The Wobbly Goblet Playground Options

[King Coin]

Hello, players! Welcome to the Wobbly Goblet. This is the main thread and you should start here.


~~~

Aravi stopped and listened. A regular patter could be heard on the leaves of the trees around her. She stopped and looked up. A fat drop of water landed on her nose. She blinked and felt more drops land on her forehead and cheeks. The rain was cool; an involuntary shiver went down her back and into her tail. I hope there’s an inn soon. She saw a flash through the canopy of the Great Forest over her head. A rumble echoed off the mountains to the west. The rush of leaves overhead indicated a wind was coming up. Or a lot of rain. She could smell it on the air. She moved to the side of the road, hoping for some protection under the trees from the approaching storm.

***

The rain started coming down in earnest, lightning cracked in the sky. Wind howled through the trees, the eerie sound brought a mild, but persistent and irrational fear to Aravi’s mind. She was nearly running, looking for any place to weather the storm. The slick mud would have been too difficult for anyone but a Khajiit to run in.

A faint glow faded into sight as she ran. She made for it, well aware that this isn’t the normal territory for a will-o-the-wisp. Several buildings materialized in the gloom ahead of her. The soft glow was from a lamp near the road, lit by a welkynd stone. The windows of the largest building, a two story structure, were warmly lit from within. Aravi ran for it. A sign swung on hinges in the wind. She could barely read The Wobbly Goblet painted in a yellow, flowing script. She reached for the door and pushed. It was unlocked.

She shoved the door shut behind her by simply leaning back into it. She rested like that a moment while she caught her breath.

“Welcome to the Wobbly Goblet, young Khajiit.”

Aravi looked up and had to keep looking up. A friendly looking Altmer wielding a mop looked down at her. He had his golden hair made up in the traditional Altmer style, making him appear even taller than he was. “Hello,” she responded breathlessly as she tried to control her breathing. She was in a warmly lit room with polished hardwood floors and whitewashed walls. Regularly spaced support timbers broke up the uniform white walls in a pleasing pattern. A few people sat upon stools at a bar in the back. The rest of the room was taken up by long tables and a massive fireplace. She looked at his mop, and then looked to the polished hardwood floor she stood upon. Little puddles formed from the water dripping off of her armor and tail. Bits of mud clung to her feet.

Reading her expression, he said, “Do not worry, I expect as much when the weather turns foul. I am quite prepared to deal with it. Are you going to spend the night with us? I fear this storm will persist for some time yet.”

Aravi thought for a moment. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but she knew there wasn’t much light, if any, left in the day. And by the time this storm blew itself out… “Yes I think I will. Are you the proprietor?” Aravi moved to the side as he started attacking the little puddles that formed around her.

“Excellent, I’ll have Lleris take your pack up to one of our rooms. And no, I am not the proprietor, I’m Hethilion. I keep everything neat and clean, and maintain the excellent library on the second floor.”

Aravi heard the pride in his voice when he spoke of the library. She knew a Breton that would get along well with him. “Who do I speak to about settling my room then?”

Hethilion pointed to an orc woman standing near the bar talking with the bar tender. “That’s Bograk gra-Mugshak. She’s the owner.”

“Thank you.” She turned towards the bar.

“Ah, miss? I didn’t quite catch your name.”

She smiled. “I’m Aravi.”

***

When she was done speaking with Bograk, Aravi got some hot tea and stood by the fire. Her armor and fur were still soaking wet, she would have to change soon if she wanted to dry off. She looked around at the nearly empty room. Another Altmer was sitting at a barstool, fiddling with a lute, and talking to an armor clad Legionnaire. Her helmet sat on the bar counter and had the distinctive plume of a rider. An Argonian took his meal at the other end of the counter.

She almost missed the Khajiit leaning against the wall. His black fur helped him disappear into the shadows. He was big, almost as big as Kharjo and just as strong. He had his large ears decorated with several sets of earrings.

Aravi turned her attention back to the fire and watched the flames dance. She enjoyed the quiet, only the snapping of the fire and an occasional murmur from the bar could be heard. She had a feeling that it wouldn’t last, as storm like this was sure to drive other people inside as well.

