Paths of Legend: The Journey

[crazy_monkey1956]

Ezra opens the seal and reads the message, his face sobering rapidly as he does so. He abruptly tears the letter in half and tosses it into the fireplace, then starts to dress hurriedly, "Jannus, I'm calling an emergency meeting of the House of Lords. You know what to do."

Jannus raises an eyebrow in curiosity but says simply, "Yes, milord," and heads out of the room quickly.

Alone for the moment with Estelle, Ezra turns serious eyes on her, "I'm not the bumbling drunk I let everyone think I am. I have a favor to ask of you."

 

[ethandrew]

Estelle cautiously responds with a speculative tone, "And what would that be, my lord?" She dreads the answer, the gravity of the letter apparent in his actions, and knowing that whatever he may ask of her, it must not be good.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

Ezra washes his face with a warm cloth as he ponders his words for a moment. He looks at Estelle through his reflection in the wall mirror.

"I look at this face and I see years of strife, war, orc raids. I see years of death. I see a man who's done some terrible things in his life in the name of the greater good."

He sighs heavily and continues, "My scouts report that the orcs are withdrawing from the mountain caves, moving into the steppes. The last time they did that, the House of Lords celebrated because they thought it meant an end to the orc raids, that we'd finally beaten them back. A year later, the Shadow War began. The orcs are gathering an army again. Hopefully this time the House of Lords will heed my warning, but with the tournaments starting tomorrow, I have no hope of that."

He turns around and looks at Estelle carefully, "I don't know what sort of person you are. I can tell by looking at you that you're not a typical messenger. Probably an adventurer. Well, I'm about to ask you to be a messenger one more time."

"My son, Jannus, can't handle a war. He doesn't have it in him. Pirren, honorable fool that he is, takes his duty entirely too seriously and refuses to compete. Go to the Gentle Repose in the Candle District. You'll find an ugly old half-orc mercenary there, named Voorg. Tell him its raining in Vedlund. He'll know what you're talking about."

He sits on the edge of the bed to pull his boots on, but instead puts his head in his hand, the weight of his decision and current events proving too much for him, at least for the moment.

 

[ethandrew]

Estelle was smart enough to piece together the contents of the message she had just delivered, and she didn't like what she heard. On top of all that was going on, orcs were never a good thing.

William.

She stands motionless for a second and finally nods her head, "Of course, you can trust me with this, Lord Ezra. I will do this for you." For half a second she contemplated trying to make a deal for her services, trying to possibly get information on the dagger from him, but she thought better of it. It could never hurt to get in the good graces of a Lord.

Without waiting for confirmation from Lord Ezra, Estelle turned and made to leave the room, to her newest mission.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

OOC: Is she headed straight for the Candle District or is she planning on stopping anywhere along the way?

 

[ethandrew]

Straight there. She's good at being a messenger. And hey, if that whole adventuring thing doesn't pan out for her, she knows where her true calling in life lies.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

As Estelle enters the halls of the Lords' Manor, a bustle of activity has already begun, Ezra's call for an emergency meeting having gone out.

She manages to extricate herself from the chaos and finds herself in the Candle District in short order. The infamous district is starting its evening activities as the rest of the city winds down for the day. Because of the tournaments, business in the district is booming, with mercenaries, adventurers and many others wandering the main avenue of the district, entering one of the many taverns and illicit festhalls.

The Gentle Repose is one of those taverns, catering to mercenaries, one group in particular who appear to have made this place their headquarters as a burly guard at the door turns away anyone he doesn't like. He eyes Estelle leeringly and seems about to invite her in, assuming she is there for entertainment, when he notes her rapiers and thinks better of it, "You in the wrong place. Go away."

 

[ethandrew]

Estelle looks down at the rapiers and pats them, laughing a bit. Looking up at the man she smiles, "Oh these things? They're just a part of the show, you won't wanna miss it." She winks and edges just slightly closer to his large frame.

Estelle's Bluff Check of 25 to con her way in.

 

[crazy_monkey1956]

"Uh, yeah, right. Come on in then."

The interior is a typical tavern, but the clientele has a decidely martial bent, with rowdy and bawdy tastes in entertainment. Most of the crowd is currently raucously cheering on a pair of elven dancers and doesn't notice Estelle's entrance. An ugly old half-orc sits alone in the back, smoking a pipe, drinking an ale, and watching the spectacle with half-closed eyes, apparently leaving the fun to younger souls.

 

[ethandrew]

Keeping her eyes down and staying toward the back of the room, away from the eyes of the spectators, Estelle wends her way to the half-orc's table. She's not making any special effort to go unnoticed and so when she stops next to his table, she's sure he's watching her. With the tone of old friends, Estelle mutters out to no one in particular but loud enough for those around to hear, "Did you hear? It's raining in Vedlund."