(For Esquie and Verso)

[lost_and_foundry]

Barcus Wroot is not lonely. That would be absurd. If anything, he's surrounded by too many people, mostly gnomes, mostly deep gnomes, all of them clamoring for his attention and guidance and advice. He is the leader of a powerful laborer's guild, which is firmly in alliance with an equally powerful church, and he has the ear of Ravengard and all the other gentry. Not to mention their coin, any time he wants to undertake a project for them. Never in his life has demand for his attention been so high.

It feels so empty.

But maybe he's just tired. Burnout happens. He absolutely does not miss Wulbren. Good riddance.

Getting drunk, or even tipsy, is not his style, but he's skirting the line tonight, having had enough whiskey that his ears are ringing slightly. He's not so dazed he doesn't notice the strangeness of the two...men? Talking to the tavernkeeper. One is clearly human, but the other is bigger than an Orthon and the gnome gets distracted wondering how on earth they made it through the doors...

Comments

[lost_and_foundry]

"Pictos? I'm not familiar." He looks over at Verso, visibly interested. For a couple of odd-looking drifters, these two have already proven themselves enjoyable company. "I'd be very interested, indeed. Mm--are you new to town? If you need a place to stay, I can recommend a better boarding-house than the inns in the Lower City. You'll want a place with larger rooms, I imagine."

He nods in agreement with Esquie's assessment about the Underdark, then pauses slightly at a diamond, which is a subtle compliment, but one that feels very deliberate. He gives a sheepish smile and a shrug. "Pressure makes us more ourselves, perhaps."

"That's funny. I have a friend or two I met on the road, as well, only none of them stayed once the adventure ended." This is said completely without bitterness. He never expected Tav to stay, let alone any of the others. Besides, he has work to do. Still, it could have been nice to have such a strong connection to someone.

[amourpeint]

"They're like... oh, runes, or glyphs. You don't need a lot of magic to make the smaller ones work," Verso didn't mind sharing the information. It was hardly a thing he was keeping secret, and getting to know a local who they could get information about their new home from? Invaluable. And aside from that, Esquie was an excellent judge of character. "We've only been here about... oh a week now? But wouldn't say no to a recommendation."

"Ourselves is the most important thing we can be. There is only one of you, and one of me, and one of Verso," Esquie replied, with a tone that suggested if he had the face for it, he'd be wearing a bright smile. "And your friends did stay with you. They're right here!"

A tap to his own chest, over where a heart would be.

"Esquie, mon ami, are you getting any sense of your rocks? I'm sure Barcus would rather not be out the whole night." Verso prompted gently, knowing that otherwise his rotund friend would get absolutely sidetracked.

[lost_and_foundry]

"Oh? Well, now you're speaking my language. I'm a master alchemist. The symbols must be different, but I imagine we could enjoy ourselves comparing notes. Mind you, my interest in alchemy is more the production of explosives, potions, and other useful odds and ends than the spiritual journey, but I have completed several stages of that as well..."

Careful, Verso, he doesn't just wax rhapsodic about rocks.

"Ah, but perhaps now isn't the time to go into that. I'll put in a word for you at Ansur's Reach, but you have to promise to be kind to their furniture." He can take the chance of them skipping out without paying--he has plenty of money--but he'd rather not take the hit to his reputation that would occur if they wrecked the place.

Esquie, meanwhile, continues to leave him pleasantly flustered, but the comment about his friends makes him look, for just a second, extremely sad. He hesitates, putting a hand on his own chest, then chuckles weakly and smiles. "Well, that would explain the indigestion, I suppose."

[amourpeint]

"Well now, sounds like you're the man to know around here then. Pictos are incredibly useful in that sort of endeavor." Verso replied with a smile. And while part of it was the typical tactic of being charming in general to get on people's good side, there was something genuinely pleasing about the idea of taking some time to put their heads together and see what came of it. "Once we've made some headway on this rock hunt, that'd make some nice downtime I think. And luckily, we're not the vandalism sort so I can promise that easily."

"Oh no," Esquie hummed, tilting his head. "That would be the wine."

