[Rearing Stallion] Tankard Tales (Open)

[Guido Faragas]

This is fun: a charming storyteller – a precocious child – an enigmatic contortionist – a playful blonde – and Guido Faragas - what role will he play? Reimancer? Archaelogist? Storyteller? Whatever the game, it will make a tale to tell to earn some coins in here tomorrow.

His gaze wandered to Khal and then to the fire that blazed brightly in the main hearth of the tavern. Fire. He grinned inwardly, feeling the itch on his palm. He lowered his hand beneath the table. Perhaps, I could call forth a small flame that I might shoot under the table between the fellow’s legs. Just a small flame – a very, very, small flame. Oh, how he might jump with his pants on fire... With a sense of alarm, he felt the call of his djed. Quickly, he brought his hand back on the table, allowing the itch to dissipate. Careful Guido, we don’t want to set the tavern on fire, do we?

Taking a slow sip of his ale, he allowed the conversation to flow, focusing on the whiteness of Fade’s hair, keeping his mind sharp and clear. He gave a quick nod to Fade, thanking her for engaging Celina in conversation. “I’m afraid that Celina does what she wills,” he explained to Jischa, a wry smile escaping from the corner of his lips. He raised his arms wide in a gesture of resignation. “Alas, to control the whims of women is beyond me.” He darted a quick but obvious glance at Khal. But perhaps not beyond you, my friend.

“Still, I must explain her comments, for I would not want you to get the wrong impression, my lady. As I have explained, I am an archaeologist. Now, many of my finds are of great value and I have no problem in selling them. Indeed, collectors compete avidly to buy them. However, some objects are more common and of ...lesser value... and thus more difficult to sell. Fortunately, Celina has certain unique talents that help her to sell these objects. There is no skulduggery involved, merely a business deal. And, I have the satisfaction of ensuring that she has the wherewithal to live in this city. I am a charitable man, always willing to give when I see a worthy cause.” He raised one eyebrow at Jischa, his emerald eyes sparkling a little in the dim glow of the firelight.

The game Jischa proposed was normally one he would have taken with no hesitation, for he had confidence in his storytelling ability. Moreover, the worse that could happen was getting a little drunk. However, he hesitated, recalling Khal’s apparent attraction to the women present. Will this be a fair game? Still, I can see that Khal is already a little drunk - talents usually decline dramatically with alcohol, I know that only too well.

“Very well, I accept the challenge. But first we must drink to our fair judges”. He raised his glass in turn to the two women and the young girl. “Whilst I normally prefer the slow route to pleasure, on occasion a fellow has to drink deep and fast.”

He raised his glass to Khal. “So, my friend, let us empty our glasses in salutation to Fade, Celina and Jischa and then you may begin our game.” He lifted the glass to his lips, waiting for Khal to do the same. If the fellow did so, Guido would match the rate of drinking of his companion until both of their glasses were empty.

[Celina]

Nodding at the what Guido said she looked up at Fade, Celina knew she meant no harm. As for the other women, well she was a flirt. What could Celina do.

Considering the situation she was in looking around not that bothered repling to both of the women in turn "I don't wish to be rude to you dear lady but I have no bed time as for what i'm doing here, well I wanted to socialise with you. Guido is correct I do as I will, strange situations are not unfamilliar to me, I am capable of looking after myself...more than you might think." she looked at Jischa "I can see why this man may be attracted to you and you to him, you are very pretty and I'm sure a nice person. I can understand how I would be a pest to all of you, that's blatently obvious. You want to bed eachother and then one of you leave quickly in the morning. Seen it all before, brawls don't bother me either, nobody would kill me for I have nothing and nobody would bother kidnapping me for ransom because they wouldn't get anything from it and i'm too small for most adults to notice me."

Bowing politely to the adults, she was a little frustrated with them but she chose not to show it. It bugged her that adult thought that children were always stupid enough not to know what was going on.

Then lightening the conversation she replied to Guido's comment about women "Either that or you have no control when women are around you, right? ya big perv" a grin broadened across her face, hoping that Guido was in good humour.

