Trog's Tavern CLV

[bc56]

Selekhael isn't most empyreans. She hasn't been one very long, after all. "Oh, uh, it'll be out of the way in a quiet neighborhood. I'll have a library with lots of books to read, and a little garden where I can grow flowers, and some shady trees to sit under." Inside, she worries that Zee will think that's stupid.

Dungeon of Doom
Orathius sighs. This isn't working out the way he hoped. Luckily, Fenris took out her opponent quickly.
His bones crack and creak, his muscles bulge, fur sprouts. Orathius bursts into werewolf form, using the surge of strength to throw the abomination off him. He doesn't glow with holy fire like Fenris does. That's a neat trick, he should ask her about it once they can talk again. Instead he advances very slowly and deliberately towards the astrologer. He figures as long as he moves no faster than that vial did, he should be able to get inside. Then he can use his teeth and claws.

[Ironsmith]

[Weird Bathroom]

The fact that there's a convenient weakness like that is really frustrating, June thinks. Why didn't she notice it earlier? If it were always there, she figures, there's a good chance she would have noticed it earlier. Which means...it's just like the cat-ears and cat-tail on the maid outfit. Or like the weapons that just happened to appear in the pockets. Basically everything is completely under the control of that cape guy. There's no weapons there until he wants it to be there. There's no weaknesses or flaws in her opponent until the cape guy wants it to be there. She bets the giant could suddenly use magic because the cape-guy started thinking the fight was too boring, too. So, what, does the fight continue until he's had enough? Is that what 'wi-

Speaking of the champion's magic,
June gets hit by one of the magic balls.
There's just too much to pay attention to, and (with her eyes closed) everything has equal prominence in her mind. There's multiple orbs, the weapon, the giant her(him?)self, the giant's back, the crowd is too big and overwhelming, and now she has to also pay attention to the cape-man, because apparently he can just make things happen and appear. And she can't just block out the crowd, because then she'd also block out the cape-man too.
So it's no wonder she lost track of one of the magic orbs.

So,
June gets hit and knocked over by one of the orbs.

[Weird Bathroom]

In a way, that's probably the best way this could have turned out. While the magic orb certainly still hurts, in bizarre, ethereal sense where June will feel like she's in pain without any one specific part of her body actually hurting, it also did her the favor of knocking her off of her feet.

So instead of getting clotheslined by that huge stone pole, or worse, catching the blade and being summarily bisected, she just gets a close haircut.

There's a collective ooooh! from the crowd, followed by a mix of jeers and yelled encouragement for June.

"Come on!"
"What was that?!"
"Boo! Real brave, picking on someone half your size! BOO!"
"Come on, June, get up!"
"Wallop his [butt]! You've still got this, June!"

The caped man gives an indifferent shrug and doesn't seem to have modified the match any further. Maybe June can still turn this around.

[5a Violista]

[Weird Bathroom]

Ugh: The crowd is giving June a headache.
Maybe she should...? No, definitely not - she was told to not do anything like that until she had more training.
Instead, seems like her only choice is to lure her opponent to the middle of the arena, so the crowd has less of an effect on her.

She does a backwards somersault, to get back up on her feet.

And! Luckily, she's been meaning to cut her hair. To her shoulders is far too long.

In order to keep better track of the magic orbs, June opens her eyes, and winces from her headache intensifying. Luckily, the pain from the magic orb seems to be helping?
So, she retreats away from the giant, doing better to look at the magic orbs, and backs away towards the center of the arena. "You know how to do a pixie cut? Since that seems to be the only thing your weapon's good for," she says, reminding herself that she needs to do banter better.



Meanwhile! Not in a bathroom but in the bar proper

So the only options are to eat it really quickly, or wait for the food to cool.
June decides waiting for it to cool a little is the best choice, holding the food to let it cool faster.

"Choosing between two bad options is far more of a choice than between a single good choice and a bad choice," is what June thinks. Because then you're actually making a decision. Then again, lots of people would consider 'help someone at risk to yourself' versus 'safety' to need much more thought and not be so obvious, so it seems like June is wrong about this one and probably should just give up defending what she did.

Speaking of being wrong, she almost corrects Zee, that it's four extra limbs, but then realizes that she also lost two.
So.

"I don't have any waitstaff experience," June mentions, deciding that, in case Zee's suggesting that place, it's probably not that good of an option. "But I'm sure I could find someplace decent that matches my skills better."
June decides that the food has cooled down enough, so she starts eating it.


Speaking of sloths! There is, in fact, a sloth here! A whole adventuring party full of sloths. A sloth knight, a sloth wizard, a sloth cleric, and a sloth...something. Maybe a warlock who has made eldritch pacts. Nina is helpfully - though impatiently - waiting on them.

[Reinholdt]

Spoiler

Show

New Beginning

Maxson couldn't believe what he had just openly admitted to the Faun butwhat she said next didn't help him one bit. "you should focus on the chance you have now" She said, it wasn't what she said that hit him hardest, it was the guilt of having that opportunity. Surely if anyone it should have been Signe, yes he always had feelings for Reuma, lord only knows if she ever knew how he felt. He remembered the day he was going to tell Signe how he felt only to see the two together. He was always a little slow to act in that reguard, not the brightest tool in the shed but he was only meant to be a blunt instrument afterall. He snapped from his internal thoughts as Rein asked about the bond. "It's actually something to do with my race, its called imprinting. It can happen over time or in an instant, it grows with intensity over time, sharing emotions, sensations, thoughts its very intimate" He explained as he relaxed a little. "Other species might call it being soul mates" He added before going back to his broth.

As Reuma explained her situation he couldn't help feel sorry, she was absolutely being scammed if what she was saying was accurate. Though, her comments about adventuring and that playful wink, oh yeah, that was jealousy he felt again. It didn't last long, the guilt of feeling it crept back in. "S..so, we're all in the same boat... or ship, given the size" He said to himself as he pondered. "I'll have to take a look around once I'm back on my feet" Though as Rein flirted back, the spoon in his hand buckled in his grip. "Hah... yeah that sure sounds great" He added as he quietly straightened the spoon back in his palm. "What sort of treasures do you usually go after then?" He asked the adventurer once his spoon was somewhat back to normal.

New Beginning

Rein's reaction to the magic gains a curious look from the faun, but there is also a slightly smug devious streak that crosses the little pronghorn's face. Running from emotions, drinking, self abuse? Ohho it looks like another fun case. For a moment, the faun is lost in the thoughts of both good and evil plans for that information, but then the observant faun is brought back in to the conversation as it shifts about. Maxson seems to be happy to help the explanation along as well, but it's pretty clear that he is having his own internal troubles. Of course, that wasn't something Reuma wanted to step too hard into, so she left it at what she had already said. At least the conversation moving toward discussing imprinting seemed to distract him some. "It's actually pretty wild when you can sense the weave. It's not like someone has two souls or spirits in a single body, per say.... But almost as if the person's very nature always has a link to whoever they are imprinted on. There's also some really old magic tucked in there, like their ancestors are still there in the bond too."