Pay no attention to Verso elbowing his friend in the side with a soft grumble under his breath in French. Goddamnit Esquie, you are horrible at secrets!

[lost_and_foundry]

"I have of late become rather better-connected than I ever expected to be," he admits. "You're fortunate you missed the crisis last year, with the cults and the Netherbrain."

"...did I ever say where I was leading you? Sorry, the Ironhands have a stone yard near the docks here, and I thought it might be a good place to start looking. If not, at least you get a look at the Chionthar under the moon."

[amourpeint]

"Doesn't that always seem to be the way of it?" Verso replied, with a sympathetic smile. "I can't say I'm sorry we missed that though. I've heard tell of it and even that was quite enough for me."

"You think they might be making new friends?" Esquie mused, before nodding happily, which had his banner swaying lightly. "Yes, that sounds like something they'd do. More friends is always nice! And we can see the river while it is all sparkly!"

[lost_and_foundry]

"New friends, maybe." Barcus smiles a little again. "Or if someone picked them up by accident, that would be the place they'd end up. This is ridiculous, but you really remind me of my littlest brother, Esquie. He was always looking for friends, and beauty, even in the Underdark."

"Where are you from, if you don't mind my asking?" This is addressed slightly more to Verso than Esquie, since he seems to be the one most suited to mundane conversation.

[amourpeint]

"What he is looking for is also looking for him." Esquie replied, peering up at the sky as they walked, somehow managing still not to step on anyone or anything or trip. For such an oddly-shaped fellow, he seemed remarkably steady on those... feet?

"Lumiere. It's... across the sea a ways." It wasn't entirely a lie- no matter the sea wasn't entirely in this realm, there was one between him and home. And he'd noticed that if you could put it on another continent somewhere it was less likely to find anyone that knew enough to argue it. "Quite the city. Can't beat the bakeries, or the wineries."

[lost_and_foundry]

Case in point, Esquie. Barcus blinks up at him, gaze going thoughtful. "That's true of a lot of us, I think. For better or worse. But it's been years since I saw him. I hope he's still sculpting."

Turning back to Verso, he nods he s acceptance, assuming he means somewhere around the Moonshae Isles. "Further than I've ever been, then. Are you adventurers, then?"

[amourpeint]

"I bet he has gotten so good at it! Lots of time to practice!" Esquie hummed, ranging slightly ahead, not out of any impatience, and not overly far, but just like a child whose attention was caught by an interesting sight. Verso didn't seem worried about it- they were on a straight shot of a street at the moment, and even if they did somehow get separated? Esquie would find them easily.

"Aye, I suppose we are," Verso considered this, before huffing a soft laugh with a nod. "Not what I left home to do really, but Esquie is so excited for adventures how could I say no?"

[lost_and_foundry]

Some sort of spirit, Barcus decides, watching Esquie move weightlessly down the street. Not giantkin, that's for sure. Some sort of benevolent spirit entity inhabiting a form like a giant doll, for reasons of its own. He seems kindly, and it's never a good idea to call a magical being out on that sort of thing.

"How odd," he muses aloud. "For me to feel so comfortable around someone so unusual."

Verso is comprehensible, at least, and he turns attention to him willingly now, trying to picture what it might have looked like for him to fall into Esquie's nest. Clearly he's been adopted since.

"Well, be a little careful who you take work from," he advises. "The Flaming Fist will hire you to do the work they don't want to do any day, but half of them are mercenaries to begin with, so what they don't want to do is not going to be pleasant work. And the patriars in the Upper City are mostly jackasses, although they'll pay well enough for whatever damn fool thing they ask of you."

He speaks from experience, there, although he hasn't done adventuring for them. Just commission work in gems and metal.

[amourpeint]

"It's hard to stay wary of him really, giant marshmallow that he is," Verso offered. "Especially since you're his buddy now that you've helped him with a rock hunt."

That's just how it works, the fond tone seems to say. He does get a bit more serious at the suggestion Barcus gives, arms crossing as he nods his understanding.

