Category: Quill

New Friends!!!

On By ravonlockeIn Jeni, Journal, QuillLeave a comment

Hi! Jeni here! Scout report number…. Oh, I don’t know, it’s all just so exciting!

I met some new friends today! They just appeared out of the air with a genie in tow! Well, I think the genie was towing them, if I’m honest, but… a Genie!!! An actual Genie!

And they were so strange for Outsiders! A frog, a cat, a mouse, an elephant, and a green man. They looked more like fae than the usual Outsiders. But they really had never been here, and they had no idea where to go! I just HAD to Help them!

The green man had the sweetest, buttery candies! He said they wanted to go to the Winter Court, looking for somebody called Fistandia? I don’t know, something like that. The cat told me her name, and so did the frog! Oh no! They really do have no idea!

I tried to show the, but the frog got Really upset and jumped at me. I apologized and he let me go, but not before Winter responded. Oh dear! It was Doon, of all fae, of course it was. He’s so scary! I told him it was fine, but he threatened the frog. I think he liked it! Oh dear!

I really had to explain about the rules then, but I’ve never really tried to do that before, and I started with gifts, but it didn’t go very well. The mouse gave me a couple coins that smelled like the Ocean, he said. What’s an Ocean? It smells like salt and fish! When I tried to get them to trade for the other rules, it didn’t go very well.

Then Wind Dancer showed up, and she knew how to talk to them better about our realm and gifts and things. She asked them all what to call them, and they weren’t very creative. They decided on Jeni Two, Jeni Three, N, The Elephant Man, and Fuc. I don’t think the frog meant it to come out that way, but he giggled to hear her say it, so he left it alone. Then he promised peace to the Autumn Court in exchange for more information on the rules.

There’s a lot of talking about rules and fairy dust and elemental life, but finally Wind Dancer is satisfied and joins us on our way to court. She tells them they have to convince Three Nobles to support their bid to see the Queen. I am dreading them trying to trade with nobles, and it looks like they are, too. N is already very angry about everything.

It’s so pretty at Court! All the beautiful Autumn Colors! And all the tasty treats and shiny baubles. And Ooooh the Dresses! If only it wasn’t for the rules, I’d stay at court forever! But the game is heavy here, and I cannot stay for long. Help my friends and then their genie can take them home again. Then freedom in the trees once more!

Wind Dancer spots Treyvon first. Wind Dancer introduces them, and we try to help them be careful with their offerings as they try to offer things they’ve made of metal again. Eventually, N offers a set of childhood memories, Fuc offers to enact violence elsewhere for him, the mouse Jeni offers a lavender pillow to keep away bad dreams. Treyvon seems a bemused by some of them, but accepts N’s offer, and goes on his way. N’s in a really bad mood again, I hope he can stay calm.

Then Wind Dancer spots the Mouseguard nobles! They’re so cute and furry! I introduce the Jeni’s and Fuc to Acorn Icetwist. Mouse Jeni enjoys looking at all their contraptions and talking about mouse life and the mouse folk here. It’s a lot different on the Outside. After some talk, he trades two months of Big Boy, his metal mount, for their support with the Queen.

I don’t know how, but Wind Dancer manages to catch sight of Joy Quickcliff and call her over. Everyone talks too slowly, and I have to give her one of N’s sweeties to stay and listen. She rejects their offers over and over, until finally getting cat Jeni to offer her Tarot. Not just a reading, but her ability and her deck, for Joy’s support with the Queen. Oh boy, I hope this quest is worth it, they’ve given up So Much today!

The deals made, the first step complete. We can all feel it settle on us. Wind Dancer then takes us right to the Court to see the Queen!!! She is so Beautiful and Elegant and Wonderful!!! Her Knights are super scary, though! I hope I did a good job this time!

