9. Aldeville, At Last
Entering the town of Unther in the late afternoon, the party looked to wind down after the day’s travel. Within the town itself, the soldiers of the Rysmarckian army had set up a fighting ring. Buzz immediately signed up to face off against the defending champion, Lieutenant Ekkels. The goliath slugged it out with the veteran soldier, and while the fight brought both fighters close to defeat, the lieutenant eventually won–taking the party’s betted cash with him. Shortly after, the captain of the stationed division, Alonsia of Wittlache, arrived. The captain seemed to chastise her subordinates, took note of the party themselves, but otherwise left the situation alone. Afterwards, most of the party retreated to a local inn for the night while Varris gathered some information on bounties. Varris discovered that the bandit leader that had been terrorizing their party was wanted by the Rysmarckians as well as a new twist on one of their recent acquaintances, Tycus. The next morning, the party set off from Unther for the last leg of their journey to Aldeville. Though they were accosted by hostile riders, they successfully defended the caravan. However, during the fight, Buzz attacked and downed Andraste, which sparked a tense discussion afterwards and led to the confiscation of his recently acquired greataxe. The rest of the day saw no more conflict, and the party reached the city of Aldeville by the late afternoon.
With his escort a success, Grenthor provided the party with their pay and a special bonus from the Goldrocks Guild’s inventory: a set of mithral splint mail. Afterwards, the group retired to a high-end inn called the Bejeweled Muse where they met Mathieu Anclair, a traveling performer and artist. Both Kent and Buzz briefly joined Mathieu for an ensemble, though the party mainly spoke with the man, exchanging stories and the like. As midnight approached, the adventurers began turning to their rest, though Varris received a message for a mysterious rendezvous. With Kent’s aid, Varris went to the inn’s Diamond suite while invisible and, upon being let into the room, saw the room’s only occupant, Mathieu. Shortly after, Mathieu revealed himself to be Firon in an elaborate disguise. The two briefly exchanged some chitchat before the elf requested a task of Varris: to witness a nobleman’s execution in his stead and socialize with its attendants to glean any important information. In exchange, Firon promised to serve as a possible “resource” for Varris in their future endeavors. Varris accepted the mission and informed the rest of the party of the matter in the morning.
"Aside from the grey one giving Ekkels a fight? They hardly stood out, no. Though, perhaps that was more intentional on the others' part."
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