Trog's Tavern CCIII

[Amiria]

"I only saw the nightmare thingies so far. But feel free to also tell me about the bugs. it looks pretty bad out there.", says Amiria and waits for her coffee.

[Rebonack]

The coffee is delivered!

Cosmo just... stands there. Looking about as cheerful as ever.

Probably waiting for a tip.

Not like Trog actually ever pays them.

"Well... the nightmares are nasty things that have been getting out of this gate up in the mountains. There's a band of plucky adventurers out looking for the key to lock it right now. The bugs belong to Draken's minions," Zee makes a 'blech' face at the mention of Draken, sticking out that dark purple forked tongue of hers. "So far the bugs have been a nuisance more than anything else. The nightmares have been a lot of trouble in the nastier parts of Town."

[Beholder1995]

Markus inexplicably wakes out of last night's deadtime, still at his table.

[Amiria]

"Interesting, those nightmare things sound and look like quite a challenge. Something must be done about them definitely. Is the town a bit short of heroes lately ?" Amiria gives Cosmo some coins and takes a sip of her coffee. "What about Draken ?"

[Je dit Viola]

Will, dark long red hair, a lean muscular body, black clothing, a bloodred axe and sword, and royal blood walks into the Tavern with his large Light Wolf following him; he looks pretty pleased with himself, and he sits down, looking around for people.

[Rebonack]

"Welcome to Trog's, person who just walked in! And you too guy who isn't passed out anymore! Can I get either of you something?" the half-hydra inquires cheerfully. Y'know, since that's her job and all.

"Lots of heroes. The nightmares aren't that tough. Even normal people can kill them off with a decent weapon. They're just common enough to be dangerious. As for Draken, he's some kind of crazy bug person who wants to enslave everyone."

[Beholder1995]

Will, dark long red hair, a lean muscular body, black clothing, a bloodred axe and sword, and royal blood walks into the Tavern with his large Light Wolf following him; he looks pretty pleased with himself, and he sits down, looking around for people.

Markus notices him and gives him a casual, two-fingered salute.

EDIT::: No, thank you. I'm fine.

[Je dit Viola]

Will gives a wave to Markus, then replies to the hydra.

Yes, please. Lumi and I have worked up an appetite, so...how about a slab of meat for him, and a burger for me? he asks politely, and with a smile.

[Rebonack]

"Sure thing!" the half-hydra hisses cheerfully, using that prehensile tail of hers to snag several shakers full of spices off the shelf behind her. A patty is tossed on the grill as various relishes are collected. "Does your wolf like his steak cooked? 'n what about you?"

She then offers a cheerful, if somewhat toothy, grin at Markus. "Are you sure? I've been told I'm the best sammich crafter in the whole Town!"

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt, the cat who likes to inadvertently end up in other people's bodies, undeadtimes, currently is said form. I'm guessing he'll last like that for a week at most.

Merely a man. A really, really amazing man. Screw Jazirian, Harth, Fanboy, even... Wait. He's probably, in fact, the most attractive humanoid to have ever walked the universes, in an over-hyped, inhuman, Stephenie Meyer described, kinda way. Take Amour’s intrigue (without the weird loner, and lover, issues), Nomlas’ boldness (without the uncouth idiocy, and ignoring the occasional bouts of OMG-cowardice), Vespe’s flair (without the moral weakness – don’t try and deny it), Butler’s sexiness (without the overtones of rank easiness), Fanboy’s gothic impressiveness (without the tendency to get on your nerves), and everyone else good looking you can think of’s attractiveness (without that ugly stench of mortality). He has slightly pointed ears, pale, almost luminous skin, big, red-pink eyes, lacking pupils, and a wiry, muscular physique, that screams effortlessness. He's flaming hawt.

Anyways, he never really left, so just looks around, largely keeping on eye on Sszy and Endrik, primarily to see if they want to know any more about Calublufiok. But since they aren't on right now, Reinholdt's gaze wanders. Lots of new people he didn't recognize. Hmm...

[Je dit Viola]

"No, I think his favorite is raw. I, though, like it cooked." He laughs. He's never seen somebody cook with their tail before, it's an awesome sight.

[Rebonack]

He should see her in full hydra form.

Three heads.

Four tails.

No arms.

Between two extra sets of eyes to keep track of things as a well as a bonus limb she's even more dexterous and cooks with even more flair in that state. Usually while carrying on three separate conversations at a time.

Hydras are tricky like that.

Or... well... tricky when they have human-like intelligence at least. Most hydras are big dumb hungry animals.

"Raw steak, right. Any particular way you like your burger, though? Rare, medium, well done?" the half-hydra inquires as she shakes some spices onto the burger. "Any relishes or condiments you favor? I-"

Someone else places and order. Tuna melt.

A wizard requests a salmon fillet sandwich with pesto sauce on a dutch crunch roll.

Zee bites her lip.

Sighs.

Puts down her spatula.

And melts and flows and molds into her full hydra form. All three heads grin.
"Yaaay! I've got you, burger coming up!"
"Tuna melt, okay... What kind of cheese, sir?"
"Hey! Do you want your roll toasted or not?"

All four prehensile tails begin grabbing ingredients and knives and spatulas and sauces and start combining and cooking and sauteing and seering and grilling with near supernatural speed and grace.

See?

Told you that it's crazy.

"Excuse me sir..?" one head calls out to Rein. "Can I get you anything tonight? I... eerr... another helping of milk, maybe?"

[Je dit Viola]

"Just whatever you think's good, miss. You are the chef here." The princely knight smiles, and pets his wolf, his weapons resheathed.

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt looks over at Zee.

"Yeah. Milk is fine."
...
"Add a little scotch to it, if you know what I mean."
Wink wink.
Nudge nudge.
Cough cough.
Gag.

[Rebonack]

"Milk spiked with... scotch...? Okay, I think I can do that..." the hydra head replies as she commandeers one of those tails for drink-mixing purposes. The milk will be spiked, set on a tray, and delivered by Cosmo.

Meanwhile, a red onion is tossed into the air and assaulted with a blinding blizzard of knife strokes. This results in a nice, neat pile of rings landing atop the grill in an almost volcano shape. Some oil is poured into the thing, followed by a bit of wine.

...a bit of honey.

And a touch of fire.

Flames begin shooting out of the top like a volcano. Soon to be followed by thick steam. Eventually it gets hacked in half, right down the middle, and applied to the prince's burger.

"Hooray! All done! There you go mister!" the sammich is likewise placed on a tray and handed off. Along with a steak for the wolf.

[Je dit Viola]

"Thanks, it looks delicious," the Shadow Knight/Prince says. He grabs the steak, and hands it to his large wolf, who bites it out of his hand.

"And..." He reaches into his pocket with his other hand to get some money, "Here, thanks." He smiles, and pays and tips her with the gold coins.

Then, he takes a large bite of the burger, chews, and swallows. "It is delicious."

[Reinholdt]

"Thanks." Reinholdt takes his drink and pays, but forgets to tip Cosmo. Again. He always seems to leave large tips for everyone else. The cosmos just work against Cosmo.

[Rebonack]

"Eeee! I'm glad you like it!" the left head sequels excitedly. The middle head rolls her eyes at her and continues working on the salmon sammich. "And thanks for the tip! We'll put it to good use, I bet."

"Of course we will," the middle head laughs. "It isn't like Trog ever pays us anything. We would be volunteering if not for the tips."

[Je dit Viola]

"That's good, at least you aren't going to waste it." Will eats his burger, and Lumin the wolf gnaws on the steak, tearing it with his canines before gulping it down.

"My wolf thanks you also." he laughs.

[Darkcomet]

A rather tired-looking DC stumbles into Trog's, quickly finding a seat at the bar.

Looks almost ready to pass out, really.

Might not want to let that happen. Considering the nightmares and all.

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt looks at DC. Hmm... she almost looks ready to pass out.

That's ok. Reinholdt simply swishes his glass and watches eagerly, quite hoping that she would.

[Rebonack]

"Haaaaaaaai Dee See! ~<3" the apparently easily excitable left head calls out cheerfully. "You look really sleepy! Want some coffee or something?"

