Of Magic and Dungeons [IC/PG-16/Accepting]

[LordCowCow 840]

“Anyway, uh, I know she said, ‘Let us feast,’ but I figure we could just start with some drinks and we’ll see how things go from there, yeah?”

"I suppose that's practical enough. But I expect that young lady won't be satisfied without an actual feast. I'll make sure the cook is ready for a warzone just in case." Hector gave Chris a wink and waved one of the staff over. "Get some drinks for the boy and his friends. I'll be right back." He then vanished behind the door that, presumably, led into the kitchen.

The moment Hector left Chris saw the girl from before, Julian, lean over the counter to look at him. "Hello, I saw you before didn't I? With that Sergei fellow." She glanced back at the group "Not here? Pity. But now that I get a good look at you." She sidled closer. "Your group is full of surprises isn't it? You're not just an ordinary adventurer are you? Call it a woman's intuition but I think there's a story behind you that'd be utterly fascinating to uncover."

-

The girl who brought the drinks over the table had a strained smile on her face. She set the tray down and stood up quickly. She looked nervously at the two girls and gave a hurried bow. "Uh, wel...no, uh." She glanced down at her hand and nodded. "If you need anything else let me know. I'll be sure to serve you as soon as I can!" She hesitated there a bit too long then, if nothing was said to her, would turn stiffly and march her way back to the bar. Clearly it was the girl's first day working there.

[radio414 907]

Look, if Estellise had wanted a feast feast, Chris thought, she probably could have taken everyone to Fereis… castle? Manor? Whatever that family called their gargantuan estate and managed something there. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Hector or his cook were up to the task, of course, just that, well, it wasn’t rich-person food.

It had been a while since he’d had any rich-person food, actually. The few times he was lucky enough to even be in an environment where he could find it, he’d been on a job, and while it was tempting to reminisce on better times and raid the pantry for whatever he could find, there were always more important tasks at hand. He’d gotten close, though. Once, he’d had to cross right in front of the kitchen doors and the smell alone had been intoxicating. But the last time he’d ever had any, again, would have been at Ellwood manor, and those memories were starting to fade.

“Hello.” His idle daydreaming was abruptly cut short by a woman approaching him from further down the bar. She said she’d seen Chris before, but he had no recollection of ever doing likewise, a dynamic that immediately put him on edge.

It wasn’t enough for him to brush her away entirely, though. Most people looking for him with jobs put him on edge, for example. Still, she mentioned Sergei, and that presented itself as at least a little bit of a chance to deflect. “I’m not Sergei’s keeper,” Chris said. “If you’re looking for him, there’s not much I can tell you.”

That only encouraged her to get closer, though. Good gods. “Your group is full of surprises, isn’t it?” she said. “You’re not just an ordinary adventurer, are you? Call it a woman’s intuition but I think there’s a story behind you that’d be utterly fascinating to uncover.”

The mention of the adventuring group got Chris to instinctively look over at the table they had picked out. He even gave an awkward wave to either of them if they happened to be looking on. But he looked back just as quickly. It was difficult to look the woman in the eye, but that didn’t mean he didn’t try. “I guess two things,” Chris said. “First, I promise you, I’m not a very good storyteller. And second, coming out of the Dungeon, I learned even information has a price. You can’t expect to get even a bad story out of me without something in return.”

“Oh come now; I don’t want anything about that musty place. Is it so wrong to want to get to know people a little more?”

“I mean, I don’t even know your name.”

“Well, in that case, hello, I'm Julian,” she said. She smiled, too, which just threw Chris for a loop even more. “There, now you know it. Free of charge at that.”

Chris didn’t think it was free of charge. Now he felt obligated to keep going; he’d fallen right into her trap, he thought. “Nice to meet you, Julian. I’m Chris,” he said. “So alright, what sort of story were you hoping to hear?”

[Doggo 218]

Estelle was generally happy with the overall feeling of the Drooling Dragon. Not that many cheered at her triumphant reentry. But even dampened a bit by Sergei's swift parting, The mage was confident this was going to be a good time for the rest of the group. Just how literal she had been about feasting remained to be seen. But she very much intended to experience the full spread of the chef of the house. There was always something so charming to her about food prepared outside the sterile perfection of the Fereis' kitchen full of servants. As Chris was taking to the bar, Estellise gladly joined Lana at the table they were to be using as food arrived. Lana's comment about giant rats was a sentiment she could share but one that got her thinking regardless.

"Hmmm... I wonder. Was that the first giant rat I have seen in the Dungeon? It changes so much each time I cannot recall. If we are lucky we may well never see one again!" she concluded cheerfully, as if there was something comforting about never knowing what the same floors would throw at them in future visits. Drinks arrived first, which was natural. The server girl seemed incredibly nervous but eager to do her best. The mage looked almost sad for a moment, thinking perhaps the girl's nerves could be attributed to her social status. This was to be a joyful time for everyone involved.

"Thank you dear I am sure you will do great." Estelle called out in support to the server as she departed. This brought her back to Lana. "You know, I quite admire the way you fight. You all handle weapons like they have always been in your hands. I recall wanting to try my hand at sword play as little girl. No matter who I asked, all of my family said I was more likely to hurt myself than ever slay a monster. Mother claims I often came crying to her after having hit my head with the various sticks or brooms I would grab so I suppose they were right." She laughed heartily at the recollection. "So what is it like Lana? Training to use weapons and the like."

Edited June 9, 2022 by Doggo

[Skaia 578]

The girl grabbed her drink as the server set it down, clearly happy with it and looked at the woman curiously. She didn't quite get why she was so nervous, but said, "thanks! I'll be sure to call when I need a refill!" With that done, the girl looked over to Estelliese as she began speaking. As the girl seemed interested in her usage of weapons, Lana not being able to help but chuckle as well at the noble woman's recollections, she thought more on it. "Hmm, well. It's not anything too impressive, I don't think."

