u-Heury and Kiba chose to accompany me to the dwarven town of Hamelet to see the Squeeblade destroyed. This actually caused problems. Hammerick the dwarf refused to allow Kiba’s dog to ride in the carriage, which offended her. u-Heury’s uncivilized nature presented a similar problem. We did eventually resolve the problem by using two separate carriages.
The road to Hamelet was eventful. On the second day, u-Heury came across a force of 30 or so men blocking the road ahead. He had been scouting ahead of our carriages, and was able to warn us of the obstacle before they noticed us. We stopped beside the road and made camp early, with Hammerick and his guards acting as bait. Sure enough a small group of men scouted Hammerick’s camp. u-Heury and Kiba snuck close while I offered ranged cover with my bow. Our ambush succeeded, and the attackers fled.
The next morning, we awoke to a pillar of smoke from the road ahead. It turns out a small farmstead had been set afire overnight. It was likely a target of the 30-odd raiders we avoided last night, though we had no proof. I regret letting those who attacked our camp flee with their lives, though we could have done nothing but die against 30 men.
We did find a young girl still alive, trapped in the burning farmhouse. I dragged her out to safety and called upon Cloacina to heal her wounds, and my prayers were granted. She will live, though likely with scars. Kiba and u-Heury collaborated to free a bull from the barn which had been abused by the bandits. They managed to untie the creature but could not convince it to leave the barn while the house still burned. We should remember to collect it on the way back, if it is still there.
We continued to Hamelet with the girl in tow. Perhaps a home could be found for her there. I did inquire whether she could recognize any of her attackers, but it was too dark. Once I have seen the Squeeblade destroyed, I will tell the leaders in Hamelet of the attack and see if anything can be done about the bandits.
After spending the night at a local inn, “The Slovenly Troll”, Hammerick and I traveled to a dwarven temple of Thaneduhr, where he claimed the smiths would be able to destroy it. They indeed claimed they could do so, but like everyone else, were not inclined to allow me to watch. They did eventually agree that I could do so after charging a 150gp fee for some sort of blessing from their deity. I chose to view it as a clensing ritual and tolerated it with respect for their ways, but maintained my focus on Cloacina’s power.
