Koka

Fine Branch, Dryali, and Quelenna were restless after the Contemplation of Calm for independent reasons, but their restlessness combined in their going to Damakaios together to find out about a mission to burn off that energy for fun and profit.

As they waited in the Trophy Lounge outside of Damakaios' office for him to see them, Quelenna looked again at the scale model of the Cliffshadow Freelancers Tavern, and wondered why it was there, surrounded by all the trophies.  Instead of asking that, though, she instead asked which came first, Commerce or Duquesne.  Fine Branch did not know, and Dryali, startled, started explaining what he knew from his scholar background.  His answers did not satisfy Quelenna though, and the discussion continued once Damakaios opened his door, at which time Quelenna found out that Freelancers were a bit more established on Bizarre and Commerce, and other major hubs like Cliffshadow, and the other two found out she was just asking because the model puzzled her.  "Fine Branch made it," Damakaios explained, making a wry face.

They all went in and sat down, Damakaios at his mostly clear, very tidy mahogany desk.  It was finely crafted, with detailed carving of geometric patterns that could fascinate the eye.  The Pungarehu hanyou unlocked a drawer and pulled out some fairly crisp sheets of paper and parchment, and set them in front of him.  Then he folded his hands in front of his chin and regarded the two elves and the nekomata (who was lazily waving one of her tails). 

Damakaios stroked his goatee once, and flipped one of the papers.  Then he spoke.

• Go to Flaxton, next to the lake, Moana's Eye.  They are having trouble with whatever is in the lake, interfering with the production and growing of rice & flax.  The Mayor's name is Iamos Broadtounge, a Mikumwes halfling.  This pays 250gp/person.
• The next two missions are House Hadid.

Quelenna interrupted.  "Is this similar to the Houses on Duquesne?"

Damakaios explained, "They are an old house known for textiles & fine clothing.  They are mostly known for their glamourweave and shiftweave outfits.  They are half-elves, and they're run by Yolanda and Anwar.  They are well-known, and part of their success is beautiful people showing off their wares."

He looked back at his papers, and these were fancy, with rose petals pressed in.  "Anyhow," he began.

• Followup:  who cursed their tree?  Although Freelancers played it off as a planned entertainment, they still want to know.

Since Dryali and Fine Branch were two of the Freelancers who "played it off," this mission generated discussion.

Dryali:  do they have any ideas?  Ripa Daneo is big?
Damakaios:  Ripa Daneo is big, and there are a number of people jealous of the Hadids.  There's so many people, there's effectively no one suspect.  Regrettably, this sort of thing is fairly common; but, it's not regrettable for Freelancers' pocketbook.
Fine Branch:  how would we know we succeeded?
Damakaois:  you will know who caused or arranged for assassin vines, or how the curse on the tree came to be.
Dryali:  placing the assassin vines is separate from cursing the tree.|
Damakaios:  will get ⅔ of the fee.
Fine Branch:  I'm skeptical of this.
Dryali:  cursing the tree is a lot harder.
Fine Branch:  but, if there is curses, the assassin vines is easy to add

Damakaios lost patience.

• The third mission is, House Hadid wants cheshire pelts; will pay 500gp each for pristine hides.

Fine Branch:  how does this work?  If we bring back enough hides, do we get a cloak?
<Fine Branch was thinking of the egg gathering quests Arnari kept offering on Duquesne.>
Damakaios:  they will not have a cloak to give you; that's why they need the hides.
Dryali:  do we know how to skin them?

That question kind of cinched it:  the three Freelancers went with the Flaxton mission.  Damakaios had more information, then:  "Mayor Iamos Broadtongue says there are people going missing in the lake.  We don't know they are dead, but no reason for them not to return."

They examined the map on his wall, which showed where Flaxton was, then took their leave.

So, Moana's Eye occupies the north edge of the crater on Commerce, almost opposite the gorge splitting Ripa Daneo and Gata Nahaki on the Rim.  Since the crater floor is not exactly level, the lake is the "lowest" point, where the rivers drain.  Flaxton is a charming Mikumwesauk township southeast of the lake, not far from the shore, with wetlands between it and the lake.  

Dryali had been looking at it, far in the distance, as he trained hang gliding at the Sugar Glider school.  As they headed to the stable to get Fine Branch's hippogryph Nighthawk, Dryali had a plan!

