The best beans come from Antiva

Posted on 22 Oct 2020 @ 3:35am by Mage Kalian Winter & Rogue Cainan Sauvage & Rogue Elinowy Ursulas

2,177 words; about a 11 minute read

Mission: Lore's Labour's Lost
Location: Raven's Roost Tavern
Timeline: Cloudreach 16th - morning

The aromatic scent of freshly ground coffee drew Kalian out of bed at dawn. He dressed and hurried down the stairs to pour himself a cup and slurped the bitter brew eagerly. Cook's wife was from Antiva and always managed to get the best, dark-roasted beans. Kalian kissed her wrinkled cheek. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"

Cook, a middle-aged woman with straight salt-and-pepper hair escaping from her head wrap, a Rivaini accent, and skin as dark as Kalians, chuckled and said, "Every day. I still don't know if it's me or the coffee you love."

"Some confessions of love are better left ambiguous," said Armin laughing as he rolled himself into the kitchen on his wheeled chair. Kalian poured another cup and handed it to his father.

Cook and Armin had already received the morning's food deliveries. Whilst Kalian's father helped organize things in the kitchen, and Cook began preparing the day's stew, Kalian arranged breakfast buffet-style on the bar, in-between gulps of coffee. One of the baker's apprentices had delivered freshly baked baguets, croissants, and pain au chocolat. To the offering for their guests, Kalian added jam and butter, canned and dried fruit, and boiled eggs that Cook had just taken off the stove. Plates, cutlery, and mugs were next, and then a pot of coffee and a small pitcher of cream.

When the buffet was ready, Kalian refilled his coffee cup, grabbed a pain au chocolat from the platter, and bit into the delicious warm pastry filled with sweet Antivan chocolate, and tried his best not to let any flaky bits of pastry fall to the floor.

As the aroma of coffee floated out of the windows of the Tavern, a melody traveled on the breeze. The Kitchen staff had be listening to song for most of the last hour since the sun arose. Clearly the voice of a woman, trained in cantoring. It could be described as inspirational for those that believed in the Chant, or annoying to those with little interest. But still the early morning was filled with song.

"...The Veil holds no uncertainty for her,
And she will know no fear of death, for the Maker
Shall be her beacon and her shield, her foundation and her sword."

The final verse drifted in and the voice grew silent. The typical sounds of the kitchen returned. Breifly, the door to the Tavern opened, the scarlet clad sister of the Chantry walked in. Her face looking serene and focused. Providing a morning blessing to all as she entered, she walked up to the buffet table and selected a Pain Au Chocolat. She walked up beside Kalian. "Please tell your sister thank you for the room. It was very comfortable. I did my best to make up the room. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you."

Kalian chewed the last bite of his pastry as the Sister completed the verse, and washed it down with the last gulp of coffee from his cup. "Tessa said a gentleman paid for your room, and a room for himself." Kalian glanced at the stairs to the second floor. Tessa had joked that he should not be too fast to raise an alarm if he heard footsteps sneaking around between rooms in the middle of the night.

"Your singing voice is as beautiful as you are," said Kalian, his tone admiring but not, he hoped, flirtatious. She was a Chantry Sister, deserving of respect. "Transfigurations, if I'm not mistaken? Redemption for the repentant. It is a pleasure to hear the verses sung with joy, rather than in mourning." That part of the Chant was often sung at funerals.

"Would you care for some coffee?" asked Kalian. "I can get you a cup of tea if you prefer."

Elinowy smiled, pulling back the cowl of her habit to straighten some hair from her face. "You are kind Kalian. I see you know your chant. Impressive. I find the tribulations of Andraste inform us of how to deal with the everyday trials we face, and if we turn to them with faith and joy versus sorrow, they can change how we face our problems. The truth of the Maker is filled with joy and love, even the versus commonly thought of a solemn. How did you come to be so versed in the sacred writings?"

Kalian's shoulders rose and fell in a self-deprecating shrug. "I attended Chantry school. Surprising what you can learn when you pay attention to Chantry sisters." He winked at Elinowy and smiled. He'd actually learned the Chant, including the dissonant versus, under his grandmother Mirren's tutelage. Kalian picked up the nearly-full pot of coffee on the table. "You didn't say what you'd like to drink."

"Tea would be greatly appreciated. I try not to ingest stimulants whenever possible. The maker loves a pure vessel."

"Of course, Sister. Take a seat and I'll be right back with your tea. Please, help yourself to more breakfast if you'd like." Kalian inclined his head, then went to the kitchen to fetch a tea pot, added herbs – Cook had her own mix of dried mint, borage, red clover, and elfroot flowers – and boiling water. Then he returned to Elinowy with the teapot and a mug and set them on the sister's table, then filled a plate and joined her.

Cainan awoke shortly after the sun rose high enough to shine in through the window, the smell of the harbour wafting in from the northern breeze. He had slept in the nude, having arrived without clothes to change into, it was imperative to not look like a homeless man come morning.

He rose from the bed and used the wash-basin to freshen himself; hygiene was important to Cainan, and as he performed his ablutions in the cool morning air, he thought back to the encounter the night before, with the intriguing Chantry Sister. He still did not know what exactly he was hoping to achieve; she was more than capable of offering equal levels of distraction in both carnal and regular pursuits, and her enticing him into joining whatever holy mission she had was definitely diverting.

