Belinda Rosewater and Pip Wortley walk into the Prancing Pony and take a seat in the mostly empty room.
"Not many costumers," Belinda says "even the Forsaken Inn is more crowded than this."
"Well it is the middle of the day and there are other places to be in Bree than the bar," Pop says.
"Anlaf is really starting to annoy me. When he told me to come get the supplies he kept telling me don't forget the oatmeal. I didn't need to be reminded three times when it was already written down."
"He probably got yelled at about it when the goblins attacked the last caravan."
"I know," Belinda says "but that's no reason to talk to me like that. I've been worried about him anyway."
"Why's that?"
"I caught him in the basement the other night nailing a bookcase to the wall."
"That sounds a little crazy," Pip says.
"He said it had something to do with creepy noises."
"I've been hearing them at night too. It's hard to sleep with all that noise below me."
"Don't you usually sleep in the lowest floor of the basement?" Belinda says.
"I try not to think of the sounds being below me on those nights."
A young bearded man sits beside the two and says, "There is a lot more under that inn than you would imagine."
"Who are you? Belinda asks.
"My name is Umin. I traveled the paths under the inn."
"What do you mean paths?" Pip asks.
"There's an entire cave system that leads to an underground river way," Umin says. "An old pirate boat is even parked there at a hidden harbor."
"That's amazing, but why would Anlaf care so much about blocking that?"
"It's populated by the undead. Adventurers that fell to the traps and come back to kill more people to join them."
"Will a few nails keep them out?" Belinda asks.
"I doubt it is so much a matter of keeping the undead in as ensuring more travelers don't join them," Umin says. "From what I saw the undead are bound to the catacombs."
"If there are so many dangers what were you doing down there?" Pip asks.
"I was looking for a family heirloom. I found it but a fell spirit had possessed it and tried to take control of me."
"How did you break free?" Belinda asks.
"I was being assisted by a small group who beat the spirit out of me and then banished it," Umin says.
"So the spirit is gone, that's good."
"I don't know if I would trust that. Spirits are tough to kill so that one may come back. It's best if we simply avoid going down there so we don't find out if it comes back."