If following Blaes was like being towed behind an exceedingly polite hurricane then walking behind Tanya towards the cafeteria was like being caught in a flock of birds. Never a moment of stillness or quiet. Following her into the broad room Micky found himself at a table adjacent to where he had sat yesterday while Tanya went up to get the food. Mindful of not activating his ‘Examine’ skill he looked around the room. Despite the early hour the room was full of another diverse range of people. Micky recognized several of the snake creatures he now knew were Kula węża, several goblins like Alcair, and a couple of trolls like Fredrickson. There were a number of people who’s species he couldn’t even guess at, and he made a note to ask Tanya about them later.
Moments later Tanya returned with two plates piled high with bacon and sausages, but most excitingly of all to Micky’s mind were the two mugs of coffee levitating in her wake.
“ If this is a rude question let me know, but uh how were you floating those mugs behind you?” Asked Micky.
“No, its not rude at all. It’s a great question. It’s part of my class. I’m an Administratus. That means I specialize in organizing things and putting them into their proper place, and today I have decided the proper place for coffee is in front of us” answered Tanya as she slid gracefully into the chair beside Micky.
“Well, I made this same offer yesterday to Blaes but he turned me down. Anyone with a skill dedicated to a proper breakfast is clearly marriage material, how about it? Asked Micky with a smile as he reached for one of the mugs. For the first time a frown briefly settled across Tanya’s features.
“Now that hardly seems appropriate for a working breakfast Mr. Taylor” she said brusquely as she took her own mug in two hands and held it before her.
“I didn’t mean to offend you” apologized Micky quickly “I guess humor is another one of those adjustments I need to make.”
“Yes quite” was the only response from Tanya. Mortified by offending someone who was only here to help him Micky began to apologize again before he saw the hint of a smile creeping through Tanya’s features.
“Wait a minute, your BLEEPING with me aren’t you?” Asked Micky.
“Yup, 100%. Blaes told me you like jokes so I decided to get mine in first. You looked properly upset for a minute there” Tanya said with a smile.
“Honestly, I can’t tell if I’m annoyed or impressed” Micky replied with a wry smile of his own, “but either way that proposal is still open.”
“I’ll keep that in mind Micky, but we really do have a lot to do today, so let's go through it while we eat shall? Laughed Tanya as she reached for a bagel.
“I’m right behind you on the food” said mickey reaching for a hash brown “but honestly I don’t really know what we’re doing today. I know I need to perform three times inside a month but beyond that its kind of a blur. You said item number 16 was finding a place for me to live right? But what the BLEEP are the other 15? Or are there more that follow after 16?
“We can get to the rest of the list in a minute, thank you for reminding me about the performance requirements” said Tanya, her mischievous grin creeping back in. “ I believe we can satisfy the first part of that here.” Climbing to her feet Tanya raised her voice and addressed the room, “My new friend Micky needs some help getting his first class so he’s going to sing a song for all of us. He’s new to Outremer so please be gentle.”
Grinning ruefully Micky rose to his feet and collected the Vaixell from behind a chair. Never one to back down from a challenge he decided to take a swing and try to get the breakfast cloud involved.
“It seems Tanya has decided to put me on the spot a little bit here so I’m going to need a little help from you guys. This is an old song from my home and there are two parts a verse which changes and a chorus which always stays the same. I’m gonna give the first two verses and choruses but after that I need you guys to give me a few verses of your own.” As he strummed the first chord he heard Tanya speak in a clear stage whisper which carried around the hall.
“Do try to make this one a little more cheerful than the last one, we can’t have people crying into their porridge.”
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Undaunted Micky played the first chord over and began to sing.
Oh, a drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm
A drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm
A drop of Nelson’s blood wouldn’t do us any harm
And we’ll all hang on behind.
So we’ll roll the old chariot along
we’ll roll the golden chariot along.
So we’ll roll the old chariot along
An’ we’ll all hang on behind!
As he began the second verse he could feel people starting to find the rhythm and understand what he was trying to do. Looking straight at Tanya he sang again. Oh, a tight waisted girl wouldn’t do us any harm
A tight waisted girl wouldn’t do us any harm
A tight waisted girl wouldn’t do us any harm
A tight waisted girl wouldn’t do us any harm
And we’ll all hang on behind.
So we’ll roll the old chariot along
We’ll roll the golden chariot along.
We’ll roll the old chariot along
An’ we’ll all hang on behind!
By this point Micky could tell he had the crowd on side so he took a slightly longer break before beginning the next verse and to his great delight one of the trolls rose to his feet and began to carry the next verse.
Oh, a clatter in the blud wouldn’t do us any harm
Despite having no idea what either a clatter or a blud were Micky continued the song grinning wildly as he sang. Judging from the way one of the women beside the troll was reacting he assumed it was suitably filthy. After perhaps seven verses and feeling the crowds enthusiasm beginning to subside Micky began one final verse.
Oh, and end to the song wouldn’t do us any harm
As the crowd subsided in fits of laugher Mickey replaced the Vaixell and sat back in his chair, grinning from ear to ear.
*Ding* Performance (shanty) has leveled up to Apprentice (42)
Class requirements for Bard updated: Performed 1/3 times for a crowd of more than 15 people.
“Well that’s one thing off the list” laughed Tanya “Well done, I had no idea how this was going to go, but color me mildly impressed.”
“I mean you totally threw me under the bus there, so BLEEP you very much for that, but I had an absolute blast so I’d say we’re square. What’s next oh queen of the list” asked Micky, laughing along.
“Honestly despite the list, there isn’t that much we need to do. The biggest thing is finding a couple of bars or restaurants that are willing to let you sing to their customers. I’m thinking we aim for somewhere at lunch and then a bar in the evening” said Tanya. “Around those two stops we need to find you and place to live and make a couple of introductions at the local delving guilds.”
“What are these delving guilds?” Asked Mickey.
“They’re basically companies dedicate to dealing with the results of hostile convergences. Some focus on responding to or closing recent convergences while others focus on managing or harvesting resources from established permeant convergences. Both are dangerous in their own way, so staff turnover is pretty high. That means they’re always on the lookout for new recruits” explained Tanya.
“Okay, lets do this” said Micky, pushing his chair away from the table.
“Follow me then. Our first stop in going to be Xenophon Inc. They mostly work locally, dealing with new convergences which pop up in the area around Baer’s Landing, so if it works out we can find you some longer term accommodation” said Tanya.
Strolling out of the TRC behind Tanya, Micky was struck by just how beautiful Baer’s Landing was. The early morning light lit the buildings from behind casting rainbow shadows from the multitude of stained glass windows. Feeling a bit more stable Micky was able to appreciate the range of goods a services he saw being offered all around him. After a brief walk Tanya led them to the gates of a semi-fortified compound of brick and steel. The low slung building inside the gates had its lower windows barred with thick rebar twisted into vines and leaves giving the structure the impression of a fortified forest camp. The gates were manned by a guard standing on either side, a long pole-arm of steel with a wicked ebony spike protruding away from the curved cutting edge. Stepping towards the guards Tanya withdrew a small card from a purse at her belt and handed it to the guards. After a brief inspection the guards stepped back in unison as the gates swung open.
“Welcome to Xenophon Inc. please proceed to the reception area as quickly as possible” the two guards spoke as one.