thehauntedfrequency | fairyland fun! (your levels of fun may vary)

[Emery's almost surprised that Zelgadis doesn't attempt to argue back or otherwise bristle more at his words. Perhaps Zel knows that if he did, Emery is fully prepared to extol at a greater length just how likeable Zelgadis is.]

Then how about this? Once we get to the next village, you get to be the one who does the talking!

[Won't that be a treat?]

[eughhh.]

How many towns are along the way to your target destination, again?

Well it's quite a distance between here and Zennor Lake, so... Lots, probably!

[Okay, maybe not that many if they're gonna mostly be travelling by boat. But hey.]

Great...

[just what he wants: more socializing!

at least Emery will be there to course correct...even if that in of itself might be a bit emasculating. Zel should be able to handle things on his own! and he CAN...when it's haggling, negotiating, sizing up enemies or targets...not...small talk.]

Until then...let's see how far this road will take us before we see town lights.

[And so the journey through the woods continues on. It's a few hours of steady walking before the first sign of civilization makes itself known, not in the form of visible lights, but in the sound of distant chatter and the scent of wood smoke. The sound of running water is also audible.]

Seems like we're almost there. Ready to meet some people?

[Whether Zel is or not, they're drawing close. The road curves, the treeline breaks, and...

To say it's a town might not be entirely accurate. What they've found is a rocky glade intersect by a stream flowing from a spring and cliff at the southeastern edge of the clearing, with a bunch of people camping out in the area. There are a few permanent structures, most of them close to a spring, but otherwise it's an assortment of tents and wagons.

The glade is populated by various fae sorts, but most of them are small, wrinkled folks with high, pointed ears, and skin and hair all the colors of the leaves- rich vibrant greens, dull reddish-browns, and various shades in between. Common goblins, in other words.

(Most of them appear to be unarmed, but not all of them.)

Emery takes an automatic step forward, already intending to greet the nearest cluster of goblins eyeing them (and their swords) warily, but then remembers the assignment he'd given Zelgadis and instead turns to Zel and looks at him expectantly.]

[Zel got his hood and mask up well before stepping within eyeshot of any locals, and yet even with most of his face obscured, he can still manage to flash Emery a sour pout when he feels eyes on him.

seriously?! already? man...!

sigh.

well...just...start out with what he knows: transactional dialogue. he's got coin, he has a means to bargain. with that in mind, he stiffly approaches the wary little creatures, his hands lingering at his sides, cape obscuring his sword.]

...We're passing through. Does this town have lodging for rent?

[nevermind greetings and idle comments on the weather - TRANSACTION PLEASE.]

[Emery hovers near Zel's shoulder, his expression relaxed and friendly even if he's not the one doing the talking this time. Lodging, huh? So that's the tactic Zel's going for...

The goblins, meanwhile, ease a little at the mention of "lodging for rent" although none of them look like they're planning on inviting Zel to their wedding about it.

Goblin A, a pale green one, briskly says, "The inn's fully occupied," and glances at their companion, a goblin who's a darker reddish brown. After a moment of silent communication, Goblin A shrugs and adds, "But there may be someone in the caravan who'll rent you a tent or let you sleep in one of the wagons."

Emery immediately wants to ask about their caravan- who they are, where they're going, why they're traveling together- but restrains himself so that Zel can try asking instead.]

[were Emery not standing right at his shoulder, Zel would've left it at that, turned heel, and wandered off. but doing so now would mean bumping into Emery and enduring the shaaame, so...]

...

...What sort of caravan. [please don't be a circus please don't be a circus pl--]

[The universe is truly being kind to Zelgadis, because after another assessing look, Goblin A says "We're merchants."

At this point, Emery, remembering some of what the bookseller in the last town said, lightly claps his hands together and interjects.]

Oh! Are you guys also headed to Fairford?

[Goblin A and B look a little surprised but nod, and Goblin B says "That's right. We've got a place at the market. Every year we go and sell odds'n'ends- and our boxes of course."

Goblin B: "What're you two headed to Fairford for? You don't look like peddlers."

Emery, cruelly, leaves the answer up to Zel.]

[Zelgadis' shoulders relax. not a circus. he's even more relieved to hear Emery jump in to press on with the chatter, but his reprieve is painfully brief. despite expecting Emery to jump in there and roll with the momentum, the silence grows a bit awkward in its length, jabbing at him.

Damn you, Emery.

