Another day on the road.  We redistributed Estera’s junk so she wouldn’t be slowing us down – she literally had everything she owned with her.  I guess technically so do I – which is a depressing thought. After a few hours we encountered a group of the King’s Messengers hanging up wanted posters.  We stopped and schmoozed them a bit and they responded to my joking-but-really-serious request that they escort us all the way to Graltontown with flattery and a polite decline. We warned them that a murderous Kraltonite may be tailing us which prompted some very serious looks and we outlined the entire incident with the Hurmont family. 

They were quite impressed with my bravery, which is definitely a first for things men have been impressed with in regards to me.  They promised to be on the look-out for the miscreants and carried on.  I investigated the posters of course and saw a familiar face – Felix, the war veteran turned “adventurer” that killed White-Muzzle.  It said he was wanted for the murder of the town council of Gib’s Tor and the theft of the village treasury.  Most interesting.

Towards the end of the day we spotted a riderless, clearly tired, brown mare trotting toward us. A single high leather riding boot filled one of her stirrups. Deep, bloody claw marks on the horse’s rump spoke of violence and flight.  She was a little skittish but Quinine and I managed to calm her enough to see that in addition to a saddle she had full saddlebags containing travel items—a bedroll, several waterskins and trail rations along with various other sundries suggesting whoever rode her was well-prepared for the road.

Since the day was almost though anyway we decided to make camp – or rather Phora, Mags, Elth and Estera would make camp while Quinine and I tracked back over the horse’s path to see what became of her rider.  Because I’m so brave and all.  In spite of all the grief I had given her over the flight from the Hurmont homestead Quinine knows her business – I couldn’t see anything but she lead us a few miles down the road and then off the beaten path to a trail of blood, left by the horse.  Ultimately we came upon an unfortunate fellow, dead, and an equally dead and partially eaten mule.  Quinine said based on the tracks that he had likely startled a bear.  

Quinine cast a dark glance at me as I searched his pockets and satchels, which struck me as odd of an otherwise practical woman, but he had nothing of interesting anyway.  She resolved to carry him back to our camp and give him a proper funerary pyre while I resolved to see what the mule was hauling.  Several large wooden boxes filled with common wine, about half of which had been broken in the fall.  I helped myself to a bottle and shared a drink with Quinine as we walked back to our camp – she with a heavy burden.  I didn’t share my thought that we could easily return with the horse to carry the body instead of her hauling it, she’s getting a little big for her britches if you ask me.

____________________________________________________________

Funds: None 

XP: 6866

Inventory: Signet ring, Ring of Many Garments, noble’s traveling outfit, thieves’ tools, silver dagger

Revenge List: Duke Eaglevane, Piltis Swine, Rince Electrum, watchman Gridley, White-Muzzle the worg, Percy Ringle the butler , Alice Kinsey , “Patch”, Heroes of the Lost Sword, Cardshire Arms manager, Erist priest of Strider, Riselda owner of the Sage Mirror, Eedraxis,  Skin-Taker tribe, Kartak, Królewna & Bonifacja Trading Company, Hurmont Family

Anti-Revenge List: Dorehe the maid

Graltontown Rumors : Murderous servants (Reoccurring), exiled noblewoman (Reoccurring), vigilante “Litheria”(30%)

Progress to Graltontown – 50 miles