Astvanor Session 165 (6/6)

[cinaed]

Session 165: Day 24 of Saedan (6/6)

It’s pretty bright the next morning as they teleport to Radiscune and exit the building onto the Colma grounds. It almost seems like it should be warm, but the brightness is from the sun reflecting off of the snow from a recent snowfall. It is freezing.

They’ve been outside of the Colma in the city proper of Radiscune for about two minutes, Yolov considering all the things they need to do and where they should go, when hands cover his eyes and Asa says, “Hey, you.”

He whirls and immediately hugs her. She is in a thick cloak and apologizes for surprising him, she thought he’d see her coming. He says he was distracted with the things they need to do but he’s glad to see her. He touches her cheek and says he missed her.

She leans into his touch and says she missed him too. She explains that she knows that they’ve got a lot to do, she also has to do things here for work and for her shop, so they can do things together. She then asks if they want their presents now or later.

Az says, amused, that she brought them presents.

She says she knows they’re going into a place where they’re not sure what danger to expect, so she’s tried to cover as many bases as possible. She gives them five spell scrolls of protection: one for Undead, two for Fiends, one for Aberrations, and one Dragons.

She says she knows that they’re all capable and clever but she still worries. Her worry is clearly directed towards Yolov but she encompasses everyone else in her concern. She adds that she’s been tinkering with something, so it should help if someone is injured and needs healing every ten minutes, and if someone loses a limb it can help with that.

Audacity asks for clarification and she explains that the ring can regrow limbs, though it takes a couple of days.

Asa takes Yolov’s hand and asks what they’re shopping for. Yolov says he knows some of the others wanted to improve their weapons and while Hava stayed behind to catch up with Taion, she asked for magical arrows and cute things. He looks a little lost at the latter part, musing out loud that she presumably meant clothes.

Asa brightens and says clothes and probably jewelry. Hava seems like a woman who likes jewelry. She also tells them about a blacksmith that makes magical weaponry, a place called The Shimmering Blade. She has personally provided materials to the proprietor and will share her twenty percent discount with them.

She leads them there. The smithery is a couple blocks outside the student area in more of an area for locals. It’s a relatively run-down looking place from the outside, with an unlit forge and mounds of snow on the roof. There are unfinished projects of swords and shields that are in the process of being worked on on tables and the ground.

The sign is a little rickety and old, but the little sign that says open is swaying gently in the breeze. When they all step inside, they’re overcome by the ozone smell of magic.

Audacity sneezes. A voice above them says, “Bless you, and also you might want to duck real quick.” As he immediately obeys, a fist-sized piece of metal slams down where his head would have been.

Above them where storage upon storage shelves are, an elven figure in half-armor drops down and says, “Hey, what can I do for you? Welcome to the Glimmering Blade.” When Galowen corrects her, she says her mother named it.

Asa leans away from Yolov to give a little wave and says, “Hi, Liz.” Liz asks if she brought her anything, and she says no, she’s here with her boyfriend. Liz says any friend of Asa’s is a friend of hers.

She gestures towards where are swords and arrows and sabers and shields in containers. Everything here is enchanted, either by her or everyone’s beloved Previdian enchanter. She gives Asa a pinch on her cheek and disappears back up into the storage space.

Galowen immediately looks at the shields. There are a number of shields, some fancier than others. He reaches out to grab one, and hears Asa hums and says she didn’t think Galowen was interested in growing another eye. That shield is crafted from the skin of a beholder, and after using it for a while, he would grow a third eye.

When he asks if the third eye would need glasses, Asa says she’s not sure. It is the beholder’s eye so probably not. Galowen watches as an eye opens on the shield and stares at him. He gets into a staring contest before Asa blows into the beholder's eye and makes it blink angrily.

She points him at some less strange shields the next row down. There’s one that has two carved hands outstretched towards each other that look almost blood-stained until he realizes it’s embedded stone to look like blood.

From her place in the rafters, Liz shouts down and says the better shields are 300 gp, that sentinel shield with the eyes is 350, and the pariah shield is only available for trade. Audacity asks what it does.

Liz drops down. She slinks up to them and explains that she unlocked that one’s original enchantment. It had been sleeping and bound because it failed in its original master’s hands. Hopefully it doesn’t fail to fulfill its duty this time. Apparently the guy who used to own this shield was the only survivor of his adventuring party before he killed himself out of survivor’s guilt.

The more friends the shield-wielder has around them, the better protected the wielder is, and if their nearby friends are injured they can take on the damage instead.

Az looks concerned and says no one should get that one, especially not Galowen. Galowen says he’s getting it even as Diana asks why he shouldn’t. Az says they just saw Galowen die, and Diana says they’ve all died at least once.

