Marko will move to stand in front of whatever is coming, (close to the C1 tag if the sounds are coming from the E/NE) but will allow Calathas to try Diplomacy if he wishes to.
"You up for it? We can always do this as plan B, violence if not."
Search Posts
"Very well, as you wish. Does anyone speak goblin? Mayhap we could parlay or something?" Marko will fidget a little, straining his ears to see if he can detect any other sounds out of place nearby.
Norhalo murmurs to the others, "Do not look now, my friends, but we are being watched. There is at least one other goblin in the thorns near us." Marko will Tsk at that revelation. "Alright, point me the direction you want us to go, and i can take the lead. However you lot wish to handle things is fine by me." He will resist the mighty tempting urge to turn and stare in the direction Norhalo mentioned.
Perception
"Is everyone alright?"
Marko will cooly slash at the last dog, hoping to finish it before anyone else gets hurt further. attack
"Blast it!" he mutters as the beast ducks under his swing.
Eyeing the battle, Marko will leave the goblin between the two kobolds to be dealt with by them, moving quickly past Kuromein and ending up on the far side of the last goblin. His sword flashes out with a quick downward slash.
Sword attack
"Gah" Marko will exclaim as the kobold dashes ahead with a cry. Whipping out his blade he will charge forward after the little fellow, zeroing in on the closest foe; a hound of some type. He'll take a hefty stab at the beastie, trying out the blade on loan. charge 30' forward, attack hound. attack
edit: adding crit confirm attempt crit chance
"Alright then. sounds like we're all here." Idly, Marko shuffles card plaques and pulls one, glancing at it with an unreadable expression before stowing them in a pouch for safekeeping. "Lets get moving, and take advantage of the daylight we have." He'll shoulder a travel pack, and stand ready to depart. "Til we return, Miss Ameiko." He'll give a slight bow and turn back to the others.
"Ah? A magic blade you say? I'd be happy to borrow it for the venture ahead, never know what we will run into. Thank you for the offer." Marko will glance around at the others as they arrive. "Are we expecting either of the ladies..was it..ameiko..and..sha..hmm..the elf maid to join us? Or will it be us five?"
Unaware of the conversation topic after he left, Marko will take a seat at a free stool at the bar, and make light smalltalk with whoever is willing or interested. While doing so he will try to keep an eye on any goings on from the others, but only casually.
"Very helpful, at least i know where i will most likely be standing now." With a nod to Norhalo, Marko will head out into the common room. "Meet up at dawn?" He asks over his shoulder as he departs.
"Before you go, forgive my presumption but is there anything you can do besides startlingly accurate Harrow readings? I ask as it is always a fine thing to know what one's allies are capable of." Marko will pause, and smile a bit. "Where were you earlier, my well reasoned and logical fellow?" He will put his hand on the sword at his side, nod in the direction of the shield strapped to his pack and then tap lightly at his loose tunic to give off a metallic thump. "I'm a wanderer. Jack of all trades even. I'm at ease in cities, dungeons, and wilderness all. I can get by at society gatherings or with drawn steel. Sometimes the ladies even like me, though i think that won't be an issue 'Here'. Lastly, as you have already heard, the cards sometimes speak to me." "Does that help?"
Marko will nod to the others. "Til the morning it is then, i suppose? I'll be at the bar if i am needed." That being said, he will shoulder his pack and move back out into the common room, where he will have several more drinks over the evening before finally retiring to a room.
"Ahh" Marko says. "By ghost you mean someone from the past who had been forgotten, not an actual spirit floating around. I misunderstood. Well then." Marko ponders for a moment. "I assume we will be going to this place, Thistletop was it?" His mind wanders briefly to The Tangled Briar card from his reading earlier. "I shouldn't be surprised i suppose. Are we intending to bring either or both of them back alive? or are we paying them back for things that have happened? I am capable of either, just would like to know going in if you please."
Marko will look down at the small kobold and give a bit of a smile. "Some days it feels like it, now that you mention it." He'll finish securing his things in his backpack again, and give the others a chance to discuss things more in detail before speaking up again. "You also mentioned a ghost? Any idea who it could be or if they are friendly or hostile? All ghost stories i know usually involve some measure of great tragedy."
