DerianCypher
First Post
Part V
Part V
I spent many days in bed recuperating from the attack. They were days and nights filled with the terrifying memory of what happened. As hard as I tried, I could not force out the memory. Every time I closed my eyes I saw that bloody picture. It was almost as if it were painted on the insides of my eyelids. The sounds of my dearest friends screaming in pain filled my head whenever I tried hardest to silence my thoughts. Rest didn’t come easily, but it did come and I was eventually able to get up and get on with life.
About a week after the attack, I was finally able to get out of bed. I was refreshed but I was not back to my full strength. It took a lot of effort to get myself dressed and pull my gauntlets on. When I went downstairs Butterburr was busying himself with cleaning off the bar with a folded up rag. I sat on a stool in front of him and said in a soft, raspy voice “Any work for me tonight Butterburr?”
He looked up at me startled because no one had expected me to be up for at least another week. He cleared his throat to give himself the time to compose an answer. Finally, he said, “Of course Artimus, but to you feel up to bouncing tonight?”
Solemnly I nodded and replied, “I think that I can handle a few drunks Butterburr. Don’t worry.”
Butterburr nodded and as he did so the door to the inn opened and a tiny figure entered. That figure that would change my life so drastically. That single figure that would change me forever.
The figure stepped into the inn and let the door shut behind him. When the door closed and the light from the outside was shut out once more I was better able to see who it was. A halfling standing only about 2 and a half feet tall with blond hair entered. I was startled to see the creature as I had never seen a halfling with such a light complexion before. All the halflings I had ever seen up to that point were creatures with sun touched skin with either black or brown hair. Perhaps he had put something in his hair? I had heard of people putting certain infusions of root into their hair to make it black but never anything to make it blond.
He stepped up to Butterburr and said in that oh-so-childlike tone that was common to halflings, “Excuse me, sir, but do you have any rooms available?”
Butterburr replied slowly, “Yes, I believe I do. Actually, I only have one room available. It’ll be a half-gold piece a night. Breakfast and dinner are included, half up front.”
By this time I had decided I wanted to go for a walk. I needed the fresh air and I could take the time to clear my head. I nodded to Butterburr and exited the inn. I stood on the doorstep of the inn for a moment breathing in deep the fresh air. I stepped lightly down the steps leading up to the door and onto the street. The mere smell of the fresh air rejuvenated me. I walked down towards the center of the city where the temples were. It was high time that I went and gave praise to Heironeus for letting me live.
I walked down the street, deftly dodging the crowds of people and making my way towards the temple. When I neared the temple I saw something very odd. Walking the way I had come were about a dozen men in clerical robes. Normally this wouldn’t be to out of ordinary as the clerics had the tendency of traveling together, but they were all wearing full battle armor and had weapons at their sides. I made a mental note of this to myself and continued on towards the temple.
I stepped into Temple Square and stood in awe once more of the magnificence of the temples the city had constructed. I was always amazed at the beauty of the structures when I entered the square. Surrounding the square were several enormous temples. One was to Pelor, engraved with suns and adorned with huge sconces that held ever-burning bonfires. The temple to Pelor was one of the most popular during the cold seasons as the temple was always warmed by the fires that were kept burning there. Besides the temple of Pelor there was only one other enormous temple of absolute magnificence, the temple of Heironeus.
I made my way through the square and to the temple of Heironeus. I stepped up the marble steps and into the main prayer chamber. Quietly, I made my way into an empty pew and kneeled. Here I prayed and laid my life open to Heironeus and thanked him for all the kindness he had shown me. I prayed that would be used as a tool of justice and could someday serve him in some capacity, be it saving a woman from a thug or guiding the armies of good against evil. I stayed there for a few hours praying and just being in the one place that I knew I’d always be safe.
Once I was done in the temple I made my way back to the Golden Goose, it was almost time for me to begin my job as the inn’s bouncer. Generally the nights were quiet but on occasion the dwarfs who visited could get a little rowdy and require some assistance finding their way out.
