"Mm-mmhhrrmph..." The tall Kellid grunted through a mouthful of stew and chewy bread. His jaw was beginning to ache a bit, but the pangs in his stomach were stronger.

"Maerk don't know, Maerk don't care. Don't see any heroes here, just rivals that want coin... same as Maerk."

He looked down at the lithe creature beside him, shrugged his shoulders and offered her a dip out of his bowl. "You stay with Maerk, elf-girl. We get this... Call."

Looking around for the wench and his water, he took another bite, followed by a loud clicking sound of the jawbone as it popped in and out of place. "Ommm-mmph, me -mmmphm- Maerk."

The Kellid offered her a wrist as big as her thigh.

The thief slips into the background while Maerk and Arisa talk...
The ugly wench comes racing by and slams a glass of water on the table spilling half of it, but forgot the bread..She races away just as quick.

Before Arisa can shake Maerk's meat hook, ​An older gentleman walks up to her with an inquisitive look on his face. 

"Pardon me, but what are your particular talents?"​

In reply to Smiles (msg # 6):

Tamar was a little uncomfortable at first as she made her way through the overly crowded tavern. Is stew was too fatty, and the beer was flat...but she quickly found herself at home.

She chanted, sang and raised her mug in toasts. She introduced herself to others and met everyone with a smile.

She was a strange sight. Her headgear, scimitar and the holy symbol at her hip marked her as a priestess of Sarenrae. Her chain mail shirt was immaculate, because it had never been used in combat.

Her sea blue eyes were bright when she noticed the young thief being caught by the elf.

Tamar made sure to intercept the young man as he tries to sneak out of the tavern.

Tamar places her hand on the boy’s shoulder and kneels as she speaks.

“Hunger makes us all do things we shouldn’t. Tell me young one, why would you risk the wrath of that warrior for a few coins? Perhaps I can help?”

In reply to Tamar Numida (msg # 7):

"My friend dared me..." he flashes a wry smile.
"One o these day I will be the greatest hero that ever lived!"
The boy waves his arms in the air with excitement.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:37, Sat 14 Sept 2019.

A young and impressionable farm girl walks up to Maerk and says:

"Can ladies be adventurers too?"

She blinks her eyelashes at him hoping he will notice her cosmetics liberally applied to her face.

I believe you could be. You are brave and you have heart.

But, a great hero also uses his head. And never let’s anyone dare him to do something that causes unnecessary trouble.”

Tamar thinks for a moment and flashes a smile. She reaches into her purse and retrieves 2 Silver.

“Tell your friend. You earned this because you are brave and not because you stole it. Tell your friend, heroes act like heroes and then they are rewarded.”

Arisa’s eyes travelled up and down the older gentleman that had appeared before her, trying to ascertain what his interest might be in a pretty, young Elven woman standing in a tavern. This was a question she had heard before but, in her experience, it could have multiple connotations depending on who was doing the asking. She had two choices. She could take the man at face value and answer him honestly or she could make sure he understood that she didn’t appreciate his unsolicited supposition. If she wanted a job though, she would have to take him at face value and hope that she wasn’t mistaken.

”I’m a ... problem solver,” she said with a tilt of her head and a coy smile, ”if you have a problem that needs to be solved then I’m your girl. I specialize in investigations, negotiations, and acquisitions mostly but those certainly aren’t the full extent of my talents. Do you have a problem that needs to be solved?”.

In reply to Arisa Whisperwood (msg # 11):

"Me wife just ran off with me cousin."

"I came in here to drown me sorrows with a few pints, and hear interesting tales from a more interesting side of life..."

"Hilda!...bring us a round will ya lass?"

Arisa looked to the large warrior with whom she had just started a conversation before the older gentleman interrupted them. Despite his disgusting eating habits which, quite frankly, made her stomach turn, she could see an advantage in possibly working with him even though she had always worked alone before.

For one thing, he was big - like really big, and judging by his weapons and the scars he bore it looked like he could handle himself in a fight. Together, they could potentially be a great combination of wit and brawn. However, the older gentleman was a resident of the town and, for all she knew, he could even be on the town council so a little empathy could go a long way to landing her a job.

Reaching up, she wrapped her long, thin fingers around the thick wrist offered by the warrior and gave him a quick wink. Arisa was surprised when she realized her fingers came nowhere near touching. Yep, he would definitely make a good ally as long as he let her do all of the thinking. She wondered for a moment if there was any chance that she could teach him better manners but decided that was probably too much to ask.

Turning back to the older gentleman, she held out her hand and said, ”I’m sorry to hear about your wife and your cousin, perhaps fate will catch up with them soon. My name is Arisa and my large friend here is Maerk. We’re here for the Call for Heroes. Will you be attending the meeting?”.

In reply to Arisa Whisperwood (msg # 13):
"The name is Nell!..and Yes ill be attending. I'm pleased as punch to meet real live heroes!..I though about being one meself when I was young...Never got around to it though. I sell  manure to all the local farms around here. I buy it butt cheap and sell it at a profit!  Tis seasonal work you understand but it sustains me the whole year."

"Where are you from lass? You dont look like a local."

