Trouble at Home IC

[Prize Inside]

Rico is oddly relieved, though the faces may not be friendly. At least there is SOMEONE in this empty town. He stands up striaght. "Who are you? What are you doing here?" The gnoll asks, perhaps a bit too sternly, still on edge.

[Gorgondantess]

The elf with the sword glares at you, incredulously. "Who am I? Who am I? Who the **** are you!?"

[Jjkaybomb]

Katz squeals at the sound, and frantically speeds towards the stairs. That sound... a fight?! He wasnt just supposed to stay up here while Rico...! Wait here, wait here?! He teeters on the top step, straining his ears for more signs of a conflict. Depending on what he hears... I'm sure the voices dont sound anything remotely like fishmen, but...

He brings out his gun and grips it tightly, shaking a little with nerves. If he hears any more signs of conflict, like shouts, blows, metal on metal, he's going to run down the stairs.

[Prize Inside]

Rico narrows his eyes. Who is he?! "Rico... and I'm here on official business." He almost growls, surpriseing even himself. He can't say Minerson... not anymore... maybe he should take a new last name. This is his job now, and dammit, why should he have to explain himself. Who is this man?!

[Gorgondantess]

The elf is incredulous, and pissed. Really, really pissed. "Official business? You barge into my home, demand to know what I'm doing here when I have more right to be here than you yourself, and you have the gall to claim you are on official business? There is nothign official in the next thousand miles, you fool, just whoever can manage to stay alive. Now give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you." He is really pissed, every word filled with so much acid that it almost burns to hear it.

Spoiler

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FYI: you do not have the PC glow. You enter someone's home without permission, they grab their gun. Or sword, as the case may be.

[Prize Inside]

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Oh, I don't beleive in a PC glow so no problem there, but Rico still is tied to Home... that's all he knows. This whole world is new to him, and he's gonna have to learn that the hard way. XD

Oh ****, Oh ****, Oh ****, Oh ****. Rico is agape at the reaction. "You... you live here?" He asks, with all assurity and confidance gone. That changes everything...

[Gorgondantess]

"No **** I live here! You do not, however, official business or no; now tell me; what are you doing here? And I believe I asked you why I shouldn't kill you."

[Prize Inside]

Rico sits on the stairs, overwhelmed, and slightly exausted. Hopefully, he'll seem less of a threat that way. "We're here becouse we thought this building was abandoned. All the other houses seem to be. If we missed a sign somewhere...." Everything is so clearly marked back Home... But for this man to live in such a landmark building, he obviously must be an important figure, someone in charge. "We apologize for our intrusion." he finishes, in a differanciel tone.

[Jjkaybomb]

Before you post again

Can Katz hear anything? He strains his ears, trying to make out the conversation. No fighting...

[Gorgondantess]

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Yes, Katz can hear most of the conversation.

The elf looks Rico over, still annoyed. Then he sighs in resignation, and slides his blade into its sheathe. He then walks over to Rico, and extends a hand. "Come then. My name is Brand, and this is my paramour, Sael. We live here, with the rest of our group; at any given time, however, there will only be a few in the building itself. We generally are either gathering resources, or hunting Jaff." After pulling Rico up, he continues up the stairs, Sael following a bit behind. He peers down the side of the steps suspiciously. "You... wouldn't happen to have encountered one of them on the way here, would you? They're large, bipedal sea monsters; descendants from an evil being- not a god, but close enough- from a distant plane. Despite their monstrosity, they are cunning, and more brilliant than you or I; no doubt if you were to meet one, it would either attampt to bargain and guile you, or kill you. If you had, I should think the only way you could be here is if you were under its sway- but you do not seem to be the crafty type, so I will trust you. Now, tell me; why are you here? Searching for food, shelter, sanctuary? We can offer you that, and more." He continues up the stairs.

