Syeira sits near Sandru and Koya, shuffling her harrow deck. The graceful figures of The Rabbit Prince and the Cricket dance in between the stern Paladin and the sly Rakshasa In the Tangled Briar. She listens to Koya fuss over Sandru as mothers are wont to do with a bemused smile.
"Come now, Koya, it could be worse. I mean, consider Jubrayl. He's heading headlong down a wicked path that'll probably hurt him more than any goblin-launched firework could hurt our fine, upstanding Sandru, right?"
She grins at her adoptive big brother, her perfect teeth practically sparkling in the wavering light of the Dragon's lamps. The grin widens as she draws The Queen Mother card and looks behind Sandru.
"Especially with a wall of living rock between him and the danger! How are ya, Tree?" she calls to the wise oread.
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It had been a long day. Again a dispute about the well between the old Snart and the equally old, no ancient, Willoby. Who has the permission to take the water first. As if the well was unable to give booth enough water any day of the year and as if Willoby wouldn´t have a barrel full of rainwater behind his home. But the day was nearing his end, Windspirit was taken care of, his armor polished and on the armor rack and his sword, together with a peaceknot well sharpened and on his back. Leaning back in the rusty dragon, on his favorite chair looking toward the entrance at the right corner, taking a deep gulp of the golden met he prefered, Ikoma felt the worries of the day drain from his thoughts.
.
Shalewen is sitting on a table, obviously all to herself, a stemming mug in her hands. She watches Shalelu and the bear dance with rapt attention, a finger on the mug keeping beat with Ameiko. The barest hint of a smile plays at her lips but it is hard to tell with only the lights of the tavern for illumination.
She spares a glance at Ikoma as he walks in. When their eyes meet, she puts two fingers to her eyes and then points them at Ikoma, letting him know she was watching. No funny business with Ameiko.
Shadow was currently on the floor beneath the table. He had already romped quite a bit with his bear friend and was very tired. The bear, of course, still had plenty of energy to play with Shalelu. So Shadow would take a nap, conserve energy, then get in there for round 2.
A low rumble comes from the table near the back, I am fine Syeira Mavashti. I hope you are doing better than Sandru today? his voice inclines slightly and he raises his eyebrows--the only signs he gives that this may be a joke--then continues, Though I am somewhat disappointed Sandru, that the moment I am no longer in your employ, you find these goblins. His expression does not change, but he lets out a low soft sigh, like a stream of air from a deep cavern.
The short, lean figure of a swarthy Shoanti strides into the bar, still dusty from the road. Rokkad had finally finished brushing down and feeding his horse and was quite hungry and thirsty, not to mention tired after delivering his message and listening to Vachedi complain. He knows that he is just frustrated at not being able to help his sons and managed to be sympathetic to his plight, but he was still glad it was over.
Walking quickly across the bar, he drops into a seat near Koya and smiles as he waves to a barmaid to bring food. "Good day, Little Sister!" he says to her, teasing, giving a nod of greeting to Sandru, Syeira and Tregdorult. "What is this about danger?" he inquires, catching the tail end of his niece's comment.
"Rokkad!" Syeira exclaims as she slides her deck up her sleeve and leaps from her seat to give her favorite adoptive uncle a hug.
"Nothing out of the ordinary, just more goblins. Got their grubby mitts on some fireworks and decided to take on the world! Sandru here had a run-in with 'em and Koya got right to finger-wagging," she says with a teasing smile.
Mitsuko had heard Shelelu was at the Rusty dragon. So that meant most likely Shalewen and Shadow were there also.
Reminding herself that proper women didn't run as she quickly made her way towards the Rusty Dragon. Her traditional garb may hamper her speed but she was no less graceful.
Taking a moment outside to make sure her outfit was cleaned and everything was in place she walked inside.
Her eyes quietly examined the room as she headed in to the boisterous tavern.
