Re: The Everlasting Symphony: IC.
Posted: Wed Jun 11, 2014 5:28 am
Keetara nodded at his companion. <Guten abend.> He rolled his eyes at Erik's fancy tricks, then responded lazily. <Ich schlaffe nicht gut gehabt, traurig. Die Betten sind hart und gepolstert mit Bug-Kadaver.> Keetara sighed. <Ich nehme an, das ist, was wir bezahlt haben.>
Keetara continued to cast his gaze across the room. People were gathering around a young Avean, fascinated by her bow. Keetara knew a bit better than that -homemade bows are special to their maker, that he understood- but she'd get a great deal more power out of it if it were a recurve like Keetara's. Oh well, to each their own.
He was stirred from his thoughts by the familiar bass rumble of Kristoph. "Howdy you two." Keetara looked up at the young man. "Mind if I join you?"
"Guten abend, Kristoph," Keetara said warmly. "Please, sit. I have something I wish to discuss with the both of you."
Kristoph offered a slight nod, Though before he would come to sit, he curiously turned his head back towards the so called patrons, noticing that a few others seemed to be making their way out of the wood works, a group of them particularly finding their way towards the Bow wielding lady he had spied only moments earlier. Though his face held its firm unemotional visage, internally he could feel himself scowling if only a slight bit, only to moments later mentally tuck such feelings aside. Something about masked hood wearing shady folks always seemed to leave a bad taste in the mouth, but of course a wise man would try his best to hold back such feelings on unease. There was no point in being biased; After all, such things did little but cloud the mind.
"I see." He mumbled out in a low tone, his vision shifting back towards his two seated companions. It wasn't like these two Basili weren't shady either. Kristoph just happened to actually know them. With a simple shuffling he moved around Keetara, finding himself on the other side of the man where upon he pulled back a chair, sat the sizeable mug of ice down on the wooden table with an audible thump, and promptly sat down. Once seated he moved his legs about and gripped the chair, scooting himself forward and against the tables edge.
"So, Sounds like you've been up to some thinking, Keetara." He finally spoke as he found himself settled, his eyes darting over to Erik before coming back to Keetara.
Erik shuddered. <Insekten? Ekelhaften Kreaturen...> He hated bugs more than pretty much anything else. They were just so... small, and slippery, and shiny. He shuddered again at the thought, but before he could contemplate further, Kristoph joined them. He nodded greetings to the human. <Nun, was is-> He paused, then switched to common for Kristoph. "Sorry. What are you... have to speak, Keetara?"
Keetara motioned to another table. "Look over there, where they are playing card games. Do you see the colorful avean?" As his companions looked, he continued. "His luck is incredible. He has increased his wealth three-fold in the short time he has been sitting there -practically drained the pockets of the men he has been playing with- and yet neither of them are angry."
Placing an elbow on the edge of the table, Kristoph rested his cheek upon it. His Eyes shifted off to the side, finding them locked onto the card player for a scant few moments. It was true enough that such a thing was impressive, but he himself wasn't exactly the most interested in such things. His eyes shifted back to Keetara. He could understand though, why it seemed his shady friend here would be interested in such a person. He smiled.
"It sounds like You've got yourself a crush."
Erik snickered into a scaled palm. This human language was still a work in progress for him, but he understood enough to get Kristoph's joke. "Ah yes, I was forgetting you were liking the feathered ones, eh?" He nudged Keetara with his elbow, grinning, but fell back into a more serious composure almost right away. "Is, how-ever, very odd indeed. Would you like to be asking... Crush about trick? Maybe is thief, maybe magic like you." He paused. "Maybe not magic like you; Both men still alive."
"My bundle it was stole, In a neat locality;" Jack sang, the same broad smile still breaking loose every few seconds as she slid between crowded tables, placing thick mugs at their fingers. Despite her strenuous activities she danced without strain, well-kept brown hair tossing about her head. "Danced some hearty jigs, The water round me bubblin'," She waved acknowledgements at the cacophony of orders, spinning about with sloshing cups gripped in both hands, not a drop escaping.
