Dancing Fox In XII: Dance If You Want To

[Rebonack]

A young man walks into the Dancing Fox Inn.

This is not unusual.

People do that all the time.

The young man is wearing a nice brown denim jacket and some pretty bog standard blue jeans. Human, certainly. 'Modern' for whatever that means. Displaced, certainly. The young man also looks rather confused. Likely because this isn't exactly where he was expecting to be.

This, likewise, is not unusual.

People wander into Inns and Taverns in the Nexus all the time from unusual places.

Though it is, perhaps, unusual for the person it just happened to.

The young man glances back at the door, a frown tugging at the corners of his eyes. Then his attention sweeps the room. Did he just walk into some sort of cosplay convention? Cosplayers aren't exactly uncommon at the monthly art and music festival in the older part of town, but this many of them in one place? The fact that the inside of this particular building doesn't look all that much like what he saw through the windows really isn't helping matters, either.

"'Dancing Fox Inn'? Could have sworn this was supposed to be the Bayside bar and grill..." he comments to no one in particular before moving toward the counter. "Is there a comic book convention in town that I don't know about?" he asks, gesturing a nearby orc in rather typical barbarian garb. Furs, horned helm, you know the sort. "That makeup is amazing, by the way. Did you use silicone prosthetic?"

The orc grunts a non-committal reply and bites into his leg of lamb.

[Morty]

"I don't know what a comic book convention is, but I'm fairly sure there isn't one," says a short, lanky hobgoblin in a dark grey shirt with a pentagram print. He's got pale, yellow-green skin, unkempt brown hair and short, blunt tusks. He looks fairly nervous, despite where he is.

[Rebonack]

Wow.

The facial expressions on that mask are nothing sort of amazing. It has GOT to be one of those custom made things that requires a scan of a person's face to transfer facial movements to the mask. Not a comic convention, though. Hmm...

"So just some of the usual cosplay for the monthly shindig, then?" the young man muses. "Last time I was down here, I saw someone dressed up as a neon raccoon. But these outfits really blow anything I've ever seen out of the water. These has got to be some full on movie studio quality practical effects."

Because that's what this is.

It's what it HAS to be.

Right?

Just people wearing really impressive costumes.

"Do you mind if I join you?" he asks, gesturing at the... orc wizard?'s table.

[Morty]

"Uh, sure," Batu says. "I've no idea what 'cosplay' is, though." He pauses. He thinks he can guess what happened to the stranger. "I think you may have come to a different place than you'd planned."

[Rebonack]

The young man wrinkles his nose a bit at that reply.

Either this orc wizard is dedicated to staying in character, or something really really weird is going on.

"Soooort of?" the young man replies. "I mean, I was expecting a bar and grill. Which... I guess this place is? Kind of? I was sure I didn't see anyone in costume through the window, though."

Because these have GOT to be costumes.

Really, really impressive costumes.

Especially that... thing... over there that looks like it is made of bones and reddish basalt with little flaming glyphs orbiting it.

...

Okay.

Yeah.

Something weird is going on.

"I'm not hallucinating, am I?" he asks. "Because I bought some brownies from a booth a few blocks back. I'm starting to suspect they put something in them."

[Morty]

"Then I've got good news and bad news," the hobgoblin says. A chance to help someone seems to shake him out of his own doldrums. "The good news is that you're not hallucinating. The bad news is that you ended up very far away from where you intended to go. In another world, by the looks of it."

[Rebonack]

He's kidding.

He's got to be kidding.

Or...

Maybe this is a dream?

That has to be it. A dream. Then that means he just has to blink the right way and he'll wake up! That always works!

So he does.

Two blinks, really fast.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

It sure doesn't feel like a dream... And he isn't waking up. Maybe...

Not costumes. Not dreaming. Probably not hallucinating.

So what does that leave?

"You're serious," he says, more a statement than a question. "I've somehow stumbled down the rabbit hole and now I'm in Wonderland? Is that what you're saying?"

[Morty]

"I don't know what 'rabbit hole' and 'wonderland' mean in this context, but basically, yes," Batu says. "It happens a lot around here."

