"I don't have the whole story" Signy begins in response to Brental's query. "After my father died I found some letters among his things. Before I read them I only knew my mother's name was, or is, Kotryna. He also told me that after I was born she had to go back to where she was from, Brevoy."
"The letters were a few exchanged between him and my mother after she went back. They told the same story, but with some added details. My mother was attached to the Lebeda household as a Lady in Waiting, so she wasn't a member of the family. Gintaras Lebeda was the ambassador to Taldor at the time. My father was a member of the Ulfen Guard, and he and Kotryna met at court somehow. They hit if off famously and soon they were shagging."
"Kotryna got pregnant", Signy waves hello to her listeners, "and I guess all hell broke loose. She stayed in Taldor, confined to the house, until I was born. Right after she was sent back to Brevoy without me. My father bribed a servant in the Lebeda household to get me."
"It isn't exactly spelled out plainly, but from what I can make out from what was said, my mother was in Taldor because Gintaras Lebeda was supposed to be setting her up for a marriage to someone important. It would be good for Brevoy's connections to Taldor, so maybe a senator or someone similar. But having a kid with my father ruined all that. She was damaged goods and no power wedding would be happening. Gintras was mightly pissed off. What happened must have been common knowledge. He tried to have my dad punished, but nothing came of it. The Stavians do love their Ulfen Guard."
"There weren't a lot of letters, and they were old. Maybe they just stopped writing. But I don't think so, they seemed to really like each other, really in love. Maybe Kotryna was found out and her mail was screened afterward. Maybe she died."
Signy shrugs. "That's all I know."
Lina is moved by Signy’s story, and hopes that it isn’t too late for a happy ending, if the young woman ever decides to look deeper into what happened. For now, on the level of statecraft and skullduggery, she decides it’s not worth calling attention to the fact that Meneas’ focus on the fey is as interested a choice, coming from him, as drawing any inspiration from the mortal realms. Partly, she has a fair bit of sympathy to the idea.
"We should be our own entity. We can take inspiration from the lands around us, but we must look at our own circumstances first and foremost. Take, for instance, the presence of the First World in these lands. If there is conflict between fey and mortal, I will be predisposed to protect the fey. This means we should consider how to deal with the fey more than other lands around us. We have the nominal patronage of Restov, and may well border other newborn realms as well. Let's find our own way, rather than simply aping those of the south or north."
“They were here before us, and will be here after us,” the witch acknowledges. “Though there are all sorts of fey. Dryads and such are lovely, and I adore the stories of gossip pixies, and even in Candlestone the style is something else, but their intentions are another matter. Let’s do one better, like you said, but there’s no harm in drawing on everyone else’s best.”
Riftun smiles at Brental and nods eagerly causing his single beaded braid to bob and sway. "I would LOVE to tell your story. I have a penchant for storytelling you know a-and stories do have a certain power to them." The young man hums. "Oh, but I'm trained as an aide and have a lot of knowledge of architecture so I-I'd likely be of use for your infrastructure planning a-and to do my best to present you all with any side of a dilemma forming within your lands to help you make the best decision. But for starters..."
"What shall we call your new kingdom?"
Lina shrugs, still trying to wrap her head around what’s happening. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with Narlmarch, still. I mean, it’s as good a name as any, and already in use, it’s just that now we’ll be trying to look after it.”
That continuity in name might gloss over their mucking about more decisively in the area, but let’s not mention that. “If we’re trying to convince people that there’s going to be a place here that isn’t a homestead conjured roughly out of the woods, maybe we could think of naming a settlement? I’d like something green, naturally, maybe even floral.”
She braces herself for rolling eyes, cheerfully, as she lets her romantic imagination run away with her. “I don’t know. Maybe something like ‘the Ivy Tower’? Guarding the wild wood, shining over the waters of the east… Or just ‘Kissos’? ‘Helikia’? I can keep going, if you’d like.”
Meneas flexes his fingers absently. "Ours will be a land between the First World and Golarion. A liminal place." His voice is oddly toneless as he speaks. "We should bear that in mind as we seek to name it, for names have power."
Brental is certain that he has mentioned his associations with House Lebeda in Signy's presence before. Yet she had held onto this the whole time that they had known each other, never referencing it. But as a youth, he had had more associations with Lord Kymon and Dame Sarrona. Lord Lander and Lady Elanna were older than him, and he had seen them around court, but Gintaras and Kotryna didn't immediately ring any bells.
"I had no idea, Signy." He pauses, uncertain of what, if anything, he could offer. "I still have connections in Silverhall. I could try to seek information, especially if I return home to visit my parents."
"If you build it, they will come," Brental quotes with reference to Lina's idea of founding a city, forgetting the source. "Or at least they'll have the opportunity to choose."
He appreciates the honesty as they all lay their cards on the table. He essentially echoes and extends Meneas' speech. "We have traditions and structures and treatises to draw on, but need not be beholden to them. 'Courts are for Kings,' so we can avoid them. But we can also eschew the other cultural attaches of those Freedoms while establishing something new. Let's define ourselves by what we are rather than what we are not."
Brental grins at the notion of naming their fledgling land something greenery-related. Lina has already figured out a clear path towards his tacit agreement.
"Something informed by our local ecology and its liminality. I do like Narlmarch, for both of those reasons. And for our capital: why not Limen? The boundary of perception: the transitory space."
It will also be important to visit with some of these neighbors, to open diplomatic relations. Varnhold might be an excellent place to start, once they had their own establishment to speak of. Brental is glad to have some with Riftun's skillset here as well. He'll no doubt prove invaluable.
