Last episde, the Adventurers had been on the run from a horde of monsters heading thier way. After initially getting lost in the forest, they finally found the road east and safely made it to Ealinor where they parted ways with Bartelot and Lord and Lady Uglow, as well as the young soldier, Jasper. The episode ended with the party finding lodgings at the Voyager Inn and settling in for the night... Ep21 began with the Adventurers waking to a bright, clear day, making thier way downstairs for their morning meal. While eating, they were joined by Bartelot who informed them that a large company of soldiers left in the early hours to engage the horde of monsters, leaving the Adventurers to continue thier own quest. Catsi asked Bart if she could be taken to the General so that she could hand the letter from Henry to him, while Jett and the others made preparations to do some tasks around town. Before setting out to complete their tasks though, the new Tiefling to the group, Lyllianes thought it best they met someone close to her that they had not previously seen. Leading them out to the stables, she introduced them to Charlemaine a polar bear that Lylliane had rescued and subsequently taken on as a companion animal. This of course brought a great amount of surprise from the group as Charlemaine had not been seen earlier with questions to where it had been and how she had managed to get the beast into town. Lyllianes explained that she had the bear follow at a distance so as not to scare anyone and then wait outside of town until she could smuggle him in under cover of night. After introductions to Charlemains, and before attending to more menial tasks, Jett, Bardryn, Tados and Calica the Drow who recently joined the group, made thier way to the horseyard and Bill's house to update him on thier successful dealing with Drystan Cornog. Thankful that he would no longer have the debt collector on his back, Bill happily handed the group the 1000gp he promised saying he looked forward to selling the horseyard that was decreasing in business since there were fewer travellers in town, and buying a house for his daughter and he. The conversation ended with Jett telling Bill not to sell just yet as he had an idea that may include Bill and the horseyard, while Bill offered to help the Adventurers in any way he could. Before leaving the horseyard, Bardryn asked Bill if she could buy a horse off him which Bill emphatically stated that he would give her one for her help with Drystan. Wanting a sturdy horse that could carry her and her equipment, Bill chose a draft stallion with a mottled caramel brown and white colouring. With three successful animal handling checks, one of which was a crit roll, Bardryn quickly made a bond with the stallion and was soon riding him aound the yard freely. While she was doing this, Bill spoke with the others telling them that he had a old Gnome friend who needed some help if they would consider it. The friend had an old family treasure map that he had not been able to follow and now that he was old he needed someone younger to go and see what the treasure is so he knew of it before he passed. The willing party could keep the treasure in return. While the others were with Bill, Catsi and Lylliane were led to the military encampment, where they were introduced to General Pierce Bernart by Bartelot. Catsi handed the letter over which was read by the General who then asked Catsi to recount her memory of escaping Gareth. Once completed, the Tabaxi asked the General if a force could be gathered to attack Gareth's fortress but was told that caution must be taken in such matters so as not to cause fear among the populace. Pierce assured her that he was taking the information seriously and if she had any further information to pass it onto him via Bartelot. Exiting the encampment, Catsi asked Lyllianes to send another bird to see on the result of the soldiers meeting the monster horde which she agreed to, before they met up with the others as they left Bill's. While filling each other in, the bird returned informing Lyllianes that the soldiers had defeated the horde and were going among the bodies ensuring they remained dead. Catsi quickly ran back to inform Bartelot, returning to the others as they made their way back to the centre of town to complete thier errands, with Jett going to the Cormant Jewellery store, while Lyllianes bought some food for Charlemaine and went to check up on him. Bardryn decided to continue ejoying her new steed, riding it around town while drinking from her flask, and Tados headed off to the blacksmith. At the blacksmiths, Tados sold two longswords he had been carrying since they inspected the ruined village on the way to Ensburn before making his way to the Apothecary. Jett and Calica entered the Jewellers to see a male and female human behind the counter. From his previous visit last time they were in Ealinor, Jett remembered the woman, Freyda Ryley when she had helped him find the owner of a brooch he had located in Bill's horseyard (see Ep8) and she remembered him also when he reminded her. Thankful that his mention of her had helped her business, she offered him full price for his gems after