As could be seen by his choice of spells for these patches, Soiyo wasn’t really interested in death and destruction and hurting people. This was one of the main reasons why none of the more powerful notables of the Waterdeep area could be bothered to deal with him.
The area of the Faerun known as ‘The North’ was a place where civilization had only the slightest hold over the lands. Many remote (and some not so remote) areas abounded with creatures of fell intent, creatures who wouldn’t think twice about crushing the civilized races and exterminating every last man, woman and child (of whatever race). With so many truly evil threats demanding the attention of the truly powerful, the relatively minor nuisance of Soiyo Happ just didn’t come close to the top of their ‘To Do’ list.
This didn’t mean that those who had found themselves victims of his attentions were going to let matters lie. Even in the short time he had been there, his petty thievery and more offensive antics had outraged the local townsfolk. So they had sought out a party willing to take up the task.
Thus it was that the Companye of the Silver Rose had been hired to deal with said mage. Not being assassins, they had been a bit reluctant at first to take up the contract. This concern was soothed when they discovered that the locals didn’t want the mage dead (well, most of them didn’t), they merely wanted him brought to justice to pay for his crimes. (Privately, most of the townsfolk would be just as happy if the adventurers merely drove him out of town.)
Unfortunately, their initial encounter with the villain had not proved to be a success.
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Ranma picked up most of these details after the group’s impromptu rest stop, on their way to the wizard’s lair. Something about the girl’s description of the ‘evil’ mage had tugged at his awareness, but he couldn’t pin it down. It didn’t help that his mind was on other things.
Specifically, it was on the shortcomings of the girls' chosen clothing.
The priestess had said that Mercurius had spent most of her life indoors. Looking at her attire, Ranma could believe it. The robe she was wearing seemed like it would be clumsy and awkward in the outdoors, and her boots were a cheap kind that were in many ways similar to those bought by some of the students at Furenkin. Shoes like that might look decent, but no one who had ever spent any time on the road would even look at them twice. One thing Ranma knew was how to judge the quality of footwear. ‘Hmm…’ Ranma thought ‘she really must be overheating in that robe. She’s been red-faced and breathing heavily ever since that rest stop’.
Myna and Lyta’s clothes were better, but even here Ranma could tell that these two had never spent any extended time away from home. While their clothes were more practical and suitable than Mercurius’, they weren’t all that durable. They probably wouldn’t hold up for more than a few weeks on the road or a couple of fights. On the other hand, their armor and weapons were well-made. Ranma preferred not to depend on weapons, but these girls weren’t even close to his skill level and needed every advantage they could get. And they both seemed at least competent with their chosen weapons. Still, he would need to keep an eye on them.
Of the four, only Rii’s clothes met with Ranma’s approval. They were practical and durable and looked like they would hold up well under heavy use. Her bow was in excellent shape, and she seemed quite skilled in handling it. Ranma was a bit more dubious of her other weapon skills.
Ranma was pulled from his thoughts by a cry from Myna. At last, their destination was in sight!
(Posted Sun, 26 Jan 2003 02:47)
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