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Jorlton Forpara Forest Gnome, Rogue (Arcane Trickster), Level 03
HP: 24 / 24 Armor Class: 15 Conditions: N/A
Location: Badger’s Inn -> Beldon -> Darenby -> The Infamous Pear Inn
Action: N/A
Bonus Action: N/A
Reaction: N/A |
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Jorlton had been staying at the Badger’s Inn for several weeks when the letter finally reached him. The Human courier who handed him the letter mentioned that it had been hard to track him down, as he didn’t have a permanent residence.
“Well, that is the price of being a wandering Wizard,” said Jorlton as he took the letter.
As the courier left, the Gnome ripped open the envelope and read the letter. Apparently a sheriff from a place called Avonshire was in need of adventurers. The fact that he had been selected caused Jorlton’s ego to massively inflate. This inflation caused Jorlton to overlook the fact that no reward was mentioned. Instead he went to the front of the inn to ask the owner, an older Dwarf gentleman, if he knew where Avonshire was.
“Why it’s east of here. About a week’s travel.”
Jorlton did the math in his head. If he left today he would have just enough time to reach Avonshire by the third day of Harvestide.
Jorlton turned to the Dwarf,
“In that case, I’ll close my tab and be out of the room by tonight.”The Dwarf innkeeper didn’t argue as Jorlton handed him the few coins he owed him. Jorlton then returned to his room, packing his few belongings into his backpack. Upon making sure that he forgot nothing, Jorlton left what had been his home for a few weeks. He then entered onto the main street of the town of Beldon. With a keen eye out for other thieves trying to steal his belongings, Jorlton went over to the market.
Trying to find some means of travelling to Avonshire, as he definitely want to walk there, Jorlton looked at the various caravans that were ready to leave. Eventually he spotted a familiar face, Engel, an Elven merchant.
“Engel my friend. What a fine day to find you,” Jorlton said.
Engel turned around to see who was addressing him, “Oh gods. Not you Jorlton.”
“Yes. Me, Jorlton,” he laughed,
“And may I ask which way you were heading?”“Not that it should matter to you. But I’m going east.”
“Well imagine my luck then, as I am also headed east.”“No.”
“No, what?”“You can’t come.”
“But I can be of use.”“You’re a tiny thief with delusions of grandeur as a Wizard.”
“Hey I have uses. Like this.”Jorlton made his mage hand appear, grabbing the wrist of a small Human child. Engel turned to see that the child had been attempting several vials of potion out of the back of his wagon. Engel shooed away the child.
“Fine,” the Elf sighed, “You can come. But if we encounter any bandits, you’re fighting them off.”
“Deal,” replied Jorlton with a crooked smile.
The Elf and Gnome then loaded themselves into the wagon. Engel took the reins as his single white horse pulled the wagon out of the streets of Beldon.
~*~
Luckily for Jorlton and Engel, they did not encounter any bandits on their week long journey. Though Avonshire was slightly out of the way for Engel, he was all too eager to get rid of Jorlton. After spending so many days together, Engel prayed that he would never encounter the annoying Gnome ever again.
As Jorlton got off the wagon, which Engel then made speed away, he saw a sign written in Common saying Darenby, five miles away. The Gnome sighed as he didn’t want to do any serious walking, and was slightly ticked off that Engel had let him off so far from his destination. But there was nothing he could do now as he was alone in the middle of nowhere. So Jorlton began to move his tiny legs.
For almost two hours, Jorlton trekked in the direction that the sign had pointed. While most people would take in the beautiful meadows and farmland, Jorlton instead focused on the pain in his calves. While he already had a small stride, the fact that he didn’t regularly exercise meant that this walk was torture for him. It also didn’t help that the dirt road had begun to turn to mud, his boots getting stuck in the brown goo.
But he trudged on, the idea that this quest could lead to loot keeping him motivated. That motivation paid off when Jorlton spotted a fort in the distance. Realizing that was the fort of Darenby, Jorlton quickened his pace, trying to ignore the mud and stones under his feet.
As Jorlton neared the fortress, he spotted a singular Human soldier. The Gnome approached him, panting and out of breath,
“Is this Darenby?”“Aye. And what business do you have here?” the soldier asked, “We don’t get many Gnomes here.”
For a split second Jorlton almost said coin, but his brain re-oriented, remembering the letter,
“I’m here to investigate the Goblins. Apparently you guys have a Goblin problem.”“Really? I didn’t hear anything about that. I should go alert the Guard Captain,” stated the soldier.
“Yeah, you do that,” said Jorlton, before adding,
“Oh! And where can I find the Infamous Pear Inn?”The soldier turned back toward Jorlton, “It’s over on the other side of town.” He then ran to find his Captain.
Jorlton groaned at the prospect of more walking but he didn’t have a choice in the matter. At least when he made it into the town proper, the once dirt and mud roads became cobblestone. This greatly increased Jorlton’s pace as his legs and feet were no longer getting stuck. Still, it took Jorlton quite a while before he finally spotted the wooden sign for the Infamous Pear, as it was now definitely darker out.
Looking for a place to sit, and an ale to numb the pain in his legs, Jorlton eagerly entered the bar. He was welcomed in by a friendly looking Halfling, but Jorlton ignored him, instead going directly to the bartender.
“A flagon of your strongest ale, immediately,” Jorlton ordered.
The Human responded with simply a smile as he filled the flagon and handed it to the Gnome. Jorlton downed a good deal of the beverage before remembering his whole reason of coming to this farming town.
“Also, my good barkeep,” said Jorlton before whispering,
“I’m with the Arbalest party.”The bartender nodded before repeating roughly the same spiel to Jorlton as he had to those who arrived before. Pointing over to the table in the corner, the bartender gave Jorlton a knowing nod, before going back to cleaning his drink ware.
The table in the corner was clearly the busiest in the whole inn as many formidable looking adventurers were gathered around it. Jorlton wasn’t sure how he hadn’t spotted them before as they sort of stuck out. Darenby had seemed to be a town of Humans and Halflings, yet these adventurers also included Elves and Tieflings.
Figuring that he should make a grand introduction, Jorlton raised his flagon as he approached the group.
“Well met fellow adventurers!” he said,
“I am Jorlton. Quickest of hands, most pervasive of minds, and master of the Wizarding arts!”Upon finishing Jorlton cast minor illusion, causing a shimmering blue aura to surround himself. If that didn’t impress them, Jorlton didn’t know what would.
Sep
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