The Boar's Tooth Lodge

[The Forgotten God]

A summer hunting palace for House Hoare, this lodge is secluded and spartan by royal standards, but for the tourney visiting nobles have brought their own furniture and decor, making it a strange and motley assortment of extremely valuable things that look ugly next to each other. The lodge sits about a mile and a half north of the castle along a stream that eventually leads through the godswood.

[The Forgotten God]

Florys and Geralt head to the lodge, and as they approach she laughs. "So then, cousin, how have you been?" She asked. "I've only been avoiding you on purpose to avoid the judging glances of other people you've recently become married to."

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"Yes, it is hard to rest on your laurels under that critical gaze," he chuckled, harder than he had at the drunken fools they had witnessed before. "I could win all the events in this tourney and she would likely yawn and ask why I needed both hands to do it."

[The Forgotten God]

"Sounds like she needs to learn what the back of your hand is for," she commented. "But anyway," they arrived and Geralt sees a few dozen people lounging about, "meet Elisha Grafton." Elisha is a tall woman, just a shade under six foot, with long blonde hair to her waist and the high breasts that scooters seek to replicate. She grins.

"Well my, Florys, you weren't kidding. And he's rich you say? I had no idea hedge knights were so handsome in the Reach." She looked to him as his cousin giggled at her joke. "What's your drink, then?"

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"And besmirch the Reach's reputation for chivalry?" he inquired, though with a slight pause, inclining his head to at least consider the point. "For you sake, I hope your future husband is half so chivalrous. I hear these Ironborn don't even bother to unclench their fists when they strike their wives and that Northern brides have to share their husbands with the bears."

"A pleasure," he said in greeting, with a respectful half bow to the woman, though he was almost eyes level with her. "I had not heard the Vale had arrived yet. If their knights are as talented as their women are beautiful, we may have a proper showing." He did not correct her that technically he had married into wealth, the Gardener not his to access any longer. "I think I have had my fill of ale for the day, so a glass of Arbor Red will suffice."

[The Forgotten God]

"They are a few days behind," she said. "I came on a boat to help prepare the way." She handed him a.bottle. "Glasses are for peasants," she said. Geralt saw four boars roasting on a spit, one nearly done and one almost raw, the other two in varying degrees. "Boar?" She asked. "With carrots and apples?" A woman wyed Geralt and his cousin. Florys nodded and took a seat nearby.

"Come on then," his cousin said, "enjoy yourself. Better to share a bear then to share a bed made of ice." She shrugged. "Elisha's brother is a famous moister himself. Maybe you can unhorse him soon. The Green hand reigns supreme," she challenged the girl.

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"And what made them decide you were best qualified to serve as their welcoming committee?" Geralt inquired, with a charming smile. happily taking the drink. He had always been taught it was a sin worthy of the Seven Hells not to let an Arbor Red breathe first, but he took a swig from the bottle nonetheless. "You're practically an ambassador." He nodded at the offer a food, the boar smelling delicious.

"I will be sure to look for him in the lists," he remarked, raising his bottle in toast to his cousin's words. "Truer words were never spoken."

[The Forgotten God]

"An ambassador for life," she said. "For experience." She leaned in. "Tell me of your life, my prince. How have you woven your threads into the worlds great tapestry?" Elisha heard a nearby lure player with a poorly tuned instrument, and she waved to two giant men who dragged the man out the back and Geralt heard him being beaten. "I hate false chords," she said crossly.

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"Well what has my dear cousin told you of me already?" he said, with a glance in Forys' direction, feeling their meeting  at The Mountain of Ale was not mere coincidence. "I would hate to bore you with hearing the same tale twice." Seeing the musician dragged away and beaten, he decided this was not a woman to bore lightly.

[The Forgotten God]

"She told me your name," she said, "and that you are a great warrior, but not why," she added. "I wished to keep the mystery until a meeting." She smiled mischievously. "So please, by all means," she leaned forward and allowed him a look sort of like his wife's faceclaim, "impress me."

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"Well now I am just tempted to keep the mystery alive for a bit longer," he said, taking another swig of his wine as the Valewoman pressed him. "Beside, perhaps it is you who should be impressing me, ambassador."

[The Forgotten God]

"I strongly doubt you'd be impressed with my tales of martial prowess," she said. "I did pull Mandy Hunter's hair when we were seven so I could have her doll. I pulled Alice Piper's hair last night, albeit not for a doll." She shrugged. "Ambassadors fulfill other peoples' wishes. They do not represent their own."

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"To the contrary, those sound like hard won battles," he said, tilting his bottle in Elisha's direction in mock toast. "I hope the spoils went to the victor in both cases."

[The Forgotten God]

"The only gift the defeated deserve is contempt," she agreed, matching his salute. "I'll never quite look at a bottle of Lord Redwyne's Gold the same way again." She winked. "Now, start talking. Even the most clever fighter can only evade so long."

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

Geralt took another swig, suddenly feeling a bit parched. He had expected such frankness from the women of Dorne and what passed for women among the Ironbonr, but not those of the Vale.

