Wings of Fury 2

"Felicious feasts will await our army! Surely he will belove this feast!" says the chef, arms failing. "Iwasn't literalwhen i saidmiraclemeal" mumbles Holek... Also since he gave away all his soup he is feeling pretty hungry, but he still has some sausages back in his luggage.

"Don't worry Holek! I can help!" Brom with a swiftness of a gazelle, scythes a bundle of herbs from his garden-hat. "Greenery is what gives you vigor, youths. Eat more vegetables!"

"I also got a bunch of vegetables, if you feel particularly famished, good sir!" He pats his baggies confidently.

"Splendid! I feel like we will become Cuisine Companions, Food Friends! Oh what feasts we shall conjure!" Holek reaches out his hand for Brom to shake, only to realize the chef puppet is still on it, but it is too late to withdraw now.

"Yeah! High-five, my dear Holek!" Brom hi-fives the puppet. "What sort of delicious mealstuffs, shall we prepare?"

Glancing over to confirm that the meal and drink for Sir Henri was not only ready, but being carried to his table, Guillairme excused himself to report to the booth and arrive first. He held the cup of soup out, but couldn't take a seat himself unless Sir Henri invited such. "The gods have guided many skilled adventurers to your expedition, Sir Henri. This comes from Holek, a firesinger and a fine chef as well." He placed the soup down on the table.

He smiled brightly at that and looked across the room to Holek.

"My thanks to you for the soup!" he said with a nod before looking back to Guy. "And my thanks to you as well. You've been a great aid to me on this quest. I shall have to figure out an adequate way to repay you."

He'd then take a bite of the soup, taste it for a moment, then nod.

"A talented chef is not someone I expected to recruit for this, but you'll have no complaints from me," Henri said. "Sit, if you wish. Tell me, what are the rest of their names?"

Terzi nods to Comète.

"I'll certainly take you up on that. I might be in town for some time studying my findings- assuming I find anything. Maybe I could help with clothwork for a piece or two of your-"

She finally notices Holek's puppet.

"Oh excuse me, I simply must examine that puppet."

Terzi departs to poke and prod Holek's felt companion.

"Excuse me, so sorry, who made this? What is the felt made of? It looks incredibly hardy...."

She doesn't even take notice of Sir Henri.

"Milord is kind, to consider such matters on the eve of his grand expedition." Guillairme demurely replied, taking a seat. It was, of course, right and proper to give the servants of the gods their due, but the mental gymnastics involved in actually negotiating such from the nobility without appearing immodest or causing offense were still rather dizzying to Guy. And there were more pressing concerns, besides.

"Avag Belzren is name of the energetic one, there. The goblin in coat of plates. He has a bright mind, considerable experience, and the righteous zeal to see this beast slain."

"Brom is, I believe, a halfling--the one adorned with plantlife." Mushrooms were fungi, not plants, but it was all plants from where Guy was sitting. "He has a buoyant disposition, and strikes me as a wise, respectable figure." The sort of person who would be believed when they told Sir Henri's story!

"The man in blue is named Caulind Raithahir. He has not revealed much of himself, but introduces himself as an adventurer and bears himself with noble refinement, as you can plainly see."

"Grokzurl seems young, but eager." A rich assessment coming from the twenty-four year old. "He handles his weapons with respect. I suspect he may have some prior experience hunting or on the battlefield, if not with quarry on the scale you pursue."

"The Tsavari in the fantastic colors is named Terzi. She is an intelligent, creative woman, with talent as a medic both mundane and musical. She is seeking access to ruins she suspects may lie beneath Naissyri's lair--let us hope she finds something exceptional, no?" He smiled. It would make the quest even more impressive were some forgotten treasure found by slaying the dragon!

"The questing knight in lavender is Rozen af Quillard, of Aldenard--perhaps you are familiar with the family?" Guillairme was not, but he was not a frequent guest of noble courts. "She seems eminently capable, and a woman of boundless warmth."

"Comète Révolte is a woman of few words. She is an armorsmith--as such, a woman of considerable strength. She seems to be a serious, dependable sort."

"Finally, we come to Zaya-Viel Madina... An icesinger, an adventurer, and milord..." He paused, building the suspense with a smile. "This woman is a scholar of dragons."

Rozenn's heart melts at Holek's kind words!!! Such an earnest greeting!!! Such a sweet fella!!!

She grins at him and bows, then writes him one more!

"And may yours be filled with joy and song, Holek! I look forward to getting to know you :)"

Then she signs right back to Brom!!

SpoilerShow

She makes a fist and nods it along. She then makes two C shapes with her hands, and brings them back and forth in front of her face. Making a big grin, she brings her right fingers against the tips of her left hand's fingers twice in a circular motion, followed up with drawing a hand in a thumbs-up position upward. Finally, she circles her pointer fingers around one another. She repeats the gesture, points to herself, then holds her palm up, gently drawing a finger to its center. Still smiling, she make two 'e' hands, then draws them in clockwise circles towards her chest. She then returns to the fingertip sign from earlier before raising one hand above the other and finally making a writing gesture on her palm. She finishes with a hearty thank you gesture, grinning wide as she brings her fingertips from her mouth outward!

