# [[018_20210914 Joining the Temporary White Circle]] ## Session Summary > [!NOTE] [[018_20210914 Joining the Temporary White Circle]] > I approached the party and asked them to accompany me to Vermeillon. They agreed (Milla reluctantly). The watchmaster paid them for their elimination of a man called the Stalmast, who was planning to blow up Hupperdook. In thanks, the watchmaster gave us all free accommodations at the Blushing Tankard (including me). We went to the Iron Spire, a temple to Erathis, to see their tiefling friend, Promise, who said she had to leave them. The other tiefling, Milla, was carving Sehanine's symbol on the wall! > > Lukas, the innkeeper at the Sootswallow Lodge, the more modest inn we had all be staying at, asked us to find a necklace of his wife that he kept in a tree at Vermeillon. > > Floyd came to take us to the Starosta, Emma Zezbok, at the Primator Palace. She was quite suspicious of us (the rest of the party) because they were connected to the Starosta of Odeslo's death and had confirmed they'd tampered with a delivery between two Starostas-- a filigree fox that had come with a needle. The party said that the box it came in had been trapped, and the Starosta of Odeslo had died to it. I ascertained that it was drow poison, which caused her to trust us. She had already suspected that the Kryn Dynasty was involved. Apparently they had some connection to the former Starosta of Odeslo. She let us keep the fox. Milla seems very attached to it. The Starosta dismisses us, and we find ourselves on the streets of Hupperdook, just before the festivities begin. ^summary --- ## Log %% [[Murathan Haznedar]] (Xenia, wizard) - Turkish guy in Turkey [[Tyler Crawford]] (Wally, paladin) - American living in Switzerland [[Luiza Bargo|Lulu]] from luisa (Milla, sorcerer) - Brazilian living in the US [[Sjoerd van der Heijden]] (Reya, rogue) - Dutch guy in the Netherlands %% [[Hupperdook]] Half-orc with long, lank hair. He has a strange smell - a tobacco smell. Good muscles, braces on. He's not looking like a warrior, but he could probably do some damage. His name is [[Udoth]]. There was a guy named [[Vutha]] who was rude to Wally and looked at his stuff and left. He works for an organization. He is the scar on the neck guy. Udoth has a message. He usually buys illegal goods off people. His tobacco smells acrid. Message: delivery to hupperdook has not arrived. A delivery in [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Zadash|Zadash]] weeks. A certain [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/The Gentleman|Gentleman]] is getting impatient. The message was given to Xenia and Wally. Wally and Xenia want to sell something. They want to sell it for 500 gp, but Udoth says they'd be lucky to get 150 for it in the city. It is the parts of [[The Stahlmaster]]. [[Cleff Tinkertop]] is a gnome tinkerer. Udoth agrees to pay them 300 gp for it. Milla is usually the person who tracks the party funds. [[Promise]] is in [[The Iron Spire]], praying. All of her stuff seems to be gone. She left Milla a note to say where she went. They would have passed by the Iron Spire -- it is a temple in the middle of town. It's a smaller one that actually doesn't have a spire. There's a larger one elsewhere in the city. [[Lukas Gosvenor]] is behind the bar. 1s each for breakfast. --- [[Reya]]: part human, part elf. Blonde woman. Fashionable. Expensive clothes. Ring on her finger with a skull design. Tough-looking. (rogue) [[Karmilla Duskbloom]]. Light blue skin. She has long white hair. Two sets of them? with a lot of jewelry. Dark eyes - dark sclera with purple irises. White freckles. Dark blue dress [[Xenia Palebender]]: human. Elderly (70s, long white beard). Gray robe, with a tome like a messenger bag. [[Wally]]: human. Male. Middle-aged. Commonfolk clothes. Chinking noise when he walks - he's wearing chainmail. [[Vermeillon]] (ver-mee-lyon). North of [[Hupperdook]] - a couple days. I tell them I'm looking for an astrologer named [[Nihana Chist]] near Vermeillon, who might be able to tell me something about the ruins of the temple that might be in the mountains. [[Lukas Gosvenor]] is pretty old, hunched shoulders. Once pretty strong, dark skin, wiry, human. Maybe nearing 80 but it's hard to tell. His wife [[Lorna]] died in the disaster - people started disappearing. Years ago, when [[Sehanine]] or [[Raei]] were still legal in the empire. Further along the mountain, on top of one of the peaks. Ruins of the temple. Lukas thinks we should talk to [[Zendasa]] - [[Lay of the Lands Herbalist]] in Hupperdook. Her mother disappeared. People kept disappearing into the mines. They never came back, and Lukas and a bunch of the survivors came here and started the [[The Sootswallow Lodge]]. [[Cleff Tinkertop]] might know about an [[Nihana Chist|an astrologer]]. He had a customer that might have disappeared. Ask Wally whom he worships. > The trip to Vermeillon is probably worth quite a bit of