Starring: Castyl Devillars, Caed Wynter-Rose, Mimosa and Elspeth Dhavoor
Special Guests: DM Spartacus
A ship's surgeon from a vessel leaving the Coast towards the Isle of Silver, presents an option for the Windspell Adventurers' Guild to make use of the travel—but for a cost.
Finding themselves upon the waves, the Windspells decipher clues written down in mysterious tomes...in order to come to a small volcanic island...that which seems "to be on the edge of a large collection of small islands...stretching out into the distance...might be 20 or more."
Caed Wynter-Rose makes a drawing and notes, in his growing collection of mapped regions, of the Sword Coast.
Upon the small volcanic island... the "green" marks the spot:
/// had to go color, because the X was lost in B&W...
As it would seem...the Pirate was not lying...and the Colour of Money, truly was a treasure map:
The adventure concluded, the ship's Captain remunerated, the Windspells were seen again, back at the Friendly Arm, weary, hungry, but talkative...they spoke openly about the Rabbit's Foot Coin:
Last edited by Steve on Sun Jul 10, 2022 1:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
In following evenings—after the Windspells returned via teleport to the Friendly Arm after their adventure with Stand Still, the ship surgeon, to the Isle of Silver—Caed Wynter-Rose can be found spending late nights at the bar of the Friendly Arm, drinking to his hearts desire. It seems, as of late, the coffers are laden, and he spends freely, even paying for others to drink with him.
Near the end of these evenings, with much wine in the blood, Caed talks more freely about the truth of Whitey's map, his master work book called the Colour of Money, were it described the path to rich treasure.
When pressed, Caed dismisses any idea of treasure of the normal kind: coin, jewels, ancient swords and armors. Instead, he talks about the treasure of time, of magic imbued things, that which borders the fissure between divine and arcane, the Art and the Power.
If pressed, he will pull out a coin to show, that which he calls by a name, the Rabbit's Foot, and gives example to the luck that such a thing, can give. He also talks—slightly slurred at this moment—about how he knows there is mad man with fiery hair that would probably resort to more violence in order to have this coin, which then Caed laughs in funny way, about this mad man....and his chances, unless, the mad man would actually speak a request to the coins.
It is then that Caed confides to a listener, about a number of coins "...in our possession."
Soon, coming to realization that he has had his full of spirits, Caed excuses himself, to return to his secure and rented room.
That Caed would likely repeat his appearance at the bar in successive nights, most likely shows the observer that he is waiting for something.
Another drinker at the bar, the recipient of some free drinks, and grateful for it, finds himself tuned in to the level of worldly insight and speech that Caed has achieved. "Slir thing is, thing is, and...you need to know dis. That madman you talk about, who sby the sway is barred from this very place, and, and the thing was he is mad. He does not speak! Not as smart as you and ...and...me." He swirls his glass in apparent dismay. "Who drank that eh, that is the real question here!"
Elspeth Dharvoon, who looks to have used her share of the treasure to improve her wardrobe, interjects to point out how risky and potentially dangerous magical coins can be at any opportunity that seems appropriate (and several that are not)..
An observant onlooker, however, would note that the finely attired lady cannot help but stare greedily at the coins if they are presented.
Login:VermilionVirtue
Active Llengar Hammerstock - A principled thug. Elspeth Dharvoon - A reformed character? (Biography)
Spotting Elspeth the drinker continues with his words of wisdom. "Your ladyshoop, you, you..thing is you have a great very clever brain, but! But and I tell you this Coins. *pauses* Coins cannot be kept. hmm they are a weight and a burdin. Friends fall in, foes gather graspin', and worse still ya start dreamin'
No what you want to do is be off with them. erm yeah. "looks at his empty glass. "You know, ya could even fill that fella up there and be free of your worries!"
"Tis best madness...chaos...is barred within the Inn. No place could hold the name Friendly Arm, if not some rules set a the foundation." responds Caed, to the fellow bar mate. "If any are mad, it is by choice...for no doubt, there sit healers of exceptional divine grace, that could straighten a man's mind back into their rightful state. Unless, well...we are talking about a person that is not really a Man...."
