Cellocht’s party: Bait

A plate full of cheese now happily in his stomach and morsels of more cheese hidden in his clothing, the goblin wandered the grounds of the party. Illaria had told him to be on his best behavior, so that meant not taking things from people unless offered. Bait hated that. Bait like things. Bait LOVE things more than the silly people hoarding them. Use gold to buy cheese; they use gold for what? Taxes? Cheese better than taxes. Bait wanted to shoot things, clean man had been mean, and horn-head had treated him like a child. He wasn't a child; he was a full-grown adult, a full six years of age. He hadn't seen a whelping cage in years. His eyes lit up as he saw several people practicing archery on a small range. There was a small table where someone was coordinating the event. Bait grumbled; more fun to run up to the field and unload—bait best behavior, for gift. Cheese gift, he hope. Full wheels, enough to fill a wagon! The stinkiest, the creamiest, the best cheese. Salivating more than a little, he approached the table.

"Hi, Bait shoot now," he said as he unholstered his musket from his back. A mild look of alarm crossed the guard's face as he peered over the table at Bait's large green head.

"The targets?" The guard asked.

"Which one, Bait's?"

"No one is using that one," he said as he gestured to one of the targets on the far right.

"K, bye." With alarming speed, Bait trotted to the shooting line and leveled his gun at the target. He waited a moment for the breath to filter out of his lungs and then squeezed not one but both triggers. Why make a small bang when he could make big bang?! Twin gunshots rang out as two bullets slammed dead center into the straw target, blowing the whole thing apart. Bait frowned; targets on the ships made of driftwood. Punch clean holes through them with bullets. Straw not sturdy enough to handle shots. Bait grumbled again. Boom fun, result not. He spotted a flash of bright red hair approaching the wooden stage. A bunch of chairs were assembled in front of it. Bait reloaded his musket first and scampered in the direction of his friend. Illaria's bright red hair and height made her stand out amongst other humans. Though she wasn't a human, she was an... an Asseeemaar. That's right, Asseemaar.

"Hi, I got cheese!" Bait said as he procured a lump of brie from his pockets.

"Pardon me asking, but did they know you were shoveling it into your pockets?" Illaria asked.

"No one said Bait couldn't. Want to smell it?" He asked before taking a long whiff of the cheese.

"Need I be apologizing to anyone on your behalf?" She asked sternly.

"Clean man was mean, but the horned guy talked at him until he left. Made me take a plate and use tongues, the clicky ones."

"Ya mean tongs, right? They didn't make you lick the cheese to pick it up, did they?" Illaria asked.

"Yeah, Bait wanted to use cheese knives. Where you be?"

"I did some mock fights."

"You win?"

"Won one, lost one."

"Ooooh, someone really strong."

"Aye, she's fast."

"How lose? You best with slashy-slash."

"She was using two swords," Illaria replied.

"Oooooh, two swords better than one," Bait agreed with a sagely nod.

"Anywho, what do you say to us finding good seats? It looks like our host is making ready to speak to us all."

"Bait want front row!" The mismatched pair promptly found seats in the front as Bait had suggested.

It didn't take long for the crowd to assemble around them and for the man of the hour to appear on the stage.

The Ceremony: Mavec

Calls for people to gather around the stage began to circulate. The trio chose seats on the left where Echo, Rem, and Piccora could stretch out and enjoy themselves. It made sense; Echo made people nervous. He was a wolf, after all, not some domesticated dog. Hell, the first few nights Mavec had been with Alvec and Naya, he had been skeptical about how under control Echo was. He figured he'd have to fight the mutt off at some point; thankfully, that wasn't the case. Echo was a good enough boy, Mavec begrudgingly admitted to himself. Getting a better look at the crowd, there were many individuals here, but one thing stood out. For a 111-year-old halfling, many of the guests were far younger than he had expected.

A party like this should have been primarily old hands, right? The sort of people who fought in the war. People who shared life experiences with him, and yet, many of them were young. Nearly half the guests by his rough count. Granted, varying life expectancies made it hard to gauge with several attendees.

Mavec's musings were cut short as Cellocht took the stage. He was old for sure; 111 was hardly unheard of for a halfling, but reaching this age was still impressive. His hair was white, and his clothing was colorful but light and loose. A vibrant red button-up shirt and a pair of black slacks. "Good evening, everyone." His melodious voice echoed magically through the courtyard. "I pray to Kushang that you have all enjoyed my hospitality. I've lived a very long and exquisite life, and as I enter my twilight years, it is only fair that I plant trees under whose shade I will never see. With that in mind, I will be giving out many gifts to causes that I support, and also with a vision bent towards the future, our future. The youth of the Empire, still earnestly rebuilding from the Anarchy and Ageneon's War, deserve a share of the spoils I have won in my life. Without further ado and with no further ramblings from this old man, let us begin. May Pacta of the Red Banner army please rise and come to the stage?" he said as he gestured to the crowd.

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Rumor had it that Cellocht had been influential in some of the declarations of amnesty handed down after Ageneon's War. Specifically, offering citizenship to Tieflings and other races had been a point which, rumor had it, was pushed by none other than today's host. They enjoyed legal protections in the Empire which were non-existent elsewhere, or so Mavec had heard. Honestly, as much as he had grown to like Alvec since he was another learned mind to bounce ideas off, his infernal heritage still freaked him out.

An orc woman wearing a red armband and basic soldier's gear took to the stage and humbly bowed as low as she could till the top of her head was level with the substantially shorter halflings. He produced a piece of clothing from nowhere and handed it to her.

"To you, Pacta, for your distinguished service to the Red Banner army, I humbly present this tabard of fire resistance. May it keep you safe no matter what dangers may come your way. You needn't worry about the size; it is enchanted and will resize to its owner," he said, as he gave her a curt nod and motioned her to exit the stage while encouraging people to clap for her.

