Season 9: Bring Me That Horizon - Celina Zabinski - 23/11/21
Nov 24, 2021 20:04:28 GMT
Jaezred Vandree, Wren Lunaboult, and 2 more like this
Post by Celina Zabinski on Nov 24, 2021 20:04:28 GMT
The Breakfast Tea Club
Co-Written with the amazing Jaezred Vandree
Celina is walking from Fort Ettin back to Port Ffirst after her latest job. She decides to pay a certain drow visit. She goes looking for him and discovers that he’s in Port Ffirst.
She spots him walking outside the Flourished Hook one afternoon, wearing a top hat and a fur-lined coat on top of his regular attire. He has a pair of goggles on, presumably to protect his sensitive eyes from the sunlight, but Celina could feel his stare boring into her from behind the dark lens.
With a quick and subtle gesture of the hand, beckoning her to follow him, he turns to enter into the inn. He walks all the way to his suite and opens the door for her to get in without even as much as another look at her.
Once they were both inside, Jaezred Vandree hangs up his hat and coat and takes off his goggles as he addresses Celina with a polite smile. “Miss Zabinski,” he says. “To what do I owe the pleasure today?”
Celina holds her composure following Jaezred the whole way into the tavern. Once Jaezred takes off his goggles he can tell Celina is angry about something. Celina stares at him for a few seconds before she bursts out, "What the HELL did you do to Sammy?". Celina pauses for a moment before continuing angrily "All I asked of you was to help take down posters and next thing I have his ring back? What did you say to him? Tell me exactly what you said".
The smile on his face twitched into a slight frown. Clearly, this is not the answer he was expecting. He sighs and gestures at the sofa. “Please, sit down. I’ll make the tea and explain.”
Celina glares at Jaezred and says "I'll take two sugars in my tea". Then she walks over to the sofa and sits down. She folds her arms and waits.
Jaezred’s tea-making process is faster than average — using the prestidigitation cantrip to heat the water as a trick — but just long enough to give Celina a bit of time to cool down. Once finished, he carries a tray with a beautiful porcelain set and puts it down on the table before her. The tea is delightfully fragrant and has an odd sort of glow to them.
“This is a special type of tea I acquired in the Feywild. The leaves are infused with a substance extracted from jellyfish venom, hence the glow,” he says, sitting down opposite her with his own cup and saucer. “It’s really quite safe, though I would not advise drinking it in large quantities.”
Celina's eyes light up looking at the tea. She has never seen anything quite mesmerizing before. She picks up the cup and takes small sips of the jellyfish tea. Surprising she's enjoying the taste. She's quite impressed by it but refuses to say anything. She holds her teacup in her hand and takes small sips every so often. They sit in silence and Celina just stares at Jaezred until he explains himself.
He leans back into the cushion and crosses his legs, fixing Celina with an appraising gaze as he sips the tea. “Let’s cut straight to it, then. I simply told your husband that you did not want to see him at that moment, that the posters were making you upset, that you’ll talk to him when he’s ready, but he could not force that to happen with those posters. That is all. Was anything I said in any way false?”
Celina listens carefully and realises Jaezred is right. She can't argue with him. She gets flustered for a moment before saying "Well... I... eh... needed those posters down. Having the posters up could be bad if the wrong people found them and... oh yeah.. It would be bad for business... definitely business", Celina says quickly and swiftly moves on "But look I wasn't upset with him... exactly. I did want him to leave me alone but I... didn't mean it...", Celina begins and then stops. She gets concerned about how much she'll willing to share. She sips some more tea and thinks about it for a moment before continuing "I mean... I barely know the guy. But... now I can't find him. I want to talk but... I just can't find him. All I have is the ring he left. Why did he give that back? Why did you get involved? I had a plan I was going to talk to him... at some point... maybe... I don't know".
Celina sighs and slinks back into the sofa. She stares up at the ceiling for a few moment before looking back to Jaezred. "Have you ever fucked up so badly you wish you could start over again?"
