Eucharista walked over to her and took a look at what Caitlin wanted to show her. And with the help of one of her tools, she was able to remove the four threaded pieces of metal and removed the rectangular piece of wood from the bottom.

But all there was inside was the mechanism that made the music box work. Not that it sounded like other music boxes. She returned it to Caitlin. "There you go," she said.

"Wow!" the mercenary exclaimed. "You make it look so easy, thank you." she told the short woman and looked at the mechanical device inside. Fascinated with the piece Caitlin watched the gears as she winded it up again, noticing the spring tightening and experimenting with the release lever.

Caitlin experimented with the internal workings of the music box.

Moonflute thanks Dialis for the assistance and retrieves the tear. "We have at least the six eggs that were stolen, and some more, which the Lord may wish to buy off us. Are we ready to declare this quest completed and return?" she asks Caitlin and Kelianthas as she inspects her tear further.

Keliantharas soon returned with a decent trove of potions.  He had left the medallions, not sure if it would be safe to touch them even if their bearers were dead.  "While we are already here, I would like to take the opportunity and a few hours to search.  The city that once stood here was rumored to be quite the center of magical know-how - who can guess at what lost knowledge might be recovered here?"

"I agree, but we would be better served going back to Lord Toede and returning after we have rested for that task. We can have our people identify these potions and other relics. I have been busy with spells and have nothing left besides some cantrips," Moonflute says.

Caitlin pursed her lips thinking about the suggestions made by her companions. "I understand your thirst for knowledge, Kel, but I must insist we leave to complete our mission." she replied. "Searching would put us in an exposed position and should the tree-thing find us I shudder at the thought of what it might do to us in our weakened state. We already agreed to returning with Korzak after finishing the mission and arming ourselves with the knowledge to take down that ghost tree, so you will get your chance at recovering whatever lost knowledge is buried here." the mercenary told the elf. "It's been waiting here for years or decades, it can wait a little longer." she finished her statement, slightly surprised at the elf's impatience.

The group discussed their next step.

If the lead trio are at a consensus, Moonflute gestures that they should exit the area and make their way back to Lord Toede.

Heading out if there are no objections.

OOC: Ready to head back.

The group took the things that they had found and returned to Flotsam.

They took the opportunity to heal and restore themselves on the way home.

[Everyone in the group, including familiars and animal companions, are now back to full hp and all temporary ability damage is gone too.]

[OOC: Are you going back to Lord Toede directly or is there something else you want to do first?]

OOC: Keliantharas will try to identify the magical items founds.

GM passing a message.

They returned to Flotsam with the eggs and the other things they had liberated on their quest. They stopped at the Jetties to plan and decided to bring the eggs to Lord Toede first and decide what they were going to do with the rest afterward.

[What do you do?]

OOC: Unless Caitlin wants to employ the boat plan (which sounds a bit risky as well), I think the plan is to head straight to Lord Toede with the eggs (separated into their own sack from the others).

ooc: We can do it that way."

"Well then, I guess we should go directly to Lord Toede, we don't want to risk anything happening to his precious cargo." the sorceress suggested, worried something or someone might cause trouble and foil their mission last minute.

Moonflute nods and gathers her gear up for the trip up to Lord Toede.

The three of them went to The Rock. A hill that rose above the bay on the eastern side of town was scorched red from years of red dragon attacks, but buildings still stood upon it. Rebuilt by industrious locals. A large manor house topped by an observatory dominated the hill and the town with its just-finished opulence.

Most of the residents on the Rock were wealthy bureaucrats, senior clerks, or merchants with considerable assets. And an unreasonable amount of space has been left between these homes and Toede's manor.

As they were on a mission from Lord Toede, the sentries let them through the gate in the 10-foot fence surrounding his estate. A number of guards were patrolling the grounds and Toede's puppies, six fully grown hell hounds, did whatever they wanted inside the fence. And according to rumor, they only listened to Toede and his half-ogre groundskeeper/kennel keeper.

There were plenty of leaded glass windows in the manor. And when they knocked on the door, one of Lord Toede's servants let them inside. The hallways were decorated in the latest style of the rich and famous, including cherrywood panels, white plaster, and ornate fixtures cast from steel and brass.

