[Game Thread] Prologue

[DrakurRedragon]

 

All game posts will be made here.

The city of Balerian, Capital of Elimerre's Kingdom, is a bustling place full of people of all races and sizes. The sun shines brightly overhead, and the streets surrounding the inn are full of people milling about the market district. Nearby, a small group of children are playing a strange game with a handful of rocks and sticks. The sign above the inn reads Inn of the Moon's Song in bright blue letters.

As you enter the inn, you notice the bar immediately. Instead of the seedy taverns that travelers are used to, this place is clean and friendly. A guard stands nearby, looking over the place, as the bartender and two barmaids scurry about, serving several groups of customers.

A table to the left has a group of large burly men, each of them bearing a tattoo on their shoulder of a stylized number "7", playing a game of cards. A table to the right has a quiet couple having a nice meal. Two men sit at the bar, sharing raucous stories of glories long passed. Several empty tables are available to be sat at, as well as several open seats at the bar.

[Tsukos]

The City of Balerian. Bright Capital of Elimerre's kindgom, and a baleful long trip from the trade empire of Sorath.

As the lithe half-elf walked down the streets, she paid attention to those she passed; men and women of many races commingled freely here.

Her home had been nearly as diverse, but never so open and mixed. There, each race formed its own community and only dealt with the others through neccessity.

As she passed the children playing in the avenue, she noted that there was a half-elf included in the group. A flash of anger crossed her mind, at a memory of being excluded from a similar game long ago. Pointless, useless memory. She scanned again the scroll in her hand, checking the name of the establishment she was looking for for the thousandth time: the Inn of the Moon's Song.

She didn't have far to go, as she spotted the teal lettering and pocketed her note, entering the building accompanied by the ringing of a bell.

Her first impression was to be politely surprised; the place was neither the hole she expected nor the kind of high-class venue she had little patience for.

She sat down at the bar quietly, next to the two men sharing war stories, and waited for the bartender to approach.

I sure hope I can find this Lightbringer person here. otherwise this will have been quite the wasted trip, she thought.

 

I hope this okay for my first PbP post ever. ^^;

[DrakurRedragon]

The bartender walked up to the half elf, limping slightly. He smiled warmly as he greeted her.

"What can I get for you, young lady?" he asked politely. "We have anything from wine to ale to beer, and I even have an old barrel of dwarvern made beer, highest quality you can find. What will it be?"

[Tsukos]

"What do you have in the way of wines from Sorath? It has been a long trip, and I'm in the mood for a taste of home." Mai responded.

[DrakurRedragon]

The bartender thought for a moment before disappearing into the back. He returns with a bottle bearing the mark of an average winery in Sorath's kingdom. He smiles broadly and places it in front of her, grabbing a glass from behind the bar and setting it beside the bottle.

"What brings you to Moon's Song, traveler? We are always thankful for the business, but we don't get many travelers from that far away," the bartender asks.

[Tsukos]

Mai grinned. "Opportunity, what else? I was told to find a Kattianna Lightbringer at this tavern, and that I would have great opportunities if I did. Even if the lead turns out to be a hoax, I'm sure there's no shortage of money to be made here for those willing to work for it." she said as she poured herself a glass and began drinking it.

[Pard]

The clanking and cursing could be heard blocks around. The children who had been playing a game in the street stopped to look for this odd metallic ring, accompanied by the deep voice of a dwarf. As they squinted they could make out the squat shape of a dwarf waddling down the street. The figure emerged from the gloom, the light shining of his mail. As he came into the sunlight he fumbled in with his belt, before pulling a paper scroll from it, a string of curses accompanying the action.

"Aye, let's see here. This inn is supposed to be right around here. Some queer elf-ish name. Hmmm, ah say here Moon... ah dammit what is this word? Stone? No, no that doesn't sound right."

The dwarf continued walking, eyes shifting between the scrap of paper and the street in front of him. "Rang? No, no, no..." Looking up a sign swung lightly back and forth. Suddenly the dwarf's eyes lit up, "AH HA! S-O-N-G!!! 'Moon's Song', 'tis truly a queer elf-ish name if I ever had heard of one."

The dwarf waddled across the street and hastily threw in the door, disturbing the couple. The dwarf waddled to the bar and pulled his axe out of his belt. He placed it on the bar mumbling about how annoying it gets when trying to sit down. "He, bartender, get me the best ale that your queer establishment can offer!" He eyes the woman next to him and nodded and then added to his previous order, "And none of those small glasses like the lady has, I brought my own mug!"

He unloosened a leather strap on the back of his belt and brought forth a rather large stein. Then he went back to the belt and pulled out a leather bag, which he put on the table with an audible clacking of gold coins.

