Hearing the commotion in the square a few blocks away, Talon quietly slips away from the dock where he has been unloading an exotic collection of trade wares since the merchant ship Orca arrived just before dawn broke. By this time there certainly is a ruckus, the crowd tightly packed, angling for a view of the two men who are now well into their sparring match, the fatigue and numbness of well landed shots beginning to show. Talon weaves his way through the tightly pressed masses to the inner edge of the circle.
Talon recognizes one of the men, Rohan, if he recalls correctly, the one with the Eidelon, the pair are hard to miss. He’s seen him a few nights at the Rusty Dragon chatting up the wenches, they’ve even shared a pint or two. What has got him into this predicament?
They appear to be sparring, though he is not sure how playfully. Talon’s tensions ease slightly, though he’s not sure what he could do to step in anyway since coming directly from the docks he has no weapon and is wearing nothing but his work clothes - his equipment stored in the room at the Rusty Dragon.
Rohan looks the worse for the encounter, his legs about to buckle.
This other one, he doesn’t look the sort to be caught up in a petty street squabble, Talon doesn’t recognize him, but he won’t soon forget him. He stands out, his size, his clothes his looks.
And with that he lands a solid punch to the jaw of Rohan, who gives a slight pause , trying to balance himself for a moment on one knee before collapsing on the ground. A few moments later his opponent is lifting him up and they are chatting, congratulating each other’s ability to inflict the pain they now feel.
Talon thinks he overhears that they are on their way to the Dragon, and can see them hobbling off in that direction. The ship he's been unloading is almost done, and he won’t get paid if he's not there when the work is complete., or if anyone notices that he has been missing for long. He decides to get back to the Orca and expects that he should be finished and arrive at the Dragon within the hour.
For all her zeal for the festival, and the opening of the cathedral, Zelaria has been loath to leave the Orca very often. While the crew worked to unload their supplies they still required food, and as the cook, she could not very well abandon her post. This is the excuse she made for herself as she hid in the galley.
A pair of baguettes Zelaria purchased from a local bakery swung violently in the air near the range where she was reducing fish stock. The boys were whispering about adventure, having completely forgotten about the reason why Zelaria had taken work aboard the first ship that would have her several years ago. Being aboard a ship had taught Zelaria a fair amount of discipline, there were schedules to adhere to, and the absolute mortal dread that should her secret be discovered it would be rather easily dealt with by persons whose greatest interest was profit, not empathy.
Zelaria plucks the baguette from Eugeni's hands, and after removing the heels cuts it into three equal lengths for the Captain and his mates sandwiches for the afternoon, then quickly stuffs them with less obnoxious vegetables, cheese and a more than generous serving of meats. Ethan giggles and places his on the bench before swinging his hip up and over it, watching her work. Eugeni, of a decidedly darker bent, tugs sharply at her braid then pinches her side painfully. Zelaria has learned not to react to these incidences in the years since she has left Sandpoint, reinforcement only encourages her brother's bad behaviors.
After feeding the officers, Zelaria opens the galley to the crew. She receives several appreciative winks for the quality of the soup she has made, and the freshness of the bread. Without an oven she cannot bake her own, and though it cost a few coppers more per day, Zelaria is more than able meet the expenditure to please the crew.
Zelaria's last duties for the afternoon are fishing the bones from her stock, clearing the bench and wiping down the galley for the next shift. Having performed them, she steps back into the tiny sleeping loft seemingly built just for her (she understood that a halfling had been the resident cook before herself) and changes from her heavy apron and sodden shift into a swirl of purple and orange skirts and a jade top that takes full advantage of her narrow shoulders and the naturally dark complexion of her skin. She feels the eyes of the crew on her as she steps out onto the deck, and quick and agile she darts down the wide loading plank between workers bearing loads, and slips down to the Dragon to meet Copper and Rohan. She blinks at the state of him, and his new companion? and looks to Copper.
"I am fairly certain that those bruises were not present when you left the galley this morning, else I am far less perceptive than usual."
Is it bad when the DM feels left out and confused? Because youguys took this story and ran with it. As of me posting this I am half way through a thread that is now longer than the original. To say I am impressed is an understatement. Bravo.
You may get me to close recruitment today.
Very impressive so far people.
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Adrien, upon noticing the potential discontent on Zelaria's face, immediately stands up, bumping the table with unusual lack of grace. His head is slightly tilted towards the floor and his hands behind his back, as if being repremanded. Adrien was raised with good manners, but his experience with other men of his age has always been one of competition and struggle, which quickly brings out another side of him. That said, there is nothing that will remind him of his manners faster than the presence of a lady. It had been a while since Adrien had done any scrapping, and is now showing some obvious signs of shame. He didn't see much action like that while serving as a guard for the church of Abadar.
"My actions were inexcusable my lady. My sincere apologies"
Adrien starts to tilt his head back up to get a read.
He immediately notices more clearly the flurry of vibrant colors which decorate the figure of the lady standing before them. As his eyes make contact with hers, Adrien fixates for a moment, intrigued by the rare color of her eyes.
