Trog's Tavern CCLI

[Artemis97]

"No one from my family, I hope. House Xar'Cha isn't the nicest group of people. Hells, even I'm not all that nice when you get down to it." Raril admits with a small chuckle.

"The underdark is a massive series of interconnected caves beneath the earth. There's entire cities, whole civilizations hiding under the surface. It's dark and cruel. There's monsters down there like nothing you'd ever see on the Surface. Resources are scarce. Not much food, very little water. Everything is a competition." He explains.

[5a Violista]

Harley chuckles along; "Probably not: there's got to be an innumerable amount of drow here in the Nexus. Pretty small chances, there."

The woman nods during the explanation to show that she's understanding. Sounds like the kind of place you don't want to be lost in. First, because of the lack of sun so it's harder to find which direction is what. "So you're saying I should bring some extra water." Running low on water and nutrients is always a disaster.

[Artemis97]

Raril nods. "Water, food, survival gear, climbing kit, and a light source, or some way to see in the dark. The latter would be better, actually. Light attracts unwanted attention." He explains.

[5a Violista]

Raril nods. "Water, food, survival gear, climbing kit, and a light source, or some way to see in the dark. The latter would be better, actually. Light attracts unwanted attention." He explains.

Harley mentally makes a checklist of where she can find these things as he lists them off. Water and food, she'll need to buy because she hasn't built up a stockpile of those at AMEN. Maybe she could borrow some stuff from the kitchen, though. Regarding survival gear: she has some scattered around; she'll just need to gather them together and knock the dust off of them. Climbing kit...shouldn't be that hard to find some of the things for sale. She technically could just light something on fire and use that as a light source, but that would be energy-wasteful over long periods of time. Seeing in the dark normally wouldn't be that hard, but it would be a little irritating and annoying. Or...doesn't she have a mask that could give thermal imaging? That would be slightly better.

"I can understand that." Excess light would be not-good.
"So," Harley says, "I don't have any of those things on me right now, but I could easily put them together." Luckily, too! She finally got a cell phone. Doesn't like it and doesn't use it, but it exists now. "Would you like my phone number, or do you have some other better way to meet up after I gather everything?"

[Shadowcaller]

[Just Outside]

Sakura giggles at Adir and holds on tightly to him. "It's great. Just be careful! Not that Cessie'd let you fall." It's like she think she's holding him up, rather than the other way around.

[Floating Away!]

They lift off, and Adir lets out a little squeak as his eyes dart between the street and the sky. Sakura may not be holding him up but he's certainly clinging to her for dear life. His bewilderment is purely animalistic and short lived, yet... he continues clinging. Can't help it. She's so soft and warm. "Y'know, we oughtsta' do something nice for Cessie. She's nice."

[Floating Away!]

Cessie has no comments to the fey's drunkenness. She's just focusing on getting them back to the keep so they can sleep it off.

If nothing else is done it can be assumed they will be dropped off in Mithar Keep.

[Arkhosia]

[Closed Scene(?)]

A crimson-haired woman stalks into the tavern, her hands stuffed into the pockets of her trench coat. taking a seat at the bar, she waves down the bartender. "An Ichor Liquor, please." The tan-skinned woman requests, checking her notepad

[Artemis97]

Raril digs through his pockets and pulls out a sturdy looking cell phone. It wasn't part of his usual gear, but his niece had insisted he get one, and he still had it since it wasn't magical. "If you give me a call when you're finished gathering supplies, I can meet you back here."

The drow's ears twitch when he hears someone at the bar ordering ichor. That almost certainly meant vampire. He didn't trust vampires. Well, one vampire in particular, anyways. Raril glances over at the crimson haired woman, a bit of suspicion in his eyes.

[Arkhosia]

Raril digs through his pockets and pulls out a sturdy looking cell phone. It wasn't part of his usual gear, but his niece had insisted he get one, and he still had it since it wasn't magical. "If you give me a call when you're finished gathering supplies, I can meet you back here."

The drow's ears twitch when he hears someone at the bar ordering ichor. That almost certainly meant vampire. He didn't trust vampires. Well, one vampire in particular, anyways. Raril glances over at the crimson haired woman, a bit of suspicion in his eyes.

Noting the drow's glance, the woman speaks up. "Relax, I don't plan to ambush you in a dark alley." She remarks dryly (puns!) with a grin, revealing a distinct lack of fangs. "Previous thralldom left an annoying predilection for the drink, is all." She puts away her notebook and walks up to him. "I can't help but hear you have a problem that needs fixing."

[5a Violista]

Harley nods, seeing his phone.
"Okay," she says.
She pulls a pen from her purse, as well as something to write on. She writes down her own number, since it's pretty rude to go through other peoples' phones. "Um. Text me your number, then, when you have the chance," she says. She leaves that paper with him and his phone.

She stands up. "I'll go get things, then." She leaves Raril at the mercy of the vampire. "Shouldn't take that long." Just...however long it takes to run to the valcano and back, plus a little more.

