The companions follow Rikkil into the town and soon come to what must be the herbalists shop:
Creeping ivy and full window boxes cover the façade of the rugged-looking, two-story shop bearing the faded sign “Roots and Remedies.” A
line of twenty-some somber townsfolk—some with pale, wheezing children, others seeming to be precipitously near tears—stretches from the open door.
Bedlam slows as they approach, not wanting to be accused of 'cutting'.
Hmmm...folks will be angry if they think we are muscling in on them
I think that we should, maybe, try around back to ease the minds of those in line to enter, What say you Rikkil?
Bedlam looks over at the others for approvel.
He also scans the wearly-looking crowd for any 'suspicious' acting/looking folk, who may cause trouble.
Bedlam whispers to the group:
Aye, I do see some folks ready to burst. Rikkil, do we go around the back? I am not up to flattening ill townfolk today!
Bedlam bends down to pick up some loose dirt to hold in his hands.
"Yes, best to avoid the mob."
Especially if the first word you think of when you see the mob is "flatten." Honestly!
" You search the back of the house for a rear entrance and you do find a door.The door is a strong wooden door that is closed tight and upon which hangs a sign that says":
"Roots and Remedies: Please use front entrance"
Morzul staggers up to the door and pounds on it with a meaty fist. "We are here wit' tha rat to lend ye aid! Let us in!"
Bedlam shoulders his way to the door, reaching in his pouch and removing his 'tools'.
Excuse me, but I may just be able to help with that problem.
He begins to fiddle with the lock.
lets see now....the thingy goes in the whatsy.
"Cold eyes looks around he doesnt see anyone watching them but he notices that the "lock" his dwarf companion trying to pick is nothing more than a small crack in the wooden door.."
Bedlam bends down to pick up his 'tools', thrusting them back into his pouch with an audible Hurumph!
He then proceeds behind Cold Eyes.
must me needs glasses
Morzul keeps knocking on the door, mumbling about breezes knocking him down, and how no one ever answers these days.
Fulito remains out front where the crowd has gathered.
He tries to quickly find a "soap box" and sets it up. so he can be heard.
he then casts a quick spell and a fiddle materializes in his hands
Attention everyone.! can I have your attention please.
waving his arms to get attention.
I am Fulito Ferrywarden, Bard of the River Kingdoms, teller of tales and chronicler of lore. and today I couldn't help but notice the doer ambiance of this crowd. No I can't promise a cure for what ails you, nor can i rid you of your worries. but i can offer to you a chance to lay those worries aside for a little while. so boys and girls, ladies and gents, those that are able enjoy this lovely tune and dance if wish, put aside your trouble if for but a few moments and look to your neighbor as friend not enemy.
Fulito starts to play this little tune to calm the crowd into a more jovial gathering
+2 more if summon instrument can produce a masterwork fiddle.
"The door does not budge, it feels like it may be bolted from the inside"..from the other side of the door they hear a women yelling"
"Quit Beating on my door Damn it!! cant you read the bloody sign!!..USE THE FRONT DOOR LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!!!..I'm Busy in here and don't have time to take deliveries!!"
Fulito: Fulito Plays a wonderful song for the people who are in line, although it does not heal them or cure their troubles, it does lighten the mood and makes the wait more pleasant, After what seems like only minutes of playing Fulito looks up and realizes that the line has shrunk dramatically.
" You get no reply from the women inside, Deciding that this was i lost cause you return to the front of the building, where you realize that the line has grown considerably shorter..After about 15 minutes of waiting in the line you finally find yourself inside "Roots and Remedies".
The smell of burnt earth and spicy incense chokes the air of the cramped, mud-tracked shop. Bunches of dried herbs hang from the ceiling, along with dangling pots, presses,alchemical apparatuses, and glassware
of more arcane purposes. Pouches of rare plants, jars of colored glass, and all manner of dried, preserved, and jellied animal parts fill high shelves and tables doing double duty as displays and work spaces. In the shop’s rear, a rail-thin woman with severe-looking spectacles and hair pulled back tightly busies herself between an over packed rack of herbs, a table covered in stray powders and measuring equipment, and a pot loudly bubbling over with thick gray froth. Over the din of her work and without looking up,the woman impatiently shouts,
“And what’s your problem?”
Morzul finishes his tankard, and reaches behind him. He nimbly opens the tap on a small keg on his back and refills it, taking another huge swig. "I ain't got no problem. We be here to help ye!"
Rikkil walks up to her and says in a gentle tone,
"They're trying to help you, moron, and so am I. Don't be like that."
"The women looks around at the group now standing in her shop.Obviously thinking that they were more townspeople untill she cathes the sight of Rikkil..
"...AH..Rikkil..its about time you got here!!..albeit its a little too late, the crowds about gone now..they were practically beating down my back door trying to get in here..impatient lot these folks are!!..cant even wait in line like civilized folks..I thought once or twice that there was going to be a full out brawl in my shop!!..and with half the town guards down sick with this Blackscour Taint..I was running out of options on who i could call for help ..but anyway, I'm glad your here now!..As if it wasn't already busy enough around here with all these people wanting me to cure every cut and scabbed knee they get..now they are pouring in in droves expecting me to have some miracle cure for this outbreak.."
"Laurel, sits down in her chair, completely exhausted and wipes sweat from her brow..she looks at Rikkil and asks:
"Rikkil, do you think you could handle these last few customers for me, i need to sit down for a few minutes and rest and collect my thoughts..there are a few bottles of urdroot tea left on the counter, tell them to drink it 3 times a day and stay in bed.."
