Tavern Brawl
"Well well well, what do we have here? A death mage!"
It was a hot day in Lut Gholien. I had stopped by to get a drink, talk with the locals - you know, experience some _culture_. I may be a loner, but I do enjoy a good talk with others.
I'd traveled from the West on a caravan. A friend - his name is Warriv - had brought me here. The travel had been awful, with swarms of Itchies and bugs. I'd been baking alive in my bone armor, so I'd stopped by the local tavern to grab some ale. I knew the tavernkeeper and his family - his name was Cralt. He had the lovliest wife, Atma, and she and her family actually _understood_ me. They were among the few people in the world I could call friends.
"Aren't you gonna answer me, mage?"
I had a good drink, and talked with a few people there. One of them - name was Geglash - seemed to be a barbarian from the Noth. I wasn't sure, though; most barbarians can't stand the hot weather of the eastern areas, and he knew so much that he had obviously lived here for some time.
I'd meet up with a man I had freed - Deckard Cain - and talked with him for a while. He said that a strange curse seemed to reside about the town; a "dark evil lurking just beyond the horizon" is how he put it.
Well, dark evil lurking just beyond the horizon I can handle. I mean, I took on and beat Andariel, didn't I? So I think I can beat some invisible darkness.
"I said, aren't you gonna answer me?"
Great. And now I got to deal with the local fools.
"Leave me be."
"Ahaha! He wants us to leave him be! Should we do that?"
Of course, the friends of this idiot just laughed and chuckled. Stupid cattle, they are led by someone who has a strong will.
"I don't think I'm gonna leave you alone, _Necromancer_."
He uses the name like it's some great insult.
"I'm not interested in trouble." I still haven't faced him. I'm just looking down at my glass and the ale in it. Why face him? He doesn't concern me.
"Well, that's too bad, cos you're gonna get trouble." Aw, great.
"I know your kind! You act like you're helping the Light, but behind it all, I know that you're evil! You prattle around, always in the dark, and kill and deal with the undead! Only those of the Dark would do so! That's what your kind does! Well, I'm here to _deal_ with your kind!"
That's it. He's pissed me off.
I stood up, my face pressed near his. I may be a Necromancer, but I'm not small. "What about your kind? The kind that interferes with those who seek nothing but the defeat of the Dark? I work, fight, and risk my life daily for people like you! And you do nothing but interfere! You threaten me and treat me with contempt! I should wipe out _your_ kind. I'd do the Light a favor! You always fear me and repay me good deeds with hatred! And damn you! I won't stand for it any longer!!!!" That bastard. If he does not immeadiately back off, I swear, I'll kill him.
That sonofabitch!! HE'S SMIRKING!
"You coward. You lie! You don't work for the good! You work for evil! And I won't let - OOF!"
"GET HIM!"
Okay, so maybe punching him in the stomach wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had. But dammit, he had it coming.
His friends are rushing me, drawing their weapons. I draw my dagger.
"WAITTAMINUTE!"
We both stop. Wow, that was a loud shout.
"I wun't lut you IDIOTS lay uh hand on this here Neko...Nacrow...death mage."
My God. It's Geglash! What's he doing?
"Back off, Geglash. This doesn't concern you!"
"It does to! While Cralt and Atma 'r out, they let _me_ run tha place. And I'm telling ya, you won't mess with this here....death mage."
"What? Why not?!"
"Because, I've seen his kind fight! They are always fightin' fer good! Sure, you may not like his math.....moth.....methods, but he's still a good guy!"
"Ha! Geglash, you've been drinking too much. Now step aside." The leader of the band of idiots is trying to push Geglash out of the way.
"You get your hands off me! I'm running this bar, and so help me, I'll throw you out!!!"
The fool keeps pushing, and starts talking in a calm, reasonable voice. "Geglash, understand, we have no quarell with -"
WHAM!
Wow. I didn't know drunks could hit that hard. The leader is down, and....wow, is that a broken jaw?
"Get them both!" yells one of the idiots.
They rush us. There are probably seven of them, not including Mr. Unconscious. I'm not concerned about Geglash - he's been in worse fights than this. But I'm concerned for myself. I don't dare use my magic, as most of the citizens harbor a strong distrust for my kind. If I were to make it aware to the general public that I was in town, there'd be riots.
So I guess I'll go with more convential tactics.
