[Saoire Event 723] Kisaik to Tristan

[Winston]

Some time before The Gifting

It was the beginning of a new trial as Kisaik awoke after a long night of dreams. As the world came into focus and the light around you dispelled the shadowy corners of 'the Dream', she spotted something beside her bed.

It was placed delicately atop whatever was usually beside where she slept and had a bow on top, with a little note that read...

"Me taught yuh might find dis 'elpful far de coming season. Jost don't menchun dat et wus nay entirly fram yuhself."

Included in the box was enough wood wax for the planter and a letter that read "Find some wood outside". When he looked, the Phoenix Wood was stacked neatly and was ample for the planter.

The specifics of the item above

The Phoenix Wood is naturally heat resistant and rainbow coloured and when the wax is added, it then gives of a gentle shimmer, as if gliterred.

This is delivered at some time that would be convenient for you and the acquisition of the gift you are giving.

I know you might have powers that might prevent people sneaking up on you etc., so please assume that this gift appears in such a way that either it a) does not trigger defences as there's no ill intent or b) only serves to wake them to see the gift (as it's not there one moment but is the next).

Gifting Trial Arrives!

In the run-up to the Gifting, one Winston Millar had all but become a recluse as he spent his trials ferreting away at the preparations for what would come. A great many trials went by as his forge was operated by Cho as the Cadouri was nowhere to be seen. "Yup, dere... Noh, jost to de right a lit... STAP!" He commanded

Smokie

with an excitable energy he could barely contain.

As the gifter and giftie both passed through the doorway they chose to use to get to the Gifting, a world of enchantment was revealed as they stepped into what appeared to be the grand, stone-walled hall of a castle. A kaleidoscope of colors greeted them. The air was thick with the sweet scent of their favorite foods and the gentle melody of ethereal music played by invisible musicians.

For those able to see them, Fairies (Spirits) fluttered all around, placing decorations and plucking at musical instruments in a way that made the music feel like it was coming from the walls themselves.

The banquet hall stretched out before them, a dazzling display of festive joy. Glistening crystal chandeliers made of green and gold leaves hung from the ceiling, casting a warm, golden glow upon the room from their luminescent bulbs. The walls were adorned with tapestries depicting scenes of ancient legends and mythical creatures from Idalos and the Dreaming, making unleavable scenes of heroism and gift-giving.

A long, banquet table stood in the center, covered with a rich, emerald-green velvet cloth that cascaded to the floor. On the table, an array of dishes awaited them. Plates were made of delicate leaves, and glasses were of sparkling daffodil cups with an otherworldly iridescence. The air was filled with the tempting aroma of dishes both familiar and exotic – Plates adorned with translucent leaves held delicate confections of chocolate spun with threads of spun sugar, each bite a dance of sweetness and ethereal richness. The air wafted with the intoxicating aroma of enchanted truffles infused with the essence of heavy brews from Rharne, their deep and alchemical flavours beckoning the most discerning palates.

The centerpiece of the feast, there stood a chocolate fountain, its cascading liquid darkness illuminated by the glow of enchanted flowers that radiated warmth. The guests could dip crystallized fruit and ethereal pastries into the velvety abyss, savoring the marriage of bittersweet chocolate and the mysterious allure of licorice.

Hot mixtures from Rharne and from the kitchen of Winston himself sat around the table. It felt like cheating to know Kisaik so well, but during this opportunity to show him some foods from all over Idalos, there were foods that would melt the sinuses of the bravest of culiv]nary adventurers for him to enjoy.

In this fantastical banquet, the flavors were a journey through realms of taste, where the mundane melted away, and every morsel was a portal to the extraordinary.

At the head of the table, a ferret known to some as Winston stood, placing some finishing touches to one of the many dishes.

"Welcome, nobal guests, tuh de Gifting!" he declared, his voice full of a thick accent of the tiny creature's upbringing. "Com-com! Com en! Feast, dance, sit or talk. Dis place es yars totrial, as we celebrate de magic that binds us all and builds relashunships new an' old trough 'giving'." He gestured to the room around them. "Once yuh are done, yuh cun return 'ome, noooh prablem. Ontil den, yuh jost let meh know ef dere es anyting me cun doh tuh 'elp."

The words were undoubtedly practiced

, but delivered with the most genuine joy and intent. He was obviously uncontainable excited to be here, but with that, without leaving the room,

Winston adeptly made himself seem politely busy as his guests meet and greet each-other without his interference

.

Just then, the banquet hall erupted into a symphony of laughter and giggles. The fairies (should you be able to see them) gathered around the table, watching and listening as events unfolded. The air was alive with the fluttering of wings, the tinkling of laughter, and the soft susurrations of a great many playful beings.