"Called myself a fool; I could no longer stand it," Her pace slowed for a moment, then resumed with greater vigor as she handed off a jug to the large fur trader, thumping away to the table occupied by the two Basilis, the newly arrived human, Was that a tankard of ice? and the fascinating spider which surely belonged to the first Basili. Her wild jig ended as she neared their table.
"A mead, and a mead." Jack said, lowering her voice to avoid startling the sleeping creature on their table. Fresh flagons were set before the two Basili, the last of her rounds. Goff trundled away, resuming his much lightened duties as Jack looked over the group; her curious assessment blatant and finding a more subtle match. The older Basili, for surely he was older with his multitude of scars and voice-the orange feathered lizard had a rougher tone at the moment, but Jack knew it as the fuzziness of awakening-had been watching the room. Not unusual for mercenaries, but it was wise to stay alerted to the likewise most wary, and thus dangerous.
The former temporary bar wench leaned towards the dozing spider and glanced up at its presumed Basili owner, her hands clasped in fervent entreaty. "Does your pet mind a bit of rubbing from me?" Jack asked, wide brown eyes and just a hint of quivering lip shouting her burning interest in the massive arachnid. The very potent danger of having her face attacked by the same creature failed to dampen her ardor; giant spiders were giant spiders and deserved her full attention.
Keetara opened his mouth to respond in confusion to Kristoph's joke, but was cut off by the dancing barmaid. "A mead, and a mead," she whispered.
She's too good, Keetara thought. Her movements are erratic, but she doesn't spill the drinks. Either she's using illusion magic (unlikely) or she's trained in balance. The full stien placed before him confirmed his suspicions. "Thank you," Keetara smiled to the lass. < Schauen Sie sich Ihre Geldbörsen, Freunde> he muttered to his companions, hoping Kristoph would understand.
Erik nodded once, then calmly turned his head a fraction of the way towards Kristoph, shooting him a - hopefully meaningful - sidelong glance. He pulled out a coin to fiddle with while he watched the discourse between Jack and Keetara.
"Does your pet mind a bit of rubbing from me?" asked the barmaid.
"That would be entirely up to him, my dear," Keetara replied, continuing his air of warmth.
“Yes!” Jack tamped an exuberant cheer down to a quiet hiss. She moved her hands towards her goal, but drew them back after an inch of movement to begin patting down her clothing. The note was briefly produced and read, hidden in her hands, then tucked away after the swiftest of glances. “A moment, I have, I have, yes, here.” A finger length of dried meat was produced from a small pouch on her belt.
Jack clicked her tongue at the chittering spider, holding out the thin strip between thumb and index finger for it to grasp a hands-breadth away from where it sat. “No salt, no spice, no poison.” She assured them, shutting out the noises of the tavern in favor of the curiosity before her. “Nip my finger if you like, but you’ll see no more meat from me.”
Goral twitched awake at the sound of a clicking tongue and looked at the offered meat. He grabbed it roughly from Jack's hand and immediately began to cocoon it. Once wholly encased, he dug his mandibles in, hoping to suck out all the juices of his prey... And then punted the cocoon away, thoroughly disappointed.
"Ha, looks like he didn't like it too much, lass," Keetara chuckled. "He seems to prefer live prey, from what I've seen. You can pet him; you're probably a bit big for his tastes anyway."
Not put out in the slightest by Goral's rejection of her offering, Jack needed no further prompting: with the air of reaching for a priceless artifact, her hands slowly approached Goral, muttering soothing nonsense.
Goral made an odd cooing noise, and shivered at the woman's soft touch. After a moment, he was sound asleep again.
"I suppose he forgives you of your poor gift," Keetara smiled. "Thanks for giving him some attention."
"I'll remember to bring him something juicier next time." Jack beamed, slipping away from their table after waving a jaunty farewell to the Basili's companions, a hand sliding across the table occupied by a lone white-haired man at the window on her way. Rather than return to the bards, she began dancing about once more throughout the inn.
