Miro x Chuffy, night of the 18th of Neth

Set as the party is winding down I guess? Chuffy watches Vrinn take Grosilge up the stairs. He sits for a moment, stirring some reagents together before turning to the halfling next to him. "Guten Nacht! I am Sir Chuffy of Queen Grosilge's Knights. You are Miro, ja? Do you have more cake? I had some of my queen's and it was delicious, it was the most scrumptious thing I have tasted in my life." 

Miro looks to Chuffy.  "Unfortunatly no... too much cake leads to belly ache.  Something you ....... neva mind.  So chuffy... where did you learn all this?"   Miro gestures to the reagents moving about the little goblins deft hands.  Miro watches intently taking note of what he understood and watching intently what he did not.  

Chuffy looks down to the miniature alchemy lab set up in front of him. "Well, I started experimenting on bits in the scrap heap when I was barely a pup, trying to make bigger fires and impressive explosions. I will be honest with you, I wanted to show my queen how clever I was and have her fall in love with me in return. Unfortunately, she then got her teeth pulled out," Chuffy shudders at this before continuing, "and exiled after you people visited. At the time I wasn't around, I was trying out a new formula for fireworks that I was sure would win her heart. But when she wasn't around... Life in the Seventooth clanhome wasn't really worth living. So I left. I didn't want to have my teeth removed, so I snuck out at night. I wandered around for a while, practicing on all the new things I found until I came across a cave of kobolds. They really wanted to eat me, but I convinced them that I was a cook so if they didn't eat me they could be fed for many nights instead of just one. Then I poisoned them all. In their caves I found a dead longshanks who had a bunch of fancy gear on him, like these," he says, pulling out some beakers and other chemistry paraphernalia, "and some books that had a bunch of words in them." Chuffy pours some liquid into another container, the substance seeming to suck in the heat from the air around it. Stoppering it, he puts it into a little pocket inside his coat. He begins packing up the little alchemy lab, while he continues his story. "At first I was terrified of the words, I was really scared they would steal my thoughts. That's what everyone said they would do. But then I tried using the stuff he had on him and I made bigger and bigger explosions and fires and it was amazing, and I thought that maybe his books would tell me how to improve on my experiments. So I began to look through the books. I didn't get very far, because I couldn't understand any of it. I kept trying and trying to understand it but I couldn't. I had to ask people to help me out and most of the time they were, like, super rude. But eventually, with enough tips here and there, I picked up enough to understand on my own. That's how I got started. It was super amazing."  He finishes packing away all his gear, before leaning in towards Miro. "So now that I've told you my tale, it's only fair you tell me about you and your friends right? Especially the husband, ja?"

Looking from Chuffy's insturments back to the little goblin.  "Their stories are not mine to tell.  My story is hard for me to recount but I do not mind.  I was once a slave to a non-mage lord in Osirian."  With a wave of Miro's hand an illusory map appears on the table of Varisia.  Miro points to Sandpoint, "We are here a coastal and temperate area,"  With another wave of his hand the geography shifts to Osirion.  "This is where I am from.  A harsh desert ruled by mean who seem themselves as gods and Mages who rule over all men."  With a wave of his hand the map dissappears.  "My lord was a barrister of sorts.  He handled the prosicution of non-mages.  He was a cruel man who sought great pleasure from bringing pain and uphappiness to others people so he was also even more cruel to those he considered property. Miro pulls back the sleeves of his thick heavy robe to reveal the huge burn scars from his visit to the oven.  "I was breed as a kitchen slave, but I was clumsy... I had a tendancy to overthink things and I was constantly being punished.  This continued until finally the master of the kitchens had me imprisoned just to save his own hide from lashings."  Miro looks down a somber tone in his voice.  "After many other events that I mean not to recount, I found a book of spells.  They facilitated my escape.... however in doing so my lords slaves.... all of them... were slain.  Now I run more from the ghosts of those whos lives are on my bloody hands than anything else."   Miro looks up his eyes slightly misted from recounting his story.  "Now I make home here in Sandpoint.  Finally to have a family that I never had AND a home that was also always out of my reach.  I work hard to help those displaced or looking for a second chance in life to live here in Sandpoint as people, thats how the goblins came to be here in Sandpoint.  Beyond that I am happy with my choice of home and strive to protect it both from outside and within."  Miro smiles coyly at Chuffy and looks back to the others.  "I am not sure of your Friend Gulo, but If I were to guide you to your next story I would suggest Synovia over Vrinn,  You must be careful with his Chuffy.  Often Vrinn is a good friend specially to those who have proven to be his, but there is an anger about him that sometimes he struggles to control.  I warn you Chufft being on the wrong end of that anger often ends with very sharp things."  Miro looks down to his plate and picks a bit of food.

