Adventurers' Guild Headquarters IC

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan uttered his word of thanks when Ana filled up his flask. He then watched with interest at the woman Ana brought in spoke to a Dwarf in a dwarven tongue. Knowing from an old mentor the dwarish language, Zan listened with intent to both sides, Common and Dwarvish. He muttered to himself quietly....

"The old woman can see the future? I'm... not sure if I could handle such knowledge if it were true.... but I need to know if..."

So, Zan wearily stood up and walked across the floor, attempting to center himself in the group that wanted divining.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

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Linda does not respond to anything in Common, so if she responds to your comments, that means I'm presuming someone is translating them into Dwarvish for her.

Linda
(to Shiela) "Thank you, child, but I was raised in the North, and cool days in Bridgeport do not bother me."

"Now then, first Master Dwarf with the axe here."

With help from Ana, who seems to be familiar with these types of readings, Linda and Vlax are placed in chairs facing each other, very close together. Linda produces and lights a small brazier, which produces a small amount of light, sweet-smelling smoke which Linda and Vlax both breathe, curiously without coughing. Linda leans forward, and with her diminutive right hand she takes the muscular left hand of Vlax. Her left hand she places on his right temple. She closes her eyes and bows her head for a few moments of silence. She then brings her hands down, inhales the incense through her nose one more time, and twists the top of the brazier to contain the smoke until the next reading. With eyes half-closed, she says,
"This is very curious. I had a vision of you standing alone on a stone floor. You had no weapons, no armor...in fact, your hands were in shackles. You looked upwards, and spoke as if you addressed many people. The words I could not hear. This vision itself is not so strange, but the emotion that accompanied the vision...it was not anything like fear, or regret, what I would expect from someone in chains. Instead I felt confidence, even joy. Most curious."

Linda gestures for the next adventurer without waiting for any questions. Jeff takes the seat opposite the old seer, and she repeats her ritual of incense and the laying on of hands.

"Young man, even before the clouds of temporality had fully cleared from my sight, I sensed a moment of great importance. I believe my vision depicts a choice you must make some day which may chnage the very nature of your soul. I saw you on a high mountain. You were accompanied by at least two other persons, whose faces I could not see. You were all running, fleeing from something. Then you arrived at the end of the mountain, and all that lay before you was the sky. You turned and saw that which pursued you, and it filled you with dread. Young man, you then looked to one side of you, and what you saw there you knew would bring you safety, but also unending loneliness. To the other side you saw great peril, but also comfort. How those two sensations can co-exist I do now know."

Linda then opens her eyes fully and leans back in her seat as the sweet smoke dissipates again. Her seat is fortunately one of several in the common room that are sized for a small person.

"If you have questions I will try to answer them, but please understand I have told you everything I have seen and felt. Once there are no more questions, I will soothsay for the next person."

[Zyks]

Vlax goes and sits at the bar, looking puzzled, and takes another pint.

Well that was strange. At first I thought maybe a trial of some sort, perhaps another incident like that in the cavern. But then the joy and happiness? Thats strange/

[Thymin]

Dravick:

Dravick hears the futures of his companions and decides to hear his own. He sits patiently waiting his turn and absentmindedly rolls a silver piece back and forth across his knuckles.

[Bayar]

Jeff, CN Human Ranger

Umm...can someone translate what she said?I am more familiar with the language of animals than of other races...

[Zyks]

Vlax translates for Jeff

[DavidByron]

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Presumably Dravick heard Vlax translate for Jeff.

Matthew and Ioth are next in line.

Hey, that was pretty suspenseful stuff, Jeff.

Matthew smiles over Shiela's attempt to trick the seer into revealing that she can understand common. Maybe she can. But what would that prove? A little bit of showmanship mixed with genuine talent doesn't hurt anyone. And if she is a fake she's certainly worth the one silver piece.

[in Dwarvish]
Ma'am, are you even able to read the heart of my good companion, though he is a kobold, and has the blood of dragons in his veins?

[and then repeating the question for Ioth's benefit in Draconic]

[Bonecrusher Doc]

The seer repeats the process exactly for each divination. Despite the profound effect some of her prophecies could have on her customers, she makes no apologies for what she sees.

