So last Wednesday we finally got out of the cave and headed back to Greenest. The governor had wanted us to meet with someone in a place called Elturel. But we figured we could do with restocking ourselves and finding some horses first, so Greenest was our next stop.
At Greenest I tried to sell the half dragon Langradrosa's head to some apothecaries, but they wouldn't have it. I tried to sell it to the governor after sneaking into his office, although pleased to see the thing dead he didn't want the head, so I wrapped it up in oilcloth and packed it away with a mental note to see if I can find some alchemists in Elturel or something.
The others restocked, grabbed new weapons and Joe's Taran had a private meeting with the governor.
We then headed off. Six days on horseback to get to Elturel, a sore and bumpy ride to be sure.
The city lay before us almost caressed by a large lively river flowing by its side. Three great stone bridges crossed the divide into the city. But what we noticed most, was above the city, a great big magical globe of light hung in the air overseeing all. It was like a second sun and shone an almost harsh white glow. We learned soon enough it was to deter undead from the city.
We found stabling for our horses and Drow and teifling vanished into the crowds eager to escape the hustle and bustle of the crowds I suspect. The rest of us found a accommodation in a comfortable inn, it wasn't long before Axel had attracted the attention of an old maid there, 'girl' only for her unmarried status, still she took a shine to the guard, which might come in handy later.
My room was luxurious, a bit too much for me, it was uncomfortable, but I managed to get a good night's sleep however. I woke to the old maid bringing in a hearty breakfast for me, the like of which I haven't had in many seasons.
Our small group gathered downstairs and discussed where we to go to find Leosin and his friend Ontharr. We needed to gather information, so we headed out and soon got swept up in the morning market. Taran managed to talk to one stall owner who gave us directions to a 'Black Antlers' inn. To thank the lady Taran asked to buy something from her stall. Unfortunately he hadn't seen that the piles of cloth were actually dresses until he picked one up and a red flush spread across his cheeks. The stall owner chuckled before bringing out a few cloaks for him instead, he brought one, thanked her and we made our way to the Inn.
We had not seen Elizabeth and Lea since the previous evening when they had slunk off into the crowds and disappeared, I had wondered if they were going to come back, but luckily there they were waiting for us outside The Pair of Black Antlers Inn, shortened by locals to the Black Antler. (these objects hung above the door.) Elizabeth and Lea had stayed in a much less respectable place then we had, but Elizabeth shrugged and said it was free with no questions asked.
We went inside and soon met Ontharr. A huge man with the features more befitting a dwarf then a man, smooth bald head and large ginger beard. I must admit I was curious and cautious and despite his height, I found him ruggedly handsome.
He has a jolly character, and joked with us for a while. Leosin was busy and so Ontharr suggested we did something to pass the time. We went to watch a chariot race! It was an incredible experience and Ontharr talked constantly about each charioteer. We got caught up in the excitement and we're soon placing bets. Loric vs Elden. Ontharr announced I had a trustworthy look about me and asked me to decide who he should bet on, I thought quickly through the information he had given us on the way here and soon declared Elden would win. Ontharr put 50gold down on Elden! I liked his guts and met his bet, 50 of my Gold for this young Elden to win the race. The race began and not even halfway through we were up on our feet cheering and yelling.
Elden won! He actually won! It was a great feeling to have my money doubled just like that, Ontharr was so pleased he gave me extra money and paid off my original bet for me! We had only spent a few hours together, but it felt more like we had been friends for many a season.
Our DM Rae rolled the only dice in that session and that was for the chariot race outcome. She chose a dice for each charioteer and it would be the one with the highest number would win. It got quite tense as she procrastinated, then she rolled and it was something like 4 and 3. But it was awesome that my bet won, especially as the NPC Ontharr had asked my character to choose.
Bit miffed that Maya and Kayleigh won't be at the next one. I mean Maya is like me, she hasn't missed a single session. And Kayleigh's only missed 2 or 3. And I really want to see them to tell them all about the dice masters tournament a went to on Saturday. Just shows how often I see Maya and Kayleigh.