The Premature Demise of Happy Endings

Vrontag, 2nd prime post-Tumultuous 1056

Dryali and Fine Branch were sitting at a table with Tai and Kaikoa in the private tavern of Freelancers villa in Ripa Daneo, each catching up on what the others had been doing.  Kaikoa was enjoying a breakfast beer as Dryali swirled a glass of port meditatively, while Fine Branch reviewed the lack of progress tracking down who'd sent a demon to the big wedding.

Naranjos walked in with a swagger, getting everyone's attention.  How a 3'2" halfling in plate was able to swagger so effectively was mysterious.  "I need some volunteers to go to Waypoint Congress and–" here, he paused, and rubbed his hands "–the best Waypoint, a most excellent Waypoint to visit–

"It's fairly closely positioned, and it's been a while since we learned the Daystar lotion went there, and we should find out what's going on."

Kaikoa sat up attentively as Naranjos went back to describing Waypoint Congress, "...there are a lot of secluded grottoes, and bath houses, and 2 inns, and 3 brothels…"

Kaikoa:  do we have leads on where these might have been shipped?
Tai:  been a while
Naranjos:  …it has a standard waypoint station on it as well; they have docks, mostly Trading Peoples, but no-one is turned away.
Kaikoa:  per-diem for this mission is High
<Naranjos focussed on Kaikoa.>
Naranjos:  optimism
Tai:  what if they are using Daystar lotion in the massage place?
Naranjos:  it's 250 eagles each, if you want a per-diem, you have to convince Church of Storms.
Kaikoa:  so, we need to cover our own transport?
Naranjos:  no, I have the stuff for passage from Tempest Addis in my office.

The four Freelancers rose and followed Naranjos upstairs to his office, where he gave them the papers for passage on the Genovali, a wind elemental airship homed in Ripa Daneo captained by a half-elf named Tanquary, which was departing for Waypoint Congress the following day.

Fine Branch, tired of being caught by surprise when chasing the lotions down on a Waypoint, brought out some incense, and lit it, filling Naranjos' office.  As the others watched, she cast divination, asking The Cat: "How can we better prepare?"

Fine Branch's eyes flashed like the Cat Nebula, and she heard The Cat in kind of a singsong yeowl.

Beware the Star of Day
Elementals are in the fray

"Where is Tempest Addis?" she asked Naranjos.  "The Tempest is in Ripa Daneo right now," Naranjos told her, and the four Freelancers took their leave to visit the Tempest.

The Freelancers descended upon Tempest Addis, explaining that they were about to embark on the mission to investigate Waypoint Congress and expected to encounter "Daystar elementals" in the process, which attacked with the radiance of the Daystar itself.  They were interested in whether Church of Storms could provide any means of protection against this radiance.

The Tempest shook his head sadly.  "We have no defenses against such radiant damage," he explained, "but, will give you 400 eagles to acquire some, if such is to be had, from the Inky Agora."

The Freelancers immediately accepted this money and hied to the Inky Agora, to explore what the Grey Market had to offer.  However, Tai and Fine Branch were not that familiar with the market, and Fine Branch got distracted by a vendor selling finely crafted glass eyes; she bought one for 100 eagles.  Dryali was also distracted as he looked at various vendors, but appeared to be looking for a person more than items.  He did pick up a jar of hair gel, since he was running low.

Kaikoa, however, knew who to talk to, and impatiently herded everyone through the market to a small cavern off to the side.  Their noses wrinkled at how dank and acrid it was, but the cavern was occupied by two potion sellers, and they had the potions the Freelancers needed.  Kaikoa immediately started haggling, offering to buy the lot, and in the end the Freelancers bought 4 potion of radiant resistance for 85 eagles each.

On their way out of the Inky Agora, Fine Branch kept an eye out for scroll of fireball, but did not see one, even though she did see scrolls with other spells of similar complexity.

The next morning, as the Freelancers prepared to depart, Dryali brought out 2 stones, and applied an artificer infusion to them, transforming them to sending stones.  He passed one to Naranjos, who accepted it and put it in a pocket.  <Narrator voice:  where a halfling wearing plate armour has a "pocket" is left to the reader's imagination.>

After that, the Freelancers made their way to the docks and boarded the Genovali.  Fine Branch and Kaikoa brought their hippogryphs, and Tai brought his destrier pegasus, Spencer Thundersparks.  It turned out they were not the only passengers travelling to the waypoint, and indeed, carrying passengers to Waypoint Congress was the primary purpose of the voyage.

The Genovali departed into cloudy, blustery weather, heading westward over the Gata Nahaki portion of the Rim, as if running away from Pembroke circling in the east.  A Windscout patrol paced them from below until they crossed the boundary.  After, Commerce soon fell away from the airship, taking the clouds with it, and soon it became apparent that they were travelling inward.  The wind elemental ceased most of its labours, at that point, and the Genovali just fell forward.

As the day progressed, they saw they were overtaking Commerce, which loomed overhead, and lit the evening deck.  It was left behind the next day and replaced by Pembroke, which briefly eclipsed the Daystar, and then it too was behind them.

Thus they continued for the next 5 days, spiralling "down" into the inner reaches, crossing Olyokoma's orbit when the big thalassa was on the other side of the central storm.  Finally they arrived at Waypoint Congress, which was the closest Dryali and Fine Branch had been, since joining Freelancers, to their homes.

Okeanostag, 2nd prime post-Tumultuous 1056

The day was warm and pleasant for everyone but Tai, although it was a bit windy.  The wind was not enough to prevent Tai, Fine Branch, and Kaikoa from bringing out their mounts to get some exercise.  From the docks, they could see warehouses and the waypoint station to the left, which lacked housing, but had a sign on one building for Skyguard Waypoint Admin.  A little to the right and further back, nestled in the forest, were buildings and people.  The ground rose and there appeared to be canyons; some of the buildings abutted the cliffs, almost as if Djogeon halflings had built the entire thing.  The other passengers were heading towards these buildings; they had the telltale "spring" in their step from being used to heavier gravity.

