Previously on Breadwinner Adventurer Quest:>You escorted Helmod, a blind old man with a tragic past, to the Oracle of the Moon>Along the way, you fought off a deadly and unnatural creature with a barbed tail and a human face>Having completed your task, you decided to return with your earnings to your home in Hobley>You encountered the party of Odneyn the Otter on the road, who appears to be going to the same placeAlthough you could easily lie and send them wandering off in the complete opposite direction, you decide not to impose your own personal grudges with the reeve on a group of complete strangers. Remarking that Odneyn's reputation precedes him, and that you would be happy to guide him and his company to what is, in fact, your own destination, you take your position at the front and start leading the way. You quickly get a sense of their various personalities: Odneyn is unspoken leader, easy-going in his manner, and gregarious to a fault. He chatters away to no one in particular about the travails of the road, the beauty of the countryside, even a rather heated debate on the virtues of hounds versus housecats (Odneyn is firmly in the hound camp, while his bald companion violently insists on the superiority of the feline). The others are more reserved, with varying motivations for their reticence. The woman in white seems to regard it as beneath her to participate in such mundane discourse. Her younger attendant tries to emulate her mistress, but you catch her smiling once or twice at Odneyn's more comical refrains. The Suthermann, on the other hand, is silent because his entire attention seems to be spent scanning the dimly lit environs of the road, as though he expects an ambush any minute now. He is very different from the Suthermann you met in the mountain, not nearly as unnerving in his bearing and lacking those strange glowing eyes and the smooth, ageless visage. If not for the long white hair you would not have even recognized him as a member of his race. Finally, the mousy man with the bow seems completely content to just listen and watch, only breaking his silence to offer a sardonic comment or two. You get the impression that nothing escapes his notice, it is all being scrolled away in some mental ledger for later use.Eventually, Odneyn exhausts his store of conversation and falls silent--with still a ways to go on the road. Now would be the perfect time to bring up some matters of your own and seek Odneyn's counsel. He is after all quite well-travelled. You could ask about the strange coins you received from Samuel Longsword, or the unnatural beast you fought on the mountain. Or perhaps it is wiser to hold your tongue and keep your own counsel.
>>6165777>What do you want to do?[] Show the coin[] Talk about the mantikhor[] Keep silent[] Write-inPrevious thread(s): https://archived.moe/qst/thread/6058044/#6067170Apologies for disappearing for so long without word. Had some irl issues I had needed to deal with and the thread fell off the board in the meantime. Hope to continue this quest uninterrupted from hereon.
>>6165778[] Talk about the mantikhor
>>6165778[X] Talk about the mantikhorNo need to apologise dude. Real life always comes first. I'm just glad you came back to this quest.
>>6165784>>6165799>>6165832>>6166105It's probably best that you keep the little wealth you've managed to acquire to yourself. Odneyn and his group seem well enough, but one can never be too careful. Instead, you ask him about the creature with the barbed tail. At first they don't believe you. Not the existence of the creature, which the mousy man identfies immediately as a "mantikhor", but that you actually faced one and lived to tell the tale. You wish you could show them the remains of the shield it had destroyed. Part of you now regrets not trying to kill the beast when you had the chance. They could hardly doubt you if you could suddenly pull its head out from your bag.The mousy man (whose name is Thom) explains that mantikhors are rare creatures, of obscure, but almost certainly magical, origin. The barbs on their tails are poisonous and they have the cunning of men to match their human-like faces. There are those in the north who worship them as part of a strange ancient religion. Some even say they were men once but Thom seems to find this doubtful. "They like the taste of human flesh too much," he explains. Their disbelief regarding your story arises from the mantikhor's reputation for tearing apart its prey. The few who have faced one and survived did not do so unscathed. Only giants would even consider trying to fight one, and even then, only if they had no other choice.Luckily the low stone walls of the reeve's manor come in sight before the conversation can turn sour. The reeve lives in one of the houses adjoining the main hall but your mother and sister are housed in a small cottage just outside the boundary. Many times has the reeve offered to room them more comfortably in the manor but your mother has always refused, even though it means looking after the cottage after all her other duties are done. The polite thing to do would be to escort the party and make an introduction to the reeve. But you are tired and hungry, and moreover, you have a feeling that the reeve will not be pleased to see you alive and well, and laden with coin. >What do you want to do[] Escort the party to the reeve[] Go straight to your mother's cottage[] Ask Odneyn to wait for you[] Write-in
>>6166196[X] Escort the party to the reeveWe can endure the Reeve being a dick for short while. Better than possibly offending this adventuring party.
