Jyothki disappeared into Weismar's kitchen to brew Jana some tea while the others discussed plans. She returned a few minutes later with a mug of a fragrant concoction that did wonders for Jana's self-induced illness. Soon after, the party took their leave of the Hound and Tails and Thurmaster, heading northeast along the road to Parlfray's Keep.
Arachne ran to retrieve Puddlejumper from the stable. She was happy to be off and away from the Hound and Tails already. Probably happier than PJ.
Lasiar returned to his room, and gathered his belongings before accompanying his friends to Lord Palfrey's keep. Along the way, he walked aside Jana and engaged in some friendly conversation.
Azrun walked along with the group as they went, "Did anyone get a word with Tauster while you were in town?"
"Aye," nodded Aloysius. "He had naught useful information to offer. Still nothing has been heard of Jelleneth. I assured him we would keep him as up to date as practicable."
The mage shambled along next to Gala, occasionally placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. As the group moved past the non-descript countryside, he approached Azrun.
"Azrun, hast thou had a chance to review good Pug's book of spells? I'm curious as to which incantations he had formulae for. Would you mind if I reviewed it sometime?"
Azrun stopped and dug into his pack to produce Pug's spellbook, "I've haven't had much time to look into it, but you'll probably get more out of it anyway. I might get it back and look it over when I have some more time to really study it."
Aloysius took the book in his hands and carefully stroked its cover. "My thanks, Azrun. Simply let me know when you would like to study it. I recall that he did employ an armor spell and one causing fright, but I know not what else he employed."
The mage's eyes sparkled with an idea. "Perhaps we discuss arcane theory sometime? I so miss the discussions I had with Pug."
Aloysius walked along at the same leisurely pace as the rest, carefully perusing the book and looking ahead from time to time to make sure he didn't run into anyone.
After looking through Pug's book for awhile, Aloysius grumbled something under his breath and placed the book in his pack. Then, he turned around and started to walk backwards, turning his head around so he could see where he was going. Every so often, he would snap his gaze back towards the direction he had come from and squint into the distance. This was followed by another grumble, with a return of his attention to the direction he was walking. He did this 6 or 8 times over the course of 10 minutes, each time grumbling under his breath. Finally, with a defeated look on his face, he once again walked forward, keeping his focus on the road ahead.
Lasiar approached Jana, smiling at her, basically trying to put her at ease. He began to tell Jana of his lifestory: the tragedy of his parents' demise, and his subsequent conduction into the church of the MoonMaiden. He told her how he never suffered the longing or mourning one usually experiences as an orphan. The love of the priests and particularly his faith in his Goddess's love filled that void. He briefly recounted his life as a farmer and the lessons he learned in humility.
Jana listened impassively as Lasiar spoke. She tensed a bit when he discussed his parents dying and more ovbiously when he used the word "orphan."
When nobody was looking, Lasiar gestured that Jana look at his left hand. He slowly removed the glove, revealing a missing pinky. He explained that the injury was a consequence of his pride, a lesson that was painfully learned.
Covering his hand once more, Lasiar then asked Jana about her upbringing. If she appeared uneased with discussing that topic, Lasiar quickly changes the subject and asks her training as a warrior.
"My parents were mercenaries," she said, her voice flat and her face expressionless. "They raised me in mercenary camps or left me in the care of friends, retired mercenaries, when they couldn't take me with them. They died." Jana looked straight ahead, eyes fixed on the horizon.
Their travel was slow with Gala still feeling weak from her encounter with Weismar's mutton pie. There was little to see along the road other than poor land filled with scrubby brush and grass. The land grew more hilly as the day and the road passed. It was nearing dark when they approached the smallish keep nestled in the hills. Before they reached the gates, a small contingent of guards came out to meet them.
Arachne took advantage of the group's sedate pace to climb down from Puddlejumper once in a while. On one of those occasions, she paused for a word with Azrun. She also asked questions of Aloysius and then, running forward to the scout's position, Kaileer.
"Who goes there?" asked their leader. "State your business."
