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When they stand there, two town guards walk by and one shouts: – “There is no one selling jewelry here sirs, and this is the wrong side of town. If I were you, I would hold my purse under close guard in these quarters. I think you should come with us and leave these quarters.”
Gnosha and Aered walks with the guards to the North gate, and while walking Gnosha says: – “Gentlemen, might you know a jeweler in this town that has not gone out of business?”
One of the guards replies: – ”There are some jeweler wagons at the Five Markets, and I think you can ask at Mandelin’s Magnificent Store, he might have something.”
When they are almost at the North gate, Gnosha says: – ”Have you caught Kanna Okkura yet?” The guard replies: – “No, I think he left long ago. I’ve never seen so many searching for someone ever before, but I guess he left before the gates were closed.”
They decide to go to Five Markets, and Aered says: – “Great, then I can have some second breakfast.” When they arrived at Fiver Markets, the largest market square in Erast, they could really see that the festival was starting. The market square was full of all kinds of different merchants, and Aered found yet another street food, a sausage in a bread, very good indeed. They find two jeweler stands, or wagons. One was more aiming at jewelry and the other at gems, just what Gnosha was looking for.
He showed his three gems and the lady looked at them and scrutinized them meticulously, and then she said: - “Where did you find these? They look like Dragonport gems, we rarely see those up in the North. They are mined in the Mount Orx. Gnosha replied: – “We were attacked by some Kobolds that no longer were in need of them.” The lady replies: – “Well, I pay you four pieces of gold each for these, they are very fine indeed.” Gnosha says: – ”Deal!”, takes the money and then they head over to Mandelin’s Magnificent Store.
It feels great to be back at Mandelin’s Magnificent Store, a real General Adventurer’s Store, full of need to have equipment and also sometimes something extra. Gnosha says to the shopkeeper that he needs two packets of crossbow bolts, twenty bolts in each pack, as they have a tendency of getting lost all the time. They also browse around to see if there is anything that stands out, and Gnosha asks the shopkeeper if he has any special items for sale. The shopkeeper looks at Gnosha and says: – “I see you carry very few weapons..” and Gnosha replies: –”They are in for tuning at the Mad Chimera”. The shopkeeper says: – “Ah, what weapons do you prefer to use if I may ask?” and Gnosha replies: – “My friend here is a swordsman, I myself prefer a crossbow and this rapier.”
The shopkeeper’s face shines up into a smile. – “Crossbow you say, I just got my hands on a very rare crossbow, a slightly heavier model than the hand crossbow, it requires a two handed grip to fire it. But, my friend, it is a rare alchemical crossbow. I had to take it to Mr Varalei at the Mad Chimera, you know it already I heard, and he had to explain to me how it works. Wait, I will fetch it so you can see for yourself.” He comes back after a few minutes with a strange looking crossbow, and continues: – “You see here, in this slot, where you can add a lesser alchemical bomb, like Lesser Alchemist’s Fire, or Thunderstone. The bomb will add that bombs damage to up to three bolts fired, but you have to fire them within a minute, or the bomb liquid is destroyed. I can see that you clearly have the alchemist’s powers, so this is a perfect weapon for you.” Gnosha looks at it, very interesting indeed, and asks what the shopkeeper wants for it, prepared to reply, sorry, out of my budget. When the shopkeeper replied that it was only twenty six pieces of gold, Gnosha instantly decided to buy it.
They leave Mandelin’s Magnificent Store, and decide to eat some street food for lunch, Aered smiled when Gnosha told him they would. And then, after a lunch, and a good tankard of Erast’s best brew, they went back to The Mad Chimera to pick up the weapons. When they arrived, Mr Varalei looked a little nervous, saying that the sword is done, but the hand crossbow will need some more time as the first attempt failed, but as they bought it with full guarantee of success, he will try again. Gnosha asked if he could put it on his new crossbow instead, and that would not be a problem, and then Mr Varalei saw the crossbow and replied: – “I see you have been to Mandelin’s, he’s such a charlatan! He even had to come to me to learn how that crossbow works. Come back tomorrow and I have it fixed, all included in the price you already have paid.”
Gnosha and Aered go back to the tower, and Gnosha plans to create some bottles of Alchemist’s Fire. He can create two per day, that will only last one day. But as he needs to create more, a full batch, with a better best before date, he needs to prepare this and it will take some days, and he will need to use gold to make it.
Aered gets time to practice, both physical and theoretical, and study his books, and pray in his little shrine. Gnosha puts six pieces of gold in a kettle, and then adds all the other ingredients, carefully, and let it slowly boil. This will need watch, not constantly, but he won’t be able to travel to for example The Bugbear until the batch is done.
When some hours have passed, and Gnosha knows his alchemical process is working, he asks Aered if he wants to go for a tavern round? Aered replies: – “Yes, because we are worth it! We have done great deeds, well worth celebrating.” Gnosha says: – “We got twelve pieces of gold for the three gems we liberated from those Kobolds.” Aered then says: – “But, I think we found four gems, not three. Three small and one large red. Have you forgotten about that?”
Gnosha looks confused, then he shines up and replies: – “Yes, you are right, I did forget about that. I thought it was so valuable I hid it deep inside a secret pocket.” Gnosha digs into one of his inner pockets in his jacket and pulls out an acorn sized red gem. – “Let’s go back to that nice jeweler and see what she can pay us for it.”
They walk down to the Five Markets market square once again and to the nice jeweler. When they arrive at her wagon, Mrs Ariawyn Balzac looks happy at Gnosha and Aered and says: – “Well hello again, are you back already?” Gnosha says: – ”Yes Mrs Balzac, I had another gem that I had hidden so well that I had forgot about it..” The lady gave Gnosha a suspicious look, and Gnosha continued: - “... but my dear friend here, an honest Paladin, politely reminded this absentminded gnome about it.”
Gnosha picks up the big red gem and hands it over to the lady, saying: – “What can this be worth?”. Mrs Balzac looks at it, astonished, and after a while she says : – ”May I offer you a trade? I honestly cannot afford to pay you gold for this gem, but I have an item that might interest you. You look like an adventurous person, and this item might be exactly what you need.” She opens a box, picks up a smaller box, opens that box and picks up an even smaller box, and from that box she picks up a small roll of blue silk. In the roll of blue silk is a small golden ring with a little blue gem.
