Re: 1st adventure: the Fey one

by Kolson Tue Feb 16, 2016 10:57 pm

Zeiss:

by Zeiss Wed Feb 17, 2016 12:42 am

For Mihai only:

"As I understand it, you seem to have quite the tolerance. I'm a little intimidated."

She appears a little embarrased, but replies with a casual tone, "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you." She pauses, like if she realized something, then just shakes her head, and adds, "So, coming or not? I'd rather not stay here." She points to the crowd.

Mihai gets up."Sure, I'm not quite the party animal myself either."

As you leave the table, you see Velstar speaking to the mayor about something; she turns her head, and just smiles at you, before returning her attention towards Irving.

Fedler brings Mihai just outside the village, where you can see the party in the distance. Even though neither of you has brought a torch, you realize you don't need it. The sky is clear, and the moon is almost full. She sits down in the grass, and throws a cup at you.

Mihai catches it.

She takes out a corkscrew and starts working on the bottle. "Damn it, I hate this thing." She looks up at Mihai. "Not going to sit down?" She finally opens the bottle.

He sits down

She fills Mihai's cup, then hers. After she takes a sip, she says, "Uh, I didn't think she would give me the good stuff."

"Who?"

"Oh, Silver. I mean Velstar. We call her Silver though."

Fedler looks at Mihai's face, and uncertain what his expression means, continues her explanation. "You know, after Silver Alto. She was a mage who had a seat at the Citadel, around fifty years ago. People think that Velstar looks like her, even if we have only songs to rely on."

"She must be a good Warden, then. I know she was Steve's teacher, at any rate."

She looks surprised. "Oh, so that's why she acted this way around him. I shouldn't be surprised. She did live at the Citadel for a long time. She..." She realizes something. "Uh. I see now."

"What?"

"Your friend Steve. He's cursed, right? Silver always said she was one of those tasked with teaching them."

It's Mihai's turn to look surprised. "News to me. I told you before, we met less than 48 hours ago."

"Oh. Maybe I shouldn't have said anything. You didn't know anything about each other before this job of yours?"

"Not a thing" He takes a sip. "It was unusual for us to be hired for this job. All three of us unknown quantities."

She finishes her cup, then serves herself some more wine. "So what are you going to do when the job is finished? Stay together?"

Mihai shrugs."Who knows. I just needed some money. Been playing it by ear since I arrived in the Feathers. I guess I wouldn't mind."

"Huh. It must be nice to travel. One of the perks I guess."

Mihai chuckles. "Has it's moments."

"This place is better than my old life, though. It's not city fancy, but you can look people in the eye."

"Back home... too much playacting. Backstabbing. Or just plain stabbing," he mutters in a lower voice.

As Mihai says that, Fedler touches the scar on her neck. She's thinking about something.

"So..." he takes a sip. "...it seems your neck has some experience with that sort of thing."

She quickly pulls her hand away. She stays silent for a few seconds, pensive. While looking at the party in the distance, she says, "I was studying to be a bard once. Found a master willing to teach me."

She thinks about how to continue. "I... I used to sing at this inn in my spare time. The Great Havoc it was called; it was near the port, and many sailors came in for a drink."

Fedler takes another sip, and Mihai listens.

She quickly glances at him, but looks straight ahead again. "One day, pirates came in. I was sixteen. Nobody knew about them, so I just kept singing. One of them... tried to buy my time. He was angry, and drunk. It got more violent, and some people tried to protect me. So he just held me, and put a knife on my throat."

She pauses again, then takes a sip of wine.

"The hunter entered the room. He always had his bow with him, no matter where he went. The man died, but..." She turns away, avoiding Mihai's gaze. "He fell, and the knife followed."

"Must have fallen pretty hard, to leave that kind of---", he stops himself, realizing something.

Mihai notices that her eyes are a little teary. "...Aldan's magic wasn't strong enough." Mihai realizes she's speaking about the hunter. "When we realized it, it was too late. It had already been days. Magic doesn't care about how your voice sounds."

