07.01e: The Seventh Winter (Corner of Table)

[Joshua]

(From main thread.)

The other person in a semi-military attire who is wearing purple, Darnell, walks up to Lukas and taps him on the shoulder, before retrieving his sketchbook. "Nice to meet you. I'm Darnell, Prince of Eldamar, yet, that means nothing here. Here, I am the Page of Tir-Na Nog'th, and that's what matters. Come, let's talk." He gestures over to the dining table, and offers you a seat near one of the corners.

[Meeg]

On one hand, Lukas' pride made him wince at the though of being relegated to a corner of the table. On the other hand, not knowing any of the assembled guests put him at a disadvantage and being new to court left him vulnerable, so he accepts Darnell's invitation and takes a seat. He must be patient; in time his talents would earn him the respect of the people of Amber and raise his status to its rightful level.

"Thank you," he says to Darnell, "one is proud of one's princely blood, and yet as a guest at court one must adopt a degree of humility. And one must show gratitude to his host by taking care not to offend the other honored guests."

[Joshua]

"It is okay. It took me a while to get used to. Although, I find that here, your prestige is based on your ability more than your lineage, although that can help." He smiles and shrugs. "I take it that you wish more?"

[Meeg]

"More ability or more lineage?... Or are we talking about the wine now?"

[Joshua]

"More prestige." Darnell smiles. "Even here, at the corner, you are worth more than all the nobles here. You are chosen by Dworkin and that gives you tremendous prestige."

[Meeg]

This gets an approving nod from Lukas. "Well that is alright then."

[Joshua]

Dinner is served.

A small group of waiters enter the room with large appetizer plates. Filled with an assortment of sushi and sashimi, clams, crab-cakes, shrimp cocktail and other seafood and similar plates, they are clearly there to highlight the amazing and plentiful ocean that surrounds Amber. For those of you who are hungry, pace yourself. Anyone who'se been around for a while (or if you want, a NPC noble can point this out) knows that the dinner is 4 courses. (Appetizers, Meat/Stew, Salad/veggies, and desserts.)

Accompanying each place setting are a number of spider-silk bags, sized for a slightly oversized deck of playing / tarot cards. They are labelled with names of the PCs and NPCs and are dyed a pleasing color (or pattern) to the person they're intended for. Inside Each contains a trump deck. Each contains the 19 cards listed (although if anyone joins the game, a 20th card might be retconned in) and are slightly cool to the touch (not unexpected considering it's the middle of winter). Any more experimenting, you'll need to do in game.

[Joshua]

Darnell will pick up the cloth bag and examine the contents. "See what I mean?" He holds up a card. "You probably don't know what these are, do you?"

[Meeg]

Lukas is grabbing a sushi roll with his fork as Darnell shows him the cards. "Hmm... aren't these cards used for divination in other worlds? Or is this a sort of game?"

[Joshua]

"If they were cards, yes. These are Trump." He grins and puts the card on the table. He grabs one of the sharp knives in the place setting and stabs the card hard... causing the knife to bend. He calls over a waiter, "Can you get me a new one of these?"