Ambrosia Software Web Board: The Alraeican Tavern, Part V - Ambrosia Software Web Board

"You appear a little drunk, young elflord," the Scribe commented, with a furrowed brow. "I believe I'll wait until I'm sure you can maintain discretion, before revealing my name." Avatara blinked, not quite sure if he'd just been insulted.

"Now, as you've noticed, I collect stories of adventure. Would you care to reveal some of your tale? Perhaps, the reason you're here? Or any tale of high adventure if you'd prefer, it's all one to me."

Even in his half drunk state, Avatara had enough presence of mind not to reveal things that shouldn't yet be spoken of aloud. "I've had many adventures here, with many of this land's more hardy adventurers. You may have spoken to some of them already, and heard of me?"

"Yes, now that you mention it. I was talking to a woman warrior named Sasha, some days ago; she told me of a war against an undead army, in which you played a part."

"Ah yes, the Ronin. Still, they're relatively recent arrivals; I have tales that go back for some time, before their knowledge!"

"Then would you be good enough to share one with me?"

Avatara sat back, thinking hard. "I'll tell you the Tale of the Treasure..."

He spoke for a long time, and all the while the Scribe listened in absorbed attention.

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I came, I saw, I wrote the travelguide!

[This message has been edited by theScribe (edited 01-19-2002).]

Late that night, the door to the Tavern opened and the wind howled in. Indigo stepped into the room and slammed the door, shaking the water off his hair. He grinned in spite of the condition he was in- sopping wet, cold and windblown.

"Quite a storm out there!" he commented as he wrung out his sleeves. "It's hard to even walk with that wind."

Avatara looked up. "This storm's been brewing awhile. About time it actually happened."

Indigo nodded and used his coat to wipe off his wooden nunchuks(sp?). "I was on the outskirts of town when the storm came up. It was closer to come here than to go to my house." He glanced out the window. "Actually, we might be stuck here awhile. Looks pretty bad out there."

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

Melia, seated at one of the tables with Velgen, sat scanning the tavern.
"Nobody knew Talm in the Roasted Haunch?" She asked Velgen.

"No. I talked to some of the patrons here, though. The same story - haven't seen him in awhile." Velgen replied.

Melia looked up, and watched the pouring rain bombard the windowpanes.
She nodded, then spoke.
"It seems he has many friends, already. We probably won't be able to take the crystal from him outright."

"We'll have to somehow con him out of it..." She continued.

"Poetic justice" Velgen replied.

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What's mine is mine and what's yours is also mine.

Avatara finished his tale, and glanced up at the Scribe. For a moment he thought the old man was asleep, but his eyes suddenly opened.

"That was a most interesting story, young elflord - but aren't there some aspects that should remain - undisclosed, - for now?"

Avatara pondered this, beginning to sober up. "Yes, I suppose you're right. I hope nobody overheard too much -" He broke off, as he realised he couldn't hear any of the usual noise from the tavern. Glancing around, he could see lots of movement, and clearly people were talking - but no sound was reaching them.

"Don't worry, I prevented anybody from eavesdropping," the Scribe reassured him. He raised a hand, snapped his fingers, and once more the day to day noise resounded in their ears. Avatara realised it was raining.

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I came, I saw, I wrote the travelguide!

[This message has been edited by theScribe (edited 01-21-2002).]

"I err....thank you." Avatara accepted the reprimand, shaking his head over his stupidity. "I've not been myself recently, though this time I can't tell you why." theScribe smiled to that.

"I have more...less revealing tales, I should say, to tell. Some of the past I dearly loved," Avatara's tone changed from wistful to menacing, "And some of the future that has yet to pass. But anyway, I need to get a quick rest. I haven't fully recovered and it would be best that I do so, lest I make another error"

"Very well elf lord, I presume we can meet later. But first, one thing I wanted to discuss with you." theScribe caught hold of Avatara's arm as he was about to leave.

"Er...yes?" Avatara turned back and sat down.

"Those humans over there, do you hear what they are saying?" theScribe indicated a shadowy corner, despite the noonday sun.

"Something about conning a Talm out of a shard. Wait a minute...is this the Talm that is friends with the Ronin? The one I...never mind."
theScribe raised a quizzical eyebrow but said, "Yes, the same Talm. And that shard is, from what I hear, capable of a lot of power."

