[Re-Introduction: Sir Dinadan]

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

Dinadan awakens, which is already several positive steps ahead of where he thought he'd be this morning (viz. in the void from which there is no awakening, or in the hereafter that he has done nothing particularly to avoid). A giddy thrill of relief washes through him. He cautiously cracks one eye open, and then the other. For a moment, the sunlight's brightness overwhelms him--an aching reminder that he is, somehow, alive.

But as the sunlight becomes bearable, he realizes that he is somehow, impossibly, once again, in Sagramore's cabbages.


"Christ, do you really only have one joke?" he calls to the sky--but he's grinning all the same. A life condemned to cabbages is better than a death condemned to Hell or the void, and given those are the only two options, he'll gladly take the cabbages.

Friends and strangers may find a tall, blond knight minstrel wandering around in Sagramore's borrowed clothes, occasionally strumming his rebec, definitely not touching anything he shouldn't.

Comments

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"Oh, subtle and underhanded; I'm impressed!"

[futaille]

"Why, thank you! I hope to remain impressive."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"Let's try your skill at praises, then!"

[futaille]

"The first one that comes to mind is how difficult it was to think of any mockery!"

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"So quick on your feet! Like a dancer with the spoken word!"

[futaille]

"A nimbleness born of a truly ridiculous amount of practice, I assure you."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"In what arena did you practice, to become so proficient?"

[futaille]

"Why, the cafés and backrooms of Paris, truly an unmatched training ground."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"Paris--I've heard of Paris! Very cultured, isn't it? Palaces and cathedrals and whatnot?"

[futaille]

"Indeed! Although I've never set foot in the first and only rarely in the second. Well, I suppose you could say I have walked into a palace if you count palaces that have since turned into museums."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

Curiously, "What's a museum?"

[futaille]

"Oh. It's a place where things are displayed for the public. Most specialize in some way, for instance art, or curiosities of nature, and the like."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"And kings gave their palaces for these public displays?"

[futaille]

"The Louvre was an old one which had been set aside in favor of newer and more well-appointed palaces, so the building was designated to house artists under royal patronage, and eventually from there became a museum."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"A king so wealthy that he can afford to give up one of his palaces, because he has better? Truly, Camelot's more of a backwater than I thought."

[futaille]

"Far be it from me to dispute England's status as backwater, but in fairness, I am from several centuries later than Camelot, and the world in general is significantly wealthier than it was then."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"Through the usual methods, I suppose? Conquest, pillage, taxation, and so on?"

[futaille]

"Oh, of course. All of the old reliables."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"Would you happen to know whether France ever got around to conquering England? Again?"

[futaille]

"Oh, no. Not necessarily for lack of trying, but England remains England and has conquered quite a swath of the world herself."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"Well, that's unfortunate."

[futaille]

"Which part? The not being conquered or the conquering?"

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

"If someone was going to conquer a swath of the world, I'd prefer it to be a country that could find its own arse with both hands; that's all."

[futaille]

"Unfortunately, I fear that one of those has never existed."

[rebecs_with_the_straps]

A philosophical shrug. "Such is the fate of all empires."