act complete Angelcynn: The Myrcian Conflict - Act 3 Reunion

[Dandragon]

To say this was an unusual for Serge wouldn't be untrue. The Princess had been getting awfully close to him, seeming to deliberately bat her eyelashes at him. Was...Was she coming on to him? Was this allowed? Serge's face lit up with far more red than ever before. Maybe it was the fact that the Princess was trying to be far more flirty than Larissa, but he wasn't sure how to react.

Thankfully, she backed away, allowing him space to breath, before it got too awkward. "R-right. Something to talk about. Uh...H-hey, h-how about that uh...that Dettard, yeah! That was a guy, right?" Serge desperately wanted to change the conversation away from any affair he may or may not be having. He wasn't even sure how old Claire was.

[charlie_]

Claire's trip to the bar was finished with pretty quickly, and she soon returned carrying three new glasses as carefully as she could manage. "Don't make Angus jealous now, you two." She stuck out her tongue at Cass as she carefully lowered the ciders onto the table surface, only spilling a little. "Phew." It was still a decent accomplishment, she decided, settling comfortably back into her seat.

"I don't know what else you want to say about him." shrugged the mage, taking her first swig of the new glass. "That jerk is dead now and he doesn't have any crazy loyalists. All of his mercenaries died."

+1 Cider for Claire.

Edited October 21, 2016 by SB.

[Nanami Touko]

"Dettard? What about my-- Whoa, Claire~ Watch yourself!" She'd nearly spilled the cider, what a klutz! She quickly and carefully took her glass as to not spill anymore of the delicious elixir, sipping from the edge and then staring at Claire as if she's just spoke complete gibberish. "No he's not." She calmly sipped her drink as she let that sink in, holding the mug close to her. "He's off in Myrcia getting his life together. Doing some merchant stuff. Aren't my brothers wonderful~? So productive! I wish he could've stayed, but you all prooooobably hate him... Not that I blame you, he was truly an unruly jerk! Still~" She sighed, reminiscing their last conversation.

Cider #2!

Edited October 21, 2016 by Narmaya

[charlie_]

"Huh?" Claire's head tilted a little as she frowned at Cass, bemused by what she'd said. Had the mage misheard? Or had the princess just had too many drinks? "Princ-erm, Cass." She caught herself, but didn't stop for long. "What do you mean by 'your brothers'?" The implication was there, sure, but... what the heck? She glanced at Serge, wondering if he knew anything about this. He was from Myrcia, right? He'd just said so a few minutes ago. She took a small sip of her drink. "You don't mean that Baron Dettard is your..." This was really weird. She'd only heard that he'd been executed, sure, but hearing that he was alive and related to the royal family was... way too weird.

[Nanami Touko]

"Ohhhhh, that's no good..." She slowly covered her mouth when she realized that, Gewaint's departure hadn't been common knowledge for their group! "Whoops, uhh... Haha! So... S-So we never really... Executed him. Also he's my brother. In Myrcia right now. S-Surprise?" She hid her face in her drink and sank into the seat some, staring between Serge and Claire.

Edited October 21, 2016 by Narmaya

[Dandragon]

"...And uh...why exactly was he not executed? Also, do you know where in Myrcia he's gone?" At this point a lot had been revealed to Serge, including the secret of not executing a criminal of one of the greatest crimes that could happen; attempted murder on royalty. Like, he was pretty sure that was punishable by immediate death, wasn't it? And if they were brothers then what were they doing fighting each other? This was getting confusing. Serge took a drink.

Cider #...uh...3?

Edited October 21, 2016 by Dandragon

[charlie_]

"Erm..." Claire took another long swig of her drink, reaaaaaaaaally not sure what to say. "Well this is awkward." she laughed, for some reason or another. "I'm uh... guessing you didn't know this until recently?" She didn't have any siblings, but she was pretty sure that 'wanting to kill your brother' was used as a figure of speech normally, and not taken literally.

Edited October 21, 2016 by SB.