As all of this sunk in, a figure made themselves apparent, a very finely dressed butler of impeccable manor bowed slightly to one side. They held a tray with daffodil glasses filled with delightful nectar and bowed.

Shinwa

gestured towards the tray to indicate that a drink could be taken, if so desired, after which he offered to unburden their guests of their coats or cloaks.

!

Message from: Winston

Welcome to your Saiore Gifting Event thread for 2023! How does this work? - So, this is your thread (the two of you) and you can get here via the magic portal, from where-ever you are and will be returned there once you decide to leave (unless I say otherwise! SHOCK! Secrets! AAAAAAAH!). This thread will be eligible for both skill points and knowledge, as long as the usual review requirements are met. It can be whatever you want, of course, but it is a modded event and so I control the surrounding and NPCs, so please don't assume control of them (unless, of course, they are yours). You can bring anything with you that you could reasonably be assumed to carry or BE carrying and of course your gift comes with you You may bring with you any flavour NPCs if you wish, but please either avoid making these a 'mass' of actual physical people (if you have a child or someone that you really feel like bringing, please do). Diri's, Spirits, small creatures/pets on your person, etc. that usually hang around you are also all fine. A 13 foot dragonling or horse, not so much What should you do? - Please post your first post in two sections: 1) "Some time before The Gifting": A section that describes the making or acquisition of your Gift. This can be anything from "Jeoff picks up the gift he made." To a fully fledged description of the shopping/making process. This can/should be a creative and enjoyable writing experience. Write something you enjoy, in any style you enjoy, IF it's something you will enjoy! The emphasis is on FREEDOM not requirement. Don't feel required to make a lenthy section here, but certainly feel free to (rewards will be issued for creative or well crafted gift sections). 2) "Gifting Trial Arrives!": Post your arrival! If you post first, you are there first. If you post second, you can assume you spot your companion on entering and respond to anything they provide for you in their first post. 3) When you have completed this thread, please place it up for review as normal. Once it’s been reviewed, post here to claim your event medal! Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Kisaik]

Kisaik awoke from his small tent, beneath the Sweetstone Tree in Sweetsong. He'd been working on his gift tirelessly, well part of it. The part of it that was actually a living thing took time, compared to a piece of wood that one could craft. In fact, he was stumped for which wood to use for the planting pot he'd planned. Which caused him some elation when he saw the note from Winston, which he had Ce'nija translate. "Ahh, good old Winston. Phoenix wood will do nicely."

So he set to carving up the wood and making it into a nice planter pot, with alchemical enhancements made just by himself. He drank in the ephemera around the Sweetstone Tree, imbuing one of its powers into the planter pot with a bit of spiritual blood magic.

In the end, he made an average-quality planter with a simple carving of a dragon wrapped around the round base. Inside, Kisaik plopped some growth medium, and then a young ivy plant that he had grown specially for this occasion. This he placed into the growth medium, with all its spliced properties very evident on a growing stalk that he planted also in the planter. The Ivy would need transplanting, but has several properties spliced onto it (Which are heriditary from his gardening capstone, Genesis Splicing). The leaves and stems of it are imbued with the sound-absorption quality of wraithgrass and the ivy flowers with a blossom spliced from the birdflower.

The wooden planter pot was imbued with blood magic from Kisaik's Ephemeral Alchemy, where he's using the Sweetstone Tree's resident growth spirit to borrow one of its powers for a sort of blood magic power. The pot when it houses a plant in its preferred medium, will grow that plant within ten days halfway to maturity. It can do this no more than twice a cycle, before needing a rest. The effect was infrequent enough that it shouldn't need refreshing.

As such, when fully grown and cultivated, whether entwined with a trellis or kept under control on a singular area, it can absorb sound maintaining a peaceful atmosphere in a given area where it's arranged to grow around. The bird-flower blossoms glow with particular colors depending on the sorts of sounds they absorb.

This thinig, he placed upon a small cart that he'd commissioned from a local carver, to give the new woodworker a small project to improve. In all he did a good job, with the wheels, axles, and the carriage. This he hitched to his steed,

Slate

, who proudly led the way toward the arch that would serve as the entrance to Kisaik's meeting with the Duke.



As he entered, he marveled at the set-up that Winston had set up. "Well done Winston! I hope you'll be joining us for our merry making."

He rode Slate a little while into the midst of the reception area, the plant in the small carriage behind him, it's flowers shimmering different colors as the wheels squeaked and rattled. Kisaik looked to Winston, and lifted his leafy brows, "I wonder if the Duke will have a quest for me? Dukes and nobles and kings often have quests for knights, you know..."

Indeed, Kisak was in the mood to be of use to someone, and besides having made an offering for the Duke, perhaps he could do an extra service, or help out in the garden at least. Not that he doubted the Duke's reputation for a green thumb!