[Artemis97]

"Going on a dangerous adventure to bring back the love of my life with no means of tracking down who I need to find and very little in the way of resources." Raril explains. "This kind lady has offered to help me" He nods to Harley, sitting across from him. "But I know I'll need more help."

"Also I apologize for staring at you like that. My brother's a vampire and he's really tainted my view of them. Makes me paranoid."

[Arkhosia]

"Going on a dangerous adventure to bring back the love of my life with no means of tracking down who I need to find and very little in the way of resources." Raril explains. "This kind lady has offered to help me" He nods to Harley, sitting across from him. "But I know I'll need more help."

"Also I apologize for staring at you like that. My brother's a vampire and he's really tainted my view of them. Makes me paranoid."

The woman raises an eyebrow. intrigue clear on her face. "Sounds positively merry... and I might be able to help, actually! Nora Descartes, Private Investigator." She offers a hand.

[Artemis97]

Raril accepts the handshake. "Well met. I'm Raril. So, a PI, you say? I expect you're good at finding people."

[Arkhosia]

Raril accepts the handshake. "Well met. I'm Raril. So, a PI, you say? I expect you're good at finding people."

"Good enough to make a career out of it." Nora responds, taking a seat across from Raril. He may note her emerald-green eyes are, on closer inspection, cybernetic. "...Though I'll admit that's probably not the best evidence that I'm good at my job. This place does seem to gather disappearances like a magpie accrues shiny baubles."

[Artemis97]

"Yeah." Raril agrees, suddenly sober. "Sometimes people disappear here and don't ever come back. Some get trapped in deadtime forever. It's... not a happy thought."

[Arkhosia]

"Yeah." Raril agrees, suddenly sober. "Sometimes people disappear here and don't ever come back. Some get trapped in deadtime forever. It's... not a happy thought."

Nora nods in agreement. "I can imagine. The only thing worse than the loss of someone you care about is not knowing what happened and having the lingering possibility of return." Almost as if to punctuate her statement, the cybernetic detective takes a long sip of her liquor. "I take it you've been here for a long time?"

[Artemis97]

"Ages." The drow agrees. "Though recently I've been a bit out of the loop. What do you need to know?"

[Arkhosia]

"Ages." The drow agrees. "Though recently I've been a bit out of the loop. What do you need to know?"

"Well, any info you have on the person, especially concerning connections, whereabouts and routines - basically any leads. When it comes to tracking someone down, it's certainly not rocket science. Do you want me to track them down myself, or are we going to be locating them as a team?" It's never a bad question: when someone in the Nexus has such a personal plot, they tend not to simply dump part of the task on someone and wait around for them to do it.

[Artemis97]

"Oh... um... it's going to be a lot more complicated than tracking down your usual mark. You see, I'm looking for an avatar of an Old One deep in the Underdark. Then I need to convince her, him? It? to come back to the Nexus." Raril explains, almost apologetically. He was thinking they would need some sort of divination or tracking spell, but in the Nexus that might fall under a PI's purview, he hoped.

[Halae]

[Duel]

"Good, you're here," Wenomir says. "Ambrosia here wishes to duel me as a way of testing my philosophy. I think it might be educational for you to watch us fight."

[Duel]

Ambrosia looks up as the two apprentices enter but her gaze lingers on Shireen. A half-dragon. They kept coming up and she had yet figured out how to treat them. They certainly weren't dragons yet somehow they were related to them. Perhaps the elves of her homeworld would be the closest analogue? Perhaps this was just the logical conclusion of shapeshifting dragons.
"Yes, I am Ambrosia Ithil. Nice to meet you both." The scholar introduces herself with a bow. "You must both be scholars yourself in a way." She smiles at the two.

[Duel]

"...Good to meet you too, Ambrosia," Shireen inclines her head in respect, not really sure what else to do.

[Morty]

[Duel]

Wenomir nods to his students.

"I'll explain everything after the duel. For now, just observe my technique. And now..."

He turns to Ambrosia, putting his left hand to his chest and extending his sword-arm in the salute of a Martenian duelist.

"Let us begin."

He assumes a defensive posture, holding his sword next to his face, pointing upwards. He's ready to begin.

[Arkhosia]

"Oh... um... it's going to be a lot more complicated than tracking down your usual mark. You see, I'm looking for an avatar of an Old One deep in the Underdark. Then I need to convince her, him? It? to come back to the Nexus." Raril explains, almost apologetically. He was thinking they would need some sort of divination or tracking spell, but in the Nexus that might fall under a PI's purview, he hoped.

If there was ever a perfect expression of intense intrigue, Nora's face would be it. It takes her a moment to respond, as if Raril's words were still being processed. "Well, I've certainly never heard that one before... but it's certainly not too outlandish that I'd turn it down. I'd be delighted to work with you on your search, honestly: not only is it a noble goal, but it's certainly a riveting challenge that I'd love to test my mettle with."