Dryali:  we can fly down the cliff!
Quelenna:  [winged] boots will not last that long
Dryali:  just fall, then turn them on!
Quelenna <wroth>:  we gonna have to have words!
Fine Branch:  can make this work

Dryali had been training on the hang gliders in whatever spare time he had, but he still hadn't really learned how to do it all that well.  But he wanted to give it a shot.  They went to the edge of the Rim, a bit east of the crowded Ripa Daneo buildings, and Dryali got out his hang glider.  Fine Branch and Quelenna watched with interest as he put it together, although Nighthawk was a bit restless.  Then Quelenna rode pillion on Nighthawk, and Dryali took off to hangglide as far as he could get towards Moana's Eye.

The weather was nice, with clouds scudding far above.  The glide was going mostly well, but Dryali had never really flown for a long distance; it was always shorter runs circling near the training schools.  He drifted into the airship space.

Dryali's o shit overcorrection was too steep, and the hangglider stalled and started losing altitude.  Fine Branch had Nighthawk move above and behind so she would be positioned to help, but Dryali put his lessons and his agility into a huge effort, and managed to straighten the glider then catch an updraft.

In the end the Freelancers managed to fly almost all the way to Flaxton, feeling that as they drifted downward, the skylith did also.  They landed, and arrived at the village while the Daystar still shone over the western rim, and saw for themselves how charming the village was.

Flaxton was a bit bigger than a normal village, and sported a tavern/inn combo named Pillowflax Inn, which could accommodate travellers of all sizes.  The three Freelancers secured rooms for 8sp/night.  By this time the Daystar had slipped behind the rim, and various tradespeople and fieldhands were starting to head home.  But since the sky and clouds were still bright, they scouted around town.

Fine Branch wandered around looking for "Help Wanted" or similar signs, so she could talk to people who might have recently lost employees.  She found out about two people who went missing from the outlying rice farms, closest to the lake.  Armed with that knowledge, she started learning what she could of their backstories, whether they knew each other, etc.  Nothing really notable came up; they'd gone to the fields near Moana's Eye and not come back.

Dryali set out to find Mayor Broadtongue, and Quelenna followed along.  They quickly found the central square, and the Mayor's Office, a small storefront right there.  The Mayor, an unremarkable-looking Mikumwes halfling, had not yet closed up for the evening.

Dryali:  hey, we're from Freelancers!  There's three of us, come to look into your missing people.
Mayor:  thanks for coming!  There are two people missing, from outlying rice farms.  They went to the lake, and didn't go back.
Dryali:  are there others?  Did they go at the same time?
Quelenna:  do we know what time of day?
Mayor:  not sure, realized they were missing later.
Quelenna:  was there someone working with them that didn't go missing?
Mayor:  not that I know of?  It was from one section of the farms.
Quelenna:  what about other farms?
Mayor:  no
Dryali:  we're staying at the inn, do we need to look at night?
Mayor <slightly taken aback>:  people don't go near the lake at night; bad things happen.
Dryali:  like what?
Mayor:  people get turned around, etc.  It's dark!

Dryali's expression changed as he realized that Mikumwes halflings had really poor night vision, and became somewhat pitying.  But, knowing they could search on the morrow, he and Quelenna returned to the Pillowflax Inn.

The Freelancers exchanged the information they'd learned over dinner of koipu, rice, and fish – their choice of catfish, carp, or trout.  Glancing around at other patron, they saw Mikumwesauk from around town; various traders; and in a darker corner, a party of komodos.

The next morning, the Freelancers rose early and headed towards Moana's Eye.  On their way there, they decided to bypass the farm complex, and just head to where the fieldhands had gone missing.  After about 45 minutes, they started encountering other fieldhands, and chatted with them about what happened.  They found out everyone was staying away from the lake, or if they had to go near, in groups of three or four.  They also found out the hands had gone missing some time ago.

Shrugging, the Freelancers headed to the lake's edge:  Fine Branch was soaring overhead on Nighthawk, and the morning view was beautiful.  The Daystar shone over the eastern rim of the crater, the light glittering on the lake below, a light breeze ruffling the water.  The elves were on foot, and making their way through the tall reeds.  The first thing evident to them were crocodile tracks.  Some were normal-sized, but some were super big, like twice as big.

Dryali and Quelenna started tracing those westward.  It was clear the tracks came on land, got something, went back to the lake.  They looked at each other.  Could that something have been a halfling?

They were approaching a mudbar jutting out from the reeds, the Daystar shining on it, and suddenly realized:  that was the crocodile.  They froze, but too late; the crocodile, warm from the Daystar, woke up.

