Not so Everbright - Manwithaplan

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

Everbright Gates


It was raining again. While it wasn't more than a drizzle, the road was starting to get tricky. The dirt was quickly turning to mud. A large wooden sign was off to the left "Everbright City - The friendly city...". The twin stone towers in front of Jarrick didn't look particularly friendly. If anything there were a little imposing and, well, towering. The gates were wide open and a small group of soldiers huddled out of the rain under arch leading into the city proper. People and animals were cluttering the road ahead - it must be market day. The smell of goats, horse, cows and sweat wafted through the air.

Off in the distance a bell was ringing, announcing that it was three in the afternoon. The clouds hung low and the sun wasn't visible. The sky was dark grey.

"Welcome to hardly-Everbright." one of the soldiers said with sarcastic smile as he waved Jarrick through. The main street was extremely wide, very unusual for a large city and ran the length of the city. The road was easily sixty feet wide. An array of two storey houses and three storey stone buildings lined the street in front of Jarrick.





Jarrick (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheet.html#id=967162)
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?388172-The-Dispeller-(PEACH)

[manwithaplan]

His coat was wet.

That he was even aware of that problem said a lot about the true catastrophe of his situation. In truth, Jarrick couldn't remember the last time his coat hadn't been wet. Since the first rainfall on his travels it had never recovered from being damp, and he had gotten used to the thin cling of uncomfortable cold over his form. It had become one of the many discomforts of his journey, and he had become desensitised to it.

But now, as passing through the arch into Everbright gave him the briefest pause from rainfall, Jarrick could clearly feel the wetness of his coat. And that meant it was really, really wet.

"Thank you..."

His address to the guard made it clear that he was already embracing the disillusioned attitude of his new surroundings. When he made it to the town proper he ran for the first porch or alley he could find that would give shelter. Taking a moment and dropping to one knee, he unstrapped his backpack and began to rifle through it for his copy of Abjuration Fundamentals. It wouldn't make sense for it to get soaked through the bag and the coat, but he couldn't be sure.

As he was doing that, he scanned down the street for some sort of inn or tavern, not that he'd really know what that looked like. He needed warmth, for one thing, but he also knew that all adventurers hung out in taverns.

Scanning the street for an inn. I assume this is an auto-pass, but just in case there are any secrets to find, Search [roll0].

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The book seemed safe, at least for now. Looking down the street Jarrick noticed a small wooden sign tacked onto the side of a large stone building. The building was a slight brown color and was fully four storeys tall. The sign read "The Howling Goat Hall". The building was far too big just to be a tavern, they likely would have rooms for let.


A wobbly cart nearly runs down an old man crossing the street. "Hey! watch where you are stepping!". The old man waves the cart off and shuffles away in the clumsy manner that a dedicated drunk posses.





I've seen a bunch of fantasy name generators online, but I stumbled on (and had to use) a tavern name generator. I've seen everything now.

[manwithaplan]

Jarrick zipped his pack back up and slung it under his coat, moving back into the saturated street as the old man was nearly run down. He couldn't help but curl his lip, wondering what exactly was going on here. His home had been a lot smaller and probably less successful than this town, but...what a horrible personality the whole thing had. He was starting to see why people didn't normally come up this way, and he paused for a moment to wonder if his father spent a lot of time in places like these.

Up ahead was the Howling Goat Hall, and rather than tarry any longer, he made his move straight for it. At first he'd been hoping for physical warmth to shelter him from the conditions out here, but by the time he reached the threshold he was just as well pining for a more figurative warmth in the atmosphere. Pushing through the front door, he crossed the threshold of the Howling Goat.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

A thick half-orc bouncer looks over Jarrick as he enters the building. His face had several scars on it but he seemed friendly enough. The first floor appeared to be a tavern. There were booths lining the walls and several tables scattered about haphazardly. A barmaid was tidying one of the tables and Jarrick notes about thirty people scattered about drinking ale, some with meals in front of them.

The center of the room was dominated by a round bar area where drinks were being served. A large fire crackled in center of the bar area. A cook was tending to several large cauldrons of what must have been stew.

