BB isn't that good with directions, so she kind of leads us in circles for a while.
LK is too self-effacing to interrupt.
Z is casting Alarm every morning, as well as his Ward.
His Alarm goes off when we approach; it's just him screaming. For 10 seconds.
He's spent the night learning spells, out of the Lathander book.
Mainly he's learnt that Lathander...isn't circumcised. Nothing really earthshaking.
LK hands over the spell components to Zorn. VS offers to sell her services to make money. The euphemism goes unnoticed by just about everyone.
We're back on the horses; VS renames her horse Anal, from Propriety, because...that part of her life is over, since DW is dead. Okay.
Zorn gets on DW's Harpoon, giggling with joy because it's his first time on a horse.
He falls off.
Because it's his first time on a horse.
Down the river, we see Gilton, a pearly white city in the distance. BB hopes we don't get blacklisted from this one too.
There's a stone bridge across a moat. Gilton is on an island at the mouth of the river. Quinn approves. Good defences.
Mainly human city, it seems. Zorn flubs a check, and says what he thinks the city's history is. Quinn is disdainful, and interrupts.
The city is tricameral. King Weldon, a very fat king indeed, is a friendly oaf. The Church of Lathander, the religious and military arm, is led by the Morning Lord, Darian. The Chamber of Commerce, led by Hans Keating, oversees the trading of this wealthy city.
They've got gold here. Lots of gold. Lots and lots of gold. Chief export, dairy.
DW's absence in this Lathanderite town is sorely felt. There's milkbars everywhere.
Quinn explains that she's never been able to get into the vaults of Gilton. If anybody figures out a way, let's talk; we'll split it 70/30.
LK is doubtful about this. Okay, okay, 65/35.
VS keeps seeing normal looking people, none that can be asked about where to sell a very valuable item.
A big stone tablet lies at the open gate. The Code of Dawn.
Thou Shalt Only Slay The Wicked. Not Associate with the Undead. Foster the Generation of Life. Care for All That is Fertile in Human Works. Turn the Minds of Men Towards Hope and Away from Fear.
(DW's player wrote this)
Zorn is unimpressed. Although the generation of life, hmmmmm...
No thiefsign. We're looking for a pub in which to perform: LK hasn't played his lute in a while, BB says let's not start again, then.
LK is demoralised by this.
Zorn accosts a boy to find out the location of the nearest tavern: the Holy Goat!
VS sashays in to demand to be allowed to play...with her band.
Quinn quickly says "we're not with her."
The barkeep says a 25% house cut is standard: BB Persuades her to accept 10% instead. The barkeep, irate, says it had better be good.
LK and Quinn, Zorn tagging along, decide to Not Be Here. Stultus picks up a tankard and settles in, however.
They Perform well, with some spillover from BB's Black Shawm's Hypnotic Pattern. VS swallows Steeltus, who is quite displeased at this. Stabbing someone without stabbing someone? Outrageous!
Zorn says he's following Adventure Boy over here: LK is demoralised even further by the stream of visitors entranced by the music.
Quinn goes and looks for the Central Bank market entrance. It's flanked by large, gold-plated columns. Zorn weeps at the beauty of it.
LK says it's okay I guess.
Quinn taps the gold plating appraisingly, filing it away under "good to know."
The market is busy with traders running back and forth; some supervising regulators, three giant vault doors, and office high up with a shadowy outline watching everything. Zorn waves at it.
Quinn discreetly points out the vaults, but LK is well aware of them.
We go looking for a trader. People are trading pieces of paper instead of god?
There's a guy in charge of the cash out process. So it isn't quite fractional reserve banking yet.
The entire place is guarded by knights in full plate, with suns on them.
Quinn tells the other two you can do whatever you want, look, but you can't touch them.
Zorn looks for a bookseller.
A wizened old woman who greets us is asked about the book, just...hypothetically speaking.
