Trog's Tavern CLVI

[Chaotic Bob]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Someone wants a backflip? Karaglen used to be able to do those, when she was a wee little silver wyrmling!
It's an interesting challenge that she considers for a few moments, before wiggling her butt and leaping-!

Some subconscious anxiety about causing damage must have gotten in the way, because this is not a normal backflip. As her feet leave the ground, her body tesselates again, the seams of hundreds of hands separately out, clambering over each other in a moving torrent through the air.
It is less a flip and more an unsettling mass of writhing fingers clambering through the air in stark defiance of natural sense and order.

Ultimately, it does still loop through the air and resettle into her original Shalomel shape though.
Ta da?

"My first time? Umm, first time on purpose...the real first time just sort of happened after a couple other bad things happened."
She didn't really spring into things on purpose, the tinder she was wrapped around just sort of ignited everything by default.
Kara still isn't entirely sure how she should be feeling about the specifics of that.

But there's no time to dwell on that right now!
""Thanks, Mom. I don't know how much I can do this in buildings, if I'm worried about breaking stuff all the time though, even if it's easier?"
Sure, she'll probably resolve smoother and quicker, each time. But she's still a bit outside the standard proportions of most buildings, being designed for humanoids.

...how big is she right now, anyway? Bigger than the barghest body was, and it was already a decent sized horse in height.
It's hard to say. If she stretches out, she would definitely tower over most of the people in here...

[Deathkeeper]

Five Man Band

"I'm not doubting his judgement!" G'nichi insists.
"I just want to ensure that I honor my station properly. And that's why I have been careful about how I approach it. Considering yourself incapable of mistakes is arrogance. And liable to get you killed."
Which he would know since he doesn't and still almost got killed multiple times!

[Rebonack]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

The halfling stares on in astonishment.

He's still staring when Kara reassembles herself.

Then he sits down, resting his head on his- no. He's looking at this hands. Flexing his fingers.

These hands...

He's done so much with these hands. He's saved lives. Felled tyrants. By why? Why do these hands work? For his own glory and fame? His own entertainment? He's worked for good, but were his reasons Good? He can do better than this. He resolves in his heart, when things quiet down, to give Karaglen a hug and to thank her for showing him something important tonight.

Anywho!

"Don't worry about it too much, Kara, you can do whatever you like," Zee reassures her. "If you feel a little self-conscious you can get all cozied up again. The origami process is good for you to practice, anyway. And unfortunately Miss Ambrosia didn't get a very good look at me since I'm inconveniently large."

Just absolutely stupidly big.

"So that means you got the chance to show off for her! And it was a good show, right?" she asks around the tavern.

Some people were vaugely fascinated.
Some thought it was quite entertaining.
Some found it a bit weird.
And there are a few wet eyes in the room suggesting that seeing Kara at all was inspiring.

Just by being herself openly Karaglen has touched a few hearts. What have they done to make a more peaceful world like this weird little bartender's daughter has?


[Five Man Band]

A few seconds of silence follow after G'Nichi's defense.

"A suit of armor ain't a rabid rockamander, lad. It ain't going to bite ya head off," Balin points out.

Being cautious about jumping into a perilous situation?

That's prudence.

Agonizing for months over a suit of armor?

Not so much.

[Shadowcaller]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Ambrosia frowns with distaste at the 'do a backflip' request. Kara had actually taken that seriously? Well, whoever had requested it should now feel ashamed of themselves-

And now he was hugging Kara.

Huh.

Hold on, Zee told her that empyreans had an aura which inspired 'devotion' in onlookers. She hadn't felt this by looking at Kara but it was possible that she was resistant to it the same was she was resistant to the influence of yokai. Wouldn't be very good at hunting them down otherwise if she succumbed to their influence all the time.

She looks around. People certainly seemed taken, inspired even, but it was impossible to tell if it was actually supernatural in nature. That hug was a little much though so something seemed to be going on.
"I see, so when it happened before did people react like this?" The scholar then turns to the person who seemed to know. "Zee, could you weight in on what she just did?"

[Chaotic Bob]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Karaglen doesn't immediately notice the effect she has had on the room, proceeding to instead look a bit embarrassed as her Mom asks the room if it was a good show.
Instead, she opts for the escape route she was offered and focuses. Focuses on disassembling once more, and pushing herself [somewhere else].

