The Willow Root Tavern

Kamar Deythal · Post by **Kamar Deythal** » Wed May 10, 2006 5:37 am

Kamar leaned back in the chair, glancing around the tavern. There were few patrons in the bar at this time of day, and it suited his purpose well. He had used these types of taverns before, for various meetings. This one had an added bonus. He had helped the owner out once before, in another town, on another continent. It paid to know people.

He wasn't wearing his robes, but had changed into his 'business attire', as he liked to refer to it. He was wearing his black sleeveless vest and black silk-like pants. Over it all, he was wearing his dark grey cape, the hood down.

He reached out a slender hand and lifted the wine goblet from the table. Taking a small sip, he continued to gaze at the patrons out of idle curiousity. Really, his mind was elsewhere, trying to solve the riddle of the wolf-man.

Why is this character trying to help the mark? Is she someone he knows? It didn't seem like she really knew him, or even really liked him, if she did know him. What is he going to get out of this, other than wounds or death?

Kamar smirked at the last thought. He had a plan, for sure, and hopefully that plan would come walking through the door to The Willow Root Tavern at any time.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Fri May 12, 2006 9:49 am

The walk to the tavern was brief. As it was his first breath of fresh air the morning chill refreshed his senses and brought him back to life. The Willow Root was like its name, a thick trunk of a building with its outside crumbling like barks. It was lively enough to maintain, but not enough to repair beyond cleaning the insides. He eyed its door disdainfully. A man walked out just as he approached, and Orion flung the door out of his way as he entered.

The inside made him think better of the tavern. It was quiet and well ventilated in the mornings, as the bar filled a dual role as a restaurant during the day. But it was still too early to draw in the lunch-crowd and Orion could easily spot the assassin's table. The man was alone and his table without food. His hood was drawn and it almost seemed to Orion as if light avoided him, painting him with a faded, colorless grey. Orion had a hard time focusing on the man for too long.

There was only two other groups at the tavern and they kept their silence. Orion ignored them--instead he wanted to go see if there really was a man under that colorless blob sitting in the tavern. But he kept himself by the doorway, waiting for Camulous to approach and deal with the assassin. This was the captain's bid and he would let the captain handle it as he liked, though he would keep a close eye on the assassin.

Camulous Smithson · Post by **Camulous Smithson** » Sat May 13, 2006 9:07 pm

Camulous entered the tavern following Orion. Familiar enough with the place as it was, he was quick to spot the same man - sitting alone at a table, looking almost decadent with his dark clothes and hunters' air. Just the sort of man Camulous didn't usually deal with. In fact, on a routine patrol he would probably have searched the man and interrogated him about who he was and whether he was fully briefed on the laws of Marn. Today was not a regular day.

The captain looked at Orion, exchanging a wordless glance and confirming that he too believed the man was who they were looking for. There didn't appear to be anyone else in the tavern who it could be. If this was a trick, he swore to himself that he'd rip the man's arms off and beat him to death with them.

He approached the table, and while the armor was especially light and well fashioned, there was no missing the occasional grind of metal on metal that sounded as he moved. He stopped in front of Kamar, got right in the way of wherever the man was looking, and spoke in an unfriendly voice.

"Waiting for someone?"

Kamar Deythal · Post by **Kamar Deythal** » Mon May 15, 2006 7:35 am

Kamar looked up as the two guardsmen entered. A broad grin grew over his features. He seemed genuinely delighted to see the fellows. In response to Cam's question, Kamar's grin widened.

"Aaah, Camulous Smithson! I do not believe a tone of voice such as that should be used when I have done not a thing to warrant it. Neither to you, nor the moody and generally hungover Master Orion Black."

Kamar offered a short, mocking bow from his seat towards Orion, his grin remaining wide. He then waved towards the two chairs around the table he was sitting at.

"Please, join me. I hope my cowardly associate was able to convey some of the problems that assail me, and perhaps a little about who I am, yes?"

