Durgan is fine with forgetting about Sneeg if Kesten Garess says so.
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When everything that needed to be tended to right after arrival is taken care of, Alia heads to Maethadis and Andriel, retreating to their quarters for privacy: "What news do you bring from home, Mylady? Word of my Brother?", she asks respectful, yet cautious.
"Stop." The elf says holding up a hand.
She then produces and unrolls a scandalous, full-color painted playbill for "Three Sisters Play" and shows it to Alia. There's a long pause and a lot of pointed staring.
"Please explain."
Victoria's head is spinning a bit as she tries to catch the names of all the new (to her) individuals. She does however ask, "A spirited team mascot? Oh, that's a creature I will need to meet." She pats the fox around her shoulders head. "Don't worry, you'll always be my mascot."
The magister snorts. "What!? Let that monster wander the fort? I think not. You should have see what we did with with them in my old military days out on the Numerian borderlands."
"Wander the fort? Not at all. I want it gone, back to it's lair. Your nose may not be as sensible, but the area near it's confinement stinks of feces and urine. Why do you keep it around? Send it off and let the wilderness decide it's fate.", Alia explains, somewhat agitated.
"I've taken the liberty of keeping the party mascot confined to the house ma'am." says the halfling putting a hand over a series of claws marks on the back of one of his hands.
"Quite spirited."
Alia finds Vega confined to his cage on the dining room table.
Alia thanks Anando, then rushes to Vega:"Please forgive me. I would have come back for you but we were pursuing a murderous wiza....you don't care do you? I'll fetch you some fresh meat later! I'm back now!"
"Stop." The elf says holding up a hand.
She then produces and unrolls a scandalous, full-color painted playbill for "Three Sisters Play" and shows it to Alia. There's a long pause and a lot of pointed staring.
"Please explain."
Alia swallows and stops dead in her tracks, her cheeks turning reddish. A bead of sweat forms on her forehead, as she meekly tries to explain: "Maybe it was someone else?"
With silence and more pointed staring following the attempt, Alia averts her eyes looking at the ground:"Please don't tell my brother."
"I...it went too far. I apologize."
...but it was fun...
"Were did you get that?"
...it would make a nice souvenir...
Serena eyes the poster with a bemused smirk. "Pleasures of the flesh are hardly immoral or illegal. There's something to be said for an occasional romp in the hayloft. Why I'll bet that you've gone a round or two in your youth."
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If he was in a generally grim mood as a basic mode of existance, being confined to his cage for prolonged times turned Vega into a scarred ball of fur and concentrated hatred.
Alas, he remembered the Elf. It was intolerable she had left him so long, but all the same, it meant he would be freed from his imprisonment, and get a chance to exact terrible revenge on the halfling that did this to him.
And on the fat human with fancy clothes that seemed to enjoy eating hearty meals in plain sight without sharing. His bald head made him easy to remember.
As the woman with a living fox came close, Vega growled. It was too long since he has had a proper fight, and the fox would be a welcome warm-up.
But there was...something about them. Stopping his growl, Vega looked at Victoria with curiosity, expectation, and suppressed rage/hatred.
Arris stared hard at the cat's eyes, sizing him up. He was pretty sure he could take the cat, although it looked like he might have some scars at the end of it. He was about to issue a challenging growl when Victoria grabbed his scruff. OOooo, I HATE when she does that.
With one hand, Victoria reaches up and grabs the scruff of Arris' neck, sensing his coming challenge. "We're friends here, Arris." With the other hand, she dipped into a pouch at her side and pulled out a piece of meat. She tossed it gently to the semi-feral animal. "It's okay, Vega. You have every right to be grumpy after the way you've been treated." She smiled at the kitty. "He's seems like a handful, Alia. Quite the specimen."
I'm sorry Svetlana. Scarlet clutches her fists and has to stop herself from raging.
"I can't wait til we return to the fort and get that place cleaned up."
"Oh what do we have here?" With the practiced skill worthy of a true connoisseur Illthir attempted to joink the playbill out of the elves hands. All in good spirits of course.