One guy runs up to me, carrying a cutlass. He trys to slash in a downward motion. I block, and use my free hand to punch him in the stomach. He grunts and stumbles back into a friend. Okay, so I'm not strong enough to knock them out (or break their jaws), but I can at least hold them off.
However, three more rush me. I flip over a table, cutting off two of them. But the third one has a small mace, and trys to smash my skull in.
I dodge to the side, and stab him in the thigh. He won't walk for months - the blade is poisoned.
He screams bloody murder. Crap. The authorities will be showing up soon, if they're not already on the way - people across town probably heard that.
Geglash has already taken out two more of the group, leaving us with only four.
Uh-oh. One of them has drawn a long sword. I can't stop him with just a knife, and Geglash is unarmed.
"Die, foul monster!" He's gonna kill me! Crap!
*SMASH*
The guy drops like a sack of potatoes. Maybe Geglash wasn't as unarmed as I thought. But come on, who'd've expected him to hurl a bottle of ale across the room?
"Stop! In the name of Lord Jerhyn, I command you to cease this brawling!"
Uh-oh. Seems as though the authorities have shown up.
A middle-aged man with a moustache, carrying a drawn sword, approaches. "What is going on here?"
"Greiz! I'm glad you showed up!" says Geglash. "These ruffians," he says, pointing to the remaining idiots, "attempted to start trouble with this man here."
"I see. And who is in charge here?"
"I am! Atma and Carlt put me in charge while they went out for the day! Hell, those guys started trouble even after I told 'em not to!"
"Thank you. So," he started, turning to the band of idiots, "you started trouble with a paying customer, even being told specifically by those in charge not to?"
"Well, he - look, that guy there, I mean to say - "
"Nevermind. You boys are all under arrest for disturbing the peace."
"What?! But, he - look at him, you know what he is? He's a - "
"SHUT UP. I don't CARE what he is. You are going to come with me or be beaten into sumbission, and THEN come with me."
They shut up.
"Sorry for the trouble, Geglash."
"Not at all, Greiz."
The eight boys were bound and taken else. Those that were unconscious were dragged by a few extra men.
"Thanks, Geglash, for your help."
"Hey, always glad to help a friend in need!" he said with a laugh.
I went back to my drink.
"Well well well, what do we have here? A death mage!"
It was a hot day in Lut Gholien. I had stopped by to get a drink, talk with the locals - you know, experience some _culture_. I may be a loner, but I do enjoy a good talk with others.
I'd traveled from the West on a caravan. A friend - his name is Warriv - had brought me here. The travel had been awful, with swarms of Itchies and bugs. I'd been baking alive in my bone armor, so I'd stopped by the local tavern to grab some ale. I knew the tavernkeeper and his family - his name was Cralt. He had the lovliest wife, Atma, and she and her family actually _understood_ me. They were among the few people in the world I could call friends.
"Aren't you gonna answer me, mage?"
I had a good drink, and talked with a few people there. One of them - name was Geglash - seemed to be a barbarian from the Noth. I wasn't sure, though; most barbarians can't stand the hot weather of the eastern areas, and he knew so much that he had obviously lived here for some time.
I'd meet up with a man I had freed - Deckard Cain - and talked with him for a while. He said that a strange curse seemed to reside about the town; a "dark evil lurking just beyond the horizon" is how he put it.
Well, dark evil lurking just beyond the horizon I can handle. I mean, I took on and beat Andariel, didn't I? So I think I can beat some invisible darkness.
"I said, aren't you gonna answer me?"
Great. And now I got to deal with the local fools.
"Leave me be."
"Ahaha! He wants us to leave him be! Should we do that?"
Of course, the friends of this idiot just laughed and chuckled. Stupid cattle, they are led by someone who has a strong will.
"I don't think I'm gonna leave you alone, _Necromancer_."
He uses the name like it's some great insult.
"I'm not interested in trouble." I still haven't faced him. I'm just looking down at my glass and the ale in it. Why face him? He doesn't concern me.
"Well, that's too bad, cos you're gonna get trouble." Aw, great.
"I know your kind! You act like you're helping the Light, but behind it all, I know that you're evil! You prattle around, always in the dark, and kill and deal with the undead! Only those of the Dark would do so! That's what your kind does! Well, I'm here to _deal_ with your kind!"
That's it. He's pissed me off.
