Riverside 21: Older than Arkh

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"He's more machine than 'cool guy' now." HALlelujah corrects. Though that really shouldn't take away from his cool guy status. Maybe HALlelujah was jealous. It used to be the only tech piece in this place and now every organic is also tech! It's practically making him obsolete.

But not so obsolete it can't keep the door closed. "Just Anika? There's no file in my database for any organic only named Anika."

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Machines are just cool guys made of metal, dude." If anything, being made of metal should make you even cooler so what was this voice even arguing about? Wasn't he or she made of metal? This did support her ghost theory.

"And its Anika not 'Just Anika'. While that would be an awesome title it doesn't quite fit." A beat. "Oh, I see what you mean now. What about introducing me as 'Archdruid Anika Sunfletcher'? Or 'demon mauler', that works too."

[Ironsmith]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

St. Leonard's Hospital

"Ahoy! I be a bodyguard, an' some lubber has trapped me 'ere. Can ye help me get out of this accursed movin' room what don't now move? I need t' go back t' me charges, for I do fear they be in danger." Frigate hauls himself upwards and back onto his feet, trying to nudge the corpse- if it remains- behind him and out of sight. If the individual on the other side of the door sees it, they may decide it's safer for him there whilst they summon the local gendarmerie. And that would not be very useful for him or the protection of DEATHKISS.

Unfortunately, attempting to hide the decapitated corpse now is... not entirely productive. The medic in question hadn't seen the body at first, but Frigate nudging it with his foot only serves to call attention to it. The staffer takes one look, goes pale, and wordlessly retreats from the elevator lobby, leaving Frigate alone again.

Oh, well. Maybe hospital security will be more helpful than he thinks.

In the meantime, Frigate may still be able to find his own way out of the lift. If not, security will arrive a few minutes later.

[The Home of Erold Smith==> St. Leonard's Hospital]

Erold wasn't ashamed to say he was one of the few people that suffered from regular episodes of sleep paralysis. It could be eerie, especially the first times he had experienced it, but eventually he had learned to live with it.

It really wasn't as bad as others believed. He knew from people on subforums he visited regularly that some experienced 'presences' and vague phantoms but to him it had never manifested like that. It was simply a state of 'wakeness', somewhere between sleep and awakening in which his body just didn't seem to function properly.

Sometimes he had auditory hallucinations of doors being opened or voices, which were scary for sure, but with time he had learned to identify what he was experiencing. So these days he usually managed to go back to sleep after a short while as he knew it was all in his head.

But this was not one of these days.

It felt like he had just fallen asleep when he was once awake but not awake once more. It was then that he had the horrible realization that something was sitting on his chest. A sensation completely new to him. He had sometimes felt unable to breath during his sleep paralysis episodes but it had never before manifested so vividly as this.

He could see it, a small black shape was sitting on his chest. Dread quickly rose within him that he simply couldn't shake off. He wanted to scream, he wanted to push the thing away he wanted to be able to move even a single muscle.

But he could not.

He couldn't even close his eyes.

He found himself staring back into two impossibly black goat-like eyes that felt like they could belong to death itself. Since right in that moment it felt like his heart could either explode or just never make another beat again as he was both panicking and paralyzed at the same time.

Then a word came he though he'd never hear. "Sorry..."

And he was pretty sure he fell asleep then. Awaking, for real this time, to a completely empty room without any night terrors. It was a bizarre experience and he hoped it would never happen again...

---

Jaahlyn will after traumatizing that poor soul head straight towards the hospital. Thankfully she had called base, however bizarre it was to call them from the afterlife, and gotten confirmed where DEATHKISS had been taken after the disaster so she had picked someone nearby as her gateway back to the waking world.

She will ask the receptionist in which room they were and then take the elevator up. The sound of it arriving and the floor and its doors opening probably a cue for the fighters that someone else had just arrived.

After arriving from the second-closest elevator (the closest seems to be out of service for some reason), Jaahlyn will find something... peculiar about this room.

Like the fact that it doesn't have a door.

Rather, there's a black void where the door would be, a place where reality just stops and gives way to a deep, dark abyss. Having just been there, Jaahlyn will be able to tell this portal leads to the same one; that aura of cold and those distant moans are unmistakable.

And unfortunately, quite impassable, in all likelihood. If Jaahlyn wants to get into this room, she's probably going to have to find another way.

