Eternity RPC Board
09-13-2016, 11:45 PM
There was a pregnant pause in which the interior of the little shop fell discontentingly silent, leading Elke to fear that, worst case scenario achieved, she had offended them by offering too little cash and now they were trying to suppress their boiling rage long enough to remember how to construct something akin to proper human syntax. To tell her, of course, exactly how they planned on roasting her. Attempting quick calculations in her head to figure how far back paying double for a sewing kit would set her, she hoped that she would have enough to buy herself out of becoming an ingredient in tonight's stew.
But when the troll in charge of customer service spoke again, anger was one of the few things not present in his tone. The syllables he managed seemed largely uncertain, perhaps a little embarrassed, but certainly not angry.
"Yes?" Elke repeated, not all too convinced at first that she'd heard correctly, nor that Waldo rememered the fine nuances of strategically utilizing the unisyllabic "yes" and "no" to indicate an affirmative and a negative, respectively. With the unusual shape of the beast's cranium, it certainly gave her reason to believe trolls' brains must develop in a manner unique to humans. But not wanting to give him the chance to think it over and realize that he'd grunted the wrong grunt, the mageling quickly followed with an assertive, "Yes!"
In a blink, she'd taken the goods from the clerk's massive, grubby paw and had scooted the coins closer to the store side of the counter, effectively finalizing their agreement as far as she was concerned.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mister Waldo," she added, nerves easing though not quite entirely. "You've been all too helpful." Leaning around the hulking form of the more social troll, she looked to the one sat in the back working diligently away, and tacked on a, "And you, too. Forlag's - got it, thanks!"
"Now if you'll excuse me...!" With the subtlety of a nervous cat, hackles all raised and tail puffed out in telltale sign of fight-or-flight deliberations, she giggled and backed towards the door. Even when she felt her backside connect with the solid door, freedom lying just beyond its oaken barrier, the danger felt nonetheless present. Her feeling around blindly for the doorknob and using her rump to push the door open, bags worked up into a melody of leathery creaks and metallic jangles as she failed a few times and ended up just smacking bodily against the wood, confirmed her existence as a complete loon.
But a live loon she would be.
Nearly tumbling heels-over-head when the door relented and swung out into the fresh outside world, she stuttered out another little trill that was either a giggle or a farewell, or both, and closed, literally and figuratively, this chapter of her journey.
Safe!
As a free woman, Elke's first decision was to give a rather wet snort to clear her nose of that foul, musty odor that still plagued her sinuses. Her clothes, which had undoubtedly absorbed the stench, would need to be hung out in the sun to bake for at least one day. She gave a testing sniff.
Make that two days.
Cloud of noxious fumes hanging around her aside, she was still undigested, and she had gained a piece of valuable information from those two mostly-bipeds: Forlag's would be a great place to search for other out-of-town travellers. If her suspicions were correct, she might even find her target's lodging.
Making sure that she'd taken all her belongings from inside the store, and deciding that if anything was indeed missing she was willing to donate it to Waldo and Chubb, she set her mind on the prospect of soon encountering her person of interest and set off "down road", as advised. Hopefully this Forlag's place would be a legitimate establishment, preferably ran by sentient beings that didn't smell like a summer swamp. She couldn't imagine having to spend an entire night in an inn that smelled like the haberdashery.
Better to sleep under the stars, she agreed with herself, giving a nod of finality.
Now, exactly how far down the road...?
But when the troll in charge of customer service spoke again, anger was one of the few things not present in his tone. The syllables he managed seemed largely uncertain, perhaps a little embarrassed, but certainly not angry.
"Yes?" Elke repeated, not all too convinced at first that she'd heard correctly, nor that Waldo rememered the fine nuances of strategically utilizing the unisyllabic "yes" and "no" to indicate an affirmative and a negative, respectively. With the unusual shape of the beast's cranium, it certainly gave her reason to believe trolls' brains must develop in a manner unique to humans. But not wanting to give him the chance to think it over and realize that he'd grunted the wrong grunt, the mageling quickly followed with an assertive, "Yes!"
In a blink, she'd taken the goods from the clerk's massive, grubby paw and had scooted the coins closer to the store side of the counter, effectively finalizing their agreement as far as she was concerned.
"Thank you for your assistance, Mister Waldo," she added, nerves easing though not quite entirely. "You've been all too helpful." Leaning around the hulking form of the more social troll, she looked to the one sat in the back working diligently away, and tacked on a, "And you, too. Forlag's - got it, thanks!"
"Now if you'll excuse me...!" With the subtlety of a nervous cat, hackles all raised and tail puffed out in telltale sign of fight-or-flight deliberations, she giggled and backed towards the door. Even when she felt her backside connect with the solid door, freedom lying just beyond its oaken barrier, the danger felt nonetheless present. Her feeling around blindly for the doorknob and using her rump to push the door open, bags worked up into a melody of leathery creaks and metallic jangles as she failed a few times and ended up just smacking bodily against the wood, confirmed her existence as a complete loon.
But a live loon she would be.
Nearly tumbling heels-over-head when the door relented and swung out into the fresh outside world, she stuttered out another little trill that was either a giggle or a farewell, or both, and closed, literally and figuratively, this chapter of her journey.
Safe!
As a free woman, Elke's first decision was to give a rather wet snort to clear her nose of that foul, musty odor that still plagued her sinuses. Her clothes, which had undoubtedly absorbed the stench, would need to be hung out in the sun to bake for at least one day. She gave a testing sniff.
Make that two days.
Cloud of noxious fumes hanging around her aside, she was still undigested, and she had gained a piece of valuable information from those two mostly-bipeds: Forlag's would be a great place to search for other out-of-town travellers. If her suspicions were correct, she might even find her target's lodging.
Making sure that she'd taken all her belongings from inside the store, and deciding that if anything was indeed missing she was willing to donate it to Waldo and Chubb, she set her mind on the prospect of soon encountering her person of interest and set off "down road", as advised. Hopefully this Forlag's place would be a legitimate establishment, preferably ran by sentient beings that didn't smell like a summer swamp. She couldn't imagine having to spend an entire night in an inn that smelled like the haberdashery.
Better to sleep under the stars, she agreed with herself, giving a nod of finality.
Now, exactly how far down the road...?