[IC] The sound of thunder (OOTS original character RP)

[agentmanatee]

Bozidar sighed and slumped down in the first open chair he could find in the tavern he had just walked into. Bozidar had walked into town less than 2 days ago and he already desperately wanted to return to the secluded druid grove. His charisma had originally led Ollin to tell Bozidar that getting allies would be easy... then he got to the city. As soon as he entered at least 4 guards had commented on his "oh so pretty face" and he had been call miss and fair lady far to much. And whenever he corrected someone they either started laughing hysterically and start addressing him as "lady-boy" or just walked away whispering uncomfortably. He had dropped in to every tavern in town and any would-be allies just laughed him off and told him to run home to daddy... he had resigned himself. So he sat in a corner, trying as hard as possible to not be seen. If no one in this town wanted to adventure with him than he would just head back to the grove, and let the druids handle it. Deep down though, he desperately wanted to succeed, and prayed to Freyja that SOMEONE would join him... preferably someone with adventuring class levels

[RBYDark]

The door barely swung open as the female gnome waddled in, weighed down by the backpack that seemed to threaten to topple her over at any second. She didn't seem to have a lot to say, though her expression remained cheerful as she plopped down her bag and pulled herself onto a barstool, right next to a wizard who had a bat familiar visible. Whether or not the wizard was trying to eavesdrop didn't matter; the gnome piped up right then, in a rather cheery voice: "Hi there! Your familiar's so cute!" Boy, didn't that get the wizard's attention real fast! The older wizard looked over her traveler's clothing and scowled before sliding off his stool. The gnome reached for him, continuing to speak. "Hey, hang on, I just wanted to pet him! Or her! Or whatever they want to be!" She wasn't quick enough, though, and instead fell on top of her backpack with a faint crushing sound. "Uh-oh." Now forgetting the wizard and his adorable pet, the gnome slid off her backpack and opened it up. Sand, glass shards, powders, and the like decorated her items now - though she was to note not everything had broken. Still had some supplies. But jeez, what a start to freelancing.

[agentmanatee]

Bozidar couldn't help but giggle at the gnome and her little fall, though the wizard had been a bit rude. However the gnomes apparent love of animals brought Bozidar back to the grove, where all the animals he had grown up with were, druid or not the animal domains speak with animal ability really helped him making friends with all the little creatures of the forest. He decided that maybe a bit of friendly conversation would lighten up his day. Bozidar got up from his seat and walked over to the worried looking gnome and, in his soft voice, "Are you alright? Break something in your pack? That wizard was pretty rude huh?"

[Marcus XVI]

"Now that was a tad bit impolite of you, sir wizard." The blue cloaked fellow stated very politely. "None of my business however." He just passed by the wizard who now was looking at him like he'd probably look at something that has crawled out from a sewer. Toshiro shook his head slightly and seated himself on the stool the wizard had been occupying earlier. "Such a mess, such a mess... You ok there" He glanced down at the gnome while finally pulling down his hood. "Hope you didn't hurt yourself." He smiled politely and turned his attention to to the barkeep. "A pint of water, please."

[RBYDark]

Wow. Cyanak was not planning on being the center of attention but already two people had come over to make sure she was ok. And they even agreed that the wizard had been rude. She wondered if they were traveling together and, perhaps more importantly, what they'd think of a sorceress. The wizard simply stared at the blue-cloaked man before dismissing his familiar and walking over to an empty table. Cyanak decided not to pay him further attention, instead focusing on the two who had asked if she was okay. "He, was, yeah. I'm alright, though. Lost a few things - I can make them again myself, it'll just take a while." She wouldn't dump the bag for now, if only because it'd take a while to unpack everything, and dumping a mixture of slumber sand, flash powder, powdered water, and burning dust in a busy tavern could have consequences. If nothing else, she fancied herself as the kind of person above making silly mistakes. She closed the backpack and considered asking if either one would be interested in buying her a drink. Then again, she was pretty certain her Alchemist's Mercy was somewhere in that mixture too, if nothing else. Oh well. She wasn't going to buy water, though, not when her waterskin was still full. She stood back up straight. "Really, I'm fine." She beamed. "Though I guess I feel a bit sorry for whoever hires me. That was a lot of good stuff, ready to go." She tapped the backpack with her foot, gently to prevent further damage.

