[ You are all currently in a large sitting room in Byron's home. Presumably you're sitting on the chairs, although most of them are either solid wood or stretched-canvas seating -- old-style stuff, to you hip modern adventurers. ] [ Those not present are Byron, who is currently doing Byron things, Ariake, who is visiting the little elf's room, and Will, who is checking out the altar to Bahamut to see weather it's legit. ] [ Hopefully you remember how weird this place is. So, hop to it! Session Start! ] ... this place is weird. * Seylin nods. "Yeah, I know!" * Tia sits on the floor, since she doesn't fit in a chair. Her tail lazily sweeps back and forth across the floor. * Vall stays quiet, looking around the place Not normal weird, either. Freaky weird. Ya think? ^_^ Um, what's weird about it? Pretty much everything. What isn't? ^_^ Really? I didn't really notice... There was a nice old man, a village, and butterflies...those are normal, aren't they? It is quite rude to comment on shortcomings in a host's domicile. Domi...cile? What's that? * Seylin idly taps her fingers. "But still. I'm wondering what's going to happen next." House, Tia. He means home, Tia. Oh, okay, thanks! * Tia takes out a dirty, bloodspattered piece of parchment and tries to spell the word out for future reference. Do you think he'll feed us? I'm still a bit hungry. Don't eat the shroomz. ^_^ House ain't weird, Kenji. Whole place is. Too... peaceful. * Vall nods in agreement with Istvan Oh, but the 'shrooms weren't that bad. Tasted a little musty, though. * Seylin fidgets again. "I hope he gets back soon." Ah, yes. I understand what you mean. There is no apparent web of political intrigue, no aura of people about to be stabbed in the back for personal gain. Not to mention our way out closed up on us. That means we can't get home, doesn't it? If there was a web of intrigue, then they're not doing a good job of covering it up. Not at the moment, Tia. We can get home, but we can't go beyond this. And I wanna know what's beyond this! * Tia ponders. "Think the old man will help us?" * Patrick nods and smiles. "Which is why we're going to go through." ^_^ I'm not entirely sure if he's part of the problem, or part of the solution. Maybe he's both! Can he be both? He speaks in riddles. *pauses* I hate riddles. Always a possibility. Riddles are fun! Like Kenji's dragon box! Someday, Tia, perhaps I shall let you see some of my other boxes. But we can't do anything until this guy comes back. * HKenji stands slowly and walks to the door. * Seylin sighs. Waiting is never fun. You have more? Tell me about it. * Patrick shrugs and leans back. * Seylin taps her foot and hums softly. Perhaps we can. There might be a clue in this very room we're overlooking. * HKenji opens the door slowly and steps outside the room. * Seylin tilts her head slightly and watches Kenji go. * Tia jumps to her feet and follows Kenji outside. Where're you goin', Kenji? To have a look around this place. Please stay here. Oh, okay. I'll wait here, then. * Tia sits obediently by the front of the house. * Vall stands up, and casually starts looking over the furniture and wall hangings in this room. * Istvan seems to be busy examining the haft of his war pick, turning it around slowly in his hands. * Seylin glances around the room. She doesn't seem particularly interested in taking a closer look. She probably wants to go outside and fly again. * Tia hums to herself and watches the clouds float by (if there are any). [ To be more speciffic, you're in a sitting room on the lower level of the home, located on a corner that recieves a good breeze through the open windows. ] Mmm... no cracks. s'holding up good. * Tia stretches her wings lazily and yawns. * Istvan twirls the war pick a bit, then places it back in the harness on his back. Find anything, Vall? Not sure yet. * HKenji looks over this room once more and then steps out, closing the door behind him. * Patrick yawns. "Could ya hurry up and discover he's a soulsucking demon already?" ^_^ [ Ariake returns from the little elf's room! Hopefully she washed her hands. ] * Seylin waves to Ariake. * Ariake did - WITH FIRE. * Ariake waves. "Found anything?" ('atta girl!) Not yet! * Istvan starts inspecting his falchion, now. * Tia still sits right outside the house, and she glances at Kenji as he leaves through the door again. "Find anything interesting?" * Ariake hmms and peers around. * Vall walks around the rooms, closely inspecting