Ryo, who has kept his eyes closed during the trip.
"It's going to be getting hotter, isn't it? I'm all for something cool to drink.""Stupid cloak working against me in this heat."
"Yeah, quite a bit. It's hot in the jungle. And it rains a lot. Don't worry though. The stuff I made your arm out of doesn't rust."
"Okay, let's get a cool drink and a meal then. And if the two of you need to buy some cooler clothes we can do that too."
"I'm good - I learned a long time ago to make sure whatever I buy is all-weather rated. I usually don't have much foreknowledge of the places I end up in," he says with a smile. :)
Eyes still closed as the scenery zooms by, Ryo wonders how long a bruise inflicted by a metal fist would last on Tamrin...
Aananda slows the skimmer down as they pull into what looks to be a prosperous village. Far in the distance one can see green on the horizon that is presumably the jungle she's spoken of. Outside of the village there had been rice fields. She parked the skimmer in front of a large building on stilts that had a picture of a mug painted on the side. All of the buildings here were set on stilts, presumably to deal with seasonal flooding.
"Smells good, whatever they're cooking," Tam says as he gets out of the skimmer and stretches his legs a bit.
She nodded. "It looks peaceful too. Guess trouble hasn't spread this far out. Which is at least something to be thankful for."
She climbed the stairs to the main entrance of the pub and went inside. It seemed dark after the bright sunshine outside, but her eyes quickly adjusted. A bored waitress led them to a table and rolled her eyes when Aananda said enough food for ten at least, but smiled and shrugged and promised to be back with food shortly.
"Time for Aananada to make another impression at the lunch table."
He thinks a moment.
"Shouldn't you have ordered enough food for 13?"
"Hopefully this table can handle it," Tam says as he looks at the wood.
"And let's not talk about or allude to that particular subject out in public right now, Ryo. Not the best idea in the world for that to be common knowledge, okay?"
Ryo's eyes cloud.
"Okay, no one was listening, but I get your point. Sorry. I keep saying stuff at the wrong time, huh?"
Ryo's eyes cloud.
"Okay, no one was listening, but I get your point. Sorry. I keep saying stuff at the wrong time, huh?"
"It's okay, Ryo. I guess we just need to be more careful going forward. Besides, this was just the starters." ^.^
The waitress comes back with a heavy tray of food, though clearly not as much as Aananda ordered. Aananda starts to eat as soon as there is food set in front of her and the waitress's eyes widen as she sees the speed at which the young woman eats.
"I'll just be back in a minute with the rest of your order then," she said, swiftly backing away from the table and hurrying back to the kitchen.
"We have got to enter you in some sort of food eating contest one day," Ryo says as he grabs a plate and starts eating. The drink here was nice and cool, perfect after a skimmer ride with Aananda driving.
"Eating contest?" she asked between mouthfuls. "What's that?"
The waitress brought another tray of food and scurried back to the kitchen for more. It took about five more trips and the floor around the table was littered with empty bowls.
The waitress rushed off in tears and the table was approached by a porty middle aged man with a long mustache.
"Greetings, fine customers," he said, attempting to be cheerful. "I am Jamal, the owner of this fine establishment. I hope that you have enjoyed your meal. I regret top inform you that there is no more food ready in the kitchens at this time, so I do hope that you were able to satisfy your er, appetites. And I hate to even bring this up, but there is the small matter of the bill..."
Ryo draws his dexk of cards and places it on the table.
"Sir it is possible we cannot pay for all the food. We can pay, just not for it all. Perhaps I can interest you in a free reading then? You know the price most Seers charge, correct? I might even be able to work a charm to help protect the building when it floods..."
Jamal's mustache quivered with outrage.
"I do not care about charms! You think magic does any good around here? No one dares work any spells so close to the cursed lands. Do not insult me by offering to put my business in danger after you have eaten every scrap of food in my kitchen!"
Not entirely sure how things went from jovial eating to dire threats, Tam clears his throat. Loudly.
"My travelling companion here meant no harm or insult to you, but I can see that you feel you've just gotten both. Please, I apologize for the upset, and I'll be more than happy to take care of the bill - which is what I was going to do anyway," as he casts a questioning glance at Ryo briefly.
"Now I am, I confess, new to these parts Jamal. Does gold and silver still spend just as well in this town as it does in other areas, or is there a more preferred method of payment here?"
Ryo discreetly returns his cards into his robes.
"Why do the 'cursed lands' affect magic to the point people are afraid to use it?"
He discreetly passes a piece of paper to Tam asking for 24gold and 9 silver.
Jamal's moustache calmed down and he beamed jovially at Tam. "Gold and silver are of course always acceptable. And I suppose you being newcomers you wouldn't understand about the cursed lands. I mistook you for locals as the young lady obviously comes from somewhere nearby."
He discreetly passes a piece of paper to Tam asking for 24gold and 9 silver.
"I'll be happy to answer any questions you might have about the area of course, sir."
"That's most kind of you, Jamal. And again, I apologize for the confusion after getting such good food and fast service," as he reaches under the table and pulls his hand back out, handing Jamal 25 gold pieces. He places five more on the table.
"So I take it that practicing magic around here has some pretty bad effects, from what I heard you say. Can you be a bit more specific?"
"I wonder if it's only certain types of magic..."
"I apoligize then, for offering before. Or rather, I apoligize for not knowing what would have happened if I had used any magic. How long ago would you say this warlord has been in control?"
Upon receiving payment plus a generous tip Jamal became downright cheerful and eager to help his newfound friends. ;)
"It's the jungle over there. It was overtaken by some crazy warlord a few years back. At first there were lots of refugees coming out, but these days nobody ever comes out. Sometimes they go in, if they're foolish or stupid. But no one ever comes out. And anyone within a hundred miles of the place that uses magic is destroyed and everything around them too. They don't even bother to steal anything. Just leave a smoking ruin. And they kill everything. Men, women, children, livestock. There's never any living thing left afterwards. But as long as you stay away from the jungle and don't use magic, you'll be left in peace."
"Nobody's ever seen one of these attacks happen from afar and lived to tell anyone about it? People have only stumbled on the aftermath of the attacks?"
"That could mean the attacks happen at night, when no one is awake or aware, or happen so fast no one has time to get away."
"Does this happen to clerics and priests as well, or just those who practice strictly arcane magic? My guess would be the latter, as that would focus the ire of quite a few religions on this area in pretty short order..."
"Wow. This 'warlord' sure sounds like he has some kind of an axe to grind..."
"I completely understand that sentiment, Jamal," Tam replies, nodding his head in obvious sympathy.
"Has anyone ever seen what he even looks like? Even from when he first appeared, if not recently?"