"So, where is his Royal Highness?" Kisaik asked Winston.

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan had walked through a lot of strange doorways in his life, and what more, he’d been to Saoire’s Dream before, so he didn’t hesitate when the doorway opened for him. On the contrary, he walked through it with a huge smile on his face and a spring in his step. He was really looking forward to finding out what his gift would be – and who it would be from. This, he thought as he took a look around his new surroundings, would be so much fun!

As he noticed that he appeared to be in some sort of castle, the young man who was dressed in a fine light blue suit, furrowed his brow. It looked almost like the castle of his old friend King Cassander who was probably dead now (He missed him despite the fact that he hadn’t always been a very nice king.). And somehow, they had managed to prepare his favourite foods. At least, he thought he could smell … chocolate and cake and strawberries!

And what more, there were fairies!

Tristan had met fairies before, when he had visited Winston. Back then, his daughter Ayla had briefly become a fairy. He couldn’t help but wonder if he’d get the same opportunity this time!

As he was a very disciplined and well-mannered man (most of the time), Tristan did not stare at the beautiful interior, and he definitely didn’t touch anything, as tempting as the food on the plates was. He wanted to make sure that he was actually allowed to do so first.

When he noticed just who stood at the head of the table, his eyes widened, and he smiled all over his face. “Winston, it’s good to see you again! This place is looking great!” he greeted his friend before his gaze fell on the Tunawa (and his mount) who seemed to have arrived some time before him. Apparently, he realized, this was who he would be receiving a gift from!

“His Royal Highness is right here”, he remarked and grinned. “Except that he’s not a Royal Highness, but just a Duke. My cousin wanted me to become king once, but he also married the man who threw a door at the man who actually was the king of Rynmere back then, so I thought it was better not to listen to him. He made a few rather poor life choices with disastrous consequences. And now there is no kingdom to rule left”, he said with a hint of melancholy before he grinned at Kisaik again.

“I can give you a quest if you want”, he offered, and then he admitted, “I’m most curious about my gift.”

“I’m Tristan, by the way. And who might you be?” he asked.

[Winston]

Winston had tried really hard... Like reeeeeeaaaaally hard to avoid having a favourite when preparing for the many events he was helping put together. For the most part, he had succeeded entirely to treat everyone just the same. Even so, there was absolutely no way to deny that this particular meeting, between Kiasaik and Tristan, was definitely his most anticipated get-together of all. Not only were both good friends (his very best in the case of Kisaik), but these two people represented a powerhouse of Alchemical mastery that made his entire being vibrate with excitement... Just imagine what they could achieve together! The good! The impossible... The hijinks!

Simply put, his excitement was plain to see.

"Oh, me es strictly an duty totrial..." He began, with a false air of professionalism that Kiasaik would easily see through. "Hehe. Which es 'andy, since me jab es tuh spread joy! Soh yes, me doh 'ope soh." He petted Slate affectionately behind the ear as the cart came to a halt.

"Stoff far bigguns es always soh big ennit." He observed as he marvelled at the planter entering the room.

He chuckled heartily as the knight asked of quests. There was never a trial that went by that the prospect of a new quest did not seem to energise his friend. It had on occasion been a great way to grab his attention. "Hehe. Me don't know, bot me tink dat dishing out quests is a part af de jab descripshun far a Duke is et nat?"

Then, as if summoned by the Tunuwan's question itself, Tristan entered.

The fairies seemed delighted to see him as he made his entrance. Apparently highly enamoured by the colour of his suit, they flitted around him in a 'what is personal space again?' kind of way, but without actually disrupting him at all. There was whispers of "Yes... Completely BLUE... Don't forget the flowers! ... Oh yes! The flowers!".

"Wow! Me didn't know palatics en de royal cart involved soh much high velacity woodwork!" He marvelled with more than just a little genuine curiosity. "Soh, Sir Duke af de Last Kingdom, ef dere es noh kingdam any mar... es yuh still a Duke?" The question was playful, genuine, out of his mouth before his brain had a chance to filtered it and most certainly devoid of any mockery or malice. The ferret was genuinely interested to know and mostly oblivious to the potential for this to have been an impertinent query.

It seemed however, that the Dude-of-nowhere was willing to issue quests regardless of his standing, which based on Winston's experience of issuing 'the quest to get more flour before the souffle collapses' was received, will be just fine by Kisaik.

He watched his short friend with great anticipation as the inevitable onslaught that was his name and full title would come...

!

