August 4–11
It is fully seven days before the party is healed again. Tansybell is surprisingly cheerful about her ugly new scar – nobody will be able to mistake her as anything other than Adventurous now.
Eldred sells the garnets and the silver comb recovered on their last expedition for 324 gp, a mere 64 gp for each of them. He then spends 100 gp having Elfarran identify the magic wand they found, which turns out to be a Wand of Fire with a single charge remaining. Fortunately their other adventuring supplies are cheap; the party rarely needs to stock up on more than lamp oil. Still, Trigg, Gimwort, and Eldred are frustrated as they go over the accounts. The rewards to be had plumbing the Haunted Halls don’t seem commensurate with the dangers.
The other parties appear to have had a rough time of it as well. The Silver Daggers returned to town only an hour after the PCs did, wounded and without their cleric, Pious Oddle. Oak and Elm Ringlad are offering their only real treasures, a pair of 500 gp garnets plucked from the dark throne of the shrine of evil chaos, as a reward: one to anyone who can destroy the statue that slew their comrade, another to whoever recovers his body for burial. Flarkin does not offer his own gem, and word gets out that he’s sold the Scroll of Summoning he took as part of his share of the treasure to Elfarran without splitting the money with the Ringlads.
Ivy and Nogi were badly injured as well. While Ivy closets herself in her room, wrapped in a black mood, the dwarf drinks morosely deep into the night, muttering about hobgoblins. The huge new gash in the would-be slayer’s face looks like it will heal badly.
Ultimately, the party and the Ringlad brothers agree to share information. Everyone spends a night at the Golden Unicorn, compiling maps and comparing adventures. They agree to leave a master copy at the inn, from which all adventurers may freely copy, and toast to a new era of adventure. A copy of the Ringlad’s offer of rewards is pinned up as well.
