Liberty looks up at Mittens. "You looked at our team lately?"

Avery shrugs and smiles.

Tam says, "Honey might be a folk hero then. Surprised she didn't wind up with a price on her head and wanted posters like Mitts pointed out..."

Either way, there is nothing more to do in this town and no reason to return. The group is soon able to be on their way to Charlton. The group is, however, given a wagon drawn by two horses to make their travel easier/smoother/faster. Avery mostly stays seated and loves the children, wrapping her wings around them and snuggling them.

Upon the group being given the wagon and two horses, Rocky checks to make sure that the horses are comfortable in their harnesses before the group leaves for Charlton.  While Rocky, Buzz, and Adrian can all fit into the wagon, as a Deer, Doc can't ride in the wagon but Doc is fast enough to keep up with the horses pulling the wagon so Doc has no issue with walking beside the wagon, or behind it when the path is too narrow to walk beside the wagon and horses.

Rocky uses his time while traveling as an opportunity to keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary or plants and other materials that could be useful in medicine, herbalism, or alchemy since such components might be useful in the days to come. While Rocky notices how Avery acts around the children, the Warforged Druid doesn't comment on it since he suspects it is just her motherly instinct.

  It is a sign of Nerd Lord Henry's attention to detail, that they wrote down reasons to not be too concerned about snooty elf stereotypes.  "Well Mittens, the list mentions they were defending travelers from beasts.  So we probably won't have to worry about bad sterotypes chiding people for having the nerve to be attacked by wildlife."  Don't you know Elk are herbivores? How dare you disrupt their traditional diet by being devoured by them!

  Meanwhile, Joe's player is getting Skyrim hoarding flashbacks from Rocky's narrative.

"Silly prejudices laugh at your expectations of common sense.  Mittens will remain encouraged by the good company she's keeping."

And skeptical of future company.  But speaking of common sense, snuggling children you love is a most sensible thing to do, so Mittens doesn't even think to comment.  Instead...

"So Avery.  I'm presuming that you can, in fact, fly.  What is your max carrying capacity?  Could you safely land if you were to leap off a cliff with me piggybacking?  Could you take off with Liberty holding on to you?  Would you be able to perform aerobatics?"

Mits is sure to pause between questions so that Avery can reply with nods or headshakes.

Rocky is not wrong. Sometimes, when a druid thinks people acting on nature is the reason for their actions, it turns out to be true.

Avery does, in fact answer the questions with gestures:
Nod. Shrug. Shrug. Nod. Nod.

She also uses her talons to curiously fidget with Mittens'/Timothius' tails or fidget with Adrian's vines.

Tam, as usual, is sure to pet and feed Adrian, Buzz and Doc. Liberty, being a girl, wants to pet Doc too and occasionally the horses.

The travel is uneventful and the team is able to see Charlton coming into view. It appears to be a walled city, if still on the smallish side for a city.

When they arrive, the guards in front of town ask the group to halt and ask them their business. Assuming Mittens is her usual forward self, the guards still give her a look of curiosity. One guard asks, "I've always wanted to see a catfolk for myself... and always wanted to know; do your kind like catnip?"

Rocky remains silent when the group reaches the walled city and frowns at the attempt at isolating itself from nature, although he recognizes the need to protect oneself from outside threats...

Rocky sighs when Mittens is asked about catnip as he wonders how long it would be before someone asks him a similar question regarding his digestive system, or if he has a heart...

Adrian, Doc, and Buzz remain silent at the moment although Buzz is tempted to ask a similarly stupid question to the guard like 'Why do humans like to get drunk from fermented fruits, grains, and/or honey? Why not fermented cheeses or mushrooms?' However, Buzz knows better than to taunt or otherwise annoy a guard when doing so would make it more difficult to complete the task at hand.

  Joe is going to let the actual hairy lady confirm or deny the love of easily obtainable cat drugs.

  "Hello, anything interesting happen lately? Or has it been one of those rare stretches of safe normalcy?  We could do with less imps cursing wizard dogs this week."

