"Oh no." Vesper replies. "We're looking for Ellywick. Is she in?"

"Oh yea... of course," the man says. "I heard you guys talkin' 'bout her last night. She rents a room from us. I'll go an' fetch her for ye." As he wipes his hands off, he asks, "So...can you folks really take care o' them goblins for us?"

The butcher turns and walks into his house, then re-emerges a couple minutes later with a small, sandy haired gnome in tow. Fairly thin, with a tan face, well-defined features and deep turquoise eyes, she stands before you in green trousers, a loose fitting brown shirt and bare feet. Smiling like a ray of sunshine on this dim, cloudy morning, she greets you with an enthusiastic voice. 

"Well, hello there!! Aren't you a fun looking group! Ellywick Baffleston at your service!"

"Nice to meet you, I'm Vesper. My friends and I are here to take care of the goblins that have been causing trouble around here and we heard that you might be able to help."

Lumen, mood brightening, but still in his own head, flinches a bit when Kess puts her hand on his shoulder. 

"Oh! Hello. Hi there. I think you just, just reminded me of someth- someONE I once met, but it's not, it can't, you're you, and I'm me. Everything's perfectly all right, now. I'm fine, fine here, now, thank you..." he says, words tripping over themselves, in a skipping patter one doesn't tend to hear from Lumen. His eyes are meeting hers every few words, but also darting around, causing locks of his black hair to wave back and forth in front of his eyes. "How are you? I mean, well, since you're asking, which is very kind of you, I'm a bit frustrated at myself for spending all my money and then some on this very nice armor, and I don't like owing things to people and putting them out. I'm also trying to get information about these goblins, and, well, last night everyone must have run out of steam, so it felt a little lonely, so I got a bit grumpy and confused. But today's a new day, and it's dry enough that my lute won't get ruined, and we can go do this job. Speaking of which, let's go see Ellywick!"

(Apologies for the delay in getting that response to Kess up! Once they're with Ellywick, Lumen's back to himself and ready to charm the gnomish goblin expert, backing up Vesper however he can...)

"Goblins?!" Ellywick replies with a startled expression. "Oh my!!" She then smiles and starts laughing. "Yes, I can help. You see, I know where those horrid green buggers live."

"A few weeks ago, I was out in the woods following an old game trail and stalking rabbits. Mr. Fenwick here makes the best rabbit stew, and although I find them to be such cute little creatures, I also find them to be very yummy. So, when it comes to rabbits, you could say that I let my stomach do the talking."

"Anyhoo," she continues, "I ended up following the trail for quite a few hours. You know how time can just slip away when you're out there under the sun, and so I found myself rather enjoying a nice long stroll. At one point, I happened upon a cave that was set into a small hill, and what do I see, but a small group of several goblins coming out. I sat there for awhile, hidden in the brush, and over the course of a couple hours, I saw quite a few of 'em come and go. I knew that there had been some goblin attacks on the road in recent months, and so I concluded that this was their hideout."

"I would fancy another long walk, so I'd be happy to show you where it is."

"That would be nice. Could you wait an hour though, we ordered some supplies from the blacksmith. He'll have them finished up by then."

"Yes, but let us not dally too long," Ellywick says. "If you're wanting me to take you out there, I'd prefer to leave as soon as possible. I can be ready in half a jiffy, but if an hour is what you need to get ready, then I can wait. Return when you've complete your business with Master Frostforge; I'll be waiting here out front with my backpack, smoking a pipe, and watching Mr. Fenwick cut up some more jerky strips. Who knows... he might even give us a few pieces for the road!" he says with a wink towards the butcher.

"Hurry back!"

"We will!" Vesper says, before heading off to wherever the party wants to go next. When they've left Ellywick's sight, she sends a Message to whoever is carrying the bag with Krackle inside. Don't let Krackle out until we've found the goblins and started fighting them. I know that Ellywick is nice, but the last gnome I saw didn't take so well to Krackle being with us and I don't know if she'd react the same way.