Caed then hears Elspeth's additional response, and following, the bar mates reply. Seeing the bar mate twirl and empty glass, Caed does the polite thing, and waves to Bentley to see the man's drink refilled.
"I tell you this, good sir...what is a coin, or a Coin, if not a tool in which to barter with greater ease? If it cannot be a vehicle that gets you what you want, than it is but a useless thing. Thus, when a thing has value, it must be bartered for equal value, shall it not?"
Caed drinks up his last sip in his wine glass, and again, makes a move that would take him from the bar, to his secure room. But he says one more thing, before going:
"This mad man you may know...first he begged, then he brawled. Madness or no...his care for none but himself is a typical trait...of those I despise. I will not deal with one with no Code or love of honor. If that mad man has any sense of self left, he would be wise to send another in his place, to achieve his wants. I have no need of carrying these Coins, especially as you say, they place a burden upon the bearer—and of those words you say, I truly agree. May as well toss the Coins to sea...if nothing can be offered to benefit my fellows in the Windspell Adventurer's Guild.
And one thing you seem to not know, good sir...is that a great mystery shall be unraveled when all the brothers are together, of that I am certain. And as the High Watcher of Helm said within the temple, "There is a faith wide warning here of change on the Coast...something for all the Coast to concern itself with...," and we Windspells have taken upon us this quest, this adventure of seemingly great importance. And where there is great importance, there is great reward."
"Ask and you shall receive." A silver-haired man said aloud as he approached the people gathered at the bar, clad in his usual blue and silver chainmail. Dangling from his neck was a chain from which hung a silver coin, the face of a lady and shamrocks engraved in the metal.
He held up a finger to Bentley, ordering himself a tankard of foaming ale.
"Couldn't help myself but listen in on your conversation. You want to unravel the mystery of the Coins. One thing's for sure, when Tymora's involved, there's fortune to be found." He grinned before introducing himself. "Aegle Addams, priest of Tymora. I have a special interest in the Seven Sons. Maybe I have something to offer the Windspell Guild."
"Well met sir," Caed responds, and depending on the day—or not—he may or may not be inebriated in good spirit. "You speak of fortune, and your faith may bring divine knowledge to practical need. I speak for myself, and perhaps for my fellow Windspells, but please...speak freely and honestly if your offer."
Aegle chugged down part of his drink, wiping the foam from his lips with the back of his hand. His gaze set on the adventurer, Caed, and took on a serious tone. "Straight to the point, I need the Coins. Not only do I need them, a set of magical items like these won't stay in the same hands for long, nor are they meant to. Here's my proposal: I help you, you help me. You have my full services until we find the remaining coins and discover the underlying mystery. Whatever fortune awaits along the way is yours, except for the Seven Sons, which I keep to help the mad man you've met, Teris."
MadSeer wrote:"Here's my proposal: I help you, you help me. You have my full services until we find the remaining coins and discover the underlying mystery. Whatever fortune awaits along the way is yours, except for the Seven Sons, which I keep to help the mad man you've met, Teris."
Caed does not take long in pondering the statement, before issuing a response.
"Well good sir...what is it exactly that the Windspells gain, from your service? If you are offering a future of fortune, then...that is gamble, you offer. Why would we, the Windspells, not keep the Coins and ourselves, aid the mad man? That would be a more direct means of reaching the resolve of the mystery...would it not?"
Caed continues: "But good sir, I only speak for myself. The Windspells possess Coins, and that is not a thing that I alone can offer you...since that is what you desire, as it seems. Or perhaps...you wish to change your offer?"
Caed's tales of treasure of less normal kind found an ear in white haired, yet smooth-skinned woman in expensive looking black robes, listening carefully as soon as she confirmed that those are not idle talk of a fortune seeker.
"There are treasures like that (there must be!)" - she'd aggree, but the coin by itself she carfully observes, not fast to make a judgement, thinking to herself, that "It may yet prove to be a monkey's paw, not rabbit's foot. There's already a mad man out to get it."
Next time a drinker at the bar speaks more of that man, the woman nods to herself - the coins are not all blessing, apparently.
"Well said!" - she commented after Caed's reply to Aegle - that aggravating tymoran she met earlier and would rather not stand next to, but for this occasion, - "And I don't want the coins, but I'm curious of what fortune or misfortune they will bring, and where it will lead you, for I was waiting a long time for something like this to pass through here."