[agentmanatee]

"Hires you? For what sort of work?" Bozidar thought he knew the answer, he would be any amount of gp on it cause it was such a no lose bet. Someone in a tavern looking for work, in a tavern, with a pack full of supplies? This was Bozidar's chance! Maybe he could finally get some help! And the gnome hadn't called him miss or lady yet... Though she hadn't called sir or mister either... "You... wouldn't happen to mean adventuring would you? Just wondering since you have such a well supplied pack... looks like you'd be ready for quite a journey."

[RBYDark]

Her eyes gleamed. Well, maybe the losses would be worth it, if she already found a group. "As a matter of fact, I do. Sorry I don't have a business card-" She curtsied, pulling up the hem of her skirt. "-I wasn't expecting anyone already and figured I'd have time to make some." Out of cocktail napkins and disappearing ink, admittedly, but they'd be better than nothing, she supposed. "But you can call me Cyanak. Utility mage for hire. I only ask you cover fees associated with brewing, rest of the loot is yours." She dropped her skirt hem, look decidedly a bit colder. "So-" And now she really looked over the one who asked, and oh god. This was just like the elves all over again. She made a note to avoid all pronouns until further notice. "-uh, well, I don't suppose you're looking for assistance in clearing a drow lair or killing a dragon- at all?" And had to catch herself from using 'sir' or 'madam' reflexively. This was going to be fun, if this person said yes.

[agentmanatee]

Bozidar positively beamed, his soft features practically glowing. "Well, a pleasure miss Cyanak, I am Bozidar Greencrown, Cleric of Freyja. I am indeed looking to hire multiple fellow adventurers, and I'm sure I can easily cover your brewing costs." He glanced at her bag and hoped she hadn't broken anything to incredibly expensive, he wasn't overflowing with gold. "Though our quest is a bit less... straightforward than slay the dragon or clear out the drow. Though first I must ask, what arcane caster class are you? You call yourself mage but if you don't mind I'd like to know your exact class." And finished the sentence with a cheery smile

[Marcus XVI]

Toshiro smiled faintly as he began sipping the water he had ordered and listened to Cyanak and Bozidar. He had long since reached the level that he wouldn't be growing physically older - and butting in on someone's adventuring party when you are atleast by very rough estimate a handful of levels above them might make you seem like a bit of a not very polite person. Still he was very curious and the little voices in the back of his head reminded him that it's a Paladin's duty to provide help to those in need - if they accept it ofcourse, if they don't want your help then you can just leave them be, forcing your help on others would be very impolite. "Terribly sorry to cut in to your conversation here, but from this distance I couldn't stop myself from overhearing that you are putting up an adventuring party." He paused for a moment, he was either thinking very carefully what to say next or having some kind of an inner debate. "I am Toshiro Mizu, a Paladin of the Sapphire Guard." He intentionally left out the 'honorary' part out since it really wasn't needed except when filing paperwork. A spot check might bring out the fact that this paladin isn't actually wearing heavy armor or carrying any kinds of weapons, but who really checks those things out? Or does a lore check about paladins?

[RBYDark]

Cyanak blinked at - the paladin, huh? ...Best not to attract too much attention to herself then. "Oh. Thought you were already traveling with... Bozidar." She gestured at Bozidar. Sounded like a male name. Maybe they were a guy. It didn't seem that implausible, really. "I guess if he can afford you too, I'm not gonna object." And hopefully, that wouldn't set off a speech about how 'he' was a female, followed by a flurry of arrows. "Anyways-" She turned back to Bozidar. "I'm a sorceress, if that's not a problem. Sure, some people might advocate for the wizard, but they can't cast as much and if you needed something else anyways, you're out of luck for the day either way. Besides, I've never met a particularly friendly wizard." In fact, she'd probably only gotten the silent treatment from that one because she wasn't dressed in casting robes. "So I guess if you need diplomacy-" She seemed less than enthused about the idea that the mission was not killing a dragon or the like. "-A sorcerer's still a better bet for not irritating everyone." And then the pep in her voice was back, and she was smiling. "So, yeah, short version, utility sorceress, alchemist, hope those aren't problems!" Cyanak glanced at her bag, which she had noticed Bozidar looking at earlier. "...those don't count, though, I mean when I actually start brewing things while working for you."

