She turns to Reta, "Is there anything in particular that you want to do for your birthday?"
She gives this matter deep thought.
"No," she finally says, happily.
"Ahm quite certain most of th' girls 'ere in Ordu-Aganhei are not dat'n each otha." Myri looks around blearily at the rest of the room.
"A man has a right to his fantasies," he answers.
Myri's eyes attempt to focus somewhere in Lio's general direction, "wh't harem?" she inquires, then "...wait, gran'son?". She attempts to catch Ulf with one hand under his jaw and misses, ending up in his lap and steadies herself against the table with the other hand resting against his chest and stares searchingly into his eyes and around his face, she is apparently looking for any similarities to Lio.
Now that you look closely, his hair does look a lot like hers.
"Very well," says Skygni, accepting the dumplings.
After another pause, she attempts some small talk. "So. Xanderghul tells me that you have managed to claim two mates. Impressive, even considering the relative lack of other breeding males. You must be a canny fighter."
Alaric breaks into a coughing fit. After a moment, "So that's what it feels like to breathe mustard..."
He clears his throat, fights the rising blush in his cheeks, and manages: "No, nothing like that. I'm not much of a fighter at all." He gives a self-deprecating smile with this last: "You'd have to ask them what they're doing with me, because frankly I haven't a clue."
Rhost waits until Alaric takes another bite, and says, "Silver tongue."
Rhost waits until Alaric takes another bite, and says, "Silver tongue."
*coughcoughcoughcough*
Pause. Water.
"Thank you, Rhost."
He clears his throat, fights the rising blush in his cheeks, and manages: "No, nothing like that. I'm not much of a fighter at all." He gives a self-deprecating smile with this last: "You'd have to ask them what they're doing with me, because frankly I haven't a clue."
Catching the end of this as beams at Reta's happiness, Mel looks like she has a long list of reasons that Alaric might have at least her as a mate. Then...
Rhost waits until Alaric takes another bite, and says, "Silver tongue."*coughcoughcoughcough*
Pause. Water.
"Thank you, Rhost."
Melinda just turns a deep shade of jade. Although there is a pleased cat's grin that the embarrassment can't quite destroy.
Melinda just turns a deep shade of jade. Although there is a pleased cat's grin that the embarrassment can't quite destroy.
Zaiobe calmly sips her tea.
"I don't seem to be good at picking out people I can trust." Lio says defeatedly, almost to herself. Then her dark deep blue eyes meet your golden stare, her voice quiet and broken. "Its just like before..." a pause "I thought I could trust you..." She walks away, turning once, at the door, to look back at you, "But I cant." She walks out, leaving you in the room.
Lio is very happy that you like the diamonds. As you approach a store, she says, "I... would like a ring, that will last the centuries. But that is still ...pretty." Those seem to be her major requirements. Other than that, she is open to suggestions.
Most likely shortly after you have gotten up, you hear Zaiobe's mental voice in your head.
<Well,> she says, sounding bleak and exhausted. <That didn't go well.>
Lio is very happy that you like the diamonds. As you approach a store, she says, "I... would like a ring, that will last the centuries. But that is still ...pretty." Those seem to be her major requirements. Other than that, she is open to suggestions.
"Well ... I was planning to purchase an enchanted one," Shalelu says. "That should last no matter what the material."
After the feast, Lio says to you in elven, softly, "are you ready for desert?" She smiles at you, a little nervous, but very happy, takes your hand, and leads you back to your room, suggesting now would be a good time to use the restroom, and wash up a bit, if you needed to. She freshens up, and then sits in a chair, waiting on you, something in her hand. Every moment that passes she seems to get a little more self confident, she's sitting straighter and before long, she has a mysterious smile upon her lips.
Lio nods. |Never seen tarantulas that big before. Is that, normal here?| She asks the two natives of the area, curiously.|No,| says a terrified looking Enqbatu. |Not really.|
Lio nods,her expression of wonder at the sheer size of the creatures probably not reassuring. |Have you traveled much?| She asks him.
Lio finds a perch on a barstool by Shae. She looks around a bit, from her seat, to get an idea of what the place looks like, if, there's a band, etc. If there is music, Lio sways along, from her perch, looking at the patrons who might be dancing.
"Oh... well... in that case... have you any thoughts as to if we should get matching rings?"
Lio nods,her expression of wonder at the sheer size of the creatures probably not reassuring. |Have you traveled much?| She asks him.
|Bigger than the rhinos,| Rhost says, shaking his head.
