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Grinning as he hears JV tease Fuego he gives Etna a warm smile. "I doubt my generousity tonight will ruin me financially. But.. he reminds me of my youth. It were the stories of heroes old told by my grandfather that made me take sword and shield. And who knows maybe one day, a young lass or lad will hear of fair Etna and Ahadiel the just and their even more couragious comrades and will decide that he has that spark, that spark that leads him to be a hero, or heroine. Besides, would you still care for me the way you do if I were a miser."
"Come on, Victus, at least it's better then Mihail's drinking souring his temper and ruining his liver,"Fuego retorts. "Besides I don't want any incidents of bringing the house down."
Etna then smiles at Ahadiel
"Some bottles of wine go for over a few hundred gold, you know.
I'm just pointing out you should be more careful with how you word your charity, lest some conman takes advantage of it and leaves you broke."
she blushes a bit
"And you do know how to make me blush some..."
Fredric the old man, takes a bite of food and sips his drink as he begins. "I know a little bit of Dragon Mountain, but first let me tell you the story of this town." Fredric really seems to want to tell the story of Harker's Ferry before he discusses anything else.
"The town gets its name from the founder, a man named Harker. He originally set up his ferry here due to it being a strategic location for movement of goods across the region. For many years, the town flourished. Trade came from across the land, as this was the best place to traverse the river.
One day, a filthy, decrepit, old man came up to the ferry and requested a ride across. When he informed them he had no money, he was refused. He asked again, mentioning that he was poor. He was refused again. Harker heard the commotion, and came outside to deal with the matter. The old man again requested privilege to cross. Harker refused, stating, 'We don't need your kind here, old man. Go back where you came from.'
At that moment, the old man threw off his rags and revealed himself as a sorcerer. 'I am Mortan, and you will greant me passage!' Harker was astounded, and instantly acquiesced. 'Of course, mighty sir. Please step aboard with my compliments.'
Mortan stopped, 'You did not ask me to pay your fare, ferryman.'
'No sir, not of one as mighty as you,' Harker said, lowering his gaze so as to not offend the powerful sorcerer.
'You would grant me free passage, but not to one as lowly as I portrayed. I am outraged! You are too greedy, ferryman. Prepare to learn humility!'
With that, the powerful sorcerer built up his magic and cast a mighty spell. The river, which had been there for as long as anyone could remember, stopped flowing. The water there dried up. The ferry lay stuck in the mud. Mortan turned and strode away, never to be seen again."
After finishing is initial story, Fredric drinks down a mug of ale before refilling it. He looks at the party, "Now I will tell you of that Mountain." He smiles with a grin missing a few teeth.
"Before the beginning of history, in a place far from here, it was born. A place of mystery, enchantment, and danger.
A mighty dragon, his name so powerful it cannot be spoken aloud, had a lair on the top of a mountain. This lair was fill with gold, jewels, diamonds, and more. He kept this lair for an age, untouched and unmolested by any mere mortal.
One day, a powerful skeletal Lich Lord came to the mountain. On its peak the battle was lain. In the end, both lay dead. And the treasure unclaimed.
Finding the mountain is nigh unto impossible, as it moves in out of our plane, staying for only a short time.
The cycle is repeated every twenty years, with the mountain appearing in a different place each time. The location of the mountain could be discerned from certain artifacts, but the location and identity of these items is lost to the ages."
"Magic makes people sick in the head apparently. Did the sorcerer even stop to think about the entire herds of local animals he was dooming by drying up a river? What about the people upstream? Downstream? Farms ruined? Must have been hard. Still might be."
Clara shakes her head, looking around the room, meeting eyes where she can, offering small understanding smiles.
"Tell us more about the town, please. It must have taken a brave people to stay after a sorcerous curse on the river."
Mihail turns up in the tavern once he finished haggling and orders a non-alcoholic drink as he plops down a chair.
"Soooo. What did I missed?"
"I think the sorcerer acted unfairly. The ferryman was performing a service and thus had the right to charge,"[b] Fuego muses. [b]"But if you know that you are next to a powerful sorcerer, self preservation would kick in and you wouldn't dare charge the sorcerer the fare. If I do see that sorcerer in question, I would have words with him about his attitude."
