<A shiney, not so tall... person... enters. Her steps are accompanied by the heavy song sung by the parts of... her or his heavy armour. (S)he wears the colours of another house... the Legacy of Honor. Then, a rather pleasent, sweet voice disrupts the silence, as she steps to the officers, kneels down on one knee and bows her head deeply.>
Miladies, milords...
My name is Zerzal Nephardyuel, Paladinesse of Mithaniel Marr, knightesse of the Legacy of Honor... still.
I seek admittance to another order, as my days in the Legacy are counted. I cannot stay in that house for various reasons, which I might elaborate if necessary.
If not, I would rather not, as it is a long story, which I deem unimportant.
I already had words with lady Tayntrix, whom I advised about the various reasons of my agonizing decision to leave the once so fine band of brothers I joined many, many years ago.
Now I also had a pleasant conversation with lady Boudeccai, and I think I might be at least some bit of a valuable part of this venerable order.
<Bows again and rises>
Boudeccai Boru pushes a stray wisp of red hair out of her eyes and views the newcomer with a bemused smile. Taking the dark elf gently by the arm, she draws her into the circle of friends who gather here.
"Come in, child, an' be at ease among us. We be right glad ta welcome yeh to our family." Chuckling with some embarassment at the genuflection, Boudeccai adjusts her leathers with an unconcious effort to tidy herself, as though she is being inspected. She tucks the errant red curl firmly into her braid, revealing more of the blue woad covering nearly one half her face.
"Now, now. Tha really ain't necessary. Yeh see? I be a leader o' these fine folk, but I ain't tha boss. My friends call me Bou, an' I be hopin' yeh be a friend." Boudeccai grins again, an engaging smile that shows no hint of artifice.
<Smiles warmly but a bit shy and overwhelmed>
I am grateful to thee, milady, and for the warm welcome I receive.
Although I am obedient to my superiours... as thou areth one... there are just few commands I cannot obey.
One of them would to handle against my vows towards my beliefs... my oath to Mithaniel Marr...
The other one is what thou orderth me now... to neglect all laws of courtesy, manner and respect.
Our places are given us by the Gods. A peasant is a peasant, a king is a king, and as such I shall treat everyone. If I do not respect the tasks bestowed upon us by the Gods, I do not respect the will of the Gods, and that, milady, I cannot do.
It is my knightessely duty to be loyal, obedient and revering to those above me, and to be mild, caring and just to those placed below me under my protection.
I hope thou canth understand and accept this, as it is truly my devout beliefs.
<Bows deeply>
*an Ogre wanders over, leaving what appears to be a pile of tanned hides and cloth on a table near the wall*
Hiderz!
I iz called Oozag, an it gud ta meecha!
*uncorks a fresh jug of swill and offers it to Zerzal*
Tinkin yu been livvin in da Qeynos longer den mes. But I dunno bout dem godz an puttin inna plaze. Mebbe we all gotta make own plaze in da end?
*scratches and chugs some swill*
Anyhowz, welkum ta yu!
<Zerzal bows deeply> I beg thy pardon, milord, and I wish neither to insult nor anger thee, yet I do not consume spirits of any kind. The vows of purity and soberness towards his Lordship Mithaniel Marr forbid it.
I shall gladly accept thy intention of good will and kindness though!
*flings open the doors of the guild hall*
YO!
*glances around with happy green eyes, her neatly combed black hair incongruously at odds with the rest of her disheveled appearance*
How're all y'all do--
*a scowl transfigures the otherwise pretty face*
Aight! No tricks now, ya!
*whips around her twin daggers and takes an aggressive stance, glaring at Zerzal*
Oun't know whatcha doin in my guild hall here, butcha ain't gonna be 'lowed to harm no one no how, got that?!
((Welcome! YAY someone for Lyrima to fling herself uselessly against! She's a work in progress, she is! :uglystupid2: Please let me know if this approach is at all upsetting, I can quickly scale it back if needed :) ))
From a doorway, Renei narrates, "I dinnay want ter stop yer fun, but I thought I should point out Lady Zerzal is wielding a sword called the 'Truth of Marr.' It is an incredibly powerful holy sword of the god Mithaniel Marr, and from her stance, shiny sparkly armor and inner glow, I kinda think she earned every inch of her championship."