>>6165778Very glad to see this quest has returned.>>6166196>[X] Escort the party to the reeveWe've walked throughout the night, but I want to cut off any possibility about that hypothetical debt transfer scenario I imagined last session. And it is only polite that we make introductions and show them all the way.
+1
>>6166196>Escort the party to the reeve>>6165777Good to see you back
>>6166200>>6166240>>6166325>>6166639In the end, you decide to forego your family the few extra minutes to comply with the usual customs of hospitality, even if it means enduring the reeve's contumely. Garwin, the reeve's personal attendant (though he's more like a bodyguard) opens the door. He's wider around the middle than he is tall, and his face is a mass of scars from a life of brawling in the arena at Yngleyside. He's known as a "simple" fellow around the village (though the reeve addresses him with more colorful titles). But all the blows to the head also seems to have knocked ordinary human malice out of him, for you've never seen him frown or rage at anyone. The rumors that the reeve's daughter has been teaching him to read and manipulate figures (with poor success) appear to be true, for he appears to have already been awake for some time, and his fingers are stained with chalk dust.After some brief explanations, you're led into a large room with a long table, and a dead hearth. Garwin leaves to wake the reeve, while you busy yourself with lighting the fire. The rest take their positions at various places in the room. Odneyn sits at the other end of the table, the lady-in-white at his right, her attendant standing behind. Thom, the mousy man, leans against the wall opposite the door, while the bald Maxis warms his hands by the fire. The Suthermann merely paces the room, muttering to himself in Ylfesh.The reeve enters, smiles at Odneyn and gestures for him to remain seated. Then he sees you and his smile fades. "What're you doing here?" he asks, as if he'd recently learned you'd contracted leprosy.Odneyn speaks before you can respond. "We met on the road. He was kind enough to guide us here and introduce us."The reeve scoffs. "Whatever his intentions I can assure you that kindness was not among them." He turns, looking directly at you. "I could tell you tales about his father. Always looking for an angle or some opportunity to cheat an honest man. An idler and a deadbeat. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, I always say. Here for a handout, then, are you? It's not enough I should house your miserable family." He turns back to Odneyn, whose white teeth are finally hidden behind his lips. "You shouldn't have told him our business. Now he's got the scent of money--""Oi," says Thom, "It's been a long road. If you're going to prattle, I'd rather it be over a hot meal."You see Maxis return his hands from the fire to stifle a laugh. The lady-in-white touches her lips. The Suthermann's hand flashes to the handle of the long knife on his belt. But the reeve merely stares at Thom, his mouth slightly agape. No one, with exception of his second wife, has ever spoken to him in such a manner. "Oi?" he says, glancing bewilderedly between Thom and Odneyn.->
>>6167815Odneyn clears his throat. "Maybe it would be best if we got down to business." He glances at Thom, gives him a look you've seen your mother give you a thousand times, something to effect of "sit still and stop making a scene." Thom just shrugs."What about him?" the reeve asks, pointing at you. "Now that you've involved him--""They haven't told me anything," you say. "And I was just about to leave." The reeve stands flabbergasted for a second time. He looks at Odneyn for confirmation, who gives a slight nod. "We'll talk later about my father's debts," you say, clapping your hands of soot.The reeve finally seems to remember himself. "Yes, fine. Go on then."You make for the door, but when you move in front of Thom, he places a hand on your chest. "Nah, I think he should stay."Odneyn now shoots a look at Thom that looks positively murderous. Thom is utterly unfazed. "He fought off a mantikhor," Thom says. "Could use him in this."Even in the dim firelight you can see the reeve pale. "A mantikhor?" he mutters."We've only just met him," says Odneyn."Yeah," adds Maxis, "he's a stranger. We don't know him from a Suthermann. No offense, Sigwald," he says to the Suthermann, who, in all this time, has not raised his hand from his knife."I was a stranger, once," says Thom."Perhaps," says the lady-in-white, whose lilting voice immediately slices through the tension, "we should ask the young man to express his own opinion."The heads of the room turn to you. >What do you want to do?