Trog's Tavern CLIV

[Rebonack]

Oh cool! Thumbs up, tentacle monster! Zee offers it a thumbs up back.

"Sounds exciting! You can tell me about it if you want," Zee replies cheerfully. "Don't worry about me talking shop with Mishnehel. She just recently went through apotheosis and she's got a TON of weird stuff to get use to."

Tons and tons of the weirdest stuff.

"If you've been out recently you probably noticed a bunch of Dreamlanders running around causing a ruckus. I think it's probably mostly rounded up by now? But I dunno. Ever since I returned here a few years ago it feels like things have been building. Maybe there will be more conflict still. I really don't know."

A shrug.

She still isn't sure what's causing all the trouble. Normally hub-worlds like these are relatively uninteresting to the players of the Eternal Game. Too much weird nonsense that can potentially interfere. Never know what to expect. But they're here none the less so there must be SOME reason for it.

"Oh! No, not normal goblins. The mortal ones are cool. Or, well, I guess some of them aren't cool. That's kind of how it is with mortals in general? Some are great, some are pretty average, some are super awful. But yeah! Fae goblins are typically not very nice. The ones from the Dreamlands especially."

[Zefir]

The prophet seems to take a deep breath of relief as the tentacles disapear or retreat. He then turns to Zee again.

"Thanks, might i get some papers and a pencil? Oh and a coffe, with milk no sugar, please?"

[WindStruck]

Solstice gave Zee a confused look, clearly not understanding anything. A complete lack of context would do that.

But she shrugs and decides to share a bit of her tale. "Are you talking about all the Buttercups?" She nods slowly. "I began to notice them multiplying among the streets. It was quite bizarre and didn't settle well with me. I went to try to find the source. I eventually met their queen or their mother... also named Buttercup.."

Yeah, society and life in general would just be weird if everyone had the same name. How could it possibly function? Not to mention everyone acting like childish airheads. They'd get nothing done and be defenseless.

Solstice sighs and says, "I at least talked to her and she promised me that her daughters would not name anyone else Buttercup for three days. But now there is something I need to do for her.. maybe." She shrugs again.

If that demoness she was upset at just never showed up again or had no real plans to ruin, Solstice supposed she wouldn't have to do anything.

[Earl of Purple]

"They didn't make it to Skyside. Something else did, a nuclear reactor powered by the idea of 'bird'. I got hit quite bad by the radiation, so I took the thing and ate it and now I'm humanoid again. Most of the time." She's all folded up on herself, right now. She's not as big as Zee is, though.

[Rebonack]

Coffee with milk and for the prophet! Zee doesn't have any paper and pencils, but-

"I've got these crayons and coloring sheets I usually give out to kids. I guess you could write on the back?" Zee suggests.

Better than nothing, right?

Zee isn't sure what sort of drink the tentacle monster might want, so she provides it with a nice selection.

"Well, that's good right?" Zee replies to Solstice. "That'll give people time to spread the word about the naming and maybe even figure out how to help them. What did Big Buttercup want you to do? Or... can you not say?"

The barmaid gives a little shrug.

"Oh, we'll be getting ready for the Thanksmas party here pretty soon! It'll be a great party. All sorts of interesting people coming. It might be kind of hard on you because of the whole equivalent exchange thing," Zee admits to Solstice. "A holiday about giving gifts to people must not make much sense to fae where you're from. Though I guess maybe you could approach it as a gift exchange?"

She's really got no idea.

"You can come too if you want, Mishnehel! It'll be fuuuuun."

[Zefir]

The prophet just thinks about it for a moment. He seems to struggle with the idea but after a bit he just sights, his shoulders drop down.
"Sure, I manage it somehow." he says.

The prophet will go into a corner and starts writing up some kind of short note. It is hard to make it look seriouse with what he got but he tries. Soon he will have a one page letter which he then pins at a blackboard in the tavern. He will then try to make some more.

It reads:

The end is coming!!

Prepare yourself as some unknown force has changed the direction of the devourers. They pass by our homes and likly will consume everyone and everything while
they can. Get your loved ones together as it might be your last time to do. They may arrive after Thanksmas, but there can allways be some scouts causing havoc befor that.

