Mercenary meet the Prodigy (Closed to FAMFRIT)

[Fidelis]

Closed between FAMFRIT and Fidelis
(Sorry Famfrit Slight writers block! PM me if I have any spelling errors I don't have MS word on this computer.)


Aeryn wandered through the streets, avoiding any possible contact with people.

She had sighed combing her dark hair back. She had not been able to find a comission in since the death of of her teacher. It was understandable, why would anyone want a mercenary that did not have any experience in the field? Hopefully someone in this town would be willing to take any mercenary.

The girl continued finding a bulleten board. Her unusual coloured eyes searched through the posted advertisments. She quietly talked to herself lifting the pieces of parchment off of others looking for any person that was hiring anyone to deal with thier special jobs.

"Bakers' assisstant... Shoe cobler... Basket weaver...." She said to her self and sighed.

Aeryn stepped back and looked at the overall board. She considered taking up being a messenger.

'It is rather hard to gain experience if no one is willing to hire you,' she thought beginning to walk again. 'Especially if you look like a scrawny young male.'

She stopped and looked at her appearance in the window. At least no one would figure out that she really was a girl. The thought made her feel slightly more contented with that part of her appearance.

As she passed by another store, she took note of the advertisment plastered to the window.

--
IN SEARCH OF A MERCENARY OF ANY CALIBUR FOR HIRE.
--

She raised an eye brow. Rather convenient that someone would be so desparate to find someone that they would take anyone. She assumes the person is not wealthy enough to meet the standards of most of the higher class mercenaries. She walked into the store to see how much the owner was giving. Normally she really didn't care much about money, but in the situation she was in. No money means no shelter or food.

Aeryn walked out with her information. She considered asking people in the taverns. She looked up at the sign before her.

The Peaceful Promenade

Particularly this one seeing as it was the most busy and it seem to bee where the owner of the store had been hinting to.

Nodding to herself she walked in and took a seat in a barstool away from the many people that crowded the tavern. Hopefully anyone that either passed her by, or sat next to her would would be drunk or talkative enough to blurt out information of relevance. For now while she waited she looked over what the owner of the store had given her. She definetly could understand why he was turned down, but even for something as petty as this she was still getting paid.

--
"It is a family hier loom." The owner begged twisting his hat in his hands. "I swear last time I saw the man that had it was in the Peaceful Promenade. Please I'm begging you to bring it back to me."

Aeryn taking pity on the man accepted his offer. --

Thinking about it. The whole story was rather simple. She just had to find the man that the owner described and take back what he took.

[FAMFRIT]

I don't think Mom and Dad'll mind if I go out for awhile.

Cidan Vandiel was on another piano tour and he was not coming back until five days later. Renowa Lachrist had climbed up Goblin Mountain to do her monthly meditation, which usually lasted for about a week or two. With his parents out of town yet again, and since the maids and butlers usually don't even care about Jerome's well-being, the 15-year old piano prodigy made his way through the bustling town.

The sun was smiling brightly down on the town, lighting even the dark alleys where dastardly deeds where being decided upon. Men and women of different races and colours brushed past him, looking for some source of income to keep their family alive. It did not bother Jerome one bit that he was gingerly walking through the low-class area of the city. Although he was used to being in surrounded by well-dressed nobles and ornately designed houses, Jerome liked to blend in the crowd. Nobody even noticed that he was the famous piano-playing child prodigy, FAMFRIT.

Then again, nobody would be able to notice him. He was wearing his favourite outfit. The black undershirt with the pink flowery designed his mother had made for him. Old and worn navy blue jeans, whose colour was fading. Black shoes with pink laces. The black hooded sweater, which protected Jerome's head from the burning sun, but also made him sweat. He turned his head around, careful not to make the hood fall off, looking for any sign of something to do.

What to do...

Jerome walked up to a messy bulletin board with posted advertisements, various store-owners looking for people who would be willing to do odd jobs. Baker's assistant... shoe cobler... basket weaver... hmmm..., Jerome flipped through the browning parchments, looking for a piano-playing job. That's the only thing I'd be remotely good at. Even though Dad says I'm the worst. That piano playing job would certaintly entertain him for a little while, and get him some spare change. It really is boring at home.

Jerome sighed. He wondered why, after so much practice, was he so bad at playing piano? Was he really as bad as he thought he was? Or was Cidan just exaggerating to motivate him? Maybe if I just practiced more often, concentrated better, exercise my fingers more, I'll be better. The sad young piano player flipped through the advertisements, hoping for his piano playing to be up to Cidan's standards.

As he patiently turned the papers over looking for a suitable job, his eyes caught sight of an old ad, looking for a passionate piano player.



THE PEACEFUL PROMENADE

LOOKING FOR A PASSIONATE PIANO PLAYER

The Peaceful Promenade is offering some gold to you, the piano player who would like to play in the tavern. There is a finely tuned black straight piano in the corner of the room for you, the piano player, to enjoy your time. Anybody can sign up, as long as you are competent enough to produce good music. But you don't have to be as good as that wimpy kid piano player on the news, FAMFRIT. The Peaceful Promenade is a safe environment, so sign up now!

