Going on a Vacation to Shiregrove 10
I started with the simpler problem to address, which for once was Trix'll. "I think it would be best if we held off on any romance until you sobered up."
Trix'll scoffed and waved her mug of mead through the air. "I'm not drunk, I've just enough of this stuff to be
fun." She smirked and winked at us. "Or more fun. I'm always fun. Wink."
Nacinde cleared her throat and helped me out. "Don't you want to make a positive impression on whoever you approach? You want a proper relationship from what Iranni told me, but if people think you're drunk they won't take anything you say seriously."
Trix'll thought that over for a moment, then sighed. "Ugh, you're probably right." She turned a pouty glare my way. "Why'd you have to get such a nice girlfriend? It would be so much easier if I could just hate her for being a total bitch, but instead she's all nice and wholesome and makes you happy. Which is great, but…" She groaned and knocked back the rest of her mead, then wandered off in search of a refill.
Nacinde sighed as she watched the farseer leave. "I guess she's still working on getting over you. Hope she works that out soon." She bumped her hip against mine. "Even if I'm glad we got together, I don't like seeing her so down. I don't know if a rebound relationship is the right fix for her, though. Her trying to drunkenly proposition one of our crewmates seems like a disaster in the making."
"That was probably why she wanted me to help," I suggested. "Plus I need to sort things out between Adra and Cy'trya. When did everyone decide I was some kind of expert at romance?"
Nacinde smirked and let a hand rest on my hip. "I'd say you're pretty good at it, but I'm probably a biased source." She paused, her eyes flicking between Adra and Cy'trya. "Wait, you don't think Trix'll was right about…?"
I shrugged. "They fought like two people who care a lot about each other, and they're pining after each other even if they refuse to admit it. I'm not sure if that's just a really intense friendship because they're both a bit isolated or a budding centuryling romance, though."
"Everything is intense at their age," Nacinde agreed. "So do you have a plan? Who are we talking to first?"
"Adra." The human was my ward, after all. I had a bit more leeway to approach her on personal matters.
I was about to head towards her when I noticed Nacinde at my side and remembered exactly what she'd just said. "Wait … 'We'? This is my responsibility."
Nacinde grinned back at me. "Sorry, but your problems are our problems. I'm helping. Besides, I still know a lot more about human customs and have a better grasp of Gothic than you." Her grin turned downright smug as she added, "I can't even imagine how mortified Adra would be if you tried to offer her advice on how she could make Cy'trya happy only for it to come out as advice on how to pleasure her."
I groaned and buried my face in my hands. "Those two words mean almost exactly the same thing! How was I supposed to know that one of them carried a certain implication?" I felt the heat rising in my cheeks and shot a glare my girlfriend's way. "You're never going to stop teasing me about that, are you?"
She answered me with an impish grin. "Maybe in a couple centuries."
* * *
Talking to Adra: 1d100: (57) vs 60 (40 Fellowship + 0 Charm + 20 Difficulty) = Success
Talking to Cy'trya: 1d100: (21) vs 40 (40 Fellowship + 0 Charm + 0 Difficulty) = 1 Degree of Success
After a short internal debate I approached Adra first. She was my ward, and on top of that she seemed like she needed my help more. Cy'trya's only real problem was a bit too much stubborn pride to admit she might not be completely in the right about their fight.
I approached her just after she'd secured a second slice of cake for herself. The girl smiled when she saw me. "Miss Eye-ran-nee, Miss Nay-sind, hi! Did you see they made a huge cake shaped like Grymloq too? It felt a bit weird cutting out a slice of cake that looked like him, but it tastes really good, so…"
"I suppose he made a good impression on them." The halflings had been happy enough to feed him an entire grox, and now a bunch of their children were using his body as a playhouse while he napped off his meal. The fact that he'd actually managed to sate his seemingly bottomless appetite felt like a good sign.
Me Grymloq full and sleepy, the lovable glutton confirmed.
Me Grymloq like
halflings.
I chuckled and couldn't help smiling at his words, though my good mood couldn't last long in the face of the impending tough conversation with Adra. I cleared my throat. "Adra, I wanted to talk with you about what's going on with you and Cy'trya."
