This is where the fun happens!
It isn't the road, its the quality of the shoes.
It isn't the road, its the quality of the shoes.
Do you wear shoes?
Boots are part of my uniform, yes. It is a common myth that all of our kind have feet that are exceptionally tough, my feet are not that tough
I did not men to clog the game thread, just wanted to dot it in a creative way
I wouldn't call returning Falchon's Hollow "fun". Cesspool maybe, ruled by a despot certainly. But still, my mother is there as are some people I called friends before going to Absalom. In some ways my heart never left the place and it is time for it to be free.
"Free to leave in theory, yes. While we Andorans all have some say in carting the course of our very country, there are bonds that can shackle a person more than any slaver's collar and crush ones spirit more than any nobles bootheel. Could be sickness, as you say, or even duty for some. In Falcon's Hollow it is often debit or just feeling you have no option but to stay and endure the corruption of our countries ideals."
He walks for a moment.
"But fear not, I shall keep my eye on the prize and can even recommend where we should stay to gather rumors without attracting undue notice. The Sitting Duck is an inn frequented by adventurers we will not be out of place there and some may remember me fondly."
"Stop moving!" Jalene said with exasperation. "I can't get the blood to stop if you won't keep your head still." The gorgeous barmaid finally grabbed the big man by the top of his stubbly head and held him still while she pressed a styptic pen into the gash near his eye.
He winced. She rolled her eyes and wiped away the red smear on his face. "Suck it up you big baby. I'm done. Here." she slapped a cold slab of meat onto the side of his head. "I have to get back to work. No more fights tonight."
"Tell that to the idiots who start them." the big man grumbled, holding the meat to his head.
She shook her head and took the big metal stein out of his other hand. "Hey! I'm not that drunk!" he said with a slight look of desperation in his eyes.
"Shut up." she said, turning to weave her way back through the crowd. He sighed and looked at his hand where his beer had just been. "Tasted like piss anyway."
A minute later she came back, thumping the stein back down. It was brimming with a dark, rich brew. He smiled "So you do care."
"My f$$~ing hero." she said sarcastically as she went back to the crowds.
He took a long pull off the stein and closed his eyes in enjoyment.
"You know she means it, right." a lilting, accented voice said quietly.
He choked a bit and wiped the foam off his stubbly face, turning to face the speaker. She behind the bar looking distinctly out of place there, an elegant elven woman in black and gold silk.
"You know, Sister, for a lady who can't see, you get around quiet. How come you don't bump into things?" Caine said with a small smirk.
Sister Sylvanna didn't bother to answer the question. She simply arched an eyebrow above the lace blindfold that covered her sightless eyes. "For a man with two good eyes, you don't seem to see what's in front of you. How come you don't just tell her?"
Caine didn't answer the question either. It was their way. He just shrugged, which she couldn't see anyway.
"What brings you to this side of the Duck?" he said. "Don't see you over here very often."
The Calistran sister smiled waspishly. "I heard you were bleeding."
"And it wasn't even you that did it this time." he said taking another drink.
"Can't blame a girl for being jealous." she said pulling the meat away from his wound and gently running her fingers across it to inspect the damage. "It is a bad idea to put raw meat on an open wound. It will get infected."
"Jalene's not much of a nurse." the big man shrugged.
"And yet, every time you get hurt, she's the first one there to patch you up." From within the sash at her waist the Calistran Priestess retrieved what looked like a small makeup case. It was actually full of healing salves and poultices. She smeared a thick, fragrant oil on Caine's brow and placed the meat back over it. "There. You will be fine in the morning."
"I was fine, now. What's with you women and fussing over a little cut." Caine said, a little testily.
"What would you do if someone hurt one of us?" she said simply. "Let us fuss. It isn't about the cut. It is about taking care of each other. No one else is going to do it. We are the only ones we degenerates have." Then she was gone, making her way back to the brothel on the other side of the building.
Caine sighed and turned to watch Jalene deliver drinks, take orders, flirt outrageously and deftly fend off roaming hands. He smiled behind his tankard. If someone had told him ten years ago that this was the direction his life would have led, he probably would have accused them of heresy.
