Greated by the Mayor/Speaker Annette, enter town
journeyman cloak, identified by cloak
villagers asking about their letters
cousin Howard, healer (mundane but effective)
they want stories
Townsfolk had no knowledge of the recent quake, despite being solidly in its path. Other facts about the town (according to the all-human population) are excellent crops (TOO efficient, by farmer Slate's recoking), zero illness ever, no banditry and no predation by any type of creature. ~ Zeersedlo strongly believes that the crater-like ridge surrounding the town provides a supernatural ward of some kind, but was unable to sniff any local magic whatsoever in the vicinity.
All was pleasant and peaceful in town; they strongly insisted that Slate (wearing the Journeyman cloak) return soon with letter from the outside world, and gave him his first slate batch of fresh letters to take elsewhere.
After leaving town, party was flanked and ambushed by four swift and agile earth genasi cavalrymen riding six-legged lizards with a petrifying gaze. They let slip that Slate was the only one they wanted, and so he was able to broker a ceasefire. Party unsure of whether they wanted him for the Traveller status or his earth genasi heritage, but mostly assumed the latter. The attackers stated that they needed to know how "you, not the others" were able to leave Barringer. Talox Za'ar quickly surmised (accurately?) that the town's preternatural peace and security relies on the sacrifice of Slate's kind (again, one definition or the other).