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Post Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 2:50 am |
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Piper turns out to be standing right behind Arkady, looking with curiousity at the imprisoned Queen.
"Your colour's close to Styric," admits Ulath. "Shape of your face is different. More Tamul. I guess any number of swords raised in salute could mean knights?"
"Long way from the sea to crash a ship," says the elderly man. "Ah, yes, that's right. I see you've heard of me already. And might I ask your names?"
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Kajin
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Post Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 3:03 am |
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"We might have gone a tad bit farther out of our way than that when we crashed, I'm afraid," Felix laughs. "But the stories and explanations are long winded."
"I'm Felix, and this is Nathan and Arkady," Felix gestures to his companions in order. "Sir Sparhawk said we should contact you for assistance should we require it in securing our safety. We may or may not still need that, but for now it looks like we're not going to be forcibly evicted."
Felix sighs.
"So much to do and so little time for it. There's never enough time, is there?"
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weremensh
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Post Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 4:42 pm |
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With a smile, Arkady adds "And this is Piper, my lord; to all appearances a mute Styric foundling with considerable skill at piping. In truth, she is the bane of all sweetmeats; confectioners tell their candies that if they don't behave She'll get them. We're pleased to meet you."
"As to our ship; we're just as puzzled about how it got there as you may be. We suspect magic, which is to say we haven't got a clue."
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Kajin
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Post Posted: Sat Aug 13, 2016 6:50 pm |
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"We were all sort of asleep when our ship decided to land itself in the forest, so we don't exactly know what happened," Felix continues. "You know how it goes. One minute you're frozen in ice sleeping away the countless millennia and next thing you know you wake up in a strange land with strange people and no idea what's going on."
Felix laughs.
"Ten thousand years of slumber will give you an incredible crick in the neck."
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CCC
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 5:09 am |
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"Ten thousand years? My goodness. I can see I shall have to ask you for the full story one day. Not today, though, we don't have long. I take it you have some sort of formal document legitimising your stay and preventing eviction?"
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Kajin
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Post Posted: Sun Aug 14, 2016 1:28 pm |
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"Yeah, Nathan has it," Felix replies. "Sir Ulath is the owner of the land until such time as a Terran acquires a noble title and thus qualified to own it ourselves."
Felix ponders for a moment.
"Sir Sparhawk said you could help with legal issues, but I'm wondering if you can help us with some other issues as well? Of course here isn't the best place to discuss matters. Is there somewhere we can go after we're done attending to the Queen?"
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weremensh
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Post Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 12:53 am |
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Arkady considers what Felix just said, then turns to Sir Ulath: "I've been meaning to ask. Can you own land, or did your order just become our landlord?"
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CCC
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Post Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 1:14 am |
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"I'm allowed to own land," says Sir Ulath. "As long as managing it doesn't take time away from my Knightly duties."
"I'm afraid any aid I can give you is limited to advice only," says the Earl, finishing up with the torches. "I have virtually no real power, which is the main reason why I'm still here. But I would most certainly appreciate a chance to talk further with you. I can think of a number of places -"
"The Pandion chapterhouse?" asks Sir Ulath.
"Good heavens, no," says the Earl. "The Primate has all the entrances watched, he'll know we've been talking. There's a small apothecary at the end of Stirrup Street, if you could perhaps visit there around noon tomorrow, we could continue this conversation. In the meantime, though, you really should be going. The Primate has probably heard about your visit to the throne room by now, and since that suggests you might have some sympathy for the Queen, he's probably regretting giving you that document. Go out the back way, through the statue garden, and hide that document somewhere safe before you come back."
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Kajin
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Post Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 1:20 am |
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It wouldn't hurt to have a copy or two hundred of this document, just in case... Felix thinks to himself. Better take a picture of it once we're back to the chapter house.
"We'd best get going, then. It was a pleasure meeting you."
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weremensh
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Post Posted: Mon Aug 15, 2016 7:51 pm |
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Arkady nods to the older noble. "He profited enough, I think. Until we are next meeting. Piper, let's see some statues."
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CCC
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Post Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 2:15 am |
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"The pleasure was mutual," says the Earl. "I shall be sure to warn the city's confectioners of the presence of the bane of all sweetmeats."
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Sir Ulath leads you out to the statue gardens; a riot of bushes, flowers, and other flora (apparently chosen for its colours) surrounds a large number of statues. Tall statues of presumably noble - at least photogenic - kings, or armoured knights on horseback, all in a variety of poses, are scattered around. Some have a level of facial detail suggesting historic personages, while others have generic faces but detailed accessories, suggesting the representation of some abstract ideal.
And some are not human at all, showing monstrous beasts - yes, there's a manticore statue over there - either alone or locked in eternal battle with stone knights (that stone manticore over there is facing a stone knight who's standing protectively over a stone maiden with a stone crown). Here a king looks imperiously over some rose bushes; there a mismatched multiheaded monstrosity grins evilly at an oak tree.
While large, the statue gardens are full of quiet, fairly secluded corners to sit and catch one's breath in, should one so desire.
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Kajin
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Post Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 4:06 pm |
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Felix keeps on moving.
"I'd like to get out of here as soon as possible," Felix says. "Unless anyone wants to stay and admire the statues?"
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CCC
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Post Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 5:07 pm |
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"Straight back to the chapterhouse?" asks Sir Ulath, ducking under the stone lance of a charging knight statue.
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Kajin
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Post Posted: Tue Aug 16, 2016 6:29 pm |
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Felix nods.
"From there we can figure out what to do, unless anyone has any better ideas."
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