Now he was the heretic, living in a den of sin. He deserved to be right where he was, at the bottom of the barrel, and yet sometimes, times like this for instance, if he was being honest with himself he had to admit that he was actually pretty happy.
That might have been the worst part. He didn't deserve to be happy.
He took a long drink.
"Thank you for your business" whispered Sister Sylvannas, as she walked to the side of the bar.
Belladonna slipped out from underneath her dress, and pressed ten gold coins into the Sister's purse. "Until next time" the halfling whispered, and rounded the corner into the bar. "That fat lord won't be finding these" she thought.
Belladonna looked up at the destitute bar maid, who gave a nod in recognition and lowered her hand for her share. Gathering the lord's missing coins, she slipped a coin into each mug, and two into the bar maid's hand. She gazed at the four remaining, and thought with a greedy little smile. "Well, I deserve a pay day too, right?", and subsequently pocketed the coins. She then took an old tray and placed a few mugs brimming with ale and coin on to it. Giving one last glance to the bar maid, the halfling left the bar, and served the mugs to the poor townsfolk.
"A success then, considering you're still alive" breathed a dark voice from behind her. She turned around to see in the distant corner her mentor, the dark gnome, sitting with a mug of ale from her tray.
"ShaddowStepper" she said, as she approached him. "The fat lord was so enthralled in the girl, that I could have danced on the bed unnoticed." She said with a grin, watching the gnome as he drank.
"Well why didn't you?" He exclaimed sarcastically. "But you're too soft, Barrel. Giving away coins to the townsfolk and sympathizing with whores. You could do so much better." He said nonchalantly as he played with his outrageous black mohawk.
"It isn't about the money, you cold-hearted anarchist." She retorted, her anger quick to rise as he grins gleefully to her accusation. She then grabbed the mug and took a swig herself. "But you're right about one thing. I could do better." She said, staring into the mug. A mucky coin sitting at the bottom of the piss water. "What I'm doing is only treating the symptom, and poorly at that. I need to take from the bigger targets, and not just their coin."
The gold coin appeared in the gnome's hand, and he leaned over to look Belladonna directly in her dark brown eyes. "Do you mean to take their lives, GoodBarrel?" He grinned mischievously at her hesitation. He then flipped the coin into the air and let Belladonna catch it. Heads.
"Here. a gift for you, Barrel." He said, and pulled out a blowgun. "You're going to need something quiet when you finally choose to kill someone. Remember, even the fastest can't chase you if they don't know where you are." He watched her take the blowgun, but grinned when her hand shook.
"You'll do fine, Barrel, but you won't be able to avoid blood for long. Kabran the half orc will be onto you soon." Then he placed his hand on hers.
"Until next time, my sympathetic halfling hero." He whispered affectionately as he disappeared from sight. A shadow in the darkness.
Perched at the edge of civilized lands, the small town of Falcon’s Hollow has always had to rely on itself to solve its problems. Meanwhile,
the uncaring lumber barons squeeze the common folk for every last copper, deaf to their pleas. Now the hacking coughs of the sick are heard throughout town. The plague has come to Falcon’s Hollow and the town’s leaders can’t be bothered to stop it.
It is the 20th of Lamashan, 4714 and the short autumn seems to be giving way to an early winter in the Vale. It has been a cold, damp fall thus far and the rains have swollen the nearby River Foam. There has been more sounds of grumbling coming from the townsfolk of Falcon's Hollow, whether because of the miserable weather, or the fact that people are dying and no one in charge seems to give a pennies worth of a damn.
A thick, heavy fog absorbs much of the incessant sound of the nearby lumberyard and a constant drizzle fills the air this morning, soaking everything. Despite the chill-inducing weather, the hardy folk of Falcon's Hollow go about their business and already a long line has started to form outside Roots and Remedies as the sick and desperate place their last hopes upon their local herbalist...
