Downtime: Neeral

You set out to find others who believe in justice as much as you do. Rumors in the city tell of a man who visits the unreachable criminals with thorned vines as his shackles; a man called Nettle. And Captain McKinnon, for all her bile, seemed like she truly believed in stopping those who harm others. Perhaps one of them could understand you, as your teachers never did.

After resting at the inn and meditating on her actions, Neeral realizes that she was too quick to judge Captain McKinnon. She realizes that while the captain had her faults with her dislike of magic and her attachment to following the law to the letter, she was also quick to spring into action rather than waiting on the situation. Neeral believes that she should go to the captain and see if there is anything that she may need and build working relationship with her. Even if it turns out she is not the one that could understand Neeral's justice, it will give Neeral a better idea of how to approach situations as she realized that as the party had pointed out had caused more chaos than good.

At the Captain's office, Neeral is made to wait for almost an hour before seeing McKinnon. When she is finally allowed in, she finds Captain McKinnon, armored lightly even when seeing to administrative needs safely in the office of a barracks, sitting behind a large desk. As Neeral walks in, Captain McKinnon is setting aside a small leather book and pen set. "So. You're one of the freelancers that were involved in that whole affair with the Sapphire Song. Do you have more information for me that you forgot to share yesterday?"

Neeral replied that she has told Captain McKinnon everything that she knew about the Sapphire Song. She then tells the captain that she actually came to talk to her about volunteering for the guard as an adjunct. She says the reason she wants to join is because she wants to both to improve herself and it would be a good way to understand why the captain was so upset. She declares to the captain that you would be free to order me to do whatever and that as a monk, her fists would do her bidding. The only thing is that Neeral is not good with armor as it slows down how fast she can punch things. Finally Neeral states that is you are not sure if I would be a good fit, you can put me to the test.

"No need for a test. You've proved you can hold your own in a scrap and having someone with your training who can help us take down armed people nonlethally would be a great boon. You'll have to give the oath to uphold the king's justice. Adjutants work two shifts each week to keep sharp. We'll also call you in on emergency situations. If you leave town for any reason you have to let us know when you expect to be back." She stops for a moment and stares you down to the point where you feel you either have to back down or start a fight, but relaxes before you can decide which. "And I expect you to keep your friends in line with the city laws. If you hear of a threat to the city or something illegal happening you had best report it immediately rather than try to deal with it yourself. If you can't agree to that, you may want to find a different city to live in."

Ok I will report if I see anything illegal and I will tell my friends on how to handle it as well if they see something. By the way, does it have to be specifically you or can it be any guard?Also, could you please tell me what the oath is? As for reporting when I will come back if I leave the city, I will tell you but in the event that I am delayed due to circumstances out of my control, i will tell you those as well. Also will I be allowed to keep wearing my goggles if you put me on day time shifts? 

Yes, wearing your goggles on day shift is allowed.  The oath is brief: "By my personal honor and good name, in light of the High Gods of the Kingdom of Yenelas, I swear to uphold the laws and peace of the great city and to keep the bloodline of the king safe from harm." You are accepted into the guard, and you'll serve two shifts before the start of the next session.

Your return to the city sees you reporting to Captain McKinnon's office in short time to deliver a debrief about what you discovered. When you enter, you notice the bottle you had delivered for her safely contained in a locked case against one side of the room. The only immediate question is how to explain what you had discovered to the captain. After that, you have your time to yourself. ((You once again have downtime in Yenelas City. You can spend your downtime pursuing personal goals, trying to train in the use of new skills or equipment, or any other task you can think of.))

So Neeral gives a quick run down to the captain about the town, how it was infested with zombies due to a failed ritual and how we stopped the zombies but we failed to take out the head of this group as he was too powerful to take on. She also mentions the messages we found and what they said. As of now we are all keeping an eye on it to see more news and we will give any hint we may find. She tells the captain that she is ready to go back to work to her shifts. Finally she then says to the Captain, I have a question, if the bottle wasn't to your liking you can tell me. I could get you a different one if you hated it. Afterwords, Neeral will train to use her blowgun and buy ammo for it.

The captain looks surprised at your offer to replace the gift, and explains that she actually found it a very pleasant peace offering, she just keeps it in the case for special occasions. She appreciates you filling her in on the situation with the cultists and mentions that she'll pass on an official report of your activities there even though the spymaster certainly is already aware of them. Her secretary comes in to record your debriefing to add it to that official report. One of the things that sticks out in your report is that the undead in the altar room were wearing a new and unique symbol. She asks you to sketch it out so she can send it to the priests to be identified. Blowgun ammunition would be difficult to find in a smaller city, but the odd southern weapon isn't the only one of its kind here in the city. You're able to locate a specialty shop which has both standard darts as well as magical. A small case containing 20 of the tiny needles is designed to attach to your upper arm for easy access and costs 1g and 5s, with additional needles being 1g for 20. Magic needles instead sell for 10g each and have small sigils engraved into the wider base. According to the shop proprietor, each one unleashes a flare of energy into the target's body, with fire, electric, and cold varieties on hand. You suspect that this particular person may also be able to make more specialized needles by request.

Neeral will buy 30 magic needles 10 will be fire, 5 electric and 15 will be poison.  Neeral draws the symbol as best she can and gives it over to the captain. She also ask the captain if there are better goggles that she can buy that both block the sun and do not give a funhouse effect. If so then she will buy them. If not then Neeral will then try and find a magic item that can improve her defense without the use of armor that she can buy. After that she will continue guard duty.

((To be clear, that's 300 gp worth of magic needles. Each individual magic needle is 10g instead of 10g for a case of 20)). The captain recommends that you check with the Nocturnal District; many of the citizens there have similar light sensitivity and if anyone has made a better set of goggles it will be there. You find the Nocturnal District partially underground just north of the city walls; the citizens here seem to be an impressive mix of goblinoids, kobolds, drow, and even one or two trolls. During the day it is almost completely inactive, with only a few people moving around in wide-brimmed hats and wearing smoked lenses like the pair you bought off the laborer. One of the buildings has a pair of spectacles hanging from it, and inside a goblin sits at a counter in a dim room, carefully manipulating some glassworking gear. When you explain your need he reaches behind the counter and explains that due to the intensity of sunlight, the only way to make lenses strong enough to protect you without distorting your vision is through alchemy or enchanting, which attaches a somewhat higher price tag to the process. He has a pair of properly crafted lenses for sale, but they cost 50g a pair and he will need 24 hours to fit them to your head. ((If you agree, he'll take your measurements and you'll have time to go back before the next adventure)). Searching the magic shops takes a couple days, but eventually you turn up a clothier who has an enchanted cloak said to provide protection without hindering the wearer. She's asking for 130g for it ((Standard Cloak of Protection)).

Neeral buys the goggles and the lenses. Just to be clear, Neeral only bought 30 magic needles 10 will be fire, 5 electric and 15 will be poison.

((Alright, you have a set of alchemically-crafted lenses that allow you to operate in daylight without penalty and 30 special pieces of ammunition for your blowgun.))