Magdalene and Laura looked at each other for a moment when
Darius lowered his voice and mentioned that there was a medic from the Order in Hopetoun, and then they both nodded eagerly.
“We’d love to visit Hopetoun”, Magdalene replied in the same conspiratorial tone of voice, her eyes twinkling slightly. Laura didn’t say anything – the young woman was still painfully shy – but she was just as interested in the offer as her friend.
Laura was much too busy blushing and being awkward in order to notice Darius’ blush, but Magdalene definitely did. The young woman raised an eyebrow slightly upon noticing how red the settlement leader’s cheeks had suddenly become. She couldn’t help but wonder what had happened. Was the man attracted to Isra? He had started to blush shortly after he had mentioned the medic from the Order. Unless he found
her attractive?
She was just trying to figure out what she should make of Darius blushing and how she should react - and if she should react at all - when Eve’s arrival fortunately interrupted that most awkward moment. Her accent was a bit hard to understand, but she was most grateful for her company regardless.
“That sounds like fun”, Magdalene replied when Eve suggested that the user tell a story or a secret. Laura nodded. The young woman was painfully shy, but she did posess a certain curiosity regardless. She just hoped that she wouldn’t lose!
Fortunately, luck was with her that trial. Laura didn’t lose. And neither did Magdalene or Darius lose. Despite everything, Eve lost, and both Magdalene and Laura looked at her with curiosity. They were really looking forward to hearing a story (or learning a secret).
When the palate cleansers arrived, and Laura noticed Darius’ mango sorbet, she blushed and remarked in a very soft tone of voice,
“I like mangoes.” Having said that, she enjoyed her strawberry granita, because she loved strawberries just as much. Magdalene briefly glanced at her, wondering about that comment, before she turned to her palate cleanser that consisted of two finely cut slices of bread as well as a glass of water.
When the time for the donations came, both students decided to contribute. Magdalene who was quite skilled at everything that had to do with animals also offered to visit a couple of old people in the neighborhood with her dog. It was a fluffy little white dog, and she thought that seeing it might make them smile.
The dog’s name was Beryl, she said, not Pearl, in spite of its pearly white fur.
Some people might have found
Perdita’s answer to be lacking, but Nyji inclined his head when she tried to explain why she painted.
“It’s a part of your soul, isn’t it?” he replied in a calm tone of voice, his eyes turning a warm blue, bordering on violet.
“You cannot not paint. Thank you”, he added when she said that they did good. For a moment, there was a light, gentle smile on his wrinkled face. Lissa inclined her head as well.
When
Woe and Perdita talked about how he wanted to get some more portraits done, both Nyji and Lissa remained quiet. They didn’t interrupt them, but gave them as much time as they needed to discuss that matter, only raising their voices again when Woe asked them a question.
“Sometimes mages visit us”, Lissa confirmed in a calm tone of voice.
“Sometimes mages visit us, although they do not constitute the Spirit’s Rest’s main clientele”, Nyji clarified.
“They seek insight in contending with the effects of harboring a spark. As magic is such a complex matter, I treat those people personally”, he admitted before he looked directly at Woe and asked,
“Why do you want to know, Mister Morandi? Is the matter of magic and sparks something that interests you?”
Woe would
noticeExpert Detection that there were very faint lines in the old biqaj’s eyes, an Attuner witchmark, just like the one that he had had before his sparks had been removed. Perdita on the other hand would
not noticeNovice Detection anything unusual about Nyji’s eyes, apart from the fact that the look in them was quite gentle – until Devin started to hold his speech, at least.
When Woe matched the Baron’s donation, Nyji's eyebrows rose. For the first time since the party had started, the old biqaj looked genuinely surprised. Thirty onyx nels were more than a lot of people earned in a season or a cycle. He folded his hands and bowed before he spoke,
“I thank you, Mister Morandi. I will use your money well. And thank you for your offer. If everything goes as planned, we will hire more staff, so that we will be able to help more people.”
“Thank you”, Lissa agreed.
“That is a wonderful idea”, Nyji said when Perdita talked about offering artwork to auction and smiled at her.
“I would very much like to see some of your paintings. I have to admit, I have become curious”, he said, and his eyes twinkled slightly for a moment.
