Quoted By:
It has been half an hour since dinner started. As the evening crawls on, the feeling of nervousness at the prospect of your incoming mission grows - you take a sip of wine to steel your nerves. The evening so far has consisted of everybody keeping an eye on you.
Good.
You are "attending" to Alejandro, as per the terms in your bet, in all the ways that count. You are giving toasts to your gracious host, and you've even fed him from the end of your fork, once or twice. He is in his spirits.
The news of your marksmanship have already spread. Alejandro himself is praising you to other guests. You are the star of the evening, in more ways than one.
The lounge has been rearranged by the ship crew a bit. The quartet is now placed more prominently, in the center where the dance podium used to be. That's fine by you - there won't be any need for you to dance this evening. You and Alejandro intend to withdraw to a private supper later on.
And the chef has outdone himself. Apparently the theme of the day is Orient. For the aperitif, a refreshing glass of chilled Limoncello. This was followed by some Hummus and marinated olives, stuffed vine leaves and Feta cheese drizzled with olive oil and herbs. There was sea bass sand a Bouillabaise, and for the main course, an Avrami Tagine, a slow-cooked lamb with apricots, almonds, and fragrant spices, served with saffron rice. You can only watch wistfully at these mountains of food, and eat small, ladylike bites, because you naturally want to keep yourself open for later in the evening. As far as you are concerned, the supper is the real event for tonight; this tiresome dinner show is nothing but hors d'oeuvre.
You find that your position as someone who is obligated by the terms of the wager to lead the evening with toasts puts you, somewhat unexpectedly, in partial control over the course of the dinner.
> Make the toasts brief and mundane, so as to try and get Alejandro (and, you suppose, the other guests too) to drink more than they normally would've by the time supper arrives
> Steer the toasts towards the topic of Alejandro's business endeavours, so as to stimulate conversation in that direction
> Steer the toasts towards the topic of Alejandro's dealings with the sorcerers, so as to stimulate conversation in that direction
> (any additional topics also welcome)
