Arc 721, 16 Vhalar
Skilled storytellers had told the stories shared thus far, and Elisabeth was obviously not. The fact should have perhaps bothered her, but no. Whenever she told a story, regardless of how poorly she did, she shared a part of herself with others. Connecting to other people was something she strove to do every trial, and if a story helped that along, so much the better. How could that ever be a bad thing?
She had thought about what story to tell, and while her initial instincts were to go with a traditional Videnese tale, her mind shifted at the last minute. While most of her stories involved one or more of the current participants, one story included none of them but did involve someone they all knew – Darius.
Elisabeth's relationship with Darius was unique. He had known Balthazar and many others she now called friends long before their unlikely first meeting in Viden. It wasn't a stretch to say that their bond was sibling-like, but it wasn't a dynamic she was familiar with, so that was hard to say.
Regardless, the blond sailor was one of her favorite people in Idalos.
The others were waiting, and with that in mind, she explained the reason for her chosen story. "All of us have had amazing adventures. A great deal of the time, they are in concert with others or are stories so vast that they take on a life of their own."
Smiling, she looked at each present, trying to draw them into her tale. "Some stories help show the nature of people, and I have one such tale – a curious little adventure I shared with Darius."
Every story had a beginning, and Elisabeth didn't waste time explaining theirs. "Darius and I met in Viden. I had heard of Darius – Balthazar and Yeva had mentioned him from time to time – but I hadn't yet had the pleasure. I was in Viden, waiting for Balthazar to join me so we could continue to Scalvoris together when I took a moment to myself down by the frozen bay. A blond sailor, not Videnese, walked by, and we struck up an easy conversation. I showed him around Viden a bit, and we parted ways."
Obviously, things didn't end there. "It wasn't until a later encounter in Viden with Balthazar and Darius that I realized who my new friend was." She briefly considered telling of the origins of her nickname for Darius – "Ox" – but decided to leave that part of the tale for another time.
"Darius and I promised that once I made it to Scavloris, we would meet up again so he could return the favor and show me around. Little did I know then how good of friends we would become or how many adventures and experiences we would share."
With the lead-up done, Elisabeth proceeded to the story itself, letting a smile flit across her lips. "It was in the early days of Ashan – still a chill in the air. This was after Balthazar and he had founded their settlements on Faldrass. After the Forging as well. I arrived in Scalvoris Town and followed the directions to Darius' house. Darius suggested breakfast and recommended a market stall selling hot pastries. We began to journey there, and both lamented on late starts to the morning due to missing pieces of clothing – socks for Darius and a mitten for me. It was rather bizarre, but we didn't think anything of it other than entertaining conversation."
Of course, it had ended up being anything but. "On the way, I spied something colorful on a nearby rooftop. Darius helped boost me up a bit. In a matter of a few trills, I had secured what turned out to be a scarf, got spooked by a mischievous seagull, and tumbled down on top of Darius, who was then spouting off about seeing a sweater running down the street! Add to that my own observation, trills later, of four individual gloves racing off in the direction the sweater had gone! I was convinced that we had both bumped our heads in the fall or something."
Laughing softly, she continued. "Curiosity won out, and we tried to track the footprints, but they only led to a closed-off alley, and neither of us could figure out where the gloves and sweater had gone." Speaking that sentence alone was enough to make the young mage smile, purely for the insanity of it all.
"We finally gave up and proceeded to the pastry cart. We were just handed our hot pastries when Darius spies a pair of leggings skulking down the lane! This time, we didn't have to choose between breakfast and curiosity! We took off, keeping an eye on the leggings and our food. That was the first time I had attempting eating and running at the same time - it's surprisingly difficult!" The young woman adored everything about the story, including the ending. She remembered telling Balthazar, recalling his look of amusement and disbelief.
Aware of the natural pacing techniques the others used in their stories, Elisabeth tried to employ the same, using breaks to draw suspense."The leggings led us to the same alley, but this time we saw the leggings dart behind a propped-up board. The hole behind it was too small for either of us, so we decided to go up and over to see if we could find access from above, which we did."
The roof descent hadn't been the easiest. "The building was an abandoned warehouse of sorts. We both dropped down into the space and quickly found a group of young cadouri wearing various colorful clothing. As it turns out, they were responsible for the random thefts of clothing around the area. When we inquired why, they said it was for a tea party they were having to celebrate being in Scalvoris. They intended to return the clothes when they were done." Elisabeth remembered the two distinctly different reactions she and Darius had regarding the matter, but ultimately the pair decided on a course of action fueled by compassion.
"After hearing their story, we helped guide them to a resolution and the clothing return. That story reminds me that often, things are not as they appear, but sometimes with a little patience and understanding, clarity is gained. Those young cadouri will remember compassion and kindness in a moment that could have contained neither, and for that, I'm grateful it was Darius and I that found them."
And with that, the story ended. It wasn't a grand tale of adventure or tale of love, but it was one of her most cherished memories, full of fun and hope.
