From Humble Beginnings IC

[Knightwolf]

You find yourself laying in bed at the early peak of dawn, in your personal quarters of Goat's Tavern. Your room is meager, and it is uncomfortably cold even with your blankets on, but it beats the alternative of homelessness. As the sun slowly makes its way through your window and the rooster that you have become ever-so-lovingly acquainted with over the weeks crows, it becomes known to you that it is indeed morning, and morning means it is time to get up for another long, arduous day in order to earn your silver.

For some reason, today felt different than every other day you've been working here. Something was hanging in the air, a strange feeling, almost supernatural. You think it's probably nothing but you can't help but feel weird on this cold spring morning. Last night, you thought that you heard something along the lines of soft footsteps sneaking about as well as low, muttering voices in the back of your mind.

As you try to brush this occurrence off as nothing more than a dream you couldn't quite remember, you hear the sudden rushing of footsteps going upstairs. Then, you hear Bill Johnson, the actual goat of this tavern, speak in his loud, shrill voice.

"Meeting downstairs! Meeting downstairs! Very very very important meeting! All employees come down immediately!" he says, as he runs back and forth around the corridor that holds your quarters, as well as the quarters of your fellow employees. The bell on his collar creates a piercing sound as he runs that stabs into your mind.

This was odd. Goat has never once called an all employee meeting since you've been employed here. You think it wise to get up and get to the bottom of this.

[Linken]

Lokie wakes up, rubbing her bright green eyes and letting out a cross between a yawn and a hiss. She felt the same feeling that everyone else did, and she heard footsteps last night, but she thought nothing of it. Probably just Bill Johnson.. but if it was him, why didn't she hear the clippity-clops of his hooves? ...Well, she was tired and it was cold in her room, so.

At least it was private! Unlike a lot of Kobolds, Lokie loved her privacy. And shiny silver and gold coins. But mostly privacy. So, once Bill Johnson starts bleating about a meeting, Lokie simply hops up out of bed, and, after a few moments of thought, just goes and puts on her explorer's outfit. Usually, if she's called to meet something, that's what she puts on simply due to the fact that it looks nicer than waitress garb, especially on a Kobold. It reminded her of nice stuff, too. Oh well! Once she's fully dressed (doesn't take too long at all), she opens her room door as quickly as she could before heading downstairs, looking around and hopping up and down. Clearly, she was excited. Maybe something cool came up? Maybe not, though.

[oono]

Shaealyn slowly gets up from the lotus position she was sitting in during her morning meditation in which she communed with her goddess Sarenrae and prepared her spells for the day, which she always does just in case one of the cooks cuts his finger off...again. She muses on the odd footsteps she heard last night but doesn't worry about it to much. Sarenrae would never lead her to harm...well much harm.

She gets up and starts putting on her barmaid outfit and starts wondering what wonders the day will hold. And she wonders what is up Goat's butt this morning.

As she goes in to the great room where the meeting is to be held she sees Lokie. Good morning Lokie. How are you this morning?

[CovertCobalt]

Markov's heavy frame lies across his meager bunk, his head and left arm hanging off the edge slightly. At the crow of the rooster, he lets out a heavy groan and promptly falls onto the cold wooden floor. A mumbled string of obscenities follows as he scrabbles to his feet, dusts himself off, and staggers to his trunk at the foot of the bed. He rummages around for a moment before pulling out a deep green bottle of beard oil and a cracked hand mirror.

A few minutes later, the man strides into the kitchen, his beard immaculately groomed and shining. He glances about the room, spots Lokie and Shaealyn, and pulls up a barstool near them. "Strange of the ol' Goat to be callin' a meeting like this, huh?" He pauses briefly, cracking his knuckles loudly and furrowing his brow. "You didn't tell him I'd been sneaking ale, did you Shae?" He pauses again, glaring at the Halfling woman.

Suddenly, he bursts into laughter, slapping his palm on a nearby table. "Just pulling your leg! I know you wouldn't say nothin'. If anybody would, it'd be that stick-in-the-mud blue fellow, Sygen."

[NightDweller]

Sygen arose from his sieza position where he had been meditating to Tsukiyo, Shizuru, Pharasma and Iori. He had felt something off today so he had decided to memorize his electric grasp spell instead of healing spell like he normally does. Sygen is wearing his simple monk robes he wears for travelling and was about to go downstairs when his katana caught his eye. Sygen's normally serene expression seemed to go grimace for a split second, as if he was remembering something painful, before deciding to leave it and head downstairs just in time to hear Markov's offhand remark about him. Taking a brief moment to calm himself, Sygen walked into the room.

