A fresh start

[Robbo]

Gunter blushes a little bit at Brax's request.

"Either your toes are made of steel or you are just a very brave woman to ask me for a second dance," he accepts her hand and sets down his mug after draining it.

"Very well, let us be off!"

[Jenara]

"Brave I think." Brax grins, glancing over at Drake. "What do you make of the clown?" she asks as they start to dance.

[Robbo]

Gunter considers Drake for a moment.

"He talks too much. People like that usually shit themselves in a fight, which worries me if he's going to come along tomorrow. When it gets sticky, I hope I'm wrong."

[Jenara]

"I am not saying he comes along tomorrow, rather he proves himself, and we consider him. As for us we need... well organization as a group" She looks around at the assorted members, "We aren't exactly a unified group are we?"

[The_Muffin_Man]

Searos watches Brax flounce off to dance with Gunter and snags another passing mug of ale. "I think I'm already well past half drunk..." he mutters to no one in particular. With that he saunters (or stumbles... but to him it feels like sauntering) off to Drake and sets himself down in a chair next to him.

"So, level with me Patches. Or at least, as level as you get. What brings you to a... "town" and I use that term loosely, like this in the first place."

[Stik]

"Level with you? Have you ever found me less than forthcoming? Truth be told, methinks that might be the problem here. It is an occupational hazard for those in my line of work to tell too much of the truth, oftentimes to them as would rather not hear it.

"But I am thinking perhaps that what you are really asking for is a brief answer, for 'to expostulate…day is day, night night, time time…limbs and flourishes...soul of wit,' et cetera, et cetera, you know the rest. So I shall be brief.

"Saltmarsh is a port. And ports, no matter how small and mean, are places considerably more opportune than inland villages for finding conveyance to some better place, particularly for a man afoot. But then I heard about this mystery of yours, and became intrigued, so I thought I might stick around for a bit, and see how it plays out. Maybe earn a few coins in the process. Plus, that Geraldine has got some rack on her, does she not?

"But trade me now, truth for truth: what's your story? Surely you didn't just come here to appraise dilapidated clifftop real estate and over-indulge in strong drink, did you?"

[Robbo]

Gunter follows Brax's gaze around the room.

"No, I agree with you there. I don't know that any one of us is really capable or even wants such a task. Perhaps Amon but he still seems a little wet behind the ears when it comes to the realities of life. That's not really his fault though. I guess between the two of us, my vote would fall to you."

[Jenara]

"I do not seek to lead, it is not my place." Brax gives Gunter a thoughtful look and purses her lips at agreement with him. "I would choose Amon, it requires brains, consideration and most importantly patience. Pelor tries to instill such virtue in me..."

"We need to work as a team, we are stronger together, in the Mansion, we were separate." She glances at Drake. "We are yet to see how he will fit in with us."

[The_Muffin_Man]

Searos sips his drink, idly watching the party.

"I listened to a guy in the free city once who said that brevity is the spirit of wit. I don't remember his name and I'm assuming you've never heard of him. As for how I came to this town, you know, its odd. I look back on that and I honestly am having trouble remembering how I got here. I remember being in a general store, watching out for spies. After that, everything just kind of goes blank, as if the rug has been pulled out from under me. Next thing I know, I'm walking into this town after hearing about treasure. Everything between those two points in time though are a complete blur. Its like one god abandoned us and another stepped in to rescue our little motley crew from oblivion."

Searos takes another sip of his ale. "Though I suppose I'm starting to sound like Bright Eyes now, aren't I?"

Searos lets his eyes fall over Geraldine for a moment. "Its funny. These country girls always seem so much more... "well developed" than the ladies in the free city. I wonder why that is."

[Stik]

"The 'soul of wit,' actually. He was probably a theater buff, your old man. The dwarven playwright Hwel wrote that line for Olwyn Vitoller's theater company.