[Jischa]

Settling back in her seat to watch the impending show of either chicken-heartedness or something worth laughing about for a day or two, Jischa cast a withering glance at the mouthy child. "It's not just that you're a pest," she began, speaking to the eight year old as if she were, well, eight, "I think the main point here is that you're a child, and no matter what you may have seen in the past, I know I at least don't want to be the one to show you anything more in future." She pauses, taking a sip of her wine, then continues, clearly willing herself to seem reasonable. "We're having an adult conversation - and you're not an adult. There's a corner over there, if you'd like to cry about it," she offers in a not-very-helpful sort of tone, gesturing vaguely to a corner without looking at it. If she had, she might have noticed a giggling woman being drunkenly propositioned in said corner, but such is life. "Now." She returns her attention to the three adults, clearly expecting Celina to take her leave. "Which of you is starting? Oh, and Fade, in the interest of keeping the game fair, I think that between the two of us, we should take half as many drinks each as the loser." She smiled devilishly at this. No matter the winner, loser, or vote, everyone at the table would be good and sloshed by the end of this game. Everyone but herself, that is, at the most she'd perhaps be a bit more tipsy than she already was.

[Khalzaan]

Khal frowned when Fade declined his condition, his eyes shifting towards green as he nervously chewed on his lip, momentarily lost in contemplation. A suggestion failing was rarely a good thing, then he smiled at the pale woman suddenly, "Well whatever you think will work best my darling snowflake." He told her, the smile not quite reaching his eyes. The Vanthan nodded to Guido when the other man raised his cup, raising his own and downing a single swallow before putting it back down again, either not realising or not caring that he had been supposed to drain it. One eyebrow quirked in Jischa's direction briefly, "I would love to begin, but Jischa still hasn't agreed to my condition, and I'm afraid it would be quite impossible for me to perfom under such dire circumstances." He stated, his smile making it obvious his words were largely in jest, although true to them he made no indication he was going to begin storytelling any time soon. Instead he glanced nervously in Fade's direction and then seemed to relax a little, his irises shifting back towards blue as he let his gaze drift.

[Fade]

Fade looked at Celina her eyebrow raised "No, child,you are very wrong. You cant handle yourself, no one can. Second people don't need an oh so eloquent reason to harm, kill, abuse and use anyone, they do because they can and some not even for that. There doesn't have to be a reason remember that!" She almost snapped the last words not meaning to put such a hard tone on her sentence. She added quietly "You give people to much credit"

A darling snowflake? Khals words almost had Fade burst out laughing, the zeal showed in her eyes though she noted his reaction with care. He seemed disturbed, almost.

She looked at Jischa "Well, I'm sure it will be okay for Jischa!" She tapped her drink thoughtfully, in truth she didn't want to drink anymore, but...but sometimes certain things had to be done! She leant forward seriously and said to Khal "Your performance is not suitable for such a dire situation??" She smirked and continued leaning back "Theres always time to rectify things or, simply worsen them. Always if and a repeat if your performance is worth all this!?" She was jesting, putting more weight on the challenge and it was clear by the way her eyes sparkled.

[Celina]

The woman, Jischa. Attempted to scold Celina with harsh words, it didn't suprise her the woman was looking out for her technically. But Celina wasn't good at following orders, she didn't even think about wanting to cry it wasn't something she did often.

As far as calling Celina a pest she wasn't suprised, this woman wasn't nice at all "Crying is not a hobby of mine...think what you want and do as you please. An adult conversation you are having yes you're right and congratulations on realising i'm not an adult. " Celina didn't really need to say anything else really.

As for the other woman, Fade looked at her with a raised eyebrow as she spoke she snapped at Celina then her voiced went softer "You give people to much credit" Celina just smiled and innocent smile to the beautiful zeal eyes "I give people the credit they deserve, this is a peaceful city." she giggled at the woman "besides if I thought like that i'd be dead by now"

Although she was being told to go away, now that Fade was joining in Celina relaxed a little and laughed at her comment toward Markus.

[Guido Faragas]

Guido listened quietly to the repartee between the others, waiting patiently for Khal to take the bait and down his drink. However, the olive-skinned man’s merely took a short sip, offering Fade’s lack of agreement to his condition as an excuse. With a sigh, the youth followed Khal’s actions, taking a short gulp of the ale and returning the mug to the table.

