Trog's Tavern CLIII

[Chaotic Bob]

There are a few mice who come by the tavern, whether with intelligence or not.
Kara waves to all of them just in case, including the one lurking under the table.

After which, she eventually finds her way before a not-at-all weird skeleton.
This isn't the most unusual thing, given that one of the popular Spooktober decorations were animated jack-o-lanterns that talked/jeered/spooked passerby.
What's a talking plastic bone model?

Although it is blocking the way to her prize here.
"Um, I'm not old enough to give out the alcohol, but I can ask mom to get you some? Do...you want a certain kind?"
There's really not reason to be a butt about this and refuse the request. Maybe they're an actual tavern patron that got lost. Or a spirit that got stuck in a decoration and actually desperately hoping for some form of sustenance. It isn't Karaglen's place to judge.

[Rebonack]

The plastic skeleton is mostly immobile, propped up against the box as it is, but it still manages to reach one arm toward Kara longingly.

"Please, child of flesh. Keh, keh... my throat. It's so dry. Any wine will do. I long for it so."

Poor skeleton.

It'll probably just spill down his rib-cage and make a mess.

But maybe all he really needs is the act of drinking wine so he can remember it?

If Karaglen has learned anything about undead she might recall that they often times get stuck in loops of craving that they can't ever fulfill. Hunger, thirst, warmth, the touch of someone they once cared about. Sensations that their reanimated body simply can't supply them with any longer. It's a miserable existence.

...of course...

This isn't an actual skeleton.

It's just a plastic decoration.

But the skeleton doesn't seem to know that.

Or maybe it DOES and this is all an elaborate gag of some kind? Maybe it's just a really well made decoration setting Kara up for a really good spook.

[Arkhosia]

[Back in the Saddle]

Unfortunately for Ithuriel, subject changing doesn't seem to succeed! It's difficult to evade the sense of a doctor familiar with a troubling medical issue one's attempting to hide - and so Caelynn frowns, peering at Ithuriel with concern. "Is something bothering you? I, uh, may not be at my practice, but I'm more than happy to help if you need it," she offers, reaching out to rest a hand on the angel's shoulder. "I'm bound to confidentiality, patient or not, no matter what our personal relationship might be."

[Gnrlshrimp]

[Back in the Saddle]

Ithuriel is torn between equal amounts of confusion and disbelief.

Confusion at how badly Caelynn has misinterpreted her.

Disbelief at the thought of confidentiality in the middle of Trog's Tavern.

Also a healthy degree of distress, since she's being coaxed into talking more about it.

"I'd hope our personal relationship isn't that bad, I mean, I...I don't really know you at all, do I?" That is something that is usually fixed by activities like talking over a few drinks though! "There's plenty bothering me, but I don't know if Trog's is really the most appropriate place to talk, and it isn't really medical. There was an accident, that's all. Just a terrible accident."

Those are definitely tears falling now. No hiding it.

[Chaotic Bob]

Karaglen is quite familiar with undead.
She's not intimately tied into the divine stricture of Bahamut anymore, compelled to put the poor things to rest, but...she's more than familiar with the concept and at least personally wants to help.

And wine is better than blood, or murder, or things undead can sometimes get stuck on.

"Um, okay! Hold on!"
Avoiding acknowledging or coming in contact with that outstretched arm (just in case, maybe it wouldn't mean to be dangerous, but undead are just that way sometimes), she'll scurry her way back out to the Countertop Surface.
There, to promptly call out to Zee while she maneuvers herself towards wherever the wine happens to be stored these days.
"Moooooom! Plastic skeleton ghost wants wine! Which one can I take?"

[Rebonack]

The skeleton continues its dusty laugh as Kara retreats back into the land of wood and slightly more sense.

Zee's activities really haven't changed since Kara's brief disappearance. Still putting decorations into boxes. Only difference is her current box is growing perilously close to being full.

"Um... hmm..." Zee hums to herself, holding aloft a rubber bat with a big cartoony grin. "Do we have anything that's already open, Cosmo?" Zee asks.

And then?

Something wondrous happens.

"Here you go kid, hardly a glass left anyway," the gnome says, holding out a mostly empty bottle of Kobold Kabernet to Karaglen.

Did...

Did Cosmo just do something helpful without getting nagged?

