by Cmdr I. Heartly Noah » Sat Jun 06, 2009 1:38 pm
[quote="Cmdr I. Heartly Noah"]
Curse me for quoting when I mean to edit.
Vesk stood in the crowded foyer of the administrative building, becoming more irritated. Magistrate Benne was as long-winded as he was fat, and Benne was very fat. So fat that a kidnapping attempt once failed when two huge tavern brutes failed to drag him half a block. Benne liked to hear himself talk, Vesk mused, or perhaps it was a method of breaking away the deception of those who came before him - only the truly serious would sit through his rambling, and by the time you were to speak you were too disoriented and weary to get through anything but a short version of the truth.
All this meant to Vesk right now, however, was that he was waiting an extra hour before getting to go before the Magistrate. A group of gnomish tinkers had gotten their cart into an accident with a dwarf smith. It was the dwarf's fault, but he had been enraged and had intimidated the gnomes from getting any restitution on the spot. Most of the bureaucrats in the city had little patience for gnomes or halflings, and being inventors more than merchants, the gnomes weren't confident in their ability to make their case, particularly in the prescence of the dwarf. So they came to Vesk with a retainer of five copper pieces and so Vesk had arrived early to the Magistrate's office today, only to wait, and wait, and wait...
...Vesk almost didn't see the man until he collided with him, mumbling an apology before spinning off and continuing on his way. Vesk hardly noticed the piece of paper in his hand until the man was almost out of sight. Straightening himself, Vesk pulled open the note and inspected it.
- Taman's dock. Midnight. -
That was it. Vesk looked around to see if anyone was watching him. No one was. He put the note in his tunic pocket and was almost able to finish a thought when the doors opened and Swail, a middle-aged halfling in inexpensive but well-fitting clothes looked up at him. "The Magistrate is ready for you, Mister Vesk."
The dwarf had to pay for to repair the gnomes' cart, and they split the cost of re-thatching the roof that had burned half off when the collision sent the gnome's non-magical fireball thrower spouting off. A fair decision, but not as good as he was hoping for. Still, the gnomes were pleased, more for the respect, he thought, than the expense. After paying him, they really only saved on half the price of the repair.
All afternoon Vesk had wondered about the note, and the man who had given it to him so skillfully. Man - for all he knew it was a heavy elf, or a woman. The person had been smaller than him, or so he thought - he had been hunched over, so at full height he might be as tall - but lighter, certainly. Other than that he had no idea, he'd gotten no look at the stranger until he was nearly out of sight. It had all happened so quickly, he must have been a pickpocket or a stage magician. The idea thrilled Vesk, who had only read about adventures that started this way. Why would they want to meet him, and in secret? He'd never even met Taman, let alone spoken to him. If this were a story, most logically it would be a trap, but he hadn't any enemies- all the people he spoke for in the courts were simple people, the stakes were very low - no decision had involved more than a gold piece or two, and not against anyone who couldn't spare it. Perhaps someone had gotten themselves in trouble, and they needed help but couldn't show themselves in public. It was an exciting prospect.
Changing out of his tunic and cotton leggings into a loose sackcloth shirt and tight leather breeches, he buckled on his longsword and dagger, threw on a simple brown hat, and took a stroll. The last public house before his destination was the Sauced Crab, and Vesk stopped in for a meal and a drink. There went most of the day's payment - the only fare that looked like it wouldn't test his orcish constitution was a surprisingly expensive soup, and two beers, though fairly large and of agreeable quality, didn't help his purse. On the bright side, if he was to be robbed tonight, the robbers would come away with a sorry pittance.
As midnight approached, Vesk left the tavern and strolled along the docks, nodding at a guard carrying a lantern on a pole. The moon was near full, and the various lights blinking out gave a dim glow to match the salty sea air - not that it mattered, were it new moon in the forest, Vesk could see his way, or so he supposed - he couldn't remember ever being in the forest. Before long, he came upon Taman's storefront, where he and his four sons would repair boat hulls and his three daughters would stitch sails. Looking toward the dock, he saw no one, nor anyone near the building. Guessing himself early or his contact late, he shrugged and walked on a bit, intending to go a ways before returning.
I am a: Chaotic Neutral Human Bard/Sorcerer (2nd/1st Level)
Str- 12, Dex- 15, Con- 12, Int- 14, Wis- 11, Cha- 13
plus i've got to work out stealth and perception. cos i've put ranks into all 4 skills that it covers do I gain any back? or should I just use all the ranks as they stand?
only problem is you have to work out money and thus what equipment you get manually and it doesn't have the combined skills.
