In reply to Riza (msg # 197):

Tugging at Minmorc, Oopses whispers softly,"I hearz da sand people gots a gold sticky stuff, I found some in a bottle one time. Sticky and oozy, but it's really sweet and gets hard if you leave it openz. And winez, I need winez for da really good stew."

Minmorc will take a dagger from his belt and will cut his palm, then he'll draw blood down his face. Dead serious Minmorc will swear "der next thousand I gets is yers Riza, an der thousand after dat if yer needs it too." Minmorc will then seal the deal with the sacred fist bump, then he'll grab Abbu and will go and do some shopping, he's got some new gauntlets and some good cooking wine to find.

Bulldust leers at Abbu in his circle of Moffa dust.  "Dat orc dont know nuffin.  Dis is da worst kind ov goblin magic Abbu.  You owe us a flyin carpet.  You better find out where dere is one, cos we'll find yer again some day."

When Minmorc leads Abbu away towards the shops, Bulldust will stop them.  "Hey Min, da guards said we all have ta stick togevver, so ya cant go off wiv Abbu.  We're all comin shoppin too.  I want some magic gloves ta make me strong too.  An I fink Oopses wants some humie wine fer boilin horses in."  He looks over his shoulder to see if their friends and their ten guards are ready to follow.

Dregz doesn't particularly want to go shopping ... but even with Bargrivyek on his side, the hirsute little goblin doesn't wish to argue with either the Ullite guards nor Minmorc, so gathers up his Holy Book and trudges along.

"I's wants one of dose backpack fings dats bigger on the inside den it on de outside!"  Jurz admits as he follows on with the others.

Abbu is absolutely terrified by Moffdust's goblin magic.

"Kanak!" he cries. "The Amir of Kanak owns a flying carpet, I am certain of it. But Kanak is hundreds of miles south of here, on the shores of Lake Udrukankar, in the desert where the dervishes live!"

He hurriedly leads the way to one merchant after another searching and haggling for the items that each member of the Team wants to buy.

To appease Moffdust, Abbu first heads for a wizard who trades in magic wands, scrolls and potions. They leave the unknown wand with the wizard to identify it and to put a price on it. The process will take an hour and cost Moffdust 110gp. When they return later and Moffa hands over the gold the wizard tells her it is a Wand of Scorching Ray with 25 charges remaining. He would pay up to 1,125gp to buy it off her but reluctantly tells her the command word if she does decide to keep it.

Abbu immediately calculates that this extra piece of treasure means all seven humanoids in Team Arda-Nuff are entitled to an additional share of 160gp and 7sp, so now the basic shares for everyone are 3,050gp and 7sp each, before subtracting the value of items that individuals want to keep (i.e. 585gp for Bully's +1 shield, 1,125gp for Moffa's wand of scorching ray and 1,157gp 5sp for the medium-sized +1 glowing scimitar that Oopses timidly claims for himself).

The gauntlets of ogre power that Minmorc and Bully want can be bought for 4,000gp for each pair of gauntlets. The modified (spiked) pair of gauntlets of ogre power that Minmorc wants will cost an extra 305gp and take an hour for a skilled blacksmith to fashion and install those spikes as it turns out that anything less than masterwork quality spikes would ruin those magical gauntlets.

A gnomish trader is found who owns a small-sized, magic, mithril chain shirt that Dregz dearly wants to buy. Abbu wisely insists on dealing with the gnome alone without letting him know the purchase is for a goblin and agrees on a price of 2,100gp to secure this prized item for Dregz.

The magical haversack that Jurz wants to buy is even easier for Abbu to find and he quickly secures one for the sum of 2,000gp.

All the other smaller purchases that various people want to make are quickly taken care of too, including potions, scrolls, ammunition, alchemical items, food and drink, etc.

OOC: Everyone can now spend their money on just about anything they want (or exchange coins for gems or other valuables of equal value) and update their own character sheets accordingly.

Riza will spend her spare time while the others are shopping familiarising herself with the knives she had picked up, getting used to their weight and balance. If the guards give her too much attitude she will offer them some of the chewing tobacco she picked up from überthaled.

Though Dregz (now looking very hairy indeed, a sure sign of Bargrivyek's favour - must be all that praying, look at Minmorc) didn't want to go shopping and hadn't intended on spending a single coin.  Indeed, the priest wanders through the market place spellbound, listening to all the bustle and chatter going on around him more than the wares that are offered.  But before him dawns that shiny, oh so shiny mailcoat, and once he sets eyes upon it he just has to have it ... though he gets Abbu to sell his old mundane armour to soften the blow.

And after that, there's no stopping him.  Their pet slave is set to work, first when the little goblin spies a lustrous pearl, and then to bicker over a brace of potions that the owner personally guarantees to work as advertised.

Finally, the crowning glory, a backpack !  Worn and cracked it might be, old it most certainly is ... but to the little goblin it is a fitting vessel to house his Holy Book, which is dutifully ensconced in the main compartment, still wrapped about in the old sack which has seen it safe thus far.

"Der next bit of der Magic Stick is South !" Dregz announces excitedly as Abbu speaks of the carpet owned by the Amir of Kanak.  "Definitely in der desert ... looked pretty wild and nasty where we're going ... don' suppose this Amir lives in a ruined tower ?"  The goblin tells of the vision he has been sent, growing clearer day by day ...

