Elric looks up at the sign: Welcome to Bor’Salla. A grin appears behind his thick beard. He quickly turns it into a friendly smile, squinting his eyes, as a young family walks by. Elric nods at the father. As they walk past him, an eye opens on the back of his staff, watching the family as a potential threat. Elric wouldn’t put it past the Witches to hypnotize children to have a convincing cover. With their glimpses of foresight, who knows what they’re prepared for.
The old herbalist moves slowly towards the center of Bor’Salla. It’s not the first time he has been here. He knows that these lands make it hard to grow crops. Some interesting herbs do thrive in the area, yet the people often don’t have access to the basic herbs which are used to fight the common cold or to heal blisters. As he walks past a professional herbs merchant, he can see that he’s not the only one who has stocked up on such herbs. He picks up on a weird scenario at the merchant though. A mother is pleading them to lower the price on her. Elric ponders for a second, her behavior seems like a strange negotiating tactic. So he moves closer. The closer he gets, the more the price tags become apparent. His jaw drops when he realizes they’re seriously overpricing herbs that are so common in other regions. A quick look at the woman’s cloths tell him that she probably doesn’t have much money to spare.
“Sir, I understand that you’d like to make a living. I respect that you come all the way out here with your fine herbs. Yet I must voice my humble opinion. This lady here needs your wares at a fair price. Would you be open to be a noble knight to a damsel in distress?”
The merchant looks at Elric unamused. “Look here pall. I got this stuff to push at a certain price. If I give her a discount, everyone’s gonna be coming for a discount. Why don’t you beat it.” He then turns to the lady, it seems like his patience has run its course. “And if you don’t have the money to buy what I have to offer, you can beat it to lady.”
Elric looks at the man with piety. It’s a shame that he’s corrupting his own soul like that. He understands it though, Elric has been corrupting his own soul his entire human life. The old herbalist takes the woman by the arm and gallantly drags her away from the merchant. With tears in her eyes, she starts explaining that her son has a high fever. And that several children have died in the past months from these fevers. They don’t have the medicine to fight it here. Elric goes with the woman to her house to look at her son. He quickly notices that she was right, and that all she needs is a few of these simple herbs. He puts down his basket and takes out the right kind of herbs, then throws them in a bowl on the table. The herbalist tells the lady how best to make tea out of them, and picks up his basket to signal that his work is done here. The lady tries to pay Elric, and he smiles.
“Let’s say money was not a part of this world. Let’s say we lived in simpler times. Where you just traded each other useful things. What would you trade me for herbs that are very easy to get?”
The woman looks across the room, and spots her late husband’s straw hat hanging from the wall. She looks at Elric again and notices that he’s hatless, which is dangerous for a bald traveler. She hands him the hat. “That’s to get your head from being lit up. The sun can be a formidable ally, or a dangerous enemy.”
Elric laughs and bows with gratitude. He puts on the hat and leaves the house. Right in front of them he sees the whole show with Lady Fellspark. He sighs. These talks are all just politics. In his beliefs, nothing’s really gonna change fundamentally by this event. He has seen how this country operates from the other side. There are too many interests at stake. The council-hall seems like thé area where the Witches would be making their move though. Where else would they strike …
The old man innocently walks up to the building, using his staff as a walking stick. He looks at the guard with a friendly smile. “Greetings Sir, are there any good looking ladies in there worth spotting?” Elric says making a goofy face, moving his head to the right past the guard, looking inside the building. His attempt to make the guard lighten up.
Spoiler: Skill checks
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Auto succeed on the Knowledge checks.
Spoiler: Actions taken
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Precasted Greater Magic Weapon on Shurikens.
Re: Slaves in the Empire of the Drowning Sun [IC]
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