"There is no purpose to stating the obvious."

Sygen said calmly as he sat down and waited.

[Linken]

Lokie has clambered her way up to a chair, standing on the edge and balancing quite perfectly. Clearing her throat as she's addressed, she turns towards the Halfling (and, eventually, everyone else), and speaks in her broken Common, as usual. Haelo, Sha... Shaealyn. And Markov and Zy-- Sygen. Strange day. Am into fine, though! Is welcome change. How is you, Shaealyn? How is EVERYONE? She wondered what Goat could be so upset about. Everything looked normal... right? Oh, well. She could always change back into her waiting stuff if things were just business as usual... but this was just a strange change.

[NightDweller]

"Pleasant and glad to see you are well."

Sygen said in acknowledgment of the kobold. He has a great deal of sympathy for her, having spent all of his lives in the minority.

[oono]

I am doing well this morning. Just curious about why Goat has called this meeting. He has never done so before.

She starts to set up the bar for the lunch rush. Getting mugs from the back where the dishes are washed. Mainly just busying herself before the start of the meeting.

[whiteflash]

Jax stretched his arms and hands as he always did when he heard the rooster crowing. Which is to say that he stretched two of his fingers in its direction.

Upon hearing the goat's voice he slowly stretched the rest of his body, pulled his clothing on, and eventually made his way down to the common area.

"Uuuuhhhh... Sorry I'm late. Didn't sleep well last night. Thought I heard some animals scratching around or something. They timed it poorly for me, too. You know how if you get woken up at the wrong time, you wind up waking up more tired than you were when you went to bed? That's what happened to me. Twice. Really hoping we don't get a rush, or any other surprises."

He tries to wake up and brighten up a bit. "How are you guys doing?"

[CovertCobalt]

Markov jumps suddenly upon hearing Sygen's response, nearly toppling his barstool. "Er, not that it means you're any less of a man for it, o' course..." He shrugs in relief at Lokie's sudden burst of energy taking Sygen's intense gaze off of him.

He nods and offers a grunted "Doin' fine" before turning his attention to Jax.

"Yanno lad, I'm pretty sure I heard somethin' like that too. Figured it was some rats or somesuch; we can hardly keep 'em out of the larder." He strokes his beard thoughtfully, careful not to disturb his precise grooming pattern.

At the mention of a potential rush, he grins and claps Jax on the back. "Trust me, m'lad, a rush in little ol' Thorp isn't anythin'. Lemme tell you about the time I had to cook for the guests of three weddings in one night, back in my hometown." He stands up with a flourish, gesturing about the bar as he speaks. "O' course, the brides were triplets, and not a one of them would allow for the others to have finer food than they, so..." Markov begins lapsing into a long story that all had heard at least once before.

[Linken]

Lokie stretches out just briefly before speaking again. Am good! Is good! Everyone is good. Seeming to! Haelo, Jaxx! Once she hears Markov start to go off on his tangent- she'd heard this one once or twice now- the Kobold just... listens intently! She liked stuff like that! Course, before he starts it, she interjects (for everyone else's sanity). Have nevar really did job like... She waves around the room, 'pointing' at everything in general. Non-hurty place! Nobody tries take shiny scales so is... is nice! Course, she gets stared at occasionally- well, a lot of the time... but she liked the attention!

[LittleCarp04]

Darvin hears the Goat yelling and groans both inwardly and outwardly...

Shaking his head to loosen the cobwebs of sleep he rises and stretches, hearding an odd pop from his back.

"The years haven' been kind to this old wagon." he says quietly to himself as he takes his belt and puts it around his waist after putting on the rest of his gear. He takes a moment to rest his hand on the single bullet he still carries, though he carries no firearm anymore, it is a great reminder of who he is and who he wants to be again.

He makes his way into the meeting room and looks around at the other employees all waiting to see what the commotion is about.

As he enters the room he ignores most of their conversation and pours himself a drink and leans wistfully against a far wall.

[Knightwolf]

You finally manage to get up, get ready, and go downstairs to the large main hall where this meeting is being held.

Goat's has always been a very big tarvern, considering the relatively tiny population of Thorp, and you are reminded of this when you enter the spacious main hall. The tavern is almost never busy, and usually there are only three or four patrons that come to the bar every day. Even so, Goat makes his business here, and he hired the lot of you as his almost comically large team of helpers, considering the amount of business he actually gets.