platinum. It was an old platinum mine. With the map you have you could make the journey fairly quickly if anyone in town can guide you. - DM sun and moon are colliding Muscley crownsguard. ([[Floyd Hemsworth]]) [[Ironside Barracks]] is where the [[Watchmaster Bram Gulchswattle]] is waiting. There are crownsguards at the entrance. He swears and sounds Scottish (the watchmaster). Wally says "he" ([[The Stahlmaster]]?) was going to explode Hupperdook. Milla says there was a drow involved - there was a separate letter that says that they ([[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Kryn Dynasty]]) were planning to invade the empire. Xenia can do silent image. Apparently there were sharks in their previous encounter? Somehow he got sharks in a tank in the mountain. 1500 for the elimination or capture of [[The Stahlmaster]]. Plus 500 for the plans of the workroom. letter about the Kryn - 2000 gp given to them The [[Starosta Emma Zezbok]] is going to want to see us. The watchmaster will shout us a night or two at [[The Blushing Tankard]]-- upper hupperdook. More luxurious. "Hero's Hour" is a tradition at the blushing tankard that we might want to participate in. Some of the miners there are accustomed to drinking. Bram is the name of the watchmaster. The Kryn collapsed a tunnel and that was how he escaped. There also was a lever - do not pull the lever. There are sharks? Also kobolds. Milla gave him keys as well. Milla says there is a target on the Starosta's back. [[The Iron Spire]]. Southern part of the [[Iron Lot]]. The iron Lot is the party's entrance to Hupperdook, where they met Cleff and Rissa. Iron Spire is near there. It's a one-storey, lozenge-shaped building. It's quiet inside. It's got a foyer. It's like they had plans to build an Iron Spire, but never did it. There is an indoor pool for baptism. There are sleeping quarters. There are three alcoves. There is a large statue of Erathis. Prayer candles and a book of prayers. Stained glass windows that depict the story of Erathis. There are subtle hints of other religions. There is a round blue disk with a little silver line through it. There's something that could be an angel. We also see Promise kneeling in front of the angel-like figure. [[Promise]] is a tiefling with pale green skin and flaming red hair, horns, scale mail. She has a mace. She's praying. There are three female-looking priests. [[Promise]] is holding a pendant. Wally is a paladin, but I don't know whom he worships. The blue disk is subtle, by the window, and I recognize it as one of the symbols of Sehanine. One of the priests is a woman, 20 years old. Temple of Erathis but welcoming to everyone who wants sanctuary. Vermeillon is north of hupperdook. 100s of years ago, there were worshippers of Sehanine in Vermeillon. Up on the mountains, there is a fine view of the moon and stars on. [[Gwendolyne]]. Promise was here early this morning and has been praying the whole time. The tiefling freaking worships Sehanine. She was carving a circle and a line on the wall in the Temple of Erathis. Wally's talking to a stableboy? He sees people passing money to "him" sometimes. Sometimes he makes illegal deals. (Are they talking about Vutha?) Lukas's wife died there. They had a favourite tree. She might have a graveyard there. There was a necklace of hers that he put in a tree. He would love to see it again. He gave us a map of Vermeillon! Floyd comes. He says the Starosta would like to see us in her lodge at the [[The Primator Palace]] in [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Zadash|Zadash]]. Reya is from [[ttrpgs/Temporary White Circle/Zadash|Zadash]] . Floyd's mother's maiden name is [[Volcain]]? [[Floyd's uncle Elias]] had a womanizing streak. He was robbed by some elf lady so Floyd is a bit wary. [[General Aaron Hemsworth]] is a bigshot in the army. We head to Upper Hupperdook. We go to [[The Blushing Tankard]]. Large spires with spiraling arms. Very long bar and rope chandeliers. Female dwarf greets us with beautiful eye makeup with silk blouse that tapers at the wrist. Her name is Irina. Irina is much older than Milla, but she's still flirty. She's disappointed Floyd's drinking with Milla. Call her "Iron". [[Irena Clommop]]. Sootswallow Lodge was like a motel. Blushing Tankard is like a hotel. Hero's Hour/Hour of Honor. The Honor is in drinking. Whoever wins gets a token for free for the entire group, for the next week at least. There's a square in Upper Hupperdook. In Lower Hupperdook. There would be religious symbols there. Shops in Upper Hupperdook: [[Bent-binder's bookshop]], [[Otto's Magical Ordinance]] - there is a magpie that follows us and makes comments about our appearance. Primitor Palace. It's super large considering it's for gnomes. Floyd leaves us here. It's all red and gold (colors of the Dwendalian Empire). Prominent statue of a stern-faced wood elf ranger. We wait, walk into a large chamber. We see a pretty old female rock gnome, [[Starosta