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Seeking Jezelda (Evendur x Lord DreamCrusher)

With the split in the road he did pause to consider his options. However, his decision was made fairly easily as his ultimate goal would not be found upon trails through the wilderness; at least not without some more information and direction in any case. He directed them down the path towards Feldan with another reminder that she needed to exercise discretion around others. "I'm going to remind you again to stick to the cover story about my nature and to not tell anyone that I seek information about Jezelda. Humans, and other races, don't look kindly upon the mistress of the hungry moon. To search for information about her is akin to crime by their standards. Make no mistake, as much as I enjoy having an omega to satisfy my needs, if you try to betray or sabotage me then I will kill you in the most painful way possible. I would think that servitude would be an easy thing for you to prefer, though I've seen many cases of stupidity and nonsense from others even during my short time traveling."
 
"I have no problem picking servitude, my Alpha. If I was going to rebel, it would have been before I swallowed dead deer dong." She replied flatly as he reminded her of the precariousness of her situation with him, and how outclassed she was in terms of single combat against him. At least without silver shuriken. "What are we doing in town then? Seeing if anyone knows of any crypts or ruins we can explore for the information you seek? I remember that you said it was unlikely that it would be readily upon the tongues of commoners." She asked, unsure what he wanted her to do if they couldn't ask the information he sought.

"Also, while not as reviled as you, given our prankster nature, my are not looked upon favorably either. So, please don't reveal my secrets either." She asked politely as they made their way to Feldan.
 
There was a measure of logic in her response but that didn't mean he was so eager to trust her. Control through strength and intimidation was his way, the Jezeldan way, so he had no intention of easing up upon her. "From what I've learned, the more likely places to house information that I seek would be old churches. Most villages they are the only places with scrolls or books at all and, since the knowledge isn't freely shared, there is a chance for them to have sources that would otherwise be considered evil. Getting them to cooperate has proven more difficult. I believe my best chance is to do work for them in order to gain access to the building, however my social skills are not developed in the soft ways that the lesser races desire. They distrust me easily, and are naturally afraid as they should be."

He hadn't been traveling for long from his home but he had learned a fair bit all the same. That was one opportunity to get information, though there was another which was equally difficult for him to manage. "I've learned that, sometimes, lesser races will turn to worship of dark powers in secret. I believe the term is a cult. A cult to one such dark power, even if it isn't Jezelda, could prove useful on account of their need for help of a more cruel and cunning nature. Failing those options, I plan to learn of the surrounding areas as we travel and make note of any areas that seem strange. People often mislabel what they don't understand and what they fear I can typically cow with relative ease. I'm loathe to do simple work for the lesser races just to earn coin or the like, I can provide for myself just fine, but if it serves a purpose to potentially get me closer to more valuable information then I can stomach the shame of it all."
 
Misaki listened and nodded, the pair of evil shapeshifters discussing their plans as they headed towards Feldan, ground crunching under their boots until they got a bit closer, and the roads smoothed a little bit from more frequent use. "Gotcha, I'll keep my eye out for churches and cults. And I'll do my best to aid your social skills, Alpha." She replied with a nod, as they pair approached the town after about a half-day's travel. It was between a hamlet and a metropolis, Feldan a decent population, a couple taverns, some shops, a smithy, and a multi-faith church. This was common in more rural areas that couldn't afford the space or resources to devote a different temple to every deity in the area.

"Where to, boss?" The ninja asked cheerfully, looking around the town and enjoying some of the smells of flowers and food that were wafting their way.
 
Looking around revealed a modest village of sorts, though Draven was of the mind that this way of living so removed from nature was wrong on many levels. Regardless it would help his goals hopefully to have options, the church was something that immediately caught his eye though he knew he'd need to be a bit more cautious than he had been in the past. Unfortunately holy men and women were more suspicious than most, even if they often preached things like understanding and compassion. "We'll play the part first. Check around and see if there are any looking to buy the pelts I've collected these last few days, then seek a place to rest for the night. When a room is secured we'll try and pick up any local rumors from the taverns."
 
Misaki nodded as their conversation finished up, and they made their way around the town. Once they reached the leatherworker's shop, they found someone interested in the pelts. And older, balding man that looked so thin it was hard to say he'd ever had a good meal in his life. He didn't look unwell or malnourished, just, very spindly. "How many pelts you got there son, and how much you think they're worth? You new to the area? Haven't seen you around here before." He said in a pleasant tone as Draven produced his pelts.

Please make an Craft (armor) or Profession (tanner or similar) check to see how much you know of their value.
 