She doesn't deal well with hypotheticals, this woman. This book, if it exists, is a big deal, and only someone like Hans Keating could afford it, but he isn't the most popular. Too cold, too unfeeling, they say.
We make our excuses and leave. Quinn ducks back in to ask about resurrection prices.
To the Church! They specialise in rezzes and beating up Stormlords, who ride in on their ironships and make trouble for everyone, worshipping Talos, their god of twisted evil.
Zorn offers a gold piece to her after browsing listlessly through her collection.
Quinn explains the scrip system as an IOU. Don't try to forge them, she says. They're very hard to pass.
People look at her suspiciously.
VS asks the barkeep if there is a queen. Yes, but she died in a riding accident some years back, breaking her neck. She then attempts to seduce the barkeep into offering her a free room.
Are you married? Yes. ...happily?
The wife, who is very stocky, stalks over, about to kick her ass. BB hauls her out, making er excuses. We rejoin the party.
An Arcane Shop, for healing potions. They have regular, Greater, Superior, and more.
Quinn sells to Terrin the Plane of Water pearls; unsuccessfully trying to Persuade her to cough up more than 1000 for it.
She also buys 3 regular HP, and 1 Greater.
The party has a little chat. we think we should go talk to the Church: Zorn asks, don't you look a bit too demonic for that, VS?
VS bursts into tears at this racism. She just wants to be taken seriously! Zorn Prestidigitates an I'm Sorry trinket, which VS dashes to the ground.
The Church features an abbey with an open ceiling, with sunlight pouring down on a statue of a winged Lathander.
VS puts Dancing Lights on, sashaying up to a priest, and suggestively indicates Zorn, who....asks to see the manager.
We ask for 2 True Resurrections, offering as collateral the Book. The armed monk goes and gets a Fabio-esque dude, who asks to look over the Book.
We tell him about DW: Quinn asks about resurrecting him gratis, since he is a Lathander servant and true.
It's dependent on whether they want to, it seems.
BB asks about rezzing Assid, then. Dairion - that's his name - is told, hey, raise our coatl friend for us, and your cleric, for you.
A shriveled old man storms out to demand Dairion not barter the rezzes for it, and offer 10k gold instead.
Quinn - Slinky, to Dairion - reasons some with Keating, who considers this fiscally irresponsible. He storms out.
"Right, now that the beancounters are out of the way...where were we?"
Dairion offers to raise the coatl for us, and ask DW.
A bunch of glowing naked angels with glowing genitals later...it's DW!
He doesn't want to leave heaven for the Shit World (his words) since here he can drink all the milk he wants, and he can make milk rain from the sky!
He demonstrates.
Quinn tries to talk DW into coming back by invoking the Boldor flock. No dice. We tell him to ask Lathander. Who says he should stay, since he might go astray down there.
Everybody bids him farewell, Quinn yelling YOU FUCKING IDIOT at his receding form.
The Dawn Guard comes to escort us to an audience with the King. Quinn asks Dairion along, because she doesn't understand that they won't bid against each other, that's not how the government works here.
Into the castle with some fanfare. The King offers the services of the Kingdom for this rare item: he wants to know where we got it.
BB pulls out her viol and regales him with the story of the Beholder's Lair.
He's eating this giant turkey leg: at the end of it he applauds and...falls over, frothing.
The paladins rush to aid him. BB puts a Lesser Restoration on him, and Quinn detects some lingering magic, from long ago.
He wakes up. Sixgriffins, he cries, in his vision, with all the eggs...broken!
We need more tithe, we need more paladins! He's ushered out.
Dairion offers us the castle to stay in, and tells us about the Storm Lords, led by the Shrimp, who only the fishermen have ever seen.
Hmm.
We also inspect the turkey leg and the beer. Nothing off, according to the Investigation and arcana checks. It's a turkey leg. It's beer.
VS seduces the paladin, trying to bonk him. Successfully! He gives her his address, they spend the night. He's a good guy, you know, good looking enough, nice, gives her a massage in the morning. She'll never see Orion again.