Nina
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In the last blog, things were a bit chaotic for our heroes. A combination of mead, sauna, and bathing really knocked Theo, Kel, and Aldric off their feet. Meanwhile, Löwenzahn was at least productive and managed to find out that the herd of horses with Bibiane had moved southwest. However, since he only found his friends again in the evening, completely drunk, he hadn’t had the chance to share this new information with them yet.
That changes now, as all four of our friends sit at the breakfast table with tired eyes and pounding headaches. After several minutes of successfully ignoring each other, Löwenzahn finally speaks up and shares his latest findings. Aldric, Theo, and Kel actually find this quite interesting, which pulls them out of their trance-like state. They suspect that Bibiane has either been drawn toward the small village of Feth or might even be planning to ride all the way to the city of Port Kresto. Since they’re not familiar with either place and still haven’t made any real progress on their main quest (finding a replacement for Emanuel at Monsieur Chiraque’s), they decide that traveling a bit further would be a nice change of pace.
Fully packed and with their bags of provisions refilled, the four bid farewell to Selbingen and head down the Helenau Trade Route toward Feth. The road winds through the Bingster lands, between gentle hills and small forests. After only an hour and a half, a lady approaches them, slowing down as she nears. With a slight glimmer in her eyes, she looks at the heroes and asks if she can do something good for them. Suddenly, Kel is wide awake and tells the lady that he has something good for her as well. Before things take an unwelcome turn, Aldric steps in, introduces himself properly, and asks for the name of their acquaintance. The lady introduces herself as Nina, a prostitute who is currently heading north. Although our friends no longer needed her job description after their brief flirtation with Kel, it sparks a good idea. While Kel Tuh Las’ brain has completely shut down, Löwenzahn, Theo, and Aldric, using a bit of synchronized thinking, come up with a plan on how Nina could be of help. Because as they had established during breakfast, they still need a replacement for Emanuel, who is supposed to spy for the Shadows in Monsieur Chiraque’s villa. And who would be better suited for this than someone who’s in close contact with all the important people?
Although Nina had witnessed the idea development process firsthand, Aldric reiterates the final plan. Since Nina is already heading north and a villa full of rich people sounds like an enticing destination, she quickly agrees and is almost excited by the idea. They agree that Nina will set up a dead-drop mailbox near the villa and send a letter to Lieutenant Kampf, so he can keep an eye on the mailbox. Nina also receives a generous advance, and they promise her a good base salary from the Shadows. Of course, they don’t explicitly mention the secret organization, instead referring to it as a government agency. Given Nina’s experience with shady financial arrangements, she doesn’t press for more details and accepts the payment source. Lieutenant Kampf, or any other Shadow for that matter, doesn’t know about their good fortune yet, but our heroes just hope that Nina will indeed get paid in the end.
After this successful conversation and an unexpected quest advancement, the four bid Nina farewell and continue their journey toward Feth. The road stretches on for quite a while, so they decide to take a short break in the afternoon. They find themselves in the heart of the Selbinger Lake District, which naturally inspires Löwenzahn to pull out his fishing rod. After a delicious fish meal, they quickly resume their journey, knowing that there’s still a long way ahead. However, they realize that it’s not possible to reach their destination today, so they eventually decide to set up camp for the night. What happens the next morning, though, you’ll find out in the next blog of Arkanthia Pen and Paper.
