"I could try, but I'm sure Nempura could strike a far better deal than I. Still, if she has more pressing issues to attend to, I'd love to accompany you."
'True, it shouldn't be that hard to find.' Nodding as Helgar climbed abourd the wagon, Ivar shrugged. "I vonder if ve need to haggle." When Arren offered not only to accompany them, but to also do the haggling, Ivar smilled. offering the sorceress his hand to help her into the wagon. "Dat sounds like a very good idea."
Ewan walks in together with Merion into the Footsore Wanderer to acquire some breakfast, now he still is able to get it, it is a welcome indulgence of his.
At the Footsore Wanderer, he inquires the owner or the barkeep for dried sausages for along the way, able to share something else than hard tack would be a welcome addition.
After that, Ewan makes his way to the table where Merion, Albin and Findal sit. He sits down with his breakfast and begins to dig in, while listening to the other three talk. Just as Findal talks about going on a trip towards the ruins, Ewan looks around to see if nobody is in earshot, then leans in towards Findal.
"I w-would as-sume th-that you are m-most w-welcome to join. I f-for one w-would enjoy y-your com-pan-ny. One w-who is so in tune w-with n-nature is surely help-ful. M-might I ask w-what y-your quest is about? Is th-there some w-way in w-which w-we could help"
If/when he is able to get Nempura away from prying ears, Merion asks her The significance of this child, and the garment, seem to me to be more a matter of lore and the gods than the arcane. Lady Pakkanen sent me with the garment in case it proved useful to us--what do you think she might have intended by that?
It is not hard to pull Nempura away from others as she is preparing to leave. Merion's intention to speak to her alone isn't easily picked up by the bard and it isn't until he perhaps guides her to speak alone does she understand and follows him on her way out.
As Nempura as about the head of the city guard, he is taken back; “Permission… Oh well all of the militia is stationed at Castle Issakainen, the large walled off building on the northern hill. I am not sure who is on duty. Lord Ilamri is there. I am sure they could point you in the right direction.” Nempura would think that his lack of names and knowledge that his young man is a guard only hired by the inn, not one of the village.
As Nempura, and anyone else who joins her, makes their way to Castle Issakainen, you see two guards as the base of the stairs talking to one another, but quickly “stiffen up” as you approach. With the rising sun, you are able to see movement atop the ramparts. Guards, patrolling the walls and looking out over the village.
As you get closer one of the guards speaks up; “That’s far enough, what business do you have this early? Coming to join the militia, or are you here to entertain Lord Ilamri as his court bard?” The second man is unsuccessful in hiding a snicker.
The two guards are rough around the edges, but you can see from their physique why they were hired as guards. Their armor and weapons are nothing fancy, but their quality is good. And, you can tell that they have seen use in battle.
As Ivar is loading up the wagon of goods and starts to head down the road, he remembers Hank pointing to where Tuomi’s Outfitters was as you came through town. Ivar, Helgar, and Arren head towards the outfitter.
As you pull up to the show, you can tell from the care and upkeep to the outside of the shop that it was a good idea spending the extra time cleaning the goods you are looking to sell.
Walking through the door ding ding rings a bell that has a clapper that hangs low enough to be hit by the door when opened and closed.
The wooden shelves, racks, and counters shine like mirrors at the care and dedication to upkeep that has taken place in this shop. The meticulously organized shop has potentially everything a traveler might need. Even a twin seated canoe hangs overhead from the rafters.
A husky feminine voice calls from the rear of the shop; “Good morning! From the sound of those boots on my floors I would guess travelers or adventurers off at this hour” Rounding the corner and revealing herself at the end of one of the rows, and a tall and lean female half-orc. “How can I help you this morning?” she says as she takes the three of you in. Trying not to hard to stare at the dust and dirt that may have been tracked in.
When Ewan approves of Findal joining the party he smiles with a giddiness; “Oh excellent! You know, I have not been on a true adventure in some years. As I said, I will stay out of the way. Help where needed. But mainly there to record what takes place. This will be fun.” He takes a swig of his steaming tea.
“My quest? Haha” he chuckles a nervous laugh with a dribble of tea down his front. Padding it with a cloth; “I’ll care for that later. But my quest is one that will gain me the approval to be an apprentice. I do hope I am able to study under Raziel. He is the Loremaster at the Black Tower, a wealth of knowledge.”