Arachne was back on Puddlejumper at this point. She looked for someone imposing to state the group's business.
Aloysius stood silently near the back of the party, apparently distracted by something crawling alongside the road.
Azrun took a step forward, "Sir, I am Azrun Darkwalker. We have come to talk to your lord about the actions of some bandits near Milborne and Thurmaster. We have some information we would like to share with him." Azrun then stepped back to listen to what the guard had to say.
The man frowned at him and nodded, "Lord Parlfray won't see you until tomorrow." The guards led them through the gates and into the keep. He sent one of the other guards off with the two horses. The captain spoke quietly to a couple of serving women and pointed to a long table, "Sit. Myr will get you something to eat, and Lise will try to find some rooms for you. If you need anything else, just ask." The captain and several of the guards took up positions around the dining area.
Blacky kept silent while the guards hailed them and they were taken into the keep.
Rude though it might be to stare, Arachne couldn't help watching the guards, at least briefly. It was one thing to stand around in idle conversation or gazing absent-mindedly out the arrow slits. But persons who were just standing and watching simply invited being watched in turn. Arachne watched -- then belatedly remembered her manners and examined the straps of her backpack.
A middle-aged woman with graying auburn hair brought bread, cheese, and fruit for them. "I think we got some stew left if any of you want it," she told them. She brought ale for those who wanted it, and water for the rest. The drink here was vastly superior to what Weismar served at the Hound and Tails in Thurmaster.
Kaileer seemed even more uncomfortable inside the keep than in the village, and having armed guards around didn't seem to help.
*"I hope they have nothing against elves,"* he said to Jyothki, sitting next to the other elf so they could talk as they waited, though he said little and shifted uncomfortably every time he looked around.
His discomfort quickly disapeared as the woman brought fresh fruit and he quickly snatched an apple and brought it to his mouth. When he was about to bit it, he paused, cracked it in half and offered one of the parts to the green-haired elf with a smile.
*"When I was a child, my friends and I used to share apples. That way one of was sure not to get a worm..."* a horrified look started to creep in as he realised what he had said. *"Maybe you don't want the apple..."*
"Ale, please," Arachne said, adding, "It's healthier."
"I don't know about that," Echo said, grinning at Jana.
Jana glared comically, then giggled. "Smartass," she said quietly to Echo. Jana turned to the server. "I'd like water, or ale that's well-watered, please." She smiled, then turned her attention back to the discussion. She seemed to be feeling much better since drinking Jyothki's near-miraculous tea.
A few minutes later, a young man, not quite of age with the youngest among them, came into the room. He looked at all of them in excitement as he sat down at the table with them. "I'm Lytern," he remarked. "Who are you? The guards said you knew something about bandits in the area?"
Azrun stood as the young man asked his questions, "I am Azrun. My friends and I have had more than our fair share of these bandits. We came here to share our information with Lord Palfray and to see what information we could get from him. We've lost 3 friends to these men."
A look of sadness crossed the ranger's face again and he looked up as if past the walls and to the horizon.
Gala ate some bread only, her stomach still tender from the night before. She listened to Azrun answer. She drank water.
Aloysius followed along with the group as they were led to their table, and appeared to be sniffing the air as if something had caught his nose. As the food and drink was brought in, he sat and picked at it for a moment, but didn't eat anything. He perked up when Lytern came in an introduced himself, but deferred the parlaying to the others in the party more adept at such things. Instead, he studied the room they were in closely, at one point leaning backwards in his chair as far as he could so he could look at the ceiling.
As Azrun spoke with Lytern, Aloysius leaned over to Gala and whispered quietly in her ear.
Gala whispered a brief response.
Arachne blinked, checked the room again, then glanced at Kaileer and nodded to herself. She sipped some more of her ale.
"I'm Echo," she inserted. She started to say something else, but instead contented herself with playing with food that had been put in front of her.
"Janathell Caislean," Jana replied to the first question. At the second, she simply stood quietly, waiting for one of the others to explain.
