Another day in the Tavern

[Sir Trystan Gabriel]

Yep...it's a dragon's tooth. You are more than welcome to it, if you think you can get anything out of it. Make me a deal though; if you get any worthwile amount....say more than a hundred gold....donate some of it to the church? Say one tenth? If you want to help me find the bandit lair in a few days, you are more than welcome to come. Anything we find gets devided evenly. Fair?

He glances at Kheldar, you look rather irate. What's on your mind?

 

[melynxt]

*chuckles and nods a bit as Kat gets up and goes to the man. Mely stands up and stretches, feeling as if she's sat there for ages, she yawns a bit, brushing a bit of hair from her face and she strolls to the door quietly, pulling a peice of parchment from her pocket, unfolding it as she walks out, reading it, she has a smile apon her lips, speaking softly to herself as she exits. "Portraits for all of them...finally..a commission, i cant wait" *disappears with her pack on her back, out the door*

 

[Kheldar Devaentar]

Kheldar blinks after the woman as she leaves through the tavern door.

Well I was ticked-off before, now I'm insulted. . . I really do need to work on my people skills. . . .

Kheldar pulls out a chair for himself and sits down at what was Melynxt's table. He felt absolutely hurt. . . Last night had been terrible. . . and today was looking no better. Still Kheldar was good at hiding his emotions. The expression on his face looked more annoyed than anything else.

Oh give it a rest Kheldar. . . maybe she didn't see you. . . What, with all that hair in her eyes. . .

After shaking his head Kheldar looks up at Trystan and Kat.

"If I look irate it's because I haven't exactly had the best week of my life. . ."

Kheldar gestures towards the swinging tavern door.

". . .My whole week has been like that. . . I've had a client fire me, a guild threaten my life, two people whom I attempted to save stab me in the back. . . One robs me and the other threatens to join my enemy and kill me. . . Someone I didn't want to loose track of has completely evaded me. . . Leetah's avoiding me. . . and now whose-her-face walks out on me. . ."

Kheldar relaxes in his seat a bit. His lips were back into the playful grin he usually wore, but his eyes were darker than they should have been.


". . .So, I'm sure you can understand why I'm not in the greatest mood at the moment. . ."

Kheldar looks at the dragon's tooth. A flurry of thoughts whiz through his head.

". . .Say. . . if you're going on an adventure I can recommend a good cleric to take along the way. . . He's about as righteous as they get, and he's a very talented healer. . . I could offer my services as well. . ."

Ugh. . . I just want a legitimate reason to kill as many people as I can. . .

". . . What do you say? It would unfortunately mean halfing your share of the loot again. But a team of four is much better suited to take out a thieves hideout than a team of two. . ."

Artwork copyright © 2003, Gordon R. Quigley

 

[Khaira]

Leaving me out of killing brigands?!

A m0ischevious smirk creeps across her face as she hears about tracking brigands and all kinds of fun.

"Oh say, you're not planning a mission with sneaking aroudn and battles and treasure, and camraderie (I *know* I butchered that word!!!!!) without involving me, are you?!"
That dazzling, mischevious, roguish smile again!
"I insist on going with, y'know! No, no, ye don't even have to pay me...I'd go along just for the fun! Laugh on the wild side! Fighting evil! Running with comrades again! Oh how I long for it again! So waddya say, Sir.....Trystan, was it??? Wilt thou have me by your side? They say when night falls and the campfire burn bright, my music turns away the darkness..."

 

[Duilya]

Duilya's expression of joy quickly turns into that of fear as Yam menacingly stands infront of her with his hand extended.

o O ( Yam> EEE!!! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to make you mad. Please forgive me. Forgive me, forgive me, forgive me!!! Here you go, here's your pretty stick back. I didn't damage it, promise I didn't. I'm sorry. Please don't be mad at me. . .Please? )

Still shaking a little, the young girl extends her arm and hands the Rod back to its rightful owner. Next, she looks worriedly over to Smithers. The robot had hurt her wrist the last time she made the old gnome upset, she really hoped it wasn't going to hurt her again. . .



Artwork copyright © 2003, Christopher C. Quigley

 

[Sir Trystan Gabriel]

oOIt's just a band of brigands. Do I really need all these people?Oo

It's only a small band. Maybe eight or nine members are left, holed up somewhere in some foothills a few hours ride from here. I extended an offer to Kat because she has a useful skill....the ability to track. I'm not anticipating that these people are going to be able to mount any spectacular defense. I'm also not anticipating much intelligence from thier leader, if my first encounter with him was any indication. I'm not even anticipating a lot of loot. As a matter of fact, I'm hoping that all or most of them will surrender and return peacefully. All they've done so far is commit a few minor robberies....a few months in prison at best. Less if they volunteer to work some of it off. It's not as if I'm going up against The Black Hand or anything. I'm not terribly keen on sharing ANY of the loot. I'd rather see all of it go into the hands of the local churches, who've been helping the victims of the thieves. I only agreed to go half and half with Kat because it wouldn't be reasonable for me to expect her to come along without being compensated.