"Yes! It's much easier to communicate through sign. Sign lets me show how I'm feeling more easily than writing. Thank you so much!"

After that, she scribbles back to Zaya:

"No wonder! Yes, you need to make sure you prepare practically for whatever situation. You wouldn't want to bring a spear into a melee or a sword against a mounted opponent! You should tell me about how your people fight some time :D I'd love to learn more about Salin! I don't even know what a Dissonance Beast is, if I'm being honest. We don't have those around here! Anything you'd like to share though, I'm happy to listen.

"I'm also glad you like my goals! What are yours, if you don't mind me asking? :O By the way, you can talk! I can hear you, I just can't speak myself. One moment though!! I'll be right back!"

She holds up a finger for the other people she's been chatting with before running off to Comete! She scribbles as she runs and hands the note to her once she reaches!

"Hi again! Sorry to bother you while you're on the way out, but I just wanted to say it's been very nice meeting you :) If you'd like, I'd be happy to let you take a look at my shield! It's of exceptional quality, to the point where there's this old family legend about it being imbued with some sort of magic. It's all pretty silly, but I'd still love to hear your opinions whenever you have the time! If you need to get going, though, I wouldn't want to keep you."

Comète turns and takes the note, reading it. She glances at Rozenn and gives her a soft smile. “You have it with you, right, dear? I can take a glance.” She heads back over, rolling her shoulders and cracking her knuckles. From her apron pocket, she produces a pair of extremely high-power reading glasses and places them on her face. “Let’s see it.”

Grok smiles at Rozenn's determination, quickly producing a pencil from a pouch on his hip. He tears a page from the notebook he always carries and begins writing hurriedly.

"That's quite noble of you! Maybe instead of singing Sir Henri's praises I can stick around and try to help the locals rebuild and plant new crops. That'd probably be a better use of my talents than watching an epic battle I'm not supposed to take part in. Though since I'm here, I guess I shouldn't abandon the good Sir. If nothing else, I'd like to at least get a look at the beast, maybe even commit its likeness to paper."

His ears and his nose have both alerted him to the bowl of soup being passed around and praised unanimously. He quirks an eyebrow for a moment, before returning to writing.

"What about you? It sounds like this is your first time in Chunadie. Once the fighting is over, are you planning on staying nearby?"

Once he's finished, he quietly folds his page and slides it down the table to Rozenn. He then turns his attention to Holek, waving to get his attention.

"Good to meet you, friend," Grok declares, hand outstretched. "I couldn't help but hearing a few of our companions raving over your cooking....I don't suppose you have any more tasty morsels you'd be willing to let us try?"

"Oh!" Henri said, intrigued. "Such an inspired group of companions! I was right to assign you the job of advertising, I feel. I shall need to pay them accordingly for their time and valor."

He was clearly quite excited by all these qualified individuals being along!

"More than coin alone, I'm afraid some seemed rather...disheartened at the prospect of merely spectating." Guillairme said, taking Sir Henri's ebullience as an opportunity to broach the subject. "While I have every faith in your might, perhaps your strategy may have use of their particular talents, as well? If you so choose to discuss it with them."

He thought about this, tapping his finger on the table as he spooned some soup into his mouth contemplatively. Finally, he swallowed and spoke.

"This makes sense! Were I in their shoes, I would feel the exact same way," Sir Henri said, nodding at that assessment. "The way I trained to fight a dragon was very specific, but I shall attempt to think of ways that they can remain useful during the battle. I would not want such valorous heroes to walk away feeling this quest was a waste of their time, afterall!"

Zaya looks over Rozenn's note and nods.

"Thought it'd be less... hectic to write. Lots of people here. I'm bad at writing though, so. Anyway. Dissonance is... the local term for the constant Song storms that cover the Salin wastes. When the Second is dominant, it makes, well... monsters. Hard to describe. They can look like anything at all. Not always hostile, but sometimes. Polearms, ranged weapons, and light armor are preferred in the wastes - safest to stay mobile and keep your distance from anything you have to fight. Mobile part's especially important. Salin's a world where a mountain can just appear. Don't get out of the way, you can get entombed. Or worse. Still. It's home."

Zaya taps her fingers on the table. "Goals... Looking for dragons. Simple, I know. Had an encounter with one in some ruins on Salin. Strange things happened. Haven't really been able to explain it all. Been trying to find out more since then. Not sure what there is to find out from killing one, but... closest I've gotten. Not sure there's much I can do to hurt a dragon, though. So I'm hoping this isn't a mistake. ...Actually. Hang on. I'm going to ask our 'dragonslayer' about those techniques of his."

Zaya gets up from the table and makes her way to Sir Henri's booth! "Uh. Excuse me. Have a minute? I have some questions."

Phew! He was glad that didn't take much prodding for Sir Henri to come around. "I'm certain they will be most pleased with your decision, Sir Henri."

Guillairme took the time while Sir Henri was speaking with Zaya to have a bite and a drink, the meal Henri had wanted having arrived at the booth by now.

