Post by Varga on Oct 2, 2021 10:01:24 GMT
... And running away isn't that nice.
Glint strolled through the sun-lit streets of Port Ffirst, basking in the last slivers of warmth before autumn settled in. He approached a familiar apple store and saw the owner in front of it, fumbling with the keys.
'Good day, Celina! Isn't it a bit early to be locking up for the night?' He walked up to her with a charming smile.
'Oh! Glint! It's you!' the tiefling exclaimed in a cheerful tone, with just a tinge of exasperation, as she turned to face him. 'Yeah, going to Daring Heights. Need some new… ah… carts! Ha-ha! For my apples!' She grinned.
Glint pointed at her eye patch with a mix of worry and surprise.
'What happened there?' He asked.
'What?' She touched her face, searching for the cause of his concern. 'Oh, the eye patch! No, no, all good,' she grinned again and lifted the leather strap, winking with a perfectly healthy eye below it. 'I won it from a pirate. Or a sailor… Definitely not a shopkeeper!'
'Ah, well, I'm sure it's a fascinating story. Mind telling me over a cup of… something stronger?' He said, remembering the tiefling's tastes.
'Sure!' Celina grinned widely and all but dragged him to the Seashank.
The story about sailing, and whales, and little sticky anchors was indeed a fascinating one.
'Ah, I should probably go if I'm to get to Daring Heights this week,' Celina said a couple of hours into their outing. She was getting quite tipsy, but nowhere near drunk.
'Of course,' Glint nodded. 'Just one thing before you go, if I may?'
'Sure, what is it? Do you want some apples? Or…' She glanced around and switched to cant, smiling mischievously. 'Some special apples?'
Glint smiled and shook his head gently.
'No, thank you, I'm currently well provided for in the apple department. But I meant to congratulate you. I've met your new husband.' He fell quiet, anticipating a reaction.
Celina's eye that was not covered by the eyepatch went wide and she paled as much as a red-skinned tiefling can.
‘Wait what? Me? No... what? I don't... Married? Ha-ha.’ She fumbled, and then waved him off with an exaggerated gesture and a wide grin. 'No I'm definitely not married! Not me! I'm a free spirit! You know! Ha-ha! Husband! No way… if I were to marry it would be to make me rich... they would have to have lots of money. Anyway, it’s not like I would marry someone overnight... that would be crazy! Who would do something like that?’
Glint inclined his head, looked away momentarily, and then continued in a careful tone.
'Well, perhaps I've been misinformed. But what I know for certain is that there is a young halfling who harbors feelings towards you. The real feelings, you know, not the kind I usually harbor towards people,' he shrugged modestly. 'He misses you terribly. And he wears a very pretty ring on his ring finger.'
‘He does?' Celina said in a small voice. ‘Sammy... told you this? Or... whatever his name would be...’
She averted her eyes and sighed, apparently realizing she's given herself away.
Glint nodded.
'Mind telling how that happened?' He prompted.
Celina downed her glass in one go, stilling herself for the story. The tale of a surprised marriage featured remarkably fewer pirates, but was just as bizarre as the previous one.
‘So, that's me. Married at first... sight... glass... whatever... wait, never mind... forget you heard any of this,' she mumbled, and stared into her tankard.
A couple of minutes were spent in comfortable silence, or what passes for it at the Seashank. Eventually, the usual mischievous grin made its way back to Celina's face.
'So how are you doing? Married anyone lately?' She teased with a laugh.
He chuckled haughtily.
'Not to my knowledge… But, hey, I wouldn't want to bore you with the stories of my love life, or we'd be here for the whole week!' He said and gave his bag a wistful glance. 'But as for yours…' he continued, carefully looking back at his friend. 'Maybe you should talk to Sammy. You know. I don't usually get involved in other people's business…' He frowned and shook his head briskly, making the fire flicker on his head. 'Ah, who am I kidding, I'm more involved in this than an old Zakharan matchmaker!' He scoffed and looked her in the eye. 'In any case. I'm not telling you how to live your life, but perhaps you can talk to Sammy so that you both can do it in peace. And to be fair, a meeting with his parents wouldn't go amiss, this whole story is driving a wedge between them and their son. Of course, I should be the last person insisting on family gatherings… But Sammy… I do believe you should at least talk to him. It does bother him, and there's nothing worse than not knowing…' he trailed off, averting his eyes again.
