"You mean your pride?" Drask says with a knowing look.
A pair of kids run past them, playing in the street with some toys made from sticks and rags. One is a young boy with blonde hair, the other a dark haired girl. Veltariel watches them as they pass, her face softening and her hand drops to the skin of her stomach and rests there a moment. Then, through clenched teeth she adds even more quietly ”I. Will. Not.”
As the pair leave the shop, Veltariel looks to Drask and asks ”I’d like to go ahead and make a few arrows myself. Drask, would you please let the others know I’ll catch up with you all at the manor shortly...I just want some time to clear my head and relax before...heading back...”
She then makes her way to a quiet spot by the sea, and begins working on some arrows. She lays out the shafts and fletching, as well as the elegant metal arrowheads. She then takes the jars of tar and lacquer and opens them resting them carefully between her folded legs. She then untwirls the hair from her belt and runs it through her fingers a moment.
She separates the strands out into twenty even braids, twirling them each together tightly before dipping them into the tar one by one. She uses them to affix the arrowheads to the shafts, using techniques taught to her by her bowyer master back in Iadara. Once done, she coats each arrow lightly in lacquer to protect them from the weather before placing them into a gold colored quiver...
__________
Sapher sighs at the end of the exchange between the two women, her opinion of one went up and the other went down (she doesn't like bullies). But the team has been assigned, and Sapher is just one cog.
As the others bustle around getting ready, Sapher simply desires to be away from them, since she might not get this chance for a while. A snack, a quiet nook, and a book until they are ready to go.
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Mokhasi raises his eyebrows at the suggestion that they merely follow the society rules, then furrows them. ”My suggestion is not unprecedented, nearly fourty percent of the groups that are outlined in the Chronicles that I read had some sort of set of agreed upon rules upon the outset. But if you insist that we do not need them, I will point out that we were previously bound by the pathfinder code alone, and we have some evidence that it is not sufficient, given that we broke the cardinal rule of the bylaws, no violence at the lodge. If you do not want to have them formalized, that would be acceptable. We could just agree to the general shape of them, and see how that goes. I empathize with your wish not to be bound by law, but it appears to me and to a few others at least that the existing modus operandi is not sustainable.” He appears thoughtful, and then makes a sad smile.
”If you would like me to withdraw the request, perhaps we could have an agreement that such rules are warranted in the event of future violations? We could have “one last chance” not to devolve into bitter, violent, friendship destroying acrimony. I prefer to avoid that.”
Mokhasi says, to Drask as he is leaving, ”And a cestus please, thank you Drask.”
He will nod at Esrisi, and follow her.
Mokhasi watches Esrisi’s body language as she asks for his help, and only at the end is is his relative calm is broken. He appears deeply uncomfortable and then raises his hands up. He then apologizes, ”Forgive me, I am not interested in such things. And you should not offer yourself to people like that. Did you really think, after interacting with me for the last few days, that I am the type to...” He shakes his head and sighs, ”I will ask her, but I would hazard that my word means little to her now. If you think I have not already spoken to her, privately, you are mistaken. It did not help.”
Earlier, with Mokhasi.
"Calistria's rules are simple. Do unto others as they do unto you. As long as everyone remembers that, we'll be just fine."
In the library, Caroliss begins chatting with Ez.
When Ez keeps asking her questions anyway, Caroliss interrupts. "I'm getting to that! Since each shard is going to be associated with another sin, most likely whoever touches the next shard will get cursed by that sin. If you pick it up like you seem to want to, you could become greedy, or really jealous, or really lazy. You could also become really hungry, but I'm not sure I'd be able to tell the difference." She gives Ez a smrik.
"I don't know what Sheila is thinking when it comes to Vel. I think Mokhasi probably wrote his chronicle all neat without talking about how terrible she is. Probably just focused on what a good job she did as a scout and archer." Caroliss had to admit that Vel was good at what she did, but she pushes aside that thought. "But did you see how mad Mok was this morning? I think we are this close--" Caroliss holds her fingers half an inch apart "--to getting Mok to give up on that b&~#%. Then we can cut her loose and get on with reassembling the Star of Xin!"