Kamar leaned forward, placing his right elbow on the table and his chin in that hand. His left hand idly turned the wine glass on the table.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Mon May 15, 2006 9:25 pm

Orion kept his silence, though he was impressed by the assassin's foreknowledge. He carefully but swiftly sat down on one of the two chairs facing the assasin across the table, one arm under the table within easy reach of his knife and the other casually resting on his leg. This man was surely testing the waters just as he was. Orion gazed at his face--such a lively contrast to the dead dull sheen of his cloak. The smile was a carefully crafted mask, full of scheming confidence.

The first conclusion Orion came to from all this was that if the assassin chose to stick around, they would come into conflict. But he was being defensive from having been surprised once, and he tried to think with a clear head. He was going to gauge this man while the details of this encounters were taken care of by Captain Camulous. The assassin seemed to be resourceful, but perhaps it was just a fluke.

From the outside he seemed to be of idle state, simply waiting for the captain to finish with the assassin, while he watched the assassin aptly.

Camulous Smithson · Post by **Camulous Smithson** » Mon May 15, 2006 10:11 pm

Camulous wasn't amused. When he was off duty, he wasn't much for chitchat or idle conversation. When he was on duty, he fiercely hated being played with. The captain was doing the man a favor by setting time aside from his work and allowing himself to be led to a bar meeting by a complete stranger. The assassin was going to have to earn his trust before he was going to be even remotely polite, an extremely difficult task.

He was not a tactful man either. Despite having a use in mind for the assassin, he offered nothing in terms of pleasantries. He didn't even sit down.

"No. He didn't. So you'd better stop wasting my time and start talking."

He looked as though he was tense enough to punch the man right out of his chair. His size and build, only enhanced by the armour, made it look such a move would hurt plenty.

Kamar Deythal · Post by **Kamar Deythal** » Tue May 16, 2006 5:49 am

Kamar 's grin slipped to a smirk as he looked up at Camulous still towering over him. He seemed perfectly relaxed, though that was far from the truth. He was poised to move in an instant, should he need to.

For now, however, he was content to again lean back in his chair, his left hand still holding the glass of wine on the table top. Draping his right arm over the back of the chair, he continued to smirk up at Cam.

"Well well, Captain. Another fellow who has no use for the frivolous niceties of todays political workings. Good for you! Although I must say I am surprised that, being in even a such a minor position of power as yourself, you haven't learned the basics yet."

Kamar waved away any comments with his right hand, shaking his head as if it didn't matter. "No no, nevermind. As you said, we are here to discuss business, and I am rambling on like a 3 year old with an itch. Since I already know both of your names, I suppose it's only fair that I tell you mine. I am Samuel Dennison, bounty hunter from afar. I have been tracking a particularly tough bounty, and since it has come into your territory, I thought I'd give you the courtesy of letting you know that I will be operating here for a time. And I thought that perhaps we could even... help each other. You know, one hand washing the other, you wash my back, I wash yours, that sort of thing."

"Since the state of Thar Shaddin has outlawed magic, I thought I'd also let you know that the bounty I seek is on the head of a practitioner of magic. This practitioner has joined forces with a beast-man, a creature made mostly of magic. I thought perhaps this would help entice you into doing me this favour, along with my giving you a cut of the bounty. Of course..." Kamar smirked up at Cam, then over to Orion. "... we could forego the payment, and perhaps I could do a favour for the Captain and Master Black."

Kamar looked from one to the other again, his mouth curled up in a crooked smile.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Wed May 17, 2006 1:44 am

Orion could certainly see the benefits of having the support of the City Guard for a bounty hunter like him, especially in Marn where with the full support of the City Guard the man could easily cut his bounty down in the middle of the streets during the day with no trouble from the city authorities. But Orion did not like the way Samuel talked condescendingly of the Thar City Guards--but at the same time he did not expect a drifter to understand the extent of the power the City Guards wielded in the Thar Shaddin providence. Camulous was a captain held in high regard by among his peers... yet it was true that in a political manner the captain and the guards themselves held little value.

But that was the flaw of the so-claimed bounty hunter, to judge with a political eye; a tell-tale sign of an assassin for Orion. But he dwelled no longer on Samuel as the captain would make his own decisions. He turned his attention instead to the assassin's quarry. Small timers with magic violation, but if they had a bounty on their heads it was for a reason. The City Guard's lack of political leaning was a clear advantage in this case--they were fugitives and magic-users and Orion knew the Guards would have to deal with them whether Samuel was involved or not.