Mittens smiles to hear Rocky sigh on her behalf.  Still...

"Is it true that Humans roll on the floor laughing when you bring up how many advantages they have over the other races?"

+2 to a stat of your choice.  Extra feat.  Extra at-will.  +1 to all NADs.  Most populous race in the world.  Etc.

"Judge not Catfolk based on Mittens.  Meow.  She is most certainly not very catfolk-like, whom are apparently hard-wired to be in love with the idea of living the most boring life possible.  Hence not visiting Human settlements very often.  You people are far too fun and interesting for most Catfolk's tastes.

That said, Mittens is standard Catfolk on the topic of catnip.  The scent of which is about as likable to a Catfolk as a fragrant rose."

To Joe she reminds, "We've had a distinct lack of any cursed wizard dogs this week, remember?  The imp acted entirely on it's own."

Probably just as well Buzz held off there. He would have gotten a stupid answer like "Who wouldn't?" or "Why not?"

The guard looks confused by Mitts' question and shrugs. "I hadn't heard of such a thing. Most humans assume all the other races are better at stuff. Elves are better at bows, dwarves are better at digging... uh... catfolk have better reflexes and hearing. Stuff like that. Sure we have a racial pride of our own, but we take what advantages we have for granted for the most part."

Then he looks surprised by Mitts' answer. "....boring? You sure could fool me. I heard catfolk are super curious and in some cases quite vicious."

He then looks at Joe. "Normal as a city can be. We had a problem with a gang rising to power for a bit there, but a tiefling named Morthos took them down. You bunch seem like the type he'd like. If you wanna meet the local hero, he usually hangs out at the Grill Delight Tavern."

The guard looks the group over. "But given your appearances, if you start having trouble, please just go straight to him. He's an established hero here, so if he likes you and vouches for you, people will warm up to you. If you are trouble-makers, well... he'll figure it out and you'll have him and the city to deal with."

The guards let the group in!

Rocky keeps his opinions on the guards' antics to himself as he feels the whole racial stereotyping is something to be avoided as exceptions always exist and ignoring that can get you killed.

Instead, after the group is let in, Rocky speaks up, "So from here, it seems like we head to the Grill Delight Tavern to meet up with Morthos. Although we will also need to deal with where to store the wagon and stable the horses pulling it while we are in town. Perhaps someone at the tavern will be able to suggest a place."

  "Thanks, that sounds like a good idea.  Hopefully the tavern lives up to it's name"

  He looks over to Mittens and Rocky, commenting "Humans are good at boring advantages, like declaring 'Not It for finding parking'"

♪ ♫ "I am a Dwarf and I'm digging a hole,
Diggy diggy hole
diggy diggy hole." ♩ ♬ ♭

"That would be Tabaxi and Razorclaw Shifters respectively.  If what I was taught is true.  Never met any members of either race personally.  Gotta love how a Tiefling Hero qualifies as 'normal' for a city."

Mits chuckles at Joe's taking a boring advantage.  "Try though you may to pretend to be boring, Mittens knows better.

Joe: Hangs out with robot, cats, child heroes, harpy, etc.  Resolves diabolical mysteries.  Travels.  Badass Warrior.  The list goes on.

Actually boring person: Stays home and does chores."

Approaching the Tavern, she has her usual neon sign floating over her head.  This time, the message reads, "Itinerate Regional Heroes."

Parking was easily had. This city conveniently has a stables near the entrance.

Avery timidly follows the group as they approach the tavern. The clinking of armor can be heard before a teenage male tiefling wearing black armor with spikes comes out of the front entrance of the tavern, wagging his tail behind him with a challenging grin on his face.



He stands confident and calls out to the group (who are currently only 20 feet away), "Hail, heroes! My name's Morthos! Local hero! Love the sign, miss!"

He looks the group over with a smile and says, "Wow! The kid who told me about you all wasn't kidding! You really are a motley crew! You hungry?"
This message was last updated by the GM at 07:10, Thu 06 Feb 2020.