Lasiar stood up, and bowed his head. "Let Selune guide your steps, goodman. I am Lasiar Brightmantle, Silverstar of Our Lady of Silver." He reseated himself, deferring any explanations to his friends.
Aloysius made his mouth into the shape of an "O", and began tapping the side of his mouth, producing a faint hollow sound from within his head. Then, he slowly stood up from his chair, dropped to his knees and proceeded to crawl underneath the table, excusing himself to anyone whose feet or legs he happened to crawl upon. Although mostly out of sight, the others heard him comment, "my, what a fine table this be!". Then, a knocking sound could be heard from the underside of the table.
Echo jerked her knee away when Aloysius bumped into it. Her eyes were wide as she observed this strange behavior. With a slightly lowered voice, she said, "Was it part of our goal to convince this lord's guards that one, if not all of us, is insane? WHAT is he doing?" She gave Gala a slightly hopeful look since the mage had whispered something to her before beginning to crawl around on the floor....
Gala, trying desperately not to laugh, gave a "don't ask me" kind of shrug. Her eyes could not help dancing with amusement.
"Oh," Jana said to Echo, her mug held in front of her face, "that just means he likes you. Really likes you."
Echo's eyes widened even more. She seemed to have no problem believing that this was a strange mating ritual peculiar to wizards of the purple-haired variety. She quickly jumped up from her chair.
Jana could no longer hide her smirk behind her mug, if in fact it had been hidden at all. She began to giggle.
"Wizard be strange people," the ranger commented matter-of-factly.
From her standing postion, Echo replied, "Strange. Yes. I have been witness to more strange behavior from wizards than I care to recall. But this," she glanced under the table, "is new to me."
Echo's uneasiness brought a smile to Lasiar's lips. "Don't mind the Mage. He is quite eccentric, and you'll get used to him after some time. I have." Lasiar threw a smile and a wink at the purple-haired wizard.
Arachne was indifferent to Aloysius's behavior. She had to shift around between standing, kneeling and sitting cross-legged on her chair as she dealt with stew and ale and then rested. Her legs and Aloysius weren't competing for space. Moreover, her experience with tables was that the underside was often the right place to be. The wizard was merely being an unusual big person in showing an appreciation for this wisdom. And he was evidently not hungry...
The guards positioned around the room shifted as Aloysius started acting strange. They made no offensive moves, but there was no denying that they seemed a little more wary. Lytern's face mirrored the guard's (and Echo's) concern over this behavior as well. He remained silent, listening intently to anything that anyone had to say. When his eyes fell on Gala's holy symbol, he remarked, "There's a shrine to Lathander here, on the east side of the keep."
Gala's face lit up. "My thanks, Lytern." She stood and gently excused herself, then wandered out to find the shrine.
Azrun turned to see Aloysius crawling around under the table, "Don't mind Aloysius. It is hard to keep his attention for very long. He won't hurt anyone or anything. He's just curious." Azrun looked back to the mage and shook his head.
Lise, the younger serving woman who had gone to check on rooms, returned as they were finishing their meals. She made a quick head count, "We got five rooms that are fit to be slept in. I think we can squeeze you all in. All five of them have small beds, though. They'll sleep two people if you don't mind being cozy. Not so bad if you pick your bedfellow well." She blushed after that comment when she saw Lytern in the room, "Master Lytern, what are you doing in here? Pestering the guests for tales of adventure, I'm betting?"
"I suppose in that case that I ought to share quartering with Blacky," Arachne suggested. "It sounds as though he might crowd anyone else out of the bed entirely." She smiled at him. "I believe you stayed up all night watching after our battle with the bandits in the woods, so I guess I had better ask lest I be surprised later: Do you snore?"
"Snore? Not that I know of, so that works for me. I'll probably sleep on the floor if I sleep at all. I had an exceptionally restfull night last night, so I can probably do without tonight." Blacky said betwen bites of food.
