It was early afternoon by the time the Myth Seekers recovered enough from last night’s debauchery. That would keep them on the road later in the day than they would like tomorrow, but no one really wanted to stay in Old Valen another night.
They stood just outside the east gate and watched as Zinny rode her ‘dragon’ steed down the road to meet them. At only about five feet long, it did, in fact, look like a miniature dragon. Only with huge colorful butterfly wings. A few onlookers stopped to gawk, but the pixie paid them no mind.
“And we all agreed to this?” Tolliver asked.
Thea looked at him indignantly.
“Of course we did. We discussed it last night as a team and you were fine with it.”
That was a complete lie, but Raith knew better than to say anything. Zinny joined them with a wave and a smile.
“Good morrow, fellow adventurers.” She flitted off of her mount and sniffed at Tolliver, who flinched away with a look of alarm.
“Ooh, you smell of secrets and deceit. I like it.”
The noble flushed furiously and began to stammer, but Raith stepped in.
“It’s not nice to comment on how people smell, Zinny.”
“But it was a good comment. Just like you smell of the dreaming, and she smells of my kin from the long ago.” She flitted over to Nyhm and inhaled deeply. “And this one of a stalking cat.”
The only one who didn’t look incredibly uncomfortable with her running commentary about their odor was Thea, who was practically glowing with joy. Raith thought it was a good idea to change the subject, especially before anyone thought to ask about his dreaming smell.
“What kind of dragon is that?”
Zinny clapped her hands together delightedly.
“Oh, this is Phineaus. He’s a faerie dragon and he is such a good boy.”
She scratched its jaw and cooed at the creature, and it nuzzled her hand in response.
“Ok, we’re already running way behind schedule. Let’s get moving.”
For once, the journey went exactly as expected. The road to Janekstown was safe and well maintained, and the team settled in for the night with a comfortable fire and a good meal.
Raith studied the tome he picked up at the Book Nook on the five realms, and it was a good refresher. He’d forgotten a lot from the lorehall. The three primary realms were the Mortal Realm, The Dream Realm and the Hueless Realm. Where the Mortal and Dream Realms overlapped was the Fae Realm, and where the Mortal and Hueless Realms overlapped was the Spirit Realm. Some contained further sub realms.
It was now obvious why Amaris said that True Fae were the most knowledgeable about the dreaming. He just need to figure out how to grill Zinny about it without seeming weird.
Luckily, Thea had no such compunctions.
“My father is a [Scholar] of the fae, and I’ve long planned to sail to Aetherwyn and pay my respects to the Seelie Court.”
Aetherwyn was the home of the true fae in this realm, where the mortal realm and dreaming overlapped. It was either a large island or small continent, depending on who you asked. All agree that it is much larger within the borders than its size would suggest, and is an extremely perilous place for mortals to visit.
Zinny clapped her hands in delight.
“Oh, please do. I remember when the satyrs abandoned us for the gods. I was so very, very sad. But not about the hobs or bugbears. I don’t miss them at all. Why would you sail there when the gossamer paths are so much faster?”
Raith leaned forward and couldn’t help but interject.
“What are the gossamer paths?”
“Fabled roads that wind through the dreaming and the feywilds,” Thea said. “They were said to be treacherous to both body and mind, especially for travelers who stray from the paths. But we lost the knowledge of them many ages ago.”
Zinny frowned.
“Oh, that’s too bad. Do you have any chocolate?”
To everyone’s surprise, Nyhm produced a little bag of chocolate-covered berries from his pouch and offered some to the pixie.
Raith gave him a questioning look and his brother shrugged.
“There was a candy shop next door to the apothecary, and it looked good.”
She zipped over and stuffed her mouth so full she could barely chew. When she finally choked it all down, she smiled at the elfling with chocolate-covered lips.
“Those are so very, very good. Aren’t you an [Herbalist]? Can you make starberry wine or dreamdew honey? Those would go perfectly with your chocolates.”
Nyhm shook his head.
“Oh, I simply must teach you so you can make them for me.”
And just like that, the discussion about the dreaming was over. Raith hoped he would have another chance to explore the topic, but there was no telling how long this being would tag along before she got bored and moved on to something else.
