The party stopped roughly halfway on their journey to Hochoch at the Bitterwood Inn for the night. Innkeeper Bruno Mara welcomed the travelers and sought to exchange realm news. On his end, Bruno noted multiple fast messengers bypassing the inn and shared rumors of a coughing/pox sickness spreading from Hookhill. In turn, the party reported rescuing Orlane's kidnapped
mayor and rumors of giant raids. Bruno also passed along word that adventurers were unearthing ancient treasure from the Rushmoors/Barrow Marsh. It is always interesting to hear what news spreads outside of one's own town.
Although the Bitterwood is a small outpost, increased travel has driven up the price of rooms. For a private room, the cost is three gold pieces and the common room is five silver pieces. The meals are expensive as well, costing 15 silver pieces. Feno and Lalie opted for two of the limited private rooms and Feno even offered to pay for Titus's lodging since the cleric was low on funds. Niki, however took a different tack, and challenged a very strong looking traveler to an arm-wrestling contest for his room. Her confidence was high, but her strength was no match, and alas, she lost. Punishment was a night in the common room.
Gnorcia was pleased to find another gnome at the inn. She befriended the fellow (named Gory), a teamster coordinating horses and transport for refugees. A gnome may not appear a friendly face to us humans, but I assure you, Gnorcia was happy to see him and chat in her native tongue for the night.
Meanwhile, Sergius and Arnd met Barl and his sons (Parl and Quarl), dwarven warriors clad in supple granite stone armor. They were heading west to the Duchy of Geoff to fight hill, frost, and fire giants. The father and sons advised the party to seek out the Duke of Geoff for employment. That does sound like a challenging and worthy endeavor, but our heroes have another task to complete first!
Outside the walls of Hochoch, the party encountered a massive refugee camp filled with displaced civilians, nobles, and wounded veterans. Titus, Lalie, Isla, and Niki cast their Cure Light Wounds spells to heal the injured, while Gnorcia handed copper coins to local children and Sergius
assisted injured travelers. Those Saviors of Orlane really are do-gooders at heart! At the city gates, guards inspected their active charter and assessed a city defense tax of two gold pieces per person. Lalie graciously covered poor impoverished Titus's fee.
Guided by Gnorcia and Titus, the group visited Ginton Bellum, a premier jeweler operating at The Darling Stone. Prior to negotiations, Tatana and Gnorcia performed appraisals of the loot they planned to sell. Leveraging her high charisma Lalie led negotiations and locked in premium payout rates, guaranteed for two months. The party sold a few pieces at a handsome price.
Following the gem sales, Tatana consulted Ginton regarding professional jeweler equipment.
She ended up purchasing the high-end jeweler kit that would allow gem processing. This means that Tatania could, with some careful work, elevate the value of gems she examined. But, a clumsy hand could destroy the stone instead. Will the party risk their future treasure for a greater reward? I, Vilma, cannot wait to find out!
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