Before setting off, Caroliss tries to find Sheila.
"Lady Heidmarch, it was really great how you used the ioun stone to negate the bad effects of the Shard of Pride. Do you have another one we could use for the next shard we hope to find? Also, do you have any ideas where we could find a boat to take us to the Irespan?"
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Mokhasi looks at Caroliss, as if he is waiting for something. When it does not come, he takes a deep breath in, and says ”very well.” He smiles, while looking through her, not at her, and turns away to write. He does not respond to further statements or questions questions from Caroliss. He continues to write until he Esrisi asks to speak with him.
"How far? To this Crow I mean?" Sapher asks, joining Caroliss and Shelia after having come back in after her break to get back to work.
When Caroliss asks about another ioun stone she shakes her head "We got lucky with that one, but I'm not sure what the next shard is or which stone is best to use. As I mentioned, I will do some research on my side while you all search for the next shard and hopefully by the time you find it I will know what you need. As for a boat, I have a contact down in Dockway named Jerris Torv. He should have what you need at a good price..."
She pauses after mentioning price and then shakes her head to herself. "I almost forgot, I promised you all a reward for the successful completion of the mission and bringing back Natalya. One moment" She heads off to her office and comes back a moment later with a large pouch. "Here make sure the others receive their share. There is one thousand gold as promised."
Caroliss is pretty sure Mokhasi wanted her to agree to more rules should things go south next time. She wants to be helpful, but just isn't a fan of the idea. "You don't need new rules for everyone when everyone's not the problem." That was perhaps easier for her to say, since she felt like it wasn't her responsibility to solve the problem. Seeing how Mokhasi is staring intently on his writing, though, she moves on.
"Thanks, Lady Heidmarch. I guess someone may get cursed then. Maybe we should all take turns?"
She turns to the dwarf. "It's not too far to the Crow, Sapher. It's all by the docks, which you've seen a bunch of times by now. Let's corral the others and find the next shard!" She starts yelling upstairs.
She chats with Sapher as they look for the rest of the party. "I saw you reading a book earlier. What was it? I hope it was something exciting. Do dwarves write romances, or is everything some epic tale about honor and duty?"
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Esrisi doesn't pick up on how Mokhasi feels, unable to think clearly enough right now to feel empathetic enough.
”Forgive me, I am not interested in such things. And you should not offer yourself to people like that. Did you really think, after interacting with me for the last few days, that I am the type to..."
She lets her head hang to her lap, a look of defeat washing over her. "No. I am sorry. I am just desperate. It's just, well, my hair is just a part of me. I don't know how to explain it. It's like someone just removed a limb or something. I know I'm not explaining it very well."
She swallows hard and stands "Well I would consider it a great favor if you would help me. I have absolutely no way to reach that woman. Shes' crazy, you know that, right? She's not stable and it is only a matter of time before she puts us in danger due to her blind ignorance and racism."
She offers a meek smile "Thank you for your time and putting your confidence in me. I won't let you down."
But did you see how mad Mok was this morning? I think we are this close--" Caroliss holds her fingers half an inch apart "--to getting Mok to give up on that b!~@%. Then we can cut her loose and get on with reassembling the Star of Xin!"
Esrisi nods along. "I don't know how to do revenge Car. I just react when the feelings come, planning and waiting isn't really my specialty."
She sighs "I just want it back. I tried to ask Mokhasi for help, but I think it came out all wrong and he didn't react well to it. I don’t think he was interested in what I offered. I suppose I'm just going to need to make do for now and focus on what's important here, our mission."
As if a child was just presented with a bowl of ice cream, she flashes her white teeth in a grin and bounces on table. "Can you believe it! We're going on a real live mission that could find something that could make history! We're going to be famous Cars!"