As Miro creates the map with a casual wave of his hand, Chuffy gasps in awe and scurries over to the desk. Eyes darting all over the surface as the map changes throughout Miro's tale, he frowns at the cruel life the halfling experienced. "But why do they um prosecute your people just because they can't do magic? And like, why do you still work in the kitchen if you were punished so often while working in one?" Chuffy looks perplexedly at Miro, head cocked to the side as if trying to figure out how a puzzle is put together. Suddenly he frowns, a skeptical look on his face. "Wait wait, go back. You found a book of spells? That's just like my story! Are you sure you're not making it up? Can I see this book?" However, seeing Miro's eyes tearing up, he takes a step back in confusion before moving in close to the mage's face. "Hey, you're leaking. Are you ok? Is there a doctor you can see?" He fumbles with his bandolier a bit before opening his pack and taking some ingredients out again and mixing up an elixir that Miro no doubt recognizes as a healing potion. "Here drink this, you'll feel better. Ja, I can ask her some stuff. She seems really strong, so she's probably pretty smart too. But I don't understand why I shouldn't go ask the husband about himself. Like, I'm one of Grosilge's knights, and doesn't he want her to be protected? Why would he want to hurt her protector?" Chuffy shakes his head. "You people don't make any sense."

Miro drags his sleeve across his face.  "That will not be nessicary Chuffy.  Old wounds of the heart heal slowly, and only time can heal them." Miro sighs and looks over to Synovia and smiles softly.  "Aye sometimes Synovia is more wise than I can ever be.  Her kindness is without parallel, to the point that sometimes I wonder why she adventures at all.  As to the book..."  Miro pulls out his first spell book.  A thin little thing of leather worn heavily with use, sand, and heat.  Its cover emblazoned by a single mask with the likness of darkness and light on either side.  "It is strange... it was in my cell one morning out of nowhere."  Miro rubs a hand over its cover having long since moved on to much grander spellbooks of various makes and sizes.  It only held cantrips and one or two first teir spells but they had been instrumental to his escape.  This was his key and the start of his life.  "As to working in the kitchen, I found that sometimes simple tasks help me to center my thoughts.  I am practiced in it and with my magics it is not difficult.  It is strange, when I was a slave, it was forced upon me to cook and it was terrible... but now that I am free I see Ameiko's love for it and I find I love it too."   "As for Vrinn... he is very protective of that which is his.  He loves Gildy, a concept that seems to be new to him.  As such your arrival threatens him... atleast to him as Gildy is really taken with you."  Miro shakes his head.  "People are only difficult because they are a product of where they are raised.  Take you for example... to you that which matters most is Gildy and fire?  To Vrinn Gildy is what matters most.  How would you feel if I came and took from you your ability to make explosions... you would be angry with me aswell right?  Even if I was trying to help you?  Sometimes its easier to think like that."

Chuffy slowly takes the potion back, concern obvious on his face. "But if your heart got wounded, how are you even alive? And why do you expect it to get better? Shouldn't moving around just tear it open wider? Oh gods, you need to sit down! Wait, don't move at all! I am not qualified for this, someone needs to help me no they need to help you. What are you doing? Sit down!" Chuffy pulls a chair up behind Miro and gently eases him down into the chair, fussing and panicking.

Miro shakes his head as Chuffy fusses about him.  "It is not the same kind of wound Chuffy... Think of how you felt after Gildy left.  That is a similar wound.  Some wounds hurt the flesh.."  Miro pulls an athane from his hip and draws it across his palm.  A practice he is used to as spell components.  A moment passes as the blood wells up in his palm.  Miro closes his eyes and grasps his holy symbol of Nethys and a pulls of positive energy pulses from his healing his wound.  "But some wounds hurt much deeper... inside."  Miro walks to Chuffy and places a soft hand on Chuffy's chest.  "Those wounds only heal with time..."

He looks down at the hand on his chest. "Oh. So like, not a literal wound." He squints a bit at Miro. "Why didn't you say so?" "To be talking about your previous comments. The most important thing in the world is Grosilge. Fire is nice, explosions are nice, but if there is no Grosilge, then what is the point of them? They are empty pleasures. I understand that. I believe Vrinn understands that. Why would that threaten him? For us to both know that Grosilge is the sun in the sky, the fire raging in our hearts? I don't understand how that is threatening." Chuffy frowns again, trying to puzzle it out.

Miro smiles at chuffy.  "That is just the way it is little friend."

Chuffy glares at the stairs. "Well that's stupid. He should figure it the fuck out." He shakes his head again, then looks to Miro again. "Where can I sleep?"

Miro smiles at Chuffy's frustration.  "Come I will rent you a bed."  With that he makes his way to the till to drop off payment for Chuffy's room for a week.