which Jett mentioned Yeoman. Freyda informed that neither her nor her husband, Yeoman's brother, were pleased with Yeoman and asked if he could tell the noble that they wished to speak with him if Jett came across him. Jett asked if she knew where Yeoman may be headed while in Larton which she replied he would likely be with a male named Humfray - a man of "questionable endeavours". Meeting at the front of the Apothecary they all entered and spoke with the old Gnome woman about identifying the white powder in the pouches they had found in the abandoned mines shafts, as well as Jett asking if she could make some vials of potion from the hallucinogenic mushrooms he had collected on the return from Ensburn. Lyllianes had a thought to purchase a saddle for Charlemaine so she could ride him while travelling and headed to the tannery on advice from some locals. A young male greeted her where she asked for a large saddle. On showing her some, he asked what horse the saddle was for to which Lyllianes replied that it was for a bear not a horse. Thinking she was joking he laughed but then saw the seriousness on her face. They made arrangements to meet after he had closed for business so that he could measure the bear to fit a saddle. On exiting the Apothecary, they were met by the sight of Bardryn speeding by on her new horse shouting obscenities, followed a few seconds later by four soldiers on foot yelling at her to stop. Shaking thier heads, they left the Dwarf to her amusements and continued with thier afternoon. After they had completed thier errands, Tados and Lyllianes headed to the Green Diamond, the landscaped centre of Ealinor where they settled under a tree and relaxed for some time. Calica asked for directions to where he could best help people and was told the people in The Shallows could use a cleric. Heading down to where he was directed, Calica saw that this part of town consisted of the lower socio-economic groups. The houses were dilapidated and dirty, the streets were plain dirt and the houses were jammed together without any clear boundaries. Spending time to slowly overcome thier fear of him being a Drow, he was soon surrounded by a large throng of people seeking his healing and curing powers. While sitting in the Green Diamond, Tados was met by Lady Uglow who had been looking for him to uphold her promise of introducing the bard to a prominent figure. Apologising to Lyllianes that it was a private meeting, Lady Uglow led Tados up to The Heights and to a building in this affluent part of town. As they neared the house, Lady Uglow told Tados they were about to meet Donuad Flimzoha, a famous Bard in the Empire. From his Bard College education, Tados knew Donuard and instantly became excited at the prospect of meeting the influential Gnome. After introductions were made, Donuard invited Tados to perform for him as he had been told by Lady Uglow that Tados' music had a magical quality to it that he would like to hear. If he could hear it, he would tutor Tados for four hours teaching him how to weave magic into his words but in order to do so Tados would have to fully open himself to magic which can be physically taxing. For the task to be successful Tados required a 50% success rate on four PERF rolls and four CON save rolls - which he succeeded. As a result, Tados gained permanent ADV on all PERF checks and Spells that affect a creature's fortification such as Heroism. While this was taking place, Catsi also headed to The Shallows in search of Jasper, the young soldier that had been travelling with them since Cluistead, via The Ale Brother's Tavern where he purchased some ale. Bartelot had said the boy lived here, and on finding his house, (a ramshackle, dilapidated dwelling) he looked through the window to see the young soldier sitting alone at a table reading a book. With a quick knock, Catsi entered surprising Jasper in the process. After initially teasing him about the state of his house, Catsi softened toward the soldier handing him the flas of ale. They had a deep conversation about life as a soldier where Jasper stated that he had never been in a fight before that day with the Gnolls. He also shared his life story of being an only son to now-deceased parents and being in the military was the only income he had, but he did not know if it was the life he wanted. Catsi shared some of her wisdom with him about how experience helps, he agreed to talk to Bartelot about getting more experience and becoming more confident. Catsi invited him to join them on thier adventure which he declined gratefully, saying he did not feel joining them would be good for him just yet. They episode ended with everyone regathering at the Inn and realising that Bardryn was nowhere to be seen. Remembering the escapade of her fleeing the soldiers they assumed she had been arrested again and went to the military camp where they spoke with Bartelot. Bartelot confirmed that the Dwarf was in the cells after being arrested for riding her horse through town while intoxicated. After some pleading by the group, Bartelot managed to get Bardryn free and they all returned to the Inn and settled in for the night as they thought about thier journey ahead.