The girl took a sip of her beverage before placing her axe to her side, standing it up and looking back to Estelle. "See, I grew up on a farm and had to do a lot of manual labor stuff from the get go. Also a lot of wood chopping. So by the time I started to take lessons I was already plenty strong enough to wield this and chop." The girl paused for a moment,  giving a bit of an embarrassed chuckle herself saying, "well, not like i was a prodigy or anything. This thing's a lot heavier at the top than a normal see," she pointed the large blade. "So when I was starting out I'd get surprised and spin a bit out of control or fall backwards when i went to swing it. But I've gotten better!" Looking shiftily away, remembering her first fight in the dungeon she muttered, "well. Getting better." Clearing her throat she continued, "but my instructor really drilled me to keep practicing with it, and also taught me a whole bunch of things to know, so that I could fight monsters not just chop trees. And now, I'm a certified axe woman!" She wobbled it the large weapon around. 

Curiously, she looked over to Estelle saying, "but I'm also kind of curious about you. I was never book smart and I don't know the first thing about magic. So what's learning that kind of stuff like?" 

[LordCowCow 840]

“Nice to meet you, Julian. I’m Chris,” he said. “So alright, what sort of story were you hoping to hear?”

Julian smiled a smile so wide it was like it stretched out for a mile. She had a pad and pen in her hand and held it up as she inched the stool closer to Chris. He noticed the pen seemed to be oddly ornate for such a simple tool. With various carvings along it. Julian paused before putting the pen to paper and noticed it before laughing. "Wrong one." She explained and then brought out another, much simpler, one.

"Well, your story of course. You see I've been rather interested in stories about people from various Families. I've noticed that you can really find out a lot about the so-called ruling class by looking into them individually instead of as a whole. And now I keep seeing more and more from Families that are working outside of those Families. If I'm correct your own group has more than one of those." She leaned a bit in. "And I think you're one of them. So, I guess, what I'm asking is...What's a guy like you doing in a place like this?" She winked.

[radio414 907]

Chris eyed the initial pen Julian produced with suspicion. But, then again, of course he did. Not only was he, well, in the suspicion business, it also seemed a bit convenient that she had the pen on her in the first place if she wasn’t intending on using it. He almost wanted to try and lift it from her just to get a better look at it -- he even tracked where it went as she slipped it back -- but he stopped himself and tried a more tactful approach, or tactful for him, at least. “How come I don’t deserve the special pen?” he said. “You can’t act like I’m all special and then give me a plain old pen.”

“Teehee, that one's not for writing,” she answered.

Okay, so it wasn’t a pen then (or was it? She just said it wasn’t for writing, but it still seemed like she thought of it as a pen…). Chris still kept an eye on the pocket it was in, though, even in his peripheral as he turned to take a drink. He did wonder if he was being too obvious, but he brushed the concerns aside. “Alright, here’s the story: You’re right. I was born in this big, fancy castle. Which one, I couldn’t tell you -- my memory is too hazy for that -- but you do have to trust that I remember that much. But after my birth, the first thing I remember was waking up in an alleyway, about six years old at that point, yeah? So that’s a third of my life I already don’t remember right there. And another six years were spent being gaslit. That one core memory of mine, that I do have a last name, that I do matter, that all got beaten out of me.

“But I got some licks in too, eventually,” Chris said. “And I got smart. I learned not to talk about it much, that was why I was so hostile to you earlier, sorry. So now I just work as a --” oh, what was the word? “an ostler and a baster trying to get a glimpse of the castle that was once mine. The Spark, too, that could help just as much, that’s why I have my companions in that regard.

“‘Now, why haven’t my parents searched for me?’ I hear you ask.” Chris lowered his voice and leaned in and gestured, trying to get Julian to do the same. “Well, first of all, who’s to say they haven’t? They won’t know what I look like anymore. But that ignores the more serious reason. I think -- you know, because I think about this a lot -- I think they’ve been hexed. I think they don’t even remember that they had a child. So only by their true love’s embrace -- that’s me, obviously -- will the spell be broken.”

Julian nodded slowly. “Seems it won’t be so easy to figure you out. Well, that’s what investigation is for.” She smiled wide. “Honestly, it’s more fun that way.”

Then why’d you ask? Chris thought. “I guess if we’re being honest with each other, you might as well ask her what her story is,” he said, gesturing first to the elf with the sword and then the waitress who had just served his companions drinks. “Or her what hers is. I don’t think they’d tell you either. Or maybe they would, but either way, I’m not that type of person. There’s something you can write down.”

[Doggo 218]

Lana's recollection of her training to use an axe elicited genuine awe and bubbly laughs as more humorous notes landed from the Fereis mage. Estellise had much to wonder about from the story of course. Farm labor seemed like a subject for an entire day's inquiry at the least. It was also somewhat comforting to know that the ease of handling a weapon was an acquired skill and perhaps the young Estellise might have been able to do it had she just stuck with it. Not that such a thing had ever realistically been possible for the then young girl. Lana then turned the question on its head, seeking out Estelle's experience in the study of magic. There was a bit of a pause as the woman shifted in her seat, clearly thinking about how best to tackle the subject.

"Hmmm... what is it like indeed?" Estelle asked herself aloud. "It has been so long since I started. If there was a time I was unable to read I was likely being lectured. Father and Mother are both brilliant mages. Father especially would speak to me at length of his research from as early into my life as I remember. Mother of course had much more strict ideas in mind. I had regular lectures from many older members of the family as well as the occasional guest from another mage family." Estellise mused. Trying to explain a process that had occupied her entire recollected memory was trickier than it sounded.
 
