Shamash and Malachite leave the children to make their way home at the village edge, and head to the Salty Spoon- an older building with a sagging roof and sturdy timber walls that betrays the age of the building, and of the village itself. 

Inside, the Tavern is cozy, with a hearth at either end of the hall and a long bar at the back of the room. The Tavern's two employees- a Maiskin woman, and an Ovarketh woman- sit diligently working. Shamash bristles at the sight of one being an Ovarketh, however, despite there being no indication from her that she recognizes his kind or has any grudge against the Mastosi, and excuses himself to find the two a table; leaving Malachite to be the one to order food and drinks for them.

Obtaining Stew, Chicken Legs, and fresh tankards of Mead to split between the two of them, Malachite asks about the behavior. Shamash explains his history with the Goliaths in Rusatar and apologizes for the way he reacted. After some time, Shamash decides to test the Ovarketh woman by calling her over and speaking Mastosi to her. She answers back with perfect comprehension, surprising him. He asks her to call over the Maiskin woman, and learns their names are Serinki and Corinne.

Shamah introduces himself to them as the village's new Cáer. Corinne is skeptical and demands proof, and Shamah provides the deed to the Manor, much to her surprise. She allows them to open a tab, and refunds the money that Malachite had paid earlier. Shamah then begins to quiz her on the village and its state.

After a bit of conversation, they ask after the children that they found in the mine- taking particular interest in Ailin's father; based on some information gleaned from the other children, they were worried he was a drunkard and absent father. They learn from Corinne, the Maiskin woman, however, that he's been in bad shape since his wife died in a fishing accident 5 years ago, when Ailin was only 2 years old. They learn that he has a bit of farm land that he's been neglecting, and occasionally he works as a farmhand for other farmers in the area.

Pushing further, Shamash asks after the tavern itself, and learns from Corinne that the owner, Damier Argaith, is frequently absent and rarely cares about the tavern. He requests that she leave and bring him to him. When she returns with him, Damier reeks heavily of alcohol. Shamash informs him that he has 3 months to begin paying his employees a 15% take of his profits, or he will lose the Tavern. He is resistant and belligerent at first, but Malachite uses his echo to intimidate the man.

Shamash and Malachite decide to return to Deasmunach Manor for the remainder of the night. Upon seeing the manor, however, Shamash decides to rename is Garakar Manor, and tells Malachite. The two make their way onto the grounds and decide to do an inspection of the outbuildings first, due to their rundown state. Inside the back barn they do find an infestation of Giant Rats, but they are easily taken care of with Malachite killing the majority.

Inside, they meet Lyra, a Warforged, and the Manor's only remaining staff. She initially attempts to remove them from the manor but when shown the deed, accepts Shamash as the new Cáer. Shamash asks if there is anywhere he can store the deed for safety, and she suggests the Archive. But Shamash is unwilling to give the deed up as of yet, without a true safe to keep it in.

Shamash instructs Lyra to begin learning Mastosi, and Malachite requests that she also learn Terosi as well. They begin to talk logistics of fixing up the house, and Lyra interjects to inform them that the village only has a Tailor, a General Goods, an Adept, and an Apothecary at the moment; all other services would require traveling to the city. She is then instructed by Shamash to begin researching bounties in the surrounding area, because he is planning to barter bounties for labor to repair the Manor house. He also requests that she summon Tomas Cuinn (Ailin's father) in the morning, as he would like to hire him as foreman, hoping that giving him a purpose will bring him back to this life and help him care for his daughter better- and he would like the Trader summoned as well, since, looking through the kitchen, they need to restock on some goods.

They turn towards the bedrooms, and begin to turn in for the night. Shamah makes the mistake of allowing Malachite to choose his room first, and Malachite chooses the more finely decorated room that clearly used to belong to the previous Cáer- leaving Shamah the lesser decorated "guest bedroom" of the same size. The two turn in for the night.