"Of course it is sir. A keen eye you have to pick such a precious item between all the others." the salesman replies.
At last Jominda selects deer stalker cap in plaid matching her cloak, but she resists the urge to buy the pipe. It doesn't look cool if it only makes you cough. Once Jominda has all her stuff together and pays it with the lady of the house she asks "Where to now? It's late already. Back to the Crooked Kin? Or do you think that now that the trial is over we will be able to find a room in an inn?"
Harrold spends his money stocking up on herbs and other tools of the trade.
He manages to find a lightweight chain shirt that doesn't restrict his movement as much, and he finds a headband inset with a single clear stone which is advertised as "Focusing the mind and enhancing the intellect" which he decides would be useful.
When Jominda asks about where they are to stay Harrold chimes in "I need to go see my daughter, she will be appalled I have not yet been to see her. A gift should go a long way to helping with that though." Harrold says turning back to the shop keep "What might you have to entertain a newborn?"
"How about a rattle?" the salesman suggests, showing a small, colorful, wooden percussion instrument.
"Oh Harrold, I completely forgot! Would she mind if we all went to see her?" Kendra inquires.
"Her hands might be a bit too full to protest fully." Harrold says over his shoulder to Kendra, "I am trying to apologise to my daughter, not make her hate me. If it makes noise its probably going to be a no..." Harrold pauses for a moment to think, "I heard about self cleaning diapers. Do you have any of those? Maybe a mobile too?"
"Sorry, but that is a very special request we can't fulfil. But mobiles are over there." the salesman points Harrold to a hidden corner where everything hangs full with fairies, bears, angels and other cute figurines.
"Thank you." Harrold says as he turns to look for something suitable. He looks first at the mobiles with faeries, but after a while he decides he has no idea what the baby would like and takes one with stars, one with faeries and one with bears and other animals. He also gets a stuffed animal of a dog. He struggles to carry all the bits over to the counter where he pays and then makes his way back to the others trying not to get tangled up.
"If you think we would be imposing, I would suggest the rest of us should retreat to the crooked kin." Kendra suggests.
"I think they would like to see us again, perhaps they would want to make a play out of our stories."
"Ok then." Jominda comments, then we'll see you latest tomorrow morning with the Crooked Kin. "Goodbye." Jominda takes the bags and leaves the store and walks back to the place where the Crooked Kin parked their wagons.
"I will help you carry your umm.. great burden to your daughters home then go back to the Kin if that is fine with you Harrold?" Herm picks up an item that Harrold dropped
The Crooked Kin are busy packing up their stuff. The fair is over, the audience gone. Kaleb greets Jominda and whoever came along. "Oh, hello! There are you. We wondered why you didn't come yesterday. Were you busy all night?"
"We're packing up and will leave as soon as the day dawns. You know you're box-office poison. You ended our guest performance here prematurely." Kaleb laughs. "Lucky Beast, unlucky us. But come and celebrate with us the last evening in Lepidstadt."
Kendra smiles at Kaleb. "Though I am sorry I have lost you revenue, I am glad we managed to save an innocent life. I would gladly feast with you... As for our lodgings last night, I'll tell the tale over a good glass of wine."
Kendra regales the troupe with the tale of their breaking and entering of the chymic works, and how they beat two evil-doers in their own domain, rescued enslaved unfortunate mongrelmen and saved the day before actually being arrested by the guard. With a sly smile she comments, "Perhaps you could base a play on that!"
After things have quieted down a bit, she asks Kaleb where they will be headed next. "We have arranged to meet the beast of Lepidtstad in a few days. If he has no place to call home and noone to call friends, I wondered if he would be welcome in your troupe. You seem to be a lot more forgiving of people's deviation from the standard." After taking another sip of her third glass of wine of the evening, she adds "I don't think this is the case though, I think he has a place to call home."
"I wish there was something we could do to repay your hospitality," Kendra muses. "Especially after we cut short your guest appearance here."
