Turn 106
You leave Caohimin, and Wulfgar behind at the temple and head for the
tavern. Upon entering, you see Kay seated there, by herself except for
the barkeep in the small well kept room. She is just beginning her meal,
an empty mug of ale nearby. A Placard on the wall proclaims prices, But
when Arilyn mentions Wulfgars name, drinks become on the house. Gareth
leaves the group once safely seeing them into the tavern, promising to
return soon.
ale-1ep
wine (elvin)-5gp
bread-2cp per slice
stew-1ep (with meat)
cheese-1sp/wedge
Venison-2gp
Everyone can afford a good meal if it's wanted.
Click here for overhead view of the Heron Tavern
Keldar orders some stew, cheese and veneson, as well as 3 ales. When the
barkeep looks sternly at him, he rubs his lower back and gripes "Well,
backs sore from bouncin' on those man-sized horses. Don't wanna keep
getting up!"
Arilyn steps into the tavern and looks over to Kay. "Hey, you. You could
have at least invited me along with you. If you don't like me, all you
have to do is say so." She slides gently over to the table beside Kay
and sits down..smiling at the barkeep. When she sees the barkeep look
over, she winks. "Good day. May I please have a glass of wine..elvin, of
course, a slice of bread, three wedges of cheese and a slice of Venison.
After my meal, I will be going to the Bath House and would like a bottle
of wine while I play..I mean relax in the tub." She giggles. "Keep 10gp
for your service..and charge this to Wulfgar." She nods and sits back,
folding her arms and thinking what a wonderful life this is.
Kay looks over at the elf, "It's not that, I just didn't feel right with all
you 'heroes'. I ran into your group just to find Jarryd, who was kaput.
Normally I would of demanded proof of his death and gone my way, but
Pik-Knights are known for their honestly, along with many other things. For
some odd reason, I sort of tagged along with you, kinda like some lost puppy
and when I tried to get some answers from you all, I pretty much got the
cold shoulder." She takes a sip from her mostly empty mug, "I'm the type of
person who likes to know what I'm getting into, so I took off over here,
hopefully to find some sort of caravan, or maybe just relax, get my things
in order and have a few potato skins and a drink or two". Her voice lowers,
"You probably won't believe me on this one, but somebody came along and
changed my mind. This great big warrior guy just appears, rattles on how I'm
supposed to help you all, being my destiny and all. Sounds kinda corny, and
I was pretty sure I was seeing things.", Kay produces a very fine long sword
with a pummel studded with an assortment of gems, and a strange symbol.
"That's the symbol of Imbrol, and last time I checked, illusions don't hand
out swords. So, I'm pretty much stuck with you guys, like it or not, I don't
want to anger some war-god." She take a deep breath and continues, "A bath
does some good, I just need to stop over at the "outfitters" and pick up a
new scabbard and an extra set of clothing."
Keldar, the gnome speaks up. "Same fer me Vinc and Reggie. We were a
buncho farm kids from Durant 'cept fer Reggie, tryin' ta be heros,
wanderin around. We endind up sav'in' a unicorn from goblins, and the
unicorn turned out to be whispers "Azimuth". He moved us over ta this
group in the middle'o a hostage situation, with instruction we were ta
help stop some great evil. I have no Idea through what help a
mage-who-can't-cast spells and a reluctant thief like me'll be."
" I'm as uncomfortable as you with these holy rollers. We 'ad a priest
named Bock in Durant, but he wasn't all holier-than-though like this
bunch. These guys'll take some getting used to."
"So it is a buncho gods takin' care o' this. Just what we need, the
greater powers watchin' us fumble about the lands." Keldar cradles the
sword from his back in his hands. It's a well made sword, with an jeweled
handle. "This thin' wuz given te me by .. you know.. when he sent us here.
Looks like we're atleast bein' paid fer the work. If you want, I can try
an learn a spell tonight that'll give us some clues as to the powers these
thin's have. 'cept that may turn me inta a toad or somethin'."
The barkeep happily supplies your wine, and replies "And I'll bring your meal
once Wulfgar arrives with the gold miss." he smiles indulgently.
Cole wanders about the tavern examining everything with minimal
interest.
