Marik's page

Marik looks up and gives the elf a long look as he pours the drink out. "Boomer is still out and about drumming up some business last I knew. Don't let my brothers see you if you don't want a rematch." Marik nods to the half orcs engaged in their usual hodgepodge game as they drank.

You're actually in a tent in a campground beside a semi major road. Boomer, the gnome who conceived the idea, is heading to Absalom to join the Pathfinder Society, and on his way is doing this to gather as much material as possible for his application. Marik, along with his brothers, and the halflings are fellow travelers who saw the idea as a way to support themselves for a time.
"I am Marik, and welcome to our little endeavor of a traveling bar. You are far from being the only one in this tent who has cast his fortune upon the wind."

A massive half orc stands up from his seat behind the bar, and "suggests" helpfully, "How about we start you off with some stew and bread to help you deal with the drink you already have? If that is not sufficient than we can give you some of Boomer's special tea. At that point, we can discuss drinks," as he motions to one of the halflings to get some solid food for their latest customer.

Marik stands up to his full height, which is touching the top of the tent at this point and firmly repeats himself, "While I can appreciate your indifference to dirt, there are many here who don't share that indifference, and given that it takes no more than a minute to make yourself presentable, I must insist on the behalf of my other guests that you do so. Otherwise I will be forced to have my brothers do it for you, and I am pretty sure you won't like that." Filios, you see the twins just grin at each other as they listen to their brother speak while they play. You manage to win a few silver from them in the first hand
Wisdom 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
We'll roll a few rounds, and determine from those the overall success of the game.

There is a stage in the corner setup for performances.

Marik looks up from his whittling as the singing starts, gets himself a drink, and settles in for the performance.

Graal goes behind the bar and pokes his brother, who had drifted off a bit, awake and returns to his card game. Apparently the half orc twins notice more than they let on. "Uhmmm, ok, ok, I'm awake, you dumb oaf. My apologies good sir, it has been a long day hunting, and after Boomer's cooking, a nap was just too much to resist. I am Marik, if you wish drink, talk to one of the halflings, they can assist you in that department; if you wish something more substantial, we have rabbit stew, bread, and I see we still have some steaks that are ready to be cooked up if you so wish that. Otherwise, we have plenty of folks here to chat with as you put your feet up for a while. Between Boomer and Miss Crystal over there, we will hopefully have some entertainment before long. And don't mind your lack of instruments, ma'am, I'm sure most people here would just be happy to hear some quality singing, storytelling, or whatever talent you may have that doesn't require instrumentation." With that, Marik goes back to whittling the stick he brought in earlier in order to help him stay awake after his filling supper.

Boomer finally gets finished filling the current orders for steak, and sets the remainder aside for further orders, and heads back to the kitchen to plan desert. Marik reappears shortly thereafter, and takes his place behind the bar, ready to serve those with orders. His brothers by this time have finished their meals, and returned to their table; they are currently playing some kind of card game of their own making, showing signs of concentration and focus for the the first time in the evening.

The two half orcs decide that they are going to go wait for supper a little closer to the source, and disappear into the back of the tent, their mission of mercy completed. Marik makes sure that everyone as well as possible while let's the guests mingle with each other until the steaks show up.

"I though I was big for the tent," Marik laughs as one of the halflings disappears into the back of the tent upon hearing the request for a vegetarian dish. "We'll see what Boomer can create with our current stock of non meat product. I don't think we've had anyone make such a request as yet. Should be interesting to see the results." A young halfling sticks her head through the opening to the back, "Boomer needs to know just how vegetarian the vegetarian dish needs to be, as he has a very nice vegetable omelet recipe he said he could whip together if eggs are allowed. Otherwise, he could make a salad for our guest. For everyone else, he is almost ready, he is just cooking up the charcoal steaks for you and your brothers, Marik, and then he will be out to grill to order steaks for everyone else."

"Graal, Zar, help this fine young lady with her wagon." Marik immediately calls out to his siblings. When they hesitate, he adds, "The faster you do it, the faster you get your supper, so move it." To Ash, "My brothers would be more than happy to assist you with your wagon. Just keep the commands short and simple; the last time someone tried to gave them a complex order, they stood looking at each other for an hour trying to figure it out. And yes, we are headed to Absalom, though probably only Boomer will get on the ship and finish the trip; the halflings, my brothers, and I are more likely to find a living on the mainland." The two drunk half orcs finally obey their brother and come forward, awaiting further orders from Ash.

"Bear in mind that is how long we plan to take to get there, taking our time and making multiple extended stops along the way; if you care to join us, we could probably find some more space in one of the wagons. Plenty of folks on the road seeking the aid of the divine that would welcome your assistance in the evenings. If you wish to travel straight there, it will probably take a half to a third of that time." Marik examines Solomon quietly as he finishes, "Could use some help hunting as well, we trade for what meat we can, but we go through a lot of it, especially with my brothers around."

As one of the halflings goes over the latest comer to help her, Marik responds to the dwarf's question, "My brothers and I were traveling along one day when a big storm came up and forced us to seek shelter. What we found was a little cave that already had some occupants in it: A nice halfling family and a gnome by the campfire cooking up a delicious meal. Over the course of supper, we got to talking about our individual plans, and developed a strategy to make the halfling clan and myself, along with my brothers here, some needed coin, while also getting Boomer the experiences he sought to aid his application to the Pathfinder's Society. So far it has worked out quite well; we stop in a promising campsite for a few days, setup shop, and see what comes our way. Boomer's contacts have yet to disappoint us with providing good locations, and the experiences have truly been interesting. Another month or so and we'll be at the port where Boomer will take a ship to Absalom, and the rest of us will continue our travels to wherever we may end up."

"The real supper won't be ready for a little bit yet, but I understand we have some rabbit stew and bread ready. It should at least tide you over until the main course."

"Music, no, but he is quite a good storyteller, although you may well have figured that one out already. The benefit of him being on stage is that with no one interrupting him, it's actually possible for him to stay focused enough to finish the stories that he starts." Marik chuckles quietly. "Last place we stopped, we had a Varisian bard stop in one night. He definitely seemed to keep everyone entertained, he was even good enough to get Boomer to stop talking for the duration of his performance. If you wish to hear Varisian related stories, just drop a hint in Boomer's ear when he come back in with the steaks."

A massive half orc tall enough to brush his head against the lower portions of the tent, enters the tent and looks around as the two half orc from earlier follow and promptly return to their table and waiting mugs of ale. At the request for the proprietor, he walks up to the bar and replies. "I'm afraid we don't have any formal arrangements to handle animals, as most guests use their usual traveling practices to handle such affairs. You could probably arrange something with the the halfling gentleman over there for his son to take care of your mount, though you would definitely need to provide your own feed." Taking his place behind the bar, "I see everyone still has ears; that means you all came in after Boomer left to start preparing supper, or by some miracle, he actually managed to not bore you to death. Either way, welcome to our little establishment; supper should be out shortly and perhaps later in the evening, we might convince the versatile gnome to perform a bit on the stage. If you need anything, just let me know." With that, he pulls out a whittling knife and starts whittling a piece of wood he had carried in with him. Realizing he was forgetting something, he added, "My name is Marik."