This doesn't take as long as the unbinding does, as she has both done this one already (twice!) and reality seems much more readily accepting of Just Another Elf.
So, after a short period of time, said elf is once more pushed out of [somewhere else], fails to fall over this time, and quickly scurries back over to her seat.

As Ambrosia makes her inquiry about "what she just did", Kara peeks around the room a little bit more. Most of the responses are about what she expected.
It's the watery, vaguely starstruck ones that are...not.
"...are they okay?"

[Rebonack]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

"It's not what you're thinking," Zee says to Ambrosia quickly. "Not even close. Karaglen just offered a little bit of inspiration to people who were already open and looking for it."

And inspiration is good, right?

"When you see a hero doing something heroic, you're inspired. It gives that little nudge. Do better. Empyreans, we're pretty inspiring by default. Even little ones like Kara. There were some people in here who already had the subject of peace on their hearts. Maybe they were trying to deny it. Maybe they were trying not to think about it. But seeing peace so personified? That tends to open eyes."

Zee looks out over the room.

That star-struck look is gone, for the most part. Those that had it, some are looking contemplative. Or they're talking with their friends about a flash of insight they just had. Or they're just laughing it up and shaking off the call like nothing happened. This doesn't look like the inexorable call to devotion that Zee had described to Ambrosia before. This is something far less intrusive.

Karaglen is given a kind smile.

"You just gave a few people some things to think about," Zee reassures her. "People who were already thinking about being peaceful, better people. Just by being you, you can be that little nudge inspiring someone to take a Good route in their life. That's how all people who do Good work though, right? But you just have a little more weight to your inspiration, now."

[Shadowcaller]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

The speed in which Zee clarified that suggested just what she had suspected...

"You are a lot of the yokai of my own world." Ambrosia remarks once she had heard Zee's explanation. "In fact, even the terminology is similar. While I'm no warlock myself, people who specialize in dealing with yokai, I know that they use a scale from inspiration to ridden which indicates how strongly a yokai influences a person. So this must be on the low end of the scale. Meaning it's pretty harmless." She looks to Kara. "So as your mother said, you shouldn't worry, Kara."

[Zefir]

Spoiler

Show

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]



Oh look, Zefir's available for talking again, which means Karaglen can buy herself some time to think about that whole transformation thing!

At the moment, she lacks any notable means of magic detection, so she is unable to appreciate being in the presence of another magical-void-person. She would find it interesting if she could, though.
"Hmm, I don't think there's any good reasons to ever hate anyone on sight, so that doesn't seem very fair of them. Maybe if you can figure out what is bothering them, you can find a way to more consistently make friends with them!"
And then he goes and starts talking about how easy to identify dragons are, which brings her back to thinking about how she walked herself right into a corner on that front with Ambrosia.

A corner that her Mom has neatly cleaned in a deep act of treachery.

Really, she has absolutely no one to blame but herself. She volunteered the possibility.
She was hoping that it would just get brushed past and maybe just become a "demonstration in an empty field without other onlookers, later" sort of thing.
It's all okay, a much more experienced empyrean is on hand in case you somehow mess everything up.

Because, importantly, you've never done this on purpose before.

Karaglen nervously pushes another piece of bamhacon into her mouth, or would, but only just now notices in her (slightl) anxiety she has consumed everything else on her plate. Not even this is an escape from her self-made trap.

Urgh. FINE.
A nervous smile later and she trundles off towards that music stage her Mother has cleared off of any breakables.
"Okay, to be completely honest, I've never actually changed back into my real form on purpose before, so I don't actually know how this is going to look or work? So, um. Sorry ahead of time if nothing happens.
Or something weird happens."

Something weird happens.

Very recent practice in shuffling her body (true and mask) in the "awaywards" direction means that not being able to do this wasn't a real risk. She figured that out quick.
What she immediately forgot about is that she wasn't going to just flop out as a properly formed glassy figure for the polite viewing of all and sundry. Because reality doesn't like this process very much.

