[LPF] Toad in the Hole

[jbear]

"Te toad? You are talking about te toad ... all te time ..."

It takes a while for Maui to respond to that as his thoughts gather like a distant brewing storm.

Maui is not looking for a fight. And Maui did not mistreat te Toad. It was Maui who asked te Demon Hunter to stop his licking and let him go. It was Maui who stopped and picked him up from te streets of Vezna and saved him from te wheels of te carts. It was Maui who prayed to Tane to calm his frights from te Demon Lick. It was Maui who kept him warm in his pocket to bring him back home in te Forest, and it is Maui who keeps him safe in his pocket until he finds te Toad his Toadstool. Not te Sly. Not anyone else. So you can all stop telling Maui what to do and what not to do."

He pauses for effect.

"Maui does not mock te Toad. Maui mocks te tangled words of te Sly. Too quick you have all fallen for her soft voice and pretty face. You see te danger of her anger, but you forget te danger of her kindness."

He glowers at his companions, obviously hurt at their lack of support on this matter. He then turns back to Beyal.

"So Beyal ... te Toad? And Taniwha? Kings of te Forest? So for you all animals are te kings of te forest? Te birds are kings? Te wolves are kings? Te cats are kings? And te fish and te toads? Help Maui untangle your words ..."

[sblock=OOC] In response to DC's message and just in case anyone in the group had any doubts:

Maui's over the top reaction was pretty deliberate on my part. An in character way to provoke Beyal to reveal what I suspected as a player, but that Maui is far too simple to have any notion of. And I think Systole knew that and played along with Beyal's reaction, so now we can all be on the same page, player and PC in so far as the knowledge we share.

There are other subtleties that have been thrown out there, and I think it is fair to assume we all might be suspecting that the toad has an important role in he adventure, so I am loathe to so quickly hand him over to such a capricious creature that, up until all but a moment ago you were all very suspicious of.

Maui is far too slow to have caught it but someone else with a dash more clever might want to follow up on: [QUOE=Beyal]"it might have something to do with Lasher and the other king."[/QUOTE] [/sblock]

 

[Artur Hawkwing]

[sblock=ooc]If you read my post a couple above you, where Marcus suggests apologizing, you'll notice he was attempting to do exactly that (as it was his comment to her that caused her to so casually toss that tidbit out) but Maui's over the top performance, and well done I might add, I lol'd so hard I had to read it again to make sure I read it right, actually caused him to have to stop offering a story or two from the party in return for information on who/what Lasher is. The handling of this fey Marcus was happy to leave to Fae'shiel, being she is far more diplomatic than he is. So by drawing out this reaction, Maui has, possibly, cost us the chance to gain said information. Only RP will tell. But, as I said, I really enjoy how Maui does things with such dramatic flair...if he weren't a Druid, I'd think he'd make a great stage actor.[/sblock]

 

[DalkonCledwin]

[sblock=OOC]First off, as far as I can tell, Beyal is not categorically a capricious creature. Rather she is like all Huldra, friendly when approached with respect and honor, violent when shown disrespect. In fact that could even potentially be said to be a categorical trait of most of the more intelligent Fey in general.

I mean just look at the Goddess Artemis from Greek Mythology. Historically speaking she was the queen of the Greek Fey. In fact in many regards she could be classified as a Nymph who was granted full on Divinity, or something to that effect (I would call her the mother of the Nymphs if it weren't for the fact that the Nymphs predate her birth). But basically in her case she was an entity that showed a great deal of kindness to most of nature and all the creatures within it, but because she was a Virgin Goddess, if any man came within one of the clearings where she dwelt she would visit divine vengeance upon him.

Now we come to Maui. Sure, you did all those things you said but you also, and I quote:

Maui takes out the toad from his pocket and holds it up as if he held something of wonder, obviously mocking the notion that Taniwha is king of the forest and really going over the top to ram his point home.

"All hail Toad! Te Other King of te Forest! All bow to te kings."

His mockery ended he angrily stuffs the toad back into his pocket who scampers about obviously upset at the sudden lift into the air and the not to soft treatment of being stuffed back into a pocket. Maui crosses his arms glaring at Taniwha who continues to ignore him, more interested now in grooming himself

Please note the section I bolded. That is the section which Fae'shiel wishes Maui to apologize for, and it is also likely the section which Beyal is enraged about. Not any of the other sections of your discussion thus far.

As for your assertion that we the Toad is an important part of the Adventure. Yes that is entirely likely, especially given the name of the adventure. That said however, the entire reason YOUR CHARACTER brought the toad along on this journey originally was to find a home for it. We are currently at the shore of a River. Toads are amphibious. They can live quite happily in various near aquatic environments, including Ponds, Lakes, Rivers, and Swamps. Heck I have even had them living in my back yard in Louisiana just north of New Orleans with next to no water nearby. So I figure we have found terrain that is likely more than suitable for the Toad to Survive in.[/sblock]

 

[Systole]

Beyal starts to advance on Maui, but the druid's obvious confusion causes her to draw up short. After a moment, she begins snickering, and the wild fey aspect fades from her, although her skirt is still a mess and her tail is still showing. "Every tale, no matter how serious, needs a fool, I suppose," she says. She chuckles and adds, "And like any fool, it seems he sometimes knows a hawk from a handsaw. 'The danger of my kindness,' indeed. Wouldn't it be a boring sort of world if kindness were always safe?"