"What?" Adra let out a loud snort while her eyes darted nervously towards the captain's daughter despite her being well out of earshot. "Nothing's going on with me and Cy'trya. We're fine. Just peachy. There's absolutely nothing going on that you need to worry about." She shoved a bite of cake into her mouth and forced a painfully insincere smile onto her face.
I sighed and took a seat next to her. "Adra, I was there when the two of you got into that fight. If you'd made up since then, I would think you'd be sitting together having fun instead of on opposite sides of the party sending sad but angry looks her way whenever she's not looking."
"Oh." Her shoulders slumped and her entire body seemed to deflate. "I understand." Her voice came out as a quiet, miserable mumble. "Can I get a few things back from my quarters on the
Shadow Blade before you leave?"
Her response was so strange that I couldn't make any sense of it until Nacinde spoke. "Adra, do you think we're kicking you off the ship?"
The human nodded and shrank down further in her seat. "I got into a fight with the captain's daughter. I'm pretty sure that's not gonna end well for me. There's no way she'll want to keep living with a stupid, stinky mon'keigh like me after all of this."
Ah. Well, there was a lot to unpack in her statement. It felt wise to start with the more urgent matter. "Adra, even if you and Cy'trya don't patch things up, you will have a place on the
Shadow Blade. If the two of you aren't comfortable living together you can move into my quarters."
"Or mine," Nacinde offered with a gentle smile. "We're officers, we can spare the room. I bet Trix'll would be willing to help too, in her own way." She sent a teasing grin my way. "Plus Iranni barely sleeps in her own bed anyway."
"Because I'm in Grymloq's paddock!" I hastily clarified, shooting a reproving look my girlfriend's way that only made her teasing smile widen. Not that I would've been opposed to such … alternate sleeping arrangements, but it was unseemly to discuss such things in front of my ward. Not to mention it was still a bit early in our relationship for us to be sharing a bed. We hadn't done much more than share a few kisses and enjoy one another's company.
Adra looked between the two of us and rubbed the back of her head. "Oh. Uh … okay then. I mean, great, I didn't want to leave the ship. It's just…" she sighed and listlessly poked at her cake with her fork. "Well, it's not
just having a room to stay in that I'm worried about. I mean, I really like Cy'trya and I thought we were starting to be friends, but I'm pretty sure she hates me now. Her mom's the captain, so if she wants me gone…" The girl shrugged as if her doom was a foregone conclusion.
I was almost tempted to smack her upside the head and point out how obvious Cy'trya had been acting, but that would hardly be fair to Adra. Human body language tended to be much more blunt than aeldari, and from what she'd said about her past she didn't have a lot of experience with having friends her own age.
Nacinde sent a sympathetic look her way. "Why do you think Cy'trya hates you?"
Adra groaned and shrank into herself. "She said I was a stupid mon'keigh and she didn't care if I died. That's pretty clear." Her teeth worried at her lower lip. "I didn't do anything wrong, I just wanted to pick a few things for myself."
I took a seat next to her. "I don't think Cy'trya would've gotten so upset with you if she didn't care." I quickly cut her off before she could object. "To be clear, I do not think that the way she spoke to you was appropriate, but the reason she doesn't want you using human equipment is because ours is much safer to use. I'm hardly an expert in human wargear, but even I've heard that your plasma weapons can be as dangerous to the wielder as they are to the target."
"They're not quite
that bad," Adra halfheartedly mumbled. "I just…" she groaned and shook her head. "I was really excited about all the stuff I could pick from, and then she came in and said it was all stupid mon'keigh equipment and I should just use eldar weapons instead."
"Because she wanted you to be
safe," I pointed out once more. "She didn't want to crush your dreams or take away anything you were excited about, she just wanted to find the best equipment to help you make it through battles in one piece. Though she was rude and didn't speak to you the way a proper friend should, her intentions were good." An idea started forming in the back of my mind for the perfect solution to their issue, but I put it on hold for the moment until I talked to Cy'trya.
"She really needs to remove the word 'mon'keigh' from her vocabulary, though," Nacinde grumbled. "It's just not a word you should use with someone you consider a friend, even if you're trying to tease."
"She sounded pretty serious about it by the end," Adra mumbled under her breath.
