By Kelsey “Melethielle” Miranda
During my long stay out in the Sapphire Isle with Lady Sayeh, I received an invite from my dear friend Eliza to come to Bone’s Castle for a grand tea party to host the Rakshasa, and share some divination with the people of the Realms. I gathered all of my tarot and pendulums and off I went!
On arriving at the feast hall doors, I was met with the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed tea and the clattering of a busy kitchen. I snuck into the kitchen to find Hedda and Eammon preparing platters of tea sandwiches and charcuterie. I snuck one of the turkey cheddar sandwiches away and did a tour of the hall. The walls were all draped with fine tapestries as dancing lights bounded around the ceiling. Candles made of herbed butter flickered on each table, with trays of breads alongside to dip. Each table had milk and sugar cubes patiently waiting for the flood of delicious teas to come. Sayeh manned a station offering an assortment of tea cups for those who did not have one of their own. A friendly beekeeper stood by the side with a wide array of herbs to create one’s own tea blend. In the back of the hall, poker, carnival games, an auction table and Karmha Creations were also set up for the guest’s enjoyment and perusal.
A skeleton laid among the charcuterie, with crackers and gherkins spilling from his rib cage, and being crowned in cheddar. He had apparently been scooped up into an amalgamation of souls, but his remains made excellent servingware. The spread of olives, meats, fruits and cheeses were delightful, and the three fresh jams brought a brightness to the cheese and cracker sandwiches towering on my plate. The strawberry and apple jams had a pleasing tartness, but the surprising kick from the peach sriracha jam made it my favorite of the bunch. A comforting butternut squash soup was also served alongside the charcuterie with more breads, and a constant supply of iced black and green tea, pink lemonade and amaretto coffee was available.
After chatting with Kovaks of the goings on while I was away, I joined Bee and Liana at the tarot station to begin giving our friends a glimpse into what the divine knows of them. While getting settled in, Hedda called First Brew of the day: a White Witch tea and those turkey, cheddar and apple jam sandwiches I sampled earlier. The tea was a light and floral white tea, with hints of citrus and rose, which paired excellently with the sweet of the apple jam cutting through the sharp cheddar.
Shortly after first tea, a jester of sorts calling themselves Jess came into the hall. They appeared confused, and did not know of usual Realms knowledge, such as magic, money, knights or what a castle is and how they come to be. Jess continued asking many questions and was whisked away to be taught of money, work and knighthoods of the Realms.
After a period of tarot reading and watching Jess get dragged to and fro by excited adventurers, Hedda called Second Brew: Herbal Woman’s Moon tea and airy meringue mushrooms. The meringue had the perfect snap with a chewy interior, and the tea had a bright earthy flavor with lemon and floral notes (and was my personal favorite of the day)
While enjoying my tea, Jess came to me for an advice tarot reading. My cards told me that Jess’s confusion was from a major loss of memory and of status. In the past, Jess was a leader, someone to be looked to (The Star) but something had caused a downfall. Only through perseverance, and a journey of rediscovery could they regain their place. As Jess walked away, the Fool card sprang from my deck after them, showing me they were starting the journey right then.
A few more interested attendees came to us for readings, and time flew by so quickly that before I knew it Third Brew was being announced: Raspberry Scones and the Hocus Pocus Tea, which had a darker, full bodied orangy flavor. The tartness of the raspberry cut nicely through the dense, moist texture of the scone, and the brush of sweet glaze over top brought it all together.
Things became very heated over at the carnival games. There was quite a commotion for a time, resulting in Temorse winning both the fastest and slowest time on the matching game. (Apparently turtles make great practice buddies) Jess came back over for an update; the adventurers were trying to summon a spirit that was possibly evil? Before I could get more information, the party left to go do this summoning ritual, and reappeared dead several minutes later, nothing too out of the ordinary there. It was nice of whomever that was to come drop the dead off, and we quickly got everyone back up, just in time for Fouth Brew: Lemon curd and berry tarts with apple cinnamon tea. The tart crusts were buttery and flakey, with a tart lemon curd, topped with mixed berries. The tea tasted just like an apple cider but with a lighter mouth feel, and was a nice warm contrast to the sourness of the lemon curd.
After a little more back and forth between adventurers, the carnival and poker tables closed for the bardic competition. It was one of the larger showings I have seen in a while, with friends of many ages coming forward to share their songs and tales. I also joined in, but sometimes you lose your stride….and forget all the lyrics to your song. It happens, and at least I brought some enjoyment and a little laughter to the hall. After concluding the bardic, it was time for the auction, where Aria and her remarkable luck won almost half the auction prizes!
Fifth Brew quickly followed: Baileys Espresso Bread Pudding and Butterfly Pea Blossom Tea. Hedda came around to all partaking with a lemony potion which turned the blue butterfly pea tea a gorgeous magenta. Without the lemon, the tea had a subtle floral sweetness, but after the lemon, the tea took on a brighter note. The bread pudding had a crisp cinnamon sugar crust, and a rich, moist interior. The subtle flavors of coffee and cinnamon paired well with the bright lemon of the tea.
As I enjoyed the final brew, Jess reappeared with a staff, which appeared to be slowly blooming. Adventurers ran up, applying more fallen petals to the top of the staff, until it was a fully reformed flower. Jess thanked everyone for their help, and then produced a tarot deck of their own. They had several adventurers draw cards from the deck, looked at the card, nodded and moved on to the next adventurer. I’m not sure what was being gleaned from these readings, but hopefully it will help Jess continue on their growth journey. With that final task done, the event drew to a close. The dancing lights eased themselves as the castle began to return to it's daily appearance.
Extra tarts and scones as well as some final personalized tea blends were sent along with the attendees as they made their way out of the castle