Now, for what it’s worth, this isn’t necessarily a ‘real’ meeting between Kat and Dunstana and Lucia, Apolline, and Petra that needs to — or even could be — fit neatly into the established Realmgard timeline.
It’s mostly a hypothetical meeting between the two sets of characters. That being said, it’s probably inevitable that they will actually meet up in a canonical Realmgard story at some point, and said meeting may or may not look something like this.
Cross that bridge when we get there, and all.
Dunstana really feels like a proper adventurer today.
Usually, it’s just her and Kat, or maybe them and Uncle Jonas and Annie. But lately, Dunstana and her sister have been working a group of three adventurers travelling through Porthaven: a Wilderling from Natalis, a Troll-Amazon, and an Aurorean Sorceress.
Kat won a game of darts against and old mercenary back at the Hammered Nail and won a big trunk the old guy had inherited from his aunt. Kat gave the trunk to Dunstana, because, her words, “What am I going to go with a giant box?”
So, naturally, Dunstana decided to rummage through the box and ended up finding a treasure map sandwiched between several angry letters to the Senior Magistrates of Goldharbour and a cookbook titled One-Hundred-and-Twelve Ways to Cook Snails.
So, naturally, Kat and Dunstana set out an adventure, meeting up with the three other adventurers along the way and deciding to team up.
Dunstana glances up from the map.
“Hey, Kat!” she calls.
The Wilderling woman freezes mid-stride and her ears twitch. She throws up her hands in exasperation and rounds on the little pirate.
“My name is Lucia!” she cries. “You don’t hear me talking to you like Hey, Pirate!”
“I was talking to my sister,” Dunstana notes. She frowns. “And I thought your name was Ludmila.”
“Ugh,” Lucia groans. She glances over at Kat. “Is she always like this?”
“Most of the time, yeah,” Kat answers.
“I am not bad at names!” Dunstana insists, indignantly puffing up her cheeks and staring down the Wilderling woman. “You’re Lu…cia.”
She points to the Troll-Amazon. “That’s Penelope.”
She points to the sorceress. “And that’s, um, Andraste!”
“Wrong,” Lucia says bluntly.
“Fine,” Dunstana counters. “If you don’t want my help, then I guess I’ll take my treasure map and go home, and you can try to find the treasure all by yourself! And I hope you spend the rest of the day with a rock in your shoe!”
She sticks her tongue at Lucia.
Apolline steps between Dunstana and Lucia, ready as ever to use her natural tact for diplomacy to defuse a tense situation.
“You can’t leave now, Dunstana,” Apolline says. “You have the map. You’re the most important person here. And, besides, don’t you want to be there when we find the treasure?”
Dunstana nods.
“Oh, sure,” Lucia grumbles. “Take her side.”
Kat nods sympathetically and gives her a consoling pat on the shoulder.
“But do you think you could do us a favour?” Apolline continues. “You haven’t know us very long, and that leaning new names can be hard.”
“I am not bad at names!” Dunstana insists.
“I didn’t say you were,” Apolline notes. “I said that names can be hard for everyone. But I know Lucia would appreciate it if you could remember her name while we’re working together.”
“Okay, Ainsley,” Dunstana says. “I’ll try to get your names right.” Her face lights up as she turns back to Lucia. “Oh! Could I call you Lucy?”
“Fine,” the Wilderling concedes.
“You know, I quite like the name Penelope,” Petra notes.
Also, “Andraste”, is not, in fact, a Dragon Age reference. Andraste is indeed an attested real-world name of unclear etymology, which incidentally (and perhaps coincidentally) resembles the Greek name Adrasteia which means something along the lines of either “the one who does not flee” or “the fearless one.”
Quick reminder: new Forward, the Lyte Brigade chapter tomorrow.
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