[Flashback] Scary lady is scary! (Tessa)

[Bob Barton]

Someone was going to be in a reallll culture shock when she got to Ravok. On the outside sure, it was nice and all. But once you started to think you got to know the city, everything changes. Especially the people. Bob himself still could not decide if he liked them or not. Feigning interest from thinking too much, Bob just answered in a neutral tone the first thing which came to his lips. "Oh, a trade caravan...do you do that often? Maybe you would be able to go in no problems then..."

Now that was something that Bob could agree with Tessa. The gods! Or at least most of them anyway. Bob was about to speak about them but then he was interrupted by the soup just like her. It just had that alluring smell on it. He quickly put his spoon in and brought it to his face to take a whiff. It smelled good, better than the one he only caught by accident. No more waiting, Bob quickly put it in his mouth. It was tasty...but it was lacking something...

It needed more, substance! All those herbs and spices would be wasted diluted in the soup. Bob waved his hands to call for buns. A lot more energetically because he wanted...needed to have that soup right now. When he finally got it he quickly enjoyed his bounty. Dipping one into the soup and ripping into the soft souped up bun. Oh wait...where were his manners? "Do-you-want-one?" Bob asked in between bites forgetting that he was not supposed to talk with his mouth full. Tasty soup and buns do things like that.

"Oh yes it is." Bob was able to reply now that he was satisfied. Where were they. Oh yeah. The gods. Bob had a little chuckle thinking about it "I guess we think the same things about gods huh?" The funny thing was that the amount of gods Bob could remember could be counted with his fingers. Which he did while his fist was still on the table. Trying to do it as discreetly as possible so that his companion would not think that he was strange. "Sometimes I think they are a little too big for anything. Most of them anyway. Have you had any experience with them?" Bob had one but he probably should not share it due to the strangeness of it all. Tessa might make it straight to the door once he did.

Continuing, Bob probably got to the subject Tessa wanted. The subject of gods lead to the idea of a god-forsaken hellhole. "You know where I probably won't find a god even if I will end up wanting one? Sunberth! Yeah I am going there right after this stop in Syliras. Do you know anything about that place since you travel a lot?" Bob was cheerfully asking about Sunberth like it was nothing but a big joke. Though a few seasons down the line he would learn how to fear it.

[Tessa Poe]

Again she was watching him, though this time she knew exactly what to feel, and that was embarrassment. She watched Bob wave like a lunatic to attract the attention of one of the serving girls and once she brought the rolls he'd requested she watched him dig in with no regard for manners. She stole a glance round the room, catching the other diners very pointedly ignoring both of them and chewed the inside of her lip slightly worriedly. As far as she knew she had a reasonable reputation at the Swan, she was quiet, clean, always paid on time and now... now she was associated with Bob and his lack of manners. She really hoped they wouldn't hold it against her, the Swan was… well it was always there, safe and private. True it’d be cheaper to use the public baths but that would mean… well… yeah, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Her eyes flicked back to him as he asked his question, and then she found herself unable to look away from the mess of mashed up soup and bread between his teeth, the little crumbs he sprayed across the once pristine table cloth as he spoke. Gods that was disgusting. She managed to shake her head in reply and stared down at her soup, carefully taking spoonfulls from the edge of the bowl and waiting for the sounds of him eating to finally stopped. “Ummm... I don't know, once, sometimes twice a season, it's usually not that bad as jobs go so long as the caravan you're with is big enough, it's not safe by any means but what's life without a little risk, right? I the travelling too, everyone's got their own routes and no two journeys are ever the same." she said, her eyes still locked on her now mostly empty bowl of soup, “And did you mean, sort of personal experience with them? The Gods I mean? In that case, no. Though I met this Knight last year, can’t really remember his name and he said he worshipped Yahal, at least I think it was something like that, but I didn’t get to hear much about his God.” Her voice dropped to a low, conspiratol whisper then as she leant forwards, not wanting the other diners to overhear what she was saying. “Turned out he was a mage, and he started doing some kind of magic around me… scared me half to death with it all too. I mean how can someone walk around in public like that, announcing they’re a mage and everything?” She shook her head ruefully in confusion, half wishing she hadn’t have yelled as she had done at him. It wasn’t her fault though, he was a mage! She settled back again as their fourth course arrived, again the ever efficient service whisked away the crockery they’d finished with, and laid out smaller plates in their place, a finely fried piece of meat sitting in a white sauce with what looked like green beans underneath. It’d be chicken, it had to be, given the white sauce and all. “So, you’re off to Sunberth Bob? ‘Fraid I don’t know much about the place… Ma never let me have a look, said it was too dangerous, that there were thieves and slavers and all sorts there. You sure you’ll be alright with those kinds of people? I mean… from what I heard then and since then it’s really not the safest place to go.” She had to wonder why Bob even wanted to go as she cut herself a thin sliver of the chicken just to taste it, not wanting to rush so she could really enjoy and appreciate the flavours. She wasn’t disappointed either, the almost delicate cream sauce was simply delicious and the chicken had been cooked to perfection, not like her vague attempts that usually ended up with it being so overdone it was burnt or so underdone it was still bloody inside. Then there’d been that memorable occasion when it was both. In some ways now she never wanted this meal to end. That way she could just sit here and enjoy dish after dish as it arrived.

