Posts from Pursuit of the Sun 1.2

They saw, they saw! Hmm, it hints that the mission is suicidal!

- Thank you, Viscount! May prosperity be with you and your lineage," having finished with a kind word to the Viscount, Cassius goes to sit at his table, waiting for the feast to end. Next day.

At the table, a constable, gesticulating wildly, is telling a lady, slightly older than him, something that is clearly impressive.
-- And then, the five of us stood on the bridge, Lord Marshal was wounded by a spear, and I shielded him. The fierce onslaught of the northerners broke against our formation wave after wave, like waves against a shore! Have you never seen the sea?
-- Unfortunately, I haven't.
-- Incredible! If I were rich, I would certainly have taken care of that, but alas, there are so many things to do and so little money... We killed fifty people, and for those who died that day, your husband and other worthy people, we honored them threefold.
-- Yes, yes, very bravely. Few are capable of such a thing, certainly not my late husband. Pour me some more wine.
Grabbing the goblet, the constable reaches for the wine jug and whispers confidentially to Cassius, who is sitting next to him:
-- Any progress? I swear, talking to women is more difficult than any of my duties as a constable.

- The sages write that words mean nothing to women, and only a man's appearance truly captivates them,” Cassius said quietly, then added, looking at Ida. “She is simply afraid of me… and she is right.

"What's sweeter – horseradish or radish?" thought Voldemar.

"Gambling is evil, but alcohol is even less desirable... I'll go to the players..."

He walks over to the dice players as a "spectator"...

Hargen was used to diverse company; during his years of wandering, he had seen high lords, workers, soldiers, and the poor. Each, adorned with ethnic and class labels, ostentatiously displayed their chests decorated with imaginary orders: "I am a lord, and my place is at the head of the table"; "I am from a distant relative and a lordly clan – I will take a seat a little further away"; "I was only invited from the retinue's guest room, and my place is to linger near the exit"; "Well, I am just a servant, not a person at all, and therefore I must bustle between the tables, like a hungry dog."

—Thank you. —the berserker takes a goblet and moistens his philosophical reflections with sweet drink. —Apart from observing the festivities unfolding in the city, I have no other business. I am ready to help in whatever way I can and in whatever is needed.

At the table, they are playing one of the simplest and most exciting dice games – poker. There are only three avid players who don't leave the table; Vol demar can, for now, call them Warrior, Merchant, and Commoner, based on their attire. Periodically, one of the spectators takes a seat at the table, but most leave after a few rounds, having lost or simply grown bored.
-- Hey, kid, -- the Warrior shouts to Vol demar, noticing him. -- You look like a brave one. Wanna play? First round, small stakes.

He's doing quite well. He was... until he got sick.

– Hello, friend, – Ottar greeted him. – I've heard about your trouble and decided to learn more... some say that the less you know, the better you sleep, but I don't think so. They say that your apprentice was either the first or the second victim of the disease... how did it happen?

Now that this is the last one... it's worth talking to him as productively as possible.

-- Excellent. There is a problem that is best solved without unnecessary bloodshed, a problem that will require getting your hands dirty...
-- Come to me with this problem, -- Jarl Sigurd interjects.
-- And finally, you can simply hunt dangerous creatures together with Gautier... That is, with Sir de Charny, also known as the Crimson Knight – I think you noticed him at the feast. Which option appeals to you more? Let me tell you right away, I won't be able to send my people on the first mission, so you will need the help of expedition members or other talented people – not just in combat.

- I don't believe in the righteousness of these wise men either,” he replies, then adds in a way that only the constable can hear. - But you shouldn't believe a woman's words, ever.