Vorkaz spends the main part of the day looking over the strange wood and making notes on it. He perks up when Kaemgen asks about the whole squid thing. "Who ever you pissed off enough to be turned into a squid must be quite powerful. I do hope we can avoid bandits such as that." 

Vorkaz stays mostly quiet through the day lost in thought on the strange new magic in his hands. 

Vorkaz, could I have you make either an arcana or a nature check? To see if you can discern more information about the wood/moss

9 - Arcana 

Sael spends most of her time quietly listening to the others, contemplating what the motives behind their task might be. She tunes back into the conversation at Kaemgen's musings about the squid, unable to deny that she is similarly curious.

Vorkaz, through spending the day studying the moss and recalling everything you've learned previously, you ascertain the following:

As you approach closer to the town, you can see that the main road branches off to approach it. A few hundred feet down this side road, half a dozen wagons are waiting to pass through a guarded checkpoint. A hundred feet beyond that, a marketplace is set up, most of the stalls and carts looking temporary, like they'd be easy to tear down and move. Given the relatively small size of the town, it's surprisingly busy.

Adventurers, what do you do? You estimate there's an hour or two before sunset. You could continue down the road and make camp, or stop and find lodging in the town for the night.

Grinning wide at the inquiries once more into his story, Ianric says in a cheerful tone "I still had my own thoughts.....sort of. My intellect was brought down to that of a beast, only the basest desires to eat, survive and kill truly there. And in part I do not blame the little caster for doing so, had I got my hands on them I would have shattered their jaw so they could not speak the words of any spell before making their skull follow suit. I still want to find them one day, and give them a very violent thank you for this form and making me fail a job!" audibly grinding his teeth a bit at the last part of his statement.

"Not that I wish to deviate from satiating your curiosity about me more, but shall we camp in the wilderness again or in town? My personal vote is town, as an inn is a bit better off than wolves or whatever else may catch us out here."

Vorkaz chuckles at Ianric's description of being a squid. "Now that is a great story. I hope one day we can find that caster, perhaps he has a spell book with that spell. I would love to learn that."

"I would agree that a town is a nice change of pace. However, we could get a few more hours in tonight if we keep going. I do not care which choice we make." Vorkaz says as he puts away the sticks. Throughout the day he had been mentioning what he had discovered for the most part, that the moss could be turned into something that would put someone to sleep or poison them. He jots down a lot of notes and ideas about future uses for them. 

     “I’m happy to take a real meal over camp bottles any day,” Kaemgen says.  “Take your comforts when they’re available, they may not be there tomorrow.”

((Was waiting for other responses before posting but it's been long enough that I figure it's best to move things along. With two votes for the town and one I don't care, I'll assume the town will be the popular vote. I want you guys to have as much agency as possible, but I also don't want the pace to be absurdly slow.))

Heading down the fork in the road and getting in line behind the other travelers, it takes about ten minutes before you finally reach the pair of guards. Up close, you can see that there is a pale, sandy-haired half-elf woman and a tan, dark-haired human man. Both wear simple, dark blue uniforms with leather armor and shortswords at their belts.

"Here for the tournament?" The man asks as you approach. He looks and sounds bored, as if he's repeated this same question one too many times. "Observer or participant?"

     “Forgive me, which tournament is this then?” Kaemgen asks, trying to adopt an air of boredom himself.  “Have been making a bit of a tour of it but lost track of which competition is which..,”

     A tournament could be a  great way to get sidetracked if this one was indeed of a skill one or more was adept at.  If not careful it could just be a great long distraction with no payoff though... best to sort out the possibilities before being too committed about it.

The man furrows his brow. "The tournament. The one the mayor puts on. Are you-" The woman cuts him off with a sharp glance, then turns back to you with a kind smile.

"You're obviously new around here. For the past year or so, they mayor's been sponsoring a contest of sorts every month. It's different every time and the details are kept under wraps to prevent cheating, but there's usually some sort of obstacle course followed by battling whatever creatures scouts have dragged in from the woods. It's a hassle to prepare for, and some of us think he's gone a bit mad, but it's been good for business." She gestures over her shoulder to the marketplace that has been set up about a hundred feet away. Dozens of people of all ages and races mill between the stalls, and you'd be hard-pressed to find one that didn't have at least one customer lined up. "Folk have been coming in from all the nearby villages, and even some of the nearby cities recently. Families who set up shop here can make more in a day than they would in two weeks otherwise."

     “Oh, ahhh.  So not the typical jousting and all, interesting,” Kaemgen says.  He looks amongst his group.  “Could be fun.  Could be profitable.  But could be a delay and prices surely inflated too... But I’ll admit, I love a good tourney.”

Ianric's eyes all but have a literal twinkle within their inky depths as he lets out a booming laugh "What kind of Goliath would I be to see a competition and not try to win it?! If of course the rest of you wish to participate and/or don't mind the slight diversion. Much as I love winning, I'd rather not presume to impose my desire upon us all!"

(Apologies, a nap went longer than I meant it to yesterday and that lead to the entire day being put on the back burner pretty much xD)

Vorkaz grunts, "We do have a mission we should be doing. As long as this does not take too long, I would join you. I could use some quick coin." He pats a nearly empty coin purse on his side. Glancing over at Ianric, he says "You may want to think before rushing into this. It does sound like simple strength may not be enough to win." 

"It usually only lasts the night," the man chimes in again. You see that he's started scribbling something down on a notepad, not looking up as he speaks. "And there's big money for the winner. Has to be, otherwise people wouldn't take the risk."

"If you want to sign up, head to the mayor's office. Big building in the central square. Can't miss it. Might want to hurry up, though, it's starting in less than an hour. Otherwise, follow the crowds and enjoy the show." The woman waves you along, shouting "Next!" to the group waiting behind you.

     "So, the Mayor's office?  We can always sleep after the event and head out first thing in the morning after?"

"Then it is a good thing my strength is not simple! Let us go friends, coin and victory awaits!" Leading the way as he moves out of the way of the others, not necessarily bulldozing anyone out of the way but using his size to clear a path behind him for his fellows to follow if it is packed.

Vorkaz follows the goliath. Carefully stepping to avoid bumping into anyone and trying to keep an eye out for any less savory types in the crowd. Glancing around he mutters under his breath, "A competition like this would be a breeze with my former unit." 

You continue down the road towards the center of the town. Passing through the marketplace requires a great deal of effort not to bump into anyone, and you spot vendors selling just about every good imaginable. After a couple of minutes, the street clears, and you head past a couple rows of small houses before opening up into a large courtyard. This area is significantly less packed, but there are still a decent number of folks milling around. Around the edges are a dozen or so storefronts - you spot a tavern, a general store, and an apothecary among them. On the opposite side of the square, the road continues into the valley between the two hills this town is based around. To your left and your right, you see two more roads leading to what appears to be residential areas.

In one corner of the courtyard, you notice a building that stands out  from the others. It's slightly taller and made of large, pale grey bricks. Two thick pillars support the roof, which has a slight overhang, and the symbol of the empire is pressed above a set of double doors. A guard similar to the two who greeted you outside the town is posted on either side.

     Kaemgen walks purposefully up to the guards.  “Is this where one signs up for the tournament?” he asks, his voice confident, cordial. “Some of my companions and I are looking to compete.”

     If/when they are pointed to the registry, Kaemgen thanks them and conspiratorially asks if they’ve any tips...