Syeira was hugging Rokkad, Tregdorult was sitting in the back, Shadow was laying under another table, Shelelu and a bear were dancing in an open area.
Ameiko was busy running around serving customers and Ikoma was sitting in his usual chair watching things, while his horse Windspirit was elsewhere.
Koya looked like she was scolding Sandru, probably about his recent trip with the caravan.
Moving in she would move over towards her friend Shelewen and gently touches her shoulder with a smile. Seeing she already had a steaming mug she looked at Ameiko.
"Do we have fresh tea? If not I can make some more." Looking around. "Would anyone else like some fresh tea?"
Rokkad accepts Shalelu's familarity with a bemused smile, respecting the fact that she was one of the very few in the tavern who was his elder. "I am quite fine, thank you, except perhaps for my strained patience."
His expression becomes more grim as he hears about the goblins from her and his niece. "Pests. They need to be squashed, like the vermin they are." While he had been brought up to show tolerance and acceptance to other peoples and races, there were some that were just not worthy of it. Some things you could not forgive.
Syeira lowers her voice a bit.
"No arguments there, though wouldn't want to put a damper on tonight's good spirits. It's the anniversary of that attack from Thistletop last year. Ameiko and Mitsuko's half-brother went nuts and teamed up with a demon-witch and a pack of goblins to try and destroy the town."
Feeling Mitsuko's touch, Shalewen scoots over enough to either allow her friend a seat on the table or at least enough room to put a mug down. Allowing the other woman into her personal space is a recent big step for Shalewen. One Ameiko beams over.
Hearing the conversation, she immediately dismounts from the table and approaches Ameiko, bow in hand. She salutes, as if to say, 'reporting for duty. Tell me who to whack.'
When Mitsuko arrives, Shadow immediately forgets his fatigue and waddles over, tail going so fast his whole body is moving. He paws and sticks his nose in inappropriate places (butt, crotch) until she gives him some attention.
"Goblin's raid Junkyards." Mitsuko called out her voice gentle but carrying over the den.
Her arm gently went around her sister and she hugged her tightly happy to see her in a good mood. Sliding a fan out as she sees her sister stick her tongue out she covers her mouth with it as she flicks it open and giggles.
When Shalelwen saluted her she giggles and winks at Shalelwen as she whispers so only Ameiko and Shalewen can hear.
Straightening. "Let me get us some fresh tea and if this is truly a homecoming why not join tables and bring everyone together?"
Feeling a nose in a very inappropriate spot she would reach down and starts petting Shadow happily scratching behind his ear.
"I will bring you some treats too."
Letting go of her sister she gave Shalewen a look to have her watch over Ameiko as she went and prepared some tea.
After a little bit she came out with a steaming tea pot and a wonderful fruity smell joined the smells of the tavern.
Tregdorult stands and moved around, grabbing the other end of a table to bring it together. "So is that where they got the fireworks? Our leftovers?" He shakes his head disapproving, and pulls the table into place. He pulls up a few chairs, then sits himself. "How did we let them do that?"
Once the tea is brought out, Tregdorult reaches out to accept a cup graciously, "Thank you very much Mitsuko Kaijitsu." He sips gingerly at the tea and hums, satisfied.
Rokkad stands to allow the others to move the tables, then maneuvers to seat himself next to Shalewen and Shalelu. Thanking the barmaid as she sits a plate of bread, meat and cheese in front of him, he digs in.
In between bites, he turns to Shalelu. "I would be interested in hearing more about these 'facts' you were talking about."
In between bites, he turns to Shalelu. "I would be interested in hearing more about these 'facts' you were talking about."
As if on command, Shalewen holds up ten fingers and begins speaking with memorized monotony. As she names the ten facts, she looks at each finger as they drop. "Horse hate. Dog hate. Raid junkyards. Love to Sing." Its only here that she pauses to add 'Badly' under her breath. "They're sneaky. They're crazy. Voracious. Like fire. Get stuck easily. Think writing steals your soul." Last finger drops and she looks to her mentor to see if she got them right.
