"That's right, you did mention it," Ameiko says. "Melon distracted me. One special concoction coming right up." She smirks and heads into the kitchen.
A few minutes later, she returns holding a steaming mug of...something. It smells vile. Rotting flesh is the most polite term Aago can think of to describe the smell. It looks thick and goopy and may even have chunks of...something in it.
The taste is absolutely horrendous. But it does seem to work quickly. His headache starts to diminish almost instantly.
Aago looks down at the mug and smiles. "Interesting," he says as he examines the contents, his nose twitching involuntarily at the smell and even his lips pulling back in distaste.
The large man takes several deep breaths in rapid succession and then lifts the mug to his lips and tilts it back. His throat works as he does his best to swallow it quickly, his unoccupied hand pressed hard against the table as he does so.
When he's done, he slams the mug back on the table and closes his eyes, both hands clenched into fists. Nothing of his smile remains, his lips now twisted in an effort to hold the concoction down.
Finally he leans back and sighs, opening red-rimmed eyes. "Ye gods, that was entirely worth its reputation." He shudders violently and then laughs. "Never tell me what you put in that thing, Ameiko. I think I'd be better off not knowing."
Getting unsteadily to his feet, he turns to look at the others. "Well, I'm ready. Death itself doesn't have anything on that!"
"If no one else needs to 'test their mettle', we should get Corinna and be off."
"Gnome? Sorry! Gobo. Is, I meant, goblin," Melon looks into her empty cup, then to Fezziwig again, "sorry buddy, things all running together in my head right now - is a bit much no?"
When Ameiko brings her hangover cure, Melon inadvertently shrinks back. She nods and smiles somewhat blankly at Aago; then trance-like watches Aago and swallows as he does (though she's got nothing to swallow, not even saliva as her mouth has run dry). When she hears Aago say, "Never tell me what you put in that thing," Melon swallows nothing again. Crushed fermented trout eyes and dill roots. That's all I ever figured out. She shudders.
Aago nods and shoulders his pack. "Thanks again, Ameiko. Have a good day."
He makes his way to the door and holds it open for the others. "So Corinna is coming? I wasn't sure she'd want to trudge back into the swamp again."
Malan goes to Corinna's home. He doesn't answer Aago's question.
Malan takes off ahead of the others towards the bridge out of town and then the Valdemar manor. The rest of you hoof it to catch up to him. Sandru and his men are still camped out beside the road. They wave to you as you pass.
At the Valdemar manor, you encounter a lone guard at the opening where the gate once was. He demands to know your business and why you want to see Corinna.
"The Lady Corinna Valdemar is expecting us. Please let her know that Melon, Aago, Gilfroy, Rajah, and Malan have arrived for her appointment."
Corinna's mother shakes her head. "No, I wouldn't say he was angry. Perhaps mildly annoyed, but no more than that." She squirms a little as she speaks, and it's obvious she doesn't fully believe what she's saying. "I'd suggest not mentioning it to him, though, and just going on with things as normal. Well, I'll leave you to your writing." She indicates the papers Corinna has out. "I merely wanted to make sure you were okay." She smiles, gives Corinna a hug, and leaves the room.
After spending time preparing her spells and getting some other writing in, she hears a knock on the door again. It's her mother again. "Sorry to disturb you, dear, but your friends are at the gate. I'm afraid your uncle has ordered them sent away though."
The guard at the gate looks at Malan, a hint of disbelief in his eyes. "I wasn't informed of any appointments for Miss Valdemar." He shrugs. "Fine, wait here."
The guard walks up the path to the house. You see the door open and the guard talk to a woman who answers it. It's too far to hear what is said. The woman closes the door and the guard waits there. He glances back in your direction several times, as if to make sure you haven't tried to sneak in. Finally, the door opens again and the same woman speaks to the guard.
The guard walks back to the gate. "I'm sorry, but Miss Valdemar is not taking any visitors at this time. Mister Belven Valdemar asks that you continue on your way and not trouble her any further."
"No problem. We'll move along. C'mon folks."
Gilfroy moves two feet up the road, then sighs with a big yawn. "Oh, my, all that walking. I'm bushed. Anybody else tired?" He stretches, then plunks himself down right in the middle of the road.
