"Lost temples? T' Erastil? That's right strange. Elk Father's not known fer havin' temples out in th' wilds. He's th' shepherd of villages, not th' guardian of th' wilds, like th' Wind an' th' Waves. Even stranger t' have a bear fer a guardian. Not I'm callin' you a liar, mind; I jus' find it right strange. Fer sure, if I come across any such place guarded by a bear, I'll let ya know."
"Yes, it would be odd, but remember, this land has not always been empty. Many kingdoms have risen and fallen in the Stollen lands over the centuries. Wherever it is, I expect it will be only ruins. As for the bear..." the man shrugs. "It is not uncommon for the Elk Father to show his displeasure by turning someone into something more... useful to him. He mentions this with a note of trepidation, and his eyes cease to look Cal in the eye. Shortly after, he excuses himself and so is not around to view Sia's reunion.
Norbert watches the reunion from the tower with sad eyes. He doesn't have long, though, as the guard calls for him to get back to work. With a sigh he picks up his hammer and turns back to the ballista.
"We can wait for Yossian a while, but I feel like we should be on our way tomorrow." she tells Gorax. "I understand how you feel, but a week is too long to wait. I feel like Yossian would have waited for us to arrive if he felt the need to stay part of our group. Time is valuable and we're not sure what is out there that may cause us additional delay"
Estruven spends most of the day sparing with Kesten and his men. When the white haired woman arrives and she is sharpening her sword and checking her gear to make sure it is in perfect condition.
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Gorax's face drains ashen white as he learns that he and the group have transported liquor back from the bandits camp. He is quiet and sullen, as he considers.
A little later Gorax takes the chest containing the liquor outside Oleg's trading post. He finds a stone close to the side of the walls of the post and takes each bottle out in turn. He removes the top and smells the liquor, confirming the contents. "Rovagug's drink of destruction, you will not corrupt another.", with that he smashes the bottles on the stone. Once all the bottles are smashed he returns to the trading post. His job done.
He listens to Estruven say her piece, then he silently leaves her and walks out of Oleg's silently.
Kyrie quirks an eyebrow at Sia. "It didn't make all that much sense in the first place, but you never let that stop you," she points out, then nods to Cal. "Well met, sir."
She's about to say something more, but is interrupted by the noise of several bottles being smashed violently.
Sia blinks a few times at the sound of the bottles smashing, and then facepalms. "Dammit, he's smashing the bottles. Excuse me a moment." And, without another word to them, she runs around behind the fort to try to save as much of the stuff as she can.
"GORAX! What in the nine Hells do you think you're doing?!"
Sia stares at him for several moments. "And did it never occur to you that there might have been practical uses for it that don't involve getting sloshed?" she asks, a little incredulously.
"First of all, it's incredibly flammable. Yes, alchemist's fire works for that too, but that is much more expensive for the advantage of not having to have a way to light it after it's thrown. If we need a fire somewhere and don't need it right now this stuff would have really come in handy."
She takes a deep breath. "Secondly, there's the uses in medicine and travel. Cal will probably have to confirm for me, but I'm pretty sure that a few drops in a waterskin, not even enough to taste it, will stave off any taints in the water. And using it to wash a wound we can't heal right away will, while painful, stave off an infection that could kill you."
"Third, there's the fae in the woods. Now, again I'm not an expert, but there are reasons to suspect they can't get drunk. Possibly they just like the taste, or like the excuse to go through the motions. It's hard to say. But Cal and Yossian both told us they like this stuff, and I would have liked to have it to barter with them. Yes, Tyg and Peri are our friends now, but with creatures that wild there's no guarantee that any others we'll encounter will be as friendly, and they all should appreciate the gifts. Now I'm going to have to see if Oleg has something else."
She sighs. "I understand that keeping them around was upsetting for some reason, but please, can't you trust me enough to ask if there might be a good reason before you go off?"
Kyrie trades a look with Cal before following after Sia, but remains quiet while she chews Gorax out. Once Siarani finishes, she asks "Are all of your companions this interesting?" with more than a hint of amusement in her voice.