"I'm Babura, a priestess of experience and of rare ability to deal with magical items." - she introduced herself.
"So, do you gather them or do you not?" - Babura asked with impatience, - "The coins must be instrumental to your quest, you can't just drop them - and from what I hear, indeed you cannot. And yet you sound unsure, perhaps you were lacking something?"
"The Windspells have made effort and action to acquire these Coins, the Seven Sons...not at first at our own will, but it would be that the first of the Coins found us."
Caed pats his clothing pockets a few times, as if searching for something. Sooner than later, he seems to feel that which calms his movements.
"As I was saying, at first I contemplated that the Coin was a talisman to deliver us Windspells to great treasure. But as it turns out, the Coin delivered us to another Coin, then in the adventures between then and now, other threads have led us to even more Coins. I ask you, priestess...when does Chance turn to become Fate?"
Caed looks at the priestess Babura with seriousness, then takes a view of any fellow Windspells that are present in the Friendly Arm, with them, possibly at this moment.
"It is like you say: I can neither willingly relinquish the Coin—for it has a mind of its own—nor can we Windspells seem to stop acquiring more of them. So, but what choice do we have, but to either bring the Brothers together, in order that we may find what happens? But as things have gone so far...everyone just seems to want to take the Coins, from us! And if not that, I suspect there is little done to consider their deeper value...that which we Windspells are certain of, as higher faithful leaders have spoken words that give us care in this quest. Or worse...we see unhindered desires form...that may place the Coins in evil hands."
"That what I am sure about, is that I have spoken the open truth about all things having to do with the Seven Sons, such that we Windspells may ride the wind and let it take you wherever it blows."
By the way she listened, she'd thought of the same at first: that the coin might be a lead to something valuable, but before she could ask of anything specific about those coins' locations, Caed had asked his own question, a rather philosophical one, but it was not wasted on the woman (which might be or might have been a priestess at some point realy).
"Depends on what you believe to be your choice in the matter: you don't choose your fate as it unfolds, while chance can be yours for the taking." - she answered as if she tought of such a question long time ago, - "But as you do or don't take it, that too becomes your fate and you might wonder if there realy was a chance in the first place."
"I can't say if Coin was your fate, though, for the divine can do that to a person. Or it can be made to change hands untill it finds the right one. So, it might have been a chance for you."
She reflected on Caed's remark, before replying:
"It's rarely said by lowly priests, but the greatest fortunes are gained by riding the wave - the same which brings greatest destruction - as it does that to some, it elevates some. If coins are neither good, nor evil, you'd better not be taking sides as well."
Caed seems to heed the woman's words. "Perhaps...you are right. Though taking sides is irrelevant, since sides have yet to be taken...as far as I know."
"I think I will get some fresh air...."
Caed makes his way out to the courtyard, and takes a seat in the area of the flower gardens.
Having returned to the Inn interior, Caed Wynter-Rose spends time squaring up his dues with Bentley, for the days long stay, of recent past.
Either with fellow Windspells or with any other persons he has been in contact with within the Friendly Arm—those that might still be within the bar room, that is—he engages them verbally on the following:
"A number of signs, and attempts to persuade us Windspells, have crossed our free path. Each has crossed our path with some attempt at gaining luck, or we did gain luck, or our luck was gambled, or luck was proposed to not last much longer—you may see the pattern here, as I do offer it, and now, believe in it.
What I am saying is that, time has delayed us here—be it our luck, again—for I am making a decision to bring what Coins I can to the Lady's Hall in Baldur's Gate, where I believe we may present these Seven Sons, and there, we shall submit them to Fate...and either we gain that which we have sought, or...not. Perhaps...we shall improvise a prayer, to be: 'Each relic Coin offered to the Lady returns tenfold in ....?'"
Having thanked Bentley and closed his debts, he engages once more:
"The Coast Way is not short, between here and there. Much could sway our path—that too, being our luck, or a failing of such. Forces beyond our control may guide us...or deter us."
Caed finishes with his line of dogma, often phrased in appropriate moments:
"Ride the wind and let it take you wherever it blows."
