Slowly, Janius rose and walked over to the campfire, one hand pressing the side of his head. As he sat down, he was handed another piece of meat a la sentinel, to which he took and bit into before he realised how it was prepared. "Ugh, this thing isn't exactly a royal chef," Janius said after swallowing.
"Good morning Janius, how is your head?" Fendros asked.
"Hah, 'good' morning, if you want to describe it that way." Janius replied, his voice intoning his foul mood, "My head is punishing me, what did you expect?"
Another groan from Ariel heralded herself sitting up. She immediately noticed the bottle of green liquid next to her and tried to inspect it through sleepy eyes. After smelling it, she had a sudden realisation of what it was. "Sabine, did you make this?" Ariel asked across the fire.
Sabine raised her head to her sister and nodded.
Ariel looked at the bottle again. This was something that was a popular product in her own store, but she never recalled Sabine being taught the recipe. She must have worked it out on her own. Clever girl. "Thank you, sister," Ariel said, her lips lifting into a smile that made her realise how puffy her eyes had become this morning. Downing the potion was as difficult as she expected, but its relief was welcome. Ariel served her own meal this morning, and Fendros was glad that it didn't leave the sentinel to make a mess of the supplies. When she joined them, she began to eat. "I can hardly remember anything from last night, I've not had that much to drink in years." She looked up at the pack with a small anxiety in her face, "I didn't... make a fool out of myself, didn't I?"
"I think I remember someone throwing up in the corner... I can't remember who, it might have been me." Janius said, his face contracting from every noise.
"So that's what that smell is," Fendros said, looking around the room from where he sat for any piles that he might want to avoid stepping into.
Muttonhawk Member
Let Slip the Corgis of War
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Dear Mr Curly,
I have done little travelling lately because I have been so dreadfully weary. Can it be true as the old Ecclesiastes said; that all things lead to weariness? Surely not. Perhaps the opposite is true: that all nothings lead to weariness. I have a peculiar feeling, Curly, that I am worn out from something I haven't yet done and the more I don't do it, the more exhausted I become. How strange. Could it be something I haven't realised? Perhaps it's something I haven't said? Something I haven't finished! It must be very large and true whatever it is and a lively struggle in the doing but I look forward to it immensely. I know I need it. First, however, I must curl up in my chair and sleep deeply with the duck. Perhaps I'll dream of this thing and wake up refreshed and do it. My fond wishes to you Mr. Curly, and to all Curly Flat.
Yours sleepily,
Vasco Pyjama
xxx
P.S. Not having breakfast can make you weary. That's for sure!
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When the sentinel virtually grabbed Fendros' spit from his hands at the behest of Meesei, he raised his hands, unsure of what to make of it. He wasn't sure he liked the idea of a skeleton cooking his breakfast.
Ahnasha stirred behind them and Fendros managed a smile as she joined them, it seemed that she had a similarly apprehensive reaction to the skeleton. Nevertheless, Fendros tried to get used to Meesei's new toy, as it were, while he watched his meat get unevenly cooked and chokingly overspiced. Being handed back his spit, he craned his head to inspect the meat, before slowly taking it from the sentinel's bony hands. The first bite was not something to melt over, but Fendros conceded that it could be worse. "So what ended up happening last night?" Fendros asked Meesei, failing to keep his eyes from flitting between her and the sentinel as it stood nearby.
A shuffle and a groan from Janius' bedroll, and from the spare bedroll away from him that contained Ariel, evidenced that the drinking did indeed continue. Whether they would be stirring immediately was not apparent, but Janius eventually discovered his hangover cure and downed it quickly. Still lying down with his eyes closed while he waited for the potion to kick in, Janius spoke to whoever would listen in a gravelly voice, "Don't believe what she says, I won, and I know it..."
Ahnasha stirred behind them and Fendros managed a smile as she joined them, it seemed that she had a similarly apprehensive reaction to the skeleton. Nevertheless, Fendros tried to get used to Meesei's new toy, as it were, while he watched his meat get unevenly cooked and chokingly overspiced. Being handed back his spit, he craned his head to inspect the meat, before slowly taking it from the sentinel's bony hands. The first bite was not something to melt over, but Fendros conceded that it could be worse. "So what ended up happening last night?" Fendros asked Meesei, failing to keep his eyes from flitting between her and the sentinel as it stood nearby.