Rocky looks at Morthos and can't help but think that Morthos reminds him of Mittens' personality... given the reaction to 'the sign'...as neither one seems to do subtle...but wonders why he suddenly feels as if this tiefling is comparing the group to a crew of musicians.

The Warforged Druid glances at the sign and says, "Well signs like that are great when being subtle isn't necessary..and drawing attention is the goal."

Buzz, Doc, and Adrian remain slightly behind the group not far from Avery.

  "Mittens, 'And then we told the bad guy we already stopped him, and it worked' sounds too stupid for even the most gullible people to believe, even if it's true."

  The Morthos notices the obvious, and also the sign.  "Food that I don't have to cook myself is almost always a good option, but only if you let Mittens hear about the cool things you did while we eat."
This message was lightly edited by the player at 23:26, Fri 07 Feb 2020.

"Heart!"

Mits gives a sweeping bow to Morthos' compliment and grins at her allies.

"Yes.  Mittens decided to hold off on noms when she heard where to find you, figuring 'Grill Delight' has got to be better than trail rations.  (Though Joe makes it so Mittens rarely ever has to nom trail rations, the previous statement remains accurate.)

"And yes!  Would love to hear of your adventures!"

When the appropriate time allows for it, Mits'll give introductions, making each member of the team sound epic.  Even Adrian, Doc, and Buzz get introduction.

Morthos invites the group in and says, "I've got tales of all kinds! I have believable tales and unbelievable tales. Tales to astonish and tales... not so astonishing, but that you can probably empathize with."

He puts a couple tables together to allow for the group to all sit together. They do number 10, not including Morthos. The people of the Grill Delight look, well, delighted to see such odd company being welcomed by the young tiefling.

While he's still standing, Morthos turns to the waitress and says, "That special was just so gosh-darn good and I know the chef loves making large portions of it. These people say they're famished, so just tell Gregor to make up three big pots full of the stuff and we'll start with that."

The waitress beams and nods.

Morthos twirls a chair to be at the head of the tables and sits on it with the backrest facing his chest, then leans his arms on the top of the backrest. "Alright. So." he rolls a d20 onto the table.

22:07, Today: Morthos rolled 11 using 1d20 with rolls of 11.  Morthos deciding what story to tell.

Morthos says, "Eleven! Great! That's the story of the time I met this adorable little red-haired goblin gal named Flert! She comes from a tribe called "The Handreach Clan", you see, who believe that emulating humans is a good idea since humans dominate most areas of the known world. The tribe lives in a forest north of here called Old Hollow and they deal with about three settlements in the area as well as traveling merchants! Now as to how I met 'er..."

He proceeds to tell a tale about how he had just finished defeating three bandits that had wandered too far from their camp. But he was wounded and out of healing potions. The goblin, as it turned out, was a shaman and healed him up. The two of them were fast friends, but then they got ambushed by more bandits who had found the bodies of their fallen comrades. Six bandits this time. But apparently the healer shaman could hold her own and not only summoned spirits to deal with the enemy, but had some kind of shadow magics as well is some psychic powers. The two equaled more than their sum and defeated the six bandits with ease. "She showed me around her home, but alas, she was still too young to be allowed to go out adventuring just yet. So we parted ways. But I told her to look me up soon as she's allowed. Your turn! Tell me one of your tales!"
This message was last edited by the player at 03:30, Sun 09 Feb 2020.

Rocky ponders if this goblin shaman would be someone that would one day be interested in working with the others that Lord Henry is recruiting... then again Rocky wonders if Flert is even on the list, and if she isn't... should she be added to it.

Rocky decides to speak his thoughts, "A Goblin shaman... I wonder if she will look you up when the time comes. Maybe the spirits will lead her to you. It would be kind of ironic if she walked in the door in the next few minutes. Although depending on how long ago your tale involving Flert took place, and the rate at which a goblin reaches maturity... it might be possible or it might take another year or two before she'd be ready to be an adventurer and thus seek you out."