'Yeah, maybe,' Celina said in a loud whisper, her scantily clad shoulders rounding, making her look a tad older. 'But I… ah… I'm not sure I'll be anywhere around New Hillborough any time soon…' She shrugged defensively.
He sighed.
'Perhaps not. But you're going to Daring Heights. Why don't you go, say, to Four Fair Winds, and see where they take you,' He leaned closer, lifted her eyepatch and looked into her face from below, like a child would. 'Captain Celina 'Applecutter' Zabinski?' He chuckled.
She chuckled back.
'Four Fair Winds, huh?'
'It's a nice place,' Glint shrugged with a smile, knowing that his mission was complete.
'Good booze?'
'Definitely better than at the Three-Headed Dragon.'
'Well, you never know,' she made a wide gesture with her hands. 'I might just give it a try!'
'Hope you'll have a great time!' He nodded.
She hesitated for a moment, then gave him a brisk slightly awkward sitting hug, jumped from her chair and ran off with her usual cheerful gait, disappearing into the crowd outside the Seashank.
Glint shook his head, paid for their drinks, and went outside. The evening took full hold of the town, and the chill of autumn became more tangible. It was time for him to stop stalling. He dusted off his violet overcoat and very purposefully marched to the familiar address.
Standing on the porch, he took a deep breath. The last time he'd been there he kept trying to get Root to go out with him, only to receive very polite refusals on the basis that having drinks inside was just as feasible. He was quite frustrated at the time: very few could resist his charm, and he was inexplicably aggravated to find Root firmly belonging to that category. But when he had the time to think about it, he concluded that if his attentions were unwanted, only Root's manners stopped him from shoving the annoying matchstick man out of the door. So, he hoped a clever peace offering would smooth things out and maybe give him another chance. He stilled himself for the conversation, grasping at the strap of his shoulder bag as if it was a lifeline. It still might not go well. He'd had time to think, but so had Root, and who knew what conclusions he drew. But he had to apologise anyway, might as well do it. After all, there was nothing worse than not knowing.
The door opened.
'Glint?' Root was clearly not expecting him, which wasn't surprising since he hadn't sent a letter to inform the botanist of his arrival. The tiefling wore a slightly annoyed expression, but it was hard to tell if that was because he disliked the disruption to his usual routine in the form of uninvited guests in general, or if Glint had the honor of personal distinction. 'I wasn't expecting you. And so late. I've been doing some experiments with energy vials and… well, it's a complete mess inside…'
'Sorry, I should have warned you I was coming, but… hey, I was around town and thought I would drop by,' Glint gave the botanist a charming smile. 'Of course,' he looked away quickly. 'I can come another time if it's inconvenient, it's not a problem…'
'Oh, no, no… ah...' The tiefling said quickly, looking a bit scandalized. 'I do apologise, where are my manners? Please, come in,' he gestured inside.
The house looked as it did normally, covered with greenery, the 'complete mess' existing only in the imagination of its owner, and maybe in several yellow leaves scattered on the floor. The wizard looked around. Ted was nowhere to be seen, but his heavy footsteps echoed from the upper floor. The golem was apparently pacing, troubled by something or just thinking. Normally, a visitor to Penrosea's house would be met with happy barking of two plant dogs, but Glint was an exception – both Bark and Bessie were a bit cautious of approaching a source of open flame, so they stood in the doorframe of the corridor, wagging their tails. It occurred to Glint how poorly he fit in a house with so many plants, but he refused to dwell on the thought. He'd never be half the charmer he was if he paid attention to thoughts like this one.
He turned to Root. The tiefling was wearing his work robes, stained with green patches and soil. Glint itched to ask about the experiments he was conducting, they were bound to be fascinating. Despite the age difference, Root had many years of experience in magical research over Glint. Yet, he didn't exactly come to talk science.
'I brought you something!' Glint blurted out before Root had the chance to say anything. The genasi immediately burrowed into the contents of his bag.
'I was about to answer your letter…' Root started in a stilted tone.
