Governor's Mansion
The governor, a politician who runs the entire fiefdom of Aaronville is actually a lord of the king himself. With a hobby of Alchemy, the mansion is a makeshift laboratory and library. The governor has always held a deep interest in the sciences, and is a rather elderly fellow with wild white hair and monocle. Appearing to some as a mad scientist, his simplistic ways have always been good for governing the fiefdom he serves. Usually tender and caring, Olaf will offer a room to those who serve his town well for a short time.
Governor Heindrick Olaf
Still somewhat nervous by the time he reached the impressive mansion from his seat at the
Midgard Fiefdom: Aaronville square,
Rinji raised the knocker on the door and gave two knocks, and tried to calm his nerves while waiting for a response.
In a few short moments, the door creaked open to show the smiling face of an elderly fellow. His white hair could only be described as wacky or unruly, but matched his labcoat and contrasted with his rubber gloves and boots. He was wearing goggles only long enough to pull them up past his forehead and place a monocle in his eye.
"Yes? How may I help you?" Governor
Heindrick asked. He proceded to take off his rubber gloves in order to offer a palm to palm handshake with the new arrival to his town.
Rinji was surprised slightly at the governor's clothing, but managed to hide it well enough, and smiled back at the man while taking his hand. His friendly manner relaxed Rinji enough for him to put together a few coherent sentences. "I am a travelling mercenary of sorts, so I'm new to this region. I saw the poster offering a bounty for defeating a Borra infesting the town well, so I was hoping to speak to the governor to learn a bit more about the problem..." Rinji trailed off hopefully.
"Ah, I was waiting for a wyrm slayer to answer."
Heindrick replied and shook Rinji's hand warmly, "There's a pesky Kulshedra wandering around Avilion somewhere seeding town wells with its young, haven't had the likes of that here in a while since the wyrms usually avoid the shore." The governor opened his door wide and showed his potential mercenary hospitality by inviting him in. "Would you mind if I asked your name, good sir?" he said, hoping to test the worth of this traveller and quite possibly the level of his skill through conversation.
Stepping inside,
Rinji diverted a portion of his attention to the fascinating inside of the mansion. Somehow he had expected the mansion to be a bit more political, and less experimental. He hadn't even seen most of the gadgets and equipment in the room before in his life, much less could he imagine their uses. "Oh, of course. My name is Rinji Sying. I've travelled from my homeland of Andoria, and this continent is somewhat strange to me. And you are General Olaf, I presume?"
"Oh dear me,"
Heindrick laughed, "You give far too much credit. I've never been in military service, just a few contracts with the sciences division of the armed force." Straightening his monocle, Olaf nodded at the foreign appearance of Rinji, but Heindrick was never petty enough to deny that Andoria was up and coming in scientific discovery. "Andoria is a long way off, I went there once in my youth actually to learn the secrets of rocketeering. To this day I've never quite gotten the nozzle escape velocity to the same quality as what I saw those Pandigos fire off." he commented, but smiled as it seemed Rinji was more of a fighter than Andorian Alchemist. The common ground between them would be little beyond business, and so Heindrick got to the point, "Are you familiar with Bolla, Mr. Sying?"
Rinji chuckled at his clumsy mistake, and replied, "No, I'm afraid not. You mentioned wyrms ealier. Are Bolla one breed's hatchlings, so to speak?"
"Oh yes, wretched things. About the length of a man, though they can get much larger."
Heindrick answered, "They are notorious for hiding in wells and snatching up peasents who stray too close. Luckily we managed to find out we had an infested well without any unfortunate soul getting nabbed." The governor straightened his monocle and looked at Rinji's armament, "Ah... you might have some trouble if that bow is all you have. I've seen Bolla duck for cover when fired upon from range. Provided they see the shot coming of course. Do you happen to be a master archer perhaps?"
"I'm afraid not. I'm still working on improving my shot, for now, and if this Bolla is much of a match, I might be better off searching for something else to do,"
Rinji replied regretfully. "Do you know of any lesser threats I could handle for you, perhaps?"
"The Bolla is the greatest threat to our town outside of the war with Necros."
Heindrick replied, "You could try to tackle the monster up close, it might feel threatened enough to attack you and stay out of its well." The governer hoped this mercenary was not so easily ready to back out of a fight, since it was quite a while since the last wyrm slayer answered the call.
"I could try that. It's hard to miss when you're hardly three yards away. I would have to rely on my agility to keep myself out of harm's way, but that shouldn't be a problem. Say, how large are these Bolla? I'd like to have an idea of my enemy's strength before I go into battle with it, especially if it's as great a threat as you say."