Is that a fleeting ghost a smile that just crossed his face when he handed the bottle to Kara?

Could it be...? Could it be that his grumpy, scoundrel's heart has softened due to the little wyrmling's ever-present positivity?

[Chaotic Bob]

Wow, Cosmo being helpful is about as much of a Thanksmas miracle as the city coming to an orderly stand-still.

But Karaglen, ever loving and optimistic, takes it in stride before delivering a firmly appreciate hug to the (typically) grumpy gnome.
"Thanks Cosmo, you're always the best!"

Then it's time to carefully take that bottle in one clawed hand, before scampering back into the Counter Depths.
Maneuvering around down there on only three legs would normally be pretty difficult, but spending enough time doing this has lead to Kara devising some fairly clever ways to leverage her wings and tail to squeeze, clamber, and shift around.

Sooner or later she'll get back to the skeleton, to present to it an early Thanksmas/late Spooktober gift.
"Hope this is okay, mister skeleton."

[Rebonack]

"Yeah yeah," Cosmo replies stiffly to the hug.

He's still grumpy.

That hasn't changed.

Though maybe he's developed just a little bit of a soft spot for the sweet little wyrmling.

Thanksmas miracles can happen sometimes, can't they?

Regardless!

Kara heads back under the counter! It's still just as weird as it was before. And for whatever inexplicable reason it still looks like a dungeon.

The kind with prisoners.

Not the kind with dragons and loot.

Though... I guess this one has at least a dragon in it, however temporarily.

"Yes, yes, give it to me!" the skeleton rattles at it takes the bottle and upends it into its mouth. The skeleton begins making glugging noises as the wine splashes over its rib-cage. And continues making glugging noises long after the bottle is empty. It probably can't actually feel anything flowing over it. Since... y'know. Skeleton and all. "Yes... yes! This is wine, I remember it well! Glorious, delicious wine! Take your prize, young one. Thank you for your gift."

With its free hand, the skeleton scoots the box toward Kara.

Success!

[Chaotic Bob]

Doo doo doo dooooo doo dooo do do dooooooooo

Quest complete!
Reward box acquired!
+10 experience points!
+5 karmic whimsy!
+1 good deed codex entry!
+7 dust bunnies caught in scales!

"Thanks, mister skeleton! Um, enjoy the wine!"
Karaglen is going to very deliberately not comment on its emptiness, as undead are weird and that would probably break some sort of delusion.
Instead, she just waves at it then begins the journey back to the Countertop Surface with a fresh empty box for Zee to stuff things into.

Will she arrive in time before the other box is completely full? Hopefully!

[Rebonack]

The skeleton is certainly enjoying the wine.

Even though there is not, in fact, any wine left.

Undead are weird.

Anywho! Back to the land of slightly more sense making!

Zee has just finished filling up her box as Kara makes her reappearance, plopping the container full of gaudy and (supposedly) spooky decorations down on the counter. She smiles at the wyrmling, leaning forward to collect the new, empty box.

"Thanks Kara. We should have the Spooktober stuff all down by the end of today, I think. When do you want to start putting up the Thanksmas decorations?"

See, Zee couldn't decide.

So why not just shift the choice onto the child?

The child who will, very likely, want to begin decorating as soon as possible.

[Chaotic Bob]

There is a special little moment, when you ask a child questions like "when would you like to meet your new puppy", "do you want all of the ice cream?", and "when do you think we should put up the Thanksmas decorations?" that they light up like little beaming stars, so full of joy, hope, and energy.

So enamored with the sheer jubilation of seasonal possibility, Karaglen actually squeaks a little before promptly turning on her heels and running for the stairs.
"WaithereI'llberightbackIhavesomanyideas!"

[Rebonack]

As Kara goes zooming off, Zee gives one of those amused parent smiles with a little shake of her head as she continues taking down all the Spooktober stuff. That was, of course, the basic reaction she was expecting. She knows Karaglen well. That's what happens when you have to put someone back together again, after all. She has an ulterior motive, too.

See.

Navvy has been sleeping upstairs and it is HIGH time he help out.

Sure, technically, he was helping.

He was collecting boxes of old Thanksmas decorations out of the attic.

(Since when did Trog's have an attic? Since now, apparently.)

