Chapter 1: Brilliant City, Dark Tunnels

[Light]

"After you of course Miss Veta." and like a gentlemen he follows her out of the building, again, with a flourishing hand motion. Genuine or not, he knows how to "play the game" well enough.

[DarkisnotEvil]

The first thing Cam is going to so is stretch out his feelers into the criminal scene (as per his background as a criminal) and try to get as much information as possible. Let me know what I need to roll for that.

He's also going to make an effort to join up with his fellow members to see what their plans are before they set out.

Cam will also be looking into possibly acquiring either some better light armor, and/or some daggers (magic preferably, though mundane would work). Really, optimally for the daggers, he would like some sort of belt that magically returns the dagger to his side. But those are just things he will be looking for, and no he is not above "acquiring" things if its not too guarded. He is a master theif after all.

Magical light armor is expensive and not easily acquired. However, if you'd prefer a change in your armor, that is easily done.
As for the criminal scene, you find yourself at ease at a bar for invalids and scoundrels. One of them, upon hearing of your goal, takes you for a goner and says, "Look, you're better off trying to smuggle goods for those guys than fight them, if you ask me. They've been ordering shipments of steel and enchanting materials recently, and, don't tell anyone I said this, but I think it's the genies."

If you ask about where one can acquire daggers, he says, "Sure, you could try the regular market, sure... But getting the key to some of the REAL markets doesn't come cheap, either."
Trying the regular market will be an Investigation check, but convincing your new buddy to describe how to enter the black market will be Persuasion or Intimidation. He's had enough drinks that you can roll at advantage for persuading (or 'persuading').

Broghar will go to the market to buy a new battle axe, since he lost his previous one while chasing Puck. Also he'll try to buy some other items, preferably not telling the others about it.
He'll need a diamond worth 50 gp, a pearl worth 100 gp, and a silver mirror worth 1000 gp.

You get the first two materials. "A silver mirror for scrying?" asks the jeweler you go to. "Well, that will lighten your pockets, but I do know a magician that has one. He'd probably be willing to give it to you if you brought him back any of the Formorian's spellbooks. Or, if you have spells enough yourself, he might enjoy taking a look at your book for a short jaunt. Don't touch any of his without asking, however."

The magician in question looks more like a professor or librarian. He reads quietly in his store, drinking from a cup of tea. A young assistant records the names of books and keeps them in order. There are hundreds of books on completely disparate topics here. Getting the mirror from a silversmith directly would put your lifestyle in jeopardy until you returned with gold to fill in the loss or debt- it is a substantially heavier cost than the other two, though you'll only need to buy it once.

I'm not really sure of Solen's financial resources. However, if he has funds, then he would be looking for these things.

1. He has some rations, but he has no sense for how long they may be in the tunnels. So, he would be on the lookout for some magical means of sustenance.
2. He wants to be prepared so he's interested in information on the tunnels. Maps, rumors, dangers, and the like. If he can find something magical to help find a path, then he would be very interested in that.
3. The team is new and he desperately wants to prove his value to the Summer Court so he wants to bring everyone back. With that in mind, he would be on the lookout for diamonds for revivify (300 gp a pop though).
4. He's open to better armor (he has chain mail), and would be interested in magical items that improve ease of travel (bag of holding, handy haversack, or the like).

I think those are in order of importance to him. If his finances are tight (or nonexistent), he would be open to performing a quick service to help broker a deal. For a plot hook, perhaps someone wants something from the tunnels that they want him to deliver or bring back? Solen is naive, but good. He won't try and steal or break the law to get anything.

Other than that, Solen is friendly. He would gladly pitch in and help any of his new companions if they needed him for something. Otherwise, he would take advantage of the time to act a bit like a tourist and take in the city. He would probably try and make some friends. I could see him ending up chopping firewood for an old lady who gives him some stew or something similar.

I tried to narrate all of that, but it sounded really artificial. If you'll give me a sense of what he can accomplish from the list, then I'll gladly work on narrating it.