Keetara looked back at his companions. "The young man's luck certainly is unnatural," Keetara agreed. "If we are to land a contract that will allow us to afford better beds, we will need that luck." Keetara leaned back in his chair, fingering his stien lightly. He gave it a hard stare, then spoke. "You should invite him over here for a drink, Kristoph."
Letting out what amounted to a deep sigh, Kristoph begrudgingly moved his hand from his face, pressing it against the coarse edge of the table in front of him. With a simple push, and twisting of the legs he squeezed himself out from behind the table and onto his feet and behind Keetara. Taking a bit of time to dust himself off and ensure his cloak was properly secured to conceal his body; All the while, he took a few moments to glance around the room once again. Strangely enough it seemed as if people were popping out of nowhere, newer people he hadn't noticed before.
'Maybe I should Get my vision checked.' he muttered to himself, giving his head a slight shake. His vision though, settled on the Avean at the far corner. A small fellow. Instinctively, he looked at the back of Keetara's head. As if to mentally ask a question. Not like there was any answer to be found, at least he would hope that there would be no answer back. Finally though, his eyes settled on the colourful Avean card player.
'I don't know why but I get the feeling he might not be a drinker.'
With almost cautious steps he made his way through from one side of the Inn to the other, carefully stepping around people all the while keeping his eyes on the one he was heading towards, simple side steps, soft touches to the back as he manuevered around people. Overall, the place was a bit packed, but that was to be expected. After what seemed like an eternity, or rather a whole eight seconds, Kristoph found himself where he wanted to be. With a slowing pace he found himself walking up behind the group, boots clattering out with soft thuds on the floor beneath them, He placed a hand on the shoulders of each of the two men this young bird seemed to be taking for a ride.
"Well Now." He spoke, leaning in, his head sitting between those of the two men. "If I didn't know any better..." he paused looking between the two men with what could only be described as an almost mocking face."...I'd day the two of you have gotten the coins beaten out of you like the taxes get beaten out of the kings farmers." He chuckled a slight bit. "And I'd reckon he's better at it too." He spoke, a strangely encouraging smile brewing on his face as he look down the center and towards the Avean in question. "I'm Afraid I haven't caught your name."
Keetara continued to cast his gaze across the room. People were gathering around a young Avean, fascinated by her bow. Keetara knew a bit better than that -homemade bows are special to their maker, that he understood- but she'd get a great deal more power out of it if it were a recurve like Keetara's. Oh well, to each their own.
He was stirred from his thoughts by the familiar bass rumble of Kristoph. "Howdy you two." Keetara looked up at the young man. "Mind if I join you?"
"Guten abend, Kristoph," Keetara said warmly. "Please, sit. I have something I wish to discuss with the both of you."
Kristoph offered a slight nod, Though before he would come to sit, he curiously turned his head back towards the so called patrons, noticing that a few others seemed to be making their way out of the wood works, a group of them particularly finding their way towards the Bow wielding lady he had spied only moments earlier. Though his face held its firm unemotional visage, internally he could feel himself scowling if only a slight bit, only to moments later mentally tuck such feelings aside. Something about masked hood wearing shady folks always seemed to leave a bad taste in the mouth, but of course a wise man would try his best to hold back such feelings on unease. There was no point in being biased; After all, such things did little but cloud the mind.
"I see." He mumbled out in a low tone, his vision shifting back towards his two seated companions. It wasn't like these two Basili weren't shady either. Kristoph just happened to actually know them. With a simple shuffling he moved around Keetara, finding himself on the other side of the man where upon he pulled back a chair, sat the sizeable mug of ice down on the wooden table with an audible thump, and promptly sat down. Once seated he moved his legs about and gripped the chair, scooting himself forward and against the tables edge.
"So, Sounds like you've been up to some thinking, Keetara." He finally spoke as he found himself settled, his eyes darting over to Erik before coming back to Keetara.
