Chapter 3 - HQ Interlude

At the cafeteria, Nix loads up her plate with enough food to put an ogre into a food coma. Mincemeat pies are her favorite. She takes some of these and tops them with a steaming leg of roast pheasant stuffed with wild mushrooms so the pies catch the drippings. She also takes mounds of mashed potatoes oozing with bacon fat and butter, and a good helping of roasted fennel fragrant with orange. She balances the entire plate on a mug of cider so big she has to hold it with both hands. She takes all this, teetering and tottering, over to the long tables and plunks herself down to assault the small mountain of food.

Last edited May 31, 2016 4:46 pm

May 31, 2016 5:03 pm

Firn
The water feels good. It's certainly not as clean as it could have been, but from many human cities you know this may be the clearest of water to be expected. As you sit back and soak, clearly exuding a look of "don't talk to me" you hear a voice behind you. Feminine and fiery. Well, I do believe we've found ourselves another gensai.

You turn and see the group that had been on the other side, the three gensai that were taking up one of the tubs. In the lead is one of the females, Her red skin and visible flickering flames that crown her head suggest heavily that she is a fire gensai.

Before you can utter much she slips into your tub, the water hisses and sizzles a bit as she sits in it, she seems to be creating her own bubbling sauna as steam rises up around her like a cloud. You must be new to the headquarters. Very few of us around here. Thought we were the only three in the whole Daggers.

As she says this two more gensai slip into your tub. It's becoming incredibly crowded, considering it wasn't really meant for a group. The others are another female water gensai, her skin a soft blue with ribbons of white that remind you of waves on the open sea, and an earth gensai. His skin looks like polished stone and is a dark brown hue. His eyes sparkle like gemstones.

The fire gensai speaks up again. I'm Ainara. This here is Celtara, and Alnata, she says, gesturing to the water and earth gensai respectively. Who are you?

Xalph Umemenor

May 31, 2016 5:07 pm

Xadira

Xalph slowly manages to move you over about 15 bookshelves, having to stop to coax you along again when a new book catches your eye. He doesn't seem perturbed by this in anyway, and in fact smiles widely everytime you find a new book. He usually gives you a brief rundown of each book you notice and the finer points about it's origin, author, and contents. As easily distracted it takes you both about 2 hours to move the length of 15 bookcases.

Once he finally finds the shelf he responds, Indeed, here, he pulls down two books and sets them on a side table. They are thick tomes that are covered in a solid layer of dust, he blows it away, Apparently not enough people care for good lore around here, he adds.

Looking across the cover you see the two books are The Complete Documented Histories of Salar and the Glass Sands Desert, and, The Houses of Salar. He looks to you to gauge your reaction to the two tomes.

May 31, 2016 5:12 pm

Aelar

Eagin nods, It's good to not have to hide it from everyone for once. Sam speaks the truth though. You've always had talent with that lute and a sword. I never quite understood what you were doing with a traveling troupe, but I understand, it's like family. You actually wouldn't believe how many agents the Daggers have in traveling troupes. It's easy to get access to places and we move where needed.

He pulls at a sling that goes across his chest filled with his ornate throwing daggers. Pristine silver with jeweled handles. They are the ones he always uses for shows. Of course I was surprised at how gullible you all were with some of my cover stories. You really think I got these from an duchess ex-lover? I didn't even know what a duchess was. Just sounded fancy. These are from the Daggers vault. Same palce you got those nice boots.

May 31, 2016 5:30 pm

In the bathhouse

The water genasi knows that in any organization, it is important to foster good will amongst the members. Summoning as much charm and societal grace as he can, the druid opens his eyes, clears his throat, and says with the smooth dulcet tones of hair clogging a drain,

"Firn."

May 31, 2016 5:40 pm

Firn

Uh...okay. Firn, Ainata says, the water continuing to steam lightly around her as she looks over to Celtara, the water gensai.

After a few moments of awkward silence, Celtara speaks up, her voice is as if someone distilled the dulcet sound of waves lapping up on the beach. It's soothing and smooth. So why did The Dagger's recruit you, Firn?

You catch a slight scent from her that smells as if someone had filtered a sea breeze through a grove of cherry blossom trees.

