The sound of whimpering emanating from the bedraggled-seeming halfling reaches Marcus' ears, tearing his attentions away from his sour mood.  Looking up at her, he watches with some small amount of curiosity as she appears to calm herself down.  He then notices an elf heading toward the halfling, moving with an odd, shuffling gait.  Crippled, it would appear; he's seen the sort, wounded in battle and fitted with limbs of wood and iron -- though it is unusual to encounter someone who's lost both legs, as this individual seems to have.

Suddenly realizing then that he is staring -- and remembering getting smacked in the head for staring similarly at combat veterans in his trainee years -- he frowns at himself, then turns his eyes back to the bottom of his cup.

The half elven lady is content to watch the goings on about the place from the safety of her 'bed'. She has no intention in drawing attention to herself and as such isn't really doing much at the moment. Besides taking in the melodies the mediocre bard is sending out into the crowd. Her eyes watch as people enter or leave the inn, but really she is just enjoying the dry.

[Private to GM: 16:16, Today: Secret Roll: Anastrianna rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  Additional Check Per the DM.]
16:15, Today: Anastrianna rolled 15 using 1d20+2.  Intelligence Check.

The din of the room is back to normal as people retutn to chatting and eating.

[Private to Anastrianna: You recognize The Guardians of the Wilds - info on them is in their description

Rumors you've heard while here.

• An order of demonic cultists has slain the elementals which guarded an artifact near the ancient Dwarven city of Vangrim
• The village of Ravens Bluff is besieged by orc and goblins
• Someone or thing called the Lost Hive of Mubunu has assassination or taken a group of adventurers

]
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:33, Wed 15 June 2016.

Rianna watches the group as they enter for a few seconds, but upon realizing who they are she relaxes. Normally a group of heavily armed people mean bandits or the like, but she doesn't reckon that she has anything to fear from them. True their world views differ from hers she doubts that they have come to drag her from her hammock and point out their differences. While she rests she mulls over weather or not they are perhaps just passing through the region in some quest to chase down one of the numerous rumors that she had heard floating around in her time spent at the in. Mostly this was all idle curiosity for she did not truly care one way or the other what they were doing in the inn. Mostly she was just fretting over the fact that she would be out in the rain come morning.

[Private to GM: Cool. Glad I know this stuff, but I doubt it will affect her much. Was I suppose to be interacting with them? For if that was the story hook and I'm the only one who realized it I can post accordingly so as not to ruin the plot right off the bat. If not she's just going to keep the information to herself for the time being.]

As Filimena surveys the room around her, her thoughts are interrupted by the appearance of an elf in studded leather armour, standing over her, leaning himself against the wall to her left. There is something odd about his gait. She recoils in a mixture of surprise and irritation. Young one, she thinks. Young one.

"What is it to you?" Filimena snaps, glancing angrily at him, then quickly turning away. Almost immediately she regrets this. She recalls the look of concern on his face. It seemed genuine enough. Much as she resents his condescension, she's all alone in this place, without the slightest clue where she is, how she got here, and why.

Filimena steals a quick glance towards the elf. He doesn't seem to have been too taken aback by her initial reaction to him. "I'm alright. Thank you," she mutters softly, not quite looking at him. Then she sighs, "Where... what is this place?
This message was last edited by the player at 08:33, Wed 15 June 2016.

Marik lift out an eyebrow in surprise, then only let out a small sigh, like he's used to this reaction. Introductions are so much easier in Elvish...with squirrels.

"A place where I stand about as awkwardly as you" he continues, with a smirk crossing his face. This is the Scoundrel and Dirk. The beer taste like piss, but the food is decent...for a human inn. You look like you had a rough day. I can offer you a drink if you want to gather your spirits..."


He pause, then laugh seeing her guarded stance.


"Ha ha, afraid of a crippled? Don't bother. You could probably destroy me in a few seconds with that staff of yours. Or a bit of your magic... " He continues while turning back, shambling back to a table with a few seats left.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:45, Wed 15 June 2016.

Filimena watches as the wood elf turns around and hobbles towards a nearby table. She hesitates a moment, then follows. Until the voices return, there's little she can do but wait.

OOC: Filimena doesn't say this aloud, but she intends to pay for her own drink.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:55, Fri 17 June 2016.

Marik makes his way toward the first empty table he sees, a small four seats near the inn hearth. This corner seems less crowded than the rest, apart from a few farmers and a tall man in scale armor sitting near the fire, brooding with his eyes lost in his mug.

The fire has died down a bit since he arrived. Still, a small shiver moves through his spine as he look away. The muscle in his legs tenses a bit.


Marik sits, his left leg rattling a bit against the wooden planks of the floor. From where he is, he can see the tavern entrance but would need to turn his head quite a bit to see the other side of the common room, where the hammocks are.


Filimena has followed, sitting before him. A few seconds of awkward silence follows, as Marik doesn't seems quite sure of what to say. He finally speaks.

"I...I gather my previous salutation wasn't adequate.... Apologies for that." Marik begins. "I'm not used to meet a lot of people where I come from... What is your name?"