[WindStruck]

Solstice nods in agreement that it's a good thing and decides to spill the beans. It probably wouldn't be any harm, anyway. Though they hadn't known each other a very long time, Zee was her friend. Probably the most genuine, friendliest friend a Fae from Solstice's realm could ever hope for or wish for. "I can tell. There is no harm in it either, I suppose."

So she divulges, "Apparently, there was a demoness or a devil-queen, somewhere.. I do not know where, but I believe in this city. Buttercup said she was doing terrible things to her daughters. She was using dark magic to pervert them into 'mockeries' of their mortal selves, in her image. Love and joy turned to cruelty and wickedness."

Solstice squints a little and says, "But Buttercup didn't want me to just seek her out and defeat her. She just wants me to stop her plan.. whatever that may be. We do not know what it is, or even if there is a plan. But I suppose if the time is right, and we have the information.. I shall bear her mantle and stop her."

And with that explanation, she shrugs. It probably wasn't the best idea to bargain with a Queen of the Dreamlands, obligated to oppose a powerful force that could be up to anything. But hey, maybe Solstice was a decent person if she was willing to risk that just to help out the people of Nexus.

[Earl of Purple]

"I'll be there Zee, if I can make it. Oh, I'll have to get some gifts. One for you, and one for the harpy, and maybe one for the other girl. And possibly some more, too." It depends on who else turns up, and what she can find/steal/make first.

"A demon-queen sounds ominous. Good luck with that." Mishnehel would offer to help, but she doesn't have any way for Solstice to get in contact with her. So she won't be able to be called about it when the time comes.

[Rebonack]

Oh good a flier!

See that's way less crazy seeming than shouting at people.

Now Zee has some idea of what to keep an eye out for! Not really clear on who these devourers are but they definitely don't sound nice.

In other news!

Friends! Zee is pretty pleased with being friends. She's glad she's been able to be a kind face for Solstice in this weird, sometimes scary city.

"Oh geeze that sounds pretty horrible," Zee says, frowning. "I mean the Buttercups overwriting people's personalities is awful but that can kinda be reversed in part? Intersection figured something out, anyway. But turning people into some kind of devilish nega-verse version of themselves? That's just as bad as the Buttercup thing except now you've got evil people instead of relatively harmless friendly ones."

It sounds like Zee isn't a huge fan of either of those things.

Hmm... "There WAS a devil queen here last year looking around for her daughter. I didn't give her the information she wanted and we had a brief throwdown. I wonder if it's the same person?"

Mishnehel is given a kind smile. "I'll be looking forward to seeing you! I'm going to be starting on the decorating tomorrow. I know Karaglen will love to be able to show off her decorations to anyone who wants to help."

[WindStruck]

Solstice shrugs again and says, "That could be the same one, or it could not be. I know very little about her. I do not even know her name..."

Yeah, well... Solstice could probably visit the Queen Buttercup again sometime later, assuming the giant tree at Plum Mountain Park still stood. If she wanted to stop the demon queen badly enough, she would be gathering intel. Though Solstice makes a mental note that she should probably bring an umbrella.

[Earl of Purple]

"I'm so glad I missed all that. Although the bird plague wasn't pleasant for some people, and killed a few. Or functionally killed them, anyway." That man exploded into pigeons; sure, he's still alive, but... which of those pigeons is he? All of them? She's glad she didn't experience that, but magpie'd.

[Zefir]

The prophet here is done for now, no more shouting no adding other poster to the blackboard. He will after all make some copys of it for later use somewhere else. But other then that he won't do much. He just sometimes flips the paper and tries to solve the kids maze. As you assume he's overqualified for that, but still he sometimes fails. Schould anyone have questions about the pinned message he will be around.

[Rebonack]

"I caught the name 'Sapphira' from her," Zee says, contemplating the altercation. "But I'm pretty sure that's just a name, not her Name. I'm sure you know what I mean. She struck me as the sort of being where names have power."

They really don't for empyreans.

A name is just a useful means of identifying an individual, nothing more and nothing less. They're born with names, those names are more a reflection of their purpose rather than anything more esoteric.

Zee frowns a bit at the mention of bird things.

"I really wish I could do more about situations like that. Big Bird is a lot bigger than I am, so if I tried to intervene directly it really wouldn't have worked out great for me. But you guys did a really good job! I'm glad you figured out how to get the reactor to blow up!"

