Trog's Tavern CLIV

[Earl of Purple]

"I have no idea. Maybe it ate her?" If the swordsman doesn't stop her, she'll poke around at some of those rather interesting things that fell out of the sphere. That skull, for example. That's really interesting to look at.

[Vahnavoi]

The man snaps his head towards the goblin. "Cursed" , he answers her question. "She'll be back." He kneels, grabs the backpack and starts stuffing all the spilled stuff into it, save for the targe. This will get awkward once he gets to the skull Mishnehel picked up, for he will try to snatch it out of her hand just like je did with the ball.

[Recaiden]

The man shakes his head.
"I don't see him. Most of the time it is him looking at some grotek mass of flesh. Sometimes it looks like a map, but every time I look through their eyes." The man says. "I can only tell you that they are bigger then most of their units. They allways look down on them. That is all I can say."

Big general, horrible fleshy masses, can see the distribution of their creatures on a surreal map.
"Okay, yeah. Uh, thanks for the warning."
Let's see, what to do. Well, maybe buy more weapons a little earlier. The guy's probably crazy,can't put too much stock in it, Tao thinks to himself.
"Just try to keep calm about it."

[Morty]

"That doesn't really explain a lot," Olvisin remarks, stating the obvious. "But it means that the monster probably didn't eat her. And wasn't her. Someone should probably make sure this guy doesn't get into trouble, though."

[Earl of Purple]

"Are you sure? If she's cursed, and she'll be back, and the monster had her things... Maybe she was the monster, or created it or something." Mishnehel sighs. "I'll stick with him. Try to keep him out of trouble." And hey, if he does get in trouble and she dies, Zee says she can come back now, right? Not that she particularly wants to give it a go, mind you.

[Vahnavoi]

"Beast was her corpse" , the man mutters as he finishes packing. "She's alive now. There will be another beast. When she dies. Again."

[Morty]

Olvisin's ears flick up and down.

"Well, good luck. I'd help, but I'm not really equipped for this today. Literally, I mean. I'd rather have my armor and guns for this kind of thing."

[Earl of Purple]

"So... Are you going to go and kill her to create another beast? Because that seems like a bad idea, since it turned those people into slavering cannibals." Which is new information to Olvisin, I think. "What's your plan?" And is it something Mishnehel's going to have to try and stop?

[Vahnavoi]

The swordsman shakes his head vigorously. "No. NO. I will cut the beast off of her. With this." He brandishes the remains of his sword while slinging the filled backpack over his shoulder. "I will cut it off so that there will never be another beast again."

[Morty]

"I can see several problems with this plan." Olvisin's expression is deadpan. "First, that sounds like killing her but with extra steps. Second, your sword's hilt burned off and you're left with the blade. Third, you're still naked."

[Earl of Purple]

"Even if it works, you'll kill her. And... She's going to try and defend herself. That might mean more cannibal people. And you definitely need to put some trousers on or no one will take you seriously." Mishnehel frowns. "She might have friends, and you're picking a fight in the hope you can kill the beast within her before it goes on a rampage? That seems flawed, really." Mishnehel will probably follow, still, but not help. She'll maybe try to get people to evacuate, but she really doesn't think she'll side with the swordsman.

When she finds out how young Magdalene is, she will probably side with her.

[Vahnavoi]

The man turns slowly towards the goblin lady. "My sword's fine." He sways in place as Mishnehel speaks, unclear if he's actually listening. "... she's here. I can feel her. She'll be coming for this." He taps the backpack with his sword.

"... out. Must get out... "

He stomps towards the door, brushing past tavern patrons.

[Morty]

"Oh boy. I think we should call for help. From Vigil or something." Olvisin is getting nervous now. "I'm going to have to start carrying a gun here or something. If this kind of stuff is going to happen."

[Rebonack]

And as the swordsman is stomping toward the door it opens and a new patron steps in, clearly looking for something. She really isn't that much of a sight, a tiny, slight teenage human girl of maybe fifteen years of age. She's dressed in borrowed clothing that doesn't fit the season at all and fits her about as well. Acid washed jeans, a pair of sneakers without any socks, a t-shirt with a picture of a green prickly cat with the caption CATCTUS under it. Her hair is an odd white with mottled tan and there are a pair of fuzzy little antler nubs sticking out.

