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"Father, it's all right. There were bandits on the road, and these men saved my life." The
old man has his sword down off the mantle, and holds it in his left
hand, struggling to remove the scabbard with a right arm that ends just
below the elbow. Mery's words finally seem to get through, and he
blinks twice, standing up straight and lowering the sword. "Oh. Are you sure you're all right, Mery?" There is genuine concern in his eyes and voice. "Well,
then I suppose I owe you men a debt of gratitude. There is a pump out
back by the stable if you'd like to wash up, then come inside and get
warm by the fire. I have some stew cooking. Mery, perhaps you should
show them where it is and get washed up yourself." There is
a quality to the old man's voice which indicates embarrassment, and
perhaps a bit too much wine. His eyes are clear and sharp, though.
The men follow Mery back out to the stable where there is a pump
next to a horse trough. They wash up there in the chilly water before
returning inside. Before entereing, Mery extinguishes the lamp by the
door.
In their absense, Mery's father has replaced the sword and layed out
four bowls of stew around the simple wooden table. The bowls and spoons
both are simple affairs, carved from wood, and there is a loaf of
crusty bread in the center of the table. There are three mismatched
chairs at the table, and the old man has pulled his armchair over from
its previous position near the fire. When they enter, he introduces
himself as Brrerick, a farmer. He is dressed in farmer's clothes, but
even so there is an edge about him that suggests a militaristic past.
He is an old, grizzled man with a weathered face and a fuzz of white
hair on his head. He looks far too old to be Mery's father, but
stranger things have happened.
"Come, sit men, Mery, and tell me how you ended up looking like a butcher's block." As
if suddenly realizing his word choice was not the best, he walks to the
mantle where he proceeds to fill and lite a pipe one handed. When he is
finished, he leans against the wall near the fire. As Mery recounts the
tale of the fight in the woods, he listens with an expressionless face
without interrupting. Mery's perception of the fight is rather limited,
so the men fill in sections as needed. When Wakil tells of how he
charged from the roadside hedge, Brrerick mutters a barely audible "Fool," under
his breath. He seems suitably impressed with N'un T'Chauck's
decapitating strike, and his face becomes so hard it seems it will
break when Mery recounts the details of her own kill. When the tale
comes to an end, he looks at the men with an unreadable expression. "So,
one of them got away, eh? Well, that's it then. You men are welcome to
stay for the evening; I'm sure we can make room. Tomorrow, Mery and I
must pack and be on our way."
"But, Father--!"
"No buts, girl. This is something I've been
thinking about for a while. There is nothing here for us anymore. Once,
I had some cousins in the west. It's past time to look in on old family
and see how they're doing."
There are berries for dessert as they talk more about their
preperations and where they will go. Before too long, however, they
must turn in and get some sleep. Mery has a room curtained off from the
main living quarters, and she is soon fast asleep, the events of the
past few hours weighing heavily on her. Alone with the men again,
Brrerick begins to grill them.
"What can you tell me about these men? How did
they fight? Where did the attack take place? What did they look like?
How did they dress? How did they communicate? You men said you were
grievously wounded, yet I see no wounds upon you. How is this possible?" The
heroes answer as best they can. Upon hearing that they brought the
bodies back with them, Brrerick grunts, then insists on seeing them.
In the light of the moon and a lamp, he looks over the bodies. "Yes,
I know these men. They're hired thugs, brutes, strongarms. Generally
work for the Bledsum clan. Seems strange they'd do something like this,
though. The Bledsum's are supposed to be on the up and up these days.
Not that anyone believes that...I wonder what they thought they were
going to accomplish? It's not like folks would sit by if Mery
disappeared. There's nowhere they could keep her that I wouldn't find
her. Unless..." His face clouds over for a moment. "The
Bledsum's are working with some foreigners these days, slavers from the
far west, real shifty folks. If they thought they could get away with
something like this..." He shudders. "I think it's past time we were out of Tortila. Let's head back inside."
Brrerick gives them spare blankets from his bed, and offers both the floor and the stable as places to sleep. "I'm only sorry I can't do more for the men who saved my daughter. But you may have all the berries you can eat," he says with a grin.
Looking at the bucket line, Colmarr says, “Well
if we’re going to continue on to the ship I’d advise vigilance, as it
appears the guards that were assigned to protect the Pander Ban are busy on the bucket line. I hope the Merchant Bledsum hasn’t chosen this time to wreak his revenge on the captain...”
Malachi does go and wash himself outside when the old man recommends it. <All this travel... it's nice to have some good water around. Not quite like the sea, though.>
Back inside, Malachi eats his meal, trying to be good company, but
Wakil and N'un are the real warriors of the three of them. As for
himself, he can only muster, "I'm a healer, you see." If Brrerick asks further, Malachi will explain the best he can, between berries.
Once outside, now Malachi presses Brrerick. "What
can you tell us about this Bledsum clan? And the foreign slavers? We
might be spending more time in Tortila and would likely to be as
informed as possible. ... You, of course, would probably be safer with
your extended family. I wish you a safe trip." Before returning
indoors, Malachi will insist on burying the body--then cleaning up
again and then going to bed. He asks for, at least, a shovel from the
old man.
