Of course, the day starts with that kid brutalizing his violin. It's bad, but I can tune it out. Then, this other noise starts creeping in—a loud squeak, almost a screech. Hargrove, our brick-dwarf caravan master, stops the whole procession to find the source. I guess it’s a big deal, or maybe it's just so annoying he can't stand it.
Luis and I go out to help him. Turns out, a rivet is missing from one of the wheels. He needed help holding the metal rim while he worked. It was thin and slick, but Luis and I, working together, managed to hold it in place and get it fixed. A small victory in a day of endless annoyances.
We start walking back to the wagon, and I hear this nice flute music. It sounds good, so I get a little hopeful. But, of course, as we round the corner, what do I see? Bob, standing there, mocking the kid. By Cayden's tankard, the man can't even appreciate decent music!
Next thing I know, Bob's lobbing a dart at poor John. John hits the floor and covers his head. I guess Bob wants him to use the darts in combat, but John doesn't seem like he knows how to throw anything, let alone those. Maybe he'll learn, but I doubt it.
We get to a river we have to cross, which slows everything down significantly. As the cook's wagon is about halfway across, his huge cooking pot, today's dinner, and his ladle fall into the water. I swim out and get the pot, but the water's so muddy from all the crossing wagons I can't find the ladle.
Getting the pot back into the wagon isn't easy, so I decide to just hang onto the side of the wagon and float across. That's when a barrel of hardtack tips over, spilling most of it into the river. Can't say that's much of a loss, though.
It takes a couple of hours, but everyone eventually makes it across.
Once we're on the other side, Rip starts demanding that Hargrove repay him for a coin purse he lost. Hargrove, in his no-nonsense way, tells him that he's absolutely not going to be repaid; it was lost to the river. Rip keeps trying to argue, but Hargrove comes over and puts him in his place. Rip finally relents. Then, a few minutes later, John comes walking up with a coin purse and asks Rip if it's the one he lost. I have no idea where John found it, or if it's even Rip's, but at least he's finally quiet.
Then Rip starts talking about "insurance." He says he bought some from "Blackwater Insurance" and he expects it to cover his loss. I keep trying to explain to him that he's not making the connection between "Blackwater Insurance" and the Blackwater Syndicate, a notorious organization I know about that doesn't "insure" anything but their own profits. He's not getting it. I'm going to have to keep an eye on him when we get to town to make sure he doesn't get himself in over his head.
The rest of the day goes pretty smoothly. We take a small detour because the road is too dusty and causing issues. We finally make it to a clearing for the night. The wagons are arranged in a semicircle, and everyone gets to setting up camp.
Bob's acting weird again. He keeps watching the scout, and I can't figure out why. He's just... weirder than normal. The Pharasman priestess from the caravan comes around, looking for some missing provisions.
He seems really hung up on the scout, and something about hunting. I don't know if he's feeling insecure because he didn't manage to find anything while he was out hunting, or if something happened with the scout that he's not talking about. I just know he's acting very... insecure. It's almost as bad as his afterlife crisis, and that's saying something.