Narrative

Day 33 began in a Hillfolk village between Provista and Stonerampart Earthwise. The party decided to travel to Hartwall because of the Rift block. They teleported to the statue of Lan outside Hartwall and arrived on target. Lan was noted as an earth god associated with love, home, and family, and the statue of Lan was very similar in style to the Statue of Sierra.

At Hartwall, two guards, one human and one half-elf, were present. The city seemed fine, though Lady Kalissa Hartwall was still injured. Lady Freya was in attendance in the city. Xinqus had other items for sale, and Mirth was also in town for the auction. Hartwall had about 11,000 occupants, dual walls, and clean, tidy streets. The auction house was the Grand Auction House, with the auction taking place at 2pm; 11:00 was also noted. The party went to the Baked Mattress for food.

At the Baked Mattress they saw a human sitting down with a very noticeable underbelly. The barkeep was noted as “Patches of night & husband.” Xinqus was in town. The party headed to the auction house with 870kg and saw a Pigeon Aarakocra with Xinqus’s cart; Xinqus was inside. “1600” was recorded. They walked to the front of the queue, where Mirth let them in and gave them a number. Everyone else seemed to have paid to enter. The auction drew a very eclectic crowd. A dragon and the Retribution shrine on Azureside were noted.

Before the detailed bidding began, the auction lots were noted broadly: grand towers penne / Goliath coins x2, a bottle of sosen mistle eel wine, a functioning pocket watch with squares showing the moon cycle, elven green-rimmed glasses, a small mahogany box with a red velvet curtain that formed illusionary scenes, a loved patched leather backpack that was a bag of sorting worth about 3-500g and able to hold 500lb or 64 gems while weighing only 15lb, a silver scorpion on a chain that was a holy symbol of Noxia, Firefang, an 8/400-year-old longsword in the style Invar makes that added +1D6, had 5 spell charges, and could cast Burning Hands, an Amle for adult?, a ring with a crystal on top that was a ring of protection, a chariot that interested the Guilt, Browning’s scroll, a bracelet of locating, art cork, rare poetry books, and a talon of soot. Geldrin tried to check the arcane writing on Browning’s scroll and cast Dispel Magic; the words disappeared. Browning’s scroll produced a new random spell every morning at 2:37 and was valued at 600g.

Xinquiss came into the room, saw the party, and took them to a new room as his presents. It was the shield crystal, and the party agreed to drop off a piece. The party also added an auction for one of the Brass City platinum pieces. They told Xinquiss that the quilt might be an “excellence” or might be working for one.

Mith was running the auction. Beside the party was an Arabica pechen lady named Candelissa Hustlebustle, and on the other side was a mermain / shark tattoo person in a tux and top hat. In the third row was Aon Ankt, Eliana’s blood letting tutor.

The drink lots began. Lot 1 was a famous 28-year elven bottle of booze and sold for 20g. Lot 2 was a 100-year-old bottle bought by Candelissa. Lot 3 was an older one sold for 350g to Candelissa. Lot 4 was Smehlebeard whiskey, bought for 270g by Janet Boulderdew. Lot 5 was a 75-year bottle of Crankfruit, one noted as 280 years, sold for 400g. Lot 6 was Blind gale XXX, with “physick before imbibing” noted. Lot 7 was cherry wine, Sereza, sold for 10g. Lots 8 and 9 were not described.

The coin lots followed. Lot 10 was five Black Dragons, bought for 10g by a shiny man who was dressed up by someone. Lot 11 was a Grand Towers penny, bought for 3g by Raven no. 1. Lot 12 was a golden crown and two silver clappers, sold for 15g. Lot 13 was dwarven copper coins, with two people bidding, sold for 1g. Lot 14 was electrum and did not sell. Lot 15 was silver pieces, associated with gnome great Fummouth, sold for 8g to Raven 2. Lot 16 was a Brass City coin, sold for 160g to a tabaxi with a shaved head and pink mohawk.

