There was a swirl of activity in the room, some of it caused by the fellow right at the table with him. In comparison Morwinyon sat like a rock in a stream.

"If I was doing something as nefarious as following you, either I'd have worked harder at being unseen or done something horrible to you along the way don't you think? The real question is why are you worried about being followed? Are you on the run from someone?" His tone of voice was one of genuine question and not accusatory.

"Perhaps next time you set out we will be companions instead of simply heading in the same direction. But my thanks for dealing with the expenses of the meal, that is a kindness."

He gave the girl a tiny nod and a smile as she introduced herself. "Worry not Sora. As I said I keep a book for myself as well. I worry when people do not consider the story of their own life. Lack of reflection steals away the opportunity for improvement and enlightenment."

She asked a simple question. His answer to it was equally simple but unlikely to make others happy. "I am in the Borderlands because I am supposed to be here."

"Good point, good point. Not really on the run from anyone or anything I'm aware of. But when you do what I do for a living you're bound to get folks riled up if they ever find you out. Just because I haven't been caught yet doesn't mean someone hasn't harbored a grudge." He smiles once more and takes a bite of the bread and warm butter. "Mmmm, that. is. divine... As for why I'm here in the borderlands. Well there's a general move of people out this way..." He begins to gesture toward all the folks in the tavern and stops when he realizes most of them are guardsfolk, "Hmm, well anyway. New folks in a new place means opportunity for new adventures, new acts, and newly acquired things that need to be placed in better homes. The real question young miss. Sora was it? I'm Alekos by the by. But the real question is why someone of your age has come out this way seemingly alone? Aren't there safer places you could be? Don't get me wrong I'm sure you can handle yourself but generally don't see folks your age off on an adventure and surviving for very long without a mentor or guardian of some kind..."

Sora, a little embarrassed by the questions, looked down. Indeed, she was young to be travelling alone, but that was by choice.

She looked at the half elf. "I am an arcanist...there are two types, those who study their lives, and those who have an innate gift, its in their blood."

She paused as she looked at the table, then up again. "I am a part of the second group...what people call a sorceress. But somehow my.powers are different." She sighed as she clenched her own hands together.

"Even though I've always had it, I am new to the knowledge of what I am. I am still learning where these powers come from." She looked at the men. "I have no one....no family, no friends. I have come here to find answers as well as my place." there was a tear in her eye, building, built she quickly wiped it away.

"Yes, I am alone, and scared. But I'm as scared of hurting other people as I am for my own saftey"

A human young male with a military bearing entered the inn, seeing how busy it was makes his  way over to the table where the newcomers are seated. "I see there  is plenty of room here, do you mind if myself and some  of my friends join you. They should be coming along soon."

Looks at the three seated at the table. "The name is Gryphon, I also do sleight of hand tricks. See!" He calmly shows both of his empty hands, moving them both very slowly to make sure everyone could see that they were empty. Then suddenly an exquisite hand crossbow was suddenly in his right hand. "My friends and I are adventurers, we just got back to town. Needing a nice place to talk and relax to figure out what we are going to do next."

You know, I don’t quite understand you Alekos. It sounds like what you do for a living is not earning you any thanks. Sounds like a hard way to live.”

The girl explained herself to the hard to understand fellow. Have faith Sora. The fact that you are concerned for others more than yourself speaks volumes regarding the quality of your heart and character. I am certain you will make friends easily that way. I think you are well on your way to having at least one new friend right now. I know exactly where I come from and what I am. And what I can do is different from most of those that I meet. You worry about how different you are. Yet you are in the same place as others. Who you are is more about what you do with yourself than anything else.”

He gave the newcomer an affirmative nod as he invited himself in. “You may find you have a compatriot in the arts of sleight of hand here Gryphon. Please, sit, be welcome. We are newly arrived and would be an appreciative audience for your tales of adventure.”

OOC since Gryphon moved us into the inn, I guess just ignore my original post)

Fenrick walked into the inn behind Gryphon.  He was a somewhat tall human dressed in chain mail, looking the part of a soldier (which he had been in the past).  However, he looked a bit tired at the moment, and was favoring his shoulder if one looked carefully.

As he followed Gryphon to the table, he let out a small sigh.  He was tired, hungry, and in little mood to socialize at the moment.  He had hoped they'd find a table to quickly eat and retire for the evening so he could mend his wounds and prepare for, well, whatever was in store in the morning when they delved into what they found.

"Fenrick", he said as he nodded towards the newcomers.  He became very quiet after after sitting down nad ordering some food, his mind lost in his own thoughts of what he had seen, what had happened, and what was next.

Gryphon sits himself  down at the  table quickly. Looks at the three fresh adventurers,This will  be thirsty work, please keep the drinks coming."

