Trog's Tavern CLIV

[Shadowcaller]

That was of a far more severe nature than Ambrosia had expected so she was glad she asked. Though this begged the question why Zee even revealed this information. She clearly bothered to hide her true nature visually?

"Why... would he ask you specifically to donate that? Since I agree, that sounds like an awful idea." Wasn't she going to wait before asking more questions? Great... "And... somewhere more private. But as I said, it can wait."

[Earl of Purple]

Bradroom

Brad steps back when asked, giving the two heroes the opportunity to try sticking the key in the lock and turning it. At that point, the mirror makes a click noise, like a lock has been opened, and Zophiel can pull the mirror open using the key. Should she do so, the mirror has come away from the frame, but it's behaving like a normal mirror. Behind the mirror is... Well, it shouldn't exist. It's a copy of the room, as seen through the mirror. Complete with Brad standing in it. "How did you do that? What, actually, did you do?" He walks over and will look through the mirror/portal at the pristine version of the bedroom he's been trapped in for... He doesn't know. He's had no way to track time, and besides the tantrum that destroyed his bedroom had nothing to do.

[5a Violista]

[Bradroom]

Zophiel opens the mirror.

What kind of explanation should she give to the boy? How about a simple explanation. "The mirror a door," she says, "so I used a key to open it."

The boy will probably want help packing up things, right? But also bringing the key through the mirror could possibly be a bad idea...she sets the key down so Jason can grab it if she wants it, and steps through the mirror. "Pack up what you'll need," she tells the boy. She'll help him, too. "First we'll get you out of here, and then we'll find a way for you to get home."

[bc56]

Bradroom

"If I told you I had any idea how any of this works, I'd be lying to you," Jason answers. Zophiel's statement doesn't really help explain anything to Jason, other than the blatantly obvious. She stands back from the mirror and keeps a close eye on that key. It better not vanish or anything. Who knows what these magical things are capable of?

[Earl of Purple]

Bradroom

"The mirror's a door? Then... Then I'll do my packing on that side of the mirror." Since that side has a way out! Hopefully. Nobody's checked on it recently. Probably hasn't closed, though.

After Prince Brad passes through the mirror, there's a flash of light as somebody appears in the middle of the room. They look very surprised to see Jason and Zophiel. They're human, probably, but very tall; two and a half metres easily, and wearing a long feather-covered robe that puddles on the floor about their feet. Their skin is pale, marked with red and green stripes applied to their face and shaven head, and their eyes are gold. They lean on a spear with a haft made from dark red wood with a tip of obsidian. "How did you get here? This prison is supposed to be untouchable by anyone who doesn't know how to get in. That's the whole point of keeping Prince Brad here, where he's safe from the Emperor's enemies that believe Tejas should rejoin Neuva España rather than simply our northern neighbour." He speaks with an unusual accent; English is his third language, and whilst proficient in it the Spanish and Nahuatl he spoke as a child shine through.

[5a Violista]

[Bradroom]

In that case!

Zophiel doesn't actually have to walk through it.

She looks up at the really tall man. He's even taller than Zophiel used to be.

She steps between the man and the prince. "You locked away a boy to keep him safe?" she asks, skepticism in her voice. Not skeptical that that's what was actually done, but rather skeptical about how justified the decision was.

The paladin glances back at Prince Brad, and gestures at the really tall man. "Do you know and trust him?" she asks.

[bc56]

Bradroom

"I don't know who you are, but where I come, we call that child abuse." Jason turns angrily on the newcomer, her hands balled into fists. "Why should we trust you?"

[Rebonack]

"He probably heard about me from someone else," Zee reasons. "Dunno who. And I keep myself disguised because actual me is inconveniently large. I could wear the tavern like a hat. That makes it really hard for anyone else to fit in here."

Very true!

There's also the whole acute cognitive hazard thing.

She would rather not eat anyone who perceives her.

That would be terrible.

...okay maybe not necessarily terrible. Undesirable. It's a path she doesn't want to go down.

Least of all because it would probably encourage the Watchers to smite her.

Zee likes to remain unsmote.

