextended, the completion of the GARM manifest is no longer a threat. We agree that Hentron may trade the GARM hand as part of his negotiations with the Lizardmen, with the return of the goblet being part of the deal. We give the official the location of the hand, plus permission for the Wyldwood priests to release the hand to the Lizardmen. We ask that they keep the box for us! (The location is not a great surprise, and the fighting/attacks around the Diamond Fort may indicate that attempts had already been made to retrieve it.) 
* There is an announcement from the Palace: Hentron shall marry the Empresses to cement human/Elven relations.
* The contest for the First Sword of Shannah will take place in Stormhaven on the 15th March. Our Shannah worshippers can spectate if they want to.
We instigate some enquiries - sending off to Hightower for any information about the Flamboyant Dwarf, or of any goblets s/he may have stored there. We also ask for any records of Waynagh from the bridge at Braerk. Darrell to provide info.
Otherwise, we didn't get much information. There is no information to be had anywhere on the Flamboyant Dwarf. This is similarly no information about Alvera at all. We don't know if Adamas ever saw him - he would have relinquished the regency without needing to see him if he had been told by a sufficiently reliable and trusted source that Alvera was alive and free . The Quartermaster cannot help us with the "Push On" or other Arcane spells, but he does agree to hold Thirson's Soul Ring in secure storage for hazardous items.
Golderod couldn't provide much insight, though he did say that the Season Of Death is ending (currently, just a 1 in 8 chance that Create Food and Water fails), but may well start up again in late autumn/winter. It may have been prompted by the return of the Wild. The Tobor conclave is still running. 
Magic Items:
Umar is very fond of his bouncy boots, and so is prepared to lend his new Boots of Charging to Bazin in return for the +3 Ring of Protection that we anticipate Brokev will be returning to party stores. (If Brokev prefers to keep the +3 ROP, we'll work something else out!) 
We do have two +2 Rings of Protection and the Ring of FF/Flying to distribute to worthy or whiny party members.
On 03/07/2024 13:51, David Lewis wrote:If you didn't make last night's session, we gave Thirson's holy symbol to a local priest of Sarn.  In return he has offered to Speak with the Dead through it, and have Thirson answer 4 questions for us in a 10-minute interview.  In fact, Thirson seems quite keen on the idea, like there's one more job he wants to get us to do for him (although that may just be paranoia on my part).
Darrell gave us a pretty big hint that we need some information from Thirson, something that he definitely knows, and that the clue is in his background.
So I've been re-reading Thirson's background looking for things he would know, and trying to work out why we would need to know them.  I currently have one front-runner, which I'll save for last.
Recap of Thirson's background:
Thirson was born into the Sarn religion, his mother being a Priestess of the God in Wilston, but as a youngster he was ill suited to the religious discipline due to a violent temper. Eventually, his Father (a senior temple enforcer) lost patience and forced Thirson to train as a monk alongside his priestly vows, believing that the discipline would bring some control to the boy. Unbeknownst to the Father, Thirson was already pursuing a career in Thievery as well and so his strange set of skills emerged. Thirsons one close friend at the temple was Ghasan, a Dwarven Mage/Assassin who functioned as a temple trouble shooter. Once Thirson was old enough, he began to accompany Ghasan on his missions, and the two of them became a very effective team. On a mission to Far Haven he and Ghasan met Saratak, who gave both of them a prophecy. Whilst there, he heard that Wilston had fallen to the Empire and that his parents were dead. He split up from Ghasan and headed back to Wilston to try and make things difficult for the Empire, Ghasan took up residence in the Vale of Vendor to pursue the path that his prophecy seemed to outline.
Things he would or may know:
* What were his parents' names? (but why do we care?)
* What was Ghasan's mission in Far Haven?
* What did Ghasan's prophecy say? (assuming Saratak spoke the prophecies and didn't hand them sealed envelopes to read later)
* If Sorlor was in Riverside, what did she have to do with the death of Thirson's parents?  Is killing her just a way of punishing Rasten (who presumably was in Willston)?
* My favourite: was Ghasan the flamboyant dwarf?  We know that he was an assassin, therefore skilled in disguise, and a favourite element of disguise is to emphasise some irrelevant feature like a fake beard or a showy outfit.