The foreman the Claires had spoken with was, somewhat predictably, long gone by the time they returned to the Short Drop Falls Mines.
Cassandra had been half expecting for it to have been a murder-and-substitution, but it turned out that the mining operation had perfectly good ways of verifying identity. Instead, it turned out that there had been a previously unknown cult of some God that had been diligently working for the success of the Falls Mines… and then had transitioned smoothly into wiping out supply caravans and, apparently, abducting wandering research professors.
“The man is the head of an Institute,” Cassandra seethed. “Did they not know that this was going to make a splash? Did they not realize that someone would be coming to investigate?”
“Mom, you’re forgetting that this isn’t real life.” Harriet patted her mother’s knee comfortingly. “A plot hook doesn’t happen because of the world, the world happens because the plot needs a place to live, right?”
“And yet! Leaving aside the surface-level bullshit of the world, all of the rest of it makes sense. Goblins as a fungus that grows out of the darkness of refuse? That’s fantastic, there’s a bunch of depth there. So why did they make a play on Mhann, why are the kobolds in on it, and what relationship does that have with the cult and its God? If the Mines and everything around them makes as much sense as it does, I feel like the abduction should too.”
“In the meantime,” the halfling said, turning away from the pacing tiefling and addressing the seniormost remaining representative of the mining venture, “we need to talk about finders’ fees.”
“Don’ fucking care,” Trio said darkly. “Five percent if it’s bulky shit, ore or whatever. More than that, I’ll just go my own fucking self to get away from the fucking paperwork.”
An enormous hand gently fell on his shoulder. “Language, my friend,” a half-orc’s voice rumbled. “There’s a child in the room.”
The man looked up at Jason, blinking a few times in momentary incomprehension. Looking between the titanic Paladin and the tiny Ranger, the former soberly serious and the latter barely refraining from bursting into laughter, he shook his head slowly and sighed.
“Sorry,” Trio muttered. “More than five percent and I’ll go my own exasperated self to get away from the endless paperwork. I leveled, and now they think they oughta put me in charge of what few of us are left and make me do paperwork.”
“It’s supplies,” Jason supplied, beaming. “What we found is supplies, I mean! They’ve got some kinda markings, bunch of straight lines making shapes.”
“The supplies from the Tigersword Fruit Market. Rations, mining equipment, scrolls. You try to open any of the boxes?”
“No sir. Wouldn’t be right; they’re not ours.”
“You,” Trio said in a tone of exhausted wonder, “say the weirdest shit, Paladin Claire. Fifty gold pieces, take it or leave it.”
Rolling Insight (Charisma) | 1d20+7
Rolling Insight (Wisdom) | 1d20+4
Rolling Insight (Wisdom) | 1d20-1
“We’ll take it,” three voices said in unison.
The Claires looked at each other in mild surprise for a long moment. “Same brain cell,” Harriet said with a serious nod, and the other two nodded at her in sober agreement.
“Same brain cell,” her father agreed, knowing he wasn’t getting the joke and not caring in the slightest.
“Same brain cell,” her mother concurred, knowing exactly what Harriet was referencing and going along with it because it was her daughter doing the referencing.
“I changed my mind,” Trio correct himself. “You all three of you say the weirdest shit. Anything else, or can I get back to my job?”
“Rude, I thought you didn’t like your job anymore,” Harriet joked. “Also, I wanna change some random bullshit copper and silver into gold pieces, since it turns out seven hundred and ten coins is heavy as shit.”
Coins
Common coins come in several different denominations based on the relative worth of the metal from which they are made. The three most common coins are the gold piece (gp), the silver piece (sp), and the copper piece (cp).
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With one gold piece, a character can buy a bedroll, 50 feet of good rope, or a goat. A skilled (but not exceptional) artisan can earn one gold piece a day. The gold piece is the standard unit of measure for wealth, even if the coin itself is not commonly used. When merchants discuss deals that involve goods or services worth hundreds or thousands of gold pieces, the transactions don't usually involve the exchange of individual coins. Rather, the gold piece is a standard measure of value, and the actual exchange is in gold bars, letters of credit, or valuable goods.
One gold piece is worth ten silver pieces, the most prevalent coin among commoners. A silver piece buys a laborer's work for half a day, a flask of lamp oil, or a night's rest in a poor inn.
