The Blue Water Inn

Yesterday passed fairly uneventfully for me… I spent the day in the tavern, paying attention to all the conversations going on and trying to gather a decent amount of information while the others went off to do whatever they felt like during the day. Also, not going to lie… I wanted to make some extra gold… it’s not everyday that I find myself in a lucrative situation like this, so I wanted to make the most of it.
 
Overall, I was able to find some information, but nothing spectacular… just general unease among the people about the rulership and politics of Vallaki. What was far better though, was the twenty-five gold that I made during the day.
 
The musicians were tolerable that evening, after the others got back… but they were nothing to tell your friends about. I was feeling the urge to perform and show their warbling noise up with some real music, so I made my way over to the stage area and jumped in.
 
As per usual, most of the patrons glanced over occasionally while I played, but there ended up being a rather small crowd. There was a pair of guys, hunters or something by the looks of them, who kept on watching me and looking at each other as though they were waiting for me to make a mistake. I don’t make mistakes when I perform… so I was getting pretty irritated. It wouldn’t have been so bad, I guess… but they were sitting in the front row of seats and making their trepidation about my performance painfully obvious. I’d like to see them do better…
 
Anyways… I ended the song and headed for the bar where Errki was standing to grab myself a drink. As I brushed by the hunters, one of them reached out and caught my hand. What the fuck? They should know better than to just go around grabbing bards in taverns. I turned on him, ready to knock his teeth in, when he said that he just wanted to talk to me. The way he said it, with an unusual amount of trepidation in his eyes, made me pause for a moment… what were they on about? Maybe I should listen to whatever he wanted to say, as it seemed important enough that he was nervous to talk about it…
 
When I paused, he introduced himself as Szoldazar Szoldarovich and his companion as Yegvene Krushkin. He said that they were the greatest hunters in the valley. As soon as he said that, I scoffed. “Yeah, like I haven’t heard that one before…” I told him as I made to walk away.
He laughed and said that I must have already met Kiril Stoyanovich… I didn’t deign to give him a proper response, as that is still kind of a sore spot for my pride, especially around Trevor… it made me really glad that he wasn’t in the room at the moment, because he would have had something snarky to say.
 
Szoldazar said that unlike Kiril, they were competent… seriously… what is up with fucking hunters and hating on Kiril… I mean, yes… he turned out to be a total disappointment, but really? This was getting a bit ridiculous.
Szoldazar claimed that they were the hunters who provided all of the wolf heads for the festival. I shrugged and dismissed him flippantly… it doesn’t take a badass to kill a couple packs of wolves over the course of weeks…
 
“Look…” he said apologetically. “Your friend paid us 15 gold to talk to you… he said you are going through a dry spell and he owes you his life, so he wanted one of us to try and have sex with you.”
 
What in the fucking pits of all hells? I’m going to kill Errki… It does explain why they were watching me perform with such trepidation… they probably thought that I was a man in disguise or something like that… what the fuck?
I told them in no uncertain terms that I am not a whore and if I want to sleep with someone, I can get any man I want.
 
The shame of it was too, that I was really itching for some company… and had been looking forward to letting go a little bit while I was in Vallaki. It had been a long time since I’d last had someone to sleep with, and I, frankly, had been planning on picking someone up that night… but Errki paid them to have sex with me. What the fuck? I mean, what really sucked is neither of them are bad looking… Szoldazar is actually quite attractive, and if it hadn’t been for the gold exchange, I would have totally taken him up on his offer for the night… what the fuck?
 
Szoldazar claimed that they were the hunters who provided all of the wolf heads for the festival. I shrugged and dismissed him flippantly… it doesn’t take a badass to kill a couple packs of wolves over the course of weeks… and I turned and walked away. I must have goaded his professional pride or something, because he pointed at the stuffed wendigo head on the wall. “I killed that.” He claimed.
 
“Okay.” I replied, turning back to face the pair. “So you killed the wendigo… I’ve killed one too. What’s the big deal?”
He gave me a look that was frankly insulting, before asking if I’d actually killed one, his tone telling me more than any words that he didn’t believe a word I was saying.
“Well, me and my friends did, yes.” I told him.
 
“So there was what… five of you?” he asked. Gods, this man was annoying. Attractive, but annoying. Or maybe, I was just frustrated.
I nodded.
“I killed that” he pointed again, “all by myself.”
 
“Okay.” I decided to humor him. “How?”
“I cut its fucking throat.” He replied proudly.
I nodded. “Okay. What does wendigo blood do when it touches something.”
By way of a response, he pulled out a knife that was all pitted and eaten away as if by acid. “This.” He said.
 
I admit it. I was impressed. I tried to brush it off, but that’s impressive. “So, you’re good with a weapon. Good for you.”
 
“That’s not the only weapon I’m good with, if you want me to show you…” he said with a wink and a grin.
 
Fuck it, I thought… what was the harm after all? I told him to prove it.
 
Szoldazar bought a room for the night, and we went upstairs. To say that it was good, would honestly be an understatement… I am very pleased with my decision… and I slept more soundly and thoroughly than I have in quite some time…
 
This morning though, when I came downstairs, the guys were pretty pissed. Trevor fucked off and didn’t even say good morning, and Brynden moped around all day like a puppy… I know Brynden has a puppy crush on me, and he occasionally flirts, but I get the feeling that flirting is his general way of interacting with women… and Trevor? What the fuck does he have to be pissed about? He can barely stand my presence, always rolling his eyes or making some snide comment whenever I say anything. The only time Trevor has taken me seriously was the few brief conversations we had when I saved his life...
 
But I can’t worry about that right now. If they have a problem with me, they should be man enough to speak to me about it… I wonder about this Faerun land that they come from though… is it perhaps that the women there are afraid of or constrained from fulfilling their own desires?
 
I’ve spent most of the day in the tavern again… I figure I’ll be able to find out the best information this way… not to mention, raise some more coin.
 
The sheriff came in, Izek Strazni, apparently, he wanted to meet me, along with all of the other newcomers to Vallaki. Something about his face is eerily familiar… I feel as if I know him from somewhere, but I do not recognize him. His eyes flickered with a bit of shock when he saw me, but he quickly covered it up… if I wasn’t so used to reading people, I would have missed the slip entirely. He is a large, bald man, and wears a cape thrown over one shoulder. He was dressed in the livery of the city, it’s obvious that he holds great power and influence here – and I got the distinct impression that it would be best to remain on his good side…
 
Izek was unfailingly polite in his introduction, although he made it clear that he already knows my name and those of my companions… a subtle threat? I’m not sure. But, when he turned to leave, I asked if I know him from somewhere. He denied this, saying that I do not… it is odd though, because I feel as though I do… I just cannot place the memory…
 
The others are here now, though… Oswald looks upset. I’m going to go try to talk to him… the last thing we need is for him to be arrested for malicious unhappiness, or whatever bullshit the city guard calls it…