things (wall hangings, furniture that's right up against walls, things of that nature) * Istvan finds no obvious flaws in his falchion, places it back at his side, and starts checking on his short bow. [ Vall finds no secret passages. Or places where secret passages are likely to be. ] Maybe we aren't supposed to sit here and just wait? Maybe we're supposed to go and find him? * Tia stands up and pokes her head into the room through one of the open windows. "Hey, whatcha all lookin' for in there?" She looks amused. * Istvan mutters. "Short bow's fine too... should prolly check the armor, but that'd require stripping down to my undies... definately later." * Seylin looks at Tia. "Vall's looking for clues! What's Kenji up to?" * Istvan places the short bow back on the side of his pack, and leans back in his chair. Clues? Clues for what? Oh, Kenji said he was going to have a look around. I'm not sure if he's found anything neat. Not a thing... I wanted to go look too, but he told me to stay here. Clues for what we're supposed to be doing here. Hopefully Kenji'll find something. * Tia wags her tail. Are we supposed to be doing something? We're not sure. I wish that old priest would come back. Unless he's waiting for us somewhere else. Where'd the old man go? I'm not sure about that, either. He probably forgot. What'dya expect? ^_^ Think he wants us to find him? Maybe it's a game! * Istvan manages to get comfortable in his chair. "s'a big place, and I'm no tracker, for one." Yeah, he could've wandered off somewhere. * Ariake shrugs, and leans against the wall. "I don't mind waiting." * Seylin makes a face. "I do." Let's go find the old man, Sey! * Seylin undoes her hair tie and lets it fall down around her shoulders. Nah, Tia, Kenji told you to stay there, right? Oh. Oh, yeah. I shouldn't make him mad. * Vall turns to his hawk, and speaks to it, giving it an order to fly around the area to find either the old man or any other way out. Exactly. I guess we should at least wait for him. * Tia nods vigorously. "Yeah. I guess I'll wait, then." * Seylin sets her hair tie down on her lap and begins braiding her hair. * Tia pulls out of the window and sinks back to her haunches on the porch (if there is one). * Vall releases his hawk out the window. Hi, birdie! * Tia waves cheerfully to Vall's hawk as it flies out the window. * Ariake grins. * Istvan dozes off. Yay. * Tia scans the valley, looking for signs of Kenji returning. * Seylin finishes her braid and ties the end off. She looks around the room again. *Tia sees butterflies! * Patrick smirks, then glances over at Sey. "Bored?" ^_^ Yep! * Tia blinks and stands up. "Butterflies!" * Seylin looks over at Tia. "Butterflies?" Look! * Tia points them out to Seylin. * Seylin peers out the window. [ There's butterflies there, alright. ] * Ariake looks out the window. * Tia is about to spring off after them, but she stays herself. "But Kenji wanted me to wait here." Yep, they're butterflies. * Istvan snores softly. They're pretty. Wow, imagine that. ^_^ They are. * Tia smiles wistfully. Maybe if you stand really, really still, Tia, they'll come closer and you can get a better look at them! * Vall leaves the room to explore the rest of the house * Seylin does not see Vall go, because she is busy paying attention to Tia and the pretty butterflies! Must keep priorities straight! Oh, maybe! I'll try that! * Tia straightens and stands very, very still. * Seylin watches Tia and giggles. * Patrick grins. * Tia collapses back on her haunches a moment later, coughing. "Oops...*wheeze*...forgot to breathe." * Seylin smiles at Tia. "Um, yeah, that's pretty important. As still as you can while breathing!" * Ariake sweatdrops. * Vall checks out the other rooms on this floor Are you having fun exploring the house without the caretaker's permission, Vall? ^_^ Good idea! We needed permission? ~_^ * Tia starts over, remembering to breathe. If her tail weren't still waving slightly, she could almost be a statue. * Patrick smiles. * Seylin watches Tia. Her wings twitch slightly. * Tia , however, still has an emphatic grin on her face. * Istvan continues snoring softly. Snoresnoresnore. * Ariake starts trying to juggle some pebbles. She's not too good at it, but at least doesn't hit anyone. * Seylin peeks over her shoulder and grins at Ariake. "Not bad!" Thanks! I can't keep going for long at all, though. Well, that's why you're practicing, right? * Tia sighs. "I don't think they're coming," she