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Gorax looks at Sia nonplussed, not saying a word, his demeanour unchanged. He appears satisfied and goes back to talk to Oleg and Svetlana. After sometime Estruven appears and has a little discussion with Gorax.
He listens to Estruven say her piece, then he silently leaves her and walks out of Oleg's silently.
The meal that evening is punctuated by the stories told between Sia and Kyrie either about the formers adventures before and since her arrival into the Stolen Lands, or the latter's travels to it. Between them, introductions are made and everyone manages to get to know each other just a little bit better. Except for Johd who remains rather withdrawn about his past. Oleg even lets slip that the reason he's moved out here in the first place was to get away from the trouble of politics, though it seems that Brevoy might be thwarting those plans what with this charter business. He's none too pleased on the one hand, but he can't argue with the extra coin and safety either. He reckons that he might be able to get used to it.
Plans are also laid that evening for an early start the next morning and both Oleg and Svetlana assure them that they will have their horses packed and their provisions laid out in time. Oleg also extends the same offer of free room and board to Kyrie, seeing as she's got herself a charter too, and with that settled, they head off to bed.
The night passes all too quickly and before you know it, the sun is starting it's peek over the horizon. The trading post soon becomes all abustle as horses are brought out and saddled or loaded down and belongings are packed.
Svetlana makes sure that everyone has a good proper breakfast and some perishable provisions to take with them as well as the rations. Her treat.
Kesten goes over their marching plans as much as possible, wanting to know when to expect them back and when he might want to send a scout out to find their remains.
Norbert even catches Sia and Cal and offers them a very sincere thanks. He's still not exactly enjoying the work, but he can't deny that it feels good to be doing something honest for good honest folk. He wishes everyone godspeed and safe travels before heading back up to the towers.
The sun is barely over the horizon before the group sets out of the post towards the east and the hermit.
Before leaving, Sia quietly pulls Oleg aside to spend some of her credit on things that are probably laying about to replace the spirits that Gorax smashed.
Atapax:
Estruven talks with Kesten about their plans. She tells Kesten of her mount Stefen and his abilities. She says that if they run into trouble, Stefen is able to return to Oleg's fort. So if this happens, to work with Stefen and he may be able to lead them to find the party.
Kyrie thanks Svetlana politely for the excellent breakfast, then heads out to the stables to make sure her horse is ready for the day's journey.
While on the road, Kyrie will make pleasant smalltalk with Cal and Estruven in between getting Sia up to speed with the (relatively) latest news out of the city, and getting caught up with what has been happening in the Stolen Lands in return.
Kesten seems to approve of Estruven's plan for keeping track of the party and gives her a firm handshake and a word of good luck before she heads off.
Oleg is, of course, more than willing to make any last minute trades that the party needs, and is able to fulfill all of Sia's requests.
It only takes two days of exploring in a roughly easterly direction before, on the second day, Cal spots a lone, run down, ramshackle hut leaning against a large rock that juts from the rolling hills. Even from a distance there is an odd smell coming on the wind from the place. Still, it seems to fit the description that Oleg gave you so it's reasonable to assume that this must be the hermit's house. (and even that only in the loosest sense)
Sia squints her eyes a few times, as if half disbelieving and half simply unable to see it because it's so small. "...that's it? Why would anyone voluntarily live in a structure like that? Alone in the wilderness, I could understand sometimes, but that house needs some repair desperately." After another moment of contemplation, she shrugs. "Ah well. Let's see how much of what he has brewing and filtering."
"Hermits tend not to be the most tightly wrapped people to begin with," Kyrie points out to Siarani before dismounting, then instructs her horse to wait while she looks around the area for possible threats or anything unusual aside from the house.
Estruven likewise dismounts Stefen and tells him to wait for her before joining Kyrie in approaching the small hut. "Perhaps we should call out before getting too close so that he knows we mean no harm." she whispers to Kyrie and Sia.
You neither spy nor hear anything amiss as you approach the hut but as you near the door you can make out a feint angry muttering coming from within. It raises and falls occasionally growing to an angry shout before falling back to a murmur.
