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Legendium -> RE: Aurora (1/22/2014 11:26:59)
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It didn’t seem to take long before the adventurers arrived. Pide had been standing around for much of the morning watching the comings and goings of the Adventurer’s Guild. It never seemed to sleep. When Pide had arrived earlier in the morning, the great hall was buzzing with activity that echoed around in the high vaulted ceiling, while Pide was hardly awake. People dressed in all colors, with all manners of odd and interesting weapons and gear convened to discuss the latest in news of adventure. Pide didn’t listen to it that much. He was too tired.
Eventually, after several hours, Pide got fed up with standing around doing nothing and decided to mill around for a bit. When he returned to the spot he was previously standing at, there was already a man there. The man was large and tough-looking, with olive-colored skin and well-combed hair. Despite this, he had a very rough look to him, like he worked in tough conditions. His beard, despite being well-presented, had an almost sooty look to it; as if it had been permanently darkened by smoke. The man’s clothes were faded red leather, pocked with tiny burn marks, though not fresh. The man’s hands were calloused from constant work.
Pide knew a smith when he saw one, since he had often planned out routes for ore carts. Pide was about to ask his name and whether or not he had come because of his posting, but the man quickly answered without Pide having to ask.
"Hello. You must be Pide," he said in a deep voice. "I am Bob Smith; I saw your posting. I wish to accompany you."
“Hmm. Are you good with a hammer? Never mind, it shouldn’t matter. So long as you can swing a sword, you’re welcome here. Besides, if you’re a smith, you ought to be plenty of use later on.”
Pide shrugged off his pack to pull out his maps. It took a while, seeing as he had a lot of them, and they were buried under all sorts of other tools. Eventually he pulled out the map he had been looking for.
Pide’s maps were all very detailed and made carefully by none other than himself. It was covered in marks he used to identify places, since he couldn’t read or write. This made it illegible to anyone else, seeing as he could not make a map legend due to being analphabetic.
“Anyways, as you know, we’re headed for Braughlmurk Cape. It’s a ways off, but by following roads we can get there pretty quickly. So far,” Pide gave Bob the map “I’ve come up with two paths that are best for us. We could take the fastest route, which is the main road that goes directly to the river and then follows straight up to the Cape. This is a bit dangerous though. I know from experience that the river is one of the most travelled roads, and thus a likely place to meet bandits. However, since the traffic almost stops once you reach the coastal mountains, due to lack of settlements, the bandits thin out as well. The only bandits you may encounter to the north are the Dark Hills Bandits. They’re notorious for being cruel, but they’re extremely dumb as well. Otherwise they would’ve settled further south. So, in order to avoid too much conflict, we could first head straight north to the mountains by the coast and then turn north-east to meet up with the river once it hits the mountain canyons. If we head straight north though, we might run into sneevils, but those goblins are hardly a threat. So, to put things short, we have two options; take the short route and risk getting robbed or killed, or take the long route with a higher chance of surviving. It’s up to you.”
Pide gave Bob the map for a while and let him examine the mapped out paths. During the short time, Pide noticed a figure standing near the entrance listening to their conversation. The man was wearing black and brown leather armor, wet from the rain outside. He had a soggy blue scarf wrapped around his neck, a shield on his back and a sword at his hip. As Pide turned to look at him more closely, he walked up to them.
"Are you two part of the guild, or just waiting for someone?"
“Well, both.” Pide replied quickly. “If you’re looking for a Guild official, you’d best ask elsewhere. I’m a new member here, so I can’t tell you much for now. We’re also waiting here for people to join us. I’m organizing an expedition into Braughlmurk Cape to search for treasure. If that interests you, feel free to join us.”
Pide eyed the sword, wondering how well the man could use it in battle. With him on their side, they might be able to realistically take the main road and risk bandits, assuming he knew how to fight well.
“If you really need someone’s help, you should try talking to the Head of Communications. She generally knows most of what’s going on and can send anyone to the right person. I’d start there.”
Before Pide could turn back to Bob to get his opinion on the different routes and discuss the details, another person showed up. This time it was a girl, and a young one at that. She barged right into the group and stuck out her hand. Pide reached out and shook it, noting the dirt on her hand.
“I’m Abigail, but you can call me Abby. I’m interested in this,” she held up the parchment clenched in her other hand, “and I won’t take no for an answer!”
Pide sized her up, taking in her attire. She wore a blue travelling cloak, hiding all of her other clothing from view. Her hair was blonde, worn in a braid and wet from the rain outside. She wore a traveler’s pack on her back and carried a shepherd’s crook. If it weren’t for the necklace she wore, he would have thought her entirely unremarkable. The burnt steel disc was not a well-known symbol, but Pide recognized it from his travels. It had been worn by a group of clerics he had to escort to the Sandsea, although theirs had been made of bronze, not steel. If the girl was a cleric, however young, she would be a valuable asset. But Pide had to ask one more question before allowing her to join them.
“That depends. Can you do magic?”
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