I spent several hours this morning combing through the buildings of Peacock Orchid trying to find the most non-perishable foodstuffs I could. If I’m being honest I was dawdling – the thought of heading off alone across the plains is very daunting. I’ve never been a huge fan of overland travel in general. Several times I stood at the edge of town and even though there’s farms stretching out through my entire eyeline the fact that just beyond that there’s nothing in terms of human settlement sent a chill down my spine. I’ve been scared witless many times over the past few months, but there’s a difference between facing a kind of immediate and threatening force and standing on the edge of something that you can’t avoid. It’s unsettling to say the least.
I almost managed to convince myself to stay for a few days and see if anyone turns up but I finally set aside those childish thoughts and headed out. I would have felt immeasurably better with a mount (or two) but you know the expression ‘one horse town’? Peacock Orchid couldn’t even meet that standard. Although in their defense they massacred by cultists. So. You know.
Since I got a late start it was well past midday when I cleared farthest most farm in the area – it brought back old childhood memories of the Wharfame family. They were the folk on the most remote edge of the rural area where I was born – everyone thought they were very strange people, based on nothing as far as I can remember. It’s funny, there’s always a hierarchy of some kind. People in the capital look down on the people in the provinces, cityfolk look down on countryfolk, countryfolk in turn spread rumors about their farthest neighbors. It’s some kind of human constant. I suppose everyone has a need to feel superior. Luckily for me I am superior so I don’t need to engage in that kind of pettiness.
After that it was just me and the open plains. One thing I hadn’t counted on was how boring it was going to be. Traveling with companions can be a little tedious, depending on the companion, but when it’s just you out there alone you can go a little stir-crazy even though you’re moving. After a while I started using my cap to take on different appearances and thought up increasingly outlandish backstories for each one. When I got bored with that I started singing to myself. Turns out that all these little games I was playing to pass the time weren’t very good for my navigation (such as it is) because when the sun started going down it was almost directly behind me. Which means I wasn’t really traveling north so much.
I’ll have to do better tomorrow otherwise this trip could take an ugly turn.
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Funds: 9,863 gold
XP: 54,203
Inventory: Ring of Many Garments, Bag of Tricks (rust), Cap of Disguise, Secure Pocket, Resplendent Diplomat’s Palette, Secure Paypack, Skeleton Key, Brooch of Shielding, Pouch of Magic Stones, Masterful Grey Gloves, Black Marketers’ Bag, Biting Bracelet (Endless Ammunition), Boots of Escape, Bracers of the Glib Entertainer, Ring of Animal Friendship, +1 Falchion, +1 Greatclub, +2 Commanding Light Crossbow, Headband of Alluring Charisma +2, 4 potions of unknown wickedness, Manual of Quickness of Action, Bracer of Fire Resistance (10), Spear of Piercing Thunder
Signet ring, noble’s outfit, candlerod (9), masterwork dagger, succubi carving, Domiel family ring, walking stick, masterwork playing cards, spinel and peridot holy symbol of Kralten, diamonds (14), silver crown, waterskins (11), trail rations (11)
Potion of Invisibility (3), Potion of Spider Climb, Potion of Eagle’s Splendor, Potion of Jump, Potion of Reduce Person
Silver ring, gold bracelet, gold and pearl pendant, gold ring, platinum necklace (2), mithril hair clasps (3), 4 small diamonds
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, Claire
Conrad, Erist priest of Strider, Riselda owner of the Sage Mirror,
Eedraxis, Skin-Taker tribe,
Kartak, Królewna & Bonifacja Trading Company, Hurmont Family, Androni
Titus, Greasy dreadlocks woman, Lodestone Security, Kellgale Nickoslander,
Beltian Kruin the Splithog Pauper, The King of Spiders, Auraluna Domiel, mother
Hurk, Mazzmus Parmalee, Helgan
van Tankerstrum, Lightdancer, Bonder Greysmith, Pegwhistle Proudfoot, Lumbfoot
Sheepskin
Rumors : Exiled noblewoman (Reoccurring), vigilante “Litheria”(Reoccurring), murderous Halfling (Reoccurring)
Graltontown Buildings – Mill
Behind the curtain – The rules for getting lost are about as interesting as I expected. Making a Survival check every hour? Does anyone really do that in game? It’s a DC 14 to stay on course and then a DC 20 to notice that you’re off track (although it gets easier every hour) so the chances of Ela staying on course for long are pretty much nil. Which makes sense but I’m not sure how interesting these posts will be. Here’s hoping there’s an encounter soon! It’s interesting how dangerous the mundane things end up being to Ela – this is probably the most likely she is to die since getting filth fever early on.
The Errant Endeavors of Ela the Expert 