Back to Page Five
-----When Gimplefwick arrives back at the Two-Door Tavern, it is roughly an hour and a half before sundown. Braddok recognizes him and brings him over a drink. "Put it on your tab?" Braddok asks him smiling.
-----A few moments later, the door opens and Kazel appears. She spots Gimplefwick and sits down by him on a bench. While they wait for Seth to show, they look around the room. In the tavern, are about nine men sitting around and sharing small talk and stories as they drink. They all look to be dressed in the common tunics and tabards of laborers.
-----Braddok goes over to the door that opens beside the Flower Shop. There he appears to speak momentarily with someone. As he moves in front of the door, Kazel and Gimplefwick can see it appears to be a man dressed in raggedy clothing. Under a worn hood, the man’s face appears to be heavily wrinkled and aged. Large staring eyes are set above a hawk-shaped nose and mostly toothless mouth.
-----After a few moments, Braddok shakes his head, closes the door and returns to the bar.
-----Kazel looks at Gimplefwick with a raised eyebrow, then calls for a mug of water from Braddok. "Something wrong, Brad?" she asks as he comes over.
-----Gimplefwick shrugs his shoulders upon seeing the toothless man, then quickly glances about. Upon seeing that no one is watching him, he contentedly begins rooting around in his left nostril with a grubby index finger. He then snorts a couple times, takes a drink of brew and settles back to wait for Seth and see what Kazel is up to.
-----Braddok answers, "No, that was just the mayor of Hearthorn." After laughing at his joke, he furthered explained, "No, his name is Theobald. He wanted to know if I had any rumors to trade with him. I couldn’t think of any lies off the top of my head, so I gave him a few coppers and sent him away."
-----With about an hour left before sundown, Seth arrives at the tavern. Entering, he finds Gimplefwick and Kazel sitting and drinking together on a bench. By this time, there are about a dozen customers in the tavern.
-----Through the door from the side of the flower shop, enters a man wearing light blue robes and a turban. His face appears to be handsome with a neatly cut blond mustache and short beard. He takes a seat on the bench close to the fireplace. Before he sits, he calls to Braddok and orders a glass of wine. He then takes out a book and begins to read.
-----Kazel, now changed from her dress into black shirt and pants, leather vest and soft leather shoes, has a short sword strapped behind her shoulder and a knife on the small of her back. She sips from a mug of water and glances at the patrons coming in and out of the tavern, as she waits for the sun to set.
-----Seth walks in, smiles and nods at Braddok, and joins Kazel and GimpleFwick. "Hi Kaz and Dread," He looks at Kazel a bit closer, "Expecting something to happen? I better leave my harp and book with Brad".
-----Seth stands and walks over to Brad, "Thanks for the help earlier, it looks like I might be following Kazel around tonight. Can I leave my book and harp with you for safekeeping? I could only afford digs in the common room at the West Gate Inn and there is no where safe to leave my gear."
-----Brad answers, "Why, of course!" He then shows Seth a place in the back room of the tavern where the items can be stored. "They’ll be safe here," Brad tells him, "I hardly even let the help back here."
-----Seth returns to sit with Dread and Kaz. "Dread, tomorrow night I will be playing the Harp here, to raise a bit of eating money. If Kazel thinks it’s ok, we could probably locate some marks for latter on in the week. Tomorrow over lunch, would you be teachin’ me some of them Pirate tunes?"
-----"Let's just see what happens tonight," Kazel says looking up from the bench. Her mind seems to be elsewhere and she has little more to say.
-----At sundown, the three exit the Two-Door Tavern and step out onto the street. On the surrounding blocks, they can see merchants closing up their shops and light from oil lamps coming from upstairs windows. Ordinarily, spots of sunlight would still shine on the tops of towers and on the massive Crystal Keep Castle, while the rest of the town becomes shrouded in shadows. However, it seems darker than usual, as the gloomy sky remains overcast. The moderate breeze continues to whip through the streets bringing a chilly feel.
-----The crowds in the streets have lessened somewhat as most of the people they see are laborers heading to their homes. A few merchants are heading to relax at one of the taverns or inns.
-----The trio crosses and takes the street that runs in front of the market area. Over on their left, they see the shrine that sits at the end of the first row of stalls. The activity here has greatly slowed down as many of the stalls have closed down or are in the process of. They pass by two more long rows of stalls and in the middle of this first section of the market, they see a good-sized raised platform. It looks to be a performing stage behind which are many circular tents. Somewhere among those must be the tent belonging to Louie!
Go to Page 7