Xavori
The Lady Elawyn
I was wandering near the orc
fort at Cove looking for something(one) to do. There were many an
orc and ettin corpse lying about and a number young warriors who
looked barely old enough to shave, let alone adventure. No
challenge in any of them. So, I left the fort and started towards
Cove when I didst spy a fighter on board a dragon ship. And lo,
the gangplank was down. I took off running towards the ship and
jumped onto the plank and aboard the ship. I scrambled back to
the tiller man and with the aid of my war fork, ordered him to
move the boat out to sea.
After we were well away from
the shore, I turned to the fighter.
"Dost thou wish to sail to
Vesper?"
"Yes," he replied.
"The fee for the trip will
be 200gp," I told him.
"Okay, let's go to the
bank and I'll get it for you."
Obviously, the fighter thought
me a complete fool. For once we reached the "safety" of
Lord British's homicidal warriors, he would flee.
"Nay, knave. Thou wilt pay
me now, or I shall take my fee from thy bleeding body."
"k" he replied.
He wandered over to me and
handed me a pile of gold, quickly counting it, I saw he had only
given me half my request.
"My fee is 200gp or your
life," I threatened.
"Half now, half when we
get to Vesper."
"Nay, all now, or you will
never arrive in Vesper."
He thought for a moment, and
then handed me the full 200 gold. I decided to see if I could get
all his gold without resorting to anything so mundane as killing
him. So, I set sail for Vesper, a plan already forming in my
mind. After a few minutes (Cove to Vesper is a very short
journey), we arrived near Vesper.
"Wouldst thou like me to
land so thou can go ashore?" I asked with a sly grin.
"Yes, please," he
answered.
"The fee for going to
shore is an additional 200gp."
He fumbled around in his packs
for a second, then said, "Wish I had it…"
"'Tis a pity," I
replied.
I ordered the tillerman
forward, planning on ditching him on a uncharted swamp island I
had found the day before.
"Please, wait! I have
189gp, will that be enough?" he begged.
This was only 11gp less than I
had asked, so I assumed he was most likely telling me the truth.
I pondered for a moment.
"That will be fine."
I took him close to shore and
demanded my money. As soon as he paid me, I moved next to shore
and ordered him off the boat.
"Thank thee for choosing
Da Gimp's charter service! Tell all thy friends about us!" I
called out as he ran away.
Now, that was fun, but I always
make it a point to visit Occllo whenever I "borrow" a
ship. So off I went. I shan't bore you with my activities in
Occllo, needless to say, nothing interesting happened. So,
remembering the fun I'd had in Trinsic recently, I set sail. It
is my theory that the city that prides itself for its honor hath
created a citizenry who art truly naïve.
After the long journey, I
arrived in Trinsic, I left my ship parked near the city, and
assumed someone else would borrow it from me shortly. I had heard
rumors that the jeweler's market had recently recovered from a
drought and were again purchasing jewels. I had saved roughly 50
various gem stones, and figured to make a tidy profit, so my
first stop was the jewelers. I spent several minutes haggling
with the merchant on the prices of gems and letting me sell all
my gems to him. When I walked out, I had over 3000 gold on me. I
could barely move under the weight and proceeded to the bank as
quickly as I could pausing often to rest. It took me quite a
while to arrive at the bank and deposit my new wealth.
I wandered around the town for
a few moments, then spied a tailors shop. I wandered in and saw a
jester's outfit. Thoughts of all the fun that could be had
dressed the fool danced through my head, and I bought it. I then
took out my dye kit and tub and picked out the most obnoxious
colors I could find to color everything: bright purple pants,
green shoes, and blue tails on my hat. I then started wandering
around telling bad jokes to people distract them whilst digging
through their packs.
I wandered around for a bit,
even stopping at the local tavern to pick up some ale, figuring
being slobbering drunk would add to the part of fool. I meandered
some more and ended up at the docks where many fisherman were
actively doing battle with the fearsome fishies.
A lady named Elawyn commented
on my clothing. Several others had told me of her kindness and
generosity, so I made it a point to find a "special"
scam for someone so disgustingly nice. I started working on my
plot while continuing to stumble about the dock and ask people if
they had seen my pet frog, all the while digging though the
fisher folk's packs looking for goodies. Not surprisingly, they
had mostly smelly fish. Blech!
