Disciples of Atropus: Session 15 - The Trickster
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Session Summary:

Date of Session: March 10th, 2021
In-Universe Date: Uktar 10, 1513 DR
Level Reached: 5
Dungeon Master: Juli
Players: Adrian, Cain, Krosto, Liam, Lucas, Victor
Player Characters: Amadeus Bosch, Felid, Little Bustard, Nasurin Nisure, Maria, Li Xie-Li

This session saw the addition of two new members to the party of Disciples of Atropus. Whilst in the midst of fighting the flesh golem and the vampire spawn and having been deafened by Nasurin's ball of thunder, the party meets Maria, a dhampir Tempest Domain cleric, and Little Bustard, a kenku Phantom rogue. The party, confused, but having made some new allies, continues to fight the vampire spawn and the flesh golem. As soon as they regain their hearing, they become aware the vampire spawn has been speaking to them. She identifies herself as Lucienne, a vampire spawn created by a vampire named Ingrid who works for Professor Renwick, and commiserates with the party over how much they both dislike Renwick. The party convinces Lucienne to simply leave, and she takes Guts the flesh golem and departs.

Afterwards, the party receives directions to a strange magic item shop from Luthienye, who received them from Lucienne. The party completes a ritual consisting of laying a pile of fallen autumnal leaves into a circle and dumping milk onto it, which then causes it to transform into a portal to a demiplane. The party hops through, and finds themselves in the domain of a powerful archfey who identifies themselves as The Trickster. The Trickster says that they will give the party anything they want, including powerful magic items, and while they accept normal currency, they strongly prefer deals to be made with immaterial things such as one's name. The Trickster almost demonstrates a strange level of insight into the events of the campaign thus far and provides ominous hints at future events, much to the party's concern. Nevertheless, several deals are made with The Trickster, leaving the party satisfied with their new magic items, and they depart from The Trickster's domain.

At the end of the session, the party settles down for a Short Rest, and reads over the letters exchanged with Professor Renwick's parents, learning valuable information about Professor Renwick, as well as a man named Emmerich Snaijer, and a man named Logan Cunigast.

Major Characters Introduced:

Player Characters:

From left to right: Maria, Little Bustard


Non-Player Characters:

From left to right: The Trickster

Session Log:

The Narrator:
Everyone in the basement is currently Deafened.
Felid strikes the Vampire Spawn with her greataxe, dealing 6 slashing damage. Felid's attack seems to be half as effective as expected.
The Vampire Spawn mouths something and turns around, gesturing at the Flesh Golem. You are all Deafened and cannot hear what is being said.
Nadredda hurls a Fire Bolt at the Vampire Spawn, dealing 12 fire damage.
The Vampire Spawn's wounds seem to close, not completely but noticeably healing.
The Vampire Spawn attempts to grapple Felid. It fails, and resorts to clawing at her for 9 slashing damage.
The Vampire Spawn attempts to move. Felid strikes an Opportunity Attack, dealing 4 slashing damage. The Vampire Spawn uses Spider Climb, and crawls up the wall to hang on the ceiling of the basement, which is 10 feet high.
Luthienye moves forwards, casting Guiding Bolt on the Flesh Golem for 10 radiant damage. The next person to hit the Flesh Golem has Advantage.

Xie Li:
[XIE LI attempts to grab at the VAMPIRE LADY and MISSES. : (]

The Narrator:
Xie Li jumps up and attempts to Grapple the Vampire Spawn. Unfortunately, he cannot get a grip on them and falls back down to his feet.

Nasurin:
Nasurin pulls a length of rose stem out of their pocket, pulling on it to lengthen it into a longer rope that they immediately miss with. Fucka…

Xie Li:

phos

“My ears hurt!!!”

Nasurin:
Annoyed, Nasurin instead pulls out a dead sumac leaf and snaps it in their prosthetic hand, pulling a flame blade out of the bits of leaf

Maria:
"Bustard, we are going this way. Presumably to kill whatever is being loud, but that is to be determined I guess."

Little Bustard:
"Ok"

The Narrator:
An unfamiliar woman suddenly appears from the basement stairs, walking on the walls.
Nadredda turns around as Maria suddenly appears behind her and startles back. As her Common is already broken, and she is currently Deafened, Maria cannot understand Nadredda's exclamation of surprise as anything approaching words.

Maria:
she points her spear at the flesh golem and continues moving

Amadeus Bosch:
?!?!?

The Narrator:
Maria casts Spiritual Weapon next to the Flesh Golem, dealing 10 force damage.

Maria:
"Really seems like a lot is going on in here. But let us fight the strangest things first, I suppose."

Nasurin:
Nasurin makes a "what the fuck" gesture at maria and little bustard and gestures to their ears and shakes their head

Xie Li:
“WHAT DID YOU SAY???

Maria:
"I guess I'll be fixing that in a moment."

The Narrator:
Little Bustard hits the Flesh Golem with an arrow, dealing 9 piercing damage. The attack seems to be half as effective as expected. Nevertheless, the Flesh Golem is now Bloodied.

Little Bustard:
"You little bastard!"

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus ducks under the woman on the wall, and attempts to cast Chill Touch on the vampire woman. It misses horribly.

Maria:
"I believe our new friends here are currently hard of hearing, Bustard."

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus, telepathically, attempts to communicate with yet another strange person.
“You seemed eager to get in on the action. Who are you?”

Maria:
She stares at Amadeus, "I am Maria the stormbarer, and I am here because you are very loud."

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus nods. Whatever Nasurin did was quite loud. No wonder none of them could hear anything.

The Narrator:
The Flesh Golem lurches towards Nasurin and attempts to Slam into them twice. It misses one of its attacks. Nasurin takes 12 bludgeoning damage.
The first round of combat is now over. You are all no longer Deafened.

Nasurin:
"…ow…. i think you just turned my collarbone into gelatin…"
"kinda helped with the ringing ears, though, so i guess that's nice"

The Narrator:
Flesh Golem: "Urggghhh…."
Vampire Spawn: "Ow, Ilmater, my ears! What did you even do?! Guts, get them! Oh, good work Guts!"

Xie Li:
"Get down from there!!!"

Amadeus Bosch:
“Thank you for not permanently deafening us, Nasurin.”

The Narrator:
Vampire Spawn: "Why don't you get up here!"

Amadeus Bosch:
“And Xie Li, what was that?”

Xie Li:
"I missed!!!!!"
"And for the record, so did Nasurin!"

Nasurin:
"it was deafen us or burn the building down and if i'm being honest, i think another arson charge might get me banished from the sword coast"

Maria:
"As if anyone could actually keep track of that. How could one be banished from a whole coast?"

Nasurin:
"it's… did you not know this is a country? there are laws here. unfortunately, i've inadvertently broken a lot of them"

Amadeus Bosch:
“If the coast is small enough, perhaps.”

The Narrator:
Felid hits the Flesh Golem with her greataxe, dealing 7 slashing damage.

Nasurin:
"why does nobody but me know this is a country. there's like, a ruling monarch and everything."

Xie Li:
"I just got here like a week ago."

Maria:
"I know it is a country, I mean how would one keep track of one person to banish them forever? Seems like a lot of work for a little fire."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Yes, exactly. If it was a small country, maybe, but this is not a small country.”

The Narrator:
Nadredda: "I am very confussed on who sstrange walking-on-wallss lady and little bird iss. I thought housse was ssuppossed to be abandon?"

Xie Li:

shrug

Amadeus Bosch:
“The lady is Maria. I have no idea who the little one is.”

Nasurin:
"they figure it out eventually. that being said, it's hard to enforce, so i tend to sneak back in places i'm not allowed"

Maria:
"I do not live here. Anyway, I still think there is not enough infrastructure to allow for such a broad banishment, so burn as you please, no?"
"Oh and he's Bustard."

Nasurin:
"his name is bastard?

The Narrator:
Nadredda: "Okay, well you sseem to be having sstrange disscusssionss about lawss Nadredda doess not undersstand. So Nadredda will jusst ignore you and continue fighting the vampire and meat monster in room?"

Maria:
"… Yes."

Amadeus Bosch:
“That sucks.”

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard looks over at his travelling companion, narrowing his eyes. "You little bastard!"

