Good Job Daniel... I knew you had it in you... like I always say... a kind and forgiving gno.. err I mean Dwarf... Proud of you... Glad to have you with us...
Bently falls in behind Vivi dropping into her shadow.
"Well done Daniel." Korunar says with a respectful voice before he follows Vivi and Bently into the inn.
The dwarf smiles modestly.
"Like i said, i'm not too much of tradition."
To Vivian: "Thank you miss Vivian, if you'd show us the way...."
Vivi leads you all into the inn. Its a small building, a few tables with stools that are empty. She seats you at one, and goes to back. Returning with mugs of what appears to be ale, she sets one in front of each of you before taking two for herself. She drinks heavily from the first glass until she empties it in one swig, a peaceful look on her face as she sets it down.
"All right." she says as she wipes her mouth. "Now that I have a bit of courage in me, let me tell what's been going on."
She gives a weary look around the room, almost as if the walls could hear her.
"There were...travelers who suddenly appeared in town. We were in the middle of the daily blessing of the TreeMother when they came upon us. We fought back of course, but then they discovered our weakness."
She pauses to take a sip.
"This land was not always so plentiful. It was a hard life and our existence was meager. But then, a druid who had journeyed from afar and gave us a holy seed which we planted into the ground. Before we knew it the land had become fertile, the trees grew strong, and harvests filled our storage to near-bursting. And then those Bastards!" she spits the word, "threatened to break her bark, turn her to ash."
She sighs, and takes another, longer sip.
"We had no choice. We had to do as they commanded. We bring them supplies they request to the entrance of the mine they are currently excavating. And we were told under no circumstance should we let any other travelers know the mine's location. The man who gave me directions said anyone who didn't say the phrase 'They flee and scatter, they gnaw and tatter' should be directed to the forest on the other side of town."
Daniel leans slightly backwards in his chair, taking but a small sip from the glass at first.
He shakes his head slowly at hearing it.
"Peh.....same story everywhere, greed and exploitation.
Vivian, do only humans live here, or some of our kind as well?
If there are, pretending to be family of your townsmen, doing the next delivery instead net time, would be more plausible."
Bently climbs up onto a chair and pulls one of the drinks towards him. With both hand he takes a swig and quietly listens to the story.
Emerich and I could go take a look at the mines if you guys want....See if the out of towners there look like anyone we would know from Terrace...Then we would know a little bit more about what's going on...I know what you're thinking...No one would see us...
Greed, and exploitation... sounds just like my family.....
Emerich sighs and says Sneaking in sounds like the best option. Good plan Bently.
Korunar wonders wether the people here know, that they are living in the abyss or if they just think they live an ordinary life. Any way, they have the order to help with the abyss progression. And as nobody seems to know how to do that, this could be a good start to do something.
He takes a big sip of the ale. "So, how many of those travelers are there? And do you know what they search for in the mine? Just ores or is there more to be found?"
"Our small village hosts only humans, though I know of dwarves and elves living in the forest to the far south. But its a few days journey at least."
Vivi looks a bit worried when Bently voices his plan to check out the mines.
"Other than deliveries, they are very guarded about the mine. I'm not sure how many exist within, and who stays outside to guard it."
She then turns to Korunar.
"I'm not sure on their number, as I said, and it seemed more have arrived faster than I could imagine. The man who threatened us seemed of magic though. As for the mine, we thought it an old relic of times long ago. It used to be mined for gold, but they shut it down after several deadly cave in's that sealed the miner's inside. But that happened decades ago."
Daniel looks semi surprised.
"Dwarves living in the forest? With elves living in the forest too?
It's like hearing the sun is blue."
He leans back again...
"A mage huh....they can be a decent threat, but at least their constitution is worse than your average soldier's is.
What is this cave in you've mentioned, was there some natural disaster, or did the miners make a mistake?"
"What are you talking about? Did you grow up in a village where dwarves and elves live separately?"
She gives Daniel a perplexed look.
"As for the mines, as I understand it there was some talk of foul play, but I've only heard it from my father, and he heard it from his father who heard it from his."
"By Torag's beard....", he facepalms with a soft smile.
"Not quite.....let's just say i come from a big dwarven city, elves don't come there. Elves live in forests or coastal cities, where dwarves don't come."
Strange... In Terrace people are separated by how much money they have... or maybe what kind of job they have... Usually race has very little with who you live close to or buy your lunch from... There's some outliers... the Stout boys for instance... group of rats Nesters that's all gnome and Dwarves... but their kind of the exception not the rule... mostly people get along with different sorts in Terrace... mostly...
Emerich laughs softly at Daniels face palm.
Daniel, you came to Terrace in a, shall I say, not in a normal way. I'd be less than surprised to see very different ways.
"You really are a strange group of folks, aren't you."
The alcohol seems to be getting to her, but the tension has released from her shoulders. Still, she gives a wary look around, as the windows have eyes. She pulls from her side pack a scroll of paper, takes a quill, and writes something before handing it to Daniel.
