Trog's Tavern CLIII

[Hattish Thing]

Half-Drunk Man

Although he was already somewhat drunk, Blue was hardly drunken enough to take the introduction of a one-armed cowboy elf with much grace. As the drow approaches, he glances towards the figure before squinting and turning back to face forward. After a second spent blinking, staring hard into the grimy counter before him, Blue turns back to the elf, a somewhat apprehensive expression upon his face.

He looks down to his twinned pistols before murmuring. "Uhh, yeah, yeah."

"Hey. Look, if this is some kinda kinky thing, I just wanna make sure you know, I'm not really..."

[billtodamax]

Half-Drunk Man

HA! The suggestion forces a laugh out of the drow. Lolth, with you? I have standards. No I'm hoping for a more... profitable venture. For both of us - although, of course, you'll be doing more of the venturing. He says with a glance to his missing arm. Are you interested in the job? He picks up his whiskey and holds it in front of his face while waiting for an answer.

[Hattish Thing]

Blue turns his head slightly in confusion at the mention of some sort of "Lalfh", whatever that means. Still, Nexusian natives have always been sort of odd, might as well chock whatever phrase that was up to cultural custom. Or perhaps his universal translator was simply malfunctioning again. Rather than push the subject, he purses his lips before responding.

"Uhhh, well, what's in it for me? What's the job, huh?"

[billtodamax]

Half-Drunk Man

The drow sets his drink down - without drinking from it - and produces a folded map, laying it on the bar and flipping it open. He jabs a finger at a red mark on the map - apparently made by him. Payment - upon delivery - of the contents of this temple, primarily the contents of the innermost sanctum. There are several valuable artifacts therein for which I have buyers lined up. He moves his finger off the map to let Blue take a look. It looks to be about a day's travel from the city, hidden within a thick forest. For you, there will be payment of <large sum of money> upon delivery of the artifacts, as well as 10% of the sale value once I make the transaction. I'll ask you again - are you interested?

[Hattish Thing]

Once his drink arrives, Blue retrieves a bent straw apparently stuffed somewhat hastily into a pocket. After straightening out the straw, he sets it into the glass, while all the while glancing from the drow to the drink, before proceeding to sip the entirety of the beverage throughout the small duration of time the drow spends talking. Once the drink is finished, and quite aggressively so, Blue reaches for a handful of pub snacks, stuffing them sloppily into his mouth before nodding a little and responding, his snacks half-chewed.

Although possessing an attractive face and figure by nature, his awful eating habits are less than charming. "Uh, yeah, you got it boss. Temple, inner sanctum, classic grab'n'bag 'em. Just gonna take a pic real quick of that map..."

"My thingie here'll be able to generate a 3d rendering, much easier to navigate than that old thing. What'd you say your name was, guy?"

[billtodamax]

Call me Lefty. He says, with some humour. And you are.... He bends down slightly and squints at Blue's jacket. Blue? Good enough I suppose. He says, straightening up. Excited for your return, Blue. He says, finally taking a drink of his whiskey.

[Hattish Thing]

Blue, unable to resist staring towards where the missing limb would be, cringes a little before responding. "Man. That's pretty dark. Jesus christ." He lingers on the thought for just a second before looking around both sides before waggling his fingers and promptly pouring the contents of the pub mix into a pocket, for later consumption. He continues as he does so, folding back his straw as well, before stuffing it into the pocket from whence it came.

"Anyway, yeah. It's Blue. Outlaw Blue. Surely, you've heard of me." He flashes a smile here, which would be quite suave, were it not for the bit of peanut stuck between his teeth.

[billtodamax]

Well we're certainly acquainted now. "Lefty" says, no longer looking at Blue. Let me know once you've secured the artifacts. Take a hint, Blue!

[Hattish Thing]

"You bet we are, man. You have a number, an email? Fax? I dunno what you people use." His response is swift, and uttered as he rises up out of his chair, doing a few stretches as he's standing there and preparing for the mission ahead.

[billtodamax]

Lefty rolls his eyes to the bartender, silently handing Blue a card. On it is printed a phone number in ornate blue script. He returns to his drink. Maybe silence will compel the moron to leave. He can only hope.

[Hattish Thing]

Once he receives the card, he squints towards the somewhat complicated lettering before leaning over the drow, murmuring something nearly inaudible. "Is... is that a 5, or a 7? I... can't tell with all the squigglies."

[billtodamax]

The drow takes a long, deep breath. Patience. It's-it's a five. He tells Blue, juuuuuuust failing to keep the frustration out of his voice. He takes a long, contemplative drink from his whiskey. This is who he was going with huh.

