[IC] Estermere - A Medieval Fantasy Roleplay

[The Fated Fallen]

"I think I will come and join you," She responded. "As fun as pneumonia is, I have to work tomorrow."
"I see you brought company," Noting the 2 individuals that had entered the building. She studied them, one appeared to be a fairly well armoured man, if a bit travel-weary. The girl interested her though, and she couldn't put her finger on it. Red eyes weren't normal for humans were they? Were they?
Tirarian closed the back door, and moved up to the fire, leaving the grenade she keeps on her in her coat pocket.
"Have a story to share?" She gestured towards the two strangers, "I think we have some time."

[Professor_Wyvern]

"Yes well." He tossed one of the two logs into the fireplace, "I couldn't just leave them out there in the cold like that." He left the other log right next to it. "I got some milk from Jack, a bit more than usual. I don't want it to spoil, I'll give you some. I'm going to check if there are any other poor stragglers outside."

Elric quickly opened the door and shut it. He glanced up at the roof and shouted up towards Gukb, which Elric had the sinking suspicion he was there, on the roof an in danger. "Get down and into the house! If you need to get in through the roof again, just try REALLY hard to not knock enough of it so the rain can pour down! Try climbing down, there's a door in the back! Help yourself to some bread if you're hungry!"

He returned inside, "I didn't hear any. Vicious storm." He said as he placed the last log onto the fireplace. He grabbed the fire striker and started swinging it against the stone. It took a few strikes, and flickering sparks before it successfully caught the wood, and it began to burn more, producing a nice warm fire.

"But yes, I'm going to help myself to some milk. Do any of you care for a drink?"

[SyrianHamster]

Well that didn't work as planned.

Gukb found himself suspended in mid air ten feet above ground. An acceptable drop for a human, two broken shins for a goblin. His little clawed fingers screeched as they gradually lost purchase on the guttering.

"Ah no," he said calmly, as if accepting his fate for what it was. "Was nice knowin' ya boys."

The guttering rattled a little as his shifting weight placed pressure on the rusted brackets holding it up. Gukb saw a brief light at the end of the tunnel; if the brackets snapped, the guttering would fall and lower him to the ground. Maybe gently, maybe not. Either way, it sure was a more attractive option than simply 'letting go'.

"Cam on, cam on yer wankin' piece of horse crap," he sneered at his inanimate enemy. "King Gukb the Humble ain't bein' felled by a roof misadventure."

One of the brackets snapped, as if answering his call. The gutter slanted, then dropped a foot- though the force shook off Gukb's dwindling hold. He fell screaming.

It was an ugly bush, or so Gukb had thought when he first scouted the place out. Regardless of whether or not he'd have it adorn Gukb Castle's immaculate grounds, once he had some, it was a dense bastard. His chain mail and leather protection fought in unison against the thorns, and the proud yet slender branches of dull colours. The bush broke his fall, but not his pride.

"Get down and into the house! If you need to get in through the roof again, just try REALLY hard to not knock enough of it so the rain can pour down! Try climbing down, there's a door in the back! Help yourself to some bread if you're hungry!" called Elric, just as Gukb rolled out of the bush.

Bread, yes bread sounded good. Gukb picked himself up, shrugged off foliage he'd acquired as decoration, and headed for the back door. Though before he did, he paused briefly to look up at the dislodged gutter and shook his head. "Typical!"

The back door was a sturdy thing, of oak and iron struts, but it was thankfully unlocked. It opened with a squeak, and Gukb stumbled in to see a loaf of bread atop a simple table. No mould, that he could see, and so naturally his eyes watered more than his mouth at the prospect of a half decent meal. It had been an awfully long time, after all.

"Thankin' yer, Master Barber," Gukb called as he snatched at the bread. He cared little for knives or forks, and resolved to tearing chunks out of it.

[IncredibleBee]

"I'm not thirsty." James responded, wringing the water from his hair. He knelt down by the fire, holding Anya next to him. At this rate, even she would be warm. The crackling flames created an odd sense of comfort for James. The smokey, burning scent filling his nostrils forced his mind to wander back to his home. If he let it, he could almost still hear the clashing of steel against steel, and the thunder of hooves on mud and bone.

"If you want our 'story', we're travelers." James said, snapping back to reality. He eyed the new woman up and down. James assumed it must have been Elric's midget-wife. "I've been searching for something important. For personal reasons. Call it a quest, if you want."

[The Fated Fallen]

Tirarian perked up at that last statement. "A quest? A quest for what?" Why kind of quest would you take a ten year old (top estimate) on a quest?
She received a drink from Elric, "And why would you come to Estermere? Not much happens here, are you passing through?" Tirarian caught herself. "I'm sorry, I know its not polite to ask strangers their life story. I'm Tirarian, and who might you be little lady?" she offered a damp hand to Anya. The gnome came up to about neck height on her, and noted the dark, but sophisticated outfit now that she had taken hung her cloak up

[Shisa]

Anya watched the fire as the flames undulated and crackled playfully. It had been a while since she'd been so close to a nice fire, and it felt like reuniting with an old friend. But there were other people present- new friends to be made perhaps, and she couldn't well ignore them.