[Rebonack]

The young man sighs, bowing his head slightly whilst rubbing his temples with his fingers.

"Neat."

Judging by his tone, he doesn't actually think the situation at hand is neat.

"So maybe I was wrong, then. This is a bit more like the twilight zone, not wonderland," he says, giving a slight nervous laugh. Because this is, without question, one of those situations where you need to laugh to avoid completely losing it. Flung to a different world.

Really?

How?

How could something like that ever happen?

"Okay. So, starting over, let me recap. I was at the monthly art show in the old part of town and I walked into a pub," he begins, ticking off one finger. "Now I'm somewhere else. Somewhere that has... orcs? I guess? Is that what you are? And orc wizard or something? Sorry if I'm totally wrong on that, but I haven't the faintest grasp of what's going on right now."

Just play it cool. That's what he'll do. Play it cool and try his hardest to avoid having a complete nervous breakdown. That's a pretty good plan for the time being.

[Morty]

"Well, it's close," Batu says. "I'm not an orc, I'm a hobgoblin. But we're related. And I'm a sorcerer. But 'wizard' and 'sorcerer' are words used to mean the same thing, a lot of the time."

[Rebonack]

Wizard and sorcerer mean the same thing.

Except when they don't.

Typically they don't mean the same thing in table top games. Everyone else seems pretty content to use them interchangeably.

None of that really matters, though.

Because what mister hobgoblin just said implies, "Magic is real?"

That question is asked with more than a little skepticism.

Because why not? Magic isn't real where the young man comes from after all.

"Not slight of hand magic. Magic magic. Are we talking wand-waving fireball slinging Harry Potter magic or changing the weather and making livestock miscarry sort of magic?"

In other words, the magic of folklore or whizzbang fantasy magic.

[5a Violista]

Speaking of people coming into the inn!

A young woman walks into the inn.

It's Kuriko. She hasn't been in here in a while! Not since before going clothes shopping at Mallside, when she gained all those random superpowers and stuff. She's been spending time hanging out with her niece and nephew, saving random villages, and practice using hands.

Oh, right! She also finished her thesis and defended it! She was really busy with that, and that's why she wasn't around.

She actually came here to celebrate. Getting her degree is actually a pretty big thing, right? Doesn't happen every day. (Well, she hasn't got her degree yet, but all she has left is the paperworky stuff.) So there's definitely reason to celebrate. She looks pretty pleased.

[KerfuffleMach2]

Eschelle follows Anchor's gaze, but sees nothing out of the ordinary. "Your senses must be greater than ours in some capacity, little heart. I'm unsure what you mean."

The tall woman half-turns, fishing around on the table with one outstretched hand... ah. She retrieves her pipe and sticks the end in her mouth. "You know, dear hearts, we would make a excellent trio. We ought to go snoop about some ruins or someplace."

"Maybe. It's- something is gone. Fate has changed."
Hey! She's not so- okay, Anchor is little, especially compared to Eschelle. But maybe she doesn't like to hear that.
Instead, she just nods.
"We would! Do you know of any good someplaces? There's this place in the woods I've been meaning to take a closer look at. If it hasn't fallen into the sea yet..."

Darsy grins and nods a bit.

Sounds like a good idea to me. I haven't gone snooping around places in a while. Should be fun.

[Morty]

"I have no idea who Harry Potter is, but that's the long and short of it," Batu says. "There's all sorts of magic. Different kinds. I can demonstrate, if you want."

He waves at Kuriko. If she's been in the Inn before, he may have seen her. And he's nothing if not polite, anyway.

[Rebonack]

"All sorts. So I somehow stumbled into a fantasy crossover inn while seeking fish and chips," the young man says.

He gives a sigh and runs his fingers through his hair before resting his forhead on his palms.

"Great. Sure. Let's see some magic. Hopefully with no mangled Latin."

Magic that requires mangled Latin to function is pretty terrible.

Though probably not quite as bad as magic that smites you with painful boils.

Or turns you into a newt.

When the goblin wizard waves at the... relatively normal looking gal who just walked in the young man (somewhat hesitantly) waves too.

