Bastian, spelled to sleep soundly for the first time since he was taken prisoner at the promontory tower, slept through the day at the Chapter House. The adventurers met with Fael.
Agreeably the enormous, white-robed half-orc examined the small treasures the party had brought: two black-handled silver daggers, a green gem, the silk bag full of multicolored beans, and the small stone bottle. This he hefted immediately. “Well, first of all: it’s not a bottle. This is a solid piece of stone. What kind, I don’t know. One of our dwarven brothers might be able to tell.”
He moved the other items around on the table, with interest.
“As for these things,… eh. I’m sorry. I can recommend a magic-sniffer in the Mercantile. He’ll tell you the truth about them.”
[further talk; perhaps the team would consider a side-trip to replenish the stores of the temple]
“I’ll send you with one of our postulants. He’ll get you anywhere you need to go. Pietro!”
A teenager, bald as the other postulants, hustled in to the room. Declan bristled, recognizing the young monk from the stables who so effortlessly lead the adventurers’ (few remaining) horses away from him.
[Paolo effuses, and presents the party with a carefully-wrapped gift for the herbalist]
[Pietro leads the adventurers through the city; across the floating bridge; through the King’s Quarter (NW) and across the Great Road; into the maze of the Mercantile Quarter (NE) to Thee and Thine.]
“Who’s the King?”
“There’s no King, there’s a magistrate. The district’s new name is ‘Municipal Center’ but no one calls it that. ‘King’s Quarter’ is easier to remember.”
[on shore, Pietro leads the party down several unnecessary detours; Thee and Thine; Ameline]
Grignr stooped under the doorframe, as usual, and was disappointed to feel the slat-wood ceiling brush the top of his head. It was uneven in places, and splintery. The place smelled cluttered with dust and spices — much more complicated than the open air of his mountainous home — but at least it wasn’t the Vai. Asphodel clutched the silk bag at her side, and thought the small shop was quite large enough, but too dark and stifling for her taste.
…but for Declan, the small shop was a wonder. His quick eyes scanned the room. Alfred’s shelves were hung with small pouches of leather and silk, bristling with quills and daggers, drooping with heavy metal or wood caskets, and stacked several rows thick with small, interesting things of every description. The young rogue paid particular attention to the apothecary drawers. Some of them smelled quite interesting.
[Grignr and Asphodel uncover their treasures: a green gem, two silver daggers, the black ‘bottle’ amulet, and the silk bag; Alfred consults several dusty tomes; a drawer and a pinch of fine, silver powder blown over the daggers and amulet; all are catalogued, except the beans]
The bespectacled shopkeeper held the gem against the daylight, examined its cracks and facets, hefted it expertly, then sniffed it as Grignr continued, “…it’s been in a troll’s underpants.”
Alfred closed his eyes.
“Yes. Yes, it has.” He sighed. “Okay, here’s your 40 for it. That’s the 50 we discussed, less 10 for the sniffing-powder.”
[before leaving the store, Grignr asks Declan to empty his pockets; he does, reluctantly, freeing several small shiny objects from his myriad pockets — and his mouth; Ameline, an eyebrow raised, compliments Declan’s keen eye and his talent; Pietro, proving himself a wise young man, does as well; Declan blushes; outside Thee and Thine, a trio of thugs; Grignr dispatches one, too quickly.]
[wary of pursuit, a maze of streets, then directly to the river; a skiff across the river on a fisherman’s river-runner; a brief journey across the maze of sunken houses’ stone walls; a treehouse renting flat-bottomed swamp skimmers]
[deep swamp, with climbing vines, drooping greenery, and hanging moss; beneath the boat, the ghosts of dead houses; a garden on a sunken rooftop, and terraced planters growing amazing plants; Goss’ ivy-draped, cozy house on stilts.]
[Goss: an ancient — but spry — and mysterious herbalist, with stories of Greenmagery; Goss disappears into the back of the shack with Paolo’s gift; talk of old friends, and fine cheese, and the wheel-mark explained; Herbs by the stack and armload; Grignr and Declan move the stores, while Pietro looks in curiously on the discussion with Asphodel. Goss explains the beans. “They’re all useful for something. Except this one. This one is tasty.”]
“These, these gray ones, these make a big cloud of that stuff that… the stuff from plants, that powdery stuff that…”
“Pollen?”
“That’s the one! Pollen. This pollen makes everybody sick as a dog. Sneezing, throwing up, everything. Nasty stuff. And these pretty purple ones, oh, these are nice…”
[more beans; Goss seems to hold a bit less annoyance with Asphodel than the rest of the populace]
“…and these, these Timothy made for me.” Her mouth tightened as she poured the small beans from one hand to the other. “Just for me. Yes. This color, I would call this color, ‘iridescent green and purple’. When you cast them, they make Patchplant. Big, thick leaves that patch things, you know, houses, walls, people…”
[Goss warms to Asphodel and kits her out with a replacement healing-pack; later on, Goss’ magics bristle; a viper slides in to view above the house; Precious, a four-foot-long rat, leaps from the rooftop thatch and ivy, straight into the coils of the enormous snake; both plummet into the swamp water, kicking up sludge; Grignr jams the amulet thong down around his neck and dives in, dagger ready; Goss holds the snake with Dominate Animal while Precious and Grignr battle on; dead viper.]
Precious hefted the 11-foot Viper in her mouth, scrambling easily up the shack pylons. “Good eating on these,” Goss commented, hefting the silvery length. “Tastes like… like…”
“Chicken?”
“That’s the one!”
[goodbyes; out of the swamp, then a journey upriver in the fisherman’s skiff; a long view of the ghostly outlines of neighborhoods in the flooded quarter; lights in the mercantile, and the looming bridge; past the cathedral-lofting columns of the ruined bridge, a view of the King’s Quarter and the hills to the north; dockside near the East Bridge]
[return to the Chapter House; another donation; the herb and unguent stores are replenished; a gift for Paolo; Paolo secrets it away, then returns to the refectory with moist eyes; thick stew and sleep for all]