Tea, the Drinking and Spilling of - Jaezred and Silvia
Feb 6, 2022 15:22:51 GMT
Jaezred Vandree, Delilah Daybreaker, and 2 more like this
Post by Wixspartan on Feb 6, 2022 15:22:51 GMT
It's early afternoon when Jaezred walks into the common room of Fort Ettin, a fancy tea set floating behind carried along by an illusory servant. He spots a small quasit angrily sulking outside the room and Silvia sitting in a plush sofa reading a book labelled 'An introduction to the geological significance of sediment transport and accumulation on the Sea of Tears eastern shore'. He walks over.
"Oh, good day, Miss Silvia! And good day..." He looks around in confusion. "Where have the quasits gone? Oh, there's one. Just one?"
She looks up from the book, seemingly delighted to have something else to do.
"Oh, is there one? I've stopped noticing them at this point, they can't come close to me anymore, it's kind of cute really. Would you like a seat?"
"If you would allow me."
The tea set he is carrying looks expensive, and the smell of tea and scones are positively divine.
"I will share these with you in exchange."
Her sad eyes twinkle with hunger, although she is doing her best to hide it.
"Oh no please, I've had lunch already."
"Oh, please don't refuse out of politeness. I can see that you are starving."
She shrugs.
"I'm used to it my lord and the scones look expensive."
"Well, they are meant to be eaten, and all the more shame if they go to waste!"
He takes a seat opposite her and the unseen servant pours tea for both of them. It has an odd luminescence to it.
"Glowing tea from the Witching Court. It's infused with a jelly extracted from jellyfish venom, but fear not, it's quite safe. Just don't drink too much of it every day."
"An extravagant set of bribes, what gossip does the lord wish from me today then?"
She looks hesitant for a second but quickly reaches for the scones and devours one as politely as one can scarf a scone in ten seconds. Jaezred smiles.
"Well, now I am wondering how you managed to get rid of those quasits."
"Renegotiation of terms"
"So... I take it you've met your patron," he says with an arched brow.
"Did BB help you figure out who it is?"
She sighs.
"No sadly not, although I don't blame her. It wasn't so much a serpent as a dragon, a shadow dragon. I imagine in your long history on this continent and presumed familiarity with Veridian Pentaghast you'd have come across the name 'Kurtz' before yes?"
His mouth falls open a little in surprise.
"Uh... A shadow dragon? Kurtz...? No, that name doesn't ring a bell, but if you're speaking of a shadow dragon and Veridian Pentaghast in the same sentence..."
He furrows his brow deeply, trying to remember.
"I seem to remember hearing...that Pentaghast journeyed into the north of the Angelbark and encountered a shadow dragon there? Something about mercenary warzone."
"Yes, although interestingly that must have been several years after I made the deal with him in exchange for... well this tea is good and that scone was scarily delicious but I will leave it there. I'm still trying to piece together information myself about what happened in that forest, and the book that was taken from Kurtz's hands which he seems to be desperate to re-acquire."
"The book? Oh, yes. Pentaghast returned with a new spellbook. Oh, don't tell me..."
"I'll let you make conclusions. But yes it seems I'm caught between a powerful wizard who has made it very clear he could evaporate me where I stand and a shadow dragon who owns me. Meanwhile my girlfriend is terrified of feelings and decided what would be best for us is to run away for a long period of time leaving me quite distraught and when I passed by to give a gift to a new friend it seems he too has up and left so now I'm here, reading this dull book because I need to do something or I'll go insane."
She pauses as Jaezred simply gasps, at a loss for words.
"But I'm doing fine, how are you my lord?"
She grins at him as he doesn't reply.
"Don't worry Lord Jaezred I'm used to worse"
"What a shitshow this is," he mutters under his breath in Drowic to his unseen servant. Turning back to Silvia and switching to Common again, he continues.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking. But... Well, forgive the thought, but if your patron is a shadow dragon and not some demon prince, this does make breaking free of your pact quite easier, don't you think?"
Her face takes on a grave seriousness.
"Who says I want to?"
"Does...this pact not torment you? The quasits are gone, but what about the uncontrollable bloodlust?"
"It appears that none of what torments me is deliberate, or at least that is Kurtz's words whether I trust him yet is to be seen. In fact, you may have already noticed the absence of the quasits my lord but you may have missed something else."
She wiggles her fingers, free of thread, before gesturing to a dagger at her hip.
"My knife, its bound to me now and as long as I remain bound to it in return I keep my mind. It still pains me that I have to live like this but it's better than it was before. Plus this way I don't have to be as worried about accidentally killing anyone I get too close to, although apparently I'm never going to have the chance to get within range at this rate."
Jaezred visibly bites back a comment.
"I see... I understand. So... What do you plan to do now?"