Lio nods,her expression of wonder at the sheer size of the creatures probably not reassuring. |Have you traveled much?| She asks him.|Bigger than the rhinos,| Rhost says, shaking his head.
Lio grins. That's the most Rhost has said all week. And all in one sentence. She looks over at him, mischeviously, probably wondering if the spiders could be tamed and ridden, like the rhinos.
Lio grins. That's the most Rhost has said all week. And all in one sentence. She looks over at him, mischeviously, probably wondering if the spiders could be tamed and ridden, like the rhinos.
Rhost nods back, and points to Kalimac.
Lio grins. That's the most Rhost has said all week. And all in one sentence. She looks over at him, mischeviously, probably wondering if the spiders could be tamed and ridden, like the rhinos.Rhost nods back, and points to Kalimac.
"Oh, no. No new toys for you until you start using the toys you have! Rags and Fuzzlestumps barely get ridden, and now you want giant tarantulas?!" Kalimac shakes his head in mock disgust.
Rhost nods back, and points to Kalimac."Oh, no. No new toys for you until you start using the toys you have! Rags and Fuzzlestumps barely get ridden, and now you want giant tarantulas?!" Kalimac shakes his head in mock disgust.
Melinda, for one, looks relieved that Kalimac has no intention of adding the carnivorous arachnids to the caravan.
"Oh, no. No new toys for you until you start using the toys you have! Rags and Fuzzlestumps barely get ridden, and now you want giant tarantulas?!" Kalimac shakes his head in mock disgust.
Alaric pets Rags defensively. "It's all right, buddy. We still love you."
"Oh, no. No new toys for you until you start using the toys you have! Rags and Fuzzlestumps barely get ridden, and now you want giant tarantulas?!" Kalimac shakes his head in mock disgust.Lio grins. That's the most Rhost has said all week. And all in one sentence. She looks over at him, mischeviously, probably wondering if the spiders could be tamed and ridden, like the rhinos.Rhost nods back, and points to Kalimac.
"Awwwe" Lio sounds dissapointed.
"Awwwe" Lio sounds dissapointed.
|It is true that I have never traveled beyond Ordu-Aganhei, but you seem very ... calm about this,| Enqbatu says. |Does this kind of thing, does it happen to you a lot?|
Mel, who hadn't been in any rush to leave the warm comfort of the bed, lifts her head off of Alaric's shoulder, her lips curving down. Out loud and echoed in her mind, "That... I'm sorry, Z. We are in the room."
<I'm on my way,> she says.
<Can I ... talk to you about what happened, while I walk? Because ... I'm not sure I understand what just happened, and very much need to talk about it.>
"Awwwe" Lio sounds dissapointed.|It is true that I have never traveled beyond Ordu-Aganhei, but you seem very ... calm about this,| Enqbatu says. |Does this kind of thing, does it happen to you a lot?|
Mel nods cheerfully. |The spiders weren't as bad as the polar bear chimera. That buried the caravan for a week.|
"Oh... well... in that case... have you any thoughts as to if we should get matching rings?"
"I think ... we should look and decide what speaks to us," she answers after a moment's thought. "Whether that means rings that match, or all to each other, or simply speak individually of how we feel about each other."
Lio finds a perch on a barstool by Shae. She looks around a bit, from her seat, to get an idea of what the place looks like, if, there's a band, etc. If there is music, Lio sways along, from her perch, looking at the patrons who might be dancing.
"Did you want to dance?" Shalelu asks.
<I'm on my way,> she says.
<Can I ... talk to you about what happened, while I walk? Because ... I'm not sure I understand what just happened, and very much need to talk about it.>
<Of course.> The self-deprecating smile is clear even through the telepathic bond, <Although I tend to be better at upsetting her than most people, but I can be a sounding board.>
After the feast, Lio says to you in elven, softly, "are you ready for desert?" She smiles at you, a little nervous, but very happy, takes your hand, and leads you back to your room, suggesting now would be a good time to use the restroom, and wash up a bit, if you needed to. She freshens up, and then sits in a chair, waiting on you, something in her hand. Every moment that passes she seems to get a little more self confident, she's sitting straighter and before long, she has a mysterious smile upon her lips.
When Shalelu comes out of the restroom, perhaps to your surprise, she is wearing make-up. Lipstick, eyeshadow, and a bit of eyeliner and mascara.