Jaezred looks at her in silence for several moments before murmuring, very quietly, “Yes.”
He lets out another sigh. “To be frank, Miss Zabinski, you don’t seem to know what you truly want. I made a mistake in underestimating your affection for him. But fine, I can see how my actions have given you a troubled mind; and since you’re with me now, I will help you in this matter. I can contact Mr. Plumbstead with the sending spell and request a meeting. Would you like that?”
"I don't... It's not like... I like him", Celina lies very badly. Old habits are hard to die.
However, Celina grins on hearing the suggestion, "I mean... if you insist on helping me... that wouldn't be a bad thing". Celina smiles to Jaezred "Thank you".
Celina takes another sip of tea feeling slightly more hopeful. Then she looks up to Jaezred grinning again and says “So would you like to learn about some information I found out about the Langston you’re after”
The thin smile returns to his handsome face. “Excellent. I had hoped you would fulfill your end of the bargain. Let’s hear the news first, then.”
"Of course, I would. I always keep my promises", Celina says before thinking quickly to the one she's wrecking with Sammy. She dismisses the thought quickly and gets back on track.
"This is all hush hush information. If anyone asks, you didn't hear this from me." Celina winks and then begins. She spots the Lolth statuette in the corner of Jaezred’s room and asks,
"Ah so you know Lolth. How much do you know about the Corellon and Lolth story? I’m assuming you know the story about how Corellon tried to get rid of Lolth by shooting an arrow at her. But it missed and she escaped. Well, what I learned was that the arrow didn't actually miss, as the story would lead you to believe. The arrow actually travelled through the plane. Through the Dawnlands and Feywilds, right to the Shadowfell. That the arrow wasn't actually an arrow. It was an anchor. It prevents Lolth from returning to the Feywild. The anchor is guarded and its location is only known by one fey person, the Lady of Pain. It's believed that's what Langston and Jack are after. The location of this anchor. Someone would need to know the location across three planes simultaneously."
Jaezred almost drops his cup of tea. With trembling hands, he slowly sets it down on the table.
“How...how did you learn of this?” His voice is shaking violently. “And why? Why the Hells are Farstep and Jack after this thing?!”
Celina smiles and says “I have my ways. It was part of the last job I was on. How I found out… well that’s harder to explain.”
“Explain. Everything,” he growls. His crimson eyes seem to be almost glowing, glaring menacingly at her. “I want to hear every detail. I know the Twilight Queen sent out word for a job. Tell me.”
“Well ok you heard she was looking for help with a job. However we were sworn to secrecy. But let's say we had to retrieve an item that was specific for a certain new amazing queen in a location that’s hard to find. This item was only for Queen Nicnevin to see but in the end she shared it with all of us who were on the quest. We had to go to some weird place where there were vampires. I managed to avoid them fighting us by trading them something valuable to them. They called it a 'snack hat of blood', really it was the hat of vermin", Celina laughs about that name before continuing.
"Anyway not important, so we got the item and brought said item back to the queen. We had to get Imryll to let us see her. I think you know her, right? You danced with her at that party. Anyway, let's say the item can give visions. Now that’s all I can say and that’s how I know it to be true. As to why Farstep and Jack are after that - I have no clue", Celina says and shrugs "Maybe other people will have theories".
Jaezred takes a deep, sharp breath. He put his elbows on his thighs and leans forward on his arms with the lower half of his face in his hands. He seems to be a little upset. Finally, after a long moment of silence, he speaks again.
“Thank you for this,” he mutters, his voice sounding uncharacteristically weak and small. “Now. As promised, I will contact your husband.”
The mage draws his wand from inside his frock coat and taps it gently on the rim of a teacup. He then says out loud, “Mr. Plumbstead. You remember me. I'd like to talk to you — where are you currently?”