'No worries! I'm here now!' Glint interjected. He rarely did that, but with Root, he found himself irrationally fearing that any sentence had the potential to end with something he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of. Like a goodbye.
'Indeed, here you are,' Root nodded slowly, taking a measured breath.
'I wasn't expecting a quick answer anyway,' Glint threw, grinning, and still digging through his possessions. 'You must have been very busy. I kept you from your experiments for so long with that silly book!'
'Yes, the book!' Root livened up, the earrings on his horns jingling. 'Did you find out why the Academy needed it so urgently?'
'Ah, some inter-library transfer, you know how it goes. But!' Glint finally produced two tankards from his bag and, looking up, gave Root a winning smile. 'I brought you something that you might recollect from that book.'
'A… cup?' Root asked with a polite smile. 'If I remember correctly, the book was about medicinal plants, and their use in cooking…'
'Exactly!' Glint nodded and shoved one of the cups into Root's chest, making the other involuntarily bring up his hands to hold it. 'Remember I was trying to get you out of the house last time, to go drinking with me?' He asked with an apologetic smile.
'Yes, well, about that…' Root averted his gaze.
Perhaps Glint had surmised correctly, and a peace offering was indeed in order. He hurried to bank on it.
'Well, I am very sorry about that, and want to assure you there's no need for that anymore!' He winked.
'Oh?' Root stared back at him, perplexed.
'If you just do this…' Glint hovered his hand over both cups in a dramatic gesture, and a glittery liquid with orange and gold streaks filled them.
The air got suffused with the scent that had pumpkin in it, but mostly was just Autumn. Not the autumn of drizzly days, grey clouds and dirty streets. Oh, no. This was the Autumn of ruby-red leaves and long walks along the quiet shoreline, the Autumn of hot tea in front of the fire and bountiful dinners with thick gravy, the Autumn of golden haystacks propping up the crystal clear skies.
Root gaped at the mug.
'A tankard of plenty?' He studied it from different sides, careful not to spill the shimmering liquid inside. 'This is a very neat work, given the material… And,' he sniffed the air. 'Is that pumpkin spice?'
'No, it's the pumpkin spice. From the Plane of Earth,' he said, basking in the revelation in a way only a genasi could and, seeing the light of recognition in Root's face, nodded. 'Yep, the very same.'
'Where did you get it?'
'At the finest cocktail parlor in Daring Heights,' Glint said with a cocky smile, toasting Root's cup. 'Cheers!'
They both took a long thoughtful swig.
'This is amazing!' Root said, looking at the drink in awe, as if incapable to reconcile the modest goblet with its divine contents.
'You should see the parlor itself. It has a willow maid, and so many flowers that-' Glint cut himself off mid-sentence as the realization of what he was doing dawned on him. 'That is, if you're ever in Daring Heights,' he continued as nonchalantly as he could. 'I'm sure you and Leona will have much to discuss. She is a brilliant alchemist. And a mixologist!' He raised his glass and took another sip.
'Is she indeed,' Root not quite asked with another pleasant smile.
'Yes, and the best thing is, I got two of these,' Glint gestured between the cups. 'So, we can always share a drink, even if I'm in the middle of another crazy adventure, and you won't even need to leave the house. Neat, huh?' He asked, leaning back against the working bench, very satisfied with his solution, and looking at Root with a hint of expectation. As far as him being fine with the botanist's distaste for outings went, Glint considered the gift a rather clever way of proving it. Genasi in general, and Glint in particular, were known take pride in lesser matters.
'I suppose we can,' the botanist said, his eyes darting around, as if he was thinking his way out of a chess zugzwang. 'And… this alchemist you speak of… did she make two tankards exclusively for you?' He asked carefully.
Glint wanted to lie, he really did. But he didn't want to lie to Root, so he just sighed, trying to make it look like he was just inhaling the drink's aroma.
'Well, she made two for me because I asked her, but… she did make several more for the others…' he shrugged noncommittally, looking into the depths of his drink. 'She hired some adventurers to help her with ingredients. Not everyone got the same stuff, but well… Yeah, I mean, there are… several people… with jugs like this…' he said, deflating as he felt the uniqueness seep out of his gift like warmth from a home in winter.
