The Reclamation of Zahvroma (Inactive)

Game Master Signore di Fortuna

Toni nods. "Alright, let's see if we can find Kjell..."

She puts her empty tea cup down and nods, "Okay." She says while heading to the door.

Gyo gets up off of the floor and gives the couple a bow before following her young charge.

It takes Arista almost an hour to bake off the rest of the cookies but by the time it's all said and done she had eight dozen chocolate chip, six dozen shortbread with strawberry centers, and ten dozen of the oatmeal spice cookies. While the last batch of cookies is cooling she starts to clean up the kitchen.

I just needed a current reminder of how many cookies of what type I made since it was back so many pages ago.

"How about Rummy?" Cyna says, moving into a comfortable spot to play.

Clara takes the cup of tea and sips. "I don't really consider 'safe alternatives' to loving someone, as painful as it may end up."

She sets the cup down on the table. "Sadhana taught me to stop denying myself, to stop blaming myself. She took me out of a dark place and...then she was gone. I couldn't be the doting housewife waiting for her to come back and she...she needed someone to understand her in ways I couldn't. I'm scared because I really, really like you, Celia. I think you like me too. No...I know you like me too. The thing is...what's going to happen when you have to go? I can't keep you here. That's not a relationship worth pursuing if you're not free. I'm not sure I can wait...yet. The idea of letting you go is too frightening for me right now because everything that makes sense at this moment won't the minute you're out of Valwick."

She looks down at the floor. "I need you and I'm angry at myself for needing you."

Celia puts down her cup, turning on the couch to face Clara. "You're completely right about me liking you Clara, I like you a lot. So much it surprises me actually. I like the feeling of being here with you. You make me feel....safe. When I was a captive.....I thought I;d never feel safe again."

She brings a hand up to cup the paladin's cheek. "There is nothing wrong with needing people. No one is meant to be alone. I already feel a connection with you that's different from anything I've ever known......it feels like....home. I promised to help fight the evils that plague this place that threaten this town and this land, but no matter how far I go to fight......I need a home."

"I'd be lying if I said what I feel didn't scare me a little bit too...but I'd like to see where it goes,if you would too. I doubt there's plans to go very far until after the worst of winter is over."

Jelks finishes playing. "I think that'll give you two houses, Toni."

She smiles, looking over at Jin. "If you like that, you might enjoy my ocarina playing."

"It was truly beautiful, it would be an honor to hear more at some point.." Hitome says with a placid smile. "Thank you foe everything."

"What sort of game is that, Mother?" Gwen asks.

Toni leads the group to Halfpocket's but goes around to the back of the store. She knocks on the door back there.

A handsome half-orc opens the door. "Ah, Summoner business, I presume?"

He looks up at Jin, Hitome and Gyo, giving them a wide grin. "Hello. Please come in."

The half-orc allows everyone to enter his abode before closing the door. He throws another log on the fire before sitting on a comfy looking armchair. He gestures to a velvety couch. "Please sit. So what brings you by, Toni?"

"You're acting unusually smug, Kjell," Toni says. "I need furniture and fast."

"I'm having a wonderful day, that's all," Kjell says. "Actually, I invested some of my money and the dividends paid off today. I wanted to get out and give the money to Barclay...you know, to continue improving the town. If you can deliver it to him, I'll give you a discount price on the furniture. Just tell me what you need."

Toni turns to Jin and Hitome. "Just write out a list of what you need and want. I've got this covered."

She looks at Toni, "Are you sure? We came prepared to handle our own expenses."

"I'm a little rusty on the rules, myself," Sienna says.

Toni nods. "It's fine. Just stick to the essentials, though. I have to get stuff for Svanna and Gyrthr, too."

She nods, "I appreciate your generosity, but I can't let you pay for everything when you have so many to help. I can at least cover half the cost, if that's okay with you?"

Cyna lays the cards out as an example and begins to explain how to play and score points to her family.

"Consider it our way of contributing. We want to make this process easier for all of us." Hitome adds.

