Summer has the lesser and least version of the Aquatic Crystals, but neither of them bestow Water-Breathing.

"I'm open to negotiation," Summer says to Krass, noticing his disappointment. "Is there a particular reason you need to be able to breathe underwater?"

"You wouldn't, by any chance, be working for JAGSS, would you? Ariana has purchased a few similar items from me just yesterday, so I thought there might be a connection."

Yes, as a matter of fact. We're about to head out on an aquatic expedition, and I felt it was a good idea to be able to breathe underwater, especially if I needed to do any tracking Krass explains. Although I was aware the Ariana had planned some equipment, I feel that the crystal fits my style better, as it would make my armor adaptable in water, rather than merely conveying the ability to breathe. Unless JAGGS has some sort of payment plan? he inquires.

"Although Ariana didn't say what mission she was launching, I'm guessing it's the Sovereign Light she is after," Summer replies.

"If that's the case, I might be interested in a trade. In exchange for the crystal, I would like the figurehead from the ship. I'm sure Ariana will let me have it. If it turns out that it's missing or too far decayed, then Ariana will owe my a favor."

Well, I'm okay with that arrangement, but I'll need to fly it past Ariana. Let me speak with her, and I should be able to return in a few hours Krass says. He nods at the proprietor, then proceeds back to HQ to ask Ariana if such an arrangement would be acceptable to her.

Once Krass tells Ariana about the deal, she just laughs.

"Of course it's alright! She started out working for me!"

Krass laughs as well. Hah! Thought so! He heads back to Summer and seals the deal.

 Deirdre buys a few scrolls:
 - alter self
 - alter winds
 - buoyancy
 - aboleth's lung
 - Track Ship

Standard prices for the scrolls. I'm guessing you know what they are. There are none on your list that aren't reasonable for a port.

Having collected the few meager, if grisly, bits of 'equipment' he needed for the journey, Chas has settled back into a chair at the Inn, his sack of skulls on the table in front of him as he roots around in it, first examining this one, and then the next, each one replaced carefully in bag after he measured and turned it over and over in his pudgy hands, humming to himself.

He names each and talks quietly to them, almost as if introducing himself.

The first he declares to be Broderick. The second, Natalia. Then comes Brubaker, Olin and last...and most battered of all, the smaller skull he names Bethany...or Betsy for short.

He spends a fairly long time talking to Betsy as he nurses another drink.

Picking up scrolls:

Lay of the Land (x2)
Embrace the Wild

Cost = 75 gold

Appears in HQ and removes the ring "Well, that was something, though im ready for a new challenge"

"Yes, it doesn't surprise me, Ariana says. "The Spire had some bad portents originally... oh, just minor ones, nothing that screamed death and destruction. That's probably why the agents I sent didn't fare all that well."

"At least they all came back alive... so far."

"As it turns out, I have an opening that you might be interested in filling."

"Just yesterday, I sent two teams to search for the ancient temple of an all but forgotten moon god. It seems the moon god had his own agenda, though."

"Anyway, one of the members of one team has some personal problems that are calling him back. If you want to take his place, I can send you there and you can give him a message that will return him."

"If that's satisfactory, we just need to get you a new ring."

She leads Neskusar over to a table where she pulls out a display rack full of rings.

"Just pick one that fits you, activate it, and then I can teleport you to where that team is."

"A temple of a moongod ey, sounds challengig, ill take it". He followed her and put the old ring down. He picked out another ring and put it on before activating it "ready to go".

Ariana led Neskusar into the second adjacent warehouse, and down along the wall to the pentagram etched into the floor--the teleport circle.

Once Neskusar stepped into the circle, Ariana did her magic wave and Neskusar vanished from the warehouse.


He rematerialized in the glaring light and oppressive heat of a noonday desert sun. He almost fell down, though, as the deck upon which he now stood was slanted a bit. Yes, deck... the deck of ship.

He immediately spotted a man with a tiger... based on Ariana's description, this would be Shai.

In reply to Ariana Jade (msg # 57):

AJ and Augie arrive at Headquarters as AJ vomits up her last meal.

“ That was too much. ”

Awi may have found a ship away from Absalom, or at least a way aboard it. A merchant by the name of Jarvis Graynger felt he needed a bodyguard aboard a ship called Scalawag and happened to find Awi in the Endless Keg. Since it was favored by Dwarves, it seemed the least likely place someone would come looking for Awi.

Once Awi agreed to play bodyguard, Jarvis had another trip in mind. Without telling Awi about it, he led the way down the streets of Diobel to a small non-descript building. While little in Diobel is truly rundown, it all looks like it is because no one has bothered cleaning or painting anything in decades. The town is just too poor to care about it's appearance.

The building is only one-story high, and is maybe 20'x40'. No windows, and only one door. The weather-beaten wood siding has certainly seen better days. The door, at one end, is centered in the wall. As you approach the door, Awi barely notices the equally weather-beaten sign that simply reads: JAGSS.

Jarvis walks up to the door and simply enters without knocking, indicating he may have been here before.

The two of you walk into a 20x20 room that is split down the middle by a counter, although the far left corner of the room seems to have been set up as a small officer. Another door is in the middle of the rear wall... no doubt going to the other half of the building.

A gray-haired man steps out of the office and over to the counter. Though his hair is gray, he looks only middle-aged as well as spry.

"Ah, Jarvis! Good day to you, sir. Are you interested in another expedition already? I would have thought you'd had your fill after tangling with that tiger."