If there were a way to magically navigate the paths of the Formorians, it certainly wouldn't be for sale. However, some of your other goals are more easily found.
Iron rations can be purchased. They last indefinitely, but cost twice as much as normal rations. Furthermore, every day after two weeks of only iron rations, the consumer must make a DC 12 Constitution save or gain a level of exhaustion as the food is not meant to be consumed endlessly. The old woman selling the iron rations is also preparing a savory-smelling soup which she does not describe and does not seem to be selling.
You can safely buy one diamond or purchase Splint mail without straining your budget. If you want to risk your lifestyle until you come back, you can purchase up to three diamonds or two diamonds and splint mail instead. As for armor, an eladrin approaches you when he hears you. "I have a proposition for you- you see, I am an armormaker, and my most recent student has just completed his first attempt at a suit of plate armor. It may be flawed, but if you wish to wear it, we could entrust it to you in exchange for your feedback once we return."

Veta greets her new companions as they emerge from their rooms. She is already up and dressed in strict, dark colors - all business, no casual. "It's about time you lot woke up! We have much to do in preparation for our assault on the fomorians, and should each utilize our strengths, which means I need to know what those strengths are if I am to best help you use them. Barring any of you having need of me, I intend to inspect the libraries for records regarding the fomorians - their tactics and their weaknesses." It might seem a bit odd that such a burly and aggressive woman intends to do anything other than buy massive weapons and practice punching things in the face, but she seems to have other intentions.

Strangely, you almost collide into a taller woman who conceals her face. Dropping her books when she dodges you, she mutters a guilty "Sorry..." before collecting them and fleeing the scene. As she sprints away, you notice that she's dropped a sketched map of something. It doesn't seem to be her handwriting, but it is in Common and you can read it. If you take the top of the page as north, the set of rooms in question are a skinny banquet hall whose longer length runs north-to-south, connected to a kitchen to the west and a room for lounging about in the east. One enters the hall from the south and leaves through the lounging room, going north. Something you notice is that the lounging room is marked in its southwest corner with the letter 's'.

I'll need an Investigation check for the library, to find something specific you're looking for.

Osorin, still sitting at the same table he was the previous night, raises an eyebrow at Veta and Til before marking his place in the book he's been reading. Placing the closed book into his pack, the half-elf gather's his things and heads to his room. He arrives at Veta and Til's location after a third person shows up and speaks to them. Putting on his best smile, he says, "Just a suggestion, but it might be a good idea to try and be just a little bit civil to each other." He continues to his room, and as he does the others can see that although Osorin carries a spear, he doesn't appear to be wearing any kind of armor.

When he enters his room, Osorin will go through his things to take a quick inventory of what he has and what he might need. When this is done, he makes his way to the market to see if he can purchase a few healing potions. If can't acquire any of these he will settle for purchasing some extra rations. After he visits the market, he will go to a random tavern to see if he can find anyone who has fought against the fomorians. If he is successful, he will buy them a drink and use his powers of persuasion to get whatever information he can. Afterwards he will return to his room and go back to reading his book.

You come across a band of chummy soldiers in one of the bars, and after a few drinks, they bring up their leader, a man that looks skinny- but his facial features and movement suggest he is quite athletic. "These aren't goblins you're fighting, mate. They're tricky and they're mean. They'll ambush and fake surrenders, kick a man while he's down or bleeding out to make sure he stays dead- no mercy. They use fire, too, despite being in tunnels. Which is how I learned my best trade secret." He looks around before whispering to you, "They got ventilation shafts in the tunnels, too small to crawl in through or teleport, but if you're ever being smoked out or poisoned by those guys, look for decorative masks on the walls. Underneath them are cords they pull for fresh air from the ceiling. The sudden rush of air will put out most fires and clear the air. It makes a racket and they send guys around to check them in rounds, though, so don't stay too long around any one of them."

After chatting with you a bit, the leader suggests, "Say, you want to try your hand at a few drinks? They've got the Seeing Stars mixed drink here. Not something I'd pass up a chance for, even if it does throw you for a spin. I'll pay for it, don't worry about gold."

[Light]

Oh, he will try to pursuade him to tell how to get to the black markets.