"I see...I suppose I can keep an eye on them, if you keep an ear cocked." Avatara winked as he gracefully exited the tavern.

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

Velgen pondered his drink.
“I don’t think Talm is going to be back soon”

Melia Nodded, and the two left the Tavern, disappointed.

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I'd have done it to, if it wasn't for those meddeling adventurers and their Wolflizard!

Indigo watched thoughtfully as Melia and Velgen left the Tavern. He shrugged and ordered some water, then sat back down at a table. He glanced around at the other people. Not much was happening.

Opening his pouch, Indigo pulled out his throwing stars and ran a cloth over each of them, wiping off all the dust. He had learned long ago that they lasted longer if you took care of them.

When he was done cleaning his throwing stars, Indigo put them back into his leather pouch and looked around again. The Tavern seemed rather low-key for what it was normally rumored to be like. Indigo turned to the Scribe.

"I've heard that the Alraecian Tavern is supposed to be busier than this. Where is everyone?"

the Scribe smiled. "Most of them are off on a quest or whatnot, including my granddaughter Brianna. When they come back, you'll see that the Tavern will be a lot noisier. Enjoy the silence while you can, I say." He leaned back in his chair, obviously thinking.

Indigo shrugged and went to get some more water.

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]

The Scribe turned back to his book, and flipped over a few pages to allow room to finish the previous story. On the blank page now presented, he began to pen Avatara's long tale. Anyone looking over his shoulder would most likely have been unable to read what he was writing, since it was penned in an elven script; but even if they'd understood elven, they might well have been astounded to find there were passages that still couldn't be read.

The Scribe hadn't lived so long by being a fool. He'd long since developed his own code for such situations, a blend of cypher and seven different, diverse languages, which he kept strictly in his own head; the only person he'd ever revealed the key to was his grandaughter, so that his work wouldn't be lost if anything ever happened to him.

After many hours work, he flipped back to his previous place. He ordered another glass of wine, and resumed writing the previous story.

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I came, I saw, I wrote the travelguide!

[This message has been edited by theScribe (edited 01-21-2002).]

Day turned to night, for the patrons of the tavern. Most of the few still inside left to sleep after many hours, but theScribe continued writing, oblivious to the time of day. Avatara slips back inside, silently, but theScribe looks up anyway upon his entrance.

"Welcome back elf lord, I see you've recovered."

"Yes aläbasi*, I am myself again." Avatara replied, without a hint of either the cheerfulness or the despair that had plagued him for years. "I see you are busy at what you do best."

"I was just finishing another fascinating tale. Come, sit down. As there are few ears to eavesdrop, would you like to tell another?"

"Itlhâbi'fël nàtalïshi," was the reply. theScribe smiled warmly, understanding perfectly.

*Believed to be literally translated as "father"

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

A tattered and worn Ferazel falls through a window, somersaulting back up on his feet. He staggers to a table, and hardly anyone can make out the words he says as he collapses on to an empty table: "I....have....done....it."

He awakens later to see people looking up at him, and one casts a healing spell, making Ferazel's condition a little better. Avatara turns to Ferazel and says, "Hello, haven't seen you in a while. What's this that you've done?" Ferazel grinned. "I'm able to make oboli at the speed of light." "I'd like to see that." Avatara retorted.

So, Ferazel walked to the center of the tavern, and casted a number of spells. "Seems that your spells have failed." Avatara says. "You'll see about that." Ferazel says, running to a corner of a tavern, and holding his knees to his chest. Suddenly, the tavern seems to explode in oboli. From no where comes hundreds of thousands of the little coins. "Duck for cover!" a patron says before he's impaled by several coins flying toward him.

Ferazel lifted his head up enough for him to mutter a bubble spell similar to the one Avatara had casted before. theScribe and Avatara were shielded, and watched the coins bounce off the bubbles, walls, and almost everything else. After about a minute, coins stopped appearing. The number of patrons that hadn't been impaled by oboli screamed "Free money!"

