[Now back to Fenrir, Veddic and Raz, who were returning to Westgate after slaying Hrarnok Sharkchum, and were about to make a new fried.]
DAY 492 (7th Flamerule)(July)
This part of the story of the Return of the King to Westgate begins with a young man called Reinward. He was from Waterdeep, but had recently left for reasons that are fairly murky.
He arrived on a fine Flamerule morning. It was warm, sunny and pleasant, and young Reinward did not have a care in the world until he chanced to look down at his hands and noticed that on each of his wrists were five narrow red bands, rather like tattoos. He had no idea how they had got there.
Reinward wanted to find out what this could mean, and was drawn towards a nearby tavern to see if he could ask for the name of a scholar or bard. He entered the 'Clumsy Haddock' which the attentive reader may remember was where Fenrir found Whitey 'the Kid' prior to murdering him.
Some of Whitey's friends were there, youngsters between 14 and 16, dressed in black and junior members of the Night Masks. These were namely - Pat McGroin, Abbey the Book, Catsnack and their leader, Derna.
Initially though, Reinward asked at the bar, but all the talk was about the Whitey's recent death and the man that was rumoured to have slain him - Barry Shitknees. And so Reinward, out of curiosity, went to talk to Derna and company.
Soon they were his new best friends. Reinward knew very well that they were tricksters, intent on relieving him of all his gold and valuables, he had met enough of these types in the taverns of Waterdeep to know them when he saw them. He was happy to throw darts, gamble and chat for now, giving the name of 'Jim Bob' when asked.
Later on though, Reinward found himself backed into the corner of a booth and started to feel a bit claustrophobic. Derna would not let him get out, so Reinward tossed a gold in the air and squeezed out while the others scrambled to lay hands on it.
He then went to the piano, but since he could not play it he started to sing a Waterdeep sea shanty at the top of his voice. Since he was not terrible and it was not a song familiar to Westgate some of the tavern patrons turned to listen.
This did not stop Derna and his cronies though. who started to move towards the piano area. Reinward, getting somewhat panicked, leapt onto a nearby table, then jumped to another, then another, trying to make for the door. Tavern customers leapt up and shouted, and some threw mugs and bottles.
He made it outside though, and into the street, rather than running for it, he decided to relieve his bladder instead. It was in this condition that Catsnack appeared and attacked him. Derna was not far behind.
Young, and inexperienced, it was just as well for Reinward that the city watch was not far away. He was collared and taken to see Relleme Filchbatter, the young lady gnome of the Day
Air Watch who was stood in the square grooming Honey, her Celestial Bee mount. She cast Detect Magic on Reinward (she had learned good habits from her old boss Fenrir!) and was alarmed enough at what she saw that the young man was taken away and dumped in a cell in the Dockward Watch House.
Here he wasn't treated badly though, indeed he was given tea and biscuits. Later, the dwarf known as Rocky - the current leader of the magic users of the Westgate Watch came to see him.
'What's so special about you?' asked the dwarf gruffly.
Reinward shrugged.
'Roll up your sleeves, lad,' said the dwarf, then, 'what's this?'
Reinward looked at the marks on his wrists and said the he didn't know.
Later still, in the afternoon he was taken to see the leader of the Westgate Watch. 'Watch out,' warned the guard that ushered him in. 'Don't cross the boss, he is a total nutter and deadly dangerous!'
And it was here, of course, that Reinward met Fenrir Thunderstaff, who was currently going by the name of Raziel Lightningrod, the leader of the Watch and Supreme Justice of Westgate.
Fenrir could feel a powerful Abjuration aura coming from Reinward's markings. He summoned Veddic who thought that the marks might have something to do with Illmater, the Broken God, whose symbol was wrists bound with red cord.
Reinward told them that he had no involvement with the god, and Fenrir didn't doubt him, but they went down to the House of Illmater anyway to talk to the head priest.
This was a man called Yatte the Godly and he was greatly interested in the lines on Reinward's wrists. He described them as stigmata, holy markings of Illmater.
He took Reinward off by himself and introduced him to a young woman who also had the markings. She was mute though, and since no one knew her name, they had taken to calling her 'Jane'.
Reinward tried to talk to her and she whispered in his ear;
''
As e’er beneath a waning moon was haunted,
By woman wailing for her demon-lover.
''
Reinward was confused, but he wrote it down, just in case. Fenrir decided to keep an eye on Reinward for the moment, so after lunch he took the young lad back to his town house.
Here Reinward met Gelly for the first time, but after some initial badinage she told him to 'fuck off'. She appeared to not trust him, perhaps sensing that he, like her, was a rogue. 'No one robs this place except me, capeesh?' she warned him.
Later in the afternoon Reinward was introduced to another of Fenrir's 'friends'. He had never met a teifling before, despite his background, so was somewhat alarmed by Random's large ram's horns that curled over and around his head.
Random was friendly though and examined the young man's wrists. 'Most interesting,' he said. 'I must talk to our benefactor at once! I shall come back tomorrow with news.'
No comments:
Post a Comment