"Honestly, does a city even have nobles if at least some of them aren't utter ducons? The thing about the Fists though, explains why Esquie was so uninterested in their jobs. One tried to talk to him and he just gave them a flower, a weird little metaphor, something about water and dams, and wandered off after giving them a pat on the head." Verso couldn't help but chuckle at the memory. "He's an excellent judge of character."

[lost_and_foundry]

"Is that all it takes? I need more friends like that," he says with a soft chuckle.

"If the Ironhands need anything, I'll keep you in mind, if you like. Every now and again one of our vendors asks for a guard to and from the City. Or one of the tieflings, perhaps. Rolan must have needs for potion ingredients at times. And you can trust him not to send you into anything too horrible. He's a bit, mm...pompous, but a good man nonetheless."

Up ahead, there's a yard surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Within are large blocks of granite, stacks of smaller stones for building, and a few odds and ends, including bits of carvings. There are two dogs roaming the fence line, but for as big and heavily built as they look, they don't seem particularly aggressive, and they're sleek and well-kept. Barcus whistles to get their attention, and they run to the gate, tails wagging. He reaches through to let them sniff him. "Yes, yes, I know, I smell like cats. Back up so I can let us in."

"The black and tan one is called Nails, and the grey one is Hatchet. Brounce named them, said they needed to sound tough."

[amourpeint]

"I think most people would benefit from a friend like Esquie." Aside from a very few select examples of Beyond Help sorts but they're not talking about that right now.

"I wouldn't say no to the recommendation. Done escort work and gathering before, good way to keep busy," For all Verso might look somewhat intimidating on his own with all the scars and the almost prowling sort of pave, most of the jobs he does take for the sake of getting paid tend to be lighter fare. Chasing bandits off towns, escorting traders, running errands. A softer touch than his look would suggest, but given his companion it's hardly surprising. And he can't help but give a small grin at the sight of the dogs waiting at the gate. "I mean, for a guard dog, not a bad play. Good dogs though, you can tell."

Esquie had, as was only proper, stopped by the gate and was happily watching the dogs with a happy little hum when Barcus was greeting them. "Very good dogs!"

[lost_and_foundry]

"Well, perhaps you're lucky you ran into me, after all," Barcus says, feeling pleased with himself that he has something to offer aside from rock hunting. "I know quite a few decent people, these days. I'll introduce you to Rolan later, if you like. He's the proprietor of Sorcerous Sundries."

Both dogs hop up on hind leg briefly to get a look or a sniff at the strangers, but they don't bark, probably because Barcus is right there. Or maybe because they like the look of Esquie, too, who knows?

"They are guard dogs," he says. "Picked by Brounce and Fulgaro, our Ironshields, but we keep them well. They'll do their jobs, but there's no call to make them mean, I don't think."

There appears to be a well-kept kennel in the back of the yard, between the bricks. They're working dogs, but not unsheltered. Once the gate is open, the gnome ushers them all inside, and Esquie and Verso will get to be sniffed in person. After which, Hatchet rolls over for pet. Fearsome beast.

[amourpeint]

As if either of them seemed to mind it- Esquie can take the weight of a couple bouncing pups easily enough, with soft hoots of delighted laughter as he offered a large hand for them to sniff. And Verso seemed experienced enough with the adjustment it took to not get bowled over by a similar process, chuckling as he let them sniff his hands, giving their faces a brief enthusiastic rub in the process that had their ears flapping.

"Guard dogs just have to be loud." Verso agreed readily enough. And with Hatchet presenting a belly to be pet, he huffs a sigh that pretends at longsuffering as he crouches to give the due rubs. "And you're the gatekeeper, demanding a toll, hm?"

"Dogs protect what they love best of all." Esquie hummed, as he toddled towards one of the blocks of granite, with a soft little noise of discovery. "Oh! This one has a seam that looks like the river!"

[lost_and_foundry]

"I'm honestly more of a cat person. I have a few at the guildhall that I feed--well, they're technically my pets, I suppose, only they come and go as they wish. I like these two as well, though."

He gives each dog a cursory scratch, then follows Esquie over to the granite blocks. "These are shipped all the way up from Athkatla. It's very fine material; we ordered it to rebuild the bridges between the upper and lower city. The color is particularly beautiful, I think; almost bluish."

