Wait I got it wrong. It should actually be 14, 13, 9, 13, 15, 10, 9.
So I'll go
Strength=14
Agility=13
Endurance=13
Intelligence=10
Perception=9
Charisma=15+1=16
Luck=9
Search Posts
Strength=14
Veras and Valerin are sitting in the dining room, and wave at you as you go past. "Hi Braydn!" Valerin says.
There doesn't seem to be much. A couple beggars, a couple more guards than usual, and a few public floggings. In the middle of the square, a would-be thief is being punished by a dust runner, who is currently in the form of a sandstorm and ripping him to pieces.
You drink in silence and content, the room around you relatively quiet. It seems nothing else is going on here.
"Careful." She says, "She got spies everywhere."
"Lemme guess: Lady Kolina?" She says, plunking a beer glass in front of you. "A two-copper will do for this one."
"Yup, course it is, hun. Want anything to drink?"
"Just stories 'bout you savin' the girl." She says, "That was mighty interesin'! Bu' then you ran off on us. Where'd ya go?"
The barmaid walks up to you. "Oh, hello Braydn. Anything you want?"
You wander for a while, and find yourself back at the same tavern you first met Opik in. It is empty, except for the three men you spoke to.
"There is plenty I can help you with, Braydn Hellbane. But have your fun if you like, you'll need me eventually." Kolina laughs. "Close the door on your way out."
"You know my intentions, Braydn. Or, some of them at least." She smiles, and it reminds you of a cat. "No, I think I'm perfectly happy to leave this particular chase uncut. Will there be anything else you require?"
Kolina is reclining in one of the many beds strewn around her rooms, holding a large book. "Of course." She says, putting it aside. "What about?"
"Come in!" She calls.
"Third on the left." He says, looking exasperated as he drapes a blanket over himself. "Knock first. You wouldn't want to find her in the state of undress I am in."
Your room is empty. In the second, Opik stands in his underclothes, looking absolutely befuddled. "Braydn!" He splutters. "What is the meaning of this!? Running around first thing in the morning, calling for my sister!? What are you doing!?"
As you run, you can feel your stomach rumbling. You haven't eaten anything substantial in at least a week, and your pallor is becoming more pale... You enter the hall, the there are nine doors. The first is yours, but you do not know about the other eight.
"Back to her room." She waves at the door where your room is.
"Course we did." Valerin says. "She's noble. Innocent 'nuff stuff, what you like, who you know, that sort of thing."
"Just that lady who's interested in you." She says. "She asked us a few questions and the like."
"Booooor-iiiinnnngg." Valerin says in a sing-song voice. "Nothing interesting happened at all, and I have a headache."
You cannot find him with a cursory search of the dining area or library, but you do see Valerin and Veras having breakfast at the table.
"I didn't get a good look. I'm not even sure he was a boy. Should we tell my father about him?"
"Okay." She says, smiling at you. "But..." her face turns puzzled for a second, "Who was the kid in the fountain? Did you know him?"
"Please don't tell my father I'm out here!" She says, "I'm not supposed to be up as late as I was!" She doesn't seem to care that you were sleeping in a flower patch.
You sit up in time to catch the arm of Requis, who is in the middle of trying to run away.
You wake up in the morning, lying in the dirt, with a blurry figure standing over you, outlined by the sun.
Although you search for several minutes, all you can find is a small footprint and some drifting leaves.
All goes silent.
You hear a scuffing noise behind you, and a muttered curse drifts on the air in your direction.
You sit on the bench, feeling the stone underneath your behind. A tarantuala hawk, a wasp-like creature nearly a foot long, wanders by as you catch your breath. It does not attack.
There is an overgrown bench, not 10 feet from you. The flowers covering it are a dull green colour at the moment, but also appear to be closed.
The creature escapes your grasp, and disappears over a wall. It's skin was strangely hard, but very smooth.
You easily catch up to the running creature.
Without warning, as soon as you speak, it begins to run off, kicking up water as it goes.
The garden is beautiful at night. It glows slightly, desert plants lit up by phosphorus. Several flowers bloom, and in the moonlight, you can see sugar-bats flapping down and drinking from the flowers. For a moment, you can see the outline of a tarantula-hawk against the moon, and a shiver runs down your spine. As you walk, you can see a person, about four feet tall, with oddly pale skin that shines slightly, standing in a fountain. It looks as though they were ready to bathe, but weren't quite sure how to go about it. They have not noticed you.
The rest of the meal passes in silence. When you are finished everyone but you, Requis, Kolina, and Sheryl has left.
She sits back in a huff, clearly annoyed. Opik comforts her, but looks sympathetically at you. Lord Dirik speaks. "I am of two minds about these farmers." He says, "One one hand, the shaman Pile is in their town, and they are good for the sugar business. However, on the other hand, they kidnapped my daughter-in-law. I will say we speak no more of this, and I will make my decision at the end of three days time."
Sheryl stiffens immediately. "The village?" She says, looking incredulous. "The one I was captured by? Do not send them anything! They are no better than bandits, and it would do the world a great service to let them starve!"
"You are welcomed." he says, inclining his head. "So, why exactly are you here?"
"Oh no, I was a devil. Quite the devil indeed..." She seems to take the cue, and move back from Braydn. Her older brothers stare at you, their gazes not sparkling with Kolina's raw cunning, but they are not dull at all. Calculating, watching, and wondering. "So, Braydn..." the taller one says, "You are the man who rescued Sheryl? I suppose I must thank you for that. My name is Josix, and my cunning, brother," he gestures at a skinny tall man, not much older than yourself, with spectacles, "is named Iosis. My lovely wife is Pith, and she," he points at Iosis's wife, "Is Hanala. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."
"Oh, the man wants to hear about my misadventures? At least buy me a drink first!" She laughs, pushing your shoulder. Lord Dikali glares at you from across the table. "Well, when we were children, Opik and Requis would not wear clothes!" Kolina giggles as the two in question turn beet red, and Opik's wife carefully sculpts her face into a neutral expression. "A dozen maids were chasing them around at all hours of the day. We tried to starve them out, but they began stealing! Then father let me go after them, and I set them straight." She grins, and Opik and Requis unconsciously shy away. "I was a little devil as a child." Opik mutters something you can't quite hear about archdemons and necromancers, before falling back into red-faced silence.
"Hmm. Interesting." The old woman lapses back into silence. "Is there anything you want to know about us?" Kolina says, twirling a knife idly. "I'm sure you have some questions we can answer."
"No, no I haven't. An odd name. Was your family religious? More than normal, I mean?"
"We found you inside the city." She points out. "You must do some city work. And besides, we can pay much more money than any farmer, and we can pay in other ways." Her hands move down slightly. Only the grandmother notices, and she gives Kolina a withering look, and she backs off. "Well, I think you seem like a very nice young man, Braydn." The woman says. "It would be a pleasure to have you here. What is your family name?"
"Well," Lady Dikali, Requis's mother, says, "Remind me to never hire you for a babysitting job." Kolina makes a giggling sort of laugh behind her hand. "Oh, I'm sure Braydn has learned his lesson. He would be the most wonderful bodyguard for us. Don't you agree?" She puts an arm on your hand, and squeezes it. "It would be so much fun."
|