"I have lore to feed your warriors, and grant them strength, Ambassador Peryn."

Verbannt said when the Triton was finished, drawing forth a sprig of mistletoe.

"But I have a boon I must ask of you. Before I came here, I have heard stories of eight limbed beasts of the sea, as large as a Dire Wolf. Kraken, I have heard them called, and stranger names still. Should you have the flesh... or especially the blood of such beasts, I have a need for it. If you do not, the blood of sharks will do have to do."

Certainly a strange request, but he did not flinch as he asked it.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:31, Wed 29 June 2022.

Izayah listened and nodded along as they were told some of what to expect. It didn't sound fun and in fact sounded extremely dangerous, for them and the victims. "don't sound like a picnic, that's for sure."

And they were told of what aid they would receive. Izayah wished there was something to make him a better swimmer also, but he could make do. At the very least he'd be bait.

After Verbannt spoke and asked something, Izayah slowly turned his head to stare at the bugbear with his mouth dropped open and his eyes wide, looking shocked completely. "...the HELL, man?"

Elisar was about to speak when Verbannt made his strange request. He turned his head and looked at him quizzically, raising an eyebrow. He went to speak but, strangely, held his tongue. He was curious to see what the response would be.

When the opportunity finally arose he formally introduced himself to the Ambassador with a flourish of his hat. "Your excellency, I am Elisar, called the Moonraven, a humble singer of songs and teller of tales. I am happy to offer my services on this mission but I have a query. You mentioned the magic cap that will allow me to breathe underwater, but will it allow me to use my voice? If I cannot use my words and songs then I'm afraid I will not be of much use to the group."

He paused for a moment. "As for swimming, I have dipped in pools and rivers and am capable enough but have never been in the ocean. Can you offer anything that would help us to move better underwater?"

Verbannt's amber eyes did not twitch at Izayah 's outburst, staying instead locked on the Ambassador.

Over their cups the night before, the Bugbear had made frequent mention of blood when he had discussed his curse. It was possible that he needed it for some aspect of his strange magic. They had witnessed him take the form of a Dire Wolf against the Red Foot, perhaps he sought to wear the skin of a Kraken against the Sahuagin?

Peryn looked puzzled, and said, "I'm afraid we don't tend to keep the blood of sea creatures here in the embassy. I have some giant squid ink, if that might help... otherwise, odds are you'll meet a shark or two out there. A Kraken would be far bigger than a dire-wolf, and if you find one in the bay, you'd do best to abort the mission and get out of the water before it notices you. Unless you mean a giant octopus-- travel near the sea-floor, you're bound to encounter them. Just be very careful, it's dark down there, and they blend in with their surroundings. We Tritons can eat anything you can, though naturally, we tend to eat from the bounty of the sea. Land-dweller foods are considered exotic, and some of us prize them, but a starving soldier will eat what he can get. I'm afraid I can't help you swim faster, but yes, with the cap, your voice will function just fine underwater. Wait... I believe a set of Mariner's Scale armor was delivered by mistake. I could sell it to you for 225gp. Unfortunately, I only have the one, and if you aren't trained in the use of scale mail, it won't do you much good."

OOC: Same stats as scale mail, plus while wearing this armor, you have a swimming speed equal to your walking speed. In addition, whenever you start your turn underwater with 0 hit points, the armor causes you to rise 60 feet toward the surface. The armor is decorated with fish and shell motifs.

Verbannt frowned.

"Octopus...."

He sounded the word out, clearly for the first time.

"Flesh or blood, to learn the Lore of it as... Well... Have you shark meat then?"

He said, changing the subject even as he brought it up.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:17, Thu 30 June 2022.

In reply to Conspirator (msg # 38):

Elisar nodded, “Alas my coin is spent on some new shiny trinkets.” He gestured to his shiny new headband and the wand at his belt. “Swimming was not on my agenda when I went shopping! No mind though, I’m sure we will fare well enough.”
This message was last edited by the player at 16:49, Thu 30 June 2022.

Izayah frowned for a moment, looking down at his used-but-new-to-him armor. He did some mental math and then shrugged. "You know what, sir? We'll take it." He glanced at Elisar, "I ain't that great a swimmer either, so someone in our group can use it, regardless. But I can't have my bard-friend dyin' on me."

