Beyond Chaos – A DiceRPG

‘I guess I can’t really explore the place freely,’ Adam thought, the half elf walking out with Tanagek and Chosen, the trio exploring through the market, which was almost its own little town. With the presence of the two Iyrmen and the soldier, they were left in peace, and thanks to the Iyrmen placing copper coins around the area, flicking silver coins here and there, they would remain in peace.

‘Jurot did not joke,’ Tanagek thought. They had travelled for such a short while, and up to Gold Port from the Iyr, and yet the half elf had gotten into so much trouble. ‘The Crazy Father is the Mad Dog’s grandson, so this should not be such a surprise. Hmm? Clothing stalls? Shall we pass them by upon this side or the other?’

As Adam spotted the clothing stalls, he approached, only to stop as a small group of Noskans stepped in front of his path. The pale skinned figures, with their long blonde hair, their piercing blue eyes, were as lean as Iyrmen, and across the lands, equally feared. They were lean with deathly efficiency, like the Iyrmen, and each were adorned in very little, wearing large weapons, and the tattoos upon the sides of their faces and down their necks revealed the relation to their families as well as their personal tales to the world.

As the stare off began, the soldier stepped forward, crossing his arms over his front. His cloak pinned to his shoulders by a medal in the shape of a flower, engraved with his rank, which caused the Noskans to continue along their way, still glaring towards the Iyrmen and the pretty boy. The Noskans grumbled out in their tongue, before laughing at all the things they would do to Adam. The half elf just smiled, brushing a finger along the cool obsidian holy symbol on his chest, winking at the Noskans as they stepped away.

“I’m glad the Iyrmen aren’t as pathetic,” Adam said, tutting out loud, leading the group forward once more towards the stalls. As Adam perused the various cloths, an urchin shuffled their way towards the half elf.

“Mister half elf boss, oi’ve got a message for ya,” the urchin said, standing confidently, clutching her fists so tight, one would have thought the silver in her palm was actually gold. “There’s a fella who wants to meet ya at the Saltmaster’s Seahouse at dusk!”

“Who is this fellow?”

“A guard with a bizniz opportunity, he is,” the urchin said.

“Can you point him out to me?”

“He’s…” The urchin looked back but shook her head. “He’s gone, he has.”

“Alright, well I appreciate you letting me know,” Adam said, reaching into his robes to tip the urchin a silver coin.

“Oh, thanks boss! If you need anyfing, you let me know boss, but nuffing like takin’ liberties, or the King’ll gut ya.”

“You’re a little too young for my tastes, but I appreciate the warning,” Adam said, and though he chuckled at his joke, his head pulsed. ‘I hope there’s none of that going around these parts…’

‘Hmm?’ Chosen thought, feeling the oppressive aura which fell off the half elf for a moment, before it passed. ‘He really is the Mad Dog’s grandson.’

“This kind of blue, wouldn’t Danagek and Dagek look so cute in it?” Adam asked. “This pink, no, no, this red, no, wait…”

‘Hmm?’ Chosen wondered as Adam glared at him intently, only for the half elf to find two fabrics, each matching the blue and silver of the Sen family tattoo.

“Should we do blue and silver, or red? I bet Chisen would look so cute in this blue and silver, and with the Bloodblade at her side, wouldn’t she look like such a little Amira?” Adam joked, but the others could hear just how much he was contemplating the thought.

“I agree,” Chosen said, not caring that it made no sense. “My sister looks good in every colour.”

“Then should we buy something in every colour?”

“No. If we buy too much, Danagek and Dagek would be jealous.”

“Then should we buy every colour for them too?”

“There are too many children and too many colours. Let us limit ourselves to three here, and as we continue on our journey, let us buy another from each town and city.”

“You’re right, Chosen.”

‘I am glad he is so easy to deal with,’ Chosen thought, glad he had asked Kitool on how to keep him in check. Feeling Tanagek’s rising annoyance, Chosen elbowed his friend in the side, returning back to eyeing up the rest of the world around them. ‘You should allow him to spoil your brothers if you are terrible at it.’

