The group finally gets back onto the trail out of town, having made their good-bye's the night before. Before they can get to the crossroads the party is joined by their old friends with the Halfling caravan. Rorleerorlkin offers to let the group travel all he way to Twin Forks with his group, all for a first-hand account of what has transpired in the last week. The trip North/Northwest up the old Sageem Road goes buy rather uneventfully, which is the norm for everyone but the adventuring party.
The caravan reaches the city just before nightfall and they don't have much time to get through the city and out the side gate to the "8th Ward" before everything shuts up for the night. The caravan generally keeps a cold camp at Twin Forks, so Rorleerorlkin suggests that the group may prefer and inn. He points out a well-known establishment near the city's North Gate. He also makes a point to stop and introduce the trio to the gate guard, explaining they are friends of the caravan, before dropping them off on the inside of the city gate.
The group follows Rorleerorlkin's advice and seeks out a rather old-looking, but quaint inn. The proprietor, an elderly woman by the name of Rowera Silverslinger, informs them that there isn't any room. Well there is a room, but only one. If they don't mind sharing they can have the room. At least it does have a rather large bed. Dinner is a simple fare of stew, which after a long day on the trail is rather well received. Rowera has her husband Yarcane fix up a bath for the girls and they manage to get cleaned up.
The next morning the group eats a simple breakfast of gruel and heads over to the city side gate to check-in with Rorleerorlkin. The caravan is all packed up and about to get underway. Vrykor needs a new shield, having lost his during the battle with the Orcs, and wants to know where he can get one. Rorleerorlkin navigates the caravan through the city to stop at his "cousin's" shop, pointing out some of the wards and establishments of Twin Forks. After setting up another introduction with the Mercer Galaneepeddal, Rorleerorlkin and the caravan head out of town. Since Twin Forks is at the end of their route, it'll be another week or so before they will be back this way.
After making arrangements to obtain a new shield, the party heads around town seeking work. The best they can manage is to fill in for a the city's missing rat-catchers, brothers by the name of Alvir and Lamar. The Vegetable Seller Rowan expected them to make their usual rounds the day before. The party is quick to take any work and Rowan points them in the direction of his warehouse where a man of his will let them in. The party spends the rest of the day trying to figure out how to track and then catch/kill rats, with meager success. They don't even make enough money to pay for dinner. The only bright spot is that when they get back to the inn, Rowera has a nice, albeit small, room for each of them, provided they bath immediately.
Rats are commonly used in video RPGs as a low level monster that is plentiful and easy to kill. In the real world, rats aren't so easily kept under control. The fact that the party hasn't gone looking for the far easier prey, the rat-catchers, eludes me.
Another bath, simple bowl of good stew, and a clean bed is a welcome respite from poking around dark and dirty buildings looking for rats. In the morning the trio decides maybe they should take a different tact. They are running low on coin and can't keep spending more than they earn. They decide to go and report to the local leader to see if he has any work. To this end they walk over to the older part of town, the Military District, and try to visit with the garrison commander. Although the clerk doesn't seem to be that helpful, the Commander agrees to an audience. He doesn't have any immediate work for them on the spot, but he does note that he's heard word of several people missing from the town, including the rat-catchers. Almost all the missing are vagrants and paupers, so he suspects they found some recently abandoned house to hole up in. Eventually their whereabouts will be ascertained and any problems dealt with. If the group can give him a few days he might have something appropriate for their particular skill-set.
The party decides to look into the rat-catcher's disappearance on their own and seeks out their abode. The brother live in a tiny shanty at the edge of the North Gate District. The shack is barely big enough to house a pair of beds, but the beds are elevated (like two sets of bunkbeds missing the bottom bunk) and filled with assorted traps and implements. There are also several piles of rats skins in various stages of the skinning/tanning process. Although it smells, the shack is relatively clean.
It is nearing dinner time and the party decides to finally look up the "family friend" of Myka's. The walk almost halfway back through town to find the Bierhaus operated by Dvalinn. Originally an old guard tower, the Bierhaus has been expanded from a simple brewery to a full-fledged drinking establishment. The expansion isn't completely finished yet, but it is close. The group enters the large drinking hall and surprised by the sheer scope and scale compared to the Dark Titan Taproom. A server tells them to sit anywhere that is open and when the do she asks what they would like to drink. Vrykor asks for food and is laughed off. The Bierhaus does not serve food, but most of the patrons are eating. The server gives a wave and a small boy seems to come out of nowhere. A small troupe of urchins is allowed to work the Bierhaus, fetching food from area establishments. They work for tips and when not serving as gophers, they stay away from patrons and staff, tucked in the shadows behind the fireplaces. This urchin calls himself Jimmy and will get whatever the group wants. Since they are unfamiliar with the city they send Jimmy, with a few coins, back to their Inn for some stew. While they wait they flag down the server, order beer, and ask about Dvalinn. The server gets their names and delivers the Letter of Introduction.
Jimmy comes back rather swiftly with their stew, and some rolls he picked up on the way, along with their change. They tip Jimmy rather generously and the kid is ecstatic. After their meals and beer they get a private audience with Dvalinn, who clearly remembers Myka even if she doesn't quite remember him. Evidently Dvalinn isn't just a big customer, but an old adventuring partner of Myka's parents. He is more than happy to help the group look for work, but it might take some time. He is in the middle of inventory and suspects he might have some work for them tomorrow. Since it is getting late the group bids the Dwarf farewell and goes back to the inn. They suspect that they are being followed and discover that Jimmy is trailing them. When confronted, Jimmy offers to be a travel guide, porter, or really anything the group needs. Even though they don't need anything he walks with them anyway and points out the various homes and businesses along the way.
In the morning the group heads out of the Inn, bright and early, and they find Jimmy crawling out from underneath the Inn. He had slept there all night, waiting for the group to need him again. He introduces himself this morning as "James" and is put to work getting the group breakfast. They all head back over to the Bierhaus to meet with Dvalinn...well the party meets with Dvalinn. James heads off for something else since he isn't allowed in to the Bierhaus when there aren't patrons. Dvalinn makes some small-talk as the group eats breakfast and he tells them that he doesn't have any "real" work for them, but they are more than welcome to stay in his cellar for as long as they like. He has had a couple of kegs go missing. While it isn't a huge loss, he is more concerned that they have been managing to get in and out without him knowing. Dvalinn suspects the problem lies with the fact that the outer hall isn't finished yet and he might have to make some changes to the Bierhaus he doesn't want to in order to secure things. The group, too low on coinage anyway, quickly agrees and heads back to the Inn to get their belongings.
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