Pascal

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

The card game didn’t so much as end as Adrianna left. Two other players were joining, and they were interested in spending more money, with the potential of course to gain more money as well through the game. Adrianna departed then, having netted a few coins by the end of the game. She went to the kitchens with her coin, intent on getting herself some food. Though with passage on the ship, all of the guests onboard had access to some stew, she hadn’t been much of a fan. It was much more broth and remains from previous stews than any real meat or sustenance. Earlier, she had seen someone pass a little coin to the chef to get something better.

It was no surprise to her that the chef, a Naga, was accepting a bit of coin under the counter and pulling out better food, but she just so happened to have some coin to spare now, to engage in some of these activities. “Hey, Gideard, right?” She asked, getting the scaley guy’s attention. The man looked up from the pot he was stirring, looking skeptically at Adrianna. “Yea, what’s it to you?”

“I’m just a good listener, is all.” Adrianna said. “And I heard that you had something pretty delicious being cooked up in these kitchens.”

“We got stew.” He pulled out a ladle of the stuff she already knew she didn’t care for. Adrianna lifted a few coins from her pouch and set them on the table.

“That’s not quite what I meant.” She grinned.

He hesitated another moment, and then went over to the expo counter where Adrianna stood, looking both ways as if expecting to see some sort of authority nearby just waiting for him to slip up. “I got something you might like to try…” He nodded, and slid the coins away, obviously not offering any change. He took out a bowl, and went over to another pot, much smaller, in the back of the small kitchen. He ladled a bit of the contents, and she could see thick cuts of vegetables and meat. There was a dark color to the soup, and as he brought it closer, she could see the small bits of… herbs inside.

Most food on ships was incredibly salty and tough to chew. This soup, on the other hand, was delicious. Adrianna let out a moan when she took a bite, and Gideard shushed her immediately. She held up a hand and mumbled an apology, and then continued to eat, leaning against a wall of the kitchen. This was possibly one of the best things she had eaten, and she wasn’t exactly a street rat.

“What is this? How did you make it?”

“You didn’t pay for that information.” Gideard said. Adrianna was surprised by his crass response, but looked up in time to see him grinning back at her, and she chuckled. “We pick up all sorts of herbs and things when we go to ports. But I don’t get enough to feed it to everyone. Besides, the captain doesn’t much care for the taste of the things I make. Says he likes this grub better.” Adrianna spoke with him a little more as she ate, learning that Gideard aspired to be a chef, like a private chef for some nobleman or something, but no one would hire a Naga to do anything except take out the trash. He couldn’t even eat at establishments, let alone be hired to work with their meat and cook for people. He once got accused of wanting to poison the patrons so that he could empty their pockets and skip town.

This vessel gave him a chance, but there wasn’t exactly much room for improving himself. He didn’t say as much, but Adrianna got the impression that Gideard wanted to be ‘discovered’ by someone who wanted a personal chef. Just like young ladies wanted a knight in shining armor to rescue them, Gideard hoped someone would see his talent, even with his sub-par ingredients, and would look beyond his scales to offer him a career. Unfortunately, as nice as he was beneath the gruff exterior, Adrianna had nothing of the kind to offer him, and wished him luck in his endeavors.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

@Vena Sera thanks for the info. I hadn't thought to ask about currency but I definitely used copper in my last post. I can change it to bronze when I get back to my computer. Should be this evening sometime. :)

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

nice post, @mogtaki I loved the mental image of Cecil checking out the water and sinking to the bottom, then being curious about ocean life and sorta walking along the bottom like, "this is peaceful, but my joints are starting to hurt."

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

“Two pairs.” An older man said as he lay down his cards. He had a pair of fours, a pair of sevens, and a ten. The brawny Dimuran’s lips curled into a smile as he loosened his grip and lay his cards down face up as well.

He didn’t say anything, but the cards spoke for themselves. He had three of a kind, fives. They both looked to Adrianna, who shook her head a little and placed her cards face down on the table, folding for the table. She didn’t have anything decent this hand. The Dimuran took the pot, a few cooper pieces, and then tossed another into the pile.

“Can’t we up the ante a little?” The older man asked.

Adrianna had set the ante, keeping it low. Her reason was that they were trapped on a boat, and if someone lost too much money, there would be a lot of tension in a very small space. Lots of things made people angry, but one of the biggest instigators of conflict was money. The last thing she wanted to deal with was someone feeling like they had been cheated out of their life-savings…not to mention the fact that she was pretty confident she couldn’t take the Dimuran in a fight if it came to.

“The kid set it.” The Dimuran said, gesturing to Adrianna.

“I know, but come on, let’s make this a bit more fun.” The older Muran replied.

Adrianna opened her mouth to explain her reason for keeping the ante low. Before she could, however, the Dimuran spoke up once more. “This is probably all the kid has. Don’t try to con him out of his savings, Lago.”