"I'm not in charge of deliveries, but if you talk to Smith, he should be able to give you some more details. We go way back, so he should know my handwriting and help you out. Then again, he's pretty timid so it might take some convincing. His shop's further into town. Take a left at TreeMother and you should see it, the 'Cracked Anvil.'"
Daniel takes the note and puts it in an inner pocket.
"Thank you Vivian, we'll be sure to do that."
After it, he resumes drinking his ale.
This ale lacks taste.
Bently hops down from his stool and checks his balance to see if the alcohol has effected him much. he gives himself a little nod.
Well all that remains is to see what we do next... Do we scout out the mines... go visit the blacksmith... poke around town seeing what else might be going around town... or... huh...
Bently stops and scratches his head... an idea has obviously caught his attention.
Why do people assume the portal in terrace sends people to somewhere that's not real ... I mean this all seems real... Why couldn't it just send us to places where we can do the most good... and maybe... maybe if this isn't real .... maybe it doesn't matter... maybe we should just do the most good because it's the right thing to do...
Bently turns towards Vivian
Vivi... we've been told some... strange things about this place... please don't think I'm silly for asking... but do you have memories of when you were young... what it was like when you would walk around town with your parents... what it was like the first time you thought a boy looked nice... maybe even how sad you felt the first time you went to a funeral... I know it's a strange question... but please humor me...
"Unless you're half orc and poor at the same time." Korunar says to Bently with a severe overtone. "In that case most humans treat you as a monster."
After a short pause he continues with a more cheerful voice: "Well, we should lose no time."
He downs his ale and stands up, just to realize that he feels dizzy as he is not used to alcohol. He shakes his head to clear his mind before he looks at the others what they intend to do.
Daniel seems unfazed by the, to dwarven standards, weak beverage.
He chuckles though.
"You've yet to taste dwarven ale then. Stronger, but better.
Don't fret so much, big guy, i've met half-orcs down at the harbour. Sailors, deckhands and bodyguards to merchants alike.
Not always the most social, but they were the respectable hard working kind. To dwarves, our deity Torag the Forge Father in particular, hard work is respected. If ever i get a ticket out of Terrace, sort to speak, i'm inviting you to come take a look at Janderhoff."
Vivi gives Bently and odd look.
"That is a rather odd question small one. Yes I remember helping my folks with the harvest, though they aren't around today. And while I haven't ever thought a boy looked nice, Miss Tabitha at the Storehouse has been a lovely sight these past few years. I guess Smith is decent on the eyes. If he ever gets over his fears of rejection, he'd probably do well for himself."
Thank you Vivi... so guys unless we have any other questions for Trini... do we want to go and talk to Smith... or Miss Tabitha... or scout out who else is in the town... or maybe even scout out the outside of the cave...?"
"Let us talk with Smith first." Korunar suggests. "If he can't help us we still can talk to the others."
Lets go to Smith, if we don't get any information, lets go to the mine.
A new objective decided, the party leaves Vivi's inn and makes their way down the road towards the Mother Tree. To the sides of the street you see mostly housing and small living quarters leading you to believe that this section of town is where most folks here reside.
As you get closer to the the Mother Tree, you begin to notice that nature is overtaking civilization, the closer buildings having their wooden boards growing branches and green. The grass is much more lush and the air itself feels cleaner than you thought possible. You can also see a few townsfolk enjoying an ice picnic near the base, it large trunk the size of several men and its tall canopy protecting the townsfolk below from the sun. They give you an odd look as you pass by, but a couple wave in open friendliness.
You follow Vivi's directions and soon you find yourselves in the obvious shopping district. There are various signs hanging out as to inform of each different store and their specialty. Before you there is:
1. Cracked Anvil
-Two pieces of an actual broken anvil hang from iron chains connected to a sturdy wooden sign.
2. Needle and Thread
-a hemp rope wrapped around a log with a sword (hilt removed) tied to one end and stuck into the
log
3. Jen General
-A decent carving a what appears to be a young woman's profile. Well crafted.
4. Wackabee Magic Emporium
-A shoddily put together contraption that has a hornet's nest inside a clear container, two large wooden paddles attached to some kind of rotary contraption, and all of that connected a thin rope hanging down from the street below, easily reachable to even a child.
Bently feels a draw to the strange contraption and slowly creeps towards it trying to not draw the attention of his companions as he reaches out slowly towards the thin rope.
unless anyone stops him bently pulls the rope just to see what it will do.
"Well how about that...what did they do to the anvil, to get it broken like that?"
As Daniel muses about how someone was able to split an anvil in half, he hears a yelp.
Betnly, ever the curious one, pulled the rope of the odd contraption.
The motor spun, the paddles flew and smacked into the sides of the container causing hte hornet's to stir angrily. A swarm emerges from the top of the container and descends onto Bently and, miraculously, picks him up in a deafening hum of thousands of tiny wings. Before any of you can react, Bently is whisked inside the store of Wackabee Magic Emporium.
I wonder where Bently has gone to
Emerich makes for the shop with the anvil then hears the sound.
What is that noise... Bently!!
Emerich runs inside the Magic emporium.
Daniel turns around when Emerich runs the opposite way.