Nasurin:
"and nadredda, i'll be honest, i've eaten dinner with worse. it's hard to care anymore"

Xie Li:
"Ah…"

Maria:
"Yes, yes, you too are a little Bustard."

Xie Li:
[XIE LI holds out HIS KITTY PAW to BUSTARD.]

"Friend?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard does not take the paw of the kitty. Cats are terrifying. No thank you.

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus nods at Bustard. Good choice.

The Narrator:
Nadredda casts Scorching Ray at the Flesh Golem. All three rays hit, dealing 19 fire damage. The Flesh Golem seems to be terrified of the fire.

Guts: "Urggh?!"

Xie Li:

Nasurin:
"not a fan of fire, i guess?"

Xie Li:
"I don't think anyone is."
"Amadeus will you hold hands with me?"

Little Bustard:
"Burn as you please"

Nasurin:
"it's nice to sit at a campfire"

The Narrator:
Vampire Spawn: "You bastards! I can't believe you— how dare you burn Guts! You won't hear the end of this, if my name isn't Lucienne Antinence!"

Amadeus Bosch:
“I will not, thank you. You’re a grown cat.”

Nasurin:
"is your name lucienne antinence?"

Xie Li:
"Why would your name mean anything to us…"

Maria:
"Oh okay, so I guess that is your name."

Amadeus Bosch:
“I can’t argue with you about your name…”

Little Bustard:
"Lucienne Antinence"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Why would your name mean anything to me? Ever thought about that? My name's cool. I don't even know yours, but it's not as cool as mine."

Nasurin:
"why are you down here, anyway. maybe let's start over, we could be friends, yknow?"

Xie Li:
"A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. Likewise, a you by any other name would be just as irrelevant and annoying."

Maria:
"Names were being exchanged earlier, you are just inattentive."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Why do you think I'm down here, this place's abandoned so obviously if you're here you're either an idiot or you've got a clue as to what's going on. No go on, I'd like to hear from you first, what's your story?"

Nasurin:
"that's a loaded question"

Xie Li:
"I wanna ransack your house. Just for fun."

Little Bustard:
"No clue as to what's going on."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "So you're all looters, is that it?"

Nasurin:
"we're down here cause we were given reason to believe that the house's owner is evil or something. do you work for her?"

Maria:
"This person seems pretty evil…"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Ohhh, so you do have a clue."

Nasurin:
"actually, these two are just down here because i made a loud noise and we're under a busy road"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard waves

Maria:
"I'm an emissary from the world and I am the judge to decide that you will die."

Xie Li:
"Your 妈妈1 has a clue."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Wow, so you have some kind of god complex or something? That's kind of hot."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard stares at the cat. What lANGUAGE is that? He's pretty sure that doesn't actually exist.

Xie Li:
"Ew, stop flirting. I kind of wanna leave now."

Little Bustard:
"妈妈"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Go on, get out of here then! I won't stop you."

Xie Li:
"HE SPOKE MY LANGUAGE! BIRD! FRIEND?!?!?!?!?"

Maria:
"No, I am being quiet literal, the sky grants my authority to demand your death."

Felid:
"Felid will decide when Felid will die."

Little Bustard:
"No friend"

Nasurin:
"i… are we still fighting? are we just chatting now? big guy here looks lost, judging by the sort of awkwardly raised hand i think he wants you to stop talking so he can hit me"

Amadeus Bosch:
“He’s clearly mimicking everything he’s hearing, you’re not special.”

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "That's kind of metal. I like you, big one. The other one, not the cat."

Xie Li:
"It was a choice to mimick me. Don't make me hit you."

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus squints at Xie Li. That’s a first.

The Narrator:
Lucienne looks at the Flesh Golem. "Guts, call it off for now. We're just having a friendly chat."
Guts: "Urgghh.."

Nasurin:
"thank you, he looked like a cat trying to decide if it was going to knock a glass off the shelf or not"

Maria:
"Oh… I was fairly certain I was to kill you."

Felid:
"What Felid says is true no? If you have enough power, no one can kill you."

Xie Li:
"You should always knock the glass off. Always."

Nasurin:
"don't encourage him to hit me!"

Xie Li:
"Also Felid I love you that is infallible logic."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Well, it seems like you're all confused as to what you're doing here. I'm a nice lady, I'll talk things through with you before viciously murdering you. I was instructed not to talk to intruders, but I'm not one for rules."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard turns to Lucienne. "I love you"

Nasurin:
"hm. coming on a little strong, big bird"

Xie Li:
"ᵃⁿᵈ ⁿᵒᵗ ᵐᵉˀˀˀ "

Maria:
"I guess I can grant a pardon for now."

Xie Li:
"Why does the sky want you to kill anyways? That seems way more interesting."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Cool, cool. I hope you don't mind but I'm not getting off the ceiling."

Little Bustard:
"Little bird. Little bastard. Little Bustard."

Maria:
"That's fine." she walks up to her

Nasurin:
"alright whatever, is renwick your boss, or…?"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Oh, hello."

Little Bustard:
"You're not special."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Renwick? Yeahhhh, I suppose you could call her my boss. She's not really my boss. More like, my boss's boss."

Nasurin:
"who's your boss?"

Little Bustard:
"Boss's boss? Name is"

Xie Li:
"Tier one boss…….."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "A vampire, obviously. I'm a vampire spawn, so a true vampire would've had to make me. The vampire works under Renwick."

Little Bustard:
"Name"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Name? Yeah, I suppose that can't hurt. Her name's Ingrid."

Maria:
"Vampires can be made many ways."

Nasurin:
"is ingrid at candlekeep too, or something?"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Candlekeep? No, I don't know where she is. But it'd be kind of stupid for everyone to be hanging out at one place, don't you think? And even stupider for me to tell you where that is."

Xie Li:
"Ughhhhhhhhh so many people in freakin' Candlekeep… I wish we just Stopped getting to know who people are."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "She stops by Candlekeep sometimes. She doesn't live there."

Nasurin:
"alright, well, can you tell us anything? cause otherwise we have to go through all these books and stuff"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Depends on what you wanna know."

Nasurin:
"do you know anything about renwick? i'll be honest, i don't really care about your vampire boss"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Well, what do you know about Renwick? I'll be happy to correct any mistakes and fill you in on any details you want to know."

Xie Li:
"I know shes a total weirdo jerkhole."

The Narrator:
Lucienne laughs. "Oh, tell me about it!"

Nasurin:
"renwick is a professor at candlekeep or something and has something to do with the artifacts of vecna, and her apprentice or one of her apprentices is ivanoska who we killed but only kind of. that's about it, i think"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Oh, shit, you guys killed Ivanoska? That sucks. She was a nice girl."

Nasurin:
"an archmage, i'm guessing. and no, she had a clone, she's fine"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Oh did she? I didn't know about that actually, but that's not surprising."

Xie Li:
"ʰʳⁿᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍᵍ"

Little Bustard:
"Artifacts of Vecna?" Little Bustard tilts his head.

Amadeus Bosch:
“Why’s that not surprising?”

Xie Li:
[XIE LI does not want to think about IVANOSKA.]

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Anyways, you're pretty much right. Renwick's the archaeology professor at Candlekeep. Shit has really been going downhill there in the past couple decades."

Xie Li:
[XIE LI turns to BUSTARD]
"Uh, yeah, she had an eye in her head that was totally evil.]
"Renwick's got a hand from the same creature."

Nasurin:
Nasurin sighs and scratches their head, mumbling "i knew i should've double checked candlekeep when i heard those rumours… anyway, yeah, i guess that answers that. i figured renwick would have the hand. do you know if she has the book, too? or the sword?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard perks up. "Little Bustard archaeology."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Not sure, honestly. I haven't been at Candlekeep myself in a while, I'm sort of a field agent. But I know she was planning to gather all of the artifacts of both Vecna and Kas in one place."

Xie Li:

excalibur

"theres MORE?"

Nasurin:
"judging by what i've heard, she was probably successful. so not only an archmage, but some kinda planewalker, i guess. and yes, there's more than the eye, i'll tell you later"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Planewalker? Yeah, something like that. She was also planning to gather other artifacts after she got all of Kas and Vecna's. Set her sights on some other whole set of them, putting the clues together. Last I heard I think she was looking for something called The Lifeblood Pendulum before she started on the rest of them?"

