Tavern Tales

[skywalker]

Here is chapter one of a story called Tavern Tales. It loosely follows events from the game, but doesn't really give any specific details. Still it is possible there may be spoilers in it, so beware. It is set in a tavern and takes place in btween a party adventuring in the Gael Serran. I had posted some it in a the thread called "W & W Stories" posted by Davros.
http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cg...c;f=4;t=007900

A few fellow members expressed interest in my adding more to the story, so I thought I'd post what i have so far in this new thread. Criticism is welcome, just be gentle, ok?

Tavern Tales

The Players:
Chan - Male, Whiskah, Samurai
Lady Shiva - Female, Human, Ranger
Kali Deth - Female, Gnome, Assassin
Kyra Mayce - Female, Pixie, Priest
Chaugnar Faugn – Male, Oomphaz, Monk
Sara Lovecraft – Female, Elf, Warlock

Chan scanned the common room of Galliwag’s Tavern hoping to spot at least one of his adventurous companions and came up empty.
“First one here, again,” he thought as he picked out a table large enough to accommodate all six of them with elbowroom to spare.
From the far back corner was a group of Stout Miners, halfway to hell in a hand basket, just raising a ruckus and have immense fun doing it. Loud and clear could be heard:

“Drinkin’ all night,
Drinkin’s all right,
Singing this song,
All the night long!”

“They certainly waste no time getting smashed,” mused Chan. “It’s barely nightfall.”
In another corner was a pack of Ratlings, whispering amongst themselves and occasionally glancing at the Stouts. It looked like the makings of a good old brawl at anytime soon.
Over the bar where Galliwag tended, were some new signs not seen since the last time the Samurai visited the bar.

New! Try Boogre Brew! Imported from west of Ishad N’ha! Only 5g!

Rat Pie! It’s kinda stinky, but there ain’t none better! Only 10g!

As Chan thoughtfully dismissed the two new products and proceeded to lick the fur from his forearms, the doors to the tavern burst open wide! Almost as loud as the Stouts came a motley crew of heroes that bickered amongst them selves. They were the companions that Chan had been waiting for!
Just as they reached the table Chan spit into a waiting cuspidor and resumed his licking ritual.
“What are you doing?” inquired Lady Shiva, taking the seat next to him.
“I’ve been trying to that Zombie vomit out of my fur for days now. I just can’t seem to get myself clean!” answered Chan, not even looking up from his task at hand.
“Ewwww! That’s just disgusting! Take a jump in the lake for crying out loud!” screamed Kali Deth. “Are you trying to make me sick?”
“Sorry, but I can’t help my feline instincts, can I?” was his response. “I’ll stop now that you’re all here.”
“Wait a moment, where is Kyra?” demanded Sara Lovecraft. “She was here when we came in!”
“Um guys, I think I sat on her!” Chaugnar Faugn said sadly, “I don’t think she survived, either.”
“Wonderful! Big, Fat, Dumb, Monk sits on the Pixie again!” snorted Kali. “Can’t you look before you sit?”
“She’s the only one of us who knows the Resurrect Spell, Chaugnar. You’ll have to bring her to the Temple and have her raised.” added Shiva.
They all shook their heads as the Oomphaz lumbered out carrying the broken body of the pixie priest, “Save our seats! We’ll be right back!”
“Hey! That will use up all the money we have!” said Chan pointedly. ”We won’t have any gold for drinks tonight!”
“I could go over and liberate some from those drunken Stouts over there.” Offered Kali.
“ No need to resort to petty thievery,” interrupted Sara, “I just picked up a new spell from Bratsol at the Pawn Shop in Ishad N’Ha. It’s called ‘Blood to Gold’!”
“Neat, how does it work?” questioned Chan.
“Bratsol said that all I had to do was pour some blood in a bowl. I collected some monkey blood from the Snake Temple in this flask and all I need to do is cast the spell over it, like so.” said Sara as she started to gesture.
As the spell was incanted, all eyes are focused on the bowl of sticky, crimson liquid. With a barely audible groan Sara falls from her chair into a dead faint. Chan with the speed of a tiger catches her before she hits the floor.
The Warlock looks much more pale than the average elf, the color of brand new parchment. As she regains consciousness, the blood in the bowl appears untouched. But there in her clenched fists are 50 shiny pieces of gold.
“That little brat, Bratsol! He lied to me!” she cried. “What a stupid spell! I’ll never, never try that again!”
“No, no, no! It’s a GOOD spell. You got 50 gold pieces from it!” laughed Kali. “Now we can get down to some serious business. Where’s that barmaid?”
“That’s not funny, Kali!” scolded Shiva, “Sara could have been seriously hurt.”
“Aw, she’s fine now, a little paler than usual, but she’s okay.” was the answer.
“I’ll be alright, Shiva, thank you for your concern. I’m just feeling a little weak, nothing a Toughen spell won’t take care of.” responded Sara.

