Dinner Conversations (Aeos/Euphimos C)

[Aeos]

With the whole ordeal with the fall behind him, Aeos found himself stirring a stew pot. He took it upon himself to work with the border guard in order to repay them for their kindness. The young dragon knew the situation could have been much worse. He could have been captured, robbed, or murdered. Cooking did well to clear his mind too. The encounter with the monster in black armor scarred him in more ways then one.

The scent of good stew filled the air. It brought a warm smile to the young man. He carefully plucked the tiny leaves off of some rosemary, chopped them up finely, and threw it into the pot. It was a simple stew of potatoes, vegetables. There was some jerky that could be used for meat but he suggested that every man put a little jerky into their own bowls. The dragon quietly took a fork and plunged it into the stew. The potatoes were still a little firm.

"Hmm.. A few more minutes." He put the lid back onto pot in order to give the contents some privacy. Aeos enjoyed cooking. He took pride in the fact that he could turn a few simple ingredients into something tasty. Into something that people enjoy. Food did wonders to soothe a creature's body and their soul.

He felt like he was being watched as he made the preparations to cook. He suspected that there were many in the group who distrusted him. And he couldn't blame them. He'd only just met the crew a few hours ago and under the most unusual of circumstances. Also there was the whole issue that he could not fully come to explain why the forest had been damaged so. He hoped that the food would be enough of a peace offering. Or perhaps.. they might just be hungry.

[Euphemious]

"So what is he cooking", spoke Euphemious as he stared at Aeos by the cooking fire. A couple of men had been keeping a eye on the dragon from far, but by Euphemious orders they have remained civil. A lot of them did not like the idea of a stranger eating and staying with them for a while, but the sergeant seemed fixed on keeping the guy happy.

"Just a simple stew with a few veggies", spoke the watcher.

"Pshaw, veggies soup", spoke Euphemious with disgust. "He should have been preparing Black Soup. Fits the job more."

"Black Soup", spoke the watchmen with surprise. "That stuff is disgusting!"

"Speak for yourself", spoke Euphemious as he walked over to the fire Aeos was cooking at. At the moment the knight had a few question he wanted to ask the young man before the sun rose. "So what are you cooking", spoke Euphemious breaking the ice. The Knight waited a while for small conversation before he got into the true meat of the matter.

"So... Aeos was it. I am going to have to ask you a question. This monster you spoke about. You said it attacked you and then you used your special ability to escape its grasp. Well do you know anything about this monster? What were you doing before you were attacked? Why would it attack you? Did it's attack have anything to do with your... talent, or is this just a random attack on the road and it so happen to be one of your skills. I need to know all the information about this creature as I can. There could be a chance that it moves into Bern and if that happen me and the Rebellion soldiers will have to face it in battle. Every little piece of information would most definitely be helpful."

[Aeos]

He noticed Euphemious approach and ask the dragon what was he cooking. Aeos casually replied that it was poison. He looked up to see the knight's un-amused.

"Oh come now, Euphmious. You art so stern. Such seriousness will put thee in an early grave. But alas.. I have made some vegetable stew. I haft opted to exclude meat from the recipe for I know not if thar be those who do not eat it." The dragon carefully took two pieces of thick cloth and carefully moved the pot, and iron spit away from the fire. The whole thing was still close enough to the flames to keep the pot warm.

"I haft seen thy .. no.. your men watch me as I cooked. They can vouch safe that there be no poison in it. Please do not take my poor attempt at a jest seriously." He sighed softly. He heard Euphemious ask a barrage of questions about the monster and his talents. This brought a rare frown to the man's face.

"Sir. Doth.. thou.. er." He cleared his throat for a moment.

"Do you know why I choose to take the duty of cooking for the morning. See there be a simple art in cooking. I find it to be quite soothing. Cutting up vegetables, fetching the water, spices, and bringing it all together and make something wonderful. I choose... choice?.. Opted to make the stew, for it is hardy. One ladle full would be enough to keep thy belly warm and hunger at bay for several hours." His calm voice shifted slightly to one of slight annoyance.