Jominda too greets the kin. But the starting conversation gives her an idea and she leaves and heads for one of the taverns. She returns with a crate filled with bottles of good wine to help with the tale telling.
"Adding the Beast to our troupe? That would be a great show, but I wouldn't dare to take it along." Kaleb replies. "We're going back to our tour through the towns of Ustalav. There is nothing special now, but we try to be in Caliphas in six weeks for the spring fair."
"But don't worry. Business here was good. We could even get a few laughs out of the beast not getting burned." Kaleb then tells of the play they did. Of the beast beaing tied to the pyre, and then the headsman not having a tindertwig. And once he he got one, the wind blowing it out. And through a whole series of unfortunate events, like the hangman getting a heart attack, and finally rain preventing a fire the beast died of starvation. Lidia Gerod, the Bearded Lady who is nearly seven foot tall reenacts the dying of starvation from earlier for everyone's entertainment.
Herm will help Harrold with delivering the gifts to his daughter, once that Task is complete Herm will return to the King.
"Harrold is seeing his daughter, tonight I think we can rest and on the morrow head out? Should we just purchase rides or rent?" Herm sits down and starts to take his breast plate off.
"How about Kendra conjures sparkling unicorns for us? That would be much less of a hassle." Jominda suggests. Before she lays down for sleep she searches her pack for some coins. Putting all silver and copper she has, about two hands full, in a pouch she places it on a sideboard and writes a note.
Thank you for three awesome days with you here. You're great entertainers and I had a lot of fun. Unfortunately you hadn't your collecting hat out the last night, so I leave my appreciation for your performance here.
Kisses Jominda
Kendra walks up to Jominda from behind, and looks over her shoulder to what she wrote.
She gives her a small squeeze hug around the shoulders, and says "You're a kind-hearted being, Jominda."
It takes a while but Harrold, aided by Herm, makes it to his daughter's house. With a knock on the door, Harrold nods to Herm in thanks and hopes that someone heard him over the din he can hear through the wood.
It takes a while before his daughter opens the door, babe in arms and corralling a young boy with her foot. "About time! I heard you were here defending the beast? What happened?" she exclaims as she sees him, starting off upset but her curiousity quickly eclipses that (along with the prospect of someone helping her with the kids for a little while).
Harrold regails both his daughter and grandson with the tails of Ravengro and the investigations since, bouncing his granddaughter on his knee the entire time. He really does enjoy seeing his family. His daughter reminds him of his wife, which still makes him emotional after all these years.
With the trial over and nothing urgent on the todo list it becomes a silent night of rest.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The night is shorter as you would wish for it to be, as the Kin gets up at the first sign of dawn. There is a short but tearful goodbye but then the Crooked Kin and their colorful caravans are on the road again. And you stand there on the plaza on your own again.
"We buy some mounts then head out?" Herm looks around at the city
"What about the magic unicorns?" Jominda asks looking at Kendra.
"I am afraid that such a feat is a bit beyond my capabilities, Jominda." she grins. "And I need to arrange housing first, considering I want to start living here."
"If you arrange housing today, can I be your guest then? For my former temporary home is on the way to Caliphas." Jominda asks.
Kendra smiles. "You are my friend." She looks around the party. "You all are. You are all, always welcome."
"What kind of housing are you looking for? And where do we start to search? I haven't seen any info poles here in Lepidstadt." Jominda wonders.
"I would venture there's a house broker here somewhere." Kendra says.
Asking around you find a man who is willing to help with your housing problem for a small fee. He talks a lot and is charming. Even so much that it borders on the annoying. But the longer you listen, the more you believe it is more sleazy and decide to find someone else. You find an elderly woman who runs a real estate business with her son. There is a nice house that's either for rent or for sale, and she offers you to rent it until your house in Ravengro is sold. The hose is to your liking, both from it's design as well as where in town it stands. Lastly you're only a down payment of 100gold you can move in immediately.
"I think this would make a nice home. What do you think?" Jominda asks while standing in the lobby of the house, looking around.
