February 13th is another cold, overcast day, wit the temperature struggling up to just above the freezing point. A raw wind blows steadily out of the mountains.
After a breakfast at the inn, Hlarn hoists his pack and sets out for Stone Forge, in the Dwardarf.
Logan scribes and studies spells as well as purchases a new wardrobe, as he only has a cloak and shorts on.
Kadlian checks with all his followers to determine if any of them need training. If so, he'll arrange to have them trained.
Dor and Niko nurse their hangovers, and hope that they did not catch any contagious diseases last night...
Niko groans and has a cold towel over his head. He smirks mysteriously at Dor occasionally, but glares around the room when any loud noises are made.
"Here's the gold piece I owe you," Dor murmurs. "I still say it's impossible, even though I saw it myself."
Niko spins the coin on the table and grins back "I told you she was a contortionist!"
Kadlian wants to visit Ray Jay.
It is midafternoon when a bleary-eyed Kailar returns to the Inn of the Drunken Dwarf.
He finds Kadlian, a now decently clothed Logan and Agulhas taking their ease in the common room. Also with them are two newcomers: a young man - obviously a soldier or warrior - and a hung over elf with a nautical manner about him.
Kadlian waves Kailar over to the table. "Where have you been, my friend?"
"Copying spells into ..." *Yawn* "...traveling spellbooks. How soon are we leaving and has anyone seen Sir?"
"I have not seen, Sir. Zanax ran into Occa and some of his group yesterday outside of Sandas. Occa teleported Zanax to Hork, so we have given up trying to go after Zanax. We are going to concentrate on recovering one of the other artifacts and Occa's group is going after the last one."
"Rage, Malvis, Sian and his followers teleported to Strabath. Hlarn went to Dwardarf to train for two weeks."
"I am going to go speak to Ray Jay later and update him on recent events."
"Maybe you should go get some sleep."
"Apparently I spent the last 23 hours copying spells for nothing. I lost track of Sir, I am sure he is around somewhere. Probably looking for some mischief."
Kadlian heads off to see Ray Jay.
Kailar goes off to get some sleep.
The rest of you make preparations to depart.
It is dinnertime at the Inn of the Drunken Dwarf. Dor walks in, fresh from an afternoon of carousing somewhere, and finds Kadlian and Roganna in the common room, which is otherwise empty. Soon after, Niko joins them, having fetched his gear from Occa's house. Next comes Kailar with Sir...the gnome still looking tired. Finally, Aron enters, having finished his chores over at the temple of Tyr.
The inn is a mess. It looks as if an earthquake has hit it. Chunks of broken plaster litter the floor, along with broken glasses and crockery. Luthus and his serving people dash about, muttering to themselves as they try to clean up the mess.
Dinner tonight consists of cold cuts.
Niko enters in shock and grumbles, "I can't believe you had a bar fight and didn't invite me!"
"Was it a good one?"
Dor looks around. "I hope you didn't run out of beer Luthus. What happened?"
To Luthus, Aron asks, "What has befallen this place? Do you need any help?"
"Arrgh, some o' Occa's cronies visited."
Aron will help clean up.
Asking Luthus, he says, "Why did they do this? Were they looking for something?"
Luthus shrugs, clearly not knowing the answer.
Kailar summons some unseen servants to help Luthus clean the inn. He then wanders to the table, grabs some food and hops into a chair.
"So When are we leaving for Strabath?"
Roganna smiles at everyone, her eyes straying to Kailar briefly. "Feeling any better yet?"
Roganna smiles as the others wonder about the state of the inn.
"Thor's work. These gods just have no respect for the work of man, you know. They think they can just rumble and all, causing all this damage, and we just have to take it, you know? Don't seem fair to me," Roganna says with an unrepentant grin.
Roganna digs in cheerfully to a piece of blood sausage and head cheese.
Niko winks suggestively at Roganna while she's eating her sausage.
Roganna smiles encouragingly, licking her lips with gusto and a suggestive smile of her own. She then bites her sausage suddenly, smiling in a very feral manner.
Niko picks up his tankard of ale and moves next to Roganna "What's a pretty lass like you doin' with this crew?"
Roganna laughs cheerfully. "I wish I knew!
"To be honest though, I was in a bit of trouble a while back and they let me go with them on this crazy adventure. I mean, it was a choice of being killed with a knife in the back, or leaving town with these guys. Well, I wonder if staying would have been safer. We sure got into this huge mess, and now its messier still. I kind of like these guys though, even though we get into some great rows!" Roganna says with another chuckle.