This item came into my possession a long time ago. I kept it just for an opportunity like this, to trade for something like this gorgeous red gem. Gnosha asks if he can take a look, and that is ok, as they have been here before. Gnosha feels it, looks at it and tries to figure out what it does, but cannot figure it out, so he asks her what it does. She replies: – ”I got it from an adventurer, as payment for a debt. When he wore it, you could not really see that he wore armor and that he was armed, but when he took it off, it was all clearly visible.”
Gnosha replies: – “This sounds like a good deal. Thank you, maybe we will meet again dear Mrs Balzac, and may the festival be good to you.”
Now, they head to the taverns, and they aim for the taverns where the shady figures in the town might be. They decide to visit Elchfrild’s alehouse and then the Tasty Raven, if they come empty handed at Elchfrild’s. The goal, for Gnosha at least, is to find clues to Tarasha the Bleek. Aered is very happy with a tankard in his hand, and after a while, they decide to eat, and Gnosha orders two boiled duck with a tankard of ale, even though it costs 11 pieces of copper each. Aered was very happy when a whole boiled duck arrived at the table, and then another one. They got a whole duck each, and Aered knew that Gnosha would only eat a third of his, and drink less than half his tankard, at the most, so he would get lots of food and drink this evening. Gnosha puts the ring on, this will be a good test.
The alehouse is full of people, and Aered enjoys it. Gnosha is asking around. His approach is that he is looking for a good thief, for his employer, and that he has heard she has been in the neighborhood. Bards are entertaining, hoping to earn coins or some free ale.
The tavern keeper, Elchfrild, and old dwarf, is polishing mugs with a towel while keeping watch over the crowd. There is always trouble, but he has a keen eye for it, and always tries to stop brawls before they escalate too much. It’s expensive to purchase new stools and tables.
After a few hours, Ghosha speaks to a man who points at a white haired man sitting at a table and he says: – “I think that man over there has the information you are looking for, his name is Withen.” and Gnosha buys him a tankard as a thank you.
The man has long white hair, wears heavy clothes and has scars on his hands. He also wears some kind of symbol carved from wood hanging from a chain around his neck.
Gnosha tells Aered to step away but stay close, and Aered manages to sneak into the crowd at the bar where he has a good view over Gnosha and the whitehaired man.
When Gnosha comes to the whitehaired man’s table, he asks: – “Can I sit here?* and the whitehaired man nods. Gnosha says: – “I’m looking for a person on behalf of my employer…” but is interrupted by Withen who says: – “You have traveled far, I hear in your southern accent that you’re not from here. I’ve traveled far myself. I heard that you are looking for a woman, so am I. I ran into a few people up North that told me to contact her.”
Gnosha tries hard to conceal his smile: – “So you know how to contact her, that was very good to hear. As I said, I have an assignment from my employer.”
Withern replies: – “Yes, I will travel to Bugbear in three days. She will be there. I just have two days to kill, so that’s why I sit here. She is a fantastic woman and she has many powerful friends. Why do you want to meet her?”
Gnosha replies: – ”My employer has a task that would fit her skills perfectly, well paid too. Thank you so much for this information.”
Withen replies: – “What did you say you do?”
Gosha: – ”I’m a problem solver, I solve people’s problems.”
Withen says: – “Ah, some kind of party fixer then. I’m gonna meet her for my own pleasure. She has so many powerful friends, I have dreamt about this for a long time, and I have traveled far.” Withen looks straight at Gnosha, scrutinizing him, and says: – “I now see you have an armor, and carry a weapon. At first I thought you were some kind of magistrate or something.”
Gnosha realizes that the ring's illusion can be seen through, but what is most important, first impression. Then he talks about the festival and common things, and after some minutes he excuses himself and leaves the table, and makes sure Aered sees that he heads for the exit, and that Aered follows, at a distance.
Gnosha checks that they are not followed, and they go quickly to the closest gate, which is the West gate. The West gate is the smallest gate, and wagons cannot pass through here, and Gnosha has never visited this gate before. He walk to the watchmen and says: – ”My name is Gnosha Curosiniei, working for Sir Heskan and Captain Wood and I’m looking for Captain Ennet Woode, is he here?” The guard replies: – “My name is Maturin Borsu, Lance Corporal of the town guards guards, and I’m sorry to inform you that he is not here.”
Gnosha says thank you and they head towards the North gate as it is now the closest gate. At the North gate, Lieutenant Gidaadee is in charge, as she is Captain Woode’s second in command. Lieutenant Gidaade is a short, strongly built, dark skinned woman with visible scars from combat, and she is only twenty three years old.
Gnosha introduces himself to Lieutenant Gidaadee, and she replies: –”I’ve heard about you from Captain Woode, only good things.“ Then Gnosha tells Lieutenant Gidaadee that a man with white hair, brown eyes and suntanned skin, wearing thick clothes and a carved wooden symbol in a chain around his neck, will leave Erast, may three days from now, maybe earlier. He must be stopped and put into a jail cell.
Lieutenant Gidaadee asks if he has a name, and Gnosha replies that he goes by the name of Withen, but he does not know how many names he might use. Gnosha thanks Lieutenant Gidaadee for taking this seriously, then they head back to the tower as Gnosha needs to take a look at his alchemical brewing. It looks good, so they walk over to the rented room for some sleep.
Gnosha makes some notes in his notebook. We need to contact Heskan tomorrow and let him know about Withen and that The Whispering Way is behind all this.
In the morning, Gnosha decides to first try to find Mr Throinain, the envoy of the Bald Wizards Circle that has a residence somewhere in Erast. He briefly met him once when he was meeting Duchess Maimux for the first time. Aered and Gnosha have some breakfast and then walk up to the castle to find some information about where Mr Throinain might stay in Erast, as asking around while having breakfast at a local tavern did not yield any answers.
