Taalia Giovanni


Taalia felt unusual, but slowly reassured the more that she spoke and chatted with the ogres, particularly Giorno. The other two weren't bad but...well they were dumb. They were pretty dumb. The way they spoke, the way they viewed concepts and their perspective, Taalia was by no means some elite snob from her ivory tower, but it was most definitely a test of her patience to smile, nod and laugh a little whenever one of the other ogres said something that the two of them thought was hilarious, but for which Taalia was just left to feign a smile. It didn't feel nice to do. Giorno, on the other hand, was interesting to the shepardess, as he was clearly gifted with expanded mental faculties compared to his brethren, which allowed him to appreciate the world in more ways than one. He spoke of Tilea, Bretonnia and beyond. He was a traveller and had lived a fascinating, if violent, life.

At the mention of what was owed, the girl rose her eyebrows. That is how much ogre mercenaries could make?! That was an incredible sum! The shepardess knew that she had the gems to cover such a bill hidden away in her belongings, but she did not see any point in paying the ogres the full guarantee...because that wouldn't solve the underlying problem of the oddly behaving local lord.

Then came the suggestion...

"Taalia," she reports when she has decoded the knight's will and the ogres aren't listening closely, "Briant wants to send us up the road with the horse to bring back some beasts to cook - a feast for the outlaws and the ogres and outlanders, so we can head off tomorrow on full stomachs to see about Donallo. I think he's trying to smooth the displeasure for his friend, but I suppose that's his right. Look!" She flashes you the glittering interior of a purse she has been given - there may be forty Bretonnian ecu within.

"You were making deals in Bella Collina before you could cleanly speak the language, right? We can do it - come back with a few sheep or an ox. Maybe - maybe even some spices and vegetables to make sauces. We don't have a full kitchen, but I think we could make it work!"

Briant, who seems to intend to remain here as a peacekeeper and a form of human collateral, looks to you, and mimes eating with a spoon.

Taalia was...suspicious. None of the Bretonnian men, none, were going to accomplish Taalia and Bella to the next town? None at all? The girls slave instincts were ringing in the back of her head: they were trying to get rid of the two girls so they could try to sort the problem out themselves. The lords castle was fortified, so best send the two ladies away lest violence unfold. She couldn't be mad at Briant, if that's what he was planning, as it's probably a ploy she would do to get Bella out of danger. Besides, she didn't have any real proof...just her suspicions.

Pursing her lips, thinking about Bella first...she didn't want to bring the girl near a potentially hostile lord armed with a castle, bowmen and knights, even with a few ogres and Briant by their side. She hoped that what Briant was offering was the truth, as he seemed quite the ideal image of Bretonnian chivalry so far, but who knew - maybe deception was acceptable if it meant 'vulnerable ladies' could be placed out of harms way?

Receiving the purse and opening it, Taalia could see how her single gold coin-worth Malachite had saved Briant a considerable sum...but, if this was his pocket change, he surely had a particularly wealthy family waiting for him somewhere. Again, the shepardess looked over at her Tilean beauty friend with an idea lingering in the back of her own mind. Would that be the happy ending Bella deserved? After a life of abandonment and neglect, she was whisked away by a handsome knight to live a wealthy life?

Nodding, looking over at Briant with a look of I-suspect-you-have-an-ulterior-plan-please-do-not-go-through-with-it on her face, Taalia smiled and nodded, "Si," she said, standing up and brushing herself down.

"Singore Giorno," she addressed the ogre politely.

"My friend and I will go to the nearest Bretonnian town. We will try and gather the materials for everyone to enjoy a hearty meal! I...don't know how much ogres consume, I am assuming it is more than we?" she gestured between Giorno and his two companions, "we will try and make it a sheeps worth each - would that be satisfactory?"

If it were, then Taalia would provide the necessary and polite departure protocols to the ogres, Briant and the bowmen, before taking her friend Bella by the hand and leading her back towards the road and on to the next town...