Edmund insisted on accompanying the group back, which made sense given that without the heroes there would be next to no defenses to keep him safe in case anyone else stumbled upon the keep.

Once again the adventurers were hailed as the heroes of Ashford after news spread that they had routed the orcs that had raided the town and freed Pinna and the others.

The children of Ashford swarmed the heroes peppering them with questions.

"Did you fight a giant?"

"How many orcs did you slay?"

"Did you use any spells? I bet you were casting lightning bolts and fire balls all over the place!"


The chattering was nonstop and thankfully nobody seemed to notice Edmund slinking around the group. The adventurers overheard some people whispering wondering whose kid that was and the consensus around the crowd by the time they had reached the village proper was his family was ambushed by the orcs while traveling through the woods and now he was an orphan. Already the Mayor was making comments about adopting the kid, at least temporarily until a permanent home could be found.

Mayor Osric dragged the heroes to the center of town, not taking no for an answer.

"Gather round! Gather round! I have a proclamation to make! I hearby declare..."

His voice faltered as a commotion arose from the crowd. People started being shoved this way and that as someone pushed their way through to the front.

"Ain't nobody got time for yet another one of your proclamations! Wait until the morning."

Whether Giselle was more like a guardian angel or an overprotective parent was anyone's guess but she shoved her way through the front and shut down Osirc, deflating the mayor before he could even begin his speech.

"What, there isn't any work to do? All of you, back off! Give these ladies some room to breath. They just came from battle and a long march so let me make my own proclamation. You're going to go back to your homes and let them rest and clean themselves and then maybe...maybe they can discuss their adventure."

She took the Mayor by his arm and gently shoved him back towards his manor. The mayor looked pleadingly at Giselle's husband, Gowan but all the mayor got was a shrug of helplessness in response.

"Alright alright alright, I'm going. We'll...I suppose it can wait. But it's an important announcement so it won't wait for long."

Giselle folded her arms and stared daggers at anyone who lingered too long, the mayor included. With a great sigh and grumble the crowd started breaking up and Giselle motioned for the group to follow her.

"After everything you all have done for the village a free stay at the Reluctant Pig is the least Gowan and I can do for you. Go upstairs and get yourselves rested and refreshed. I can only hold up the rest of these nosey gnolls for so long."

She paused, seemingly looking down to see Edmund hovering in the shadow of the group for the first time.

"Oh...hello. And who might you be?"

Edmund just gave a shrug and looked back at the heroes. Giselle's brow furrowed at the odd reply and she shifted to address the question to the group.

"Who is that? Another prisoner of the orcs? Is he from around here?"

Angel was aloof and quiet on their return to Ashford, until the village children surrounded them and began peppering the companions with questions. The she-elf's face lit up with genuine delight at being swarmed by the small mob, and she paused to interact with each of the question-askers -- often kneeling down to meet the little ones on their level and punctuating her answers with some clever sleight of hand tricks for their enjoyment.



"Oh much worse," Angel replied, eyes wide with mimed fear. "'Twas Bonebreaker Dorokor we faced. A warrior woman Bloodchief among a tribe of orcs so fierce that not even giants dared mess with them!"



"Dozens!" Angel answered, for emphasis holding out both hands -- which suddenly had way too many fingers than normal. She waited a moment for the children to notice the extra fingers and then quickly flexed her hands -- the right number of fingers present again when she opened them once again.



"Only a bit of clever magic," Angel replied, pulling a gold coin from the ear of the little girl who'd asked. "'Twas Lady Yry who saved the day. At the sight of what those monsters had done to poor Pinna, Lady Yry shed a tear so beautiful and pure that it melted the orcs' cold hearts and made them run all the way back to the mountains. And so hasty did they flee that the Bloodchief even left her war-horn behind... See." She finished, holding out the orcish battle horn for the children to look at.

---

Her interaction with the children finished for now, Angel went back to being more standoffish with the adults, though a pleased smile now graced her pretty face.



"Oh that's Peter," Angel answered, a wry grin curving her mouth. (OOC: For reference to Angel's joke see post #166 of this thread link to a message in this game )  "We found him with the orcs, and from what we can gather he's an orphan."

Giselle casts a suspicious look at Angel as she eyes the boy up but whatever concerns she has are dismissed as she motions the boy closer.

"Peter, huh? You know what? I have some pie that was just freshly baked and I don't think I have anyone around who can help me eat it all. Do you think you could help me with that?"

Giselle was a mother but of children much younger than Edmund and that was clearly showing as she treated the boy like he was half his age.

Edmund...that is to say "Peter"...puffed his chest in indignation. Hiding his true identity was clearly chaffing him but this latest bit of condescension seemed a step too far.

"Lady Innkeeper, I'll have you know that I am not some babe still attached to his wetnurse. You should treat me like an adult and just offer me a slice like any other patron."

Giselle took a step back at the pompious reply and she cast a look at the party wondering what she had done to earn his ire. Luckily for Edmund, Giselle was fairly even tempered and seemed to be willing to make a lot of allowance given the situation. Nobody held any illusions that someone imprisoned by orcs for weeks or longer would come back with a cheery attitude. Without another word Giselle went into the back to prepare a proper plate for her new "patron" and the rest of her company.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:22, Wed 30 Mar 2022.

Talia smiled into Giselle's confusion and then ruffled Edmund's hair. "Aye, some pie for us all I should think if there's enough. Thank you. We've had a rough night and that's no lie. All will be explained before the coun cil come the morn, I should expect." As she mentioned the last, she glanced down at the uppity "orphan" and rolled her eyes in exasperation. Anyway, food and a bed, that's the solution right now."

"That all sounds wonderful Talia." Orila followed a few Giselle, "And I would like a bath too."

Behind Peter, Angel pursed her lips at the boy's posturing. [Language unknown: "Eaubleshe ainnc preca samare shevirers ho thth,"] She muttered under her breath in her native language. To Giselle, the she-elf smiled sweetly. "Aye, pie sounds wonderful..."



"Oh! And one of those for me too!" She exclaimed, delighted by the prospect of a good soak. "You do have private baths, right?" She asked, and then conspiratorially stage-whispered her next words behind her hand. "I've kinda seen enough of Talia's bare ass for one day." 
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Mon 04 Apr 2022.

Talia's face burned at the jest and she stuttered a bit before spitting out, "When did you ever..."

But finally, her mind caught up with her heart and she snapped her mouth shut with a wry grin, "Well, either way, if you HAD seen it, you'd never get enough." Talia chuckled then even though her cheeks still shone bright red.

She then turned on her heel to follow Giselle toward privacy and pie.

Yry smiles kindly at the story that Angel tells about her. It's a bit embarrassing to be spoken of so kindly, but she appreciates the sentiment behind it so she just nods, blushing.

She isn't very eager to deal with Peter, finding him rather grating, but she does give Giselle an apologetic and empathetic look. If possible, Yry asks for more tangible food, meat and vegetables ideally. The bath, private or otherwise, Yry will accept readily.

The deeper Talia blushed and stuttered, the broader Angel's grin grew and her golden eyes danced with merry mischief. But the she-elf's eyes grew wide with delighted surprise when Talia returned a grin of her own and gave back jest in kind. "My my! Was that banter you just pulled out of that cute ass I so obviously can't enough of?!" Angel replied in pretended shock, hand to her chest in a clutch-the-pearls gesture for added effect. She laughed good-naturedly along with Talia as the other woman turned to follow Giselle, and for a moment looked like she was going to take the game further...

...but then she shut her own mouth with a smirk, deciding perhaps not to ruin the moment by taking the joke too far.