Hungry pink light is showing through her shirt right at her solar plexus.

She immediately freezes when she spots the swordsman, then points at the backpack.

"That's mine," she informs him.

There's an implicit 'give it to me' in there somewhere.

And it doesn't look like she's planning on leaving the tavern without it.

Magdalene Wright is unarmed, without armor, and probably weighs less than a hundred pounds soaking wet.

Aside from the eldritch light lodged in her chest and the antler buds nothing about her would connect her to the rotting, hungry beast our heroes fought earlier.

[Vahnavoi]

The swordsman stops just short of colliding with the girl. He stands still for a moment, then slowly tilts his head down, as if to look at her. His face is entirely obscured by a featureless mask that has no holes for eyes, so if or how he sees anything is an open question.

"Magdalene Wright. I've been looking for you" , he drones, his right hand holding one strap of the backpack as it hangs over his shoulder, his left holding the remains of his blade. For a short but awkward moment, the large naked man just looms silently before the girl, before letting the pack drop off his shoulder and shoving it to the girl's chest.

[Earl of Purple]

"Magdalene, right? He wants to cut the beast out of your soul. I'm... not sure it'll work, but he did do a lot of work on killing the frosty dead beasty the backpack was found on." Mishnehel looks a little worried, as she explains the swordsman's plan. Magdalene's a child, this guy wants to kill a child. That doesn't seem very... Well, Mishnehel doesn't agree with the plan any more.

[Morty]

Olvisin's ears droop. If this guy does try to kill Magdalene, she can't do anything about it without her guns and tools. She's not comfortable with just standing idle and watching it. Maybe she can try calling Vigil if he proves too much for Mishnehel to handle?

[Rebonack]

Magdalene stands her ground, utterly unmoved by this naked weirdo looming over her. "Yeah?" she shoots back when he announces that he was looking for her, her tone defiant and challenging.

Then?

She gets her backpack shoved into her arms.

The girl briefly glances down at the pack, then opens it up and begins rifling through it to make sure everything is there.

It isn't.

Her eyes fall on the targe still laying on the floor and she begins scooting around the naked swordsman toward it.

"I take it one of you guys killed the wendigo?" she says, already knowing the answer. Mishnehel confirms it for her. "Some (flowering) demon poisoned me. But I killed him before he could start doing whatever the hell he was planning on doing. Eating people I guess. So you're welcome."

Granted the wendigo was eating people, too. But not as many people as the demon would have eaten. Magdalene is pretty sure of that.

"I found some idiot down in Sylvanas but the (flowering) moron must have been looking up like I told him not to so now there's probably a Nyx cultist somewhere trying to end the world I've gotta go find," she informs the people gathered as she moves to retrieve her shield.

She doesn't even acknowledge the fact that someone might want to kill her. That's nothing new.

[Vahnavoi]

There's a yank as Magdalene scoots for her shield - the naked man didn't let go of the backpack's strap. It seems he's worried of her wandering off again.

"I know of none of that" , his voice rattles through his mask. He doesn't turn to follow Magdalene's movements, staying in place, facing the door. "But I've seen you die a hundres times. Always there is a beast. It has to stop. I'm here to stop it."

[Earl of Purple]

"He did, I helped. That was a wendigo? I've not heard of those before. Um, can we possibly have this discussion somewhere else? Not here, but somewhere less prone to disastrous collateral damage? If Magdalene dies, we'll be left with a wendigo and I can't fly it over the rooftops again to remove that cannibal aura thing." If they do fight here, Mishnehel's not sure what to do. Well, she is sure. Keep the girl alive, that's probably the most important thing.

[Rebonack]

"Yeah, well, now you do. Let go of my pack ya (flowering) weirdo," Magdalene shoots back.

Then?

She looks vaguely offended.

"I've died, like, twelve times. TOPS. I'm not THAT bad. And most of the times have been in (flowering) pits somewhere that normies aren't going to be bothered by my body getting back up. Today was a fluke."

