Chapter 3
General Summary
Part 1: Hasten Neuroses
Chapter Three: Deed of Thin Levity
Chapter 2 Recap:
Welcome back to Esmir! Today has been a long day for our weary brigade. Last night you were all in the small port town of Lilliver, but this morning you inexplicably woke up in Boarwood Village on the island of Terun after being kidnapped by a dragonborn named Elliott, and found that you were under a charm put on by a man called Denali.
After a hearty breakfast at Mallorie’s Mystical Meals, you explored Boarwood Village, gathering some supplies without really knowing when or whether you might need them, and helped Elliott complete a shopping list. Thad took care to look around for someone who seemed “approachable,” and decided to ask the couple who run the store Plane’s Gates Herbs and Crystals whether they’re in the “fold.” They didn’t know what he meant, but were able to answer his question regarding the village mayor, whose name is Coyote Montezuma, and Thad made note to talk with him when possible.
After a rough encounter with some lawless woodsmen, Tree Poachers, if you will, our party carefully stepped over a tripwire and entered into Denali’s well-hidden abode. He greeted you warmly, telling Rhizel he definitely had a room of junk he could rummage through, telling Imari she was welcome to any book in his extensive library, and being completely open and honest with all of you, according to your various insight checks. He assured you that this charm that brought you into the fold was a self defense, solely for his protection, as he believed his life was endangered by living freely off the grid. He told you he believes in freedom for all—True Freedom.
Opor, 17 Pereundei, 253 E.W
4:50 pm
Denali called everyone upstairs for a hearty bowl of stew, which everyone ate, and found that it was the most incredible stew they'd ever eaten. When asked how he got to be such a good cook, Denali told them that he strives to perfect anything he tries, and the group noted how many hobbies he has, and how rare such a thing is. Most creatures on Esmir tend to only have the capacity for one or two proper skills or passions, both inside and outside of work, and Denali seemingly had endless. With this in mind, Thad asked Denali his age, to which he responded that he is 65, and all insight checks pointed to his honesty.
Elliott tells the party that Denali grew everything right here, and Denali added that years ago, he worked in one of Fendus' sanitation warehouses, and because of his studies in both chemistry and alchemy, he knows the exact formula and methods of food sanitization, which guarantees their safety eating the food at his table.
After dinner, the group took some time to explore. Rika went out to the grounds, and tried to see how far away she could get. Thad asked Denali what would happen to her, and he responded that nothing bad would happen aside from getting caught in a few brambles, but she eventually would have to come back. Thad tried to call her back, saying they were stuck here, but Rika was determined to get back to her tour. Just as Denali predicted, she ran into some brambles, but still didn't stop until she hit a tripwire. Her terror turned to relief when she realized it was just a noise-maker. Elliott rushed back to lead her back inside, and then reset the tripwire.
Later, Thad and Rhizel followed Denali halfway down the stairs and down the corridor to the right, where there was a spring-fed water filtration system, and down the corridor further a series of tunnels below that served as his sewage system. Next to the filtration machine is a couple planks of wood that have been bolted down into a bridge to cross this stream of water, and across from that is a door.
Denali leads Thad and Rhizel inside, where there is a huge amount of foods stored, including an immense surplus of a root vegetable, which Thad recognized to be cassava. He immediately asked if Denali was making arsenic, and Denali was very open about how impressed he was with Thad's knowledge. He said that he was incredibly careful in his preparation of the cassava to ensure every meal he makes is safe to eat. Cassava simply grew better in his back garden than any other starchy root vegetable.
What caught Rhizel's eye more than anything else in the room was the gentle hum coming from a machine that he recognized immediately as an arcane generator---and a really big one, at that. It is very cobbled together, made from a lot of random parts. There isn’t a consistent color or material on it, and the display showing its voltage looks like it came from a very old cell phone. But even with all of that considered, this generator is extremely well made. It’s also, without a doubt, what is powering his whole house.
Directly across from the door to the storeroom is a pulley system bolted to the stone ceiling, with a rope hanging from it and a crank against the stone wall. To its left is a ladder, which Denali leads Thad and Rhizel down. Down here, there are more barrels of food, but there are also machines—none of which seem operational. He told Rhizel that these are all machines that have broken over time, or things he started building before getting distracted by other projects, or older models of a more successful machine. He told Rhizel that he was free to use any parts he finds on this floor.
Elliott asked Imari to follow him downstairs, where he led her into his room---every surface, including the floor, was littered with clothing and with stray paper. He enthusiastically showed her his pet-project: an Encyclopedia. He's handwriting entries, and there are already quite a lot of pages, but the majority of them are blank, only a sentence or two written about them. He tells her that he's been working on this since long before he met Denali, but that Denali liked the project so much he began to sponsor it, and he's now giving Elliott 5 silver pieces per completed page. Elliott tells Imari that he would likely offer her the same deal if she and her group brought more information home.
Denali and Elliott left down the spring corridor to discuss The Kidnapping, and Denali told them they were all free to retire for the evening, or continue to explore, but asked that they grant him and Elliott privacy for their conversation.
