Summary[]
Join Alex, Helen, Bryn, Lydia, and Ben as they actually get some R & R and explore the city! This week Zolf goes shopping for Wilde, Hamid heads to the bank, Azu finally gets to enjoy space her size, & Cel has eyes on a new project!
Synopsis[]
[Editor’s note: Bryn’s audio quality is still a little off.]
We start overlooking [[Hiroshima]. About 15 years ago, it was a middling trading city but then heavily embraced air travel and have since become a major trans-Pacific trading hub. The party can see a fair amount of air travel even now, primarily in the form of dirigibles.
As they ride in to the city, they’re getting far less attention than they did in the country; the city’s clientele is varied. It’s still gnome-heavy, but there are many other sapient races around, of all creeds and colours. At least one gnome is walking around in a homemade mech.
Wilde takes a moment to address everyone as they ride in. He says that it’s going to take him some time to find Earhart, so they should take some time to stock up with provisions for the journey, because if everything goes according to plan, they won’t be coming back to civilization anytime soon. Hamid asks whether they should get hotel rooms, and Wilde gives Hamid a couple hundred coins. Barnes is familiar with the city and advises they all meet in 24 hours at the entrance to the aeroport, because it’s big and flashy.
Zolf asks Wilde if he needs anything picked up for him, and Wilde writes out a list of equipment: a combination of cold-weather explorer gear and convenience items for ship travel (ex. a wash & shave kit.) Wilde gives Zolf a pouch of cash, and tells him to keep the rest. Hamid wishes Wilde luck and offers whatever help he can give; Wilde says he’ll need it, because Earhart’s still not a fan of him. Wilde rides off, while Barnes and Carter stick with the cart.
The party searches for hotel rooms first. Hamid doesn’t go for the fanciest hotel, but looks for one one close to the aeroports and accessible to the rest of the city, with individual suites for privacy. The city is quite full, so they have to look at a few different hotels first. They find a nice hotel overlooking the river with a bakery on the ground floor. It’s one of the few with a “large” suite for Azu, designed for people even taller than her. Everyone else gets a suite appropriate for their size. The rooms are comfortable, well-appointed, well-maintained. It puts many of the other cities Hamid’s stayed at to shame; they have electric (not gas) lights and hot, high pressure running water on demand.
Azu sprawled on a bed. Art by @archivemothman on twitter. Used with permission.
Azu’s room, which is slightly too large for her, makes her feel like she’s 6 years old again. She enjoys the novelty, swinging her legs on a chair and bouncing on the bed.
Hamid delights in showing the kobolds all the hotel’s fineries; they’re staying in his suite, in different rooms. After they’ve been settled in for a bit, the maitre d’ comes knocking at the door. Skraak, in broken Japanese, lists his security concerns for Hamid. Hamid is simultaneously delighted and embarrassed; he’s face-palming and grinning, hating that he likes it.
In the 24 hours until meeting Wilde again, the party individually prepares to leave. Zolf goes shopping for Wilde, whose list is easy to follow as he listed the suppliers he wanted everything from.
Hamid goes to sell the bag of adamantine ore he picked up in Damascus. He gets Cel to help him with translation and navigating Japanese markets. Together, they head to the financial district to find the local Tahan branch, and instead find a bank with the trappings of Hamid’s family’s bank but unfamiliar artwork and lettering that reads “Tahan & Zalia’s.” Zalia has historically been a key competitor of the Tahans. [Note: Bryn jokes that the Zalias had an eligible daughter who might have married Saira.]
Hamid and Cel head in and seek an appointment with a local trade advisor. There’s about an hour’s wait, and no one recognizes Hamid as a Tahan. The business advisor initially treats them generically, but when they realise that Hamid understands banking and has a ludicrous amount of adamantine ore, they go straight to business. The bank offers, for a reasonable finder’s fee, to take all the adamantine off Hamid’s hands and distribute it at their end. They’ll give Hamid 60 000 gold for the ore; if Hamid were to sell it himself, it would take several weeks of concerted work, but Hamid would probably get as much as 100 000 gold. Hamid agrees to the bank’s offer, and spends the whole day filling out paperwork.
Cel finds this whole process unnecessarily complicated, and Hamid lets them know that they don’t have to stay if they don’t want to. Cel wants to stay to be friendly, but starts fiddling with a large ATM that the bank is trialling. Their red panda toy now crackles with energy, somehow, and Cel uses it to mess with the ATM until they’re gently asked to leave when the ATM starts sputtering. The ATM would be incredibly easy to exploit.
Azu finds a temple of Aphrodite. It’s more corporate than she’s used to, located in an upmarket part of Hiroshima; the city doesn’t really have a religious quarter. The temple is more “blank” than Azu expects, but, like most temples of Aphrodite, is set up as a hospital. Azu asks after Eren Fairhands; she’s told he’s leading efforts on the front, and Azu’s very impressed. She notices that although the city’s been booming in comparison to the dourness of Cairo and Okinoshima and the hospital is not overwhelmed, the temple of Aphrodite is awash with light from the number of candles people have lit in concern for people. Azu lights two candles (because there was only a Shinto shrine at the inn) and has some quiet meditation at the temple. She then wanders around the city.