says sadly. * Seylin looks out at Tia again. "Aww, really?" * Ariake grins. * Tia nods. "Think Kenji would mind if I just left for a little while? To play with the butterflies?" I dunno. He might get a little mad. It's hard to tell with him. * Vall returns to the rest of the group. "You know, either this is one hell of a scam, or the old man's legit. Either prospect worries me." Aw, I don't want him to get mad. I guess I can play with the butterflies later. I go with the first. ^_^ * Tia sits back down and resumes watching the butterflies from afar. * Seylin turns back and resumes watching Ariake juggle. There is *nothing* in this house to contradict what he's told us. You're right...either is very worrying. * Patrick snags a pebble and throws it into Ariake's juggling. "Let's see if you can do more." ^_^ * Ariake eeps, and keeps up for just a bit before she has to stop and pick one up. * Istvan counts dire sheep as he sleeps. Zzz. Yeah. I wish we had a better idea as to what we're supposed to be doing next. If this is one big puzzle, then I gotta admit I have no idea how the pieces are supposed to fit together. I bet if you were high on shrooms you'd get it. ^_^ * Tia pokes her head back through the window. "I ate 'shrooms!" * Seylin giggles. "I think I'll pass on that!" * Tia grins broadly. She, however, does not understand the implications of being high. * Ariake winces slightly at the idea of Tia on hallucinogens. Aww, everyone does. Except for the creepy man in the suit behind the Stoned Fist school. But what're you gonna do about that? ^_^ * Seylin laughs. They have 'shrooms at Stone Fist? No wonder they're grouchy all the time. Those 'shrooms don't taste so good. * Seylin laughs again. "That would explain it!" Of course! * Tia laughs too. Of course, she doesn't get it the way everyone else presumably gets it. ;) * Vall chuckles... Oh, one odd thing I did encounter. It looked as if Will was both meditating and asleep in the altar room. No sign of our host there, though. Hey, Vall, does the old man keep his underwear clean? Meditating *and* asleep? That takes talent! * Tia wags her tail. And that does. ^_^ Underwear? What underwear. That's one thing I didn't see. Eww. * Istvan shifts in his chair, his falchion scraping across the floor, and grumbles as he finds a new comfortable position. You were going through his wardrobe, Vall? * Patrick laughs. "Wow, you go for men's landure just like all the other elves too!" [ Well, it could be that Will was just unconscious for some reason. That's much easier to accomplish. ] (And I mispelled launderaure. But feh. :P) No. Why's Will sleeping up there instead of down here? Are you sure Will was okay, Vall? Can ya take Will down here? If there's some kinda sleepin' gas, you'd be immune to it. ^_^ No, I'm not sure he was okay. And he's a little bit heavy for me. * Tia looks around outside for a bit before looking through the window again. "Kenji's been gone for a long time. Should we be worried?" Hmm. Will's asleep, Kenji's not here. Maybe we should do something now. * Patrick nods. "I'm goin' outside. Wanna come Sey?" ^_^ * Istvan snores. Is that something? But I don't know enough about his faith to know if being asleep while in the altar room is acceptable or not. Yeah, hang on a sec. * Tia nods. She's evidently a bit antsy. * Seylin walks over and pokes Istvan. If nothing's smited him yet, he's probably okay! * Tia wanders around right outside the house. "Keeenjiiiiii!" Faith-wise, at least. * Istvan blinks, shakes his head, and eyes Seylin. "Either I died and went to heaven, or we're going exploring." Second choice Istvan. Let's roll. Keeeeenjiiiiiii? * Seylin giggles. "Second guess! We're gonna go look for Kenji." Also, Will's asleep upstairs. * Ariake stretches a bit. "All right!" * Patrick gets up and runs out the door, searching for Kenji. "Someone get a view so we can bead Kenji's location." It may or may not be anything. I think he'll be okay if we leave him here, though. Okay! * Seylin heads out and takes to the air. * Vall draws his bow out of the quiver, and strings it up. * Tia crouches back on her powerful hind legs and launches herself into the air after Seylin. * Istvan nods, and stands slowly, working a crick out of his back. "Good. Not quite ready for the afterlife." * Istvan shuffles out after the others. * Tia looks around the valley. "Keeeenjiiiiiii!" * Vall follows the others. [ o/` The hills are alive, with the sound of Tia o/` ] (*laughs*) * Ariake