By the time I caught up with the old man and his cart, darkness had fallen. We exchanged pleasantries and agreed to be allies for the night in case of trouble. We both went to bed, hoping to hear my friends catching up, but I drifted off.
I woke to Rowen poking me with a stick. The rest of the group had found horses somewhere and caught up. I didn’t want to ask where they got the horses, for fear I wouldn’t like the answer, but I least I wouldn’t have to make the journey to Thatchem alone. Unfortunately they brought a huge panther with them. The panther promptly pounced on Morin’s horse and dragged it away while I healed her wounds.
I sensed a certain disapproval from Denara during that healing, and again when I healed u-Huery. It’s probably something to do with how they acquired their horses. I encouraged them to make some sort of restitution, and u-Heury arranged to send a letter with partial payment through the peddler. It’s a step in the right direction at least. Morin’s horse was no longer a problem, thanks to the panther.
We rode south in the morning, pushing hard into the evening to reach Woodvale. Ygnas spent the night with the druids, the rest of us at the inn. They warned us of gnolls to the south, but we had no choice; Ygnas’ time was almost up. We woke up early and rode south, u-Heury on a freshly purchased draft horse.
We passed two fiery salamanders on the way, merrily burning things by the side of tthe road. u-Heury rode by first, and was burned simply by the heat radiating from their bodies. The rest of us swung wide, and got a little lost. But u-Heury is tough; I’m not sure Rowen or Morin would have survived riding closer. It cost us a few hours, and we arrived at Thatchem after the gates closed. I managed to make a bargain with the guards for immediate entry, thank Denara, and woke the local patriarch. He claimed he could raise the dead after 8 full days, so the hurry had been somewhat unnecessary. We made an appointment in the morning and went to the tower of the leaning goose to sell what we had found in Highfell.
The scholars there were pleased by what we had found, and paid a fair price, By Denara’s grace we even had a few hundred gold in profit.
Ygnas will need bedrest for a few weeks. and Morin wants to look for training opportunities after getting backstabbed by her last party. I have a few business opporetunities to pursue myself…
