A Highly Typical Quest

[Andrew]

(Closed.)

The smell of the night’s activities lingered in the air as Luryll buckled his leggings into place. He spared a glance over to the innkeeper’s daughter where she lay, curled up on one side of his straw pallet. She was a fine specimen of what humanity had to offer, he thought to himself as he fastened the first of his belts, not nearly as gracefully built as an elven woman, but deliciously plump in certain, specific places. She was sort of like an hourglass with legs, arms, and a head all sticking out of it, only not made of wood, glass, or sand. She also didn’t end in flat bits meant for balancing on tables. As he thought about it a little more, making sure his chest plate was secure, he realized that she didn’t actually look like anything someone would measure time with. Suddenly, he couldn’t recall why his mind had jumped to that analogy in the first place. He gave up on that train of thought and picked up his arms. Tucking his helm under his arm as he stood to leave the room, Luryll decided that he was very glad that she hadn’t actually been the virgin she claimed to be. The girl, whatever her name was, stirred where she lay, but remained asleep. He was glad of that. Even though he didn’t expect the sort of strumpet who could teach him things to mind his leaving; Luryll avoided awkward good-byes whenever possible.

Descending the stairs, he set his mind to reviewing his mission. Somewhere in the forest surrounding this inn, was the home of a gifted artificer. Rumor had it that he was dead, but had left behind a secret treasure trove of inventions that he had never gotten around to selling. Rumor had it that he had discovered the secret to eternal life, and was still alive somewhere, peddling his wares from his forest home. Rumor had it that he was actually a golem, created by the original artificer. Rumor had it that he was extremely friendly. Rumor also had it that he had accidentally turned his skin a delicate shade of lavender with an early experiment. Stepping off of the final stair, and into the inn’s common room, Luryll decided that he wasn’t going to believe any of the rumors except the ones that pinned down an approximate location until he had a bit more information.

“My good man, I desire to provision myself from your stock. I would be pleased if you were to select some food stuffs that keep well from your larder, and will pay fairly for them.” Luryll addressed the owner of the Mended Branch, because he was the only person around with their own larder.

The owner, whose name was Walter Branch, nodded his ascent and went into the back room to fetch some food. Luryll couldn’t decide whether whatsisname didn’t know about his daughter’s night time escapades, or if he just didn’t care. Either way, it didn’t really matter, so long as he wasn’t expecting payment for her time.

Instead of worrying about it, Luryll decided to glance around at the other early risers. At one table, a small time trader in rare woods was finishing up his morning meal, tended by a frazzled looking apprentice. The man had tried to press his wares on anyone who would listen the previous evening, up until Mr. Branch had told him to keep his business deals outside. Sitting at the bar was a wandering holy man of some sort, eating a somewhat less than modest breakfast of his own. The man had claimed to be a brother of the order of St. Pyr the previous night, before settling down to some serious gambling. At another table was some sort of small child. It had been rather more crowded the previous night, but the hour was early yet; Luryll supposed that most of the humans were probably still in bed, due to their inferior need for sleeping long hours.

After a bit of consideration, Luryll decided that it would be worth the extra search time to eat his breakfast while walking. Unconsciously, he started tapping his foot as he waited for the innkeeper to return with his food.

[Chromanon Rockskin]

The supposed "child" did not see the elf come into the mess hall, nor did she hear him order. Instead, she watched the pendulum-like sway of a small piece of wood off a man's belt buckle. She had not been in the inn the night before, and had never been privy to the man's business dealings. All she knew was that a small wooden carving of a sunburst in a pretty golden wood was swinging from his belt. Dark eyes rolled back and forth with the movements as the man's gesticulating hand rocked his chair gently back and forth. His apprentice watched Chromanon with watery, nervous eyes, and after a moment, he sneered.

"Hey, boss, look at that kid."

The trader turned around slowly, his dark eyes regarding her for only a moment before he turned back to his apprentice.

"Parents should be arrested for just leaving kids running about." he muttered, waving away the entire subject of Chromanon as if she were an annoying fly. He leaned down further, wolfing his food as if they might taste another morsel for a very long time. His apprentice looked on, disgusted with the piggish display, though Chromanon paid no more attention to it, instead, opting to look at the golden sunburst that now lay in her small palm. She couldn't remember where she'd gotten it from, she assumed she'd found it on the floor.
Holding it up to the light, she admired the intricate dovetailing that seemed to link the two sides together. Before she could reach up to inspect the hinging further, a cry rung out in the lazy morning air.

"Thief!"

Quickly, the wooden trinket was shoved into a pouch as the young kender looked around in surprise. A thief here seemed so unlikely, and she didn't want anything she carried with her to be stolen. When she found two strong, calloused hands hauling her up to a human's eye level. There, she found the dull dark stare of the trader glaring her down.

