by Spleen » Mon Apr 17, 2006 8:19 pm
At the very small man's arrival, Adil and Varlak are the only ones who realize independently that the dragon is a construct. Ciele already knows, from having heard about of it from Bergher. Hargen, for his part, realizes that for a brass dragon, this creature is extremely taciturn. Dashe is totally in the dark.
Bergher smiles at the arrival of the last three. "Just in time, gentlemen!"
"I believe some introductions are in order. The three men to my right are the porters that will be carrying the ransom gold I will be using to buy my daughter back from the creatures that took her from me.
"Next to them is Hargen Stonebrother, a dwarven warrior with, I understand, considerable skill at tracking, which hopefully will not be needed, but is greatly appreciated nonetheless.
"At Mr. Stonebrother's right is Varlak Roxburgh, a local detective who was absolutely instrumental in determining the exact circumstances in which my daughter was kidnapped - leaving the dressmaker's, it seems. I shouldn't send her around town without an escort." Bergher seems to age twenty years here, sighing at the memory of his missing daughter. He regains his composure a moment later, and continues.
"At the other end of the table from me is Dashe Chang, a martial artist and also some kind of arcanist, I gather. His services won't be needed if all goes well, but...well, let's say I have a gut feeling and leave it at that.
"Next to Dashe, on the other side from Mr. Roxburgh, is Mulligan Eustachian, a wizard, and his dragon companion. Magus Eustachian will be casting a spell of teleportation on Liela and myself to whisk us back to Breve if there are any problems with her captors, and of course a wizard's powers are always appreciated.
"And, of course, this lovely young woman here is Sister Ciele Strahn, a warrior-priestess of Barem, God of Earth and Time. Her prowess as a warrior - and, of course, her divine powers - should be greatly helpful in making sure this operation is a success and my daughter is returned to me.
"Last but not least, to my left is Adil, a swordsman whom I hired to make doubly sure my daughter and I are safe through this entire process. I still remember my training as an ex-officer in the militia, of course, but the rest of you seem much more in practice, as it were."
The food arrives then, nourishing beef stew, small sandwiches of a few kinds, pastries, clean water, and light but delicious wine. It's all delicious.