[Prize Inside]

It all rolls over Rico so quickly. "...Jaff?" He hears the descriptions... "Oh, the clawfish! Yes... we... killed one." He says, almost embaressedly. He's remembers he's still covered in its horrible blood. "But not before it killed two of us. My team is still injured from the fight..." Katz... he's still upstairs. Rico looks in that direction, before turning back to the man, taking his outstreched hand. What is going on here? He thinks, following the man up the stairs, making sure to follow behind. "As I said we are here on offical buissness." How much is he allowed to say? The man deserves some explination. "For that, we needed a better view, and this lightout is the tallest structure around."

[Jjkaybomb]

Katz, hearing that the conversation seems to be going well, puts away his gun and hurries down the stairs to join the group.

I-I didnt know there was more people here! Sorry for breaking and entering! Katz will stammer as he gets to the group, There was one other elf... but like my comrade said, we thought this area was compleatly abandoned!

[Gorgondantess]

"You killed one, you say, but two of you died? Hmmm... that is to be expected." He unlocks the door at the top with a strange looking key and some foreign words, opening it. Inside there is large, round room, with stacks of bags and several bunks. A fire pit sits in the middle, with a chimney above. Several doors lead into other rooms. He walks into the closes one to the left, and going inside there is a corridor leading to an unrailed balcony. He looks off in the distance, serarching, and notices the flock of gulls that congregated around the body, still eating. "What a waste, to leave that thing to the gulls." He turns back towards Rico. "You say there were others with you... and that you are on officil business. What is this business? And who were they... more importantly, howeer, who are you?"

[Jjkaybomb]

Well... Katz starts, stepping forward cautiously, I'm Katzenklaiver Luddendaus. Our business here was to map out the area and report on anything we find for Home. you're also here for Home, right? Maybe we're supposed to help you here, or get what you know to bring back...

Of course, these people must also be from Home, what or why else would they be here? Above all though, Katz is just glad to see friendly faces that werent more of the fishmen.

[Gorgondantess]

The man furrows his brow. "Home? You must belong to an impressive house, to speak of it in such a way. This is the only home I know of. However, seeing as you are against the Jaff, I'll not interfere with your business; the balcony here should prove an excellent start for your mapping. And, if you'd like, you can stay here, rest, eat; we are constantly under duress for food, but we need all the help we can get, so help yourselves. I only require one small favor in return."

[Prize Inside]

Rico smiles at the formalities. It isn't Home... they've never even heard of it. That brings a small amount of questions to his mind, but he will save them for another day. "Of course." The gnoll says to elf. These people are offering to help them, and they should be repaid in kind. That's the way it's always been. "Anything we can do."
He also looks off the balcony, eager to see the view.

[Jjkaybomb]

He... he doesnt know about Home? Kayz cannot wrap his mind around the concept. Maybe, maybe he was gone for so long...
But they were good people, they were helping, so... I suppose there wasnt a problem.
Katz nods, frowning a little, Of course, it would only be fair to pay you back in turn for helping us so graciously. What can we do for you?

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It's still morning, right? From just our judgement... like how many hours would yolu say it was since we had that breakfast?

[Gorgondantess]

The elf laughs heartily, a rougish grin on his face. You can tell that he has some kind of ulterior motive in all this. "Now, now, let's not get into the gritty details just this moment; first, food and drink! Sael, fetch some provisions." The girl nods, and glides off into another room. "The girl's a bit shy, but she's a nice one. Lovely singing voice. Now, let's see the view." He walks out onto the balcony. It's about a meter from the lighthouse, and circles around it, unrailed. To the side is a rack of telescopes. He crouches down on the side away from the sea, pointing things out. The area is mostly rotten wooden shells like the one you entered in. He first motions to a square, alabaster structure in the west. "That's the library building. We don't go there anymore. Before, there was all sort of good things to be found; books, magic. There's a rather large underground complex; it would take my entire group years to search the whole place. Recently, the Jaff have taken it up as their home. It's large enough and they're few enough that one could enter and not run into any, but it's good not to take any chances. And here is the docks- or at least the remaining ones." To the north, along the beach, you see a large stone pier, with a decent sized stone building. "The Jaff have no interest in the place, aside from attacking us, but we find it useful; it's where we keep our fishing boats, and it's easily defensible for a small group of men. Now, off in the distance there, is Fort White." He points to the southwest, closer than the rest of the landmarks, a fortress made of driftwood. "We've managed to devise a mobile fortress, through magic and engineering; when needed, the entire thing can be packed up and moved in about a day. It's proved useful on several occasions; very versatile, an outpost wherever we need it. I just came from there myself. Our race is scattered across this area, and we have several outposts like this one- it would take too long to point them all out."
By this time, there is a table set in the main room of the lighthouse, covered in dishes containing packets of unidentifiable meat wrapped in seaweed, a flagon of murky looking water and a small bottle of brown liquid.

