Afternoon
--
In this complicated situation, it would appear he didn't realise such bad luck would extend to him, too.

A slick smile appears on her face. "You needn't concern yourself with Elvenor in the slightest. That's my job." She turns to the two others. "You can both attend to matters elsewhere," she dismisses them.

"But-" Ephon starts.

"Go. Now." She barks, cool facade slipping for a moment. He disappears, leaving you alone in the corridor.

"Nicote, I've been wishing to speak to you for quite some time now," she says, her cordial demeanour returning as she invites you into her office. You note that the room beyond has been ransacked - furniture is overturned and various items lie strewn across the floor.

"If I'd known you were going to turn up so soon, I would have tidied the place up a little bit," she continues. "But I didn't realise you were going to walk straight up to the front door as soon as you got here."

(Well, you're using the age-old tactic of 'Hit every dialogue option until your character can do it right' so I really oughta give you credit for that)

Evening
--
"Too true! Though I have many more than just 'a lot' of stories locked up in here," she titters, pointing to her head. "But I never took myself for a good storyteller, so I prefer to listen rather than tell."

"Oh. Oh! Aha... I see. I believe what you have here, may indeed, be a box," she muses to herself, grabbing the box and straining to peer at its engraving. She appears to have completely dropped the lantern subject as she regards the item with great interest. For an effective distraction, you have gained +1/2 Charisma

"This is very interesting. The contents are anyone's guess, but I know exactly who it belongs to. So where did you find- ...under the floorboards?!" she blurts, almost dropping the casket. "What are you looking under floorboards for, pet? You could find all sorts of things you shouldn't be looking for there!"

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=227#2270 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 10/13/2021 at 1:25 PM Evening -- The three of you begin your journey through the darkened, forested slopes. The dwarf pair walk in eerie silence and you can barely hear the soft sound of their footsteps. You haven't put so much work into stealth lately, though, and find yourself making a conspicuous amount of sound in contrast. Stealth failed. When only the last dregs of sunlight remain, Aegis holds out a hand to halt your group. Ahead of you, the forest floor gives way to a void. The ravine. At the bottom you can see a rushing stream glinting in the shadows. Murva points further along the chasm. "There. You see the firelight?" Downstream, the muted glow of fire makes its way past several obstructions and onto the rocky ravine sides, forming dancing shadows on the walls.

(I completely forgot that I needed to train in stealth. Oh well I'll do it on the way back.)(*This is what I do when I want to be stealthy in the forest.)

Asteria nods once carefully knocking an arrow in her bow. She doesn't draw the bow back though. Carefully Asteria motions for them to get slightly closer or at least to a better position. She carefully walks heel to ball of the foot* to lessen the chance of stepping on dry leaves or twigs. She watches the camp and the ground as she walks trying not to make any more noise than she had.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=228#2271 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 10/13/2021 at 1:48 PM Afternoon -- In this complicated situation, it would appear he didn't realise such bad luck would extend to him, too. A slick smile appears on her face. "You needn't concern yourself with Elvenor in the slightest. That's my job." She turns to the two others. "You can both attend to matters elsewhere," she dismisses them. "But-" Ephon starts. "Go. Now." She barks, cool facade slipping for a moment. He disappears, leaving you alone in the corridor. "Nicote, I've been wishing to speak to you for quite some time now," she says, her cordial demeanour returning as she invites you into her office. You note that the room beyond has been ransacked - furniture is overturned and various items lie strewn across the floor. "If I'd known you were going to turn up so soon, I would have tidied the place up a little bit," she continues. "But I didn't realise you were going to walk straight up to the front door as soon as you got here."

"Neither did I, or I would've taken a detour and hunted down more appropriate clothing and possibly a good bath." Nicote chuckles drily. He's sure that his little adventure didn't do wonders for his clothing or hygeine. "Unfortunately it doens't seem that kidnappers like to give their shiny new pirisoners showers, rather rude of them honestly."
he really hopes all that "excercise" didn't sweat the dye out of his hair. That'd suck.

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=227#2265 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 10/8/2021 at 2:45 PM (I haven't really bothered with a water requirement thus far. Would you like one for your game?) Morning -- Such principles count doubly in the southern territories, where the territory and its people are vastly harsher than those you may find elsewhere. Those around you appear to be occupied with other things, and don't pay you much heed - none show themselves to be as 'opportunistic' as you feared. Stealth successful. You wander around the marketplace, making your way through the bustling mobs, and locate a couple of stalls with items you are looking for. A stall selling waterskins of varying sizes and a few with desiccated foodstuffs and other such consumables for travelling. The latter are surrounded by the pleasant smells of finely spiced, hot food, which attract many customers over for something to eat. There don't appear to be any stalls with heat-resistant gear in this marketplace. You may have to go looking for a more established store for such items elsewhere.

