"Oh... hmm... err... Yes... fair one... Thine eyes, like radiant silver pools, have removéd the mist from mine... I doth see thee clearly now, and grieve, yes, I grieve, that ever I called thee Jenny, for that name dost not do thee justice. Prithee, fair one, tell me thine name?"
Jean looks around almost nervously, as if searching for some sort of assailant who is lying in wait.
"Oh, er... excuse me."
Jean lets his hands fall back to his side, scratching his chin.
"Oh, how rude of me! I have forgotten to introduce myself! I am Jean Olivier D'Underhill, slayer of the great dragon Palane, tamer of the remorhaz, he who snatched the golden tooth of Lord Bleehall from his very mouth, and Highwayhalfling Extrordinaire!
My name is Saeessira Dawndancer Marigold...
She notices him look around, and looks at him...
You looking for someone? Or something?
She then hears his tales of his "accomplishments", and tacks one onto the list...
And colorsprayed by a mighty orc!
She then laughs uncontrollably for a few moments, and stops...
Sorry about that, I am just letting my sense of humor get away from me.
Now, a question. Who is this "Jenny"?
She then whispers...
and when we find a town...Ill buy us both a drink.
Sae then remembers...
Oh yes! I still have to introduce you to Ithar!
Sae then thinks for a moment...
"Ithar, oh Ithar...come here, I have someone for you to meet!"
"Jenny, she is a barmaid in my hometown... she has very copious amounts of drink on hand..."
Jean scans his surroundings again.
"Orcs? Nasty sort. Always grunting, hollering, and doing oh-so-rude things."
Too bad you didnt see that one that was so caught up in my beauty that he followed me part of the way down the river. He was drooling all over himself!
"Meet someone? Yey!" you hear the little magpie announce. After a few seconds, the little bird flits down from the trees, finding a comfortable landing spot on the halfling's beret. "Who I meet?" he asks, darting glances around, then back at you.
Arttemis
You see something very small dart towards you. Apparently it missed, however, since you didn't feel anything. Whatever it was, there don't see any others. Maybe a bird flew by. Odd though, you've never seen a bird fly quite that close to a person, except in the circus.
When Ithar arrives, Ara lets out a slight giggle. "I'm glad I put my hair away," whispers to the robed elf beside her, with the corners of her mouth curled into a smirk.
"Meet him. You know, the guy who's head you just landed on..."
Sae laughs again at the thought, as she leans in to whisper to Jean...
See that elf over there? Name is Silvain. Stuck up, I tell ya. Quite fun to poke fun at though...
"Stuck up, eh? Fun to poke fun at, eh?"
Jean rubs his hands together emphatically.
"I think I'll get along with him quite nicely..."
Jean wipes the sarcastic grin off his face, checks himself, and walks over to Sylvain.
"Greetings, there! I am Jean Olivier D'Underhill, highwayhalfling extrordinaire! I, being the kind, noble man that I am, decided to point out that your boot seems to be unlaced. You may want to fix that."
[ 04-12-2002: Message edited by: Reyolen ]
Taylen moves close to Aust, and looks him over closer. He says to Frey in elvish, "You are right, He doesn't looks so good. However, I think he'll survive, but we shouldn't leave him laying here." The leatherclad elf slides his arms carefully under Aust and lifts him, settling the weight, and heading back towards the group.
Taylen ducks into the foliage beside him as you rise. He appears a few seconds later by the bridge, just as you draw near, carrying Aust over his shoulder.
Taylen
As you emerge from the foliage and approach the bridge, you notice Silvan approaching from the other side. Khazmon stands leaning on one of the guide rails, and doesn't appear to be in very good shape.
Falaanla
Your little companion stands up on the beret as the halfling wanders away. Once Jean pauses to 'play' with the robed elf, Ithar looks around himself, then between his legs, "Where head? I on pillow." The little bird sits down in the middle of the beret, and nuzzles in, "Ooh, comfy!"
I would hope that you don't mind it...
Jean turns back to Sae and raises an eyebrow.
"I don't mind... uh... your... companion?"
Take it off...carefully. His name is Ithar, a magpie.
Jean chuckles.
"That's quite alright, as long as he does not befoul my oh-so-beautiful beret. It was oh-so-expensive, you know."
Khazmon shakes his head, and stands up as best he can, surveying everything around him.