Looking at Lyrima, then at Lady Zerzal, she adds, "I like ye spirit, but dinnay hurt each other, aye?"
*enters the hall with a soft walk and a regal air*
Greetings all!
*eyes the room*
Tira, my darling! How are you today! I see you've met Zer.... Oh for Marr's sake Tira, put your weapon down!
*giggles at Tira's burst of courage*
Greetings and welcome again Zerzal, darling! I see you've met my lovely neece. Spunky, isn't she?
*grins*
Now, now, Tira. I also had my doubts about a Teir'dal in our halls. I questioned her allegiance to Qeynos and had a bit of a discussion with her last eve. But the Teir'dal, you see, she is quite the lady! She helped me get through some city tasks I needed to do for the Queen and even protected me from orcs in Zek along with Renei! Oh, and mind this, she didn't want to get her armor stained! I mean, how often do you meet a knight almost as vain as me!? Truly?!
*smiles brightly*
Welcome Zerzal once again! I do hope you two...*looks from Zerzal to Tira*...become dear friends!
*looks at Zerzal*
*looks at the fresh jug of swill*
*scratches*
Uhhh ya nevva drink? Not evva? Mot evven fer celebratin?
*scratches*
Well, alla yu elfies, inkie an udderwize alwayz been odd aintcha?
I knowz wat ta do!
*spits in his large Ogre hand, and offers it as a symbol of alliance*
Renei sez yu alrite. Bou sez yu alrite...so I go long wif dat evven if ya dont drink. Dem da wunz sed I wuz alrite, an I trust dem.
<Zerzal stands in the corner, eyebrows raised up high... as if her eyes could pop out any second now>
But... err... sure... no... huh...? ... I beg thy pardon...
<Takes a deep breath>
Thanketh thee all for the overwhelming welcome I receive here.
No, I never drink and no, it's not vanity, it's the need to be a shining symbol to those who fear evil...
And no I have no harm in mind... unless thou areth evil, that is... in which case I'd try to show thee the wrongness of thy path... and if that would not work, I'd have to battle thee, but as thou areth one of this venerable order, that cannot be...
And yes I am a paladinesse of Mithaniel Marr, holding his mighty blade Truth of Marr, but that be not a gift, it be the tool for me to reach redemption once...
And have I really met someone named Tira? and...
<Takes another deep breath>
This all is sooooo much to cope with... I thank thee all for the nice and kind words...
<Zerzal looks at the drab of spit gliding down the hand of the ogre. She shivers and thinks... thinks... thinks... about a way to get around this filthy but well meant gesture...
Suddenly she draws her sword blank, stretches it in the air so everyone can see the aura of holiness surounding it, shouting>
For Mithaniel Marr! For Queen Antonia! For Qeynos! For Kelethin!!!!!!
Panacea ports into the guild hall, amid the swill and the spit and the shouting and the kneeling.
She glances about in concerned bafflement, "Oh my goodness!"
The commotion is too much to handle and she immediately blinks back to her peaceful shrine and tries to calm her fluttering wings.
((*clutches head trying to sort this out*))
*Swings around and stares at Anaris*
Yo, Lady! I ain't ya's niece! *black brows pull together*
Maybe ya's talkin about that new ranger in our guild, Soteira? SHE's ya's niece? I thought she was human 'n stuff. Ain'cha one of them high elfs?
*looks Anaris up and down*
Yah, ya'are.
*turns back to Zerzal with a quick glance at Renei*
huh. Ya's gotta point, Renei *flashes wide toothy smile at her friend*
*sheathes her daggers*
*squints at Zerzal*
Ya sound an awful lot like the Princess. She's always theein' and thouin' and thhhhhin' things. Ya's get on great I bet.
*pauses a moment*
Yah. 'N nice sword ya got there. Uh.
*saunters toward the bar*
Anyone wanta drink??
*cheers and laughs happily at the chaos from his perch on a rafter*
Welcome sparkly one!
Boudeccai throws back her head and laughs, a belly-shaking laugh that booms through the room as only a pair of Halasian lungs can make a laugh do.
