• Solo • Saoire's Kiss

[Devin]

Continued from here.

Zi'da 54, Arc 721

After he had accompanied the Cadouri from Saoire’s School to the manor, taken his winged goat back to the stable and made sure that the new arrivals received something to eat, Devin stood in the entrance hall of Smooglenuff Manor once more and was trying to decide where he should put them to work. They had made progress since the sun had risen. The staircase was almost finished now, and the chandeliers were nice and shiny. Even the wall panels and the floors had been polished – but there was still so much work to be done!

He was confident that they’d be able to finish the preparations in time now that the help that Saoire had so graciously offered had arrived, but he wasn’t sure what that help should do, and which task was the most urgent one. He didn’t like being unsure because it made him feel weird, but he liked the idea that his party, the first proper party ever at Smooglenuff Manor might not go perfectly even less. So, he did something that he didn’t like particularly – he approached Miranda, the head maid, a mouse Cadouri in order to ask her!

“Saoire’s students have finally arrived”, he told her in a very cheerful tone of voice that belied the fact that he didn’t like asking for help particularly. “We have a woodworker, builders and cooks, but I don’t know what they should do first. What do you think? Do you still need help with the entrance hall? How are things in the ballroom going, by the way?” he asked before he gestured for the group of Cadouri whose bellies had been filled and who were waiting for instructions to come a little closer.

What happened next was a little unexpected.

Miranda who was a soft-spoken woman most of the time (unless she was stressed out which had been the case earlier that trial) let out a loud cry, and then she suddenly rushed forward in order to embrace a young cat Cadouri with pure white fur and a very fluffy tail. “Nellie!” she exclaimed. “I didn’t know that you would be coming as well! How are you? Nellie and I studied together at Saoire’s School, before I was given the job at Smooglenuff Manor, my lord”, she explained to Devin who stood there, a surprised expression on his face.

He hadn’t known that cat Cadouri and mouse Cadouri could be friends!

[Devin]

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance, Miss Nellie”, Devin said once Miranda had finally released her friend. A moment later, he made a step towards her, shook her paw that was incredibly soft and silky and bowed slightly before he turned to face the head maid once more.

“We could use a couple of helpers here”, Miranda admitted. “Everything is nice and clean now, and we’ll finish the staircase before long, but I’d like to put a few more decorations up, fake snow crystals and other ornaments and maybe replace the carpets with something more wintery.”

Devin nodded and turned to the Cadouri students and teachers. “Do any of you have a bit of experience when it comes to interior decoration?” he wanted to know. He didn’t know which tasks exactly were the most urgent ones – he had delegated to the heads of staff as they knew a lot more about that kind of work, even though he was the Baron – but he knew that it was a good idea to give people a task that they were actually suited for.

He was really proud of himself because he had thought of that!

A couple of hands went up – including Nellie’s – and Miranda subsequently told the Cadouri what they could do and who they could help. They immediately went to work, Devin noticed. They were incredibly enthusiastic which made him smile. On top of that, they were so cute and fluffy. Once upon a time, he had tried to resist, but he couldn’t help it.

He really, really liked Cadouri!

“We won’t cook the food for the party until tomorrow because serving our guests food that isn’t completely fresh just won’t do”, Miranda informed the remaining Cadouri. “But I’m sure that Mrs. Adams would appreciate your help in the kitchen regardless. There are a lot of things that need to be prepared for tomorrow.”

“Mrs. Adams is a really nice woman”, Devin told the Cadouri who looked from Miranda to him and back to Miranda and seemed to be nearly brimming with excitement. “I can’t wait to see what you think of the menu. I made sure that there is something special about every dish. Anyway, maybe each group of students could be accompanied by a teacher that supervises them?” he wanted to know.

“That was the plan anyway”, one of the teachers a stocky fellow that resembled a housecat that wore a necklace with a glowing pendant that made a gentle sound whenever he moved replied. “I assume that there are some things that need hammering?” he asked. When Miranda nodded and pointed in the correct direction, he gestured for his students to follow him.

“That’s Mister Tinkles, the smithing tutor”, Humphrey Humphington who had positioned himself near Devin – he thought that the fact that the Mortalborn had fixed his arm once meant that they had a special relationship now – replied in a low voice. Unfortunately, it hadn’t been low enough for Mister Tinkles who was just about to leave to not overhear him.

The cat Cadouri turned around and looked at the raccoon for a moment. A moment later, he walked off, his students in tow.

“I don’t think he likes his name particularly”, Devin whispered to Humphrey and shook his head in amusement before he looked at Miranda who had sent another group of Cadouri into the ballroom again. From what she had said, the decorations had already been put up, but the tables were still rather empty – which was where the Cadouri helpers would come in.

“I’ll take the builders outside. When I greeted our helpers, I saw that the road and the garden still need some work”, Devin offered so that Miranda would know where to find him, just as two of the people that worked in the kitchen arrived with snacks for the staff. Miranda gratefully accepted a roll that had been stuffed with cheese and ham and took a bite out of it.

A moment later, she was already organizing things again though.

“We’ll also make a brief detour to the ballroom. It would probably be a good idea to check on the people working there and see how they are doing. I also want to thank them, and then we’ll go outside”, Devin informed his group of Cadouri. They were all quite happy with this, but Humphrey was the happiest and most enthusiastic Cadouri of them all.

He was in fact enthusiastic about everything, including Devin’s fancy white cape that he looked at in utter admiration as they walked!