A shuffle and a groan from Janius' bedroll, and from the spare bedroll away from him that contained Ariel, evidenced that the drinking did indeed continue. Whether they would be stirring immediately was not apparent, but Janius eventually discovered his hangover cure and downed it quickly. Still lying down with his eyes closed while he waited for the potion to kick in, Janius spoke to whoever would listen in a gravelly voice, "Don't believe what she says, I won, and I know it..."
Laughing at Meesei's comment, Ariel downed what was left of her mug and passed it forward to be refilled. "I'll see how this goes," Ariel grinned, not exactly being a veteran of drinking games.
At some point during the game, everyone's effort to record memory had lapsed as their bodies tried to handle the sujamma they were imbibing so enthusiastically. That was, except for Meesei of course, who stayed on the sidelines. Within a few rounds, Ariel was the first to fall. She ran to the side of the cavern and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor, retching for a little while longer. She had to take a moment to clean her hands and mouth by the pool before joining them again, but she didn't drink any more sujamma after that. Instead she elected to nurse her sore stomach by sipping warm water. Janius and Lorag stared each other down like rutting bucks while they downed mug after mug, their determination didn't falter before their bodies did. They had almost reached the bottom of the last keg before Janius outright fell backward and fainted where he sat. Lorag managed to let out a tired laugh, but had to suppress it in order to stay awake himself. He had won again.
Strands of Janius' consciousness seeped up to the surface as he was carried to his bedroll by his arms and legs by Ariel and Meesei. He reached for Ariel and tried to charm her further, but he was in no position to have much charisma. His last attempt, being ever so guileful and silver-tongued was, "Ariel, th's bed is awfully cold, and your hands are so warm, w'ldchou like to warm it with me?"
Ariel, still having just enough of her wits about her, giggled at Janius, but was not inclined to agree. "Oh Janius, no one told you that lycanthropy can be caught by bedding one, did they?" She said with her hands on her knees and leaning over him like he was a child.
"What!?" Janius almost sat up with astonishment as Ariel carefully walked off, but just groaned and drifted off to sleep, "That's horrible news..."
Lorag was still slightly awake, but could hardly walk by the end of the night, and needed help back to his bedroll as well.
The next morning, Fendros awoke to the smell of stale drink and Sabine brewing her hangover cure again. As he slowly got up, letting Ahnasha's arms slide from him, he looked around to find that he was the first to awaken behind Sabine. It was understandable, with how much merriment was had last night. After splashing his face with the water of the pool and walking over to start cooking his breakfast, he felt fresh and in a better mood this morning, despite his previous thoughts. "Morning, Runt," He said. Runt nodded as she stirred some kind of grass into a liquid in her mortar. Tonight, they would be assaulting the witches coven. It was something better to focus on than the tribulations that Fendros had in his mind last night.
At some point during the game, everyone's effort to record memory had lapsed as their bodies tried to handle the sujamma they were imbibing so enthusiastically. That was, except for Meesei of course, who stayed on the sidelines. Within a few rounds, Ariel was the first to fall. She ran to the side of the cavern and emptied the contents of her stomach onto the floor, retching for a little while longer. She had to take a moment to clean her hands and mouth by the pool before joining them again, but she didn't drink any more sujamma after that. Instead she elected to nurse her sore stomach by sipping warm water. Janius and Lorag stared each other down like rutting bucks while they downed mug after mug, their determination didn't falter before their bodies did. They had almost reached the bottom of the last keg before Janius outright fell backward and fainted where he sat. Lorag managed to let out a tired laugh, but had to suppress it in order to stay awake himself. He had won again.
Strands of Janius' consciousness seeped up to the surface as he was carried to his bedroll by his arms and legs by Ariel and Meesei. He reached for Ariel and tried to charm her further, but he was in no position to have much charisma. His last attempt, being ever so guileful and silver-tongued was, "Ariel, th's bed is awfully cold, and your hands are so warm, w'ldchou like to warm it with me?"
Ariel, still having just enough of her wits about her, giggled at Janius, but was not inclined to agree. "Oh Janius, no one told you that lycanthropy can be caught by bedding one, did they?" She said with her hands on her knees and leaning over him like he was a child.
"What!?" Janius almost sat up with astonishment as Ariel carefully walked off, but just groaned and drifted off to sleep, "That's horrible news..."
