Aiden notes the group wears the same insignia, a blue fox, indicating that they are part of a troop or an adventuring group. One of the larger members wears a hood over their head, but the hunter swears he could see a small pair of tusks underneath.
"Oh, those boys...can't help giving me a title," the dwarf answers, peering down from the bar at Emma. "I am Eleanor. What can I do for you?"
Emma gives her a smile, "I was just wondering if we could rent two or three rooms from you for the night?" Emma looks between Rosie and Clyde, "Three would be great if you have that many available, but we'll take whatever you have available. I was also wondering if anything strange had been through here recently, like a black carriage with ghostly blue flames?" She asks, almost as an afterthought.
Eleanor nods. "I can spare three rooms. Mind you, there are a few rules here: no fighting, no loud noises after midnight and no animals up on the furniture. I don't care if they're trained, if they're the smartest in a hundred miles or if they magically don't go to the bathroom anymore. I let it happen once and that was the worst three weeks of my life."
Her expression becomes a little grim at Emma's second question. "No, I am old enough to remember the last time and have heard of the time before. The town was moved well off the main road that used to run through the province. Seems that plan worked well enough to keep that phantom from harming folk here."
Emma nods, "I understand, we'll make sure he doesn't get on anything and take him out before we go to bed. How much do we owe you for the rooms?"
Emma pauses for a moment before continuing, "I'm glad that no one here was harmed. Other towns we've come across as well as our own were not so lucky....except for one that was protected by a priest. We've actually gathered enough information that we think we can actually put a stop to it, and restore those that have been taken this time. We need to find some specific herbs, and then we have to go to a really old library to find the real name of the phantom that plagues these towns."
"A gold will cover your rooms and a meal in the morning," Eleanor answers. "Good luck with your quest, I fear it may be a difficult one."
Emma takes out a gold and holds it out to her, "Thank you Ms. Eleanor, we greatly appreciate your hospitality, and thank you for your well wishes. We know it's not going to be easy, but we just have to succeed. I will not rest until everyone is returned safely home, and that ghostly carriage is no longer a menace."
Looking over at the others she asks, "Does anyone need anything before we get ready to settle down for the night?"
"Not that I can think of." Aiden replies after giving Eleanor a nod of gratitude.
Rosie shakes her head. "I'm ready for sleep."
Eleanor holds out three keys. "All the rooms are the same size."
Clyde takes a key. "I will see you in the morning."
He adjusts his pack and heads to the room indicated on the key.
Emma gives Rosie and Clyde a nod, "Okay, rest well. We will see you in the morning."
Looking back at Eleanor she takes the last key, a pensive look on her face, "Ms. Eleanor...I really don't want to bring up bad memories for you, but you said before that this town was moved back from where the road used to go, and that has seemed to keep you all safe from the phantom carriage. That must mean that it doesn't deviate from its path....so, that creates a pattern that we can follow to find this carriage and it's spooky driver. I want to make sure we follow the right road out of here, so once we leave here do you know how we find the road that the carriage follows? I'm sorry if it's a painful, or stupidly obvious question, but I don't want to end up going the wrong way." She says, hoping that her inquiry isn't too painful for the kind Innkeeper.
Aiden listens closely, ready to commit any directions provided to memory.
"You take the south road out of town until you reach the burnt tower, three miles away," Eleanor answers. "The road will turn east again and that's the Old Road."
Looking up at Eleanor she asks, "Do you know if we can reach Tettledun going that way?"
Emma stops and thinks for a moment, "I'm sorry Ms. Eleanor, I don't mean to be bothering you with so many questions. Hopefully we can find someone that makes maps in the morning. I just have a lot going on in my head right now. I'm just trying to gather as much information as possible before dealing with the phantom carriage. I just....I feel like, the more information we have, the better our chances of beating this thing. I don't ever want anyone else to suffer from this again, so we just have to defeat it....we just have to" Emma finishes a bit more softly, but there is an unmistakable fierceness in the tone of her voice, that says she will not give up....no matter what.