Because acknowledging people is polite.

[5a Violista]

Kuriko sees the two people waving at her. She smiles wider, gives a silent (but friendly) "hi" and waves back. She's a pretty friendly person, after all.

She keeps on walking, though, in search of a proper place to celebrate.

The woman then looks around for a place to sit. Hey! There's one. She finds an empty seat at a table. She pulls the chair out, spins it on one of its legs, then sits on it. Kuriko grabs a menu, then peruses it trying to find the best thing to order.

[Morty]

After exchanging greetings, Batu turns back to the task at hand.

"Here's a spell I prepared for today... in case of bad weather."

He turns to look at his teacup. It's empty, but still warm from the drink it contained. He reaches out with his hand, and speaks a few words. The hand is surrounded in a red haze, and the cup is suddenly covered in frost, which also spreads around it.

[Rebonack]

Spooky words?

Check.

Hands glowing for no reason?

Check.

Apparent violations of the conservation of energy?

Triple check.

The young man reaches out to poke the cup with a finger, likely still trying to decide if this is real or not.

"Is this something anyone can do? Or is it like a wizard vs muggle thing?"

No doubt Batu has no idea what the guy is talking about.

[Morty]

"That's a pretty big question," Batu says. "My kind of magic can be theoretically learned by anyone, but not everyone will have the aptitude. Other kinds of powers are inborn."

[Rebonack]

Can be learned by anyone, huh?

Well.

Time for an even bigger question then.

"Why does it work?" the young man asks. "How does it work? Does crazy fantasy land enjoy making things cold because someone says some funny words?"

See, there are three types of people in the world when it comes to the revelation that magic is real.

The first goes 'SWEET MAGIC IS REAL!'

The second goes 'but how does magic do?'

And the third goes 'BURN THE WITCH'.

Clearly this particular newcomer falls into the second category.

[Morty]

"This is another question with a complicated answer," Batu says. "This place... the Nexus... doesn't have a singular set of rules. It's more like a convergence of many worlds, rather than a world. My magic has certain characteristics other kinds of magic don't."

[Rebonack]

"That's really confusing," the young man points out.

Mostly because it is.

"Seems like all the clashing rules would create problems."

They would, if not for the Nexus' knack for translating concepts as surely as it translates words.

Speaking of!

"...you aren't speaking English, are you? Because that's what I'm hearing. And the chances of some random person from another world speaking the same language as me are astonishingly small."

He doesn't know what the actual chances are. But given the number of languages spoken on Earth, it stands to reason that there would be even MORE languages... everywhere else.

"Because if you aren't then maybe the clashing rules make more sense than I would have guessed..." he mutters, beginning to put things together here. If his train of thought is right, then that would mean this place somehow FORCES all those wildly divergent things to work together.

Somehow.

[Morty]

"I don't really know how languages work here, except that they just sort of... work," Batu says. "Everyone understands one another. Just like all the different kinds of magic and powers coexist."

[Rebonack]

"Kind of figured," the young man muses. "I wonder if there would be any way to test the limits of it," he ponders aloud before asking another question. "Have you ever run into anyone that you couldn't understand?"

A beat.

"Heh. Here I am already trying to figure out the mysteries of the cosmos without even making introductions yet. I'm Orion."

He offers a hand to shake-

-then frowns at said hand.

Do the people here know about hand shaking?

Would this place translate gestures too?

Why not? Sign language is a language and it's nothing BUT gestures.

[Morty]

Batu shakes his hand without much of a comment.

"I'm Batu, son of Tengal. Formerly of the Blind Crow tribe. And formerly son of Tengal too, I suppose. Pleased to meet you, and glad to be of help."

[5a Violista]

Kuriko overhears someone discussing languages. She immediately listens, because she had a section in her thesis ("Adaption and integration of novel cultures into the Nexus") exactly on this and she had trained herself to pay attention when people talk about this.

