What Comes Next (RP)

Continued from The Sacrifice Camp

Only once things have calmed down a bit do the people give you a moment to yourselves. It is the following morning before you find yourselves seated in a quiet corner with the captain.

"You have done well for yourselves." Bimi says. "I don't feel so bad about my decision to leave you. I have to get back to my job, and the caravan needs me, but there are greater things in your future." She says.

She spills some coins on the table. "Do you notice anything?" She asks probingly.

There are a variety of coins, mainly copper and silver, but also some other materials as used in 'foreign parts', some iron and other metals (no gold), and even some stone coins with detailed and intricate images carved —one assumes— upon them. Your eye might be drawn to some of the designs, and someone flips over one of the coins for a closer look. It is old and worn, the image embossed on it, faded by hands and time, just might be: The Horned-Wolf.

"That's from Necusle." Bimi says. "I have never been there, but I have dealt with caravans from that far off land." It is possible one of you have encountered coins from such places —especially at wayside inns— and you may have heard stories of Necusle, strange and scary stories, of magic and worse.

"I knew I recognised the symbol." Bimi says. "Though, what it is doing on a wall all the way over here, I am not sure." She watches you intently to see how you react. "I believe you may have venture there to get answers before you can properly cleanse that temple. I think they tried to do in before. But I am not sure of any of this.

"I have asked the healer to join us." She says. "I think you need to hear what she has to say before you decide anything." You sit in silence for a while, waiting for healer (unless there is something you talk about). When she arrives she looks uncomfortable.

"I don't like this." The healer says belligerently. "This is none of my business."

"Just tell them what you told me. Please." Bimi says.

"Hmph!" The healer mutters, calling for a draft of beer before she will continue. "Your friend is not your friend." She finally declares. "She seems nice enough. Don't get me wrong. But there is a... mismatch between soul and body. I can feel the healing energies getting... lost and confused. But I don't do no magic!" She declares this last part adamantly. "And I probably don't know what I am talking about. Thank you for the drink, and the gold, and her other 'friends' have kept me better fed than I am used to, but I am happy to be rid of the lot of you."

She stands, and leaves if you don't stop her for more questions.

What do you do?

"I know the general direction." Bimi says to Albert. "It might be your best bet is to find and sign on with a caravan going there? But that could just be my personal prejudices speaking." She says with a smile. "I could give you a letter of recommendation, it is just possible that it may have some weight if you are lucky enough to find a caravan that knows me. Else you may be able to find better directions as you get closer."

---

The healer humbly waves away your thanks, she has been well paid, and enjoys her work and appreciates what you have done for the valley.

"I don't know what it means." The healer says defensively. "I am just telling you what I see. I don't claim to understand how such a thing could happen. Maybe retrace your steps and go back to where it happened and see if you can't reverse it?" She shrugs.

"You ain't leaving her with me." The healer says, her tone sounds... scared? disgusted? you can't tell. "My part is done, she has her medicine and she will probably heal up, given time. But she is still weak, and should not travel. Same for you." She says to the captain, who merely shrugs at her. "Other people seem to like her, though. So she may be happy here for a while?"

What do you do?

"Yes." Bimi says, a bit uncertainly. "You should talk to her and ask her what she plans." She hesitates a moment, as though thinking about not saying the next part. "Maybe you will get different answers than I did? ... I get the feeling she mostly tells people what they want to hear.

"When I spoke to her she did not seem at all interested in going back home and was strangely dismissive and evasive concerning the idea of seeing her family. The only conversation that I think was truly true was when I talked about us going back to the temple. She was adamant that she would never go back there. That reaction makes sense given her experience, but I got the feeling that maybe there was more to it. Be careful around that subject." Bimi says.

"I am probably going to go home first." (By this, she means your 'home', where you started). "Then follow the caravan's route. This gives me the best chance of finding them.

"Ultimately you need to go in the opposite direction. But you may stand a better chance of finding a caravan in a big city —and I can help directly if I am there with you. There is always the chance that there is no caravan heading that way, and then you have to trek all the way back over here, or find another way. At least if you go that way," she indicates the opposite direction to 'home', "even if you don't find a caravan, you are a little closer. You would still need to get more specific directions as you go."

