Yeast and Metal

Log Info

• Title: Yeast and Metal

• Emitter: Ravenstongue

• Characters: Ravenstongue, Telamon

• Place: A12 - Memorial Gardens District

• Summary: Ravenstongue is dealing with an upset Pothy when Telamon arrives. The two share their feelings as a newly-minted couple to each other until Pothy interrupts them to remind them that his all-consuming desire (in more ways than one) to acquire and eat snacks is very, very important. The trio make their way to one of Pothy's favorite bakeries and Telamon shows Ravenstongue a metal sample from a business deal he might be engaging in as an investor. Ravenstongue offers her services as an enchantress cheekily, Telamon 'considers' the offer, and the couple walks out of the bakery with a full bag of snacks for Pothy.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* A12: Memorial Gardens District *>-=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

Among the gardens, scents mingle: green, loam and subtle sweetness, wafting from the meticulously groomed grounds. The lawns are richly green, dense and close-cropped, bordered with polished pale marble stones the size of a human man's fist. The pathways are smoothly cobbled in muted tones that subtly echo and contrast with the surrounding greenery, shaded by the lush canopies of tall, straight trees whose branches arch over the walkways to form open, airy tunnels. Elegantly ornate, tall mana-lamps of wrought black iron keep the paths softly lit in the evenings; they are often situated near benches of matching material and style. It is peaceful, here. Somber. It is also curiously warm and green no matter the time of year; leaves do change color in fall but remain on the trees until spring comes again.

At the heart of the park where the paths converge are large marble pedestals supporting bronze or marble statuary, chiseled letters upon the heavy bases naming the subject of each piece. The previous sculpture celebrating the union of Alexandros with Myrddion has been removed from the center of the garden and replaced with a gorgeous statue of the Crown Princess Lianna Rena and a marble walkway that leads to the Monument of Heroes - a newly-raised edifice celebrating those who fought and died on behalf of others. Tribute is still given to the friendship between Myrddion and Alexandros in the form of the paired standards mounted above the entrance to the Monument of Heroes: one from each nation. The flagstaffs are crossed and held by a Myrrish Knight and an Old-Alexandros Miner.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-    
Ravenstongue         5'0"     99 Lb      Half-Elf          Female    
    Short half-elf girl with violet eyes and black hair.                                      
Telamon              5'6"     140 Lb     Half-Elf          Male      
    A platinum-blond half-sil man with dancing dark eyes   
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

While Alexandria has oft been cold as of late, this night is less cold than the others have been. The stars are somewhat hidden by clouds in patchwork scatter about the sky, blown in by the cold wind from the west overhead. But in the Memorial Gardens, there is less concern for the mild frost, as the area is warm, kept temperate by the magic that keeps the plants green and healthy year-round.

It is here that Ravenstongue finds herself in a predicament. She is standing at the foot of a tree and looking up at Pothy in a tree. Pothy is staring back at her in what appears to be an impasse of sorts.

"Come on, Pothy. Quit being a brat and come on down. I know you're upset because I didn't get the buns you like from the bakery, but that doesn't mean you have to throw a hissy fit!" Ravenstongue says, her arms folded across her chest, but Pothy does not budge. He throws his head back and huffs.

Ravenstongue sighs deeply. "Fine! We can get you the buns! I just want to be mindful of money, that's all."

"How about we go halfsies, to keep costs down?" The voice behind Raven is warm, and just a little amused, as Telamon walks toward her. Craning his neck, he catches sight of Pothy easily (white stands out against the tree trunk and limbs, you know). "That's very rude, Pothy," he admonishes. "You know how Cor'lana hates to be separated from you." Lightly, he places a hand on her shoulder. "Feeling his oats today?" he commisserates.

Ravenstongue smiles as Telamon speaks, looking over her shoulder at him. "Hey!" she says, her eyes lighting up as he puts a hand on her shoulder, accompanied with a little flush on her face. "Yes, Pothy is being a little bit of a butt. I told him I wanted to cut back a little on spending since, well, if you and I go on dinner dates, it makes sense that I chip in my fair share, right? Well, he seems to think that's the worst idea ever."

"Worst idea ever!" Pothy mimics, throwing his head back in absolute anguish. The most dramatic raven to have ever lived--in a different life, he could have made a killing as an actor on stage, or perhaps be out of work due to too much melodrama.