A few minutes pass after the last employee makes his way to the main hall, and then you see Goat make his way to you from his quarters. His long grey hair sways with each limped step that he told you he acquired in one of his many stories about the days he fought for his country as a high-ranking officer.

When he gets to you, he stops and doesn't take a seat. He has a look of deep concern on his face, which is a change of pace from the usual looks of anger and frustration that he gives you. Bill Johnson runs over to him and Goat pets him gently as he speaks.

"I can assume that you are all wondering why I called this meeting," he says with a grave tone in his voice. Well, something extremely... unfortunate happened last night."

"You see, last night, a group of thieves came into the tavern and stole many of my most precious belongings. This includes my fine china, my stash of rare golden saffron, and perhaps worst of all, the map to where I keep my retirement money."

He pauses for a few seconds and then continues, "Now, when I hired each of you, most of you told me you had some experience out adventuring in the wild, or as soldiers. I'm not going to force you to do anything you don't want to do, but if you were willing, I would greatly reward you if you got this stuff back for me. I'd do it myself, but it's obvious that I'm not the spry young soldier that I used to be, I wouldn't last a second out there."

When it is clear he is done with his speech, he crosses his arms and stands silently, awaiting a response.

[oono]

Well that explains the noises we heard last night. Do you have any idea who it might have been? I for one would love to find some naughty thieves and bring them to justice

[Linken]

Lokie looks up at Goat- he still towers over her when she's standing on a chair, listening closely to what Goat is saying and taking some periodic glances around at everyone. Man... they stole Goat's shiny things? Sucks to be him! She better help him out with this... felt sorry for him! Hopping up and down as he finishes his story, she dreams of massive amounts of gold and stuff... maybe helping to take down some bad thieves! Not GOOD thieves... like herself. She sticks her clawed hand up, and she speaks as soon as she's allowed to. Reward...? SHINY things? She loved shiny things- she WANTED shiny things! Um! What reward? How big?

She felt excited. An adventure? Cool stuff?! Dang, she was getting memories of when she was first setting off! Except she didn't know how to properly spend money and nobody trusted her! Now, she knows how to be thrifty and a small group of people possibly trust her! She was really handy with rapiers, so if she took hers up, she could probably help everyone! As long as she got cool stuff and shiny things! Hell, she even remembered how to disarm traps and sneak around- despite her shiny scales and emerald eyes. Continuing to bounce as she looks between her friends, she grins. I can help! Definitely! Very excite! Who could do it? Does have... track?

[whiteflash]

Jax listens politely, and nods when Goat is done.

When Lokie speaks, Jax responds: "I'm not much of a tracker, but when we find them I'm willing to put arrows in them." He turns to Goat. "Hey, you said they stole a map to where you keep your retirement money? We don't know where they are, but you know someplace they've either already been or are doubtless heading to, and while I see the wisdom in not telling the world where you keep your money we all owe you too much to take more than we've earned."

[oono]

Goodness and positive thinking are on our side we cant fail.

[LittleCarp04]

"Aye, time to meet them where we know they will be or have been. We will be needing a map to your secret spot as well I'm afraid. But we will catch the thieves and return your possessions." Darvin said.

And prove that I still have what it takes! He thinks to himself with a wry smile.

[CovertCobalt]

Markov stands up straighter and grins. "Anything for you, Old Goat! A little spot of adventure to help a friend and ol' soldier is just what I needed to spice up my time here in Thorp." He slaps his belly and then pats Goat on the shoulder.

He nods in agreement to the rest of the group's thoughts, listening carefully. "I would have to agree; thieves don't tend to think all that much, in my experience. We head 'em off at whatever spot you've hidden your stash and we can knock some sense into them." Markov cracks his knuckles again, a huge smile on his face. "It's about time I show Darv and Sygen here how to really fight, anyways."

[oono]

Ya that sounds good. seems to be the best option. How soon can we be ready? All I got to do is grab my gear. I already have what few spells I can have prepared. which isn't much, try not to get hit.

[NightDweller]

After a long period of silence and inner conflict, Sygen finally speaks.

"I will assist as well, allow me to retrieve my sword."

The Samsaran said as he walked back to his room and retrieved his katana. He took a brief moment to pray to his patron gods before coming back and sitting lotus style with his sheathed weapon in his lap as he continued to listen.