Loaves and Fishes (Chyril 27, ET)

[Arnholt]

The Blue Parrot
Smack dab in the middle of the always busy merchant quarters hides a little oasis of rest in the form of this unlikely inn which doubles as a bathing house and resting place for the less fortunate.

The door of this middle class establishment is -not surprisingly- decorated with a blue parrot. Inside the air smells vaguely of cinnamon once the curtain is pulled aside. Only a few people are sitting inside, the entire establishment not too big and most simply overlooking this delightful little place.

It holds the charms of a larger home with a cosy fireplace and the counter hidden around a little wooden corner. The walls sport paintings of differently coloured parrots in various acrobatic stands, hanging and perched on exotic branches. Sounds and voices are slightly muffled by the lowered ceiling.

A curtain on the other side hides the three bathing rooms where several kind Adhiel servants are ready to help the customer to a completely relaxing experience.

Still whistling one of his little Oneist ditties in praise of Dominicus, Arnholt came tromping into the Blue Parrot with hood pulled over his head and all. If the pattern held, the management and any customers here would take him for a monk in unusual dress. But if not, who gave a damn? He wasn't likely to do anything here that would arouse anyone's suspicion. All he wanted was a couple of fish and the answer to a question or three. He made his way to the counter first in hope of finding both.

"Good evening, friend. I had the fish here recommended to me. So I'll have two orders of that... and, if I may, I'd also like to beg your kindness as a newcomer to this fair city." Arnholt gestured expansively at the colorful decor on the walls around them. "By the grace of the One, I had the good fortune to arrive in time for the big festival yesterday. But I'm afraid I still don't understand what it was all about. Well, looking at the decor as I came in, I thought to me, 'That looks familiar.' So maybe someone here can tell me more about the blue parrot's story."

[Gutter Rat]

Loff'ta Klew'kin was busy wiping down tables when Arnholt entered, her employees almost undistinguishable from the lithe tavern owner in dress or mannerism and – true to his hopes – she did take him as a monk when he entered, rapidly finishing her table and nearly pacing him to the counter to serve his needs. At his order, she merely nodded, jotting the words down on a piece of paper which she then passed through a small window leading to the kitchen. Loff’ta then turned back to Arnholt with a small shrug.

“Local superstition and tradition, really” she stated, her faith in Mother stronger than any fear of local mythology. “Some time ago before Roque became as it is today, a parrot with natural blue feathers had been found and was considered to be a good luck charm if marched through the town. Yahren later, a noble tried kidnapping the village omen and replacing it with a fake. A local fought the noble and the two fell over the cliff.” Loff’ta shrugged again. “Since then, it has been a new practice to throw a fake parrot over the cliff, thinking that that is what is needed for luck.” She gave a small roll of her eyes and smiled.

“You are a man of the cloth, yes? So you know as well as I how ‘foolish’ the beliefs of others can seem to others but how very real they can seem to those who believe.” She gave a glance around at the handful of people who littered the serving area. “I choose not to buy into the notion myself, but it is a boon to business, I suppose.” The Adhiel gave a small nod to the kitchen. “Your meal will be ready soon – with only one of you and two orders, may I ask if you need it boxed to go or delivered to a table when your dining companion arrives?”

[Arnholt]

Arnholt nodded encouragingly as the tavern-keeper began her explanation, running his fingers thoughtfully through his beard. Local superstition sounded a much more likely explanation than did parrot-avatars of Dominicus, he had to agree. Though the end of the story did throw him for a bit of a loop. Noblemen kidnapping parrots? The fuck?

Surely had to be more to the story than that. Still, absurd though it sounded, maybe it was even true. Stupider things had happened. No doubt there were countless reasons a real-life nobleman might want to do such a dumbass thing. On further reflection, it even began to make a strange sort of sense. The way the innkeeper told the story, she clearly wasn't a believer in the mystical protection offered by the parrot. But by all appearances many people in Roque did believe in it quite strongly. If the noble in the story understood how powerful that symbol really was, then maybe he wasn't so stupid for wanting to steal it, after all. Though he couldn't exactly have been a genius, or the story wouldn't have ended with him plummeting to his death.

“You are a man of the cloth, yes? So you know as well as I how ‘foolish’ the beliefs of others can seem to others but how very real they can seem to those who believe.”

Arnholt bowed his head in an affirmative to the woman's question. It was more or less true (OOC: "more" or "less" depending on what happens in the For Great Justice thread). He could scarcely disagree with her next sentiment, either. "Well said," the cultist replied. "Without question, the blue parrot truly is a miracle... of a certain definition of miracle. Just look at the way it's brought people together. Why, I even had a woman tell me the parrot might be an avatar of the One God. Thought I must confess a certain skepticism as to that interpretation," he added dryly.

"So, about that man who interrupted the parade for a moment," Arnholt went on, addressing a part of the festival he still found particularly mystifying. "The one with the blue feathers on his shirt. I take it he was supposed to represent the parrot-kidnapping nobleman, then?" It certainly seemed to fit with what he supposed was the meaning of that weird demonstration.

