The Adventures of Thomas

der_kluge · Aug 14, 2005

Amazingly enough, we finally managed to reach a port to dock at. To my happy surprise, I didn't have to kill any sailors trying to molest me or steal all my stuff. I'd never really talked to any sailors before. My father employs quite a few of them. But they're all decent, hard-working guys just trying to earn their way in this world. Decent chaps, all of them. Well, most of them aren't the brightest stars in the sky, but good people. Salt of the earth - I think that's the saying.

We arrived at Rahanna early in the morning, or late at night, I'm not sure which. The port is dark save for a few lamps lighting the port itself. I don't know how Gulles even managed to see it. I was woken when the crew scrambled to ready the ship for port. It takes far more than I had imagined to get a port actually docked. Interesting experience that was.

When I left, Gulles asked me if I was going to be ok. I assured him that I was. He seemed concerned for me, and wished me the best. He said he'd be unloading and loading cargo that day, but that he'd be shipping off for Devonshire the next morning a day from now, so that if decided I didn't want to stay, that there'd be room for me on his ship. Nice to know, I guess, but I'll be more hidden here. My father won't expect me to be here. I certainly didn't expect me to be here.

So where is here? Rahanna is a small town, and kind of grungy - at least at the docks. I keep to myself here, and pull the hood of my cloak over my face to keep people from bothering me.

I headed to the nearest inn, and decided it was far too seedy and dangerous for me to hang out there. I went to the next one, and turns out one of Gulles' men had already booked up all his available room for the sailors on our ship! In fact, all the inns in the immediate vicinity were booked up. Probably just as well, since they probably didn't have very comfortable beds in them anyway. That, and all the whores walking around this place would probably mean there'd be far too much banging going on in the middle of the night to get any kind of sleep at all.

I asked a guard, and he recommended a place called the Bag of Nails, which wasn't terribly far from the docks anyway. He said the proprietor, a guy named Dugan Brown was a good man, and would probably have a room. Their nothing if not friendly in Rahanna.

I made my way to the building, and found it easily enough based on the guards directions. It's a modest two-story building, but dark. Probably everyone is asleep at this hour. I wasn't sure whether to knock or not. But, I did. Otherwise, I'd be sleeping in the street, and that didn't sound like fun. And it looked like it might rain.

I knocked and knocked, and eventually a bleary-eyed man answered the door. "Yes", he asked through the slitted window in the door. I asked him if he had a room, and he opened the door and looked at me. "You're just a kid. Shouldn't you be home." Damnit, I though to myself, not this sh*t again. I didn't cuss at the guy, though, I did just wake him up in the wee hours of the morning after all. "I can pay", I said. "Very well", he said, and let me in.

der_kluge · Aug 14, 2005

This morning I slept in. It was amazing how comfortable this bed was, even though compared to my bed at home, it was awful. Compared to that cot in the ship, it was like sleeping on a cloud.

When I'd gone downstairs, I couldn't find anyone. No. One. Dugan wasn't there, there wasn't anyone in the great room, either. I went outside. It was raining, but it was like I'd entered a ghost town. I think I even said out loud "where the hell is everyone", and no one answered. Not wanting to get lost in a town I wasn't familiar with, I pulled up my hood to cover myself from the rain, and headed for the docks. It was cold here, too. Really cold. It wasn't this cold in Innaesfaren when I left.

I finally managed to find someone - a guard again, who told me that everyone was busy with noon services. "Noon services". Yes, at church, the guard said, with a curious look on his face. Not wanting to sound ignorant, I smiled and nodded, "Of course, church." Then he had the gall to tell me that I should be in church, too! Yea, me in a church. That's funny. I told him that I'd overslept, and was from out of town, and asked him where I could find this church. He pointed out this huge stone building at the top of a hill behind me. I should have guessed. I don't know I hadn't noticed it before.

About then, I could hear bells, and could see them ringing in the tower. "Oh, you just missed the noon service. Better catch the evening one then", he said, smiling. "sure", I said.

I had heard that the Church of Hanna was big on Innismere and the main continent, but I had no idea the streets dried up when they had service. This kind of thing never happens in Innisfaere. Oh sure, we get our religious nutjobs there, and a lot of folks pay homage to old gods, including sailors, apparently, and Hanna has churches there, but most people just ignore them there. That's not the case here, apparently. About an hour later, the whole town was full of people again. Dugan even came back and made me some fresh lamb for lunch. It was a great meal compared to the crap I'd been eating on the ship. It tasted so much better than hard tack and fruit.

Dugan's a curious fellow. Lots of questions for me. Too many questions. I mostly just tried to evade his questions, but he did ask me one that kind of stumped me - what was I doing in Rahanna. I think I even slipped up and told him that I didn't know. He asked me if I had a job. "No", I reluctantly answered. By Hanna! I guess I'd never even though about it, but I was on my own now. I was going to need a damned job if I was going to survive. The money I'd taken wasn't going to last me forever. He wanted to know what I was good at, and commented on the rapier hanging off my belt. I told him that I was good with a blade. Maybe I could join the guards?

