"...and do you have any of those explosives? The ones that burn in really neat colors? I could probab...." Maeve's 'planning' finally gets interrupted by Miyaro's words and she stops for a moment, trying to fit what was just said neatly into the plans she was constructing.
Harlan laughs nervously.
"You're right brother, I'm probably just paranoid. But we've been hunted so long, let's not think we're safe yet."
Much the previous evening, you are marched into the massive chamber and seated in places of honor near the Prince. Tonight, a full quarter of the space opposite the Prince has been set aside for a decorated performing stage. There are slightly fewer guests, but still more than two hundred. The tables and walls have been decorated with silhouettes of horses and grassy hills, back-lit to create the ambiance of a golden sunset.
Prince Batsaikhar smiles wide as Maeve sits near his cushions. "My heart has yearned in pain through the long hours of the day, waiting for this moment. You are even more radiantly beautiful tonight than last."
The feast is comprised of several courses, including steamed Hongali stone frogs, goose stomach, goat's feet tendons in wheat noodles, fish lips with celery, solidified duck blood, and "drunken shrimp" (a delicacy in which one dives live shrimp in spirits before pinching off the head and eating the flesh).
The entertainment comes from the stage, a production of "Why the Marmot Doesn't Have Thumbs", an ancient Hongali folk tale performed in shadow puppet theater with life-size, expertly manipulated puppets. The play is accompanied by throat singing and music on the horsehead fiddle, called a morin khuur, a traditional Hongali stringed instrument.
As with last night, the Prince offers you the honor of presenting something similar from the "Young Lands of Beautiful Women"...
Maeve swallows and quickly reaches for her wine at the Prince's comment. Trying to divert his attention, she asks "Where are the two who were here last night? I was so looking forward to impressing them after my practicing..."
*****
At the prince's challenge, Maeve takes the opportunity for a break to get off her cushion and head over to Ameiko. "Just like the Rusty Dragon, right?" she asks before taking a seat in the center. Going for a back-to-basics approach tonight, she re-tells the tale of the "Heroes of Brinestump." Perhaps curiously, she downplays the role of her own character even further, although that might just be local manners, she does seem eager to get the attention off of herself.
"Wait a second," Ameiko says as Maeve walks by, a genuine grin on her face. She gets up and talks quietly to one of the morin khuur players, flashing a winning smile and gaining permission to borrow his instrument. She sits behind and to the left of Maeve, slightly lower, and starts to pluck the fiddle to give her story a musical accompaniment.
Despite Ameiko's skill on strings, it is only enough to keep it from becoming a total embarrassment. She covers her own, but Maeve's otherwise profoundly told epic story is marred by the occasional off-key note and awkward chord.
Irregardless, the crowd bursts into cheering and applause at the story's conclusion, and Maeve is showered with bows and curt nods of approval. Ameiko gives her a sheepish apologetic look, and does her best to skulk out of her limelight.
Parity waits for Ameiko to return. "Did you hear that wounded animal that interrupted Maeve's story?" He asks with a smile.
Ameiko makes a meek noise and hangs her head in exaggerated shame. "Ugh. I thought it looked straightforward, but the tuning on that thing makes no sense." She laughs at herself, "Never try something like that for the first time in front of hundreds."
While Maeve does her best to try to even incorporate Ameiko's mistakes into the tale with the comic-relief dwarf's pratfalls, she reaches her limit and can only distract the crowd. At the end, while she bows and smiles, anyone watching can see the only thing she really cares about is how bad Ameiko looked...even though as a performer she would never say anything about it during the show. She ends up returning to her place and trying to think of what else to do. . .
"You know guys, I've been thinking."
Harlan looks around.
"Not doing our best may be a good strategy. Ameiko did it perfectly. If they underestimate us they won't be inclined to keep us."
Malnival grins at Ameiko after Parity's comment on the wounded cat. Well done. I don't think anyone here will suspect anything."
Ameiko laughs at Harlan and Malnival's 'compliments'. "Yes, it was entirely on purpose!" she winks.
As Maeve returns to her seat, Prince Batsaikhar openly applauds the performance. "A masterful tale, my lovely. You continue to astound Us. Not only are you possessed of breathtaking beauty, but you skill of speech rivals the greatest poets of Tian Xia!" He waves at a servant, who walks over to present Maeve a gift, a delicate and intricate platinum tiara set with jade and ruby stones.
Maeve finds herself blushing almost in spite of herself, although she does look over the jewelry briefly before setting it aside. "Something like this should be worn with an outfit that matches its' loveliness," she says.
The Prince smiles as he nods to Maeve's wise words. "Indeed so, indeed so."
