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

[tisfinished]

“Well, glad to hear it meets your standards,” he says, mildly, more amused than anything at the detailed review.

“How are ya settling in, lass?” he asks.

[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..."

[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."

[tisfinished]

“Vault has great greenhouses with ether-powered sunlamps for most of our staples,” Senshi says, “with almost everyone who can tend to ‘em having little gardens and a chicken or pig or two.”

He indicates the sugar lumps, and his coffee. “For delicacies like these we buy em, openly or on the black market - which is what the Milk Run is for - or else the Flotsam fleet does a bit of privateer work against Imp freighters bound for a count’s feasthall. We grow and buy much more than we steal, but some things we can only get through piracy - almost always stuff no commoner of the Empire will ever see, much less taste.”

[theriflespiral]

"... Hm. About what I expected. I sailed on the Mad Archer for a few months after I landed on her. Long story. I just wasn't certain how much was piracy, and how much was more normal logistical means." Well, that certainly explains her ability to buy delicacies like refined sugar.

"But as for normal purchasing channels-- I know that some of us pose as delivery servants." Natalia paused. "I think we could potentially get a lot of information about the Empire's movements if we went from posing as couriers to being couriers. I... Might need a proper airship, under proper Imperial flags, but... The ability to literally fly with Imperial blessing and send things where they are needed-- that could be invaluable.

"And otherwise, run packages and shipments, and keep track of what the Houses are doing. It's... Ambitious, I will admit, but..."

[tisfinished]

“But it’s a good plan if it works,” Senshi says, stroking his beard. “Once you make a name for yourself, I’ll talk to the folks that got me the Milk Run, see what I can do.”

[theriflespiral]

Natalia nodded, setting the cleaned cups in the drying rack. "Thank you. ... Though."

She pauses. ... She has time. "Brooding over Solstice?"

She can relate.

[tisfinished]

"Hrm," he says.

Then, "One of my missions is, basically, trying to save folks from what happened to me. Mines are a dangerous place, even more so when your employers don't care about you."

[theriflespiral]

"... I see." What would someone like her even look like in this world? She paused to consider what might have been done to them to forge such a weapon.

... She did not like the idea of what stared back. "I-- am too cold, I think, for such work. I speak in... Tactical considerations. Careful assessments. Not talk to stir a heart.

"But I can tell you that you can. You have." The other steel cup rises to join its sister on the drying rack. "And you're right. Someone has to."

[tisfinished]

"...Any time you're in the area and need a hot drink, or a cool one, stop by," Senshi says. "Didn't set out to be a talker, but in this case, they'll know I know what it's like below in the dark when the canary you keep with you keels over."

[theriflespiral]

Natalia scoffed. "Only hot, I think, for a good while. Thank you, for the talk. May my gift bring joy. To many, but you especially."

She bowed, politely, and was careful to keep the hatch as shut as possible against the freezing rain that had started up outside.

Now... Where to next...? ... The Bloody Bun? ... Fine. She would go.