'Imperial knights...looks like the third order. It should be alright for now. They can't do anything so long as we are on neutral ground. Even they should know the rule of Onion Ore' Rhetta thinks, inspecting the state of the knights.
Florian picks up the menu and pretends to read it but finds it difficult to concentrate. Khio takes a quick gander at her own menu when the waitress arrives. Khio quickly lists her order without a breath in-between.
"We'll take one plate of devilled dragon eggs, three servings of smoked turkey legs, one peach cobbler, crown roast beef with king potatoes, some fresh bread. Finally, one tankard of tipsy griffin and two innocent dragon bloods." Khio points out everything quickly, she looks up to find the stupefied expression of the waitress at the order. She awkwardly smiles and hurries off to the kitchen.
Rhetta exhales "Khio we were stripped of just about everything except the clothes on our back. How are we going to pay for our meal?" The reminder of everything that transpired enraged Khio, she slams her fist into the table.
"They took everything! Those bastards even took my necklace!"
"Khio. I asked, how are we going to pay for the food?" Rhetta held a slight jovial smile on her face. The way she spoke came across as calm, and despite every semblance of creating a friendly face there was an evident anger surging from her. Khio and Florian grew nervous with the shift of atmosphere. Florian felt tempted to move away from the person she found instinctually dangerous.
"Y-You know, some good ol' elbow grease to do the dishes hehe..." Khio nervously chuckles.
The pressure does not wane and Khio only further shrinks under Rhetta's scrutiny. Florian smiles and decides to play the fool in the scenario sometimes acting like you don't know what's going on is better. The tension breaks with the sound of a drink being placed on the table. One in front of each of them and the sudden flurry of the many dishes that Khio had ordered all arrived simultaneously. The waitress strategically fit the various dishes onto the small table. She winks and leaves with a cheery energy to her.
Looking at the lavish meal in front of them the negative atmosphere dissipates in front of their hunger. How to pay for the meal became an afterthought.
Florian stares with childlike wonder at the exquisite looking food. She had never seen such delicious dishes before. It's common knowledge that most of the bishops and archbishop could enjoy meals fit for the highest nobility on a daily basis. For the lower disciples who held no influence they were told selfish desires and indulgences would lead to bad and sinful behaviour.
Khio grabbed a turkey leg and ripped a large chunk of the meat from the bone. She chewed it loudly, in contrast Rhetta neatly dished up the various foods onto her plate, expertly shredding the meat from the bone with her cutlery. Florian stared at the food longingly without eating anything. The two before her were only acquaintances and she did not know if she would be included in this feast, after all the act of sharing food was something precious.
Florian remembers the coin pouch in her pocket and realizes she could order herself some stew. Rhetta and Khio stopped and stared at Florian who just waited patiently. Khio grabbed Florian's plate, generously filling it with some of everything at the table and placed it in front of Florian.
"It's not good to skip meals so eat up! You're our accomplice in this. I'm not trying to be nice or anything, I just don't think it's fun to be hungry." Khio states, her words trailing off towards the end. She thought back to a few years in the past, remembering how her parents secretly skipped their meals in order to ensure enough food for Khio and her brothers. Them being none the wiser at the time to the situation, when the discovery was made Khio swore she would be more conscious towards it. Ever since then Khio had been notorious for feeding everyone she can get her hands on, even going as far to send various foods and treats home whenever she was able.
"Is it really for me? I can really eat it?" Florian murmured, touched by the sincerity she had been shown.
"I wouldn't give it to you if it wasn't for you! This drink is yours as well!" Khio shoved the innocent dragon's blood to her.
"Thank you Khio..."
Rhetta smirked ever so slightly, relieved to see Khio finally coming back around to her usual self. Before all the accusations and negative things transpired.
Florian takes a spoonful of the food into her mouth, her eyes light up with amazement and she can't help but hum at the delicious savoury taste. "This tastes so good!" The entire table is devoid of conversation and replaced by the sounds of eating.
"So...How was it?" Khio inquired, after seeing such a reaction it was curious how she deemed it.
"If paradise had a taste that would be it..."
Rhetta chuckled at the response "What did they feed you at the temple for you to be so amazed by mediocre food?"
