(Casual D&D) A Game of Trust

[wings]

hehehe

The elf releases a small bit of light-hearted chuckle. "Good sir, your rag is safe with me!"

He leaves the rag there, knowing Astrule to be on his best behaviour. The hawk walked off his shoulder to perch on the side of the counter, his talons not scratching the surface, just as they had not scratched the elfs arm.

He stretched out his legs, and waited for the man he knew to be coming. He pulled his legs back and curled his feet around the legs of the stool. His ear leaned towards the lutist, subtly trying to pick up more of the song.

On the Listen check. Since i have time to kill, ill just take twenty, which grand totals up to 25.
This Victus i mentioned is a friend of mine who should be posting soon.

 

[Mortisan]

friendly neighbourhood grimy bodyguard

The tall, slightly grimy man walks briskly and purposefully through the dismal city, the set of light hammers hanging from his belt clacking and clicking together with each movement, while the narrow-bladed greatsword on his back remains silent in its scabbard. His hard, slate-grey eyes seem focused on his leather-and-steel boots as he walks, though his greasy black hair obscures most of his face.

The city, this "Jewel of the Eastern Sealine" more closely resembled coal over diamond, and Victus had no intention of staying any longer than necessary--unless there was good work and even better money to be had.

He pushes open the door to the tavern with a learge-knuckled hand with heavily calloused fingers. The right arm of his long chain hauberk has been mangled beyond repair, and in its place is a makeshift replacement sleeve and gauntlet made from leather bands and metal plates.

The rugged traveller squints slightly as he allows his eyes to adjust, scratching at the black stubble on his jawline as he surveys the room, finally settling upon the image of his travelling companion--the red-eyed elf, Aerda.

Cracking the joints in his vertebrae with a tilt of his head, he approaches the bar, a wary eye inspecting the barkeep as he pushes a strand of hair from his face and behind a distinctly half-elven ear.
Dropping into the stool to the right of the elf, he grumbles through oddly sharp teeth, "Any word?"

Listen: 12
Spot: 17

 

[wings]

dismal

Aerda smiled at the man, Victus, and his approach. "No, no word, no job oppurtunties, nothing. But I got a good feeling about this tavern... heh."

He crosses his arms over the counter top and lays his head on it, looking at his companion. He whispers, "this counter smells funny..."

 

[Guilt Puppy]

Good old world...

His ear leaned towards the lutist, subtly trying to pick up more of the song.
[/I]

Leaning in closer, you begin to make out the words -- it seems almost like he's raised his voice a little for you. It's clear from his looks that he's human, but his elvish is clear and well-sung:

"...when I was a man, the wind blew cold
Tthe hills were upside down...
But now that I have gone from here,
There's no place I'd rather be
Than to float my chances on the tide
Back in the good old world....

On Autumn's last, I'll fly back home
Rolling down winding ways...
And all I've got's a pocket full
of flowers on my grave.
Now summer is gone
I remember it best
Back in the good old world...

I remember when she held my hand
and we walked home alone in the rain...
How pretty her mouth,
How soft her hair
Nothing can be the same
And there's a rose upon her breast
where I long to lay my head...
And her hair was so yellow
and the wine was so red..."

...at which point Victus enters, drawing your attention away. The room grows a touch more silent...

Victus:

As you enter, you note that a few of those closer to the door pause in their quiet conversations -- or, more often, quiet contemplations -- and strike a wary glance at you, before continuing on as though not much had happened.

Note of credit: The song lyrics are from Good Old World, by Tom Waits. It's always nice to have an appropriate song on hand when you're starved for poetry of your own

 

[Mortisan]

smelly bar

The edge of Victus' lips twist into a sarcastic smile, whispering back, "As does this entire bloody city, my friend."
Victus himself, despite the undertone of old sweat, blood, and dirt on his skin, carries a slight earthy scent, perfumed with crushed flower petals and herbs.

He continues in a hushed tone, "I'm not sure how anyone can have a "good feeling" about this place or any other in the area. I can certainly tell you that I'm not exactly inspired to go running about performing heroic deeds. I'm afraid tales of this land have been misleading. What a perfect place to wait for work, no?" with that, and a wave of his hand, Victus attempts to flag down the barkeep to order a drink.

 

[wings]

The entire bloody city...

***BACKTRACK!!***

Aerda sits enraptured by the old mans voice, the soft drone of the rest of the tavern becoming a little bit softer. The words bring a melancholy smile and thoughts of his favorite puppy-love crush from his childhood. He would have to remember to tip the elder lutist.