"I squired Ser Garrett Costayne," he began, figuring starting with a name known throughout the continent was prudent. "Earned my spurs and was accepted into the Order of the Green Hand. Since then I've seen my fair share of duels, fought in skirmishes and battles on each of our borders, slain Westerners, Stormlanders, Dornish, and Ironborn alike without a scar to show for it. I am one of the finest knights in the Reach, which surely makes me one of the finest knights in the world." He said the last statement as it was a matter of fact, not boast in the slightest.

[The Forgotten God]

"If every man were half so deadly as they claimed there'd be no men left in Westeros," Elisha said. "Not that I doubt your prowess, mind. Could you beat my guard Malek?" She asked. The giant looked at him and smiled, missing several teeth. "I'm quite unschooled in violence. How would you attack him? What would his weakness be? He's a foot and a half taller than you if he's an inch," she added. "But I've heard a legendary knight could cut him down all the same."

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"Fearsome as I'm sure your Malek is," he tilted his bottle in the same salute to Elisha's protector, "I would not be worth my spurs if I could not fell a common guard."

"Vigilance would see that foot and a half carved away in short order," he said with confidence, pulling the ornate hilt of the blade a half inch out of its sheath to proudly display the smokey hue and rippled pattern that marked it as Valyrian steel. "As for how, well, I have always been one to adapt to my foe on the fly. A knight must trust his instincts as well as his training."

[The Forgotten God]

She looked amused. "Well then," she said, "I must admit you have the attitude required. You did well my dear," she said to Florys. "Now," she winked, rising, "I must be a real ambassador, and prepare my lord's quarters for his stay. Feel free to stay and return whenever you like." She pointed to the top floor, southwest corner. "I stay up there." She was off without another word. Her mute bodyguard took a seat and opened a bottle, then took a drink, as the second followed her. He put his weapon down and leaned back to relax.

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

Geralt looked slightly bemused, unsure what exactly he had the attitude required for. This had apparently been some sort of interview for a position he did not recall applying for.

"Well cousin, you have certainly made some...interesting friends," he said, when Grafton had departed with a thinly veiled invitation. "How did you find yourself in such company?"

[The Forgotten God]

His cousin leaned back as the guard went to find a better drink. "They all talk," she said. "And Elisha is the only one with any discipline. She can speak for hours and say nothing, but the others..." she looked about. "You can find out a lot here. My father wants me to be useful. Being a purveyor of gossip seems useful, if one can filter the bullshit." She shrugged. "And the cuisine is exquisite."

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"And have you found out anything of worth?" he inquired, attempting to hide his distaste for idle gossip and prattling tongues as he placed a piece of boar in his mouth. She had not been wrong about the quality of the food at least. "She certainly seemed to say enough. What did she mean when she said I had the attitude required?"

[The Forgotten God]

"I'm new to all this myself, I assume she senses a dissatisfaction in you that drives you to things beyond the works of most men," she said. "But she could just mean you're rich." She teased

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"So she could have the depth of an ocean or be as a shallow as a puddle," he rolled his eyes. "Perhaps I will bring Alyssa here for dinner one evening. "Our one year anniversary passed on the carriage ride up. She will no doubt complain of the decor, but the food should meet her standards and she may be able to teach these ladies a thing or two about speaking for hours and saying nothing."

[The Forgotten God]

"Perfect," Florys said. "Or maybe she can convince them all they are worthless, better off lying dead on the side of the road than wasting the air best breathed by others." She chuckled. "It'd be worth a watch at least." Geralt hears the sounds of lances breaking as she finishes talking.

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

Geralt managed a hearty laugh at that, though the jest was uncomfortably accurate. His attention turned to the sound of breaking lances.

"Is there a practice list nearby?" he inquired.

[The Forgotten God]

"Yes," she said, "Elisha has convinced a lot of knights to demonstrate their prowess," she laughed. "Which will make it easier for you all to find someone to pawn me off on, I'm sure." She patted his shoulder companionably. "I've missed you," she said. "I have...less than nothing in common with your siblings, I fear."

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"I doubt I have any say in who you are pawned off to. I certainly didn't have any when I was," he remarked, considering the sounds outside. "I have missed you as well," he said, with a warm smile, returning his attention to his cousin. "Though unless you've also taken up hobbies that involve strapping on armor and waving around a sword, it seems I have the most in common with Melissa," he teased.

[The Forgotten God]

She shrugged. "You're a man," she pointed out. "At least that much can be understood." Geralt saw a few odd looking men enter the lodge, foreigners clearly, with dark brown skin and expensive cloaks. Florys watched them a moment. "I guess they take all kinds here." She seems to accept their presence but Gerald sees they are all trained warriors, and he spots the familiar bulge of weapons all over their person.

[Prince Geralt Gardener]

"Well at least you and I know how to make best use of the roles we were born into," he mused, studying the foreigners as they entered. "I thought this was a Westerosi tournament?" he said evenly, a hint a distaste to the query. It was enough to test his arms against kingdoms without knights, but a separate matter altogether to do so against foreign rabble.

[The Forgotten God]

She nodded. "It is," she whispered. "I don't know what they're doing here. They look like trouble." She widened her eyes. "They could mean them harm."