Day 0 | Festival Event: Wine Race

[Eileen Marsh]

As the guy left with the girl that wanted free drink, Lydia watched on with a frown.

"What's the catch with giving away free drink..." she said mostly to herself before looking at the girl that stayed "the coast? Any more shark problems?"

''None that I know of. Some people are naturally more festive then others...I guess we both are kinda sticks in the mud.'' She got curious at the mention of sharks

''Not that I aware of''

[Laila Bridger]

He smiled, "That bad huh?" He refills her glass. "Hey, if you got a story to tell I'll listen. But don't feel obligated. Caladan is where most come to forget. And views like this one, or the one back home, are good for that."

"Same story a lot of people from Ecaz would have if you asked 'em."

True, a lot who had been where Laila had were dead, but...

"Wars are bad enough. Civil wars 'cause some Duke turns his coat are worse."

[Hadrian Martikova]

"I'm sorry," he says gently, "I couldn't imagine how bad it was. I only know how much I have to lose and the horror the idea of doing so brings. Did... did any of your family..."

[Laila Bridger]

"I'm sorry," he says gently, "I couldn't imagine how bad it was. I only know how much I have to lose and the horror the idea of doing so brings. Did... did any of your family..."

Swig.

"None of 'em made it. Well. None that I saw all that often. Think I got an uncle somewhere on Ecaz and whatever family he might have, but if I ever met the guy I was too young to remember him. Most of my unit got chewed up too. Some bought it on Ecaz, the fighting in Elacca, some bought it on Grumman. None of us who made it exactly cherish the memories we share."

She tilted her head back, looking up at the sky.

"But hey, we won, right? Pats on the back, all 'round."

Swig.

[Hadrian Martikova]

Listen. Refill. Sip.

"Yeah but what did you win? Glory? Honor?" He sighs and takes another sip. "I don't know... I've been blessed with a much softer life I guess. Or maybe I've been delaying the inevitable. But if I lost it all, lost my home, my family? I don't know what I'd do."

Still a good ways from the caravan. But where they'd stopped at proved perfectly scenic. The river had seemingly cut a lone hillock in half so that a small grassy knoll would give them a pleasant place to park it and watch the other bottle racers.

"Come on let's sit."

[Laila Bridger]

"Come on let's sit."

"Sure."

She sat, looking over the view.

"Far as what you'd do goes, by the by? Moving to another planet with fewer reminders of your life before doesn't work as well as you might hope."

[Hadrian Martikova]

"I'll remember that..." he said joining her. "And if you ever find something that does be sure to let me know. I'll keep hoping you find it until then."

He sipped some more of the wine before leaning back and watching the little rafts navigate the rocks.

"So work, I'm guessing it's mercenary right? Have gun will travel?"

[Laila Bridger]

"So work, I'm guessing it's mercenary right? Have gun will travel?"

"Don't even have a gun, actually. For some reason, Leto's man Hawat takes a dim view of letting heavily-armed offworlders onto Caladan. But otherwise, you've got it."

[Hadrian Martikova]

"That's rude! How are you supposed to make a living without a gun? Even us winemakers carry guns."

He exhales.

"Hawat should loosen up, maybe I'll take him a bottle next time I'm at the spaceport. What do you think?"

[Kannon]

[The event is resolved!]

#1 Lydia: 1 Triumph, 2 success, 2 advantage
#2 Laila: 2 success, 1 advantage
#3 Cuyler: 2 success, 1 threat
#4 Efren: 1 success
Razar: failure
Hadrian: failure
Eileen: epic failure, fish are drunk

Lydia was declared the winner of this year's wine race! The bottle she'd ferried was collected to be served in the evening, and the winemaker, whose sales went nicely up because of this, showered her with praise and declared producing a special brand carrying her name next year. Lydia suddenly found herself better liked and recognised among the local population whether she enjoyed the publicity or not. In the following hours, many people smiled and her and quite a few asked whether she was single, including the winemaker she'd promoted.

Cuyler's choice of Honey Thorn didn't reverberate immediately, but once the crowd would learn later that she was in fact an exquisite chef from the heart of the Imperium the vineyard would try to spin it to their advantage, though if he was to really try to market it offworld in the future with the 'approved by House Mutelli' label, there would probably be a trade dispute coming. Atreides and Mutelli might have got closer of late, but their economies were still very much competing with one another for beverage markets.

