[Nexus] Trog's Tavern CCXLVII

[Deathkeeper]

Well, better a were-something that makes you do impressions of cartoon characters than one that tempts you to go ripping people's faces off. I almost want to hear that story, though.
"Well, at the very least you can be sure of that you're a kobold's friend, ok? And please, take one of these, I'm not going to be eating all of them."

[TechnoScrabble]

Garrett smiles and takes a bite out of a roll.
"Can't say I've met many kobolds. You're the first, really."

[Deathkeeper]

Spako shrugs.
"Can't say I'm surprised. We're just not very common around most parts. We seem to not have the stigma like back home, though. Apparently over at the mall some of my kin have a whole little restaurant. No clue if it's good, I'm just proud it exists."

[TechnoScrabble]

"I know all about dealing with racial stigma, friend. You ever get any for being half dragon, or is it all for the kobold half?"

[Deathkeeper]

"Well, it doesn't really work that way. I'm all kobold. But I get what you mean, and no, no one ever really comments on the wings." he says.

[TechnoScrabble]

"Ah. Do forgive me, I am not educa'ed in the genetics of kobolds," Garrett says, absentmindedly scratches at the back of his ear.

"...the bare necessities, the simple bare necessities!..."

"What an odd bird."

"What an odd talking weasel!"

[Deathkeeper]

Spako snorts.
"Weasel? Naw. I mean, if you mean me, then 'lizard' is the appropriate animal-based slur. And if you mean him, than 'bear' is still probably better. Because that card did something, it always does, even if it's just abstract.
You should probably name him. I suggest Pothoc."
He says with a sneer. ((it means Stupid))

[TechnoScrabble]

"I was referring to this motherless fre-AWK!"

Garrett grabs the crow by the throat and scowls, his hands and eyes emitting wisps of steam.

"Do not mention my family and so disturb my tranquil, wretched fowl, lest I end thee."

[Deathkeeper]

Spako raises his hands up.
"Garrett, he's just trying to get a rise out of you; he doesn't know what he's saying and shouldn't be throttled for it."

[TechnoScrabble]

Garrett drops the crow and looks absolutely mortified.

"Sorry sorry sorry! That's not who I am! I'm nae a violent person...anymore..."

"Could've fooled me!" the crow gasps and coughs.

[Deathkeeper]

Spako sighs.
"It's ok. No harm done."
He glares at the crow.
"If the Deck made you, you were probably made to last. So if he can kill you once, he can kill you again. Trust me, save yourself the pain and don't start that cycle now."
He 'smiles' at Garrett.
"Besides, I'd hate for you to be stuck with a murder of crows."

[TechnoScrabble]

"I'm not the kind to kill repeatedly for relaxation," Garrett assures, not getting the pun.

[Deathkeeper]

"Just meant that if you were to accidentally do it once and we find out he just comes back it just won't end well. Not if he's going to keep being annoying. It loses a lot of impact when you know they come back, trust me. But don't feel too bad. The Bear sometimes does that to people. Like I said, I don't know what it's done to you. It can represent brute force, untameable power, and actual ursines in equal probability, and its effects when used in a Draw can be just as varied. Just try to keep your cool.

And really, Common isn't my first language and I came up with that one!"

[TechnoScrabble]

"Came up with that what?" Garrett raises an eyebrow.

[Deathkeeper]

"Murder of crows. Murder, meaning both the act of killing and a group of corvids." says Spako flatly.

[TechnoScrabble]

"O-oh," Garrett shrinks in his seat. In his homeland he was a genius, but he lacks modern education.

[Deathkeeper]

Oops. Subject changing time. Don't want to embarass the guy.
"So, um, I just realized that you gave me a nice little reading on your stones but I never gave you a heads-up on what those cards you Drew usually do. Erm, would you like me to, or would you prefer it be a, um, surprise?"

[TechnoScrabble]

"Probably best to know. Maybe you could tell me more about them, too? What this deck is, how it works?" Garrett is all too happy to focus on something else.

