vedim enjoys a morning run same as us so we've been going together
he prefers to run just before dawn which is a touch early for us but it's worth it to have him along in case we encounter any more oversized murderbeasts or the like
after the run we pick berries for breakfast and i usually resist the urge to just eat them all right off the bush like a yearling
but a little snacking while gathering is perfectly reasonable and i can do as i like
. . .
they're freshest that way
bedem is less of a town and more of a large military post that happens to have a few other things nearby providing what vedim calls "civilian support"
one of those is a temple of inspiration but the locals couldn't be less interested
this is not any special wisdom or understanding of what the reidrans really are – they simply don't accept anything that comes from outside karrnath
this place is already rotten with wolves of all sorts so i'm glad the winterwolves aren't invited
we're staying in the "winter flame" inn which is very much a silver flame sort of place – it's warm and inviting like the old church in thaliost and in fact the innkeeper "availah bartus" holds prayer sessions twice a day
i might attend tomorrow morning before breakfast
i'm not "of the faith" but i feel i should express respect and thanks to availah and the flame for providing the first comfortable place in karrnath where i can enjoy a relaxing undead-free atmosphere
with today's investigation we can assume kraal now has relic's sword ... somewhere
grogloth certainly doesn't – it seems he wandered to the edge of town and muttered incoherently about tribute to a blizzard or the like then fell over dead or whatever undead become when they expire
kraal is also working with an ash supplier who is almost certainly rector "tayda furlan" of the vollite temple here
vedim suspects they are both of the emerald claw
we'll find out more tomorrow
dorein crossed our path and took the opportunity to share some information
she tracked sakanoko's diary to "segor brand" who manages several shipping routes that go far outside khorvaire
he owns a lodge that was only staffed for a couple months each year so he could hold gatherings and such ... but ever since he returned from a trip to xen'drik 2 years ago it's staffed all the time
dorein suspects he's holding "honored guests" – captured and confined but treated well
on the topic of prisoners
medya came with spark when she visited her friends in the jail here
those who are actually here are doing all right but they report that someone well-dressed came to take kohai elsewhere – possibly the person dorein mentioned?
also that same night a couple guards took three of the other students off to a much less hospitable prison in a town called "teryk"
it's obvious that we have to go there ... so that's another week's travel ahead of us
i'm not thrilled about yet more time stuck in the carriage but at least it's relatively comfortable
at the open market in town we met a trader named "ssarrash" who was travelling when his wagon broke an axle so he was stuck trying to sell enough of his wares to afford to get it repaired
bell and i were both happy to do the repair – we have magic for this sort of thing! – and we even set him up with a warmed seat because the climate here is especially unkind to lizardfolk
he was so grateful for our help that he offered us anything we wanted from his stock
being a practical sort i accepted some dried mushrooms for making tea that purges toxins from the body – not expecting to need it but it's better to be prepared
being a less practical sort i also accepted some "visionweed" which should make for an interesting hour sometime medya and i are in a safe space to enjoy it
. . .
i guess that'll be at least a week from now