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Oh, good!
Having such a varied and steady influx really widens Carmen's tactical options.

Most of those tactical options will have to wait, though, since she's only finished three of those four magic circles by the time Mixer (and his dog) enter and keeps on working on making the last one. It's important that she doesn't mess up, so she doesn't rush.
Because of that, she's glad for the shadowy paladin and the gun to buy time.

Speaking of buying time, once Mixer gets talking, Carmen decides to do her own ploy to buy more time (at the expense of dividing her attention and slowing down how fast she works on the circle). ((She believes it's worth it, though, because the potential gain is worth much more than the loss for dividing her attention.))

Carmen funnels some of the energy she just gained into a charm effect: Carmen pulls at her sleeve, tilts her head, and bites at her lip to start the magic which will make Mixer feel like Carmen is the most important person to watch in the room, that it's absolutely crucial that he keep an eye on her more than the person with the gun or the shadowy figure or anyone else here. That the other two can only temporarily delay him and force him to reenter through that void portal, but she's the one he has to look at.

Then, she advances the magic's effect with a wink, which (if it works on Mixer) inflicts a magical infatuation for her, and a desire to have her for himself.

And then, she speaks, as she layers her voice with some borrowed lust energy, which should get him feeling that for every question of hers he answers, he'll receive a strong feeling of pleasure and joy. "I didn't know that. Could you tell me? Why wouldn't it do anything? What would work on you?"

...My, but she is a pretty one, isn't she? Mixer does like the look of her. Sure, she may not be the kind of succubus he's used to dealing with, but that almost seems like a plus, doesn't it? Makes her exotic and junk.

It doesn't hurt that the information she's feeding him (albeit under his consciousness) corroborates with the evidence in front of him. He knows the limits of Euphoria's abilities from firsthand experience, and Fade... well, the shadow paladin at least can't seem to manage anything more permanent than just beating up his dog.

Ooh, and now she's asking questions! She's got a nice lilt in her voice. How could he say no to that?

...A little more easily than one might expect, actually. While Carmen is the first to employ lust magic, she's not the first succubus to try to seduce him to make him stop doing his job. He likes the look of her, but he likes existing more.

Still, that's no reason why he couldn't tell her a few things that won't impact his work.

"It won't do anything," Mixer begins, "because I'm already dead. I've been dead for three years now. You can't kill a demon, love, the best you can do is send him back where he came fro-ohohohoh~"

What is that?!

Carmen did that somehow, he's sure of it. Not physically, obviously; if she had the speed necessary to give him a full-body massage like that in less time than it took to blink, she'd probably be doing something a little more aggressive than trying to seduce him.

But however she does it, she's doing it well, and he wants more.

"Mmm! Ask me something else! Come on, gorgeous!" He groans ecstatically.

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

The shadow paladin sure does hit the dog, which i assume is a demonic version of the usual dog? If so the holy power behind the attack might do something extra ad maybe delay any reincarnation. Thought it isn't the main problem as Mixer has shown his immortaliy or something like that.

Fade takes the moment that passes between mixers returns. Killing him is no use it seems as he can't die permanently. He goes to his options.
Destroy or heavly damage his soul so he can#t come back the way he is. Fade would need to get some things done for that ad the dark void is making thise things nearly hard.
Get him somewhere he can't escape ? Not that he knows a place which guatanees this. He doesn't know to less about the portals mixer makes.
Knock him down? With his strength and this glass like mixer he properbly kills him every time.

Then Carmen seems to do something, even if Fade has no idea what she hopes to get from talking, but her last spell worked a bit. Fade should make sure he won't snap on her so he and the paladin cast a simular spell which hopefully makes mixer belive it's the shadow alone since he hasn't seen Fade yet. If suceed mixer will find his arms in a wood shakel made of light and also his feet, making it really hard to move. Both seem to have the same strength as wooden would have, but they are quiet resistant to negativ/demonic magic. Hopefully Fade doesn't have to keep those up for to long and Carmen finds a more permanent solution.

clack!

Mixer looks down at the shackle around his hands, frowning slightly. That... didn't seem right. Well, no matter. All he needs to do is liquify it and-

tunk

The demon stares in disbelief as the blades on the ends of his fingers bury themselves in the wood... to absolutely no effect at all.

...What?

