Making money
The next day, she stopped by to check out the prices of some traps. She quickly gave up on the idea of using a ready-made trap, however, when she saw they were four gold pieces each. That was almost half of what she wanted to make to begin with! What was the point in buying that when she was just trying to make ten gold!? Who was buying these traps!?
Without the need for traps, she decided to head out immediately to try to make some money.
Cahrel didn't have any leads for her as of yet, but that was expected. They had only just spoken of the matter the night before. Although she was quite thankful for the man's aid, she also couldn't wait to be able to leave the Gooseberry Inn. The night before was awful, it was as if the first night was just the buildup to last night.
She couldn't wait to finally be able to get a peaceful night's sleep! All those nights sleeping in trees and on the hard ground…and in a hole in the ground, not being able to fully relax…She thought after reaching a city she'd finally found somewhere to sleep soundly…
Outside of the city, the wilderness was mostly fields and plains. There were distant trees that Faye could see, but they were a far ways away. Not seeing any other viable option, Faye decided to head out for an all day trip of trapping and hunting.
She wasn't the most accomplished hunter and after spending hours walking to the area she wanted to hunt, she found that it wasn't quite suitable. She found another hunters trap without having to search hard. It seemed this was a favorite for hunters in the city. The forest was dark and there was a dirt path worn into the ground that headed into the tree line. Without any traps made, Faye would have to make her own after heading in. Then, she'd have to set them far enough away from another trappers set to not piss anyone off. Seeing how long it had taken her to reach the forest, she realized she probably wouldn't be able to set many traps today before dark.
She followed along the path into the forest for a while, gathering supplies to make a trap along the way. By the time the sun was falling low, however, she had only successfully made and set two traps. They weren't the best of traps and she worried they might not be able to hold a captured animal. They were all she had, however, so Faye set them and resigned herself to return the next day.
She gathered a number of supplied and shoved them into her magical bag for making traps that night. Since the walk was so long, it was best to try to utilize as much time at home as possible. She couldn't make the traps while traveling and she couldn't do much else while traveling either... She also decided to head out earlier than she had that day. She needed to start heading out before the sun had risen in order to maximize her time spent making money.
So, Faye returned to her temporary home, the Gooseberry Inn, with plenty of supplies to begin her money making scheme.
After returning, Cahrel spotted her entering quietly from across the room. He must have been keeping an eye out for her, as the bar was quite busy and she wasn't entirely conspicuous.
He waved her over as he designated tasks to the other barkeeps. As she approached the far side of the bar, he gestured for her to have a seat as he leaned against the wooden bar.
"I've been asking around about jobs that might be what it is you're looking for. I've heard of a few that aren't very savory, I wasn't sure if you'd be interested. Some are run of the mill protection jobs, they pay alright, but not much. It doesn't seem worth it unless you're wanting to get involved with the underground and gang activity here in the city."
He paused, waiting for Faye's response. She quickly shook her head.
"I'd prefer it not to have any...lasting strings attached."
He smiled in response. "I figured that was it, but I wanted to be sure." He sighed. "Well, I'll keep an ear out for something less...seedy."
Faye finished her discussion with Cahrel and headed up to her room. She shut the door and began working on her traps for the next day. After a few hours, she was able to get one additional trap ready for use, but the night was growing late and she decided to retire.
The next morning, Faye headed out earlier than the day before. She wasn't as early as she had hoped, but the sun had only just begun to ascend into the sky. She encountered another trapper on his way out and tried to ask for a ride, but the man seemed less than friendly with her as his would be competition.
After walking for a number of hours, she finally made her way to the forest. She headed in without hesitation. She found her first trap easily enough. The trap was untriggered and was left exactly how she'd originally left it. She picked it up and decided to try her luck a little further in.
The second trap she set, however, was clearly triggered. Faye felt her excitement build as she hurried towards the triggered trap. She slowed her pace as she approached however, as it was clear there was nothing in the trap.
She sighed in disappointment and began to gather that trap as well, but noticed that it seemed something at one point was caught in the trap. It looked like something was caught, and then someone or something had helped it escape. Faye's thoughts drifted back to the few hunters she'd seen on the way to and from this forest the day before and that morning. There were a fair number of people that seemed to head out this direction to hunt and trap. Not all entered this side of the forest, as there were a couple paths that lead to the northern and western parts of the forest. If one of them had sabotaged her trap, she wouldn't be able to tell who...
Not having anything else she could do, she went further into the forest and reset her traps. She was careful to keep her traps away from any other traps she could see.
After finishing with that, Faye continued to head further into the forest. She knew she could collect edible plants to sell to pharmacies and restaurants. They wouldn't give her much for them, but it was better than nothing.