"Wait, wait for answers. I've looked for them and found I am out of my depth. Wait for charity I guess, or perhaps just wait until they all grow bored of me and I can go back to how it was before. Alone on the road with a patron who never talks to me, a curse that stops me from ever being welcome in one place too long, and an unfortunate set of morals that often leads to me helping people because for some reason I take pride in making the world a better place. Perhaps its spite, perhaps I simply don't wish to let others become victims like many have tried to make me."
She shrugs.
"Musings, not what you came here for. Now, another cup of tea and you can get another bit of gossip."
Velkyn (the unseen servant) pours more glowing tea into Silvia's cup. Jaezred lets out a dry chuckle.
"Your life is full of surprises, Miss Silvia," he says as he sips his own cup. "Now... What about the girlfriend?"
"Sorrel is being Sorrel annoyingly, as much as I love her I really wish she could learn to face emotions properly. It hurts that as soon as I try and make her feel comfortable she goes off and tries to forget that she's feeling emotions through drink or almost dying. You know the last time she went off it was almost three weeks of nothing before I finally pinned her down with a date. And now this, a letter, a written note barely a paragraph long."
Silvia leans back and looks at the ceiling.
"You're a smart man sometimes my lord, why do I love this woman who so clearly does not want me to?"
"Sometimes?"
Silvia continues to stare at the ceiling, but there is a grin there for a second. He scoffs in mild annoyance, then sips his tea with a long glance out the window.
"We don't choose who we love, Miss Silvia." Said with the air of someone who knows this experience well
"Perhaps I should try her method, almost get myself killed running away on adventure to try and forget that I have feelings."
"Even I can tell you that's not very healthy."
She looks down and back at Jaezred.
"My lord I'm dating Sorrel healthy was out the window since we started this journey."
He sighs.
"I wish I could give you advice, but the truth is, nearly all of my past relationships were...awful for my well-being, both physical and mental. Thus I am in no position to impart any words of wisdom. I am fortunate to have finally found someone that is good for me."
"Oh no don't get me wrong I'm very much happy that I have found Sorrel, the issue is I don't know if she is at this point. My lord as much as I love her there are only so many times you can be compared to a past lover who died and get left because she can't seem to handle the idea of being in love before you question whether you really are a good influence on a girl."
"The more I hear about this, the more I feel that you need some alcohol in that tea."
"Please no any more than a single glass of wine and I feel ill. It doesn't settle well with me. Doesn't help that I left my home at sixteen and survived mainly on bread and cheese with spring water or whatever the townsfolk were willing to pull out of the well for me..."
He grimaces a little. Then he looks down on the exceedingly dull book on the table and a lantern in his head lights up.
"Hm. You said you're looking for something to do? Would you like to learn a recipe or two? I have a book of rustic halfling recipes, easy to make with inexpensive ingredients."
"Ah, food, yes. The thing that people put usually effort into.."
"And you can see just how much that effort is rewarded!" he says, holding up a scone.
"You know what my lord? If I can find the ingredients and a good fire I'm sure I can give it a try. And pots and pans and such.."
"That's easy enough. We can simply borrow the kitchen at the great hall. The cooks there are frightened of me."
"Well now, that does sound amusing to watch. Alright, a recipe, some cooking. I guess in exchange you want one more piece of information, ask away my lord."
"Let us save that for another time. I just have one question: do you wish to meet this Kurtz someday?"
"I have, I spoke with him in his shadowy prison in fact."
"I mean in person. To go see him in the Angelbark. Also... shadowy prison?"
"He is not trapped? Perhaps you are not up to date my lord. The Kurtz I know has been banished to a prison of shadow. Veridian's work I believe"
"I didn't hear this part of the story, no. That is curious... Did Pentaghast tell you he did that?"
"No, not that specifically, I don't know why he is there but he is there. And as you can imagine he is not particularly happy about that."
"Huh. I did not know he was capable of that," he muses.
"It may not have been Veridian's work of course. And who knows, I may be wrong, or he may be lying. Or or or, that's all I have right now, but we make do."
Jaezred nods as he finishes his tea.
"That we do. Now, shall we go make food instead?"
"Please, conversation this long is still an unusual thing for me"
He laughs but Silvia retains a serious look.
"No genuinely, most people tend to try and finish conversations with me to avoid having to look at me for too long, well that was before I came here of course but small town villagers don't like people like me. It was all disconcerted laughs and then running away."
"I know. But you give me excellent gossip so I'd like to keep you around."
For the first time perhaps ever that Jaezred has seen Silvia blushes and smiles.
"Thank you my lord I happen to quite enjoy our conversations as well.. And the food is always excellent of course thank you..."
"Keep the rumour mill going then." He winks at her.