That evening, the four of them eat dinner at the hotel’s restaurant/bakery.
BREAK
Azu looks at the cake in the bakery. Art by @LhoBrockhoff on Twitter. Used with permission.
Azu tries all of the different cakes at the restaurant. Hamid says nervously that although the party is no longer a mercenary group, they’ve been functioning as one and should evenly split the earnings that they’ve made on adventures, and specifically, the money from the adamantine ore. Zolf says he can’t accept the money because he left the group before they found the ore, whereas Cel is happy to take it so they can get resources for the coming group mission. Hamid agrees with Cel’s argument about why the funds should be communal; Zolf responds that in that case, the other three should buy what they want with them money and give him the rest if they want to. Azu also supports the equal split, and Cel says that Zolf upgrading his gear would benefit the whole party, because it could improve his fighting and healing. Hamid suggests that they could upgrade Zolf’s boots of levitation into boots of flying.
When Hamid specifies how much money they’re splitting (15 000 gp/person), Azu is shocked; it’s more money than anyone she’s known has ever had. The reason that Hamid got so much money for the adamantine is that it’s in short supply, specifically because it’s no longer coming from Damascus (because Apophis burnt a factory down.) [Bryn notes that this makes Hamid a war profiteer, but Hamid doesn’t see it that way.]
Cel starts listing off things things they could do with the money, trailing off and at one point talking to the wall. Azu continues telling Zolf that it’s not fair to give him an unequal portion, and Hamid says that if Zolf won’t accept the money, they’ll simply not spent Zolf’s portion. Zolf relents and angrily says he’ll accept the money. Azu gives Hamid a smug look, and Hamid tries not to giggle at Azu’s look.
The next day continues to have beautiful weather; they meet in the morning at the entrance to the aeroport. The aeroport is a hub of activity; it resembles the one in Paris in terms of layout, but is about twice the size. It’s filled with crowds of people, and the party can see Wilde hopping up and down waving to catch their attention; Azu does the same. In the crowd with lots of gnomes, Azu misses the room that made her feel small.
Wilde and Barnes are there but Carter isn’t, and Hamid asks whether he’s in trouble (Wilde responds cryptically.) Wilde takes them to a restaurant around the corner. Zolf tries to give Wilde the things he bought for him, but Wilde asks Zolf to hang onto them until they’re on the ship. They head to a small family-run noodle house that roughly translates as the Flying Noodle Monster. Most people there are on business travel, just grabbing a quick bite.
Wilde says that he’s found Earhart and what’s left of her ship. Apparently, she got caught up in the conflict and her ship’s not air-worthy. Wilde’s hoping Cel might be able to help fix the ship, and Cel readily agrees, though apparently they haven’t built any airships recently. They say that the kobolds will probably have a great time helping, too. Wilde also cryptically says that Earhart “might need fixing” too; he’s fidgeting in a way that Zolf recognizes as nervousness about the conversation approaching feelings. Apparently, Earhart is emotionally compromised by what happened and may require guidance that Wilde can’t provide; she may have lost the majority of her crew in a major accident. Zolf says he won’t be good at helping Earhart emotionally, and Wilde agrees, to Zolf’s displeasure.
Wilde jokes with the party again. Art by @bagelwhalee on twitter. Used with permission
Wilde says he’s given out a couple of bribes to access Earhart’s ship, which is currently impounded. He suggests Hamid and Azu visit the “flop-house” Earhart’s holed up in, while Cel, Zolf, and Barnes work on the ship. Zolf says that he’s never built a ship before, while Barnes is offended at the idea that an airship might work the same way as a sea-ship. Wilde clarifies that he mostly wants them to tie knots for Cel. Hamid says that he might actually want to go with Cel, because the kobolds will want to go with him and they should work on the ship with Cel; also, he didn’t get along well with Earhart last time. Zolf says that although he might be “an awkward emotional wreckage,” he got on with Earhart, so he’ll go with Azu. They all agree to meet back at the restaurant in 24 hours.
Barnes leads Cel, Hamid, and the kobolds to the ship. On the way, Cel asks Hamid whether Zolf’s ever “different,” whether there’s anything they could do for him, or if there’s anything they’re doing wrong. Hamid replies that Zolf sometimes has doubts and frustrations, but he’s always managed to keep doing good, even after he left the group. He’s changed since Hamid met him again, but that doesn’t mean his whole personality is different. Although it’s sometimes frustrating to be Zolf’s friend, he always does what he needs to and he’s one of the greatest men Hamid’s ever known. Cel says they hope Hamid’s okay and that they’ll respect Zolf if Hamid does. Hamid says he’s happy Cel is still working with them.
During this conversation, Barnes has led them through a concourse populated by the public. Barnes had a quiet conversation with a guard and gave him a package. They then head into the back end of the aeroport, which is less shiny and guilded than the front, through corridors until they end up outside, in the launching area with the hangars. Barnes pulls up the door to a hangar, revealing a “deconstructed ship.” The front half is mostly okay, but the back is very messed up; the helm and captain’s quarters are annihilated. However, many of the missing bits are in the hangar, laid out in a semi-organised way.
