[ We find Our Heroes camped in a nook outside the ancient wizard's home! The nook consists mainly of a small lake or huge puddle, whichever is the proper term for a body of water in a cave. Around the edges of the water, however, is about fifteen feet of dry ground before the walls of the cave rise up. ] [ They've been in the dungeon for hours on end, and so they're taking a break. Ariake is currently slee, er, 'meditating'. Ariake snores softly when she 'meditates'. ] [ Our Heros will probably find something to do in the meanwhile, as they relax. Session Start! ] * Istvan has his armor off, and is currently working on patching up a nice little hole where one of the many arrows he blocked with his torso punched through. * Istvan is, for the moment, clad in a tank top and shorts, having shed the thin clothes he usually wears under his armor due to their being, y'know, blood-soaked and filled with jagged holes. * Seylin is reading by the light of a lantern. * Patrick smirks over at Istvan and peeks over Seylin's shoulder (and wing), trying to figure what she's reading. * Seylin absently baps Patrick with her wing. Y'know, I know some fighters that wear all kindsa expesive cloth under their armors... stuff that's extra smooth, extra lightweight, extra soft. And I think to myself: "Goddamn, that's a waste of money that could be going to better armor. Preferably made by me." Hey, what was that for? ^^ * HKenji has very carefully cleaned his kimono, which is now free of tears, thankfully, as well as nasty bloodstains. He kneels opposite Seylin and clears his throat lightly. * Will is, after a loong struggle, out of his armor too! He is currently praying to Bahamut. It's been a while since his last chat with him. ^^ * Seylin looks back at Patrick. "If you want to read, just ask." She's smiling, though. * Seylin either did not notice Kenji or thought he had something in his throat. * Istvan continues muttering to himself about people who don't spend enough keeping their armor in good repair. * Patrick grins. "Well then, what are you reading?" Has anyone seen Alcinoe? Just a novel. It's pretty good. Haven't been lookin' for her. * Seylin looks up. "She's not here?" 'bout what? ^_^ * Will opens his eyes as he finishes praying. "Alci isn't here?" I simply haven't seen her. I've been a bit busy. * Istvan looks up from his armor. "Ditto. Maybe she went to bathe, and wanted a bit of privacy?" * Seylin looks around for Alcinoe, semi-absently handing Patrick her book in the process. * HKenji withdraws five beautifully bound books from his sleeves, one at a time, placing them carefully on a bit of cloth spread on the ground. * Patrick raises an eyebrow and takes the book, quickly glancing at the title. "I am pretty sure Alci's fine." * Will starts walking around the camp searching for Alci. * Alcinoe is kneeling a ways away, still armored, but she must have found the time to heal herself. Her sword and shield lay before of her, and her eyes are closed. * Seylin spots Alcinoe and relaxes a bit. She's over there. Best not disturb her. Very well. I had these books translated for you, anyway. * Will looks over at where Sey said and nods. Oh, are those the ones we talked about a while ago? Yes. * Seylin walks over to where the books are and looks at them. * HKenji picks up the first book, with a simple black cover of a strange material that is definitely not leather. "The Tao of Shinsei. The Lion do not study it, by command of Akodo One-Eye, but the rest of the empire places great importance upon it." * Istvan continues to work on his armor, his travel forge kit laid out around him May I ask why he commanded it? Because the Tao preaches peace above all, and that is not the Lion way. On the steps of Shiro Akodo, engraved into the stone are the words "We practice the Art of War so that others may practice the Art of Peace." Shiro Akodo is your clan's home? * Will sits down and watches Alci from a short distance. * Alcinoe doesn't react. Must be asleep. Er, praying. It is the home of the Akodo, the... founding family. You would call it the capital city, I believe. * Seylin nods. "Okay, I think I see." * HKenji lifts the second book, bound in pristine white. "Kakita's 'The Sword'. It is not solely about swordplay, but about the code of bushido and how to be a good samurai. A Crane book, but still necessary." * Patrick shrugs and flips through the first couple pages of the book Sey handed him. * Seylin nods. * Alcinoe opens her eyes. She looks at Will, smiles a little, and picks up her weapon and shield before clanking over to him and setting them aside again. * Istvan mutters about how kids nowadays don't appreciate the value of paying for top-quality forging. He seems quite caught up in his work. * HKenji picks up the third book, bound in a deep, sinister red with black trimming. "Bayushi Tangen's 'Lies'. An essential treatise on politics and manipulation. I would not have it were it not for the command to know your enemy." * Will smiles back. "Feeling better?" So... are there any of these books that you're supposed to have and that you actually like? The next two, yes. * Alcinoe nods. "Yeah, Ah guess ya could say. Needed that." She starts peeling off her armor. * HKenji raises the fourth book, bound in green with gold trimming. It looks like REAL gold. "I am uncertain how to properly translate this book. The translation magic the wizard used deemed it "Two Heavens as One" but I am unsure of the accuracy. It is the essential Dragon treatise, penned by Mirumoto in opposition to Kakita's "The Sword." Like its opponent, it is a manual not only for swordsmanship, but also for life." * Will grins and helps Alcinoe with her armor. * Seylin looks at it. "It sounds interesting. I mean, they all do, but that one in particular..." And what about the last one? [ Will does not nosebleed while helping Alcinoe out of her armor. This being Will, there's a slight chance that this is because he's got an innocent mind, and not because of unusually