[Deathkeeper]

"Well, The Crows usually draws thieves to you (it represents thieves), so since it just created your friend there, you probably didn't own anything of enough monetary value for the card to actually be a drawback, so it made something equally annoying. Then you drew The Courtesan, which also affects your possessions. Again, since you don't have many it just affected the crow, which is why he can talk. Probably made you stuck with him, though. It represents intrigue.
The Trumpet lets you call upon the powers of the heavens every once and a while. It's pretty nice, although the strength of what's called depends slightly on the person. It represents the declaration of power.
(for the record since I didn't know Garrett's heritage it's probably a bit more powerful than I originally described).
The Owl generally lets you get information you need. Usually you have to use that ability. You'll know how when it comes to it, just like The Trumpet. As always, it represents Wisdom.
The Beating...does exactly what the name implies. It actually doesn't make most people take more damage than usual, it just makes them prone to getting hit. Weird. It represents attack from all sides.
The Tangled Briar usually has something to do with plants. Always detrimental. Sometimes it aids your enemies, but that's rare. It's a varied effect lots of times, but unlike other cards it's often consistent. It represents ancient deeds.
The Bear is a weird one. Like I said, it represents Strength, and usually grants it to those who Draw it. There are times where it just makes folks big, brawny and hirsute with a willingness to use that strength. Sometimes it does next to nothing but make the person turn into a bear sometimes. Or all the time. Unless the effect is delayed, it's probably that last one, unless it messed with your head more than you realize. Honestly though, other than the sudden willingness to hit things and the instincts it's really not that bad. For whatever reason werebears are pretty peaceful people. Not someone to mess with, but they didn't get the desire for violence that other 'weres get. But yeah, can't tell just yet unless you feel like your beard's growing in faster or are suddenly having instinctive cravings for raw meat and honey. Heh.
Spako can't help but enjoy making fun of people with body issues sometimes. It comes from over a decade of people making fun of his height.
"The Deck itself is chaotic. That's the best hint I can give, since I can't say where it came from. If you want I could do an actual Harrow reading, which is some basic magic fortune-telling for those who have a deck. In terms of that it's just a really well made version of a regular Harrow. Its magic simply works however it wants. It's not alive, but it sometimes can tell how to affect someone in a way that matters, like how it didn't bother stealing from you. Each card has an alignment, though, which dictates if it helps you or not. Even if you make a really dumb wish with The Winged Serpent, it'll still be a positive effect, since it's a Good card. Get it?"

[TechnoScrabble]

((Maybe it turns into a Thunderbird or a firey hunting falcon at times?))

"I believe I un'erstand...my stones can do similar works when made by someone with greater skill than I."

Garrett peers at the crow, the deck, and his own hands.

"The cards tie into my experiences here rather well. Would you mind if I tries to get a reading off of them while you did got Harrowing?"

[Deathkeeper]

((For most normal people, it summons a Lantern Archon, which I'll assume you know from OOTS or Google. For someone who's sort-of a demigod? Uh, you can make it do whatever you want that keeps with the celestial theme, but it'll likely pack a punch.))
"Well, okay. The thing is that the Deck's function of Drawing is its own claim to fame. Harrowing is different. Let's see what we've got. It starts really simple: ask me a question."

[TechnoScrabble]

((His mom was a minor god and his grandfather was a mephit and he's slowly turning into a demi-god but his progress has been stunted. He doesn't know about the while 'becoming a god' part, though))

Garrett nods and thinks for a moment.

"What should I seek, to clear the path to my tranquil?"

[Deathkeeper]

Spako tilts his head.
"Asking about a goal often points to the cards of Wisdom, while Home relates to the cards of Health, and Honor is Strength. To get a better idea, what is your tranquil to you?"

[TechnoScrabble]

"A tranquil begins as an ideal, a place for your soul to calm itself and cleanse itself. Your 'happy place', I guess. But with proper training, a strong mind can actually clear a place r in the excess space and magicks of the universe and create a physical tranquil, wherein they may seek enlightenment, or a goal. I have made mine, but I must find the path and finish it's creation, and keep my temple and soul, body and mind, clean and strong and free of the anger and doubt and uncontrolled fire that once threatened to burn me down."