"But that is exactly why I wish to go again!" Jarvis replies. "The excitement! The adventure! This time, though, I've brought someone to do my tiger-fighting for me! Zarek, this is Awi. Awi, Zarek. I'd prefer something of short duration... a day or two at most. I hope that's not asking too much. We have a ship to catch, you see."

No one had mentioned anything about tigers but if the man had access to beasts like those, then he was either a very strange gladiator or can deliver on his on promise.~


Awi merely nods a moment after the mention of tiger fighting. Tigers weren't his specialization but he could probably take one down, he would perfer to drive it off or avoid it. Putting a hand on his pocket he visualizes his inventory.

"I was not expecting quite that type of job when i agreed, but i am of capable of adjusting as need Mister Zarek." stretching out a hand towards the JAGSS attendant.

Awi Shelessu rolled 10 using 1d20+9. Knowledge local (Absalom) about JAGSS.

He had little reason to learn more then that it existed and he presumed it dealt with salvage operations which made tigers all the odder a occurrence for them to be discussing.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:31, Thu 12 Apr 2018.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance, Awi," Zarek responds.

"As for your... short... expedition, Jarvis... as you know, you can always use the ring to return whenever you want. It turns out that we have something simple in the wings, though. One of our agents stumbled across the Shrine of the Emerald Cobra. So we now know where it is. No searching required."

"We're not trying to loot it, but if we could just get some tracings of the walls, that'd be great. Okay, it's not all that exciting... at least, it shouldn't be. Sound like something you might be interested in?"

AJ sits in a sitting room of the main hall with her companion, Augie, waiting for another mission.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:38, Thu 12 Apr 2018.

"That would be up Mister Jarvis, I am here under arrangement to protect him even if i wasn't expecting quite that type of excitement imagined for today. If scribes work is what you are describing, i have a steady quill hand when needed if your willing to supply the materials." returning his hands to his sides, he turns to Jarvis to see what the man would decide.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:22, Thu 12 Apr 2018.

"Ah, yes! I quite forgot about that," Jarvis replied. "Not completely, of course; it's just that the possibilities had slipped my mind. I guess I think of it as a means to return when the expedition ends, not when someone's got tired of it."


Zarek reaches under the counter and pulls out a silver tray with a teapot on it as well as a small plate with a couple of scones on it along with two small jars--one of honey, one of preserves.

"Would you gentlemen care for a cup of tea and a scone? The preserves are plum today."

"I also have ale or wine, if you'd prefer that."

"Anyway, as it turns out, we have two other people interested in a new expedition. AJ and Augie. Help yourself to the refreshments while I see if this is something they would be interest in."

He walks to the back door and opens it before stepping through.

AJ (and Augie?) are sitting at the table in the corner of the warehouse. There are books to read if they are interested.

Zarek walks up to the table.

"I have a small request for an expedition... of only one or two days duration. We may have one. Might that be something you are interested in, AJ? I need to caution you, though, that the gentlemen need to catch a boat in two days, so if the expedition looks like it will last longer than that, they will probably return, leaving you on your own."

Awi waits for a moment before taking one of the scones and sampled it. The fresh scent of the scone was strong, and the dwarven fair he had at the inn last night and this morning had been quite short of anything besides meat and liquid grain.

 Examining his absent minded charge and pondering what kinda of madness was in store for him now. The place didn't appear to be a mage's guild or drug den, both of which were the only reasonable explanations that came to him besides utter madness. Perhaps it was some shady creature hunting club, but for the moment, they had good scones. If a Tiger was going to be coming through the door, at least he could savor the scone first.

Awi Shelessu rolled 21 using 1d20+8.  Sense Motive: Analyze prowess, Jarvis graynger.
This message was last edited by the player at 00:24, Fri 13 Apr 2018.

Finishing his scone and waiting for Zarek to return, Awi shifts his weight to his other foot to get comfortable. Then he queries jarvis "So what is this i heard about tigers, agents, and shrines. I keep my word, but if you want me to protect you it would help to know what i'm protecting you from."

In reply to Awi Shelessu (msg # 66):

“ Augie and I should be able to handle ourselves. ”

"Our ship doesn't leave for two days, assuming it even sails on time or waits for us," Jarvis replies to Awi. "I don't necessarily need a bodyguard here in Diobel, since I don't frequent those kinds of places, but I thought it'd be a good idea for us to work together a bit while we're waiting."

"If a threat pops up, you'd be better able to deal with it if you knew how I'd react. Likewise, I wouldn't get in your way if I knew what you were likely to do."

"So, I thought it'd be a good idea if we took the opportunity to... well, practice some. The best way I knew to do that is go on a short JAGSS expedition. They hire people to act as their agents on these expeditions."

"The last one I was on was in the jungle, and we got into a bit of trouble with a tiger. I think we were in his territory, and he objected to it."

"Most of the time, though, it's monsters you have to worry about."

"Ah, here's Zarek now."

Just then, Zarek returns through the door in the rear wall.

"AJ and Augie are interested, so we can go ahead," he says. "We usually like to send at least 4 people on a mission, for safety and for different points of view. It's a bit short notice to get any of our regulars here, which is why I asked AJ."

As he talks, he reaches under the counter and pulls up a small display rack of rings and sets it on the counter. There are a dozen or so plain silver rings placed in slots on the blue velvet display.

"You need to select a ring that fits you. These are special JAGSS rings. They have to be activated with a drop of blood, but once activated, it'll only work for you."

"We teleport you to the site, and the ring is how you get back. You can just will it to get back, or if you are near death, it will automatically bring you back here."

"Ariana will explain the rest to you, but I have just two questions: are you afraid of magic, and do you like to travel?"