I think Lorrik's right in that a day of rest would do all of us some good.  If we get the opportunity to speak with Lord Dhelt then fine.  If not then we can try to make some friends to keep an eye on the Jameson's and get word to us if trouble follows them.  I really don't think trouble will follow them here.  Nelson may be careless and useless, but his father won't tolerate a feud with Lord Dhelt from what I've heard.

"Ye could always mention to Lord Dhelt, if ye meet him, that the old man be a survivor of the Cult attacks. That might get his attention and maybe some protection?"

"It wouldn't hurt to try," Amara responded to Vernon. "And then the Lord might be extra suspicious of anyone coming after them. Which would probably be good."

She looked around, "Who wants to talk to a guard?"

Kali looked around in the inn, her eyes mirroring her fear of in closed spaces. During the time in there she sat close to Byron, her hands by her side, tense.

When Amara asked for volunteers to question people, she nodded.

...anything to leave the confined spaces

Here Twiggy.  You might as well enjoy the rest, seeing as you have eaten half of it anyway.

Byron pushes the little bit of uneaten food left on his plate in Twiggy's direction as he teases him.

I'll go with Kali.

Twiggy grins through a full mouth "If you insist, I don't want you to get any fatter. I wonder what Nolan has been up to, he seems to like that tower."

After breakfast, Aliana and Amara head out in the opposite direction of Byron and Kalliyan to find a guard who might be able to get them more information about an audience with the local Lord in a day or two instead of 10 days.

The party splits into 3 small groups:

Byron, Kalliyan and Vernon
Amara, Aliana and Twiggy
Roenthelm and Myarra

Byron, who was mainly worried about Kalliyan, moves North towards the city wall, with the hopes of finding another entrance/exit. Along the way, they spot a pair of wandering townguard, who are happy enough to answer your questions.

"You want to get an audience with Lord Dhelt early? It would probably have to be an emergency. Are you two in danger?"
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Amara, Aliana and Twiggy wander around town and spot 3 townguard having breakfast in front of a busy tavern. They appear to be talking about their patrols they will be performing that day. Amara also notices that there is a "shop" across the street...
__________

Roenthelm and Myarra follow the instructions of the serving girl to locate the poor section of town. It's not hard to find, but Myarra has seen worse...way worse. The area is clean and doesn't smell that bad. Just people who can't afford to live any place better. Asking wandering townfolk where the Temple is, Roenthelm and Myarra locate it near the town wall next to the river. The building looks to be a worn down warehouse from long ago. There is a line of people standing in front of the building waiting to get a meal. The meal smells like fish...probably some kind of stew..doesn't smell all that bad.

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Game Map Q and Town map guides has been updated...

Byron speaks quietly, earnestly, and sincerely to the guard.  Hoping the guard will sympathize with the plight of the Jameson's

Not us specifically.   It is the family that traveled with us from Triel to Elturel.  We believe that, because they helped us in a project that was not intended for battle, they are now a possible target by members of the Cult of the Dragon.

The guards inform Byron and Kalliyan that Triel isn't part of Lord Dhelt's territory and there isn't much that he could do about it because the Cultists hide in the woods. They've heard similar stories at group meetings in the past, but if you wished to make a formal complaint, you could visit the Temple of Helm, who might relay a message to the Lord. They give you directions on how to find the Temple.

Byron thanks the guards.

Could you do us a favor then?  Would you and your fellow guards at least keep an eye on them and should trouble start to arise send word to us Daak?  I know that Daak is a good long ways from here, but that is where our group is currently working from.  I will find a way to compensate you and your fellows either directly or indirectly so as not to get you into any trouble with Lord Dhelt.

The guards tell Byron that they couldn't do such a thing...one of them hasn't even heard of Daak. Your best option would probably make arrangements with Lord Dhelt himself.

"Snack, shop, or direct?" Amara asked her two companions. Sitting down for a snack could let them overhear something of what the guards were saying before approaching. Shopping could give them an excuse to watch them a bit. Going directly to them, of course, could get them the answer soonest.

Aliana made a thoughtful face and tapped her lip with a long finger.
"Well, if time isn't an issue, then I suppose doing some subtle eavesdropping to get a proverbial lay of the land isn't a bad idea. "

Byron thanks them again and turns to Kali.

Lets go find this temple.

Myarra wanders through what passes for a poor section of town.  While she's had her problems, oh has she had problems, with paladins and others that cling to the law like a tick, she can't deny that the areas under their control tend to be far safer for those with next to nothing to their name.

"This wouldn't be a bad place to lay low if you're trying not to be found," Myarra tells Roenthelm conversationally.  "I've certainly hid out in worse.  Most of the Dalelands, as you know, tend towards being sticklers for the law, although there are a few more relaxed places.

The very first place I found after crossing the mountains was a little place called Peldan's Helm, in Mistledale.  Only a couple hundred people live there, but, innocent that I was, I thought I'd found one of the world's great cities.  I'd never seen so many people in one place before.  Even the great conclaves of the tribes never had more than fifty.