Mel nods cheerfully. |The spiders weren't as bad as the polar bear chimera. That buried the caravan for a week.|
|You are ... perhaps aware that this is abnormal?| Enqbatu asks hesitantly.
|You are ... perhaps aware that this is abnormal?| Enqbatu asks hesitantly.
Alaric nods sympathetically. |Our group often mistakes casual disregard for danger for bravery. It can be somewhat taxing on the resident healer.|
|You are ... perhaps aware that this is abnormal?| Enqbatu asks hesitantly.
Mel looks at the guard, curiosity clear in her green eyes, |What kind of monsters normally jump people on this road then?|
Alaric nods sympathetically. |Our group often mistakes casual disregard for danger for bravery. It can be somewhat taxing on the resident healer.|
|We ran away from the monster spiders, for us that is showing a great deal of common sense.|
|We ran away from the monster spiders, for us that is showing a great deal of common sense.|
|And I have never been prouder,| Alaric says, continuing to pet the rhino. "You were especially brave, buddy."
You can't choose your family but she had chosen him.
<But nonetheless, I had told her I wouldn't, so I expected her to be mad and upset, and that she would most likely chew me out about it. That's what I was anticipating when I explained to her what happened last night, and asked for her permission to talk with Alaric.>
<Instead, she, she looked at me like I'd told her I had poisoned all of her cats, mentally shouted at me that Alaric was going to keep her from ever seeing you or Milena, and ran out of the room.>
<I was a bit bewildered, and I was trying to figure out if there was more going on than I was aware of. I didn't want to do anything until I had some idea what on earth that was about, but she clearly didn't want to talk. So I wrote her a note apologizing, explaining that I had been thoughtless but had no intention of being malicious, that I clearly didn't understand everything, and that I would not say anything to Alaric until I had discussed the matter with her and gotten her permission to do so, and that I would ask if you would do the same. And I slipped the note under her door.>
<Some time later she came storming up to me, and started yelling at me - without touching me, so I could not say anything back - that I was trying to avoid all blame for this and trying to turn her great-granddaughter into a liar and, once again, that she was going to be kept from seeing her family over this.>
<Well, I was trying to figure out exactly how my saying things on the order of 'I know I betrayed your trust' were trying to shift blame, but I thought the last matter was the most important, so I wrote her a note saying I really didn't think Alaric would do anything like that, and asking what he had said that made her think so.>
<She didn't answer - because, of course, he hadn't - but simply sneered disdainfully at me. At that point, I admit, I was getting rather angry, because I do NOT like it when people take advantage of the fact that I am mute to yell at me when I cannot answer back. So I wrote her a note saying that since he hadn't, she was just demonizing him the way she demonizes everyone who ever upsets her, Alaric, Hrunndalf, Myriana, and now me. And that I had given her the benefit of the doubt for good intentions when she had said very hurtful things to me, and I was upset that she was not doing the same.>
<At that point, she just ... exploded. She started yelling and yelling at me, on and on, calling me passive aggressive, saying that I was pretending to be rational when I was angry, that I had no right to attempt to defend my actions in any way because I was the person in the wrong, other things I don't even remember ... Oh, that I was throwing things she said in confidence back in her face - I don't even know what she was talking about, and remember I'm communicating by writing brief notes - and that I was being unfair for not even acknowledging the possibility that her fears could be true, since, she told me, once Alaric stopped speaking with her entirely .. and I'm still not sure how that supposedly follows from any of this ... you naturally would too because you are a teenager which apparently means you have no mind of your own. And then she denied she had ever said anything hurtful to me. Bear in mind this is a woman who once, when I went to her asking for comfort and reassurance, called me an idiot.>
<Now I was furious, but it was obvious that every attempt I was making to defend myself was just angering her more, so I decided to swallow my anger and my hurt and my pride, and wrote that I was indeed in the wrong and could not make excuses for that, hoping that if I stopped defending myself she might calm down. I then added a note begging her to believe that even so, my motivations were not as malicious as she seemed to think, and that you and Alaric would never respond to such a thing by keeping her from seeing her relatives.>
<At which point she told me she could no longer trust me and should never have done so, implicitly compared me to Hrithik without quite using his name, and left the room.>
<Oh, she did tell me I could go ahead and tell Alaric, in a 'go to hell' kind of way, so there's that.>
<But I don't understand what just HAPPENED. I thought ... I thought she was my friend.>
|And I have never been prouder,| Alaric says, continuing to pet the rhino. "You were especially brave, buddy."