[Devin]

Once he had checked on the people working in the ballroom and thanked them for their work – and told Miranda what he had seen so that she didn’t have to go there herself – Devin made his way outside, Humphrey and the other builders in tow. It was cold on Faldrass, but the presence of the orange sand prevented excessive amounts of snow on the ground – most of it melted again before long which made making the exterior of the manor look appropriately wintery a bit of a challenge. Fortunately, Devin had had a fantastic idea!

(He had a lot of fantastic ideas all the time!)

In order to prevent the snow from melting, he’d just empty a couple of bags of cool green sand in strategical spots on the ground and put snow on top. Together with the fake snow made of cotton and the other wintery decorations it would create a sufficiently impressive atmosphere; and what more, once the sun set, the countless lanterns that the various helpers had just put in place would be lit and light up the darkness.

Except that sufficiently impressive wasn’t impressive enough!

While the Cadouri builders checked the road and the paths, and put gravel where the paths that led across the ground weren’t completely even – and checked the slide that Devin had set up in the garden, because adults should have a playground, too, to make sure it was stable – Devin started to grumble slightly. He didn’t just want a layer of snow on top of green sand. He wanted it to actually snow, a lot. He wanted snowman building contests, and he wanted people to go ice-skating, if possible. He wanted so much more!

He was just about to wonder if he should kick something out of sheer frustration, when he had a brilliant idea, and he subsequently resisted that urge and grinned all over his face instead. He had a lot of brilliant ideas all the time, as he had already pretty much concluded before, but this one, he decided was even better than the one with the green sand.

In fact, it might be one of the best ideas that he’d ever had!

“Saoire’s Kiss”, he told Humphrey Humphington who was working nearby in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.

The raccoon stopped abruptly and looked at him, his eyes wide. “You kissed Lady Saoire?” he asked incredulously.

“Nah”, Devin corrected him in a cheerful tone of voice. “I didn’t, although I kind of almost flirted with Edasha once. Saoire’s Kiss is a magic artifact. We should put some green sand on the ground nevertheless though, just in case”, he decided and grinned at Humphrey who just stared at him now, mouth agape.

Finally, he regained the ability to speak though -to some extent at least - and asked, “Edasha?!”

[Devin]

The sun was already setting when all the work in and around Smooglenuff Manor was finally finished, and the lanterns that would light up the road to the manor had been put in place – they had managed it just in time. Rather than just telling everybody that they could go home now, Devin had invited the teachers from Saoire’s School, their students as well as all the employees that had helped out that trial – and even his roommate Talieson even though the bard had spent some of the time he should have been practicing chatting – into the dining room.

The tables were filled with cups of hot chocolate, coffee and tea now, and there was cake. There were also sandwiches with bacon and cheese for those that didn’t like cake, although Devin couldn’t imagine anybody disliking cake. What was there to dislike about cake?!

Once everybody was seated, Devin rose from his chair at the head of the table, banged his spoon against his cup and proclaimed in a cheerful tone of voice, “You all did a great job that trial. Due to the fact that you worked together so well, Smooglenuff Manor will look absolutely amazing tomorrow, and the road will be lined with countless lights. I’d like to thank you for your great work – with more than just words, because you are probably pretty hungry again by now and because you can’t eat words. Tuck in!”

“Oh, and there’ll be a special surprise tomorrow. I will truly give you a winter wonderland!” he added, bowed and sat down again in order to grab a piece of cake himself.

(He hadn’t explained it to Humphrey, or anybody else, for that matter, because he wanted to keep it a secret for the time being, but that was exactly what Saoire’s Kiss did. It turned the surrounding area into a winter wonderland!)

“This is quite good”, Humphrey who had somehow managed to secure the chair next to Devin’s remarked – he was speaking with his mouth full – before he leaned a little closer and admitted, “I’d really like to know more about your meeting with Edasha though, my lord!”

“Oh”, Devin began to recount his story in a casual tone of voice. “She visited me this Ashan in order to test my loyalty to Delroth, before he made me one of his Adored and his High priest. That was during the opening of the new temple that I gifted to him. Of course, I didn’t know that she was Edasha at first. I just thought that she was incredibly beautiful”, he explained and smiled all over his face because he was in such a good mood. He was surrounded by great people, there was great food, everything was ready for the party, and he had solved that pesky snow problem, too. In short, everything was great!

[Jackalope]

]

Experience: +10 xp

Magic xp? No.

Collaboration: No.
Renown: +5
Injuries/Overstepping: None.
Loot: No.

Skillplay: Appropriate to level.

Knowledge:

Discipline: Resisting the urge to kick something
Leadership: It’s a good idea to check on your employees
Leadership: Sometimes, it’s a good idea to delegate to people with more experience
Logistics: When organizing an event, it’s a good idea to give people tasks they are suited for
Socialization: An impromptu thank-you speech
Storytelling: How I met Edasha

Comments
"Except that sufficiently impressive wasn’t impressive enough!" may well be the best sentence I've read so far this week.

It sounds like things are really coming together for Devin's party. His passion for making everything awesome is infectious. Well, unless you're Mister Tinkles.

His dealing with all the logistical issues associated with an elaborate party makes for a good read; Devin's leadership and logistical skills are really getting a good workout! To say nothing of his running!

I also laughed at Humphrey wanting the deets on Edasha. That was a nice touch.

Enjoy your rewards!