Fable - Ask Sinister Tricks A Team

[Lumen]

The waitress began shuffling out plates of food to the group. Lumen had a stew and a steaming mug of hot apple cider. She offered Houri her mug.

"Want a taste?"

It was only fair.

"Can he get a bowl of the bacon-mac-and-cheese and a mug of cider please?" Lu ordered for Zaire, arching a golden-brow at Marci. That was the closest thing to noodles on the menu...

"Whoever the dollmaker is...they're good to snag Delilah and Vasha." Both of those initiates were formidable. Maybe they'd been snagged by poison darts like she, Marci, and Houri had run into. They just hadn't been as lucky as them.

"Zaire, where was the park?"

If it was the dollmaker, they didn't have much time to find the other initiates.

 

[Houri]

Houri looked at the offered mug with some suspicion; sharing food for her did not come easily and so she found it hard to figure out why Lumen would offer. What did she gain from it? Eventually she nodded and took it slowly as if expecting her to give some sudden request in exchange. When nothing came however she took a sip and surprise flittered across her face. It was sweet! Sweet but... in a different way. And warm. Making a content noise she took another sip and then passed it back.

"Fog?" Houri perked up at that particular point in the story. It reminded her of the ghost she and Olvir had come across as he escorted her back to Vel Anir. Was the dollmaker something similar? Oh but that had been great fun! She hoped this would be too.

"Did you see anything else?" her question ran almost on the back of Lumen's. "In the fog? A person?"

 

[Zaire]

Zaire hadn’t wanted food, but at least Lumen had been brave enough to get him some apple cider.

“Weird grub they’re serving here,” Zaire mumbled to himself. Who knew Eaglehead had a place that catered so much to the tastes of the western parts of Espressa and Liadin? But maybe something comforted was needed. Although, every since he brought Mac and cheese to Friendsgiving it seemed all the other initiates thought that was his favorite food.

It wasn’t. He wished everyone would stop giving it to him. Yet, he said nothing and sulked in silence.

“No people.” Zaire answered Houri first. “Just the dogs.” Then he looked over at Lumen and frowned. “Like it’s… sorta near here but not. It’s empty at night. It’s more like a hill with some trees and grass. Awesome view though.” The apple cider was placed in front of him, and Zaire took a deep breath, inhaling the spicy-sweet scent. He took a sip of his drink, appreciating that it was warm at least.

“Well. Actually. You know. One person did know we were heading there, other than you three.” The orc. But they had seemed genuinely concerned for their child, and Vasha had followed the scent. Still, why would a orc come to a bunch of kids not from the area to ask for help? Was it desperation or something more sinister?

Marcella Lumen Houri

 

[Marcella]

"Wow Zaire, look at that, you're getting your favorite dish," Lumen's order was a stroke of genius. Marcie would have all of the special ham to herself while Zaire snacked on noodles covered in cheese.

A fog was interesting, it probably was created by the dollmaker. That was definitely it. "If the dollmaker can create fog then," her words were interrupted as the waitress placed a plate of plain old regular ham in front of her. Obviously these locals weren't as sophisticated as Marcella had become on this journey.

Oh. There was someone else with them... the orcish child they initially set out to help. "Or maybe the dollmaker doesn't have magic at all. Maybe he's just that orc kid." Or the orc kid was working with the dollmaker. Either way she stuffed a piece of the ham into her mouth with a disappointed look.

Marcella stroked at her chin as she tried to cobble the pieces of this mystery together while choking down the plain old regular ham.

 

[Lumen]

Lumen frowned slightly, watching Houri's face. She'd heard stories about where they'd found the other girl. She'd hope not to believe them but...her reaction to a simple sip of hot cider said otherwise.

"Keep it," Lumen said gently and silently pushed the full mug of cider back to Houri as if it was no big deal, going for her own water instead. It reminded her of Jacki's face, when he'd tried it for the first time. When their mom was still alive. Before her magic. Before death. Before everything else.

"Dogs. Fog. Beasts." Lumen frowned, eyes flickering to the others. "Should we go out there? Check it out?"

 

[Houri]

Houri's plate was by far the largest that was set down; the waitress had to use both hands to carry it rather than one. On it was a collection of cuts of the three types of meat busy roasting in the kitchen along with a fair helping of vegetables, a thick cut of bread, and some odd looking pudding. Her stomach growled in appreciation along with the voices in her mind. She was about to tuck in when Lumen kindly pushed her cider back giving Houri pause. Her eyes flickered from the cup to the girl then back again with a frown.

What does she gain from this?

Is it a trick?

They don't think like that anymore, Houri..

She gave the other girl a slow nod then returned her attention to the meal and, more importantly, the mission.

"Probably. If it's a fog being caused by a mage I'll be able to tell," Houri explained though made no move to leave her meal. "The scene we went to investigate also suggested whoever this is knew we were either here, or that we were coming. It was a trap for a Dreadlord and that makes me think our enemy is Anirian."

 

[Zaire]

“So we’ll go back to the park after… this?” Zaire said as Mac and cheese was placed down in front of him. He mumbled out a small thank you but the waitress didn’t hear it, quickly pivoting on her heel and storming off. It seemed she was rather busy tonight. He looked down at the cheesy noodles and the smell made his stomach roll and shrink.

Yeah, Mac and cheese didn’t sound good. Actually, no food sounded good right now. Vasha and Delilah were out there, somewhere, with the Dollmaker, and right now the four of them had no idea who that was or where they were. He felt rather guilty about it all, while he got to sit here in a warm tavern with hot food in front of him.

“So… what did you guys find out?” Zaire asked, looking up and around at the girls.

Marcella Lumen Houri

 

[Marcella]

"As Houri said, the dollmaker is probably Anirian," she answered Zaire as she still poked at the regular ham that she'd been served. "He had very good taste in food, so definitely Anirian."

Marcie sat and stared at the various other foods and drinks at their table before looking around the tavern. It was busy and getting busier by the moment. Both the festivities and the presence of a serial killer likely driving people indoors and into bars.

She cleared her throat and reiterated the older girl's plan. "We should go look at these fogs."