Breaking Isolation (Red Mullet, Open)

[Zimrien]

Hour 21 of Solaria, 32nd of Kalendryas, Winter Era XV

It was a monster, a beast, an abomination. It was huge, many times the height of the feeble human that gazed upon it. Zimrien felt his legs grow weaker, and yet he couldn't peel his eyes away. It sported a large mouth, with more width than it had height, like it was trying to smirk at him through all its stone. The beast's head was covered in a multi-colored fanfare of spikes. That, along with the oddly shaped top, made Zimrien feel like the beast was moving side to side, as if daring him to come closer. The smell of sweat and a deceivingly delicious aroma of food made him think otherwise. Until he saw the sign.

"THIS is the Red Mullet?" he asked aloud.

Embarrassed by his sudden outburst, Zimrien sheepishly looked around. Thankfully, the colorful and eccentric people of this town were too busy being colorful and eccentric to notice someone as nondescript as Zimrien. Why, even the man who pointed him in the direction of the Red Mullet couldn't stop hiccuping, and would draw his sword whenever he heard someone else hiccup. Eccentric, no?

As Zimrien stepped through the door, he took off his hood in courtesy to the owner and occupants. His long brown hair fell from the hood, as straight as it had ever been, over a dark brown cloak that was frayed at the edges. Bangs partially covered his cold blue eyes. An impassive face scanned the crowd, the mind racing with thoughts of excitement. All that, along with his dirty commoner's pants, sack slung over his shoulder by his right hand, and the lack of a shirt, made him seem as common as a housefly compared to the few Versians in the tavern. Which made HIM the odd one.

His scanning had identified the heavyset human bartender behind a long bar on the other side of the room, a staircase leading, presumably, to the rooms, and a few round wooden tables with accompanying chairs, one of which was surrounded by a party of humans and elves that had glanced up when Zimrien walked in then resumed their laughing and talking.

"Are all taverns like this?" mumbled Zimrien, low enough that only he could hear. "What do I do now?"

[Lyssoryl]

As Zimrien stood surveying the room, a halfling girl with an impressive pile of blonde curls on her head brushed past him on her way in. She sang quietly to herself, a song about a rich man who collected bits of gravel, and how all his relatives had to pretend it was a good idea for fear of losing their inheritance.

She stopped and glanced back at Zimrien. "Are you well? You have the look of a man who is watching his mother-in-law disappear down the throat of an enormous python and is unsure whether to pry her free or applaud. Or perhaps you are simply unused to the local color. Can I help you find something?"

[Zimrien]

Zimrien felt something brush against him. He instinctively rose slightly onto the balls of his feet, ready for an engagement. He relaxed, however, when he realized it was a halfling girl, with large gray eyes and a surprisingly pleasing voice. From the way she spoke, he assumed she was a local. She seemed to be sincere in wanting to help him. Perhaps he could use this opportunity to gather some information about this town.

Zimrien laughed, trying to inject some warmth into it, something he had absolutely no experience with. "I've decided to do neither, and to instead buy your ladyship a drink, and perhaps procure some information about these parts. As you can undoubtedly tell, I am new to this region."

Zimrien walked towards the girl, smiling and gesturing towards the bar. He knew his clothes were dirty and fairly unsightly, and the fact that all he had was a small pack wasn't helping things, but he wanted to give it a shot anyways. This town was a stark contrast to his life's isolation. He might be able to gain some insight on the kinds of people that would give their lives to save another, and those who would take a life in joy.

[Lyssoryl]

The small girl laughed. "You reveal yourself to be wise- it is best not to mix yourself up with mother-in-laws one way or another, and buying drinks produces friends, who are always handy. By the way, my name is Lyssoryl." She gave a quick curtsey as she introduced herself.

She led the way to a table and sat down, climbing up onto a chair that was high enough for her legs to swing a good few inches above the ground. Her chin just cleared the edge of the table.

"The first peice of information I shall impart is that if you're of a mind to, a shirt can be purchased at The Essentials General Shoppe for a reasonable price. Now don't get me wrong, I am strongly in favor of men walking around without shirts on and do not intend to discourage the practice. Still, it is winter, and I hate to see anyone freezing their parts in the cold wind unless that really is the sort of thing they enjoy."