[] Ask to stay, at least hear the job[] Leave, you don't want to get involved[] Thom seems to vouch for you, so you're in[] Write-in
>>6167816>[X] Ask to stay, at least hear the jobWe'll hear them out, but better to place caution before enthusiasm, Thom seems alright but as Odneyn says, we've only just met, and that goes both ways. No point being fodder or bait, in the hopes of making it big. We have that summons to get to, and there's other lines of work available.
>>6167816>Ask to stay, at least hear the job
>>6167816[X] Ask to stay, at least hear the jobThey stood up for us against.the Reeve. And we could use a job with a experienced team. I say we listen to what they havento say
>>6168109>We have that summons to get toHeh. I half-expected you guys to forget about this. I should have put that in the update as well.
>>6167816>[X] Leave, you don't want to get involvedHm, Odneyn seems against it and I wouldn't put it against the reeve to do something extremely petty. But still, we should thank Thom for his vouching, be it honest or pragmatical. Plus, the Suthermann seems too twitchy.
>>6168109>>6168113>>6168166>>6168528You just want to get back home at this point and get some rest. However, Thom has, for whatever reason, stuck out his neck for you. Maybe he believed you about the mantikhor after all? That doesn't mean you'll just go along on whatever job this is. You haven't forgotten about the message from your father's old acquaintance, Leon Archerson, to meet him at Yngley-above-the-Sea (nevermind how you're going to get passage up there). But you can at least hear it out.The reeve is predictably fuming about this turn of events. But once you express your interest and Odneyn reluctantly supports your decision, the reeve has no choice but to accept it. He takes a moment to compose himself, stroking a hand through his thinning hair. Then he asks Odnenyn to unfurl his map (the very same he was consulting when you came upon him on the road) onto the table. He places some heavy mugs on the corners to keep it from rolling up, and then commands you fetch some chessmen sitting on the mantle above the hearth. He places the chessmen on the map. A knight roughly in the vicinity of Hobley, representing your present location. A rook at Yngleyside. A pawn at a spot far to the north, above the Amythest Mountains from which you recently came.He explains that some surveyors, hired by merchants in Yngleyside, have been scouting the abandoned territories to the north. They've found a promising spot for a new settlement (the pawn) to which a caravan of settlers will be arriving in a few days (the rook). They'll pass through Hobley and then Hobcroft before taking the old temple road. "But," says the reeve, here taking out another knight, this one of the darker color, and placing it on a spot in the woods east of Hobcroft, the place that intersects with the northern part of the Zorgea river, "there are unsavory rumors of an ambush floating about. Deserters. Remnants of the rebels from nine years ago.""An escort mission," says Odneyn, nodding."No," says the reeve. "Well, yes, but only in part. The merchants will have instructed the caravan to hire their own guards from Hobcroft." He moves the white knight to Hobcroft. "You will be among them--by my recommendation. The show of force should deter the ambush entirely.""Pardon my Ylfesh, but caravan guards get paid shit," says Maxis.The reeve continues. "The caravan is not the point. The point is this settlement. The nothern territories have remained abandoned for a reason. The land is too barren and uneven for farming and too populated by dangerous beasts for anything else. Even our new king has not made any effort to expand there.""So why the merchants?" says Thom."Precisely," says the reeve. "No one knows for sure. But take a look at where this settlement lies, look how close it is to the old temple."->
