Valerian carries a dagger.

Their sacks and backpacks emptied the adventurers huddled around a pile of three thousand silver pieces and two gems.

OOC Divide the treasure however you choose then let me know what you are doing with it.

Devin has never seen so many coins in one place before!  They aren't gold, but there are so many that he'll be able to make another donation for another scroll if the old nun has one.

Derry prudently deposits his share of the silver in Athalgrim's vault.

At the Magpie, he enjoys another evening of hospitality, spending the customary 15 silver to do so. With another expedition to Stonehell looming, he retires to his room before the twelfth bell.

At some point in the evening, he had turned to question Fiene, "Where do you propose we look next for your keys, magic man?"

*How much was that share?

Fiene seeks out Thomas to value the gemstones.

Athalgrim the fighter was found at the northwest tower. Athalgrim was a large man with a black beard. Athalgrim invited Derry in, he was welcoming if a bit surly. Inside the tower the walls were decorated with the broken and splintered shields of his enemies.

"You've come to store your treasure?" he asked. When Derry confirmed this the fighter took the dwarf's sack of silver pieces and stored it in his vault. He explained to Derry that if the dwarf died or was missing for more than one year he would claim the silver for himself.

In the Moorland Magpie Inn the farmer's sausages had all been eaten last night so this evenings meal was cheese cake and a tankard of bitter for four silver pieces.

Thomas was found in the Moorland Magpie Inn. The one legged man was busy playing dice with a couple of overly confident caravan guards. Thomas was winning. The beautiful Thomas offered Fiene fifty gold pieces for both gems.

Fiene will keep the gemstones as a portion of his share, giving 763 SP to Derry, Devin & Teodore, and keeping 711 silver and the 2 Gems.

---

"The oracle said it was south.  I intend to continue south, beyond where we were attack, doing a systematic search." Fiene answers.  "I plan to set out again in the morning."

His room already being paid out in advance, Feine will pay for Holden and Ermangard for their upcoming second and fourth delve as well.  He also gets another offering for Coal and St Ras.

ooc: ready to go back to Stonehell.

Teodore would like to visit Mother Majken if the hour isn't too late when we return.

Some time ago...
Kara suspected the shattering the snake cultists had done to her core would not be returning naturally. Was it some poison they used or a more sinister influence from their foul god that had robbed her of her strength? There was no way to tell, and it seemed the clerics here could do naught for her either, at least in her current state of poverty. Save for her spellbook and the sacrificial robes they had adorned her with, everything else she had owned was likely split up among the cultists.

But there was nothing to be gained from cursing fate. She spent her time keeping a very low profile as her physical wounds healed, casting a spell here and there to earn the coin to pay for the bed, enough to buy a new outfit (burning those damnable robes), and to re-equip herself with the most essential of delving essentials.

Presently..
Kara finally felt recovered and healed enough from her last expedition to consider making it a return. But going it alone was folly- that was a good way to be sacrificed by cultists, or devoured by a dragon or even trampled to death by elk. So, she elected to find a group to accompany. Moreover, she wanted to find a brave warrior to serve as a personal bodyguard, since, if she could even find a group, they might be the sort to kill one on the stairs out, just to keep whatever treasure was found to themselves.

So, she began by asking Lorna if she had any leads, continued with various patrons at the Moorland Magpie Inn, and then asking around town in general, seeking a mercenary for hire.


(ooc)
As she rolled the barest minimum for gold (a 3!), Kara does not have 5 gold for buying drinks, etc. as listed in the 'How to recruit retainers' thread. I am hoping that her footwork can make up for some of that, or that Lorna might allow her to run a tab. If the vault loans money at interest, she would take out a loan if possible. Likewise, since she has little to offer up front, she is willing to pay more to a retainer willing to take the job on promises.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:23, Thu 26 Aug 2021.

At the southeast tower Devin and Teodore were greeted by a stern faced woman of middle years. The roof of the tower held a bronze bell. Mother Majken nodded her head "Acolyte Harper, do you come bearing some relic" she commanded an answer from the cleric, she acknowledged the presence of Teodore by her carefully scrutiny of the fighter as he stood on her porch.

---

The patrons of the Moorland Magpie Inn shook their heads and blank refusals to Kara. None were willing to risk their lives in the dungeons of Stonehell on the promise of some future reward. All the locals hereabouts knew that many that entered the dungeon did not return. They would not leave their families destitute.

She does learn that in the southwest tower lives the magic user Dagunn Rakel.

OOC I've assumed Devin was also visiting Mother Majken again from his reference to buying another scroll.

The response was disappointing, but certainly not unexpected. Given how she had arrived in town- broken in body and purse- it would not have exactly engendered confidence in anyone to put themselves at risk for a promise. So, she bore no ill will towards any of those who turned her down, and instead just looked at it with a positive- she had been able to gauge interest, so perhaps if she could go and return with something to show for it, she would better know who to re-approach. And if the delve proved unsuccessful, well, there was always that confused woman who offered her a job selling slimy tarts.

The lack of success did not give her hope her next destination would be any more fruitful at this time, but perhaps a silver lining could be found here as well. She approached the tower of Dagunn Rakel, querying the guard if he was available if one was posted, or knocking, if there was nobody present.

Kara found herself on the bridge. There was an open iron bound wooden gate at each end. A copper pot sat on the bridge for travellers to pay the toll for crossing. There was no visible guard.

She approached the southwest tower and knocked. The door was answered by a tall woman in her sixties, presumably the magic-user Dagunn Rakel. She asked politely "how can I help you?"