"It.. also helped for me to push back.. the thoughts oft the monster and focus on the new day. But you.. are a guard captain.. or.. captain of the guard. Who must look out for thy crew and thy country. But If I am to give thy.. honest opinion. I suggest thou take thy crew and run should you see it. I have told you all I knew before hand. I was being accompanied by a few nomads before encountering the creature upon the road. It wast about to kill another innocent man before we intervened." He sighed softly again. Then picked up a bowl and poured himself a ladle of stew. I spent the night praying to the ancestors to guide those brave souls to the here after.

As for my talent. I do not know if it knew I possessed it. It wanted my ...the stone I carry with me. A gift from my birth right. I cannot lose it. He paused to munch on the stew. It was quite good.

"Thou can tell your group the food is ready. There is enough for each person to get a ladle and half full for their bowls."

[Euphemious]

"My apologies", spoke Euphemious. Flynn had told him to work on his manors, but the Knight was as stern as the stone. "Sorry I am a very serious person. It is true we interrogated you the moment we found you and we should not be interrogating you again after you went though the work of making dinner", spoke Euphemious as he picked up a bowl and filled it with stew. Before he was going to call any of his men he was going to taste it first. It was Euphemious way. His men would vouch that he did not put anything in it unusual, but Euphemious had to be a hundred percent sure it was not poisonous. Though he did not tell Aeos that. He simply hid it behind casual conversation and a bit of stew.

"Well as a apology let me tell you a story", spoke the Knight as he sipped on the stew. "It is not a long one, but it has everything to do with me being so serious and my instincts to barrage you with questions." The knight then turned the bowl at a 75 degree angle and devoured the stew as if he was drinking water. "Not long ago there was a foolish knight searching for a fools treasure. He and several other fools stumbled into a old ruin filled with ash and black outlines of men. The fools though they had found an ancient temple dating back to the final days of Hartumt. They were sure they would find treasure and ancient relics that would make them both rich and famous. However the fools found something different, something darker. In the center chamber there was a golden statue of a dragon and words warning inscribed onto it. By the time the Knight and the adventures found the statue the words were faded from age. Without the warning and without knowing what the statue stood for the fools went on and there actions caused something ancient to wake from its slumber. soon the fools were barraged with fire and flames. The Ancient thing ripped the roof off the tomb and flew into the night sky. In its wake were two injured adventures and the foolish knight who stared on. The knight watched as the Ancient burned a village to the ground. Its fury ripped across the country side destroying all in its path. The knight challenged the Ancient, hoping to trick it to setting the hay on fire and burning itself. However it saw though its trap and clawed the knight instead. Leaving the foolish knight bleeding and nearly dead it flew away to ravage the rest of Bern. This was the result of the foolish Knight''s foolish decision. Because he did not take the warnings at the entrance seriously other people died."

As Euphemious finished speaking he turned to his men looking on. "Hey there is some stew here for any of you who are hungry."

"You see Aeos that foolish knight was me", spoke Euphemious. "If I do not take things seriously other people might die."

[Aeos]

The dragon man stared in some awe for a moment as he watched the knight consume the hot stew as if it were nothing. He wondered how he had done it. The broth and vegetables were still quite hot even after moving the pot away from the fire. He knew if he tried to replicate that his mouth and bits of his face would be scalded. Aeos continued to eat quietly as Euphemious began his story.

"Thou.. You are very fortunate to still be alive. And.. I am sorry. For the lives lost and for the village." Out of instinct he got up and lightly bowed. He was not responsible for the lives lost and the damage wrought. But still out of a sense of duty for his race, he bowed. The man quietly finished his bow and returned to sitting down and finished his stew.

