Day Four: Pearls and assassins
I am beginning to accept my fate, and it pays off. This morning I confronted the rain and dreariness of the Bitter Coast and set out to hunt. The rain stopped almost immediately, and very quickly the overcast broke into a sunny day. I made the best of being a good citizen, and one of the guards helped me explore the bay west of town.
I wanted to see if the local shellfish, called a kollop, produced pearls. I waded into the water, only to find myself surrounded by ravenous slaughterfish. Flailing with my spear I backed ashore. Fortunately the ring I got from Fargoth's trove has limited restorative powers. I was considering a plan to make repeated brief forays into the water to draw the slaughterfish in, and then thin their ranks from the beach with the reach of my spear. That was not necessary though. One of the guards recognized the problem and came to my aid. With a little negotiation he agreed to swim out and cover me with his sword while I dove for the kallops. After finding a fine pearl I rewarded him with some gold and we parted company.
It is good to be on good terms with the constabulary for once, but I don't want to press my luck. Returning to my shack full of contraband is too incongruous with my new relations with the authorities. I have no reason to expect a search of my quarters, but why take the risk? In the smuggler's cave Addamasartus there is a deep grotto, only accessible by a brief underwater swim. I secreted the moon sugar in a rusty chest that I found on the bank there. It's most unlikely that anyone will find it. While I will regret the loss if someone does, at least it will not cause me any problems with the authorities. In truth it is probably more secure there than in my battered shack anyway, which led me to also put the pearl I found and a silver dagger in the chest as well.
The silver dagger is the tip of an iceberg of a mystery, which started this afternoon as I was resting on a beach. I was violently attacked with that dagger by a man in black armor. Struggling to my feet I managed to quaff a restorative potion, which I believe is the only thing that kept me alive long enough to bring my spear to bear in my defense. Once I had successfully skewered my assailant I stripped him of his armor, which is apparently made from very fine chain made of a particularly resilient steel. It is fabulously light, and a wonderful matte black in color; excellent for surreptitious night work. Speaking with one of the local guards has convinced me that this armor is a hallmark of the Dark Brotherhood, the assassins guild. I am very concerned that I have seemingly been marked for death by someone in a position to hire such an organization. While I intend to continue sleeping well, I do so now with a cautious ear.
I wanted to see if the local shellfish, called a kollop, produced pearls. I waded into the water, only to find myself surrounded by ravenous slaughterfish. Flailing with my spear I backed ashore. Fortunately the ring I got from Fargoth's trove has limited restorative powers. I was considering a plan to make repeated brief forays into the water to draw the slaughterfish in, and then thin their ranks from the beach with the reach of my spear. That was not necessary though. One of the guards recognized the problem and came to my aid. With a little negotiation he agreed to swim out and cover me with his sword while I dove for the kallops. After finding a fine pearl I rewarded him with some gold and we parted company.
It is good to be on good terms with the constabulary for once, but I don't want to press my luck. Returning to my shack full of contraband is too incongruous with my new relations with the authorities. I have no reason to expect a search of my quarters, but why take the risk? In the smuggler's cave Addamasartus there is a deep grotto, only accessible by a brief underwater swim. I secreted the moon sugar in a rusty chest that I found on the bank there. It's most unlikely that anyone will find it. While I will regret the loss if someone does, at least it will not cause me any problems with the authorities. In truth it is probably more secure there than in my battered shack anyway, which led me to also put the pearl I found and a silver dagger in the chest as well.
The silver dagger is the tip of an iceberg of a mystery, which started this afternoon as I was resting on a beach. I was violently attacked with that dagger by a man in black armor. Struggling to my feet I managed to quaff a restorative potion, which I believe is the only thing that kept me alive long enough to bring my spear to bear in my defense. Once I had successfully skewered my assailant I stripped him of his armor, which is apparently made from very fine chain made of a particularly resilient steel. It is fabulously light, and a wonderful matte black in color; excellent for surreptitious night work. Speaking with one of the local guards has convinced me that this armor is a hallmark of the Dark Brotherhood, the assassins guild. I am very concerned that I have seemingly been marked for death by someone in a position to hire such an organization. While I intend to continue sleeping well, I do so now with a cautious ear.
posted by Tim | 1:45 PM
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