Abrupt Parole - 26/09/2023 - Archie’s Extracts
Sept 27, 2023 16:38:30 GMT
Leonida and Tom M like this
Post by Andy D on Sept 27, 2023 16:38:30 GMT
Planned Shopping Excursion to Kundar
I had previously met Leonida when we were employed in Port Ffirst to tail a merchant who had evaded assassination. Our goal then was to learn more about the group trying to assassinate the merchant, and ultimately prevent further assassination attempts to citizens in Port Ffirst. A noble, and respectable adventuring task.
Leonida had invited me to come shopping. Leonida was accompanying her friend Belladonna on a shopping trip to Kundar. Belladonna showed interest in purchasing magical items, among other things, and Leonida recommended I join them for my expertise in all matters magical. Matches, Orianna’s kindred cousin, who I met recently also joined us.
I had first met Matches when we were helping Orianna on a personal matter, assisting Orianna in becoming Herald to Stellarum. Though this was not an adventuring matter, I feel having assisted Orianna that day also helped Stellarum in her duty of keeping chaos at bay. I feel it is not too self aggrandising to suggest that by assisting Orianna that day, like with the tailing adventure in Port Ffirst, I had demonstrated my respect for my fellow law-abiding citizens, and indeed also the world.
Travel Procedural Changes in Kundar
I was aware of some political upheaval in Kundar that coincided with the beginning of the Feywild’s Wild Hunt. I was, however, not aware of the new procedural changes to visiting Kundar from the Dawnlands.
As we stepped off of the Kundar teleportation circle, we were accosted by a dragonborn attendant flanked by dragonborn security. The attendant represented the Kundar Adventurers Guild (KAG). It is apparently now the custom to pre-plan excursions to Kundar from the Dawnlands with KAG, leaving with them a travel receipt for where you are staying whilst in town. Failure to comply will result in either your immediate departure or a fine of 500gp!
Belladonna gave up her parasol, a family heirloom, to pay the fine. We informed the KAG representative that our reason for coming to Kundar was not adventuring, it was leisure - shopping.
I feel that Daring Council did not sufficiently warn its citizens, travelling to Kundar, about the new travel
receipt procedure!
Shopping in Kundar
Matches has a fascination with explosive materials, one I presumed was born from previous employment, but also his own magical abilities. We found a local alchemist, and I advised Matches on the various differences in brew concoctions of alchemist's fire that were available. Belladonna made conversation with the shop owner. Matches decided against purchasing anything in the store.
Belladonna had also sought entrance to a well-maintained local building to see a romantic liaison. However, she discovered that an appointment would have to be made, which she made for the following day.
Learning About the Local Architecture
The next day, the rest of the shopping party went to see if we could acquire some of the local dress. I, however, thought to do some research on the building where Belladonna would be meeting her romantic liaison, as we would all be joining her, and I had learned that the building had arcane properties to it, which fascinated me.
I discovered there were indeed magical properties to the local building - two in fact. Only one of which was apparent to me during my research, the other I learned about when I explored the building.
The building was a place of business, but also residential, with exercise facilities on the uppermost floor. The residents' security was taken very seriously, as there were various magical security devices set-up inside the building.
Adopting the Local Attire
When I met up with the shopping party shortly afterwards, they had decided on the local attire we would adopt. Not wishing to spend any money, both me and Matches opted to use a magical spell to alter our appearance, so that we were dressed like, and looked like the locals. We were especially keen to fit in with the people employed in the local building where Belladonna’s romantic liaison resided, so we adopted a look that suited the employees of said building. While I was researching the building, the others had encountered two employees outside during a smoking break. I briefly saw them. I did not, however, see them return to their duties. I assumed then, that they were finished for the day.
Belladonna had bought a beautiful dress and accessories, and chose to wear those. Leonida wished to experience what it would be like if she were a scorpion. I informed her that it was within my means to allow her to indulge that wish, and so, as we entered the local building, I polymorphed Leonida into a scorpion.
The Building
Whilst conversing with the employees of the building, there were some cultural differences that we were not aware of that lead to some awkward moments. For example, an assumption was made that I had a wife and kids. The assumption may have been made because of my local dress? Matches, who was similarly dressed, smoothed things over for me.
