The Lost Tavern

[jemmus]

Theo throws darts with Maag, trying to keep his archery skills honed up. He also spends his time observing the gambling at tables. He tries his hand at cards and loses a few coppers. Card games are too abstract for him to do very well at. But he finds that his tactically- and strategically-oriented mind has talent for a challenging head-to-head game of wits: checkers. He wins his coppers back. A competitor that might be a half orc and half stone giant accuses him of being a checkers shark and deliberately losing his first few games. It looks for a minute like there will be violence. But a couple of guys who like exactly like the guy come over and calm him down. "Don't kill him," one says. "You'll mess up your new duds. And we already paid for the night."

Theo starts to get a reputation as one of the hotshot checkers players at the inn at the intersection of dimensions. An couple of highly enticing escorts come to his table, and one says seductively, "I wonder what you've got under that chainmail?" The ranger seems at a loss for an answer for a minute. Then says, "I've got a light gambeson, which is a kind of padded cloth vest, directly under the mail. And then this long-sleeved shirt under that. And then ordinary cloth trousers." He seems indecisive for a minute, then says, "And underwear. People say that elvish rangers wear skivvies, but grubby human ones don't. But it's not true. For a lot of us, at least." The ladies look at each other and move on.

[Jernau35]

Maag probably can't afford them, but how much is a shortbow and 20 arrows?

[OGRE MAGE]

I searched for a post regarding marketplace pricing and couldn’t find anything I’ve suggested in the past.

So, let’s just use book pricing to keep it simple.

[sastaz]

Amun is too hot headed to just becoming Comfortably Numb for hours by watching the Pink Floyd like Andronichishche. She tries for a while to lean back against The Wall, making conversation with the strange man. "Look, a distant ship, smoke on the horizon", but quickly grows impatient.

Her mouth Waters at the smell of food and drink, but being dead broke (and refusing to let the servants read her mind) she has to live on scraps and leftovers. There seems to be plenty of those, however.

As the gnomes arrive with the box, she looks at it, intrigued like everybody else.

"Is this what's going to protect us from the floyd?"

No purchases due to no money.

[Jernau35]

Maag

Maag arrives back from his short shopping excursion grinning and showing everyone his new bow. To celebrate, he orders some food and a couple of drinks for himself and Amun. "It is weird out der isn't it?", he says gesturing at the view of the floyd swirling around. "It is like we are two lost souls swimmin' in a fish bowl".

PP, GP and SP subtracted to cover the cost of the bow, arrows, meal and beer

[ravenn4544]

Added lantern and oil and deducted the gold

[OGRE MAGE]

The Ethereal Job

The ever cautious and still apprehensive Feanol sniffs the contents of the gnomes box as they begin unpacking what can only be described as a dead jellyfish attached to a small meshed metal device, reminding the smoke world crew of something they might have discovered on the metal space ship. The elf nearly has to cover her nose as an odor of bad breath and rotting seaweed suddenly assails her senses. The gnomes just smile, distributing one such smelly device from the box to each member of the party.

Grimble nods at Andron and answers Amun. “Precisely, my dear. These are what I like to call all-purpose breathing devices, that I have not only invented myself, but recently modified in such a way as to make communications possible between them, while they are in use.” The little gnome seems quite pleased with his new experiment, despite the smell. As you look around the tavern floor, you notice the other patrons are either shaking their heads in uncertainty, or ignoring the gnomes all together.

Grumble takes a smaller sized device and pulls the orangish hued translucent rubbery bladder over his little head, demonstrating their fit and function. As he breaths, the bladder inflates and seals around his neck, making the slightly crazed gnome look as though he were wearing a dirty fish bowl. He presses his mouth to the metal device and speaks, but all you hear is a loud garbled hollow sounding mess.

Grimble looks up as you speak. “Hey! Why are you all talking like that? You sound just like our old partner, Syd. He used to speak in weird poetic rhymes all the time. In fact, he’s the one who started calling the pink mist the floyd in the first place. Does that mean anything to you? Did you know him or something?”

Actions?

Alordan AC3 22/22
Torbath (M3) AC8 18/18 RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 1/1 (top of backpack) Comet AC:7 4/4]
Aliendron AC10 17/17 (CL4) 1st 5/5 2nd 4/4 (MU3) RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 1/1
Feanol (MU3) AC:10 14/14 RM, CL, DM 4/4 1st 2/2 2nd
Theo AC:5 13/13 (Sword)
Amun (F3) AC:2 33/33
Magg AC4 20/20

[gurusql]

Torbath

"Torbath asks do you have something for my friend Comet here?" pointing to Comet.

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

Will point out that she also has an animal companion. Her Parrot: Gnodric.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche

Perhaps due to his alien olfactory sense, he doesn't react to the rank smell of the strange device. Instead, he simply fits it around his head and allows it to inflate as Grumbe did. Pressing his mouth against the metal speaking device, he gives it a try. "Testing ... 1 ... 2 ... 3 ... testing."

[Jernau35]

Maag

Maag looks skeptically at the strange masks. Eventually once others begin to put them on, he reluctantly follows. "Ugh. It smells like a fishes ar..mpit in ere. 'ang on, I did not say armpit. I said ar...mpit. Wot is goin' on? Is dis fing fu...ngus broken? Wot? I did not say fungus either! Dis fing is broken. I sound like I am talkin' a load of fu...gus bo...ulders".