  "I suppose it also depends on how stir crazy they get hanging around their home, but crushing bandits on your doorstep tends to take up more time than wishing your life was less boring."  Though that might be too boring for Mittens to want to have stuck around her own home.

  "Also, most of my own stories end up with 'And then I shot them with arrows' so they tend to blur together."

"Morthos must be part Bard.  Because Mittens is fascinated!"*

* If the joke wasn't clear, Fascinate is a Bardic ability in many fictions.  https://www.d20pfsrd.com/class...RD/#TOC-Fascinate-Su-

Mits is grinning.  "Wow.  Another case of monster race person being awesome.  Did Mittens suddenly wake up in 'Abundance of Monster Race Heroes World?'  So much for being raised on, 'You'll be the only Monster Race adventurer in the entire world.  No one will believe that you ever did anything good and all your efforts toward building a good reputation will be dismissed as impossible myth.'

"As for age-ism, I think that saving someone's life and taking out half a dozen bandits should qualify as proof that one is old enough to be an adventurer."

There goes Joe again, pretending like he wants to be boring.  Mits just rolls her eyes, not wanting to repeat what she's already said on the topic.

To Morthos she answers, "I'll tell you the tail of how we became a team."

Puppet show ensues!  Though Mittens' description is quite accurate, it's hard to believe just how horrifying the Antler Horror was given the silly puppet she uses to represent it...  https://www.deviantart.com/meg...kle-puppet-656116611

Morthos pays close attention to Mittens' story. "Well that's amazing.. as is your puppetshow! That's about the most signature thing I've seen for anyone!"

To Rocky, Morthos nods and says, "I'm sure she will. Flert came from a family of adventuring sorts. Heck most of her TRIBE are capable of being adventuring sorts, but hey that's goblins for ya." he looks at Mittens and shrugs. "Everyone has their own rules, but she didn't seem bothered by it. When the time is right, she'll strike out on her own."

He then looks the group over. "Now... what's the real reason you're here? I'm sure I am very interesting to you guys and all, but I'm guessing you were here for a different reason. And maybe I can help."

Rocky nods to Morthos upon hearing about Flert and her tribe. The Warforged Druid wonders if Lord Henry has heard of that tribe or not.

Rocky then explains to Morthos the nature of Lord Henry's objectives along with the papers that Lord Henry provided as the Warforged Druid wonders what Morthos' decision will be.

  "Like Rocky says. It turns out it was, in fact, you being very interesting that was a reason we were here.  Though we have been picking up other goals on the side, like getting Avery here some magical assistance for old wounds."

"Thanks for the flawless expo, Rocky.  Why, one could say that you have a steel trap mind!"

A cherub puppet reprimands Mittens, "You realize now that you've made that joke that it's open season on joking about your organic nature."

Mits slouches.  "I apologize if my joke was in poor taste."

To Joe's point, Mittens adds, "Speaking of Avery.  We were thinking maybe the two of you could team up should you choose to accept Lord Henry's offer.  Two are safer on the road than one."

Morthos grins! "I'm really all that, huh? Gee.. and to think just a couple years back, people mocked me. Well sure! I can travel with Avery."

Liberty says, "There's also someone named Honey from this town, and a rumored elf in the nearby woods protecting travelers from beast and bandit?"

Morthos says, "Oh! Yeah! Honey's my kind of gal! Which tells me she's Mittens' kind of gal! She lives here. Dunno if she'll be interested in Lord Henry's offer, but I know where to find her. The elf, well... I think he lives in the woods? I don't ever see him in town. Just find some trouble in the woods and pretend like you're trying and failing to handle it. Should draw him out like a moth to flame because he can't help it. When people need help, he shows up. He might be too shy for the direct approach of calling out for him."

Liberty asks, "You know his name?"

Morthos says, "Yeah. Arowyn. Haven't met him personally yet, but would love to so I can shake his hand."