When she is able to catch her breath, Boudeccai chugs an ale and throws her arms wide, gesturing to the mad antics in the room about her. "Yeh see wha' a mess o' a family yeh done landed in? Yeh be sure, lass, yeh wanta stay, hmm??"
Errr... of course I want to stay, milady!
There is no doubt about that!
Thou haveth thy hearts at the right spots, miladies and milords, and that is wat counts!
*rises slowly from his table in the corner where he has been watching the goings on as his brethren evaluate the new dark elf*
*holds out his hand in greeting toward Zerzal*
Greetins' lass. I'm Grimaldo Reddbeard, Paladin o' Brell in service ta Saga. I were brought up ta not trust dark elfs durin' me younger days. Lucky fer ye, I've learned ta evaluate the individual rather'n just judge ye by yer race.
*glances toward Renei, then looks around to all his brothers and sisters*
Renei be right, ye know. Bein' that ye wield the Truth o' Marr, it be pretty obvious that ye fight fer the right side... our side... the GOOD side. For that, ye are alright in me book. I look forward ta smitin' evil at yer side.
*bows briefly toward Zerzal then grabs the jug of swill out of Oozag's massive hand and raises it high*
To Zerzal!
*proceeds to chug a fair amount of swill, then coughs and scrapes his tongue against his upper teeth trying to overcome the bitterness*
How can ye drink this crap, Oozag?
*looks toward the bar*
Deary? Get me a proper Dwarven ale, and a mug o' whateva' the new lass will drink. Surely we got some unfermented fruit juice or water or somethin' back there...
*Grimaldo heads back to his table belching loudly*
*blushes a scarlet red almost as bright as her hair*
Oh! Well, of COURSE you're not my niece! I mean you're my....KNEES.....if I ever needed, you know, extra support! You're my knees in battle, as I have no combat skills nor agility! You provide me with the....the flexibility of traveling through Norrath's most difficult places! That's what I meant!
*smiles nervously and quickly changes the topic*
Cheers to Zerzal and all our new friends!
*holds up her glass of fayberry sparkling wine*
*looks confused, and eyes Grimaldo with what might be pity*
Krap?
Mebbe yoo not feelin reeal gud. Yu betta get sum restin' in. I tink yoo takin sick....
QuoteDeary? Get me a proper Dwarven ale, and a mug o' whateva' the new lass will drink. Surely we got some unfermented fruit juice or water or somethin' back there...
*glances around for 'Deary'*
*black brows furrow*
Uh
*points at self with dawning comprehension*
*stares at Grimaldo, lips parted for a long moment*
*clamps mouth shut*
*vaults the bar, knocking over bottle of fizziness and three small glasses shatter on the floor*
Oops.
*shrugs*
*rummages in the back*
What'd he want? Um. Mead. Yah. He's a dwarf, He'll want mead. Mead, right? *squints at various taps*
*laboriously sounds out the words above the taps*
*frowns after each word*
*chews her lip*
*shrugs again*
*grabs mug and fills it with the contents of one of the kegs*
*green eyes fall on the honey*
Ah! Aight!
*liberally adds honey to the mug*
*spins around, ready to vault back, but stops at the sight of Anaris, bright red, babbling about knees*
I'm ya's knees? Like ya ain't got none of ya's own? Who do I look like? JASYN?
*shakes head*
Ya'll need a drink.
*turns back, grabs first bottle of wine she can find, sloshes some in a fluted glass and sets that down on the bar*
*beams at the rest of the crowd*
I'm likin this tending stuff!
Who else? RIGHT! You! Shiney armor lady. What'cha want again? No alkyhal? *twists face into disbelieving look* Aiiiiiight, if that's whatcha want.
*rummages below the bar* Here we go! *lofts a bottle of something sparkly* This'll put hair on ya's chest! *splashes some into a glass, glances at and visibly decides 'what the heck?' and pours honey into the sparkly drink*
*vaults back over the bar, narrowly missing the tall glasses*
Here ya go!
*delivers mug to Grimmy, fluted glass to Anaris and the tall glass to Zerzal*
*stands back, delighted*
Drink up!
*nods industriously*