Uttering a few words under his breath, he waves his hand over the place where he spilled the tea and the setting stain slowly vanishes from his vest; “Ahh, much better.” as he brushes his vest smooth.
"How can ye help us? Nay...nay. How can we help ye is a better question. I am Helgar, Clan Runetamer, and this is me companions, Ivar and Arren. We come bringing wares to sell, which I am sure that ye will find to be...well, who am I to tell ye what ye think? Come lads, bring forth the wares. Ms Stone, if ye would..."
Approaching the tall woman, Ivar follows the dwarf's lead. Lifting the sword and armor. "Ve have second-hand gear. Ve vere told you might be der person most interested." As he finished speaking he holds the sword out by its scabbard so she may take the weapon and inspect it. "Dis is just part. Ve have der rest in der vagon." He looks around at the cleanliness of the shop, glad they didn't drag the rest of it in.
No, I didn't bring him, Merion says, and lets a bit of concern into his voice given this information. We'd do well to keep it safe, then, until our return. I've never really left the city, so I won't be help finding those locations, I don't think.
Merion may have this conversation following Nempura on her way to the castle.
As she heads out and makes her way to the castle, she will wave goodbye to Merion and then move swiftly, but quietly as she can through the city on her horse.
"Morning boys!" she happily rings back in a semi-flirty-yet-kind way to show she can take a joke and to not be hesitant around her; she's not here to kill their leader. As she does, she pulls some of her fruit from her bag. "I am actually here to speak to your attendant captain for the night shift. I and my friends are mercenaries and came across some trouble on the way down here. We are willing to help, but we would like some legal identifiers to do so. I can't come back later in the day as my wagon train is leaving soon here. Can I speak to whoever can help me now? " she asks, holding out the fruit to hand to them; not quite as a bribe, but as a peace offering for men who are likely hungry and at the end of their shift.
"I am s-sure it w-will be a fun ad-ven-ture."
Ewan leans in as Findal mentions him becoming an apprentice at the Black Tower.
"A w-w-izard's ap-pren-tice? I h-had th-thought you w-w-were a druid. I w-wish you l-luck. T-the en-trance exams are r-really tough. I h-had h-hoped to study t-there myself. I didn't know A q-q-uest c-could also be enough to enter."
Seeing the obvious use of magic, Ewan nods. "P-pres-ti-di-gi-tation right? It is one of my fa-vo-rite s-spells. Use-ful."
Merion picks up on Nempura's desire to conduct whatever business she has at the castle alone, and watches her go. So open a personality, like Ewan but more polished about it. Or maybe I'm an insider now, after the battle against the bandits.
He returns to the Footsore Wanderer, again catching the end of Ewan's exchange with Findal and sitting quietly to listen.
Good point, Ewan. How might a druid know that spell? There's any number of ways, but what seems most likely?
“Weapons and armor? Always easy to sell good craftsmanship.” she takes the blade and checks its balance; “Good craftsmanship indeed.” She takes the three of you in.
Turning towards Arren; “No need to take care of that now, why don’t you bring in everything that you have to sell and we can go from there.”
As you bring in what you have to sell, she begins to look over it all; “Is there anything specific you are looking for? I do offer a little bit more for trade than I do if I am outright buying stuff out.”
Sorting everything as it is brought in she points up to the canoe; “And if you’re interested, I will make you a deal on the canoe. Ever since they closed off the access to the lake no one has been interested in a canoe.”
As soon as Nempura mentions trouble on the road, the two guards straighten up even more. “On the way down, from Languard? Come, we will take you to the captain”
The two guards lead you up the stairs and to the first house as soon as you enter the castle; “Captain! This woman said they ran into trouble north of here. Wants a legal identification to take care of it.”
The older man that the guards identified as Captain looks at Nempura from his desk: “Legal identification? We do guard the roads in each direction within a half days ride, but we don’t have any duty beyond that. What did you run into out there?”
Findal chuckles to himself; “I have studied a wide range of arcane magics, a wizards spell book gives him a wide range of tools to use.”
As Ewan mentions the entrance exam, gives an eye roll; “That exam not only was a complete waste of time. A proper test would be the testing of one’s arcane capabilities. I am sure that is what I will face after I complete my quest.”
