The Dull Blade is a small tavern in the Center of Fremontia. The Center is a highly populated area of the kingdom, where most business is done. The Dull Blade certainly isn't the largest tavern in the area, but is still a good place to go when looking for a quest or a job of some kind.

It is early on in the night, with the tavern starting to fill up. The ale is pouring and the tall tales are being told. Politics, battles and adventure can be heard in every corner of the Dull Blade. This is where the adventure of the Rusiel begins

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All eyes turn to the woman who now enters the tavern. Silvia is beautiful, true, but her sex appeal primarily comes from her attitude and the way she confidently carries herself. She approaches a barstool to claim for herself, orders a drink that the bartender doesn't know how to make, and settles for a glass of wine. She sips it slowly and smiles at the strangers staring at her, wondering who will approach first, and if anyone has something interesting to offer her.

Cal Legrand returns his gaze toward his second beer, tips the mug, and finishes it. He sets it down a bit harder than he intended. After a moment of slight embarrassment, he stands and looks for the place to relieve himself.

Leala found herself still staring absentmindedly at Silvia and tore her gaze away, focusing on her drink. She kind of had more important things to worry about than if that hair color was natural (maybe). For instance, she had enough money to pay for this meal and provisions, and maybe a ride... But only for a month or two. If she wanted to live beyond that, Leala was going to have to start planning now. And quite frankly, she didn't know where to start.

Unseen by most when he entered, the halfing strode right up to the bar and hopped up to sit down. On his face was a slightly worried look. It would be most unusual to those who knew him because whenever Chance was at any tavern a jovial smile would be in place of the frown, for the tavern was one of the favorite places the hafling could be. He looked around, inconspicuously eying those who seemed like great warriors. His gaze soon came back to mug of ale and a smile spread over his face for a second. Chance looked to his right and saw Silvia. "How are ya doing, love?" Even though Chance was half her height, that didn't stop him from making new friends.

Rosie was sitting on the stool to the left of the halfling who just sat down. She rolled her eyes, unsurprised... who wouldn't be invisible compared to a woman like that? But now even the bartender was gawking, so she thumped her small, empty stein on the bar to get his attention. "'Scuse me, I'd like another," she said loudly.

Still "on the run" Lanif decides it would be best to either lay low for a while or find a fast way out of town. On his run through the town he spots the Dull Blade and quietly enters. After noticing everyone in the tavern gawking over an amazingly beautiful women, Lanif finds it best to grab a seat somewhere in the back. A little nervous, anxious, and curious he uses his elven ears hoping to find a way out of town.

Cal returns from his relief. He makes his way to the barkeep empty stein in one hand and a coin in the other. Squeezing between the two halflings, he sets both on the bar; "I ain't getting any drunker here, bub!" He says, smiling with his eyes.

"Watch it!" Rosie gave the man a jab in the ribs with her elbow. "You're not the only one here. And really, barkeep, a little attention over here?"

Lanif, noticing the possibility of an unwanted, attention gathering, guard-calling, "bar-fight" between the sassy halfling and the drunk-ish eye-smiling elf. Walks towards the bar and offers to help the halfling get the barkeeps attention and her much wanted drink(s).

The barkeep grabs Cal's money and skein and refills his drink, though it's not quite as full as it had been before. He glances at Rosie and Lanif, rolling his eyes. "I don't see people that ain't payin' for their drinks," he mutters loud enough for the two to hear. This will probably be their only warning to not pester the man serving them.

Silvia smiles down at Chance. Most men are scared to approach her, and it's funny that one so small would be the first to greet her today. Hopefully he won't be an asshat. "My day has been pleasant enough so far, but I'm sure it would be better if you bought my next drink, friend," she replies. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Lanif first hide in a corner, but then come to the front of the bar to assist another halfling. She makes a mental note to keep an eye on him.

