Wolf Amongst the Sheep IC

[EdroGrimshell]

Bosa is a relatively small city, but still the largest one Teral has yet been to, travelling on the caravan into the city, he would be able to find work easily here, even if the knowledge he'd assimilated didn't work he'd be able to easily find physical labor or runner that would let him scope out the city and its people. Plus the mongrelfolk nobles always had interesting traits he could look into, their ability to manifest the traits of other races held a draw for Teral, some were known as skilled warriors just with the racial traits they manifested.

Then there were the skills he could pick up from the humans and illumian in the city. They skills were so varied that Teral could pick up almost any skill he'd ever need.

[Jacior]

Teral pulled at one of the many belts he kept wrapped around himself. They were comforting and reminded him to keep himself under control. He shook when groups of people got too close, half afraid and half hungry. He had to breathe through his mouth in the cities, the smell could get to him otherwise. But in one this big, that wasn't helping like it usually did. He kept his eyes to the ground as he walked, taking care not to bump into people.

Teral walks through the major roads and squares, looking for the boards that had become common the more he looked for them. Near churches was always a good place to look as well.

[EdroGrimshell]

Teral sees several boards, but few had work he'd be comfortable with, often requiring heavy interaction with people, many of the church boards also dealt with large groups of people working in tandem, but one board had a couple that'd suit Teral; a long term runner for an elderly man delivering alchemical items across town with a trial period, a metalworker that needed a new apprentice, a temporary town guard, for a month or two, a trapper for a fur company, and a detective in need of a second set of eyes.

[Jacior]

Teral pulls the runner job off the board and has to resist the urge to smell it. That wouldn't put him in the greatest of lights already. Best to try and be as inconspicuous as possible. With stark white hair and bizarre dress, it was already hard. He spends a couple minutes checking the rest of the board before wandering off to try and find where he needed to go to ask about the job.

[EdroGrimshell]

The job listing's address was on this side of town, only a few blocks away. Teral had time before the listing said the shop address would be open.

[Jacior]

With time to kill, Teral decided it'd be best to start getting a lay of the city and it's alleyways. Picking a random passage, he starts down the various alleys, wasting time waiting for the job to be available to inquire about.

[EdroGrimshell]

The city had a basic layout used in most other cities that Teral had been to, until he came to the center, where the layout changed drastically, much larger buildings, businesses and warehouses mostly, but also an estate of sorts, it was smaller than Teral would expect, but it was no doubt a noble's house. Dogs, big dogs, walked the yard attentively, watching people in the streets and licking at people that came close enough to pet them.

Outside the estate was a bazaar, run by several mongrelfolk, bald humans, some with glowing sigils around their heads and some with slightly pointed ears and gold eyes, and a couple of larger humans that were probably half giant. The half-giants were guards to the bazaar, while the one with the sigils and gold eyes were the merchants, the mongrelfolk were split between buyers and sellers.

This was the most interesting part of the town thus far, and it wasn't even too crowded, it was likely more active at night if this was the extent of the day traffic.

[Jacior]

"What a strange place..." Teral said to himself, slightly marveling at the openness of the place. He didn't dare go near the dogs though, animals didn't typically agree with his presence. They usually got spooked or attacked him. It meant he couldn't have a pet when he was younger and now it just made people suspicious. He almost smirked at himself. Even if he had kept a pet when he was younger, he didn't have the greatest self control. Probably wouldn't have lasted long.

He walked around the edge of the space cautiously, letting his fears mayhaps get the better of him a little. After a minute or two watching everything from a distance, Teral worked up the nerve to walk across the area and see what was being sold at the bazaar, thinking maybe it was a little bit of an odd place for one.

[EdroGrimshell]

The bazaar is... mundane, actually. There are a lot of books, scrolls, incense, and powdered spices which seemed popular among the bald humans without sigils. There is an odd one, it's a stall selling sand and sand sculptures. One was selling big leather-bound tomes that looked like a wizard's spellbook and another selling iron flasks with quartz stoppers.

[Jacior]

Teral is a little disappointed, but not all that surprised. Nothing there really interested him. It wasn't that they weren't probably good wares, it's that none of them seemed like that could help him with his quest. It really had consumed his whole life, he mused. He didn't wonder what it would be like after it was over, because he wasn't planning past the inevitable rematch.

He shook his head and left, heading back through the alleys and such to see about getting that job. Anything to build up some funds.

[EdroGrimshell]

Teral arrives to find an elderly half-elf opening a shop containing several alchemical items. The thing was, he didn't look as old as the add would have Teral believe at first, he doesn't look decrepit in the least, until he comes from behind the counter, he was missing part of his leg, a large chunk of muscle missing from his right leg, he needed a cane just to keep standing with that. He may have been a runner himself before whatever happened to his leg happened. The other thing was, he had glasses and one eye was discolored, not quite blind white, but definitely unfocused. He hasn't yet noticed Teral, focused on setting up shop as he is.