As the cargo was getting unloaded, the Freelancers tried to pick out anyone with the telltale unnatural tans of Daystar cultists, but the people they saw all had tans typical of people who were comfortable and used to outdoor nudity from time to time.

Fine Branch mounted her hippogryph Nighthawk, and took off, casting locate object as she did so, on the Daystar lotion itself.  Circling the docks, she noticed nothing from the spell, so she flew over the resort area.

Ping ping ping ping the spell fired off, as she circled over the buildings and her vectors changed.  Maybe 2 each from the inns, 3 or 4 in the bath house, too many to count in the massage parlour, and only 1 form the high-end brothel.

Fine Branch sighed in disappointment.  She'd been wanting to enjoy a massage before getting down to the business that had brought the Freelancers to the waypoint.

Kaikoa flew around a bit on Mordant, then found the stables and saw to her stabling.  Then, after a quick check that he looked suitable for the occasion, he headed to The Pillow of Conquest, which was in a building on the right-hand side of town from the docks.  Upon entry, saw a voluptuous Pungarehu hanyou wearing a lot of jewelry, who was welcoming and directing guests.  Kaikoa waited politely, as one does.  He heard her name was Kayanza.

As she finished discussing matters with the other guests, and directing them to a well-appointed area where others were mingling, she turned to Kaikoa and did a double-take.  "Oh, I recognize you," she said, smiling, "Special deal for you, oh!'  Her voice had an almost thoughtless sultriness.

She rose and led Kaikoa into the same area personally, and the Wind sagani's eyes narrowed.  "What kind of deal?"  Kayanza replied in her sultry voice, "Anyone you want to choose, and a little discount."  She gestured, and he saw available a male human, a dverg woman, and a female Mikumwesauk.

All three of them looked and also did a double take.  "O wait, it's him," someone murmured.  Kaikoa sized up the room he was in; tasteful oil paintings, fancy wallpaper, overstuffed chairs, silk drapings.

He looked at the oil paintings again.  The first one was… Tahu.  idealized; short swords in his hands, no shirt, duster open to his waist, wind blowing through his blueish hair.  Next to it was a painting in a slightly different style, and he recognized Yan and Fiona, who had visited Ripa Daneo Freelancers less than 2 primes ago.  They too were idealized: Yan was sporting golden dragon wings, and had fire in her hands; Fiona looked burly, great sword in hands held ready for a duel.

The last painting had… Hikawera, bursting with well-defined corded muscle, cittern in hand; to the right was Dryali, goggles pushed up, a sardonic look on his elfin face, with a device balanced on a point in his hand; and to the left, Kaikoa himself, burly and muscular, also without a shirt, leaning on his longsword, chest hair painted in loving detail.

Kaikoa did his best not to look thunderstruck, and, thinking I did not know this was a thing, slid over to the Dverg woman.  "What's your name?" he asked her, and she smiled shyly as she told him, "Jeminy."

He leaned over and whispered, "I got something I think we'll both enjoy," and she grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the stairs.

Kaikoa:  no, no; out here
Jeminy:  I'm into a lot of things, but not exhibition
Kaikoa:  no no, a drinking contest!  For information!

At this, he pulled out his amulet of the drunkard and did his best to smile winningly at the Dverg.  She was dubious, but came to the small bar with him, and they sat together at one end.  "All right," she conceded, "but I'm not really a big drinker."  Kaikoa's smile became more genuine at that.  <Narrator voice:  because Vasily rolled a nat 1 on insight.>

Jeminy called for drinks, which Kaikoa paid for, and they tried them.

Jeminy:  you want information?
Kaikoa:  I'm interested in a particular set of tan people who have proclivity for sharing their nether parts to the Daystar.
Jeminy:  there is a lot of casual nudity, especially in the more raunchy part of the grottos.  This is not my thing.
Kaikoa:  …or, any new suppliers of massage lotion.
Jeminy:  if you are looking for a massage, you want "Happy Endings" – we don't do that here.
<Jeminy put her hand on Kaikoa's chest coquettishly, and felt his pecs.>
Jeminy:  have heard of people spending too much time in the grottos, getting parts burned.
Kaikoa:  Okay, thanks.  <Handed Jeminy 10 eagles.>  Bye!
Jeminy <somewhat disappointed>:  come back ANY time

Kaikoa took his leave, to join up with the others.

Dryali wanted to get rooms, and asked about the inns.  Tai, hearing him, decided to come along and check them out.  They learned that there were 2 inns:  The Grotto, run by a half-elf man, built back into one of the canyons, and the Stray Lamb, run by a Pastoral gnome woman, more in the forest above the canyons.  Dryali of course opted for The Grotto.

<Narrator voice:  the "of course" should be explained here.  Dryali is a Dark elf from Nadezhda, which is warm and humid and covered by jungle full of hostiles; it's also subject to debris strikes.  The Dark elves there live in the skylith, where the temperature is more even and the environ is safer, so "of course" Dryali chose his comfort zone.  Possibly that was the easiest RP decision Shari's ever made in Skyway.>

Tai stabled Spencer Thundersparks and they headed there, to talk to the innkeeper, Culive, who was half-dark-elf and maybe a half-foot taller than Dryali.

Culive:  how many rooms?
Dryali <hesitated>:  four
Culive:  1 eagle per night per room.
Dryali:  no problem.

