%% date:: [[2023-07-15]] %% # [[008_20210615 The Temporary White Circle]] ## Session Summary > [!tldr] [[008_20210615 The Temporary White Circle]] > Reya inspected the mystery box for the Starosta Zezbok, and managed to open it without destroying the seal. She and Xenia found a fox construct with many jewels. When Xenia patted it, however, he got poisoned with drow poison. Milla opened the letter from Starosta Wossathic, which said that the fox was a gift as a sign of esteem for Hupperdook. > > The party came up with a name: *The Temporary White Circle*. > > The next morning, Olyffe offered to sell the party his cart, and they accepted. He gave them a quest: find his son Rolfe. The last time he had heard from Rolfe, Rolfe was travelling with someone named Urgon in the Frozen North, near Palebank Village. > > The TWC went shopping and got the fox construct appraised-- it was a Filigree Fox that was often given as pets to the children of wealthy merchants or nobles. It was probably made in Hupperdook. > > The party continued to travel towards Hupperdook (about 10 days). When they arrived, they found it quite empty on the lower level, where most of the work got done, but it seemed like most people were partying hard on the upper level. Suddenly, there was a massive explosion, and then five kobolds and a human female goliath came running from the explosion straight towards them. ^summary --- ## Recap ![[007_20210608 Shady People#^summary]] --- ## Andy's notes - We started with Reya inspecting the mystery box in her room. She opened the seal on the box and it came off perfectly in one piece. - Fetching Xenia, the pair of them opened the box and saw the fox. Xenia identified the jewels as sapphires. - They took the fox out and set it on the ground where it came alive and they played fetch with it. - When Xenia patted its head, a poison needle sprang forward and poisoned him with what Promise later identified as Drow poison. - When commanded to sleep, the fox attempted to, but the flap where the needle was jammed its mechanism. Finally it ran around and the needle dropped out and it went to sleep. - Milla remembered (!) and opened the letter from Starosta Wossathic and read it: > [!NOTE] Letter from [[Starosta Wossathic]] to [[Starosta Emma Zezbok]] > My Dearest Starosta Zezbok. Having recovered this item of gnomish ingenuity from the hands of criminals, I return it to you as a gift expressing our esteem of Hupperdook's ongoing relationship with the Empire. > > Those charged with bringing it to you may be given a reward if you see fit, though it is their duty as citizens of the Empire to do so. They may be of use to you as the war draws our resources elsewhere, but they are expendable should they prove tiresome or untrustworthy. - You debated what the story behind the fox was for some time. Wally was happily eating his meal downstairs. - Milla commanded the fox to get in the bag – it did so – and you went down to dinner. - Promise ordered lots of carrots. - The party came up with a name for themselves: "*The Temporary White Circle.*" - The next morning, Olyffe offered to sell the party his cart and planned to settle down in Nogvurot. The party accepted and he handed over the key to the strong box and told them how to use the cart and the key. He asked them to promise him they would look for his son if they ever went north towards Palebank and read the letter from his son: "Dearest father, after an arduous crossing and most eventful journey, Urgon and I have finally arrived back in Palebank, giving me a chance to finally write to you. We have discovered the most remarkable objects and artefacts in Eiselcross, but I dare not tell you more about them here for there are also dangers afoot. I'm worried about some of what we have seen. If I have not returned by the end of Summer, send help after me in Palebank. Your loving son, Rolfe." - Then Wally, Xenia and Promise went shopping. Promise picked up her healing potion from Kaede's magic shop and some arrows from Steelmason for Reya. - Wally found a wheelwright to paint the cart - black sides with white circles in the middle on each side. - Milla & Reya went gnome hunting. Reya as Winza Winterzon. Granddaughter and heir to the upcoming but wealthy Duke Wulfrac Winterzon. Milla dressed up as different, lighter tiefling. - They found a gnomish artisan on the market who you later would learn is called Menny Silverthread (because, you know, people introduce themselves...). She appraised the Filigree Fox, told them how they were often given as pets to the children of wealthy merchants and aristocrats. She showed them how the fox's eyes could be pressed to make it light up extremely brightly. It was