[IC] Into the Unknown

[Wyzard]

Tacitus the Multiloquent

Tacitus nods along. "I think it beneficial that we should know each other better before entering in such contracts. I'll split some of my journeybread with you, in lieu of this strange broth. Do you think it unjust if I ask you to disclose the nature of the object you seek before I swear any oath, though you may of course reserve its location for yourself. Surely the nature would do me no good if I chose to seek after it myself, and thus would preserve your surety."

[MonsterMash]

Decimus Numerous

"I have already eaten the broth and now I will swear that I will strive to seek out and seize this item to return it here to you."

[Julius Sleazer]

Tacitus the Multiloquent

Tacitus nods along. "I think it beneficial that we should know each other better before entering in such contracts. I'll split some of my journeybread with you, in lieu of this strange broth. Do you think it unjust if I ask you to disclose the nature of the object you seek before I swear any oath, though you may of course reserve its location for yourself. Surely the nature would do me no good if I chose to seek after it myself, and thus would preserve your surety."

Old Woman

The crone's gaze suddenly becomes clear and fixed.

"You will warm yourself by my hearth, but my food is not fit for you? I hereby name you a contemptible creature, a foul deceiver! You surely harbor devious design! Begone from my dwelling!"

Her sudden vehemence startles the other dwellers for a moment, but they soon turn upon Tacitus with grim, worried expressions.

[Wyzard]

Tacitus the Multiloquent

"Madam, I beg you to reconsider. We have not survived so long by being trusting. Indeed, many have already tried to deceive or trick us. If you think me rude, then set the blame on those who have used us badly. I am no deceiver - I will offer up hard coin for a place to spend the night."

[Julius Sleazer]

Old Woman

"You are a vile vagabond, a vicious varlet, and a voracious violator of vital virtues! You seek to avoid my food, thereby evading the curse on host-slayers when you surely strike me down in a subtle, serpent-like fashion!"

Male Dwellers in the Room

The males in the room rise to their feet. The man in his late middle years puts a hand to the hilt of his blade, but does not go so far as to draw.

Selenia, Goatherd

"Hold, hold! Hold, all! Three of these men have already supped upon our sustenance! If we slay them, we are guest-killers, and if they kill us, they are host-slayers! Let us step back from the brink of madness before mutual damnation ensues!"

[Wyzard]

Tacitus the Multiloquent

"Listen to Selenia! Surely it is obvious that my colleagues would be obligated to detain or destroy me if I attempted any assault against you. The guest-host compact requires no less. And I have said again I will break bread with you, only that it should come from my own supply."

[Vektunaxa]

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"It's good broth, Tacitus; you'll want to eat it before it gets cold. Much better than the trail rations we've been eating the last week. There's no need to be stubborn on this point."

[Julius Sleazer]

Dwelling

The old woman continues to hurl increasingly inimical invective at Tacitus. The younger dwellers, especially the loon in the hunting-hat, look awkward. Viator, the man in late middle years, loosens his dagger in his hilt, but keeps his other hand spread in a gesture of placation.

"Boys, looks like this isn't turning out so well," he says. "Mayhap it'd be best if you stepped outside."

[Julius Sleazer]

Dwelling

Tacitus, swayed by the urgent directives of his comrades, grabs a bowl of broth and manfully quaffs it. The old woman immediately ceases her irate tirade, and begins to sink back to her haunches by the fire. Her expression gradually becomes more calm.

The young man in the odd chapeau looks relieved and a bit puzzled. Selenia is stony-faced. Viator takes his hand away from his dagger and mops sweat off his broad brow.

[MonsterMash]

Decimus Numerous

"Now we have shown our willingness to accept the obligations upon guests will you be willing to speak about any hazards that may attend us in our journey to retrieve this item for you? Though we can deal with dangerous delinquents that try to accost us I would wish wisdom about dangers that may lurk in wait for us so we can be truly prepared."

[Vektunaxa]

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"Thank you, Tacitus," Alfius says. "I am delighted about this duty, to discover a legendary device hidden in a dangerous den and deliver it to this damsel's dame. What are we looking for?"

[Julius Sleazer]

Old Woman

The old woman shoos away the male dwellers. Viator retreats deeper into the cramped subterranean warren, while the younger man climbs the ladder and returns to the surface. Selenia remains where she is.

"About three hundred miles northwest of here," says the woman, "You will find a hill made distinct from other nearby hills because a great tree grows atop it. I tell you truly, the tree looks like a pine, but it is near four hundred feet tall, and with reddish bark."

The old woman grabs a metal fire-stirrer and scratches a deft drawing in the dirt floor of the dingy dwelling. It depicts tangled, gnarled, thick roots, and a small, half-concealed door hidden among them.

"Inside you will find much treasure. Coins, gems, jewels, goblets, and so forth, along with ancient weapons. You will also find a clay bowl, of blue and brown and red. Bring this unto me! As for the other things, take of them as you will."

[thirdkingdom]

Cadmus the Confused

"Does anything guard such a trove?"

[Julius Sleazer]

Old Woman

The old woman expectorates into the flames.

"Bah! Some might spin tales of the uneasy dead, but so far south of the Perimeter, I would rest easy on that account. I would be more fearful of wolves on the plains or bears in the hills, or perhaps running into a deranged loon."

[MonsterMash]

Decimus Numerous

"We've had plenty of loons and fools try to assail us and overcome them, so it will be a few days riding there and back with that many miles to cover".

[Julius Sleazer]

Old Woman

"The how fast of it is up to you, young man! If I were a hardy young buck, I'd ride there myself."

[Vektunaxa]

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"That is far from a being a neighbouring glen or proximate catacomb. Truly, you must belong to an ancient lineage to be so familiar with such distant terrain. Are there any peculiar prerequisites for porting this potent pottery that we should be aware of?"

[Julius Sleazer]

Old Woman

"Aye, I am of an old lineage, I suppose, but truly, all who walk upon the earth could trace their descent to the bastard of some great king or high lord, had they the time and wherewithal. Nay, I had the knowing of this not from my sire or dam, but from a wanderer when I was a younger woman. His telling was true. Unless this place has been perfidiously and privately plundered, the precious pottery is still placed there."

"As for the transportation of it, you are right to ask. I would wrap it in soft cloth, handle it delicately, and make sure that it is not packed anywhere where it will be crushed or jostled overmuch. If needs be, I can hand over to you some smooth fabric for the handling of the thing."

[Vektunaxa]

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"That would be prudent, for many a plate and platter in my care have impropitiously been imperilled and met an unplanned partitioning. We should leave in the morning."

[thirdkingdom]

Alfius the Aeviternal, Fighter

"That would be prudent, for many a plate and platter in my care have impropitiously been imperilled and met an unplanned partitioning. We should leave in the morning."

Cadmus the Confused

"I agree. Let us leave in the morning."