"When not being lectured I was to be reading. Magic is more than anything, a cumulative process. Our ancestors discovered the core principles to channel the energy, and every generation after has uncovered new mechanics and applications. The things my family seeks to understand today may well not bear fruit until the time of my great grandchildren. And so I yet have a great deal of catching up to do on everything the Fereis line has ever studied. When not reading I would often practice channeling. Not even casting a spell just trying to hold the energy aloft and focusing it into different parts of the body." Estelle paused for a moment while looking about the room briefly.

"My, I suppose this is not the most helpful explanation. Suffice it to say that the magic I used today was the product of an entire life of study. And I imagine I shall be spending most of tomorrow reading more theory."

[LordCowCow 840]

“I guess if we’re being honest with each other, you might as well ask her what her story is. Or her what hers is. I don’t think they’d tell you either. Or maybe they would, but either way, I’m not that type of person. There’s something you can write down.”

Julian smiled widely and her eyes lit up as Chris spoke. "Her?" She looked at the waitress. "She actually came from a pig farm a ways away. Chased an adventurer boy that she fell for here and then he rejected her. Tossed her out and her bum. Couldn't find work till Hector hired her." She whispered "She's a bit clumsy."

As if on cue the girl let out a squeak and fell flat on her face. Thankfully she had just deposited the drinks but her tray went flying.

Hooking a thumb at the elf. "That's Joan. She didn't tell me much either but apparently she did some mercenary work. Like your friend Sergei. Wonder if they ever worked together without knowing it...ah, anyway! Don't you worry I'll find out alll your secrets eventually you can count on that."

Just then Hector came out of the back room and noticed the two of them talking. "Miss, do you plan on ordering anything?"

She smirked at him and in a flirtatious tone said "I could use a tall drink of water actually."

Hector grunted, clearly not shaken. "Well water's free. But I'd prefer you bought something if you're going to be bothering the other patrons." He moved around from behind the bar. Passing by Chris he said "Gonna see what your lady there wants for her feast so if you need anything be sure to speak up." Then he went to the two girls. "Hope I'm not interrupting. Just checked on the chef and they're ready for whatever you want." He thudded his chest with one large fist, winked, and stated proudly, "I may not be rich but I'd wager our food is good enough even for the head families."

[radio414 907]

Chris had gotten worried after Julian had started rattling off facts about whoever else was in the bar, but the fact that the elf, Joan, hadn’t immediately capitulated to Julian’s badgering either allowed Chris to start feeling a bit better about his choices. It also made him a little curious about the people he’d pointed to as well, but he kept that to himself; he wasn’t about to become just like Julian right after he pushed her away.

“Well, I’d wish you luck,” Chris said, “but I’m pretty sure I never want to see you again, so.” He stood up from his spot at the bar, grabbed his drink, and followed Hector back over to the rest of the group.

Hector, for his part, was prompting everyone as to exactly what sort of war crime they were expecting the kitchen to perform. “They’re ready for whatever you want,” he said, even including a brag about the food’s quality. Chris couldn’t vouch for the “head-family-ness” of it -- it had been too long for that -- but he was at least confident enough to place an order.

“One whole duck,” he said as he slid into his chair. “After that, I dunno, what did you two want?”

After Hector had left with everyone’s orders, Chris added, “Sorry, didn’t think that would take as long as it did. What’s the discussion been like over here?”

[Skaia 578]

Lana sat  there listening to Estelle's explanation of how she had learned magic. The more she talked, though, the more that the difference between the two of their standings had become more apparent. From the beginning, Lana didn't learn to read until she was in her teenage years and even then she wasn't exactly the best at it. She wasn't sure if magic was something you were born with either, but if it was it had seemed that she had quite the leg up on her in that regard as both of her parents were also esteemed mages. As a result, it was becoming increasingly apparent to Lana that they didn't just have different upbringings, but it was like they had lived in completely different worlds to begin with. This was only made even more apparent to her by the fervor with which it seemed that Estelle had approached her studies. 

Lana hadn't actually been swinging an axe for combat for that long. She had just picked it up as a means to get rich and nothing else, and it wasn't like she was particularly bothered with her current skill level. Sure, it would be better to be better - anything that would be able to keep her fighting rats for shorter amounts of time would be good - but becoming a true student of the axe or something was not exactly her goal. To say the least, she admired both the girl's determination and passion in studying such a craft. "Well, it sounds a lot harder than just swinging an axe around. You really are something amazing Estelle," the girl nodded to herself matter of factly. 

Soon enough, Chris had rejoined them and it seemed time to order their food as well. Lighting up at Chris's order, Lana nodded and said, "I'll also have a duck." Leaning back in her chair, the girl looked at the boy as he asked his question saying, "we were just talking about how we learned what to do what we do. You have a teacher for your sword, Chris?" 

[Doggo 218]

Estelle did her best to take Lana's compliment in stride. It felt strange to receive a compliment for her craft when she was anything but the most powerful mage even in just this city, never mind the world. But her companion's earnest wonder over the spells in the dungeon and process of learning it now described had the Fereis willing to at least not put herself down. It felt oddly nice to have the positive attention rather than a critique in her technique or form. She smiled in turn as Lana spoke while her attention was soon called to Hector and then Chris arriving at the table.

"I am certain it will be marvelous." She beamed at Hector's comment. The honest compliment aside the woman realized she didn't actually know what the establishment served. But her companions seemed to as the mage observed with curiosity. Both had ordered ducks. It seemed like a safe enough bet. "Ducks all around I believe it will be." she said, placing her order. The girl's mind wandered to the various duck dishes she had eaten throughout her life at the Fereis estate. How indeed would this establishment compare she wondered. The thought lingered for only a moment as Lana invited Chris to share some of how he came to be a swordsman.

"Yes, do tell Chris! The ease with which you handle a blade must not have come easily." she chimed in to the inquiry.