Ravenstongue rolls her eyes. "See what I mean? I tried explaining to him that obviously, he'd come along and get to eat too... But he's awfully attached to his sweetrolls."

Telamon sternly regards Pothy. "Pothy, that's enough. You know darned well Cor'lana's not going to starve you. This is undignified." He points at the raven, crooking his finger. "Now, enough. Come down. We'll see about the sweetrolls." He looks at Raven with amusement. "He's as bad as Raspberry. Still... there are worse things." He playfully takes her hand in his, squeezing gently. "So aside from obstreporous familiars, how has your day been? I've been catching up on some letters from home, as well as handling an... investment opportunity of sorts."

Ravenstongue returns the squeeze, her smile growing warmer from the gesture of affection. "It's been okay. More walking around with Grandfather. I fear that Grandfather's presence might be why Pothy is ornery recently--Pothy likes him well enough, especially since Grandfather keeps sending his messengers with treats from the Feywild. Apparently, he likes to bake all manner of things. He makes these delicious lavender shortbread cookies, but Pothy will eat them all up in a matter of seconds if I don't get my hands on them first."

Pothy hangs his head a little from Telamon's scolding for a moment, but he comes down and joins Ravenstongue on her shoulder again. He even nuzzles against her hair and makes small little whimpering noises, clearly a sign of an apologetic bird. Ravenstongue sighs and pats him on the head with her free hand. "Good bird. See, his best trait is that he never gets too upset for long, especially when someone puts him in his place."

Telamon reaches out to stroke Pothy as well, to show there's no hard feelings. "He's willful. Possibly a reflection of his mistress, though. At least, that's what I've heard about familiars." He grins impishly at Raven, and quirks an eyebrow. "Grandfather... bakes? That's a new one... now I just imagine him wearing a big apron and one of those strange hats, surrounded in a cloud of flour." He covers his mouth with his free hand to stifle a snicker at the mental image. "Any new word from your Grandfather? I imagine he's still patting himself on the back."

Ravenstongue giggles at the description of the Feathered One as a baker. "I'm sure that's not too far from the truth either," she says. "The more I talk to him, he really just seems like a kindly old man... Albeit one who has lived thousands of years. He gardens, he bakes, he cooks--he told me how he had a nursery set up for me when I was a baby that he'd like for me to see one day. He just lives a quiet life in Quelynos and tries to avoid Court politics at all cost. It's just him and his birds. As for new word... Well, he's just given me some advice. Mostly, he told me not to be too overbearing. That's a problem he had in the past with my ancestor--his wife."

Telamon shrugs. "We both have strong personalities. I can't see either of us being overbearing to the other for very long." He cocks his head thoughtfully. "It... the prospect fascinates me. A change, and nothing will ever be the same -- like it did when I first found out I was a sorcerer. But at the same time it's exhilarating, like gazing up into the night sky and seeing stars shining, and feeling like they were smiling in some inscrutable way." He pauses, looking slightly nervous. "...assuming you feel the same way, of course."

Ravenstongue's eyes twinkle as Telamon describes his feelings. "That's a beautiful way of putting it," she says, squeezing his hand again affectionately. "I do feel the same way. But it's exciting. It's odd--I think a lot of people would be too afraid of this kind of thing. I guess I've gone on adventures now to the point where I'd rather make the leap now that I'm aware of the identity of that feeling of not-quite-dying in my heart."

She snickers a little. "All I know is that I've lost some of my fear of the world since coming to Alexandria to become an adventurer and a better sorcerer--and with you by my side, especially when we were convinced Grandfather was some sort of evil entity, I didn't feel as afraid."

Telamon nods, a slightly relieved expression in his eyes. "I'm glad I make you feel that way. For a while I thought I was just... playing a part. Not really an adventurer. But I can't imagine trying to tackle some of these things without you." He lifts her hand to his lips to kiss the back of it. "It's understandable why people are afraid. It's a leap into the unknown, a step into a new place. Who wouldn't be nervous at that? But the question is what is stronger -- the fear, or the curiousity and fascination?"

