Flavor for a Favor

## **Synopsis**

In Chapter 69: Flavor for a Favor, the party shook off the aches and pains from their skirmish at the mining pit and headed back to Leopold's Garrison – with a plan to pass quickly through and make the final push toward Navika-Pura.

With hopes of sticking to a tight schedule, we vowed to do our best in avoiding distractions – but a unique opportunity presented itself when we spotted a potion-seller whose wagon had suffered damage to one of its wheels.  He was reluctant to part with his stock of healing draughts that were meant for Captain Ottry at the garrison, but a promise to assist with his vehicle (and a nudge from his daughter who was keen to lighten their load) got him to consider a reasonable exchange.

In lending our sophisticated palates to describe his delectable potions, he permitted us to purchase a few at a discount – and we left with a solid cache of emergency healing items, which eased the mind after a tough fight against fellow pawnchaser Darmun Thorry.

While traveling through Leopold's, we picked up some additional items to better prepare ourselves for what was to come – including a detailed map of Navika-Pura and a magic urn that could be used to give us the upper hand in combat.  As we exited through the north gate, our coin purses had become noticeably lighter – but we knew that as our foes grew stronger, the need to be prepared was paramount.

A short while after hitting the road, we witnessed a chase between a man and a company of Broken Crown soldiers – and as they approached we debated whether or not to intervene... and if so, on whose behalf?  Not wanting to take sides (and intrigued by a potential reward) we used the Writ of Service we'd acquired from Amari Magomet to glean what information we could before turning the soldiers away and addressing the man in private.

He introduced himself as Pontos Atling and he was delivering names of undercover Broken Crown agents in Navika-Pura to the captain at Leopold's Garrison – part of an ongoing dispute over maintaining control of the northern colonies.  Pontos desired to raise his standing with the Gentle Void, and despite our threats he refused to give up the names – so we settled for a meager sum of gold and the promise that he'd speak highly of us to his superiors.

It left a bad taste in our mouths but we carried on.  Hours later in the dark of night we found yet another damaged wagon, though unlike our previous encounter – this one had toppled over and was fully abandoned.  Some careful prodding revealed that the wagon likely belonged to some kind of herbalist, and among an assortment of roots and flowers we found a box of Hasqub bulbs – notable for the hallucinogenic effects they have when inhaled.

A bit of clumsy handling led to Graven, Safira and Erland getting a good whiff – which made for an eventful ride as they began to see visions of past acquaintances.  It was difficult to separate what could have been premonitions from what was entirely a construct of our own minds – but luckily we had the help of Orba and Beezaura, whose clear heads kept us moving in the right direction through the evening.

In our approach to Navika-Pura, we deliberated over the pros and cons of splitting up among the various townships to accomplish our individual goals more quickly – but ultimately decided that there were few people likely to receive us at the late hour of our arrival.  We agreed to travel together to find lodging in Na-Garwas – the middle-eastern township – and in the morning we would reevaluate how to divide our tasks in a safe but effective manner.

## Trivia

* Natural one count: one natural one was rolled in this Chapter, by Anthony.