[radio414 907]

All anyone had ordered so far was ducks and Chris was already concerned that the table was going to collapse under the weight of future orders. Or maybe finding a cook who could get their ducks in a row was what feasting meant now; it wasn’t like he’d been paying attention to culinary trends in the last year or so (not that he’d really done so before that either). Whichever, it didn’t matter. Now he had to focus on integrating himself into the conversation.

“We were just talking about how we learned to do what we do.”

“Yes, do tell, Chris! The ease with which you handle a blade must not have come easily.”

It was a reasonable enough topic, Chris thought, especially if everyone planned to venture into the dungeon together again, but he still instinctively hesitated at the suggestion of talking about his past. Wasn’t that, like, the reason he’d left Julian at the bar in the first place? At the same time, though, he also had kind of skimped on saying much of anything when similar discussions had come up after that kobold fight. It probably wouldn’t hurt to say a little bit more.

He glanced over at the bar where Julian was alternating between idly chewing her pen and scribbling in her notepad. There wasn’t really a way to tell if she was paying attention or not more than that, not that Chris wanted her living in his head any longer than necessary, so he started answering. “‘Had,’ I guess. Not ‘have,’” he said, as his hand drifted to rest on the hilt of his sword. “Dunno where they are now. But yeah, I learned some of the basics growing up.”

The other parts of thievery, those he’d had to pick up on the go or adapt from ideas he’d learned in his youth. But fencing was something his parents had found a mentor for, and it was something he’d hated then. When he said he’d learned the basics, it was because that was all he had cared to learn, and no form of discipline could force him to learn otherwise. “Once you know where the squishy bits are, it’s really just about making sure you hit those.” Maybe he relied too much on raw speed? Not that he was willing to admit that out loud, and besides, he was still alive, wasn’t he?

His hand wandered from his sword to another blade on his person. “Daggers, though, I first picked those up at a fair, actually. Someone was doing a performance where they were hitting fruit balanced on people’s heads, and the fruit got progressively smaller as the act went on, like, watermelon all the way down to grape, if you can believe that. I know I couldn’t, and I saw it happen! So I got” -- begged, more like -- “them to give me at least a little instruction. Probably couldn’t knock anything off anyone’s head but I can make the pointy side go into a rat consistently enough.” He paused to take a sip from his drink. “Or, I guess, whatever we find on the next few dungeon floors, if it’s not those.”

[LordCowCow 840]

"Ducks all around you say." Hector said, a smirk creeping up on his face. "Well, at least it's a simple order." He gave them a nod. "It won't be long. If anything else comes to mind be sure to let one of the girls know."

As they waited on the food more people started to trickle into the tavern. Many of which seemed more of the adventuring and gruff type than the town drunk sort. Though there were a few of those as well. Stumbling around as they talked loudly with other patrons.

Things got a bit hushed as an armored trio came in. They were clearly knights and were led by a red haired woman with a calm and distant expression on her face. Estellise would recognize her as Theresa, the captain of the Knights of Froura. The other patrons eyed her as she came in but the trio of knights simply went to the far side of the tavern and sat at a table. Talking with each other and not paying much attention to the rest of the room. Which led everything to pick up in activity once again.

Eventually Hector disappeared behind the kitchen and when he came back he was carrying two huge trays. He went up to the table "Excuse me, kids, watch your hands." He said with a smile as he set down the food.

Each of them had a plate with a whole roast duck on it. Sitting on a bed of lettuce and orange slices. More than that though were bowls of creamy potato soup as well as a basket filled with crusty bread. Hector smirked as he stood up and nodded. "There we go. Let no one ever say the Drooling Dragon can't provide!" He looked towards Estelle. "Is it safe to assume you'll be the one paying for this?"

[Doggo 218]

Chris' story was delightful to Estellise as she listened to the recounting of his experiences at the fair. She was almost enraptured, as if looking for more details about the place and what went on without outright saying as much. There was a form of longing present but she did her best to hide any such thing from her friends. Mother would never approve after all. Fairs were for common folk, not Fereis Mages. At least it was inspiring to hear talk of their next adventure already. The woman wanted to continue this spontaneous adventure of hers for as long as he could and was glad to hear the others talk like they had similar intentions.

"The Dungeon knows no end of surprises." Estelle started cheerfully. "I heard from an adventurer my family hired once there was a chicken that could cast lightning magic!" the woman continued, trying to stop herself from laughing as she recounted the experience. No matter how many times she reminded herself of the story, it always made her laugh. "He had the singed eyebrows to back up the claim but no one believed him. I have been on the look out for similar chickens ever since to no avail." she finished and as if the talk of poultry had summoned them, the ducks were brought to the table. Estelle's was captivated at the sight and smell. The presentation was of course unlike anything she'd ever been served at the family estate but similarly it smelled like nothing she'd been served at the family estate. It was a new experience, the best kind of experience.

"Indeed I shall." she affirmed Hector's assumption that she, or rather the Fereis family, would be footing the bill for the whole party. Of course something had been on her mind that stopped her from immediately digging in. The Knights of Froura that had entered earlier, and Theresa their captain in particular. The mage knew of the knights well, and had seen and even spoken to Theresa on rare occasion at the Fereis estate. They seemed to not be engaged in any of their duties for the moment but it was still odd to see Theresa in particular. Surely the captain had things to do elsewhere. What could be happening here? Things seemed peaceful enough in the Drooling Dragon.

The woman turned her gaze so as to not draw attention to herself from the nights and shifted back to her food. Hopefully it was nothing. If everything the cook of the tavern made tasted as good as this duck looked and smelled the woman could understand the knights simply wishing to eat something.

"A toast to future success!" Estelle cheered having turned her focus back to the meal and her friends as she raised her drink to eye level.