Ferazel got up, and the bubbles vanished. "See, I told you I could make oboli at the speed of light. Unforturnately, you found out the hard way that it would appear seconds later, seemingly from nowhere." Ferazel said jeeringly at Avatara. "Oh, and I really need to get these coins out of the bar. I really don't think these walls look good with oboli stuck in them." Avatara laughed as Ferazel casted a spell, and all the coins simply faded out.

The number of alive patrons armed themselves and began to come toward Ferazel. "Ummm, I'd better be going." he said, and vanished in a poof of blue smoke, merely a hallucination to show off this new spell.

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Those who know the truth are not up to those who love it; those who love the truth are not up to those who delight in it.
-- Confucius (a.k.a. Kong Fuzi)
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Battle.Net Screen Name: ev3-ferazel The Game: StarCraft

Another Ferazel then walked in, and using his Spell of Flight, sent the patrons to the ceiling, where they struggled to get down. He sat down at a table, ordered a drink, and asked if anyone wanted to play Blackjack.

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Those who know the truth are not up to those who love it; those who love the truth are not up to those who delight in it.
-- Confucius (a.k.a. Kong Fuzi)
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Battle.Net Screen Name: ev3-ferazel The Game: StarCraft

OoC

Uh, ointlesspay ostpay, ezelfray?*
Your writing was good, but where does it fit in the big stream of things?
If I totaly missed the point, then sorry, but I just don't understand...


*Ifay uoyay ancay eakspay elvenay, Iay ancay eakspay iglatinpay

At that moment, a person walked through the Tavern doors.

The man was short, about four feet tall*.
He wore brilliantly colored clothes, and a shining breastplate. Over his back was slung a powerful, iron war hammer.

The breastplate was engraved with letters, the like of which no one in the bar had seen.
"I am Horgan of Tolten!" Shouted the Dwarven man.

Some patrons turned their heads and stared. Horgan did not seem to notice, much less care.
He sat down at one of the tables, and ordered something to drink.

How rude these people are... thought Horgan. they don't even introduce themselves to a newcomer!

After all, if this had been a Dwarven establishment, by now the patrons would have been condensing around his table, trying to convince him of their dominance in the social scale of the tavern.

It would certainly be interesting, studying theese savages....


* Just Over a meter, about 1 & 1/4 meters.

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I love Gum Whales - they're delicious!

Avatara and the Scribe stared around at the death and destruction Ferazel had wrought, totally appalled. "When we get hold of the real Ferazel, he'll stand trial for this!" Avatara swore.

Ferazel (or his hallucination) looked up in surprise. "What, them?" he queried, indicating the dead bodies. "But they were just for dramatic effect! Oh well, if you can't take a joke..." he grumbled, and waved his hand. All of the bodies disappeared, amid clouds of blue smoke.

The Scribe shook his head in disbelief. "Is he always like this?" he asked Avatara. Avatara nodded. "Maybe I should begin worrying about Brianna; he's leading her quest!"

Now that the distraction was over, they finally noticed the new patron sitting alone at a table. "Greetings," the Scribe called. "Would you care to join us? I'm sure you must have an interesting tale or two to tell..."

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I came, I saw, I wrote the travelguide!

Quote

Can we just go right to the hanging?
Nah, I'm sure Ferazel has a good explanation.

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I'll just put a random number at 0008EC and see what happens.
(Famous Last Words #-32767)
   
Where do you want to [url="http://"http://www.macclassics.com/cythera/tricks/rJade.htm"]teleport[/url] today?

No need, Bryce, I kind of fixed it - the blue smoke indicates they were all hallucinations.

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Kobayashi Maru!

'twas just a joke, cache.

[This message has been edited by Bryce (edited 01-25-2002).]

Horgan, upon hearing the Scribe’s invitation, jumped up and over to there table with speed no one would have guessed he was capable of.

He sat down, and began.

“Well, I, of course, have many tales of adventure and stories of intrigue! After all, as an explorer of the Dwarven League, one catches on to them quite commonly!”

The scribe subtly nodded, interested by this new fellow. He’d never seen a Cytherian Dwarf in person, although he’d heard adventurer’s speak of their like - bold and loud, but having the skills to justify such claims. They were also known to exaggerate tales of adventure, but they did so artfully.
what splendid writers of fiction they might make, if they could be made to settle into such an occupation.