"I'm happy to stay with you and while away the minutes until the materials are done at the blacksmith," Lumen says with his winningest smile, and pulling out his lute. "I'll trade you a song or three for some stories about the things you've seen out in these woods, apart from goblins, of course! How long have you lived here? What else lives in the woods? Anything come out after a rain like that? Any old stories you'd love to tell? I love stories. Bit of a collector, myself."

He gives a friendly look to the group that says, "go ahead, I got this, and maybe I'll get some information and some fresher jerky out of this!" but with a head tilt that says, "feel free to join if you like!" Lumen is just trying to be friendly to the gnome who is helping out so much, and give the party time to do the commerce stuff.

Before they go, he also hands over his 3 gold pieces from the sale to Vesper. 

Chrys nods at Vesper, hefting the bag over her shoulder.  "I'll ask about the cloaks 'fore I pick up my supplies," she tells the others.  "I'll be back 'fore the hour's up.  Never was much of a shopper anyhow," she adds.  "Least, not if I didn't have the coin to back it up."

Trudging through the muck with Vesper towards Sadie's trade shop, she does her best to clean off her boots before stepping inside.  "'ello?"  Chrys takes a careful look around the shop.  "I was lookin' to see if ya had any raincloaks for sale here, an' around how much they'd be costin'?  We'd be needin' 'bout four o' em, plus a bit o' spare for patchin' up," she adds, thinking of how tiny Krackle would be lost in a full-sized raincloak.

Krackle would start to get restless inside of the bag. He would begin to occasionally stick the end of his nose out from under the leather flap to steal a few quick breaths of fresh air as water droplets began to form inside the stuffy and humid container. "Ppssssst... psssssstt... is it time for me to help yet?" The kobold would whisper as the bulging saddle bag moves a bit when Krackle repositions.

Chrys smiles pleasantly at the shopkeep as she shifts the saddlebag around so that the wiggling portion is hidden behind her back.

Vesper puts her hand in front of her mouth and pantomimes yawning so that she can send a message to Krackle. "We're still in town. We'll let you out of the bag when we're about to fight the goblins, so that no one will think you're one of the monsters. Please stay still and be quiet, that would be helpful."

Lumen

Ellywick responds with a wide grin. "Why, that would be just dandy! I love songs and stories too. Truth be told, I need even less than a jiffy to get ready myself, you see my bag is already packed. I always is! Me mum always taught me to be prepared, and so I keep my little rucksack all stuffed and ready to go at the foot of me bed. So, that means I can spend nearly the entire hour visiting with you while you're friends finish their shopping."

"I've lived here in Melton for ten years, give or take a few. I don't concern myself with counting them as they go by. Been living with the Fenwick's here for most of that. They're kind enough to put me up, although it's a right good trade if you ask me. I'm pretty good at catching rabbits and other things, so I bring 'em back here for him. He cuts it all up and sells the meat."

"The furs, I trade to Miss Sadie, who lives right near Master Frostforge. She sews 'em up into clothing, and things like hats and mitts. She made me a very nice sable hat, which you'll see me wear on our little walkabout. It's my favorite hat, and it sure does keep my little head warm when there's a chill. In fact, she made all of the clothes I'm wearing now!" She twirls around to give you a good look at her attire.

"Anything else in the woods? Now that's a silly question!" she laughs. "O' course there are other things in the woods! Aside from the regular things like rabbits, raccoons, deer, elk, bears, big forest cats, and lots of birds.. I love birds. They're my favorite. I could sit and talk to them for hours. Don't always know what they're sayin' back, but it sure is fun to watch 'em flutter around, build their nests and play in the wind and amongst the branches."

"Sometimes I've seen wolves. They're quite elusive, but they're out there. And I think I even saw an owlbear one time. Can't be sure, I had just woken up from a nice long nap in a nice comfy crook I found in the roots at the base of an old oak tree. I was pretty frightened and I so got myself out of there pretty fast. That was awhile ago. Haven't seen one since."

"How 'bout you Mr.... what was your name again? Where do you hail from? What kinds of things have you seen during your own adventures?"