She leaps from the table, suddenly serious again. Wide-eyed she puts her hand to her head. "I need to do my hair. I simply can't go out with this hack job. I'll be down in 2 minutes!"
The oracle bolts from the library, rushing to the stairs.
Fifteen minutes later she shouts down
She looks down at the dwarf and folds her hands in front of her and takes a calm, polite tone. "Sapher. I wanted to let you know that I heard you stand up for me earlier. I want to thank you for that, it means a lot to me. I also wanted to let you know that I'm going to try harder to not lose my patience and focus on what is best for the Pathfinder Society and our mission."
When Caroliss asks Sapher about romances, Esrisi looks at her curiously "Why are you asking about romances Cars, you still have a crush on big-nosed Edward?" she giggles as she tries wrinkles her face up in a failed effort to make her nose bigger.
Veltariel returns to the manor about an hour behind Drask. She is now wearing a beautifully made chain shirt, though not the same one from the loot pile. She also has enough arrows to fight a war fastened to her hips and back. She has her pack sling over one shoulder and her bow in her hand.
She makes her way over to Drask and puts her hand lightly on his upper arm to get his attention. ”Thank you for listening,” she says before giving it a gentle squeeze.
Drask gives a small smile. Amazing what people will tell you, if you just listen to them.
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Mokhasi nods as Esrisi finishes her conversation with him. He appears to have lost much of his joviality that he had when you first met, and appears tired, ”yes, I will ask.” He returns to the common area.
Mokhasi takes his bag and heads out into Magnimar, not long after finishing some notes in a journal.
Mokhasi will look for reagent shops to buy some things. He will likely be back before Drask and Veltariel.
Mokhasi returns a few hours later, dusts off his hat, and visits the library to get the chronicle of the fight against Karzoug. He takes the book to his sleeping quarters and reads at a small desk until others return, occasionally writing notes in one of his apparently new journals. He appears to be reading intently and does not immediately respond to anyone’s presence, except when spoken to directly.
Sapher shrugs at Ezs thanks, looking a little uncomfortable, but accepts with a nod and tug at her cheek. She had begun to consider answering Cars questions about novels, stopped, but then decides if you can't talk about kind of smutty romance novels with a cleric of Calistria who can you with (other than a Bolkan that is). "Yes, romances, we do. Mostly they are about strong Male warriors paired with the brainless and the busty." Sapher scowls, but then fishes out her well read copy of a book in Dwarven "This one is about a female dwarf, seeking and failing at finding love." Sapher colors a little at remembering that every failure was only after long in depth descriptions of what came before. "It's called A Quest For A Hammer... cause we aren't known for being subtle."
"Who is Edward?" proper probing by a follower of Bolka, get them talking about their love interest.
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Gossip time!
Esrisi throws herself into a chair in front of Sapher, awash with giggles and laughter. The disarray of an hour before long forgotten, the troubles ahead too distant to worry. For now, it was a couple of girls yucking it up about romance.
She puts her elbows on the table and rests her head in her two wrists in as she leans forward. ”Who’s Edward? Wwhhhhyyy he’s obsessed with Cars here! Whenever our families would get together, Sir Edward always to a fancy to Cars here. Incessantly following her around all night.”
She sits up and giggles again, content to do all of the talking for her friend. ”Remember when you said you thought horses were beautiful animals and he, he offered to show you the flanks of his!“
She rests her head on the table, pounding it with her fists as she squirms in her chair with uncontrollable laughter.
As she waited on the others to be prepared, Veltariel headed off to the glassed in menagerie that was off to the side of the manor. She placed her pack, bow, and quivers by a small tree as she drew her sword and gave it a few twirls as she moved over by the pond.
Once there, she began moving through various practice forms with her elven blade, all of which were very elegant and formal, emphasizing the nimble combat style that proved so effective in the proper hands. Before long, her moves picked up in their pace, and she was doing proper battle drills.
