Russell took a deep breath, then gathered every scrap of composure he could muster and addressed the group. “Listen, we’ve been over this again and again: the module is a realistic setting. That means, among other things, no random loot rolls. If you want to find gear from a fight, it’s going to be used against you first. These ogres didn’t have much; they were a paltry scouting outpost that likely would have surrendered if you’d even tried a bit of diplomacy. They had little and you killed them, so now that little belongs to you.”
“What about the tournament we could have gone to?” Tim asked, his voice filled with genuine curiosity rather than wheedling discontent, a rare and wonderful change for the GM.
“Yes, the Appleram tournament had lots of gear, not to mention gold you could have won,” Russell confirmed. “But you all decided to ignore the invitation and go a different path, set on hunting in ogre lands.”
“Oh, whatever. Like the tournament would have been any fun,” Mitch said, adding a derisive snort at the end of his sentence. “You said it was all competition, no killing. Why the hell would we go in for that?”
“How about you just give us the loot we would have gotten from the tournament?” Terry suggested, nodding his round head enthusiastically at the mere thought of the idea.
“Forget it. This is the path you chose, and these are the consequences of that choice. You find what you find. End of discussion.” Russell might have been a bit more forgiving if he hadn’t so been looking forward to running the tournament. It was, hands down, one of the coolest parts of the module he was using. But instead, the party had decided that competition without killing was stupid and had gone off in a whole different direction.
It really was a shame. He had hated having to scrap the tournament.
17.
Mayor Branders might have been a cunning politician, and a bit ruthless when it came to organizing tournaments, but no one could say he didn’t keep his word. When Eric rose two days after the tournament, a little ahead of the others as habit from his old life, he found the mayor already waiting outside their door. The sizable man had a single bag slung over his shoulder, one with arcane runes etched into the fabric. With him were five attendants, all still rubbing sleep from their eyes while trying to pretend they were wide awake and ready to go. Eric felt for them; they must have risen hours before dawn to be waiting when he emerged.
“Mayor,” Eric greeted, clasping the rough hand of the town’s overseer and shaking it. “Pleasure to see you this morning.”
“Pleasure is all mine.” Mayor Branders took care not to press too hard on the smaller man’s fingers. He wasn’t so arrogant that he thought he could easily injure an adventurer; however, he didn’t want to give insult by trying. “If you’d be so kind as to rouse the rest of your friends, I’ve come by to deliver the goods you requested.”
“Certainly.” Eric headed back into the storeroom where the others slept and quickly pulled them out of their dreams with gentle, yet firm, shaking. In moments, he had everyone more or less up and ready to greet the world, though Gabrielle retained a grumpy expression even as the mayor and his attendants entered.
They took a seat at the table where breakfast would be served while the party stayed on their beds. Seating in a place like this was a matter of finding a spot to plop down at; there was no sense of formality to be found.
“I won’t beat around the bramblebush,” Mayor Branders announced, undoing a clasp on the strangely-designed bag and pulling open the top. “As you all know, I’ve come to make good on my promise and equip you with suitable gear. My attendants are here to help everyone get into their armor, as well as provide any other assistance you may need. Now, the bulk of your supplies and transport are outside being watched over, but I wanted to bring in the weapons and armor personally to make sure everything fit.”
“Very kind of you, Mayor.” Thistle avoided pointing out that the attendants would also serve as witnesses to his good deeds, no doubt with instruction to spread word throughout the town. He did this because it would have been in bad form to say something, and, more importantly, because the equipment they needed had yet to be doled out.
“First, the axe-wielder,” Mayor Branders announced. He reached into the rune-covered bag and pulled out a small round shape. It was like a ball of fog clutched in his mighty hand: indistinct on the edges and shifting through the center. The mayor set the ball onto the ground and then quickly backed away. A loud pop filled the air, startling everyone save the mayor, who’d clearly been expecting it. Suddenly a set of armor was sitting where the ball had formerly been.
It was gorgeous stuff: red scales woven together to form interlocking plates. As Gabrielle studied it, she was struck by just how familiar the red color was. She’d seen it recently. It was associated with a memory that would haunt her until the day she finally died and perhaps for some while after.
“Is this… demon scale from the giant?”
“It is.” If Mayor Branders felt any shame or strangeness at presenting her with the flesh of a monster that had turned fellow adventurers into corpses, it wasn’t evident on his bearded face. “It’s tough, pliable, and damn hard to hack through with anything short of a blessed object. The crafters in town have already been snatching up every bit of the scale they can get their hands on. Trust me, that armor will keep you safe.”
“I do like the color,” Gabrielle admitted, lifting the heavy gift from the ground to study it more closely. “Definitely adds a bit of intimidation.”
“From what I’ve heard about you on the battlefield, you hardly need the addition.” Mayor Branders allowed a rare smile to fall on his lips with that statement, then immediately turned stoic once more. “If it’s acceptable, my attendant can help you get into it.”
“Yes, yes, I think I’d like to try it on.” Gabrielle’s own face wore a sly, understated grin as one of the attendants hurried over to assist her. The blonde in blood-red armor. She rather liked the image that evoked in her mind. If reality could come close, she’d be quite content with her new ensemble.
“Next, the wizard’s request for a weapon.” Mayor Branders pulled out another misty ball from the bag, although this time, he set it on the table rather than the ground.
The popping sound was far more diminutive, a pleasant break for the adventurers’ already abused ears, and then a blade sat on the table. It was somewhere between the length of a dagger and a short sword, bone-white in color and slightly curved toward the tip. Grumph rose from his seat and ambled over, studying the weapon with intense scrutiny as he did.
“Small demon’s tail blade,” he announced, picking up the weapon and turning it over in his hands.
“Quite right. You’ve seen firsthand how sharp and deadly those tails could be. Thought you might like to be on the giving end of that instead of the receiving,” Mayor Branders explained.
Grumph gave a noncommittal nod, still turning the blade over in his hand. After a moment’s more examination, he gripped the handle carefully and raised the bone-blade overhead. With one mighty swing, he brought it blazing down on the corner of the table. It passed through easily, seemingly without effort, and a small chunk of wood tumbled unceremoniously to the ground.
“Good blade,” Grumph announced, pleased with the gift. “Thank you.”
“It was well-deserved,” Mayor Branders assured him. He reached into the bag once more and produced a sheath, which he handed to Grumph before turning his attention to Eric. “Now, you were a bit trickier.”
“Do I not get demon armor, too?”
“I thought about it, I really did. The hide from the clawed ones is darn thick; it will make excellent armor. However, that material gets a touch inflexible when dried, and you wanted movement above defense. Thankfully, the glut of adventurers in my town means the tannery had been stocked to the brim with every kind of hide one can imagine.” Mayor Branders pulled another mist-ball from the bag and put it down on the ground in front of Eric. “That included veilpanther flesh.”