"I can't tell you myself...I don't get out much anymore. The Old Road used to connect everything. That may have changed," Eleanor answers. "As far as I know, there aren't many folk coming from the low lands these days. The ones who do are either the dying or the dead."
Emma kind of makes a gross face, "OOhhhh...ewwww...yeah, that doesn't sound very good. I'll see if we can find someone in the morning that can help us figure out which way to go, and then see if we can find someone else that might be selling the herbs we need for the thing we need to do to get rid of that guy. I'm sorry...I guess I'm more tired than I thought I was. Thanks for the information about the old road though, that's a big help and we appreciate it."
Looking over at the group gathered at the table she looks back at Eleanor, "How bout them? Are they from around here, or did they come from another place like we did? I wonder if they would know anything about that area..." She finishes more to herself, than an actual question.
"Adventurers," Eleanor says, jerking her thumb towards the group. "Most of their kind are just merchant escorts, very few actually head out into the wild. Probably better that way...We have enough problems without orcs or goblins getting stirred up."
Rosie perks up a little at the mention of monsters. "Orcs and gobbers?! They're truly out there?"
Eleanor nods. "They're not fairy tales. Still, I'm not keen on seeing one while I still draw breath."
Emma gets a look of excitement on her face, "Ooohhhhh....really? I bet they've been around quite a bit to different places. Maybe I should ask them about Tettledun?" She asks no one in particular as she looks from Eleanor to her husband and the others in their group.
Aiden quietly studies the other group the entire time.
Aiden makes note of their body language and determines that the group would prefer to be left alone.
"Better not. They definitely want to be left alone." Aiden says under his breath.
Emma's expression turns pouty, but she nods, "Okay fine, I won't bother them then. I just can't help that I have so many questions on my mind. Let's take Shadow out so he can do his business before we go to bed."
Rosie yawns. "Good night, you two."
Emma nods while yawning as well, "Night Rosie, rest well." She says, before heading outside with Aiden and Shadow.
As you step outside, you feel a cold breeze pass over you.
Emma shivers and looks up, "Let's not stay out here too long okay love? It feels like it's getting colder, maybe I should have worn my cloak out here." She says, waiting for Shadow to find a place to do his business.
Putting his arm around Emma's shoulders, Aiden raises his head, taking a deep breath of the chill air and cocking his head to the side, thinking through the liklihood that this was natural.
Emma leans into Aiden's warm body as he embraces her, and lets out a sigh of contentment that ends up turning into a big yawn.
Rosewood, sheltered by trees and the hills to the north, tends to be slightly warmer in the fall, but Aiden realizes this is probably normal for the area.
"A bit cooler than it normally is this time of year." Aiden comments idly, as Shadow goes. He draws Emma into him, holding her close.
Emma nods while shivering slightly, "We'll see what it feels like tomorrow after we get up. We might want to consider dressing a little more warmly....I'm pretty sure I packed warmer clothes just in case." She finishes before letting out another yawn as they wait for Shadow to finish up.
You return inside to see the group of adventurers heading to their rooms, except for the elven woman, who beckons you.
Having given Shadow enough time to do everything he needed to do, Emma looks up at Aiden as they go inside and see the Elven woman call them over to her table.
Emma approaches the woman's table with Aiden and Shadow flanking her, "Good evening, I'm Emma, this is my husband Aiden and his companion Shadow. Were you wanting to speak with us?" She asks, her curiosity piqued.
"I overheard you are planning to head toward Tettledun," the elf woman answers. "I thought I might ask you to make a stop at Shar's Creek. I have some family there I've been meaning to see, but work has been keeping me occupied. You look like you could handle the trip out there, so that's why I'm asking you."
The elf fumbles through her words a little nervously, as if she was unaccustomed to talking to stranger.
Emma nods, "Well, sure...I mean we wouldn't mind making a stop there if you need us to pass along a message to your family, the only issue is that we're not that familiar with the area, and we're hoping that we can find someone that can make us a map, so we don't get lost. There are some records at the library there that we need to find. Was there anything you wanted us to give to them for you, or a specific message you'd like us to take to them for you?" She asks, being careful not to invade the woman's personal space, seeing that she didn't seem too comfortable with strangers.