The rhinoceros whuffles.
Mel looks at the guard, curiosity clear in her green eyes, |What kind of monsters normally jump people on this road then?|
|On a well-traveled Caravan route in springtime that is under the protection of the Hongal army?| He ponders the question. |Maybe hobgoblin bandits? There was a problem with them a few years back, I recall.|
COUNTRY: Hongal
SPECIAL ENCOUNTERS:
WEATHER: Calm, cool
DISTANCE TRAVELED: 128 miles
TOTAL DISTANCE SINCE LEAVING SANDPOINT: 5972 miles
TOTAL TIME SINCE LEAVING SANDPOINT: 257 days
, , , ,
On Desnus 10 you repair 122 hit points of Caravan Damage.
Morale remains high.
You Scavenge 4 units of repair materials from the countryside.
, , , ,
On Desnus 11 you repair 139 hit points of Caravan damage.
Morale remains high.
,
On Desnus 12 you complete Caravan repairs. Exactly zero units of repair materials remain.
Morale remains high.
After a few days completing repairs to the damage caused by the giant spiders, you continue on your southern route. The flat, level grassland extends in all directions. Occasionally, you catch sight of a troop of horsemen far off in the distance.
To the north, you can still see the now distant peaks of the towering Wall of the World. To the south, still possibly hundreds of miles away, you can just start to make out a line of darker green on the horizon that may be the start of the Forest of Spirits.
To the north, you can still see the now distant peaks of the towering Wall of the World. To the south, still possibly hundreds of miles away, you can just start to make out a line of darker green on the horizon that may be the start of the Forest of Spirits.
Having made her way with painstaking slowness to the top of a caravan looks for the slight silver blue glint that would indicate ocean. And doesn't find it.
Quietly, when she again touches earth, "I miss the ocean."
Having made her way with painstaking slowness to the top of a caravan looks for the slight silver blue glint that would indicate ocean. And doesn't find it.
Quietly, when she again touches earth, "I miss the ocean."
"We should be able to see the northernmost tip of the Gulf of Xidao before we must move off the road," Miyaro says. "And it is hard to avoid the ocean in many parts of Minkai."
Melinda looks like she is likely to give birth soon ... but it does not happen this week.
"Awwwe" Lio sounds disapointed.
"Oh, no. No new toys for you until you start using the toys you have! Rags and Fuzzlestumps barely get ridden, and now you want giant tarantulas?!" Kalimac shakes his head in mock disgust.
"Besides, giant tarantulas? I'm having enough trouble working out how to sell my 'travel the world in a caravan and find True Love' idea as it is. Brigands, yeti and courtly intrigue are all sexy and romantic. They work. Giant spiders? Not sexy! Not romantic!"
"Besides, giant tarantulas? I'm having enough trouble working out how to sell my 'travel the world in a caravan and find True Love' idea as it is. Brigands, yeti and courtly intrigue are all sexy and romantic. They work. Giant spiders? Not sexy! Not romantic!"
"Giant spiders am definition of sexy and romantic!" Reta protests.
Her eyes sharpen as she replies to Z, Mel's hands slipping over Alaric's arms to find his hands for support as she tries to help.
<I... I thought you were friends too.>
<It is not an excuse, but Lio is not sane... I mean...> And there is a great deal of shame in Mel with the next thought but also fierce sureness. <There is a reason that Lio, even being family, did not make the short list of people that we trust alone with Milena.>
<It's not quite as bad as it used to be for me... but I always feel like I'm walking on eggs around her. She has all these sharp yet ridiculously fragile edges that are so easy to walk into and break...>
<I guess... it comes down to... do you want to salvage your friendship with her knowing that it comes at the price of dancing around her insanities?>
And a moment later, <Or as Alaric just said... Don't let Lio know that you are upset with her... otherwise you'll upset her and have to beg her forgiveness or be damned in her mind.>
Melinda looks like she is likely to give birth soon ... but it does not happen this week.
The first day back on the road, when the caravan has settled down for the day and Rhost heads into the food area to cook, he finds Mel next to a cutting board half full of chopped veggies, fast asleep with her head cushioned on her arms.
"Giant spiders am definition of sexy and romantic!" Reta protests.
Alaric gives his adopted daughter a queer look, as though running through any number of possible responses. He finally settles on: "I love you, bint."