The exploding reactor was really helpful

"And one big upside! Since you've undergone apotheosis you really don't have to worry about Nexus weird glomping you anymore! Since now you're perfectly normal and you'll always be perfectly normal."

Zee apparently has a really dubious definition of perfectly normal.

[Recaiden]

Some guy approaches the prophet, after having watched him put up the poster.
And then finishing his mug of cocoa before doing anything about it. His name is Tao. He's a little on the small side, but wiry, has a set of antlers in his straw-blond hair, and is loaded down with adventuring gear.
"So, uh, how'd you find out about these devourers?"

[WindStruck]

"Hm. Sapphira. I know what you mean. It could likely just be an alias she uses." Though if it was like Solstice, perhaps a favored alias.

In any case, this still wasn't much to go on. Trying to get more information from Zee would come at a cost, and they could be talking about a completely different "demon-queen" for all she knew. Although...

"Come to think of it, I know in this city of Nexus, there are many strange beings and happenings. Just how often do you happen to see a demon queen?"

[Earl of Purple]

"I can't really help with this, so I'm going to head out. Bye, Zee! I'll catch you later. And it was lovely to meet you, Solstice. I'll see you around, OK?" And with that, Mishnehel gets up and turns to leave, without paying for her sandwich but since Zee stopped her thieving from that guy she has no money to pay with. She drifts out, since she's figured out how and thinks that's probably harder for Zee to stop than just walking out the door.

---

However, after a while, Mishnehel returns, this time bearing a frosty and chilled swordsman. She's not a half-elf right now, but much bigger and less humanoid. She's half magpie and covered in black-and-white feathers, with large wings helping her to fly. She's half bison, with a humped back, horns and sturdy legs. She's half oak tree, covered in leaves and bark. And she has far too many hands for all these halves to account for. "Hey, Zee! I helped this guy fight a frosty snowman corpse thing, and now he's really feeling the effects of the cold. I brought him here because I couldn't think of what else to do, can you help him?" She steers the guy to a chair and tries to sit him down, pushing it closer to the nearest fire if successful.

[Vahnavoi]

The swordsman in question has certainly seen better days. He's covered in frozen blood, dirt, rime and snow and looks only slightly less limp than a ragdoll as Mishnehel half drags, half carries him to the fire place.

For a few seconds, he just sits on the chair, completely silent. What he's thinking of the sudden change in scenery is hard to say, for his face is entirely obscured by a featureless black and white mask. A sheathed katana hangs from his waist. His feet are bare and black with frostbites. His hands are likewise frostbitten but it's harder to see through all the blood on them.

Then, he jerks. "Fire... not enough... fire..." He stands up from the chair, turns his head as if looking for something, then shuffles to the closest pile of firewood or other fuel. If nothing else is readily apparent, he'll grab and break the chair.

"Need fire... BIG fire..." , he mumbles as he collects things on his arms, the shuffles to the fire and starts stuffing it with more fuel. While at it, he adjusts the already burning coals or logs with his bare hands, apparenly entirely unconcerned by their heat. If the fireplace is big enough, he'll eventually crawl into and curl up in the fire himself. The fireplace might not be - the man is two meters tall. But it won't stop him from trying.

[Morty]

The swordsman's appearance and behavior draws the attention of someone considerably smaller. A stocky, curvy goblin woman with dark grey skin and brown hair kept in a bun. Her eyes are bright yellow and her tusks are pretty large. She was also sticking close to the fireplace, since winters get really cold out here in the Nexus. She's used to warmer climates.

"Are you okay?" she asks, suspecting the unreasonably large human is unlikely to be able to answer.

[Rebonack]

"Honestly not that often," Zee admits. "Things have actually really settled down compared to how they used to be. Back in the day you could hardly throw a rock without hitting a god or a demon prince or an arch devil or something."

The Ye Olde Towne was a pretty strange place.

"Near as I can tell she's just looking for her daughter. That sounds innocuous but I'm pretty sure that it's actually really nefarious."

Nefariousness and devils usually go more or less hand in hand.

"What's Buttercup's angle on wanting to mess with her?" Zee asks curiously. She doesn't know a great deal about Buttercup, aside from the fact that she's one of the 'well meaning' sidhe. In some ways that makes her even MORE dangerous than the malicious ones.

MEANWHILE!

Well.