>>6168935"The temple has been sealed for over ten generations," says the lady-in-white. "It is a mere ruin now, a place of pilgrimage to those who still worship the Lion and the Blue Flame.""Be that as it may, I think they've found a way inside."The lady raises her nose. "Is that what all this is about? The Lost City?""Why else would the merchants be interested? Why would they choose this spot, by the hills, away from the road, so close to the temple?""Maybe it's a rest stop for pilgrims?" offers Thom."It's a fortress," says the reeve. "A foothold for the merchants to explore the temple.""It seems rather outlandish for those craven merchants to seek after a legend," says the lady. "Pragmatism is their creed.""And greed is their god," says the reeve. "I'm telling you they've found a way in.""So you want us to do what exactly?" asks Odneyn."Escort the caravan, of course. But also keep an eye on the merchants when you arrive. Find the entrance. And then report back to me."Odneyn and Thom exchange a look. "Just the entrance?" says Odneyn.The reeve nods. "You don't want us to go in?" says Thom.The reeve shrugs. "That's your prerogative. I only care about the entrance.""Why?" asks Maxis."That's my business," says the reeve. "You'll be paid, of course. For the information and for your discretion." "Fifteen hundred staters," says Odneyn."I think we agreed on a thousand," says the reeve, though he doesn't seem at all fazed by the new figure. "Besides you're also getting paid by the caravan.""The extra five hundred is, as you put it, for our discretion," says Odneyn.The reeve pretends to think about it. "Fine. Fifteen hundred. Delivered to you upon your return with the information." Odneyn nods and the reeve, after some more discussion of logistics, leaves the room. The moment he does, the party breaks into a heated discussion--not about the job, but about the reeve's true motiives, and about how they're going to delve into the temple. On your side, you're thinking about your family. There's an opportunity here to start over. Whatever the intentions of the merchants, the settlers in the caravan are going in order to claim new land. Land not under the purview of the king or his lords. Land that could be bought back from the merchants. Granted, it would mean moving to a place far from the safety of the village, but it would also mean no longer being under the thumb of the reeve.Eventually the discussion of the party turns towards you.>What do you want to do?[] Join Odneyn's party[] Refuse the invitation[] Bring your family with you[] Write-in
>>6168936>[X] Refuse the invitationWish them luck, but we have a debt to pay.
>>6168936[] Join Odneyn's party[] Write-inI want to see more of this party, hear about the Lion and the Blue Flame, the significance of the Temple in its prime. That shouldnt be too much to ask for going on something like this. If it sounds like we dont mesh or its affairs way over our head we can decide that with this in mind. Besides we could use the money to get passage up to Yngley anyways, or if its close by the temple maybe we can swing it.
>>6168965>Besides we could use the money to get passage up to Yngley anyways, or if its close by the temple maybe we can swing it.To be clear, Yngleyside is in the exact opposite direction (southern coast) to the temple (northeastern mountains). Yngley-above-the-Sea is further south of Yngleyside.
>>6168969Thanks for the clarification. That said, might as well take a job thats fallen into our lap and the pay seems good. Dunno if the cost of a trip down there was mentioned last thread but I figure if theres a temple theres a chance we have the option to find some good stuff as well.
