Briarbeard Tavern - IV

[Starbeard]

'Fair enough', says old man Odium. 'The world turns, and each is flung his own way.'

Odium nibbles at his food like a bird as he waits the day out in the tavern, waiting for hear from other adventurers or the captain of the guard, wondering aloud to himself what his plans will be if he cannot locate a group leaving Vaul before the attack.

[Keehnelf]

May 8, 1 VC - 8:10pm

The elf Rhodri, bedraggled, exhausted and in the early stages of dehydration and starvation, stumbles through the gate of Vaul past the sentries and the half-finished defenses still under construction. He has no pack and no companion at his side, as he did when he departed days earlier.

[Spartakos]

Rhodri was never a fleshy individual, but now he looks gaunt to the point of nightmarish, skin stretched taut over the bones. His eyes seem to peer out of deep hollows, staring with lack of sleep. His lips are cracked and bleeding. He is clearly footsore, but he strives to walk with some semblance of dignity, standing straight and upright.

He has the presence of mind to find someone who looks like a military type and get their attention. His voice is harsh and hoarse from lack of water. "Hobgoblin army's nearly here...I've been trying to keep ahead of them the past few days. I'd say they're no more than hours behind me at this point, probably be here by dawn at the latest. Better get everyone inside and the gates shut." He doesn't wait for a response, but staggers on his way.

He makes his way down to the Briarbeard and sits at his favorite stool. "Ghrym," he says carefully, "Ale, and keep it coming. And some food, too...soup and bread." He fishes out a gold piece and sets it on the counter (deducted). When the first mug arrives, he drinks it slowly, trying not to overwork his poor shriveled belly, but feeling it come painfully to life as it receives actual nourishment.

After a meal, Rhodri will rent a room at the inn and sack out, instructing the innkeep to wake him when the invaders arrive.

[KingOfCowards]

Before Rhodri can get too comfortable, there is a knock at his door.
"Rhodri, it's Bertram. I came as soon as I heard you were back. We could use your help. You've seen the enemy. Right now, you're the best wizard in town. I'm here to beg you to help us, fight with us, hell at least talk to us.

I'll be in the common room, but I don't have much time."

If Odium is still in the common room, Bertram will address him as well.
"I don't know you Sir. I don't know what your motivation is. But I hear you have a talent with magic. That's something we do not have, and that makes you valuable. I will pay you 100 gold pieces for you to fight on the side of Vaul."

[Marullus]

A young, red-haired woman enters the tavern as Rhodri eats. She offers a demure smile to those that look at her,along her way to the bar. She holds a knobbed oak staff in her hands; a raven on her shoulder quorks, its eye riveted suspiciously on Odium.

She introduces herself to the barkeep as Deliah, orders dinner and a private room (-1sp), and he points out Rhodri and Odium to her. She offers them each a smile, but goes to the table of maps and parchments against the wall, perusing their contents.

Deliah
This young woman seems pleasant and attractive, with a keen and attentive eye. Her thick orange-tinted hair is pulled back and tied with a red leather thong, cascading behind her in a wavy locks. She wears a loose white blouse and peticoats under a corseted overdress, blending easily with any group of merchants. She has green eyes and a petite nose with smile lines on either side of her rosebud lips. She is often accompanied by a raven, which she engages quietly in conversation and who quorks back in return, and which watches those around her suspiciously.

Image:

[Starbeard]

Odium sighs bitterly. 'I had hoped to make plans to be far away from here by the time the fighting started, but it seems that has come to nothing. I now have half a mind to retire to Wendall's Tower and wait for this senseless fighting to end, but should Vaul fall then the hobgoblins would quickly seize the tower as well, and I have no faith in their willingness to let me live. It seems I have little choice but to accept your offer. You can be sure that I will earn my keep, as it is now either victory or death for us all.'

He drains the last of his bitter and makes motions to gather his things and prepare himself. 'I can put creatures to sleep, which should help in the battle. Perhaps this would be most useful against the opposing siege crews?'

Spying Deliah as she enters the room, Odium's demeanour promptly changes to one of facetious mirth. 'A-ho! What a surprise, have they conscripted you and your hapless suitor as well? Perhaps you will be turning all of the hobgoblins to crows!' He throws a sour expression at the raven on her shoulder, massaging an aching boil in his mouth with his tongue.

[Marullus]

As Deliah is addressed by Odium, she sets aside the scroll she is reading and moves over to discuss with him and Bertram.

