Friday Night Magic

[Kray]

Continuing the talk of food, maybe oblivious to the elderly Winter not having comment. "Ah. Also got a lot variety with it, a lot of things you might not think to try, like seaweed." Shaking his head almost in mirth. "Would never think to eat seaweed." Who would, well some apparently.

He snorts. Knowing full well that yes there were. "Ha. Sure just load your dice, stack the deck and in general cheat the other guy." He shrugs. "That's a form of skill in itself although I have a bee in my bonnet about verbal dishonesty." Words could be slippery and the wyrd could take them sometimes.

Casting his dice.

Yhatzee! 2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-24 14:46:18	Kray rolls 5 to Yahtzee! (10 Again)	8, 9, 3, 1, 5	2 successes

Alright not so bad. Still behind the darkling but it will do. Scores, phone number recorded and dice in pot to be pushed back across.

Change. Not everything changes. "Hm. Now that's a double edged sword if ever one existed things can change for the good or things can change for the worse." And the gentry do they even change at all? "Ah. The best way to invoke change is to direct it. If you can't then things change around you, out of your control." And wasn't control what they all sort really? The right, the ability to control their own lives to recover and protect what they had.

[Withers]

Withers nods as the Ogre speaks on seaweed.

"A good snack, I like it," the Darkling says, "You can find it dried and salted in a lot of places. It has good flavor, but it sticks to the teeth a bit much, in my opinion."

The withered man smiles as Kray seemed to readily pick up on his meaning and his comment on what Withers could only guess was a strong dislike for liars.

"Indeed, one needs to be careful with such deceptions," he agrees, "And they should bear the wisdom of who is best left alone."

Casting his dice.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-25 02:03:08	Withers rolls 5 to Yahtzee! (10 Again)	10, 5, 5, 4, 1, 8	2 successes

The Darkling squints, looking over his paper as he records his score while Kray speaks.

"Nothing in life exists that is without risk," he muses as Kray speaks of double-edged swords, "It is up to us to measure which choices are worth risking."

[Kray]

He snorts, stuff getting stuck in teeth was a constant issue he had to contend with. "Ha. Tell me about it." Shaking his head a little, the lichens that dangle from his scalp instead of hair swaying in front of those oversized stony grey things he calls teeth, it would not take much to imagine those being strings of flesh instead. "Oh. But now it does make you wonder does it not? Who decided to reach down pick up seaweed, try and then go you know what if I cooked this, I got something." A glutton he is yes but eating random plants off the ground was something even he would not do.

nodding. "Aye. That they do. How often does a sore loser accuse the other of foul play even when all is fair." Losing with grace was something of a skill in itself. "Hm. Hm? Best left alone. Now that depends would it not on skill and intention." Trickery was all fair and well in the Ogres book if you could pull it off, lying, lying was the thing he took umbrage with. A niche distinction he was aware.

He will cast what looks be close to his last set of dice.

Yahtzee! 1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-25 07:23:15	Kray rolls 5 to Yahtzee! (10 Again)	5, 8, 4, 5, 1	1 success

Falling further behind. scores and phone number recorded, dice in cup and passed over.

He nods. "Oh. Now that's a universal truth. I am all to aware of needing to balance what risks are worth taking. I am all to aware of knowing you need to try and not be ruled by your feelings." Fear. "To act over cautiously or with an excess of zeal." Compensating for fear with fool hardy and unnecessary risks was no better then being overly cautious. "Ah. But its a hard line to draw is not deciding what is worth that risk, so often it comes upon you in less then ideal circumstances." But for the court of ash to garner and gather the magics it sought to use against the gentry great risks had to be taken, it was the way of dealing with the dark and wonderful magics of faerie.

[Withers]

The Darkling looks contemplative as the Ogre wonders aloud about the origins of eating seaweed.

"I can't speak to Asian cuisine," he says, "but I do recall reading that at one point in Europe that seafood was the food of the poor. In the days of feudal dynasties, lords of a manor, their liege, and other members of nobility had a claim on hunting and, as I'm sure you are aware, took tithes from their serfs in the form of food they farmed. However, no such claims existed at the time for food pulled from the sea. Thus, when low tide came, the common folk went out and grabbed what they could to supplement their diet at home."