"Perhaps, you should share a room with either Gala, Echo or Jyothki, and the remaining two take a room for themselves. Some may deem it inappropriate for a man to share a room with a woman, unless they are in a relationship..." Lasiar interjected, a hint of pink appearing on his cheeks. "Aloysius, mind if I share a room with you?"
"I suppose some might," Arachne agreed, "but a small female gnome and a big man like Blacky? Whatever are you thinking?" She smiled. "Now, Lise said there were 5 rooms available and I count 5 of us who are male and 5 who are female. So, if I don't share quarters with Blacky, then who did you think would share a room with whom?"
Aloysius seemed surprised by Lasiar's question. "Hmm . . .? Oh, no, I suppose not."
"If you prefer to be roomed with another, I don't mind." Lasiar answered, somewhat hurt by the mage's seemingly indifferent response.
Aloysius looked at Lasiar in disbelief. "Thou wouldst share a room with Stargazer?" He then looked about at the others to be sure they had heard the same thing.
Echo smiled weakly. She got the joke, although she didn't seem very amused by it. She listened to comments of the others, dismissing Aloysius' behavior and sighed. When Lise returned to tell them about the rooms, she seemed very relieved. "If you or one of the guards could show me the way there, I think I'd like to retire early." She waited for someone to either show or tell her the way. Before she left the room, she added with a glance at the other women, "I'll share a room with whoever. I'm not a bad bedfellow." She left the room with a big grin, showing that she was not really upset, but the relief on her face at leaving the room was evident too.
"You forget Jana," the ranger said then paused and looked at the warrior, then back at Lasiar, "Jana IS woman, right?"
Flustered by Kaileer's quip, Lasiar coughed twice, quite mortified that even the wild elf has more sense than he.
Lasiar looked at Arachne blanky. "Oh." He appeared embarrassed by his error, and glanced at Jana apologetically. "I meant no offense, please forgive me."
"I not need bed," he said with a shrug, "floor be good sleep, like tree, not can roll off floor."
Jana glared at Kaileer. "Because I can use a sword, that makes me not a woman? Or not a real woman? Or maybe I'm just not quiet enough, not walking the appropriate number of steps behind." Jana opened her mouth to say more, but stopped herself.
Gala looked at Jana and shook her head. "I think you misinterpreted what Kaileer meant, Jana. He was teasing Lasiar, not putting you in 'your place'.
The ranger seemed alarmed by Jana's outburst. "Blacky not use sword, he be man. You not be quiet not make you not woman, it make you target in forest. I only ask Lasiar if he forget you, stop act like mad bear." he said as if speaking to a child.
Still fuming, Jana turned to Lytern and said in calm, controlled voice, "Lytern, I appreciate Lord Parlfray's hospitality, but if it's all the same to you, I'd prefer to spend the night in the stables, with my horse. I intend only to nap for a short while anyway. I'll be leaving before dawn."
Jana smiled politely but humorlessly at Lytern and left the room, pointedly ignoring her travelling companions.
"Its my fault. I will settle her down." Lasiar pursued after the angry woman.
Aloysius watched as Lasiar left in pursuit of Jana. He knelt down next to Arachne and started to giggle. "Settle her down? Oh dear, Stargazer hath serious doubts about that, small one."
Arachne was choosing that moment to inspect the stitching of her purse because, at that moment, there was a most ungenerous smirk on her face that she could not get rid of. She echoed Aloysius's giggle into her purse.
Aloysius grinned at Kaileer. "Brave one, we are of one mind. Bring thy spear, thy sword, and thy shield to my room 'pon the morn. If enchantments there be, know of them we shall."
The mage became lost in thought for a moment, then looked down at Arachne inquizitively. "Dost thou think it possible that the broach we gained from the orcs be more than a mere bauble for the eye?"
Arachne dug a small sack out of her backpack. From it she extracted the brooch. She handed it to Aloysius. "I might forget by morning," she said.
Aloysius took the broach from Arachne and held it close to his eye. After squinting at it for a moment, he lowered it to his mouth and licked it. He stuck his tongue out slightly and wiggled it back and forth. "Hmmmm, it doesn't taste magical," he muttered. He looked about at Arachne and smiled. "Of course, there are more accurate ways to discern such things." He then tucked the broach away in his pouch.