"My group was hired to protect a Tortle in her search for her mentor. We traveled to cave system where we found a survivor of the mentors group and encountered some goblins and  ogre's.. " pauses as he takes a drink of whatever is close to hand. Fen was his name a master of arms, strategies and tactics. He was able to slay and maneuver most of the encountered  enemies. Ander's a talented caster of  the arcane  was able to  help control and destroy them.  Chelonia the tortle was able to keep all of us healed and strike down some.  I was able to help carry the recovered treasure back for us to sell and divide up." pauses once again to take another drink. "Now  those  that survived, the four of us  will need to finish with dividing up the treasure and figure what we will do next."

Sora couldn't help but smile at Morwinyow. "The few friends i once had i found out feared me when things come to pass. When i left home, i traveled as a cook. I was young then, still a child. When I was a teenager, i was taken in by my mentor who taught me what i have learnt....and when something happened, even he wasn't the same."

The young girl had a hurt tone. "A man i respected, powerful and intelligent, returned with confusion, pain and fear in his eyes." It was clear to all that this hurt....one of the few people she trusted feared her.

She sighed and looked around, finishing on the assimar. "I thank your kind words, but faith is hard to find when you have nothing but loneness and pain."

She looked at the two newcomers and smiled sheepishly

He listened to the tales from both Gryphon and Sora. They had his attention, he gave a careful nod here and there during their story telling to make sure they could tell he was listening. "Hello there Fenrick, be welcome here. You must be Fen from Gryphon's tale of assisting a Tortle. Seems that aiding someone with the divine power to keep you alive turned out to be a decision that rewarded itself. Perhaps if you need more hands in your next adventure you would consider the three of us. True, we are but newly arrived, but who knows, this seemingly chance encounter may have more fate behind it than is at first apparent."

He clearly felt for Sora as she clearly felt hurt and betrayed. "Faith is for when times are hard. Anyone can have Faith when times are easy and you feel as if the stars shine just for you."

With some care he pulled down the hood from his cloak so he could be more clearly seen. Aasimars looked like no other race walking the world. It was a gamble but perhaps worth it. "Plenty of folk fear me based on race alone, bad memories that have nothing to do with what I have personally done. A child of the light walking in shadows to avoid confrontations with those who cannot see past my heritage." He popped the hood back up.

And turned his attention back to Gryphon. "What of you Gryphon? What part did you play in aiding Chelonia besides carrying treasures?"

Fenrick looked over at the Aasimar at the mention of his name, a bit wide-eyed.  He had heard of them, but had never seen one in person.

“My apologies”, Fenrick said to him somewhat apologietic.  “Our adventure, however, was not as glamourous as my companion here has made it out to be, at least not to all of us anyways”.

“While he did hit the highlights, he left out some of the story, as is usually the case.  I was hired by the mentor of the Tortle he mentioned to help protect him and his group of researchers; however, we were ambushed by a group of gnolls.  These gnolls were led by the most evil human, no, the most evil being I have ever encountered.  His eyes still haunt me; they were black as night like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”

“He was attempting to open a portal to somewhere, I believe the Abyss was mentioned, but we were luckily able to stop him, this time.  However, he managed to elude us.  In the end, the entire research party, including the mentor, died at the hands of this vile thing, myself the only survivor”.

He then looked over to the young human woman who spoke of faith.  “For what it’s worth, unless you don’t have faith in yourself, no one else will either.  I’m having a crisis of faith, or conscience, or whatever you want to call it myself right now.”

Fenrick then looked back at the Aasimir.  “Perhaps you 3 can join us; it is not for just me to decide.  Actually it’s not at all for me to decide, as they luckily rescued me before I met a fate similar to the others.  As Gryphon stated, we were able to recover some treasure, but we also discovered books and papers that need to be reviewed; this hopefully will lead us to our next task.”
This message was last edited by the player at 22:03, Thu 09 July 2020.

As you all continue your conversations the tavern clears out those going on shift and those going home for the night, a few are left drinking and talking. Food arrives and drinks continue to flow. No one seems to pay any of you special attention, currently, you are the only adventures in the keep, but adventures are not uncommon and pass through often.

A few minutes after the guards leave and your food arrives, many of the locals of the keep file in. Finding tables and start talking of the day they have had. Few glance at all of you, curious, but don't bother you at this time. Eager to eat and drink. The tavern isn't packed like it was with the guard shift change but is full and busy.

OOC

I will let you all continue conversing. Let me know when you're ready to move on.

As a note, LOVEING the RP. Great job everyone.

   

Sora looked at Morwinyon with a smile. "Thank you for your kind words of wisdom. I will heed your advice." She then looked at Fenrick with a smile. "Do not misunderstand master Fenrick....I have faith in my mind and skills. I have a keen mind, and some magical talent, but i am new to it"

her look was a little sheepish. "In fact, other than my mentor's tutelage, i had never even knew of it." She looked at the candle on the table, and muttered a word. <OOC: Casts Control flame>  The candle's orange/yellow flame turned purple, green, then back to normal as it puffed out.