Message from: Winston

Yay! Great posts both! So, next up, please feel free to interact, play NPCs, etc. as you see fit. Also, please assume there's food you'd want to eat, given the time, occasion of tastes of your PC totrial . Please consider marking up at least 3 knowledges in your next post(s). Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Kisaik]

Kisaik smiled and nodded at Winston's antics. "I'm very glad to have you here, Winston, and I'm quite proud that our precious Saoire has chosen you to do this duty. You're surely worthy of it!" Kisaik meant it sincerely, although he coudln't help but get a bit of contact high from the enthusiasm of the ferret.

But then, he saw the nobleman at the other end of the table. Kisaik rolled his wagon, mounted upon his noble

steed

. The plant-like cat meowed as it pulled the wheeled wagon up to the duke, which was covered by a large canvas. Kisaik bowed deeply to Tristan then, and frowned as he insisted that he was no King. "But, I thought I was told you live in quite a large place, a castle by any ordinary man's measure. Surely I was not misled?" Kisaik worried for a moment, that the person he was talking to might in fact not be landed at all, or with a place to call home. But no, he was sure they were merely talking at cross purposes.

"Well, if you have a grand house, a castle per say, there's no reason you cannot call yourself king of it! A knight only needs a noble cause to pursue, and so that is what I aspired to be. So should you begin your Kingdom, one castle at a time. Why not?!" Kisaik grinned. "And I hear you're a gardener of some great skill as well? Well I'll have you know, most great kings start out either as gardeners, landscapers, or shepherds. That's no lie either, on my honor!"

"But I forget my manners. My name, your Grace, is

Mädärä Kisaik Ciuruọrun sọ Kufuata Karo Kashe Däuä, Tìfmi Härumtä sọ anou Faewun Samuwar, ọbavi sọ tẹlẹ, igbaradi sọ anou tabi ọludïbọ, Saoire's chieja kẹmïkälï kukïrï, Kuzïngätïä Kore, Akoko Nọọsi, qy’akot o'Creede, ar Yeztlik'o' Nïtọsï Ẹrẹkẹ.

But my friends, and if you please I'd count you among them, call me Chip." He smiled brightly at the tall human man.

"But now, It's time to share your gift, since you asked..." So saying, Kisaik grabbed one end of the canvas, and with a sudden portal, pulled it through the portal, folding it as it went through and landing on the egress in a neatly folded square.

Inside, Tristan would see what Kisaik had on offer for him, and Kisak would explain: "SoI made this planter pot myself, as you can see, carved into the likeness of a dragon, as good as I could get it. I imbued it with spiritual magic from my own tribe's tree, the Sweetstone Tree, which grants it an ability to grow one plant housed within it, to full measure within a short amount of time, depending on the longevity of the plant.

Inside, I plopped some growth soil, and then a young ivy plant that I cultivated specially for this occasion. This I placed into the growth medium.. The Ivy is ready for transplanting into a permanent home somewhere, and has several properties spliced onto it which are fullyl heriditary, and can be replicated if you gather seeds from the bird flowers in them. The leaves and stems of it are imbued with the sound-absorption quality of wraithgrass and the ivy flowers with a blossom spliced from the birdflower.

As such, when fully grown and cultivated, whether entwined with a trellis or kept under control on a singular area, it can absorb sound maintaining a peaceful atmosphere in a given area where it's arranged to grow around. The bird-flower blossoms glow with particular colors depending on the sorts of sounds they absorb."

Kisaik took a breath, after explaining all of that. "All told, it would be a wonderful plant to place in the solar of your manor house, where the living quarters are, so that the Rharne thunderstorms don't disturb your sleep, and absorb much of the harsher sounds from the city." Kisaik smiled, and pointed to the pot, "As for the planter, you can begin to grow another plant in it, once you've found a home for the Ivy, which I haven't named it yet."

Kisaik wrung his hands a little, as he had been prattling on a bit. He looked up at the Duke, and with big eyes, asked, "So... I hope it pleases your grace, and that now you will grant me the honor of service to your House, if you wish it." Kisaik knelt before him, "King of House Venora!"

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan didn’t mind the fact that the fairies flitted around him. On the contrary, he was absolutely delighted. When he heard their comments, he smiled brightly and nodded before he confirmed, “Yes, completely blue. And I haven’t forgotten the flowers. I just need to find some!” Being a Blessed of Vri, he remembered that most exciting trial very well, so, having said that, he looked around to see if he could find any flowers (or something that did at least kind of look like a flower) that he could put in his hair, just like he had back then.

In any case, the mention of “high velocity woodwork” caused him to momentarily raise an eyebrow before he came to the conclusion that Winston had probably meant King Cassander’s encounter with a door. Since his friend seemed to be so curious about certain aspects of Rynmeran politics, he told him, “There were also zombies and dragons and shadow beasts and all kinds of other strange things. As for whether I’m still a Duke …”

Tristan paused and furrowed his brow a little. “Nobody fired me, and Rynmere still exists in some fashion, so I’d say yes, I’m still a Duke, and I plan on reclaiming my homeland one trial, or at least rebuilding it somewhere else.” He said the last words in a very serious tone of voice – saving what was left of Rynmere was one of his biggest goals in life – but a moment later, he was already grinning again, because this was such an exciting event.