And, generally speaking, Navanaxinermis was doing a pretty great job. At least until he decided that a box full of fluffy Thanksmas stockings looked really comfortable.

As Kara goes dashing up the stairs, she'll find a neat collection of the older not-home-made decorations arranged near the top of the flight for easy retrieval.

And curled up atop one of the larger boxes?

A snoozing bronze wyrmling. It looks like he had decided to try wearing one of the festive red, green, and white socks as a hat before passing out.

[Chaotic Bob]

Adults always seem to have this little psychological tricks to pull on kids, to maneuver them around in ways they totally thought were their own ideas.
So very tricky.

Anyway!

Karaglen will of course start with the basic original decorations. Her personal decorations that she has spent an embarrassing amount of time working on have been mostly intended as complimentary editions, rather than wholesale replacement of everything.
Which rather promptly brings the (once more elven) girl to the stack of boxes with her lazy sibling.

Not one to be vindictive or pouty about his snoozing-instead-of-working habits, Kara instead just bombs him with her enthusiasm as a wake-up alarm.
"NAAAAAAVVY! THE TIME IS NOW! DECORATION IS HAAAAPPEEEENING!"
And then the little fellow is going to have scant seconds before she starts moving and pushing boxes around to look for wherever the garlands are currently hiding.

That box obviously has to come down first.

[MossyMeow]

"Ah! Um, yeah. Happy to help." Rein's ear twitches a little as he instinctively tilts his head towards her. Wow. How long has it been since he's been licked? He's been away from other cats for far too long. "A-anyways, good luck. And if you need anything else I live at a place called HALO. You can find it at the big lake. A lot of good fish there too."

Mosswillow smiles. "Thanks for the tip. What's a halo, anyway?" She briefly lifts her head as she catches a whiff of a...mouse...rat? She's unsure, and swivels her head to see Fendrick. "And is everywhere in this dimension infested with rodents? Not that I'm complaining. Just curious."

[Rebonack]

"BWAH!" would be Navvy's pretty incoherent reply to his sudden awakening. He snorts and flails a bit, flapping his wings blindly and managing to do a pretty great job of scooting his box of stockings along the floor and into the wall with a muffled thump. Blurry-eyed (and still wearing a fluffy sock on his head) Navvy blinks away the remaining sleep.

"Oh golly I dozed off! Sorry sis, I didn't mean it. The box a' socks was just so warm!"

It was.

It helps that there's a skylight nearby, beaming a nice little square of sunshine onto his snoozing spot. It was unavoidable, really. A box of soft things AND sunlight? How is a wyrmling supposed to resist such a temptation?

"I think I got them all before I fell asleep," he says with a wide-mouthed yawn. "Which one are you looking for?"

There are, after all, quite a few boxes. Trog's needs to be big enough to house an indeterminate number of patrons who in turn are an indeterminate average size. That means erring on the side of caution is always a good idea just in case a house-sized patron decides to visit. Lots of room means lots of decorations! Lots of decorations means lots of boxes!

"I alphabetized them all based on whatever was at the top of the box," Navvy says, puffing out his little chest with pride. He's quite happy with his work. "First letters are closer to the stairs."

The bronze wyrmling hops off his perch, stocking still clinging to his nubby horns.

"Decorating for Thanksmas is like decorating for Spooktober, right? Just putting up all the stuff? I missed it last year since Mom hadn't... y'know. Rescued me yet."

[Reinholdt]

Mosswillow smiles. "Thanks for the tip. What's a halo, anyway?" She briefly lifts her head as she catches a whiff of a...mouse...rat? She's unsure, and swivels her head to see Fendrick. "And is everywhere in this dimension infested with rodents? Not that I'm complaining. Just curious."

"Ah, it's just a fancy name for the group. It also refers to things on top of angels' heads." Rein's not entirely certain if Mosswillow knows what an angel is, given she didn't know about bars or currency.

"Angels are dead humans with wings." That sounds accurate.

"We usually don't get many rodents, but there's been an exception lately. I've heard that Riverside is infested with them. You might be able to make a lot of currency going there and exterminating them."

[Chaotic Bob]

"The box did look pretty cozy, but!
This is much more important than naps! It's the most exciting time of the year!"
And surely not at all related to her general affinity for and love of the cold season.
Thanksmas is just plain awesome to everyone everywhere at every time, right?

