Waking up is not a very pleasant affair for the traveling trio. Swapping bodies can leave some weird spots of stiffness, and an odd sort of hangover. Aviri wakes with a strong craving for fish, and Lin could really really go for some turnips. Trilup seems the least affected, since she didn't possess anyone else. "I wonder if they have fish pancakes here," the younger otter ponders as she stretches. "They're all cats, and cats like fish."
Aviri rubs his head, as through to drive away the dull throb with sheer force to his skull. He stops when Trilup mentions fish. "For some reason that sounds really good right now," he says with a hint of confusion.
"Think they've got vegible soup for breakfast?" Lin asks as she pushes her hat off her face and wiggles it onto her head. She tries to sit up, fails, then does so slowly and with care.
"What's wrong with you two?" Trilup says, tying off her vest (so that she has pockets for stashing things in). "Is this from last night? Lin, you had a perfect chance to find out how much stuff a Lapi can fit into his cheeks and you blew it."
"Vegetable soup?" Aviri says, looking at Lin. He turns to his own hand and looks at it carefully before flopping back onto his back. "Stupid box...." he says to the ceiling. He rolls to his feet and begins checking his things. "I'm not even sure if I can eat fish...."
As more of the previous night comes back to her, lin jumps to her feet and starts proding her chest and hips. "Do I look any different? Did I go back to normal after I deflated?" She asks. "An' I felt more responsable or summin'. Prolly just some kind of leftover 'cause it was Aviri's body."
"Some of the Blacktails eat fish," Trilup claims. "Well, they buy fish oil and fish meal. So.. not eating the fish properly.."
"You sorta look normal," Trilup tells Lin. "Let me see both of your tails."
Aviri just gives Trilup a look before resuming his task of ensuring he's got everything where it should be. "It's probably just a side-effect of spending some time as each-other," he says.
Lin sticks her tongue out at Trilup then surreptitiously looks behind her, just in case.
Things are puffy or svelte as appropriate, with no errant stripes or abnormal lengths and floof.
Aviri pulls his bag over his shoulder, apparently pleased with it's contents, and looks at the other two. "Ready for breakfast?" he asks.
"I'm always ready for breakfast," Trilup claims. She's got her pack as well, and then thinks to ask, "Are we staying here or going on to Blackshire today?"
Linyala shoulders her pack and chirps, "Yep!" As they head downstairs, she asks, "Silver, how'd you like having a body again?"
"You didn't let me have that cheetah guy, so.. oh wait, you mean having your body?" the ghost whispers. "It could use some more ripening.."
"I'm thinking we'll stay here until we figure out the box," Aviri says. "That way when we get to Blackshire we'll be prepared."
The morning crowd is different from the evening crowd as far as can be told - at least nobody gives them weird glances. The person behind the counter is different too - a young(ish) Savanite woman with an impressive apron. It's made of lots of colorful patches and has pockets seemingly at random.
"Hey!" Lin gripes quietly at Silver, "There's plenty of time to get old. Adventuring is happening now." She sniffs enthusiastically as they reach the bottom of the stairs, seeking the smell of something plantey.
Aviri nods to the Savanite behind the counter and gives her what he hopes is a warm smile. "Good morning," he says politely, his smile turning to a frown as he sniffs. "Do you have any ... vegetable soup?" he asks, looking almost disappointed with himself as he does so. "And some bread?"
The woman looks over the odd group, then goes back into the kitchen. There are noises.. hopefully food based. She returns with a plate of fried bread and a jar of honey, which she sets before the three before heading back into the kitchen again.
Aviri takes the bread and jar and finds a table, gesturing for the others to sit. He looks at the bread as though it had personally offended him. "Hope this fish-thing goes away soon," he mutters.
Lin waits at the counter a little longre for the Savanite server then gives up and sits with Aviri. "An' I'm not used to wanting vegetables over fish." Lin adds, "Should wear off after a while though... I hope."
"We hope," Aviri says and begrudgingly takes some bread. "Trilup, do you feel ... odd?"