So, basically, she has no choice but to interject herself into this conversation even though they're a couple tables away: especially because she didn't hear an immediate answer to his question come. She swivels towards them and raises her voice enough to be heard there. "Nearly everyone hears this same Universal language, regardless of what language they claim to speak; however, generally if an individual speaks multiple languages only one of them is "translated". The translated language is, most likely, Common or English or Standard but if one of those isn't known it's instead the dominant regional language. Except for elven languages; those are almost never translated. Dvorsky et al. hypothesized that it's because of the perception of..." She trails off and blushes. Oh, right. Random people don't care about sources and hypotheses.

She mentions that bit about elven languages because I can't recall elven or drow ever being translated. Elves always speak Common as well, and they only speak elven or drow among each other, with nobody else ever understanding.

"...I-I mean, sorry for interjecting." Kuriko turns back and covers her face, sorry for embarrassing herself. She should just wait for her food to arrive. She prays it comes quickly, so she can stop thinking everyone's looking at her for speaking across tables about nerdy stuff.

[Rebonack]

"Nice to meet you, Batu," Orion replies with his best friend smile.

The narrator, meanwhile, is glad the new PC can be refereed to as something other than 'that guy' now.

And then the nerd speaks up! Orion quirks his head off to the side slightly at her truncated explaination. Huh. So there are elves here, too? That shouldn't be much of a shock considering all the goblins and orcs and stuff. What would be one more fantasy staple added to the batch?

"So elves and orcs and goblins. Are there dragons here, too? Bugbears? Kobolds?" Orion rattles off. "And what were you saying about elven languages? Why wouldn't those be translated?"

Rapid-fire questions are the best. After a few moments of thought and a false start or two, he asks, "Μπορείς να με καταλάβει τώρα?"

That would probably be a 'no'.

Unless either of them can understand somewhat choppy Greek.

In which case it would be a yes!

[Morty]

"No, no, that's actually interesting," Batu says in an encouraging tone. "I don't really know much about languages that don't relate to magic directly. And I don't even know whose language I speak when casting spells." He then tilts his head and his ears flick. "I didn't understand any of that. So that means sometimes words indeed aren't translated."

[5a Violista]

How nice! People are actually showing interest in what she studied. Kuriko raises her head out of her hands and turns on her chair back towards them. Her cheeks are still flush. She opens her mouth to speak, but then realizes that there's other patrons, too. So, instead, she stands herself up and walks over to Batu and Orion so she doesn't have to speak out so loud.

Not being a linguist or being Greek, Kuriko didn't understand. She didn't understand so well that she didn't even know she was supposed to say that she didn't understand. After Batu speaks, she tries to capture the gist of the questions Orion asked. "Yes, there's dragons and bugbears and robots and humans and vampires," she says, trying to list off the more common things that people are generally surprised that exist, "and...fairies, and, er, space marines and ponies and angels." That's the stranger things that exist, right? "Oh, and I met a talking cookie once." Proclaimed itself ruler of the city. Then, about elves. "Regarding elven languages, I think it's because elves generally perceive themselves as distinct and separate from other groups, and so however the language-thing works tries to preserve that feeling."

Obviously she doesn't list off goombas. Because everybody already knows those things exist.

Kuriko then looks at Batu. "I'm not so hot on magical languages; didn't even know you could cast something without understanding it. How does that even work?" You learn something new every day!

[Rebonack]

Huh.

That's certainly something useful to know.

Speaking one's 'natural' language triggers the effect. Except if you don't expect other people to be able to understand your natural language, maybe? Interesting...

And Orion isn't a linguist! His field of study is anthropology, focusing largely on mythology and cultural beliefs. He can read and write in Greek, Hebrew, Latin, Sanskrit, and Arabic fluently. Knows a fair bit from a wide array of dead languages, too. His ability to speak other languages isn't quite as hot, however.

"I just asked if you could understand me still," Orion comments with a small smile. "So that was a 'no' obviously. Which is an interesting tidbit of information. Leads me to wonder what people who are born here grow up speaking..."

Hoo.

That's a question, isn't it?

"Space marines are a species?" he asks a moment after processing all the races mentioned. That doesn't seem like a thing that would be a species to him. More like a job.