Instead, peace descends.
The unsubtle feeling of hands reaching out to support those in need, clasping together in solidarity, in delighted cooperation to build more, build better, build right. More and more, reaching out to each other in growing union and resolve.
The vague feeling of memory, the unconditional love of a dog running through a field with its best friends, playing and working for the sheer joy of the act.
An impression of scales, strong and secure, coiling around a fragile treasure; of wings aloft, an umbrella from the indifference of the weather and sky and world above.
Shimmering glimpses in the periphery, of walls of glass stretching into eternity, a world of walls and floor and structure, but transparent and visible to all who care to look.

Somewhere, deep within, like the shadow puppet of invisible fingers before a non-existent lamp, concepts slowly, so slowly, greet and join and synchronize into a single shape.

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Ah hah!

Zee gives the plate of breakfast(?) a little nudge in front of Zefir, forcing reality to acknowledge that it exists again. "Let me know if you need anything else, okay Zefir?"

Then it was just a matter of scooting around some things on the the tavern's stage and vola!

All ready!

Plenty of room there.

Are those paladins over there watching? Or did they come in the next day well after all this nonsense has been completed? Who knows! No one has interested with them yet.

Regardless of the temporarily ill defined nature of the holy warriors Zee gives Kara a thumbs up. You can do it, kiddo!

And she does it! A pretty good job, too! As is usually the case the universe has no idea what to make of Karaglen. A few patrons look slightly startled, but regulars remember Selekhael doing something very similar in the past. This is just more of the same, right? A reminder of the fact that Trog's Tavern is under the watchful eye of celestials that aren't going to stand idly by if the PEACE of this community ground is desecrated.

At least one newcomer gasps, covering her mouth with her hands as tears well up in her eyes, utterly overwhelmed by emotions that flood her. Emotions that are soothed to PEACE by Shalomel's presence. "Gods above... she's beautiful..." And awesome. And terrible. And... handy.

But for the most part the people in the tavern seem to be pretty okay with Karaglen's little display? Probably because the regulars at Trog's tavern are also regular partakers in the oddest things the Nexus has to offer. If they weren't then why would they be HERE as opposed to at any of the other bars around Inside?

Zee, meanwhile, gives a little whoop from behind the counter. "You're doing great Kara! Give us a little spin! Getting viewed from different angles helps you settle faster." comes some helpful motherly advice.




[Five Man Band]

The yeth hounds are, currently, exploring the neighborhood near G'Nichi's home. It just so happens that they tend to be... diminished... by too much direct sunlight. This is true of many of the more undead-like faeries. Reduced to little more than insubstantial, invisible spirits. Thankfully this means it will be WAY more difficult for them to get into trouble. Just drifting around checking things out. Surely it will all be fine.

Anywho!

Paladin stuff.

Zee is flagged over with a round of drinks! Not all the same drink, either. Quite different ones in fact! It seems these folks come in regularly enough that Zee is familiar with their preferences. "Well if it isn't the triumphant return of the Holy Rollers! How did the Maw of Nolinac go?"

"Terrible," Circe replies instantly, her smirk suggesting otherwise.
"It wasn't that bad. I enjoyed myself," Onglor disagrees.
"Aye, we got what we were after but there was a mite too much runnin' for me likin'," Balin adds.
"A good three day's expedition, for sure," Aaron says.

And the half dragon?

His keen eye catches G'Nichi's amulet. "Ah! Another devotee of the Lord of Dragons. I don't believe I've seen you around any of the temples before. Are you new to Inside?"

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Since Kara had given her permission to take notes Ambrosia hoped that included making sketches as well since this couldn't really be captured in words. The closest comparison she could think of were ironically the yokai as the most powerful among them could project complex feelings onto others like this.

It was tempting to think of Empyreans were the closest thing to yokai considering that they both seemed to have an antagonistic relationship to the fey too, but that'd would be misleading as dimensions rarely had exact equivalents in others.

She looks away for a moment to throw a glance at Zee to get an idea of her reaction. Since as Kara had just said it might get weird. Now she wasn't sure if this actually was weird or if this was exactly what was supposed to happen but she had a feeling it was the former. "...Kara, are you alright?" She inquires while trying to capture her form on paper. She'd take a photo but sometimes things reacted poorly to those. Not to mention that she didn't have anything to take it with for that reason.

