13 Chirreb 4385: (6-12 Chirreb) Ulmarn Ho!

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

Scawn on Board

We or rather everyone else loaded all of the loot into the Winged Charger. We took most everything that wasn't pegged down and some stuff that was like their preserving cabinet and their Insidiously Convenient Cupboards and suchlike. We did leave some of the cheap or big furniture because there wasn't room for it on the airship. We left a note at the top of the stairwell to say "WARNING: DANGEROUS TRAP IN PLACE. ALL VALUABLES ALREADY REMOVED" and detailing the exact trap. Because any adventurers who came after us probably wouldn't believe the bit about the valuables being gone. Still, you do what you can.

Windchime and Chain Lightning had talked it over and decided they actually did want to re-take the snag in the name of the ulgrane. None of the rest of us cared because it's not very homey and it's not convenient to anywhere. Especially if you can't fly. The two ulgrane flew escort with us on to Ulmarn to see if any of the officials there were going to gripe about it. We brought Faefen and Branner and even Outcast onto the ship too. It's a good thing it was a short flight because the ship was really really crowded between the extra people and the loot.

The Winged Charger's crew didn't mind the extra primes but they were upset when Purrzhon said Squidge was coming. It was the same protest about not wanting dangerous nonprimes in their ship that they'd given us about the ulgranes. Except SCAWN come on she's not DANGEROUS and this is an airship not not a city. Mirhandrax teased them about being cowards and promised to tell all of Ulmarn and Vheshrame how the ship's crew were living in fear because they were so helpless that their ship could be captured by ONE SCAWN. So they relented and let her board.

..

If this were a fable then Squidge totally would have captured the ship during the flight.

But it's not and we got to Ulmarn just fine that evening.

Disposition of Loot

Squidge stayed outside the city walls with Windchime and Chain Lightning. Mirhandrax carried me to the healer's guild with Trust escorting us. No one who knew Mend the Broken Bone was still there and had cley left, so I spent the night in a guild ward waiting.

Meanwhile, Nightbloom and Purrzhon went to talk to the Ulmarn city guard about the finder's fee for the bandits' loot.

Most of what we'd recovered had never been reported stolen, but there were some records of mewellicaps in that area stealing stuff that we hadn't recovered. By Ulmarn city law, the duke confiscated enough of the loot to pay reparations to those parties, less our finder's fee. The rest we got to keep, subject to the duke's adventuring tax.

Ulgrane in Ulmarn Mene

Windchime and Chain Lightning eventually talked to a city official about establishing an ulgrane nest in the snag. I heard the conversation went like this:

Ulmarn Official: "You want to live in that twig sticking up vertical to the world-branch for several hundred feet?"

Chain Lightning: "Yes."

Ulmarn Official: "Can we stop you?"

Chain Lightning: "You can say 'no'. We're from the renowned Flight of Glory flock of Vheshrame Mene. We're not used to trouble from daring if foolhardy Prime adventurers or wise yet dutiful city guards, and have no interest in becoming accustomed to such."

Ulmarn Official: "Hmmm."

Windchime: "Of course, it's only a suitable home for fast fliers. Unless you have a local Zi Ri who wants it, no decent prime is going to move in if you turn us down."

Chain Lightning: "So, if left unoccupied, it shall indubitably attract the next group of mendacious flying scallywags who have not the manners to consult their neighbors on the matter beforehand. Rather like the mewellicap thieves we so recently evicted."

Ulmarn Official: "Hmmmm."

Windchime: "Did we mention Chain Lightning's a highly skilled weather-mage, specializing in getting the right amount of rain to crops. If we were local, we'd be happy to offer such services to your farmers."

Ulmarn Official: "Let me get back to you."

A few days later, the ulgrane were told they could have it and that a formal deed would be issued to them on the condition that they adhered to prime law and kept it free of undesirables and suchlike.

Comments

[sythyry.livejournal.com]

You definitely understand adventurers! I wouldn't pay attention to a note like that either. In fact, I haven't paid attention to a note like that. And in fact the treasure wasn't all gone -- at least, if one considers the magical trap to be treasure. Which I did.

[terrycloth.livejournal.com]

Heh. Yeah. When we were fighting that ship full of ulgrane and blee and they were all hiding inside their ship with us on the roof while they gathered their forces for the attack, a flood of water with a giant elemental in it would have really come in handy.

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

It does have lots of potential uses if you know the code for it! Maybe even if you don't and you're really really careful but it's pretty annoying where it is.

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

Yeah we really would've liked to take the trap but we'd need the Eye of Mirzananzananzzan and Whoever to figure out what the code phrase was and it's not so useful without knowing that.

If you want it when you get back you can probably have it I don't think Chain Lightning and Windchime will mind.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

All's well that ends well. ^_^ So did you split the booty, or did you divide it up with the people that lived in the area? I mean, it might be a bit difficult to judge if so and so really did lose that fine chalice to the bandits or he just thinks it would look good on his table and you're a soft touch.

[delight-in.livejournal.com]

The people who'd already reported stolen goods from these bandits (reports filed *before* we defeated the bandits) got the stuff they'd said was stolen back if we had it, or got some compensation for it if we didn't. We also got to keep twenty percent as a finder's fee, so they didn't get everything of even what was theirs. There weren't as many reports as we had money and stuff too, so we got to keep what was left over but had to pay adventurer's tax on that.

[tuftears.livejournal.com]

Sounds like you're all clear then. ^_^