Wandering Subherd:
Alpha: Unamed Minotaur Bull (you)
-Healthy
-Leather Armor
-Minotaur Sized Bronze Machete (Adept)
Other Bulls:
Unnamed Aggressive Bull - Healthy
Unnamed Wandering Bull - Healthy
Unnamed Beast Master Bull - Healthy
Cows:
Mazlyn the Elf Cow - Healthy
Lady Braith Ellering the Human Cow - Healthy, Unfit to Birth Calves
Nesh the Dwarf Cow - Healthy, Touched by Darkness
Pets and Tag Alongs:
Frell the Ravenkin Bull - Healthy, Elderly, Frightened
Unnamed Swinedragon - Healthy, Tame
You ask Frell to remind Mazlyn that you wish to visit the shrine. He does so. You notice a shift in tone in the conversation between the elves, but eventually Mazlyn leads you back outside. Once the group is alone, Frell explains that the public only has access to the shrine to partake in the sort of ceremonial mating rituals that The Dark Idol Ineqx finds to be sacred.
Through the translator, Mazlyn explains that she might be able to convince them to include a minotaur in their rites, thus granting you access to the shrine, but that she is unsure if and when she could make that happen. She also offers to break you into the shrine, although the elf warns that such a plan will likely require some bloodshed and burn your bridges with the town of Lithsnows.
Once the explanations are out of the way, Mazlyn resumes the tour of the town. The next stop is the Lift Square, a large open space where strange chairs use some combination of mechanical and arcane technologies to carry people high into the surrounding peaks! Mazlyn again spends some time chatting with various vendors working stalls out in the square, before moving on.
The last stop on the tour is Lithsnows' southern gatehouse, which is much larger than the side-gate through which you entered. Mazlyn spends some time talking to the guards at the gate, before briefly leading you outside the town walls to chat up the owners of the various stables just outside. You note that the stablehands are anteaterkin, another tropical species that is well out of place in the mountains.
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Following the tour, you meet up with Nesh and Lady Ellering, to discuss your plans and findings. To your dismay, the first matter that comes up is money. Mazlyn carries some cash on her, but notes that it is only enough to board the party in town for three days, which might not be enough time for her to get you into the shrine legally, or even plan a competent break-in effort.
Thoughts and ideas are offered as to how the party might stick around longer:-Lady Ellering carries plenty of money with her, but the human cow's human coins would need to be exchanged for local currency, and Mazlyn warns that the local moneychanger offers terrible rates. It would be best to wait and exchange the human money with a reputable broker in one of the larger cities.
-You suggest that it should be possible to simply set up a camp a short distance from town. You can smell despair on Lady Ellering when you bring up the idea, however. You suppose the pampered human is tired of roughing it.
-Frell suggests that if you are willing to reveal your sentience to the local slave population, they may be willing to take you into their homes.
-Mazlyn notes that the biggest expense is actually boarding your large and exotic Swinedragon. If you would be willing to split from the party and make a quick trip down to the preserve, where you could leave your pet in the care of the other bulls, she could likely afford to keep the rest of the party in town for at least a week.
Frell and the Cows then go about explaining what they have learned about the various opportunities that await you in and around town:-Mazlyn's old criminal associates, The Moonrunners, will be sending a caravan to pick up smuggled goods from town and deliver them to their headquarters at Cresent Grotto in about a week. If you wish to check out the shrine to Krowl or meet with the leaders of the Moonrunners, tagging along with the caravan would be a safe way to do so.
-Mazlyn also reports that the leadership of another criminal group, a Narcotics Cartel known as the Sugar Children, is in town. If you are desperate for powerful connections quickly, you might try revealing your sentience to them.
-Lady Ellering mentions meeting with a bunch of friendly local elves from a nearby garden estate. Most of them speak human common, so the human cow plans on trying to win their friendship so long as both she and they are in town, in hopes of getting an invitation to their estate.
-Nesh cryptically informs you that an elf named Nimivid, who works at the lodge as a slave driver, has offended The Dark Idol Ineqx. If you were to punish the elf before visiting Ineqx's shrine, your meeting with the wicked god may be more fruitful.
-Nesh informs you that as long as you are staying in town, and have no further need of her, she will earn herself some money by preforming magic on the street. You are a bit afraid of what Nesh would spend pocket money on, but also a bit curious to see her show and observe what powers she might have beyond changing her form.
How do you Proceed?
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Topic: (SG) Minotaur: Awakening (Read 4680 times)