>>6168936I have to say, I mislike the idea of bringing our family to a desolate land filled with monsters. There was stated to be free lands to the west, the Dawnhold for one. It sounds dangerous enough for them that I'd rather risk our own neck adventuring, as we have been doing, to pay off our debts instead. Or even just going on the run/killing the reeve, rather joining a foolhardy colony. Especially since we'd apparently have to buy our land from the merchants.I do like the call to adventure of a dungeon to raid, at least in the future, it's a classic for a reason. However, do we actually want to take this job? Obviously the reeve holds leverage over us, guaranteeing our discretion no matter what, given our debts, or the more unsavoury possibility that Odneyn's party could easily slit our throat now that we know. But the rebel remnants may be the very same that Helmod hoped to bring information to and assist. Perhaps, if we have any loyalty to our (hated) father's memory, or to our scant acquaintance Helmod, or the idea of our nation being free, we should rush to find Helmod or these deserters and warn them off the ambush or of the opportunity of the temple's entrance. Or maybe just tell them after we find it, assuming we don't create bad blood between us if the deserters aren't deterred from their ambush as the reeve says.For now I'll vote to ->[X] Join Odneyn's party>>6168965Eh, Yngleyside is within 3 days walk of Hobley, same as pretty much everywhere we've been or discussed going aside from Yngley-above-the-sea or the capital or the Dawnhold. We don't need cash to make the journey.
>>6169061>tfw anons start connecting the dots
>>6169061Didn't we promise to go to Yngley-above-the-sea the moment we did our job? If we join aren't we quite literally tied to go into the opposite direction of our father's friend?
>>6169185We did yes, I went back and checked.>>6168936In light of this little remembered tidbit, I'll switch my vote.>[X] Refuse the invitationMake our excuses, swear our discretion, point out the leverage the reeve has over us if he makes a fuss, then go see our family, make our allotted debt payment to the reeve, then prepare to leave.Maybe also inquire if Lester Cartman can deliver a discrete message to Helmod for us. Though Helmod wanted to rest for some weeks, so the chances of him being able to wave off the ambush in time aren't high, but he'd know better than us what to do with the info on Odneyn's movements and the reeve's scheming and the temple's entrance. If it's too much trouble, then whatever, we aren't a dedicated resistance fighter, just a man trying to feed his family and get out of debt. The reeve is probably (hopefully) right about the famed Odneyn's presence being enough to deter the rebels anyways.1500 split seven ways is 214 staters for us, assuming we received an even share, more than we've ever had perhaps, but our summons comes from an old friend of our father, and we made a promise.
>>6169427Hmm do we like our father? Do we like our father's friends? Would they not wait thinking that an adventurer like us might get delayed or have business we need to take care of? I'm not too bothered if we don't go just seems like a nice mission to pass up on, a good chance to talk with this party which seems interesting.
>>6169459Fair. At the very least, we don't like our father.Still, doing a whole escort mission + a search for the temple entrance seems a bit much. Would probably delay our meeting by at least a week. As the island refuge seems a lofty place, I'm not sure our father's friend will want to wait that long, I imagine the inns are expensive, and we did say we'd come straight there after our job.I'm fine whichever path we choose, the various branches spread before us all seem interesting.
>>6169459I don't think we were a big fan of the man our father became, but perhaps we can appreciate the man he was. Besides, maybe he could teach us something and I bet there is a hefty market place at Yngley where we can buy some quality things, especially a new shield.
>>6169504>>6169590 If this friend to our father wanted to give us something he could have just sent it. He probably wants what any failing resistance movement wants, more bodies and more money. Just a guess but maybe one of the reasons he was a friend to our father was because they were using him to borrow or gamble for money and put it towards their freedom fighters.I'll take a chance for an old magic shield from a temple over a new shield from the market.
>>6169645Well, I didn't mean anything material, I meant more in terms of skills. He's probably an experienced soldier, he can teach us things, if he's willing. Besides, we have three EXP, might as well see if he can use them there.I agree with the part about the resistance, don't really see our character partaking as long as the debt exists. When it comes to taking the money from our father, it doesn't seem like they were in contact since our father stopped being a warrior. I think father dear was quite happy wasting his money on booze and dice. Plus, I have a bad feeling about the temple, because I think we're not the only one heading there. If you remember Samuel Longsword and his party, they were mulling about the Amethyst Mountain which itself is near the temple. And they paid us with gold coins with a lion stamped on them and this is the Temple of the Lion and Blue Flame. It could very be that they already looted the temple or that they are involved somehow. If they are involved and if they are rivals, I don't fancy taking them on, Odneyn's party or not.