[Skaia 578]

As Chris had told them about the story, Lana looked upward trying to imagine the knife skills the performer must've had. Try as she might've, though, she was having a tough time visualizing someone having a grape resting on their head and being pelted by knives. Not only was it hard to actually figure out how that would work, but she instead started to focus on how the person with the grape must've felt. She briefly commended the brave man who had to face such knives, especially after balancing a watermelon on his head. As she came back to reality, she looked over to Chris. Briefly, she wondered if he would try to mimic his mentor to which Lana simply shuddered at the thought of being the boy's target holder, giving him a slightly fearful look in the process. Shaking her head at his last comment, Lana simply sat back saying, "well, let's hope it's not rats." No sooner then she said then did she look towards Estelle with a shocked, "eh?" at her secondhand tale from the dungeon. 

Lana didn't dwell on it much, though, as their ducks had all come out. Being the full focus of Lana's attention now, the girl licked her lips as she started to tear into the meal most fowl. Midway through her first bite, hearing Estelle reaffirm that she was paying, Lana let out a sound of pure delight; a feeling gained from both the food's quality as well as it being free. With a garbled, "you're a saint, Estelle," Lana praised the noble before continuing to wolf through her duck. As the noblewoman had proposed a toast, Lana beat her chest as she forcefully swallowed the food currently in her mouth before taking a deep breath. Grabbing her mug, and toasting it to the air, smiling as she said, "to the future!" 

[radio414 907]

A chicken with lightning magic seemed too far-fetched for Chris, and the additional flair of the “singed eyebrows” description only got him to raise one of his own. He didn’t say anything, though, instead simply raising his glass along with everyone else. “To the future,” he echoed, before getting started on the massive plate set in front of him.

Still, he couldn’t help but be a little distracted by the Knights of Froura who had taken a table on the far side of the inn. Maybe it was the hint of recognition he’d caught on Estellise’s face, maybe it was the fact that they were a little out of place in a bar like the Drooling Dragon (no offense to Hector, of course), either way, Chris focused his attention on them almost more than his duck. Some amount of paranoia got Chris wondering if they were there looking for him, and he tried to remember what work he’d done (recently, at least) that might have gotten him on their radar, but, remembering nothing, he resolved to just leave it and let the troublesome interactions come to him.

The duck really was amazing, though. That was the sort of future he was fighting for too, the kind where he could have meals like this every day and not worry about how he was going to get them. He’d heard someone describe the outlook as “drinking wine without looking at the price,” which, yeah, Chris could go for some better drink at some point too. Right now, he still had Estellise to thank for that, but it wouldn’t be long now. He could sense it.

[LordCowCow 840]

Chris

Back in his bed in his room at the Drooling Dragon Chris was just waking up for the day. At first everything seemed normal and much the same as the previous night. There was some voices he could hear, muffled, through the walls. Other than that it seemed to be a peaceful day. Yet something felt strange. He had the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. This wasn't something that was exactly uncommon. Many people got the paranoid sensation when alone in a quiet area.

However this time when Chris looked around his room he would find that he wasn't just imagining it.

A girl was crouching across from the foot his bed. Her back nearly against the wall as she watched him with tired looking eyes that stared from behind dark bangs that seemed to be dripping with moisture.

Her skin was pale, almost white, and the only covering she wore was a dark shirt several sizes too big for her. When she saw Chris looking at her she didn't look alarmed. In fact she barely had any emotion showing at all. Her gaze seemed hazy as though she wasn't really looking at him at all.

The moment he moved, or made a noise, she blinked, opened her mouth as if to say something, and vanished.

In her place was a puddle of water soaking into the floorboards.

---

Lana

Similarly to Chris, Lana would also wake up to someone watching them. Though in her case it was someone she already knew. Anna stood in the doorway. Hand raised halfway up as though she was debating knocking or not. Though she she saw Lana looking at her she lowered her hand. "Ah." She said.

Silence continued for a while until Lana herself broke it and, once she did, Anna would explain what she was doing there.

"Father told me you went into the Dungeon." She left it at that for a few moments. Then, moving quickly and fluidly, looking as through her feet didn't even touch the ground, she got closer to Lana suddenly. Her eyes were still mostly blank but there was a hint of something in them as she spoke again. "What did you see? Tell me everything." She insisted.

---

Estelle

Unlike her companions Estellise didn't have any bedroom visitors. However she did get waylaid on her way to her breakfast. Her mother had stopped her partway there and refused to let her continue. "I heard of your exploits the other day. It's bad enough you went off  into the Dungeon with those people but I heard you ate at a...at a...at a commoner's tavern! Young lady I do hope you can explain yourself, I..."

She stopped as she noticed someone else approaching. A young man dressed in finery with grey hair that didn't come from age. He seemed rather young in fact, younger than Estelle even, but this was the current head of the Fereis Family. Gavin Fereis.

Estelle would notice her mother's pursed lips before she smiled at the young man. "Gavin, so good to see you. I thought you would never finish your work!"

Gavin gave a tired smile. "Unfortunately I'm not done. Michael told me I should move around and stretch my legs so here I am." He looked to Estellise. "And here are you." He turned to her mother "I hope you don't mind if I borrow your daughter for a moment. There's something I wanted to talk to her about."

Reluctantly her mother agreed. Though before leaving she gave Estelle a stern look. Once gone Gavin sighed. "I heard her berating you and thought I'd step in." He told the girl. "How was your adventure? I haven't been out much ever since...I became the head. So I can't help but be curious."

[radio414 907]

Chris had dreamed about the dungeon. He had dreamed that he was once again pinned under a large rat, and he was struggling to keep its jaws away from any of his particularly fleshy bits. He just knew that if he could hold out long enough Estellise or Lana or Sergei would come in and deal with the beast but no matter how long he struggled, nobody had seemed to come. The rat got stronger and stronger with each passing moment, too, until it finally sank its jaws into his shoulder. He didn’t feel any pain, but he screamed anyway, and that was when he woke up.