The faun pauses briefly, swallowing a bit more of the stew, then stretching ever so slightly, using the motion to walk her chair over to Maxson so that the soft green glow from her horns can shower him with a bit of calming happiness. "It's kinda like how my ancestors left their mark on satyrlyrri, but in a different way. While the lyrri sort of evolved and changed themselves in tune with their magic, it seems like the Ulfen solidified their community." The statement is bittersweet, and from the tone it's pretty clear that there wasn't too much of a community to speak of for Reuma's species. "I suppose if I thought about it, I was probably gonna be trying to learn the Ulfen traditions, like the first hunt and your travels, at least after I finished piecing together what's left of the groveseekers." Reuma smiles softly at Maxson. "We can go find a library or museum and work on that together if you want, sometime."

As the conversation takes another turn, Reuma finds herself drawn into Rein's words. "Adventures all the time??! Oh, I would love to come along. There's so many new things to document, places to see..." The faun's ear flicks, and she looks to the side to see the final part of Maxson's work unbending his utensil. "Huh? Maxson..." There is a pause, and the faun's large hazel eyes search Maxson's face with confusion, the medic never having seen a really jealous side of the wolf. Maybe it was just trauma and he didn't want to hear about adventures so soon? "You... ok? We... could talk about these things somewhere else and give you some piece and quiet if you want..." Reuma's ears flatten back, looking almost like she's been scolded, horns crackling slightly with sadness. It's all got the air of someone plopping a jar over a butterfly, as if Reuma was used to a Maxson that was much more confident in their relationship and allowed the medic to dance amongst the eddies of sociality. "I mean, maybe I'll get you a room, and..." Though it was clear that Reuma still cared for the Ulfen, for the first time in a long time it seemed like Reuma was ready to make an excuse and bolt... from Maxson. "Maybe I can help with some magic item research, Rein? I've got a whole sense to 'see' magic anyways... haha." The laugh is somewhat halfhearted and awkward.

[New Beginning]

Reinholdt holds back a snort as Maxson uses the term 'soul mates'. But only just barely. He looks ready to comment on the subject, but a quick reminder of Maxson's size and muscles keeps Rein from mentioning his opinion on soul mates. It clearly meant a lot to the Ulfen, so he could just leave it at that. Didn't sound like anything that'd ever matter to him anyways. He can't help but make a face when Reuma elaborates though. "I don't think I want my ancestors around anywhere or anything when I'm busy bonding with someone else. They can go back to hanging in the afterlife." Rein's about as fond of his ancestors as they are of him. Something about crimes against the family.

Sounds like there was more history there for Reuma and Maxson too. Some kind of cultural divide propagated by their own ancestors? Unintentionally perhaps? Hard to say and not his place to. So he focuses on the one thing he can comment on without being intrusive. "Wait, so there's actually a difference between boats and ships?" Rein had no idea! He is not a fan of water adventures. There's a lot of spooky things in the water.

"I don't particularly limit myself to one kind of treasure. Otherwise I'd be the jewel thief extraordinaire or the amazing wand collector or golden idol Jim or something. Nobody wants to be stuck as Jim." Rein shakes his head in distaste for the idea. "I mean obviously at this point the more exotic and magical hold more interest for me. They're just inherently more fun to abuse recklessly. I mean, sure I can abuse a golden, jewel encrusted egg pretty easily, but the stuff that also has some uniquely utilitarian uses get to come out and play more." Reinholdt shrugs a little. "But like I said, I'm not too picky." It's just a matter of finding a questgiver hanging around wearing mysterious hoods and having dubious motives. Rein gives a quick glance around the tavern to see if anyone qualifies.

But his eyes quickly dart back between Maxson and Reuma. The atmosphere suddenly got very tense. Like Reuma was waiting for Maxson to break the table in half or something. Why? He said he was interested in adventuring too! Rein rubs the back of his head. Maybe they got too wrapped up in that soul bonding imprinting business. Rein knew it was bad news the moment he heard soul mates. Well, he's not about to let anything like UNIVERSAL DESTINY stop him.
Again.

With a flick of his wrist, Rein conjures a golden medallion engraved in runes and stylized engraving of the sun. "I'm always in need of a magic detector I can turn on at will. Maybe you can tell me what this does?" He asks, sliding the medallion across the table to Reuma. It's a nifty magic item. This jewelry will allow the bearer turn into fire at will. This renders the owner immune to physical attacks and allowing him or her to absorb fire attacks and unleash it back at the attacker at twice the original strength. Of course, one downside is you're on fire. And fire does tend to spread.

[Rebonack]

In absolute terms Zee hasn't been one very long either. She DOES have a bit of a head start, though. The fact that her little misadventure started off in the Empyrean itself definitely made a difference.

Though, granted, she still isn't totally sure how all of this nonsense works.

"That sounds really pleasant," Zee admits. "I imagine there are plenty of nice places where you could do something like that. I guess, first, you would need to find a good location. That probably isn't too terribly hard. Inside is huge, of course, there are always new places popping up. I guess you could try getting in contact with the House Hunters to see if there's anything to your liking."

They have their own television program after all.

The House Hunters!

Go into those new places that pop up in the Nexus all the time, drive out the horrible monsters squatting within, then do a bit of renovation to get the slime stains out of the carpet and BOOM!

House ready for people to move into.

"Or you could probably just find an empty patch of Outside and start building. There's a lot of not much out there, I doubt anyone would stop you."

Meanwhile!

"That's the funny thing about choices, we're still left with a whole pile of them whether they're good or bad. I guess most probably just seem inconsequential, but I'm not totally sure that's true," Zee muses.

Higher plans and all that.

Those might exist.

Maybe?

Okay then June says she doesn't have any waitstaff experience.

Zee opens her mouth and takes a breath.

Then closes it again.

Then peers more closely at June.

"Am I mistaking you for someone else who just happens to also be named June?" Zee asks, sounding increasingly puzzled.


[Dungeons of Doom]

Orathius throws off his foe only for the monster to spring back to its feet and-

Oh.

Fenris just tackled them.

Okay, well, that problem is solved! At least for now.

"Stay away!" the astrologer shouts as he releases a blastwave of... ice? Otherwordly crystal?

Should the shockwave of alien power strike Orathius it will definitely hurt. But more important a mass of crystal growths will bind his legs to the floor.

Ugh.

Rooting attacks. They're the worst.

[Morty]

"Well, let's see," Zee says as she begins ticking off fingers. "You're shadow's a moose, for one. You know about the super sentai monks for two."

Second finger is ticked off.

"You've got those super-shiny silver tattoos."

There's finger number three.

"And you said you traveled through the Wyld which wow that's pretty harrowing just in general. Which makes-"

Zee counts her fingers again just to be sure.

Yep, still four of them up.

"-four pretty solid clues that you're one of Luna's champions. Not the first I've met. Probably won't be the last, either."

Askeladd smiles under his beard.

"Perceptive. It is true. I'm one of Luna's Chosen. Have you met others of my kind here? It's surprising, but perhaps it shouldn't be."

[ResidentScribe]

New Beginning

Maxson gulped as he realised he had been noticed, setting the slightly creased spoon down he ran his hands through his hair as he recognised the look on Reuma's face. "It's uh... not you or you..." He quickly stuttered as he looked between Reuma and Rein before shuffling a little. "I uh... have a lot of memories rushing around in my head right now and uh... my emotions aren't in check" He added as he looked at the two. "I just need a moment to get settle, I'll be fine" He gave a half smile as he tried to cover his lie. 'as long as she's happy, you're happy' he thought to himself. 'just like before, like old times'.