"Now, we can't be giving the Red Banner a gift without giving the Blue Banner a gift. Illaria, will you kindly take the stage?" A tall woman with long red hair in the front row stood up and walked onto the stage. A goblin in the front row hollered support. "For your distinguished service helping protect our coast from the pirate threat. I gift you this exquisite cloak of protection." The garment he presented her was beautiful blue, white, and black, depicting the ocean waves on a turbulent sea. The woman gave a bow and headed back down to the front row. "However, that is not the only member of the Blue Banner army here. Bait, get up here," Cellocht said as he motioned to the goblin in the front row, who scrambled out of his chair and up the stairs. The reaction from the crowd was mixed. Many of the older folk present gave a sigh. However, those born during the peace barely batted an eye at the goblin. So far, this Bait fellow was the only person the same height as their host. "For you, this horn of fog." He held the horn out to the goblin, whose eyes went wider than Mavec could imagine before he swiped it from Celloch's hands and immediately blew it. A thick fog flooded the stage and the seats. "Bravo, Bait, and praise Ageneon for welcoming all of Kian's peoples. For joy and wonder you spread in small acts of chaos like this."

Mavec waved his hand in front of his face to help clear the fog. It was harmless and all but annoying. Maybe that extension of rights was wrong after all. Not all of us found the chaos fun.

"Next, for saving a dear friend of mine in the markets of Ord-Sinis Naya, please come to the stage." She stood up, quickly commanded Echo to stay with her hand, and then walked up the stairs tepidly. "So that you may always land on your feet, a ring of feather fall." Mavec leaned over to Alvec and whispered.

"No offense to Cellocht, but coming here with you makes all the gifts feel irrelevant. You're already rocking more enchanted items than I can shake Piccora at."

"I like the messaging, though," Alvec said as he surveyed the assembled crowd. "It's a nice thought to encourage us to reach higher."

"Next up, will Lahzan please take the stage? In recognition of your hard work healing the harm from the wars and doing it in a way that speaks true to my heart, I offer you this watering can. While it may not regrow forests overnight, it will certainly speed up the growth of new woods to replenish what you use to craft new instruments." Lahzan gave a deep bow and accepted the gift; a smile was plastered to his face the whole way back to his seat.

"Next, an ambitious artificer who aided the town of Jai-Anorona, Mavec, please take the stage," Cellocht motioned towards the crowd. Mavec stood and slid past Alvec and Naya and walked up the stairs to the stage. It was strange that he was being acknowledged for this. Warren Alston had stolen the credit for the water purifier. While Mavec hadn't been run out of town, he certainly didn't feel welcome there anymore. Even though he'd gone so far out of his way to fix so many of their problems, he wanted nothing more than a long drag off his cigarettes just for having to remember the unfortunate affair. Worse, Warren had stolen some of Mavec's original designs he used in making Piccora. Find someone else who could make such delicate joints on a small scale. You'd have to have been Alusai to have done better. I guess it wasn't surprising that Cellocht knew the truth about who led the effort to aid Jai-Enora. He was a very connected man, one who was used to people bullshiting him. "For you, I have this light cap; I think you'll find the inscription quite to your liking," he said and handed him the magical lamp. Mavec bowed deeply and headed back to his seat.

Once situated again, he ran his hands on the underside till he found the inscription: A single word etched in the bronze plate. Alusai. Others were called to the stage, but Mavec ignored them. He was too busy examining the inscription. This couldn't be real; in the eyes of the government, Alusai was a traitor. He had fought on the wrong side of Ageneon's War and had disappeared into exile. He was a master of Artificy, and many of the war constructs were either designed by him or based on designs he had made. How on earth did Cellocht get this? Were all of these gifts spite gifts? Someone clearly would have wanted to recover this. Was Cellocht ill? Like deathly ill? Maybe the reason for giving these things away was to keep them out of hands he knew would try to pilfer them the second he was gone. "Alvec!" Mavec sent the thought out via magic; a simple cantrip let him send short little bursts wordlessly at close range. "This is Alusai's! How did Cellocht even get this?!" Alvec glanced over and took a look at the light cap.

"Not sure. He has lived a storied life. I wouldn't be surprised if Cellocht tried to recruit Alusai to Ageneon's side. Everyone wanted his talents, after all. They may have even been friends before the wars," Alvec replied.

"I wonder if we'll ever know what happened to him." Mavec thought back.

"Now, for the last of our gifts for the night. Will Alvec please join me on the stage?" Alvec obliged and snuck past Naya. Rem wiggled his butt and pounced, clawing his way up onto Alvec's shoulders and eventually on top of his head. The pair took the stage, and Alvec's tail flickered anxiously. For someone who wanted to found his own magical shop, he still needed to develop some more confidence, Mavec mused. "For your brave defense of Rust Hill when the forge elementals went mad, I gift you this—the deed to a property in the city of Sha-Laial. The stories say you fought alone to ensure the Red Banner could beat a safe retreat." Alvec accepted the scroll tube and bowed deeply before he returned to his seat.

Cellocht bowed low to the audience. "With that, we end our gift-giving. May the future be bright and shine on all of you. With that, you are dismissed. Enjoy the food and celebrations."

"Wait! Bait have question!" the goblin in the front row shouted.

"Ah, yes, Bait?"

"Where buy cheese?"

"If you want to get the same cheese I provided, you'll need to find Master Ben in Archer's Market," Cellocht said before he let out a soft chuckle.

"Illaria, we go, buy stinkiest cheese," Bait proclaimed loud enough for all to hear before he blew the fog horn again.