Monday, March 26, 2018

"Not So Scary" - A Tale of Heroes - Scene 17: Thissraelle

Thissraelle stepped out of the inn, onto the street, and blinked up at the dull, gray, afternoon skies. The raining had stopped! She was happy about that. At first, it was thrilling to fly over the darkened city in the middle of the night with the rain in her face. Then, she felt the chill of the wet night air, and her will subsided and she had to land and look for shelter.

She had managed to get past the protection of the CenterTown walls, and had begun to walk through the silent shadowed streets. Before long, she found the glow of the oculus lamps on the main street of the RiverFront Quarter. It was still quiet, except for the rain, but there were lanterns shining through the windows of pubs and inns.

Her escape and wandering had taken much of the night, so once she settled into an inn, and a dry, warm bedroll, she slept long, way past the dawn.

This doesn’t look so scary in the daylight! Yes, she had to admit to herself, in addition to being excited to being free in a new world, she also felt some fear. All up and down the street there was activity. Vendors pushing carts across the puddled cobblestones, women haggling over the price of a pig, and a man trying to coax a load, probably bags of grain, on to the back of an uncooperative donkey.

“You got copper?” The tiny voice jerked her gaze down. In front of her, there, no more than half her height, was a small human child, in ragged clothes. The child’s long scraggly hair and unwashed face gave no clues as to whether it was a boy or a girl.

“I - I’m sorry?” Thissraelle stammered, off-guard.

The child held its open hand up higher. “You got copper?”

“Oh!” Thissraelle suddenly understood. “Yes! You poor waif!” She dug into her purse and pulled out two copper wedges, cut from a larger coin. She dropped them into the child’s hand, who scurried away.

She stood, watching as it vanished into the crowd and buildings. She had never seen anyone so poor before. I hope there’s a family for him. Her? She stepped along the street, moving between vendors and residents, not really noticing the way they were looking at her.

She stopped abruptly when another child stepped in front of her. This one was a bit taller, a bit older, and her tattered clothing resembled a dress. She held out her hand and said, “Hey, you got copper!”

Thissraelle stepped back. She wasn’t sure if that was a request or a statement. Maybe even a command. She reached into her purse as another child, a bit younger, rushed up and just started saying, “Copper, copper!” A third was following a short ways behind.

Thissraelle turned, and began to move more quickly in the other direction. The children followed, with their hands out. She grabbed some coins and wedges from her purse and tossed them to the side. As the kids scrambled to the ground to pick them up, she darted away, turning as quickly as she could.

The people on the street watched her go, then returned to their own efforts. Nobody noticed the one man who followed her.


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This continues the story of the heroes in Wynne, in Twynne Rivers, in the world of The Hero's Tale, Family Friendly RPGs. Here's more info on The Hero's Tale, and family friendly RPGing.


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