Arielle will make a copy of Oleg's map to add to her collection, planning to add her own notes to it as they make the trip to Bokken.
At some point before leaving, Arielle hunts down Egan so that they can introduce Sparky and Breeze.
When Arielle approaches Egan about acquainting the dogs EGan first sorta blurts out Arielle, the guys and I were talking. Well, we are glad you are joining up with us, and we had this extra healing potion and thought you should carry it in case you get hurt and are too far away for me or Maksum to help you. Combat can get crazy and we would not want anything bad to happen to you.
At the mention of the dogs Egan calls for Sparky who comes bounding up. Sit. he instructs the playful dog. This is Sparky. Faithful and loyal, but not much to look at I am afraid. He is a mix, but both his parents were strong and lived a long life. His mother was a herding dog; a good worker back on the farm, and his father was a hunter who would rather run in the woods that do what he was told. Its a good mix and Sparky is brave. I worry about him in a fight and have ordered some light steel barding from Oleg to protect him. [/b]
Turning to Breeze Egan bends down and lets the animal get his scent. And this is Breeze?
Arielle blushes a bit at Egan's apparent concern for her well-being and accepts the potion. "Thank you Egan, though I hope to not need it."
After Egan calls up Sparky, Arielle whistles for Breeze. "This is Breeze. Both of her parents were also riding dogs that my parents raised. Her littermates were given to my cousins as payment for housing me during my training in the city. Apparently the city-bred dogs just weren't of the same quality as the ones my parents raised."
You were trained in the arcane arts? I always thought sorcerers just woke up knowing how to cast spells one day. Was it difficult?
Egan will show Oleg his small light crossbow and ask about getting one just like it, but of masterwork quality. I don't call on it much, but when I do I would prefer not to miss, and this one sometimes pulls to the left.
"Well, when I first started showing signs of my arcane talents, my parents weren't exactly sure what to do with me since neither of them were wizards or sorcerers. So they sent me off to my cousins', they called it for "training", but I really think they were just worried I was going to accidentally set the house on fire or something. Also, even after they realized what I was and that I could cast my spells without any teaching, they still wanted me to understand magical theory so that I could recognize the spells that other arcane casters could do."
Jhod will eagerly help with any preperations he can, "Thank you very much for taking me with you, if visiting this hermit gives us a greater chance of finding Erastil's lost holy place then we should go there first. But you have dealt with these faeries before, what do you think?"
Anza will chip in, "Thank you for the horse Egan, i will return it should i leave your service. Silva is Todd coming with us, he will slow us down walking and we can make good time now the skies are clearer."
Egan nods to the holy man and asks Do you have your own horse Jhod? If not, Do you have the means order one from Oleg here?
"I have the means, though i am not a good traveller and barely know how to ride. I made my way here by boat then on foot. Sadly my experiece of exploring is also somewhat lacking, and i do not know how well i would do were we attacked." Jhod looks slightly ashamed at his admission, and the age lines on his worn face seem deeper.
"Well, from what I can recall from one of my cousin's lectures, a tatzlwyrm is a lesser relative of dragons. They don'tt grow as large, are generally less intelegent and I don't think that they are able to use magic as dragons are rumoured to be. They share other traits of dragons, territorial and like treasure etc. Powerful in combat and tough to kill."
Killing that? Thats.... not really on my list of things to try this morning, Andrej adds, breaking his characteristic silence.
He takes the time to order a masterwork pack as well before mounting up.
Lets try this boar - good for local reputation as well as the bounty. He frowns thinking a moment, We're not heading back to those Fairy things first are we?
No, not first Angrej. But we have to go and see them to get the map to the temple. Besides, Arielle wants to meet them. I promise to keep the visit brief. And I agree with you about maybe hunting the boor but skipping the dragon for now. If it finds us and gives us no choice to fight then we fight it. But no sane person goes looking for a dragon, do they?
Andrej gives him a look that conveys 'sanity' is not something he was expecting.
Excited by the thought of meeting the tiny fae, Arielle is sure to stock up on whatever sweets that Oleg has in stock. She even asks Svetlana if she can bake any if there doesn't seem to be enough.
"Sorry dear, only Bokken makes those lozenges around here. I wish i knew how to make them but Bokken is secretive with his recepie, we all have to keep something to ourselves though." Svetlana will reply while chopping and stirring in the kitchen.
