The Unfortunate Events of the Cook and the Madman

A Debt Unpaid

The Driftwood Tavern was a very fine establishment in the city of Neverwinter. It boasted a warm, welcoming fire, many fine wines and a good many caskets of ale. The food served was rustic but hearty and the Innkeeper Jorge was a jolly fellow with a heart of gold. Jorge would allow Folk to conduct business freely in the Tavern, be that trading, hiring or a little bit of gambling on the tables, as long as people bought ale, food and maybe a bed he was happy enough to allow it to happen.

Poppy Broadbelt, a halfling, hopped herself onto an unoccupied stool, her bare feet dangling. She welcomed the comfort of being sat down at last after three days hard walk from her secluded home away from Neverwinter and relished in the first sip of warming mead. The halfling had finally finished conducting her business in the market, selling goats milk soap, goats cheese and goat pelts. Poppy had traded her wares for some essentials; herbs, spices, chicken legs and almond milk, all the good things needed to make her morsels. She paid a gnome with a pony a sack of coins to take the bulkier items back to her hollow and she would follow on tomorrow morning.

The halfling had hired a small room from Jorge the Innkeeper at her usual rate, dinner and breakfast included and was just settling down to her evening meal. Poppy felt a pang of sadness; she missed the noise, the roar of laughter, the chitter chatter, the general hubbub of people being merry in a Tavern. She often thought about trying to make Neverwinter her home, setting up shop as a baker, but she wasn't sure if she would feel more alone surrounded by people than at her hollow surrounded by goats.

Before she could dwell much longer on her saddened thoughts her plate of food arrived and she got to work at it, studying the people around her as she ate.

There was a raucous laughter coming from the table just across from hers, a large golden haired dwarf with a big smile and an even bigger beard was holding court amongst the collection of folk. There was an elf seated next to the dwarf, dour and somewhat annoyed looking and seated next to him was an odd looking man.

He was covered in bandages, his face practically half covered in gauze. A shock of black hair swooped over the top of his wrapped head and framed a pair of purple eyes. Though, for someone so menacing looking, he did laugh quickly, and remarkably his voice carried well too, even though his mouth was wrapped in the coverings.

Poppy could see the three men were playing Crown & Anchor, a simple enough card game of anteing and betting to get the highest and lowest card in hand. She watched as the elf laid another perfect hand, jack and a two. The Dwarf chortled and allowed the wrapped man to lay his cards first, A ten and a seven! The elf looked smug for a moment, before the dwarf laid out an absolutely perfect hand of a King and an ace. The dwarf bellowed out an almighty laugh, the bandaged man next to him laughed also while the elf looked steamed. There were some sharp words and finger pointing from the elf which were promptly put to a stop when an older man made his presence known from behind the dwarf. A glint of a dagger the gentleman was picking his nails with was enough for the elf to storm away in a huff.

“Now then!” announced the dwarf, “Anyone else care to relieve me of my gold?”

The gauze covered man relaxed back in his chair, looking around the room while shuffling the cards. He watched as a halfling woman made her way over to them, her eyes barely reached the tables edge. She popped a small silver tankard up onto the surface and clamboured up onto the stool. He studied her for a moment, she had a mess of brown curls wrapped away in a bun, though many escaped and framed her round face well. She had large green eyes and small smile.

“Aha my dear! Come to alleviate me of my gold have you?” The dwarf chuckled again. “Do you know the rules to Crown and Anchor?”

“I do, three rounds, highest, lowest, a crown and an anchor.” Poppy smiled, taking a quick sip from her mead.

“Fantastic! Gundren Rockseeker is the name, and this fine man is -”

“Bale, Samuel Bale,” the covered man cut him off with what Poppy presumed was a smile underneath. “And you are?”

“Poppy Broadbelt,” she replied taking the cards dealt to her. Poppy had watched them from across the room for a little while. Gundren seemed very good at the game, held a good poker face through his laughter. The Elf seemed to be okay at the game and probably would have faired better agaisnt different folk. Bale baffled her, he just seemed to enjoy the thrill of gambling with no end goal. Instead of folding out with a poor hand, he would through coin after coin down without a care for if he won or not.

When the Elf had stormed out Poppy thought she might try her luck against Gundren, she had a small bag of coin and knew the game well, what was the worst that could happen?

“Phandalin?” Sputtered Poppy the next morning, her fork of breakfast eggs halfway to her mouth. “That's near 3 days trek in the complete wrong direction for me!”

“That's what the dwarf said,” replied Bale watching as the halfling forked in two more mouthfuls. She swallowed. “This is all your fault Samuel Bale.” She pointed her fork at him, “I have no business in going to Phandalin, I have no business with Gundren Rockseeker.” Poppy sighed, she was of course wrong.

The game of cards had gone well enough, Gundren had played some good hands, Poppy had played a few better hands and was ready to call it a night. Bale had as she predicted thrown his coins to the middle and played an odd assortment of matches, none of them winners. The last final rounds though Bale began to win, he was laying queens with aces, kings with low numbers. It was like he had finally grasped it.

On the last round, Bale announced very loudly “one hundred gold!” as his ante. Poppy was silent, she didn't have that sort of coin. Not at all. Gundren laughed his deep, husky laugh, slapped Bale on the back and dropped his purse onto the table. Poppy went to bow out, she possibly had some good cards but not the coin.

“Don't worry I got this,” Bale said with a smile to her. Poppy tried to beg her way out but before she could fully form the words in her mouth about how ridiculous this was Bale interjected with, “And I'll ante for Poppy too!” Of course Gundren won, Poppy had a Jack and a three and much to her dismay Bale had two fives. Poppy watched as the deep purple of Bale's eyes flickered for a moment and the two cards burst into black flame. Gundren was unphased, a little amused even at the magic trick, a small smile showing under his glorious, golden beard.

“And that'll be 200 gold from yoursleves,” Gundren said with a warm but menacing tone.

“Ah, well, you see, I don't actually have that sort of coin on me,” replied Bale with a grin.

“Prehaps a trip to the vaults is in order then?”

“No, none there either.” Another smile. Poppy could feel her stomach get hollow and her feet freeze. What had she gotten herself into? Gundren rose to his feet, not doing a grand job of looking very threatening to Bale. The older man behind the dwarf rose also, his hand resting on a longsword. Tavern fights had been started for much less.

There was a long pause where no one said a word, Poppy barely breathed. Bale didn't move from his seated position, he looked rather relaxed amongst the tension.

The silence was broken with an almighty bellowed laugh, “You're definitely trouble Samuel Bale!” Gundren sat back down, sending his man to the bar for another round of drinks. “Now, I have a proposition for you both, and I have the feeling you can't say no.”