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Zefir did wonder why she went to the stage now. Is she going to perform it? Like dance what she is or something like that. Soon he finds the meal in front of him draggin his attention so he takes a fork and picks up a bite, but befor he can do it he stops. Someone is forcing feelings around? That isn't to Zefirs liking, independent of the general goal. He immediatly cramps and let's the fork drop back to his plate. From afar he doesn't look different to the people amazed by the show they just witness, but a closer look might show that he is actually struggling. His body and mind tryy to supress the aura and on the terms of it be a general wave it works, but then his intuiten takes place and he has to supress the will to kill the source. His movements will be slow, but most people are occupied so he doesn't seem to be noticed. When all turned back he just silently continues the meal, but Karaglen might get an angry look from him.

[Chaotic Bob]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

But Kara does worry, just a little.
She didn't really do anything worth inspiration and also that Zefir guy is giving her a sort of foul look now.

"More weight to her inspiration" seems a little... Suspect.
"If my path is this good, peaceful one and it encourages people to lean towards it without any effort at all..."
It was a little bit of effort. She had to try a bit in that transformation and that weird handy flip.
"What happens with a less good path? What if the empyrean tries?"

[Rebonack]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Kara gets an anti-worry hug from Zee.

Just a little.

"There are other Paths that... aren't so nice, yeah. Most empyreans will at least try to act benevolent, but some of them don't have very good intentions. And some of them don't even act. They can push people to do things that aren't kind. But that sort of thing is evil. Even someone like you or me who has a good Path should never force it on people. Inspiration is fine. It only finds soil in fertile hearts who are looking for it. Someone who is looking for peace. Someone who is looking to strengthen others. The sort of people who just need a little nudge to do what they already really wanted to do to begin with."

She tries flashing an apologetic smile at Zefir.

"But I think some people might pick up on the encouragement even if they aren't interested. In that case it's like a seed cast by the wayside with no soil for it to take root in, and the birds swoop down and-"

She sharply taps a fingers against the counter.

"Peck! Gobble it up. No more seed. But if it's a bigger empyrean like me and they're trying to force their Path on someone it's much stronger. And... much more compelling. There's a group of people here in the Nexus who have the job of making sure empyreans aren't doing evil things like that. But it doesn't happen very much. Everyone knows that kind of thing will get the Watchers to declare a Crusade on your butt if they find out you're doing it on purpose. Some of them don't even care if it was on purpose or not. Eat a village and POW it's nap-time."

[Zefir]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Zefir doesn't get that apologetic smile from zee, mostly because he didn't get it. He was to focused on the other one that he nearly forgot Zee is her mother and Zee as an empyrean, as far as he understands it, is the mother of the one who went on stage.

"I think none will just let you eat a village and not try to hunt you down. Those evil empyrean sound like you can find them close to people of high position. Just because they can fokus on one person and have a lot of people under him to do bad stuff." Zefir replies. He hasn't heared of those crusaders. It seems to be a very specialized group. which he assumes is needed if you think about it. After all they need to be able to stop Zee, just in case, and that will require a lot.

[Shadowcaller]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Well, she was getting a lot more information here than she had asked for. So much so that she let's go of her feather pen and it continues writing on its own as while a lot of questions had been answered for her there was still more.

"It is still considered a crime if you accidentally kill someone, Zee." The scholar feels like she has to point out as she doesn't feel that "I did it accidentally" should even be an excuse. Especially if it was an entire village. Of course, how would you even punish an empyrean other than putting them to sleep? Seems like a rather complex problem that she was glad she wouldn't have to deal with.

So she dismisses that thought and glances at the next thing that had caught her attention, Zefir.
This random patron seemed quite invested in all of this, but it was probably not due to Kara's inspiring presence as he appeared to feel the stark opposite of peace right now. A hunter of some kind perhaps? He seemed to have latched onto the same notion as she had at least. Something she was quite proud of as it showed that she had learned to have a mortal perspective on these things.

But this patrons attention was something Zee clearly didn't mind considering how openly she was discussing all this. She might not be admitting to anything but people hearing that beings like her could accidentally eat an entire village? Probably not the most reassuring thing you could tell your patrons. Especially as there were apparently people who specialized in hunting down her kind.
Her conclusion was that most people in here already knew about all this. Zee, and by extension Kara, was just their giant friendly protectors that could accidentally kill people if they weren't careful enough.