clearly some very fine work. She's not sure of the origins or how old it is, but it looks like it might have been from Hupperdook. At the very least, Cleff Tinkertop or possibly Finlin Flibberdib, but thinks the latter unlikely. Cleff would be the person who would know. - Then you set off on the long journey to Hupperdook (it's actually about 10 days), passing down south through the northern half of the Marrow Valley. This is an area of green grasslands and rural farmsteads, but also natural wilderness when you're away from any sign of human habitation. Punctuated by occasional rocky outcrops. - You passed through the the Crispvale Thicket, a beautiful cluster of dark-green trees of varying heights, dense elms and tall underbrush. The trees grow thicker in the middle in a canopy of dark green pine trees. Xenia spotted signs of Firbolgs as you passed through, but you pressed on towards Hupperdook. - As you arrived in Hupperdook, the air was damp and cool, the lower level of the city seemingly an assembly yard for giant war machines. But also deserted. On the upper level of the city you heard voices, music and laughter mingled with the sound of firecrackers drift through the night. The occasional firework lit up the sky with the accompanying "oohs and aahs" of the partygoers. - A lone gnome worker, who you later learn is Auby Shudderstone (if you'd had, you know, asked his name...) was cleaning his open-air machinist’s workstation. He tells you Hupperdook is a hard working, but party town. Everyone is enjoying a good drink and partying after work. He's not so keen at his age. - Auby led you out of the assembly yard and builders plot through the gate into Lower Hupperdook, where there are a mix of industrial and residential buildings and some shops. - The peace of the evening was shattered by the deafening crack of a massive explosion that rocked the southeast part of the city, just 100 feet from where you're standing. - As your ears stopped ringing, you saw six cloaked figures appear in the street, running from the source of the explosion—and charging straight toward you. As they got closer, you see they are five kobolds and a female human goliath. ## Lulu's notes - [[Reya]], alone in her room, starts to investigate the sealed box. She opens it without breaking the seal. Within, she finds a fox-like figured made of ornate brass with engraved runes and encrusted gemstones. It is laying on its side. - She knocks on [[Xenia]] and [[Wally]]'s door, and Wally says "if we're not in immediate danger, I don't wanna hear it", and goes down to dinner. Xenia casts identify and finds it is a kind of automaton. The jewels on it are sapphires. See: [[Filigree Fox]]. - They take it out of the box and it begins to activate. It's tail starts to wag expectantly, so they play fetch with it. Xenia tries to pat it on the head - does a DEX save - and a needle comes out of its chest and hits him. - He takes 1 piercing damage, 12 poison damage. Promise later identifies the poison on it as being of drow origin. The item is of gnomish origin, and recovered from criminals. (We find this out by reading the accompanying letter.) - When commanded to sleep, the fox attempts to, but the flap where the needle was has jammed its mechanism. Finally it runs around and for the needle to drop out and it goes to sleep. They find [[Promise]] and myself and we join them. - I remember the letter from [[Starosta Wossathic]], and read it: >"My Dearest Starosta Zezbok. Having recovered this item of gnomish ingenuity from the hands of criminals, I return it to you as a gift expressing our esteem of Hupperdook's ongoing relationship with the Empire. Those charged with bringing it to you may be given a reward if you see fit, though it is their duty as citizens of the Empire to do so. They may be of use to you as the war draws our resources elsewhere, but they are expendable should they prove tiresome or untrustworthy." - We debate for sometime about what we think it the story behind the fox, meanwhile Wally is happily eating his meal downstairs. Eventually we decide to put the fox in the bag of holding for the time being, without the box. I command it to go in it, and it does so. - Then we try to decide what we want to do about the package for the Starosta, but settle on figuring that out in the morning before joining Wally for dinner. Promise orders a lot of carrots. - We name ourselves [[The Temporary White Circle]]. - The next morning, [[Olyffe]] offers to sell us his cart, as he is retiring and planning on settle down in [[Nogvurot]]. We accept, buying it and the horse, [[Antaris]], off of him. He hands over the key to the strong box, and explains how to use both the cart and the