Ga'Elian and Olek Meet
It's Gilday, Callem 16 11:14:23 1019. The full moon is up. The tide is low and rising. A light rain falls from a grey sky. It's warm and there's a slight wind from the southeast.
A05: Warehouse District
Olek is loitering with intent near the Ox, glowering at people who come by, though by and large, they ignore him, which really annoys him.
This day, the business of the warehouse district is strong and healthy, albeit slightly dampened by the light rain of late summertime. A coppery-brown haired male elf in a green cloak walks through the district, mostly unnoticed by those around him, as if heading toward the Adventurers Guild building, when the breastplate-wearing dwarf by the Ox catches his notice. He turns to approach the Ox and stops to address the dwarf. "See anything interesting?" he asks.
Olek scowls up at the elf, or at least looks upwards, the scar on his face making him hard to read. "Huh? Who're you, then?" he asks in counterpoint. "Some watchman? I'll stand here if I like, thank you very much."
Elian shrugs, "Stand wherever pleases you. I just saw that you've been out for a bit, and you seem dressed like an adventurer. As for I'm a watchman, I am not, at least in the official sense, but I do like to keep an eye on certain things. Therefore I merely ask whether you've seen anything worth seeing. As for who I am, well, I am Ga'Elian, a demon-hunter."
Olek takes all that in with a critical look, and finally nods. "Well, Ga'Elian, demon-hunter, I am Olek Stonesmasher, and that makes me a protector as well." If he really belongs to that famous dwarf clan, anyhow. He seems ... at least a little disreputable, though that ought to go well at the Ox.
Elian says, "Well met, then, Master Olek. In my observation, Alexandrians take a lot of 'protecting', but they tend to pay well for it."
Olek nods in agreement with that. "So I've heard, so I've heard. Not seen it so far, but I've heard that, and I expect I'll see it soon." He grumbles, "My place is protecting my kin, but they have no need of me." Are tired of him, more like. "So I brought myself here."
Elian smiles. "Well, perhaps after you've made an impression here, you'll be more sought for there. You see yonder building? That's the hall of the Adventurers Guild here in Alexandria. I was about to stop in there myself to see what the notice boards are saying.... I'm looking to upgrade a few items and am looking for some gold." He smirks.
Olek grumbles about making an impression, but says, "I know full well my name isn't going to shower me in gold. I was just standing here because I wasn't going to sick up in there," he jerks his thumb toward the Ox. He wipes his mouth with the back of his sleeve, and says, "What I ought to do is go in there and cut off the cook's head," he grips his axe. "But yeah, the Guild might take my mind off it."
Elian laughs, quietly, but heartily. He says, "The Oxleys have been trying to cater to a particular clientele for a while. I guess everyplace serves its own niche. Not too far from here, a little north and west of this district is the khazadi community. The food, at least, might be more to your liking there, and if you're really looking for good homestyle fare, there is the Stoneworks' Calzones place in the Vadran village out the Eldwyn Road northwest of the City."
Olek looks a bit tense about the 'khazadi community' and says, "....Maybe I'll skip that." Seems like a little bad feeling left there. He glowers about the Oxleys, and says, "So, the Guild, right?"
Elian nods. "The Guild. A lot of variety in their missions. They've sent me and others out to deal with trolls, undead, and demonic owlbears. They've sent me out to protect traveling rich folks, and fight in a war. Most recently, they sent me and some others to Charn to destroy a terrible weapon. All in all, I've come to the brink of death's door a couple times, but one's comrades are usually very willing to fix you up after you've taken injury in the fight."
Elian smiles, "High praise. For that, I just might need to buy you a drink."
Olek arches a brow, but says, "As long as it's not here."
Elian chuckles. "Alright then. I think the Colisseum district has a couple pubs that might appeal to you. You up for a little walk?"
Olek nods?
A03: Colosseum District
Olek follows along, looking a bit lost, and rubbernecking.
Arriving in the Colosseum District, Ga'Elian says, "There's the Colosseum. Lots of Angorites and Korites like to compete and spar there. The Fire Lodge and von Ironbrews cater to such patrons."
Olek nods thoughtfully about that. "My allegiance is to the Mithril Lady, but no reason not to visit."
Elian raises an eyebrow. "Indeed? I'd have guessed otherwise. No matter, service to Her is noble, for certain. Well, let's head into Von Ironbrew's then. The Fire Lodge is gigantic, and frequented by the larger races--giantborn, oruch, arvek nar."