Amelia orders nothing and remains silent as Fredric begins his tale. She has, however, produced a notebook and pen from her pouch, and she is rapidly jotting down notes on the stories as they unfold. In response to Mihail's question, she wordlessly slides the notebook across the table to his seat.
Amy frowns at Fuego's assessment of the conflict. "I don't really see how 'fair' has anything to do with it. All those people and animals whose lives or livelihoods the sorcerer destroyed, what difference does it make to them if he was fair in his judgment of some extraneous entrepreneur?"
As she finishes her sentence, Amy begins to cough hoarsely. "Excuse me for a moment," she chokes out, then she slips out the door and around the side of the tavern, shielding herself from public view. "Cogitationes deprehendere," she murmurs, tossing a copper piece gently into the air. Amy then returns to her seat in the tavern and begins to examine the crowd with a relaxed and curious expression. "Now, back to that 'Dragon Mountain' we were discussing."
Mihail is non-responsive to any sources of noise, his gaze is still on the notebook left by Amelia.
Etna hearing about the treasure and that the treasure is that of a dragon's horde.
"If that dragon was over a thousand years, it's horde would be enough to buy a few kingdoms."
she moves her eyes towards Ahadiel
"I could even retire from adventuring and settle down."
Etna replies to Ahadiel's words
"I wouldn't buy a kingdom as it'd be a pain to manage everything and you'd have to deal with the political intrigue that comes with it.
I'd aim for something way more manageable like a small hamlet and or running a farm."
Then adds after a few seconds of thought
"If that did come to past I would definitely settle down and look at starting a family."
Enta looks at Ahadiel and asks
"Have you ever thought of settling down and starting a family of your own?"
Almost everyone in the tavern perked up at the mention of Dragon Mountain by the party, but most faded away when the old man started telling the story of the town. They all have heard it many times. One tall man with a short sword at his waist did focus on Dragon Mountain and is currently looking over the group. He wants to talk to the party and is waiting for the old man to be done. Their INT scores are mostly around 10, a few 8s and one 14 (the tall man).
Fredric speaks up when asked about the sorcerer, "It happened a log time ago and who really knows what goes through the minds of such powerful magic users." The old man takes another swig of his ale.
A tall man with a short sword at his side approaches the table and puts his hand on Fredric's shoulder. The old man looks up, "Move along Fredric. I would talk to these people.
Fredric refills his mug of ale, grabs a chicken leg, and moves off to another table to tell more stories.
The tall man introduces himself as Arik before continuing on, "Afternoon, friends. I see you are interested in Dragon Mountain. Nasty place, that," he says as he takes a sip from his tankard. "Myself, I don't know much about it. But an old companion of mine, Lothar, Lothar the Shiv, he was there. Must have been twenty years ago or so. Lothar, now he could tell you a thing or two about that mountain. If I was eager adventurers like yourselves, I'd look Lothar up. Last I heard, he was livin' in a little village not too far from here. Twin Forks, it's called."
"Thank you for your aid, Arik, would you like us to buy you a drink? What's the terrain to from here to Twin Folks? Are there dangerous beasties around?"
Arik shakes his head 'no'. "I appreciate the offer to buy a drink, but I have free drinks here due to the owner owing me a few favors. As for the terrain, it is mostly plains with a few hills. The safest route is to follow the dried river bed. That route will put you through a small forest section but the trip will probably be uneventful. No real bad monsters are in this area."
Arik thinks for a moment before speaking up again. "It will take about a day and half to get to Twin Forks by horse, so if you don't have any, I believe Tomas, the mayor offers horses for rent. He has a deal with Twin Forks, were horses will be returned. Tomas will probably be in the Town Hall in the morning if you want to rent some horses."
Mihail claps the book shut and hands it backs to Amelia after making some notes on his own notebook.
"Interesting tale...If we succeed, I am not thinking about settling down yet. More wealth means closer to the answers I am seeking."
Mihail orders some food.
Amelia accepts the notebook back from Mihail and jots down Arik's description of Twin Forks and Lothar the Shiv, still scanning the man's mind for malicious or deceptive thoughts.
"Settle down?" Amy gives what could only be described as a snort of laughter. "The next place I settle down will be at the foot of my gravestone."