"Wouldn't want a nightmare to jump out of your skull," the middle head comments before passing off the fish sammich she crafted.

"Don't say things like that!" the right head objects. "Besides... That wizard warded Trog's so no one would explode. Remember...?"

And then all three heads grin at the prince.
"Thanks~!"
"You're too kind."
"Welcome..."

[Darkcomet]

DC looks up at the three Zee-heads. "That would be nice, yes."

Fortunately for Reinholdt, perhaps, I don't believe DC ever saw KaelaRein. He/she wasn't exactly present during the Shepocalypse after all. Off in Texas, losing weapons.

[Je dit Viola]

Will smiles, and he finishes his burger before the wolf finishes the steak.

Ha. Beat you. he says to the wolf.

His wolf growls softly and playfully.

[McBish]

Jane walks into Trog's not looking around as she heads to the bar and sits down.

[Rebonack]

A mug of coffee is prepared and passed to DC!

Now she can be jittery and stuff! Hopefully won't pass out.

"Good evening..." the right hydra-head addresses Jane, smiling in a pleasantly peaceful sort of way. "Can I get you something, miss?"

[McBish]

Um, a vodka, and a bowl of water with a clothe or something. Oh and maybe a grilled cheese sandwich, thanks. She looks over her hands which looked cracked and are bleeding a bit, she picks out some pieces of rock from them.

[Darkcomet]

DC obtains COFFEE! And drinks. Not that quickly, though. She doesn't want to burn herself after all.

She also seems to be grumbling a bit about eternal night and deadtime messing around with one's perception of time. Probably how she was ready to pass out in the first place...

[Rebonack]

"Vodka water ans grilled cheese... right..." the hydra replies, nodding as she repeats the order. Though at the sight of the bloodied hands she pauses, leaning down to get a better look at them.

Then up at Jane, concern written in her eyes. A concerned looking hydra is an odd sight to say the least.

"Are you alright? What happened?"

The middle head picks up with getting the order ready whilst Righty is busy speaking to Jane.

Lefty seems to have seen something amusing and is presently giggling like a ditz. The something in question is a pretty pixie that used to be a burly orc. Got cursed.

Hilarious part is the fact that he still speaks in a orc accent.

[McBish]

Oh it's nothing, just had a little accident. They aren't that deep of cuts, they should heal quickly. She says sounding a bit embarrassed.

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt waves at Jane before going back to his meal. He sure is quiet lately.
*shrugs*

[Darkcomet]

DC looks back up at Zee.

"Any idea how long those nightmare... things... are going to be around?"

[McBish]

Jane looks over at Reinholdt and waves back, hoping he doesn't see or notice the cuts on her hands.

[Rebonack]

Jane's food is delivered shortly there after. Righty doesn't stop looking concerned, though.

DC's inquiry is answered by Meany. That would be the middle head. Mean. As in middle. "As soon as the party manages to get back with the key. Here's to hoping they didn't all die horribly."

And with that she chugs a mug of hot coco.

"Oooh, that would be bad!" Lefty comments. "Then we would have those terrible nightmares forever!"

"They'll manage to pull through..." Right offers hopefully. "I'm sure of it."

Interesting...

When Zee was first cursed into a hydra all three of her heads had more or less the same personality. But it seems like they're diverging over time.

[Reinholdt]

That depends largely on which hand has the cuts and which hand waves and how big the cuts actually are.

But then again Jane had a black eye too, so even if he does see them, he's not horribly surprised.

[McBish]

Both hands have the cuts, though the right one is a bit worse, and she waved with her left.

And the black eye is now more of an unattractive shade of yellow as it is slowly fading away. She uses the bowl of water to clean the cuts on her hands and make sure there is no debris left in any of the wounds. Then uses the clothe to dry them. After that she rips the clothe in two and wraps them around her hands. She thinks that she should get a nice pair of gloves sometime soon.

Then she starts to eat.

[Darkcomet]

Jane's food is delivered shortly there after. Righty doesn't stop looking concerned, though.

DC's inquiry is answered by Meany. That would be the middle head. Mean. As in middle. "As soon as the party manages to get back with the key. Here's to hoping they didn't all die horribly."

And with that she chugs a mug of hot coco.

"Oooh, that would be bad!" Lefty comments. "Then we would have those terrible nightmares forever!"

"They'll manage to pull through..." Right offers hopefully. "I'm sure of it."

Interesting...

When Zee was first cursed into a hydra all three of her heads had more or less the same personality. But it seems like they're diverging over time.

DC raises an eyebrow at that. "At least the curse I got hit with isn't getting worse..."

[Beholder1995]

Markus undeadtimes again, rubbing his eyes as he lifts his head out of the table.

Need to stop doing that...

[Rebonack]

At least DC doesn't think that she was always a girl to begin with.

That part of Zee's curse hasn't gone away. As far as she can recall she has always been a hydra-human hybrid. And she has the memories to prove it. And the memories of other people the curse has managed to sway, too. If someone tried to tell her otherwise she would probably think they're kidding.

Or crazy.

"Hey!" Meany hollers at the fellow who just woke up. "You should stop dead-timing and order something already."

Right smiles at Jane, glad to see that she's eating. Something about that woman just strikes the hydra as being tragic. Though she's not completely certain what.

The black eye may help the image.

[McBish]

Jane finds very little tragedy in her life, despite others what others might think about it. And there is something childlike in seeing her gobble up her grilled cheese sandwich, but that is sharply contrasted by her sipping straight vodka with that. It's a little weird to watch, like seeing a small child at a bar getting drunk.

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt did indeed, notice the bloody hands, but only frowned before turning back to his meal, keeping one eye on the she-devil telepath, and the other eye on Sszy and Endrik.

[Darkcomet]

>.>

I may have to do that at the rate getting it fixed is... not going.

DC idly sips at the remaining coffee. Not much going on in the tavern at the moment. She doesn't comment, though. No saying the Q Word, after all.

[Rebonack]

Righty seems to be content for the time just grinning at Jane, glad that she's eating and in a (generally) safe place. She doesn't want to consider what caused the shiner.

Meany shakes her head at the apparently dead-timed patron she was yelling at before shifting her gaze to DC. "Y'know, you should still go and see about finding a way to get yourself fixed," she then smiles a mischievous smile. "Unless you like your new build."

"Ooooh, you think Dee See likes being a girl?" Lefty inquires.
Meany just chuckles. "Maybe."

[Darkcomet]

DC sighs. "Of course I'm going to get it fixed. Things keep getting in the way, though. I don't exactly want to go around the streets here looking for a way to fix this with the nightmares about, and even before that I was busy holding off catpeople elsewhere. Though part of me thinks we got the better end of the deal there..."

[Rebonack]

"Things have been pretty hectic around here, haven't they?" Meany muses, running her tongue along her teeth as she thinks. "The nightmares. Draken's bugs. That cat person army. And now there's talk of heading to Cal's home turf and taking him down. Seems like everything always happens at once."

"It was so peaceful before, too..." Righty sighs.

"Aaww, come on! We'll save the day! It's an adventure! That's why we stay around here, right? For all the adventure?" Lefty inquires in an indomitably spunky tone.

[Darkcomet]

"Everything does happen at once, doesn't it? All in all I've just had worse things to deal with than, well..." DC looks down at herself. "This. I hope this means I have my priorities straight, at least." She chuckles dryly before getting attacked by a deadtime ooze.

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt looks around.

"Sure is qu...aint tonight." Yes. Quaint.

[Shadow of the Sun]

At that moment, Sunn zaps into the tavern, and while she's at it, kicks Zerzura violently out the door, grinning widely. She's got Kara with her, too.

[Artemis97]

"Nice save." Raril says with a chuckle.

Look, he's awake! Finally.

So is his brother sister, Sszinyon. However, she is staying... silent, for now.

[Reinholdt]

:smalltongue:
"Thanks." Reinholdt grins a little.
Before he glances at Sszy. And shrugs. If Sszy didn't want more information on Cal, that was probably for the best.

He looks over at Sunn, Zerzura and Kara. Whom he knows nothing about. Not even what they look like.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn grins at Raril, and sits down, helping herself to an eggroll.