His pack is not too heavy, and with the long handle of the halberd to do double duty as a staff, Nathaniel marches along the road toward the village or town ahead. He looks for a sign post, a watch station perhaps, or any other building or marker that might tell him that he is where he thinks he is, Falcon’s Hollow.
Excuse me sir, or ma’am, but I am looking for, Nathaniel says as he takes a sheet of folded velum from a pocket in his coat, and unfolds it. His eyes dart across the notes quickly, and then he leans his halberd against his shoulder, the silver and black ribbons from the leather guard over the blade touching his damp brown hair, and using one finger he goes over the notes once again until he finds what he is looking for
The Sitting Duck?
The young halfling fellow is dressed in a smart uniform, of black wool trousers, light blue shirt, and dark blue vest, with a black long coat with blue and silver trim over this. The hint of a Chain Mail shirt, worn under his uniform, can be seen just above the top of the neck of the shirt over a thick padding that almost comes up to Nathaniel’s chin. For a halfling he is tall, almost four feet seven inches, and he is thin, with unusually long legs, square shoulders and long fingers.
Zirren likes to think of all the rain, mud, and cold as a chance to practice his prestidigitation spell. That, at least, is what he tells himself as its still a miserable day. One day he will be able to make travel more comfortable. 'Mages Magnificent Mansion or at least the Tiny Hut. That spell can't be too far out of my grasp. Must study harder.'
As Zilka and Zirren exit the ferry "Welcome to Falcon's Hollow, the rain shall at least keep the sawdust down." Pointing toward the opposite side town "The Sitting Duck sits near the town wall on the opposite side of town."
Trudging through the mud he looks around a his once home. Most things hold neutral memories at best but he does smile fondly when they arrive at The Sitting Duck. Once inside he speaks a few arcane words to dry and clean himself up while he looks around for familiar faces.
Five gold pieces jingled in Belladonna's pouch, enough to feed her family for many weeks. In which case, she had no reason to steal food, so she instead bought what she needed and headed home. On her way back, she saw a particularly tall halfling clad in armor who looked rather lost. Belladonna scrambled over with her bag of bread, carrots, and potatoes to greet the halfling. "Wow, mister you're so tall you could make a dwarf feel jealous!" exclaimed Belladonna in her native tongue. "Need some directions, sir?"
Thank you sir, thank you very much Nathaniel says to the man carrying the heavy load as he pointed toward the other side of town.
The directions were not as good as he had hoped they would be, but the man was hard pressed to be on his way, and with that load, Nathaniel wasn’t going to hold him up any longer.
Folding his velum note once more to place it back, securely in his coat pocket, Nathaniel was about to set out in the general direction the man had indicated when a soft, feminine voice caught his attention
"Wow, mister you're so tall you could make a dwarf feel jealous!"
Her accent was a little peculiar, but pleasant. When Nathaniel looked in her direction he was delighted to see the face of another halfling, and a beautiful halfling no less, in this muddy, dark and dismal place, it lifted his spirits.
He was taken aback, at first, but then, cleared his throat and said, Thank you, I think. I’ve never met a dwarf, but I’ve seen a painting of a group of dwarves playing a game of thigria, or maybe it was dominu, but um, yes I suppose it might be possible to make a dwarf jealous because of my height. I am Artegal, that is I am called Artegal, my name, my full name is Nathaniel Artegal Boote and I am from a small village to the west of Oregent, which is far to the south and yes, please, I could very definitely use some directions. I am looking for a place to stay, an inn, and my notes tell me that there is an inn here called the Sitting Duck. Do you know this inn? Oh, please forgive my forwardness,
Nathaniel bows deeply from the waist.
It is a pleasure to met you, and your name is?
Caine watched the new girl's fan dance idly while he scanned the crowd. It wet and miserable out there, which meant the patrons who came in were all cranky. The whole place was starting to smell like a soggy armpit.
He sat at in the pass-through that separated the Ugly Duck from the Sitting Duck, leaning against the wall. From there he could go back and forth freely. He even had a pretty good view of the sitting areas of both establishments, which let him watch out for both sides, keeping the Ugly Ducklings in sight while still able to see Jalene and Valeria bustling about with drinks and food.
