Re: Chapter 1: Shadows of Herrod - Part 3
Imbellem leaned forward and and shook his hair like a wet dog drying his fur; the last of the dust and small stones trickled onto the ground. Likewise, Jacqueline padded a few spots on her shoulders clean. “Well, that wasn’t the most graceful thing we’ve done,” Jacqueline said dryly. Imbellem chuckled and replied, “It wasn’t the least graceful thing I’ve done either. Once, I was at the court of Proxai, see? And there they served wine in fancy, glass goblets that were like, 100 years old. I think 27 were destroyed in the accident which-” “Ahem,” Herr Johannes interrupted. “That sounds like quite a story but let’s save it for another time.” Imbellem gave a brief facial expression of embarrassment at his rambling, “Right.” As Johannes concluded a few more words with Adwonus, Dwalin gently nudged Imbellem in the side and whispered, “Seriously, tell me that tale tonight. I’ve seen the sultan of Proxai, and I’d love to hear about the expression on that smug little face of his.” Imbellem grinned, "It's a good one, but in short, I can't go to Proxai anymore."
“If you would give us a moment, Adwonus?” Johannes finally said. Adwonus merely shrugged and meandered to the wall where he leaned up against it and folded his arms. “Thanks,” Johannes replied, regardless of the lack of verbal response. Johannes motioned to the party with his hands to follow him. His companions followed him a few steps away, and they stood together in a circle, speaking in low tones. After only a couple minutes of conversing, they broke their huddle and returned to Adwonus, who gazed uncaringly at southern sky. At their return, he ceased leaning on the wall and squarely faced them. “Well?” he demanded with slight impatience. “We’ve decided, I believe,” Johannes replied, glancing around at the others to see if there was any sign of contestation. When no one spoke up, he continued, “We’ve decided we can’t trust what you’ve told us just yet, not enough to base our actions off of. We’re leaving to continue pursuing our mission. If you find some hard evidence, well, we’ll see.” Johannes pushed the strap of his backpack further up his shoulder, trying not to disturb the parrot sitting on his other, and nodded to his companions. “We’re leaving. Goodluck Adwonus.” Adwonus leaned back on the wall and simply shook his head in disapproval. Seeing he wasn’t going to say anything else, Johannes turned and started walking down the street; recognizing their time here was at an end, the other party members followed. Adwonus didn’t even watch them as they got further down the road. When they turned a corner a short ways down, Adwonus was cut from view, and the party was split.
[Private to not Adwonus Swillman: Jacqueline was the first to speak, “Do you think it’s safe just leaving him like that? You know it won’t be the last time we see him again.” “I don’t know,” Johannes replied. The small street they were on merged into one of the main roads that led straight westbound to the Twin Bridges. Looking behind them toward the east, they could see the gatehouse again a few minutes of travel away, now under rebel control. From here they could see a new, large teal banner hanging above the portcullis, but the symbol on it was indiscernible from this distance. Townsfolk were finally returning to the streets and a small train of horse-drawn wagons passed them by toward the gatehouse. Johannes wondered if the rebels would let them pass, or perhaps they meant to cut off the castle and noble district from supplies. Though, they didn’t really have time for a siege. That portion of the city would have more than enough supplies to last a month, let alone a day, and it was only tomorrow when the full uprising was supposed to take place. . . or Kelden’s capture if the party didn’t warn him first.
Johannes reached into his backpack and pulled out the map. “We’re getting close to the ‘P’ marking,” he said. The road took them past the arena, a large colosseum made of stone, built right on the coast of the bay. It was clearly empty now. The city was too at war with itself for games of war. As they passed the arena, they were finally close enough to the bay that they could see water through the gaps between buildings. The surface of the Bay of Andor rippled beneath the wind, constant waves that marred the water all the way to Lower Herrod on the other side. Johannes suddenly put up a hand, his eyes fixed on the map held in his other; he pointed to the north side of the road, opposite the bay.
There were two buildings, one was a general merchant shop and the other looked like a warehouse for shipped goods. They were tall, and between them ran a shadowed but wide alley. In a soft voice, Johannes said, “We’ve been here before.” The statement caught the others by surprise. He took a few steps and peered down the alley. Not far down he saw a sign and beneath it a stairs that led downward alongside the passage; from here he could barely see the door at the base, leading beneath the warehouse. The sign only had the picture of a smiling dolphin carved on it. “Do you remember?” asked Johannes of the others. “We saw this when we first left Castle Herrod, way back.” “Yea,” muttered Dwalin in agreement. Imbellem blankly glanced between them before asking, “What is it?” Johannes turned to face him, his tone low. “It’s a pirate cove.”]
[Private to Adwonus Swillman: "Fools. All Fools,” Adwonus muttered to himself. “Yes, they are.” Adwonus glanced up and saw Pyrra casually walking toward him, now only a few feet away. Briefly, Adwonus wondered where she might’ve been hiding - the roof perhaps? He continued, “I’ve gone out of my way enough for them. You’d think at least one would have the sense to listen. They follow that paladin’s charismatic speech blindly.” Pyrra put a hand on his shoulder, “One thing I’ve learned in my life is that those in the front never see the full picture, for they rarely bother to think on something from an angle other than their own.” He glanced up at her, nodding at the wisdom. At last, she smiled, “I’ve freed myself from my duties this day. I’m here to help you.”]
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:30, Mon 16 Feb 2015.