Once again the doors to the tavern burst open, revealing Kyra and Chaugnar, “Hi everyone we’re back! Look, Kyra is just fine now!” shouted the Monk.
“No thanks to you, I can’t believe you sat on me- again!” accused Kyra.
“Well, how many times have we told you to be the last to sit at the table?” Chan pointed out.
“Fine, perhaps I should just hover over the table from now on!”
“Whatever floats your boat Kyra. Let’s just settle down and have a good time, okay? Now, where’s that barmaid?” questioned Kali, peering through the smoky haze.

As if in answer the barmaid seemed to appear out of nowhere saying “Oooh, whats does all you’s wants tonight!”
Every head at the table turned. A puzzled look crossed Chan’s face as he slowly gazed at the barmaid, looking her over from head to toe. His eyes widened as he read the embroidered nametag on the pocket of her apron, which read:
“Pris’Kiela! What a surprise to see you here! You’ve changed!” said Chan approvingly.
Standing in the dim light of the tavern stood a six-foot tall solidly built amazonian woman with flowing red hair and finely chiseled features. To say she was breathtaking was an understatement. She not only held the job as barmaid, but also filled the role of bouncer as well.
“Hi group! I just knew I would surprise you with a greeting like that!” answered the ex-Boogre maiden.
“You’re beautiful, my child,” complimented Chaugnar. “We would never have guessed!”
“Why thank you, kind sir!” she curtseyed. “When I saw you emerge from the Aku’s Chamber looking so fine, I just knew I needed to change my life. With S’Keser Da gone, there was no need to live in a Boogre’s skin any longer. So I did the same and here I am as my normal beautiful self!”
“Well, it is good to see you free from the Boogre’s curse as well. It never crossed our minds how lovely you actually are!” replied the Monk.
“That is so kind of you to say. If only my poor Grunaxe were still alive. Thank you so much for putting his soul to rest and also finding his ring. I will cherish it, always.” thanked Pris’Kiela.
“Did you know Torin still seeks to avenge his Father’s death? Even now he continues to believe Erathsmedore is responsible for Grunaxe’s death.” informed Lady Shiva.
“Torin yet lives?” questioned the barmaid,” Have you seen him?”
“Yes! He keeps a lonely vigil near Dragonspire, hoping for a chance to ‘Slay the Dragon’ that he believes is responsible for his Father’s demise.”continued Shiva.
“Perhaps if I talk to him, I can discourage him from his fool’s errand. Grunaxe used to speak of his son. The boy had always been so full of honor. I will show him his father’s ring and tell him about the battle in the Crawler’s Den. Maybe I can ease his pain and help him carry on with rest of his life.” Pris’Kiela hoped aloud.
With that said, the barmaid stripped off her apron , tossed it at Galliwag as she sprinted for the door saying, “I need some Family Leave time Galliwag, I’ll be back as soon as I can!”
“Just great! The bar is full and I’ve got no barmaid! And no bouncer either! That’s what I get for trying to save on the hired help!” moaned Galliwag.

