• Closed • [Haven] Dress to Impress...

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 722, 3 Cylus

Following Say Yes to the Dress

Elisabeth stepped out of Haven House for a moment, leaving Gianella to her note-writing to find Balthazar for his wedding clothes-fitting session. He knew of the appointment, just as she knew that it wouldn't be something he'd enjoy. Regardless, it had to be done, and she was determined to make it as painless as possible for him.

Knocking on the door of the workshop, she called out. "Balthazar, it's me." The mage warned her that it might be a good idea due to the explosive nature of his work, and Elisabeth had no desire to get in the middle of that.

Once he opened the door, she stepped in for just a trill, closing the door behind her and surprising him with a quick kiss, smiling. "Your turn, love. Apparently, according to the seamstress, I will be a 'vision' on our wedding trial, whatever that means. Be prepared – she's something else."

Opening the door for him, Elisabeth led him back to Haven House. The couple entered, and she made introductions between the mage and snow leopard cadouri. "Gianella," she began. "This is the groom, Balthazar. Balthazar, Gianella. She will be designing our wedding clothing."

The pair barely made it into the room and through introductions before the cadouri began her assessment of Balthazar. "Ohhhhhhhh, Mr. Black! Such a stunning man you are. Yes, yes…" Having already seen Gianella's process, Elisabeth chuckled softly and moved to the nearby table, sitting down with her legs beneath her, curling up and watching the show.

"Dark colors. Definitely." Walking around Balthazar, Gianella spoke, although it wasn't entirely clear if she was talking to herself of him. "The silver hair will look stunning against black or another dark color. But black, I think. Black will work nicely. Tall, straight lines." If Gianella had an opinion regarding any of the mage's mutations, she kept them to herself.

"Now, darling. Men are notorious for being simply awful at this sort of thing, so I brought samples for you to look at. Now, we are just looking for style decisions. I can make things any color you desire, but I'll make suggestions along the way. Don't worry - Gianella will help you!"

Grabbing the long bag she brought, the cadouri began showing him different items. The first outfit featured black pants, a black tunic shirt, and an ornate black cape with gold trim, which Gianella immediately explained in more elaborate terms. "I think for simplicity, we shall assume black pants for most all of these outfits. Tall, formal black boots are perfect and versatile. This outfit utilizes a cape of the standard variety or shoulder mantle cape – that's up to you. The gold will coordinate with the gold embellishments on your beautiful bride's dress, although she'll be in a light color because of her dark hair."

Setting that outfit down, she retrieved the next. "So, this is exquisite, although you will have to envision the embellishments in gold. This version features a white shirt beneath, but I think it would be much more you if we change that to black, although the contrast between the white tunic shirt and beautiful black overcoat is quite stunning. Obviously, there is no need of a cape."

The final outfit was slightly different from the other two in terms of fit. "This is like a solid overcoat, and while you will need to wear a thin shirt beneath, it's not meant to be taken off and on. Again, gold embellishments. There's another difference with this one, though, that's becoming popular with more religious types."

Turning, she grabbed a pair of black slipper-like shoes to show him. "These are called loafers. Probably more comfortable than boots and suit this type of outfit."

Done for the moment, the cadouri smiled, continuing. "Just point or tell me what you like and don't like, and we shall figure this all out, and it will be perfect. Visions, both of you!"

Elisabeth, delighting in watching the exchange, didn't offer an opinion but sat silently and watched to see what questions Balthazar had.

[Balthazar Black]

3 Cylus 722

When faced with a choice between attending a council meeting or attending a fitting for his wedding, Balthazar found himself equally disinterested in both options. It wasn't that he wasn't excited for the wedding, he just didn't want to go through all the things that lead up to it. That, he recalled, was why he had never been married before. All the work surrounding it. Still, he knew that he needed to get fitted so he had come back to Faldrass so he and Elisabeth could get it over with in the same trial. At least, he thought that was the plan. He had become a little distracted in his workshop and lost track of time while Elisabeth was out being fitted for her dress.

He was moving around his shop like a child in a candy store, taking account of everything he had so he knew what he would have to move when he finally had the construction done on the lair Woe had bought for him. He had two excellent kits for alchemy, one which he had won and the other which was part of Woe's gift to him. On top of that, while he no longer had his encyclopedia set about alchemy, he still had all the memory from reading it. Balthazar didn't know what had inspired him on that trial to get back to work but something had. He was sitting at a table in his shop with a mortar and pestle, slowly grinding a piece of charcoal into a fine powder.