Asa sees Yolov wince during this conversation and gives him a sympathetic squeeze.

Galowen pulls out the key to Valrissa’s office and he and Yolov explain about her and a little about the Tessvar Forest. Liz rocks back and forth on her feet and says she can’t refuse something involving a ghost. She loves ghosts. She doesn’t know why there aren’t more ghosts around since the Colma is full of necromancers.

Yolov manages to hide the fact that he has two ghosts currently traveling in his bag as Galowen looks over the arrows in their labeled quivers for Hava. Yolov squints at some of the labels and says that perhaps arrows that cause fire might not be the best for Kelfemma.

There is a sale of five groups of five, get one group of 5 free.

As Galowen examines all the choices and figures out the budget, Yolov sees the Tidal Wave arrows and asks Asa if she has a Tidal Wave spell scroll he could scribe into Es, since he’s certain there will be fire where they’re going. She asks how long they’re going to be around, and Yolov says probably another day or two. She says that’s more than enough time and teasingly adds that she will charge him much less.

She gives his arm a little squeeze as Galowen goes back and forth with Liz. He offers her a piece of metal from Vigil’s library, claiming it’s from a vampire lair. Liz says vampires are a little overrated but no one else has this. She’ll take it.

Audacity studies her, half-thinking she’s a dragon, but realizes she’s a nerd and a collector.

They get some more gold off with Az grabbing a bundle of teleportation arrows. Galowen teases him about them as Yolov offers up the gold potion from Cantor and explains the experimental potion seller and his various potions.

Az asks about Diana’s dragon and its vulnerabilities. She says he was practically invincible, though the group knows that green dragons are immune to poison.

Galowen settles on the lot, which tallies up to 356 gold total. Az and Yolov cover part of it with Hava’s gold covering the rest.

Audacity goes to look at staves with Liz. She points out a few stronger staves, a staff of healing which will let him heal people, a staff of withering that does the opposite. Asa makes an excited noise as Liz picks it up. It has almost a black tar embedded in it that Asa made. There’s one that makes him harder to hit, and another one that improves attacks and defenses.

When she asks what type of staff he’s looking for, he shows her his original one and says that he wants one with more oomph. She picks up one that is seemingly very simple, there’s some wood burning and symbols on it like spikes. There’s a red and gold cloth wrapped where someone’s hands would hold it. Liz explains that she made it herself, it’s very sturdy.

He offers up his original staff and then presents her with a drawing of her that he made while Galowen was figuring out the arrows. It’s an exquisite drawing of her in the middle of her work. She stares at it, holding it gently in her hands before she says his original staff and his signature on this, plus the promise of bringing her something from their next adventure will do for payment.

He signs it, bemused.

Diana asks if she has any dragon slaying swords. Liz says she doesn’t, every adventurer wants one and she’s always sold out. She disappears into the ceiling storage and calls down to ask what type of dragon. When Diana says green, she clambers back up. She returns with some fingerless gloves and says they’re not traditional dragon slaying gloves but one she’s been experimenting with. Basically any weapon she holds will become a dragon slaying weapon. It is a prototype. Diana can borrow them and then tell her how they go.

Diana agrees.

Liz makes her promise to bring them back since they are her only prototype and threatens to send Asa after her if she doesn’t. If she tells her how it went, she’ll make something special for her. She adds that she should have known they would all be cool, Asa’s friends are only cool people.

She looks at Yolov and says that as Asa’s best friend, she will break every bone in his body if he breaks her heart. She extends her hand. He takes it and gives it a shake before he says earnestly that he’ll do his best not to and that he’s glad she has friends like Liz.

Liz calls him sweet. Then she turns back to Diana, calling her Little Miss Dragon Slayer. Diana immediately wants to add that to her list of titles, prompting Az to say she can’t add titles early, at which Yolov points out that they have already killed a dragon.

Liz asks if they need anything else or if they should get out of her store. When Diana asks if she can give her a hug, Liz says she loves hugs, and Diana and Audacity wrap her up in a huge hug.

After that they scatter on their own separate quests.

Az goes to visit Genesis and the kids, finding him in the same partially overwhelmed state of parenthood as Diana had found him. He takes the kids off his hands for a few hours, taking them to visit and spend time with Juniper and give her the Feywild mushroom they found. Audacity heads off to spend time with Esrani at his workshop.

Yolov does the shopping for the people at the magic house, and purchases and mails off books for Luna about romance, animals, and healing in different cultures.

He also delivers a bundle of paper to Tes’vala and Rian at the Colma library that is a collection of Avisian and Colma stories he’s gathered from Marvin and Alveya Levant as they traveled.