Jarrick got a whiff of burning pine and cedar mixed with beef stew and the unmistakeable smell of ale. He could feel the warmth of the fire. One of the tables burst with laughter as toast was made in a language Jarrick couldn't place. About half the tables were empty and there were plenty of seats at the bar. A sign above the bar listed the usual pub fair along with room rates which all seemed reasonable.

There was a glowing torch on each wall illuminating the large room and the ceiling was about 15 feet high. The walls were smooth flagstone with a few banners and rugs hung on them to 'soften' the place up.

[manwithaplan]

Jarrick didn't miss a beat as he saw the centre bar around the fire. He briefly wondered whether he was supposed to show his weapon to the bouncer or whether that would be considered a threat, but he didn't care enough to actually do anything about it as he made for the closest empty seat. On what was essentially the final few steps of his journey from home, he couldn't refuse to admit that he may have stumbled a little bit. Regardless, he and his dripping wet coat made it to a stool and he sat himself down in exhaustion. Unsure of exactly how to proceed, he tried to signal somebody on the other side of the bar to serve him.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"Welcome to the Howling Goat!" One of the barkeep barks out. An infectious smile crossed the human's face. "Whatcha need? We got the finest ale this side of the city and the best stew in the country. " He boasted. Jarrick noticed he had an accent but couldn't place it.

The barkeep wiped at a puddle of spilt ale and looked Jarrick up and down. "Still raining I see... " he said with no hint of surprise in his voice. "Rainy season should end in a week or so, then it should be back to normal. Everbright!" he grinned ear to ear.

[manwithaplan]

"I'm fine for the moment. I was wondering, um..."

He was a little hungry. Little thirsty. Little sleepy. Things would probably be less weird if he opened with this, though, because he wasn't really sure how he'd do it later. He signalled for the man to come closer.

"Sorry, but...are there any local rumours you can share with me? Adventurer-type rumours?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"Oooohhh, I had you pegged when you walked in." The barkeep lied badly. He glanced down at the bar and then back up at Jarrick and licked his lips. "Yer obviously new in town." He sighed deeply and rolled his eyes. "I really ought not to take too much advantage of ya - else the guards might arrest me and cut off me hands. You should at least buy an ale or something since you'll be wanting to give me some money." He whispers. "Maybe you can buy me an ale? "


The barkeep made a scratching motion on the bar as if he was beckoning coins into his palm. His crooked smile was missing a tooth. No one in the bar seemed to notice the exchange.

"Just a couple of silvers, the information I gots for you isn't all that great." he confessed with a mock serious expression.

[manwithaplan]

Jarrick watched the innkeep suspiciously, but to tell the truth, he'd never been good at getting a read. He didn't break eye contact as he reached into his pouch, trying to see what was going on behind those pupils as his fingers ran through his coins. In a moment, three silvers had been placed on the bench.

"A mug for both of us, then."

He smiled. He wanted to look friendly, but not naive, even if perhaps he was; the confidence, illusive or otherwise, would presumably deter an attempt at a con.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The barkeep smiled and pocketed the coins and smiled. "Down by the docks, in the fish market square there are a bunch of boards. People post their help wanted notices there. Dock work, odd jobs, official bounty hunting jobs and stuff for random 'adventurers'."

"You can't miss it, there are about 5 huge boards on one side of the markets. Hundreds of jobs available if you aren't too particular. Just be careful not all the jobs are what they seem. "

He drops a mug of ale off in front of Jarrick and a bowl of salted nuts. A loud cheer of surprise erupted from one of the tables behind Jarrick. Apparently someone won a game of cards unexpectedly.

"Oy, you mustsa cheated." one of the men shouted only half-seriously. They all seem to settle down for another hand of cards.

[manwithaplan]

Jarrick nodded, reaching for his ale and taking a drink.

"Yeah that's useful. Thanks."

His hand was in his coin pouch again, jangling around.

"I suppose I'll also need to let out a room. About what time is it, anyway?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

"It's just after three in the afternoon I reckon. A room will set you back 5 silver a night. 3 gold for a week if you pay up front. " The Innkeeper offered.

[manwithaplan]

Some more coins appeared on the bar, and Jarrick was already through most of the ale.

