The alley breathes sulfur and crushed herbs. BonerFart follows the others past shuttered stalls and rain-dark stone, toward the little apothecary with the mortar-and-pestle sign.
A hooded figure slips inside first, quick as a shadow. The Hedge-Magus points at the lintel, then at the open door. "If we need a healer or an alchemist, this is the kind of den that knows both."
Inside, jars glint on shelves behind a counter. The hooded figure turns, revealing a calm, middle-aged woman with ink-stained fingers and a travel-worn cloak. She studies the group without flinching.
Merrin
If you are here to buy salves, speak plainly. If you are here to ask for bones set, or poisons named, I can hear that too.
Steven
We are building a hunt. We need hands that mend, hands that mix, and one that can fight when the road turns sharp.
Merrin
Then you want more than my shelf. You want judgment, and a reason to trust it. I may know a warrior who drinks here, and a shadow-stalker who dislikes questions as much as I do.
At that, the Hedge-Magus goes still, watching Merrin closely. From the back room comes the faint clink of glass, and the promise of another name not yet spoken.
✓ Quest Accepted
Recruit Merrin
✓ Quest Accepted
Recruit a warrior
“I say to merrin... I will speak honest and clear. We need the aid of hands that know how to heal and mix up a poison when they need to. Me and my band, we hunt Barack and his clan to the death. I sense powerful energy about you and if Barack had ever crossed a line with you then you have all the reason to join. I know you need not anything from me but I have many resources and if you choose to aid us I will return the favor 10 times over.. if you don't, please point me to someone who wants to see that monster dead as bad as I do.”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled +0)
BonerFart
I will speak plain. I need healers, mixers, and anyone who wants Barack dead as badly as I do. I can return favors ten times over.
Merrin
Plain is rare and useful. Compensation is rarer. You speak like a man who keeps his word, and that matters more than boasts.
Merrin
Barack has bought false cures before, and not only in coin. I have seen his kind ruin a clinic with a smile. That is enough reason for me.
Joe
She knows more than she says. Good. We need someone who can read lies from ledgers and lids alike.
Merrin
I will join your hunt. I mix tinctures, salves, and poisons, and I know a warrior who owes me a debt that is not yet settled.
Steven
Then name the warrior. If they are useful, we make room for them.
Merrin
Garrick drinks at the ash-colored inn by the canal. He swings a blade for coin, but he hates slavers, oath-breakers, and men like Barack. If you want him, go with a strong hand and a clean story.
Merrin slides a small packet of black powder across the counter, then marks a route on a scrap of waxed paper with the tip of a knife.
Quest Complete
Recruit Merrin