Seldom Spring

"I am fine.. although I think that if anyone is owed an apology.. it is me." Anafrey would reply with a sideways glance to Erric. "I have done nothing but defend all of you this whole trip.. was nearly pecked to death by birds after being attacked by sharks and crabs.. and then fought off shit bats and a evil chest.. An evil chest I warned you all about I might add... well.. except for you Ebokk..." She would add was she rubs her face with her left hand while leaving her right hand on her flail. "And then, I continued to defend all of you against the traitors trying to murder you for your treasure... but now all of a sudden... for some reason.. I am the bad guy. I haven't tried to take any of your treasure.. I haven't done a single damn thing to hurt any of you. You all act like it was terrible to toss what's-his-name overboard but it wasnt my idea to have a burial at sea now was it. You all had no problem with me killing every other thing that tried to hurt you on this trip... I don't know why on the boat should be any different." She would add before turning her head and looking out towards the street. "Any one of you could have had the flail when we found it and none of you wanted it. Since picking it up all I have done is use it to protect you all... so I would just appreciate it if you would quit trying to take what is mine." She could finish.

“I was talking about the hurtful things you said to Jambiya today. That’s it. It’s been a long day. A long trip. We are all owed a lot of slack. But what you said to her crossed the line. I’d be asking for an apology if anyone who said it. Myself included.

And not that I wanted to get into this given the day we’ve had, but since you brought it up... We’ve all put our lives on the line to defend each other on this job. I’m very grateful for everything you have done to protect me. I’ve said as much before. We’ve all done things to protect each other. I think I have healed each of you back from death’s door at least once. It’s part of the deal. None of us want the flail. I promise you we just want to make sure it’s not the thing that’s making you act so cruelly.”

"Humpf..." Anafrey would snort as she turned away from Ericc. "And here I thought I would have to lay down on the floor in order to be talked down to by a halfling..." She would reply coldly.  

Erric just states at her with a look that’s a mix of profound hurt and deep pity, and when he blinks it’s like he’s writing the whole thing off. 

He will look at Maldorn to see if the old man is still acting as unobservant as he had been, and then Jambiya as if looking in a mirror.

Jambiya stares resolutely out the window during this whole exchange. Passers by would see a cute little green girl with a dark determined look on her face and tears running down her cheeks.

DDP...

Maldorn watches the back and forth between Anafrey and Erric and waits for a lull in the conversation. Once the opportunity arises, he clears his throat and makes the following points:

"This disagreement is out of sorts. I respect that some of you feel hurt and won't ask you to ignore your feelings. But I will clarify my overall neutral position to all of this." He looks at Anafrey first: "Icyshivers, I do not want your flail. You earned it fair and square and was allowed to take it by the only person in the world who would have a better claim to it than you. On the matter of the burial at sea, the idea was mine. I agree with what you did in throwing one of the twins overboard and would have liked to see you repeat the ceremony with his sibling. Nonetheless, we were outvoted on the matter, and thus, have to respect the groups' decision. Finally, on yelling at Jambiya, I admit I did not hear any of it. However, I doubt the lad here would be making any of it up. I get it that stress and frustration can get the best of us sometimes. I am sure that if this group is to stay together, we are bound to yell at each other innumerous times. That's what people do. That's part of being friends too. Even families are mean to each other. I do not think it is a big deal. But the lass is clearly hurt. Has she ever failed to be nice to you when serving you all the drink you've asked for over the years? Why not repay her kindness and do the mature thing here? Why not apologize for making the lass cry?"

Next, he looks at the bard: "Boy, it is best you too calm down, lest you end up saying something you'll later regret. I told you once and I will tell you again. There is a large chasm of deductive fallacies separating a person mouthing off another and assuming that some hellish cursed weapon is the source of it all. Have you never been irritated before? Have you never mouthed off a friend? A loved one? For all we know Icy here is just mad because she ran out of liquid courage. You say she is acting cruel? She acted no more cruel than I did. I can't tell my arrows not to dig deep into a target, but even if I could those traitorous sailors deserved nothing less than death. I'd kill a hundred men before letting any of the lives in this coach evaporate. Your accusations against the huntress have a faulty basis at best. Stop acting like the knight in shining armor who is here to defend the lass' honor. This is no bardic tale. Jambiya can defend herself as we've seen multiple times by now. Please, just settle down." He shifts his eyes to try to catch Jambiya's gaze: "That goes to you too, lass. Just settled down please."

@DDP:

Erric spends the rest of the ride blinking at Maldorn and working his mouth silently, wondering if one of the things he got from the pirate treasure is also affecting his judgement or wits, since Erric hasn’t been animated or upset in saying any of this, and he didn’t criticize Anafrey at all for her decisions in battle, just how she’s treating others. He looks at Ebokk. “If I could have my payment for the job soon after we arrive, I’d appreciate it. I don’t know if it’s a good idea for me to accept your generous and really thoughtful hospitality for too long.” He looks at Jambiya once more.

Then he begins looking out the carriage window, utterly and completely done with the larger members of the group.

Jambiya:

 Ebokk, who has been dutifully looking out the window and avoiding eye contact with anyone in the carriage, nods when he is addressed. "Whatever you wish."

(OOC: so do we arrive?)

I'll post that later tonight. That will give everyone another chance to respond if they want.