Lorag was still slightly awake, but could hardly walk by the end of the night, and needed help back to his bedroll as well.
The next morning, Fendros awoke to the smell of stale drink and Sabine brewing her hangover cure again. As he slowly got up, letting Ahnasha's arms slide from him, he looked around to find that he was the first to awaken behind Sabine. It was understandable, with how much merriment was had last night. After splashing his face with the water of the pool and walking over to start cooking his breakfast, he felt fresh and in a better mood this morning, despite his previous thoughts. "Morning, Runt," He said. Runt nodded as she stirred some kind of grass into a liquid in her mortar. Tonight, they would be assaulting the witches coven. It was something better to focus on than the tribulations that Fendros had in his mind last night.
Heheh, fair enough.
Hmm.... I'm not sure if it'll be really interesting, I think a timeskip would be better. we can just summarise the rest of the night.
Did you want to play out the drinking contest, or skip through the night?
Yeah, AoStar hasn't made any posts in the last two weeks. I don't know whether he's coming back.
Janius tried but failed to suppress his laughter, "We'll see, big boy." He took yet another drink, then looked to Ariel with a cheeky grin, "Ariel, can I get a kiss for good luck from those beautiful lips, before this mighty clash?"
Ariel smiled, but hesitated, looking to the others. One could easily have mistaken her pause for thinking, but her mind was thoroughly clouded by this point. With Janius leaning forward from where he was sitting with one cheek turned to her expectantly, she answered "yes," before she quickly leaned forward and brought her lips to his eye, missing his cheek wildly. Whether it was simply overbalancing or intentional was unknown, but the former was more likely. Janius recoiled slightly at the kiss, laughing and rubbing his now sore eye. Some sujamma was still on her lips and it didn't agree with his eye upon contact.
Ariel sat back down and took a deep breath, recovering from her own bravery. "Lorag, shall we begin the contest?"
Ariel smiled, but hesitated, looking to the others. One could easily have mistaken her pause for thinking, but her mind was thoroughly clouded by this point. With Janius leaning forward from where he was sitting with one cheek turned to her expectantly, she answered "yes," before she quickly leaned forward and brought her lips to his eye, missing his cheek wildly. Whether it was simply overbalancing or intentional was unknown, but the former was more likely. Janius recoiled slightly at the kiss, laughing and rubbing his now sore eye. Some sujamma was still on her lips and it didn't agree with his eye upon contact.
Ariel sat back down and took a deep breath, recovering from her own bravery. "Lorag, shall we begin the contest?"
Quite the crafty young type, this one. I can appreciate that.
"Myself?" Leo put his hand to his chest, "Well, when I was very young, I started off reading about the human body and how it works from books, then I persuaded a healer to apprentice me for several years, then I traveled to find out more." Leo's eyes wandered to one side as he recalled, "I came upon the establishments of lore-keepers, who, among books about healing magic itself, expanded my understandings of other races. In terms of their health, mostly." He held out both his palms, "Each time I learned something new, I was closer to what I wanted to find, but still so far away." He brought his hands back and waved one in front of his snout, "In fact, I came here to find out more. I'm still searching." He leaned back a little and kept both hands on the table, "So you could say that I taught myself a lot, but much is based on what I learned as an apprentice."
Leo sniffed and looked at the jar of paste on the table. Curious, he picked it up and removed its lid, looking at its contents and smelling it. Whatever it was, it smelled fresh. "So, you're a guild alchemist then? Not such a bad organisation..." accepting Tala's implied offer of help, Leo put down the jar and carefully tried to undo his bandage in order to apply the balm. "... if a little close-minded, but you know what they say, 'to a man with a hammer, everything is a nail'." Leo said rather insensitively. Having dealt with various organisations like the alchemist's guild, he was shown the door on a number of occasions when probing for knowledge that they would rather protect. Of course they always had other reasons, ones they liked to use because 'principles' sounded more justified than just keeping their secrets. With his bandage unraveled, Leo took some of the balm with a couple of fingers and spread the cold substance over his wound, scrunching his nose when it made contact. Stings like a true medicine. After applying the paste, Leo retied his bandage feeling a little safer already. He would have had to risk sleeping through the night before being able to heal the wound completely on his own. The fae's throat was something so small that it was well within his current levels of energy, but a flesh wound on a larger and more mundane creature such as himself would require more effort. Replacing the cap and pushing the jar back across the table, Leo nodded. "Thank you," he said flatly, "I owe you one."