I agreed with her, even if I suspected it was more a matter of Cy'trya losing her temper than any prejudice. Though that was all the more reason it would be best to remove the word from use. Even if it could be used as a lighthearted tease between friends, it could come across far worse to the person hearing it.
Perhaps Cy'trya needed a little more perspective on that. I'd never really thought about the word until Nacinde challenged my views on humans. 'Mon'keigh' was just the word we used for their species—an insulting word, but most aeldari would say that they could hardly be blamed for humans finding the truth insulting. Humans were short-sighted, foolish, and destructive.
Though considering I'd walked on the surface of a crone world, I was all too aware that our own kind could make those same mistakes.
"Talk to her about that," Nacinde prompted. "If she's your friend, she won't want to say things that hurt you. And trust me, she still cares. She's as upset about the fight as you are."
Adra sighed and nodded. "Fine. I guess it couldn't make things worse. It's not like she could double hate me if it all goes wrong, and if she really does want to fix things…" She threw a wistful look at the back of Cy'trya's head. "Well, I'd really like that."
* * *
I was cautiously optimistic that the conversation with Cy'trya would be a little easier than the one with Adra. After all, she was an eldar while Adra was a human. Cy'trya would have more control over her own emotional state and should be easier for us to speak to. If nothing else, I wouldn't need to worry about any cultural misunderstandings or translation issues. Considering we'd gotten Adra to go along with our suggestions without too much trouble, I didn't expect too much trouble.
As soon as Nacinde and I sat down next to her, I realized I'd miscalculated in one regard: Cy'trya shot a suspicious glare at us and crossed her arms over her chest, shoving her half-empty plate of food away from herself. "I saw you two talking to Adra, and ever since she keeps sending looks my way while trying to pretend she isn't. Well, more than she already was. It's not hard to guess why you're both coming over here now." She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Let's get this over with so I can go back to trying to enjoy the victory party."
I briefly wondered how much trouble I would get in with the captain if I smacked her daughter upside the head for being a moody brat. While I wouldn't be shocked if Captain Calima had occasionally felt similar urges while raising a centuryling, I doubted she would approve of any of her officers laying hands on her daughter regardless of the circumstances. Besides, physical punishment was rarely useful outside of venting a little frustration and setting an example. Though perhaps forcing the two of them to run laps together would help them renew their bond as they shared a newly formed dislike of me.
Nacinde pointedly cleared her throat and met the captain's daughter with a firm glower. "Cy'trya, that's not how you should address a superior officer."
Cy'trya scoffed. "You're not here to talk to me about ship business, ma'am, Iranni's here on a strictly personal matter. Also, don't know if you noticed, but we're corsairs. If I wanted to deal with a bunch of protocol rules I'd join a Craftworld fleet."
So she was determined to be difficult. Fine. I could handle that. "Cy'trya, your performance in flight tests hasn't been up to par since your fight with Adra, and her lessons with Trix'll have been suffering. That makes resolving your spat with her our business." Though I was worried about the two of them on a personal level far more than their ability to fulfill their jobs on the ship, I couldn't do anything until I got her to actually
listen to me. I could be nice and reasonable once I'd broken through her uncaring front.
Cy'trya let out a frustrated sigh and leaned back in her chair, snapping off a mockingly lazy salute. "Fine. So did you talk to her and convince her to stop being such an idiot? What kind of moron wants to use one of those human guns that'll blow up in your hands after five shots when she could have something better and safer?"
Well this was off to a good start. "We did talk to her about the dangers of using human technology and how ours is much safer," I confirmed. "And so we're clear, I agree with your concerns about the plasma pistol. I wouldn't feel comfortable with Adra using a weapon that's prone to blowing up regardless of whatever she might say about how they aren't that dangerous. What I
don't agree with is how you went about expressing yourself."
"'Mon'keigh' isn't a word you should ever use with a friend," Nacinde added, her tone a bit sharper than mine.
Cy'tra rolled her eyes again. "She knows I don't mean it in a bad way. It's just a teasing little nickname. Don't make a big thing out of it."