Dugan had a better idea. "There are some sellswords - adventurers, that stay here. They're out in town today, but they'll probably be back tonight. It's not my job to pry, but I overheard them talking about some difficulties they were having. They could probably use a hand. You should talk to them tonight."

An adventurer? Thomas, the brave! Thomas, the daring! Thomas, the hero of the land? Haha! I couldn't help but chuckle with myself, but the idea sounded dashing! I shall have to meet this adventurers tonight.

But first, I've got to find a bathhouse. I'm just a wreck!

XCoconutMonkey06X · Aug 21, 2005

Very well written, DK (and I dont mean Donkey Kong). Nice to know just a tad of Thomas's early years

DOn't worry though, Korhil will still remain none the wiser

Hope you had a blast and Gen Con. Look forward to the details!

der_kluge · Aug 28, 2005

With my bath taken care of, I headed back to the Bag of Nails where I enjoyed a simple meal. Dugan's no world-class chef, but he's not too shabby, given what he has to work with. I suppose I can't complain in my state, though I am certainly used to far better. My parents have a chef named Guillome. Oh how I miss Guillome's delicate fruit pastries. They were just divine. Oh well.

So, after dinner, I stayed in the common room. There were always people coming and going from this room, mostly sailors who had just docked. There were some curious folks, though. A couple of elves came in, and a dwarf. Perhaps these were the adventurers Dugan spoke of? Then I saw Dugan waving down the dwarf and talking to him. During the conversation, he pointed at me, at which point I knew it had to either be someone looking for me, or these were the sellswords. My dad never had any dealings with dwarves, so I decided the first scenario wasn't likely. I got up, and walked over to them.

Dugan introduced me. "Thomas", he said, "this is Brundle, he's an elementalist Dwarf from the northern mountains, a follower of Kaz Grimmle", I just stopped short of bowing slightly, and extended my hand. "Thomas", I said. I didn't want to admit that I didn't understand most of what Dugan said. I'd never met a dwarf. I'd only ever seen a handful of them, and they were a curiosity. They didn't tend to make it to Hampton's Gate very often. I'd heard they were kind of untrustworthy, but I didn't have any firsthand experience with that.

"You're just a boy.", Brundle said.
"I get that a lot. I'm 15", I retorted back.
"Are you looking for fame and adventure, young Thomas?", Brundle asked. I admitted I did not know what I was searching for. At this point, I just wanted some income. Brundle couldn't help commenting on the rapier on my back. "Yes, I think you'll find I'm very skilled with the sword. I'm trained in the Assydian two-weapon style, and have been taught by some of the finest swordsmen in Innaesfaren."

"Are you familiar with the Shrines of Dol Nuardeth?", the dwarf asked. "No", I admitted. The dwarf explained that they were investigating some old shrines far to the south of the city, and that they had encountered some skeletons and trollkins there, and had come back to town to resupply and maybe pick up another mercenary to assist them. He asked me if I was up to the challenge. "I think so. I've never fought skeletons or these trollkins as you say, but if they bleed, I'm sure I can kill it."

The dwarf looked serious, and replied, "Skeletons don't bleed." Oh, I thought I was going to die. I was just sure he didn't want me traveling with them at this point. I've got to think about what I'm going to say!

"I'll want to introduce you to everyone. If everyone is in agreement, you can travel with us. We're leaving first thing in the morning."

Brundle exited upstairs, and over the course of the evening, introduced me to everyone in his group.

I met Korhil - an elven fighter. I greeted him in the tongue of the sidhe, and I think he was a bit taken aback that I spoke his language. Another elf - a ranger named Syng'l (with a soft g), seemed quite pleased that I spoke his tongue, and his face brightened up a bit when I spoke it. I also met Ian. Ian was a human from Avondale, and wielded an Avondale longbow. I'd heard of the Avondale longbow. They are unique to his kingdom, and are considered some of the finest bows in the land. I'd never actually seen one, and to have one and not be from Avondale is a crime against the king. He carried his around quite proudly, as well he should. He seemed like a very well traveled, very knowledgable man. He knew far more about Innaesfaren than I had expected him to. Later on in the evening, I met the final member, a mage of the order, no less. My father had some dealings with wizards in the past, but I'd never really met one so informally. His name was Albrecht Holzbog, and he wore the medallion identifying his order around his neck. He seemed a nice enough fellow, although I could smell a hint of whiskey on his breath. Perhaps being a wizard is a stressful job. Well, who am I to judge.

These guys all seemed very rugged, and serious, although Ian could crack a joke once in a while. We'll see if I can hold up to their expectations in the morning.