Paths of Legend: The Journey

[crazy_monkey1956]

Anareesa immediately starts sobbing, "I didn't know, I swear. I just...I just took it. I needed the money. I owed Rossler too much money. It...it...said things in my mind, after I took it. It said that I'd doomed Rungner. I just wanted to get rid of it so I gave it to Rossler. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

She sits on the grass, burying her face in her hands.

 

[ethandrew]

Estelle closes her eyes tightly and sighs one of relief. She reaches a hand down and strokes the back of the girl's head, "You didn't doom him. If anything it's my fault, I came too late to save him." She knelt down and whispered softly in Anareesa's ear, "When did you give this to Rossler and where can I find him? This is very important."

Under her breath to where only the two can hear, Estelle mutters out softly before she can answer, "You have no idea how lucky you are to still be alive."

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Anareesa sniffles and wipes some of the tears off her face with the back of her hand, "It was late last night. He's one of the bosses in the Candle District. He usually hangs out at the Widow's Walk. I, I used to work for him. He's gonna think I set him up. He'll send his breakers after me."

She starts to panic again, but fights it down this time, though she's still breathing fast, "Who, who are you?"

 

[ethandrew]

Estelle continues to stroke the back of Anareesa's hair, "He'll have no need to do that, but don't stay alone either way, just be around people. That half-elf, he looks like he cares for you, stay near him." Estelle stands up and looks down, "And I am no one of consequence." With that she turns and briskly walks toward the city, keeping her head down and eyes looking toward the ground in front of her.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Just after Estelle passes through the city gate, she catches a glimpse of the afternoon light glinting off of something. A crystal-scaled dragon, and its apparent guardian...

A giant man.

Before she can get a closer look, they are gone, headed toward the tournament grounds.

 

[ethandrew]

Estelle stops, watching, she reaches her hands down to her rapiers as she contemplates following this new Giant, possibly the giant from Gentiri's visions and not the poor unfortunate Rungner. But she couldn't let the trail of the dagger go cold. She needed to go to the Candle District, talk to Rossler and get the dagger from him. She knew it wasn't going to be easy, again, especially since this guy sounded dangerous. He sold women and he was a debt collector. She muttered, "Nice. This ought to be fun." And with that she made her way back into town.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

The rapiers seem to agree with Estelle's decision...at least she doesn't get any negative feelings from them at the moment.

The Candle District is as eerily empty as the rest of the city, perhaps moreso since the activities of this disctric don't really start until early evening and it still late morning.

The Widow's Walk appears, by its exterior, to be a fairly well to-do tavern and inn with multiple balconies facing the street from the second and third stories. A spider-web motif dominates the decoration of the door frames and window frames, with a huge, fairly well done painted relief of a black widow spider covering the double door main entrance.

 

[ethandrew]

"Wow, this seems...festive," Estelle shakes her head and clears her mind. She needs to play this as it goes, hopefully it'd be pretty straight forward, but doubtful. She'll test the front door, and if it's unlocked, she'll walk right in.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Sunlight filters in from the door, giving the spiderweb styled tables and chairs a garish look. Lanterns, currently unlit, have purple and red shades that no doubt cast weird shadows in the tavern when customers are present. A staircase on each end of the common room winds its way up to the second floor. The bar is situated in the middle of the room, forming a circle in which the bartender stands.

The entire far end of the tavern, between the two staircases, is given over to a stage, with catwalks extending outward in three directions, putting whoevers on those catwalks right in the middle of a crowd of chairs surrounding that end of the stage.

Ascending from what must be a spiral stair of some sort in the center of the circular bar, a burly man emerges from below, carrying a crate full of wine bottles. He spots Estelle and sets the crate on the bar, "We're closed, unless you're here to find work. By the look of them rapiers, I'd say not, though. What do you want?"

 

[ethandrew]

Estelle grins, "Maybe I am looking for work and I just like to put up a fight." She winks and takes a couple confident steps in, "I was told to speak to a man named Rossler, you him?"