He knew that powder was the most stable form of explosives, or at least the most stable form that he knew. He had accidentally triggered a small explosion in the past and now was set on recreating his success. He remembered the ingredients that he had used after a little reflection on the prior event. Charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter were explosive when combined in the right ratio. Balthazar needed to figure out what that ratio was so he had ground a little extra charcoal for his experiments. What happened if he added more saltpeter? What happened if he added more sulfur? What happened if he added more charcoal? All of these questions needed to be answered if he wanted to make an effective explosive. Yet even in that notion there was a question- what was an effective explosive?

Balthazar was not trying to blow the world up. He didn't need anything destructive when he had the magic that he did have. He could make the powder that had blown up in Quacia again and fill barrels with it. He would need more raw materials, but he could. He didn't want to. He wanted his explosives to be unique and useful. He recalled what he had learned about magnesium. It burned bright. If he put magnesium into his mixture, would the explosion create a blinding light? Did he want that? His eyes were sensitive to light. What about a bomb that cast darkness around? How did one capture darkness? It couldn't be literal... but a thick smoke screen could work instead.

How was he going to create the smoke though? He knew how to get the initial blast but from there the combinations could have been anything. He needed some more books on the sciences. His encyclopedia set had been more focused on the less volatile parts of alchemy. He had just about finished grinding all the materials he wanted to experiment with when Elisabeth knocked at the door to his shack of a workshop. He had heard her approaching outside and started to consolidate his materials. He put the ground charcoal, saltpeter, and sulfur into their own bowls and left them on the table to open the workshop door.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts about bombs that he almost missed what she had told him. It was his turn to go and get fitted and while his face didn't show it, she'd know he wasn't particularly excited for it. The only genuine part of his smile came from her mentioning her own dress. He didn't care what he looked like but he was excited to see Elisabeth in her outfit. "Saying you will be a vision on your wedding day is like saying rain will be wet. You always are." Balthazar pointed out with a small smirk as they crossed to Haven House and Elisabeth opened the door for him.

The designer or seamstress or whatever she wanted to be called was another cadouri. It seemed that they popped up everywhere these trials. Gianella talked faster than even Elisabeth and moved through the process quickly while relatively dragging Balthazar behind. He didn't know that he liked the feeling of her eyes on him as she deduced what sort of colors would go best with his hair. He never put as much thought into personal appearance as it seemed the ladies did but at least the cadouri agreed that dark colors would be best. He almost always wore dark colors.

Gianella told him that men were notorious for being awful at dressing themselves and Balthazar's brow furrowed a little. He knew plenty of bards who dressed well. Devin was the first to come to mind but Devin's place in Balthazar's thoughts was shaken when the cadouri brought out samples for Balthazar to look at. He wrote off the first one when he saw the rather elaborate cape attached to it. He didn't say anything while the seamstress continued to talk but his decisions were made quickly. He didn't need to look at the samples and debate it.

He didn't like the second one because it required too much imagination. The sample she brought was silver, not gold, and had a white shirt rather than a black one. He didn't want to agree to something only to find out he really didn't like it when he got it. She mentioned there being no need for a cape and he couldn't help but smirk. Was there ever a need for a cape? Even the should mantle capes seemed unnecessary.

The final option didn't seem too bad. He liked that it was simple and he preferred the way it looked like it would fit compared to the others. He wasn't too sold on the shoes instead of boots but he could probably just put on boots the trial of and not tell anyone... or maybe he'd get used to the smaller shoes. He realized the room was waiting for him to speak so he did after a few trills. He seemed very sure of what he had decided. "I like the third one. Not sure how I feel about the loafers. I like boots but if you think they'd look better then I'll trust you."

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 722, 3 Cylus

A faint blush rose on the young woman's cheeks at the mage's comment. He didn't often say things of that nature so directly, so it got her attention when he did. Nudging him gently with her body as they turned and moved to Haven House, Elisabeth spoke softly. "Is it crazy that I just want all this to be done and be married?"