Nasurin:
"yeah, that tracks. any idea what she's shooting for next?"

Maria:
"I think now would be a good time to mention I have some questions for you, uh… Nasreen?"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "No clue. Could be any of them."

Nasurin:
"nasurin. can we ask our questions later?"

Maria:
"Nasurin. Yes I can wait."

Xie Li:
"Nasurin."

[XIE LI is not paying attention. Are we all just saying NASURIN now?]

Nasurin:
"lucienne, two more requests from you. could we do a quick once-over of that desk and then copy down the runes in the center of your teleportation circle? we can probably leave you alone after that"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Sorry if I'm not as in the loop as you were hoping. My job's to stay here and guard Renwick's old house, kill any intruders. I'm not supposed to talk to them, but she's been kinda getting on my nerves and I figured I'd indulge you."

Xie Li:
"Renwick's on everyone's nerves."

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "I don't think Renwick would like it if you copied the runes on her teleportation circle. I'd get in a lot of trouble if I just let you do that."

Xie Li:
"F*ck her."

Little Bustard:
"Burn as you please."

Nasurin:
"you could look the other way. you don't have to tell anyone"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "I'd rather not burn, thank you."

Xie Li:
"Who says you saw us come in anyways?"

Nasurin:
"well, the extensive damage to the house and the damage to both of them would probably point to that"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Mmm… I'm sure Renwick would have some way of knowing I was lying, though. I guess I could just ditch this place and never look back. I smashed the Sending Stone she gave me a while ago."

Lucienne: "Then again, Renwick would be really mad if I just stole Guts. That's her flesh golem, not mine."

Nasurin:
"that's the spirit. we don't really need or want to hurt you or… guts? if you aren't preventing us from finding our info and leaving anyway"

Xie Li:
"Renwick dumb. Who cares what she thinks."

The Narrator:
Lucienne thinks about it long and hard. "Mmmm… okay, fine. I'm like 100% sure I'm going to face heavy repercussions from this one way or another, but yea, what the heck. I'll just kind of leave, and take Guts with me. Renwick left him under my control, so he's mine now."
Lucienne: "Guts, let's go!"
Guts: "Urggghh…"

Xie Li:
"That is your baby now."

Nasurin:
"if you want, i could try to identify guts to see if he's under the effects of any divination spells first"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Oh, that would be wise."

Xie Li:
"OH NUTS YOURE RIGHT."
[Freak shit.]

Amadeus Bosch:
“Good thinking.”

Nasurin:
"it'll take a few minutes, hold tight" and Nasurin once again uses her pearl ring and feather to cast identify on guts for the next 11 minutes

Xie Li:
[XIE LI lies on the FLOOR.]

The Narrator:
After eleven minutes, Landon speaks up.
Landon: "It seems this creature, known as a Flesh Golem, is not currently under the effects of any spell or magical effect! This has been a use of the Identify spell."

Nasurin:
"You don't have to announce the usage of an identify spell like it's a public service announcement, landon"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard reaches out to examine Landon

The Narrator:
Landon: "Well, I just thought I ought to let you know when I'm done speaking."

Nasurin:
"but thank you. lucienne, you heard him, guts is fine. i mean… well… as fine as a beaten half to death flesh golem can be, i guess"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "You have a spellbook that talks? That's pretty cool. Anyways, nice to know Renwick lacked the foresight to put any sort of tracking spell on Guts."

Xie Li:
[XIE LI finds a PIECE OF COPPER on the FLOOR.]

"ᶦ ᵗᵃᵏᵉ…"

Maria:
"You seem injured, would you care for some help?"

Nasurin:
"as someone who considers them pretty knowledgeable in the arcane, trying to maintain divination spells on however many lackeys she has running around would probably be… taxing, to say the least. not the best use of her time or energy"

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "I don't think divination is really Renwick's strong suit anyways, but hey would it kill her to hire someone who's strong suit it is? Like jeez, if you're gonna be doing evil schemes get someone who can help you track your enemies."

Nasurin:
"oh! me. yeah, sure, i could use a hand, thank you"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard puts his talons on Landon and tries to hold the talking spellbook in order to look it over.

Nasurin:
"careful with him. he's very old"

Maria:
Maria puts a hand on your shoulder and casts Cure Wounds

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard simply nods in response.

The Narrator:
Lucienne: "Anyways, this talk has been fun but I guess I'll be going now. Guts, come on!"
Guts: "Urgghh…"

Lucienne crawls along the ceiling and up the basement entrance, exiting the scene. Guts lurches forwards and slowly makes his way across the room, following.

Little Bustard:
Once he is satisfied he hands Landon back.

Nasurin:
"ah… ow! nothing like the feeling of your collarbone un-fracturing itself to wake you up"
Nasurin takes landon and just sort of lets him float back into the air

Maria:
"I forget that hurts, sometimes."

Nasurin:
"yeah, depends on the injury. doesn't hurt nearly as much as getting the fracture in the first place"

The Narrator:
Luthienye watches Lucienne and Guts go. "What an odd bunch."

Xie Li:
"Yeah well. We attract odd people."

Nasurin:
"seem nice enough, though. i feel kinda bad about the exploding them thing"

Xie Li:
[Still on the FLOOR.]

Maria:
"I think killing them would have been good."

The Narrator:
Nadredda: "Sso we are not killing them? I don't fully believe we can trusst them not to betray uss, but oh well, if thiss iss what we do."

Xie Li:
"That doesn't sound like a cool idea what's-your-name."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Maria.”

Nasurin:
Nasurin goes to copy down the arcane sigils in the middle of the teleportation circle into landon. "i can't really do anything with these yet, but it could be handy later to have a free ticket back to waterdeep"

Maria:
"Maria, and cool has nothing to do with it being a good idea."

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "Yes, we seem to have stumbled across some guests in that little encounter. Forgive me for not being talkative beforehand, I was deafened by a blast of thunder and then too shocked to articulate myself."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Well, you saw how she kept healing herself. We would’ve been down here forever, and there was no guarantee we would’ve outlasted them.”

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard immediately starts to scour the place for any interesting items.

Maria:
"Vampires are easier to kill than you think."

Xie Li:
[XIE LI gets up and looks depressingly into the FIREPLACE.]

Maria:
"For example, a stream of water could kill them."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Unfortunate that we’re all idiots.”

Xie Li:
[The FIREPLACE is BLACKENED. Like his SOUL.]

Maria:
"So what are these artifacts you were referring to?"

Nasurin:
"the vecna stuff?"

Xie Li:
"An eye and a hand…"

Maria:
"Yes, that all seemed very important."

Nasurin:
"do you know who vecna is?"

Maria:
"I do not, but I am here for a reason."

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "So, are we all done investigating this house? I hate to depart so soon after meeting some new friends, but I did say I would be leaving after we were finished here. I have a house in the Southern Ward to get back to."

Nasurin:
"or… was? sort of still is? it's complicated"
"oh, you have to leave, right. sorry, i forgot about that"

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "Oh, you're making me upset. Alright, I'll stick around a bit longer. I did say we should get a pair of Sending Stones so you can keep in contact with me, and you can't exactly give me one if I'm not here to take it, now can you?"

Nasurin:
"one last stop to try and pick some of those up?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard takes a book from off the desk, flipping through the pages with a shining talon.

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "Maybe we should ask Lucienne if they know of any interesting magic item shops. If we're quick enough, they may still be here."

Xie Li:
[XIE LI will MISS LUTHI SO MUCH.]

Nasurin:
"vecna, though, was a very, very powerful lich and planewalker who lived a long time ago, who penned the book of vile darkness, the first of his artifacts. the book details a lot, but most people seek it because it's supposedly the only instructions out there on how to become a lich yourself"

Maria:
"Ah, yes that seems quiet bad."

Xie Li:
"Why would you want that"
"Just like. logically."

Little Bustard:
"Evil."

Xie Li:
"You're right Lil Bustard."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Sometimes people are not as nice as you want them to be.”

