Meric the Storyman: Rega and the Dragonstones
Chapter 3: Redbottom Leaf

The two halflings had been on the road for many days. They had been traveling from the halfling city of Leafbourn. Their destination on this trip was Striplind, the northern seaport city. They were to deliver a large order of Redbottom Leaf, the best tobacco grown in the land.

Although most of the Redbottom Leaf was sold in auctions or open markets at Leafbourn, some farms had delivery service for people not wanting to make the trip to the land of halflings. Stice and Lano came from one of these farms that delivered and they enjoyed getting away from their father’s tobacco farm.

The one major regret they both had was missing out on home-cooked meals. By traveling, they did have the pleasure of trying cuisine from all over, but nothing came close to their mother’s wonderful cooking. She had a way of making simple stew taste like something that royalty would be served. And her apple pies were legendary, even in Leafbourn.

They had already been to all of the major cities in the land in addition to many of the smaller ones, some more than once. Their favorites were the kingdom cities of Makloran and Lalloran. The main fleet for each kingdom was in these cities. This meant many sailors looking for a good time while on shore leave. Drunken sailors were the easiest prey, both in gambling and picking their pockets.

Striplind was also a favorite spot for sailors. It could be fun at times, but due to the large size of its guard force, the gambling and pocket picking was more difficult.

They also enjoyed Ractah. When possible, they would return to Leafbourn with a wagon full of fresh produce, thus making a profit in each direction.

It was already dark as they came up to the gates of Ractah, so they decided to stay overnight. They knew their payload would be safe. It was guarded. Also, since Ractah was a city known for its produce, the guard force took great care in ensuring the safety of all travelers. Halflings visiting the city were fairly common. They should not stand out as targets. Besides, both were hungry.

When they reached the gates, they stopped to pass out samples to the guards. This helped in several ways. First, it ensured that they would be remembered favorably in the city by the guard force...always a good thing. Second, the guards would be sure to have someone follow them to their destination. This was to protect their valuable cargo. Since it would not look well for Ractah if travelers were to get robbed while staying in the city, it was standard procedure to make sure merchants arrived to their destination safely. Finally, it helped to keep up the demand for their product. Sure, there were inferior pipe-weeds available at a cheaper cost, but it was always good business to remind people about the quality of Redbottom Leaf.

After enjoying a smoke and some small talk with the guards at the gate, they headed to the Inn of the Weary Travelers. This was the best inn for the price. It offered nice clean rooms, excellent stables and most importantly, outstanding food. Once the ponies had been taken care of by the stable hands, the two brothers went inside for a good meal.

Zastin knew his nephew and Rega were best friends. He was involved with giving Dexir training with a sword in his teen years, and he had always kept an eye on Rega. So, when the two of them took him out to eat, he realized something was up. At least this meal would be better than the stuff called food that he normally had to eat. Since Rega was paying, he ordered steak.

“I have a new job which may be dangerous. Once again, I would like to have Dexir come along to help me.” said Rega. He knew that Zastin did not know about his actual line of work, so he skipped the details.

The newly appointed Captain of the Guard had heard the saying ‘If you want something, go to the Trader’s Shop. They can get it...for a price.’ But he thought it meant that Milrop and Rega traveled as much as they did to purchase the items. However, he wanted his nephew to settle down, instead of running off with Rega all the time. It seemed that any time Rega went on one of his business trips lately, Dexir was always going with. He thought he had made some progress in this by getting him to enlist in the Guard, but now here they wanted to go running off again.

“Out of the question. He’s in the Guard now.” said Zastin sternly. “He has a responsibility to the city. The Midsummer celebration is almost upon us. We are expecting a large crowd again this year.”

Rega saw it was not working, so he used another angle. “I know you have heard about the news from Esapha.” said Rega. When he saw Zastin nod, he continued. “You have to trust me when I say that this job may help prevent that same type of incident from happening to our city. I can’t go into details, but it involves very powerful people. If anyone asks you about it, say Dexir is on official business to help stop this sudden uprising of attacks.” Then Rega threw in the one statement he knew would work. “I also know you remember what happened twenty years ago. Is this city prepared for another assault from orcs, but this time having a dragon leading them?”

Zastin knew he had no choice. He knew the people in the city did not want another invasion, especially with the Midsummer celebration approaching. If Dexir could help Rega in preventing another attack, it was more important for his nephew to go. The last attack had cost the city many of the local produce farmers and also several good guards. “All right Rega, you have made your point.” replied the Captain. Then he looked at Dexir. “I will see you at dawn tomorrow to give you your orders.”

“Yes sir, uncle.” said Dexir.