She sighed as she looked back at the others. "He said time and experience will help me and suggested i come out here." She listened to Fenrick's tale of the gnolls, the evil man and what had happened and had a worried look. "Maybe i can look over those books and papers...help make something of them for you"

<OOC: I am happy to move on or continue>

Fenrick watched with keen interest as the young sorceress manipulated the flame with ease.

He looked at her, "Please, just Fenrick. 'Master' is so, stuffy and proper; I am neither."; he smiled as he said this.

"As for the books Anders, who Gryphon I believe has mentioned also dabs in the arcane, has said with time and safety he should be able to decipher them, but I am sure he would not mind any assistance you can provide him.  It's always a good idea to have multiple eyes on a target."

Anders stumbled in to the inn, looking a bit flustered and perturbed, muttering under his breath. "that is highly annoying. never mind that the shops are closed this time of day every day. i still have things to purchase!" He gave a small sigh and shook his head, trying to shake off the negative thoughts and emotions. "nothing for it now."

He looked around and then spotted Fenrick and Gryphon, though the table they were at had several other people there as well and was starting to be more crowded. Nevertheless, he walked that way and leaned in a bit between them so as to not have to shout to be heard. Despite being dusty from the road and perhaps carrying things that might mark him as a scholar, there was no denying the poise and walk of a noble as he came over.

"Bit crowded, isn't it? And loud?" He smiled and shook his head with a bit of an eyeroll. He flashed a bigger welcoming smile at the people he didn't know at the table. "What do we have here, gentlemen? A lady, a young half-elf and...an aasimar? Interesting." He looked mildly interested in Morwinyon due to the race and a bit more interested in Sora doing magic.

He gave a small bow and then sat down. "I am Anders Greyven, charmed to meet you I'm sure." He shifted to more face Sora, looking less friendly and more curious. "Magic, minor but promising. Arcane in nature?" He shook his head. "Ah, you are most gracious, but no, thank you. I have Comprehend Languages and will be translating the papers we found later tonight...assuming I can stay awake." He smiled. "If not, then tomorrow. Along with shopping for spells!" He seemed excited about that.

Sora had a nervous look and seemed a little disappointed that her help wasn't needed. Odds are she wasn't as skilled in arcane matters as Anders, but she was learning and interested. She nodded at the man.

"A minor can't rip, yes...but given I am new at this I am learning quickly. I appreciate you wanting to read it, i was just offering aide."

Sora, too, was starting to feel drowsy. She however had not spoken to people in a while, and it felt good to hear not only her voice, but others as well.

"If you get time master anders, I would like to talk with you on arcane matters in general, specifically what you know about sorcorers."

Alekos had almost immediately dug into the meal that was brought to the table and as the others arrived and began chatting he greeted them each briefly and continued with his meal. Smiling at the remarks directed his way or about him and supplying the barmaid with more and more coin as more folks arrived he made sure everything was paid for out of his seemingly endless supply of coins appearing on the table and listened to everything being said.

The change of the tavern populace from mostly guards to locals sets a new tone for the place and he finishes his meal ready to engage with everybody now that his famished stomach was full. "Sorry for that, I'd had a long road behind me today. But it sounds like you all had an even longer day. It's always good to hear how such endeavors went, but I am sorry to hear about the losses.." he pauses briefly and seems to think. Morwinyon had already begun talking about joining this group for future endeavors and, although Alekos didn't fully understand why, it felt natural to let the Aasimar speak for him in this regard. After all they had travelled, perhaps not together, but along the same road for quite some time. And something about what the fellow had said about heritage struck him fairly deep. He looks around at everyone and speaks up again. "I'd like to help out however I can. Is there anything you lot need? Food, armaments, mounts, arcane ingredients, whatever it may be I uh, well... Gold comes easy to me and I never know what to do with it so if there's anything that will make your lives easier after what you dealt with, just say the word and I'll get it for you."

Having had his fill he leans back in the chair and looks at the scribe of noble baring and back to the very young sorceress. "If the two of you are to have a talk about sorcery and such I'd like to learn a little more about how THIS happened to me." The half-elf undoes his top's laces and bares his chest to reveal the gold scales that start just below his neckline and look to continue below the shirt and more. "Perhaps one of you knows something about it. It's a.. a relatively new development. Itched like crazy when they first started appearing..."
This message was last edited by the player at 08:17, Fri 10 July 2020.

"Perhaps your Fate is catching up with you before all those folk you worry about chasing after you." He smiled at the unusual revelation of the gold-producing fellow. He was interested but unconcerned primarily because this did not appear to be some kind of foul thing happening to him.