Gnosha asks around among the castle guards and servants and after a while he learns that Mr Throinain rents a house in the finer quarters in Erast. Happy with the answer, Gnosha and Aered walk there, it is a short walk from the castle, and Gnosha is sure that his diplomatic approach to the situation will prove successful. When they arrive at the house, which is a very large, two story house with columns in front of the main entrance, and with a small but beautiful garden outside. All in all, a house neither Gnosha, nor Aered, would ever afford to live in. Gnosha uses the door knocker and after a short while a servant shows up. Gnosha says in his most diplomatic, yet optimistic way: – “Good morning, my name is Gnosha Curosinei and I am here to arrange a meeting with Mr Throinain, at the earliest possible time in a matter of highest urgency.”
The servant looks quite confused and replies: – “That can be a bit of a problem sir, Mr Throinain is moving out as he his posting here in Erast has ended. I am just taking the last load of trunks down to the ship, which is in port at the Eastern docks. The ship is to leave mid day.”
Gnosha replies: – “Thank you for that information, have a good day”, and looks at Aered and says: – “Quickly, to the Eastern docks.”
When they leave the residence of Mr Throinain, they see a cart loaded with large trunks that look very Dwarven and heavy. Gnosha’s sensitive nose picks up the smell of something burning, and he can see that there is smoke in all the chimneys. That is rather strange, as no one would heat the house in the warm summer, and it does not smell like firewood, more like someone is burning a lot of parchments or papers. Gnosha thinks that this has to be investigated, but not now. We can do that when it is empty, maybe there are some interesting documents that are being destroyed, and maybe they are not all fully burnt. or, maybe he is leaving for good and just burns documents that he does not need to take with him, but they are too sensitive to let someone find.
On the way to the docks they cross the bridge over the river and they can see a large ship docked at the docks. It has large sails and is really eye-catching. There is even a special gangplank laid out, as the ship is much higher than the usual smaller ships and fishing boats that usually docks here. The docks are across the river from their rented room and the tower. They see a lot of people leaving the ship, looking like rich merchants arriving for the festival and market.
When they come closer, they see a lot of sailors unloading heavy crates and trunks. And a tall man in a large fine hat shouting: – ”Last chance for a ticket. The ship leaves when the sun is at its highest.” Ghosha tries to figure out where the ship will go, and realizes that as it is going North, it will pass the Bald Wizards Tower. Gnosha thinks, so Mr Throinain is really going home.
Ghosha looks around to see if he can see Mr Throinain, but he is nowhere to be seen. He walks up to the tall man in the fine hat, who he now has guessed is the Captain of the ship, and puts on his most diplomatic and charming way, for the second time today.
– “Good morning Sir, my name is Gnosha Curosinei and I am here in a matter of highest urgency. I need to speak with one of your passengers, Mr Throinain, the matter is as urgent as it is delicate.”
Gnosha feels after he has unloaded this mouthful of diplomatic nonsense that the Captain seems to be less than impressed as he smiles showing his gold teeths, patting Gnosha humiliating on the shoulder and replying: – ”My name is Euthulf Reder and there is only one language I speak.” Gnosha quickly grabs five pieces of gold from his secret pocket and holds them in his hand showing them to Captain Reder and replies: – “How lucky that I speak that language fluently! I really need to meet him before you leave” Captain Reder still looks less than impressed and asks: – “Do you want a two or three level hammock? I say two, you are too short to climb to the third level anyway.”
Gnosha is almost losing his temper as says to Aered: – “Please explain to this man that we really need to talk to Mr Throinain.” Captain Reder replies: – “If you want to speak to someone at the ship, you need to be on the ship. And to be on the ship you need to be a paying passenger. You seem to have a serious problem understanding that!”
Gnosha is not happy with this, not happy at all. He looks around to see if he can see Mr Throinani’s servant, and he sees him talking with some sailors, struggling to carry those heavy trunks on board. Gnosha grabs hold of a sailor and says: – “Hi, here are ten pieces of silver. I urgently need to speak with the person who owns these trunks.” The sailor walks up the gangplank and knocks on a cabin door and Ghosha sees Mr Throinain come out, look down at the docks and go in again. Gnosha is furious inside, but still keeps his calm, but it is not easy. He says to Aered: – “Ok, let’s get on board this damn ship!” and they walk to Captain Reder and say: – “OK, we go on board, happy now?”.
Captain Reder shouts to a sailor: – “Show these to the two level hammocks'', but Gnosha replies: – “We will sleep on deck”, and then they walk directly to Mr Throinain’s cabin, and knock on the door. When the door opens, Gnosha says in Dwarven, just to impress Mr Throinain: – “My name is Gnosha Curosinei and I really need to speak to you in a matter of great urgency. I just need one minute of your precious time Sir. The problems between Erast and The Bald Wizard’s Circle are all ill doings by the Whispering Way. We must not let their ill doings split the North, as we need to be united in times like this.”
Mr Throinain looks at Gnosha and replies in the Common language: – “I am just an Envoy, I do not make any decisions.” Gnosha replies: – “I understand, but please, take this information to your employer. The future of the North depends on it.” Mr Throinain shuts his door and Gnosha hears Captain Reder shouting: – “Last chance for a ticket, we will sail soon!”, and Gnosha and Aered hurries off the ship. When they pass Captain Reder he says in a sarcastic voice: – “Did you forget something?” and Gnosha replies equally snidely: – “Yes, that I don’t like ships!” Captain Reder gets the last word when he replies: – “We might meet again.”
Gnosha feels that he finally, even though a great loss of money and temper, successfully had carried out the first task on today’s list. Next up, inform Sir Heskan about the proof of the involvement of the Whispering Way in all of this. It’s getting past lunch time, and even though Gnosha was in no mood for eating, Aered grabbed a skewer and a tankard of ale on the way back to the castle. Well at the castle, they are informed that Sir Heskan is not in the castle at the moment, he is currently out on a mission. This is a day of bad luck Gnosha thinks to himself.