“May I offer an observation?” He leant forwards, lowering his voice so that those present might have to attend closely to hear him.

“There once was I fellow I knew who attracted the love of a rather beautiful red-headed woman. He was not a handsome man but, for some reason, the woman loved him. One day, my friend decided that he would propose marriage to the woman. However, when the day came, the weather was rather poor and he did not wish to get his new boots dirty on the journey to the house, so he put off the proposal until the following day. The second day came: when he was half-way to the woman’s house he was accosted by a business acquaintance who invited my friend for a meal at the local tavern. When they had finished the meal, it was a little dark and my friend’s stomach was full, so he decided that he was in no condition to put forward his proposal. On the third day, he had a small cold and decided that he was too unwell to make the journey. The fourth day was the day he reserved for visiting his mother and so there was no prospect of seeing his beloved on that day. The conditions were not right for a full month. When he finally managed to reach the woman’s house, he found the woman in the arms of a good friend. This fellow had pursued the woman on a daily basis for the full month and she had finally relented. My friend trudged home, disconsolate, angered that he had waited for the conditions to be perfect before he had made the journey.”

“This is merely an observation, you understand – it is in no way a story!” He laughed loudly, sitting back in his seat, hands interlaced behind his head.

[Jischa]

Leth having settled comfortably in the sky by this point, Jischa watched the antics of those at the table, her expression carefully neutral as she assessed the situation. Khal; an undeniably attractive storyteller with an equally undeniable reluctance to to be outmaneuvered - a smart thing, all considered... and so Jischa raised her glass in his direction. "Alright, kisses all around for the winner, hope you haven't eaten anything disagreeable though, or it's naught but the cheek for either of you." She smiled slightly, continuing to let her eyes roam around the table, finally alighting on the other woman. Fade; not really sure what to make of her. She smiles and suggests and plays her own little game, but what is she really saying? Nothing much, most likely, but by the way Khal is reacting to her now, that's probably a good thing, she's clearly out of her league. "Be a sport, Fade, it's just a kiss, and if it'll get this little game off the ground, I'm willing. Are you?" The challenge in the words was unmistakable, surely if Fade couldn't play an adult game with adult conditions, she could take the child with her and find something more juvenile to do. Speaking of the child... Jischa's eyes landed now on Celina, and she lightly pressed her fingertips together around the rim of her glass, letting a stream of calming Healing power spread through and over herself, a slight headache warded off before it could quite take hold. It was clear the child wasn't going to leave for as long as people kept talking to her, so the sensible thing? Ignore her and hope she's as bright as she claims and can take the hint. Jischa's eyes made it to Guido just as he began his tale, and she listened with a half-smile as the protagonist procrastinated his way to the inevitable conclusion. "That's quite some observation there dear Gerdo, perhaps a polite way of telling us all to move it along?" She bit her lower lip lightly, laughing as she again leaned back in her chair. Gerdo, the most easygoing in the bunch, or at least so it seems. Could stand to wash his hair but then, I suppose people in the city care less about these sorts of things. Still, I do wish he'd do something about his assistant..

[Khalzaan]

