Coded Secrets

[Patrick]

Coded Secrets

Vhalar 24 716, 16th Bell

Location: The Bronze Boar

Patrick had taken to work in back today as the kitchen served a more private place to be anyways, rather than the bar upfront where everybody could plainly see him. He wanted to try and make some sort of sense out of the black book that Wendell had given to him the other day, but so far nothing really stood out no matter how much he read the foreign language. Even his attempts at reading between lines, changing letters around, and quietly sounding out what he read didn't help anything. He'd repeatedly looked down at the book which lay open several pages in, the context nothing but an unsolvable puzzle as he mulled over it slowly.

"saun 20 716

kàth në nasis ädà knights nëa'eth tê äz êänä vos, ëiv nëa'eth taken ilth ína'vas äz cahasïl vos thäríldï êhêmïskä. nev'niva'skith seems äz austhet ezou eav êm kàth në nasis, yev tänthêr ÿh aum en äz eyrith a'v ëiv emynitharis caution. ëiv êzouth ëïrthêu smas äz aret discovered zahaell, kàth në vür's drav vu gaïen äz ithna enth detection käïsï ädà knights."

Of the the few words that seemed to be written in common, there existed endless possibilities on what the meaning really was. Knights were pretty obvious as it was an Aukari that had been in possession of the book, caution likely hinted that he had to be discreet. Again that made sense because he was an Aukari and wouldn't want to draw attention to himself, yet that's precisely what he did when he'd gone to the Hound that night... It didn't make any sense though because of what this 'discovered' context hinted at. Just what did he discover? Or was he the discovered? Patrick sighed as he continued to wash the dishes in the basin, the hot water practically boiled his hands red as he'd grown accustomed to it by now.

"Hey Patrick," Daveth's voice called in through the doorway, "You mind gettin' some food ready? We've got a couple o' boot shiners who just passed out, probably in need o' some refreshments as well."

"Boot shiners? They even drunk?" Patrick hollered as he left the rag in the basin, a different washcloth used to dry his hands.

"Doubt it! Just get them somethin' and I'll see if I can't help them up." The Ithecal instructed as he returned to the bar to help whoever had fallen, Patrick once more sighed as he flipped the side of the book over shut. He'd grabbed a couple of bowls along along with mugs for drinks, prepped a platter of stew and bread for whoever exactly had shown up. People passing out happened all the time if they were drunk, but somebody who'd come in and passed out without a single drink was a bit unusual. With the food and mugs of ale prepped Patrick finally headed on through the doorway and out of the kitchen, his gaze sent to Daveth as the Ithecal pointed to the table where they were sitting at now.

"Oy," Patrick called out as he approached the two men, "Heard ya need a bit o' refreshments. Try and help yer selves to this then." He rested the platter on the table for them to reach, arms crossed as he watched to see if they were getting along well. Who faints in a tavern anyways?!

[Brondolf Hallvard]

Brondolf slowly groaned as he woke up. "Where am I? What happened? Is Deorwulf alright? I could use a drink. Bloody hell that was rough."

He looked around nervously as he tried to find Deorwulf, his beloved. He found Deorwulf sitting next to him, his hand pressed against Brondolf's tightly. He sat up quickly and helped Deorwulf up soon after. "Thank you, sir. You saved our lives. If there is ever anything you need help with, please let us know. Is there any property for sale in this city by any chance?"

[Patrick]

Patrick sat the platter down on the table in front of the two and then crossed his arms, his eyebrows lowered with eyes sharp on the two newcomers. He had certainly never seen either of them here before, so he could only surmise that they came from elsewhere in Idalos not to long ago. "Well considerin' ya got drinks wit' ya meal here, wouldn't hurt t' sip some of that ya know." He pointed to the mugs next to their bowls of stew, a small chuckle echoed in his chest as he listened to one of the two speak.

Saved their lives? What in bloody Rharne were they talking about? If they were in desperate need of food then they just needed to say so, no need to go beyond the extra mile and praise someone for merely carrying a meal tray for them. "Property eh? Lookin' fer a place t' settle down then." He assumed as he took note the affection one man gave to the other, they had to likely be lovers of some sort as far as his observations could tell anyways. "Well simply put you'll have t' look around and see, since there's a few different quarters you can settle for if ya want. The Dust Quarter is the first area you had to go through t' come inside Rharne, its a lil' run down and lackin' common courtesy there but cheap. Here in the Earth Quarter you'll find more comfortable options, though they're not as easy t' keep up with if ya ain't gotta job."

Patrick then pointed over his shoulder with a thumb, a gesture that more or less directed the conversation to the other area they could look into. "Then of course there's the Glass Quarter which is the expensive area, got the vivid taste and all but too rich fer my skin." He jested with his arms once more folded as he glanced between the two. "You both outta towner's or somethin'? Come here from a long ways off?" He more or less asked the obvious to further carry the conversation, curious to hear what story they might have to offer in return.

[Pegasus]

Patrick

Points!:

Story: 3/5 (less than 1000 words)
Collaboration: 3/ 5 (2 posts)
Structure: 0/5 - as per the peer review guide, no attempt made to wrap up the story.

Knowledge:

Detection: Noticing small details in writing.
Investigation: Putting together small details to try and decipher clues.
Investigation: Sometimes, you have to take a punt on the most likely.
Rhetoric: Explaining locations

Loot:

NA

Fame:

+2 (giving a gift), +1 (general good deed)

Magic:

These points may NOT be used for arcana

Overview:

Brondolf - before your review can be completed, your CS needs to be updated. I've sent you a pm explaining. As an when you update your CS, please put this thread up for review again, stating that it's only your part which needs reviewing.

General comments.
Story The story was incomplete and, therefore, it was jarring that it ended so suddenly. What you had written, Patrick, was very clear and lucid. and I do really enjoy reading about Patrick ~ he was very much himself and, even in this short thread, you played him really well.
Structure There were no problems with your structure at all.


Please do PM me if you've got any questions