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Post by notARobot on Aug 14, 2017 9:36:35 GMT -8
"What am I selling? Ho ho...excellent question, my good sir! Well said! I am selling wonder. I am selling astonishment. I stand here today offering you a glimpse into the murky depths of a dark sorcery most ancient. The wrinkled old magician who instructed me in these arts made me swear a solemn oath never to reveal these powers publicly, but..." Theron shifts his gaze from side to side conspiratorially, then gestures for the groomsman to step closer. "...but you look like a trustworthy fellow. For the mere pittance of three silvers, I will demonstrate a feat conjectured on and whispered about within the most esoteric circles of alchemical lore -- the transmutation of any metal into purest gold!"
Theron doffs his velvet cap with his left hand and holds it out towards Rolf expectantly. At the same time, with his right hand, he pockets one of the gold coins he's been manipulating and deftly palms the other.
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Post by HorizonsDream on Aug 14, 2017 14:31:30 GMT -8
"I'm Ladonna, the eldest Marche daughter," she says to Clay with a smile. "And the marriage plans kind of fell through," she adds with a light shrug. She looks down at Justin, taking notice of his wince. "Ah, sorry, Justin. I didn't actually see you there. I didn't meant to come off as insensitive."
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Post by Daos on Aug 14, 2017 15:09:20 GMT -8
Ladonna, Ryan and Justin (Buho Inn) "Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that," Clay tells Ladonna. "But in that case, maybe you'd like to consider my boy here!" He pats Ryan on the back. "We would have married him off sooner, but he's been very busy with his studies lately. But once he's ordained...well, he's quite a catch, you know. Good looking, takes after his father, if I do say so myself. And hey, he's got a bright future ahead of him. Sure, he's no rich merchant, but some priests become wealthier than merchants anyway, you know."
Theronymous Wiggledigit (Village Square) Rolf's eyes widen at Theron's announcement--but not of wonder or delight, but of abject terror. "S-Sorcery! Does the kohen know about this?" He makes a circle gesture over his heart, the symbol of Gonto, as if warding himself from whatever evil eldritch powers Theron has. "Magic ain't allowed in this village, not without the church's permission!"
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Post by Nuke on Aug 14, 2017 18:27:48 GMT -8
"Oh quit, I need know help in finding a bride." he turns to look at Ladonna, "Though I could do worse." he says with a wink
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Post by notARobot on Aug 14, 2017 19:47:27 GMT -8
The little gnome's hands suddenly seize into tight fists as a dark scowl appears upon his face. He seems to be struggling to restrain himself from committing violence upon the man before him. It only lasts a moment, though; in the moment that follows, he closes his eyes, visibly relaxes his musculature, and slowly exhales a deep breath. "Your pardon, sir," Theron says without making eye contact, in a voice carrying only a hint of the rage that almost overwhelmed his better judgment. He finally manages to look up at Rolf before continuing, "I must confess at once, I am no sorcerer -- merely a humble entertainer. It was only in the hope of drawing your interest in my coin tricks that I spoke those words, sir, and I beg forgiveness for frightening you. I'm afraid I got a little carried away in a fit of showmanship."
(OOC: Could Theron maybe use his Fast-Talking NWP to help him get out of this? I'm not sure how relevant or necessary it is, but I'll thow a d20 in just in case and let you do with it what you will. Fast-Talking target number is 15.) nG5lAbcW1-20 1-20
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Post by Justin Tyme on Aug 15, 2017 12:35:08 GMT -8
Justin Tyme
The halfling gives Ladonna a half-smile and says, "Worry not - I know that you can make it up to me by letting buy you a drink..." Justin gestures at Clay, "...unless someone else cares to beat me to it, that is." Justin continues, "I hope you do not consider me forward, but this fiance of yours must have been a fool to let you slip away. I am sorry that things didn't turn out for you, but I am enlightened by the prospect that you may find your true love somewhere else - for love knows no reason, no boundaries, no height," Justin smiles knowingly at his own pun.
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Post by HorizonsDream on Aug 15, 2017 16:41:20 GMT -8
"Oh, Ryan is a fine catch," Ladonna says with a smile. "But he wouldn't want to marry someone like me. I'm...old compared to many of the young women within the town. I'm also afraid that since my first try at marriage failed that my reputation would only bring down Ryan. I wouldn't want that," she says to Clay before looking at Justin. "You're quite the lady's man it seems," she teases a bit.
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Post by Daos on Aug 15, 2017 19:54:30 GMT -8
Ladonna, Ryan and Justin (Buho Inn) Clay holds up his hands to Justin. "Sorry, friend. I'm a bit short at the moment."
