Ferment For Bigger Things

## **Synopsis**

In Chapter 50: Ferment For Bigger Things, a few minor injuries couldn't keep the party from pressing on beyond the Ch'iqtay Woods with hopes of reaching the city just after midnight.  The roads were sparsely traveled, but not void of opportunists; we passed by some bounty hunters hoping to share the reward for the stolen chest – and a suspicious individual offered to sneak us into one of Tuktu's closed districts for a paltry sum of 200 gold per person.

But with Graven's life force slowly ticking away from the cursed ring, we did our best to avoid distraction – and as we approached the city limits we were informed that the Broken Crown was cracking down on those making camp and waiting for the lockdown to end.  This meant we needed accommodations for the night, so we split into two groups: Graven and Beezaura tracking down Harvis Langeeter for his curse removal services and Orba, Safira and Erland swinging by the local watering hole to see if a room was available.

Crespo's tavern was overpriced but amenable to renting out their spare shed, and as we wrestled with the possibility of spending 2 silver on a mug of ale – Harvis was regaling the others with a brief history of the Langolieren.  The once-revered Porter Sr. was buried in the nearby 4th precinct cemetery, and it was believed that returning his ring would put his soul to rest – but when Harvis started the procedure, he was gripped by an ethereal hand and hurled against the wall of the crypt.

We learned that Porter Sr.'s enviable arcane powers came not from natural talent, but a pact he had made with a patron – who now demanded the blood of those who had made deals with the Langolieren.  Fighting without a full team put Graven and Beezaura's resilience to the test, but they prevailed in both battering back the spirit and saving Harvis's life – who was grateful for their help but devastated by the news of Porter's dark secret.

Graven was unconvinced that the ring no longer posed a threat, so he opted to take it with him – and the party finally had an opportunity to rest.  In the morning, Orba got to work on identifying the magic bracelets from the recovered iron chest –and after sticking around to mull over the possibility of not turning them in to the Broken Crown, Erland walked to the house of Frank Sobol, whose son was able to provide a detailed map of the best routes north.

Surprised somewhat that they had an aligning itinerary, Graven and Beezaura asked around about Rayna Quiros – the inventor who had been working on an advanced wheelchair for Lady Sengri'la before she went missing.  Rayna had some intriguing additional details about the items she'd been asked to design, as well as some words of caution about trusting the Laqha'Phuyu – but she saved the biggest reveal for her private discussion with Beezaura.

Commissioned by their mutual friend Ferd, Rayna had constructed what she called a "Draught Jacket" – a portable beverage dispenser that utilized Myconid extract vapors and the strong natural constitution of Halflings to provide temporary boosts to the user's combat prowess.  The device was Beezaura's to do with as she pleased, but Rayna and Ferd hoped its power would be used to better the standing of Halflings across Anti-Suyu – perhaps more specifically by becoming the first Halfling member of the Lightwhistle Estate Club.

With Beezaura vowing to do her best and much to discuss regarding the party's plans for heading north, we set out to finish our errands in the Tuktu.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: no natural ones were rolled in this Chapter.
* This chapter included a solo session with Leah where she received the Draught Jacket