After Dravick's session, she tells him, "My vision of you showed little. I saw you approach an object on some sort of table or pedestal. The details were not clear to me. I felt your heartbeat wild with anticipation, with excitement, but also with fear. As you came before the object, you stood still...it seemed to me you stood there for years, though my perception of time in these visions is often inaccurate. Finally you reached out, and as you touched this thing you so greatly desired, you were enveloped in flame, and I saw no more."

To Matthew, she says, "I saw you stepping carefully through the ruins of homes consumed by fire, and you were filled with sorrow and rage. Then, just as my vision was fading, I caught a short glimpse of something else - a crowd of people, and I felt relief in your heart."

"Now, I would be most interested in a session with the kobold. I have never done this for anyone but dwarves, halflings, gnomes, and humans; perhaps it may take me a little longer to find my vision, but I think I should still be able to see something of interest."

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Ioth knew he was next, and sensed that the Halfling woman was too, and so when she spoke he stepped forward a little bit, he did not understand what she said, but was sure someone would translate her words into common or draconic for his benefit, for which he was profoundly grateful. Ioth's knowledge of the Dwarvish tongue was limited at best, mostly having to do with Dwarven writings which were writtin in Draconic runes.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan was convinced enough with the on-goings of the seer, and pulled a silver piece from his pocket. He looked for some sort of line, or otherwise-quequed order as to not interrupt anybody else.

[Thymin]

Dravick:

An anticipated object? Flames? That's odd, I don't know what I expected for a silver piece though. Maybe I'll know this instance when I arrive in it, or maybe it's all a hoax. Good fun though...

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

[Battlecant] "That is very well understood, ma'am." [/Battlecant] Shiela mutters, mostly to herself at the old woman's denail of alternative payment, and withdraws her coin from underneath her mug, placing it upon the table directly in front of her, sipping hot cider and waiting for her turn to be divined.

[ubersquid]

Berwin

Berwin stays at his table, but carefully listens to the translations, occasionally smiling an shaking his head.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

After releasing another cloud of incense, Linda takes Ioth's hand and touches his head. Suddenly she leans back and draws in her breath sharply, but she does not let go of the kobold. Within a quick second she bows her head forward again, her brows knit tightly with concentration. Finally she relaxes and speaks:

Linda
"I must admit, my vision was more intense with you, and I was not prepared for it at first. Perhaps you may understand if I compare it to taking a swallow of a drink that you thought to be cold, but was instead quite warm. The type of vision, however was the same. I saw you, kobold, running, looking over your shoulder as if pursued. You too were on a mountain, much the same as your friend here. But in your arms you carried a child."

Next she looks into Zan's future:
"I saw you wielding a staff of great power. You brought destruction down around you. And I could feel the struggle within you, the struggle to keep hold of who you are, or lose yourself in the power of the staff."

And then Shiela's:
"I saw you in a hall of great riches. There were coins of many precious metals, gemstones, and other treasures... but you trampled them under your feet in your haste. You were looking around for something else in that hall, something you desperately wanted to find."

After resting for a moment, Linda sits up and turns to face Ana. Speaking in Dwarven, she says, "Ana, my dear, you know I have never peered into your future? Come, I am most curious, and I wish to repay you for bringing me here." Ana gives her a small, shy smile but shakes her head.

[DavidByron]

This hall is just the place for the telling of tales. I would certainly be fascinated to hear Ana's fortune -- wouldn't the rest of you? Matthew attempts to apply a little peer pressure, without being too pushy.... the same sort of voice he uses to try and get reluctant audience members to volunteer.

Now, I have heard that silver must always change hands in this type of transaction.... so... Matthew bows to Ana and offers her a single silver piece.

[Thanatos 51-50]

Shiela

Shiela happily passes her coin to Linda with a smile and a friendly nod.
"My thanks, miladi."

The Fighter then muses over her fortune whilst sipping some hot cider.
A massive fortune would be a nice thing, indeed, and there were things more important, indeed, but she couldn't think of anything off the top of her head.

