Echo finishes her last bite of breakfast and chimes in: "Sounds like we'll be heading towards the Miner's Trail then! Oh, Jasper, I'll go with you to get some supplies!"

(ooc: Echo will just be buying a rope! how much would that be?)

Quote from guyu >>

...(ooc: Echo will just be buying a rope! how much would that be?)

(OOC: 50ft of hempen rope usually cost 1gp an weight 10 lbs)

(ooc: oh thanks!! I just realised the price is listed on the items already haha)

Falver looks at Rel: " You don't owe me a thing, Rel. I'm just glad to be in your company... " he looks away, a slight blush coming to his cheeks. 

To the others: "So, between dwarves and gnomes, huh? I'd favor seeing the dwarves first, but I'm open to whatever the group is thinking.  I'm fairly well stocked, so I can wait or accompany anyone to the store and then we can be off. "

When the time comes, after some thought, Rel will buy 6 days of rations for 3 gold from Barthen's, using up more than half of her monetary resources.

She doesn't trust herself to speak when it comes to choosing between visiting the dwarves or the gnomes.

Jasper is buying 50 foot rope and four days of rations. 

"Oh, well..." reflects Khessa "We will most likely need to do both missions, for both seem to be important for Phandalin, so it should not matter THAT much which one we are doing first. Anyway, Falver would prefer to start with dwarves, Jasper would like more to start with gnomes, Rel Serafin choose not to vote... I... well..." thoughtfully puts a finger to her lips "maybe I'm with Falver, I'd go to the dwarves first, because I think that if gnomes are to be convinced to share their secret with us, we will have more chances to win their trust if we come after having achived one more success. Echo? Do you have any preference? If we come to a draw, we will toss a coin, heads or tails: heads means dwarves first, tails means gnomes first".

(OOC: something like rolling 1d2: 1 = dwarves, 2 = gnomes)

“Let us head to the dwarves. Quick and easy.”

Hearing Echo, Rel nods.  And after a moment, looking away, to herself briefly, nods again.  She grips her quarterstaff.

"Let's go."

"Before we start working on that dragon we should probably warn everybody of it first, yeah? If we go find the dwarves first in the mountains, we might get some things to give to the gnomes later to convince them to help...?" Echo's voice trails off into an uncertain question as she tries to think of what could be useful in the mountains but draws a blank.

Since the party seems to have come to an agreement, after everyone is finished with the last purchases, Khessa leads the way to Townmaster Harbin Wester, to get directions to reach the dwarven prospectors (like if there is a road or path to follow... because, well, just knowing that they are located 'in the mountains southwest of Phandalin' is not very much...).

Once there, she knocks at the handsome wooden door with the usual brass door knocker.

Toblen and Margret serve the adventurers their breakfast. At Khessa's request, Toblen chuckles. "I'll see what we can do. We have plenty of cabbage, but you're the first I've met to ever request it special."

Fifteen minutes later, Margret delivers a steaming plate of cabbage to the party's table, placing it delicately in front of Khessa. The woman beams, looking pleased with herself. "Cooked it myself, dearie! Enjoy!"

To Rel the innkeeper shakes his head. "'Fraid not. All anyone can talk about lately is that damn dragon! Big as a house it is with scales white as snow. Our fool of a townmaster won't even leave his house, he's so afraid of the thing!" Toblen shakes his head with disdain.

--

At Townmaster Harbin's house, the party can hear the man shuffle his way to the door again to give them directions.

"Back again, eh? I'm mighty grateful you takin' the time to warn folk outside the village of the danger. Now the dwarves got an excavation going about 15 miles away. Depending on your pace, it'll take you between three to five hours to get there if you take the miner's trail leading south out of the village. Just follow the path and you'll reach the place eventually. The trail goes through the woods and into the foothills of the mountains. That's where the excavation is; ye can't miss it!"

“Thank you!” Jasper says to the Townmaster. Looking to the others, “Shall we head out? Unless anyone has business left in town, I’m ready to go.”

Rel indicates she is ready to head out.

She lightly elbows Khessa in her first, awkward attempt at a half-jest with her surface friends.  "You see, even the Innkeeper agrees with me about Harbin Wester.  'Fool of a Townmaster' he said, and the part about not leaving his house he is so afraid... now, we may avoid unnecessary fights, but here we are, going outdoors, unlike him.  Maybe when we're all done with this, they'll choose you as the new Townmaster, keeping the Phandalin safe, and riding on the back of your manticore friend.  I think any of you would do a better job leading the town than him, really."