"Are you sure she knows that?" I glanced back at Adra to draw Cy'trya's eyes towards her. "She's not one of us, Cy'trya. She's learning fast, but some things take time to pick up. Things like body language and tone. Just because you think your delivery makes it clear you're harmlessly using the word doesn't guarantee she'll feel the same way." I shot a stern look her way. "And I was there, I know by the end of the fight you weren't using it nicely."
"Only because she—" Cy'trya cut herself off with a guilty grimace.
"She thinks you hate her," Nacinde drove the point home. "She thinks you consider her a stupid mon'keigh, and you're going to ask your mother to kick her off the ship."
"That's not what I want!" Cy'trya shouted loud enough for several of the partygoers to send looks our way. At least we were all speaking Aeldari, so we didn't need to worry about the halflings gossiping. Cy'trya groaned and buried her face in her hands, taking several deep breaths to center herself after that outburst. When she finally looked up and spoke once more, her voice was almost unnaturally calm as she struggled to master her emotions. "I don't want her sent away. I wanna keep living with her and being her friend. I just want her to stop being stupid."
Pain flashed in her eyes as she mumbled under her breath. "How could she think I—I've been spending so much time being nice to her and treating her like a friend. Yeah, I lost my cool, but..." She growled and stabbed the roast she'd been eating before we arrived with more force than strictly necessary to cut off a bite-sized piece.
"She's human," I pointed out. "Not just that, she's still adjusting to life on an eldar ship after being raised by an uncle who used her as a political pawn. Some part of her is probably still afraid all the kindness we've shown her is just buttering her up to take part in a scheme where we'll use her titles and influence for our own gain."
"This might be a time to employ a little human bluntness," Nacinde suggested. "Eldar tend to leave a lot of things unsaid. We can afford to spend a few years giving each other subtle body language cues to signal how we feel about each other."
Cy'trya let out a snort. "Yeah, you and Iranni hooked up shockingly fast by Craftworld standards. Don't you know you're supposed to spend at least twenty years dancing around each other first? And wait until each of you goes through one Path change to make sure whatever you feel is real and not just a passing fling?" She scoffed and shook her head. "No wonder the Craftworlders can barely keep their population stable."
"I suppose I did use a bit of human bluntness as well," Nacinde conceded with a grin. "I told Iranni how I felt about her and what I wanted, and it turned out she agreed." She gave Cy'trya an encouraging pat on the shoulder. "Maybe you should follow my example, especially since you're actually talking to a human instead of just trying to beat a shameless seeress. Tell her that you care about keeping her safe and consider her a close personal friend. I think she needs to hear you tell her how you feel."
"Not to mention making it clear that you only insulted her choice of weapon because you care enough about her to want to keep her safe," I added. "Not because you don't respect her choices or want to crush her joy from looking at weapons."
"Yeah, okay, I guess I can give it a shot." Cy'trya scowled down at her food, but a second later her eyes brightened. "Wait, I got it! The problem is I just badmouthed all the human junk and kept telling her eldar stuff was better while she was having a blast looking around the human armoury. Obviously what I should've been doing is letting her see some of the good stuff. She liked looking at all the human stuff, I bet she'd love seeing and learning about our weapons too. And if she still wants to use a power fist and plasma pistol after that..." She frowned and tapped the table. "Okay, she can have her big punchy hand, but the plasma's still out. Buuut our starcannons are a lot like plasma, except they don't kill the people shooting them. I bet Horty could shrink one down to pistol size, or if she can't she'd know someone who could. Or maybe a fusion pistol or blast pistol instead? Plenty of pistols that pack a punch."
She growled and shook her head. "I'll figure that out later. First, I've gotta go tell that idiot she's my best friend and I care about her. Can't believe she thinks I hate her when I was just pissed off that she was being so dumb..." The young woman wasted no time standing up from her seat and heading towards Adra, determination flashing in her eyes.
Nacinde and I watched her go with smiles on our faces. "I suppose we can call that a success."
"I think we can," Nacinde agreed. After a moment's hesitation she added, "Do you think Trix'll was right? That the two of them might be moving from just being friends to something ... more? Even though she's human?"
