[Mkguild] Round Robin: Moving Inn

[Indagare]

  "Papa, what is big and strong and red all over?"

Misha looked at Madog, who (as usual) had seemingly materialized out of
thin air. Misha had finally finished his ship's clock for Phil along with
instructions on how to make one. He'd also been making a few adjustments to
the automata fingers he'd crafted to replace his old ones. "I don't know
Madog, what's big and strong and red all over?"

"I don't know, but he's sitting in the Jolly Collie."

Misha smiled. "Thank you for letting me know." He patted Madog on the head
and gave him a small ingot as a treat. It was a new tactic that seemed to
be paying off; Madog was saying something that made sense at least a
quarter of the time now! He got up, grabbed Whisper, and headed out as fast
as he could to the Jolly Collie.

He was not encouraged when he arrived. It seemed like half of Euper was
milling around outside his inn! "Excuse me! Coming through!" As soon as the
crowd realized who it was it parted to let him through. "Misha, sir! Thank
the Aedra you're here!" one of the Euper guards walked up. "A coupla folks
bolted outta here on horses, tramplin' a coupla guards an' slashin' the
stablehand's arm!"

His eyes silted. "Was anyone killed?" It was asked quietly but with an
underlying chill that made the guard shiver.

"No sir! The healers got here in time! But there's some big, ugly,
*thing* inside!
Aedras only know what it wants! There are other outsiders too!" the guard
shook his head. "We've got a nice, respectable place here! We don't need no
demons or outsiders muckin' it up!"

Inside the Collie, Misha immediately saw the "thing" the guard had been
talking about. It was hard to miss, given its flaming red skin and size. He
noticed there were a group of men gathered around the table with it. No one
seemed alarmed, which he considered a plus. Whatever the being was, it
wasn't violent.

The inside of the Collie had the usual murmur until everyone saw Misha.
Then, like a group of children caught doing something naughty, everyone
went very quiet. "I've heard there's been some trouble. May I ask what's
going on?"

The group at the table looked to him. There was a man in a green coat and
grizzled brown hair sitting nearly opposite the red being. On his right was
a  tall and thin man, wearing non-descript clothing and having equally
nondescript hair and who made Misha think of a reed. Further right a man
with black hair in a clean outfit. On the man's left was a young follower
of Eli in a well-cared-for uniform, a Sign of the Yew draped from his neck.
His hair reminded Misha of the autumn leaves. Just beyond him was a man
Misha's age in clothes that did not look well-kept. He had wheat-blonde
hair and a troubled look around his eyes that reminded Misha of other men
who gambled and drank too much. It also fit the description of a man who'd
been bad-mouthing everyone in the Keep.

Standing near the red being, but a bit away, was a man dressed head to toe
in furs. What showed of his face was darkened by exposure to the sun and
elements, and included a bushy beard. He had a pair of skinning knives at
his sides. Misha wondered briefly why the man was dressed so warmly in this
weather, but put it aside as a mystery to solve later. Though not too much
later--strangers like this one could prove very dangerous to the unwary.

"I'm Gwayn," said the man in the green coat. "I'm a merchant by trade. I
sold my quality rugs to a buyer here yearly. This year I discovered he died
of a plague back in March, so I'm trying to find a new one. First, this
gentleman, Howel," he motioned to the man in furs, "has offered escort
services north to Starven which, if I understand aright, is flush with new
folks fleeing from Lik."

"Yes, Lik was recently destroyed and its people displaced," said Misha. He
made a mental note to have all the Longs be aware of the man in the furs.
Such an offer could easily be to lead travelers to their doom!

"These are my loyal guards, Gallus," he pointed to the dark-haired man,
"Reed," the taller man nodded curtly, "Aldwin," the boy next to him gave
Misha a sharp salute, "and Jerrod." Jerrod crossed his arms and frowned.
Misha's dislike of the man increased. "I need to sell my rugs and we want
to be gone before the Curses catch us. I have twenty rugs for sale and
would like to sell them for sixty gold apiece. Any less than that and I
would not be making a profit this trip."

"I see," said Misha. "And who are you?" he looked directly at the red
figure. With his yellow horns and wild, white hair, he could see why the
guard thought the being a demon!

"I am Hikariarashi Kasaima, and go by Kasaima-san to acquaintances. I come
from far to the east where a civil war broke my country. I was seeking
knowledge at the library here, which is famous even in my land. Thanks to
the help of Merlia-san and Trey-san," he motioned to a rat on his shoulder,
"I was able to find the information I needed. Trey-san had asked me earlier
if I could help with purchasing the rugs, but while I have a good supply of
coin, I'm afraid I can only really afford to buy one rug at sixty gold. If
I could find work, I might be able to get more, but that would take longer
than these gentlemen have if what I understand about the Curses is correct."

"We've been here five days," said Gwayn.

Misha bowed to Kasaima. "Been a long time since we've seen one of your kind
here. Welcome!" Misha nodded at Gwayn. "Hmm, show me your wares. If they're
worth it, I'll buy them. I can use them for my rooms here. What was this I
hear about stolen horses and goods, though?"

Gwayn sighed. "Two of my men, Rodrick and Nathan, stole or freed the horses
as well as all the gold and food they could find. Gods only know where
they've gotten to by now."

"Hmm, that is a problem, though not an insurmountable one. Supplies aren't
too hard, but horses might be since you'd not be able to buy them."

"We had four total," said Reed. "I suspect they let the other two run to
cause chaos and avoid immediate pursuit."

"If that's the case, I'll tell the Watch to look for them and bring them
here. You ought to be able to go south on a cart with just two horses
pulling, since you probably won't have your rugs."

Gwayn rose and bowed. "If it pleases you, I'll show both of you my wares."
He headed to the door, followed closely by Aldwin and Reed, then Kasaima
and Trey, then Gallus, Jerrod, and Howel, and finally Misha. As they left,
Misha alerted the guards about the escaped horses and the individuals that
stole the others. He saw Madog out of the corner of his eye and followed
Gwayn and the others to the rugs.

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