"Definitely some 'types' here, if you know what I mean. But then again, I guess each of us are. The only thing holding us all together is our moral conviction that this needs to be done and we are the ones to do it," Roganna adds, waxing philosophical once more.
She takes a deep draught of her ale and looks up, eyes twinkling. "So, what about you? You're with that other group, Occa and Jesse and them. How did you get hooked up with them? Will you be joining our merry little band permanently, or just for the evening?" Roganna asks, her voice getting softly husky, her fingers tracing small circles on Niko's forearm as she speaks.
As Roganna traces circles on Niko's forearm, she notices a tatoo of a coiled serpent encirling his arm.
"Interesting," Roganna says upon noticing the little serpent.
Niko smile charmingly. "Me. I'm just a sailor, missy...nothin' more, nothin' less. I sorta hooked up with Occa's crew tryin' to sink the scurvy bastards who sunk me ship 'n' crew."
"Ah, that makes sense. It seems that many of us here went from the frying pan and directly into the fire," Roganna says with with a twinkle in her eye.
Niko beams proudly. "We sank 'em and raided their little base. As for how long I'll be stayin' with ya...well, that depends on the action we see..."
"Yes, me too. We were to go to Strabath, but I think Miss Jesse needs our help...quite an interesting turn of events," Roganna says softly, a thoughtful frown crossing her face. She raises her cup once more and smiles, "But that is for another time I guess."
Niko frowns. "Jesse needs help? Then we must aid her at once!"
Roganna frowns, obviously confused. "But I thought you were a part of her group? There seems to be a problem with Occa and she is working out some plan or another in connection to that, which happens to connect to a problem we are working on... " Roganna says, a puzzled frown on her face.
"...and the company..." he adds suggestively.
"Most certainly the company! We can make a huge party of it, the more the merrier!" Roganna laughs, moving her hand to Niko's thigh and giving it a squeeze.
Niko hoists his tankard of ale to toast Roganna's glass, as he slips his arm across Roganna's shoulder.
Roganna snuggles close, hoisting her own goblet with her free arm.
Niko slugs down his ale and cries out "Luther...some brandy, please!"
"Be careful," Dor advises Niko. "Roganna's friends come knocking down the door at the most delicate times."
Niko, without his eyes leaving Roganna, leans toward Dor and asks "Are they female and as pretty as her?"
"You already met some of them, inlcuding that Rage woman," Dor grins back. "Now if that's your cup of tea, well..."
Roganna chuckles, "Not by a long shot, though Rage isn't that bad looking under
all those tattoos and piercings, actually."
"Niko, I will warn you now. The ladies in our party are to be treated as such. If they express an interest in you, you are welcome to follow that up as far as they wish. However, I do not want you making a pest of yourself. We already have one member of the party who has trouble keeping it in his pants despite no one being interested. I do not want a second trouble maker."
Roganna laughs. "Kadlian darling, you really need to loosen up a bit!"
Kadlian nods. "Most likely."
Niko grins and raises his mug of ale to Kadlian, as he notes Roganna's hand on his thigh. "Ya don't gotta worry about me, Kad...I treat all women with respect!"
Kadlian nods. "Good enough, then."
In reply to Kailar's question, Kadlian answers.
"We may not be. Darian, Jesse and their friends need our help tomorrow night. When Agulhas appears tomorrow morning, I will send him back to Strabath to gather the rest of our group. When we are finished assisting these folks, then everyone will head back to Strabath. This has something to do with the Sceptre and Occa, but I am not completely certain of all the details."
You eat your dinner in good humour. The food is actually quite good, especially the blood sausage, head cheese and tripe. The beer flows freely, as does the brandy.
Just as you are finishing off and thinking about going your separate ways for the evening, though, a member of the city watch bursts into the common room.
"Fire!" he exclaims excitedly. "Fire in the new city! They say it's the arch mage Occa's house!"
"Fire!?" Roganna exclaims in alarm, rising from her seat and heading for the door. She pauses to look over her shoulder to see who is coming.
Kadlian leaps up. "The party may have started early. Let us go!"
Kadlian runs out of the inn towards Occa's house.
Niko grabs his stuff and heads to the house.
"Who's Occa?" Dor wonders aloud as he follows at a run.
Kailar heads for his room.