Synopsis: Ellea's ideas escalate, and the audition day is here.
That evening Ellea was back down in the cenote, willing her voice to come back with gentle humming exercises while drinking some hot drink with honey Nicco had insisted would help. Trying to loosen her vocal cords in a last ditch effort. The traveling bards were set to return tomorrow, and her voice had not improved one bit.
She absently strummed on her banjo, her sour mood emanating from the minor chords and harsh string picking. Her eyes wandered around the cavern, the sheer limestone walls towered over nearly a story tall, the water glistened in her lantern light. The vines and lush flora that clung to the walls usually garnered her admiration, but today their presence felt encroaching. She continued strumming, focusing on the water.
No. It's a stupid idea. I can't, not after what it did to Nicco.
But if it works like a battery, like Nicco said, nothing should happen if just one person uses it.
I breathed in an entire pint of the stuff and nothing happened, surely I can drink it and be fine, right? I've drank way nastier stuff on a dare.
Her thoughts began to spin back and fourth between rationales. So many times that she forgot what she really wanted out of this decision.
In a flurry of frustration and impulse, El dropped her banjo and rushed to the waters edge with her mug still half full of Nicco’s concoction, spilling it on the ground. She dipped the vessel into the dark milky waters and chugged. She breathed hard as water spilled down her chin, she stared at the water in shock. Her mouth parted into an exasperated gasp and she rushed back up the wooden steps.
-
El blinked awake the next morning. Today would be the test, but she’d rest her voice until the last possible moment for warmups. The bards didn’t say what time they’d roll through to see her audition but she’d be ready. She worked her whole morning shift in her nicest outfit, a pair of wide embroidered pants with a matching silk shawl, with an apron on top just in case. She gave Arturo many dirty looks when he jokingly threatened to spill breakfast on her.
Then the Bards arrived. Their bright colors a dead giveaway.
Arturo was wiping down the counter when the frontman entered the saloon, the tabbards that hung from her belt floated on a wind that wasn’t there.
“Is the halfling around?”
Arturo gave a confused glance before going back to his chore. “You’ll need to be more specific”
“The one who works here, we met last week.”
“Gnome.”
“Excuse me?”
“Ellea is a gnome, not a halfling.”
“Tomato, Tamahto. You haven’t answered my question.”
Arturo didn’t ingratiate her with an answer and flung his rag down with an audible plop before turning to the kitchen.
“They’re here.” He called through the door:
“I know.” El gripped the counter near the oven, working up the guts to exit the kitchen. Her voice was back, and sounded completely normal.
“You’re going to do great, El. Don’t worry. Let’s go! I’ll be right near you.”
El’s eyes widened and didn’t leave the threshold as she straightened and walked stiffly toward the dining area, clutching the necks of her banjo and fiddle with a seriousness as if she were taking fowl to the slaughter.
She stood on her usual stool and settled into the arrangement she’d made just for the occasion. Her voice wasn’t just good, it rang clear as a bell, it filled the room as never before. Even Esper, who looked as if she’d never worn a smile in her entire long elfish life, wore the whisper of a smirk on her lips.
El pulled together her ballad with the final chorus, belting out the final line which ended abruptly with her strumming. Then she picked up her fiddle to hum out one final reverent outro measure. She looked out at the crowd uncertainly, fear still evident in her expression despite the flawless performance.
A beat of silence fluttered by, followed by an applause that betrayed the small amount of people in the room.
El stood up on her stool and took a bow, as she leaned forward her stomach lurched. No, no not now. She’d gotten stagefright nausea before, but that was always before the performance, not after! She used her forward stance to hop down and ran straight outside through the back door, everyone’s heads following her strange behavior as they still clapped. Arturo and Nicco chased after her.
Feeling totally normal about Chapter 127 and how we FINALLY learned that Nicco was the friend from Licht’s backstory and how his simple act of kind encouragement helped pave the way for all of this and--