follows the others. Tia, do you know what direction he went? * Tia shakes her head. "I saw him walk off away from the house, but then I lost track of him." Then find him? Hmm. Guess we'll just have to check 'em all, then! Where should we start? Ummm... ( has the hawk returned, by the way? ) * Tia glances down at the butterflies below, then shakes her head. "Maybe you should lead, Sey." [ Byron and Kenji show up next to you! They must've heard the call of Tia. The hawk isn't back yet. ] Oh, there you are! * Seylin lands. We were wondering what happened to you, Kenji! * Ariake waves. "Welcome back." Hey, Kenji. What's up, man? ^_^ * HKenji looks at Seylin strangely. "Nothing happened to me. I simply took a look around the area." * Tia lands as gracefully as a dracotaur can, behind Seylin. "Kenji! We found you!" Well, you were gone a while. But you found him! Hi, nice old man! * Byron is picking at a bit of lint on his robe, then looks up at Tia. "Hello!" * Tia beams. "Nice to see you again! We were wondering where you were." * Seylin waves at him, too. "Hi!" ^_^ Find anything neat, Kenji? * Tia looks expectant. ...no. Nothing at all. Curiouser and curiouser... Aw, nothing? Now, I think, it is mealtime! You should all come inside, for I believe there is a delicious meal being prepared. * Tia 's wings droop in disappointment. Meal! * Ariake blinks. "Hmm." * Tia immediately brightens and trails after Byron. * Seylin hmms as well. "Hey, Vall, did you see any sign of a meal?" * HKenji gives Ariake a significant look. * Ariake follows, as well, in search of food! * Patrick shrugs. I didn't see anything except a decently-stocked pantry. Nothing prepared... [ Byron leads you to a large dining room! With just enough seats for him and all of you! ] Strange... * Seylin whispers something to Patrick. * Patrick listens, of course. * Patrick whispers back. * Istvan just follows the others. He's still kinda half awake. Interesting. * Vall takes a seat. * Tia oohs and ahhs. Entranced by the food, she takes her place at the area of the table cleared for her special sitting situation. Now! We shall eat delicious food, prepared by the Desmodu for us. Wow, thanks, nice old man! * Tia grins. * HKenji takes a seat across from Ariake. * Patrick sits down in a seat next to Seylin. * Seylin sits down and whispers back. * Patrick whispers back. * Seylin smiles at him. * Tia breathes in the aromas appreciatively and grins. * Patrick grins, then looks over the food. * Istvan finds an empty seat and sits. You say this food was prepared by the Desmodu? [ After you're all seated, some Desmodu come from the opposite end of the room you entered from, bringing plates of food! There's rothe' ribs, large, puffy rolls of dark bread, some vegetables you don't recognize, and, oddly enough, bowls with mushroom slices floating in a sweet-smelling juice. ] [ For a drink, you have only water, but it seems exceptionally clean water. ] * Byron lifts his waterglass. "A toast!" * Vall casts a detect magic spell, just in case * Tia hastily clutches her glass and raises it up. * Patrick eyes Vall as he makes funny gestures with his hands, and raises his glass up to toast and shit. "Hey, someone gonna get Will down, or is he just gonna sleep through the meal?" I'll get him! * Ariake makes the toast happily. * Seylin takes her glass and raises it. Do not come between a man and his gods. Oh...should I not get him? If he's prayin', let him pray. *turns to Kenji* What you said. (Once the spell is cast, he raises his own glass) * Tia nods. "Okay. I won't bother him, then." Although I think it's just one god he's concentrating on. * Tia grins as she looks down and recognizes that there are 'shrooms in the soup. "'Shroom soup!" * Patrick cracks up. To the continuation of your journey, and to the Desmodu that made and prepared the meal, and to whatever it is that I am supposed to remember to tell you! What are you supposed to remember to tell us? * Tia listens attentively, wagging her tail, her glass still raised. * Seylin says very very quietly, "And please let that last one be *soon*..." * Istvan lifts his glass. * HKenji lifts his glass. * Byron drinks, then plops it down and bows his head. "Now. A few moments of silence, that we might thank the gods who made this possible." * HKenji sips delicately. * Tia empties her glass, then puts it down carefully so as not to break it. * Vall lifts his glass as if to sip, but doesn't, and then lowers it * Ariake takes