***BACK TO THE FUTURE... PRESENT.. THING!!!***

Aerda nods and moves his head slightly, to a more comfortable angle, the black curls crawling out over the wooden bar-top. He closes his eyes. "Eh, im sure it could be worse..." He spoke in his soft, heavy whisper. He tries to attune his ears to the song once more. "Ask the barkeep if he knows of any jobs that may line our pockets yet."

Oh, how he doubted it, but hoped all the same.

 

[Guilt Puppy]

The barkeep acknowledges Victus on his time, which isn't slow, but neither is it servile.

"What would you like, then? We've got a variety of ales, rums, wines... Center of the world and all." He grins wryly.

Assuming you ask about jobs:

"Now I hate to judge, but judgin' by the sword on your back I'd say you've heard some stories about this place. Now I'm not saying I know what you're expectin'," he pauses to place a glass on the counter, for your drink, "but take comfort knowing you aren't the first to come in and expect it."

He pauses for a moment, but continues:

"But if it's a help to ya, the stories work both ways... Ain't too rare for a fellow to come in here with some scheme best suited for an army, except he can't afford an army so he comes in here expecting to find the Next Best Thing. If you stick around I'll let you know if something passes my way. You might be the lucky ones and get a job worth havin'... Who knows, you might just be the Next Best Thing..."

He smiles, the scowl across his forehead barely softening, and turns to the row of bottles -- some dusty, some fresher -- lining the wall behind him.

"So anyway, how about that drink?"

(Well, I'm off for the night... Anyone who wants to jump in as a new character, do so. Anyone who wants to take over the NPCs while I'm away, do so: Even throw out plot hooks if you like or flesh out the city to your liking, so long as you don't do anything that creates a drastic change. I'll be back tomorrow night.

BTW, wings, Mortisan, I'm liking the characters This looks like it should be fun... Hopefully more characters will arrive and introduce themselves, so things can start moving along.)

 

[Uriel]

A small figure shifted in the corner, mummbling in his sleep. Suddenly, he woke, a hawk-like nose poking forth from under a long green scarf.
The Gnome, for Gnome he was, looked about with bleary eyes of the deepest blue. The Commons Room was filling up; mercenaries, farmers and a pair of tired looking City Guards in the corner eating soup.The Gnome stretched, he had dozed off in the corner, so tired was he from writing all night.
Looking about, he removed his long grey coat, revealing a Dark Blue vest (matching nearly, if not identically, his eyes), complete with Silver Buttons (a few missing,and kept in a pocket).a rater tattered yellow shirt under his Vest showed wear, and a bit of dirt and spilled drink as well.
Long Black hair, uncharacteristic in Gnomes, spilled unkempt around his face,his Green ribbon lying in an other of his many pockets.
The Gnome closed his eyes and listened (21 total).
The Lutist had just hit an off note, no, his instrument was slightly out of tune.
The Gnome stood, stretching and yawning. Picking up his worn case, he walked over to the Man.
'Greetings, Olliver, my Friend, I do believe your Lute is a bit out of tune.'
Pulling a small tuning fork out of his pocket, the Gnome offers it to the man whose acquaintence he had made this past week as he worked this part of town.Setting the Fork down, Niccolo opens his case and pulls forth an Exquisite Violin, of deepest Cherrywood, with silver fiagree along it's surface, these Elven Runes and Musical Notes.
'Mind if I join you, Oli?'
Niccolo tunes up, quietly so as not to disturb the Lutist.

 

[National Acrobat]

The Other Gnome

The other Gnome walked in. She was tired. She had travelled far this day and she and her pony, Teacup, needed a break. Merrim was cute, not only for a gnome, but in general. A sly grin here and there casually gives away the fact that she may have a mischeivious streak about her. Blond, with blue eyes, her explorer's outfit and her crossbow look worn. Her blond hair is pulled into a topknot and the backpack that she carries shows signs of having a leather bound tome within. There is a twinkle in her eye as she sees the old man with the instrument in the room. She has a quiver with bolts in it slung at her waist, along with a dagger. She saunters up to the innkeeper.

"I wish to know what you have to eat at this hour and would prefer a cold beverage. What it is doesn't matter."

She spots the other gnome, and waves to him.


Spot 12
Listen 9

 

[Uriel]

Niccolo runs through Scales,limbering up his fingers, stretching and carefully 'waking them up'. Upon spotting the cute Gnomess he waves a half-hearted wave and looks away, obviously self-concious of his bedraggled appearance.
Stopping and setting his Elf-Made Violin down in it's case, he quickly ties his ribbon about his long black hair and tries to 'fix up' a bit.
Then, he returns to what comes most naturally to him, his Playing.
Going into Sreghani's 4th Caprice, the Gnome flawlessly (Nat 20 Woohoo!) performs the ancient Elven Classic, completely oblivious to the people in the room around him now...