Interlude: Nock Downtime
General Summary
Nock inquires of Roger if anyone in town speaks Orc as he's developed an interest. Roger indicates that there are some farmers on the outskirts of town that are half orc but he's not sure exactly where. There is, however, at least one of the workers at the Stonebridge Docks who is a half-orc and might be willing to teach.
Nock makes his way to the docks in the late morning. There are a few fishermen, some mending nets and a few others seeing to their gear. At the dockside gathered around a large crate is a group of five people playing at dice. Four of these are dressed in sturdy and serviceable (but none too clean) worker's clothing, and another is dressed in more martial kit. The outlier is less built than the others, and at Nock's approach mutters something about missing his rounds and leaves abruptly. Nock apologizes for scaring off a player and offers to jump in his place, and the dock men accept - it seems that the person who left had been losing, so they hope Nock is similarly unlucky or unskilled in a good-natured way.
Nock feels out the vibe of the group while the game is going on. The dock workers are a little curious about the warforged but seem to accept him well enough. They note that Breen is likely to get an earful from the captain of the town guard about slacking off, and Nock assures them that he won't mention it - which improves their regard of him somewhat.
Nock makes a decent enough showing in the game, losing a few rounds and winning few others, and over the course of some time eases the tension of being the new person there. He notes that one of players has a few more copper pennies in his pile, but it's not clear if he's a smarter player or merely luckier. Nock gets the impression that these workers are fairly pleased with the state of the world as they live in it: work is steady but not backbreaking, the town is safer than most places, and the pay is decent.
Nock suggests to the wilier or luckier player (Lem) that he has a business proposition, so they adjourn to the Spotted Cap to discuss over lunch, Nock's treat. Lem looks a little surprised, then briefly suspicious, but after a beat regains his composure as though he figured out what Nock might want of him and favors the warforged with a conspiratorial look.
Lem explains that he grew up in Hillfort but left after an altercation with one of his cousins. After exchanging a few pleasantries over a nice meal, Nock inquires if Lem is willing to teach him the orc language. Lem seems a little surprised by this, but it's not clear what exactly he was expecting Nock to ask. Lem explains that while he might understand that people in general don't like orcs, and despite his lineage he often finds them unpleasant, people in general don't have a problem with half orcs, so he's uncertain what Nock's motive might be. Nock indicates that he's not had a lot of exposure to orc-kind and he enjoys languages in general, so he's looking to learn.
Somewhat mollified, Lem agrees to teach Nock the basics, but suggests that it will be tough to get a full understanding of it from one speaker and it's not in common usage in Stonebridge. Furthermore, there aren't a lot of literary works in ready circulation that can be used as study material. Nock compromises that he's willing to learn some basic vocabulary and grammar, and is willing to hire Lem off the docks for a week so he can focus on the study. Lem says he can hire a replacement and be compensated for his own time for a reasonable fee; they agreed to replacement worker, pay, and meals for 20 silver pieces (up front).
Lem makes his arrangements and returns to tutor Nock in Orcish. Nock picks up some basic vocabulary and a general idea of the language.
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