Laurel then puts on her glasses and pulls out a big leather bound tome and starts leafing through the pages
Since the crowd as moved on Fulito puts his little box away and dismisses his fiddle.
with a single clap of his hands. problem number 1...solved he boasts confidently. now to see what all the fuss was about inside.
as he enters noticing one of the dwarves seeming to be rather impatient.
whats wrong there Grumpy? you need to lighten up take life in stride, go with the flow, it will all workout in the end, and if not...well it would be one helluva ride till that point, right?
Fulito goes in and starts noseing around at the store's wares.
Do you have any gnomeish fey tea? he asks, looking at the various tea selections.
Laurel Looks at Cold Eyes and says:
“Oh Lord!!..don't see too many of your Kind around here..come to think of it I think your the first one I've ever seen in these parts!..but to answer your question, It’s a sickness,almost like any other, but you get the mold growing in you. It starts eating away in your chest and belly and is damned determined to stay. Your body near turns itself insideout trying to hack the stuff up, but all that does is cuts your guts up… bad."
[i] Laurel gets distracted at the Halflings late arrival inside her shop..
"Sorry Sir, I do not have any fey tea, at any rate, The Shop Is closed right now, you will have to come back later..im in the middle of something here!"
"These "leaves and twigs" as you call them is the best that i can do with what I have to work with, Im doing the best I can..all we can do is wait and see what good it does!"
" I don't know of anything around here that will cure it..Ive already tried almost everything in my Grandmothers Recipe book..although..
Laurel thinks for a minute and then Flips to the back of the old tome she was looking through..and says:
"There is THIS one here..It says its good for this kind of thing..but to me it looks more like HooJoo than anything like real medicine..I guess it would be worth a shot..what else do we have to lose right?..the only problem is I do not have all the ingredients I need to make it..There are three here that I dont have..Elderwood Moss..which I've never even heard of..but granny says here that the stuff only grows on the oldest tree in the forest..The second is a specially pickled root called "Rat's Tail"..which again sounds like HooJoo to me..and seven "IronBloom" Mushrooms..they are stunty little things that only grow in dark places thick with metal..they are a favorite among Dwarves...or so I hear.."
With that last statement she looks over her glasses and eyeballs the dwarves..
Laurel Looks at Cold Eyes and say:
" Well we already know what caused it, the Brookman well just outside of town was contaminated by the Blackscour Fungus, it has since been closed off by the constables, but it was too late to stop it from infecting anyone who already drank from it"..
Bedlam listens intently to Laurel as she speaks about the various herbs.
Eldermoss?...hmmm...Rat's Tail?......and IronBloom?...I wonder....
Bedlam pushes his way to stand in front of Laurel.
Greeting Ma'am. I am Bedlam Bottonland and I know a thing or three about the outdoors. I wonder if you wouldn't mine repeating those strange herbs?
Bedlam studies her wares as she speaks, looking to see if he has heard of any of the herbs on display.
"Why certainly, the three i am missing are Eldermoss,Rat's Tail,and IronBloom"..
Bedlam nods in understanding as she renames the herbs. He 'burrows' a piece of paper and ink pen, dipping in ink as he writes down the herbs.
If I may? Thank you. Yes, I have--of course--heard of Ironbloom, but the others, unfortunately, I have not. But never fear, we can find these things with the clues you have provided.
Bedlam looks to Cold Eyes, whispering: You remember the clues. I didn't write those down....hehe!
Morzul smiles at the mention of Ironbloom. "Wi' any luck there'll be some left over fer supper!"
Once Fulito is told the store is closed and apparently he isn't recognized as a part of the dwarven company. Fulito heads outside and then pulls out the old map he used to get him to the town.
Oldest tree in the forest. I wonder, there is a forest nearby, I remember the trees, and trees are definitely a key component to a forest.
He starts to examine the map and tries to recall anything he knows of the area including local legends or stories as well as where the oldest part of the forest may be.
Bedlam listens to Cold Eyes as he states all the clues. Then, rolling the paper up and placing into his pouch, he bows to Laurel.
I say that we go and go quickly outside and attempt to find these most required herbs for the cures. What so you guys?
Bedlam waits a few moments to hear the opinions of those in the building.
I wonder where that little fella has gone too? He could prove useful with that map.
|
Cold eyes looks obviously distain full of these options.
i am not an errand boy. I am not here to do some herb lady's groceries. But it might be the best help for the town right now, and might give us more information in the long run
Ssssoundsss likess a plannssss
Cold Eyes steps outside to see what Fulito is doing.
Bedlam nods and follows Cold Eyes outside.
Laurel looks at the group as they start to leave and says to them:
"Wait, before you go..i just remembered that there used to be an Old Hag that lived in the vale,her name was Ulizmila.. she was a nasty mean old thing that my grandmother got several of these recipe from..for the price of her eyesight..I have no clue if she will be able to tell you where to get any of the ingredients, or what she may want for the information..but its worth a shot..I also remember hearing something awhile back about some Dwarven ruins that were pretty far up north..it was a monastery or something, I believe they are empty now, but I would wager if there were any Ironblooms to be found...that would be the only place around here..and if your going after these things let me remind you that time is of the essence, people have already died..and several more per day will certainly die until we can concoct a cure..great haste is in order if we are to save the gravedigger some work"
Bedlam bows again as he exits the building with Laurel's words fresh in his ears.
Ok. Which way first? I would wager a visit to this Old hag for directions and information would be best. Off to this Vale, then?