"Did he have... bad flanks?" Sapher asks, slightly confused. Flanks are considered dwarven prized features. When she sees Vels and Drask, she excuses herself to see about the hammer.
She sees the elf, not the half orc, but decides to approach despite the early irritation. And sees the bandages are still there. With a cough to let the person know she is there, which wasn't needed since she clanks and stomps about, she then offers "We will be going into battle soon. I can attempt to heal those, if you accept."
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Esrisi stops laughing when Sapher doesn't get the joke. She tries to recover, "Flanks!. As in THE REAR END! The bottom. The... Nevermind." She gives up as Sapher moves away, shaking her head.
Dwarves.
Esrisi falls back into her chair and looks at Caroliss. "Oh don't give me that look, I know you didn't like Edward it was just a tease!"
When Vel comes into sight, Esrisi moves to Sapher's chair so she doesn't have to look at the elf, putting her back between them. She folds her arms and looks at Caroliss as she tries to get the bad thoughts out of her mind, her mood suddenly ruined.
"Cars, what does your god say about love? I know she's all about revenge and lust, which is a sin by the way, I heard you said earlier. Anyway, do you believe in love?"
Veltariel stops, already sweating, and nods to Sapher at her offer. She kneels down by the pool of water as the dwarf approaches, cupping some of the cool water into her hand and bringing it to her face then the back of her neck.
As the healing washes over her, she tests her jaw and smiles. ”Thank you, Lady Sapher. That human thug got a good hit in with his club.”
Still kneeling by the pool, she looks up to the dwarf and asks ”I haven’t had any real opportunity to speak with you. If you do not mind my asking, what brings you to the human lands?”
Sapher approaches and tentatively cups the elf's chin while praying. The warm energy moving into her feels almost like a hug. "I'm... not a very good example of my goddesses norm, a fact she in all her confusing wisdom ignores, but others..." the her eyes turn a touch sad, but she shrugs it off, being quite to used to that particular hurt.
"And yourself? Did you travel from your home with Mokhasi?"
Veltariel’s expression flattens, as if hiding something. She had already told that damned human about her woes, and all it bought her was another attack and further animosity between herself and Adorellan.
”No. We met in Andoran. He was kind enough to help me in a time of desperation, and so I’ve been trying to return the favor. Rather poorly, of late it would seem,” she says as she hangs her head and slumps to a full seated position, her legs folding to her side as she looks into the water.
Sapher being neither warm nor fuzzy, doesn't have any idea how to help fix the pain in this person. So she pats her on the shoulder, pauses to see if she wishes to share (listening is one thing she learned to do, since it involves sitting and NOT talking) but leaves her to her contemplation if she stays silent.
After the moment of silence, Veltariel adds ”I’m sorry. I don’t want to bore you with my tale, it isn’t a good story. I apologize, but I have little formal education on the various deities of other cultures. Why are you atypical for your people’s clergy?” she asks as she leans over on her left hand.
"Edward was nice. I mean, I never said no when he offered to take me sailing.. And every time I mentioned that my room looked dull, he would buy me flowers. But I definitely didn't want to date him . . . he was just so . . . awkward. Speaking of which . . ."
As Vel arrives on the scene, Caroliss tries not to look at her either. It's hard but she pretends like she's able to continue their conversation without noticing her. "Calistria would say love--the kind of love where you devote yourself to just one person--well, that's boring. Lovers are always the most passionate when they first come together. But eventually it gets old. Not to mention, if you love someone too much, that's a weakness. If you need someone that badly, then they could hurt you."
She thinks for a moment. "I think it works for some people, though. Like for halflings. They seem happy to live simple lives. You know, like Aunt Myrna and Uncle Tomas." Esrisi knows that these are two halfling servants in her household that Caroliss loves dearly. "I think they probably really love each other."
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Mokhasi groggily wakes up, having accidentally fallen asleep on his chronicle and new journal.
