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"I suppose I might be, too," he comments to Ilenna, "If I was responsible for the safety of a handful of initiates in the wild."
He gently pats the druid on the arm. "Do not fear so soon. Maybe your name is on the list. I gather she does not have much say in the matter when the Master of Scrolls gives out the order." He smiles and chuckles. "I'm not sure sure which is worse: dusting trophies or taking inventory at Sharrowsmith's. I became very good at counting!"
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"It seems you have fans." The interesting man says to the halfling, with a warm masculine smile. "El. May I call you El? Could you please pass me that spoon?"
The big blue marvel looks shocked to be spoken to by the man, then contemplates the offer. "Spoon? SPOOOOOON!" He holds aloft the proffered flatwear. "Say, that has a nice ring to it! A ring of (dare I say it?) JUSTICE!"
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Yeah, I suppose so. She says, resting her chin in her palm and looking up towards the ceiling. Absalom is a great city from what I've seen so far, but I am already starting to miss the wilds.
She stands abruptly, still continuing her conversation with Sidi. Making her way to the bar without paying much attention to her own bad manners, Counting, huh? she shouts over her shoulder, as she stands on the rungs of a bar stool and leans over the bar with her backside in the air. That does sound worse than the menial cleaning tasks they have me doing. Not by much, but still worse for sure! She rummages through the mugs and bottles of alcohol much to the bartender's horror from the look on his face. Hey, barkeep! You guys got any scraps of meat or bone from dinner back there? Nora's probably getting hungry and bored out there!
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Ilenna gets pushed down slightly by the weight of El's massive hand. She brushes off the shoulder lightly and gives him a quizzical look, as she continues rummaging through the bar. Nora's my best friend! She's a Mwangi Tiger. And she gets grumpy when she's hungry! The last sentence comes out a little louder, so the barkeep can hear. You are more than welcome to come see her after I leave for the night. Sidi already expressed interest.
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Feet up above the bar, Ilenna finally finds a scrap bucket near the floor. All in one move, she grabs a few meaty bones, and twists her body around to lock the inside of her knees around the bartop. Then she pulls her body up into a sitting position on the bar, before sliding down into the stool next to El.
She giggles again at the man's questions. He was much larger than he appeared when up this close. Nope, she's just a regular ole jungle cat as far as I know. Saved her from some merchants that had her in a cage several years ago. We've been inseparable ever since! Come sit with us! We'll all go see her later. After placing a few silver on the bartop, she starts making her way back to the table with an armload of bone scraps.
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"Excellent! A jungle cat! Most unexpected! Truly this day is filled with the milk of new things! My cup runneth over and that cup is filled with delicious new thing milk. And when life gives you milk, MAKE MILKAIDE!" El Garrapata laughs loudly and follows the tiger-friending woman closely to the table.
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The halfling is taken aback by the sudden commotion around the table.
"I'm sorry I didn't catch all that. If that's a sort of pasta dish, I'm going to have to decline, even if it is free. It's rather late you see, and I have to be up early."
The sylph is himself taken aback by the halfling's response. "I- I thought everyone knew of the Duke of Thunder. I suppose the Society recovered the Untouchable Opal from its cosmic prison only recently. I did not mean pasta."
Airyn looks around at the commotion and backs away with discomfort. "I miss the open sky. There is just too much stuff on this plane."
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"Ah...hello? My name's Lydia. Lydia Stillbourne. I heard this is where one joins the Pathfinder Society? I've worked with the Dark Archive for some time, but I'm ready for adventure!"*AUDIBLE FACEPALM!*
1d20+8
Lydia looks even more nervous than before.
"I...did I do something wrong?"
"Perhaps I was wrong, Lydia. I think we've come to the right place -
and you clearly have a way with people!" It says, laughing even more vigorously this time, like Autumn leaves being blown in a harsh wind.
"Oooohhh...and who's the big blue HOOT over there? I would be remiss not to introduce myself, hahahahaha...."
Suddenly, despite the lack of any change in Lydia's posture or the ambient lighting, her shadow begins turning in the direction of El Garrapata with unnatural speed, and begins shifting into an array of inchoate, horrific shapes....
"Heeeeere, fishy fishy fishyyyyy...I've got your new thing right here...."
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Ilenna looks the large man in blue up and down, as he was now talking to himself while walking behind her. She shakes her head and sits back down with Sidi. Unloading the bones onto the table, she absentmindedly picks at a leftover piece of meat. I hope I can get off this island and roam soon. How'd you get those scars? She blurts out at Sidi, when she notices his fidgeting.
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"Untouchable Opal? What is that?" Sidi asks the elemental kin. He leans forward, resting his elbows on the table, and unconsciously rubs the scars on his wrist.