After thoroughly exploring all
the packs, I started announcing the contents of everyone's pack.
There were even a couple of fools who actually had gold in plain
sight (well, plain sight for a rogue who was digging around in
their pack anyway).
"Thou are a most strange
fool," commented Lady Elawyn.
I stumbled over to her and
replied, "Milady, thou art the most beautiful creature I
have ever lain eyes upon."
Trying to control a smirk, I
quickly continued.
"Please forgive my
brashness, milday," I stammered, "I am very drunk. You
could be very ugly. I cannot tell."
I then fell down laughing and
so failed to catch her reaction. I continued my drunken routine
for a few moments more when I came upon my plan to win her trust.
"Milady Elawyn, I have a
confession to make," I started, "I am not truly a
drunken fool but instead am a warrior in service to our noble
liege Lord British. "
"A confession?" she
asked.
"Yes, milady. I was sent
here to Trinsic with a letter for the captain of the town guard
warning him of a pirate attack. Alas, I was ambushed on my way
here by two ruffians and lost the letter. However, whilst they
thought me out, I overheard them talking of sailing to Trinsic
and then travelling overland to their hideout in the jungle south
of the town."
"Who was it?" asked a
young mage named Tigris.
"Rainz and
Gramberto," I replied coming up with the most unlikely duo I
could think of.
"I've heard about
them," said the mage.
So, Tigris wanted to be my
victim. Very well. Lady Elawyn was not cooperating at all.
Although she pleaded inexperience in fighting, it was not fear,
but mistrust I saw in her eyes. My esteem of her went up greatly.
I had not planned on her joining me on this excursion, but needed
her unwitting help in luring some other to the journey. She had
unknowingly played her part perfectly. I explained the details of
our "mission" to Tigris and we set off.
We travelled quickly to the
jungle, and on the way, talked about the upcoming fight. Tigris
was a fairly accomplished fighter, which was good since I needed
some sport. I also was heading to a narrow cave that leads to a
hidden mage valley where there would be no running away. I had
already lost one fleet-footed victim from Trinsic, and did not
want any more returning to tell tales of the black-cloaked
Xavori.
Once we arrived at the cave, I
made my usual demand of "your money or your life."
Tigris didn't respond, simply attacked. I smiled at the bravery
if not the intelligence. The fight was over before it began. I
dug through the still-warm corpse and took the reagents and gold
I found. I also spied a locking box and locked all of Tigris's
equipment, including the key, inside the box. It was not lost,
but would take some time to find a rogue trustworthy enough to
pick the lock without helping himself to the contents. I do try
to add these little details to make my encounters more memorable.
I quickly made my way back to
Trinsic. Changing out of my battle gear, I strolled to the tavern
to relax and have another ale. Mugging is thirsty work, and
nothing quenches like fine Sosarian ale. Upon entering the
tavern, I spied the Lady Elawyn reading the public board. I
walked over towards her and greeted her.
She turned towards me, and
suddenly, one of the murderers who Lord British hath hired as
guards appeared and slew her. If ever there was solid evidence of
the need to have the Council of Mages take away their ability to
teleport, this was it. Lady Elewyn was truly innocent, and yet
was cut down like a common thief.
However, being one to seize any
opportunity, I quickly told the lady to find a healer to
resurrect and I would guard her things. She seemed to have
difficulty with this, but after several moments, she was gone. I
quickly dug through her items, finding nothing so valuable as to
risk my plan to win her trust. One of the vultures that doth
plague Sosaria came by, and I was forced to grab all her items as
quickly as I could to keep his greedy paws away. Would that I
could have slain him. Not for looting with which I normally see
no wrong, but for interfering with my plan to gain the lady's
trust. I did manage to get most of her equipment, and even her
gold. However, I was now weighted down so that I could not move.
After a while, Lady Elawyn
returned. I returned her items. We talked for a bit, but I was
growing truly weary and I yawned. Lady Elawyn kindly offered to
guide me to the local inn. I smiled, knowing I had gained at
least some measure of her trust. She not only led me to the inn,
but even stopped to show me the tailor's shop she worked in at
times. Finally, we arrived at the inn. Thinking quickly, I
remembered a necklace I had found and gave it to her as thanks.
The look in her eyes told me I had been successful in winning her
trust. I bowed and bid her farewell.
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