"Old graveyards do make good picnic parks. We'll have to look into it after this trip."
Clara grins agreeably at Amy.
A ride of a day and a half you say...and we have horses available for rent..hmmm.
J'Victus looks at the man and then back to his companions
What do you think, should we look up this Lothar? We could run back and grab all those supplies we need and then head out to Twin Forks. Could get there in about three days. I say yes, and we should plan on being there in three days. Besides I wanted to stop by the Ioun stone place before we get to far away. You never know what he has in stock.
J'Victus' mention of the Ioun Stone place brings back memories of the thieves guild and the smugglers. It was such a store that set the group up for the trap the lead to J'Victus revealing his true race to the party. You think the J'Victus is feeling that this could be a trap.
Etna looks at Amelia and Clara
"And what is so funny about settling down, Amelia. For all you both know you'll live to your sixties and start having regrets about not settling down.
As you sound like the retired swordswoman from my home town.
She mentioned a number of times that she regretted not settling down with one of her companions from her adventuring days.
I took her words as a lesson not to be repeated."
Arik nods a goodnight to you all as he heads to drink with Fredrick.
Amy nods along to J'Victus' remarks and gives a little wave to Arik and Ahadiel as they depart.
She then turns to meet Etna's gaze. "Oh, by all means, settle down, if that's where your heart leads you. Get a house and a spouse and some beautiful children. But as for me..." Amy smiles again, but this time her smile is a bit sad. "Live to my sixties?" She flickers in and out of view for a moment as she refreshes her hat of disguise. "Etna, I'm nineteen years old." Amy's face is not sad now, nor is it smiling - merely defiant. "I will always be nineteen years old."
If no one addresses Amelia in further conversation, she pulls back her chair and exits the tavern, having touched no food or drink.
Etna adds
"You may be 19 now, but your real body still ages remember...
So you can never be 19 years old forever even though you could look it.
But never be 19 forever, as your illusion can never remove the truth of your real age."
Etna goes over in thoughts of tomorrow morning.
"I'll take a bath tomorrow after I exercise before we leave."
"We rent horses, and get moving to Twin Folks." Fuego answers.
"Etna, she's harming no one with her illusions. Somehow I don't think I see myself settling down either." Fuego sighs, as he removes a glove. "Who would want...someone as burn scarred as me?"
"And I don't want to go through the pain of losing family, twice."
Amy turns to look back at the table, face calm but eyes glaring. "The body I was born in lies paralyzed halfway across the planet. That body could grow to be sixty, yes, it could wither and die, but that body is not me. I am my mind, and my mind will never settle down."
Amelia vanishes from sight, and soars up into the air just beyond the tavern door, muttering "fulgorafa" as she moves.
"And just for the record," her voice calls out, "this is my real body." A burst of shimmering golden dust fills the air around her, outlining the featureless form of a miniature girl, only four feet in height. "See you tomorrow," she adds, before gliding around the tavern and out of sight.
Fuego shakes his head.'Why did Etna have to touch on that sensitive subject? We all have our own demons, and sometimes it's best to leave them alone. Now Amy's pissed off, and I don't blame her too. No one likes having their own failures rubbed into their noses' He decides to keep his mouth shut, for fear of making the situation worse.
Mihail puts his cutlery down beside the empty and wipes his mouth with a napkin.
"I am not going to listen or discuss more about our topic of the day. It is a touchy subject for me as well."
He stands up and pays for his food.
"I am joining our sentinel for bed. See you tomorrow."
The bard takes some step back from the party, casts glitterdust in front of him and teleports to his room. When there is little sparkles of golden flecks left, Mihail is nowhere to be seen.
After seeing the results of her words sighs and mutters
"I think I went too far again. Why is it that I suck at picking up on things socially.
I guess we both poked each other's soft spots tonight, and I forgot the breaks."
"I think we should all get some sleep, and the great adventure can continue in the morning. I'll just finish my drink, then I'll be right up."
She murmurs in elven
"Remember how well being memorable works out for us Jvict?"
Clara spends some time trying to calm the locals after the display of temper, then heads to bed.
The roosters start to shout at the sun as morning comes. The dining hall in the tavern starts to crowd up as people go to get their breakfast before heading to work for the day.