Changing Allegiances

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, QuillLeave a comment

That meeting was confusing. Spy Master was very angry. Made me angry, too. I have to talk to Red. Careful talk, secret. Can’t tell the others. Oh feathers, what have I done? He’ll protect me, he helped me. Not just my fault. Red thinks I’m useful. It’ll be okay.

…

I was right. Offered me a place. Have to think. Don’t jump. Don’t look too eager. Stay in the restaurant. Look after the boys. They fit right in. Pretend to think about it. Oh, Catbard will be so disappointed. Don’t tell her. Don’t make her sad.

…

Faewild? They’re all going to the Faewild? Fistandia might be there. I don’t want to find her. She’ll take her kitties back. Red says stay. Yes, stay. Don’t help them lose the mansion. Keep the kitties if they don’t find her. Soft kitties. Oh, She needs money for a key. Of course I’ll pay. Faewild sounds fun, and She’ll write the best songs about it.

…

Looking forward to Skullport. Orange had such a good adventure there with his big fight. Wonder what we’ll steal while they’re gone.

Chasing the Chase

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, QuillLeave a comment

Next morning we have breakfast, but Catbard must have gone to work. Everyone’s impatient, so we go to the Locksmith – Ellaspra Ulmarr. Mary Mouse, Orange, and Nevi head into the back to talk, the rest of us keep watch. The come out with the name Vokar Kibbins and an address in the Southern Ward. Off we go again.

The door is kicked in and a couple halflings are running away. I go stop them, and they seem real nervous. They lie worse than I do, so we take them back to the house. Eventually, they admit that a catperson was there with a bunch of others. They gave the tomb-robbed loot to another guy, named Losser at the Dandy Mop Wigshop. Red yells at them some and we head out again. Catbard must have decided not to argue with Red anymore.

We run down the streets, ignoring an illusion of a crash at the intersection before the shop. We barge into the shop and find some stairs leading down. Not waiting or asking, we run right down the stairs. There’s an iron door at the bottom that Red gets us through, right into the sewers. The Big Guy takes a big breath of the rancid air, and Nevi looks around. They both send us south again.

To a dead end, that’s really another illusion. We run on some more until they find secret doors. The one on the left has noise behind it, so I listen while Red words on the door to the right. The Big Guy trips over something in the floor and the left door crashes open, spilling out skeletons. I punch one, and he turns them all to dust. Just looks like they were in storage or something.

Red wants to go right, so Orange pushes through some furniture to get us into a ransacked office. I can’t find anything useful, but I grab some handwriting samples anyway. We rush through some more halls and doors and sewers. Then the trail just stops. It smells a bit sandy and there’s a weird blowback like a sideways explosion on the walls. We keep going until we find a ladder to the street level.

Red checks first and then we climb up. There are some kenku feathers here, and Slicer’s bracelet. What’s that doing here?!? I whistle, but nothing. I grab it from Red’s magic hand while everyone looks around. Red calls the guard and says there’s a rogue Djinn, and asks for a Mage Civiler, like the one who tried to find us at the Bard School, but we don’t find one. Everyone goes to report in, but I just go with Red to the new Restaurant. I don’t want to tell Spy Master I lost another piece of the stone just yet. Maybe tomorrow.

Orange says we have to all go to bed when Red gets home. We do, and then wake up in a library with Catbard and Blackstaff. Catbard apologizes, but nobody really minded the chase. Not even Red. Then they have a big conversation about what Xanathar could do for the city, and how Blackstaff and Catbard think he’s evil. Red says everyone’s guilds do bad stuff. Orange thinks we should kill Xanathar, but Red says you’d have to be stupid or really powerful. Some days, I think my flock is both. Blackstaff thinks no one is safe while X is interested in the stones. Red says we’ll need them all to get near enough to attack him. It’s all so confusing.