One silver piece is worth ten copper pieces, which are common among laborers and beggars. A single copper piece buys a candle, a torch, or a piece of chalk.
In addition, unusual coins made of other precious metals sometimes appear in treasure hoards. The electrum piece (ep) and the platinum piece (pp) originate from fallen empires and lost kingdoms, and they sometimes arouse suspicion and skepticism when used in transactions. An electrum piece is worth five silver pieces, and a platinum piece is worth ten gold pieces.
A standard coin weighs about a third of an ounce, so fifty coins weigh a pound.
“Ten percent,” Trio said blandly, which was the most obvious tell that Harriet had seen in a while.
“Tenth of a percent,” the girl countered. “I bet a real merchant or a bank would do the exchange at cost as part of any transaction.”
Rolling Persuasion (Charisma) | 1d20+4
It was very obviously the exact wrong thing to say, the worst possible thing to say, and Trio bristled and barely refrained from spitting on the floor. “Ten percent. I’m not a merchant or a bank, I’m a miner with paperwork to do, and you’re holding me up. Wouldn’t even be entertaining the idea except that you three did me a solid.”
“Half a percent. You’re also expecting us to do more business, you just haven’t made the ask yet.”
“Ten. Percent.” He ground out the words, glaring at her. “And it’s going up if you waste any more of my fu—limited time.”
“That’s—”
“Hey, hey.” Jason stepped in between them, pulling Harriet back as she started to visibly seethe. “It’s okay. I’ll just carry the coins till we get somewhere where someone isn’t being put to any bother by doing the exchange, okay honey? Five coins is lighter than fifty.”
Nodding placatingly to Trio, he pulled his daughter aside, and Cassandra stepped up. “Sorry about that,” she murmured. “She’s thirteen.”
“S’pose she is,” he allowed. “S’pose she ain’t entirely wrong about me still having something for you to do, yeah?”
“I expected you’d want us to follow up on the cult.”
“Eh.” He shrugged. “That ain’t for me, you’ll do that one way or the other. I can tell, ‘cause you got the stench of adventure on you, yeah? And sure, someone’ll wind up paying you for it, plenty of folks got business with adventurers who clear out cults, but I ain’t the one. If the cult wanted me dead or the Falls Mines work stopped, they’d’a killed me or ruined the place, easy as breathing.”
“So you don’t need me,” Cassandra said in agreement, nodding. “But someone else does, that you know about? And may I say, this is very clever of you. You’re coming along very well in your new Class and profession.”
Spy
Medium humanoid (any race), any alignment
Armor Class: 12
Hit Points: 27 (6d8)
Speed: 30 ft.
Stats: 10 | 15 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 16
Skills: Deception +5, Insight +4, Investigation +5, Perception +6, Persuasion +5, Sleight of Hand +4, Stealth +4
Senses: passive Perception 16
Languages: Common, Undercommon, Dwarvish
Challenge: 1 (200 XP)
Cunning Action: On each of its turns, the spy can use a bonus action to take the Dash, Disengage, or Hide action.
Sneak Attack (1/Turn): The spy deals an extra 7 (2d6) damage when it hits a target with a weapon attack and has advantage on the attack roll, or when the target is within 5 feet of an ally of the spy that isn't incapacitated and the spy doesn't have disadvantage on the attack roll.
Actions
Multiattack: The spy makes two melee attacks.
Shortsword: Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Hand Crossbow: Ranged Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, range 30/120 ft., one target. Hit: 5 (1d6 + 2) piercing damage.
Description
Rulers, nobles, merchants, guildmasters, and other wealthy individuals use spies to gain the upper hand in a world of cutthroat politics. A spy is trained to secretly gather information. Loyal spies would rather die than divulge information that could compromise them or their employers.
“I’m not gonna bother asking,” Trio said tiredly. “ You’ll know whatever you know however you know it. Look, talk t’Mook ‘n One-Venture Surge. They’re heading down-shaft, all the way to the waystation there. They got a keystone and a pass to use the Deep Roads down there; Short Drop was their first stop, not their last, yeah? Following the road from Baldur's Gate to Waterdeep, they’ll spend four uneventful days before a goblin ambush interrupts their journey. And they’ll want some guards with ‘em when that happens.”