Persuasion - (2d20b1+11) (4, 8) [19]

[Rellott]

((Does the map also include a billiards room, a conservatory, etc.? You should have put her text in Scarlet.))

Quickly noticing the marker on the map, Veta turns and calls after the woman. "You dropped something!" She doubts the map is connected to the fomorians, but she is loathe to miss a chance to gain the upper hand on someone.

[Matthan]

The market had been kind to Solen even if his purse was feeling light. He was able to track down some rations. The woman was making a soup that he could still smell an hour later. If the rations tasted anything like that soup smelled, he knew he would have gotten the deal of a lifetime. The lady had seemed very kind and Solen made a note to himself to try and visit her again when he had some extra coin. Maybe he could trouble her for a bowl of that soup.

He had even been lucky enough to find a jeweler with a diamond that would serve to bring someone back to life before they fully passed beyond. The jeweler had been the excitable sort. Solen didn’t need to know the history of the mine that produced the gem or the travails that it passed through to make it to his shop, but that didn’t stop the man from sharing them. The gem had been cut well and would be able to channel the magic that it needed to. Solen didn’t have the heart to tell the jeweler that the diamond would crumble to dust. It would just break his heart.

Unfortunately, the diamond nearly wiped out his disposable funds. He knew it was a longshot, but he had visited an armorer’s stall in the market regardless just to see if there was a bargain to be had. You never know what you might find after all. He had just thanked the armorer for his time and stepped out of the shop when an eladrin approached him.

“I have a proposition for you- you see, I am an armormaker, and my most recent student has just completed his first attempt at a suit of plate armor. It may be flawed, but if you wish to wear it, we could entrust it to you in exchange for your feedback once we return."

Solen smiled. Fate had brought him to this moment and was preparing him for the trials ahead. He gave a short bow to the man. “Sir, you do me a great honor by considering me for this. My name is Solen and it would be a privilege to test out your student’s armor and report back to you. May I follow you back to your shop to look over the armor? I would love to meet with your student as well if I may to thank him for his work as well."

[DarkisnotEvil]

Til's gaze stops at Veta's eyes, long and steady. Pecking order is no joke for the wildmen but he has trained himself not to react intuitively in social interactions.

"I am Till, hunter. I favour the bow. Know some spells. I don't know what you can do, so I don't know if I have need of you. I haven't needed you so far, but now I am hunting formorians. We all are. You don't outrank us. Don't speak as if you did. It is distracting and messes with the teamwork."

He speaks carefully, as if following a script that he just mastered but there is a lot to be said about his very assertive body language.

"Will listen to those who fought the formorians themselves. Look for useful gear and maps in the city. I'll be back and share my new knowledge, if any."

Till will gather information from whoever had faced the formorians before in the city and look for braces of archery, a better magical backpack - handy haversack comes to mind -, food that won't spoil, water, practical sources of light and some arrows of giant slaying. That last thing would be the main priority.

The people that you meet are mostly hunters and city guardsmen. A man taking a break from his rounds tells you, "Formorians love traps-things that make a man suffer rather than kill him outright. Don't put your hand in gaps unless you're willing to lose it. Poison is common."
A fellow ranger warns you, "I went with a wizard once, the Formorians know enough magic to set magical traps and ward traps against dispelling- trying to dispel has about a half-chance of setting off the trap anyways, unless you know which one is the dispel. In that case, it's simply targeting that one."

A blacksmith-enchanter hears your request for magic items- and makes a counter-offer. "I'll trade a Handy Haversack OR Bracers of Archery OR three Arrows of Slaying for a favor. My brother-in-law got remarried suspiciously quickly to some rich dame no-one knows. I'm not sure if she's enchanting him, so I'm worried about my niece and nephew. They're pretty out of the way, and I don't want her to know I'm spying on her."

[Alcazar QZR]

There is a long pause after the blacksmith-enchanter's counter-offer.

"Won't trade with you in that manner. For you, I have gold. I'm here to hunt formorians. If you won't sell, tell me who will. Please."