"That's an... Interesting observation" Khal replied blandly to Guido's story, "Although if you wanted to hasten things up you could always simply have gone first." He offered with a smile before beaming at Jischa. "She agrees!" He stated with exuberance, swaying and nearly falling from his chair before he caught himself. The Vanthan then offered the Konti a small bow of his head, before turning and doing the same to Fade, and then Guido. "With your graces then charming ladies and verbose rivals, I shall begin..." The Vanthan took a small sip of his drink before continuing... "A very long time ago, in Kalea the mountains that now break the skyline did not exist, indeed only what we would now call hills were there to break up the flat lands. Near to one of these hills was the domain of Queen Talia, a wise and caring regent who was fabled as the most beautiful woman alive." He paused, letting his eyes skim over his audience briefly. "However so caring and wise and beautiful was she that should could not find a suitor who was her equal, time and again men came before her but they were all boorish or selfish or cruel or base and she could not stand the thought of marrying them..." "One day however a man came to her kingdom in the morning, he was pale and wondrous to look at, charming and wise beyond his years. Talia and the stranger would meet every morning and spend the day together before he would leave her as the day ended. Over time the pair found themselves falling in love and nothing could have made Talia happier, she had finally found that one person for her who was just... perfect." Khal smiled a little, his eyes shifting towards black. "However their bliss wasn't to last, a powerful and warlike king who controlled much of the land around Talia's domain had been threatening to conquer her land, and her diplomats had returned with the news that there was only one thing he would accept short of utter surrender... Talia's hand in marriage." The storyteller paused again to let the last statement sink in. "Loving her people the queen knew she had no choice, and stayed up all night with her advisors, planning the terms of this diplomatic marriage, ensuring that she would not have to consummate it and that it would remain an entirely political affair. So caught up were they in this discussion that she didn't hear the stranger approach..." The Vanthan let the last statement linger for a moment, before continuing. "The stranger heard that she was planning to marry and immediately fled distraught, Talia seeing him flee ran after him but it was too late, he was gone... She waited for him all that day, and all the next but he never came. Desperate the queen hired all the best trackers in the lands, all the best scriers and wise men to find the man she loved so that she might explain." "Finally one of them did return, and told her that the man she had loved wasn't a man at all... It was in fact, the god of the moon, Leth. Amazed the queen ran into her garden and stared up at the pale beauty of the moon, recognising in it the essence of her love and crying out to him. She ran to the tallest tower in her castle and shouted until her throat was sore and her breath came hard but the moon did not waver, it continued across the sky and disappeared and her love did not appear that next day." Once again the storyteller allowed a small pause. "So it was that Queen Talia sent a message to the King who wanted her hand, she would indeed marry him, with no conditions imposed but one, that he build upon the hill that overlooked her kingdom until it was as high as she wanted it to be. The king consented and made his new home in her castle as the two were wed. True to his word he had sent for labourers from the far reaches of the world and by day the train of carriages and people stretched further than the eye could see. Each one bringing mounds of stone and earth from all places and taking them to the nearby hill, slowly building upon it." "Every day she would spend with the King she despised, escorting him, laying with him.... But in the nights she would sneak away from their bed and go out onto the balcony, look up at the moon and tell him the secrets in her heart as she watched the hill grow ever larger." "And every day the king would ask her when the sun was near setting, 'is that high enough my love?' And she would smile softly and shake her head and say 'No my King, not quite high enough.'" "Ten years passed in this way, until finally one day when the king asked her she smiled at him, tears falling from her eyes as she said, "Yes my King, it is high enough." "That very night she slipped away from the castle, bringing nothing but her cloak and a sturdy staff as she hiked up the side of the hill, for three days she climbed until finally she reached the top and looked down over her kingdom, seeing more of it than anyone had ever seen before." "She looked down at the twinkling lights of her people's house, at her castle, at her land and then she waited, waited until the moon climbed into the sky, she looked up at it, smiled, and jumped..." Khal allows a long pause then, letting the story sink in as he takes a small sip of his drink. "Nobody knows for sure what happened then, if she made it into the arms of her lover or fell to her end, but if you travel to Kalea and find the highest mountain in the land, point to it and ask a local what it is called and they shall tell you, 'why, ma'am, that is mount Talia." He concluded at last, sitting back in his seat.

[Fade]

Fade looked darkly at Celina, showing her disapproval but not saying anything. She was just a child even though she liked to think herself as an adult, and that was clear, experience would teach her a lot in the future.

Just a kiss Jischa had said with challenge soaked words, Fade made no comment just smirked slightly, when the time came…maybe or maybe not. But then she was suddenly angry at herself, it would happen anyway some day, she couldn’t act her whole life like she had the plague, one day something nasty would happen anyway. She should stop thinking and have some fun! She nodded slightly.

As to Khals story, Fade had listened in to a large amount of stories, and this one didn’t surprise her that much. The story itself was a classic one: two lovers, adversity etc etc…What amused her was the involvement of the god Leth, she liked stories with gods and their exploits.
She opened her mouth still musing on gods and goddesses and then said “Interesting, maybe 6.5 out of 10?” She didn’t want to be too lax and furthermore she didn’t want to make him drunk as of yet.

She smiled and cupping her drink in her hands and continued “A big bonus, to be decided by the winner, to anyone of you two that can tell a story about the goddess Nikali.”