"Just passing through, though might stay in town a bit if there's anything to occupy my time. I've got two pelts, one doe and one buck. Well trimmed and dried, ready for tanning." Draven knew how to hunt and forage, he knew how to skin a kill and preserve the hide for other use. He even knew the process of tanning leather and turning that leather into armor, though his expertise was through practical learning rather than a proper apprenticeship as far as human society was concerned. Methods almost certainly differed and, of course, most people didn't kill with fang and claw. Though he did try to be precise with his strikes when hunting for a number of reasons.

He took the two pelts from his pack and laid them out for the old man to look at. "I know prices vary from region. These are fresh, only a few days old, so I think they'd be worth around two silvers each." He could be underselling himself but market values weren't really a strong suit for someone who lived in a tribal pack of werewolves all his life. Making a little coin would be nice, though it was more valuable to Draven that he make himself look more favorable in the eyes of the locals in the hopes that friendly tongues would wag more and speak something useful to him.

Craft (Armor): [1d20+11]=16+11=27

They aren't tanned, just dried. Tanning takes a year so he's just looking to offload them to someone either looking to make leather or to keep the fur for clothing or decoration.

Since 3.5/Pathfinder don't have set prices for Deer pelts (and the pelts they list are the desirable ones for clothing) I'd probably say that a deer pelt is somewhere between 1 silver and 5 copper to 2 silvers and 5 copper.

I came to that conclusion by estimating the Sq Yards that a deer pelt could provide in thin leather (1) and the value of that leather would be 5 silver. So 2 silver and 5 copper per pelt would be half the value, though could be even less if you factor crafting costs as the estimate. 1/3 of 5 silver is 1.65 silver after all.
 
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The other male looked a little surprised as Draven offered him a fair price, and then guffawed. "You sure aren't from around here!" He says, slapping the table in an amused manner. "Just last week I had Mr. Vinder try and tell my his 10 rabbit pelts were worth a gold a piece!" He says, as he opens his money pouch, and hands Draven 6 silver coins. "The extra ones are for the good laugh you gave me. Buy your lovely wife a nice drink, on me." He said, tipping his had to Misaki, who blushed, and curtsied like she was wearing a skirt. The old man then began taking the pelts.

"Best place in town to find something to occupy time is at the Tipped Tankard. They have a job board in there. Feldan is the only town for several miles in each direction, so, lot of jobs go through there." He offers that final nugget of wisdom, before starting to work with his new purchases.
 
Draven paused as he tried to mentally guess as to what rabbit pelts would go for, they were smaller but he understood that people liked to make clothing out of them nonetheless. One gold each sounded like it was probably a high price, though he knew some other small pelts could go for more expensive than that. In the end it didn't matter too much to him because he didn't have any to sell, so he shrugged his shoulders at the extended talk and tried to simply not ruin the good will from the man as he handed over the coins to complete the transaction. The extra coins were a surprise, though the mistake of Misaki being his wife got a chuckle from his lips and it seemed some amount of embarrassment from her beside him.

"Thanks for the information, and the coin. I'll be sure to bring you more pelts if I come through again with any." His tone was relatively level and certainly not mirthful or jovial like most people would offer in a friendly fashion, though that was part of Draven's problem when it came to making friends; he simply had no interest in niceties and saying anything more than what was necessary in discourse. With that transaction completed he led them away in search of this Tipped Tankard, a stupid name but more or less what Draven expected from them on average. A job board could certainly be useful, though it meant he'd have to stomach subjecting himself to the service of another in the name of coin. At the least they could look, listen in on local conversations, and see if the place rented out rooms as well. "Come along, wife." He said quietly as a little jab to Misaki. Already the humans were thinking she belonged to him at a glance.
 
"Of course dear, you can buy me a nice drink like the man said." She replied in a playful tone that suggested she was just saying it for appearances, and not that she actually expected him to do it. The leatherworker nodded and waved them off as they headed over the the Tipped Tankard, nothing exciting happening on the way over. From the outside, the building looked too large to just be a tavern, it had to rent rooms as well, Upon entry, the place was not too heavily populated, which made sense given than it was after midday meal at this point, so, it was scarce of patrons. A large, portly man was cleaning glasses behind the bar. One look at him told you he was the innkeeper, he just had that look. Or well, he did to Misaki, it might not occur to Draven, what with his disdain for city living.

"What can I get for you and your lovely lady, Sir?" He asks as the pair seat themselves at the bar.
 