Kara, meanwhile, shyly wanders over to Sszy.

[Rebonack]

Zee's...

Uuhh...

Currently a hydra.

With three heads.

Serving burgers.

She seems to be really good at it.

All three heads giggle at Kitteh's near slip-up. "Heeeey mister~!" Lefty calls out to the Hawt Not-cat. "You've been here a long time and haven't told us your story yet!"

Meany wrinkles her nose. "Yeah, that's right. Come on, out with it. If you're buying food here you get to tell your story to the bar-maids."

"Bar-maids...?" Righty asks uncertainly.

"Well, what else would you call us? We serve drinks, fix food, and wear an apron," Meany retorts.

"Umm... Hospitably consultants?"

[Artemis97]

Sszinyon was laughing at Zerzura's plight. He had deserved it. Probably deserved more than that. She was tempted to walk out of the tavern to try and finish him off, but there seemed to be a small winged child blocking her path. The drowess stares down at her, slightly confused.

"Evenin' Sunn." Raril says to her when she takes a seat. He spots Kara going near Sszinyon. "Err... you might not want to let her near him... her... whatever."

[Reinholdt]

And thus it seems Reinholdt may never know what Sunn, Zerzura and Kara look like too.

He looks at Zee. He seems to recognize her well enough. Probably based on personality. "Umm... it's me Zee. Reinholdt. You pretty much know my story already."

[Shadow of the Sun]

Zerzura is no longer of consequence; you might see him later. Sunn is a redheaded elf, slender, with very green eyes and a devil's tail. Kara, meanwhile, is very short, slightly more muscled than you'd expect of a girl (she's bearing her midriff, which is showing off her six-pack), oh, and has wings. The wings fit with the fact that her eyes are very hawk-like.

Sunn nods at Raril in acceptance of his welcome; her mouth is full at the moment. When Raril mentions his anxiousness about Kara, Sunn swallows her eggroll, smiling. "Kara can take care of herself. Trust me."

Kara looks up at Sszy, and when she sees the drow/ess's earing, she shudders. Never the less, she waves and says, in her characteristically soft, husky voice:"Hello."

[Rebonack]

Despite being a hydra at the moment Zee still has her human hair, weirdly enough. Scrunchy and all. Her usual attire also seems to have changed shape to better fit her new body style.

Also, she has a gold bracelet on her tail.

And several pretty yellow bows.

The middle head is wearing a nifty mithril circles.

All in all she shouldn't be that hard to identify.

All three heads blink at the not-cat.
"Oh... Eerr... nice to see you again...?"
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?"
"You aren't a kitty today!"

Guess which one is which!

[Artemis97]

"Hello." Sszinyon echoes. Her eyes narrow slightly. Why had the girl shuddered? And why did she look so familiar?

[Shadow of the Sun]

"You're pretty. I like your hair." Kara doesn't notice Sszy's eyes narrowing, and looks her in the face- her eyes sliding every now and then to Sszy's ear, causing the girl to shudder a little and go back to looking at Sszy's face.

[Reinholdt]

"I hope so."
"We've been over this, Magtok cloned me and now he wishes he hadn't."
"That's correct, I'm not a kitty."

I'd tell you to guess, but... it'd be too easy.

[Rebonack]

"Cloned you...?" Righty asks almost rhetorically.
"Yeah. Just like that slug Magtok clones himself in case anyone sets him on fire for being a murderous jerk," rawr! Seems a little hostile there.
"Oooh! That's neat! Hey, how does he make sure that he gets the right Spirit back? I mean... he could just copy memories to emulate a soul. But you can't have the same person without the same Spirit. Right...?"

The other two heads look at Lefty.

Then at the Not-Cat for an answer.

[Reinholdt]

"Yes. Yes. No. I don't know. Wait... which question am I even answering?" :smallconfused:

Reinholdt shakes his head. Answering three heads at once got confusing.
"I don't know the rules on the souls. For all I know I've got five all in different afterlives right now. I'm not even sure if I have a soul or not." :smallconfused:

[Artemis97]

Sszinyon runs her fingers through her hair. Once, it had been a matter of pride for the drowess. That is, until Magtok took a knife too it. Now, although it had grown out, her hair was rather shaggy and uneven. The compliment only confused her further.

The drowess leans down to get a closer look at Kara. "Who are you?"

Raril was watching the whole exchange, still worried. "If you say so, Sunn."

[Shadow of the Sun]

"I'm Kara." She extends a hand for Sszy to shake. The drow will get a very good look at the girl's eyes.

Sunn nods at Raril, a faint smile on her face.

[Rebonack]

Maybe that's why Rebo isn't fixing Zee's hydraness.

The capacity to allow her to confuse people even more is just too priceless to pass up.

Huh...

Souls.

Zee's three heads huddle, conversing among themselves regarding this issue. It's interesting, really. Apparently they can't tell what each other are thinking. Three completely separate minds and personalities. Finally they seem to have reached a consensus.

"Well... you must have a soul. Otherwise you... you would just be a husk without any personality," Righty reasons.

"And obviously you have to have a spirit of some kind, or you would be a zombie. And you don't smell like an undead," Meany adds. "Whether it's the same as your old one is another question altogether."

"I think we should all go hunting for pretty rocks on the beach!" Lefty suggests, managing to miss the point of the conversation completely.

[Reinholdt]

"I dunno about that. All those Mag-clones can't all be using up souls or even the same one. And I've been cloned a couple times, resurrected a couple times, and shifted bodies more times than I care to count. I'm willing to bet I don't have a soul. Lost in translation and all that."

Reinholdt shrugs. "I suppose we can go to the beach if you wanted."

[Artemis97]

Sszinyon has never been one to shake hands, and so, ignores the gesture. She does, however, seem to recognize the girl before her. At least... the eyes were the same.

"You are hers." It was not a question. The drowess whispers in astonishment, and very careful ears would hear a hint of fear.

It's enough to make Raril raise an eyebrow.

[Shadow of the Sun]

"Yes?"

Kara looks positively confused, her hand still extended to the drow, ready for the handshake that probably won't come.

Raril will probably get a very good look at Sunn's faint smile.

[Rebonack]

"Well... How else would someone have a personality if they don have souls...?" Righty inquires, her tone sounding rather befuddled. "Wouldn't they be... mindless?"

Meany snickers. "That sounds like a good way to describe Magtok sometimes. But I think the Not-Cat is assuming that souls are something physical. Physical in a supernatural sense, if nothing else."

Lefty giggles at this point. "That's silly! Everyone knows souls are just the information your mind stores on your personality and memory! But why are we talking about boring stuff, anyway?"

"You brought it up."
"You brought it up," the other two heads echo.

Lefty blinks. "Oh. Right! I thought it was a good question!" she then grins at Rein. "Do you have a favorite kind of rock?"

[Reinholdt]

"Actually I was simply using the terminology of lost in transition as a metaphor, not as anything to be taken literally. You haven't traveled as much as I thought if you haven't seen those without souls amongst the non-zombified living." Reinholdt grins. That certainly was an interesting world.

He nods at Lefty. "Of course. Diamonds." Former catburgler after all.

[Artemis97]

Perhaps surprisingly, Sszinyon does take Kara's hand. She doesn't shake it, though, simply holding it in a gentle, but firm grip. The girl could probably tell it could get quite a bit firmer, too.

"And do you know what she did to me?" Her voice was barely a whisper as she leaned even closer, watching Kara for the slightest reaction.

Over at the table, Raril was looking increasingly nervous. He'd never known his brother sister to hurt children, but there was always a chance for a first time.

[Shadow of the Sun]

"What who did? What?"

Kara is positively confused. Completely. She has no idea what's going on.

Sszy will find that her hand if likely being held tightly- probably just as tightly as the drow could manage. And Kara's not even showing signs of effort.

[Artemis97]

Sszinyon is considerably strong, so if Kara is holding his hand as tightly as the drowess could manage, well...

"Gyah!" Sszinyon yelps in pain and moves blindingly fast to shove Kara away, off of her hand, and possibly across the room.

