Dancing Fox Inn XIII- Luck Costs Extra

[Earl of Purple]

"Well, the dwarfen food didn't look great. Doesn't mean all the food we could find would be that... Uh, unusual." He'd probably try it, if someone dared him to. Unlike Earl, who probably wouldn't need the dare. "I mean, it could be Vietnamese, or Elvish, or Braavosi, or Romulan, or... Anything, really." And Sekhmet probably hasn't heard of most of those.

[Recaiden]

Oh yeah? Like the main ones got damaged or what? Nigel asks, idly playing with one of the cardboard coasters. Or is there like a... Nigel does not know enough folklore to guess at something that eats electricity. Like the gremlin thing from that twilight zone episode where it tears apart the plane?

Honeysuckle shakes her head.
"Like the people who ran them went crazy - thanks to the plague. Wrecked the place."
Nothing specifically electricity-eating about it, the guards are usually pretty good at keeping out the power-eating gremlins.
"More of a big explosion kinda deal than gremlins."

"Never listened to Twilight Zone. How is it?"
She's actually tragically unversed in popular culture.

[bc56]

"Those, uh, all sound unusual to me! Uh, except Elvish." Sekhmet laughs. She'd be interested in trying some new food, as long as vermin aren't on the menu.

[Earl of Purple]

"Vietnam is a country from my world, far to the east of where I came from. I've never been there. Braavos is a seaside city-state in a different world, and Romulans are space aliens with pointed ears. I've not eaten any of it, though. Can't say what they eat, though the Romulan stuff's going to be really unusual, since they've got different sources of food and unusual animals and plants." Because for some reason most fantasy cuisine relies on similar animals and plants as human cuisine, whereas science fiction food's more imaginative.

[Arkhosia]

I Love Those Dear Hearts and Gentle People, who Live and Love in my Home Town

"...Wait, you were pregnant once?" Caelynn blinks. "Geez, those earlier days must have been wild. Kinda wish I was there to see 'em." She makes a mental note to ask Magtok to share more tales of ye olden days. Will it make him feel awkward and self-conscious? Probably, but that was part of the fun. Besides, maybe the comforting and reassurance afterwards will help heal those insecurities.

"Well, erm, nice to meet you," she greets. "Name's Caelynn, I'm Magtok's girlfriend. Hopefully that will be subtle enough a hint, but probably not.

[bc56]

"Uh, okay." The explanation helps, but not much. "So people from all those places come here? Does anyone ever leave?"

[Earl of Purple]

"Yep, people from many places find their way here. Don't know about leaving, though. I've heard of a few people who have left- a whole religious group packed up and left a while ago- but whether they went home or not I can't say. Most of the people who worshipped at their temples were Nexus-born, I think." It's tricky to leave, but not impossible. Most don't manage it, however.

[bc56]

Sekhmet nods. "Makes sense." That confirms what she heard before. Partly, she doesn't know why she should even think about going back. This place is better than her home; here she can be out in society without fear, she can have a job, a home, a boyfriend. But on the other hand, she never even got to say goodbye. She'd like to talk to her family one last time.

[Earl of Purple]

"Yeah, this place is my home, now. I'd... Like to see my sisters again, though. And I hope my parents didn't worry too much." He's not seen his family for nine years, or thereabouts. His sisters might not even remember him, for all he knows.

[bc56]

"I, uh," Sekhmet responds, "I didn't even get to say goodbye. They must be worried sick about me." She shudders, and a tear rolls down her cheek. She misses her family greatly.

[Earl of Purple]

Prumathe moves over to give Sekhmet another hug. "I didn't, either. Don't worry, Sekhmet, they'll be fine. You'll always miss them, because you love them, but... It will stop being so immediate." He's mostly parroting things he was told when he was ten, and they mostly worked for him. Doesn't mean they'll fit Sekhmet, though.

[bc56]

Sekhmet hugs back. "I, uh, thanks." It helps, a little. The hug does more for her than the words though.

[Lord Magtok]

The Boys Are Back in Town

A Grand Old Town - a high-flying town
*was asked to skip Caelynn*

Zophiel snaps and points at Magtok. "Right! I remember that happening. I thought it was kind-of dumb, honestly. They were basically the same thing anyway, so why did the Taverna Generica insist on banning half the population? Even after it stopped doing that, I didn't go there." If I remember correctly, he was actually my second or third character to cross between the ACRO and Town barrier, but he stayed mostly on the Town side of things.

The paladin sighs and starts mentally going through the people he left behind, and uses his fingers to count...there's only three. "Let's see...Cleo and my daughter probably stuck together, so I'm sure they're both fine even if they're not here. And Helen...hm. She left at the same time as me and comes from the same world as me, but...weird. I can't remember seeing her there." Realizing that musing aloud to himself is probably rude, he tries to rope the two back into the conversation.

"OH! Sorry. I forgot to say, my name's Zophiel." ...he was going to say that back when he shook their hands but he was too busy being lost in thoughts and forgot. "The only time I've sat around doing nothing was that time I was pregnant; it's not really my style," he says as way of explanation for his following question: "So, do either of you know things I could do or groups or whatever to join?"