Trilup grabs a piece of toast and pours honey on it. "I feel fine," she claims. After the first bite, she notes, "They use a different grease or something.." The Apron Lady returns again, this time with a plate of.. something. It's got vegetables in it, and fish, and unidentified bits.. and it's not in a cake, but it's sort of like a batter.. but fluffy.
Linyala takes a piece of bread, scoops some of the veggies and fish stuff on top of it, drizzles honey on, and chows down. "Hey, dish ish goof!" She says with her mouth full.
Aviri looks at the omelet suspiciously after thanking the Apron Lady. His hunger gets the better of his wariness and he takes a tentative bite, chewing it cautiously. It doesn't taste half bad, and soon he ate normally, nodding at Linyala's statement.
It's only a half-familiar breakfast, but nobody gets sick (although honey is great for gluing whiskers together if one isn't careful). There's also some bark tea and a juice of some sort that could be fruit or vegetable or both.
Having tried the omelet and found it good, Aviri went on to try everything else he didn't recognize, and it wasn't long before his pace began to slow down, the Lapi beginning to get full.
Lin tries the tea and immediately decides that the juice suits her much better. She tries arranging the food items in different ways, eventually culminating in a mismatched sandwich that surely tastes better than it looks. After she runs out of ideas and space to put them, she sits up in her chair and bounces. "So we're close enough to Blackshire ta spend a couple days here an' get the box open, right?" Lin asks.
Aviri doesn't bounce, the rabbit a bit lethargic after such a big meal. "Shouldn't actually open the box," he muses. "I mean, our job is to deliver it."
"Aww, well that's just no fun at all." Lin chirps.
"Yeah.. save the last key for when we get there at least," Trilup says. "That still leaves two to get beforehand.."
"Two," Aviri says thoughtfully. "That's a lot of opportunity for ... 'fun'."
"So.. do we do one on the road today, or use it as an excuse to spend a few days in a castle?" Trilup asks, putting emphasis on which idea she favors.
Aviri looks at her sideways. "You realize we have a castle in Stonebarrow, right?"
"Yeah, but that one has a crazy woman and Igor in it," Trilup points out. "This one has actual, like.. royalty or something. A Count and a Duchess! I don't even know what a Duchess is.."
"Deffinitely spend time in the castle!" Lin says, "Though they might not be nice and just take the box. But they should be nice!" Then she looks at Aviri like he just sprouted frog legs from his eyes. "Every castle is different though! They all have some kind of cool secret ta figgure out."
Aviri looks between them. "I guess we'll go to the castle," he says. "But they might not be nice. And they might not even let us stay there. And I think a duchess is a female duke."
"Then maybe we should take precawshuns." Lin suggests, "If you two go in the front, I could sneak past anyone else and watch through a window. You could do somethin' to show me that they're nice and then I could come in the front with the box. Otherwise, you can leave 'cause you don't have the box an' we can think of another plan." She rattles off, "What'chya think?"
"Oooo.. I heard those can be mean.." Trilup says. "I didn't know he had dukes in Sylvania though. Granny Oggton says they'd be in big swarms in Half Valley, and the Wimmers would shoo them away."
Aviri glares at Lin. "No sneaking. If they are nice and catch you sneaking around, it really wouldn't make us look good. If you both really want to try the castle, we knock on the front door and present our case."
"Maybe we should just ask people," Trilup suggests. "If they're nice, I mean."
Aviri is silent a while. "Right," he says. "Good thinking, Trilup." Aviri looks around the tavern at the people. "They're just so ... quiet," he says quietly. "Kinda forgot about them."
Lin facepalms. "Of course. So who can we actually... Talk to? Not a Savanite unless we give them a notepad."
Trilup blinks at the others. "It isn't that hard," she says, and waves to the apron lady to get her attention. When she comes over, the otter explains, "We've got to deliver something to the castle. Is the Count nice?"
The Savanite smiles and nods.
"Is the Duchess nice too?" Trilup asks next.
The woman nods and smiles again, then raises her hand, points a finger at her temple and swirls it a around for a bit.
"Okay, thank you very much!" Aviri says. "And the meal was very wonderful, thanks."
Lin nods. "Okay, so she's a little weird but in a good way. Cool, thanks!" she chirps.
The woman also signs some other advice.. which is lost on the Lapi and Akwavi.
