Retrieving their horses from the stables, they could see evidence of the care that Myrick had provided the horses--clearly he had taken great pride in his job and the evidence was that he had been overjoyed to do his job again, something denied him during the reign of Cannibal and Damon over Farnworth.

The road was quiet, taking them past Urard's farm, the turn off to Monteci, and the old house near that turn-off.  Shortly after that, the rain began, a light spring rain, but this road was of sufficient quality that it did not impede their travel.

It was shortly after Vespers when they reached the stables from which the horses had been rented.

Pathwyn stopped at Urard's farm for a short visit to relay the news.  Away from the children, she told him that Cannibal had been a werewolf.  He was now slain and his men defeated.  Penrhyn had fled and a hunting party was after him.  Farnworth was safe to visit again, but she suggested he give it at least a couple of days for things to get cleaned up in town.  Their new friend Vendavel was watching over Farnworth, and soon Pathwyn hoped to get a priest of Atu from Shipton to take up the vacant church.

Then the Forhorns were back on their way.

Dak was soaked through.  His cloak, although nice, did not seem to be waterproof.

"Let's find an inn, get dried off, and something hot to eat," he suggested.  He was going to miss his horse, but the next leg of their journey was by boat.

He was hoping they'd have a bit of time in the morning to find a marketplace or something.  He really needed to do something about the weight of his pack.  And it would be nice to find something to do for two weeks on a ship.  He knew what to do on a small fishing boat, but a ship between islands was something else entirely.

Patting his horse goodbye, Hewney sliced an apple into quarters and feeds offers them to his now ex-mount.

"A really horse this one," he says to the man at the stables.

He wonders if they have time to wander the town a bit, but waits until Pathwyn finds a boat and they know for sure.

Alvador is happy the group is on its way, and he shows it by singing. He alternates between elvish and human songs.

OOC: I'm going to be undergoing about 12 week's chemo and radiation, and two operations. I think I"ll have enough oomph to participate, even frequently, but don[t expect inspired or long posts. Apologizes. Progn0ss excellent; I'm not dead person walking.

Once the horses had been returned, the fading light suggested that the best course might be to retire to either the inn--the White Horse where they had stayed before for the three men--or to the established quarters that Pathwyn held, and return to St Vallon's in the morning.  Perhaps a messenger might be sent, or they could go to St Vallon's after securing the night's lodging.

Pathwyn was sad to see Bourbon go, but she had a feeling she'd be back riding the chestnut mare again in the future.

"Let's call it a night.  We can meet back at the White Horse and go see Brothers Ros and Manus around Sext.  I'm sure we've all got things to do in Shipton.  I for one am in no rush to ship off for Bragi right away."

If the others were in agreement she retired to her room at Honus and Maya's house.

Alvado has a sond night's sleep: "Early to bed, early to rise, if the mage is wise." He studies his spells before joining the others.

Dak was glad Pathwyn had not wanted to do anything more for the night.  Getting a room, dried out, and a hot meal was enough for him.  He considered the drenching rain to have been a bath.  He did, however, spend a good amount of time drying out his armor and arms.  Then adding a sheen of oil to keep them in good order.

Heyney had a few drinks to warm his insides, then hit the hay.

Like most elves, Pathwyn was a very light sleeper.  The quiet comforting squeaks and creeks of her temporary home made it feel almost like she could see the room and beyond with her eyes closed.  She heard the hives in the courtyard, mostly dormant now, the dripping of rainwater off the eaves, and the light wind blowing through freshly budded leaves.  She drifted from her room into a dream.

She was in a small clearing near a bend in a stream.  The smell of dew and lemongrass was in the air along with the lilting sound of her sister's laughter.  Beala was the true beauty of the family, a celestial stunner even among elves.  Pathwyn had to admit she was a little jealous.

"Are you really here?" Pathwyn asked her sister.

"I don't know.  Are you?"  They were her sister's words, but her voice was not right, and she spoke with an ancient accent.

Beala was playfully tossing a handful of small simple sliver rings from hand to hand without letting a single one drop.  She caught one on the tip of her forefinger and then flung it up into the air.

"Shoot it, Pathwyn," she encouraged.

Pathwyn found she was holding her bow with an arrow drawn.  She quickly shot at the ring without aiming and missed.

"Again, again," she said, lobbing another ring upwards.

This time she took an instant to aim, but missed again.  Try as she might she could not fire an arrow through the silver rings her sister threw into the air.  The tiny rings were such a small targets.

"You know what your problem is, little sister?"  Beala asked.  "You're not letting me help.  Perhaps you should pray."

Pathwyn got the sense that 'me' did not mean her sister, but before she could ponder it much the dream slipped away.


At dawn she did pray, as she did every morning.  This time she was unexpectedly rewarded with new and unfamiliar gifts she was anxious to try out, but nothing that might help her hit tiny silver rings with her bow.