Zee WAS coming over with a towel that had been dipped in hot water to help get the swordsman's core body temperature up along with some wonderful smelling hot chocolate and spiced cider, but then he just piled a bunch of firewood into the tavern's quite large hearth.

And then climbed into the fireplace.

"Um... I... guess... I'll just leave this here?" she says, setting the items down on a table nearby before scooting away.

[Earl of Purple]

Mishnehel turns to the goblin, which means she can't stop the swordsman from climbing into the fire. "There was an undead mean thing in the streets, making everything around it cold and hungry. We beat it, but... He did all the work, and paid the price. I have no idea if he's going to be OK, honestly. I've just met him." But if he wasn't going to be OK, why'd he climb into the fireplace?

[Vahnavoi]

"Fire good. Nice and warm" , a voice comes from the fireplace. It is not quite clear if this is a reply to the goblin or if the swordsman's just talking to himself. Occasionally, he reaches out of the fireplace to pull more wood or coal into it to keep the fire going. His skin and clothes sizzle as the rime melts and then evaporates, the steam escaping out of the chimney. For a while, it looks like he might smother the fire with his bulk, but eventually the flames win and begin blazing even brighter than before.

It takes some time before his clothes start to blacken - they don't burn very well - and then turn to cinders, falling off of his body. The man himself doesn't seem to burn at all, certainly not in a way a human should. As he sits in the fire, his body starts to build up a red glow, like a heated piece of metal. The blackened parts of his skin start to peel and flake off like clinker from wrought iron. The sheath and hilt of his sword burn away, leaving just the glowing hot blade lying next to him. Eventually, there sits amidst the flames a mostly naked, masked man, hugging his knees, glowing orange with black body radiation.

[Morty]

"He looks very far from okay." A rather obvious statement on the goblin's part. "I can try to examine him? I'm not a doctor but I have medical training. Then again I'm not sure if medicine is going to be useful here."

[WindStruck]

Solstice shrugged again. There was no telling if this dreamlander queen had ulterior motives.

"Well as far as I can tell, she just wants retribution. She considered all those Named and transformed into Buttercup as her daughters, and the demon queen did something nasty to her daughters. That.. seems straightforward enough."

[Zefir]

Some guy approaches the prophet, after having watched him put up the poster.
And then finishing his mug of cocoa before doing anything about it. His name is Tao. He's a little on the small side, but wiry, has a set of antlers in his straw-blond hair, and is loaded down with adventuring gear.
"So, uh, how'd you find out about these devourers?"

"I can hear them in my head." He says as he looks up and points at his sleeve with one hand.
"I know that sounds crazy but i got an explanaition. You see it seems they communicate through the mind and in some way i am on the same wavelength as thwm or someting like that."

[Vahnavoi]

Giving the swordsman a medical check-up wouldn't be a bad idea, but they may need to coax him out of the fireplace, or wait for the fire to die out. The man himself seems perfectly content to sit in the flames for now.

[Earl of Purple]

"Um, might be a good idea, but... I don't think I'm fireproof. I don't feel fireproof." Mishnehel approaches the fire and calls out to the swordsman. "Are you OK out there? Um, would you mind coming out the fire so this lady with medical training can come and make sure you're all fine?" If the swordsman listens to her, Mishnehel will be pleasantly surprised.

[Recaiden]

"No, doesn't sound crazy to me." Tao taps his temple.
"You always been on their 'wavelength'? Or is this new?"

[Vahnavoi]

Mishnehel will have to do with being unpleasantly unsurprised. The man in the flames doesn't reply and doesn't move. He might be asleep. Or dead. The fire looks like it's going to burn for an hour still.

[Zefir]

The prophet shakes his head.

"No." he says with a serious voice. "I have been a laywer befor and worked at one of the highest buildings in inside. Not really something you want in a city known for apocalyptic events. One day, just two weeks ago I started to hear voices. At first it was more like when someone talks in the next roomand you can hear that, but not understand. I thought it was stress, but I had no case or private problems. The intensity rose with every day. Since last week I can't sleep anymore. They seem to communicate in some way and what appears to be crazy is. I UNDERSTAND THEM." He shouts the last sentence and stares at Tao, befor he can catch himself again and looks at the surrounding. "Sorry. It's still a bit much."

[Morty]

Olvisin sighs. Well, this is about what she expected.

"We need to get him out of there, but even if I was fireproof, this guy is just way too big for me to move."