Back at the table, Kali is furious! “Nice going Shiva, just when I was about to order some drinks, you open your big mouth and send the barmaid off for a family reunion!”
“Look, you just better be careful about who you’re talking to Assassin or I may be tempted to put an arrow through your gizzard.” Shiva fired back.
“Take it easy Shiva! You archers are too high strung! Ha, get it? Strung just like your bow!” quipped Kali. “No hard feelings…okay! I’ll get the drinks! Mead for everyone, then?
“Aye!” was the response from everyone.

Should I try to write some more?

Mark

[ 02-20-2003, 06:28 AM: Message edited by: skywalker ]

[Bungleau]

Please do! It's a welcome interpretation of what's going on in the Gael Serran.

I'd never thought to have anyone show up again later in my story... perhaps there will be a change in the offing.

I enjoy your approach to your characters, and the zest they bring to their lives.

[skywalker]

I think my style has been adversely affected by reading too many Marvel Comics from the 1960's, especially the Avengers. There was always some form of fighting going on between members of the group. However, it doesn't help much in the characterization of each member. This is really all I have so far, I'll have to see if I can write some more. It's hard when your not really a writer. I consider your response to be high praise, Bungleau! Thanx!

Mark

[LiOnHe@rT]

WOWEE!!! this one hell of a story: real characters, real classes, even a continuation of the life Prieski'la (watever her name is)!!! pls continue it...

[Bungleau]

Aw, shucks, skywalker... I just have an opinion like everyone else.

And I really do enjoy the conflict between characters. I can't believe a group of six characters strong enough to be adventurers would be so weak-willed as to not have strong personalities... and those will conflict from time to time. That conflict is what makes a story interesting... Even "Mary had a little lamb" has conflict in it!

So keep bringing it on! What I've been doing with Missy is chronicling her game. I just started work on writing chapter 20 last night, so it should arrive by the weekend.

And for all those willing to point out that I said the same thing at the same time last week, you're absolutely right. And it didn't happen

[WillowIX]

Mark, you should definitely try to write some more. [img]graemlins/thumbsup.gif[/img] Conversation between party members usually turns out to a great story. Keep at it and give us the rest. You will fins us an appreciating crowd. [img]smile.gif[/img]

Bungleau, I´ll be looking for chapter 20 this weekend. If it doesn´t show up I´ll tell Wyv you lied to us. [img]tongue.gif[/img] LOL!

[Wyvern]

Originally posted by WillowIX: Bungleau, I´ll be looking for chapter 20 this weekend. If it doesn´t show up I´ll tell Wyv you lied to us. [img]tongue.gif[/img] LOL!

Oh, yes, THAT would be a most dangerous thing! LOL!!! I would be very disappointed if chapter 20 didn't show up!

Mark - do write some more!!! It is always so interesting to see how different people will take the same game scenario and weave different tales!!

Maybe it is time for me to ferret out that link to the earlier W&W stories written by our members. The only problem with that is it makes me want to write more on my own brief story and I just don't have the time. Such is life!

Wyv

[macoati]

Mark, (good name... happens to mine as well [img]smile.gif[/img]

Your style reminds me of David Eddings along the lines of Barak and Silk in the Belgarion and his subsequent series featuring Sparhawk. It definitely makes it easier for a story to flow when you have the players telling it along with the subtle and not-so-subtle barbs that always get thrown around.

It also reminds me of my days with pen and paper and my 3-9 players all trying to get along... in my last great pen & paper campaign I ran a L-G Paladin (he started as Lawful-Stupid) who grew into an intelligent Paladin. His principle companion was a L-E Assassin. They were always causing each other grief yet were always able to work together (even if my Paladin had to look the other way for a bit so he wouldn't "see" the ways and means the assassin used to get to the desired end [img]smile.gif[/img]

So, in short: WRITE MORE!!! ... please [img]smile.gif[/img]

(edited to remove those pesky typos...maybe even left a couple in just because)

[ 02-21-2003, 11:34 PM: Message edited by: macoati ]

[LiOnHe@rT]

yea bungleau! u better hurry up wif that chapter 20 of Missy Hissy's thrilling adventure otherwise a civil war might most likely break out at the Boogre Bar!!
btw, skywalker, when will the next chapter of ur adventure be out? i'm dieing for some action.......