She nods her head, "Yeah."

seeing the turmoil and conflict in Clara's eyes, Celia leans back. "I...I'm sorry Clara.....the last thing I want to do is make things harder for you, or hurt you in any way." she says softly, her voice laden with emotion. "Would....would it be easier for you if...if I weren't staying here? I...I'm sorry."

Appropriate song.

A look of panic crosses Clara's face and she instinctively moves forward to wrap her arms around Celia. "No...no...please don't go."

She looks into the Anizari's eyes. "I'm afraid of being hurt again, but...I'm more afraid of being without you."

Toni chuckles. "Alright, have it your way."

Kjell chuckles as well. "People who refuse free furniture? Now I think I've seen it all."

Gwen picks up on the game quickly, becoming focused on it.

Sienna tries to be a gracious loser as Cyna and Gwen show more talent at the game.

She nods, "I usually do....have it my way that is. One of the perks of being incredibly charming." She giggles, "I'm just kidding, I really just have a hard time taking things for free when we've already been given more than I ever expected. So....let me see. Right now the house is just a structure so what do we need?" She thinks for a moment, "Okay, here's what I think we need. The fixtures for the bathroom, you know sink, bathtub, and all that. We will also need a sink in the kitchen to wash dishes, something to keep our food fresh in. I'd like a dining table and chair set that can seat at least eight comfortably, a large comfy couch and something like that chair you're sitting in Mr. Kjell because it looks really comfy too. Ummm...two large beds, and two dressers, and a night stand and desk for each bedroom. Does that sound okay? We can get our own dishes and towels and stuff like that. Am I forgetting anything furniture wise?" It was hard to think of what she needed for a house on the spot.

Gyo just smiles. She was glad to see Jin finally starting to relax. She felt the girl took life far too seriously for someone her age, and was happy that she was starting to feel comfortable enough around these people to just joke around with them. It had been a long time since she had seen her this at ease around others. She thinks for a moment before something occurs to her, "Actually Jin, with it being so cold outside and there being this much snow, I doubt the general store is going to be open today. Anything you think you might need for the house you should get now so you don't have to go without. You should probably get at least a couple plates and bowls and some cutlery. You'll need a couple of pans to cook in, a few utensils, at least one dish cloth and towel to clean your dishes, a bath towel and washcloth for the both of you, and bedding and pillows for the both of you. That's all I can think of at the moment though. Oh, and a shovel for the snow." She gives Jin a wink.

She nods, "Oh...you're probably right. Okay, so we'll need those things too as well as a little food stuff to get us through until the regular markets open again."

"And I'll probably need the same for the others," Toni says. "Though I think they'd prefer one bed."

Kjell nods. "Well, let's go downstairs so I have enough room for the summoning."

He gets up and opens a door beside the fireplace with stairs leading downward.

Toni produces a glowing pink gem about the size of her fist. "So will this be enough?"

Kjell looks the gem over. "So...still wanting answers then? Yeah, that should be enough. I wonder how you could get something like that...humanely."

"You just have to ask," Toni says. "The Great Elder is still quite curious if your friends can find out what's going on."

She looks from Toni to Kjell and then back at Toni, but remains quiet. Obviously there was more going on than they knew about, but if Toni felt they needed to know then she would tell them.

"It's surprising what half a million gold does," Kjell says. "They're happy for the research opportunities, the money from selling furniture and whatnot, and peaceable trading."

Toni nods. "Quite a membership fee to remain in the Brotherhood."

"Being an junior adjudicator has it's perks," Kjell says, leading the way downstairs. "I don't have to risk my life delivering things and, though I miss Lysse sometimes, it's nice having a quiet home where only a few people know what I do."

He gestures to the summoning circle in his basement. "Alright, let me see who's willing to deal with me today."

He chants some guttural words and a noble looking woman appears within the circle. Jin and Hitome can tell that this woman is not human.

Jin just shrugs as she looks confused by what they're talking about. Pretty much all of it went over her head. The only thing she was able to understand from any of their conversation was that there was something going on and the Great Elder was involved and needed some kind of help to figure out what was going on...whatever that was, she had no idea. She looks up at Gyo, but she looks just as lost in the conversation as Jin does.