Zel works his jaw a bit while his mind races. he didn't exactly plot out a whole, detailed backstory for this quest - honestly, maybe he was being lazy, relying on Emery being familiar with the land to take the lead. but if he's going to be like THIS...!]

It's his decision. [Zel tilts his head in Emery's direction.] I'm just the hired help.

[why yes of course he's going to lean on old tropes. it's easy to lie when he has a lot of truth to work with from the past.]

[Apart from a brief blink Emery rolls with the story that Zel has settled on. Right, Emery's the feckless rich boy, and Zel is his faithful manservant/bodyguard who is secretly in love with him. It is pretty close to the truth!

Anyway, Emery pouts and carefully nudges Zel's arm.]

I said you should make suggestions too, you know. It's not as fun if only one of us is enjoying ourselves!

[The goblins look a little dubious still- that was a noticeable pause- but Emery's acting natural enough that they don't press the issue, apart from Goblin B going "...You're just traveling for fun, then?"]

A little vacation~ I've never been to the Ganaranth before. I hear there's pirates and all sorts of exciting things!

["Ah. You don't really want to meet any river pirates, do you?"]

Oh, my man here [A couple of pats on Zel's shoulder in case it wasn't clear who Emery's man is.] can handle a few pirates if it comes to it. And it'd be quite the story to share! Why, have you run into any pirates before?

[-And then Emery and the goblins get into a conversation about when their caravan (apparently known as the Yakkak Caravan) used to travel by the river and got attacked by pirates. The gist is it didn't go well, it happened when Goblin B was young and before Goblin A was born, and they've stuck to land travel and known safe routes ever since. Emery makes appropriate sympathetic noises even as he contends that Zel can deal with it all handily.

At the end of it all Emery brings up the matter of lodgings, and Goblin B agrees to take them to speak with "the Hob." Thereupon, the goblin starts walking towards one of the nicer looking wagons.

It's a very slow walk. The goblin has short legs. Emery takes advantage of the pace to take a moment and quietly ask Zel:]

Think you can handle the negotiations for me?

[Emery's quite capable of handling them himself, and might well do better than Zel even! But still. It's an opportunity to socialize the Zelgadis.]

[Zel doesn't mean to puff up when Emery says 'my man,' but it happens all the same; it's nothing to worry about, since the topic moves to pirates rather quickly, and from there? the mysterious Hob.]

Mm-? [he tilts his head to lend Emery the ear of discretion, but he straightens back up to stare at him a touch incredulously at the ask.

haa?]

You sure? [what about secret...goblin social cues? faux pas?]

[Emery flashes Zel a thumbs up.]

Yeah! Come on, you've got lots of experience with negotiation, right?

[Mr. Mercenary and all that. What's the worst that could happen? Emery looks at Zel with big, trusting eyes.]

[were Emery to lay it on any thicker, Zel would think he's just setting him up for failure instead of lightly ribbing him. clearly, were the stakes higher, he'd be more serious about this? right?]

...Fine. We only need the shelter for a night, then we move on, right?

[Admittedly it's hard to say when Emery is so rarely serious about anything! But Emery really does believe in Zel and his ability to handle a social situation.]

See if they'll let us hitch a ride to Fairford too while you're at it~ It'll save us some walking.

[With that settled(?) they're finally at the Hob's wagon- it's one of those traveling wagons meant for living in, and a chimney poking out of the roof is producing smoke. The goblin escorting them heads in first to ask the Hob if he's willing to speak with them, and they come out about a minute later and gives Zel and Emery a nod.

Emery nudges Zel.]

Alright, you head in first.

[...Which will be a bit of a challenge because the wagon is small, and fitting the two of them in it is going to be like fitting the two of them into a children's playhouse. A fairly nice playhouse, all things considered, but still a space designed for the comfort of someone approximately half Zel's height.]

[Zel crouches to duck inside, his hood a good buffer to keep his wire hair from scraping the low ceiling. at the Hob's behest, he takes a knee not far from where he entered, giving Emery some room to squeeze in.

cutting right to the chase:] We're interested in having a roof for some of our passage to Fairford, if you're interested in having an extra pair of working hands.

[taller ones, he thinks dryly. never even mind the magic! he won't share that tidbit unless he needs to sweeten the offer.]

[Emery squeezes in besides Zel to be polite, but he very quickly kind of wishes he could wait outside. The space is not only small, but very warm thanks to the little metal stove the Hob sits in front of, and it's not a situation that's going to be improved by the addition of two bodies. Ah well.