Even waking up, though, Chris didn’t feel entirely at ease. Something was still just a little bit off. It wasn’t the ceiling, that was the same. So were his bedsheets; though they were contorted into knots in places, they were the same linens he had gone to bed under the previous night. It only took a quick scan to figure out what the problem was: there was a girl at the other end of the room staring at him.

What was he supposed to do? He thought about going for a dagger or something but they were sufficiently far away that there was simply no way to do so easily, and besides, the girl had managed to get into his room without him noticing. If she wanted him dead she would have done so already. He thought about going back to sleep and just seeing if the problem went away by itself, but that didn’t seem very likely. What were the odds of a layered dream, anyway? So, with his sleep-addled brain seeing little other option, Chris decided to parlay. “Can I help you?” he said.

It didn’t work. The girl was gone in the blink of an eye and there was nothing to show for it besides a puddle of water on the floor.

“Guh,” Chris said, though maybe there was supposed to be a question mark somewhere in there also. He very nearly flopped back into bed to try and make sense of it, but now he was too paranoid to fall back asleep. At the very least, he decided, he needed to clean up all the water, and that meant going downstairs.

He didn’t go all the way down, though. He made it halfway -- he’d just rounded the corner to the final flight of stairs -- but something was different about the Drooling Dragon’s first floor as well. The amount of early clientele was the same, but the exact qualities of them…

They were all clearly wealthy, that was the first thing Chris noticed. At the very least, they were wealthy enough to be wearing matching hoods made out of nice fabric, which could not have come cheap. If they were talking though, they were quiet, and Chris could only make out their gestures. The one at the front was pointing towards the stairs, and Chris threw himself back behind the corner to avoid a possible errant glance.

Hector was louder, though. “I don't care what you think you're going to find,” Hector said, “I'm not letting you up there to disturb everyone's sleep. Now get out of here before I call for the captain.”

“You should be careful who you make enemies of, bartender,” one of the hooded figures said before they all turned and exited the bar.

Chris waited a little longer, making sure nobody was coming back or anything, before going down that final flight of stairs. “Morning,” he called out. “I’d ask how yours is going but I admit I saw the end of that exchange just now.”

Hector grunted. “Yeah, those snobby types are real pushy. Probably won't be the last time they come around. But you don't have any reason to worry about that.”

“I’m not worried,” Chris said. “I do admit I’ve got some level of curiosity though. But hey, before you tell me to shove off, can I borrow a mop or something? There’s a puddle of water in my room and I’m assuming you don’t want soggy floorboards.”

Hector hesitated “We shouldn't have a leak,” he said. “There's a storeroom at the end of the hall on both floors, go ahead and use it. Just don't forget to wring it out and put it back when you're done.”

Chris did a little snap with his hands before pointing them at Hector. “You got it. I’ll be right back down and you can tell me all about it over breakfast then. Or not, whatever.” He bounded back up the stairs two at a time, not really concerned with stealth anymore, and found what he was looking for right where Hector said it would be. The actual work went quick enough, though there was a brief moment near the beginning where Chris had to make sure he even knew how to go about cleaning up (He just hadn’t had to in a while, okay?). He managed well enough, and the work also had the added effect of bringing his hunger to the forefront of his mind, and it was that hunger that got him thundering down the steps again.

“Still curious, by the way,” as Hector served up breakfast. “Also, maybe this isn’t my place either, but do we have anyone new staying here? Thought I saw someone I didn’t recognize when I woke up, but, you know, maybe that was just me waking up.”

[Doggo 218]

The noble Fereis' morning had been normal enough after waking up. But that was about as far as it went. Estellise had been on guard and was less than surprised to see her mother impeding her way to the dining hall. The woman attempted avoiding direct eye contact as much as possible, attempting to play it off like this meeting was nothing more than coincidence. But naturally it wasn't to be. Mother was angry and appalled at her having dined at the tavern with her new friends. She should have supposed that would be the main issue. However much she disapproved, if Estellise's ventures into the Dungeon yielded any clues at all about the Spark she would want to hear every last detail.

Thankfully, the woman found an escape. Her eyes lit up at the sight of her dear cousin Gavin, current head of House Fereis. The smile took a bit of a hit at the young man's mentioning his work wasn't yet finished. But regardless he still dismissed Estelle's mother to talk with her in private. Estelle had a suspicion that was quickly confirmed. He had specifically bailed her out from the talking to to come. For a time anyway. Her mother was sure to return soon. Still, she couldn't help but laugh a bit before thanking her cousin for the help.

"Oh Gavin, it was wonderful. I only wish you could go with us. I think you would like the others." Estelle started as she began happily describing her three companions in the most recent dungeon adventure. Lana, Sergei and Chris were each described in a very picturesque manner. The mage ascribed only the positive traits she had observed to them and complimented their martial skills liberally for how foreign the use of physical weapons was to a mage.

"The Dungeon is as surprising as ever. But I have still yet to find the lightning chicken." Estelle said with a pout. "And we only made it five floors down. I doubt the Dungeon will show its hand unless we manage to go far deeper..." she trailed off before looking back to her cousin. "But what of you? I do hope Mother and the others give you at least some time to yourself" The mage spoke again with a concerned maternal tone.

