A Vinekin's Revenge (pt. 5): Looking for Work & the Traveling Blacksmith

 

As Salo and Morgwen are enjoying their evening meal together, she takes a moment to look at the job posting board by their table. She looks up and notices a lot of openings for construction positions, like builders and craftsmen. Morgwen decides that she would have to go to the Town Hall to chat with the general foreman and take the job.

She looks further to her right and sees a poster titled, "Missing & Wanted," and notices a long list of names. Someone pops out to her from the page, hmmm... a missing blacksmith? I wonder if this matches with what Felix saw in Everveil Hollow?

Wow, I bet this is the same man that Felix met. It has to be! If Felix is right, I may already have a good start to finding this blacksmith... the pay seems really good too... Morgwen thinks to herself. With her family's notorious reputation in mind, she believes that this may be a good way to have put some "good" to her name in Thornmere. 

She looks at Salo, "I think I will try to find Felix and ask more about this blacksmith..." Salo yawns and stretches saying, "Alrighty, well you go ahead. I'm calling it a day and will chill here at the tavern."

Morgwen gets up and walks out of the tavern and starts to think of potential places Felix could be working at. She thinks about the chapel and sees the bell tower from a far. She walks towards the bell tower thinking it has to be Wildebourne Chapel. As she's walking on the cobblestone roads, she notices some of the Spirit of the Forest's vines on the streets and a few buildings. She hears a few workmen chopping off vines and thinks to herself, I could easily do that... but won't this aggravate Kevin? I wonder why he isn't snapping at these workers?

Faint sounds of a choir chanting grows louder, and Morgwen finally makes it to Wildebourne Chapel. An odd thing she notices about the chapel is that the vines are actually left alone. She takes a peek inside and hears the congregation chanting and giving praise to Kevin... a shiver goes down her spine, ok these guys seems a bit crazy... I'm not seeing Felix, maybe he's at the Town Hall? I'll go there. 

She heads to the Town Hall and a town guard greets her. She asks, "Hello, is Felix working here? He's a half-orc servant and he's been looking for work around Thornmere." The town guard nods, "Yes, but he's been busy working with the Mayor tonight. Visiting hours are almost over; come back tomorrow and he should be available for a bit." She says thank you and heads back to the Keeling Kevin to rent a room and call it a day.

Next Day...

It's 8:00 am and Morgwen wakes up feeling well-rested and refreshed. Feeling the warmth of the sun's rays on her skin, gives her a sense of peace and hope. I still can't believe I'm in Thornmere! Time to get the day started...  She has 2 goals in mind; she wants to chat with Felix and get a job at one of the town's construction sites.

She gets ready for the day and starts to head towards the Town Hall. It is still quite early for visiting hours, but Morgwen noticed a poster nailed to the wooden doors of the building. It's a wanted poster of more details about Graff, the missing blacksmith. He's been charged with murder!

Morgwen takes all this information in and thinks it would be best to try to connect with other metalworkers to learn more about Graff. He was last seen at, Rock Ridge Forge, a local blacksmith business in Thornmere. Knowing that the Town Hall is still closed, she heads over to the Market Square to update Salo on information she's gathered about Graff. 

She finds Salo's market stall and greets him, "Good morning, Salo! You market stall is looking good!" He waves, "Thank you, everything is finally all set up and we are open for business! How's job hunting going for you?" Morgwen answers, "I just stopped by the Town Hall and found a poster that showed more details about Graff, that traveling blacksmith Felix told us about. And it looks he's been charged with murder!" 

Salo's jaw drops, "What?! Holy shit, ok well we shouldn't be around him... He seems really dangerous..." She responds, "Yes, but that's exactly why the Town Guard wants him in prison. I know I can find him. I should chat with folks over at Rock Ridge Forge. Do you know where that blacksmith is?" He shakes his head, "I don't, but I bet you Jean could share with you directions to get there!"

Morgwen heads inside into the Keeling Kevin and spots Jean. She waves to the pretty barmaid, "Hi Jean! Do you know here Rock Ridge Forge is?" She smiles and greets Morgwen, "Hi, yes I do! Just follow the main road and it's past the library. But, be careful. Apparently there was a blacksmith who worked there that was charged with murder and that shop has closed their business for a couple days to wait for all that to resolve..." She nods her head, "Interesting. Well, thanks Jean for the warning. I'll keep that in mind."