The art lots began with Lot 17, talon of soot, sold by remote bid for 50g. Lot 18 was a painting of Lord Bleakstorm refusing demands, Lady Evalina Hartwall with an infant and a blue cow, and a male the party might have recognized: Iceborg, with Jayseel horns. The image of someone lowering a rope down a hole sold for 35g, apparently for too much jewellery to a human male. Lot 19 was an obsidian and bone statue showing a crab claw and talon shielding Throngore over a featherless female, titled “Valentinhide’s Betrayal.” It sold for 140g to Raven 1.

Lot 20 showed Davina Browning covering her eyes with her hands, with eyes on the hands, titled “circling vultures.” It sold for 10g to the jewellery guy. Lot 21 was love poetry, blessings of Laurel, and sold for 7g. Lot 22 was a red and blue glass sculpture of Serra and sold for 10g. Lot 23 was the functioning moon pocket watch and sold for 175g. Lot 24 was the green-rim spectacles, which translated elven into common, and sold for 112g. Lot 25 was the mahogany box, also called the Smulty box, and sold for 30g to a bidder described as an elf / flirting woman with goat legs. Lot 26 was a Ray of sorting and stirring and sold for 85g. Lot 27 was an elven forest comb of delousing and sold for 35g. Lot 28 was an elven flute carved with mice, called a turtle flute, and sold for 65g. Lot 29 was an hourglass of smoke instead of sand and sold for 85g.

Lot 30 was the holy symbol of Noxia and sold to Raven 1 for 175g. Lot 31 was a shield ring with runes of Lauren and sold for 600g to the werewolfish Warwick’s Riptooth. Lot 32 was Firefang and sold for 2050g to a red-and-purple-haired dwarf male. Lot 33 was the chariot, connected to an excellence defeated in the “battle of the unending seas.” Four people bid, including two Ravens, the jewellery men, and an emissary. A bidding war followed involving the jewelled men and short paths, Dally who walks in the room, the Hartwall partner, and Lady Thorpe. The price reached 11,900g, and the party got 14,000g. The chariot was already being levelled onto a wagon, and many guards were outside. Lot 34, the Browning spell scroll, sold for 6,200g to the jewellery guy.

The party skulked out to check on Lady Thorpe. She had six guards around her in transparent dragon / silver dragon livery. While she felt better and insisted on going back to the front lines, which were not going great, she looked flustered, confused, and uneasy in her responses. Something was odd about her mannerisms. Eliana did not think she knew who they were, or at least that she was who she said she was.

Lot 35 was a mimic mouse trap. Arthur’s group, Conrad Harthwall, Numbhotall / Scumbleduck / Nambodall, an older human man, a robed figure carrying along beside a silver dragonborn, a backpack of scrolls, a floating book, and a gnome with a wooden shield bearing a golden duck were noted. Justicars were looking for Xinquiss; user clarification confirms they wanted the shield crystal he had, rather than Xinquiss personally. The party did not recognize Invar. Laura won the bracelet of locating for 101g. Mith teleported away, and a Justicar tried to Counterspell. Scumbleduck smashed a stick on the floor and cast a spell, associated with a locating duck. When she turned around, Eliana bumped into something invisible and moved to attack her.

Browning / Skutey Galvin was wanted for impersonating a Justicar. The concentration spell failed, and Lady Thorpe turned into a llama. Two guards behind Eliana helped, while her guard tried to get Eliana. The party learned that the warrant for their arrest had been quashed by somebody up high. A waitress opened a trapdoor where Xinquiss was hiding. Eliana called themself Constantine Harthwall to the Justicar. Guards took the chariot and everything to the Palace because Lady Kalissa Hartwall wanted to see the party in the hours. The Justicars took the llama to Grand Towers.

