Trog's Tavern CCLII

[5a Violista]

Fendrick the man-rat walks in. He is wearing a tweed waistcoat with green silk lining, and his only other adornment is a jasper ring. He is silver fawn in colour (a warm biscuity brown) and smells of custard cream biscuits (an English favourite). He takes a seat near Kuriko, and orders a glass of milk.

'Hi, I'm Fendrick' he says, extending a furry forepaw for a handshake. If Kuriko chooses to respond, his paw will feel warm and gentle. His handshake is quite firm, just right.

Taking a break from her food, Kuriko extends her hand to shake. She's never shaken the hand of someone with paws before, so she somewhat clumsily shakes his hand. "And I'm Kuriko," she responds, smiling warmly.

Then, she laughs. "Sorry," she explains, "Shaking your hand just tickles a little bit."

"So. How are you doing?"

[Fendrick]

I'm well thank you' says Fendrick. He takes a sip of his milk, getting droplets of it on his whiskers somehow. 'I've just been on my first adventure' he says proudly, showing off his jasper ring that he earned. It lets him see in the dark; he's really keen to try it out!!

'And how are you? I'm sorry that I tickled you. I promise my fur is very well kept and clean though, I comb it everyday.'

[Deathkeeper]

Sam says nothing for now. He is far too confused by the whole lesus thing to follow the conversation between the two.

[Earl of Purple]

"Do you have a lusus here?" Jack can't see a big old monster, but maybe it's invisible, or can transform? Or it's in his captchalogue, or whatever he called his personal extradimensional space. Jack, incidentally, doesn't have a lusus. For protection, she has brass knuckles.

[Catalessi]

"sadly, no. he was killed a sweep ago. it was the worst day of my life. i was lucky that my moirail helped me trought that phase"

Anyway, Hidrus is well past the age in which he has to rely on the protection of his monster-dad.

[Murkus]

"Oh I don't know about that. You seemed to have no problems charming Sakura," Ilpholin points out with a teasing smirk. "Multiple times." Embarrassed people could be adorable and Adir was no exception.

"How are you holding up with that anyways? A lot of kids must mean a lot to give."

"You still make everything sound like innuendo," Adir, a little flush in his already tan face, sticks his tongue out at Ilpholin and puts his drink to his mouth again. "She's special, though." He holds up a finger as he declares this. "Or easily charmed."

The mention of the kids, even if it's about how he's holding up with them, makes Adir smile warmly. "Sure, uh, I guess. You feel stretched really thin a lot of days. It's gonna get harder once I have a job..." He leans his head back. "I mostly just worry about making sure they're all happy. Mm, it's not so hard with the littlest ones yet."

"To tell you the truth, it's gonna be nice to get out of the house - Cessie's house - and do my thing again."

[5a Violista]

Kuriko looks down at the ring in his hand. "Oh, wow! That's a cool ring. What is it, Carnelian? Jasper? Sardonyx?" She's not a geologist, so she doesn't know her gemstones all that well. "It's really pretty."

Realizing that she was asked a question, she says, "Oh! I'm doing really well. Just really curious to know whether that ring originated in the Nexus or some outside culture."

[Recaiden]

Leah slinks into the tavern, looking around high and low on her way to the bar. How long has it been since she visited this place? Before Shadow, but after the battle at the council? Seems like a lifetime.

The tiger-centauress settles herself near the bar, adjusts her sunglasses minutely (has she really never been to Trog's with her glasses?) and orders a glass of Eladrin cabernet.

[Reinholdt]

"You still make everything sound like innuendo," Adir, a little flush in his already tan face, sticks his tongue out at Ilpholin and puts his drink to his mouth again. "She's special, though." He holds up a finger as he declares this. "Or easily charmed."

The mention of the kids, even if it's about how he's holding up with them, makes Adir smile warmly. "Sure, uh, I guess. You feel stretched really thin a lot of days. It's gonna get harder once I have a job..." He leans his head back. "I mostly just worry about making sure they're all happy. Mm, it's not so hard with the littlest ones yet."