"I told you it was three spoons."
"Yes but you also said it was ground crow's beak. Now get your sleeve out of it."
"I'll put my sleeve where I want!"
"You will if you want to ruin it like you did the last one! It took me weeks to get the puss out!"
Sia pauses as she hears the argument going on. For a few moments, she cocks her head to listen, and then says quietly to the others. "....I don't hear more than one voice. I'm going to call out, but just in case it's as bad as it looks..." she doesn't finish. Instead she takes a deep breath, and shouts. "Sir! Excuse us!"
Cal keeps watch for outside threats, content to let Gorax protect Sia from any immediate threat from inside the hut.
Kyrie looks vaguely worried as she overhears the loud argument going on inside the hut. She nods at Sia, takes a few steps back and removes her bow from her back, standing it on the ground and leaning on it with one hand -- obviously not an aggressive posture, but if things go south in a hurry she'll be able to have it ready in a second.
"Hello? We are friends of Oleg's, here to pay you a visit." Estruven says loudly.
There is a sudden silence from the hut and then some feverish footsteps combined with loud noises of things moving about inside. After a few moments this too stops and there is nothing more.
Just as it seems that someone might want to voice another greeting, the door slowly creeks open revealing an aging man, his lank thinning black hair and long wispy beard streaked with white and doing little to hide a deeply tanned face covered in lines and wrinkles. His clothes match the rest of him, tattered, patched, and in places burned not to mention dirty enough that it is hard to tell what their original color might have been. He holds a loaded crossbow level with surprisingly steady hands, the point glistening with a bright green substance that still drips to the floor as he takes small steps back. His bright pale blue eyes stare down the bolt at Sia with acute suspicion.
"Who are ye?" His eyes flick quickly to everyone else then focus back on the woman in front of him.
Sia watches the man with an interesting mix of bemusement and wariness in her expression, watching for several moments before deciding to just be straight up and honest with him. "My name is Sia. This is Kyrie, Gorax, Cal, and Estruven. Oleg mentioned that you're the man who makes the potions he sells, and we were wondering if we might come to an arrangement for a supply a little more directly. We suspect we'll be needing a few more than the average hunter or trapper, even in these parts."
Kyrie looks profoundly unhappy seeing what looks like a poisoned crossbow dart pointing more or less in the party's general direction by someone who, in her estimation, might just decide to pull the trigger when the voices in his head tell him that the moon fairies will invade his nostrils if he doesn't, but she remains silent and lets Sia do the talking while she divides her attention between the hermit and her surroundings.
Estruven places a smile on her face and tries to look as un-intimidating as possible.
"Friends a Oleg's eh?" he asks suspiciously. "What's 'is kids name then? Eh?" He shifts the crossbow back and forth between Sia and the others as his tongue wets his lips nervously.
"He doesn't have any kids," Sia says. "At least, none young enough that they got dragged out here when he decided to set up shop."
The old man narrows his eyes at Sia, then after a long minute he slowly lowers the crossbow. "Humph. Guess ya might be who ya say. Can' be to careful around here. There's bandits and worse about y'know." He hobbles back and makes his way over to a long table where he deposits the, still loaded, crossbow. "Well ya might as well come inside. If yer gonna rob me I guess ye'd have done it already. Said ye' wanted potions? I got some, whatcha got fer trade?"
The hut itself is small, and crammed so full of things that it would be hard to get more than two of you inside with any room to move much. There are numerous tables filled with all manner of alchemical apparatus, not to mention shelves filled with bottles of ingredients. In one corner is a musty smelling bed, and against the far wall a fireplace has been built up against the rock the shack leans on. Over the fire hands a cauldron, the contents of which are currently smoking.
Sia smiles as she's allowed in, a smile that only grows a little strained as she sees the condition of the hut. "Well, for specifics, right now we mostly need healing potions. Two for me, though I'm not sure how much money the rest of us brought. I assume that fifty coins for each is the going rate here?"
Estruven begins to follow Sia into the hut before noticing how cramped it is inside. She stops at the doorway and peers inside to look for another person that fit the other voice she heard outside.