There is a quiet moment as he appears to be listening to a reply in his head. He casts the spell again. "I'd like to return your money to you. And talk about other matters. Shall we meet at the Winds on the evening of 28th?"
Celina eyes go wide as she hears Jaezred attempting to talk to Sammy. She tries to look uninterested but gives herself away with the constant eye staring. Eventually she bursts out and whispers eagerly “Is he replying to you? Did he get my note? Wait never mind… I don’t want to know... But did he?”
Jaezred opens his mouth to answer her flurry of questions, but she sees his brows suddenly furrow and his eyes glance off to the side. He seems to be getting another reply, and it’s giving him pause. He casts the spell one final time and says, "Seven o'clock. Is that acceptable for you?"
Another pause as the reply comes. Then Jaezred turns back to Celina. “He’s in Daring Heights, busy with something. He agreed to meet me at the Four Fair Winds on the 28th, seven o’clock, as you’ve heard. However… Well, I cannot claim to know him at all, but he sounded a little odd — wary of me, guarded in his words when I asked to meet.”
“Well he gave back the ring last time, right? Maybe he’s confused? Thanks for helping… I may snoop in the back.... ”, Celina thinks out loud.
He shakes his head. “You should speak with him yourself, be honest and direct. You hiding from him caused this whole mess in the first place. And you should go alone, unless you really insist on me accompanying you. I have...other matters to attend to.”
“Oh wait, oh I see what you did there. You want me to meet up with Sammy at that time? Well Lord Jaezred aren’t you sneaky. I like it. He won’t expect it… hopefully he’ll listen to me”, Celina says. “Right, well thank you for the afternoon chats. I won’t keep you longer. ”
Jaezred nods wearily, rises to his feet, and walks up to open the door for her.
“Thank you for the information once more,” he says to her as she walks out. “I must...I must go pray now.”
“You… eh… do that. Till next time Mr Jaezred. Oh and one last thing”, she looks him straight into his eyes “your tea was actually quite lovely. I will say it now because I am no longer mad at you”. Celina grins and winks at him then quickly makes her exit.
And with that, the door shuts and locks with a soft click behind Celina.
Co-Written with the amazing Jaezred Vandree
Celina is walking from Fort Ettin back to Port Ffirst after her latest job. She decides to pay a certain drow visit. She goes looking for him and discovers that he’s in Port Ffirst.
She spots him walking outside the Flourished Hook one afternoon, wearing a top hat and a fur-lined coat on top of his regular attire. He has a pair of goggles on, presumably to protect his sensitive eyes from the sunlight, but Celina could feel his stare boring into her from behind the dark lens.
With a quick and subtle gesture of the hand, beckoning her to follow him, he turns to enter into the inn. He walks all the way to his suite and opens the door for her to get in without even as much as another look at her.
Once they were both inside, Jaezred Vandree hangs up his hat and coat and takes off his goggles as he addresses Celina with a polite smile. “Miss Zabinski,” he says. “To what do I owe the pleasure today?”
Celina holds her composure following Jaezred the whole way into the tavern. Once Jaezred takes off his goggles he can tell Celina is angry about something. Celina stares at him for a few seconds before she bursts out, "What the HELL did you do to Sammy?". Celina pauses for a moment before continuing angrily "All I asked of you was to help take down posters and next thing I have his ring back? What did you say to him? Tell me exactly what you said".
The smile on his face twitched into a slight frown. Clearly, this is not the answer he was expecting. He sighs and gestures at the sofa. “Please, sit down. I’ll make the tea and explain.”
Celina glares at Jaezred and says "I'll take two sugars in my tea". Then she walks over to the sofa and sits down. She folds her arms and waits.
Jaezred’s tea-making process is faster than average — using the prestidigitation cantrip to heat the water as a trick — but just long enough to give Celina a bit of time to cool down. Once finished, he carries a tray with a beautiful porcelain set and puts it down on the table before her. The tea is delightfully fragrant and has an odd sort of glow to them.