[Rebonack]

"Traveled...?"
"Heh. You're mistaking us for someone else," Meany points out. "We're not Avatar. The Far-Chimera had to take its leave."
"He did it so we would be safe..."
"Right. We don't have its memories. So I can't speak for it," the hydra smirks a bit. "And I think we've got a difference in terminology going on here. Since you're so sure that a person wouldn't be able to have a soul and still function, I don't suppose you could explain to me precisely what a soul is? Once I know how you answer that then we can start our talk using the same meaning for the same words."

"I don't like diamonds very much," Lefty replies, shaking her head vigorously. "Just like big sparkly pieces of glass. There are lots of rocks that are prettier."

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt shakes his head. "Nuh-uh. You brought up this conversation, you define the parameters. So you tell me what you think a soul is."

Reinholdt shrugs at Lefty. "I'm fond of silver and gold too. In that order."

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara takes a single step back, looking upset.

"OhmygodI'msosorryIdidn'tmeantoohurtyouareyoualrigh t?

The girl fusses over Sszy with a lot of concern, her eyes beginning to water up a little. She doesn't like hurting people.

[Artemis97]

"What are you?!" Sszinyon snarls, while cradling a broken hand. She fought back the urge to lash out at the girl, knowing it would be a very stupid thing to do.

[Shadow of the Sun]

I'm...

At this point, Sunn stands up and interrupts. "She's my daughter, and, yes, she's Aesa's. And she's half valkyrie."

Kara looks at Sszy "You know my mama?" She's obviously talking about Aesa, and a look on her face that is at once hopeful and fearful.

[Je dit Viola]

Will, the princely knight with long dark red hair and black and silver clothes, is undeadtimed again, along with his enormous yellow and white wolf.

He...uh...is looking around

[Rebonack]

"I didn't bring it up. That would be the doing of fluff-for-brains over there," Meany nods at Lefty.

Who is presently distracted by a firefly that has bumbled into the tavern.

"Eeeeeee! Sooo pretteeeee~!"

"The soul, at least in the Realm we call home, is a construct of information stored in the brain and imprinted to a lesser extent on the Spirit. The soul is your memory. Your personality. Bits of data that define who you are as a person. The soul isn't a physical thing in any sense of the word. Supernatural or otherwise. It has no substance to speak of. It's like-"

The hydra peers around, her eyes settling on a nearby book. She snatches the thing up with one of her tails and brandishes it at the not-cat.

"-the story of your life. Constantly updating and redefining who you are. Your soul isn't an object. Just as a story isn't an object. Even though the book the story is recorded in is. The soul's storage medium happens to be a lump of fat sitting between our ears. A soul can't be stolen because there's nothing to steal. Apart from prying someone's brain out of their skull. A soul can potentially be destroyed. Or copied. Just like any other construct of information can."

The hydra then drops the book onto the counter with a thump.

"Now then. What do you say a soul is?"

[Reinholdt]

"Hold up. I want to get this straight first. You're basically saying the soul is just your personality, which is formed and tempered from your memories anyways. You just interchange the words soul and personality. Nothing you said indicated otherwise."

"At which point I question... why bother even asking if I had the same soul? You should have simply asked if I remember everything my other selves had."

[Artemis97]

Sszinyon straightens and takes a small step back when Sunn stands. "I did." The drowess replies in a neutral tone, while rubbing her right hand. Bones crack and grind past each other as it heals.

Raril was still watching the whole scene from the tables, a bit confused and plenty afraid.

For Will's sake, a few descriptions will be made. Raril is a drow, dressed mostly in shades of blue, wearing a wide-brimmed hat with a large feather stikcing out of it. A number of blades hang from his belt. Honestly, he looks a little like a musketeer. If it weren't for the red eyes, white hair, and inky blue-black skin.

Sszinyon has very similar features to Raril, as they are in fact siblings. She was dressed in a rather masculine fashion and wore a heavy black cloak lined with white fur. She too, was armed, with a matched pair of longswords hanging at her hips.

Unfortunately they both deadtime, as their player needs sleep.

[Je dit Viola]

Bye!

Will roughly pets his freakishly large wolf, looking 'round and picking up bits and pieces of conversations, not yet picking one to specifically listen to.

Oh, yeah. Will is also very muscled, but it's a lean, dancer-style's muscle instead of a sterioded bodybuilder's muscle.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara still looks a bit frightened and still a bit hopeful. It's evident that Aesa is a sticking point for her.

"I'm sorry I hurt you. I didn't mean too."

Sunn turns to Raril and gives him her faint smile again.


And, again, for Will's benefit: Sunn is a normal elf, bedecked in a white shirt and jeans- with a small slit in the back to accommodate the tail that she has. Her hair is long and red, and her eyes are a very very vivid green, contrasting with the red.

Kara, meanwhile, is very very short. A lot shorter than Sszy, even, which takes some doing. She's got golden eyes, and relatively short hair; her body is rather well muscled, but not grossly so. From looking, you'd think she was a gymnast. She's also got rather large fluffy wings.

[Reinholdt]

"In fact..." Reinholdt goes on, interrupting any retort from Zee.

"... that makes the entire idea of having the same soul near impossible. It'd require a stasis. No change in memories or life experiences and in consequence, personalities. It'd be pretty much impossible to have the same soul from one minute to the next. Methinks your question was very much ill conceived. Well.... I'll let you think on that for a while. Maybe you can come up with a better answer next time. Personality just doesn't cut it." He tosses Zee a tip and leaves the tavern into deadtime.

[Amiria]

"Not so tough are the nightmares ? Maybe I should go hunting then. We can't have them prey on the common townsfolk wo can't defend themselves.", says Amiria and takes another sip of her coffee.

[Je dit Viola]

Will, hearing Amiria, jumps in and says, "Yes, they're really easy and really fun to kill. In fact, I've made it into a contest, against my wolf, to who can kill more in an hour." He smirks.

I'm going too, DEADTIME

[Amiria]

"Really ? Maybe I won't even need to much magic then. I can use my sword and it is enchanted to do horrible things to demons and undead and generally evil things." Amiria takes a look at the menu and orders Hero Sandwiches and a Root Beer.

[Rebonack]

"Umm..." Lefty looks confused as the three headed hydra in an apron pops out of dead time. "I... don't think I ever said anything about him having the same soul..."

"Hold up, let me check," Meany mutters, pulling up the text-log of the tavern and scanning through it. The fourth wall groans in pain, complaining about these blasted PCs mistreating it.

"Ah! Here it is! *ahem*"


"Oooh! That's neat! Hey, how does he make sure that he gets the right Spirit back? I mean... he could just copy memories to emulate a soul. But you can't have the same person without the same Spirit. Right...?"

"Seems like you didn't and he completely misunderstood us," the middle hydra head concludes as she snaps the book shut.

"Kitties are silly!"

"Indeed they are."

The hero sammich and root beer are then provided in a timely and retroactive fashion!

[Gullara]

A beautiful young woman enters the tavern.
http://i749.photobucket.com/albums/xx135/oots12321/Angel.png
She aproaches the bar and asks the hydra (whichever head is avaliable), "Have you seen a tall man with dark hair, probably wearing black platemail and weilding two bone swords? His name is Draken Malice." She seems very eager to find him.

[Rebonack]

The three head hydra behind the bar goes into a huddle, chattering amongst themselves regarding this inquiry. Eventually the middle head pops up and replies. "We saw him come through here with some minions the other day. But he's left, didn't say where he's going. No idea where he is now."

Lefty wrinkles her nose. "Why would anyone want to wear black armor, anyway? Wouldn't it get all hot and sweaty and stinky inside?"

The other two heads peer at her, really quite unsure regarding how to reply to that.

"Umm... Maybe they just like black...?" Righty offers.

[Gullara]

Now how am I going to find him?
"Thank you for your help. I think I will stay here until I come up with a plan. Could I get a Chimera Cabernet please? And maybe something to eat? I'm Alara by the way."

[Rebonack]

"Yaaay! Dibs on making her sammich!" Lefty giggles
"Heh. Fine, knock yourself out," Meany laughs as she fetches a bottle of wine using that prehensile tail of hers.
"Nice to meet you, miss Alara..." Righty adds in her soft (for a hydra) voice. "We're Xar'Cha Ezekiel Hanna Bath-Manoah."