"But are there a lot of empyreans in the nexus then?" Ambrosia asks as she looks back to Zee and Kara. "Since I did happen to encounter your other daughter, and Kara's sibling, Lapis in VIGIL and I heard she was far from your only one."

[Chaotic Bob]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Kara doesn't really know what to think of Zefir's evil puppetmaster thought on bad empyreans (other than: "I hope not..."), but her Mom pointing out that he probably noticed the unintentional "encouragement" and that's why he's upset at least gives her something to work with on that front.
"Sorry I bothered you a minute ago, sir. I promise it wasn't on purpose."
One should always apologize for one's mistakes.

The rest of the explanation makes her little bit of influence seem more or less okay in her eyes, but evidently she's going to have to be careful with it as she grows.
For her own sense of ethics and apparently the ethics of these Watchers.
"I don't know if I've heard of any Watchers around here, are they secret? I do know there are other empyreans. Though, I guess I've only been talking to one other one, than Mom or Lapis."

[Rebonack]

Zee looks at least slightly offended that 'eating a village' is being equated with murder but that was probably just poor word choice on her part. What eating someone means to her and what it means to Zefir or even Ambrosia are probably very different things.

"Okay 'eating' is probably a poor word choice. That means something way different to empyreans compared to humans. It isn't killing a whole village accidentally. It's convince a whole village to take up a new religion accidentally."

Hopefully that clears things up at least a little?

"I've never actually heard of an empyrean doing the evil chancellor thing, actually?" she says, looking thoughtful. "I think that kind of... subservient, I guess? position would probably feel really off putting. I mean, I don't mind being here at Trog's and doing the bar maid dealy but I am kind of a weirdo."

That's true.

Zee is definitely a weirdo.

"I actually had the Watchers ward the tavern, recently. Mostly to stop anything more severe than some light inspiration from getting thrown around. Just in case there's a whoops. Like someone successfully decapitating me. Way safer for everyone."

Is it weird that Zee doesn't sound very concerned about being beheaded?

"The Watchers are religious folks that mostly stick to themselves. By and large they're good people. Some are even nice people! Just not typically nice to people like me, for pretty reasonable reasons."

That's a pretty solid explanation.

"There are... I'm not sure how many of us are here, honestly. Maybe a few dozen in total that are active and awake? Most are Karaglen's size."

Kara's size being 'very dangerous but not apocalyptic'.

Speaking of Kara, she gets a playful hair ruffle.

"They aren't a secret, they just mostly stick to their own business. They usually only get involved when fae or an empyrean are doing something really bad really openly so it gets noticed. Like going around indoctrinating villages or a bunch of pixies stealing a whole neighborhood's happiness."

[Shadowcaller]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Rulers.

As their names suggested, the empyreans were rulers. That's what Ambrosia was getting out of Zee's clarification.

Rulers, a lot like her own kind. Or at least what her kind were supposed to be.

Yet here Zee was pretending to be a barmaid. Actually, she wasn't really pretending. She was a barmaid. Just like she said.
Ambrosia wasn't sure what to make of that other that she probably was considered pretty odd for an empyrean. But why?

People didn't stand out that much from their other kind unless there was a reason for it. So what had Zee experienced that other empyrean's hadn't?
"So aside from your own family, how do you usually interact with other Empyreans? Since as you said, you must be considered unusual by them. Do they understand why you wish to treat other beings more as equals? Since I believe you said some of them don't even believe anything but themselves exist." Did that include the fey too? What about other extraplanar beings?

[Chaotic Bob]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Kara is at least somewhat aware of the answer to Ambrosia's question, but since she heard it from her Mom in the first place, she'll just let her answer it rather than do some unnecessary hearsay that she herself has not experienced. Yet.

This lets her ponder the Watchers a bit more, instead.
"So...probably not going to show up for hidden things like goblins stealing away a family's children."
This is unfortunate, as it would have presented another possible solution to the problem of Maph'tey's weird game.