A half-orc and a half-elf came in a few minutes later. Caine sighed. He had no problems with halfbloods, but there were some folks in town who weren't so accepting. If any of them showed up, there might be trouble. He took a longer look at the half-elf. Wait, is that Val's kid? Haven't seen him in a while. He looks like he's grown up a lot. Found a decent looking girl to pal around with too. Good for him.
|
Once she's through the door of the inn, Zilka takes off her tricorn hat and the oiled leather cloak she had on, hanging them by the door to drip, and tries to do something with her curly black hair. "All this water in the air makes my hair go all frizzy," she complains to Zirren. Like him, she magicks herself dry near the door, and heads into the main tavern.
Zilka looks around, noting the fan-dancing girl, and smiling with delight at the fire in the hearth. She heads over towards it, sitting down next to the roaring hearth, and starts taking off her water- and mud-filled boots.
She beckons at Jalene and orders a hot glogg for herself.
Belladonna blinked for a second, taken aback by the stranger's awkwardness. Then a large grin slowly crept it's way across her face, and the barely 3ft tall halfling looked up to the stranger. "Good to meet ya mister Artegal." She then extended her hand in friendship. "The name's Belladonna Goodbarrel, and don't you worry, I can take you to the Sitting Duck. My sister works there as a bar maid. If you need someone to help you, ask for Rosanne, she's a sweetheart. Also tell her to fold her laundry, I can't take care of everything."
Belladonna walks 30 paces and puts the grocery bag down by the door, then runs back to Nathaniel. "Okay! The sitting duck is this way!"
Nathaniel will follow Belladonna into the sitting duck, and he will follow closely!
It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Goodbarrel, and I look foreward to meeting your sister as well. My, this is an interesting place.
He stops at the door, looking left and then right, apparently puzzled, and then he hurries to catch up to Belladonna, who may have continued further into the tavern without him close behind her. When he is close, he will lean over and try to whisper in Belladonna’s ear
Strange, I am so used to there being a man or woman by the door who works for tips and does that finger waving trick that cleans your boots, dries your cloths, funny that a place like this wouldn’t have such a reliable service, don’t you think?
Nathaniel then notices, for the first time, a woman dancing on a stage. He does not mean to stare, and his expression, including the blushing of his cheeks is unmistakable
My, that’s, that’s rather, um, well, different, I suppose. You know, you, you don’t see something like that every day. Um, Miss Goodbarrel, um, Miss Goodbarrel, perhaps I may have a word with you, please, ahem, in private?
He bends over, looking away from the stage and whispers again
I think this might not be, exactly the kind of place I was looking for, no, no, please, I mean no offense, but, I was actually only looking for a place where I could rent a room for a week or two, and, um, well, um, well, I’ve never been in a place like this before.
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Hurrying into the tavern, Belladonna whistled over her sister Rosanne*. "Hey sis! Look who I found."
Rosanne looked very much like Belladonna, except her hair was much longer, so much in fact that it nearly touched the floor. She was wearing commoner clothes, with a white apron across her front. Unlike Belladonna, however, she was not wearing any jewelry.
"Oh hello sister, who's this strapping young man you've brought? He's not your date, is he?" She looks a bit caught off guard as she spoke.
Belladonna laughed and replied "Nono silly, this is mister Artegal, and he's new to town. He wanted me to take him here, but it looks like he isn't used to taverns like this. Seems he's a little posh." She gave a wink to her sister at that last statement, meaning that there must be money with this man.
Belladonna then turned to Artegal, and said "Rosanne will look after you from here, but I have to get going. I hope you enjoy yourself!" Then left the tavern without a backwards glance. Her sister Rosanne fixed her hair.
Belladonna laughed as she headed out of the tavern. Hopefully Artegal gets close to sis, she could use a good man. And it was so funny the way he reacted, like he'd never seen a girl dance before hahaha! He's so cute with his awkwardness.
