Monday, August 25, 2008

Jonathon’s 12 Days of Down Time

We are preparing to leave the guild for another adventure tomorrow. The past twelve days of down time have been nice.

As soon as we returned from our mission for Aubrek, I invited Kathra out to dinner for some fine Dwarven cuisine. We spent a few hours reminiscing about the way things used to be. She told me stories of my father’s adventures and when the conversation turned to the tales of the mother’s kindness I was blessed with the warmth of Boldrei. I kept reminding myself that when my work is done in this world I would be reunited with them in the afterlife. May the host be with them.

If I leave this life prematurely, it will be an honorably death. One worthy of tales while seeking revenge against the Dark Six. Dol Dorn will not let me down. I will avenge their death and make my parents proud.

I told Kathra about our latest adventure and spoke fondly of my friends. Well, nearly all of them. She pointed out that I spoke of Ethan differently during my stories. Putting me on the spot, she asked why I spoke his name with such distain. I had not realized I was doing it until she pointed it out. I had nothing to say to her because she was right. I’ve been adventuring with him for months now. We have both saved each others life numerous times. I would lay down my life for Ethan yet I subconsciously speak his name in a negative tone. I’m sure it’s because he represents the exact opposite of my ideals, especially in combat. Yet he is a loyal friend and I’ve never felt threatened he would betray me. Why can’t I get over my prejudice towards him? Whatever my personal feelings right now, I must still include Ethan in my prayers to the host. I’ll sort it out eventually. For now, I just hope my opinions do not cause any problems because we are beginning to work better as a unit.

The following day I told Ragnolin that I wanted to keep my job as the guild’s priest and promised I would find someone to take over my duties permanently. The adventurers in this guild need spiritual guidance and I can’t abandon that role. The other party members frowned upon keeping their jobs. I can understand but my job was different. I was not sweeping floors. Spiritual guidance and having a Soverign Host presence in the guild is vital. It has a purpose.

On my down time I went to the church and spread word that I was looking for someone to take over my role. I managed to find three candidates and with permission from Ragnolin invited them to the guild for interviews.

During one of my visits to the church I donated 10% of my gold. It was just under 20 gold so I rounded it up. It was my largest donation ever and I hope the church puts it to good use. I’ll have to ask where the money went a few months from now. During one of my visits, I ran into a young cleric adorning many symbols of Dol Dorn. He looked like a good candidate for a hand up, not a hand out. I introduced myself and we sat and prayed together. Afterwards, I gave him my second hand chain mail, 5 gold pieces to buy himself a nice weapon and a few words of encouragement. I think I made a new friend of him. His name was Eathal. Remarkably similar to Ethan, I noted. It felt nice to be successful enough this early in my adventuring career to give back a little.

Speaking of which, when I returned to the guild I tracked down the captain of the Dwarven crew that helps us on the last mission. I made arrangements to invite the crew out for drinks. During my younger days, I might have went crazy and spent 40 gold to treat them properly but I’m a priest now. I can’t be seen getting drunk and losing control. I must be responsible. So after a few hours I retired and took care of the bar tab to that point. 20 gold it cost me. The dwarves appreciated it and were impressed that I mastered their language so easily. One of them came to me the next day and expressed interest in learning more about the Sovereign Host so it was worth it.

On day twelve I made a decision on the 3 candidates to take over more role as the guilds priest. I introduced him to Ragnolin and he signed off. I’m happy that a presence for the Sovereign Host in the guild will continue during my absence. Raylin will do a great job I’m sure.

2 comments:

Suddry said...

Awesome! I love it! Seriously.

This is the kind of stuff I really like. A look at the other side and small things that add to the game without having to micromanage everything.

Well done. Enjoy the chainmail +2 mate. Well earned.

Wimwick said...

Another great story Rob! Keep it up.