Letter 01: A Man Falsely Accused

Dearest Tilena,
Such a lot has happened since I was last able to write. I'm currently staying in a lodging house owned by a large blue skinned man named Fantasimo! Yes I know it sounds more like a gnomish name than a human one but that's because he's not human! No he is a Mercane, whatever one of those is! But I'm getting ahead of myself as I so often do.

If you remember I last wrote just as I was setting sail from Cassomir with the merchants. I'd fixed their rudder and although getting out of Cassomir harbour was a bit awkward as they got used to the improvements we were soon on our way. I think they were a little in awe of me as they barely spoke to me at all on the journey and I now know what the human phrase, food thrown in, means - although it does seem a bit wasteful and messy!

Anyway after they kindly helped me with my baggage, we had hardly docked before they had tossed it onto the pier, I looked around to get a sense of the sort of place I had turned up in. Well to cut a long story short, it smelt. And worse someone decided to start firing crossbow bolts at me. Usually people take a few days to take against me but someone was obviously a bit more impulsive. It seems that someone was trying to take a mongrel man away on a holiday without asking permission. The mongrel man was not best pleased about this and neither was a pleasant lady who waved a bit of parchment at a hairy old half-orc. Now everyone knows that half-orcs are not great book worms but this one really didn't like being shouted at and caused a crane to drop a load of crates onto the pier creating a big hole. The half-orc then set dogs on us and that was the last straw so I started to fire back at the creatures especially when the half-orc, whose name may have been Vikas, pushed the nice lady through the hole in the pier. Other people who were just getting off ships on the pier also seemed a little riled and started to fling spells and swing swords with gay abandon. Then a rather well dressed lady who was angry with the half-orc, who was having a really bad day, who owned the crates that had fallen through the pier set her dog upon the half-orc's dogs. Just when you thought no more animals could get involved an elephant started to get excited on the quayside and a big tabby cat joined in and chased the dogs and half-orcs around the pier.

This was crazy enough but then a rain of gravel and pebbles crashed down upon us but it didn't stop the cat and the nice lady's dog from finishing the half-orc's and their dogs off. The cat, which may actually be a tiger, stormed onto the boat and came out with one final bedraggled and very scared half-orc just in time to hand them over to the watch. Typical, they only turn up when you don't need them, like when you've managed to get out of a house through the window when they could have come earlier and held the ladder to help you fix the window.

The watch took us to the harbour master, a man of some power round here despite me having not done anything wrong, and questioned us. It seems the mongrel man was called Mork and he was looking for someone called Fantasimo. While we were waiting I found that one of the other new arrivals is a follower of Calistra so I may be able to find out more about my scar from her or her temple.

Fantasimo eventually turned up and what a strange man he is, tall, blue skinned and rather jolly. Mork was very pleased to see him and all was going well until it seemed that the harbour master wanted us to pay for the damage! Excuse me but we were just defending ourselves - surely the half-orc's ship would pay for the damage. But no it seems that we were being held responsible, ridiculous. Fortunately Fantasimo offered to pay for the damage in return for us helping him with something. The harbour master agreed and soon we were taking a wagon ride through the city. Uphill we went to the rather fine Ivy District, lots of things to see and do here, many things to fix and improve no doubt. I started by fixing Fantasimo's canary which he didn't seem to pleased with afterwards. He is a trader in the strange and exotic but he wouldn't let me see anything else the spoil-sport.

After a period of small talk when we all introduced ourselves, and what a strange bunch the others are to be sure, Fantasimo told us what he wanted us to do. It seemed that a merchant-adventurer named Jorak had got himself killed and nobody knows how or why and something he brought back from an expedition had got lost despite his family searching high and low for it. Well they have come to the right person haven't they! Unfortunately the others also want to come along so I will have to put up with their clanking and stomping and shouting when all I need is my trusty tool kit and my quick wits. It also seems that we need to keep things secret as the family don't know we are going in to investigate, it must be a nice surprise for them or something.

Anyway must go, just time to pass this to a courier heading your way before I get fed and rested at Fantasimo's expense!

Kissy Kissy
GG

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