Both Nyji and Lissa ate palate cleansers, of course. Nyji received a tiny wicker basket in which a couple of crackers rested on a white and pale blue napkin. Lissa on the other hand ate something that was a bit on the unusual side: she got a cucumber and pineapple sorbet, served on what looked like a big porcelain spoon. It was decorated with a single edible flower, a purple one.
Heidi really enjoyed being petted, and every time it seemed like
Oram was going to stop, she nudged him a little. She was not too annoying or persistent though. All in all, Heidi was a very friendly goat even though she was obviously a bit spoiled (Her accessories were all very luxurious, and she receive the best food that money could buy.).
“I like that”, Aidan remarked with a chuckle when Oram told him what his animals were called. The young man’s mood was greatly improved now that he got to talk about one of his favourite topics ever – animals.
“What does Ornot really mean though …” he continued and furrowed his brow for a moment only for his eyes to suddenly light up.
“Oh … Oram and Ornot! That’s actually kind of clever”, he remarked.
“Did you know that His Grace’s pet crow is called ‘Crow’, by the way?” he asked.
“I don’t know why he has a crow called ‘Crow’ and a flunny called ‘Bunny’, but some of his other pets have those fantasy names”, he remarked because it was quite the mystery.
It also amused him!
When Oram changed the subject and directed his attention to some sort of movement under their tablecloth, Aidan raised an eyebrow.
“I think that’s”, he began, but before he had the chance to finish the sentence, the two small figures had moved away.
“I think that was a Tunawa with their pet”, he finished his sentence a little belatedly and waved at Yina and her companion, just in case they happened to look Oram’s and his way.
“I’ll help out during the dinner for the poor that His Grace plans on hosting”, he decided because that seemed to be the most reasonable thing to do in his opinion. Devin would probably ask him for help anyway. Heidi did of course not donate any money, and she didn’t volunteer for anything either. Being a goat, she didn’t care about such things. She only cared about the bowl of food she received instead of a fancy dinner or a palate cleanser. Aidan on the other hand enjoyed his palate cleanser – mint sorbet.
“Ashan would be perfect”, Raihi replied when
Elisabeth proposed a date for her visit.
“We would love to get Rubrum Berries and Faldrass Potatoes. Do you think they’ll grow in Beacon though? We don’t have any of that warm orange sand there”, she explained furrowing her brow very lightly before she turned to face her husband in order to see what he was thinking. Terrence was a competent gardener himself.
“I can think of ways to make it work”, he decided and smiled at Raihi. Terrence Hale often gave people the impression of being a bit stern, but it was obvious that he loved his wife.
“And I’d be very interested in visiting Haven and seeing how Munny Farm is set up.”
“I just had an idea”, Raihi remarked, interrupting her husband, and turned to look at Elisabeth.
“We also produce desserts with honey at Hope Farm. Do you think a desert with honey and Rubrum berries might taste good? I was thinking of offering something that is only made of local ingredients” she explained. She was, she had to admit, quite looking forward to a possible trade agreement with Haven and Munny Farm.
“Well met, Yina and Alder”, the two Hales replied when the Tunawa introduced herself and her companion.
“We are happy to make new friends as well”, Raihi added, assuming that that was what Yina had wanted to say.
“We don’t know much about the Phoenix Woods”, Terrence apologized.
“I would suggest talking to Rose LeFluer, the librarian, or consulting someone at the university though. There is bound to be someone that will be able to help”, he added.
“What is a masala …” Raihi who couldn’t contain her curiosity began, but gave up because the word was just too complicated for her and simply said,
“What did you call Alder, if you don’t mind me asking? Is it a special Tunawa term?” she continued. Her tone of voice was warm and kind. She was genuinely interested in Yina’s answer.
When it came to the palate cleansers, both Hales got lemon sorbet. Being a married couple, they made one donation together.
“I don’t know where Tunawa come from”, Devin admitted to
Alyssia in a bright tone of voice. Normally, he didn’t like admitting that he didn’t know something; he was in such a good mood at the moment that he didn’t mind though.
“But I know that Desnind has lots of Sevryn, and lots of trees. Did you know that they eat bugs there, by the way?” he asked, leaned a little closer to her and lowered his voice to a mere whisper. The young Baron, Alyssia would be able to observe, looked positively scandalized.
“I don’t know about you two, but I’d like to try bugs sometimes”, Marvin admitted, with his mouth full, and grinned.
“I wonder if you can cover ants in chocolate. That would be an interesting combination in my opinion”, he mused and sighed dreamily.