"The curiosity for me," Ravenstongue says almost immediately, a conviction in her voice. There's that strong personality Telamon talked about. "I'm a follower of Navos. It was finding Navos and learning that someone could dedicate their life to knowledge that gave me reason to keep going when I was young. From what I can remember... I didn't have a single friend when I was little. Not one. They all made fun of me for being a half-elf bastard child, so I made my friends with books, with knowledge, instead. And when I lost my mother, I finally had enough of not knowing about the world for myself. Sometimes... that urge to stay locked inside a house with my books away from danger is strong. But the world has people like you."

Ravenstongue pulls Telamon into a hug, putting her face into his chest as she smiles. "So I'm not afraid. I may be a little nervous, but I'm not afraid. I left that behind back in Rune."

Telamon wraps his arms around her in turn, nuzzling the top of her head as she hugs him. "All I can offer is myself, and to show you how it sometimes works out for the better. I'm sorry it was hard for you -- but I will try to make you happy." He gently strokes her hair, and takes a deep breath. "The world is vast and full of wonders. So many stories to hear -- and tell. I'm looking forward to it now, more than ever."

"Me too," Ravenstongue says, beaming from ear to ear as he strokes her hair. She lets go of him after a moment, taking his hand instead. "I think you'll be more than enough. We've already been through quite a bit together, more than most ever do, right?"

Before Telamon can answer, Pothy coughs. "Snacks," he says, a gentle reminder of the real objective here. Sweetrolls, sweetbuns, and any other carb-loaded confection that the bakery might have.

Ravenstongue snickers. "Alright, alright. Thankfully, the bakery we like going here isn't far." She points to it, and it indeed is not far at all--the sign is at the edge of the park. "We have several in the city that he likes, but he always gets antsy if he knows we're near one. Plus, they're closing soon, so they should have some discounted bread!"

Telamon nods, smiling back at her. "There is that. And I'm sure there'll be more to face on the road ahead. But as long as we're doing it together... I think we can manage." Holding her hand in his, he laughs lightly at Pothy's slightly insistent tone. "Alright, alright, you bottomless pit! Are you sure you're really a raven and not some creature of perpetual hunger?" Hand in hand, he walks with Raven towards the bakery, still chuckling. "At least he's relatively cheap to feed. Did you ever read Tralon's 'A Bestiary Of Strange Creatures'? Father had a copy and would read it to me when I was young."

Ravenstongue looks thoughtful as she tries to recall the title, walking in even pace with Telamon. "Honestly? I'm not sure if I did," she says. "Most of what I recall is reading about the fae, Llyranost, Quelynos... And lots of fiction. Everything else is either haze or just gone. Did it have an entry on raven familiars with bottomless stomachs?"

Pothy croaks happily. His tail wags up and down as the half-elves get closer and closer to the bakery, much like an excited dog might.

Telamon shakes his head. "No, it was about uncommon and strange creatures documented by the ranger Tralon. Like the golden gorger, the devouring slime, or the soldier's bane. He felt it was necessary to record as much as possible, and after he passed on a considerable portion of his estate was used to make copies and spread them." He grins. "Heady stuff for a young wide-eyed lad."

Ravenstongue gets a mischievous look on her face. "Oooh. Pothy, I'm calling you devouring slime," she says. "That seems like a very apt nickname for you."

"Slime!" Pothy mimics, perhaps far too enthusiastically.

"See, he loves it already," Ravenstongue says, laughing.

The bakery is, thankfully for the 'devouring slime', still visibly open as Ravenstongue and Telamon reach the building. It looks somewhat wiped out, but there are still plenty of goodies to be bought and enjoyed. Pothy's blue eyes dilate as he catches sight of them through the window. "Snacks!" he declares.

Telamon shakes his head. "But he's so much more personable than a slime, 'Lana. Far more charming and talkative too." He grins as Pothy's eyes get nice and big at the sight of bread, and he grins. "I come by here for breakfast sometimes. They have an excellent brown bread that goes well with a pat of butter -- a light way to start the day." He smiles. "I think the owner's looking to branch out a bit. They were mumbling something about possibly buying into a butcher's place."

"Oooh, that sounds amazing," Ravenstongue says at the description of the brown bread breakfast. "I'll have to try that sometime. Pothy tends to eat sticks of butter in one gulp if I don't watch him, though, so I'll have to be quick."

She seems to let Pothy pick out the bread. The bird flaps around and gestures to berry bread loaves, sweetrolls, and dinner buns with his beak. He's at least polite enough to not tap the glass, and the staff seem quite used to the novelty of the raven ordering his own food.