Nasurin:
"his hand and eye were all that were left after he was betrayed and killed by his right hand man, kas. the cult that worships him worships the hand and eye as sacred relics of vecna, and between vecna being horribly powerful himself and the power of belief from enough people, his hand and eye became artifacts of huge power. they're really not supposed to be in the same place like, ever, because if one person manages to attune to both of them they can become possessed by vecna himself"

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "I'm going to go up real quick and see if Lucienne's still here, see if they know any good magic item shops nearby."

She excuses herself and goes up the stairs.

Nasurin:
"and yes, many mages will do anything to pursue further power. becoming a lich is a step in the road to immortality, and a lot of people will fight for that at any cost"

Xie Li:
"Bye Luthi i love youuuuu don't get lost"

Maria:
she's nodding and staring at Nasurin

Xie Li:
"Immortality is dumb. I think we should all just chill."

[XIE LI falls into the FIRE PLACE. Very SOOTY.]

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard forces the book into Maria's hand.
"Keep."

Nasurin:
"as for the sword of kas, it's the only thing that can destroy both items for good. if we just crushed the eye of vecna now, itd reappear in another of vecna's interplanar vaults, and if renwick really is a planewalker she can just go get it back. the only way to truly destroy the hand and eye is for one person to attune to both and then to kill them with the sword of kas. in that sense, it might be a good thing that they've all appeared in more or less the same spot"

Maria:
"Oh? Alright what have we got here." she opens it

Amadeus Bosch:
“Xie Li, get out of that fireplace or I’m never letting you touch me again.”

Xie Li:
[XIE LI rolls out of the FIRE PLACE.]

Maria:
Maria puts the book in her bag and pulls out a small jar, kneels on the ground and starts casting Augury

Nasurin:
"as for my own interest in it, i've spent a loooong time trying to stop anyone from becoming the next vecna, or karsus, or acererak. a… colleague…? of mine, in the arcane brotherhood, let me know that all the items of vecna are on the same plane, so now i'm trying to do something about that. to be honest, i didnt think i'd get as far as actually getting the eye itself"

Maria:
She rolls small bones on the ground for a result to her spell, "Should I go with them?"

Nasurin:
"you… can't make your own decisions?"

The Narrator:
The spell gives you strong WEAL results.

Xie Li:
"Bones………..

Maria:
"I can, but I am a bit lost on my quest, so help from the winds is a wise thing to look for."

Little Bustard:
"The eye itself. Evil?"

Amadeus Bosch:
“Your quest?”

Nasurin:
"oh, the eye is amazingly evil and super cursed"

Xie Li:
"Very."
"But we have it. It's covered in pocket lint."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard holds his talons out, hoping to see this supposedly super cursed eye.

Maria:
"Quest is… Maybe not the right word, journey maybe? Either way I am looking for where to go and I have found the next path."

The Narrator:
Luthienye comes back downstairs after a few minutes.
Luthienye: "I'm baaack~! Lucienne gave me some rather… confusing directions to a magic item shop. Does anybody have some fallen leaves and a glass of milk?"

Nasurin:
"i… probably shouldn't let you have that one"

Xie Li:
"Hey what if we gave it to Lil Bustard and let him slice it up."

Nasurin:
"i have leaves"

Xie Li:
"There problem solved."

Nasurin:
nasurin pulls a fistful of leaves out of their pocket

Xie Li:
"Maybe there's milk in the fridge"

Little Bustard:
"See"

Nasurin:
"i just said if we destroy it now it won't stay destroyed"

Xie Li:
"Why do you have leaves."

Felid:
"Why need milk & leaves…?"

Nasurin:
"you never know when itd be helpful"

Xie Li:
"Also if it won't stay destroyed what if we just kept going at it and annoyed it by continuously destroying it."

Little Bustard:
"See, not touch"

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "See, it's strange. Lucienne told me about a magic item shop you can find pretty much anywhere. All you have to do, is lay out a circle of fallen leaves that must be at least 5 feet in diameter, sprinkle a glass of milk around the outside and the center of the circle, and recite the following phrase: Volo ut vivere in deliciis."

Xie Li:
"I see…. strange."
"If its legit though, it must be worth it."

Nasurin:
"fine, see, not touch. and if we destroy it now we're essentially handing it back to renwick and ivanoska. i don't know about you, but i don't know how to planewalk anymore to go get it." and nasurin pulls the eye out of their pocket and brushes it off, holding it up to bustard to look at

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard peers at the eye
He nods in agreement. "Evil."

Nasurin:
"it's pretty bad"

Xie Li:
"Stinky."

Maria:
"Oh that's just… loose in your pocket huh?"

Nasurin:
nasurin puts the eye away, fumbling to find a pocket that still has an intact button to close it into
"yeah, what about it"

Little Bustard:
"Why would you want that?_

Maria:
"Maybe we could get a jar or something?"

Xie Li:
"We're very smart people."

Amadeus Bosch:
“And the only way to get rid of them is to kill someone who’s attuned to them both, correct?”

Xie Li:
"Vecna doesnt deserve a jar."

Nasurin:
"we have to kill someone attuned to both with the sword of kas, specifically"

Maria:
"Didn't you say that the sword was also evil?"

Little Bustard:
"Getting the sword of Kas. Quest?"

Xie Li:
"Wait so if we have the eye… and Ivanoska's clone was attuned to it… Then who's attuned to it now?"

Amadeus Bosch:
“I see. So, if we find it, unless we’re willing to sacrifice a random person, we’re going to make an incredibly tough decision.”

Nasurin:
"it is, but not as evil. supposedly it's possessed by kas himself, or something, who was vecna's right hand man. so like, evil, but also really wants you to kill vecna… kind of mixed messages"

The Narrator:
Nadredda: "Sso… perhapss, we sshould allow Renwick to re-acquire the eye? That way when we are finding her, we can kill her and rid the world of Vecna'ss evil for the good."

Xie Li:
"The long con… hrghh."
[No promises. XIE LI intends to KILL RENWICK on sight.]

Nasurin:
"i think the easiest way to do it would be to force her to attune to the eye while she's unconscious and then just kill her. all you need to do to attune to it is to remove your actual eye and shove vecna's eye in its place"

Maria:
"Well then we should probably avoid using these things if they are so evil. Seems like it is nothing but misfortune."

Xie Li:
"Can you attune to something while unconscious??"

Nasurin:
"usually, no. in this particular circumstance, maybe"

The Narrator:
Nadredda: "I don't believe that iss how it workss."

Xie Li:
"I don't know if we should trick her into attuning to the eye. If she's smart, she could find a way to slip out of our grasp."
"She like. also has the hand."
"No bueno."

Little Bustard:
"What if become 'friends' with Renwick?"

Nasurin:
"that's why id prefer to just knock her out and do it"

Xie Li:
"No, you don't want to do that Bustard. She's mean."
[XIE LI sighs. This is making them SAD : ( ]

Little Bustard:
Little Bustards does air quotations as he repeats the word "Friends"

Amadeus Bosch:
“Not real friends, Xie Li. Gain her trust is what he means.”

Nasurin:
"either way, getting close enough to do that is a ways out of our league. i don't know if you guys know anything about ninth-tier magic, but if renwick is as powerful as i think she is she could say a single word and any one of us would die instantly"

Xie Li:
"I still wouldn't feel good about "gaining her trust". If anything, if I'm anywhere near her she's as good as dead. So."

Little Bustard:
"Little Bustard know archaeology"

Xie Li:
"Unless Amadeus is actually good at talking to people."
"Oh? What about archaeology?"

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus tries not to think about his time at Candlekeep.

Little Bustard:
"Little Bustard know. Is."

Nasurin:
"i think for now we should worry more about finding ivanoska again and getting some more information from her. if these other artifacts that vampire lady mentioned are as evil as vecna's shit, we need to find those too. or at least, i do. sort of a moral obligation"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard points at himself "Find artifacts"

Xie Li:
"That's cool. Do you do it on your own?"

Nasurin:
"yeah, there you go. for now, let's go find some milk… i guess?"

Little Bustard:
"Yes"

Maria:
"Do we need leafs and milk? It seemed unclear."

Nasurin:
"well we have the leaves, so we need milk"

Xie Li:
"I think that is very cool Lil Bustard. I respect you."

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "We need leaves, milk, and to recite something. It seems like some kind of ritual, perhaps some sort of special key?"

Xie Li:
"Maybe the shop owner really likes tea."