Chance smiled back at Silvia. "Hey barkeep, another drink for my friend here." Chance turned back to Silvia, "So tell me, know anybody that is up for fame and glory?" Chance glanced around, the wheels in his head were turning a mile a minute.  First I need a quest party, then I need to go see him about the debt...

Silvia takes another sip of her wine and nods a thanks to the barkeep as he sets another glass in front of her. She purses her lips at the question. "Fame and glory... not sure those are worth much these days. Even Prince Razo tends to stay out of the public eye when he can..."

The barkeep shoots a look at Silvia. His eyes dart to each of the other customers, but it seems none of the others heard her, or at the very least were not offended by her comment. He leans over to the girl and says in a low voice, "Miss, I know you're new to these parts, but I'd be much obliged if you didn't start talkin' politics at my bar."

Silvia cocks an eyebrow at him, not sure what he means, but says nothing.

Leala's sharp ears pick up 'fame' and 'glory,' in that order, drifting from the bar. She grabbed her mug and headed to the bar casually, still a little awkward with the sword swinging at her hip-she was used to it being in her hands, not wearing it. She leaned up against the bar and held out a bit of money to refill it; the barkeep already knew what she had been drinking. She was still wary of the party-they all looked pretty... young. Pots and kettles, she growled in her head, lowering her head as she waited for the barkeep to refill her drink and the others to talk again.

Cal was about to walk away when those same two words nestled themselves inside his head. He paused, considered, then turned to Chance and eyed him incredulously: "What nonsence are you selling?" He asks, genuinely interested.

Rosie smiled at the elf, bemused. "Don't really need the help, but thanks." She plunked a few small coins onto the bar. Suspicious of the sudden offer of help, she asked him, "why do you care, anyway?"

Chance looked up to Cal and replied to him, "I'm not selling anything and if I were it would definitely not be nonsense." Chance looked around to see if anyone else heard his words. He looked up and down Cal to see if he looked like he could even fight.  Not the best but looks like he'll do. Chance leaned in a bit closer and said, "I know of an item that its value could make our lives much easier, and just so happens I know a way how to get to where it is." Chance took another drought of his ale and looked to Cal to try to read his reaction.

Oh, Leala thought, resting her chin on her hand. It would be just a money quest. She couldn't help but keep the disappointment off of her face. No damsel in distress... Or prince, she didn't like to discriminate. Just somebody rich to save. She'd do it because it was right, but her noble steed wouldn't feed itself. Of course, it wasn't exactly like she was in a position to complain about her jobs. Leala mentally shook her head to clear it. Contemplating a job she wasn't even a part of. Stupid waste of time when she should instead be thinking about a plan of action so she could start up a reputation for adventuring.

Silvia, on the other hand, would prefer a money quest. Her ears perk up, and she leans closer to the halfling. "Well now, you did buy me this drink, after all. Tell me more about this... item."

Lanif, looking at Rosie replies, "My reasons are my own. I meant no harm or ill intentions. I was obviously mistaken for thinking you couldn't handle your own. Please accept my appologies." During his speach Lanif's ears pick up "Item...Value...Make our lives much easier" and keeps not only an eye but an ear on these figures at the bar.

"So how much easier are we talking here?" Cal asks, swaying a little.

"Oookay. No problem," Rosie replied warily. She turned her attention to the conversation to her right. It sounded like fortune and glory, and also less creepy than the elfboy.

Chance looked around at the small gathering. Hardly a great quest party but will have to do, Chance thought. Chance opened his mouth about to talk, but then took a quick look to the barkeep who didn't want any political talks. "Why don't we talk in the corner over there, wouldn't want to be attracting much attention." Chance didn't wait up for everyone else, he hopped off his bar stool and headed towards the less populated corner of the Dull Blade. 

Leala looked totally disappointed. She hadn't said anything once in the entire conversation. How would she be expected to join them in the corner when she wasn't even a part of this? She sighed, almost inaudibly, and stared at her drink unhappily, noticing that it was refilled with her money gone.