[OGRE MAGE]

The Ethereal Job

While none of the communication devices work for anyone donning a bladder, there is no other ill effect from trying one on. It does feel a little weird balancing with an inflated bubble on your head however.

Grumble urges anyone willing to follow him out to the open patio, into the floyd, where the speaking devices suddenly work perfectly, allowing you to both hear and speak to each other normally.

Still inside, Grimble scratches his head about the next dilemma. “The bug can probably ride along inside yours, sitting on your head or something. Should be fine.”

He shakes his head at the parrot. “That won’t fit in your device. Syd used to have a little hollow ball where he kept his furry friends in times like these. Don’t you have a magic ball to keep your bird in?”

Unless someone has a better suggestion, the best he can offer is keeping Gnodric in a separate bubble, then trying to keep it sealed somehow. He isn’t sure how well that will work out, however.

Actions?

Alordan AC3 22/22
Torbath (M3) AC8 18/18 RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 1/1 (top of backpack) Comet AC:7 4/4]
Aliendron AC10 17/17 (CL4) 1st 5/5 2nd 4/4 (MU3) RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 1/1
Feanol (MU3) AC:10 14/14 RM, CL, DM 4/4 1st 2/2 2nd
Theo AC:5 13/13 (Sword)
Amun (F3) AC:2 33/33
Magg AC4 20/20

[sastaz]

Amun waves her hands around, trying to feel if the floyd is tangible, like floating around in water. She looks around in amazement.

"Incredible, this must be magic. Only, one thing. A single slice of a dagger will destroy this thing, no doubt. We will be totally helpless if attacked. How do we avoid enemies while out here? Or do you have some kind of protection?"

[gurusql]

Torbath

Torbath will try it on with Comet inside as suggested and will see how it works.

[jemmus]

Theo regrets the effect the fermenting squid smell will have on his fresh bath. "Ah well, seems that an adventurer's life involves a lot of funk," he thinks. He takes note of Amun's observation about the fragility of the devices. He also wonders who Syd is. Or was.

[Quonundrum]

Andronichishche

Following Grumble into the floyd, he agrees with Amun's concerns. "I at least have the Smoke Mega-Gem which can conceal us in a massive cloud of smoke. About the floyd itself, though. Is it breathable? Flammable? Poisonous?"

[Jernau35]

Maag

"It cannot be much worse dan wot it fu...ngus smells like in 'ere already", grumbles Maag.

[ravenn4544]

Alordan also dons the strange device and thinks of the strange helmet strapped to his pack and he's thinking if that one would be better served here. He shrugs and follow's suit of the others...

[Ahlmzhad]

Feanol

Tries on the device and finds it endurable. She contemplates her options regarding Gnodric. She inquires of the barkeep if Gnodric might stay here while they are gone.

[OGRE MAGE]

The Ethereal Job

Marlaman is happy to have someone watch over Gnodric while Feanol is away. Comet fits inside the rubbery helm, but it’s tight.

Once everyone steps outside the back porch of the tavern with the stinky bladders on their heads, the communication devices begin to function better. You can all speak and hear normally, though if too many people are talking at once, it becomes garbled and hard to understand.

Grimble nods at Amun, pulling a wicked looking dagger seemingly out of nowhere. He pokes his bladder with the point aimed directly at his face without puncturing it. “You don’t think I thought of that? What kind of gnome do you take me for?” He winks. “Oh and yes, we have protection out here. It’s you!”

Grumble floats around in the floyd. Pushing off the structure softly, he starts to do rapid summersaults, mid floyd.

Grimble shakes his head. “Don’t try that yet.”

“Since we do have a few moments before we need to leave, I suggest we get our bearings.”

He urges everyone to step off and follow him out into the pink soup. The feeling is strange at first, like floating in a bright warm liquid that feels even less dense than water. You feel weightless, yet you can control your direction of movement simply by willing it. You can see large shapes in the distance, but can’t make out details. When you look at the tavern, it appears just as you would think a floating tavern would look like, but if you float too far away, it becomes nothing more than another blurry squarish shape.

Grimble tries to keep everyone close. “Be careful using magic in here. Things might not work exactly as you’d think. The floyd isn’t poison, per se, but it can be harmful, so do leave the helmets on at all times. We will need to travel tightly together in a group, and move quickly through the floyd to reach our destination at exactly the correct coordinates. I understand this is probably a little weird, so are there any questions before we depart?”

Actions?

Add a 3d6 Dex check and a 4d6 Con check with your next actions, please.

Alordan AC3 22/22
Torbath (M3) AC8 18/18 RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 1/1 (top of backpack) Comet AC:7 4/4]
Aliendron AC10 17/17 (CL4) 1st 5/5 2nd 4/4 (MU3) RM, CL, DM, 1st 2/2 2nd 1/1
Feanol (MU3) AC:10 14/14 RM, CL, DM 4/4 1st 2/2 2nd
Theo AC:5 13/13 (Sword)
Amun (F3) AC:2 33/33
Magg AC4 20/20