"The floor is just fine with me. I'll use the wall to prop up my head." Malachi smiles, "Thank you for your kindness."
__________________
Bring on the Funk.
Talk hard.
Backwards, it's 1nvdJ. Weird, huh? Thanks to whomever gave me four years on my CSA!
Wanna run a game? Try EN World's own PbP boards! It's loads of fun. Here are my games so far.
Other stuff:
Spoiler:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kemrain
- Kemrain the Medicated for Your Pleasure.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kemrain
I pity the thread that talks about Mr. T.
- Kemrain the Sigged.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kamikaze Midget
There
is a reason ENWorld is the #1 d20/D&D site on the interweb, and I'm
willing to bet the professional atmosphere and heavy moderation is one
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wrong way.
Looking at the bucket line, Colmarr says, “Well
if we’re going to continue on to the ship I’d advise vigilance, as it
appears the guards that were assigned to protect the Pander Ban are busy on the bucket line. I hope the Merchant Bledsum hasn’t chosen this time to wreak his revenge on the captain...”
Mag frowns. "Best way to pull off a trick is to get your audience to pay attention to something else." He glances back at the burning building. "And if that isn't a bright, shiny, perfect distraction ... whether Bledsum did it on purpose or not, I think we need to pick up the pace."
The young man pulls his sling out again, loading it, and urges the
group to move as quickly as they can while keeping an eye out for their
own safety.
“Well
if we’re going to continue on to the ship I’d advise vigilance, as it
appears the guards that were assigned to protect the Pander Ban are busy on the bucket line. I hope the Merchant Bledsum hasn’t chosen this time to wreak his revenge on the captain...”
Quote:
Originally Posted by jkason
The young man pulls his sling out again, loading it, and urges the
group to move as quickly as they can while keeping an eye out for their
own safety.
Troth nods at the Gnome when se realizes de danger they may be in. As Mag take up his sling himself unsheets his Rapier. "only one way to know my friend" he says to Colmarr "and
thats on the ship" "even if there is a ambush there we need to secure
the ship" "wich way Colmarr?" "Grondar you follow me and attack
whatever im attacking"
ooc:GM
Spoiler:
I can be the lead for Grondar as he is away, agree Mallak?
I'll
punch any Bledsum scum I'll see, and if things will turn ugly, we can
always set ablaze the ship next to the Pander Ban, and bring the bucket
line and the guards to us again
__________________
"I am the Ancient, I am the Land
My beginnings are lost in the darkness of the past. I was the warrior, I was good and just
I thundered across the land like the wrath of a just god.
...But All goodness slipped from my life; I found my youth and strength gone, and all I had left was death..."
Games I Play
PbP: Gorgamesh - [Ars Magica] Theandric Saga: OOC page , The Saga , Oath & Charter
PbP: Grondar the Thug - The Tides of Antigrol : character ; OOC ; IC
PbP: Herev Matumb - The Dead of Winter : Character ; IC ; OOC
PbP: Grotzkoshter - CB's The sunless citadel : Character ; IC ; OOC
PbP: Zirat Igruf - Rhun's Greyhawk Campaign (OMEGA game) : Character ; IC ; OOC
Troth nods at the Gnome when se realizes de danger they may be in. As Mag take up his sling himself unsheets his Rapier. "only one way to know my friend" he says to Colmarr "and
thats on the ship" "even if there is a ambush there we need to secure
the ship" "wich way Colmarr?" "Grondar you follow me and attack
whatever im attacking"
“Let’s go then...it’s that way,” Colmarr says, pointing towards the eastern side of the port and placing his free hand on his dagger.
The man at the head of the bucket brigade gapes at the people still in the tavern. "Sorry about the soaking, mate. Well, are you going to help or not?" The
man passes his empty bucket back and takes another full one. Turning to
look over his shoulder, he says to the people behind him, "Move the line forward! We need to get inside!" The
entire line creeps forward, snaking through the wreckage inside the
tavern, and soon the man is tossing water in the general vicinity of
the back room. Large clouds of steam billow up, and the smoke is
growing thicker. "Split the line up the stairs, or the second floor is gonna collapse in on us, and they'll be no saving her then!"
Meanwhile, our heroes have slipped out of the building and followed
the line back to the docks. The western section of the docks is full of
commotion as folks are participating in the bucket brigade, scooping
water from the bay. Torches are lit everywhere; the area is ablaze with
light. A city guard is shouting and attempting to organize a second
bucket brigade. Somewhere in the city, a bell begins to ring. Several
of the city guards are on the bucket line, sweating and participating
with the civilians, and Colmarr recognizes the guards previously
assigned to watch the Pander Ban. The ship is berthed on the eastern side of the harbor, deep in shadows.
Pasing the endo of the bucket brigade, Denther is sorely tempted
to join in but, realizing that he is needed elsewhere, passes by,
heading towards the ship.