DM: Calmseeker (feat. Neal)
Gau (Druid 14, portrayed by Konopa)
Marrak (Wizard 15, portrayed by DGM)
Lysing (Sorcerer 12, portrayed by Geokhan)
Katla (Fighter 14, portrayed by Arden)
Twee (Ranger 9/Cleric 1/Fighter 2, portrayed by RCB)
Zak (Fighter 12/Barbarian 3, portrayed by Carric)
Naal (Fighter 14/Wizard 2, portrayed by Mal, yours truly)
We departed this morning from Port Mirandia headed by portal and teleportation into Trader’s Bay with the objective of shopping for rare magical items and do some Intelligence about the diplomatic stance of the slaving port to our West regarding the Allied Freeholds of Katashaka.
Marrak consulted Te’sil about the teleportation sygil at the foothills of the large mountain range that envelops the Bay in a protective fashion. Twee in particular had been empowered by his Guild to carry a ludicrous amount of their reserves for the magical item purchase, and boy if he didn’t netted a price, but I am getting ahead of myself…
Before we departed a Dryad I am not familiar with by the name of Jacaranda asked for Gau‘s help to plant a majestic silver tree in what would soon be Port Mirandia’s very own groove.
We were visited by Rina, or the Rushing Stream Monastery the following day while we completed our preparations and she disclosed that the monks would move back to their ancestral home at the Speckhome Glade – I was unable to get her to disclose where exactly this spot is on the map.
We took to depart after our Ambassador in Chief Zak made his presence known – had to give him a hand strapping his plate before we moved towards the portal by the Arena at PM. We entered the portal coordinates for the Underdark Infested Forest (or UIF) let them with the Guard and took the FOT stones to return home. I warned the party that in the previous mission, the portal was surveiled and we found ourselves engaged as soon as we entered it by spiderfolk. It was not such the case this time – Marrak had time to teleport us to the spot where Grey Dwarven guarded a teleportation circle into the Bay of Traders itself.
We introduced ourselves, selected business over pleasure as our reason to be here and Lysing and Marrak spent 250gp in order to learn the teleportation circle into the city proper. The proper ettiquete at TB is as follows:
- What happens in Trader’s Bay, stays in Trader’s Bay.
- Unsanctioned killing of any individuals that occurs in Trader’s Bay will be punished by death. Cases of self-defense or other special circumstances will be reviewed on a case by case basis.
- The use of magic or magic items to cause harm is prohibited within the Bay except where it is expressly posted that it is allowed. Offenders will be apprehended and dealt with accordingly.
- This is a place to make money and enjoy yourselves. Therefore, any qualms you have with anyone you see within Trader’s Bay must stay outside.
- Trader’s Bay is a place for the people, if you are found to be causing issues within Trader’s Bay, you will be temporarily, or permanently removed.
- If you plan to make any major decisions that will affect the lives of other residents in Trader’s Bay, you must first communicate with and get permission from the relevant staff at Trader’s Bay.
If it sounds vague at times, that’s because they have magistrates from different Tiefling clans running the show at their covenience – this is the sort of crowd which can give you leave to practice magic therein. More on these later. Note that these regulations are fairly more relaxed than previous times we came along.
Zak disclosed that his life is merely maintained by his psionic discipline when informed that psionics fell upon the general prohibition to magic. He was taken to a medical tent nearby and examined, then returned to us unharmed (unless he’s now a doppelganger, who knows?)
Marrak inquired if he could use his magic to summon his vast wealth to pay for goods and services, or carry it on extradimensional spaces. Given those magics had no harmful purpose an in fact aided commerse they were allowed.
Once all clarifications were attained and we got vetted, we were allowed to use the teleportation circle into the city, cast by Marrak. The trip there took all of 10 minutes given the teleporting.
I’d characterize the Bay as a melting pot of peoples, with a general cavalier attitude in the air and a certain hurry to check out everything that was there to be offered. The first place that we visited was the Day Auction House. Once there I set my old Cloak of Elvenkind and Overshield up for auction, got over 9 hundred platinum for it; Zak auctioned a cursed blade of his and some trinket for 7 hundred platinum. Katla got almost 5 hundred platinum for selling her mimic cloak and Twee sold a Ring of Mind Shielding for a ridiculous over 14 hundred platinum.
Up for auction was a Potion of invincibility, which Katla managed to win;
A Potion of Superior Healing;
A Ring of Protection which Gau purchased;
And land and least a Staff of Withering.