"I understand.. that sternness is needed for survival. But life be far too short to keep that... seriousness up for so long. Even the most dangerous of animals in nature take a time out to relax and roll around in the dust. It is a not a best analogy, but I.. am not quite.. used to giving such advice. Or so sure oft my words with modern tongue." He took a moment to put the bowl aside and wipe his mouth.

"I assume this.. tale is not one you speak of often? I understand thar would be skeptics. But thou had learned a wise lesson that day. And it made thee stronger. Much like the way an animal learns not to eat the poison leaves after spending a night being ill. And now..thou has learned to use thy error and safeguard more lives." He made another pause this time to brush the hair from his face.

"I haft heard tales of ancient creatures much like the one you haft spoken of. They.. harbor a hate for humans for a war long ago. But.. not all. Like people.. there are some who.. have justification for such hate. While others.. wish to simply let the hate go. I possess a tale or two oft those creatures. One day maybe I can tell it." His hand pressed his stone close to his chest. Close to his heart.

But.. well. I do not wish to speak of such things. Tis be things that are beyond our current comprehension. Perhaps.. thou could tell me more about Bern. Nabata doth not have lush greenery as this."

[Euphemious]

"Bern", spoke Euphemious. "Yes lets talk of Bern", spoke the Sergeant as a couple of his men came and grabbed a bowl. Euphemious had not intention of telling them that he suspects the man in there company to be a dragon. First they would not believe him and second he would be putting all of there lives in serious danger. Still he felt that he needed to talk about the subject more. There were some blank spots that needed to be filled. However he could not do so plainly, not with some of the boys now around.

"Well it is hard to describe Bern. It has always been home to me so many things I take for granted. So the best way to tell about a land would be to start with its most important element, people. The people of Bern are strong, bold, and brave. War runs deep in our blood along with pride and resilience. It is because of this however that Bern has so many bandits. Men who have given themselves to there base instincts like beasts or dragons of legend. However you have to understand that not all dragons are fire and steel. Some of them are misunderstood and some may not be your enemy. So when one looks at a bernite one has to understand that they stand for themselves. You can not judge us all for the actions of a few. Keep your head on and your eyes open."

Euphemious prayed he got his message across, though he could have made it worse by comparing bandits to dragons. Still the men were no wiser and Euphemious could switch to his next subject. "Now if you talk about the land then you should know that Bern is a gigantic mountain, or that is at least what my grandmother use to say", chuckled Euphemious. There are a lot of mountains in Bern and plenty of valleys. At the base of the mountains the ground is covered with tree's, moss, and flowers in the spring and summer. Once fall sets in the leaves turn a bright orange and begin to fall to the earth. In winger the land is blanketed by white snow which freezes everything in its path. Only to recede back up into the mountain once spring rolls in. My advice to you is to try the apple pie in all the Inns in Bern. The apples here taste like no other."

[Aeos]

“Ah, thy seasons here sound wonderful. Much better than Nabata’s permanent summer. And I shall take thee up on thy offer to eat apple pies. And with each one I shall remember thy advice.” He spoke with cheer in his voice. We do have a guilty pleasure for sweets. His mind recalled a very vivid memory of his youth. Of a time his parents spent a day in one of the border villages, during a festival. And had a pie eating competition and how he baffled the competition by taking first place. He was such a small and scrawny young boy. The spirit within his stone chimed in a voice only the dragon could hear. HE.KNOWS.WHAT.YOU.BE. But Aeos dismissed it. He mentally told the spirit to calm itself. There was no need to be worried. Euphemious and his crew are not a threat to him.

“Pride seems to run deep within all cultures. Even those oft us born from the dunes have our sense oft pride for our land. Nabata as thou knows is one large desert. On occasion thou may see the remains oft a forgotten time peek itself from out the sand. On it’s fringes in-land, borders Eutria and Lycia. And thar be border skirmishes between the two. Then thar be parts of the desert that meet the sea. That land be slightly more hospitable. To the south lie the mountains, which act as a barrier from the sea. It wast in the small patches of land between mountain border and sea that I wast raised upon. It wast upon that craggy soil I learned to live oft both the sea’s gifts and the mountain’s shadow. I doth.. er.. Do not know what it is... but I do would not wish for my homeland to be taken from me. Perhaps it be the same pride that runs in thy people’s veins.” He paused for a moment. Thinking carefully on the next few words.

