Sigil: City of Doors

((OOC - given timezone constraints for in-game play but desire to still play a certain character against another, I am proposing a little forum RP, this is OOC information to any other reading it unless other chars should happen to be drawn into the conversations and meetings. Who knows :).))

wrote: by Helio

Vlen sat down in his study with an envelope in hand, leaning back against the cushioned chair he carefully pried the envelope open and unfolded the parchment within and began to read the essay written by his squire.

He smiled softly as he read it over again, and once more before calling for Marianne "Marianne! Step in here please" He called out and a middle aged woman with grey streaked raven black hair stepped into the study, offering a bow to the young master of House Valmorri.

"Yes, Young Master?" She asked with a sweet and kind smile that seemed to be something of a House Valmorri trademark and Vlen returned the smile. "Will you be so kind as to go find Beth for me and bring her here please?" He said, asking his house servant with the same amount of politeness and respect that he would give any noblewoman.

She simply bowed and left out the door, returning a few moments later with Beth right beside her before Vlen motioned for her to step out and shut the door.

"Excellent Essay, Squire Beth." He said with a sweet smile. "It seems to me that you understand and grasp a good hefty chunk of these virtues, now... In this Essay, it is said that you have something you wish to speak with me about? By all means, speak. I will listen to anything and everything you say without interupting."

He gestured to the chair directly across from his desk as he leaned back into the velvet cushions of his own chair once more with an encouraging smile upon his lips.

Beth had been in the midst of cleaning her longsword and shield when Marianne called for her to tell that the 'Young Master' wished to see her. She set down the pieces and sought to gather an item before proceeding to follow Marianne to the study.

"Here goes then" she murmured to herself, took a deep breath as Marianne shut the door behind her.

She dipped her head in bow to Sir Vlen, noting his smile of welcome and his words of encouragement to her essay and set down her pack to the chair at the desk, though she decided to remain standing.

"Thank you Sir Vlen...on that Essay, I'm pleased you thought it suitable. And yes, indeed...there are a few things you should know if I'm to serve and uphold the knights virtues in this House and Order...I should probably have told you earlier but...."

She didn't finish that sentence and her gaze fell to the pack upon the chair. It had shifted position slightly from where she had first placed it. She scratched her nose before continuing hesitantly.

"I have confession to make" glancing towards Sir Vlen with a sheepish grin "A couple actually"

Vlen sat there with his kind smile stil written upon his lips as he folded his hands in his lap and gazed upon her and her sheepish grin.

"Well then" He said "Let's hear it, or rather..them" He smiled a soft encouraging smile towards his squire.

Beth nodded and with no more deliberation, she pursed her lips and made a sharp whistle. The pack on the chair moved again, tenting in places, then a small snout wriggled its way between one of the fastenings and two sharp clawed paws scrabbled to make the gap wider. Finally a smooth furred head poked out.

''Sir Valmorri, you should meet Sir Gae'' as Beth made the introduction, the ferret blinked its beady eyes between the two and gave a grin of sorts that could only be described as sly and cheesy.

''I'm afraid I smuggled him in to the House, he's mine....sort of.....but since meeting your Sir Ku...well....I'm sure you can see the problem...he has been fairly well behaved so far''

The ferret scampered out of the leather pack and jumped upon the desk. It sat back upon its hindquarters, twitching its black nose, inspecting the dark haired man occupying the other side.

Vlen raised a brow at the sight of the weasel before letting out a light chuckles as he reached into a jar on his desk and pulled out a cookie, holding it before the weasel with a smile. "Sir Gae it is then." He said. "Welcome to House Valmorri"

Vlen then turned his attention back to Beth with a smile, waiting for her to continue.

The ferret stood to its full height and with its animal grace made a sweeping bow to the seated knight, bending its furry body at the waist, one paw across its waist, the other brushing low almost to the table.

"Thank you! Real, enchanted or...illusory?" and he took the cookie delicately between two claws, sniffed at it and popped it into his mouth, thereby determining at least that it was not illusion. While his little cheeks puffed out munching on the offering, Beth smiled back at Vlen.

