Day 2 - The Far Shore Inn
Slept well and went down to the inns main room for breakfast. The others were down already and gathered again at the table we were at last night. The food here is pretty good, it's all quite civilised. Over breakfast we traded what little information we had. The others got fairly excited over the discovery of the market, they seemed happy to have found a place to spend their ill-earned gold. We also decided to go back to Dagger Dale and speak to Lord Randal-Moore. Bertrand said Dagger Dale was only a few hours off and we'd be able to get there and back in an afternoon. We hoped that learning more about where we had been might fill in some of the holes we all had in our memories; comforting to know we're all in the same boat. After breakfast we separated for the morning. I think the others went shopping at the bazaar; I went back to my room to check my gear before we made our trip that afternoon.
We'd agreed to meet at lunch time in the inn. I went down a bit earlier to talk to Bertrand. I explained that we planned to head back to Dagger Dale briefly this afternoon to see Lord Randal-Moore but we expected to return that evening or at the latest the next morning. The others came down in dribs and drabs and we shared a bit of lunch before heading off. Bertrand had given directions to the village of Dagger Dale and we set off down the path I'd walked the night before. I didn't say anything to the others about my outing the previous evening but I did wonder whether we'd come across the cottage - I wouldn't mind seeing what was in there. Despite having walked this path the night before and being brought full circle back to the inn, I didn't think that would happen this time. We had a destination and I suspected we'd get there. Turning these thoughts over in my mind I was somewhat distracted and therefore was as surprised as everyone else when we turned a corner of the trail - near the spot where the cottage had been the night before - and saw... for a fleeting moment, Yuna. Then she screamed and ran off into the forest. She's fast, give her that and the way she reacts every time she sees us DOES speak of having spent time with us! Quite a few people who know me respond that way and some of these others are almost enough to make me scream. Wonder if we'll ever get to meet her?!
Onward - the trip was uneventful and we made good time to arrive at Dagger Dale mid-afternoon. Finding Lord Randal-Moore proved easy enough - his was the biggest house in the village. We decided that Rumbles would only complicate the meeting by wanting to kill anyone (or everyone) so he wandered off with Hoo Flung to find a tavern while the rest of us went inside. The world is full of surprises and Lord Randal-Moore recognised (most of) us immediately. Apparently the others, along with that untrustworthy little halfling Thief Hanse Sloughfoot had gone bandit hunting for him and I'd rocked up a few days afterwards, trying to catch up (weird) As there had been no attacks since we undertook the task (only a week ago) the Lord assumed we'd been successful and wiped out the bandit menace. He was therefore quite happy to see us again, which is not the reaction we're used to. While Damir and Norton followed Lord Randal-Moore to his study I slipped away and slunk upstairs (you never know your luck) Unfortunately there were people up there; it sounded like a woman and children, probably the Lords wife and kiddies. Too public, too messy and to what end. I slipped back down the stairs and waited outside in the courtyard.
It wasn't long before Damir and Norton were back. They had little to report except that thieving little scum, Sloughfoot, had recently been back and collected the fee for the job. Vicious little bastard; NEVER trust a halfing. Out of pique we put a notice out for his arrest with the offer of a reward - I want him alive!! We collected Rumbles and Hoo Dung and took a quick look round the town. There wasn't anything to see here, just a small rural community. We chatted about what to do. Most of the others wanted to ride out in the direction we'd been seen leaving last week ago and see what could be found; I didn't much, but I didn't care either, so off we went. Lord Randal-Moore had loaned us horses for the trip so it didn't take too long before we reached a farm house that showed signes of having been attacked (I wondered if the damage was done by the bandits or the party?) The farmer came out to greet us - I'm not used to people being so happy to see us and it's starting to make me nervous. Damir and Norton chatted to him a bit and he pretty much confirmed what we already knew. We'd passed this way last week (the others, not me) when a raiding party was attacking his farm. By his account it was a spectacular fight which ended with us chasing the bandits off into the foothills. The trail could still be seen through the forest. Damir took a look and confirmed that a bunch of humanoids and horses had come charging through here making a mess of each others tracks.. the tracks didn't have to be ours, they could have belonged to any group of clowns. We debated - follow the tracks or go back to the inn. It was getting late in the day so we opted for returning to the Inn. I wanted to have a chat with Bertrand. I heard him mention something about a batch of 'jobs' he had; wonder what's available... wonder what the pay is??
Our trip back to the Far Shore Inn was easy and without incident. On the way back I noticed that a short distance into the forest the incidental noises stopped. It was like the previous evening - no birds, no insects, no forest dwelling furries... and the light changed. I recall looking up earlier and seeing the sun still bright though getting lower in the sky, but now - not long after - the light was diffuse, as though from more than one source but still there was nothing to see in the sky. We kept a lookout for Yuna on the way back but didn't see hide nor hair of her.. I wonder where she gets to, in the fleeting seconds I've seen her she didn't strike me as the out-door type. We spent a quite evening; by the time I came back from the bath house Norton, Hoo Dung and Rumbles had gone back to their drinking. I sat with Damir and we pondered the wisdom of going off into the forest tomorrow to see if we could find Yuna. Privately I doubted the wisdom of travelling with such an obviously unstable person; but I kept my thoughts to myself. Bertrand gave us a run down of what jobs were available; it was pretty sparse. There was:
- Investigate a sealed obelisk
- 'Sort out' a large bat like creature in the forest
- Lay to rest a haunted village
- Help a village terrorised by were wolves
- Investigate a haunted abbey
- get rid of some Pirates who are holding a light house to ransom and
- Find out what happened to a party of Town Protectors who seem to have vanished
None of them look terribly lucrative or exciting so I called it quits for the night, left the others downstairs and went to bed.
Back to The Inn of the Far Shore.
