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: 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.

[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.

[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.

[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]

He nods.

“That’s a good start. Need to get used to moving in this rig again.”

He braces himself.

“When you’re ready, Rezo.”

[redprayer]

Rezo steps lively over to the training dummies and taps one, then another, with his staff. He mentally recites most of the spell but speaks the power words aloud:

"{Cio Anima!}"

With the creaking and groaning of shifting wood, the two dummies begin to twist and reshape themselves until they are balanced on a pair of crude wooden legs. Although the sight may be alarming, Rezo's word holds true and they do not attack anyone when they begin moving properly.

Instead, they begin doing a wobbly series of twirls and box steps around the room, as if dancing with a set of invisible partners.