Findal stands up; “I need to gather my belongings and prepare for the adventure.” chuckling; “Haven’t said that in some time.” Findal heads off to his room to gather his belongings.
"We were warned by a druid heading south that there were bandits at the bridge. We decided to approach anyway, on guard with our merchant caravan. I was a guard for hire with them for this leg of the journey south. These bandits had come from a stronghold nearby evidently and took up a position at the chokepoint where the bridge used to be. For some reason, they must have destroyed what was there before. Perhaps to slim down the passage south and better police it? I don't know. Anyway, when their leader approached us, he started peeking around at our wagon acting like a friend. I told him to back off and raised my bow in warning. His associates popped out and began opening fire at us from across the river. In the end, my companions and I ended up thwarting off their attack. The gang leader who was in charge there is dead and the rest fled back to their stronghold. My companions expressed a desire maybe into looking to deal with them on our way back north, but I said that is not an act of self-defense. I came here to, one, communicate what happened and that the bridge is destroyed, two, to get the roads secure again, and lastly, to see if we can help legally." "And perhaps get a reward for what we've done...but I doubt he will with no proof, and I certainly have none. Oh well."
When the shopkeeper offers a deal on the canoe, he chuckles. "I vould only be interested in der canoe if it is magical und I can fold it up und put it in my pocket." furrowing his brow. "Vy did de close off access to der lake? I tought dis town survived on der fishing from it."
Helgar nodded at Ivar's question. "Aye, before we could even consider buying a canoe, we'd have to know if there is use for it."
Leaning back in his chair, the captain listens to Nempura’s tale; “Well… we can have a bridge out. I will send a patrol out to make sure things are clear before sending some masons for the repairs. We cannot have that bridge out. It cuts us off from trade with Languard and those traveling to and from it.”
“If you want to pursue it further, I will give you a charter with lord Issakainen’s seal on it. It will declare that you have legal rights to explore any public or private land that has evidence leading to this matter. It will also absolve you of any punishment that would come from you and your team acting in self-defense.”
“You mentioned that you are on guard for a merchant caravan and that you will look into it on your way back north. After your job is finished, stop and see me before heading out to look for this stronghold. Was there any clue to where this stronghold is?”
He begins writing on a paper and stamps it with a large seal and lets it dry. Tri-folding the paper he stands and hands it to you and extends his right hand to shake; “I am Captain Forman. Seems like we could use some more people like you and your crew in the world. What is your name?”
At Ivar’s comment of a magical canoe the half-orc woman laughs “Ha! Now that is something more useful than this thing hanging over my head. Name is Tuomi. Give me a minute and I’ll look over this equipment that you are hauling in.”
Tuomi is very thorough as she examines all of the gear. Checking every breaking point. And latches, hinges, straps, and buckles. It give you enough time to take a look through her merchandise, which you might believe that she is taking a little extra time and care with the hopes you find something you are interested in.
“Okay, here is what I can do for you.” she says as she waves you back over towards where your weapons and armor is. “Normal wear and tear on this stuff, nothing I wouldn’t expect with equipment coming in from adventures. If you are buying anything in house, I will give you 700 gold worth of trade. If you are just wanting the gold and be on your way, I will give you 50 platinum pieces. Help offset the weight of coins as you go.”
She rounds the counter; “I do have a few things from my days as an adventurer still. I have this here.” she pulls up a cloth duffel bag. “This is a bag of holding. Helped me carry anything extra I found along the way. And; she reaches below and pulls our matching wrist guards. They are both leather and look to have the pattern of a turtle shell; “these bracers. Magical defenses for those who can’t wear proper amor.” she says looking at Arren.
“2500 gold for the bag, 1000 gold for the bracers.” She goes silent waiting for responses from the three of you.
"No, not really. Other than some general indicators...such as the direction the bandit ran that escaped. I would have to confer with my colleague on that, but even then, I can't be sure. I do have a feeling it is in between here and Languard, somewhere near the bridge. It isn't likely that a rag-tag bunch of bandits would strike extremely far from where they rest their heads, particularly since they didn't seem to have horses."
Her reasoning made sense. Whether she was anywhere near the mark, she didn't know. As he compliments her, she curtseys in response to his compliment.
