Closed Brodon's Fortune

[Lucas Arias]

Summer 48, 513 AV

At the beginning of the evening Lucas had put a paper that said „FORTUNE TELLING HERE“ in front of his door so that people knew where they had to knock, but after a bell or two the paper had disappeared, and he had decided not to replace it. A small crowd had begun to gather in front of his room, so it would be hard to miss anyway.

Lucas had barely had time to drink or even go to the toilet since he had left the gathering. Almost every expedition member – and some citizens of Riverfall – wanted a fortune telling. He’d initially started fortune telling to prank people, but was so tired now that he couldn’t come up with any funny things anymore. Instead he practiced real fortune telling. It was much less exhausting.

Maybe he would try to make a living out of it once they arrived in Syka. How much could he ask for a fortune telling? 5 silvers? A golden miza? He would probably be rich in no time. Fortune telling was much less dangerous than fighting. He’d originally considered becoming a guard, but he was reconsidering that now. Maybe he’d just put his sword on a wall as a decoration.

He was just about to work on his business plan for Syka when another person stepped into the room. „I’m not a Sir“, he informed his visitor before he turned around. „Sirs are old people, and I’m not old. I remember you. You were standing next to me at the gathering. You are Brodon, aren’t you? The guy with the horse? Where is it now?“

„Anyway, if you want a reading sit down. Which method would you prefer? The bones, the crystal ball, the cards – or shall I just try to read your palm? Master Anselm preferred asking the bone oracle of course.“

[Brodon Windriver]

Brodon was tired. He'd really only stopped out of curiosity. He was not inclined to really trust fortune tellers anyway. There had been enough of them in Ahnatep and Yahebah. It always ended the same, them spouting some vague gibberish that could be taken any way the client, the victim?, wanted.

But he had been bothered by something. He was not curious about the love or danger or duration of the mission. He may very well spend the rest of his life there. Of course there would be danger! Only a fool would think otherwise. Nor was there anxiety that he would somehow betray the party through cowardice or ineptitude. And love would come when it would. Trying to hurry THAT was the greatest of mistakes.

No, his real question was 'Why'. Was there a reason he needed to go? Every detail of his life since leaving Endrykas had directed him to be here, now. But he hadn't the least idea what connection he had to a lost civilization on a continent neither he nor anyone in his family had ever set foot upon.

He sighed. "Yes, I am Brodon," he resisted rolling his eyes, "The one having the horse. Which is now for being at the Stables." He leaned his heirloom staff in a corner and sat before the red-headed young man. "oh...uhh...I was not knowing of your doing different telling...meth-ods. All the tellers I have been seeing were only doing of one or other one."

Brodon wished he had not even come now. He felt as though he would have to put on an act of even believing any of this nonsense. But in short order, he reasoned that the less gadgetry involved, the better. And if this fellow was going to suggest a method, it was probably the one he was most skilled at spinning into the biggest scam. Nor did he have any idea who this "Anselm" fellow was. though it did have a Benshiran sound to it.

"Maybe we just do reading from my palm...by this you are just meant the open..ness of my hand, yes?"

[Lucas Arias]

Lucas watched with interest as Brodon put his staff into a corner. „That’s an interesting staff“, he remarked. „Do you fight with it or is it just some kind of unusual walking stick? And what do the symbols on it mean? Are they some kind of magical runes?“

„I thought offering different fortune telling methods would give me an edge over the other fortune tellers“, he explained and shrugged his shoulders. „I think the reason why Master Anselm preferred the bone oracle was that he wasn’t really good at any other method.“

„I aim to master everything. Besides, using different methods and comparing the results enables you to give a better prediciton, one that is more likely to come true.“ In Lucas‘ opinion that was a pretty clever idea. He wondered why Master Anselm had never thought of it.

„The open..ness of my hand?“ he repeated and furrowed his brow. „Common is not your native language, is it? Are you some kind of foreigner? Yes, I mean the open…ness of your hand. Extend your hand, Brodon … please“, he added because it couldn’t hurt to be polite to your clients, even if the fortune telling was essentially free.

[Brodon Windriver]

"Yes, I fight with it." Brodon repeated, thinking it must be better grammar than the 'Yes, I am using it to be fighting with' he had been about to say. He continued, "It is sometimes a helping...thing...with walking. And I practice for being strong with its heaviness. I...am not knowing...what are the symbols on it, being magic or not either."

He did not see any reason to respond to the other man's comments about using numerous types of readings, as long as they did not cost him mizas he did not have. And it seemed pretty sensible as well. He wondered, though, if the fellow's comment meant he had not mastered ANY method yet. He decided it would be best not to ask.

He flushed slightly at the echo of his poor common, but made no defensive comment. "Yes, I am being once a Drykas, for being born in Endrykas, but my father was not being a horse...clans...man. Pavi is my language I speak good."

He sat down across from Lucas and laid his hand across the little table, palm up. "Is this being good?"

[Brodon Windriver]

There was no words of dire futures coming from the fortune teller. He seemed at a loss to come up with anything even remotely significant. Brodon was perplexed and disappointed. He had been so convinced of the gods' guidance in joining the expedition that he thought surely there would be profound events, suggested by mystic chants in alien tongues, cryptic warnings couched in prophetic poems.

Instead, the two young men simply shrugged and made to take their leave of each other. Lucas turned to hand Brodon his staff. The moment the young Drykas took hold of the other end, Lucas lurched as though shocked or startled. They sat back down and he tried to channel his efforts into the staff, but most of his devices and techniques were not applicable for an inanimate object. Series of attempts having Brodon touch the staff, then bare his palm, or brodon touching the staff then the top tarot card or holding the staff while draining the cup of tea down to the leaves, bore no results.

All they could conclude was that it was the staff, and not Brodon himself, that was the pertinent subject of the gods' will. But with no actual follow-up results from any of the fortune teller's efforts, it was difficult to consider this anything more than sheer speculation. But it was not the first time Brodon had made decisions based on such guesswork. And thus far, he had always felt his decisions to be in line with the fate awaiting him. It was certainly not always a pleasant result, but it always felt connected.

He shook the teller's hands again, and left to get some sleep. He would not ask the gods for more revelations than they had given so far. He would continue to trust to faith.
OOCThis was what Lucas and I were going to basically have happen. I figured I'd go ahead and finish it.

[Magpie]

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Brodon :

XP:
Socialization +2
Observation +1

Lores:
Fortune Tellers are for Fools
Brodon's Staff: Of Some (Unknown) Importance
Forget Fortune Telling - Trust Faith

Lucas :

Let me know if you decide to come back to Mizahar, and I'll add your grade here.

Notes :

Not much to award here, but an interesting little thread. Seem to be a lot of abandoned threads going around lately! Anyway, good luck with the staff thing!

If you have any questions or concerns about what was awarded, please don't hesitate to PM me.
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