Coran looks away from Moondark almost ashamed "yes he is still a slave and yes I was. He is back at the house with the new owners my papers he said he would tear up so I wouldn't be hunted as an escaped slave." Coran continues to pick vegetables and continues "My father works for the Dioso family as an agent keeping tabs on those they appoint to watch over minor interests. If they don't maintain the interests to satisfaction my father deals with them, and stays on as the help."
"It is too bad it has cost me a father. Getting these is a good idea before Jo eats Mother all of Mother's stores." Coran hate that part of his past and hates his father for doing that for the Dioso but as of right now it is not his problem.
Byron frowns.
"Roman spotted a coracle going along the river; it went at least as far as the old manor house... I do not think that we were spotted, though..."
"I saw only one passenger manning the adel; but we must be prepared to face additional resistance once we return there."
"I could only spot a single figure, so I think a boatman was sailing alone. But the sighting was brief; and the twilight haze and reflections could play a trick on my eyes."
"ZZZZZZZzzzzzz.... *snfpht*..*snort*....hmmmmm......*YAWN*" Jo awakens to the smells of roast meat of some sort coming from the kitchen. A least he hopes it is some kind of roasted meat.
He rises and stretches as much as he can in the cramped quarters. His groans, aches, and pains belies his young age and tells of the hardships endured during his years in The Pits.
He feels his chest where the spider bit him. Satisfied that he will be alright, he follows his nose and wanders into the kitchen.
"Hi all. Jo's feeling better and hungrier. You get Jo some good stuff wif his gold coins, healer lady? Dinner almost ready? "
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Mother Muddlumm listens to Roman's words, "Hmmm, yes, I would guess a smuggler...or someone running messages of some sort. A slim chance it could just be someone that lives in Rego Cader out fishing, but few fully honest folks choose to live here."
When Moondark chimes in, she adds, "Yes, you might know one or two. As do I. Very handy when I need to send a harvest to storage. I haven't heard of Whitechin involved in any smuggling, but maybe..."
And as Jo wakes, "Hah, yes Jo, perhaps we even have enough for your hunger." The stew is just the start. Mother Muddlumm brings what seem like endless dishes to the table: a caper, truffle and raisin salad in pastry, another salad of greens with citron juice and anchovies, prosciutto of pork tongue and boar pies. For desert, she brings out almonds in syrup and various fruits and confections.
"If that is all that happened here today, I will tell you of Westcrown. The Hellknights have been looking for you today, but the dottari are being difficult. They and the Hellknights have a strained relationship at the best of times and to have Arael, a prize for the dottari, stolen right out of the Hellknight's grasp has them pissed off. I think we can safely say that the Hellknights would not be welcome in Westcrown for some time. Or, we could say that if, this banditry that has been increasingly plaguing the city and surrounding area was not vexing the dottari. I ramble on. It seems your derring-do has changed the situation. The Hellknights will have to wait for the crackdown they desire. They are limited to the areas surrounding the city, except for a small presence at Taranik House. But, if the dottari do not correct the situation soon, the Hellknights will return. And worse than ever. If you can defeat Whitechin, it should help the situation. One less bandit to plague the city. But, the real problem seems to be these Bastards of Erebus. They struck again last night. Robbed a jeweler in Rego Pena. Thank the gods they didn't kill anyone this time, but word on the streets is they left their name written in blood and a wooden coin with a devil on it."
Jo stops his feeding long enough to say "Bastards of what? What's a bear-bus?"
"I certainly hope that the Bastards are not backed by Hell's treasury; that would make them more than a little difficult to deal with," Byron remarks dryly.
He then becomes more serious.
"It sounds like the best thing for us to do, is to deal with Whitechin, and then see what we can do about the Bastards; that way, we can continue to more or less keep the Hellknights out of our city..."
I listen quietly to the whole conversation, "So's, once Whitechin's been dealt's with ... we go's after these Erebus Bastards?"
Coran Thinks back to the attack on Gauner
Knowledge local
So we now have 3 groups to worry about the Dottari, the Hellknights and these Bastards, but the Bastard are the only ones we can do anything to.
Emmett listens carefully during dinner, wondering how things could get better still: "You're saying that we should help the dottari, to increase their status and reduce the Hellknights? Perhaps we should deal with these Bastards once we finnish our conversation with Whitechin?"
Hoping we survive our conversation...
Byron arches an eyebrow.
"I am hoping that that conversation will be short. Otherwise, I agree; we should go after the Bastards after we have dealt with this Goblin infestation..."
