Ji's Dungeons: and some dragons for good measure

As all good adventures must, this one starts, in a tavern... The Needy Mercenary's Inn and Tavern, to be precise. Where fate has for whatever reason, conspired to bring our heroes together, at this very moment...



Inside the tavern, the icy cold can hardly be felt amid the slight bustle of patrons, and the drinks likely flowing through most of the patron's viens. Sitting across from the bartender, who himself is a stout dwarf (Grey), are two dragonborn, one clad in chainmail. (Green - Eo Red - Derp) Behind them sits a cleric, sitting by herself, (Purple - AlexRose) and the only other person in this wing of the bar is a lone Dragonborn. (Blue - Jac) The other wind contains what appears to be a heavily armored Tiefling, milling over it's drink (Orange - Legs), and two human men, one of which appears to have started a game of cards.

Tzarreth put down a gold coin and presented his tankard to the bartender. In return, he got another pint of strong ale - the last he'd be able to get for a while, if he couldn't find work soon. That had been his last coin just then. Well spent, no doubt, but still. The last one was the last one, and that meant looking for work. Fortunately, he happened to be in the best place in town for that. It was a well-known fact that anybody who was anybody looking for work of Tzarreth's persuasion looked for it in a tavern. Usually, these were people cryptically sitting alone in corners.

He got up from his stool and carried his drink over to the dragonborn sitting cryptically alone in the corner.

"So, looking for hires?" he asked him, obliging himself to a seat at the table.

Corthana slowly spun her own tankard of ale, watching the liquid swirl into a mini-whirlpool. She had given up watching the other people in the tavern, and now she just sat there, pondering what to do now. The tiefling wasn't fond of the idea of getting back up and leaving the tavern just yet, nor even her seat. Just another half hour... Maybe two drinks. And then she'd get up, maybe leave or talk to someone. There had to be something for a Paladin of Kord to do or fight around here. There always was.

Everything had been nice and dandy for the lone Vicneiros, at least until the other dragonborn approached him. He was leaning backwards in his chair, feet straight out under the table, and a half-drunk mug of ale in his right hand. He seemed pretty content really, his neutral expression gazing off towards nothing in particular, but the moment that stranger took an uninvited seat at his table, his face sunk into an unhappy scowl. His grip on the handle got slightly tighter as he listened to the intruder speak.

"Why have you intruded on my silence?" He mumbled quietly, despite having clearly heard what the other dragonborn had said. His voice certainly didn't hold anything but contempt at the moment.

In the west wing of the bar, disheartened by his loss, the (pink) patron stands up, throwing his cards on the table, and starts a bit of a scene, complaining that the game is fixed. To prove his point, he grabs the paladin by her armored shoulder, and asks quite simply "Would you mind playing a game of cards over here, sir. We need a third" He of course, made a foolish mistake and just figured he was dealing with a man. From the back, plater armor could be confusing.

Corthana didn't respond for a second, and when she did, it was with a temper. First, she calmly set her drink down, driving it into the wooden table, and then she rose. From this position, she grabbed the man's arm, twisting it behind his back so he was facing away from her. "I am not a sir." she whispered, and then shoved him off. "Remember that. Now then, let's see this card game, shall we?"

Ghontixoupol - or Ghon for short - sat on a stool beside another Dragonborn and ordered the cheapest pint of ale that money could buy. After saying "Thanks!" to the barkeep and giving an odd grin, he went to taking a sip and wincing slightly at the bitterness. For a while he sits there, just staring at the dark liquid, barely moving at all. Well, correction, the scaly hand he has on the bar moves enough for him to drum a few claws on it.

Despite his eyes being on the alcohol, his focus is to everything around him. A card game starts up and he wonders how long it'll take for someone to start a fight. The chainmail-clad Dragonborn beside him stands and leaves, heading to another Dragonborn who seemed to be scowling before and most certainly is now. Hard to tell though considering his angle!

Overall Ghon just listens in to whatever conversations are around for a while. Eventually he turns in the stool to look around the room at anybody he hadn't noticed before. That done, he looks back at the barkeep, his ale still mostly untouched. "So, why the oddly specific name for this place?" he asks, honestly curious. Never does he stop tapping on the wood in front of him though.

"You're looking for people to do dangerous stuff and go get artifacts and whatnot, right?" To Tzarreth, this was patently obvious. Why this guy was being standoffish about it was a mystery to him.
"I'm Tzarreth, nice to meet you." He extended a hand.

"I am not interested in any jobs right now, and I am certainly not offering any..." Replied the other dragonborn, stilling giving that glare towards this... Tzarreth, was it? He lifted his cup and took a sip from it before slowly lowering it, giving Tzarreth a slightly puzzled look now. "And why do you introduce yourself? I did not ask for your name." He leaned back in his chair, but his posture was still defensive almost. "I am Vicneiros..."

Tzarreth seemed genuinely confused by this new development. This Vicneiros person was in the traditional job-asking position, so why wasn't he...? He was kind of standoffish, too. But that was fine.

