You meet a haggard woman with long, dark hair. She wears the robes of a priest over her armor, and her garb shows the wear and tear of recent combat.
"I am Empire War Priestess Shahpur."
She pats a massive mace hanging at her belt. "I help in the constant battle against the troglos. 'Tis a chore, but I have my faith to preserve me."
A man, small, wiry, muscular, and leather-clad, is looking you over. His opinion of you seems to be worsening by the moment.
"I'm Starcap."
"I spend my life educating cavenewts like you. Fulfilling? I think not."
A scruffy looking sailor type is selling tickets by the dock.
"Kurt."
"I got tickets to Farport. Fifteen gold. And that's all I have to talk about."
A dark and mysterious woman sits behind the counter, mixing up a potion. The smells are alternately wonderful and nauseating.
"I am Zamora," she says in a soft voice.
"I make potions of all sorts. Wondrous things, they are." She smiles, and tastes the brown concoction she's working on. "Also, I work with other alchemists."
This is a heavily whiskered man with a lot of hair growing out of his nose. He smells very strongly of horses.
"I'm Bryk. That's what they call me!"
He snorts and takes a pull of whiskey. "I look after horses! They're my babies!"
The constant attacks of monsters in Valorim have caused the mayors and leaders to have a constant worried and edgy expression. The mayor of Scowcroft is no exception. However, he seems pleased to see you.
"I'm Mayor Scowcroft. Welcome to you!"
"Oh, I just try to deal with all the monsters as best I can. I haven't been nearly as effective as your group, though."
A wiry man sits cross-legged by the dock, selling tickets.
"I'm Terry." He scratches himself.
"Well, I have tickets for sale. To Fenris Port. Only 10 gold."
You meet a priestess. She's counting several piles of gold on top of the altar. When you approach, she scoops it all into a pouch.
"I'm Nydia. Welcome."
"I'm a Priestess of the Church of the Divine Lucre. We sell salvation at reasonable rates."
Unusually, the innkeeper has a battleaxe swinging at his side, and wears a breastplate which shows the scratches and marks of recent combat. He's so tired he can barely remain standing.
"Barber," he mumbles. "Welcome to my inn."
"No booze left. Not much at all. Just a room. Only 5 gold. It's been a nightmare."
A wounded Empire soldier, victim of a troglodyte raider, lies in this bed. All you really see is a mess of bandages and dried blood.
The victim groans.
The wounded soldier turns over weakly. It's jarring to see someone so wounded and so unlooked after. There must not be enough magical healing to go around.
"Huh?"
"What was that, suck-weasel?"
"Look, I'm really happy to be talking to you. Really, really, really happy."
She smiles enigmatically.
He grunt.
He looks nervous. "I can't help. I'm really, really sorry."
"Sorry. I just sell tickets."
She looks like you're bothering her.
He shakes his head, exhausted.
The victim groans.
252^suck^xxxx^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Yeah. Haven't you even been called a suck-weasel before?" You don't think so.
252^fulf^xxxx^0^0^0^0^0^99
"How could any job that involves constant work with smelly, unkempt, manners-impaired adventurers be fulfilling?"
252^educ^cave^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Yeah. Educating cavenewts. Adventurers. Like you." He gets fed up. "Look, you want training or not?"
252^trai^xxxx^9^0^0^0^0^99
253^tick^purc^10^15^8^9^0^99
He peels you off some tickets. "Lovely. Go to the end of this dock, and the boat will be along shortly. Oh, and go away."
You don't have the cash. Kurt looks at you with disgust.
253^talk^abou^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Yeah, right. Look. Everyone else may be willing to spill their guts, their innermost thoughts, to a bunch of wandering, pale, psychotically violent malcontents, but I'm not. Don't want a ticket? Buzz off."
251^batt^trog^1^307^8^0^0^99
"They're vicious and endless foes, but I'm preserved by my prayers."
"They're vicious and endless foes. Their numbers have decreased of late, but they still keep coming."
251^fait^pres^1^4^0^2^0^99
"I am one of the Anama. I sustain myself through holy power, without using the dark works of magic."
"I am one of the Anama, as I see you are too. I am glad to see one of my kinfolk so far from the Isle of Bigail! I have advice to give you, if you will accept it."
251^advi^acce^0^0^0^0^0^99
"I've heard Mayor Knight of Sharimik was looking for some natural born victims to go on a quest to the castle of the troglos. He's trying to become a bit of a local despot, but the mission may be of interest to you."