Dryali handed Culive 12 eagles and Culive handed Dryali 4 keys.  As Dryali and Tai headed to the rooms with their bags etc, Dryali handed Tai the keys, and used his All-purpose Tool to learn the message cantrip, and sent messages to Fine Branch and Kaikoa about rooms.

As they dropped off their bags, Dryali also fired up detect magic, but got nothing beyond the normal safety abjurations one would expect in a tourist-resort-inn.  He kept it up as Tai and he headed back to the tavern, and some people lit up with the characteristic magical signature of Daystar lotion.

The two Freelancers looked around, but didn't notice anyone especially tan.  So they obtained food and beverages, and found a seat near the couple with the Daystar lotion magic, listening as they ate.  As they did, Fine Branch sent a message to find out where they were.

The couple (a quinametzin woman and a male Maker gnome from Grafton) were talking about the "great massage" they'd had at the Happy Endings massage parlour.  One of them mentioned wanting to go back, and how he wants to hear about what the masseuse was talking about.  He wouldn't mind experiencing a little al fresco nudity, laying in the light of the Daystar.

Dryali had the misfortune to be drinking at the time of this declaration, and sprayed it out in an unfortunate manner, drawing their attention.

Tai:  sorry, could help but overhear, that sounds really interesting, which masseuse?
Maker gnome:  human man, Rocklit dwarf woman.  A couples massage.
Quinametzin:  the human was Pullari, the dwarf, Kuri.
Tai:  might look into it, sounds like a relaxing experience.
Quinametzin:  was really relaxing <wink>
Maker gnome:  got all the knots out of my back <wink>  

At this point Fine Branch, with food, joined the table, and Tai recapped the conversation.  The 5 people chatted a bit more, then the Grafton couple took their leave in search of other entertainment.  Dryali had started on another drink by the time Kaikoa had arrived.

The Freelancers sat at the table, drinking and eating, and exchanging information while making it sounds like they were sharing news about the delights of the area.  Thus they all learned there was lotion everywhere, and were excited about Happy Endings, especially with Pullari and Kuri, and about various places & grottoes to visit.

They finished and meandered outside.

Tai:  we do not know about bottles
Fine Branch:  if they run out, they need more ‒we should perhaps cat-burgle.
Dryali:  we don't know where the bottles are
Fine Branch:  true

So Fine Branch fetched Nighthawk back out of the stables, while the other three wandered around, locating the massage parlour and other businesses of interest.  She cast locate object on the lotion bottles, but only located one, at Happy Endings.

She returned to the others thinking furiously.  They all went to their rooms, and Kaikoa and Fine Branch got settled, then the Freelancers gathered in the cleric's room.  She pulled out the glass eye she'd bought at Inky Agora, and prepared to cast clairvoyance (which was why she'd bought it).

Fine Branch:  wait, no, needs in-person visit.
Dryali:  in-person visit could expose the place of their other meetups
<They'd learned from the couple from Grafton it was mostly appointments.>
Fine Branch:  someone has to go with me; couples massage.
Dryali:  🥴
Kaikoa:  I'll go

Dryali and Tai looked at each other as Fine Branch and Kaikoa took off.  Perhaps Dryali showed Tai something about jewelcrafting.

Happy Endings wasn't terribly far from The Grotto, so Fine Branch and Kaikoa were soon there and entering the front office, setting off a tasteful bell behind the door.  They found themselves facing a human woman seated behind a simple desk, and had time to note she had no tan lines.

Woman:  you know, well, what can we do for you here, at the Happy Endings?  We can offer a standard massage, a couples massage, deep tissue massage, or hot stones.  <smiled>  All of these come with the Happy Endings add-on, if you'd like.
<Kaikoa put an arm around Fine Branch and visibly squeezed her.>
Kaikoa:  we've heard great things about the couples massage <to Fine Branch> who did we hear about, again?
Fine Branch <brightly>:  Pullari and Kuri
<The woman flipped through a book.  Fine Branch glanced at it to see the schedule was full, with appointments on the hour.>
Woman:  I'm not sure we can fit you in, tomorrow.
<Kaikoa slid 2 eagles across the desk.>
Woman <tone unchanged>:  I think we can fit you in, tomorrow.
<The woman started writing in the book filling in a lunch break.>
Woman: an hour after the noon meal.  All the bells and whistles.  <looked up from book>  We have a special room; the corner, and frosted glass so you get light.
Kaikoa:  wonderful!
Woman:  name?
<Fine Branch slid more eagles across the desk.>
Fine Branch:  not names, we're married, but not to each other
Woman:  okay, just need fake names.  How about… Petersen, and, um… Megan.
<Kaikoa and Fine Branch froze for a split second.>
Fine Branch:  that's fine
Woman:  I need 25-eagle deposit for the first half-hour.
<Kaikoa paid her, then put his arm back around Fine Branch.>
Woman:  my name is Marina di Chioggia.  I run this, with my husband Massimo.
Fine Branch:  nice to meet you; I'm Megan.
Marina:  you know, I always think of Megans as blonde, but you have lovely colouring.

Fine Branch smiled and preened, then head-butted Kaikoa, partially to demonstrate affection, and partially to make him loosen his suddenly iron grip.  They headed out and returned to The Grotto.

At The Grotto, Kaikoa and Fine Branch joined Dryali and Tai, who had wandered back down to the tavern and were nursing beverages and keeping an eye out.  Kaikoa got some rum as he joined them, then described to Dryali the oil paintings at The Pillow of Conquest.  Dryali determined he would see this for himself, before he left the waypoint.

As the top of the hour approached, the Freelancers withdrew to Fine Branch's room so the cleric could cast clairvoyance.  Fine Branch explained she would lay on the bed as she did so, and would be absorbed in either seeing silently, or hearing blindly, what was happening at the other end.  That seemed weird to the others, but when she asked if someone could take notes, Dryali pulled out some paper, and then the nekomata cast the spell.

