|
Brynweir
Senior Scribe
USA
436 Posts |
 Posted - 27 Jun 2009 : 17:56:58
|
[This is a character I created but never got to play, so I wrote a little BG story for him.]
Dark clouds hung low in the sky waiting to dump their burden on an already unhappy populace. The gray morning spread its gloom to the people who were struggling through streets thick with mud. There was no sign of the sun, and the weather had been thus for nearly a week.
As Nyl Risath headed into the Laughing Sword tavern, he stomped his boots on the stoop to clear the worst of the muck before going inside. He paused just past the threshold to take a look around. Pulling his hood back, he revealed long dark hair held back by a small leather thong. Gray eyes, as cold and unforgiving as the storm, studied the room. The place seemed to be more crowded than it normally would be at that time of day, well past breakfast and not quite time for lunch. He wondered briefly about the cause, but then he decided that he truly didn’t care. Heading for a small table in the corner, he got the attention of one of the serving girls.
Nyl was not a small man, standing nearly a head taller than any other man in the tavern. With his broad shoulders and well-defined muscles, he would look right at home in a blacksmith’s forge. It was difficult to believe that someone so large could be quick and agile, but he glided across the room with the grace of a stalking predator and slipped into the corner seat, placing his back to the wall.
The barmaid sauntered over. Flipping her waist-length blonde braid over her shoulder, she smiled and asked, “What’ll it be, love?”
Although her loose blouse offered a generous view of cleavage, he barely glanced at her as he replied. “Ale and whatever food is hot.”
She raised an eyebrow at him, but then she shrugged and headed off to fetch the order.
Despite weather that should have kept the people home, the crowd at the tavern continued to grow. By the time the young woman returned with his meal, there was barely a seat left in the place. As was often the case, no one asked to sit with Nyl. One look at the intimidating stranger and no one dared.
Continuing to watch the other people in the tavern, he quickly dug into the warm bread and stew. Only half finished with the food as he drained the ale, he held up the empty mug and signaled for another. Before the barmaid could return with the drink, a slender, dark-haired young man negotiated his way between the tables and plopped down into the chair across from Nyl.
“Mind if I sit with you?” Without waiting for a reply he continued. “Kind of crowded in here, isn’t it? I thought I’d never find a seat. I’ll bet the whole town is here. I see you’re having the stew. That’s what I ordered. I heard it was rabbit. I don’t know that I’ve ever had rabbit stew. I’ve had roasted rabbits, but I don’t think I’ve had them in a stew. Is it good?”
Nyl merely watched him for a moment to see if he was actually going to wait for a response. “Yes,” he finally said.
“Good. That’s good. I hate when I try new things only to find out that they aren’t all that good. There was this one time that my cousin forced me to try this dish… I forget the name of it, but I found out later that it was raw fish eggs, and let me tell you that was a disgusting experience. It was all salty and fishy tasting and felt like… well, maybe I shouldn’t describe it while you’re eating.” He flashed a quick grin and ran his fingers through his short black hair.
“My name is Kiram by the way. I always forget to tell people who I am. My cousin says that it’s quite annoying because people don’t generally like calling people ‘hey you.’” He stopped and raised his eyebrow as if asking a question.
“Nyl.”
Kiram waited a moment longer before saying, “You’re a man of few words, aren’t you, Nyl? I like that. It makes it much easier for me to ramble.” He flashed another grin, his emerald eyes dancing as he looked around the room like he was searching for the serving woman. Catching sight of her, he began waving vigorously and trying to get her attention.
Nyl saw her eyes flick in Kiram’s direction before she turned and moved towards the other side of the room. With a barely perceptible shrug, Kiram turned back to Nyl. “You don’t look like you’re from around here either. What brings you to Nowheresville?”
“Business.”
“Well, at least that answer was more than one syllable. Care to elaborate?”
“No.”
Kiram just shook his head and smiled. As if Nyl had asked, he went on to explain, “Well, I’m just passing through. I’m going to visit relatives and had to stop here when my horse threw a shoe. I probably would have just bypassed the place otherwise. It’s not very noteworthy.”
The blonde serving woman finally arrived and placed two mugs of ale and a large platter of bread on the table. She set a bowl of stew in front of Kiram and turned to leave. Kiram reached out quickly and stopped her. He offered her a silver coin. “Thank you.”