"What?!" Mixer snaps, shaking the shackles furiously with his hands. Of all the rotten-

krack!

Oh. They're still just wood. Nevermind, then.

Still, someone in the room just tried to pull a fast one, and he doesn't much appreciate it.

The paladin doesn't look like he could manage that. And Carmen's already pulling out some powerful magic. It must have been her.

"Mincer!" He barks furiously, the dog once again plodding through the portal. "Keep the paladin busy. This lovely young thing and I are going to have ourselves a little talk~"

[Earl of Purple]

Weird William's

When the silver coin comes out, Rust becomes instantly the focus of attention for everybody in the bar. Everyone's looking at him, even the monk in dirty orange robes with a blindfold tied over his eyes, a monk's spade propped up next to him. "Put that back. We don't take silver. Use yer head, singleton. Pay in copper, or use notes." William's voice is the only sound in the bar; everything else is still and silent. The businessmen in poorly-fitting suits have ceased their game, the splatter has awoken and rubs his head with beefy fingers, the bark-clad elf has left the sailor weeping with a fistful of broken fingers, and the one eyed woman is smirking.

A cockroach scuttles across the bar near Rust, fat and juicy-looking. William barely looks at it before flicking it off the counter.

St. Leonard's Hospital

Well, that's not great. Off they go, then. Goodbye. Well, since he's gone and Frigate's still here, he'll go over to the open doors, press against the floor beyond and push down to drag the lift up. He's tried this before, and it didn't work, but he's shot two of the cables since then so hopefully it's now weaker and it will work. If not, he's probably still stuck.

[Shadowcaller]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

Well, that was probably not a good thing.

Trying to look for an alternative entrance seemed pointless though since if this was a patient's room the only other entrance was probably just a window. Besides knocking down the walls of course but she wasn't quite ready to try that yet.

...

Well, let's try this first.

The satyr conjures her scythe and swings it at the door. Since she managed to cut the connection between the abyss and Marianne then perhaps it could cut the connection here as well.

[Deathkeeper]

Weird Williams

To the ork’s credit, he manages to look embarrassed instead of the absolute gut wrenching horror that actually comes with being stared at like that.
”Of course, how stupid of me. Here.” With alacrity Rust pulls out a pouch and places coppers on the table.
”Exact change.” he insists, though there’s actually a few extra. Whether that’s a tip or he made a mistake he doesn’t say.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Oh yes. There is a file on Anika Sunfletcher. Loading it now."
"Loading..."
"Loading..."
"One percent complete."
"Loading..."

Anika may get the impression that this spirit voice is purposefully trying to stall her for some reason.

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Oh, cool. Tell me when you're done then." Anika replies before attempting to open the door to step inside.
She figured it could tell her regardless where she was in Ilpholin's home, whatever it was 'loading' about her.

[5a Violista]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

What a coincidence! Chains. Carmen was actually considering making magic chains for Mixer once her preparations are complete, because she's pretty accustomed with chains. Or maybe if she can buy enough time, she could bait him into attacking her with demonic magic and use the circles to convert it into healing magic...or maybe if...no, wait, she's getting way too ahead of herself. Focus on the present first.

As Mixer works on the chains, Carmen gives a wink to Euphoria to communicate that this seems to be going according to plan so far, and then spends more care working on the final magic circle, making sure to get the more difficult parts done now that her attention isn't divided.

Her stalling strategy does seem to have worked...in a way (even though it didn't, actually, go 'according to plan so far'). She had hoped he was weak-willed enough that he would spill the beans on a notable weakness, but getting him obsessed with answering her questions might last for longer than she hoped.

So she has no choice but to continue all her lust-magic effects currently in play, as she asks more questions (and glances occasionally at her hand to make sure she doesn't mess up).
.
.
Carmen realizes she needs to make sure she asks the right questions. Questions that he's likely to answer, that will get him talking without tipping him off what she's planning.

This is hard. (That's what he said, she jokes in her mind.)

Making sure to layer more lust magic on her voice, "Sure, what are we going to talk about?" she asks. "I don't mind having a little talk. What are you even here to do, anyway? Sorry, but I haven't exactly been briefed on what's going on."

