Chapter 2: Mired Waters

Hanzel is faintly amused by Theobald's eagerness. "It's quite alright," he says with a smile. "It's nothing we weren't going to tell him already."

He turns to the constable, leaning on his staff as he speaks. "Theobald here is right, sir. We've come to tell you about the orcs in the area. Our group dealt with some of them, but there seems to be a lot of them around at the moment. And their shields had a symbol on them, looks like a head with an axe buried in it."

"Whoa there, slow down. I'm aware Jelenneth hasn't returned home in a few days, you say she's disappeared completely? And what of these orcs you speak of? Where did you encounter them? Tell me everything from the start."

The warrior nodded, "We travelled to visit Jelenneth master, to confirm that she had not gone to see him. He hired us to search for her further, so we went to seek the ranger Kuiper and search the Hog Brook where she was said to frequent. On our way to search there, we were ambushed by a group of orcs. We bested them, but they were a heavily armed hunting party."

Constantine nods seriously, heavily armed? ambushed? He hopes none of the others can see the worry on his face, they're real warriors...

The only orcs Constantine has ever seen were in pictures that his older sister would use to frighten him as a child. 'well, it worked' he mutters to himself as behind his back he compulsively rubs his fingers together drawing sparks of magic from the weave. The heat making his fears a little more bearable.

Garyld listens to Devon attentively, his eyes widening a bit at the mention of Kuiper. He then asks you to wait for a moment as he returns inside. His hounds keep an eye on the group as he scribbles a brief note on a piece of scrap paper. When he's done, he whistles, and moments later, a bright-eyed crow answers his summons, landing on his shoulder. Garyld folds the paper into a tiny scroll and tells the bird "Take this to Shiraz." Taking the paper in its beak, the crow flies off, vaguely to the southeast.

"If Jelenneth is anywhere in the western part of Haranshire, Shiraz will probably be able to get some news of her. Thanks for relaying all that information to me. Anything I find out, I promise to get back to you. Likewise, please pass along to me any news or clues that might be important. Together we stand a better chance."

After reporting to Garyld, the group is quick to return to the Baron of Mutton and hunker down for the night, still nursing their wounds from the trek into Hog Brook and the encounter with the orcs.3rd of Coldeven (Spring), 576 CY
It's the final day of resting up and preparing for the trek along the river. While checking in with Bertio after having to pay for last night's lodging, he clarifies that he's paying for protection of the cargo alone; he's not pressing you to get started immediately, but he's not covering your expenses while you're sitting back eating, sleeping and drinking either; that's clearly his way of pressuring you to get started. It is also made clear, as you further discuss the finer details and terms of your employment, that you will be escorting Bertio's boatmen and crew, but the merchant himself will stay behind in Milborne. As a matter of fact, you're expected to make sure the goods are safely delivered to Thurmaster and you shall be paid upon your return to Milborne again. By this point, it's starting to dawn on the group that this trip back and forth between the two villages will be something they'll frequently do during their stay in Haranshire.4th of Coldeven (Spring), 576 CY
With everyone ready to go, Andren bids you farewell and wishes you luck while Bertio is giving final instructions to the crew of his barge.

Constantine is a......let's say thrifty, little gnome. And he is outraged that he is expected to pay a full 5 silver for room and board. He can barely reach the room's door handle, and he takes up less room on the bed than the pillow! The bowl of mutton with onions he ate for supper would fit into a human's hand!!

OUTRAGED!!

He is stomping around the inn looking for the inn keeper to demand fair treatment, when.......

oh my.....
he sees the water.
His little toes curl inside his little boots as he thinks about the boat ride he will take on the morrow. He's never been on a boat before. It seems so....so.....worldly. This is it. This is the reason he left home! To live in the world! To see it. To see it ALL!

He can't help but run out the door and straight to the canal. He stands at the edge and giggles like a boy as he sees his reflection in the water. He throws in little pebbles and watches the ripples distort the image. His mind swoons at the fish, the turtles, the mermaids and the whales that must be in there. Just under the surface, looking back at him.

He considers jumping in. That's what an adventurer would do. Right? He knows how to swim. Right? Well, probably. Gnomes can probably all swim. Right? He thinks hard for a moment, and then remembers that his dear old grandmother sewed this suit he's wearing. He shouldn't risk it shrinking. Yes, that's right, of course as a brave adventurer he could swim from one end of this canal to the other. But he should't. Not in his grandma's suit....

So he just sits at the edge and lets his mind wander. Oh the adventures on the high seas they will have! He'll be a real sailor. A swashbuckler even! His stupid brothers and their stupid books will be SO jealous!

That makes him laugh to himself and he forgets all about the silver.

The warrior prowls the village during the slow days waiting. He returns to Garyld to check on news a couple of times a day, but with nothing new, finds himself impatient to have something to do. In the end, he resorts to just practicing his weapon skills, setting up a straw target and firing his bow or practicing with his sword.