great nasal fortitude. ] * HKenji raises the last book, a very well worn book bound in simple white that looks as though it has been sorely used. "Rather than making you a copy of this book, I had a bard translate my own copy. I am giving it to you as a gift. It is called "Leadership", and while the initial portion was written by Akodo One-Eye himself, it has been added to by every great Lion Champion through the ages." * Seylin blinks. "Really? Thank you so much! I'll study it well and take really good care of it!" * Alcinoe gives Will another small smile. "Thanks." * Patrick chuckles. "You're going to be busy reading again, aren't you?" ^^ * Seylin smiles. "And what's wrong with that?" Nothing at all. * Istvan finishes up, and grins. "Anyone else need a temporary patch-up on their armor 'till we get back to a real forge?" * Seylin looks over at Istvan. "Nope, I'm okay!" * Alcinoe gestures to her now-discarded armor. "Ah got nearly as many holes in this thing as you did." * Patrick shakes his head. "Nah, I'm good." * Istvan nods, walks over, and hefts the armor over his shoulder without much difficulty. "I'll do what I can." * HKenji stands and turns away. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must speak with Istvan." * Alcinoe nods. "Thanks." She has a seat next to Will and starts untangling her hair with her fingers. Okay. Thank you! Don't distract him too much from the fixin'. ^^ * Istvan sits down, and starts looking over the holes and muttering softly. "Okay, nothing too major. Can probably smooth out the jagged edges, shape some metal to fill the holes, and use some temporary epoxy to hold it until we get back..." * Seylin takes out a piece of cloth and her canteen and washes her hands as best she can. Then she carefully, almost reverently, picks up the "Leadership" book and starts reading. * Istvan starts picking out the tools he'll need when he notices Kenji walking over. With a grunt, he nods at Kenji to indicate that he came come'n sit. * HKenji kneels near Istvan and withdraws a small bundle of chain from his sleeve. He takes hold of it at two points and lets it unfurl itself, revealing a sheer chain shirt with so many holes it could qualify for sainthood. ... sweet Moradin drunk off his ass on orcish ale. * Will takes a look at the holes in Alci's armor. "Maybe I should help out in the front lines more." Is all that from the last coupla days? Yes. * Alcinoe smiles a little. "Ya don't have ta if ya don't want. We got it more or less taken care of." * Patrick sits down and sets up his uberlamp 10k, if it hasn't been done so aleady. "Wonder when we'll be done with this. Tia'd love runnin' around down here." ... I know you believe in the whole "dodgin' over deflectin' " thing... but you *really* need to invest in some better armor. * Seylin looks up from the new book. "She would, yeah. I think we'll be done soon. I hope." * Will shakes his head. "Nah. Just been defering to Kenji's wisdom in these matters. But I don't want to see you getting shot like this." Not even saying it's gotta be heavy armor like me'n the clerics... but geez. * Alcinoe chuckles. "Could say Ah asked for it." She punches him playfully on the shoulder. "So folks like you don't get shot." I have heavy armor, actually. I generally choose not to use it, however. Such armor is... very heavy and restrictive. And it wouldn't work with the way you fight. I get that. But there's a middle ground between armor like mine and... *holds up the tattered chain shirt* * Will grins wryly. "Yeah. I just stood in the back watching you get shot." I could prolly put together a breastplate or somethin' for ya. It'd go under your robes, and it'd keep your arms'n legs free. It would be appreciated. I ain't no mage, but I'm getting close to the point where I can make armor that's almost as good as if it had a bit of an enchantment. * Alcinoe ruffles Will's hair. "Don'tcha worry 'bout it. Ya had other folks ta take care of." Ah'm sure that if ya decided we needed ya up front, ya'd be there in the heartbeat, whether yer scared or not. * Istvan rubs his neck. "I'm gettin' to the point in my fightin' skills where I can't get too much better unless I'm a helluva lot more focused and motivated than I actually am." * Seylin is still fairly engrossed in the book. You should always focus on the things at which you are best. Your companions will cover your weaknesses. So I'm thinkin' of putting more effort into my forging, and making up for it by learning how to really make top-quality equipment. * Patrick is sitting back, watching Seylin read and/or just thinking about stuff. * Will smiles. "Thanks for your vote of confidence, Alci." And I will be up at the front in the next crazy encounter we get into. * Alcinoe nods. "Any time." She stretches a bit, making herself more comfortable. "Ya sure?" * Istvan sighs. "'cause honestly, I'm a fighter, not a warrior. I get by on physical talent and sheer orneriness, to cover for the fact that I just ain't got the skills that people like you got. And I'm startin' to realize that I'm just about to hit the proverbial wall." * Will nods. "When arrows start flying. Nothing has came at us from behind anyways." * Alcinoe nods slowly. "All right. Better let Kenji know whatcha think 'n' all." Yeah. I guess I should speak with him later. * Alcinoe gets that faint smile again. "Just let 'im know whatcha think. Honesty's what we need." She loses said smile. "Not that we got it from everybody, but it's gotta start an' stay somewhere." ... so yeah. I'll try'n patch up this chain shirt best I can. Thank you. * Will nods at Alci's words. "Yeah. I hope Kenji takes it kindly though." * Alcinoe shrugs. She leans back on her elbows and looks up, to the cavern ceiling. * Istvan holds up the chain shirt, and winces. "Moradin, gimme strength... and some dwarvish ale." * Istvan gets to work on the chain shirt. "Might as well do this first..." [ And so they relaxed a bit, and then resumed tackling the dungeon! Session End! ]