At least Nyhm was learning something interesting.
They made excellent time the next day and arrived at the gates of Janekstown before dark. There was a queue outside the gate, and when they got to the front, a stern looking guard looked down on them. They all held up their sliver badges, and he relaxed his glare.
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“Here to climb the tower?”
“Yes sir. And hopefully buy some gear.”
He nodded approvingly. Everyone liked folks spending money in their city.
“Guildhall is full, so you’ll have to stay in one of the inns. I recommend Cozy’s Place just off of Market Street. I get no kickbacks for saying that, it’s just clean and reasonably priced. If you want something more fancy, try the Gilded Hare. Stay clear of everything south of Trivet Street unless you’ve a mind for trouble.”
He looked at them expectantly, and Raith realized that was a question.
“No trouble for us, sir. At least not outside the tower.”
That earned another approving nod.
“Alright, in you go. Happy climbing. Janek favors the bold.”
Inside the walls was everything Raith had hoped for. An array of adventurers in every shape, size and race walked the streets. A weapons merchant haggled loudly in front of his cart with a burly chainmailed dwarf. An [Air Mage] strode above the crowd, walking across the sky much as he had seen Kiearan do what felt like a lifetime ago.
Zinny drew a few open-mouthed stares as the team made their way through the crowded streets, but most people seemed not even to notice her presence which Raith found extremely odd. Tolliver tried to make a case for lodging in the Gilded Hare, but Raith convinced him to wait and see what they had left over after shopping tomorrow.
In the meantime, Cozy’s Place was exactly as the guard described. Everyone got their own rooms, except for Zinny who shared one with Thea. The pixie didn’t have any money, but before Raith could offer to pay the satyr volunteered to room together. He hoped Zinny was prepared for the amount of questions she was going to be asked.
It occurred to Raith to do some training since they hadn’t really done any since leaving the monastery, but everyone seemed like they could use one more night to themselves to just relax. They’d have plenty of time to train in the tower.
The next day began early, with excitement for the upcoming shopping trip. Thea wanted a shield upgrade, Nyhm more [Herbalist] gear, and Tolliver more defensive gear.
For himself, Raith intended to seek out some better armor. The skirmisher leathers were looking pretty rough, and didn’t offer the best protection in the first place. If he had anything left, maybe he could commission a dart, but that could take a while to make and would likely exceed his budget.
“Don’t forget to pick up a good darksight item. The tower has dungeon levels and we’re better off not needing a light and attracting attention.”
Thea scowled at the thought of a dungeon, but agreed that it was a necessary purchase. Nyhm was the only other one who needed such an item and assured that he could pick something out on his own. Again the party split up and Raith found his way to the armor shop.
His selection process involved finding a store that looked somewhere in the middle of extravagantly expensive and so poor the sign was falling off. The first one he tried was all heavy shiny metal pieces, and he backed right out again.
The second proprietor was a gnomish armorer who was gruff as a dwarf, but had a nice selection of leather armor.
“I need something that offers decent protection without sacrificing any mobility. Darker colors are better. I’m a scout.”
“Head to toe coverage?”
“No helmet or boots.”
“What are you looking to spend?”
You could find some good loot in the tower, but it wasn’t guaranteed. It would probably be a good idea to leave himself a nice cushion in case it was a while before they got more gold.
“Not more than three thousand.”
The gnomes eyebrows went up.
“Wouldn’t be much to work with for full plate, but I can get you in a very nice set of leathers for that. Scout, you say?”
He went into the back and came out with a curiass of tiny green and black scales. It looked like it was made from some kind of lizard or snake.
“Ringed cobra hide. Enchanted for extra protection and offers poison resistance.”
Poison resistance would be incredibly useful, but Raith didn’t care for the style at all. That might be a stupid reason to pass on a good item, but he just couldn’t picture himself strutting around in snake scales.
He spotted a suit that was just exactly his taste. Dark brown leather with muted metal buckles and accented with elegant scrollwork designs. The color even matched his uncle’s bandoleer.
“What about that one?”