A03: Steel von IronBrew's
Olek nods about the Fire Lodge and heads into vonIronBrews. "Sounds good to me," he says. Going in and looking around, he nods thoughtfully. "Well, this is .... interesting."
Entering the place, Ga'Elian with his slender physique looks like a child in a man's world here, but quickly chooses a sturdy chair near the small stage and beckons for a server. On stage is a pair of gnomes, one juggling various things while the other strums a lute energetically. Ga'Elian says, "During an event, the roar of the crowd next door will rattle this place like a series of earthquakes, but they run a tight ship here."
Olek laughs, a sort of harsh barking sound, and nods agreement. "I can imagine," he says. "I've heard it blocks away, though I've never been." He eyes the gomes skeptically, but shrugs.
Scarcely after Ga'Elian and Olek have seated themselves, a brightly-dressed gnome is at their table asking for orders. Ga'Elian says, "I'll have the Fire Bird's Brew and a bowl of today's soup." He reaches into a small beltpouch for some coins and says, "For me and whatever my friend here wants, too." and hands the coins over.
Olek won't object if Elian is paying, but he says, "The same for me." He's got no idea what's good or bad, so he'll see what this is all about.
The server is away, with a polite bow, and Ga'Elian says, "So, you wield an earthbreaker do you? If nothing else, that says that when you fight you mean business. Are you a holy warrior then, Olek? A sentinel of the Mithral Lady?"
Olek has a dwarven waraxe strapped to his pack, so he gives Elian a confused look about the earthbreaker. "Why would I wield that," he asks in confusion. "I mean, I guess I could, but I don't normally. Is this some Alexandrian rite also?" He shakes his head, and says, "My father was a Sentinel, but I didn't ... get that calling. Anyhow," he says sourly, "they're a bit soft."
Elian takes a closer look. Says, "My mistake. I should have paid better attention. Anyway, I'm not sure I quite understand what you mean, but I certainly believe that each person has a right to choose his own road."
The server reappears and deposits the drinks and bowls of soup on the table.
Olek shrugs and nods, puts it down to elfish nonsense. "Nevermind that," he dismisses the lack of understanding, and will take up the delivered food and dig in. "This is good," he says, eating heartily.
Olek ehs, "Contests? I suppose they're OK. Sparring's better, of course. But I can run farther than anyone I know."
Elian chuckles, "If I may say so, endurance running is hardly a surprising answer. But I, too, like to spar. Why, a while back, I crossed bastard swords with a hulking brute of an oruch just here in the Colosseum. It was a schooling, let's just say."
Olek arches a brow. "Bastard swods? That's not a typical weapon for orcs. Greatswords, maybe, or scimitars is more typical."
Elian shrugs, "Anyway, I was completely out of my league. I had gotten this masterpiece of a cold iron bastard sword, thinking that over time I might get it enchanted up to become a demonsorrow blade, but it didn't take me long to realize I'd be more successful choosing a different tactic. You see, my strength lies not so much in, well, strength as in agility. So now all my weapons are of the sort that take advantage of dexterity, although my bow and sling still benefit from what strength I do bring to a fight."
Olek goes on, "Now greataxes are a thing for a lot of orcs, too." He hrms, but shrugs about not bringing strength to a fight. "It's not the strength of the person in the fight that determines the winner. It's the strength of the fight in the person." He shrugs about arrows, and says, "Those are definitely a nuisance. I guess good on you if you can make a fight with that?"
Elian laughs now. "Arrows is what I'm best at." He takes a drink, then pushes his chair back and stands. From the ornate, but normal-sized quiver slung over his back he withdraws an expertly crafted bow fully as long as he is tall. He holds it out to show Olek and says, "This is Tar'niessa, or Moonshaft in the Trade tongue."
Olek is more impressed with pulling a bow from a quiver. "Now that's a neat trick," he says, impressed. "I haven't given my axe a damnfool name," he says, though it =is= a petty nice axe, as axes go. "It's just confuse people, and they'd think I was talking to myself."
Elian nods, and puts the bow behind his back whereupon it vanishes again. "Oh, I don't carry on a conversation with it. It's not one of those weapons that talks back." *eyeroll* He sits again, and says, "The only time I've ever wielded an axe was in chopping wood." Back to the soup.
Olek nods about chopping wood, though he says, "Chopping wood or chopping people, it's not too different." But he does smirk about weapons talking back. "That does seem like a problem. Doesn't happen in the old stories. But I heard there's a wizard here and his staff is smarter than he is and lets him know."
