"Quixote the Knight is my name, errancy is my game... er, wait that didn't quite come out right."
"Faranni...the elf" she smiled with an almost noble grace about her. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Quixote. I...I used to study herbology and alchemy when I lived with my clan...it's a long time ago now. I-I've dabbled with a lot of different ones through experiments..." she counts on her fingers as she names a few; Water breathing, Dragonfire resistance, curing heartburn, stamina building.
"... That have turned out decent enough. I'm no savant but I do make some nice ointments for cuts and burns... and I'm good at making healing potions..eh" She stopped as she felt she had been rambling on for to long and a rosy streak across her face quickly emerged."I like helping out if I can...specially for Lady Nikola, and her staff, that was kind enough to let me stay here." She cleared her throat. "Well it was nice meeting you...I-I'll be on my...I was on my way to my room...tell Iris I'll have her tonic done by tomorrow morning" She turned and spoke that last part to Nikola before curtseying and exiting the room.
Last edited by Faranni on Sun Feb 11, 2018 7:06 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nikola watched as Quixote and Faranni got acquainted, making a mental note to deliver the elf’s message to Iris as Faranni turned to leave. She said goodnight to the girl and then proceeded to go over the books with Quixote. The poor man looked like a deer in firelight throughout most of the discussion, but everything was eventually sorted out and all was right with his world once more. She sent him off to bed and after making her usual rounds of the house and touching base with her steward to deliver Faranni's message, she was off to bed herself.
The next morning she arose early and spent some time out near the lake exercising the dogs before heading back inside for a late breakfast. She had not seen either Faranni or Quixote as yet, but was content to let them sleep, or whatever it was each chose to do as their morning routine. She had just finished her breakfast when a knock came at the door. She let Thomas see to the visitor while she rose and headed from the dining room to the sitting room to read, assuming the caller to be the smith returning Quixote’s armor.
“Good morning, Lord Knight,”she heard Thomas say and frowned slightly, wondering what Knight would be calling on her here. Come to think of it, she didn’t know whether she even knew any knights other than Quixote. Curious, she stepped into the hall to see who it was at her door and broke into a smile as she saw her friend standing in the doorway.
“TK!”she greeted him warmly as she walked to the door. Thomas bowed the orc in and closed the door after him as Nikola reached out her hands to clasp TK’s.“I’m so glad you came! I hope this means you can do what I asked? The armor should be delivered any time now. In fact, I thought it would be the smith at my door when I heard your knock. Come on in. Have you breakfasted yet? Would you care for a hot mug of klahua?”
Before he could let the door answerer know whom it was he was calling on Nikola greeted him.. "AH! M'lady Nikola! Good to see you in such fine health."TK smiled and grasped her outreached hands"I do apologize for the delay in my getting here. I was just handed the letter this morning and have made sure that I would be getting things in a more timely manner when it is urgent. Yes, of course I can do something to help you friend not get turned into a fried Bravian whilst hunting Xanthareels!"He pauses and smiles as he is shown in and gladly accepts the offer of klahua."Yes, I have already eaten, but I'd love some wake up juice."
Almost forgetting, he removed the bag from his shoulder and brings out 6 bottles of a thick off-white looking liquid."I bring to you a gift as well M'lady. Cream from the last heard of cows. This is what rises to the top as milk sits overnight. You can make butter from it, or, my personal favorite, put it on berries and use it as a sweetener in klahua and cakes."TK smiles and winks"But I find it best over berries!"he chuckles as he offers the bottles to her. He looks around her abode and is impressed at the styling and decorations."Very nice place you have here M'lady."
“Oh! I am so glad to hear it,”she told him in response to him saying he could help with Quixote’s quest to hunt the Xanthreels,“and please, you are not late at all so no need to apologize.”
She took the offered bottles of fresh cream and handed five of them off to Thomas when he offered to take them.“Take these to the kitchen, Thomas, and ask Cook to send some klahua and two bowls of strawberries to the sitting room. We’ll use this bottle of cream on them, I think.”
As Thomas disappeared down the hall in the direction of the kitchen, she held up the remaining bottle to the light and admired the contents.“This looks even yummier than what I try to make in my bakery. Thank you so much for the gift! We can enjoy some of it together if you’d like.”
She slipped her hand into the crook of his elbow and led him into the sitting room, offering him a chair near the fire.“This is the first time you have ever been here, isn’t it? Other than that night you walked me home, but it was dark and you did not come in. I should take you on a tour, then, but some of the household may still be sleeping as I have not seen them emerge yet this morning, so if you can stay awhile, we can do that later.”