The earth gensai, Alnata, simply sits back and watches the two ladies try to drag a conversation out of you. He seems to be amused by this.

Aelar Galanodel

Naatkinson

May 31, 2016 5:41 pm

Aelar laughs, "What did you expect from me? I was only 11 when I met you, of course I was going to believe all your crazy stories. The troupe is my family, and I never had any desire to leave, besides to care for my mother. Though it looks like I might have another family to adjust to," he finishes, gesturing to indicate that he's speaking of the Daggers.

May 31, 2016 5:51 pm

In the bathhouse

With an expression as flat and emotionless as the deep sea floor, Firn replies, "My personality."

May 31, 2016 5:57 pm

Firn

There is a moment of dumfounded silence as the three other gensai in the tub try to comprehend what you just said. The earth gensai is the first to start laughing. Then the fire gensai, then Celtara the water gensai.

Alnata leans over and claps a hand down on your shoulder with a hand that is smooth, but as solid as stone. I like you, Firn. You're a funny guy. You been to the dining hall? More food than you can shake a genie at, he says with a big grin across his face, We were just about to head over there, want to join us?

Yes, join us, Firn. It's not often we get to meet new gensai around here, Celtara adds.

May 31, 2016 6:02 pm

Aelar

This ain't the only new family you may have, Eagin says, nodding toward the door to the office.

I may have spun some stories in my day, but for you, for the safety of our troupe, for all the people out there who may never know it, I'll fight by your side. Besides, I've talked to Sneak, he says your lockpicking skills are abysmal. Someone's going to have to get you out of a cell when you get caught. He flashes another wide grin your way.

May 31, 2016 6:04 pm

In the bathhouse

Firn nods. "Okay," he says. It has been a while since he had something more substantial than seaweed and crustaceans.

May 31, 2016 6:09 pm

Firn

You all get out of the tub, dress, and head over to the dining hall. You see Nix, the other recruit brought in. Nix is currently diving into a mound of food nearly twice her size. Before you is spread just about anything you could think of. There is even every variety of freshly cooked fish if that so behests you.

During the meal Ainata delights in showing how she can take raw lumps of meat and enclose them in her fist, opening them moments later as they sizzle, fully cooked. Celtara demonstrates her water mastery by pulling water from taps and barrels around through the air in thin lines down into her cup. She purifies the water in the process. Alnata mostly just shovels large amounts of food into his face during the meal. His only demonstration is nearly breaking the bench at the table when he sits on it.

May 31, 2016 6:18 pm

In the dining hall

Not to be outdone, Firn shows his skill in eating fish with his hands and picking the bones out of his teeth.

Aelar Galanodel

Naatkinson

May 31, 2016 6:33 pm

"Hey, I only had a little bit of time to learn and I think I'm not doing too bad, thank you very much!" Aelar defends himself with feigned indignation.

May 31, 2016 6:36 pm

Aelar

Well shall we go practice? From what I could tell you need it, Eagin says, hopping down from the chair. Of course that Sneak is a cutrate lockpick at best, he adds, grinning widely again, an expression that seldom seems to leave his face, I'll probably have to start you over from the ground up.

Aelar Galanodel

Naatkinson

May 31, 2016 6:40 pm

Aelar nods his agreement and grins back (it's truly infectious), ready to prove to Eagin just how talented he really is.

May 31, 2016 6:45 pm

Aelar

Working with Eagin you find it much easier to pick up the skills he is telling you. Instead of learning from a stranger it comes easier learning from one that is such a close friend and family to you. You find by the time you two are done training you have a much stronger grasp of the skills than you could have otherwise.

OOC:

Working with Eagin you gain full proficiency with the lockpick set that you had originally obtained from Sneak.

Nix

Jabes.plays.RPG

May 31, 2016 6:57 pm

In the dining hall:

Having finished her plate of food, Nix goes back for seconds. She piles her plate high with smoked venison served with a sauce of spiced cherries, sage-cured wild boar sausages baked into pig-shaped pastry crusts, a leg of lamb roasted in grape leaves, and more cider to wash it all down. She amuses herself by making "oink, oink" noises as the spicy boar pastries disappear one by one into her mouth.

May 31, 2016 7:07 pm