He pats the stone. "I've been pushing basalt for street and house repairs, but the bridges really need a material that's resistant to water. Do you want to see the marble? It's not polished yet and you can really get a feel for the grain of it when you see it in the raw."

[amourpeint]

"You know, most expect me to be a cat person," Verso responded, straightening to dust his hands against his coat. "I mean I like them still, but something about dogs just works for me."

"Basalt. Like the Stone Sea Cliffs!" Esquie gave a faint bobble at the idea, but it didn't yet resolve to anything specific, so aside from a look given as they caught up with him, Verso let them speak. "I would like to see the marble, yes yes. It is pretty when it is all polished but it is just as pretty before. So much. Potential!"

[lost_and_foundry]

"Perhaps opposite personality traits?" He gives him a faint, self-deprecating smile. "I enjoy cats because they're independent and willful. Whereas I've been known to be too stubborn and too loyal for my own good, not unlike a dog."

A pause, then he adds: "I also like the purring, though. That doesn't match my hypothesis."

"I didn't think much of cats at all until I spent time with a hairless bastard of a tomcat called His Majesty. No idea what his yowling meant half the time but I felt intellectually challenged."

Esquie, meanwhile, has unlocked Special Interest mode, so they're getting the full tour whether they want it or not. Barcus seems quietly excited just to talk about the types of stone they have, where it's come from, the mineral composition and what it's destined to be used for. Esquie seems interested, so a lot of the commentary is directed at him, but he tries to include Verso, too, often turning back to him with an encouraging smile. The dogs run around as they take their tour, thrilled to have company at an odd hour, and occasionally running up to one of them for pets.

As they round one corner of the yard, finally, there's a glint of something on the ground next to the dog kennel. Crystals catching the light, and possibly a shimmer of runes? Barcus hastens to pick it up and hold it out to them. "Well the Ironhands didn't order this. Friend of yours?"

[amourpeint]

It's a nice sort of ramble, to be fair. Esquie is more than happy to listen to Barcus as he takes them on the impromptu tour, but that's hardly surprising. His interest is always caught by the interest of his friends, so he's more than willing to lean over and peer at this stone or that as their new friend is describing it, nodding as if he understands the complexities of mineral content in creating those thin seams of color in some stones.

Verso isn't a stonemason, but is still quietly interested in his own way- Barcus will notice that he has the man's attention, and he asks a few questions here and there- clearly not a specialist, but someone whose work has had them in contact with stone before. Not that he ignores the dogs when they come running for pets, obliging them with ear rubs, and upon finding a stick of a decent size, occasionally sending it soaring one way or the other for them to chase.

"Oh! Oh you found Florrie!" Esquie enthused, hustling after Barcus with a cheery little hoot of laughter. "They wanted to spend time with Nails and Hatchet!"

"Something like that, surely," Verso replied with a soft chuckle of his own, taking the stone and turning it over in his hand to make sure it wasn't harmed for it's little adventure, which let Barcus get a good look in the process. Half a round geode with soft-glowing sea-colored runes inside reflecting the glimmer of the inner crystals, not unlike the surface of the ocean. "Looks like we found the right person to help."

Verso held the stone up to Esquie, but rather than taking it in his hands, the larger creature crouched down so his mask was at level, at which point with a soft glow and wisp of magic the stone vanished from Verso's hands and the energy slipped into the 'mouth' of Esquie's mask which just had him happily clapping his sides as he straightened. (Sounding suspiciously like a sloshing wineskin in the process.)

"Florrie was my first stone," Esquie hummed cheerily. "Very adventurous!"

[lost_and_foundry]

To his credit, the gnome doesn't use highly technical language for the most part. He's not being patronizing, just genuinely excited to talk about his work. The fact that they both seem interested is catnip to him. He seems content to wind down when they find Florrie, though, just as pleased to offer the stone back to Esquie as he was to talk about his own projects.

He relinquishes it to Verso, peering briefly at the crystals and runes as he looks it over. No, that's not a language he knows, and that's intriguing, but maybe he'll have a chance for questions later, as they find the rest of the stones.