“But worry not Euphemious. In light oft my talents my parents taught me how to be civil. Raised practicing an ancient art of meditation and nature watching. When not doing either life was filled with chores and looking out for food. We had more on our mind to do and think then to wage war… grudges for acts oft the past. It be in the past and should not cloud thy judgement oft the future.” He spoke with calm voice and warm voice. Perhaps a small tidbit of information of his upbringing would put the knight at ease. The knight may have not known it, but Aeos could tell. His heightened natural instincts could read the small subtleties of the knight. He suspected that Aeos was one of dragon kin. He did not want to be associated with the fiery creature of the knight’s past.

“Tis a small shame that some of my kin do not share the same thoughts. But that be their problem not my own.” The man looked around. There were some of the border guard eating, some laughing, other’s playing a game of sort. The atmosphere felt good. A stray wind blew, bringing with it a fortune for the dragon to read. Rain. He tilted his head up at the sky. The clouds were thick and cast a heavy shadow.

“Seems that it will be raining soon. In my culture each rain is a blessing oft the spirits. Though I do not think thy people would appreciate the down pour.”

[Euphemious]

"Aye your words speak true, we do not appreciate the rain as much here", spoke Borgus as he looked up into the sky. The knight cringed at the sight. Rain was always bad for boarder guard duty. The heavy rain and thunder made keeping an eye on pass difficult and the moisture would rust your armor if you were not careful. It was going to be a long night for Euphemious. Still he preyed it fell at night fall. He did not want to have the rain drops falling on his head.

Now however Euphemious was eager to change the subject. He had enough talk about dragons and the danger they presented. Aeos had given him a response he could accept and to be truthful Euphemious could not stop the man even if he tried. In his true form this man could whip them all out with little effort. Euphemious learned that well when dealing with Drax. The fact that he had not declared himself a god yet proved that the two of them were different and that was enough for the kngiht.

"Speaking of your homeland and your long journey", spoke Euphemious with some vigure. "What would you find to be the strangest since you left your homeland. I have not been outside of Bern and many other parts of the world sound strange to me. I wanted to know if some of the rumors I heard were true and if there truly was a culture gap between the nations. Oh and if you could spare a tale how is Lycia. I heard the city states were in shambles since the appearance of the monsters."

Euphemious had done it unconsciously again. At first it was his own interest in cultures, but work and politics squeezed its way back into it. With the kngiht it always seems too. Euphemious could not help it, but his mind was always focus on the well being of Bern and the Rebellion. With Lycia in chaos people began to move. Some of them come to Bern and add extra pressure onto the nation. The monster of Lycia also cross the mountains. Rumors and stories of hordes of undead have circulated all around the region. Everything became a thousand times worse once the monsters showed themselves. Not only did the rebellion have to fight a civil war, but they also had to protect towns from monster attacks and drain resources solving the problems.

[Aeos]

"The strangest thing?" The dragon asked back with a bit of inquisitive tone. He placed his hand on his chin as he thought. It was a bit before he could come up with a suitable answer.

"Meat-Pies." It was the first strange thing he could think of.

"Upon my arrival in Lycia thy ship captain said to try the local delicacy of Badon. Badon be'th a port city. Thy trade be shipping, trade, and fishing. Now, I be no stranger to sea fish. As a matter o fact I love me some good sea food." He rubbed his stomach a bit to emphasize the point.

"But in Nabata we harvest fish fromth the sea. And either salt it so it dry or we gut it and cook it for the day's meal. Which given the climate oft the land it be usually campfire cooked, grilled, or in some cases turned into stock with flat bread. The same holds true for the goat meat, chicken, or lizard. The local special oft the day was Eel Pie. I do.. not know'eth what cook decideth that turning meats into pie wast a good idea." He shook his head.