[Bob Barton]

Bob finally polished off the dish in front of him. Like Tessa thought, it was a little bit embarrassing after eating like that. He knew it. Not from how Tessa was acting or how he felt that there were eyes boring into his head. But because he can feel the remains of some of the food around his mouth. "Excuse me." he said while picking up one of the napkins provided and wiping his mouth with it. "Now where were we?"

Right, caravans. "I guess you are right. About the caravans. I prefer to follow them around if I can. Otherwise I just cling on to any group who might be going the same way. There is safety in numbers out there in the Wildlands." Numbers are always good. But Bob never liked traveling. "If I could, I'd rather not have to go through the Wildlands at all. There was one thing that fanatical Akalak told me that I really liked. Those Watchtowers? Apparently they are used for travel. Instantaneous travel he said." That was the only thing about the Watchtowers he knew about. And that they were powered by some god named named Aquiras. Other than that nothing. Aquiras and his watchtowers were not as interesting as that other god.

As for gods and magic? Yes...Bob had some experience with those. But it seems like something that he should not be talking to Tessa about. Especially the magic bit. If the truth of how he used it suddenly surfaced, she would probably never forgive him so he is going to keep that to himself. Bob already had the knife he was using to slice through the chicken. As it was going down he suddenly stopped it to point at Tessa to say his piece before continuing on. "Don't you just hate those kind of people? Trying to shove their beliefs into your face? Well, I did have an experience of my own. Once. Or at least I think they are gods. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't even be eating here with you right now" He probably won't say anything more than that. It was just an experience. Hardly a belief like others would cling so zealously to.

That was talking too much. It was time to rest for a little while. Bob sliced the chicken, appraising it for a bit. The meat was soft, coming out easily as the knife went through. Then he stuck his fork in it to bring it up. Slowly and dramatically while he took the chance to look at it properly. "POP!" It went in and melted in his mouth. That was good. Very good. What spices were they using? Was that salt? Of course it was salt. What dish didn't have salt? Everything up to this, the food and companionship was worth the expensive meal he had to pay for.

"How can you not want to go to Sunberth?" Bob asked Tessa as he reached for his glass. After a sip for taste he was able to continue. "I saw you yesterday. Playing for the love of the game. And Sunberth has a lot of that doesn't it?" That was what he heard. That Sunberth was dangerous for everyone with mizas. Especially the casinos. No one told him about the crime there. Not one but Tessa, but as usual he didn't think much about it. "Aren't there thieves and slavers everywhere else. Like Ravok?" he asked with a grin on his face. Going on to have the rest of the chicken.