Though this does remind her of something somewhat peculiar.
"What about when those little guys with the weird guns drop into an area and start causing mayhem all over the place?
She doesn't remember what they're called, but she's referring to the instances of putti dropping into town trying to "gear and level grind".

[Zefir]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

"That kind of thing does sound as worst as eating them. For me it sounds like total mind control and they don't even know it. Oka maybe thats overdoing it, but you can guess my point here." Zefir says. And he just silently nods to Kara for her appologize.

"That does rise the question for me. How can I know an empyreans is nearby using his 'influence' on me or others. If I understand you correctly people won't really feel a difference just more like an inner motivation to follow."

[Rebonack]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Rulers.

Usually someone with 'The Mighty' as part of their name isn't someone who flips burgers or gets yelled at by shoppers who are mad that the product they were looking for got moved two pegs to the right.

Yes, rulers.

Saints, princes, prophets, even in some cases gods.

Entities that by their very nature assume dominion.

And what does Zee-

Oh.

Huh.

That's...

Actually clever, isn't it?

Zee has dominion over Torg's Tavern. This is her domain. She encourages people. Strengthens them. Befriends them. Helps them. Sends them off on quests to save the weak and occasionally destroy her competitors. She binds people together. All aspects of her Path, she propagates through the pub and inn at the center of the Nexus. She doesn't need to be Queen of Inside to reach all over the Nexus with her touch. She never has. That isn't how her Path works.

The perfectly normal human barmaid smiles kindly. "There are more that agree with me than there used to be. I'm mighty, my Path works, so there must be something to it, right? I'm the biggest of my kind in the Nexus who's awake and active by a longshot. So the others know they had better play nice."

She smiles that nice, friendly smile.

"The others apart from my family don't usually come in here. They have their own goals that they're seeing to. Most of them keep themselves busy with things that are helpful or at least innocuous."

As for Kara, she's given a sad look. "Yeah. That's... it really isn't something they can help much with. The dreamlands are dangerous for them, too. They do what they can to try to keep the fae from getting into the world to begin with. Which is a LOT of work, as I understand it. Like pulling weeds."

At the mention of the little guys with weird guns Zee pulls a face that's a pretty nice mix of disgust and anger. "The putti? Ugh... Yeah, they help with those how they can. That's mostly being in the right place at the right time. The arenas usually start and end so quickly that it's difficult to react to them. That's... probably intentional? I think?"

It sounds like Zee really isn't a huge fan of the putti.

That probably shouldn't be too much of a shock since they seem pretty okay with murdering people for drops.

As for Zefir, Zee gives a nod. "Yeah, I understand. It's a lot like hunger. Or thirst. Or any other appetite. The body just keeps bugging the mind about the need until they relent. Except instead of hunger for food it's hunger for whatever the empyrean's Path is. The only version of this that's subtle at all are inspirations. Usually that comes from seeing an empyrean like Kara unbound. Or bound and living out their Path. If you want to avoid the heavier effects? Well, if you see a house-sized celestial monster stomping around run the other way."

She wrinkles her nose a bit.

"Honestly I'm still kinda surprised you noticed it at all. Or that the inspiration even landed on you. No offense, Zefir, but you don't seem like the sort of guy who's seeking peace."

[Shadowcaller]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Ambrosia is not from a place where barkeepers are seen as natural quest givers or encourages of people. The last one she met only seemed to communicate in grunts and only when it was time to pay, so it's not the first association she's going to make.

But as Zee had just brought up the subject of fey it was time to close in on the real reason she had come here. Yet she kept getting distracted by the fact that Zefir (as apparently was his name) kept asking them questions too. Was he also a scholar or simply curious? Perhaps he really was a hunter as she had originally thought. His questions certainly seemed antagonistic in nature after all.

She was going to have to have to get Zee away from him before she got into the fey stuff for sure. But at least she could start approach it go get a better idea of Zee's relationship to them first.
Ambrosia looks to Kara and Zee. "So you keep mentioning fey, as in these goblins and this 'dreamland'. I get the impression that you aren't on the best of terms since you both compete over the same resources, meaning people. Can you confirm that?" Zee had already suggested it last time and Karas reaction to mentioning the fey being who had interrupted them last time had already suggested that she felt the same as her mother.

