The Juxtaposit Inn

* Riding away from the orchard, we kept to the road until afternoon. We'd been riding all day and decided to stop and rest so we would be fresh in the morning to continue.
 
* Setting up camp, Petros decided to play a tune for us to pass some time. He played so well, that the forest went quiet as if all the animals were listening. At the end of the song, we could hear clapping. Looking up, there was an old man with a backpack with hanging pots & pans. "That was the best song that I have ever heard!" he said as he moved closer to our group. He introduced himself as Glad.
 
* Petros and Struth seemed to be suspicious of the newcomer but I wasn't sure why. As he came closer, I got the feeling that the man was not all what he seemed but I couldn't put my finger on it.
 
* He joined us around the campfire, even though Petros was not happy at this. He made it apparent that Glad was not really welcome and that it best he be gone by morning. Petros decided to go to bed early. He needed full rest.
 
* As Glad sat by the fire, Struth and I could see that his face was peeling. The skin under his faux skin looked younger. As the night rolled on, Glad kept scratching bits of skin off. It seemed like he had some sort of condition. I could understand why he might cover his face but not as to why he would make himself older. He talked about his knife, Mr Stabby, and upon closer inspection, I could see that it was well used. He stuck it into the log then went to bed.
 
* When it was my watch, I sat by the fire at first but then went to get Mr Stabby to have a better look at it. It was definitely worn, I could tell that it used to be a longer knife but had been sharpened so much that it had lost its length. The hilt was very old and quite used. It wasn't very clean. I lodged it into the log that I was sitting on.
 
* At some point, Glad woke up, and looked over at me. I could now see, where most of his make up had come off that he had acne but was nice looking. He grabbed some items and walked into the woods. Looking over, I could see that he was reapplying his makeup.
 
* Coming back. he began to look for his knife and saw it was next to me and came over to try and dislodge it. He wasn't successful. As he was much closer, I could see that he didn't do a very good job with the make up. Reaching up, I touched his face and came away with some of the make up. "Why do you hide behind this?" I showed him my finger. He looked at me, then asked "Did you see my face?" I nodded as I asked,"but why make yourself older?" I drew his knife out of the log as he spoke, "I have made myself look like my father so that his clientele keep buying as they think they are dealing with him. I do it to make a living". I gave him back his knife and then fixed his face to make it look more realistic. He offered to pay me to be his permanent make up artist but I did advise that I was an adventuring fighter. "Would you then accompany me to the Juxtaposit Inn?" I said that it would depend on the others. He nodded then began to make breakfast.
 
* Petros and Struth woke up to breakfast, and while they ate, decided that we would not accompany Glad. I did not say anything as I had said it would be up to the others. Glad packed up and left.
 
* We left shortly after, then about 10 minutes later came across a backpack on the side of the road. Pots and pans were flung everywhere. It was Glad's bag. Stopping my horse, I hopped off as Struth muttered "Not again." I yelled back that they could continue and that I would catch up.
 
* I could see marks on the ground as if a body had been dragged. I followed this until there were no more marks. No unusual sounds could be heard as I looked around. I spotted some of Glad's disguise under some leaves. It had been covered up. It seemed strange that this was but not the marks. I listened out again and could not hear anything out of the ordinary. Glad had probably been taken by some bandits but it also seemed a little unlikely. Not thinking too much into it and presuming him dead, I went back to my horse to see my comrades had waited. I told them what I found and my thoughts and that we should keep an eye out.
 
* Heading to the Inn, we found that it was a busy spot. Tying off the horses, we entered the tavern and were ushered to a table by the barman. A bar maid came over and took our lunch order. We could see that there were some Elder Brotherhood here. Struth organised a room for us and some drinks. While waiting for my food, more men came in from the Brotherhood. We overheard that there was going to be a meeting and it would be in 5 hours. The 4 men got up the tavern. There was still three hours before the meeting. We finished our meals then Struth decided to go and investigate.
 
* Petros and I stayed behind and shortly after, a farmer wearing a cowboy hat came in. He talked with the barkeep about a sick cow Bessie. The farmer was here to see her and see what he could do for her. Poor Bessie! I hope she would be alright.