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 Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 4:55 am
The knock came as Miles was coming off the stairs and heading for the sitting room. Without breaking his stride, he changed his course and walked quickly to the door.
Once the newcomer had introduced herself, Miles returned her bow and replied, "Indeed, madam Moonsong, it is my pleasure to welcome you, on behalf of master Barlow, to the house. The Master is pleased to open his doors to wanderers and travelers far from home. May I offer you a towel and pair of slippers?"
Whether Arielle accepts the offered items or not, Miles' continued with, "The Master and a number of other guests are in the sitting room at the moment. Please allow me to show you the way."
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 7:33 am
"Yes, being chased tends to wear me out. I will stay for dinner but I don't believe that I'll be staying much late after that. I bed sounds very pleasent indeed." Bri shook away her wearyness and put on her smile, stiffling the urdge to yawn yet again.
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Chocolate Pollution Captain
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Posted: Sun Jan 06, 2008 9:26 pm
The woman gave a rueful smile, a faint blush creeping into her cheeks as she nodded. What must he think of her, showing up looking like a drowned rat? Accepting the towel, she threw it around her shoulders, drawing it close to stave off the chill. Tawny eyes darted to the living room entryway, where light and the soft music of voices drifted out.
"I...It would be uncouth of me to appear before his Lordship and his guests looking like this. Ah, Lord...Barlow, did you say?"
When the butler gave his confirmation, Arielle nodded slowly.
"Lord Barlow will no doubt appreciate my presence more if I do not track water over his furniture. Perhaps I might sit by the servants fire awhile? Just till I dry off? I promise not to get in the way."
She gave a tentative smile from under her lashes, one that people rarely found heart to refuse. Truly, the bard had no wish to offend this Lord Barlow, especially if he had the temper of most Lords she had ever encountered. Plus, it paid to make your best impression first.
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:11 am
Barlow's eyebrows raised a bit. "Well, I do hope that you mean 'you won't stay down here,' rather than 'you won't stay at the house at all,' " he said. "It is not a night to be out, especially if you are tired. Not only that, but your favorite room is ready for you."
As he finished speaking, he heard the voices from the great hall and turned his head. "Oh, it appears that somebody new has arrived. That's a surprise, I certainly wasn't expecting anybody new at this late hour."
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 5:35 am
"If you insist, madam," Miles replied with a courteous bow, "I can direct you to the kitchen where you will find a large wood-burning stove. But Master Barlow has instructed me to provide all of his guests with a proper welcome and hospitality."
For a moment, a distant look crosses his face and he seems lost in thought. It passes quickly, though, and he continues, "I am certain you are familiar with the tradition of the 'sacred guest' that is followed in some lands: that a visitor is sacrosanct and must be treated with the greatest honor for a certain period of days regardless of the circumstances? Well, Master Barlow follows a similar tradition."
"Besides which," he added with a wry grin, "Dinner is about to be served and you may find the kitchen to be rather busy at the moment."
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Posted: Tue Jan 08, 2008 4:08 pm
"Oh really?" Bri inquired with a raised eyebrow, she new very well which room it was and brightened at the idea. "And yes, I shall be staying the night here, probobly the next couple nights." She smiled and leaned forward to try and get a better view of the door as Barlow had pointed her out. "Hmmm, i wonder what tales she brings?" She mused to herself.
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Chocolate Pollution Captain
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 4:04 pm
Kenzie looked at Alec and smiled. Alec hugged her gently around the neck. Kenzie reached up and hugged him backwards. After that she stood up and began to walk quietly around the room.
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Posted: Wed Jan 09, 2008 11:42 pm
Uncertainty rippled over the woman's face before she bobbed her head in a hesitant nod. If guests were welcomed regardless, then perhaps this Lord Barlow was not quite what she had been taught to expect. And now that the notion of food had been introduced, the bard could admit that the scintillating aroma's drifting down the hall were making her silvered tongue wet with anticipation, and her clutching stomach reminded her than it had been a long while since the lunch of bread and hard cheese she'd choked down on the road.
"He must be a noble-hearted man indeed. I'll gladly abide by his Lordships wishes, if it will not displease him to have me there."
Then, in a drastic change of character, the woman gripped the end of her scarf, delivering another courtly bow with multiple flourishes of the material in her hand. The sonorous tone returned to her voice, and her posture radiated confidence once again as the twinkle re-entered her tawny eyes.
"Lead on, Sir Miles! Lead on!"
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 6:17 am
Miles returned her bow, making no comment of the 'sir Miles.' Sometimes it is better to make not make a fuss, I suppose.
"I assure you, madam," he replied, "The master's displeasure would be far greater if one of his guests were made to feel unwelcome in his house. Right this way, please."
As he directed the guest through the house toward the sitting room, the two passed out of the foyer and into the main hall. Broad slate tile on the floor gave way to a lush Persian rug, and the glow of the chandelier was just enough to highlight the dark wood of the furniture and trim along the walls, without being glaring. A small arrangement of winter flowers sat on a table near the middle of the hall, and behind it, a sweeping staircase up to the second floor could be seen.
((As she walked through the hall, the odds are good that Arielle would notice a lot of things that would seem strange to somebody from her background. For one thing, the decorations of the house are a wide mix of different cultures and styles. Oh yeah, and how familiar would she be with the concept of electric lights?))
Meanwhile, in the sitting room, Barlow looked to the door himself. "I am glad to hear you'll be with us for a while," he said to Bri. As his eyes tracked across the room, he noticed that Kenzie had stood up and was wandering around. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said. "I don't mean to bore you, I just jumped the gun, as it were, on dinner. Which reminds me, I was a bit curious as to how you two came to be here. If you don't mind telling us about it, I'm sure you'll find us a willing audience."