With a bit more luck she'd both save Alia *and* satisfy her own curiosity. But that elf was more on balance then she looked ...
With shock and horror Alia watches as Illthir attempts to grab the playbill.
...please don't kill her, please don't kill her, please don't kill her...
"Magister, when do yo leave for Restov please?"
The magister snorts. "What!? Let that monster wander the fort? I think not. You should have see what we did with with them in my old military days out on the Numerian borderlands.""Wander the fort? Not at all. I want it gone, back to it's lair. Your nose may not be as sensible, but the area near it's confinement stinks of feces and urine. Why do you keep it around? Send it off and let the wilderness decide it's fate."
"As you wish. I'm no rat catcher. Let the smelly rodent go!" the Magister commands.
Matheus lowers one end of his spear into the pit and draws the kobold out. Once out and convinced that this isn't some sort of cruel Smooth One trick, the kobold bolts for the tall grasses and disappears.
"Magister, when do yo leave for Restov please?"
"As soon as you and your subordinates are ready." The Magister's nostrils fill with the country air. He makes a face and adds "The sooner the better."
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Serena eyes the poster with a bemused smirk. "Pleasures of the flesh are hardly immoral or illegal. There's something to be said for an occasional romp in the hayloft. Why I'll bet that you've gone a round or two in your youth."
"Under all that armor you are indeed a lady of the cloth. Silk sheets no doubt." Matheus says smiling suggestively at the paladin.
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"Oh what do we have here?" With the practiced skill worthy of a true connoisseur Illthir attempted to joink the playbill out of the elves hands. All in good spirits of course.
With a bit more luck she'd both save Alia *and* satisfy her own curiosity. But that elf was more on balance then she looked ...
Maethdis lats the scroll roll up and tucks into one of the cases at her hip. The other elf doesn't even seem to notice Illthir's attempt.
Scarlet takes a look at the Outpost. May be her last look for a while.
"Erevenywg, you alright? We're going on a trip to Restov." More crowded cities.
"Well who is coming into Brevoy to get our new resources and potentially visit my family?"
"I am coming. Where is your family, Zokon? Are they in Restov?"
"Stoneclimb I think, although I did run into one of my brothers in Restov. House Rogarvia rules Restov, my family generally stays in Medvyed lands around the city/castle of Stoneclimb. Maybe I can ask them to meet us in Restov."
Zokon will try to remember to pen a letter once in Brevoy as the courier system should be alot faster there.
"Well who is coming into Brevoy to get our new resources and potentially visit my family?"
Posh just watches as Alia seems to be carted off for a debrief.
"I might, just let me handle something..." he states as he begins to find a way to attempt to sneak towards the tent Alia and co were in to try and listen into the conversation.
"Stoneclimb I think, although I did run into one of my brothers in Restov. House Rogarvia rules Restov...."
Posh just watches as Alia seems to be carted off for a debrief.
"I might, just let me handle something..." he states as he begins to find a way to attempt to sneak towards the tent Alia and co were in to try and listen into the conversation.
Andriel does take note of the gnome though. He doesn't say a word. He just stands there watching Posh with those cold, critical, blue, elven eyes until the gnome leaves.
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Scarlet takes a look at the Outpost. May be her last look for a while.
"Erevenywg, you alright? We're going on a trip to Restov." More crowded cities.
"Does that make me queen, Scar-Lets-Carab? Do I get a crown? I think that I would be a good queen. I would let my subjects eat cake!"
"I'll go," Serena offers.
He slaps himself on the forehead.. "No they are the ones that disappeared, so Rostland and thus Restov is semi-autonomous, without a noble family to directly rule over it."
Posh just watches as Alia seems to be carted off for a debrief.
"I might, just let me handle something..." he states as he begins to find a way to attempt to sneak towards the tent Alia and co were in to try and listen into the conversation.** spoiler omitted **
Andriel does take note of the gnome though. He doesn't say a word. He just stands there watching Posh with those cold, critical, blue, elven eyes until the gnome leaves.