The rest of the afternoon is spent with Silvia struggling but eventually succeeding in making a leek and potato halfling hash before bidding farewell to the Lord Jaezred as she returns to her room to think. Perhaps, just maybe, it is time to talk to Kurtz...
Co-written of course with the excellent Jaezred Vandree
"Oh, good day, Miss Silvia! And good day..." He looks around in confusion. "Where have the quasits gone? Oh, there's one. Just one?"
She looks up from the book, seemingly delighted to have something else to do.
"Oh, is there one? I've stopped noticing them at this point, they can't come close to me anymore, it's kind of cute really. Would you like a seat?"
"If you would allow me."
The tea set he is carrying looks expensive, and the smell of tea and scones are positively divine.
"I will share these with you in exchange."
Her sad eyes twinkle with hunger, although she is doing her best to hide it.
"Oh no please, I've had lunch already."
"Oh, please don't refuse out of politeness. I can see that you are starving."
She shrugs.
"I'm used to it my lord and the scones look expensive."
"Well, they are meant to be eaten, and all the more shame if they go to waste!"
He takes a seat opposite her and the unseen servant pours tea for both of them. It has an odd luminescence to it.
"Glowing tea from the Witching Court. It's infused with a jelly extracted from jellyfish venom, but fear not, it's quite safe. Just don't drink too much of it every day."
"An extravagant set of bribes, what gossip does the lord wish from me today then?"
She looks hesitant for a second but quickly reaches for the scones and devours one as politely as one can scarf a scone in ten seconds. Jaezred smiles.
"Well, now I am wondering how you managed to get rid of those quasits."
"Renegotiation of terms"
"So... I take it you've met your patron," he says with an arched brow.
"Did BB help you figure out who it is?"
She sighs.
"No sadly not, although I don't blame her. It wasn't so much a serpent as a dragon, a shadow dragon. I imagine in your long history on this continent and presumed familiarity with Veridian Pentaghast you'd have come across the name 'Kurtz' before yes?"
His mouth falls open a little in surprise.
"Uh... A shadow dragon? Kurtz...? No, that name doesn't ring a bell, but if you're speaking of a shadow dragon and Veridian Pentaghast in the same sentence..."
He furrows his brow deeply, trying to remember.
"I seem to remember hearing...that Pentaghast journeyed into the north of the Angelbark and encountered a shadow dragon there? Something about mercenary warzone."
"Yes, although interestingly that must have been several years after I made the deal with him in exchange for... well this tea is good and that scone was scarily delicious but I will leave it there. I'm still trying to piece together information myself about what happened in that forest, and the book that was taken from Kurtz's hands which he seems to be desperate to re-acquire."
"The book? Oh, yes. Pentaghast returned with a new spellbook. Oh, don't tell me..."
"I'll let you make conclusions. But yes it seems I'm caught between a powerful wizard who has made it very clear he could evaporate me where I stand and a shadow dragon who owns me. Meanwhile my girlfriend is terrified of feelings and decided what would be best for us is to run away for a long period of time leaving me quite distraught and when I passed by to give a gift to a new friend it seems he too has up and left so now I'm here, reading this dull book because I need to do something or I'll go insane."
She pauses as Jaezred simply gasps, at a loss for words.
"But I'm doing fine, how are you my lord?"
She grins at him as he doesn't reply.
"Don't worry Lord Jaezred I'm used to worse"
"What a shitshow this is," he mutters under his breath in Drowic to his unseen servant. Turning back to Silvia and switching to Common again, he continues.
"I'm fine, thank you for asking. But... Well, forgive the thought, but if your patron is a shadow dragon and not some demon prince, this does make breaking free of your pact quite easier, don't you think?"
Her face takes on a grave seriousness.
"Who says I want to?"
"Does...this pact not torment you? The quasits are gone, but what about the uncontrollable bloodlust?"
"It appears that none of what torments me is deliberate, or at least that is Kurtz's words whether I trust him yet is to be seen. In fact, you may have already noticed the absence of the quasits my lord but you may have missed something else."
She wiggles her fingers, free of thread, before gesturing to a dagger at her hip.
"My knife, its bound to me now and as long as I remain bound to it in return I keep my mind. It still pains me that I have to live like this but it's better than it was before. Plus this way I don't have to be as worried about accidentally killing anyone I get too close to, although apparently I'm never going to have the chance to get within range at this rate."
Jaezred visibly bites back a comment.
"I see... I understand. So... What do you plan to do now?"
"Wait, wait for answers. I've looked for them and found I am out of my depth. Wait for charity I guess, or perhaps just wait until they all grow bored of me and I can go back to how it was before. Alone on the road with a patron who never talks to me, a curse that stops me from ever being welcome in one place too long, and an unfortunate set of morals that often leads to me helping people because for some reason I take pride in making the world a better place. Perhaps its spite, perhaps I simply don't wish to let others become victims like many have tried to make me."