He gave a shrug. "Either you can pay me back later if you wanna use it an' keep it, or I'll put in my bag until needed. Or I'll wear it if you ain't interested."

He handed over the gold.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:50, Thu 30 June 2022.

"It won't be hard to get to the bottom of the ocean if we are all in heavy armour. I'm not sure about the best plan of action to return to the surface if we do have to go underwater in our armour." says Carmen.

Elisar nodded at Izayah. "My thanks, but I'm happy enough in what I have. You will most likely need to move faster than I if we get into a fight."

Izayah blinked in confusion as the offer of the armor was turned down. He looked around at the group. "Wait - So no one needs the armor?"

If no one spoke up, he shook his head with a look of confusion and slight regret as he returned the armor. "I guess we won't be needin' the armor after all, sorry t'waste yer time on that."

He paused. "Hmm...I don't s'pose you have any crossbows for sale or borrow? Normal one's fine, just...feel like my longbow won't do as good underwater." He grinned.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:51, Mon 04 July 2022.

"I will not be wearing my own skin."

Verbannt answered plainly.

"And I do not like the feel of so much iron."

Victor shakes his head in response to Izayah's comment, "The armour would not protect me in combat as much as my own, and the group will only be able to travel at the pace of our slowest member. If you are to be attacking from a distance then the extra manoeuvrability would best better suited to you."

"I would use the armour. I've had complaints about being greedy in the past, however. My own scale is not magical, so wearing the new stuff would certainly help."

"And I am new to this warband, so you will hear no such whining from me."

Verbannt answered Carmen succinctly.

"Shark meat? As a matter of fact, we have some on ice. Its very popular among my people, especially the soldiers. As for crossbows, I'm afraid not. But I hear a bunch of adventurers brought in the contents of an entire armory and sold it to Jessop Schmitt. You may also want to look for a dagger, javelin, shortsword, spear, or trident, if you usually use other melee weapons," said Peryn.
This message was last updated by the GM at 21:41, Tue 05 July 2022.

Izayah looked over at Carmen, head tilted a bit to the side. Then he smiled. "It ain't greedy if I'm of'rin', right?" He shrugged. "If you wanna keep it after the mission, we can discuss repayment or somethin'. I ain't really worried 'bout it honestly."

He looked back at Peryn and shrugged, with a smile. "Sorry. Guess we'll take the armor after all." He shook his head. "'Preciate the suggestion, but I ain't worried 'bout melee, just range. No worries."

OOC: Will hand over the 225 gp for the Mariner's armor for Carmen.

Peryn nodded at a young triton standing by, who began to salute, then stopped, looked embarrassed, and left the room. "Mariner's Scale and shark meat. Consider it done. Care to join me for lunch?"

"Sir, lunch would be marvellous!"

When he was done feasting, Verbannt had one final question.

"How do we find them? The sea is a very big place."

Azucondie danced around, bored with all the talking.

The young triton returned with lunch, a variety of seafood dishes, including raw and seared shark steaks, tuna, swordfish, and various sea vegetables. Peryn answered Verbannt, "Indeed it is! We will have a scout direct you to where we believe the Sahuagin stronghold is."

Izayah smiled at the ambassador, "That'd be very helpful, thanks."

He eyed the food with interest. "Can't say I've heard most o'this before. When in Rimewood, as they say." He started out gingerly, testing the tastes, but found some things that were good and nodded.

Returning from their escapades in the water, Carmen wanted to speak with the Embassy around certain aspects of their adventure. "We found several items and places of interest in our expedition. One, a place inhabited by a hag with what appeared to be a scrying device much too large to carry with us. The second item of interest, a portal to what may be a former colony. It appeared deserted but who knows what value it might hold." she explained.

"With my crystal, I could easily transport the scrying device back if I had aid, and the next day we could explore the lost colony if it is something you desire."

Verbannt had not considered the possibility of returning, but now that they had been granted the caps and other items he realized that Carmen spoke Wisdom, and there was no reason they couldn’t go back.

“That sort of magic, the Lore to see afar. It is strong.”

He said with an approving nod.