The right head bows slightly.

The left grins broadly. "But that's a real mouthful! Most people call us Zee."

[Gullara]

"Nice to meet you." Alara looks around the tavern,
"What's going on in this plane anyway, its been a while since I've been here. Also do you know of anybody or anything around that could make a death knight more powerful." She pauses to think about what she said, "I'm only asking becausethat is where Draken would probably be."

[Rebonack]

"Depends on what you mean by a death knight," Meany replies as she points the wine and hands the cup over to Cosmo for delivery. "Do you mean a magically empowered corpse that devours the souls of those it slays? Or perhaps you mean a fallen champion of the sun that serves the undead?"

"I finished your sammich!" Lefty cheers, presenting a nice turkey sammich dressed with greens, blue cheese, and a tangy vinaigrette. This will likewise be delivered by the grumpy gnome.

Once Cosmo has given Alara her food he just...

Sort of stands there looking sour.

[Gullara]

Why are there so many meanings for the same term? Alara shakes her head, "Its not either of those. He is both a warrior and a necromancer. You saw his companions right? Those are both skeletons with aromor to hide there form." She bites into the sammich, "Mmm, this is good, I'm not used to having to eat."

[Who]

Francis shakes off his deadtime and lights up his pipe once more.

[Je dit Viola]

Will, Knight of the Shadows, is back, along with his bear-sized wolf. His wolf, by the way, is getting restless, and wants to slay more Nightmares.

[Who]

"Big dog you got there."

[Je dit Viola]

"Yeah, he's really nice. Also really good at fighting," the prince says, scratching his wolf's head.

"I'm Will. What's your name?"

[Who]

"Francis, for now anyway. That's a fighting dog?"

[Je dit Viola]

"Actually, he's more of a companion." Oh, I should give a better description of them.

Will is wearing black, has a sheathed sword and axe, and has long dark red hair. And he's also based off a video game character, although I didn't find out about him until after I designed Will.

Luminere, on the other hand, is a large wolf, light-colored (whites and yellows).

[Rebonack]

The middle head shakes her... well... head. "Sorry. I can't help you. There are any number of places a necromancer might go around here to cause trouble."

"Oh! You should try looking in the Misspelled Cemetary!" lefty laughs. "It has unded and stuff!"

"Not use... to eating?" Righty inquires, sounding somewhat uncertain.
"Bet she's a celestial of some kind," Meany suggests.
"Oooh, an angel? Do you think she might have wings?"

[Who]

"So, what is it that you do then? Cat chaser awayer?"

[Je dit Viola]

"What?" Will laughs. "No, of course not. Our favorite pastime is rescuing damsels in distress. It's really fun, except most of them expect you to marry them afterwards."

His wolf nods its head, agreeing.

[Who]

"Good past time, surely there can't be that many damsels though?"

[Je dit Viola]

"You'd be surprised. Some, I think, intentionally put themselves in distress." But he goes ahead and saves them again.

Besides, they're all NPCs in the vast infiniteness of the entire existance, so of course there's a lot.

[Who]

He seems puzzled.

"Why would you put yourself in danger on purpose?"

[Je dit Viola]

"I don't know." He shrugs. "Some people are just weird like that."

[Who]

"It's all beyond me."

[Je dit Viola]

"So, Francis, what do you like to do?" he asks. It's his turn now.

[Gullara]

"Good guess. And no, I don't have wings. I had to give them up to come to this plane. I was sent here to redeem Draken. I was chosen because of my special conection to mortals, whatever that means."

(probably a dead time)

[Who]

"Honestly? Not a clue, I don't remember a thing that happened before a few days ago. All I've worked out is I own a frog, have magic pockets and play the tuba, oh and I smoke apparently."

[Je dit Viola]

Smoke? His face goes 'huh?'. That's...odd, to say the least.

His large wolfie nuzzles its head in Will's hand, wanting to be petted again.

[Who]

"Oh and I have this key too, hurts to look at it."

[Amiria]

Amiria pays for her meal and leaves the tavern. A loud noise appears outside and disappears rapidly in the distance.

*vhroom* *vhroom* *vhroom*

[Je dit Viola]

Oh, really? What's it for? Will looks at it.

EXCEPT! he has to deadtime. Bye!

[Darkcomet]

DC snaps awake at the bar, apparently having passed out in deadtime or something. The psychic groans a bit, looking around. "Wonder what I missed..."

[Rebonack]

"Some missing persons related conversation! It was fun!" Lefty giggles from behind the bar.

Seems Zee is still in hydra form...

"There was also a troop of lawn gnomes building something with Popsicle sticks. Got chased off by a giant platypus," Meany adds.

"There was a man selling lich-bane enchantments... but no one wanted any..." Righty informs the psion.

[Darkcomet]

DC rolls her eyes at the Zee-heads. "Well that's just par for the course for this place, isn't it?"

[Rebonack]

"Yep! Pretty much!" Lefty giggles.

Meany rolls her eyes. Then glances around the tavern. "Hmm... Things have really slowed down in here. We may as well consolidate."

The other two heads nod.

And with that Zee melts back into her (mostly) human form!

Yay!

"Woo! I'm back! Who missed me?"

[Darkcomet]

"Heh... Being able to change forms at will like that must be awfully convenient, huh?" DC's used to shapeshifters, but normally is not in as much of a position to envy them.

[Rebonack]

"Yep! Though it can really mess up your hormones if you aren't careful," Zee cautions. "When I first figured out how to shift from hydra to human I was a mess for about a month," she giggles a bit at this point. "Heh... I would imagine you've gotten to experiance monthly issues by now yourself, haven't you?"

[Darkcomet]

DC thinks for a moment on that. A month? Had it been a month already-of course it had. Temporal anomalies and all that.

...but then that train of thought gets derailed rather quickly as Zee asks that question.

"Er..."

It becomes rather obvious that the subject makes the psychic extremely uncomfortable...

[Rebonack]

'course it does!

That's why Zee asked it!

"If nothing else these crazy gender-bender curses can give people more appreciation for what others go through. Builds empathy and stuff," the hydra-girl explains, nodding sagely. "You don't need to go into any details, Dee See. I know what it's like already."

[ApeofLight]

Foro comes out of deadtime and is looking at a diamond he found stuffed in his fez.

[Rebonack]

Which of course begs the question, "Foro... why is there a diamond in your hat?"

Zee seems puzzled by this. Normally the ape doesn't carry around priceless gems on his person. At least she hasn't ever noticed this to be the case.

[ApeofLight]

Foro doesn't seem to notice Zee as she asks her question. After looking at the diamond with a critical eye for about a minute he does something that would make just about any sane person cringe.

He eats it. Yep, eats it.

He eats it like a child would eat a handful of M&Ms. The monkey then starts to chew on it happily seeming to be oblivious to the worth of his snack.

Yep, oblivious to the question brought forth by Zee.

((Sorry not use to seeing talk without a color to it... yeah...))

[Darkcomet]

DC, needless to say, is grateful for the monkey's distraction. "Presumably, a generous rich person or one with a poor sense of humor put it there."

...then he eats it.

"...okay, never seen a monkey eating priceless gemstones before..."

[Rebonack]

"I've seen a giant beetle eat priceless gemstones before. They spit in them and turned them to jelly."

Mmm...

Gem jelly.

"Hey Foro? Y'know if you had sold that rock you could have payed for your booze here for the rest of forever."

[McBish]

Jane breaks out of deadtime, her hands bandaged and her sandwich gone. She keeps sipping her vodka though.

[ApeofLight]

Foro looks at Zee. His expression seems to come across as 'so what? These things are delicious!'

" But... it taste good. "

Aww, simple minds and horribly expensive pleasures.

[Rebonack]

Zee just shrugs.

How can you argue with that?

It should probably be noted that she's (mostly) human at the moment. The reptilian eyes and tail still give her away as a hydra, though.

"Good evening again, miss," she comments to Jane. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

[McBish]

Um, yeah. You guys have rooms here right?

[Rebonack]

Zee nods enthusiastically.

You would think that would hurt her neck...

"Yeppers! Plenty of rooms to rent up there. Most of them don't even smell weird!"