Silvia has finished her first glass of wine, and picks up the second. So far the only people potentially involved in this quest are herself, the halfling, and a slightly drunk elf. She sighs, on the one hand wishing for more competent party members, and on the other hoping that her share of the money for the item is as substantial as the halfling seems to think. She follows the little man over to the corner table.

Noticing his chances for joining this party are dwindling by the second. Lanif turns to the eager Halfling leaving the bar and says, "I couldn't help but over hear your conversation at the bar about the... "retrieval" of an item. All though my skills are limited I have experience with hunting/tracking and I believe I may be able to help... for a price."

"Uh, yeah!" Leala blurts out, jumping up. She turns red from her obvious desperation, although it's not as noticeable with her dark skin. "I mean, uh... I'm... interested... in... the adventure..." She sets her hand on the hilt of her sword, trying to act smooth, even though it accidentally slips off the first time and she had to set it on the hilt again.

Rosie stared at her feet in an effort to avoid eye contact with the darkish elf. With her eyes downcast, she noticed an arrow on the straw floor, and it was fletched with the same feathers as those the blonde elf carried. She picked up her now-full stein and the arrow, and headed over to the table. "I think you dropped this," Rosie said as she held the arrow out to the elf.

Chance hears Lanif calling out to him and turns around before he reached the corner. Chance looks Lanif up and down to see if he could wield the bow and arrow he carried. Then he saw Leala come right after Lanif.  Wow, people these days are pretty desperate for money. "Well why don't we discuss that... price... over here." Chance turns around again to find an empty table right near the corner of the Dull Blade. Chance sits at the opposite end of the table to where he just came from, to try and hide most in the shadows to appear as mysterious as possible. He looks everyone in the eye and waits for them to take a seat.

Cal looks down at the halfling holding his arrow. He smiles and gently takes it from her hand. "Sorry for crowding you at the bar." He puts it in his pocket, considers for a moment and holds out his hand. "T'name's Cal, Cal Legrand."

Leala sat with the group, unease crawling up her spine, although she could at least hide that well. She didn't know these people; they could all be vagabonds or, worse, unprofessional. Leala looked around and decided that they did look rather irrefutable. A wry smile almost twisted at the corner of her mouth when she realized exactly what she was doing: judging a book by its cover. Like she hadn't gotten enough of that in her life. Then she stopped smiling because she'd look stupid smiling at nothing. "So name the adventure," Leala said, her face serious and business-like.

Silvia takes a seat next to Chance, since he is, after all, the one offering the quest. She sets down her drink on the table and folds her hands, assuming a business air about her as well. As she eyes the other members of the group, an incredulous look crosses her face. But she does need money...

"Nice to meetcha, name's Rosie Bumble." She sat down at the dark, seedy, table, pretty much inserting herself into the conversation. Because she's spunky like that.

Chance looks to the newcomer at the table, to Rosie. He thought alright, one more couldn't hurt, especially a female halfling. He turns his gaze to everyone and clears his throat. "Ok, this quest, if we succeed we'll be very rich men, elves and halflings." Chance took one more drought from his mug of ale before he continued. "I happen to possess a map that leads to a great treasure called the Rusiel. Last I've heard its in the Kingdom of Jadros, so we'll be traveling a bit."

Leala nodded, not seeing anything wrong with this. "Equal division of goods?" she asked, surprising herself with asking.

Silvia nods at the question. Leala obviously has a good head on her shoulders. Having never been on a real quest before, she has this nagging feeling that a more experienced adventurer would be less trusting and ask more questions before accepting the quest. But she can't think of any, other than making sure that the reward is divided equally.

Cal sits down next to Rosie and clinks his stein against hers: "Cheers, new friend!" He drinks.

Chance nods, "equal divisions of the treasure, of course." Chance finished his mug of ale and stretched his arms. "Why don't we rent some rooms tonight here at the Dull Blade and start out in the morning for Jadros."

