Rough Times

[MrEdwardNigma]

As X exited the butcher's, he noticed it was becoming dark, and the baker was closing up his shop as X walked out into the village square. It wasn't raining as much as before now, the downpour having slowed down to a dribble, but the square had still been reduced to a huge pool of mud. X crossed it, passing the well and arriving at the pier.

Next to the peer the salesman he'd seen earlier was sheltering himself from the rain in his stall, and his geese seemed to be doing the same thing. The pier itself looked long, thin and slippery, while the river looked turbulent. Anyways, the ferry wasn't there yet.

[Innis Cabal]

X joined the salesman under the stall, hugging his body close to stave off the cold wet air

[MrEdwardNigma]

((OOC: The salesman is not under the pier (there's only water under the pier) but rather next to it, in his stall. I apologise about misspelling pier earlier))

X managed to squeeze himself in under the faded purple canvas that shielded the stall from the rain. The salesman had already packed up most of his goods and was apparently only waiting for the rain to end to leave. There were still some items stalled out though: a small compass on a necklace, a set of wooden dice with a small felt bag to hold them in, some hooks for fishing, a coil of string and a wooden carving of a boat.

The salesman was dressed in white linnen, most of it soiled through the rain and despite several attempts to tie the bit near his neck shut with a strap of leather his red chesthair still popped out. The salesman had long, straight red hair ending in a straight cut near his neck. His eyebrows were similarly red and thick. He had a quite noticable but not ugly birthmark just next to his mouth and a constant expression on his face as if he was appraising you.
"Come here to buy, or just to shelter yourself from the rain, young man?" he asked.

[Innis Cabal]

((I meant stall, sorry))

X looked at the man for a moment

"Outta the rain"

[MrEdwardNigma]

"Ha, I see..." the man said, "But while you're here you're welcome to have a look at my goods, off course. One of these lovely, plump geese, for example, is only a silverpiece a piece"

[Innis Cabal]

X frowned. That "silver piece" again.

"No silver...sorry..."

[MrEdwardNigma]

The salesman snorted and packed up the last of his things. He then folded the canvas on his cart down and pushed it across the square, leaving X in the cold. The salesman drudged his cart through the mud and started making his way up the road to the forest, the geese following in his wake.

X noticed it was getting dark. The only place where there were still lights on was the inn.

[Innis Cabal]

X trugged to the house with the light, knocking on the door

[MrEdwardNigma]

No-one answered. It was an inn, after all. A rather large man exited after a while though, gave a friendly nod to X and then puked next to the house. He gave another nod to X and then wandered off to the slums on the left side of the castle.

He left the door open, giving X a chance to look inside. There was a bar, with a rather fat bartender who seemed to spend all his time moving around the dirt on the glasses with a teatowel. There was a table in the corner where an old man was seated and was telling some younger, largely drunk men tales very enthusiastically. Finally there were two more men, sitting quite isolated. Both wore reasonably fancy clothes, in that they weren't made for noblemen but did look expensive. They were playing dice.

There were also some stairs leading up, quite possibly to the rooms, and a door behind the bar, most likely to the kitchen.

[Innis Cabal]

The dice he knew. A game the guards used to play outside his cell when they got bored. X crept into the room, staring around him making sure no one was eying him before standing next to the men

"Can I play?"

[MrEdwardNigma]

One of the men looked up at him from under his hat. He had a white moustache, blue eyes and a sort of leathery skin. There was a pipe in the corner of his mouth, spreading slightly greenish smoke.

"Sure. We're playing low bets. One copperpiece a game, son. Pay-out at the end of the night"

X noticed the bottle on the table. The men were drinking beer, and the bottle was still corked, but it seemed awfully familiar to him: Dragon's Breath.

The second man drained his mug of ale and looked up at X as well. He was a lot younger than the first man and had thick, blonde hair as well as blue eyes.