All said while she counts her way to the letter G real quick (7!), by tapping her fingers on the boxes and being very briefly confused, before remembering that just because Navvy alphabetized them all in order doesn't mean there's only one box for each letter.
She readjusts her search to actually look at what is contained within the boxes.

Garlands shouldn't be too hard to see, if they're on top somewhere.
"Um, well. I guess it's like Spooktober, but not at all? No spooky jumping things, or scary monster costumes. It's all happy and sparkly! Also more singing. And snow."

Truly this is the essence of the season.
Happy, sparkly, singing snow.

[Rebonack]

"Coldest time of the year, too," Navvy adds. "It's weird. I can swim WAY under water where it's super cold and that doesn't bug me any. But I tried jumping in a snowdrift that one time with nothing on? Jeepers! I've never been so chilled before!"

He's shivering just thinking about it.

This is likely just evidence that dragons are weird.

"But yeah, I guess, getting to give strangers presents is swell! They get so happy. And I guuuuueeess the snow is fun, too." Navvy admits. He begins absently scooting one of the boxes back and forth. It's obvious his sis has a plan, he just isn't sure what that plan IS yet. Kara almost always has a plan of some kind. Navvy is more inclined to be a bit more spontaneous, especially if the spontaneous thing involves being heroic and dashing!

"I noticed the sparkly part," he muses, giving his wings a flap and dislodging an anemic cloud of glitter in the process. "This stuff is wicked sticky. Every time I think I've got it all I find some more somewhere. Is it because snow is sparkly that they put this glittery stuff on everything? Or is everything sparkly to make it magical?"

Everyone knows that there's a direct correspondence between the magicalness of a thing and how sparkly it is.

Except if it's gross bad magic.

That stuff isn't sparkly even a little bit.

Finding the garlands shouldn't be too difficult. Zee has obviously cheated somehow, since the winding evergreen vines are just as alive and supple and fragrant as they would have been the day they were cut. The garlands are certainly festive things, shot through with pine-cones and holly berries, baubles and bells, tinsel and ribbons, lights and glitter. No two garlands are the same, and each is uniquely cheerful and festive in their own way. Some a rich green. Other dusted with a hearty coating of glittery faux snow. Regardless of which ones Kara picks up, she's going to smell like an evergreen tree and quickly get covered in sparkles.

Navvy, for his part, hefts a box full of string lights onto his back.

[MossyMeow]

"Ah, it's just a fancy name for the group. It also refers to things on top of angels' heads." Rein's not entirely certain if Mosswillow knows what an angel is, given she didn't know about bars or currency.

"Angels are dead humans with wings." That sounds accurate.

"We usually don't get many rodents, but there's been an exception lately. I've heard that Riverside is infested with them. You might be able to make a lot of currency going there and exterminating them."

"Sounds like a good way to make some currency. And a delicious way, too!" She licks her lips. "As for the halos...and the angels...I've never heard of them. Dead humans with wings!" Mosswillow chuckles. "Thanks again for the advice. I'd better get to this 'Riverside' place and catch some of those rodents." She pushes the gold coin Reinholdt gave her onto the bar and waves her tail in the air. "Hey, you! Server person!" Once the server comes over and takes the coin, Mosswillow turns to her new friend and says, "It was nice meeting you, but I'd better go. I have some mice to catch."

[Kyrian]

The door opens with a small puff of dust as an old, long thought dead, man steps in. Old may not describe him correctly, he doesn’t look terrible for his 30s. He brushes dust off of his arms, flexing slightly in his black combat vest, before moving down to brush more dust away from his faded jeans. The shades covering his eyes dip slightly to reveal his grey-blue eyes before he stands up and runs partially gloved hands through his short blond hair, spiked on top in front and shaven to short scruff along the sides and back.

He steps over to the bar, sitting at an empty stool, situating himself comfortably, not the easiest with the giant buster sword strapped to his back. He calls a ‘tender over and orders a drink.

“How long do I have this time before I become forgotten again? Maybe this kind I’ll do myself a favor and not abandon myself in the middle of action somewhere, hm?”

