Trog's Tavern CLV

[Morty]

"..."

Calm Reed has no idea what is going on here. Is the girl possessed by a spirit? Controlled? Probably no time to wonder about it. Best to go where she leads them promptly. She steps forward to support Magdalene.

[Earl of Purple]

Cutting Things

Mishnehel does find the rift, and looks around before trying to walk through. She's hyper-real, so some impossible magical nonsense doesn't work on her, and I'm not sure if this rift counts. If it does, she won't wind up following, and just be behind it now.

Either way, she doesn't trust anything she might stand on, so turns into her other form before stepping through. Suddenly, instead of a half-elf, she's replaced by a creature half-magpie, with wings and black-and-white feathers, half-bison, with a humped back, horns and thick fur, half-oak and covered in leaves and acorns, and with far too many hands. She'll try to fly up to him, but it might not work since the rift might lead to somewhere that lacks the reality to support her.

[Zefir]

Spoiler

Show

[Om Nom Noms!]

A human with a link to the Hive Fleet?

A human-looking genestealer, maybe?

Jeanette really doesn't have much time to contemplate since she just got shot at! A flicker in the warp briefly shimmers around her like a soap bubble before becoming an impenetrable barrier for the projectiles, burn them to ashes before fading from view again. That gets her attention in a hurry alright! But now she's got a problem. Her perch in the rafters might help quite a bit against the little crawly critters, but not so much against foes with firearms.

Or bugarms, maybe? Not much fire involved.

Okay things are heating up this is WAY worse than just a couple rippers. She isn't even wearing her armor not that it would be much help armor piercing weapons. This is a serious fight and she's going to need some serious firepower and resilience.

Making a snap decision, Jeanette pulls off her hat and places it on the rafter next to her, her form immediately and rapidly changing with a series of sickening pops. Her skin toughens and turns blue as bronze-sheened carapace plates grow across her body with four smoke-stack like respiratory tubes growing from her back. A long, thick, lithe tail emerges from the base of her spine ending in a pair of crushing pincers. A second pair of arms grows from her torso as her feet morph into vaguely equine hooves. Her face still looks surprisingly human, despite the carapace plates running across her forehead and the blue tendrils she has for hair. The pistol has fused with one of her hands, a fleshy tube leading from her abdomen to the side of the weapon.

Leaping off the rafter, she aims to land with her full bulk directly atop one of the termagaunts and crush it into the floor while aiming to grab the other's neck with her tail and shear it off.

"Are you doing okay over there, dragon... swarm person?" she calls out. Oddly enough her voice isn't coming from her mouth, but from some of the breathing holes on her body. It sounds a little wheezy but it's otherwise identifiable as hers.


OH HEY A NEW THREAD ROMAN NUMERALS ARE DUMB

[Om Nom Noms!]




They can! The tiny dragons take a hundred bites out of the ripper's face and underbelly, and then they flutter up into the rafters of Trog's as well.
He's counting on the fact that dragons can fly while rippers will have to take the slower route of climbing up the walls.

Once up there, he reforms into a human shape, crouched on a wooden beam.
"Doing fine!" he calls back to the girl in overalls who actually turned out to be some living weapon creature in disguise. Unlike Jeanette, Tao cannot talk in his true form, so it took him a moment to respond.
He pulls a wand from his belt - made of bronze, with the end shaped like an open hand - and points it at the rippers below. A magical compulsion to sleep should wash over them. He's hoping these monsters are able to sleep; they seem alive enough, so probably, he thinks, a sleep spell will work. But you never really know.

[Om Nom Noms!]

One of the termagants is hit by the falling monster, it's not like the transformation needs a bit and they will make use of their weapons, so the other one has already seeked cover elsewhere and as she crushes the first one he shoots at her.

The rippers appear unable to climb after Tao and decide to gather more material from the living. As the sleep hit them, they appear to stop, but then a shout from the hole can be heared and they start moving again. Guess the link to the creature below os strong and the creature isn't gona sleep anytime soon.

[Rebonack]

[Om Nom Noms!]

Still holding the dead termagant with her tail, Jeanette swings the corpse around to use it as a shield between herself and the incoming projectiles.

Dumbfire bugs definitely have downsides.

If they hit still-warm flesh?

They're going to do their burrowing thing.

