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[howandwhy99]

[DAY 82 – Holyday, Azer 14th, CY 81]
– [DAY 83 – Sunday, Azer 15th, CY 81]

The following Holyday was spent traveling on horseback on the road to Harling. None of them had ever been to the capital of Margrave before much less a full on city. The traffic on the road was heavy with wagons and walkers. Some others were on horseback too and twice riders cantered past at a quick pace. Igor guessed these were messengers either for the militia or perhaps the nobility. More than a few faces stared at Cyrus and Darius. As dwarves they stuck out in the community of mostly humans. By the end of the day the team had reached the outskirts of the city. Houses and farmlands edged up against the road, but were mostly scattered. Igor and Dram tried to find lodging in one of them, but without luck. The team bedded down for the evening along the roadside near a fallow field. Watches were kept, but practically no one passed by during the night.

Igor spoke with Kayla during their watch. She had not yet received word from the Circle of Mages in town. Balorn had written a letter of introduction for her and explained how she could contact the advisors. Igor confessed he had not heard word from any of his contacts either. No one along the road seemed to recognize his signs or be willing to. Kayla worried about the dwarven hatred as they entered into the city. The assassins at the Keep knew their faces. Barth, Turko, and Zert might have fled to the anonymity of the city. Igor volunteered to disguise everyone, so they might ride openly which was easier than trying to hide the horses. Kayla agreed.

In the morning Kayla spoke to Darius and he announced the plan and need for disguises. Igor surprised the others by having an especially deft touch at disguise work and helped them all with their efforts. Dram’s father Gil was disguised too at Dram’s insistence. He said the word of his father’s freedom had not yet spread, but his crimes might have. Cyrus begged off a disguise. “Been ‘round humans near most m’ life. So I don’t care what they think.” Igor backed him up in this. Few if any knew of Cyrus’s guardian role for the party, so he was allowed to operate openly.

The group rode their horses for several hours as the city grew around them. At first the houses grew to a single line on both sides of the road, then an Inn was seen. After awhile the homes stretched two rows deep and continued to grow from there. Small shops and businesses were seen hawking their wares. Igor saw nothing unusual, but on a couple of occasions they were heckled for riding with two dwarves. In mid-afternoon they crested a final rise in the road and saw the outer wall of the city proper before them. Guards were posted to either side of the road’s entryway to the interior city. As they approached they realized that none of the traffic through the gate was being stopped. However, the team decided not to chance entering with the dwarves. Looking inside the gates the tangled mass of streets and single story homes had grown to fill every space. Instead they decided to split up and meet back in front of the gate square just before nightfall. Kayla made everyone promise not to drink while in the city. “The secret of our trip must be kept.” They nodded in agreement, even Cyrus.

Originally Posted by Dram

Splitting off with his Father and Ormand the Redd, Dram complied with Kayla's request and made a conscious effort to avoid drinking establishments. (He was not as hardy as Cyrus of the 50 Ales!). He made certain to fully cover his new chainmail under his disguise and to hide the golden arrow he won in the archery contest during the Midsummer fest contests. He did his best to hide his quiver under his cloak too and disguised his unstrung bow as a walking stick (the bowstring was pocketed but ready). His dagger was hidden but handy. Hammer, spear and longsword went into Igor's sack. The same set up went for Ormand the Redd too. Dram's father, Gil Hammersmith, was still looking pretty weak and bedraggled and wasn't armed or armored. Dram, Ormand and Gil, when asked, were pilgrims passing through Harling on their way to the little-known "Shrine of the Purple Raven". They had taken a vow of silence during their trip. Dram asked Kayla to draw up a note stating as much so that it may be presented to any overly curious cityfolk. If they were forced into a speaking situation, Dram appointed his father as spokesman since he knew the least (and Dram hadn't filled him in yet on all the recent details of his life).

Kayla and Darius found a street vendor hawking sightseeing tours of the city and decided to join. Two other people were to walk with them, but left when they saw Darius. The hawker led them around the Outer City pointing out interesting sites. The two tried to pry out more information and rumors from the man. This was not too hard, but he refused to converse with the dwarf no matter what. In fact, Darius noticed no one spoke a word to him and avoided his gaze whenever possible.

On the other hand, Kayla learned quite a few interesting pieces of information. It seemed trade within County Margrave was booming. It was better than any had ever remembered it. Apparently a group called “The Skun Brothers” was buying up all the ore anyone could provide. Darius growled at this, but decided not to say anything. Kayla tried prying into deeper secrets with a few gold. She did not think much of the result though. Their guide seemed to think bad storms had ruined the year’s crops because the Gods were angry and trying to scare all of Margrave. Many were returning to the Old Faith because of it. To Kayla it sounded like another false superstition. When the tour came to an end, Kayla did her best to hide Darius inside a small, easy-to-miss tavern and inn. It was a little ways from the gate square, but rooms were cheap and the bar dingy. Afterwards, she went looking for Igor.