One of the kitchen staff bustled in just then with a tray bearing a carafe of hot klahua with two mugs and two bowls of strawberries with a spoon in each of the bowls. The tray was placed on a low table positioned between her chair and the one she had offered to TK and the girl poured the steaming dark liquid into each of the mugs in turn. She thanked the girl and offered one of the mugs to TK before undoing the lid on the bottle of cream and pouring some over one of the bowls of strawberries.“Would you like cream on your berries as well?”she asked with the bottle hovering over the second bowl.
"Faranni...help me..." the voice called out in the darkness. She was standing in a darkened forest with a small figure standing at the end of it, backlit by a pulsating white light, with shadows lurking behind him. "Help me...Save me...Faranni...Faranni!" She ran towards the boy but it seemed like the faster she tried to run the further away he seemed to her. His calls becoming more desperate every moment until his gut wrenching scream cut through her very heart and soul "SAVE ME- FARANNI!"
She awakened with a start. Her body was drenched in sweat and her heart was beating on her eardrum. It had been just another nightmare, the same one she had most every night. Crawling out of bed she stumbled on naked feet out into one of the manors washrooms, grabbing a peculiarly lilac bottle with her.
Her nightgown clinged to her body as she tried to take it off, the feeling made her whole body tremble with discomfort. Letting the damp clothes fall to the floor she stepped into the empty tub and conjured a cloud of summer rain over herself, heating it further by combining it with a minor fire spell, and letting it fill up the tub. Grabbing the bottle and pouring out it's thick, purple, content. A bath oil she'd made herself on some Lilac's she'd found on her travels during the past year. A warm bath was the perfect cure for a bad night. Faranni made a note to herself to spare a bottle, of the batch she'd made, as a gift for the Lady of the house.
Getting dressed after a good soak she went through today's tasks; Iris was expecting a tonic for her sore stomach this morning, the bottle rested on Faranni's desk next to her alchemy set, she would need to check up on her notes for this weekend's Mass that she was holding at the Cathedral and attend to the graves at the graveyard. She wondered if she'd might have enough flour to maybe make some bread today in case she could find time for it. It had become a good extra income and she was eager to learn the skill. Her stomach growled longingly.
Making her way down to the kitchen, playfully joked with the cooks and kitchen maids, while enjoying a full breakfast of herbal tea, dried figs and generously buttered slices of rye bread with slabs of ham, and two boiled eggs. Thanking the cooks she found out the Lady was entertaining a new guest, Texas_Knight, a man she would see briefly in the taverns some nights and had helped out by working on his wheat fields a few time. Someone she knew of without haven't gotten to know. It peaked her curiosity but her priority was to get a hold on Iris and deliver her order. Stepping out of the kitchen she wandered the hallway trying to find the steward.
Quixote rose late, the bed being so much nicer than anything he was used to. He wondered if a magical comfy spell had been placed on it, but of course he was no expert at magic-ness. He checked the closet to see if his armor had appeared overnight, which it had not. But there were trousers and a shirt and leather shoes that fit him very nicely. Checking himself in the mirror he frowned; it seemed he was looking at a much older man. His beard had gotten overgrown, this at least was something he could act upon. The bathroom seemed to have everything so he trimmed his beard and shaved the rest of his face and neck. Just as he finished something brushed his back and he spun round ready to fight off an ambush! But it was only a servant with a fresh towel. "Be careful young man," he cautioned, "don't sneak up behind me or my martial instincts may take over."
"I'm sorry. I did call out sir, but you were making noise and must not have heard me," the boy looked stricken and Quixote laid a hand on his shoulder and thanked him for the towel and his service. The boy smiled and then padded away.
"Noblesse oblige," thought Quixote although he didn't precisely know what meant, but he did like the turn of phrase; it made him feel important.
Quixote headed down towards the dining room, which he presumed would be near where the kitchen and breakfast would be. He spied what he believed to be an elf coming the other way. "Hullo Faranni! I trust you slept well? I'm looking for breakfast and my nose tells me I'm getting warmer."
She hadn't managed to find Iris yet when she bumped into a person she at first didn't recognize. She look him up and down with narrowed eyes. The face was clean shaven but those eyes.
"Hullo Faranni! I trust you slept well? I'm looking for breakfast and my nose tells me I'm getting warmer."
