Flashback A Gig

[Inessa]

7th of Winter, 511 A.V. With the sun high in the sky on a warm winter day, many people romaned throughout the streets of the great city of ice. While it was true they all loved their illustrious queen greatly, one had to admit life became a little bit easier once she departed to rule over the rest of Mizahar. One young adult of only sixteen years made her way through roads covered in a thin layer of snow. Her long white fur cloak hung loosely around her shoulders as she marched with lute in both hands, idly playing as she went on. Her tune, as always, was merry and light, in her attempt to simply bring a bit of joy to the lives of others. As she came to pass an old tavern though, the owner happened to be outside. This woman was in her thirties, wrinkles on her face mostly covered up with heavy manke-up. Her face was gaunt, eyes small, turning a light shade of red as she heard the younger girl's tune. "You there! Bard!" Her piercing voice reached the instrumentalist's ears, and she turned to perk a brow at the older woman. "You're not half bad with that, are you?" The musician's teeth barely showed as she smiled. "I would like to imagine I've some skill, ma'am. I do try to prac-" "You have a name?" The older woman interjected, arms crossed over her large chest. "Inessa Snowsong, ma'am." "Huh, a Snowsong. Should have figured. Listen, the man who usually plays in here's ill. I need someone who can just play a song or two in the background, nothing too major. Think you'd be up for it? I'll pay you, work'll last about a week." Inessa nodded eagerly, letting out a 'mhm'. "I would love to! When do I start?" "Once the sun sets. And don't worry about anyone trying to make a move on you, we've an older crowd. They're all married." Inessa's once blue eyes shifted oh so slightly to a dark green at this. "Oh. Of course. Well, then I would be more than delighted." "Great. See you tonight then. We'll discuss the pay afterwards." Inessa nodded once more, eyes turning blue as her head tilted to the left. "Could I have your name?" "Oh? Ah... Johnna." The musician spared a wince at the woman's lack of last name. "I'll be there."

[Inessa]

As Inessa made her way into the tavern that night, she was surprised at the sheer size of it. The ceiling was fifteen feet off the stone floor, a few flimsy looking torches providing lighting to the chamber. Even though it was dim, she could still see everyone inside perfectly. All the young men sitting around. She gulped, looking to Johnna as the older woman came over. "I thought you said they were all married couples who came here?" Her voice was hushed, though a slight worry crept in as her eyes turned a bright green. "Yeah... I don't know where all these boys came from. They scared out all my regulars. Not much I can do about it." "Couldn't you... you know. Have kicked them out?" She looked over to the roughly twelve young men sitting by the bar with wide eyes. "This is the most people I've had in here at once this week, and they're throwing me a lot of coin. Don't really care where the money comes from, and my regulars always come back. Don't worry, you'll be fine." She pointed a thumb over her shoulder. "Your seat's over by the bar, if you need one." Inessa gulped, looking to the wooden furniture. There was a cheap burlap sack serving as a cushion on it, but it otherwise looked old and rickety. That's not what really bothered her though. She spared a glance down to her legs. Had she known what the situation would have been, she would have worn trousers instead of just letting her tunic and stockings cover her up. Inessa enjoyed the outfit normally, but to show her legs before such a crowd. ... Well, it worried her. Well. She gulped. Hopefully it won't be that bad. Inessa nodded slowly to Johnna before making her way to the seat. She took a steady breath to calm herself before sitting down, one leg crossed over the other at the knee. One brief strum of her lute brought the attention of a few men. Their eyes changed color as they looked upon the young bard, many on their second or third mugs of ale.

[Inessa]

The girl winced as she looked back to the men staring at her, eyes turning violet as her cheeks gained a soft reddish hue. She raises a hand to them, waving to them with her fingers, before bringing it back down to the lute on her lap. That seemed to appease them as they went back to her drinks, letting the girl breathe a sigh of relief. Finally able to concentrate on her song, she played. It was only a matter of time though before one of the young men pulled a chair over to the bard's side, the wood of his seat touching hers. Though she smiled kindly to the man, internally she was quite annoyed. Her comfort zone was not something to be penetrated, and this man roughly her age had just barged right in. His black hair was cut short as he returned the smile. "Dare I ask what brings a lovely woman such as yourself to a place like this?" His smile became a grin as he spoke, a light scent of alcohol accompanying his voice. Elbow on his thigh, he leaned slightly closer to the bard. Inessa's concentration briefly broke from her playing. For this she earned a glare from Johnna, but the other men didn't really seem to care. She mouthed the word 'sorry' to her temporary boss. "Just trying to earn a little bit of money." She desperately tried not to make eye contact. "Money, is it? You know, I could offer you some." His eyes turned pink as a lecherous grin spread across his lips. She gulped, knowing full too well what the man was asking for. Desperately, she tried to change the subject "... I could... take a song request." "No no no." His hand came to lay on her thigh, pushing aside her tunic slightly so he barely touched her skin. She froze, her music ending with a dissonant and jarring chord. A few of the men at the bar turned to notice, one scowling. "You're really trying to pull that here? Really?" The speaker leaned forward in his seat, eyeing the man who still had his hand on Inessa's leg. "I came here to get away from kids like you who can't handle liquor." He looked to be in his early twenties, and was certainly big too. Though the thought was distasteful to Inessa, she couldn't help but imagine it would be a one-sided fight if one broke out between the two. The man next to the bard scowled, grip tightening around her leg slightly. She tried to scoot away from him politely, though the hand followed her. "What's it to you? Mind your own business." Another voice joined in, agreeing with the rather clingy fellow. Then another. Then one raised in protest. Yet another joined the argument. Soon men were standing up from their seats. Inessa's wide eyes turned bright green with fear.

