The rash behavior of the scholar does not surprise Delta who has been spending time with them at the Temple.  They are all very smart, but somewhat skittish and emotional in not very social way.

Torn between the food and the little item left behind, Delta examined the horn with her eyes, but does not touch it.

"Isn't that the symbol of Elhonna?" She asked of Matthias. "I'm not touching it myself, legends speaks of those things being very potent, magically."

A natural cynic, the gnome turned to the food, pouring herself a healthy, darn near human sized glass of the blueberry cider. She also pulled out a small bit of cheese and a nut that she plopped into the pocket her pet is in, as she has learned it unwise to let him out in places that did not expect a rat on the table.
She had designed a pouch with a tiny bit of structural integrity to allow her friend a small room that wouldn't crush her when Delta was walking about.

"That, I am unsure of," he says while visually examining the apparent unicorn. "If this is what it appears, it would be quite rare indeed."

"What do you make of this?" he asks Tanyl. In his mind, an elf might know more about the woodland goddess.

Matthias is not fearful of the horn but has not touched it yet. He would like to hear the elf's counsel first.

Tanyl glances again at the symbol . . .

OOC: And waits for the DM to tell him if he recognizes it. :)

The unicorn is agreed upon to be associated with Elhonna, perhaps even her holy symbol.  Tanyl, mostly from his knowledge of apothecary, picks up and studies the small horn.  It's a shed, which is good, otherwise, it would be illegal to buy, sell, or own.  Unicorn horns are valued, but the killing of or cutting off of their horns, illegal. They are, after all, highly intelligent.  Like deer though, they shed and regrown their horns.

The value in them is that they can be used to make poison antidote to all known poisons, and also, can be used to break charms and other forms of influence.   This small one is probably worth nearly 400 gp.  An adult shed is worth nearly 1000gp.

Between bites and sips, Delta absorbs the information from Tanyl.

"Neat."

She quaffs another mouthful of the cider, which is delicious.

"Sounds pretty useful. Has anyone here suggested a strong urge to go on this mission? Or should we wait for another job. On the one hand, not a good thing to invade temples, on the other, if this ladies Twin-Magic is legit, they may be  in trouble, and we would get on the good side of a goddess, if we help out. Should we purchase a reading from a temple? Check out what a doves intestines say about all of this?"

Tanyl grunts once then sighs as he drums his fingers on the table.

"It doesn't sound lucrative.  But maybe having an ever-grateful scholar in residence would be useful in the long term.  I'd feel differently, maybe, if we had some other job to consider.  But we don't, and until then, maybe a reconnaissance mission would be worthwhile.  It's a couple days ride she said, and once there, we could find there's a benign explanation.  And if not, we can always decide to turn back."

Matthias had been weighing all they know and was a little concerned about the way their meeting with Minnow had ended. Why had she abruptly get up and leave?

"I agree with Tanyl," he puts in. "A couple day's ride outside the city would do us all well, for the fresh air alone," he adds with a smile.

"But I do think we should attempt to locate the girl again, to reassure her we will look into it. It's the least we can do since she gave us the unicorn shed. We can also make some iniquries around the city to see what we learn of the convent before departing. Thoughts?"

It takes a few moments for Delta to swallow the mouthful of ham, but when she does, she seems okay with the idea.

"Sure, if you want, we can go, while waiting for a paying job. No problem."

Thar finally has a moment during the lunch rush and comes over and pulls up a seat.


"The blueberry cider is going to be a smash. Mr. Branch still asks about you all, and you should drop by sometime.  He's still playing with a honey cider but its not quite there yet, not sure, missing something to my taste.   So, where'd the pretty lass run off to?"

"Turns out she wanted out help, but didn't have the resources to help. We might look in to it anyway. And yes, this cider is top notch!"

She takes another sip, with obvious delight.

"If nothing else comes up, I will drop by the Branch place soon, maybe I can help them with their new flavor. I have a few ideas on what to do with it. Cinnamon sounds good, and maybe a little mulling will give it an edge. Failing that, maybe some hot peppers?"

Vala had been silent, mulling over things.

"I love gold as much as the rest of you, but I agree we don't have much else going on and I do feel sorry for her."

Thar nods, "Feeling sorry for someone is a poor reason to die, but, I felt sorry for her too.  Wish I could help you out, but all the work I find these past weeks is below yourselves, except for one job, and its too far above.  But Gorblin Thar can smell opportunity, and danger, and this girl reeks of both.  Wish I had a cut in it, if you live, your are going to be rich, I can smell it".

"I guess it's comforting to know that something better's not likely to come along," Tanyl says, further adding to his position of "might as well."

Thar's intuition cheers up Delta a little bit, and she toasts to their potential success.

^^^^^^^^^^^
While at the priory, Delta spent time fishing, placing the fish she catches into a bag for eating later.

On returning to the town, she makes certain to deliver Minnow's letter to her worried sister, asking if any of the others wish to accompany her, but going alone if everyone is busy.

She will bring the fish to a food merchant she knows, offering them to him cheap if he wants them. Fresh river fish might be tasty, if not exactly exotic.