"Well, I thought that you were looking for people," he replied. "That seems to be the usual spot, in most cases. It's proven tactically superior for attracting job applicants, so I figured that's where someone in the know would go. My mistake, evidently. I suppose I'll leave you alone, then."

And with that, he turned away to leave.

Outside the sounds of the city winding down could be heard. Night would be coming in a few hours, and people whose jobs for the day had been completed, were starting to make their way into the tavern. Outside a man stood looking shifty, clearly waiting for something.

The man merely grinned as he rubbed his arm. "Good thing I was prepared for that, you can't tell me I'm lying when I say a tiefling would have done that to me anyway." Still, he walked over to the card game, and sat down, as the dealer passed cards only to the open seat for Corthana. "I've already bet five of my silver coins for you. Win this, and you'll make a whole gold. Fail, and I'll have my proof this game is rigged." He waited a moment, before shouting loudly "Anyone else want to give this a try while I'm at it! First game is free!"

"Look, I just sat here cause I didn't want others bothering me, but it seems I'll be getting more if what you say is true..." Vicneiros said, looking around at the others in the tavern. It was empty for now, but he knew more would come once night fell, and more possible adventures. It was better to waste time with a fellow dragonborn then some human or elf that he was sure would come up.

"Uh, wait, on second thought... You can have a seat if you want to. I don't have any job offerings still." He said rather hastily, trying his best to give a convincing smile and doing a mildly decent job at it. "We can talk about things, like stories and experiences... And I don't have to worry about more job-seekers..." That last bit was hardly even a mutter or grumble, almost more of a puff of air.

"How about over a game of cards?" Tzarreth suggested. "Looks like the human over there is starting one."

"A game of cards, eh?" Vicneiros leaned back in his chair, thinking this through. He wasn't to familiar with pastimes like card games, but, he could give it a shot. "Uh... Sure, I guess I'll play something. I warn you now, I don't have much experience with it." The large dragonborn shifted forward in his seat.

"Me neither. Between us, I'm broke, so if they're playing for money, I've got nothing to lose." With that, he walked over to the table and pulled up two chairs - one for himself, one for Viceneiros.
"Deal us in. What's the game?" he asked the dealer, largely ignoring the Tiefling for the moment.

Hopefully, if he could gamble his way into a GP or two, he could afford food for a while longer.

"Wow, a whole gold piece... Maybe I can buy a new sword after a few weeks." Corthana growled, more at the tiefling jab than anything. Of course, she was used to it... Didn't make her want to run this human through with her sword any less, naturally. The only thing keeping her from doing so was the fact that he was defenseless, and Kord probably wouldn't approve...

"You didn't say would be playing with others..." Vicneiros said bluntly, getting up from his table with a huff and following Tzarreth over to the table. This was going to be terrible, he didn't really want to gamble at all, and this made him wonder why he was even doing this now. He did his best to ignore the tiefling as he sat down with a loud 'thud' in his chair, arms crossed. "How do we play?"

The dealer now piped up "Oh just a simple game of cards, a game of blackjack (sue me.) if you wish to call it that. This kind man has agreed to pay for your first games." The dealer set about distributing cards to the three people already sitting at the table. "Now, unlike what this man insists, I'm sure you can win atleast one game." He had a smug look on his face, as he waited for the game of cards to pan out.

Tzarreth compared his hand and looked around the table. Not bad. He mentally fist-pumped.

"I do believe I've won," he said happily. That meant he could get breakfast, probably. He was going to milk this for all it was worth, if at all possible.

Vicneiros looked around at the other players, unsure of how he was doing, and had no idea that he'd pulled a good hand. He looked at his cards, and then at the dealer, and then back again. "Did I do good?" He played the cards down, looking about, still confused.

One of the dragonborn who had joined declared that he had won. Corthana checked her cards, nodding. "As have I." she said calmly, showing her hand of cards to the other players.

The dealer grumbled under his breathe, as he then loudly said "See, I told you I wasn't cheating." Passing out the one gold coin each to everyone who'd played. He was tempted to tell the barbarian that he haddn't, but the barbarian had better cards than the other dragonborn, and damn it, they might know each other. "Now then..." he said, leaning back in his chair. "If you'd like to play agian, place your bets..."

Tzarreth happily put down five silver coins. "Let's do this," he said, rubbing his hands together. "Nothing terribly adventurous early on, wouldn't you agree?"

Corthana was a little surprised at herself as she put forward five silver coins as well. "I believe I'll play another round, as long as none of you have issues with that." she said venomously, glaring at the dealer and his friend.

Ghontixoupol has a habit of drifting off into his own world. It usually happens when he stares at one thing for too long, as if he hypnotized himself. His thoughts - or rather lack thereof - are interrupted as he realizes the volume in this building has picked up some. Taking a look around, he spots a card game in progress. The mention of cheating piques his curiosity and he promptly leaves the bar. Mug in hand, he takes up a seat near - but not at - the table and leans in to watch and listen. "Don't mind me." he says to nobody in particular, his voice hinting at just how relaxed he is.