((Nop. No need for extra checks. We all good. Hehe so I don't have to manage more resources and you don't have extra work.))

The situation is not ideal, Vox concludes after spending a good chunk of time pushing through the crowd and trying to be conscientious of his size and not knock anything or anyone over, especially the smaller goblins. At least he hasn't been set upon by any pickpockets - almost out of breath among the squished bodies and loud, raucous noise, he doubts he'd have any energy to try to face down any thievery issues.

Spotting the stall for travelling consumables, he sets course for it, swimming through the sea of people. Idly he shoves a hand within one of his pockets, the one with money in it. The coins are heavy and cool, a comforting presence anchoring him to himself. He tries to gauge how much the items would cost and identify the right amount by running his fingers over the money and figuring out their value by feeling the impressions on them; that way, he can pay when he arrives and spend less time fishing for the right amount.

((Does he have money on him? If not then lol ignore the above))

While he walks, he keeps an eye out for other facilities in the area. His tribe hadn't kept a library, but this was a larger city, so perhaps there would be one. Preferably one big and great and full of ancient tomes frothing with knowledge so detailed they were practically snapshots of parts of the world Vox hasn't seen before.

Evening
--
Your party sneaks along the ravine's edge until you have a good view of the camp.

Your adjustments to move with less noise have revitalised past experience - +1 Stealth

Down below, tents are clustered on the ravine floor on either side of its stream - positioned around a dark opening in the wall. However it doesn't appear to be lived in - you can't see a single soul moving around down there. Just the flickering fire dully illuminating the area and licking a metal pot which has been suspended above it. You can smell something almost like food, except entirely unappealing.

"Storage, perhaps?" Aegis breathes, keeping his voice low. "Surely they would have a guard?"

"Maybe they have already set out to attack our camp," Murva suggested, frustration in her tone. "If they're gone, we can break into their camp first and do some damage."

"Hold on, what about the others?" he hisses.

Afternoon
--
Your dye seems to be staying put for now.

"Not a problem in the slightest. I'm one who prefers to get a job done as soon as possible rather than wasting any time," she says, picking up a chair and sitting behind her desk. She fixes you with a steady stare. "So let's get down to business, shall we?

"You and I are alike, Nicote. We both have a pressing problem we need resolved. For you, it's the rather strong claims of your treachery to the Elven people, and for me, it's a lack of colleagues I can trust. I believe we can remedy this issue with a... mutually beneficial agreement, let's say. I just need to know if you are someone I can trust. I don't ask this question lightly."

Link: https://www.sylestia.com/forums/?thread=74910&page=228#2277 Author: Falconetti Time Posted: 10/27/2021 at 11:50 AM Evening -- Your party sneaks along the ravine's edge until you have a good view of the camp. Your adjustments to move with less noise have revitalised past experience - +1 Stealth Down below, tents are clustered on the ravine floor on either side of its stream - positioned around a dark opening in the wall. However it doesn't appear to be lived in - you can't see a single soul moving around down there. Just the flickering fire dully illuminating the area and licking a metal pot which has been suspended above it. You can smell something almost like food, except entirely unappealing. "Storage, perhaps?" Aegis breathes, keeping his voice low. "Surely they would have a guard?" "Maybe they have already set out to attack our camp," Murva suggested, frustration in her tone. "If they're gone, we can break into their camp first and do some damage." "Hold on, what about the others?" he hisses.

"Murva, Aegis is right if they have set out to destroy our camp than we have to go back and at least slow them down. There's no point in doing damage aside from to give your presence away," Asteria whispers back, "Let's go back to our camp."
She turns careful to disturb as little as possible and tries not to move too quickly in case an orc is still there. Most creatures or people don't notice something until it moves. Doing another scan of the area Asteria gets ready to start moving quickly but stealthfully back to their camp.

(Sounds like a mutually beneficial agreement to me!
Nope, no shinies yet. You start out completing favours to get gold/items which help to get your character earning proficiency points early on)

Boulder is an overpopulated city, so its people are used to navigating the crowds. Other people tend to dodge you more than you can hope to dodge them.

The traveller's food stall has a couple of people currently buying food. A well-spoken orc with sturdy travelling garments barters for a pack of jerky, while a gangly goblin furtively eyes some of the smaller items towards the edge of the table.

Overall there are food items which individually offer 1, 2 and 4 days' worth of supplies. What exactly are you looking for?

The southern territory's capital isn't known for its academic pursuits. Not many of the locals are interested in reading and libraries tend to be pretty flammable what with the location. If there are any libraries, they aren't likely to be out in the open for public use. You might find small bookshops though in the more affluent areas of the city.