"I would like two healing potions as well." she says after Sia mentions it.
By all accounts there is no one else in the hut. Or at least, if there is, they must be invisible. The old man narrows his eyes at Estruven. "I aint some shop keeper miss... I got..." He fishes around on a shelf crammed to overflowing with so many bottles it's impossible to tell how he knows what he has, especially since none of them appear to be labeled. "Two minor healing potions, a couple a bit more potent, and one ter protect ya from the weather. Ya want any more than that, an' you'll have ter come back."
He fishes out the mentioned bottles and lays them out on a rare clear space on the table.
"Aye. Fifty gold will do for these," He indicates the cure light and endure elements potions, "But these others will run ya three-hundred a piece."
Sia looks momentarily crestfallen and frustrated at the news that the needed supplies aren't available, but hides it quickly with a pleasant smile. "That's quite all right. You couldn't have expected that a bunch of people would show up at your doorstep actively looking for trouble out there wherever it might be hiding." She shrugs. "How quickly could you have, say, ten more of the minor potions prepared? I doubt we can afford the major potions in any real quantity."
"Oi Cal, you all right over there? S'alright here, you can have a sit down if you like."
Cal favors Gorax with a smile and a nod and comes over to him, slinging his bow over his shoulder as he goes. Once he settles down, he pulls out his waterskin and takes a sip of clean water. "One thin' t' recommend 'round here, no cities means no foulness in th' water. Y' kin almost ferget what good clean water tastes like up in Restov."
Kyrie shrugs, shifting her attention away from the hermit and to the rest of her surroundings as it becomes obvious that he's unlikely to be a danger to anyone.
"Oh, I don't know," she replies to Gorax. "Fresh water tastes lovely compared to bad beer, but have you ever tried some of the good brews? Plenty of brewers just ferment whatever grain they find and don't care about the quality as long as they have lots of it to sell, but some of them really care for their Art..."
The hermit grumbles a bit and casts his eyes about at his multitudinous ingredients. "Well, for starters I'm out a fangberry juice. I need that to make any more of em. But I tell ya what. You go get me some, as much as ya can, and I'll make you your potions. Give ya a discount on em too fer savin me the trouble a riskin me own hide. Still take me a couple days to brew that much of it though." He shuffles around, making sure he has all the other necessary ingredients before giving a nod and turning to regard Sia. "Well? Ya want these or don'tcha?"
Sia's attention remains on the hermit, blissfully oblivious to what is going on outside. "Sure, we'll go get them as soon as we can. As for the ones you already have..." She quickly pulls out and counts a hundred coins, a process that takes a few minutes since she verifies the count. "I think that'll do you."
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Gorax turns on Kyrie scowling, "Perhaps you didn't hear what I said, those spirits and liquors are the corrupting evil brought to destroy lives by insidious poison, they are the instruments of Norgorber and his evil followers. So don't try to tell me it is just a matter of skill, if just a road to death and destruction, be warned."
Kyrie fails to be intimidated by Gorax's scowl. "I'm sure Cayden Cailean would be delighted to hear your opinion of his favorite pastime," she fires back. "Personally, if I see drunken bullies causing havoc, I'd be more inclined to blame the bullies for the idiots they are rather than the drink being at fault for having been sent to them by an evil god. It was their choice to start drinking in the first place, and their choice not to stop when it became obvious they had enough. In my experience, people don't need strong liquor to destroy their own lives or those of others, and decent people who drink responsibly don't magically become more inclined to destruction."
She shrugs. "If you want to personally forswear all strong drink, I won't stand in your way or question your reasons, but don't expect me to share your opinion -- or cater to it."
The old hermit takes the money, looking at it suspiciously then back to Sia. He tests one or two, just to make sure, then grunts his assent and drops the coins into a bag. "The fangberries er about fifty miles thata way," he points to the southwest. "Dangerous area... Bandits and whatnot. Best be careful." He barks a loud and rather random laugh then glances outside. "Looks like ya already gots someone ter fight." he adds with a mad grin that disappears almost as soon as it appears. "There anything else?" he demands.