Dirk, Geldrin, and Morgana escaped with the shield crystal down the trapdoor into a house. Xinquiss called Wrath the Black Dragonborn, recorded here as Wroth, to come and help hide the crystal, and Wrath did so. Dirk, Geldrin, and Morgana tried to disguise themselves and return to the auction house. Eliana and Invar asked about them and were told about the trapdoor at 4:30. The party headed to the Castle.

At the Castle, a higher-ranking halfling general with a huge sword and ornate armour strode over. This was Lady Blossom Fatrabbit, a halfling who was also the sheriff of the Castle. She took the party through the Castle. The engravings on her armour were a dedication to the god of Lan. The Castle seemed busy and short-staffed.

Lady Thorpe was missing. Lady Fatrabbit thought it had happened fairly recently because Lady Kalissa Hartwall would have known it was not her wife. Lady Fatrabbit led the party to a bedroom where Lady Kalissa Hartwall was; doctors were making some antidote. The party suggested poison and trouble hiding a true form. The llama may have done it. The condition seemed like magical poison or a religious curse, possibly Noxia, and involved great pain. Forces were stretched thin because Goldenswell had requested forces, and Lady Kalissa Hartwall wanted the party’s help. She had only noticed that Lady Thorpe had not visited her as much as expected. Lady Thorpe had been with Lady Kalissa Hartwall when they came back from the front lines at Highden with a few guards. The creatures they had been fighting did not seem cunning enough to have done this.

Geldrin cast Scrying on Lady Thorpe. He saw her in a stone room, chained up, like a dungeon. The image was dull and unlit. Lady Thorpe looked injured and malnourished, with no fleshcrafting. There was one cell door, made of wood, iron-bound and reinforced with an iron grate at the top. The stone was grey mountain stone, not seaward / Runeyend, and looked like the same type of stone as Hartwall Castle. The dungeon in the vision looked similar to this castle. There was a dungeon in the castle and one in the militia house. The party wanted to check all dungeons between there and Highden.

Lady Fatrabbit led the party to the castle dungeons, but Lady Thorpe was not there. They went to the militia house, which looked like the militia building in Everchard. No one stopped Lady Fatrabbit from walking in. The doors looked like the one Geldrin had seen, and the room looked very similar. Fatrabbit asked a guard for the current prisoner roster. Clay Meadow, Everchard, Redford Point, Stonehedge, and Goldenswell were noted, with the stone structure different. Eliana and Dirk searched the cells, but Lady Thorpe was not there. Fatrabbit returned with the roster, and everything seemed in line. A prison on the road to Stonehedge was used for long-term prisoners who did not take the death penalty and had metal doors. 19:00 was noted.

Claymeadow and Lady Neegate were noted; she had been quiet lately due to a loss in the family. The party decided to make a plan before speaking to the wizard and went to the Irate Unicorn, where there was a shrine to Lan. They asked The Basilisk for help from the guild to check the prisons. They then went to see a tortle wizard who could teleport them somewhere and would come back tomorrow.

People, Factions, and Places Mentioned

People and name-like figures mentioned include Lan, Sierra, Lady Kalissa Hartwall, Lady Freya, Xinqus / Xinquiss, Mirth / Mith, the human with a very noticeable underbelly, the barkeep described as “Patches of night & husband,” Geldrin, Invar, the Guilt, Browning, Candelissa Hustlebustle, Aon Ankt, Janet Boulderdew, the shiny man dressed up by someone, Raven no. 1 / Raven 1, Raven 2, the tabaxi with a shaved head and pink mohawk, Lord Bleakstorm, Lady Evalina Hartwall, Iceborg, Jayseel, Throngore, Valentinhide / Vallententide, Davina Browning, Laurel, Serra, the bidder described as an elf / flirting woman with goat legs, Warwick’s Riptooth, the red-and-purple-haired dwarf male, Dally who walks in the room, the Hartwall partner, Lady Thorpe, the jewellery guy / jewellery men, Arthur’s group, Conrad Harthwall, Numbhotall / Scumbleduck / Nambodall, the older human man, the robed figure, the silver dragonborn, the gnome with a wooden shield bearing a golden duck, Justicars, Morgana, Skutey Galvin, Constantine Harthwall, Dirk, Eliana, Wrath the Black Dragonborn / Wroth, Lady Blossom Fatrabbit / Lady Fatrabbit, Lady Neegate, The Basilisk, and Jin-Loo.

