Chapter 4 - The High and the low

[Chris1234]

A bag in each hand, Amaranth's jaw drops as she looks between the two of them. She brings the coins in closer and turns a bit, trying to block sight of them from the street so no strangers can see her holding too much coin for her hand.

She looks at the man, "I will head to the farm you mentioned, tell me where I can meet you this evening, you spoke of lodgings? The guards at the gate were quick to threaten me with being tossed out of the city if I didn't have an inn room."

The half-elf nods again, “When you get to the farm, tell them, ‘Melannor of Eldath requests they provide roof and sustenance for the bearer.’ That should suffice. Should ill befall them then repeat at the next farm. Should you notice an overly inquisitive one such as this..” He looks to the top of the wall to the east and bends to place one hand level with his boot. A red squirrel scrambles down and dashes across to climb the half-elf’s arm and nuzzle his ear. “..Don’t let it alarm you. Merely one of my messengers.” He doesn’t say “eyes and ears” but the faintest of suggestions is there.

While the man fusses the squirrel, feeding the rodent something from a pocket, Amaranth glances over at the woman, "Please stay and walk with me for a bit, I want to find out the specifics of the work you offer, and hopefully you can help me find the right clothing merchants."

Before the noble lady can respond, Melannor interjects, “You might find use for these Berries. Good for sustenance of the mildest of healing.” From the same pocket he offers a bunch of ten very healthy-looking blackberries.

[LunarKitty]

Lena received the berries with a puzzled expression. "Thank you, It is been a pleasure mister Melannor..." She however turned to Amaranth. "I'm Lena yn Fahrid al Nisr of the Adarbrent. I came from Neverwinter on family business. What I need is someone to keep me company, take notes, run small errands and overall being a second set of eyes and ears." She said while smiling. "And of course we can go shopping together. I was in fact about to hit the stores!" She said while hoping to get a small loan form her relatives in the compound. Perhaps one way to further her "ditzy" image...

[Jessi+]

Amaranth knelt down between Melannor and Lena, making a show of reorganizing her pack while actually rearranging how her money was split and carried. When she was done, the halfling jumped up with a smile.
Amaranth nods, "I can do that. I have those two things I need to finish and then I can be your handmaiden! How long do you want my services?" She does a little hop to settle her pack on her back and is then ready to go, "This is going to be so fun! Getting to know you is going to be great, I think. Let's go look at some clothing fit for the opera house!"

-----
Amaranth's coin is separated into four pouches, two on her person and two in her pack, a mix of gold and silver in each.

[LunarKitty]

Lena smiled back. "As long as I'm in the City. And speaking of that, I'm sure I could arrange lodging for you in the Adarbrent compound while your service lasts. After I leave, I'm not sure. It will all depend on what you want by then." she said while mentally thinking on what consequences her journey could have if she didn't play her cards well. She needed to be successful in the endeavour.


She began walking towards the the shops, motioning Amaranth to follow. Not that she knew her name, she had forgotten to even ask.

[Jessi+]

Amaranth hops a little, jogging slightly to keep up with the woman so she can introduce herself. "I'm Amaranth! I come from Amphail." She's smiling and there is a bounce in her step - now that she is moving toward her goals as well as meeting new people she was happy. "I came down here to the city because I'm looking to use my skills to help people, that's why I want to take care of that scarecrow. Farmers have enough problems without things coming to life and attacking them." She glanced around the street, "You said you were here for family business?"

[Chris1234]

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Finding suitable shops to either buy or hire a suitable opera oufit will be trivial.
You can arrive as soon as you narratively wish to.

[Jessi+]

-----

If Lena doesn't have any more conversation with Amaranth here then I am ready for the next step. We'll get the clothes and I'll go to the opera. My intent is to do opera stuff then go to take down the scarecrow then go for lodging. Amaranth suggests to Lena that they could meet somewhere first thing in the morning and we can do whatever Lena needs to do.

[LunarKitty]

I will accompany to the opera house.

[Chris1234]

The shopping is swiftly achieved, basic styles in the nobles outfitting shop costing fifteen gold coins apiece to purchase or one tenth of that to hire.

Nine bells sounds from all the temples in the city.

======
Nearly a whole day remains before it's time for the opera..

[LunarKitty]

Opal reconsidered Amaranth's words "Did you mention something about an Scarecrow? Is this about fixing one?" She also thought back to her own businesses. "I'm here checking over the activities of the house in the warehouses and the piers. I'm hoping to learn enough about the way they function to make a positive impact back home. Every detail I can notice, no matter how small, could be the breakthrough I'm looking for."

[Jessi+]

Amaranth smiles, "That man I was talking with when you saw us, he hired me to take care of a scarecrow that was running amok. I'm supposed to go out of the city to the farmlands and ask around until I find it so I can make it stop causing problems." Amaranth finishes arranging her rented clothing in its wrapping on her pack, and stands next to her new friend. "We've got the whole day before we can go to the opera house - I thought it was going to take much longer to get ready! Shows what I know about big cities..." She shrugs, "Anyway, could we go take care of the scarecrow or do you want to head down to the docks right away? I've got 5 days to get rid of the thing but the sooner the better, right?"

[LunarKitty]

"Oh, I thought it was a normal scarecrow, the kind that don't move." Lena began thinking while doing a mental calculation. "Maybe I could help you find it. How hard can it be to reason with if it can move around?"

[Jessi+]

"I got the impression that this scarecrow may need to be fought, I don't know if it's even possible to reasoning with a monster of this nature." Amaranth shrugs, "We can give it a try! I'd be happy to have you join me in this."

[Chris1234]

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Lena knows the way to East Gate if simply following the main streets. The back alleys, although potentially swifter, can easily bewilder those not from the city.

[LunarKitty]

"Let's do this together then!" Lena was suddenly interested in going after this scarecrow. It was certainly a welcome distraction and not something one could see everyday. "Should we take the main road? It is slower but we wouldn't get lost?"