Leala bit her lip, not quite satisfied. How much danger would they be facing to get this treasure? Like... rickety-bridge level danger, or hordes of dragons danger? Leala's eyes gleamed, nodding at Chance. She was kind of hoping for the hordes of dragons. How awesome would that be? she thought to herself eagerly, taking another sip of her non-alcoholic beverage.

Leaning against the darkened wall next to the table where the party sat, Lanif nods in agreement with lodging at The Dull Blade. Satisfied with the short but informative speech by Chance, Lanif begins to head towards the bar to purchase a room for the night. After taking a few steps from the table he stops, turns his head slightly towards Chance, and asks, "So when are we planning on heading out?"

"Tomorrow is probably best, no sense traveling through the night to Jadros when we don't have to." Chance replied. He was about to go to the bar for another pint of ale until he was interrupted by a common drunk.

"Jadros? Why the hell would anyone want to go there?" The drunk half asked half drooled from to much wine. "There is nothing worth anything since the whole kingdom of Jadros, including that queen herself!"

"You ware your words, you drunken mule," warned a less intoxicated man who happened to overhear what the drunk had to say about Jadros. "The unification of Fremontia and Jadros will create peace for many years!" The drunk turned around, said something discernable due to drinkign to much and tried to swing at man who just talked but failed miserably. In turn he lost his balence and dove right into Lanif, who couldn't stop the drunk's momentum. Lanif was pushed into a dwarf who was standing right behind Lanif, and to the dwarf the most horrible thing happened; the dwarf's mug of ale slipped from his hand and fell to the floor. There then was silence throughout the whole bar. The dwarf slowly turned around and saw only Lanif (the drunk was by that time deep in sleep on the floor) and with all the dwarf's restraint he asked Lanif, "are ye the one who be spillin me drink?"

Leala furrowed her eyebrows at the scene. She really wished she had paid more attention in her current events class. She could barely recall anything about any union. Apparently, though, the news was enough to start a fight over. She inched away a little, hoping she could avoid being caught in it. Brawls were all too-familiar, but she didn't want to get caught in one now that she was on her way to being a first-class adventurer. Those don't get caught in brawls... do they? She glanced over at Silvia, wondering what exactly that girl would do for them.

Cal, rather unaccustomed to politics and bar fights, remains seated, not really sure what to do.

Lanif, a bit confused and surprised by the domino effect of events that he landed in, turns to the dwarf. "It would seem that way now wouldn't it? However, a series of unfortunate events started by that drunken creature on the floor there is what spilled your drink sir. Now I bid you a good night and ask that you watch where you're standing from now on." Lanif then turns towards the bar to get his room for the night.

Rosie kept her seat next to Cal. This fight had nothing to do with her. 

All the dwarf heard from Lanif's lips were It would seem so... and watch where you're standing from now on. The dwarf sized up the elf and with rage over his spilt ale he spat, "son of an orc-kissin fairy!" With that he pushed Lanif over onto the nearest table where many regulars of the Dull Blade were playing various drinking games. With cries of outrage the regulars looked at their empty and broken mugs with shock. The angry dwarf was right on Lanif's heels, rage set in his eyes.

Chance saw that one of his companions in the party could very well see the end of the adventure already. With a pluck of courage rarely seen in the halfing, Chance grabs Silvia's drink off the table and chucks it at the dwarf's head. As soon as the glass is thrown from his hands, Chance returns to normal and ducks under the table. 

Leala jumped up at the same time as Chance only to see him chuck a drink from their general direction. Except, unlike him, she failed to hide afterwards.

Silvia jumps as her drink is thrown. Startled, she checks the faces of the men who are now angry with Lanif... and the rest of their party by association. Not good, she thinks. Even if she tried to use her sex appeal to diffuse the tension, these men were obviously the type who would prefer a fight over anything else. "Um... maybe we shouldn't stay here tonight?"

