Difference between pages "Chieftain's Room" and "Loaded Down, Wealthy, July 20-21st"

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Continued from '''[[After the Ghouls]]'''
+
Continued from '''[[Retire to Above]]'''
  
'''The DM:''' There’s a lot here to see.  The three chests on the ground are all of high quality yellow pinewood, with brass fixtures, embossed with images of the crown of Denmark.  They each have a metal plate that reads: '''H. Ross'''.
+
'''The DM:''' I will need to know what your action points are on the cart.  I've created a chart for calculating cart encumbrance, if you haven't already seen it.  The weather on the morning of the 20th is beautiful: clear skies, no clouds at all, pleasant weather, a gentle breeze blowing.  Feels like the first day of Summer.
  
: Inside each chest is 4,000 g.p.
+
: What's more, seems very quiet this morning as you head out on your journey.
  
: There are three very fine looking shields on the wall and a collection of very nice looking weapons in the rack: three short bows, three spears, two maces and two short swords.  
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Quite.
  
: Above the dais (there are two plush yellow chairs you’ve found earlier that might conceivably have sat upon it), there is a 4 ft. wide shield, too large to use as a shield, with a profound and complex motif.  This depicts a glowing gate upon a high flat mountain, a star above the gate and a host emerging from the gate; the quality is of “brilliant work,” meaning even those without a sense of aesthetics can recognize the extraordinary nature of it.  It is made of materials that are a mixture of gold, quartz stones, chestnut wood and lacquer.  There is something very compelling about it that far surpasses an ordinary decorative shield.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Looking for my Stavanger sheet - AP shortly.
  
'''The DM:''' '''Lexent: ''' Looked at Hold Person on the Wiki, found someone had reposted the augury spell’s description.  Hold person only affects humanoids.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' We need to drop about 300 lbs. Max with the mule is 1 AP at 1350 lb, we have about 1635 lb.
  
: '''The DM:''' The furniture has been torn and damaged, and won’t be of much value for its weight.  The benches and tables will still function as those things, but the resale value will be minimal.  The plush chairs are ticky.
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Wow. I don't suppose that's an amount we can spread out amongst ourselves and our hirelings.
::'''[[Lexent]]:''' I figured that would be the case for most of it, but you had mentioned the one nice looking chair when we first started moving the furniture so I thought I would check.
 
::: Fumigating the chair, removing the ticks (exterminate, one by one) and it would make a nice chair for your house.
 
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I thank and congratulate the sappers for a battle well fought, and ask them to start working on moving the furniture and treasure to the surface.
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I can only take about another 20 lbs. before I reach my max. 9 more will drop me from 3AP to 2.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Once they have started this process I begin communing with my gods, to gain access to ''Aid'', ''Augury'', and ''Hold Person'' in that order.
+
'''The DM:''' You have the strengths of each hireling; presume they're already carrying 40 lbs. of personal gear, and that they'd be ready to push themselves to 2 AP ... 1 AP if you'll provide them a 2 s.p./day bonus.
  
'''The DM:''' they get to work.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' We can give them 282 lb all told and stay at 3 AP. That leaves a little over 3 lbs which any one of us can make up the difference in.
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Hmmm. Another reference to H(amish) Ross.
 
: '''The DM:''' Those chests clearly came from the Danish crown.
 
  
'''Marcule:''' "Strange place for these"
+
'''The DM:''' You can eat that for breakfast on the 20th.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Am I able to complete my meditation without incident?
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Then I believe we are off.
  
'''The DM:''' Yes. But moving the treasure to the surface will take more time than thatAbout 2 hours altogether.
+
'''The DM:''' Figure 4 lbs. a day for travelling, eat 1½ lb. each for breakfast, then at the end of the first day you finish off with 48 total lbs. gone from eaten food.  The journey is, I remember, 14 total hours at 3 AP.  So it would be 21 at 2 AP ... so you’ve made a little less than half your distance the first dayThat leaves 11 hours at 2 AP.  Unless you want to cache some of your food at the cairn.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In. Adding hireling XP up.
+
'''The DM:''' You have no encounters on the 20th.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Two questions regarding the potions: Was I able to tell before if they were the same type of potion? If not, has progressing in my study of medicine granted me the ability to recognise what the other potion is?
+
'''Pandred''': That's almost too bad. We'd have eaten more of our encumbrance. Hmm, but then we'd have loaded down the cart with trophies. Tricky business.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' What salvageable furniture can be gotten?
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' As we set up camp for the night, I cast ''Augury'' and ask the following:
 +
:'''[[Lexent]]:''' "Is Hamish Ross in Norway"
 +
:'''[[Lexent]]:''' "Is Hamish Ross in Denmark"
 +
:'''[[Lexent]]:''' "Is Hamish Ross in Scotland"
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' It all looks like not worth the trouble to transport.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I thought about caching but we'd have to leave too much to gain any AP. We'll be fine with the longer travel.
:'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Probably, but I want to be sure before we start burning.
 