It was an uneventful trip back to the inn. Mostly just dodging out of the way of hawkers who didn’t know how to watch where they were going. I made my way up the steps and into the inn. I nodded to Butterburr on my way in and made my way to my favorite corner. The corner was dark and when I wore my cloak I was almost invisible to the casual eye. I sat in the stool that had been placed there and reclined against the wall. It didn’t take long for the usual visitors and even some new faces to fill up the place. It was a quiet night until a few new faces decided to cause some trouble.
Catrina was serving everyone, along with a few other barmaids, as usual. She was bringing some men their drinks when everything happened. One of the men decided to grab Catrina by the waist and pull her into his lap. She screamed and smacked him across the face, which normally would have gotten her released. Unfortunately this man had decided that he had had enough of her flirting and he wanted her for his own. He brought his hand around and smacked her square on the cheek. Catrina grabbed her reddened cheek, dazed. I leapt to my feet and tore Catrina from the man’s grip and shoved her towards the bar.
The man growled loudly and stood up. I nearly had to strain my neck to look up at him and he was nearly twice my weight in what appeared to be pure muscle. “You shouldn’t have done that boy.”
I growled loudly, “Get out of here. You’ve had enough to drink.”
He laughed loudly looking down on me. “Who’s going to make me leave? You? Boy?”
Keeping the same tone I had had before I replied, “I really don’t want t kill you, but if you don’t leave now, you won’t leave on your own.”
The man brought his fist around to try to deck me, but I quickly ducked out of the way. I flipped backwards head over heels to put a table between me and the man. The man hoisted the table out of the way and charged at me, swinging wildly again. I quickly clenched my fists revealing my weapons. I brought the blades up to a forceful stop on the man’s genitals. With one flick of the wrist he would be a eunuch and he knew it.
He cleared his throat and said, “Fine, the ale stinks here. You can keep it.” He held his head up and walked slowly out of the inn, making sure everyone knew he was leaving of his own accord. I released my fists and the blades slid back into my gauntlets. I helped Butterburr right the table that had been tossed and then returned back to my seat, slowly catching my breath. I was in this state when a man walked up to me, a man who made something in the back of my mind itch.
Quietly he said, “I have a job for you.”
Part V
I spent many days in bed recuperating from the attack. They were days and nights filled with the terrifying memory of what happened. As hard as I tried, I could not force out the memory. Every time I closed my eyes I saw that bloody picture. It was almost as if it were painted on the insides of my eyelids. The sounds of my dearest friends screaming in pain filled my head whenever I tried hardest to silence my thoughts. Rest didn’t come easily, but it did come and I was eventually able to get up and get on with life.
About a week after the attack, I was finally able to get out of bed. I was refreshed but I was not back to my full strength. It took a lot of effort to get myself dressed and pull my gauntlets on. When I went downstairs Butterburr was busying himself with cleaning off the bar with a folded up rag. I sat on a stool in front of him and said in a soft, raspy voice “Any work for me tonight Butterburr?”
He looked up at me startled because no one had expected me to be up for at least another week. He cleared his throat to give himself the time to compose an answer. Finally, he said, “Of course Artimus, but to you feel up to bouncing tonight?”
Solemnly I nodded and replied, “I think that I can handle a few drunks Butterburr. Don’t worry.”
Butterburr nodded and as he did so the door to the inn opened and a tiny figure entered. That figure that would change my life so drastically. That single figure that would change me forever.
The figure stepped into the inn and let the door shut behind him. When the door closed and the light from the outside was shut out once more I was better able to see who it was. A halfling standing only about 2 and a half feet tall with blond hair entered. I was startled to see the creature as I had never seen a halfling with such a light complexion before. All the halflings I had ever seen up to that point were creatures with sun touched skin with either black or brown hair. Perhaps he had put something in his hair? I had heard of people putting certain infusions of root into their hair to make it black but never anything to make it blond.
He stepped up to Butterburr and said in that oh-so-childlike tone that was common to halflings, “Excuse me, sir, but do you have any rooms available?”
Butterburr replied slowly, “Yes, I believe I do. Actually, I only have one room available. It’ll be a half-gold piece a night. Breakfast and dinner are included, half up front.”