He wasn't quite prepared for Esquie to magically inhale the stone, and he blinks, mildly startled, but only for a moment.

"I'm glad to have helped," he says, almost modestly. "I'm sure the others will turn up soon. I am getting a little tired, though. Perhaps I can walk you to Ansur's Reach for now? And I'll be happy to help look again tomorrow, once I sign off on a few things for the Ironhands."

[amourpeint]

"That sounds like a good idea to me," Verso agrees readily enough. "It's been a long day, better to have fresh eyes on things, hm?"

"Yes!" Esquie piped up, with a happy bobbing sort of nod. "We will all sleep and dream of good rocks and nice adventures with them!"

[lost_and_foundry]

Barcus is yawning by the time they get to Ansur's Reach, but he isn't too drowsy to talk things over with the clerk at the desk. They're given one of the larger rooms, at a surprisingly reasonable rate. Evidently the gnome's word carries some real weight, at least at this establishment.

Before they part, Barcus scribbles the address of his own apartment, and the Ironhands' guildhall, in case they need to find him the next day. If they catch him at work, they will find him just as cordial, but more distracted with the ledgers and projects around him. He is very clearly in charge, but some of the other Ironhands appear to also be keeping an eye out for his welfare. A gnomish woman, Thulla, takes it upon herself to chat with them a little, giving the impression she's making sure he hasn't fallen in with dangerous weirdos.

She concludes they're nice weirdos, apparently, because she shoos Barcus out of his office shortly thereafter. He works too hard, anyway. He's past due for time off.

Thus, after a couple days of searching around Baldur's Gate for the remainder of Esquie's rock friends, they make a plan to search further upriver, with the intent of camping out a few nights.

[amourpeint]

Esquie's likely doing the lion's share of making them seem like nice weirdos to be fair. And thankfully again, no one questions how he fit in the place as he was, by some strange happenstance managing to not knock anything over or into anyone no matter how distracted he seems by everything going on. Verso's more than willing however to be amicable and charming as they chat with Thulla. No need to make anyone's life difficult, and she seems to be looking out for Barcus.

They find one more rock in the city. Dorrie with their pink and orange inside just sitting pretty as one pleases in the fountain outside of a colorful pastry shop, which encourages them all to stop for a bit and have a snack- Verso and Barcus at least, while Esquie sits happily with them before declaring that he doesn't sense the others here. Verso is pleasantly surprised when Barcus agrees to venture out of the city to search with them, but then... Esquie is always strangely good at finding friends willing to go on adventures with him. He's definitely not displeased, though with a teasing smile he chalks it up to not wanting to have to go scare up a new guide.

This close to the city, there's not overmuch trouble to be found. Most bandits are more interested in the main roads where travelers and merchants are to be found, and the wildlife is somewhat intimidated by Esquie's size. Out farther in the wilderness proper that might change, but for now, as the sun sets on another day and Verso is busy getting a campfire lit, they're unbothered by anything more dangerous than an opossum trundling by the clearing they've claimed, babies clinging to her fur.

/pets the fictional possum

[lost_and_foundry]

It surprises Barcus how much enjoyment he gets out of just walking around the city with them. Seeing things with new eyes, happily pointing out projects the Ironhands have helped with recently, and trying not to allude too hard to the disaster with the Netherbrain and the cults. Not a good idea to scare off the tourists, but anyway, there are plenty of other people they can get that news from.

He compliments Dorrie's coloring as if praising a living animal for its bright eyes and glossy coat. He has some speculation about the geologic forces that might have formed her, too, and in fact ends up talking about parallels between baking and volcanic shaping of types of stone as they snack on pastries. Ridiculous nerd that he is, but these two don't seem to mind.

Barcus knows how to backpack, but after his goblin experience he always travels light. There is nothing specifically wrong with camping directly under the stars, or crawling into undergrowth or rock crevices, and this is more or less what he's come along anticipating. Except as they set up for the night, he looks over at Esquie and it occurs to him there is no undergrowth deep enough to shelter him.

"You know, I didn't think to bring a tent," he says slowly. "But then, I'm not sure they make any in the Gate that are sized quite right for you, Esquie. Are you going to be all right in the open?"