When her mother returns later, two letters are sealed and ready on her desk, and she is just shutting her spellbook. "My friends?" she asks, going to the window to see if she can catch a glimpse of the road. "I wouldn't call them that. Acquaintances, perhaps. A few of them are from Sandpoint: that odd girl that hung around Ameiko Kaitjitsu and a man from that Belwas family with the giant blood." She turns back around. "It's probably just as well," she smiles at her mother. "Having such people turning up at the door is hardly 'going on with things as normal.' Is Uncle busy now? I have letters to post," she gestures at her desk, "and would rather not see him on my way, not until he's had a bit of time to forget about the unwanted visitors."
Rajah looks on, not quite satisfied with that explanation. "Good sir, if you would." Rajah says with a hand raised in an attempt to halt him before he shuts the door. "May I ask why Miss Valdemar is seeing no one? She is quite an important part of this group and if we have offended her in some fashion, please, let us make amends. At the very least, have her come to the door and tell us herself that she has no desire to accompany us. If she does so, we will not bother you again. Please, sir. This is all we ask."
"Rajah! We haven't offended her. There's no way that message ever made it anywhere near Corinna. We're simply not good enough for her. Go ahead, sir guard. Call me a liar."
Rajah snaps his head around at Gilfroy's outburst and then turns back to the guard when he's done, quite interested in hearing his response.
"Mister Valdemar's instructions were quite clear," the guard responds. "He's asked you to leave. I'm not about to question that. It's more than my job's worth."
Turning to the others, "Apparently our actions here are futile and there is little left for us to accomplish. I do not like this one bit, but, unless any of you have another idea, I would suggest we move on."
"I respect your position good guardsman." Malan moves to stand by Gilfroy. "We shall wait here a while."
Aago studies the reactions of his companions and is surprised to find himself in agreement with Rajah for a change. Corinna had always been a rather reluctant participant in their adventures and he wasn't particularly surprised to find that they had been barred entry.
Speaking quietly, he addresses Malan and Gilfroy. "Do we really want to cause trouble here? If Corinna doesn't want to come, that's her choice. And even if she's not responsible for this...attitude...is it really for us to make her life more difficult? You both know that what we do here will reflect on her."
"Aago, last time I checked, the Valdemar's do not own this road. I am not on their property, I am not harrassing their family members, guards, or servants. But until I hear it from Corinna's own lips that she wants nothing to do with us, I am tired, and not prepared to move another foot. Guardsman, feel free to send in the message that we will cause no trouble, and are willing to move on, once Corinna herself has told us to."
"Your uncles has just gone to see your grandfather," Corinna's mother replies. "They're discussing family business plans or something like that. They'll probably be busy for a while, so if you need to sneak out..."
She pauses a moment and looks at Corinna. "Are you going out just to mail those letters or is that just an excuse to join the group outside?" She sighs, then forces a smile. "Well, you must make your own choices. You'd better get moving while you have the chance. Your grandfather is weak and his meetings with your uncle never last long."
As the group is still dithering in the roadway, Corinna comes out the front door of the house. She looks surprised to see you there, but not unpleasantly. "Good morning!" she calls, hurrying down the path. "Good morning, Alex," she greets the guard at the gate when she arrives, her eyes flickering down at his clothing. "Has she ordered your livery yet?" she asks him a little archly. "Going into Sandpoint to post some correspondence," she announces to everyone, holding up two letters. "Are you heading back toward the main road? We can walk together." She seems in a hurry to get away from the estate.
Aago is at first startled and then impressed by Corinna's wit.
"But of course," he says with a short bow. He turns to lead the way down the road, with only a quick glance at Gilfroy, wondering how he'd known Corinna would be along. He decided that the gnome must have somehow planned the whole thing. Gnomes were tricky like that and they seemed to enjoy making people look like fools in the process.
"But of course. I suddenly feel much more rested now. You have very confortable dirt outside your house."
Melon smiles at Corinna as they walk, "We're going to have to work much harder today! Ameiko doesn't want to believe me that we found a Tian fan - now I'm not much good with that; it looks like some of the things over at Ameiko's mansion back when we were kids. So I'm hopeful! Have you ever seen much things from for'n parts Aago? And Fezzi?"
"I assume you are referring to me, though my name is no more 'Fezzi' than yours is 'Honeydew', but still, no, I have never seen anything similar to the style of that fan."
"Oh don't be such a sticknmud, your hair will go all pale again."
"Whatever you say, Honey," he replies with a sickly-sweet voice.
Malan, nods to the guard as they walk away.
When she can no longer see the windows of the house when she glances over her shoulder, Corinna's pace slackens a bit. "Tien?" she asks Melon, a little bemused. "Like from the other side of the world? I thought the important thing about the fan was the map on it. Let me see it." "What makes you think it's Tien?"