"In fairness, I should also admit that I am not native born to Vers, but rather a student at the Imaden school. Or at least I was, and hope to soon be again. In any case, my view of the place is that of an outsider, although perhaps that's all to the better. I have a passing aquaintance with the lay of the land, and am not biased by local opinions. Can I ask what brings you to town?"

[Zimrien]

Zimrien followed the girl to a table. He pulled back a chair, blushing slightly at the loud scraping sound it made as it crossed the floor. The chair creaked as he sat across from his companion. He gently put his pack on the floor, being careful not to give away its contents. He put his hands in his lap, then, quite unsure of the manners of the land, decided it was more natural to rest his elbows on the table and interweave his fingers.

"Can I ask what brings you to town?" asked the halfling girl.

What did bring him to town? He had left because he was tired of his old life, but what should he do now? It was rather depressing knowing he had finally achieved his dream, but had nothing to do now that he had done it. His skills were adequate for the unprotected noble he had previously attacked for food and money, but would it be enough now that he was out in the "big bad world"? A warm sensation rippled down Zimrien's spine as his mind became firmly set on his next pursuit.

"I've come," he said quietly, "to pursue my martial training. That is, I've come as a mercenary for hire. I thank you for your offer, but enduring the cold is part of my training." He involuntarily smiled at this lie, because he decided that it really would become part of his training.

"Now then, this situation with being, or hoping to be, a student at Imaden school sounds like an interesting story. My ears are open if you would like to share your story."

[Lyssoryl]

Lyssoryl was not entirely sure how being able to endure cold would help a person with martial arts, although she supposed if some dastardly enemy put their cold fingers down the back of your neck it would be nice to be able to shrug it off. No doubt he knew what he was doing, fighting was a notion that was beyond her.

"If you've come about mercenary work, you might want to have a look for a fellow by the name of 'Blackeyes,' who is said to frequent this very bar and is notable for his unusual eyes. I've heard he hires adventurers for various unusual sorts of jobs. and pays a good wage."

"My story is both simple and complex. I am an orphan who has decided to cast off her guttersnipe roots and learn to become a bard, so here I am. The complexity is in the details, which is a project that I've been working on my entire life. I should very likely be glad to share more, but you haven't yet told me your name, and for some reason this daunts me."

[Zimrien]

Zimrien laughed. The thought of telling her his name completely slipped his mind. He stored this little experience away for future reference. He also tucked away the information about 'Blackeyes', and made a mental note to ask what 'unusual jobs' he hires adventurers for.

"Zimrien Grimwynn, at your service," he said, tipping his head slightly. "It makes complete sense that telling your story to a no-name stranger would be somewhat daunting. Now then. If you don't mind, I'd like to hear this bard's tale, and this bard's name."

[Lyssoryl]

"Oh, did I not say my name? I'd rather thought I had. I am Lyssoryl Sunnybrooke, and very pleased to meet you."

"As to my story, well, I am not sure the overall thing is especially dramatic, but here it is."

"When I was a baby, a newborn even, I was brought to an orphanage in Aelyria Prime by a male Cether with dark hair. That is all I know about him, and honestly I'm lucky to know that much. Turnover amongst orphanage workers is fairly high, and most of the one's who were present when I arrived had gone by the time I was old enough to ask questions."

"Growing up in an orphanage is a good deal better than a lot of possible childhoods, but still it is short of ideal. The competition for attention was fierce, and my fellow orphans were not always nice. I survived by backing down a lot, and when that did not work by throwing rocks with deadly accuracy. And then, one day I was adopted."

“There is a certain kind of man (if that word can be applied to such a person), who through some warp or quirk is, shall we say, romantically inclined towards children. I can’t think this sort of person is common, but in a city the size of Prime there must always be a few of them about. Now imagine such a person patronizing an orphanage. ‘Ah ha!’ he thinks, ‘that girl there is a Halfling! She’ll be childlike forever!’

“You can no doubt imagine where this goes. I was all over excitement to have a real family at last, and doubly so when I learned how rich he was, and what a nice house I was to live in. Imagine my horror when he made his requirements known that very evening! It was shear luck that I was able to escape out a window before I was victimized in all manner of startling ways.”

"Well, I could hardly go back to the orphanage after that, he surely would have found me. Luckily, I was able to take some jewelry he'd been trying to bribe me with to make me pliant. I was able to buy a little house to live it. Actually, it was a overturned rowing boat sitting on top of some makeshift walls, but I quite enjoyed living there."