That voice jolted her memory and her eyes widened. The man in front of her appeared much younger then he'd done the evening before. If she wasn't a taken woman she'd might even have admitted the man wasn't to bad to look at. "Oh, Ser Quixote!" she made a shallow curtsey and smiled at him with a giggle in her voice "I-I apologize...I didn't recognize you...the beard...I-I slept alright...I never really sleep well but...night terrors, you see - Aye, the kitchen is just this way...I'm sure one of the maids will help you get something to eat..." she gestured towards the way behind her. The entrance to the kitchen was just behind the next corner. "I...I hope you had a good sleep to...I think someone said you travelled all the way from Bravia...I've been there once. It's a lovely town"
"I...I hope you had a good sleep to...I think someone said you travelled all the way from Bravia...I've been there once. It's a lovely town"
"Indeed, indeed from Paz in Bravia actually. Its a very nice place, peaceful just like its name. And oh yes i slept magnificently, such a large bed and I'd been many, many days on the ground or the back of a wagon sharing my bed with supplies."
Quixote looked where she had gestured and took a big whiff, his mouth began to water. "I do hope you'll have a good day Faranni." He bowed once more and then made his way to the kitchen. Soon slabs of ham and toasted bread appeared before him, and he ate sumptuously. He could get used to the courtly life, but no, he must recover his armour and face that Xanthareels. He had a quest, and he was never happier than when he had a quest.
As they walked to the sitting room he observes the furnishings and thinks Nikola has the eye for fashion. Of course, his own place is functional, but not what one would consider fashionable. As they reach the sitting area he waits for her to take a seat before he himself sits. He sits and gets comfortable and smiles when a tour is proposed. "Yes, I think I'd like that very much." The girl comes in and pours the klahua "Thank you miss" TK says with a smile and accepts the mug offered to him. He puts it to his nose and inhales deeply, savoring the aroma and the warmth of the liquid.
"Yes please!" TK looked at the berries and smiled as he saw the cream being poured over them. Picking one up he wiped the excess off on another berry and then put it in his mouth. The berry was perfectly sweet and had a rich flavor, the cream added to that and he smiled as he chewed and swallowed the red fruit. "Those are some delicious berries, M'lady!"
As they sit and enjoy the company and the klahua and berries, TK realizes his horse, Oblivion, is still outside. "M'Lady Nikola, I've left Oblivion outside and he's carrying, amongst other things, many of the supplies I'll be needing in order to imbue the armor. Would it be possible to have him attended to and my items put where they will be used? If you haven't someone that is capable I'll be glad to attend to him myself. I'll just need to know where to put the tools. I'm sure Oblivion is getting tired of wondering where I have gone." TK takes another drink of his klahua and has another berry.
Nikola watched as TK breathed in the aroma of the klahua, pleased to have found a fellow lover of the rich dark liquid. It did not come as too big a surprise, though. After all, they both loved Fire Brandy with a passion, so it stood to reason he would enjoy klahua as much as she did. She settled into her chair with her bowl of cream doused berries and picked one out, bringing it to her lips to lick the cream off before taking a bite of the berry. They had been brought freshly picked from Bravia and were just the right ripeness that she enjoyed. The flavor brought back a myriad of pleasant memories from her earlier days in Bravia and it was with a slight pang of regret that she dipped the remainder of the strawberry back into the cream and then popped it into her mouth, savoring the mixture of flavors from the berries and the cream.
“The berries are freshly arrived from Bravia and I agree they are especially good. The cream is excellent, too, TK. Thank you so much for sharing,”she told him.
She listened to his concerns about his horse and grinned.“If he will allow someone else to tend to him, Ben would love to take care of him, I’m sure. Where would you like to set up to work on the armor? Inside the house or out in the barn, or perhaps even somewhere else? Just let Ben know what you need and he’ll see to it. He’s an eager lad and loves horses. I let him ride my Starr from time to time and he is wonderful with her.”
Her steward came in to check on them, nodding in a satisfied manner when she saw they were well supplied with klahua and berries.“Iris, have someone find Ben and send him in here, please. TK may have a project for him to help with. It may involve taking care of TK’s horse,”Nikola winked and grinned at Iris who chuckled and shook her head in mirth. Once she was gone in search of Ben, Nikola turned back to TK. “Ben can be at your disposal if you need an assistant or just someone to hand you things. As I said, he’s an eager lad and loves learning new things.”