He looked back at Reuma with a softer expression, "I... know what you're thinking, I need time to myself or I need to rest but... I'll be honest, I don't want to be alone with my head right now, so long as you two don't mind company" He tried to explain whilst fiddling with one of the straps around his leg. "Also... I'm no good with the quiet, it makes me anxious" He scratched the back of his neck as he looked back over to Rein as he tossed the item towards Reuma. Maxson sat up a little to try and get a closer look. "Huh... looks like something the Foxes would have" He mumbled to himself more than to anyone else.

[5a Violista]

Mean...while?

"Haha. Happens all the time, so probably," June immediately says. Probably mistaking for someone else who just happens to be named June.

Pause.

But Zee did know some stuff that could only be known if they had met before, so that seems unlikely.
Then again, that has, in fact, happened once before, too. So. Not totally out of the realm of possibility. "Well. Probably not. But it seems possible?"


June tries to think back to which exact things Zee said that was confirmation that they met before.
This would've been so much easier if she had known beforehand that she would have to recall specific details of the conversation.
Unable to remember what specifically - something about shoes, probably, but that could be taken as evidence of either possibility - June gives up and just decides to eat the now-cooled-down gyro. And remember to bite/swallow between speaking. "Unless you think I owe you money or a favor or need to apologize or something, and I don't remember it, it probably doesn't really matter too much," June declares.

And then June comments on the food: "These are pretty good."

[bc56]

Selekhael sighs. "I don't want to be out in the wilderness. If I did, I, uh, know a good place already. There's, uh, an abandoned tower on an island, with a forge and a bunch of machines, and a library, and an automatic butler. I found it, uh, on my way back from Marlick Bay." She sighs again. "But, uh, as much as I don't want to be around people, I, uh, want to be around people. But the house hunters are expensive, and, uh, I don't have much money." Selekhael's been working overtime almost as long as she's been here, but houses are a significant thing to buy, and it sounds like she wants to do it out of pocket rather than get a loan for it.

Dungeon of Doom
Orathius' feet are pinned down.
He doesn't particularly mind, because he has long reach with his claws. He doesn't have to stay back, the researcher was already backed up into the corner. He can just slash at him from here until he manages to break free of the restraints.

[Aurora Alchemi]

[New Beginning]

Reuma's eyes linger on Maxson as he admits just a fraction of what's going on his head, and it's clear that the pronghorn, at least in part, has begun to piece things together. However, there is still a bristled distance, a measured degree of holding back... Reuma was starting to patch together an image of this new Maxson's past, but at the same time seeing that sort of jealousy and emotion from him reminded her too much of her own past. After all, while Maxson and Signe had been loving and caring, that didn't put away the images of ulfen berzerkers in the searing light of desert sands, black shadows painting blond sandstone red with the ambitions of human armies. Still, the deep and intense stare of the hazel eyes seemed to relay at least part of that; Reuma knew he was hurting, but she had to be sure he wouldn't hurt her before she would help him through that emotion.

"Ok, I can take a look..." The healer places her hands over the coin, concentrating softly. There are dim flickers and glows from her horns, and it's almost like watching a watchmaker repair a high quality clockwork by feel rather than watching a mage work. Soft little threads of magic burst into life around the coin, flowing and wrapping around the pronghorn's fingers in eddies and currents of the mystical beyond made visible for ephemeral moments. "Hmm... odd. There is a lot of.... fire here, but it wants to spring and curl into other things. It's as if the magic wants to imbue things with fire, to make them burn, but it's not as controlled as a more simple alteration spell. It's almost hungry." Reuma's fingers softly pull several threads apart, the rainbow fracturing for a second, dividing into several orange and red parts, and a soft green curl not unlike a fern. "But it's deeper than that. It hungers for other fire, and other magic. I suspect it would protect someone from flames or elemental fire, and there seems to be a component of strengthening and returning wounds suffered... But there is a fickle side to the magic here that worries me. Whoever made this seems very concerned with what happens to them, but not with the fallout that might occur around them."

"Watch" Reuma reaches over, snuffing the flame of a candle between two fingers with a soft sizzle, then pulls a single curling orange thread from the coin. She pulls that thread into the air, joining it to the tendril of smoke drifting softly from the wick. There is a flash and a soft snap, the magic of the coin seeming to race down the smoke, consuming it in a small snake of fire, before burning through a full quarter of the candle in an instant, the violence of the magic crackling in it's voracity. "I'm not sure it was intended, or if it will even manifest when the coin is used, but hidden in the weave is a bit of a minor curse, something that will tend to make fire burn hotter and consume more than it normally would. I've seen it in items before, a consequence of the crafter using magic without full knowledge of what they are doing, or knowing the magic and prioritizing damage over safety of use." The healer pauses, the examination magic of her hands fading gently, the magic threads of the coin winding like temperamental serpents into the face of the coin with some warm crackles.

"Whatever the case may be, it seems safe enough, at least for the user. I would be hesitant to use it after drinking, or around flammable areas though." Reuma gently pushes the coin back toward Reinholdt, pausing softly to look over the face of the coin, then looking up to the thief with a wry smile. "Might get a little too hot for you to handle, if you catch my drift." There is another playful wink, and the healer leans back to finish her stew. The magic examination was clearly more taxing than the healing on the pronghorn, a faint hint of sweat on her brow, and the hungry way she attacks the stew belying the energy drain the effort took from her. "If I had more information about where it came from, or why it was made, I might be able to guess a little deeper at the magic for you, but it's... Kinda like trying to feel your way through a cave if you are just handed something, ya know?" As the pronghorn talks, however, one of her legs softy moves, pressing slightly against Maxson's leg. It's a small gesture, but there is a warmth and calmness in the action that seems to show the combat medic is calming down around Maxson some. Perhaps there is even a bit of magic from that little touch, some measure of empathetic sharing between the two.... A sign that Reuma yet still cares, and will be there for the hurting Ulfen warrior. "The foxes? Were they giving you as much trouble as the ones in my world? Terrifying creatures... Though still a part of the cycle."

[Reinholdt]

[New Beginning]

Reinholdt watches the light show with nothing less than fascination, his pupils dilating for some of it as the Treasure Hunter carefully restrains himself from reacting in an untoward manner. Despite this, he doesn't betray much else as Reuma explains the medallion in greater detail than he had anticipated. He's less sure there's a curse involved, but maybe that's just bias because of all the more prominent and obvious curses he's dealt with over the years. Seemed more like a feature to him as the candle lost much of its lifespan.

"There's nothing too hot for me to handle," Rein assures the pronghorn as he picks the medallion back up and turns it over in his fingers, pretending to look at it as he stares at Reuma. "After all, I took this particular piece from a fire elemental lord I killed with a barrel of baking soda from the tavern's kitchen. Put a right stop to that volcanic invasion of fiery warriors." He stops turning the piece to grip it in his palm and move it into the pocket of his leather jacket. "Not as hot as you of course," Rein says, smugly looking to fluster the emotional weave wielder.

Having finished off his fish, Rein takes to finishing off his flask of rum. "What kind of foxes are you talking about? We have a lot of different foxes around here," Rein says, the slightest hint of a blush taking to his cheeks for a moment. "But in particular, we have an entire temple dedicated to the Fox goddess. Well like... the goddess of foxes. I know a few other Fox goddesses of a different sort. They're more fun and more infuriating at the same time." Rein gives a sordid laugh and shakes his head.