I shrugged. "They clearly care a lot about each other. Whether that's simple friendship or deeper feelings is hard to say. Love can cross species barriers easily enough. I love Grymloq, and he's a carnosaur." I let out a dry chuckle. "Though obviously it's not sexual love in our case. Whether that could happen with an eldar and a human ... well I think any two reasoning beings are capable of feeling romantic love. That just leaves the question of whether they find one another attractive."
Nacinde shrugged. "I know when I was growing up on Shiregrove I had a few admirers. It always felt a bit awkward for me. I care about the people of this planet, but I never really looked at them that way. I get the feeling Cy'trya might be a bit more open to human attention, though. I mean, she crawled into Adra's bed that one night. Sure, drunk logic is not logical and it's unwise to read too much into it, but it could be a sign that she's at least somewhat attracted to Adra. They clearly have strong feelings for one another, or else the fight wouldn't have left both of them so upset."
"Passionate feelings for one another, a lack of other potential partners, and the possibility of mutual attraction. I've heard worse starting points for a relationship." I frowned uncertainly at the two of them as Cy'trya took a seat next to Adra and the two of them began a hushed conversation. "I wonder if we should let Captain Calima know. Or if I should have words with Adra myself on the matter?"
"It might be best to let them figure things out on their own a bit longer," Nacinde pointed out. "If they aren't starting to develop feelings for each other, trying to talk to them about it could cause all kinds of problems. Besides, part of the centuryling experience is trying to stumble through your first crush. Obviously we can still give them advice if they ask for it or step in if we spot a problem, but I don't want to hover over their shoulders trying to micromanage their relationship, whether it's romance or just being friends."
"Perhaps." I looked her way, and a thought that had been tickling at the back of my mind came to the fore. "Speaking of, what about us? I mean, I know we're dating and in a proper relationship, but I did get mildly interrogated about our relationship by your family. I suppose it's only fair I ask a few questions of my own."
Nacinde shot a playful grin my way. "Is that so? Alright then, ask away."
"Alright then." I grinned back. "Let's ... use some human bluntness. What exactly is it that you want from me, aside from all the obvious things that go along with romance?"
"Like kisses?" Nacinde asked with a smile.
"Like kisses." It seemed like a good time to steal one from her, so I did so.
"Mmm." Nacinde wrapped an arm around my waist and leaned against me. "Well ... I suppose if we're thinking really long-term stuff, I haven't decided what to do with the soul stones I got from our mission. I know you used one of yours for Grymloq's armor, right? Now, obviously we're nowhere close to that yet, but if we're assuming everything works out and we go the distance?"
Her eyes shifted over to where several halfling children were playing some game that seemed to involve running around a ball and giggling a lot. "Well, I was raised in a big family. I'd like to start one of my own someday. Once we're done exploring the galaxy and adventuring, I wouldn't mind settling down on Shiregrove. Just you, me, our kids, and the rest of my extended family. Though I imagine we'd still keep in touch with everyone else. Halfling families are big, and I don't see any reason our hypothetical future children shouldn't get spoiled by a bunch of Corsair honorary aunts."
"So you don't want to kidnap me away to Shiregrove?" I bumped my hip against hers.
"Just a little bit," she shot back lightly. "Your friends are allowed to visit once a year, but the rest of the time I want you all to myself, fulfilling your wifely duties. Like I said, halflings believe in big families." She teasingly poked my belly, then put one of my hands on top of hers. "I'm not saying I want either of us to turn into baby factories or anything crazy like that, but if we space them out to one a century that still gives us ... seventeen or eighteen before we get too old? For halflings anything over a dozen is considered prodigious."
I let out a soft snort. "You certainly aren't lacking in ambition. Though I'm not in a hurry to stop our adventuring days just yet."
"Me either," Nacinde agreed. "I love Shiregrove and want to come back here someday when I'm ready to stop sailing the stars, but I'm not in any rush to set down roots yet. And even once we decide to take up the farming life and raise a family, I could easily see us being like Calima and Lathreth. Just because we're moms running a farm doesn't mean we have to completely settle down and never have any fun. At the very least we would probably need to help out with militia duty if there are any more feral ork outbreaks."
"I expect we could find a few adventures as responsible parents," I agreed. "I doubt our children would be content to stay on Shiregrove for the rest of their lives, after all. We both wanted to see the rest of the galaxy, it stands to reason our children would feel the same."
