Economic Realities 3/10 session recap

The party decided to use their darkvision goggles to pilot through the nights rather than stop at the expected ambush spot.  They took shifts while Djim slept.  There was only one problem : None of the characters were professional river pilots.  They had a couple of minor mishaps, and Boreas managed to crash the barge twice.

Accidents aside, the party managed to avoid the ambush and arrive at Ngabulu intact.  They unloaded the barges and said their farewells to Kiosi.  She disappeared into a covered sedan chair, and was whisked away by guards.  Djim paid the characters in platinum, as agreed, and they left before things got more awkward.

Ander tipped a dock guard 7 gold pieces for information about lodging and transportation.  He recommended a water taxi service, and suggested that they stay at the Brass Bollard, a mid-range inn.  The inn proved to have good accomodations, and Thoric was immediately drawn to a beardless dwarven bard who was playing an accordion with a group of dark elves.  She was likewise drawn to him, and between sets they talked and drank.

Her name was Faiella, and she was an outcast among her kind.  She loved the ocean, and travelled with a crew of dark elves all around the coastlines of the known world.  She appreciated the smooth-skinned look of the elves, and was attracted to Thoric for his relatively sparse beard.  They immediately fell into a romance for a few days.

Vrisana co-habitated with Boreas during the party's stay in town, though neither of them discussed their activities with the rest of the party.

Boreas, Thoric, and Ander went to visit a reagent vendor and tried to purchase a LOT of arcane materials from him.  He said that he didn't have enough on hand, but that he could get enough within a day's time.  He asked for the money up front, and promised delivery.  Boreas was offended and refused.  The shopkeeper explained that as a permanent shop, there was little chance of him cheating Boreas and then running for the hills.  If there was a problem with the delivery, the party knew where to find him.  Plus, he said that he wasn't comfortable keeping that quantity of valuable goods in his shop, as it made him more vulnerable to theft.  Boreas was unmoved.

Thoric plopped down a couple of thousand gold pieces and signed an order with the shopkeeper.  He was also given a receipt.  A day later, his goods were delivered to the inn.  Boreas went back to the shopkeeper satisfied that it wasn't a scam, but found that the price of reagents had jumped up 5%.  Pissed off, he went to other shops and found the same thing.  Apparently word had gotten around that there were buyers in town with thousands of gold to spend on reagents, and prices had spiked in response to new demand.

Fuming, Boreas and Ander returned to Djim.  It turned out that the cargo they had guarded down the river was crates full of arcane reagents, and that Djim still had a supply for sale.  He was willing to sell at regular prices, and an accommodation was reached.

Thoric bid farewell to his lover, who was shipping out that day, and she gave him a wrought-iron talisman with intricate knotwork, the better to find her again.  She promised to cast Sendings when she hit major ports with teleportation circles, that they might find time together in the future.

The party hired two water taxis and made their way south into the swamps to find the teleportation circle.  After memorizing its pattern, they cast the ritual and stepped through to Maazuni.