Classroom Hangover
It's Gilday, Eatonis 22 10:11:29 1019. The full moon isn't up. The tide is high and ebbing. Fair weather clouds sail across the blue sky, propelled by light breezes from the west. It's warm in the sun, cool in the shade, and the air is clear and dry.
A07: Prestigious Moon's Craft Room
Ga'Elian awakens from a drunken stupor, sprawled out in a toga, unceremoniously dumped into one the the armchairs here, and before even opening his eyes, moans in pain, clutches his head, and says, "Dear Eluna, take it away!"
Ga'Elian has been ignored, just another piece of furniture, by Selerik and a small group of children. It isn't peak children hours yet, but here Selerik is helping them out with some schooling. Today's topic seems to be birds. There is a trained owl Selerik has resting on a protective gauntlet which he is showing to the class. A friendly, if dumb bird.
Ga'Elian now opens his eyes, then blinks a couple times and rights his sitting posture. He looks around himself and shakes his head, as if to shake out the confusion of what his senses reveal. Recognizing Selerik, he says, "Uh... excuse me. Master Selerik, do you know how I came to be here? and wearing... this?"
"Yes and No." Selerik gestures towards Ga'Elian. "Adventurers live quite the life, do they not? This man works alongside a mighty Gryphon! They are both birds and beasts, one of the rarer creatures of the wild to grace us with their friendship." He goads the children on, not giving Ga'Elian much time to get his bearings. "I don't know how you got into the building mind you, I just left you in that chair."
Ga'Elian considers for a moment then nods to Selerik, and mutters to himself, "I should probably avoid Goblintown in the future." He stands up and starts to look around the room, mostly ignoring the children, then sees the owl perched upon the gauntlet. His whole countenance changes as he focuses on the animal. He says, "Nice specimen." Then as the teacher's words settle in, he adds, "And, yes, griffons are magnificent friends." At this, he seems to find what he might have been looking for--in the corner behind the chair he was in is a pile of his things. He turns and goes to them.
Children start shouting over one another with questions, eliciting a sharp whistle from Selerik. The owl flaps their wings irritably. "One question at a time or you'll have all the questions and none of the answers! Thomas, go ahead."
'Do giffons lay eggs?'
Selerik opens his mouth for a moment before looking unsure, looking to Ga'Elian with a bit of a smirk. "Ga'Elian, can you answer Thomas's question?"
Ga'Elian reaches first among his things for a waterskin, from which he takes a long drink as the children burst into their cacophany of questions. In response, the elf puts his waterskin back on the pile of his things and turns around. He says, in a gentle voice, "They do, and they guard them ferociously." Then he turns back to his things again and sift through until he finds his leather bracers, puts them on, and holds out his arm near the owl. To Selerik he says, "May I?"
GAME: Ga'Elian rolls WildEmp/a: aliased to Ranger+Charisma: (10)+12+1: 23
GAME: Ga'Elian rolls Handle Animal: (19)+9: 28
Selerik extends the arm with the owl on it towards Ga'Elian. "Virmund, your turn."
'Do gripions eat mice like owls do? Only, like, giant mice?'
Selerik smirks at that question, again looking towards Ga'Elian.
Ga'Elian accepts the bird as it steps onto his forearm, and as he answers the children, soothingly strokes the owl's feathers. He says, "Griffons eat a great variety of things, just like you do, but horses are their favorite. So, sure. They'd eat giant mice. You know, the body of a griffon is like a great lion, and lions are a kind of cat, so mice? Absolutely." He smiles. Then says, "Of course the griffons that you see around the city, like mine and those of the Skyguard, are trained to only eat horses when allowed to by their handlers or when they're in the wilderness."
That gets a mix of horrified and giddy responses from the children. It is clear which don't want to see anything bad happen to a horse. Selerik clears his throat. "There is another great winged beast that is far rarer, and far more dangerous than a gryphon. They are known as a sphinx. If you meet one, it will ask you a riddle. Get the riddle wrong, and you will be their favorite meal." Selerik does a staged shudder. "And yet larger still, there is the mighty Roc. A bird of enormous proportion. Unlike the Gryphon and the Sphinx, they are entirely birds and have the intellect of one to match. Even Giants are wary of their size." He points to another child. "Brenda, your question?"
'Uh, um, uh, can I go the potty?'
Selerik gives a small nod. "Of course you can, go along now."
Ga'Elian smirks, and says, "Ah, rocs. Yes, in the Rune war I managed to bring down a couple of them with strategically placed arrows. There is an old saying among the archers of my folk. It translates to 'The bigger they come, the harder they fall.'"
Selerik looks around at the children. "Though a Roc, like any bird, can be peaceful if left well enough alone. War tends to change things." He claps his hands twice. "Break time, when we pick up we'll be looking at birds nests and identifying types of eggs on sight. Go on." Selerik walks over to Ga'Elian, extending the glove for the owl. "I should get her back in her cage, the owner should be by soon."
Ga'Elian hands the owl back and says, "That sounds good. For my part, I'd like to get my gear back on. And I may have to track down a certain prankster and get an accounting of what exactly brought me to this, uh, situation." As the children file out for their break, the elf removes his bracers again, pulls on his pants under the toga, then pulls it off and gets fully dressed.
Selerik turns his back as Ga'Elian dresses, affording him privacy. Instead he gives his attention to the owl, less expertly soothing it - if sufficiently. "So you know, you owe Sandy five silver for room and board. Not my words, not Sandy's either. Apparently this has happened to someone else before."
Ga'Elian remarks, "Oh, That's no problem, but I think I'll charge the bill to my quarry once I catch up to him.