"Ugh...alright, there, I'll pay it upfront. Which room do I have?"

He was already moving to go, albeit quite slowly.

Wanna skip down to the docks?

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The innkeeper hands over a key. "This one has the best furniture. " A serving girl takes Jarrick upstairs and gets him settled in.




The journey to the docks was uneventful. The sea of people moving through the road ebbed and flowed. Jarrick passes by dozens of stalls selling various wares and products from all over the empire. Nobody made eye contact or smiled, just like every large city.

The smell of fish and salt grew stronger the further he went. Finally Jarrick could see the blue of the ocean just ahead. A large square opened up and carts of all manner and sizes were lugging freight to and from the docks area. Several sturdy looking wooden message boards had been erected. A flock of seagulls flew overhead making an annoying 'screech' sound.

A few people seemed to be milling about looking at the boards. A couple looked to be homeless, another man was well dressed in nearly all black and had at least 7 different weapons hanging off his body. A hood covered his face despite the rain having stopped ten minutes previously.


Jarrick looked over the posts and felt he could spend all day sifting through all the messages. A couple caught his eye.


Post 1:

Asset Recovery : Missing amulet

A family heirloom has gone missing. Please help! Reward offered. Inquire within.


Post 2:

Short term bodyguard required! ASAP

This engagement will start immediately and pays well. Bring your own weapons.


Post 3:

Lost Kitten

Snuggles has disappeared. Please help me find my Mr. Snuggles, he means the world to me.



Post 4:

Troubleshooter required for secret mission. Detail orientated individuals only. Morally flexible prefered. In Depth screening interview required for qualified applicants.


There were more posts than Jarrick could shake a stick at. He was sure he could find other jobs if he just spent more time scouring the board.

He did notice that all the posts had a similar format with an address or contact information at the bottom of them and a date at the top. Jarrick spots a young man with a stack of papers and friendly smile.

"Buy yer posts here, 2 copper. " He seemed to be running the show. The man had a small desk set up with several quills on it and a neat stack of paper. A small canvas awning was jury rigged over his desk with some scrap wood. Likely he was responsible for taking down old and expired postings and ensuring everyone was using the 'proper' posting methods.

[manwithaplan]

"Asset recovery."

He muttered it under his breath, nodding to himself. Normally he was the one that created a need for the recovery of an asset, but he supposed being on the other side of that fit fairly well with his skillset. Jarrick reached up to grab the first post he saw from the wall, looking over to the man in charge as he did so.

"Hey, I want to investigate this. Can I take it with me or do I have to leave it?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The man looks up from his stack of papers. "You should take that with you. Save me cleaning it up later and keeps 20 people from showing up on someone's doorstep looking for 1 job." he says.

He tips his hat. "See that folks another satisfied customer. Get yer posts here! 2 copper!"

[manwithaplan]

"Oh, thanks."

He took the sheet down and looked over it, nodding to himself again. He could do this.

"Inquire within..."

Maybe it was just ale and a moment to sit, but he was feeling a lot more relaxed and ready to go. He set off down the path again, heading for the address at the bottom of the sheet.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The neighborhood was nice, set away from the docks. The streets narrowed somewhat and random people on the street would occasionally smile and tip their hats.

The house was large and well kept and had recently been painted brown. It all looked very upper middle-class ish. Likely the resident had some money.


An older lady was in the front yard tending to a flower bed oblivious to Jarrick's approach.

[manwithaplan]

"Good afternoon!"

Blending in to the nicer neighbourhood, Jarrick smiled and raised his hand, hoping to peacefully get the older woman's attention. He got close and turned his tone a touch more discreet before continuing, however. It had said to inquire within, after all, so who was he to go yelling questions in the street?

"I'm here to do a job for somebody who lives in this house. Is that you?"

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The old lady dusts herself off and stands up with a grunt.

"That's me!" she announces. "Marge Silverbrook is the name." she flashes a friendly smile. Marge looks at Jarrick for a moment and slowly stops smiling. "Are you sure you are up to this? You don't really look like um well one of those adventuring types." she seemed uncertain. She seemed to mull it over a few seconds.