Mihai's eyes close for a moment in a grimace, as the image of the Fedler that never was flashes across his mind, for a second.

"I..." - he starts, but then corrects his tone a bit. "In the life where you went on to become a Bard, that cursed animal might have taken half this village before someone stopped it. I heard this somewhere else, but... there are no branches in life. Not when you come down to it. The illusion comes you look back and start asking "why me" and "what if". But if it had been different, it wouldn't be you here. It would be someone else looking back, asking a different set of questions."

And to make it softer, he adds, "Though... there's nothing wrong with feeling what you're feeling either."

She looks at him, surprised. She ponders his words for a moment. Then, a soft smile spreads across her lips. "Thank you. I've never really thought about it this way."

Mihai shrugs, slightly embarrassed - "Well...I guess you can find wisdom anywhere. Maybe it's more about hearing that saying."

Her smile is now completely genuine. "I guess so." Fedler looks away for a moment, but then blurts out, "Want me to sing? I can't project my voice for a crowd anymore, but one person should be okay..."

Mihai is slightly taken aback "Um... yeah."

"Hmm, I don't have any instrument to accompany me. You'll have to imagine the music. You may have heard it before."

She prepares her voice for a second, then starts singing.

Song:

Mihai is spellbound for a moment. He takes a second to compose himself, then, "Ma'am... that's a lovely singing voice you got there."

She playfully slaps the back of Mihai's head. "Don't you call me ma'am." She isn't embarrassed anymore. "But thank you." She stands up, rubs her pants to the remove the grass stuck to it, and adds, "We should get back. It's getting cold."

Mihai gets up as well. "Yeah..."

As soon as they start walking, she will tug on Mihai's sleeve, urging him to stop.

When he turns around to face her, she surprises him with a kiss. He kisses her back.

by Zeiss Wed Feb 17, 2016 1:01 am

For Steve :

by Kolson Wed Feb 17, 2016 4:57 am

Zeiss:

by Rory Wed Feb 17, 2016 5:19 am

Zeiss of Dreamkeeper wrote:
For Konrad:

Zeiss:

by Zeiss Thu Feb 18, 2016 12:24 am

For Steve:

For Konrad:

by Kolson Thu Feb 18, 2016 12:33 am

Zeiss:

by Zeiss Thu Feb 18, 2016 12:39 am

For Steve:

by Kolson Thu Feb 18, 2016 12:59 am

Zeiss:

by Zeiss Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:10 am

For Steve:

by Kolson Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:35 am

Zeiss:

by Zeiss Thu Feb 18, 2016 2:34 am

For Steve:

by Rory Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:31 am

Zeiss:

Konrad looks for a gambling table, and if there is none or if there's no Liar's Dice game to join, he'll ask around for people who have dice, and borrow some empty cups. If he has to collect dice from more than one person, he'll grab some napkins or some parchment(preferred) and write a number on each corresponding to the number of dice each person is lending for the game, as well as the name of the lender. He'll make a duplicate of each to keep for himself, so it'll be much easier in case someone loses their piece of paper. Eg: "Peter Pan, 2"(name of lender, # of dice lent)

He'll start a game of Liar's Dice. Whether or not he's able to start one, he'll still join whatever people are playing, and he'll strike opportunity like a low-down snake in the grass.

A rule for joining his game, if he has to start his own:
(Player's southern drawl accent) Y'all better not try cheatin', now. Cuz if you are, you forfeit the game. If you're caught, anyway...

skills:

by Kolson Thu Feb 18, 2016 5:18 am

Zeiss:

by Zeiss Thu Feb 18, 2016 1:36 pm

For Konrad:

For Steve:

by Kolson Thu Feb 18, 2016 5:22 pm

Zeiss:

by Rory Thu Feb 18, 2016 9:53 pm

Konrad smiles and chuckles at his loss, being very sporting about it. "Methinks I should have started this before the drinking challenges. Still, I suppose with everyone bowing out, there needed to be a champion. Well-played, mate." He offers his hand to shake.