She shrugs.
"Musings, not what you came here for. Now, another cup of tea and you can get another bit of gossip."
Velkyn (the unseen servant) pours more glowing tea into Silvia's cup. Jaezred lets out a dry chuckle.
"Your life is full of surprises, Miss Silvia," he says as he sips his own cup. "Now... What about the girlfriend?"
"Sorrel is being Sorrel annoyingly, as much as I love her I really wish she could learn to face emotions properly. It hurts that as soon as I try and make her feel comfortable she goes off and tries to forget that she's feeling emotions through drink or almost dying. You know the last time she went off it was almost three weeks of nothing before I finally pinned her down with a date. And now this, a letter, a written note barely a paragraph long."
Silvia leans back and looks at the ceiling.
"You're a smart man sometimes my lord, why do I love this woman who so clearly does not want me to?"
"Sometimes?"
Silvia continues to stare at the ceiling, but there is a grin there for a second. He scoffs in mild annoyance, then sips his tea with a long glance out the window.
"We don't choose who we love, Miss Silvia." Said with the air of someone who knows this experience well
"Perhaps I should try her method, almost get myself killed running away on adventure to try and forget that I have feelings."
"Even I can tell you that's not very healthy."
She looks down and back at Jaezred.
"My lord I'm dating Sorrel healthy was out the window since we started this journey."
He sighs.
"I wish I could give you advice, but the truth is, nearly all of my past relationships were...awful for my well-being, both physical and mental. Thus I am in no position to impart any words of wisdom. I am fortunate to have finally found someone that is good for me."
"Oh no don't get me wrong I'm very much happy that I have found Sorrel, the issue is I don't know if she is at this point. My lord as much as I love her there are only so many times you can be compared to a past lover who died and get left because she can't seem to handle the idea of being in love before you question whether you really are a good influence on a girl."
"The more I hear about this, the more I feel that you need some alcohol in that tea."
"Please no any more than a single glass of wine and I feel ill. It doesn't settle well with me. Doesn't help that I left my home at sixteen and survived mainly on bread and cheese with spring water or whatever the townsfolk were willing to pull out of the well for me..."
He grimaces a little. Then he looks down on the exceedingly dull book on the table and a lantern in his head lights up.
"Hm. You said you're looking for something to do? Would you like to learn a recipe or two? I have a book of rustic halfling recipes, easy to make with inexpensive ingredients."
"Ah, food, yes. The thing that people put usually effort into.."
"And you can see just how much that effort is rewarded!" he says, holding up a scone.
"You know what my lord? If I can find the ingredients and a good fire I'm sure I can give it a try. And pots and pans and such.."
"That's easy enough. We can simply borrow the kitchen at the great hall. The cooks there are frightened of me."
"Well now, that does sound amusing to watch. Alright, a recipe, some cooking. I guess in exchange you want one more piece of information, ask away my lord."
"Let us save that for another time. I just have one question: do you wish to meet this Kurtz someday?"
"I have, I spoke with him in his shadowy prison in fact."
"I mean in person. To go see him in the Angelbark. Also... shadowy prison?"
"He is not trapped? Perhaps you are not up to date my lord. The Kurtz I know has been banished to a prison of shadow. Veridian's work I believe"
"I didn't hear this part of the story, no. That is curious... Did Pentaghast tell you he did that?"
"No, not that specifically, I don't know why he is there but he is there. And as you can imagine he is not particularly happy about that."
"Huh. I did not know he was capable of that," he muses.
"It may not have been Veridian's work of course. And who knows, I may be wrong, or he may be lying. Or or or, that's all I have right now, but we make do."
Jaezred nods as he finishes his tea.
"That we do. Now, shall we go make food instead?"
"Please, conversation this long is still an unusual thing for me"
He laughs but Silvia retains a serious look.
"No genuinely, most people tend to try and finish conversations with me to avoid having to look at me for too long, well that was before I came here of course but small town villagers don't like people like me. It was all disconcerted laughs and then running away."
"I know. But you give me excellent gossip so I'd like to keep you around."
For the first time perhaps ever that Jaezred has seen Silvia blushes and smiles.
"Thank you my lord I happen to quite enjoy our conversations as well.. And the food is always excellent of course thank you..."
"Keep the rumour mill going then." He winks at her.
The rest of the afternoon is spent with Silvia struggling but eventually succeeding in making a leek and potato halfling hash before bidding farewell to the Lord Jaezred as she returns to her room to think. Perhaps, just maybe, it is time to talk to Kurtz...
Co-written of course with the excellent Jaezred Vandree