'That would make perfect sense,' Root nodded. 'Have you encountered anything interesting retrieving these ingredients or did she just hire you to go food shopping for her?' He smiled and took another sip of his drink.
Glint gave him a smile he's trained to give over the years whenever he had to make it look that he was completely in favor of the change of topic that occurred, even if he was not.
'Well, actually, we came across a rather fascinating Jack O' Laughter!' He said, noting with satisfaction the immediacy with which the phrase captured the botanist's attention. 'It was pretending to be a pumpkin. Curious creature. Laughed so hard it exploded an owl. Oh, no, don't worry, Gigi was just a familiar, she's fine. Managed to trip on all my traps, although it was dexterous enough to keep avoiding not one, but two barbarians,' he chuckled. 'And I'll never forget seeing a druid pull a flaming sword out of thin air and bring it down on a giant pumpkin scorpion only to find out it's almost fire-proof! Poor Florian, he seemed so disappointed.'
'Of course, Jack O'Laughters have quite strong fire resistance, almost at your level,' Root nodded enthusiastically, causing his jewelry to cling once again. 'They are remarkably hard to catch. How did you manage to subdue it?'
'With the assistance of a rather chubby cat,' Glint said, causing Root to snort into his drink in the most undignified way. 'A druidic spell I know very little about. The cat finished it off, and we've had a very decent picnic of roasted pumpkin. Hand-made, of course,' he grinned, waving his gloved fingers.
'Yes, that does sound rather fascinating. I'd love to hear more about your adventure. And about those Plane of Earth pumpkins-' he said with vigor only to be interrupted by a rather urgent knock on the door. Root frowned. 'Oh… I'm not expecting anyone.' Ted's steps on the upper floor stopped.
There was another set of knocks on the door.
'Hello? Is Adjunct Researcher Glint here?' An impatient voice asked from the street. 'Adjunct Researcher of Un-foooor-tunate biology and loco- loo- lomocoto- locomot- these wizards will come up with anything to get funding, won't they?!'
Root gave Glint a surprised look. Glint didn't blush, because bright red has hard time blushing.
'I've given them your address last time I came to Port Ffirst,' he whispered. 'Made sense while we were working on the book. Forgot to tell them I'm not spending all my time here anymore. Sorry!'
He came to the door and opened it, only to get a letter shoved in his face.
'Thank you, miss,' he said to the delivery girl, putting out a flame that escaped his beard and licked the edge of the envelope. He gave the girl a copper piece and frowned, turning back into the house.
'Anything interesting?' Root asked, moving to stash the components of the experiment that he evidently wasn't keen on continuing at present.
'They found Alan!' Glint managed, tearing his eyes away from the letter, excited like a child in a candy shop.
'Alan? Is he a type that is normally difficult to get a hold of?' Root turned back to Glint and raised his eyebrows in polite inquiry.
'Remarkably so, for a Tyrannosaurus!'
'Oh, that's the fellow you've mentioned the other week? The one that strolled into the Beastlands?'
'Yes!' Glint exclaimed, and skimmed the letter again. 'Damn it, the date is three days ago! Did they send it by carrier turtles?!' He looked back at Root with desperate eyes. 'I'm so sorry, I've got to go, I have to find him. Imagine what he can tell us! The transmutation college will be all over him!' He considered the connotation of his words and decided not to amend the turn of phrase. 'Hope I haven't missed the expedition!'
He dashed to the workbench, downed the rest of his drink, ignoring Root's slightly hurt glare. He couldn't be bothered with manners when the most interesting case of his entire trip to Kantas was in front of him! And, if he was completely honest, such a respectable reason to get out of the conversation that didn't quite go according to plan. Perhaps, sometimes not knowing was tolerable…
'Sorry, I have to dash!' He smiled at Root guiltily, stashing the cup into his bag. 'It's been a pleasure seeing you again. Write to me, alright?' His eyes darted back to the workbench. 'If you have the time, of course…'
'Naturally. If you're ever in Port Ffirst, you know my house is always-' Root started with studied formality.
'In danger of catching fire, yes,' Glint chuckled, gave the tiefling a quick pat on the shoulder and ran off into the night, leaving a very confused Root stubbornly sipping his drink at the workbench.
Big thanks to Celina Zabinski and Soph for RP'ing their characters!
