Landrae nods, "Sometimes the most straight-forward reasons are the easiest for an audience to understand." her voice goes to a low whisper, "They feel an empathy to the character, their own lives don't seem all that different then... BAM!" Her voice explodes on that last word, an excitement fills her voice as she finishes, "You hit them with that twist and the wave of myriad reactions washes over them, they get the tingle down their back or a tear in their eye. That's the way they never forget the moment."

Mio doesn't quite understand what it is Landrae is so excited about or what she means by "twist or what kind of emotions she's talking about. She wants to be supportive though so she smiles and nods, though her awkward smile is thoroughly obscured by the black mask she seems to always wear.

Turning her snowflake amulet over in her hand thoughtfully, Marva isn’t following the conversation closely. She startles a little when she hears Landrae speak her name. “Oh! Thank you. But I think it was more clumsy and ineffective. I didn’t know what else to do. I didn’t want to hurt the horse either. I think you were the hero of this chapter of the story.” 

She then smiles at Landrae’s animated description of crafting an effective tale. “Yes,” she adds, “Like ‘The Baker in the Woods’. Have you read that one? The young woman spends her early years in an ordinary bakery. When her sister doesn’t return from a hunting trip, the baker goes in search of her. She has many adventures and returns triumphant and changed. Very satisfying.”

"You were anything but! Those children will always remember the day that a horse went crazy and an unassuming dragon lady came from nowhere to try and save them. Years from now, when those children have grown up and have their own children, they'll tuck them in one night and tell the tale of how one day, long ago a dragon swooped out of the sky to save a young child from a terrible beast."  Landrae spins the image of years passing and a bedtime story made grand from the most basic of actions. She closes the tale saying "No-one will know that the beast was a frightened, burned, horse, or that the dragon was named Marva but the story will be told. Trust me." 

"I know a tale or two like it, though not by that name. We used to perform them at some of the villages, one week it was a cobbler's daughter, then a miller's son." Landrae chuckles to herself, "I think we used to swap the profession around depending on what we were most in need of at the time. There's no harm in  serving your own interests whilst you spread a little bit of wonder after all."

Marva considers Landrae’s version of events and says, “Maybe. I think the children are equally likely to think they were rescued from a dragon by an elf on horseback, ha! But I do appreciate your ability to turn a small event into a story. Feel free to make me any kind of hero you like.” And she continues on toward the general store.

"Maybe but dragons are sooooo much cooler than elves." Landrae says with almost childish glee, gives Marva a playful wink, and then pulls out her pipes and plays a rambling ditty as the continue on their errands.

The party makes their way with the wagon in tow to the bazaar of the city's square. There are fruit and vegetable vendors, glinting jewelry stands, thrift vendors, and the mouthwatering aroma of searing meat-on-a-stick, coming from a nearby food stall. Moving further down the street is a store with a long wooden sign above the shop's window with burned lettering: "PATTI'S GENERAL STORE & MORE!".

(Marching Order: Marva - Ruanathi - Landrae - Mio)

Moving through the masses toward the store, Mio bumps into Landrae's back as she comes to an abrupt halt. Before Mio can ask a question, she noticed Landrae's look of surprise as her face turns pale with fear and/or shock.

Landrae:

Trying to quickly recover from her sudden shock, Landrae ceases her playing, makes a show of wiping her brow, and settles her hat down a little lower and with the brim covering her face a little more than it had before. At the bump from behind Landrae spins on her heel to look towards Mio, the look on her face not as composed as she would have liked. Hoping the mercenary can think quickly enough, "Ah, uh, sorry. I just got distracted for a moment, talk to me a little..." Trying to look as natural as possible, Landrae takes a step closer to the shopfront they are walking past and hooks her arm into Mio's to guide the girl onto the street side alongside Landrae. Moving her head close she asks in a volume slightly lower than the ambient bussle of the street, "So, how are the family? All those siblings must make you appreciate the time away."

To DM:

Mio is not unfamiliar with sudden urgency of talking about mundane things. She'd done it before on spying missions. Though it was less glamours than it sounds. Those missions were mostly easy ones that involved one spouse being suspicious of the other.

She responds to Landrae's questions and adds a lot of extra details of her own which she normally wouldn't only to keep the conversation going.

"Well the family is good. A big family can be noisy, especially when there are a total of 4 children under the roof: a younger sister, a younger cousin, an older cousin and myself of course. 12 people living in the same house can get quite crowded and it's next to impossible to have a moment or a place to yourself in a family that big. It can get very frustrating at time but being in a big family also has its benefits. We are never lonely and there's always people around to talk to chat with. Have you ever thought what it would be like to move in with your friend? It's kinda like that but from the very start. We 4 kids used to play outside all the time. It was fun and we made many good memories. I do enjoy some of the quiet when I'm away on work but I also miss being able to see my sisters and my cousins every day and spend time with them. Living alone feels isolated in comparison ha ha."

The group of knights passes you on the opposite side of the street, but Kelsifan slows to a stop. He turns and looks at Mio, who is currently blocking Landrae from sight. Landrae takes a quick peek, to see the half-elf with a puzzled look as if he is forgetting something.

"Stop wasting time, sharp ears!", snarled Timondo, "We have a long journey ahead of us."

"Yes, sir.", Kelsifan answered and returns to his companions.