[Tessa Poe]

She was particularly enjoying the chicken, something out the way the skin was just crackly enough without being burned, the garlicy butter just underneath it, it was heavenly. It also meant that she couldn’t babble inanely at Bob since her mouth was often full of it, and it gave her a chance to actually get her thoughts in order. She’d known the Watchtowers had once allowed people to travel across Mizahar far more easily in a way she didn’t even pretend to understand, and that Aquiras had been responsible for them, but other than that… she really didn’t know much else about them. Other than that the colours changed according to the season, at least the one out in the forest did. “I’ve been to the one in the forest round here, the Watchtower I mean, it changes colour depending on the season… no idea why though, I mean it’s kind of obvious what season it is. If it’s cold and wet it’s winter, if it’s warm and dry it’s summer, well around here at least. I guess it’s different elsewhere.” She sat back and took another contented sip of wine, carefully pacing herself with the food. She didn’t want to get too full too early and miss out on the later courses, not if they were anywhere near as good as it had all been so far. She found herself leaning forwards again though, fascinated despite herself by the little hint that Bob dropped that he’d actually had… an experience with the Gods. Experience was probably the best word for it really, or maybe visitation? Whichever it was didn’t matter much, the fact was he’d actually met a God, or Gods in this case. “You’ve really met one? Really? How? What was it like? I mean… it’s not often you meet people who’ve actually… ahhhh sorry, I don’t quite know what to say, or where to start.” She shrugged and smiled over at him, the thought occurring that he might be lying about it, but even if he was he must have had a good story to go with the lie. He was right about one thing though, nowhere was entirely safe, but from what she’d heard other cities were better at hiding their darker side than Sunberth was. “Ohhh there might be a decent game or two to be had there, you’re right about that, but I’d rather not get knifed if I win for the pot, and from the sounds of it that’s exactly what might happen there.” She shrugged again, if Bob was set on going there she wasn’t about to try and stop him, she’d save her own visit for another time though if she ever did decided to visit it at all. The seemingly ever-present serving girl appeared at her elbow again to clear away the finished plates, a second laying on the next course, a small crown of duck sitting on what looked like creamed potatoes with a serving of peas artfully arranged to one side. To that was added a dark sauce, just enough to cover the duck without overflowing and ending up in the potatoes. She had to wander how much they’d had to practice to manage that. Once they were gone Tessa reached down and took just a dab onto her fingertip, finding it sweet, sort of like plum, maybe? She was fairly sure it was plum at the base at least. “I don’t think I’m going to have to eat for the next couple of days after this you know.” She said with a little smile for him as she carefully cut the first sliver of duck, holding herself back from just attacking it the same way Bob had done with the shrimp. She’d not eaten this well in months, and she wasn’t about to waste the opportunity.

[Bob Barton]

She was actually right about the watchtowers. Right now they are monuments of uselessness. Expensive monuments of uselessness with those big gems on top. Bob never looked at them to find out what season they were in since he could do the same as Tessa by just experiencing the climate. The only time Bob looks at watchtowers is to admire the gem on top since it looked so expensive. "I wonder why no one has tried to steal the gems on top yet?" obviously since it was big but then there is always taking piece by piece. "I wouldn't mind a shard of my own. Do you want one?" Its jewelry. How can Tessa as a woman not want one? Obviously Bob was not offering but just watching how interested she would be in it.

But what it looked like she was interested in was the gods despite what she talked about earlier. Until today Bob was still not sure whether those "Twins" were gods or not. All they did was give him a neat looking tattoo and "They saved me and my friend's life from some stinking gamblers here in the city. If even Syliras is unsafe I'd rather take my chances in Sunberth if you know what I mean?" At least in Sunberth you can expect trouble from everyone instead of being caught by surprise and that is even before you win the pot. "At least I think they are gods. They turned the playing cards into a swarm of wasps. Could be the magicians that you hate so much. Well, Bob still can't let the cat out of the bag about magic here "which one do you think they are?"

