CH 1: You All Meet in a Tavern

[JadedDM]

It is Agate 15th, 312 at high noon. It's a beautiful day on the island of Vaneil; the sun is shining and there's a cool seabreeze that caresses all it touches. It's difficult to believe such a heavenly paradise was once a prison for criminals and exiles; but that was centuries ago.

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It's hot today, as it's hot everyday in the tropics, but the cool wind helps keep it from being unbearable, so long as you aren't wearing clothing that's too heavy.

On the northwestern shore of the island is the humble trading town of Narin. Unlike some of the more 'touristy' places on Vaneil, Narin feels more like a real, honest town of merchants, sailors, and workers just trying to get by and make a living. The town is overshadowed by the massive Warden's Keep. Once upon a time ago, it was where the prison guards watched over the inmates. Now it is home to the local law enforcement, that guard and protect its citizens.

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Near the bridge into town stands the Paragon Inn, which is considered the cleaner and nicer of the two inns in town. Although it is lunch time, it's surprisingly empty of patrons this day. There's a bar with several barstools before it. There are also a number of tables, some bigger, some small. A number of comfortable looking chairs sit around the fireplace, although the hearth is currently unlit as it's too hot today for a fire. A staircase leads up to the second floor, where the rooms are found. The room is well lit due to the sunlight streaming in from the various glass windows.

Above the bar is a warthog's head, stuffed and mounted on a plaque. It looks like it had been quite fierce and large in life.

The smell of fried fish wafts from the kitchen, mingled with the scents of the other foods currently being cooked, including roast mutton and vegetable stew.

The bar is manned by a grizzled looking bear of a dwarf with almost as much hair on his arms as on his face. The customers are served by two others: a young, attractive female dwarf and a handsome dark-skinned human.

A rather affluent looking dwarf wearing fine clothes and smoking a pipe sits alone at a table, leisurely enjoying a meal and mug of ale.

Another dwarf, this one wearing the green vestments of Gonto, sits at the bar, a frothy mug before him. He chats quietly with the bartender.

Two dwarves, one male and the other female, sit at a table while wearing the bulky armor of the Wardens, the local law enforcement. Even the law has breaks now and again to have a meal and rest their weary feet. They sit side by side, but their meal is interrupted by a human farmer who sits across from them. He seems to be arguing quietly with the two, much to their chagrin.

[xelphyn]

Dahn heads to the north west table and sits in the south east seat, inconspicuously listening to the conversation held between the gaurds and the human.
In order to seem less suspicious, he beckons for the nearest server.

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn steps inside the tavern just behind a chubby, bald halfling, that is wadding as fast as his stubby little legs will let him. The young girl rolls her eyes at the halfling as she patiently walks after him. "This is the fastest I've ever seen you waddle in the whole time that I've known you," she says, sounding slightly amused even though the expression on her face seems void of emotion.

She lets the door close behind her as she tucks a few strands of her black bangs back behind her left ear. Her blue eyes take in her surroundings as if she was looking for the quickest exit. Deciding the dwarves within the tavern don't present an threat at the moment, Jocelyn picks out a table as close to the door as possible, and takes a seat.

[JadedDM]

It almost seems like some kind of requirement that every tavern have at least one table in the shadows, away from the others, tucked in a corner somewhere. This one was no exception, and Dahn was drawn to that table like a moth to a flame.

Close enough, he can easily hear the argument between the wardens and the farmer.

"Damn it all," the farmer complains, "that isn't good enough. Those beasts are stealin' my cattle left and right; you have to do something about this."

"Look, sorry," the male warden says gruffly. "We already sent a couple of men to investigate it, but that's all we can do for now. There's a killer on the loose, and most of our men are trying to find him. Your cattle just aren't a priority."

"Your dang-blasted men never came back. It's been two days. The beasts probably got 'em, so they ain't comin' back."

The female warden sighs. "Look, you can lodge an official complaint at headquarters, but we're on break right now, so there's nothing we could do anyway."

Dahn gestures to the nearest server, which happens to be the dwarf.

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"What can I get you, sir?" she asks in a polite, but cool manner. She has long brown hair that falls over her shoulders and is a tight bodice to help accentuate her more womanly assets, no doubt to help bring in more tips.

Meanwhile, Jocelyn and her mentor, Noah, enter the tavern.

"Hush you," he says to Jocelyn with a dismissive wave. "I'm starving. The food on that ship was terrible, and if I wasn't able to purify it myself, I'm certain I'd be dead with disease by now."

He takes a seat across from her, at a table near the door. There had been another tavern, much closer to the docks, called the Barnacle Inn. But just the name itself had scared Noah off, and he insisted on walking all the way across town to reach this one. Unlike him to want to walk at all, but evidently the idea of eating in some dive was far more frightening to the bald pastor than a little exercise.

A handsome young man, not much older than Jocelyn, approaches. He has short dark hair, dark skin and seems rather muscular for someone who waits tables at an inn. "Can I get you two anything?" he asks politely.

[HorizonsDream]

"You're always starving," Jocelyn mutters as she leans back in her chair and crosses her arms over her chest. "The food wasn't that bad. I ate it without a problem," she admitted. "That is just how you eat on a ship. You get use to it," she explained with a shrug before she turned her attention to their server. "Yeah, he'll have everything on your menu. As you can tell, he is simply staving," she said dryly.

[xelphyn]

Dahn, still paying attention to the conversation nods to the dwarf and asks "What's on the menu, on the topic of drinks of course."
As he speaks to her, he idly begins to spin a single gold coin on the table.

