-All-
May 1-2, 1106 CR
In the alleyway, Larren and the nameless psion find themselves talking to Inspector Haversham, who turns out to be a Royal Inspector. The Royal Inspectors are well known in Avonleigh, in that they are a small, elite group that answer to the Chancellor of the the Realm directly. In this case, Haversham has been sent to assist the "Duke of Northlands" as the Thane of Stone Mountain is officially titled in Avonleigh the kingdom, during the festival. He questions them, in a friendly but thorough way, seemingly satisfied enough with their answers. Haversham does want to talk to them some more about the situation, and asks where they are staying in the city.
At this point, the girl they rescued speaks up. Her name, it turns out, is Lysana, and her father is Morris the Quick, owner and proprietor of the Granite Badger. Her father will want to provide for her rescuer's needs during the festival. Haversham seems satisfied with that, and goes to see what is happening with his squad of enforcers.
Lysana leads her two stalwarts to the Badger, though the din coming from it would likely have made it easy to find in any case. She's a pretty lass, and the way she is eyeing Larren seems most promising to the cleric of entropy.
When they arrive at the Badger, they find it full of dwarves, though not a few humans are present. The party for Broderick remains in full swing, and both Larren and the psion quickly are provided with copious ale. When Lysana tells her father what they did, he is very grateful indeed, offering them both rooms for the duration of the festival. Lysana is also quite popular with the dwarves, being well known to Broderick, who has seen her grow up from babyhood, of course. In any case, the two heroes are roundly cheered, and buffeted with many staunch dwarven backslappings.
Morris, it seems, may once have been Quick. He may even still be, when needed, but now he hides it well behind the facade of a late middle-aged, rather corpulent innkeeper. He definitely dotes upon his daughter, however, who is apparently his youngest child. "Mother" also is very grateful, being a woman of Jotun ancestry, and obviously of an age with her husband.
The two heroes are placed at the high table, along with Johanna and Redbeard. Such wounds as Johanna and Redbeard had sustained are long healed, Olephas clucking a bit as he uses the power of nature. Olephas, it turns out, was in the kitchen of the inn, helping Mother Quick prepare, and as the feast of Broderick's manhood continues, several things become apparent.
First, Dunrick, Broderick's grandfather, Olephas, Redbeard's trainer, (known as Lee to his friends) the Quicks, and Ulric Wolfsong, Johanna's storied grandfather, were once adventurers together. They are all well known to each other, and apparently meet each year during the festival to recall fallen friends, and reminisce about old exploits. It also turns out that Mother Quick, whose given name is Ullana, is a relative of Johanna's, being Ulric's younger sister. The captain of Johanna's ship, Olaf, and the brothers Finnacar, are old acquaintances of Ullana.
The feast itself is as bountiful as the ale was, with each course being ushered in by a dwarf relating some anecdote about Broderick's boyhood. Finally though, the last platter of demolished pork roast, and lizard steaks, and mushroom gravy, are cleared from the table, and the constant wall of noise fades. It's long after midnight, when the adventurers, young and old alike, finally get to bed. Broderick is staying at the Badger, as is his grandfather, because he is at a stage of life when he is considered almost a man, and thus too old to sleep in his family's quarters, but not yet ready to move into the warrens of the bachelor dwarves within the mountain. Larren doesn't sleep alone.
In the morning, the adventurers wake up and make their way down to the common room, which is much less crowded then the night before. Mother and Lysana, as well as several hired servants, have cleaned up from the night before, and the old adventurers are at a table swapping stories.
Another table nearby is set for the younger adventurers, along with a solid breakfast. Also waiting for them is Inspector Haversham...