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Mother Muddlumm looks over the group, "A brave lot you all are. Either of those would be a task for heroes and our city has few enough of them. The dottari have a long, proud history in our city. Perhaps there is a chance it can be rekindled. In any event, anything that keeps the Hellknights from their sort of justice is welcome."
Byron smiles.
"I don't know whether I will ever be a hero, but this city was once great, and it deserves to be great again; not a slowly decaying urban sprawl where the rich get richer, and the common-folk live in fear. If we can provide a beacon of hope, and prevent those who would crush that hope beneath their iron boots from doing so, I will be a happy man..."
Jo looks at Byron and hears his words. "Wish Jo could talk so good as that." he thinks to himself.
"Jo agree wif Byron, if we can help we should. Jo finks he is good to go for tomorrah. Nice and early."
Roman considers Byron's words.
"Well spoken. I agree that the dottari are not our enemies, but as it stands, they won't let us cooperate while the diabolist rule is in effect. They will strike against anyone who threatens to undermine it, willingly or not. So we would do better to avoid them, until the Thrice-Damned House of Thrune position starts crumbling."
Just wondering could we maybe help the Dottari by feeding them information we find out that we can't act on and they might be able to."
"That could work, but so far they've been feeding us..."
"Baby steps, Emmett, baby steps. Westcrown was not built in a day; we may be having information and assistance fed to us, for now, but hopefully one day we will be able to reciprocate."
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Evening arrives and Mother Muddlumm brews another pot of tea for all who want some, but insisting on it for Jo and Xianae to speed their recovery. Eyelids heavy, the pair soon fall fast asleep. For those who stay awake, Mother Muddlumm seems barely to sleep and once again is visited by both halflings and animals that almost seem to be conversing with her. In the early morning, she returns to look over the sleeping forms of Jo and Xianae.
Erastus 27
The smell of eggs and ham cooking wakes you in morning. When you look outside, all sign of rain has vanished. The day is quite warm already and promises to be hot by late morning.
Byron wakes to the welcome smell of a hot breakfast, which puts him in a remarkably good mood.
Humming to himself, he carefully packs away his belongings, smooths down his clothes, and moves over to the kitchen area.
"That smells delicious, Mother. Do you believe Jo and Xianae have recovered enough to continue our little quest? Not that I truly want to leave...", he grins, "...but we should probably deal with that nasty little goblin."
Jo awakens to the smell of breakfast cooking and his stomach grumbling. He stretches and groans. He instinctively rubs his side where the spider bite was and is surprised to find no pain whatsoever. Happy, he heads into the kitchen.
"Jo is all better! Your cooking is good medicine for Jo, healer-lady! Jo ready to smash some goblin heads and add ears to his necklace!
Jo sits down for his meal in a chair that groans as he sits in it.
I awake in the morning and jump up, "...I'm all's better! Back to normal's." With that I head over to my armour and start to don it, before sitting down for breakfast.
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Breakfast is as delicious today as it was yesterday. In spite of these rather cramped and earthy accommodations, Mother Muddlumm knows how to cook. As you begin to consider how to proceed today, Mother catches Moondark for a moment in the kitchen.
Ari, you're like a daughter to me. Messing around with poison is a bad idea. You're more likely to hurt yourself or someone you love than an enemy. Be careful. Westcrown will be won with small victories, not a sweeping triumph. And how you win those victories is as important as winning them. Build friends not enemies. Good luck today. I know you'll make me proud.
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That night Moondark tries to find a quiet corner to rest. Although she feels pretty safe in Homefree, it is a bit too busy for her. The next morning, she loads in the eggs and helps Mother clear the table.
After Mother's gentle scolding, she looks away and mumbles, "Sure, Mother." Making doubly sure she has her equipment ready, she waits outside for everyone else.
Emmett lights a pipe after breakfast and makes himself as comfortable as possible in a wooden chair. Puffing, he waits for the others to get ready, while his thrush familiar whistles gently, complaining about the smell of tobacco.
"Would there be a chance vines have grown back, I am hoping there are no more spiders." Coran Pauses then looks at Moondark. "But don't you think they might be expecting someone through that way now that we have weakened the security there. Maybe that was the person that floated in was the spider's replacement."
"Jo's sure dem goblins was awfly scared of dem spiders and plants. Jo not sure about goin back dat way. Jo rather fight goblins den spiders again."
Jo hands his quickly emptied plate to Mother for a second helping.
Byron grins at Jo.
"We killed the spiders in the room we visited, Jo; they won't be coming back..."