All of these activities have worked up Konrad's appetite, so he grabs some seconds and takes a seat with his new friends, shooting the shit with a steady flow of drink to keep the buzz while coming down from his earlier stumbling drunkenness, relaxing and waiting for the bard to finish his set, or grow tired of playing as the case may be(I'll bet encores and requests have kept them busy).

After eating, he'll get up, continuing to socialize while browsing the revelers, looking for Fedler.

by Zeiss Fri Feb 19, 2016 12:21 am

For Konrad:

by Rory Fri Feb 19, 2016 3:52 am

Zeiss:

Konrad soon arrives at the inn to sit and hear Steve's miniature epic of their recent feat.

by Zeiss Fri Feb 19, 2016 5:05 am

For Steve:

For Konrad:

When Steve steps onto the makeshift stage, he notices that Yen has lead Konrad into the inn's common hall, which is already packed. Nevertheless, Velstar manages to convince the villagers to make some place for the red mage and the little girl. The audience had started to get restless until Steve had appeared, since it appears they had been looking forward to this poem quite a bit. Once it is clear that the recitation will start soon, things start to quiet down. He knew the practice he just had would serve him well.

The poem (for reference):

And when the words begin to flow, this thought seems well founded, for the audience is captivated by the story. They seem happy that so much screen time is given to the local citizens, and especially their leaders. One might think that the mention of the wolf not being mad would make the villagers slightly worried, but they seem to consider it a simple metaphor they cannot understand, such as the bird that mysteriously saved the members of the Forandor's expedition from the animal's first attack. If nothing else, they prefer this version to what must have really happened. The wolf getting back up to fight the party again is a much more interesting story than the simple death it must have been. After all, they're not dumb; they know that poets embellish stories for the sake of entertainment, and frankly, it's better this way.

Steve pronounces the last words of this epic poem, and the villagers rise up to applaud him for this amazing recitation. The young mage knows that his presentation, even if it was still amateurish, was still delivered well enough that people won't even notice that it was his first time ever that he did something like this.

Steve can see Velstar and Yen clapping on the other side of the room, near Konrad. It's also almost imperceptible, but he also catches a glimpse of Breeze's head who momentarily stuck her head out of the bag to watch the presentation.

by Kolson Fri Feb 19, 2016 7:50 pm

Steve laughs and waves and bows and generally gets caught up in the moment. He's never been this excited before and at this moment he looks like he could bounce his way out of the common room and high-five the moon.

by Zeiss Fri Feb 19, 2016 10:38 pm

A few villagers pat Steve as he passes by, and the innkeeper will ask if he could have a copy of this poem; you know, for posterity.

Velstar and Yen (and maybe Konrad?) come to congratulate him.

"You know, with a little more training, you could make a living out of this," comments the older mage.

"Like the bards outside?" asks Yen.

"To sing his poems would require a lot more training, but yes, like that."

by Rory Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:36 am

Konrad gets up and applauds with the rest of them, and goes up to congratulate the performing member of his dream team with Yen and Velstar. "Bravo Steve. I believe she's right, you have a talent, and it would be a shame to see it wasted. For now, take a moment to enjoy this, you've earned it twice over."

"Listen, have any of you seen Fedler?" he asks, directing his query at the three of them.

by Zeiss Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:38 am

A big smile appears on Velstar's face.

"Yes I have."

by Rory Sat Feb 20, 2016 12:55 am

Ah, it appears there is one less canary in the world. "Well, it must have been some time ago, I haven't been able to find her. Did she decide to call it quits with the festival and go hunting?"

The subtlety of his suggestion is palpable, and merely meant to go over the little one's head, especially taking care to avoid mentioning something akin to any after-celebrations.

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