The elf shrugs. "You'd have to head to Davordshire to get a map of reasonable quality. I can sketch you out something but it's not going to be exact."
She pulls a piece of parchment and a piece of charcoal from her pack. The elf draws a big circle. "This is us...and, like Eleanor said, you go south to the tower and make a left onto the main road."
The elf pauses to add some details from her map. "You'll hit Baggan's Hill after a few hours. It used to be a...what do you call it? Not a base but...oh, a garrison for paladins back in the day. Unfortunately, that's where bandits have taken up residence. And you have to go through there if you want to move on. Maybe you'll be lucky and that phantom carriage of yours wiped them out."
She continues to draw out a road. "You'll come to a road about twelve miles after. There's a pilgrimage marker for Ketephys... uh, an elven god. Anyway, it's a stone pillar with a picture of a bird. Turn down that road and you'll reach Shar's Creek soon after."
The elf places a small coin pouch with a scrap of paper tucked in it. "It's just some money and note for my uncle and aunt. They promise they'll move somewhere safer when they've saved enough money, but..."
She shrugs. "I'm just trying to help where I can for them. Just ask for Astres or Vydra when you get into town. They can probably point you in the direction of Tettledun. I've never been out that way."
The elf hands you the scrap of paper. "If you're looking for a swamp, there's one about a quarter of a mile past the edge of Shar's Creek. Unfortunately, crocodiles live in it."
"Thank you, that information is actually a big help." Aiden says with a nod. "We'll be sure to deliver it to them."
Emma makes a face at the mention of crocodiles, but takes the pouch from the Elven woman.
She puts it in a safe place on her person before giving her husband a nod and addressing the Elven woman, "Like my husband said, we will make sure to give it to them for you. Do you know where Davordshire is? Is it very far from here? It's just...we're kinda running on a time limit. If we can't reverse what's happened in thirty days....everyone affected by the carriage will awaken as undead and then they'll be terrorizing the country side. I can't let that happen....We've already been traveling for a few days now, but if that place you were talking about isn't too far out of the way, we could go there to get a map of the area. We still have to figure out where the carriage stops at. We have the ritual to reverse what it's done, but that's why we have to go to Tettledun. We need the true name of the specter that drives that carriage to put a stop to it once and for all."
Getting a pensive look on her face she adds, "I was really hoping we could find someone selling the herbs we need that grow in the swamp....but if it has to be the swamp, then the swamp it shall be. Nasty ol' crocodiles and all. Aside from the message and delivering your pouch to your aunt and uncle, is there anything else we can do for you?"
The elf woman shrugs. "That's all that I need. Unfortunately, Davordshire is about eight days away, if you have an uneventful trip... and in the wrong direction. You can try the marketplace in the morning for herbs."
Emma nods, "Okay, thanks for all the information, it helps a lot. I think if we keep following the old road the carriage takes, that eventually we'll find where it stops. I don't want to waste time going out of our way on the chance that we might find a good map. What you've given us has been good enough to get us to where we need to go I think. We'll try the marketplace in the morning, and see if we can avoid hunting around in the swamps for the herbs we need. Well, we better get upstairs and get some rest. We have a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow. It was nice meeting you, and we wish you and your friends the very best in your travels." She says, before letting out a long yawn.
"You as well," the elf says with a nod before turning to leave.
Emma nods while yawning again, and holds her arms up to Aiden, "Ready for some sleep love?"
Aiden gives the elven woman a nod as she bids them good night, before reaching down to take Emma up in his arms with a smile. "Yeah, it's been a long day." she says as he heads to their room, Shadow following along.
Emma sighs as he picks her up and places her head on his shoulder as they head up to their room, while thinking over everything Eleanor and the Elven woman told them.
Heading up to their assigned room, Aiden fishes the key from his pocket, opening it while still holding Emma in one arm and entering the room, closing the door behind them as Shadow follows them in and goes to lay down at a spot near the foot of the bed.