The Adhiel gave a small nod to the kitchen. “Your meal will be ready soon – with only one of you and two orders, may I ask if you need it boxed to go or delivered to a table when your dining companion arrives?”

"Boxed, if you please," Arnholt said. And since this was a prime opportunity to begin fishing for the information he really wanted... "I had the oddest encounter a short while ago," he went on conversationally. "I ran into the caretaker of the Summer Palace, just taking a walk through the bazaar. She invited me to dine with her there if I would pick up the meal. I must say, she seemed like quite a pleasant young woman. If rather young considering her station."

He did his best to deliver that bit of gossip in the cheery tones of a typically naive and unworldly monk, one who would never consider what a perfect set-up this might be for a shady young woman who had cleverly convinced him to cater at his own mugging. If the adhiel woman knew anything about the caretaker, perhaps she'd spill. Otherwise, it would be good at least to leave a few witnesses behind who knew where he had been going and why. That might give him a lever later on.

[Gutter Rat]

Loff'ta nodded politely at Arnholt’s assessments of the parrot. It was true – the myths varied widely and she was not even sure if the version that she had told him of the tale was wholly accurate. She perked one eyebrow when he spoke of the man in the parrot costume as well as Arnholt’s interpretation of the events.

“I only caught a glimpse of the act, I am afraid, but I can tell you that his actions were not a normal part of the festivities.” She turned and retrieved a steaming dish from the window – his order – and began to box it carefully as he had requested as she continued. “Being a gathering place, these walls have heard quite a bit of speculation on the matter though – many strange actions going on at Parade, I gather, from giant living carrots picking mock fights with pedestrians to your birdman. The most popular rumor is that he was trying to mock the sacrifice politely by pretending to be a mother bird or some such.” She shrugged and tied a loop of twine around one side of the box.

“A few of my guests considered the actions both sacrilegious and annoying, stating that when the time came, they wished that the man had been pitched over the cliff and the faux parrot kept safe…” she smiled as she tied another loop perpendicular to the first, securing the box closed. “…for the stuffed bird was, at the least, quiet."

“Now, as to your ‘caretaker’ I know no-one by that title although she could quite possibly be a regular of mine. Who knows?” She gave a smirk and held out her palm, giving him a fair price for the food and expecting payment. “We have an old saying, we Adhiel…” she continued, hoping to set aside any worries he might be having. “A wolf will not ask you to pet it before it bites. I think that your lunch shall go well, and I hope that it delights your pallet as well as the tastes of those who dine with you. Namaste.”

Loff'ta would accept payment, unless Arnholt had a change of plans on the matter, and would politely excuse herself to tend to more customers as the tables seemed to be in a steady state of filling and emptying, demanding the young woman’s attention.

[Arnholt]

“I only caught a glimpse of the act, I am afraid, but I can tell you that his actions were not a normal part of the festivities.”

"No?" Arnholt asked with some surprise. Well, that would explain why everyone reacted as if the parrot-man had pissed into their beer. "Many strange actions... hmm." Apparently the carrot-man, too, had been some passing lunatic or malcontent or some such. Funny. To Arnholt the disruptions had seemed no stranger than the "usual" part of the festivities.

Now, who would want to make a mockery of the Parrot Festival? And why?

It was probably pointless to speculate. The fledgling cultist understood too little about the meaning of the festival or Roque culture in general to guess what was behind this year's irregularities. Still, he could always take up that line of questioning with the good people of Roque later on. There was the most interesting web of legend, superstition, and religion surrounding the blue parrot. And so many possibilities of turning that legend to Righteous' advantage. Besides, playing up the curious newcomer card would make him more approachable than he otherwise would be if he were to wear the white robes of a Oneist monk.

“We have an old saying, we Adhiel…” she continued, hoping to set aside any worries he might be having. “A wolf will not ask you to pet it before it bites. I think that your lunch shall go well, and I hope that it delights your pallet as well as the tastes of those who dine with you. Namaste.”

Arnholt blinked at the woman owlishly, thinking that adhiel sayings didn't always translate that well into human talk. Sure, maybe that shit was true of wolves. But as far as people were concerned, forget about petting, they'd ask you for a fucking hand-job before slitting your throat if they thought they could get away with it. More importantly, the innkeeper apparently hadn't heard of the 'caretaker' at all, even though she'd been the one to recommend this inn's fish. Meaning that apparently Miss Caretaker wasn't very well known in this city, one way or the other. So probably she's a recluse of some kind... or her position doesn't hold much importance... or, hell, she just hasn't had the job for very long. At least he knew now that "I'm the Caretaker of the Summer Palace" wasn't the Roque equivalent of "I have a bridge to sell you."

"My thanks," he said, dropping the requisite coins into the hands of the elfess. "Good evening, miss. God keep you."

As he trooped back out into the dusk, Arnholt wished he could have found out more, but clearly the innkeeper had other things to attend to. As did he. Anyway, he could hardly hang around asking questions all night. He'd just look like an idiot. And the fish would get cold.

[Gutter Rat]

Fin. Great thread, Arnholt. Made me research.

[Turi]

locked, skilled, archived