For many of you, that's more words she's spoken in your presence her entire life.
Reading her sisters mood as she finished serving tea, Mitsuko would start to sing in Tien.
The song was happy andays fit the music perfectly.
After the performance she would look at all of them and offers more tea.
"Let us keep the mood cheerful for now. Ameiko don't ignore your customers."
Once her sister busied herself elsewhere she would motion to keep their voices down if they wished to talk business.
Syeira claps at Shalewen's rapid-fire recitation of the goblin facts, then nods graciously at Mitsuko as she passes out the tea, taking a long sniff and closing her eyes, savoring the aroma before taking a sip. She smiles as Ameiko begins on her samisen.
"Resilience and cheer in the face of adversity are what make Sandpoint great," she says to no one in particular. "I've wondered if the Kaijitsu Sisters' homeland is the same.
She sets her tea down and retrieves her cards, idly shuffling them as she listens, pausing occasionally to flip them onto the table and take another sip of tea.
Shalewen clenches her first in victory at having recalled the information accurately. She hops back on her table and grabs her tea. Shadow, now reinvigorated with a treat and new people, hops onto the bench next to her. His head remains up and ears periodically perking up and relaxing. Shalewen absently pats his head.
Syeira finishes her tea and listens intently to what Shalelu's saying, before snickering a little at the mention of Bruthazmus. From what she'd heard, Bruthazmus' last moments were of terror and humiliation: surprised after by panicked heroes before becoming panicked himself by a magical howl, sending him running through Thistletop buck-naked...RIGHT into Shalelu, who'd put him down in style. At least...that was how she'd heard the story.
She shuffles her cards again and flips the Winged Serpent down upon the table.
Tregdorult nods his head in agreement as his tea cup sits in his hand, temporarily forgotten. "So we go take care of them." He pauses for just a moment, looking around at everyone. "Do we know where to find them?”
As he finishes his meal, Rokkad tosses a last bit of meat to Shadow and takes a gulp of mead. "I agree. Let us go and make sure these pests do not endanger anyone again. Sandru, where were you attacked? We might be able to pick up their trail near there and track them back to their lair."
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Uttering a grunting noise of agreement the samurai just nods. Ordering some food, a piece of roast, a small loaf of crisply baked bread, a little bit ofcheese and some gravy the samurai slowly starts to eat his dinner. Waiting for the sheriff to comment the situation and order him to aid in the hunt he keeps his opinion to himself as he did with his hands.
Mitsuko would calmly refill tea classes with out having to be asked.
"Sheriff, since this is in protection of the town I believe it would look good for you to send a deputy. It will comfort the populace and show them the concern I know you have for them. Organizing such a group would put the town at ease. I will point out if anyone raided our junkyards for old fireworks, it would be the kids who were fascinated about them. That and most fireworks that hadn't been used most likely went into storage and not a junkyard. Fireworks are not the cheapest. Let's assume for now they got the fireworks from an unknown source but because of them have gotten bold. We have no other information than they attacked with the fireworks." Sitting down the teapot and checking it. Seeing she would need to mix more tea she would step away for a moment and returns making more tea in front of them.
"Also, I believe Shelelu would be able to provide insight on where we can find them along with trailing them back as Rokkad said. Since they are dangerous in the dark, it may be best to start the search first thing in the morning when everyone can see and they have less of an advantage in the dark. Secondly, there would need to be volunteers to go on such a mission. Rokkad sounds like he is volunteering and Tregdorult seems interested. That makes two volunteers for you sheriff plus any deputy you wish to send. Who else wishes to track these goblins down and put an end to any issues?"