[Murkus]

[The Toy Tinker]

"Your mother sounds very wise," Sticks agrees cordially. "May I have a look at this [word for Stuff]? If it's something you can show me? And these... fragments, as well?" It all sounds like something he would be very interested in, but he also doesn't want to rob Lapis of something exponentially more valuable than a special toy sword. Again, he wonders what sort of life this special young lady must lead.

[Rebonack]

[Toy Tinker]

Value is a funny thing, isn't it? Of what value is a toy sword for a dear friend? Of what value are a few fragments of the primordial creative engine itself? Simply what they mean from one to another. A sword for her friend means more to Lapis than her money, within reason of course. If it didn't she wouldn't be here, would she?

"Okay! The relic fragments are easily here are some," Lapis says, scattering a few bits of Platonic forms on the counter as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

How would one describe the essence of matter? A helping of time? An idea pulled from its medium? A fragment of consideration? The relic fragments are but pieces of a whole, but potent in their own right.

"I've got other ones too if you don't like these ones," Lapis reassures Sticks. "And I'll try to show you the dream stuff but it's tricky."

Showing someone something that is fundamentally formless? Tricksy is certainly a word to describe it.

Lapis extends her pointer fingers and thumbs, touching them together end to end and holding up the empty space for Sticks to see. There's nothing there to see, of course, but to Sticks' magical eyes there's a riot of magical power. Imagination, hopes and dreams, the stuff of raw unformed spirit. The seething primordial chaos that churns at the bottom of reality.

"There was a bad dream that came into the real world and was being mean to some people in a village so I sworded it good and got a bunch of this stuff from it," Lapis helpfully explains.

[Earl of Purple]

Weird William's

William nearly smirks at the look on Rust's face, though his apparent composure isn't fooling anyone- not so long as he smells scared. The half-elf scoops most of the coins into his hand and rattles them into a till before filling a glass with yellowy-orange mead. It's probably the best choice; it's not bad mead, though Earl doesn't know much about it to say why. There's a few coins left behind.

Rust is going to be approached by another of the bar's patrons. This is a half-elf woman, large and hairy, with untidy auburn hair, weatherbeaten skin, and gleaming amber eyes. She's wearing a fur tunic and leather leggings, barefoot and with an aruval hanging at her waist. "You shouldn't be 'ere, singleton. Ain't it enough we have t' come to yer dead cities of concrete an' steel without you takin' our beer house from us, too?"

[Deathkeeper]

Weird William's

Rust scowls and sips his drink.
"That much has been made clear. I'll just finish my drink and be gone in ten minutes. Is that acceptable?"
Of course he could point out that nothing forces the woman to be in this city. But he's trying not to start a fight here.

[Felandria]

[Attack of the plantlover]

(Sorry for my bad writing last time i noticed not even I understand it)

Playing dirty? Felandria is a half god/giant woman. Kind of pointless to go into 1on1 combat. Especially when she is just physicaly overpowering them. Not to mention her godly protection she likly has. After all they are mortals in comparison.

The storm has some effect. a few treelings who came out of the bush got frozen immediatly. Also some part of the park does which will likly die, but The gouverment can afford that if it saves lives? If the dryad is hit is unclear. For some time there won't be anoter arrow coming at her.
On the otehr hand the other dryads do take note now and stop their current actions, seeking cover from the giant lady. They seem to plan something.

As the dryads regroup, Felandria will pull out her phone and have Siri notify her staff that assistance will be required in the park to make sure everyone is uninsured and safe while she deals with the plantfolk.

Look, guys, hide and seek can be fun, but I’m really not in the mood, so either you tell me why you’re doing this or I’m gonna get the info the hard way.

[Meowmai]

[Skate Park]

In the lower corner of Eastside, not too far from the rivers edge, lies a skatepark. It's maybe not the largest or coolest skatepark in town, but it's a good one, and if you're looking for a nice balance of having a good time without hanging out in an overcrowded place it's probably your best bet. There's a small grassy area to the side, dotted with a few trees, and it's generally well-kept. On top of this, it's got some pretty good food trucks nearby. All of this makes it a pretty good place as any to hang out for an afternoon.

It was Atsede's favourite place to catch a break from her rather stifling family.

She was sitting against a tree, skateboard popped up next to her, listening to music while she chewed on a rather stale sandwich she had brought with her. She didn't exactly have the most spare change to throw around at the moment. She was dressed quite simply- black shorts, a grey shirt with some band logo plastered across it, and a worn pair of sneakers. For now, the half-angel just seemed to be taking a break, content to watch the other kids and teenagers try their hand at tricks- some successfully, many not.