She pauses and cocks her head. "This is not the king's place. That I will tell you truly. But which king will prevail, I do not know: either the other king and his champion Lasher, or this king and the ragtag group of misfit champions he brings with him. Either telling makes for quite a story, I think."

She plants her hands on her hips. "Still, there is the matter of your passage though my forest. Do you have a gift for me?"

GM: jbear was engaging in what I would term high risk/high reward type of behavior. I saw it and understood it, and if he hadn't pulled off the follow-up, I would have punished him for it. But he did pull it off, so I'll give you at least as much information as I was planning to give you anyway. Keep in mind, Beyal is fey and her worldview and priorities are insane by human standards, so any answers you get from her (especially the ones she believes are true) might be just a little bit suspect. Lastly, feel free to metagame the adventure title if you'd like. It may or may not be relevant. However, when everything is said and done, I'll explain things upon request.

.......... Beyal ..........

 

[DalkonCledwin]

OOC: I am probably going to regret this, but since it seems Fae'shiel has been dubbed the spokesperson of the party in this encounter by default, and since 100 gp is next to nothing to her now... It should be noted that Fae'shiel's worldviews would seem just as insane from a human standpoint as do Beyal's own worldviews. Afterall the Elves are in many ways the Kings of the Fey.

Fae'shiel looks down at her wrist, sighs, and proceeds to remove the bracelet that her sister had given her when she departed her homeland. She says to Beyal "This is one of my most prized possessions. It is some of the finest Sidhe Filigree work in existence carved into a gold bracelet designed for a womans wrist. I hope this pleases you?"

 

[Artur Hawkwing]

[sblock=ooc]Fae'shiel is the spokesperson because she made herself so, due to her concern for her companions potential entrapment by what we assumed was one sort of fey-creature who turned out to be another.[/sblock]

Marcus eyes Maui a moment, a slight smile quirking his lips as the Druid reasons things through. The Ranger's attention turns back to their hostess. He watches Fae'shiel offer a sacrifice of her own memory and adds.

From you comments regarding champions, it sounds to me as if you might enjoy stories of conflict? Those, I think we could give to you in quantity. I've nothing so beautiful as the bracelet Lady Fae'shiel offers, but I will share with you a few stories I have. Stories of my own past, or stories about the City of Venza itself, perhaps? Such stories might bring you much more enjoyment. And perhaps we can find amongst us, enough stories that you might share one with us, such as just who or what Lasher is and what it might have to do with the Pugwampi?

Marcus reaches over his back with the bow, sliding it into the quiver so that both of his hands are free, his right eyebrow is quirked in offer.

[sblock=ooc]Marcus is hoping that the stories idea will distract the Fey from taking Fae'shiel's bracelet, and also put them in a position to find out what information they seek at a cost of but a little time.[/sblock]

 

[jbear]

[sblock=A few things] [MENTION=6680145]DalkonCledwin[/MENTION] I feel like I was just told off. I don't like feeling like that. It's hard to argue with feelings. I think, given past tension, we should make an effort to communicate in a way that doesn't seem aggressive. It's very easy on the internet in a written forum to unintentionally say things more briskly than intended. Then if someone replies to that imagined prickliness it can all snowball into unpleasantness again.

As for the gift personally I was looking forward to hearing Marcus' story. [/sblock]

Maui, oblivious to the fact he has just been called a fool, looks to Marcus at mention of a tale.

"Yes, Marcus. Te gift of a tale. I would hear your story too."

 

[DalkonCledwin]

[sblock=OOC]I apologize if my out of character comments came across as telling you off. Rather I was simply trying to explain why Fae'shiel thinks it is a good idea to leave the toad in Beyal's care, as well as why she thinks it would be wise to have Maui apologize for his lack of care when handling the toad. Though keep in mind my response came before the GM's own response which seems to have mitigated my entire argument by having Beyal apparently draw the conclusion that Maui is just either not wise enough, or intelligent enough to realize how big of a fool he is apparently making of himself (no offense). My entire point in that last post is that when dealing with Sentient Fey (Elves included) often great care must be taken in what one says and does lest you insult them in a dangerous way.

Truth be told I am downright surprised that my Diplomacy Roll of a 2 did not provoke some sort of an aggressive action on Beyal's part... but I suppose that must have had both to do with the fact that Fae'shiel is an Elf, and the fact that she did not overtly draw attention to any of the things that Beyal's species generally get upset over. Probably a good thing that Fae'shiel failed both of her perception rolls in this case.

Also, I would laugh if Systole decides to torment Maui further for saying the word "Tail" in front of Beyal, even if that isn't the word that was intended...[/sblock]

 

[Artur Hawkwing]

[sblock=ooc]Where's a Bard when you really, really need one? [/sblock]

 

[Scott DeWar]

Vincenzo is relieved at Marcus offer of a story, as his last job lacked memorable or significant occurrences worthy of entertaining this Fey.

[sblock=ooc] I'm glad its Marcus and not Vincenzo as his last madcap adventure was ended while I was still in a medically induced coma, fighting for my life - you can say I was 'AFK' for a bit.[/sblock]