Glint strolled through the sun-lit streets of Port Ffirst, basking in the last slivers of warmth before autumn settled in. He approached a familiar apple store and saw the owner in front of it, fumbling with the keys.
'Good day, Celina! Isn't it a bit early to be locking up for the night?' He walked up to her with a charming smile.
'Oh! Glint! It's you!' the tiefling exclaimed in a cheerful tone, with just a tinge of exasperation, as she turned to face him. 'Yeah, going to Daring Heights. Need some new… ah… carts! Ha-ha! For my apples!' She grinned.
Glint pointed at her eye patch with a mix of worry and surprise.
'What happened there?' He asked.
'What?' She touched her face, searching for the cause of his concern. 'Oh, the eye patch! No, no, all good,' she grinned again and lifted the leather strap, winking with a perfectly healthy eye below it. 'I won it from a pirate. Or a sailor… Definitely not a shopkeeper!'
'Ah, well, I'm sure it's a fascinating story. Mind telling me over a cup of… something stronger?' He said, remembering the tiefling's tastes.
'Sure!' Celina grinned widely and all but dragged him to the Seashank.
The story about sailing, and whales, and little sticky anchors was indeed a fascinating one.
'Ah, I should probably go if I'm to get to Daring Heights this week,' Celina said a couple of hours into their outing. She was getting quite tipsy, but nowhere near drunk.
'Of course,' Glint nodded. 'Just one thing before you go, if I may?'
'Sure, what is it? Do you want some apples? Or…' She glanced around and switched to cant, smiling mischievously. 'Some special apples?'
Glint smiled and shook his head gently.
'No, thank you, I'm currently well provided for in the apple department. But I meant to congratulate you. I've met your new husband.' He fell quiet, anticipating a reaction.
Celina's eye that was not covered by the eyepatch went wide and she paled as much as a red-skinned tiefling can.
‘Wait what? Me? No... what? I don't... Married? Ha-ha.’ She fumbled, and then waved him off with an exaggerated gesture and a wide grin. 'No I'm definitely not married! Not me! I'm a free spirit! You know! Ha-ha! Husband! No way… if I were to marry it would be to make me rich... they would have to have lots of money. Anyway, it’s not like I would marry someone overnight... that would be crazy! Who would do something like that?’
Glint inclined his head, looked away momentarily, and then continued in a careful tone.
'Well, perhaps I've been misinformed. But what I know for certain is that there is a young halfling who harbors feelings towards you. The real feelings, you know, not the kind I usually harbor towards people,' he shrugged modestly. 'He misses you terribly. And he wears a very pretty ring on his ring finger.'
‘He does?' Celina said in a small voice. ‘Sammy... told you this? Or... whatever his name would be...’
She averted her eyes and sighed, apparently realizing she's given herself away.
Glint nodded.
'Mind telling how that happened?' He prompted.
Celina downed her glass in one go, stilling herself for the story. The tale of a surprised marriage featured remarkably fewer pirates, but was just as bizarre as the previous one.
‘So, that's me. Married at first... sight... glass... whatever... wait, never mind... forget you heard any of this,' she mumbled, and stared into her tankard.
A couple of minutes were spent in comfortable silence, or what passes for it at the Seashank. Eventually, the usual mischievous grin made its way back to Celina's face.
'So how are you doing? Married anyone lately?' She teased with a laugh.
He chuckled haughtily.
'Not to my knowledge… But, hey, I wouldn't want to bore you with the stories of my love life, or we'd be here for the whole week!' He said and gave his bag a wistful glance. 'But as for yours…' he continued, carefully looking back at his friend. 'Maybe you should talk to Sammy. You know. I don't usually get involved in other people's business…' He frowned and shook his head briskly, making the fire flicker on his head. 'Ah, who am I kidding, I'm more involved in this than an old Zakharan matchmaker!' He scoffed and looked her in the eye. 'In any case. I'm not telling you how to live your life, but perhaps you can talk to Sammy so that you both can do it in peace. And to be fair, a meeting with his parents wouldn't go amiss, this whole story is driving a wedge between them and their son. Of course, I should be the last person insisting on family gatherings… But Sammy… I do believe you should at least talk to him. It does bother him, and there's nothing worse than not knowing…' he trailed off, averting his eyes again.
