PART IV - TABLE 1

Eventually Callie and company rejoined the queue, Koka and Moka very firmly each hooking arms with the tripping Ambria to keep her from floating off. As they got close to the front, and could see the underside of the huge tent, they saw hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny little pinpricks of light on the ceiling flickering and flashing in random patterns that seemed to mimic a starlit sky. Most were white, but some were in various colors, and they were intense enough to be seen even though it was still daylight outside. Of course, the sensory overload of sparkling lights and colors sent Ambria into a gasping tizzy, and her two partners redoubled their grip on her, lest she slip away and try to climb up a support pole to sniff the lights or something. You could tell the two Tigerkins were a little annoyed by the Faun's antics, and honestly, Ambria probably should have at least waited until later. At the same time, though, her elevated happy feelings washed off her, spilling out to her friends and others, and being quite contagious.

Once to the front of the line, the seven were held up by a Fairy hostess, and then each passed to escorts after being checked against a list. Ambria and the twins were led off to Table 16, while Lena was sent to Table 8, and Xin and Nola to number 21. Whoever was coordinating everything was certainly keeping tight control on who exactly was going to be sitting where.

"Table 1," the hostess directed, and Callie dutifully followed her Elf escort. The tent had been set up with individual tables, most of them rectangular with rounded corners, each having seating for eight to ten, one person at each end and either three or four along the length. The other tables were round, with seating for what also looked like eight to ten. The dining space was just about filled, with most everyone seated at this point. Only maybe fifteen or twenty people remained in line. A few of the round tables, which were aggregated towards the front, had some empty chairs, and a very-long table on a dais set up to sit important people had only empty chairs. In the center of the dais was a podium, and Callie could see the subtle glow of an Amplification Sigil on it, with Kyra's design recognizable. There was also a cleared aisle down the center, wide enough for maybe three people abreast, and thinking back to that first feast, Callie surmised this is where said important people would eventually enter.

For those already seated, a basket of breads was on each table, along with what looked like herb-infused oils for dipping. There were also multiple bottles of wine, along with a metal pitcher, presumably with water. Several Goblins were running around serving, bringing out fresh baskets or the like as needed, and Callie briefly saw Grig race by, carrying four of said baskets. Everybody was in a happy, festive mood, with lots of laughter ringing out all around.

At the opposite end of the tent, on another raised dais, or maybe it was more of a stage, Deduxia and Nekini were both lightly playing their guitars. It was quiet music, really more of a simple melodic duet, reminding Callie of the Earth equivalent of a string quartet at an over-the-top dinner party like in the movies, one where the daring heroes would be in fancy dress and getting into all kinds of heist mischief. Both musicians were in their own zone, though, eyes closed and tapping their feet to keep perfect rhythm with each other, obviously working.

"Here you are," the staff member that Callie vaguely recognized from somewhere said as he gestured towards a round table right in front of the main dais. "Your table has assigned seating, so sit where you find your name. If you need anything, just flag one of the servers."

"Thank you," Callie called after the Elf. She peeked over the top of the table, seeing one of the bread plates had a small piece of flat wood. Burned into it in beautiful calligraphy was the name 'Juniper', and the next plate to the right had one for Vanis. Callie was then seated next to him, with Pixyl to her right. Curious, she circled, checking the plates and finding reserved seats for Jesca, Chown and then Lhawni. There was one other space, with a seating pillow on the ground and extra room, and Callie knew before she even looked that this was set up for Tazrok. Sure enough, the nameplate said as much, although the piece of wood was about three times the size of the others, as was the plate.

"Thank you," another voice said, and Callie turned to see that Chown had also been delivered by an escort.

"Hey there," Callie said, giving the Goblin a little wave. "Welcome to Table 1!" She actually didn't know the Shaman very well, as he'd never been one to hang out with Callie's little tribe of ladies, although Lhawni had said nice things about him even before they coupled up for Midsummer, as well as about Swopik, for that matter. In fact, Lhawni had been having a little difficulty trying to decide which of the two Goblins to spend the holiday with, until Swopik tapped out, apparently hitting it off with one of the few female Goblins that worked in the kitchens. "Your seat is over there next to Lhawni," Callie pointed out to Chown as she circled back to her own spot. The chair in front of her name tag appeared to be like one of the ones that Xera had in their office, with built-in steps and a swing-down booster, which was good, as there hadn't been any sign of the normal boosters anywhere.

As she stood around waiting for whatever to happen, Callie saw Pama emerge briefly from the back, directing a pair of her Goblins to some destination with fresh baskets. She was harried, sweaty, and definitely busy, barely keeping some kind of a lid on the chaos that could erupt if not controlled properly. Still, she caught Callie's eye, shot a wink, before promptly disappearing into the back while yelling at someone to stop burning something. Given that this was a temporary structure, Callie wondered how much of the kitchen had been moved up here, or if maybe they instead kept a third setup in storage until needed. Captain Kela's ability to keep the machine of the camp operating was second-to-none.

