"I would like to apologize..."
"You do not need to."
"Er, but I was wrong about your magical prowess. You're clearly the better mage, I was bested and-"
Gorum stood outside of a Tavern with the human woman from before, patiently trying to reassure her that her previous rudeness was inconsequential to him. Currently, the Hero and his companions alongside the elf were inside the Tavern, trying to negotiate to let Gorum come inside the building. Assuring the owner that Gorum wouldn't break anything.
"Alright, we've gotten permission from the tavern owner. Let's all sit down so we can get aquatinted." Said one of the twins that organized the tourney. Poking her head out of the door to wave him in.
Gorum crouched down and squeezed his way indoors, able to stand up once he made it into the spacious bar area. He was lucky that the building had a high roof, otherwise he'd be scrabbling around on the floor. Quietly walking towards the large circular table the hero's party sat at, Gorum saw an empty space that had a large crate instead of a chair.
"....." Gorum picked up the crate, moved it aside and sat on the floor. He'd just break it if he sat on it after all.
"Well now that we're all say together let's do introductions around the table! I'll go first! I'm Evan Emit, third son of Werber Emit, current patriarch of the Emit noble bloodline! And as you all know, I'm the Hero!" Evan said with his chest puffed out, full of pride.
"I'll go next! Ahem, I am lady Emilia Yon Scorber. Second daughter to King Lancaster Yon Scorber. Yes, I am a princess but please, while we're on this adventure together I want to be treated the same as any other party member." said Emilia, the young woman in nobles traveling clothes. It wasn't particularly hard to tell she was blue blooded, her extravagant clothes, well taken care of skin and luxuriously groomed bright pink hair kind of gave her away.
"And I am her protector, Junior Knight Captain Olivia Reddrum. 17th daughter to the Reddrum knight lineage. Please be kind to her highness." said Olivia, the woman in the rather revealing metal armor. Although Gorum could respect her seriousness, he didn't really understand why her chest plate was made to cup around her breasts, nor why she was wearing a regular skirt lined with metal plates. The girl didn't even have any leg protection, just impractical metal toed high heels.
"I'm Ceidi!" one twin said.
"And I'm Keidi!" said the other twin.
"We're the adoptive children of the royal treasurer so can't technically claim to be a part of the Nortum lineage..." Ceidi said.
"But we're his children all the same!" Keidi added on.
"Yes, and our duties actually reflect our fathers! We're going to be taking care of the party's domestic issues and finances! So please feel safe in our hands!" Ceidi said, ending Gorum's brain pain. He was unsure why, but as nice as these two girls were, they gave him a headache. Perhaps it was their odd way of talking?
"Hm? Is it my turn? Okay, I am Lana Taur-Crusher. Eldest daughter of Morra Taur-Crusher and currently the strongest fighter in all of the Amazon tribes. It's been an ancient duty of our strongest warrior to aide the Hero in their divine task whenever they appear." Lana said, having a very rude and arrogant tone. Gorum didn't particularly mind her attitude but he had to keep himself from letting out a laugh when she proclaimed herself "Strongest fighter in all Amazon tribes". If she were to ever see the Amazons Gorum knew of, she would piss herself and crumble to the ground. That said, she was definitely an Amazon what with the lack of clothes...
"I'll go next then! I'm Mia Adleleaf! Best hunter in the whole Werrwood forest! Probably the best hunter in the world even. The elven council made me come out here to participate in the tourney and help the Hero, but I'm not mad about it! I welcome the challenge." Mia said, having an unbearably smug tone, even more so than Lana. Although Gorum wasn't very surprised by it, not once in his long life had he ever met a humble elf. It was funny however to see her bragging with bruises on her face...
"Me next then, I suppose. I'm Naina Jopin, 1st daughter to Baron Carl Jopin. I've been a magical prodigy my whole life and graduated from the magic academy with top marks so I figured who better than me to teach the Hero magic? Ah...until..." Naina sort of trailed off as she looked over to Gorum nervously.
The whole party turned their head to Gorum, who was sat in the floor on his knees, still managing to be taller than them all. Their curiosity didn't come as a surprise to anyone, though. He was clearly the most...unique, member of the party.
"...." Gorum sat in silence for a moment, contemplating on how to introduce himself.
"I am Gorum. I do not belong to any noble house. I am an experienced warrior and I was sent by an Oracle of my lands to help the Hero." Gorum said, keep things short and simple. Just the way he liked it. However...the whole party kept staring at him, as if waiting for him to say something else.
"...that's all." Gorum said, hoping for the awkward silence to end soon.
"W-Well then, since introductions are done with we should decide on what to do first as a party. Now, I personally think-" Ceidi started.
"I want to go monster slaying!" Evan interrupted, jumping up in his seat.
"Ah, but-" Ceidi tried to continue.
"I agree, monster slaying is what we should do." Lana added on.
"Yeah! Monster slaying is where it's at!" Mia shouted.
"But we don't even-" Keidi piped up, trying to help her sister.
"If it's what Evan wants to do..." Emilia said hesitantly.
"Absolutely not, it's to dangerous at this time for you, my lady." Olivia said, shutting Emilia down.
"Ah... I'm all for monster slaying, but maybe we should ask Gorum his opinion? He's clearly very experienced so he would know best, right?" said Naina, looking up at Gorum, who was quietly listening to all of them jabber like buffoons.
"Ah! That's a great idea, what do you think about this, Gorum?" Ceidi said, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
Honestly, Gorum liked the idea of monster slaying. It would help him to understand how the party was in terms of combat power and teamwork. Plus, both exp and practical experience were needed to strengthen all of them, specifically Evan. So the sooner they started slaughtering, the better. But first...
"Equipment." Gorum stated plainly.