Nasurin:
"let's just go get milk. i'm sure there's a market somewhere around"

Xie Li:
"What if there's something in the icebox?"

Nasurin:
nasurin doesnt wait for an answer and starts going upstairs

Xie Li:
"Ah…"

Little Bustard:
"Volo ut vivere in deliciis"

Maria:
"It should not be hard to find." Maria follows her

Xie Li:
"What if there's milk in the icebox in the kitchen!"

Amadeus Bosch:
“I don’t believe Lucienne was yanking your chain, but I do think we should be careful. Maybe it’s some sort of evil specialty shop.”

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard follows after Natsurin and Maria.

Xie Li:
[XIE LI follows them out. I guess.]

The Narrator:
Luthienye and Nadredda also follow.

Xie Li:
"Kitchen."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Someone needs to tell Nasurin to come back.”

The Narrator:
Xie Li finds some milk in the icebox. It seems to be rotten…

Xie Li:
"Milk."
"Did it specify fresh milk or…"
"It's spoiled."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Well if it’s too gunky to spread around…”

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "It didn't specify. It will probably be kind of nasty, but I suppose it works in a pinch."

Xie Li:
"Smells real funky. Do you think one could use spoiled milk to make cheese?"
"On the contrary, if it was gunky I feel like it'd be easier to spread around."
[XIE LI gives LUTHI the BAD MILK.]

Amadeus Bosch:
“Have fun touching spoiled milk, I suppose.”

The Narrator:
Nadredda: "Nadredda will be waiting to clean you. With Presstidigititation."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard looks through the drawers and retrieves a butter knife, then holds it out to Amadeus with a 'are you stupid?' sort of look.

Xie Li:
"Ooh good thinking Lil Bustard. I like you already."
"Why don't you be more like him, Amadeus?"

Amadeus Bosch:
“No need for prestigitation, then. Except maybe for Xie Li. He’s still all sooty.”

Xie Li:
"Not all sooty. Just like. partly sooty."

Amadeus Bosch:
“I still don’t understand why you did that. Do you want bronchitis?”

The Narrator:
Nadredda nods and moves her hands all around Xie Li, casting Prestidigitation repeatedly and cleaning him off.

Xie Li:
"What the heck is a bronch eye tis."
"Oh thanks Nadredda i love you."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard hesitantly hands the butter knife to Xie Li.

Nasurin:
"bronchitis, cancer, maybe some heart or lung problems…"

Amadeus Bosch:
“You’re going to get sick is what I mean.”

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "Well, I guess let's see if this weird ritual works… hopefully we won't be left sitting here looking like idiots. Do we want to do it inside or outside?"

Xie Li:
[XIE LI hands the BUTTER KNIFE to LUTHI.]

"Present."

The Narrator:
Luthienye makes a face, holding the rotten milk and butter knife. "Not to be rude, but why do I have to do it?"

Xie Li:

shrug

Nasurin:
"i'll do it, hand me the milk"

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "Okay thank you." luthienye gives nasurin the milk and knife

Amadeus Bosch:
“You’re probably the best person to do so.”

Xie Li:
"Well now we have crappy milk tea."

Nasurin:
nasurin puts leaves in a circle and dumps the nasty ass milk on the floor, tossing the butterknife aside and using mage hand to smear it around the leaves

The Narrator:
Luthienye plugs her nose.

Xie Li:
[So does XIE LI]

Nasurin:
"what was the other part? volo ut vivere in deliciis?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard watches the milk shlorp onto the ground
"Volo ut vivere in deliciis" Little Bustard nods

The Narrator:
At first, nothing seems to happen when Nasurin speaks. Then, all of a sudden, the rotten milk on the floor begins to writhe, and almost like a whirlpool is sucked into the center, vanishing into thin air. Then, from the point it disappeared, a hole in space begins to form, spreading outwards until it reaches the outer edge of the circle of leaves.

Looking into the hole, you can see a room with red mood lighting, couches and furniture padded with velvet.
A number of autumnal leaves lay piled in the corners of the room, and a fancy looking desk sits against a back wall. There is nobody in the room. There appears to be no way in or out of this room except for the hole in its… ceiling?

Xie Li:
[XIE LI falls right in THE HOLE.]

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard plops down into the hole

Nasurin:
nasurin says "well, alright, i guess" and hops into the hole

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus steps into the hole, trying to land on a couch.

The Narrator:
Luthienye and Nadredda also enter the hole.
Amadeus' desire to land on something soft almost doesn't need to be met. As you all fall into the hole, the wind rustles and the leaves all around the room are blown underneath you, providing a soft pile of leaves for each of you to land in.

Maria:
Maria walks in

Xie Li:
"Oh"

Felid:
Felid follows along.

The Narrator:
After you all land, the wind rustles again and the leaves move out from underneath you. Then, as you watch, the leaves all blow around in a circle, spiraling in the air and almost forming a person-like shape, before there is a pop! and the leaves are transmuted into a person.

They are nine feet tall, and very slender and stick-like. Their hair is long and appears to be made out of autumn leaves, and their skin is orange. They have long pointed ears, and are wearing a dapper dark red suit over a white button up shirt. They appear, and slowly drift down to sit atop the desk, languishing and running their hand through their hair-leaves.

They speak, in a voice that is neither feminine nor masculine, yet somehow both, and nonetheless deep.

???: "Ah, welcome. It's so nice to have you."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard turns to the shop keeper. "I love you."

Maria:
"Hello."

Xie Li:
O . O
"Tall…………."

Felid:
"Tree…."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Nice to meet you.”

Nasurin:
"bustard, do you need help with some terms of endearment other than love?"

Little Bustard:
"Yes"

Xie Li:
"There is also 'I like you' and 'Pretty'"

Nasurin:
"try 'like' or 'appreciate' yeah

Little Bustard:
"I like you"

Xie Li:
"And my personal favorite that I've said to Nadredda, "I'd marry you if i could.""

The Narrator:
The stranger fans themselves. "Why thank you all. I appreciate your compliments."

Maria:
"As for the store… what wears do you have. Is it alright to ask if you have something, or is there a list?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard points to the store keeper. "I'd marry you if I could."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Oh dear.”

Xie Li:

owo

Nasurin:
"do you sell magic stuff?"

The Narrator:
The stranger pouts. "Aw, you're not even going to ask my name first? If you want to know so badly, I can give you anything you desire. I have no need for material goods nor shelves. Name what you'd like, I'll name a price — monetary, or not — and if you can meet your end of the bargain, you'll receive what you requested."

Nasurin:
"oh. whats your name?"

Xie Li:
"What's your name? Mine is Xie LI!"
"Our bird friend is Lil Bustard."

The Narrator:
???: "I'm so glad you asked. My name is The Trickster."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Oh, that’s promising.”

Xie Li:
"The… Trickster?"
"Ah well, I don't mind getting tricked. It's been a long day."

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Mind you, it's not a name I've chosen myself. I've been given many names over the centuries."

Xie Li:
[Victor is restraining himself, but only barely.]

Maria:
"That is a strange business model. Do you have anything lightning-y?

Little Bustard:
"Will you marry me?"

Nasurin:
"woah, woah, woah, at least ask them for a date first, damn"

Little Bustard:
"Will you date me"

Xie Li:
[XIE LI lays down on the FLOOR.
"It'd be nice to just stay here for a bit."

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus shakes his head. Why does he continue to hang around any of them?

Felid:
"Do you have magic weapon? Like axes?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Let's see. Do you want a Javelin of Lightning? It'll net you 100 - 500 gold. Do you want a Staff of Thunder and Lightning? It'll be 5,000 - 50,000. Or perhaps you want a Wand of Lightning Bolt? That'll just be 500 - 5000 gold. Of course, I am willing to bargain for anything else you would like to give me, material or non-material. If you believe you have something of equivalent value to any of the specified items."

Xie Li:
"We mostly need a pair of Sending Stones?"

Nasurin:
"we're mostly here for sending stones, yeah"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Sending Stones? That's an easy bargain; 100 - 500 gold, or anything of equivalent value."

Amadeus Bosch:
“We could give up the cat. He’ll attract a lot of customers I’m sure.”

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Exciting! You'd be willing to bargain another person's life?"

