Miracle Aligner (D&D, Dragon of Icespire Peak)

they meet in a tavern ofc

rain had fallen the previous night making the trails mushy, and the half-orc woman in chain mail made her way through the muck. she was currently bickering with a smaller figure, dressed more like a ninja in all her dark wrappings, who sat atop the other woman's shoulders. nothing else was particularly notable, but her eyes gleaming gold only stood out further with the get up. they'd only known each other a few weeks on the road, but had gotten quite close in that time.
"princess, i don't think it'll be very nice there, i'm fine to put more money out for a safer stay." the princess was busying herself with tapping her fingers on the other woman's head as she spoke, "i want to see the performer, i've heard a few things about him and it's hard to find him when he moves around all the time. please, it's just the one night."
"what have you heard?"
"he's an alright storyteller, charming and well-connected. i think he could help us find a job suitable for our skill set." the half-orc mulled this over and grimaced at the sucking sound her boots were making lifting from the ground. both girls were planning to make some coin before possibly helping each out with their own agendas. it depended on how they worked together, having gotten along fine so far this would be a good opportunity to understand each other's capabilities. plus it was freezing out and she was getting tired of walking. "i'm okay with one night, but i don't see what he can know that we don't already."
the conversation tattled off there, which answered her question that the princess was still figuring it out. she carted her fingers through the brown, fluffy hair of her companion, and later dragged those fingers over the buzzed half of her companion's scalp. another hour passed when she shifted the younger girl into her arms to set her down next to her side as the muddy trails had shifted into more pebbled walkway leading to the town now only a few hundred feet away. "i'm okay with getting dirty you know."
"i know," she gave the princess a smile. they moved into the city quietly, letting the princess lead the way in their search for a tavern called the golden raspberry. it did have a cute sign with little golden raspberries glinting in the evening sun. they walked in to warm air and lighting, evening rush having not yet begun. the princess was very happy, feeling like a familiar setting to her she was able to quickly get them food and drink as well as more information on the performance, "we still have half an hour before it starts, and his stage name is the weaver"
"hm." she ate slower watching how sloppily the princess scarfed her food down, always wanting something too sweet or too spicy for her own palate. at this point the tavern was nearly full, but the talking around the room had fallen into a hush at the sound of drums thumping loud. it was a slow beat, and the individual walking on the stage was able to emphasize each step to match it. he was dressed in baggy harem pants with a tight shirt that only had one sleeve to it, the other sleeve cut over his shoulder and pretty revealing for the chilly weather around this part. more prominent about him was his looming figure, he had to be at least seven feet tall. yet his face only had soft and sloping features, he had floppy ears, dull purple skin and pretty hazel eyes that surveyed his audience. the weaver had many bracelets jingling along his wrists as his hands continued to patter, picked up speed then slowed, getting quieter when he began to speak.
"hello everyone, i hope you've had time to grab a drink and settle down. thank you for coming out tonight, i'll play more with the band when they get here but right now, i remembered a short tale shared to me not too long ago. it's about a fierce warrior."
"ritari was a young tiefling girl that had learned she had a natural talent in combat after a couple of scuffles she encountered living in the non-reputable part of the city. she honed in on that to make more coin in the fighting arena, and she made a pretty good living from it. but war was getting closer to her home, and when she was given the choice of joining the battle, she couldn't refuse. she had quickly risen in ranks and commanded a battalion, the men and women under her command regarded her fondly and were trusting of her choices."
he took a breath and that was all that could be heard, the two travelers were surprised with how he commanded the room.
"she was beautiful in the fray, her body movements never show tautness.
always swift, determined steps.
she presses forward in a crowd of enemies,
her wrist flashing in its speed to change angle,
her feet moving in a dance carrying her from deadly blows.
everyone watches her,
the sword wielded incomprehensible to mortal eye.
they fall and she rises."