"I see you looking at that bottle. You can bet stuff too, if you don't have any money, or even if you'd rather lose a bottle than some coin. Some fellows came in earlier and bought themselves three games with this. It's good stuff too, you can't get that in these little villages, but we still prefer ale. Anyways, you only have to put money on the table once the game is over, but if you're going to bet stuff we'd like to know what it is in advance, so you don't try to pawn off any rubbish on us"

[Innis Cabal]

X frowned, scratching his head

"An't got notin ta bet...sorry"

(Ya ya lame for all the wait, but its been long enough that I haven't posted)

[MrEdwardNigma]

The men shrugged.
"Good thing you decided to pull out then, because we'd cream you, and not paying up can have dire consequences"
The two laughed and then continued their game.

Seeing the bartender stare at him X moved over to the table where the old man was telling tales. It seemed a good place to get a better look at the bar, and he wouldn't have to worry about getting kicked out for a while.

"That night" the old man said, "Something dark and horrid crept out of the forest and snuck into the village. The next morning the villagers woke and found that one of their children was missing, but they decided the kid must have run off or gotten lost while picking berries, and all but it's parents worried no more. The next full moon, however, the same thing happened and this time two kids had gone missing. The village was outraged! This wasn't a coincidence any longer. Someone was stealing their children!"

"They decided to set a trap. Four children in the village square during the next full moon, guarded only by the town crier, who would alert everyone when the thief appeared. However, he fell asleep, and the next morning all four children were gone! Several days later, one of them returned, bruised and beaten and bewildered, his clothes torn by brambles and his skin scathed by vicious claws, and all he could say were two words: Dark Woods"

"Now, the forest at this time wasn't called Dark Wood yet, but rather The Duke's Crown, as this tavern is still called. This kid and the monsters that lurk in the forest's shadows were in fact the reason they started calling the woods that way, and soon the old name was forgotten, in all but the name of this inn"

"Now something would have to be done about these children's thieves, but none dared venture into the woods no more, so they sent the town crier in, who was pardoned for his previous crimes, if, and only if, he would return with the children. However, he did not return, the forest was sealed off with magical stones by the druids to prevent the beasts from ever returning and it was decreed Swan's Pont would never have a town crier again. What happened to the old one is unsure. Perhaps he fled, or perhaps he was eaten by the ghouls. Many people still disappear when passing through Dark Wood to this day, so who knows?"

The old man grabbed a pint off the table and drained it. It didn't seem the pint had belonged to him, but the younger men either didn't mind or were too drunk to say anything about it.
"' 'Nother tale, Father William?" one of the men asked.
"Oh, sure" said Father William, "What would you lads like to hear about?"

[Innis Cabal]

X takes a seat at the bar, stories and the like were really the only way he learned anything, and if this man was giving them out, all he could do was listen. He sat silent sitting, trying to disappear from the sights of so many people. Clearly out of his comfort zone. So many people in once place, and clearly enjoying themselves. He almost envied them, though he'd not be able to tell you the word he was actually feeling, a pit of...unnamed and partially formed emotions sitting in his stomach like a weight of iron

[MrEdwardNigma]

The bartender put down the mug he was "cleaning" and leaned over the bar with his impressive bulk.
"I suppose you'd want a mug of ale, lad?"

[Innis Cabal]

X shakes his head

"Jus listenen..."

[MrEdwardNigma]

"Oh, just listening, are you?" the bartender said, pulling up his sleeves. He stepped from behind the counter.
"If you're not gonna buy anything, you need to leave, vagrant"

[Innis Cabal]

X frowned. This place....if you didn't have what ever they wanted they threw you out. He wasn't hurting anyone, or even bothering them. He rose from the seat and did as the guards did when they were mad, spitting on the floor

"Was'n hurtin noune."

X then trugged out the door.