When Hanzel's not trying to get some rest so he can recover properly, he's out and about exploring Milborne, getting to know the locals and seeing if he can perhaps pick up any useful information. The question of Jelenneth's whereabouts and safety often lingers in his mind.

He also takes the opportunity to make sure his supplies are in order, especially regarding his ammunition.

Aldeera's time has been spent sharpening her weapon and honing her skills. She's been practicing on dummy locks, false traps, and moving about stealthily.

The group reunites at the local Boathouse near the river, where workers are already at work preparing the barge for its trip down the river. There, they meet Capella, keeper of the place and clearly the one to perform any necessary boat repairs, as evidenced by the faint smell of tar and pitch that seems to linger around her. A woman in her mid-thirties, Capella is rather broad shouldered and well built, with the no-nonsense character and short fuse to match the boatmen she seems to work with on a regular basis.

The trip itself is wholly uneventful; the only encounter along the river is a family of locals, with the father and sons herding the sheep to graze and drink along the bank while the women are off gathering the small red berries unique to Haranshire. By nightfall, you're in Thurmaster again, updating Tauster over dinner and drinks at the Hound and Tails.

"It is unfortunate that Kuiper's assistance didn't help you discover my apprentice's whereabouts. I shall compensate you as agreed for your troubles, and my offer for additional pay still stands, should you be able to find where Jelenneth is. That aside, I have no more errands for you just now, but you don't seem to be in much need of it anyway. You're making a namy for yourselves in the region, doing just fine finding employment for yourselves already. Should have no trouble getting more jobs now, what with kidnappings and bands of unknown orcs in the woods! Dark times, dark times indeed... I have a feeling there are some interesting adventures in store for you."As if on cue, you feel the presence of someone behind you, in the way where you can tell it's not just someone waiting for the waitress to go by so they can move on, but rather, someone deliberately waiting there for your attention and a chance to join the conversation. Although the man doesn't have his armor on, after a quick moment of searching down the corridors of your mind, you do recognize him as the guard who was posted outside the door of Squire Marlen's house.

"You lot, didn't you visit Squire Marlen's house a few days back? I recognize a couple of you, we spoke outside the door before I let you in. Any idea where that other gnome that was with you's gone? Umbar something. He offered to join the ranks but never showed up for it and no one knows where he's gone. It's like the earth opened up and swallowed him up without a trace."

Another missing person? Just what is going on here? "Umbar? He left our group shortly after we met with Squire Marlen. I haven't seen him since. He seemed to be interested in gems, so he might've gone looking for them and got lost, but I really can't say anything for sure."

"Ugh, that sucks. I was really hoping he'd join up so we could do less shifts, but I guess he had second thoughts. It's hard to find reliable folks these days"

The Hound and Tails hasn't changed at all since your last visit; the ale is still watered down piss, the food is greasy and promising a hard night for your stomach, the beds aren't exactly clean and several inquisitive bugs make their home in them.5th of Coldeven (Spring), 576 CY
The next day, with not much more to go on in terms of investigation, you begin the march along the riverbank back to Milborne. The temperature is chilly and a light breeze makes it feel even colder, but fortunately there's no rain and the few clouds aren't enough to obstruct the sunlight, so once you've walked for a bit and the sun comes up in the sky proper, the cold doesn't feel that bad anymore. Along the river, you only run into another river barge headed towards Thurmaster, which you do notice is also escorted by armed guards. Clearly the news have spread, of disappearances and of orcs. And that's not something that doesn't hit home, because after Scarlet, now another former member of this group, Umbar, seems to have gone missing. Speaking of Umbar, the only positive of him leaving the group has been how the others have been able to march between Milborne and Thurmaster in a single day. As the sun sets, you realize having Constantine along now, with now river barge to carry him along, everyone has to match his pace, meaning it'll take another day till you can make it to Milborne. Fortunately, you now have some friends around this area...

Aldeera considers the merits of camping out and taking her chances with potential bandits or wandering orcs, but decides to take the bed. She sleeps fitfully at best. As the journey draws to the end of the next day, she speaks up. "I suggest that we ask Kuiper if we can borrow his barn for the night. At least we would be warm."

Constantine prefers a feather bed, with a copper bed warmer.... but the price tag on camping is very attractive.

He will follow whatever the group decides. He gets the idea that they already consider him a burden. Maybe he will spend his down time researching "walk faster" magic...

The lad doth gaze from one speaker to the next, with an air of great interest, yet also showing his lack of worldly knowing.

"Ye are Adventurers, are ye not, and the good Gnome a Mighty Sorcerer? Do ye not bear much gold and shining platinum with ye, then?"

He doth pause for but a short moment, pondering.

"Yet I shall follow your lead, for your wisdom and experience shall surely guide us to make the correct choice in all this."

The warrior smiled at the lad Theobald. "Sadly my friend, life on the road means many cold nights on the ground and often little coin to show for it. We were already ambushed by orcs one night, sleep in a friend's barn sounds welcome."