[Nanami Touko]

"Oh, I've known since we left," Cass said, loosening up now that people weren't jumping on her for it. "There was a fire in the jails, started by someone trying to kill him. Owen and I saved him, and we had the whole talk, everything got let out. Father had been trying to... Alright, I know it's you two, but considering where we are, I've definitely not had enough to get into those details further." She shoot her head and took another drink, nearing the end of her second. How addictive.

"Long story short, mistakes were made, he's alive, and he deserves to be alive. But don't tell anyone! Alright? I... I slipped, and I'll blame this drink for it, but nnno more prying secrets out of me." She waggled her finger at Claire, giving her a squint.

[charlie_]

"Okay, okay. Your secret's safe with me." Claire nodded, raising her hands in mock surrender with a cheeky grin on her face. "After today, I definitely owe you that much." What a weird day. She went from almost dying in the morning to drinking with the princess. She chuckled lightly, prepared to drop the subject if that was what Cass wanted.

[Dandragon]

"I can do that. Just gotta say nothing about him to anyone. Shouldn't be too hard." Serge raised his glass, and took another drink of his drink. That would be another secret he'd have to keep, but who was he to say no to the princess? ...Well, he didn't quite know, but he wasn't gonna do it. "I say let's enjoy our drinks and have some fun, eh?"

[Jotari]

"Oh" Emmet murmured. "That. Yes. That certainly happened. I'm afraid I'm as lost about it as you are. Absolutely nothing in my study of magic suggests what he did is possible. The Lady Claire concurs, and her education should exceed my own." Should...Because common sense is evidently something they don't teach in the upper levels of the college. It was her reckless attack that put us there in the first place. "It was beyond magic. Still if we go there again we now know it's weakness. He took only five of us last time and failed to definitely kill even one. If our entire group gets taken there then I'm sure we can defeat him. How is the prince's man anyway? You saw to it that he would get more effective medical treatment, correct?"

[Terrador]

Challenge Accepted

Even the specter of the wizard couldn't keep Angus' attention from the shouting crowd; it was too ridiculous to contemplate. A drinking contest with his bear? The mother twists his chair around, eyeing the friendly (if soused) tide of people. "You all know 'e's just a boy, righ'?" He giggles, shakes his head, considering two tankards offered by one of the patrons... but Geoffrey's nose dictates his actions. Who was he to deny the little guy a fun night, if he enjoyed the drink so much? Angus hadn't seen anything faze the little beast since he found him, at any rate.

"Arrrrrrrright, some o' you stay sober so I remember this!", the mooncalf exhorts, taking up the drink and setting one in front of Geoffrey. Another hearty quaff--like honey. [Are bears big on honey? Right. Emmet. That wizard, and Nelon.] Angus retrieves a copper piece from his pocket, flicking it onto the table between the two.

"Hopin' you're right on the wizard; makin' that happen, now that's a whole 'nother song an' dance, eh?" Another drink--a fuzzy friend began to nudge the knight's skull, and not the one threatening to strew glassware all over the Boot. "Nelon, ech... Perroy's a good man, but I wonder if 'e could do any good. Don't by half seem the type t'do somethin' daft and kill 'im, at least! He should keep for the time bein'." The lunatic Kearney drains his glass, lobbing it high over his shoulder as a token for some lucky patron--or unsuspecting noggin. Unless Angus found himself the first man in history to be drunk under the table by a bear (as he had every chance of doing), it was going to be one hell of a night.

Angus +1 Mead!
Geoffrey +1 Mead!

Edited October 22, 2016 by Terrador

[Jotari]

Emmet didn't particularly like the more involved crowd. He was drinking wine, he wanted to get mind numbingly shattered but he also wanted the night to last a while. He also suspected even the most benign beast could easily grow violent if forcibly consuming a lot of alcohol for the first time with absolutely no understanding of it. That being said he did want to talk to Angus a while longer. Specifically he wanted to find out how such a young man managed to become Baron in the first place. "You're saying SIr Nelon isn't in the clear yet?" Emmet asked, rather uncertain of precisely what Kearney had meant. "Do you think one of us should be with him?" Emmet didn't particularly care for the knight in the slightest, but he knew if he'd been injured he'd want one of his companions by his side when he regained his senses.