"Buying into a butcher's place? Was that the investment you were mentioning earlier, or still talking about the nuts opportunity?" Ravenstongue asks, legitimately curious as she fishes out some coins to pay for Pothy's bounty.

The sorcerer shakes his head. "No, this was... more of a smithing experiment. There's an alchemist in town who's been trying to develop 'the next big thing' in metalworking. There's a dwarven factor here in town that I like to visit -- he keeps me brushed up on my Khazdul, if nothing else -- and he thinks the man might be onto something but he's also a bit, well... touched." He fishes in his pockets, before removing a disk about a finger-length in diameter, thin, wrought of some white metal.

Ravenstongue blinks as she observes the metal. "Is that a sample of the work? I've never seen white metal before," she says, putting the gold coins on the counter and receiving a bag full of Pothy's treats. She quietly works a cantrip to observe any magical properties on the metal.

Meanwhile, Pothy immediately stuffs his beak into the bag and pulls out a sweetroll, tearing it apart as he so often does.

Telamon nods. "At first I thought it was mithril, but it's not quite right. Mithril's got a more silvery sheen." He slides the disk across to Raven; it's light, unusually so. "He said he discovered it while smelting and refining some iron ores he'd bought off an explorer. Strange stuff -- it's very strong, but evidently refining it was a lot more expensive. He had to bring in magical assistance and from he told me, it was expensive."

"It's not magical," Ravenstongue says, marveling at the disk in her hand. "But it's so light... You could make a fortune, I think, if you could market it to airship builders. I think out of anyone, they'd be interested in extremely light metal, to the point of not minding the pile of gold they'd have to fork over."

Pothy snorts a little. People should just grow feathers like him, apparently--nope, he's snorting because he was consuming another sweetroll in one gulp. Even Ravenstongue looks at him with wide eyes. "Pothy, you... You know you can take your time with the sweetrolls, right? They're not going to run away."

She looks at Telamon and says, "Although I shouldn't say that too loudly. The books started running away when those kids tried to summon a you-know-what a while back. Remember?" Ravenstongue grins at the memory.

Telamon snorts. "I try to forget. I got clouted by those tax volumes in the melee." He shakes his head. "But no, evidently the refining and forging process is incredibly intensive. You could probably put the Arcanist's Society to work for a while just coming up with how to handle the stuff. But yeah, I suggested he put forth some proposals to the airship builders. They definitely have deep pockets." He laughs softly, watching Pothy devour the sweetroll. "He wants to call it serrielite, after the goddess. No word on how the Soldier's faithful will take that one."

"I feel like they might take it as a compliment," Ravenstongue says, her attention drawn back to the metal. "It's beautiful. And it's potentially quite useful. If it was blue and he wanted to name it Navosite, for instance, I wouldn't be offended at all."

"Navos," Pothy says reverently, his blue eyes glowing a little before he returns to consuming another sweetroll. He takes his time with this one after Ravenstongue's words.

Telamon nods. "In any case, he'll have to make his case. It'll be interesting to see what happens though. I have to return this to him tomorrow -- I wanted to take notes on it before he passed it around." He shrugs lightly, and chuckles at Pothy. "Supposedly, the dwarves have vast magical forges that can be used to refine any metal, but they don't let just anyone walk in and borrow their tools."

"I can imagine," Ravenstongue says, looking thoughtful about the whole affair. "People have things they want to protect that have been passed down through generations. It's reasonable that they'd want to vet the people who want to use it." She offers Telamon a mischievous smile as she takes his hand and turns to walk out of the bakery with him. "Just let me know if you want me to come along to negotiations. I'm not one to ordinarily use my charming magic for financial gain, buuuut~"

Is that a bit of fey impishness rubbing off on her from Grandfather's influence?

Telamon tsks. "If it looks like there'll be more than just talk in it, I'll let you know. If nothing else I'm sure it would impress all concerned for me to arrive at the negotiations with a lovely woman on my arm." His smile is as mischievous as hers, as they stroll out of the bakery hand in hand. "And besides, we have to keep Pothy in snacks, right?"

Ravenstongue blushes from Telamon's compliment, smiling from ear to ear again. "That is the most important thing of all," she says, leaning into Telamon as they walk into the evening air again. "The two of us and Pothy, all fed and happy."