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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Seravin" data-source="post: 1337639" data-attributes="member: 6783">Time in BetweenA crisp, brittle cold filled the night air around Thurmaster.  The surprise snow from ten days ago was long gone, but the night air was filled with the promise of a winter soon to come.  Kellron gazed at the dilapidated inn called the Hounds and Tails and grimaced.  There was no telling what was going to happen now.  The front door opened and Ashimar walked out, looking around.  Spotting Kellron the initiate of Sarath and former rogue padded silently towards his brooding friend.  The pair stood silent for a moment contemplating the inn.“Nice night.”  Commented the former street-rogue.“Cold though.”  Replied Kellron“Will probably snow soon.  The last one was early.”“Looks like we’ll miss part of it at least.”Ashimar nodded at the change of subject and the agreement.  “You think they’ll help?”  He asked Kellron.  “This Car-mar-aren didn’t seem to trust us.”  He spoke the name slowly, enunciating every syllable carefully.Kellron shrugged and thought back over their meeting with the bald, rock woman.  They called themselves gnomes and stood barely the height of a halfing.  Their skin was a dark, grayish color and they were nearly hairless.  The gnome spokeswoman had looked at them all suspiciously, but she was the one who had started the talking.  Fortunately Kestral had a natural facility with languages.  The fomer courier (they hadn’t ‘worked’ in over a month) claimed that she could speak six languages when she had first met the group and since then had picked up a smattering of four more in the last three months.  One of those four languages was a common under-tongue which allowed her to talk somewhat haltingly with these gnomes.The news hadn’t been good and had taken the wind out of their success with the orcs and the freeing of Semheis.  The orcs were only a link in the kidnapping chain.  Creatures called illithids (also known as mind flayers by the Library) were behind the kidnappings, taking the slaves from the orcs for some unknown purpose.Carmararen would not say much else; she wanted to test the party first to make sure that whatever they did wouldn’t bring doom upon her people.  So an agreement was reached.  The group would come back and meet her scouts inside of a month, prepared for an extended journey beneath the ground.  It would be a test of fitness of arms for Carmararen wanted them to eliminate a nest of trolls.  If the party could do this task then she felt they would be capable enough to use the information that she could pass on to them.  Kellron’s faith allowed him to ignore fear, but that didn’t mean he looked forward to this test.Kellron grinned finally and truned to answer Ashimar.  “We were in the middle of an orc cave covered in blood.”  He pointed out.Ashimar grinned also.  “That’s right, you smelled like an orc for two days until Jallarzi could magic the stench out of your amor.  No wonder Carmararen seemed suspicious.”Kellron gave his friend a side-long glance and clapped him on the back.  “Maybe.”  He admitted.  “But I don’t think that’s it.”  The two young men were nearly the same age, neither quite twenty years of age, and they had radically different upbringings; but in the past three months they had come fast friends – brothers in all but name.Ashimar looked at the inn and snorted in disgust.  “The place is a dump.”Kellron sighed.  “Yes it is.”“And the food…”  He trailed off.  It didn’t pay to think about the food.Kellron nodded.  He had an iron stomach, but the last time they had stayed here they had been awakened by the sound of people heaving the evening’s meal outside their window.  Quite frankly even getting the food down showed a certain amount of intestinal fortitude.Ashimar continued on a different tract.  “At least the rooms keep the bugs warm.”  He said comfortingly.“You know if you keep this up they won’t let you stay here.”“That okay.  I know the owner.  You already said we could stay for free.”“I must have been out of mind.  Besides, the place isn’t mine until I register the sale with Squire Marlen in the morning and get his seal.  Then I’ll be a tax paying landholder.”  Kellron looked over the inn.  “It’s probably not worth four thousand lions, but I think with a bit of work I’ll earn it back.  We’re near Corlean and on the route to Blasingdale.  With a little bit of care it can earn some money again.”  He snorted.  “At the very least it will be a nice place to stay from now on.  I think Alice can manage the place while I’m gone.”“Alice is…?”“The barwoman.  The older one with the black hair.”Ashimar nodded sagely.  “Tough looking woman.  She doesn’t look like she’ll take any nonsense.”  The two men looked at the inn again.“Lets go inside.”  Said Kellron.  “It’s getting cold.”Ashimar grinned and rubbed his hands up and down and arms.  “I was hoping you would say it first.”  As he started inside.  “Best of luck on this.”  He added before they reached the door.  “I wouldn’t mind a cheap place to stay.”“I was shooting for clean.”</blockquote>

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