[Inessa]

The music had ended, replaced by a cacophony of the men's raised voices. Arguments and threats rung out across the room, as the subjects changed from the treatment of Inessa to other past minor grievances. The alcohol was bringing out the worst in most of them, the few that were still relatively sober being drowned out in the hate so loudly spoken of by their fellows. Even the large man who had stood up for Inessa in the first place was ignored as he tried to break up a few of the arguments. Johnna was simply staying out of it, safe behind her bar. She had almost forgotten the hand that was still tightly clutching her thigh, the man it was attached to snarling in obvious anger. He looked into Inessa's eyes, a strange mixture of pink and red settling in to his, as he released her. The girl almost managed to sigh in relief. Almost. The man's hand moving to grip her wrist and pull her up cut her short. Her eyes widened as she was forced to her feet. "Wh-What do you think you're doing!?" "We're leaving." That was all he said in response before pulling her by the wrist after him as he moved closer and closer to the door. She dug her heels in, crying out in protest as she struggled to break free. "Don't worry, I'll pay you." Somehow, that didn't ease her at all. One man apparently heard her cries from the bar. The big twenty-year old who made an effort to help her out in the first place. His red eyes narrowed so sharply that his whole face seemed to scrunch up. "And where do you think you're going!?" With his huge hands forming fists that could smash stone, he began marching towards the pair. Not noticing just how out of his league he was, the smaller man's hand tightened around Inessa's wrist, fingernails digging into her flesh. "We're leaving. Mind your own business." The bigger man looked into Inessa's eyes, and she frantically shook her head. "But if you're looking for a little hustle," the smaller man said, grinning slightly as his free hand reached to his side. "Then I'm ready for you." There was a brief flash of steel as a large knife appeared in his hand, pointed at the larger fellow, stopping him in his tracks. "I'll call for the Icewatch if you don't put that down. Don't do anything you'll regret, kid." "You sure about that? Someone could get hurt." His eyes made contact with Inessa's.

[Inessa]

The world seemed to freeze as Inessa looked into the other man's eyes, her knees buckling slightly in fear. She looked down to the blade, the man turning it oh so slightly to point at her. "Sorry," he said in a tone that lacked any empathy, still keeping a firm grip on her wrist. The two had stopped in place, and Inessa's struggles had come to a halt. Her eyes shut tightly as she tried to compose herself, taking a deep breath in and out. By the time they opened again, she had a vague semblance of a plan. She made eye contact with his, moving in slightly closer to the man so that he couldn't avoid looking at her. Her voice was soft. "Please. Just let me go," she stated as smoothly as she could in this frightened state. "Just let me go and be on your way." Her eyes narrowed gently, lips tightening. The man's grip loosened slightly on his grip, blue mixing in with pink and red, creating a storm of colors in his eyes. She planted a single thought deep within his mind. It was faint, barely echoing in his subconscious. She forced herself to suppress a cheer as both pink and red faded from his eyes. ... Who knows what would have happened if he knew he was being manipulated by magic. "She's not worth it," he said, echoing the thought Inessa had placed in his head. He released her wrist, stowing the knife as he turned to the door. "Wearing an outfit like that? She's probably all used up anyway. I'm not bothering with someone else's leftovers." Her eyes widened as he stated those words. She certainly didn't make him say that! An astonished exhale escaped her as she heard the insult, the man barely hearing it as he put one foot outside the door, vanishing into the night shortly afterwards.

[Inessa]

Things seemed to calm down after the knife-wielding youth had departed. The big fellow had placed a hand on Inessa's shoulder, asking if she was hurt in any way. She nodded slowly, pushing aside the slight headache that had entered her from her manipulation of Djed. That seemed to satisfy the man as he went back to the bar. The crowd quieted down, those that agreed with the departed man soon leaving themselves. The number of people in the tavern was cut in half, the few remaining having quiet conversation about what had just happened. Johnna merely served them drinks as they requested, sparing Inessa little more than a glance. The bard slowly made her way to her seat, planting her romp on it once more. Her lute sat on her lap, and it rested there unplayed for five minutes as the girl zoned out, staring at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Eventually, one of the men turned to face her, still on his own seat. "Hey." She looked back up at him, voice quiet and meek. "... Hey." "Know any ballads?" "One or two. But... I'm not the most experienced singer." The man shrugged. "We'll hear 'em anyway. Go on. You have the voice for it." Slowly, the green faded from Inessa's eyes as a gentle smile spread across her face. Yellow had replaced the color as she strummed her lute, singing a well known song. A few of the men joined her in an out of tune chorus of sorts, but they laughed regardless of the Inessa's lacking skills. To them, it was just a good time to be had. Her smile rarely faded as she played into the night. And she didn't have another issue for the rest of the week.

((Sorry if it's not that good, Valk. I'm just trying to ease into things a bit.))

[Valkyrie]

Inessa :

Experience
2 Lute
1 Observation
1 Persuasion
2 Hypnotism
1 Singing

Lore
Dealing with Pushy Patrons
Playing for a Crowd of Young Men

Other
+ Ledger = 6gm

Notes: This was a nice thread however I have to caution you about your use of hypnotism. Planting thoughts requires competent skills. Please make sure you thoroughly read over a magic page to make sure you know what your skill level is capable of. This is a first warning but in the future I will not award you points if you are overplaying your skills.

You Will Be Collected if Worthy

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.