Anafrey would sit in silence... nodding along with much of what Maldorn was saying even though she wasn't looking at him as he spoke. She would sit and slowly move her hand up to wipe her platinum hair from her face.. her hand trembling just a tiny bit as if she were straining herself to do it. "Sorry..." She would struggle to say through clenched teeth.. looking out the window.. her bright red face still turned away so the others could not see her. 

Jambiya does not look back inside the carriage. It is possible she missed Anafrey’s moment there.

OOC > But I didn’t. About broke my heart. Bravo, Wreck.

The streets of Waterdeep are busy and noisy. The wheels of the carriages clatter against the cobblestones. Horses stomp and whinny. People shout. There's the clang clang clang of a blacksmith's shop. A clock tower chimes. Once the party's voices die away into contemplation, the outside noises fill the carriage cabin. It takes almost 30 minutes, but the carriage finally turns onto a street Ebokk declares is his mother's. The party looks out of the carriage windows at slightly decorated homes at least as big as Trollskull Manor, but with no yards to speak of. The houses butt up to the street and each other with just enough room to open the shutters between. The carriage stops, and Ebokk bounces out. A young-looking dwarf maiden exits the house and greets Ebokk.

"Hello, Tairdai," Ebokk says to the maiden in a friendly tone. He waves a hand at her as she pulls a purse from a pocket. "I've already paid for the carriage. The driver has been instructed to drive around back to offload ... Father." He pauses, then says, "I trust Mother got my message." She affirms that the message came about a half hour ago as she mechanically unloads Ebokk's arms of his things into her own. Ebokk looks up at a window on the second floor. "Does she seem ... happy?" he asks quietly, but the party, which is exiting and collecting their things, can hear. Tairdai doesn't respond in anyway that the party can interpret, but Ebokk takes a deep breath as if to steel himself, and then says to the party, "Welcome, friends. Please, follow me." He turns and marches toward the front door, Tairdai following in his wake.

The house is more stately inside than out. It is decorated in earth tones of tans, golds and deep reds. It is warm and quiet. The front door opens into a smallish receiving room and then a long hall cuts the building in half from front to back. Ebokk leads the group into a larger room on the right, which is accented with navy. Heavy drapes frame the tall windows. Plush antique furniture a dwarf's height fills the space, which is a sitting room. There is a large marble fireplace, but no fire burning. Ebokk encourages everyone to sit and then excuses himself. You hear his boots clomp a ways down the hall and then silence.

Tairdai comes in shortly after, her arms empty. "Can I get you anything while you wait?" she asks in her strange accent. It's not like anything any of you have heard before, but it's not hard to understand. "Something to eat or drink?"

@rkmobius: Maldorn doesn't know all the details of the conversation/yelling/argument. He is trying to cover all the points put on the table by Erric and Anafrey while riding in the coach.

While still in the coach, Maldorn makes sure everyone hears what Anafrey said. He hopes this is the end of the group's argument: "See there... She is sorry. She just said so. What kind of evil person would say that, right? All is fine in the end."

Upon arrival, Maldorn goes through the unloading, welcoming, and settling processes silently. This is completely outside his realm of comfort and he does not want to mess it up. The old ranger is capable of eloquence when needed, but customs and etiquette cannot be improvised. His first word in the house is a brief response to the dwarven maiden's question. Trying not to appear too rough around the edges, he tries a reply: "Fine spirits, perhaps?"

@DDP: May I please get a response to my spoiler box above?

Erric is unable to hold only social tension that long and as they depart the carriage and grab their stuff, he offers his arm to Jambiya, who seems to be having a harder time with all of this than he is. He leans in and whispers to her (stealth: 19):

Erric then darts up behind Ebokk and says, "this is a very nice place. Did you grow up here? I also wanted to ask you about that fifth share of gold that was to go to the crew. Did it go to Gramps and Scrub?"

Once he leaves and then Tairdai comes back, Erric gives her a winning smile. "My name is Erric. Thank you for your hospitality. It's almost as warm as your eyes. Tell me, are you a Lockforge? I confess we don't know much about things here. Ebokk's pleasant company, but I think I don't learn as much as I could from him. May I help you serve things? Lighten the load?"

Anafrey Perception to hear Erric's words! 13

Anafrey leaps from the cart and when turning to her companions appears calm as she stretches out a bit and rolls her neck.. releasing a few loud pops and cracks. Walking into the house, she would let out a small whistle. "Nice place ya got here...." she would say as she tosses her pack on the ground next to a chair and plops down hard. "I'll take two ales to start and keep them coming!" She would add with a grin as the chain of her flail clatters against her chair.

Jambiya listens to Erric and then pulls him aside. "Tell me something about that giant statue we can see from here, you've been here before, right?" Once the others have moved on, so there's no eavesdropping...

For Erric (and DDP, natch)...

After their hurried conversation, Jambiya turn back to the house, and the waiting dwarf maiden. "Oh! Sorry, my first time in Waterdeep. Well, my second, but the first time we just went through, kinda." 

Leaving a moment for Erric to reply before moving Jambiya into the house with the rest of the narrative...

Erric's whispered reply to Jambiya, after describing a long-forgotten hero who grew so big and impressive after so many adventures she decided to turn into a statue rather than fade away which is totally what the statue really is because Erric's excellent with facts and dates:

Jambiya to Erric:

 After some fumbling around with a pouch and stuff, Jambiya (and Erric?) come inside.