The group continues past the fork, heading east along the road to Grabenhorst. A couple of hours pass before the first homes and farms of the Grabenhorst metro-plex become visible. You pass a number of people travelling in the opposite direction, carrying various goods on their backs or heads. None say much more than a nod, and hurry past you with a wide berth.
As the sun wanes behind you, and your shadows grow long down the road, you see a group of dirty, rough looking men with scraggly beards leaning against a broken cart and eyeing your approach. One of the men pushes himself off the cart, and stumbles onto the road to block your passage.
"The hell you think yer goin?", the man grunts. A couple of the other men laugh, and another steps onto the road to join his comrade. The first man continues, pointing at Flen and Bammit with a gnarled finger, "Theesh yer bodyguardsh? Ho ho ho ho. Thaint gunna help ya HERE!" The man stumbles slightly as he pulls out a large rusty knife. The second man picks up a fist-sized rock, and holds it at his side. The other two ruffians continue to lean on the cart, laughing a bit too hard at the first's joke.
Gaining confidence, the first man steps towards the group. "Now, I shuggest you drop thoshe packsh, and git!"
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Friday, May 19, 2006
A Fork in the Road
[Rather than belabor another merchant transaction, which is time consuming in this forum, I'll assume that everyone purchases a small bag of "trail mix" from Anna for a copper piece, and immediately packs out of the village - if you'd rather not spend the coin, that's fine too.]
Anna and the boy with the walking stick escort you to the northern edge of the town. The older woman that met you at the beginning is there, and acknowledges you with a slight nod of her head. Griff is there too, but he seems too busy scanning the woods to notice your departure.
The road north is short, and it sidles quickly into the trees. The land to the west of the road slopes upward, as you travel along the base of a sizeable hill covered in small trees and bushes.
It is not long before you come across a "fork" in the road, just as Hinrick described. Actually, its more like the road turns to the east, as the northern road looks much less traveled, and is quite overgrown. Nailed to a gnarled old tree surrounded by shrubbery and vines, there is a small wooden sign with the word "Grabenhorst" written in Dwarven, pointing to the east.
As you approach the sign, there is a significant amount of rustling in the bushes.
Anna and the boy with the walking stick escort you to the northern edge of the town. The older woman that met you at the beginning is there, and acknowledges you with a slight nod of her head. Griff is there too, but he seems too busy scanning the woods to notice your departure.
The road north is short, and it sidles quickly into the trees. The land to the west of the road slopes upward, as you travel along the base of a sizeable hill covered in small trees and bushes.
It is not long before you come across a "fork" in the road, just as Hinrick described. Actually, its more like the road turns to the east, as the northern road looks much less traveled, and is quite overgrown. Nailed to a gnarled old tree surrounded by shrubbery and vines, there is a small wooden sign with the word "Grabenhorst" written in Dwarven, pointing to the east.
As you approach the sign, there is a significant amount of rustling in the bushes.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Hinrick
Anna's directions turn out to be precise, and it is not long before Omar locates the skin-bag man named Hinrick.
Hinrick turns out to be a older man with a cleancut chin, and a muscular build. Wearing only a tight pair of brown shorts, and a bright blue vest, he turns at Omar's approach and watches with a little too much interest.
Hinrick grins and walks forward a few steps, extending a hand to Omar. "Welcome!" he says in a surprisingly deep gruff voice. "Name's Hinrick! I'm guessing you are here to check out my skin bags!" Hinrick winks at Omar once and then quickly vanishes into his hut. A few moments pass, and he comes out with an assortment of finely constructed carrying bags with strong leather straps.
Hinrick elbows Omar and speaks in a lowered voice, "The trick is in the sewing. Don't matter how good the skin is that you are using if you can't make them stick together!" Hinrick bellows out a loud laugh that gets the attention of nearby villagers, some of whom smile, and others who shake their heads.
Hinrick slaps his hand down on the pile of bags. "You can take away any one of these for a silver piece." Hinrick looks at the fish rack on Omar's back and laughs out loud again, this time startling a couple of children playing nearby. "No offense, my friend, but that thing you have on your back looks most uncomfortable. You may find that one of my skin bags lain across your shoulders will be much more accomodating, especially if you plan on swinging that big sword of yours around!"
Hinrick turns out to be a older man with a cleancut chin, and a muscular build. Wearing only a tight pair of brown shorts, and a bright blue vest, he turns at Omar's approach and watches with a little too much interest.
Hinrick grins and walks forward a few steps, extending a hand to Omar. "Welcome!" he says in a surprisingly deep gruff voice. "Name's Hinrick! I'm guessing you are here to check out my skin bags!" Hinrick winks at Omar once and then quickly vanishes into his hut. A few moments pass, and he comes out with an assortment of finely constructed carrying bags with strong leather straps.
Hinrick elbows Omar and speaks in a lowered voice, "The trick is in the sewing. Don't matter how good the skin is that you are using if you can't make them stick together!" Hinrick bellows out a loud laugh that gets the attention of nearby villagers, some of whom smile, and others who shake their heads.
Hinrick slaps his hand down on the pile of bags. "You can take away any one of these for a silver piece." Hinrick looks at the fish rack on Omar's back and laughs out loud again, this time startling a couple of children playing nearby. "No offense, my friend, but that thing you have on your back looks most uncomfortable. You may find that one of my skin bags lain across your shoulders will be much more accomodating, especially if you plan on swinging that big sword of yours around!"
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