[Vestige]

"Though I wish the contrary, somehow I feel your expectations will prove themselves given enough time," he sighed. The truth of the matter was that their group, or at least part of it, had already managed to find themselves in some more trouble. The way things were though, he suspected not everyone was in the know about Scuttle's episode just yet. Cassandra seemed to have pushed aside the ordeal for the moment, and Claire seemed to be recovering well enough.

"But yes, I can see how that experience might be a bit off putting," he nodded. By now, having traveled between Raewald and Wihtwar (and now Raewald and Wyke),he'd gotten a little used to the routine. "Traveling can be quite exciting, and even enjoyable when you're not constantly at odds with the world," he chuckled. "In any case, I hope you find your stay in Raewald a pleasant one. Even if the journey has been anything but," he said, taking another sip of water.

Speaking about Cassandra though, "She can indeed be a bit of a handful sometimes, I've experienced as much myself," he mused, looking towards the nearby table. Cass was doing... something, that was for sure. A couple more drinks he figured, and she'd just about start falling all over the place. Claire didn't seem to it mind an awful lot, but Serge was looking pretty uncomfortable. "That's a fair way of putting it," Alain chuckled, "though I daresay no one here would really hold it against you. She's still a little young, and this is probably as new for her as it is for you. She'll wise up eventually."

"But in any case, you said you were from a small village, yes? And now you're a knight serving the royal family. I'm sure there's a story behind that, do tell--if you wouldn't mind," he gestured.

[charlie_]

"That's the spirit." Claire grinned, taking another gulp of cider. She spotted Owen and Charlotte a short distance away and waved at them, beckoning them over to their table. Owen could definitely do with unwinding after all of the business with the wizard, politics and everything else - and Charlotte helped her a lot earlier. Claire didn't want her to miss out either.

[Nanami Touko]

"Good! Good... So... Er, what is fun to do, here? Other than drink! This is plenty fun, but I... I have little experience in bars, and nothing of what I have seen seems to be going on here right now. Someone suggest something. Claire was waving Owen and Sidney over, Cass thought that was fine. Adele could join them too, where-- wait, she was at the counter? That's... That's very odd. Whatever it was, as long as Cass could see her, it was all fine.

What wasn't fine was that her glass was empty. "Darn it." She was going through these fairly quickly, but she was still fine, right? She felt fine! Nodding, she stood up with a small stagger, walking away from the table. "I will return momentarily~" With a skip in her step, she hopped up next to Adele, poking her in the shoulder. "What's the deal, missy? I thought you weren't one for these establishments, hmmm?"

[Xinnidy]

Owen wasn't as in sync with the bar's atmosphere as other patrons. He was holding a frown with a glass of wine mostly full near him. Despite staring at the glass for a long period of time, it seemed like his mind could not be farther from the bar.

A familiar touch, a voice whispering into his ear, had him jerk his head, "Ah, Sidney." His expression softened, "I see, I think time has passed much too fast, myself, but I suppose I'm not that used to here." Sighing, he took a minute sip from his drink --he wasn't that much of a fan of mead or alcoholic drinks in general, but if he had a choice, it'd be wine, always--. "It feels like there's much to do still, but I suppose I should take the night slowly?" He forced a smile. "Hope you have a good one."

Owen has +1 Wine, in moderation.

Edited October 23, 2016 by Xinnidy

[riariadne]

"Mmm, I see," Sidney listened to his concern understandingly, but at the smile she could tell wasn't very real she poked at his cheek. "I think you should take the night to relax a bit more, Owen... there's so much going on that I'm sure you're stressed out, but here's your chance to be happy and you're worried." She leaned into his face for a kiss, not paying much mind to the wine on his lips. "Staying here's where we get to be isolated from the troubles of the world... standing doesn't have to mean much. You can just be Owen, unburdened by anything else for a few days."