While Marvin was mostly excited about the food, Devin was utterly fascinated by Alyssia’s companions. When Myrixa landed on the table and began to devour the fruit, he let out a laughter of pure delight. He didn’t mind that there was a “pet” on the table either.
On the contrary, he loved it!
In his opinion, there was such a thing as too much etiquette. Pets made everything more fun, even – or maybe especially – on the table!
“Oh, you’ll like my surprise”, he assured Alyssia. He was quite happy about the fact that she had no idea what he had planned for the very end of the party. He really liked the young Baroness, he decided. He’d never had any siblings, but she had become like his little sister.
“It will be bright and shiny and just totally awesome”, he said and grinned.
Devin did of course eat a palate cleanser as well. He got something very unusual though: cucumber sorbet, to match the cucumber macarons that had been in the gift baskets in the guest rooms. Marvin got a couple of crackers with sesame seeds on them.
The Dance
When everybody had made their donations (or offered to help, or not done anything, because that was okay as well), Devin stood once more and banged a fork against the mostly empty glass of wine that was standing on his part of the table in order to get everybody’s attention.
“I’d like to thank you all”, he proclaimed in an enthusiastic tone of voice.
“I’d like to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. No matter in which way and to which extent you have decided to contribute, every little bit is appreciated. How the money will be used, is of course up to Mister Nyji himself, as he does without a doubt know best”, he added and looked at the aging biqaj who inclined his head fractionally.
“With that being said, now the fun will begin!” he continued.
“I promised you that there would be dancing, and now there will be dancing – and music – and I’ll play for you all!” he proclaimed and took off his cloak with a somewhat dramatic gesture because it would just get in his way while he was playing his lute that a servant handed to him.
It was a beautifully made archlute with fourteen pairs of strings which made it more complicated to play, but greatly increased its range compared to more conventional lutes.
“If you need a partner, now is the time to find one”, he announced and took the lute.
“If you want to dance with several people at the same time or alone, that’s okay as well though, and if you want to, you can also just sit here, eat some more, listen to the music or chat some more with your tablemates. There is only one rule for this dance: Have fun!” he let them know, nodded at Alyssia and Marvin and walked up to the stage where the musicians had gathered once more and were readying their instruments.
In the meantime, Marvin turned to Alyssia, a somewhat cheeky smile on his furry face and asked,
“Would you like to dance?”
At Elisabeth’s and Yina’s table, Terrence bowed to his wife and offered his wife his arm in order to lead her to the dance floor.
At Woe’s and Perdita’s table, Nyji glanced at the musicians and admitted,
“I’m afraid that my old bones wouldn’t cooperate. I will just sit here, watch and enjoy myself that way.”
“I’d be up for a dance”, Lissa remarked and looked around, trying to figure out who she should ask.
At Oram’s table, Aidan frowned and decided,
“I don’t like dancing, I have to admit. I’m also afraid that I’d just fall over my own feet. Do you think you’ll dance?” he asked Oram.
At Darius’ table, Magdalene nudged Laura and whispered, just loud enough for Darius to be able to hear it,
“If you want to dance with him, now’s your chance.” Since her friend had made that comment about mangoes, she’d been wondering if Laura might have a crush on the Baron rather than just being her usual shy and slightly awkward self.
“We two could dance”, she then suggested to Eve whose accent she found rather interesting.
At the stage that had been set up for the musicians, Devin briefly discussed things with the members of the band, his former roommate, Talieson the bard, a dark-haired man in his early thirties, among them. Someone handed him sheet music. The Baron smiled gratefully at them, sat down on a chair, placed his lute in his lap and tuned it before he started to play, accompanied by the band. The first song that they played was the one that Darius had requested earlier. The second song they played was an incredibly fast-paced dance song that they had already practiced before the party – Devin played this one by heart.
His fingers nearly seemed to fly across the strings of his lute, and there was a wide smile on his face. Originally, he had only planned on joining the band for a single song, the second song, to be exact, but he was having so much fun, and he loved to entertain people, and bring a smile to their faces so why stop? For that reason, he played song after song, masterfully and with overwhelming enthusiasm – for the people of Faldrass and for his guests – until the dance was finally over, and the evening neared its grand finale.
Unless someone decided to approach him because they really wanted to dance with him, that is.
I will post again in approximately two weeks.