>>6169645I think you're confused friend. Nothing written so far in this thread or the previous (that I remember) has suggested our father's friend is a resistance member. I suppose you could infer this friend's loyalties by our father's opinion of who is worthy of respect. The one we know to be a resistance leader of sorts is Helmod, the blind old man who we escorted for our previous job. Leon Archerson, the friend, wanted to talk about some new development of some old legend that was of interest to our father.>>6169657I also agree about not getting more deeply involved with the resistance (aside from maybe passing on info to Helmod at our leisure) while we are in debt. First and foremost, we are a breadwinner adventurer.Likewise, I agree about not coming into conflict with the party we helped. That Suthermann was a full blown blood sucking immortal, and armed and armoured too, with magic to boot.
You are somehow able to excuse yourself from committing to anything right then and there. It helps that you have a mother and sister to get back to, and that Odneyn and his party are as weary as you are from the road. Thom holds to you an answer come morning, however, and Odneyn delivers the somewhat ominous charge to "imprison your tongue in the silent hall", an old Sahson expression whose meaning remains quite unambiguous. When you step out, the arched gate of sky and road between the stone is faintly aglow with dawnlight. The kitchens of the manor are already beginning to stir, in part to feed the new arrivals, to prepare the daily bread. Your mother will not be long in joining them. In fact, you can see one of the kitchenhands, a young boy, already at the threshold of the low wall, heading down the dirt road to her cottage in order to fetch her. You hail him. He's surprised to see you. Apparently, the reeve had been quite vocal with his prognostications of your imminent demise. You can only imagine how that made your mother feel. You quickly release the boy of his duties. You'll take the message to your mother yourself, and in the meantime, you order him to fetch a jug of cider and a fresh loaf of bread from the kitchens. Not the black bread you're so used to, but the good stuff made from the milled wheat, the same soft, white bread that the reeve keeps on his table. Then you hand the boy a stater to put wings on his feet.The cottage windows are still dark when you arrive, but you can hear the sound of someone striking logs in the small fenced garden in the back. That sound summons a throb of pain in your heart. Your father used to be the one who chopped the wood. No matter how pie-eyed he was from drink, or how late he'd been out the night before, that was a chore he never shirked. Only once had your mother usurp the duty while he was still alive, and he was so furious with her that even she became afraid. The sight of his wife, who once bore such lofty bynames, and to whom he had promised so much on their wedding day, struggling to lift an axe was simply one he could not endure. Your mother never tried again. After your father's death, you took on the duty with the same fervor, until, of course, your recent departure. Even now, part of you wishes to drop all your things here at the door and run and tear the axe from your mother's hands and even scold her a little.Instead, you slip resignedly through the door. The cottage is cool and dry. The firepit in the center of the room is dead, but a cauldron with water has already been suspended over it. You can make out the outline of your sister asleep on her side in the loft above, the open shutter behind her framing her delicate form. ->
>>6170263Dropping your things by the door, you take out the loaf of white bread and carry the jug to the small table behind the firepit. As you set the jug down, your fingers automatically trace the little symbol carved into underside of the table. A circle with a pair of scalloped wings. The symbol of the moonmoth. Your father had carved it there on your mother's behest, though he himself put no stock in religion, be it the ancient Sahson rites of the moon, the new Suthermann faith of the lamb, or the recently arisen worshippers of fire. Your mother, however, had always observed the lunar rites, even as a child, and even now refuses to work on the nights of the new moon. She had been the one to insist that you be named Torthrune, after the moonmoth who struck life into the first men, ensorcelling their inanimate clay with restless lightning. Your mother must have heard you enter, for she suddenly appears at the back door. She must not recognize you on account of the low light, for she brandishes the axe at you. "We have nothing of value here, sir," she says. "And this house is among those