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

[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?"

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.”

Re: 1

[spacetogrow]

Ilhpyl nodded. "I hate that fact. I know they aren't my people, but I think about the sort of people I grew up with. Most of them just were looking after themselves and their families, and that makes it easier to just go along with the people in charge. And they don't really control who those people in charge are, or what they want."

Re: 1

[tisfinished]

"Sounds like you've thought about this. Reaching the people who depend on the enemy to survive, I mean."

It's possibly the greatest problem facing the Corsairs, in his mind.

Re: 1

[spacetogrow]

Ilphyl shrugged, than shifted uncomfortably. "The place where I grew up had slavery, too. It wasn't everywhere back home, so it stood out more that my people did it. So I'm trying to use that to help here, and take what I learn back home."