"Well then..." she gave a relieved grin, that had gone better than she had expected and if Sir Vlen was not worried, then nor would she be. Let the rabbit and the ferret sort it out between themselves. She had instructed Sir Gae very clearly that toying with or killing anything within the Valmorri household was not to be tolerated and that he should keep 'those' instincts well in check. He would have to acclimatise just as she would with Sir Vlen, his family and his household.

Taking the pack off the chair, Beth then sat down and blurted out her next confession after taking a deep breath.

"I have draconic blood in me.....unusual back home, probably less unusual hereabouts...and.... well, it seems to be becoming progressively dominant since I came to Sigil" Beth gave Vlen a wry look.

".....trouble is....I don't know which kind of dragon and how it will manifest further...it's not something I advertise..but..it's something that ...you should probably know...erhm...sir"

Having gotten that part out, Beth held herself tensely awaiting Vlen's response. Sir Gae, was still happily occupied with the cookie.

Vlen gently pat the weasel on it's head before smiling at Beth.

"Draconic bloodlines are not uncommon among the people of Sigil, I have known a few and even one dragon-touched gnome stayed within the Shrine for a certain period of time. It is completely acceptable, nothing you need to worry about." He said with a smile before pushing himself off his chair and moved to a massive bookshelf lined with hundreds of tomes and scrolls, seemingly this is Vlen's own personal collection.

The young paladin touched his finger to several tomes, running the slender digit across te seams before settling on a thick leatherbound tome with silver elven lettering upon it's spine that read "Of Dragons and Their Children", he pulled it out and flipped through the pages a bit as he moved back towards the desk, burying his nose within the pages before realizing that he hadnt intended to read this bok himself, chuckling a bit he handed it over the desk to Beth. "Here, take this. It may be of some help to you in learning about and coping with your draconic side, the gnome left this here before he returned to where he came from. I do hope you enjoy it" He smiled softly, holding the book out and waiting for her to take it from his hands.

Again the paladin's geniality and acceptance caught her off guard, but Beth leaned forward to take the tome from Vlen, immediately opening it to the index, her eyes scanning the contents, a fingertip tracing the page against the part where the dragons were named and listed.

"I was thinking to....train and follow this path, learn of it, perhaps become a disciple in order make use of this in service but...without knowing which dragon...it's rather difficult."

"I wonder if it is as simple as just....choosing one? Anyway, I thank you.." Beth looked up, a half grin to her lips "...I'll take some time to study this carefully"

Meanwhile Sir Gae had finished the first cookie and sneaked towards the cookie jar attempting to pop open the lid to obtain another while the two were engaged with the book and talk of books, not that he wasn't interested in books, but the cookies came first. A moment later and Sir Gae was shoulder deep inside the jar and grappling with a forepaw to 'catch' a cookie at the bottom.

"Thank you for the time Sir Valmorri" Beth smiled "If you'll give me leave I'll get back to training and studying now...that is..unless you have any more crusades you need me for?" she grinned, her expression showing her eagerness and hope.

Vlen chuckled as he watched Sir Gae dig into the jar before reaching over to simply scoop the weasel up and carefully pushed him inside, hnding the jae over to Beth.

"The path of a Dragon Disciple is a very interesting path, I have studied some of it as well, though it is vastly varied.. generally however, I've read that in most cases the dragon's color is determined by whatever dragon or dragons reside in the person's bloodline, red being the most common but in no way is it a determining factor of a person's heart" He smiled softly at this.

"Go ahead and attend to your studies Squire Beth, may you find whatever it is that you seek."

Slipping her pack to her shoulder, the great tome clutched in one hand, Beth stood and took the cookie jar under an arm. Sir Gae scampered in tight circles within, imprisoned yet seemingly content amidst the remaining sweet treats.

"Will do Sir...I'll see what the book says about...hmm..testing which dragon blood might lie within...there is surely something to learn, a way to know...thank you again."

And the young squire, with hands and arms full, turned handle and nudged door with her boot to open and left Sir Valmorri to his own business.


((Thanks for the forum RP Helio, catch up on my return from holiday, have fun!))