"Very well," she replies in response to him desiring them to stop by on their return. Upon asking her name, she announces, "I am the bard, Nempura Babblebrook." With that, she shakes his hand. She then states the names of the rest of the party so that he knows who all are going to be part of this and to exempt them as well. When their business is concluded, she will bind up the writ into a case and then ready herself to go at his permission. She will likely have to ride to catch up with the caravan already.
He then looks back towards the shop keeper. "Sadly not all of der six of us are here. So taking merchandise vould not be fair to dem." He shrugs, "Let us split der difference, der veight of coin matters not to me. Six hundred gold pieces und ve promise vile in town dat anyt'ing ve need to purchase or anyt'ing ve have to trade, ve speak to you first."
He then turns back to Arren, "I am in need of not'ing. If der shop keeper takes our bargain, I vould happily use my share to go towards der purchase of der magical gauntlets for you."
Your character would remember the note telling Nash to follow the Tanu River north west to the bridge and to use the sticks from the mines to destroy the bridge. So your character would have at least a starting point to go off of if you were to track down these bandits and their stronghold.
Captain Forman nods; “It was a pleasure meeting you. As I said stop by on your way back through for any updates on what is going on here.” He begins to round his desk, tossing on a cloak; “If there isn’t anything else, I have some work to do about this bridge situation.” He will answer any questions you may have, but he is also clearly ready to get the day started.
You make your way out of the house and realize that this did not take as long as you figured. You know some of your party was saying at the Footsore Wanderer, others were heading off to Tuomi’s Outfitters, but all in all you were to meet at the Eastern toll booth.
Findal makes his way back down the stairs with a bag slung across his back. Albin sees Findal and finishes his tea. As he stands up Albin looks to you; “Looks like we should be on our way to meet up. I’ll help Findal and we will start to head to the Eastern toll booth.”
Albin gives the elderly woman a few coins, paying for his room and meals.
With a disappointed sigh; “Never discredit the need for armor on one who uses arcane magics.” she says as she says a few arcane words and the dirt and dust that was tracked in is softly blown and gathered together for Tuomi to sweep up.
She smiles; “I do like your reasoning, but as it stands I am the only place in town to go to that you would go to for trading purposes.” she gently pats Ivar’s arm with a firm hand as she passes back to the counter. “My offer stands. 500 crowns outright or 700 crowns worth of trade. Feel free to talk it over with your friends. I’ll be here.”
She goes about taking care of things around the shop, without seeming rude to the three of you.
As you arrive, Hank is finishing tightening down a rope net that is strung across a canvas covered wagon. The canvas blocking your view of what is underneath. Hank is currently getting the rest of his caravan together in preparations to continue south.
Albin arrives shortly after upon his horse riding besides Findal’s wagon. Findal is currently sitting on the bench next to his driver as he is writing in a journal.
"I held that same hope... No matter my study and grasp, they didn't even wanted to allow me in."
Ewan mumbles mainly to himself, not paying any mind to Albin still sitting at the table.
Eventually Ewan looks up again and nods at Albin.
"S-seems w-we have a lot to do s-still. I w-will go and t-tell t-the others of Findal j-joi-ning us. Albin? W-would y-you mind not tal-king a-about our little ex-pe-di-tion? W-wouldn't w-want anybody else to get in t-there before us."
After that Ewan leaves the tavern and makes his way to the wagons, waiting on the rest to come back, when they eventually do Ewan will relay to the others that Findal wished to join the group on their expedition.
"I've g-given him an o-kay to go. I h-hope y-you don't m-mind."
Merion does not take long to get his things together, stashed as they are by the wagons where he slept (the most important remained on his person, of course). As they wait, he asks Ewan, You studied to be a wizard as well? You've done a lot of different things.
She smiles; “I do like your reasoning, but as it stands, I am the only place in town to go to that you would go to for trading purposes.” she gently pats Ivar’s arm with a firm hand as she passes back to the counter. “My offer stands. 500 crowns outright or 700 crowns worth of trade. Feel free to talk it over with your friends. I’ll be here.”
She goes about taking care of things around the shop, without seeming rude to the three of you.