Chrys, Vesper & Kess

Entering the shop, which is more like a house than a store, you find yourself inside a room full of fabric. Piles of cloth and clothing lie on tables and the floor in various states of repair and construction. In the middle of it all is a thin woman with dark, but slightly graying straight dark hair that's pulled up into a bun. She appears to be in her 40s or 50s, and she's sitting in a cushioned chair sewing a set of short, tan breeches. 

"Well, hello there. What can I do for you, my dears?"

(OOC: FYI...Remember, you also have the purple & jade cloak you got from the fallen traveler.)

Chrys tries not to look too much out of her element in this store full of what she considers to be finery.  Hemming and straightening her spine, she meets the gaze of the tailor and nods in greeting.

"Ah, well... for one, we were lookin' to see if you were interested in buyin' this piece," Chrys offers, holding out the folded purple cloak she kept.  "Alongside that, as I said, four o' us will be needin' some gear to help better protect us from all that wet and miserable out there, along with some patchin' fabric for 'em.  Adventurin' life's rough, ain't it?  So...what'cha got for cloaks, if I can ask?"

”Oooh, that’s a pretty piece! That would look dashing on a nice, handsome adventurous gentleman. Do you girls know where one of those might be hiding? Hee hee hee! Sure, I’ll take it of your hands for... say five silver coins. If you throw in the man, I’ll give you five times that! Tee hee!”

”I’ve surely got a few cloaks. Keep the wind and light rain off. Those are one gold each. I also have a few yards of oiled, waxed cotton lying around here in one of these piles. I could cut ‘em up into four pieces, big enough to wrap around yourselves in a downpour. Fabric will shed rain. Keep you, or your gear a might bit more dry than just the cloaks.

”Those are half a gold each.”

 "Wish I could," Chrys says regretfully, though she decides to keep the man's unfortunate demise to herself -- there's no reason to bring this happy tailor down, and Melton could certain certainly use a little more cheer  "I'd love ta have one o' your cloaks, though, an' two o' those waxed cottons," she says, thinking of Lumen, whom she is absolutely sure will refuse to purchase any sort of protective gear whatsoever, considering how circumspect he has been about paying back Vesper for the loan.  She hands over 2 gold coins for the materials, and immediately dons the cloak, while packing the two wax-cloths away in the saddlebags.

(Apologies, I somehow missed this post at the end of the page.)

Lumen listens to Ellywick’s bright and engaging patter, and settles back, fingers dancing across the lutestrings, calling forth a tune that’s more insouciant than background. It’s similar to his heavier music he performed in Yartar but dialed down a bit. He nods and laughs as she tells him about her time in the woods, offering some brief rejoinders but mainly letting her talk. After she realizes she doesn’t know his name, he blinks and lets out a grunt.

“Suppose I haven’t told you! You can call me Lumen Vork. I’m a troubadour who has somehow found his way into some adventure with my friends over there, only met them a few days ago but they’ve taken me in, and I really appreciate the care and generosity that took. ‘Some reason I find that a bit hard to tell them directly. Bit of a puzzle. I’m an enigma wrapped in a riddle and all that. Anyhow, before that I was performing in Yartar, and finally catching some success after a lot of, well, smaller gigs. Had a lot of rejection, if we’re being honest. Bards don’t usually sound like this. Or look like this. Most of the towns I busked in, or taverns I tried to perform at, they didn’t really appreciate it. I didn’t really have a model for this - I’m from a tiny crag way up in the Spine and my family and former friends really weren’t... art aficionados. All I could really do with them was raid, pillage, and grunt. Didn’t have a choice. We had a disagreement and I had to leave. Better off that way.”

There’s a pause for a bit, filled with some more serious musical thoughtfulness.

”So owlbears, that’s interesting. But if that’s the most threatening thing you’ve seen out there, then these goblins really are outliers, right? It’s odd to have them operating like this? Usually they need something that gives them confidence to pull this stuff. No sign of something bigger?”

"Pssstt... Psssttt.. hey.. can I get one if those cloaks please? I think you dropped a coin.." The tiny kobold would whisper as he drops a coin from the saddle bag on to the ground. "Ask her if people here like kobolds.  it is getting really hot in here..." he would whisper once more as he shifts around a bit in the bag.