"Welcome Back, Jiǔtóu!" is the ninth episode of High Rollers.
- Previous episode: "Let's Get Falk'ed!"
- Next Episode: "Harp'ing On!"
After the fierce battle of last episode, the party have all taken the opportunity to rest up for the first time in quite a while, being woken in the morning by an elven servant who tells them that Payla and Amris have requested their presence in the main part of the spire where a small orcish party have arrived to agree a truce. After a little bit of time to eat the party make their way downstairs, finding Payla, Amris, Falk, Morgus and a few orcs in the main chamber waiting. The scene is one of uneasiness and Payla comments that she is pleased the party is here, as she wishes to avoid any untoward incidences that could scupper negotiations. Falk reveals that despite the Hunter having been sealed away again, a few of the orcs still glow with green tattoos and feel more at one with the forest then orcs tend to - and he wishes to get the help of the elves for these people of his clan to come to terms with this new reality. Amris agrees that there might be something they can offer to help these orcs understand their new powers, and opens the portal to let the group up to talk with the queen. Walking through they find themselves in a council chamber and take their seats as the queen enters the room too, and discussions begin. Falk asks for the help of the elves for their fae-imbued clan members, and both Payla and the queen ask about the orcs true intentions here.
Eventually it is agreed that if the orcs help scout and defend the forest and provide some manual labour help to the spire, the elves will let the clan set up a settlement on a plot of land nearby with a view to create a trade route between the two in the future. Falk is also asked to go with the party to Talis'val and with Elora act as ambassadors for the spire to establish connections with the other elven groups already there. With this done the queen turns to the party and offers them a choice of rewards: 100 platinum pieces, a series of potions and scrolls, or a set of mithril-scale armour. The party eventually choose the platinum. Falk chooses to pass the rune Raxus gave him to Morgus, telling his half-brother that he has faith the orc will be a good leader but if he takes a step out of line the elves will let him know and Falk will return from his own adventures to deal with it. After the meeting Cam asks the queen if he can talk to her and confides in her about his glowing hair and the ability to avoid being knocked down, the queen tells him of the rumours she's heard of human children born with such abilities - beings known as the Lightborn, connected to Paylor's Light and the Lightfall. Cam manages to talk the queen into giving him the armour too, promising the queen that he will use it to help Elora find the other spires. Cam dons the armour as he finds the rest of the party and deceives to the group that he got to "first base" with the queen. Falk decides he doesn't want to know, while Elora is annoyed that Cam not only scammed the armour from the queen but forced himself upon her. Amris catches the group, offering them a waystone which are said to help guide travellers into the faewilds when they are in need of it. Falk decides to test how study it is and ends up crushing it into a fine powder by accident, stunning the elven mage as Elora chides the half-orc for breaking it. As Amris walks off, the group decide to ask if any of the tattooed orcs are able to find the faewild and one nearby upon a talk reveals that during a teleport they pass through the faewild.
With his help and the 'scent' from Jiǔtóu's lucky coin, they eventually find their way back to the clearing and the life primordial they had met before, who is now in the form of an elven woman. With her is Jiǔtóu's body lying on a stone altar, and the party approaches. Finding that the party was unable to bring the Horn from the Hunter's helm, the fae says she might be unable to help them after all and asks why they go to such lengths to save a tiefling who they have known only a short while. Trell says that Jiǔtóu is a worthy comrade to have at their side in battle, Elora says that she feels Jiǔtóu needs a friend and wishes to be that friend, and Cam replies that Jiǔtóu has sparked something in him he wants to see again. They swear that if Jiǔtóu cannot be brought back here, they will keep searching for a way until they find it. The fae then reveals that she doesn't really need the horn, the important thing was for them to help the elves and for her to know why they would attempt to bring Jiǔtóu back to life in the first place and what they would do if they thought she couldn't do it. She says that she has the magic to bring Jiǔtóu back but will need everyone's help - if they choose to they can sacrifice something to make the spell easier, and more likely to bring the tiefling back as they remembered her and not as changed as she would be if the spell was more difficult. She also warns that as such a process is taxing on the soul, magic revival can only ever happen to a person once. She asks Falk if he wishes to join in with the revival process, and the half-orc decides he will, even if he does not know Jiǔtóu, for the party helped save his clan. The group take places around the tiefling's body, and the primordial begins the magic. The party one by one place items as sacrifices to help the spell; Trell giving up his Rope of Climbing, Elora a leaf broach from her father as well as the sign of kinship Jiǔtóu gave her, Cam a very old dagger from a past friend, and Falk the magical mace Cam had traded to him in the temple before. The magic builds and the body collapses into a single bead of light that begins to grow into a humanoid shape, and with a brilliant flash of light the party is left standing in the middle of a normal forest out in the world. Between them is a familiar figure, yet slightly different. Jiǔtóu's clothing is too baggy on her, her limbs more slender and her horns blunted from a certain point - Jiǔtóu is now as she was when she was 15 years old, although she retains all of her memories and personality from her adult form.