The three men finished their meals, discussing some of the other major happenings throughout the land.

Then it was time for the refreshments. While in the middle of the first round of ales, Rega saw two halflings walking in through the door. Normally he would not have paid much attention to them, but after what the dragon had said about a couple of halflings passing through, he looked them over very carefully.

They were both wearing basic traveling clothes which consisted of a tunic and leather pants in green and brown colors. They also had leather armor and dark green cloaks. Neither of them had anything on their feet. The larger of the two had a short sword and a dagger. The other had a short sword and a sling. Rega could see similarities in their facial features.

He watched as they found a table near the kitchen. Once the halflings had placed their orders with the waitress, Rega walked over to them.

“Good evening.” said Rega.

Stice, the larger and older of the two halfling brothers, returned the greetings. “Good evening to you, sir.” he said.

“I’m sorry to bother you,” said Rega, “but I was told there were a couple of halflings coming through here with information about the Emeraldstone. I was just wondering if...”

Before Rega got a chance to finish, Lano interrupted him with a question of his own. “You must be the mercenary we were told to keep an eye open for, am I correct?”

Rega nodded.

“Good.” replied Stice this time. “Meet us outside the North Gate tomorrow morning; say about two hours after sunrise. We can discuss the details of the job then.”

“Well, until tomorrow morning.” said Rega, who then turned and went back to the table to rejoin his two friends.

“What was that all about?” whispered Dexir to his friend.

“If I’m right, I think we just got ourselves a good cover.” answered Rega.

Dexir just shrugged and took another drink from his mug.

The three men stayed there long enough to finish several more rounds before they decided to leave. As they left, Rega looked over at the halflings. They were too busy eating to notice him leaving.

Rega met Dexir the next morning for breakfast. Due to the nature of his orders, Dexir was in plain, non-uniform styled chainmail, instead of the green and yellow Guard armor. His uncle felt it was best not to advertise the fact that he was in service for Ractah. He was still able to bring his guard-issued long sword, though. Zastin knew it was better for Dexir to keep the weapon he had been trained with.

While sitting at the table, the two noticed their chef friend, a man named Jorge, sitting near the hearth. He had carrots, potatoes, celery, onions, green beans and a nice slab of beef, all freshly purchased that morning in the local bazaar. Jorge was beginning the preparation of the day’s stew. Rega mentioned to Dexir that if the halflings knew about Jorge’s stew, they may never get out of Ractah. The two shared a laugh.

After they ate, they loaded up everything they thought would be needed on this trip. Rega left a note for Milrop, explaining that he would be back through later, if he got the chance, to explain more in detail about this job. He locked up the office, and then locked up the shop. He knew it would be safe. Zastin would have it watched until either he or Milrop returned.

It was a beautiful summer morning. The sun was shining overhead. A breeze from the west helped keep the temperature from getting too hot. In the background, a blacksmith could already be heard hammering on his anvil.

They rode casually through the city, reaching the North Gate at almost the agreed upon time. Dexir stopped to say goodbye to the guards on duty there. They then continued onward.

The halfling’s wagon was only a little ways off. Stice was looking over both of the ponies which were used to pull the wagon. Rega dismounted and walked over to the halfling.

“I’ll be with you in a minute.” said Stice. “I just want to make sure the ponies are all set.”

By the time Stice had finished, Lano had joined the group, talking to the two men about the differences between Redbottom Leaf and regular tobacco.

“You see, Redbottom Leaf has these veins of a reddish color throughout its leaves.” said the halfling, holding a piece of the tobacco. “Regular tobacco has a dull green color.”

Stice saw his brother talking to the men and made his introduction as well. “Well, I see you have already met my brother, Lano. I am called Stice.”

Rega and Dexir then introduced themselves.

Then, from in the wagon, some more voices could be heard.

Stice opened the back. “These two back here are our guards. They are called Certi and Ardi.”

Two more individuals came into view. They were no more than one foot tall. Rega figured they must be brownies. Each bowed their head when their name was spoken.

Seeing the puzzled looks on the human’s faces, Stice said, “It is a story we can go over later.”

The halflings climbed into the seats of the wagon. The group then started on the trip north.

“So, tell us why you need our help.” said Stice to Rega.

Since Rega had been told to trust them, he told them the entire story. “Usually, I work with as few people as possible, but you can provide me with a unique opportunity for entering Cromwell.”

The halflings talked it over and then agreed to help. “As mentioned before, we had been told to look for you. We fully support your effort in this. Fortunately, we encountered no problems on our way here, but we have heard some stories.” said Stice.

Rega smiled. The trip was starting well.