There was a slight weariness to her voice, something Balthazar rarely heard, or at least she rarely allowed to seep into her tone. He was the only one privvy to her feelings of exhaustion when they came, knowing he would understand some of the pressures she dealt with and how mentally and physically draining they could be. For the rest of the world, in the moments, she simply smiled and carried on.

Some women enjoyed all the planning and decisions that went into a wedding. While Elisabeth was very good at organization and development, the truth was that she just wanted to be Elisabeth Black. That didn't mean she failed to recognize the need for customs and rituals. Packed with symbolism and meaning, she wouldn't ignore that, but balancing it against her impatience was challenging.

Elisabeth knew Balthazar wasn't ecstatic about the fitting, but they both understood the necessity. Together, they had decided what their wedding would be, and new outfits were part of the deal.

As Gianella eyed him up and down, Elisabeth made a few funny faces at Balthazar to get him to smile and take his mind off the unease. When the cadouri pulled out the sample outfits, Elisabeth immediately knew which one she liked but was curious to watch her fiancé go through the process himself.

Ultimately, he landed on the same outfit she had picked, although there seemed to be some difference of opinion regarding footwear, to which she addressed. "Boots. Balthazar is a boot man." Smiling at him, she adjusted in the chair slightly as Gianella fussed with the measurements. "Boots it shall be then, my lovelies! A brand-new pair will come with both of your outfits. I'll get started on these right away upon my return to the School. Is there anything else either of you can think of that you'll need?"

Elisabeth knew of nothing, and she suspected the same about Balthazar. Gianella quickly gathered up her supplies unless he indicated such, farewells were said. Lodging was offered to the cadouri but was politely declined, verbalizing her desire to get back and start designing.

They escorted Gianella to the edge of the settlement, the spot where Elisabeth had greeted her, and turned back to Haven, alone once again. Smiling just a bit, Elisabeth teased him lightly. "See? Not so bad. Now it's over, and you can go back to whatever you are doing in your workshop." She never asked him what he got up to because Elisabeth knew if he wanted to share, he would.

There was a topic she wanted to discuss with him but wasn't quite sure how to broach it or how he would receive it. Both he and she were the types of people that didn't often indulge in personal time, but Elisabeth was hoping he'd make an exception, especially considering the idea she had.

"Balthazar, I was thinking. The last few cycles have been busy with every manner of craziness, and we've not had much time just to breathe and be us. Together. I thought that perhaps right after the wedding – we could even leave the next trial – we could spend a few trials together working on the promise we made Raine LeFleur. It's something we thought we would be doing together anyways. The settlement will be in good hands – I've seen to that."

Smiling, she glanced at him as they walked. "A few trials with my husband, out in the world, doing something we both enjoy. I can't think of a better wedding present. What do you think?"

[Balthazar Black]

3 Cylus 722

Balthazar could relate to nothing more than Elisabeth's question about if she was crazy because she wanted it all to be done and for them just to be married. He felt the same way almost every time that he did something to prepare for the wedding. He just wanted it to be done. When the trial finally came, he hoped that all of their efforts would be worth it. All the funny faces in the world couldn't change that Balthazar felt a little uncomfortable being fitted for a suit. It was fortunate that Elisabeth provided a cute and funny face. That was much more likely to make him feel comfortable. Still... he wanted it to be over. After the girls decided he would be wearing boots after all, it pretty much was. When asked if there was anything that they could think of that they would need, Balthazar shook his head. He needed to be done and that was about it.

They thanked Gianella and Balthazar relatively left the girls to talk to each other while they escorted her to the edge of the settlement. He knew he would struggle to find something in common with the designer other than her apparent desire to get to work right away. They weren't very far from the designer when Elisabeth was already taunting him. "It was as bad as I expected it would be." He said with a small grin in return to her own. She'd referred to what he was working on, suggesting he might be able to get back to it now, and Balthazar shook his head slightly. "Ever since I was initiated into transmutation, alchemy has lost a lot of appeal apart from potions and explosives. Right now I'm working on a bomb that will deploy a screen of smoke but I'm having trouble figuring out the right reaction to make the smoke."

He knew she wanted to know but wouldn't ask. He knew she was expecting him to just offer the information when poked about it so he did when he could. Before long though she brought up something that had clearly been on her mind for some time. The promise that they made to the family of ghosts. As far as Balthazar knew, no one had moved forward with the request that their host had made of them but if Elisabeth wanted to look into it after the wedding it might have benefitted them to invite a few people who had been involved to the wedding so that they could discretely compare notes during the downtime at the wedding. It would be good for them to know what had already been done or found.