Posh tries to give him his best dashing smile and decides to leave, looking for somewhere nearby to cast Vanish and then slowly creep back to get a good earful of what's going on.
(possible +1 due to attraction?)
"Oh no surprise people dislike us elves, hogging their lewd literature like that ..." Illthir mumbles as the elves drag Alia and the playbill away. She hoped they both would be okay. With a small shrug she went and hanged out with the people of her other half, like usual.
"I'll follow you to Restov at least. I might have some business there." Illthir beams at Zokon and the other friendly humans. "Guess it might be fun to visit your family too. Riding towards people who don't want to kill us! Hah. Ahem. Heh - you are not banished here on the pain of death or something right? We might want to know that ahead of time ..."
"No just a bastard and thus politically inconvenient, but now that I may soon outrank him or have a decent rank, it may change his attitude. Yes I also agree it will be nice to not be being shot at, but politics as they are, let'snot drop our guard."
"Erevenywg, you alright? We're going on a trip to Restov." More crowded cities."Does that make me queen, Scar-Lets-Carab? Do I get a crown? I think that I would be a good queen. I would let my subjects eat cake!"
Scarlet laughs. "Cake would be tasty, eh? Let's go to Restov."
"I'm a fan of safety in numbers. If that's where everyone else is going, I believe I'll tag along." And avoid any unpleasantness should that drow come back. After her ordeal, she has developed a mild fear of the dark and prefers to have at least a little light, and a little company.
As Nakpik takes off into the wilderness, Alia turns to the Magister: "You have my thanks. The locale already became more pleasant with that simple gesture."
Sorry, Nicnac, it's the best I could do. Get home safely.
_____________________
As Victoria and her Fox meet Vega for the first time, Alia is glad that he seems to be in one of his better moods. Which was not saying much, but he seemed curious in them - which definitely was a better approach than he had with most people.
Nodding to Victoria, she explains: "Aye, we liberated him from some Wererats in Restov. They trained those cats to assault the sewer workers and rat catchers. I've tried my best to get him...less feral, but I'm afraid I'll need some professional help. I've heared cats are remarkably hard to train and he seems rather content with the way he is - but I'm not willing to give up on him."
Thinking of the Benzen kids, she adds:"Also, I would feel guilty releasing him as he is now. All trouble he'd cause would be on my conscience."
_____________________
Alia demurely follows the Elves to get debriefed by them.
"I did my best - shortly after arrival we were surprised and overwhelmed by bandits. They killed the others and took the map. I needed allies to retrieve it - and we succeeded in doing so - but I admit along the way I also was curious about local customs and culture, and partook in quests not directly leading to the retrieval. I ask that you question my efficiency, not my reliability - I am willing to do whatever is needed for our cause. And one of those unrelated quests revealed important information that needs to be relied home as soon as possible. I am talking about impact of a scale that may alter everything we planned."
_____________________
"I shall come with you, Zokon. But before we depart, would you do me the favor of talking in private for a bit? There is something important I would like to discuss."
"Of course Alia, lets make our way to somewhere discreet." and he follows
The Legerdemain, Royal Opera House, in the City of Pitax.
The royal booth is an overly-sumptuous affair. The walls are hung with red draperies reminiscent of the style of the distant kingdoms in Tian Xia, the high-backed chairs and statuary might have been lifted from a pharaoh's tomb in Osirion, and the building itself might have been built in Oppara during one of Taldor's more Rococo periods. It is rich red mousse for the visual senses and probably for the best that the lights are down.
There is an opera in progress on the stage below for an audience of one.
The king of Pitax has seen the opera before. He knows every line of of the script, the staging and movements of the orchestra. He knows the very soul of the thing.
The curtain parts behind him. In the wedge of light from the hall, two faceless guardians in shining steel plate stand revealed their faceless greathelms an echo of the darkly armored Hellknights of Cheliax. A female silhouette enters, and at a motion from the king takes a seat in the booth.