Leala cracked her knuckles, nervous but at the same time strangely eager. She glowered at Chance, knowing to the dwarf that it had looked like she had thrown the drink, but not really caring at this point. "Uh, yeah, sleeping elsewhere," Leala said, striking her best pose as she glared at those staring at her, daring them to fight.

The six regulars, veterans of taverns and drink, were less drunk than anyone else in the tavern but considerably had more ale than anyone else. Though not in a drunken rage, the simple fact that all of their drinks were spilled made their adrenaline rise in the knowledge that the fight would start in seconds. The three in front saw Leala's daring glare at them, looked to each other, then rushed ahead towards the party. The other two started to reach down to Lanif to rough him up.

Leala crouched into a fighting stance. It was far from professional, but over the years she had found that she could at least easily roll out of the way like this. And it was the best way to defend her face in a fist fight, and facial bruises hurt the worst. She glanced over and saw Lanif outnumbered but she kind of had other things to worry about, and just prepared to dodge the first blow.

Rosie looked up at Cal, worried. "Should we be leaving?"

"Get your filthy hands off me!", Lanif shouts as he leaps up from the table and breaks away from the two regulars. Lanif un-shoulders his bow and readies an arrow. He constantly changes his target between the three regulars as he backs up towards the party. Lanif, with his elven eyes now filled with anger of his own and adrenaline pumping through his veins shouts, "Relax! I didn't spill your drink and I'm not looking for trouble! But if you're looking for a fight all you're gonna get is this arrow in one of your chests!"

While Lanif manages to get out of the grasp of two of the men attacking him, the third is able to grab his hand that is holding his bow, smashing it into the table, which causes him to drop his weapon. Lanif is obviously new to barfights, but this should teach him that a long-range weapon is not ideal for this sort of situation.

The three men headed toward the table with the rest of the party each attack a different person: one goes to Leala, one to Cal, and the last to Rosie. 

Leala's guy attacks first, and in his drunken stupor thinks that the best form of attack is to lunge at her with his whole body.

Cal's guy spits in the elf's face, smirking and swaying a bit from his drink.

Rosie's guy looks the little woman up and down, decides that she will be an easy target, and simply swings his fist in her general direction.

Rosie, already with her guard up, quickly ducked under the man's fist and tried to run past him. She reached to her belt to draw her axe.

Cal quickly grabs his stein and jerks it in a way that he's still holding it, but all the beer flings out straight for the face of the guy attacking Rosie, trying to give her more of a chance. He sets it down, then turns to his attacker. Cal's slightly dizzied from the recent sudden movement, and, not sure at all what to do, stands straight up, grabs the spitter by the collar with his right hand and brings their faces so close they're almost touching. Looking the guy as much in the eyes as he can, he sticks him in the side with the arrowhead in his left hand, but only enough to get his attention. "Now look here," He says as firmly as he could muster, "you tuck your tail and run, or I'll slice you through with this dagger." He bluffed, giving him a quick jab to further emphasize his point. oh crap oh crap oh crap I hope this works

Leala simply slides one foot in a neat arc, moving her body sideways out of the barreling man's way just as he was about to reach her. Her heart is beating really fast, and she had to admit she was nervous. Kids ganging up on her in the back of the school is one thing; a bar brawl is something completely different. A bead of sweat trickled down her neck as she tried to keep her guy in mind while also watching her own back.

Silvia kicks Chance, who is still hiding under the table. "You little coward! Much good this group will do on your quest if we're all dead or - worse - in jail." With that, she begins to make her way over to help Lanif, who is obviously somewhat overpowered by the three men who are one him.

Rosie's guy stumbles, unable to stop his own momentum. He whipes the beer off of his face and now angrily turns on Cal, shoving him away from the man he is holding.

Cal's guy cries out at the pain, slurring a few things about not wanting to die and such. When Cal is pushed away from him, he clutches his side, where the arrow had been.