This message was last edited by the GM at 12:13, Sun 15 Sept 2019.

In reply to Tamar Numida (msg # 10):
A young boy walks up to you and says. "Boy it must be great to do what you do!  How much training does it take to be a hero?"​
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:19, Sun 15 Sept 2019.

Maerk gave Arisa's wrist a brief but firm squeeze, it was apparent that the grip could easily crush her arm if he wished her harm, but instead he returned an awkward wink. Maerk was looking for an ally or two as well. Why this little leaf-eater had caught his attention, he couldn't say, but she seemed to have more of a handle on the general sociality of the event, and Maerk's own social graces were certainly lacking. And he knew it. And it didn't really bother him.

However, a pretty, friendly, and from the way she carried herself, capable, elf-girl might help him get this... Call, without his normal knucklebusting and headbanging.

And speaking of social graces...


Maerk looked her over as he would a beef he was preparing to buy. Farm-stock, probably strong enough, hadn't been starved, both her eyes tracked correctly...

"Few." He grunted in response. "You start by killing rats in basement, work up from there. Use club first, build muscle, then try dagger, shortsword. You get cuts, disease, spend reward on just enough healing for next job. Maybe chase off bear or find lost child... Start small, maybe you have chance."

He dipped the last crust of bread into his bowl - where was that wench? - and chewed it carefully, thoughtfully. "Your war-paint too pretty. Put more dark. Smear blood. This make you look more scare..." He offered a final bit of advice.

Meanwhile, he kept one eye on Arisa and the scrawnling she was talking to. One look of a request to help, and he'd stuff the man down the Inn's well.

Well, depending on what kind of adventurer you become, it can take very much training.

I’m an a wandering priest. And so I had to join a temple and learn how to help people and how to be a priest.

 I worked really hard. But, just a few years ago, I was working at a tavern...like this one. 

Tamar paused as she remembered. She felt a little sad remembering those who had died.

Bad people came and hurt a lot of people in my village. And a brave priestess of Sarenae saved me and many more people. I told her I wanted to go with her and learn to be like her. She took me with her and... now here I am.

In reply to Tamar Numida (msg # 17):

The young bony says "Boy what a really great story!"

He then runs off to play.

In reply to Maerk (msg # 16):

The young ladies eyes glaze over and she gets a look on her face as if she is enduring some kind of discomfort.

"Pardon me sir, I need to visit the outhouse...see you at the Call!"

Arisa gasped softly when Maerk squeezed her wrist. Not because his squeeze hurt her but, she could feel the power in his grip and understood that he could snap her arm like a twig if he wanted to and that sent a small shiver up her spine. It seemed he was indeed as powerful as he looked and she decided right then and there that she didn’t want to be on the wrong side of his anger.

As he let go of her wrist and her attention shifted more fully to the older gentleman, she could still feel the big warrior watching her or at least keeping an eye on her. It seemed that their brief encounter may have piqued his interest as well. A small smile crossed her lips as she realized that she liked it. She was so used to having to watch her own back that it was nice knowing somebody else might have her back for a change.



Arisa smiled as she turned her head back to the older gentleman, ”pleased to meet you Nell,” she said with a smile that reached her eyes and lit up her face as her cheeks turned a little pink when he called her a her. She laughed a bit too loudly at his pun about buying manure “butt cheap” as if it was the funniest thing she had ever heard.

”I’m sure you would have made a valiant hero in your day,” she said as if she truly believed it, ”but, you don’t look too old to me. It sounds like you already provide a valuable service to this fine community. In fact, it sounds like you’re already a bit of a hero to the local farmers”.

Reaching out, she patted the top of his gnarled hand with her own delicate one, pulling it back before he got the wrong idea. She still didn’t know whether or not this was some sort of test and she wasn’t about to take a chance at losing a good job just because she couldn’t take a few minutes to make an old man feel good about himself.

”You’ve a good eye there Nell,” she said with a smile and a wink, letting him lead the conversation, ”I’m originally from Kyonin to the north where I lived with my family on the shore of Lake Encarthan. Nowadays though, I travel from town to town helping people with their problems. It makes me feel good to help those in need even though I sometimes feel a little guilty having to take their silver but, a girl has to eat right? You understand where I’m coming from though, don’t you Nell? If you provide a service you deserve to get paid right?”.

17 Arodus, 4719 AR 11:50:03 AM

The conversations and small talk continue on for awhile, but
​the meeting is going to start soon.  People are beginning to assemble just outside of Breechill Town Hall across the street.



​​
This message was last edited by the GM at 01:03, Tue 17 Sept 2019.

Arisa continues to make small talk with the older gentleman while they wait for the hour of the meeting to arrive. Lending a sympathetic ear, she listens to his stories and tells him of her exploits since becoming an investigator which he really seems to like. She isn’t what he might consider a hero yet but she has been around this world for a long time by Human standards and, unlike most folk, she has done a fair bit of traveling away from her home village. In the end, she realizes that it’s people like him that she would like to help the most.

As people start to get up and head over to the Town Hall, she gives Nell a smile and reaches over to give his hand a squeeze, ”well, thank you for helping me to kill the time Nell,” she says, ”but it seems as if people are starting to gather for the meeting. I do hope things work out between you and your family. Fare thee well”.