Aviri tilts her head at her. "Didn't quite get that," he says. One hand idly begins rummaging through his bag for one of his books and a pen.
The woman waits patiently.. and also cleans up the now cleared plates.
Aviri manages to produce the items. He flips through a book, revealing several pages of detailed notes on botany before coming to a blank one, He thinks a moment, then flips to the very back and rips out a page, putting it and a pen on the table for the woman.
The Savanite picks up the quill and dips it, then sticks her tongue out as she starts to draw on the paper. She isn't very good, and resorts to stick-figures. There's a wagon of sorts with four wheels and.. apparently it breathes fire. One of the figures has a triangle-base that is probably a skirt, and either a bizarre hat or else extra ears and eyes. She's flanked by several figures that are probably meant to be big and shaggy, with very long muzzles and lots of teeth.
As a finishing touch, she adds what might be sledgehammers to the toothy figures' hands.
"So ... a dragon," Aviri tries, pointing at the wagon. "And the Duchess has mean guards?"
Lin ponders the drawing for a moment then tries, "The dutchess is a witch with big Jupani bodyguards and an enchanted cart?"
The cheetah scratches at her cheek, and shakes her head slightly to both.. and also nods a bit to both.
"We definitely need to go to the castle now," Trilup says.
Aviri nods a bit. "Should probably do this one at a time," he says mostly to himself. "The Duchess' guards are mean?"
"Obviously she's been abducted by a dragon, and is being guarded by demons, while another creature is eating her head," Trilup says. "If we rescue her, there'll be a reward! Or knighthood or something! We should at least try to capture the dragon. Having a dragon would be neat."
"Then we'll need fireproof rope. Is there a place in town that sells fireproof rope?" Lin asks the savanite.
The woman is just giving the most astonished look at the moment. Then she slowly shakes her head.
"Trilup ..." Aviri sighs. "Lin, just calm down." He turns to the woman. "Should we worry about the guards?" he tries again.
This gets a nod, and another finger-swirly-at-head gesture.
"Okay, so guards and Duchess are ..." Aviri makes the finger-swirly-at-head gesture. "And is this a dragon, or a cart?"
The waitress bits her lip, and gives a hesitant nod to that question.
"A dragon in a cart?" Lin tries.
Trilup suggests, "Best to ask a question that a single yes or no answer, Aviri."
There's a shake of the head to Lin's question though.
Then a slight nod.
"Right," Aviri says. "Sorry. So, dragon?"
The cheetah just shrugs.. then nods.. then shakes her head.
"It's complicated," Trilup interprets. This gets a nod and a smile.
Lin nods and thanks the Savanite. "Alright then, what are we waiting for? There's a nice couple of people with scary guards and a maybe a dragon cart. Shall we?" She chirps.
The hostess makes a sort of chirp sound, and holds out her hand. She holds up one finger of her other hand and then rubs her thumb and the tip together.
Aviri nods and gives Lin a look. "I'm sorry," he says to the cheetah. "My companions are ... eager." He pulls out his coin purse and asks, "How much do we owe?"
The single finger is raised again.
Aviri raises an eyebrow and pulls out a pair of sheckles, giving them to her. "Thank you for everything," he says.
"Yes!" Lin chirps, "Great food and helpful information. Deffinitely recomending this place."
The woman smiles at the 'tip' and bows her head, before making a vaguely religious looking gesture that probably means 'good luck' or similar.
"We should look for soup-in-ears on the way," Trilup says.
"Recommend this?" Aviri asks Lin with a raised eyebrow. "To whom?" He shakes his head and stands up. "Nevermind. Who's SoupInEars?"
"Things to remember a place by." Lin chirps then whispers to Aviri, "And the Scouts kin always do with good food an' good information wherever they go."
"Also helps prove you were there," Trilup adds. "The more you've got, the more interesting you are! Look at all the stuff Jack has! His ears are overflowin' with soup!"
Aviri looks at Trilup as though soup were literally coming from her ears. Suddenly he nods. "Oooh, souvenirs!" he says, chuckling. "Got it." He heads for the door, making sure the otters were following. "Lin, do you think the Stonebarrow Scouts will come all the way out here?"