"Do you have any rooms for rent? We need a place to stay for at least the evening." He questioned as he begrudgingly approached and sat at the bar, not understanding the human need for such close proximity when eating and imbibing alcohol. "We were also told you had a board for jobs?" He wasn't really hungry, at least not to an extent that he felt he needed to waste money on food at the moment, but he understood that the lesser races looked more favorably upon those who spent money so he looked back at the options of liquor he could see from the bar. Personally he wasn't too picky about what could get him drunk, it was less about the taste and more about the feeling to him and his kin, however he'd found that he liked the thicker and headier varieties that humans and their ilk had to offer. "We'll take two mugs of ale though at the least."
 
"I do, though, the only room available is our suite. I'm not sure why Dad built one, but after his trip to the big city, he was insistent that we have one. It has both a private room and a large bedroom, a fireplace, an excellent lock, and a chamberpot. The bed is also, uh, very sturdy. " He says with a wink and a chuckle to the couple as he pours their ales and hands them the mugs. The large container looked normal on Draven, and little large on Misaki, but she didn't seem to mind the large portion. She did roll her eyes at the bed comments though.

"The Ale is 8cp, and the suite is 16gp a night." He replies, the Tian woman nearly choking on her drink. She gives Draven a sidelong glance, wondering if he wants her to try and haggle.
 
Draven resisted the urge to sigh as the man explained the room to them. It was expensive and far more than he required but he didn't really want to risk wandering around the other places and finding nothing or worse, losing this room to someone else as well. Reaching to his belt, the man produced his coinpurse which was quite heavy by the standards of the common folk and rummaged through to dig out the appropriate money to pay the man. Misaki seemed to indicate she'd be willing to try and lower the price but, in all honesty, he had the money and didn't want to piss off the locals on accident. Money meant less to him than most people, it was just a useful tool.

"That's expensive." He counted out and handed over sixteen gold pieces and eight copper. "Better hope that there are good paying jobs on that board or you'll drive away your customers. Guess that explains why it's the only thing available." He wasn't trying to insult the man but it likely came off as a bit rude regardless. Again, that was just Draven's nature and he had a difficult time curbing it. He didn't intend to throw away all his gold on such expensive accommodations but, for one night at least, he was fine with it right now.
 
Misaki nodded and turned back to her ale as her 'husband' paid for their room. She looked around the place and while it was a nice building, it was hard to believe that a little privacy came at such a premium. Not that she minded it. With a high quality lock, she could hang out in her natural form if she wanted. That was a pleasant plus, and she happily downed some of the tasty ale. It wasn't as nice as sake, but, that was hard to find outside of Tian Xia.

"You're not wrong." He said, as he pocketed the coin. "Though, if you're in Feldan and looking for a lot of money, you must have some searchin' for the Band of the Black Veils treasure, right?" The man asks with an eager twinkle in his eye.
 
He shrugged and shook his head to indicate 'no' while he took a sip of his drink. It was cheap and suitable, nothing special but he didn't come here seeking it in the first place. "Never heard of it. Just figured we'd do well to put more distance between us and the worldwound these days." A lie that most people were all too willing to believe. He knew the truth, that the demonic influence wasn't to be spurned but rather welcomed if only for the fact that Jezelda herself grew her reach through it, but most people (and fey) tended to disagree with that statement.

"What can you tell us about this supposed treasure?" He didn't put a lot of stock in this rumor but he wouldn't discount it either. Humans, and the other lesser races, were always trying to covet wealth and hide it away from others. It didn't make sense to him to posses something and not use it but he tried not to think too hard about the motivations of the lesser races, they couldn't be easily understood or rationalized.
 
"Ah, yes. The more distance between us and that the better." The innkeeper said with an understanding nod. "Well, I'd normally ask for an information fee, but, seein' as how ya got the suite, I'll throw this in. I've heard that this is the second Feldan, actually. The original is somewhere nearby, but abandoned in the early years of my great grandfather's life. However, the church there was rather solidly built, and it stood for a long time. About 50 years ago, a group of bandits called the Band of the Black Veils started using it as their hideout. They were never caught, but eventually, age got to them, as it does to us all. Since they were never caught, stories about their wealth still being their exist, hidden in that old church." He says as he pours himself a small amount of ale. "But that's all I know, sadly. Otherwise I'd have gone for the load myself."
 
The story sounded plausible with what Draven knew of humans and honestly he didn't think it should be that difficult to uncover. Either these people were far more incapable at simple scouting and retrieval than even he thought, something was more complicated than the story would suggest, or it was all just a story with no merit. That said, he decided that it was at least worth the effort to look a little bit if not to devote too much time to something that could simply be false. "Must be well-hidden if nobody has found it in fifty years. That or people haven't really made a solid effort to find it yet." He was hoping to see if the man would give him more context in regards to how sought after the treasure truly was. If others had tried and failed then it would make it a bit less tempting for himself, at least if a decent amount of others had attempted in any case.
 