That said, the girl yanks on her pack.

Two things become immediately obvious.

First?

The pack in incredibly resilient given that its strap didn't just break.

Second?

This child is hideously strong. It will be immediately obvious to the swordsman that this unassuming looking teen is significantly more dangerous than the beast he just killed.

[Vahnavoi]

Mishnehel can immediately tell something is different. When she was yanking the man around, it wasn't any harder than moving any other human of his size. But now, despite Magdalene tugging at her pack with quite a lot of force, the man doesn't budge an inch. His arm might as well be a steel chain affixxed to a wall. "I know" , he responds to Magdalene. "It will get worse. Exponentially worse. Most of your deaths have not happened yet from where you're watching. If I cut away your curse now, they will never happen. But if I don't succeed now, I will have to go back and start again. It is a long way."

[Zefir]

Big general, horrible fleshy masses, can see the distribution of their creatures on a surreal map.
"Okay, yeah. Uh, thanks for the warning."
Let's see, what to do. Well, maybe buy more weapons a little earlier. The guy's probably crazy,can't put too much stock in it, Tao thinks to himself.
"Just try to keep calm about it."

"Won't do" the prophet says as he turns back to his papers. He doesn't seem to intressed in getting his view to the man or he thinks he did get it. After all there is no point in everyone getting paniked. People do act different.

WARNING

A rumble can be heared from below. It sounds like stone shattered followed by wood crushed. Something has made it's way into the wine cellar of Trogs. Or was it the beer cellar? Trogs is big enougth to got different ones right? EITHER WAY. Whatever managed to get his way down there is not really trying to hide it. A knocking sound can be heared like a pickaxe hitting a stone wall. For several moments the knocking goes faster or more things hit the stone?

Then suddendly an outburst in floor happens and a long black talon strikes through it. While the NPC's are shocked the talon turns back underground. Just a moment later it rises up again a few inch away from the first hole. Then another talon appers, but this one is thicker and tries to tear some of the floor down with it as it turns back. Soon a hole is made, big enougth for a man to fall down but not big enougth for all the creatures below. Still it seems some creatures can poor out of the hole. Small worm like creatures with six tiny black claws and a mouth full of sharp teeth. There skin white while some kind of armor coversr there head like a helm. They look small, but when they manage to bite even a plate armor isn't safe.

They attack anyone foolisch enougth to stand in their sight.

[Recaiden]

Yes, the prophet has done about all he can.
Tao heard the warning, but he didn't really believe it was as bad as had been said.

When the knocking sound comes, Tao stands up and turns a bit towards the door.
The invisible tentacle-monster lurking in the corner, meanwhile, is not terribly happy with the rumbling digging sound. People are going to start shouting soon, aren't they?

When a black talon breaks through the floor, Tao gets out his plasma gun and backs away from the widening hole.
The monster tiptoes closer to get a good look at the creatures.

And when the little clawed worms start rushing at people to attack them, Tao starts shooting at them.

[Morty]

"I have no idea what any of you are talking about so I'm just going to be ready to call Vigil if things get out of hand," Olvisin says. She has no idea if Vigil will be able to help here, but she feels she has to do something.

[Earl of Purple]

"Stop this! Come on, not here! Take this outside somewhere, better yet Outside! I'm not willing to have that thing come back in the middle of the busiest pub in the world! There's too much risk of collateral damage, and you're bloody idiots! Hand over the bag, mister. And leave. Leave the pub, leave the city. Go somewhere you can do this kinda thing without making people nervous!" And even if most of the pub hasn't noticed, Olvisin has.

Mishnehel stops being a halfelf. There's no transformation; she's just suddenly much bigger, half magpie, with black-and-white feathered wings, a large beak sticking from her face and claws on her strange legs. Half buffalo, with a humped back, shaggy fur, horns and cloven hoofs on its legs. Half oak tree, covered in bark and leaves and acorns. And with far too many hands. Mishnehel marches to the squabbling two, and will try to pull them apart using her own bulk.