Laila and Efren were the last hope of apple people, whose products needed to be sold quickly because of shorter shelf life. Fortunately, well knowing there was drinking at each and every moment of the festival, many chose lighter ciders to as to last until the evening. Laila was approached with a question whether 'Armand' is a good name for a cidrit.

Eileen may have suppressed overt mockery, but jokes about her wine-spill already started forming behind her back, to be shared in taverns across the land.

[RP in the thread can continue!]

[Lydia Storm]

''None that I know of. Some people are naturally more festive then others...I guess we both are kinda sticks in the mud.'' She got curious at the mention of sharks

''Not that I aware of''

"People don't give without intent to recoup or benefit" Lydia replied with a shake of the head "but good about the sharks. After dealing with the large one last year for some fishermen I wasn't sure if it was a constant issue."

There was a deeper frown as she heard the declaration and noticed more eyes in her direction.

"...Shit. now they're going to annoy me more."

[Laila Bridger]

"That's rude! How are you supposed to make a living without a gun? Even us winemakers carry guns."

He exhales.

"Hawat should loosen up, maybe I'll take him a bottle next time I'm at the spaceport. What do you think?"

"No, no, I get it. Someone from offworld? He can't be sure of much about any of us. He doesn't know who might be paying us, or who might have leverage on us- and each weapon we bring in is one more variable security needs to account for."

She shrugged.

"Besides. A knife works pretty well if you have a shield."

Laila was approached with a question whether 'Armand' is a good name for a cidrit.

"Uh... sure? I guess? I'm not exactly great with the aesthetic end of things..."

[Hadrian Martikova]

Laila was approached with a question whether 'Armand' is a good name for a cidrit.

"Uh... sure? I guess? I'm not exactly great with the aesthetic end of things..."

"Adan's Orchard." Hadrian whispered, "Because of the apple and cinnamon notes."

[Kannon]

"Because, you know, m'lady, it would be nice if it connoted something Ecazi and such." The man asking the question started fidgeting, either because he was quite shy or intimidated or generally unsure what he was doing about all that foreign-sounding naming.

[Eileen Marsh]

snip

''Count your blessings: You got the good kind of annoying while I'm stuck with the bad kind until I succeed next year.''

She raised an eyebrow

''So you hunt and fish?''

[Laila Bridger]

"Because, you know, m'lady, it would be nice if it connoted something Ecazi and such." The man asking the question started fidgeting, either because he was quite shy or intimidated or generally unsure what he was doing about all that foreign-sounding naming.

She blinked, and cocked her head to the side.

"Uhm... I'm flattered."

She actually sounded more flustered than anything else.

"But are you sure it'd be good for long-term sales? Maybe name it Sanya? She was nearly wed to your Duke..."

[Kannon]

"I can't say I'm sure, m'lady, but you've promoted my orchard, so I hope it's a sign." He scratched his balding head. "We should be helping each other. My son believed so."

[Laila Bridger]

"I can't say I'm sure, m'lady, but you've promoted my orchard, so I hope it's a sign." He scratched his balding head. "We should be helping each other. My son believed so."

She might have been socially awkward as only a trained killer could be, but she caught the past tense.

"Where did he fall?"

[Kannon]

"He fell into a shaft at Ritka." The man sighed with his lips thinned. "They were never dug out. He had signed up against my will. I've been thinking, if any of that has to have any sense, our people can't just grow apart and make it all mean nothing, like with Ix."

[Laila Bridger]

"He fell into a shaft at Ritka." The man sighed with his lips thinned. "They were never dug out. He had signed up against my will. I've been thinking, if any of that has to have any sense, our people can't just grow apart and make it all mean nothing, like with Ix."

"Ritka... word was, it could have been even worse, but it was bad enough."

She took a moment.

"I think your idea's a fine one. Might be a little thing, but... it's a start."

She managed a smile.

"Still think Sanya's a prettier name than Armand, though. Or Ilesa. And they're losses shared between our worlds. Like your son."