[Sidequest] The Invisible Hand
@TiberiusLazarus This is the 'Inverted Pyramid' storyline renamed
Recap
New Names:
Inverted Pyramid -> Invisible Hand
Delver's Square -> Toll's End (foreshadowing?)
Danbury's -> The Phoenix
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Nestril says 'My boy, we help those who help us.' Pixy sings 'Always a chore to doOooo. Always a dank floor to ungoooOooo. Always a broke door to GluueeEeee. Always a cheap whore to..' 'THAT is quite enough Pixy' Nestril cuts in. 'We don't need help with floors, doors, or whores, but we could use a young hand at a small thorn in our paw, as it were. '
'Dorba'Kol here was careless and lost something very valuable to him.' Nestil starts. 'His Right Arm!!' Pixy barks in laughter. Tol looks to see that the construct is indeed missing his arm to the elbow on the right side.
'I - WAS - ATTEMPTING - TO - LEARN - NEW - SKILLS. THEY - TAUGHT - ME - GAMBLING. I - WAS - BAD - AT - IT'
'The Nix Racers have barred known mages from their betting hall, but yo, you might be able to enter. Win back the arm, or barter it back. Steal it in exchange for this if you have to' he drops a large sack of coin.
'Do this for us and we will call you friend' Ravanna caws.
Comments
"You...bet your arm? Really? That seems a bad idea." Tol chuckles at the inside joke. "Well if it was fairly wagered and lost then so be it. Can you not just create a new one?"
Assuming the answer to be no Tol continues, "So what sort of games do these 'Nix Racers' play; skill or luck? Are they one big group or does a particular one have the arm? How close of watch do they keep for mages?"
'THAT - WAS - MY - MAGE - HAND - HAND' the construct whines. Pixy sits on his shoulders and pats him on the head. "We have learned a valuable lesson today, Dor, have we not?" she whispers in his ear socket.
Nestril answers Tol 'Nix Racing is a strange game of skill with a wagon load of luck. The Nix are small four-winged birds with a supernatural gift of agile flying.' the old man grumbles through a thick white beard. 'Nix Racing takes full advantage of these wondrous creatures by allowing them to race through an arial obstacle course. This in itself would be great entertainment to some, but the Gisssail had other ideas. They have fashioned headwear imbued with the powers of clairvoyance and animal control. The race is not how well can one Nix outfly another, but instead how well one racer can out-control their Nix through this course while racing three others.'
'All Without throwing up!' Pixey adds helpfully.
'I - WAS - FLYING. I - WAS - FREE. BUT - IT - COST - ME - AN - ARM' Dor intones
"Well that does seem an interesting experience. I will do what I can. Where might I find them and when do they race?"
After getting the information Tol will head over to the place. If the area is set up for spectators Tol will join to watch some races. He'll pay particular attention to the layout of the course(s), the Nix, and the people controlling them trying to get a feel for how things work.