"What sort of private were you thinking? There are private booths," Zee says, gesturing at the fancy curtained privacy booths for discussing sensitive plans or possibly making out.

[Earl of Purple]

Bradroom

"Yes. He is safe here, so when King James pays the ten thousand pesos and retreated from Torreón and dismantled the fortresses on the north side of the Grand River, he will be alive and unharmed when it is time to return him." So Prince Brad is a hostage to keep Neuva España's northern border is secure and ensure a captured city is returned to the Empire of Neuva España. As well as demilitarise the Kingdom of Texas' southern border, which King James or his advisers are probably very unhappy about.

[5a Violista]

[Bradroom]

Zophiel stays between Brad and this really tall person.

"I...have no idea what you're talking about," she tells the not-quite-hostile-but-still-tall man. Politics of some place she's never heard of is weird. Politics that involves imprisoning a child is even weirder.

"I don't trust you," she says. Especially since the kid hasn't said anything about this guy yet. "But I do know you locked up a kid."

[bc56]

Bradroom

"What you're doing is wrong. The kid is going free." Jason is not going to take any nonsense from this guy and his political agenda. She's ready to fight, if it comes to that.

[Hattish Thing]

A young man wanders into the tavern with a worried expression from his face. Untidy locks of chestnut hair fly back in his face as he trudges forward, cold wind all but scraping at his sharp and strangely proportioned features. As he fights against the cold, he clutches at a charcoal colored poncho, ensuring that the black feathers which lined the poncho were pressed close to his neck and lower face. As the door is slammed behind him, flakes of snow brush forth into the bar. Spooky totems and bone fetishes hang from the figure's sleeves, neck, and belt, and his long, thin legs end in tattered frills and black boots.

A large, noisy crow rests upon his shoulder, while another sticks it's head out from a pouch at the young man's side.

He wanders over to the barkeep before murmuring something, his lips all but frozen.

"Hey, you... y-you've got to help me. As he pleads, the crow at his shoulder squawks noisily.

--

Spoiler: Portrait:

Show

[Rebonack]

Zee looks at the guy.

She looks at his birds.

She looks at the guy again.

"Do you need peanuts for the crows?" she asks, pointing at a bowl of peanuts nearby. "Crows like peanuts."

That's...

Well.

That's possibly what the problem is.

More likely it has to do with the guy not wanting to freeze to death.

Guess we'll find out!

[Hattish Thing]

The crow upon the young man's shoulder squawks appreciatively towards Zee before soaring forward, diving for the bar. Perhaps it somehow understood what she had said? The large, black bird's sharp talons appear contained within a comfortable glove, and as the bird lands upon the bar, it begins to jump excitedly towards the small bowl of peanuts, dark feathers ruffled. It proceeds to peck aggressively at the bowl, devouring peanuts. All the while, the second crow remains within the pouch, clearly the better behaved corvid.

The man himself scowls, raising a pair of fists up to rub at his eyes before slamming a hand down upon the bar.

"No, no... not the birds."

"My... fiancée, I suppose, it's not... official yet, but she's a tree." He seems nearly breathless.

[Rebonack]

Zee smiles brightly!

"Oh! Congratulations!" she replies, doing a little clap of excitement. "I haven't met many people who have decided to marry trees. There was this one lady named... Julie Butterfly I think? She married a redwood tree. I don't think the tree noticed since it was in one of those world where trees don't really notice things but she seemed pretty happy about it."

It's quite possible that Zee has totally misunderstood the situation here.

"Is your fiance an ambulatory tree? There are lots of those around here," Zee points out.

"I am Groot," agrees a nearby ambulatory tree.

"Being ambulatory would probably make the whole married thing work better," Zee surmises, tapping her chin thoughtfully. "That way the two of you could go and do stuff together! As opposed to going to her and doing stuff together. Or doing stuff in proximity to her? Some trees aren't very big on the whole activities thing."

A moment passes.

Then two.

"Wait, did you mean that she isn't supposed to be a tree?"