Taking in a deep breath Jiǔtóu opens her eyes to find Cam grinning down at her and Elora rushes over to hug her tightly, taking a moment to register the world around her Jiǔtóu returns the hug, and comments to Trell that it is good to see him standing when the drow uses his Inverness Cape to cover her with her clothes too large. Trell returns the items he took from Jiǔtóu's pack earlier, and Falk stands apart from the group to let the others have their moment although he and the tiefling both give each other a nod. Jiǔtóu then tells the others that she knows of what they went through to bring her back and swears to the party a life-oath, as she cannot repay them and still doesn't quite understand why they went to so much trouble.
As the moment passes, the group realises that they have been dropped back into the world at a point much closer to the edge of the forest then where they had entered into the faewild. Cam suggests that they get back to their journey, and asks Jiǔtóu how it is she is now younger than when she died. Jiǔtóu confesses not to know and tells the party that she has spent weeks training in another realm of existence over the three days she has been dead in this world. She says that she was told that coming back may change her, so her younger form doesn't really surprise her much. At this point Cam introduces her to Falk, saying he helped them defeat the Green Hunter and Falk speaks saying that the party is strong and fought hard to bring her back. Jiǔtóu thanks him for being involved in the fight when he had no reason to help a person he had never before met, and offers to help him in future if she can. The party then start to figure out where they are, Falk remembering the terrain and soil from his clan's journey from the Troubled Lands. They are now four days from the city, but much closer to a village of mainly half-elves called Feyden which is just a few hours away. Falk and Elora lead the way and eventually they happen upon the logging camp on the edge of the village, with the stone walls of Talis'Val far in the distance behind it.
Entering the boundaries of Feyden, the party is spared a suspicious glance by the gate guards but nothing more. Venturing to the square they notice a female half-elf and a male dwarf off to the side, the dwarf in particular standing out in this place where there are few dwarves about, especially as his appearance suggests someone important and well-off. They are having a conversation about lumber that Feyden was supposed to be providing to the Merchants' Guild in the main city, but that seems to have gone missing. The party heads for the nearby tavern, The Oaken Wagon, when Falk points out that they should probably think about getting Jiǔtóu clothing that fits her smaller form; and Jiǔtóu notes that Trellimar's garments, damaged from the Green Hunter fight as well as being pulled through a window days back, could also probably do with mending. Cam says that he's going to the tavern and Falk offers to go with him to check availability of rooms for them to stay in. Elora meanwhile approaches a nearby stall with an older half-elf woman seated behind it, selling clothes, scarves, and things like buttons and fasteners. Asking about tailoring for Jiǔtóu, the woman greets the tiefling as she would a young child to which Jiǔtóu barely manages to hold back an irritated retort. Offering the tiefling some replacements clothes instead, none suited to Jiǔtóu's tastes, she offers to alter Jiǔtóu's current robes to fit her instead. Trellimar then approaches asking for repairs on his Inverness Cape, which she gladly says she will be able to do. Buying a cheap plain dress for the tiefling to wear during the time the alterations will take, the party pay for the clothing, repairs, and alterations and the group head to the tavern to meet up with the other two and allow Jiǔtóu the privacy to get changed.
Meanwhile Cam is telling Falk his version of his meeting with the Queen, with Falk taking Cam's expression of her "eyeing him" a bit too literally. The Oaken Wagon is not as homely as Finny's tavern was, but it is functional and the person behind the bar has an apron stained by a long service of drink-serving. Cam orders something strong, but then specifies cheap and is served a cheap beer. Cam then tries to explain to Falk what "The Look" is, with the rest of the party entering partway through the conversation and attempting to rent the rooms for the night. The bar owner greets Jiǔtóu as she enters first, but once he notices Elora directs his questioning to her as the 'grown-up'. Hearing the prices, Cam sounds surprised and the bar owner defends this as being because of travellers, to which Cam sarcastically notes how 'busy' the currently empty tavern is which hits a sore spot with the owner. He notes travellers have been lighter since 'difficulties' in the lumber business, and offers the rooms at a discountered price which the group accepts, with the girls in a small room together and the three others sharing a larger room. They pay up and the bar owner tells them that Feyden is responsible for supplying lumber to the capital as well as towns nearby, but they've been having trouble keeping up with demands as large orders are coming in frequently. Handing them the keys for the rooms, Jiǔtóu goes to her room and changes out of the too large robes into the simple dress and pops out to hand off her clothing to the half-elf woman outside.