Marko will wonder quietly to himself. Stowing his kit again, he will listen to what the others have said. "As a newcomer, i'd like to get that known for sure which way the cards will fall. Are we bringing him back alive, or are we making him pay? Either is fine for me, i simply wish to do the one that will satisfy the Miss here the more. I'd also like to know more of this Nualia name mentioned and any details of that ghost you said you glimpsed if you please.
Marko will wait quietly for the two women to finish their exchange, at which point he will make an 'ahem' and give the elven lass a polite nod. "It sounds like we have a new avenue to pursue Miss Ameiko. What can you tell us about those, and when shall we leave?" While talking he will take out his healer's kit and approach the pair, without another word looking to clean and dress the elf's injuries.
Just as Marko cracks his smile, there is a knock at the door. Mumbling. "I swear there is a conspiracy up above." If none of the others move right away, Marko will step forward and open the door, though he will be positioned in front of it. "Yes? Can i help you? The lady and i had just finished a pointed discussion.."
"An avenue that i am not against. do you have any clues as to where to find him? Also, despite threatening my life, i find myself in need of a room to store my travelling belongings. Might i procure one? I'm willing to let misunderstandings be bygones if you are?" Marko will give a smile.
Marko will smile when sharp pointy things are finally put away. "That wasn't so hard, now was it." "Based only on what i know from what you all have said and the cards, i suggest heading back to where you were before and 'finishing' down there."
"So i am steadily becoming more aware of, Miss. Now perhaps we can put away this poker and continue chatting in a more amenable manner? I'd like to hear more of what is going on, perhaps i can be of help." Ignoring the point of the rapier now, Marko takes another drink and waits.
Marko shrugs. "As if i'd know, really. Voices in the head, some fellow named Tsuto, and what lies ahead were the general questions. Now will you make her put that thing away before she hurts someone?"
Norhalo stops, taken somewhat aback by Ameiko's threat. "Mistress Ameiko? I have clearly missed something here...what has this gentleman said or done?" He turns to his countryman. "What did you say to her?" Marko will answer in Varisian, a quick stream of spoken words. "Well, i'm not to sure what caused this myself..." Marko will try pushing the tip of the rapier to the side slowly, but will give up and lever around the drinking mug instead to take another swallow. "I played one of our more light-hearted mourning songs, and then did her a Harrowing. At her request mind you! As to why i'm being threatened with death, at least this time i know it's not my fault. I'm...thinking she may have seen some truth in the cards. I'm not to blame for that!"
"Whoa! Easy miss. I only did what you asked for. You asked for a reading, i don't control what comes out.." Marko will look obviously unsettled, raising one hand specifically away from the sword hanging at his side and the other still holding his mug. He'll glance at the others as well, frowning slightly and shifting briefly so that nobody is at his back. "I don't want any trouble, i simply saw you were unhappy and thought i'd see what i could do to ease the hurt i saw hanging in the air. Then you all started talking about stuff and shouting across the room about voices. Just what do you think i am? I'd very much like to know"
"I'll just be bringing my drink with me then." Marko murmurs with a rueful smile as he gathers his things, packing up and stowing his fiddle back in its case and then into his pack. Pausing in the door to the other room, he glances back over the common room. "Is the other little fellow coming?"
"Whatever you feel the cards want to tell us." "Very well then, Miss. We'll see if they wish to talk to me today." Turning to the table and looking a bit more serious, The swarthy Varisian will spread the deck out in a fan then regather the plaques into a stack and shuffle them once more. His eyes will unfocus slightly, and he murmurs "Tsuto" out loud flipping over three cards in succession. "The Marriage(inverted)...The Uprising...The Waxworks...The breaking of a bond or trust, an act against one he should have loyalty or obligation towards, and involved torture, imprisonment, or an inability to move. Who was he exactly?" He hesitates, and then lays another card over the other three. "The Midwife(inverted), the force tying the other three together. Catalyst? Common theme? I am unsure." He gathers the cards up again with a quick sweep, reshuffling them again. "These voices.." Cards flip over in succession again. The Fiend, The Hidden Truth, The Tangled Briar. "This involves ..Deplorable acts are the basis. Though i feel it is not referring to just one but several or many. The facts are well hidden, and will require a great deal of either time or effort to discover. The Briar...layers upon layers enfold this, with thorns to keep its secret safe. Tying this all together..." He flips over another card. The Tyrant(inverted). He pauses briefly. "Someone in a position of power. One who lost it, or is no longer." Murmuring to himself, he gathers them up once again and while shuffling states. "What should the lot of you do now?" Three cards again in succession. The Wanderer. The Hidden Truth. The Avalanche(inverted). "The place you were discussing, you should go there. A piece of the puzzle shall be found within. Something needs to be prevented, that would be bad for you if it came to pass." He flips over a last card, and The Idiot lays across the three others. He blinks and his eyes come back into focus. He stares down at the cards, then sighs and gathers them up again, returning them into his pouch. Following that, he drains the rest of his ale. "Another please.." Glancing at the others he will spread his hands slightly. "I hope some of it made sense to you?"