I stood up, my face pressed near his. I may be a Necromancer, but I'm not small. "What about your kind? The kind that interferes with those who seek nothing but the defeat of the Dark? I work, fight, and risk my life daily for people like you! And you do nothing but interfere! You threaten me and treat me with contempt! I should wipe out _your_ kind. I'd do the Light a favor! You always fear me and repay me good deeds with hatred! And damn you! I won't stand for it any longer!!!!" That bastard. If he does not immeadiately back off, I swear, I'll kill him.
That sonofabitch!! HE'S SMIRKING!
"You coward. You lie! You don't work for the good! You work for evil! And I won't let - OOF!"
"GET HIM!"
Okay, so maybe punching him in the stomach wasn't the greatest idea I've ever had. But dammit, he had it coming.
His friends are rushing me, drawing their weapons. I draw my dagger.
"WAITTAMINUTE!"
We both stop. Wow, that was a loud shout.
"I wun't lut you IDIOTS lay uh hand on this here Neko...Nacrow...death mage."
My God. It's Geglash! What's he doing?
"Back off, Geglash. This doesn't concern you!"
"It does to! While Cralt and Atma 'r out, they let _me_ run tha place. And I'm telling ya, you won't mess with this here....death mage."
"What? Why not?!"
"Because, I've seen his kind fight! They are always fightin' fer good! Sure, you may not like his math.....moth.....methods, but he's still a good guy!"
"Ha! Geglash, you've been drinking too much. Now step aside." The leader of the band of idiots is trying to push Geglash out of the way.
"You get your hands off me! I'm running this bar, and so help me, I'll throw you out!!!"
The fool keeps pushing, and starts talking in a calm, reasonable voice. "Geglash, understand, we have no quarell with -"
WHAM!
Wow. I didn't know drunks could hit that hard. The leader is down, and....wow, is that a broken jaw?
"Get them both!" yells one of the idiots.
They rush us. There are probably seven of them, not including Mr. Unconscious. I'm not concerned about Geglash - he's been in worse fights than this. But I'm concerned for myself. I don't dare use my magic, as most of the citizens harbor a strong distrust for my kind. If I were to make it aware to the general public that I was in town, there'd be riots.
So I guess I'll go with more convential tactics.
One guy runs up to me, carrying a cutlass. He trys to slash in a downward motion. I block, and use my free hand to punch him in the stomach. He grunts and stumbles back into a friend. Okay, so I'm not strong enough to knock them out (or break their jaws), but I can at least hold them off.
However, three more rush me. I flip over a table, cutting off two of them. But the third one has a small mace, and trys to smash my skull in.
I dodge to the side, and stab him in the thigh. He won't walk for months - the blade is poisoned.
He screams bloody murder. Crap. The authorities will be showing up soon, if they're not already on the way - people across town probably heard that.
Geglash has already taken out two more of the group, leaving us with only four.
Uh-oh. One of them has drawn a long sword. I can't stop him with just a knife, and Geglash is unarmed.
"Die, foul monster!" He's gonna kill me! Crap!
*SMASH*
The guy drops like a sack of potatoes. Maybe Geglash wasn't as unarmed as I thought. But come on, who'd've expected him to hurl a bottle of ale across the room?
"Stop! In the name of Lord Jerhyn, I command you to cease this brawling!"
Uh-oh. Seems as though the authorities have shown up.
A middle-aged man with a moustache, carrying a drawn sword, approaches. "What is going on here?"
"Greiz! I'm glad you showed up!" says Geglash. "These ruffians," he says, pointing to the remaining idiots, "attempted to start trouble with this man here."
"I see. And who is in charge here?"
"I am! Atma and Carlt put me in charge while they went out for the day! Hell, those guys started trouble even after I told 'em not to!"
"Thank you. So," he started, turning to the band of idiots, "you started trouble with a paying customer, even being told specifically by those in charge not to?"
"Well, he - look, that guy there, I mean to say - "
"Nevermind. You boys are all under arrest for disturbing the peace."
"What?! But, he - look at him, you know what he is? He's a - "
"SHUT UP. I don't CARE what he is. You are going to come with me or be beaten into sumbission, and THEN come with me."
They shut up.
"Sorry for the trouble, Geglash."
"Not at all, Greiz."
The eight boys were bound and taken else. Those that were unconscious were dragged by a few extra men.
"Thanks, Geglash, for your help."
"Hey, always glad to help a friend in need!" he said with a laugh.
I went back to my drink.