[Gullara]

Alara undeadtimes.
"Looks like there's not much going on." And still no sign of Draken
She heads over to the bar to see what Zee is up to.

[Rebonack]

Oh, plenty going on.

But conflicting time zones can be a real bugger.

Since there aren't many people ordering food at the moment Zee's in a chair by the fire place reading a rather sizable book. She's also mostly human at the moment. Still a few reptilian features that give her away as a hydra, though.

[Gullara]

"Morning Zee" Alara walks up to her. "I'm gunna need a room for the next little while (a little over two weeks real time), are there any free?"

[Rebonack]

"Hmmm?" the young woman glances up from her book as soon as it registers that someone is talking to her. "A room? Eerr... Not free, exactly. But Trog has a really weird payment program here. See, you pay whatever you think the service is worth. It's an honor system sorta thing."

"Also a good way to make sure we never get paid," grumbles Cosmo as he busily cleans glasses.

[Gullara]

"I ment are there any rooms available." :smallsmile: "I'll pay."

[Rebonack]

Zee blinks.

Then snerks.

Then breaks down into a fit of giggles.

"Hhe, I'm so use to people shirking their checks I just assumed, heh. Yeah We've got plenty of rooms up there available."

[Gullara]

"I don't think the boss upstairs would like it if I started stealing" Alara's halo becomes briefly visable as she hands Zee a suitable payment. "Here you go."

[Rebonack]

So long as it isn't a severed body part Zee will accept it and stow it away in the money box under the counter before handing over a key.

"You're in room twenty three. And... I hope you don't mind me asking, but who are you in the service of, anyway?"

[Gullara]

"Things work differently where I'm from. I don't serve a diety, its more like an order of angels that does good in the various planes. I was told to seek out Draken because I will be able to draw him away from the path of evil he is taking. I'm supposed to have some special skill that will allow me to complete my task, but I really have no clue what that is." She sighs, "But first I have to find him."

[Rebonack]

"Oh..." Zee wrinkles her nose a bit. "I guess 'angel' would be a bit of a misnomer for you then, huh? Since you aren't the messenger of a god. So I 'spose you guys are like an order of paladins? Except with halos."

[Gullara]

"Good point, everyone just calls us angels so we call ourselves that." She gestures behind her. "We have wings too, but I had to give mine up to come to this plane. Something to do with the proximity of the nexus."

[Rebonack]

"I've never understood that," Zee muses as she heads back to her seat by the fire and picks up her book again. "If you go to the base mythology about messengers of the gods they rarely have big wings on their back. I know that one guy had wings on his shoes. But that's about it."

She grins at Alara. "How does it feel to have your physical form dictated by what people believe you look like?"

[Gullara]

"Actually this is my appearance, I was born like this." She pauses and ponders what she just said. "I suppose actual angels aren't 'born', I wonder what we really are."

[Rebonack]

A surprising revelation!

"Huh. That is peculiar. You're right, y'know. Angels get created. Aren't born. 'cuz then they aren't spiritual beings at all, but rather physical ones that happen to have shiny skin and wings," Zee leans forward a bit, peering at Alara.

She's running a genome scan.

Contrasting the woman's bio-molecular make up to the myriad of other critters she has seen in the Nexus.

[Gullara]

"What do you think?"

[Rebonack]

Rebo thinks it would be useful to get a description of what Zee finds, as she can't make a comment without any information to go on.

*cough*

[McBish]

Zee nods enthusiastically.

You would think that would hurt her neck...

"Yeppers! Plenty of rooms to rent up there. Most of them don't even smell weird!"

Then I will take a room that doesn't smell. She says pulling out some coins from a pocket to pay for said room.

[Gullara]

Right um lets see. Wings, halo, pale skin, unnatural beauty, light hair, born not made, ages slowly, can travel the planes, good aligned, celestial like racial abilities. That's all I think.

[Rebonack]

"Huh... near as I can tell you're pretty similar to all the other material angels that poke around here. More or less empowered mortals," Zee shrugs. Then hands over a key to Jane. "There you go! Enjoy your stay!"

[Gullara]

"I guess we can keep calling ourselves angels then. I don't think anybody would have liked a name change."

[McBish]

Jane smiles and takes the key leaving payment on the bar and heads upstairs to her room for some real sleep.

[Je dit Viola]

Mizeri, no longer drunk and with her 'boyfriend', she walks into the tavern, holding her head, "Ow, what a killer headache...
"

Umm...she's 23, unmarried, has brown-and-black speckled wings, making her an angel, I guess, and...she has that sword with the mithril scabbard.

[Who]

Francis shakes off his deadtime and looks about for signs of life.

[Rebonack]

Zee's alive, no doubt. And making food for the tavern's patrons.

But we know about her already.

Who else is here today?

Well, we've got Phadris Essix. A tall, rugged looking man from the far north, clad in an always fashionable loin-cloth, some fur boots, and a battle axe of truly compensating proportion. He had heard of the great adventures to be had in this strange city and the surrounding lands and has come to see it for himself. The barbarian finds the ways of these civilized folk rather backwards. But at least their ale is good.

There's Jarid Flat, a simple old salt who used to go to the Black Dragon's Den before it shut down. A salor through and through, grizzled and scruffy. A woven wool cap is set atop his head, a permanent fixture along with his pipe. One of his eyes always seem to be squinting and peering off in a direction wholly independent of the other. It's been a long day's fishing and he's enjoying the warmth. And the view of those self-styled warrior women who are always showing up here. Yes sir, fine athletic specimens, those.

And more.

Many more.

Just give one of those NPCs a face and a name and see what happens.

[Who]

Francis nods to the fellow with the pipe, lighting his own.

[Gullara]

"It was nice talking to you Zee, I'm gunna go to my room now. I'll see you later." Alara says, then she heads upstairs.

[Rebonack]

"Bye!" Zee waves back pleasantly as the apparently angel departs.

Old Man Flat squints at Francis with his squinty eye whilst chewing on his pipe. "Yer lookin' fer a tale o' th' seas, aintcha boy?" the sailor inquires in a crusty, husky voice. It really doesn't matter how old Francis looks. Old Man Flat is older, regardless of physical age. And therefore 'boy' is clearly appropriate.

[Who]

"Um, sure."

[Rebonack]

"Then a tale o' th' sea y'll get, lad," Old Man Flat rasps. "E'er 'ear th' tale o' th' dread play fort o' R'lyay! at sunk to th' briny depths ages past?"

He squints at Francis with his not-squinty eye now.

[Who]

"R'lyay? Rings a bell...."

[Rebonack]

"No no no, not R'lyay? m'lad. R'lyay! Has th' dire 'n forbidd'n excitement o' a thousand diein' stars," the old salt corrects.

[Artemis97]

Raril shakes himself awake, and looks around. The drow was still sitting at a table, watching somehwhat nervously the scene between his brother sister and Sunn and Kara.

Sszinyon, for her part, was still nursing an injured hand.

And Lillith also wakes, sitting a bit farther away with her family. The fiend's back was turned to it all.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara slowly walks forward to give Sszy a hug. Considering that Sszy knows the girl's strength, and how much force she can exert without even trying, how gentle the hug is should send her a message. I'm sorry.

Sunn smiles widely at her daughter. Her daughter's gentleness and how much she cares is something she encourages.

[Artemis97]

Sszinyon freezes, too proud to step back, too startled to return the gesture.

"I.. I will be alright." The drowess says, with a little hesitation.

Raril's eyes go wide, clearly surprised that his brother sister had let Kara get so close.

[blackouttwo]

Lucas shakes off his own deadtime and returns to speaking to his wife like nothing happened. Considering how hard it is to find a decent place that's clean and not being sold by a rip-off artist, I've been thinking about just building our own.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Hang on. Kara curls her wings around Sszy, or tries too. If Sszy lets her, they'll both be completely obscured from view. At which point Sszy will feel an odd tingling feeling- although she'll have the feeling she can stop it at any time.

Provided that she lets the tingling...her hand will be healed. Completely.

[AmberVael]

A Mysterious Hooded Figure (patent pending) enters the tavern, casts a Mysterious Gaze (patent contested) at its patrons, and then sits down in a Dark and Shadowy Corner (public domain).