She smiled and accepted the tip. “You’re quite welcome.” Pocketing the coin, she moved away and was soon lost in the crowd.
Turning back to Nyl, Kiram opened his mouth as if to say something else that popped into his head, but seemed to think better of it and took a bite of stew instead. Nyl was surprised that he actually managed to eat nearly half the bowl before he began talking again.
“So, you said that you’re here on business. What business?”
“Mine.”
Kiram cocked his head to the side and watched Nyl briefly before asking, “Did you see the town hall on your way in?” He paused long enough for Nyl to sigh and shake his head. “While I was over at the farrier’s this morning I happened to see it. The entire roof’s been caved in by a massive tree. Said it fell during a big wind storm they had a couple of days ago. Oddest thing too, since nothing else was damaged. Don’t you think that’s odd?”
At least now Nyl knew why the tavern was so crowded, it was serving as a temporary meeting hall. He shrugged the information aside, since it had no bearing on his reason for coming to Haven.
Nearly a minute passed while Kiram seemed to wait for Nyl to make some reply other than a shrug. Finally, Kiram said, “You were right. The stew is good.”
When this garnered no response, a slight frown appeared on Kiram’s face. He opened and closed his mouth several times as if thinking of and discarding ideas. He finally said quietly, “I really never expected to be here. No friends. No job. No prospects even. It wasn’t so long ago that I had the ear of the king. My best friend was a prince.” Shaking his head he added, “I’m still not sure what happened.”
Nyl slowly drained the rest of his ale and then stared at Kiram for a moment. He’d had enough. Loudly blowing out his breath in exasperation, he said, “Could you be quiet for five minutes? Please?”
Kiram just blinked at him as though stunned. He opened his mouth to reply but then snapped it shut and nodded. Looking down at the bowl, he slowly began to eat again.
Taking a deep breath, Nyl released it in a long sigh. He felt a slight twinge of guilt at the way the young man’s entire demeanor had changed, but if Kiram hadn’t stopped talking, he might not have been able to fight the urge to hit him.
Once Nyl finally finished both his stew and a third ale, he reached into a pocket inside his dark cloak and withdrew a small metal flask. Offering it to Kiram, he said, “Look, I’m sorry. This is the best apricot brandy I’ve ever had. Have some. Call it a peace offering.”
Kiram’s face lit up and he sat up a bit straighter in his chair. “You sure? That’s kind of a small flask. You can’t have very much in there.”
Nyl grinned and leaned towards him in a conspiratorial manner. “I had a spell cast on the flask so that it never goes empty no matter how much you drink.”
Raising his eyebrows in surprise, Kiram said, “Why didn’t I think of that?” He accepted the flask and took a long drink then handed it back to Nyl.
“That is exceptional,” Kiram said as Nyl also took a long swig from the flask and then passed it back.
Kiram drank again. “Just the right sweetness. Nice and smooth… it’s… the best… brandy...” Handing the flask back once more, he stopped and blinked rapidly at Nyl. “That’s very strong… stuff.”
Nyl smiled at Kiram. “Indeed.”
“I’ve never…never… What did you say was in there?”
Nyl simply smiled. His hand shot forward faster than Kiram could follow, and he yanked the stew bowl away an instant before Kiram’s face hit the table.
“Apricot brandy…and a very potent sleeping potion,” Nyl said quietly to the top of Kiram’s head. He wasn’t feeling all that guilty after all.
Nyl signaled to the serving woman. When she reached the table, he jiggled the flask towards her and smiled his most charming smile. “Seems my friend can’t hold his liquor. Is there an inn around here?”
“O’course there is. The Blind Boar, just two streets over. Ask for Jack and tell him that Sarah sent you. He’ll take good care of you.”
Getting to his feet, Nyl gave her a silver and a slight bow. He had no intention of staying at the inn, but he couldn’t let her know that. He needed the head start. “My thanks, dear lady.”
Hoisting Kiram easily over his shoulder, Nyl began to whistle quietly as he made his way back outside. As he trudged down the street, the clouds finally opened up and it began to rain.
|
Edited by - Brynweir on 27 Jun 2009 18:00:41
|
|
A little something
