Breakfast found us with another head to count. This one's a wizard named Hrefna, a "diviner." She's yet to prove the exception to the rule that any wizard that insists on being called by their specialty is as stuck up as a rattlethrust on the null gear. (You don't tell them that, mind.) Couple that with me suddenly remembering her deity from my two-week Religious Equality lessons (one of the gods of alcohol, I think) and that she didn't like that aspect of her god being publicly discussed, and our acquaintance did not start off warmly.
I am beginning to wonder about the turnover rate in this operation. Moreover, they're too accepting of new members. Either of the two recent additions to our group could be infiltrators sent to mislead or betray us. Hell, I could be an infiltrator for all they know.
Went out in the morning to talk to the city seneschal as part of an attempt to garner official (and more importantly, military) support for a plan to lock down the grove. After talking to him for 10 minutes, he threw me into an asylum for the insane. Now, admittedly, this could be partially attributed to a few slip-ups on my side of the conversation. That said, this was the act of a man who is distinctly and undoubtedly derelict in his duty. He has willfully ignored abnormal circumstances that have hindered the execution of his duties and the duties of his guardsmen in an area of the city explicitly under his jurisdiction; namely, the failure to ensure the timely patrol of a suspicious public park from which the very menace to Point of Origin was spawned. Also he is a dick.
Arcadius was nice enough to spring me after that, though he tried to steer me away from talking to anyone else. I have the feeling that it will be some time before I live this down. Shell talked the seneschal into posting a guard at the front gate of the grove. It's slightly better than the finger-up-the-arse that he had maintained before, and likely the most help we're going to get out of him.
Once everyone met back up, they decided to roam the city asking around about current events. Since I was apparently off of my game when it came to social manipulation today, I figured I would go to the marketplace and buy some fresh supplies instead, as well as acquire a few things I had recently found myself lacking.
Evening consisted of gossip swapping, sword discussion, and the trading of various visions of doom between the more astrally inclined among us. Only thing that sticks in my mind from all of it is the rumor that all of the orcs have left town. Even the ones that live here? Hmm.
I suggested returning to the only other known coral gateway, so we're heading back to the mine tomorrow to see if Rann has reestablished a link to it.
~
Just remembered that I had promised to send Stuart a progress report at two-week intervals, and because of… events I am overdue on the first one. I'll make sure to write it after checking up on the mine.
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