Regardless of the result of his transaction with the blacksmith-enchanter, Till will make sure to purchase the right antitoxins. He listens to the hunters and city guards respectfully, asking for details such as how the trap-contraptions look and whether there's anyone specialised in dispelling he can consult.

[Berenion]

Broghar approaches the mage and performs a respectfull bow. "Excuse me master wizard. I heard that you may possess a certain item I need." The dwarf explains the nature of his mission and that he is willing to trade knowledge or a favor in exchange for the silver mirror.

[Midnyte]

When Osorin is offered the free drink, he chuckles and says, "Seeing as how we'll be going into almost certain death, I would be remiss if I turned down a free drink." When he gets the drink, he will take his time and just sip it until he finishes about half. At which time, he will apologize and head back towards his room, to hopefully relay what information he has gathered to the others.

[DarkisnotEvil]

Oh, he will try to pursuade him to tell how to get to the black markets.

[roll0]

After about three drinks more, the man gives you a long and increasingly drunken rambling that eventually gives you a path to go on. When you get to the spot, part of you wonders if he was too out of his mind to give you the right place. This part of the market looks just the same as everywhere else... Except not quite. As you go deeper within, you notice the wares are placed in such a way as they can be easily stowed. When you look for a retrievable throwing dagger, you notice something odd. It's a curved weapon of some sort that seems to whip in the air before returning to the man who's demonstrating how to throw it. You're not sure what it is until the salesman catches it- a boomerang, and an improbably accurate one as well.

The salesman is a tiefling, and he's quite keen with the weapon. "Can I help you?" He seems to be selling strange weapons from faraway places, some of which might not go over well with the town guard. If thrown, the boomerang returns to you at the end of your turn, and is an uncommon magic weapon dealing 1d4 bludgeoning damage with the ranged (60/240) and finesse properties.
Since you haven't spent much money on drinks, purchasing it would be relatively easy.

((Does the map also include a billiards room, a conservatory, etc.? You should have put her text in Scarlet.))

Quickly noticing the marker on the map, Veta turns and calls after the woman. "You dropped something!" She doubts the map is connected to the fomorians, but she is loathe to miss a chance to gain the upper hand on someone.

((OOC: No, we are not playing Clue yet.))

Embarrassed at dropping the map, the shrouded guest sets her books down on an open desk and turns around to face you. You can see that despite her well-formed face, this woman has sunken, shadowed eyes and a skittish demeanor. As she clasps her hands together underneath her too-long sleeves, you realize that you recognize this woman as Tilka Yulsiss, a Yuan-Ti sorceress of note.
"O-Oh, thank you," she mutters quietly, before recognizing you in turn. "You look familiar... Are you..." Shaking her head to try and dispell the awkwardness, she quickly adds, "You look like someone I know is all." When she sees what you have brought to her, she takes it quietly without explaining what it is. The books she has set down are similar to the sort you would normally be looking for, and Yulsiss seems to be expecting you to try and take them from her.

The market had been kind to Solen even if his purse was feeling light. He was able to track down some rations. The woman was making a soup that he could still smell an hour later. If the rations tasted anything like that soup smelled, he knew he would have gotten the deal of a lifetime. The lady had seemed very kind and Solen made a note to himself to try and visit her again when he had some extra coin. Maybe he could trouble her for a bowl of that soup.

He had even been lucky enough to find a jeweler with a diamond that would serve to bring someone back to life before they fully passed beyond. The jeweler had been the excitable sort. Solen didn’t need to know the history of the mine that produced the gem or the travails that it passed through to make it to his shop, but that didn’t stop the man from sharing them. The gem had been cut well and would be able to channel the magic that it needed to. Solen didn’t have the heart to tell the jeweler that the diamond would crumble to dust. It would just break his heart.

Unfortunately, the diamond nearly wiped out his disposable funds. He knew it was a longshot, but he had visited an armorer’s stall in the market regardless just to see if there was a bargain to be had. You never know what you might find after all. He had just thanked the armorer for his time and stepped out of the shop when an eladrin approached him.

