Sammas smiles slightly at Kia. "I am. Regrettably, I must sometimes attend these occasions, but there are many places I would rather be. Still, the Blood Royal must be pacified."
Before Lord Maruuk can make any further comment, there is an abrupt whisking away of soup bowls and servants appear with fresh bottles. A huge hobgoblin advances to the great double doors at the far end of the room and swings them open.
"All Rise for the Royal Presence!"
It is the first time you have seen the Queen and her immediate circle and the effect is dazzling. Sarastra and her son, the Black Prince process down the Hall, aware that they command every eye and noting the as yet unfilled glasses.
Everyone rises and stands, heads bowed as the Royal Presence passes, lifting their eyes only after the figures have reached the far end of the chamber. Servants stand at the elbow of every guest offering a choice of drinks for the toast.
"Queen's Wine, Prince's Ale or King's Cordial," comes the polite request.
Songemesha takes a moment to brush her hand lightly against Arianwyn's as she rises for the Queen. "I wonder at your impudence. You may yet have amusement value."
"It has been said." the warlock replies. It isn't the first time someone has used this line on him.
"King's Cordial." Arianwyn replies.
Whiteclaw and Ixu both had the Goblin soup, and, they also both choose the Queen's Wine. They, of course, rise for the Queen's arrival.
Kia stands with the rest and shows due respect.
Being wary of the amount of alcohol she may need to imbibe and, not really wanting to take sides just yet, Kia hopes that the Prince's Ale might be a good choice for the toast, and requests that.
As soon as it is proper to speak again, she asks Samas : "So tell, me, which of your many duties do you find the most pleasant?"
Whiteclaw and Ixu step easily around the potential minefields of the meal, drawing approving looks from their table. Reason's tactful choice of use of the flowers and seeds brings a tiny clap from the pale lady next to Rhanshinau as he drapes his seed wreath tastefully over one horn.
Tutavak takes a moment to look for familiar faces among the assembled diners and notes that neither Brightspur nor Lishekki are there. His late opponent Arsenio is seated at the far end of the table occupied by Reason, Whiteclaw and Ixu and he sees other Ravens scattered around the hall. The seating arrangements might almost have been designed to keep them apart.
At the high table matters are slightly less comfortable. Arianwyn recalls some half-heard gossip from the bath attendants. Songemesha, the Raven-haired Enchantress is a half-breed drow and notorious for her unscrupulous manipulation of the lower ranked courtesans and consorts. Second only to the Sapphire, it is not unheard of for her to lure a suitor on only to dismiss him humiliatingly once his turn is served. She has a goblin maid-servant called Spinner, who collects information for her mistress and is entirely unbribeable. Curiously, for one of her (partial) lineage, she does not particularly like spiders. In the hierarchy of the Shadow Courts she is greatly admired both for her beauty and her tactics.
When he is free to speak again, Sammas considers Kia for a moment. "My duties are my duties, Radiance, but my pleasures are another matter. History, the ancient ways of our people and the world, the seeking of arcane knowledge - these things are my pleasures. Sometimes," he adds, "they are part of my duties as well. I am fortunate."
The Queen waits for the glasses to be charged, and rises gracefully, speaking for the first time.
"We greet our Cousin the River King and his ambassadors, Lord Chelessfield and Lady Sorreminx"
The eladrin on Arianwyn's left bows in acknowledgement along with a dark-haired sorceress further down the High Table.
"We regret our friends of the Winter Court may not join us and mourn with them in their loss. The Lady Tira Duskmeadow joins the eternal hunt of Corellan and graces it."
A murmur rises and is immediately quelled. This is news indeed.
"We greet Lord Maruuk and return the greetings of his masters, the Archdukes. And lastly, we greet our visitors from the Lighted Realms, Kia Rubarka, Lord of Light, Arianwyn, Raven Leader, Ixu dragonette of Note and Guardian of Whiteclaw, Reason, Lord of Light and their deserving servant Tutavak of our ancient foe. May this visit presage a time of healing."
She raises her glass.
"To the Shadow Realm and all who rule it!"
Arianwyn's mind reels even as his posture stiffens slightly.
He looks at his hand almost involuntarily, and tries to contain his anger.
Songemesha's head remains bowed, but her golden eyes slide slightly towards the warlock, assessing his reactions.
Arianwyn
Reason slurps his soup with the appropriate amount of gusto.
To head off the embarrassment of his scabbard disintegrating and thus a sword clattering to the floor, Arianwyn stands and draws in one motion, proclaiming "To the Shadow Realm and ALL who rule it!" in a strange, wild tone.
Reason takes careful note of the diners around him and sees that most of them are taking the Queen's Wine or Prince's Ale. Very few (but the Queen is among them) are drinking the King's Cordial.
