07 Triumphant Flower Hunters

The first dilemma with the flower hunt was that I remembered the instructions but the map had changed. On paper it made sense. Just go around, spot a tree, and head right.. but in the end that didn't matter. Directions were getting awry anyhow and both sets of instructions showed a fancy golden tree.. that will make a bardic song too one day.. and near it, the flower we had sought. My ax scythed it and and Coill made it float in the air into a bag. It seemed that the flower could defend itself as it burned through the bag easily.. a weird defense, why would a flower need to defend itself AFTER it has been cut down?

But Coill just made it float again, and his trained bird showed us where the city is. We headed there together. Rivyre left the cat and joined us, and Drai found the lute trader and bought a huge pile of books from her, then followed us, muttering of starlight and women and mistletoe and studying Draconic and of not having gotten the books for free. Hmph, the only ways to get stuff for free is to beg or steal. Unless the former owner is dead of course. Like in the case of my crown.

In town we.. Coill and me... headed straight for the palace. Coill was looking a bit strained after having concentrated on making the flower float for hours and hours, but managed it. We followed a floating flower into the palace, and were met with a very happy doctor who promptly burned it.

The clown was there, and said that we might get rewarded the next day at the adventurers' guild if the cure works. Not fair, that - why should the doctor's incompetence affect our paycheck? - but we were not in it for the money anyway but to do a good deed, so all fine.

The rest of the group met us at the guildhouse. Some were having trouble getting food...

Food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food

There's nothing you can serve that we won't eat.
Nothing you can give that we won't drink.
There's hungry folks to feed, and you can see - 
How to make us smile
It's easy.

All we need is food, all we want is food,
All you yearn is food, food. Food is all for me. 
Food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food, food
All we need is food, all we want is food,
All you yearn is food, food. Food is all for me. 

...so I paid for it with a song, and we were served immediately.

In the morning we got the reward. It was even better than we had expected, a rare honorific with medals and titles of some sort. Money comes and goes but reputation is forever. Life's great.

Drai wanted to go to the temple to sell the dragon books there. Makes sense, he has a mobile lifestyle and carrying the books all around is inconvenient. Again there were music lovers there... they just can't get enough? We are building a proper fan base in this town. The priests wanted a song before they'd properly take a look into Drai's bag of books, so I sang to them, and Drai was very happy with the money he got. Of course.. they could have just asked rather than involve dry's dirty bag of books in it.

It's time to wind down. Rivyre probably misses the cat, but at least she has a dog, and they do whatever it is that halflings and dogs do. Coill ponders that the tricks served him so well that he'll meditate and discover what more he can do, and Drai talks about spending time at the temple, serving the big holy lizard and learning more Draconic.

As for me, I'll probably learn a bit more about the new fancy lute of mine. It's no better than the old one I think, but it's not the same, so more learning is needed.. and besides, practice makes one a master, and the masters practice more than anyone else. I also need to decide what to do about the crown.. and after falling off a building twice and failing with a rusty lock, it would do me good to learn to practice those skills too so Drai and the others won't break down a door next time.

Well.. they'll probably do it anyway just because it's there. So I think that learning to run better would also be good.