key. - **LEFT, RIGHT, MIDDLE**. Left open the flaps, right fires the crossbow, and that's the order you have to press the levers to unlock the strong box (where there's also a healing potion). I want to bond with the horse. - He asks us to promise him that we will look for his son if we ever make our way north towards [[Palebank Village]], and reads us the last letter he'd received from him. > "Dearest father, after an arduous crossing and most eventful journey, [[Urgon]] and I have finally arrived back in Palebank, giving me a chance to finally write to you. We have discovered the most remarkable objects and artifacts in [[Eiselcross]], but I dare not tell you more about them here for there are also dangers afoot. I'm worried about some of what we have seen. If I have not returned by the end of Summer, send help after me in Palebank. Your loving son, [[Rolfe]]." - Then Wally, Xenia and Promise go shopping. Promise picks up a healing potion from Kaede's magic shop, and some arrows from the Steelmason for Reya. Wally finds a Wheelwright to paint the cart - black with white circles in the middle on each side. - Reya and I go gnome hunting. Reya as [[Winza Winterzon]], granddaughter and heir to the upcoming but wealthy Duke Wulfrac Winterzon. I dress up, with her help, as a different, lighter tiefling. - We find a gnomish artisan at the market, [[Menny Silverthread]], who appraises the filigree fox and tells us how they were often given as pets to the children of wealthy merchants and aristocrats. She shows us how the fox's eyes can be pressed to make it light up extremely brightly. - It is clearly very fine work. She's not sure of the origins or how old it is, but looks like it might've been from [[Hupperdook]]. Possibly the work of [[Cleff Tinkertop]] or [[Finlin Flibberdib]], though she thinks the latter unlike. Cleff would be the one to ask. - We set off towards Hupperdook (the journey is about ten days long), south through the northern half of the Marrow Valley. This is an area of green grasslands and farmlands, but also natural wilderness when we're away from any sign of human habitation. Punctuated by occasional rocky outcrops. - We also pass the [[Crispvale Thicket]], a beautiful cluster of dark-green trees of varying heights, dense elms and tall underbrush. The trees grow thicker in the middle in a canopy of dark green pine trees. Xenia spots signs of [[Firbolgs]] as we pass through, but we press on towards Hupperdook. - Then we get to a mist covered town where we can hear a lot fireworks and firecrackers. - The city seems empty on the bottom area where we enter; we meet a lone gnome worker, [[Auby Shudderstone]], cleaning his open-air machinist’s workstation. He tells us Hupperdook is a hard working, but party town. Everyone is enjoying a good drink and partying after work. He's not so keen at his age. - Auby leads us out of the assembly yard and builders plot through the gate into Lower Hupperdook, where there are a mix of industrial and residential buildings and some shops. The peace of the evening is shattered by the deafening crack of a massive explosion that rocks the southeast part of the city, just 100ft from where we're standing. - As our ears stop ringing, we see six cloaked figures appear in the street, running from the source of the explosion—and charging straight towards us. As they get closer, we see they are five kobolds and a female human goliath. ## Sjoerd's notes [[Reya]] super nicely takes off the seal of the box (natural 20) The box doesn’t have locks on it. There are catches no locks. Inside is on its side a beautiful ornate, brass, fox figure. Size of a real, small fox. Gem stones on its shoulder. With ruins on it. [[Reya]] gets [[Xenia]] to help investigate. Gems are sapphire. Sometimes used for elemental magic. And also pretty and precious. It is a mechanical item, with an enchantment on it, which can allow it to power up and channel light. Robotic fox, plays fetch, pat on head. Compartment in chest comes out, needle comes out flies at Xenia. Poisonous. Reya calls of Promise and Milla and Wally (who is eating) “Sleep” will make it lay down, but the needle make it fail. It runs around, the needle drops out. [[Promise]]: detect poison – drow poison. Reya takes the needle with a metal seringe. [[Reya]] will put it in some old clothes and put it in her bag. Letter from Starosta to Starosta: I give you this item back as a gift We put the fox in the bag. Wally: Should our group have a name? White Circle. Meh. Use it until we have something better. So it is a Temporary White Circle We buy [[Olyffe]]’s cart Fox work of [[Cleff Tinketop]]. Quality. Fipperdip in [[Hupperdook]]. Flilgrine Fox, used as pets/toys.