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[Zamuel]

You venture upon a well worn but decently stocked private reading room. On the wall was a framed map of the know regions of Mey Hem. Sitting in a large leather armchair was a short, heavyset, dark skinned woman dressed in safari khakis, complete with pith helmet that covered her teal hair. Setting next to her was a piping hot mug of tea. Adjusting her spectacles, she peered over a tome before looking up to see you. Speaking in a Britstralian accent, she said, Greetings! My name is Professor Angela Quercus Oakley. I have recently come upon a record of a recent holiday excursion involving some associates of mine. While I have been alerted that within may be some exaggeration, presumably it is merely part of storytelling tradition instead of inaccuracies.

Well, if you're ready, let's begin. 'It was a crisp autumn day in Besseltrade and the leaves had begun to change...'

 
It was a crisp autumn day in Besseltrade and the leaves had begun to change. Beathra, Kage the Omega Knight, Howard, Night Cap, and Princess Destron were outside of the primary general store as a Ginny Summers excitedly showed them one of her drawings. Friday February looked on as Ginny exposited, "...and a lot of people like my fall drawings which is cool since we have a lot of folks coming through here with our harvest festival going and I'm glad y'all showed up since that makes things even better and will you we staying a long time or just a short time because either is fine but you might not want to miss out on a room since I'd hate for you not to have a place to stay."

Spoiler

Huh? Oh, hello there! Welcome to the spoiler box! For those curious about just what this is, it can be better explained here and here. So you will know, this takes place in ambiguous time and may not be directly canon to other material in the setting.

[The Doctor Who]

Beathra was only half listening to the young girl's stream of verbal concatenations, more drawn by the fall breeze which sung to him of the shifting seasons, to which the leaves danced an aerial waltz till they lay upon the ground.

 

In a voice which seemed to harken back to his former self, he murmured wistfully:

 

"Rustle leaves in drowsy trees,

 As grass browns and flowers mourn,

 Nature's passing, her sleep deceives,

 While under winter blankets bourn."

[GodSentinelOmega]

Kage opened his mouth and tried to figure out how to get a word in between Ginny excited rambling and general stream of conciousness.

"Yes, your art is very good Ginny. I'm sure we'll be taking some home with us. Yes, we're definitely here for the festival and we will be staying. How long depends on what my friends have in mind, as well as whether anything unexpect4d crops up."

Kage ran and hand through his hair. Having let it grow out a bit, he was still getting used to the 'mullet'. His goatee however, was a neatly trimmed as ever. Dressed in long coat, black jeans, boots, shirt and Retribution across his back. Kage looked his usual not-quite-smart casual self. Feeling the cool wind over him, Kage took a deep breath of the bracing, autumnal air.

He was also hoping that this trip might let him learn a bit more about Howard.

[Destron D-69]

"Miss Ginny, I must remember to introduce you to the court's master orator when you come to visit. I do believe you could teach the old elf a few things."  Dee leans down and gives the girl a swift hug and whispers...   "He's actually a troll but don't let him know that you know, he's a little sensitive about it."  She winks at her before standing up.

Edited by Destron D-69, 25 November 2018 - 04:30 PM.

[Fnu Aw]

Night Cap is slightly dizzied by the small biped's verbal tornado but he's not caught quite so off guard this time. Like a lot of things, it's beginning to become familiar.

 

This place is definitely changing since his arrival. The season's changing, apparently without effort. He could get used to that. The place is growing festive. He doesn't recognize any festivities so far, but the feeling of festivity is deeply familiar. Today the place truly feels like home.

 

Nothing can ruin this day.

[Sunbeam]

Howard is listening to Ginny very intently, but it's hard to tell if he's processing any of it. He does, however, occasionally nod and throw in a "Ya."

[Zamuel]

Ginny responded to Dee with, "He is? Oh wow I know all different kinds of folk come through here like when all those elevs who were friends with EB stayed here for a while which was nice since they helped fix a lot of things and they were very nice like when they helped Mrs. Jessothy with some repairs but they're traveling right now so I don't know where they are but I hope they brought good food with them and what kind of food do y'all like?"

[Destron D-69]

"I would, and could really enjoy a nice sandwich right now."  Dee says, moving a hand to her abdomen while making a pretend rumbling sound to amuse the young lady. 

