Business as Usual

Returning to Alderheart, the staff of Leaflet find themselves making their way through the poor, starving, huddled masses of the wood attempting to seek asylum within the great tree. Some hail them as heroes for their actions in helping clear the roads. They are immediately called to a special session of the Birdfolk Council.

A Bargain Struck

The group soon find that Perd Flapley has been relieved of his rank of Captain within the Perch Guard, and discover that their actions are being looked upon as criminal: The raid on the bandits was as much a mob as an organized attack, and a number of Perch Guard and farmers were killed in the process. Speaker Bita accuses them of crime, but offers a deal. Half of the stolen goods are to be seized as a fine, and the remainder left in the cart of the group as a sort of prepayment.

Bita and the Council wish to see the Bandit Coalition's top leader, Benna Seridan, a Cervan woman, brough to justice. What's more, they wish it to happen with as little risk to themselves as possible. The party seems to be their best solution: A group capable of the task, but expendable, as far as the Council are concerned.

The party begrudgingly agree to the terms, on the condition that they be provided with reports and details of what the Council knows of the Bandit Coalition's activities. Bita agrees, having already sent a scouting party out to track the bandits back to their headquarters; a plan which would have gone off presumably without a hitch were it not for the bloody events of the evening. She assures the party that they will have their reports as soon as the scouts return from their roughly week-long mission.

A Busy Week

In the days leading up to the scouting party's return, the employees of Leaflet busy themselves with preparations not only for the grand opening of their business, but for the task ahead.

Downtime Activity

• Leo sizes a suit of Studded Leather Armor for Billingsley using his Leatherworking skills.
• Billingsley enacts a charismatic marketing campaign, drumming up some business, though to his shame he is spotted by a lifelong rival, surely making him the butt of many jokes in the dinner clubs of The Boughs
• Leo and Lucy retrieve a certain item from The Last Stand's "old merchandise," and are tasked with letting Cyril know that the "new merchandise," is in stock. They meet a Jerbeen child, Finnan, who dreams of being a brave bandit and stopping the evil Council.
• Yarrow makes attempts to understand the nature of what it means to be a Dreamer. Autumnal Vayle of the Circle of Dreams has trouble answering her questions, but subtly shows her the methodology of entering a dreaming state. Yarrow formulates an experiment to try and better understand what she experienced.
• Lucy and Yarrow send a pair of hirelings out to gather materials for healing potions, and manage to procure enough for a single "swamp style" potion. The duo also successfully arrange for a team of buggalo to pull their wagon.
• Yarrow attemps to research the Seridan name, looking for clues as to who Benna might be, but instead finds only a weathered journal entry from a time long past describing certain aspects of the woods
• Leo and Lucy set off to explore the limits of their business area, and interest a great many customers. To their dismay, however, they discover that while many smaller perches are in good order, as many or more have been razed or burned down to the forest floor.
• Billingsley, after taking suggestions from his compatriots, gives the wagon a fresh coat of paint and branding.
• Leo makes a small pilgrimage to offer his prayers at the shrine of Gesme
• Lucy explains his plans for a new type of bardic instrument to Leo
• Billingsley uses the remainder of his free time to prepare various small gems and jewels for sale

What news?

On the final day of downtime, the party reconvenes in The Entertainment District of The Canopy to finalize their preparations. A worried-looking Sebastian charges towards them from the direction of The Council Chambers, a bundle of reports in hand...

Occultant's Report