Arianwyn's wild cry draws many eyes to him. The Lady Saulena attracts Kia's attention. "Can it be that the new Raven leader is unable to hold his wine?" She titters slightly at the thought. Sammas Hallowgrim raises a finger. "I think not. There are other reasons for a breach in protocol."
Rhanshinau at the lower table also looks a little concerned and tries to catch the eyes of either Reason or Whiteclaw.
At the Royal table, the Black Prince looks towards the disturbance briefly before gesturing to the servants to produce the next course. In seconds, the table is filled with dishes piled high with delicacies. Wild boar and lamprey pie are prominent among them, and the diners turn with relief to the next stage of the meal.
Arianwyn gives his sword to Tutavak and sits down with a feral grin playing at his lips, heedless of his dinner 'companions'.
Reason catches Rhanshinau's look, and examines Arianwyn carefully.
He watches the toasts with interest, and in an uncharacteristic gamble, chooses the King's Cordial.
Reason's visual examination suggests that his old comrade is suffering from some kind of charm placed on him, making his behaviour less predictable than usual. He also seems to have had some kind of shock.
Sipping his King's Cordial, the cleric is immediately aware that the lunar brew is unsuited to those of a non-fey constitution. To his horrified eyes, it appears that the dinner guests are all wreathed in flowers, with skulls where their faces should be. Aware that this must be a hallucination, a swift self-diagnosis follows.
Raw starlight rips through Tutavak's body. His gesture brings him goodwill from the surrounding fey, but at some cost to himself.
Tutavak does his best to remain stoic.
Whiteclaw does note the look from Rhanshinau, though she is content to let Arianwyn fend for himself. If we pick from the next course, she takes the boar and Ixu chooses lamprey pie. If there isn't a choice, they both have both.
It becomes clear that refusing a course is terribly impolite, but one does not need to sample more than one dish from each array.
The toasting glasses are removed and replaced with stone goblets, filled with dark red wine. Rippling through it are tongues of fire.
Eager brownies bring out decorative braziers and place them around the room, marking out a central area. From the general babble around you, it is easy to learn that being asked to dance at such a feast is a huge honour, and one for which the consorts and courtesans compete fiercely, particularly among the lower ranks. Lishekki's absence suggests that she has fallen from favour. The first dancer at least is familiar to you.
Hargos steps forward, his appearance greeted with enthusiasm and a repeated cry of his name as the ladies of the court lean eagerly towards him. He shows no special sign of favour to any as he begins his dance - a succession of athletic bounds accompanied and counterpointed by coloured flames flaring in the braziers. At the end however, he is in front of Kia, smiling widely at her and extending a hand.
Lady Saulena giggles delightedly. "Ooooh - do look at their expressions, my dear! A dare - and one after my own heart."
She speaks nothing but truth. If the fey ladies had looks that could kill, Kia would be mincemeat.
On discovering that she is seated with someone she can finally have a conversation with, after revealing her love for history as well, Kia has been attempting to have some casual conversation regarding history with Samas. She hopes she showed due respect during the toast and has watched Hargos dancing with amazement, feeling very glad that she will not be called upon to do that sort of thing.
When Hargos so clearly invites her to dance she is somewhat taken aback, and secretly awards Hargos -9 Kia points for indiscretion.
"Hargos, you flatter me so for even suggesting that I can dance well enough to partner one such as you!" She turns to Samas and says quietly, "All eyes are upon me, I don't think I can refuse - one of those duties you have been referring to. After my ritual humiliation on the dance floor, I hope we can resume our conversation which is much more to my taste than dancing."
Kia smiles up at Hargos, stands, and takes his hand. "And don't say I didn't warn you when it all goes wrong!"
Kia dances clumsily, doing the wrong steps and moving in the wrong direction, requiring all of Hargos' skill to make it look as if they are actually dancing together. She does keep time with the music though.
At the and, she thanks Hargos as sweetly as she can and looks omewhat abashed at Lady Saulena and Samas. "Well it's clear that I wasn't summoned here for my dancing at any rate." She turns to Samas; "Now where were we?"
Still in the same reckless mood, the warlock stands.
"My I have the honour?" he asks the half-drow and bows with a strange smile playing about his mouth.
Despite her best efforts to please everyone, Kia's hapless attempts to match Hargos are met with pitying looks from the fey women. Hargos himself seems somewhat non-plussed. As the dance ends, he leads her back to the High Table and murmurs quietly to her.
Songmesha's golden eyes are unreadable as she rises and takes Arianwyn's hand.
"Very well. We shall dance for the departed."
Arianwyn takes her hand and proceeds to demonstrate what years of tuition under dance and fencing instructors have provided him with.
He moves like one possessed, at one with the music, heedless of the murmurs of his breach of etiquette, thinking of nothing but the dance, and of leading his partner in the steps.