Even if one doesn't know much about how goblins age, it's pretty obvious that the Hob is a very old man- he's thin and fragile looking, almost entirely bald except for some wisps of grey hair at the base of his skull, and his skin and eyes are a pale wilted brown-grey, as old age has leeched not just his green but his color entirely.

He gives the two of them an assessing look and oddly, it's not Zelgadis who the Hob's gaze lingers on for longer.

Well, maybe it would be understandable if it were more of a leer (in case anyone forgot, Emery would like to remind everyone that he is very attractive), but there's nothing indecent about the Hob's gaze, it's merely thoughtful. Emery returns the gaze calmly, and soon enough the Hob resumes eye contact with Zel.

"And who do you mean by we?"]

[with gestures:] Zegladis. Emery.

I can do more of the heavy lifting or whatever grunt work will cover the ride and roof.

And I'm not as strong as this guy but I can handle a bit of manual labor myself.

[Just saying! Emery knows they're going for the noble pretty boy and manservant dynamic, but he's not fragile!

The Hob thinks for a moment, looking neither pleased nor displeased by this offer. "There's a lot to do in a caravan. You'd have to handle the cargo, care for the donkeys, help with the cleanup-" He goes on listing various things, although to Emery's ear none of it sounds that much out of the realm of what traveling normally entails.

Afterwards, the Hob segues into "Now if none of that is a problem for you, then we may be able to come to an agreement. Of course, there's also the matter of finances."

Beat. "The cost of extra provisions, as well as any wear and tear to our equipment..."

Ah, Emery thinks. He's trying to see if he can wring some money out of them as well as free labor.]

[the ridge of Zel's brow lifts a little. damn, short guy's got audacity.

blandly:] If paying our way through labor wasn't enough, then would you rather we just pay silver and skip giving you any help whatsoever in exchange?

["That depends. How much silver are we offering?"

One can tell the Hob's a merchant. Emery watches Zel's reactions sidelong; he doesn't mind if they give up a few coins, but they'll need money for further down the road. He trusts Zel's experienced enough not to get flustered by this sort of thing, however.]

Cost of a room for a night at an inn seems fair. More than what folks pay to take a wagon cab.

[he's split on this: part of him wants to win just on the principle that winning is good, but part of him isn't completely jazzed about sharing the road with a bunch of strangers. makes it hard to feel comfortable alone with Emery!

...but Emery did ask him to give this a shot, so he can't lose, either. that's uncool.]

["Well then, how about..."

The Hob tosses out a few figures, and in the grand tradition of haggling he initially starts higher than what is clearly reasonable but is easily argued down to a modest price. Emery's familiar with the procedure, although despite the best attempts of his dad and his dad's family he's never been a hard bargainer himself.

Once a price is settled on the Hob finally nods, and turns to Emery.

"Emery, could you go and find my granddaughter, Tantabel? Tell her we need the box of spring tisane?"]

-To seal the deal?

["Yes, that's right."

Emery clarifies mostly for Zel's sake. It's traditional in the fae realm for contracts to be sealed by splitting some food or drink. That said, he's still surprised- for an agreement this small, most people probably wouldn't bother.

Is the Hob just an overly formal sort, or is there something else behind the errand?]

[the notion gives Zel pause, too, and he realizes in dreadful hindsight that it was probably not smart to give them him their actual names. would it be worse with it in writing, bound by some shared drink as well?

he shoots a furtive glance at Emery, but ultimately stays silent, feeling it a bit too late to back out without rousing suspicion on them as some kind of con artists or worse.

he's going to try to trust the process here. sort of.

...actually he's just going to stare a bit too intensely at this Hob guy when Emery exits, ears straining to keep Emery's movements tracked just in case while he slowly counts out the agreed-upon sum.]

Alright, I'll be back in a minute.

[Emery feels around for the doorknob and then crawls backwards out of the caravan with about as much dignity as one can muster under the circumstances. It's a relief to be out of the cramped, warm caravan, but he hopes Zelgadis will be okay alone with the Hob...

It's shortly after Emery's left and is presumably out of earshot that the Hob speaks.

"There's something I'd like to clarify before we finalize our agreement." The Hob frowns at Zel. "Your companion, Emery. Is he a human?"]

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-dreamwidth wdym this was five days ago

its ok my lagtimes are worse

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