Session Date: 8/27/2023
We make landfall and say goodbye to everyone on the ship, with Captain Kearney giving Dia another kiss. Dia tries to convince her to go with them but she refuses.
Lufir says we have to get to the capital. When asked about money, he pulls out traveler’s checks, which may not work so well here in this Orcish community. Dia explains that we need to get him better clothes to travel in because of how tough it can be to travel. He explains he will trust us in all things adventure as he is at our mercy and is not that knowledgeable in this.
Usval is a pretty new nation where the citizens are Orcs and Gnolls, with this being the only Orcish port here. The city is still very diverse because it is so new and there’s a lot missing with a lot promised. Streets are still being built, for example, so carriages wouldn’t be a thing that would work here. There are a lot of people trying to prove themselves here so there might be a way to shorten the journey to the north from Arcfort.
The Orcs look at Arythas and see a big beefy man and definitely approves. A lot of guys are looking for a fight at times. There’s a lot of aggression and conflict, but it doesn’t always turn into violence. The gnolls have a very strict hierarchal structure and they’re using this aggression to very much set up temporary hierarchal structure for social reasons.
Dia eventually comes up on a Gnoll gentleman that’s calmly sitting in a hat. She asks if we could charter him for passage. He takes a look at us then says yes. He says his name is Bronze (Jaguar of Chaos), and Dia introduces all of us to him. He warns us of gators in the water and he comments that Inky looks an awful lot like them, and Inky agrees. He says that it will be a couple of hours before he is ready — around midday. We need to go spend some time doing other stuff before then. Rohan recommends to Dia not to use such big and elaborate language with the Orcs and Gnolls here.
We find a bar that’s run by some halflings. We go in and Rohan orders for us so we have something to eat and rest while we wait. Dia gets rations while we’re here and basically gets us all we need for travel. She then also mentions to Arythas that she thinks if he keeps turning down the fights and stuff then they won’t respect him and he says that he doesn’t particularly care because they will not be staying for very long. He might be inclined to participate if they were planning to stay, but they are not so he will take the blow to his ego.
There’s a group playing cards for quite a bit of money to the side. Inky is reading, and Dia is reviewing her notes about the genie. An Orc comes over and takes Dia’s notes and she grows upset, with Iskra and Arythas getting very defensive and tempers flare. The man says that there’s an accent with the genies here, so while her notes would work for Acria but not here, she needs to consider the land when she works with them. The Orc sits and we order a drink for him and he starts to draw a sort of cipher to help her be able to adapt her spell for different parts of the land. She thanks him for the help, and the Orc explains he sees magic and he understands or he goes and learns. Dia says that’s nice but he needs to be more polite.
She explains to be mindful of strangers from out of town, but she does ask how to say thank you in Usval. He says that if she sees him needing help later, then help him. Words don’t mean much unless they bring power. She ultimately says if Rafferty comes through, please help him learn and be willing to knock him down a few pegs. He figures out what Dia’s name is, and he gives his name: Ivzuk.
The card players start arguing and seem to be arguing over someone cheating and money, possibly turning int something serious, actually. Rohan had been watching the game and realizes that he doesn’t know enough about the game to know who’s cheating (probably all of them) and if they’re cheating well.
Another Orc comes up to our group as we are staying here. He’s trying to evoke a scholarly look — he is specifically trying to look like a wizard or sage with what is available here rather than imported clothing. He greets us formally and he says that we seem to not be from around here. He was wondering if we were traveling up river, to which Iskra blurts out yes, and Dia asks if they are headed that way. He says he’s and he would like to join us — he needs time to work on his notes and such, so he would like more time away from an Orcish crew. We all try to decide if he’s being really honest about this and we have two questions: is he harmless, and is he a threat?
Collectively we can tell he has an affectation and is trying to reach us at our level. He certainly is no pushover, but he truly means us no harm. He reassures he can pay his own fare and with that he is welcome to join the group. His name is Edruch, and he says he understands he is supposed to ask for our names. We give them over and all introduce ourselves. He ultimately walks off to meet us at the dock in an hour.
The brawl really starts to get going and Inky closes his book because it’s too loud to read at this point. He sneaks into the fighting mass and does a kinetic emanation in the center of the fighting, the bodies of the fighters going flying. They get up and cheering Inky, chanting his name and celebrating. They’re super into it and love him for it. The tiefling swipes some extra cash and heads out of the bar, with Inky trying to steal some of the cash with a mage hand and manages to steal some gold.
We return to the boat and board. Bronze seems to be the only one working, and Iskra clocks the man as a druid. Edruch is already there as we arrive, looking into his books. The boat starts to move away from the dock and we see the tiefling from the bar running straight at our boat, everyone she stole from chasing her. We catch her and she apologizes for being late, pulling some money out and pushing it into Bronze’s hand. Her name is Pratima G. Corvo.