[Earl of Purple]

Weird William's

"Ah, leave the poor lad alone, Matilda. He's a payin' customer, just like you. Better'n you, since he's not gonna break his glass." William glances at Rust. "He don't look like a glass smasher t'me, anyways. Unlike you, Miss I Mistook Me Reflection For A Rival And Knocked Me Table Over." That makes the half-elf apparently named Matilda growl. It's a threatening sound, like a bear but not quite right.
"Yeah, you can laugh. If it were just the two of us, law of the wild, we both know who'd win. And it ain't you, ***** cat." The barman grins at that, pressing a hand on the bar in front of Matilda, and it shifts. Thick black fur sprouts from his hand, as the thumb and fingers shift into a large paw. Claws extend from the pads, and scratch the bar as William drags it across the counter. "Some of us don't rely on brute force'n ignorance to catch our prey. Law of the wild, you'd never see me comin'. Now, leave. Or I'll ban yer, and ye'll never find what ye're looking for." Matilda snarls again, before standing and turning away, kicking over a bar stool with enough force one of the legs splinters as it falls over and skids across the floor.
"Sorry 'bout that. She's always bin cranky. My advice? Find someone t' go with yer when you leave."

[Deathkeeper]

Weird Williams

Rust watches the display with concern but not terror. He’s been to normal bars and seen folks exchange threats before.
”Thanks.” he tells the barkeep.
”Though from the look of it most of your patrons couldn’t give a [EXPUNGED] about me even if I was payin’.” He glances over the bar again as if checking for anyone who looks particularly helpful.

[Zefir]

[St. Leonard's Hospital]

The paladin immediatly jumps back to get a distance to the dog waiting for it to jump at him. But as said he went backwards adn will try to lure the dog to jump outside the window. For some reason unkown he doesn't need to look back to find the right spot so the dog might jump outside whn he jumps at him.

Fade in that time keeps down. He hopes Carmen will soon discover something.

As the dryads regroup, Felandria will pull out her phone and have Siri notify her staff that assistance will be required in the park to make sure everyone is uninsured and safe while she deals with the plantfolk.

Look, guys, hide and seek can be fun, but I’m really not in the mood, so either you tell me why you’re doing this or I’m gonna get the info the hard way.

[Attack of the plantlover]

The moment she got her phone out nuts, hard like stones, will be shot at the item in an attemp to shoot it off her hands. The shots come from left and right of the area she hit with her ice storm, but her shield might just protect her from it. When the nuts hit the ground they will immediatly spread and grow into tendrils that carve into the ground and try to catch everything in range. Felandria might not even be bothered by them, but if she stays in them to long there will be enougth to even keep her in place and worst if the tendrils reach high enougth.

Soon after the shots a few smaller dryads run away likly paniced as nothing works. The Dryad she talked to befor also runs deeper into the forest, but is obviously hurt since one arm has a layer of ice on it. None tries to answer her, not that they see the need for it. They already told her all she wants to know.

Some treelings seem to notice her strength and run after civilians instead of assisting the dryads, They violently attack the people like wild animals.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

Anika is correct that the House AI could talk to her anywhere inside.

Her ability to get inside is foiled by the fact that the door appears to have no handle or knob with which she could use to open it. Indeed, it's more like a hanger or garage door, a mechanical beast designed to open only at the behest of someone with the proper electronic capacity decides it will open. Someone like HALlelujah.

"Two percent complete.
Loading..."

[Shadowcaller]

[Xar'cha Residence]

Great, then- huh?

Anika attempts to push the door open, putting her shoulder into it but to no avail. "Hey, let me in!" She waves at what she perceives as the voice's source but if that doesn't work she would just have to find another way inside!

She could of course just bash the door open but she didn't want to ruin Ilpholin's home, that would be immensely rude.

So she starts to wander around the premises to see if she can find another door or perhaps a window which she could enter through.

[Rebonack]

[Weird William's]

Right as Matilda is leaving a black-haired, lanky young human man with almost luminous green eyes is coming in for a fun evening.

This fun evening immediately becomes less fun thanks to a shoulder check that-

Huh.

Might have bumped him? Or maybe not? Did he just do a quick-step out of the way? Or did the grumpy woman actually hit him?

