Five minutes later, two men are shown into the room through Lothar's door. The door is again locked as the attendants depart.
Five more minutes later, Lothar returns, smiling broadly, if a bit maliciously. "Come with me. I shall introduce you to your hosts." He leads you through the house. Walking through several more elegantly furnished rooms staffed with soldiers, you hear quiet music ahead.
Lothar opens two ornate doors to a great dining hall, also dimly lit by a few ensconced tapers. Inside, 12 people sit around a large table, with an empty chair next to each. Two additional empty chairs are seen as well, at the foot of the table.
They are a strange collection of men and women: well dressed and slovenly, highly attractive and appallingly ugly, locals and foreigners alike. A short, finely dressed man sita at the head of the table, wearing a strange ornate mask. Five servants (two butlers and three maids) stand motionless against the far wall.
Lothar doffs his hat and bows low before the assembled hosts, saying "Lord Giovanni, lords and ladies, it is with surpassing pride that I present to you the fruits of my long search. Here are 12 of the purest samples of the land!" He glares at Marianna for spoiling his count. He hadn't expected Constanza to require an aid present.
The man at the head of the table rises. "Dear friends, I am Claudius Giovanni. Welcome to
la bella casa Giovanni! You are my guests, and while you are here, my home is your home. Come, come! Join us."
As you step forward, the servants offer you glasses of wine. Giovanni says, "Let us toast the most memorable meal of your lives." As the characters lift their goblets, he continues: "Here's to the finer things in life."
After the characters drink (or not, he doesn't really seem to care), Giovanni introduces the other 11 guests.
"May I present my other honored guests:"
"Here to my side is
Marchettus the Bold." Marchettus stands and approaches Olaf.
"Past him is
Matron Violetta, from my home city of Venice." Violetta stands and approaches Marta.
"The next is the
Lady Theophania." Theophania stands and approaches Georgette.
"Then is
Sire Wenceslas." Wenceslas stands. He and his servant boy approach Sabine.
"And finally
Lord Casmir." Casmir stands and approaches Alina.
"To my left is
Lady Jadviga Almanov." Jadviga stands and approaches Sir Leopold.
"Past her is
Lord Leopold Valdemar, also my countryman from Venice." Valdemar stands and approaches Constanza.
"Then is
Lord Mieczyslav, from over the mountains in Romania." Mieczyslav stands and approaches Dante.
"Next is
Lord Bajazet Al-Nasir, from the saracen lands." Sir Leopold gasps in shock at this, though Al-Nasir doesn't react. Al-Nasir stands and approaches <tbd>.
"Then is the lovely
Lady Amisa." Amisa stands and approaches Seska.
"And finally is
Gabrin." Gabrin stands and approaches Taduz.
Lothar approaches Erick, looks him in the eyes sternly, and suggests that he take a seat towards the side of the room. He remains there for the rest of the night.
"Now, I've often found that interesting conversation can help pass the time while we
anticipate our dinner." With that, he approaches Marianne and starts up a conversation.
[
From here, we'll split off to the various Harrowing threads, which I'll be updating shortly.]