"How go our operations in the Stolen Land?" asks the king not looking up from the action on stage.
"They go well, Your Highness. We have made contact with nearly all of Brevoy's agents and believe we can deal with each one way or another." says the woman.
"Excellent." replies the king. "And what of our project concerning the young Hotspur Selline?"
"There have been complications."
"How so?"
"Apparently the group dispatched by Brevoy to secure the North Kamelands became involved."
"The group that your little friend joined?"
"Yes, Your Highness."
"So what happened?"
"They arrived in Mivon shortly after Lord Hotspur had left with his men--a company of mercenary dwarves. The Lord Mayor had gotten wind of the operation and locked the city down." She pauses for a moment before continuing "I had my man there smuggle the Brevic agents out of Mivon. The group was in pursuit of the Lord Mayor's son for reasons of their own. Lord Mayor Selline was already in search of his son, and it was only a matter of time before he had brought the lad to heel. It was hoped that the hounds of Restov might bring the young lord to bear first, and in doing so kill him, thereby setting off the incident we hoped to provoke between our foes using Hotspur."
"And if Hotspur had killed his pursuers?"
"Nothing changes from the original plan. Lord Hostpur goes on to found his kingdom on soil claimed by Brevoy. Brevoy marches to war against the upstart lordling and Mivon whose hand they will see behind events and Mivon's Lord Mayor will have no choice but to follow suit"
"Practically poetry." muses the king. "What happened?"
"The party from Brevoy tracked Hotspur to Castle Vsevolod--where the mercenaries were taking on supplies for their march, but before either side could do much against the other, the Lord Mayor's men arrived and took Hotspur into protective custody. Reports are still sketchy. There was a fire, and lot of confusion."
"Pity. It was an excellent plan." says the king his attention still fixed upon the stage.
"It is not all bad news, Your Highness. The skirmish has no doubt deepened the distrust between the two nations, and I doubt Brevic agents will be journeying to Mivon anytime soon."
"Have you ever seen the Queen of Forgotten Time?"
"Not in it's entirety, Your Highness." says the woman.
"Pity." his attention fixed not on the stage itself but somewhere beyond it. "There is nothing that one can use to compare. No words can impart the beauty. No brush can render the majesty. It is to lay eyes upon Shelyn, and yet more...."
"Your Highness?"
"Nothing. You may leave. Keep me informed of our progress."
"Yes, Your Highness."
The curtains part again and are about to close on the woman's form when the king stops her with one final question.
"Raven. Your little friend, the fool. Should you in counter him again, what will you do?"
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She looks back and says: "Why kill him of course, Your Majesty." And with that the curtain closes.
Durgan is not particularly concerned with the kobold's fate.
The others seem to have some fondness for the little monster. As long as his kind doesn't trouble me again.
Nor is he worried about Alia and the elves. While he has great respect for elven craftsmanship, and the strength of their societies, he knows when an issue doesn't involve him.
Mostly, he keeps an eye on the Magister, listening to the man talk and getting a sense of his likes and dislikes. We may have to deal with him a fair amount in the future.
Serena says nothing as the kobold leaves, her thoughts on the matter her own. She does take offense to the way that she was treated by the elven emissary. Regardless of her status as an outsider, she was used to being accorded a certain amount of respect.
Scarlet can't stop rolling her eyes at the elven "dignitary", but she knows when she can't protect Nakpik forever.
Time to check her equipment, check on the fairy, and say goodbye to Oleg one last time. He stuck his neck out and this is his reward.
Durgan will visit Oleg's grave along with Scarlet.
"A pioneer of civilization in a lawless land. We will build a monument to him. And bury the drow's head under a nearby latrine."
Scarlet nods as Durgan gives an informal eulogy. "He stuck his neck out and tried to make a home. Invited strangers to his home. Braved dangers he didn't need to. And he paid for it."
"There's a lot of people out here who would destroy people like Oleg. I failed him. But I'm not gonna fail anyone, anymore." She opens her eyes and stands back up.