After the auction was concluded, we learned of an even more exclusive affair: the VIP Night Auction. You need to deposit at least 20 thousand gold pieces in escrow before you can take part in it – you are able to draw from those funds in order to buy at the place. You’re also asked to strip off your magical paraphernalia and outfit and given robes for the ocassion. I presume as a measure of security and anonymity. You forfeit the escrow deposited if you start shit in there, too. Re: Shit, IE, violence. You may also offer items as colateral, they’ll appraise it on the spot and add them to your escrow, Gau, for example offered a couple of potions of giant strength, a circlet of blasting, a slightly magical hide armor and 1300 platinum on top.
The next thing I noticed was when Gau got into some sort of drug deal with a petite Aasimar, netted himself some Wurple apparently it aids erectile disfunction (side effects include severe insomnia, coronary problems and death):
Before we headed for the Night Auction, we went to Akmed’s Lost Spells shop: the Poisoned Pen.
I purchased a Transmutation one which turned my skin or armor into a porcupine of blades. Pretty handy. Lysing purchased one which allows him to get a handful of gravel, toss it and have the tiny stones grow to ridiculous proportions after they impact a target and one that invoked a grim reaper to slash your foe’s soul. Marrak purchased a spell that can encase it’s target in very difficult to escape ice.
Akmed offered us a discount in future purchases if we could get our hands into an amount of Chaetognian Oil, which is apparently, the main incredient for Wurple. This oil is imported from somewhere called Migar. The Tiefling noble families which rule the Bay manage it’s distribution. Akmed wanted the narcotic for, apparently, the innocent purpose of using it to light his lamps across the Poisoned Pen. Or so he claimed…
We headed to the Coliseum afterward, and this is where things got funky, dear reader. The plan was going there and make some money for the VIP auction. You get measured, paired and given your odds of victory. Last time I was there, I participated in a couple of bouts myself, along with Duke Eight. We wreaked our opposition, quite easily. The payment we got was subpar at best, few hundred gold if I recall correctly. The issue is after my last bout I also called for the gladiators to join us at Port Mirandia, if they wished to join the Freeholds. Twenty souls sailed back with us. Rather meager people, seemingly lifelong slaves. My impassioned speech took the organizers by such surprise that we found no opposition in part of the masters. But now I had returned. Remeber now, the last 6th tenet which governed our stay in the Bay? If you plan to make any major decisions that will affect the lives of other residents in Trader’s Bay, you must first communicate with and get permission from the relevant staff at Trader’s Bay. This is what I had previously failed to do.
A clerk began to inquire if I was Naal, to which I replied in the affirmative, then more specific questions such as if I had fought there before. At my second confirmation, she whistled and handled the registration papers she was filling to a group of lackeys which came running with her signal. We were then taken to be measured, as costumary. The usher, this time, took us to an alleyway. In the middle of it, we met a merc by the name of Robb.
He shooed away the usher asigned to us, saying he could take it from there and began explaining to us how we owed the organizers of the Coliseum for the souls we had freed -peacefully- without consulting with the pit masters of the Torenz Tiefling family, the mob like organizers of this bloodsport (bear in mind, duels to the death are rare if not nonexistent here).
His ultimatum was for us to get him three new gladiators, strong ones, plus pay a fine of a thousand platinum (for the mathematically challenged, this was 10 thousand gold pieces) plus myself and my ‘entourage’ was forbidden from coming within a hundred feet of the Coliseum. He did admit he was just a messenger.
I took this time to deliberate with the party, and after much back and forth, to the point I cast in doubt the notion him being actually a Torenz agent, we were graced by the presence of one of their lieutenants: Akrius. They lowered the feed to around 7 thousand gold and a single gladiator, and they had a man in mind, dubbed Dr. Evilus – whom they claimed was a down on his luck archmage, looking for ways to make money. You’d think someone with those qualifications would have little trouble finding employment in some noble court, but here in Trader’s Bay that would just be the case. He was incognito, apparently fleeing some authorities with a mere frilly mask and a codename of Dr. Notevilus. You can read about his exploits here and here .
At any rate we agreed with the terms, mainly because I was informed that the dude named after literal evil probably could use being employed by sadistic tiefling gangster fucks. Win-Win or something. I paid the fine off my own pocket. It still hurts, but was the least I could do to keep our diplomatic stance with the Bay in the up and up. We were given a permit to use magic with the blindfold insignia of the Torenz family, which would be up until tomorrow – the thing was magically prepared to burn away at sunset – Twee and Marrak were unable to commit such emblem to memory for falsifications, sadly, and I decided against dispelling the evocation charm that would make it self-destruct in order to ensure they don’t suspect foul play with their documents. With our hopes to make more money for the auction tonight ruined, we waited for the event to comence.