But after a little time, her face turned from smile to frown. She drew her hood and headed for Roots and Remedies. She kept track of who was around, such as guards and nobles, and kept to the shadows as much as possible. She was beginning to feel worried about who may be watching her, like Kabran, or one of Keen's men. Fearing ShaddowStepper's words, she decided being alone wasn't the safest of ideas.
While looking around for familiar faces he looks at Zilka
"Your hair is perfectly fine, I've known people who would kill for a little curl in their hair. I don't see Ferret or mom around but it doesn't look too crowded, we should be able to get rooms."
He walks up to the barkeep and as he crosses the floor he will nod at Caine and any other "friendly" faces he recalls.
"My friend and I need rooms for a time. Is Valeria or Ferret around?"
Caine nods back from his post near the bar and speaks up as the half-elf tried to ask the busy bartender a question.
"She's on the other side. There was big drink order. Gimme a sec, I'll let her know you're here."
Caine stood from his stool, steadying himself on the wall for a moment, and disappeared through the pass-though into the other side of the establishment where the brothel called the Ugly Duck was.
About thirty seconds later Valeria came running through with a big smile on her face.
Zirren intercepts Valeria with a big hug
"Mom! How are you doing?"
Valeria returns the hug then pulls back to look at Zirren. Despite his elven ancestry there can be seen some family resemblance in facial structure and Taladorian bronze skin. After a moment Valeria punches Zirren lightly on the arm.
"You didn't write that you were coming!"
Zirren smiles and theatrically rubs his arm.
"I finished school and my classmate, Zilka, mentioned interest in the dwarven ruins I told her about. She is an archeologist you see. We decided to head on up here and would have beaten any letter I sent."
Waving an arm around then looks down at his mom.
"Things have changed, how are you doing mom?"
May Nathaniel be allowed to overhear this conversation above? If so, he will approach, and excuse himself, with a few quick coughs
Excuse me, Valeria, is it, and this is your son. Please forgive me for being impertinent, I do not wish to put myself into the middle of a warm family reunion, but,
Nathaniel bows to Valeria, then turns to the Half Elf Please forgive me, my name is Artegal, from the southern villages, but I overheard you mention dwarven ruins. Would these be the ruins of a dwarven monastery, perhaps? I had hoped to hire a guide who could show me the way to these ruins, if they are what I think they are.
Belladonna
Belladonna does not see anyone trailing her as she makes her way towards Laurel's shop, in fact, most folk don't seem to pay much attention to her as they all weave their way through the rain and muddy streets. The occasional hacking cough is heard from windows and people around. In short order, the young halfling finds herself staring at a long line of people waiting to shuffle their way into Roots and Remedies.
Creeping ivy and full window boxes cover the façade of the rugged-looking, two-story shop bearing the faded sign “Roots and Remedies.” A
line of twenty-some somber townsfolk—some with pale, wheezing children, others seeming to be precipitously near tears—stretches from the open door.
Belladonna notices one woman in particular cradling a bundle of blankets close to her body, beneath an oiled cloak to keep the rain off the bundle. Muffled, hacking coughs come from inside the blanket and the woman's arms shake with the violent movement. Tears streams down her cheeks, mixing with the cold rain, with every cough...
Zilka
The heat from the fire feels wonderful on your skin, although a little painful as the heat wages war to drive the pervasive chill from your body. The pretty barmaid, Jalene, wanders over to take your drink order and asking if you would be interested in anything to eat? After mentally jotting down your order she zips off to another table nearby; however, as your eyes following the darting girl you notice something. A few unfriendly eyes openly glaring at you from behind the clay mug held to a pair of lips; a surly looking lumberjack is staring you down from a few tables away.
Zirren/Nathaniel
Valeria's eyes dart about for a moment towards the bar when Zirren mentions Ferret's name. "He... uhh, went back to adventuring a few years ago. Egrin Tock," she jerks her head towards a rough and tumble looking fellow behind the bar. "over yonder purchased the Duck from him and is now the owner. He decided he did not want to be a henchman for Kreed anymore apparently. He's tough, but he did bring some order back into this place. I am sure you remember the reputation of the Duck before you went off to be a Pathfinder." She suddenly grins at those words. "My little boy, a Pathfinder! Your father would be so proud of you." She pinches his cheek with a smile.