'Yeah, maybe,' Celina said in a loud whisper, her scantily clad shoulders rounding, making her look a tad older. 'But I… ah… I'm not sure I'll be anywhere around New Hillborough any time soon…' She shrugged defensively.
He sighed.
'Perhaps not. But you're going to Daring Heights. Why don't you go, say, to Four Fair Winds, and see where they take you,' He leaned closer, lifted her eyepatch and looked into her face from below, like a child would. 'Captain Celina 'Applecutter' Zabinski?' He chuckled.
She chuckled back.
'Four Fair Winds, huh?'
'It's a nice place,' Glint shrugged with a smile, knowing that his mission was complete.
'Good booze?'
'Definitely better than at the Three-Headed Dragon.'
'Well, you never know,' she made a wide gesture with her hands. 'I might just give it a try!'
'Hope you'll have a great time!' He nodded.
She hesitated for a moment, then gave him a brisk slightly awkward sitting hug, jumped from her chair and ran off with her usual cheerful gait, disappearing into the crowd outside the Seashank.
Glint shook his head, paid for their drinks, and went outside. The evening took full hold of the town, and the chill of autumn became more tangible. It was time for him to stop stalling. He dusted off his violet overcoat and very purposefully marched to the familiar address.
Standing on the porch, he took a deep breath. The last time he'd been there he kept trying to get Root to go out with him, only to receive very polite refusals on the basis that having drinks inside was just as feasible. He was quite frustrated at the time: very few could resist his charm, and he was inexplicably aggravated to find Root firmly belonging to that category. But when he had the time to think about it, he concluded that if his attentions were unwanted, only Root's manners stopped him from shoving the annoying matchstick man out of the door. So, he hoped a clever peace offering would smooth things out and maybe give him another chance. He stilled himself for the conversation, grasping at the strap of his shoulder bag as if it was a lifeline. It still might not go well. He'd had time to think, but so had Root, and who knew what conclusions he drew. But he had to apologise anyway, might as well do it. After all, there was nothing worse than not knowing.
The door opened.
'Glint?' Root was clearly not expecting him, which wasn't surprising since he hadn't sent a letter to inform the botanist of his arrival. The tiefling wore a slightly annoyed expression, but it was hard to tell if that was because he disliked the disruption to his usual routine in the form of uninvited guests in general, or if Glint had the honor of personal distinction. 'I wasn't expecting you. And so late. I've been doing some experiments with energy vials and… well, it's a complete mess inside…'
'Sorry, I should have warned you I was coming, but… hey, I was around town and thought I would drop by,' Glint gave the botanist a charming smile. 'Of course,' he looked away quickly. 'I can come another time if it's inconvenient, it's not a problem…'
'Oh, no, no… ah...' The tiefling said quickly, looking a bit scandalized. 'I do apologise, where are my manners? Please, come in,' he gestured inside.
The house looked as it did normally, covered with greenery, the 'complete mess' existing only in the imagination of its owner, and maybe in several yellow leaves scattered on the floor. The wizard looked around. Ted was nowhere to be seen, but his heavy footsteps echoed from the upper floor. The golem was apparently pacing, troubled by something or just thinking. Normally, a visitor to Penrosea's house would be met with happy barking of two plant dogs, but Glint was an exception – both Bark and Bessie were a bit cautious of approaching a source of open flame, so they stood in the doorframe of the corridor, wagging their tails. It occurred to Glint how poorly he fit in a house with so many plants, but he refused to dwell on the thought. He'd never be half the charmer he was if he paid attention to thoughts like this one.
He turned to Root. The tiefling was wearing his work robes, stained with green patches and soil. Glint itched to ask about the experiments he was conducting, they were bound to be fascinating. Despite the age difference, Root had many years of experience in magical research over Glint. Yet, he didn't exactly come to talk science.
'I brought you something!' Glint blurted out before Root had the chance to say anything. The genasi immediately burrowed into the contents of his bag.
'I was about to answer your letter…' Root started in a stilted tone.
'No worries! I'm here now!' Glint interjected. He rarely did that, but with Root, he found himself irrationally fearing that any sentence had the potential to end with something he wouldn't be able to talk his way out of. Like a goodbye.
