Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[Hortun]

Shout "Oh look: a distraction!" while pointing behind the shopkeeper.  Knock him out when he turns around.

"Hey, whouldja look at that!" you yell, pointing off into the distance. The elf swivels around, searching. You draw your chisel and wind up with all your might when you realize something: this guy is like four times bigger than you. If anything, you'd just piss him off and draw more attention to yourself.

"What? What'd I miss?"

"Oh... it was a, eh... pixie or something. I dunno, it's gone now."

I'm not sure we can get away with stealing that, but a famous adventurer-bard-gnome with a harpsichord is a funny thought.

>Try to barter for the harpsicord with our coppers by making up a depressing sob story about ourselves and how we desperately need an instrument to fulfill our father's dying wish: To play music for the orphans of the world, making their lives slightly better.

Surveying the stall, you reckon that this thievery business might be a little demanding of you at present and begin to consider an alternative.

"Well, you see... me father, he was a simple mason-gnome, a poor immigrant from Detroggard. Ol'... Blarney-legs we called 'im-"

"Why would they call him that?"

"That's not the point. You see, Blarney had been cursed by a vindictive warlock with eternal indigestion and the only way for himself to dispel such an affliction was to play fine music for the little orphan-gnomes."

"Ooh, and you want to trade the harpsichord to save your father? How noble!" The elf is just eating it up.

"No, he's dead, lemme finish," you say as the elf's face drops. "On his deathbed, heaved over in death-cramps he uttered his one last wish to me... he... he wanted me to finish his quest to play beautiful music and entertain all the little gnomes. Please sir, I'll trade you all I've got..."

"Well, I understand you might be a little short on cash, so I'll be lenient with the trade. What have you got for one of these wonderful instruments?" he replies, moved somewhat by your story.

"... six copper"

"You're joking. I can't buy a slice of bread with that. What else have you got to trade?"

Thinking back, even if you offered him the contents of your pack and cleaned everything out of your hovel, it would only barely cover the cost. And that's if he wanted this garbage. Just then, the assistant returns from the merchant ship, panting and wheezing, his age obviously hindering his hauling ability.

"What else ya got?" the assistant sputters, leaning for support on the shakey tent leg.

"Just these instruments and the tent, if the gnome won't buy them. So how about it gnome?"

You contemplate the situation... what shall you do next?

[theevilmonk]

offer him our hovel and the contains therein, not like well be needing it anymore

[Hortun]

offer him our hovel and the contains therein, not like well be needing it anymore

"Well, you see, I have a fine manor in town and truth is I shan't be needing such a place with a quest as prodigious as this one. What if I were to offer you my townhouse?"

The elf pauses, clearly in shock. "You're... offering me real estate in a port town? For three instruments?! Incredible! Thank you kind gnome! I will accept!"

"Oh my go- augh!" The assistant clutches his chest, slumping to the ground, old heart unable to bear the spectacular offer.

"Alvreed! No!" The elf's joy quickly dissolves into terror. "Medic! MEDIC!"

You stare a little at the scene, taken aback, crowd slowly forming around. You begin to feel like his offer might soon not stand, so you take the initiative and make your leave.

"Right, well... I'll just be taking these. The deed is in the house, over by the horse stalls, it's unlocked... toodles!"

Slinging the lute over your back, you place the sitar atop the harpsichord and wheel your prizes away before the elf notices. Slinking away, you notice a velvet coinpurse stringed around the neck of the lute with 10 gold pieces. They're yours now, it would seem.

You settle in front of the inn with your newfound loot, looking back on your successful negotiation with the trader. Your personality has obviously grown from this experience, enough to kill an old elf, even! Dragging around all of these instruments would probably be impractical, though. You could probably trade them in for a bit more gold if you were so inclined.

Now homeless and with your tools of the bardic trade, you are a traveler and vagabond!


<Finley-Tuned Harpsichord>, <Isthel, Mahogany Lute>, <Worn Sitar>, <Red Velvet Coinpurse>, and 10 gold added to your inventroy!
<Damaged Hovel> is no longer a possession.

KILL COUNT: 1

Your charisma has increased!


What shall you do now?

[Armok]

> play a hounting tune on all three instruments at once!

[Phantom]

>Summon MICHAEL JACKSON.

[Hortun]

> play a hounting tune on all three instruments at once!

In celebration of your achievement, you begin to strum a tune on your lute with one hand, pluck the sitar with the other, and play the harpsichord with your feet.

It sounds almost as terrible as you feel for having attempted it.

It's probably 5 PM by now, the sun beginning to sink its way to the western horizon. You've got more loot than you can comfortably carry, a ration of gold and food, and unfettered ambition.

What shall you do?

[Phantom]

>Head to the KINGs residence.

[RAM]

>Have sock.
>Have hat.
>give hat and sitar to sock.
>Worship sock as god.
>Learn to play harpsichord with instruction from god.

[Hortun]

Random nonsensical thoughts run through your head more now than ever. You fear you are becoming mentally handicapped.

What shall you do now?

[Phantom]

>Be the other guy

>Go to nearest Male noble and do a song about their wife

[Nirur Torir]

Play a tune on each non-lute instrument, to see which one we like the least. Sell the disliked one, then decide if we can comfortably carry the remaining two instruments.

[Hortun]

Play a tune on each non-lute instrument, to see which one we like the least. Sell the disliked one, then decide if we can comfortably carry the remaining two instruments.

Deciding that it would be best to determine your aptitude with each instrument before selling them, you pick up the sitar and pluck out the best you can of a tune. It's a large instrument on a man, let alone a gnome and you have trouble reaching up the neck. You string out an awkward tune, not favoring it.

The harpsichord is a bulky machine, like a shrunken piano. Although it's easy to play and makes a lovely sound, it's size and weight would require you to drag it along the ground wherever you went unless you had a wagon or somesuch.

What do you do now?

[mainiac]

>Find a berth on a ship as the in voyage entertainment.
>On board catch the eye of a fetching young lad/lass of highborn blood.
>Woo him/her with romantic tales set to simple, sentimental tunes.
>Elope.

[Phantom]

>Walk through the land as the Wayward Vagabard.

Spoiler: >Act like this guy (click to show/hide)

[mainiac]

If we were to walk it would make sense to get a wagon and keep all the instruments.  And once we have a wagon and three instruments, it would make sense to start a circus.