Erik shuddered. <Insekten? Ekelhaften Kreaturen...> He hated bugs more than pretty much anything else. They were just so... small, and slippery, and shiny. He shuddered again at the thought, but before he could contemplate further, Kristoph joined them. He nodded greetings to the human. <Nun, was is-> He paused, then switched to common for Kristoph. "Sorry. What are you... have to speak, Keetara?"
Keetara motioned to another table. "Look over there, where they are playing card games. Do you see the colorful avean?" As his companions looked, he continued. "His luck is incredible. He has increased his wealth three-fold in the short time he has been sitting there -practically drained the pockets of the men he has been playing with- and yet neither of them are angry."
Placing an elbow on the edge of the table, Kristoph rested his cheek upon it. His Eyes shifted off to the side, finding them locked onto the card player for a scant few moments. It was true enough that such a thing was impressive, but he himself wasn't exactly the most interested in such things. His eyes shifted back to Keetara. He could understand though, why it seemed his shady friend here would be interested in such a person. He smiled.
"It sounds like You've got yourself a crush."
Erik snickered into a scaled palm. This human language was still a work in progress for him, but he understood enough to get Kristoph's joke. "Ah yes, I was forgetting you were liking the feathered ones, eh?" He nudged Keetara with his elbow, grinning, but fell back into a more serious composure almost right away. "Is, how-ever, very odd indeed. Would you like to be asking... Crush about trick? Maybe is thief, maybe magic like you." He paused. "Maybe not magic like you; Both men still alive."
"My bundle it was stole, In a neat locality;" Jack sang, the same broad smile still breaking loose every few seconds as she slid between crowded tables, placing thick mugs at their fingers. Despite her strenuous activities she danced without strain, well-kept brown hair tossing about her head. "Danced some hearty jigs, The water round me bubblin'," She waved acknowledgements at the cacophony of orders, spinning about with sloshing cups gripped in both hands, not a drop escaping.
"Called myself a fool; I could no longer stand it," Her pace slowed for a moment, then resumed with greater vigor as she handed off a jug to the large fur trader, thumping away to the table occupied by the two Basilis, the newly arrived human, Was that a tankard of ice? and the fascinating spider which surely belonged to the first Basili. Her wild jig ended as she neared their table.
"A mead, and a mead." Jack said, lowering her voice to avoid startling the sleeping creature on their table. Fresh flagons were set before the two Basili, the last of her rounds. Goff trundled away, resuming his much lightened duties as Jack looked over the group; her curious assessment blatant and finding a more subtle match. The older Basili, for surely he was older with his multitude of scars and voice-the orange feathered lizard had a rougher tone at the moment, but Jack knew it as the fuzziness of awakening-had been watching the room. Not unusual for mercenaries, but it was wise to stay alerted to the likewise most wary, and thus dangerous.
The former temporary bar wench leaned towards the dozing spider and glanced up at its presumed Basili owner, her hands clasped in fervent entreaty. "Does your pet mind a bit of rubbing from me?" Jack asked, wide brown eyes and just a hint of quivering lip shouting her burning interest in the massive arachnid. The very potent danger of having her face attacked by the same creature failed to dampen her ardor; giant spiders were giant spiders and deserved her full attention.
Keetara opened his mouth to respond in confusion to Kristoph's joke, but was cut off by the dancing barmaid. "A mead, and a mead," she whispered.
She's too good, Keetara thought. Her movements are erratic, but she doesn't spill the drinks. Either she's using illusion magic (unlikely) or she's trained in balance. The full stien placed before him confirmed his suspicions. "Thank you," Keetara smiled to the lass. < Schauen Sie sich Ihre Geldbörsen, Freunde> he muttered to his companions, hoping Kristoph would understand.
Erik nodded once, then calmly turned his head a fraction of the way towards Kristoph, shooting him a - hopefully meaningful - sidelong glance. He pulled out a coin to fiddle with while he watched the discourse between Jack and Keetara.
"Does your pet mind a bit of rubbing from me?" asked the barmaid.
"That would be entirely up to him, my dear," Keetara replied, continuing his air of warmth.