“Limen sounds quite apt. It will be the doorway into whatever else we end up doing as we try to nurture the region, after all. Maybe we can split the difference, and go with Helikia for the realm? It might be a bit more specific, let us set ourselves apart from the Narlmarches as a whole, and with auspicious connotations, in terms of the power of names.”
“Youth and flourishing, spiralling up and out, supported by old growth, like ivy,” Lina proposes, somewhat whimsically, relying on a pun. “Or we could go with something more basic. ‘Arnos’? ‘Bessa’? ‘Dendera’? ‘Ceriia’? 'Alsey,' even.”
All the names being spouted out by the other makes Signy feel dumb. While she does take some pride in her ability to use words, she's much more a 'whole sentence, or a several' person than a 'one clever word' person.
When there's a pause she pipes in with an opinion.
"I like Helikia alright, and I like Alsey."
"Helikia," Brental says, feeling the way the name feels on his tongue. "I'm not familiar with that. What does it mean?"
“Oh! Well, like 'helix'? Short e, spiralling turn-y things (like everyone’s favourite hedera), long e, things of the same age, and, especially, in their flourishing youth. At one point, anyway. The two aren’t actually related – though it would be nice if they were, sharing as many turns through the wheeling years, so to speak – the age one probably originally meant something like ‘of one’s own same size/growth.’”
Lina bites her lip, wondering if she’s already being just a bit too weird about it, before embracing it. After all, she is a witch. So she goes on. “And ivy-helix used to refer mainly to ivy creeping on the ground, but of course with a bit of help it can grow quite high, and it’s an evergreen. So we definitely shouldn’t let etymology get in the way of a very symbolical pun.”
With an abrupt swerve of topic, she muses, "Do you think we could interest in Oleg and Svetlana running the treasury? I'm guessing that will mostly look something like a trading post for starters. After they renew their vows,of course. They have more than enough on their minds right now getting that ready."
Part of her also wonders if the group's fairy friends would be interested in taking on a more formal role in the forest's defense on the mortal side too, but that would mean, among other things, needing a reliable way to find them.
"Didn't Oleg imply he wasn't fond of having too many people around?" Meneas inquires. "I'm not sure he'd be willing... plus, he's a nominal subject of Restov. Not sure we want to be poaching taxes from our sponsor, so to speak."
Signy blinks once after Lina's explanation. Um, .........
"I think the line between here and Restov is kinda blurry. No need for us to be making assumptions about where the trading post falls just yet."
"A fair point. I just know how fond kings are of taxing traders, so I was raising the issue." The knight shrugs slightly. "We'll have to see where we set up our capital, in any case. It may be harder to protect this area if it's on the far side of the Greenbelt."
He pauses. "I recommend renovating the Stag Lord's old fortress to serve as our base of operations, but I'm open to other ideas."
"Didn't Oleg imply he wasn't fond of having too many people around?" Meneas inquires.
“Fiddlesticks, I think you’re right, now that you mention it,” Lina says, deflating a bit. “It was a thought, especially because I really don't think I'd be the best choice to be making those decisions. We’ll find someone, eventually.”
“I do like the idea of renovating the Stag’s fort. It’s on the water, which I think is basically needed for a settlement of any size here, though I suppose we could try finding a spot along one of the tributaries. And it would be very good for that place to have a witch again! One not driven by spite, even.”
Her smile is guileless. Downright ingenuous, which may or may not be a good thing, depending on how comfortable one feels about taking someone chasing a fairy tale seriously.
Lina's explanation brings a broad smile to the druid's face. Now she had him. It was perfect. If he were guessing, it was probably Ancient Azlanti, or one of the other dead languages. "Limen, Helikia. The boundary in the age of flourishing. It's apt. Hopeful."
Brental rather likes the idea of recruiting friends and neighbors to their side. Surely there were quite a few who could have some official role, were they interested. Oleg. Kesten. Tyg. If they intended to work alongside the kobolds, they would need a representative like Mekmek. Perhaps even Bokken could...well, maybe not him. But it was a thought.
"Someone with good money sense would be very useful, and I'd rather have someone we know. After the upcoming happy events, it couldn't hurt to ask."
As to a base of operations, Meneas' initial idea is a strong one. "It will take a good deal of reconstruction, but the bones of the place may be adequate. The only other place of comparable strength might be the old Temple of Erastil where Jhod now resides."
He looks at Riftun again. "You may or may not be horrified by the state of the place when we get there, with your architectural sense." Brental side-eyes Signy and chuckles. "Our Caydenite recommended burning it to the ground."
There was so much to consider. So many decisions to be made. Leadership was a complicated question. Furthermore, what sort of culture did they want to promote? What sort of people did they want to attract? What were their aims, their reasons for setting up their own land? It would need to be more than because they were given a charter. They needed a reason for existence, or else it would be easy to give up when things became challenging, or throw their lot in with another kingdom--be absorbed and lose their identity (whatever it would be).
"As we consider where we will be, and who will do what, it may be useful to establish our priorities. What kind of land do we desire? Do we want a productive land with vibrant trade? A peaceable place of goodwill amongst the inhabitants? A safe haven against external threats? Ideally we will have all three, but they are sometimes at odds. For instance, taxes are not popular, but if collected and used appropriately they can sustain many aspects of development."
The human animal was a fascinating one, with these systems that they had developed. How interesting it would be to learn more of how they worked, providing a guiding hand!