254^poti^wond^0^0^0^0^0^99
She adds a pinch of powder to a bowl of gray green mulch. It bubbles. "These wonders can be yours too. Very useful. Care to purchase one?"
254^alch^xxxx^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Why yes." She smiles. "In fact, one of them was through recently. Told me of some unusual metal he'd found. He concealed a scroll with a map to it, which he told me about. Then he had the misfortune of being spitted by a troglodyte."
"In fact, for only 500 gold, I may be persuaded to say where the scroll is."
254^purc^xxxx^12^3^0^0^0^99
Zamora's Potions
254^scro^xxxx^147^0^0^0^0^99
255^babi^xxxx^0^0^0^0^0^99
He smiles. "I love horses." Then, worried, he hastens to add "In a healthy, natural way."
255^hors^xxxx^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Yeah, nothing better to get quickly from one to town to another than a horse. I even have a bunch of 'em out back, strong and healthy, and for sale."
"It'd be only 500 gold for horses for your group. Where ya' gonna' get a fairer price than that? Come to me if you ever want to obtain a few."
255^purc^obta^146^0^0^0^0^99
256^effe^grou^0^0^0^0^0^99
He looks you over, impressed. "Oh, the word of the traveling Exiles has gotten around pretty quick!" He thinks. "Wait. It isn't a secret you're Exiles, is it? Am I supposed to know?"
256^exil^secr^0^0^0^0^0^99
He leans close. "I sure don't want to mess around with you, being as you're famous and brave and all. But I'd love to help you if I could."
256^help^coul^0^0^0^0^0^99
He leans close. "Be sure to search my bookshelves, and help yourself to anything you find." He grins conspiratorially.
257^tick^purc^10^10^133^9^0^99
He tears you each off a grimy ticket. "Go to the ends of the docks. I'm sure you'll find a place to use the tickets somewhere."
"Sorry. It's 10 gold."
257^fenr^port^0^0^0^0^0^99
He laughs, coughs, and spits into the water. "Fenris Port! Great town! Lots of scum there!"
257^lots^scum^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Yeah!" He pulls a begging bowl out from behind his back. "Only 5 gold, and I'll give you a little information.
257^litt^info^10^5^0^0^0^99
He hawks and spits an impressive, tobacco spotted stream into the water. "The good folks on the Isle of Bigail make certain herbs valuable in Lorelei. Be sure to look about. Also, for only 100 gold more, I'll tell you a secret."
"You're poor! Buzz off!"
257^secr^xxxx^10^100^0^0^0^99
"The guards south of Lorelei will search anyone approaching, looking for these herbs. However, north from Lorelei there's a hidden way to cross the river and get there. Just walk along the river shore. You'll see it."
"You don't have the cash! Scum!"
258^chur^xxxx^0^0^0^0^0^99
"The Church of the Divine Lucre."
258^divi^lucr^0^0^0^0^0^99
"A beautiful organization. After all, the only way to help others is to help oneself. Self-reliance will lift us all up. Wealth is the great salvation. And we grant absolution for very reasonable rates."
258^reas^rate^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Actually, I am not yet authorized to grant absolution. Haven't saved up enough to buy the ability. But I can do healing, if you wish, and have the money."
258^heal^xxxx^18^4^0^0^0^99
Nydia
258^ritu^sanc^0^0^0^0^0^99
She looks suspicious. "Who told you to ask me about that?"
258^comm^cori^23^0^0^0^0^99
She gets upset. You can't imagine why. "Her. I told her I didn't want anything to do ..." she remembers herself. "Oh. Yes. Look, I'd teach it to you for a fee, but I don't know it. There's a hermit in a hut at the north end of the mountains to the north."
" He knows the spell. I can't get it out of him, but you might be able to. Now go away, please." Highly agitated, she turns away.
259^room^xxxx^3^5^2^0^0^99
Tottering, he shows you to your room. The sounds of combat continuously echo through the town. You sleep poorly.
You don't have the gold.
259^nigh^xxxx^0^0^0^0^0^99
"Castle Troglo isn't far from here, and there's not a thing anyone can do about it. We eat the worst of the raids, and get hit often, too. It's hard to keep hope sometimes." He almost nods off several times while speaking.
259^home^some^1^307^8^0^0^99
"I'm afraid this town will fall any day now. I'm so tired. My apologies. This use to to be a beautiful town. No more."
"The troglos spend most of their time fighting the giants, but send raids against us sometimes still. We still can't rest. Sometimes I think we never will rest again."