Then a laugh.

"I can only imagine how it ended..." the Darkling mused, "Perhaps some nobleman accepted food from the less fortunate and found it appetizing, thereby ensuring that their 'lessers' were denied such comforts they had once enjoyed."

With that somber thought, the darkling again gathered the dice and cast them.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-27 02:34:49	Withers rolls 5 to Yahtzee! (10 Again)	7, 7, 10, 2, 4, 4	1 success

There was a nod in agreement from the withered Winter as Kray spoke of caution.

"Indeed, sometimes the risk becomes too great and the best thing one can do is wait," Withers offered, "To take stock and reassess. And absorb all that has come to pass."

That was often the creed of Onyx Court. To wait and observe, as still as death. When necessary, they would hide, but, generally, they would listen.

[Kray]

The talk carries the all to familiar themes, how the mortal world reflects the realms of the others, or is it the other way around, or is just imagining scarred as he is from his durance? But his disgruntlement is clear. "Hmpf. Now why does that not surprise me in the slightest. Sounds all to familiar don't it." In his gruff and perverse way seeking the insights of the more scholar darkling on the matter.

Taking the dice his roll a little more aggressive.

Yahtzee! 3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-28 12:11:02	Kray rolls 5 to Yahtzee! (10 Again)	3, 10, 7, 1, 7, 10, 9	3 successes

The nice surprise does help. "Huh. Well look at that just had to show the dice who is in charge." Scores and phone number and written dice in the cup pushed back for the final throws.

Bulging yellow eyes dart over to the fading light of the window. "Uh. Sometimes. Other times you need to weigh the risk and do what needs to be done then and there. Sometimes waiting and watch won't tell you what you need to know." But yes a tough line to walk. "You need to know what's holding you back is it caution or an excess cause then fear is controlling you. But what's driving you is it need or is it bravado cause that's also fear." That need to not appear to be a coward drove so many into stupid situations.

Looks like we are getting close I will wrap it with my next post. Thank you for popping in Stray it was really fun. I look forward to seeing more of Withers

[Withers]

There is a somber nod from the Darkling.

"Yes," he replies, "It's as if the same old tales are being said over and over again, renewed each era by the advancements - and regressions - of the time."

Blackened fingers reach and gather the dice, depositing them in the cup and granting them the same gentle shakes as the Winter had done before. Then he casts them

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-28 20:58:02	Withers rolls 5 to Yahtzee! (10 Again)	9, 8, 6, 3, 9	3 successes

There is a smile at the results, but old Withers does not gloat, merely writing down his score and pushing the cup softly back to his massive compatriot.

"Oh, yes, I agree with you," he said, "All the better if you can learn without being seen. One can learn much by being a fly on a wall."

A thoughtful expression crosses the wrinkled face of the ancient looking Dark One as Kray afforded more of his philosophy. Withers listened with interest, not interrupting as the Ogre spoke.

Heard! Thanks for the scene and yeah should be fun going forward too!

[Kray]

A final nod nothing left to say they both knew far to well, far to painfully those tales played out again and gain and again.

He takes his final roll.

Yahtzee! 4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-07-29 06:13:23	Kray rolls 5 to Yahtzee! (10 Again)	2, 2, 10, 8, 10, 6, 10, 4	4 successes

"Huh. Well look at that ending better then I started, that's something." He totals scores and makes sure the phone number is fully recorded

D - 20
S - (Sarah's phone number)
O - 19

I went back and totalled our respective successes

"Hm. Well that was a lot closer then I thought it was going to be a few good rolls really brought me right back in which a chance." Slides the paper across for the darkling to have. "Still your win, why don't you keep the score card as a keep sake." And the ruse was complete, hopefully the mortals felt a little better having seen the earlier tension followed by more amicable conversation and the game finish without further incident.

"Now with that all done I think they are looking to shut up shop." And probably kind ready to be done with the aggressive and forceful giant. As the shop closes Kray will depart back to his car ... and take a very circuitous route home because well encountering new and random lost out and about was always a risk.