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-----The adventurers see the guards Romney, Abram, Shema, and Bradley seated at one of the side tables. Romney raises his glass and nods at the four adventurers.
-----As everyone is seated, Sir Greene gets up and says, "We are here this night to celebrate the victories of our dearest and newest friends. We are also here to celebrate the continued well fare of our blessed country, estate, and fief. All hail Oakwood, Fair Fief of Hearthorn, Honorable Estate of Altoria, the Noblest of all Kingdoms!"
-----After the advisors repeat what Sir Greene said, the Knight of Oakwood continues, saying, "Before we get a chance to honor our Esteemed Guests, let us relax and dine together in friendship."
-----With that a procession of servants enter bringing large platters filled with food. All sorts of meat, vegetables and fruits are served and the aroma makes the stomachs roar with anticipation. A group of four musicians enter and begin playing light and cheerful tunes.
-----Sol sits right next to Sir Greene and Sarah notices that to her left is seated the Court Wizard, Elandrin, himself!
-----Romney gets up and walks up to Raven as he begins to eat. "I wanted to let you know, sir," the guard begins to tell him respectfully, "that your wolf seemed uncomfortable here inside the keep so we are letting him roam outside in the courtyard. The guards there are keeping an eye on him for you."
-----Shortly into dinner Sol turns to Sir Greene and asks him, "Sir Greene, who co-ordinates th' guards here in Oakwood town itself?"
-----"Ah, friend Sol Herron, that would be High Marshall Grady," answers Sir Greene, "He is sitting at yon table." The Knight indicates a middle-aged man with shortly trimmed hair sitting at the table to Sol’s left.
-----Sol then indicates that he'd like, if possible, to speak with him briefly after dinner.
-----"By all means," replies Sir Greene, "I shall introduce you myself after dinner."
-----Sarah picks quietly at her dinner for a few minutes, glancing nervously at the Court Wizard every few seconds until finally she works up the courage to talk to him.
-----"Excuse me?" She says, tapping his arm lightly. "I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Sarah Night."
-----As Raven eats, he listens to the various conversations going on around him. Raven is plainly over his head here, but seems to be enjoying it.
-----"It is truly an honor to meet you, my dear," the wizard says politely to Sarah, "I know your father well. I regret that I did not get to attend this month’s Wizards’ Council but I did see him at the first of the year. I can say that he has seemed very proud of his daughter. When last I saw him, he told me you were ready to practice your magical arts. Here it is nearly two months later and I am hearing amazing tales of you and your mighty friends. How have you been faring?" Elandrin smiles pleasantly and looks at the young mage with interest and a bit of curiosity.
-----"I have been faring very well," Sarah says, glancing at Sol quickly. "And I do believe I am ready to learn newer magics, although sometimes my father tends to exaggerate my abilities. Do you think we could meet and discuss some things after dinner? There were some items we found in the Dark Cavern that I think you might want to look at."
-----At the other end of the table, a man excuses himself as he talks across Rinda to ask something of Raven. He introduces himself as the Chamberlain Otimus and asks, "Sir, could you give us some idea of what we are up against in the forests?" He also asks, "How much of the trouble that you have come across has been due to the elves in the woods?"
-----Raven says to Otimus, "None what so ever. In our travels we discovered the dark cult was behind the trouble between the elves and humans. It is truly sad how much misery that evil heartless cult spread through this area."
-----Somewhat later, Sol again turns to the host and asks, "Sir, how is Sir Hampton faring? Have ye heard from him lately?" Sol's tone is neutral though a slight frown indicates it's not the knight's welfare that the Gorian inquires about.
-----Sir Greene replies, "We have not had contact yet with Sir Hampton. At this point, we are using the keep that you have secured for us as a rallying point. Now that the leader of the followers of the Dark has been defeated, we are hoping that the remainder of their forces is in disarray. In the following days, I intend to send more troops into the perimeters to force out any underlings that seek to hide from us. We will eventually work our troops closer to Proat and in the vicinity of Sir Hampton’s stronghold."
-----Sol purses his lips, taking his time to answer, "I think...that the people in th' area o' Proat would be grateful fer...any assistance yer men give them." The warrior turns back to dinner, smiling briefly at Sarah before he does so.
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