[battlecant]"Guess I'll learn later."[/battlecant]

[Lord_Asmodeus]

Ioth pondered the old seers words, and wandered what his place in the coming adventures truly held. Ahh, I could be here thinking all day and give myself a headache, but the Great Eternal Wheel shall reveal all when he sees fit, as is his way. And so Ioth stands in quiet contemplation.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Ana somewhat reluctantly accepts the silver piece from Matthew with a polite curtsy, then gives it to Linda, who smiles and takes it, with an acknowledging nod to Matthew. Ana takes her place and Linda commences the reading. When the incense has once more dissipated into the high ceiling of the Common Room, Linda speaks, so quietly that the rest of the room can barely hear her words to Ana.

Linda
"My dear Ana, I saw you standing in a garden at sunset. Then I heard a beautiful voice. It was you, Ana... singing!"

[DavidByron]

!!!!!

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Matthew is speachless!

[hyperfreak497]

Matthias looks up at this, clearly surprised.

Thoughts:

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She can't...it's just fortune-teller nonsense...but stranger things have happened...gah, who knows...

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Ana looks shocked as well, but as she feels everyone's eyes upon her, her look quickly turns to embarassment. Her face flushed, she does a polite curtsy and quickly walks outside and down the basement steps.

[DavidByron]

Have you known Ana for a long time ma'am? I had thought her mute since birth ... or perhaps there was an accident?

[Bonecrusher Doc]

You detect undertones of a deep anger in Linda's reply.

Linda

She was not mute at birth, nor was it an accident... but it's not my place to say.

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan shook a little from hearing his future told to him by the woman, who from others, he learned was named "Linda." With a nod and the best polite smile he was able to manage, he gave her his silver piece returned to his seat and continued thinking to himself about what sort of staff the woman mentioned. He was so stuck in this thought that he never heard anything about Ana's fortune. With the slight interaction he had with the woman, in fact, Zan was unaware of Ana's muteness. So there he sat, a blank face that only opened to a flask of ale.

[Bonecrusher Doc]

After a few awkward moments it appears that Ana may not be coming right back up from the kitchen.

Linda (in Dwarven)
"Thank you for your time and your coin, good people. I will show myself out."

She gathers her belongings and leaves the guildhall through the front door. The sweet smell of her incense lingers in the air, and you can still see faint wisps of smoke curling around the ceiling beams.

[Bayar]

Jeff, CN Human Ranger

Something that can give me safety but loneliness...some bushes? If I hide in the bushes, will the beast kill my two companions?...and then peril and comfort...facing the danger with my comrades...well...seems that we will live and see...

[DavidByron]

You better stick close to Shiela, Jeff. Apparently she's going to be wandering around treasure strewn halls and not bothering to pick up all the gold and gems!

And as for me, I better check my fire insurance....

That was weird about Ana though.
Hm.

As usual Matthew runs on without waiting for much of a reply...... and then turns to talk to Zan, the new arrival.

Hey, "staff of power", huh? That sounded pretty good. And you're.... what is that--- a symbol of Boccob? Are you an arcanist of some sort? I would have thought that sort of thing would be just right for you. I heard your church has staffs of power all over the place. Secret libraries full of spells and all sorts.

[Zyks]

Vlax goes to the bar again and starts drinking himself silly...again

[MK Kilmarnock]

Zan, as if though he had been asleep, twitched and started up when Matthew approached him. He looked at the man for a moment before determining that conversations were trying to be started.

"Uh.... yeah. You recognized the mark. You're... pretty perceptive." It was clear that he was having difficulty speaking; he wasn't good at hiding his discomfort with social situations. In an effort to be as polite as possible, Zan continued.

"There are plenty of staffs in the church that I attended, but... well, never got much of a chance to see them. I had many services outside of that building." Zan didn't say that the visions of a staff empowering his mind bothered him, and bothered him greatly. Such a wonderous item, favored by his god, causing destruction around him? How?

[Bonecrusher Doc]

Eldon walks in to the Common Room, accompanied by a man whose age is difficult to discern. His face is weatherbeaten but not wrinkled, and his hair is black with silver streaks. He is wearing a simple jacket and pants of heavy linen, and sandals. He carries no weapons that you can see, but has a quiver-like bag slung over one shoulder with several scrolls protruding from it.

Eldon
"Pardon us, we're looking for young Fin. Is he here?"

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human stranger