Nodding at the little fellow, he will then turn to Ameiko. "I am called Marko, Miss. Lovell is my surname. I can seek advice from the cards for you, but would need to know a little more specifically what you seek advice on if you wish any major degree of clarity. While i have a bit of the Sight, it can be fickle. The voices? Something about your father? This Tsuto name i have heard mentioned? Something else? I am at your service in this."
Marko will flip the cards back over and shuffle them again, then fan them out and have the little kobold pick one. Taking it from him, he will flip it over, showing him a picture of three bird headed humanoids standing around a table. "The Ravens, eh? You have a knack for getting into trouble? Staying out of the spotlight may be the best for you, but having one or two friends you can trust to watch your back may save your life in the future."
While Calathes and Ameiko talk, he stretches up to squint at the deck of cards Marko is shuffling, taking no particular care to hide himself - still ignoring his brother should Kuromein eventually wander over, although he keeps his pack angled away from the other kobold. Noting the little fellow's interest, Marko will flip over his hand and fan out the cards, showing remarkably detailed thin plaques of a variety of pictures. In a voice pitched low enough to not bother the other pair talking nearby, he will speak to the kobold. "You seem curious, my friend. I was about to draw myself a hint of the near future for myself, but if you like i could see about yours instead?"
Marko will lift a hand in a concilatory gesture. "Don't mind me. One can't help but be intrigued by overhearing that. Don't force yourself to move on my account, i'm just a wandering traveller." He'll reach into a pouch and pull out a deck of cards, alternating between shuffling them and sipping at his ale.
Marko will nod at the Merchant.
He will spare a glance at Ameiko, to see if her expression had changed at all, but otherwise say nothing more on the matter. He will then simply be quiet and listen as the following events unfold, making note of the Kobolds, who seem to be welcome or tolerated here as well as the voices in the head conversation from the other fellow who came to the bar. Indeed there does seem to be things in motion here. He idly mulls over several options while sitting no more then 2 feet away from the conversation.
Marko will nod, opening up the case and pulling out a well cared for fiddle. Keeping his ears and eyes open he will give it a moments tuning before settling more comfortably on his stool and starting a slower sadder melody that will last for several minutes before picking up in tempo and steering towards a brighter finish.
Afterwards, he will pause for another drink, and look/listen some more.
At Marko's question, Ameiko is taken aback for a moment, then she says, "He was a firm, but mostly fair man. I will miss him a little, but my brother even less, once I find him.." With that last bit, her eyes grow dark and cold. "Now that's an expression a woman shouldn't ever have to wear." Marko will take a pull from his mug, and glance around the room. He'll reach down and unfasten several straps from his pack, and pull out a battered instrument case. "My people have a melody that we play when we have suffered a loss. As it seems many of the others here appear to share yours, would you like to hear it?" He'll leave his hand resting on the case, but allow her to decide.
Marko will frown a bit at the news he overhears from the Half-orc fellow. Poor girl, losing a parent is never an easy thing. The tall Varisian will move himself to a seat at the bar, setting his pack down by his feet as he settles on a stool. "Ale please." he'll place several silvers on the counter and give a thin smile and nod when he gets a moment's attention. "Was he a good man?" His expression will be a mix of sympathetic and curious, mixed with a bit of general concern.
Marko is finished BF, just to let you know.
Posting as Alias to have it out there. I made a melee fellow with some wilderness savvy to fill in a few of the gaps. I'll have a more in depth bio up soon |