We were met with procedural problems when using the central elevator to gain access to the level where Belladonna’s romantic liaison was located. More misunderstandings of local customs required us to journey back down to the ground floor, before meeting Belladonna’s friend. Leonida was very patient as a scorpion during all this time.
The journey back to the ground floor allowed us to explore a room of particular interest, which I had discovered in my research of the building.
Health and Safety
Matches had entered the room that housed the magical devices ahead of me. When I entered the room, I discovered that an employee had suffered a grievous accident. My party member and I both felt that the room needed to be made safe, because whatever had happened to the poor employee could happen to others, and at that moment other employees were rushing to the room.
Matches and I made the executive decision to employ our magical might to render the room safe by forcefully rendering the magical devices inoperative.
When the other employees had arrived, Matches had become injured as we finished our work. This was unfortunate, but also proof of how seriously he considers health and safety. For further safety concerns, when the other employees arrived, I used a magical spell to disperse us all far away from the room. Both Matches and I, I had dispersed up to the thirteenth floor where Belladonna’s romantic liaison resided. We met Belladonna there, and Leonida, who had had enough of experiencing the form of a scorpion.
While Matches and I left the large elevator to visit the unsafe room with magical devices, Belladonna and Leonida stayed in the elevator-riser. Two of the three stationed employees in the large elevator room, left with Matches and I, to make a report they had mentioned. One employee remained with Belladonna, and at that time Leonida - who was unseen as a scorpion . When Matches and I rejoined our other party members, I could not see the employee who remained in the elevator.
The Romantic Liaison
Leonida knocked on the liaison’s door for Belladonna, perhaps unnecessarily, and in a showy manner, using her astral arms. Our new kobold friend joined us.
There were originally plans to visit a location on the third floor, that was more conducive to intimate visits. Instead, we opted to get some fresh air by first using the elevator-riser to rise to the top floor where the exercise garden was located. Unfortunately, the central elevator malfunctioned, and we only gained four floors. Then on the seventeenth floor, we were unable to visit the exercise garden. At the same time, there had been another critical malfunction in the building, I presumed, because a building wide alarm was ringing.
When we left the riser, Belladonna provided a magical performance of astounding lights. The residents of the floor we landed on were delighted with the spectacle and our visit - this was quite endearing of them.
We decided to indulge ourselves with a little more magic - more from me in fact. However, Leonida was keen to demonstrate her athletic, and dare I say, inhuman bodily conditioning. Leaving through an emergency exit, Leonida fell from the seventeenth floor to the ground outside. She was, fortunately quite well, and even more fortunately, so was our new kobold friend who Leonida carried with her in her descent.
Belladonna, Matches and I descended gracefully with the Feather Fall spell, and enjoyed a bit of Magical Base Jumping, a thrilling (somewhat dangerous) joy I have picked up from my wizard colleague friend, Amble.
Before I casted the Feather Fall spell, however, Matches attempted to gain favour with another resident of the building, and attempted to persuade said individual to join us. The individual chose not to join us. Matches chose to drop the magical spell that gave him the appearance of a local, and made the same offer to the individual again. Still the individual chose not to join us.
The Liaison’s Generosity
Belladonna’s romantic liaison is a specialist merchant. The merchant joined us at our private accommodation, where Leonida had questions about his business’ supply management.
The merchant was so delighted with our visit, that he insisted on showing us a location where he kept a secret amount of sales goods, which he shared with us. I acquired a handy haversack that day.
We parted ways with the merchant soon after, and returned to our accommodation, worn out from being tourists.
The next day, we were in such a hurry to leave, we did not return to the teleportation circle in order to return back to Daring Heights. Instead, I performed the ritual components to the spell Teleportation Circle and we left from our accommodation. I understand, this was not the correct way to exit Kundar now, but as we were not made aware of the new KAG teleportation procedures, and had already given up Belladonna’s parasol heirloom to pay a fine, we felt in our right to avoid any other fine that could have been given to us upon leaving.
The shopping trip to Kundar was pleasant enough, but I doubt I shall return any time soon. I also feel I must crack on fiercely with my research now, no more shopping trips to Kundar. As such, I do not feel I shall have time for further association with my associates; Leonida, Belladonna or Matches. For unrelated reasons, I must also carefully consider any of my next adventures, and the people I associate with.
