= Aug 29 /21 =
Well, it looks like I’ll be back on the open road.
Applegrove isn’t much of a town – and the villagers seem rather insular. I didn’t particularly feel comfortable with the way everyone stared at me, as if they were already suspicious before I had done anything to them! I’m glad I arrived after the items starting going missing around town. Then again, that may take some attention off of me – I might borrow a useful item or two on my way out.
I'm not reluctant to leave - it stinks to high heaven. Smoky, acrid air, terrible pollution; there’s all sorts of weird stories going around, but logically, we’re just downwind of a forest fire. Droughts aren’t that unusual.
I did, however, meet two gregarious lads – local hunters that were shooting at some practice dummies just outside of town. I had stopped to watch awhile, and then struck up a conversation with them. Hogan and Mogan – twins. I managed to fast-talk them into making a little wager with me…
Everyone’s talking about the missing dwarf blacksmith, but it seems like nobody’s doing anything about it. So I decided to make a wager with these two hunters that I could find him – it sounds more interesting than sitting around in this lazy town. If I’m successful, they have to teach me some archery tricks. I managed to negotiate them into giving me a decent bow ahead of time. And they have to play cards with me.
If I lose, well, I guess I won’t be coming back. I don’t actually know “the best venison recipe on this side of the Shroudreach” - though if I have to pass through again, I’m sure I could invent something with fancy herb names and leave before they try it out.
The nice thing is that there already was a reward for finding the smith – but pies only go so far. Maybe I could sweet talk my way into sweetening the deal.
It’s been awhile since I’ve visited the mountains, and I’m looking forward to fresh air. Who knows – maybe the stories of treasure is true. I wouldn’t mind finding artifacts.
Oh, and I came across an interesting fellow – another stranger in town. His name’s Kleave, and he’s a lot shorter than me, but hovers. I convinced him to travel with me since I’m a fabulous forager. I mean, that’s kinda true. I do manage to notice interesting things when I’m travelling. He believed me, and so he’ll be a great distraction in case there are any crazy monsters wandering around.
This looks to be an interesting time! It’s always fun to look forward to a new adventure.