'Indeed, here you are,' Root nodded slowly, taking a measured breath.
'I wasn't expecting a quick answer anyway,' Glint threw, grinning, and still digging through his possessions. 'You must have been very busy. I kept you from your experiments for so long with that silly book!'
'Yes, the book!' Root livened up, the earrings on his horns jingling. 'Did you find out why the Academy needed it so urgently?'
'Ah, some inter-library transfer, you know how it goes. But!' Glint finally produced two tankards from his bag and, looking up, gave Root a winning smile. 'I brought you something that you might recollect from that book.'
'A… cup?' Root asked with a polite smile. 'If I remember correctly, the book was about medicinal plants, and their use in cooking…'
'Exactly!' Glint nodded and shoved one of the cups into Root's chest, making the other involuntarily bring up his hands to hold it. 'Remember I was trying to get you out of the house last time, to go drinking with me?' He asked with an apologetic smile.
'Yes, well, about that…' Root averted his gaze.
Perhaps Glint had surmised correctly, and a peace offering was indeed in order. He hurried to bank on it.
'Well, I am very sorry about that, and want to assure you there's no need for that anymore!' He winked.
'Oh?' Root stared back at him, perplexed.
'If you just do this…' Glint hovered his hand over both cups in a dramatic gesture, and a glittery liquid with orange and gold streaks filled them.
The air got suffused with the scent that had pumpkin in it, but mostly was just Autumn. Not the autumn of drizzly days, grey clouds and dirty streets. Oh, no. This was the Autumn of ruby-red leaves and long walks along the quiet shoreline, the Autumn of hot tea in front of the fire and bountiful dinners with thick gravy, the Autumn of golden haystacks propping up the crystal clear skies.
Root gaped at the mug.
'A tankard of plenty?' He studied it from different sides, careful not to spill the shimmering liquid inside. 'This is a very neat work, given the material… And,' he sniffed the air. 'Is that pumpkin spice?'
'No, it's the pumpkin spice. From the Plane of Earth,' he said, basking in the revelation in a way only a genasi could and, seeing the light of recognition in Root's face, nodded. 'Yep, the very same.'
'Where did you get it?'
'At the finest cocktail parlor in Daring Heights,' Glint said with a cocky smile, toasting Root's cup. 'Cheers!'
They both took a long thoughtful swig.
'This is amazing!' Root said, looking at the drink in awe, as if incapable to reconcile the modest goblet with its divine contents.
'You should see the parlor itself. It has a willow maid, and so many flowers that-' Glint cut himself off mid-sentence as the realization of what he was doing dawned on him. 'That is, if you're ever in Daring Heights,' he continued as nonchalantly as he could. 'I'm sure you and Leona will have much to discuss. She is a brilliant alchemist. And a mixologist!' He raised his glass and took another sip.
'Is she indeed,' Root not quite asked with another pleasant smile.
'Yes, and the best thing is, I got two of these,' Glint gestured between the cups. 'So, we can always share a drink, even if I'm in the middle of another crazy adventure, and you won't even need to leave the house. Neat, huh?' He asked, leaning back against the working bench, very satisfied with his solution, and looking at Root with a hint of expectation. As far as him being fine with the botanist's distaste for outings went, Glint considered the gift a rather clever way of proving it. Genasi in general, and Glint in particular, were known take pride in lesser matters.
'I suppose we can,' the botanist said, his eyes darting around, as if he was thinking his way out of a chess zugzwang. 'And… this alchemist you speak of… did she make two tankards exclusively for you?' He asked carefully.
Glint wanted to lie, he really did. But he didn't want to lie to Root, so he just sighed, trying to make it look like he was just inhaling the drink's aroma.
'Well, she made two for me because I asked her, but… she did make several more for the others…' he shrugged noncommittally, looking into the depths of his drink. 'She hired some adventurers to help her with ingredients. Not everyone got the same stuff, but well… Yeah, I mean, there are… several people… with jugs like this…' he said, deflating as he felt the uniqueness seep out of his gift like warmth from a home in winter.
