[Tavern Thread] The Dunn Wright Inn

[GlassEye]

Qalabash Baram

[section]

Qalabash looks thoughtful and strokes the long goatee adorning his chin. Eventually he nods.

"Oh, yes! That fellow with the oddly arrayed facial hairs turned out to be quite the rapscallion, a first-rate scoundrel, a dastard, a miscreant, a scalawag of the highest order. My young, shirtless friend, who, I am sorry to say has forsaken the adventuring life and returned from whence he came, and I were utterly taken in by his spiel and eventually spent many long hours answering probing questions posited by the White Cloaks. It took quite some talking to stay out of their cells, let me tell you. The moral of the story is, of course, that those of us in this precarious occupation must exhibit diligence and discernment, yes, discernment, when seeking jobs to avoid being taken in by the unscrupulous."

He performs a half-bow. "So, it is a pleasure to officially meet you, Charity and Aschwin Shrike. And, no, such distractions are not expected and are rather uncommon here though you never know what sorts of distractions may walk through those doors at any moment."

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[/section]

 

[Aura]

Charity, Human Female

Twirling her red hair around her finger again, Charity listens to Qalabash's tale. "Well," she begins, "I just had an employer that made me wonder. In the end, she literally threw our payment down a ladder to us and ran off with the thing she was looking for. Odd behavior, to say the least."

The woman pauses, takes a sip of her beer, and then continues, "Oh well, I have this odd little fighting saber here to show for it. It's Mithral so it's really light!" She pats the hilt of her rapier as she speaks, showing off it's simple yet elegant design.

"In any case, the shirtless monk was a distraction... for me, at least. Not that I would refuse more eye-candy, of course." Smiling like a cheshire cat, Charity continues. "Although, I think the pregnant whore was the one that managed to quiet the place down enough to get heard over the noise in here. She put on quite a show. Reminded me a little of my sister, in terms of of having an easy self-assurance."

Leaning back against the bar, the woman shifts gears as she continues. "Which, in turn, reminds me... yes, no further name than 'Charity' will be needed. It is a name that was given to me by one of the high priests of the Bright Lady, Cortesia. My parents were both holy-rollers in the church. They decided they wants us to have divinely inspired names, and asked one of the upper priests at the Cathedral of Glass to seek guidance from the goddess herself on what names would be fitting. All my siblings were named the same way." She stops, looking upward at the ceiling a bit, before continuing. "They both had family names, but we were forbade from using either of their last names. We are to earn whatever further naming we want. Strange rules, strange rules..."

Shaking her head, Charity swirls her drink, watching the amber fluid intently. "Strange, indeed."

[sblock=Pic not working]Odd... can't get my image to work.[/sblock]
[sblock=Charity Mini Stats]Charity
AC: 11 (10 flat-footed, 11 touch)
HP: 42/42
CMB: +6 CMD: 17

Fort: +9 Reflex: +7 Will: +9
Perception: +9 Sense Motive: +8
Initiative: +1

Lay on Hands remaining: 6/6
Channel Energy remaining: 7/7
Smite remaining: 1/1

Current Weapon in Hand: none
Current Conditions in Effect: none
Temporary items in possession: none
Items not currently in possession: none
Items depleted: none[/sblock]

 

[grumblyarcher]

Master Shrike dutifully listens to the story of her name, "Seems a bit odd to me, ma'dam, if you spend too much time looking up to the heavens you won't see where your trail leads. Names are important, they let you know where you've been and who's come before. Of course, if your story begins and ends with that same holy purpose, then it makes sense. Up to you to decide that." Despite the relative youth of his features, the elf spoke with more than a little passing experience. Even if he looked as fresh faced as Charity, he was certainly several times the age of either of his drinking companions.

He looked away to favor Marla with a smile as she returned with his stew. He made an effort to adjust his placement so that even the barmaid would feel welcome in their conversation. Glancing back to the others, he nodded to the elder human, "What about you Master Baram? Does your name have a story attached to it? Some deeper meaning, perhaps?" The elf said, seeming to entirely honest in his curiosity. Maintaining such an interest in shorter lived beings was something of a challenge for elves but Master Shrike was proving to be an exception.

 

[GlassEye]

Qalabash Baram

[section]

A momentary wistfulness crosses Qalabash's face and he nods.

"Certainly! Although it is less a significant meaning or a religious one," he nods in Charity's direction, "...As it is a personal meaning. I was a foundling on the streets of Cor, taken in by the Beggar King and conscripted into his service. I chattered constantly, prattle from day to night, like the qalabash played constantly throughout the devotions of the sect of the Dervai. And so the Beggar King called me his little Qalabash."

Qalabash smiles fondly at the remembrance then shrugs. "Baram, I liked the sound of, though it is the name of the holy, quivering tree in the hills of the far south. So you see, my name does have religious significance as well, though chosen for entirely the wrong reasons." He grins and tilts his head to the side as he watches Ashwin. "And you? What does 'Aschwin Shrike' signify?"

​

[/section]

 

[Aura]

Charity, Human Female
Charity nods back to Qalabash as he speaks, and at one point lifts a finger as if to speak, but then withdraws it and listens some more, staying quiet, instead. By the time he is done speaking, she merely turns her head to the elven newcomer and awaits his response, taking another sip of her drink.

 

[grumblyarcher]

"Not much these days to anyone but me," Asch said with a slightly far away look in his eye. "The Shrike family name used to be one that was respected around the Inner Sea. These days, I've got a few grandnephews that resent me for being an elf, adopted, and my heir to my father's land and titles and that's mostly it. Don't know why, everything that claim gives me was swallowed up by the Harran."

He finished his ale and thunked the empty mug down on the bar top without looking at the other two. "Doesn't matter, I could recite the family history or tell you two about what I saw on the night of the Brothers' Betrayal but the truth of the matter is that the Shrike name is a footnote in a few dusty tomes."

 

[Aura]

Charity, Human Female
"Well," Charity begins, thinking, "I'll tell you what I was taught. It all comes down to you, not your parents, or their parents, or anything like that. Family plays into it, but the first step each day is taken on your own." The flame-haired woman shrugs, but says no more at this time. There is a soft sound as she sets her drink back down, the sound audible halfway across the relatively empty inn.

 

[GlassEye]

Qalabash Baram

[section]

This time it is Qalabash's turn to nod quietly and sip his ale as Aschwin Shrike gives details of his history and Charity responds.

" 'The first step of each day is taken on your own.' I like that, Charity." He falls into a thoughtful silence.

​

[/section]

 

[grumblyarcher]

"I suppose you're both right," Asch conceded, "Maybe I'll live long enough to spit in the Green Man's eye, eh?" Part of him did not believe it but he rallied himself out of the dark mood that had settled over his shoulders regardless. It would be remiss of him to remain grouchy and grim in the face of his two new acquaintances.

"You said your blade was mithral? I haven't seen mithral in years," Asch said, changing the subject to something cheerier, implements of death. "May I?" he asked, extending a hand to Charity, clearly hoping to get a closer look at her fancy sword.

 

[GlassEye]

Qalabash Baram

[section]

Qalabash looks over at Aschwin's outstretched hand and then towards the bundled weapons the man carries.

"I prefer a solid, hardwood staff, myself." He grins and slips off his stool to take up a comical stance. "Ho! Ha ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust! ...Or something like that." Still grinning he flops back down on his seat and motions towards Aschwin Shrike's bundled weapons with his chin. "What weapons do you prefer, Master Shrike? Or is expectoration your weapon of choice?" His lazy smile indicates he means no insult by his comments.
​

[/section]