Now, smartfire bugs on the other hand?

Jeanette takes aim with her glowbug gun and fires. The shotgun spread of glowing insects doesn't just go flying blindly, rather the projectiles will seek to swerve and seek in homing in on the remaining termagaunt. Their ability to alter their path isn't unlimited, certainly. But if the alien is hiding behind a table the swarm will stagger their impacts so the first several will melt holes through the cover while the later members can go zipping through to reach their target. That's smart weapons for you!

Great for killing things.

[Vahnavoi]

[Cutting things]

The rift feels like it was made by some strain of hyper-reality interfering with local space. The man walking ahead seems to be making his own reality as he goes. But as for whether Mishnehel could follow him... she might be the wrong kind of celestial. There is nothing in the space beyond to support her weight, nothing for her wings to push against. Without ability to warp space or create something out of nothing, the struggle to catch up with the man is futile.

[bc56]

"I haven't really been hiking. Barely been here long. I suppose I could sing a folk tune or two, but I'm not much of a musician," Pyrite replies. But she starts into song anyway with a melancholy melody.

"He said
Come wander with me love
Come wander with me
Away from this sad world
Come wander with me..."

[Earl of Purple]

Cutting Things

I think Mishnehel can't bring reality with her, and relies upon imposing her super-real nature on the substance around her. In that rift, with no native reality, there's not enough to support her 'weight', as it were, so she passes harmlessly through the rift and finds herself on the other side, unable to follow within.

[5a Violista]

Oh! Singing.
That's a normal thing that happens a lot in taverns.

June taps along on his leg with the melody. "You're pretty good, still," he says even though he doesn't recognize that song. The song doesn't seem that hard. If only he had an instrument. . .

[bc56]

Pyrite actually blushes. "Thanks." She's not super used to being naturally gifted in song and dance, as succubi often are. "It goes on, but I forget most of it."

[Vahnavoi]

[Cutting things]

With Mishnehel unable to follow the swordsman, the rift collapses on itself, leaving no trace of where the swordman might have gone, or even that he was present in the first place.

[Recaiden]

[Om Nom Noms!]

One of the termagants is hit by the falling monster, it's not like the transformation needs a bit and they will make use of their weapons, so the other one has already seeked cover elsewhere and as she crushes the first one he shoots at her.

The rippers appear unable to climb after Tao and decide to gather more material from the living. As the sleep hit them, they appear to stop, but then a shout from the hole can be heared and they start moving again. Guess the link to the creature below os strong and the creature isn't gona sleep anytime soon.

Still holding the dead termagant with her tail, Jeanette swings the corpse around to use it as a shield between herself and the incoming projectiles.

Dumbfire bugs definitely have downsides.
If they hit still-warm flesh?
They're going to do their burrowing thing.

Now, smartfire bugs on the other hand?
Jeanette takes aim with her glowbug gun and fires. The shotgun spread of glowing insects doesn't just go flying blindly, rather the projectiles will seek to swerve and seek in homing in on the remaining termagaunt. Their ability to alter their path isn't unlimited, certainly. But if the alien is hiding behind a table the swarm will stagger their impacts so the first several will melt holes through the cover while the later members can go zipping through to reach their target. That's smart weapons for you!
Great for killing things.

Well, Tao has learned two things.
They can sleep.
They have some sort of leader in that pit.

He takes a few potshots at the ripper from his elevated perch wit the plasma gun, and then hops along to another wooden beam, trying to get closer to above the hole and to see what's in it.

[5a Violista]

Sadly, getting thanked by Pyrite doesn't really count as paying back that 'favor', so that's still on the table.

June says, "Oh, that's too bad. Wish you luck in finding out how the rest of it goes."

He considers his empty drink.
. . .
"I probably need to find a place to stay. You know any good places to look?" 'cause he should go soon to go find a place.

[bc56]

"No, sorry," Pyrite apologizes, "I literally live under a rock, and I've only been around a couple days. I wish I could be more helpful."

[5a Violista]

People who literally live under rocks probably don't have phones either. . .so. . .

June stands.

"Well, I have to go, then. Was nice meeting you, and I hope we meet again before I go back to Riverside."

[bc56]

"Bye June! Stop by the park sometime!" Pyrite waves farewell.

