Ana and Leryn hang back, keeping an eye on the townsfolk and watching for anyone behaving oddly.
"Does that free the townsfolk, then?"
The townsfolk look just as cinfused as the guards did.
One steps forward, possibly a bit more lucid than the rest.
"I guess we out to thank you. These last few weeks, have been a bit. Well, a bit odd. We've all been acting a bit strange. But it just felt so good, having that man to follow, that driving purpose."[b] He looks around at the others, as they nod in conformation.[b]"But we've neglected things that should have been done. We'll make sure you're well looked after if you want to stick around a bit?"
There's an obvious reluctance to the last bit, but he seems genuine.
"I can only guess it was that rod he's dropped. He came into town, asked very nicely if he could make a speech in the square, and, well, it gets fuzzy after that."
Ana asks one of the crowd near her - as opposed to shouting out to the apparent spokesman, "Where did he stay in town?"
"This house, it well, it's the mayors house, but he moved right on in."
She nods briefly in understanding. "And who is the mayor?"
"Oh, ah, I am."
"Ah. Welcome home."
Ana looks around the town, nodding her agreement. "If he has kept them from their work to listen to his prattle, we could quickly strain their resources. Better to move on."
You spend a quiet night in the inn, the food is better than you expected, and every now and then you are interrupted and thanked by one villager or another. In the morning, as you are about to leae, the mayor steps up and offers a large bag of coin.
"I wish to thank you on behalf of the town. It's a shame that man died instead of facing the punishment he deserved, but you did a good job in keeping him from escaping and performing the same act else where. Please, accept this as a token of our thanks."
Once the ceremony is done, you move off, and head deeper into the riverlands. A few days pass but eventually you end up in Daggermark. The excerpt from Ulisha's journal also contains a map, starting at the town, and you are ready now to follow it.
That the Riverfolk of Daggermark haven’t wiped themselves off the map with their wanton assassinations and poisonings is a fact that will never cease to amaze me. Still, where such dealings occur, coin is always involved, and one knowledgeable in the ways of commerce can always earn a good wage. Daggermark’s economy runs on poisoned blades, but those blades would be dry were in not for a constant influx of alchemical goods. Such goods wax and wane, though, and if one watches diligently, these market shifts can be predicted. The next ingredient the markets will want is an adhesive produced by spiders and left in their webs. Of course more potent chemicals would be found in the glands of the dreadful beasts, but I am a scholar, not some vagabond sellsword slaying vermin for ale money. I have mapped a route to a newer nest that should be sparsely defended. My buyer, one Johannes Vox (an Iobarian of curious temperament) has not been as forthright in our latest dealing as I’d like. Perhaps it is time I sold elsewhere.
is fresh; the silk glands of a freshly killed spider are the best source.
Ana stands back as the man presents the coin, looking distinctly uncomfortable, but saying nothing. She and Leryn scout as the party moves through the riverlands, as though she is more comfortable communing with the wilds than her teammates.
When they discuss their path forward, she does offer a warning, "I don't know the specific spiders we seek, but giant spiders often have venom that they use to weaken their prey. Have we a defense against such?"
She gives him a small smile. "Of course. You go first."
The map you have leads you off into the woods. Eventually you get to a clearing where the webs appear newer and white, rather than the dingy gray of those seen earlier. These webs criss cross the canopy above, most strands meeting near the center to support a large globe of webbing the size of a large pumpkin.
Ana and Leryn are cautiously leading the way .
Raising a hand in warning, Ana says softly, "Spiders, big ones. Two." She points toward the nest.
"Two that I see. Might be more. They can hide well."
Looking at the webs appraisingly, she adds, "We need webbing, right? Not the spiders themselves?"