"Yes Airyn, please do elaborate." Hallimir looks quizzically at Airyn. "I remember hearing a group of Pathfinders talking about their part in the recovery of this Untouchable Opal, but i had no idea what it was. "
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Airyn is clearly unused to the attention. He grabs a stool and settles down before his small audience, "I really only know about the recovery third hand. I heard the tale from a group of Pathfinders who were in Armun Kelisk (the capital of the Plane of Air) searching for a janni. They spoke of travelling into the great void of the material plane and defeating the combined forces of elemental earth, fire, and water in fierce combat." he pauses and looks around carefully, "I would not dare to speak of it on my home plane. Hshurha, Duchess of All Winds, does not tolerate such talk. The Untouchable Opal is the prison in which the Elemental Lord Ranginori, Duke of Thunder, is imprisoned. The Decemvirate wishes to free him, and I wish to help." Airyn takes a deep breath, surprised at himself.
It is nice to share my knowledge for a change. So much time furtively reading and doing research, and now finally a chance to speak of it.
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Sidi looks down at his broad wrists and then returns his attention to Ilenna. He frowns for a moment before he speaks. "I was a slave, captured as a boy during an Ombo raid. First, I carried out menial labor and served as a whipping boy for a Chelish colonial family. Then, when I grew so big that it frightened the master, I was sold back to the Ombo and was chained for years as a galley slave."
He smiles suddenly, the expression at odds with the story, and then elaborates. "It was a band of Pathfinders that freed me--and the others--from the pirate ship. I'm sure we were not what they were looking for, but I appreciated it nonetheless."
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Aicadh claps the sylph on the back and grins. "A good tale. To be part of such a grand adventure would bring great honor and respect among the followings. Warriors from across the land would come to join such a leader. A song should be made for this tale." Aicadh begins humming and composing a song in Hallit. "Hwæt, wé gárdena…"
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"Strange whisper voice! Your invitation to novelty intrigues me. Come forth and meet El Garrapata face to whispery face!"
Suddenly, Lydia notices something is amiss with her shadow. She sighs and looks down at it.
"Fomalhaut...."
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"Well Sidi... I'm glad the Pathfinders found you. I uh... couldn't imagine living life chained up." Illena pauses, elbows on the table tapping her fingers together, and looking around awkwardly. After a couple seconds of uncomfortable silence, she notices the newcomer to the table. "Hi! Who are you? I'm Ilenna." She sticks out a hand now covered in grease and meat from the bones to shake the cleric's hand.
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Lydia looks even more nervous than before.
"I...did I do something wrong?"
"No, no, it's just I have to be up early to meet my team so that we can get an early start on our--uh--trip! Yeah, that's it, our trip. It's not like its anything important or anything. And you know, Well begun is half done." She says with a broad smile.
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"Oh that's a good one! Is that yours? 'Well begun is half done'? You could get some serious coin for that at the Academy. I'd be there now but there still cleaning up from last night's wet toga contest." Says an interested professorial man in a white robe, and sandals. "Archimeles is the name. Philosophy is the game. 'Aphorisms for Anything', for a reasonable coin of course."
Aicadh nods, "Yes, tell us the story. Good to hear tale of treasure, inspire us for upcoming adventure ourselves."
"Yes. Please."
Airyn is clearly unused to the attention. He grabs a stool and settles down before his small audience, "I really only know about the recovery third hand. I heard the tale from a group of Pathfinders who were in Armun Kelisk (the capital of the Plane of Air) searching for a janni. They spoke of travelling into the great void of the material plane and defeating the combined forces of elemental earth, fire, and water in fierce combat." he pauses and looks around carefully, "I would not dare to speak of it on my home plane. Hshurha, Duchess of All Winds, does not tolerate such talk. The Untouchable Opal is the prison in which the Elemental Lord Ranginori, Duke of Thunder, is imprisoned. The Decemvirate wishes to free him, and I wish to help." Airyn takes a deep breath, surprised at himself.
It is nice to share my knowledge for a change. So much time furtively reading and doing research, and now finally a chance to speak of it.
"Fascinating." She turns to the self-identified Dark Archivers. "I'm always interested in the secrets of the world around us. I'm sure experienced Pathfinder Society members such as yourselves have seen it all, hm?"
"Yeah! I mean, I should get going." And with that the halfling heads for the door, tiger or no.
"Yeah, I'm look forward to it."
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Ilenna shoots Sidi a sideways look, mouth scrunched up with an eyebrow raised. Yeah, I plan on keeping her that way. She steps outside with her two new companions in tow. A language neither of you know nor may be familiar with comes out of her mouth.
Nora! Nginezinkumbulo Ungadla ngawe!
Nora! I have a snack for you!
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A large orange and black striped tiger has gotten up from where it was lying on the porch. It raises its hind end into the air and pushes its front feet and body downwards to stretch out after hearing Ilenna. Ilenna throws a bone about 8 ft in the air, and the tigers back legs don't even leave the ground when she catches it. Her powerful jaws snap the bone into little pieces, as she walks over to greet her friend.
From its shoulder the tiger stands only about a foot lower than Ilenna. She nuzzles her furry head into the druid's hand.
"Fascinating.... Sorry, I hope you don't mind me shadowing you like this. I have a little pet too but he can be be pretty ferocious so I don't let him out much. He has the cutest whiskers though."