Salvation Outpost

Belaluur replies to Gzizmix, "Of course, dear! I won’t have a problem brokering a sale of it. I feel we’re getting ahead of ourselves. Earic told me about the case, but what else have you collected in your journey? Let’s start there."

You show her the items you’ve salvaged, including the warforged weapons, the Colonel’s uniform, his sword and chest. She takes out a book and makes an inventory of everything.

"My, my, my.", she scribbles a few more notes and says, "Alright, I’ll give you six fifty for the salvage and the fifty each as promised for bringing back Earic. That’s a thousand gold.", she pauses, tapping her chin in thought, "Now, I could take that off your total for the cart. It’s a pretty decent head start… and Earic will need a escort to this field of his, if you’re interested in another job. What do you say? Do we have a deal?"

"Excellent! That’s very reasonable. Let’s get some contracts signed. Of course it would easier if you have a name for your group. There’s a couple other salvage crews in town."

She barks some orders at Garundah, who begins unloading the salvage. With some of the heavier items, the small goblin uses an overhead pulley set up with a rope of climbing.

Belaluur quickly produces a contract for the salvage and a separate one for the coach. Everyone signs off, Malbor reluctantly, and the goblin lady produces 50 gold coins to each of you. The sound of gold rings in your ears.

"And there we go. I’ll leave you to your business. If you like, you may leave you cart in my warehouse for now, if you don’t have a place of your own to store it. No charge for now."

The last comment is thrown over her shoulder as she goes back to the front to meet a salvager. Earic clears his throat, he’s been standing waiting patiently.

Earic is genuinely embarrassed, but tries to allay everyone’s fears. "I, uh, yes. Well, I apologize, I understand how that might have been a little shocking. It was my mistake to assume you knew of the marques. I often forget those that come to Salvation, do so with the dream of gold, but are sometimes unaware of the laws that control the Grey.", he shifts awkwardly, "I should point out, all brokers are held to a marque from the King as well. Irullan is treacherous in my opinion, Draev is just cheap. I’ve met Fauntleroy in Vathirond. I know of a few others. I can assure you, Bela is fair and reasonable and five thousand gold is a bargain. I’ve seen ones less fair than this sell for well over ten."

Perking up slightly, he answers 37, "Of course I would like to get underway as soon as possible. It’s concerning the warforged are looking for it as well. Either way, we’re going to need help. I don’t know what state it’s in, but even if it’s relatively intact, it could take days and several trips, even with your coach, to retrieve its cargo."

He pulls the map from his pocket and rolls it out on a table.

"In my opinion, we have some good news. It’s doubtful the Blades know those scouts are missing yet. Also, without that coach, the efforts of any support they had will likely be slowed.", he points to the area he’s circled on the map. "That and with your newly acquired cart, instead of what I figure is a two day trip on foot, it will only be half a day of Core’s skilled driving. The area we need to search is quite large, though. A few square miles at least. I know you’ll want to stock up and I need to send a message to Lady d’Cannith. If we leave after lunch, we stand a decent chance of getting to the top of the cliffs by nightfall. If we leave tomorrow morning, we may make it to our search area by the afternoon. I don’t want to pressure you, but time is clearly limited."

Earic’s ears perk up at 37 mentioning House Cannith. "Why yes, the Lady Rayna d’Cannith is my patron and supporter of my research. While those barons fight over control of House Cannith, the Lady is trying to give the refugees in New Cyre a united purpose."

He nods to Kleber, "I appreciate the offer, Kleber. House Tharashk may indeed be helpful if her plans come together.", he hesitates for a a moment. "But, that is not my place to discuss. I do hope our relationship grows strong and that you’ll get to meet her. If this expedition is successful, it will likely be sooner than later."

Lastly he lowers his voice and sidles up to Gzizmix, discreetly he says, "I hope you’ll share your findings from the Colonel with me one day.", he gives the gnome a knowing nod before he says, "I’ll be ready in an hour, if you decide to leave today. If not, let Bela know your plans."

He says good bye to Garundah, who squeakily says "Bye."