Maya made honey sweetened cinnamon oatmeal for breakfast and served grapefruit quarters as a treat on Pathwyn's return.  She knew the little elf loved citrus.  Pathwyn told them a bit about killing a werewolf and freeing the village of Farnworth.  Samuel refused to believe they'd even seen a werewolf, much less killed one.  The puppeteer's stubborn disbelief only made Pathwyn giggle.


Before meeting the others at the White Horse she went on a shopping jaunt with some of her newly overflowing asil.  She wanted to buy a white linen top and pants to wear under the elven chain once it was modified from her, and she'd like to get a short summer dress while she was at it.  She also aimed to stop by the armorer to see if he had an archery buckler and some tips on how to use it most effectively.

Amaya 7

Rooms had been found at the White Horse Inn for those who, unlike Pathwyn, did not have a permanent place in Shipton.  While Pathwyn enjoyed a breakfast of oatmeal and grapefruit, those at the White Horse arose to a breakfast spread as they had enjoyed on the prior stay:  options of a light ale, bread, cheese, and freshly cooked eggs, along with thinly sliced smoked fish.  The ale was a kipper for a pint, the bread a griel, and each of the options of cheese, eggs, or smoked fish were four griel (or 1 asil, 5 griel, and 1 kipper for a sampler of everything).

The air held the clean post-rain scent, a little cooler than the prior day, but still reasonable weather for the spring season.  Of course, Bragi, being further south was likely to be considerably warmer.  After breakfast, it would be a good opportunity to stop in at St Vallon's to get more information about the passage being arranged and how much shopping time they might have available in Shipton before their departure.
This message was last edited by the GM at 11:48, Sat 17 July 2021.

His coin purse feeling a bit heavier than usual, Hewney breaks his fast with gusto, getting eggs, cheese, bread and some ale. Feeling generous, he leaves a full asil and tells the server to keep the change.

"I will be back in a few hours, I have some business to attend to," he tells anyone who cares, and heads out in to the streets of Shipton.

"Be back at sext to meet with Pathwyn," Dak reminded Hewney as the half elf left.  He took his time eating as much as an asil would get him for breakfast.  After that, he went looking for the market to sell some of the weight in his backpack.  Maybe find a way to spend some as well.

Alvador asks Dak if he might tag along.

"Sure," Dak agreed to have Alvador join him.  He was just looking to find a place to sell some of the island split and maybe buy a charm that protected him from magical sleep.  He'd seen firsthand how badly one's day would go forced to sleep in a battle.

Alvador walks along, content, keeping opposite Dak's sword arm. Dak is a good companion. He comments Might be useful for you to know: The spells I memorized this morning are Detect Magic, Read Magic, and Sleep twice.

Chree is sleeping.

"Do you know of any way to protect against being put to sleep?" he asked the mage. "I wouldn't want what happened to those men in Farnsworth to happen to me if we ran up against someone who had it."

They'd just dropped like helpless flies.  He didn't want to be a fly.

Alvador shakes his head. Elves and people such as I have some resistance. So do beings of power. And those who fall asleep can be awakened normally.

You cold pose that question to one who wants to sell you questionable trinkets, and you've made me wonder why such a thing has not been investigated as far as I know.

Dak found a place to sell off the expensive dinnerware he'd gotten from his island split and remembered seeing a gem merchant or something they'd passed by earlier.  He didn't know much about gems other than they were usually expensive and lightweight.  Now that his backpack weighed even more, he was looking for lightweight.

Looking over the selection and pricing, he picked out a dozen of the expensive 450 asil gems as well as 10 of the 225 asil gems.  He made sure to pick out a color scheme so that he could tell which were the more expensive ones.

Not having much else to do, Hewney wanders the town, buying a rat-on-a-stick from a food vendor to nibble on, wagering on the cockroach races and generally enjoying a day without the over potential for instant death. He even wanders into a confectioners shop and buys a bag of sweets which he shares with the street urchins.

He really liked Shipton, and if experience was any measure the town seemed to like him, but the chance to travel does tug at him in a warm and gentle fashion, the scent of the sea like a distant lover's perfume.

As Sextus inches closer, he returns to where they meeting, arriving early and taking a seat with his back to the wall, where he orders a platter of cheese, crackers and sliced meat to go along with a small glass of wine.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:08, Tue 20 July 2021.

The morning passed for the Forhorns in their various activities, shopping and other relatively safe amusements available in the larger town.  At last, it was clear that the sun was nearing its Sext position, and the four came back together.

Alvador sits by Dak and orders the same except for also ordering something fruit or vegetable. He scans his surroundings and the people.

Pathwyn entered the White Horse while everyone was eating.  She was still armed and carrying her pack, but not wearing her armor.  Her blue and green gown had light patches of dirt near the knees and hem and her fingertips on both hands were stained red.

"Hello gentlemen.  How was everyone's morning?"

She sat down at an empty seat and waited for the others to finish lunch.

"A pleasant day, for me, though I am ready to head out again. I can only handle so much relaxation before it begins to wear on me," Hewney stated in reply to Pathwyn's comments.

He had had his fill of the snacks he ordered, and shoved the platter out towards the others to share in if they wish.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:42, Wed 21 July 2021.