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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cyronax" data-source="post: 126824" data-attributes="member: 822">Session I (Part II):Session I (Part II)The night drew on, and Gareth's face was already reddening from drink. He had been doing little save listening to his travel companions talk about what lay ahead of them on the road. His brow continued to furrow more and more. At least a week's forced march through dangerous wilderness, and then a transfer of ox drawn wagons for packs of mules at Cliff Town at the base of the Gorgon foothills; beyond that an arduous trek into Copper Country. It hadn't sounded so bad when he'd first joined this caravan. The young nobleman hoped his doubts were due to the beer.Gareth brought himself out of his doubting reverie and began to take in his surroundings. He noticed that Cutter had returned from wherever he had been since they'd first arrived. The ostler was now serving some of the men at the bar, as Gareth made his way over to him."Well Master Cutter, I daresay you are getting some good business tonight!" "I suppose so Lord Steele, this'll be the first in a long time since I've seen so many smiling faces in my inn however." Gareth began to enquire as to Cherry Knoll's current misfortune, and Cutter told him several strange events of the past few months. The first, though hardly the most strange, was the complete disappearance of an entire caravan last June. The caravan was thought to have been well-protected, being owned and operated by the influential Clover Trading Company that based itself out of Archaven and a few other frontier strongholds. "Now that'd be none too odd a thing to hear about in these parts. Things happen ... caravan's get raided by orcs or bandits. But usually if a caravan is raided there's some sign of battle, there's usually a survivor or something left behind that was of little value to the raiders. Given this particular caravan, I no doubt would've at least expected a ransom letter."Gareth's eyebrows rose slightly, "a ransom for who might I ask?""Well I've heard that the daughter of some powerful Clover trader was a part of this caravan. I don't rightly know what a highborn lass like that would be doing coming out west." Gareth continued to mine Cutter for more details, and he soon gathered a few more interesting things. First, despite the missing caravan and its important passenger, some of the local people have apparently seen strange men in the forest, dressed in the tabards of the Clover Trading Company. Most of the villagers have agreed that these men are simply the bandits who had taken the caravan and its spoils last June. Cutter, however thought otherwise. The ostler seemed completely at ease talking to the gregarious Gareth, and he confided to the unfamiliar nobleman that he had reasons to believe that these strange men had made late-night calls to Cherry Knoll's Abbey. His brought his words to a whisper and continued,” Now I'm telling you this not to do wrong on ole' Abbot Rethra, but I think the son of the lord of Westpoint, our neighbor, needs to know about the situation, given that the previous search parties haven't returned themselves." "Previous search parties? I'm surprised that I'm the first to hear about this problem. I mean, why hasn't my father, Roderick, been informed about this?""Well Lord Steele, it’s by no misdeeds on my part. I'm sure the Abbot has his reasons; if indeed he's aware of this situation. Our Abbot hasn't been seen in nary a month. In fact.....his men seem to have stopped their regular patrols of the forest in recent weeks.""Well how big were the search parties Cutter?" Gareth was steadily sobering up, and his normally carefree demeanor was darkening."Well sir, they weren't too big. Both consisted of some "expert" bounty hunter hired by the Clover Trade in Archaven and a few local guides. Don't know why they weren't bigger milord. Both bounty hunters seemed mighty arrogant though. Too arrogant I suppose, given that they also seem to have disappeared.""I think I'll be doing some investigating about this missing girl. You're sure you don't know who her father is Master Cutter?""No sir, I surely don't." Almost as an afterthought, Gareth quietly handed the helpful ostler a few pieces of gold, which Cutter seemed to take reluctantly. The nobleman returned to his seat next to Hollum, and whispering in the old man's ear, "Well Hollum, I'm giving you a reprieve from my presence. I think I'd like to spend a few nights in this cozy tavern, maybe take in some local flavor. I might catch up to you in a day or three, but if I haven't then don't feel bad about dividing up my promised salary among your men."  And with that Gareth found his way up to his private room, and fell asleep.----------------Li Hai had been straining his ears to little avail during Gareth's and Cutter's quiet discussion, and almost immediately after he saw the aristocrat go upstairs, the Halthyte called the busy barkeep over. Despite his best efforts to get Cutter to tell him what Gareth and him had talked about, with both coin being offered and a few subtle threats, Li Hai found himself rebuffed. The Halthyte gave up that line of questioning, and started to question Cutter about the local history of the Cherry Knoll. Cutter was a bit more open to this, but proved insufficient for whatever Li Hai was looking for. The ostler finally told Li Hai that much, telling the man that he knew nothing of Cherry Knoll from before when he first brought his family here five years ago. Annoyed and weary from a long journey, Li Hai bought a pallet in the common hostel upstairs, and went upstairs. ----------------Gorbag, to everyone's disdain, fell asleep sprawled across the table that he'd been sitting at all night. The smell of many ales and even more food wreathed the orc's already potent body odor. Cutter apparently decided to deal with the orc on the morrow, and Gorbag slept soundly, alone in the common room of Cutter's Inn and Tavern.</blockquote>

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