This post has been edited by King Coin: Aug 24 2013, 04:12 PM

[Darkness Eternal]

The wind rose to a howling thunder, and the scattered drops quickly became a downpour. The skies above the Great Forest wept a storm, forcing a young Imperial woman from her sleep. She wasn’t particularly afraid of the rain, and in fact, it rarely bothered her. But once she was awake, it would take ages for her to return to slumber.

Vera picked herself up from beside the log which she used as a pillow, and brushed the dirt away from her laced leather pants and stained, tattered and torn sackcloth shirt with her hands and packed up her belongings and left that dark corner of the Great Forest. She knew it was going to rain today, but she did not expect it would come so soon. The weather in Cyrodiil can be unpredictable at times.

Vera quickly grabbed her satchel and double-checked her personal belongings. Everything she needed was there; A curved hunting dagger with a wicked blade and small green vials containing her secret to bringing back live bounties. Toxins extracted from deadly plants and other ingredients to make a potent result: a type of sedative. One that allows the victim to remain conscious while numbing all feeling and sensation. It disrupts the primary muscle nerves, and yet it won’t shut down the vital organs such as the heart or lungs. Inside the bag was also a heavy sack full of coin, leftover from her last payment, and her official coin to be spent on simple needs such as food, drink, bed and baths.

Knowing that this is all she needed, she hauled the bag over her shoulders and walked through the dark gloom of the Great Forest in the middle of a storm. The forest floor gave way to slippery terrain as the water flooded her feet, drenching her rough-leathered shoes. Her blond hair, drenched to the fullest, clung to her neck and face as she marched through the wilderness towards the source of comfort.

She could smell horse droppings from afar, and it was mixed with the scent of cooking. Vera suspected she was close to a tavern or at least a camp. That was, until she reached a family of shrubs and bushes that gave her a clear sight of a two-story inn up ahead.

Vera was miles away from her lair, and she wasn’t willing to go hunting for her food now. Not in the rain. It would take twice as many hours. With the gold she so desperately wanted to spend, she had decided she would spend some of it at the inn.

The Great Forest was unlike Bravil, and the taverns hosted no vagabonds, thieves or criminals. While she may encounter one or two, she expected to find the basic adventurer or two or the local common folk. The very people Vera liked to be around in times like these for the sole purpose that there was no trouble to be found. She had an empty stomach, constant sleepless nights and a temper. To surround herself with perverted slobs and overfed criminals would be frustrate her. Especially in that time of the month.

Vera arrived at the placed called the Wobbling Goblet, and made haste to the front door. She twisted the knob and entered slowly, unlike the pace she took to get there. The warm air and the scent of food and other things immediately assaulted her nostrils. She breathed deeply and stepped in further.

“Come in! Come in!” a voice said.

She looked down to her feet and saw by the wet prints that there were others who sought to leave the rain for shelter.

Vera focused in on the Altmer man after she took in the scene of the inn and everyone and everything in it. The High Elf was tall, and his bright hair only made him stand out and appear even larger. From the mop in his hands she could already see that he was the one who was responsible for keeping the place clean.

The Imperial woman stomped her feet at the front of the door, kicking the mud and wet leaves off of her shoes right before she walked forward into the tavern. Beside her was a smaller room for the leisure of those seeking peace and quiet.

“How can I be of service?”

Vera blinked water away from her eyes and wiped droplets from her forehead. “I’m looking for food and a room to stay for the night.”

The Altmer smiled. “Well, you’ve found the right place.”

Vera did not answer him right away, and kept her gaze everywhere. She took the measure of the female Khajiit standing with her arms folded at her chest, soaking wet from the rain. And a second black Khajiit that had an aura of authority about him, but there was nothing there that would suggest a connection between her and him.

She turned and looked at the other patrons; an Argonian, an Altmer with a lute, a flour-covered Nord woman scurrying back and forth with plates and dishes in her hands and a big Orc woman with a club at her side.

Vera went straight for the bar after deciding it was too late to answer the High Elf. She carried herself with an air of sheer confidence, an unspoken challenge in the squaring her shoulders and the tilt of her head that dissuaded other individuals from desiring to strike a conversation with her, let alone approach her. Before a warm bath and a warm bed to sleep in, Vera wanted nothing more than to tame the gnawing hunger she had in the pit of her stomach.

She sat on the stool in front of the bar, and was greeted and asked about what she would desire to eat or drink. Vera took a look at the meals available and made her decision right away.

“I want two bottles of apple cider, with a side of roasted mutton with cheese and tomato salad.”