To Ladonna, Clay says, "Nonsense, you're still quite young. And if anything, my boy's reputation will only help improve your own. Well, I'll talk it over with your father later. I'm sure we can work something out."
Theronymous Wiggledigit (Village Square) Speaking rapidly, Theron manages to throw Rolf off a bit, confusing him, then convincing him that it was all a misunderstanding. He didn't know any magic. Eventually it seems to sink in and Rolf calms down and accepts this. "Ooh, boy, you had me going there for a minute...I forgot you gnome types like your pranks."
Rolf departs and Theron is left wondering how close he just came to being burned at the stake.
"Food now?" asks the squirrel from above.
(Theron makes a Fast-Talking check (1d20): 8, pass.)
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Post by notARobot on Aug 15, 2017 21:06:11 GMT -8
"Gnome have bad-time...danger-time...wrong-time," Theron tells the squirrel after looking around to confirm that no one within earshot is paying attention. The difficulties of translating idioms from Tardish into Burrow-Speak were starting to become more and more apparent to him, as he tried several variations for "bad timing" and found himself unsatisfied with all of them. Heaving another sigh, he continues, "Little-furry-friend make choice now. Gnome take little one back to woods. Little one stay with gnome, get food as promised. Little-furry-friend choose."* Theron climbs up high enough to retrieve the wheel of cheese, the same as he did when he placed it there. He places it and the new velvet cap into his backpack; the cap actually goes inside the small sack in the backpack, along with the two gold coins he was doing tricks with. After the squirrel comes down from the roof of the stall, Theron flips up the hood of his cloak and heads southward out of the square. If the squirrel would prefer to go back to the woods, Theron brings him there by taking a "shortcut" across the area behind the Lonely Pony. After he does that, or if the squirrel decides to come with him, he'll head to Buho Inn. *(OOC: Theron is telling the squirrel "I can take you back to the woods where I found you, or you can remain with me and I will feed you. Which do you prefer?" In case that wasn't clear )
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Post by HorizonsDream on Aug 16, 2017 14:02:54 GMT -8
"You might want to wait until after the festival. As I said, my family is really concentrating on my little sister right now, and she has three possible suitors coming today. He is going to be busy," Ladonna explains. "Until you can speak to my father, perhaps I should try to get to know Ryan a little bit more. While we did go outside of the town together, we didn't exactly spend a lot of time getting to know one another."
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Post by Daos on Aug 16, 2017 14:30:30 GMT -8
Ladonna, Ryan and Justin (Buho Inn) "Oh, I'm only in town for the day," Clay responds. "But not to worry, I want to catch up with Jonas anyway while I'm here. I'm sure we'll find the time."
As they are talking, Theronymous Wiggledigit (or 'Theron' for short), arrives at the inn and looks around. He's wearing a spiffy new cloak, making him look more like a traveler who just arrived rather than a layabout and (alleged) thief. Ladonna would know of him in particular. Jonas swears Theron is guilty of stealing a bracelet from a woman who stayed at this very inn a couple of weeks back, but after searching him, found no proof. The reeve made him let the gnome go. Jonas is still convinced that Theron is the culprit, though, and Ladonna often hears him fuming about the gnome at home.
Theronymous Wiggledigit (Buho Inn) The squirrel opts to return to its tree. In hindsight, that's probably for the best. Theron can probably imagine how Shanson would react if he brought a rodent into the inn with him. After dropping the squirrel off, he heads for the inn.
There are quite a few people here. Most are sitting at tables while a single person stands at the back, telling tales of the war. Currently that person is none other than Jonas Marche, seargeant of the watch and the one who accused Theron of stealing that bracelet. Luckily, he's engrossed in telling a story about fighting a goblin cleric during the war, so doesn't notice Theron's entrance.
Looking around the room, Theron spots some other familiar faces. Ethen Benton, the grocer and council member, sits at the bar, downing a large quantity of ale. Mattin Tenhammer, the blacksmith and council member, sits at a table with the local priest, Kohen Rorak Hedra. Olaf and Janna Farbough sit together, listening to the stories. Caerlon Osgood (the weaponsmith) sits with Keliath Flamebeard (the armorer). At another table is Sennah Auger (the potter and council member), and her son Damon. Also present were a few others, including Coha Terek, a young dwarven lass who often frequents the Goblin's Tooth to sing and play music.
Also at the bar are Ryan McIntyre (acolyte who helped in the recent goblin adventure) with his mother, Judy, and his father Clay. Clay is often sent on missions by the church and is almost never home, so this must be a special occasion. The three of them are speaking with Ladonna Marche (Jonas' daugther, and the barmaid of the Lonely Pony who helped in the recent goblin adventure) and Justin Tyme.