Lots of hunters and trappers live there.  Mostly nice people.  Sometimes I think I should have settled down there.

But that's where I found out about adventurers.  Idiots that go out in to the wilds to fight monsters.  With the dreams of wealth filling even my waking thoughts, I gave it a shot.  And learned quickly that the kind of people with the moral flexibility to be adventurers, tend not to be trustworthy.  Let's just say, that didn't work out as I'd hoped.  Strangely enough, highwaymen turned out to be far more trustworthy ... in general.  Unfortunately," she adds, rubbing a spot just below her ribs, "even then, there were exceptions.

After an up-close and personal conversation between my innards and a very sharp shortsword during a dispute over the distribution of the loot, I managed to crawl away just before the guardsmen arrived. I don't know if the guardsmen were all that interested in me, but I panicked and fled as far as I could.  In hindsight, official guardsmen tend to treat you pretty good.  Sure, you're a criminal and need to be punished, but a cell in those areas are warm and dry, and come with half-way decent food.  Much better than living it rough just so you can pretend you're free.

Anyway, I ended up in Ashabenford, a town with ten times the population of Peldan's Helm.  If I'd have been thinking more clearly, I'd probably been more terrified, but all I could think of was healing the hole in my gut, and making sure the guard didn't find me.

Ashabenford is a nice enough town, with the average kind of people.  But what they don't talk about is "The Fields".  The townsfolk are happy enough to help their fellows that are temporarily down on their luck, but something has to be done with those that are always down on their luck, or those that arrive out of nowhere, with nothing to their name, and no skills to pay their way.  Or happen to be a grey-skinned slip of a girl with tiny little bat-wings on her shoulders, and a sullen lack of respect for authority.

We end up in The Fields.  Which is a bunch of crates and lean-tos, half sunk in the mud by the banks of the Ashaba river.  It's the road to Shadowdale and some people will toss a copper or a chunk of bread out over to you if you put on a good enough show of being pathetic.  But don't expect any help from the town.  Vagrants aren't wanted on the streets where the good citizens would have to look at you, and the guards will send you back ... once or twice.  It wasn't good for your health to push the matter."

She stops suddenly and sighs.  "Anyway, this isn't bad.  I'm glad Lord Dhelt is a decent ruler."

"Well, I grew up South of here in a small town called Mintar, which is along the Lake of Steam. Back then, all the places along the lake were pretty prosperous, but they still had their poor. I grew up with the poor and did something about it. I joined the clergy of Ilmater, but then the lake wars started to happen and that's when I learned how to fight with my fists, since the poor couldn't afford much to defend themselves with. The Monastery of the Purple Lotus Clan took me in in the Alamir Mountains. My looks weren't as apparent as yours and nobody questions anybody who looks like I do. I wandered around from town to town after the Zhentil troops took over Mintar and I've been wandering since."

Roen then looks at the temple and the line of people getting food,

"We'll wait until the line is gone and then speak with them."

"Snacks it is," Amara says, heading to the open table closest to the guards and sitting to order a second breakfast - an indulgence she certainly didn't normally have.

Kali, still nervous in the town, was preoccupied when Byron spoke to the guard. Her attention snapped back at his words and she smiled.

"Yes, let's go." she says, grasping his arm as they walked

Byron and Kalliyan follow the instructions of the city guard and make their way through the city to the Temple of Helm on top of the hill. They are passing by well armed knights on horses now.

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Roenthelm and Myarra exchange stories about their past while waiting for the soup-kitchen line to dwindle. They might be there for awhile....

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Amara, Aliana and Twiggy go take a seat next to the guards to have breakfast again, which doesn't upset Twiggy at all. While waiting for their food, they hear the guards talking about their stations for the day and other activities of their job.

Aliana tried to listen to the guard's conversation, but the librarian was out of practice

OOC: 06:38, Today: Sister Aliana Farwalker rolled 6 using 1d20+4.  Listen

Amara too listened in for anything unusual. So far it seemed pretty normal for a well-trained guard conversation, which was reassuring.

Twiggy slathers a large amount of preserves onto a bisquit before taking a bit. He hears everything most people are saying just fine. Waiting for an oppurtune time Twiggy talks to a gaurd "It sounds like you all have a good life here, that is good to see. We had some excitement aeound Triel a few days ago while exploring an old tower. A group of what we thought were bandits attacked us but they all had a symbol of a dragon's skull (or whatever the dragon cults symbol is). Have you ever seen anything like this or dealt with these people.

As we pass and are passed by the well armed knights.  Byron looks to see if there is anything that would amount to rank on their armor or clothes in order to tell one from the other.

My guess is the leader of the temple might be our best bet to get the ear of Lord Dhelt.

Alright, so with Twiggy's words, they were playing dumb. That was not the way she had expected to play it, but she didn't really have a problem with it.

She made sure that she had a good view of the guards as Twiggy spoke to them so that she could judge their reactions.