A slightly unnatural, forced looking smile appears on Rel's face.  She looks both sad and relieved that the group is not visiting the gnomes first.

"Off again... this should prove interesting, if nothing else. Warning dwarves of a dragon.... which, I certainly hope we don't have to deal with anytime soon. Once was enough for me, thank you very much. " Grabbing his gear, and hoisting his pack on his back, he leaves with the others. As they travel, he will stay close to Rel, watching the road ahead and woods around them. 

(Perception: 15 ) (Passive Perception: 14)

(Edited to highlight text)

On the trail south, Jasper stays up front to keep a watch for any dangers.

Perception:  7

Echo follows along, humming an off-key tune and keeping an eye out, not for danger, but for interesting things (cool rocks perhaps? Because that's her idea of what 'precious things people look for in mining sites' are) on the road. (Roll: 5 , no modifier for Perception, -1 for Investigation).

After a while, she notices that Rel seems a little downcast. She summons a mage hand and slowly creeps towards Rel's left backside while floating the hand over her right shoulder. The mage hand taps Rel's shoulder and at the same time, in a gleeful stage whisper from the left side: "boo!"

Just as Rel trails off in her half-hearted attempt at a joke, with her attention focused on Khessa, she suddenly feels a tap on her right shoulder and Echo's whisper of "Boo".  Rel spins and jumps in the air, startled.

Dull black energy seems to flow from her earrings to her fingertips as a dark, light-drinking beam of force shoots off in a random direction through the trees and rocks, startling some crows as they take to the air, cawing vociferously.  Surprised as much by her unintentional Eldritch Blast as she is by Echo's playful Mage Hand shoulder-tap and whisper, Rel looks around sheepishly and grins.

"I... I apologize for that, Echo Thornhill... and the rest of you!  I must control my magic better."

She follows suit by summoning her own Mage Hand in front of her own face, sticking its thumb on her nose and wiggling the arcane hand's upraised fingers while facing in Echo's direction, sticking her own tongue out as she does.  As she then looks around at the party, something occurs to her.

"In our group so far, I think the women have felt more comfortable being forthcoming and speaking about themselves.  Though I know well that it is not easy.  Falver Wildheart and Jasper Mooncrest, I hope that we are in the process of earning your trust.  Should we succeed in our mission to warn the dwarves, may we learn more about at least one of you?"

Quote from Goddess_Nyx >>

... At Khessa's request, Toblen chuckles. "I'll see what we can do. We have plenty of cabbage, but you're the first I've met to ever request it special."

Khessa puzzled face turns some times from Toblen to Magret; finally she regains enough of her breath to state: "Cabbages are among the most healthy and delicious food mankind ever discovered! And the perfume, as you boil them in the water... You know, my family farms cabbages from generations..."
Then, suddenly, sadness brings shadows in the deep of her blue eyes as she remembers her family.

Quote from Goddess_Nyx>>

Fifteen minutes later, Margret delivers a steaming plate of cabbage to the party's table, placing it delicately in front of Khessa. The woman beams, looking pleased with herself. "Cooked it myself, dearie! Enjoy!"

"Oh, thank you so much, Margret!" the kindness of the plump waitress even more than the appearance of her favorite dish wipes away the sadness of memories from the mind of the blonde arcane warrior "I'm pretty sure they are delicious! Sure I'll enjoy them!"

Quote from Tybard >>

...She lightly elbows Khessa in her first, awkward attempt at a half-jest with her surface friends.  "You see, even the Innkeeper agrees with me about Harbin Wester.  'Fool of a Townmaster' he said, and the part about not leaving his house he is so afraid... now, we may avoid unnecessary fights, but here we are, going outdoors, unlike him.  Maybe when we're all done with this, they'll choose you as the new Townmaster, keeping the Phandalin safe, and riding on the back of your manticore friend..."

The tall adventurer can't help but smile: "Oh, yes, Rel Serafin, I'm already imagining myself flying over Phandalin on Tookrashk's back, dragging a linen sheet with 'Khessa for Townmaster!' written on it! It would surely be a success! Who would not want such a townmaster?"