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Not sure what this is? Here's a post explaining the series!: https://aryion.com/g4/view/712411
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Our investigation is going… okay. Unfortunately since we’re playing things safe and Sirna was already a bit suspicious, it only took one slightly botched roll for Miram trying to sneak behind the counter to put an end to her snooping. But, Adrea’s been doing well on charisma with the suggested approach of going in with the mindset of an actual customer! I was going to have her ask about Sirna personally as part of distracting her from Miram, but since that fell through a natural moment hasn’t really come up.
This might seem like a bit of an odd place to end the chapter, but my thinking was that this is more or less a natural exit point for this scenario and it would be good to get input instead of making the call myself. So: What, if anything, that she’s offered do we actually want to buy? Do we want to keep pushing towards the fairy angle/questioning her, or just call things here and report back to the guild? Anything else you may want to do while we’re with Sirna still?
You can find Adrea’s character sheet here!: https://aryion.com/g4/view/712418
Remember, you can ask any questions about the world (that are relevant to the current chapter) if you think you want/need more information about something! I'll do a 'live' intelligence check before answering if it's something Adrea might know.
| CLOSED - There's either a more recent entry available to read or I've already outlined the next chapter! |
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Posted by Persona59523 3 years ago Report
Os, what item did we steal at the beginning of our journey? Cause I was about to make up a whole story involving mage bracer, but I might be wrong about what item we stole
Posted by Persona59523 3 years ago Report
Okay, yeah, found the item. The Jade inlaid copper bracers. I'm assuming it is a mage bracer of some kind.
Posted by OsmiumOrchid 3 years ago Report
Yep, those are the sort of bracers she's referring to!
Posted by Persona59523 3 years ago Report
Okay, that means that my plan is to tell a sob story of how our mana reserves is shit, and how we only got better thanks to the bracer. However, despite the power of the bracer, we don't want to rely on it at all, instead expanding or somehow constantly refueling our own mana reserves at any cost.
(The bracer is good, but the point is that it's a temporary fix. If we take off the bracers, somehow break it, or someone stole it, then we'll lose a good chunk of our mana pool. Not enough to stop us from casting spells of course, but we want to sell the illusion that.....it really providing most of our mana. Like we don't have 80 mana, but we have like..10, maybe 20? Of course, that is a low number, perhaps one she Sirna might get suspicious of, but either way, we want to sell the image of a novice witch wanting to become better, but held back by....lack of ability in a sense.)
Posted by ProtocolARC 3 years ago Report
Sirna doesn't trust us at all at this point, we're potential shoplifters to her at best, potential snacks at worst, any further slip ups on her part seems unlikely. That being said, when Adrea asked for a more convienant solution to a normal mana potion, Sirna responds with "/Potions/ are what I sell" which seems off to me, like she had something else in mind when she heard that question? Her reply is fairly suspicious. Perhaps that inkling of suspicion will be enough for the mages guild?
I think the best course of action would be to purchase the Ichor of Rava, a little expensive, but a buff to fall back on in a pinch might serve as some peace of mind. Waffle a bit on the mana potions but, in the end, decide it's not exactly what you're looking for; try for one last slip up, but don't push it!
I believe Sirna is dangerous and Miram's nervousness here makes me think her usefulness if things escalate would be limited, so it'd be best to cut our losses and go back to report to the mages guild. Exchange some pleasantries, compliment her, say you'll probably be back again, and then head out.
On the way back, firstly, be careful that you aren't being watched, or followed for that matter. Once that's clear, ask Miram about how she feels about nagas. Don't be pushy, just say something along the lines of "I noticed you were very tense around Sirna, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I'll listen if you do." If she opens up to Adrea, thank her for the trust.
When we get back to the mages guild, tell them everything we found out. Ultimately, we believe Sirna to be suspicious. Sidenote: If that receptionist is rude again, tell her off! Politely, but firmly. (I'm going to say that a rude response is a foregone conclusion. Maybe ask her if she's even a mage herself if she wants to criticize. Maybe knowing that will be useful for later.)