Trellimar leaves the tavern to seek out the dwarf from before, who he thinks might have details on a battle going on with a dwarf and drow army in the mountain against something infesting it. Across the road they notice someone watching the tavern, pretending to be reading. Leaving the man, Trellimar quickly finds the dwarf and asks about the battle, getting a summary of how the Lightfall caused terrible beings to awaken in the Underdark forcing the drow there into an alliance with the dwarves and sending both races up to the surface. Learning that the party is on their way to the capital, he offers the drow some work - to look into the missing lumber delivery they had heard him talking about earlier. Trell talks the dwarf into a hefty payment for the completion of the task and the dwarf lets the drow know where to find him if needed. Meanwhile Elora tries to point out to Jiǔtóu the man watching the tavern but can't help but be a bit obvious in her pointing, and the two debate if they should approach. However when they look up, the man has already gone.
The evening comes and Cam and Falk have spent the time drinking, to which the Cleric is beginning to feel the effects. Cam insists that when the daughter of the bar owner arrives she will give Cam "The Look" and Falk will understand what it is. The daughter arrives, telling the assembled group of Dmitriv, a traveller from Briarcrest. Cam attempts to charm the daughter and she decides to humour him, even if Falk foots the bill for the drink Cam orders for her as repayment for seeing "The Look" in action. Cam then attempts to talk about himself, but promptly falls into a drunken sleep. Jiǔtóu attempts to start fulfilling the promise to the party she made earlier by taking the Cleric to his room, but is unsure of how to handle a human and Falk eventually grabs Cam and takes him away, smacking his head into the side and tables a bit along the way. Jiǔtóu grabs Cam's stuff and Cam tries to perform with Elfy on the way, but fumbles it and the daughter hands it off to Elora to look after. In the room Jiǔtóu attempts to deboot Cam, and the Cleric drunkenly tells the tiefling it's good to see her again before passing out for good. Downstairs the inhabitants of Feyden begin to file in, including the man who was earlier watching the tavern. He orders the local specialty and begins a conversation with Trellimar. He askes if Trell has had difficulties on the surface with prejudice and Trell says yes, although he has his companions. The talk then turns to the missing lumber and the man introduces himself as Arvan. Arvan then moves off to another table, but not before Elora catches sight of him and goes to talk to Trell about having seen him watching the tavern earlier.
Later that night, the foreman of the lumber yard enters, silencing many of the whispered rumours that'd been flying about and orders a drink, saying she needed one that evening. Falk then whispered to Elora that Cam taught him "The Look" and asks if he should try it on the foreman, Rika. Elora warns that Cam's teachings are rubbish, and Jiǔtóu is just confused about "The Look" asking if it is a human thing. Falk ignores this and goes to sit next to Rika, making her double-take and Falk gives the half-elf a strange look that confuses her. They strike up conversation and Falk offers to help her by looking into the matter of the missing lumber. Rika tells Falk of the yard near the forest they store their cuttings in, and says that she does not trust Arvan and also suspects something of Dmitriv the trader as both arrived shortly before the theft. Before she leaves, she give the barmaid some coins to buy drinks for Falk and he orders the strong drink, before taking three pewter mugs back over to the table and filling them in. One of the drinks is passed to Jiǔtóu who finds her younger body no longer as good at handling alcohol and while she enjoys it, even a gulp is enough to make her tipsy. Elora also tries a bit and finds it nice, but strong. Falk downs his in one, his strong stomach handling the drink with ease. It is at this point that Jiǔtóu asks Elora and Trellimar to fill her in on the events that occurred during the three days she was gone. Elora fills her in on her quest for elven spires while Falk continues to practice "The Look". After they are done, they decide it would be best to retire for the night.