She gestured over towards the table with Claire, who seemed much more upbeat than earlier, as did Cass before she left to fetch Adele. "Look how happy everyone is. We all have weight off of our shoulders for these few nights, just for now, so try and have a little bit of fun... let's go on over with the others. It'll be good for you, I promise. I'm going to enjoy myself tonight, but I'd love to spend it with you, too." Maybe find a room later and enjoy it a bit more... She cut her selfish thoughts off. No... he'll join me like that if he wants to.

While she didn't take him over to the table directly, she did her best seductive look, half-lidding her eyes and beckoning for him to follow her. After stopping at the counter to get herself a glass of wine, she sat down next to Claire, patting the mage girl on the shoulder. "Glad to see you're doing better, Claire," she greeted her. "How is that cider? Wine's usually my first choice, but if you like it maybe I'll give it a try."

Sidney +1 wine, in less moderation.

[Shin]

Good Stuff

Thankfully, Adele's next drink was indeed water, the cool fluid soothing her scorched throat. As she began to wander, the young heiress bumped into Nona - who happened to be carrying a glass almost identical to Adele's. "Oh, Lady Adele? I hope you're having a good time." she chirped, taking a sip from her drink. "This one's a lot better than the last drink, I could barely taste anything at all. It's wonderful that we all have a chance to rest after so much travelling. I'm not sure about sleeping in a barn... but it's rather exciting, isn't it?"

Geoffrey and his pet

The crowd roared as Angus and Geoffrey demolished another drink each, amazed at the young man and his drinking buddy. "Roight, how long you been drinking with bears for, pal?" one of the crowd asked. "Is it just bears or do you booze with other animals too?" Laughter spread across the group as another man patted the first on the back, grinning foolishly. Decima and Morta were watching the young Baron from the other side of the room, both of them curious for their own reasons.

Geoffrey didn't seem terribly bothered by the attention, or the booze for that matter. The young cub enjoyed the sweet taste of the mead, slurping away as he poked his nose into the flagon.

[Ether]

Excellent, it had been water this time, the possibility of it might not having been only springing to her mind as an afterthought. Cassandra came over to tease her, Adele beginning her explanation just before she bumped into Nona.

"I'm getting some water, Cass. I must have gotten my last one mixed up, when I drank it, I-" The young heiress began, before colliding lightly into Nona, who gave her own little quip, Adele letting out a slight sigh as the likely realization hit her.

"Lady Nona, by any chance... your last drink didn't feel like it was just water, did it?" Adele asked, holding up her own glass in comparison. The twp looked near identical, both housing an inconspicuous, clear liquid.

"If it did, I dare say that we accidentally swapped glasses. Engel above, what are you drinking? I thought my throat was on fire."

[Juliette]

"Unfortunately, currently we do seem to be running into many people at odds with us," Freya noted with a hint of irritation. "We've been unfortunate to take this long already, but I'm doubtful that will change any time soon. For now, this sort of environment is at least something I'm more used to. If we're lucky, our stay in Raewald will be pleasant enough too."

The armored woman game a wry grin at Alain's description. "Yes, perhaps a handful is the best way to phrase that. Sometimes I'm not entirely sure what I'm expected to do to protect her when she's so willing to rush off on her own. For everyone's sake, I hope that wising up comes sooner rather than later. Though, you are a bit off. I'm not quite a knight. Hold on a moment." She moved rather suddenly towards the counter, but there was a rare opening in the line, and she returned with a mug of mead in about a minute.

"There we are... I'm not a heavy drinker, but I think I'll allow myself at least this for the night." She started a bit before going into her story. "For most of my life I just worked at an armory, crafting weapons. As I grew up, I became quite proficient with the tools I made, and my mentor recommended that I could become a guard with my talents. So I visited Wyke, and was considered skill enough that I was accepted in. Of course, I'm only a soldier- Miss Freya, not Lady Freya." She paused for a moment to take another sip- even about halfway through it, she didn't seem terribly thrown off, having better endurance than most. "I was only assigned to guard the Princess around the time you came to visit here. It was a bit of a shock to me, since I'd only been patrolling the city to keep citizens safe before, but of course I went along with the assignment. Sometimes I regret that, but... maybe I'll be able to keep Cassandra out of trouble when it matters, and that would make it an experience worth doing. After all that is the job of a guard."

