04 - Mulled Cider and Wine; Eel and Root Vegetable Hand Pies; Creamy Cod Chowder

[tisfinished]

1: The Milk Run, docked at Flotsam

Senshi seems unusually focused and far less chatty than usual as he serves up hearty winter fare; in addition to the headline items from this post's title, he has hot tea, coffee and cocoa available as well as pork pies and (as a vegetarian option) mushroom pies and an array of pickled vegetables.

He tries to be friendly as ever, but it's clear something weighs heavily on his mind.

2: The Vault's Practice Halls

Senshi is in need of a sparring partner. He's practicing with axe and shield - curiously, practicing with a cage strapped to his chest - and the poor wooden practice dummies he's been whaling on have been taking a serious beating.

"Think maybe I need an actual opponent," he says, his voice unusually clipped.

3: Solstice Gift-Giving

Beware: if you've done any kindnesses to the weird dwarf that loves to cook with monster meat (even more so than most Flotsam pirates, at any rate) then you're liable to find a box outside your home or apartment door wrapped in a ribbon.

While there is no name identifying who could have left them, the fact that they are exquisite, frosted gingerbread monsters narrows down the possible culprits significantly.

Comments

Re: 1

[tisfinished]

“Mmn?”

He wasn’t aware it was so obvious something was on his mind, and he takes a moment to gather himself and consider his answer.

“It’s just the upcoming mission,” he says. “I… used to mine for the Empire before I realized they were no good. Before they started using slaves wholesale.”

Re: 2

[tisfinished]

“A challenging one,” he says. “Practicing with my kit for the mission so I’ll know how to fight with it.”

He’s not terribly familiar with Rezo, but he has seen him at the feasts and mission briefings.

[theriflespiral]

"... I have been roped into calculating minimum yields, translating the hellish language that passes for Old English here, hunted a giant kraken..." She gripped the cup tightly now. "... And I keep looking for the trick. I keep thinking, 'a place like this can't possibly exist'."

"Not that I think the Corsairs are perfect. On the contrary, there's so much room for everyone to have better lives, unhunted and unharmed, but..."

Re: I, the Milk Run

[tisfinished]

“Course. Don’t serve anything I haven’t tasted and approved of,” he says, and there’s a fierce pride in it. “I do victualing for the local fleet, too and that means it’s all stuff I hauled in aboard this boat.”

“Haven’t seen you around before,” he notes. “New arrival?”

[tisfinished]

“You’re not used to a place working out.”

He’d seen the type before.

Sips his coffee.

“…there was a time,” he says, very softly, “when I would make sure to stuff all of my pockets with spare leavings from tables, nuts or sweetmeats, breads, because I couldn’t imagine the table being just as full tomorrow,” Senshi says.

He is afraid she can relate.

[theriflespiral]

"... There were times like that, yes. When you don't know your meal tomorrow, because today took up all your time, and you curl up and gnaw as purely at your hunger as your food." She sips her coffee. "... If I could make sure of it, I would keep it from happening to anyone else. To pile that blood and uncertainty and starvation on myself."

She's almost certain he can relate, now.

[tisfinished]

"No," he says, sharp, angrier than he means to be. "Not on myself. Hunger saps strength, and depriving myself would only just keep me too weak to help others. When drowning, get to shore before rescuing others."

He sighs, and seeing his drink empty, puts the cup in the dirty rack and gets himself apple wassail. "But there's a reason that no one goes hungry where I can see them starve."

[theriflespiral]

She sits up straight at that. But... Less guarded. Less closed off. A little more resolute. "I-- I see, now."

She sipped the last of the coffee, and then got ready to start washing, rolling up her sleeves. "Something like that, which I can do-- I think I have an idea.

"Can you tell me about how we get supplies? Including from hunting and growing our own."

[newmemorywhodis]

Link nods his head rapidly. Yes, of course he wants to try it. Link wants to try everything.

But while Senshi prepares the drink, Link looks at the man. He doesn't say anything. But he looks, and there's something in his gaze and in his posture that suggests that Link wants to listen.

He won't insist Senshi talk, of course. Not if he doesn't want to. But if the man wants to talk about just what was weighing on his mind, Link will listen.

[redprayer]

"Oh?" Rezo thinks about the upcoming mission, and what the intelligence on the guards is. As far as he's aware, the average Imperial soldier doesn't rely heavily on spellcasting, so Rezo himself wouldn't make the most accurate sparring partner. Though Senshi's phrasing does make it sound as if he needs more practice using his weapons at all-

But an idea occurs to Rezo after a second of thought. "I could try animating the combat dummies if you wish to practice with moving targets," he offers.

