The door to the Knead to Know bakery in Arcadia opens, letting the sound of rain enter. A young man enters with a slime sitting on his hat. "You may look like a raindrop, but that doesn't mean you have to fall on my head. It's good to see you Howard." He says as he enters the store. Another young man follows him in, wiping water off his glasses with his shirt.
"I'm sorry for coming without telling you first Vartan, but I needed to talk to you. Remember that meeting you had with us a month or so ago?" Vartan quickly waved his hand, drying the rainwater off his hat instantly while leaving the slime undisturbed.
"It was longer than that, but yes. Did you ever meet with the man who sent that letter?" His eyes looked around the bakery. There weren't many people here aside from the employees, but he'd rather avoid drawing attention by saying specific names if he could avoid it. Kefka nods and puts his glasses back on.
"Yes we did. We have a rough arrangement, but we need to talk to some people in snow country before we set the whole thing up. I came here because we need you to watch over the tavern for a couple days. Also, are you on friendly terms with the orcs near Baccarat?"
Vartan sighs and turns to the counter. "Kenia, I would like two blueberry hand pies and one apple turnover please." A male half-elf appears behind the counter.
"My sister isn't working today Vartan. She strained her wrists yesterday helping Kridyr repair the ovens. I'll get those pastries out to you as soon as they finish baking." Vartan was embarrassed.
"Sorry Riv, I didn't know. I hope she gets well soon." He turns back to Kefka. "We'll continue this discussion at home, but not before we get some sugar in us. The cold rain makes me crave warm pastry. I'll pay for them, don't worry about it." He places five silver coins on the counter before turning back to Kefka. "I've never met with the desert orcs, but Karina's hometown traded with them when she was young. I think I know what you're going to ask, so I'll talk to her about it tomorrow. I need some repairs made to one of my hats anyway." His eyes narrow. "Don't even think about it. You've made that joke at least a dozen times already." Kefka smirked.
"I've become predictable? How shocking. Thank you in advance." A sharp whistle was heard from behind the bakery counter. Vartan thanked the baker after picking up his order and he headed home with Kefka. The rain had briefly stopped when they left, only to start again once they entered Vartan's house.
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"It isn't usually this rainy in the summer. Not here anyway." Vartan removed Howard from his perch atop his head before setting his hat on a stand in his front closet. A quick wave of his hand and it was free from all water and slime residue. "So you went to Unwound Gold did you? How did that go?" Kefka runs his hand through his hair to try to remove the rainwater.
"The chef would've punched Erig in the face if Throk didn't hold him back. The waitress had to drag him off by his ear once we got everything settled down. She was surprisingly accepting of Howard. Even asked if he wanted anything to eat." Vartan chuckled and unbuttoned his vest.
"I'm guessing your waitress was a halfling? Berylla is a friend of Karina's mom. Karina introduced her as a 'freelance whatever she feels like doing at the time' during our date there. If anyone could succeed in dragging an angry dwarf out by his ear, it would be her. I like her." Kefka nodded and began drying Howard with his jacket.
"Other than that it went well for the most part. Erig said he'd provide a stage for the demonstration and allow the orcs to sell their food there without having to give the usual percentage of their profits for it. The only we couldn't really cement was if we have a separate stage for the desert orcs or if we split the single stage. Osdrik said he'd talk to his desert orc friends about it, but I'm not sure how that'll happen when he's busy running the kitchen in a high end place like that. We said we'd handle gathering a group of the northern orcs, which where you come in." Vartan waves his hands and a pot of water is placed on a stove in the kitchen. The duo walked to Vartan's living room, sitting down on two chairs. Howard hopped into Vartan's lap.
"Throk and Zarguth will speak with the Northern Orcs. They plan on getting a group together, but at worst they'll have to learn enough traditional recipes to do it themselves. Maybe they can get Osdrik to help, but it might go against what we're trying to do here," Kefka said. Vartan begins petting Howard like a cat.
"So who takes care of her sheep? She's rather protective of them."
"I would, she's been teaching me how to for the past couple weeks. Zhubin can handle my shop while I'm watching over them. We'll have the box up like we do when I'm at the bazaar, but this is usually one of the less busy times for me customer-wise."
A bubbling can be heard from the kitchen. Vartan looks through the door and raises his hand, lifting the pot with magic. "And how do you know this will succeed? Neither of them have been back to the homeland in decades. I'm not well-versed in their culture, but I don't often see them returning once they leave. Charmles's wounds run deep and Tyvius's lackluster support doesn't help." Vartan brings the tea to the table without leaving the couch.
"Zarguth is one of their most revered warriors. She commanded orc forces during the war with Argonia. Not a single orc was lost in that conflict because of her strategic and martial prowess. If you say her name to some older Argonian guard captains or ex-military officials, they'll probably shudder. They will listen to what she has to say." Kefka poured the tea into cups.
Vartan leans back with his cup. "That might've been true if this happened before we were born, but that war ended almost 40 years ago and little has changed. The orcs have no reason to go along with this. They may even see them as traitors for even suggesting it." Kefka glared at his sorcerer friend.
"You're basing this off severely outdated information. You've never spoken with an orc for an extended period aside from Throk. I see them with my family every year. Elders are respected and they are generally more neutral toward Argonia since Charmles died. They've basically been waiting for some form of apology from the Argonian government since he the new one came in. One of the stipulations we negotiated was both a written and spoken apology from the prince." Vartan angrily set his cup down.
"You expect these royal bastards to follow through with it?"
"They will when two of their most sought after merchants threatens to leave. If Yasuhiro finds out the prince tried to screw us over, there goes the world's supply of Empyrean silk, not to mention all the pissed off rangers that'll be there if I leave. Between that and Throk's recent fame, we could do some serious damage to the bazaar's reputation if Tyvia doesn't keep his promises." A smirk grew across the sorcerer's face as he chuckled.
"You're finally starting to realize how much power you have. Don't let it go to your head and start a cult alright? Motoko would hate having to kill you." Vartan said while raising his teacup. Kefka picked his up and clinked his against Vartan's.
"I'll only use my influence for the betterment of the world. This is the first step on the long road to improved Orc-Argonian relations."
kefkadragon Community Member 
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