She shakes her head to Odium, unable to suppress a slight pout. "It would not avail you to return to Wendall's tower. Some ginger-haired elf arrived with a creepy-as-hell white dog and Wendall insists on their being alone. No direction to travel from there except this way, either, as a fire rages on the horizon in the forest to the north. I expect it to get worse before it gets better. Better to face a foe than burn alive." The raven quorks at Odium and flaps its wings abruptly. "Hush Hermes, he didn't mean it. You're my only bird," she reassures him, smoothing his ruffled feathers with a delicate hand.

She considers Bertram, her eyes roaming over his tall, rugged form, his trimmed beard. "I can aid similarly, and more pleasantly. You seem a capable fellow and I'll assist your unit. Though I do not require gold, I will not turn down your generosity if it extends to me - the materials we need for our inks and inscriptions are prohibitively expensive, I fear." She extends a hand to him, palm down. "You may call me Deliah."

[KingOfCowards]

Bertram offers Odium a handshake.
"Done. I can pay you 50 gold up front before the battle, though I doubt it will do you much good should we lose. The rest will be paid in full after the battle."

Deliah takes him much by surprise, like a summer breeze in late winter. Their eyes meet momentarily, before he breaks his stare to appraise her with no small amount of suspicion. Much like an offer too good to be true.
"You know not what you are asking. I command the center of the infantry, where the danger will be greatest. I offered Odium one hundred good pieces for his assistance, and I will find a way to pay you the same, should I make it out of this battle alive."

He offers he her his hand as well.
50 gp deducted for Odium. Still waiting for a response from Rhodri

[Zorroroaster]

In a dark corner of the tavern Orrin Lighthammer sits alone, a blank expression on his face. His eyes are dull and lifeless, occasionally flickering towards the door and back to the empty chairs around him.

Empty. Like me, he thinks.

He rubs at his ring finger with the other hand absently. His shoulders rise and fall erratically with the effort of breathing, sometimes stopping altogether as if he's forgotten to exhale.

Damned rings. He looks down at where his hands continue to worry themselves. If I hadn't gone on that fool quest looking for answers, none of this shit would have happened. Folks would still be alive, if it weren't for me and my jumped up notions. He looks around at the empty chairs facing him, their accusing silence echoing loudly in his mind.

And for what? I could have agreed with the others. Kept a ring for myself, sold the others, split the profits. No. I gotta go searching for something that wasn't mine to begin with. What did I expect to find, other than pain and death? Honour? History? He thinks of his own clan's troubled past, and his self-imposed exile. Bunch of cutthroats and thieves, is what we are. No amount of digging into someone else's past is gonna change that. Better to just own up to it.

He exhales, suddenly very tired. He looks up, and for a brief moment the chairs around him are full. Full of the dead. He sees Jem, Adrienne, Naila, Lars. The ghouls accompanying Fangir stand behind them, all of them staring at him with sightless, dead eyes.

Murderer. Thief. Wretch. I am surrounded by the dead. I'm almost one of them, myself. There's war at our gates. Better get to it then. Killing is all I'm good for.

He continues to stare off into the gloom, waiting.

[Marullus]

Deliah takes him much by surprise, like a summer breeze in late winter. Their eyes meet momentarily, before he breaks his stare to appraise her with no small amount of suspicion. Much like an offer too good to be true.
"You know not what you are asking. I command the center of the infantry, where the danger will be greatest. I offered Odium one hundred good pieces for his assistance, and I will find a way to pay you the same, should I make it out of this battle alive."
He offers he her his hand as well.

She smiles at him gently. "We all face danger, huntsman. Is it better that I wait behind a wall, where they will be so close before my magic can be used that the battle is already all but lost? Retreat to... nowhere, because there is no other habitation this side of the mountains? Stride alone onto the battle field, like some kind of champion? No. We can do the most good helping in the place of greatest need." She accepts his hand, gripping it lightly, then placing her hand upon his chest. "You have a rugged independence, and I am sure are quite skilled with handling your sword. I think you underestimate my value to this fight, however. It is not your sword that will win this war. It is all the men, standing in the face of their fear in the center of this line. If they falter in their resolve, it is then that all is lost." She lifts her hand to the rugged stubble of his beard, cupping his jawline with her slender fingers. "You must make men fight for you. You must make men be willing to die for you." She leans in and whispers in his ear. "Would you fight for me? For us, in the town? A woman is a reminder of what they have to lose..." She smells of all-spice and rose oil, her auburn curls brushing his cheek as she pulls back and looks him in the eye once more, more innocent than sultry, tucking a stray curl of hair behind her ear.

