Knights of the Platinum Dragon: A D&D Story

Chapter 18: Tales Old and New, Part II

After Romain discretely called for two of his servants to fetch a new chair for Technus, whispering to them that he was unsure if the ones the rest of the party had in their spots could support the weight of his massive half-metal frame, everyone took their seats. Technus was given an old and ornate throne of carved wood with a broad seat and high back. Upon sitting down, the cleric immediately ran a finger along one of the arms, then lifted the tip to in front of his mechanical eye, which rapidly clicked as it zoomed in.

"Dust," Technus stated bluntly.

Romain nodded from the head of the table. "Apologies, but we haven't brought that chair out for a while," he said. "It was my grandmother's."

Technus lifted both his eyes, still reflecting no sympathy or gratitude for Romain giving up such a personal possession for him to use. The only reply he gave was "It shall suffice" in his cold, crackling dirge of a voice.

Logan's fist was clenching on the table, but he kept his cool as he tried to tell himself that bringing Technus to the table was necessary, even if he'd be as grating as a blade scraping across a china plate.

Speaking of which, Romain's servants suddenly returned, sweeping into the room with plates of food carried on each arm. Their starter was a creamy fish soup garnished with various herbs and spices, followed by a main course of roast goose with potatoes and a variety of vegetables; carrots, courgettes, squash and a few others Logan couldn't name. Wines both white and red were served, poured into silver-plated goblets that were chased with intricate patterns, the surfaces now blurred and worn with age and use.

The food was more plain than fanciful, for which Logan was deeply grateful – after having had to attend so many banquets and such in his youth, he feared their dinner would consist of those pretentious and pompous meals that were a half-inch pile of an unnameable green something in the middle of a massive empty platter. So the fact they got portions that were worth a damn was a huge relief!

As such, he ate well, the excitement of today's battle bringing forth a nagging hunger within him. He sat to Romain's right, with Stalk and Technus further down the table on his side. Meanwhile, across from them, Ren pushed his food about his plate with knife and fork, Arabella sat upright and straight as a lance against the chair as she delicately cut her food into smaller portions, and then flushed with embarrassment when Finnan shoved the entire leg of a goose into his wide mouth and seemed to suck every last scrap of meat off the bone in one bite.

At the sight of this, Romain only laughed, to which Logan and Stalk both chuckled as well. The kenku then told their host "I hope you made extra, Romain! The little man's got a big appetite!"

"Clearly!" Romain replied. "Fear not – there's plenty more where this came from! After all, we haven't even reached the cheese course yet!"

That made Ren turn his head from where he sat in a rather hunched posture. "Cheese course?" the wizard asked, looking quizzical.

Romain met the wizard's gaze and said "Indeed! A cheese course is always served at a Milisevran feast! It's one of our traditions, as we make many different fine cheeses, or 'fromages' as we call them," he explained. "And just wait until you taste our desserts!"

Watching Romain converse, Logan couldn't help but smile. Right arm resting on the table with his goblet held in his fingers, the Galehaut remarked "You seem in a very jovial mood, Romain..."

"Oh, that's just me being myself!" Logan's fellow paladin declared. "Though I hope I'm not making you uneasy, mon ami," he quickly added.

Logan cocked his head slightly. "'Mon ami?'"

Romain gave him a warm smile "It means 'my friend.'"

Truth be told, that did make Logan slightly uneasy. Romain seemed to have a very... forward personality. He was undeniably brave, generous and honourable, but speaking as someone who was of a more reserved disposition, Logan found his fellow paladin's mannerisms to be rather 'out there'. Not disturbing or off-putting... just a bit much.