Recovery in Kuldhek

Friday, April 12, 2019 AD

Sicadies, Araunum 30, 2204 DE

On the morning of Daggerday, the 30^th of Araunum, when the party broke fast there were a few curious villagers in the tavern. They kept polite distance, but it was clear that some word of their exploits had spread and people wanted to see the group's faces and perhaps catch some of their words.

Sammuel set off to Brent’s brewery to show him two of the books the party had recovered from beneath the abandoned village. Brent listened with interest while continuing to work as Sammuel described their expedition in detail. Once Brent had finished the morning’s work they retired to Brent’s library and sat together with a beer. Sammuel produced the books Lapides in hominen conicere and Pretiositas humus foras (which Sammuel roughly translated as “I have known to throw stones” and “The value of the land outside,” respectively. Brent looked them over with care, fairly quickly losing interest the second book, but becoming fascinated with the first. Sammuel offered Brent to keep the book. Brent accepted the offer and invited Sammuel to visit it and use his library whenever he liked. For the next few days, Sammuel return to Brent’s library each day.

Stephye set out to develop more of a feel for the town and to get to know some of the soldiers and perhaps learn more about Migno Beni, whom they had met briefly as the party returned to Kuldhek. Over the next three days he would visit the “Sword in Scabbard” tavern and made friends easily with some of the guard. Although he was eyed suspiciously when he asked pointed questions about Migno’s comings and goings, the men and women were otherwise open with him and he learned of a rivalry of sorts within the guard: those who sided with Migno, the lieutenant who harbored ambitions for an expanded town guard which patrols more widely and those who sided with Anges, the captain of the guard, who was pleased with keeping a peaceful town and wished to borrow no extra trouble.

Neilas spent his time trying to find Kuldhek’s underbelly, and therein a place to sell the giant centipede and spider poisons they had collected, to find little in the way of a criminal culture. One of the several drunks he conversed with suggested that centipede poison turned into antidote might sell as high as 25 crowns (gold coins) a dose amongst the woodsmen. Considering that Neilas reckoned the value of the poison at 1,000 crowns a dose and that a full dose would be required to concoct an antidote, the prospect was unappealing. At the seediest tavern in town, the Sloshing Flagon, Neilas finally did find a drunk who responded to the cant of thieves. This man suggested that Neilas would have to go to Boulgerie to find a market for his poison and asked from where he recovered it, which Neilas shared.

On Postredies in the early afternoon, the three men attended their appointment to see Baron Muxoll. They went to ask permission to buy the homestead which had recently been vacated by the deprivations of goblin raiders. After hearing the salient information in their request, which the baron did not quite allow them to finish stating their arguments in favor of granting, the baron explained that the plot was a 40 acre freehold which they were granted hold of with a year’s grace on the rent of 4/5 pounds of silver per year. The structure upon the freehold was privately owned and arrangements for its disposition must be made with the owner. Upon exiting the audience, the Baron’s clerk informed Sammuel of the structure’s owner and where he resided.

With Sybel still unfit for any activity more strenuous than a trip each over the stairs each day until Profesdies morning (the second morning after the next), the group discussed plans for moving into the homestead and making repairs, as well as possibly heading to Boulgerie to sell their poisons.