Billy and the Beanstalk

Bed, breakfast and bar owned and operated by the most famous cocksure braggart of the DoS. Come in and sit a spell.

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Karnafexx
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Joined: Tue May 25, 2004 2:27 am
Location: The Dead Nicholas

Billy and the Beanstalk

Post by Karnafexx »

After saying goodbye to Onxy, Billy headed to his bedroom to shower and change. He turned the water on a bit hotter than usual, forcing himself to endure the near-scalding water. After a while his body relaxed, tensed muscles loosened and the memories of Laash and Kappy soon faded.

When he was done he turned the water off and slowly toweled himself dry. He wiped the fog from the bathroom mirror with the palm of his hand and stood staring at his face. It hadn't outwardly changed in the past ten years since he'd arrived here, but there was something...a tightness around the eyes, a hint of hopelessness he remembered seeing in his fathers eyes in the months before his death.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" He asked his reflection. The reflection gave him a lopsided grin but didn't reply.

Billy tossed the towel in the hamper and grabbed a pair of blue boxers with dancing penguins and slipped them on. Not the approved undergarments of one of the most feared men in dueling history. He selected a pair of boot-cut jeans and slipped into his favorite pair of Doc Martens. He did this as he thought of the errands he had to run, giving only enough thought to his clothing to make sure his boots were tied and his fly up. Don't want to scare the natives he silently chuckled to himself as he zipped himself up. He absently grabbed a light blue tee from the dresser and slipped it on as he headed back to the bar.

Minh NG was the only one at the bar, her cantankerous father was absent. Maybe there is a God, he thought. Minh looked up from where she was slicing lemons and limes for the mixed drinks and gave him a small smile. The woman had all the right stuff in all the right quantities but Billy had never thought of her as anything more than a sister.

"Mornin' Darlin'." He chirped as he slid onto a stool in front of her.

"Good morning, Billy. You look happy today." She replied, and to him it sounded as if that was a rare thing.

"I'm doin' well, Minh. Did the old goat leave ya' that list of supplies he needed?" He asked as he bent over the bar and grabbed a pair of heavy black gloves from under the counter.

Minh produced a folded piece of paper and an envelope. Billy checked the envelope and raised a brow at the amount of money inside. Not a kings ransom but certainly not a pauper's share.

"I wrote the names of the vendors next to father's items to make it easy on you. Don't tell him, I think he did that on purpose to keep you out of his hair all day." The last was a said in a conspiratorial whisper and with a sly smile.

"Feh, the old man needs ta' get some hair before I can get inta' it." He said and winked at her. Reading down the list he nodded at the items, but there were so many! "Even with directions I'll prolly be gone most of the day. Make sure he doesn't slack on his work...I run a tight ship here!" They both had a chuckle at that. Billy knew he only owned the place but it was the NG family that kept it running.

At the bottom of the list was a little note written in MR. NG's handwritting. Don't buy any magic beans, Jack. He hurrumped and saw Minh trying to hide a smile. Billy clucked his tongue on the roof of his mouth and closed the list with all the dignity he could muster.

Slipping the envelope and list into his front pocket Billy levered himself up onto the bar and gave Minh a kiss on the cheek. She responded as always, with a hand over her mouth and a soft giggle.

Billy headed out, the day starting off pretty darn well if he said so himself.
Karnafexx
Adventurer
Adventurer
Posts: 43
Joined: Tue May 25, 2004 2:27 am
Location: The Dead Nicholas

Post by Karnafexx »

Billy didn't like horses all that much but understood that they served a purpose. After arriving in town he stabled the beast at the Copper Canyon Inn and spent a few minutes trying to work the kinks out of his back. Saying he knew how to ride was an overstatement and only covered the fact the he had almost mastered the art of falling off of the animals without serious injury.

After regaining some feeling in his rear and testing to make sure he hadn't slipped every disc, Billy headed off to the spirit vendor. He purchased a bottle of Thok-Knok's gin from the hook-nosed vendor and slid it into his back pocket. Instead of taking the relatively safe and scenic route to the main marketplace, Billy detoured through and area he liked to call "The Gauntlet". The Gauntlet was a three block sprawl of tenements that appeared to be on the incline, unlike most of the cities other poorer areas of town.

The streets were teaming with children at play and people at work. Like most poor neighborhoods, the children were a bit grubby and the clothes of most of the people sported multiple patches. The difference was that the children appeared well fed and there wasn't the usual undercurrent of hopelessness one usually sees in depressed areas.

The main reason for the upbeat look and feel of the neighborhood was one Jack Hamross, or Jack the Hammer. Jack was an aging carpenter of impressive height and build with wild hair and bushy eyebrows, both long gone to gray. Jack had been a former Arena fighter who had lost everything he owned in a dueling scam. He'd been fed opponents who he could either beat handily or who would take a well planned fall. The people who had attached themselves to Jack advised him to bet heavily on himself and for a time it paid off handsomely. Then one night they convinced Jack to take a lean out on his business on a "sure bet" opponent Jack was to face. Jack met his first and only defeat at the hands of a better fighter and not only lost all his money and his business, but his wife up and left with their three children.

Forced out his home, Jack had moved into the neighborhood and survived doing odd jobs for the local residents. Part of his rent was paid by making repairs on his landlord's building the other parts he picked up where he could. When Jack wasn't working for the locals he'd be sitting outside of his tenement on an old keg barrel, watching the children play. Over the years he'd become a fixture in the community and the children he'd watched play grew up and had children of their own, whom Jack also kept an eye on.

That's how Billy met the Hammer....
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