::'''[[Lexent]]:''' Do you want to keep the 'ticky' plush chairs or some benches/tables?
 
  
'''The DM:''' Potions fit under the Alchemy study.  So, no, you wouldn’t know for sure they were the same, especially since you’ve only just thought of it and one of the potions is gone now.  Vafrandir, the tables and benches are serviceable.  The chests as well.  The highly crafted chests would be valuable, but you’d have to explain how you came into possession of them.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Tomorrow, can you ask if the gold can be recognized or tracked?
  
'''The DM:''' I’ll need to get ready for the dentist.  My ride is coming in 20 minutes.  Please figure out how to split the treasure.  Lexent, your spells are available.  You might want to try casting Detect magic in the chieftain’s room before abandoning things there.  It all looks very high quality.  Out.
+
'''The DM:''' The answers are Yes, null, null.  You don't get answers for the last two questions.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' That is indeed my plan.
+
'''The DM:''' From the document: “the scroll delivers a land grant to whom is apparently a Scotsman, Hamish Ross, of 8,000 acres upon the island of Askøy west of Bergen, for services rendered to Christian IV, the King of Denmark, against the Swedes in the Battle of Femern in 1644. The document was to be delivered to Ross so that he could take possession of his lands; the document is dated May the 10th, 1647.”  Which is odd, since all the coins clearly post-date 1648.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' What do we all think of keeping this gold that is clearly connected to the Danish Crown and Hamish Ross?
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I can certainly ask that tomorrow. I assume the most likely place for him to be is on the island of Askøy, but I figured I'd start narrowing it down.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' We can well arm our hires with these weapons. Figuring out how to divide it evenly might be tricky.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Thank you for the reminder. That's intriguing.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' On the one hand, we aren't in Denmark. On the other hand, the Crown's reach may be long. 12,000 gp could win a lot of hearts in Treborg though...
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' And, if I recall, the airship showed signs of being exposed to Norwegian rains and winters for three years.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I'd prefer to not divide it evenly, quite honestly. I think we might each be able to gain another level depending on how we do it and the value of the items.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' That implies that the gold is not from the airship. Which I didn't think we believed as a theory but can possibly rule it out anyway.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I have potential interest in a mace and perhaps a shield since these are better quality.
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Interesting. The pack in which the circlet and land grant were found was described as "bearing the emblem of the King of Denmark & Norway, Christian the 5th. Your king." Is this merely a typo?
 +
: '''The DM:''' Hm.  That shouldn't have been published; it was an error I thought I'd fixed before publishing. I'll clear it up.  Christian the 5th doesn't become king for a while.  Your present king is Frederick III. 
 +
::'''[[Lexent]]:''' Meaning that the emblem on that pack was of Frederick III, meaning that the land grant could date to the same time as the gold, just not the airship.
 +
::: '''The DM:''' That's correct.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I'm perfectly fine with that. We may need to get the items appraised first before distribution.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Also, cultic goblins may not have had much use for gold. Perhaps Ross may have a deeper connection to the Grond lair than we previously thought.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' A 1/8th share of the gold comes out to just under 300 GP. If we are comfortable spending it, we could allocate that much to each hireling.
+
'''Pandred''': Here I thought we were about to uncover a cool conspiracy with the wrong king. Denmark-Norway got soundly beaten in the wars preceding us. Sweden pretty much runs the Baltic from what I understand.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Still working on that assumption I propose we try to give each of us just enough treasure to reach the next level and then dump the rest on Marcule since he is the lowest level.
+
'''The DM:''' Odd.  My first draft made that Christian V error last night; and now I find I made the same mistake months ago.  I draw your attention to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frederick_III_of_Denmark#:~:text=Frederick%20III%20(Danish%3A%20Frederik%3B,until%20his%20death%20in%201670.&text=He%20instituted%20absolute%20monarchy%20in,the%20Throne%20Chair%20of%20Denmark this page on wikipedia]:
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Well, lets get the rough appraisal process started. With the weapons and shields (including the large decorative one) still in the Chieftain's room I cast ''Detect Magic'' and inspect each of the items and the room itself.
+
'''The DM:''' Don’t be too sure about that 3 year weathering; you’re not experts, it’s just a guess.
 +
: Pandred, since the death of Gustavus, Sweden has been on a very slight decline; and with the end of the 30 years war, it is getting embroiled in disputes over the territory it holds on mainland Europe.  It is distracted from menacing Denmark & Norway at present.  This would be common knowledge.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I assume the king who granted the land was Christian IV. The airship bearing the grant crashes shortly after (and no apparently attempt is made to recover it). Frederick III became king in 1648, mints special coins, and Hamish Ross takes possession of them. Then they find their way to Grond. The timing of the airship crash would help determine whether or not the coins were on the ship, which would be the most convenient explanation for their presence in the lair.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Except that the bag at the airship also bore the emblem of Frederick III.
 +
: '''The DM:''' Yes, I want to make sure its understood that's the case, my error nonwithstanding.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Ah, ok. So then the working theory is that the gold was on the airship and was recovered/taken to the lair.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Lexent]]:''' So, a couple of possibilities:
 +
* Our estimates on the length of time the ship was there were wrong.
 +
* The gold and bag were not on the airship when it crashed, but instead were brought there later.
 +
* They started making Frederick III coins and bags before he was king.
 +
* Time travel.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' bursts out laughing.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Can't rule it out though ;)
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Out. We'll get to the bottom of this!
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' Out.
 +
 