Linyala gives Aviri a huge smile and holds her arms out to make her presence 'all the way out here' that much more apparent.
Outside, it's easy to see which way to go, since there's only one main road. It's also the primary marketplace, as there are booths and tents being set up along the sides wherever there is space. And while nobody shouts or calls, the wares are still hawked. The clothing stalls have people dancing, the glass-bell maker rings his bells. There are wooden xylophones, reed pipes and any number of drums being put to use as well.
Lin starts looking around the stalls on their way through, she stops by a clothing stall with vests and coats. "Can you see any cool enchantey things on any of these?" She quietly asks her hat, "Something that reppels undead things would be cool, or maybe something that makes me invisible?"
Aviri slows as he passes through the market, seeming to enjoy the relative silence of the place, a smile growing on his face.
"I think you overestimate what Savanite tailors are capable of lass," Silv whispers back to Lin.
One stand gets Aviri's attention. It's really just a wood chair with an older feline sitting in it, and next to him is a huge woven basket full of little cloth bags - but each bag has a drawing (in color!) of a plant on it.
"Then where'djya get that awesome zomby-proof jacket?" The spy asks the ghost.
"Off'n a dead guy that'd been chewed on by zombies, I think," Silv says. "They didn't mess up the jacket at all."
While moving for the reed flutes, Aviri diverts to the bags, unable to resist the images of plants. His own bag was rather bland, now that he thought about it. "These are very pretty," he says to the man.
The man picks up a small bag with a picture of an unfamiliar multi-leafed herb. It rattles.. so probably is full of the seeds of that particular plant." He smiles to the Lapi.
Trilup has been caught by a jewelry vendor, who displays her wares on herself, moving a bracelet festooned arm back and forth in front of the mesmerized Akwavi.
"That sounds very close ta useless." Lin notes and wanders around some more. "Still could be useful though, our home can get pretty undeadly sometimes. Would it be alright with you if I went back for it when we get back to Stonebarrow?"
"Oy.. you gonna leave me poor corpse naked at this rate," Silv whispers. One of the other Savanites - this one draped head to toe in layers of purple veils - gives Lin a bit of a stare.
Aviri smiles at the sound of the seeds. "There seed bags!" he says. He begins looking at the pictures more carefully.
Most of the drawings look foreign to Aviri - which is odd and exciting. But they also therefore don't tell much about the plants in question.
"Do yer pants do something cool too?" Lin asks, grining. She stops and waves at the purple-dressed Savanite. "Well, I could see if'n I could get a couple other scouts together an' give ya a proper burrial." She offers.
"My pants keep my bloomers from wearing out," Silv notes. "And accentiate my butt."
Aviri bits his lip as he looks over the possibilities. "How much are they?" he asks the shop-keeper.
"Well, I don't wear bloomers so I think yer safe." Lin pats her hat brim reasuringly and wanders over to see what the purple-dressed savanite is selling.
The seed merchant produces a leather-bound book, and opens it so Aviri can see. Each page has a slightly better drawing of each plant, what it's called, it's uses, planting tips and prices per bag.
Aviri pours over the book, mentally separating out what he wouldn't be able to plant and keeping in mind those he would.
The veiled woman tries to get Linyala's attention. She does this with a sort of swaying hips dance while holding her hands out and making come-hither motions with all of the fingers.. almost like she's trying to waft smoke towards herself.
Aviri absently fingers his coins, intent on the book, frowning a bit. "I'll take ..." he says slowly. He casts a glance around to the others, wondering if they were getting themselves into trouble, before returning his attention to the man. "Er ... one of these, and these, and ... these." He points to entries in the book.
Lin walks up and waves again at the savanite, "Heya." She chirps.
The man fishes out the indicated seed bags, and also has copies of the appropriate pages to go with them. The total cost is six shekels, since two of the purchases are medicinal ones.
Aviri hands the man the coins with a huge grin, his eyes already distant with thought of where he could plant them.
The dancing woman kneels down to be eye-level with the shorter girl, and seems to produce a scarf from mid-air. It's purple.. but does match Silv's pirate hat.
"Watchergot?" Trilup says from right behind Aviri.