"To tell you the truth, it's gonna be nice to get out of the house - Cessie's house - and do my thing again."

"Must be a talent of mine. I tried not to make innuendo once, but it was hard. So hard," Ilpholin says with a grin. Though she isn't sure anything involving Adir and Sakura qualified as innuendo or just proven fact.

"I know a little bit about trying to keep too many people happy." Bad Ilpholin. Running AMEN and babysitting is a poor comparison and you know it. "Just wait until they're all teenagers at the same time." Not helping.

Ilpholin takes another sip of her wine, though it hardly seems touched, while glancing at the various people coming and going, keeping an eye out for red half-dragons. "Ah yes, you are supposed to explain this secret job you're getting. Does it pay enough for a family your size or are you or Sakura going to have to pick up more on the side?"

[Fendrick]

Kuriko looks down at the ring in his hand. "Oh, wow! That's a cool ring. What is it, Carnelian? Jasper? Sardonyx?" She's not a geologist, so she doesn't know her gemstones all that well. "It's really pretty."

Realizing that she was asked a question, she says, "Oh! I'm doing really well. Just really curious to know whether that ring originated in the Nexus or some outside culture."

Fendrick beams, explaining that the ring is jasper and he got it while Adventuring. 'The ring is from the Nexus. I'm hoping to use its powers on my next adventure, but I don't know what my next adventure will be.'

[Earl of Purple]

"How long is a 'sweep'? Is it equivalent to a year, or longer?" Jack really hopes she doesn't have to explain how this world governs time; most places are at least decent enough to share the same system of days, months and years- even if the months have different names, and the weeks are of differing lengths.

[Catalessi]

"hek if i know what a "year" is. you have strange names for things here. and also don't have lusii and other completely normal things? it seems like every time i explain something, theres another thing you don't know. which is fine, but i've never been good at talking."

Then, if sam is still here, he turns torward him and ask

"do you want to buy a chalice? it may or may not be magic"

[Deathkeeper]

"How much and what would they do if they are magic?" Sam asks. The leastbhe can do for a Nexus newbie is buy something off him.

[Earl of Purple]

"A year is three hundred and sixty five days. A day is twenty four hours. An hour is sixty minutes, a minute is sixy seconds, and a second is one, two, three, four." The last bit has Jack counting seconds, to try and carry across the idea of human-based time systems. "How long is a 'sweep'?" She doesn't comment on how she doesn't have the 'completely normal things' that Hidrus used to take for granted; she can turn into a bird, which is therefore infinitely better.

[Catalessi]

"i don't know. i don't know absolutely nothing about magic. so, if you like it, you can pay what you want. maybe enough to buy a meal. i have so many of them. in fact, i should have grabbed something more useful, but how does one leave behind al those cool antiquities?"

He put an hand on the table, and a big ancient chalice appears in his grasp. it is engraved with omnious symbols, like skulls and things like that, and alternian writings.

"oh yes, one of the coolest"

- - - Updated - - -

"A year is three hundred and sixty five days. A day is twenty four hours. An hour is sixty minutes, a minute is sixy seconds, and a second is one, two, three, four." The last bit has Jack counting seconds, to try and carry across the idea of human-based time systems. "How long is a 'sweep'?" She doesn't comment on how she doesn't have the 'completely normal things' that Hidrus used to take for granted; she can turn into a bird, which is therefore infinitely better.

"aw yes, a sweep is like, nine hundred days.

He doesn't seems al that interested, although he is trying to be nice

[Deathkeeper]

Sam looks at the chalice. It does look cool at least.
"Well it looks cool. What does it say on it?" he asks, laying a pair of fat gold coins on the table.

[Catalessi]

"it is an ancient blessing, often used in the past times to wish good luck to someone. it says 'Do Not Wait Until Your Enemy Is Weak To Strike, But Make Him Weak By Striking'."

He is clearly very fond of his knowledge

[Earl of Purple]

"So, by that logic I am... Basically six sweeps old. Because I'm nineteen years old." But my maths may be wrong, due to dyscalculia. And I don't have a proper calculator app on my laptop any more, I've got a search bar that does maths. But it's not a calculator, so I don't trust it fully.