Once we located the spot where the VIP auctions would be held, we had our escrow collected and were given slips for their value by a clerk new at the position. Our personal magical equipment was also divested from us, and we were given robes and subtle magics seem to have been applied on ourselves to guarantee our anonymity. Guards magically compelled to keep us safe at all cost flanked each of us.
The architecture resembled a blend of Shashotep and Tor Merr. We were ushered to booths screened for privacy that were placed before an amphiteater to better look upon the offerings. One of the booths we passed by featured a Tiefling woman which caught Katla and Gau‘s attention. She was playing with some sort of illusory enchanted cube, left it behind after seemingly becoming annoyed at our presence and we took a moment to deliberate upon what was the proper ettiquete to return the property to her without forfeiting our fortune (this could all have been a confidence trick of some sort). My vote was squarely at leaving the item where it stood. This advice wasn’t followed but the dire pregnostications I let run wild on my mind didn’t came to pass at least.
After our usher found her tongue back, she noted that the female Tiefling was named Lady Nemaia, from the Aztiel Family. Gau left the item where it was with a note I believe, after Katla tried and failed to solve it. Frankly I was more interested in the auction than whatever this was, but in restrospect, this all seemed to have been a subtle ruse to approach us incognito and offer us a job. Turns out her supply line to the south was cut somehow, she needed mercs who’d look into it. Inquire with Katla further about the specifics please. Something about Purple Wurms; They needed shipments from Migar, some place Katla has visited before apparently to resume. What sorta shipments these are is beyond me The contact for these shipments was Horndal. Katla seemed keen on getting a hold of another Tiefling: one Velith Gacezzi, this was some blood oath past issues from a previous expedition it seems.
With the cloak and dagger part of the evening concluded, we could fully enjoy the auction next: On hand was offered a potion of supreme healing (Sold for 1,600gp); a potion of storm giant strength (sold for 30,000gp); an arrow of demon slaying (sold for 4,500gp); and last but definetively not least a Grey Robe of the Archmagi (Which Twee managed to purchase with his Guild Funds for an extraordinary 45,600gp, way to go!). After the proceedings we regained our items and unspent money without foul-play in sight. We retired for the night at the Broken Mast Inn. The night was uneventful.
The following morning we received word (literally) thruought Sending spell that we would find our mark (Dr. Evilus) at the Plentiful Plate in the afternoon. We headed there after doing some more shopping, which I’ll detail below, and managed to convince the notorious Archmage to come with us at the prospect of gainful employment by the Torenz pit masters.
Of passing note, Lysing spent the remainder of the trip attempting to wingman for Gau for some reason (and failing at that, I commend his perseverance though). Artificial aging or not, I’m fairly sure Gau still believes in cooties.
The Day Auction offered a potion of Superior Healing; a Tentacle Rod; a Quiver of Ehlonna; and an Arrow-Catching shield. None of which we were much interested in. The highlight of the day was our visit to the Born and Bread Bakery which we closed for business with an outrageous request of 300 cookies, most of which should be offered in the banquet for Faenoa and Daffodil’s wedding (thank the gods for Gentle Repose!)
We discovered that the Aztiel Family commanded the import of Chaetognian Oil for Wumpus (this may very well be the sorta shipments that Nemaia wanted us to secure – not sure how to feel about facilitating narcotics going into the city but this is all speculation on my part)
After delivering Evilus to his new overlords we stopped by the Poisoned Pen again and browsed it further, finding little of use. We retired to the Broken Mast Inn but spied a trio of Drow make use of the installations before we went in Lysing managed to fast-talk the owner of the establishment into having him disclose their names to us: They were Elerra Khalazza [she/her], Imbros Keteeruae [he/him], Pharius Vrinn [he/him] and noted that they were here on behalf of House T’sarran to purchase weapons.
T’sarran. That’s a name I hadn’t heard in a long time. Lysing speculated that they may have disguised their true houses and advertised to which interest they sought to fulfill by coming here for brain behind the burning of White Moon Cove. The Night Auction tonight held little of value: Paper steed recipe (calligraphy), a potion of supreme healing, a potion of clairvoyance, and an exceptional keen oil recipe (poison). No one of us deemed to purchase anything of that.
The following morning we were in the process of teleporting back to Port Mirandia but the Duergar guards stopped us briefly to impart us with the following letter, specifically for Lysing:
And with that our fairly eventful yet bloodless shopping trip came to an end. I am told Ambassador Zak immediately used the portal to get back there with Gau and others in order to visit Owlysium. Heh. I can respect that.