Fine Branch finally noticed, and had Nighthawk swoop down.  She cast spiritual weapon in the form of a grandfather clock, which missed the crocodile.  She then flew over to Quelenna and Dryali, and cast aid on them and Nighthawk.

• Dryali wasn't sure how fast a crocodile this size could move.  He quickly assembled a force ballista and had it fire at the croc, hitting it with force and pushing the creature 5' away, and then he moved the force ballista 10' closer.
• Quelenna moved 15' in front of the cannon, and took a stance, fans ready in case the crocodile came up to her.
• The crocodile moved up to Quelenna, who slashed it twice with her fans.  Each time she tried to stun it, to no avail.  It was displeased, and spun quickly to thwap her with its tail.  It failed to knock her over, so it just bit her… and hung on.  Quelenna, bleeding profusely, was stuck in its mouth.

Fine Branch cast an uplevel'd healing word on Quelenna, stopping the bleeding and knitting some of the wounds.  Then she cast toll the dead, to no avail.  So, she had Nighthawk attack the crocodile.  The creature avoided Nighthawk's claws, but Nighthawk's beak pierced the osteoderms on the crocodile's back, and then the hippogryph flew up and away from the tail.

• Dryali, beginning to wonder if he should have made a protector cannon, had the force ballista shoot the crocodile with force, pushing it back another 5'.  He moved up next to the force ballista, shooting the croc with a firebolt of his own.
• Quelenna twisted and turned and somehow got out of the crocodile's mouth, then leapt on its back.  She prepared to dodge if it tried any shenanigans.
• The crocodile was displeased at the escape of a meal, and focussed on the next closest thing:  the Dark elf standing right there.  It charged Dryali, Quelenna riding on its back, and knocked him prone with its tail.  Then it bit Dryali… and hung on.

The spiritual weapon grandfather clock whacked the crocodile with force.  Then Fine Branch cast toll the dead again, and the crocodile succumbed to the necrosis spreading along its back.

Dryali rolled out of the crocodile's mouth as Nighthawk circled, but Quelenna just stood there.  Fine Branch called down to Quelenna, "How serious are you, to want to ride this thing?"

Quelenna's face changed.  "Oh my goodness, what a good idea," she practically gushed, and Fine Branch cast beacon of hope on the unconscious beast.

Nighthawk landed and Fine Branch dismounted.  "Let's tie it up!" she exclaimed.  But first, the Freelanders checked about.  The crocodile really was enormous, at least 20' long.  Definitely this creature would consider a halfling an appropriate-sized snack.  Fine Branch stabilized it and the discussion began.

Dryali:  how can we get it back?
Quelenna:  can I ride it?
Fine Branch:  it's huge

Fine Branch proposed:  truss it up with rope, and have Nighthawk pull it back.  Dryali counter proposed:  his arcane firearm was really a pole of collapsing, use that to truss it up, then Nighthawk pull, they go to the village.  Quelenna didn't like all this trussing up.

After more discussion, they decided to bind the crocodile after all.  Fine Branch flew back to Flaxton on Nighthawk to get some tack and leather, and then returned to the others and the crocodile.  Unencumbered by compatriots walking, this trip took approximately 45 minutes.

Dryali, meanwhile, had been measuring the huge beast and sketching what was needed.  He converted his All-purpose Tool to leatherworking, and once Fine Branch returned with tack and leather, started adjusting it to muzzle the crocodile, and attach control lines, and create a saddle of sorts for Quelenna to use.  The measuring and tack modifications took a total of a couple hours, during which the Freelancers also discussed what else they would have to do, and how in the hells they would get all the way back to Ripa Daneo.

But for now, it needed to get back to Flaxton.  Dryali, who'd watched it charge him with Quelenna on its back, suggested judicious use of dancing lights to keep it from charging other creatures it might think were tasty.  Fine Branch suggested keeping the crocodile still low enough health that it could be easily neutralized if it attacked anyone.  Quelenna agreed; she did not want her newfound obsession to cause more drama and mayhem and death.  She suggested they only bring the crocodile to the outskirts of town.

Finally, as the Daystar started descending from zenith, they headed back to town:  Fine Branch on Nighthawk above, Quelenna on the back of the crocodile, and Dryali somewhat behind and manipulating dancing lights when needed.  Once at the outskirts of Flaxton, Quelenna and Dryali waited while Fine Branch fetched the Mayor, who stayed well away from the crocodile, eyes big.  The Mayor thanked the Freelancers, paid Fine Branch the Freelancers' fee of 250gp each, then returned to the town square post-haste.

