NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="arwink" data-source="post: 1366233" data-attributes="member: 2292">Among his other talents, the merchant Teag proves to be a fair cook and eager to help after he’s rescued.  After the dead bodies are cleared away, many of them loaded onto a wagon so they can be returned to the Steading for burial, he offers everyone lunch while they explain why they were searching for him.  The danger of the swords is quickly explained, and the tall Reldanner looks concerned.“Five days to late, I’m afraid,” he says sadly.  “Sold all four of them on my way through to the Steading.  One of them’s with a farmer out near Vallar, but the other three where only taken off my hands a day back.  Two of them to a pair of elven twins, part of an adventuring band looking to go hunting goblin ears for Ulgar’s reward.  The last one’s with Tak, the captain over at Heldar’s Stand.  He was at Ulgar’s for some reason, didn’t think to ask why.”“We should get moving then,” Geoffrey says, polishing off the last of some stew with a crust of bread.  “If three of them are only a day away, we might be able to get there before anything goes wrong.”“True enough,” Teag agrees, “But whose going to stop that farmer?”“Blarth will go,” Blarth announces.  “Take horse, have best chance of surviving on own.”“Agreed,” Geoffrey says. “Well the, before you go,” Teag says, digging through the back of his wagons.  He emerges with several small sacks, distributing among the party.“What’s this?” Geoffrey asks.  “Gold,” Teag says simply.  “Probably about five hundred or so each.  About two-thirds of my profits for the last run.  Figure you’ve got as much claim to it as I have, what with me probably being dead if you didn’t come along and half the swords I sold being cursed an all.  Do as much as you can to help the victims with one of the pouches, and keep the rest.”Geoffrey looks at the coin-purse, slightly stunned.  “Thank you,” he says as he recovers his speech.  “That’s very generous of you.”“It’s slightly scheming of me too,” Teag announces with a wry smile.  “I figure if I offer you a reward, it may make you a mite more inclined to helping me get these wagons back to the Steading by nightfall.”It works.  As soon as the lunch dishes are stowed, everyone takes up a position on a wagon and turns them around to make the journey back.In any other realm of the Empire, Ulgar Steading would be little more than a military outpost, but after weeks in Bor it’s tall wooden palisades and hilltop keep are an imposing site.  The wide range of defences pointing towards the Frost-stone Hills are a constant reminder of its purpose – holding back the goblin natives that infest this corner of Bor and ensuring they don’t swarm over the smaller communities to the south.  There are few people in the small township that don’t have something to do with the military, and there are mercenaries and adventuring parties aplenty infesting the small inns tucked against the town walls, all eager to earn the bounty on goblin ears paid by Lord Heiron Ulgar.  The small town square is bustling with movement – men and women alike wandering around armed as merchants hawk their wares from the backs of wagons.“You three meet me at the Severed Ear,” Teag suggests, pointing to an inn across the square.  “I’ll have a word with some of the locals and see if I can find out something about our elves.”Everyone does as Teag wishes, stowing his wagons and heading for the taproom where they can pass the time.  It’s a bustling place, filled to the rafters with blond, broad-shouldered Reldanners and the dark-skinned Thorbeck dwarves.  The group starts sidling its way through the crowd towards the bar, when Amarin’s crystal spots the familiar face of Halgo among the crowd.  He’s sequestered at a quiet table with a tall human, a Seldarni soldier from his appearance.  In no time the group has gathered together and related the tales of their adventures, and Halgo does his best to explain what he’s done in his absence from the group.“The king had me here easing the agreement between the steading and the dwarves,” Halgo says.  “The human merchants are going to take a hit with all the dwarves providing weapons for the place, and we needed to convince the Thorbeck delegates of how important this place is.  Brind here was one of the guards for the delegation.  He’s handy with a sword, and not unintelligent when it comes to conversation, so he helped me fill in time.  Regardless of what the king thinks, my jobs mostly waiting around for people to talk.”“How much longer will the agreement take?” Geoffrey asks.  “We could use your help in the near future.”“I think we can safely say I’m no longer needed,” Halgo announces.  “And if we’re after a spare blade, we can probably convince Brind to come along.  There isn’t much to do here if the goblins aren’t attacking.”</blockquote>

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