A day will be spent visiting the graveyards, if she can get in, to let her little rat companion spend time with its family.

She will also spend a few days at the guild, studying and hoping to find spells that might be useful to her. If she can find Chromatic Orb or Phantom Armor she will find out how much they cost and consider adding them to her repertoire.

If time permits, she visits her archaeological friends at the coast, cooking for them for two nights, and using them as a test audience for her latest saga about their adventures. She considers using the name of Tegroth, it was certainly fearsome enough, but her courage was not up to prodding the giants ego that way, and she simply called the foe 'The Nightmare Ogre'.

She had the Nightmare Ogre consider the battle a standoff and leave on his own, leaving out mention of any magical nudging she might have used to convince him. She had no interest in writing sagas about herself, but she respected Vala too much to make up a victory for her Star Blade, portraying her only as brave and valiant.

Kellen failed to appear in the tune. She felt he would prefer it that way.

Once she had spent a few days relaxing she considered a visit to her parents, and asked Vala if she would like to come along...
This message was last edited by the player at 02:45, Thu 29 July 2021.

With yet another successful mission under their belts, Delta, Matthias, Tanyl, and Vala return to Stormhaven with their reputations on the rise.  Their fortunes as well.  Coin is no longer a concern except for the most expensive of possible purchases.

A few weeks pass as each party member pursues their own interests.  Resting, drinking, eating, writing songs, visiting friends and family, shopping, practicing their various crafts, praying, meditating.

Stormhaven is now in the middle of Summer, and things inside the city can be unbearably hot during the middle of the day.  It is the dry season, but the early crops were abundant this year and the markets are bursting with fresh produce.   In your favorite inn, the latest "Branch" family cider has arrived, and its black cherry flavored, and extremely popular given the heat!

One day whilst lunching in the inn, tucked away from the heat of the day, with good food and cold drinks, Minnow enters and quickly approaches the table.  She was so overjoyed with your return and the letter you brought her, that she swore she'd some day repay you.  Given the bright and excited look on her face, she seems about to burst.

Sitting down, the tiny woman smiles, "I told you I was a good researcher, I found the sewer grate you were looking for, from the amulet, it was numbered 767, and it doesn't appear on any of the city maps,  they all skip that number.   I can tell by the maps where it ought to be, but there is block of houses built in its place, its at the very Northern point of OldHaven.  Maybe the grate was built overtop of at some point".

Tanyl's steady rise in wealth has given him the opportunity to enjoy some things finer than he would have otherwise found attainable.  And to support his mother, but today he is in an "enjoying" frame of mind as he samples the new vintage.

He is mildly interested in what Minnow has to say; he's not more interested because he doesn't immediately see how her news will further fill his personal coffers.  Nonetheless (and because he has little doubt as to where this is headed), he inquires:


"Could the entrance be in someone's basement, then?"

Delighted at the sight of Minnow, Delta is even more excited at the news. The cherry wine has her in a better mood than usual anyway, this was just, as they say, the cherry on top?

Her visit to her parents had been what it always was, a time of love and laughter, but with that niggling itch to get out and adventure once more.

She had expected for another job to come along the old way, but the idea of following along on this old thread interested her even more!

"This is excellent news Minnow, that you ever so much for you effort!"

OOC: During the interim, I would like to try and find Chromatic Orb for my spell books. It is an UA spell.

Like Tanyl Vala is normally more interested in gold and glory than sheer mystery for the sake of it but she gives the young woman a courteous space to speak up. Truthfully the barbarian had been growing a twinge restless so perhaps this draws her attention more than it might.

She sips her cider and listens silently.

Tanyl, Delta, and Vala are enjoying a good meal and drinks at the inn.  Talking about their last few weeks, family, trainings, and considering the new information on the location of the possible entrance to the dreaded sewers.

A traveling bard has set up in the far corner and is playing some interesting, odd music.  Mostly using a variety of strange drums and occasional wind instruments.  Though a few songs are in common, most are in a foreign language which makes it hard to enjoy, exactly.

A one point, a man stands up and begins to yell at the bard in that same distant language.  Making quite a show of it, but to the bard's credit, he keeps steady with his performance. As the patron gets louder, two men in robes stand up and quickly grab him and drag him out of the place. Under their robes, it is clear they wear the colors and armor of the Stormhaven Black Guard.

In moments, the place is settled and the bard begins another song....

Tanyl leans forward a little and whispers to is comrades:

"Do any of you recognize that language?"

"Not I," Delta says, though she really wishes she did. She pulls out her lute and heads towards the stage, where she gestures in such a way as to make it clear she would like to jam with this guy, and his strange, other worldly music. If allowed, she will simply try to play background harmonies, if not, she will return to her seat.

The musician seems a bit surprised, but nods for Delta to join in.  It takes a few tries but eventually the two manage to play some together.  It is challenging but Delta seems to always enjoy a new challenge.

After a set of jams, the man sets down his drum, and speaks again in a foreign tongue, when he is met by a blank stare, he speaks in accented common,

"I am Doorin and I need a cold drink".

"Come Doorin, I will buy you a cool drink. My name is Delta. Thank you for the jam session."