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23rd of First Seed, 428 3E
Our work hours at the Adventurer's Guild have been brutal, which is why it's been a while, over a month, since my last entry. Unless a person is a vampire, people are not made to be awake during the night and have to get their rest during the day. Indeed our systems have been quite thoroughly "knocked out of wack". At least we are now in the last couple of weeks of winter. The eagerly awaited season of spring is just around the corner.
At first I didn't understand why the guild wanted some of us on duty at night, but now I see that it's not unusual for help to be needed while most of the town sleeps. For example, last week a gang of bandits broke into the town hall a little bit after midnight. Neldor and Thorinor assisted law enforcement with going in to capture the bandits. This was one of the few times that the Tattler reported serious news.
Local law enforcer Darkfell, accompanied by Adventurers Guild Rangers, broke through the front door of the town hall and charged in, taking down the first few bandit guardsmen easily. However, after several more minutes of fighting, the bandit leader came into the room and attacked with a great club. Using his bow, Ranger Neldor was able to avoid their attacks and strike down the leader which caused the remainder of the bandits to lose heart, drop their weapons and flee the building in terror. The town has been saved from the menance of these criminals!
So again, the guild needs people to be available at night, but that doesn't make such a schedule easier to live with, and it doesn't work at all for anyone who is seeking a peaceful, domestic homelife. Only those who live for the thrill of danger and adventure ever thrive with such a way to earn a living.
The reason I have the time and energy to write this entry is because we've had a three day weekend and have been able to be on a more normal schedule if only for a short time. So what else has happened over the past weeks? Quite a bit actually. To start with, the Ascadian Isles has gained four more citizens from Valenwood. Neldor and Thorinor's cousins, Brolmir and Basnik, have come here along with their lady-friends Vendyne and Alandis. The two couples managed to purchase a set of lots just south of town. For now the brothers are staying in one house while the ladies stay in the other. This of course will change after they marry this spring.
Neldor and Thorinor are thrilled to have their cousins here, not just because they are friends as well as relatives, but because the four of them had formed a band called Clever Prank (named after Thorinor's tendency to pull practical jokes). With the four mers once again living in one place, they have happily put their band back together and have begun performing at the local taverns.
Crassius, who is known to be a great patron of the arts, immediately took an interest in Clever Prank and has helped them with promotion and advertising. He even hired an memory crystal expert to take this image of the band to be used on posters and fliers.
Clever Prank has been earning around four hundred septims for each show. Of course that is divided between the four of them, so there's no quitting their normal jobs. At least not yet, but it's a start. The band, as well as Sarasvati who is also a bard, are planning to leave the Adventurer's Guild and start working for the Pelagiad theater at the start of the upcoming show-season. I hope it works out for them. Even if they are working in the evenings, such hours would still not be as brutal as working the night-watch for the Adventurer's Guild.
Clever Prank had a performance this afternoon at a tavern called Fiddler's Green. It's a rather wholesome place for a tavern. Barroom brawls are not tolerated and there are no "serving wenches" with their cleavage practically spilling out over the low necklines of their blouses. I do hope that the band is successful enough to earn their living that way, for all four mers are obviously in their element when playing their upbeat music.
The downside to Clever Prank gaining popularity are the eager fans who have romantic interests in the band members (all of whom are spoken for). Shortly after Neldor returned home this evening his communicator began to chime (Pardon me, the word people are using for this little device is "phone"). The call was from none other than Yanna who had managed to get Neldor's number from the current owner of Fiddler's Green (I say current because Thorinor is interested in buying the place). She was calling to see if Neldor would like to go on a date with her.
Apparently Yanna had made advances while at the tavern, for Neldor's response to her call was, "I already told you no! That's not going to change! Don't call me again!"
After ending the call he went into his phone's setting and blocked Yanna's number. Grimacing, he muttered, "I'll need to talk with the tavern owner. I don't want my number handed out to just anyone who asks for it."
Fortunately for me Neldor is an honorable mer who honors his commitment. If he were more like the stereotypical bard who enjoys the company of many female fans...well...in that situation he and I would not work. I wouldn't be with him at all.
As for my own day, I managed to earn nearly two thousand septims this afternoon by taking a couple of paintings and some bottles of Elixir of Bliss to the consignment shop. It was only two hours later that I was notified that everything had sold and a courier was sent over to my home with my earnings. I earned far more in one day with my creations than I do working for the guild. Unfortunately I am not yet at the point where such earnings can be depended on to be consistent, so no quitting the guild yet.
The last thing I want to mention is that I bought myself a present while I was at the consignment shop. The place often has a lot of interesting items for sale, and today there was a beautiful white violin on display in its velvet lined case. Along with the piano, I also learned to play the violin when I was growing up and always enjoyed the music that can be made with this elegant instrument.
After debating with myself for several minutes, for the violin was almost six hundred septims, I decided to take a chance and buy it (and now that I've earned more than the amount that I spent I no longer feel guilty). While Clever Prank was performing at Fiddler's Green, I was standing out in the paddock trying to refresh my memory on how to play the violin. Holding the instrument beneath my chin, I drew the bow across the strings and...made a series of terrible high-pitched noises.
The horses and Oliver all stopped grazing and stared at me with quizzical expressions. Little Casper, nearly invisible in the snow that still covers the ground, raised his head and let out a mournful howl.
Laughing, I said in good humor, "Everyone's a critic. Don't worry, I'll remember how this thing works and I promise the sounds won't always be so awful."
After a while my fingers began to remember how to handle the bow and the strings so that the sounds I was making began to somewhat resemble music. Delighted with the violin, I can only laugh at myself as I practice and try to get back to the level I could play during my last music lesson at the palace. While I have improved some, I don't think Adanja will be asking me to play the violin at her tea house anytime soon.
