Twitch lightly ran her fingers along the items on display on the shelves of the magic shop she had located in the central bazaar of the Bright City and reflected on a poem she recalled hearing in her youth: Some say the world will end in fire, Some say in ice. From what I’ve tasted of desire I hold with those who favor fire. To be sure, the time that Envy and the Outcasts had spent in the Mabarra, the Realm of Darkness, had been simultaneously terrifying and boring (Twitch recalled sailors and soldiers returning to Stormreach from war describing their experience in combat much the same). But after even one day here in the Realm of the Eternal Dawn ... Twitch was ready to leave. Is this why the gods made Eberron as imperfect as it is, mighty Traveler? Twitch wondered. Is it true--can we mortals not be happy in the absence of conflict? Do we reject existence in a realm that is too nearly perfect? Twitch frowned and pushed the troubling thought aside. The Outcasts' confrontation with Kasric, the First Vampire, in the chamber of the candle in the Black Sand Desert of Mabarra had proved anticlimactic. As an ancient vampire, Kasric was surely formidable, and his fireballs had repeatedly blasted the companions. But the Outcasts' combined might nearly proved Kasric's undoing, even as the companions had remained focused strategically not on Kasric's destruction but rather allowing the dimension-shifting candle to work its magic. In the end, Kasric had clearly underestimated the Outcasts, and as the candle sent the companions to the Realm of the Eternal Dawn, Twitch's last sight of Mabarra was that of Kasric turning to ash. Only temporary , Twitch thought, gazing into the middle distance over a staff displaying the intertwined winged snakes of the caduceus. He'll be back--and no doubt with reinforcements the next time. Twitch shook herself out of her reverie and raised a polite finger to catch the shopkeeper's attention. The companions had, indeed, found themselves in this angelic realm of good-natured creatures pursuing goals of self-improvement and contented, pastoral lives. Twitch's companions had reacted poorly--physically and figuratively--to this realm of eternal sunshine, as Lukar appeared to melt under the bright natural light and both Yipping and Sh'Nezz'Tar squinted and moaned at the light's presence. Acting as quickly as they could, the companions had sought directions to the Bright City--a mirror-image, idealized reflection of the decayed City of the Dead in Mabarra--and to the giant angelic being, Vhara, who apparently possessed the ability to send the companions back to Eberron. For her part, while Twitch may have been physically unaffected by the sunlight, she had to admit to being unnerved by the inhabitants of this Realm. For one such as Twitch--who had been subjected to the worst of mortal behavior on Eberron her whole life--the trust, kindness, and generosity displayed by this Realm's inhabitants felt unnatural and suspicious. Encountering Vhara, Lukar had requested that Vhara loan him the fragment Vhara possessed of the original Magic Sword from the Dragon War against the Overlords--and Vhara had agreed! That generosity and trust was entirely foreign to Twitch. And on the subject of trust--why did Vhara think that Yipping worked for the Dragon Prince? Twitch wondered. What was going on with her longtime friend Yipping? Twitch again put the troubling thought aside, smiled, and asked the shopkeeper for the price of the staff. Questions for another day, she thought. When the shopkeeper returned with the staff's price, Twitch sighed. The Outcasts had become individually and collectively wealthy from their travels--but this purchase was just beyond her personal means. She'd have to ask her companions to help defray its cost. Twitch thanked the shopkeeper, handed him a sizable amount of platinum, and asked him to set the staff aside for her until later in the day when she hoped to return with the balance. Then Twitch left the shop to find her companions--to complete the transaction, and, ideally, to return to the familiar comforts of their vessel The Seven Sins on Eberron. And for both, the sooner, the better, Twitch thought to herself as she hurried through the immaculate streets of the blissfully boring Bright City. [Aside: Twitch is looking to purchase a Staff of Healing , which is a rare magic item. Per DM Steve's rules on purchasing magic items, I rolled in the game for the purchase price. I've pasted that narrative below. Twitch is 529 gp short, and so would need the rest of the group to pitch in 106 gp each to complete the purchase. It's a good item for the group's benefit. Are folks willing to pitch in?] Koop: Rolling for cost of Staff of Healing: rolling 2d10 ( 1 + 9 ) = 10 Staff of Healing costs 10,000 gp. Twitch gets 8333 gp from emeralds. She has 1138 gp on hand. She needs a loan from the party of 529 gp to buy the item. It's really good--folks willing to pitch in? Requires Attunement by a Bard, Cleric, or Druid This staff has 10 Charges. While holding it, you can use an action to expend 1 or more of its Charges to cast one of the following Spells from it, using your spell save DC and Spellcasting ability modifier: Cure Wounds (1 charge per Spell Level, up to 4th), Lesser Restoration (2 charges). or mass Cure Wounds (5 charges). Koop: The staff regains 1d6 + 4 expended Charges daily at dawn. If you expend the last charge, roll a d20. On a 1. the staff vanishes in a flash of light, lost forever. To buy the Staff would require a contribution of 106 gp per party member. That's about 4 potions of healing total, which this thing can beat 2x per day.
