[LPF] Toad in the Hole

[Artur Hawkwing]

Kiss Reaction

Marcus finds his attempt at diplomatic distraction falling flat on its face. As he considers the situation, the tension rises again. A little tension creeps into his shoulders again, especially when Fae'shiel, insulted and shamed in one simple sentence, stands from her seat. Though not sure how he would stop the full-blooded Elven Noble from causing whatever harm she might have in mind, he prepares to try to get up and intercede when he is stopped in mid thought by her sudden turn and approach. As he tries to consider if he, himself, might have by accident insulted the Maiden, he is frozen, totally stunned and speechless, a rarity for him, when she speaks to him in Elven. Before can clutch at the chair arms to attempt to wrest himself from harms way, well aware of the Elven opinion of half-bloods, he is grabbed. His mind swims as he is pulled forward and a full on kiss is pressed on him. His eyes are wide in surprise, but a little glimmer of enjoyment or pleasure flickers as well. When released, he can only slump back into his seat, still stunned into silence. He is brought back to the here and now by Maui's words.

It is no insult to ones blood. It is the nature of the world. And, I dare say, one tremendous indictment against you.

He catches his breath well enough to reply in Elven to the Maiden.

(in Elven)No harm done, so nothing to forgive.

He sits in uncomfortable silence until the perspective employer enters. Marcus finds himself stealing a glance now and again at the Elven Maiden as if concerned she might decide take other actions against him, to hide the act she has just taken, but he listens to the man talking. He clears his throat, his voice cracking just a little from the effort to hide his embarrassment.

These...These caravans, I assume, traveled with a guard of some kind, what kind did they travel with? A single guard with a crossbow, or a more well prepared unit?

 

[DalkonCledwin]

Noting Maui's misunderstanding of her words she says simply enough "You misunderstand human. Where I come from though it is rare for a full-blooded Elf to have romantic relations with a Half-Elf, they are not treated as second-class citizens in any way shape or form. In fact the main city in my home forest has it's population composed of mostly Half-Elves. So no, I am not insulting him in anyway."

She then looks back to Marcus and says in Elven "Do not be ashamed. You have nothing to worry about. My actions may have been spurred on by the wild human's words. But the truth is I was impressed by you in our last excursion."

 

[Scott DeWar]

Vincenzo just snickers boyishly at the anticks of his soon to be compatriots.

At the mention of dueling, Vincenzo gives his full attention, even bowing in his seat at the inuendo, and showing dismay at the discovery of the stolen cargo.

"Most likely human bandits or the such, if the cargo was already known. goblins *hach-spit* and kobolbs are too small to use weapons as these would be. Still, the type of bandits would be a great boon of knowledge."

 

[DalkonCledwin]

Fae'shiel says "Do not be so hasty to assume that the 'bandits' were human. There are in fact various other races who can utilize human sized weapons. Including my own, though I doubt Elves would have any reason to steel that kind of weaponry. The other Fey on the other hand I am unsure about. Tell me Mr. Franco, where did these thefts take place? Were they by any chance within close proximity to territory claimed by any of the Fey Races? Or perhaps is it possible that they were seized upon by Orcs?"

 

[Artur Hawkwing]

Marcus recovers from being smooched, and to this point has avoided either wiping his mouth or touching it in disbelief. Fae'shiel's comments to the Human are heard, though they don't quite register. It is her voice, speaking in Elven, that again draws his attention, he turns his head, his eyes still a little wide in disbelief, even as she speaks. The last few words succeed in forcing the half-elf ranger into blushing a nice shade of red. He smiles, a bit shyly, but nods to her, then turns his attentions to the rotund one who, it seems, is worried about a shipment of swords and other goods. Marcus shakes his head as something causes the wind to go up his back. Reflexively his hand goes over his shoulder, resting comfortingly on the head of the hammer on his back.

[sblock=ooc]Felt I needed to address Fae'shiel's comment. We can talk about it on the way south, i would think. [/sblock]

 

[Systole]

GM: Recommencing from the end of Franco's speech.

........

“In short, I want those swords back, and I’d like the little pests that took them taken care of. And I’ll of course pay full value for any recovered items. Agreed?”

Mortar lets out a hearty laugh as the man mentions 'rich idiots'. "Ya may not be a dwarf sir, but you have the business savy of one."

"These 'pests' you speak of. Do ya know what they are? Whether they be human, orc, or goblin?" Mortar almost spits as the last one leaves his lips. "Any extra knowledge would be greatly appreciated."

