Far north of Butterskull Ranch, Cryovain beat his wings against the air. It swooped down hard and grabbed its next meal. It devoured it with extreme prejudice and used the bones to pick its teeth.
In the morning the party awoke. One by one they headed downstairs and found Big Al and Ed were awake and readying to return to Butterskull Ranch. Ani slowly descended the stairs, and the party could tell she was distracted.
"Is something wrong?" Alexander asked.
"Something is amiss in another realm. But I can't explain what it is yet."
They were concerned, but decided not to press. Redirecting everyone's attention away from Ani, Alexander turned to the innkeeper and called out.
"Aye, innkeep! Do ye know of a place that I might upgrade my weapon?"
"What do you mean?"
"I want to see if I can find somethin' better than what I have. I'll give ye a gold coin for your information."
"Wow...I...that's very generous."
"I am a generous man."
Toblen thought about it a moment, though seemed unsure.
"Your best option would be to head over to Lionshield Coster down the way. They might have something, but I'm not sure. The owner...Lienne?...Linene?...is who you are looking for," he said struggling to get her name out. "She doesn't come in here. Never seen her drink, so I only know of her."
"I can take you over there," Ed offered. "It's the post where I sent word to Neverwinter for mercenaries."
Ed led them to the inn's door while Big Al stayed behind. He opened it and the adventurers headed outside and down past the meager town square to a building slightly larger than a home. On the door was a wooden sign with 'Lionshield Coster' carved in it. They knocked on the door and from behind it they heard a husky woman.
"It's open!"
The party entered. Looking around, Lionshield was a mess. On the floor to their left was standard looking armor and basic looking weapons. On the counter were papers scattered, and behind it was a stout woman. Alexander moved up to talk to her.
"Do ye have any upgrades for weapons?" he asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Do you have anything better than my rapier? Or a way to upgrade it?"
He unsheathed his weapon and held it out for her. She took the blade by the handle and examined it, looking over the typical knicks and dullness of a well-used weapon. Running her thumb down it, she looked at her thumb to see that there wasn't any blood. She made a general gesture to the pile currently scattered on the floor.
"We don't have much. We've been sending gear onto Neverwinter to arm them for patrolling The High Road to make it safe. I can sharpen your blade for you."
She pulled out a sharpening stone and began running the rapier across it without Alexander agreeing to it. While she sharpened the blade, Coco stepped forward.
"What is this place? What else do you do?"
"This is Lionshield. We are a merchant company based in Yartar. We act as a post service, among stocking a few minor pieces of weapons and armor. We have runners who make their way from here to the surrounding towns, cities, and villages with packages."
"If we wanted to send something, how much would that cost?"
"It depends on weight and distance. We start out at ten silver pieces for a one pound or less package, and the closest town we'd send for that price is Leilon to the southwest. It's not really a town though, more like a garrison. Anything farther the price starts going up. Twenty silver to send something of one pound or less to Neverwinter."
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Froggy Tea Party Presents: Dragon of Icespire Peak
AdventureA D&D Campaign for new players!