a sip and lowers her glass. * Seylin places her glass near her lips and pretends to drink, without actually touching it or drinking anything, then puts it down. * Patrick sips a small amount, then puts it down. It's unsure as to weather he swallows, though. * Seylin bows her head slightly but keeps her eyes in the old priest's direction. * Patrick bows his head as well. * Tia is silent, as she was told to be, though her tail thumps an upbeat rhythm on the floor. * Vall bows slightly as well * Istvan chugs his glass. * Byron has his eyes closed and is mumbling. * Tia whispers, "What's he saying?" (I don't know, unfortunately, where she's sitting in relation to everyone else) * Vall tries to listen in on the mumbling * Byron snaps his head up. "I think it's time to dig in!" Huzzah! Joy! I think I'd like some 'shroom soup, please. ... Food. Mmm. ... * HKenji shakes his head sadly. * Tia partakes of food and drink! * Seylin giggles softly and looks over the food. * Vall tries the shroom soup. * Patrick shrugs and gets a small helping of everything, tasting a very small part of each piece. * Ariake takes an average helping of everything. [ The food LOOKS good, and it SMELLS good. As Tia munches, it SOUNDS good. ] * Istvan grabs some ribs, and digs in. His eating manners are a bit better than his drinking manners, thankfully. * Tia exclaims in between mouthfuls, "Thanks, nice old man! Thanks, cute bat-man!" * Seylin takes a bit of everything but doesn't eat it quite yet. * HKenji takes a small helping of vegetables and a little bread. * Patrick nods and smiles to Seylin. * Patrick then goes to town on whichever tasted best. * Tia eats with unmatched speed and gusto! (i.e. Hottest and one with THE MOST seasoning.) This is good soup. * Seylin smiles back and begins munching delicately on a piece of bread. * Ariake consumes at a normal rate, happily. "This is excellent - thank you!" [ The vegetables are quite spicy. Especially the little orange peppers. ] * Istvan consumes many ribs. Meat good! * Byron is eating with a refined air, but not so that he doesn't appear hungry. * Seylin unsuspectingly bites into a pepper and immediately reaches for her water glass. Do not thank me, thank the Desmodu for their diligent efforts. * Ariake hmms at the pepper, and politely snags a few more. :9 * Tia grins toothily at the Desmodu present. * Seylin gulps a bit hastily, then munches on a bit more bread. [ By golly, the food TASTES good, too! ] These 'shrooms are better than the ones I had in the cave. [ Those Desmodu sure can cook. ] * Seylin tries some of the ribs and shroom soup as well. "Mmm, this is nice." She smiles at the Desmodu. "Thank you!" Hey, Sey? Do you think maybe I can take one of the cute bat-men home with me when we're done with our quest? * Ariake grins, and thanks them as well. * Patrick spins a pepper on his finger, then grabs it and bites into it. He finishes chewing and gulps. "Nicely prepared." ^_^ * Vall tries some of the other foods. Particularly the meat and veggies. [ The Desmodu are very happy that you're liking their food. ] No, Tia, I think they'd want to stay here. * Seylin eats some more vegetables, but avoids the peppers. * Tia throws back another bowl of the 'shroom soup and sighs contentedly. "Are you sure? I can feed him pizza!" He'd probably get lonely. Oh! Good thinking. Maybe I can bring two with me? * HKenji bites into a pepper and is so utterly unprepared that he spits it across the table. He quickly grabs his water and drains it, hoping it will stop the hurting. [ Vall's hawk comes flying along overhead. ] * Tia giggles. * Ariake raises an eyebrow at Kenji. "Not used to peppers?" No, no. I don't think the nice priest would appreciate it if you took his cooks and helpers. Look, Mr. Birdie is back! * Istvan has a pepper bounce off his forehead. He eyes Kenji. "... that's just poor table manners, man." * Vall raises his hand, and the bird lands on it. [ The water helps little, sadly. ] * HKenji grabs a large chunk of bread and stuffs it in his mouth. * Seylin suppresses a giggle at Kenji. She sympathizes, and knows that if it affected her with her higher tolerance for spicy stuff, it had to hurt him. * Tia eyes the pepper now lying on the table. "Is anyone going to eat that?" [ The bred helps, tho, since it's buttery. ] Ahh, no, Tia. I think you might want to leave that one alone. There are plenty of others! * Byron suddenly stands up, very rigid and slightly quivering. * Seylin looks over at