that belong to the reeve. But if you leave us in peace, I shall regard this as no more than a dream or vision. Forgotten by the morning.""You're wrong," you say, stepping toward her. "Here is all that I value in the world."The axe falls slack in her hands. "Torthrune," she says, unable to keep her voice from breaking. "I had thought..."You grin. "Rumors of my passing have been greatly exaggerated," you say. Then, after the embraces and tears, you take the axe from her hands to go and finish what she had started. It is only after the fire is lit, and the water boiled, and the bread broken and dipped in cider, and your sister roused from the sound of your recounting your adventures and its spoils and its present aftermath, that you remember the summons you were to deliver. Your mother scolds your for not remembering sooner and rushes off to the manor to fulfill her duties. Your sister is only too happy to hear the whole story again from the beginning. She seems especially interested in the part about Syla (you suppose she's at that age now, a thought which fills you with horror). And your conversation eventually turns to the future, or rather the present. On the one hand, there's the mysterious message from Leon Archerson. On the other, there's Odneyn and Thom and the temple. Both have aroused your curiosity, but only one can be reasonably pursued. You're not sure if you want to get involved with anyone that knew your father. Part of you wants to distance yourself from him entirely, even as another part wants to learn more about your father from this Archerson, and perhaps learn other things. You have no doubt Leon Archerson is a skilled warrior as your father was. ->
>>6170264At the same time, this matter of the ambush bring Helmod to mind. You have a creeping suspicion that the resistance he spoke of and these brigands are one and the same. In which case, do you have an obligation to tell Helmod? You have no love for the new king, but you equally have no allegiance to the old regime nor the men fighting to restore it. To send a message to Helmod would also require coin, and there's no guarantee that the message would reach him, or that he would be able to warn the rebels in time even if he did recieve it. Still, there is conscience and courtesy to consider here.You could also just go along with the caravan and, when the time is right, slip away and warn the rebels yourself. Of course, that would mean betraying the reeve's command of discretion (not to mention Odneyn's trust). But it could also mean a chance at easy wealth, if the rebels decide to reward you for your information or even let you join them in looting the caravan (after a reexaminiation of their approach, of course). Finally, there's the prospect of joining the caravan with your family. This you ultimately dismiss as too dangerous. If you're going to make a fresh start, you'd rather it be in the free lands to thwest, in the Dawnhold, or in one of the many villages along the western coast. In the meantime, you want to pay off your debts to the reeve, and gather together enough coin besides to make a comfortable start.You spill out your purse on the table. Twenty-nine silver staters and six gold pieces (with lion heads--could they be related to the Temple?). Each gold piece was exchangeable for 13 staters at Amytheston, though you're certain you can get a better rate in Yngleyside. Maybe as much as twenty staters. The reeve takes twenty-six silver pieces for rent on the cottage and the land, of which fifteen are deducted for your mother's service as cellarwoman. The reeve does not expect any regular payments to be made on the debt, he'd rather it remain hanging over your heads, but you've paid a silver here and there in the months following your father's death to chip away at it. Even so, the debts still amount to a figure just few pieces shy of a thousand staters. And you'll need at least another thousand if you want to make a fresh start elsewhere. Two thousand staters is a dizzying amount of coin, but, from what you've seen, not impossible.You decide, finally, that you will not go with Odneyn's party. But you're still divided on whether to seek out Leon Archerson or look for other work. And you're still not sure if you should inform Helmod about the caravan or just let things lie.>What do you want to do?[] Send a message to Helmod about the caravan[] Set off to meet with Leon Archerson[] Seek out alternate work[] Write-in
>>6170265>[X] Set off to meet with Leon ArchersonI'm for it, seems like a good lead.>[X] Seek out alternate workI would maybe take up some work if there is something that leads up to Yngley.Also, a THOUSAND staters?! By the Moon, we will have to make some serious dough. Thanks Dad.