"For my part, I would prefer a safe, peaceful land. I have no real sense for taxes or trade."
“A haven sounds lovely, but maybe a bit defensive,” Lina muses. “And I’m not sure my isolationist impulses should be encouraged. Just a question of emphasis; safety is really important.”
Her gaze settles on the middle distance as she mulls over the implications. Hymbria is a backwater, there’s no point in denying it, without anything like the breadth of defenses like those that veil the cities of Kyonin, but one can always dream. It would take a very long time to start serious work in that direction, but it’s a thought, especially for anyone with any interest in illusions (and an illusionist colleague!).
“A magical garden,” she murmurs dreamily after a moment, “where every sort of flower can bloom.”
“Which ones actually do depend on what comes to us and our own ideas about design,” she says, slightly less revoltingly sentimental as she labours the metaphor (or less-than-metaphor, if she gets the opportunity to really get going). “We can set policy as those things emerge, but I think I can safely say that I’d rather aim for something fussier if that’s what it takes to keep an even keel in the long run. Productive, yes, but not by wreaking havoc on the woods.”
[ooc]"Our Caydenite recommended burning it to the ground."
If Brental was poking a bit of fun at her, Signy doesn't let it get in the way of using his comment as a serious suggestion.
"I'd have to agree the place is a good location. But what's standing on it is a pile of trash. I still think it should be burned down for a fresh start."
"Do you know how much investment it takes to build a new fortress?" Meneas asks Signy. "I don't, but I can't imagine it takes less than repairing what's there. Of course, if you think there's anything spiritually problematic there, then I bow to your greater expertise." He adds, remembering the symbols of Gyronna.
He pauses, considering Brental's words for a time. "We should make certain our residents are safe and happy. Safe and happy citizens make for a stronger nation overall, whatever our neighbors to the north may think." He runs his thumb along his index finger. "Taxes are unfortunate, but necessary. The focus I would put on such things is to make it safe enough that merchants, for instance, don't need many protectors, and thus would be - well, if not willing, less resistant to such things. Residents of towns would be able to know that they are protected by the guards, and not need fight on their own. And so forth."
"Of course, long-term planning remains in the future. First we need to deal with this wedding, such as it is. I think we've settled on our capital's location and name, yes? And on our realm-to-be's name, as well?"
Signy becomes more uncomfortable as the conversation goes on. Sure, everyone is mentioning restraint, caution. But the words belie their emotions underneath, which seems to her akin to that of children who have been given a new toy. In this instance though, it's a very dangerous new toy.
Maybe everyone will be careful with it at first, but when they've tried the easy basic things with nothing very bad happening, they'll grow habituated to it and careless. Then the bad things will happen.
"There's a placard on the wall in many ale-churches. It says 'Wealth and power are like seawater. The more you drink, the thirstier you become'."
Signy gets up and walks away. "I'm going to see if Lana needs help with anything. Be careful."
As the conversation goes on for a bit, Lina tries to focus, really she does, on everyone’s contributions, including Signy’s last words before she left to take a break.
The witch’s inner gaze falls into the depths of her heart, at least for a moment.
Mneh. Not feeling it, she tells herself, somewhat pettishly. Though she appreciates the overall point, she can detect no Baba Yaga-ish aspirations in herself. Well, nothing wicked, at any rate. No ruthless takeover of other realms and reign of terror.
She would like to think the state of her people around the world is a reassuring sign: mostly harmless, with a fair bit of furious machinations quiet in the background, but isn’t that politics?
Lina’s also tempted to suggest that the others should certainly intervene if she ever does start going full Yaga, but she thinks it would be best to make sure that everyone’s on the same page about what that actually means before offering any encouragement.
Riftun waits for everyone to finish their thoughts before concluding the meeting, sure that everyone has much to think about. He assures the party that he has taken the minutes of their discussion and that he shall begin sketching up the architectural plans for the new settlement.
-------
Later wedding planning is in full swing, as decorations are hung about, seats are being set up as well as a small stage for the bride and groom. Riftun approaches the group with a cheerful disposition, practically a skip in his step and a scroll in hand.
"G-Good morning everyone I do hope you all slept well." He chirps.
"Svetlana and Oleg have some serious plans for the wedding a-and I was hoping you might all be willing to help out. I-I'm going to be helping organize everything, providing some entertainment, a-and Lana even said that I can be the ring bearer! Though to be honest, I'm really scared I'm gonna mess it up and drop it in the moment or something." He laughs nervously to himself. "That would be awful... B-But anyways. I have a list of tasks that would need taking care of for the special event a-and any help I can get would be very appreciated."
The young man unfurls the scroll and gives the adventurers a chance to look over it all.
“That’s wonderful, Riftun!” Lina encourages. “I’m sure if we all keep calm and our eye on what we're doing, everything will come together and it will all go beautifully.”
The witch is not always one to talk about keeping calm, but the herbalist in her comes in surprisingly handy sometimes.
A garden. A threshold. Welcoming. Yes, this all sounded good. There would be plenty of time for more discussion. But they had other matters to attend to first. Brental tucks Signy's warning away, well aware that his mind is drifting sufficiently. Back to the present.
* * *
Brental wakes refreshed from a productive meeting, and listens to Riftun's planning. He wonders if running a kingdom will be filled with meetings like this, or if he'll still have an opportunity to connect to the land. At least this meeting ends with an actionable list.