He looked and smiled at Zaya.

"Zaya, yes?! Of course, of course. Take a seat," he told her. "I hear you're a scholar of draconic knowledge! Quite impressive!"

Speaking of valorous heroes, this one had apparently dozed off in his chair on the spot apparently. The sound of cheerful chatter and atmosphere, the smells of wine and delicious soup, what had turned into just bathing in the vibes. His eyes dimming, enjoying the new voices and taking in the various conversations, some small twitches under his hood as he unconsciously adjusted.

"Must remember to... think of a commission before we're done, yes. Mmm. Something with..."

Attention had briefly sparked up at Henri's entrance, the explanation, a moment of quizzical puzzlement and watching everyone else's reactions before... all seemed to be working out, and, returning to vibing. The puppet and Holek got a fresh look, like, trying to figure something out, more confusion showing than anything else so far before acceptance. A little smile showed before his head began to lilt forward, chin resting on chest eventually, arms folding slowly and, remarkably quickly, a small sound coming after heavy breathing, sporadic little melodic hmm-humms and the breaths turning into a soft up-and-down rumbling, buzzing drone.

Rozenn accepts the paper from Grok! She'll reply to it after she finishes talking with Comete.

A grin comes over her tusked face!!! She nods eagerly and removes it from her back, handing it right on over to the much larger woman, along with a note.

"It's a good shield! Best I've ever used. I'm just curious how it holds up to the eyes of a more experienced armor smith."

Zaya sits down!

"Something like that. Knowledge is... hard to come by. Dragons are reclusive. And also, don't live on Salin. I saw one, though, once. And found a lot of books about them. Most of those books were... garbage." Zaya makes a face of mildly reserved disgust. "But there's a few good ones. So. I know what I'm talking about. I actually wanted to ask you about the... 'techniques and equipment' you mentioned? You've killed dragons before?"

He shook his head, crossing his arms as he sat back in his seat.

"I have not! Though I've been trained in the dangerous techniques of dragon slaying by numerous expert knights who have. I've slain troublesome wyverns and salamanders, and it is the belief of my mentors that I am prepared for the task that awaits me. As for the details? Well, as I've told my good friend Guillairme here, I don't wish to spoil the surprise."

"A... surprise." Zaya blinked, looking Henri up and down with increasing incredulity. "Okay. Okay. Look. I'm not here to tell you how to do your job. You're paying me to... watch you do this. But I would like to ask if the - from the sound of it, necessary - killing of a very large, very dangerous, and - I assume - very intelligent being is the time for... showing off? Lot of ways this could go wrong. Just want to be prepared for whatever's coming."

She taps her fingers a few times, wondering if it's even worth offering her own skills. This all seems dangerous. "If there's any way... blasting things with ice will help your plans. Tell me. Don't have a lot of combat skills, but that's one."

Comète takes the shield delicately, and sits down, turning it over in her hands. She seems satisfied with her cursory glance, and then begins examining it in further detail, running her rough, calloused fingers over the surface. Often she adjusts her glasses to keep the object in focus, and just as often she rubs her chin with a finger thoughtfully, before seeming to have an idea and looking at another part of the shield.

It takes her some time to finish, but when she is done she writes the following note for Rozenn:

"Your shield is a fine tool of defense. It has sturdy construction and excellent materials. It is also certainly of a much older make, one I haven't seen anything exactly like. But I'm not a historian, dear, I'm a smith. What I can tell you is that although I may not be able to fabricate a shield as simply mighty as that one, if it does ever come under enough duress to necessitate repairs, I could help."

"As for your concerns about magic, I wouldn't be the best person to ask about such things. My job stops when the pieces are forged, and any further enhancements go elsewhere."

"I enjoy your little smile faces. They are quite charming and I may need to start leaving some in my notepads."

With that, she slides the paper over to Rozenn along with her shield.

He smiled warmly at Zaya's comment.

"Ah, you are not familiar in the ways of the Chunard knight," he nodded. "For most? You would be correct. But for us? Killing a large, dangerous, terrifying being is the BEST time for showing off. Performing heroic feats with brutal efficiency is one thing, but doing it with style? With panache? With flair? That is the type of heroism that Chunard knights strive for."

He seemed to firmly and ardently believe this. The idea of doing things in the most efficient, straightforward, methodical manner possible seemed to be alien to his training and upbringing.

"I shall certainly consider your offer of magic, though. What kind of range can you work with?"

"Huh." Zaya actually nodded, because that explained a lot. She still knew basically nothing about Chunard culture. She didn't, like, get it, but hey. "Different on Salin. Everything's more dangerous. You show off, you probably die. Other people die too. We rely on each other to survive the wastes. Not really margin for flashy heroics. ...Doesn't stop some people."

She shakes her head. "Anyway. Range... not great. Maybe ten feet. Sort of an... unconventional user of the Second Song. Doubt I'll be close enough to the dragon for it to work unless she gets grounded. Somehow. Could put out fires, maybe? Might be important. Sounds like Naissyri favors fire over other breaths. Simple, but. Doesn't need to be complex."