[Artemis97]

Raril was pleasantly surprised. "You think you can track her down? You'd have backup, of course. I'll be coming with you and so will Miss Harley. I think perhaps one more, as well. Four always seems the right number for these sorts of things."

[Arkhosia]

Raril was pleasantly surprised. "You think you can track her down? You'd have backup, of course. I'll be coming with you and so will Miss Harley. I think perhaps one more, as well. Four always seems the right number for these sorts of things."

"Yes, though it'll certainly be no cakewalk. The difficulty will mainly be identifying them, and indeed we may need to turn to magic for that, but once we have a direction, so to speak, I'm confident I can." The detective responds, the gears already turning in her head. No word on whether tracking down the avatar will entail demands for people to bring them all their elderly

"Oh, before I forget, here's my business card. It has all the contact information you'll need to reach me." Nora hands the drow a simple business card that lists a cell number, address in Inside and email address.

[Artemis97]

Raril takes the card and examines it before starting to punch the information into his cell phone. He also takes the moment to send a text to Harley, so she would have his number. It was a slow process for the drow as he struggled with the buttons. It wasn't that he wasn't dextrous, just that it took him a little time to wrap his mind around the phone's interface. It was still new to him.

"Sorry." He mumbles. "I know this is rude, but it's best to get this down while I have a -" The drow catches himself before dropping the Q word in Trog's. "A calm moment. I agree that identifying her will be the most difficult part. Once we do that, scrying probably won't be hard, unless she's blocking it. We need lore, legends of the Old Ones, the Elder Gods, specific to my homeland to tell us what exactly we should be looking for."

[Arkhosia]

Raril takes the card and examines it before starting to punch the information into his cell phone. He also takes the moment to send a text to Harley, so she would have his number. It was a slow process for the drow as he struggled with the buttons. It wasn't that he wasn't dextrous, just that it took him a little time to wrap his mind around the phone's interface. It was still new to him.

"Sorry." He mumbles. "I know this is rude, but it's best to get this down while I have a -" The drow catches himself before dropping the Q word in Trog's. "A calm moment. I agree that identifying her will be the most difficult part. Once we do that, scrying probably won't be hard, unless she's blocking it. We need lore, legends of the Old Ones, the Elder Gods, specific to my homeland to tell us what exactly we should be looking for."

the PI nods in understanding, taking a sip of her drink as Raril files away her number.
"Sounds like we'll need to take a trip to the library or a bookstore and hope we got there before anyone planning a search for Drow Cthulhu." She responds, already beginning to try and remember where the nearest libraries, old bookstores and friendly old wizards are.

[Artemis97]

"I know of a library that might be useful, actually." Raril replies. "Howard Philip Memorial Library, I believe it's called. It specializes in this sort of thing."

[Arkhosia]

"I know of a library that might be useful, actually." Raril replies. "Howard Philip Memorial Library, I believe it's called. It specializes in this sort of thing."

Nora grins, glad to hear their search already have a starting point. "Well, I certainly will be heading there first then." With that, the detective stands up. "Anything else you want to discuss, or shall we head there now?"

[Darkcomet]

((This character's entrance to the plot accepted by Artemis.))

Nora grins, glad to hear their search already have a starting point. "Well, I certainly will be heading there first then." With that, the detective stands up. "Anything else you want to discuss, or shall we head there now?"

"Yeah, one thing," comes a new voice calling from nearby. Upon turning to face its source, it's evidently some elf, male, dressed far too gaudily in a mockery of a UDN-esque military uniform, though decidedly isn't one of theirs - the distinct lack of any markings or the color navy being the clue there replaced an ostentatious silver and gold look. He's just stood up, and he steps over. "Couldn't help but overhear, got good ears on me. Forbidden knowledge, terrible monsters, and four being the number you're looking for? Why, it sounds almost like fate. Ahaha...babbling a bit. Point is, I'd like to come along - get the old muse flowing. I'm an artist, you know," the decidedly inexplicably helpful individual 'explains.' "Need to stretch my legs, get some new inspiration. Eh? Ehh?" He's grinning, far too eager to get into this whole mess of eldritch lore and monsters than anyone should be.

[Artemis97]

Raril blinks up at the elf. He had asked for one more member of their little adventuring troop, but was this the right sort of guy for the job? He seemed... over eager.

"This isn't going to be some pleasure trip, you know? You heard the bit about the eldritch horrors? Did I mention the Aboleths? Not to mention a surface elf like you will stick out like nobody's business in the Underdark? Are you sure you want in on this?"

[Darkcomet]

((Moving ahead just since it's a conversation scene so rigid post order isn't that important...))

"Oh, don't worry about me. Where I come from," the 'elf' says, not losing that grin as his form suddenly changes, adopting outward physical features more similar to a drow's, matching skin, eyes, and anything else he'd need to get the look right, while keeping most of his previous physical appearance and structure. "I am the horror. I can be whatever's necessary, although this look doesn't really work. Language barrier, you know." The grin actually does fade a bit as he takes a more serious tone. "Don't suppose you have a mute relative I could pretend to be?"