They go down again across town and have lunch, and make a plan for the rest of the day. They should go down to the South gate to check if they could rent Amadeus and Peridot again. Gnosha has an idea to set up a camp and a stake out point a few hours north of Erast along the road to The Bugbear, the road Withen will have to take. They hear bells in the distance, and Gnosha thinks that it must be the ship finally leaving.
When they come out of the tavern, they see Lieutenant Gidaadee coming towards them, and she looks quite threatening, and she says: – “Did you know what was going to happen? Did you?” Gnosha is quite confused and replies: – “What happened?” Lieutenant Gidaadee continues: – “We saw you two board the ship and talk to Mr Throinain.”
Gnosha calmly replies: – “Yes indeed we did. I tried to make the Bald Wizard’s Circle to understand that what has been happening here is the ill doings of the Whispering Way, and that we need to stand united in the North against that threat. I asked for the Bald Wizard’s Circle help to counter the Whispering Way.”
Lieutenant Gidaadee says: – “You are really as naive as you look!. Did you see what happened next?”
Gnosha replies, trying to figure out where this conversation was leading: – “No, we went to look for Sir Heskan to leave a report, but he was out on a mission so we went here to make plans for our next move. Now, please enlighten me, what happened?”
Lieutenant Gidaadee sighs and continues: – “We had the ship under surveillance. When the ship had set sail and was sailing out, our man at the docks saw a small rowing boat coming from one of the smaller docks, and rowed to the ship. Someone lowered a rope ladder and a person climbed aboard the ship. The person was Kanna Okkura. Now we have lost him for good. This is the fastest ship in the region, not even with the fastest horses we could have a chance to catch it at the Dwarven High Bridge.”
Gnosha looks worried and replies: – “I made a decision, Withen was more important than Kanna Okkura at this point.”
Lieutenant Gidaadee sighs again and continues: – “We have searched hundreds of buildings. The hunt for Kanna Okkura is the biggest manhunt ever in the history of Erast. We were so close. If you had stayed on that bloody ship! Now he is gone and forever lost.”
Gnosha slams his hand on his forehead. - “Such a fool I’ve been. It has been staring me in the face all the time, hiding in plain sight. The Whispering Way must have taken control over the Bald Wizards Council. This explains everything. I feel so ashamed, I’ve missed the obvious in search of the hidden. Aered, now, there is no time to lose. We must capture Withen and then go to The Bugbear. I think it is time for some advanced theatrical performances. We need to inform Heskan and Duchess Maimux about this, and we also need to talk to Mr Varalei at the Mad Chimera, he might have something to enhance the performance we’re gonna give. ”
They decided to walk back to the room and Gnosha bought a new map of the area from a map maker in town, and when they came back to the room, Gnosha laid it out on the table and placed items on the map to easier understand how he should proceed.
Gnosha says: - “Aered, look here. We need to look at this map. The quill is Erast, the coin is The Bugbear. I placed the little pebble where Luckfall is, and a small brass ball where the low bridge of Willowdale is. The cork marks the spot for the Dwarven high bridge, and the dagger the tower of the Bald Wizard’s Circle.”
Gnosha pulls up a small pencil from his pocket and dips it into the quill. He then draws a line on the map. – “Look here Aered. This line is what I guess is the route the ship will take to leave the lakes in the North to sail east and to the lands far away. I put the hourglass where I estimate it is right now. Lieutenant Gidaadee was absolutely right. Nothing can catch Kanna Okkura now. Our best hope is that he leaves the ship at the Bald Wizard’s Tower, so we have a chance to bring him to justice when the time comes. We’re gonna bring in Mr Throirain too at the same time, but first things first.”
Gnosha scratches his beard, walks a few circles on the floor, and then looks at Aered again. – “Are you ready for some deep undercover work? My plan is to catch Withen, and then make you look like him, and I will be your assistant. Won’t that be nice for a chance? We go to The Bugbear, into the hornet’s nest, and see what we can find out.”
When Aered and Gnosha go out into town to pick up some supplies they need for this upcoming adventure, they pass some of the known places in Erast. Crowds are now forming in all market squares, and bards and jesters are in every corner entertaining the people and trying to make some money.
They pass by the Mad Chimera, and Gnosha purchases some special oils from Mr Varalei that will make Aered’s impersonation of Withen much more believable.
On the way passing Five Markets, a group of bards are standing on a makeshift stage and the group both plays and sings very well.
In the northern town of Erast
Where the duchess rules with grace
There's a masquerade ball, Marda Zam
That takes place once a year, without fail
Travelers come from far and wide
To see the sights and hear the lies
The masks they wear, the secrets they hide
All in the name of Marda Zam's delight
So sing a song for Erast, my friends
For the town that knows how to party
Where the duchess' love knows no end
And the travelers never want to leave
The ballroom's grand, the lights are bright
As the masks dance into the night
No one knows who's beneath the guise
But that's all part of the surprise
So lift a glass and join in song
To the town of Erast, so fair
May the duchess' reign be long
And the Marda Zam a joy to bear
After the song, people cheer and the bards go around with a hat to collect coins from the audience. Suddenly one of the bards spots Gnosha and Aered, as they went back to their makeshift stage and began to sing another song.
Gnosha, the curious gnome investigator,
Aered, his trusty sidekick.
Together they roam, from town to town,
Investigating a book theft, their quest to bring justice abound.
Gnosha and Aered, the dynamic duo,
Their skills and bravery never lag.
They'll solve the case, and bring the thief to justice,
Gnosha and Aered, the best in the land.
In the northern town of Erast,
They've just arrived, ready to take on their task.
The Duchess's castle, where the book was stolen,
They'll uncover the clues, and keep Erast from being broken.
Gnosha and Aered, the dynamic duo,
Their skills and bravery never lag.
They'll solve the case, and bring the thief to justice,
Gnosha and Aered, the best in the land.
No thief is too sly,
No castle too tough to crack,
Gnosha and Aered, they won't give up,
Until the thief is brought to justice, and the book returned to its rack.
Gnosha and Aered, the dynamic duo,
Their skills and bravery never lag.
They'll solve the case, and bring the thief to justice,
Gnosha and Aered, the best in the land.
So if you're in trouble, or you need some help,
Just call on Gnosha and Aered, they'll take care of it themselves.