Oh, and then a random, winged woman comes in. One of those warrior women types, actually- or so the muscles would indicate. Her beautiful but prominent features, along with fair hair and blue eyes indicate a rather nordic heritage. She wears no armor, at least at the moment, and doesn't carry a weapon. However, she does have a fairly hefty hammer of fine craftsmanship hanging from her belt.

[Rebonack]

Old Man Flat the grizzled sailor is still spinning yarns of the open sea to anyone who will bother to listen to him. Provided that they buy him an ale first, of course.

Phadris the barbarian has moved on, having found a Mysterious Sage handing out quests. Apparently he's supposed to recover an artifact from a tribe of vile serpent people. The crown of Krull the Conqueror or something. No doubt it will be an adventure of hyperbolian proportion.

A troupe of gnomes arrives, all dressed in gaudy, garish outfits with bells and whistles and sparkly bits. Each is armed with an instrument of some kind. They head for the stage and begin preparation for a performance. Probably going to sing the Oompaloompa song.

Zee is fixin' sammiches for the patrons!

And waving cheerfully at both the winged woman and the Mysterious Hooded Stranger. "Hiya! Welcome to Trog's Tavern! Can I get you anything?"

[Artemis97]

Sszinyon looks rather alarmed when Kara wraps her up in her wings. "Wait. What are you-?" She pauses, realizing that her hand no longer hurt. The drowess flexes it experimentally, somewhat amazed.

Raril watches the hooded figure enter and sit down. His Adventurer Senses were tingling. The sharp-eyed drow searches for plot hooks, briefly, before his attention is caught by the winged woman. And... Oh gods, gnomes. What sort sound based torture would this group produce?

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara unfurls her wings, giving Sszy a smile, turning to her mother in pride.

However, Sunn isn't looking at Kara. She's looking across the room, to the rather muscled nordic-face woman, and smiling.

[AmberVael]

The Mysterious Hooded Figure gives an Enigmatic Cough!

And... begins hacking.
Lungs aren't too good, apparently. Must be all those hoarse whispers.

The winged woman smiles back at Sunn and moves over to join her.
"Its been a while."
Says Vera.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara looks around wildly.

And then throws herself at her aunt.

"AUNTIE VEEEEEEEEEEEERAAAAAAAA!"

Yes. Vera is enough to make her break her usual timidness.

Sunn, meanwhile, giggles as Kara flings herself at Vera.

[AmberVael]

Vera is rather taken aback by Kara's enthusiasm, but catches her neatly (that strength is good for something, after all) and hugs her, giving her hair a little ruffle.
"Hello, Kara."
She says gently.

[Rebonack]

Vera is getting double-glomped.

Poor Vera.

The gnomes begin unpacking bags of holding.

Which contain other bags of holding.

Which contain components for the stage that they're setting up. Gradually the clockwork monstrosity begins to take shape, various instruments and mechanical dancing animals sticking out her and there at odd angles.

Zee watches them uncertainly for a while.

Then leans toward Raril. "Bet it'll be polka."

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn smiles, standing up and going over to give Vera a hug. "It's been too long, you know. What've you been doing?"

Kara snuggles into Vera's arms, her eyes closed contentedly. She's really missed her aunt.

[AmberVael]

"Well... a lot."
Vera says, rather lamely.
"Taking a break from living in the nexus, really."

[Shadow of the Sun]

"I understand. I've got myself a little pocket dimension with just me, my husband, and the kids. It's nice to have some quiet time alone, right?" Sunn smiles at Vera, and runs her own fingers through Kara's hair.

Kara smiles, and adds to her mother's words: It's nice.

[Artemis97]

Raril chuckles. "Well, at least you can dance to that." The drow says, looking back at his wife and grinning.

[AmberVael]

Vera nods in agreement and kisses Kara on the forehead.
"I tried being a smith for a time, but something didn't quite seem right about it either. So I traveled- went and revisited my home. Spent time with my sister... but I thought I would come back, at least for a while."
She smiles at Kara.
"And how have you been?"

[Shadow of the Sun]

At Vera's mention of her sister, Kara looks at her widely. And then curls up. You...you know where she is? The girl is on the verge of crying.

Sunn shakes her head, gently taking her daughter out of Vera's arms and cuddling her close. "It's okay, sweetie."

[Rebonack]

That manages to get a giggle out of Zee. "Yeah, I guess you can huh? Energetic dancing, too. Not a slow waltz by any means! Hopefully it won't be anything-"

The band starts up.

It's a clanging, clanking, honking, jangling, ringing, steaming sin against the auditory senses.

"-horrible..." the hydra-girl adds, grinding her teeth a bit against the cacophony.

Several other gnomes in the tavern cheer. Apparently they're enjoying it.

[AmberVael]

"Well... I found her once, a while ago, and spent some time with her. I think I know where she is now, but I could be wrong."
Vera says to Kara. She glances at Sunn.

[Shadow of the Sun]

The prospect of knowing where Aesa is seems to panic Kara even more. She's terrified.

Sunn shakes her head at Vera, with a twinge of sorrow. She keeps cuddling her daughter comfortingly.

[AmberVael]

Thinking back, Vera can somewhat understand Kara's reaction, if from a different perspective. She loved her sister, but...
...yeah.

She reaches out a hand to brush Kara's hair, looking for words.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn gestures at Raril, trying to beckon him over. Kara needs a lot of support at the moment, and Raril is closest thing she has too a big brother.

"It's okay, it's okay..."

[Artemis97]

Raril covers his ears when the 'music' starts. He was debating throwing a silence spell at the stage and weighing the odds he'd be chased out of the tavern by angry little people. Then he notices Sunn calling him over. Oh dear, Kara was upset. He mouths 'I'll be right back' to Zee, before standing and walking over.

[AmberVael]

Vera mouths 'I'm sorry' to Sunn, looking rather awkward now.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn gently shifts Kara over to Raril, so that he can hold her. She'll probably be a little heavy.

At which point Kara clings to Raril and cries into his shoulder.

Sunn waves a hand at Vera in a "Don't worry" kind of way.

[AmberVael]

"I didn't know she was that... emotional about her."
Vera whispers to Sunn.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn goes over and whispers into her ear: "She was really affected by it. I think it's best that we don't talk about her for a while, alright?"

[Artemis97]

Raril wobbles a bit under the girl's weight, but manages to hold on her her, pulling her close. "Shh, it's alright. It's okay." He whispers, soothingly.

* * *

"Build a house?" Lillith's a little surprised by the suggestion. "That might take a while. Even if we use magic."

[Rebonack]

Zee gives a sympathetic nod, trying her best to block out the atrocity of 'music'.

The gnome band continues their concert, much to the pleasure of all the gnomes int he tavern and the bleeding ears of everyone else.

[AmberVael]

The valkyrie nods in understanding as she watches Raril and Kara.

[blackouttwo]

With the proper materials, enough dedicated workers, and oversight by us, it shouldn't take anymore than a few days, actually. Laying down some proper security countermeasures would take some time, though, I'll admit. Lucas takes a pencil out from his pocket and begins jotting this down on his always-there notepad via telekinesis.

[The Bushranger]

Shawna undeadtimes at the bar, shaking the deadtime cobwebs from between her ears before wishing she hadn't at hearing the music.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara eventually cries herself out. Her eyes are all red and puffy, but she's stopped crying.

Sunn knows how to brighten her up.

"Hey, Kara? Why don't you tell Raril and Vera 'bout Lakshmi?"

Kara smiles a little, and then begins: Sh-she's really pretty. Blonde, like you, auntie Vera. But her hair is longer. And she's a goddess.

[AmberVael]

Vera takes a seat and beckons Kara over.
"Is she your friend?"
She asks, a little oblivious. Vera never was very good about this sort of thing, after all.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara nods eagerly.

Sunn tries to get Vera's eye, winks when she does, and crosses her fingers, hoping that the gesture will get everything across.

[AmberVael]

Vera looks a bit confused. Wink? Crossed fingers?
She gets an inkling, but isn't sure about it.
"What is she like?"
Vera asks.