Rinji's attitude turned around at the Governor's suggestion. Perhaps he could just keep moving and lure it away from its hiding place. Of course, it'd be rough on himself if the Bolla were to strike true, but he'd have to risk it.
Heindrick was sure he told Rinji the length of the Bolla, but decided to say it once again, "Bolla are about the length a man is in height, or so it would seem." The governor ushered Rinji off into a well furnished room appearing much what would seem like a study, but considering the entire mansion was a laboratory it was the social room of the house. Heindrick poured himself a glass of tea and then asked, "Would you like a glass, Mr. Sying?"
Rinji responded, "Yes, if you would be so kind. I enjoy a nice cup of tea every once in a while." He took a seat in one of the armchairs, and decided there wasn't much left to ask about the creature. It was about as big as him, most likely had claws sharp enough to pierce wool armor, probably very agile, and from the sound of it, intelligent, too. "What kinds of things to you make or experiment with in this laboratory? I haven't seen equipment this complex before..."
Remembering some customs from Andoria,
Heindrick did his best to make his guest feel at home and poured him a traditional cup of his homeland. Though it was a general blend and not particular to region, it was imported tea from Andoria. The governor passed a cup over to Rinji and said, "Be warned, it may be a tad sweet. My tastes have been somewhat corrupted by decatence to resort to plain flavors." After handing over the cup, Heindrick poured his own and sat down in one of the many chairs. Answering Rinji's question took some time, but the governor was not impolite enough to leave it alone, "Alchemy of sorts, merely a hobby as I have too much political business to make a career to its pursuit. I've tinkered with tinkers, Alchemized with Alchemists, and philosophized with philosophers. Not one of them knew how to make a decent cup of tea." That said, Heindrick raised his cup and took a sip before setting it back onto its saucer.
Rinji took the cup from Heindrick with "Thank you," and took a sip while Heindrick poured his own. It was slightly sweeter than he was used to, but better than the local teas he had put up with on his trip up to Avilion. "A bit sweet, yes, but I would dare say you know how to prepare a tea well enough, Mr. Olaf. And your hospitality is generous too. The people of Aaronville are in capable hands, I see. Well, I presume the infested well is the one I saw in the town square outside. Do you have any more suggestions when facing the wyrm? Your advice on luring it out may already have turned the tables in our favor."
"Oh? Bolla are lured out with dependability when someone nears the well. I believe it is some sort of seismic sense, similar to hearing herds by placing one's ear to the ground."
Heindrick replied, and took another sip of his tea. "I have no advice to offer you beyond close range, you would merely be wasting arrows from a distance." the governor let out his hand as a gesture to mimic a Bolla attack, "If the Bolla cannot strike at you, it will not stay exposed from the well."
Rinji nodded, and began to stand. "Your hospitality truly is excellent. Quite a fascinating laboratory you have here, but I think I'd better get to work on that wyrm before the day's gone. With any luck, the Bolla will be gone from this town soon." He carefully placed his teacup, quite empty, on the table in front of the governor, and made towards the study's door.
After a polite, but brief pause,
Rinji customarily bowed towards the Governor, and exited the mansion, returning to
Midgard Fiefdom: Aaronville, and headed towards the well.
Rinji returned after his brief battle wtih the wyrm in
Midgard Fiefdom: Aaronville. He stopped at the door, gave a glance back to the Governor, and decided to wait for the Governor to finish up business with cleaning the wyrm, since he had no idea which rooms he might be offered or anything of the sort, so he took a seat outside the mansion.
Heindrick caught up with Rinji and had his butler open the door for the both of them. "Let's have you pick out a room, shall we?" the governor asked, though was more appropriately a suggestion.
Rinji stood as the governor approached, and nodded his agreement to the proposal, allowing the governor to lead the way in. Again, he was fascinated with the odd laboratory style of the building, but didn't slow down as he was following Governor Olaf.
Heindrick showed Rinji through the mansion, and reached a hallway in the east wing, where four rooms were labelled accordingly for guests. Heindrick has his butler usher the wyrm slayer to a room to rest for a spell and recover from the battle. Rinji was amazed to see how empty the room was, with only a desk and chair accompanying the bed. The butler stood at the door to answer any questions Rinji may have had.
Walking over to the bedside,
Rinji placed his few belongings on the floor next to the bed, turned around, and politely told the butler he was fine and would be turning in for the night. Shortly thereafter, he was asleep. The next morning, he woke without incident and, after thanking the governor once again for his kindness and help, took his leave fully refreshed, exiting the mansion to the
Midgard Fiefdom: Aaronville.
Purchase House in Aaronville: 1,200cr. per room.
Purchase Lot for Business: 1,500cr. (Merchants only)
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Midgard Fiefdom: Aaronville
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