His eyes then shoot back to the floor, again tilting his head down. He continues to stand there, as if awaiting some sort of pardon for his misconduct.
"Just a friendly scrap. Have a seat, Aria." Copper explains. "Oh, this is Adrien. Adrien, meet our friend Zelaria." As he quickly makes introductions. He then sees the man hang his head down in shame. "Pick your head up. It was a good fight. Nothing to be ashamed of. Could of used more one-liners I admit, but it was entertaining." He says to Adrien. Rohan just keeps drinking solemnly trying to not think about the loss.
Zelaria notes the behavior of Rohan's companion and smiles faintly, broadening when he meets her eyes rather than being consumed by the garish colors that decorate her slight frame. She speaks a spell and reaches and touches his arm, and Desna's healing light marches up his skin like several hundreds of starbursts exploding just above the surface, curing him for damage .
"It appears my lady Desna favors the bold in games of chance," she says and smiles at Adrien.
Zelaria takes the seat Copper offers, tucking her skirts beneath her knees, and pulling her braids back should he like to rest on her shoulder. She is slightly pained to see Rohan attending his cups more than his company, but recognizes that the sport was something between men, and his melancholy is unlikely to be extinguished by her ministrations, at least in public.
"What fare has the Dragon to offer that keeps you from my galley?" she asks Copper instead, reaching out to pet beneath his chin. "Or should I be asking what haven't you eaten?"
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Hello all while not actually on the "short list" I have been informally invited to join this discussion to see where if an all I would fit in.
(can take alook at the profile for info as I will take a bit of time to learn everone here.
I would assume that no one has been officially selected to be in the selected party. while those here may have a better chance.
"Uh, they make this thing called curry spiced salmon that tastes really good. And this duck is tasty too. But your cooking is still the best, Aria. It's just that this place was closer than the ship." Copper offers up apologetically. He purrs a little bit when she pets his chin. Rohan looks over from his drink and gives a smile to his other friend. He looks to Ameiko and nods towards Aria indicating a drink order for the girl.
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Adrien nods at Rohan
"It's true, all my attention was on getting my footing right. I've been a bit out of practice since I joined the Korvosan guard, I haven't had to use the fists much.
As Zelaria touches his arm, wrinkles begin to form around Adrien's eyes due to the smile slowly covering his face.
"Thank you, I feel much better. Are you a priestess of the lady Desna? I understand that the newly erected Cathedral is host to both Desna and Abadar, but perhaps that's a conversation for another time."
Adrien takes a seat again.
"So how are the three of you acquainted?
"Aria's the cook on our ship, the Orca. And the prettiest girl we know." Copper answers after another bite. "The only girl we know." Rohan mentions offhandedly. "Still means its true, right? Anyways, the big lug is my best friend, Rohan. We've been friends since forever. Oh and my name is Copperscale. Nice to meet ya." The drake-like creature holds out his tiny claw as if for a handshake while using his other one to shovel food into his mouth.
“The girl, she did not take heed of what her father told her. She went back to the market and she bought the fruit from the Goblin man, and she listened to his song, and she paid him with a lock of her golden hair. Do ye care t'guess what happened to her after that?” Esme cast a glance over the four small girls who perched on the bed across the narrow room from her. The four dark haired children stared back, wide eyed as the foreign dark-haired told what must be the sixth or so fable that afternoon alone. “No? Well, I'll tell ye. Her beautiful hair, it turned silver and brittle and fell outta her scalp. Her eyes turned milky and white, and she screamed all night and all day that she wanted t'go back to the market and back t'the rat-faced goblin man. Her father tried, he did, t'keep her in their home and he called every healer an' herbalist around, but she jus' got sicker. And finally, one night, she escaped and ran back to the market to find her goblin prince.” Giving a satisfied nod, Esméralda turned away from the girls and continued folding the wash clothes on the table beside her.
“And?” Chirped one of the children, tossing her head to the side.
Esméralda smirked, “and what? Who knows what happened after that? She was gone fer good, at least. Dead, I'd guess, maybe just mad though.” The petite songstress pulled a elaborate dark blue dress over her head and smoothed it down, giving a bit of a twirl, “d'you girls like this one?”
“Dead? You mean the Goblin killed her?” The eldest girl sounded aghast at the idea. “No, she wandered off and died of sickness, of madness in the woods, because he put her under a spell!” Another added, matter-of-factly. “What if she found the Goblin prince, what if she really loved him?” A third piped in.
“Aye, would you love a rat-faced little goblin? Would you wish to have his rat-faced children?” Esme didn't wait for them to contemplate that question, “go on now, get. See to it that these rags get put away,” she shooed the quartet of babbling girls out the door, weighing each one down with a basket as they went. “By the way, its rude not to give complements on a dress when its asked... bring me something to eat!” She called after them, as they whispered hurriedly between themselves and rushed down the dark hall.