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Posted: Thu Jan 10, 2008 8:56 pm
((Unfamiliar. Gas lamps are "high-tech" where she comes from, heh.))
The luxury of the place was not lost on Arielle; though in some ways accustomed to the manors and palaces of lords and ladies, it never failed to impress her just how much beauty could be created with coin. She secretly hoped to someday own beautiful things of her own.
The gleam on the tiles from the glowing chandelier made her smile, reminding her of the ballrooms she'd once performed in. Looking up though, the bard could not help but frown in puzzlement. There was something odd about the fixture; the light was too steady, did not flicker as candleglow ought. Wondering if perhaps it were a mage construct, the woman hastily lowered her eyes and hurried after the butler. Mages were generally not fond of being noticed or observed, and made her uneasy besides.
"This house is, ah...there certainly are some interesting artifacts here. Lord Barlow is, ah...is a collector?"
Before she got an answer, the bard found herself at the entrance to the sitting room. Stepping through the doorway at Miles' entreaty, she found herself faced with an oddly assorted quartet. A fair, bookish young man wearing glasses occupied one arm chair adjacent to another occupied by a dark-haired waif of a girl with large, soulful eyes. The self-possessed pair who stood across the small parlor held an intimately short distance from one another, and their pale features spoke of kinship; brother and sister, Arielle would have wagered, and likely the heirs to the estate. Why else such self-possession?
Finding that her entrance had caused their attentions to shift from conversation to her, the bard lifted her chin and decided to make the most of it. Going with gut instinct and intuition, the damp woman extended a leg and swept a low bow that was mainly aimed in the direction of the man entwined with his sister, but managed to include the others too. She sent her sonorous tones singing into the very corners of the room, warming the air with her voice.
"I offer humblest thanks, Lord Barlow, for the welcome you have bestowed on a worn and weary traveler. My name is Arielle Moonsong, Bard to the Court of the Nine; also called Arielle Silvertongued by some, and Arielle of the Strings to others. Some others yet may know me as Moonsong Taleweaver, or the Golden-throated Lioness, for my name does literally mean 'Lioness of God'...or perhaps...ah..."
Realizing that they were staring at her, she cleared her throat delicately and straightened, flourishing a scarf-end in each hand. Perhaps her wet, unkempt appearance was not so welcome after all...her confidence faltered slightly under their watchful eyes, and she fumbled for it before launching into her next words.
"I would repay your great kindness by bringing the finest entertainment in the wide world to you and your guests, if it would so please your Lordship."
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:12 pm
As the butler and the guest arrived at the door, Miles prepared to introduce her to those already in the sitting room. As he opened his mouth, though, he was preempted by Arielle. As her voice rang out in the sitting room, he stood patiently by.
"Ah, Madam Moonsong," he began somewhat uncertainly. His usual routine had quite obviously been disrupted and he was in the process of rallying. As he stepped forward, his voice became more confident. "Madam Kenzie and Master Alec," he declared, indicating the intertwined siblings. "Madam Bri," he continued, a noticeable warmness edging into his voice as he inclined his head in her direction with a small smile. "And master Barlow," he concluded, with a small bow in the direction of the man on the chair. After a moment, he added "May I get you something hot to drink? Both the cider and the green tea have been popular choices this evening.
Barlow smiled at the new arrival. "Please, sit down here by the fire," he said to her. "I'm afraid you've caught us rather out of stride, but not to worry. We were just trading stories, and your tales would be most welcome."
He paused for a moment and ran a hand through his hair. "Oh, and simply 'Barlow' would be fine. I have neither title nor claim to nobility. I simply have a house in a place where many roads meet and the good fortune to be able to welcome wanderers far from home, and hear their stories."
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Posted: Fri Jan 11, 2008 10:42 pm
Blake seemed now content. posibly to only mess with Mr. Tolheit. He still was wondering who he really was and also about this house. Everything must have a purpose. Everything must come from somewhere. He waited then nodded, waiting for his next approach.
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 6:24 pm
An emotion akin to dismay entered the bard's features before it was flooded away by the furious color of acute embarrassment. Well hellsticks, she thought. Fumbled this one royally, didn't you? Covering a cough behind a fist, Arielle gave a somewhat simpler bow in the tow-headed fellow's direction.
"Ah, certainly Lor...erm, Master Barlow. Yes. Right then."
Hesitantly, the woman crossed the room under the eyes of it's occupants and sank down in a crouch beside the fire, holding her hands out to it. Thankfully the glowing warmth of the flames would give excuse for the color that remained beneath her porcelain complexion. She cursed herself for a fool, insulting a Lord that way; for whatever his words to the contrary, he must be a Lord to live in such grandeur...and with servants! Well, what was done was done; best to keep a low profile until he called upon her...
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 8:45 pm
Bri gave her smile as she was introduced and carefully watched the woman. She was quick on the jump, hopefully getting a couple questions in before the others, always interested in people affairs. "Arielle, right? You said you are of the nine courts, it sounds distantly familiar, where is your homeland?" She threaded her fingers together in her lap and leaned forward just a bit.
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Chocolate Pollution Captain
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Posted: Sat Jan 12, 2008 10:02 pm
The bard jumped slightly, swiveling to look at the girl who'd addressed her. Clearing her throat, she answered the question with a tentative smile. The girl seemed friendly, and it was always pleasant to talk of home.
"Aye, 'tis Arielle, my Lady. The Court of the Nine rule Ancar, the great city-capital of the island of Aleron. Aleron is my homeland."
Again, the bard smiled.
"What of you, m'Lady? Where are you from?"
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