The Screaming Xenu

A voice suddenly appears from behind the man:

"He's gone, he passed out again, Johann carried him off, they'd be a mile away by now..."

Before the man can reply, a shrouded figure slips past him and silently into the seat beside him, letting out a sigh, leaning it's body forward and placing it's head in it's right hand.

"Johann you say? He'll be fine then, those two are thick as thieves. *Chuckles* And I know how thick thieves can be..."
The man sits down between the Green one and the Shadow.
"Hans Yksin, First Mate aboard Seamus's cloud-faring tub. Not to be rude, but I feel like I remember you two from somewhere. Were you at Prospero?"

"Yes, we were."

"I don't remember you, though... you say you were first mate, correct?"

"Indeed. I wasn't there for the majority of the incident, I was chasing up a lead for the Princess. She hired me as a temporary Law Operative investigating the Jarl on the sidelines. Hence how I knew initially of Johann. She figured that since she couldn't catch me, she might as well hire me. I had nothing else to do other than sit on the ship and watch over nothing. Figured that way I could make some coin. Considering your state of dress, might I assume you were the one who painted himself in his own blood?"

He continued swigging his ale, taking it slow, though it was clear the alchohol was having no effect.
He watched the Elf leave, seemingly unpeterbed by the slightly derogatory tone in his voice.

"I'm assuming by 'state of dress' you mean my odd clothing?"

"I've gotten into quite a lot of trouble with these... these clothes are the sole reason my swordsmanship has improved."

"And yes, I was the one who did that"...

"It was amusing in a decidedly barbarian manner, I take off my metaphorical hat to you. *Imitates said action* The clothes are odd, but they look very combat-capable, can't ask for more than that."

He takes another swig of ale, finishing it and calling to the Barkeep for more.

"If it's all the same to you, would you mind telling me exaclty what happened before I showed up? The captain spent too much time guiding the ship through the storms on his way back and Johann was too busy being a noble to actually tell me what happened prior the the 'massacre' of the Jarl and the battle against that god-forsaken suit that followed it."

There is a muffled bang as Johann re-enters the building, minus one unconscious Captain. The lady who was with him appears to have left too.

"If anyone needs the Captain, I'm afraid he is less than capable of seeing visitors."
With a laugh, he re-adjusts his sword belt and sits down at a table near the others.

Hans Ykin wrote: "If it's all the same to you, would you mind telling me exaclty what happened before I showed up? The captain spent too much time guiding the ship through the storms on his way back and Johann was too busy being a noble to actually tell me what happened prior the the 'massacre' of the Jarl and the battle against that god-forsaken suit that followed it."

"I'm not the best to ask, Johann's here, go and ask him, I'm sure he won't be too busy being a noble alone on a table in a tavern..."

"Point taken, thank-you for the previous info."

He moves to Johann's table, taking his new tankard with him.

"Ser Draugr! What have us commoners done to earn the presence of a noble amongst us?"

"Fuck off."
Johann stares sternly for a few seconds, before laughing heartily.

"Still not used to it if I'm honest. But if you want to hear about Prospero, I'd be happy to talk."

Hans sits down adjacent to the Knight.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to know what happened prior to our murder of the Jarl. I know about his little plot, but have learned little of the other events besides whispers and heresay."

Guys, dinner for me, be back relatively quickly.

Upon hearing this, Emrys lifts his head from his book again, and looks over towards Johann.

"Indeed, if I may be so bold as to listen in too, I have heard a few rumours, and it seems quite the tale. Well, that and I heard that there was some Ancient technology there, and I'm always interested in learning more about the Ancients."

Sasien glides past Hans silently, slips into a seat equidistant from both Johann and Hans, and regains his usual, slumped posture.

He turns to face the man reading his book, "If you want to listen, you can."

"Yes, a good story is the greatest accomplishment a man can share with his fellows. So, what say you, Ser Draugr?"