He falls quiet for a moment though, mulling something over before looking at Maxson. "Look, I know you might not like the quiet and stuff, but... it also sounds like you and Reuma really have a lot to work through. And you've been hit with a lot of things to process. Maybe a rest is exactly what you both need." He nods his head over at Reuma as if to say 'look at her, she's worn herself out looking at a medallion I already knew what it did cause I used it a few times and I was testing her and now I feel bad because I didn't think it would wear her out so much and oh god is the guilt showing on my face?' "Why don't I buy you a room for the night and the two of you make use of the time and space to really work things out?" Reinholdt isn't exactly waiting for a response, already raising his hand for the waitress and renting the key off her for the nicest upstairs accommodations that they have available for a decent sum of money.

[ResidentScribe]

New Beginning

As the two began talking of the trinket, going into detail about the magic within, Maxson slowly closed his eyes and leaned his head back. Reuma's voice was like a sirens song, only without the grissly end. Rein's voice was also there, it was part of that background hustle and bustle that often let Maxson get to sleep. The sounds of the Tavern alone helped but the odd familiarity of the people at the table with him helped the most. He didn't even react to the playful flirting going on across the table this time, the only thing he did react to was the faint touch of her leg against his. There was a faint sensation of understanding, he wasn't too sure if he was dreaming but what he was seeing in his head was giving him some idea of what her Maxson was to her.

He wasn't entirely sure when it happened, but somewhere along the line, his hand ended up on her thigh. The sudden contrast, everything before hand had always been hard, everything rough and harsh but Reuma was just as soft as he imagined. His hand wasn't stationary either, he only really became aware of his actions as his hand started to trail upwards before snapping out of it. He blinked awake as he was asked about the foxes. "Ah... well yeah... the Foxes, what haven't they done, all but destroyed the cycle, created puppet hoards, turned the weather into weapons, vicious little creatures, largest users of silver too" He mumbled as his hand slowly trailed down to Reuma's Knee.

Maxson blinked at Rein as they suggested getting them a room to 'work things out' "I uh... I wouldn't want to impose" He stammered but to no avail. He slowly looked down at his hand before gently letting go of Reuma's knee. "Sorry... I uh... don't usually grope people either" He muttered as he gripped his hand with the other. "I don't know what's going on in my head, I'm feeling things I'm not sure I deserve and feel guilty for it" He spoke softly as he looked at his palm. Maxson slowly turned to look Reuma in the eyes before continuing. "I'm also sorry for scaring you earlier... this hasn't exactly been a good first impression has it?".

[Aurora Alchemi]

[New Beginning]

The medic seems to flinch ever so slightly as Maxson's hand wanders, the soldier groggily half dozing as Reuma and Rein talk, but she doesn't pull away. There is a soft familiarity in the touch, something that's been gone in the time since she came to the nexus. There was something soothing there, not unlike a warm fire in a family home, something consistent that one can always return to, ease into and feel comfortable around. Of course, this Maxson still had things to work through, but for a moment, he was, in a way, back again, and it lit up the pronghorns with soft green fire not unlike what gathers on ship masts at sea, filling the entire corner of the tavern with a gentle respite and a calm feeling of belonging. Once her work is finished with the coin, and Maxson has begun to rouse and understand his actions, Reuma gently covers his hand in her own.

"The foxes here, from what I see, are much different than those that Maxson's people are at war with. Vicious necromancers, flesh ritualists, blood and shadow magic... All in the worship of elder creatures that exist as corruptions of the natural realm. According to the lyrri legends, they used to shepherd mortal souls to rest in the great forest, but were led astray, leading the forest of death to be altered into a great fleshy cancer filled with nightmarish horrors. Legends hold that the oldest lyrri still wander toward that land to seek death when they feel their time has come. The foxes themselves bear no similarity to what I have seen the nexus call kitsune or fox kin. Instead, they are undying creatures more akin to ghouls, youthful in appearance, nigh impossible to kill, and ritualistic cannibals. While the Ulfen are the only species native to our lands capable of actually fighting them directly, most of our species simply had to hear the horror stories of the rites and sacrifices that are conducted with everyone from the youngest lyrri child, to pregnant lapin, and even the oldest and feeblest of humans." Reuma's voice is low and quiet, a tired sadness under the explanation that gives a sense that these creatures were beyond the thought of saving, even in the kind healer's eyes. Truly, the foxes of their lands were terrors in every sense of the word, outmatched in machinations and cruelty only by those witches who reached beyond mere hedge magic and became beasts.

Reuma gives a soft shake of her head. "Truly, the only thing in our lands worse than a fox would be one of the witches with power enough to be named in their coven. All of them are the source of stories told in hushed voices, and kept out of the range of children, lest we inspire night terrors." Reuma finishes, then looks over to Rein as he begins to rush her off to bed. Why that little... I'm not even tired yet! The scowl flashes for a moment, then is replaced with a smile. "Haha, oh I guess you are right. I'm so glad you've volunteered to help me watch over Maxson, seeing as how tired I am, and how awfully injured he is. I'd hate to have to hurt myself healing him and be left all alone..." Reuma shoots Maxson a wry smile, a hand reaching back and regathering the hand that the Ulfen pulled away.

"I mean look at him, he's fumbling around already... Can't control his hands, or keep soup down.. who knows what that big bad wolf might get up to without a dashing rogue to keep him in check. You are sooo kind, Rein." With an expertly flowing move, Reuma stands and loops an arm through Reinholdt's elbow, demonstrating pretty clearly that while she wasn't all muscle, Reuma wasn't a slouch in the lithe strength department. "Here, please, let's help Maxson to his feet, then you can lead us right up. Oh, but first!" Reuma motions to the maid, leaning in and whispering in just such a way that Rein can only hear snippits of a few things being ordered for the room, mostly some snacks, a bit of medical supplies... mostly stuff you'd expect of someone preparing to care for someone who had been in a helicopter accident, or got mauled by a wolf, or something. "Alright, that's everything. Maxson, you ready to follow our generous host for some rest?" There is just an hare's breath of gravity behind the last statement, a grim omen as the pronghorn offers her hand one last time with a shyly demure smile that could send a shiver down a demon's spine.

[Ironsmith]

[Weird Bathroom]

Ugh: The crowd is giving June a headache.
Maybe she should...? No, definitely not - she was told to not do anything like that until she had more training.
Instead, seems like her only choice is to lure her opponent to the middle of the arena, so the crowd has less of an effect on her.

She does a backwards somersault, to get back up on her feet.

And! Luckily, she's been meaning to cut her hair. To her shoulders is far too long.

In order to keep better track of the magic orbs, June opens her eyes, and winces from her headache intensifying. Luckily, the pain from the magic orb seems to be helping?
So, she retreats away from the giant, doing better to look at the magic orbs, and backs away towards the center of the arena. "You know how to do a pixie cut? Since that seems to be the only thing your weapon's good for," she says, reminding herself that she needs to do banter better.

[Weird Bathroom]

June's fortunate with regards to those magic orbs; they dissipate whenever they hit something solid, such as the ground, the wall, or a squishy target like June. She won't have to worry about them again until the giant conjures up more.

The bad news is, that happens to be now. It's the only way the giant managed to land a hit on her and it's not about to give up a perfectly good strategy. Once it has them, it'll advance in her, taking the bait to go to the center of the arena.