"I wish I could help you more. Perhaps ask around town. I'm only a spry lad of 22 myself. Perhaps Father Santus at the church knows more about it? Being an elf, he's been around for a while. He was the priest at the old church all those years ago." The barkeep said as he finished his own ale, before washing the mug and putting it away.

Misaki side-eyed Draven again, they had already found a lead that involved two churches though, it sounded like one would be quite worse for wear. It was still promising to check out.
 
Well that was good enough for him. This Father Santus would be their next stop and it would take them to the church which he wanted to visit anyway. A good excuse for showing up without much interest in worship. "Guess we'll check in and see what he knows." For the moment Draven allowed the conversation to wear down as they finished their respective drinks. When their mugs were empty he'd direct Misaki to follow as they left the establishment and headed on over to the church building in town. "This Santus should know exactly where the old town is located, makes me wonder why the treasure remains lost."
 
"Maybe it's REALLY well hidden?" Misaki offers jokingly as they finish their drinks. The duo leaves the Tipped Tankard and head to the other end of the town where the church is located.

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Approaching the church, it was a simple, well made building, constructed of wood with a solid roof. It was two floors, the upper likely being the priest's living quarters. Once they entered, they would see wall murals depicting the different gods worshiped here. There was Cayden Cailean, Desna, Torag, Shelyn, and Erastil. Inside there was an elven woman currently sweeping the floor.

"Yes? How can I help you?" She asks, setting the broom aside. "Is someone hurt?" She adds with concern.
 
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Draven shook his head at Misaki's comment but didn't bother to give it the dignity of a reply. Instead he focused on moving to the church and proceeding with the plan of gathering information. At the church he saw the varying symbols of what he assumed were gods, though none of them meant anything to him. His tribe venerated but one divine power, the others might as well have not existed in his eyes.

The woman who greeted them was fair in appearance though nothing truly special for her kind. He'd fuck her without complaint but she wasn't worth any extra trouble in order to bed. Of course, that wasn't the point of being here so he brushed the lewd parts of his mind aside and shook his head at her question. "No, no one is hurt. Not that I know of at least. I was hoping to speak with a Priest Santus or Father Santus I think it was?" Pointless titles, he couldn't keep them straight despite having just heard the correct one minutes ago.
 
"Father Santus." Misaki piped in with a helpful nod. She would also not have minded bedding the elf, well, were she able to do so at least.

"Ah, yes, I'm Father Santus. What can I help you with?" She replied with a nod. "Do you seek guidance from the gods on something? Your marriage perhaps?" She asks curiously, and definitely seems to be giving the large male a once over, impressed at the muscle definition he had visible while wearing clothes.
 
Draven raised an eyebrow at the woman claiming she was Father Santus. Strange naming conventions aside, the barkeeper had clearly said that Santus was a man. "I don't appreciate being lied to. The question remains if it's you that is trying to manipulate me or if the man at the Tipped Tankard is playing me for a fool. I was told that Father Santus is male." Not that the distinction mattered but he didn't want to waste his time with the wrong person. Such a mistake from the barkeeper's tongue would be strange to say the least so his suspicion was that this woman was lying to him.

Sense Motive: [1d20+14]=18+14=32

Intimidate (If you think what he said warrants one): [1d20+14]=3+14=17
 
The elf looked surprised and then scoffed crossing her arms under her breasts. "Fine, geez. Father Santus, My father, is currently out of town on business. I'm a trained and divinely gifted cleric of Shelyn just like him. I'm Elewine" She replied, annoyed that the large male that she'd once found attractive had called her out on her lies. "What are you, one of dad's old friends or something?" She asked after a moment.

"That being said, what can I, Priestess Elewine do for you?" The woman asks repeating her initial question. She does not seem intimitated by a scruffy forest man and his black clad wife.
 
The change was immediate and mildly amusing. She had no patience and clearly was not the old and wizened individual he was looking for. The way she crossed her arms and scoffed at him was a little arousing though, if only for the satisfaction of putting an uppity brat in her place. "Well, Elewine, I'm Draven and this is Misaki. We've never met your father but were hoping to speak with him regarding the location of the old Feldan ruins. I don't suppose you know anything about that?" Draven was not backing down or apologizing for upsetting the young woman but he did pull back from annoyance to a level tone at this point. There was still a chance she could be useful to him to some degree and it wouldn't benefit him to upset her further just yet.
 
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