Leala's guy falls flat on his face, and it takes him a moment to stagger to his feet.

Leala used this opportunity of him being off-balance to push the guy towards some tables. She hated to get more people involved, but hey, maybe the guy would have other people to worry about instead of her. She backed away and bumped into one of the guys attacking Lanif. She looked over her shoulder, saw the angry look on his face, freaked out, and put everything she had into a punch aimed at his face.

Cal, small and light, gets flung a bit farther than he'd have liked, however, from the ground, he steals a look around to see the state of Rosie before locking eyes back with his beer-faced attacker.

Rosie decided against the axe. She saw the two greasy men teaming up on the fallen Cal... and made a quick decision. She climbed up onto a bench and did a flying leap onto the back of the man closer to Cal, clawing at his hair and eyes.

The guy Leala punched goes down. Like a rock.

Rosie's guy begins yelling "Get 'er off! Get 'er off!" as he struggles to get the hobbit girl off of him.

Silvia makes it over to Lanif just as Leala punches one of the guys down. Following suit, she punches another one in the face. She's not very strong, but these men are very drunk, so it's enough to knock him down too.

Leala looked over to see a small hobbit clinging to the back of a flailing man. She tuned back in on her own fight to face off against the one guy remaining, Silvia at her side, the tables turned. Maybe a show of force would be enough to deter this one.

Cal takes a moment to return to his feet, but he's soon watching Rosie, stepping towards him and giving a full fist in his gut, ready to catch Rosie, if need be.

Rosie got her arms locked around the drunkard's fleshy neck, and started working on giving him a few good kicks in the kidney, but she wasn't sure how much longer she could hang on. Where was that elf??

Lanif quickly nods to Silvia with thanks. Lanif then gives the remaining drunk a swift knee to the gut followed by an over-head clobber-ish fist with his free hand, aimed for his head.

Chance groans from the kick from Silvia. Chance got up from under the table and surveyed the fight. He knew many of the veterans and would probably hear from them about this if he came into this tavern again. Chance sighed and looked around to see how everyone was doing. His eyes caught Rosie hanging on to one of the drunk men. Chance took a deep breath and readied for the fight. He charged to the man from behind and leaped with his feet forward, intending to hit the man's lower legs to drop him.

Leala looked around for any drunks still willing to fight them, and them alone. Bar brawls weren't as bad as she had been imagining.

Rosie's guy topples over, unable to stay up with two people on him.

Lanif's guy also goes down now.

The other people in the bar have been watching the fight as it escalates, a few yelling and cheering for one side or another. The bartender, at this point, has rounded up his brute squad, who are now "escorting" Chance's party and the unconscious bodies of the drunkards out of the bar. They are all informed that they are not welcome back at The Dull Blade.

"Well," Silvia says, "that was exciting. I guess we won't be staying there tonight."

Yeah, alright, I should have seen that coming, Leala grumbled to herself. She folded her arms and scowled at nothing. That wasn't particularly heroic, and she felt a twinge of regret at getting involved. She looked at the others. "So, where should we head next?" she asked, already wondering if this whole quest would lead down just one huge path of regret.

"Well, seeing how our rooms for the night are no longer available why don't we just start heading towards our goal? Even though it is stating to get dark out, let's start traveling, just in case any guards notice the injured drunks in the streets." Chance sighed as he made the suggestion. He was thinking about the brawl that probably could have been avoided. He strapped on his traveling pack and started towards the edge of the cities, taking five steps before he turned around to look at everyone else to see if they were still into the quest.

Cal slings on his pack and tightens his quiver. "I wasn't really planning on sleeping much tonight anyways." He tries to take a swig from his now-stolen stein, then remembers where the beer went. He shrugs, and sets it next one of the passed-out guys before following Chance.

And so our adventurers set out on their quest. Will they find the mysterious Rusiel, and become legendary (or at least rich) warriors? Or will it end up that this group of amateurs can't see the forest for the trees?

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