Finishing his Mead, he orders a third, clearly still not close to inebriated, which the Dwarf finds amusing as he passes him his third.

"I'll try one of those, too", Sasien says, curious as to what such a beverage could be like.

A holy man enters quietly, not wanting to disturb the discussions taking place around him. "Excuse me, have you any wine? And if not a glass of water shall do for me. Oh, and some bread, thank you". The holy man then sits at the furthest end of the bar-table from the others and begins to mutter prayers and fiddle with prayer beads.

Johann turns around fully and pulls up his chair at the same table as Hans.

"Well, I'll tell you what I know. Soon after arriving in Prospero, a noble made himself known to us. Some Duke of the Volkstadt, big bruiser of a bodyguard with him, and a Mage too.. After making a big fuss of himself, we learned that he was there to take part in a political meeting between him and nobility of each of the Amranian regions. So anyway, me and the Guild end up taking warrants from them for making sure they don't end up with their heads inside the belly of a dozen different zombies."

Johann shifts in his seat, cracking his knuckles.

"So, after a while, some Volkengradian aristocracy turn up, as did this Norden Jarl, 'Stfanson', I think he was, with his personal guard. An stuttering Runespeaker and a fierce Shieldwife. While I was standing on watch, each of these two approched me in turn, asking for my help, knowing my name, and each asking me if "I loved my country" and if I was a "True Nordeman".
The woman told me that the Jarl was a separatist, and was holding the meeting as means to decide to divide Amrania, and fashion himself King of Volkrime. Knowing what that meant, I sided with the Shieldwife in her cause to bring him down, but made sure to not make my decision open, being wary of betrayal."

"Over time, the woman revealed that one of the Volkengradian Housecarls matched the description of a dangerous Necromancer, who was rumoured to be around these parts. Now, while she might not have had it in for us, I sure as Vor'shel didn't want her around long enough for us to find out."

"Anyway, I got my men, and the other Seekers on side, and waited for her signal. She seemed to know what she was doing, and I was happy to follow her lead. When the time came, we drew our weapons and had the Jarl surrounded. It was only then that she revealed herself to be the bloody Princess! She arrested him in the name of the crown and country of treason, but he would not yield. She told him again to lower his greatsword. Still no. He raised that terrible blade above his head to strike, but not before I sent this fancy little blade here through his back, and many of the others steel besides. After that, I took his head in the name of the realm, and she declared herself Crown Princess of Amrania. That's just about when the man of metal showed up, and things get a little more complicated, too much so for talk here."

"If it's Ancients you're after, you'd have loved it. If you wanted to end the day without any holes in you...well, not so much..."

Edward Williamson wrote:"Excuse me, have you any wine? And if not a glass of water shall do for me. Oh, and some bread, thank you"

"Aye lad, here's the rest of a bottle, the missus is on break, so no fresh bread, aye?"

The stocky figure pulled up a bottle of wine and a glass, setting them on the counter as he wrote down some figures, not moving away in case there was a problem, holy types were often decent enough people.

Hans nods at Johann's account of the events that transpired at the Valley.

"Yes, I was present at the execution of the Jarl and the fight against the suit. I had been led to believe there were more to the story though. Well, perhaps that is for another time. Ancients, you say? What of them? I have a vested interest in their technologies."


MODNOTE:
Don't RP NPCs without permission
Don't RP NPCs out of character
Don't use NPCs to pay yourself lip-service

Admin wrote:

Edward Williamson wrote:"Excuse me, have you any wine? And if not a glass of water shall do for me. Oh, and some bread, thank you"

"Aye lad, here's the rest of a bottle, the missus is on break, so no fresh bread, aye?"

The stocky figure pulled up a bottle of wine and a glass, setting them on the counter as he wrote down some figures, not moving away in case there was a problem, holy types were often decent enough people.

Thank you, that is most generous, but stale bread will be plenty for me, I have not served penance for a while.

Edward tips the bar-keeper a few warrants and sips at his wine