[agentmanatee]

Bozidar was caught a little of guard by the "paladin" himself. Though spot wasn't a trained cleric skill, his wisdom bonus of balanced that. Though he noticed the lack of any sword but, he didn't have ranks in knowledge (nobility and royalty) so he assumed that it was some weird custom or whatever. "Well... if your interested by all means your very welcome to join us Sir. Toshiro, we need someone other than me for frontline combat anyways!" Bozidar turned back to Cyanak, "Finally! Do you have any idea how many people have addressed me as miss or m'lady since I arrived? I'm glad someone finally sees that I am, in fact, a man. Regardless, your both obviously hired, if you wish to join me that is. As for quest specifics, a powerful magical artifact was recently stolen from the druid grove where I was raised and trained as a cleric. The thief was very powerful, and managed to steal the artifact before any of our higher level druids could even get involved. We need to find out where the artifact is, who took it, and then we need to get it back... unfortunately I don't have a tracker and unless one of you has cross class ranks in survival AND the track feat we need to find the culprit a different way..." Bozidar sighed at what That way was. "So, you two still interested? "

[Marcus XVI]

Toshiro scratched his left temple and again fell silent for a good while. He was obviously weighing his options about possible rewards and risks. "I'll gladly join you good sir, but there are just a few things I will make clear." He finished his pint of water and got on his feet. "I'm not that kind a paladin who upholds the law to the letter - you know, those fellows who nag at you for jaywalking or something like that. I'll accept some minor thievery if it is necessary for completing a task. You need not worry about me marching in to a bandit camp to challenge them in to honorable combat or something like that - except if we need a distraction so the rest of the group can sneak in through the back." He glanced ever so slightly to his left and stared at the farthest wall of the inn before again continuing. "However I will not accept doing something wrong for the sake of it being 'cool' or 'awesome' - I will not accept killing children or other innocent noncombatants, be they of any race or alignment if they do not pose a threat to us." Toshiro adjusted his cloak slightly. "Oh... and for me being a paladin is a profession, not a class." He flashed a little smile - one of those smiles all old monks had even without it being a class feature. "I am a monk with 18 levels under my belt - so this'll probably be my last adventure anyways, though if things go well and we all live through this I'll gladly join you on a second adventure as well." He again paused and swung his head to the other side like he was listening to a very quick conversation between several people. "Since I'm a member of the nobility having me in the group will perhaps give us alteast some advantage in our quest - after all we don't have to constantly go lurking in the side alleys and might even get some help from the city guards of many places. We might get even more help if our travels happen to take us close to Azure city."

[RBYDark]

Cyanak shrugged. "I had to dump a stat somewhere, and I needed some Strength to carry my alchemy crafting kit, so Wisdom went out the window." That was a short way of saying her Survival skill would not be adequate for tracking, even if she had invested ranks into it and gotten the feat for whatever reason, like it'd somehow be reasonable to get Tracking when the terrain was generally sandy. "But hey! I'm in for cutting the guy's head off when we find him and getting your artifact back!" Hopefully Bozidar would make a fine reference later for other jobs. "So when do we go? Now?" She glanced up at Toshiro. Wow. She was only - what, level 12? Just picked up her first sixth-level spell before opting to find a new employer. "Question - can you really make a person's heart explode? That might be cooler than decapitation." It was a valid question. Hey, if he wasn't really a paladin, maybe he wouldn't object to her proclivities.

[agentmanatee]

"18 levels huh? Well... that would be very useful. And I've no intention on hurting anyone who doesn't deserve it, I am Neutral good after all. Though I'm not sure how close to azure city we are going to get... but we may pass by eventually." as Bozidar said this he wasn't really sure about it... or anything really... well at least now he wouldn't have to go back to the grove and ask the druids to handle it.

"Well... I suppose we should make some sort of official contract or... something right? I'm kinda new yo this whole adventuring thing... you know I've only got 9 levels of cleric so... I may be lower than both of you... but I can still be an effective healer. Plus I'm kinda forming the group so I can really be... fired... so anyone have paper or something? "

[Marcus XVI]

"As it so happens yes, yes we can." Toshiro glanced at Cyanak with such excitement in his voice that it was difficult to think him as lawful aligned. "Though I personally prefer doing nonlethal damage - takes people out from the fight same way as lethal damage, but I'm not taking lives." He added with a bit more subdued tone. "Ah, nice of you to mention that, sir Bozidar. I just so happen to have an adventuring contract here." The monk had actually just appropriated a roll of parchment and ink from the bartender when the fellow wasn't looking - so either he had used sleight of hand which wasn't a standard monk skill or somehow had utilized his flurry of blows ability to snatch the items in a sort of a disarming roll which too was very unorthodox.