He dressed, and hoped to Maker they had coffee here; the ale and wine had mixed a little in his sleep and while he was not hungover, he felt more tired than he should have. The Tavern had lost none of its rustic charms since he had retired for the evening, and he mused at how strange in contrast with his surroundings he must look. Still, it was an agreeable tavern, and while the woman serving drinks here was most definitely married, that might actually be a good thing considering the reason he had been forced to relocate his drinking habits the last three establishments was his endless pursuit of beautiful women. Not that the woman who owned the Roost was unbecoming, but Cainan was not interested in married women; he would disrespect a man to his face for free, but he would not stoop to doing so when the man was out of reach and unable to defend his honour; that wasn’t his way.

The common room was already inhabited as he entered the room; the man who had helped the guard the night before and the good sister Elinowy sharing a morning cup of what smelled like coffee.

“Ah, that’s what I’ve been craving this morning,” Cainan announced with a dramatic flourish. “The giver of life and panacea of woes; I don’t suppose there’s more where that coffee came from?” Cainan asked, as he came to the table, relieved.

"Of course, ser," said Kalian politely, and poured the gentleman a cup of coffee. Tavern guests of this man's apparent wealth and nobility did occasionally patronize the Raven, and yet this man who had paid for the sister's room and entertained her the evening before stood out, especially at this early hour. The tavern's other guests were likely still sleeping. "There is cream here for the coffee if you prefer. Also a few items to break your fast."

Cainan joined them at the table. “Good morning, Sister, how did you sleep?” he asked, politely.

"More blissfully than I have is some time. Thank you Ser Sauvage." the sister said with a grin. "I trust your night was satisfactory."

Cainan smirked at that, the wordplay twisting the knife slightly. He turned for a moment to the gentleman after letting the first sip of coffee awaken his senses properly to his faux pas. “My apologies, monsieur! Cainan Sauvage, at your service!” he said, inclining his head with respect. “It is terrible manners for me not to have asked your name before accepting your coffee; please forgive me, I promise to have more manners after this cup,” he joked, reaching out a hand.

Somewhat surprised by the gentleman's affable attention, Kalian accepted his hand in a firm handshake. Sauvage's hands were calloused from frequent practice with a sword or rapier. "Kalian Winter. A pleasure to meet another coffee enthusiast." He drank his own coffee with equal appreciation, and let his curiosity get the better of strict courtesy. "Are you new to Jader, ser Sauvage?"

"Oh, Jader and I are firm friends and old acquaintances," Cainan replied, an expression of fondness across his face. "My family hails from Jader originally, though after my grandfather's company became quite profitable, the main household now resides in Val Royeux, but we have always maintained something in Jader as well - it's still one of our principal ports, and where my father encourages me to live to 'assist with the smooth operation should there be a need'," he quoted, leaving out the part that they had mutually agreed that Jader was far enough from the Empress and main household that Cainan's shenanigans would reflect least poorly on the family. Cainan had never taken that as shamefully as his father had intended, instead seeing Jader as something of a playground that Val Royeux could never be.

Kalian bowed toward their scarlet-clad companion. "Sister Elinowy and I must make an appearance at the constabulary this morning, and give statements regarding the thief she helped capture last night," said Kalian. "Perhaps you would care to accompany us?"

"Ser Sauvage was going to accompany me to look in on the refugee camp after our deposition. So it does look like we shall all be travelling companions for a bit." The sister responded.

Kalian's eyebrows lifted, and he rolled a boiled egg between his hands to break the shell and began peeling. So, the Sister had already found an escort in Jader... who was not himself. He bowed his head to Cainan. "How chivalrous of you, ser Sauvage. I'm sure the refugees will appreciate Elinowy's prayers and blessings. By coincidence, Martin – the guard from last night – and I also plan to visit the refugee camp, after our statements." He bit the peeled egg in half and chewed.

"What is a gentleman with chivalry?" Cainan mused, chuckling. He had certainly been called worse, but he always attempted to be at least that, through all the other attributes ascribed to him. "So, you're a member of the guard? It's strange I don't recognise you, and I thought I knew most of the guards that work the docks area," Cainan said, thinking back to the man from the night before; he hadn't recognised him, either, though he had heard other guards talk of a Martin, he was sure. The guards that spoke of him most often weren't very charitable about the man, though not even their own mothers would describe them as charitable in any way, and this coupled with the regularity of their shirking duty to play dice spoke more to Martin's credit than to their own.

"Oh, I'm not a guard." Kalian laughed and shook his head. Normally, he'd take advantage of the opportunity to perpetuate his reputation as a harmless fool by claiming to be inadequately sober for such a responsibility. But with Elinowy there, somehow it was harder to tell such lies. He could however… tell the truth selectively. "I don't have the temperament, or skill with edged weapons, to join the Guard. Just a bow and a quarterstaff. I'm just going with Martin, who is a guard, but technically he'll be off duty."

Once they had all eaten, Kalian gathered up their dishes and took them to the kitchen just as Dilana arrived with her husband and brother. She cheerily took the dishes to wash as the two male elves took up the previous day's leftover stew, and headed back to the alienage. Kalian wrapped a pain Au Chocolat in a clean cloth, and returned to Cainan and Elinowy. "Shall we go?"

Cainan drained the last of his coffee and stood, careful to arrange the rapier at his hip into a comfortable position now they would be walking.

"Yes, I think so. Madame?" he asked, politely of Elinowy.

 

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