The glass eye shifted, and appeared to be taken over by a small image of the Cat Nebula.

Here are the notes Dryali took.

F.B. watches dwarf man & human wom.

• escort 2 ½-elfs onto 2 massage tables
• close to hold hands
• not sheets
• obvious patter
• lights incense, fountain for water sounds

Switch: audio

• switch to audio only
• fountain, bottles uncorked

Switch: sight

• discussion (lotion or oil)
• lotion → Daystar lotion → consistent w/locate object
• appears they are convincing people abt lotion vs oil for different parts
• nice massage spine out.

Switch: audio

• Masseurs treading fine line between having comforting conversation + couples thing
• 'oil infused with almonds on back'
• 'lotion to protect & rejuve on arms & legs exposed'
• more patter
• this best use w/Daystar exposure

Switch to video

• elbows hands knees butt – deliberate
• but also getting everywhere

(Here Fine Branch asked, "Hey Dryali, do this match the detect magic?"  Dryali affirmed, "Yes.")

Switch to audio

• push people to return, and also sunbathing … they are susceptible to persuasion b/c lotion

Here the spell ended.  The glass eye went back to being a glass eye, and Fine Branch sat up, blinking her eyes in the light of the room.

Kaikoa:  so, ah, do we hijack them when they are off work?  Wait for tomorrow…?
Fine Branch:  we need to shut them down, but we have an opportunity
Kaikoa:  so, stick with our plan here and trash the bottles?
Dryali:  we still don't know where they are meeting
Fine Branch:  but, we are taking their spot to go there
Dryali:  they will tell you?

The Freelancers fell to plotting, discussing how Fine Branch and Kaikoa will "break up" because Kaikoa was drinking with a dverg woman, and/or Fine Branch using disguise self and asking for a very special couples massage.

Since there was nothing for it until the next day, they gave up speculating on what-ifs and went to sleep until late in the morning, given how Waypoint Congress only had a 20-hour revolution.

After breakfast, the four Freelancers headed towards the Happy Endings massage parlour, and Tai mentioned Kaikoa at The Pillow of Conquest with the dverg, and Dryali exclaimed that was right, he mentioned it "and I wanted to see the painting."  Fine Branch stopped, and a fight ensued, in which she slapped Kaikoa and walked away, leaving the others staring at each other awkwardly.  They shrugged and headed off in another direction.

Fine Branch went to the Happy Endings.  Marina looked up as the bell rang.  "Oh Megan!  Where's Petersen?"  Fine Branch, almost shaking with upset, exclaimed, "He was seeing other women while we were here!"

By this time the two masseurs had come to meet Fine Branch and Kaikoa.  Marina sighed, then said "well, you can still see them, and get extra attention!"  The human man said, "Oh sweetie, we'll make it better," and the dwarf took Fine Branch's hand and led her upstairs.

The episode was much the same, using more oil than lotion because nekomata.  They still applied the lotion on hands and feet, telling Fine Branch, "You need that soothed."

It really did feel good, a great massage, and the extra attention made Fine Branch happy indeed.  She was so relaxed afterwards, she had trouble standing up straight off the massage table, and had to grab for balance.  In the process, she smashed the bottle of Daystar lotion to the floor.

The masseurs looked at her, their expressions not dissimilar to Damakaios' face when Fine Branch tries to move his inkwell to the edge of his mahogany desk.

Fine Branch:  I'm soo sorry, I'm still so pissed.  How can I replace it?  I know you have more appointments.
Pullari:  it's fine, we have stores, it was almost empty, we'll go upstairs and get more out.
<Kuri cleaned up the glass and lotion.>
Kuri:  it's okay
Fine Branch:  thank you so much

Fine Branch left after paying 30 eagles, then went looking for the others.

Once Fine Branch caught up with the other Freelancers, Tai looked at Fine Branch, then asked, "Dispel magic?"  Dryali cast dispel magic to clear the effects of the lotion, and it worked.

They were all near the building, but somewhat out of sight.  Nobody left the building, and the Freelancers remembered it had usable roof space.  The weather was nice – that kind of muggy overcast, yet with the Daystar shining, that could happen in the inner reaches – so they headed to the stables to get their flying mounts and have a gander from above.  Dryali rode behind Tai on Spencer Thundersparks.

Now they knew what they were looking at, the view from above was far more interesting.  The Pillow of Conquest was having a fancy luncheon on their roof.  The bathhouse, Twin Bells, had various people on the roof in tiled pools.  And 5 people were emerging onto the roof of Happy Endings, which was set up with tables for massages in the light of the Daystar.  All of these buildings had views to their roofs blocked by trees, so those on other buildings or the nearby canyon cliffs could not really see.

The mounted Freelancers, though, saw Pullari, Kuri, Marina, Massimo, and a quinametzin, using another bottle of Daystar lotion, lotioning themselves up and then exposing themselves to the sky!

Fine Branch immediately cast locate object on lead, and the spell pinged on the 3rd floor of Happy Endings.  To be sure, she circled around the various establishments in the town, and got a couple other pings at The Pillow of Conquest.

Kaikoa <grimly>:  grab them?
Dryali:  or, take the leaded container?
Fine Branch:  they aren't spooked; come back tonight.

Nobody was a rogue.  But, Fine Branch could stealth; she would go back in the middle of the night.

An hour after Daystar nadir found the Freelancers sneaking back to Happy Endings.  Fine Branch had cast pass without trace, and Dryali had cast invisibility on Fine Branch, and they all arrived undetected and unremarked at the side door to the business, which was not decorated with a soothing bell.