The morning comes and Cam, slightly hungover, leaves the tavern bare-foot to look for the cockerel but cannot find it. Elora leaves to wait for the seamstress woman and picks up the clothing from her when she arrives. She brings Jiǔtóu her robes and waits in the bar downstairs for Trell to pass back his Inverness Cape to him. Jiǔtóu takes some take in her new clothing to get used to its flow as well as the new sizing of her body, before coming down. Cam has also returned to the tavern and Falk makes his way downstairs, throwing Cam's shoes at the Cleric. He informs Cam that he tried "The Look" to which the Cleric asked startled if the half-orc, half-elf tried it on him. Trell then comes downstairs and asks if they would like to make some money, and when Cam is enthusiastic Trell asks Falk to lead the way to the lumber yard. They arrive before many workers are there, finding not much at first glance. Cam hands Falk a wood chip from the ground and tells him to eat it, and the half-orc does noticing that there's something off about the way it tastes, something animal. Trellimar checks again for any tracks and finds though although expected vehicle tracks are not present, there are certainly signs that something large with claws came this way and he finds a large feather hidden behind a barrel. Elora checks this and can tell that it came from something like a griffon or manticore. Cam meanwhile looks around to see if they are being followed and while he doesn't initially see anything, he suddenly realises a patch of nearby foliage is shimmering slightly with the telltale sign of illusionary magic. He tries to nonchalantly inch towards this patch, but the magic disspells and reveals Arvan. He properly introduces himself to the party as an apprentice to the Master of Illusionary Magicks in Talis'Val, and says that he too is investigating the theft. He says that he knows little more than they, but tells them of rumours in Briarcrest of an organisation called The Broken Sky, a group trying to weaken the Dawn Republic, who could have a hand in this matter, which he believes is part of some bigger plot. He also identifies the feather as being that of a griffon. The group decides that the trader Dmitriv might be the best lead, as he also tends to wander off for periods of time, and Arvan hasn't been able to follow him to his destination yet. They also discover that a local leader in Briarcrest loyal to the Merchant's Guild in Talis'Val has been ousted recently and a new, independent leader has now taken charge.
Reaching Dmitriv's little shop, Cam stops the group saying he has a plan. He mentions that it makes use of Trellimar's ability to disguise himself and the drow notes that he was thinking the same thing and that this means he's probably spending too much time around the Cleric. Disguising himself as an old human woman, Trell passes Granamyr to Elora, before shuffling off inside the shop. Getting into a conversation with Dmitriv, who is an olive-skinned man with long tied back hair and unusual clothing, Trellimar gets side-tracked by cheese. He eventually starts asking about whether the trader has any birds to sell, or maybe wood. Neither gets a reaction from the man though so he tries asking if Briarcrest might have anything of interest, and now the trade is getting nervous at the questions and he attempts to divert the conversation away from the topic of Briarcrest. Trellimar decides to leave without buying the cheese but notices a tattoo on Dmitriv's arm, a cloud being split in two by a bolt of lightning. Mentioning it to him makes the trader even more nervous and he tries to rush the 'old woman' out of the door, and once outside Trell disspells the illusion and tells the others that Dmitriv is likely a member of the Broken Sky, if the tattoo is any indication. They decide that following the trader is their best course of action, and Trell wants to use Granamyr to be able to assist with that. Three to four hours later Dmitriv finally leaves and the party follow him.
Walking outside of the village Dmitriv heads through the fields into a valley and through some woodlands, Granamyr managing to keep up and Trellimar using his psychic link with the pseudodragon to lead the party. Eventually they discover a small cave in a large hill where Dmitriv has entered. Arvan offers to cast Invisability on a member of the party and Jiǔtóu volunteers, although the rest of the group warn her to scout for now and not attack immediately. Entering with the tiefling in front they emerge into another part of the valley and find that the area is filled with what appears to be the missing lumber. Dmitriv is also there, along with a griffon and two halflings. Dmitriv is telling them about the encounter with Trellimar and is encouraging the two to move the lumber quickly, as he suspects Arvan of having been the old woman. The halflings though talk of how the 'princess' won't be happy with Dmitriv potentially risking their operation. Jiǔtóu quickly turns back and stops the group from proceeding any further, and the group debates their next action. They could simply walk away and point out to Rika where her missing lumber is, although it could be gone by the time the half-elf got there. Jiǔtóu wishes to use her invisibility to scare the griffon away, but Elora wishes to talk to it. Trell says he could easily become the old woman again and approach them, Eldritch Blasting anyone who attacked the 'sweet old woman'. They settle on Jiǔtóu sneaking in to scare and maybe distract attention while the others enter and take their enemies by surprise. Cam uses Bless to give boons to Jiǔtóu, Falk, and Elora. Cam sneaks further forward to hide behind some barrels and uses Duplicity, and while the three humanoids notice nothing the griffon perks up. Jiǔtóu has snuck around a large rock to stand to the side of the griffon, still unnoticed and makes small noises while she slowly circles it, hoping to distract it from Cam. The halflings however are realising something might be up and begin to ready their weapons, telling Dmitriv that he better not have compromised their position. Falk stealths up to where Cam and his duplicate are, but unfortunately Dmitriv turns at the wrong time and spots Falk.
