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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Angcuru" data-source="post: 1880770" data-attributes="member: 10948">Well, it's hard to pick a favorite installment from my Story Hour, seeing as how I wrote every single word of it (mostly), and each post has its own feel to it, but I like the pacing of this one.  Basically it's based on the Baldur's Gate CRPG storyline with a lot of stuff shifted around, changed, and a WHOLE lotta stuff added.  Link to the whole thing is in my sig if you want to read the whole story thus far.**************Angcuru could not help but sigh with comfort as he lay abed. Soft feather down pillows, a firm but comfortable mattress, and lots of fluffy quilts were a much welcome change from cold earth. It had been a long time since any of them had enjoyed such luxuries. Luckily, Jaheira had been able to contact the local sect of harpers and tapped into their funds. For such a secretive organization, they sure had money to spare.So great was his comfort that he did could not perceive Imoen creeping into his room with a pillow of her own, raised high to strike.*WHUMPH* The pillow impacted Angcuru’s face, and feathers went flying all over the room. He leapt out of the bed and landed on the floor in a tumble of quilts, feathers covering him from head to toe. He spat several out of his mouth, coughing and choking.*HAAACK COUGH COUGH COUGH* “IMOEN! *cough* what the *cough* HELL did you do that for?!”Imoen shook with laughter as she leaned against the doorjamb. “Oh, that was great! You should have seen the look on your face! *ahem* Anyway, it’s almost noon, and you’re the only one still in bed.”“And you woke me because . . . ?” Angcuru disentangled himself from the bedding and began to clothe himself. New clothes too, Jaheira sure had some generous allies.“A representative from the local harper group is here to see you, says he needs to talk to you.”“Damn it. I told Jaheira not to tell them I was with her. Well, they do have spies all over the whole length of the Sword Coast. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.”“Yeah, I guess so. Hurry up before they stop serving breakfast. If there’s anything left in the larders, that is. I know Minsc is a big guy, but DAMN can he eat. He even insisted that they bring out some cabbage for Boo. Anyway, make with the hurrying.” Imoen darted out of the room.Angcuru stumbled out of bed. It never failed. Any time he found a bit of comfort, it was snatched right away from him. He removed the last of the feathers from his hair and headed for the common room. Minsc had a whole table to himself, with empty bowls and platters taking up what room wasn’t covered by a huge rack of lamb he was currently devouring.The room was almost full of people chatting and eating, mostly merchants and other folk in the commerce business. Imoen was standing at the bar sipping on a glass of mulled wine chatting with the bartender. Jaheira and a well groomed dwarf in very fine clothing were sitting in a secluded corner speaking in secretive tones. They appeared to be busy, so he sat down at Minsc’s table, cleared away a small area for himself, and motioned for the servant girl.The girl is very pretty, half-elf, by the look of her, and being the only table waiter, she was dashing about taking orders for everyone present. “Hi, how was your rest? That’s nice. We’re still serving breakfast, but you can order whatever you want. What’ll you have? Don’t worry about paying; Mr. Fancy Pants dwarf over there is picking up the tab.” She didn’t even wait for him to reply to her first inquiry, and now stood there vibrating with impatience.“Ham and cheese omelet, lots of pepper. A side each of crispy bacon and sweet sausage, the sausage blackened. An apple, glass of chilled milk, and a mug of hot mulled cider.”She wrote furiously on a small pad of parchment, and the moment he stopped speaking she dashed off, dodging between tables and stepping over the morning drunks.Angcuru sat back and waited for her to return with his order, and observed Minsc devouring an entire rack of lamb on his own. “Are you sure you’ve got enough food there, Minsc?”Minsc wiped the grease off of his mouth with the table cloth. “Minsc is not sure. He is quite hungry, and is not satisfied yet. Boo is the same.”“And where is Boo?”“Minsc does not know.”Angcuru reached for a seemingly untouched biscuit, and was about to bit into it when it squeaked. “GAAAAHH!” The biscuit hit the table, crumbled a little, and four furry legs broke through the crust. A small nose then poked through the side, and the biscuit proceeded to crawl towards the gravy by Minsc’s lamb. Angcuru suddenly felt a lot less hungry. He saw Jaheira motioning him over to her table, which was decidedly less cluttered with bones and dishes than where he sat now.Angcuru sat down with Jaheira and the well-dressed dwarf, noticing that the dwarf had bright eyes and a very curly mustache which extended almost to his shoulders. “Ah, you must be Angcuru. Pleased to meet you, I’m Councilman Kinomer.”“Kinomer is an odd name for a dwarf, in my experience.”“Yes, I suppose so, but then again my family has always been rather odd, culturally speaking. We prefer to live in lavish luxury instead of in a filthy mine, and Athkatla has suited us very well through the years. But that’s not the core matter of this discussion, now is it?”Angcuru’s food arrived at table, and the half-elf servant girl was gone almost as suddenly as she appeared. “The service here is quite good, I must say.” He began to eat. “As is the food.”“Isn’t it though? I thought you might like it. The Mithrest Inn has been in my family for quite some time now. When my agents identified Jaheira at the site of the disaster in the Promenade, we wasted no time in finding accommodations. Now, I need to discuss some things with you, concerning recent events. This will take some time, so please continue eating while I speak.”Angcuru found the eggs and sausage cooked just the way he liked them, good and burnt. Most people disdained burnt food, but he found that if they were overdone just a tad, more flavor came through. He nodded to Kinomer and continued to eat.“Good. Of course you know that a demented and extremely powerful mage has recently been captured by the Cowled Wizards.”