They were led straight ahead, thru the large double doors, flanked by two sentries, into the great hall where Toede and his Chamberlain had met them when they were given this mission. It was lavishly decorated with marble busts, paintings, and tapestries, all depicting the manor's hobgoblin master in glorious finery.

Both then and now, the Lord and Chamberlain were protected by two sentries stationed inside the double doors. Lord Toede of Flotsam sat upon his throne looking like a drooling white raisin. Much older than any hobgoblin had the right to be. The former Dragon Highlord spoke in barely audible murmurs, further muffled by his fur-lined robes and drowned out by the clink-clink of the ostentatious rings and bejeweled trinkets he wore.

The Chamberlain was a lanky man in a well-tailored livery and he stood next to the throne. He wore a ridiculous cloth cap and adjusted Toede's accouterments fastidiously every few minutes. He cleared his throat when they entered. As his majordomo and mouthpiece, the Chamberlain repeated what Toede said so that guests could actually hear him.

"Lord Toede gratefully acknowledges your return," the Chamberlain said after Toede had said something none of them had heard. "He expects you to have returned the eggs he sent you to bring back to him. Please state your business."

We have the eggs you asked us to retrieve," Moonflute says.

"Bring them before Lord Toede," the Chamberlain said after Toede had spoken. "So that he can inspect them."

Caitlin approached 'the Rock' with mixed feelings. On the one hand side she was looking forward to getting rewarded for the blood, sweat and fears she had suffered, on the other hand side she despised the Lord of Flotsam for the, how she believed, undeserved riches on display. But she knew better than to openly display her displeasure, instead she kept a neutral expression towards the guards and tried a faint smile when facing the ancient hobgoblin.

As they were asked to produce the eggs they had been sent to retrieve, the mercenary took the bag from her pack and opened it far enough so it was easy to see inside. She was making sure it was apparent that there was no weapon hidden inside, and slowly walked up to bring their treasure forth so Toede and the chamberlain could see.

"Here are your precious draconic eggs. We faced ghosts and poisonous insectoid monsters as well as draconic acid-spewing mixed breed of dragon and toad to return these eggs to you." the sorceress embellished their exploits, hoping to persuade the ruler into a generous reward.

ooc: Diplomacy 20.

When Lord Toede saw his eggs, he bounced on his throne like a wrinkled jack-in-the-box, and made sure that the eggs were taken care of quickly. After he spoke, the Chamberlain related his words.

"The insectoids were the thieves who took Lord Toede's eggs, so that is to be expected. But his Lordship is not without heart. Each of you will get the fully equipped horses you need to be able to take on all the missions Lord Toede might send you on and will thus help you make more money. He will grant you access to his library. In addition, we have some magic items for you, but it will take some time to get them here."

The Chamberlain then gave some orders to a servant who returned about half an hour later with a dark green cloak, a feather, two potions, a light crossbow, and a small sack. The servant gave the group these items.

"The Stablemaster will help you with the horses and their equipment."

"Did you find anything else?"



[OOC: It's a good thing that a natural 1 isn't an automatic failure on skill rolls.]

[ooc: I am as relieved as everyone else it is so. ;)]

Caitlin allowed herself a smirk, if these eggs made him so happy, how would he react to even more? "Thank you very much for your generosity, Lord Toede. May I ask if we will be told the properties of the items we were given?" she asked, hoping they could skip the cost of identification.

"As fate would have it, my good Lord Toede, we did recover a few more eggs of the same kind." the sorceress began, lifting another bag from a different pocket in her pack. "It appears that these creatures were quite the thieves and robbed somebody else, too. We are assuming the original owners are not interested in them anymore, hence we are happy we can offer them for purchase." the mercenary elaborated, presenting the additional eggs, offering them for sale. Of course, she began to assume that even the original six eggs might never have been in Toede's possession and that he had used the adventurers to steal them from the rightful owners. However, the hobgoblin would never admit the truth if her assumption had been correct, and at this point in time it did not matter anymore.

Lord Toede spoke and so did the Chamberlain who explained what the items were.


[OOC: Cloak of Elvenkind, Feather Token - Fan, Potion of Lesser Restoration, Potion of Fox's Cunning, Light Crossbow +1, and Bag of Tricks - Rust]

"Thank you for the information, we will put the items to good use." she replied, hiding the slight disappointment she felt. "So... would you like to buy the other eggs from us, your lordship?" the mercenary reiterated.