[IC] Ventures in Veridia: The Hexblade Hero [ERode]

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Many adventures seem to begin with an event or a chance meeting in the waking world, perhaps in a tavern, or in the middle of exploring a new place.

However, one boy's adventure truly begins...with what seems to be a dream.

The dream is of nothing but darkness, surrounding you with no end in sight. Among that darkness there is a faint pinprick of a light, flickering as though it were a fire ready to fade out. Along with that faint pinprick, you would hear a female voice whisper to you, confused and somewhat drowsy,

"Who...Who are you? ...Where am I...? Who am I...?"

There was a moment of silence after the voice asked those questions. The whispers comments, more to themselves than to you, "I...have some power. I can feel it..."

The voice then speaks to you, "Hey...won't you help me? So long as you help me remember who I am, and what comes after that, then you can use what power I have, okay?"

Before you can answer, your dream ends with the crowing of a rooster.

---

As you open your eyes, you find that you are in your room in the Inn named the Cockatrice's Crow. Sure enough, right next to your window is that gods forsakened rooster! It's still crowing as loud as its voice could muster!

Despite the rooster's crowing, you collect yourself and recall that it has been a couple of weeks since you left Marian's Grove. You were now in the small hamlet of Kylliam. As you look out the window, past the damned rooster, you can see the sun start to rise. It was time for another day in the small quiet hamlet, and some of the townsfolk that you can see from the window are beginning to open their stores, or go off to farm or fish for today.

You are also able to smell someone begin to cook breakfast down below on the first floor. It smells of bacon and eggs.

It's a new day for you adventurer!

What would you like to do?

[ERode]

Sometimes, dreams were divinations. Other times, dreams were fantasies. Most of the time, dreams were nothing at all.

But this one...this one made Albrecht feel...what? Yearning? Melancholy? Regret?

No, this feeling was more...irritation.

God, the old rooster was loud.

Rolling off the bed of straw, Albrecht pushed himself up with a yawn and a stretch. The Cockatrice's Crow had been the best sleep he'd had in the last few weeks, and to have it cut short by a bird was more than a little displeasing. Still, his muscles felt loose, his knees no longer trembled, and his appetite was returning to him once the smell of pork and poultry reached him. Rotating his shoulders a few times, he cast a glance towards his travelling gear and his sword, before once again considering how light his shoulders felt. Kylliam seemed like a safe enough little hamlet. It'd be fine to leave his stuff in his room while he broke his nighttime fast.

Grabbing his coin pouch, the young man skipped out of his room and down the flight of stairs to the tavern area of the inn. "Morning," he said heartily, "What's cooking, friend?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Albrecht reaches the tavern area of the inn and the closest person he spoke to was one of the waitresses serving the few patrons who were there to eat. The half-elven waitress seems a little surprised by his sudden appearance, but she answered pleasantly, "Oh, uh...well, we have bacon, eggs, toast, pastries, and for beverages we have ale, water, and tea," She gives a different table their order while accepting their payment, before she turns her attention back to Albrecht, "So, what can I get you sir?"

[ERode]

"Hrmm, think I'll indulge a bit this morning," Albrecht replied, finding himself an empty seat by the counter. "Your thickest slices of bacon and a mug of ale, if you may?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

The waitress takes note of the order and she answers Albrecht, "Bacon and ale, coming right up!" She ten heads to towards the back where the kitchen is. While Albrecht is waiting for his meal to come in, he would hear whispers among the patrons, circulating a couple of rumors around the tavern.

"Hey! I hear a carnival is going to be here soon!"
"Oh really? When do you think they'll be here?"
"I think they're supposed to arrive about midday from what I've heard!"

"Oh yeah, I heard that crazy gnome, Scrapmouse has gone and made another explosion in that dinky shop last night,"
"Hehehe...Crazy little rat. How many fingers d'you think Scrapmouse lost this time, if any at all?"
"Heh, I wouldn't bet my money on it. Scrapmouse is a lucky little thing,"

After listening to the condescending conversation a little, the waitress comes back to Albrecht with his order. She sets down the plate of bacon and mug of ale in front of him on the counter and she tells him, "Here you are, sir. One plate of bacon and a mug of ale. That will be a silver,"

[ERode]

A carnival, hm? Marian's Grove, out of the way as it was, rarely had such festivities visited upon it, and the young fighter certainly had his interest piqued by it. Would there be great animals from across the continent? Acrobats with backbreaking techniques? Jesters that could balance the thin line between humor and insult? He closed his eyes momentarily, imagining it all.