Just after breakfast is served in your suites, Miyaro knocks at Maeve's door with a dozen servants, some of them carrying bolts of silk in many hues. Miyaro bows, The Prince sends his warm regards, and his finest seamstress to tailor your dress for tonight." She refers to an older Hongali woman who is already sizing up Maeve with her eyes.
"...I walked into that one, didn't I?"
The seamstress and her assistants work at a feverish pace, quickly measuring Maeve's body and running through a number of color swatches before the woman gives a nod of ultimate approval. Then, just as abruptly, they are gone. Maeve is left on her own until, about an hour before the night's feast, the completed dress is delivered.
It is a delicate, floor-length dress of three layered wraps. The materials are the finest silk, smooth and soft to the touch. The primary color is a jade green, accented with fiery red and silver, perfectly matching the tiara. The wraps are form-fitting, accentuating Maeve's womanly parts while subduing her more tomboyish qualities, but is not corseted, still allowing freedom of movement (and breathing).
***
This night's feast begins much as the previous one, but tonight the chamber is decorated in a riot of reds and yellows, with fire-like flickering light backlit against the walls. It gives the entire hall the impression of being in the middle of a ring of fire.
The fare is increasingly exotic, including "Thousand-year-old Eggs" that look about as old as their moniker, cow's lung soaked in chili sauce, pig face (created by pouring hot tar on a pig's head to remove the hair but leave the skin intact), snake venom soup, deep fried bee larvae, and duck's feet marinated in blood.
None of that sounds any good ... why do foreigners have to eat all the crap we throw away
Parity will make a stab at the food, muttering "I wish they hadn't told me what it was," to Ameiko.
Assuming he gets a description, "Fire and flickering, some sort of dance, perhaps? Maeve should be able to get herself in all sorts of trouble with the Prince. I don't suppose you're gonna intervene on her part. She's starting to seem even more off-kilter than normal."
...as Maeve starts showing a distinct nervous twitch in her eye while eating the food.
Harlan tries everything, doing his best to determine the ingredients of each dish and how best to render it into chili or stew.
All of these dishes need more goat.
Malnival picks at his food and mutters under his breath. Humans.
Ameiko replies to Parity, "Well, I think some of the descriptions are slightly embellished. I mean, 'snake venom soup'... really? How many snakes would it take to make hundreds of bowls of soup?" She snickers, looking to Harlan. "What do you think, master chef?"
Harlan does his best to break down the ingredients of each dish, but the eggs especially elude him. They are ashy and bitter, but with a significant sharp bite.
***
The Prince continues to smile warmly and fawn over Maeve, praising her beauty and grace, especially in the new dress. Many around the chamber can be heard gossiping.
This feast's entertainment is a rendition of "The Taming of the Kirin", a dazzling and dangerous display of fire-magic and swordplay while dancing on hot coals. The crowd gasps and cheers as arcs of fire, columns of flame and sudden explosions rock the chamber. The fighters move with the fires, flitting in and out of the mock battle unscathed by the heat.
Once again, after the show is completed, the Prince offers the floor to you.
"That's a great questions."
"I think...maybe a lot? Or they just call it that."
|
Heng stands ready to be finished with the frivolous feasts. After receiving a fire warding spell from Harlan, he bows to the prince and announces that his performance will be called the Untamed Dragon.
At the edge of the fire, he bows fist in hand and assumes dragon stance. He then races back and forth across the burning coals four times at great speed barely touching the ground. The final time he stops in the center of the burning field and leaps high into the air.
Ki leap
Landing with a Dragon Roar that sends a concussive frozen wave in front of him for three times his height cooling and blackening the fiery coals. He bows and returns to his seat.
Maeve sits through dinner, trying her best to deflect the man's advances with grace and poise...and when the show starts, she smiles and quickly excuses herself. While Heng begins, she quickly slides up behind Malnival to whisper in his ear before she takes her leave. It doesn't take long before the dancer has returned in rather brief wraps around her chest and waist, enough to preserve modesty but little more.
As Heng starts to leave the ground, Maeve weaves out under the flames in a decidedly unsafe maneuver that just barely avoids her new outfit being caught on fire. In fact, she leaps up just enough to meet Heng's first descent with her hands, giving him a safe "platform" to land hard on enough for another leap. It's at this point she sends the signal to Mal, catching the sword on the way down and using the momentum and weight to swing about in a wide arc, catching herself to land on her feet and skip over the coals to a quiet stop at the edge, careful to stay out of the view of most and letting Heng have the spotlight.
Perform Dance:
Acrobatics:
Burning hands, then haste.