With courage and wit, and a heart full of love,
They'll bring peace and justice, from the heavens above.
Gnosha and Aered, the dynamic duo,
Their skills and bravery never lag.
They'll solve the case, and bring the thief to justice,
Gnosha and Aered, the best in the land.
Both Aered and Gnosha are a bit embarrassed by the song, they give the bards a coin of silver, and hastily disappear into the crowded streets.
Gnosha writes a letter for Sir Heskan.
Sir Paragon Knight Heskan,
I and Aered have traveled to the Bugbear, as we have lead pointing in that direction. We will be there two days after today, and we will try to infiltrate the group that has stolen the books. The thief Tarasha the Bleak will be there, and we will prevent her and her friends from escaping when you and your knights arrive to arrest them all.
Sincerely,
Gnosha Courisinei
Gnosha and Aered stock up, and walk to the South Gate to see if they can rent Amadeus and Peridot again, and they can. They are told not to wear the horses out ever again, or this is the last time they can rent a horse in Erast. They lead the horses through the town back to the tower and pack the bags, sacks and packs with food and water, and also the tent they got as a reward at Luckfall. They decide to exit through the West Gate, and stop there, as Gnosha is looking for Lieutenant Gidaadee. When Gnosha finds the Lieutenant in her commander chamber, he hands the letter over to her and says: - “Good day Lieutenant Gidaadee, can you please assure that this letter is delivered to Sir Heskan?”
Lieutenant Gidaadee gives Gnosha a quite harsh look and replies: - “Are you the commanding officers of the Town Guards?”
Gnosha replies: - “No, but I am on an assignment for Dutchess Maimux.”
Lieutenant Gidaadee says: - “Then tell me, I want to know.”
Gnosha tells Lieutenant Gidaadee: - “The man that calls himself Withen is meeting with Tarasha the Bleak, the thief who stole the books, in two days, at the Bugbear. This is their first meeting, they have never met before. Our goal is to capture Withen before he reaches Bugbear, then let Aered impersonate Withen so we can infiltrate the group. This letter will inform Sir Heskan when he should strike, and that we are there, ready to prevent anyone from escaping.”
Lieutenant Gidaadee looks pleased with the explanation and says: - “Halfway north between here and the Bugbear is the ruins of Vanamere’s Tower. We have a small garrison there. If you are in trouble, contact them. We have about ten men there. I will give you a letter which you can show to Sergeant Torin who is in charge of the group of guards.” She goes to her desk and writes a letter to Torin, explaining that Gnosha and Aered should get help if they ask for it. She signs it with her signature, then hands it over to Gnosha.
They set off to the North along the northern trading road, a road that is good enough for wagons as it is well traveled. They ride for about thirty minutes when nature has changed from flatter farmland into a more hilly landscape. Ghosha rather quickly sees a good spot for spotting, with a small valley behind, perfect for the horses and the tent, way out of sight. They set up the tent and prepared for a long stake out. Gnosha teaches Aered how to use the spyglass. First, two halflings pass, heading in the direction of Bugbear, then a man riding an oxcart heading towards Erast. This will be a really boring day Aered thought. They decided to take four hour shifts for the watch. It was nice weather though, the sun was shining, not like last time, when the rain was pouring down. In the evening they saw two men walking beside a caravan cart heading for bugbear, and that was it. Nothing at all during the night. Aered carves wooden figurines, to keep himself from being bored to death.
The next morning, there is quite a lot of traffic, that they have a problem trying to keep track of everyone passing, and Withen could easily hide among all those travelers. Aered has now carved over thirty wooden figuringes, a proof of how bored he is.
Gnosha walks up to Aered and says; - “I’ve been thinking, this just doesn't work. I have an idea. What do you say? Should we ride up to the tower ruin of Vanamere’s Tower. We ask the guards to put up a checkpoint. We stake it out at a distance, so if someone seems to turn around or hesitate, we stop them.”
Aered throws carved wooden man number thirty four on the ground and says: - “I think that is a brilliant idea Mr Gnosha, anything is better than this.”They pack the tent and their equipment and Aered places his thirtyfour carved wooden men in a circle in the woods, it might frighten some evil person.
They ride north about one and a half hour before they see a low ruin to the left, about two hundred yards from the road. They also see tents and a line with laundry on. They turn from the main road into a small trail leading towards the tower, and beside the trail, half buried in the soil, lies a huge skeleton. Ghosha sees that it’s the skeleton from a giant, and there were a lot of wars with giants here a long time ago. It was probably the giant that once destroyed the tower.
They see a few soldiers sitting and talking and when they see Gnosha and Aered they grip their spears, just in case. They also see several tents, and a group of Dwarven masons working on a crane to lift stone back as they are restoring the tower into a fully working outpost. Gosha dismounts and walks towards the guards and says: - “My name is Gnosha Curosinei and I am looking for Sergeant Torin. I come from Erast and Lieutenant Gidaadee.”
One of the soldiers walked towards one of the tents and soon a large dwarf with gray strands in his red twisted beard appeared. The large dwarf carries several scars that bear witness of a tough life with many battles. The dwarf, who Gnosha realizes is Sergeant Torin, says with a deep, dwarven voice: - “You cheated using those riding beasts. No lactic acid in the legs for you I see.”
Gnosha hands over the letter from Lieutenant Gidaadee to Sergeant Torin. Torin looks at the letter, stretching his arm as long as he can to read it, and Gnosha realizes that Torin would need a pair of spectacles, but can probably not afford it, or is ashamed to admit it.
After some struggles reading the letter, Torin asks Gnosha: - “So, what do you want?”
Gnosha explains his plan, where he needs Torin’s men to set up a checkpoint along the road, checking all travelers going north, towards Bugbear. Aered and Gnosha will be behind the last bend, waiting to see if someone hesitates when they see the checkpoint. He then explains that a possibly dangerous villain who answers to the name Withen is traveling from Erast to Bugbear that must be arrested. He describes Withen to Torin.
Torin listens and says: - “And what’s in it for me?”