She suddenly turns to the tall halfling. "Oh my! You are a tall one, and no worries dear. I better get back to work for now, breakfast rush and all. I will sit down and talk with you after the rush, sweetheart." She kisses Zirren's forehead and disappears in a rush to get back to her duties.
Belladonna's heart trembled when she saw the mother crying over her sick child. That was a fate that Belladonna could soon experience if her baby sister Kayla fell ill as well. She used this knowledge as her emotional rock, and strengthened her resolve. "Kreed will suffer for this" she vowed solemnly.
Belladonna then skirted away from the crowd, back from where she arrived. She slipped up and around to the back of Roots and Remedies, and climbed up to peer into the window.
Belladonna notices a nice, low ledge that would allow her to climb up; however, her haste and slippery ledge keeps her from maintaining a good hold and she slips off the ledge. The little halfling takes a moment and slows down... this time successfully climbing up the ledge to allow her to peer into a foggy up window.
Belladonna leaned in close, hoping to catch any words said on the other side of the window.
Belladonna can hear several individuals talking and is able to make out a few words here and there.
"...drink the tea... rest."
"...what if... can we catch it?"
"No, it's not... Bowman's Well..."
Heartbroken over the ineffective tea, Belladonna wanders back to the Sitting Duck, in hopes of hearing rumors of other possible cures, or news regarding Kreed.
Belladonna returned to the long line of hopeful family members to question Laurel about her medicine.
Caine's brows rose when he heard Val mention the breakfast rush. Is it breakfast? Where the hell did the night go? I know I nodded off there for a bit, but it didn't feel like it was that long. That jackass I just tossed out must have woken up way past the wrong side of the bed. Who comes in and picks a fight before breakfast?
He looked down into his mug of rich, dark ale. I can have beer for breakfast, right? Its basically just liquid bread...
He took another long pull from the tankard, rubbed his face with his hand and continued to eavesdrop on the family reunion.
There is a nod of understanding when his mother mentions the new owner. Zirren gives his mom a smile as she bustles off "Talk to you when you are free mom."
He looks over to the halfling and gives him a discerning once over, smiling as he apparently likes the look of the upstanding young warrior "Well met Artegal. My name is Zirren and my partner is Zilka." he waves a hand in her direction "If I don't have the time," looking over to Zilka questioningly "I'm sure I could find someone to guide you out to the area where the ruins are. Searching for ruins is the main, nay only, tourist attraction here in Falcon's Hollow."
With a grumble in her belly, Belladonna entered the Sitting Duck for a light snack. She grabbed a place next to Caine (unintentionally) and asked Rosanne to serve her.
"Yes Rosanne, I'd like the..
-Beef hotpot with extra carrots
-Cottage pie
-Sunnysideup eggs with ham and a bun
-A brown ale
-and one of those stuffed potatoes... Yes I know they don't do that anymore... c'mon sis, you know you love me!... Thank you! It's a deal."
After receiving her food, Belladonna eagerly digs in at an astonishing rate.
Caine eyes the little hallooing packing away her breakfast with a wry expression on his face.
"I don't know where you smallfolk put all that food. You sure you ain't hollow?"
Belladonna took a swig from the bottle, and with the corner of her eye, peered at the gruff man. She then set down the ale and, while swinging her spoon, replied "Hallow? There's an old saying we Hin have that goes Happiness: a good cook, a bountiful harvest, and a hearty belly. We need to eat lots to keep ourselves hardy and happy."
She gave a genuine smile, then said "Hey, d'you want some hotpot Mr.? It isn't good to drink on an empty stomach, y'know."
"Name's Caine." the drunk said with a slightly bleary smile. "I'm alright. Jalene will bring something by when she think's it's been too long since I ate last. Then I'll ask her when the last time she ate was, and she'll glare at me and eat half the food she brought over. It's sort of our routine."
"I heard that." Jalane said from behind them as she dropped a plate in front of Caine as if on cue, then proceeded to wolf down a few bites herself. "I don't need you to mother me."