[JadedDM]

The server looks puzzled by this request, apparently taking it seriously and unable to decide how to respond. Luckily, Noah saves him by interjecting. "Haha, quite amusing," he says. He looks to the server and says, "A glass of wine, please, and a plate of whatever fish you have available and ready."

"Yes, sir, and you, miss?" the server asks Jocelyn.

==========

"We got red wine, ale, mead, dwarf spirits, and beer," the barmaid lists off to Dahn automatically; she's obviously done this before. "Plus, a variety of juices and milk, if that's your thing."

The argument between the farmer and the wardens tapers off at this point. The farmer grumbles and complains a bit, then stands up and walks away, fuming. He heads over to the most northeasterly table and sits down, tossing his hat onto the table angrily.

The wardens, on the other hand, seem relieved that he's gone, and try to finish their meal.

[xelphyn]

(okay, this may a bit, um...Flashy? But I'll see if I can do it correctly.)
Dahn requests the mead and waits for the dwarf to head off.
His attempts cantrips on the coin he's spinning. I rolled a 13 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3566905/ (It needed a 12 or lower, didn't it?)
*Oh well*, he thinks to himself *I didn't need that gimmick anyway*
He whirls around and sits himself in the seat recently vacated by the farmer and begins a conversation with them.
Hi, there, I couldn't help but overhear that little squabble and was wondering whether I should help you, or the human, but then I realized, that either way, I'd likely be helping both.

[JadedDM]

The two wardens share a look at the gnome suddenly plopping himself down before them. "And...who are you?" asks the female. She has blonde hair that frames her face in the front and is wrapped up in a bun in the back, likely so it doesn't interfere with her helmet when she wears it on-duty. She has a kind face and although looks a bit perturbed at another interruption, she tries not to show it.

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The male dwarf eyes Dahn suspiciously, but says nothing just yet. He has brown hair, and his beard sports a pair of elaborate braids. The way he is staring at Dahn almost makes the gnome feel like he recognizes him, but if that were the case, clearly he'd already be under arrest. Still, the dwarf stares at the gnome as if trying to see into his very soul for judgement.

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===========

(OOC: Actually, if that was an illusionary cantrip, you'd have earned a +1 to it, so it would have worked with 13 or less, just for future reference.)

[Breila]

The inn door opens as if a sudden gust of wind had opened it, and a moderately tall but very slender woman in the unmistakable garb of a storm sorcerer comes in. With a swift turn of her hand, she attempts to close the door again without touching it, but fails (of course I roll a 20 when it's not useful). As if it had never been her plan to close the door, she continues into the room and moves over to the bar.

"Greetings, Gentlemen" she nods to the bartender and the priest, then turns to the bartender. "Do you have fruit juices? And I would like some vegetable lunch, please."

[JadedDM]

The priest simply nods politely to Ouragana, but the bartender frowns severely at the sight of the sorcerer's garb. "Hmph, mages," he mutters as she approaches.

After her request, he says gruffly, "Wait here. And don't burn nothing down." He heads into the back to retrieve her order, since both of his servers are busy at the moment.

===========

(OOC: Is Ouragana supposed to have the Cantrips proficiency? Because it wasn't listed on her character sheet. Otherwise, I have no idea what the roll was for.)

[xelphyn]

"I," Dahn answers, running two fingers across the rim of his hat, "am simply a traveler down on his luck, and desperate for work"
Dahn notices the male dwarf eyeing him and begins to wonder weather he's being aroused or casting detect evil. You can never tell with dwarfs.
"As for my name", he continues,"well, in my experience most are annoyed by the collection of names we gnomes tend to acquire, so in order to simplify things, let's just call me grey."

Dahn leans forward, crossing his arms on the table, and resting his head upon this new chin rest.

"I see an opportunity here, I can take care of these 'beasts for you. This act would accomplish quite a few things, I can catch a spot of gold from the farmer, get him off your back, possibly gain some good standings with the authorities, meaning more jobs you may decide to throw at me, and keep the economy clean... If a farmer looses his cattle, that means more the town has to import, higher taxes, and less pay for the guards."

[HorizonsDream]

"I guess I'll have the same thing he is having," Jocelyn says. She turns her attention to the newcomer with a raised eyebrow. "Flashy people like to come in here."

[JadedDM]

The barmaid returns with a pint of mead and sets it before Dahn just as he finishes talking. "That'll be five copper," she says, placing a hand on her hip. She then adds as an afterthought, "...sir."

The male warden growls. "You saying you can do our job better than us, runt?" he says, menacingly.

"Easy, now," the female says, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We are spread a bit thin right now." She looks over to Dahn. "The wardens are not in the business of hiring mercenaries, Mister Grey. But...perhaps we could deputize a few people temporarily." She looks to her counterpart for his reaction. He merely snorts, but says nothing. Taking that as a sign to continue, the woman then returns her gaze to Dahn. "Are you interested in working for the wardens?"

Meanwhile, the dark-skinned man smiles at Jocelyn and promises to return shortly. He heads into the kitchen to get her and Noah's orders.

Noah glances over at the woman who just entered at Jocelyn's remark. "Looks like a Storm Sorcerer from that garb," he notes quietly to his ward. "A very young one; probably just graduated."

[xelphyn]

"Ah, thank you." Dahn pays the barmaid and returns to his conversation with the dwarves.
"Look," he says to the male warden,"I'm not saying I can do your job better, I'm saying I can do the jobs you don't want to do, the jobs you're too busy to do."
Dahn turns his attention to his partner"Deputization, eh? It's an interesting concept. Never been a deputy before, what the heck, why not?"