Anya took Tirarian's hand and shook it, smiling. Elric seemed very nice, and she bet Tirarian was nice too. She kind of liked this town.

"My name is Anya, and I have a story!" Said the girl excitedly.

Anya looked around at what would soon be her new friends. She knew they'd like the story, because she heard it from a very reliable source. A source known for good stories.

"Once upon a time, there was a little girl just like me who refused to help with the dishes. Eventually the dishes piled up so much that they filled the house, and she and her family had to move out and become hobos. The end."

[The Fated Fallen]

Tirarian glanced at Elric, and gave him a look that said 'Where the hell did you find these guys?'
"Umm.." she stumbled, unsure of how to respond to the short story, "It has a good lesson to be learnt, I guess. You should always help out with the dishes."
Tirarian moved closer to the fire and warmed her hands a bit, the girls hands hurt her own they were so cold. It hadn't been raining that long had it?

[Professor_Wyvern]

Elric gave a nod to Gukb, as he went through the larder and pulled out a container of milk. He swirled it around, as he examined the contents of it, mostly to secure the fact that it had not yet spoiled. It did not, and he went to a nearby shelf as he pulled out two ceramic glasses, and poured the milk in, slightly under the brim. There was a small bit of milk left, Elric glanced at Gukb. "Help yourself."

He did hand over the one glass of milk to Tirarian, and kept the other to himself. He sat down with the others, as he took a swig from the glass. He peered at Anya, "That was an excellent story, Anya." He peered over at James, finally noticing the tabard. "The Dog Crested Ones... You know, I had a Traveling Knight who wandered through and stopped by at my shop, a few months back. He talked about how this family of Knights suffered one to many blows to the head, so they were only useful for war. He was rather happy about their skill in war, but not much else..." He snapped his fingers together, "But I can't recall the name of that group, nor exactly how he described the family arms, but only that it had dogs on it...Though I do remember him fairly well, and some other chatter we had."

[IncredibleBee]

James' eyes narrowed. "Dog-crested knights, and hounds of war?" he asked.
"Hmm... Perhaps he speaks of the Hawthornes. Hard-headed mongrels near the edge of society, fighting in near any war that calls them." he said, looking back into the fire. "I wouldn't be surprised if one or another went daft from a few too many blows to the helm. Was this knight also a member of the family?"

[Professor_Wyvern]

Elric snapped his fingers together again, and pointed at James, "Yes that sounds somewhat familiar... perhaps it was, or perhaps I misheard when he spoke those months ago." He gripped onto his cup as he took another swig of milk. He paused for a moment, "I am not too clear on which heraldry he had, but I recall that he was a large man, broad shoulders and was big as a barn, and his knuckles were incredibly worn, and had a large gash running down his right bicep."

Elric placed his glass down as he stroked his beard. "And he mentioned about beating a Troll in arm-wrestling." He took a swig from the glass. "Yes, he was quite the interesting fellow."

[IncredibleBee]

"Hmm..." James pondered, petting his daughter in thought. "That's too vague a description for me to guess if I've met him."

"By the way." he snapped his fingers, looking at Elric. "Since I'm under your roof, I should at least give you my name. I am Sir James. Sir James Hawthorne. Pleasure to take residence here. This is my daughter, Anya. She'll be very sweet during our stay, won't you, Anya?"

[Shisa]

Anya nodded at Tirarian seriously.

"I learned that dishes are really important, because I don't want to be a hobo. When you're a hobo, you have to sleep in crates and don't have enough money to buy new clothes and..."

Anya fell silent for a few seconds, until her papa patted her and said that she would be sweet. Anya's spirits immediately returned as she replied, "Yes! I will be the sweetest and even help with dishes if you want! Don't worry, the Hawthornes are really nice no matter what stories you hear. At least, we are. Papa and I are really nice."

[Professor_Wyvern]

Elric blinked at James, as he paused a moment. He gave a nod to James, "Well it is a honor to meet you Sir Hawthorne. Oh yes, and I am Elric Barber." He drank a bit more milk, and turned to face Anya. as he smiled warmly. "Well I don't have too much stuff in the scullery that needs cleaning, and I appreciate the kindness of your offer." He stroked his beard, "Are any of you hungry?"

[IncredibleBee]

"Hmm..." James pondered. "I think for now, we'd just appreciate a warm bed alone. We've had a long day, but we haven't run out of food. Perhaps we'll get something nice at a tavern tomorrow, though."