Garrett slides a forest engraved pebble towards Spako.

"From the glimpses I've been allowed, I know my tranquil or the path to it has ta'en the shape of a forest. My tranquil is my true home, but it is also my goal."

[Deathkeeper]

Spako nods.
(for the record, Spako is not actually privvy to the OoC knowledge that's been shared with me no matter how accurate his statements sound. Perhaps the Deck does, but I wouldn't do that without permission.)
"You have found the ideal which makes your home, but not that place itself. Hmm."
Spako draws nine cards from the Deck. He lied, by the way. The Deck is different from a normal one in that Spako always gets the cards he wants (unless he Drew) and doesn't have to search through it. He lays nine cards on the table and lets Garrett pick one. Flipping it reveals The Teamster.
"The Teamster is a driving force that keeps someone going. For good or ill, it cannot be ignored. For you, it is your ideal. It is what drives you, and what defines you. Like the orc it depicts, you live in constant effort and toil for the sake of your own betterment."
Spako scoops them up and shuffles again, and this time lays out nine cards in a pattern.
The Marriage The Mountain Man The Mute Hag
The Bear The Trumpet The Twin
The Locksmith The Rakshasa The Waxworks
"The Marriage is first, in half its spot as Law. It's how it started of course. A union. Your birth came from the joining of two different people, perhaps even an unlikely one. As a top row, it signals that this joining perhaps brought forth something new and powerful from these parties. Huh. I think the Deck likes you.
The Mountain Man is force outside of your control. You do not have complete control over your own power, but you must take note that it is capable of great good.
The Mute Hag might not mean much here. In this Good position, it might signal strong loyalty in your future, or perhaps Lucidity.
The Bear. This card just loves you. In your past, you've relied on your own strength, which proved neither wholly good nor bad, but with severe results.
The Trumpet is a declaration of power. Its archon is one who rides into danger at all costs for Righteousness. You hold great power, and it can grant you everything or nothing.
The Twin. There will be a duality in you; an indecisiveness that wavers between very different options. It seems to agree with our trumpeting archon.
The Locksmith gives you the tools you need but not how to use them. You have long sought a strange and powerful thing, but have never been able to open your way to it.
The Rakshasa, sitting upon his slave. It can point to a mental enslavement to a force or idea. Perhaps it is warning you not to obsess over your goal single-mindedly?
The Waxworks is last. The only card here aligned exactly. It is a place of entropy, helplessness, and paralysis. This is what might await you in your future, and so you must avoid it at all costs.

So there it is. The Deck points many cards of Strength and Power at you. The Mute Hag is a positive future of lucidity and understanding. The Waxworks is a future of entropy and stagnation. I believe that both appear in the future is the choice The Twin points to. What do you think? I'm terribly out of practice with this."

[Baeleck]

So, about that big, magic mirror in the corner. You know, that one which leads through to the Temple of Inari and totally hasn't been forgotten about by the majority of the patrons? Yeah, that mirror. Well, something ever so slightly odd is happening to it.

Precisely what is yet to be determined. It's clear that there is some physiological change occurring, but studying it for any more than a moment will likely result in intense nausea and/or a splitting headache. There's something positively wrong about the way it looks.

How curious.

[TechnoScrabble]

((Are the results real even though he lied?))

Garrett leans back in his seat and exhales slowly, nodding seriously.

"It worries me...either way, it seems I will be pulled from the calm vale whilst I walk my path...the power is something I have long struggled with. Th' emotions of an arcanist are...intense. It seems to me that there is a greater obstacle on my path, and that how I choose to clear it it will greatly affect my tranquil."

He tries to ignore the headache inducing mirror, though its hard for an empath to ignore such disturbances.