"I suspect it will take more than a few trials to look into what she had asked of us but I am sure I can get the time off work." Balthazar said, maintaining his small smile, "Who are you leaving in charge?"

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 722, 3 Cylus

Elisabeth enjoyed the moments where it was just them, which were few and far between. She liked having his attention to herself for a time, although that never truly was the case. Balthazar’s mind was far too much like hers, constantly rattling around, solving problems or mulling over one thing or another. However, being alone with him was a rarity she savored when the occasion presented itself.

As they walked, he explained what he was working on and his current difficulties with alchemy. Elisabeth knew nothing about the subject, but there was something familiar about what he said sounded. “Smoke screen?” Where had she heard that? Oh well, probably in passing, reading something in some book. It often happened, but then again, she read a lot of books.

Her mind chewed on that in the background while their conversation moved on, landing on her proposal to take a few days off after the wedding and start the investigation they promised to help Raine LeFleur with. “Oh, I know it will take longer, but I thought we could get a good start while spending some time together.” Elisabeth had been with Balthazar long enough to know investigations took time, but if they could find some leads, they could discuss how to push forward from there.

“Balder and the emergency council. It’s not like I haven’t been gone from Haven before for short periods, and everything has been alright. I’ll let Darius know we’ll be gone as well.“

As they got closer to Haven House, the ‘smoke screen’ issue continued to haunt the back of her mind, and in a flash, Elisabeth remembered where she had seen the term from. “Oh! I remember. Smoke screen. Hang on….”

Running into Haven House, far less subtly than she usually would have and starling Storm from sleep as she did, Elisabeth immediately went to her set of Baron Books, gently nestled on the shelf near the fireplace.

Remembering where she had seen or heard something often took a bit of time, but Elisabeth usually could find the source quickly once she did. Glancing at the spines, she swiftly chose one and began to sort through it, muttering to herself. As she continued to look, the young woman began to explain herself to the mage.

“I’ve been through a lot of these volumes, finding bits and pieces of useful information along the way. Much of these books are devoted to storytelling about people and places, inserting facts and opinions. The Baron tells of people he met during his travels and often what he found fascinating about them.”

She tried to summarize quickly. “On one of his trips someplace, he met two brothers. One fancied himself a gadgeteer – liked tinkering with things; the other was a baker. From what I can tell, the Baron had something of a mischievous streak in him, and he stayed on to see what kind of mischief these two would get into. They had a lot of good knowledge between them, which often got them into trouble.”

Her fingers worked quickly, trying to find the appropriate entry. “It doesn’t say how they came across the combination, but they figured out how to make something that emitted a ‘screen of smoke.’ Ah-ha! Here it is!!!”

Elisabeth quickly read the entry out loud for him. “Somehow, these two lads, using a curious combination of saltpeter, sugar, and baking soda, engineered from their wonderfully creative minds, breathed life into a wondrous thing. Utilizing a heavy paper tube filled with the material and a fuse, glorious smoke soon filled the area! People and their ingenuity never fails to amaze me! They want to experiment with color, but we will see how that goes. ”

Glancing over at Balthazar with a smile, she ceased reading for a moment, curious to see his reaction. “Something like that?”

[Balthazar Black]

3 Cylus 722

Balder and an emergency council seemed fitting enough to lead the settlement while Elisabeth was away but Balthazar couldn't help but think Elisabeth had not taken his advice on the treatment of the guards. It seemed that Balder had become a favorite and Balthazar worried that in time Silk and Ronan might grow resentful or become negligent in their duty because they believed they'd never do enough to be rewarded as Balder. In the end it would be up to Elisabeth to manage those relationships evenly unless he came back and stayed for good. With the Elements, it was unlikely.

As the two of them neared the house, Elisabeth seemed to suddenly remember something that she had read about smoke screens. Balthazar's brow rose slightly in curiosity and he followed her inside. He did not know that she'd become interested in such things. Alchemy had lost a bit of the luster for him (apart from explosives) but maybe she'd enjoy it and if she did, maybe she would benefit from the workshop. He still had another one to build but still knew of no firm place to put it. Faldrass seemed to unstable beneath the earth. He dismissed the thoughts from his head as Elisabeth pulled out one of the books from the collection she had labeled 'The Baron Books.'