Nodding "I vill speak to my companions." Picking up the items he brought in to return them to the wagon. "But as you have seen ve have a nearly empty vagon dat ve travel vit. Ve vill be passing t'rough Longbridge und Dulvich. Ve can sell der items in either of der two Towns." He shrugs "Or ve can sell dem to you now at a fair price, vit der promise ve vill return here vit our merchandise on our way to Languard to give you first bid." As he heads to the door, he explains. "Ve intent to gather vealth from a location we've been made aware of. Vat ve find could also be yours at a fair price." Leaving the shop he tosses the items back into the wagon.
Nempura nods her head at the dismissal and gives a charming wave to guards who leave her at the front gate before she saddles up onto her horse and carefully takes off as quietly as she can through the city. Once out of the gate, she will open up the pace of her horse a bit more and head for the toll booth on the eastern side.
Ewan nods in answer to Merion's question.
"Y-yes I did. It is w-why I w-would like to s-study s-small m-magics again w-with you. Th-thanks to my s-stut-stutter I w-wasn't al-lowed into th-the a-ca-de-my. Th-then I be-came a p-purser and s-sailor."
Merion laughs. Picky lot, the Tower. I'm not much more than an apprentice, but I know a few tricks. Glad to share what I can, especially in exchange for your swordfighting lessons.
Checking the last few straps on the horse he had been riding, Merion winces at some of yesterday's bruises. He smiles, though, thinking of the excitement. I wonder what adventures this next day will bring?
Albin nods; “You’re right. I drank too much last night with Arren and when we parted ways I found Findal and we got to talking about past adventures. It won’t happen again.”
Tuomi smiles; “My prices are fair. I offer a bit more for those who are trading in goods towards other items. Those who want coin outright, I don’t offer as much. I’m sorry we couldn’t come to a deal.”
As Ivar grabs the items and the group heads out, Tuomi speaks up; “My offer still stands.” The little bell above the door rings as you all heads out.
The group gathers over the span of 15 minutes from one another. As Hank sees that you all have arrived he moves towards you.
“Longbridge is about a day’s journey, and we cannot run into trouble. If we do, I am pressing on and you will have to take care of it. There are no bridges that could cause a choking point like the bridge up north.” looking back towards the cart that he just finished tying down; “I have cargo that will spoil if we take too long.” looking to the sky; “I pray the gods bless us with cool weather.”
Upon meeting back up with the group, she will display their writ of permission to handle the bandits. Furthermore, Nempura will explain how the captain of the guard would like to see them on the return journey northward before considering whether or not to go after the bandits. How she accomplished this feat, she doesn't say, but at least they know they are legal now to deal with these bandits as mercenaries.
"So, you sold some stuff? How were the prices?" she asks, inquiring after the goods.
-------------------------
When the rest of the group has assembled and Hank comes up to them, she falls quieter and just nods.
"Typically, I don't wish anything of the gods. Either way, I hope there is some cloud cover..."
She will mount up and get ready to ride a bit faster today. If Hank wants to, he can as well and they can get ahead in time to ensure his goods don't spoil. She tries to recall the magic she learned that purified food. It was a divine spell, so it was a bit beyond her.
Driving the wagon to the meeting point, Ivar dismounts the wagon while Hank explains the plan. Nodding he responds, looking from Hank to Nempura. "Ve vill keep our vagon in der rear in case ve need to stop. Dat vill keep us from slowing you down."
'I hope she is not too disappointed.' Hearing Nempura's question, Ivar Moves closer to her shaking his head. "Tuomi had two offers, five hundred gold in der hand or seven hundred vorth in trade. I didn't see dat much vorth trading for und no vone else seemed interested in much. So I counter offered for six hundred gold cash und ve vould give her first choice of vatever else ve acquired." Ivar shakes his head. "She claimed she had a..." he pauses for a moment thinking of the right word. "monopoly in town, und take or leave her offer." Shrugging. "I told her ve had a vagon und could sell der items in Longbridge or Dulvich. Den ve loaded der items back up und came here."
He begins to move towards the wagon but stops and looks back at Nempura. "I know veapons and t'ought six hundred vas a fair price." He gestures towards his face. "But I am not der best negotiator. Perchance in Longbridge or Dulvich ve vill let someone else handle der selling of der goods."