“This is a special type of tea I acquired in the Feywild. The leaves are infused with a substance extracted from jellyfish venom, hence the glow,” he says, sitting down opposite her with his own cup and saucer. “It’s really quite safe, though I would not advise drinking it in large quantities.”
Celina's eyes light up looking at the tea. She has never seen anything quite mesmerizing before. She picks up the cup and takes small sips of the jellyfish tea. Surprising she's enjoying the taste. She's quite impressed by it but refuses to say anything. She holds her teacup in her hand and takes small sips every so often. They sit in silence and Celina just stares at Jaezred until he explains himself.
He leans back into the cushion and crosses his legs, fixing Celina with an appraising gaze as he sips the tea. “Let’s cut straight to it, then. I simply told your husband that you did not want to see him at that moment, that the posters were making you upset, that you’ll talk to him when he’s ready, but he could not force that to happen with those posters. That is all. Was anything I said in any way false?”
Celina listens carefully and realises Jaezred is right. She can't argue with him. She gets flustered for a moment before saying "Well... I... eh... needed those posters down. Having the posters up could be bad if the wrong people found them and... oh yeah.. It would be bad for business... definitely business", Celina says quickly and swiftly moves on "But look I wasn't upset with him... exactly. I did want him to leave me alone but I... didn't mean it...", Celina begins and then stops. She gets concerned about how much she'll willing to share. She sips some more tea and thinks about it for a moment before continuing "I mean... I barely know the guy. But... now I can't find him. I want to talk but... I just can't find him. All I have is the ring he left. Why did he give that back? Why did you get involved? I had a plan I was going to talk to him... at some point... maybe... I don't know".
Celina sighs and slinks back into the sofa. She stares up at the ceiling for a few moment before looking back to Jaezred. "Have you ever fucked up so badly you wish you could start over again?"
Jaezred looks at her in silence for several moments before murmuring, very quietly, “Yes.”
He lets out another sigh. “To be frank, Miss Zabinski, you don’t seem to know what you truly want. I made a mistake in underestimating your affection for him. But fine, I can see how my actions have given you a troubled mind; and since you’re with me now, I will help you in this matter. I can contact Mr. Plumbstead with the sending spell and request a meeting. Would you like that?”
"I don't... It's not like... I like him", Celina lies very badly. Old habits are hard to die.
However, Celina grins on hearing the suggestion, "I mean... if you insist on helping me... that wouldn't be a bad thing". Celina smiles to Jaezred "Thank you".
Celina takes another sip of tea feeling slightly more hopeful. Then she looks up to Jaezred grinning again and says “So would you like to learn about some information I found out about the Langston you’re after”
The thin smile returns to his handsome face. “Excellent. I had hoped you would fulfill your end of the bargain. Let’s hear the news first, then.”
"Of course, I would. I always keep my promises", Celina says before thinking quickly to the one she's wrecking with Sammy. She dismisses the thought quickly and gets back on track.
"This is all hush hush information. If anyone asks, you didn't hear this from me." Celina winks and then begins. She spots the Lolth statuette in the corner of Jaezred’s room and asks,
"Ah so you know Lolth. How much do you know about the Corellon and Lolth story? I’m assuming you know the story about how Corellon tried to get rid of Lolth by shooting an arrow at her. But it missed and she escaped. Well, what I learned was that the arrow didn't actually miss, as the story would lead you to believe. The arrow actually travelled through the plane. Through the Dawnlands and Feywilds, right to the Shadowfell. That the arrow wasn't actually an arrow. It was an anchor. It prevents Lolth from returning to the Feywild. The anchor is guarded and its location is only known by one fey person, the Lady of Pain. It's believed that's what Langston and Jack are after. The location of this anchor. Someone would need to know the location across three planes simultaneously."
Jaezred almost drops his cup of tea. With trembling hands, he slowly sets it down on the table.