It's not that I don't trust the calculator, it's that I don't trust myself to put the right sum in.

[Deathkeeper]

Sam laughs.
"Oh, so it's like an old warrior's cup? That's pretty cool. Alright, I'll take it. Pour me a drink, Jack." the spigre says with a grin.

[5a Violista]

Kuriko nods, laughs, and says "go on" during all the appropriate parts of the explanation.

"Well," she says, "hanging around here is usually the best way for an adventure to come up." It's true, though. Taverns are the most likely place for random people to come in asking for adventurers.

"I've never actually been on an adventure," the woman confesses. "Been too busy with schooling."

[Fendrick]

Kuriko nods, laughs, and says "go on" during all the appropriate parts of the explanation.

"Well," she says, "hanging around here is usually the best way for an adventure to come up." It's true, though. Taverns are the most likely place for random people to come in asking for adventurers.

"I've never actually been on an adventure," the woman confesses. "Been too busy with schooling."

Fendrick smiles, a strange rat-toothed grin, and nods. He is curious that the woman has never been on an adventure and asks, 'What have you been studying?' He would love to study, and indeed would make a good student, what with his human-sized brain.

[Catalessi]

Now that he has obtained some wealth, Hidrus settles for starting to squander it immediately: he orders lemonade and other carbonated drinks, offering them to the two people he would call his new pals, if he wasn't culturally conditioned into avoiding words like that. After he drink half a liter of that stuff, it become quikly clear that such drinks have on him the same effect alcohol has on humans.

"i must say that i'm... luky to have found ni... nice people like you... you sure are less evolved than my kind, but are surely more... uhhh... whats that word..."

[Earl of Purple]

Jack smiles at Hidrus, though his drunken behaviour is a little concerning. Last time her Trog's table-mates got drunk, I'm pretty sure she robbed them. "Um, kinder, maybe?" She doesn't particularly like his statement that she's less evolved than he is, especially since she can turn into a jackdaw whenever she wants to.

[Deathkeeper]

"I'll have you know that this body is a bleeding-edge bio-engineered masterpiece." Sam insists. Though you're still the mind of a once-starved street rat of a human with an accent.
He enjoys drinking out of the chalice though. If it's magic he'll likely find out.

[Catalessi]

"ha ha, if a certain person i know were here, he wolud... well he wold say something wery intelligent. huh... i forgot. about... the others. well, if you see someone around with red horns and stuff... another troll i mean... try to tell me. pel... please"

It seems like he only now wondered if his friends survived too

[Earl of Purple]

And that right there is why Jack wouldn't give up on trying to save her village. Because even though there's some people she really dislikes there, there's some she's really fond of, too.

"Of course, Hidrus. I'll let you know if I see another troll like you." Jack's voice is quite soft and sympathetic at this point, because she's aware he's just realised the extinction of his race likely took his friends with it. If it's happened yet; who knows.

[Deathkeeper]

Sam hasn't grown wings or anything so the chalice must not be magic. Neat.
"Yeah, sure kid. I'll keep an eye out for ya." Sam offers sincerely.

[5a Violista]

Kuriko, who loves to talk about her studies, gets excited about this question. "Well! I was studying the adaption and integration of cultures into the Nexus! It was really exciting doing all the research into it. It took a lot of work, but it was definitely worth it."

Remembering that she still has food there that is not getting any fresher, Kuriko takes a bite from her food after saying that sentence.

[Catalessi]

"than... thanks. i told 'em how to escape. it was the best i could do. right? hum. it is not my destiny to recreate my species, but at least i can help the ones i care about."

Hidrus is starting to look sleepy. It was a stressful day, after all

[Earl of Purple]

"You should probably rent a room upstairs, Hidrus. You're looking tired, and if you sleep here you might get robbed. Not that you have much people can search easily, anyway." Because he has a captchalogue and stores everything where thieves can't get it easily. Like Jack.