Elian nods. "Yeah, see that's what I mean. I don't need Tar'niessa second guessing me in the heat of battle. As for talking staves, I think the arch-mage Cesran's might, but Durrankar is a sith'makar after the Shaman caste. He has a staff that can't seem to help but pipe in anytime it has an opinion."
Olek can only shrug. "That's all I heard, don't know either of those two." He finishes his soup by sopping the last of it up with a hunk of bread.
Elian nods, "Well, suffice to say, the rumors are true about talking staves." He looks about and stretches. "I don't know about you, but I think it's time I got out and did something a little more active. Maybe I'll call my mount and fly north to do some hunting in the forest, scout around a bit outside the City."
Olek smirks about the talking staves, and says, "Something more active, eh?" He shrugs about hunting. "What's there to hunt around the city?" he asks. "Not that I've got a bow to join you. But. Just to know." The two of them are sitting at a table in the restaurant.
Elian says, "Depends on where you look. If you know the right places you can find cougar, bobcat, bear, pheasant, wild turkey, deer, moose, racoon, hare, rabbit, duck, goose, wolf, and wild boar. Or, if you want, the Felwood has more foul and sinister creatures, although I recommend avoiding hunting the great spiders unless you don't mind the prospect of angering the witch Alba. Oh, and there are plenty of fish in the rivers too."
Olek hrms to Elian, then nods. "Mind you, I would only eat about half those things. Hunting for sport never really interested me," he admits. "Though this Felwood place sounds interesting."
Elian smirks, "Interesting is certainly one word for it. Sometimes I and others head out there to make sure that none of its 'interesting' inhabitants pose too great a risk to travelers along the Kultari road."
Olek looks intrigued. "That sounds definitely interesting. And it shouldn't be too dangerous if they built a road there, yes?" He looks puzzled. "Then again, people do some strange things here."
Elian says, "There is danger there. We just do our best to keep the worst of it away from the road. Some of it is fairly tame, if unwelcoming, but there are creatures of Caracoroth there, and occasional fiends of Maugrim have been reported. Even unliving creatures are said to haunt those blackened woods, depending on the rumors you hear."
Olek mm-hmms. "Well, that sounds just about right for what I've come here to fight," he says with a disturbing grin. "Though, I've yet to do any of the high-risk jobs with the Guild. Still getting adjusted, I guess."
Elian says, "Yep. No rush. You'll hit your stride soon enough, I'd say."
Olek nods thoughtfully. "With any luck, yeah," he says. "I've been given more of a break here than back home, so..." Of course this is because they don't know him so well, here.
Elian raises his mug and says, "Here's to luck, then, both the caprice of Tarien, and such luck as we make for ourselves."
Olek raises his mug, and says, "I'll decline the blessings of the Great Laugh, some of them aren't nice. Joy is all right, but if he feels you're too full of youself, suddenly thr jokes on you." He goes on, "I'll toast the Mithril Lady, instead, may she shine brightly as guidance for us all."
Elian says, "To the holy Mother," and drinks. He adds, "You know, Olek, you must be pretty wise. You've said a few things that indicate how much goes on inside that head of yours. Anyway, if you prefer the underground, there's another place nearby where monsters have been known to lurk. Beneath the Artificers Hall is a recently-discovered bunch of tunnels. They shift around somehow, so mapping expeditions have proven somewhat futile, but there's a seal on the entrance to (hopefully) keep whatever might be down there from emerging to jeopardize Alexandria. The sentries will normally let adventurers go down amd explore there, though. Some have reported rust monsters, which as you may imagine caused the Artificers no lack of angst. A few of us have encountered a mystically-imprisoned pit fiend down there. It's rumored that if you follow those tunnels deep enough, you'll find the ancient khazadi ruins of Morduzum."
Olek looks unsure how to deal with the praise, and mumbles something that may be 'Thanks.' He looks intrigued about ancient Khazadi ruins, though he admits of Morduzum, "That's just a name to me. I was trained to fight. I leave the lore to the sissies. The scholars, that is."
Elian nods, "To each his own. I enjoy fighting, but it doesn't feed my mind much--not that I don't think about my strategy and my enemy's attributes, but not every moment is a fight, and ancient lore gives me a certain mental occupation."
Olek shrugs about ancient lore. "Oh, I don't spend all my time and energy fighting. It's not all I do. But I don't sit on my ass and read about what some fools did 1000 years ago, either. There's things to do."
Elian stands up and says, "That there are. Well, Olek, It was fine to meet you, but I need to scoot. Be well."