Journal entry for day 20 of Ready'reat through day 20 Sunsebb
Another day, another debacle. We're holed up in this glorified inn, the "Welcome Wench," while we supposedly rest. Rest? More like stew in our own incompetence. We managed to sell some of the gear we plundered--mostly damaged junk--for a pittance. The local merchants are nothing but a bunch of scumbags, offering a miserly four and a quarter gold pieces for scale armor that Zorla has been patching and cleaning regularly. Eventually they coughed up eight gold, only after she called them out for their thievery.
Then there's the matter of food. This place has the audacity to charge 12 gold and six silver for a month of their "plain meals," which I imagine taste like boiled gruel. At least we managed to get that settled; I’m sure the food will be as bland as ever.
The others are obsessed with magic and spells, especially one named Opelle. Apparently she has a spell that requires powdered pineal glands of all things. She's been harvesting them from various humanoids. She and others are going on about "clairvoyance" and "clairaudience," as if those will solve all our problems. Turns out the “clairaudience” spell requires a silver horn worth 100 gold pieces that is destroyed when used, and I’m sure that’s a fine use of coin. The other spell, “clairvoyance,” seems less ridiculous as it only needs the gland dust that Opelle is so intent on collecting.
We also had to go and see some of the local leadership at the tower - Burne and Rufus. They sent us to clear out some “moathouse,” which turned into a bloodbath. We fought gnolls, bugbears, and bandits – the usual suspects. They even offered a bounty for the leader’s tunic (50 gold pieces) and soldier’s tunics (10 gold pieces). I guess that’s better than nothing, but hardly enough for the risks involved. I swear, if I’m not going to be paid what I’m worth, I’ll just pickpocket it back from these fools.
These local rubes are obsessed with scalps as evidence. As if a uniform isn't enough; Apparently we are supposed to bring both. Honestly, the things we have to do to get paid around here…
The group was also very concerned about healing. Burne said there aren't any druids or clerics available for adventuring. But at least the local druids gave us each two vials of some herbal concoction. And then, we had to go to the temple because apparently the clerics might have some healing potions because we complained enough. The temple wanted donations before they'd help us. So, more of our hard-earned coin went into the offering plate. We managed to buy some healing potions for an exorbitant 35 gold pieces each! Who even knew they cost that much? Each of us got one potion which, I’m sure will vanish in the next battle.
I was even talked into going to the temple by Morwenna, and I suspect it wasn’t for my conversation or charm. But, I have to admit, it was nice to get another potion.
The party seems very excited to be heading back to the Moathouse. Maybe we'll get some decent treasure this time, but knowing our luck, we'll probably end up fighting more monsters and wasting more money on bandages and overpriced oil. This little town is bleeding us dry. There’s also talk of leveling up which I’m told costs a thousand gold pieces. I don’t even have half that much and there’s no way I’m working with the seamstress for three silver a day.
I'm starting to think I should just take matters into my own hands. Perhaps I’ll start a “side hustle” in town.
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