“Yea, yea…” Lago readied the cards for the next hand. They seemed to accept the reasoning given by the Dimuran, and Adrianna wasn’t going to argue with them. It was plausible that she, a young lad, didn’t have enough money on her person to bet more than a few copper each hand. Besides, Adrianna won the next hand and had won a few earlier as well. She could be very good at cards, but she didn’t want to be too good.

“So what brings you to Galloway?” The old man asked, trying to make conversation, or possible distract the Dimuran from noticing his tells. Of course, the Dimuran wasn’t terribly interested in making small talk, and he grunted as he stared intently at his cards.

“Looking for work.” Answered Adrianna a few moments later. It was plausible, and it wasn’t even entirely a lie. She was looking for new work, but she didn’t plan on staying in such a busy port city. In truth, she had been considering getting work on a vessel, and had spent a while watching the crew swab the deck and tie knots and such. This little trip was a bit of a test run, and assurance that she absolutely did not want to get work on a boat. There was absolutely no privacy, and given her…condition, the tight quarters just weren’t feasible. On the plus side, at least she knew one thing she didn’t want to do.

“What kind of work? Do you have any skills?” He asked.

“A few.” Adrianna said. “Why, are you hiring?”

“No, no…Just making conversation.”

“What are you going to be doing in Galloway?” Adrianna asked in return.

“Meeting family. My son’s wife just had another baby, and I’m coming to visit em.”

“Sounds nice. Enjoy yourself.” They continued to make small talk through the next few hands, though the Dimuran mostly kept his thoughts to himself. Lago pressed him a bit, but Adrianna didn’t pry. She understood that some people preferred to keep their privacy.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

Hey all, I know what I want to post but I've got the flu, so I might not get the post done tonight.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

A few modifications to Adrianna from the original game, but she is posted.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith (High-Casual)

Name: Adrianna Kirchner. Goes by Adrian Vargas
Age: 22
Gender: Female, but dresses and travels as a male
Race: Mura

Appearance:

Adrianna has dark straight hair with green eyes. Her complexion is a bit pale, largely unmarred with freckles or scars. Adrianna is very lean, but toned, and stands at 5 feet 7 inches tall. She binds her chest beneath a loose undershirt, though her chest is rather flat anyway. As she has cut her hair and dresses like a man, she looks much younger than she actually is. She does not have facial hair, and her voice sounds like she might not have hit puberty yet. She has no tattoos. If one looked closely, they might see that her ears are pierced, though it has been years since she wore anything in them.
Clothing:
Face:

Magic:
Healing- Adrianna can manipulate her own energy and the energy of others to heal. While her healing does not remove all scarring, it has saved lives before. Healing a lot wears her out, and she has traditional non-magic healing capabilities as well, which she uses more frequently than her magic.

Light Orb-Adrianna can create and control an orb of light to illuminate a dark area. It does not put off heat, however. She has good control over its size, and has recently learned how to “throw” it at people to startle or confuse them. It disappears if she loses concentration or it gets too far away from her.

Gear: She carries herbs, salves, and some basic medical supplies that she has gathered together in a pouch that hangs on her waist. Adrianna carries a small dagger in her left boot, and a two section bo staff, split, one on each hip. She also carries a sling-shot, and is able to use a bow, though she doesn't currently have one.

She carries flint and firesteel, some dried meat for rations, and a container of water in a satchel over her shoulder. In there is also a small book and writing utensil, in which she has drawings and information about plants and their many uses for healing, eating, and poisoning.

History: Adrianna currently travels as a man, as she is “on the run” from the Church. She doesn’t usually think anyone is looking for her, though occasional bouts of paranoia keep her in hiding. When she first left, she was nervous about being a young woman traveling alone, and so she put on a guise and became a “healer for hire.” She mostly uses non-magic healing, though occasionally infuses a bit of magic to prevent infection or prevent mortal wounds. The group she has traveled with for the last two years does not know for certain she is a mage, or even that she is a she…though there have been suspicions when men were able to walk within a few days of grievous injuries. No one asked, and “Adrian” didn’t tell. After all, every man in their company of bandits had a story, and few of them wanted to share their own. Still, she could not stay in their company any longer…”Adrian” should have started growing facial hair, his voice should have deepened, and overall it was too much of a risk. So off she went.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Sorry for the delay, all! I wanted to make sure the group was moving along, but if your characters need to stop, feel free to control the group and make it happen. She made a point to ask the group if anyone needed anything.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

Adrianna departed from Malvin’s office but only got a few steps before a small child ran into her. No, it wasn’t just any kid, it was that girl, the seer. Her eyes were puffy and red, and though it was possible she had just seen something upsetting, Adrianna got the impression that it was something more…tangible bothering her. “Are you alright?” She asked, though the child made like she was just going to run for it anyway.

Glancing back over to the door, Adrianna wondered where she had come from, only to remember that the door itself was a closet. Being from the city, Adrianna could imagine a multitude of reasons a child might be crying in the closet. Perhaps she had just been taking a break from people, and the stimuli that brought on visions. Perhaps someone was harsh towards her, or perhaps someone had hurt her.

