A date to dream about.
A white-haired man in a large hat and a red-haired woman enter one of the most exquisitely furnished restaurants in Baccarat. "It's nice to dress up and get out of Arcadia sometimes."
"You do clean up quite nicely. Here I thought you weren't being serious with your flirting." Vartan smirked while placing his hands in his pockets.
"When have I not been serious with my flirting with you? Every time my eyes lay upon you my day is vastly improved." Karina snickers at the comment.
"You'll ruin your teeth if you keep using such honeyed words."
A Maître D' approached the duo and stood behind the lectern. The man was an elf only slightly taller than either of them with a svelte figure and stern demeanor. He opened a book on the lectern and produced a quill with ink from the air. "Good evening and welcome. Do you have a reservation?" Vartan nodded and pulls a piece of paper from his jacket pocket.
"Table for two. It should be under the name 'Vartan' my good man." The elf examines the paper and compares it to information in the book. He looks to the duo and pulls two menus from a shelf under the lectern.
"Everything is in order sir. Allow me to lead you to your seats. Your waiter will be with you shortly." Vartan nodded and held his arm out toward Karina. "Shall we?" Karina stood up straight and wrapped her arm in Vartan's. "We shall." The two followed the Maître D' to the table.
"I'm curious what is served here. Whenever I'm in Baccarat I usually eat at that small café near the casino. That's where I learned about the wonders of chicory in coffee." Vartan said after sitting down. Karina took her seat soon after.
"I've never been here myself, but a friend of my mother started working here recently. I will have to tell her if I see her. The head chef here won third place at the Farebury Fighting Feast. Speaking of that event, one of the prizes came from a company in Port Prospect. Have you heard of this 'Pan De Monia' place?" Vartan set a napkin on his lap.
"I hadn't until I went to visit my parents. It was founded about eight years ago. As the name implies, they sell 'crazy good kitchenware.' Mostly pots and pans, but they also sell cutting boards, sharpening steel and other higher-end kitchen equipment with the exception of knives. My mother says their cauldrons are great for soup and fondue, but they haven't quite mastered the paella pan yet. I can't say anything about their quality myself, as I haven't used one. They must be doing well if they can afford to give a large prize to a new competition." Karina laid her napkin in her lap and began browsing her menu.
"The organizer might have had connections there. It certainly brought attention to the company. Even if it's not the best quality, having it associated with the event will have people talking about it. Nice little bit of advertising." Vartan shrugged and opened the menu.
"That's one way of looking at it I suppose. They know their market at least. They wouldn't sell something like that to sailors in Port Prospect. To bulky and unstable on the waves."
A halfling woman approaches the table. "Good evening. Is there anything you would like to... Karina? Well this is a surprise. It feels like I haven't seen you since you were a baby." Karina turned and smiled at the waitress.
"It's only been two years Berylla. It's still very nice to see you." She turns to Vartan. "It's like she knew I was talking about her." She holds her hand out to present Berylla. "Vartan, this is Berylla. Family friend and freelance... whatever she feels like doing at the time." She turns to the halfling and presents Vartant with the other hand. "Berylla, this is Vartan. Dream sorcerer of Arcadia and frequent buyer of hats from my shop." The halfling gives a slight bow to the sorcerer.
"It's nice to see Karina finally met someone. I hope the wedding is soon." Karina rolled her eyes as Vartan stifled a laugh. "Let's get you kids something to gnaw on. The head chef was inspired to try his hand at some foods from other cultures after his experience at the fighting feast. Instead of bread, you'll be given roasted and spiced chickpeas. He claims to have learned the recipe from the orc nomads in the desert south of here, but I haven't met one to confirm it. Would you like any wine or water to start?" Vartan straightened himself in his chair.
"I'll have water to start with please. I'll choose a wine once I decide on the main course."
"I'll do the same, but I'd like my water with lime if it's available" Berryla nodded and left the table.