The next dish came just as fast as they were talking. Time really does feel short when you are enjoying yourself with good company and food like this duck. Just look at how they presented it. It would be a shame to just eat it like that. Bob took up his knife and sliced off a piece to try it in his mouth. Alright, not a waste to just eat it. In fact, he was just going to finish it and get the next course. "You and me both" especially with the price of it. Now Bob knew why it was so expensive. It has quality and quantity. "So are you really heading to Ravok after this?"

[Tessa Poe]

Tessa stiffened in her seat at his question, the smile dropping from her lips and a suspicious cast cross her face in its place. He wanted to steal them? How would you even start trying to do that? You'd need to be able to get up there first, and they were pretty tall. Then there was the size of them, they must weigh an awful lot. You'd need some kind of a scaffolding maybe, and a lot of rope to get them down... and even if you just wanted a little piece you'd need something to cut them with. Since they were supposed to be made by a God she figured that that wouldn't be particularly easy. But, more importantly, why was she trying to work out how you could steal them at all? She wasn't a thief... did that mean Bob was? Or was he trying to work out if she was? Either way she wasn't happy, on the one hand she'd have to watch her purse, and on the other he thought she was a thief! She'd never even tried to take something that didn’t belong to her, and the one time she’d done it by accident she’d gone back as soon as she’d realised and paid for it. "Not especially, not much point in jewellery really. I'd rather spend the money on something useful." she replied, her voice back to being carefully neutral again as she turned her attention to her food. That at least was just as good as it was before. The potatoes were just right, the skins lightly crisped beneath the cream sauce. The suspicion didn’t leave her face as he went into more detail about his possible encounter with the Gods, though he didn’t seem sure if they’d been Gods or not. “I’ve no idea I’m afraid, in the stories though, if the Gods come to help you they always mark you somehow. That’s what they say anyway, if they didn’t do that then maybe they were just a couple of… mages… who wanted to help you out.” As she spoke Tessa had to wonder just where Bob had found a bent game of cards in this city, one that mages apparently frequented too. One complaint to the Knights and there’d be hell to pay for whoever was running it surely? But more importantly, if he was the sort to go looking for the more shady sort of games maybe he was of the shady sort. What exactly did she know about him? Other than the fact that he’d offered to pay for dinner, he was short and he was interesting at least to talk to. Part of her, the part that had nothing to do with her stomach, was starting to wish that this meal would end sooner rather than later. “It’s not that I… hate them you know…” she said finally, carefully cutting another sliver of duck, “It’s just… I don’t know, it’s sort of selfish of them. Everyone knows how the stories go about mages, that they end up losing their minds and doing horrible things before they die, and yet people still want to be mages, to take the easy way. What they do isn’t natural, it’s… sort of like cheating, but cheating at life. And besides, do they honestly think that they’re going to be different? That they’ll somehow be alright? So no… I don’t hate them… I hate what they do, what they all end up doing in the end… and because of that, I guess more than anything else… they scare me.” It was strange, talking like this so honestly about magic and all that came with it. In some ways it was nice to have a meal with a complete stranger like this. It was like it didn’t matter what she said, because tomorrow the meal might as well never have happened. It wasn’t like she was planning to see Bob again afterwards. Of course the wild panic and worry about being with a complete stranger wasn’t all that nice, but it could be worse. And at least the topic had shifted back to something safer again, travelling. “Don’t get me wrong, I’ve not got any definite plans or anything. If I get a job and it takes me to Ravok then so be it, but I could end up going anywhere.” There, that was nicely vague. One thing she knew for sure now, she wasn’t about to tell Bob where she was planning on going, even if she knew herself. Over the last couple of chimes something had set the warning bells ringing in her head, and she wasn’t about to ignore them.

[Bob Barton]

Bob was only joking, making small talk but the joyful atmosphere of the dinner changed as soon as Tessa heard about the watchtower gems. It was not even the whole thing Bob said they should take, just a shard or two. Bob just waited for a while as she thought through all her nefarious plans which he thought was just her being Tessa until she finally spoke up about jewelry being useless. "Well, I heard those shards are sharp, really sharp. No one looks twice at a woman with jewelry so having something like that in plain sight which you can use at anytime to protect yourself would be good right?" That was how useful it was as Bob thought. Anyway better to act normally instead of hinting that Tessa was acting differently as well.

