OOC: Sorry for the wall of text. :) IC: The morning sun streams through the window of the richly appointed
bedroom, and slowly creeps across the floor towards the bed. In it, two
people lay, a man and a woman, both asleep. The woman's golden hair
spills across the pillow. The sunlight reaches the bed and climbs
up until it shines on the man's face, waking him with the morning's
gentle kiss. Norrin opens his eyes and squints at the light in his face,
and looks around in a moment of panic. He doesn't recognize the room at
first, but quickly remembers the recent events. Yes, Barbara is still
asleep in the bed beside him. He sits up and groans slightly,
holding his head. Perhaps a little too much ale last night. But why not?
They were celebrating, and drinking to the memories of fallen comrades.
He climbs to his feet, and begins to get dressed. A homespun open
collar tunic, leather pants, and mid-calf soft boots. A wide belt and
studded bracers. He looks at his armour piled in the corner of the room,
and contemplates donning it. But why? Won't he be safe in his own home? He pauses at that word. Home.
He's never had a home before, not since growing up in Waterdeep. Even
then, his mother was a single parent working as a housekeeper in an inn
in the Trades Ward, and the kindly innkeeper gave her a room of her own
for her and her son. It wasn't so much a home as just a place
to live. But here, in D'Ashe Manor, this may be Norrin's home. Nevertheless, he still straps on his sword belt. This is Damara, after all. He
makes his way down to the common room of the establishment formerly
known as Gurzun's Festhall. What it will be called from now on is up to
Barbara. This is her place, and she has a far better business
mind than he does. It's now his job to extend the business interests
beyond the borders of her land holdings. He already knows there's a few
abandoned farms in the area, thanks to Gurzun and his cronies, and he
wouldn't mind seeing them resettled. The girls of the festhall are
already busy at work, making breakfast, he's happy to see. He asks one
of them to make him something -- fried eggs, cured ham, potatoes and
toasted bread. He sees a few of his companions about, likewise beginning
their day. He spies Will the Weasel on the balcony overlooking the
common room. First things first, he thinks, as he finishes his
breakfast. He gestures to Will, getting the man's attention, and
then mouths, "A word," while nodding his head in the direction of the
festhall's main door. He waits until Will meets him in the common room,
and clasps the smaller man on the shoulder. He squeezes, not so hard as to
cause pain, but just enough to let Will know that he could if he wanted
to. "Good morning, Mr. Weasel," Norrin says cheerfully, leading will out
the main door of the festhall. "May I call you Will? Very good. As you
now doubt noticed, you are no longer in the employ of Gurzun Half-orc.
He's had a much more important meeting to attend, one he won't be
returning from. Lady D'Ashe," he says, emphasizing the word, "has
now taken ownership of the manor, which was rightfully hers. I
understand you're the floor manager? Good!" Once outside, Norrin
continues. "Things will be changing around here, and I can see that you
will want to be part of it, making things better for everyone. I've been
from one end of Faerun to the other, seen many things and fought many
battles. And one thing that tired travellers need is a comfortable and safe
place to stay." Again, he emphasizes certain words. "The key to that is
providing a good work environment for the employees. These girls are
hard-working and deserve respect. Would you not agree?" "So, as
floor manager, that is your responsibility. It's your job to see that
they are treated well and make sure that every single copper that they
earn for themselves stays that way. No theft, no abuse, and no cheating,
because if word reaches my ears the girls are being treated unfairly
and I have to investigate, things will not go well for the offending
parties. I hope I'm being clear on this." He continues his friendly
tone, but the look on his face says otherwise. " Lady D'Ashe will
have much on her plate to deal with, and simply will not have time to
referee disputes between the girls, or between the girls and the
customers. Or between customers and anyone else . I hope I can
rely on you to help things move smoothly in the right direction. Very
good!" He claps Will on the shoulder, again a little harder than
necessary, and dismisses the man. Tim M. said: Before he leaves for Ravensburg with Norrin, Erasmus asks Syrus to keep an eye on Jyrdani and Ted as he worries about the handsome half-orc. On the ride to Ravensburg, Erasmus says to Norrin "I'm sorry for losing Jack. I made a couple of bad decisions in the planning of our assault on the hall. We should never have allowed so few to go so far ahead without support, nor should we have let Jack fall so far behind on our retreat. "I knew this then as I do now, but I foolishly let my pride get the better of me, opting instead to defer all decisions to Lady D'Ashe. I am not suggesting that she or you are to blame for Jack's death. I saw a flaw and did not speak up and so I take full responsibility. I promise to always offer what counsel I can in future." As the pair rides together, with Jack's body wrapped in a shroud over the saddle of his warhorse, Norrin's face belies his deeply troubled thoughts. "You cannot blame yourself for this, Erasmus," Norrin replies. "We all need to shoulder the blame for what happened. I too saw flaws in the plan, but in my excitement of finally seeing my goals in view, I did not recognize them for what they were. I let that cloud my judgment. I could have spoken up as much as you, but I did not. Everyone thinks I'm some great general, calling me Sir Norrin and such, but I am not. I'm only a former caravan guard who managed to get lucky a few times, nothing more. But I'd rather be lucky than good. "Jack's death weighs on me more than others, I suppose," he continues. "I've known him longer, and he and I fought side-by-side in some mighty scraps. Saved each other a few times, too. So that is why getting his body back from Gurzun's men was important for me. Jack must be honoured and his remains returned to his order." He lowers his voice and his eyes. "And I'm not too proud to say I privately mourned his passing. He was a good friend, one who will be missed." He looks up and stares off into the distance. "He died what he was sworn to do, and that was upholding what was right and good. His life should be celebrated."
