The Exploration of Options #BottomOfTheBarrelOptions - January 19, 2024

 - Sports sweatshirt over cat dice

 

- After a few hours, Theophania finds her way to the stone circle deep in the woods northwest of the city of Mistverge. She approaches the circle making sure she isn't disrupting any active magical workings, and then just calls out asking if there are any druids here. Then she sits and waits.

 

- Meanwhile back in Mistverge, Osiris tells Rusty about the messages to Tina, then she does a sending to Jimmy the smuggler, "Jimmy? Are you alive? We need help and it might be a business opportunity for you."

- He responds, "Who is this? What kind of business opportunity?" 

- Osiris Sends again, "It's Osiris. Your best friend. We're in a predicament where we need to acquire a bunch of silver to save the city. You interested or know anyone who's interested in that kind of business venture?"

- He responds again, "You're asking about silver smuggling? Maybe I can help you. How much money do you have?"

- Osiris Sends again, "Yes, I personally have like 150 gold, but you'll be cutting into Lord McNabb's profits. If you're in town, this would be much easier."

- He responds again, "Yeah, I'm working for McNabb shipping, so it would all be coming out of his pocket anyway. 150 is nothing. Call me again when you're serious." 

- She decides not to waste any more spells on the Jimmy route and she and Rusty head back to the Temple of Mishakal.

- Osiris suggests Rusty ask Connie the Construct if he saw any silver deposits as he was tunneling his way through the earth.

- Rusty does so, but Connie is not a mining robot, and doesn't know anything about silver.

- Meanwhile back at the library, Raiàn and Lyrielle are killing time trying to find out things when they get a message from Osiris asking if anyone has heard from Tiff in the past few hours.

 

- That evening at the druid circle Tiff Sends to Tina, "Do you know if you can get or find Moonwort in Arrandale? Need it to try to free the trapped souls. Learn anything interesting lately?"

- Tina responds, "Mmmm, botany really isn't my thing, sorry. Also not in Arrandale right now, I'm on a quest to not kidnap Russell Santiago for Osiris." 

- Tiff Sends to Osiris, "Who is Russell Santiago?"

- Osiris responds, "You've talked to Tina. He's a paladin of Paladine. For the holy water, you know?"

- Tiff immediately moves on and Sends to Sharai, "Can you get or find 10 lbs of Moonwort spores? I've invented an elixir to free the trapped souls in Agonir's hoard. Thank you!"

- Sharai responds, "Moonwort doesn't really grow here. More likely near Wistaria or Ambani. Also 10 lbs of spore is fucking insane. That must be a crazy potion."

- Tiff starts talking to an owl who turns out to be an elven druid named Elidar who is reluctant to help a city dweller as he views the city and technology as a corruption of nature.

- Tiff manages to convince Elidar that if she brings him seeds he will grow them to the point where she can harvest the flowers.

- Tiff then flies straight up until she can see the twinkle of the lights in Mistverge and gets home without running into any bats (a worry since she's never flown at night before).

- Meanwhile, Osiris asks Rowan if she knows an transmutation wizards? She does not.

- Jinora is still in town, so they ask her if she knows any transmutation wizards, but she does say she could maybe help gather some things. They consider asking her to go for the bay trees in the west near Raiàn's family's lands.

- Tiff hands Raiàn a Scroll of Sending (since that's what they came to the boarding house to do in the first place when they ran into Jinora) and from there heads to the General Store. She manages to get 100SP and some silver flatware for the cause.

- Osiris goes to Norman and gets 500SP in exchange for 50GP, and also a small bag of Life-Everlasting seeds for Tiff to take to Elidar.

- Rusty also plants the idea of transmuting other materials into silver into Magnus's head.

 

- 3,000 XP ea. for 118,500 XP total ea.

In Which There is a Lot of Running Around - January 5, 2024

 - Several days after the porridge battle, Tiff bursts into Osiris's room in the middle of her trance to announce she thinks she has a solution 

- Tiff sits down to let O review her notes and immediately passes out

- Osiris waits a few hours, then messages the rest of the team, none of whom answer

- She then goes and talks to Headpriestess Rowan about the holy water requirement

- She then talks to Marta about the plants, and Marta is able to tell her about 3/5

- Osiris then goes to the Curlywit Boarding House to divide and conquer what she can

- Raiàn and Lyrielle (for moral support only) talk to Lord McNabb about the large requirements of silver needed to craft the 10 gallons of holy water, he agrees to talk to the city council and get in the required amount (40,000 SP worth)

- Osiris and Rusty (for moral support) circle around through the other temples in town to see who has holy water or who could help donate time to make more

    - There's a small temple to Branchala, god of music, in the halfling part of town near the boarding house, the only member / temple halfling there give her one flask (1 cup) of holy water

    - There's a very nice temple to Paladine, god rulers and guardians, in the rich part of town where she learns of a paladin named Russell Santiago in Caledonia and also collects two more flasks (2 cups) of holy water. She comes up with the idea to have a Religious festival where they can 

    - Near Lord McNabb's history library / museum there's a small building for Lunitari, god of neutral magic, where she learns about Moonwort the fern Tiff needs as one of the five ingredients (not including the holy water) and it might be found in the Orcish Caliphate north of what was once known as the town of Birchwood. She also learns that bay trees would grow on the far west coast of the continent past Rusty's desert. 

    - There's a temple to Shinare, goddess of wealth and trade, near the Trader's Gate, where she and Rusty are unable to negotiate a deal for this prosperity-gospel-type, pyramid-scheming jerk for any aid of any kind because the priest only cares about profit.

    - At the temple to Habbakuk, god of animal life and the sea, near the docks, she finds that the acolyte      (Rosemary) under the elderly priest CAN actually cast divine magic and is willing to help craft holy water

- Osiris Sends to Tina, "Need you to go to Caledonia to pick up Russell Santiago from the temple of Paladine.We need divine caster for holy water."

- Tina responds, "Osiris! Great to hear from you! Does he know I'm coming? What does he look like? What do you mean you need casters for holy water?"

- Osiris Sends again, "No idea about appearance. Doesn't know you're coming. Tiff devised plan to release dragon souls. We need holy water, thus casters. Can you get silver?"

- Tina again responds, "So am I kidnapping him? Don't know if I'm down for that. Gotta help get rid of the dragon, though. Silver? I thought his name was Russell."

- Osiris Sends for a third time, "Please ask him to come. There's potential combat glory in the name of Paladine by battling the dragon. Silver is used to make holy water."

- Tina, "Oooooooooh. Cool cool cool. I can do that. Don't have any silver though." 

- Once she finally wakes up Tiff uses the Earring of Message to coordinate with what everyone is up to, and she says she will go talk to Vianola, where she buys six 30" sage stalks and orders 5 lbs of Prunella vulgaris roots. It's not the correct season for the 20 lbs or so of Anaphalis margaritacea flowers, but maybe the druid out at the circle in the woods can help?

- Tiff gets Vianola to mark the approximate location of the stone circle of the druids on her map of the area, and she immediately flies in that direction.

- Raiàn and Lyrielle go to the temple library to learn about the two plants that don't grow in this area. The librarian suggests that bay trees would grow in the area Raiàn comes from, so she and Lyrielle discuss that she might be able to Send (if Tiff can make a scroll) to her cousin to arrange for some bay branches brought to Striker and Breaker which they can teleport to.

- It also occurs to the two of them that Tiff's cousins who run the travelling caravan might have an idea of where to find or get or trade for Moonwort.

- 3,000 XP ea. for 115,500 XP total ea.