[Artemis97]

"A goddess?" Raril lets out a low whistle then grin. He was impressed, and a little proud of the girl in his arms.


Lillith raises one perfectly sculpted eyebrow at her husband. "Workers? Do we have the money to pay for that, dear?"

[Shadow of the Sun]

She's...nice. Very nice. A bit...uh...dotti? But she always cheers me up when I'm sad.

Sunn gives Raril a grin, smiling widely. I suppose Raril should be VERY impressed with Gabe, then?

[blackouttwo]

Lucas raises an eyebrow and smirks. A psionic eyeball pops into existence. We've got a few options.

[AmberVael]

"Well, you can't be serious all of the time."
Says Vera with a smile.
"I'm glad you're friends with someone like that."

[The Bushranger]

Shawna deadtimes again...

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara smiles at Vera and jumps out of Raril's arms to give her a hug. Love you, Auntie Vera.

[AmberVael]

Vera hugs Kara in return.
"I love you too."

[Artemis97]

Raril just keeps grinning, doing his best not to drop her.


Lillith frowns a bit at the construct. "What are you going to do with that?"

[blackouttwo]

Several arms and legs grow out of the hovering eyeball, and it soon turns into an able-bodied psionic construct. Make a few workers.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn smiles as Kara snuggles up to Vera, and then makes an 'Oh!' face.

"I think I know someone else who'd like to see you, Vera."

[Artemis97]

Lillith giggles at the funny looking construct.

Raril meanwhile, excuses himself. There were gnomes to be dealt with. Covering his ears, the drow makes his way across the tavern and towards the stage.

[AmberVael]

Vera holds Kara close and gives a confused look to Sunn.
"Who?"

[blackouttwo]

Lucas raises his eyebrow again and smiles at his wife. There's our workforce. Now we just need enough material to build the house, and someplace to build it on.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn opens her hands and between them, a little girl appears. She's young, much younger than Kara, with blue eyes and black hair. She also has tiny wings.

"...your other niece, Ana."

Ana looks confused.

[Artemis97]

"Well, if your little critters here don't mind soem hard work, there's plenty of materials to be found in the mountains or the forest. It's just a matter of getting it. As for location... Where did you have in mind?" the fiend asks her husband.

[AmberVael]

Vera picks up Kara gently and moves over to smile at Ana, if uncertainly.

[blackouttwo]

I was going to settle for a massive fort up in the mountains. Someplace secluded. But, I'll make it lady's choice tonight. Lucas seems completely content to let Lillith make the choice for him. He never was good at choosing good places for anything, let alone building a house.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn smiles at Vera, while Ana blinks in her confusion.

"I was pregnant with Ana when Aesa left."

She turns to Ana, smiles at her, and then points at Vera.

"This is your auntie, Ana. Her name is Vera."

[AmberVael]

Vera gives a little wave to Ana.
"Hello, Ana."
She's very uncertain of how to deal with children. Kara is somewhat easier...

[Artemis97]

"I was thinking somewhere a little closer to town, actually. We'd never get to see anyone if we lived way up there." Lillith reasons. "I know you're thinking of our safety, but I don't think we'd really be happy up there."

[blackouttwo]

Actually, I was more concerned with the view we'd get. I've come to accept that we're...safe. Lucas says that last word with some hesitation, but he sounds like he means it for the most part.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn smiles at Vera.

"Gabe's her father, and she's his daughter. No matter what happens- they're family."

Ana flaps her small wings at Vera, looking at her with a bit of confusion. As far as she's concerned, Gabe IS her father, biology be damned.

[AmberVael]

Vera nods in understanding.
"How is Gabe? Are the two of you doing well?"
She asks.

[Rebonack]

The gnomes will continue playing their 'music' as Raril draws near.

No doubt hilarity will shortly ensue.

[Shadow of the Sun]

"Very well. We're married now. Got the Gent to give us the ceremony on the hush-hush." Sunn gestures with her hand, showing off her wedding ring.

"He and I have had some kids together, too. Twins, and then a little boy." Sunn grins rather lewdly. "We've been busy."

[AmberVael]

"Congratulations."
Vera looks down at Kara and brushes her hair a little more.

[Artemis97]

Lillith smiles and reaches out to take her husband's hand and give it a gentle squeeze.

Up near the stage, Raril makes a few arcane gestures and casts a Silence spell on the whole group of gnomes.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn smiles at Vera, and says happily: "Thank you, very much." She does a little of her mojo to put Ana back into the little pocket dimension where Sunn and Gabe, and their family live.

Kara looks up at Vera excitedly. Have a look at what I can do!

[blackouttwo]

As for where our home will actually be built...what do you think? Lucas grins as his wife squeezes his hand. He had a feeling something was missing here, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

[Rebonack]

The gnomes are silenced!

Raril now has a whole slew of irate short silly people glaring at him.

This probably won't end well.

Zee starts giggling like crazy.

Most of the non-gnomes in the tavern begin to applaud.

[McBish]

Jane comes downstairs looking well rested after her long nap. She pauses on the stairs seeing all the people here. She takes a deep breath and goes and sits at the bar.

For those that don't know Jane is a young women probably in her early 20's, just shy of 5 feet and weighing no more then 100 pounds. She has a faded black eye and her hands are bandaged now. She is wearing the same outfit that she seems to always wear, a baggy sweater and a pair of warm looking pants, both seem too big for her.

[Artemis97]

"What do you think of the forest?" Lillith had always enjoyed walking there. Plus, it was outside of town without being inconveniently too far away.

In front of the stage, Raril turns to face the audience, a grin on his face. He pulls his hat off his head and performs a sweeping bow.

[blackouttwo]

Hmm....Secluded, but near enough for the kids to go to school, and for us to go into the city on business. I like it. Lucas smiles and thinks. We just need to figure out how to build it.

[AmberVael]

Vera looks down to Kara, waiting for her demonstration with a smile.

[Rebonack]

The clapping and cheering grows a bit in volume.

One of the gnomes throws a wrench at the back of Raril's head.

Seems everyone isn't quite as appreciative.

Zee grins at Jane as she takes a seat. "Good evening-!" she takes breath to continue with the woman's name, but she just realized. "I don't know your name yet. I'm Zee!"

The hydra-girl offers a hand to shake.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara cups her hands, using her powers to manifest a chain between them. She passes them over to Vera for inspection; as a smith, she should be able to tell that the chain is very high quality, and very strong.

[McBish]

Jane pauses for half a second, just barely enough for the hesitation to be seen by others before reaching out to shake Zee's hand. I'm Jane. Um is this some sort of entertainment? She says referring to the gnomes and Raril.

[Artemis97]

The drow straightens from his bow and was about to put his hat back on when...

*THUNK*

The wrench hits him squarely in the back of the head. Raril's eyes slide out of focus and he tips forward, colapsing to the tavern's floor.


"It won't be too hard." Lillith assures Lucas with a smile.

[AmberVael]

Vera inspects the chain professionally, and has to quell a little bit of envy.
"That's amazing, Kara. How do you do it?"

[Shadow of the Sun]

I haven't done what I was going to do yet. She gently tries to take the chain back. As long as no-one can see it...I can do it. I just know how.

Sunn, meanwhile, goes over to Raril, attempting to check his pulse.

[AmberVael]

Vera allows her to take the chain back, wondering what Kara wanted to show her that was more interesting than creating professional work with no effort.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Kara wraps the chain around her left bicep, holding it tight with her free hand.

Watch this.

She tenses her left arm, causing her bicep and tricep to flex to the point of snapping the chain.

[blackouttwo]

Yeah. I guess it won't. He smiles back and then- Deadtime. G'night.

[Artemis97]

The drow is alive. Thankfully he has a fairly thick skull. He is unconscious, however.

[Shadow of the Sun]

Sunn attempts to pick him up into a fireman's carry, to take him over to Zee.

[AmberVael]

"I think you're stronger than I was when I was your age."
Vera says, wondering if Kara might in fact be stronger than she is, say, now.
Which was a little bit intimidating.

[Artemis97]

Raril is in no condition to resist the move. He grunts a little when he's thrown over Sunn's shoulder.