"True." She took my hand in hers and leaned her head on my shoulder. "Home isn't where we stay the rest of our lives. It's just where the two of us come home after our adventures."
"Hmm." As the two of us stood together taking in the sight of our crew celebrating a victory alongside the people of Shiregrove, I could feel myself warming to her vision of the future. "And what about more immediately?"
"Well..." I felt her shift against me, making herself more comfortable. "I'm pretty happy with where we are physically. I'm not opposed to doing more than just kissing and cuddling, but I also don't feel any urgency to move faster." She poked my belly again. "Sorry, if you wanted someone who'd give you immediate sex, you should've gone with Trix'll instead of me. Now you're stuck with the responsible family girl who wants to take things a bit slow." She hesitated, and a bit of uncertainty worked its way into her voice. "That's ... not a problem, right? I mean, from what I've heard you haven't exactly been running around the pleasure houses every time we make port. It's just..." her cheeks flushed.
What is it?" I gently prompted.
"Well, um ... I haven't really ... you know ... you're the first person I've really been in a relationship with." Her cheeks went full-on flaming. "So ... I know I was just planning our hypothetical family a minute ago, but I'd like my first time to be special, you know? Maybe it's a little silly and old-fashioned, but... well Shiregrove likes their traditions." She gently nudged my ribs. "Sorry to disappoint you if you were planning to drag me down to one of the pleasure houses for us to go on a wild night of debauchery for our first proper date, but that's not me."
"Darn, and here I was planning to have an orgy with all the other officers," I deadpanned. "We even got Fanya a few special attachments for her armor so she could participate."
Nacinde snorted and lightly swatted my chest. "You're ridiculous. Besides, I was thinking we should hook Fanya up with Trix'll. Fanya needs to loosen up, Trix'll needs some stability, and they can both bond over having terrible controlling parents." She grinned over at me. "I mean, we had success with helping Adra and Cy'trya sort out their dispute, so clearly the two of us are just natural matchmakers."
"I think Fanya needs to work on herself before she tries romance," I countered. "Nillie is also sensible and reliable, and her tendency to be a little grumpy could fit well with Trix'll's playful side."
"That's a fair point," Nacinde conceded. "But have you considered that Fanya..."
* * *
And that's a wrap on the Shiregrove vacation. It's been a while since we had a level-up (literally half the page-count of the quest), since the downtime in the port chapter was a bit shorter and a downtime chapter, while Shiregrove was the first storyline to break double digits in chapter count. Though it feels fitting to start the new year with the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one.
Also, some big changes are coming with the next storyline/update. Be prepared for some big storyline changes and exciting decisions about what comes next for Iranni and her companions. After all, it's not like the
Shadow Blade is going to be staying in port doing nothing for several in-game years.
As always, please use a plan format for level-up votes.
Select one stat to level up for Iranni
[ ] Weapon Skill
[ ] Strength
[ ] Perception
[ ] Fellowship
Select one skill to level up for Iranni
[ ] Command
[ ] Charm
[ ] Deception
[ ] Lore: Humans
Select one new trait for Iranni
[ ] Enhanced Smell: Decrease penalties to scent-based perception checks
Iranni's bond with her mount allows her to access his sharp senses, and has even made her own nose sharper.
[ ] Deepened Link
Iranni and Grymloq have gone past the usual benefits of a dragon knight's bond to her mount, gaining the ability to mentally speak over distances and see through one another's eyes.
[ ] Grit: Reduce penalties for being wounded by one step
Like any frontline warrior, Iranni has taken plenty of hits and knows how to push through the pain to keep fighting.
[ ] Champion of the Downtrodden: +10 to social rolls with underdogs
Whether it's human refugees taken from their homes as slave labor or halflings threatened by the return of Imperial rule, Iranni has an affinity for helping those in need.
Select one upgrade for Grymloq
[ ] Big Friendly Carnosaur
Grymloq might be a large predator, but to people who know him well, he's just a big softie. Grymloq is much less likely to cause panic or fear when he's not specifically trying to do so.
[ ] +5 Weapon Skill
[ ] +5 Perception
[ ] +5 Intelligence