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"Little Ones," a silky voice said in greeting, and both Chown and Callie turned to see Juniper approaching. Unlike the other recruits, she had eschewed wearing the standard clothing, instead wearing a knee-length dress much in the style of the civilian ladies. Like she had donned that first day Callie arrived, the dress was forest green, made up of a fabric of woven, twisting vines and leaves. There was even a green poof of woven vines in her hair, with yellow flowers standing out against the other colors. She looked absolutely stunning, despite how simple her 'clothing' was.

"Wow!" Chown said as his eyes bulged a bit out of his head, his mouth hanging agape. The Goblin wasn't the only one, either. Around the room, more than a few stares were being directed at the Dryad, some subtle, but some far from. It was hard not to notice her, and doubly hard not to let your thoughts get momentarily carried away. Yet, in spite of the long looks, Callie was sure the Dryad's sex magic hadn't been activated, or the room would probably be falling over itself to get to her. Even without it, she was just that hot.

By this time, Callie had become fairly used to Juniper's various states of dress, or lack of it at times, so wasn't staring like the others. Well, not much, and she forced herself out of her distracted thoughts. She cleared her throat to get her tablemate's attention. "We, uh … we both need to keep focused," she said to Chown, lightly chuckling a bit.

The Goblin shook his head to brush away the distraction, cleared his own throat, and nodded. "Yup! Need to stay focused."

Juniper frowned and looked down at her dress. "Is this too alluring? I wished to be pretty, but Vanis said I should not be a distraction. If you wish, I could make it less so."

Callie and Chown looked at each other, unsure how best to answer. It was pretty alluring, after all, but it wasn't all the dress. Juniper could turn heads even in flannel pajamas, quite honestly. Finally, Callie decided it was something that Juniper and Vanis could worry about, if there even was something to be worried about. As far as she was concerned, Juniper wasn't responsible for the reactions of others, unless she flipped her mojo magic on. "You're just fine the way you are," Callie said. Then her mouth just kept going. "Fantastic even! You look perfect. Don't change anything."

Chown nodded violently in agreement and then forced himself to redirect his attention to Callie and change the subject. "Do you know where the others are?"

"No. They went off with the Commandant a while ago," Callie said. "They are supposed to meet us here. I'm sure there's a good reason, so I guess we just sit and wait for them?" Callie started to pull out her chair, but then noticed Juniper was wearing a frown. "What's wrong?"

"I was told I was to find a specific chair to sit in, but I do not know which."

"Oh, the one with your name on the plate," Callie said.

Juniper frowned even deeper. "I … I do not know which that is."

It took a second, but then it dawned on Callie. Juniper probably couldn't read. She'd never had any reason to and had only been integrated into the camp for a few weeks. With a smile, Callie walked two seats down and pulled out the chair. "This is the one. Vanis will be sitting between us."

"Ah, I see." The Dryad said, before she sat, Callie politely sliding the chair under her. Picking up the piece of wood with her name on it, Juniper ran her green finger over the burned calligraphy. "This is who I am?"

"That's how your name is written, yes."

"This is a good thing to know, then? After all, who is someone without a name?"

Callie gave Juniper's arm a gentle squeeze, and then went back to her own chair. Pulling it out a bit, she shimmied into the seat as Chown did the same. She debated a moment, not sure whether to start with wine or stick with water for the time being, and then decided on the latter, at least until the others arrived. She poured from the pitcher, surprised there were chunks of ice floating in it to keep the water cold.

Juniper, for her part, went right for the wine, putting on a big grin and mentioning she liked having a 'fuzzy head'. Chown agreed, although, like Callie, he had decided to start with water. In addition to the bread and dipping oils, there was also another small basket of lightly-salted white crackers that seemed very similar to Saltines, along with a few jellies to spread on them. Callie grabbed a couple, wanting something to nibble on but not wanting to fill up on bread, and then smeared a little bit of the various fruity spreads on each. Chown grabbed a dinner roll, before proceeding to rip it open, a little steam rising from it. That demanded butter, and he quickly added an oversized dollop.

"Do you believe you will play your music tonight? I quite enjoyed what you played last night," Juniper asked after a couple minutes of semi-awkward silence around the table, nobody quite sure what to chat about.

"Um, I dunno," Callie replied. Nobody had mentioned wanting her to play anything, and she'd just assumed that the Bards would be doing all the entertaining since they had a show and Illusionist magic to go with it. "I don't think so, though."

"That's too bad," Chown said. "I like your Gnome music. I've never heard it before and I still remember that rainbow song from a few weeks ago."

"We'll just have to see, I guess, but I hadn't been planning on it," It was the best Callie was willing to commit to, but honestly she felt it would be quite rude to intrude on the professionals. They were here to work, and she had great respect for that from a lifetime of being around musicians in some form.

As if the topic of music signaled something, there was the sound of a single horn playing a series of notes, sounding much like a trumpet announcing something. Around the dining area, the many conversations trailed off and quieted, and attention swung to the rear by the stage. A few people that were still standing, perhaps visiting with another table, having just arrived, or maybe just milling around, hustled into their seats.

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