The Chase Continues

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, QuillLeave a comment

Catbard calls us all together on Opening Day, while Red is still closing up The Mad House. She says there’s a rumor that the next piece of The Stone is in Mistshore with someone called Xarinda Garliff, or something like that. She wants us to go down, get it, and then give it to her Guild. Orange isn’t so sure about that, until he figures out she’s a Harper. But then he says we have to get Red involved so we don’t fail. She doesn’t want to because Red will want the stone for himself and his evil boss. Orange still thinks Red can be reasonable, and insists, so she sends him a message to come home.

Red’s cranky when he gets home that we didn’t just ask him to meet us down in Mistshore, and immediately lays claim to the stone. Catbard says no, but we head out before it gets too messy. Down in Mistshore, the Big Guy starts smelling blood in the mists. Before we find the source, we get jumped by fish people, and a wizard.

After we get rid of them, Orange has to break open the door and shove through some furniture to get us inside. There’s a weird boat contraption in here that Mary Mouse really likes. He and Red head upstairs with us trailing, to find the lady. She’s scared at first, but Orange says we’re here to help, to escort her to the Grey Hand with her stone. Unfortunately, she sent her familiar off to the City of the Dead with it. She gives us a key and directions and we head out.

That’s when we find all the other bodies. The fish people killed everyone on this dock before going after the stone. Red says the wizard was from his guild, because the lady showed the stone to a member and then refused to give it to him. He says we HAVE to give it to him now, because bad consequences if he doesn’t bring it home. Catbard is adamant that we will do no such thing. We head off to the City before we attract the attention of the guard.

Orange and Mary Mouse get us entry to the City of the Dead, and we head for the lady’s crypt. It stands open. Red sneaks ahead and finds an empty, looted chamber. We all head in, and he searches the rest of the tomb. It is all empty, except for a discarded key. Other crypts in the area have been hit, too. Nevi knows who made the key, so we can ask him about it in the morning. We head outside and follow the tracks leaving the crypt, which head north but then get lost in the shuffle.

Big Guy and Catbard have some fence contacts in the north who might still be open this late at night, so we head out, hoping our robbers sold the things they found. The first one is closed, but the second, The Tirelessly Turning Wheel, is open. Catbard, Red, and Big Guy head inside to talk, while the rest of us watch the street. A little while later, they come out. No one has been selling grave treasures, we’ll have to wait until morning to talk to anyone else.

Assassination?

On By ravonlockeIn Journal, QuillLeave a comment

Spy Master,

That was a lot harder than I thought. We accidentally kill people so much, but trying to do it on purpose is so much harder. I had Sim and Kris help me find him, they did a really good job, but couldn’t figure out where he goes other than work. Then it was my turn. First day, I got distracted by a kitten, so I went to get potions, instead. The second try, he seemed to notice someone was following him after he went shopping and ran off. The third time, he just closed his shop and didn’t come outside.

Clearly my plan was terrible, so I went to ask for help. Maybe Orange would come back with me and we could go inside. I told Orange there was a bad guy who helped Manshoon, but he said I needed proof so he could report to The Hand. I said I didn’t have any, so he said to talk to Red. I really didn’t want to talk to Red, but Orange would tell him if I didn’t.

I told Red there was a threat to our flock, one of Manshoon’s supporters was still lurking around. He wanted to run him out of town, but I said he was too dangerous, we had to kill him. Red and I were going to pretend it was a robbery, but it didn’t work. He went upstairs as they were closing, and didn’t come back down. Red tried to find him, but he was gone. He didn’t open his store again after that. I think Red robbed it all the next day.

We went to talk the owner of a shop he visits. He told Red about a meeting the man goes to. So, we go there, and I watch the doors outside, so he doesn’t see me before we get him alone. But after awhile, Red came out and said he was taken care of. I didn’t want to go in and be seen, and I trust Red. Well, he keeps his word, at least.

I’m sorry it took so long. He was very paranoid and the shadows weren’t as sticky as they usually are for me. That’s why I need those boots like Red’s got. Then I wouldn’t have needed help. Sorry.

~QS