You see that? New friends, some extra change in our pocket and we still have some time to kill before we need to meet Marta at the church. How about a bite? Maybe a couple potions for our journey? Maybe go say hello to Sheashormm?

You really shouldn't comment on things you know absolutely nothing about.

That's not entirely true. I know of someone from your past that you cared about. You don't need to feel ashamed about it. We can talk about it if you'd like. Maybe over some ribs? On me.

Not likely. I'll take you up on the food though. I'm starving.

Heec and Tae head to the inn to get a bite to eat.

Tae and Heec enter the inn which is empty except for Boffe and Kallista, who is sitting at the bar.

Hey Bolger. What's the kitchen serving this morning?

B: Morning boys! We got ox steaks and bird eggs this morning. Can I fry you up some?

Two orders of steak and eggs please! I didn't settle up the tab last night so add it all up and we'll get squared away.

Boffe stops to think for a moment.

B: I guess you didn't! I knew you boys were good folk. Most people in this town carry a little bit of a tab day-to-day though, so don't think anything of it. That is as long as you don't go off on an adventure for ten years before returning to pay it back!

He turns to the kitchen and yells the order. Kallista chuckles softly at the adventuring remark, but doesn't look up from some parchments she is reading over.

B: Can I get you some more Quaffs?

We have quite a journey ahead of us so two quaffs would be great.

Tae cringes at the thought of the amount of quaff he had last night, but is completely fine with having another before they leave.

Hey... Tuck was wrapped up in a parchment just like Kallista is. What do you think that's all about?

Imagine that! You wanting to get involved in more business that you have no part in!

But it could involve us. You can't just automatically assume it doesn't with everything going on around here.

Of course I can! The world is much larger than our little corner. It could be anything! A note from a family member, an announcement from the capital. It could be any number of things. You shouldn't just assume it's about the dealings of the meeting last night.

Hey Kallista. You're more than welcome to have a drink with us if you'd like.

I hate you sometimes...

Kallista looks over at the two elves and puts on a big smile.

K: Great! Boffe, add my drinks to their tab and get me another.

She turns back.

K: I've already had four, hope you don't mind.

Tae is immediately put off by the rude gesture and Heec, though caught a little off-guard, doesn't seem to mind that much.

How's it going Kallista? Have there been any more goblin sightings since last night? Tuck had his nose buried in some parchment this morning too. Is there something going on that we could help with?

She sighs.

K: It seems we've been drafted to the new War Council. I think Tuck had some supply logs to look over. I got stuck reviewing the messages being sent out to our neighbors. Whoever drafted this could have saved both of us some time and wrote "Dear friends. Thanks for the memories and goodbye".

He smile turns down and she turns serious.

K: It's not that I don't trust you two. But even if you do succeed at all of your missions you still can only be one place at a time.

A War Council? Things seem a bit more serious than we initially thought... Is there anything, aside from today's mission, that we can do to help?

*Ahem*

We need to be as helpful as possible. This is our town too. We're all responsible for what happens. Do you think war is upon us? Do we have much time?

K: You guys are sweet. A bit naive yet, sure. But sweet. I think there are lots a alarm bells going off around town and people are wanting to do something to prepare. The invasion won't happen tomorrow. It might not happen for a year or two. Or even never. But it will also take months of work to even stand a chance of defending our homes. The best course of action now is to gather what information we can, warn our neighbors, get prepared for an emergency evacuation if needed, and plan for the future defense. Your mission in Neverwinter Wood is a piece of all this. I might not have put it as top priority, but sure, it'll help. Keep your eyes open out there for any signs of activity from the Crags and kill anything bad on site. That's a pretty good course of action.

Boffe interrupts to bring out the food. He must have went to kitchen while you were listening.

We will most certainly do that. The two elves begin eating their meal. Is Junea heading up the War Council or is someone else taking the reins on this?

K: As mayor Junea is the one who created the War Council. We technically report to her for all of our findings and plans, but she has given us quite a bit of of power in delineating tasks and deciding the best course of action. She has made a good peacetime mayor, so we will see how she operates under these circumstances. My worry is the rumor that she has been in the Loderrs pockets. It hasn't caused any conflicts as of yet, because there were no real conflicts to have. If it's true we will see it shapes things moving forward.

Hmmm... That's a bit troubling. I'm guessing that's why everyone was put off when Junea brought up the lumberyard.

...What?

I don't expect you to remember anything that happened last night. You were about five Quaffs in at that point.

Quaaaaaaaff...

Anyway, what do you think she expects us to be able to do up there? Send word and ask for reinforcements or did she have something else in mind?

Kallista explains that she doesn't know more than they do. Although being able to log from a forest nearby would be very beneficial for the village and its defenses, Kallista doesn't think it's the most pressing need at this time compared to scouting potential activity in the Crags.

The two elves settle up their tab of 5 silver pieces and say goodbye. They head to the Commons next where Marta is waiting currently laying out some of her gear and cleaning it.

They greet one another and Marta explains that Shaeshormm and Teekskrid are supposed to be there to help explain a little about the Moon Elves in Neverwinter Wood. Neither has shown up yet, though.

Heec looks over at Tae to gauge his reaction before he says anything. Tae has a far off look in his eyes.

Ah yes. Teekskrid and I are old friends. It'll be great to travel and meet some fellow Moon Elves with him! And Shaeshormm seems nice...

...

We know where their shop is. Would you like to come with us and we could all find out what the hold up is? You could also let us know exactly what we're supposed to be doing up there. Things are just a little foggy from last night. We both had a bit too much quaff! Isn't that right, Tae? Quaaaaaff...?

...

Okay then. Shall we go?

Marta smiles.

M: You guys seem like you can handle this. Go to the shop and see if you can find them and bring them back here. They can help debrief you about the situation in Neverwinter Wood since that's where they came from.

She turns back to polishing a pair of handaxes.

Tae and Heec go to the Apothecary to get Teek and Shae. They knock at the door but there is no answer. They check around the back of the building where the garden and barn is. They notice some white smoke coming out of the back of the barn and check the perimeter but don't notice any fires or issues.

Heec walks inside to see what is going on while Tae stays at the barn entrance in a catatonic type state. Heec see Teek and Shae laying on the ground next to a small fire that is producing very strong smelling smoke. He tries to rouse them but can't. Heec gets Tae to come help pull them out of the barn just as Heec starts to get lightheaded from the herbs.

After pulling them out they start to groggily wake up and Teek recognizes Heec and Shae recognizes Tae.

*Tae is completely caught off guard. She didn’t know him before, why does she recall him now? Was she under a trance? He feels he should get to the bottom of this.*

T: Shea? I’m... do you... are you okay? What happened in the shed?

H: Yeah... is everything alright?