 +
== What to Do After Treborg? ==
 +
'''The DM:''' In.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In. 4 lb per person for traveling for the 20th, correct?
 +
: '''The DM:''' Yes.
  
 
'''[[Lexent]]:''' In.
 
'''[[Lexent]]:''' In.
  
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' In.
+
'''Marcule:''' in
  
== Treasure ==
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' About what time do we arrive in Treborg?
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Any further thoughts on whether to claim the gold for ourselves or try to return it?
 
  
'''The DM:''' In.
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I believe we are still at the cairn on the evening of the 20th.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Unless we can figure out a way to pick up the pace, I believe we are slated to have to risk malady checks to even make it by the end of tomorrow.
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' You're probably past the cairn.  You'll have 11 hours travel tomorrow.  Let's decide first if you want to push that travel and risk accidents.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' I have no objection to another day of travel. We are pretty loaded down. "Shortcuts make long delays."
 +
 
 +
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Fine by me. We split up the remaining travel into two days.
 +
 
 +
'''Marcule:''' I agree, if we rush that might leave us in real trouble.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Lexent]]:''' Is everyone else ready to sleep for the evening of the 20th?
 +
 
 +
'''The DM:''' The weather declines on the 21st declines and it lightly drizzles through the afternoon after an initial light shower.  You find the wheels are getting caught in ruts, because you can’t just bang over the gaps between the rocks during your steady descent.  However, by the end of the day, there have been no encounters and you’re about three hours outside of Treborg.  Continue into the 22nd?
 +
 
 +
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I'd like to cast ''Augury'' again first.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Lexent]]:''' I cast ''Augury'' and ask the following questions:
 +
:'''[[Lexent]]:''' "Can the Frederick III Gold with the extra crowns be recognised as special or tracked?
 +
:'''[[Lexent]]:''' "Is Hamish Ross on the island of Askøy?"
 +
:'''[[Lexent]]:''' "Is Hamish Ross in Rogaland?"
  
'''The DM:''' One bow and one spear exhudes magic, as do two of the shields. The decorative shield above the dais does not.
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' After the Augury we can continue on to the 22nd. Food marked for the 21st.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' And the room itself, specifically the diagram on the floor?
+
'''[[Vafrandir]]:''' Out for a bit for lunch.
  
'''The DM:''' None.
+
'''The DM:''' Answers: yes;  no; null answer.
  