[Zefir]

[Three Dragons Walk Into a Bar And Yes Also A Guy]

Zefir shuckels a bit as Zee ask her question and looks at the others. He does notice that Ambrosia has taken note of him now. The scolar had been strongly focused on Zee and her family so he has no idea what to do about that.

"Back to the not be know part we go?" he says likly to himself befor he looks up at Zee.
"What made you so suprised? Would it miss me if i have no desire for peace? As for your suprise I got a rather simple explanaition. The world I come from has a lot of mages and other casters. To be true, a non caster is rather rare. Those guys hav eveloped abilities simular to yours. Mostly in the mean to protect people, like having a aura of peac be on a public area and stuff. I was tasked to keep people under controll so I had to act in these areas without beeing influenced and likly resist people using it on me. As simple as that."

For sure there is a way more complex fact behind all that, for example that he didn't controll them in the means of a police be there to stop thievery, but you don't tell that in a public tavern to people who are obviously stronger then you or monsters in the sense of non human beeings.

[Deathkeeper]

Five Man Band

Giving him some credit, the day he finally and unquestioningly performed divine magic was the same day he got made tiny again. He was mostly waiting to get big again.
”Yeah. You’re right.” he declares simply, deciding not to belabor the point.
”So uh. Does your gear have any stories?”

[Rebonack]

[Five Man Band]

They were right!

Great!

Which means G'Nichi is definitely going to go talk to Master Ironscale about getting fitted for armor, right?

And G'Nichi ISN'T going to go get involved in some random dungeon crawl while continuing to put off his duties as a paladin, right?

Riiiiiiight?

"Here's your water, G'Nichi," Zee says as she drops off the mug with a weirdly knowing half-smirk. "If you need anything else you let me know, okay?"

Like encouragement to seek his destiny. Zee has got lots of that.

"Nah lad, my gear's story is me own," Balin says. "Make it all meself."
"My shield is a divine fragment of Athena's own Aegis," Circe admits. "Not as potent as the real thing but turning a cocky abomination to stone now and again is always fun to watch."
"Adiabzu got his spear stuck up an aboleth's butt once," Aaron says with a completely straight face, jerking a thumb at his draconic companion.
Said draconic companion glowers.

[Deathkeeper]

Five Man Band

"That's cool." G'nichi says with a grin. He doesn't comment on the embarrassing story because that would probably upset the dragon paladin.
"This fellow doesn't shoot energy or anything, but helped me move faster when I was still a total rookie. Definitely the reason I'm here today."
Rapier deserves some praise he is a very good sword.

[Rebonack]

[Five Man Band]

"It wasn't a butt it was a mucus pore," Adiabzu replies indignantly.
"Course it was, big guy," Aaron replies, slapping his friend on the back.

Balin, on the other hand, seems to consider all this carefully.

Specially what G'Nichi just said.

He wouldn't be alive if not for his magical sword.

"Ach, lad, word oh advice to yah," the dwarf says. "Magic sword is fine and well, but don't come to lean on it too hard. Yer strength is yer oath and faith. Yer strength of resolve. Get yerself a nice, well forged bit oh steel. Learn to use it well. Let yer own magic flow through it until it's magic in its own right, in yer own hands. A tool to uphold yer oath and see yer faith made real upon the world."

He holds up his own war pick, letting G'Nichi look at the weapon. The end of its spike glows, subtly, as if it were just pulled from the forge. If G'Nichi strains he can almost hear the clang of the hammer and the blast of the bellows.

"That way, when the day comes the magic weapon fails yah, you got another weapon you've already swung at a thousand foes instead of an empty hand."

[Meowmai]

"Perhaps this fear of commitment is holding you back," Askeladd suggests. "You don't need to make a choice for life to explore this. And it's something you seem to want to explore. Speak to more artists, see some places that it is safe for you to see and try to create art of them. See how it makes you feel. Speaking to your family about it... I cannot fault you for finding it daunting."

"B-but... I, I mean, of course I'm not planning to commit to it for life, but... if I want to travel, and I m-mean properly travel... t-that does mean committing. I haven't ever really moved away from home b-before..." She paused, wringing her hands and once again swallowing anxiously. ... And what if my family doesn't approve?" She added that last part, speaking even softer than usual.