“Yes!” Jack tamped an exuberant cheer down to a quiet hiss. She moved her hands towards her goal, but drew them back after an inch of movement to begin patting down her clothing. The note was briefly produced and read, hidden in her hands, then tucked away after the swiftest of glances. “A moment, I have, I have, yes, here.” A finger length of dried meat was produced from a small pouch on her belt.
Jack clicked her tongue at the chittering spider, holding out the thin strip between thumb and index finger for it to grasp a hands-breadth away from where it sat. “No salt, no spice, no poison.” She assured them, shutting out the noises of the tavern in favor of the curiosity before her. “Nip my finger if you like, but you’ll see no more meat from me.”
Goral twitched awake at the sound of a clicking tongue and looked at the offered meat. He grabbed it roughly from Jack's hand and immediately began to cocoon it. Once wholly encased, he dug his mandibles in, hoping to suck out all the juices of his prey... And then punted the cocoon away, thoroughly disappointed.
"Ha, looks like he didn't like it too much, lass," Keetara chuckled. "He seems to prefer live prey, from what I've seen. You can pet him; you're probably a bit big for his tastes anyway."
Not put out in the slightest by Goral's rejection of her offering, Jack needed no further prompting: with the air of reaching for a priceless artifact, her hands slowly approached Goral, muttering soothing nonsense.
Goral made an odd cooing noise, and shivered at the woman's soft touch. After a moment, he was sound asleep again.
"I suppose he forgives you of your poor gift," Keetara smiled. "Thanks for giving him some attention."
"I'll remember to bring him something juicier next time." Jack beamed, slipping away from their table after waving a jaunty farewell to the Basili's companions, a hand sliding across the table occupied by a lone white-haired man at the window on her way. Rather than return to the bards, she began dancing about once more throughout the inn.
Keetara looked back at his companions. "The young man's luck certainly is unnatural," Keetara agreed. "If we are to land a contract that will allow us to afford better beds, we will need that luck." Keetara leaned back in his chair, fingering his stien lightly. He gave it a hard stare, then spoke. "You should invite him over here for a drink, Kristoph."
Letting out what amounted to a deep sigh, Kristoph begrudgingly moved his hand from his face, pressing it against the coarse edge of the table in front of him. With a simple push, and twisting of the legs he squeezed himself out from behind the table and onto his feet and behind Keetara. Taking a bit of time to dust himself off and ensure his cloak was properly secured to conceal his body; All the while, he took a few moments to glance around the room once again. Strangely enough it seemed as if people were popping out of nowhere, newer people he hadn't noticed before.
'Maybe I should Get my vision checked.' he muttered to himself, giving his head a slight shake. His vision though, settled on the Avean at the far corner. A small fellow. Instinctively, he looked at the back of Keetara's head. As if to mentally ask a question. Not like there was any answer to be found, at least he would hope that there would be no answer back. Finally though, his eyes settled on the colourful Avean card player.
'I don't know why but I get the feeling he might not be a drinker.'
With almost cautious steps he made his way through from one side of the Inn to the other, carefully stepping around people all the while keeping his eyes on the one he was heading towards, simple side steps, soft touches to the back as he manuevered around people. Overall, the place was a bit packed, but that was to be expected. After what seemed like an eternity, or rather a whole eight seconds, Kristoph found himself where he wanted to be. With a slowing pace he found himself walking up behind the group, boots clattering out with soft thuds on the floor beneath them, He placed a hand on the shoulders of each of the two men this young bird seemed to be taking for a ride.
"Well Now." He spoke, leaning in, his head sitting between those of the two men. "If I didn't know any better..." he paused looking between the two men with what could only be described as an almost mocking face."...I'd day the two of you have gotten the coins beaten out of you like the taxes get beaten out of the kings farmers." He chuckled a slight bit. "And I'd reckon he's better at it too." He spoke, a strangely encouraging smile brewing on his face as he look down the center and towards the Avean in question. "I'm Afraid I haven't caught your name."