"The pie be not like the pie I wast expecting. I be used to pie being sweet with fruit. Not filled with meats, bah! Twas bad! I ate the slice given to me out oft courtesy. But not again will I eat it willingly." Aeos took a moment to grab a drink of water from his canteen. After wards he let out quite a relieved sigh.

"Hmm.. I doth not know the situation of the city states as a whole. I only know what I havt seen. I havt met families of farmers whom the war hast not touched. And blessed be neither haft the monsters. But they havt been touch by bandits. They seem to be a problem in all parts. I havt walked through villages in shambles. Some burnt to ash. Upon my third night in Lycia I had'th witnessed the living dead. They were few in number fortunately and dispatched by the local guard. But not before they hath slaughtered a child. The poor thing. Ostia, remains a blackened char oft the earth. And only monsters, outlaws, and the most hardy oft souls call that place home." He tried to think of a little more.

"I hear rumors oft wild monster dogs who roam the plains and stalk the mountains. And oft a Bael filled forest. I havt been fortunate not to run into those. The monsters doth not seem to like to travel into large cities. They.. from what I have heard. Pick oft those who live in villages further away. Though.. I could be wrong. A nomad had'th told me of a city to the far east that been attacked by monsters. But I know not if that be true. Sometimes.. information.. changes between people." He looked up again. The clouds were now blanketing the sky with dark grey clouds.

"I.. do believe the rain will be upon us soon. Should we not be busy securing belongings away forth safety? No one like's soggy things."

[Euphemious]

"Ai, it does look like it is about to rain. If you want you can sleep in the barracks for the night", spoke Euphemious. The rebellon had set up camp in a old restaurant near there location. With a little work they got the building up to standard and had been using it as a barracks for the boarder guard. It was not a choice hotel or a quality inn, but it was dry and that was all that mattered tonight.

However Aeos words about Lycia worried Euphemious. The placed seemed almost as bad as Bern. He figured they would have a lot easier time with the political stability, but that did not seem the case. With all the monsters in Lycia running around chaos was just as bad. Someone really should do something about the monster problem. If Euphemious was not busy with the rebellion he might have left Bern to take care of it himself. Maybe after they defeat Ilia and restore his families noble title Euphemious might go to the land and see it for himself. He was sure they could use some aid.

"Oh and just for the record, all meat pies taste horrible", spoke Euphemious toward his mysterious friend. The knight never liked them and he was surprised the vegetable loving dragon even took a bite out of it. Still it kind of made him wonder. What turns a creature as powerful and fearsome as a dragon into a vegetarian. From the way he talked meat was never on the menu. Then again it was probably in there best interest that he did not eat meat.

"Alright boys pack up the stuff and lets move out", shouted Euphemious.

[End Thread]

[Aeos]

Aeos kept Euphemios' mention of all meat pies being terrible to heart. It seemed that it was a common thing. If only he knew that information on the day he arrived in Lycia. With a bit of a sigh the man got up and began to help with what he could. He had been given permission to spend the night in the barracks.

The rain started to come down. And Aeos took his place in the barracks. He was dry but he felt kind of bad for those who still had to stand guard in the rain. He had hoped perhaps one day when he had better control over his own developing magic perhaps he could give these good people a better day. For now though Aeos was content to have his head and his belongings dry. Although the young dragon considered each rain a blessing of the sky he still did not like of his belongings getting wet. He certainly didn't want his journal getting wet. He needed that to send his messages back home.

The rain lasted for majority of the day. By morning the dragon man had said his goodbye and left the company of Euphemios and his border guard. He tried to keep his mind clear and focused on his path ahead. Perhaps one day he would run into the guard again and greet the knight. But for now he needed to make his way out of Bern and to the nearest tavern. To make good on his promise to eat apple pie.

END SUPPORT.