Yup, he'd definitely have to go.

Turning to the waitress as she set the plate before him, Albrecht grinned and flipped a gold coin out from his pouch. It tumbled through the air and he caught it in the palm of his hand. Heads. He'll go further then. "Here you go, darling," he said, placing the coin in the waitress's hand. "Don't worry 'bout the change or anything like that. Though I'd have to ask, would you happen to be busy midday today? A carnival's in town, and I'd certainly appreciate some company. 'specially from someone as graceful as you."

A wink, as he shifted his body to more properly face the half-elf.

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

The waitress clearly had men flirt with her before, because she simply smiled at him as she accepted the coin. She answered him sweetly, "Unfortunately, I am busy at midday today, Ser. I already have plans to go with my husband," Clearly she is older than she looks. After she gave her answer, she gave Albrecht the change, and she told him, "Have fun at the carnival, Ser," before she headed off to help with the other customers.

The morning is still ahead of Albrecht and there is still much of Kylliam to see...

[ERode]

Albrecht smiled, surrendering as he received 9 silver. "Your husband's a lucky man, lady," he replied. "Hope y'all enjoy the day as well."

With that, he went back to his own meal, eating and drinking with relish. Some people preferred colder meals in the morning, to shock the body awake, but the saltiness of meat and the sourness of ale was what roused and invigorated Albrecht the most easily. Slurping down the last slab of pork with gusto, the young man left a silver coin on the counter and headed out of the tavern. If nidday would be when he played, he may as well look for work during the morning, no?

With a bit of a squint, he strode through the still sleepy hamlet, wondering if there was any need here for the strength or resilience of youth. Mayhaps a merchant could use help with unloading their wares, or a farmer with the harvest, or a smith an extra assistant?

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Unfortunately, as Albrecht looked around, he was not able to find any work to do. Many of the shop owners and other people of professions had everything handled. So there either wasn't much to do, or the other employees took care of what needed to be done. Of course...that isn't to say that nothing wouldn't come up.

As Albrecht continues his search, he walks across a small shop, and all of a sudden he would hear a shout.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!"

After that, there is a loud "BOOM!" that reverberates through the sleepy hamlet. Black smoke begins to flow out from the chimney and through every opening of the shop.

[ERode]

Well, there may not be any work to be done in Kylliam, but that wasn't a bad thing either! The hamlet was efficient then, running smoothly with no one lacking for work or for workers, and strolling about, at the very least, gave Albrecht more opportunities to scout out the place. He hadn't brought a map with him, after all, so familiarity with the paths was of utmost importance.

That was what he told himself, at least. His father always warned him, after all, that an adventurer was only one step away from a vagrant.

Before Albrecht's thoughts could get too dark, however, an explosion pulled his attention towards a smoking hut. An attack? A fire? No, Scrapmouse, that's what that gnome's name was! The lucky, finger-losing crazy person! The young man took a deep breath, before marching right on over towards the hut. Covering his mouth and nose with one arm while swinging open the door with his other, Albrecht squinted through the plumes of acrid smoke, unable to make out any details inside just yet.

"Hey! Y'all ok there? What happened?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Coughing can be heard as the door swung open and more smoke poured out of the small shop. From the look of the many townspeople nearby, this was clearly not an unusual occurrence. Out comes a soot covered girl with twin pigtails and a pair of goggles. She lifts the goggles off of her eyes with her gloved hands and she looks to Albrecht as she answered "I'm okay. Just another failure in experimentation, that's all!"

She shakes off the soot, like how a dog shakes off water, and he would see that her hair is bright bubblegum pink, and she's wearing a white tank top, brown pants, black boots and black gloves. She has her tinkerer's tools on her. She is clearly an adult despite only reaching Albrecht's knees.

[ERode]

Huh, Scrapmouse is what gnomes named their daughters? He arched a brow at the tinkerer's appearance, before mentally shrugging. Cute at least, in a pet dog kind of way. Dusting off the soot that gotten onto himself as well, Albrecht peered into the blackened hut, before asking off-handedly, "Need any help with that? Like, clean-up or whatever else y'need."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

'Scrapmouse' looked at Albrecht and seemed to study him before commenting, "Ah! You're a newcomer, aren't ya?" She then stroked her chin and answered "Sure. I could use the help in cleaning up," She then led the way into the hut and she told him, "Let's get the soot offa everything here first! Gotta keep my shop in tip top shape!"