[Skaia 578]

Lana had parted with the group after their feast had concluded. Stomach full and exhaustion setting in, it didn't take long upon her arrival at the church for her to fall asleep. Having slept soundly, the girl awoke with a small groan as she could feel the soreness from all the work she did yesterday spreading throughout her body. With her eyes closed and laying down on the bed, the girl started to stretch her arms and  legs out, before finally managing to sit herself upright on the bed. Opening her eyes, still tired, the girl stretched out her arms once more and looked around the room. As she made her cursory glance she noticed that something was not quite right with what she saw. Snapping awake, the girl looked over to see someone simply standing in the doorway staring at her. With a sudden, "ah!" Lana, startled, jumped back in her bed. However, after hearing the mirrored response from the girl at the door, Lana let out a sigh of relief. "Oh, it's just you Anna." 

Before she could follow up with anything else though, the church girl started to speak with the vaguest hint of excitement before she quickly closed the distance between the two. Lana, startled by the surprising speed and silence with which Anna had moved, backed up further against the wall as the girl seemed eager to learn more about her outing the day before. She thought back, remembering the various encounters with the rats, the goblins that shot rocks and fire balls at her, the strange mushrooms too, a grimace clearly formed across Lana's face as she tried to figure out how to start explaining it. It was hardly the glamorous adventure that she figured Anna thought it was, but looking at the girl's eager face Lana couldn't exactly bring herself to talk about the dungeon in a purely negative way. So, clearing her throat she said, "well, it was really unique. Like a place that I don't think I've ever seen before. Like uh, a lot of places all at once. And there were a ton of monsters too, and me and my companions had to fight all the way through all of them. See..." 

Lana went on to explain the on-goings of the dungeon to the girl, all the different room and all the different monsters that she had managed to fight. In spite of not trying to make things less glamorous then they appeared, Lana was no actor. She didn't make any effort to hide her revulsion of the rats and talked with pride with how she had managed to fell them. Her frustration with the kobold's and the traps were also evident. Her unnerved attitude towards the mushrooms also showed. Yet in spite of that her overall attitude seemed to be positive and she enjoyed just rambling about it to Anna. Even going so far as to talk and praise her companions, between Chris's fleet footed sword play, Sergei's imposing strength and durability and how wondrous she found Estelle's magic. Then, at the end of it all, she said, "and that's how we felled the biggest, grossest rat of them all. And then after that a portal opened up and we were able to leave, and oh. I also got this." The girl showed off the blast powder to the girl. "It's apparently something magic that explodes and stuff. I don't really know how much it's worth, but it's treasure!"

[LordCowCow 840]

Chris

“Also, maybe this isn’t my place either, but do we have anyone new staying here? Thought I saw someone I didn’t recognize when I woke up, but, you know, maybe that was just me waking up.”

"Hm? New?" Hector thought about it. "There's that girl you were talking with last night, and her two companions, so could've been one of them. Shouldn't be anyone else around."

He frowned and his brow furrowed as the bartender seemed to be considering something. Then with a slow shake of his head he said "No, can't think of anyone else it could be. Anyway, you really don't have to worry about before. Just a couple of goons from the Kalo family. Bunch of weirdos, them. Were insisting on looking in the rooms for something. Hell if I know what they expected to find but I'm not letting them disturb you all. Don't trust em in the slightest."

---

Estelle

Gavin smiled as Estellise described everything. He didn't respond to most of it but it was clear that he was listening and taking it all in.

"But what of you? I do hope Mother and the others give you at least some time to yourself"

"Ah, it's not really their fault. There's always so much to do. I think I partially understand father a bit more now..." The young man hesitated and trailed off for a moment. "There's many things that I didn't expect. But thankfully I have all my advisors to help me out. Honestly I would still be at it had Michael not shoved me out of the office. There's a pile of letters and paperwork waiting for me when I get back." He chuckled a bit and sighed.

"I'm glad that you found a group you liked. I understand traveling with only other Fereis must be stifling. And who knows perhaps outsider help could come in handy..."

He glanced behind Estelle and said "Ah, Campbell, have you come to collect me?" Gavin's tone was light and joking but there was a frown on his face.

Campbell, a tall ,middle aged, man with a bald head and ginger beard, was also frowning. "Master Gavin, there's someone from the Church waiting for you. I thought I told you yesterday that they would be coming. Imagine my embarrassment when I led them to an empty office."

He glanced over towards Estellise but didn't acknowledge her more.

"Right, yes." Gavin said softly with a hint of shame in his tone. "I shall be right there." He gave Estelle an apologetic smile. The girl would have a few more moments to speak to him but Campbell would clear his throat if Gavin took too long to get his attention again.

---

Lana

Somewhere in the middle of Lana's retelling Anna had sat down next to her. Staring without blinking as Lana told her of all the things she saw. "I've heard of those before." She said. "But I've never seen one." She sounded somewhat disappointed about it. Most people, especially young girls, wouldn't be sad about never encountering a huge rat. Yet to Anna it seemed she felt it a personal failure.

"It sounds like a wonderful place." Anna said before growing silent for a while. "Follow me."

The girl then led Lana into the graveyard. Passing by her father without looking at him and moving with a determined and straight-forward stride. Her father smiled and nodded towards Lana as she passed by but continued about his duties without saying anything.

In the graveyard Anna moved towards the tree at the end of the cliff. Once there she looked around and frowned. "She's not here." She turned towards Lana. "Don't worry. She'll be here soon. She lives...well, she stays here."

[Skaia 578]

Lana curiously followed after Anna as she abruptly ended their conversation, instead opting to walk outside. Once Anna had made note that the person she was looking for wasn't here, Lana looked around realizing where they were. Seeing the familiarly haunting site of the graveyard, shocked and made nervous by the Anna's comment she asked, "w-wait, what? Someone lives," Lana gestured around saying, "here?"

"No, not lives. But they're here most of the time anyway."

"I uh, see." Lana looked around, instead wondering if it was someone who liked to make a regular habit of playing in a graveyard. "Is this like a...fun place to just, hang out and be?"

"She doesn't have much of a choice."

"That uh...that sounds rough?" 