As they go downstairs she looks around at everything and then seems a little surprised at the woman suddenly appearing. She was familiar with magic since she used a great deal of it herself and summoned things as well. She wasn't sure who this Kjell really was, but Toni trusted him and he seemed pretty easy going and important at the same time so she just keeps quiet, though she takes a step back to be closer to Gyo as the woman shows up. At least she wasn't the only one with secrets, but that made her feel only slightly better. She hoped that whatever was going on that they could be of some help. She looks the woman over as she ponders things and tries to figure out what she is.

Knowledge Planes: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30

Jin knows the woman is a djinni, a genie with ties to the element of air. "Good morning, Kjell. What are you after today?"

Kjell takes the gem from Toni and hands it to the genie. "I need a merchant with plenty of furniture ready. Enough to furnish two houses."

He rattles off the list that Jin mentioned. "And probably a group of people to help get this stuff in the houses."

The djinni nods. "Very well. I shall return shortly."

The woman disappears and Kjell smiles. "It'll be a little bit, but it'll be worth it."

Toni turns to Jin. "That gem I used for payment is the essence of an unformed eidolon. There have been reports of alien hunters attacking eidolons and draining them of their essence, basically killing them. That gem may provide a defense against these attacks, which is why the Great Elder trusted me with it."

She nods, a bit taken back by everything. Finally she seems to come to her senses, "How much do I owe you for our part? Or do I give my half to her when she returns?" She looks at Toni, she wondered how it would be to deal with one from the plane of fire and how different they were. Her mouth kind of forms an "O" of surprise at the revelation, "Oh really? Well, that is disturbing news. I won't let anything happen to Gyo, those jerks will have to go through me first to get to her." She says with an edge of fierceness to her voice that wasn't there before. She wouldn't allow anyone to do anything to harm Gyo, anymore than Gyo would allow anyone to do harm to her.

Sensing Jin's distress she lowers herself so that she is eye level with Jin, which is no small feat considering her size, and puts a comforting arm around her summoner. "Calm down Jin, it's alright. I'm sure the Great Elder is doing everything he can, and none of us will just allow this to happen. We will all work together and everything will be alright, trust me. Ms. Toni is very capable, and will help us figure out what we need to do." Looking over at Toni she says, "It speaks highly of you that the Great Elder would entrust this to you, and we believe in you. We'll do everything we can to help." She says while lightly rubbing Jin's back in the comforting way she always did whenever Jin was upset about something.

Appropriate song.

A look of panic crosses Clara's face and she instinctively moves forward to wrap her arms around Celia. "No...no...please don't go."

She looks into the Anizari's eyes. "I'm afraid of being hurt again, but...I'm more afraid of being without you."

As Clara wraps her arms around her Celia returns the embrace, holding her close as she looks into her eyes. "You have me Clara, and together, we'll chase those fears away." she whispers pressing her forehead against the paladin's.

Clara nods slightly before pressing her lips against Celia's.

Hitome takes it all in silently, learning as much as she can from the conversation. It looked as if they had enemies of multiple sources to deal with and needed to be ready for that as soon as they got down to the work of the Summoners. That Toni had powerful allies and the trust of the Great Elder, spoke volumes of her as a leader.

Celia returns the kiss, running her fingers through Clara's hair as the tension draws out of her.

Clara continues to hold the kiss, her lips slowly parting to take Celia's lower lip between her own. Her hands move under the Anizari's clothing, the paladin's finger brushing against those mystical tattoos and the soft flesh between them.

A minute or so later, a strange wagon appears in Kjell's basement and a wild-haired gnome steps out. "Crazy Gideon at your service. Stock them deep, sell them cheap!"

Kjell shakes his head. "I figured it'd be you."

"My prices are so low, I must be crazy...oh, it's you Kjell," the gnome says. "I have it all here, but it's going to be five hundred platinum for the moving fee."

Kjell looks at Jin. "Can you cover that?"

A soft murmur of reaction comes from Celia at the touch of Clara's fingers, the paladin's gentle touch and soft full lips stirring a deep well of both emotion and desire in the Anizari. Leaning into the kiss, Celia lightly runs the tips of her fingers down the back of Clara's neck, caressing down her back as she yields to the other woman's touch, her skin aching for more.