[Hattish Thing]

As the misbehaving corvid continues to peck greedily at the bowl of peanuts, making a bit of a mess as he tosses peanuts about, the young man shakes his head. With an exasperated sigh, he taps a hand hard upon the bar. The violent motion causes the bar-crow to chirp in a displeased tone before returning to its bowl.

The man frowns deeply, his hands balled into fists. His voice is... almost unnaturally pleasant.

"No, no! I mean, yes. I'm sorry, I ran all the way here. She's a... well, you call them nymphs. The tree, she needs it. But, there's something wrong, she's sick!"

"Men from the floating city, they've made her sick! I was told this is a place where I could get help!" Tears well in his somewhat darkened eyes.

[Earl of Purple]

Bradroom

The tall man frowns as the two ladies declare themselves against him, a hand and arm emerging from the cloak (judging by the length of the arm, it seems he might be on stilts) and waves at Jason. A large ring on his finger flashes red and a blast of red lightning is pushed out of his hand and towards her. The lightning is just strong enough to trigger every pain nerve in her body, but lacks the penetrative power to cause a heart attack.

Prince Brad was listening to the man, recognising him as an Espaniard Diplomat and interested in finding out more, but can't do much to stop him.

[5a Violista]

[Bradroom]

It should probably be noted that Zophiel has a single obnoxiously large sword on her back. To kneel, she'll have to lean forward because it's larger than her torso and upper legs together.

The fact that the man didn't attack in the direction of the kid - Zophiel's in front of the kid - says something good about the guy's intentions. Or, at least, she assumes it does.

She turns around and kneels in front of Brad and puts her hands on his shoulders to show that it's important he answers - just standing there quietly is not an option. "Listen, us two are from really far away but if you come with us, we can eventually get you home." However, taking him could extend a war. Or maybe it could cause it to shorten. Zophiel doesn't know enough about the situation. "Or if you trust this guy you can stay here with him. You need to decide now."

She hopes Jason can withstand and hold off the guy long enough.

[bc56]

Bradroom

Jason grits her teeth in pain and pulls something else out of her pocket: a high-tech looking left-handed glove. Still agonized, she pulls it on. Without the main reactor, it will only be good for a few seconds, but that's all she needs. She flicks her hand at the mage, causing a burst of energy to fly out at him with concussive force, hopefully knocking him off his feet.

[Earl of Purple]

Bradroom

The mage was expecting the lightning to distract Jason for longer, and was preparing to do the same to Zophiel when he is knocked off his feet by the kinetic blast, landing heavily against the wardrobe. One of his stilts has fallen off, and he's struggling back to his feet.

"I don't trust him. He's an Espaniard diplomat, and a blood mage by the look of it, too." What the diplomat is doing is not, in fact, blood magic. That's Texan propaganda, since Neuva España use a different tradition of magic to that of the Texans; more Mayan and Aztec in origin than that of the European-derived Texan mysticism.

[5a Violista]

[Bradroom]

"Okay." She glances over at the diplomat and Jason, and then over at the crack. Would it be safer to get the kid out of here or to tell him to hide behind the bed? Since the guy is currently knocked down, right now will probably be the best chance to get Prince Brad out.

"Hold him off for a bit longer," she says to Jason. Zophiel moves a hand down until it reaches Brad's hand, and she stands up.

"Come this way." As someone who has much longer legs than the kid, she can't really run without dragging him, but she tries to lead him to the crack they used to come in, back to the women's restroom.

[bc56]

Bradroom

"I got it." Jason interposes herself between the mage and the fleeing paladin and boy. She takes up a fighting stance again and lashes out with a kick at his face. She's a good combatant, but not entirely used to her current body, so her attack is nowhere near perfect.

[Earl of Purple]

Bradroom

Prince Brad follows Zophiel to the crack. He'll find it easier to squeeze through, and looks confused at his surroundings- flushing toilets are pretty new inventions, and haven't spread far. Which is why he has a chamber-pot in his bedroom.

As he's trying to stand back up, Jason kicks him in the face again and breaks his nose. He howls, gestures with his hand and the pain-ring flashes again, sending blasts of lightning out across the room. As before, they'll trigger pain receptors but little else; non-lethal but incredibly painful.