“I wouldn’t say he was captured.” Jaheira said. “More like he let them take him in.”“Oh? That’s quite odd. Irvencoia would know just as anyone else at his level would that Spellhold is not the type of place one goes willingly. Hmm. That does complicate the matter somewhat. Eligre! A pint of the house’s top ale over here, quick like!” The servant girl nodded as she scrambled by, laden with a tray of cider.“Ecstasy?” Angcuru inquired. “That’s an unusual name. No one would name their child in that manner, why does she go by that?”“Stop by after hours and you’ll find out, handsome.” Eligre chirped with a wink as she passed their table again.Kinomer chuckled. “Oh, you’re in for it now, Angcuru.”“How do you mean?”“Once Eligre sets her eyes on someone she’s attracted to, she doesn’t let up. Ever.”“You mean . . . ?”“You won’t be lonely tonight, if she has anything to do with it.”Angcuru swallowed hard, mumbled incoherently under his breath, and returned to his breakfast.“Well, back to the matter at hand.” Kinomer accepted his ale from Eligre, took a healthy swig, and slammed the tankard onto the table. “The Council of Six, which more or less runs this city, has an understanding with the Cowled Wizards. We don’t levy taxes on their organization and gave them a small island a ways off the coast to set up their operations, and they police the use of magic in our city. They arrest anyone who uses excessive magic, hold them at their base of operations, and at the end of each month send us a list of the offenders. Those who were wrongfully imprisoned are released as are those whose offense was minor. The rest are kept at Spellhold, for whatever the Cowled Wizards see fit.“However, the situation with Irvencoia isn’t something they were prepared for. He is far more powerful than anyone they have dealt with before. They have wards against powerful magic they can erect they may reduce the threat he poses, though such things take a good deal of time to prepare. We on the Council of Six are concerned with the possibility that Irvencoia may overpower them and take control of the facility, turning it to his purposes.“The problem we have is that we don’t possess a full idea of what Irvencoia is capable of. He was first brought to our attention by Elminster, who in his infinitely meddlesome nature had been scrying all around Faerun for anyone who might be in a position to jeopardize his near monopoly on extremely advanced magic. He found that this Irvencoia character has apparently appeared from out of nowhere, with a capability seemingly on par with his own. This of course was very startling, and with no clear idea of his real power, we could only observe.“For some time we had been monitoring his activities, until we lost track of him several months ago. Considering that he had a full laboratory, prison cells, a staff of constructs and dark dwarves, and most likely a great deal more than this, beneath the very heart of our city, is very disturbing. ”“So where do I come in?” Angcuru asked.Kinomer sipped at his ale and twirled his mustache. “We need to know about Irvencoia’s intentions. He has taken a great interest in you, obviously because of your lineage, but for what purpose we have no idea. In the event that he . . . neutralizes the Cowled Wizards, he will very likely come after you.”“What do you expect me to do, then? Wait around and see what happens?”“Precisely.”“Come again?”“We need to keep track of Irvencoia, to make sure that we know what to expect of him.”“So you want me to be your insurance policy.”“For lack of a better explanation, yes.”“And why should I place myself in danger just for the peace of mind of a bunch of over-privileged fops such as you?”Kinomer frowned. “Because you will be well compensated for your trouble. Our organization is offering you and each of your companions fifty gold pieces a fortnight just to stay within Amn. Plus you may stay at my Inn at no cost. It is quite a generous offer, as I see it, since you are more or less a hero to our nation.”Angcuru stared at his food, which now tasted less of good cooking and more of extortion. He pushed it away. “Then you can forget about it.” He stood up and began to walk towards the door.Jaheira’s hand grasped his wrist firmly. “You would reject such a generous offer? After our ordeal below, such an opportunity to rest should be welcome.”“Then why are you not in mourning for your ‘beloved’ husband?” Angcuru’s words turned Jaheira ashen-faced. He removed her hand from his wrist and faced Kinomer. “Ever since my lineage was revealed I have known naught but malice, whether by word, coin, or steel. I would have been willing to help you, had it been for the greater good, but you have slain that possibility as surely as with an axe. You will receive no aid from me.”Angcuru was halfway to the door, when Kinomer called to him. “That’s too bad, then. I wonder how the common folk will react when they learn that their hero is murder incarnate?” Kinomer sat calmly at table, now puffing on a clay pipe.Angcuru’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the table. “You wouldn’t dare.”“You will stay within our borders, as a corpse if need be.” Kinomer tapped a pouch of coins he had placed in front of Angcuru. “I suggest you accept my offer.”Angcuru’s glare at Kinomer would have curdled fresh cream. He snatched the pouch and stalked out of the Inn, slamming the door behind him. He was sick and tired of being manipulated by those who valued their cause above all others. It was always the so-called ‘noble’ people who did this, never the common folk, who were blessed in their ignorance.To blow off some steam and clear his mind he walked through Waukeen’s Promenade, the prime center of commerce in the city of coin. Vendors of weaponry, silk, exotic creatures, jewelry, every conceivable commodity were present. Angcuru realized that not having finished his breakfast, he was still hungry. He bought a fresh loaf of bread and snacked as he walked. Hero indeed, nobody gave him a second glance. Not surprising, though. It was not as though anyone had a clue as to what he looked like.The screaming started when he passed by a large circus tent.</blockquote>

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