%% date:: [[2024-01-06]] %% # [[057_20240106 Blessings from the Berry Bush]] ## Session Summary > [!tldr] [[057_20240106 Blessings from the Berry Bush]] > While preparing for our trip to Absalom, we went to Gallentine Deliveries and convinced the proprietor, Auloria Gallentine, to give us some tips about what we might find along the way between Otari and Absalom. We purchased maps, compasses, and some healing potions. We tried to convince Dot to join us in our trip, but she was unwilling. We tried to get Carman to join us, but it turned out he was depressed and in jail. So we set off for Absalom on our own, feeling like we'd at least kept our word to Carman to try to get Dot to come with us. > > We started off well, but on the second day, we got turned around and weren't able to make much headway. While we made camp that night, we came across a plant-like creature that offered its berries to us (it called itself simply "Berry Bush") for trade. I gave an Alignment Ampoule, and Vayle gave another elixir, and we both got back the equivalent of a Moderate Healing Potion in return. ^summary %% ## Video [Video]() %% --- ## Recap ![[056_20231209 Guilt of The Huntress#^summary]] --- ## Log We're travelling to [[Absalom]] from [[Otari]]. There are basically no roads to get there - it's just wilderness. Otari guards patrol the outskirts of Otari, but they can't patrol the whole path. It takes about 10 days, but it could take us less or more time. [[Gallentine Deliveries]] is like the postman services in Otari. It's one rider and a horse, and they are the only ones who go to Absalom. - Proprietar is a female human named [[Auloria Gallentine]]. - She's a huntswoman of some sort. She has animal pelts, bow displayed in her back, rugged, suntanned look. - Vayle and Grumblebum try to convince her to tell us about the perils of the trip but fail. I Intimidate her. - Closer to town is safe. - Her riders often mention that main problem here is that you can't take a long rest in the wilderness unless you find a safe haven (like a farm or town). They try to travel really fast to outrun any of the dangers. - One rider mentioned that there was a big rumble in the ground. He thought it was an earthquake and he tried to outrun it, but it was a creature that popped up out of the ground-- a large one, like an elephant with armoured plates -- and just outran it. - There is an increasing number of wolves. - Weather is usually dry. Occasional thunderstorm and flash flood. - No mountains between here and Absalom - open fields, swamp terrain, and then when you're clear of the swampy terrain, you're near Absalom because they clear the area around it. - Absalom is a Level 20 city. It's "The City at the Center of the World." Rules for the trip - We can have journeying activities: guard, cover tracks, scout, hide in plain sight, befriend animals, chronicle, cook, entertain (during camp), gossip, rob people, track someone you're looking for, forage. [[Morlibinth]] has already sent a message ahead to the head librarian in Absalom. He's gotten us an introduction. We try to convince [[Dot Rajani]] to join us to go to Absalom. - Me: 13. ❌ Fail! She doesn't just want to learn things. She wants to accomplish things. She wants to do things by herself. She's thought of going to Absalom before, but it's really the same situation as here. She thinks that just learning is not enough. She has to be doing. - Vayle: 21. ✅ She wants - Grumblebum: 4. ❌ She has been in Absalom all these years. - Bond: ❌ Let us take you to Absalom and we can leave your father there. He can have a better life, and you can get space. Well, that's that. We wanted to go to [[Carman Rajani|Carman]] at the pool but we hear he's in jail. :( He just walked back into town and got himself arrested. We meet with [[Captain Lardus Longsaddle]]. Lardus says Carman will be here for a few weeks. He seems depressed. Grumblebum is rich! [[Magiloi]] in [[Crow's Cask]] has two Moderate Healing Potions, 50 gp each. Given to Bond and Grumblebum. - *Roaring potion*: Amplifies your voice with the bullhorn spell and makes it easier to coerce others. - *Moderate drinkheart mutagen*: No one sells horses in Otari. We give Dot one last chance, but she doesn't come with us. We finally leave for Absalom! Survival: Grumblebum, 28. Weather: 28. Ash thinks there will be a heavy downpour at some time today. First day - Heavy downpour - We meet some farmers that we could stay with, but we push through. - Somewhere near dawn, the rain stops. Second day - Day - Cold and misty. - Weather: no change from this weather - it will be misty and pleasant to walk through. - Survival: ❌ We get lost a bit. We fail to move a day closer to Absalom. - Bond befriends an animal, a bird. ✅ It leads him to a fruit tree with three rations. - Grumblebum: gossip. ❌ - Zuhri: scout. ✅ Buildings disappear, and the next terrain is rolling grasslands. - Night - Ash: Organize watch - Bond: Intimidating posture - Vayle: Cook ❌ - Zuhri: ❌ - Grumblebum: Fortify - Other options: fortify (Lore: Engineering/Warfare), camouflage (requires trained Stealth), entertain (Performance), cook (Survival) - During Ash's and Vayle's watch: - A voice says in our heads: "Trade for a berry?" - It looks like a large bush with a cluster of bright red berries. It moves on its roots, quite quickly. It has tendrils and legs that are thorny. It's massive. It's 12 feet tall. - It wants something rare, something nice. - Inside the bush, we see some fancy weapons with gold trimmings. They are works of art. There's a coin, there's a vase. They're all expensive. There's the edge of a painting. - I offer it an Alignment Ampoule and it accepts it. It gives me a berry. - "I am more than bush. I am [[Berry Bush]]." When asked for its name, it says "Berry Bush." -