[Prize Inside]

Rico pays very close attention to all of this, wishing he could start mapping already. But he should wait until after the meal... that would be polite. Still... "The clawfish... Jaff, you called them? Is that where they come from? The library? Who built all this?" He points to the basalt buildings that occasionally appear (if they can be seen from here) "What are those?" He'll need to label all of these. They sent him to make a map, and make it he shall. THEY shall, he thinks, looking over at Katz. They are a team. He continues to survey the countryside, taking special note of the mobile fortess as well. At length, he'll sigh, and turn to the food. He hopes he does a good job...

Spoiler

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He'll wait for either Katz or the elf to lead the way to the food, and follow

[Jjkaybomb]

Katz watches Sael go, I can play harp guitar if she can sing... a little band going. He taps at it meekly. That would be lots of fun actually, he had never really pplayed with a second person...

Besides that, Katz pays close attention and nods at Rico's questions. That smile... well, of course he'd have an ulterior motive, he's getting something out of this...

Unless they planned to kill himself and Rico as bait... the thought sends a shiver down Katz' spine, but a lot of stuff like this does. He turns back to the food and smiles, shooing his fears away, Thank you very much for all this he goes to take a seat.

[Gorgondantess]

The ekf takes on a distaqnt look in response to Rico's questioning. "The Jaff don't necessarily come from the library. In my opinion, they're summoned from the pits of hell. They just decided to live in the library.
Who built all this... I'm not sure. Our ancestors, I suppose. This place used to be a powerful city, but since the exodus it's just been us and the Jaff. But that's old history; there's probably no more than one or two who still remember those days, other than the Jaff, who are immortal, or close enough. The larger structures were storages, or factories... multipurpose buildings. Nowadays there's a good chance any one will be occupied by some of us, in times of need; they're well blocked off. The better ones are those camps I mentioned, safehouses like this one." He steps over to the table, then uncorks the bottle of brown liquid. It comes out with a pop, and starts smoking. A foul smell enters the room, so acrid it burns to breath. The elf braces himself, then takes a swig, sweating, then grunts. "Ahhh... that's good stuff. Pain to get though." He hands over the bottle to Rico, smiling.
When Katz mentions his music, the elf grins broadly. Sael leans back, blushing slightly. "Excellent! There aren't many good musiians around here; tell me, boy, what songs do you know?"

[Jjkaybomb]

Katz watches the bottle, deeply disturbed. What could be in there?!

But more importantly, they got a lot of information about the area for Home! Maybe Home wanted to see if there was any life left so they could rejoin the fold! Katz grins, these people wouldnt have to suffer on the edge of survival anymore, they would be brought back to the arms of Home!

Ah... not many, to be honest.... he takes out his harp guitar and strums it happily, beautiful notes cheering him up even more. A few of the songs they taught us at Home, a couple that I made myself... He starts to play a simple tune he had taught himself for Home in these past months, smiling. This is what he loved to do, enjoyed. The events today... horrifying, but it was better now. He had his music, it was much better now.

[Prize Inside]

Rico will gladly fill the role of polite guest, taking only what is offered. He frowns a little at the bottle, worried. He sniffs it, and as long as it's not too painful, he'll try his best to take a swig of his own, to be polite. For the most part, he keeps casual conversation, and trys to let Katz shine, himself trying to get a good idea of the lad. After all, they only met yesterday.... was it only yesterday...?