[5a Violista]

[Bradroom] => [Bathroom]

When the two get back into the women's restroom, Zophiel turns back to the crack and calls out, "Hey! We're out!" Even though Prince Brad didn't get to pack anything.

...

She holds the prince away from the crack just in case Mr. Diplomat tries to follow, but stays nearby and doesn't leave the stall in case Jason needs help getting out.

[bc56]

Bradroom -> Bathroom

Jason is ready for the magic this time and splays her fingers, generating a hemispherical shield of energy to block the attack as she rushes back to the crack in the wall to escape back to the bathroom.

[Shadowcaller]

"He probably heard about me from someone else," Zee reasons. "Dunno who. And I keep myself disguised because actual me is inconveniently large. I could wear the tavern like a hat. That makes it really hard for anyone else to fit in here."

Very true!

There's also the whole acute cognitive hazard thing.

She would rather not eat anyone who perceives her.

That would be terrible.

...okay maybe not necessarily terrible. Undesirable. It's a path she doesn't want to go down.

Least of all because it would probably encourage the Watchers to smite her.

Zee likes to remain unsmote.

"What sort of private were you thinking? There are private booths," Zee says, gesturing at the fancy curtained privacy booths for discussing sensitive plans or possibly making out.

"If you're fine with a private booth then so am I." Ambrosia remarks with a nod. "And if you can multitask, then I am fine with doing it right away too."

[Rebonack]

"Multi-tasking is easy! Mostly because time in the Nexus is kind of weird," Zee says as she heads toward one of the definitely not for smooching booths. She slides in and will pull the curtain (not that curtain you weirdo) for the booth shut. All the outside noise immediately dies away. "Right! So. What did you want to ask about?"

It seems like Trog's has all these random features that hardly ever get noticed.

Did they have the booths before? Yes! There they are in the opening post right behind the ferns. But how often do they get utilized?

Meanwhile!

Zee shows off her ability to multi-task by doing things wholly unrelated to her interview with Ambrosia!

"Umm..."

Is her initial response to being asked about saving a faerie.

"Sick how?" she asks, fishing for a bit of clarification. Oh no a faerie is going to act out dying! How terrible. Doesn't this guy know that when they 'die' they just pick up a new part to play?

[Murkus]

Zefir takes a look around. He makes sure none is listening to them, but in a location like this you can never be sure. He takes a moment to think. Adir's sens of smell got him into real trouble. He is sure he won't fall for it when he tries to tell him he makes business and was just there. After all the attack wasn't a public event. No he wouldn't belive that. There is no way to avoid his connection to AMEN, but maybe he shouldn't tell him his position, or his own sake.

"Well, I don't think this is a place to just announce something, but tell me, what decissions do you think I made. I will correct them if you assume wrong."

Getting out what he knows and maybe who also knows might be important.

Adir seems to scan Zefir with his eyes. A little wary now. He folds his hands and lowers his head. "I don't know, man. That's why I'm asking. Selling bombs to the wrong people, maybe? Look, brother, I'm not gonna pretend to know your situation. I can't judge people for their reasons. I've done some pretty lousy stuff myself. Stuff I've never told anybody."

"I'll tell you I'm here for you, man, and I've still got your back. But you gotta come clean here. I need to know what you were doing in Riverside, and what you're doing at AMEN. Riverside, especially, because... man, those demons tried to burn my family once. I'll never be done paying them back for that. And AMEN doesn't exactly seem like their enemies..."

[Earl of Purple]

In the bathroom, Prince Brad looks around with confusion. So many toilets and sinks; why have so much running water? It's a little baffling.

Jason's free to leave! It'll take a while for the diplomat to stand up. He's going to take off his other stilt and stand up, first. Possibly removing his robes as he does, too. Since it's designed to be worn with the stilts to make him so freakishly tall.

Of course, unless they can close the crack he'll probably follow.

[bc56]

Bathroom

Jason does leave. Why would she stay? She climbs out from the crack and speaks to Zophiel and Brad. "He'll be coming shortly. We'd better move. You have any ideas of how to get him home?" Leaving the Nexus is hard, everyone knows that. Getting there is relatively easy.