Dryali picked the locks, and Fine Branch went up to check the special couples massage room.  She was surprised to find no lotion bottles there, so she crept up the hall to check the other rooms.  They were standard, nice massage rooms, and also had no lotion bottles.  She also located the storage room, and found none there, either.

Sighing mentally, the nekomata crept up to the 3rd floor, which was the living quarters.  She paused at the top of the stairs and took stock.  A small communal space was in front of her; to the side she heard the sounds of 4 or 5 sleepers, and saw doors on a hallway.  To the other side were two people sleeping; the lead was in this direction.  She crept there to find a sleeping room, kitchen, and an office.

The office is where the lead was, in the form of a big, heavy, locked chest, 3'x3'x5'.  She moved it slightly; there would be no carrying this out of here.  So Fine Branch picked up the chest, and cast dimension door to Dryali's room in The Grotto.  Then she cast sending at Dryali.

Chest is in your room.

Dryali didn't bother answering her.  He just motioned to the others and they returned to his room, to stare at this lead-lined behemoth.

Dryali pulled out his thieves' tools, and checked for traps.  Then he tried to pick the lock, but failed.  Glancing at the others, he pulled out his All-purpose Tool, morphing it into smith's tools, but that was the wrong strategy, and he simply deformed the lock.  He sat back on his heels, contemplating his next step in approaching the problem.

The other Freelancers looked at each other, misinterpreting Dryali's body language.  Fine Branch cast silence, then Kaikoa produced his magical lance, and tried to take off the hinges, which failed as the lance just scraped off.  Dryali jumped up, irritated, and shouted "Hey!" except it was swallowed by the silence.  With Dryali jumped away, Tai brought down his magical greataxe and smashed off the hinges.

The lid started rattling; or at least, that's what it looked like in the perfectly quiet room.

Dryali hadn't forgotten the divination spell Fine Branch had cast when they took the mission from Naranjos.  He created a protector eldritch cannon, causing it to appear behind him, bolstering the Freelancers.  Then he stepped back next to it, away from the chest.

• Brilliantly intense, a human-sized Daystar elemental burst out of the chest, then burst in radiance in all directions.  All the Freelancers were burned; Dryali most of all, and he was blinded as well.
• Tai quaffed his potion of radiant resistance, but not before he was burned again from standing next to the thing.
  • Tai slashed the elemental twice with his magical greataxe, a trail of radiance following along the swings.
• Kaikoa quaffed his own potion of radiant resistance, then struck it twice with his magical lance.  The elemental started to look tattered and a bit dim, and Kaikoa's mouth moved, probably a mixture of taunts and expletives, but the silence swallowed it.
• Fine Branch started to cast something, thought better of it, quaffed a potion of radiant resistance, then cast toll the dead.  Despite the silence, everyone heard the bells, and some of the elemental's light turned sickly, as necrosis affected it.

Dryali, unable to see, decided nobody else should be able to see either, and that he wanted to soothe his stinging eyes; so he cast darkness centered on the Daystar elemental.  Then he had the protector cannon pulse again, bolstering the Freelancers.

• The Daystar elemental burst in radiance again, which dispelled the darkness, but otherwise affected nothing else.
• Tai raged, and a flumph appeared on the other side of the Daystar elemental.  The Daystar elemental burned him, but the potion reduced the damage.
  • Tai slashed the elemental twice with his magical greataxe, a trail of radiance & shadow following along the swings.  The elemental was looking very tattered, more shadow than light.
  • The flumph exploded, but the elemental avoided any harm from it.
• Kaikoa thrust his magical lance into it, and the elemental dissolved into streamers of light.

After another wink of the Cat's eye, Fine Branch dropped the silence.

"Well, that sucks," Kaikoa declared, "I hate these things."

Fine Branch had a jar of restorative ointment, and applied some of it to Tai.  Everyone else was very still.  Kaikoa, restless, suggested, "So let's check out this chest!"

He and Dryali looked, the latter having blinked away most of the blindness into fading spots.  Of course it had a trap to avoid the elemental.  Besides that, the chest had many Daystar lotion bottles, and 4 copper horseshoes.  Dryali popped detect magic; there was conjuration on the horseshoes.  Intriguing.

Dryali <to Fine Branch>:  do you still have pass without trace?
Fine Branch:  yes.
Dryali:  let's put this back.
Kaikoa:  brilliant!

The Freelancers stashed the lotion and the horseshoes in a bag of holding.  Then the chest was repaired via multiple applications of the mending cantrip, after which Fine Branch used dimension door to put the chest back where she'd gotten it.  Then she stealthed back, while Dryali meanwhile made sure the door was locked behind her.

* * session break * *

Once everyone was back to their rooms, the Freelancers decided they would get a sounder sleep by setting a watch outside the entrance to the particular grotto where their rooms were.  Kaikoa took first watch, but he was too wound up to notice anything beyond the nice night.  Dryali took second watch, and saw people going to and fro to assignations; some trying to be discreet, others less so, all were happy and excited.  Tai took third watch, which was already in the light of day, and saw pretty much the same thing.

Once the Freelancers were all rested, Dryali took the time to ritual cast identify on the copper horseshoes, and learned they were horseshoes of the storm., enabling a rider of the mount thus shod to call lightning.

Fine Branch wanted to stake out Happy Endings, and possibly cast clairvoyance again.  Dryali just wanted to watch.  Fortunately the Freelancers had observed a good picnic spot during the prior days' flying around, so they acquired a picnic basket, got their mounts, and flew up there.

After eating a couple bites, Fine Branch cast clairvoyance on the room with the chest.  She kept up a running commentary as she watched or listened, entertaining the breakfasting Freelancers.