Calmly she picked up
Shalewen said nothing. Why? Well, beyond the obvious personality quirk, she also hadn't done much outside the town surprisingly. Shalelu did teach her a lot about survival and the wilderness but rarely took her very far. They mostly went to deal with dire rats, snakes and wolves. Common problems for frontier farmers. She'd never seen a goblin up close or fought them. But she knew plenty about them. So she sat on the table, starring at Shalelu with a burning intensity. Hoping. Waiting.
Syeira nudges Shalewen, noting her expression.
"Say something..." she hisses. "They're not gonna know how you feel unless you tell 'em!"
So tense was she that Shalewen nearly fell over when Syiera nudged her. Shadow immediately perked up and thought they were about to play. Still she says nothing and keeps starring. Shalelu already knew she wanted to get out and do something like this. No point in asking. She learned early that asking rarely got here anywhere.
Mitsuko stared at Sandru quietly for a moment.
Why the sudden invite when she didn't ever once show she was skilled at anything but diplomacy. Interesting.
"Are you wanting to get Ameiko angry at you? Surely you have heard that she has forbidden me from doing any adventuring." Her voice was gentle and calm. "What are your motives Sandru?"
Rokkad nods with a serious expression. "Of course, Koya. I am always ready and willing to help you and Sandru." His mouth curls up at the corners in a faint smile as he continues mock-seriously "And I have to make sure Syeira does not get into any trouble..." He stands ready to dodge any slaps that might come his way.
Tregdorult listens to Rokkad and pulls his lips together tight. He looks back to Sandru and nods, "Of course I will go. It is what needs to be done." Finally he looks up at Mitsuko and his face cracks into a rare smile, "Indeed, it would be a pleasure to have you along Mitsuko Kaijitsu. Perhaps your singing could give us the heart to continue on when the journey grows hard."
"OhohohoNO!" Syeira laughs. "I'm going to keep YOU out of trouble, Rokkad! After all, look! I drew the Idiot, the Winged Serpent and the Forge. Grave foolishness and greed are what drew those goblins to us, but we know the moment to strike, and that moment is now, and through the diverse set of skills we share, we'll achieve victory!"
She finishes her second tea and holds it out to be refilled with one hand, while her other reaches down to scratch Shadow behind the ears.
"Besides, Mitsy, it'd do you some good to get some fresh air. Shal, tell us about ol' Walthus Proudstump. If only so we know what to avoid."
Rokkad bends down to examine Syeira's cards more closely, tapping the center one with his finger. "That is a very good omen, the Winged Serpent. Kokip shows that he supports our quest!" he intones, the birthmark on his forehead starting to glow faintly.
It took a few moments of her watching Koya beat on her son for it to slowly sink in. 'serve tea in the morning' was alluding to her spending the night and that was why Koya was beating on him.
Drawing out her fan she opened it and hid her mouth behind it. Thankful for the heavy makeup that hid most of her blushing. He had been just asking her out on a date.
Listening to Tregdorult she looked at him seeing the rare smile and she blushed under the makeup again. It was rare she directly got a compliment on her singing.
"Thank you Tregdorult, I will consider it." Turning her attention to Sandru. "I believe such things would better be discussed when there is not pressing issues."
Mitsuko was trying to remember what she could recall about Walthus Proudstump.
The normally reserved Shalewen hops off the table and nearly tackles Shalelu in her excitement. The elf is quick enough to spin and avoid tumble, swinging her charge in a circle. When they stop, Shalewen is grinning ear to ear. This is the first time she's smiled so big. Completely ignoring that fact that others were discussing coming along, she sprints out the door to get ready.
Shadow scrabbles on the wooden floor trying to enough traction to follow his master. He circles the hunters once then races after Shalewen. He periodically barks in excitement as they race off.
"Why not?" says Syeira. "Gives us time for a nice breakfast before we set out too!"
Tregdorult stands That sounds like a good plan. But it also means, I ought to find myself in bed. He turns to Ameiko with a slight incline, I will take a room, Ameiko Kaijitsu, he says reaching into the pouch at his belt.