[Frostivus]

Scuttle rolled her eyes, “Oh come on. You left Good Hope the moment you could. Disappeared for Engel knows how long. Suddenly you show up taking Javier’s place with no one batting an eyelid. When we meet, there’s not even a ‘hello’ or ‘how have you been’. Now you have me tied up and locked in a church after years of not talking to each other and you’re still not going to spill anything?” She tapped her nose, “My stories gotta come from somewhere, Sebastian. You know I don’t just make them up. There’s research. Interviews. Okay, but mostly I just make them up.”

“When I tell the story of Jeeves Junior, it has to be authentic.” Her hands pantomimed a slow-rolling headline in the skies to reveal a name only she could see. “Jeeves Junior, ninja butler. Serving justice and croutons."

The last vestiges of Susan eroded away, like a stone polished smooth in the passing river currents.

As long as the vial was gone, so would any reason for Susan’s control.

Edited October 22, 2016 by Frostivus

[Nanami Touko]

"Water, baw! Come on, Adele~ I know you're not the biggest fan of this, but you're with friends! It couldn't hurt to have just a little bit of fun, could it! Like me~ Barkeep, one more~!" Cass was quickly served her third, hiccuping as it reached her hands, almost spilling it-- so close! "One night won't hurt you. Oh! Hello, Nona~ What do you have?" Cass was interested; if her drink had tasted fine, perhaps there were other that were just as good! Would Nona be willing to share? Hmmm. She'd ask after she found out what it was, but, still...

"Anyway, Adele, even if you aren't going to partake, come spend some time with us, at least. Look, look, Claire, Owen, Serge, Sidney-- it's a veritable party of friends~ I can't stand to watch you off all alone, really. Come talk with us~"

Cass vs. Cider #3

Edited October 23, 2016 by Narmaya

[Vestige]

"Please, feel free," he said as he watched Freya go and grab herself a drink. He looked down at his cup of water and considered following her to the counter, but in the end, he thought better of it. Getting drunk in an unfamiliar land, in a village of unfamiliar people didn't seem like a particularly appealing idea to him. Perhaps a drink or two wouldn't be bad, but... No, I'll save the drinking for when I've returned home. The way it seemed though, nobody else seemed to have a care in the world. Perhaps he was just being overly cautious, though it's not like he didn't have a good reason or two for being such.

"Miss Freya, right, excuse me," he said, feeling a little foolish. "Well, I wouldn't want to get your hopes up, but perhaps when you've returned to Wyke you'll be knighted for your service," he suggested. "Crafting weapons though? I didn't take you for a craftswoman, though I suppose that speaks to just how little you can tell of a person from a cursory glance. Still, that sounds rather interesting. In fact, I just might have commissioned a weapon but unfortunately..." he chuckled, tugging on his robes.

"When did you start working in the armory? I imagine it must have been a little rough first starting out. I don't think I would have been able to stand the heat of the forge for very long. Did you specialize in forging a particular subset of weaponry, or was it more of a general thing?" he asked. If I could write my own tomes, wouldn't that be something...

[charlie_]

"Hi Charlotte. " Claire had just finished her second drink as she arrived, which spoke for itself. "It's really good, actually! I don't normally drink very much, but it's really nice." The mage was hardly the most social person normally, and drinking alone sounded kind of sad, but she was having a good time. Maybe they should do things like this more often. She nodded to herself, swaying slightly. It sounded like a good idea.

"You like the wine, huh? That sounds tempting too. Hmm..." She glanced between the counter and the empty glass in front of her, contemplating. Wine was supposed to be stronger than cider, right? Drinking too much was a bad idea, sure, but she didn't really feel the effects of the alcohol too much right now... She was just enjoying herself, that was all.

With that in mind, Claire slowly stood up, not because of her leg, but due to some other cause. "I think I'll try you on that." she grinned, before setting off to claim her third drink, swaying cheerfully as she went. What could possibly go wrong?

Claire +1 Wine.