“You have the most amazing steed”, he remarked enthusiastically and proceeded to take a closer look at the plant-like cat that pulled the wagon. If Tristan were a Mortalborn, he would be the Mortalborn of cats, he was sure of it. He loved cats. “You have to tell me what kind of cat it is. My cat comes from the Misty Miasma. Is your cat from another world as well?” he wanted to know. He had certainly never seen a cat like it before!

“And yes, I have a big house”, he confirmed with a smile, wondering where this was going. As he continued to listen to Kisaik, his smile grew wider and wider, and then he finally decided, still smiling, “I suppose I am a king then. You do have a point, Mädärä Kisaik Ciuruọrun sọ Kufuata Karo Kashe Däuä, Tìfmi Härumtä sọ anou Faewun Samuwar, ọbavi sọ tẹlẹ, igbaradi sọ anou tabi ọludïbọ, Saoire's chieja kẹmïkälï kukïrï, Kuzïngätïä Kore, Akoko Nọọsi, qy’akot o'Creede, ar Yeztlik'o' Nïtọsï Ẹrẹkẹ”, he said, repeating Kisaik’s very lengthy list of names and titles without a single mistake.

Vri’s Blessing really did come in handy sometimes!

“I’ll call you Chip though. I’m honored that you consider me a friend”, he told Kisaik in a very serious tone of voice before he turned to watch Kisaik unveil his gift. He was appropriately impressed by the portal – but the planter pot impressed him even more, he had to admit.

“It’s beautiful”, he told Kisaik and briefly let his fingers run across the outer side of the pot to find out how smooth it was before he looked at the plant. As the Tunawa told him which qualities he had imbued the ivy with, he abruptly turned to face him again his eyes wide with fascination.

“How did you do it? How did you modify the ivy?” he asked in an excited tone of voice. “Are you a gardener of exceptional skill, or did you use alchemy or magic? I can make potions that enable you to talk to spirits and cats, but I can’t do that”, he admitted freely – Tristan had no problem admitting that there was something that he didn’t know!

“Thank you so much”, he said a moment later. He was – normally – an exceptionally well-mannered man, so he never forgot to thank someone for a gift, no matter how excited he was about it. And he was definitely very excited about the gift Kisaik had made!

“Winston”, he told his other friend. “Do you want to see what Kisaik gave me?”

When Kisaik knelt before him, Tristan looked at him with a serious expression on his face before he told him, “You may serve me, Sir Chip. Now, shall I give you a quest or do you want to pick your own?” If someone wanted to serve him, especially someone as nice and skilled as Kisaik, he wouldn’t say no, and he didn’t deny that he was a king anymore either. The Tunawa’s reasoning had been pretty sound in his opinion. The quest that he had talked before though … why had he never asked Cassander about that aspect of being a king?

He’d at least see if Kisaik would be willing to pick his own quest, he decided. Kisaik knew himself best. And besides, Tristan wanted to be an unconventional king and not follow all the rules of kinging (Was that a real verb?)!

[Winston]

Looking around the room, Tristan found flowers of various kinds without issue and the act seemed to please the fairies greatly as they began to frolic around with glee.

"A flower for you, a flower for me. A flower for us, a flower to tea!" Their tinkling laughter jostled the ears from all around the room.

The mention of Zombies and Shadow beasts caused a morbid fascination to rise in the tiny Cadouri. Afraid to ask more, but unable to simply leave it be he noted that down somewhere inside himself to reproach some trial. It seemed that he fought some kind of internal struggle as he suppressed the urge to dominate the rendezvous with questions of his own and let the conversation progress.

As his Knightly friend rambled on about Kings and Castles, he simply smiled warmly and listenned. The Tunawan's amiability was one of Winston's favorite traits. As he moved on to explaining the groundbreakingly amazing achievements he was offering as a gift, the smile became a awestruck grin.

Without wanting to usurp Kisaik's thunder, he nodded knowingly when Tristain showed him the gift. "Oh yus, me gud friend Chep es a gardiner dat es second to none! 'im 'as so far failed to turn me fingas green dough. Many a plant 'as fallen tuh de fate af dese 'ands." He admitted with a smile as he wriggled his fingers in front of himself as if to illustrate the point some how.

That aside, Winston waited with not an insignificant amount of suspense as he waited to see if the Duke would take up the Knight's offer.

As the Duke of Nowhere, King of his own home, accepted the Knight's pledge, Winston clapped and yipped, whihc may not have been the right thing to do under such circumstances, but none the less what happened.

