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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 1262288" data-attributes="member: 15470">Issue #1: The Laughing Ogre. Episode 2The Laughing Ogre Inn is a relaxing place. We are fed well, and the beds are clean and comfortable. It is the last week of Vangalot, the fourth month of summer, and the days are hot and lazy, perfect for resting and recuperating. Even with the healing efforts of the local priest and priestess, it takes several days for our bodies to heal from our injuries, and our spirits to recover from the terrors of our narrow escape.Goldpetal, the elf, with his leg bound in a splint and two ribs broken, spends most of his days in the Laughing Ogre’s garden, resting under the trees, and watching a hawk circle in the distant skies, or an insect in the trees, or sleeping. He doesn’t speak much, and appears restless, almost like an animal caged by his injuries.Paks frequently joins him, sleeping in the shade and watching the clouds overhead. She seems to respect Goldpetal’s reticence, and sits with him in companionable silence. She escaped the attack with the least injuries, and no disease, and recovered first.Chuck is clearly unhappy, perhaps even depressed. He is tormented by the death of his mentor, the late Vigilant Steve, but won’t speak of it to anyone. He occasionally joins Paks in the yard, preferring Paks’ quiet camaraderie to the solicitous concern of others.Fergus and Stone were, as Steve had warned, infected with disease during the fights. It takes them the longest to heal. They spend most of their time in bed sleeping and recuperating from the illness and their injuries. Fergus is a big highlander, the largest member of the company, from north of the Blood Basin. Stone is a half-orc, but Miriel assures her host that he acquitted himself honorably in the fight at the caravan.Miriel heals more quickly. When she is well enough to leave the healing confines of the inn, she goes to the temple of Madriel. There, she offers prayers of thanks for our rescue, and spends some time studying with Verenia, the high priestess.Everyone at the inn is very nice to us, especially Fox Dunharrow, the half-elven innkeeper. The cook, who takes a quick liking to Miriel, is an older woman with a gift for making hearty, savory fare.  Fox’s sons are his assistants, two red-headed teenagers, Randall and Reginald, who help out with the chores, especially the rooms and the stables. They are fascinated with our story, though few enough want to speak of the experience. His daughter, Rian, is an eighteen-year-old beauty with waist-length raven hair, a dazzling smile, and a genuine laugh. In the evenings, she waits tables, and demonstrates a dexterous ability to dodge any drunkard who reaches for her, and a sharp wit in rebutting numerous proposals, more ludicrous than offensive. Fox doesn’t intervene, and it appears that this behavior is almost a local game for the many regular customers. None of the three children look similar to Fox, lacking the elven face and blonde hair of the innkeeper, and when Miriel asks Fox about it, she learns that all of his “children” are adopted.</blockquote>

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