This city is getting stranger each day!
I have lived here now for more than two years, getting to know the city and the people. It is mostly a normal city, nothing too exciting for me, but if you don't take the rules too seriously there is always a way to make a decent living.
A couple of days ago I met a weak little gnome who was like most other gnomes: insignificant and not really worth another thought. What are gnomes really good for anyway?? This one was hysterical, almost crying, and constantly complaining about his "evil" sister. I would have probably ignored him completely, however, he was yapping on about his dead father and (more importantly) some potential inheritance. After figuring out that his father was actually quite wealthy and that there would be a decent fee I offered my help in obtaining this inheritance and protecting him from his sister (seriously, who needs protection from a gnome?).
There was already a little priest with the gnome (offering spiritual guidance I guess?!) and we picked up some other fellows on the way. There was another elf (claims to be a diplomat, but sure as hell doesn't act like one) and a weird young woman with a pony and an owl. I had the (very smart) idea of getting some more help (everyone deferred to me on that idea, since it was obviously the right choice) and I hired a ranger tohelp with some of the more menial things.
We went to the gnome's house where one of the wizards (old, grumpy, not particularly well dressed, basically exactly as all the other wizards) gave us some more information about what to do. Apparently there was some "quest" to be solved first (seriously, do gnomes not have better things to do than to come up with stuff like that??). But well, for the money I was promised I decided to just get on with it. We solved the riddles (not least because of my skill and knowledge) and I finally managed to obtain my promised payment. In a moment of altruism I also offered the ranger to manage his money (he's probably never seen this much money in his life and wouldn't know what to do with it anyway). He happily accepted my offer and I will take care of his money for now (without charging him too much for the service).
I also got to know the green lady's pony and owl a bit better and both of them like me very much (who doesn't?). Right after we got paid our money a group of smelly, annoying little children actually tried to rob us. They managed to get away with the ranger's and the elf's money (obviously I kept my money safe), however one of them was bitten by my loyal and trusted familiar and died (serves him right, that's what happens when you try and steal from me). Since I had nothing better to do (and was mighty annoyed that those stinking little children had the audacity to try and steal from me) I offered my help in reacquiring the stolen goods.
No idea how that happened, but we also picked up the Orc we paid off earlier along the way. Apparently the children stole his water skin and this upset him greatly. I have no idea why and also don't know what he would do with the children once we find them. He would probably eat them, so I better have an eye on him, lest he eat any of the children before we find the stolen stuff.
We finally tracked down the stolen stuff (not least due to my exceptional interrogation skills and my excellent instincts) and had to go into the sewers to get them back. After killing some rats on the way (man, that Orc is useless in a fight) we had to kill the stinking boys' leader. He was one stupid fellow, obviously overcome by megalomania, thinking he could fight all of us and actually win. He would have been better off just giving up, but after he actually managed to damage my leather armor (slightly) that was of course not an acceptable outcome anymore. I would have killed him right there and then (who does he think he is, attacking me like this), but the priest and his useless code of honor prevented me from doing it. We did get back our stolen stuff, though, and I picked up a nice crossbow for myself along the way.
During the following days I had my armor repaired and upgraded to a Masterwork Armor and also had a nice little holiday in one of the local temples, fully recovering from the previous days.
We also met the green lady again, who has now picked up another animal, which seems to be a cheetah (where the hell did she find something likes this around here). Anyway, I gave the little cat some meat, and just like the owl and the pony I feel that we have quickly become good friends. I hope the green lady doesn't get too jealous, but apparently my great people skills are just as effective with animals. The lady seems to be changing hair colors somewhat randomly anyway, so she must be a bit self-conscious about her looks. Maybe it's time someone told her to just choose a style and stick with it - I am sure her ever changing apperance also confuses her animals.
There seems to have been a big increase in craws in our fine little city in the last couple of days and people claim they are getting sick. The ranger is also babbling on about "bad omen" and the green woman thinks something is wrong with nature (a lot of agitation about nothing if you ask me, but whatever). Apparently they all want to go into the forest to do some more exploring. The green woman even claims that the birds are not speaking the right language (what a bucket of horseshit - she just sounds crazy). Anyway, it'll be interesting to see what'll happen next. For now I'll take care of myself (I've earned it after the last couple of days) and make sure my money is well invested and protected.