The smell of crispy bacon fills the air as everyone makes their way to the dining hall. The group gathers around an empty table to have their breakfast.
Halfway through your breakfast, a fat, swarthy-looking man approaches you. "Greetings and good morning. Me names Tomas. I'm the mayor of this town. Arik just approached me and told me that your group might be interested in renting some of our horses to head to Twin Forks. Is that so? If it is, I can offer you them for 20 gold per horse. Or perhaps you would like a wagon, which will only be 100 gold. It comes with two horses to drive the wagon."
"I think we'll all ride. Are the horses combat trained?" Fuego asks the mayor.
"Hm, perhaps we buy the wagon and a horse or two for outriders and scouts."
The mayor shakes his head 'no', "I'm afraid all we have are regularly riding horses and draft horses. Nothing as fancy as a combat trained horse."
"Let's hire a wagon and sit in it, then." Fuego says, "Oh, and I'm not driving." He grins at the party.
"That was certain before the discussion even got started. The last thing we let you drive crashed, remember the balloon?"
Clara smiles, then goes looking for this wagon and team.
"Lead on, good Mayor, we appreciate your help, although at that price I'd expect to be buying the wagon."
As the party travels along its way to Twin Forks, J'Victus explains why he felt it is a trap.
This mysterious mountain that belongs to a Dragon seems to be well known. We are given directions to someone that knows all about it, how convenient and his name Lothar the shiv. Now that is a name you can trust. I just want everyone to be ready and prepared as I think we will get to town and be ambushed..by someone that thinks adventurers make easy targets. I only hoped that Arik bought our little side trip and their timing is off a few days. If there is no trap then no harm done.
"Count me out for the driving. I can ride a horse but my steering skills are abysmal."
Mihail nods.
"I also think renting the wagon is cost efficient. Clara, the mayor said that the wagon did include two horses. They should worth more if we add them together. But the rent price you offered is a little too high. How about 50 gold?"
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Listening to JV´s words, Ahadiel just smiles.
"JV, you are just not very trusting to people. I won´t say it´s because of your past... but let´s face it, it is. But that is fine. Now and then it served us well. But if he leads us in a trap and we can´t bust it... we have no business with the montain anyway!"
I will keep and open mind but I reserve the right to say I told you so when and if it happens. As for my past, lets just say it falls into two parts the first being professional. Acquisitions can be a cutthroat business and you learn to wary of everything until you have checked it out three or four times. The second part..well if you have your family wanting to sacrifice you every other day, you would also be leery of anything that is offered to you...
He smiles slightly.
It is true...to this day my sisters want me dead.
The Mayor frowns but agrees to the 50 gold for renting the wagon and tells you to just leave the wagon at the local tavern. The wagon and horses are branded to identify them.
*****
The group gathers and starts their journey toward Twin Forks. The ride is boringly uneventful. No monsters are spotted only the occasional mundane wildlife.
The dried river bed leads onward. It starts to get dark when the group spots a hill in the distance surrounded by trees. You are about 110' away when you notice a campfire on the hill.
You spot 8 individuals hiding behind bushes equipped with long bows on top of the hill. They are spread out.
You spot 8 more individuals scattered behind rocks and trees. They are spread out even more than the original 8 spotted.
"8 archers behind the bush and 8 spaced out behind rock and trees. I think they saw our wagon. It's obvious that we are walking into an ambush. There goes the idea of meeting them on friendly terms and sharing a camp fire."
Mihail takes out his rod and knife.
"Anyone of us has the ability cast an obscuring mist spell? That spell should save us and our transport from being skewered by arrows before we reach the other side."
"I don't know it, but I know another hot idea, A wall of fire, about 200 ft long, 20ft high, and opaque.
Either that Or I bomb them with fire."
If you can create the wall of fire to be behind them that just may corral them towards us.
I told you so...maybe. we will see what this group is about first before I say something.
"Don't be silly, I would make the wall in front of them so they could not see, and to push them away with it's heat."
Let us split the difference and just encircle them with the heat going in...
"I have only two layouts with this spell; a straight wall 200ft long, or a perfectly circular ring with a diameter of 50ft.
So you can see a small problem with encircling them, as it'll cover part of or cross over the road."