Tracking Down Tips and Following Leads
You took a meal at the Dusty Gnome. AC stole his mug.
Three Dwarves walked in halfway through. One of them was leaning on his friends, his leg coated in something green and wrong. Joss poured them strong ale before they asked. Ankhegs. A wall in their mine had crumbled into a tunnel full of giant termites. Skeleton crew. Months of delay. AC bought the round and asked about the bounty. Probably 500 gold, pending the mayor.
He pulled Lessie and Dhuxtyn into the corner to plan it.
Ubys, Moist, KeYs, and Falkor walked up the hill to the Knights' tower and asked to see Azros. He had a problem.
A scout had deserted. Two days ago an argument had escalated and Nathaniel had drawn a dagger and stabbed a fellow soldier — Hans, "2-Finger" — in the hand. Then he'd fled east, into the foothills, presumably toward his hometown in the Kryptgarden Forest. He's a scout. He's good. He's proficient with bow and knives.
The bounty: a thousand gold for retrieval.
Ubys negotiated a rider on the deal. He'd take Runs with Bitches's body and effects with them too — deliver them home to the Sons and Daughters of Vlokgar. Azros agreed. Pickup at first light.
You reconvened at the Dusty Gnome and stacked the work: chase Nathaniel, return the remains, maybe recruit a chastened Nathaniel for the Ankheg job, then root out the Ankhegs.
Ubys had an errand. Dhuxtyn tagged along. They walked to the Foxfire Tobacco & Herb and stayed a while.
Before he left, Ubys mentioned a peculiarity shop — "an old crazy lady (?)" — and AC went looking for it. He found Aubrey's Curiosities. He found a talking orange cat there. The cat said its name was Catherine, but to call it Cat. Cat smiled at him.
He found a small iron box with a tiny gremlin perched on its lid. He looked through a hole in the box and saw Cat looking back at him, smiling. He pressed the button on the side, and the gremlin woke up and started painting what AC had seen. Cat told him the box would cost two hundred gold.
AC did not buy it. Yet.
You crashed at the Dusty Gnome. Two gold each for the night. AC was curious about a place called Idol Island. No one had heard of it.
Next session: out the gate before sunrise, on the trail of Nathaniel.