Posted by VigorousJazzHands 3 years ago Report
While I disagree about how to handle Sirna & what to tell the mages guild, I do definitely think we should ask Miriam about nagas just as you've suggested, and the same goes with the receptionist.
Posted by VigorousJazzHands 3 years ago Report
Nice chapter! Very tense when it was looking like Miriam was going to be spotted. Owning up to her being there after being asked directly was almost definitely the right call I think, and what I would have said Adrea should do in that situation.
It seems like we've managed to build up a pretty decent rapport with Sirna so far, but we should be carefull of pushing much harder. I think we should say that we'll be buying one each of the Ichor of Rava & Mana Potion, but also mention that we've heard rumors that there are less... straightforward ways of improving one's mana reserves. Definitely play dumb, and act like a novice spellcaster who doesn't really know what she's doing, by like Persona said showing off our bracers and explaining that this is where most of our mana reserves are already coming from. Mention that we've heard tales that there are other ways of improving one's mana reserves, maybe even mentioning fairies specifically. If we do mention fairies, we should make sure to ask if that kind of thing is legal, and if it turns out that it's not, stress that we don't mean to imply that she would be involved in anything unethical like that, but ask if she knows anyone who might know anything about that.
If it turns out that they are legitimately illegal, and she owns up to having some, I think we should come clean about being sent by the mage's guild to investigate about them. Be clear that we don't intend to rat her out though, as she seems to be providing an important service to the people of the slums here and we wouldn't want to see her get in trouble or her business closed down. Also be clear that nothing we've told her is a lie, and stress that her secret is safe with us. Explain that we'll just go back to the mage's guild and tell them we didn't find anything, which will get them off her back. From there we should do exactly that.
If she's still a brick wall and isn't receptive to our "Novice mage looking for mana" story then I don't think there's much else for us to try. We should head back and tell them we didn't find anything.
Considering that coming back empty handed could still be spun as a success to the mages, I don't see why we shouldn't leave Sirna to it even if she is peddling fairies. To me that's more morally grey than outright evil, and the slums would be a worse place without her if it's true that she's providing cheap or free medical services.
Posted by VigorousJazzHands 3 years ago Report
I also want to say that I feel like this approach, as opposed to ratting Sirna out to the mages, fits better with Adrea's character as it's been established so far, considering her stealing the bracers and her interactions with Miriam. Adrea has been very Chaotic Good so far, doing what she feels is right and trying to help people without much of a regard for the laws of the land if she disagrees with them.
Posted by Persona59523 3 years ago Report
You know, it could be a easy chance for us to explore how exactly we got her bracers. I mean, who did she stole them from? In my sob story version(when I was first making it), I was basically going to say that our technically belong to a person who has way more than their fair share of the same item.
Posted by OsmiumOrchid 3 years ago Report
How we obtained the bracers is explained in the first chapter ^^;
Posted by Persona59523 3 years ago Report
Ah, we stole from a noble. That work in our sob story, as we can basically spin it around to a noble that basically hoards all the magical supplies in the area to themselves. Perhaps even paint them out to be a jealous wizard, who decided that if they can't get better, no one can?
Posted by ProtocolARC 3 years ago Report
I agree with what you've said here, honestly, this is the more interesting choice. I usually tend to err on the side of caution with my choices, but this is well put and you've changed my mind!
Posted by ScarKnight 3 years ago Report
I generally support this plan, but am iffy on mentioning fairies specifically, seems like we'd be pushing our luck a bit there. But yeah, even if she is peddling fairies, I feel comfortable taking on more of a snitches get stitches angle here (rah rah, down with the man and all of that).
Posted by RumiBelly 3 years ago Report
Make a purchase one Ichor of Rava and 2 mana potions. Since she knows we're just settling in, ask her if she knows anyone hiring mages, but most importantly don't push for the fairies at all. Go back to the mages guild and tell them we didn't find anything suspicious while there. We'll return to Sirna's shop later with news that the mage's guild is suspicious of her, and ask why she doesn't like them then. Maybe by returning later to deliver information that's of interest to her we can get in her good books enough to buy a fairy off of her for ourselves.