Xie Li:
"I'd be fine with staying here"

Amadeus Bosch:
“I meant more like a bodega cat.”

Xie Li:
"Whats… a bodega….."

Nasurin:
"i have a sentient spellbook, if you want it"
"what's the trade value on that?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster steps off the desk and inspects Landon closely.
The Trickster: "Oh my, this is a rather high value artifact indeed. If you'd give me him, I could give you any one thing you desire; no request would be too wild."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard makes his way over to the desk, pointing to himself. "Do you have Little Bustard actually good at talking?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "I always was a fan of antiques."

Xie Li:
"Do you place value on sentimental items?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster looks down at Little Bustard. "Let's see… I'm sure I could do something for you, little bird. What would you be willing to give away in return?"

Xie Li:
"I have some candy corn from some nice children…. it seems so long ago that I got it…."

Maria:
"The staff sounds interesting, but I will admit my lack of funds. I do not have anything worth that unless you would like to play a game of cards."

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "A game, you say? I'd be willing to wager on a game."

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus is starting to think he’s right about this being some sort of evil specialty shop.

Nasurin:
"i don't have anything specific in mind. what's something good you've got for a wizard in need?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard rummages through his bag, then pulls out a lock, a vial of ink, and a map. "Artifacts."

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "That's a loaded question; I can give you literally anything, little wizard."

Amadeus Bosch:
“You do realize we could get anything we need from a shop master that didn’t think I wanted to wager Xie Li’s life?”

Xie Li:
"I dunno, I think I prefer it here."

Amadeus Bosch:
“Waging your life means you’ll die, dear.”

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "I say, there's quite a lot of you talking to me all at once. Why don't we take turns?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard nods and takes a step back

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Though I wish I could keep the pace, I'm afraid to say I am not omniscient and omnipresent."

Amadeus Bosch:
“I’m fine. I still believe this is a bad idea. Who cares that they’re even a modicum of attractive?”

Felid:
"Felid needs a replacement for her axe still."

Maria:
"I will wait, I suppose."

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "I thank you for the compliment. Now let's see, why don't we have you go first." they point at Felid. "A replacement for your axe?"

Nasurin:
"attractive… wh… oh, thats right, i forgot people do that"

Felid:
Felid nods. And shows off her melty greataxe.

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes your axe and inspects it. "Oh my, looks like you had a nasty run-in with a Gray Ooze. Let's see… as for replacements, if you trade in this axe I'll be willing to lower the price. I could enchant it to be slightly stronger, marginally stronger, or significantly stronger. The price would vary. Or, I could give you something called a Bloodaxe. Or maybe a Vicious Greataxe? Maybe even a Hellfire Greataxe."

The Trickster eyes you over, and notices the Lifeblood Pendulum. "What an exciting find you've made! I'd be willing to take that from you, and you could have whatever kind of greataxe you'd like."

Amadeus Bosch:
“I told you.”

Nasurin:
"something for a bit more protection, if you wouldn't mind. bracers, a cloak. ooh, i heard of this thing called a cloak of displacement, once, that seemed nice"

Felid:
"Yeah. Gray Ooze hurt Felid's axe. Bloodaxe…? How much for it if Felid trade in axe?" She's going to ignore the offer for the Lifeblood Pendulum for now.

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "It would normally be somewhere in the field of 5,000 - 50,000 gold. For you, I would pick a number in that range and then halve the price. But even still, the lowest you could attain is 2,500 gold."

Nasurin:
"we probably shouldnt give away the pendulum, that's a bad thing to just hand off. unfortunately stopping exactly things like that is sort of my job"

Xie Li:
“wait what if we used that thing against renwick"

Amadeus Bosch:
“Thank you, Nasurin. I’m telling you, actually buying something here is an incredibly bad idea if they want the pendulum.”

Nasurin:
"my guess is they're mostly a neutral party"

Xie Li:
"well if i were them id Also want the pendulum"
"stop projecting ypur evil onto everyone else"

Felid:
Felid sighs. "Any cheaper axes?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "I'm hurt that you'd think I would actually use it. The little wizard is exactly right; I have not much stake with your world. I simply delight in being here, able to act as a conduit to assert my influence upon it. Truthfully, I have no intention with your Pendulum other than to add it to my collection."

Amadeus Bosch:
“And you wouldn’t sell it?”

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "No promises. If somebody asked the right price, I would sell them anything they desired."

Nasurin:
"hey, i have a question"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Ask away."

Nasurin:
"would you be able to sell us the sword of kas"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "The Sword of Kas…" They pause and think for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't yet have that one in my collection. It's an Artifact, you see; only one of them exists, anywhere at all."

Nasurin:
"worth a try, i guess. do you have a cloak of displacement?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Yes, that would field you 500 - 5000 gold, or something of equivalent value. And, do not worry little half-orc, I haven't forgotten you. A cheaper axe? A vicious axe would be 500 - 5000 gold as well, or you could have an axe that just hits slightly better for 100 - 500."

Nasurin:
"you said you like antiques, right? do you collect antique non-magical stuff?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Depends upon what it is."

Nasurin:
nasurin offers the bag of coins

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes your bag of coins, and opens it, pulling one out and inspecting it.
"Oh my, antique Netherese coins? Where did you even get these? Why, these haven't been minted for well over a thousand years."

Nasurin:
"i've travelled a lot"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "So I can tell. Yes, I'd be willing to take these in exchange for a Cloak of Displacement."

Nasurin:
"all yours. i've been looking for a collector willing to pay out a good amount for them, and this seems like a fair deal"

The Narrator:
The Trickster tosses the bag into the air, and claps their hands together. In one fell motion, the bag disappears in a sudden burst of autumnal leaves, and is replaced with a Cloak of Displacement, which they hand to Nasurin.

Nasurin:
"good doing business"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "It's my pleasure."

Nasurin:
"would you take the spellbook in exchange for that blood axe thing?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Yes, I suppose that's a fair trade as well. The spellbook is roughly the same age as those coins, I can tell at a glance."

Nasurin:
"you find some weird stuff when you aren't looking for it"
nasurin grabs landon out of the air and hands him to the trickster

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes Landon, and looks him over.
Landon: "I say, Master Nasurin, are you really giving me up for a measly Bloodaxe? I am Landon de Carisle, Exiled Grimoire of Netheril, and I will not be treated in this w—"
The Trickster interrupts him, as he vanishes in a similar burst of leaves and they hand Felid a Bloodaxe.

Nasurin:
"ah… well, tell him not to cause any trouble on my behalf"

Felid:
Felid grins. "Thanks." She admires her new Bloodaxe.

Maria:
"Alright, so I would like the staff."
"I would offer my spear, but I believe it's value is mostly sentimental."

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes Maria's spear. "Well, this is merely an ordinary spear, but I can see it's been with you for quite some time. The Staff of Thunder and Lightning would normally net you 5,000 - 50,000, but if you're trading in a weapon of sentimental value, I can halve the price. The lowest you could get it for is 2,500, unless you have anything additional to offer?"

Maria:
"… My warhammer? Frankly I would rather keep both and wager the staff in a card game but I then have naught to offer but 300 gold pieces."

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "We can do a card game, if you would like. It would be a nice change of pace. Normally, people are offering me things such as their souls or their names, and I happily take them, but what am I going to do with someone's name, you know?"

Maria:
"You could always dress it up nice and use it."

Felid:
"Names…??"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "That is a fair point, perhaps I could use the names I'm given as my own. I've done so in the past, but nothing resonates with me quite as much as The Trickster."

Maria:
"That said, could we agree on a fair game? Not much of a change of pace otherwise, no?"
She takes out a deck of cards

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "A fair game it will be, then."
The Trickster and Maria play a game of cards. Eventually, Maria comes out on top and wins the game.
The Trickster: "Darn. Well, you beat me fair and square."
They clap their hands together and a Staff of Thunder and Lightning appears in a burst of autumnal leaves, which they hand to Maria.

Maria:
"Oh! I must say this is a very pleasant surprise for me, thank you."
she takes the staff and examines it closely

Nasurin:
"say, uh… how do we leave?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard makes his way up to the counter now, placing the lock, the vial of ink, and the map back onto the surface.

