[ We find Taka, Musa, Patrick, and Istvan loitering about the grounds of Shiro Hosokawa. It's a lovely day, for whatever you're after. ] [ Seylin is currently off taking a EvDAR survey of the area. ] [ Session Start! ] * Patrick grins! * Istvan is currently seated on the floor, his shield laying next too him, a drawing pad in his lap, and a pencil in his hand. He's obviously sketching something. * Takara has pulled out the Go set! She is currently kicking Musa's ass, not that the rest of you would know. * Musa is losing, but Yoshi points out an excellent move that puts him back in the running... not like he can keep up with Takara or anything. * Istvan scowls, rips out a page, crumples it up, stuffs it into his haversack, and resumes sketching. * Patrick snickers. "What're you doing, Istvan?" * Takara places another piece and says, without looking up, "" Trying to draw the family crest I wanna have the smith here put onto this shield. I know how to draw a bit... learned how to design armor'n such before I made it... but I can't come up with a design that's... right. What, a pizza with a hammer and a pick crossed over it is too hard to draw? Flanked by two bottles of ale, of course. * Takara blinks at Patrick. "" A what what? * Takara hesitates, then says, "Piitsu?" Pizza. Flattened bread with cheese and tomato sauce on it. Very good. * Patrick thinks for a little. "Oh, pizza? It's uh... a pie. With tomato sauce, lots of cheese, and other toppings cooked very hot." * Istvan then shakes his head at Patrick. "That was my sixth drawing. Didn't like it." ... Pai? Flattened circle of bread, Takara. With a crust around the edge. * Takara nods slowly. The look on her face shows that she absolutely does not understand how that could be appetizing. You add tomato sauce, then cheese, then pretty much anything else you want on top. Then you bake it in an oven until the cheese melts. s'good stuff. 'specially with a tankard of good, strong ale. Or some soda. And some fried potatos. ... Sou da? No, no, tankard of ale, thankyouverymu- that's it. *grins; starts sketching rapidly* *drawdrawdrawerasedrawdrawdraw* * Istvan draws one final line, holds the drawing up to the light, then pumps his fist. "Perfect." * Takara still looks confused. * Istvan turns to Takara, about to show off his drawing, then pauses when he sees her confused look. "... right. Soda. Water sweetened with a sugary syrup, with bubbles in it." * Takara nods. * Istvan then holds out the sketch for the others to see. It's a tankard of ale, froth overflowing the top. A fist is reaching out of the froth, clutching a blacksmith's hammer. ( IT CAME FROM THE GOLDEN TANKARD! ) * Patrick laughs. "That works." My parents' adventuring group was the Fist of the Tankard... honors them, add my own touch... and I don't hafta worry about anyone else using the same crest. * Takara tilts her head. Or a hammer from some ale. * Istvan nods at Takara. "I was raised by the dwarves, who you call the stout people. They taught me to fight and how to smith. The closest thing the dwarves has to a god, Moradin, uses a hammer as one of his symbols. So I guess it's doubly appropriate." * Takara nods. ( "He is. He can even out-drink Osano-Wo." ) * Istvan shrugs his shoulders. "He's not a god, technically. He's a hero that rose to be a... I don't know how to describe it, actually. He's not as powerful as a god, but he's not mortal either." Try demigod. * Istvan puts a hand over his heart. "But We Are All Safe Within His Beard, And The Ale From His Tankard Refreshes Us When Battle Has Worn Us To The Bone." * Istvan points over at Pat. "Demi-god. That works." * Takara nods slowly, looking at the symbol. Then she smiles. "" * Patrick grins to Takara. "Now do you honestly think that or are you just saying it to make him feel better?" * Istvan grins. "Appreciate it." *throws his pencil at Patrick* * Patrick catches it without even looking. 