Arachne watched the wizard analyse the brooch. She glanced down at the sack the brooch had been in and inside the sack at the other stuff that was there. Then she looked up again at the wizard. Her expression blank, she waited until Aloysius was finished and had rendered his opinion. Then she put the sack away in her backpack again. She still said nothing.
Looking at Lytern, Arachne said, "Regarding tales of adventure --" She glanced at Azrun. "Have you collected many yet?" She sighed and looked again at Lytern. "What's happened to us thus far would, I think, require an awful lot of dressing and a flexible approach to truthfulness before it could make for a very satisfying tale of adventure. Dead friends make a gloomy story. Moreover, we probably want to share it first with Lord Palfray -- and whomever he appoints to hear it."
Lytern blinked at Arachne a few times and then shrugged. His earlier excitement about hearing about bandits had disappeared so he took his leave, "I wish you all a good night's rest. 'Night, Myr, 'night Lise." He nodded to the guards on his way out. He was gone for just a moment before he stuck his head back in, "Our family name is Parlfray, by the way, not Palfray. Small difference I know, but my father is very easily offended. He also won't take too well to a lot of strange behavior," he said with a glance at Aloysius. With that, he left again.
Aloysius crawled out from beneath the table and brushed himself off. He turned slowly and "Queen waved" to Lytern and the guards. "Good day," he began, "I am Aloysius Stargazer, mage, astrologer, and student of the world." He glanced back at the table. "Thy table be most excellent." Without further comment, he sat down indian style on the floor and began picking at his fingernails.
Aloysius got up off the floor and looked at Gala. "Galaret, didst thou ever get a chance to brew thy 'no-snore' formula? Afraid am I that I may keep someone awake this night." The mage lowered his head and looked somewhat uncomfortable.
"Thank you, Lytern," Arachne said quickly. "We'll need all the help we can get if we're not to overwhelm Lord Parlfray with strangeness." Trying to get as many words out as she could before Lytern disappeared again, she went on: "I'm Arachne, Arachne Convola of Furthinghome and I wasn't asking you to leave. Far from it. We _need_ you. Really. We might share other stories if you like, besides the bandit stuff. And you could share stories you've perhaps heard around here. But what we really need to find out, so that we don't commit any -- many, at least -- acts of strangeness is the custom that you and your father have around here. You see, our wizard's behavior may strike you as odd, but I have heard out to the east, that in some places it is a mark of respect and trust in one's host to crawl under the table and rap on the table legs. It demonstrates, you see, your confidence that your host furnishes his or her dwelling with sturdy furniture that won't collapse on you at the slightest provocation. Now, that's a pretty sensible gesture if you know what it means, but if you don't, then it can seem quite addled. And that is just the sort of thing that we need for you to help us keep from happening on the morrow. So, please, Lytern, will you help us?"
"The wizard is from the east?" Lytern started to look excited again. He stepped back into the room. "Where in the east are you from?" he questioned Aloysius.
Aloysius opened his mouth to answer and then stood there for a second. He glanced at Arachne, then back at Lytern. "Um, hast thou heard of the Well of the Four Winds?" he asked in reply.
Arachne nodded and gave Aloysius a big smile. Then she waited to see where the wizard wanted to take the conversation...
"Maybe you stay in sleep room do magic when Azrun or Gala talk Lord PaRlfray?" the ranger suggested to the wizard after Lytern left.
"Good," Arachne said. She thought for a moment then said, "Though I don't like the idea of your trying to do without any sleep tonight. Didn't the trip up here make for a reasonably active day? And I'd hate to see you yawning in Lord Parlfray's face on the morrow. That's probably just the sort of strangeness he'd object to."
Nodding his agreement, Kaileer took a bite from his half-apple with a resounding crunch. "Maybe other bring object you see if magic," he said with a mouthfull of apple, spraying some juice onto the table, which he promptly wiped off with his sleeve.