*~*~*
Our work hours at the Adventurer's Guild have been brutal, which is why it's been a while, over a month, since my last entry. Unless a person is a vampire, people are not made to be awake during the night and have to get their rest during the day. Indeed our systems have been quite thoroughly "knocked out of wack". At least we are now in the last couple of weeks of winter. The eagerly awaited season of spring is just around the corner.
At first I didn't understand why the guild wanted some of us on duty at night, but now I see that it's not unusual for help to be needed while most of the town sleeps. For example, last week a gang of bandits broke into the town hall a little bit after midnight. Neldor and Thorinor assisted law enforcement with going in to capture the bandits. This was one of the few times that the Tattler reported serious news.
Local law enforcer Darkfell, accompanied by Adventurers Guild Rangers, broke through the front door of the town hall and charged in, taking down the first few bandit guardsmen easily. However, after several more minutes of fighting, the bandit leader came into the room and attacked with a great club. Using his bow, Ranger Neldor was able to avoid their attacks and strike down the leader which caused the remainder of the bandits to lose heart, drop their weapons and flee the building in terror. The town has been saved from the menance of these criminals!
So again, the guild needs people to be available at night, but that doesn't make such a schedule easier to live with, and it doesn't work at all for anyone who is seeking a peaceful, domestic homelife. Only those who live for the thrill of danger and adventure ever thrive with such a way to earn a living.
The reason I have the time and energy to write this entry is because we've had a three day weekend and have been able to be on a more normal schedule if only for a short time. So what else has happened over the past weeks? Quite a bit actually. To start with, the Ascadian Isles has gained four more citizens from Valenwood. Neldor and Thorinor's cousins, Brolmir and Basnik, have come here along with their lady-friends Vendyne and Alandis. The two couples managed to purchase a set of lots just south of town. For now the brothers are staying in one house while the ladies stay in the other. This of course will change after they marry this spring.
Neldor and Thorinor are thrilled to have their cousins here, not just because they are friends as well as relatives, but because the four of them had formed a band called Clever Prank (named after Thorinor's tendency to pull practical jokes). With the four mers once again living in one place, they have happily put their band back together and have begun performing at the local taverns.
Crassius, who is known to be a great patron of the arts, immediately took an interest in Clever Prank and has helped them with promotion and advertising. He even hired an memory crystal expert to take this image of the band to be used on posters and fliers.
Clever Prank has been earning around four hundred septims for each show. Of course that is divided between the four of them, so there's no quitting their normal jobs. At least not yet, but it's a start. The band, as well as Sarasvati who is also a bard, are planning to leave the Adventurer's Guild and start working for the Pelagiad theater at the start of the upcoming show-season. I hope it works out for them. Even if they are working in the evenings, such hours would still not be as brutal as working the night-watch for the Adventurer's Guild.
Clever Prank had a performance this afternoon at a tavern called Fiddler's Green. It's a rather wholesome place for a tavern. Barroom brawls are not tolerated and there are no "serving wenches" with their cleavage practically spilling out over the low necklines of their blouses. I do hope that the band is successful enough to earn their living that way, for all four mers are obviously in their element when playing their upbeat music.
The downside to Clever Prank gaining popularity are the eager fans who have romantic interests in the band members (all of whom are spoken for). Shortly after Neldor returned home this evening his communicator began to chime (Pardon me, the word people are using for this little device is "phone"). The call was from none other than Yanna who had managed to get Neldor's number from the current owner of Fiddler's Green (I say current because Thorinor is interested in buying the place). She was calling to see if Neldor would like to go on a date with her.
Apparently Yanna had made advances while at the tavern, for Neldor's response to her call was, "I already told you no! That's not going to change! Don't call me again!"
After ending the call he went into his phone's setting and blocked Yanna's number. Grimacing, he muttered, "I'll need to talk with the tavern owner. I don't want my number handed out to just anyone who asks for it."
Fortunately for me Neldor is an honorable mer who honors his commitment. If he were more like the stereotypical bard who enjoys the company of many female fans...well...in that situation he and I would not work. I wouldn't be with him at all.
As for my own day, I managed to earn nearly two thousand septims this afternoon by taking a couple of paintings and some bottles of Elixir of Bliss to the consignment shop. It was only two hours later that I was notified that everything had sold and a courier was sent over to my home with my earnings. I earned far more in one day with my creations than I do working for the guild. Unfortunately I am not yet at the point where such earnings can be depended on to be consistent, so no quitting the guild yet.
The last thing I want to mention is that I bought myself a present while I was at the consignment shop. The place often has a lot of interesting items for sale, and today there was a beautiful white violin on display in its velvet lined case. Along with the piano, I also learned to play the violin when I was growing up and always enjoyed the music that can be made with this elegant instrument.
After debating with myself for several minutes, for the violin was almost six hundred septims, I decided to take a chance and buy it (and now that I've earned more than the amount that I spent I no longer feel guilty). While Clever Prank was performing at Fiddler's Green, I was standing out in the paddock trying to refresh my memory on how to play the violin. Holding the instrument beneath my chin, I drew the bow across the strings and...made a series of terrible high-pitched noises.
The horses and Oliver all stopped grazing and stared at me with quizzical expressions. Little Casper, nearly invisible in the snow that still covers the ground, raised his head and let out a mournful howl.
Laughing, I said in good humor, "Everyone's a critic. Don't worry, I'll remember how this thing works and I promise the sounds won't always be so awful."
After a while my fingers began to remember how to handle the bow and the strings so that the sounds I was making began to somewhat resemble music. Delighted with the violin, I can only laugh at myself as I practice and try to get back to the level I could play during my last music lesson at the palace. While I have improved some, I don't think Adanja will be asking me to play the violin at her tea house anytime soon.