Visual:  see Massimo, Marina, come out of bedroom.  Kuri – comes in, say morning, goes to chest.
Audio:  "good morning" small talk.  Click of padlock carefully opened.  "Careful" a couple steps, don't know what, but disarming trap.  Swearing and Daystar curses.  "All of our lotion is missing!"  steps.  "What" – that's Massimo.  "Is the next batch ready" – "go get Lebane and Pullari" and "this is malice!" "we should all go!
Visual:  wild angry gesticulations
Audio:  Marina: "we're going to have to go quickly.  There's only so much time before the first massage."
Visual:  I'm trying to figure out if they are aware of the Daystar ele being gone, or there in the first place
Audio:  "how did this happen" "there's no sign of a struggle" "we didn't wake up"

The glass eye cleared.

Fine Branch said, "They are expecting malice.  They are going to a place.  They will be prepared."  She paused to eat something, then continued, "We should wait for them to get the stuff, then once gone, clean that up.  Tonight, retrieve the lotion."

Dryali pointed out, "They'll be on watch."  Fine Branch shook her head, tail lashing slightly.  "We don't care; we don't have to return the chest this time."

Everyone agreed with this plan, and they kept watching the building and keeping the mounts calm.  Two of the cultists from Happy Endings walked over to the bath house, close enough for the Freelancers to hear.  They knocked on a back door, and told whoever opened it, "Hey, can Lebane have his break?  We need him to lift heavy things."  A minute later, the quinametzin the Freelancers had seen the prior day emerged and walked back with them to the massage parlour, clearly curious.

The Freelancers packed up their picnic, and a minute later the 5 Daystar worshippers left Happy Ending, heading up one of the trails into the canyons.  The Freelancers flew far above, with both Dryali and Fine Branch wearing eyes of the eagle.

The Freelancers were staying mostly out of sight, but the group they were following were also trying to stay out of sight, mostly thinking of malicious persons following them on the ground.  They made their way up the picturesque canyons, and soon were in an area less dense with people.

After about 20 minutes, the cultists went into a cave in the canyon wall.  It was nothing remarkable; in this place there were many caves, and also pillars of rock with plant life on the narrow top.  Kaikoa scouted, looking for alternative exits to wherever they'd gone.  He saw a few other cave entrances.  Some were too shallow to conceal or protect; he saw a couple which were perhaps deep enough to connect with this one of interest.

Kaikoa flew back to the other Freelancers, who had landed on the top of the canyon wall across from this cave entrance, and relayed his findings.

Kaikoa:  so what are we going to do about these assholes?
Dryali:  I thought we're waiting for them to leave, and then clearing this out.
Kaikoa:  yea, or, we could go beat em up.
Tai:  we want information, no?
Kaikoa <reconsidered>:  much as I like frontal assault, maybe not here.

Scuffs and clangs could be heard, and glass klinking.  Some muttering leaked out, but it was muffled.  The quinametzin emerged, carrying a crate.

Fine Branch frowned, intrigued by the noise.  She tried clairvoyance again, and got her point of view at the dogleg of the cave visible from the entrance.  She saw some lantern light, herbalism, a table with an alembic.  She came out of the spell just in time to see the quinametzin go back inside.

She cast clairvoyance again, this time in a better location.  She saw another opening in the back, possibly an alternate exit.  There were 2 alchemy tables, and 3 people preparing a crate:  Kuri, Pullari, and Lebane.  Massimo and Marina were streaming glowing, radiant energy into one of the alembics on an alchemy table.

Fine Branch dropped the spell in surprise.

Fine Branch:  they're making more.  <described what she saw.>
Dryali:  this changes things,  we want to capture these two.
Tai:  yeah
Kaikoa:  capture them, or take the table?
Dryali:  don't we know that means these are Daystar warlocks?
Kaikoa:  both Marina and Massimo?
Fine Branch:  yes
Kaikoa:  grab one, and cave them in.
<everyone else laughed.>
Kaikoa <seriously>:  I don't know about the rest of you, but I don't want to deal with more than one.
Dryali:  I have sacks.
Kaikoa:  of what?
<Tai mimed putting a sack over one's head, and everyone laughed.>
Dryali:  actually, this is Congress; let's get ball gags.
<The Freelancers watched the cave entrance, considering.>
Fine Branch:  smoke in front of cave
Kaikoa:  noise in back of cave
Dryali:  need to split them.

A discussion ensued, about whether to allow them to get back to the massage parlour or not.  The Freelancers took stock:  Dryali still had invisibility, Fine Branch had an Eversmoking Bottle, and Tai had dust of disappearance.  They discussed an elaborate plan involving use of all three of these.

Dryali:  what will that do?
Fine Branch:  make them come out
Kaikoa:  could just yell at the door and they would
Fine Branch:  let's do that.  <paused>  I have thaumaturgy
Kaikoa <shrugged>:  that will work

The Freelancers took stock again:  they had 2x50' hempen rope, 2x50' silk rope, 1 pair manacles, no nets.  Then they got into position:  Kaikoa on Mordant on the canyon cliff edge 20' above the entrance, Fine Branch on Nighthawk 20' to the side of Mordant, Tai on Spencer Thundersparks 40' to the other side of Mordant, with Dryali riding pillion.  Dryali made a force ballista eldritch cannon.

Finally, Fine Branch cast thaumaturgy.

WHY MUST YOU WASTE THE DAYSTAR'S POWER

The clinking of bottles stopped.

Fine Branch heard a couple people coming out, their steps quick but cautious.  Pullari stuck his head out and looked around, and Fine Branch cast a twice-uplevel'd spiritual weapon in the form of a ghostly Bright Thunder.  It struck him down.