I Love Those Dear Hearts and Gentle People, who Live and Love in my Home Town

"...Wait, you were pregnant once?" Caelynn blinks. "Geez, those earlier days must have been wild. Kinda wish I was there to see 'em." She makes a mental note to ask Magtok to share more tales of ye olden days. Will it make him feel awkward and self-conscious? Probably, but that was part of the fun. Besides, maybe the comforting and reassurance afterwards will help heal those insecurities.

"Well, erm, nice to meet you," she greets. "Name's Caelynn, I'm Magtok's girlfriend. Hopefully that will be subtle enough a hint, but probably not.

"And I'm Magtok, Caelynn's sugar daddy," Magtok jokes, trying to sidestep his unease with the word 'boyfriend' and deflect with a lazy attempt at humor. A feigned smile and awkward laugh follows, before he tries to reassert control over the situation and move on before anyone can dwell on that nonsense, or for Caelynn to stop and think about exactly how long they can get away with living together and depending on the tattered remnants of his immense MagCorp fortune before Mag's pitiful joke becomes a hundred percent accurate.

"Maybe try VIGIL? They're all about hero stuff and weird pregnancies." That's a little rude, Mags. "They're not far from here; they've got an island down that way-" A sky-island, not that Magtok remembers to mention that. Maybe he's just so used to places like VIGIL and Skyside that he's completely forgotten that islands are supposed to be at sea level. -but I wouldn't tell them Magtok sent you. They're probably not fond of me, for reasons I'd rather not get into."

[5a Violista]

[It's funny how things never change in this old Town]

When it comes to Zophiel, you should probably avoid subtle hints if possible. Subtle's not his style, as evidenced by his massive swords. And his large muscles. And...well, pretty much everything about him. "Oh? Congratulations," he says.
Then again, how often are paladins subtle, anyway? That pretty much goes against their stereotype.

Anyway.

He nods, listening. "Not really interested in pregnancy again. Sure, it was fun once, but..." he shrugs. "Not my thing." Not to mention all the unintended side-effects and fairies and the weakening of the binding seal and whatnot. He's not a fan of that all happening again. If he were normal, he'd probably be okay with it. "Anyway, I'll check it out. Sounds like a new-ish ACRO. Islands can't be that hard to find, right?" He gets out his coin-purse and grabs a couple of random coins from his home world and puts it on the table by Magtok and Caelynn. "Thanks. This should be enough for the information, right?" Information still has value, right?

Zophiel gives a quick informal salute. "Have fun on your date," he says, turning around to leave the inn, in search of VIGIL's island.

[Arkhosia]

Pour MagSugar^TM On Me - DefRaptor

Caelynn frowns minutely - that wasn't much of a clarifying answer. But perhaps it's for the best, considering how explaining such casually-mentioned nexus weirdness tends to spiral and branch into yet more confusing topics that require yet more explanation until you walk away from the conversation with a comprehensive understanding of the foundations which make up five different multiverses. Diving into that sort of thing would undeniably ruin the mood.

"Sweetie, please, if you were my sugar daddy, how you know I love you so well?" She holds back the cheeky remark about how he isn't in any position to be anyone's sugar daddy at the moment as she gives his side an affectionate squeeze, understanding how sensitive Magtok might be to mentioning his finances right now. It would doubtlessly come off as humiliating rather than playful for a man as proud as him.

Caelynn returns the salute, though she isn't quite sure why. Maybe she really was where Blanche got that sort of attitude from, albeit to a much greater degree. "So, do you have anything in mind? Where to sit, what to order?" She asks, trying to return to their original plans

[Earl of Purple]

He figured the hug would help most, if only because he's gradually getting the impression Sekhmet hasn't had many hugs in the past, and he enjoys hugging people- and Sekhmet in particular.

[bc56]

Sekhmet continues the hug. She does like hugs, and hugging Prumathe is significantly better and less awkward than what she's had in the past with her family. Her tears are flowing more freely now both of sadness, at what she left behind, and joy at what she's found here, and she lays her head against Prumathe's shoulder.

[Earl of Purple]

Prumathe is happy to keep hugging Sekhmet for as long as she wants. Possibly ordering more pineapple juice in the meantime, since that impressed her earlier.

[bc56]

Sekhmet is happy to keep hugging for a long time. She has plenty of emotion to work through.

[Lord Magtok]

I Think We're Alone Now

There's probably something vaguely mocking about Magtok's salute in return to the paladin, but let's not give that any more thought. Zophiel's headed out the door, so we can stop bouncing back and forth from sympathy and guilt to barely-contained revulsion now. The money he left on the table gets pocketed pretty quickly too, because of course it does. I mean, if he's not even going to be here to see us making some kind of weird, misguided stand against taking payment for begrudgingly helping people, why bother? The cyborg pockets the coins and wraps an arm around Caelynn's waist, to guide her to a booth further from the door and any additional paladin incursions that might follow the last.