"I know nothing of arcane matters." It seemed fair to warn them that he would be useless when it came to those sorts of things. "My book learning focuses on matters of the divine. And to be honest, even then I am a poor student of it. But the only way to get any better is to keep on studying and trying. Difficulty is to be endured."

Fenrick was surprised at how at ease these newcomers seemed to interact with is current companions, to the point of showing them various concerns about skin conditions.

However, as he finished his meal and his hunger satiated, his shoulder began to remind him of the last few days.  He suddenly realized he was also finally feeling fatigued, the adrenaline of the recent encounter starting to wear off.

In a lull of the converstion, Fenrick decided it was time to retire for the evening.  "Forgive me, but my shoulder reminds me that it needs attention, and a long day awaits tomorrow.  It was nice to meet you all, and I find it likely that we will be travelling together soon enough".

He looked at half elf "Thank you for the meal. Much appreciated."

He then looked at Anders and Gryphon, "Please come get me in the morning when the group is ready to review the papers and identify the items we found."

"Good night all" Fenrick concluded as he made his way to his room for the evening.

(OOC I am enjoying the RP as well, but I'm also curious to move the story along and find out what we got.  :) Sorry!)

Gryphon stands up as Fen gets ready to leave, reaching over to grasp his shoulder before he does._{"Within the darkness, the light within will guide and sustain one."} "I will be sure to get you in the morning, sleep well my friend."

All of you call it a night, committing to continue any conversations in the morning.

***

The Roleplaying conversations have moved into the Bright Knight Inn talking during Breakfast.

Anders had paused and looked at Sora. "My apologies. Time on the road has made my manners lacking." He smiled at her. "You may, of course, peruse the records with me. And I'm more than happy to discuss magic with you whenever we have the free time and inclination. I'm sure your company would be most pleasant."

He looked at Alekos, expecting a joke or some sort of crude flashing to occur - but instead there was something intriguing. He stared for a moment, frowning lightly in thought. Finally, he spoke once more, slowly. "Well. That is fascinating. Normally, this is something you see on sorcerers that can trace their lineage back to dragons." He waved a dismissive hand. "Or being tutored by dragons, or something some such. Some of it's rumor or pure poppycock."

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "It could be that your parentage draws back to draconic ancestors, either hidden or withheld from you. It could be something else, but I'm not sure what." He gestured at the scales. "Clearly, Gold Dragon by the look of it, though."

---

Anders would try and read some of the pages before falling asleep, curiosity winning out over exhaustion and common sense, but he wouldn't make it far.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:48, Tue 14 July 2020.

Sora smiled at Anders and his comments while looking at the half elf, very interested in the discoloration.

"That is interesting." she muttered.  She listened to Ander's comments and nodded in unison to the man.  "Many sorcorers who have dragon's blood have some unusual qualities to them...even those who have innnate powers and share blood of dragons can have 'marks'"

She smiles shyly and shrugs her shoulders. "It's something i have looked into, being a sorceress myself. A strong part of my type of arcane casters stem from dragon's blood....an angle i pursued in knowledge of how i came to have power."

She had a slightly crestfallen look "My lineage, however, is nothing but ordinary I'm afraid...as far as I know, my line has had no magical nature at all until myself. I know that my great grandfather was a soldier and his brother a ranger, but other than that, we are a family of farmers."

She, despite her age being so young, seemed to know what she was saying, having looked at her heritage herself. She sighed deeply. "Even tales of my past family faced nothing as dangerous as ogres, maybe one giant. as far as i know there is no link to dragons at all "

Even though she had heard that links to sorcerers were linked to dragon blood, but had heard of other methods as well.

She looked at the man with a smile. 'I look forward to our chats, but for tonight I will let you rest. I too am weary and off to bed."..the woman nodded her head to them with a smile. "I will see you in the morning gentlemen"
This message was last edited by the player at 06:03, Tue 14 July 2020.

Fenrick tried to make small talk with Gryphon as they walked to their first stop, "If it ain't here you don't need it".

"So, how did you come to join up with Chelonia and the others?  It is a very, diverse,  group of people to say the least."

"And where did you learn to shoot"?  I haven't seen many people as deadly with crossbows as you, and trust me, in the military you see lots of people shooting crossbows and bows".

"I was hired to assist in the search and rescue of any survivors of your party."

"My skill comes with much practice and life and death encounters. Started using a crossbow as soon as I could carry one, helping a warden maintain his territory. At about twelve, I started to track and hunt down a band of hired killers.  Once that was done just continued to make my way hunting down things I was paid to hunt down. I can honestly say, I can't remember when my life didn't depend upon my skill with my crossbows. Living in this manner you either become quite skilled  or you will end up dead, you must understand this being a mercenary and ex military."

"Yes, only too well", Fenrick replied to his companion.

"My military days, and now my merc days likely, are over.  People tend not to hire failures, no matter the circumstances.  Hopefully this line of work pans out."