"I think it is wonderful. This'll feel right at home. Can you imagine me making sandwiches for you in the kitchen already?" Kendra jokes.
"Now you remembered me that I'm hungry. We forgot even to have breakfast as we started into the search for a housing. How about you save me from having to imagine those sandwiches?" Jominda suggests. "Or are we going to get something at an tavern?"
"Let's get something at a Tavern," Kendra comments. She makes the necessary arrangements with the real estate lady, also arranging for her items to be brought over. Then she joins Jominda towards a tavern of her liking.
After a short meal the group finally is set to go for Schloss Caromarc. The way is long - some 24 miles - on a road through the Dipplemere Swamp. The fens give way to a deep, rocky gorge at the northern edge of the swamp, where a peculiar building, or rather group of buildings, clings to steep cliff edges above half a dozen plummeting waterfalls. Beyond a fortified gatehouse, a stone bridge arches gracefully over the raging torrents below. Perched precariously beyond this is a fine, fortified manse and a ruined building that appears to have partially collapsed into the river below. A slender rope bridge, replacing the fallen remnants of a stone bridge, links to a strange tower pierced with beautiful stained glass windows depicting bizarre beasts. A further building teeters to the north of this, but how it is reached is impossible to see from here. Far above, a great tower rises from an isle of stone to the sky, ending in a great steeple topped with a huge lightning conductor.
A two-story stone gatehouse leads into the castle, topped with a crenellated tower at each corner. The main gate is closed. In front of the gate you see two green furred oversized dogs quarrel over some food.
"Hmm, I reckognize these creatures," Kendra begins. "I think it would be wisest to see if we can avoid them alltogether. They can grow back nearly anything, even from death, so they are notoriously hard to kill.
I can stop them from regenerating once they're dead, but getting them there might be difficult."
She looks around a bit. "Perhaps it would be better to announce ourselves and see if Thomas comes for us."
"If we annouce ourselves will these they not just come to attack us as you say?" Herm takes his hammer down and gets ready to defend when needs be.
"How do you stop them regenerating?" Jominda asks curiously. "And why would someone have such beasts as guards?"
"That is a possibility" Kendra admits to Herm. "But I would be loathe to kill Thomas' pets.
Turning to Jominda, Kendra answers. "Acid and fire. Your bombs might suffice. But again, I would prefer to not fight them at all."
"Them sitting there unleashed makes it a bit hard to knock at the door, don't you think?" Jominda replies to the group.
Kendra looks around to see if there's any other creature nearby - preferably a bird.
As you are in nature there are other creatures. But nearby is relative, most of them are not fond of humans and keep a safety distance. On top of the gatehouse a troll comes up, looks around and disappears again.
"Miss Kendra I don't feel the trolls are supposed to be here, I could be wrong but we need to come up with a plan quickly before we lose the element of surprise." Herm keeps a watchful gaze on the gate and the tower.
Kendra nods. "You may very well be right, Herm. Do you have any plan of attack, then?"
She adds "That thing up on the gate was a troll. They can also regenerate, and have a taste for human flesh."
"I have a plan. Throw bombs at it until it stops moving. But you need a plan how to not get eaten in the meantime." Jominda tells.
"That is where I come in, I will keep them from attacking you as best as I can." Herm Moves out into the open, motioning for the others to spread out.
Jominda inhales deeply, closes her mouth and holds her nose shut and presses as if she wanted to inflate herself. On her back a pair of translucent wings like those of dragonflies pop out and she rises into the air. She pulls out a vial and waits for the beast to come into throwing distance.
Kendra looks at Jominda in wonder. "Jominda... what... "
The dogs look up simultaneously and start barking and running in your direction. They are astonishingly fast. It is clear that running away is no option here. The first one runs directly in the bomb Jominda throws and is set on fire.
Kendra rrolls her hands in the air, and a green orb forms in them. She quickly throws it at the same target as the one Jominnda was focusing.
The orb misses the creature.