Patti's General Store

Marva opens the door, and a bell sings throughout the store filled with all manner of goods. Dry goods, tools, and candies are presented in rows on the floor of the shop, and what looks like a rack of traveling cloaks and linens along the wall. In the back are some weapons hanging on a wall behind a counter. A stout halfling sitting behind the counter cracks his head up from his logbook to look at the newcomers to his shop.

Patti: "Welcome, welcome, can I help you two find something?"

Marva and Ruanathi turn to see that Mio and Landrae are currently missing. Perhaps they got distracted by a street vendor of the bazaar.

Marva starts to look for where Landrae and Mio went, but Patti’s question draws her attention away. “Hello! We are here to pick up an order for Gundren Rockseeker: shovels, picks, that sort of thing.” She presents her paper with the list and Gundren’s signature. “I’d also like to pick up a few items for myself, but separate from Gundren’s order. I’d like a set of clothes more fit for traveling: boots, cloak, that sort of thing. Also a waterskin, a sack, and five pieces of parchment.” She turns to Ruanathi and asks, “Do you think we’ll want tents?”

Mio's chatter seemed to do the trick, and she can see Landrae's eye's follow something, or someone that is now behind Mio. "I know what you mean, though the troupe weren't all family, we travelled together for most of my youth and there was always someone around, or something happening that we all got involved in. Time alone was never something I thought I wanted, or needed; when I left the troupe and set out by myself though, I spent more than a few nights alone and it was an odd counterpoint to the constant presence of loved ones." Landrae takes a moment to look back over her shoulder, almost nervously, then after a second or so her demeanor springs back to what Mio was used to, her smile returns, the timbre of her voice is restored to normal, and her hat re-settled on her coppery locks. She adds, by way of explanation, "Thank you Mio. I've just seen some ghosts, it may be nothing but I'll tell everyone about it later if it isn't."

As the pair reach the door to Patti's, Landrae takes another glance back, a look of mixed emotions on her face that washes away as she opens the shop door and holds it open for Mio to enter.

Mio tracks the half-elf from the corner of her eyes as they walk. It was pretty clear to her that it was that person that Landrae was cautious of. Best to not turn backs on potential threats.

Once they reach the shop, Mio nods and answers, "No problem. " Before heading inside. She takes look at the shop's wares and figures it might be a good investment to stock up on some useful equipment while they are here. She asks the shopkeeper, "Do you have 20 arrows and a Net?"

Patti: "Hrmm... so, you're Gundren's adventures eh?", he grins widely reveling a gold tooth, "I have his order in storehouse out back, but take your time! Look around! I'm sure each of you can find something ya fancy. How about a box a sugar candies? Only five silver! The best box sweets in Neverwinter. Guar-an-ty!"

To Marva, "Why yes, the rack on the wall there has cloaks, footwear, and other travel gear yah looking for. Aisle #1 has camping supplies and aisle #4 has some stationary supplies on the far end, there.", he says as he points to each location.

To Mio, "A net, yes, I have...," he trails off as he gives you a glance over. "Hrm. You've got a sneakiness about ya, don't ja. Remember this, lassie, I don't give five-finger-discounts!", he says to Mio evenly. "I gotcha a bundle of arrows, here, behind the counter, and you can find a fishing or trapping net in the aisle #1, camping supplies.

(Marva 12 - Ruanathi 20 - Landrae 10 - Mio 14)

(Ruanathi and Landrae, any items you want to browse or purchase?)

Mio would walk over to get the bundle of arrows and the net. "How much?"

34

Mio, Patti places the bundle of arrow on the counter next to the net and moves write something down. Out of the corner of your eye you spot a ring case on a shelf behind the halfling with silver and golden rings. Most are solid gold and silver, some with set with stones, but one of them catches your eye. 

A brown cat's eye ring. 

 Patti: "That will be...," he follows your gaze, "Oh? Seen something you like?" and then brings the ring case over. "Reasonbly price, Guar-an-ty!" He waves his hand over the rings, "The solid gold and silver rings are 10 gold peices; ones with gemstones are 15."

(Roll a Charisma Check (Deception, Persuasion, or Intimidation) if you want to haggle or you could pass on the ring.)

Landrae takes a look around the shop, and goes a bit googly-eyed at all the options. "Oh, I really with I'd brought a shopping list... I have a terrible habit of buying things I don't really need." Trying to think back to the gear she left at the inn, she asks Patti "I might take a bundle of arrows too, and a quiver if you have one."

(@Kalibar - Do you track ammo?)

Landrae, Patti takes a quiver of 20 arrows from the wall behind him. "That will be 1 gold and 7 silver pieces."

(Roll a Charisma Check (Deception, Persuasion, or Intimidation) if you want to haggle.)

Mio rubs her chin. The ring caught her eye. It reminded her of her sister and she wanted to get it as a gift. However the 15 GP price tag is pretty pricey. She can't be spending money whimsically since she should be saving up money to send to the family. She decides to try and haggle for the ring along with the arrows and the net.

Persuasion: 16

Marva is glad to see Landrae and Mio enter the store. The horse incident made her a little more nervous about the wrong kind of excitement happening on the street. She browses through the rack of clothing and picks out a dark blue cloak, leather boots, dark gray wool breeches, and a cream-colored shirt ("clothes, traveler’s"). Then she wanders around to find a sack for extra storage, an extra waterskin, and 5 sheets of parchment. Finally, she decides she will pick up a tent, just in case the weather is unpleasant on their trek.

When she brings her items up to the counter, she sees the rings Mio is considering. (Can she tell if any of them have any special properties? Arcana: 19 )