Fine Branch followed up by emplacing her doppelgänger to the side of the cave mouth.

Tai:  Dryali, I take it you want to stay up in the air.
Dryali:  we want to draw them out
Tai:  I'll eventually want to be down
Dryali:  will be harder now, but more interesting if they come and see Fine Branch.  Don't be too far away.
Tai:  true.

Tai readied his longbow, as 2 beams of sparkly daylight lanced out from the cave, spearing Fine Branch's doppelgänger, …exposing it as a doppelgänger.

Fine Branch <mockingly insincere>:  oh, that hurt!
Marina <reproachfully, as an elder scolding a youth>:  oh, Megan!  It isn't very nice of you.  We even set you up with a massage!  I should not have given you such nice names.  I like Megan, and I used to like Petersen, but something bad happened to him and I think that might have been you!
Fine Branch <vehemently>:  Petersen cheated on me and I think that might have been your fault!

Kaikoa was trying to stifle his laugh, with middling success, and held a military dart at the ready, waiting for an enemy to show their face.  From the muttering in the cave, which sounded like someone psyching themselves up, that would not be a long wait.

Kuri and Labane emerged from the cave and immediately split to either side, spun around, and looked up, ignoring the doppelgänger, and several things happened at once.

• Lebane, on the side towards Tai, threw a military dart up at Kaikoa, which went wide.
• Tai stuck an arrow in Lebane with his longbow.
• Kuri, on the side towards Fine Branch, had a sling, bright yellow like the Daystar.  She sent a sling bullet past the nekomata's ear, which crackled with electricity as it went past.
• Kaikoa threw a military dart at Kuri and critfailed, becoming preoccupied with regaining his balance on Mordant.

Dryali looked at them, and at the unconscious Pullari, and hesitated.

Dryali <to Tai>:  do we care?
Tai:  we want the warlock

The force ballista shot Kuri with force, knocking her out and pushing her 5' towards Fine Branch.  Dryali followed up with a firebolt, killing Lebane.  Dryali made a grim face, but said nothing else.

Fine Branch glanced at Dryali, then moved her doppelgänger to Kuri, and moved Nighthawk over the doppelgänger.  She dismounted, dropping "into" the doppelgänger then tried to stabilize the unconscious dwarf, but unfortunately for her, made matters worse.  <Narrator voice:  Matt rolled a nat 1 on the medicine check.>  The cleric of The Cat looked into the cave and sort of saw Marina and Massimo peering around the dogleg, so she rolled forward to be to the side of the entrance, undercover, and had the doppelgänger roll the other way, in some sort of performative symmetry.

Nighthawk, meanwhile, returned to where he'd been at the canyon cliff edge above.

Tai:  Dryali, you wanna stay in the air?
Dryali:  stay on Spencer.

Spencer dropped down next to the doppelgänger and Tai dismounted, then flew with Dryali to mirror Nighthawk's position at the canyon cliff edge.  Readying his longbow, Tai pressed himself against the side of the canyon.

Massimo and Marina ran out of the cave entrance, and Fine Branch produced a daggar and struck Marina as she passed.  Tai's arrow whizzed past Massimo as the two Daystar warlocks stopped and turned around, assessing their adversaries for the first time.  Dryali exclaimed, "You hit Marina!  I thought she was your friend, Megan!"  Fine Branch's ears flattened.

Massimo flipped his hand, and a small bead of sunlight <Narrator voice:  uh…> shot out towards the canyon cliff above the cave entrance.  As it travelled, it blossomed into a giant ball of radiance, 40' across, barely missing Spencer Thundersparks and Nighthawk.  Fine Branch and Tai were burned, and Kaikoa was burned worse; Mordant succumbed to the radiance, forcing Kaikoa to dismount in dismay.

Marina cast shatter on the cave entrance, catching Fine Branch in the blast, but not Kaikoa, who poured a healing potion down Mordant's throat and then used a rope to rappel down the canyon cliff.

The force ballista struck Marina, pushing her 5' back as Dryali shook his head, admonishing "Marina, Marina," then his countenance changed and he cried "Darkness between them!"  The darkness swallowed the two Daystar warlocks, then Dryali had Spencer fly to the other side of them.

Fine Branch brought out two potion flasks; she chugged the healing potion and chucked the alchemist's fire at where-she-remembered Marina was.  She was rewarded with Marina's swears "Ow!  Fuck!  Daystar take you!" coming from the darkness.  The nekomata then called Nighthawk back down, and she mounted and put some distance between herself and Kaikoa, so they would not all be caught in that ball of radiance again.

Tai, injured and frustrated, flew into a rage, and strode into the darkness, magical battleaxe swinging recklessly.  The axe connected with Massimo, who was nearest, slashing him twice.  The darkness fluttered and flared, and the two warlocks blipped out, blipped back in 30' down the road back to the town, and ran another 30'.

Kaikoa drank a shot of rum, his amulet of the drunkard converting the liquor to healing, and dashed after Massimo.  He was also raging, albeit with different consequences than Tai.  He made use of the adrenaline surge to draw his magical scimitar, decorated with defaced Daystar etchings, and do his best to cut off Massimo's head.  The Daystar warlock was slashed twice, and the angry Wind sagani emplaced his unwavering mark on him.

Kaikoa:  you hurt my hippogryph, you rat bastard!!
Massimo:  what did you do to this scimitar?!

Dryali flew Spencer Thundersparks over to land between the two cultists and the town.  Wagging his finger at Marina, he declared, "I don't think so!" and cast an uplevel'd thunderwave, knocking Massimo 10' back into Marina, and Marina 5' back next to Kaikoa.

Then Nighthawk, with injured Fine Branch astride him, fell upon Marina, wounding her with beak and claw.  Fine Branch followed up with toll the dead, the sonorous bonnnngggg echoing off the canyon walls as the blonde human was affected by necrosis.

