Lightstar Family/Xarnelf/Roleplay 19

Two Gold Short

Xarnelf left the bank in Nahad with a slow step and a lowered head, dreading his men's reactions when they found out that he did not have their promised pay ready for them. Running a hand through his wavy hair, the young knight released a forlorn sigh and headed out aimlessly in search of a quiet place for him to sit down and reflect upon his error of judgment.

How did I come up two gold short? he asked himself over and over again, trying to figure out where his mistake in calculation lay. I didn't spend any to train them at all since three weeks ago, and I've been paying my two healers every day so I could spend ten gold for ten days instead of seven.

I had extra to spare after I paid them two weeks ago, but now I find myself without even enough to pay them for the past week? How can this be? Xarnelf shut his eyes tightly, rubbing at his forehead in annoyance as he tried to force his brain to come up with the underlying reason. At a nearby shout, he lifted his head. Then it hit him, and he snapped open his eyes in shock and realization at what had happened.

BAM! went the young man's head into a corner of the pile of wood carried on a passing laborer's massive shoulders. "Owww! Mother of the Aenil..." the Lightstar scion cursed as he rubbed his head again in pain and even greater annoyance.

"EY YOUS DER, WETCH WER YOUSE GOEN, NOOBUL," the civilian shouted over his empty shoulder as he continued on his way with his firewood.

Growling under his breath at his own clumsiness, Xarnelf moved off in a hurry, muttering incoherently to himself as he looked straight ahead, careful to avoid commiting a similar mistake. So it was that he failed to notice the slick cobblestones over which a leaking barrel of water had very recently stood, before being removed for repairs. The knight's arms flew out as he attempted to maintain his balance, but it was no use.

Xarnelf flapped wildly as his feet slipped out from under him, shooting forwards as the back of his head dropped towards the stone-covered ground. Aenil's foot, this is NOT my day..he mused, and then...CRACK! was the last sound he heard before the darkness overwhelmed his troubled mind.