[5a Violista]

June starts leaving, only walking backwards for a moment to say 'bye' to her.
"Yeah! I'll make sure to stop by before I leave town," he says.

As long as he doesn't run into anybody, he leaves the tavern without issue.

[Zefir]

[Om Nom Noms!]

((Sorry for the delay, chrismas, bad memory and somethign else did make me forget))

Jeanette's idea is very clever and she soon will find out that her enemy is on a simular level (just the player wasn't able to translate his knowledge about the alien race). Her idea works out as the cover takes a thumb thick hole and sens a few remaining 'bullets' at the 2nd termagant. They hit it and cause heavy wounds. Tao might see from above that it isn't dead yet, but also makes no move to fire back.

While Tao tumbels in the attic the rippers continue their harvest. He can shoot one as they seem to ignore him. As he get's closer to the pit one of the most fearsome weapons of the alien race rises up from the hole. Two baloons made of flesh. No eyes, no arms, just a few thin tentacles to control their diving.
What he might also see it that those baloons drip of a green substanze like they were bathing in it. He can also see something reflecting from the bottom of the hole, maybe just the wine split over the floor?

[Rebonack]

[Om Nom Noms!]

Badly injured and not fighting back?

That sounds like a good excuse for Jeanette to close in, discard the dead termagaunt, and clamp her tail claw around the other creature's neck. A quick squeeze should, hopefully, decapitate it and finish it off.

And then?

Wow.

That looks an awful lot like one of those exploding spore things. Which is to say, being anywhere near it is probably a bad plan.

Jeany is going to immediately try to put some distance (and hopefully a wall or two) between herself and the spore.

As for more shooting?

That can wait until she has cover.

[Recaiden]

It occurs to Tao that he should jump down into the pit and fight the monsters at the source.
He immediately changes his mind; what a terrible thought that was.

And these balloons covered in some kind of slime, probably intended to pop and splatter the stuff everywhere. Can't be anything good, he thinks. But how to deflate them?
So what he does from up near the ceiling, is shoot at the shining glint at the bottom of the pit.

[5a Violista]

A beefy guy enters the tavern.
He's got slicked-back black hair, purple (with gold flecks) eyes, black leather clothes, and a white fox-inspired mask hanging from his hip.

In addition, he's accompanied by a wolf made entirely out of plants, vines, and thorny bushes that follows him like a loyal dog. The plant-wolf reeks of fairy magic, too.

The beefy guy pulls out a paper from his inside pocket, looks at it, and puts it back.

He goes up to the bar to sit.

[Recaiden]

A demon-lady enters the tavern.
She's got the standard red skin, hollow black eyes, horns, spiked tail, batlike wings. Less usually, she has a second pair of wings instead of arms.
As a result of a spell placed on her, most people would think she's very beautiful, despite her brown dress being little better than rags, but they would also see that there's a distant coldness to how she carries herself.
She pats her pocket with a wing-claw to confirm that the thunderbolt (or is it a bomb, or perhaps a needle?) is still there and then takes a seat at the bar and whirls around to take in the whole Trog's Tavern and the people in it.
...
Kind of an awful place, isn't it? Why do individuals congregate here?

[Zefir]

Spoiler

Show

[Om Nom Noms!]

Badly injured and not fighting back?

That sounds like a good excuse for Jeanette to close in, discard the dead termagaunt, and clamp her tail claw around the other creature's neck. A quick squeeze should, hopefully, decapitate it and finish it off.

And then?

Wow.

That looks an awful lot like one of those exploding spore things. Which is to say, being anywhere near it is probably a bad plan.

Jeany is going to immediately try to put some distance (and hopefully a wall or two) between herself and the spore.

As for more shooting?

That can wait until she has cover.

The termagant doesn't appear as dead as thought, when her tail clamps around the neck he holds up the gun and fires at close range. he won't be able to release the full volley as he head rolls of, but a few shots come out.

It occurs to Tao that he should jump down into the pit and fight the monsters at the source.
He immediately changes his mind; what a terrible thought that was.

And these balloons covered in some kind of slime, probably intended to pop and splatter the stuff everywhere. Can't be anything good, he thinks. But how to deflate them?
So what he does from up near the ceiling, is shoot at the shining glint at the bottom of the pit.

