Day 1 – Morning
Aetharbor
Asithi passed 30 coins to each of the two vendors in exchange for a blackjack and a dagger. The dagger was a plain thing, merely a short and thin blade attached to an inornate handle. Despite its ordinary make the dagger was comfortable in the serpen’s hand, fitting her quite naturally. This weapon was then slipped inside of her cloth pants. It wasn’t exactly ideally concealed; part of the handle stuck out above her pants and into her shirt. But from any reasonable distance the dagger would be nearly invisible, hidden by the natural ripples in the cloth. The blackjack was similarly unadorned; it could never be called anything other than ordinary. Despite this it had a simple beauty, born of the way the leather wove in and out of itself, creating a pattern which was both aesthetically appealing and functional. The weighted end was heavy in Asithi’s palm; her other hand wrapped easily around the base. This weapon was hung onto her belt at her waist. She would have like for it to be slightly more subtle, but her meagre clothing offered no places to obscure such a weapon.
Comfortably armed, and with a light enough purse that theft would be of little consequence, Asithi wandered towards the worse parts of town and started asking around for employment in debt collection. She was talking to a burly man in front of an inn called The Hairy Bear, likely named after the brute at the door, when a nearby beggar lept up and pulled her away, into a space between two houses where they could speak in private. The beggar’s tattered robes, which looked to be of some religious significance, did little to hide sores which spotted her body. Her breath reeked of alcohol as she introduced herself as Critavah. She intimated knowledge of some form of criminal group named The Grey Fog, which was apparently recruiting. She looked expectantly at Asithi, as though the name should be familiar, clearly unaware that Asithi was new in town.
Seawall
With an abundance of seawater available all that was necessary to put the fire out was to move it a couple of feet up, a task which was easily accomplished. Buckets were handed out to all volunteers and they crouched on the side of the dock, filling buckets and tossing the water on to the flames. Meyath Deepfen joined their midst, doing her part to push the fire back. A small war played out; the fire one army and the volunteers the other. Buckets of water were a superior weapon when compared to heat and ash, and the day was won when the last flames at the end of the dock were doused in water. Or rather the morning was won. What felt like an epic struggle had in reality taken less than an hour, though Meyath’s muscles complained that it must have been more. Much to her surprise herbal teas were brought forward by some women for those who had braved the flames, reportedly to help sooth their throats and repair what damage might have been done by the heat and flames swallowed while working. Meyath felt fine but drank anyway; it was free tea after all. There wasn’t much conversation; despite the victory it wasn’t cause for celebration. Everyone simply sat in silent comradery, enjoying their tea and the remainder of the sunrise. Meyath suspected she would remember these faces.
Will wandered away from the fire, trusting that others would take care of it, and made his way to into town. He inquired of a bystander if the militia was recruiting, and was informed with a sarcastic laugh that ‘the militia was never
not recruiting’, and as far as Will could see that sounded promising for him. He asked where the building was, and was able to find it without trouble. It had a low lying stone fence around its perimeter, and appeared to contain a barracks, a forge, and a training yard, along with a couple of buildings whose purpose was not immediately apparent to Will. He was directed to one such building by a rather attractive female recruit who appeared to be doing her best to leave a fellow trainee black and blue.
Even though he knew which building to enter Will took a moment to watch these two spar. Their wooden swords flew through the air, rhythmically slamming together in loud cracks that split the morning air. Every so often this rhythm was punctuated by a moment of quiet when one sword slipped past the other and struck flesh. They were just barely holding back on the strikes; bruises were forming even as they fought on. Eventually Will knew he had to get back on track, having spent far too much time this morning gawking. When he entered the small building apparently responsible for bookkeeping, including of human lives, he was promptly signed up, almost without him opening his mouth. An older man showed him his bunk in the barracks, complete with a small lockbox for personal items. He was told to keep the area spotless; if he died they didn’t want a new recruit’s first job to be to clean their own bunk. It made Will think briefly on how recently the bed might have been occupied by another raw recruit. When the older man asked whether he was new in town or not Will told him that he had just come in this morning. He was then informed that policy was to have the first day free, and Will was encouraged to enjoy town while he had the time to do so, and perhaps get a feel for the layout of the town. He needn’t worry about equipment, he would be outfitted, but anything like journals or books, or other civilian items, he would need to purchase for himself. He would, of course, have a small stipend while in the militia, but the dates of pay would be discussed later. Will was to report to the front yard first thing in the morning tomorrow for an orientation of the grounds, and further explanation of his duties.
Iseaya
The pair looked somewhere between fierce and comical as they walked down the street. Varkhal understood conceptually how to use a spear, but the thing was damn awkward to carry. It’d be rather natural strapped across his back, attached to some pack, but he had to resort to carrying in his hand. Sofia didn’t find carrying the sword awkward, but she looked no less humorous. She spent the entire walk swiping at invisible creatures. She was careful to avoid hitting any people, but with the street mostly empty early in the morning she had plenty of space of flail around with a weapon which more than tripled her reach. But what looked merely like play was actually productive. Her muscles burned, promising her they would grow, and her sense of balance gradually improved; as the trip progressed she gradually lost the feeling that the sword would take her with it. She would need dedicated training time to learn to make the weapon a more natural extension of her body, and perhaps an experienced tutor, or at least an instructive book, but for now she had convinced herself that such a long sword for a small body was not as unwieldy as it might first appear.
Of course, no matter how good random swinging was for balance and muscle tone, it did little to help find a bookshop. In fact Sofia noticed a bookshop sign down a street which they did not travel, but had forgotten their purpose and so failed to mention this, and its location slipped her mind shortly thereafter. Varkhal was attentive, but simply couldn’t find a sign. He did take a path that caused them to end their search at the healer’s hut, however, so they could inquire after work even if they couldn’t acquire precious books.
Spirarbor
Cara bounded out of her parent’s house, entirely unable to contain her excitement at the prospect of an adventure. She made her way down to the lighthouse and the dock, where there was a sizable congregation of people. Stalls were set up surrounding a small clearing, vendors hoping to catch scholars and tourists alike as they came to examine the lighthouse. Some of these sold trinkets which, while beautiful, did little to catch Cara’s attention, such as miniatures of the lighthouse, or small sea animal skeletons. These were bought exclusively by the tourists. But aside from this there were a variety of books on magical subjects, some vendors specializing in the lighthouse, others just trying to sell wares to the crowd of people interested in magic in general. Amongst all of this there were clusters of scholars discussing the lighthouse, traders discussing ports they’d visited, and other discussions amongst intellectuals who chose this as a place to meet. The early morning market on Spirarbor was always a fount of knowledge, set on the backdrop of an active port and a mystical lighthouse.
Maps
Purchase braided leather blackjack and dagger, then seek employment in debt collection.
Luck: 11 vs 10
Meyath Wastes no time and rushes to the aid of the stricken village, joining a bucket brigade if there is one, otherwise attempting to get water onto the flames in other ways
STR: 17-2 vs 7
Will heads into town, and looks to see if the militia is recruiting. If so, he signs himself up. Otherwise, he tries to find out what happened to the town.
Luck: 15 vs 5
In case Sofia either agrees to the idea and goes by herself to the hut or decides to follow Varkhal, search for a second-hand bookstore. In case she refuses the idea and drags Varkhal somewhere, just play along but keep an eye open for any bookstores on the way.
Luck: 6 vs 7
Just go ahead and follow Varkhal.
Luck: 2 vs 7
To the ports! Let's visit that ol' Lighthouse first, shall we?
Luck: 14 vs 5
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Topic: [IC Thread] Kurchil's Children - Day 1 - Introduction (Read 17690 times)