At least the crowd seems to find their antics amusing. A rumble of laughter rolls through the crowd when June asks for a more specific haircut. Then they start in chanting for her victory again: "June! June! June! June!"

[Reinholdt]

[New Beginning]

"They do sound pretty awful," Reinholdt admits, only shuddering a little and glancing in Zee's direction for just a moment. Hopefully these foxes don't follow Maxson or Reuma to the Nexus and set up a cult around worshipping elder things, because last time Zee had a cult it turned out badly for everyone. After a second of lingering, he continues. "Don't know what the deal is with ritual cannibalism though. Like... cannibalism is fine without all the pomp and tradition, I don't see why so many tribes have to dress it up. Just eat your food, yeesh." Reinholdt shakes his head.

The mood shifts drastically however as Reuma ramps up the sarcasm after a scowl that does not go missed. "Uhhh..." Reinholdt is caught initially in her momentum, his arm hooked by the lithe pronghorn. For a while that seems like it was going to be Rein's only response as she makes some medical requests and holds out her hand to help Maxson to his feet. That he would be swept away entirely with the pace of the saccharine healer.

Until Rein's mouth falls into an open scowl of his own, making no effort to put on a fake smile. "I was just saying you both have looked quite tired, you clearly have two lifetimes of relationships to unpack with each other, and you were about two minutes away from needing a room anyways given the amount of groping. There's zero reason to get so passive aggressive about it." Reinholdt pulls his arm away from Reuma's and holds up the key instead, offering it to them. "Upstairs, last door on the left."

[Rebonack]

"A couple of them," Zee replies with a nod. "In both senses of 'a couple'. People from Creation show up around here every now and again, but it isn't often. I don't think I've ever encountered a regular mortal from there, though. Which is interesting. Unremarkable people from other worlds end up here all the time. So why is it always the extraordinary from your world?"

That's the question.

Maybe because regular peasants are less interesting than super-powered demigods?

Zee answers that mysterious question with a shrug.

"It's fascinating to note the different sorts of people who arrive here. There's rarely any rhyme or reason to it, at first glance. But, I think, everyone DOES have something in common. Everyone has an interesting story."

Maybe that's the Nexus' goal?

A collection of all the most interesting stories to see how they intertwine.

That's what's happening right over there with the talk of spooky foxes.

Meanwhile!

"Because there's someone named June who worked at the Black Dragon's Den," Zee says. "And also someone named Venus. But-"

Zee wrinkles her nose.

"-sheeeee was named June before I think? Maybe? So there are two Junes. Maybe three? And something to do with sloths."

Those sloths over there? Or. No, that feels like a red herring.

Ah well.

"You're right. It probably isn't that important. A bunch of people named June who looked really similar until the Nexus barfed weird on them- WAIT!"

Zee gasps!

"There was a FOURTH June! At the Thanksmas Party last year! And you know what they say, three Junes might be a coincidence but four Junes definitely aren't."

I don't think anyone says that Zee.

Also meanwhile!

"Robot towers out in the wilderness definitely sound pretty neat," Zee muses thoughtfully. "And I guess if you don't want to pay the House Hunters you could always do the work yourself. That would mean clearing out the house yourself, though. Which would be gross, dirty work. And probably not something you would want to do alone."

If you don't have cash you can use VIOLENCE!

"Ooor you can try to find an empty lot somewhere in the City. There are lots of those around. It would just be a matter of building somewhere to live and I think you have probably noticed by now that people like ourselves are uniquely equipped for building our own abode."

Zee has done it before!

That that's mostly a side-effect of her feeding out in the middle of nowhere than it is something she does intentionally.


[Dungeons of Doom]

Rawr!

Clawing at the astrologer!

Sparks fly from the barrier as several stars flicker out with each impact. With his attention shaken by the assault, the crystals binding the werewolf to the ground shatter. This is probably going to go really badly for the astrologer in the near future.

Fenris, meanwhile, ignites one of her paws, the claws burning so bright that looking directly at them leaves the ghoul seeing spots. Then with a snarl she plunges her claws into the thing's chest. There's a crunch of bones and sizzling of flesh as the monster's flailing grows steadily weaker.

[5a Violista]

[Weird Bathroom]

June's headache subsides a little, now that the crowd has become a little more uniform in their chanting.

There's just one more thing June wants to figure out before she goes on the offensive. She knows the giant's range, the giant's weakpoint, and the giant's speed. She doesn't know the giant's exact strength, but given the size differential and her experience swordfighting people far out of her weight category, she's pretty sure her options are dodge or get a swollen wrist. But other than dodging (and possibly putting herself into the weapon's path), she doesn't really know how to deal with the magic. Ugh, magic is the worst: sometimes it follows one rule and sometimes it follows another.

So, with her opponent in the middle with her and with magic balls, June takes advantage of her supernatural ability to flirt regardless of how inappropriate the circumstances: "What, cat got your tongue?" She winks and swings her hips (so that the outfit's cat tail is highlighted, and also to put her back foot in a position to lunge forward), makes a pawing motion with her right hand by her cheek (which also could work as a counterbalance for the lunge), drops her rapier's tip (to open up her chest and make her appear unprepared), and makes a cutesy 'nyaa~n' sound. "Or does my beauty just leave you speechless?"

And she prays that the giant uses the magic attacks again instead of the weapon: she'll try to parry the first magic ball that comes at her, to see if it stops (or deflects; she's hoping for deflect) or if it transmits through the sword.


[Meanwhile!]

June listens.
And tries to figure out where this is going, and tries to figure out the chances this is just a big coincidence.

June would make a month-based joke, but "To be honest, better than four Augusts or four Januaries." Oh wait, too late, already made it.

Okay, with that out of her system... what's going on? Bodysnatchers? Evil twins? Parallel universes? Does it have to do with those killdren, or whatever that cop called those kids? Or that time everything started playing Thanksmas music? June's pretty sure that happened around Thanksmas once, so maybe it's related.
"Possible thing that might disprove and settle everything: I only really went by June just after ariving in the Nexus, which is when I thought I must have met you, and very very recently since that girl I helped was having difficulty pronouncing multisyllabic names, and it kinda stuck. So, if they were around last year and went by June, definitely not evil twin bodysnatchers. Triplets. Quadruplets. Whatever." Not really sure what that disproves, but it definitely disproves something.


Speaking of those sloth adventurers.
Now that they've finally managed to make their order, they start divvying up their loot to ensure everyone gets a fair portion. Said loot suspiciously includes an actual herring, as well as various other pointless things like a club, a handful of feathers, a solid white foxmask without even any eye holes, a seedling that feels very much fae-origin and is producing a lovely sweet scent, some heavy magnetic boots, and a large silver scale that lets people dive deeper underwater.

[bc56]

"But if I build it, it will be all weird. It won't feel right. It'll be made of that sparkly stuff and not normal house material. And I don't want to kill anything to get a house either." Selekhael is going to have to compromise somewhere if she wants a house in a reasonable timeframe.
"I just want to be normal."

Dungeon of Doom
Perfect. Time for Orathius' claws to go to work. This mage will regret messing with... Whatever it was he was messing with.

[Ironsmith]

[Weird Bathroom]

June's headache subsides a little, now that the crowd has become a little more uniform in their chanting.