"I have not yet discovered any relic, but I have called upon the blessing of the scroll you gave me," Devin replied solemnly.

"I have another offering to make," he said as he began pouring silver from his new large sack into the offertory box.  He was going to add the contents of the small sack as well.

He wasn't really sure what the nun was actually looking for in exchange for another scroll as she'd only asked for an offering the first time and this one.  To him, at least, this seemed a lot more than the handfuls he'd passed over before.

OOC: A total of 776 silver. 

"Come" the matronly Mother Majken commanded the two men inside. The inside of the tower was spartan besides an altar draped in a black cloth upon which were lit candles and a silver basin.  She led the two to the altar and pointed for them to kneel. She gave a sermon that spoke of the fearlessness of the seekers of the lost relics in Stonehell and that even those that fell in their pursuit would be remembered and respected. At the end of the sermon Mother Majken sprinkled her congregation with water from the silver basin and offered Devin a scroll "be worthy" she warned the acolyte as handed it to him.

Teodore looked at Mother Majken and said, "My comrade-in-arms is too modest. It was my life he saved using the magic you gave him, and I am here to make a donation to the cause in gratitude." The fighting man gives his offering reverently, and pauses a moment.

"I have been wondering. Is there a potion, or a salve of some sort, that would allow someone like myself, unskilled in magic, to repay the favor should my comrade fall in the future? I would gladly double, nay, triple my offering for such an item. I owe it to him to find out if there is such a thing." Teodore waited hopefully for the Mother's answer.


OOC: Donated 750 silver, 25 gold for a total of 100 gp.

The donations from Teodore and Devin were substantial. Mother Majken listened intently to Teodore's words "Acolyte Harper's actions are commendable. Your donation and service is admirable. Perhaps your other companions could be reminded of their duty also" she criticised. However she generously reciprocated and handed Teodore a scroll and a vial of holy water "I would expect the solution to your problem is obvious" she patronised "you must be Acolyte Harper's shield and protect the virtuous from harm"

OOC Two scrolls of Cure Light Wounds and a vial of holy water received from Mother Majken.

Teodore bows to the Mother, thanking her for everything. When Devin is ready, he takes his leave of Mother Majken and returns to the inn.

Devin is both happy and disturbed that Theodore is looking forward to a time when he is struck down and in need of the fighter's aid.  he was thoughtful of this as they returned to the inn.

Face to face with her, or face to chest, as Dagunn Rakel was considerably taller than her own petite size, Kara felt a little intimidated. She had come up with a whole speech, but all those words escaped her, and she hemmed for a moment before responding off the top of her head. "With respect, Madam Rakel, I had hoped to help us both. My name is Kara, and I intend to go to Stonehell. As a knowledgeable mage, you seemed to be the one most studied of such a place, and its environs. And as you live close by you surely have concerns. Since I intend to go, I wondered if there was some necessity or task therein or about you would wish to see accomplished by one who might go? My own arcane skill is but small, but I hope to meet with others who might make such an accomplishment possible."
This message was last edited by the player at 21:28, Fri 27 Aug 2021.

Upon their departing Mother Majken reminded the pair to hold their faith and remain strong in the face of evil.

---

"You are welcome dearie" mistress Rakel invited Kara into her tower. On display in the tower was a taxidermy crocodile. Rakel served tea and entertained Kara, the magic-user was witty and intelligent. She talked of mystical items in Stonehell which she was collecting. Also of interest she spoke of Modnar's tower. Modnar Buun was a magus who built a tower in the forest to the west. The tower was destroyed in flames of a most unnatural hue a long time ago. The ruins have been shunned by the foresters and woodcolliers so there may be items of interest their too.

Kara relaxed quite a bit when Dagunn Rakel proved to be so personable, thanking hr for the ta, and the time. She listened to the stories attentively, making mental notes about specific things Mistress Rakel might have an interest in, and asked if there was a story behind the crocodile. "A trophy of an old foe, perhaps?"

She was also interested in the story of the tower. "Is there any indication of what might have caused the flames? A failed experiment of Modnar's, perhaps? Have they ever appeared since? Was he focused on a particular type of magic, perhaps?"

And she finished with, "Mistress Rakel, as we spoke, I am interested in increasing my knowledge of the arcane arts. If I am fortunate enough to recover items or wealth within Stonehell or Modnar's tower, would you consider taking them in trade for instruction?"

Once their business was concluded, she thanked he once again, promised to return again if she was amenable, and then departed. She went to the Moorland Magpie Inn, to see if there was a group already interested in going out, or if not, if she could form one herself.

"The fire was long ago, by my reckoning over one and fifty years ago" she explained to Kara "the fate of Modnar and his students is not known"

"Ah yes, although I am retired now" she replied to Kara's enquiry about the stuffed crocodile.

"Yes I willing to teach you in trade for mystical goods or gold" she agreed.

It had gone better than she had expected. She had one last question for now. "Were Modnar or any of his students elves?" If so, there was a chance that some might yet live, despite the passage of time.

And with that, as noted, she would be off to the Magpie Inn.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:17, Sun 29 Aug 2021.

The next morning, Devin wondered where the dwarf would lead them next.  He was still unsure of the trustworthiness of their remaining wizard, but he had led them to a substantial windfall.

Overall, his estimation of wizards had diminished.  One had been killed, the other departed, and the last questionable.  He had to admit that he was learning a lot about how things worked in the real world.

"Modnar and none of his students were ever sighted again. Perished in the fire no doubt" mistress Rakel.