Something about the Duke's story struck Winston suddenly and he scurried over to Kisaik and tapped him furiously on the shoulder, leaning in towards him conspiratorially and waving his hand to the room seemingly randomly. "Oh-OH!"

A few moments passed as he whispered to his tiny friend. "'ere, take dese. Tristan es very sad about his 'omeland, but per'aps yuh cun do someting dat will 'elp 'im some 'ow wid dese?" With which, the hand that was still waving around over his shoulder found purchase on a small pouch that had floated out from a draw from somewhere deep within Chest and landed in his palm. "Cheers, Chest... 'ere..." He handed the pouch to Kisaik and smiled, stepping back and nodding his head towards the man with a 'go on' expression on his face.

The bag contained a sample of all 5 fruit/seeds from Rynmere, something Faith had given him once.

!

Message from: Winston

Yay! Fantastic posts both! So, next up, please feel free to interact, play NPCs, etc. as you see fit. Also, please assume there's food you'd want to eat, given the time, occasion of tastes of your PC totrial . Please feel free, if you wish, to craft flavour interaction with the Fairies that are around, taking control of them for a little fun. Please consider marking up at least 3 knowledges in your next post(s). Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: This is not hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.

[Kisaik]

Kisaik was pleased that his gift was received well by Tristan, and let Winston chime in by confirming that Kisaik was indeed in possession of the greenest of thumbs. When Winston decried his own ability to grow plants, Kisaik perked up, "Winston! If you want I can show you the very basics, so at least you can keep a plant from withering under your care? It's really like maintaining friendships with people. Something not many know, plants have more needs than food sunlight and water, they need noise, ambience, and an atmosphere that suits them. Sometimes I think they even like to be talked to, and I wouldn't be surprised! So treat your plants like your friends, is the best tip I can give."

Kisaik smiled and turned to Tristan, who had questions for him. "Oh, the Pot itself is surely a product of special spirit alchemy, although not the sort that is involved in making potions. You see, there's a method if you can communicate with a spirit, you can convince them to

give over ephemera to grant their power to a specific artifact or object, such as this pot.

I convinced the growth spirit of the Sweetstone Tree (that's my home tree, where my tribe lives), to give over its ability to grow a single specimen to full measure within a number of trials." Kisaik took a breath, and then continued, "So that given over to the pot, I filled it with the best soil, and grew this ivy. As for the ivy itself...?"

Kisaik gestured toward the long-growing vines around its stake and flowers. "That, is a product purely of gardening. You see, I'm able to splice two traits through gardening to a plant. I have developed a special technique that takes splicing further, and allows the plant to pass the spliced traits... Like the birdflowers, and the wraithgrass dampening of sound,

to their seedlings. So you could make more of these ivy plants, for your friends and the other parts of your garden.

"

By now Slate was getting quite impatient with all the attention he wasn't getting, and pushed against Kisaik, albeit gently. "Oh yes, you asked about my steed... Well. That's a funny story." And so Kisaik told it, about how the chaos bolt from Kisaik's little known curse into the base of the Sweetstone Tree, turned a small bud into a mouse-fruit. After a brief chase, Slate hunted and consumed it, he became a plant-cat. He tried to be as entertaining with the story as possible, given it was a short tale, but he thought he got the point across, that meddling with strange fruits and chaos magic was a risky proposition. Although Slate seemed to come out of it okay.

Once Winston gave over the seeds, Kisaik was somewhat at a loss for what to do. "Hmmmm... These are good seeds, no doubt."

Then he had an idea, he began munching on the seeds. If Tristan was homesick, perhaps he'd enjoy growing more seeds in his garden. So after munching on the Rynmerish seeds, Kisaik began producing seeds from his hair, more and more until Tristan would have enough to fill his entire garden!

All in all, he gave over a dozen of each seed to Tristan, "These are some very good plants. Thank you Winston! I can imagine they would do well with my technique to splice them! The possibilities are dizzying!"

This said, Kisaik was about to answer Tristan's query about whether he'd like to be given a quest or if he'd want to choose his own. The latter threw him for a loop. He didn't know he could choose his own task! However before he could answer, a auspicious presence entered the room. A flower-fairy, with flowery petal-like wings and a bee-like body. He introduced himself as he descended as if through the ceiling. "Ahem, I am Dimble, Flower Bloom Inspector. And I have deemed it most

apropalatic

that I inspect these flowers growing here in this plant!"

So saying, he hummed and buzzed and hawed as he inspected the bird flowers. They seemed to change color with every change in pitch to his humming. Eventually, he brightened up and nodded. "Yes, these will do. They are quite

glimbeauteous!

