laid back apocalypse

the journey back passes uneventfully arriving at Red Larch in the late afternoon , you find the town in much consternation

Kerric:

Seeing the hubbub, Kerric stops a passerby and asks, “What’s going on?  What has happened to cause such a disturbance?”

The delegation didnt show, and the rider the constable sent out returned saying he didnt see any sign of them

Xalkas ponders over this revelation, wondering what it could mean and waits for the rest of the group to chime in. He is most certain that a certain tiefling will mention something about contracts or forms. 

Reghys is the first to speak up: "The bars we found, they bore the Mirabar trade marks, right? So... if the trade goods have gotten here in the hands of a cult, but the delegation itself is missing... Is it possible that the delegation has been waylaid? What would these cultists wish to accomplish with that? Are they aiming at isolating the Dessarin Valley? But then why get the bars to Red Larch regardless? Lot's of questions... We might need to talk to some of the believers of the moving stones, maybe that could provide us with a further piece of the puzzle."

Kerric:

Kerric suggests, “Let’s go talk to the Constable and see what he thinks.  Other then the cave at the quarry, we have come up empty on cult leads so far, so that seems like a reasonable place to start, Reghys.  I would suggest we backtrack the delegation, but if they have already sent a rider and found nothing, that may not be helpful.”

Standing in the middle of the street in Red Larch with his companions, T'chal'fronack'zcinicker looks a little concerned, "Well.  That's bad news.  Not only do we have this dwarven book, but we also have these trade bars, neither of which are worth anything to anyone except this delegation.  We're facing a lost of potential revenue here, which is almost as bad as an actual loss in revenue."  He taps his chin with an index finger considering, "Maybe not a complete loss if we can track them down.  Hmmmm. The timing on all this is very curious. I'm not sure how the cult that was based here could have gotten those trade bars, but...what are the chances that dwarven book you bought for sale was actually from the delegation. I mean, that would mean they were waylaid many days ago, well before reaching even Womford. If I remember correctly, and I usually do, a peddler came through town from Womford with the dwarven book, who bought it off a bargeman there.  Since that was just yesterday, I suppose the timing could work out.  We should look for this peddler and see if we can get more information.  Does anyone around these parts know which way the delegation was meant to come from? Do you folk want to try to figure that out while I head to see Endrith at Vallivoe's Sundries and ask a bit more detail about this peddler. If anyone wants to come with, I wouldn't object."

He glances around the group and then heads towards Vallivoe's Sundries. 

Reghys is happy to accompany T, mainly because they don't particularly know, who in the village would be a believer of the moving stones, and asking the store clerk might be as good a way to find out as any.

Kerric:

”Good.  I will go to the Constable and see what he knows about the delegation’s route.  Does anyone remember who the town’s ‘believers’ are and want to interrogate them?” asks the elf warrior, and he heads off to the Constable’s “office”

The Constable is talking to Kaylessa when Kerric arrives   "i dont know where they are, have you had anyone come talking about them?

Meanwhile at Vallivoes...   "Good afternoon  may i help you"

Kerric:

"Nothing specific, Constable, but we are looking into a few clues with this genealogy book and the trade bars from the earth cult head priest.  Where was the delegation's last scheduled stop?  I heard you had a rider go out and check on them, but we could do a more thorough search if you like," offers Kerric, 

they were supposed to be rejoining the road here, coming up from Womford at least thats what their advance scout said"

at that point a figure comes riding up from the south, you can tell by his dress he is a priest of Lathander

"Excuse me constable is it? i am looking for a caravan of dwarves,  they should have passed through here by now, but i havent seen hide nor beard of them on my ride up from Amphail

At Vallivoe's, "Oh yes, good day proprietor.  I believe your name was Endrith?  It is I, once more, T'chal'fronack'zcinicker of the Argent Alliance.  The hero's that protected your town from some raiders.  Anyway, do you recall that dwarven book you had?  The fancy one full of boring dwarven history?  You mentioned that a peddler had sold it to you, and that they'd acquired it, ostensibly, from a bargewright down in Womford?  I was wondering if you could describe this peddler to us.  We have a few questions about the source of this book that we'd be most interested to ask them." 

"Average hight. Dark hair. But i doubt youll find him unless you are heading south.  He was off to waterdeep after we made.our deals"

Seeing Kerric, T, and Reghys all depart from the group Xalkas turns to Ebele and asks, “What do you plan on doing? I don’t want to leave you here in the streets by yourself. That seems to me a bit rude.” Xalkas then reaches up, barely able to reach her hand and guides her gently out of the street and waits for her reply. 

Ebele had appreciated Xalkas’ discussions on the area being suitable for the production of berry cider. Even if it were a far off dream, it was an enjoyable way to spend the walk back.

The monk would fall silent as the discussions over actually business would begin. She was indeed listening and intended to contribute, but she had got caught up on a thought and her mind wondered off and she felt like the time may have passed, or it may not be of any importance. They definitely needed more information, and she was not one for approaching strangers for questioning. Kerric, Reghys and T'chal'fronack'zcisnicker had those avenues covered.

Ebele would tilt her head to Xalkas who remained. A small smile would appear on her lips as she’d nod her head in appreciation. “I wondered briefly if it would be beneficial to read the Dwarven book over again. But then again, I do trust T'chal'fronack'zcinicker would have read it thoroughly enough and would have indicated anything of interest.” She’d admit her thought before continuing. “And they’ve got both the peddler and the constable covered. What about the rider who went looking?” The monk would ponder. “Any worth figuring out what ground they covered and if there could have been anything suspicious that they may not have noticed at the time?” She’d then pat her nose for a moment before scrunching it. “How well do we trust our sources?” Ebele wondered if there could be any concerns for corruption, but didn’t quite enjoy making the suggestion. 

T'chal'fronack'zcinicker nods, "Thanks Endrith.  Oh...hey, this isn't one of those times when you're expecting me to give you some money to provide that extra bit of info you'd forgotten...is it?  Did this peddler strike you as an honest sorta bloke, or one who might say, 'i'm headin south to waterdeep now...bye bye'....but actually be heading north to sew further dissension and return to his evil cult."  T'chal'fronack'zcinicker smiles innocently.  

"Oh, also, do you have any fancy clothes here? I'm looking for something a bit nicer than these old travelling clothes.  Maybe a fancy hat?" 

No i deal with him all the time, he is pretty steady on his route,   that room over there, 2nd door take a look

T'chal'fronack'zcinicker follows his directions into the other room.  He's looking for something that says, "dignified", "serious", and ..."dignified".  Did he mention dignified?   Oh, and something in a nice red would be ideal, though black will do in a pinch. 

Reghys elbows T in the ribs as he suggests bribing the shop keeper: "What my companion here is suggesting is that we're willing to give you something for your troubles, if we can get you to tell us everything of the interchange, no matter how small the detail."

Seriously, T needed to learn some diplomacy. Sheesh.

Reghys gets excited when T suggests shopping for clothes, and happily follows on back, to try on some outfits of their own. In particular, Rhegys is looking for  a large overcoat against the rain, and a dress or tunic to add to their collection. While T is searching for black or red things, Reghys is primarily focussing on blue and green, but then finds a very cute overcoat in cream.