Aban sighs.
"How many good reasons of what denomination would that sum up to, exactly?"
"Well lets see, there are four of you, and we'll need to split this three ways, so..." They suggest an amount that comes to 240 pennies, or 1 MP
For most of the negotiations, Plasmatoris tries to stay quiet and unobtrusive. After all, he's Gifted, and never really got along well with the meatier, musclier sorts of people. They made great statues and terrible conversation, in his limited experience. After the price was given, Plasmatoris quietly suggests, "We should probably try and barter them down. Some places consider it rude not to haggle, and either way, we're probably safer implying to them that what their asking for is most of our money."
"Actually, I wasn't paying attention to how much money we actually have. Can we afford that many pennies?"
"What they're asking for is completely ridiculous..."
Aban shouts: "We don't have that much. We'll give you 5 pennies. We can just as well sleep under the sky, you know."
"We should be careful. Going from 240 pennies to 5 pennies, incentivizes them to let us in and then rob us."
OOC: Happy to roll Guile (1) or Folk Ken (2) + Pre (2) if that helps...
"Then sleep under the sky if you are beggars you are not welcome in the city anyways. How did you plan to pay for the lodgings you say you came seeking?"
Aban turns to the others disheartened and explains the exchange he just had quietly enough that the men on the wall cannot hear.
"They are trying to extort us. I say we sleep on the saucer. We could try to fly in but is it really worth the risk and hassle?"
"Sleep on the saucer and keep watch. "
Aetherius nods. "I was expecting to camp along the way during the trip, frankly."
"Let's do it like that, then."
Trek back, sleep in the rough.
My Sodalès seems to want sleep outside the city. I finish land not so far of the group to sleep with them.
"I take the first turn of guard."
Given that your campsite is a hilltop woodland, I would like more details on your camping arrangements- are you sleeping on the ground, on the disk, is there a campfire, etc.
Aetherius has a Survival of 2 with a specialty in Mountains. I'm happy to handle it with a skill check, because I'm not necessarily mountain survival savvy myself. I do think that's likely to involve a fire and probably finding a location that minimizes exposure to wind and rain, etc. He'll take the lead to setup the camp for the group. Hand of the Antiquarian can help if necessary to setup wind shields, but if there are more natural ways to do that, Aetherius would do it the natural way. Maybe the saucer can end up being their roof for the night or something.
There isn't enough bare rock for hand of the antiquarian to matter. It is rarely advisable to start setting up camp after sunset, but you manage to find enough dry wood for a small fire and set your sleeping pads elevated so that snakes and biting insects are not likely to try and share the space with you. Wolves prowl the perimeter of your campsite for a bit that night, but they are apparently not hungry enough to risk coming into the firelight.
The next evening you are able to make it to a newer covenant near the coast in what is considered part of the expanded levant, though politically within the Byzantine Empire.
Can you give us some more context on the covenant - what is it called, where is it located, does Aban know its location?
"There is a covenant near here", he pipes up. "Would you like to pay them a visit while we are here?"
He tries to be nonchalant, but the way he squints at the magi gives away a lingering thought.
The covenant is called Heydar forest covenant, and Aban does know its location, in addition to a modest faerie aura (aura:3) it is also a coastal covenant which has a strong Mercere presence.
"I would like that very much, yes."
Over the last couple days of travel, Plasmatoris's hair and clothing has steadily become more and more dishevelled and unkempt, but the Jerbiton seems as cheerful as usual. "It's quite an interesting trip so far - so many wonderful vistas to enjoy. Beautiful landscapes, of so many varieties. Truly lovely from the air."
He scratches at the scruffy mess on his chin and asks Aban, "Tell me, good friend - what do you know of this covenant? Do you know of their attitude towards visitors and strangers? Have they had frequent communication with the forming covenants in the south?"
"It is my favorite thing about the saucer, actually - you can see farther than everyone else. The covenant has to speak for itself, but the resident Mercere probably won't send housemates off. As for the communication... I would rather let them speak for themselves - I am sure you understand."
Aban turns the saucer toward Heydar forest.