Groups and factions mentioned include Hillfolk, guards, humans, half-elves, Xinquiss’s cart crew, auction attendees, Ravens, Justicars, Grand Towers authorities, doctors, Goldenswell forces, militia, and the party.

Places mentioned include the Hillfolk village, Provista, Stonerampart Earthwise, Hartwall, the Rift block, the statue of Lan outside Hartwall, the Statue of Sierra, the Baked Mattress, the Grand Auction House / auction house, Azureside, the Retribution shrine, the Brass City, Grand Towers, the Palace, the Castle, Lady Kalissa Hartwall’s bedroom, the castle dungeons, the militia house, Highden, Clay Meadow / Claymeadow, Everchard, Redford Point, Stonehedge / Strong hedge, Goldenswell, the prison on the road to Stonehedge, the Irate Unicorn, and a shrine to Lan.

Items, Rewards, and Resources

Resources and possessions mentioned include 870kg at the auction, “1600” recorded near Xinqus’s cart, a shield crystal, one of the Brass City platinum pieces added to the auction, the party’s auction number from Mirth, the chariot and everything taken to the Palace, the hidden trapdoor at the auction house, Wrath’s help hiding the shield crystal, a prisoner roster, The Basilisk’s requested guild help, and Jin-Loo as the tortle mage who could teleport the party somewhere and would return tomorrow.

Auction lots and sale details included grand towers penne / Goliath coins x2; sosen mistle eel wine; a functioning moon-cycle pocket watch; elven green-rimmed glasses; a mahogany / Smulty box; a loved patched backpack / bag of sorting; a silver scorpion holy symbol of Noxia; Firefang; a ring of protection; the chariot; Browning’s scroll; a bracelet of locating; rare poetry books; and a talon of soot. The auction also included lots tied to Lord Bleakstorm, Lady Evalina Hartwall, Valentinhide’s Betrayal, Davina Browning, Serra, Lauren, and Noxia.

Clues, Mysteries, and Open Threads

The page’s opening location places the Hillfolk village between Provista and Stonerampart Earthwise. The Day 33 margin note records “Charges 0.” The relationship between the statue of Lan and the Statue of Sierra remains significant because they are very similar in style.

Xinqus / Xinquiss was in Hartwall with a cart and a Pigeon Aarakocra, with “1600” recorded without explanation. The retrieved underwater shield crystal had been given to Xinquiss; the party agreed to drop off a piece of it, and Wrath the Black Dragonborn, recorded here as Wroth, later helped hide that crystal. User clarification confirms the Justicars wanted the crystal rather than Xinquiss personally. The party told Xinquiss that the quilt might be an “excellence” or working for one, but the meaning and target remain unresolved.

The auction contained many significant artifacts and historical references, including the chariot tied to an excellence defeated in the “battle of the unending seas,” “Valentinhide’s Betrayal,” Browning’s spell scroll, Firefang, the holy symbol of Noxia, the shield ring with runes of Lauren, and the talon of soot. The identities and agendas of the Ravens, jewellery men, emissary, Dally who walks in the room, the Hartwall partner, and Warwick’s Riptooth remain open. The meaning of the Amle for adult? remains unclear.

False Lady Thorpe’s odd mannerisms, failure to recognize the party, transformation into a llama when concentration failed, and the Noxia-like magical poison / religious curse suggest impersonation, shapeshifting, and identity suppression. The real Lady Thorpe was missing and was suspected to be in a dungeon between Hartwall and Highden. Day 33 ends after the party asks The Basilisk for prison help and arranges for the tortle wizard to return tomorrow. The next written marker is Day 34.