OOC: Marcus could probably hear the conversation, if he wish.

The minstrel on the stage finishes his song and takes a bow, a few folks come by and drop coins into a hat that has been out the entire time.

As this set change occurs a human soldier dressed in garb indicated he is part of the guard of Titan's Gate enters The Scoundrel and Dirk and makes for the bar where he speaks with Shakurd before handing her a rolled up scroll or parchment. The soldier leaves, [Private to Marcus Bournstride: as though he's done with whatever duty he was here to do,] and the room buzzes for a moment before Shakurd makes her way to an empty board near the door.

Those of you who've been out in the world have seen boards like the one Shakurd is currently tacking the piece of parchment to - these boards are in most inns and taverns and are points where announcements of law or bounty are made.

[Private to Anastrianna: Do with the info what you will but it is stuff Rianna knows/has heard ]

Marik is distracted for a moment by the arrival of the guard, before returning to his conversation.


Hmmn. Probably a bounty...that could be interesting. I'll check it out later. No one will go out tonight anyways. Even then, I could probably track him or her down before anyone gets too close.


OOC: Edited because I read again the first post of the DM, which said the sun was setting at the beginning, so it's probably not raining at the moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:17, Wed 15 June 2016.

Well, now, Marcus thinks to himself, as his mug's contents suddenly become far less interesting.  What have we here?

A bounty may be just the opportunity he needs -- not only for the reward it no doubt offers, but also to make a name for himself with the local constabulary.  That could lead to more missions or even a permanent position among the town guard.

Striding carefully, but purposefully, across the common room, Marcus pauses only to deposit his empty mug onto the bar.  He then makes for the announcement board, to inspect what the guardsman has posted.

Filimena is slightly taken aback by Marik's apology. "On the contrary, I-"

Filimena's attention is drawn suddenly to the solider. She sees him leave the room, then watches with rapt attention as Shakurd makes her way to the board and pins a piece of parchment to it. Something's happening.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:32, Wed 15 June 2016.

OOC: Marik stays silent, waiting for Filimena to continue.

Marcus reads over the posted announcement

[Private to Marcus Bournstride:
By order of the Baron - his highness Darius Kilian

Merchants are seeking men and women of adventurous nature to escort several wagons carrying supplies from Titan's Gate to Haldrim.

Payment of 50 gold crowns upon safe arrival of wagons and their contents in Haldrim.

Any who wish to apply for position may meet on the morrow at the strike of first bar.]

Rianna mentally curses herself for allowing the man to get to what is most assuredly her best bet at gaining some coin. She is not sure exactly what the 'bounty' might say or for whom it might be, but she knows that they don't normally put bounties out for the common, petty criminal and her basic outlook on life boils down to 'Crime is Bad'. Thus her face momentarily puckers as the man reads the paper, but then again who knows perhaps he will take his leave and is just the curious type. One way or the other she has no coin and thus no time to wait for another opportunity to present itself.

Deftly swinging her feet to the floor of the establishment, she slips on a pair of wooden sandals that had been resting on the floor just below her hammock. The din of the room isn't overly load, but what chatter there is muffles any sound those wooden contraptions might have made about the floor of the room. She leaves her pack in the hammock so no one else thinks to claim her 'bed' as their own, but keeps an eye on it best she can as she makes her way to where the man is reading the posting.

She doesn't speak, as she doesn't really care to converse with the man, and does her best not to 'rubberneck' but she feels the need to see just who or what the 'bounty' is for. She needs coin and she knows it so she does her best, from a safe arms length behind Marcus, to also read the page and hope that her father's eyes are strong enough to do so without causing the man any alarm. she doesn't have the money to rent another room elsewhere after she get's thrown out for brawling after all.

Rianna reads the announcement with little issue - few people seem to be paying attention to the posting.

A dragonborn from Zir takes the stage, dressed in the colorful desert garb traditional in Zir. He, she, it ... sits upon a the stool there. It reaches into a pack pulling out strange looking stringed instrument, some of you might recognize it as a simsimiyya. After a few test plucks and adjustments of various strings the dragonborn begins to play a rather enchanting song. The music starts low and soft, before the creature starts singing in draconic.

[Private to Anastrianna:
By order of the Baron - his highness Darius Kilian

Merchants are seeking men and women of adventurous nature to escort several wagons carrying supplies from Titan's Gate to Haldrim.

Payment of 50 gold crowns upon safe arrival of wagons and their contents in Haldrim.

Any who wish to apply for position may meet on the morrow at the strike of first bar.]

Satisfied with the posting, Rianna heads back to her hammock. Perhaps this was a sign. Home was a goodly trip away, but mayhap she had never been meant to leave it in the first place. One way or the other it meant coin and with none to spare it was a good way of keeping herself alive. Perhaps if she had been rich she would have been able to turn her nose up, but that was a luxury that she could not afford. One way or the other she had a plan and that had put her mind at ease. With her head back on her back and her sandals tucked neatly under her hammock, she listened to the soothing songs of a foreign land.