Tanagek could feel the terrible thoughts from Chosen, glaring at him from one side, before returning back to his duties, allowing the half elf to continue to buy piles of clothing for the children. The half elf was far too joyful for buying clothing, for Tanagek had never seen anyone with such delight from spending gold upon cloth.

Once Adam was done, sending the cloth to the Adventurer’s Guild, allowing the Iyrmen to deal with the processing and delivery, he thought about the urchin’s words.

‘Who wants to speak to me? I guess I should take Mork and Jurot with me. Should I take Kitool too? The soldier will be enough to deal any issues, right?’ Adam weighed their strengths.

‘I’m, what, close to a Paragon? Then we have Jurot and Kitool who can beat Grandmasters, and are pretty close to Paragon with their weapons. Mork’s an Expert, but his status as a Priest of Lady Tempest, a Priest of Aldland, is probably good enough. Just in case it’s an Aswadian, should I take Dunes too? He could deal with anything else. Should I take Bael too, just in case? No, Ashmir?’

Saltmaster’s Seahouse was exactly as one might have expected, equally gaudy as it was rough, for the Saltmaster was someone who had wanted to spend all the gold they made from their salt, but they were still a man of the sea. The building was made of coral and wood, and to Jurot’s eyes, coralwood too, though some might mistake it for the various other similar woods, and the bronze littered throughout held a patina of an era long past.

The guards at the door were adorned in dark scale, wielding shorter blades at their side, with long cloaks of bright purple, almost pink, with threads of green which sparkled even under dusk. One of the guards held up a hand, eyeing up the figures, though she bowed her head towards the trio of Priests. “Are you Adam, Brother?”

“That’s right,” Adam replied, feeling his heart begin to beat harder in his chest from the uncertainty.

“We did not hear there would be so many,” the guard said, eyeing him up.

“I hope that isn’t an issue,” Adam said, reaching into his pocket, palming the guard a small gem.

Her brows raised in alarm, and understood the half elf to be a fool, since who slipped so much coin to a guard, but since he had a gem like this to palm, she smiled and bowed her head. “No issues at all, Brother.”

Adam smiled, nodding his head as the guard led the group inside, the stone slabs on the floor covered by rugs, the bronze metalware, greened with time, the walls of stone yet weathered by time, holding a certain shine to them through monthly applications of a special oil. The large tables, some square, some rectangular, some round, and a few even hexagonal, were almost all filled, the people blocking much of the air, each of a certain class of wealth, rich sailors or poorer merchants. Not quite the gold of middle class, not quite the bronze of poor, but the silver sliver between. The smell of their dishes permeated the air, along with the salt.

As they approached the corner, to a particularly long rectangle table, Adam could see the four. One motioned with a hand, clearing his throat as he stood, and he glared at the approaching group, not with anger, but of an intensity Adam hadn’t expected. However, considering their attire, and their small weapons at their side, and their rough appearances, Adam was sure these guys probably couldn’t afford this place, and yet, here they were.

Adam leaned over to whisper to his companions. “You guys, uh… I’ll take Jurot and Kitool with me, I think that’ll be enough. The rest of you can eat and drink nearby, and I’ll handle the payment.”

“Here I thought we’d get to have some fun,” Tork grumbled, though Mork was glad they were able to relax for the evening. Dunes tried to catch Adam’s attention, but the half elf was busy approaching the table, so the Priest sat down at the table with the twins, and the older Aswadian man who drew attention. The soldier stood to one side, nodding his head to the keeper, who nodded their head in return. As long as the etiquette was kept, that being the group spending enough coin, there was no issue, and with the guard at the front motioning with a hand, the keeper relaxed.

‘Damn it, you had me all worried for nothing,’ Adam thought. ‘Do you know how much gold I spent because I was so worried?’

Just kidding I will post up an additional chapter tomorrow... or the day after?