He fixes up his new items, including his chain belt, and his flask of acid into one wrist sheath, the other containing his scroll of shield.
He checks his component item pouch for his new reagents, and carries his bag downstairs, where he notices the spear and cestus. Mokhasi hears Caroliss and Esrisi speaking in the common room, and goes to look for Veltariel. He overhears her speaking with Sapher, and waits outside the door of the menagerie for their conversation to end.
She's just being nice, wait does that mean Vels can be nice? Sapher thinks and doesn't know how to answer "Umm... I guess since the others seem to be ready to depart..." then she escapes before having to point out her flaws.
Veltariel looked up quizzically at Sapher’s sudden change, but didn’t press the matter.
She probably sympathizes with the human...
She stood and gathered her things. She wished she had time to rinse the sweat off of herself, in case whatever threats they came across had heightened sense of smell. Thinking back on it, it was probably foolish to do training exercises before a possible mission.
As she stepped through the doorway, she sees Adorellan and pauses, turning her eyes to the floor.
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Mokhasi sees Sapher depart and gives her a little wave, saying, ”see you soon, Sapher. I hope I did not interrupt your conversation.”
He turns to Veltariel when she leaves and says, with a serious look on his face,
અગાઉ એસીસીને માફી માગી બદલ આભાર, શું તમે તેના વાળ પાછી વાળશો? ટ્રાયફી તરીકે અન્ય humanoids શરીરના ભાગો લઈને ઘોર છે. તે અસંતુષ્ટ છે. હું તેના આવા જુસ્સાથી તેના પરિશ્રમને સમજી શકતો નથી, પણ તેની હાજરીમાં આવી વસ્તુને લઇ જવું તે ક્રૂર છે. હું જોઉં છું તે એક જ હેતુ છે તેની લાગણીઓને નુકસાન પહોંચાડવું. તમે તમારી શ્રેષ્ઠતા સાબિત કરી દીધી છે.
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"Calistria would say love--the kind of love where you devote yourself to just one person--well, that's boring. Lovers are always the most passionate when they first come together. But eventually it gets old. Not to mention, if you love someone too much, that's a weakness. If you need someone that badly, then they could hurt you."
Esrisi lets the conversation surrounding Edward fade away, she had only been teasing Caroliss while Sapher was here. Once she was gone the fun in it had dried up.
The oracle leans back in her chair, listening to her Claistrian friend speak about loving one person being boring. She folds her arms across her chest, not understanding.
Weakness? To love is to be weak?
If you need someone that badly, then they could hurt you."
"But..." she stammers, "Couldn't it be great too? If you trusted someone so implicitly and never had to doubt or worry about it because it you were always protected..."
She places her elbows back on the table and lets her head flop back into her hands. Looking at the cleric with a look of confusion she finishes "I don't know, to me, well, that seems like completeness. Or safety. Or maybe that's just fantasy I guess?" I dunno.
Shaking the conversation off, she pushes to her feet. "They are done shopping, let's get out of here." Pointing to Caroliss with a smirk she adds "It's time to make HISTORY!"
She wraps her fist on the front door loudly and shouts
The group gathers up what they need and sets out to Dockway, where Caroliss learned Sheila had a contact they could ask for help on getting transportation to the Crow. Asking about for Jerris Torv you are directed to the Old Fang, probably the best known of the Dockway's taverns. Heading inside, the place is decorated with the nautical trophies. The head of an enormous swamp barracuda hangs above the bar. It is about mid-day and the place is pretty packed. You see a burly, no-nonsense looking woman behind the counter tending to people's needs.
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During the walk to Dockway, Esrisi decides that there needs to be some levity to help tighten the comraderie of the group.
Who else is better prepared to bring the team together than you Ez? Let's show off those singing lessons!
An so with great fanfare she volunteers that she will accompanying their trip with musical melodies, sung by yours truly. After a song about strong winds and another about becoming a knight, her third song is a folk song she picks just for Sapher. She brightens her face with a huge smile and throws her arms out wide as she walks backwards down the cobblestone singing.