"I'm gonna check on Erevenywg. Make sure she's ready for the big city. And then I'm ready."
Two days of rest later. The Magister, Matheus, Erevenywg, and the party and Matheus' men set off for Restov. As most of the soldiers are afoot the party can expect the trip to take a week the Old South Road.
The elves (Maethadis and Andriel) left the outpost the day before in the early morning. And the new steward Anando Veresisi is left in charge of things at the outpost.
Kesten Garess suggests that some word should be gotten to the men down in the ruined fort before too long to avoid the people down there "getting any ideas."
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This happens before GGGM's post
Zokon walks back from his discussion with Alia and approaches each of Jhod and Durgen individually
To each he says "Good priest, would you do Alia and I the honour of witnessing our betrothal in the main open area by the firepit please, as soon as we can gather all together?"
Assuming they agree and they gather in the centre of the fort
Zokon will say "Friends gather to me please, we have an important announcement to make."
He beckons Alia to join him and he waits for the others to gather.
When they are all present, with the priests looking on
"Fathers and all our friends, bear witness today."
He looks to Alia and steps toward her pulling out a ring as he does, he goes down onto one knee
"I do not know how the elves do this but I shall do as my heart tells, this ring was given me by my mother as a promise to return to her. I would seek to return it to her on the hand of a truly worthy woman who has captured my heart. Will you Alia of the elven people, be my wife, to be my partner in all things?" he looks to Alia expectantly holding the ring out to her.
"Uh..."
Durgan blinks.
"Huh?"
"Betrothal?"
He gathers himself. "Zokon, if you ask me to witness a contract, it will become my holy obligation as a priest of Abadar to hold you and Alia to the terms of that contract, do you understand? Regardless of my thoughts on the wisdom of those terms. Or if circumstances change. Contracts can be amended by mutual agreement but they cannot be ignored. If one party breaks the contract, I will have to take the side of the other.
You do not have to ask me to witness. But if you do, that is the sacred obligation you place on me."
Durgan goes to find Jhod. "You have known these two longer than I have. Did you see this coming?" If there are any prayers to be said, he will let Jhod do it.
Nevertheless, the dwarf attends and witnesses (if Zokon still wishes). He watches with a great deal of confusion.
No years-long courtship? No tests of worthiness and loyalty? It is so... sudden. I didn't even know he had such feelings for her.
This is going to make a lot of people nervous.
He hasn't met her family. She hasn't met his family. He hasn't asked her parents' permission. Or clan leader's.
Humans are so impetuous. They do stuff like this. But elves? I didn't see this coming at all. What's her game?
I hope they know what they're doing.
'Partner in all things' - overly broad and binding. I don't think Zokon consulted anybody on those contract terms. No clauses invalidating the agreement if they should find out she is secretly his Polymorphed and amnesiac sister, or that he bears a horrible curse that will cause Alia's death. There's a standard 84-page pre-nuptial agreement covering such things.
Breathe. As long as the economy is going well, all will be fine. Focus on the economy.
"Uh..."
Durgan blinks.
"Huh?"
Shepherd Jhod readjusts Durgan's and his own jaws.
"Betrothal?"
They say in stereo.
"Well, don't you think this is a bit quick? I mean you only just saved her from bandits a few weeks ago. Are you sure you're ready for marriage?"
Durgan will try Sense Motive to determine if Zokon is under a Charm or similar effect.
Alia stands by Zokon, not pretending to be surprised by his words - but touched by them, nonetheless.
As Zokon kneels before her, presenting the ring, she extends her hand to allow him to place it on her finger.
"Oh Zokon, I want to be your wife. Ever since that night we camped in the woods near Restov, all that we talked about always came back to my mind. We may not know each other for years, but have seen and accomplished more together than other couples do in a lifetime. Yes, I wish to be your partner and bond myself to you!"
Looking at her finger, she adds:"It's beautiful!", before pulling Zokon up and embracing him.