Aago shrugs. "I've spent most of my time in Varisia, Melon. Tian Xia is so far away that most of the people I've met think of it as a legend. I wouldn't know an object made there from a...Sargavan tea cup."
"I have heard of the place. I land far away, full of wonders."
"Good morning, Alex," she greets the guard at the gate when she arrives, her eyes flickering down at his clothing. "Has she ordered your livery yet?" she asks him a little archly.
The guard shrugs as Corinna goes by. "All I know is I'm supposed to get it soon," he says. "Have a good day, Miss."
When she can no longer see the windows of the house when she glances over her shoulder, Corinna's pace slackens a bit. "Tien?" she asks Melon, a little bemused. "Like from the other side of the world? I thought the important thing about the fan was the map on it. Let me see it." "What makes you think it's Tien?"
You return to the Lost Coast Road, but then take a brief detour north instead of south. Corinna has some letters she wants to post, so you find yourselves at Sandru's caravan.
Rajah laughs quite heartily on the inside at Gilfroy's retort toward Melon as he pats him on the shoulder, smiling.
Turning to the conversation at hand, "I must say, my experience of Tian culture doesn't differ much from Aago's. I know absolutely nothing." Then unable to contain himself any longer, "Corinna. Why were you not allowed to speak with us? And how did you manage to walk out the front door when your guard specifically said that you were not to be disturbed? That is, if you don't mind me asking, of course. If not, then please forgive me. My curiousity tends to get the better of me... from time to time."
"I'm sorry," Corinna tells Melon with a shrug, refolding the fan and handing it back to Malan for safekeeping. "It just looks like a fan to me. Perhaps you should show it to Ameiko; she'd be the expert."
She hesitates at Rajah's question as the group approaches the caravan. "I... Look, I'll explain. You all deserve to know; it will make things easier, but.... Are we going back into the swamp? I'll tell you on the way. I do need to post these letters." She raises her voice. "Excuse me? Hail, the caravan. I don't mean to be a recurrent bother, and I know you're not the postman, but will someone be going into Sandpoint today who can carry these letters?"
"But that's what I'm saying," Melon insists excitedly, pointing, "see here? You'd not see this kind of thing drawn over in Magnimar. It's been years since I've been in Ameiko's place - but I vividly remember the soft swooshy style of the paintings there. Besides, Aago, how can the place be a legend when we have Ameiko right here in Sandpoint?"
"While we are returning the undead to their slumber, we can look for more of this style of art. Perhaps Melon is right. The only way to prove it is to find and bring back more."
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Aago shrugs his broad shoulders, confused by Melon's obsession with Tian Xhi. "I said most people, not me. I've never met anyone from there, myself. As for Ameiko...I've always thought she was from Sandpoint. Her family's been out here forever, right?"
Sandru comes over to the party as you approach the caravan. "It's no bother," he says. "I'll be heading into town in a little while. I'll post your letters for you. Heading back to the swamp?"
Aago lifts a hand in greeting to Sandru and nods. "Turns out we just can't get enough of the wonders of the swamp. Particularly since we get all that free food and drink at Ameiko's every time we come back alive."
Sandru laughs heartily. "Ameiko has a soft spot for adventurers. She's always happy to see them achieve something and so feels she needs to reward that. Helps her reminisce about the olden days, I suppose. She and I tried our hands at adventuring once, you know?"
"I knew that she'd gone adventuring but I didn't know you went together. What do you mean by tried? I thought she did quite well out there."
Sandru frowns. "Well, it's a bit of a long story really. We were successful for a while. It was her share of the earnings that allowed her to buy the Rusty Dragon. I used my share to start up my caravan. But you'll notice, we did stop. The problem with adventuring is that it often ends in tragedy. Ameiko and I were the only survivors of our group. I lost my brother and some very good friends. Ameiko and Alder were... Well, let's say they were very close. Things were strained between us for a while. You lot be careful out there, all right? I'll get these letters mailed for you." He turns away and heads back to rejoin his men.
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"I ... er...," Corinna stumbles, as Aago steps in and begins conversing with Sandru over her head. "Um, thank you for posting my letters," she trails off, a bit crestfallen, as the caravan leader turns and walks away.
Aago watches Sandru walk off, stricken momentarily speechless by the revelation.
"Melon, what point are you trying to make with the origin of this fan? Let us say it is of Tian descent, what then? Does it's value increase if it is, or is it something else entirely? Otherwise, I fail to see why it matters one way or another."