She stares up at the sky as some far off rain clouds rattle with thunder. Marge sighs and shrugs her shoulders and then continues talking. "An amulet - it belonged to my uncle. It has some magic to it or so I'm told. It was taken as 'Tax'. Those bastards aren't tax collectors though, they are just thieves I tell ya. Bleeding thieves! I dunno where the amulet is now but the men who took it can be found at the Lying Mouse pub just down the road. The lot of them are wearing brown scarves around their neck. They think they are some kinda gang. Just a bunch of wanna be thugs. Sadly they are too tough for me to deal with though back in my youth I used.. well.. never mind that. I'll pay ya well to get my uncle's amulet back and a little extra if you teach those boys a lesson."


She approaches Jarrick and takes off her gardening gloves and offers up her hand.

[manwithaplan]

"I'm Jarrick. I...uh..."

He looked down at himself. He hadn't even been considering his actual qualifications up until this point, and suddenly reality was hitting him. All he'd known about the outside world was adventure and wizardry - so here he'd come, to do some. He'd been expecting a grab-and-run, but this was something less suited to what he could do. Now he was stuck in Everbright, having taken down a post, and being expected to do a job, and...what would happen to him depending on how it played out? Surely if a new kid turned up in town, talked about adventuring at the local inn, took down his first post and then hopped the job, he'd be a laughing stock. He had enough money to get by for quite a while, Jarrick figured, but he wasn't going to actually be anything unless he got some renown.

"Alright. I should be able to figure something out. I'll do my best."

And that meant that all the first ideas coming into his mind - the ideas a petty thief would have - were off the table. He couldn't just order a squad of hirelings to brawl this gang into submission, for instance. Jarrick turned and headed toward the Lying Mouse, but he was still trying to figure out what exactly he was going to do. He didn't trust himself in a knife fight with a gang, wannabes or not. The fact was, even if he called himself a thief, he'd never picked a pocket. He had to worry about stealing this thing, somehow, and then he could figure out if it was even possible for him to teach these fellows a 'lesson'.

He stopped to scope the building out, trying to figure out how much room would be inside by the look of it.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The 'Lying Mouse' was a small two storey building, perched on a busy corner. The wooden sign swinging above the door had a broken hinge and hung slightly askew as it shifted back and forth in the wind. Jarrick guessed the 2nd floor had seven or eight rooms and the main floor was probably only 800 square feet. It was tough to tell though from the outside.

A pair of very drunk halflings stumbled out of the bar singing some nonsense song about raiding gardens and eating banquets. It was tough to make out the details as they stumbled precariously down the street and away from Jarrick. Neither of the drunks seemed to be wearing the described scarf. Nothing else exciting seemed to be happening from his vantage point.

[manwithaplan]

He took a deep breath and gulped.

"Okay."

He closed his eyes for just a moment, muttering some arcane hocus pocus under his breath. When he opened them again, his irises had intensified - not enough to be glowing, no, but they were a far brighter shade of blue than normal. Focusing on his power to detect magic auras, he stepped forward and moved for the door into the Lying Mouse. Depending on the nature of the situation inside, he knew he might have to start thinking on his feet as soon as he was across the threshold. He kept that in mind as he walked himself inside.

[Ragnarok'n'Roll]

The inside of the Lying Mouse was fairly straight forward. A large common room greeted Jarrick. A set of stairs at the back of the room led up to what he assumed was the second floor. All told, there was about 10 patrons scattered around the room. The major thing of note was that there were no chairs, just large wooden benches with wooden backs. On the benches were many animal pelts which likely made for comfortable seating. Unfortunately it didn't improve the smell any. The place smelt like a bar normally does, stale ale. this place had the added benefit of a leathery smell, almost like a tannery.


No one really noticed Jarrick as he walked in. The bartender at the far end of the room waved a quick hello and friendly nod of his head. The other thing that caught his eye was an amulet around one of the patreons neck. Jarrick could sense the magic oozing from the amulet. Both the men at that table had brown scarves. No one else seemed to have one as best as Jarrick could tell. One of the men seemed to be half through a story of some sort, gesturing with his hands as the other man drained a glass of wine.

The men were oblivious to Jarrick's entry.