07.13d: A Roll of the Dice

[ShadowOfPreservation]

Jiga glides over with Rogbar in tow. "Lady Alys, a pleasure" she remarks, landing nearby and noting Alys' company. "I hope the timing of our arrival counts as fashionably late."

[Wyvern]

Alys nods politely to the new arrivals, "I would make some comment on your having still arrived before Dworkin, but he does not seem the sort it would be wise to set one's clock by."

And then she runs through introductions. "Jiga, Rogbar, this is Lady Ninear, and Holt, and..." She shrugs in the direction of the bored-looking elf, then adds, "I suppose he can introduce himself if he wants to."

[Joshua]

The elf will look between Alys and Rogbar. Then raise an eyebrow. "That's okay, this is getting too exciting for me. I will worry about another game." he will respectfully, bow out as the previous game wraps up...

Unfortunately, Holt likely wins because you have to roll exact to send your pawns home, and well... yeah...

Holt will look to Rogbar. "Did you you-"

Rogbar will cut him off. "No. That was a different talking cat." he glares daggers at the leprechaun. "A completely different cat."

[ShadowOfPreservation]

Jiga looks between them, completely confused, before jumping in to break some of the tension. "Soooo....since you're down a player now, mind if I take over? I'll just need the basics of the rules in case the game's played differently here." Pausing she turns to Rogbar. "That's of course if you don't mind. I'm not about to just abandon you in a hostile environment for a game of chance."

[Wyvern]

Alys looks over at Rogbar. "Having trouble with shadows?"

[Joshua]

"Well, Mi'Lady, if I was in better shape, I would show you. But, I have a deep policy to heal from one date before attempting another. I would love to show you the wonderful date I promised*. I regret that the death-lady caused me to have a date before the one I promised you." He purrs lightly. "but yes, obviously there is an imposter going around here and making a true fool out of himself. I am a strong general and master tactician. The fop who fails at basic planning is obviously not me. Even in our courtship, the rose was a perfect gift**."
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*: He's answering the question he wants, not the one you asked.
**: Holy crud the stats for it!

[Wyvern]

Alys gives Rogbar a very deliberately bland look, and then turns back to Jiga. "It does not sound to me like he minds. As for the rules..."

She takes a few moments to give Jiga a quick rundown on the rules of parcheesi while Lady Ninear takes the first turn of a new game, then takes her own turn before passing the dice on to the tengu.

Only once that's done does she turn back to Rogbar. "You may find Ch'talo interested in tracking down any such imposters. For the moment, however," there's a brief sense of power about her as she brings up her more unusual senses*, "I can verify that you are not such a shadow."**

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* A particularly observant - or paranoid - individual might note that she's not just looking at the cat, but also past the cat, a field of view that includes Caelund (along with most of the room). Of course, whether Caelund (or anyone else) can tell that she's doing something unusual is... unclear; I don't know the range limitations on psyche to notice such things. (Well, okay, it's probably safe to assume that Asai would notice.)
** This comment includes a subtle admonishment: that if Rogbar acts like a "fop who fails at basic planning" right now, it may not be so easy to wriggle out of the responsibility for his own actions.

[ShadowOfPreservation]

Jiga seems to quickly absorb the rules, taking the dice after Alys, rolling, and moving her pieces. Rather out of her element, she's doing a poor job of disguising her emotions. They seem to shift between relief, annoyance, and embarrassment as the conversation continues around her. When her turn comes around again*, she rolls doubles and advances 2 pieces, focusing more on the game than her company.

*I was sort of assuming other people were rolling in between there and just wanted to keep things moving or we'll be playing Parcheesi for a month.

[Joshua]

"So, yes. Some visitors are more unusual than others." Ninear will smirk lightly. "And many are, in fact, intent on causing trouble of various sorts*. Still, half of the issues are confusion of cultures and intent. Something that's a compliment in one place may be an insult elsewhere. Things considered light fun might be something taboo or worse. Of course, some cultures are more abrasive than others, even though they are harmless*."
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*: Who could she be referring to?

[ShadowOfPreservation]

"Lyra had begun trying to address issues like that back home. There probably weren't as many cultures converging as there are here but still getting gnolls to interact civilly with just about anyone is an impressive feat. If there's anything I can do to help, Lady Ninear, just say the word. I'm sure most visitors just need the right someone to help them get acclimated." Jiga glances over at Rogbar at this and continues. "It's not often that people go out of their way to show concern for others but this place has to be a shining example of that. I don't really understand much about how Shadows work yet but I'd imagine doing good here will have the biggest impact since it'll be reflected in some way on other worlds."