[MrEdwardNigma]

As X opened the door he came face to face with a bald man who was just about to enter. Apparently it was raining again outside, and raining bad, because this man's brown garbs were soaked. He wore a thick brown robe that was heavy with rain and clung to his flesh. He had a string of frayed rope for a belt and from it hung a heavy mace and an equally heavy purse. There was a faded tattoo of a spider on his skull and a swollen scar running through it. It looked badly stitched, but not recent.
"Isiah watch over thee" he said with a grunt and shoved X aside.
"Something to drink, Gambal?"
The man who had just entered, Gambal, walked over to the bar.
"No alcohol. You know that, barkeep"
The barkeep nodded silently and poured the man a drink from a skin that was hanging from a hook. Gambal took a drink and his face twisted.
"Yugh, what is this?"
"Turnip juice" the barkeep answered.
Gambal shook his head and poured the liquid onto the floor.
"Leave it. Just give me the donations for this month, innkeep"
The bartender grumbled, and took out a small chest from under the bar. He then took off his boot, pulled out a key and opened the chest.
"Here, Gambal" he said and slid a purse across the bar, "Isiah watch over us".
Gambal shook his head, took out his own purse and started to count the money.

[Innis Cabal]

Having no where else to go, X simply sat outside the inn.

[MrEdwardNigma]

X sat down in the mud and let the rain soak him. He was getting very hungry now, and thirsty. He realised all he'd had to eat in the past few days was what the old man in the hut gave him.

[Innis Cabal]

Though he hadn't eaten, X was boggled by the actions of the people outside the prison. They were rude, cold and only a handful outwordly helpful though he was certain it was all a plot, not that he could put his thoughts in words. He had no money, and he dared not go back into the inn, he didn't even dare look at the forest as his arm burned for the pervious attempt.

The only hope he really had was with that old man, but X couldn't shake the feeling the man wouldn't beat him or take what little he did actually own in the world.

[MrEdwardNigma]

Contemplating how cruel life was, X just sat around in the mud, getting wetter and wetter. He was quite cold, and shivered. It seemed it wouldn't stop raining, and it was getting darker and darker as well. Some man in a uniform that looked vaguely like that of the guards back in prison was passing from house to house, putting out various candles. His chainmail jingled as he walked, and the stick he used to put out the candles dragged through the mud. Inside the tavern there was loud laughing, and X found himself wanting for it's warmth.

[Innis Cabal]

X sat in place, he couldn't go back into the inn, the man had already thrown him out, and now a guard was walking the streets, he tried to sink down further into the mud, praying the guard would not see him and beat him

[MrEdwardNigma]

The guard stopped right in front of X and looked at him strangely.
"Evenin' " he said.
He took out his stick and put out the candle above X's head. He then gave the boy another nod and walked off. X was feeling really faint now.

[Innis Cabal]

X simply stayed sitting, he had no where to go, and he dared not attempt to go back into the bar he had just been kicked out of. The fact the guard hadn't hit him was only slightly surprising, but X would be damned if he had to deal with any of these selfish bastards.

[MrEdwardNigma]

After a while of sitting there and being terribly miserable, the door to the inn swung open again and a bunch of people filed out. X recognised them as the ones who had been listening to Father William's tales. Father William soon limped out after them. Only now did X notice the man only had one leg. He slipped and fell down in the mud, but the other men were too drunk to notice. The lights in the tavern were extinguished and X heard the door being bolted from the inside.

[Innis Cabal]

X stands slowly, the man had been similar to the guards, telling stories and such, though he didn't have the look of a guard to him, X's voice is shaky as the cold sets into his muscles

"Nee' help?"

[MrEdwardNigma]

"Thanks, kid" father William said, leaning on his crutch.
"You look cold, kid. You'd better wrap that blanket around you tight, eh?"
He gave X a wink.
"You know, good things come to good people, kid" he said, tossing something small and shiny to X's feet, in the mud. Then he hopped off slowly, following the other men to the slums next to the castle.

[Innis Cabal]

X takes the blanket and swiftly wraps it around him, leaning down only to pick the object off the ground, keeping his eyes on the man as he walks away.