The Unseen Servant forums

Angus buys:

3 arrows (5 sp)
1 bullseye lantern (12 gp)
5 pints of oil (5 sp)
3 days feed (3 sp)

13.3 gp deducted.

He'll also exchange 260 gold pieces for 52 platinum (assuming the bank doesn't charge a fee for this).

Yenny is ready to commission a new holy symbol as her wooden one has suffered with travel. Something like the link below, except made mechanical and gear-like--like a cog on a bicycle. Still referencing the under-over of the tree and its roots, though. It is to be made of punched and engraved weapon-grade steel and about 4" in diameter. Cost?

http://www.urbanthreads.com/products.as ... tid=UT6871 Hmm--I made an image and posted it to Flickr, but can't seem to embed it with the Img thing. Perhaps just: https://www.flickr.com/photos/enn51/shares/71i89C will work. Nothing great, but a great excuse to avoid a little work!

Hyde buys 10 torches. Tally, plz.

enn.in.me wrote:Yenny is ready to commission a new holy symbol as her wooden one has suffered with travel. Something like the link below, except made mechanical and gear-like--like a cog on a bicycle. Still referencing the under-over of the tree and its roots, though. It is to be made of punched and engraved weapon-grade steel and about 4" in diameter. Cost?

http://www.urbanthreads.com/products.as ... tid=UT6871 Hmm--I made an image and posted it to Flickr, but can't seem to embed it with the Img thing. Perhaps just: https://www.flickr.com/photos/enn51/shares/71i89C will work. Nothing great, but a great excuse to avoid a little work!

They would need to make a ceramic mold for this - to get the precision needed (and to rush it), it would cost 40 gp. But it would look really awesome.

10 torches weigh 10 pounds and would cost a silver piece.

23 Hewing, Year 42

Yenny and other companions head to the town center...the ritzy part of town. On the main square is the library of the wealthy. After leaving their weapons at the entrance, Yenny and other enter an aged but opulent library. The shelves are made of richly stained cherry wood (imported many years ago), and closely spaced candles are protected by ornate ironworks with fluted glass. A youngish woman, about 30, recognizes Yenny immediately, and asks her business. She leaves to fetch Targus, the legendary sage of Alleborg about whom many rumors abound. He was once a great warrior. He is the most intelligent man to inhabit Alleborg in a century. He can change shape, and scares children at night, etc.

He appears 10 minutes later, very finely appointed. "Ah, the slayers of goblinfolk." He smiles slightly. "What may I do for you?"

Angus goes with Yenny to visit the sage. Once in the library, he stands slack-jawed staring at all the books. "Hoo-ee," he marvels. "That's a powerful bunch of book learning. Can't see as a man could ever know what's in all them pages. Or need to."

After smiling to Angus while they wait, "Good day Targus. Thank you for making time for us. We were hoping to speak with a little about one of the nearby former cities, a place just here on the map, and perhaps one or two other items of regional history."

Zhym wrote:Angus goes with Yenny to visit the sage. Once in the library, he stands slack-jawed staring at all the books. "Hoo-ee," he marvels. "That's a powerful bunch of book learning. Can't see as a man could ever know what's in all them pages. Or need to."

Targus waves his hand absent-mindedly. "Most are just silly stories for the idle rich and feeble-minded" replies the sage. "Our valuable tomes are more closely guarded."



And indeed, the ranger takes a look at the shelves, less than impressed. Titles include

'A Hundred and One Ways to Start a Fight'
'David Coperfield'
'Knickerless Knickleby'
'The Amazing Adventures of Captain Gladys Stoutpamphlet and her Intrepid Spaniel Stig Amongst the Giant Pygmies of Beckles' (volumes one through eight)
'The Gospel of Perun According to Charley Drake'
'Ethel the Aardvark goes Quantity Surveying'
'The Curious Incident of the Half-Breed Orc in the Nighttime'
...and in the more lurid section 'A Sale of Two Titties'
sorry

enn.in.me wrote:After smiling to Angus while they wait, "Good day Targus. Thank you for making time for us. We were hoping to speak with a little about one of the nearby former cities, a place just here on the map, and perhaps one or two other items of regional history."

Targus smiles, revealing a couple of missing teeth. Old-person bad breath wafts from his mouth. Thankfully, Yenny is short. "Well, calling Knob Forest a city is being rather kind, is it not? I've not been there since Masmuria's fall, unfortunately. What would you like to know?"

Yenny relates the tale of the zombies and the orcs in the rich house. Interspersed with her usual blather, she asks the following:
"I'm wondering a few things. Is there anything about the prior owner of the house, or the residents of the town that would make that place a likely site for torture and necromancy, or is it more like to be a coincidence? Are there books you might have about the history of the big church we saw? And this is not so related, but I've been looking for well shrines. Is it likely that Knob Forest would've had one? Angus, did you have any questions? Anyone else?"

Love the picture and the books! Not sure if anybody else is with us--if so I wanted to open the door. If not, she doesn't say anyone else....

Angus laughs when he sees the titles of the books. "Y'all might ponder putting some of these books in the back, too," he says with a wink. "Or are y'all hoping someone will come along and steal them? 'Knickerless Knickleby' don't sound like a bedtime story. Not for kids, anyhow! And I ain't never known a man what needed advice on gettin' into fights."