 

[Kathryn_aka_Kat]

Donate to the church?!... grumble... oh all right... at least i'll have something left... and my ring's gone.

"Sure, Trys, that's perfectly fair. Both offers: the tooth and the loot."

Kat glances at Kheldar as he speaks. She saw his eyes following Meylnxt when the girl left. Well, following Melynxt's bag...

Ah! he saw me give her the ring! must not have seen which...hmmm...should i let him think that? nah, not fair to mely to involve her in this...and i never did find out how the other one worked...and what's that mention of robbery?...he *gave* it to me...sortof.

Kat reaches into a pocket for something, then leans back in her chair and slaps it on the table in front of Kheldar.

"Your ring, sir. Now that I'm sure it's you. You looked like Kheldar, and sounded like Kheldar, but as you've said, there's another one out there. I wasn't sure how much play-acting ability the other had, but only the real Kheldar could be this grumpy."

She grins smugly at him.

"And as Trys says, you needn't come along on this. But *I* have *useful* skills..."

Her implication is more than obvious.

 

[melynxt]

*melynxt stops outside, blinking several times as she is halfway down the path, as her jaw drops, hair hanging in her face she turns about and sprints back to the tavern, shoving the door open and regaining her composure, she brushes hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear as she walks over to Kheldar with an appologetic expression. She stops next to him and looks at him*

"Oh gosh im so sorry sir! I SO did not see ya!!! Please, fergive my rudeness!! I dun know where my mind was! Oh gosh i feel bad now...um..evenin'...my name's Melynxt..er jus Mely fer short. Um...what is ya name? I'm really sorry again for my lack of manners!"

*smiles slightly, unsure if he will be upset at her, she takes an empty seat at the table and sets her pack on the ground at her feet*

 

[Kheldar Devaentar]

Ugh, thank the gods.

Kheldar snatches the ring with abnormally fast reflexes, then quietly mutters something in Sylvan. He disappears.

Kheldar looked at his hand, it looked semi-transparent to him. The lenses of his glasses could depict the limb as being magically hidden. . . but could still clearly show him where the limb was.

After muttering another phrase in Sylvan he reappears. . .

"Hmm. . ."

. . .but behind Sir Trystan, not at his seat.

good, it is the right ring!

". . .I'm not that grumpy, am I? Oh for goodness sake, if you knew how much these things cost you'd understand."

Kheldar wore the same grin, but his eyes were a touch lighter.

"Trystan. . . if ya figure you don't need the help, fair enough. . . Just don't be too quick to under-estimate your enemy. . . Hopefully they will surrender to you. . ."

Kheldar slowed his speech into a grim tone.

". . .However, you've already condemned a few of them to death. . . According to "honor among thieves," they have to kill you."

Kheldar rolls his eyes.

"But there really aint a lot of thief gangs that actually honor that tradition. . . From what you've said, it sounds like they'd sooner flee. . . Just take care if you back them against a wall with no escape. . . You'd be surprised to see how a man fights when he's got nothing to loose. . . and some of them may very well be crazy enough to attack a paladin to avoid arrest."

Only eight or nine of them though? It's really just as well if I don't join them. . . I was hoping for a decent-sized gang.

"Well, good luck. . . Kat, I'm sure you have *useful skills*. . . but be ready for a fight with brigands whether you like it or not. . . it would be a terrible shame if you're bending over to discern the direction of a foot print and a sniper gets you in the - ah - well, take care. . ."

Artwork copyright © 2003, Gordon R. Quigley

 

[Kathryn_aka_Kat]

That ring can make one vanish?!? ....and *I* had to be nice and give it back...sigh...shoulda just disappeared myself till I could find out what it did.

Kat smiles nicely at Kheldar, hiding her dismay.

"I was just joking. You're hardly grumpy at all...just 9 days of the 10-day...and it's fine with me if you come along. It's Trys who seems to want to keep this from turning into a massive expedition. And I assure you I'm quite capable of fighting brigands if I need to."

Her smile turns into a grin as she releases the catch of her vest to show the four large daggers at her belt, but she closes it quickly as Melynxt rushes back into the tavern.

Don't want to startle the girl...or make it look like I'm threatening anyone.