"I would be happy to find a beast for the feast." He looks up where Riftun points to the decorations and nods there as well. "And I can help with the high-up decorations as well. I would not be much of a druid if high places were a bother." By hook or by crook, or in this case rope or magic, he would make that happen.
For a third task, Brental considers how different place cards could be to the gazetteers that he had been preparing these last weeks. Perhaps it would need some manner of calligraphy--which he had not practiced in years--but he's sure that he can manage. "And then I'll manage the place cards, I think."
He has an afterthought, and makes a final offer. "And although Signy is probably better to trust with the drinks, I'm happy to help."
Naturally, the hunting is the easiest for Brental, while his calligraphy is unpracticed. Still, he does his best with all of his assigned tasks.
As the celebration proper draws near and preparations have to be finalized, all the hurry and scurry reminds Lina of the most daunting part of her apprenticeship, in her brief sojourn in Daggermark. Hopefully the consequences of any slip have less chance of proving dire, here, though there are all those stories about weddings. Then again, it is a reaffirmation of vows, so she presumes Svetlana and Oleg won’t have to subdue unruly relatives or scheming guests.
In the end, it's still all a bit of a nightmare for the witch. The flowers are easy enough, but try as she might, she blanks completely on suitable songs in her repertoire. Her personal favourites are a bit too weird, and when she floats some desperate alternatives, it becomes clear that the Levetons aren’t enthused by half-remembered traditional elven occasional pieces. Finally, on the day of, Lina’s nerves are frazzled enough that after a couple of abortive attempts demonstrating just how unused she is to putting cosmetics on anyone else’s face, the only merciful thing is to beg off from trying to help Svetlana with her make-up.
When she can get a precious moment on her own, she takes it to mutter to herself truculently,
Maybe, she thinks glumly, she shouldn't get her hopes up about the whole queendom idea. At any rate, she certainly hopes she hasn't ruined the Levetons' big day.
Though Meneas seriously struggles with the carriage, he has fewer issues with dealing with the animal itself, and easily moves the furniture about. Driving a cart is seriously different from riding a horse. Maybe I can learn some things from how they differ? Gotta reflect on that. He muses, trying to keep himself from feeling excessively embarrassed.
Brental manages to reach the high up places around the trading post with relatively little difficulty leading to a simple but undeniably adorable setting for the wedding.
The place cards are... underwhelming but serviceable. It seems calligraphy is not Brental's strong suit but at least everyone will be able to read where they are supposed to be seated.
Brental more than makes up for this shortcoming, however, when he returns from his hunt with a great beast in tow. A white elk had been seen while he was out hunting and while the hunt had been a challenge in the end the druid managed to corner the beast where it seemed to bow it's head strangely in submission to his will, praising the hunter for his kill and offering his life as a reward for the young man's efforts. While this was most strange to Brental, the aasimar was not about to squander this chance and felled the beast for the celebration's main course.
Meanwhile Lina, knowing what Svetlana's favorite flowers are and where exactly to find them puts together several stunning bouquets of lilies and wildflowers.
Meneas spares no effort in moving the various furnishings into place for the big event. Acting with such speed and strength that even Oleg takes a moment to stare with wide-eyed amazement at the cavalier's feat of strength.
With time to spare he then tends to the old horse Claptrap. The horse is grumpy at first unwilling to cooperate with the man but with a few scratches, soft whispers, and carrots the horse complies willingly to the cowled man is is soon gussied up and looking quite handsome for the big day.
Signy takes the time to teach Oleg some simple dance and, while the man obviously has two left feet, the Ulfen lass manages to get something resembling a proper waltz out of him just as the first guests seem to be arriving.
From the gate a ruckus can be heard as two small blackish grey reptilians argue amongst each other while a befuddled Kesten holds them at bay. It isn't long, however before the smaller little creature manages to slip past the guard and make straight for the banquet table currently laden with all manner of succulent treats and tantalizing sweets!
The little one has almost made it to the roast elk when Kesten grabs the kobold by the shoulder holding him back even while the little reptile man flails and cries out against his grip as the other kobold, bedecked in skulls and feathers follows patiently behind.
The white elk is definitely the strangest part of Brental's day, and he thinks about who he could talk about it with. He eventually selects Meneas as the most in tune with possible signs and omens without being overly superstitious. He wasn't sure what to make of it, but he runs in to Meneas while he's moving around furniture.
"My hunt was successful, but this elk--white--had the strangest reaction to being hunted. It just...stopped once I caught up to it. I thought it was getting ready to charge, or run. But it just exposed its neck." The aasimar seems troubled by this. "Has that ever happened to you on a hunt? I don't want to read too much into it, but it's just...odd."
---
Brental greets Mekmek and Chief Sootscale in Draconic before waving to Kesten to relax.
"These are friends," he says. "But perhaps a bit eager."
The commotion of the kobolds’ arrival breaks into Lina’s moping, somewhat. At any rate, she’s determined that nothing else should let the Levetons down on their celebration, if she has anything to say about it.
It looks like she’ll have to try to play socialite and stateswoman whether she likes it or not, so Lina tries to pull herself together and scoots over in a hurry beside Brental.
“Trade partners, too, allies,” she tells Kesten quickly, guessing that he might be a bit leery despite the druid’s explanation, and that a more hard-nosed way of putting it might get through, though she adds, “We might well have been centipede food if it hadn’t been for this young fellow.”
She switches to Draconic to address the newly-arrived guests. <“Mekmek! Chief, wh-”>
What are you doing here? is really what’s on her mind, but she realizes that would sound rather rude, and that’s not what she means. It’s probably Brental’s doing, she guesses, unless Meneas has a more wicked sense of humour than she thought.