The dwarf continued.
“I began my exploring career at the tender age of nineteen*, at the training collage in Uichan, under master Ralgoh. He was a tough teacher, but nothing I couldn’t handle. He was good, too - taught us everything he knew! By the end of that class, we were ready to take on the unexplored world!”

Horgan regressed for a moment, and downed his drink.

“So, anyway, we graduated, and were given our assignments for exploring, and we headed out. Myself and four others we sent to explore by sea, heading southward from Hashmel....”

OoC
I’ll continue his tale in a while. I have some other things to do, I think.
Plus, I’d like to fiddle with my new ‘TS Cyphertron’ FileMaker database -
I designed it to help with writing and storing TS posts.
The Scribe and Horgan seem to be a good match -
Horgan should be able to give him more good stories than he knows what to do with

* Not a ‘tender age’ for humans, but Cytherian Dwarves (Homo Dimunitus) live ç120 years.

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I love Gum Whales - they're delicious!

Quote

You did, this is the tavern - a topic meant for useless nonsense.

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

Quote

You're the boss, Avatara.
Still, I thought the Tavern had outgrown that phase...

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I'll just put a random number at 0008EC and see what happens.
(Famous Last Words #-32767)
   
Where do you want to [url="http://"http://www.macclassics.com/cythera/tricks/rJade.htm"]teleport[/url] today?

Quote

It did, that's why its...um...dead?

I think we have enough orginization amongst our 4 team stories at the moment, we need some chaos.

Unfortunately, I'm out of good ideas for the moment.

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"I'm a controversial figure. My friends either dislike me or hate me."

“...And so there we were, facing off the huge sea dragon with tentacles, and Yerthol was grabbed around the waist by it. But the beast wasn’t counting on Yerthol’s two-peice armor. He slipped out of the gum-whale hide overcoat, and smashed the tentacle with his war hammer! It caught the monster by surprise, it never saw it coming. There were pieces of monster everywhere, and a few more blows from myself and the others made that creature think twice about attacking a Dwarven Vessel!”
Horgan smiled at his tale, and took a drink.

The Scribe, intrigued by the pithy story, wrote down more notes in his ever-present tome.
These dwarves were certainly talented - and animated - story tellers, although he wondered how much was exaggerated.

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I love Gum Whales - they're delicious!

[This message has been edited by Horgan (edited 01-25-2002).]

Ferazel, board by the dwarf's stories, fell asleep in his chair. His head leaned forward and hit the table in front of him, flipping over and launching several glasses filled with Northshore Red wine straight at the dwarf's table. The glasses hit him in the head, breaking and causing wine to drip down his neck.

** You asked for insanity. **

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Those who know the truth are not up to those who love it; those who love the truth are not up to those who delight in it.
-- Confucius (a.k.a. Kong Fuzi)
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Battle.Net Screen Name: ev3-ferazel The Game: StarCraft

* You asked for it *
Horgan did not take that well.
He picked up his war hammer and cleaved Ferazel into two peices, which poofed away in blue smoke, leaving the patrons to wonder if there was any real ferazel.


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I love Gum Whales - they're delicious!

Indigo watched the minor chaos with amusement. He turned to the Scribe. "You're right, things do pick up a bit when more people come in."

The Scribe nodded as he finished recording information from Horgan's tale. Horgan was about to start another tale, so Indigo turned his attention to the rest of the patrons in the Tavern.

Just then, another Ferazel walked in. A few of the patrons groaned. Ferazel just smiled and sat down at one of the tables to listen to Horgan's new tale.

Indigo studied the other patrons thoughtfully, then drew out one of his throwing stars and looked at it. He decided the Tavern could use some entertainment.

Indigo stood up and called out to everyone in the Tavern, "I've heard there are some people around here with pretty good aim." He held up a throwing star. "Anyone for a contest? I'll use my throwing stars, you use whatever you want- daggers, throwing stars, darts, anything as long as it's a medium-distance throwing weapon."

There was a murmur of assent from the patrons. Indigo looked around expectantly for someone to take him on.

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Need a name??? Need a character??? I GOT LOTS!!!
Email me or visit my site at [url="http://"http://www.danicsoft.com/kat"]http://www.danicsoft.com/kat[/url]