S01E03 - Map Quest

Map Quest is the third episode of the first season of Top of the Round.

Chaz, with a clear and decisive mind, leads the adventurers on the next big step of the journey that lies ahead.

## Detailed Synopsis

Chaz pockets the five envelopes Euphemia gave him, and exits the room.  He gives Talice a long hard stare down.  Then relaxes back into his normal happy-go-lucky attitude.

Clerics are cleaning up the breakfast dishes and Chaz flirts with one.  She agrees to go on a date with him that night at the Spiced Pear, then is somewhat confused by his ignorance and confusion over telling time.  Meanwhile, Talice approaches the head cleric and learns that the Reaping happens sporadically, without any real pattern.  However, on the nights it happens, the sunset will turn the sky an angry red, and that’s the only warning the townspeople have.

Chaz returns to Talice and Se’ku and says that he wants to acquire a map.

The trio go to the general store, where Se’ku’s friend Otis works.  as soon as they step outside the Sanctuary, they spot an elderly Halfling on a soapbox, proselytizing about the end times.  She is with the Cult of the Elders.  She shouts, “The Twilight Prince is coming! And when he does, he will end the Harvest, and wash this world in blood!” A group of paladins arrest her and drag her away.  As she’s being dragged away, the woman focuses on Talice and says, “The old gods are always watching. You know more than most, don’t you?”

On the way to the general store, the trio have a long conversation in which Se’ku and Talice discover that Chaz has no idea what money is, or how most customs work.  He also dodges all their questions about why he wants a map, but he does say that he wants to meet other gods.  He does not mention the task Euphemia set him. Se’ku tells him the Spiced Pear is an expensive bar that only serves the upper class.

There is also a moment on the way when Talice pulls a flask out of her bag and drinks it.  Se’ku sees and questions her about it, but Talice doesn’t answer.

At the general store, Otis has a map of the world, a map of the Kingdom of Life, and a map of the city of Heaven’s Gate.  Chaz tries to bargain a way to get them without money, but then Se’ku buys the region map, and Talice begrudgingly buys the world map for him. Otis tells Chaz that if he wants to earn some money, Claire at the Rose’s Thorns potion shop often hires people to collect ingredients for her. Chaz asks to look at the city map long enough to memorize where the Spiced Pear, the library, and the Rose's Thorns each are, then gives it back to Otis.

Se’ku hangs back at the shop to talk to his friend Otis. Outside the shop, Chaz heads off in the wrong direction, and Talice follows him.  She’s suspicious of him, but also intrigued by the fact that he’s a druid and thus may be able to lead her to the Ocean’s Keepers.  She does get him to admit that he’s from the Evergrove, and that is why he’s so sheltered and ignorant of how the world works.

Chaz stops a human in black plate male who’s hauling a cart full of corpses.  The man tells them he has to gather the corpses and get them out of town before they can become zombies.  He also then gives Chaz directions to the potion shop.

Se’ku steps outside the general store and catches up with Chaz and Talice.  In a private conversation between Chaz and Se’ku, Chaz slips up and tells Se’ku that Pistachio isn’t Talice’s real name.  Se’ku demands to know why Chaz didn’t tell him sooner, and Chaz admits that he was trying to find a good moment to have a big cool reveal and look smart, but he didn’t find the right moment.  So Se’ku and Chaz continue to call Talice Pistachio.

When they catch back up to Talice, Chaz casually calls her by her real name, which freaks Talice out.  She demands to know who he works for and who told him her real name, but Chaz just walks on without answering.

They have to stop and ask for directions to the potion shop again.

They finally arrive at the potion shop and met Claire, the shopkeeper.  Chaz asks for a job, but Claire regretfully tells him she has no jobs at the moment.  She already has all the ingredients she needs for her current orders.

Talice spots that Claire already has one of the ingredients needed for her own potion, so she asks Claire if she can make more of it.  She isn’t willing to say what the potion is in front of Chaz and Se’ku, so Claire takes a sample and analyses it in her back work room.

While Claire is working, Chaz correctly guesses Talice is from Kraken’s Breach.

Claire returns and says 3 ingredients are needed to make this particular potion. She has one: the dried lilacs. But she needs someone to go get the other two:  Yellow Cap Mushrooms in the Wayward Wilds--which is close by, and Moon Lilies from Kraken’s Breach--which is a few days journey.  She’s willing to pay Chaz to retrieve these ingredients, then make the potion and sell it to Talice.

Talice is understandably put off by the idea that only Chaz gets paid since all three of them would be going.  Claire agrees to portion the job payment to all three of them.  Talice intimidates Claire into giving her a discount on the price of the potion.

Claire has previously been mugged by Drow, so she is sufficiently scared and agrees to a discount. She can only make 2-5 vials of the potion.

Se’ku and Talice start pressing Chaz about why he wants to see other gods.  Chaz equivocates, but Talice and Se’ku both see through the act.  Chaz refuses to say anything more, and points out that Talice is also refusing to tell them about her potion.