Florian's face soured at the thought "Cabbage and potato soup, if we were lucky a stale bread roll. Emphasis on the stale, sometimes you were scraping mold off with a knife. Not to mention how often we fasted so we would only be allowed a few sips of water on those days."
"Oh you poor soul...That's why you're so small isn't it. It's alright, I will feed you everything delicious from now on." Khio boomed with determination.
After a few minutes of enjoying the after meal buzz, Rhetta finished off her drink and set it down. A stern look on her face when her eyes narrowed in on Florian. "Speaking of the temple. Why exactly were you sent to help us? No matter how I try to make sense of it, I cannot. There is no reason for the temple to help us, if anything they're probably the ones who wanted us gone."
"Are we doing this again...? It really feels like we are going in circles. Once again, I was sent by the Great Sage. I only came to help you because the two of you were on the list, sorry to say it wasn't from the goodness of my heart."
"The list?" Khio inquired at the curious word. She casts a glance at Rhetta with the potentially dubious information of some mystery list possessed by Florian.
Digging around in her satchel Florian pulls out the stack of illustrations and the notebook. She places them on the table, sliding them across to Rhetta and Khio while avoiding the stacked up dishes.
Khio picks up the stack of pictures, thumbing through and notices Rhetta's marriage portrait. Along with a sketch of herself and a few others.
"There are a few people here that would probably get along and others that wouldn't be caught dead being seen together." Khio commented
If anything, it is a strenuous mission that Florian is tasked with. Having to seek out such a chaotic and disconnected group of individuals. Rhetta paged through the notebook, the opening message written in a language she couldn't read nor understand. She turned the page to find the same language. Progressing through the whole notebook she realized it's all written in the same way.
"What language is this?"
"Hm? Oh you mean archaic script?" Florian stated so nonchalantly, Rhetta seemed taken aback.
"Archaic script...As in the ancient language!?" Rhetta raised her voice, the reaction was very surprising considering how calm and collected Rhetta is.
"This is a dead language, not even I was able to learn it..."
Khio peeked at the notebook to see what the two were so fervently discussing. Especially after noticing how fired up Rhetta seemed. "I feel like I'm getting motion sickness just looking at the letters..." Khio grumbled
"Basi- the Great Sage taught me. He taught me the Irentsi dialect, holy language and some basics of the script from the Eastern continent."
"But why write an entire notebook in this language?" Rhetta 'read' the letters.
"He said it was just in case someone who wasn't me got their hands on it."
"I see...As it stands there are only two people in the entire empire known to be fluent in it. One being the Sage and the other being the Archbishop. I heard some of the really high up bishops and head priests could speak a little."
"Most scholars don't even know about it." Khio chirped in.
"Well...seeing that you're fluent enough to write that makes three people in the empire now."
"I was told never to tell anyone about it, Sage said it would be troublesome if others found out."
Khio cocked her head to the side "Then why are you telling us?"
"I was entrusted to find you and get your help. I can't very well be holding too many secrets from people I'm trying to convince."
Rhetta nodded, "That's true. I do want to ask you specifically what it says, but I feel given our circumstances and location it might be better to hold it off for now. The information is most secure with you in this manner."
Khio gets excited with her passing thought and leans closer to the two "Florian are you secretly some powerhouse hidden by the temple!? Like you hold some saint level of divine power?"
At the speculation Rhetta and Khio formed mental images of a saintly figure with Florian's face. Miraculously healing the sick and injured with a mere touch, flowers blooming with every step Florian takes and being surrounded by a variety of divine creations, an existence absolutely and beautifully loved by Kleminus himself.
She didn't even need to read their minds to know the kinds of thoughts that occupied their minds. A bored expression and heavy sigh left her. Florian tapped her finger on the table "Have you ever met a saint like that? Listen...My divine power is absolutely meager, it's as minuscule as a grain of salt."
Rhetta placed her hands together tapping her fingers in a steady pattern "Then...Seeing that you know so many languages including the ancient one, are you perhaps a genius sent to help us?"
"I failed everything except language studies and inscribing."
"Isn't inscribing just writing?" Khio stated
"The formatting is hard okay!" Florian defended her few skills passionately. Khio and Rhetta share a unanimous sigh of disappointment, all the grandeur expectations had been utterly shattered by Florian's honesty.
Seeing just how disheartened the two had become annoyed Florian.
"Well sorry for not being super talented like the rest of you."