Spickle, having organized a full shelf of books with Komi, told her he wanted to hear what Denali was telling Elliott. Stepping cautiously, tailing them from well out of earshot, they discovered that the spring corridor was much deeper than they could have imagined. They passed the spring, went down a couple of ladders, and were grateful for the spring's runoff water covering the sounds of their footsteps. They could hear Elliott and Denali's voices, but couldn't tell what they were saying. After a moment, they realized the voices were getting closer, and tried a nearby door to get out of sight. It was unlocked, so they slipped in. They found themselves in an alchemical laboratory---Spickle was able to determine that the materials Denali was working with were of fair quality. His setup wasn't as updated as Spickle and Komi's, of course, but it was definitely the highest quality home laboratory he had come across.
Unable to glean anything from the conversation between Denali and Elliott, they covertly searched the two desks in the common area, finding three scraps of paper. One of the notes was in sylvan, and read:
Of the other two, one of them was in primordial, and one was in gnomish; Spickle and Komi spoke neither language. Spickle hid the three papers in the heel of his boot, and the two of them retired for the evening.
Thad decided to have a conversation with Denali before going to bed. He wanted to know more about their situation, and sooner. Denali answered all Thad's questions honestly, as seen by all perception checks. Denali promised he would have their first test for them by the morning, and that things would become clearer and clearer every day that they were with him.
Cencor, 18 Pereundei, 253 E.W
8:25 am
You won’t have to worry about surveillance. Chances are, for most of the time, you won’t have to worry about any means of detection. No one really goes to the Green Isles. This makes things both easier, and more dangerous. You won’t have to worry about many mortals spying you, but there isn’t much infrastructure—things are more wild. It would also be wise to leave things more or less how it was when you arrived. We never really know for sure where the gods are, and there’s every possibility they could be lurking, and there’s not exactly a way to ask their permission.
Shit, you’re giving them that much?
It’s their first mission.
I came up with the WHOLE PLAN to get Imari.
Okay, let me take a step back and clarify something for everyone, including Elliott. You got very different first assignments because of the stark contrast between your circumstances. Elliott was familiar with Imari, the hospital, the town, and with traveling covertly. You all did not explicitly consent to being charmed, don’t have any personal reasons to fulfill this mission, and are also fully unfamiliar with the location I’m sending you to—unless any of you have been to the Green Isles before.
Denali's first test for the group was an errand run, more than anything, and Rika, having awakened with a headache and a bit of nausea, was not her chipper self about it. Denali's soil's Ph levels were suffering, and the village didn't sell andisol, the volcanic soil that would ensure his garden was the best it could be. They would have to journey to the nearest volcano, Mt. Kisris, and collect soil from beneath it. He did not expect any danger, and had little suspicion that they might run into any people at all.
Denali told them that he cannot help them make their plan, but that he would answer several questions, of which they asked very few. Denali also told them what he would be looking for on their missions, which included how long they were gone, how much gold they had to spend, their general street smarts, how they choose to travel, what they choose to pack, and what they learn along the way. Naturally, whether they actually complete the mission he set out for them would also be taken into great consideration. He stressed that he holds little belief in the idea of ‘bad plans,’ and that there are very few methods with which he would interfere, trusting that the self preservation innate to all creatures would guide them to the safer routes.
Denali paid each of them three gold pieces, and gave them three meals' worth of rations each.
On Elliott's recommendation, the group set out for the village to find Devlin at the Pawn Shop, having the impression he would know how to get them to Koinonia. Upon their arrival, most of the group perused the shop for a moment, and Spickle and Komi found a discreet moment to ask Devlin if they could read gnomish. They said they could, and Spickle presented them with the scrap of paper they had found with gnomish writing on it. They told Spickle and Komi that the paper read:
Spickle and Komi were disappointed to find it was just Elliott's shopping list from the day before.
When the rest of the group approached the counter and asked if Devlin knew a fast way to get to Koinonia, they asked them why the hell they wanted to go to a place like that. Thad said it was none of their business. Devlin asked a few unrelated questions, gauging their situations and their character, before letting them in on a secret: in the basement of every Reggie's Rentals and Trade-Ins was a place called Thieves Can!, the most sucessful criminal organization in modern history. The way to the Green Isles would be through there. He closed his shop, and escorted them through Reggie's and downstairs to Theives Can!.
At Thieves Can!, they came across many interesting wares, but nothing was more helpful to their mission than the Leo Vuttel Rail, which is the fastest bullet train in the archipelago, and the only way to get to the Green Isles without chartering a boat, with round trip tickets being just 5sp per person. The group boarded the train, and headed for Koinonia.
Go back to Chapter 2
Continue to Chapter 4
Silly Little Quotes
Do we need any hippity-dippity-dip-dop to talk to him?
Details
Report Date
01 May 2024
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Previous Sessions
Chapter 1Chapter 2
Later Sessions
Chapter 4Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12