With a short sigh, Esméralda returned to readying herself as the first slivers of light made their way into the room through the skinny window. She quite liked the room, it was right beside Ameiko's quarters. Her sister in all but name. The young women gave a small smile as she raced down the stairs to meet the large crowd of people in the Rusty Dragon Inn. Perhaps she would sing a song or just sit back and converse with a few newcomers. While Esme did not like acting polite to customers at times she did have a great time asking questions. Either way her entrance caused a few heads to turn with her beautiful entertainers dress out for display on a beautiful person if she did say so herself.
"Milk, please," Zelaria orders. The liquid was rare on sea voyages. When Zelaria bought it for the crew it was gone within days, far too quickly for her spells to keep it fresh. Also, Zelaria had never drunk alcohol, but if the example set by sailors was any indication, the distraction would be too much to manage the children and her own mind. At the moment they fluttered through the crowd, playing some game of tag, though more often staring at better developed women. Zelaria blushed and looked to Copper again, and petted his single copper scale.
"Priestess?" Zelaria repeats, then shakes her head. "No, not as such, as I understood it then, or now," she says and smiles sadly, "but Her calling is strong in my blood."
Zelaria listens as Copper details their relationship in four short statements while stuffing his small face and wonders where it all goes. "It is easy to be the prettiest girl in a crew of mostly men," she observes humbly. "Here there is far more competition, in both my offices."
Finishing the unloading and the stowing away a little quicker than he expected, Talon begins to make his way to the Rusty Dragon - if not for the thirst that has parched his throat then out of curiosity about what he head seen in the square. Perhaps they knew each other, maybe this was a chance encounter, who knows.
With the additional traffic being driven by the coming festival work had been plentiful, with additional sums being paid to ensure the work would get done, or at least to attract the able bodied to do it. The ship's purser was extra generous with the days wages. There would be no shortage of drink tonight or this week for that matter.
The streets were unusually crowded, and there was an exited energy in the air in anticipation of the festival. Talon thought to himself that, at least for a few days, all was good and that he would have nothing to occupy himself with besides having a good time. He had paid for his lodging at the Rusty Dragon a week in advance - an important budgeting lesson he had failed to learn on several occasions, but made all the more important given the surge in the city's population and the demand for sleeping quarters.
Shortly, he made it to the door of the Tavern, good times awaited. He pushed through the solid door and surveyed the room. Rohan and his combatant appeared to have moved on to a new challenge. The lovely Zelaria stood between them both, mindful of their intentions but more concerned with their condition than their volleying for her attention.
Talon catches Ameiko’s eye and raises both his brows in a salutary nod, raising his hand to signal his desire for an ale. He needn’t ask. Ameiko is already grabbing a glass from the stack behind the bar.
He looks at Rohan, who notices him but is still in a tormented mood. Talon purses his lips as if to say sorry man, and looks away for a moment.
He approaches the trio and grabs his ale from the bar beside them. His tab already established. He smiles at Zelaria and nudges Rohan. “If its any consolation, I wouldn’t have known who to bet on, you were well matched.” He offers in support.
"Not really. But thanks anyway. Name's Rohan." The summoner puts down his drink to introduce himself. "I'm Copperscale. Most call me Copper. And this is Zelaria and that is Adrien. Don't mind him, he's doesn't rake losing well. We're working on that." The golden wyrmling finishes the introductions.
Some ideas, without DMing a scenario:
After this meeting Talon could take work on the Orca for a voyage - would need to think of a way to incorporate the others on the crew.
Perhaps over time we do become like the group at Cheers, with the comings and goings of trade traffic, we find a respite from our weary days here, bonds form, etc.
Could still use initiating incident of breaking up a bar brawl and threatening of Ameiko.
Perhaps someone takes something dear to oen of you and Talon must use his skills to get it back in the dead of night from some house or ship's hold.
Also need to find a way to incoportate and include others shortlisted in the establishment of backstory, recognizing that there may be some, any of us, that ultimately fall away.
I'm not really sure how Esmeralda would fit in the friendship if we need to know each for over six months. I can't really see her working on a ship but she could be close friends with Talon and Zelaria if they lived in Sandpoint for a time.
We could still go with the fact Zelaria and Esme were from the same caravan and Esme knows Rohan and the crew of the Orca through her. She could provide detailed merchant news for the crew or something for the other as a contact.
So far I haven't had much luck(or ideas) of finding a way for my character to interact well with the others.
Well, we could always use more crew members, Talon. Sandpoint could be a popular docking point for the ship so we could have gotten to know Esmeralda that way since she does work at their favorite tavern. Same goes for knowing Ameiko. The sisters become friends with Rohan, Zelaria, and Copperscale over repeated visits.
I think that would prove the best idea. Rohan, Zelaria, Talon, and Copperscale will have frequent visits to Sandpoint through their ship the Orca. Every visit they stay at the Rusty Dragon where they grow closer in friendship to Esme and Ameiko.
Adrien could have come to the town months before the festival for his investigation and has been staying at the Rusty Dragon. He has become friends with Esme this way and they all become a solid group after saving the inn from a brawl from travelling mercenaries. Thus becoming close friends who work well together to protect what they care for.