Turning back towards the wagon he climbs back up into the seat, waiting for the signal from Hank to head out.
"It sounds like you did the best you could. When someone has a monopoly, they think they hold all the power. No sense in dealing with someone like that. You did fine."
Either it was the passage of time or the hurried nature of her catching up, but she seems to have forgotten his grumpy moment that morning and is back to her cheery self. More than that, she seems to not care about the items. The fact they have to carry them with her bothers her though.
”Our goods aren’t perishable, and we do have to keep moving.” She agreed, wishing that she could have been of more help. ”It will be good to leave. With that talk of the lake being off limits? Something is wrong here, and we don’t have the time to be sucked into problems that don’t concern us.”
"What lake? Off-limits?" she inquires, recalling that she has told them multiple times now in tale or in the actual seeing of the vision about the lake she saw resting in a valley. She had felt like she was being shown three entrances to something. Perhaps this is the very same lake?
Perhaps on the way back we'll have more time. Or I can send Robin to investigate, if we know the direction the lake is in.
Merion sounds intrigued, and elides over not having heard of the forbidden lake either. So many strange doings pique his natural curiosity.
As the group of you are talking about the lake, Hank moves up to the group; “You’re talking about Lake Thraren. That’s why we came here.” gives a head not towards the covered cart; “The lake is home to several exotic fish that are found nowhere else in Ashlar. That’s why we must move fast. If that haul spoils, we are out a small fortune. So, unless there is anything else… let’s head out.”
With a whistle, Hank signals for the caravan to head out. All of the same wagons are there, but the people who are walking or riding by it are different.
This day’s journey is relatively uneventful. The further you get from Wellswood, the aroma of the Hard Bay completely goes away. To the south you see begin to see the forest that you know you will eventually have to explore to discover the ruins that Albin mentioned.
As Longbridge comes into view. The village itself positioned upon this large stone bridge that spans the waters of Kymi’s Run.
Village of Longbridge Lore: Trained only. A successful check gains all the information revealed by a lesser check.
Longbridge is a divided community two lords claim the village; soon the matter will be decided – probably by force.
Named for it’s largest structure, the village is clustered about a bridge of ancient dwarven artifice. Apparently, hidden stairways lead to caverns below the river itself.
Although two nobles argue over Longbridge, a third person – Einhard Kochel – secretly plots to turn Longbridge into his personal demesne.
Ewan rides along the caravan towards the next leg on their journey, he sees the forest to the south coming up and whistfully looks at it, daydreaming a bit as to what they might find there on their way back.
Even though this daydreaming takes up a lot of his mind, Ewan does look up in awe and wonder as Longbridge appeared in full view. Ewan's mouth fell open and he couldn't stifle a "Wow...I wonder how they managed that."
Ewan looks up at Longbridge and as the group would ride along the first part of the bridge he looks up at the architecture and studies it as they ride by.
Clearly too impressed by the masonry and the stonework, Ewan doesn't manage to notice that it might not even be made by human hands.
Hearing Nempura's question, Ivar shrugs, "Der shop keeper vanted to sell a canoe. She said der lake vas 'off limits' I didn't ask." Chuckling to himself, Ivar figured if the bird flew high enough it could find the lake. Before he could make any sort of comment Hank interrupted and informed them about the lake. Having too keen of an idea of what would happen to the fish, Ivar clucks at the horses pulling the wagon while rattling the reins. "Not'ing vorse den der smell of spoiled fish, ve should get undervay."
Shifting uncomfortably from side to side in the bench seat of the wagon, Ivar was not as used to sitting and the seat was getting uncomfortable by the time they reached Longbridge. Smiling at Ewan's observation, he calls out, "Probably vit concrete." Gesturing towards the front of the wagon train, he asks, "Could someone ride ahead und find out ver Hank is parking der vagons for der night, und vere ve might get a meal und sell der arms?"
Exotic fish, that's it? Merion is disappointed to hear such a mundane answer, and secretly by the quiet journey to Longbridge.
As the caravan rides into the village, Merion's mind goes back to some correspondence Lady Pakkanen had him draft a while back. He's heard of this town. Dwarves built it, I believe., he rejoins to Ewan and Ivar. With a nod to Helgar, he adds Great builders, for certain.
