Back to page 7
-----There in the shadows of the alley he makes out many forms. First he sees Kazel dressed in her old grey dress and bonnet. Behind her is the Dread Pirate holding the bridle of his coal-black pony. Behind him is another person holding the reins of Kazel’s and his horses.
-----The person appears to be a half-elven male wearing leather armor. His slick black hair is parted in the middle and strands of hair hang limply along each side of his face. He appears to be fairly strong, although his general demeanor hints at some illness. He seems to be constantly sniffling while he looks at everyone, eyes wide with excitement as if anticipating trouble.
-----The Dread Pirate coughs ostentatiously, "Ahem, I suppose yer all wonderin why I've called ye here today...Heh, I've always wanted to say that. Anyway, Kazel's burnt-faced friend and his compatriots from back at the keep are here in town and lookin fer us. By the way this be Dalyor, he's goin to take us to a hidin place fer awhile. Maybe once we gets there we can plot out a way to ambush a couple o' these wizards."
-----Seth nods and smiles at Dalyor and then address everyone. "I have four mercenaries in the Inn that I have hired. If we like we can also hire a complete mercenary group." He shrugs his shoulders, "although I guess if we are hiding the four should be enough."
-----"Let's get a move on then," Kazel says and gives a nod to Dalyor. "We can talk when we get to this hiding place."
-----Seth goes in to retrieve his mercenaries and in a few moments he brings them out to the alley.
-----Dalyor looks around at everyone and stifles back a hacking cough. He then hands off the reins of the horses to Kazel and Seth. Keeping his voice low, he says, "Follow me and stick ta the shadows as much as possible."
-----The entire company starts off, making a strange parade as they make their way across town. Seth’s guards all have their weapons drawn and look all around as they flank the musician on his horse. As they emerge from one alley, they all pause as they see a man wearing the green robes of a druid pass by escorted with his own guards. If the druid noticed them, he gives no sign as he and his guards stride along.
-----Finally the entire procession makes it to the block just south of the north gate. The buildings here seem to have a more worn look if that is possible in this rustic town. One particular tavern seems to be quite busy with the sounds of rowdiness being carried through the air.
-----"Whew!" the dwarven guard lets out as he takes a whiff of the air in this part of town. Dalyor, now significantly stopped up and his eyes tearing, turns to reply and says, "Huh? I don’ smell anyt’ing. . . Oh yea’, yer talkin’ ‘bout da cheesemakers! Dat’s w’ere we be headin’!"
-----Just a few doors down on the dark street is a building the size of a barn. Dalyor now leads everyone to a side door that opens from a small alley on the side. There he jiggles a protruding nail in the door and it opens. He ushers Kazel, Seth and the Dread Pirate inside while telling Seth in a congested voice to have his guards take the horses to the front.
-----Inside the trio sees the large room where the big vats of fermenting cheese are kept. Of course the strong smell assaults their senses as Dalyor races to the front entrance to let the guards in with the horses.
-----When everyone is inside, the dwarf exclaims dourly, "By Moradin’s beard, this be where we be hidin’?"
-----Dalyor’s immediate response is to shake his head ‘yes’ as he is overcome by a wracking cough.
-----The Dread Pirate hauls a handkerchief out of his pocket and wraps it around his face, making a face at the stench of the place, "Arrr, maybe the cheesemakers aren’t all that blessed after all. Or maybe they've built up some serious karma by abiding with this stench."
-----Gimplefwick then turns to Seth and whispers to him, "About these mercenaries, are they competent? Did they have references? A note from their mothers or anythin? What do they know about what we're goin to be doin?"
-----Seth searches his person for a scented handkerchief as he whispers back to the Dread Pirate, "Well they all said they were good, and they were willing to kill everyone I told them to. They all seem to have weapons, I think that is reference enough for now. We will need to get them some horses and maybe a crossbow or two, but we can sort that out latter."
-----"And I hope they're good enough for those psychos for heroes," Kazel chimes in, and then adds a bit sheepishly. "By the way, let's just go over what we're supposed to be doing again, just to be sure."
-----She then speaks up to the rest of the people. "C'mon, how bad can cheese be compared to the stench of death and destruction of flesh and blood, which we're all supposed to be comfortable with, right?" She then leans closer to Dalyor and says, "Anyway, how about you update us on a bit about what's going on in this town? If there's nothing so secret that you can't say to everyone, that is."
Go to Page 9