Mark? Yes Bob had one too but it was not like he was going to show anyone. It was strange, like it was alive. He rather keep quiet about it and just let Tessa keep thinking on it. Bob started to feel a little bit unconfortable hearing about mages who learn magic just to cheat. It was exactly the reason he learned it. To cheat in games. "How can you say they are cheating? They still have to learn and work on their magic to be good at it. Just like everyone else in the world who has to learn their own trade. Like fighters they also need to learn how to control their own strength. I guess that is where they go mad. Then again that could happen to any strong swordsman after they get the taste of blood." Bob knew this was true. He had a hard time using his magic until he met Clyde. Guess he was no god, he gave no mark or he just did not want to give Bob one.

But Bob did not like the way Tessa was saying that the pair which helped him were some sort of crazy cheaters because "Those two? They saved my life. Me and my idiot friend who got us into the situation" yes again, gods or not they were his saviors. "The moral of the story, don't go running around to help your friends in a dangerous situation or you will end up in deep shyke" like losing more than games. "At least unless you are really that good or have someone else to help you" but what would be the point of all that? You might as well ask those helpers to help your friend directly.

No doubt that Tessa did not like mages so it was time to change the subject. Best timing for the next dish to come. A large slab of lamb with a minty smell all over it, decorated by some brown sauce in some sort of design to bring anyone's attention to the lamb. Smell and presentation. Finally the good stuff was out and lets hope that the taste will be just as good and Bob could not wait to try it. "Well the world is a dangerous place Tessa. Lets hope that you can do your job well so we might be able to meet again somewhere on the road." While Tessa was not looking forward to meeting Bob again, he was all for another encounter in the future.

[Tessa Poe]

The next course arrived and Tessa was more than ready for it, if nothing else it gave her a moment or two to think about what she was going to say while the plates were laid in front of them again. A gorgeous lamb cutlet lay there coated in some sort of brown sauce and she had to resist digging straight in. She got the feeling she’d offended Bob, maybe because she’d been so... insistent about mages, especially since a pair of possible mages had saved his life at one point. How could she make him understand? There was his argument though, his very familiar argument. "I’m sorry Bob, I didn’t want to offend you or insult the two who saved you… it’s just… how can I explain? You’re right in a way, sometimes you teach a man to use a sword, and maybe he gets good at it. But then he might get too fond of using it, to the point where he solves every problem with his sword. He becomes less of a man for it and more of a monster. But you see that’s understandable, and really, how much damage can one man and a sword do? All it’ll take is another man who’s good with a sword and the problem’s solved and there’s no shortage of them in Mizahar.” she paused to take a mouthful of lamb, delighting in the way it melted in her mouth, the sauce holding what she thought was a trace of mint. “Now, think about a mage for a chime. You've got power, lots of power, at your fingertips," as she spoke she waved her fingers in the air to emphasise her point, "So what's to stop you using it whenever you like? What's to stop you... I don't know, reaching into someone's head and changing the way they think so they'll agree with you? Think about the sort of temptation that'll come with that kind of power, I mean really think about it. Can you honestly say you'd never use it? That’s what I mean by it being cheating, there aren’t many people who know about using magic. Yeah maybe it does take hard work to learn how to be a mage, I wouldn’t know, but at Syna’s fall you’ve still got a power that no-one else around you’s going to understand. Hells they might not even know you’ve used it one them! It’s using something unnatural, something that’s going to most probably wind up hurting you and who knows how many people in the end, that’s why it’s cheating, that’s why it’s selfish. Maybe you’ll end up doing some good with it in the short term, but in the long term everyone knows what’s going to happen." She finally came to a halt and took a gulp of wine to sooth her throat, finally realising just how long she’d been talking for. “Sorry… maybe we should talk about something else… it’s not exactly a good topic for a nice meal is it?” She winced inside as she thought back on what she’d said, that little flush of colour creeping back into her cheeks and leaving her practically squirming in her seat. She took another sip of wine before she looked across the table at him, trying to figure out what to say, or do. Finally she settled on just enjoying the lamb and seeing what Bob thought, maybe he’d want to leave after the way she’d talked? If he did that, well at least she’d not have to worry about what to say next anymore.