She chatters away determined to defuse any lingering awkwardness (or, gods forbid, an outright scene), and it only takes a few minutes for her spirits to lift a bit.
Despite himself, Meneas can't help putting in more effort as he prepares the furniture for the wedding. A distant part of him takes note of this as he goes. I wonder whether that means I'm enjoying this more than I thought? The question fades as he turns to the next piece of furniture.
Brental's report makes the knight shrug. "Sounds as though the Stag God's still got us in his sights." He observes, more exasperated than alarmed. Even the gods' attention is something we get used to... truly, we mortals can forget our fears so easily.
When the Sootscales arrive, though he giggles somewhat sardonically. At this rate, Draconic is going to be a second language for our little realm. I really need to ask the others to start teaching me. At least I'm starting to pick up a few words here and there... but it'll take awhile before I'm even a little fluent at this rate.
Mekmek gasps aloud, reptilian eyes wide as he see's Brental's approach. "Tribe-kin Bright-Eyes!!!" The young kobold cries out in excitement as he wriggles himself free of Kesten's grasp and sprints up to his druid friend embracing the man's leg in a tight hug. "Mekmek miss you so much! You keep self fed yes-yes? Looking little.... hmm... skinny-small to Mekmek." The little lizard looks up at Brental with concern all over his face.
Kesten makes to chase after Mekmek but stops when the kobold embraces the druid instead of scarfing down all the food. "Is that so? Well... kobolds are certainly... unusual guests to have at a wedding in Brevoy but if you're willing to vouch for them I suppose it's fine... Just 'erm... try to make sure the excitable one doesn't eat the cake before the ceremony." he sighs tiredly.
Chief Sootscale stands patiently behind the man and bows his head respectfully towards Brental as the man takes notice of him. <"It is an honor to be here. On behalf of all the Sootscales we have brought offerings of silver from our cavern as a gift to the mated humans.>" He tosses a sack of around a thousand gold worth of silver ore before him.
Mekmek rapidly turns around upon hearing Lina's voice and springs off Brental's leg to embrace her as well. "Fair-Dragon!!! Mekmek looooooove fangberry... not sure what fangberry is but has berry in the name and is food! So Mekmek will definitely like very much yes-yes!"
Chief Sootscale tries not to bury his face in his palm at his son's antics. <"We arrive just now but no-no, road was very easy travel now. No bandits on road for quite long time makes strong-sun hardest part of travel.">
Signy gets herself cleaned up and dressed after doing her best to teach Oleg to dance in the earlier morning. She thinks it went fairly well. It wasn't enough time for muscle memory to take over, he will have to think about what he's doing as he dances, but he picked up the steps. The hard part was convincing him he needed to lead. Signy had to through most of the lesson, and he didn't fare as well when she made him switch roles.
Hopefully Svetlana can guide him through leading her.
Signy shakes her head at the confusing thought.
Her dress had to be fashioned out of materials on hand, and with minimal time left to get it done. To help with both of these problems Signy opts for a skirt and sleeveless bodice that can be worn over her best shirt. Less material is needed, and the two piece design keeps the sewing simple. While Signy would really have liked a white dress for the occasion, that would apparently be rude at a wedding, so it's blue instead. At least the color accents her eyes.
Signy doesn't have much jewelry, only the earrings she looted from the Stag Lord's fort, and a braided leather headband. She wears both, fancying up the headband by weaving some flowers through the strands of leather before tying it around her head.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The kobalds surprise Signy more than her other traveling companions. Apparently they met, and got on famously well with some of them, must have happened while she was away. It doesn't help that she knows absolutely no Draconic.
There isn't much for Signy to do until after the exchange of vows so she mostly mingles with the crowd, chatting with guests, asking for introductions to the kobalds, and keeping an eye on Akiros just to be extra safe.
The Stag God--Erastil. Brental supposes that it's better to have the god on their side after everything that has happened. The unknown guardian of the Temple had enraged the god enough to warrant a hideous curse; Jhod Kavken had been compelled to put that guardian down to make up for his own actions; and Akiros Ismort had been running from the god after his own trials. Add to that a mere mortal who seemed dedicated to Gyronna but was coopting stag imagery and fashioning himself a dread monarch in the region.
"That was my thought," Brental says in response to Meneas. "Erastil's stamp is all over these lands."
Brental had once prayed to Erastil. Many times, many years ago. He still knew many druids, including those of the Green Faith, who offered obeisance to him. More were keen on Gozreh, somewhat fewer on Hanspur, and a good many on the same Eldest that Meneas served. Brental hadn't really prayed in years. But now there was a nagging itch that he should offer some sort of thanks, some sort of recognition. Better to not ask Akiros for a prayer, and Jhod might be too zealous. The druid sighs and continues on with his preparations.
---
Brental doesn't remember informing the Sootscales about the vow renewal, but vaguely recalls someone referencing them in their earlier discussions. Their gift on the other hand, will almost certainly be welcome! This was an excellent first step towards diplomatic relations.
He looks down at Mekmek while the kobold hugs his legs and laughs.
"It's good to see you, too. A bit of hunger keeps me strong, but I'm not starving myself." After Lina references the fangberries, Brental nods. "Once we get a grove going, we'll have to see if there is any good way to combine moonlight radishes and fangberries."
He looks at Kesten and waves his hand. "We do vouch for them, and we'll keep an eye on the cake."
