Charmed Somehow

Dorge takes a swig of beer and watches his charisma buff till the end of turn. That was his last copper which means he'll have to catch dinner later and sleep in the stables, so he'd better make the drink count. Risk the +5 on the dirty blonde in the corner or see if the bard knows any songs about Adver. He probably should have kept the copper to tip the bard with, but he'd spent the night on a grind killing wererats in the sewers and after upgrading his sword with that thief of a blacksmith he just wanted a beer.
The side quests were killing him. He never dreamed he'd be stuck running errands for a two-bit druid again or chasing ghosts out of cemeteries, but here he was.
He'd started squatting at this bar because it was a little seedy and he figured some Adventurers would come in at some point and he'd get taken on, but that wasn't going so well. Quest wise it was a little dry, and whenever a group did come in that looked a little promising, he'd either get a polite "No, thank you" or outright laughed back to his seat after the self-righteous Paladin/Cleric/Hunter gave him the old up and down. And that's when they didn't mistake him for an NPC. He was actually starting to prefer that though because he could usually take a few coins off them and give them hints about Nish-To's Tomb really being buried under the library in Largo Largo, which he'd then split with the bartender just to keep the peace.
The IPA he's drinking is a little stronger than he bargained for so he's about to ignore the bard and give the dirty blonde a smile when a Story Element slides into the seat in front of him. This is a little unexpected so Dorge checks his stats to see if he's been charmed somehow. Nope, just the charisma buff and still a long way to go before leveling up. Sometimes the dice just land weird.
"My name is Caryle Hogan and I have a tale of woe th-" the story element begins, but Dorge cuts him off. "Listen, Carl, we don't have to talk like that, we can just talk normal."
Caryle looks taken aback for a beat then shrugs, "I hear you've been grinding the board."
"Yeah, and- heard from who?" Dorge asks, pushing his glass away.
"I hear you go to the board to see new job postings every day, take five shit jobs, clean up a bit, and then drink. And that you're not as low level as you look. I got all that from buying the bard a drink, Warrior."
Dorge sighs and his scratches his beard, "Well. All that checks out. So?"
"So you want to go wacking wererats again tomorrow or you want a real job?" Caryle spreads his hand like one of those people that know when to use the word magnanimous.
Dorge smiles and shrugs, "Hey, I'm getting pretty good at that."
"You going to plateau at level 40 then or do you plan to cross-class? What's next, monk?"
That was a dig and Dorge let it show as such. But what he was really doing was wondering if this guy really thought he was lvl 40 or if the bard told him as such. Maybe he should have been splitting the take from the noobs with him. "What's the job?"
Caryle sniffs and looks at his fingernails, "Maybe you're not quite ready."
There are some parts of the game Dorge hates and this was one of them. He had a penalty in diplomacy because he wanted another point in strength. So now he was thinking of breaking the table in two with his bare hands and drowning the story element in the nearest well.
Carlye might have seen Dorge's fingers go white against the wood grain or just really needed the job done, so he sat up and cleared his throat, "I need something taken to Largo Largo, two days, tops. I'll pay you half, plus something to stay at the Iron Hoof with, then the rest when you get back."
"Why not post it on the board?" Dorge asked, his hands relaxing. "Ah. Contraband?"
"Not exactly, but might as well be in this place, huh?" Carlye laughs dryly and his eyes tilt over to a trio of holy guards praying over their soup. Dorge was picking up what was being put down. Cities with temples could be tiresome, borish, and hopelessly fucked up under the sheets, but what would be innocuous in some places could put you in the stocks here. "If you'll agree I'll upgrade your gear one tier. Not much from the looks of it, no offense, but."
"Fine," Dorge says before Carlye realizes he's not really thinking it over, and changes his status to Under Contract.
"Excellent," Carlye says and stands, "when you see the blacksmith about your upgrade, he'll give you the package and the first half of your pay."
"Wait, how do I find you when I get back?" Dorge asks.
"Ask the bard," Carlye replies and walks away.
Dorge slides his fingers through his beard and shifts in his seat. Sometimes the dice land weird, but they always land.