Ash 56, 121
"And that's how my sister was married to a goat!"
Those around this hearth all laughed heartily at Geltrick's story. And then the Lysanrin held up his flagon, and all who heard the story, Franky included, held theirs up as well. And then they all drank together in silence. When Geltrick finished, so did everyone else. Geltrick moved over and sat down and Franky stood up, moving through the half arc of chairs around the fireplace.
He could hear the other stories being told around the other hearths in the Hobbled Gobbler that evening. The mood was more subdued this evening. Sure, when a story got exciting or funny, there were cheers, gasps, and laughs, but they didn't linger, and the air in the bar was far quieter than it normally was at this time. The Imperial Tradition of Tales and Ales was one that Franky especially held dear and he'd made it clear anyone desecrating it would be removed and banned for life.
Franky turned to face his semi circular audience. He took a sip from his ale, cleared his throat, and locked eyes on the center most person. "When I was a young soldier in the Imperium, still breaking in the new leather of my first boots, I was given a special assignment to go alongside my normal duties. This is common in the Imperium for those who aren't familiar. Some of these assignments are given to shore up the strengths of the soldier, others to give more time to think, or to aid in providing a focus. But these assignments were always beneficial, though it was rarely obvious to the soldier at the time.
And me being a young hothead, like all the best soldiers in my family line, certainly failed to the see the point. My assignment was to, every day after camp was made, was to carry a young pig up the mountain on my back, so that it could drink from a spring there. This spring was especially clear and cold, and it was believed its waters passed on great health and growth to those who drank from it. So every night, holding the front legs of that sow over my shoulders, I hiked several hours up the mountain, shared a drink with her, then carried her back down.
I did this day after day, and every night, I received the absolute last of the evening meals, sometimes none at all. I usually missed the evening drinks and the camaraderie around the fires." Franky looked around the room, picking a new set of eyes to fall upon, "Eventually I got quicker, despite the pig growing bigger and fatter. I remember the first time I made it back in time to not be last in line for mess. Bacon and beans." Franky smiled, "And I got a nice tall flagon of ale. It was flat and old and wooden, but still, it was hitting the spot as my victory drink."
His face grew lighter, "That night, we shared our fires with some merchants that were passing through town. And that's when I first saw her. She stepped through us, tossing water on our fire, snuffing it one go, sending steam and smoke cascading upward. Then she dropped her cloak, wearing this small outfit, covered in dangling beads, a long flowing skirt. And she began dancing around the coals of the fire. The smoke and steam followed her motions, then soon we saw that with a twist of the hips, with a flow of the arms, she was making the smoke dance. She kept it there, swirling and undulating and mesmerizing each and every single one of us as she did.
Her pace increased and the smoke grew denser, as she forced it lower and lower upon the damp logs. The entire camp was holding its breath, all were watching now. And then with a spin and a gentle flick of the hips, she sent the smoke down into the center of the logs and an ember began to glow within. She continued at a frenzied pace, coaxing the life back into our fire that she'd snuffed. None of us were goblins or humans, men or women at this point. We were all just smoke, completely bent to her will.
Then the fire raged back into life, breaking this spell of hers. And she smiled, "The fates smile upon your battle tomorrow." This caused confusion among the ranks, especially the officers. There was no battle planned tomorrow, we were just a training contingent after all, not yet put into active service. And yet, the next day, we were ambushed by a Perelian scouting party that had gotten trapped deep in our lines, by us accidentally. And with that Smoke Dancer in our hearts, we bested those fucks, and graduated from being a training contingent. Within a month, we marched on the Perelian capital and we watched as the king gave us his people in exchange for his own freedom. Coward."
Franky smiled, "The smoke dancer was hired as our contingent's mystic, and I continued my special task training, and I never once missed one of her performances. And soon, I was first in line for food every day at dinner. And as we prepared to march on Yoriku, that smoke dancer plucked me from the crowd and told me that I would be hers when I returned victorious." Franky grinned broadly, "She's still my wife to this day, the mother to my children."
Franky raised his flagon, and all who were listening joined him. And then he touched it to his lips, draining the rest of it, among the camaraderie of friends and neighbors, moving to sit down, to allow the next story teller to take over.
