Session 8: Road to Mariam
General Summary
Previous Session: Session 7: Laddy's Birthday
The Lads have dinner and plan tomorrow's journey. Glen and Krosk collect their 11-foot poles in the morning before paying Horace 3 GP to keep Honey and Birch while their gone. The Lads then head out on the road to Mariam. After two days of uneventful travel, they reach Krong. Arriving, the Lads notice a group of commoners standing around a public notice board. Krosk investigates, announcing their bounty hunting profession, and sees one bounty awarding 10 GP for bringing Hettle alive to the reeve. Krosk makes a big show of 'capturing' Hettle and hiding him in the back of their cart, taking the bounty parchment in the process. The Lads waste no time getting out of Krong and setting up camp in the forest for the night.
The next day, the Lads continue their journey to Mariam. Bandits ambush them during the first day of travel, shooting crossbow bolts at Krosk and scare Honeybirch as combat begins. Willow eventually regains control of Honeybirch as the party deals with the bandits, during which one of the bandits says, "Gelden sends his regards." Louis yells for the party to keep that bandit alive, so they knock him unconscious. The Lads' scare tactics aren't enough to get him to reveal Gelden Greybeard's location. They then kill him and continue towards Mariam. As night approaches, the Lads once again make camp in the forest and sleep for the night.
The Lads wake on the fourth day of their journey and continue to Mariam uneventfully. They reach the village, seeing its large wooden walls and gate, and approach. Two guards stop them at the gate and ask their business. Willow tells the guard that they are travellers just passing through, only planning to stay a few days. One guard chuckles at this, and the other tells the party not to make any trouble before directing the guards on the wall to open the gate.
Entering Mariam, the Lads take in the decrepit sights of billowing smoke, dirt roads, and unsightly characters. Louis notices many of these people have spider-emblazoned swords and leather armour. Contrary to what the Lads had seen before, some people with these swords and armour looked closer to simple commoners than regular bandits. Willow and Louis ask if there are any stables in the village to keep Honeybirch. A commoner tells them that people who do not live in Mariam never stay the night, so the only place to keep a horse is outside the many taverns. The Lads then regroup and decide to head to a tavern called The Middle Man.
Next Session: Session 9: The Silk Guild
Rewards Granted
Bandits: 3 GP, 10 SP
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