his eyes were glossed over when he said those lines, but his drumming sped up as he continued, "the war had went on for several months and there was only one individual that had thwarted her blade. the two fought everyday, constantly at a draw. it got complicated as the weeks bled together and she looked forward to seeing him, replaying the brief comments thrown at one another in their clashing hits. you see by then they had built a close connection in their fighting, knowing each other's movements better than their own. watching them it was hard to distinguish their figures as they had blurred and meshed together. they weren't in love, that'd be absurd. but she couldn't place another over him, he'd managed to keep a close place in her heart, even with his victory over her. when he pressed his blade in her left side, he was very shocked at the gentleness of her hand touching his cheek, and more so when that hand had sharply flicked a small blade from her sleeve and jammed it in his neck. they were sprawled out on the grass when ritari had huffed out 'finally, still felt good even if you got me first..' she was struggling with breath as was he with the gurgling of blood heard to her left. she'd turned to look at him better, 'casmir, do you think we could continue after all this? i knew we'd eventually find an end to this game we've played, but let's try for another yeah?' 'yeah.. i'd- like that too.. ritati.' his speech had become more garbled at that point, she wasn't able to make out his last words, and she had passed shortly after. but when people go to visit those stretched out plains of battle ruins, some say they still hear those two jesting at each other and the clang of their swords, content with a dual with no winners."
with the story coming to a close his drumming had also come to a stop, and it took a moment before he got some polite claps. he slid his drums on his back as he strolled over to the bar, getting the free meal promised after his performance. he ate and listened to the hushed chatter of the two women to his right, working up the courage to confront him. he saw the one most obscured by her scarf and hood chose to speak up, "that was a good performance- weaver? have you always done storytelling or do you have songs as well?"
he turned to face them, getting a better look at the scars that lined the half-orc's face although she remained silent. "i'm not the best singer actually, and i just relay what i've been told."
the princess wrung her hands through her shirt, rocking on her heels. "so you've travelled a lot?"
"just a bit around this region, i've only been at this for a few months."
"it seems it's going very well for you, anything memorable since you've been around? we're actually looking for work and that you could point us in the right direction." she looped an arm around cher's.
he leaned closer, sizing the two up for moment, "who are you then?"
"you can call me princess, and this is cher."
"alright princess, i'm kosumi but ko is fine too." he shot her a smile as he finished his dinner. "i might know something up your alley, but you may need to share since, frankly, the two of you aren't enough."
"seems like you have someone in mind?"
"yeah, a crazy glass blower i met two weeks ago seems capable," his smile widened further, "and me!"
cher shook her head quickly grabbing the attention of the man and the princess, noticing the reddening cheeks on her friend the princess looked back at ko, "we're interested in short term, and the idea of needing two more people makes it seem like way more than a quick job."
"it can be, i just think it'd be safer with her and i there, and there's a few options we can choose from. you haven't even heard what it's about, aren't you curious? this is what you came to me for no?"
the two exchanged a look, more of the princess pleading to cher. but cher was still unsure, she did like the idea of safety in numbers, though meeting more new people is hard for her. the princess spoke, "you're okay with working with us, a few strangers?"
he drank more of his pint, looking between both of them. "you two seem fine, and no one else asked. this would pay more for me in comparison to doing several performances which is why i considered it. and i can't refuse two young ladies in need of assistance." cher, who throughout this interaction had folded in on herself, gave him a nod although she felt a bit wary at the latter half of his statement. the princess now spoke up with crinkled eyes being the only giveaway of the big smile under her mask and tapped her cup to ko's. "works for me! let's get some dessert to celebrate this growing companionship, cher can i see my coin purse?" cher reaches into the princess' coin purse handing her two copper pieces which the princess is dissatisfied with but waves down a worker. she asked for the sweetest food they had, which was just a sweet corn bread that she nearly ate whole. she did tear off two chunks, pushing them to the others.
cher politely nibbled at it. ko popped it into his mouth in a manner like the princess, saying between chews, "i've got a bit more work for the night, but i'll explain more of where we're going and my point of contact later. thank you for coming up to me, won't be strangers for long now and maybe can make some fun of it." the band that was setting up was only two other musicians, and ko himself now pulled at the pan flute resting on his hip as he made his way over to them.
"what'd you think?" the princess was licking her fingers clean as she gazed up at the half-orc. "not sure, he is pretty and plays decently. i do have more questions but they can wait for now. do you have anything else you need to do tonight?"