Hamid tries to explain from memory what the ship used to look like: a sailing ship with two jet engines and fins on the side. Entrapped air elementals kept it aloft, and the engines kept it moving. Cel thinks it’s a well-thought-out vessel with many specialist parts, prone to frequently breaking down because it’s almost willfully complex. The core structure is metal with wood housing on the outside. Cel can tell there’s not enough material in the hangar to reconstruct the vessel, but that structurally, the ship looks worse than it is. They figure that if they had unlimited tools and parts, they could probably get it up in a couple of days, and properly airworthy for a long journey in a week. They’ll also need elementals; they can buy elementals, but Barnes warns that it’s a seller’s marker and will be expensive. They also know that Zolf can summon large elementals, and they could trap one of those in a case. Cel can’t salvage the elemental housing, but thinks they might be able to retrofit one from another decommissioned airship, or else buy one using their large amounts of money. Cel says they’ll write Hamid a list of things they need.
Meanwhile, Wilde is leading Azu and Zolf to a part of the city with lots of shoddy walls thrown up between buildings to created half-hearted indoor spaces. There’s a grimy, filthy hotel that’s more like a glorified squat-house. It doesn’t have anyone at the entrance or a lock on the front door. It reminds Zolf of the kind of place a sailor would go to if they got robbed while in port and had nowhere to go. Wilde indicates Earhart’s in there, in the highest room she could get, and says he’ll see them tomorrow.
Before they enter, Azu asks Zolf what Earhart’s like, and Zolf says she’s a “swaggering, pirate captain Harlequin; confident, jovial, loves an adventure.” Zolf says he’ll make the introductions and try to get her talking to Azu as quickly as possible, since he’s not the best person to deal with this. Azu starts trying to say something sympathetic to Zolf, but stops.
Inside, it’s overcrowded despite there being no housing shortage in Hiroshima; the hotel’s not a place for people to settle or raise families, but for people who have fallen through the cracks. There are people sleeping in the corridors. Azu and Zolf head up a narrow stairway to a garret space. There’s a lot of missing doors. There’s basic plumbing and (usually for the city) unlit gas lamps; it’s cramped but not claustrophobic. The hotel was once a townhouse that has been subdivided by necessity, not desire. They reach the top floor, to one of the few rooms that still has a door. Hammered on the door is a label that was on the door of Earhart’s ship; it reads “captain,” and the rest is scorched away and willfully scratched out.
Zolf warns Azu that when they open the door, he may be shot, and not to worry about it. He shouts to Earhart that they’re coming in, opens the door, and walks inside; a trap goes off.
Quotes[]
- Alex: "There is one shortage, genuinely, there is a shortage of adamantine because of the Damascan supply lines broke down. You reckon the timelines line up pretty much exactly with when a dragon came and started exploding primary supply lines, but, long story short, there has been a supply line breakdown on adamantine specifically. That wasn't a thing I deliberately introduced for you, you just got real lucky with it and it's played out quite nicely."
- Bryn: "I mean you can look at it that way, Alex, or you could consider Hamid to be a war profiteer."
- Helen: "Good god!"
- Alex: "What do you mean consider??"
- Bryn: "I mean, I'm just saying, I'm just saying. What is the ethics of what Hamid is doing? I, Bryn, have a different perspective than he does."
- Alex: "I can't hear you over the personal bodyguards you have from- yeah, let's not even dive into this." (Bryn laughs) "We're gonna have to do red sun Hamid at some point and it's gonna be horrible."
- ―Hamid's ethics come into question after he sells his adamantine ore.
- Zolf: "Alright, well, if on the way, I need to tie any knots for you, just let me know."
- Wilde: "As fun as marriage would be at this time Zolf, I'm really not in the mood."
- Alex: "There's a minor smirk of old Wilde kicking around briefly." (Helen laughs)
- Lydia: "Cel giggles."
- Zolf: "Time and a place, Wilde, time and a place."
- ―Wilde makes a pun again.
- Zolf: "Earhart! We're coming in!"
- Ben: "I'll open the door and walk inside."
- Alex: "Cool. The trap goes off and we'll end the episode there." (Everyone laughs)
- Ben: "Nice."
- Lydia: "I love the idea, right, that Zolf actually has achieved this kind of, this level of emotional disengagement from things because he has actually absorbed a meta analysis of the game. Like, Zolf's like:" (in A Zolf voice) "I hate Pathfinder."
- Everyone: (Laughs)
- ―Zolf does not care about traps.
Dice rolls & mechanics[]
- Knowledge (history) about Hiroshima: 12 (Cel), 13 (Zolf)
- Hamid Perception check for the Tahan branch: 30
- Hamid Diplomacy check at the bank: 32 (Cel 14 for assistance)
- Azu Will save against feeling too big in the crowd: 22
- Hamid Knowledge (arcana) to figure out how Earhart’s ship used to work: 25
- Cel Knowledge (engineering) to check out the elemental cases on Earhart’s ship: 19 (Skraak assists and fails)