Getting up in the morning, I could feel like today was going to be a good day. There was a nice cool breeze coming in from the window and sun was shining brightly, and all the critters were chasing one another around the room, it's so good to see them regaining their strength so fast! Gina was already awake downstairs, helping Ms. Toolie serve breakfast to the patrons. She gave me something called an "egg plant" which tasted and looked kinda weird, sort of like a raw egg mixed with green snot. At least the cheese and kale were good, though!
Yesterday Ms. Trudgeon asked that Gina and I come by the orphanage to help with setting up a "Fun Eraser" for the kids, so Gina and I headed out. I'm not sure what a fun eraser is, but I like fun and I like erasers, so it can't be that bad, right? Maybe it's some kind of an art class where the kids have to draw and erase things? That does sound fun.
Outside the inn we ran into Fren Geldrot, and he and his horse Peter were carrying a bunch of crates to the orphanage, full of supplies for the Fun Eraser. He was joined by a young human called Sett, who was covered in blood after he tragically killed the centipede that chased Wetnose and his family out of their burrow. According to Peter the centipede tried to eat them all, so I can understand why they did it, but it's still a shame that Mr. Centipede had to die.
Once we arrived at the orphanage we
helped unload the cart, and then Ms. Trudgeon asked
if we, along with a couple other people, could protect the children
during the Fun Eraser. I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that, but I'm
good with children so I can probably do something. The other people she
asked to help out are Aggma the doctor,
Ratyn who looks like a human but with some really
weird coloration on her face, and - most surprisingly -
Christopher who is another Harengon! I didn't
know there were other Harengon in this town! Sadly he said that he grew
up in Tilley, and also his name isn't Kleo, Hestil, Lilai, or Yiks, so
he probably isn't one of the missing kits. He also dresses like a human
which is quite strange, I've never seen a Harengon who takes so much
care of his shirt.
Anyway, while thinking this, Ms. Trudgeon asked us if we could get Patrick Singalong to come and sing along to during the Fun Eraser, maybe to give the kids inspiration for their drawings? Christopher suggested getting some of the mages from The Bells to perform, so I offered to go and get Claire and her sparkle of fireflies to do their own light show. Now that I think about it, I could have also asked some of the town's birds to sing at the show, maybe that would have convinced them not to bring the mages...
We weren't sure where to find Patrick, so we decided to ask Ms. Toolie if maybe she knows. On the way to the Greenhill Inn we passed by the market, where Glen and Dick were advertising a new drink called "Coughy". It's supposed to be a magically stronger version of their normal teas, and it sure felt that way! I was so bouncy after drinking it, I felt like I could hop up to the roof of one of the nearby houses! After that, I asked Ratyn about her face markings. Turns out she's only three-quarters human, but she seems shy about her other quarter and she didn't want to talk about it. Right now my main theory is that she's a quarter-ferret because of the markings on her face, but ferrets usually have brown marks, while hers are red.
When we got to the inn Ms. Toolie said that Patrick should be at the docks at Smokebridge, an he really was there, trying to find fish in the river. Christopher and I asked him if he would like to perform at the Fund Eraser (as Christopher told me it was actually called), and he agreed on the condition that we make sure that he doesn't die, and that we provide him with an escape root. Turns out a different kobold called Sticky Ash took something from hum, and now that he took it back, she's trying to kill him. I wasn't sure where we could find an escape root, but Christopher suggested we get one from Granny V so we decided to do that. We also assured Patrick that Sett is good at killing things, so he'll make sure to scare Sticky Ash if she shows up.
Heading over to GVS, Granny V ran out of the store screaming about a fire, but Aggma and I courageously stepped into the burning shop and put out the fires. As a thanks for saving her shop, Granny V agreed to lend us a Thingy of Shifty that would let Patrick walk through walls once per day, but warned us that it only lasts a short amount of time, so he would have to walk quickly to avoid getting stuck in a wall. We offered to help her clean up the shop, but apparently Cooper was taking care of it, despite it looking like he was only making a bigger mess.
After getting the Thingy it was almost afternoon snacktime, so after some effort I convinced the others to go get some late lunch at The Terrace, a small tavern by the town walls, right next to Smokebridge. Sadly we arrived so late that they were out of their signature fish-and-beet-patty burger, so we had to go for a carrot stew with steamed avocados and boiled onion. It wasn't nearly as good, but I guess that's the price of making new friends, right? At least their cranberry souffle was as good as always, I think it still ranks as my fourth favourite fruity dessert in town.
Just as we finished our meal, Harris and his friends came in to get their food. He started talking to Ratyn, and she seemed even less comfortable than when I asked her about her markings. When he noticed me, Harris seemed as gloomy as always despite me giving him my most cheery "hello", I might have to keep working on it. I think Christopher didn't like Harris being sad, so he tried to use some sort of magic on him, but sadly it didn't seem to work and instead Harris got really angry. Harris looked like he was about to say something mean, when the owner of The Terrace stepped in and kicked us out. I felt so bad! Christopher got me kicked out of my sixth favourite tavern in Grey Court, and I don't know if they'll ever let me in again!
Moving on, we gave Patrick the Thingy and let him try it out. He came close to getting stuck in a wall, but fortunately he just bumped his head and according to Aggma suffered a minor concussion. Hopefully his brains will still work for the Fund Eraser.
With the kobold taken care of, I suggested we go to the greens to get Claire, but Christopher insisted we go to The Bells instead. He also refused to split up, so I begrudgingly decided to go with him. I know Patrick called our group "Christopher and Friends", but for now I have to say that Christopher isn't doing a very good job at being a good friend. At the bells, Martha Thinstrung invited us for tea while she and Christopher talked about the Fund Eraser. I wanted to wait outside, but Ratyn said that she'll make sure Martha doesn't do anything unpleasant. Ratyn was also nice and had my tea for me, so whatever was in it probably wasn't dangerous to humans or quarter-ferrets.
Now
that that's over with, we can finally go and talk to Claire about her
and her friends coming to do a light show at the Fund Eraser, and maybe
also stopping Martha from being there too...