The Black Wyrm of Brandonsford

Sable secretly smiles and pulls up his hood. He nods at Wren's succinct summary of the day and prepares to follow whoever needs assistance.

Nessa examines the letter more closely. Reading it again multiple times. Looking at it from different angles, as if that might might reveal some new information. Her grumpiness has given way to curious enthusiasm.

"The sword in the tomb? Didn't you guys mention something like that?" She asks, having payed only casual attention to the conversations that were had last night. Now she is rather invested in the topic though.

Rowan is enjoying breakfast while listening to the conversation. "Perhaps we get the map, talk to Vivian, then try to find the odd little creatures gold? For all we know he ran directly to it and is in the process of moving it to a new location. 100 gold is a lot to give up, but I suppose he was trying to save his neck. Who knows, the gold may be in the same direction we need to go in to find the missing brother."

"Let’s hope it’s along the way, yeah. Somethin’ tells me that Brother won’t last long on his own, so I don’t want much delay in getting to him." Gann says to Rowan before turning to Nessa.

"That sword is what the missing holy man went after. So I guess we have common cause after all, Nessa. Glad you’ll be with us."

He finishes off his breakfast and stands. "Alright, I’m off to the herbalist." He waits up a moment for anyone else who wants to come along.

Wren shrugs and says, "I got nothing better to do. I figure we can knock out some errands and get out there ASAP. So let's do this." She stands and follows.

Nessa will stick to her original plan and mingle with the townsfolk. Asking around for information and rumors regarding the local area, especially the temple in the woods and the tomb.

"I will grab the map from Cedric the Merchant then and meet the rest of you on the road to this rumored witch, Vivian. Would you like to come along Rowan or Nessa as you talk with people?"

Sable swirls his cloak around him and waves Kittridge away from his meal and to the exit.

"If anybody finishes early, might be worth a stop by the Reeves as well. They're the ones that want this dragon killed, so they might know something useful." Gann adds before heading out with Wren.

---

The Herbalist's Shop

---

Brandonsford is already buzzing by the time Gann and Wren are walking up the village's main street. The farmers, woodcutters, millers and other folk who normally live outside the town's walls are exiting the walled village as the sun comes up, preparing for a day of work ahead. Animals bleat and snort as they are herded along, and it does not take the pair long to find the herbalist's shop -- directly across from the smithy, where a burly man is already stoking the fire in his forge.

The door and window shutters are thrown open at the herbalist's, and a tall, thin woman can be seen moved about inside, stocking shelves and such. Surely this would be Ingrid.

---

The Mercantilist's

---

Rowan and Sable have certainly seen better supplied general goods shops than Brandonsford's, but they are greeted at the door all the same by a stocky man with a bushy mustache.

"Morning! I don't know you, so you must be new. Passing through, or some of these dragon-hunters I've heard about? I'm hopeful you're the latter, strapping fellows that you are."

---

Around Town

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While her fellows set about their specific tasks, Nessa, that strange letter tucked away again, mingles with the townsfolk. She hears more rumors of the witch in the woods and mistrust around her involvement in the town's troubles, and around Ingrid the herbalist's troubling connections to that witch. But she also overhears some townsfolk wondering if there's no dragon at all, and that it's all some ploy of evil fairies to reclaim the woods north of Brandonsford as their own. Finally, there's a boy who tells her of a treasure that was hidden in the area -- a cursed treasure no less, belonging to a pirate aptly named Carmelo the Cursed.

When she has heard about enough and is ready to rejoin her companions, a man's voice calls to her from behind.

"Miss! Excuse me, miss! You are new to town, and with those other strangers, yes? Might I have a word?"

Turning, Nessa sees a portly, reasonably well-dressed man with mutton chops and a scraggly beard. He looks tired, visibly stressed... purple rings shadow his eyes, perhaps indicating he's not getting enough sleep.

Wren enters the herbalist's shops and looks around. When she sees the herbalist, she says, "Ahoy there!" She turns to Gann and whispers, "What are we here for again?"

She gives the man a curious look, not entirely sure what to make of this fellow.
"Oh, of course you may have a word. Though you seem to be in need of a good nights rest more than anything else. Anyhow your assumptions are correct. Do you have any business with me or my companions?" She responds.

"Good morning", Rowan replies as he glances around the room. "We are passing through and while we aren't dragon hunters by trade, we are curious to see it." He casually picks up a trinket from a nearby counter to mindlessly look at it. "Being new to the area, we're wondering if you have a map we could use while out and about?"

Sable gives an appraising eye around the place before he focuses on Cedric the Merchant's questions. He is looking in particular for items that can be added to traps. He nods along at Rowan's assertions.

"We heard she might know something about the supposed witch outside town." Gann whispers before entering the shop.

"Hi there, I'm Gann. I'm with the Marchguard looking into this dragon business." he says to Ingrid, holding out a hand and flashing a friendly smile. "This is Wren", he adds with a nod to the side, "she was kind enough to bring our little group down the river."

"Oh yeah! I remember now," she whispers back. When introduced, she nods and raises a hand in greeting. After Gann has spoken, she adds, "We were wondering if you could tell us a little bit about the area outside of town? For example, I hear there's a dragon about! And old Quinn claims there's a witch, too!"