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Just tell me when you're ready to go, and my leaves can ferry you back out."
The Trickster: "Ah, welcome back Little Bird. Let's see… I believe you said you wanted me to fix your speech?"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard nods.

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes your trinkets and looks them over. "If you want, I could take these and bestow upon you the ability to speak normally, and no longer have to resort to mimicking those around you."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard puts his head in the palm of his hand, clicking is beak. He shakes his head after a moment, holding out a single talon. Just one of them.
"Any one thing you desire."

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "You only wish to give me one of the trinkets?"

Little Bustard:
He nods
"Artifacts."

The Narrator:
The Trickster looks over them again. "Let's see… this map looks rather interesting. For this map, I can bestow upon you normal speech. Is this an acceptable deal?"
The Trickster: "There is one little caveat. I cannot make something from nothing, little bird. For a voice of your own, I would need to be offered someone or something else's voice to gift you."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard blinks, tilting his head from once side and then to the other. Someone or something else's voice to be used? He'd have to get back to that one once he found something suitable. "Next time."
"Cloak of…" He makes a little wing flapping motion. "Or.." as he mimics holding out a lantern.

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Cloak of… the bat, do you mean? And… an Everbright Lantern? Or perhaps a ghost lantern? Or a Lantern of Revealing, or of Tracking?"

Little Bustard:
"Cloak of bat and ghost lantern."

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Both of those would net you 500 - 5000 gold, each, unless you wish to trade something else."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard points to the artifacts. "Or game?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "For all three of your trinkets, I could give you either the Cloak of the Bat, or a Ghost Lantern. Not both."

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard seems to frown. He reach out and takes his artifacts back from The Trickster.

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "I apologize. I cannot just hand these things away."

Nasurin:
nasurin pulls out the shadowdusk scroll of pedigree & the signet ring, asking "would these be worth the trade for the cloak?"

Xie Li:
“Well there goes Zenobia’s stuff.”

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard blinks, tilting his head at Nasurin.

Nasurin:
"she wasn't exactly using it, was she?"

Xie Li:
“Ehhhhh.”

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "A member of the house of Shadowdusk…?" they tilt their head and think. "Well, it isn't nice to take from someone who could still use it, but if it's in your possession, I suppose she can't say much to stop you."

Nasurin:
"ha. yeah, no, i can guarantee you she won't have much to say about it"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard plucks a beautiful, pristine black feather from his neck and sets it on the counter. "Trade for the lantern, too?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "A word of warning, little wizard; never be so sure of what you say. Everything is not quite as it seems. The world is a chaotic and ever-changing place, and what's not currently on the stage, may be found to have use again later."

Nasurin:
"oh, i feel you. i know better than most people"

The Narrator:
The Trickster looks over everything you've offered them.
"For the scroll of pedigree and signet ring of Zenobia Shadowdusk, I would be willing to give you the Cloak of the Bat. For one of your trinkets and a feather, I can give you the Ghost Lantern as well."

Nasurin:
"i'll give you the shadowdusk stuff for the cloak"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard perks up, nodding and pushing the feather and the map toward the shopkeeper.

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes all of your items and disappears them in a cloud of autumn leaves. They are replaced with a Cloak of the Bat and a Ghost Lantern, which they hand to Little Bustard.

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard hastily snatches up the items
Unfortunately for Xie Li, Little Bustard gives Nasurin a quick hug

Nasurin:
"woah, hey, um. thank you?"

Little Bustard:
"Thank you"

Xie Li:

tails

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus tenderly takes a step towards The Trickster.
“I have been thinking. You mentioned taking names before, yes? I’ve thought about it, and I need an Amulet of Health, and I have a name that’s been burdening me.”

Xie Li:
“Is it Amewdeus.”

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "A name, you say? Well, that's exciting. Nobody's given me a name yet in this particular encounter. For a name, I may be inclined to give you your Amulet, but it would depend on the nature of the name…"

Amadeus Bosch:
“It’s my name. Not Amadeus, but a previous one.” He shoots a pointed look at Xie Li.
Amadeus refrains from saying that there’s not much sentimentality attached to it, in case it lowers the value.

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "A previous name? I'd be willing to relieve you of this burden, but I'm sorry to say a name no longer in use will not be as valuable."

Amadeus Bosch:
“I have some books with me that bear that name. Would you be willing to take both?”

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "For your previous name, and books that bear the same name, I would be willing to relieve you of this burden, and grant you an Amulet of Health. Understand that I am being very generous, but for you…? It is worth the generosity."

Nasurin:
"someone's got an admirer i see"

The Narrator:
The Trickster laughs. "No my dear, I did not mean it in that way. But if you'd like to interpret it as such."

Amadeus Bosch:
“I am incredibly grateful.”
Still, he wonders what the merchant means. He supposed they’d have some sympathy, as one who’s gone through unfitting names themselves.

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes your books and looks over the name on them, being careful not to say it out loud. They clap their hands, and your deadname disappears from existence. You can no longer recall it at all, in fact. A cloud of autumnal leaves turns into an Amulet of Health, which they hand to you.

Xie Li:
“Amadeus forever.”

Nasurin:
"there are some people who'd pay a lot for my name, maybe i'll keep you in mind"

Xie Li:
“Nasurin?l

Amadeus Bosch:
“What, like law enforcement?”

Nasurin:
"there's more to my name than you might think, you know "

Xie Li:
“Ah yes, to track you down. 我等。2

Maria:
"Yes, I also have a surname."

Xie Li:
“I thought you’d have a ma’am name.”

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "Right, well now that we've all gotten something, excuse me uh, The Trickster? I believe earlier you said a pair of Sending Stones would be worth 100 - 500 gold. I would be willing to just pay the money."

The Trickster: "That's rather boring, but sure, for just 100 gold I can give you a pair of Sending Stones."

Luthienye hands them 10 platinum, and they take it and disappear it, handing her a pair of Sending Stones.

Luthienye: "Thank you. Now, which one of you wants to hold the other one?"

Nasurin:
"it seems like these guys got to know you a little better than i did, so it'd only be fair if they did. maybe xie li, he seems to need someone to talk to most frequently"

Xie Li:
“Me I hav-“

tails

Amadeus Bosch:
“Xie Li is the most talkative out all of us—“

Xie Li:
“I was GOING to say that I have the bag, so it just makes sense.”

The Narrator:
Luthienye laughs. "That's fair." she hands the other sending stone to xie li

Xie Li:
[Rock!!!]

Maria:
"Do not eat it."

Xie Li:
“I wouldn’t eat rocks!”

Maria:
"Sorry you just seem like the kind of person who… eats rocks."

Xie Li:
“At least… not this one.”

Amadeus Bosch:
“Oh, I wouldn’t doubt it. You know he ate a centipede before?”

Little Bustard:
"Burn as you please."

Nasurin:
"is a centipede the worst he's eaten? you could do worse"

Xie Li:
“Yeah cause Luthi told me- HEY RUDE!l

Maria:
looks very disappointed in xie li

Amadeus Bosch:
“You don’t have to listen to everything she says just because she’s a pretty woman.”

The Narrator:
Luthienye: "Xie Li, if I told you to jump off a bridge, would you do it?"

Xie Li:
[XIE LI sticks out his tongue at AMADEUS]
“Yes, I would. Because I trust you.”

Nasurin:
"i got invited to dinner once and only realized two bites into the soup that they were a cannibal"

Xie Li:
“Jinkies.”

Maria:
"I think you need to have a better judge of character before the Trickster here realizes you'll give them anything for a shiny copper piece."

Amadeus Bosch:
Amadeus shakes his head and smiles.
“And how’d that end?”

Xie Li:
“Oh do you want this copper piece I found on the floor of a basement?”

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "People like you are my favorite, Xie Li, but you can also be oh so boring. It always puzzles me how some people are completely willing to give away everything, but I accept what gifts I am offered regardless."

Nasurin:
"well, i spat it out and excused myself from dinner to go to the bathroom and tried to climb out the bathroom window but fell and sprained my ankle, so i had to hobble into the woods and wander back to town hungry and hurt… looking back, maybe i shouldve just stayed for dinner"

Xie Li:
[XIE LI excitedly fishes out THE COPPER PIECE FROM THE FLOOR and gives it a LIL KITTY SMOOCH and hands it off to THE TRICKSTER.]