The female halfling asks Falk what he is doing there, when Falk doesn't answer her question she tries to magically force him to tell her by making him see her as a friend but the half-orc, half-elf fights it off easily and tells her to get the Falk out of his head. Jiǔtóu uses her new elemental attunement ability and a bit of Thaumaturgy to let out a massive roar and a blast of air towards the griffon to try and scare it, causing the creature to jump back flapping in panic. Dmitriv ducks down and covers his head, but the two halflings are not as affected and merely either dismiss the noise or look around for its source to attack. Unfortunately the use of the cantrip has broken Jiǔtóu's invisibility and she is now visible so she ducks back around the rock as she is noticed. Trellimar decides to have a little fun and re-disguises himself as the old woman before emerging to Dmitriv's horror who cries she's ruined everything for cheese. Elora casts Entangle on the area the three humanoids are standing on, only managing to capture poor Dmitriv, before ducking behind a pile of nearby logs. The griffon stays aloft nearby, waiting for orders and Falk prepares to fight. He uses his sling to fire an acid stone at the female halfling but she dodges the projectile and Falk moves back into cover, then Action Surges to attack again this time with a normal stone and he hits the female halfling distracting her. Cam tries to pass his javelin to his dupe, realising that its incorporeal when it drops to the floor. Annoyed, he picks it up and lobs it out to attack himself, hitting the still restrained Dmitriv and the female halfling who is still reeling from Falk's blow. dmitriv takes the full blow, but the halfling manages to get a wall of force up to block the attack just in time. The male halfling charges Falk, missing with a nasty hammer blow as the half-orc ducks out of the way but doesn't manage to dodge the backhand blow that follows after.
Upon the male halfling's order the griffon swoops down and grabs the female halfling, flying away at a fast speed. Upon her orders though it turns back and Cam feels the entire situation too funny and is paralyzed by uncontrolled and painful laughter. Jiǔtóu emerges from behind the rocks and moves forward to engage, her first attack with her guandao meeting the halfling's shield and her unarmed strike doing nothing against the armour he is wearing. Trellimar moves forward in his disguise and Eldritch Blasts at the griffon, aiming for the wing and hitting although it doesn't bring it down. Elora casts Moonbeam on the male halfling, and the griffon flies down to attack Trell and Jiǔtóu. Jiǔtóu is clawed and Trell bitten, turning the drow back into his natural form. Trell's Hellish Rebuke goes off and blasts the flying creature back, with his beak scorched. Falk moves back, taking another hammer blow from the halfling before launching an Entangle stone at the griffon which easily captures the flying creature and sends it falling down, with the female halfling bouncing away from it as it hits the ground. Cam spends his turn laughing, but breaks out of the spell at the end of the turn realising that his friends getting hurt isn't funny. The male halfling takes more damage from the Moonbeam but realises he can't move away without Jiǔtóu attacking him so attacks the young tiefling instead, before trying to move past her anyway and having her attack bounce off his armour once more. He starts trying to free the griffon but is unable to, calling out to his compatriots that they need to get out of there. The female halfling stands and uses her whip, knocking Jiǔtóu down, and joins her fellow in so-far futile attempts to free the griffon. Trell, not wanting to move back to use his Eldritch Blast and risk an attack from the male halfling, elects to simply stabs him with a shortsword instead finding a chink in the armour. The griffon breaks itself free and scoops up the halflings before flying off. Elora moves her Moonbeam over it to try and stop the escape, knocking the male halfling out and seriously damaging the griffon in the process. She then moves over to Jiǔtóu but is unable to act to stablise her, Falk however moves over and manages to save Jiǔtóu from getting any worse. Cam moves forward and throws a dagger, nicking the face of the female halfling but nothing more. After this the griffon and halflings fly off and get beyond the party's reach.
The fight over, Cam uses Healing Word to bring Jiǔtóu back to consciousness and the party look round to see Dmitriv still trapped in ensnaring vines and decide that he needs to answer to Feyden for what happened to the lumber...