"As you can read from here my terms are simple - the ones I already mentioned and in addition to that I'd be most honored if I was given the first pick if we happen to find any magical items that might be of more use for my class than yours. Also I can take most of the guard shifts during our little trip thanks to my magical ring. I don't need to eat, drink, worry about bodily functions... oh and I only need two hours of sleep as long as I have this thing on. So... let's see... I'll just add my signature here... aaaand..." Toshiro passed the contract, ink and quill to Bozidar. "Seem a fair enough deal?"

[RBYDark]

"Well, we'll still need to rest a full eight hours. Magic and all." Though at least nice to know the likelihood she'd need to take a shift was low. She'd done it before, going a few days without full rest and rationing out her spells, but she tended to run out of first-levels rather quickly and then regret doing so. Besides, actually, didn't a cleric need rest anyhow? She didn't really pay a lot of attention to those who ordered from her, not that Bozidar needed to hear that.

And no fair, the contract was well over her head. Even standing on her tip-toes, she couldn't quite read it. Though she was assuming Toshiro had slipped in other terms. "What kind of magic items does a monk need anyhow?" Monks were just unheard of, though considering gnomes took an inherent negative to the strength stat, well, hopefully he wouldn't be claiming any dexterity or charisma bonuses.

[Marcus XVI]

Toshiro smiled politely "Well I could always use more strenght, a bit more wisdom... A dash of dexiterity, you know, all that. Mostly I'm looking for magical items that noticeably boost my monk abilities - such as Monk's Belt or an Amulet of Mighty Fists... Ofcourse a Ring of Divine Power wouldn't hurt either..." The monk shrugged his shoulders and shook his head a bit "Though coming up with the latter items would be a bit difficult except if we happen to run in to a wizard who happens to be exceptionally proficient in crafting items, but what would be the odds of that?"

[agentmanatee]

Bozidar giggled at bit as the gnome clearly wanted to get a better look at the contract, "Cyanak if you want to read the contract for yourself just ask amd I'll show it to you. As for magic items we may have to discuss wisdom boosting ones Sir. Toshiro as I need wisdom for my spells. But we can work that out as we find such items, so the contract seems fine to me so I'll sign you on!" Bozidar took the quill and ink and signed his name on the parchment. After that Bozidar took and placed it on a chair for Cyanak to see it. "Alright, as soon as Cyanak here confirms her agreement we can stop this ridiculous contract simulator and get to adventuring! I can hardly wait... of course it's for a serious reason but I don't see why I can't have fun on my first real quest."

[RBYDark]

"Alright then. Hope you picked the Magic Domain, because I didn't pick Identify." After all, many were loath to give the needed material component, so Cyanak had deemed the spell useless and avoided it. She glanced over the contract, just enough to skim it. It was a formality; so far, she hadn't heard anything that was a particular dealbreaker. "Anyway, sounds good. The most important part of any journey of bloodshed and robbery is to have a good time." She paused and then glanced up to the other two. "I have a feeling that didn't apply to either of you. Disregard it." Right, not home. Totally different continent, in fact. She signed her name, ending her name with a flourish, and carefully rolled it up to keep the ink from staining the contract.

"Glad we got that settled. So you mentioned a druid's artifact, huh?" Did Knowledge (Arcana) cover knowing whether or not it would make sense for druids to have an artifact? Might as well make the check.

[Marcus XVI]

"That.... is ofcourse one way to put it..." Toshiro mused with some amusement in his tone at Cyanak's comment about the oncoming trip. "Less the bloodshed we have to cause the better in my opinion, but still." He nodded politely to Bozidar and shrugged his shoulders slightly "Tell the truth I don't quite feel the need for extra wisdom - so you can more or less keep anything wisdom related." He paused again for a good while and glanced around the inn again. "Just a thought - and please, correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't druids be technically counted as a religous order of sorts?" He lacked many things - knowledge (arcana), sneaking skill, or move silently skill - what he did have however was a reasonable amount of points in Knowledge (Religion), so he decided to roll that just to get a feel of what they were working with.