“How...how did you learn of this?” His voice is shaking violently. “And why? Why the Hells are Farstep and Jack after this thing?!”
Celina smiles and says “I have my ways. It was part of the last job I was on. How I found out… well that’s harder to explain.”
“Explain. Everything,” he growls. His crimson eyes seem to be almost glowing, glaring menacingly at her. “I want to hear every detail. I know the Twilight Queen sent out word for a job. Tell me.”
“Well ok you heard she was looking for help with a job. However we were sworn to secrecy. But let's say we had to retrieve an item that was specific for a certain new amazing queen in a location that’s hard to find. This item was only for Queen Nicnevin to see but in the end she shared it with all of us who were on the quest. We had to go to some weird place where there were vampires. I managed to avoid them fighting us by trading them something valuable to them. They called it a 'snack hat of blood', really it was the hat of vermin", Celina laughs about that name before continuing.
"Anyway not important, so we got the item and brought said item back to the queen. We had to get Imryll to let us see her. I think you know her, right? You danced with her at that party. Anyway, let's say the item can give visions. Now that’s all I can say and that’s how I know it to be true. As to why Farstep and Jack are after that - I have no clue", Celina says and shrugs "Maybe other people will have theories".
Jaezred takes a deep, sharp breath. He put his elbows on his thighs and leans forward on his arms with the lower half of his face in his hands. He seems to be a little upset. Finally, after a long moment of silence, he speaks again.
“Thank you for this,” he mutters, his voice sounding uncharacteristically weak and small. “Now. As promised, I will contact your husband.”
The mage draws his wand from inside his frock coat and taps it gently on the rim of a teacup. He then says out loud, “Mr. Plumbstead. You remember me. I'd like to talk to you — where are you currently?”
There is a quiet moment as he appears to be listening to a reply in his head. He casts the spell again. "I'd like to return your money to you. And talk about other matters. Shall we meet at the Winds on the evening of 28th?"
Celina eyes go wide as she hears Jaezred attempting to talk to Sammy. She tries to look uninterested but gives herself away with the constant eye staring. Eventually she bursts out and whispers eagerly “Is he replying to you? Did he get my note? Wait never mind… I don’t want to know... But did he?”
Jaezred opens his mouth to answer her flurry of questions, but she sees his brows suddenly furrow and his eyes glance off to the side. He seems to be getting another reply, and it’s giving him pause. He casts the spell one final time and says, "Seven o'clock. Is that acceptable for you?"
Another pause as the reply comes. Then Jaezred turns back to Celina. “He’s in Daring Heights, busy with something. He agreed to meet me at the Four Fair Winds on the 28th, seven o’clock, as you’ve heard. However… Well, I cannot claim to know him at all, but he sounded a little odd — wary of me, guarded in his words when I asked to meet.”
“Well he gave back the ring last time, right? Maybe he’s confused? Thanks for helping… I may snoop in the back.... ”, Celina thinks out loud.
He shakes his head. “You should speak with him yourself, be honest and direct. You hiding from him caused this whole mess in the first place. And you should go alone, unless you really insist on me accompanying you. I have...other matters to attend to.”
“Oh wait, oh I see what you did there. You want me to meet up with Sammy at that time? Well Lord Jaezred aren’t you sneaky. I like it. He won’t expect it… hopefully he’ll listen to me”, Celina says. “Right, well thank you for the afternoon chats. I won’t keep you longer. ”
Jaezred nods wearily, rises to his feet, and walks up to open the door for her.
“Thank you for the information once more,” he says to her as she walks out. “I must...I must go pray now.”
“You… eh… do that. Till next time Mr Jaezred. Oh and one last thing”, she looks him straight into his eyes “your tea was actually quite lovely. I will say it now because I am no longer mad at you”. Celina grins and winks at him then quickly makes her exit.
And with that, the door shuts and locks with a soft click behind Celina.
