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[b]Deadsnows  | Uktar 5th  |  1495 DR[/b]
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As the sun began it’s descent towards the far horizon the already bracing cold would only crispen in the coming evening. The first snow of winter had come and coated the land in sheets of white, the sharp chill of fall replaced with the freeze of winter. A bard or a poet might call it romantic, perhaps composing a piece to recite by the warmth of a tavern fire. But to the people of Deadsnows this heralding of winter was not something to revel at, especially not this year. 

There was a grim air about the town, the faces of the people at best concerned and weary and at worst angry and disillusioned. The town was plagued by a food shortage and with winter now here it just made things all the more desperate for most. The people had hoarded away and rationed most of what they had but even then it wouldn’t last the season. They turned to their leader - Seneschal Bordev - for answers but there was nothing to be received from him, his manor remaining closed and the guards turning away all who came to see him. 

Tensions were high and the Watch found themselves pressed to keep order, putting forth a curfew even to dissuade anyone who might prowl the night looking to steal from their neighbors. As the eve drew near the traffic through the gates had picked up as the folk of Deadsnows cloistered away within the walls, the Watch catching more than a few glares and sideways snorts from the townsfolk. Most who did not live within the walls would spend the night at the Rose and Hammer inn, others with close friends and family. The inn stayed crowded after dark these days many folk having to sleep in the barn out back or slouched over their table at night. 

With Bordev remaining locked in his manor and the Watch acting as a force of repression many feared what was to come. As food dwindled away in time people would only become more desperate, and desperation could drive one to do anything needed to survive. Everyone knew this, from the grim-faced townsfolk trudging through the front gate to the Watchmen eyeing them from the street corners and ramparts.

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Shanala Goldush sat alone tucked into a corner in the Rose and Hammer inn. Before her sat a half empty tankard of mead that she had been nursing for the past hour. When the wood elf first entered the inn and took a seat the place was already rather full but now it was bustling to say the least. Nearly every table and stool was occupied, many patrons leaning against the wall or propping against tables where their companions sat. Four barmaids scuttled about pouring drinks, delivering trays of food, and cleaning up messes off the floor and tables, pushed to meet the demands of the bursting establishment.

A curly haired halfling musician pounded away at a drum near the bar accompanied by a flutist, their music nearly drowned out by the entropic chorus of conversation and the occasional laugh. Shanala had noticed that even with the music and the flowing mead and ale there were few smiles or laughter to be witnessed in the crammed place. She imagined this had something to do with the apparent food shortage the town was suffering from. 

When Shanala had first arrived earlier the barmaid who tended to her made it clear that she would only be served a single meal and one tankard. Shanala settled for some bread and a few cuts of pork with some mead to wash it all down. Intent on stretching her one drink as best she could Shanala had been steadily sipping for some time now. She had asked the barmaid about the shortage and all she received as an answer was that there had been attacks on the farmholds and the roads which had cut off supply to the town. Shanala pressed further but the barmaid had nothing else to say, merely a shrug and continuing about her job. 

[i]Orcs or goblins most likely,[/i] Shanala thought to herself, [i]that or brigands.[/i] She had arrived in Deadsnows earlier that day having traveled up from the south past the Arn Forest. She had intended to take about two weeks of rest - if not longer - in Deadsnows after have spent some time traveling along the breadth of the mountains. Instead she arrived to a town with sparse food and who’s people seemed as cold as the winter. She couldn’t even have the luxury of a bed, the innkeeper having informed her she would just have to take to the barn as all the rooms were full. While Shanala had in the past slept in harsher environments the idea of traveling to a town only to have to pass a warm bed for a pile of hay in a barn didn’t sit well with her. But it was either that or camp outside in the cold. 

[i]I wonder if the town guard are offering bounties?[/i] Shanala thought. The idea of lining her pockets with coin in exchange for killing a few bandits or a mob of goblins sounded appealing enough, and if anything she could offer her services in helping clear the area of any danger to the town. Deciding she would do a bit of investigating tomorrow the wood elf drained the last of her drink and decided to “retire to the barn early”.