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Post by notARobot on Aug 16, 2017 17:07:24 GMT -8
Theron navigates his way through the crowded inn carefully, making a deliberate effort to avoid intersecting the line of Sergeant Marche's gaze. Upon spotting Coha Terek, he decides to go have a chat with her and alters his trajectory accordingly. Theron would likely deny it if anyone asked, but he's had a crush on Coha ever since they met -- which, as it happened, was the first night he had ever performed his magic tricks before an audience.
It had been an unusually full house at the Goblin's Tooth that evening, and Theron remembers how effortlessly she seemed to captivate the entire tavern with her singing. Perhaps inspired by her performance, he waited until it was clear she was finished singing, and attempted to engage the audience's attention with the array of coin tricks he'd been practicing.
He'd been heckled right back into his barstool, less than five minutes after beginning his performance. With his cheeks flushed crimson with humiliation, he sat there for a time quietly nursing his mug of ale and thinking to himself, over and over, how could I be so stupid? Why on Amtar did I ever think that would work? He was still brooding and mentally kicking himself in this way when Coha Terek approached his table and sat down next to him. "You bombed pretty hard there," she'd said, and Theron somehow felt his heart sink even lower at that comment. "But cheer up -- everybody stinks their first time in front of a crowd. Entertaining people is a skill just like any other...you gotta work hard and keep at it to get good. So don't let 'em get you down, okay?"
They'd barely spoken since that night -- nothing beyond a casual greeting or a friendly wave when they happened to run into each other -- but Theron had found himself picturing her face and hearing her words of encouragement before every performance he'd done since then. And he knew that he would have given up on entertaining, and would have felt sore and bitter and self-pitying about it afterwards, if it hadn't been for her. The combination of admiration and gratitude had left him more than a little smitten.
"Miss Terek," Theron greets her as he approaches. "Might I impose my company on you awhile?"
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Post by Nuke on Aug 16, 2017 18:06:20 GMT -8
"I'm sure we will have plenty of time to get to know each other Ladonna. But your right, festival day is going to be busy." Ryan says
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Post by Daos on Aug 17, 2017 16:37:30 GMT -8
Coha is pacing back and forth, muttering to herself while looking over a scroll. When Theron speaks to her, she glances up for a moment. "Hmm, what?" she asks. "Oh, Theron. Sorry if I seem distracted. I'm a little nervous about my song. I'm supposed to play it soon. I don't know if I've ever had a crowd this big before...the Goblin's Tooth is never so populated." Coha, a young dwarf in her twenties, has long red hair and pale green eyes. Her face is freckled and as dwarves go, she is rather odd. She dresses in bright, vibrant clothing and enjoys music and art, and is very talkative, open and generous. It's almost like someone made a check-list of every dwarf stereotype, then Coha decided to do the exact opposite of everything on that list. As a result, she is quite the headache to her traditionalist parents. Her father is a merchant, and so almost never around, which leaves it up to her mother alone to try and force Coha onto the 'right path.' Coha is apprenticed to Firebeard, but has no interest in armor or crafting. All she cares about is her music. She furls the scroll up and sighs. "Quick, distract me with conversation, before I second guess myself again and try to come up with yet another rhyme for 'effulgent.' What are you up to?" Meanwhile, over at the bar, Ethen orders another drink, despite swaying on his barstool already. "It's not even noon yet," Shanson points out. "Don't you think you've had enough?" "It's a feshtival...c'mon, we're shupposhed to be having fun, right?" Ethen objects. He slides another two silver coins forward on the bar. Sighing, Shanson pours him another ale. It's around this time the reeve steps inside. She is dressed in her ceremonial white armor, used only for special occasions. When wearing it, she really does look like the knight that she is.
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Post by notARobot on Aug 18, 2017 7:01:49 GMT -8
"Um. Uh. Um," he stammers. All throughout the walk over here, his brain had been working overtime, compiling a list of smooth-sounding, interesting things to say. Now he's standing right in front of her, she actually wants to talk to him, and not only has the whole list disappeared, he can't even seem to put two words together anymore.
"If this crowd can't appreciate your angelic voice, shame on them," Theron suddenly blurts out. The words spill forth a bit rushed, and at a slightly higher pitch than he would have liked. He feels his cheeks starting to burn. "And...it's pointless to even think that. I'm sure everyone'll love you. Um. You-your song, I mean."
"Anyways..." he says as he prepares to change the subject, "what do you think of our new 'heroes of Buho'?" He gestures towards Ladonna and Ryan. "I've been hearing the strangest rumors flying around about those two."
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