"Hm. I don't know if it's rough or smooth. Maybe you can ask her." 

Lana blinked a few times, momentarily stunned. "What?" 

Anna glanced over Lana's shoulder. "Ah."

"Ah?" Lana looked behind her, seeing nothing but thin air where she looked.

Yet in spite of this Anna said, "There you are. Welcome home."

Lana looked between the empty air and the girl, saying, "are you, uh, talking to someone? Is there someone here?" Lana looked back and started leaning different directions, checking to see if someone was hiding behind something.

Anna nodded and pointed to an empty area. "She's right there. I guess you can't see her yet."

"I uh...I see?" Obviously she didn't. Made a bit uncomfortable by the whole situation there was one of three things that was going on. The first was that this was all a joke by Anna, but the girl had such a poker face that Lana couldn't help but take her words somewhat seriously. The next likely thing was that it was an imaginary friend of Anna's, and the girl was just trying to introduce her. The third option was, given where they were and everything Anna had said so far, they were likely a...well, that wasn't possible either, right? "...Right." The girl affirmed this to herself aloud. Regardless of what it was, she figured it was best to play along, no matter how odd or awkward it was for the time being saying, "well, uh, person? Sorry that I can't see you but uh...hey there?" 

[radio414 907]

Wait, there were more of her? More Julians that he had to look out for? The potential for one of them to have been in his room immediately put Chris on edge. “I didn’t realize I was such a big deal,” he said. “Julian and two others? I only saw the one yesterday, and only briefly. How many people do I have to watch out for here?”

“Well, it is a tavern,” Hector said. “The more the better for business, I’d say. But those should be the only new faces here for the moment.”

“Mm,” Chris said. “Alright, well, I don’t want Julian or anyone else snooping around my room again, but it seems like you’ve got that locked down. Better conversation then: what’s for breakfast?”

Hector frowned and watched Chris silently for a few moments. “Right. How you feel about some toast and bacon? Guess the chef was in a bit of a mood today.”

“Hey, I would be too if I had a three-duck order with all the trimmings sprung on me with little notice,” Chris joked, brushing off Hector’s gaze. “I mean, I’ll take what you give me. And some water, I guess.”

As Chris waited patiently for his food, he chewed on the events of the morning. That mysterious puddle in his room (not to mention the even more mysterious girl who left it there) was still on his mind, but what was he supposed to do about it? Just hang in the corner of the tavern until he maybe saw someone with a matching description? That seemed like a lot more worrying than results if he were being honest with himself. Outside of the puddle, he wasn’t even sure he hadn’t imagined it, too.

What he really wanted to be chewing on, though, was food. And in the conflict between his head and his stomach, the stomach won handily. “Well,” Chris mumbled to himself. “I guess I’ll just see what comes.”

[LordCowCow 840]

Lana

"well, uh, person? Sorry that I can't see you but uh...hey there?" 

Anna looked where Lana was speaking and turned back. "She's not there. She's standing next to you." Despite saying this Lana still wouldn't be able to see anyone. Though she did realize that she felt chillier than normal. If she looked close enough she, for a moment, could see almost a wispy shadow there. But only for a moment.

"I guess she doesn't like you enough. Or something. I don't know how it works."

Lana then felt a sudden puff of cold air on her ear.

"Are you upset?" Anna asked, looking next to Lana. "No? I don't get it. Hm? Oh. Okay."

Anna looked at Lana again. "Maybe you'll see her later. She says she'll visit you before bed. Look forward to it." She spoke this somewhat ominous statement in a flat tone. "Maybe you can tell her about the rats."

---

Chris

“I guess I’ll just see what comes.”

"Usually a good plan. Especially when it's breakfast time." Hector said with a nod. "Speaking of...shouldn't be long, now."

True to his word it didn't take much time before two plates came out for Chris. On one was several slices of toasted bread with butter. And on the other was a stack of bacon that measured a foot in height. Hector chuckled as he presented them to Chris. "I think the cook might like you. I'll have to talk to them about being stingy with other patrons. Guess I can let it go this time. Hope you like bacon, kid."

As time went on and Chris's plate grew more empty, as well as however many mugs of whatever he chose to drink, the tavern didn't get much more busy than it had been when Chris first came down. The few people that did arrive, either by door or stairs, nowhere near matched the description of the girl he had seen.

Then, when Chris was just about done eating, he would notice a familiar face in the window. The girl from before was now looking in at the people in the tavern. When she noticed Chris looking she turned and started walking away as opposed to simply vanishing like before.

[Skaia 578]

Lana continued to look at nothing but thin air, before Anna had told her that she was looking in the wrong direction. Looking again, practically spinning around in a circle to try and see this mystery girl that Anna was talking about, only to find again nothing but thin air. The girl was again, not sure what to make of who this person Anna was talking about but only started to get more nervous as she started to feel a chill in the air. The girl's eyes darted from place to place, nervously looking back as she felt that she had seen something. The girl gulped as Anna made her comment about why she couldn't see them, stammering out, "ah- I see...that so? A, uh, a real shame then..." 

Lana then jumped, fully startled as a puff of air suddenly hit her ear. "I-I'm sorry for offending you!" Lana stammered out as she continued to frantically look around, only to look towards Anna who seemed to offer no comfort to her in this situation. Her hair only continued to stand on end as Anna told her that the likely spirit was going to come and haunt her tonight as well. Gulping, Lana started to walk away saying, "well, uh...hopefully I'll things more exciting then uh...rats, to talk about. Bye- later, Anna." The girl gave a wave, before stopping and spinning around waving in every direction she could saying, "bye to you too uh...Anna's friend?" Once she was done with that, Lana began to power walk out of the church, going in the direction of the tavern to shake off the haunted feeling she had just been inflicted with. 

Edited September 30, 2020 by Skaia