“Here you go!”

Maria:
"I think you should have just eaten the food, Nasurin. I mean they went through all the trouble to have you over."

Xie Li:
[Happiness is fleeting, but memories are forever.]

Nasurin:
"tasted like prion disease"

Amadeus Bosch:
“Yes. They trusted you enough to have you over.”
Amadeus is half-joking.

The Narrator:
The Trickster takes it. "Why, thank you. But I'm afraid you didn't ask for anything in return other than my gratitude."

Xie Li:
“That’s all I need!”

Amadeus Bosch:
“Hey, kuru is a small price to pay for some social activity.”

Little Bustard:
"Didn't ask for anything in return"

Maria:
"What are you talking about? I am sure it was fine. What type of person was the food anyway?"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "Does anybody have any other trades to make, or would you like to be leaving now?"

Nasurin:
"amadeus, you're kind of right"
"i think we should probably get going"

Little Bustard:
"What type of person was the food?"

Nasurin:
"actually, what would we have to trade for his recovery from depression" they point at xie li

Felid:
"Felid agrees."

Xie Li:

Oh no.

Nasurin:
"he's kind of been a super downer lately"

Maria:
"Oh is that why he is strange."

The Narrator:
The Trickster looks at Xie Li. "Ah yes, I can see something traumatic must have occurred recently in his life. I can offer him false hope, but in the coming months… I fear it will not be an effective solution."

Nasurin:
"ominous. alright, worth a shot. time to leave, then"

Xie Li:
“F… false hope?”

[His smile falters.]

“Ah…”

Amadeus Bosch:
“That likely would make things worse.”

Little Bustard:
"False hope"

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "My dear, I cannot grant you happiness; it is something you must choose for yourself. If you wished to 'fix' your affliction, all I could do is turn you into a mockery of yourself."

Maria:
"I would like to leave now, or must we all leave at once?"

Xie Li:
[What the heck is coming in the next few months?]

The Narrator:
The Trickster: "If there are no further transactions to be made, it's time for you take your leave. I appreciate your stay in my domain, and your patronage. And before you go, please keep in mind my warning from earlier: that which is not on the stage now, may yet find a use again later."

The Trickster discorporates their body into a cloud of leaves, which carry each of you up and out of the hole in the ceiling with a gust of wind. The circle of leaves outside is blown away, and the hole disappears. You are now back in the Renwick Residence.

Xie Li:
[Xie Li lands on their paws and knees.]

“The next coming months…”

Nasurin:
"cool. alright, i need to find an empty book"

Maria:
"Plan to start over your wizardry? A steep journey to take on in exchange for some items."

Nasurin:
"oh no, gimme an hour and i'll have landon and my spells back"

Xie Li:
[Xie Li rises and picks up the Renwick Letters. Head full, many thoughts.]

Maria:
"Ah, you deceived her."

The Narrator:
Nadredda: "Nassurin iss no ordinary wizard… not ssure what their deal iss, but they do many sstrange thingss."

Nasurin:
"you got that right. weirdest wizard of 'em all"

Xie Li:
“Weirdzard”

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard pulls his cloak around his shoulders and ties the ghost lantern to his belt

Maria:
"I can relate to that in my own way."

Nasurin:
"anyway, sit down for a while with me, i need to resummon the idiot"

Amadeus Bosch:
“Is there ever truly a normal wizard?”

Maria:
"May I ask what the hostility towards your book man is?"

Nasurin:
"no, but some of them are weirder than others. i'd love to be one of the wizards that invents a whole new spell school or something, but to my knowledge that possibility died out thousands of years ago"

Xie Li:
[Xie Li curls up at Nasurin’s feet just as an actual cat would.]

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard settles down, hesitantly taking the letters from Xie Li

Nasurin:
"oh, he's just fucking annoying. he's the only person i've talked to for a long time and his formality gets tiring. also, he only knows how to talk about whats in his writing, so he's not much for conversation"

The Narrator:
Luthienye sits down with Xie Li and Little Bustard and looks over at the letters they've grabbed. "If we're going to be sitting here for a while, I'd be happy to read with you and see what's up with these letters. There's bound to be useful information in them. I know I said I would take my leave, but I don't have to go until you guys leave Waterdeep, I suppose."

Maria:
"Oh so he is a prick. You should punish him."

Nasurin:
"i just punished him by making him think i was giving him away"

Little Bustard:
Little Bustard hands a few of the letters over to Luthienye.

Amadeus Bosch:
“I think temporarily selling him is pretty good.”

Little Bustard:
He swipes a talon over the sealed envelopes (assuming they are in ones), and begins to read the contents.

Felid:
"Sounds pretty stupid if book think you were giving him away forever."

Xie Li:
“Do you think they’ll be mad once they’ve figured out what you did?”

Maria:
"Did you have a plan if their strange magics were stranger than yours?"

Nasurin:
"i think they will be, but i'm banking on them not being able to do anything about it. i didn't give them anything that they can use to hold power over me, and i think they might only have power over their own little domain there"
"their strange magics are definitely more powerful than mine, but i think i can give them a run for their money on strangeness"

Xie Li:
“Still, it’d be awkward if we went back…”

Nasurin:
"if need be i'll give you what i want to trade and ask you to trade for me instead of going myself. i'm the only one who deceived them"

Xie Li:
“Seems fair.”

Maria:
"Alright."

Nasurin:
"i do feel a little bad about doing that to landon. annoying as he may be, he's never actually done anything wrong, i don't think he's capable of it. that being said, this isn't the first time i've sold him to someone, so maybe he knows my game"

Maria:
"I hope so, I do not think I have seen a sad book before and I do not want to start now."

Nasurin:
"he's never sad as much as he is incredulous that someone could do something to the great and powerful landon de carlisle"
"anyway, give me a bit so i can scribble out these sigils, it's been a while since i had to do this"

Maria:
"Sure." Maria sits to attune to their staff."

The Narrator:
You all settle down to take a short rest. Over your short rest, Luthienye, Xie Li, and Little Bustard read the letters that were sent to Gavrel and Marcella Renwick.

The letters to Gavrel and Marcella Renwick both begin in about 1470 DR, which you assume is when they moved to Waterdeep.

The correspondent of Gavrel was a man named Emmerich Snaijer.
The correspondent of Marcella was a man named Logan Cunigast.

The content of both letters appear to be correspondence related to their work.

Gavrel was a toxicologist, and Emmerich wanted to purchase poison from him for undisclosed reasons. Gavrel never asked him why. It seems that Emmerich was a frequent customer of Gavrel's, but that the two also grew close over a period of thirty years and sent many letters unrelated to work.

Marcella was a taxidermist, and Logan Cunigast was a big game hunter, interested in having the heads of his kills taxidermied so he could hang them up as trophies in his house. Much like Gavrel and Emmerich, Marcella and Logan kept in close contact over the past thirty years.

It seems that the nature of both correspondences evolved into a sort of pen-pal relationship, possibly due to the fact that through reading their letters it is apparent both Gavrel and Marcella were socially awkward and did not have many friends. The nature of their work too could be considered macabre and might have put many people off of befriending them.

Besides the mostly boring contents of the letters, there are a handful of interesting pieces of information you learn.

- In 1472 DR, Logan congratulated Marcella on the birth of her and Gavrel's first child; a daughter named Runa.
- Between 1472 - 1490 DR, Marcella and Gavrel both spoke about Runa often to their correspondents. They mentioned Runa's love of history, and her aspiration of becoming an archaeologist. They mention that in 1480, Runa found an amulet of the god Oghma in their backyard.
- In 1490 DR, Runa Renwick was sent to study necromancy at Candlekeep.
- In 1492 DR, Marcella and Gavrel both informed their correspondents that they had received word of Runa's death at Candlekeep. They were heartbroken, and neither worked for a year.
- In 1493 DR, Marcella congratulated Logan on the birth of his and an unnamed woman's child; a son named Gadaric.
- In 1500 DR, Marcella fell ill and Gavrel quit his job as a toxicologist to care for her.
- In 1502 DR, Marcella Renwick died. Gavrel's last letter to Emmerich mentions that he was retiring, and had decided to move away from Waterdeep for good.

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