Nedrassian Trench (Tranquility)

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

Herneiros walked out with a possibly unwilling assistant to present several covered plates, and placed one before everyone. They were surprisingly large plates.

"I present... broiled turf of surf, cooked in finest blend of butter and garlic! As evil Imperial cocksucker might say whilst feasting on bountiful harvest of exploited people... let us feast!"

[Ceutinde]

Jul 5, 2020 0:16:16 GMT The Forgotten God said:

Zavier seemed interested in that sort of talk for sure. “A few fights,” he said. “But that’s probably the first I’ve won,” he admitted. “I’m sorta here because I’m a bit of a disappointment to my family and this is my chance to make it all good you know?”

Ceutinde held her tongue from scolding Silvia; it wasn't so serious an injury, after all. She just raised one suggestive eyebrow at the bedding comment before the subject got changed. "There's no shame in being a navigator, especially at your age. Who's your family, that they'd be disappointed in you?" She asked Zavier while accepting a plate from Herneiros.

[Silvia Raizer]

Silvia listened curiously to what Zavier was saying, and was about to make a remark of her own when Herneiros arrived with the food. "Thank you," she said. "This feels like justice, somehow."

She dug into her food and waited to hear why Zavier's family was disappointed in him.

[The Forgotten God]

The meat itself is somewhat bland but with butter and spices anything can be given the patina of flavor. Zavier chewed some of the shrimp then answered. “When members of my family turn seventeen, we undergo a special ritual that goes back millennia. I...well...failed mine,” he admitted. “And so I can’t take up the family’s usual vocation. It’s been a few years but it still hurts.”

[Ceutinde]

"And what vocation is that? Some flavor of mage?" Ceutinde asked, before popping a piece of the shrimp in her mouth. She had the manners to chew and swallow before complimenting the chef. "This is excellent, Herneiros, thank you so much."

[The Forgotten God]

Zavier realized he may have gone too far now but he felt compelled to answer. “Not exactly. We’re...uhhh, we’re Warlocks,” he said. “Or they are anyway.” Ceutinde and the others have heard of them, people who allowed other entities to possess them to use their power, but one hasn’t been seen in Innuria in decades.

[Silvia Raizer]

Silvia looked up from her food. "You don't have to say anything more about it, if you don't want to," she said, despite the fact that she already had several questions. "But this life seems exciting enough, anyway. You're hardly a clerk sitting in a boring old office all day long."

[Ceutinde]

Ceutinde did a double take and nearly spit out her bite of shrimp. That was enough to make her talk with her mouth full. "Warlocks? Real warlocks? Spirit-possessed, power-hungry, mustache twirling warlocks? You..." She paused long enough to swallow. "How do they hide it?"

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

Herneiros looked over intently above his already half consumed dinner. "What sort of spirits do they bond with?"

[The Forgotten God]

Zavier has obviously quite expected the reaction and he turned to look at Silvia as she had reacted the least concerned. “Not boring, no,” he agreed, “my family’s from Banath so sick the Kraken began its attacks we’ve Been sort of the front line for the survivors. My family has alliances with demons and elementals and sun angels and all sorts of things you’ve never heard of. I tried to take a, uh, different route.” He clearly didn’t feel comfortable about it. “So when I failed I decided to leave because I’m just one more mouth to feed. Then one day a few months ago I got a note like you guys did saying I should come on this journey.”

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

Herneiros rolled his eyes. "Nobody needs to sell their soul for magic. Anyone can learn if they find good teacher. I have mastered multiple schools of magic and I do very little but kill, eat, fuck, and sleep."

To be fair, his teacher was two and a half centuries old, which might be construed as an unusual advantage.

[The Forgotten God]

“Have you though?” He asked. “You can read dusty old books or listen to some elf prattle on about gestures and words in dead languages. Our magic is, uh, I wish that creepy alchemist was here for the word...symbiotic. My parents don’t need to say or do anything for their spells. They just...happen. Anyway, I decided against the usual methods of binding and I tried to use the spells on a living being like our most distant ancestors did. Anyway, that’s pretty much what brought me here.”

[Justine-Juliette de Vair]

As the sound of two booted feet firmly struck the wooden deck of the tranquility, it was almost as though the party assembled could hear the distant sound of a triumphant theme song...

But no, it was not Nigel Thornheart swinging over on the rigging but Justine de Vair, who looked a little Surprised to have made it over. She just stood there a moment, not striking any kind of triumphant pose or anything as she let the rope swing back to where it belonged. The moment quickly passed and she grinned. “Something smells good. I should have known Ceutinde was feeding you all better than we were getting on the Odyssey. Have room for one more?”

It appeared Justine had invited herself for dinner.

[Geoffrey Ravenhurst]

"Indeed." Herneiros stood up and prepared a place for her. "I have crafted fine cuisine in the form of our recent foes. Buttered, garlicked, and broiled! Most yummy!"

[Justine-Juliette de Vair]

Justine raised an eyebrow at that. “You cooked the giant shrimps that attacked us?” Even so, she sat down and let him dish her up a plate. She looked at the food skeptically before she tasted it. Even if it had been bad, Justine was used to worse, and with less seasoning. “Mmmm, it’s quite good. Thank you.” She dug in with a relish.

“I’m glad you all made it. It was really startling...but I guess it’s more shocking we haven’t met anything else. Someone sent those after us, did you know?”