With Chief Sootscale, Brental smiles. He responds in Draconic. <"No bandits on the roads is another cause for celebration! We dealt with their leader, and so the rest have scattered. I'm glad your travel was safe. Come come, please share your news with us! How does your tribe fare now?">
Brental introduces Signy to Mekmek and his father, teaching Signy and Meneas a few words in Draconic with the promise to help them with their study of the language later (should they be interested).
Signy doesn't notice anything too extreme since the festivities have yet to truly begin, she does see Oleg pacing about muttering to himself rehearsing his vows most likely. He's dressed up rather nicely but the outfit is obviously a little too small for his hulking frame and his muscles visibly bulge and struggle against the fabric trying desperately to contain them.
She also does spot Riftun eventually hiding away in the guest house looking extremally nervous as he practices producing the rings from his cloak and fumbling them frantically in his trembling fingers. He looks up in shock to see Signy though his expression calms as he recognizes her and settles into nervous laughter. "O-Oh Signy there you are! S-Sorry I've just been practicing for the big moment, everyone is working so hard I just want the moment to be perfect. A-And Svetlana has been so kind to me! he really deserves a beautiful wedding. Though... I have been having to avoid her a bit, she keeps trying to press food on me a-and I'm worried if I keep eating at the pace she's had me going I'll simply pop!"
Mekmek looks confused at the prospect of hunger keeping on strong and produces a slimy wet fish from a sack around his waist and puts it in the druid's hand with a look of pity and a knowing nod.
Chief Sootscale meanwhile smiles toothily at Brental and bows his head again. <It is most excellent to hear that the bandit humans have been dealt with. They had been harassing my people for some time... As for the tribe... it was chaos for a while. And there was some time needed to sort out all the harm that was done by Tartuk but... we are on the road to recovery. Our numbers have been quite reduced but... we kobolds repopulate quickly. Soon there will be a strong new generation of Sootscales and we shall be powerful once again. All thanks to you heroes.">
Meneas watches the small draconic creatures with a sense of mild bemusement before giggling softly. After a moment, he sighs, shaking his head.
Meneas is amused at their presence, but that fact in and of itself doesn't seem to be the reason for his laughter. He does, however, seem somewhat regretful about something.
With that, he wanders to sit at one of the tables. I really need to learn Draconic.
Riftun's skittishness always gets to Signy. If he were a dog, she's put him on her lap and pet him gently for an hour or so until he relaxed and fell asleep. But you can't fix people so easily.
She tilts her head to the side, a little confused, until she figures out Riftun is fumbling with the rings. Ah! That's why he's apologizing.
"I don't think it'll be as easy if they're all loose like that. I think a box or an envelope would be better, but I don't have either of those things..."
Mentally inventorying things she does have, an idea comes to her.
"Let's try something, come with me."
Signy drags Riftun along to where she has her stuff stashed. She digs out a candle and shows it to him.
"I think we can use this. Give me the rings."
First Signy takes Lana's ring and slides it onto the thinner end of the candle. She lowers it until the candle thickens enough for the ring to catch in the wax, then pushes it just a little more. Then she cuts off the extra length of the candle the ring passed through down to a couple inches shy of the ring with her dagger.
Turning the candle over, she whittles down the thicker end until Oleg's ring will slide on and catch in the same way. She hands Riftun a wax rod about four inches long with a ring near each end.
"See? you can keep this in your pocket until you need to take the rings out. When you do, all you need to do is tug a little to free the rings. The wax compresses to hold them in place, but it's still soft so it won't stick if you pull."
"You can also easily tell the rings apart. Lana's is on the thinner side, and Olaf's is on the thicker side."
Signy grins at Riftun, quite proud of herself.
Brental blinks confused a few times at the fish in his hand. Maybe Vodnykel would be interested in the fish. He smiles at Mekmek's offering and thanks him.
With Chief Sootscale, he nods knowingly. Kobolds were rather, er, notorious in that regard. Still, even if their population recovered, the scars of Tartuk's reign of murderous treachery could hold sway over the tribe for some time.
<"May I introduce you to the mated couple before the ceremony so that you can offer your gift personally?">
Riftun perks up considerably upon seeing Signy's ingenious solution to his ring problem. "Oh Signy that's such a smart but simple solution! I never would have thought of it in a million years! Oh!" The young man can't help himself and pulls Signy into a grateful hug.
As time goes on more and more guests start to arrive. The familiar visage of Jhod's grumpy face is seen. Old man Bokken arrives and begins raving at anyone who will listen. There are also several unfamiliar face of rough and rugged looking humans and half-elves of the pioneering sort.
Everything seems to be going well as people mingle and enjoy one another's company as the kobolds present their wedding gift to the flattered and seriously amused Levetons... until a man is heard crying out in shock.
Rushing to his location you see a small crowd has gathered gossiping among themselves and helping a man up who had gone to sit but is now red-faced and furious. "The chair was right there! I swear this is the third time! Every time I go to sit the chair jumps back and leaves me to fall upon my rump! It's bewitched I tell you! Bedeviled!"
Brental greets the familiar and unfamiliar guests, not in any sort of official capacity, but feeling like he's coming slowly into his own. This was less formal than his old days in the Court of Silverhall, and closer to what the Oakstewards tried to ingrain in Initiates. Even if kobolds were a significant minority presence here compared to taller humanoids, the fact that they could coexist in the same space was positive. Brental just wondered if any of their fey friends might show up as well.
And then...well a chair moving on its own absolutely screams fey mischief. Brental makes his way over to the falling man, glancing at Meneas for guidance with fey whims.