The gnome gave him a knowing grin, and Raith blushed a little at his own foolish vanity. He’d probably just tacked five hundred gold onto the price.
“On of my finest sets of leather, but perhaps a little more than you were looking to spend.”
Raith mentally revised that five hundred up to a thousand.
“What enchantments does it have?”
“Aside from the finest craftsmanship, as you can plainly see, it is enchanted for additional protection against all physical attacks, but with significant extra cushioning against bludgeoning strikes. It also comes with a minor mobility enchantment, just enough so it won’t interfere with your movement, and a self repair enchantment. Perfect for a scout, if you ask me. But alas, I couldn’t charge less than four thousand gold for it.”
“Thirty two fifty.”
The armorer grabbed his chest as if wounded.
“I’ve five children you’re trying to steal from, I’ll have you know. Thirty-seven fifty is as low as I can go.”
“I’ll give you thirty five hundred and you’ll fit it for me.”
“Deal!”
They shook, and the smile on the gnome’s face told him he’d been ripped off.
Oh well. It’s still a really nice set of armor.
“Let me get your measurements and I’ll have it ready in three days.”
Raith was hoping to start on a tower climb right away, but three days didn’t seem too long to wait in this city of adventurers. It didn’t take him long to figure out how the team could pass their time productively, either.
Janekstown offered a wide array of training venues, almost all run by retired adventurers. After their weeks at the monastery he didn’t think combat training was a top priority at the moment, but a few things caught his eye.
At the top of the list fro himself was Benji’s Trap Trainer, which was exactly what it sounded like. Benji was a fourth braid trap expert and had a wide variety of traps set up in his warehouse. Everything from common dungeon traps to doors and safes. At ten gold a day it was a little pricey, but Raith intended to spend at least one of his free days under Benji’s tutelage.
The Myth Seekers reconvened at Cozy’s Corner for dinner, and Raith apologetically confessed that he’d put off their climb another few days. Thea waved him off.
“Nothing to be sorry for. My shield is going to take four, so if anyone should be apologizing, it’s me.”
Tolliver nodded as well.
“I would find the extra time most agreeable. The Mage’s Guild has a spell I wish to learn, and that will give me sufficient time to complete the task.”
“Awesome. I’m almost afraid to ask, but has anyone seen our new archer?”
His brother nodded.
“She said I didn’t have the right ingredients to make what she wanted, and she was going on a fetch quest. I have no idea what that means specifically.”
“Alright, she’ll show up when she shows up. Or not. What did you wind up getting, Nyhm?”
The elfling blushed.
“I spent all of my money on a portable herbalists kit.”
“Woah. Is it like an entire apothecary in a dimensional pocket?”
Nyhm blushed even harder.
“No. I mean, I got really good equipment, but it’s still field equipment. And it is in a specialized box of holding that fits in my pack!”
“That still sounds like a lot of gold. Do you feel like you got ripped off? We can help get a refund.”
“I may have gone a little overboard on ingredients.”
Thea leaned forward.
“How much overboard?”
He squirmed under her gaze and looked down.
“More than two thousand gold overboard.”
“Weaver’s tits, Nyhm! Did you clean out the entire city?”
“I got excited! I was thinking, maybe if we’re a few floors up in the tower and out of healing potions I can make some. And then I thought we can always use stamina potions, too. But there’s all these other recipes in these books, and some of them will be great for the team when I learn how to make them.” He paused and looked between them helplessly. “I don’t even know what half the stuff is.”
Thea patted his arm sympathetically.
“I’ll go through it with you. We’ve got time.”
“Wait, did you get yourself a nightsight item?”
Nyhm’s look of horror told him the answer before he said it.
“Shit, I am so sorry, guys. I’ve never done anything like this before. I don’t know what came over me.”
Again, Thea came to the rescue.
“You’ve a new passion, and it’s good to see it. Don’t worry about the nightsight. I’ve plenty of gold left and can pick you up a ring where I got mine. It wasn’t too expensive.”
Raith mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to Thea over Nyhm’s head.
“I saw that,” the elfling said, still looking at the ground forlornly.
Stupid ring of surround sight.
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