[5a Violista]

The door opens with a small puff of dust as an old, long thought dead, man steps in. Old may not describe him correctly, he doesn’t look terrible for his 30s. He brushes dust off of his arms, flexing slightly in his black combat vest, before moving down to brush more dust away from his faded jeans. The shades covering his eyes dip slightly to reveal his grey-blue eyes before he stands up and runs partially gloved hands through his short blond hair, spiked on top in front and shaven to short scruff along the sides and back.

He steps over to the bar, sitting at an empty stool, situating himself comfortably, not the easiest with the giant buster sword strapped to his back. He calls a ‘tender over and orders a drink.

“How long do I have this time before I become forgotten again? Maybe this kind I’ll do myself a favor and not abandon myself in the middle of action somewhere, hm?”

A woman happens to be sitting next to where he sat. She, coincidentally, also looks to be in her thirties. Or maybe late twenties, it's hard to tell because she's wearing a mask that covers most her face. Black hair, floral-print skirt, and so on.

"Sorry, I don't remember who you are," she says. "It's okay, though, I've gotten forgotten a lot."

She glances at his sword.

"I'm more of a small-swords girl, myself."

[Chaotic Bob]

There is a gnome around the bar, of course, as there almost always is.
Today he even looks almost like he's actually pretending to do a bit of work! As long as you ignore the fact that he's cleaned the same glass 47 times and that it was never really dirty to begin with.

But then someone else has to go and sit at the bar and expect him to actually bring them a drink. Probably.

A large glass of something that could maybe be good alcohol is reluctantly pushed over towards this definitely-not-familiar man at the bar.
That Cosmo isn't squinting at skeptically.
"Huh. Guess you didn't get eaten after all."

****

Meanwhile in the attic still:

Spontaneity has a place, dear Navvy. But sometimes you just have to be prepared.
Particularly when your silly mother opens the door on preemptive, wholesale Thanksmas decorating.

"That's what coats and scarves are for, silly. So that you don't freeze and can still have fun in the snow!"
Even Kara wears fuzzy outfits on occasion, but that's more because she thinks they look cute than out of any actual need.
That and some of the adults have looked at her funny for running out into snow-drifts dressed in "summer clothing".

"Oooh, you found all the glitter! Yay! I don't think that's just because of snow, I think it's just because glitter is great."
It's super great. Unless you ever want it to come off?

Karaglen thinks so positively in this vein that she actually grabs one of the fake-snow garlands and strings it around herself like a scarf before hefting up the box with the most garlands.
It's not the only box of decorations she's here for, but it one of the most important ones.
"Okay Navvy, here's the plan: after you get those lights downstairs, I need you to find one of the boxes of...um. How to describe them...okay, some of the boxes with the little colorful ball decorations with hooks on top of them should also have some extra hooks and strings inside of them, that you're supposed to use in case the other ones break. I have some other stuff to attach them to!"

But they do have to get their current loads downstairs first. So might as well get going on that!

[Kyrian]

A woman happens to be sitting next to where he sat. She, coincidentally, also looks to be in her thirties. Or maybe late twenties, it's hard to tell because she's wearing a mask that covers most her face. Black hair, floral-print skirt, and so on.

"Sorry, I don't remember who you are," she says. "It's okay, though, I've gotten forgotten a lot."

She glances at his sword.

"I'm more of a small-swords girl, myself."

The man turns and looks her way, pulling the shades off completely. As he sets them down, they simply seem to dust away. There is a slight scar across the man’s left eye, though his eye appears to have no damage itself.

“Hm?”

He glances over his shoulder, “Oh, that.”

With a small flick of his right wrist, the sword too dusts away.

“It was always a favorite. I try to be versatile in weapon choice, but always come back around to Renegade.”

He squints a little, as if trying to recall a memory.

“I’m Kyrian....no that’s not it anymore. I’m Mike now.”

There is a gnome around the bar, of course, as there almost always is.
Today he even looks almost like he's actually pretending to do a bit of work! As long as you ignore the fact that he's cleaned the same glass 47 times and that it was never really dirty to begin with.

But then someone else has to go and sit at the bar and expect him to actually bring them a drink. Probably.

A large glass of something that could maybe be good alcohol is reluctantly pushed over towards this definitely-not-familiar man at the bar.
That Cosmo isn't squinting at skeptically.
"Huh. Guess you didn't get eaten after all."

****

“One of these days, Cosmo, I’m going to find a way to dirty that glass,” Mike throws a wink Cosmo’s way.