There's just one more thing June wants to figure out before she goes on the offensive. She knows the giant's range, the giant's weakpoint, and the giant's speed. She doesn't know the giant's exact strength, but given the size differential and her experience swordfighting people far out of her weight category, she's pretty sure her options are dodge or get a swollen wrist. But other than dodging (and possibly putting herself into the weapon's path), she doesn't really know how to deal with the magic. Ugh, magic is the worst: sometimes it follows one rule and sometimes it follows another.

So, with her opponent in the middle with her and with magic balls, June takes advantage of her supernatural ability to flirt regardless of how inappropriate the circumstances: "What, cat got your tongue?" She winks and swings her hips (so that the outfit's cat tail is highlighted, and also to put her back foot in a position to lunge forward), makes a pawing motion with her right hand by her cheek (which also could work as a counterbalance for the lunge), drops her rapier's tip (to open up her chest and make her appear unprepared), and makes a cutesy 'nyaa~n' sound. "Or does my beauty just leave you speechless?"

And she prays that the giant uses the magic attacks again instead of the weapon: she'll try to parry the first magic ball that comes at her, to see if it stops (or deflects; she's hoping for deflect) or if it transmits through the sword.

[Weird Bathroom]

The crowd lets out a roar of approval and a collective, affectionate "awww!" at June's catgirl act. Someone in the crowd even wolf-whistles at her.

The giant, however, seems less amused by this routine. Then again, it doesn't seem to be amused by much of anything. Instead, it just advances on her menacingly, the magic orbs again shooting toward her as soon as they get close enough.

Fortunately, it turns out June can block/parry them with ease; they start to break apart when they hit the sword, scattering into little wisps of blue energy. "Start to" being the operative term; it turns out those wisps are almost as bad as the balls themselves, stinging like spatters of hot grease wherever they hit June. Still, she's got to be cutting the damage done to her in half, at least.

Finally, once she's in range, the giant grips its weapon with both hands, steps back, and jumps into another leaping attack, aiming to come down right on top of her, crushing her under its massive weight if she doesn't move.

[ResidentScribe]

New Beginning

Maxson nodded as Reuma explained the fox creatures of their... his world rather well. "Another consistant fact I see" He smiled, "Though uh, they started messing with the weather something fierce, monster storms, oceans swells, all kinds of natural disasters, nowhere felt safe" He added before jumping a little as Reuma took his hand back, though he felt he had good reason to be concerned upon seeing her smile. That light smattering of annoyance but also twisted playfullness that only grew as she let go of him and wrangled in Rein. He heard this tone before, when Signe was being stubborn. 'Wait I... I was the stubborn one, she used to use this tone on me' he thought to himself, as if some gears were slowly turning in his head, he was putting peices together. Though he didn't get much of a chance before getting flustered as she blurted out him being handsy "Wait... I can explain"

Before he even got the chance to however, as Reuma helped drag him to his feet, clutching at his equipment, Maxson gradually got up. "I can stand, I'm fine and.... HEY!" He flushed as Rein mentioned them needing a groping. Shrugging back on and also appologising to some of the other guests at the Tavern. He wasn't sure why but it felt like someone had just stepped on his grave, no scratch that, done the gonga on his grave, he looked down at Reuma and her fierce look she gave Rein and shuffled a little to the side just for personal safety more than anything else. Seeing the tense moment between the two, he made the choice to slowly reach out for the key.

[Aurora Alchemi]

[New Beginning->Quiet Respite]

Reuma fumes at the attitude being thrown about by Reinholdt, being lectured about what was the right course of action by someone who casually comments that cannibalism is ok. For a moment, the healer's arm tensed, half ready to slap the alcohol lover right across the face and storm out, horns crackling with angry red and orange flares. He'd fit right in with the witches and foxes, that stupid son of a- Then Reuma's eyes fall onto Maxson, standing off to the side, halfway between trying to explain himself, and trying to clear the damage zone. Here Maxson was, mere hours after losing his whole world, and a Reuma from a much better timeline couldn't even spare enough time to not make him the butt of jokes and plans. The whole healer's frame sags slightly, ears folding flat and down, and eyes dropping to the floor. The empathetic magics change, fading into a navy blue that floods the area with guilt and sorrow for her actions.

Then there is a flicker in the magic, and the healer wobbles quite visibly, the small headrush that comes with it causing Reuma's heartrate to spike and her eyes to go wide. "f-fuah.. nnhg..." Involuntarily the pronghorn staggers a little and falls slightly, catching herself barely on a nearby booth. "O-ok, fine! You are right, I do need rest, and we do need to talk..." The pronghorn tears up slightly, rubbing her head. "But it's not Maxson, and it's not you... I've just... probably been pushing myself too hard... I've been healing too much on only one meal a day, and I guess the magic tonight, combined with my emotions draining magic from me too is... just... j-just too much." The ex-combat medic sounds like she's dredging up something deep, as if even admitting that she might be having trouble not being perfect and being able to help everyone is just an absolute failure. Keen eyes might notice her hand lingering on the burn on her cheek after coming down from her forehead, the deep blue mist forming around her horns flecked with black raindrops, magic so dark and virulent that it seems to exude the trauma within just by vision alone.

Slowly, the healer stands, trying to steady herself, and giving a long, dry gulp, before looking to Maxson first. "I'm s-sorry." Then she turns to Rein, a few tears finally breaking the brim of her eye, trailing down through the scars on her face. "I wasn't lying or trying to fool you w-when I said I wanted you there to help.... I do need to talk... but right now, with the state I'm in... I need a mediator. Just so I don't make things worse... And..." The healer gives a long sigh, pausing for breath, and to re-steady herself, the faun's false front of energy and endurance completely withered away. "I-if I'm like this, and get into that nice bed, and fall asleep... a-a-and i can't wake up to help Maxson if something is wrong and I just couldn't tell because I messed up... i-i couldn't... i don't know what I would..." The healer's voice finally cracks, breaking under emotion and unable to actually ask Reinholdt once more for him to stay and watch over Maxson. Or rather, at this point, watch over them both, seeing as Reuma had completely drained herself in the pursuit of helping others, with the show of a magic she wasn't skilled in being the final nail in the coffin.

[Reinholdt]

[New Beginning->Quiet Respite]

Reinholdt readily hands Maxson the key as he reaches for it, nodding respectfully to the recovering Ulfen. He then turns to the enraged pronghorn, still oblivious as to why she's so pissed that someone show concern about her and Maxson, but forcing his features into a calm to weather the storm. Let her rant and rail.

Rein can't say he expected her own fatigue to break the tension, but Reuma's near fall catches him offguard. He half finds himself reaching out to steady her but withdraws his hands before they make contact. A-and now she was radiating guilt, sorrow... something darker. Darker still. Rein's eyes shift away as he struggles with the emotions leaking out of her. These were... much more familiar and much harder to fight. Rein rubs at his eyes a bit, to keep them from betraying him. Everything was so much worse than he thought. One meal a day? And how many of those days did she just forget to eat entirely? Plus the scars she had... and not the ones on her face.

Reuma draws his focus back in from trying to look away as she entreats him openly, displaying her real concerns about the ramifications of being unable to help Maxson should things get worse. W-well, whatever issues exist between Reuma and Reinholdt, Maxson surely didn't deserve to suffer for them. And there was no conceivable way to say no to Reuma when she was making that face and crying. "Alright, alright, alright..." Rein says, awkwardly trying to stall for time to figure out his words.