'''[[Lexent]]:''' What type and power level do the weapons and shield exude?
+
== Arriving in Treborg on the 22nd ==
 +
'''The DM:''' The weather is dry with hardly a breeze, and a clear blue sky.  The weather is pleasant and comfortable.  You spend those last three hours making good progress over a decent cart track ... and you draw attention from a few cotters on your way into Treborg, who can’t help noticing the height of the cart’s goods, the evident wealth of some of the objects and the look of the party, which is – shall we say – rumpled.  One or two approach to ask where you’ve come from.
  
'''Marcule:''' I always have limited opinion of what to do with treasure im fine with what ever the group wants to do. the question is where would we want to return it to. i see great risk in us transporting money.
+
'''[[Lexent]]:''' "Up in the mountains a few days journey from here."

Revision as of 11:25, 11 June 2021

Continued from Retire to Above

The DM: I will need to know what your action points are on the cart. I've created a chart for calculating cart encumbrance, if you haven't already seen it. The weather on the morning of the 20th is beautiful: clear skies, no clouds at all, pleasant weather, a gentle breeze blowing. Feels like the first day of Summer.

What's more, seems very quiet this morning as you head out on your journey.

Lexent: Quite.

Vafrandir: Looking for my Stavanger sheet - AP shortly.

Vafrandir: We need to drop about 300 lbs. Max with the mule is 1 AP at 1350 lb, we have about 1635 lb.

Lexent: Wow. I don't suppose that's an amount we can spread out amongst ourselves and our hirelings.

Lexent: I can only take about another 20 lbs. before I reach my max. 9 more will drop me from 3AP to 2.

The DM: You have the strengths of each hireling; presume they're already carrying 40 lbs. of personal gear, and that they'd be ready to push themselves to 2 AP ... 1 AP if you'll provide them a 2 s.p./day bonus.

Vafrandir: We can give them 282 lb all told and stay at 3 AP. That leaves a little over 3 lbs which any one of us can make up the difference in.

The DM: You can eat that for breakfast on the 20th.

Lexent: Then I believe we are off.

The DM: Figure 4 lbs. a day for travelling, eat 1½ lb. each for breakfast, then at the end of the first day you finish off with 48 total lbs. gone from eaten food. The journey is, I remember, 14 total hours at 3 AP. So it would be 21 at 2 AP ... so you’ve made a little less than half your distance the first day. That leaves 11 hours at 2 AP. Unless you want to cache some of your food at the cairn.

The DM: You have no encounters on the 20th.

Pandred: That's almost too bad. We'd have eaten more of our encumbrance. Hmm, but then we'd have loaded down the cart with trophies. Tricky business.

Lexent: As we set up camp for the night, I cast Augury and ask the following:

Lexent: "Is Hamish Ross in Norway"
Lexent: "Is Hamish Ross in Denmark"
Lexent: "Is Hamish Ross in Scotland"

Vafrandir: I thought about caching but we'd have to leave too much to gain any AP. We'll be fine with the longer travel.

Vafrandir: Tomorrow, can you ask if the gold can be recognized or tracked?

The DM: The answers are Yes, null, null. You don't get answers for the last two questions.

The DM: From the document: “the scroll delivers a land grant to whom is apparently a Scotsman, Hamish Ross, of 8,000 acres upon the island of Askøy west of Bergen, for services rendered to Christian IV, the King of Denmark, against the Swedes in the Battle of Femern in 1644. The document was to be delivered to Ross so that he could take possession of his lands; the document is dated May the 10th, 1647.” Which is odd, since all the coins clearly post-date 1648.

Lexent: I can certainly ask that tomorrow. I assume the most likely place for him to be is on the island of Askøy, but I figured I'd start narrowing it down.

Vafrandir: Thank you for the reminder. That's intriguing.

Lexent: And, if I recall, the airship showed signs of being exposed to Norwegian rains and winters for three years.

Vafrandir: That implies that the gold is not from the airship. Which I didn't think we believed as a theory but can possibly rule it out anyway.

Lexent: Interesting. The pack in which the circlet and land grant were found was described as "bearing the emblem of the King of Denmark & Norway, Christian the 5th. Your king." Is this merely a typo?