"Sapher - This one is for you!" she says before clearing her throat and singing loudly.
With invisible hammers in each of her hands, she begins to mimic a hammering motion as she begins starts to sing. "If I had a hammer I'd hammer in the morning, I'd hammer in the evening all over this land. I'd hammer out danger, I'd hammer out a warning, I'd hammer out love between all of my brothers. All over this land"
Spinning and twirling her arms through the air as she sings, she all but breaks into dance and sways along with the song. "Well if I had a bell I would ring it in the morning, and I would ring it in the evening all over this land. I'd ring out danger, I'd ring out a warning and I'd ring out love between all of my brothers. Allllllllllllll over, this laaaaaaaaaaaaaaand."
* * *
Arriving at the Old Fang, Ez realizes she didn't actually get enough to eat before they left and leans into Caroliss and whispers "I'm hungry.". She desperately tries not to think about that terrible fish from yesterday and instead focuses on their mission. Turning to the group she says "I'm going to ask about Torv. To try and blend in, I'm going to order some food. Uhm. Only because I'm trying to blend in though. That's the only reason why."
She nods several times to herself and pushes inside the tavern.
Seeing the most wonderful and surely pleasant woman ahead, she skips over to the counter and plops her rear end into a seat. "Good day m'lday! I was hoping I could try your most delish meal! I'm famished and I'm smelling such wondrous aromas that you have my stomach yearning!"
After some brief banter on food after which Ez places an order for whatever sounds the best, she broaches the topic of their target. "Thank you so much! Say, I'm looking for a fellow named Jerris Torv that I was told I could find here. Could you by chance point me in his direction? That'd be wonderful!"
Drask returns, and it looks like he has found a fancy new double-axe that has a dark hue on the metal, seeming to gleam with the light as he turns. He hands out everybody's new gear, then follows the others to the docks wordlessly, gazing off and lost in his own thoughts most of the way.
As Esrisi begins to talk to the woman Drask leans against the wall, tracing his nail along the edge of his new axe. He very slowly shaves off paper-thin strips of his nail, seeming satisfied with the result.
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As they walked to the Old Fang, Mokhasi watched the people of Magnimar and looks at the monuments and architecture that they pass. Staying close to Sapher. He says nothing, and does not appear to respond when Esrisi begins singing.
He attempts to recall what he has learned about the Old Fang from his previous research regarding the taverns of Magnimar.
”હું કરી શકતો નથી હું તેને છુટકારો મેળવ્યો છે. તેણીની સામે તેના કરતા આગળ ધપાવવાની ચિંતા કરવાની જરૂર નથી, પરંતુ મેં જે કહ્યું તે તેનો અર્થ એ હતો કે, તે એક પાઠ અને તેના માટે એક રિમાઇન્ડર હતો, જે એક નિર્દોષ હશે, જો તેણે તેણીને પહેલી ક્ષણે માંગણી કરવાની ફરજ પડી હતી જેમ કે. હું અહીં દરેકને જાણું છું કે મારી જાતને બચાવવા માટે અસ્વસ્થતાને લીધે હું એક ખરાબ વ્યક્તિ છું. મને લાગે છે કે તેણીને મારા શોટ સાથે મારી નાંખવા બદલ પુરસ્કાર આપવામાં આવશે. સંભવત: આ સવારમાં ફરી એક વખત મારી સામે હુમલો કરવા માટે, તેના બહાદુરીથી, મારા મૌખિક નિરાશા વિશે કદાચ એક દંતકથા લખી શકાય,” Veltariel says frustratedly.