[Jacior]

Teral clears his throat, half to catch the old man's attention and half to actually clear his throat. "Erm, hello. I'm here about the runner job you posted on the board in one of the squares." He wasn't exactly sure how to go about this, he usually took mercenary jobs.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Come in then," the half-elf says plainly, "Velik, get down here, we have someone interested in the job," he shouts towards a back room before a cat comes downstairs, "I hear ya old man, no need to shout," it replies, startling Teral, it made him think this man might actually be a mage.

"What's your name, lad?" its at this point that Teral realizes something, his murky eye was blue, but his other eye was blood red.

[Jacior]

Teral watches closely. Mage's were something that could definitely interfere with his hunting. "Teral. That's my name." Eyes were fascinating to him, he couldn't help but wonder what had happened to them to cause them to be like that.

[EdroGrimshell]

"Teral, eh? Interesting name," the older man says.

"Like Edro's any better," the cat comments.

Edro coughs, "right well, how are you as a runner, Teral?" he changes subject quickly.

[Jacior]

"Faster than most you can hire. And I spent most of the morning learning the streets." Teral says, keeping an on eye the cat, lest it say something about his smell.

[EdroGrimshell]

Edro nods, "New to town, then, that may hurt you in this job, but if you're as fast as you say you are that won't matter much," he says, "I have a local applying as well. What would make you the bet-"

"I'd hire him, Edro, something about him says he can handle himself better than the other guy."

Edro raises an eye towards the cat, "you seem sure Velik, what do you see?"

"Something interesting." is the only reply the half-elf gets.

[Jacior]

Teral has to resist the urge to growl at the cat. Talking animals had to be the world's cruelest joke against him. He narrows his eyes at the cat, but says nothing, half not trusting what might come out of his mouth. He pulls on one of the many belts and tries to calm down a bit.

At the narrowing of his eyes, he blinks suddenly. "What is that cat really? And why does is smell of graves and bones?" He wrinkles his nose at the scent. How did he think he could hide it?

[EdroGrimshell]

Edro raises a brow while Velik chuckles, "you must have a good nose to notice it, most dogs don't even pick that up," Edro responds as Velik shifts to a little bone gargoyle thing, "Velik is my familiar, a bone imp homunculus, not that he's all that cooperative, once something catches his interest he runs with it. You're stuck with him until he loses interest, just like I am. Only difference is he never loses interest in me."

[Jacior]

"He reeks. How could you not notice it?" Teral says, with more than a little enthusiasm. He secretly hoped the thing never takes an interest in him. "I guess I've got a good nose."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Well, with Velik's interest on you, I doubt I'd get away with hiring someone else, he'd moan until I'd pull my hair out, again, if I didn't hire you at this point," Edro says with a hand over his face, "you want an apprenticeship while we're at it? I offer to anyone Velik takes an interest in, no ones taken the offer thus far."

"It's a two month crash course, with more refined studies if you decide to go with it, if you do, you can make things like me," Velik says with a grin, one that reminds Teral of the beast, if a lot less threatening and a lot more mischievous, "for someone of your abilities, it'll be even easier."

Edro glances at Velik as the imp morphs back into its cat form, causing him to sigh, apparently he couldn't get a decent read on Velik when he was in cat form, "you interested?"

Spoiler

Show

This is a good moment to say an apprenticeship works differently in this game than normal. You will gain bonuses and special abilities based on your apprentice ranking until you achieve Master, at which point you can take on students of your own.

You start with an apprentice rating in the field Edro will teach you about equal to your Wis Mod + 1/5 ranks in Craft (alchemy), meaning just your Wis mod at the moment.

[Jacior]

"I suppose that could be useful." Teral said hesitantly. It was one thing to hunt for new skills, but he rarely actually trained them himself. Anything that might give him an edge was welcome. But this could feel strange. "If nothing else, I like to learn."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Alright then, we'll start tomorrow. Do you have a place to stay in town?" Edro asks.

[Jacior]

"I usually sleep outside." Teral says quickly. "I don't tend to stay in one place for too long. And it suits me just as fine."

[EdroGrimshell]

"Not the most ideal circumstances," Edro says, "but it is manageable. Just show up on time, that's all I ask. Same time as you arrived here today is ideal," he continues, "the next delivery order is in two days, so you can get the full lay of the city and we can start your apprenticeship tomorrow."

[Jacior]

"Ok. Unless I'm dead, I'll be here." Teral says and walks out of the shop. Now he needed to find something to do for the rest of the day. And the night... Maybe he'd see if he could find something to hunt.

[EdroGrimshell]

Edro, and Velik, nod as Teral leaves. He'd Have to search out the town himself. But, as he leaves the shop, he notices that it's almost noon, and that Edro had not caused him any discomfort to be around, despite being noticeably humanoid.

However, that's not what got his attention now, it was his stomach growling in hunger.

[Jacior]

That was the worst thing that could happen. He never let himself get hungry. The hungrier he was, the worse his control. Teral set out to find something to eat. People wouldn't take kindly to a monster appearing in their midst.

[EdroGrimshell]

The closest place is a small shop dealing in bread bowl soups, from what Teral can see, there's a lot of seafood chowders compared to beef, pork, and other meats, which are more expensive.

[Jacior]

Teral will take a seat and order the rarest red meat he can and eat it, listening all the meanwhile to other people in the area for anything interesting.