"i'm full now and tired. and i know you're tired since you did most of the walking for me so let's just have an early night to bed." she grabbed her hand, which was still a bit sticky from the bread and her saliva but cher didn't comment on it as the young girl led her up to their room. she did make the princess wash up before bed though, and cher left her in the bed as she curled on the chair to the side of the room, lost in thought before looking down to her hands in her lap. she liked her outfit, a bit comical as she was nearly in full knight armor that had many silvers and blues to it and embellished engravings. she was currently tracing the swirling hearts engraved in her gauntlets, voice already soft grew softer as she whispered to herself for the better part of an hour. she gushed over the new things she did recently, cute livestock she saw, some concerns of the weaver and the glass blower mentioned briefly, he did say they are crazy. she also appreciated the princess being able to handle business on her behalf. she stretched her limbs out as she finished her chat, joining the princess who claimed her left hand to clasp between her dark grey ones.
she woke up to those hands still cradling her's. and it wasn't until the jingling of cher's chain mail shirt sounded through the room that caused the princess to stir, who followed suit to get ready quickly, already excited for what breakfast could be.
the two made their way to a table with the princess already talking to the staff over three meals, ordering one for the weaver who hadn't shown yet. he came down bundled up in an overcoat and was careful not to touch the mess the princess made around her area. the gentleness of her companion next to her chewing slowly was a stark contrast as they both glanced up to him. "this looks delicious thank you."
the princess spoke up, "we do have a few questions we thought about together if you don't mind answering."
"go on"
"okay, how long will travel be for your friend and going to wherever you said for the jobs, and how long from there to the jobs?"
"if we get a few horses, getting to the elf will only take a day west towards the coast. getting to phandalin will take three and the jobs i can recall are not too far from town but we could take on one after another rather than back and forth to receive payment. although i think getting payment as fast as possible would be best."
she turned to cher, "have you been to phandalin?" she shook her head pushing her plate closer to the princess who took it happily, "i have read a bit on it, it's a pretty important city economically." ko hadn't heard her speak before, it was a soothing voice.
"we would only require two to three since cher and i could share. is there a stable nearby?"
"i dropped off the horse i was using to get here, so it should be easy to get two more."
"perfect, let's go."
they decided the main road would be safest and easiest on the horses, they'd only need to stray off towards the last few hours of the journey. the princess braided the horse's hair that she and cher were on while ko was on a horse with one trailing behind. he messed with the strings of his lyre and the sound of it was the only thing that filled the air. so for the most part it was still pretty awkward between them being unfamiliar with one another. the princess broke the silence, "what made you want to be a bard?"
"family friend was somewhat of one, and she taught me a lot. she would travel a lot and i saw how well off she could be from it, and i have been making more than what i did in my small town." he turned to cher, "and what are you if i can ask? seem like a fighter but not a mercenary."
"i'm in the ruby rose order."
"oh, really? one of their clerics then?"
"no. i'm a paladin."
"what made you get into that?"
"i was just an acolyte a few months ago, but sune called for me to arms so here i am."
ko nodded, "sune, goddess of love."
"and beauty!" the princess added.
"well i see why she could take a liking to the two of you lovely ladies." he smiled easily, "what are you to the lady of love?"
the princess shook her head still looping her fingers through the horse's hair as she did and undid the braids, some big some small and she was careful not to pull. "i'm not apart of the ruby rose order, i only know what cher has told me. but i was thinking i'll let you guess what i do best, since eventually i'll show you what i can do." she returned his smile, eyes crinkling once more.
the rest of the day went by smoothly, a man in a wagon with crates of fruit was able to sell some to them, which the princess greedily devoured. the horse her and cher rode on now had many braids to its black mane, sparkling in the evening sun as she had put her own gold beads to secure them. ko made the call for them to let the horses and themselves rest for the night and arrive in the morning. cher made a small meal for them, and gave the rest of her portion to the princess. she was the first to fall asleep, almost abruptly as she was comfortable with a full belly and lying her head in cher's lap. ko looked across the fire to the two, knowing their relationship was close but unsure of defining it in case he offend them. he went to his pack and brought out pieces of fabric he'd worked on the other night, knowing there'd be a price to pay when they arrived. he pulled his tangled hair up into a ponytail, getting to work with the light he had by the fire.
cher watched silently, deciding to take first watch she let him do this for an hour before lightly saying, "you should rest, i can wake you up in a few hours to take next watch."
ko had hunched over the piece only to sit up at her words and blew out air, rubbing at his eyes. "you must won't you?"
"i will."
"okay. okay, thank you." she offered a small smile with pearly white tusks on display as he turned over to sleep.
the night went by with no issue, the princess decided to help cook, but she set fire to it and ko quickly took over although he was more concerned of his own rations being burnt. in the early morning they went on their way to a little seaside town, to meet an elf.

author's note: short and sweet, i'd like to write a few chapters transitioning into the adventure to form the group and get an idea of each character but it does begin in phandalin. no updating schedule but i wrote this quickly so if people like it i'll try to be more diligent with uploads, otherwise it's just a fun thing to do in my free time. ty! :))