(Tavern) City of Orussus, The Red Dragon Inn IV

[Guilt Puppy]

After a hearty gulp, Sturm seems quite impressed with Rurik's offering. "Oi! Yer mum don' kid 'round 'bout alesmithin', does she? Fine good 'n solid drink, this..."

He drinks quietly for a while, muttering a bit about the vexin' w'ot-jolly mood o' this place, but listening discretely as well to what others are conversing.

Giving an elbow to Rurik. "'ey, ye pick up tha' bit? 'at wag we met 'fore, half-elfy fella, Droi 'mthinkin'? 'ny'ow, ye jes 'ear 'im say somewhat 'bout somethin' doin' with --"

He is, of course, interrupted by Vagan's entrance, which completes the thought.

Not waiting for Rurik's opinion of the task, Sturm raises his glass to draw attention to himself.

"'ey! 'ow much glint's on-table fer this'n? Ye might grab me int'rest..."

 

[dpdx]

After a hearty gulp, Sturm seems quite impressed with Rurik's offering. "Oi! Yer mum don' kid 'round 'bout alesmithin', does she? Fine good 'n solid drink, this..."

"Nar' indeed, me fren'. Medal-winner, three seasons runnin', 's me Mum. Wun't dream o' leavin' 'ome w'thout't. Pick't up an extrer with me new mail, too."

As Rurik motions to his pack to indicate the location of the other jug, he feels Sturm's elbow clang against his mail, turning in time to follow a stubby finger with his eyes to its target, the gleaming metal figure of Officer Vagan in the doorway.

Rurik considers the narrative, with Sturm's commentary, before looking Officer Vagan squarely in the eye.

"Yer ain't get'n me ta move one tiny step outta this bar w'thout tha promise of a decent ridin' pony. As yer kin tell, I ain't exactly built ta go traipsin' along after no 'ighwaymen. Other'n that, ya kin count me in."

 

[doghead]

Velbrik nods to Jaan. "Greetings; I'm Velbrik, bard and historian of the College of Nobius."

Jaan in turn introduces himself once more. Kroggoth is a name he has heard, an in connection with little that is good. He is about to ask Velbril to tell him more about the ferals, the druid and their connection to Kroggoth when the door bangs open and thunder rolls through the room again. The glint of light of the polished scales suggests that Vagan has returned, and so he has.

<snip>

Having finished his speech, he relaxes from his parade rest and shifts nervously from foot to foor while scanning the tavern for Jaan's relatively familiar face. Spotting him by the bar, he heads over with a rustle of armor. "Good morning, sir," he begins politely. "You're looking better this morning." He looks at Troy breifly, slightly discomfited by you know not what, but politely extends his hand. "Officer Vagan, Orussus city watch."

"Morning Officer Vagan. I do indeed feel better. Its good to know that I look it.

Jaan is a little perplexed by the officer's reaction to Troi. Perhaps there is some history there, but Troi gave no indication of knowing Vagan when he mentioned the officer's name earlier, or does he now.

"I have given your proposal some thought since you left and I will take the commission, if it is possible."

He glances at Troi to see what he will do.

"'ey! 'ow much glint's on-table fer this'n? Ye might grab me int'rest..."

Which is a very good question.

 

[GnomeWorks]

Officer Vagan
He looks at Troy breifly, slightly discomfited by you know not what, but politely extends his hand. "Officer Vagan, Orussus city watch."

Troi nods to Vagan as he notices the ranger, then shakes his hand firmly. "Troi Delmontes - that's with an 'i', not 'y' - at yer service." He says. "I'm plannin' on helpin' out whoever takes yer commission. Assumin' that's alright with ya."

He then gives him a discerning look, and when he speaks, his voice is devoid of his usual accent. "Something bothering you, Officer? Have we met before?"

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

"Something bothering you, Officer? Have we met before?"

Vagan blushes slightly with embarrassment, and this lends little credence to his attempt to politely affect ignorance. “Beg your pardon, sir? I don’t believe so.” He takes the numerous questions as to the reward offered as an excuse to change the subject. He takes a step back from the bar, the better to talk to the group.

“The City Watch has offered one hundred gold pieces to those who cease these bandits attacks on the good folk of Orussus,” says Vagan, without the slightest trace of irony, “and another hundred if their leader is apprehended. As of two days ago,” he continues, “a group of local merchants offered another three hundred gold pieces, and have offered to pay a third of that up front.” Officer Vagan beams at the assembled group, seeming assured that the good will of those before them (combined with enough gold to buy his shiny armor ten times over) will almost certainly lead them to take up the commission.

 

[GnomeWorks]

Officer Vagan
“Beg your pardon, sir? I don’t believe so.”

"What is your problem?" Troi says, his voice still lacking his accent. "You know what I mean. You seem nervous. What for?"

 

[doghead]

"What is your problem?" Troi says, his voice still lacking his accent. "You know what I mean. You seem nervous. What for?"

Which is, another good question. Everyone seems full of them today.

Jaan is curious to see if the young officer has a good answer to go with it.

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Faced with another direct query, the young man briefly considers another clumsy redirection and then relents. "In the Orussus city watch, officers are encouraged to adhere to certain sartorial and depilatory standards," he says, standing at attention and not seeming to realize it; he sounds like he's reciting. "I've been recruited in an initiative to enforce those standards, and I forgot where I was for a moment." He flushes slightly again. "Terribly sorry."

 

[doghead]

It does take Jaan a moment to put two and two together but when he does he has to hurriedly swallow his laughter. Unfortunately, he nearly chokes on it before he manages to cough it out. He wipes the tears away from his eyes.

"Ah. Thats ... most interesting." Its still a bit of a struggle to keep a straight face. He tries changing the subject.

"How many are you looking to commission? And can you provide horses? We will need to cover a fair bit of ground I think."

 

[Thomas Hobbes]

Glad to change the subject again, Vagan says "The bandits are few in number and haven't been bold or bloodthirsty. The Captain says that they aren't worth the effort it would take to bring them in. The Captain also said resource use will be optimised by the use of outside contractors." Vagan sounds like he's quoting, slightly mispronouncing some of the more complicated words, as if he's only heard them said and picked up meaning from context (if that). He says in a voice more clearly his own "I think that means that the reward is the reward, and it'll be split between whoever captures them."