A Barstool Fairytale

Chapter 1: The Rainy Days Come

Taako huffed as he strolled further into town. There was absolutely no reason that innkeeper had to kick him out. I mean, sure, maybe he'd stayed for a night or two longer than he'd paid for, and maybe he didn't have the money to pay the innkeep for those two days, and maybe he didn't have any money at all, really, and definitely couldn't afford to stay another day even if he was able to work off the last two unpaid nights. But, really, the innkeep had no reason to shut Taako out in the cold!

Okay, maybe it wasn't cold, exactly. It was almost noon, actually, and the street vendors were setting up their carts. Taako stuck his hand into his coin pouch. Empty. His stomach growled and he sighed, glancing at the carts as he passed. She wouldn't approve, but...

Taako moved up to the nearest vendor, a human man selling vegetables. They were reasonably priced, too, for their size and apparent freshness.

"Hey, my man," Taako said smoothly. "Sure is some fine looking produce you have here." He let his accent slip through. He wasn't from Ravenshearth, and if he played up the tourist bit enough he might be able to distract the man. "I didn't see any farms on my way in. You grow this all yourself?"

"Oh, sure," the man replied. His accent wasn't nearly as posh as Taako had expected it to be. He wasn't sure why, one look at the man's clothes told anyone nearby that he wasn't from a family of wealth. "We live a little out of the city, probably on the other side of where you came through. Had a farm there for 5 or 6 generations, now. You won't find better crops than what I've got here, especially for such a good price."

Taako nodded, but he'd stopped listening after the first sentence. "Oh, yeah, for sure," he said, sliding a smaller carrot into his pocket with practiced ease. "'S it just you working or?"

"My family's back home," the man said, smiling a little and glancing down the road as Taako continued to take smaller vegetables from the stall. "My wife's probably making some lunch from the vegetables too small to sell well. Taste just as good though, especially when she cooks 'em. I'm not sure how she does it."

"One of life's biggest mysteries," Taako agreed. "Listen, I would love to stay and hear more about your life, but I should get back to sight-seeing. Places to go, things to do and all that." He waved half-heartedly and walked calmly away from the cart. He hadn't done anything like that since he was a kid, and it shouldn't have been as easy as it was for him after so long without practice. It shouldn't have been so easy for him on his own, either. That was usually a two-person lift. He patted his pocket once he was out of sight, making sure everything was there and he hadn't just been throwing vegetables on the ground or something.. Maybe he'd pay the guy back later, once he had enough to. Guy was just trying to make a living, same as anyone, and he hadn't been, like, rude. Taako probably wouldn't apologize, though. It wasn't part of his brand.

Taako had to do something to gain a little coin. He wasn't from here. He didn't have a place to stay anymore, and he didn't have anything else he was willing to pawn. The plates and silverware he'd brought with him on his journey he'd sold long ago, for what was probably far less than what they were worth, but they'd at least gotten him here. He hadn't yet sold his single pot and pan, and he didn't intend to. He could eat without a plate, but he couldn't cook on an open fire. At least not anything worth eating.

He felt the vegetables in his pocket again, a plan forming in his mind. If he'd gotten these using old tricks, maybe he could use some other ones to gain some income. He'd have to wait to eat, but he could handle that. He walked further into the square and looked around at the businesses. A tailor, a cobbler, a fancy, upscale restaurant, an art shop... A bar! Exactly what he needed. The wizard cast a small cantrip and held his hands to his face, running into the bar.

"Hey! Hey!" he hollered, feeling all eyes fall on him. An illusion of blood trickled between his fingers. "What's an elf gotta do to get some napkins in here?" It didn't take long for him to be handed 7 or 8 napkins, and possibly the handkerchief of a fellow he hadn't gotten a good look at. He muttered a 'thanks' and left the bar, holding the handkerchief close to - but not touching - his nose.

He dismissed the illusion spell and put the squares of cloth into another pocket. He'd be able to cut them into smaller ones soon enough. He managed to con another vendor into giving him some meat, and from there he went and set up a small area near the tailor's ship. He was far enough away from the vendors that they wouldn't see his stolen treats and close enough to the businesses that he might be able to convince some people to eat some of his food. He was a good cook, and he knew that. He cut up the napkins and handkerchief from earlier into smaller squares, which he could put his food out on as he sold it, and started a small fire to cook with. He pulled out his pan and started frying up some of the meat. Not all of it - he'd need some for the show later - but enough to get the smell of cooking food wafting through the air as the businesspeople came out for their lunch break. It was a beautiful afternoon, and Taako had managed to find some prime real estate for his little "cooking show."

As people came into the town square, the elf began tossing ingredients in the air. Occasionally, he'd cast small cantrips to send up harmless fireworks around him and attract attention. As the crowd around him grew, he began to transmute the vegetables he'd gotten into different ingredients. An onion became a clove of garlic, which fell into the pan, breaking neatly into pieces, and sizzled next to the meat already in the pan. A carrot was thrown into the air, transformed into a potato, cut into pieces, and was re-transformed into a carrot as it landed with the rest. A potato was cut up in front of the audience in smooth, fast motions, and tossed into the pan with showmanship. People clapped. This was what Taako lived for. The applause and the attention. Of course, the display would have been much showier if he'd had the funds to buy real ingredients, and his usual assistant. As it was, people left tips in front of him, and as he transformed his last few vegetables into a nice dough, and poured the cooked meal into little pockets of bread, people paid him a little more. He handed out as many as he could to the hungry crowd, thankful it was big enough to pay, but small enough that he didn't have to worry about running out.

As the crowd moved away, Taako picked up the rest of the money he'd been given and counted it out. He made a face and counted it again. That couldn't be right. That was hardly enough for lunch, let alone another night at the inn. He certainly wouldn't be able to pay the vegetable guy back. The meat vendor wasn't worth paying. They'd been rude.

Taako looked around at the people around him. He had one last trick he could pull from his past. She'd probably kill him when she found out, but she wasn't here to stop him. He popped the remaining bread pockets into his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Then, he stood, packed up and nodded to himself. He moved deftly through the crowds of people enjoying the weather, in no hurry to get back to work, and carefully picked their pockets as he went. He didn't take much, just a few coins here and there. He justified himself in thinking about how he was going to pay back the vegetable vendor, and maybe the innkeeper, and maybe the meat vendor, too. Definitely the veggie vendor. For sure. And then he could go find the guy that gave him the handkerchief earlier. Maybe he could buy him a drink.

The crowd began to lessen as people finally headed back to work. Taako counted through his findings. It certainly wasn't much, but it was a lot more than nothing. He headed over to the carts again and discreetly laid some coin on the vegetable one. No point in trying to explain why he was giving away money when he didn't have to, right? Then, he went for a walk.

It was too early to go to the bar, anyway, and he had things to do. Ravenshearth was the last lead he had on finding his sister. Lup, his partner when he cooked, the one who wouldn't have wanted him pickpocketing and stealing from street vendors. She'd gone missing two months ago and he'd been trying to track her down ever since. His search for her was the reason he was out of money, and the reason he was in Ravenshearth in the first place. He'd been here for almost a week, though, and there was still no sign of her. It was starting to get frustrating.

Maybe he should check with the local shopkeepers while he was out on his walk. Ask them if they'd seen her.

He nodded to himself and continued down the street.

She had to be somewhere.