Arielle talks to Egan about the sweets. "Looks like that Bokken person is the only one that makes those sweets that the little fae asked for. I guess we'll just have to head there first and see if he's willing to sell us any."
I agree Arielle. So...We head to the potion maker and then back into the wilderness?
Right, but the fey like most sweets. Those that Bokken make seem to be their favorites is all. So lets have a backup, just in case.
After provisioning and a comfortable nights sleep you set off into a cool and slightly foggy morning in Pharast, looking back on a months worth of accomplishments you begin to realise the true enormity of the task ahead of you. All of the exploration done so far covers less than a tenth of the landmass of your allocated area.
An uneventful days journey sees you arriving at Bokkens hut in the early evening, faster thanexpected thanks to Anza's steady guidance. Climbing down from her horse and getting her tent down Anza begins to set camp, "Good luck with him." Anza says with a chuckle.
Egan looks a little annoyed but then smiles up at Anza. [b]You've been quiet on this trip Anza. What do you know about Bokken that we don't?
"He's old and forgetful, but not as old or as forgetful as he would lead you believe." She shakes her head, "You'll see."
The gnome dismounts, telling Sparky to "guard" the horses, brushes the dust from his traveling clothes and prepares to call out, announcing their presence. All ready? he pauses to make sure the group has dismounted and is presentable then calls out Mr. Bokken sir, You have company. Might we come to talk with you and take a look at your wares?
Arielle bounces up alongside Egan, leaving Breeze behind with Sparky. She's quite excited to begin her adventuring in these lands and can't wait to get the treats so that they can go and meet the cute little fae.
"And we'd like to buy some of your special sweets if you have any sir. Svetlana said you're the one to go to if we want to buy the little blue ones."
Maksim packs up and leaves with the others. As he goes out the gate he raise his hand in bendiction and says, "Blessing of Hearth and Home upon you Oleg and Svetlana, you do the true work of this land."
As they begin to ride on the road, "May the Landfather grace our journey with safety and success."
Maksim doesn't call out to Bokken leaving that to the better suited.
I cant believe we are questing for sweets, mutters Andrej.
A wrinkled and hunched old man comes out from the hut, he walks with a stick and is wrapped in many layers of shawls and clothes. On his feet he wears a pair of fluffy slippers made from hare and a large bushy hat on his head, from between lips hold a pipe he calls, "You'll 'ave to come close children, my hearings not what it used to be..."
This guy is a wizard Andrej. He may have all sorts of items of use to us. And I think he has lived here a long time. He could be a wealth of knowledge about the area too.
When Egan sees that Bokken has come out of his hut he will approach closer, but somewhat cautiously. I am Egan. Oleg and Svetlana send their regards. You must be Bokken? We would like to talk with you some if you would like some company.
Arielle follows up right beside Egan and stares at the large bushy hat on his head, wondering if it really is a hat or just some furry animal that decided to sit on his head.
"My name's Arielle sir and we're not really children. Egan and I are gnomes. Hope you don't mind me correcting your assumption, but I'd hate for for you to have mistaken any of the humans we are with for our parents." Arielle can't help but giggle a bit at that thought.
"Gnomes you say, well thats a change. Last time i spoke to a gonme was 20 years ago at Oleg's, no 30 years. Of course back then it wasn't called Oleg's because Oleg didn't run it, the man who had it was called Kol, or was it Bol, no definately it was Kol's. He used to have a horse..." The old man begins to ramble...
"Horses are all well and good for you big people, though Egan and I ride dogs instead. Would you like to see mine? Arielle turns and whistles for Breeze, who comes up over to her and sits on her haunches as Arielle scratches her ears. "Would you like to pet her? Her name is Breeze and she is quite friendly."
Egan closes the distance to the man. Wow. You knew the oner before Oleg? How long have you lived out here Mr. Bokken? And are you really a wizard?
"Yes horses, my thats a big dog." He shuffles over and slowly kneels the pet Breeze. "I don't rightly remember how long i've been here, let me see i'm, er, hmm. Well me brother left in, ah, i used to have a dog. Not this big, big though, he was a good girl..."
Well, I see its almost tea time Mr. Bokken, we better get inside and put on the tea. We can tell stories and visit while the water heats. Does that sound good to you?
"Tea would be absolutely wonderful. Perhaps some sweets to go with it as well? If you happen to have an abundance of sweets made, we would surely love to buy some from you good sir."