[Zamuel]

Ginny laughed "Well, there should be plenty once people really get started cooking but for the moment I need to finish my drawings so I'll talk to you later." Pulling out a fresh sheet of paper, Ginny layed on her stomach and began sketching. Looking across the main street, the group could see the bustle and activity of Besseltree. Leaves were blowing about as a few friends gathered to talk. Mrs. Wikipie was petting a kitten. Moscareina sat in a chair across the street sipping from a coconut. Mrs. Jessothy swept out in front of the inn.

[Fnu Aw]

While he has grown tired of the mute act, today he finds it to be a powerful asset. Entertaining the hurricane-mouthed small biped gets to be someone else's responsibility.

The thought of what he may face if she were to discover his secret is pure terror.

[The Doctor Who]

Beathra surveyed the scene before them with quiet indecision, unsure if he should be the first to mention the moth in the room or not.  Would it be better to engage her directly or perhaps if they simply ignored her, she'd just become discouraged and leave?

 

After a moment, he ambled casually to Moscareina, gazing curiously at her coconut.

 

He said, "Madam, you must tell me where your produce comes from. There isn't a tropical climate for at least a hundred miles in any direction, yet that coconut is as fresh as if you picked from the tree this morning."

 

Then, with a grin, he added, "Don't you think it's a bit of a giveaway?"

[GodSentinelOmega]

The idea of food was very appealing to Kage, as he had kinda skipped breakfast. He was about to ask, when he saw they an 'odd one out' in Besseltrade. Kage felt his hand twitch, in an attempt to go for Retribution. His left hand thus reached over to literally hold himself back. A move like that would not be prudent or practical. So, once the twitch (and his rising anger) had died down, Kage folded his arms and simply gave 'Mossy' a cold look, as her presence here was unlikely to be merely a chance meeting. Seeing Beathra approach her, Kage decided to wait and watch. Turning slightly, he spoke to Howard.

"So Howard, how are things in San Lorenzo and how have you been?"

[Zamuel]

Moscareina took a long sip and then replied, "My fruit comes from lands of my own ownership that I bring with me wherever I can. I'd certainly love to grow my domain. Besides, it's not too much of a giveaway since most can't see me right now. As for you, you certainly seem to have grown cosmically since I last saw you. A concern I'll certainly have to keep an eye on.

...

Considering I hate all of you, I guess there's no point in beating around the bush, is there?" She took a sip and paused, revealing a slightly awkward expression. "I need you and your friends' help."

[GodSentinelOmega]

Kages eyebrows rose as he caught the end of 'Mossys' request. With a slightly unpleasant smile creeping across his face, Kage moved slowly across to join Beathra.

"You need our help?"

[Zamuel]

"Loathe as I am to admit it.

There is a raider from Viknadia seeking to ascend to become a god of thievery and ill gotten gains. Such a thing crowds a pantheon and could cause problems. However, while I may not like asking for your help, I feel asking you is pertinent. Especially, you o Knight, considering just what a god of thieves could do to your line of work. 'Enemy of my enemy' and all of that. While details are masked from me, I know he seeks to perform a ritual using the Cornucopia of Grand Abundance, a powerful artifact he has recently stolen. Removing it from him should hopefully be enough to disrupt his plans."

In this, Dee could tell Cher felt a grudging agreement. Putting up with Moscareina's own machinations inadvertently hid other rising problems.

[GodSentinelOmega]

"That seems a little, shall we say, altruistic than usual for you. Mistress of Decay and all.

What is it about this would-be 'Thief God' that prevents you from dealing with him yourself?"

[Destron D-69]

"As you say... my lady ... the heavens have already sought to prevent a new goddess from rising."  Dee's teeth are reflexively clenched ... but she lets the tension ebb away when she continues. "However, it would seem at least one of the Goddesses agrees with your assessment of this threat."    

[Zamuel]

Moscareina smiled and nodded to Dee. "See, the princess understands. I knew there were reasons I respected her despite wishing she were done away with.

He often travels with a group so a directed strike isn't as easy as I'd like. Especially since there are limits to what I can do on the physical plane. I'd certainly rather be disrupting this harvest holiday. However, bounty and giving are probably why he's likely to strike today."

[The Doctor Who]

Beathra nodded at Moscareina's comments.

 

"Aye," he said, "Spirits have but little direct power in the mortal world. Full gods, more, but they still cannot influence it directly... not without mortal assistance. Hence the need for followers... and hosts."

 

Turning to his companions, he added, "In any case, it is better to follow at the lion's tail than to run from its teeth." Here he turned to Moscareina, "What can you tell us about this man, though details are obscured.  Is there a name or perhaps a likeness we might follow up on?"

[Fnu Aw]

. . .

"Wait, is that the moth talking to us right now?"