"It's ok. And everything's going to be ok. People that stumble through those doors from other dimensions has an extremely high survival rate." Discounting the missing person's rate, but that's another topic entirely! "I'll stay with you to be sure, ok? I won't leave. Now, upstairs with the both of you." Reinholdt says, starting to go between the two to offer his aid in moving. One or both could use a physical shoulder if they'd like, though admittedly Reuma would be the harder of the two to assist in such a manner, being closer to Maxson in height. Either way, he'll drag them both up to their room if he has to. He suspects they'll try to walk up on their own though.

[Rebonack]

"If they were Septembers I would expect there to be seven of them even though the numbering of the months are all messed up," Zee muses.

Thankfully the guy who messed up the month numbering by sticking August in there got stabbed a whole bunch. Not specifically for that. For other things.

"If I had to guess it would be parallel universes. That happens so much around here. It's what happens when a multiplicity of universes is taken as a given; you get all sorts of nonsense that's just frankly crazy. Like a world where they call cookies biscuits but otherwise everything else is the same. Obviously that wouldn't happen in any sane reality."

Obviously that's too far fetched to be a real place.

Probably better to not even think about it too much.

"One of them started calling herself Venus after she had an encounter with some contagious faeries," Zee informs June. "Come to think of it, all four of you have had some weird things happen. You with the-"

Zee makes a general gesture at all the arms and snake tail and things.

"-you know. Venus with the fae stuff. That one June was a mushroom I'm pretty sure. And the one that works at the Black Dragon's Den is kind of... vampire-y? A little bit? I think? But I'm pretty sure all of you were just regular humans when you arrived. It's like you're weirdness magnets or something."

That is, unfortunately, a common occurrence in the Nexus.

Hmm.

"I don't think I met you specifically. It was those other Junes. And I saw you walk in and you're named June and 'Hey June!'. But you're all so different but also so similar it kind of throws me off."

While this chatting has been going on Zee has been trying to mostly ignore other goings on because of how easily distracted she is but then foxmask and-

"Hang on a sec, I need to take care of something," she says, holding up one finger to June before heroically vaulting over the bar with a "Hup!" and heading over to the sloth table. She'll grab the foxmask and replace it with a small sack of gold coins some weird short lady in black armor with a bent old wooden staff and her orc friend just massively overpaid with. "Sorry, gotta take this it's a memetic cognitohazard. No cognitohazards allowed in the bar."

Meanwhile!

Zee heaves a sigh.

Right into the trash-bin.

Perfect three-pointer.

"I don't think the Game is going to let you be normal. It'll throw quests in your path that'll be hard for you to pass up since it keeps tabs on the sorts of quests that are meaningful to you. I know getting use to all this stuff is hard. I'm still not used to it and I've been at it for years now. Everyone's different, right? It's just a matter of how different and whether they use that difference to be virtuous and make the world a brighter place. You're really different. Use that difference to shape the world and between those times of world-shaping you keep your garden. That's how I do things! Tending to the bar is normal. Or at least as normal as such a thing can be around here, right? But as soon as I set foot outside the door POW! I'm met with situations that I can't turn a blind eye to. I've gotta help in my own way. Go out there and be yourself. And be willing to forgive yourself for not being able to live up to the standards of normalcy you once hoped for."

[Dungeons of Doom]

Weird glowing crystals, ostensibly.

He gets clawed up a whole bunch.

And then, right as Fenris is turning to see how things are going, the astrologer explodes.

The force of the blast is enough to send both of the werewolves tumbling across the floor. And standing in the middle of the blazing concentric rings of electric blue flames is the astrologer! But his flesh has been warped and distorted, the crystals filling cavities in hit body like geodes-

-or like luminous teeth in some misshapen maw.

"FOOLS!" the abomination bellows. "YOU CAN NOT KILL ME!"

And then he swings one of his club-like arms, sending an avalanche of crystal shards racing toward our heroes!

[bc56]

Selekhael shakes her head. "I don't want to be different! I want to fit in, to be left alone!" One of the other Selekhaels across the room glances up briefly and then looks back to the table she's waiting on. She's reached a sort of etiquette with herself, where she doesn't pay attention to what she's doing unless she tells herself to. It's too confusing otherwise.
Anyway, she's definitely got a lot of pent-up emotions around the idea of being different, which is hardly surprising given her past.

Dungeon of Doom
Orathius remains in wolf form (he has no fancy ring to make changing back easy) and tanks the crystal wave as best he can, getting knocked about for his trouble.
He pounces, leaping forth to shred the abomination with tooth and claw. Hopefully it will work this time and not cause him to explode into an even nastier form.

[5a Violista]

"I need to run into one of them and find out what kind of parallel universe they come from," June says. "See if they eat biscuits or whatever other kind of heresy they call cookies." June would've called 'cookies' something like 'bakeies' or something dumb like that but felt like the joke was already nearing the point where it was already stretched too far thin by calling it heresy.

"At least I'm still human," June says, looking at herself. Multiple arms. Snake tail. No legs. That's gotta fit some definition of human, right? "Even if it is pretty weird." She stretches her shoulders. "Gonna be honest: Seriously thought I was going to be spared all the weirdness, since whatever brought me here already had changed how I looked so much that I hardly recognized myse--"
Oh,
"Okay,"
Definitely seems important. Anything that requires hopping over a bar is definitely important.
June decides, yeah, if it's important enough it's best to just wait. Maybe catch up on eating since she hasn't really been doing that while talking and listening.



The foxmask is grabbed and doesn't resist. It's just a mask (that can take over your body if you wear it), after all.
The sloth adventurers look and try to figure out what, exactly, is so special about that mask that it's dangerous and needs to be dealt with, when
all of a sudden,
the sweet-scent of the fairy seedling starts to grow stronger (and has a hint of brimstone, as well).

Then, all four sloths turn to face Zee. And, in a very monotonous tone, all four of them speak at once: "Ha. You fool. Who would have known you would fall for such an obvious smoked herring?" They're obviously being charmed by the fairy-scent...that smells somewhat like a citrussy cranberry. And a pinch of sulfur. Also something definitely foxy. "Leave such an obvious mask, and you can't help but...hold on. Sorry. First time doing this. Just give me some time...how do I...okay, there. Got it." If their voices were anything more than 'monotonous' then it probably would have sounded better. Maybe.

Assuming Zee hasn't done something to the seedling, the seedling suddenly and quickly starts growing. It forms in the shape of a wolf's head...except made of branches and leaves and coated in fae magic. With teeth-like thorns, it snarls and tries to take a bite out of Zee's arm.
Of course, it can't really move far, being just a head (made of plants).



[Weird Bathroom]

The benefit of hot-grease-magic-pain is that it's a decent distraction from headache.
The downside of hot-grease-magic-pain is:
ow.

Well, now or never. If she puts this off any longer, the pain will just keep on increasing and increasing and increasing, so June's pretty sure she's only got one (maybe two?) shot at this.
After the giant becomes airborne, June lunges forwards, then uses that momentum to take a few more steps forward. So long as the giant was aiming directly at where she was then she believes she can get behind the giant before her opponent touches the ground. (She can, after all, move twice! as fast as humans should. So she feels pretty confident in her ability. Well, maybe a little bit slower than twice, due to the pain and the headaches. But still pretty fast, she thinks!)