[Bob Barton]

Was Bob offended with how Tessa spoke about the two people like that? No he was not. But he was offended about the way that she thought how mages were when she compared them to swordsmen. The insulting part was her putting them in roles of how she wanted them to be. Now while Bob could explain all about how magic worked it might give him away, or would it? Maybe it would be an interesting thing to take a chance on over here right now. "How much damage can a man with a sword do? Plenty Tessa...plenty..." at least until someone stops him. But that would take one of equal skill or better. "Suppose we have a rogue knight" because we all know how good knights are with a sword "going into a building full of...untrained women and children" the best example of weaklings to gain sympathy too. Guess what he said next? "And the rogue knight with his sword had a time of his life in that place with all of them" a nice little slaughter. "Would anyone be able to stop him in time? Not unless they knew about it and prepared it for a long time unless you think that his victims can defend themselves from a sword" and that was highly unlikely unless "maybe they were mages? Learning their magic to protect themselves..." Oh wait, according to Tessa's logic "...mages are all meant to die aren't they so I guess the monster of a rogue knight is justified in slaughtering them all." Would she feel guilty or disgusted at the way Bob turned her words around? That would actually be fun to see.

And it had not ended yet because there were still mages to talk about. Not victim mages but awesome mages. Awesome mages who went up against "one of the greatest and strongest rogue knights in the land. Who would stop him?" hypothetically speaking of course. "He is so strong that no one can beat him in a sword fight, no one" and this is where those mages came in. "Maybe mages? But they get slashed too..." Oh? A plot twist? Did she really think mages were all that powerful? Bob knew their weakness that "they die like everyone else when they get slashed Tessa so how can you say no one can stop them?" because Bob was a mage too and when he was just starting out he was really...hopeless in it. He could not even get a good attack out of it. Not until he met that strange boy Clyde.

Wait, he still needed to end the story since he probably got the idea of mages over to Tessa and he was lazy to continue on. "One day a powerful mage came, got locked in battle with this rogue knight on one of his rampages and they killed each other off" did she want to know more? Alright "The mage completely incinerated the knight but the wound the knight left him was made even worse when he weakened himself with the use of his magic" really? No, but it was Bob's story so he can tell it however he wanted to. Cutting through the meat he said "the end" before enjoying it like his job well done.

Which was pretty ironic considering what Tessa said. What was stopping a mage from reaching into someone's head and changing they way they thought? Did she already know what Bob did the night before when playing dice, or this night while they were having dinner? He didn't use it for dinner? Sure he did. All the while he was telling his story he was weaving his djed in his words to make it more interesting. Something to get Tessa on all ears about it. When he talked about the women and children, he was going for sympathy and guilt and that was a little of what Tessa would feel as soon as she heard it. That was the most important part of the story for her. Another part would be the feeling of shock as soon as he said the mages would die. Should be easy for her to accept that since what Bob knew about he opinion on mages would be shattered the instant he said it. Once he was done, Bob sent a little mental suggestion of what Tessa should think about the mages. That it was lucky that the mage came to stop the rogue knight when he did.

"Yes, lets talk about something else" Bob agreed taking a sip of the wine. He already talked so much in telling that pack of shyke. But that was all it was, just for fun even if it was not too proper at a dinner table. Maybe she would tell him what she though about all he had just said or maybe "there is something specific you want to talk about?" Bob already did so much talking and he was already tired of his own voice even if Tessa wouldn't be. But he knew better that to make a woman feel important, he should let her say whatever she wanted too.