She shakes her head, ”હું તમારા વિશે ધ્યાન આપું છું. હું કરું છું. આ શાપિત સંગઠન સાથે મેં ઘણું બધું કર્યું છે જેથી કરીને મારી અને આ મનુષ્ય વચ્ચેની સમસ્યાઓ તમને અસર કરશે નહીં. પરંતુ તમે આમાં તેની તરફેણમાં સહન કરો છો તે સરળતા અને સતતતા, આખરે મેં જે કર્યું છે તે મૌખિક અને શારીરિક હુમલાથી બચાવ છે ... તે મારા હૃદયને તોડે છે,” she adds before walking on and out the door to head on with the others, the emotion clear in her eyes despite her expressionless face. She finds her way to Drask’s side, walking in silence.
"You know, your hair looks good, even short. You look more adventurous this way, like you're ready to get down to business."
Caroliss is glad to see her friend in good spirits again as she sings. "Hey now, you're not going to leave me out of the song are you?" She adds a new verse. "If I had a whip, I'd whip it in the morning, I'd whip it in the evening all over this land. I'd whip out danger, I'd whip out a warning, I'd whip out love between all of my brothers. All over this land!
* * *
"Make that two of your best dish," adds Caroliss, coming up beside Ez. She smiles innocently, trying to garner some sympathy.
All the while keeping her eye out for trouble.
Or perhaps forgetting to keep an eye out in this case, as she wonders what slop they would receive this time.
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Esrisi nods to Mokhasi with a somber sigh. "I had figured it would be the case. I greatly appreciate your assistance, regardless of the outcome. Do you have the ability to magically repair it or know of any method that I could seek outside of interaction with Veltariel? I feel like that approach is likely a lost cause."
* * *
"You know, your hair looks good, even short. You look more adventurous this way, like you're ready to get down to business."
She instinctively reaches up to touch her hair, looking entirely too nervous and altogether anxious. "You think so? You don't think people are going to judge me differently? I just asked Mokhasi if he had magic to make it regrow. I still sorta want it back, you know?"
When Caroliss starts sings about whipping it, she laughs out loud at her improvised lyrics. "I've never heard that version before Car, thank you for sharing!"
* * *
Esrisi looks around for signs of who their target might be. She whispers to Caroliss as she waits for the food, incessantly talking like she tends to do when their are periods of silence. "Who do you think Jerris Torv might be? Do you think he's hear? Do you think he'll give us trouble? Are we going to have to make a scene? Is he going to help us on his own violition or is Drask going to need to get involved? Did you see Drask on the way here, he didn't seem to enjoy the song, did he? Should I find some orc song? I bet it sounds like smash, smash, smash or something."
The woman points to a man drinking alone at a corner table. He is an older man, probably in his late 30s or early 40s. His hair and beard are white and his face is well weathered. He looks to be a man that has had a hard life on the sea.
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Esrisi takes a bite of her food and shoves it into her mouth. As Caroliss is about to take a bite of her food however, Ez picks up the cleric's plate before she can eat it and slips off her chair. She whispers "Hang on, I'm going to give him yours. What? No, of course not. You can have a bite of mine, but save me some! You inspired me yesterday when you gave that man your food! I'm going to give this one your food and see how it feels, like you said."
Working her way across the room to the man that the keep indicated, she points him out to Drask and the others who watch from the periphery.
As approaches him, she holds out the plate of delicious hot food. She offers the plate to the man and adds "Good day sir! I was hoping that my companions and I could acquire the use of your services this fine afternoon? We are looking to secure some transportation in the local harbor around the Irespan and we were told that you provided the best services in all of Dockway! While you consider our request, please feel free to enjoy this delicious meal. My friend over here decided she wasn't hungry and hasn't touched it! We'll be paying for our services separately, don't you worry."
"Hey, wait! You're supposed to give your OWN food, not MINE!" Unfortunately, Ez is already walking away. "You'd better believe I'll have a bite!" she says, more loudly, as she munches on Esrisi's food.
As Esrisi delivers the food, Caroliss figures she's missing the mark. She flags down the barkeep. "Excuse me, could you send that man a stiff drink? On me."