"You know, I've had the same kind of thing happen. It might sound strange, but do you know what helped me? I tried dancing. Whenever spirits are in the air, as they often are for a wedding, they need to be amused. Do you know a song, or a joke?"
No need to call them out of hiding while they're having their fun. But maybe they can pick up on the need for this particular mischief to stop if we provide them with different entertainment.
Mekmek’s antics and his father’s dignity are a bit of an odd combination for the job, but they snap Lina out of the last of her mopiness. She tries to best to keep the one out of trouble – mostly by bribing him with berries that won’t be missed from a sideboard and the like – and close to the other to be ready to translate as needed. She begins to enjoy the day, even.
By the time the Sootscales present their gift, her smile is open and carefree, and she slinks about in her new dress, twisty, thorny headpiece, and signature heels like she was born to (the) party.
She exchanges a look with Brental, as much as to say, Bedragoned and pixied, more like.
<“Peri,”> she says aloud, quietly, making sure to continue in Sylvan, <“that’s hilarious, but maybe let the poor devil sit down for a bit?”>
At Brental’s advice to the fellow, Lina demonstrates by bursting abruptly into a snatch of
She breaks off quickly, since to anyone familiar with it it would betray just how weird and morbidly she’s wired, but for the few moments she sings, her accelerated tempo and purposely exaggerated, aesthetical gestures take the edge off the reference and her strange tastes in music.
“Or,” she says, settling quickly back into prose and Common, “one could make sure to collect an extra slice when the cake is cut, so that it doesn’t run out when there’s a race involving small dragons and such.”
Lina’s guessing, but knows that she herself can sometimes be mollified by an offering of cake, so she figures it’s worth a try. She does hope she hasn’t inspired an eating contest in due course, though, once Mekmek goes to town.
At Lina's words, Meneas glances around, but doesn't see any sign of the fey. Well, I guess they didn't need my invitation. He shrugs slightly, chuckling. Not that they ever do.
He flexes his gauntleted hands, shifting his weight on the chair to find a more comfortable position. I wonder what the next steps could be, and how effective this realm of ours will be in actually protecting the area. I should make some more plans... but for now, I suppose I can just watch in case of any actual disruption of the affairs here.
When Signy comes out of the hug, she also gives Riftun a pat on the back.
"You're going to do just fine. Don't worry. Now, let's get you a drink, one drink, before the ceremony to help settle your nerves."
At first, the guests seem confused, almost insulted, by Brental's suggestion to dance but as Lina's enchanting elven melody begins to wash over the crowd it is surprisingly the gruff figure of Akiros, still in his armor, with nothing else to wear for the event apparently, who bows to a woman and proffers a hand for her to take offering a dance. The woman blushes heavily as her friends begin whispering and laughing amongst themselves but she does take the man's hand who immediately sweeps her off her feet in a display of surprisingly graceful and elegant dance, no doubt learned during his time as a paladin.
Soon there are a few shrugs from the crowd and an impromptu dance begins to break out amongst the people. Men and women, young and old, begin moving their bodies around the courtyard laughing and smiling as they whirl themselves about uncaring of how they look or their technique in this moment of pure frivolity.
Even Mekmek joins the fun dancing and prancing about in an energetic and tribalistic manner more suitable around a bonfire than at a formal event and yet everyone seems to be having a blast.
In a few moments the crowd gasps in delight as a small butterfly-like dragon and cat-sized cricket women appear to apparate out of thin air among them dancing and spinning, whirling about in joyous harmony with the other party goers.
Tyg leaps over to Brental and appears to give a slight curtsy. "What a wonderful suggestion my dear friend! And just as this party was starting to get boring! Who knows what Peri would have done next!" She giggles. "We might well still find out~"
Peri floats over to Lina and dances around her until the end of her song where he backflips around and laughs joyously. "The man can now sit, at least for a bit. Your song was most moving, it certainly got me to grooving!" He chitters playfully and lands upon the woman's shoulder.
-----
Riftun's eyes widen, "A-A drink?" He asks flushed. "W-Well, I don't normally drink much I'm kind of a light-weight but I-I suppose one beer couldn't hurt." He smiles.
Brental likewise takes to dancing, offering his hand to Lina and apologizing in advance for his two left feet.
Once the fey do show themselves, Brental smirks. The little devils.
"Good morrow, good fey!" he says. "And thank you for gracing us with your presence."
This was getting to be quite the gathering. Brental looks over at Meneas again. Well, he wanted our kingdom to be a save haven for the fey as well. That starts with coexistence. What does he think of this?
"While this is not my event, I have a few tricks in store to ensure that the happy couple have a magical day," he offers to Tyg. Hopefully that would be enough to keep the pseudodragon in anticipation rather than boredom.
It appears there’s a vestigial bit of paladin left in Akiros, and Lina’s grateful for it as he graciously gets the other guests moving. As the impromptu dance takes off, beyond her wildest imaginings, she muses that things took a turn in the best possible way, as they can when the friendlier sort of fey get involved.
“It’s wonderful to see you two again,” the witch offers to Peri, once things settle down a bit. She’s dead serious, and the fact that he and Tyg are so tricky to keep an eye on is not a quibble that she makes on purpose.
She is immensely chuffed when the small dragon lands on her shoulder, and feels quite dashingly piratical. “We’ve been thinking about you, you know. Something’s – or a couple of somethings – come up, and I think we’d all like to talk to you once the festivities are over.”