 

Hope you do not mind posting before my sheet is 100% done... It is done enough for checks, and combat, still working on a few last things is all.

[Tsukos]

Mai looked at the Dwarf with slight irritation; he was loud enough to overshadow the rowdy veterans and the poker game as well as disturb the rest of the patrons.

So, what about you? what are you here looking for, besides good alcohol?" she asked him in slightly accented Dwarven.

[Pard]

The dwarf turned to face the lady. He took great offense to this woman's use of his native tongue, like many dwarves, they treat their language as a very sacred thing. "Let's speak in a tongue that I do not care if you butcher, shall we?" His face immediately warmed back up.

"Well, let's see. I was minding my own business, crusading across the lands, and smiting any evil that crossed my path. I had just slayed a couple dozen of the most nasty of monsters, big ugly lunk heads, aye they were, and so I was just finishing up, cleaning me armor and all, when this new lunk head showed up. Had a black hand, like that of an evil sorcerer. And he spoke to me, he did, and he said that I was to be killed, for I was a threat to his evil-ity. Aye, I smited him in the name of Gundin right there and then. I searched him for a sign of who he was, and there I found this necklace and a note. I concluded this lunk head must've been about stealing this and was gonna thwart the good deeds that the note spelled out, and I being one of the greatest warriors in the land, aye 'tis true, I came to offer my service to the Lady Kattianna Lightbringer and to collect my compensation for slaying such an ugly beast of a man."

The dwarf, thoroughly happy with himself swiveled back to the bar and stated in his booming dwarf voice, "Where's my ale?! haha, best be the finest ale in all the land for it to be taking so long. I could regale this elf lady with my tale and still finish before ye could fill up my tankard!"

 

No need to role a bluff check, Drakur, I would want to fail it any...

[Tsukos]

Mai was not sorry for butchering this Dwarf's native language in her current irritation, but she had had her small revenge. She switched to common.

"My tale is sadly much less... valiant... than yours. I'm also looking for a Kattianna, at the behest of a spellraven and a letter. Traveled by sea from Sorath, and that was a quite the trip. I came here to be one of the best, and if I don't find this Kattianna then there are other things I can do to achieve that goal."

I wonder if there's anything special about that necklace... she thought idly.

[DrakurRedragon]

The bartender looked at the dwarf angrily. He grabbed a bottle of ale and poured it for the dwarf. He slammed the bottle down next to the dwarf's ale, spilling some. He leaned closer to the dwarf.

"Best be careful who you tell that story to. Some might not appreciate the lie," the bartender whispered to the dwarf. "And you'll learn to respect the name of my establishment."

He stood back up and looked to the half elf.

"That wine is on the house, courtesy of Kattianna. I would not, however, speak the name loudly when outsiders are present," he said, glaring at the dwarf to make sure that he knew that last part was aimed at him as well.

[Tsukos]

"Then allow me to buy two mugs of that Dwarven beer from you. Might improve all our demeanors a bit." Mai suggested to the bartender.

[DrakurRedragon]

The bartender nodded, going back into the back again. He returned with two mugs full of rich beer. He placed one in front of each of them, sighing deeply.

"There you are. No charge," he said. He went back to talk to the other two at the bar.

[Pard]

"No need to get testy!"

Gra sighed as he took a deep swig of the golden liquid. "For such a, uh, different establishment, 'tis a good mug of ale you got here!' With a last flick of the wrist he finished off the ale the bartender had initially given him. Before he could even poor another tankard full the lady asked for beer all around. With a smug look on his face the dwarf took the new glass by both hands and guzzled it down with three gulps.

He covered his mouth and burped. "Ah, the sign of a good beer!" Turning back to the lady he said, "Now elf, what is your name? If you promise not to weave any of your treacherous elf spells on me I shall even share my name with you! What an honor, huh? A fine dwarven warrior such as myself, sharing my name with an elf, 'tis Gundin's will that I make friends among all the people, even those less... gifted." He added the last bit looking up and down the woman and frowning at her obvious height issues and evident lack of size where it mattered.

[Tsukos]

The bartender had run off without accepting payment. That irked her.

"My name is Mai, and you will stop calling me an elf, for I am not. Mai said with some heat. "I find you better company than I find the kin of my father, but my temper is strained by my long journey and this irate bartender."

She then proceeded to down the whole mug at once; it was about on the level of the firewhiskeys stilled by the drunkards back home, and infinitely better-tasting. She wouldn't drink any more though; long years of study had left her less tolerant to the effects, and she would not want to find herself in this Dwarf's arms tomorrow morning.

I may need to travel with this dwarf, and so I may need him on my side. Best not to antagonize him right now. she figured.