"Honestly, I was just going to grab a booth and order the first thing on the menu. If it's terrible, I've got something to complain about. If it isn't, well, food's largely a scenery prop anyway, so-" Oi! Leave the fourth wall alone, Magtok! At best, it makes you look crazy. At worst, you'll help others realize the terrible, horrifying truth of their existence. There's nothing quite as bad for morale as realizing how shoddy and cheap your reality truly is, and no one likes a buzzkill, so shush!

"Anyway, it looks like they've got...roast pheasant? I don't think I've tried that before." Pheasant, the first food item mentioned in the OP, always struck Magtok as a sort of snobby nobleman's sort of meal, and even at his financial height, he was never really a big fan of anything one might consider high class or sophisticated. The very concept of aristocracy always struck him as a backwater, primitive monkeybrain concept for blue-blooded, inbred, technologically-illiterate ponces. It's probably why he never introduces himself as 'Lord Magtok' anymore. That said, if pheasant can be found at an inn like this, it can't be too bougie, can it?

"So how's the doctoring been going? Discover any new plagues or rare, incurable diseases?" he asks, opting for some simple small talk for now. Better to save the serious business talk for later, work our way up to it. Erm...I mean, what serious business talk? There's no serious business talk planned, don't be ridiculous! Magtok would never set up this whole inn date thing just so he could have a serious drama talk about his relationship with Caelynn, no way. You're being paranoid, there's nothing suspicious going on here at all.

[Ashen Lilies]

The door opens suddenly, and a tall, massive mountain of a man steps through the threshold.

He's seriously huge - almost seven feet tall, and bulky as any ogre, with a long mane of blond braids and a thick, full graying beard. He's dressed in simple clothing, however, with kindly blue eyes and a sword in a battered looking plain scabbard hanging at his hip. On his back is what appears to be a very large, heavy shield, wrapped in canvas and lashed with rope, hiding any details might have been on it.

The man wanders up to the bar, stroking his beard thoughtfully as he examines the menu board.

[Arkhosia]

Lost in Thoughts, All Alone?

"Just more proof that nothing's too fowl for the great Lord Magtok," Caelynn teases, peering over the menu to add a good-humored little smirk. Something has clearly influenced her for the worse, but the jury's still out on whether the fault lies in the company of Magtok, or the general state of parenthood. "I was thinking maybe some fish. It's been ages since I've had a good salmon."

The woman chuckles. "I'm afraid I've got my client confidentiality to obey, but I promise I haven't dealt with anything quite so dramatic. A few fun minor colds from worlds I don't know terribly well, but that's been the extent of it." She looks back towards Magtok. "How about you? Anything wild you've had to wrangle in the depths of the Magcave?"

[DarkElfDude]

The door to the inn creaked open as a slim, dark elven figure walked through. he sat down and nervously peered around
"rather crowded in here" he muttered to himself before examining the menu, he took off a thick leather coat and draped it over the back of his seat

[5a Violista]

There's a half-elf in the inn, sitting not far off. Black hair with a flowering vine braided in, dark (maybe a...wood-colored?) skin tone, floral skirt, light make-up on her face...pretty generic and normal. She goes by Holly, but...unfortunately, she's not wearing anything that has her name written on it so there's no way to tell.

She waves at the dark elven figure. "Hey," she says. "Yes, it usually is. Pretty popular rest stop between the bigger cities."

[DarkElfDude]

The dark elf was pleasantly surprised to see such hospitality, usually drow weren't that welcome in taverns.
he waved back with a partly confused smile "sounds like you know this place, I've never really been around this area before'he said with a thick accent. the upper part of his face was covered with freckles that were hardly visible against his charcoal skin, his eyes were pitch black with white irises but somehow didn't seem intimidating

[5a Violista]

"Yeah." The half-human shrugs. "I've been around here for a few years. Not as long as some people, but...enough to know my way around."

Holly leans back in her chair. "I'm Holly." She introduces herself.

"So, where are you going? Anywhere interesting?"

[DarkElfDude]

He shook his head "Just dealing with some business" he said before grabbing a scroll from his satchel. it had some sort of symbol with a signature written in elven.
"Guild business to be specific. passed through here on my way and figured might as well rest"

[5a Violista]

"Oh." Holly looks at the scroll...but doesn't read Elven. It just looks like squiggles. She has no idea what it says on it.

"This is a good place to stop and rest;" she adds. "Basically why I'm here, too." Holly's food arrives. It's...mostly meat.

[DarkElfDude]

Zathiru took a sip out of some sort of elixir he had brought with him "seems like it, i've seen much worse places... afterall i DID grow up in ravnica he put back the scroll
"enough about me, how about you, ya from around here?"

[5a Violista]

"No, I'm from..." Holly pauses.
She's been here long enough that she could probably say she's from here now. And besides, does he really care where she's originally from?

"I'm originally from some random world really far away. Never met anybody else from there."

She cuts some of the meat on her plate. "I do have a house not far from here, though. It's over that way-" she points in a direction "-in Riverside. But I travel frequently, so I'm only occasionally there."