[upupatomway]

Atom makes his way over to Senshi, grinning ear to ear. "Thank you for the gift! I'm sure these will be delicious! I wanted to find you before I ate them and ask what kind of creatures these are."

In case Senshi doesn't remember which he gave him, Atom opens the lid of the box so Senshi can see the gingerbread again.

I, the Milk Run

[thunderwarden]

"An army marches on its stomach. Good to meet a man who knows that."

Cid nods his approval at that. He could appreciate a man who took pride in his work.

"And I am, aye," he nods confirmation of the dwarf's suspicions. "That obvious, eh? Do I smell for than these other sods, then? I'll remember to bathe." The smirk that accompanied the comment made it clear he was joking. Mostly.

[tisfinished]

He sets down both cups, with lumps of sugar and a small jug of milk, and stirs himself in sugar without milk, leaving Link to season his own to his taste as he slices the nutcake.

After a moment of silence, he sighs. “You’ve been briefed on the planned new years fireworks, of course.”

[tisfinished]

“Ah, yes!” He says. “A collection of some of the more interesting critters I’ve run across. There’s some sea serpents and krakens, of course - not the same flavor as the feast, but I don’t think you’ll object - but also a gryphon, an owlbear, and that crab-looking one is actually a chest-mimic!”

[tisfinished]

“That would be a sight more challenging,” he begrudingly admits. “You could cut the strings on em if things go wrong, right?

He doesn’t trust magic much, with no offense to mages.

Re: I, the Milk Run

[tisfinished]

“Simply the accent and the fact that I haven’t seen much of you before,” Senshi says. “Newcomers speak all sorts of languages, even when speaking imperial.”

Re: 1

[spacetogrow]

"Worried about seeing someone you know, or just," Ilphyl waved a hand, "knowing what kind of people do that work, and that we will need to make a hard choice if we can't get them to leave?"

[newmemorywhodis]

Generally, Link would just immediately gulp down the drink in one go. But unusually, he waits. Looks at Senshi, and nods.

Yes, he knows the plan. He was there when it was being debated. Had objected very clearly when some had suggested the farms as a target, in fact. Even though Link almost never spoke up at those meetings, preferring to listen to others speak instead.

[harlequinchimera]

She nods, relaxing a bit, "That's a real tall order. They will not see that the coin is the collar that they wear. It's a real challenge getting one to see how one is so bound. Simply because they row the boat, they believe that they are free of it, but their hands are chained to the oars, bound just as those caged below are."

She settled, sighted and tilted her head. "I don't want any of the slaves killed or anyone else, not needlessly. It's my own thinking that the workers must be spared, but the work itself broken - but that would still mean dire consequences for them." She took a long breath. "It's not going to be easy, you're right about that."

[upupatomway]

"So Gryphons are real in this world? Are all of them?" he asks. He had guessed correctly what the sea monsters and the gryphon were but he hadn't seen the other two species, and he wasn't sure if any of them besides the sea monsters were real. "What's an owlbear or a chest-mimic?"

[redprayer]

"Of course," Rezo says. "And we can start off with a very simple level of animation. No attacking or defending, just a bit of moving around." Once Senshi's adjusted to that, then they can throw in some more complications.

[tisfinished]

“I owe it to my old team to get in there and save as many as I can,” he says. “Knowing that if even if we succeed, some folk who don’t deserve it are going to die… If we’re doing the necessary evil I need to make sure we do it right.”

He sips his drink.

“When I come back, I’ll be glad to talk about pizza toppings and how best to clean whole fish again,” he says. “Feeding folk is good work, if you can get it.”

[tisfinished]

And Senshi knows that.

“I used to be in a mining team,” Senshi says. “We were supposed to have the full faith and backing of the Empire. We… didn’t, when it mattered the most.”

“Now I’m going to have to go to the mines myself to stop… others from suffering that, if I can.”

His voice is careful, level, and he watches for Link’s expressions, his reactions.

[tisfinished]

“Well an owlbear has an owl’s head, feathers, and talons but the weight and general body plan of a bear, and a chest-mimic likes to disguise itself in boxes of valuables so it can jump on looters,” Senshi says, brightly. “There are all sorts of weird critters who use ether instinctively, to get bigger or use unusual abilities.”

He pauses. “Dragons used to be a great example - they could shoot fire by basically igniting their burps - but the Imps hunted them to near extinction.”

Re: 1

[tisfinished]

“Even if we succeed, people who don’t deserve it are going to die,” he says, bluntly. “Gonna make sure that number is as small as I can make it.”