"Pretty." Lin ooh's at the scarf. "I... Don't have any money though." She says sheepishly.
Trilup shows off her new bracelet to Aviri. It looks like twining branches, but is a single carved piece of wood. "I traded some of my jerky for it."
The veil-woman smiles, and points to Lin's bag.. suggesting that they could trade, perhaps.
Aviri thanks the man and turns to Trilup. "Some herbs and spices," he says. He looks over at Linyala, putting the seeds into his back. "That's a nice scarf. Do you want it?"
A closer look at the scarf reveals the lace pattern to actually be hand-symbols. Savanite writing.
"Right!" Lin chirps, I have a few things I could trade. "What does it say?" She asks, looking closely at the scarf as she sets her pack at her feet. "Yeah, think it'd go well with my hat?" She asks Aviri.
The vendor wiggles her ears, than puts her hands together in a typical praying fashion in answer.
"It'd go great with the hat," Aviri agrees, though in a tone that indicates he has no idea if it would or not. He walks over, still smiling and distant with his seeds. "How much is it?"
The woman seems to consider. She smiles and holds up one finger, and gestures with her other hand towards Lin's hat. Because it goes so well is the apparent sentiment.
Lin thinks for a second. "Okay. So it's a prayer for... Safety? Luck? Health?" She asks.
The Savanite mimes hugging herself protectively.
Aviri chuckles. "A prayer for love," he says. "It fits you so well, Lin!" He plays with a sheckle in his hands, obviously ready to give it up if Lin decided she wanted it.
Lin giggles. "I thought she meant safety. Are ya sure you're the real Aviri?" She heckles. "Well thank you! And thank you!" She says to Aviri and the Savanite in turn. Lin also opens her pack and pulls out her wooden container of charcoal and grease. "Ye can have this as well if you like. It's for blacking fur. Good for making neat patterns and stuff. If you'd like it."
The woman sniffs the grease, and nods. She also shows a few more scarves, indicating that Lin should pick two more for the grease and charcoal.
Aviri chuckles and hands the coin over.
The woman makes the coin vanish with a semi-magical looking gesture - or good old sleight of hand.
Lin's ears redden a little and she looks over the scarves, picking out a dark green one and a pale blue one. "Are these okay?" She asks.
"Why wouldn't they be?" Aviri asks curiously. "They look nice."
"Better keep them dry," Trilup says. "They look like the frilly fancy underwear stuff. What are the prayers on them?"
The vendor taps the green one, and then puts her hands next to face and spreads the fingers, makes her eyes go wide and makes a really exaggerated open-mouthed smile.
"The green one is for happyness or expression?" Lin asks.
The woman nods. She taps the blue one, and then points to Aviri. Or rather, to Aviri's pants.
Lin cocks her head at that one. "I don't get it. Mastery of fabrics?"
Trilup elbows both Lin and Aviri and giggles. "I think it's for.. Avirility!" she suggests.
Aviri shakes his head and nudges Trilup away, chuckling but saying nothing.
"Oh har har." Lin groans and loops the blue scarf around Trilup's neck. She reaches up and does the same to Aviri with the green one. "There, perfect. Smiles for Aviri and... Well, not quite the perfect meaning for Tril but I thought the colour'd look nice on you."
Aviri chuckles again. "Thanks, Linyala," he says, pulling the scarf tight. "Very ... planty."
"You bring these things on yourself." Lin grins back, "It fits though, you need ta smile more and green is your colour."
"I'm plenty virile!" Trilup claims, and flexes her arms. "Grraaar! I got some from when Aviri was in me!"
The vendor raises an eyebrow at that comment.
Aviri quickly shakes his head, sighs, and face-palms all in one go. "Trilup ... that's not ..." he sighs and looks at the vendor. "It's not that. At all."
Lin notices the raised eyebrow and shrugs. "Weird magic stuff." She says by way of explanation. "Thank you very much and I hope you enjoy that fur paint. It washes out with soap and a good scrub. Pretty waterproof without it though."
The vendor collects the rest of her wares, and dances away.. looking for her next customer.
Aviri looks at Lin, shakes her head at Trilup. "Well, we all ready to go?" he asks, gesturing onward up the road.