"Alright. When I go next door I'll just tell your mom that you aren't eating enough." he shrugged.
The barmaid looked a little stricken, ate a few more quick bites, slugged Caine lightly in the arm and then rushed back to work.
Caine chuckled as he took his first bite of the half empty plate in front of him. "How d' you know Rosie?" he said to his breakfast partner.
Belladonna took a large bite from the beef hotpot, but her eyes shot up in alarm due to the heat. Breathing in and out, she cooled it before gulping the mouthful down and sighed in relief.
"Ah she's my sister, older sister I mean. A little less than five symphonies." She replied to Caine. "I'm Belladonna, and it's nice to meet you, Caine. I've heard a lil' 'bout you from Rosanne. Sounds like you an' Jalene really are closer than two burries from the same patch." She gave a hearty chuckle and extended her hand in friendship. "So whatcha doing these days t'make a livelihood, Caine?"
"Bloody hells, isn't this a beautiful day? Yes, why I believe it is, except for the rain, and the cold and all...
But A touch of food will set me straight and restore me to my normal mood...
And if I have something to stuff into my mouth, I might even stop talking to myself!"
Having made this declaration to no one in particular, Ruhk heads out to get himself some flapjacks for breakfast.
Thank you, Zirren. I look forward to it. Yu see, I have these notes, Nathaniel takes a few folded papers out of his back pack, and shuffles then a few times, There is a letter here, from my brother, whom I am looking for, I am worried, well, not especially worried, he is very good at taking care of himself, but anyway, where was I, oh yes. I have a letter her from my brother that mentions a dwarven monastery. he wrote the letter while he was staying in this town. He doesn't say anything about the ruins, other than he was curious about them and I would desperately like to see what it was that got his interest.
"This would be the place most adventures would stay at in town, it has a bit of a reputation for that... among other things. More often than not those adventurers are looking for dwarven ruins. As for a monastery..."
"I help out here." Caine says after a short pause. "I lift the things the girls have a hard time with, and toss the johns who give the girls a hard time, and they feed me and let me drink in peace."
"Its enough. Money isn't everything. Heck, around here it seems like money is everyone's biggest problem. I feel pretty lucky not to have to deal with it."
Belladonna lowered her extended hand and took another swig of ale. Absentmindedly, she said softly "mm not really" while looking into the tankard, swirling in gently. After a second she snapped out of it and looked back up at Caine. "Oh I mean it's not really luck, so much as you've got good people 'round you eh?" She replied, putting her smile back on.
Caine was too tired and too far into his cup to catch the subtext happening right next to him.
"You're right. Luck aint really got much to do with it." His eyes followed Jalene across the floor for a moment and he looked a bit wistful. "People have to look out for each other around here."
"I agree there mister Caine!" replied Belladonna. "I gotta question for ya if you don't mind. D'you know anything bout Kabran the half-orc?"
"Cuz I ain't got much of a clue"
Caine looked down, really sizing up the small woman next to him for the first time, his expression serious. "I know this whole damn town would be better off without him. He's a festering boil on the ass of society who doesn't do anything but make decent people suffer."
"If you're one of his people trying to work the Demogorgon Con, you don't need to bother. I've said my piece plenty of times. I'm sure he knows what I think by now."
"Not that it matters what I think. I'm just a drunk." he said bitterly.
"Quite the opposite, actually" replied the little halfling. "I want to figure out how to slow him down. Like you said "this whole town would be better off without him". Got any ideas what could be done?"
"Oh, lots. Just not any that I'm willing to risk putting other people in danger for. My advice on dealing with Kabran is just to pack up your loved ones and get out of Falcon's Hollow. "
"Oh gee mister, I'd never have thought of that." replied Belladonna, sarcastically. "I'll just grab my family, and try to get half way across the road without taking a bolt to the face." She took a swig from the tankard, but realized it was empty. Her words became just as bitter as the man's drink. "Hmph, and even if we did get past, we'd be dead from Blackscour before we settled anywhere."