"One way or another I got by. It is hard to find steady work as a child except in abusive sweat shops, so I mostly did odd jobs. A particularly fertile field was minding the babies of women who had to work to support themselves but did not make enough money for a professional nanny. I also found that if you keep your eyes open, you can find quite a few things that have resale value just lying around neglected in other people's pockets."

She watched Zimrien for a reaction. "Does that shock you? I assure you that I am an honest woman now, since I can now afford a fancy new set of morals, but when you've gone a few days without any food, the technicalities of who owns what get a little bit fuzzy. If you ask me, anyone who considers starvation a more moral choice than a tiny bit of thieving is a person who has had three square meals every day in his life, and probably a maid to wipe his nose for him."

"Anyway, one day I was walking down the street and I saw a giant sitting on the front steps of his new house. We fell to talking, and devised a plan to join the Three Suns Trading company as caravan guards and see the world. I got all excited to go, but when I returned, he was no longer there. I never found out what happened to him, perhaps he joined without me."

"Anyway, I realized that I was ready to go out into the world and try to make something of myself, so instead of joining a caravan I sold my house and went to school, which is what I'm doing now. I hope to become a working bard, and travel about having admiring crowds throw coins to me, preferably with a respectful underhand motion."

"So there you have it. Would you care to provide your story, that we might compare notes?"

[Zimrien]

oocthis story isn't going to complement Zimrien's bio's story, since that one is a work in progress that hasn't been updated. i guess this is going to be the official version.

Zimrien listened to Lyssoryl's story with feigned interest. If he was to be truthful, he would have said he just wanted to create conversation so that he might procure more wordly information later. However, when he heard the part of Lyssoryl's pickpocketing, he began to feel a bit of interest.

The halfling girl paused in her story and watched for, he presumed, Zimrien's reaction. He gave a small nod, indicating that he wanted to hear more. She continued and finally finished her story, prompting Zimrien to tell his.

"I would be glad," he said. "Afterwards, we must discuss each other's stories. I, for one, have many questions for you."

Zimrien took a moment to look around the room. He noticed a few more customers had arrived, but the place was still relatively un-occupied. A human in noble's clothes seemed to recognize him, but Zimrien passed it off as a trick of light.

"As you know, I am Zimrien of the Grimwynn family. The family has lived in isolation for generations. It is a common fact in our family that the sustenance of oneself gains importance over all else. We are bandits, but not greedy in the least bit. We take only what we need, and sometimes less. This may be shocking, but we may kill if necessary.

"My childhood was relatively uneventful for a Grimwynn child. I took on the job of gutting and skinning game, both caught and stolen, whilst my older brother, Shalen, became my father's apprentice. Shalen has been kind enough to help me learn some basic techniques of my own. I also took up a little bit of drumming as a hobby.

"Just a few days ago, Shalen encouraged me to walk away from my roots and begin a new journey. His reasoning is beyond me, but Shalen assured me that father thought it best. I decided to follow in my brother's footsteps and learn the martial ways. I ran out of provisions shortly after leaving, and consequently, had to steal from a passing noble on the way here.

"Don't worry, though," he added hastily. "I didn't harm him. Although, now that I think about it, he must be quite vexed. Or perhaps he doesn't mind at all, because of his wealth. Nobles tend to be very greedy, however."

Zimrien sat back and looked around more, trying to figure out how to order a drink and food.

[Lyssoryl]

"Well goodness! I'm glad that you have decided to leave the family business of banditry. I realize that I did say that morality was for the well fed, but one ought to make an effort, or at least that's my opinion."

"I'm curious as to what questions you have for me. I don't know that my life story is so enthralling that it needs to be studied. In fact, I have often tarted it up with tales which are not true in the literal sense."

She waved to a barmaid and got her attention. "I would like a glass of your least expensive red wine. What will you be having?" she asked Zimrien.

Glancing through the window, she noticed the position of the suns. "Oh my gosh! Look at the time! I had completely lost track! I'm sorry, but I have business I must attend to. Nice meeting you." She bustled out of the tavern in a hurry.

oocI'm trying to clean up my threads from last season, and since this hasn't moved in a month, I'm going to call it a wrap. I hope to see you around!