Maksim studies the man and his eccentric ways. Wonder how much of his ways is age or isolation and how much is a desire to appear harmless and therefore bandits and such leave him alone? While assessing the man Maksim, says simply, "Blessings of Erastil upon you. May your hearth be forever warm."
Sense Motive: Anything up?
"...but she got into me fangberries and ended up purple for three days. Wha'? Oh, yes. Some tea sounds nice and i can sell you some sweets, perhaps you young heros could use some potions as well. I spoke to some other heros not long ago at Kol's, they stocked up on cures and weather endurance. I wonder what happened to them, oh, what were they called." The old man talks all the way back into his hut as Breeze follows at his heel.
"Some cures and weather endurance potions would be wonderful. We'd be interested in looking at anything you have to sell." Arielle follows her dog and the old man back into his hut.
mmm sweets. Egan mumbles as they move along.
Maksim nods, seemingly at nothing, and follows the others to the hut to have tea. He'll look over the hut and if he can see, look inside as well.
Inside the hut is filled with hanging herbs and baskets of fruit, the walls are lined with shelves bearing huge jars of lozenges and many potion bottles. A curtain hides what you suspect is Bokkens sleeping area.
"Feel free to put the kettle on, i don't entertain much but let me see what i can find for you." Bokken waves his hands as he disappears into his cooking area.
Egan will busy himself with the task of getting some water ready for tea, looking around as he does so.
"Ah, here we are![/ooc] He says brandishing a tin box and blowing a thick layer of dust from it. [B]"Fruit cake goes perfectly with tea, my mothers secret recepie. It never goes off." As he opens the tin the spice and herb smell of his hut disappears under the overpowering smell of strong dark rum. "Hmm, not that secret. Well what can i do for you? Sweets was it?" He asks as he begins to slice the cake.
Checking the water for the tea and finding it ready Egan prepares steep the tea. Well Mr Bokken, first off, we heard you were living here and wanted meet you. We helped Oleg and his wife with some bandit trouble and were wondering if the bandits ever troubled you? We have a plan to get rid of all the bandits, one way or another, and try to make these lands safe for folks to live. We have taken care of a number of bandits already. Had to kill some. Others decide that maybe they did not need to be bandits anymore. Not sure if you have heard of this Stag Lord, but we plan on dealing with him too before we are done.
Egan looks for his reaction to these statements before continuing. So, part of what you can do for us is help us be equipped for trouble. Yes we want to get some of your sweets, because we have been told they are the best, but we are also interested in picking up some potion to help us in a fight, or just surviving in this land. I am not sure what you have or what we can afford. So, what would you recommend.
"The bandits tend to avoid me, i'm just a harmless old man. I've heard the tales of this Stag Lord but most of it sounds like hogwash, they are making it hard to collect ingredients further south though. I use fangberries to make my potions tasty and i'm almost out." He wanders over to a shelf leaving a knife and the uncut cake on the table near you to begin pulling down vials and jars. "I have 6 potions brewed up but if theres anything specific you want i can probably make it, these heal wounds, these protect from the weather, this one removes the touch of illness and poison. It won't cure the itch but it makes it itch less if you know what i mean." He looks between Egan and Arielle before winking at Egan knowingly.
Fangberries. Hmm. If you can describe them to me maybe we can gather you some when we are down south.Egan finishes the tea and looks for cops to poor the concoction into. What do you think guys?He looks to Silva and Andrej. Interested in buying any of the potions or ordering others?Egan begins to slice the fruitcake and asks So, what is it about these sweets that make them so desirable? I have it on good authority that one variety you make is the favorite of travelers. Are they magical themselves?
"Oh, the purple ones. No they're just normal boiled sweets, just berries, herbs and spices. They do help against cold a little." Bokken begins reaching for a large jar full of sweets and slowly weighing them out on some scales.
Arielle will accept a piece of fruitcake from Egan after he finishes slicing the cake, taking a nibble from it while she watches Bokken measure out some sweets. "May I ask how much you charge for your potions and sweets sir?"
"Sweets are a gold a pound for the purple ones, potions depends on the spell and components but i keep them in line with the city prices." Bokken will sit down to drink and eat some cake.
"Hmmm, maybe three pounds worth?" Arielle counts out three gold coins. "Do you guys think that will be plenty?"