[Deathkeeper]

Five Man Band

G'nichi nods.
"I've been thinking about it for a while, yeah. I've been considering a blade, as many of my weapons are blades so I've already had experience with those general."
It's true. While he has gotten a few bludgeons and a spear a majority have been at least vaguely sword-shaped.

[Rebonack]

[Five Man Band]

Also a net!

A net with windy powers attached.

That is very unlike a sword.

"A good sword is hard to beat," Aaron says, patting the sword he has as a sidearm. "Have you mostly got experience with arming swords or long swords?"

That's an important question!

He knows a few folks around town that specialize in both.

"Ach, I would love to work on a sword for yeh lad but you can do better. I'm more of an armor meself. That and good study hammers," the dwarf says, patting his war pick. The weapon DOES have a nice hammer head on the back side. Or maybe the front side? Spike on one side hammer on the other. Nice versatile weapon.

[Morty]

"B-but... I, I mean, of course I'm not planning to commit to it for life, but... if I want to travel, and I m-mean properly travel... t-that does mean committing. I haven't ever really moved away from home b-before..." She paused, wringing her hands and once again swallowing anxiously. ... And what if my family doesn't approve?" She added that last part, speaking even softer than usual.

"You're right. It is a commitment and a risk." Askeladd nods. "You should start small, if possible. Trying to embark on something too great will leave you paralysed with indecision. The important thing is to keep moving. As for your family... they will need to understand, eventually. Your have your own dreams and they might not line up with what they expect of you."

[Ironsmith]

[Dragonborn Galore]

"...Strange, isn't it?"

The orc looks up at his khajiit companion as she utters that declaration? "Strange? Hm? How?" He rumbles.

"We are not normally the first to our little gathering." She replies, running a finger under her chin. "The altmer is normally here before either of us, isn't he?"

"Hm." The orc shrugs. "I do not think that is particularly bizarre. He's not coming today. Simple."

The khajiit lets out an irritated snarl and shakes her head. "That itself is bizarre, isn't it? I have never known him to miss the exchanging of stories."

"You worry too much, Azhana." The orc shrugs. "Even when he's here, he's always been a grouch. He probably finally got sick of us and decided to stay holed up in that 'lab' of his."

"...Maybe... maybe you are right." Azhana concedes. "...My apologies. In my line of work, unannounced absences are usually cause for worry."

"Ah, don't get worked up in a knot over it." The orc shrugs and raises a bottle of mead to his lips, taking a massive swig from it. "Moving on. Any word from the others?"

"Tibandros isn't coming today, either. He said he was going to be exploring Thrakeld today. Just couldn't wait for the rest of us."

"Thrakeld? Didn't Gray-Mane already clear that place out?" The orc raises an eyebrow.

"Well... yes and no." Azhana shrugs. "The ruins themselves, yes. But she and the altmer found a gigantic cavern under the city itself. Something of the scale of Blackreach. I don't know about you, but I've been itching to map it out."

"Speak for yourself." The orc grumbles. "If I never have to go underground again, it'll be too soon. Never really been a fan of what you find down there." He scowls. "And not Thrakeld. Never Thrakeld. Vampires, necromancy and automatons, all in one place? What's next, chaurus bears?"

"Do not joke about such things. You might give some daedra an idea."

[Deathkeeper]

[Five Man Band]

Also a net!

A net with windy powers attached.

That is very unlike a sword.

"A good sword is hard to beat," Aaron says, patting the sword he has as a sidearm. "Have you mostly got experience with arming swords or long swords?"

That's an important question!

He knows a few folks around town that specialize in both.

"Ach, I would love to work on a sword for yeh lad but you can do better. I'm more of an armor meself. That and good study hammers," the dwarf says, patting his war pick. The weapon DOES have a nice hammer head on the back side. Or maybe the front side? Spike on one side hammer on the other. Nice versatile weapon.

Five Man Band

"Arming. And maybe even a shield if I could find something portable. If my bracelet supplies a good weapon I don't want to lug around five pounds of steel I'm not using. So something of reasonable size should give me a good compromise of usefulness and portability." G'nichi answers. He's not going to stop using his Arms just because he has a normal weapon. It's just that a normal weapon might help when he gets an odd result.