If I was in Camulous' position, Orion thought to himself, I would agree and keep a close eye on the assassin. Perhaps Samuel Dennison was a competent man, whose favors could mean much at the right times. But he wasn't the captain so he waited for Camulous to reply. Meanwhile he gazed at the front door and idly eyed a few figures lingering about outside.

Lanya Caliope · Post by **Lanya Caliope** » Wed May 17, 2006 2:47 am

Lanya stopped just outside the door and turned to her companion, quirking a brow in silent amusement. Flame, from her shoulder, chirruped.

"I couldn't work magic if my life depended on it. It's only that...magical objects seem drawn to me. As if I have...an aura of some sort."

She looked at the door again and sighed as all the pain and frustration from the last few months entered her mind once more. She hadn't wanted the damn things, hadn't wanted the magical companions and the enchanted objects. She still had no idea what the staff could do, besides serve as a perch for an enchanted wooden robin - which for all she knew was its purpose. And the guitar...

"It gets frustrating, you know. I'm terrified of picking up more strays anywhere I go. It's awful, knowing that something's so completely out of your control, that it can just slant away from human thought and..."

She shook herself once again, adjusting her assorted odds and ends. They hadn't walked long, but already she was tired, and she suspected it had more to do with her musing than her baggage.

"C'mon, let's get inside and live out this hunted lifestyle to the fullest. I'm itching to get a room and a good, hot bath. Finally."

She tapped Flame on its breast, and the little bird fluttered back to its perch and became still. She had taught the thing to understand when she needed it to be silent and still, and in a town where magic was outlawed, she assumed that a moving sentient wooden bird might put her above the radar.

Post by **Laz** » Wed May 17, 2006 9:00 am

Wolfhound turned to face Lanya, "I'm sorry for that, your little bird seems nice enough though"

He stepped through the door, and all the smells of a pub hit him in the face, alcohol, food, drunks, everything. Wolfhound looked around, then one smell became clearer than the others. The force of it almost knocked him off his feet. Now he knew the odd smell the wolves had talked about.

He looked towards the source, and saw him talking to two guards, "Kamar" was all that came out of his mouth, a low growl that only Lanya would have heard.

Camulous Smithson · Post by **Camulous Smithson** » Thu May 18, 2006 9:07 pm

Camulous fiercely narrowed his eyes at the comment about his 'minor position of power' within the City. The remark was both misguided and yet accurate at the same time. He had a position that his culture and even his religion held in high regard, fighting for a noble cause and doing so with honour and the support of over a hundred men. He could have the whole city in lockdown and have any man, this assassin included, brought to his knees with a word.

And yet he feared there was truth to it. The battlemages were more powerful than most people understood, and Camulous knew that a direct order from the judges could strip him of all his power and even his life. He didn't care for politics or business and had no influence in those spheres, yet somehow they carried a lot of weight - just another aspect of Marn he considered corrupt and dishonest, and which could do nothing about.

And there was also, of course, the vampire with whom he had never had any dialogue. The vampire ran things behind the scenes, was a god figure to the people and protected them all like a hawk, and yet him and Camulous had never even made eye contact. It was a suggestion that his position was somehow minor indeed.

He listened to the assassins words and suddenly his old apprehensions appeared once more. The mention of a bounty turned the captain off like nothing else could. Had the man used the word "criminal" or "fugitive" it would have come across entirely different, but a bounty was just any person who someone with money wanted dead. The supposed courtesy call the man was making to inform the guard of his presence was appreciated, but Camulous couldn't shake the dirty feeling of approving the murder of a stranger for no good reason.

Then, as the man spoke, a decent reason started to emerge. The bounty was a magic user. Such a thing pulled Camulous toward wanting to agree and played on his personal prejudices.

In the end he was torn. Whoever it was knew magic, but simply knowing magic was not a crime in Marn. It was the use of magic that was outlawed. Anyone who knew enough magic to be called a practitioner of the art by their would-be assassin was probably the kind of scum who practiced it and had their mind twisted by its evil effects, and yet just today the Captain had let a faerie go free with the understanding that she had no control over what she was.