"Sure!" Trilup says, and hugs onto Aviri's arm for a moment. "Soon as you smile real big!"
Lin takes a moment to put on her scarf then strikes a heroic pose, pointing up the road towards Blackshire. "Onwards!" She declares, completely missing what's happening behind her.
The look Aviri gives Trilup is quite a distance from a real big smile. One of concern and embarassment as he looks around at the vendors and tries to shake Trilup off. "Onwards it is," he says.
"I'll lead," Trilup offers, dashing ahead. "Because I'm virile! Hoo! Haw! Gronk!"
"I've created a monster." Lin chuckles.
The road leads through another patch of woods.. although these seem less haunted. At least they do until the air is broken by a terrifying roar-wail-scream, and a cloud of smoke rises up over the treetops ahead.
Trilup runs back behind Aviri. "That's all the virility I had, your turn," she says.
Aviri stops short at the sound. "Dragonwagon?" he asks quietly.
Linyala stands shock still then says hesitantly, "That's the same sound we heard when we were up that tree in the woods with the mouth critters."
"The drawing didn't look as big as that sounds," Trilup points out. She's still waiting for someone else to get them going again.
The Lapi nods and begins edging forward. "Well, it was mechanical ... remember?" he says. "At least that means it won't be hungry."
"Well, if the weird nice lady has it, then it should be fairly safe. Come on, let's go see!" Lin chirps, picking up enthusiasm as she goes.
The road begins to get a little better as they go, turning from packed dirt to gravel and then cobbles. The forest ends, and the road goes on towards what is probably the village.. but right now, there's something very different along it.
The locomotive groans and hisses as it sits on the track. The front of it is a monstrous iron face that does look a bit like a dragon might, full of teeth and spikes and.. there's blood and hair on it too, which a very large wolf is trying to wash away with a mop.
Lin whistles, taking it all in. "That's- That's a lot of metal." She says in awe.
Aviri stares at the locomotive in curiosity and a bit of fear. "What ...?" he asks rhetorically. "I mean ... I think this is the dragonwagon."
The dragon-faces blows a gout of steam from its nostrils after the big wolf finishes dislodging the bits of.. whatever it was that got in front of the thing. There are people in the cars behind the engine, but nobody is getting out at this stop it seems.
"Well, what are we waiting for." Lin chirps and marches up to the nearest wolf, friendly as you please. "Hello there. We've got a deliv'ry for the Lord an' Lady of Blackshire." She anounces.
The man with the mop turns and looks down at Lin. He must be seven feet tall.. and very shaggy. "Yah?" he asks. "Cheese?"
Aviri tilts his head at the wolf. "Er, no. A parcel. Does this ... er ... vehicle, pass by Blackshire?"
"This Blackshire," the man says, and points to the sign. "Village," he says next, and points further along the road. "Castle," he adds. He also looks disappointed about the lack of cheese.
Lin nods when he points to the castle, "Yeah, that's where we're headed, the castle. Is that where this is going?" She gestures at the train, still not entirely sure what to make of it.
Aviri looks to the castle. "Right," he says. The train had distracted him from the signs. "I think we can walk the rest of the way to the castle, Lin," he says. "And no, I don't have any cheese, sorry."
The big wolf nods, then turns and runs for the locomotive. He jumps on as a big bell is ringing (probably iron) and the massive machine begins to move. It's pointing in the wrong direction to be going to the village, but the right direction for going west towards Justininople.
Aviri watches in almost stunned silence as the train moves away. "Dragonwagon," he says again. He finally peels his eyes away from it to look at the town and station and castle.
The town is uphill, and the castle isn't really visible yet. But at least they know which way to go!
Lin looks a little put out that they don't get to ride the train. "Maybe it'll be going from the castle to the town when we're ready to leave?" She suggests hopefully and strikes out towards the castle.
"Not sure I'd want to ride it," Trilup notes. "We can't take it back with us, that's for sure.."
"We don't need to ride it," Aviri says. "It's not even going the right way to get us closer to home for the way back. Plus, I think this is Blackshire station." He points to the sign. "Let's go see how crazy the Duchess is."