"You've got something of mine, halfling." he growled. He pulled her closer, so that her nose was brushing against his. His breath was strong with the night's drink having fermented in the short nap he'd gotten, and Chroma had to blink back tears. "And I want it back," he breathed.

"Yeah," Chromanon agreed. "Your nose." Ignoring his eyes widening in confusion, she strained her neck forward, opening her mouth. Slightly elongated canines seemed to flash in the light of a wall mounted lantern, and she brought her teeth down hard on his nose. With a howl, she was released, where she fell onto the chair that had been beside his. Letting out her own cry of pain, she rolled away, running towards the bar before the trader and his apprentice could even begin to stumble after her.

Taking her hoopak from it's strap around her chest, she brought it down hard on the hardwood floors, cracking the boards as the spiked bottom punctured them. The door to the back opened, and Mr. Branch came in, looking suspiciously for whoever had been making the ruckus while he'd been in the back. He dumped the provisions he'd gathered onto the bar, not noticing when a small hand snaked out to grab a bun of rye bread. The bun was loaded into the sling of a hoopak and with a war cry of "Boo!" went flying towards the lumber trader.

It struck right between the eyes, and as a testament to the lasting power of Mr. Branch's back room breads, didn't crumble at all.

[Andrew]

Luryll was faced with a difficult decision. On the one hand, stopping thieves was always well received. The way the girl child was behaving did seem to indicate that she had something to hide, too. On the other hand, the wood merchant was really annoying. Besides which, he was manhandling a little girl, which most cultures frown upon pretty severely. All in all, it was worth letting the situation unfold a little further in order to get a clearer sense of how to act. He concentrated on looking calm and in control for anyone who might be looking his way.

Finally, as a bun from the larder struck the wood merchant, whatever his name was, Luryll made up his mind. He took the single step required to move behind the wood merchant and brought his helm down hard on the man’s head. The merchant’s legs buckled beneath him, and he collapsed to the ground. Walter’s tiny smirk, which had decided Luryll’s course of action, blossomed into a grin as that irritating twit went down.

The apprentice twit, being somewhat cleverer than his master, swiftly noted the side on which his bread was now buttered. He backed off from both the girl creature and Luryll, making a slight bow in their general directions. “I apologize for Master Resnin’s accusation, my lady. Please, keep the wooden trinket as a sample of our wares. If you like it, please bear us in mind as a source for all of your rare wood needs.”

Luryll had to fight hard to resist the urge to give that apprentice a knowing nod of the head, from one artist to another, after the man’s lightning fast about face. He wasn’t at all bad for a human. However, Luryll knew the importance of keeping both their covers from prying eyes, and was forced to content himself with noting the man’s features in case of a future encounter.

“Innkeeper, how much coin do you require for these provisions? Feel free to include the cost of that bun.”

[Chromanon Rockskin]

Chroma reached behind her, intent on grabbing another piece of "ammunition", but found her grasp stopped short by the large hand of the innkeep. Looking up at him, she almost protested when a sharp gong rang through the inn, followed by a loose thump. She looked over to see her attacker felled by an elven man who had eluded her attention earlier. He was apparently an ally now, and Chromanon did not just up and leave allies. That would be rude. She pried her hoopak from the inn floor as he walked over and searched her pouches for a five gold piece, slapping it down on the surface of the bar.

"I'll pay for the provisions," she cried, her voice raising high with her excitement. "It's only fair." Once the keep had scooped up the coin and turned away, she faced her savior, holding out her hand to him.

"I'm Mrs. Chromanon Rockskin Thok," she said gleefully, grinning as widely as she could. "And thank you very much for helping me out. Some people around here are crazy. So... where are we going now?"

[Andrew]

Things just kept looking up. Luryll considered several days’ worth of provisions a very good trade for less than a minute’s worth of work. If only every inn in the forest was as full of convenient people, he would never go hungry again. Before he could get any further caught up in introspection, he turned his attention once more to the situation at hand. Chromanon’s hand.

Luryll took her hand by the fingers, kneeling as he did so, and lightly brushed the skin of her knuckles with the tiniest hint of his lips. “You are most welcome, my lady,” said the dashing elven soldier of fortune in his noblest voice, “I must also thank you, for your generous gift of provisions.” Something odd was tickling the back of his mind about what the somewhat older than he had thought girl child had said. “As for where I am going; I must continue my quest, for once I have set upon a task it is a matter of honor to see it through to completion.” He left out the fact that honor was a meaningless word in his eyes, because even a taste of the truth can spoil a delicious lie stew.