As they execute a particularly close move, he murmurs to Songemesha, "You know, of course, that with but a thought I could set your mind aflame." What emotion lies behind these words is uncertain.
He carries on and turns his unshed tears into a cold fire that ignites the ceremonial dance.
"And do you think that thought?"
Songemesha reaches up and pulls free the pin holding her raven hair. As the mass of tresses descend to form a third party in their dance, she leans the point into Arianwyn's chest.
The metal rests lightly against his heart. With a small gesture, she winds the hairpin into his costume and allows the dance to draw to a close.
Hair flowing and head held high, she returns to the table, a very slight smile on her perfect lips.
"My hair is in some disarray, I believe I must ask my Lord Maruuk for his assistance."
Even as she speaks, the next dancer is appearing. Ulara of the Veils is a shadow fey maiden, dressed in grey veils of smoke. Cinders fall from her reddened hair and she spreads the coals of the brazier over the floor. With each step she takes, sweet scented smoke rises and drifts towards the diners.
Lord Sammas seems as entranced by Ulara as many of the rest of the company, but he manages a small gesture of sympathy as Kia sits again. "The Courts are not a place for the thin-skinned" is his only comment.
Already bombarded by more mixed emotions than even he is accustomed to, the warlock easily shrugs aside the effects of the smoke.
Arianwyn looks around to see if he can talk to Reason privately.
"So I observe." Says Kia in answer to Sammas as she settled down to eat her lamb.
Whiteclaw seems to be enjoying the party, though it's hard to tell with her.
Reason, his mind already foggy from the cordial, is dazzled by the dance.
"Oh... meat!!!"
Reason dives into the lamb, lamprey pie, and succeeding poultry course with an enthusiasm which may surprise his companions, but highlights the usefulness of his fangs.
As Reason indulges himself in the viands on offer, Tutavak finds his feet leading him inexorably towards Ulara, ignoring the heat of the brazier coals as he strides towards her. He is joined by Ixu as the little dragon lifts her wings high and pulls them through the smoke watching the effect with satisfaction. She flirts with the flames, and if truth be told, looks something of a fool if such can be said of a dragon.
Ulara blows a gentle kiss towards the warrior which seems to burn into him. Muffled laughter is heard around the hall, but Tutavak knows he has been gifted. As clearly as if she had spoken, he knows that Ulara will be waiting for him at the end of the feast.
The dances end at last and servants clear the glasses once more, replacing them with silver goblets filled with cloudberry wine. The blue liquid is as changeable as the summer sky and filled with (as you may have come to expect), floating clouds. As the last of the wine is poured, each guest is presented with a small bow and two arrows as ravens are released into the room and vast plates of storks legs and sparrow tongues are placed before the diners. Accompaniments consist of beet foam, apple darts and eggs which shake when touched as though about to hatch.
Many of the guests are already reaching for their bows. The Black Prince aims and gracefully hits two in rapid succession and passes his first kill to the startlingly beautiful woman at his side. It takes little imagination to work out that this must be the Sapphire.
Arianwyn grabs Reason by the elbow, "I had no tuition in the healing arts, an oversight perhaps, I appear to have been drugged." he says with a smile, "Are you able to render any aid?"
Arianwyn disdains the bow and fires a bolt of arcane power at one.
Arianwyn snaps a stork leg in half.
Whiteclaw takes a bow and makes two shots herself.
Both shots are dead on and she sets the bow down with a smirk and claims her kills. One for herself, and one for Ixu.
As for the dragon, she tries to throw off the effects of the enchantment.
Ixu refuses to leave her happy place as she continues to fly around the hall, mingling with the ravens and effortlessly dodging the arrows of the diners.
Reason bares his fangs as he is pulled away from his meal, but his expression quickly clears.
"Oh, certainly, I should have no problem helping with the Charm."
Swiftly masking his inner devil, Reason politely restores Arianwyn to somewhat more of himself.
Tutavak takes up a bow, but -- still a bit muzzy from the effects of Ulara's dance -- he only claims one bird.
The is a ripple of ironic applause as the Chosen variously acquire (or fail to acquire) the next course of their meal. For those disinclined to shoot, the sparrow tongues offer a simple enough alternative.
Silence falls as the dishes are removed and the remaining flying birds disappear. All the guests lower their heads and rise as the major domo tramps his rod three times on the ground.
Black clad servants place gold goblets before each guest, filled with
a viscous fluid that smells vile.
The dishes for this course look appetising enough, but most of the guests are restricting themselves to the mushroom accompaniments. Songemesha requests the cocooned badger a la drow, and picks daintily at it, but not seemingly with much pleasure.
The Queen and the Black Prince have both requested memorial beef and are consuming it slowly, with bowed heads.
As the feast rumbles onwards, you notice once more the great variety among the guests. Although fey of all kinds predominate, here and there you notice a guest with a distinctly insectoid appearance.