[Rebonack]

Magdalene is shoved aside and she simply releases the strap on her pack.

"I'm not here to fight anyone I just want my (flowering) stuff back," she says, a dangerous edge to her voice. Pretty clearly she's WILLING to fight someone but really she has better things to do than have a throw down in a bar over the junk in her pack. She would rather like to acquire it again but really the targe is the only thing she actually needs.

As far as she's concerned this is a completely reasonable request and this crazy naked guy is both crazy and naked.

How the heck would he cut the beast off her?

What does that even mean?

MEANWHILE TYRANIDS!

Swarming out of the wine cellar is a pretty sad state of affairs. That's where Trog's keeps all the wine! What if the ripper swarm drinks it all? Would drunk tyranids be more or less dangerous?

While all this is going on a rather unassuming looking human woman with shaggy brown hair, a red cap, a set of blue overalls, and a tool belt full of electrical tools is heading down the stairs! She's rubbing the side of her head and looking a little worse for wear. "Hey Zee I finished setting up the wifi for the rooms up on the second floor, it should be working again. Definitely call me before mecha-rats eat half the routers," she calls out as she descends. "Is anyone else getting a weird headache? It feels like I've got a million bugs buzzing in my head all at... once..."

Jeanette (also known as Jeany) trails off as she reaches the bottom of the stairs and beholds the chaos.

The naked guy with the sword is kind of concerning (and kind of hot) but the REAL problem is that swarm of little toothy critters. If they're here it means bad things are probably going down. Or good things, depending on your point of view. Without second thought she reaches out to them with her mind and tries to instill a 'stand-down' order. She hasn't... Jeany hasn't ever actually done this before. For nearly a decade she's been alone on this world which has been mostly okay? But now all of a sudden there are other tyranids here?

She had felt some vague feelings from the direction of Skyside and some rumblings up in orbit, but this is the first sign she's seen of anyone else actually being here.

"No. Get out of here, shoo!" she says, moving toward the ripper swarm and waving her hands in a shooing motion. Maybe it would help if she framed the command as this attack being tactically unsound?

Jeany doesn't want to fight. Not if she can help it. But if she can't coerce the swarm into leaving the tavern the she's going to have to pull off that cap of disguise and do exactly that. Jeany has no intention of being digested and dumped into that cacophony of voices if she can help it.

[Vahnavoi]

The naked man stumbles halfway out of the door when Magdalene lets go, taking a second to regain his balance. "This. Is. Not. About. Fighting! ", he shouts to Magdalene from the tavern's treshold, pushing against Mishnehel's bulk. "It's about removing your curse!"

He takes a step back, allowing himself to pushed outside. "Removing the curse. So the beast won't come back" , he mutters, apparently to Mishnehel this time. "If I leave, it will come come back, and I will have to come back. This goes around in a loop, untill I cut it." He lifts the backpack hanging from his grip and hands it to Mishnehel.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel hands the bag to Magdalene. "I don't care what it's about, it's not something that can be safely achieved in this pub! If the curse- or whatever it is- tries to resist your efforts and comes out here that's a lot of innocents turned into ravenous cannibals! Take this somewhere else, please." She'll still try to stay between them, fixing both the swordsman and the wendigo-girl with a glare. She only has two eyes, unlike Zee's brood, but she'll turn to stare at them anyway.

[Rebonack]

"It's just how things (flowering) work, okay? People die they get back up as zombies," Magdalene replies as she (hopefully) gets her backpack again. "That's all there is to it. That's how things work in the (rose) hole of a world I come from. You wanna do the something about the zombie I leave behind? It takes a couple minutes before it gets back up. Just burn the body before it does. Easy."

Pff.

Curses.

That's dumb.

Magdalene doesn't believe in curses that's a bunch of nonsense.

Should she get her things back the girl will sit at a nearby table and glare daggers at the swordsman.

"Don't plan on dying any time soon, anyway. Better than that. Thing with that (flowering) demon was a fluke, that's all."

She just needs a few minutes to settle her thoughts then she's going to hunt down that cultist leader that is no doubt causing trouble somewhere now.