Emma Zezbok]]. She calls [[The Stahlmaster]] "that old bastard". [[Starosta Wossathic]] is in [[Odessloe]] but he died. The Starosta here wants to know when the party were there. Milla says the starosta asked them to deliver "the fish" to [[Nogvurot]]. Starosta says they're being dragged into "this damn war". This Starosta is pretty glad Wossathic is no longer around. Milla pulls out a [[Filigree Fox]]. She says the [[Starosta Wossathic]] asked them to deliver it to this [[Starosta Emma Zezbok]]. Milla said that they opened the box that it came in, but it was a good thing they did because there was poison on the box. Maybe the Starosta of [[Odessloe]] wanted to kill her. It was drow poison, put in a spring-loaded mechanism. "I knew it!" says Starosta. She is already mistrustful of the Kryn Dynasty and now she has proof. She thinks the Starosta of Odessloe was paid off by the Kryn. The Starosta is letting us have the fox. Milla wants to keep it. Reya does not. The Starosta is part of [[The First Council]]. She welcomes us to Hupperdook and says we can always come here. Emma Zezbok is her name. It's about 5pm. I want to go shopping by myself. At about 6:30pm, fireworks begin. The filigree fox is definitely gnomish. ## DM's Notes ```ad-info - You arrived back to the Sootswallow Lodge in the early hours of the morning, where Xenia and Wally were confronted by the half-orc, Udoth. After getting the message that Vutha was expecting the deliveries to the Starosta imminently and to The Gentleman in Zadash in the next two weeks, you made a deal with him for the parts of the Stahlmaster and got 300 gp for it all. A good deal. - Then you had full night's rest and slept into the late morning. Lukas Gosvenor supplied you with a decent breakfast and coffee. Meanwhile, a pale and petite elf, who you learned is called Scura approached your table with information about Vermeillon and that she's searching for a temple there and the Astrologer Nihana Chist who might have information about some artefacts. - On overhearing this, Lukas told you about his time in as a miner in Vermeillon and his wife Lorna who died in the mine collapse. A freshly groomed Floyd Hemsworth arrived at the in, silhouetted handsomely in the doorway, having come to bring you to Watchmaster Bram Gulchswattle. Bram was impressed by your deeds and rounded up his reward to you to 2000 gp. He offered you the use of Stahlmast's Lair, but you turned him down. - Went to find Promise in the The Iron Spire temple, where she was in silent prayer. Although ostensibly a temple to Erathis, you noticed subtle symbols that could possibly be of some of the forbidden gods, including Raei and Sehanine. - Wally had a conversation with Promise about his visions of Raei and Promise said she felt he should follow her calling to stop those who would want to destroy the Everlight and bring darkness and told him Raei's commandments. She slipped her pendant to Wally and told him she needed to stay here and then follow her own calling and separate from the group. - There were tearful farewells, also with Milla who had previously been scratching the symbol of Sehanine on the wall. - Scura watched this from a distance and also noticed the symbols. She had a brief conversation with Gwendolyne, one of the priests in the temple who admitted they are open to a broader set of gods, but whispered this news, knowing they are forbidden in the Empire. - Returning to the Sootswallow Lodge to leave, you discover Promise had paid for everyone. Lukas asked you to put some flowers on his wife's grave and retrieve the necklace he placed in the hollow tree in town in her memory should you ever make it there and back. He sketched a map of Vermeillon from what he could remember and gave it to you. Floyd Hemsworth led you to the Blushing Tankard where Irena Clommop greeted you and gave you rooms, paid for by the Crownsguard and Starosta. And then took you to an audience with the very imposing and very old Starosta Emma Zezbok at The Primator Palace. - You discovered that Starosta Wossathic from Odessloe had indeed been arrested on corruption charges and that Starosta Emma Zezbok wasn't much of a fan of his. She also mentioned how Hupperdook had kept a certain amount of independence from the Empire up until now, as befitted the First Council of Hupperdook, but now the war was dragging them into the conflict with the Kryn. After much nudging and clearing of throats, you eventually admitted that Filigree Fox gift was intended for her and took it out of the bag of holding. You hastily explained the poisoned needle you found and Scura examined and confirmed the Drow poison on it in front of the Starosta. This was enough to convince her that she was the target of a Drow assassination attempt and not only spared you your lives, but gave you the Filigree Fox as thanks and you were dismissed. - We wrapped up with you heading back to The Blushing Tankard at about 5pm that evening. ```