In the Big Rock Candy Mountains,
The jails are made of tin.
And you can walk right out again,
As soon as you are in.
There ain't no short-handled shovels,
No axes, saws nor picks,
I'm bound to stay
Where you sleep all day,
Where they hung the jerk
That invented work
In the Big Rock Candy Mountains.
-Harry McClintock
Gustav, Judoc, Rondald and Terri stand shoulder to shoulder in their finest clothes, Terri having even bought a new dress for the occasion, though they still feel very much out of place.
The hallway around them was forty feet wide and rose in arches that were twenty or more feet high. The whole of it was decorated with tapestries, stained glass, and chandeliers with real bees wax candles. The man across from them was likely no better in station than they were, a footman if Gustav was to guess - though the man was dressed in pristine livery, the white of his shirt crisp and flawless with stark contrast to the black jacket and tails. He wore a bowtie that was a sort of mid-summer sky's blue, the sort of color that one never saw outside of a flower, and yet here it was adorning a man's collar. It distracted.
After traveling the weeks long journey from Three Corners to Craine at the behest of Duke Bran, who had relayed a message that he was intending on rewarding the group that had allayed the threat of the Necromancer in al-Wazif, it had still been another week after the four had arrived in the city before they had received a formal invitation to the castle. They had arrived that morning, just after the break of dawn, only to wait for several hours in a sitting room then to be hurried off into the Duke's formal chambers... a throne room of sorts...
The man, Thomas as it were, had been talking to them for the last five or so minutes about etiquette, a subject which made Rondald's head spin, though Judoc and Gustav had at least some experience in other social hierarchies.
...When he approaches, you bow, right arm under your chest, palm up, head and shoulders down to about shoulder height. Make sure it's deep enough, if not your are insulting him, though if you go too deep you are just embarrassing yourself, he's not a king after all." Thomas looks over to Terri, gesturing with his hand.
"You curtsy, head and eyes down, left foot behind right, down to shoulder height as well... Let him speak first, he knows you are coming and he has something planned, though if he talks to you, don't act the fool and say nothing, he's not always the most patient. Make sure you don't turn your back to him. He'll dismiss you when you can leave, when that happens, two steps back before you turn, it wouldn't hurt to bow again, though you don't have to worry about it being deep enough this time it's more of just a courtesy after all."
Thomas takes a moment to catch his breath, scanning the four before his eyes land on Rondald.
"Just so you know, the full court is here today, including the formal guards so don't make any moves that are too sudden, we don't want to give anyone the wrong impression. I know they took your weapons at the door..." And indeed, they had taken all the weapons - Gustav was quite annoyed to have to entrust the under butler with the black sword.
"But still that's no reason to say you can just make people as jumpy as you want. Best you just keep your movements slow and predictable."
From behind Thomas, another man in livery appears, leaning over the footman's shoulder as he says,
"He's ready." loud enough for the others to hear.
"Excellent." Thomas responds with a turn of his head before walking around Gustav and brushing at the swordsman's shoulder as if swiping off a bit of offending dust.
"Off you go then. Good luck."
The four walk, side by side along the plush, red carpet, turning together at the wide, open doorway and into the room beyond.
The place is massive, with vaulted ceilings that reach high into the air, forty feet or more. Either side of the room is lined by various men and women in dress that puts all four to shame. Men with starched shirts and gold buttons, epaulets and fringe. Women wear dresses of the deepest reds and greens, their ears and necks bedecked in sparkling gems with hair that more often than not is shaped upwards on their head into elaborate shapes as opposed to Terri, who wears hers down in a tight woven plait.
"Ah!" Duke Bran no doubt is at the end of the carpeted walk, standing up from a thick and ornate wooden chair.
"Our heroes!" The duke begins to walk towards Gustav, Judoc, Rondald and Terri even as they approach, his arms are stretched out ahead of him.
"I hear I am to thank you for preventing an invasion of our border! No small feat! Come, tell me of your amazing deeds!"
OOC: It is 1000 on June 13th, 2005. You guys made it back to Three Corners about two weeks ago, then nearly immediately left for Craine when you received word that Duke Bran wanted to reward those responsible for defeating the Necromancer. Finn departed you guys at al-Hassan, and was not aware of the call. Magnus opted to stay at the fort, as he didn't trust that the duke's good will would carry on to a minotaur, nor that he would get along well in a new city.
Terri's arm is now healed and she is no longer wearing a sling. All of your weapons were taken at the door, though if you wish you can still be wearing your armor. Terri is not. Everyone has the option to roll against Savoire-Faire (high society). Those with another version of Savoire-Faire may roll at a default of -2 based on all the guidance you have gotten from Thomas, otherwise you are on your own not to make a fool out of yourself.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:47, Sat 21 Mar 2020.