It was with sword in sheath that Gerardo Guillaume stepped out of the tunnels and into the Oasis' central room, enchanted sky shining in the colors of the evening around him.
A few heads turned when his door swung open, and more were turned by the murmurs of the first. His conversation with Shinespark had lasted for so long, though, that the room's population had considerably fallen for the night... fallen enough to make him brave. Confidently, he strolled to a table with three other stallions and seated himself, folding his talons and waiting to see what would happen.
The stallions' eyes lit up... but before they could gather the nerve to speak, a fourth appeared as if out of nowhere, yanking up a stool and joining his familiar, many-chinned face to the conversation.
"Hey, buddy!" Egil the guard laughed merrily, dropping a tankard to the table beside him. "You must've been in there for hours! Decided to come give the boys here a bit more of your time tonight?"
Gerardo shrugged. "I am presently closer to accomplishing my goals than I was when I entered this place, and am thus in a good mood. Unless you plan to fight me, rob me, betray me, recruit me for any dangerous shenanigans or attempt to bring harm to my friends, I see no reason not to humor you."
Egil rolled his eyes. "Bud, the whole reason this place exists is for ponies who want to get away from that. Everyone's friends in the Oasis. Speaking of which, lemme introduce you to the crew here!"
He pointed a hoof first at a stringy stallion with a wide mouth and dangerously pointy goatee, like Howe's but much, much classier. "This here is Live Wire..." His hoof moved on to the next, who had a long muzzle, longer mane, and deep bags under his eyes. "That's Off Switch, and then the third fine fellow with the blocky head is Crennel."
"Pleased to meet you," Crennel replied in a deep monotone that didn't seem to be deliberate, broad shoulders taking up half the table.
"It's a very great pleasure..." Live Wire grinned toothily, eagerly extending a hoof for Gerardo to shake.
"'Lo," Off Switch remarked, looking as though he was short several cups of coffee and hadn't decided whose fault it was.
"It... yes, likewise," Gerardo assured, reaching and shaking back. "I do apologize, though, if I fail to recall you later. I've been positively bombarded with new names as of late, and, well..." He tipped his head at Egil. "You, I believe I recall, but I'm afraid I've already forgotten the name of your companion."
Egil laughed. "Bardal? Hah! I told him he needed a better handle when he picked it out, but who did he listen to? Sure wasn't little old me! He's still doing our rounds, by the way."
"Ah, yes, quite tragic." Quickly agreeing, Gerardo turned back to the rest of the stallions. "So, I was meeting pleasantly with your leader when we were abruptly interrupted and she had to speed away, and I find myself with an indeterminate amount of time to kill before she gets back. What does one normally do around here to pass the time?"
"Tell stories. Complain. Talk about life." Off Switch shrugged, slightly more animated than his appearance initially suggested. "Old romances, lost dreams, bucket lists. What we'd do if we were chancellor of the Sky District."
"But we talk about that all the time!" Live Wire interrupted, voice just as sparky as his namesake. "Let's get some new stuff on deck. You got any stories to tell, griffon guy?"
Crennel nodded slowly in agreement.
"I... well..." Gerardo hesitated. "First off, since I don't believe it was said, I am Gerardo Guillaume, griffon adventurer extraordinaire. And I'll have you know ponies have been utterly enthralled before by me telling a tale of making a perfectly ordinary pot of soup, which in truth was as boring a story as they come. Are you sure you wouldn't rather hear something more substantial than the tales I have to tell?"
Egil shoved him. "So tell a better story, bud! Don't think we'll buy that you don't have them!"
Gerardo raised an eyebrow. "Would you rather hear the far-less-realistic tale of how I am an exiled prince from a far-off land, questing to raise an army and restore my birthright kingdom?"
"Gerardo, friend, we seriously couldn't care less how fake it is if it's good." Live Wire grinned, shaking his head. "Just tell a good story!"
Off Switch bobbed his head, a scarf wrapped many times around his neck. "Agreed."
"Eherm. Yes. Well, I'll see what I can do." Gerardo coughed into a wing, took several seconds to think, and began. "Once upon a time, I was traversing a port city bearing a load of cargo intended for a very important destination. I sought to travel by water a ways, so I sat down and said to myself, 'I should buy a boat.' Unfortunately, I was presently broke, as a result of being scammed into buying a land title deed I was lead to believe contained a great amount of treasure by a very dastardly llama who was far less friendly than he seemed. So I set about hiring myself out for odd jobs to raise capital, and in turn found myself teamed alongside a sellsword named Winsom I had crossed blades with in the past! It turned out he was just as dishonest as the llama, and in fact also a llama himself, but a lot more friendly, so together we plotted to rob a casino that was itself secretly a scam operation..."
An unknown number of hours later...
"...By the time we made it out of the cave my land title granted us access to, the thunderstorm had intensified to the point where the entrance was veritably a river. Fortunately, it was also bad enough to ground all air traffic, so Winsom and I made it back to the city without being annihilated by the patrol ships the government had searching for us. Following a climactic swordfight on the roof of the parliament building, we were able to enter through a slightly flimsy window and present all the evidence needed to force the prime minister's incarceration, right as he was about to sign the measure that would have opened the borders to the invading armies! We were offered fame and recognition beyond words, but I merely accepted a small boat as payment, dug out my crates from where I had stashed them in a hole at the side of a road, and sailed into the horizon, leaving for greater deeds."
Gerardo blinked, story finally finished. "And no, to my knowledge, Winsom never got to kiss the ousted prime minister's daughter, so there is your forbidden love."
The stallions at the table sat silent for a moment longer... then applauded, Egil slapping Gerardo on the back. "Now there's how you tell a story, bud! Go on, tell me it matters whether or not that all even happened!"
Gerardo grinned slightly back. "As a matter of fact, it contains slightly less fabrication than one might think. While it is greatly the product of embellishment, I did in fact find myself adventuring with a past acquaintance named Winsom in search of funding to purchase a boat, and it truly did involve him attempting an affair with the daughter of an influential leadership figure. Now, as to the invading-"
"Don't tell us!" Crennel interrupted, more passion in his voice than usual. "It breaks the magic!"
"Ah... well, my apologies." Gerardo drooped, headcrest sagging over one eye. He blew it out of the way, and added, "Additionally, my throat is the slightest bit scratchy after all that talking. Might one of you gentlecolts be willing to take up the tale-telling in my stead? I'm more than happy to receive my own introduction to Sosan lore, and as Shinespark does not seem to be back yet..."
Live Wire grinned ferociously. "Gerardo, I have more than got you covered. Want to hear about the latest in Sosan weapon prototyping?"