Franco laughs in return. "Why thank you, kind sir. I do take that as the highest of compliments. As to the identity of the beasts, I'm afraid I don't know. Alvise Biaggio was the driver of the looted wagon. Varga should have him here in a moment. You'll be able to ask him for that information."

These...These caravans, I assume, traveled with a guard of some kind, what kind did they travel with? A single guard with a crossbow, or a more well prepared unit?

"This particular shipment was a single wagon with a single guard, who has since been relieved of duty. In the past, the creatures were generally quite cowardly, and any show of force was enough to keep them away. Apparently that's changed."

"Most likely human bandits or the such, if the cargo was already known. goblins *hach-spit* and kobolbs are too small to use weapons as these would be. Still, the type of bandits would be a great boon of knowledge."

"Do not be so hasty to assume that the 'bandits' were human. There are in fact various other races who can utilize human sized weapons. Including my own, though I doubt Elves would have any reason to steel that kind of weaponry. The other Fey on the other hand I am unsure about. Tell me Mr. Franco, where did these thefts take place? Were they by any chance within close proximity to territory claimed by any of the Fey Races? Or perhaps is it possible that they were seized upon by Orcs?"

"Alvise seems quite insistent that the creatures were short and definitely not human. More than that I don't know. Ah, speak of the devil." Varga enters with a rather grizzled looking half elf in tow. Franco rises as if to leave. "So you've all accepted my offer, I take it? If so, I'll get back to work and leave the details to Varga."

"No problem," Varga says.

Franco gives Alvise a very meaningful glare, in which it's clear that the driver is on exceptionally thin ice with the merchant. "And Alvise will of course assist you in every way possible."

"Should've stuck to frog hunting," the half-elf mutters.

.... Geralt Franco .......... Varga Renlow ......... Alvise Biaggio ...

 

[Caim]

Mortar looks the half-elf over quickly. "Frog huntin? Yea...yea maybe ya should've." He shifts slightly in his seat to rest on the edge. "What was it exactly that attacked the shipment? Your former boss mentioned that they weren't human and they're short. Any and all details ya can recall could be helpful."

 

[Scott DeWar]

Vincenzo del Vecchio da via della Rosa D'Avorio II

"Yes, such as their skin, ears, shape of their head, any thing like that."

 

[jbear]

"Short? Like Hufflings? Tiny children men? They steal your swords?"

Maui looks at the driver most unimpressed that he would be robbed by such harmless creatures.

 

[Systole]

Signor Franco bows and departs, leaving you with the dwarf and the half-elf.

"Hey, he's not my former employer yet! I'm still employed!" Alvise protests to Mortar.

Varga glares at him. "For the moment, anyway."

Alvise quails a bit under the dwarf's disapproval, but recovers. "Well, they wasn't goblins, nor kobolds neither. I've tussled with goblins," he says proudly. "These things ... well, it's like you took a mangy lookin' bulldog and set it walking on its hind legs, and then gave it a spear. And they bark a lot at each other. Real loud, like. You can always hear 'em comin'." He shudders.

"And the attack..." Varga prompts him.

"I'm sorry ... my, uh, throat is getting a bit dry what with all this talking. Any chance I could get a drink?"

Varga looks at him incredulously. "I'm going to pretend that was a joke," she says, "because if that wasn't a joke, I'd personally eject you from the building. Off the roof."

Alvise gulps audibly. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course. Just ... just kidding, Ms. Renlow, ma'am! Uh, so ... well, me and the guard was coming north from Irthos, and I've done the run before, so I knowed there was a stretch of road where the beasties come out. Usually, they just hide in the bushes and throw rocks, or they come out in the road and bark at you, and then skitter out of your way when you don't stop."

He scratches at his beard stubble. "This time, they'd set up a trap. They went and dug a hole in the road and covered it, and one of the horses stepped in it and broke a leg. Next thing we know, the beasties was all around, barking and yipping and hollering and poking us with spears. So yeah, I went and run and left the wagon and the horses to 'em," he says with a defiant look at Varga. "We was outnumbered, and you can talk about them being small, but a bunch of littler spears can kill you just the same. And the guard run first, anyway. I was just following his lead. After that, we was only a couple miles short of the Owl and Stag Inn, so we went there."

He shrugs. "That's the story."

GM: K:Nature rolls to figure out what the creatures might be. EDIT - Throw a K:Local on there, too, if you've got it.

..... Varga Renlow ......... Alvise Biaggio ...