Leopold glanced towards the door. That dwarf, Caelyn, he was taking a while doing whatever he was doing. Dismissing the thought, Leo turned back to Tala. "How about your learning? Has it been through the guild exclusively? And your sewing and weaving?"
"Myself?" Leo put his hand to his chest, "Well, when I was very young, I started off reading about the human body and how it works from books, then I persuaded a healer to apprentice me for several years, then I traveled to find out more." Leo's eyes wandered to one side as he recalled, "I came upon the establishments of lore-keepers, who, among books about healing magic itself, expanded my understandings of other races. In terms of their health, mostly." He held out both his palms, "Each time I learned something new, I was closer to what I wanted to find, but still so far away." He brought his hands back and waved one in front of his snout, "In fact, I came here to find out more. I'm still searching." He leaned back a little and kept both hands on the table, "So you could say that I taught myself a lot, but much is based on what I learned as an apprentice."
Leo sniffed and looked at the jar of paste on the table. Curious, he picked it up and removed its lid, looking at its contents and smelling it. Whatever it was, it smelled fresh. "So, you're a guild alchemist then? Not such a bad organisation..." accepting Tala's implied offer of help, Leo put down the jar and carefully tried to undo his bandage in order to apply the balm. "... if a little close-minded, but you know what they say, 'to a man with a hammer, everything is a nail'." Leo said rather insensitively. Having dealt with various organisations like the alchemist's guild, he was shown the door on a number of occasions when probing for knowledge that they would rather protect. Of course they always had other reasons, ones they liked to use because 'principles' sounded more justified than just keeping their secrets. With his bandage unraveled, Leo took some of the balm with a couple of fingers and spread the cold substance over his wound, scrunching his nose when it made contact. Stings like a true medicine. After applying the paste, Leo retied his bandage feeling a little safer already. He would have had to risk sleeping through the night before being able to heal the wound completely on his own. The fae's throat was something so small that it was well within his current levels of energy, but a flesh wound on a larger and more mundane creature such as himself would require more effort. Replacing the cap and pushing the jar back across the table, Leo nodded. "Thank you," he said flatly, "I owe you one."
Leopold glanced towards the door. That dwarf, Caelyn, he was taking a while doing whatever he was doing. Dismissing the thought, Leo turned back to Tala. "How about your learning? Has it been through the guild exclusively? And your sewing and weaving?"
This Tala seemed agreeable enough. She was polite, and didn't appear to stare at Leo's head. He thought that It would be nice to know more than simply a name, the colour of her cloak and her occupation. He might even like to know her as an acquaintance rather than a stranger.
"I see, I see. That's strikingly familiar to how I ended up here," Leopold replied, looking about the room as if he might find its mysteries in one of the rafters. He stopped to look at an inconsequential point in space over the middle of the table. "That said, I wasn't looking for gold, or decorations for a ring... and I didn't come across this place multiple times... and I had an arrow in my arm for some of it... and I'm still tired..." what could be described as one of Leopold's eyebrows was raised as his thought process diverged from the subject for a moment. He didn't really know where he was going with his own retelling, but he wanted to keep the conversation going. He brought his focus back again, and became curious. "Come to think of it, a forest would be an unusual place to find gold." Leo leaned forward and tilted his head, "What else were you looking for?"
So much for finding out more than just occupation, Leopold thought to himself, well, it's better than suffering hallucinations... why won't that elf go away?!
"I see, I see. That's strikingly familiar to how I ended up here," Leopold replied, looking about the room as if he might find its mysteries in one of the rafters. He stopped to look at an inconsequential point in space over the middle of the table. "That said, I wasn't looking for gold, or decorations for a ring... and I didn't come across this place multiple times... and I had an arrow in my arm for some of it... and I'm still tired..." what could be described as one of Leopold's eyebrows was raised as his thought process diverged from the subject for a moment. He didn't really know where he was going with his own retelling, but he wanted to keep the conversation going. He brought his focus back again, and became curious. "Come to think of it, a forest would be an unusual place to find gold." Leo leaned forward and tilted his head, "What else were you looking for?"
So much for finding out more than just occupation, Leopold thought to himself, well, it's better than suffering hallucinations... why won't that elf go away?!
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