'That would make perfect sense,' Root nodded. 'Have you encountered anything interesting retrieving these ingredients or did she just hire you to go food shopping for her?' He smiled and took another sip of his drink.
Glint gave him a smile he's trained to give over the years whenever he had to make it look that he was completely in favor of the change of topic that occurred, even if he was not.
'Well, actually, we came across a rather fascinating Jack O' Laughter!' He said, noting with satisfaction the immediacy with which the phrase captured the botanist's attention. 'It was pretending to be a pumpkin. Curious creature. Laughed so hard it exploded an owl. Oh, no, don't worry, Gigi was just a familiar, she's fine. Managed to trip on all my traps, although it was dexterous enough to keep avoiding not one, but two barbarians,' he chuckled. 'And I'll never forget seeing a druid pull a flaming sword out of thin air and bring it down on a giant pumpkin scorpion only to find out it's almost fire-proof! Poor Florian, he seemed so disappointed.'
'Of course, Jack O'Laughters have quite strong fire resistance, almost at your level,' Root nodded enthusiastically, causing his jewelry to cling once again. 'They are remarkably hard to catch. How did you manage to subdue it?'
'With the assistance of a rather chubby cat,' Glint said, causing Root to snort into his drink in the most undignified way. 'A druidic spell I know very little about. The cat finished it off, and we've had a very decent picnic of roasted pumpkin. Hand-made, of course,' he grinned, waving his gloved fingers.
'Yes, that does sound rather fascinating. I'd love to hear more about your adventure. And about those Plane of Earth pumpkins-' he said with vigor only to be interrupted by a rather urgent knock on the door. Root frowned. 'Oh… I'm not expecting anyone.' Ted's steps on the upper floor stopped.
There was another set of knocks on the door.
'Hello? Is Adjunct Researcher Glint here?' An impatient voice asked from the street. 'Adjunct Researcher of Un-foooor-tunate biology and loco- loo- lomocoto- locomot- these wizards will come up with anything to get funding, won't they?!'
Root gave Glint a surprised look. Glint didn't blush, because bright red has hard time blushing.
'I've given them your address last time I came to Port Ffirst,' he whispered. 'Made sense while we were working on the book. Forgot to tell them I'm not spending all my time here anymore. Sorry!'
He came to the door and opened it, only to get a letter shoved in his face.
'Thank you, miss,' he said to the delivery girl, putting out a flame that escaped his beard and licked the edge of the envelope. He gave the girl a copper piece and frowned, turning back into the house.
'Anything interesting?' Root asked, moving to stash the components of the experiment that he evidently wasn't keen on continuing at present.
'They found Alan!' Glint managed, tearing his eyes away from the letter, excited like a child in a candy shop.
'Alan? Is he a type that is normally difficult to get a hold of?' Root turned back to Glint and raised his eyebrows in polite inquiry.
'Remarkably so, for a Tyrannosaurus!'
'Oh, that's the fellow you've mentioned the other week? The one that strolled into the Beastlands?'
'Yes!' Glint exclaimed, and skimmed the letter again. 'Damn it, the date is three days ago! Did they send it by carrier turtles?!' He looked back at Root with desperate eyes. 'I'm so sorry, I've got to go, I have to find him. Imagine what he can tell us! The transmutation college will be all over him!' He considered the connotation of his words and decided not to amend the turn of phrase. 'Hope I haven't missed the expedition!'
He dashed to the workbench, downed the rest of his drink, ignoring Root's slightly hurt glare. He couldn't be bothered with manners when the most interesting case of his entire trip to Kantas was in front of him! And, if he was completely honest, such a respectable reason to get out of the conversation that didn't quite go according to plan. Perhaps, sometimes not knowing was tolerable…
'Sorry, I have to dash!' He smiled at Root guiltily, stashing the cup into his bag. 'It's been a pleasure seeing you again. Write to me, alright?' His eyes darted back to the workbench. 'If you have the time, of course…'
'Naturally. If you're ever in Port Ffirst, you know my house is always-' Root started with studied formality.
'In danger of catching fire, yes,' Glint chuckled, gave the tiefling a quick pat on the shoulder and ran off into the night, leaving a very confused Root stubbornly sipping his drink at the workbench.
Big thanks to Celina Zabinski and Soph for RP'ing their characters!
