Red Wizard

a Tale of High Adventure!

@Chronic You haven't posted in two weeks, and I can see you've been active in a lot of other threads. I think it's safe to assume that you will not be contributing much to the game, so you can count yourself as officially disbanded. Good luck and have fun in other games.

a Tale of High Adventure!

Vaskandar flashed a smile as the party started asking their questions. He chuckled at Harth-Kazanns comments on ale and boats and, having listened intently, replied.

"I must confess" he said, "That I do not have the time to stay and gossip, but I will answer your questions as best I can. The latest gossip is what is always is; the bickering and scheming of the merchant princes, happenings on the roads going north and east, strange new arrivals in the harbor... You will have plenty of time getting to know more in the Three Tails. It is an inn, and a pretty good one at that. Not opulent, but homely. The host is one Zaretha, merchants daughter, and I would wager you would rather get to know her yourselves than hear me prattle on about all of her virtues."

The sudden blare of a trumpet caught Vaskandars attention, and he urged the party slightly aside before continuing. Soon after, a regiment of soldiers came marching down the dock, all polished steel and hard stares. Those not alert or fortunate enough to get out of the way in time were rudely shoved aside or beaten with sticks by the vanguard. "Principal contingent" Vaskandar explained as the soldiers marched on by, leaving a scattering of grumbling or crying townspeople in their wake, "Not a good idea to get in the way of those. As for strange laws, that's the only one you really need to adhere to: do not anger the Princes, or get in the way of their business. Life in Kari-Mar is otherwise mostly live and let live... or cutthroat, depending on who you are and where you stand, I suppose."

Taking a quick look at the sun, Vaskandar smiled and nodded, as if remembering something. He then turned back to the party, clasping his hands. "And with that, I am afraid I must take my leave of you. Should you decide to visit the Three Tails, I am certain you will get most of your questions answered. Like I said, it is just down Prince Talaris street, near the Paupers square. Perhaps we will meet again. Farewell."

With that, he took a quick bow and turned to walk. He was quickly lost in the crowd, leaving the party to their business.

a Tale of High Adventure!

Hello everyone! Sorry for the delay. I've been busy with family life, but I'm aiming to get something up by tomorrow!

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Somebody may have to coax him out of his hidey-hole first, though 😏

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

The Red Wizard

---

Hiding under a table, the red wizard was nursing his bottle of scotch while sweating profously, his eyes nervously darting back and forth. In retrospect, his earlier deduction might have led to the wrong conclusion; he wasn't sure now that he'd rather have taken his chances with old Natharghûl, soul sucking or not. This place was a madhouse, and a bad one at that (and he knew what he was talking about - he'd seen more than a few in his time). He'd tried conjuring a protective circle around him, but had so far only succeeded in creating a cute little ring of oddly colored mushrooms around him. The sight of them made his stomach rumble, but he controlled himself. He was hungry, sure, but he'd made it a rule never to eat anything magical. Especially not magical mushrooms, and especially not if he was the one responsible for their unnatural existence.

Daring a peek from out of under the tablecloth, the red wizard immedietly wished he hadn't. There was a dead little raccoon lying there. Or, rather, there were two pieces of a dead little raccoon lying there. He ducked back inside his "panic room", breath coming quick, and gulped down more scotch. No. Nope. Don't think so. Although... he did feel some sympathy for the poor little pupper. It was just an animal. It didn't know anything about the big, scary world out there. An innocent. Hmm... Maybe he should do something about it. Maybe he would, at that. But not before finishing his scotch.

Yes. Great plan!

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

He certainly knows the spell! The question is, will he remember to perform it correctly? ;)

a Tale of High Adventure!

As the party gathered at the far side of the harbormastery booths, surrounded on all sides by a moving sea of people, a man suddenly detached himself from the crowd and approached them. He was middle aged, with a weathered face and greying hair and beard, dressed in a leather arming jacked and sporting a sheathed sword on his hip. The man gave a nod and a smile in greetings, stopping before the group with a relaxed, confidens stance. He had a certain look in his eyes; sharp and intense, but not unfriendly.

"Greetings" he said in a raspy voice thick with the local dialect, "New to the Vale? Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Vaskandar. I am in the business of connecting people, and getting work done. Looking at you come ashore, I got the feeling that you might be in need of connections. Maybe, I said to myself, they are looking for work, or to have some done. No?"

He raised his eyebrow, giving the group an appraising look. Before anyone had time to answer, he shrugged and spread his hands. "In any case" he continued, "Let me give you a lead. There is an establishment uptown along Prince Talaris street, near the Paupers square, called Three Tails. If you are ever looking for someone or something, go there and tell the doorman Vaskandar sent you. They will help you along your way. Now, unless I can help you with anything else, I will not take up any more of your time."

He gave a courteous bow, giving the party a few moments to respond.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@BunniesOfDoom I was thinking that perhaps the werewolf wasn't too fond of having a silver coin pressed into his hand :) or maybe I've misunderstood something?

a Tale of High Adventure!

Cool beans! I will post an update later today.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

The Red Wizard

---

The red wizard raised his eyebrows and smiled approvingly at the barman as no less than a full bottle of the good stuff was placed before him. Oh, goodie! he chirped, reaching for the bottle with his gnarled old fingers. He stopped midway, however, as a thought struck him from afar. He was supposed to give something in return, wasn't he? Payment, yes, that was it. He quickly patted down his robes, realizing that his purse had been left behind... somewhere. No matter, conjuring gold was a simple enough spell. It was just a matter of... of...

Hmmm. What was it a matter of, again? He could feel it on the tip of his tongue, but couldn't quite taste it even so. It involved transmutation, yes, and the snapping of fingers, and... Oh, blast it! He'd have to improvise a bit. Shouldn't be a problem, though. Since when had that ever been detrimental to his spells? He couldn't recall a single time it had failed him! Mumbling a few arcane syllables, he held his hand up high and audibly snapped his fingers. A coin actually did materialize, to his beaming joy, but it wasn't gold. In fact, it looked distinctly like silver. Ah, well, it would have to do. He took the barmans hand and pressed the silver coin into it. Much obliged, old boy! he said, giving the werewolf a toothy grin, This is for you!

Having grabbed the bottle, he was just about to leave for a suitably dark corner to enjoy it in when he felt a slight tug on his sleeve. Looking down, he came face to face with a peculiar boy-thing. The boy-thing seemed to be scolding him, prattling on about some kind of ruckus on his part. The red wizard could remember no such ruckus. Listen here, young master, he said, I don't know what you're on about, but I certainly didn't hear any-

He didn't get to finish, however, as another stranger on his other side cut him off wanting to greet him. He glanced over at the man, starting to feel slightly nervous at all the sudden attention. Sudden attention was, to his experience, never a good thing. His coward-sense had started tingling. Um, well, yes, he replied to the man, hesitantly reaching forward to shake his hand while jealously guarding the bottle of scotch in his other, Pleased to meet you, I think. There are some who call me, uh, Tim. Now, if I could just-

A strange scent suddenly reached his nose, catching him off guard. He couldn't quite place it at first, but then it came to him. Smoke. Yes. Burning. But not fire, no. Rather, it had a metallic tang to it, as well as searing flesh. Perhaps there was some cooking going on? He did so enjoy a good steak! Then he heard a low growl, and his coward-sense went from a tingle to a blaring alarm.