Wouldn't you agree, Tristan Venora?"

Kisaik looked uneasily at Dimble, and gave side-eye to Winston as if to say 'Here we go again!'

Nevertheless, the tunawa was cheered by the Fairy's appearance.

[Tristan Venora]

Tristan’s eyes lit up when he spotted a couple of flowers. He quickly put his hair into a ponytail using a ribbon that he had in one of his pockets and weaved the flowers into it before he bowed to the fairies and let them admire him. “I think that flowers would make an interesting tea”, he mused as he heard their song and grinned. “Or maybe I should invent flower alchemy and just use flowers for everything. Now that would be something! It would definitely smell better than regular alchemy! As for your black thumb”, he continued as Winston told him that he was bad with plants and watched his friend wriggle his fingers.

“I’m sure that it is good for something, for getting rid of weeds or harmful plants, for example. If you want to, I can see if I can try to turn your black thumb green though”, he offered. It had been a while since he had taught someone, but if Winston wanted to give gardening another try, he would be more than willing to become his teacher!

It seemed as if Kisaik had had exactly the same idea. When Kisaik offered to teach Winston and well – and talked about how taking care of plants was like maintaining friendships with people – he nodded. “It really is”, he agreed and looked at Winston. “When I was still living in Melrath, I saved a little Moukou Tree. I still talk to it on a regular basis. I think hearing my voice makes it happy and helps it grow”, he said before he turned to his gift, admiring it.

“Do you think my own spirit companion would do that?” he asked. From the look on his face, it was obvious that he was quite impressed by what Kisaik had done. His eyes were wide. A moment later he asked, a very excited and eager expression on his face, “You wouldn’t happen to have time for two students, would you? I already know how splicing works”, he added. If Kisaik realized that Tristan was already a very skilled gardener, and teaching him wouldn’t be a lot of work, it might be easier to convince him to take on two students.

Before long, Tristan stopped thinking about gardening lessons and was focusing on something else though. His eyes grew wide as he realized that Slate had not always been a plant-cat. Kisaik managed to get the point across – that meddling with strange fruits and chaos magic was a risky proposition – but there was also something else that Tristan was wondering about. “That was quite a story!” the duke said and applauded before he looked at Slate. “Do you think he minds the transformation?” he wanted to know.

“You are the true hero of the story, yes you are”, he assured Slate who seemed to be getting impatient. “May I stroke him?” he asked Kisaik. If his new Tunawa friend said yes, he would gently stroke Slate between his ears. Mistral loved it when he did that, so hopefully Slate would love it as well.

Tristan did of course notice that Winston whispered something to Kisaik – his hearing was quite excellent – but he acted as if he didn’t. It was obvious that they didn’t want him to know that they were talking about something. His surprise was genuine in any case though. For a moment, he looked quite emotional, but then he began to smile all over his face.

“Thank you so much, you two”, he said. For a moment, he was tempted to hug them, but he was worried that he’d crush them, so he just shook their hands. “I thought that the plants of Rynmere were lost forever. I’ll plant these seeds in my garden, and if I ever manage to rebuild Rynmere, there’ll be a park with plants from the old kingdom in its center, a park of remembrance of sorts”, he spontaneously decided and carefully put the seeds away.

Unfortunately, he didn’t find out if Kisaik would be willing to come up with a quest of his own, at least not right away. A strange flower-fairy entered the room and introduced himself as Dimble, Flower Bloom inspector. Tristan watched him with interest as he inspected the flowers that changed color with every change in pitch to Dimble’s humming.

Upon hearing Kisaik’s comment, he raised an eyebrow, but as no actual warning followed, he concluded that whatever Dimble did was most likely harmless and only temporary. So, he replied in a cheerful tone of voice, “Yes, esteemed Flower Bloom Inspector, these flowers are quite glimbeauteous. They are beautiful, and they give off light. Tell me why you consider it apropalatic to inspect them though. I’m most shinecurious”, he admitted.

He had no idea that something strange would happen if he guessed the meaning of “glimbeautous” incorrectly, but he’d figured out that Dimble had a tendency to combine two words to form a new word that didn’t exist in Common yet. It was something that he approved of wholeheartedly. He sometimes made up new words as well. He had in fact just done so!

He just hoped that Dimble liked “shinecurious”. It meant “being so curious that your eyes become shiny or sparkle”. His eyes were just doing that. He was quite curious about Dimble!

[Winston]

The fairies approved most handsomely of the large (to a fairy) man's flower arranging skills and the idea of a class for alchemy specialising in flowers tickled both the fairy's and the ferret's interest.