Byron. "Hey, are you okay?" [ The Desmodu are surprised! ] * Tia looks alarmed. "What's wrong, nice old man?" * HKenji continues chewing madly on bread, trying to make the hurting stop. Someone catch him! * Ariake blinks. "Are you okay?" * Istvan gives up on waiting for an apology, and eyes the old man. * Byron says "I remember now..." in a soft voice trailing off, only to come back deep and unearthly as he says "And so it is foretold, that one of you will kill the others. The person comes from below, and like a snake they lie among you..." * Byron flops back in his chair. ...what? * Ariake blinks. * Seylin blinblinks. "What?!" Oh. Shit. What kills who? * Tia looks very confused. ... * Ariake rubs her temples. "Oh, that does *not* sound good." * Seylin runs over to Byron to check on him. * Byron looks up. "Did I get it right?" He rubs his head. "I can't remember, I think..." * Tia blinks. "I don't understand." You said one of us was gonna try and kill us! That doesn't sound right at all! ... yeah. This is why I didn't want to get into adventuring. * Seylin tries to help him sit up. But, but, we're all friends, aren't we? We wouldn't kill each other... * Byron frowns. "Did I? But it felt like the right thing, truly it did, I think, and I don't think I feel the compulsion to be here anymore." * Tia looks around the table for confirmation. 'The person comes from below...' Guys, who fits that bill? Maybe you should go lie down for a bit. Or have a drink of water, or something. * Ariake nods. "Unless one of you turned out to be massively evil or something, I should say not." * Vall has a very scared look on his face at the moment... ... Well, I lived with dwarves. Yes.. I think water. ... not that I'm planning to kill you all. * Ariake pauses. "I...don't know. I don't know where I come from." * Byron takes a small sip. Nor am I. * HKenji stands up. * Tia glances at Ariake and blinks. You... don't know where you come from? * Istvan pauses, thinking. "Well, maybe Kenji, if he spits more peppers at me." No. I don't remember anything from before I was...hmm, it would have been about twelve. * Seylin watches Byron sip, then looks at the others. * HKenji snorts. What do you mean, Ari? * Patrick has been listening the entire time and shrugs. "So someone's gonna try and kill us, and we know it's one of ours? Cool!" ^_^ Anything. The earliest thing I remember is being outside Brighthome, confused. * HKenji levels his gaze at Byron. "This prophesy changes nothing." * Ariake shrugs. "It's been a long time, and...I've gotten used to it, I guess. I just don't know." * Seylin gives her best friend an exasperated look. "Patrick. This isn't the time." * Tia looks uncertain, but she smiles reassuringly at Ariake. "It's okay, Ari. I forget things all the time!" * Ariake smiles slightly. "Well, this is sort of different. But thanks." * Patrick quirks an eyebrow, and his smile lessens (but does NOT go away). "Well, let's think objectively then. How many people do we know from below, or who could have *come* from below?" ^_^ Myself, Istvan, possibly Ariake. I'm not really sure if the place where I was born is lower in elevation than Brighthome or not. * Byron looks back at Kenji and slowly shrugs. * Tia looks worried for a moment. "I lived in a cave. That doesn't count, does it?" But this is just silly, really! * Patrick shrugs. "Prophecies never make sense. Kenji, how trustworthy is Bryon?" Knowing how prophecies are, it'll turn out to be something completely unexpected. * HKenji turns a hard glare on Patrick. "You would insult our host?" * Tia nods slowly. "Well, I heard sometimes indigestion makes people weird. Maybe it was nothing?" Maybe. * Patrick drinks some water, then puts it down. "Well, he is saying that one among us may betray us. I would believe you, of all people, should see if he actually speaks true. If he *wasn't* our host, I'd most likely just dismiss it as nonesense." ^_^ It could have been nothing. But now, I think, I have told you the thing I was meant to tell you, or at least I believe I have, so you may go when the rocks clear. * Tia seems somewhat reassured, and she resumes picking at what food is left on the table. ... clear? Rocks don't usually just clear. * Seylin still looks a bit worried. She sits back down and looks glumly at the others. Attempting to use prophesy to guide your actions is like giving a scorpion a ride across a river. * Ariake nods. The Desmodu are working on clearing them as we speak. The