It's weirdly hard to tell.

"And a fine evening to you too, lass," the man says over his shoulder, adjusting the denim jacket he's wearing dismissively. He glares at the departing patron a few seconds longer before approaching the bar. "Evening Will! Who pissed in Matilda's porridge this time?"

Beagle hops up onto the stools and gives it a quick spin, coming to a stop with both hands on the counter. He's a sly, slippery looking fellow with an air of feline grace about him. But something else, too. Something a bit wild and a bit weird. Which is why this place suits him just fine.

[Earl of Purple]

Weird William's

"Ah, y'know Matilda, Beag. Don't take much t' make her ornery." Speaking of, the new gauges in the wood of the counter near William's hand, the ones about the right distance apart to be from claws, specifically the claws from a certain melanistic leopard who operates a shady bar. "We got a singleton in today, though. Poor puppy might get a bit mauled later, if nobeast helps him. What's yer poison t'day? Got a new cider in, not a bad one either."

The old lady by the fireless hearth has two eyes now, rather than the one that Rust saw earlier. And there's also others; the people in ill-fitting business suits have gone back to their Monopoly game with high-denomination banknotes, they don't really look like fighters but at least there's a lot of them. The moustached sailor is pressing his hand against the table and wincing as he straightens his fingers, ensuring the bones are straight as they heal. There's the blind monk in grubby orange robes, sipping a glass of beer. The elf in bark armour is staring at the wall and muttering, which nobody else is paying much attention to. There's a red-haired halfling in very neat clothing sat on a table, stretching out a leg and licking their thigh. An eastern coyote is sat under a table, gnawing a bone.

[Deathkeeper]

Weird Williams

Okay. Well, he can’t deny that William is right even if he doesn’t have to be so blunt about it.
He nods to the strange newcomer, sipping his mead.
”How’s it going?” he asks nonchalantly.
The elf is wearing armor and is clearly capable. Maybe he’ll ask her if she’d do a quick job for easy money. It’s not like he knows anything about anyone else here…

[Rebonack]

[Weird William's]

"Aye don't I? Jaws still a bit sore from the last time she decked me, though I'll admit I probably had that one coming," Beagle laughs, apparently holding no bad blood over the scuffle. He's definitely the mercurial sort without much penchant for holding grudges. "Have we now? Imagine that. Not the first time she's gotten cranky over a singleton popping in for a laugh. That our friend here?"

He jerks his thumb at Rust before giving him a look up and down.

"You look like a stout enough lad but Matilda isn't one to pull her punches. Like to think she knows better than to get the claws out but either way Will's right; a mate to stroll with after a few rounds might save you a shiner."

Then a nod to William.

"You know me, Will, something new always tickles my fancy. Slide me a bottle we'll see how it stacks up with the horse brew I had the other day," Beagle says, a wide and catty grin on his face. He casts a sidelong glance at Rust. "So what brings you to our watering hole, mate? Just out seeing the sights? Lookin for a lass with a bit of bite? Or did you loose a bet and braving the werebeasty bar was your comeuppance?"

[Earl of Purple]

Weird William's

There is no bottle. Instead, the cider is in a keg- until a pint is decanted into a clean-ish glass and put in front of Beagle. "Hey, might be a laddie this fine feller's after, not a lassie. Once he tells yer, let the sewerkin know. If I know them, they've been runnin' bets amongst themselves about it." William nods towards the alcove where the Monopoly game is being played. Beagle knows they're wererats, and likely using forged money in their game to make it look worn and less new. Beagle may even have joined a game and lost money once, even if he won- and the sewerkin would have been sure to let Beagle win, because the more forged cash he gets the less they have to pass off themselves, and if they can take his real money whilst they're at it then it's a double win.

[Deathkeeper]

Weird Williams

Rust looks down at the Cheshire grin with a very flat look. "Would you believe me if I told you that I just really needed a mead and I live down the block?" he says simply.
He rolls his eyes and adds, "And I'm not into lads." He doesn't say it in the judgmental sense, more like out of courtesy he might as well tell them something about themselves for all this rampant speculation.