“I have a proposition for you- you see, I am an armormaker, and my most recent student has just completed his first attempt at a suit of plate armor. It may be flawed, but if you wish to wear it, we could entrust it to you in exchange for your feedback once we return."

Solen smiled. Fate had brought him to this moment and was preparing him for the trials ahead. He gave a short bow to the man. “Sir, you do me a great honor by considering me for this. My name is Solen and it would be a privilege to test out your student’s armor and report back to you. May I follow you back to your shop to look over the armor? I would love to meet with your student as well if I may to thank him for his work as well."

When you're brought to the student, you're a little shocked by the armor. To be perfectly honest, it looks like it's been run over by a carriage and repaired, with several shallow dents in the body that make it look worn. Picking it up, you feel that it's lighter than average, about ten pounds lighter- but this doesn't make it any more stealthy. It seems to hold up well enough, however, and it doesn't fold too easily underneath any of the blows you deal to it with your bare hands. The student is tired-looking, and nearly slips into a trance several times as you're looking at the armor. His name is Kaour, and he is an eladrin.

"Didn't really put enough metal into it," Kaour mutters quietly.

There is a long pause after the blacksmith-enchanter's counter-offer.

"Won't trade with you in that manner. For you, I have gold. I'm here to hunt formorians. If you won't sell, tell me who will. Please."

Regardless of the result of his transaction with the blacksmith-enchanter, Till will make sure to purchase the right antitoxins. He listens to the hunters and city guards respectfully, asking for details such as how the trap-contraptions look and whether there's anyone specialised in dispelling he can consult.

She directs you to a wizard dressed entirely in white with hair to match and a black blindfold over his eyes. He uses a cane in hand to guide himself, and carries a Handy Haversack himself."Hmph. You're asking a lot of an old man. If you expect me to have everything you want on demand, I'm afraid I'll have to disappoint you. I can make just about anything you want, but not NOW- give me some time. What I do have, however, is a cure-all for those toxins." He pulls out a flask the size of a fist, filled with oily black liquid. "This will purge your body of anything from alcohol to the most virulent of magical toxins. How it does so is not pretty, however. Five doses- you'll be sick as a dog for a day and wake up the next healthy as a horse. For most of those guys, you'd probably be better off getting a cleric."

If asked about the traps, he mentions, "The traps usually have to have a sigil carved into something like stone or wood. It has to have line of sight to whatever trap it sets off, so if you see it, you're in danger. What they do is they write an anti-dispelling circle around the normal one, so that burns out and the trap goes off. If you can get a thief or mage close enough to the sigil (good luck), they can take it apart like it was a lock or scroll by carving a line in a specific spot- there's always one, in case the real owners need to get rid of it. I know, I've made similar ones for my home."

Broghar approaches the mage and performs a respectfull bow. "Excuse me master wizard. I heard that you may possess a certain item I need." The dwarf explains the nature of his mission and that he is willing to trade knowledge or a favor in exchange for the silver mirror.

The wizard has a gentleman's tone and demeanor. "Of course. You may take it, in exchange for the promise of helping me add to my collection. If you find any unique scrolls or books and bring them to me, that will count towards repayment. I do not expect too much, but a few common spellbooks should suffice. I do not even care if you copy the spells into your own book, so long as I have the hard copy of those you bring to me." He offers you a cup of tea. "If you return safely, feel free to come to me with what you find in the tunnels in exchange for browsing my library for what you cannot."

When Osorin is offered the free drink, he chuckles and says, "Seeing as how we'll be going into almost certain death, I would be remiss if I turned down a free drink." When he gets the drink, he will take his time and just sip it until he finishes about half. At which time, he will apologize and head back towards his room, to hopefully relay what information he has gathered to the others.

The men at the bar cheer you for your good nature about it. When you fail to finish your drink and leave, you see another man polish it off out of the corner of your eye, to the irritation of several of the soldiers present. I need you to make a DC 13 Constitution save against poison with duration of half an hour, but success or failure, you add +1d4 to all of your ability checks for the duration, as you seem to get a certain amount of extra insight into the world around you.

None of the others seem to have returned yet.