It appears that the day has been won, though at a cost. Any orcs nearby lie still on the ground. Your handaxe rests on the floorboards of the bridge, where you dropped it when your arm went limp. Before you, Taylen carries the unmoving body of Aust on his shoulder. The lizardman who traveled with you now stands just downstream, with dead orcs sprawled around it. Silvan walks by as you turn to glance behind you. On the side of the bridge from which you came, Ara sits on the ground, propped up on her elbow. She appears to be chatting with the little winged girl, and a halfling you had not seen before. The halfling is wearing a brightly colored outfit, of some fancy among the wealthier merchants you've met, and has a small bird sitting on top of his puffy hat. A small goatee adorns the little man's chin.
"She has the most beautiful blue eyes... sharp features... she was oh-so-soft to the touch, you see..."
Jean looks Ara up and down, taking in the sights, so to speak.
"Not quite unlike yourself, you know... beautiful hair as the finest strands of silk... a voice as melodic as that of the finest minstrels... lips, full and beautiful, the color of roses..."
Jean crosses his arms and looks around.
"I don't suppose any of you could regale me with a tale of your travels? You obviously seem as those who have seen much of the world, and I, being recently evicted from a nearby town, seem to have nowhere to go. They did not like my stories, I fear, and I wish to have one better for when I next stop."
[ 04-14-2002: Message edited by: Taylen ]
Anyway, I think I'll be able to take control of him again now. Thanks for the brief NPC, and sorry about not being able to run him then.
=+=
IC - Drakkenclaw shakes his head slightly, before looking about him. He had contributed nothing to the carnage around him in the least. Instead, he was standing amidst the others' kills. He had no right to them.
The lizardman then silently turns, and walks upstream many yards through the collection of those he followed (I think it's upstream - basically, he follows the river's path through the group and off from it). He observes what has transpired as he walks, and then, reaching a spot at a distance from them, he kneels by a still spot on the river's edge.
You can recall no settlement within a half day's travel. You might be able to find something by heading northward for a day, but in that time you could probably reach Destindeterre just as easily. Aust's condition seems fairly stable, though he will still need to be tended to if he is to recover.
With that, Sae walks up to the dead orc shaman and searches his corpse to see if there is anything of value.
The orc shaman has a lot of baubles made from dried bones, stones, and a few small teeth. None of it really looks special, or even comfortable. Even if any of it did look more appealing, the creature is far larger than yourself. There is a pouch at its hip, with various herbs and other odd bits that might be used in spells. The creature's only weapon is a small bone dagger, of no special value. Then, just as it seems pointless to continue, you notice a glint in the water. The creature's hand and arm had fallen into the stream, and beneath the gentle current, a small golden ring sits on the orc's thick finger. You would have to step into the water to pull it off.
Drakkenmaw
The waters are clear and slow-moving. With the deaths of the orcs, this place seems quiet and serene... with the exception of your traveling companions prattling on with each other back on and around the bridge.
The shaman's pouch adds a bit to the weight of your shoulder bag, though you should still be able to carry it without difficulty. The water soaks your feet through your shoes as you step into the stream, and the fringes of your gown begin to soak up the water.
You find the ring difficult to remove from the shaman's finger, and apparently with reason. The inside of the ring has four small barbs, spread evenly around its circumference. They would not be enough to catch your tiny finger, though that's mainly because the ring is too large for you anyhow. A small trail of blood rolls away down the stream from the orc's hand, its finger shredded by the ring's removal.
Hopefully this gown wont take TIOO long to dry...
The orc in chain garb lies mostly in the water, its already rusted garments bulging out above the stream's surface. You could land on the creature's body to inspect it, but trying to do so from the shore beside would be fruitless, and the partial dam made by the creature's body makes standing in the water seem like a bad idea.
The creature doesn't appear to have any pockets, at least not that you can find. The only thing of value that you can see is yet another fat gold ring, placed on the same finger of the same hand as the one you pulled from the shaman. Both the creature's arms are submerged, and you'd need to get very wet to pull this ring off yourself.
Your gown, your wings, your hair, and anything else you had with you is now quite thoroughly soaked. Fortunately, most of it won't be damaged by water anyway. If you had any dried trail rations, they wouldn't be dry now. The water comes up to your chest as you stand. If it was flowing more quickly, you might be swept away.
You find this ring slightly more difficult to remove, but it eventually tears free. The blood begins to pool in the nearby water, and may get on your gown if you stay too long. Unfortunately, all this water makes flying out of the question.