[Gullara]

[Skate Park]

In the lower corner of Eastside, not too far from the rivers edge, lies a skatepark. It's maybe not the largest or coolest skatepark in town, but it's a good one, and if you're looking for a nice balance of having a good time without hanging out in an overcrowded place it's probably your best bet. There's a small grassy area to the side, dotted with a few trees, and it's generally well-kept. On top of this, it's got some pretty good food trucks nearby. All of this makes it a pretty good place as any to hang out for an afternoon.

It was Atsede's favourite place to catch a break from her rather stifling family.

She was sitting against a tree, skateboard popped up next to her, listening to music while she chewed on a rather stale sandwich she had brought with her. She didn't exactly have the most spare change to throw around at the moment. She was dressed quite simply- black shorts, a grey shirt with some band logo plastered across it, and a worn pair of sneakers. For now, the half-angel just seemed to be taking a break, content to watch the other kids and teenagers try their hand at tricks- some successfully, many not.

[Skate Park]

A couple of the teens she observes are standing next to one of the bowls. The two are wearing safety gear, elbow and knee pads as well as helmets. The boy's skateboard and pads look like they have some wear, while the girl's are shiny and new.

"So you ready to try some real boarding? Flat ground's one thing, but we gotta step it up." He drops his board by the edge of the bowl. "How 'bout you try this?" He drops down into the bowl, down the incline and up the opposite side, then back again where he balances back on the end again next to her.

[Arkhosia]

Skate Park

"Uh, sure - I think I can handle that." Holding her board loosely under one arm, the girl watches him with some nervousness. It's not hard to understand why - from the way he drops into the bowl to the way he arrests his momentum, the motions seem rather flawless. Setting the board down, she gets into position over the edge. There's a pause, some brief hesitation - before the girl takes a deep breath and leans forward, visibly resisting the instinct to screw her eyes shut, and lets the motion and gravity carry her down the slope.

"W-whoa!" The teen holds her arms out and leans out of the incline, barely managing to shift forward enough when she glides into the basin - and then stalling out at the top of the opposite slope, pinwheeling her arms, and falling onto her back with an "Ah!".

[Rebonack]

[Weird William's]

"You got a whole keg? Must have been good stuff if you're expecting to go through it all," Beagle says as he takes the pint and raises it to Will. By Beagle's reckoning, bars usually only bother putting drinks on tap if they're expecting high demand for it. Otherwise a few bottles are all you need for more specialized tastes. He takes a swig and, "Oof, good stuff. Not as sweet as the horse-brew, that's for sure, but there's not a damn thing they make that isn't."

The equestrians are rather renowned for their sweet tooth.

Then comes the talk of preferences and Beagle gives another laugh. "Ha, there, see? Into the lasses. That's always the easy bet, you know? What, something like 9:1 or thereabout?"

Beagle isn't aware that Rust if a PC, though. That probably skews the numbers a bit. But none the less there's probably a wererat over at the table cursing that he shouldn't have taken the long odds tonight.

Now that that very important question has been answered Beagle turns his cattish grin back to Rust again.

"Aye, and would you believe I'm a were-beagle? Turn into little floppy-eared dog every full moon?" Beagle asks, his expression suddenly becoming dreadfully serious. Then just as quick that grin is back. "Nah, mate, I think you're pulling my leg. Not with the Buxom Bee just two blocks down where a lad can pick up some good mead and a good view at the same time."

He waves his pint at Rust.

"No need to get bent out of shape on account of me, mate, just curious. We don't get singletons in here every day and there's always a fun story to go along with 'em."

As they say, curiosity killed the cat-
-but satisfaction brought him back.

[Reinholdt]

[Xar'cha Residence]

"Three percent complete..." Anika is not let in!

Rounding the building shows it to be stylishly made to look like a spider from above, but also something of a fortress. Up here on ground level, there doesn't appear to be any windows or doors at all except the one she approached. There are maybe parts of the outside walls that look like they might rotate and open up, but those probably don't act as entrances and are hiding some kind of munitions. If Anika can tell that much from architecture or even notice those little differences to begin with.

As the night elf completes her circle around the building, she can hear HALlelujah's taunting mechanical voice.
"Four percent complete... loading... Fi-oh. Umm... Ninety-eightninety-nineonehundredpercent complete. Anika Sunfletcher, you've been pre-cleared to enter upon visiting." There's a hissing sound and the front door loudly starts to separate in the middle, the sound of metal scraping as it stops being a barrier.

"Mistress Xar'cha is in the fifth sub-basement, second door on the right."