The DM: Hm. That shouldn't have been published; it was an error I thought I'd fixed before publishing. I'll clear it up. Christian the 5th doesn't become king for a while. Your present king is Frederick III.
Lexent: Meaning that the emblem on that pack was of Frederick III, meaning that the land grant could date to the same time as the gold, just not the airship.
The DM: That's correct.

Vafrandir: Also, cultic goblins may not have had much use for gold. Perhaps Ross may have a deeper connection to the Grond lair than we previously thought.

Pandred: Here I thought we were about to uncover a cool conspiracy with the wrong king. Denmark-Norway got soundly beaten in the wars preceding us. Sweden pretty much runs the Baltic from what I understand.

The DM: Odd. My first draft made that Christian V error last night; and now I find I made the same mistake months ago. I draw your attention to this page on wikipedia:

The DM: Don’t be too sure about that 3 year weathering; you’re not experts, it’s just a guess.

Pandred, since the death of Gustavus, Sweden has been on a very slight decline; and with the end of the 30 years war, it is getting embroiled in disputes over the territory it holds on mainland Europe. It is distracted from menacing Denmark & Norway at present. This would be common knowledge.

Vafrandir: I assume the king who granted the land was Christian IV. The airship bearing the grant crashes shortly after (and no apparently attempt is made to recover it). Frederick III became king in 1648, mints special coins, and Hamish Ross takes possession of them. Then they find their way to Grond. The timing of the airship crash would help determine whether or not the coins were on the ship, which would be the most convenient explanation for their presence in the lair.

Lexent: Except that the bag at the airship also bore the emblem of Frederick III.

The DM: Yes, I want to make sure its understood that's the case, my error nonwithstanding.

Vafrandir: Ah, ok. So then the working theory is that the gold was on the airship and was recovered/taken to the lair.

Lexent: So, a couple of possibilities:

  • Our estimates on the length of time the ship was there were wrong.
  • The gold and bag were not on the airship when it crashed, but instead were brought there later.
  • They started making Frederick III coins and bags before he was king.
  • Time travel.

The DM: bursts out laughing.

Vafrandir: Can't rule it out though ;)

Vafrandir: Out. We'll get to the bottom of this!

The DM: Out.

What to Do After Treborg?

The DM: In.

Vafrandir: In. 4 lb per person for traveling for the 20th, correct?

The DM: Yes.

Lexent: In.

Marcule: in

Vafrandir: About what time do we arrive in Treborg?

Lexent: I believe we are still at the cairn on the evening of the 20th.

Lexent: Unless we can figure out a way to pick up the pace, I believe we are slated to have to risk malady checks to even make it by the end of tomorrow.

The DM: You're probably past the cairn. You'll have 11 hours travel tomorrow. Let's decide first if you want to push that travel and risk accidents.

Vafrandir: I have no objection to another day of travel. We are pretty loaded down. "Shortcuts make long delays."

Lexent: Fine by me. We split up the remaining travel into two days.

Marcule: I agree, if we rush that might leave us in real trouble.

Lexent: Is everyone else ready to sleep for the evening of the 20th?

The DM: The weather declines on the 21st declines and it lightly drizzles through the afternoon after an initial light shower. You find the wheels are getting caught in ruts, because you can’t just bang over the gaps between the rocks during your steady descent. However, by the end of the day, there have been no encounters and you’re about three hours outside of Treborg. Continue into the 22nd?

Lexent: I'd like to cast Augury again first.

Lexent: I cast Augury and ask the following questions:

Lexent: "Can the Frederick III Gold with the extra crowns be recognised as special or tracked?
Lexent: "Is Hamish Ross on the island of Askøy?"
Lexent: "Is Hamish Ross in Rogaland?"

Vafrandir: After the Augury we can continue on to the 22nd. Food marked for the 21st.

Vafrandir: Out for a bit for lunch.

The DM: Answers: yes; no; null answer.

Arriving in Treborg on the 22nd

The DM: The weather is dry with hardly a breeze, and a clear blue sky. The weather is pleasant and comfortable. You spend those last three hours making good progress over a decent cart track ... and you draw attention from a few cotters on your way into Treborg, who can’t help noticing the height of the cart’s goods, the evident wealth of some of the objects and the look of the party, which is – shall we say – rumpled. One or two approach to ask where you’ve come from.

Lexent: "Up in the mountains a few days journey from here."