'cuz he's uber like that. * Takara laughs a little. "" She points at one of the two on her kimono: It's just a hand, all fingers together, inside a circle. "" Noble idea, that. * Takara smiles and bows. "" Yeah, that's a pretty awesome title too. But can't someone just move your hand? It's immovable. You can't move the immovable hand. [ Seriously. ] Nah, you can move an immovable rod with enough force. Not an immovable rod of peace. It's too peaceful. Can you make an immovable rod of peace? Some crazy mage out there must've made one. If he did, it must be extra-immovable. Because it's made of peace. * Takara just sort of watches them. Now just imagine how imovable the rod would be if it was made of peace... and LOVE. ( OH SHI-- ) Damn, that'd be unbreakable too. * Takara blinks a few times. She tries to figure out if they're making fun of her clan somehow. But it's so hard to tell. Now, what if you added Justice into the mix? * Istvan nods sagely, then turns back to Takara. "So, in conclusion, you family's crest and slogan is really, really awesome. * Patrick nods. * Takara makes a little oh sound, then bows. "" * Istvan bows back. "So your whole family does the diplomacy thing?" Ide? That's your family? * Takara nods. "" * Musa beats his chest once and grins. "" * Takara turns and places another stone. "" * Musa puts another stone down, looking at Yoshi's movements before he makes an unexpected move. "" * Takara rolls her eyes. "" She places another piece. * Musa mock-pouts as he puts down another piece. * Takara studies the board for a moment, then places her piece. * Istvan eyes the board, and looks over at Patrick. "Looks kinda like checkers." Or chess. * Musa puts down another piece, fumbling it slightly before placing it to minimize damage. "" I suck at checkers. Even moreso at chess. Ain't got the patience for it. Ah. * Takara puts a piece in a place Musa neglected. "" she grins. ... which I should, because I can spend hours hammering a white-hot chunk of metal into shape. Go figure. * Istvan pauses in thought. "Maybe it's my stunning inability to think strategically." Ya think? * Patrick grins. Could be part of it. * Musa sighs and puts down another piece, taking a small consolation prize from Takara's forces. I know my limits. I ain't a thinker, and I ain't a general. I hit stuff hard, and I make good stuff to hit stuff and survive getting hit. Ain't as glamorous as leading troops into battle... but dwarves don't do glamour. Even really tall dwarves. *grins* ^^ ( That is what one might call a "hare-brained scheme". XD ) (I'd expect that to come from Jesse.) ... hey, Takara, is there a smith around here I could have make the crest, now that I have a drawing? * Takara nods. "" * Istvan nods back. "If it's not too much trouble, yeah. Now that I've sketched out what I want..." * Takara smiles. "" She rises to her feet. * Istvan stands as well, picking up his shield as he does and strapping it to his back. *gestures ahead* "Lead on." *grins* * Takara does! * Istvan follows! [ Taka leads Istvan (and, perhaps, the other two as well) towards a small town of perhaps twenty small homes. It isn't far from the castle, and many of the homes have smoke floating out through covered vents in the cielings. ] * Istvan nods appreciatively. "Village of smiths." * Takara smiles and nods, stepping carefully through and avoiding any animal dung on the way. Her kimono doesn't even get dusty. [ From the smell, apparently the village has other professions as well; potters and bakers, notably. ] There a specific smith expecting us? * Takara sweeps by a couple of peasants (you can tell because they are not nearly as nicely dressed as samurai) and reaches one home in particular. She taps the doorframe with her knuckles. * Istvan nods at various peasants as he passes, then waits behind Takara as she knocks. [ The sound of a hammer being set down are followed shortly by a man dressed as a peasant opening the door. "" ] [ Inside the small home is a small, vaguely fez-shaped anvil next to a fire enclosed in a ceramic furnace. ] * Istvan unstraps his shield from his back, and pulls his sketch of his proposed crest out of his pocket while he waits for Takara to explain. * Takara smiles and offers him a short bow. "" [ "" He looks at Istvan for a moment. "" ] * Takara enters the abode. [ The man looks over the proposed Mon. "" ] * Istvan bows. "Tell him I appreciate his time and effort..." *reaches into his haversack; pulls out an armfull of red dragon scales* "... and tell him I would like him to have these, in thanks for his work. They are the scales of a red dragon." * Takara nods and turns to the peasant to translate. "" [ The man's eyes bug. "" ] * Istvan bows again. "Tell him I'm sure his work will be nothing short of excellent, and look forward to seeing it." * Takara nods. "" [ The man nodnods. "" ] [ Session End! ]