He inhaled deeply and looked around the tavern to clear his mind. Someone else entered the tavern, but so deep was he in thought that he didn't even look at them.

"Alright." He started to say.

Post by **Laz** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:50 pm

Wolfhounds eyes were aglow with fury. He would not let that peice of scum assassin kill any more. The time for playing games ended now.

he roared in anger. Unknown to the patrons, as he had shouted his beastial cry, he had also called to the wolves. They came through the open door silently, on the prowl.

Their shackles raised, teeth bared. Their narrow eyes were ablaze with anger, due to the fact that currently they were sharing Wolfhounds emotions. The wolves could hardly contain their anger, on the balls of their feet, they were dying to lash out.

(OOC: Is This better?)

Kamar Deythal · Post by **Kamar Deythal** » Fri May 19, 2006 4:20 pm

Kamar's smirk widened as Camulous answered. He had already noticed Wolfhound and Lanya come in, and had made a seemingly obscure motion.

Three men at a table near the door nodded slightly in Kamar's direction, though Kamar made no move to acknowledge them back. In fact, his gaze never left Camulous. The men continued to talk amongst themselves in hushed tones, speaking of inane things, until Wolfhound's roar split the tavern air. The placement of the three men was such that if anyone was looking at Kamar, they wouldn't have noticed the men, situated as they were on the opposite side of the tavern from him.

Kamar himself raised a brow as Wolfhound howled his fury, and calmly pointed his finger towards the towering figure. He spoke in an even voice, his smirk still present.

"Well well, there's one of them now. You two may want to stop that ... creature, before harm befalls someone in here."

Kamar remained outwardly relaxed in his chair, though ready to react at a moment's notice. His right hand slipped into his own shadow, thrown by a lantern on the wall nearest his left. The hand remained there, loosely clasped, though there was nothing anyone could see in his hand.

Lanya Caliope · Post by **Lanya Caliope** » Fri May 26, 2006 3:52 pm

Lanya watched in what felt like slow motion as Wolfhound brayed a challenge to her pursuer, who of course was right there, no more than 20 feet away. She swallowed her own howl of rage - wouldn't it just figure they'd chosen the wrong tavern! Did bad luck follow her around like some sort of unwanted stench?

Well, even if Wolfhound was determined to call out the assassin, she had no intention or dying. And even more, she had no intention of being caught in a bar brawl - the last one she'd been in had destroyed her guitar, not to mention left her with a nasty scar on her palm. Now that she thought about it, the only difference between her current companion and the one in the brawl before was that this one had started the fight immediately. The last one had at least waited until she'd eaten first. But this one seemed to care more about her specifically.

She sighed for perhaps the hundredth time in two days, and stepped back, trying to make herself the least obvious target. She had no interest in being noticed, and less in participating in a fight of any manner. She appreciated Wolfhound's desire to defend and protect, but she preferred to just avoid the brawl completely. She muttered to Wolfhound, hoping his ears were strong enough to hear her over the general din of the tavern.

"Wolfhound, stop it. You're making yourself threatening, and this is a tavern full of drunk humans - they won't have any problems joining in a fight."

She eyed their foe and his companions. She didn't recognize the captain, but she knew he was a guard, which probably meant his friend was, too.

"Not to mention get us arrested - those are guards! Quiet down now and be civil!"

The sharp reprimand in her voice was very reminiscent of a mother scolding an impertinent child. Who knew if the situation could even be salvaged at this point.

Anonymous · Post by **Anonymous** » Thu Jun 01, 2006 9:04 pm

At the sudden shift in the situation Orion ducked behind his chair, sliding to the side so as to keep Kamar in his peripheral sights. In just a moment he had his gun ready and aimed at one of the wolves, braced against the chair. If the wolves charged he would fire--he knew his gun and at this range he'd have to try hard to miss. Nevertheless if it had missed he would kick out the chair and dive to the side. His attention was also divided toward the bounty hunter sitting nearly opposite the wolves--tactically it was a situation he wanted to prevent; caught between two opposing sides.

Orion kept his mind and body tensed, ready to react accordingly, planning for the worst. He awaited his captain to lead.