scorpion says it won't sting you, sure. * Patrick grins and points a finger at Kenji. "You also know that I'm a strong believer in not trusting prohpecies." * Tia nods too. "Well, I'm not killing anybody," she says, smiling. "Maybe we can just finish eating dinner, and everyone'll feel better." I have little doubt this prophesy is correct. * Vall is still ash white. "Still. I'm too afraid the prophecy speaks of myself. I do have drow blood in me, who knows if or when that'll come to the fore." Doubt it, Vall. I'd kill you long before you finished killing us all. *grins* * Ariake consumes another pepper with every sign of enjoyment. "My philosophy is to not worry about it. If we all get paranoid about who's going to kill who, we're probably going to end up *all* killing each other out of nerves. If the prophecy's inevitable, there's nothing we can do about it. If it's misleading, we'll just have to deal with it when we come to it." * Seylin shakes her head. "I... yeah. What Ariake said makes sense." And I mean that in the nicest possible way. Really. That's not very reassuring. * Tia nods in agreement and polishes off another plate of ribs. I'm shaken, of course. But we're just going to have to deal with it. * Patrick smirks. "Don't worry Vall. I'll make sure you don't kill anyone." ^_^ You need not worry, Vall. I will make sure your death is swift and merciful if you betray us. I am no scorpion, to torment you for eternity. * Istvan grabs Vall in a headlock and noogies him. "Relax, man." * Byron has returned to eating. Some of the color has returned to his cheeks. * Seylin doesn't eat any more. * Patrick finishes with the meat on his plate, then drinks the soup. He whipsers to Seylin. * Vall squirms out of the headlock... barely, and gives a small smile. * Seylin whispers back. * Tia no longer seems concerned now that the others are more at ease and there is more food in her belly. Her tail wags contentedly. There's an old saying I like... 'If you know someone is going to inevitably punch you in the face, try your best to avoid it. But also find a spell that turns your jaw to steel, just in case.' * Seylin looks at Patrick and nods sadly. * Patrick smiles and rubs Sey's shoulder, whipsering a bit more concerningly in her ear. * Ariake shrugs and finishes her soup. * Seylin smiles back and whispers. I've always been big on telling Destiny to bugger off. If it doesn't, and it decides to sock me one... well, I've built up one hell of a jaw. * Vall finishes eating, and, excusing himself, heads outside, trying to clear his head. * Tia works on what no one else seems like they'll be eating, finishing with the forlorn pepper that had bounced off Istvan's forehead moments ago. * Byron stands up, slowly. "I think I must retire. I feel weak, and at my age I think that's no small thing." * Tia stands too. "Need help?” Thank you, Tia, I think I do. * Seylin looks up. "I can help too, if you want." * Ariake stands and heads over to help, as well. But I guess Tia and Ariake can handle it. * Tia grins and walks over to the priest, taking his arm and putting it over her waist (since she's just that tall). * Byron lets whoever aid him to his sleeping chambers. * Ariake provides getting-hit-with-Tia's-tail-related aid. * Patrick walks outside, hands in his pockets. "I'm gonna have a talk with Vall. And don't worry, I'm not gonna threaten him." ^_^ I thank you. My apologies for that bit of bad news, and for not finishing out the night, I think. Oh, and Byron? Thanks man. ^_^ * Vall is sitting on the step, gazing at the sky. * Tia grins kindly at Byron. "It's okay. I'm sure it's not that bad." Oh, that's all right. It's hardly your fault. I think you are welcome. Yeah. This... happens. Rest well. I hope you feel better, and thanks for the dinner, nice old man. * Byron is shuffled off to bed. * Ariake nods. "Thank you." * Patrick smiles to Vall. "Hey, what'cha thinking about?" * Tia returns when she has finished helping Byron get to bed. * Seylin stays sitting. Trying not to. * Ariake returns with Tia, and sits back down. * Istvan downs another glass of water, rubs his neck, and mutters. "The hell am I getting myself into?" * Tia sits back by the table and starts absently gnawing on the bones left over from the ribs. I just keep running that prophecy through my head, and I'm too afraid. I led you down to these caverns, after all. I'm from as far below as you can get... [ And they all lived paranoidly ever after. Session End! ]