He stood up, picking his daughter up once more. "If you'll lead the way, it's getting late, Elric. I don't need Anya staying up past her bedtime again."

[Professor_Wyvern]

Elric gave a nod, "Of course, the tavern provides excellent food, and it has a rather lively crowd, especially at night. Though it can get rather rowdy, it is has a nice atmosphere to it." He beckoned James to follow, as he went left, and walked for a bit, heading up a small staircase, wide enough for one person, and not designed for multiple individuals going up and down at the same time, before reaching a simple door.

Elric opened it, which revealed three single person, mattresses, that were in decent condition resting upon the ground, that were pushed completely against the walls. One was horizontal, the other two were vertically aligned. The mattresses (sans the horizontally one which was exactly the same length as the wall) were only slightly shorter than the walls. Each mattress had a layer of linen on top, and a pillow. Above the three mattresses were three unlit torches against the walls. Also inside this room was a medium sized chamberpot, which was in the exact middle of the room, which was also on the floor.

Elric scratched the back of his head, "I can bring out a quilt or two if it gets too cold. The chamber pot has been cleaned up. And do you two need anything else?"

[IncredibleBee]

"I think we'll be good for a while." James smiled at his host. "Good night."

The knight slowly closed the door between himself and Elric, and sat Anya down on the bed. "Alright Anya, dinner time." he said, removing his gauntlet. "You can't have too much for now, but I promise I'll get you something good while we're in town, okay?"

The knight rolled up his sleeve, and presented his arm, marred with small scars, to his daughter. "Go on, then. Eat up."
James gave a soft smile.

[BingTheWing]

“RAAAAAAAAAARGH!” 
Grushtov gave a bloody, enraged, and quite possibly insane grimace to every single patron in the room.
“I-it’s a dragon, ri-?”

The oversized hyena sank its fangs into the poor human’s torso before he could even scream in pain. The rest of the drunks suddenly upped their senses and hastily made for the doors, amidst the screams of the bar girls. The hyena, of course, believed that why not use a premade door when you can get a new one? 
Several broken wooden walls later, Grushtov the hyena rampaged throughout the night market. He, of course, did not go near the slaves: smelly meat, and all bone. He went for the pampered, fat aristocrats and merchants. Much more meat, perfume was pleasant, but they took longer to get through all the fat which meant more annoying screams and howls before they died. Ah, such was luck.
Now, don’t sidetracked, Grushtov. Remember master’s mission.
After feasting on the corpse of a noble, the oversized hyena made a beeline for the town hall. Along the way, he stopped alongside a house. A pretty big one.
Big houses = more humans.
More humans = more food.
That simple.
Oh, and pity about the door. Nasty splinters, one can get from that one.

[Shisa]

Anya looked into the room in amazement when Elric opened the door, her eyes widening. How long had it been since she'd slept in a real bed? She couldn't even count on her fingers, probably. This day was just getting better and better- first a giant talking squirrel friend, then a nice man offering them a place to stay, then a fire, and now real beds.

"Thank you!" Said Anya, as her papa closed the door. James sat her down on the bed, and Anya watched in anticipation as her papa rolled down his sleeve. She didn't like feeding on her papa at first because she thought it hurt him, but it turned out that her papa was invincible and it barely hurt at all.

Anya revealed her fangs, and bit into James' arm with gusto. She was really hungry, after all, and only blood could do the trick.

[IncredibleBee]

"Hungry tonight, eh? I'll be sure to get you a large meal soon, then. I should be able to manage by tomorrow night." James said, smiling. He used his free hand to run his fingers through Anya's hair, and listened to the soft sound of her swallowing. It wasn't the most pleasant way to provide for her, but he was providing.

Or at least, he was providing until a loud crash thundered downstairs. "What now..." he asked.

He tugged his arm away, and it left Anya's mouth with a soft pop. He marched over to the window, and threw the shutters open to look downwards at the street, seeing a large canine worming its way in through the front door.

"Anya, Papa has to go fight a monster. Dinner's getting cut short." he said.

[Shisa]

Anya didn't know what her papa meant by 'getting a large meal', but she was always thankful for the food and looked forward to something big. Her papa's blood was really good, but lately she had started craving more. Probably because she was a growing girl.

Papa tugged his arm away, however, when they heard a loud noise. Anya was still a little hungry, but if someone was in danger that was more important. Besides, she could control herself. It was enough for the night.

"OK, papa," replied Anya. For some reason, her papa had to fight monsters a lot. Sometimes she felt a little sorry for them, because her papa always won. Anya wasn't allowed to get involved in fights, though, so she would probably have to stay in the room.

"Be safe, and try to finish soon so we can go to sleep."

Of course Anya knew that her papa would be safe because he was the best ever, but she still worried a bit. She worried, and she needed him nearby to get to sleep.