Once she's confident the giant won't land on her, June turns around, and starts looking for the hole on the back...and she reaches out and tries to stab into it.

Also, she fails to get any witty banter out this time.

[Rebonack]

You know what yelling warrants?

Yelling warrants giving Selekhael a hug.

So that's what Zee does.

The poor kid has and is going through a lot. Sometimes a person just needs a hug.

Meanwhile!

Some nonsense happens.

Now, Zee could respond to that nonsense in a whole lot of ways.

She could exchange some witty banter with Foxmask. Or she could try doing some reality bending shinanagins to break her hold on the sloths. Or she could do something very flashy and exothermic to incinerate that wolf head shrub.

But instead?

She just jerks her arm out of the way of the bite, hauls back, and aims to slap the shrub with that mask hard enough to send it careening out one of the tavern's open windows and into the open dumpster mimic in the alley.


[Dungeons of Doom]

This is why fancy daedric rings are helpful.

They let you control your werewolf transformations!

They have the downside of a daedric prince deciding that you're their champion which means all sorts of trouble gets dumped in your lap on occasion.

Fenris claps her paws together and roars, a wave of shimmering light washing over her which the crystals impact against and burst dramatically in a spray of flashing magic. When she pulls her claws apart they're somehow blazing even brighter than they were before. And then, with a snarl, she joins the melee party!

Claw and bit.

Duck and weave.

A crystal bludgeon crashing into flesh and unearthly power searing fur.

It's a pitched battle, but the waves of magic rolling off Fenris makes it a war of attrition the werewolves are going to win. When the holy fire licks across Fenris or her allies it mends wounds, refreshes stamina, and protects from harm. And where it touches foes it leaves only exhaustion and vulnerability in its wake.

In short, the monster doesn't have another form.

The astrologer drawing vile power from the heavens is destroyed, leaving his sparkly golden nose behind as a trophy.

[ResidentScribe]

New Beginning->Quiet Respite

It took Maxson a moment but as soon as he sensed Reuma losing her balance, he reached an arm out. His hand caught her under her arm just a enough to stop her from toppling completely over. "Easy... I'm supposed to be the weak and frail one here" He replied with a wink. 'wait... did I just... was that a flirt?' He thought to himself as he gently helped Reuma back to her feet. "I uh... think we all..." He looked at Rein in an attempt to hopefully have him agree. "All of us... need to go and... recharge our batteries, talking optional or whenever" He suggested as he tucked Reuma under his arm. As she started talking about not being able to wake up to help him if he needed it, he wasn't sure if what he was about to say was right but, in his brain it seemed right. "You... make it sound like I'm on my last legs here" He rubbed her upper arm softly. "I promise, I'm not going anywhere"He added. 'that was stupid... cheesy and obvious' He thought to himself again.

There was a moment of relief as Rein agreed to keep them company in the room, 'that should stop anything from escalating under the sheets' He thought as he Gently ushered Reuma to the stairs with the help of Rein. 'Wait... is that what I want or do I... no it's too soon'. His internal argument had him silent for some time as they made their way up the stairs, Maxson was a little stiff but otherwise capable of shifting his own weight up the steps. "If it isn't mountains, it's stairs, what I wouldn't give for being home on the flatlands" He chuckled as he tried to push away the fact those flat lands were now meters under water. "So Rein... are entrances to the Nexus always this dramatic?" He asked part rhetorically but also genuinely curious. "I'd hate to be known as the guy who started his new life like a soap opera" He chuckled again as he hauled himself up the last couple of steps before making sure Reuma got up as well.

[5a Violista]

The shrub gets slapped by the mask.
It goes sailing through the air to the window.

As the shrub gets sent flying out the window, the sloths keep on talking in unison as if that didn't happen and instead as if Zee had gotten bitten by the shrub instead. This is because the foxmask lady isn't actually seeing what's going on here, and is judging it off of something that's significantly slower than the speed of light - or even the speed of sound. "Bites, doesn't it? Your screams of pain are so delicious..."
With the source of the charming scent away from the sloth-adventurers, the magic starts to dissipate. One by one, the sloths stop speaking and instead look around, confused. "...and I love that look of pain you h-"
And then, silence.

All that's left are the four confused sloths; one of them, however, has started to figure out what happened (sort-of) and starts to explain to the others that one of the items they found was cursed apparently and had cast a spell on them (or something like that) and that the barmaid had noticed and broken them out of it, so they start discussing if maybe they should find some way to pay back the barmaid.



June looks over, since honestly that situation seemed...pretty strange, actually. But it seems totally under control. June's not sure what she could do against mind-control plants, anyway, and is glad that it's all apparently turning out well.

[bc56]

Hugs are good.
Much like her demonic counterpart, Selekhael enjoys hugs.
Zee is a lot like a foster mother to her. She doesn't have much of a family, this is the closest it gets for her.

Dungeon of Doom
Orathius remains in wolf form (because he can't change back) and seems to relax a little now that the astrologer is dead for real. He doesn't say anything.

[Rebonack]

Zee expects that the sloths will have come to a conclusion about what to do within the hour, probably.

Since sloths are slow, right?

That's the joke?

Anyway.

"If you folks need help with anything just let me know, okay? And be more careful about cursed treasure next time! Always have an orb of identification with you or something. That's just good dungeon delving precaution," Zee admonishes them as she heads back behind the bar with the fox-mask in hand.

So!

"Sorry about the interruption," she apologizes, waving the mask in her hand around. "This jerk keeps showing up in the tavern making trouble. Some kind of spirit that uses a mask to possess people? Or something? I'm not totally sure. She had some of her goons kidnap one of the other Junes and put a maid outfit on them for some reason?"

Zee wasn't ever totally clear on what the thinking behind that was.

Foxmask doesn't appear to have anything approaching 'normal' thought processes.

"Anyway, I should probably get rid of this thing since it's dangerous," Zee explains as heads into the office to feed the mask through the paper shredder.

There are some really loud and really awful grinding sounds that follow.

Someone might want to tell Zee that you shouldn't put masks through a paper shredder. Though given that the 'paper shredder' is a more of a 'rock crusher' that's less of a problem.

Why does Trog's even have a rock crusher in the office?

Anyway...

"How were the gyros?"

Meanwhile!

Zee always seems to be taking in strays.

Can't help it.

Just has to mom for these poor people.

"We don't always get what we want," Zee confides in Selekhael, her tone a little sad. "We have to work with what life gives us."


[Dungeons of Doom]

Well.

That was exciting.

Fenris is still breathing hard. And still fuzzy. Extended fights always take some time for her to calm down afterwards. When the Beast gets worked up into a frenzy it can be hard to relax again. But she's been doing this for a very long time. Fenris has learned how to keep herself (mostly) under control. She had to. Otherwise she would have harmed people important to herself.

"Are you able to speak?" she asks, her voice slightly garbled by her possession of a muzzle and oodles of sharp teeth. She knows that some people can't talk at all in beast form. Others can. She's never found any real rhyme or reason to it. Though she DOES know that when she was a child it took quite some time to figure it out. The structure of her throat and mouth as a beast is just so different that making the right sounds (or a close approximation) took some practice. Maybe it's just a matter of spending enough time as a beast to learn without losing one's self?

Also?

There's one of those large unlocked fancy wooden chests nearby.

Just like there are at the end of ALL dungeons.

Because of course there is.