It seems the events of the shop were unimportant, so she just nods and gets ready to go. Along the way, she takes position on her horse once more.
Nempura pays mind to those following along with the caravan and ensures they are keeping to themselves and not stealing anything. Those who are with them are under her protection, so as she rides, she will move from the back to the front once more. As she travels, she will sing or hum tunes, but will preserve her voice for the evening. In any case, it is a good, long warmup.
As they continue south, she sets her eyes on the forest, knowing within is her treasure somewhere.
"Not long now..."
As they make their way into Longbridge, she is more astounded as to why they would build it on a bridge rather than recalling tales that once were told to her about it. With Merion reminding her about its history, she nods.
"Oh...right. Forgot about that. I'll go ask Hank what we are doing and report back."
With that, she will ride ahead to see what the plan is.
As Nempura approaches Hank, he leans in to speak; “I don’t like Longbridge, and I don’t want to stay here any longer than we need to. Just before the North Tower is the Merry Traveler. I am going to see about getting us a trade out of horses so we can keep on.” looking ahead he points to each of the towers that flank the bridge.; “The village has no official leadership. See the flags there? The North Tower and this half of the bridge is controlled by Donatus Trond, the South Tower and that half of the bridge is controlled by Rilla Omer. The way those two are on the verge of war would make one think they were once lovers.”
Sitting back up; “If we cannot find horses, we will have to stay and I will have to sell the fish here. I would be able to fetch a much higher price in Dulwich, but we will see…”
As the caravan approaches Longbridge, Hank calls the caravan to a halt before the Y in the road. Pointing to an inn ; “Let’s stop here, the Merry Traveler. Rest for a bit and eat. I’ll check about horses.”
Hank dismounts and begins to secure a few things, grabbing a cross shoulder satchel, and makes his way into the Merry Traveler.
Nempura will merely nod to the caravan-master and will turn her horse to return and go tell the others the situation at a careful trot. Once returned, she will be more vocal to her companions.
"It seems we are to rest here for lunch. Then continue on. If we cannot find horses here, we will have to sell our goods here." She gestures around them. "Hank says that this place is on the verge of war. Someone named Donatus Trond and the other half of the bridge and war being owned by Rilla Omer. Let's be careful here what we say about one side of the bridge or the other."
If there is security for their wagons besides them, she will go partake in the Merry Traveler. If not, she will remain with the wagons.
Having brought their wagon to a stop behind the other wagons, Ivar dismounts the wagon taking the time to stretch his legs and then checking the feet on the two large horses. Looking up to Nempura as she approaches, he lowers the hoof of the nearest beast.
When she explains the plan he raises an eyebrow, curious as to what finding horses has to do with the need to sell the goods here. He smiles. "Vell if de are on der verge of var, ve should get a good price for der veapons."
Gesturing towards the others he asks. "Should half of us vait here vhile der ot'er half eats und den svich?"
"Why don't you like Longbridge Hank?"
Turning to Ivar, she nods. "Seems reasonable. I'm fine with going second."
Yes, let's be quiet about all that, Merion adds. Local politics is as vicious as anything, and we can't brook delay. He gestures to the covered card. Those fish and all.
"I am also f-fine w-with eating in sh-shifts. I w-will take a f-first w-watch then."
Ewan says as he makes himself comfortable outside, leaning against the wall of the Merry Traveler, somewhere close to the cart.
A thought crosses Ewan's mind that Ivar is pretty practical, he might even be a natural born merchant, considering he spots an opportunity for making money.
Helgar nodded, seeing that the group had the right idea of things. "There are few evils in this world as great as politics, local or not."
"Well, I say those who want to eat, eat, some of us guard, and the others go sell gear, because I like your thinking. They would crave some beautiful weapons! Who wants to do what? I can sell if you wish? As long as someone's keeping an eye on things."
Nodding in agreement with Nempura, Ivar reaches into his pouch and draws out a gold coin. "I vill stay vit der vagon und guard der whole time." Handing the coin to Helgar he asks "Helgar, vould you bring me back a sandvich of some sort. I am not picky just make it der biggest vone dey have, Ja."
"Would you like some backup Ivar? I don't expect that anyone will pick on you, but if they do, it might be nice to have someone else around. If so, I'd take anything to eat that doesn't have meat in it."