She smiles to ease the gravity of the suggestion, “I’d like to think that it will be exciting, not to worry! Shall we bother Sir Meneas and Signy before you offer your compliments to the happy couple, or is there anyone else you’d like to meet? Oh, and Riftun. He’s sweet, if a bit shy.”
She’s not entirely sure about throwing the young man to the wolves pixies, if he’s already so nervous about the party, but then it is only fair to let him see what he’s getting into, hanging around with such madcap adventurers.
Signy leads Riftun back to the wedding party.
"If you'd like something light and mild then, I can do that myself."
She wiggles her fingers in front of his face. "I'll just need to find you an empty cup."
They arrive back to find a scene very different than the one Signy had left. Signy hurries Riftun in and summons some weak ale into a cup.
"Usually this happens after the ceremony is over in my experience" she explains to him. But I like this mixup! You can have the drink after you earn it. We have to dance first while we can!"
Signy drags Riftun out to join the others in dancing.
"This is the sort of stuff you signed on for when you agreed to be my date. Don't worry, I'll lead you through it; I taught Oleg to dance earlier, and he was like dancing with a bear. You'll be easy, just follow me and do what I tell you."
Tyg giggles and bows in a distinctly over-dramatic fashion to Brental. "And a fair day to you, fair druid. Our presence was the least we could give after you bestowed upon us the gift of a land free of that brutish Stag." She says whilst leaping between the legs of much larger folk bumbling about around her with surprising grace. Her eyes light up as Brental says he has plans to spice up the rest of the wedding and the fey chirps. "Oh?! What do you have in mind and can I be of any assistance? I have many ways of helping make a day magical indeed~"
Peri beams excitedly as Lina mentions that they had been talking about the fey. "Wonderous to see you all again as well my dear friend! I hope that you've only been saying nice things about us in our absence. We hadn't planned on sticking around too long after the ceremony but if you'd like to chat I'm sure we could make some time for our favorite mortals."
Riftun stares mouth agap in amazement as Signy summons up an ale right before his very eyes. He stands there in awe for a moment before he can manage a reply. "Holy Starsong Signy! I had no idea you could do that! That's amazing!" he remarks astounded before he is pushed out onto what has become the dance floor.
The young man's face is as bright as his hair as he links arms nervously with Signy whilst unsure where to put his other hand. The advisor stammers a response, "R-Right! D-Dancing... of course! I've got this, I-I've read about it in books, you just... hold hands like this a-and this hand goes... ummm..." The young man's bright blue eyes dart around nervously, sweat begining to form on his brow and his fingers trembling.
Signy shrugs off Riftun's amazement. "Didn't you know I'm in Cayden Cailean's service? I have a few tricks up my sleeve."
As they start moving about, Signy comes to realize no, in fact she can't teach poor Riftun to dance. She does her best to cover for him while they're out on the floor, trying to make it look as if they do know what they're doing and are just goofing about.
She doesn't make him try for too long, worried he might cause them to inadvertently harm someone or something.
"Alright Riftun, that's enough for me right now. I don't want to get all sweaty or mess up my dress before the ceremony. You've earned you drink."
Lina chats for a bit more with Peri, until she notices that Signy seems to be having more trouble teaching Riftun than she did Oleg. It’s endearing, rather, since it shows the Caydenite’s good heart, and, besides, reminds her of a few unsteady dances at parties under starry nights some rivers away after (just perhaps) a bit too much wine for even a more serious drinker than Lina is.
It would be a shame, she decides, if Signy doesn’t get a decent dance out of her partner for the party given the trouble she went to.
She can’t be feeling shy? I’m not sure I’ve seen anything to think she has it in her. Not that it’s any of my business, really. Still…
.
.
.
The things one does for friendship, the witch muses, before weaving through the crowd and bending towards Riftun’s ear to catch his attention. After making sure that he’s comfortable with the idea, she demonstrates, among other things, where hands go and such.
Unfortunately, and inexplicably, moving in time proves another matter altogether, even though they’re not on a boat and no one’s had more than a glass of wine at most. It also doesn’t help that Lina’s ostensibly leading, but very obviously doesn’t want to be, and, in general, her attention keeps drifting, her thoughts definitely somewhere else.
She narrowly avoids (more than once) stapling the unfortunate young man to the ground, but even Lina would shamefacedly admit that she wouldn’t blame anyone for not whole-heartedly endorsing the idea that she isn’t actually trying to kill him.
Maybe he’s been cursed? Neither she nor Signy are normally this awkward.
“It really is trickier than it looks, but somehow today is something else. Probably all the pressure with everything going on. It's not you, it's us, really. Hang in there, and things will be fine after the ceremony,” Lina tries to reassure Riftun, though it's regrettably clear that she has her doubts about that as she tries to extricate herself as tactfully - and quickly - as possible.
She flees towards Akiros in desperation, and accosts the fallen paladin as soon as he acknowledges her presence. "Did you see that!? It makes no sense!"
"You-" Her finger jabs in the general direction of his armoured chest. "- sir, are going to teach the three of us to dance. Not necessarily today, obviously, but that was just embarrassing! It can't happen again! How could I ever hope to face my ... my lady ever again?"
She falls back on uncharacteristic formality, though her storybook romantic side is definitely showing. Anyway, she can sort out the details about lessons later. After all, for now, the important thing is that Oleg and Svetlana have a wonderful day, and Lina swoops off to see if she can still help that happen. And if she happens to find a cup along the way, well, it looks like more than one person needs one.