She seemed to think he had not given the books a passing glance in his time there but in fairness, he had not gone through them as thoroughly as the other tomes and scrolls he obtained about the immortals and magic. His interests had shifted from Faldrass itself to the latter but he could take the time to read them again. He'd have to walk around the settlement while he did but it would go faster due to one of the mutations in his eyes. He listened to Elisabeth as she explained specifically what the books had to do with a smoke screen. She explained the story about two brothers who'd come across a combination that deployed exactly what he seemed to be attempting. Would it work in practice? He couldn't know without trying but he had used saltpeter in explosives before so there was merit to the formula she read.

Saltpeter, sugar, and baking soda were not incredibly difficult to find and Balthazar was certain he had them already but the book, according to what Elisabeth had read aloud, said nothing about the ratio he would need in order to create the smoke. The brothers had used a heavy paper tube to contain it so perhaps they'd used a large ratio. He would need to test different amounts to see what level of smoke deployed. He wanted to make his smoke bombs smaller but he still wanted them to deploy a large screen of smoke. He had many ideas and a sudden compulsion to begin trying different things.

"Something like that, yes. I'm looking to make them smaller though and without a ratio for the ingredients, I'll have to run a few different tests but it is a start. Thank you... would you like to come to the workshop and learn a bit about it?"

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 722, 3 Cylus

Balthazar listened to what she had to say. To be fair, he always did, and it always meant the world to her that he did. Elisabeth knew he had poked through the Baron Books, but unlike others, she actually studied them, learning about Scalvoris, Faldrass, and the people that resided there. She felt as though she knew a little about the Baron himself even through the books.

Being who Balthazar was, the skills and knowledge he had, made it somewhat challenging to help him in anything. She tried in whatever manner suited situations but often fell short. He always told her just to be her, which would always be enough. Still, Elisabeth never stopped looking for ways to help the mage, whether collecting random pieces of information, remembering a stray story from a book, or whatever else she could come up with.

As she finished, he seemed to consider what she said, confirming that it was related to his current project. And then, he did something unexpected by inviting her to join him.

Usually, Balthazar preferred to be alone in the workshop, but this time, he opted to share what he was doing with her, which made her happy.

Giving him a big smile, Elisabeth nodded, closing the book back up, returning it to the shelf where she had found it. “I’d love to, Balthazar. Maybe I can help you figure out those ratios?” After all, alchemy seemed to be a bit like cooking, and she was slowly figuring that out.

“Shall we?” Gesturing towards the door, she gave him a mischievous smile. “What possibly could go wrong?”

[Doran]

Elisabeth:

Knowledge:
Alchemy x 2
Appraisal x2
Cosmetology x 2

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

Balthazar:

Knowledge:
Alchemy - Saltpeter is most effective in explosives
Alchemy - The formula for black powder explosives
Discipline - Attending a fitting you do not want to be at
Socialization - Playing nice with an outfit designer

Loot: -
Lost: -
Wealth: -
Injuries: -
Renown: -
Magic XP: -
Skill Review: Appropriate to level.
Points: 15

- - -

Comments: First of all, I like that you made a new post template for this part of the wedding fitting series, Elisabeth!

With that being said, I really enjoyed Gianella. I love how enthusiastic she is, and the way she assessed Balthazar when he entered the room and said that he was such a stunning man made me smile. I also appreciate that you included pictures of the various outfits!

Balthazar’s disinterest in attending a fitting was described well, and his thinking about bombs rather than suits amused me. I found them interesting as well though. He’s become quite a skilled alchemist!

A bomb that cast darkness around sounds like it would have potential, for example. I wonder if he’ll ever make one …

I also appreciate the unexpected mention of Devin, the well-dressed bard!

I was surprised that Elisabeth just wanted it all to be done as well. It seems as if she has that in common with her future husband. I’m glad that Balthazar found an outfit that he liked though!

With that being said, I wonder if Elisabeth and Balthazar will indeed spend a few trials together after the wedding and try to fulfill the promise that they made to Raine LeFleur!

Good luck with the rest of your wedding preparations, and enjoy your rewards!