Stonehome Inn, Stonehome
The handwriting on this weathered page, while still legible, is not the usual neat, angled script you’ve seen in previous entries. Instead the letters are a bit wobbly and the lines of text are slanted and unevenly spaced. The page is a mess as well, dotted with ink blots and stains of some kind..
We finally made it into Stonehome late this afternoon. Words cannot express how exhausted I am, dear reader, but I should be able to manage penning a few lines around dinner before heading up to bed. Just a quick update on today’s travel (blessedly uneventful), maybe a bit about Stonehome, and then I might just sleep for a week.
Even after the early stop and a full night to sleep, we were all still in fairly poor shape when we set out this morning. Don’t get me wrong, we were much better for it, but we were still exhausted and in shock. The two injured guards rode in the wagon, with Wimmek driving, and the rest of us trudged along on foot. Paws After The Fireflies took up the rear to make sure we stayed at the slowest person’s pace.
Their sudden transformation during the Worg attack made it clear that Paws After The Fireflies was much more than the simple merchant they portrayed. Curious to a fault, I fell back to walk beside them and strike up conversation.
“Ah,” Paws after the Fireflies replied when I finally asked, “Just as you were not always a Bard, my friend, I was not always a merchant.”
The Tabaxi’s face was unreadable and I wasn’t certain if their tail was twitching in amusement or annoyance. After a tense moment, they broke into a broad smile.
“I had always wanted to be a merchant, you see, but the best apprenticeship my family could secure me was with a bondsman in Bolton. Bounty hunting is dangerous and unforgiving work, but it pays very well if you are good at it.” Paws After The Fireflies shrugged casually, “I was good enough to change my fate.”
“You must have been very good indeed,” I looked the Tabaxi over appraisingly, “You can’t be much older than I am, and you earned enough to buy a trade charter with the Merchant’s Guild?”
“A lot of good it’s done me,” the Tabaxi replied, shaking their head ruefully. “All of my money is tied up in this trip and I won’t even come close to breaking even at this point.”
“What will you do?” I couldn’t help but ask.
Paws After The Fireflies was quiet for a long moment.
“I think, perhaps, that being a merchant was a child’s dream. That fight in the woods; I had not realized how much I missed the battle rush…” they trailed off for a moment, “I’m not sure exactly what will be next, but after I get whatever I can for my remaining cargo, I think it may be time for something new.”
“Back to bounty hunting?”
“Maybe, depends on how much coin this disaster of a trip leaves me with. Don’———
[[[The apostrophe trails off the page in a jagged line]]]
Bless my soul, I fell asleep in mid sentence. And I seem to have dribbled stew all over the page. So sorry, dear reader, but anything else will apparently have to wait for tomorrow.
If you missed any of the previous journal entries, you can find them all here.
In these postscript sections I will loosely discuss how the random events generated by The Adventurer’s oracle decks inspired the journal entry you just read. If a solo play journaling rpg sounds like fun to you, pick up a copy of The Adventurer and start writing!
This journal entry completes the first half of Revelry’s journey to Bolton. To be completele candid, I chose to write this as a short post before an exhausted Revelry went to bed because I am writing it on vacation. And I was close to falling asleep in mid sentence just as Revelry did. But it also speaks to the Exhaustion mechanic of 5e. Completing a long rest only removes 1 level of exhaustion, but by the time Revely and his companions fought off the Worgs, made it through a sleepless night, and then immediately set out at a fast rate of travel to escape the Worgwood, they had accrued two levels.
Thanks so much for reading! I hope youare enjoying the Tales of Revelry the Bard!
We’d love to hear your thoughts and questions so please leave them in the comments. Some answers may have to wait until the appropriate journal entry to be revealed, but we will be as responsive as I can! 🙂