The thought of someone laying a hand on the girl, sent a shiver down her spine, and she casually opened the door to the closet, her paranoia making her think for a moment that she might actually find someone there. But there was no one, and Amune had answered that she was going to help the healers. Adrianna raised a brow, curious about the young girl with visions who also proclaimed herself a healer. Did she have both magics? Or was learning about healing more of a hobby?

Amune went on to say that she should be practicing with Gage. “I’m sorry he scares you. But he is not trying to hurt you. He is trying to help keep you from getting hurt by people who don’t care that you are young.” Adrianna didn’t know enough about her “training” and why Gage was chosen to try to interfere. She was going to be traveling with the group, though, so she was curious just what the young girl was learning from the seasoned fighter. The girl darted off to work with the healers, and Adrianna spent some time with some of the other mages she had come to know in Mutebo.

Over the next day, she had considered asking Taliya about the training decisions for the kid, and to perhaps talk about working with Amune herself instead, but she didn’t get the chance. Taliya was very busy, and Adrianna wasn’t sure she really wanted to volunteer herself for another task. Adrianna was reading one of the books donated to the small Mutebo library when she got the message to drop everything and go see Taliya. She waited outside of the office as some of her other future traveling companions assembled, though none of them seemed to have any idea what was going on either.

She dreaded the thought that Lionel would appear, or that perhaps he was already in Taliya’s office. As figures left the room, she tried to lean in to see if Lionel was working with Taliya in the room. She hadn’t seen him, but she couldn’t be sure. Fortunately, that question was answered when they were guided in. Adrianna moved all the way in and leaned against a wall opposite Taliya’s desk, leaving plenty of room for the others. Though she had been ordered to do things by Taliya, she wasn’t sure what kind of ‘missions’ the others had been on for her, unless training counted as a mission (which she did not).

Taliya then explained that she was sending them on a mission, which she called training. Adrianna didn’t care for the likening of the two. Training suggested that failure was okay, and the goal was self-improvement. This sounded like a search and rescue, one in which failure led to dire consequences. The mission was multi-part. They needed to find the merchants who had left the day before (the ones Adrianna passed early in the day), and they needed to find Gage. Adrianna had already ruled out salvaging the stuff, knowing it would be too difficult to get back to Mutebo if the crew manning the wagon had run into trouble.

The others questioned why, but Adrianna stayed silent. Taliya didn’t have to justify herself, really. They were staying in her territory, and her mantra was something like: “Do whatever the fuck I say, or get out of the way.” They should have been asking questions about the merchants’ path, or when Gage was sent to find them, so they could get an idea of where they needed to go to try to intercept the group without potentially stumbling across the same trap, assuming there was one.

“I’ve got a question.” Adrianna interjected as Taliya tried to wave them out. The others began to leave, but Adrianna stuck around for a few moments. Without this information, they would just be wandering around the main road out of Mutebo and flipping coins to pick directions to take. “Where was the merchant pair going, and did they have a set path they were planning to take?” Adrianna asked.

"To sell shit, where do you think? Where doesn't matter, because where they should be is here. They'll be on the road somewhere. Or in some animal's stomach. Just find out where they went." Taliya replied with her usual grace and poise.

“Wow. How helpful.” Adrianna said, her voice oozing with sarcasm. With the others not in the room, she didn’t try terribly hard to keep her tone neutral, and the femininity was more prevalent. “Well, if we don’t come across them by the time the path splits, we’ll just flip a coin.” Adrianna added, annoyed that they were being told to do something without all of the information. Hell, they might as well leave Ethan in charge of navigation.

She caught the others before they had gotten too far, and Ethan asked her where to start. “Yea, I—” Nymira interrupted and gave her opinion, suggestion they ask a guard which direction they went. When she turned things over again to Adrianna, the woman began again. “Yea, I saw the merchants yesterday when I was escorting some people into Mutebo, but there is really only one path out. The merchants had to take the road, because of the goods they were transporting. Gage might have gone through the woods instead, and I guess a guard might have chatted with them before they left and gotten some idea, but my guess he stuck close to the road so he wouldn’t miss the merchants.

Nymira made a comment about Gage not being alive, though Ethan seemed to think that Gage would be fine. “Either way, we need answers. Is there anything anyone needs to get before we depart?” Adrianna moved to the front of the group and began to walk out of the building. She always had her bag on her, in case she needed to go, but she wasn’t sure the others were so prepared. Ideally, they should only be gone a few hours. However, ideals generally weren’t safe to rely upon.

Ethan and Nymira were ready, or so they claimed, and so Adrianna turned her attention to the others. If they needed something, the group would make a detour. Otherwise, they would briskly leave the compound, with Adrianna in the lead. She paused at the gate and turned to Nymira, offering the woman the chance to ask the guards about Gage, if she wanted. The woman was flippant at best, and so, with a shrug, Adrianna continued on out of Mutebo along the main road.

Adelon: Steeling the Faith [Open!]

I should be able to post next. This week has been crazy, but they should settle around tomorrow.