Nighthawk flew up, and Marina produced a scimitar of her own, its Daystar etchings not at all defaced, and slashed the hippogryph's haunch.  Fine Branch cast spiritual weapon in the form of a ghostly Bright Thunder again, cheering Kaikoa up, but the incorporeal weapon missed Marina.

Tai ran up until he was 15' away, then paused, and summoned a flumph between the two Daystar warlocks.  He exhaled, breathing cold on the two of them, then the flumph exploded, injuring Marina.

Marina and Massimo took a step towards each other, and took each others' hands.

Massimo:  my beautiful darling, I'm sorry it has to end this way.  The Daystar will reward us
Marina:  I love you

They embraced, and each opened their hands.  Two small beads of sunlight floated from their hands, one each striking Tai and Kaikoa before blossoming into a giant ball of radiance, 40' across.  Dryali's eyes widened behind his darkened goggles; the edge of the blast was almost exactly in front of Spencer's nose.  Marina, Massimo, and Kaikoa were down, badly burned; Tai was also badly burned, but stayed on his feet.

Dryali moved to 15' away from Marina's charred body, pulling out his Darkglobe.  However, Fine Branch, having never slain a Daystar warlock before, thought they still could capture these as prisoners.

Fine Branch:  manacle them; I'll heal Kaikoa.
Dryali <startled>:  are you out of your mind?!
Fine Branch:  😯
<Dryali activated the Darkglobe, which cast darkness centered on itself, covering the bodies of the two warlocks.>
Dryali:  they will burst into elementals in seconds.  This will eat the burst.

Fine Branch finished her cast of healing word on Kaikoa, and had Nighthawk grab him and drag him away while she chugged a healing potion.  Tai heard Dryali through his pain and rage, and backed away 10', dropping his battleaxe and readying his longbow again, in case any enemies showed up, such as Daystar elementals.

The darkness shimmered and pulsed, then dispelled, revealing shrivelled husks where the bodies had been.  Dryali swore, although he was actually somewhat relieved; he'd only thought the darkness would swallow the initial burst of radiance.  Tai looked on in shock, having only heard of this result from other Freelancers.  Fine Branch, who'd been planning to use revivify on the two warlocks, watched as their husks crumbled to ash, somewhat swirling in the very light breeze.

Kaikoa sat up and coughed.

Fine Branch said grimly, "We just got ourselves a massage parlour."  A discussion ensued; the Freelancers were not interested in owning a massage parlour, and thought rather the remaining employees would resent it, and perhaps they were who should end up owning it.

Massimo had been wearing a nice silver torque around his neck, and Dryali dismounted and grabbed it as he and Spencer walked towards Tai.  "Check out cave?" he suggested, since after all that had been their initial intention.

The entrance to the cave was hard to navigate, as Marina's shatter had messed it up.  The Freelancers took the time to drag the bodies of Lebane, Kuri, and Pullari into the cave over the rubble, in case anyone came this way for a "nature walk".

Fine Branch remembered the crackling sling bullet and grabbed the yellow bandanna from Kuri.  In the cave, they found the two tables with complicated glass and metal alchemy setups, and a chest that had a robe with roc feathers across the shoulders.

Tai and Kaikoa were looking around, but mostly they were aware of how injured they were.  Dryali popped detect magic, which confirmed that the items they'd found were magic, but the alchemy setups were not, and the only other "magic" was the bottles of Daystar lotion, in a half-filled crate, and the Daystar lotion at the entrance to the cave, the bottles shattered by Marina.

After stashing the items other than the half-crate of Daystar lotion in the bag of holding, the Freelancers mounted up and flew back to the waypoint station.  They arranged to meet with the stationmaster, a human man named Arnald Glasscloud, and described what happened.  They explained about the Daystar lotion, the massage parlour, the fight in the canyon, the unfortunate demise of Kuri, Pullari, Lebane, and the danger Massimo and Marina had posed.

Arnald, whose jaded perspective was coloured with bitterness that the Skyguard did not pay him enough to afford The Pillow of Conquest, resisted his initial urge to boot the Freelancers off the skylith immediately.  He sent for the remaining employees of Happy Endings, and determined to grant ownership of the massage parlour to them as a group.  He also arranged to meet the owner of Twin Bells to determine next of kin for Lebane and his effects.

Lastly, the stationmaster sent for deputy stationmaster Wynefreede Longbelly, Copper dragonborn cleric of The Swan, to work with the Freelancers and the Happy Endings staff.  The cleric still arrived first, and used detect magic herself to confirm what they'd said about the Daystar lotion, then healed Tai and Kaikoa somewhat.

That night, while the others slept, Dryali used ritual casts of identify on the three items the Freelancers had taken from the cultists, and learned that they were torc of restoration, Chromacloth, and a Rocborne Robe.

The Freelancers took the next day to contact people who had been getting massages, and warning them of the lotion and the Daystar cult.  This work was less awkward than it could have been, as the cleric was one of the reasons The Pillow of Conquest had those oil paintings.  The extra day taken to contact people resulted in the Freelancers missing their intended passage back to Commerce, so they had to arrange for another day at The Grotto, and passage on Strazzulla, a mechanical airship captained by coblygnome Sipi Alonserai Kaporon.

On the return trip, the Freelancers discussed the items they'd acquired.  Tai took the horseshoes of the storm, as was fitting for a mount named "Spencer Thundersparks", and Fine Branch took the Chromacloth.  Kaikoa and Dryali took the other two items and later sold them to Freelancers directly, netting 2750 eagles each.

• Tai → lvl 7!
• Kaikoa → lvl 6!