They tracked the Gobbers for a while north, but finally had to break off the search when it became apparent that the Gobbers were using illusion as well as an attempt to hide their tracks, and it proved too great a feat to be able to continue the search. Discouraged, the adventurers went back down to the cavern to see what progress had been made with the wagon.
Alton was just finishing up using his divine power to mend the traces of the wagon together as the group returned from the hunt. Cooter and Gaylord had never seen magic used in such a fashion, and asked about it, but didn’t seem to pay any real special attention to it. After everything had been repaired, and the bodies of the horses laid aside, the wagon was pulled up the tunnel with ropes and the party, plus two, proceeded east towards the town of Gelsmug.
While traveling to the city, the party had a chance to talk to Cooter and Gaylord further. They exchanged information about LoBan and talked of the Preacher’s plans to move north towards Gelsmug. They also spoke of how the prisoners were dealt with by the Preacher Jebediah, and about prisoners captured after the fact were hung quickly. Cooter and Gaylord in turn told the party about Gelsmug. They spoke of the drug merchants and weapons dealers, and about how the city was run by warring guilds. Travel was quick and before they knew it, they were standing in front of the signpost leading into Gelsmug.
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Many surprises met our adventurers as they entered into the town of Gelsmug. The first thing of notice was that there were no guards to speak of anywhere in sight. Fist fights were rampant and the clothing was slightly different than experienced in the more conservative towns of LoBan and Williamsburg further south. The men here wore their shirts opened, or not at all, and the women wore a light nearly transparent material that left little to the imagination. As soon as they entered into the town limits, they witnessed an auction of asian women taking place off to their right. The asian women were being paraded like cattle upon a stage crowded around with men. To their left they saw the remains of what was once a jail house, but the structure had been burned to the ground and left as a reminder. Through alleyways they saw a man stripped bare laying in a pool of his own blood, his purse removed.
Gaylord and Cooter realized that having live witnesses from LoBan was a step better than having seen the city themselves, simply because it saved time. So they offered to arrange for free accomidations for the party at one of the guild’s Inns while they went to give a report to the daymaster about their findings. The party agreed to this, and Gaylord and Cooter departed. While they were gone, our heroes found bathing facilities and washed the long travel from their bodies and began to pickup various supplies. It didn’t take long to realize that the layout of the town reflected the chaotic nature of it’s inhabitants, and it took quite some time to retrieve all the necessary equipment that they required. When all had gathered back at the Wounded Lizard Inn, Gaylord and Cooter showed up to say that the daymaster had offered to meet with them personally here at the Inn.
Enthusiastic about the personal meeting with the daymaster himself, the party quickly assembled into a separate room to await his arrival. Fifteen minutes later, the daymaster arrived with six men at his side. They all sat down and the daymaster questioned each of them about the happenings of LoBan. He seemed to focus on the Preacher’s activities quite a bit and was horrified to hear of the manner in which the criminals of LoBan were dispatched. He thanked them for their information and told them of what he knew of Skinny Roe. He told them that Skinny Roe had been through the area, but not much was found out about where he was going next. It was determined that he left Gelsmug only a week or so earlier. He then attempted to bargain for Tai as his bedpartner for the evening. When it became clear (very clear) that Tai was not for sale under any circumstances, the daymaster resigned from the room and told the party that the Inn would be free to stay for the week, but they must make their own preparations after that. The daymaster then left the table to resume his duties.
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The next morning, the party got together and with a combined effort learned some more information about the city. They also heard of a band of mysterious “Engines” who spoke an ancient dialect of Elvin. The learned that the Engines are quite reclusive, and don’t trade in gold, only in barter. Alton and Tai met a drug merchant who said that he had traded with the engines before, but only for one type of pipe weed. The merchant offered some to Alton, who quickly refused.