By this time I had decided I wanted to go for a walk. I needed the fresh air and I could take the time to clear my head. I nodded to Butterburr and exited the inn. I stood on the doorstep of the inn for a moment breathing in deep the fresh air. I stepped lightly down the steps leading up to the door and onto the street. The mere smell of the fresh air rejuvenated me. I walked down towards the center of the city where the temples were. It was high time that I went and gave praise to Heironeus for letting me live.
I walked down the street, deftly dodging the crowds of people and making my way towards the temple. When I neared the temple I saw something very odd. Walking the way I had come were about a dozen men in clerical robes. Normally this wouldn’t be to out of ordinary as the clerics had the tendency of traveling together, but they were all wearing full battle armor and had weapons at their sides. I made a mental note of this to myself and continued on towards the temple.
I stepped into Temple Square and stood in awe once more of the magnificence of the temples the city had constructed. I was always amazed at the beauty of the structures when I entered the square. Surrounding the square were several enormous temples. One was to Pelor, engraved with suns and adorned with huge sconces that held ever-burning bonfires. The temple to Pelor was one of the most popular during the cold seasons as the temple was always warmed by the fires that were kept burning there. Besides the temple of Pelor there was only one other enormous temple of absolute magnificence, the temple of Heironeus.
I made my way through the square and to the temple of Heironeus. I stepped up the marble steps and into the main prayer chamber. Quietly, I made my way into an empty pew and kneeled. Here I prayed and laid my life open to Heironeus and thanked him for all the kindness he had shown me. I prayed that would be used as a tool of justice and could someday serve him in some capacity, be it saving a woman from a thug or guiding the armies of good against evil. I stayed there for a few hours praying and just being in the one place that I knew I’d always be safe.
Once I was done in the temple I made my way back to the Golden Goose, it was almost time for me to begin my job as the inn’s bouncer. Generally the nights were quiet but on occasion the dwarfs who visited could get a little rowdy and require some assistance finding their way out.
It was an uneventful trip back to the inn. Mostly just dodging out of the way of hawkers who didn’t know how to watch where they were going. I made my way up the steps and into the inn. I nodded to Butterburr on my way in and made my way to my favorite corner. The corner was dark and when I wore my cloak I was almost invisible to the casual eye. I sat in the stool that had been placed there and reclined against the wall. It didn’t take long for the usual visitors and even some new faces to fill up the place. It was a quiet night until a few new faces decided to cause some trouble.
Catrina was serving everyone, along with a few other barmaids, as usual. She was bringing some men their drinks when everything happened. One of the men decided to grab Catrina by the waist and pull her into his lap. She screamed and smacked him across the face, which normally would have gotten her released. Unfortunately this man had decided that he had had enough of her flirting and he wanted her for his own. He brought his hand around and smacked her square on the cheek. Catrina grabbed her reddened cheek, dazed. I leapt to my feet and tore Catrina from the man’s grip and shoved her towards the bar.
The man growled loudly and stood up. I nearly had to strain my neck to look up at him and he was nearly twice my weight in what appeared to be pure muscle. “You shouldn’t have done that boy.”
I growled loudly, “Get out of here. You’ve had enough to drink.”
He laughed loudly looking down on me. “Who’s going to make me leave? You? Boy?”
Keeping the same tone I had had before I replied, “I really don’t want t kill you, but if you don’t leave now, you won’t leave on your own.”
The man brought his fist around to try to deck me, but I quickly ducked out of the way. I flipped backwards head over heels to put a table between me and the man. The man hoisted the table out of the way and charged at me, swinging wildly again. I quickly clenched my fists revealing my weapons. I brought the blades up to a forceful stop on the man’s genitals. With one flick of the wrist he would be a eunuch and he knew it.
He cleared his throat and said, “Fine, the ale stinks here. You can keep it.” He held his head up and walked slowly out of the inn, making sure everyone knew he was leaving of his own accord. I released my fists and the blades slid back into my gauntlets. I helped Butterburr right the table that had been tossed and then returned back to my seat, slowly catching my breath. I was in this state when a man walked up to me, a man who made something in the back of my mind itch.
Quietly he said, “I have a job for you.”
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