Vartan returned his gaze to Karina. "She seems like she'd be fun to chat with. Her mentioning the orc nomads makes me wonder, did you ever encounter them while growing up? You told me you were born in the area." Karina nodded and a smile grew on her face.
"They would come to trade with us during the spring and summer. The adults were pretty wary around strangers, but that didn't stop the kids from playing together. They had this game where you'd try to knock down pins with a tossed club. I don't remember what it was called. Some of them tamed giant scorpions as guard animals. There were stories among the non-orc children about how the scorpions would tear your soul from your body if you angered one of the orc elders. Touching one on a hot day really hurt your hand." Vartan raised an eyebrow.
"Why would you... never mind. I know someone who'd do that as an adult, let alone as a child. I didn't have much interaction with the orcs growing up. They tended to stay on the ships they worked on when they came into port. Not many of them came on the passenger ships either, so no children." Karina and Vartan opened their menus and began to browse. Berylla appeared a minute later with the promised snack and water.
"Are you two ready to order?" Vartan closed his menu and turned to Karina.
"Would you like to split a bottle or will you have your own glass?"
"That depends, are you pairing your meal with red or white?"
"Red, Languid Sealord from Port Prospect. The best red I've ever encountered, until I laid my eyes on you at least." Karina smiled and closed her menu, trying to hide her blush.
"Ever the charmer aren't you Vartan." She leaned forward while looking at him. "Perhaps I should order a glass of white then. No, I'd be playing into your hand then. Let's split the bottle. I can't deny Port Prospect makes some great wine." She turned back to Berylla.
"I'll have the lamb tagine." The waitress jots a note on a piece of paper.
"And the gentleman? Perhaps we can fit the theme with a stew from your homeland?" Vartan smirked and adjusted his sleeves.
"I did see you had chanfana and now I'm curious. Let's go with that." The halfling took another note.
"So that's one order of chanfana, one order of lamb tagine and a bottle of Languid Sealord for the table. Very good choices. I'll be out with them as soon as they're done." She folded the paper and it vanished from her hand in a burst of orange light. The halfling bowed and went to another table.
Vartan popped a roasted chickpea into his mouth. "Oh that's nice. It's been too long since I've had sumac on something. It doesn't travel north very often." Karina took a few and ate them. A smile grew on her face as she let out a contented sigh.
"This brings me back to childhood. The orcs would give children small bags of these during our summer festival. In return we'd give them honey candies or dried meats." She said after taking a sip of water. "You've asked me a question, now it's only fair I ask you one. We've been talking about our childhoods and cultural exchange a lot lately, but I want to change the subject to a degree. How has the ability to use magic affected your life? It's something I'll never experience, so I want to hear your perspective." Vartan was still for a moment.
"That's a real deep question for a casual date isn't it?" He chewed a few more chickpeas while leaning back slightly in his chair. After swallowing the snack, his hands begin moving as if making a knot. "I don't think there are words to describe how magic affects one's life to someone who can't use it. Having the ability to bend aspects of reality to your will gives... complicated feelings to say the least. I would not be where I am today without it, but it has also caused problems for me. Deciding to travel with a some guy and a slime at 17 probably caused a few of those problems, but I learned a lot about myself and the world on those journeys. I'd say magic has positvely affected my life overall. It did once I got more experience with it anyway. If I didn't have it, I'd have no reason to wear this sort of hat. I'd have never met you then and that would have been a travesty." His hands stopped moving as the food arrived. Karina put her hand in his and leaned in to his ear.
"You're much more attractive when your honest. After this how about you show me some 'magic' at your place?" She said before kissing him on the cheek. Vartan nearly choked on the chickpea he was eating. He took the last sip of water in his glass. He removed the lid of the tagine with his free hand and kissed Karina's lips passionately behind the steam. He returned to his seat as it faded. "You may not have magic, but you've certainly enchanted me Karina."
kefkadragon Community Member 
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