Acrobatics:
Malnival stands and walks slowly into the area drawing another scimitar. Fire begins to dance along the blade as the elf slowly begins to dance with his weapon as he moves in practiced forms, the scimitar slashing then stabbing out as he moves. The magus speaks arcane words and fire shoots from his of hand into the air as his jumps and spins around the floor. More words come from the elf and he begins to move faster and faster, his jumps taking farther and higher than before as he dances his Dervish Dance.
Once again, your spectacular performance(s) awe the audience, who ooh and gasp at all the appropriate moments. When Malnival concludes his twirling dance, the crowd remains silent for a few, confused moments, as if expecting another addition to your ensemble's show. As realization sets in that it is finished, clapping and applause rise in a standing ovation. Even Prince Batsaikhar, who you have never seen move from his cushions, stands and shows his pleasure.
For your successful display, the Prince presents your group with a wooden case holding five, ornate flasks. "To give you the breath of the dragon, in form as well as spirit."
After the entertainment is done, the guests rise and begin a massive, chamber-wide revel of dancing and drinking. Like a flame, however, it burns bright but quickly, and the feast begins to disperse much earlier than the last few nights.
***
As Maeve returns to her seat, the Prince greets her with a wide smile, and she can see his eyes glistening with tears. "My lovely, you fill Our heart with such love, that it aches to overflow. Your talents of dance and word are equally profound, the match of any man We have met! What a treasure you are, blessed by the gods and spirits so!"
"Not at all," Koya laughs. "It has been exciting, but these old bones are Varisian to the core. I am ready for the road... and the many exotic locales yet to come."
Koya smiles, "For certain. Come to my suite and we can do the Harrowing out on my balcony, under the stars."
Once there, she sets up a small table on the balcony, closing the curtains to the inside to block the light from inside, leaving only the moon and stars, and two candles, to illuminate the table. The night air is cold but the wind is at a rare calm.
As you sit down, Koya holds the Harrow case and begins her prayer to Desna. "Time is a path we walk all but blind, glimpsing only the ground at our feet. Looking back, we see shadowy traces of what has passed. Looking forward, there is naught but mist. The Harrow sheds light on the path of time. Its cards are stepping stones, which we walk up and down upon to see what has been, what is, and what might be. These sights can weigh on a harrower's soul, but they also grant great opportunities to change not only what might be, but what has been, and everything in between."
Koya looks up, meeting Heng's gaze. "Wit and fortitude have brought us this far, but I believe wisdom will be required for to deal with the challenges ahead." She sifts through her Harrow deck, pulling out nine cards and setting them aside. "Now, for the Choosing," she says, fanning the nine cards face-down before Heng.
Maeve murmurs in Varisian "...I've put this off for far too long already..."
Switching to Hon-la, she speaks a little more loudly, trying to avoid letting the gossiping nobles overhear. "Your Highness, I've been somewhat overwhelmed by your great attentions. You are indeed highly generous in your praise, and your feelings for me are flattering. But...before I could consider giving my heart to another, I have obligations to fulfill. A promise to my friends, and to my heart. I swore to see this journey through, and until it's done serious thoughts of courtship would have to wait, since you can hardly follow me away from your kingdom."
The Prince's smile flickers for a moment, but remains. He bows his head, "But of course. We know the value of a bond and oath, and would not ask you to break it. Your happiness is Our most desperate wish."
"Good." Maeve manages the first fully genuine smile she's had in days. "Now, we should probably endeavor to enjoy the rest of the feasts. It would be a shame to end this on a bad note, and after the task is done I'm sure we'll be this way again and we can discuss things in a calmer atmosphere."
Miyaro appears at Harlan's suite in the mid-morning, with an escort of three chefs from the kitchens. She bows low after Harlan answers the door. "For the Feast of Honored Guests this evening, it is tradition to let the guest choose what fare is to be prepared. This one was informed of your visit to the kitchens, and you are known to be an expert on the subject."
As you gather for the next night's feast, Ulf coughs to gain everyone's attention. His face is somber. "Well, I figured I should say something sooner rather than later. We got you here, and that was the end of our deal. After all these feasts and festivities are done, and you continue on to... other lands, I'll stay behind. After the passes thaw, I'll guide a caravan back to Avistan." He gives a short laugh. "I asked Kelda if she'd go, but she wants to stay with you to the end. I can't say its been 'fun', but it has been an honor."
Maeve gives Ulf a rather sad smile. "You will be missed. And thanks for the language lessons. And for...everything else. I'm sure that, if we succeed, you'll be welcome to give us a visit."