Momentarily forgetting the wood elf, Filimena rises and walks towards the board. "Jobs, bounties," she reads, whispering. They don't often concern themselves with matters of the living, but then... They must have sent her here for a reason...
This message was last edited by the player at 00:36, Sat 18 June 2016.

This time, Marik can't contain his surprise as the little halfling stops mid-sentence, and after a few seconds, rises up and leave him. He follows her with the eyes until she halfway across the common room, before closing his eyes and letting out a big sigh.

"Maybe I'm better off with squirrels, wild boars and ettercaps after all...I'm not cut out for this."

"She going for the board" he tells himself. Of course she's going for the board. Humans and halflings are always in such hurry. "Well, thinking of it... if I only lived a century or two and couldn't live off from what the forest provides, I'd probably be in a hurry too"

Might as well go to see that damn board himself and go to sleep.

Then at this moment, he finally hear the music. Lost in his thoughts, he didn't even notice the minstrel had changed. This song doesn't sound like anything he ever heard before. He quickly turns his head to watch the new musician on the stage. The dragonborn begin to sing.

He can't hear the song clearly among all the chatter of the inn. He decides to get up and slowly make his way toward the board too. But before, he makes a detour to get closer to the stage. There, supporting himself on a wooden column, he close his eyes again and takes in every little variation and ghost-notes of the melody.

Now that...is real beauty. Those complex harmonics, that masterfully crafted instrument, those chord progressions that run as freely as horses pushed by the winds. And that voice... He only ever heard fleeting stories of Zir, but it's the first time he actually sees a real Zir Dragonborn. Marik is completely absorbed, trying to imagine the landscapes of that foreign land. If it is anything as refined as those melodies and that instrument evoke, it must be breathtaking.

He'll go there one day, he decides. Maybe he could ask the dragonborn how to get there after his performance.

Marik stays there for the whole song, leaning against that wooden column and listening to the dragonborn sings.
This message was last edited by the player at 03:10, Thu 16 June 2016.

Flicking his eyes toward the halfling, Marcus looks her over briefly before shrugging to himself.  Not my call, he thinks, wondering idly how this wisp of a figure might go about trying to convince a nobleman's soldiers that she's qualified for the job.

Turning away, Marcus heads back toward the bar, seeking a refill of the ale he'd finished earlier.  With a brightened mood and a mug in hand, he then makes his way over to an empty table toward the back of the common room.  There he sits, nursing his ale calmly, watching casually for anyone else showing an interest in the job posting.

The post reads

[Private to Marik: You notice a few other older notices pinned to the board about missing persons.]
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:48, Fri 17 June 2016.

After a few minutes, when the dragonborn pauses, Marik eventually makes his way to the board and reads the announcement with interest. He hears chuckles behind him...


"Lookit that! The faen crippled elf think he's a bounty-hunter!" says a voice behind him, before a group of soldiers burst into laughter.

Marik doesn't move, absorbed in his reading.

"By my mother's balls, he actually got steel on him! Think he can swing without crashing on the ground?"

"Nah, but I'd like to see his footwork!" Another burst of laughter.


Marik doesn't spare them any attention. Instead, he look at some of the older posts on the board with a intrigued look on his face.


[Private to GM: Introduced mocking soldiers for ambiance, but you are more than welcome to use them if you want, dear DM!]
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:00, Thu 16 June 2016.

Filimena stands before the notice, no longer quite looking at it, but rather deep in thought.

"Is this it?" She whispers, just under her breath, still sceptical. "Is this what I'm here for?" Nothing happens. Is that a no? A yes? It seems unlikely. And Titan's Gate? Why of all places have they brought her here?

Filimena emerges from her thoughts, frowning. She looks around her. The wood elf who'd spoken to her before stands beside her, having also come over to examine the notice. There'd been others. A half elven lady, she remembers. And a human man, tall and well-armed, who at this very moment, seems to be looking right at her.

Once again, Filimena finds herself as a loss for what to do. For years the voices have spoken to her, commanded her, but never clearly, and never with any real indication of purpose or intent. Sometimes, Filimena has found, it is better to simply do something, to force their hand, rather than wait patiently, foolishly, for further guidance.

Filimena turns to face the wood elf as he continues to read the notice. "The name's Filimena," she says, addressing him. Then, jerking her chin at the board, "Interested, by any chance?"

Marik turns his head toward the halfling beside him, one of his eyebrows raised in surprise.

"Well, that's a first" he thinks. He wasn't actually expecting to have an answer at this point. Normally, people just leave him without looking back.

"I am…" he says in a soft voice, regaining his serious composure and turning his gaze again to the board.  “Didn’t thought of you as the mercenary type…”

He pauses.

“Actually...scratch that... You sure looked pretty fearsome the last time I saw you” he continues, now looking at her with a little smile crossing his face for a moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:50, Fri 17 June 2016.

If Filimena heard the wood elf's statement to the effect that they had met previously, she doesn't show it.

"I asked if you were interested," she replies, after a brief pause. "I never said I was. Yet."

She looks vaguely in the direction of the well-armed human male she'd seen earlier, deliberately avoiding eye contact.

"In any case, there are others."