Then, as Kisaik spoke of gardening, it was with a great, warm smile he took in the advice from his knightly friend. The idea that plants needed you to talk to them seemed odd, but as it happened, talking was something this little ferret excelled at. "Well, me 'ave been told dat me cun talk de 'ind legs aff a dankey, bot plants don't 'ave legs! So dem might be de perfect canvarsational partenas!"

He looked to them both, as the offers for tuition rolled in. "Oh! Me cud nat fail wid soch mastas tuh 'and! Me still need tuh grow a Moukou Tree.

Dat 'ealing chews yuh 'elped me wid Tristan works a treat!

Me will give yuh one befar yuh goh! Far yuh recipe book!" His expression was a combination of delight and gratitude as they move one. "Hmmm... me neva tart af dat. Me cud per'aps provide a weed-killin' service. 'Ere-yee! 'Ere-yee!" He began, taking on the tone and mocking the gestures of a Town Cryer. "Weed killin' extraordinar! Roses to ruins en noh time!" He jested with a bright smile, apparently oblivious to the fact that roses, as prickly as they were, were not in fact weeds...

No sooner were the words out of his mouth did he regret the jest. There was a small flurry of activity in the fairies around them as a few cried out with unexpected excitement and darted off into corners of nowhere and vanished. "Oh yay! I'll tell Groundy!" Yelled one particular fluttering Sweetwine fairy spirit of whimsy.

Winston's shoulders sagged EVER so slightly as he took a deep breath of rejuvenating resilience and he reminded himself that he should know better than to say such things around a fairy. Glancing to both of his friends, he smiled. "Oh well. Me might live tuh regret dat one." He stated with an apologetic tone and a smile.

Without further delay, his diminutive friend continued offering up his knowledge of the topic of his gift, like some kind of twig-based dispenser on know-hows he described the process of alchemical spiritry.

When Tristan sought Kisaik's tutelage as well, the Adored of Sairoe looked like a fizzy bottle of pop that had been shaken one too many times as Gifts AND Mentorship flourished in his presence! "Oh-oh-oh-oh-yes! Pllleeeease? We cun visit Saiore's Dream some time an do et?! Ar... Um... Me cun get os togedda some time?" He was not sure HOW he would do that exactly, but there had to be a way. If there was a was to think it, there was always a way to DO it.

When Kisaik transitioned from dispansing knowledge to dispensing seeds, the ferret looked to Tristan and watched with an excitable flurry of applause, eager to ensure that the gesture had not accidentally caused offence. He knew how bittersweet memories of a loss could be. Detecting Tristan's impuls, as the man reached to shake their hands, the ferret let out a little gesture of dismissive joy and went in for a hug. "Oh, friends hug, mun!"

As he explained the park he would make, the ferret nodded and as they hugged, which happened as the ferret hugged the man's shoulder, he first said quietly, for Tristan's ears only. "Faith gave me dese seeds." There was a suggestion that perhaps he could remember more than just Rharne through them as they parted and he continued, more loudly. "Yuh shud nat wait far den. Dat wud make a fine park tuh 'ave, en Scalvaris, Rharne ar anywhere. Yuh jost let me know ef me cun 'elp an et will 'appen."

As Dimble went about their business, he shared the glance with Kisiak. He smirked and shrugged slightly as his eye-brows rose in a gesture that said 'this should be fun'. With that he turned to the man with an impish curiosity. Some bigguns required hand-holding when it came to coping with fairy antics, but Tristan had an already well-established reputation with the flighty little mischief-makers and Winston had no doubt that he would be fine.

As the man deftly started to converse with the use of words alien to most, the ferret could not help but let out a little giggle, wondering if the fairy might have met its match in the master socialight. It felt very much like Tristan had a natural understanding of the way the fairy speak worked. There was much more feeling to it than there was actual language.

!

Message from: Winston

Yay! Fantastic posts both! Great interaction with Dimble! I'm leaving Dimble to you to control, so please feel free to continue/conclude that as your whimsy sees fit. As before, please feel free to interact, play NPCs, etc. as you see fit. Also, please continue to assume there's food you'd want to eat, given the time, occasion of tastes of your PC totrial . Please consider marking up at least 3 knowledges in your next post(s). Rules? As already noted, this is a modded thread so please play/post with that in mind. Winston himself is not here to feature greatly in the thread (this is YOUR thread, not mine) but please feel free to interact freely with him, of course. I will, as a mod, be running this thread beside operating Winston. There is no PC posting order. Feel free to post in whatever order between yourselves and change that as you see fit. Please don't double-post. Post once, then wait for me to reply, then you may post again. ALWAYS feel free to DM me if you want something to happen outside these rules or the thread's current direction. The buffet is tailored for you! Unless otherwise stated, please feel free to assume you find things your character likes and so describe them! Have fun! Posting cycle: There is no hard timeline for posting. I will monitor progress and reply to posts as and when replies are completed.