See The Peaceful Promenade Tavern Master for more details.


Hmmm. They called me wimpy.

Unfazed by the insult on the piece of paper, Jerome tugged on the paper, releasing it from the thumbtack that held it down on the bulletin board. There was a map of the city at the back of the ad, highlighting where The Peaceful Promenade was from the bulletin board. Just a few turns here and there, brushing past the bustling townsfolk, the 15-year old reached a busy run-down place with the sign reading The Peaceful Promenade.

Walking into the bar, Jerome felt uneasy, as the burly drunken men made green jokes and playfully slapped the barmaid's behinds. Their chest hair popped out of their shirts like rabid raccoons waiting to be freed. Jerome took a seat beside a girly figured man, looking warily at his surroundings. The ad said it was a safe environment.

Just before he could change his mind about doing the piano job, the tavern master spotted his ad in the boy's hand. "Hey, boy!" he hollered from behind the bar. "Ya saw mah ad? That wuz weeks 'go! Fin'lly! And ya just a boy!"

"Oh... yeah." He handed the ad back to its original owner. "Here."

"Naw, keep it. I just need ya to get on the piano and play." He strached his balding head as he filled up a customer's goblet with beer.

"I think... I gotta go."

"Naw, boy! I need ya in here. See them drunken men?"

He nodded uncertainly.

"They loves the FAMFRIT boy's music. They calm down. It's weird."

He nodded again.

"I juz want ya to play somethin, maybe they'll stop scaring other customers away." He pointed to the black piano in one of the corners of the tavern. "There it is. I want ya to go and play. I'll pay ya 100 gold. And by the looks of ya, I think ya might need it."

He sighed, unable to escape from this horrible beer-smelling tavern. "Okay." He made his way to the piano, carefully avoiding the drunken men, as to not be accidentally slapped by them.

Sitting down on the uneven leather seat, he opened the lid, covered in oily finger marks. He made himself comfortable with this new friend he had made, The Peaceful Promenade piano. It isn't the same as the piano at home, but it'll do. He placed his fingers in the formation of a C Major chord and began playing one of Cidan's older creation, Legacy Forte, Key of C Major. Jerome had played the song in one of his concert before, and he hoped that the drunken men would recognize the tune and calm down.

He leaned forward and put more emotion into his song, a mixture of pride, sadness and victory. He dared not close his eyes, but instead, he bobbed his head to the erratic rhythm of the piece. He crescendo-ed and descrescendo-ed in the right spots. He coloured The Peaceful Promenade with his song.

[Fidelis]

Aeryn listened to the music as she continued to search for her current target. Her problem was that the store owner's description had been so vague the person could have been anyone within the Peaceful Promenade. Hell, she didn't even know whether the man that had stolen the mans prized obect was still in the town.

She stood up and began asking around. She stopped in mid-sentence when she saw a man in the corner of the bar attempting to pawn off the owners desired item. She contemplated on how she was going to deal with the man.

After a moment she walked up to the young pianist.

"Do you take requests?" asked Aeryn masking her voice to keep him from suspecting she was female.

She continued to keep her eye on the man still trying to sell the stolen item. It was getting close to being sold to a fairly well off man. Her eyes narrowed she had to make her move soon. The plan finally finished forming in her head.

If there was anything a man did not like was embarrassment. Especially around his own gender. But they lose all respect for thieves. That was as much as she knew about noble men, or perhaps the ones she had been around.

She patiently waited. Timing to get the item was key.

[FAMFRIT]

Jerome Vandiel looked up from his emotional piano-playing. He didn't stop playing, because that would just make his listeners frustrated. A slightly effeminate young man peered down at him, with his lightly deep (if that even made sense) voice.

"Do you take requests?"

People had asked Jerome all the time for piano requests, so he was used to being told what to do. Usually, people asked him to play some infamous song he had never heard of. They insisted that the song they requested was famous, but like he would know. Cidan, his father and teacher, would never let him listen to pop culture music, thinking that it corrupted his prodigy son's genius mind.

It had been a surprise when he came up to him. He didn't even see him coming, but then again, he was so engrossed in his playing that he didn't notice anything else. The tavern was still quite entranced by his piano playing. Everyone seemed to have fallen in an odd musical trance.

He nodded a slight nod of agreement. Requests are easy, it just depends on what song it is. He probably only wants to hear some random song. Not too hard.

[Fidelis]

She looked at the pianist and made her request nore sure if he could play it or not. She didn't care as long as it she could get to the sly man with the store owners valuable item.

Walking away she sat down in a seat closer to her target. It was only a matter of time until she made her move. She had to do it quickly and with at least some form of law enforcement there.

She listened to the deals going around the tables. She wasn't worried as long as she could get the man to give up the item. If he didn't she may have to use force to gain it from him.

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting since before the beginning of this year (2009). Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another admin and they will be able to move it for you back to the Peaceful Promenade.