He finally proceeds to the bar and orders cheese,bread,venison,and an
ale
when his food is recieved he takes out his money pouch and slowly
counts
out the money,afetr a few tries he gets frustrated and just hands the
barkeep
four gp. With a nod he goes just outside the tavern and sits in the
nearest
patch of grass to enjoy his meal.He feeds the bread to his horse and
devours
the rest.When he's done eating he runs a brush through his horses mane
talking
gibberish to her the whole time, then takes her to the stables, and
proceeds
to the bathhouse where he hopefully can enjoy a nice cool bath.
"I would like 4 pieces of venison. I don't think I'm going to stay
here long, I'm still not comfortable with these small buildings." As Wulfgar
walks in Barbaxle turns to him and says, "What did you find out about your
friend and family, is everything ok??"
"I think that I will take off and look around the outside of town, Gareth
said to met back here for supper. I will be back at that time."
Looking at Barbaxle "Well my friend it would seem that my sister came back
and they left together to go and stay at her place in the city! Wherever
that may be?" He sits down at an empty chair and looks at the menu, "Yes
some venison sounds fine to me, also a large tankard of ale to wash it down.
After this I am going to see if the family house still belongs to us. I
have no idea if it has been sold or if my father just shut it up. I expect
he would have just shut it up and maybe let me a note inside!" He sits back
in his chair and rolls his head first to the left and then to the right to
ease the tension in his shoulders. "Glad to see you are still here Kay, are
you still leaving or will you reside with us a while longer?" He smiles as
he says this.
Arilyn smiles...seeing Wulfgar enter...such a warm endearing
smile...like the cat that ate the canary look. "Wulfgar, so nice to see
you. Will you please speak with the barkeep? I don't think he trusts in
your ability to pay for my meal." She tips her glass slightly towards
Wulfgar..her eyes sparkling.
She sips her wine and glances at Kay. "Oh...cold
shoulder....uupphhhmm!!!..maybe you just didn't ask the right question
to the right person."
She turns to Wulfgar. "You are paying, aren't you?" She tilts her head
slightly, her smile almost angelic.
Whilst waiting for the food Wulfgar turns to Arilyn "So you joke at my
expense young lady!" With a quick movement he leans over and pulls her out
of her chair jerking her sharply to get momentum in his favour and drags her
over his knee. "Let's see who has the last laugh eh!" He places one hand
on the back of her head and raises the other one sharply and brings it down
with a crack on her upturned butt. "Now you tried that about three times
so!" Crack his hand rises and falls another twice before he lets her rise
and with a gentle push helps her into her seat. A smile crosses his face as
he looks at her astonished look.
Arilyn's eyes flash wide open in surprise...the shining gleam in her
eyes subtly changing to a shimmering glow. She wiggles on her
seat...feeling the heat and tingle spread from her bottom to her most
private place...Arilyn's cheeks flush red as a warmth spreads over her
neck and up to the top of her head. Her breasts heave out in quick
rhythm as she tries to control her breathing, her heart beating as
quickly as a galloping horse. She tries to speak...her lips part
slightly...and a low moan escapes instead of the words she is trying to
speak. Standing on legs that feel like rubber, Arilyn takes her glass
of wine and throws it at Wulfgar. She runs out of the inn...
Jahl chuckles as he watches Wulfgar and Arilyn. "Its about time," Jahl
mutters between mouthfuls of the dinner he had ordered. "Wulfgar, if you
would like the company, I'll go with you when you visit your home." Jahl
offers as he finishes of his meal.
Wulfgar takes the glass of wine and watches as Arilyn runs out. He licks
his lips and says "Shame about that, it was a lovely wine!" He nods to Jahl
"I accept your company if you want to join me!"
Keldar watches the display between Arilyn and Wulfgar, then picks up his
meal, carries it to another table, and sits with his back to them while he
eats. After Arilyn storms out of the inn, Keldar returns to his origional
seat and mumbles, "Definatly somethin' I don't need ta see when eatin'..."
Vincas looks up from his third empty ale mug, a wide grin crossing his face.
"I don't know, I kinda liked it."
He laughs and wipes his hand across his mouth. "Time for a refill." He
signals to the barkeep and pulls his lute from his pack.
"Maybe a bit of song is in order....to help settle everyone's nerves after
that little show." He starts playing a little, adjusting the strings a bit
and playing short little melodies that most of the party recognizes as the
tunes usually accompanying various bawdy bar room limericks. He giggles as
he plays them, a look of pleasure on his face for the first time in months.