---

When you mention getting paid for the caravan work Bimi looks slightly puzzled —you have openly been throwing around massive amounts of money recently. "Technically you are still owed, what is it? Three days of guard pay from me? Anything after the bandit camp can not come out of company coffers. I don't carry a lot of coin with me, and I think Asha knew better than to take up a collection for me —she pretty much bled the village dry of gold, turning down all other coins, for you guys. I am very pleased that you sent that money back into the community, spread it around a bit. This is all I have." She says, indicating the coins scattered on the table. This is probably more than you would have earned for the days you actually worked for the caravan, and the town has done a rummage and resupplied you with the gear you lost (maybe Theo and Phil had a lot to do with this, since they still feel it might have been their fault your packs went missing).

Your replacement gear is old, but mostly better than what you had before.

"Depending on what you find out, you might not get to give her a choice in the matter? I worry about leaving her like this for the time it might take to get answers, but this is beyond me, and answers may be needed before you can know what to do."

The captain does not have much advice on this, but she does mention the option of bringing along some of the locals that proved 'worthy' during you recent adventure. You doubt Phil or Norbert would want to leave at this time, but Theo —who it turns out was travelling in the same direction as the captain, and has offered payment for protection on the road (turns out the mayor did not hire the bodyguards he had when you first met him, he lied to both them and to you to make it seem like his father knew (and approved) of his being out here), if you wanted, you may be able to persuade him to delay his education in favour of some 'travels abroad'. Daryl, and Lady would be thrilled to be invited along, and Limpy —depending on how his belated proposal goes— may be all too keen to get away."Ha. I forget that you were not with us from the beginning." Bimi says to Albert. "Yes, please, take that coin. I don't need it, and it may prove useful as a sample." There is only the one coin with the Horned-Wolf symbol, there are a few, similar looking ones with other symbols, and Bimi indicates you should take them as well. "I have spent the past days scouring this village for these, for you. I think the villagers think I am 'that mad old coin lady' ... and they had better be saying 'old-coin lady' and not 'old, coin lady'." She jokes. "I was sure I had seen the symbol somewhere before, but could not be certain it was on a coin. Still don't know what it means."

"I would like to leave as soon as possible. Though the healer says the longer I wait the faster I can travel, so leaving later may mean getting there sooner? I have asked, and no one here has horses." She pats her injured leg which is healing up nicely. "I am ready when you are."

What do you do?

Having given away all your new gold you are left with just the few coins you had on your person when you gear was lost. Fortunately all of the locals refuse to charge you for shopping —the local shopkeepers, and such, have benefited from the celebration festivities and the redistribution of that hoarded gold, so they consider it a win anyway.

---

Theo is thrilled you have decided to travel with the captain and himself, though he still claims that he will be leaving you once reaching the big city. He may change his mind when the time of separation comes.

---

Phil is disappointed —but not surprised— that her father has not offered you any reward for rescuing both his kids. "He says that 'you should have negotiated first'." She says, pulling a face and speaking in a silly-sounding deep voice. "And I don't think he it pleased that Theo is going off to live his life.

"Norbert and I have been up in the attic." She says, and tries to hide a blush —you might remember a previous time the two of them were alone in an attic as the start of her (his) expression of feelings for the shepherd— "Daddy does not know what all is up there, and I thought you would get more use out of this. Better than it moldering up there."

---

As you leave the mayor's, you get the feeling you are being followed... again. It comes as no big surprise that it is Daryl, hoping to get to talk to the heroes, but, once again, too shy to just approach them and ask if he can come along.

He is wearing armour again, but this time it is much more practical and actually seems to fit him.

---

What do you do?

"I ... Um... Er..." Daryl stammers when he is caught sneaking. "You were looking for me?" He asks, sounding both nervous that he may be in trouble and eager for why.

"This?" He says, brushing down his armour. "Shiny, isn't it! It is my other grandpa's. The family gave it to me! Said they were proud and I deserved and it and mom's dad was more my size. Look! I can move around in this." Daryl exclaims, doing a cartwheel, but collapsing at the landing and ending up in a heap. He springs up instantly, though. "Apparently the other one was way too big. And they didn't even shout at me for loosing it." He sounds so thrilled by the praise that he looks like he may just burst.

"They don't have another sword, though." He says, sounding crestfallen. And you see that he has a large kitchen knife at his belt.

"My... plans?" He asks, trying to sound casual. "I was hoping to do good." You can tell he is desperate to be allowed to come with you, but does not know how to ask.

What do you do?