Session 50 & 51: The Gang Does Inventory Management

At the end of the day, the group drinks away their problems. When they wake up the next morning, Gyrraleth is gone. When they discuss where to go, Cho is set on going to Delven Sanctuary, north of the Valley of Five Rivers, so he can regain his composure. Vojta transports them to a tree he remembers somewhere in the valley, and they end up across the bay from Fayekro. Grombrin gathers some lumber and transmutes it into a boat. Vojta then turns Cho into a whale and he drags them across the sea. While they travel, Vojta gives Nan some pointers on being more perceptive, and Grombrin offers to work on Arran’s copper circlet. He magically transmutes it, but the material refuses to stay in the right shape, so he will have to work it manually instead.

When they arrive in Fayekro, they decide to spend one night there before heading north. Grombrin and Vojta remember that Elric has an inn here, named Under the Evergreen. They pay a tabaxi named Not-a-Problem to lead them to it. The inn is a squat building with a large tree growing on top of it. They get a room for four with a discount. Cho declares that he will sleep outside the city walls instead, because he hates this city. Cho then leaves to go foraging and Grombrin goes to seek out the forge. Nan and Vojta go to a bathhouse to wash away the stench of Namos, while Arran goes to bathe in the ocean instead. When the three of them reunite at the tavern, Arran asks Nan and Vojta for help identifying some gems he got in Namos. When questioned, he admits to stealing them using the aarakocra disguise amulet. Vojta groans but doesn’t protest too much because they are luxury goods. They identify them as some cheap gems and a valuable opal. They sell the less valuable stones to a jeweller but keep the opal, which may have greater value to the dwarves of the Hollow Mountains. They also buy some much-needed diamonds for resurrection spells. Finally, Nan seeks out a brazier and performs the ritual to summon her pseudodragon back.

After resting for the night, all five reconvene at the tavern. Arran remembers his empty ring of spell storing, and Vojta casts a healing spell into it. Nan wants to do some shopping before they leave, so Cho recommends that the merchants under Blacktusk’s cartel should be trustworthy. The barkeep refers them to Blacktusk’s trading hall, but says that due to the war, magic items are rarely bought with gold anymore, only traded. Vojta notes that his anti-divination amulet could be traded away, because if Gyrraleth wants to spy on them, he can target Arran or Grombrin instead. Cho decides to wait from them outside the city while Grombrin does some more smithing and the other three go to Blacktusk. They find the trading hall heavily guarded and not as densely stocked as usual. Nan is especially interested in a manual of bodily health and a ring of spell turning, but they have nothing valuable enough to trade for those. After some negotiation with Blacktusk, they trade their potion of longevity for a moon sickle for Vojta, their anti-divination amulet for a stone of luck for Nan, and their fiend-detecting dagger for mariner’s armour for Arran. Vojta also gives his pearl of power to Nan, because he has abundant equipment already.

As they head to the gate to regroup, Arran splits off to go to the guard office. There he asks the guards about the bandit captain who wields the axe of the roaring tiger. They tell him that this is Diyeck Redmud, the leader of the Red Mud Makers, who operate in the jungles around Hiru. Diyeck is a former guard of Blacktusk who went rogue and stole the axe from him. As such, anyone who returns the axe to Blacktusk will be generously rewarded. They show him a bounty poster of a leonin with a tattoo around his eye, but warn him not to tell the people in Hiru that they’re hunting him, because the locals support him. They also warn him not to travel into the wilderness without a guide who is familiar with the area.

When all five regroup at the city gate, Cho says that the plants will point the way to the sanctuary. He performs a prayer, causing some ivy to turn silver and streak off into the jungle. Vojta turns everyone into clouds and they chase after it. After a few hours, they come upon a large wooden cottage covered in blossoming ivy. Cho is surprised by the sight of several war priests surrounding it. They settle down a small distance away and approach. When one of the priests sees Cho, they recognise him and blow a horn to signal his arrival.