Tao's shots fly past the baloon like creatures and brighten up the room below. It's clear now that the shining glint downstairs it a fluid simular to the one around the baloons. The bolt sinks into it, likly hitting the bottom of the pool. FFor some reason that had an effect as the water trumbels like the pool itself is in pain or like something big is coming out of it.

The baloons just get closer, making it harder for Tao to shoot at the pool again. It's kinda strange, because those baloons don't seem to be aggresiv in any way. More like one of those friendly hug givers. But don't let yourself gtet fooled.

[5a Violista]

A demon-lady enters the tavern.
She's got the standard red skin, hollow black eyes, horns, spiked tail, batlike wings. Less usually, she has a second pair of wings instead of arms.
As a result of a spell placed on her, most people would think she's very beautiful, despite her brown dress being little better than rags, but they would also see that there's a distant coldness to how she carries herself.
She pats her pocket with a wing-claw to confirm that the thunderbolt (or is it a bomb, or perhaps a needle?) is still there and then takes a seat at the bar and whirls around to take in the whole Trog's Tavern and the people in it.
...
Kind of an awful place, isn't it? Why do individuals congregate here?

As it happens, the beefy guy and the red-skinned gal are sitting pretty close to each other.

Since he's currently waiting for the perfect moment to do...whatever it was he came in for, the guy leans against the bar and looks up and down the demon-gal. To keep his other hand busy, he scratches the head of the plant-wolf that's beneath him.

"So what are you here for?" he asks.

[Recaiden]

"Oh, I'm investigating the nature of love." the demon-gal explains, turning a little bit towards the guy.
Her attention is on the dog. A leafy plant, just walking around. Never seen anything like it.
"Why are you here?"

[5a Violista]

The beefy guy nods knowingly: he knows a lot about love. It's pretty basic, really. "Love is war," he says, having fond memories of it. "Both players getting their way until one breaks. It's a very beautiful thing."

So.
He taps his fingers on the bar counter.

"I'm here waiting for someone. Heard she's a barmaid here sometimes." He runs his hand back through his hair. "Looking for glorious strife, and I heard she might provide it."

[Recaiden]

"Really? That'd be great news, because war is really straightforward sometimes."
"But I think most people would disagree."
Indeed, love being war is contrary to all her previous evidence!

"You mean Zee?"

[5a Violista]

The guy shrugs. "Whether or not one agrees with war doesn't stop it from happening." In fact! If you don't even know you're at war, then you've already lost.

...Of course, this is partially a metaphor. You're not landing battleships and soldiers and sending planes and after the person you're wooing, and you're not cutting off their communications or starving them out or laying siege on them.

He pulls out the paper from his jacket, looks at it.
Then puts it away again. "Yes."

[Rebonack]

Okay, so, there are always problems with shooting a firearm at close range.

ESPECIALLY when someone has already got a grip on you.

It's just a matter of making sure the business end of the weapon isn't ever pointed at you.

In this case?

Jeanette violently wrenches her tail to one side, throwing the shots off target and resulting in them thumping harmlessly into the tavern walls. Once the gaunt is dead she'll casually discard the body. She really has no need for it when more serious problems have to be contended with.

Once that issue is dealt with?

"Get away from that thing it's a mine!" Jeanette yells over at Tao from her cover around the corner. She's planning on shooting the thing, but she would rather not do that while someone is standing right next to it.

Would rather avoid exploding other people in the tavern.

[Recaiden]

[Om Nom Noms!]

That horrible blue monster does seem to know what she's doing so far, so if she recognizes the balloon, Tao will listen.
He jumps down from the rafters, landing on a table (which starts to topple over) and turning a flip before coming to a stop next to a booth. He's a little off-balance, but not enough to stop him trying to get cover from the mine.

[Love and War]

Well, some people might be impressed by battleships and planes. And cutting off their communication has a lot of precedent. What an interesting way to think about it, fox-mask-guy!
"And you wanna argue with her, or something?"
"She cheats, you know. You should pick someone else for whatever it is." Doesn't even properly exist in this universe, very unfair of Zee.

[5a Violista]

[Love and War]

Sure, it has a lot of precedent, but it's kind-of abusive too. Probably not the best choice.

"Something like that," the buff guy says.

He scratches the plant-wolf's head again. "If nobody ever tried to beat a cheater, then they'd just be given free reign to do whatever they wanted."