"Strangely, I have had a similar experience to yours. I once left Rauxes in the company of a mage and found myself in the city of Ribcage, which to the best of my knowledge is not actually on Oerth. Fun place, Ribcage. If you can stay ahead of the secret police, and the not-quite-secret police, and the outright obvious police, and the street gangs, and the mafia, all of whom want to rearrange various bits of your anatomy in creative and uncomfortable ways, you can actually have a really good time there. There are purple women there. True story – purple skin, blue hair. Amazing.

"Now riddle me this: why do you suppose would Snowmane turned down the opportunity to look the hero to the locals? I can see a man like you wanting to stay on the down-low – helps your image, and all that. But she? Or the woodsman? I don’t usually share the spotlight, but I figured I could pass on some good-will to you and your associates, as a gift to make amends for hurt feelings. But so far nobody seems to have recognized the opportunity they’re passing up."

[The_Muffin_Man]

"Ribcage sounds like my kind of town. Plenty of loose coin and loose women. I think I said this earlier tonight but in the dark, all women look the same. Unless they glow in the dark... did Ribcage have any of those? Now that would be a sight. Literally! Patches, when this is all over, we have to find some women that glow in the dark. I think I could die, or at least go to bed, happy if I saw something like that. As to why no one wanted to look the hero, I can't rightly tell you. Muscles there probably never had the idea to look the hero. Salt of the earth and about as smart as a rock. Good lad but I think he would die of embarrassment. That is, if Bright Eyes' dancing doesn't kill him first. Chills wouldn't want to look the hero because all these people here are beneath her. None of them can understand the absolute depths of her genius (insert grandiose sarcastic hand motions). The fact that anybody would give her even a little bit of hero worship I think would horrify her and only confirm how stupid we all are. As for his lordship... I think he means well. I don't think he would want to look the hero, but I don't think he was trying to stiff anybody out of a good time. For someone so allegedly smart, he lets his thinking get in the way of his good ideas, ya feel me?"

Searos waves over someone to refill his mug of ale.

"And as for me, I just like a good party and a chance to gamble."

[Stik]

"Didn’t see any glowing ones, but I did see a few women, parts of whom glowed. But you know the odd thing about Ribcage? It’s the little differences. I mean, they got the same shite there that we have here, but it's just a little different. Like you could be walking down the street and here comes a cart pulled by a bird instead of a mule, and nobody looks twice. And the guy at the bar might be a daemon. And you can have a conversation with a door. Odd stuff." Martin takes another pull from his glass. He's forcing himself to drink slowly. Rum is a harsh mistress.

"You know, I’m kind of disappointed the two magelings didn’t show up. When you walked in without them, I had half a mind to toss them under the proverbial ox-cart for not coming to this little thank-you celebration I arranged. It would have taken no effort at all to make the two of them look like spoiled little ingrates. Cousland Sr. even saw it coming and went to warn his boy, and still he’s a no-show.

"But you know what? When the opportunity arose, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Maybe because it would have been so easy that I would have gotten no satisfaction from it. Either that, or I am growing a conscience."

[Robbo]

Gunter thinks about the debacle at the mansion a few days ago and how close they came to death and shakes his head.

"Good point. When I fought in the militia we were taught that every plan goes to hell as soon as the blood starts running but back at the mansion we had nothing. We got separated and were it not for our rescuer's, we'd either be dead or on a slave ship right now and that life doesn't really agree with me."

[The_Muffin_Man]

"getting those two to pull their heads out of their asses for long enough to see the good sense in front of them is more effort than its worth. Whats that saying? You can lead a horse to water but you can't squeeze blood from a rock? Or some damn thing. I don't know. I say let them be. They'll either figure it out or they won't. For the time being, they aren't my problem. I don't really have much interest in educating them until they do."

[Jenara]

"Indeed. We were sloppy and disorganized, we are actually lucky we didn't die." brax says in all seriousness. "I suggest we call it a night soon. We have a ship to catch and i have had too much wine." the tiny cleric wobbles and nearly falls at the mans feet.