He stood and began to pack up his newly acquired provisions. When he was just about done; the bit of his brain that was still parsing the things that Chromanon had said caught up with the rest of him. Quickly, but in the same tone of voice as his earlier statement, Luryll added, “Where you go is, of course, your own business. I would not deign to lecture you on the dangers of traveling alone, having seen your prowess with a bun. Wherever you travel, I wish you good fortune.”

With that, Luryll headed for the door, hoping to make it out before the small woman creature noticed that he was gone.

[Chromanon Rockskin]

It was without explanation that she suddenly appeared before him, standing almost belligerently before him. Her hands were resting at her sides, the hoopak again strung against her back, her merry visage letting no telltale sign of what she felt for his attempt to part them. Had she even noticed it, she might have tried to pat his shoulder and explain to this poor unfortunate soul that there was no parting with her, at least for now. Her eyes were sparkling instead with the promise of quest, and the joy of finding another companion by which to travel with.

"I'm good at continuing with quests," she said, trying to echo his own tone. "I continued one called the Adventurer's Crown. We found a shield made out of Pray Val Eats Us. It was very pretty and blue. I forgot where I put it, but that's okay. I think it was really just too big anyway. The best things are ones that fit neatly into pouches, I think."

She leaned forward, inhaling his scent. There had been the barest of perfumes on his skin, floating to her every so often when the wind shifted in it's favor. It was sweat and desire and all the things that Chromanon knew nothing about. Nights of lovemaking were as alien to her as the clues he'd been dropping for them to go their own ways. Instead, she just figured it was a manly disorder, and the poor dear had no one to care for him.

"Besides," she interjected as she settled her pouches about her and took her now-assumed-to-be-customary walking spot to his left, and waited patiently. "You are obviously in need of a woman's touch in your life."

[Andrew]

It was almost difficult to resist bursting out laughing at Chromanon’s last comment. If he wasn’t so accustomed to keeping his act, it may have been too much. One thing that Luryll was almost never short of was the touch of women. The string of women stretched back a long way, blurring one into another: first elves, who were cool, yet meticulous; then humans, who had a sort of desperation that flattered him immensely; a few half-elves, the ones who hadn’t become utterly timid or furiously angry in the presence of a full-blooded elf; even a dwarf once, which was odd for him, due to her bristly beard. He wasn’t quite sure what Chromanon was, as he had had no prior experience with Kender, but he was becoming curious. After all, the whole point of his “quest” was…

Totally secret. He would have to find some way of getting rid of her. No doubt, the people of the Mended Branch would have noticed them heading off together, which meant that he couldn’t kill her unless they were completely gone from inhabited lands. Sadly, the forest he was in was a tame one, well broken in by travelers. There was nothing else for it, he would have to lull her into a false sense of security, and then abandon her while she slept. He would also have to ensure that they didn’t reach the destination before he executed his escape, lest she ruin everything. Irritated, he resigned himself to a full day of retracing his steps before resuming the search in earnest on the morrow.

“Yes, I suppose you are right. Traveling on my own can be rather lonesome at times.” Luryll forced himself to chuckle, lightly, “Although I do fear for your safety, you will surely be safer traveling with me than you would be without.” He began walking as he talked, only half-daring to hope that she would get bored and leave him be. As he had already been by this bit of ground, he paid more attention to observing his new companion than to the woods themselves. He would need to know as much about her as possible to be assured of success.

After a short jaunt along the road, Luryll turned into the woods themselves. He smashed his way through brambles, while avoiding branches with the ease of someone who was had to duck them, even on paved roads, for many years. Again, he only half-dared to hope that his path would dissuade Chromanon.

[Chromanon Rockskin]

"You don't have to worry about me, you know." she said, trying her best to reassure her. "I won the Lornius."

Chromanon followed along happily, her short stature making for a faster pace to keep up with the taller man. Still, she whistled merrily as they went, down the road and then into the woods. Even if he hadn't been clearing a way through the brambles, her lithe feet were adept at maneuvering through the thick environment. She'd been wandering in much this same way for years now, cleaving tiny trails through the wilderness without much aim or purpose.

It wasn't long before something aside from her traveling companion caught her eye. Here and there along the way they trudged, she could see the telltale signs of disturbances among the foliage. It wasn't quite like a game trail, more subtle and yet more devastating. Leaves were shorn, jagged edges lying hidden among the grasses where they'd fallen.

"Hey," she called out, her steps faltering as she began to look around. Something dark moved a few feet on their left, and before her eyes had finished lighting up with curiousity, she was hit. A thick thorn-laden vine came cracking from between the boughs of the nearest tree, whipping across the kender's cheek. Blood blossomed and flew from her cheek, and she squeaked before reaching back for her hoopak. A kender warcry had barely been born on Chroma's lips when it was died as a thicker vine came flying out of the brush and knocked her several feet into the bushes.

The leaves were moved away, and onto their small path, the bramble golem came.