[Gorgondantess]

The liquid in the bottle burns Rico's lungs.... but it doesn't seem all too dangerous. After all, the elf looks fine. Rico takes a swig, seeing the elf's face, grinning broadly, as his vision darkens, blacking out... he wakes a second later, doubled over coughing violently. Drinking that felt like being punched in the gut. Hard. Rico's eyes water, and his vision swims as he manages to regain his composure. "Heheh, you're pretty tough." He turns towards Katz, taking a swig. "I'd offer you some, but from the looks of you it wouldn't take kindly with your belly... most are floored the first time they drink this stuff. Now, let's eat."
The meat is very tough, and has a bizarre flavor, but it is juicy and strangely delicious. The water has an equally bizarre flavor to it, as Brand tels you that there are no lakes or rivers to drink from around here- what you're drinking is unsalted sea water. Throughout the meal, Brand jokes, talks, and is generally jovial. Sael says little to nothing.
Brand leans back, satisfied. "So, tell me... what are the circumstances of your being here? How did you meet the Jaff you killed, and who were these companions it took with it?"

[Jjkaybomb]

Katz tries to keep conversation as best he can. Not sure how well he would, as he is constantly cross comparing to Home. A compleatly different lifestyle... so far away from everything he knows. And they didnt even know what Home was....
Eh, at least he didnt have to drink the wierd stuff in the bottle...

Well, Katz starts, Like we said, we were sent here by Home to scout out and map the area. There wasnt really a... circumstance, apparently stuff like this is our job now. He pauses and collects his thoughts for the next part, The, the Jaff... it flew in. Katz frowns, There was another elf with it, and both of them crashed through the roof where we were. Both the elf and our other comrade from Home, Tarkus, were killed by the Jaff before we could finally make sure it was dead... it faked its death a couple times, tried to persuade us at one point...

[Gorgondantess]

The Brand grows pale and sallow as you tell him of the other elf. "You say there was another elf fighting him? One you... didn't know? And he was killed? Tell me everything."
While he was jolly before, now his face is all seriousness, as he stares intently at you.

[Prize Inside]

His eyes still watered, Rico trys to answer the questions. He looks rather solom himself, his still hard to focus eyes lowered while speaking. "It was my fault, really. All I knew was that two things were fighting, and I tried to stop them both. I was stupid, and did not know what it was. After I failed, the... Jaff... started to attack the elf again. I went to stop it, and together we were able to beat it dead." Did he really help all that much? "The elf thanked me afterwords, and talked about his... his wife..." Rico coughs again. It was his fault the man died. "The clawfish didn't stay dead... it got up, and killed him. So we killed it again. And it got up, again, kidnapping Katz." He nods to the bard. "It told us to lower our weapons, that it was tired of fighting. We shot, and it killed our teammate. So then we killed it, and made sure it would stay dead." Not entirely accurate, maybe, but that's how he remembers it.

[Gorgondantess]

Brand sinks down to the table, a look of despair on his face. He clutches at the skin on his face, as if it were sloughing off. "Tell me... what did this elf look like? Distinguishing marks, clothing, weapons..."

[Jjkaybomb]

U-um.... Katz lowers his gaze and thinks hard. What did he remember?
He remembered the elf's bloody half torn face and his dead corpse splaed out... Katz shivers. No, bad memories... What did he look like?
He um... was in robes... the face? Again the wreaked and torn gouged out mess... he shivers, He also had a cudgel... Katz just did not want to think of the face. He takes a deep breath and tries to remember. He had... he lifts his hands, Some face paint across here... he indicates with his hands about where he remembered seeing the paint. Possubly innaccurate, the horrible sight filling his eyes...

[Gorgondantess]

The elf sinks down, collapsing onto the table, clutching madly at his face. "I... see." He looks up, a mad look in his eyes. "Now. What was the cudgel like?"