From the magic academy, Thurl and the remaining adventurers proceeded to the Darksea Brewing Co. This establishment, unlike the academy, was graced with its owner’s presence. She was in her mid-forties (still fairly young for a half-elf), with long auburn hair and a smashing figure.
“Good day, Miae my dear!” Thurl greeted the comely half-elf brewer. “Hello, Thurl!” replied Miae. “Nice to see you again. Have anything for me today?”
“Oh yes indeed,” answered the merchant. “Lots of grain, just as you ordered.” He gestured toward the adventurers who had accompanied him and introduced them to her.
“We’ve heard so much about you!” said Arya, enthusiastically. “Oh, and Siren says hello!”
“Ah, my old friend Siren,” Miae replied happily. “How’s she doing?” She pointed to a bar that was set up nearby. “Why don’t you tell me over a beer? On the house!” Arya, Kronk and Balefire readily agreed. Strife just sat at the bar and stared awkwardly at his hostess, while she shared a few stories of her adventures.
“I first met Edward when he was with a few companions, exploring a cavern a good ways to the northwest of Darksea,” Miae began. “It wasn’t exactly a friendly meet–I was with a group of rascals, and we were giving Edward’s crew some healthy competition,” she reminisced. “But I have to admit, I was attracted to him from the start. And then, when he and his party actually rescued us from drow raiders here in Darksea, and later cleared out all the monsters that had infested this place in the years between its abandonment and its re-discovery, well, things developed in another direction.” She smiled at the memory of joining up with Edward.
“You must have had some amazing adventures, if what we’ve heard about Edward is even half-accurate,” Thurl prompted Miae.
“Oh my, yes,” agreed Miae. “Once Darksea was cleared out, all of us – Edward, Green Arrow, Firiona, and a few others who are no longer with us – claimed some choice property here in the city. After that, well, there was the time we went on a trading mission–something like what you’re doing with Thurl here–and ran into some river pirates. That’s how I met Siren, and eventually helped her turn her life around.”
“Siren’s quite a lady now,” remarked Thurl. “You did well, giving her a chance.”
“Thanks,” Miae replied. “Then later on, there was a terrible fight with a really, REALLY vile cult of Orcus,” she began, describing their defeat of Khadija’s organization. “Edward actually had to be rescued from that bunch,” she continued. “I had a little something to do with that,” she added proudly.
“How is Edward?” asked Balefire. “And do you know where he is? I’d like to meet him.”
“Well,” Miae answered, “he’s off adventuring again, with Green Arrow and Lina.”
“Don’t you adventure with him anymore?” Arya inquired.
“Not so often lately,” Miae admitted. “I’m sort of semi-retired from adventuring. Lately I’ve been devoting my effort to improving operations here at the brewery.” She took a sip from her mug. “What do you think of my brew?”
“Top notch,” said Balefire, to which the others agreed enthusiastically.
“But don’t you miss Edward?” asked Arya. “Sure I do,” Miae replied. “But, well . . . besides being a brewmaster, I’m also a cleric of the Laughing Rogue.” She smiled knowingly. “So I, ah, know how to have a good time.” Arya was somewhat embarrassed by this admission. “Edward accepts this. He knows he’s the only one for me when all’s said and done.”
“You mentioned river pirates,” said Balefire, changing the direction of the conversation before anyone else got too embarrassed. “Have you ever met someone named Virág? A caster of some kind?”
“No, can’t say I have,” Miae answered. “The name sounds Ketite, though.”
“That would be consistent with what we know about her,” observed Thurl, describing briefly their recent battle on the Fals River.
“One last question,” Balefire continued hastily. “Did you bring back any extra shields from Arvid? Kronk here needs a shield,” he explained, glancing at the half-orc.
“Where did you hear about that?” asked Miae, surprised to hear mention of the named individual.
“From Mirodior, the owner of the Wyvern’s Armory in Thornward,” answered Balefire. “He asked about shields from Arvid’s hoard. We said we’d keep eye out.”
“I’ve heard of him,” said Miae. “But it wasn’t quite the way Mirodior described it. It was more of a “negotiated withdrawal”. Arvid actually helped us in the end against Khadija–she had previously gotten control of him, and he didn’t much care for it. We only kept a few items, none shields or armor. Interesting how legends take shape, isn’t it?” The party agreed.
With that, Miae got up from her seat at the bar. “Now, I must get back to work,” she said to the party. “It was a pleasure meeting you all. I hope we’ll meet again.” She then took her leave, after whispering a few words to Thurl.
On the way out of the brewery, Strife noticed another symbol, again located in an upper corner of a doorway. After the group had left the premises, he told the others that he had seen the spider eater symbol again.
“Take the rest of the afternoon off,” said Thurl. “I’ve got some business up in the mining district. I’ll be back around around 6pm. We’ll have dinner!” And with that, the merchant headed back to the main dock to reboard his ship.
Arya wanted to go to a tavern and gather information on interesting occurrences. It so happened that relatively nearby, there was a high quality establishment, The Emerald Inn. She proceeded to the inn and began to chat with the innkeeper. “Nothing much happening of late,” he told Arya. “Everyone’s just fat, happy and making money.”
From the Emerald Inn, Arya next headed toward the Darksea government center, where she located a temple of Pelor. She took a brief while to pray and meditate, then sought out a cleric to inquire about possibly obtaining useful items.
“My child,” said the cleric, “This is a fairly new temple. We’re still raising funds for operating and construction expenses. Could you please make a donation?” Somewhat taken aback by this unusual request from a fellow cleric, Arya nevertheless donated the grand total of six gold pieces and nine silvers. The cleric thanked Arya for her donation, then went to the temple sacristy. Soon he returned, carrying a scroll of shield of faith. “This will protect you in a time of need,” the cleric assured Arya.
Meanwhile, Balefire, Kronk and Strife headed toward the mining district (a distance of a little over a mile), looking for a weaponsmith. After a bit of searching the area, they located one. Kronk was interested in a good-quality mundane greatsword. The smith had several available, reasonably priced. Kronk bought one. “Kronk happy now!” he exclaimed.
Balefire and Strife looked around the shop for the sign of the spider eater. This time, nothing.
At the end of the day, the adventurers returned to the main city docks. The city lights were dimming. They met up with Thurl again, and he suggested the Meteor and Stars Inn. “Best in town,” he added.
Once at the inn, Thurl took out a moneybag. “Payday!” he exclaimed. He distributed a total of 56 gold pieces to each adventurer, including salary and their share of the profit from the latest trade. He then treated the adventurers to dinner one more time. The evening’s fare was more extravagant than their recent meals.
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