[5a Violista]

The woman doesn't care about his scar, because she has some of her own - which is probably why she's wearing a mask.

She nods, listening to him talking about his weapons.

"I'm Harley," she says. "Nice to meet you."

After a pause, she adds: "By the way, how do you do that? That thing where you make things disappear."

[Kyrian]

"Sheer will. Mix in a little stupidity, if you ask the right people."

Mike smiles slightly, turning his drink around in his hands.

"I'm a writer, here it gives me an ability to make my creations real at my whim."

[5a Violista]

Harley laughs. "Ha ha, that's actually pretty cool."

What sort of drink did she order?
...
Oh. It's just food. She eats a bite. She can do this because her mask doesn't cover her mouth.

"So I think you said you've been around before, right?" she asks. "You got any plans now that you're back?"

[Reinholdt]

"Sounds like a good way to make some currency. And a delicious way, too!" She licks her lips. "As for the halos...and the angels...I've never heard of them. Dead humans with wings!" Mosswillow chuckles. "Thanks again for the advice. I'd better get to this 'Riverside' place and catch some of those rodents." She pushes the gold coin Reinholdt gave her onto the bar and waves her tail in the air. "Hey, you! Server person!" Once the server comes over and takes the coin, Mosswillow turns to her new friend and says, "It was nice meeting you, but I'd better go. I have some mice to catch."

Rein smiles and nods. "It was nice to meet you too. Good luck! And take care of yourself." Hopefully it would all work out for Mosswillow. At least Riverside was something of a nicer place than it used to be.

[Zefir]

'Ha, I ran away. I uh, I hope he hasn't become an evil mastermind! Thanks, Eon. Nice to meet you too. I just want to adventure and explore new places. I spent too long in a tiny cage, so I'm trying to appreciate my freedom and make the most of the opportunity I have been given - even if it was through the wizard's bad intentions.'

Fendrick's tail swishes slightly from side to side as he speaks. His eyes are bright, and his demeanour suggests he really does enjoy meeting new people and exploring new places.

"Adventuring huh?" Eon replies. "I am in that business, too. Thought I have just arrived in this area so I got no idea what's up here. I will just wait for the next shidy looking old man to offer a quest."

[Rebonack]

[Upstairs coming down]

"I know, I know. I wore that poofy outfit last year. It was so darn hard to move around in!" Navvy retorts.

It's true. It was.

He looked like a ridiculously adorable little poofball.

But it DID prevent him from being cold. Also prevented him from flying or displaying any degree of dexterity. Remember when he face-planted into that snow-drift?

Good times.

"I dunno, sis. I don't think I'm too keen on it," Navvy replies as Kara wraps a garland around her neck like a scarf, glitter spilling all over her. There's quite a bit of stray glitter floating around in the garland box, just waiting for some poor unsuspecting surface to settle on. "I like shiny things as much as any dragon, honest I do, but this is way worse than gold dust."

Gold dust isn't so sticky!

Regardless of glitter woes, he follows Kara down the stairs. "You mean the box marked 'Baubles'? That's full of all sorts of real swell shiny glass balls! There are some bronze colored ones I really liked and I didn't break any of them, honest. That one broken one was broke already."

It totally was!

Navvy would never lie about something like this.

"I think I like the baubles, they don't have as much glitter on 'em as the garlands do."

But they still have some. Because they just wouldn't be Thanksmas decorations without glitter.

Meanwhile, downstairs!

Zee glances up from her taking down the last of the Spooktober decorations right about the time that... Mike? Shows up.

A curious grin tugs at her lips.

"Oh gee, now that brings back memories. Back when everything was still Town. If you need anything else just give me a holler, okay? I take 'service with a smile' a little more literally than Cosmo does."

Cosmo smiles all the time! It's just an upside-down smile. Close enough.

[Kyrian]

Harley laughs. "Ha ha, that's actually pretty cool."

What sort of drink did she order?
...
Oh. It's just food. She eats a bite. She can do this because her mask doesn't cover her mouth.

"So I think you said you've been around before, right?" she asks. "You got any plans now that you're back?"

“Hmm....last time I was really around, I think it resulted in the destruction of my realm.”

Mike takes a drink,

“Haven’t really given any thought to what I’ll do now. See what happens, I guess?”