Outside of
the tavern ¶, The Fruity Teeth, home to our adventuring band,
Bim/Nisa/Cerol meet
Niri, a grizzly bear woman swordsman:This isn't what we think this means, but we'll go with it. Why not? Also note the white sea serpent skull above the doorway near the
sign ¶. Bim worships no gods, but he does serve at the altar of flavor.
She assures them of something...
She joins the group and they share a drink in the streets of Twinklelather. Is this
Catten II?Niri moves at a slow and plodding pace. This is, not so good, and when they have a go at an ettin, it seems Niri chooses the better part of valor or just can't move the three tiles to join Nisa and Cerol. Niri seems discerning, until there's a spat between her and Cerol after a night under the stars. They don't quite come to blows, but there's friction.
Cerol seems to carry a grudge against all bears because of his hand. He doesn't quite have the constitution or the will to be an Ahab. Ahab, if anything, thrived under pressure; Cerol seems to wilt. But then, Ahab was >>>singleminded>>> beyond any measure (ah, the singularity of complete devotion), and he hated all whales and quite possibly everything in the sea. Cerol, on the other hand, definitely likes killing small crabs and other harmless wildlife. Nisa and Bim aren't sure what to make of this.
Just to flesh out our core three ad hoc siblings:
-Bim is greatly satisfied because of argument.
-Nisa becomes glum (even though she starts most of these).
-Cerol becomes very bitter. Which is understandable as he avoids all discussion.
At any rate, after the ettin they continue south from the town of Twinklelather to a hillock called
Drinkglaze. It's here that they meet
a dwarven bard named Thob and
a human bard named Tunik in a drinking mound packed with performers. Here Bim spins the tale of
175 arrows and Sunwaxes.Like others in his ranger/forester/longbowmen subculture, Bim values toughness and grace under pressure, so he invites Thob to join up as an entertainer. She also possesses the third required instrument that would enable Bim and Nisa to properly play certain types of music. Bim gives her his wild boar padded jack, a large steel dagger, a bronze buckler, and his iron cap. Thob won't do any fighting, but every entertainer needs the right props to play the role. Tunik, though, is recruited for adventure:
They'll head north to a human hamlet to grab Tunik a shield, helmet and armor and to find a crutch for some poor dwarf bard who lost a foot in world gen. After that, they'll resume the journey south.