"Contemplation of shallow pools has led me to still water. I must find something deeper, or disturb the surface...I will have to make a change in the world to make a change in myself..."

He grunts, looking a bit distraught about that conclusion.

[Deathkeeper]

Spoiler

Show

Sorry, what I meant is that in a normal Harrowing, when the Question is asked the 9 cards of the corresponding attribute are pulled out to be the one chosen at the start. Normally this takes a while to get them all, but Spako just pulls them off the top since his Deck is magic. All the other cards were actually randomly rolled, only fudged a little to avoid ones like The Fiend or The Foreign Trader which I wouldn't be able to interpret well in context.
Generally speaking unless I know a lot about the character and am asked to script the results, Harrowings are tricky, since the cards are mostly random (in this case 6 of them came up with really awesome results on the first roll), and therefore it's the ability of the Harrower to give extremely accurate interpretations which is where the magic comes in.
If you're alright with the Deck and the ritual sensing Garrett's nature and thus "giving" Spako that information during the ritual (Spako, for the record, does not know about the mechanics, he just knows there's magic and reads what he draws, unaware that not all those thoughts and statements come from him) then yes, it is a true reading and the Deck has given its "opinion" on Garrett's future. If you don't want his heritage to be obvious to an instrument of a god of chaos, then I suppose it was just a lucky guess.
Forgive me, as I was should have asked before I did the Harrowing. It was late.

Spako's ears droop. He didn't want to trouble his new friend.
He pulls a card from the Deck, The Teamster again.
"Please, take this one. The Teamster might look cruel, but is not an evil card. Keep it with you, and let it bring you luck as well as reminding you of what your purpose is. As for me, what do you think, Sir?"
He was tempted to give him The Bear as a joke, but given his description as part of his past, he decided that it might not go over well despite the comical illustration. When he gets to that last part, Spako pulls another card off the top (it's only a Draw if you say a number). He looks at it with a very content look. He also holds this one out to Garrett. It's his and my favorite card, The Wanderer.
"The Wanderer is my card. As the Deck Keeper, I know this with my soul. We are kindred spirits, this centaur and I, wayward oddities who find wayward oddities. A card for finding true worth in things others leave unnoticed. Please, take this one to, a token of friendship between us. If we get separated and you need me, keep it close at hand, and I'll answer your call."
His expression lightens.
"But no danger of that yet, now is there? We've known each other for too short a time to split up already!"

[TechnoScrabble]

"Indeed friend, it is too short a while for trav'lers to leave each other's light. Your Tranquil is on your road, Spako. You may find it yet, even if ye dinnae realize it," Garrett takes the cards and puts a protection ward over them before sliding them into his jacket pocket. He then thinks for a moment and pulls another stone from his pocket, this one larger than the pebbles and with a smooth hole through the center.

"My tranquil has led me past tree-by-water many times. If'n ye should ever need me, find a tree by a river and call my name. This stone can reveal lost or disguised things if you look through the center, I find one every now and again while hiking."

[Baeleck]

After a few minutes of upsetting fluctuation, the mirror finally stops doing... whatever it was it was doing. Its surface is now a decidedly bright white colour, akin perhaps to a halogen light, though oddly not at all painful to look directly at.

A figure steps out of the whiteness and into the tavern.

Without hesitation, the woman strolls in the direction of the bar. She is smartly dressed, boasting freshly-pressed trousers, a luxuriant red shirt, well shined shoes and a black overcoat. She's of average height, with a svelte build and mostly pale, clear skin, though an astute observer would notice the faded scarring up the left side of her face and neck. A single red clip holds back the fringe of her dark hair.

Trailing behind her at a short distance is a small mechanical drone, hovering obediently at about head height. A single red sensor sits at the centre of an array of curved panels, giving the impression of a flower.

Upon reaching the bar, the woman takes a seat and a brief glance around, the slightest smile forming on her face as she drinks in the familiarity of the place. And speaking of drinks...

'Excuse me, barkeep.' She speaks curtly but politely. 'Could I get a glass of Chimera Cabernet?'