The scruffy ranger settles down and turns serious. "Something heinous went down in No Go—I mean, Knob Forest. Them bodies what was hanging in the big house might could have been there 41 years since the downfall of Masmuria, I reckon, but maybe not. Do you know if Knob Forest was still populated after the downfall? Were we looking at the work of the Traitor King or some unrelated horror?"

How much do our PCs know about what the Traitor King did? The background section only says, "The Traitor King fled, his actions having deliberately caused the collapse of the empire." Would we need to get more info from the sage about that, or are the events common knowledge?

Guard dogs are available for 25 gp. But these won't necessarily be like Fluffy or Qatkir, who are bound by druidic magic. They may be unruly and difficult to control. For the low, low price of 75 gp, it can be taught a trick by the animal trainer in town over the course of a week.

Companion animals can be useful, but they can also cause issues.

Rations and torches are as per OSRIC. 14 gp, 5 cp.

Zhym wrote:
How much do our PCs know about what the Traitor King did? The background section only says, "The Traitor King fled, his actions having deliberately caused the collapse of the empire." Would we need to get more info from the sage about that, or are the events common knowledge?

It was a time of turmoil, so facts are hard to come by. But when Alleborg was attacked, the king was already gone, having been spotted leaving via the west gate with some of his personal bodyguards. It is generally attributed that the quick thinking and great decisions by Adalbert (the head cleric of Perun who still lives today) and the heroic warrior leadership of Johan Leys (who lives today) saved the city from being overrun.

The sage might know more.

Adding this to 'what the characters know'

AleBelly wrote:Guard dogs are available for 25 gp. But these won't necessarily be like Fluffy or Qatkir, who are bound by druidic magic. They may be unruly and difficult to control. For the low, low price of 75 gp, it can be taught a trick by the animal trainer in town over the course of a week.

Companion animals can be useful, but they can also cause issues.

Rations and torches are as per OSRIC. 14 gp, 5 cp.

When you say "trick," are you talking roll over, fetch, shake-a-paw, or are you talking "go rip out that kobold's throat, please? Because that's the kind of trick Arnulf is keen on. If that's possible, he's certainly interested.

They come with "attack." But that doesn't mean they only attack when you want them to.

Sure, you can teach them to roll over, but more useful might be heel, quiet, retrieve a type of object, etc.

I wouldn't get an attack dog, personally. That's what Hyde and Angus are for. And, bonus, they'll not attack or stay quiet if you ask them to.

Wait, let me see if I have this correct:

For 25 gp one can get a war dog that will "attack."

For an additional 75 gp, the pup can be trained to perform a second command.

Is that right?

enn.in.me wrote:Yenny relates the tale of the zombies and the orcs in the rich house. Interspersed with her usual blather, she asks the following:
"I'm wondering a few things. Is there anything about the prior owner of the house, or the residents of the town that would make that place a likely site for torture and necromancy, or is it more like to be a coincidence? Are there books you might have about the history of the big church we saw?"

"Knob Forest was not unlike the many other villages scattered about in the days of peace" replies Targus. "Attempting to answer that would require some careful research" he continues.

enn.in.me wrote:"And this is not so related, but I've been looking for well shrines. Is it likely that Knob Forest would've had one? Angus, did you have any questions? Anyone else?"

"Oh" he thinks, looking Yenny over. "We don't keep records of such things. Surely Mycor would be able to help you with shrines to Veles? It's more of an ecclesiastical question, you see. If my memory does not fail, there was a shrine between the beautiful teardrop lakes many years ago. On the land of a wealthy timber family."

Zhym wrote:Angus laughs when he sees the titles of the books. "Y'all might ponder putting some of these books in the back, too," he says with a wink. "Or are y'all hoping someone will come along and steal them? 'Knickerless Knickleby' don't sound like a bedtime story. Not for kids, anyhow! And I ain't never known a man what needed advice on gettin' into fights."

"It keeps them occupied while they wait to ask me to research a 700-year-old elvish lamb shank pie" he replies glumly.

Zhym wrote:The scruffy ranger settles down and turns serious. "Something heinous went down in No Go—I mean, Knob Forest. Them bodies what was hanging in the big house might could have been there 41 years since the downfall of Masmuria, I reckon, but maybe not. Do you know if Knob Forest was still populated after the downfall? Were we looking at the work of the Traitor King or some unrelated horror?"

Targus blanches almost imperceptibly at the mention of the Traitor King. "Sadly, I know little of the outside world as it stands today. The oft-assailed trading caravan would come to town from time to time, but those days are over. A shame, too, since it was an excellent way to procure new reference material." He brushes a speck of dust from his sleeve. "But I speak with authority when I tell you many bad things happened during those days. Though most unsavory, the body of one of these victims could help me in my research."

He looks at Yenny and Angus. "Now, for the indelicate discussion. My services are not free. A question about the general history of Knob Forest would take me three or four days to look into...and it may not amount to much. I'm happy to do this for 15 pounds of gold (300 gp). Now, I have no compunction about taking money from rich fools who simply don't deserve it. But your recent deeds speak for themselves. I'd save your money. I don't think I'll find much interesting. If you want to bring me a body, I can look into the age. That I should be able to do in a day. And the cost would only be 200 gold pieces. But you'd need to be discreet about the delivery" he chuckles, looking at his clothes. "And provide me with some advance notice. All I require is half payment up front."

Angus and Yenny are disappointed to remember that they burned the bodies.