After evaluating how well this setup had worked, the Freelancers decided the only way back would be to walk; they'd head to the Vathia Estia Tunnels and go back through to Ripa Daneo.  This first day would be full of handling it and feeding it and getting it used to being controlled, because the long rest after the first day's travel would refresh the crocodile greatly.

They also considered whether the constructs would return in the tunnel, and concluded if the crocodile was attacked, it could just bite them all and crunch them.  Between the saddle, the control lines, the food, the dancing lights, they would make the attempt.

No constructs materialized, although some of the caravan leads were entirely displeased to have such a large predator near their beasts; even more so when it tried to charge a couple times.  The crocodile needed some warmth to keep going with no Daystar to bask in, but after 5 days, they emerged from the tunnels in Ripa Daneo, and headed back to Freelancers Tavern.  Quelenna was near bursting with anticipation as they got there... she'd decided to call the crocodile Koka.

Fine Branch dropped Nighthawk off with Delebean, the Pastoral gnome hippogryph stable master, and went with Dryali and Quelenna to his brother Glim, the gryphon stable master.  Glim took one look at Koka and said, "You wanna put that in my stables?"  He looked around wildly to make sure none of the gryphons were in danger.

"Where else would we put it?" Dryali asked reasonably.  Glim asked in return, "Is it trained?"  Quelenna smiled and said happily, "For five whole days!"

Glim died a little bit, inside.

"Okay, let me show you where to put it," he started, leading them to a largish stall with stone walls. "To get it trained, reach out to House Teyontra, they have the expertise you need in exotic mounts."

Once Koka was settled, the three Freelancers headed up to Damakaios’ office to report on their mission and deliver the Freelancer's cut.  Damakaios had become increasingly curious about how long they'd been away, so he was happy to hear that Flaxton’s problem had been handled, and happier to get 75gp.

Damakaios was… less pleased to hear that Flaxton's problem had been relocated to his gryphon stables as a mount for Quelenna.  His face became still, eyes a bit wider, as Quelenna explained Fine Branch's good idea and described how the three of them had worked together to bring the crocodile to Ripa Daneo through the Vathia Estia Tunnels.  However, faced with Quelenna’s excitement and this report of good teamwork, he eschewed any scathing reprimands and instead congratulated them on a job well-done.

• Fine Branch → lvl7!

Once Dryali, Fine Branch, and Quelenna had departed his office, Damakaios shut the door, and then unlocked a different desk drawer from the one that held all the mission papers.  He pulled out a fine bottle of brandy, and poured himself a quick shot before locking it away again.  Then he headed down to the gryphon stables himself to view this giant crocodile and commiserate with Glim.  He decided to look first, before discussing with Naranjos.

Glim told him that he'd directed the Wild elf to House Teyontra for training it, but failed to see how such an animal would prove to be a practical mount.  As Damakaios looked at the crocodile, he decided it really would consider Naranjos snack-sized.  Shaking his head, Damakaios gave Sneak, his osprey gryphon, a couple of scritches and a few jerky treats, promising a long exercise flight the next morning, before heading back up to his office

Quelenna was relaying the tale to Estarai, who was nodding her head, saying "You don't say," every once in a while, quill pen at work behind her.

Later that evening, feeling abused by Naranjos and Estarai's inability to take this problem seriously, Damakaios used his sending stone to yell at Arnari, leader of the Cliffshadow Freelancers, after making sure it was late enough that the half-elf bard had already arisen.

However, by that time of the evening, he'd banked quite a bit of angst and brandy.

I am so displeased. Giant Crocodile. Giant crocodile. In. My. Stables. This is your fault. How did you not teach these Freelancers about proper mounts?

Not even a 'good morning', but this message had obviously caused Arnari to burst into laughter at the breakfast table, and it spilled over into her reply.

Ahaha hahaha. Don't worry, my current batch came back with flying bears. I'll send them along soon enough! Who has a lovely new mount?

Damakaios, unable to reply, just poured himself another brandy, although he was past simply knocking them back, and took the time to savor his glass.  Before he finished, it was clear Arnari gone to her office, and cast sending, with slightly more grim news:

More Daystar worshippers found on Waypoint Alarm, but dead by dinosaur. Will send detailed info via courier packet.

Damakaios, still mulling on the mounts, was caught out by news of more Daystar worshippers.

Quelenna, she seemed so sensible. Dead by dinosaur is sadly uninformative. Looking forward to courier packet. I assume Pirates Dream River has flying bears now.

Nothing more came from Arnari, and Damakaios finished his brandy.  Tomorrow would be another day.