Gnosha says: - “I will personally tell Captain Woode and Sir Heskan that the arrest could not have been done without your assistance.”
Torin replies: - “I want the full credit, the arrest is mine, you just happened to witness it, the full credit is mine and my soldiers. Do we understand each other? I can give you two men, that’s all I can spare. Will you aid us in case of trouble? We were attacked a while ago, they killed all the soldiers and dwarven masons. They might come back!”
Gnosha accepts that Torin and his men will get the full credit for the arrest and he and Aered will assist them if anyone starts to cause any trouble.
Gnosha also announces that he will make lunch for everyone, and this time, his cooking is superb, even beyond Aereds wildest expectations, a masterful stew, worthy of a king. When lunch had been eaten, it was time to set up the checkpoint. A small tent, a flag and a bench is brought down to the main road. The guards check passing travelers very shallowly, just asking a few simple questions on the purpose of the journey etc.
Aered asks if any of the soldiers would like some free weapons training, but one of the guards just laughs and says: -”Hey, there is nothing about combat you can teach us, we know everything there is to know.”
Then Aered and Gnosha walk a few hundred yards south, to hide beside the road about 40 yards before the last bend, from which you see the checkpoint. The plan is simple. Anyone hesitating when they see the checkpoint will be called out to stop and surrender.
After a couple of hours, when the sun was really hot, Gnosha saw a lonely traveler in a large hooded cloak, with a walking stick and a large backpack. The hood made it impossible to see the face. When the man came to the bend and saw the checkpoint, he slowed down, looked, then stepped to the side of the road. Gnosha raised his Crossbow, prepared with Alchemist fire. Aered slowly and silently drew his longsword. The man moved to the side of the road and hid behind a tree. Aered tries to take a few silent steps closer, but the rattles from his chainmail give him away. The man turns around, and Ghosha shouts: – “Halt! Hands in the air, you are under arrest!”, but nothing happens, so he fires his crossbow and hits him in the chest, then Gnosha reloads. Aered rushes forward.
The man uses magic and raises a magic shield, and when Aered comes close, the man looks him in the eyes and says “Flee!”. Aered is terrified and runs away from the man. Gnosha silently swears: - “I hate wizards and magic”. Gnosha fires again, misses, reloads, fires again and misses again. Aered is now on the road, about 60 feet away. The man makes strange moves with his hands, and three magic missiles form and hit Ghosha in the chest, it hurts. Gnosha shouts: -”Aered, what are you doing? He is there!”
Aered turns and starts to run back to the man at full speed. The man makes more magic moves with his hands, and rays of ice fly towards Aered, but misses as Aered blocks it with his shield.
Gnosha aims and fires, and hits the man and the bolt penetrates the magic shield. Aered is finally in range, slashes with his longsword and hits the man over the neck and he falls decapitated to the ground while the hooded head bounces along the road. The hood falls off, and it is Withen.
When the fight is over, and Gnosha and Aered look around to see that there was no one else traveling with Withen, they carry the body back to the tower. When they pass the little improvised checkpoint, Aered shouts to the guards: - “Lads, you can abort and pack up, no more checkpoint needed today.”
The guards start to pack up the checkpoint and another guard comes down from the tower shouting: - “Did you catch him? Great work! Torin will be pleased it went so smoothly.” The guard helps Aered to carry Withens body up to the tower. Gnosha decides they take the body to Torin to hand over the prisoner, not that he is in the best of conditions. Gnosha needs to gather his clothes and equipment to be able to disguise Aered as Withen, and the clothes need to be washed, repaired and changed, this will take the rest of the day.
On the way to Torin and the tower they meet a group of five of the Dwarven stone masons working on the tower. They had decided to take position inside the tower just in case. They know what happened last time there was a battle here.
Gnosha and Aered continue to Torin and when they arrive they put down Withens body and Gnosha says: – “He resisted the arrest most violently, he even used magic. I just need to gather his clothes and belongings for disguising Aered, then you can have the body.”
Torin asks: – “You are welcome, but I still want the honors. But, what does Heskan want with the body? Should we bury it here, or do we need to send him to Erast?” Gnosha replies: – “Just bury him here, in an unmarked grave.”
Gnosha collects everything he needs and all Withens belongings. He will have to first heat some water to wash them property to get rid of all that blood. The few things of value Withen did have was a small potion is healing, good to have, a small flask with a oil that Ghosha figures out is an oil of Potency. You smear it on a weapon or an armor and the weapon or armor will be magic for about a minute, which can be very good for Aerad to use. It only contains one application, but still good. Last, but not least, a weapon potency rune, which you can apply to a weapon to magically enhance it. Gnosha decides he will use it on the Alchemist’s crossbow, and do it while the laundry is drying.
When the water is warm, he starts to carefully wash every piece of Withens clothes, and then hang them in the sun to dry. When that was done, it was rather messy, he decided to treat his wounds, which went rather well, and the pain is gone. Meanwhile, Aered has been watering the horses and put the tent up among the other tents and made it comfortable. He also spend some time doing physical exercises and praying,
Ghosa now sits down with his crossbow and successfully applies the potency rune to it. Torin walks by and says: – ”When the supply wagon comes from Erast in three or four days, I will send a letter to Heskan about the capture of Withen with it.”
Now, the clothes are dry, and Gnosha uses his crafting skills and tools to change them so they will fit over Aered’s chain shirt. The work Gnosha does is really impressive, and Torin walks again by and says: – “You are a man of many talents I see. Not even my wife could do such exquisite work I tell you.”
When the clothes are finished, Gnosha quickly makes a set of serf clothing for himself, to perfect the illusion of the important merchant with his serf. Now, using some simple alchemical materials, he makes Aered’s hair white, and his own beard black. To top off his creatings, he gives Aered a fake beard made from some goat fur. Now, dinner is served and Gnosha does help a little with the pork and turnip stew.
During the dinner, Aered trains on his role as Withen, a traveling merchant, which is a cover for the cover, like a double deception. Gnosha trains on his role as the self, a nameless serf, as who is even interested in the name of a self. It has been a long day, and they go to bed in the tent and sleep very well, the good food being a part of it, and a few tankards of Dwarven ale to wash it down.