[Spartakos]

Before Rhodri can get too comfortable, there is a knock at his door.
"Rhodri, it's Bertram. I came as soon as I heard you were back. We could use your help. You've seen the enemy. Right now, you're the best wizard in town. I'm here to beg you to help us, fight with us, hell at least talk to us.

I'll be in the common room, but I don't have much time."

The door is flung open, and Rhodri stands there, his eyes hollow and his hair a mess.
"What do you want from me, Bertram? I'm half-drunk and half-dead. Give me a bow and I'll do what I can, but I need some sleep or I'll be worthless to everyone."

"As for my sorcery...I lost my spellbook; the hobgoblins captured it. Without that, my sole remaining magic is what's locked in my brain. Given time, I can transcribe it, recreate my book...but if I spend that magic, it will be gone forever. I'll not use it unless some other wizard promises to let me copy it back from them."

[KingOfCowards]

Dah! I knew I'd regret having too many conversations at once.
Rhodri:
Bertram is taken aback by Rhodri's haggard appearance. He looks much different than he had remembered, even at the brink of death he had looked more alive.
"I...I'm sorry. I didn't know. I was just hoping...to find some advantage against these monsters. What I'd be up against come tomorrow."
He had never understood magic, he had witnessed others studying from their books. But until now, he had not realized how crucial these tools were to their profession. Like a soldier without a weapon, only much harder to replace.
"I might find you such a mage, that would promise you access to their books. But I make no promises that they would survive the battle. You know as much as anyone how dire the situation is."

Deliah:
Bertram nods slowly, the two understanding each other quite well. After a long pause he finally says, "There is still much to be done. But I have another boon to ask of you. There is an elf staying here. He was captured by the enemy and is without his spellbook. I can't pretend to understand such things, but if you would lend him access to what he needs he may fight for us. Would you be willing to speak to him? I'm not sure he would accept my word. He knows that I would do anything to win this fight, including the use of deception. But you could be the proof that he needs."
After turning for the door, he looks back one last time at Deliah. This random encounter might just have been the best luck he's had since coming to Vaul. The army may have just increased its number of mages by three in one fell swoop.

[Marullus]

Deliah nods, answering Bertram solemnly. "A magus without a spellbook is lost indeed, but it is not as simple as you suppose. There are those of us who will share knowledge - Odium and I are both members of the new Guild formed at the tower for that purpose. But your friend might have knowledge of spells that cannot be replaced by us once cast. Also, as I said, our profession is costly. The materials alone are likely over 250 gold pieces to replace what most mages carry when they come north to this land. He might need 300 to 400 gold to complete the process here and be restored. Captured, impoverished, and faced with sums like that, he might be better served by killing all the hobgoblins that we face to reclaim his old book."

[Spartakos]

Rhodri staggers downstairs in the morning, still hungry and tired and with a raging headache, but no longer feeling as if he crawled out of his own grave. He slumps in a chair and calls for breakfast and beer, throwing a coin vaguely in the direction of the bar (1 gp deducted).

He looks a bit blearily around the common room, looking for Bertram or any other familiar face so he can get an idea of what's happening.

[Zorroroaster]

Orrin sees Rhodri enter the common room and slowly lifts his hand in greeting. He continues to sit, waiting.

[Spartakos]

Rhodri sees Orrin and ambles over to sit by him.

"Orrin. Glad to see you're still breathing. What are you doing here? I heard we were being invaded...I'd expect you to be out there defending the town, or somesuch heroics." If he sees any contradiction between his words and the fact that he himself is about to eat breakfast, there is no sign of it on his face.

[Zorroroaster]

A shadow of something flits across Orrin's features, part longing, part remembrance. It vanishes as quickly as it arrived, his eyes vacant and dead once more.

"Heroics? Not me, not anymore. That was someone else. I'm not good now for much other than killing. Or dying. Makes no difference. Just waiting for my orders as to where that's going to happen. Are you going to take part in the fight? You've a good arm."

[Spartakos]

Rhodri accepts a mug of ale and a plate of greasy sausages and fried bread from Ghrym before continuing the conversation.
"If it's killing you want, I understand there's a powerful lot of goblinkin who could use it outside. As for dying...I expect we'll all see what that's like, and soon enough."

He chews a mouthful of sausage, then adds, "I suppose I'm fool enough to take part, if someone will loan me a bow. If a gnoll's going to chew my legbone, I may as well feather a few of them beforehand."