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Chapter 8 by HistoricoPublius HistoricoPublius

Time to head down to the common room.

Get some breakfast, take stock, make plans.

You trot down the stairs and into the taproom, bringing the mugs from last night's beer with you and leaving them on the bar. "Morning, Gorto!" you say cheerfully.

"Morning," the bartender mutters, looking surly. You pause.

"Wait a minute...Gorto, you weren't here all night, were you?"

"What? No. Got in just before sunrise."

"But you were here well after midnight!"

"No, I wasn't!" You stare. The man sighs. "That'd be my brother, _Grimbo _Gorto. I'm _Grumbo _Gorto. Twins, see?"

You stare some more. You've been staying at the Violet Tabard for two weeks now, and you never put this together. He rolls his eyes.

"Anyway, breakfast. Porridge again. Here ya go, Gavilard."

"Uhh. Thank you...Grumbo. Gorto." You give him an uncertain nod, then take your bowl of porridge over to a table to eat, glancing back once as you go. Twins?! It does seem possible, now that you're looking closely...

The porridge is warm and filling, but bland, and you wish that you could afford better. {if Coin > 0}You've some money left, but not enough to get by on for long.{else}Unfortunately, you're pretty much wholly skint.{endif} You need to find work, or some sort of paying adventure, and soon. You suck the last of the porridge off the grain of your wooden spoon and mull over your options.

Across the common room from you is a table of four companions - two men and two women - who are clearly new in town and you feel certain must be adventurers. Most of them are wearing some kind of armor, and they seem to be leaning together, peering over a map or chart of some kind. Are they striking out from here looking for some sort of treasure? If so, that could be a fruitful voyage...

On the other hand, it could be a wild-goose chase. Small towns like these don't usually have a proper militia, so you could go see the local authorities - a mayor, you think - and find out whether they need help with any unusual security needs. That'd likely be more certain (and maybe, though not necessarily, less risky) coin.

{if Rogue = True}On the other hand...you've been staying here long enough that you've picked up a sense of who the local less-than-legal types are. With your skillset, you could undoubtedly find some kind of work among them, if you were discreet about it...{endif}

Where do you go looking for work?

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