The morning after, both Aered and Ghosha feel more refreshed than usual. They feel both as they have grown as persons. They eat a good breakfast together with the Dwarven stonemasons and Torin’s guards, and when they pack their tent and belongings, the farewell feels almost a little sad. They have already grown fond of Torin and his men and the Dwarven stonemasons, and Gnosha decides that they must return soon.
The Bugbear is not very far away, just about half a day of travel on horse. It is time to set off north along the northern road to The Bugbear. Gnosha decides to wait for a passing caravan and then tag along behind it. Not too far and not too close, about three hundred yards would be a good distance. After a caravan passed the tower, Ghosha and Aered set off. The reason for this, Gnosha tells Aered, is that when the caravan arrives at The Bugbear, there will be a lot of people in motion, and their arrival might not be something too many pays attention to. They are disguised, but disguises usually won’t survive any closer scrutiny, so it’s best to be as invisible and anonymous as possible. Soon enough we will make their presence known, to the right people. Aered keeps complaining that the fake beard is itching in his face, and Gnosha just replies: – “Just take one for the team, hopefully it’s just for a few days.”
When they come to a sharp bend in the road after about two hours, the caravan has stopped, and three men, looking like typical caravan guards, are heading on foot towards Gnosha and Aered.
Gnosha and Aered hold their horses and dismount. When the guards have come a little closer, one of them shouts: – “Who are you who sneak behind us? You the elder man and you, serf.”
Gnosha replies, as humble and subdued as he possibly can: – “Gentlemen, my master here has no evil intentions whatsoever. On the contrary, my master thinks it would be much safer to travel close to a caravan with such well trained and strong guards. Who would be stupid enough to attack a caravan or lonely travelers with such a group of well armed guards around?”
The guard replies: – “Your master is absolutely right, it is wise to travel with the protection of strong and able men, but it is not free.”
Gnosha replies: – “Gentlemen, so injudicious of us, I feel ashamed on behalf of my master. How much do we owe?”
The guards come closer now when they sense that Gnosha and Aered are no bandits, and the guard who seems to be the leader says: – “Five pieces of silver. And who are you good sir?” Looking at Aered. Aered replies: – “My name is, eh, hmm, Withen, I am a traveling merchant, Withen is the name.”
Gnosha picks up 9 coins of silver and hands them over to the guard who seems to be in charge and says: – “My master only wishes for some peace and calm.”
The guard replies: – “Come closer to the caravan, we are taking a five minute rest.” The guards start to walk back to the caravan, and Gnosha and Aered are going back to the horses and are about to mount, when Gnosha hears from the Caravan that someone is shouting: – “Goblins! Ambush!”
A goblin and a wolf come out of the woods and attack Aered and Gnosha. They see more goblins closer to the caravan. The big ugly goblin attacks Aered and the wolf attacks Gnosha. Gnosha sees that the wolf is skinny, dirty, flea ridden and looks sick. The goblin misses Aered and the wolf misses Gnosha. Gnosha draws his rapier and tries to spot a weakness in the wolf’s defenses but sees none. He backs and keeps his rapier up and feints the wolf with a few thrusts. Another goblin shoots at Aered with a bow and hits him in the back. He shoots again but misses. Aered draws his sword and slashes at the ugly goblin and hits it severely in the left arm, but it still holds his dagger in his right arm.
The wolf tries to bite Gnosha but misses, attacks again and bites Gnosha in the leg, but it doesn’t pierce his boots. Aered instantly reacts with his protective skill and cuts the wolf in half with his sword.
The ugly goblin once again attacks Aered and misses. Gnosha, now without a wolf attacking him, studies the ugly goblin for a weakness, sees one and thrusts his rapier right through the goblin’s heart. Gnosha now picks up his Alchemist’s Crossbow. Aered rushes towards the goblin shooting arrows at him. Gnosha tries to shoot at the goblin archer but Aered is in the way, so he loads an Alchemist’s Fire in the crossbow, waiting for a better opportunity to shoot. The archer goblin runs along the road, away from Aered tries to follow but the goblin is faster, and Gnosha can’t get a good shot, and the goblin disappears into the woods.
Gnosha goes to Aered and pat him on the back, doing his Battle Medicine to help Aered recover from the arrow. The guards brag about how they killed some goblins, and that they scared away a group of them.
No one really notices that Aered and Gnosha killed a wolf, a large goblin and scared one Goblin away, and Gnosha and Aered are satisfied with that. The caravan guards mark the spot as an ambush spot by making a pile of the dead goblins and the wolf beside the road, clearly visible. Then the caravan starts to move again. It goes slowly, but Aered and Gnosha are not in a hurry. They still stay a bit behind, but only about a hundred yards this time. The caravan moves slowly but at a constant pace, and Aered has to scratch his face several times. Ghosha tells him that he needs to stop scratching, as someone might think he got fleas in the beard.
They continue along the road behind the caravan, and they pass rolling hills as the landscape turns a bit more northern all the time. After about two and a half hours, they reach a valley with several buildings tightly together,all surrounded by a high wall tipped with pointy stakes, much like the Pickles and Plough Inn where this all started, but much larger and much more protected. The North is a much more unfriendly land.
From a distance you can see a large square with buildings on three sides and a large fence with a large gate on the fourth. The square in the middle is huge, it can probably house several caravans there, Gnosha thinks.
The caravan keeps following the road that leads towards the gate, and the road also continues in two directions, north and west. The north road leads to the cold north and the mountains and the Dwarven city of Hammerfast, but also through Orc lands, where tribes of Orcs and Goblins make the roads unsafe and the need for caravan guards even . The western road leads into the unknown lands, at least for Gnosha.
The BugBear - 360 view
https://momento360.com/e/u/d22d309c7bf34d95a5132c5108822236?utm_campaign=embed&utm_source=other&heading=-188.75&pitch=10.71&field-of-view=75&size=medium&display-plan=true
I always like game maps and story maps in novels, they help give clarity and a sense of the distances that characters have traversed. Great to see you are still continuing Gnosha's journey. Did you custom make the map?