With that she gets up from the table that had opened up during their discussion and moves to gather up Maerk, ”I think it’s time,” she says with a smile as she approaches, ”we should probably head over to the Town Hall. Have you noticed how many other people seem to be here for the meeting? It should be interesting if nothing else”.

Turning smartly on her heel, she leads Maerk out of the tavern and across the street. There is a certain amount of comfort in having the huge, mountain of a man at her back although she has only just met him. For all she knows he could be an assassin or worse but that isn’t the feeling she gets from him. He seems more like a soldier that has lost his way or is down on his luck. So, for now, she has decided to trust him and see where it leads. If he really wanted to kill her, there is probably little she could do about it although she’s pretty sure she could out run him if given any warning as to his intent.

The day is warm and she has to blink a few times as they move from the dimly lit tavern into the bright light of the day. Elves are able to see better than Humans in dim light but as a price, it takes them an extra second or two to adjust from one to the other. The Town Hall is one of the larger, if not the largest building in town and, from her previous visit, Arisa knows that it contains the municipal offices as well as the court and facilities for the town guard. As they approach, she is somewhat surprised by the number of people gathering near its entrance.

In reply to Arisa Whisperwood (msg # 22):

After the three of you gather in front of the town hall, you notice a well dressed Goblin woman pacing right outside the front doors of the building. The studious looking Goblin has her hands clasped behind her back, and she is mumbling to herself.

How close is everyone standing to the Goblin woman in feet?
See pic in Group 1 Game Map​
This message was last edited by the GM at 09:35, Wed 18 Sept 2019.

As Arisa walked toward the entrance to the Town Hall, she noticed a small, green-skinned figure pacing back and forth in front of the building. She suddenly realized that the figure was a Goblin woman but not like any other Goblins she had met before. The woman’s clothes looked like Priest’s robes and they were clean and neat. It also appeared that she was wearing a symbol of Desna, goddess of dreams and travelers, on an amulet around her neck. Most Goblins didn’t follow any kind of organized religion, her people hypothesized that this was because most Goblins couldn’t or wouldn’t read or write and had such short attention spans. In fact, many of the diminutive creatures worshipped whatever inanimate object happened to catch their fancy that day. She had heard of some groups of Goblins that worshipped Cayden Cailean, the Human god of ale and wine, but those were just rumors.

Her curiosity piqued, Arisa stopped about ten feet from the woman, crossed her arms and decided to watch to see what she was all about. She appeared to be  agitated about something but the cause of her agitation wasn’t clear. Perhaps she was another adventurer looking to answer the Call for Heroes. This was too curious to miss so, reaching back, she hit Maerk on the chest to get his attention.

”Hey, what do you make of that,” she asked, nodding toward the Goblin.

Wake child. You are late.

Suidan's eyes quickly snapped open. The eerie voice that guides him is always startling, despite having been with him all of his life. It was the tapping of a crow's beak though (his familiar, Varyx) that finally inspired him to rise. He groaned as he rose to prepare himself for the day. As a seer of his tribe, Suiadan was to gain worldly experience as an adventurer so that one day he may return and lead the tribe as an elder. This call to heroes was an appropriate opportunity to begin on that journey.

The pale-skinned elf hastily donned his meager clothing; a tunic and breeches, his pack of supplies, and a simple dagger. He makes his way towards the Wizard's Grace as quickly as possible, only to see that most of the heroes were already forming up outside of the town hall.

"Well, Varyx, that's the last time I'll trust any drink a gnome gives me."

He made his  way into the crowd of people, checking out the prospective heroes for anyone who stood out. He didn't know what he was looking for exactly, b...

There!

The whispers again. His eyes fell upon a human woman, heavily adorned in the livery of Sarenrae. As always, he was absolutely uncertain as to why he was directed to this person, but the voices haven't lead him astray yet. He approached Tamar with a pep in his step and a smile on his face.

"Good day, fellow hero. I hope I find you in good health?"

In reply to Suiadan Sivlei (msg # 25):

Tamar greeted Suiadan with a big smile

"And a good day to you fellow adventurer! I am well and the light of Sarenrae shines upon us. I hope you are well too."

That was when Tamar became, distracted. Her pace slowed, and she strained to see through the crowd.

"Do you see that, about 15 feet ahead and to the right? That goblin seems to be under duress, wouldn't you agree?" 

17 Arodus, 4719 AR 11:51:21 AM

Tamar and Suiadan cannot quite make out what the woman is going on about...
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:58, Wed 18 Sept 2019.

In reply to Smiles (msg # 27):

“so, new friend, would you like to join me in seeing what is going on?  It may be that little scholarmay lead us to our first adventure. “

In reply to Tamar Numida (msg # 28):

Go.

"Well, it certainly couldn't hurt could it?"

Varyx cocked it's head curiously at the goblin as Suiadan made his approach to the goblin woman. "Miss? Is everything alright?"

[Private to GM: I'd like to recall knowledge on the holy symbol on her shirt, as well as recall knowledge about this person in particular if it's possible (possibly with society?)]