Once he has the imstrument tuned to his liking, he asks the group "Any
requests?"
Kay spends a few moments fishing out the boiled carrots from her stew,
"Well, you were one of those fine folks, but I do forgive you, I just.". Her
conversation is cut quite short when the "Village-Boy Done Right" decides to
give the elf a little whoop'n. The warrior can do very little than stare.
Once that's all done with and Arilyn is out the door, Kay gives Wulfgar a
dirty look tainted with a faint smile, "That pretty much set all of
womankind back another hundred years. Thank you so very much!"
She quickly scoops up her plate and mug, and heads over to sit with Keldar
in the "No Spank Zone".
"Great, so basically the gods have been tossing out swords left and right to
folks like us and watching from above, you just gotta love it. And for those
who are curious.", Kay raises her voice just a little, so everyone who's in
the tavern can hear here, "Looks like I'm stuck with you all, like it or
not, I don't want to tiss off a god, and for the record, I would like
someone to tell me everything about this quest, and the little things as
well, like what's the deal with that book, and who was buried and why you
all freaked out about it. I want spicket-heads!"
With a sigh Kay returns removing the carrots from her stew, "Why must they
put so many of these in here?"
"The book was taken from some evil mage me ol' friends and I killed back
near Durant. Inside was info on raisin' imps and demons and such. I just
thought it was some mad-man's spell book, but the holy-one here felt it
was in itself evil. Their seein' what the templ'll do with it.
Though I hate ta see a bunch holy ons destroy a work-o-magic,
summonin' demons just ain't needed in the world."
As Vincas pulls out his Lute, Keldar gives a terrified stare, "Ummm Vinc,
that's not the NEW instrument you found in the cave is it? I don't wanna
have you messin' with me head again!"
After a bath and a change of clothes Cole returns to the tavern
to see who is still there. Hearing what happened to Arilyn, Cole
bursts into laughter despite his attempts to remain composed.
When the laughter dies down Cole will go to the temple to check on Cao.
As you finish eating, Gareth returns and enters the
tavern and orders his meal.
The Paladin appears deep in thought, and although he greets the party, seems
somewhat focused internally. Scanning over the party, Gareth suddenly snaps
to wariness as he idly counts heads. "Arilyn is missing?"
The knight is told what happened,And Gareth will leave the
funds for his order and leave to seek her out, undoubtedly forgetting about
his meal
To view what happens between Ari and Gareth when he locates her naked in the bathhouse, Click here.
Having finished his meal Wulfgar looks up to see Gareth entering the Inn.
"Well I have to go and check on my house then on to check on Cao and deal
with the book!" He looks at Gareth "If you want to you can meet me at the
Temple after you finish your meal?" He looks at Jahl "Are you still wanting
to come along or would you rather stay here and have another drink?"
Gareth nods and confirms, "Indeed, Wulfgar... speaking of your home, could
members of the party unable to take residence at the temple," here the
paladin looks down pointedly at his own symbol, "Take shelter at your
residence or on its grounds if the house is not openable?"
"Yes," Jahl says as he finishes his ale and stands. "I'm ready to go
with you Wulfgar." Adjusting his cloak, Jahl moves towards the doorway and
awaits Wulfgar.
A now that his third ale is gone, a more jovial Keldar yells out at Kay
and Jahl, "Youz go. We'll stay 'ere and pro-tekt the inn. . "
"So Kay... I've tol'ya a story 'bout us 'nd how we got 'ere... and
I'll trade ya onea 'ar 'venturin' stories fer onea yers. BARKEEP! Can I
gets another ale...."
Kay finishes her meal, and retires to the bathhouse.
A bit later, Gareth returns to the tavern and finds only Barbaxle, Reggie, Keldar, and Vincas
in residence. They inform him Cole went to the temple,Kay went to the bathhouse, and Wulfgar and Jahl
are at Wulfgars home.
Kay walks in after about 15 minutes, looking clean and shiny. Sauntering to the dartboard, she asks if anyone wants to play.
A rather co-oridnation deficient Keldar stands, with much help from the
table. "Yer on Kay..."
The gnome then sways his way towards the dart board.
Wulfgar and Jahl return, and everyone but Kay, Keldar, Reggie, and Vincas either head for, or have headed back to the temple.
Turn 107