The map is really the map DM has made in WonderDraft for his world that we play in, so I just used some FilterForge tricks to make it look better for rendering.
Thanks for reading, I'm soo looking forward to the next game session what will happen at the BugBear, no one knows, the dice will create our future ...
The gate is open, and guards are watching both at the gate and at the watchtower. There is some smoke coming from some chimneys. Gnosha hears that the cost for a wagon is two gold per night. The gate closes one hour after sundown and opens at sunrise. If you need to enter or exit when the gate is closed, there is a fee.
There are several houses, and the large white house is guarded by guards in green clothes. They do not look like the other guards at The Bugbear. The houses at the far end are the taverns. Gnosha tries to figure out what group or organization those green clad guards belong to, but he cannot figure it out.
The inner yard is full of wagons so it is very crowded. Several people have been drinking at the taverns and are happily talking in smaller groups. The house on the right side has sleeping rooms on the upper floors, while the other high house on the left has rooms, and also houses the reception on the lower floor. There is also a special house for hobbits.
Gnosha and Aered head to the reception to book a room. At the desk stands a bugbear with a nametag on his chest, carved in wood, saying Grogg. Gnosha looks at Grogg and says: – “Mr Grogg, my master wishes to rent a room for him and his servant, which is me.”
Grogg replies: – “Under which name? And for how long?”
Gnosha replies: – “Withen, I think there might be a reservation of some kind, we are invited, two nights.”
Grogg looks in his book and replies: –”I find no booking in that name, we are very fully booked as the large house is rented by The League of the Hidden Blades, you might be booked there. I only have one room, in the hobbit house, a single bed, but you can roll out a bedroll on the floor. The bed might be a little short for your master but he might fit if he lies diagonally in the bed. It’s the only room I have, and it’s three pieces of gold for two nights. Are you sure that you are not part of the company that has rented the large white house?”
Ghosha: – “We are invited.”
Grogg: – “Ok, I'll make a note of that in my book here.”
Gnosha and Aered walk over to the hobbit house, and the room is small, very small, and the ceiling is very low. They quickly decide that Aered sleeps on the floor, he barely fits diagonally, while Ghosha could sleep at least decently in the short and narrow bed.
They lay low for a while, then they walk over to the tavern to check if they recognize anyone. It’s rather empty, and they order two mugs of mead, and Gnosha asks around regarding The League of the Hidden Blades, but all he learns is that they do rent that big house, and they stick to themselves, that’s why the tavern is so empty, boring people. Most of them seem to have traveled here, someone had seen some person in Erast, but don’t know that person is. They eat something boring, a bland watery soap, and then Gnosha gets an idea. He wants to use his spyglass to spy on the people in the house rented by The League of the Hidden Blades. For that he needs a room with a centre yard view in the house where the lobby is located. He walks back to Grogg and says: – “My master is most displeased with my ability to organize lodging.” Gnosha picks up a piece of gold, then two more and asks if there is any free room in this house on the upper floors. Grogg replies that there is actually one room, and it has a forest view. Gnosha quickly replies that he really wants to see the yard, as all this traveling has made him sick of forests as he so wish for some town feeling,
Another seven pieces of gold later, Gnosha and Aered move into a room on the second floor about the reception. Ghosha sits by the window with his spyglass, but he sees nothing as all the windows are covered on the inside with green cloth. But, he sees people arriving and enters the large white house. Reading the lips of the guards, he sees that they ask for a password, but he cannot see what the answer is, as the guests are facing the guards, away from him.
The persons arriving are either dressed in black or green, and they all wear hoods so it’s difficult to see their faces. The guests seem to want to be anonymous. Gnosha walks out to the corner of the white house when some guests arrive, pretends to tie his shoes while looking at the answer. He is not a hundred percent sure, but it looks like their secret password is a phrase, “The key to the gate of knight.”
Gnosha returns to Aered and reports what he knows. Aered replies: – “Those greenish people, what are they really doing?” Aered replies: – “I’m not entirely sure, but I’m not particularly fond of secret societies that steal books and threaten Duchess Maimux, but there are many of them. I think I saw a Bald Wizard among the guests entering, it was a man with a hood, but I saw no hair. Aered, do you think we should try to enter using the password?”
Aered: – “If no one knows Withen, you can be Withen and I can be your servant, which is no lie really.”
They dress in their usual clothes, but Gnosha keeps his robe with a hood, and Aered also puts on a hooded cloak to blend in. Gnosha makes a new attempt with his disguise kit to change their appearance as there might be people recognizing them, like Tarasha.
They approach the guards, and one of them politely asks for the password, and Gnosha says: – “The key to the gate of knight.” and the guard welcomes them and lets them pass.
Well inside, they are met by a servant who greets them and says: – “To the right is the dining room, the rooms are on the upper floors, just pick one unoccupied room. The gathering is in one hour, anyone you wish to meet?”
Gnosha replies that they just want to go to the room to freshen up after the long journey. When they arrive on the second floor, there is a servant who looks at them and tells them that there are two free rooms on this floor. One in the corner down the hallway and one close to the left. Gnosha replies that the corner room will do nicely, and the servant replies: – “Excellent choice sir, can I be of service?” Gnosha replies that they have no needs at the moment.
The servant unlocks the door and then hands the key over to Gnosha. On the bed is a letter, and Gnosha reads it.
Welcome Servant
Today, two hours after sunset, we will hold the meeting in the dinner room. We have followers from all over the North. Eat, drink, be happy, then we will talk.
/ Odan
Gnosha recognizes that name, he has seen it before. Aered calls the servant to the room and orders food and beverages to the room. The servant politely replies to Aered:
–”Sir, food and beverages will be served later in the dining room, but I can of course bring you something if you so wish”. He starts to inform Aered that there are seven different dishes on the menu, a grilled bird, pork chops… but Aered interrupts him and says: – “I’ll take one of each!”. The servant looks a little puzzled but Gnosha just says: – “He is young, he is growing and he is very hungry.”
After a few minutes the servant arrives with a huge tray filled with plates and some tankards of ale.