She then seemed to realize something and she introduced herself, "Oh! I'm Janine Fawkes, but most people just call me Scrapmouse! Welcome to my shop!"

[ERode]

Albrecht's nose wrinkled as the stench of fire and alchemy became more prominent upon stepping into the shop. Rolling up his sleeves, the adventurer nodded as Janine introduced herself. He stuck out a hand for a shake, before replying, "Yup, and I'm Albrecht Dietrich, wandering adventurer n all that. What were you working on anyways? Most people I know are, y'know, averse to explosions and all."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Scrapmouse shook his hand and answered his introduction with a "Nice to meetcha," before turning her attention back to her shop. She gave a laugh at Albrecht's question, and she answered him, "Most people are! But I ain't most people! No, the greatest inventor to ever live can't be averse to explosions! Besides, I've been in worse than this," She then continued answering as she started cleaning up, "I'd thought I'd try and see if I can make an improvement to ye olde Alchemists' Fire, but wouldn't ya know it? The chemical combusts before I can even start refining it!" She laughs after she mentions the Alchemists' Fire.

Looking around the shop, you can see not just potions and other alchemical items, but also small inventions, like toys, boxes with a wind on them, and some other gadgets you don't quite recognize. Some of them even look like they might fit with certain weapons. Everything is covered in soot, and it is hard to glean the details. The soot coverage seems to be at its worst in the backroom...that's probably where Scrapmouse works on her projects, instead of working on them in the front of this little store.

[ERode]

Most of Janine's terminology flew right over Albrecht's head. Chemicals? Alchemist's Fire? Despite some of the training he received from that dwarf, most of it was related to more practical aspects of adventuring: how to set up a tent at night, how to pack properly, how to fight. As far as he could understand, the sprightly gnome had been playing with fire and gotten metaphorically and literally burned...and that she did this regularly?

Smart people were weird, that was for sure.

As Albrecht looked around for a cloth and bucket to start the cleaning with, he asked, "So you're making...weapons and stuff here? What for? Doesn't look like Kylliam's the sorta place to get raided all that often." Pausing by one of the shelves, he picked up a particularly weird little gadget, inspecting it. "Looks pretty expensive too."

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

As Scrapmouse cleaned, she answered him, "For anyone who needs them! Just because Kylliam doesn't get raided, it doesn't mean there's no danger in the world. Never hurts to have something prepared just in case!" She then added "Plus, I don't just make weapons and dangerous stuff here. I also make inventions to try and improve life in Kylliam here! I just...haven't found the winner yet,"

As you cleaned, you notice that some of the items on there have an emblem on there. Clearly a mark meant to show that she made it. She then asked Albrecht, "So, what about you? What're you adventuring for? Treasures?"

[ERode]

"Improve life?" Albrecht paused for a moment, wondering how exactly that would happen. "Like, some magic item that waters crops for you?" There was another pause. He was really feeling the limits of his own imagination here. "Or like, a scarecrow that moves?"

He began lifting weird trinkets and objects up to scrub at the shelves underneath, turning only briefly to address the gnome again. "Dunno, actually. Just sorta felt like it after a while? Least, I became less interested in inheriting my old man's forge."

Albrecht shrugged. "What 'bout your family? They Kylliam folk?"

[Guardian Angel Haruki]

Scrapmouse answered Albrecht excitedly and joyfully "Yeah! Definitely something like those! Great ideas, Al!" She listened to his answer, and she answered in understanding, "Ahhh! Pursuing your own destiny! I can respect that," When he asked about her family, she nodded and answered "Yeah. My Mom and Pops are Kylliam folk. Pops is a cobbler, while Mom is more of a wizard. She's teaching at the Instella Academy, ya know? Pops wanted me to continue the cobbler family tradition and inherit the store, but I can do so much more than just make shoes! I can invent stuff! I can handle explosives! I can even handle a bit of an adventure too!"

When she mentioned that, she seemed to get an idea and thought out loud, "Say...I could go on an adventure as well. Not only would I get new ideas, but I could expand my brand, and get the gold needed to open multiple stores! That's ingenious!"

[ERode]

"And advertise your inventions while you're at it?" Albrecht grinned; Janine's enthusiasm was quite infectious. "Well, if you want a slightly more experienced adventurer to show you the ropes, I wouldn't mind sticking around in Kylliam for a while longer n all till you've tied up loose ends." Was he really doing it? Of course he was. The warrior winked jokingly. "Be good to have some companionship on the lonely roads anywho."