"Hmm, what's got you worried?"
Then he sees the swarm of bees 'kid-napping' Bently.
"Oh....it seems we're going to visit the mages' supply center first. I've heard halflings are too curious for their own good, sometimes, and it might well be now as well."
Daniel turns around, but waits for the others before walking over.
"Only Bently could get kidnapped by bees," sighs Trini. She has been relatively silent until now, continuing to take in the sights, but the sight of one of her own in danger rouses her to action. She pushes up her sleeves. "We better go after them!"
Trini prays for guidance from Gozreh, hoping his influence extends to this strange new world, before running through the door.
Korunar follows Daniel with excessive wariness. He has some bad experiences with hornets and he is not pleased to see them here.
Koruna, Trini, Daniel and Emerich enter Wackabee's Magic Emporium with various amount of wariness and haste. Immediately you see what has happened to your halfling companion as Bently is seated in a nice plush chair, but hornet's still cover his body from neck to toe. If Betnly tries to move the hornet's start buzzing loudly and angrily.
"Hold on! Hold on!"
You hear some fumbling in the backroom followed by a loud crash. Given the stack of junk around you all, you can easily imagine one of them producing the same effect. Moments later an elderly bespectacled man enters the room, his robe mangled and his trousers around his ankles. In his his hands is a large pot which he then throws onto the floor, its contents spilling slightly though the pot remains intact.
"Go on! Get! There's your payment, now get!"
The Hornet's leave Bently's body in haste, pick up the pot which was filled a variety of dead insects, and leave out the door.
The man breathes a sigh, as he adjusts his spectacles, smiles, then dresses you all.
"Welcome to Wackabee's Magic Emporium!" He posture is filled with pride as he makes his way over to you, his pants still around his ankles. "I'm William Wackabee. How may I be of service?"
Bently is speechless...
Korunar makes sure to move two steps away from the door as he sees the hornets leaving. Then he looks suspiciously at William.
"What's happening here? Are these", he points to the door, "magical hornets? Why would they kidnap a halfling? Is that the way you get customers to your store?"
Bently begins to quietly stammer.
...um...uh... uh... um...um.. uh..wha... wha... um...
William looks confused for a second, perplexed at your accusation.
"Kidnap you say? My dear sir, I implore nothing of the sort. Did you not read the sign attached to the rope? I'm sure it clearly states 'Free Rides for Kids.' I installed it only last week, a sure hit with children, hmm?"
He nods eagerly, as he is already sure you'd agree with him.
"But please do make yourselves at home" He turns to shout. "Humphry! Herbert! Harold!"
You all hear the clack of wood on wood and soon see a more chairs and a table walking in to the roomThey squeeze past the odd old man and set themselves in front of you.
He himself takes a seat and gestures you all to do the same.
"So, what can I help you with today?" he repeats.
"It seems to be a way to lure in, or 'take in', potential customers.
Rather, what is it you need us for, mage?"
Daniel stays polite.
... whhaaahh?....
Bently takes a sidelong look at the door that the hornets left out of...
...I was not expecting that....
Korunar looks a little confused for a moment but takes a seat like William offered.
Emerich sits down uneasily.
Magic emporium....
sooo.... uhh... that was just a ride... huh... um... so... what do you have to sell... Oh and your pants are down...
William's brow furrows and he frowns.
"So you aren't here for business? You made me waste a jar of insects so you could have a free joy ride?"
He still doesn't pull up his pants, and is starting to look impatient.
William claps his hands and anyone sitting is immediately thrown off the seat and the furniture waddles back into the back of the store.
"Please leave. If you aren't here for business, then I have work to return to. I don't have time to waste on non-serious customers."
"Maybe you should wait until someone wants to be swept by bees before doing it," suggests Trini archly. "Your sign may need a bit of work." Her heart is still pounding, and she is not disposed to take kindly to the absent-minded old man.
She turns to the others. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I believe our business here is concluded."
"It seems so."
"She's right about the sign you know.
I'd recommend a certain rune priest, but at the moment there's no way of reaching him."
Korunar is surprised as he is thrown off the chair and lands unstylish on the ground.
He bobs up and grunts "Is that the way you treat potential customers? Well, if I'll ever have need for magic supplies, this is not where I'll be looking for it."
For a moment he is tempted to show William what he thinks of his hospitality. But then he just gives William a last evil look before he leaves the store.
Outside he calms down and takes a look around while he waits for the rest of the group.
You all make your way out of the shop in varying degrees of huff. William seems to have lost all interest of you and has left the front room already.
An odd experience to say the least. As you get together to decide what to do next, you hear a yelp of pain emanate from the Cracked Anvil.
"The weird mage was lying. There is no mention on the sign of hornets"
Daniel looks up as he hears the yelp.
"Ah, it sounds like somebody whacked his own thumb.
My guess it will be the apprentice.", he says with a sly smile.
Well, lets check it out. At the very least, we may be able to get some new equipment, it is a blacksmiths shop, after all.
Hey isn't that where we were going anyways... I mean before... er... yeah lets go to the blacksmith