You dream of a bleak landscape that is like a desert of powdery grey ash. The only breaks in this bleak landscape are some sort of ruined building ahead of you and the silhouette of a mountain range behind you. A howling wind rises quickly and soon starts to whip the ash around you in blinding clouds that sear your lungs and sting any exposed flesh. The ruined building looks like the only possible place to escape from the wind.

... and upon that recounting immediately demands Abbu hurry to buy him a cloak, though all he can afford is a thin cotton affair, and even that has him counting out coppers.

Jurz is more than happy with his new haversack and loads all his important bits and bobs into it.  As they walk around the market he looks for natural fetishes, signs of O'Baddy or any other gods that look like they might be natury gods.   However, most of his coin goes into gems and jewellery that can be easily carried to their next port of call.

"Why's youse so hairy?" he asks Dregz.

"I tink my brains are gettin' bigger, an' pushin' all der hair to der outside," posits the hairy goblin, though truth be told, it's not only the hair on his head which has grown long.  It doesn't seem to worry Dregz at all, though - on the contrary, he's certain it means Bargrivyek is pleased indeed with the way path the tribe is on.

Jurz takes a step backwards  "Dats dangerous dat is.  When all der hairz gone, dat'll makes youse head explode!  An it mights be catching!" The  baldy brown goblin looks quite concerned for his friend and ally and, more importantly, at the chance the he might contract the same malady.
This message was last edited by the player at 12:17, Thu 21 Apr 2016.

"Don' worry," Dregz reassures his kinsman. "Dis shiny armour came wid a shiny metal cap ! If I wear dat den my head won' be able to explode if my brain gets too big.  Dat's der sort of clever thinkin' I can manage now my brain is bigger !"

So saying, the priest fishes the matching headwear from his pack and jams it firmly on his head.

Jurz nods, although he has clearly doubts about Dregz's answer.

Minmorc has a long hard think about all this as they shop. Looking down at Dregz he'll say "Nah... don't fink ye brains gettin bigger at all... if der hair is growin out, mebbe is growin in too an squeezin yer brain."
Once Minmorc has his new Gauntlets on and his food stuffs packed away he will start musing about wether they should stay at all. Once the rest of he group has all their equipment he'll pose the question directly. "If weez all done, lez jus go ter der next place, gets sum more gold so's I can pay Riza back."

Jurz is happy to go along with Minmorc's suggestion and almost giggles at the thought of the humies when all these nasty humanoids suddenly disappear out of their city by magic.

Riza watches the party members interact with mild interest. Especially the conversation between the goblins about hair. "If you wants I can get you some more hair, just have to scalps someone" she looks critically at the guards "sorry dregz they too big for you need something smaller." She moves closer to Minmorc and the others "so we's ready to go or not, and don't worry Minmorc I knows you will pay me back. I'm happy to lend money to anyone in our group, if they don't pays it back I'll kill them slowly as I know how" with a cackle she ads "I gots plenty of tricks you guys ain't seen yet.... So we going or what"

OOC: Is everyone ready to move on? Everyone is at full hit points and clerics will have prepared spells for today. Does anyone want to edit spell selections first, or buy anything else or make any other preparations?

Hearing about the ash in Dregz vision Minmorc will tear up one of his sacks to make a bandanna mask and will offer the rest of the rags to the rest of the party if they want to do the same. Helmet jammed back on his head and Vera in hand Minmorc is ready to go.

"We's wants some googly-goggles." the goblin pipes up suddenly  "To keeps de ash out of ours eyes!  Dat sounds like the Hell Furnaces.  Dey have big lizards dat blows fire at youse, an dere is monsters dat lives under ash, and de humies wipe stinky stuff on dere faces.  And de nature gods don't go dere.  Dere's isn't any plants or proper stuff." he continues shivering at the very thought of a place with no plants.

"An we's needs some big goggles for Rog ... and a fishes bowl for Arlien ..." He continues rapidly running off a list of the first things that he can think of.

Riza will take one of the offered dust masks, and with bow ready will head off with the group ready to go

With helmet on, one of Minmorc's dust-masks over his nose and mouth, his long hair all but covering his eyes, his massive pack upon his back and his cloak wrapped about him, Dregz looks ready for anything a desert of ash might throw at him ... though he looks up at Jurz's suggestion. "Dat sounds good," his muffled voice emanates, applauding his kinsman's quick thinking (now being in a position to recognise cleverness).

Bulldust returns wearing Ogre Power gauntlets too and looks very pleased with himself.  He owes Moffa 600gp but does not feel any need to swear a blood oath to pay back his big sister ... she knows where he lives.  He takes one of Min's dust masks and also wants to buy goggles after hearing Dregz' vision and Jurz' suggestion.  Then he's ready to!

Moffdust blinks up at Abbu when he reveals the name Kanak! "Dats good Abbus. Wes will sees youse dere some days."

She buys a few potions and gets in on the face mask and goggles too, then she's ready to go. She whistles for Cat to come back and crowds in next to Dregz, ruffling his new-grown hair.

With all of their trading and shopping completed Team Arda-Nuff find themselves ready to depart about half an hour before sunset. They gather together, clustered around Dregz in the marketplace of Kester, with their escort of ten guardsmen and the ex-slave Abbu bin Dhehr standing back about ten feet away from them.

Dregz holds the black rod in one hand, opens his holy book with the other, squints at the book then utters a single word – "Wyrd!"

With just a slight rush of air Team Arda-Nuff vanishes from sight, much to the consternation of the ring of guardsmen that was supposed to be keeping them under guard.

OOC: Continued in new thread (Night 12)