Solo Back Alley Adventure

[Theur]

22 Spring, 514 A.V By now the splendour of Ravok had become a common sight to Theur. No longer did the boy wait in anticipation for that first building nor did the city (when it came in view) fill the boy with wonder anymore. Frankly he was more concerned or rather annoyed with how long the barge took to get there and by the way that it swayed. The way it rocked shifted the boy to and fro, it was only when he concentrated that he stopped; his body strained. The chatter of people was also another thing that got right underneath Theur’s skin. There seemed to be only one volume when people talked; heard. It wasn’t exactly the words one spoke that the boy picked up rather it was the noise of one’s voice; no matter how softly one spoke and no matter how far one was to Theur. One was one too many but several talking even in intervals was like the sound a buzzing fly. Constant, irritating and one that Theur could do nothing about. It was no surprise then that the first to leave the Barge was Theur. Theur’s feet landed with a soft thud on the wood. Not losing the feeling of wood underneath his feet, he bolted. It certainly had been a while since he last visited Ravok and like all the other times he only came because of his job however; today’s job was a bit different. He had a message to deliver but he didn’t know exactly what… yet. The job sounded simple: “Find out what’s going on in Ravok” and that usually meant news relative to the client; rumours and price changes. The boy slowed to a stop as his hands reached for his temples massaging them to what was to come. This job required memorization. “For the mizas” Theur muttered before he continued; a steady pace this time. The sounds of the city; Theur took full note of. He had intended to just listen to the people talk and drown out the rest but that proved difficult. In fact he even found most sounds interesting. The clang of metal being worked to the way the water swished underneath his feet even some sounds he found intolerable became bearable. Barely a season ago all of these sounds would have either never reached his ears or would have been an annoyance and, he wondered why. His first thought fell on Running. Running was a stressful activity Theur thought or maybe; Theur’s hand moved to his pocket jingling its contents. He had mizas and that meant he could rest easier. He knew his employer was a merchant so the Merchant’s Ring was the first place he visited still, droll things will stay droll things, bearable but still droll. He listened for price changes but the boy grew restless and his eyes wandered. If it wasn’t for the wooden platform and the surrounding buildings, it would resemble the Southern Trading Post. He wondered if he could spot a Bort character here and as his eyes scanned each person his ears picked up on something. Giant fish spotted on Lake Ravok! Man caught giant fish!