[Hattish Thing]

Blue nods for several seconds, mumbling to himself as he stares somewhat vacantly at the card. "Mm-hmm, mm-hmmm. Yeah, that's... that's a five, I guess, if you squint real hard. Yeah, okay." He allows for a brief exhalation of breath before blinking towards Lefty, card still in hand.

"Hey. You wouldn't happen to have a pen, would you? Cause, like, I'll forget. If I don't.. you know, write it down."

[Rebonack]

Zee, for her part, pours the whisky shots for the pair of cowboy looking folks.

"Let me know if there's anything else you need, okay?" she inquires before returning to doling out brownies. She turns back to Holly with a smile. "I sure hope so! They keep people coming back. Sure, we have peanuts. But we have brownies, too! What other bar gives away brownies?"

None of them.

That's which one.

And brownies, like peanuts, tend to make you thirsty.

Which the tavern counts on.

[Outside Trog's]

Geneva laughs at that question.

"Oh goodness, no, of course not," the hippogriff replies. "I've got the hornbed nerves for it. Just no actual horn. Had to do with the breeding experiments they were doing in my Vault."

She gives a little shrug with her wings.

"Though I DID find that neat artificial horn helmet. Unfortunately it didn't survive my trip to the Nexus when the old MoAS teleporter blew up."

Exploding teleporters are a popular way to reach the Nexus.

"I'm not terribly religious either," Geneva admits as she starts walking toward Inari's. "But they're kind people and helpful to newcomers."

[billtodamax]

Lefty rubs the bridge of his nose before drawing a pen from the inside of his vest and handing it to Blue. Keep it. He says, defeated. This is his purgatory now. He will be talking to this man for the rest of time.

[Hattish Thing]

Blue accepts the pen with a little more force and haste than would otherwise be necessary, all but crushing Lefty's fingers as he grabs it. He looks around aimlessly for a piece of parchment, as if lost, before finally just snatching a filthy napkin from the table, proceeding to write out the number there. Once he's done so, he glances towards Zee, before winking a little and proceeding to rip a piece of the napkin off. Writing his own number there, he promptly passes it off to her, mumbling somewhat drunkenly towards her as he does so. "Hey, baby... don't you, yeah, M'Blue, Outlaw."

His sentence is somewhat interrupted as he seems to lose focus on whatever he was attempting to say. After shaking his head, he stuffs the larger part of the napkin into his pocket, before stepping backwards, first offering an impressive display of fingerguns towards Lefty. "Later, my guy. Good luck with... the, yeah. Yeahhh."

Just before he exits, he mouths a few words towards Zee, "Call me", before promptly tripping backwards out the door.

[Artemis97]

[Seeking the Heart]

Alysha nods a bit, then turns to face the door, pointing forward with a huge grin.

Alright! Then off to the lair!

She gets about two steps forward before she pauses, a thoughtful frown on her face. This quickly becomes a mixture of confusion and worry as she turns to Raril.

Wait, he's kidnapped you? What the heck!? And now you're suggesting we get his help?

The vampire is clearly confused by this.

Raril shrugs. "It was a long time ago, but if you'd rather we go to Destro first, we get along much better, I assure you. Share drinks with him all the time. But really, fate of the Nexus is more important than any grudge I might hold."

[5a Violista]

Unfortunately, Zee's sinister techniques to make patrons thirsty doesn't work on Half-elf Holly - this time, at least.
...
She is probably addicted to them, however.

"I've never had brownies except here, so it's pretty exclusive for me, at least," she says. Anyway, she probably should go. She pays for her food: even overpays! "Man, it feels good to be able to afford food," she says. One of the previous times she came here, she could only barely afford it.

She stands up and looks at her "quest log". "Well, I better start investigating these leads," she says, beginning to plan out how to get into Vigil to ask them stuff. As she puts her notebook away, she says, "Thanks."
Then leaves.

[Rebonack]

Zee gives the note a look, followed by an awkward 'ugh' sort of smile to the departing patron. She picks up the note and expertly flicks it into the fireplace once the Blue Bandit or whatever he was calling himself is gone.

"Later!" she calls out to Holly. "Feel free to drop in some other time. And don't forget to bring a mask!"

Or masks.

She isn't picky.

Money is then stowed in the change box.

Lefty is then given a somewhat appologetic look.

"Is there anything else I can help you out with?" she asks.

One of the major upsides to working at Trog's?

You get to meet lots of interesting people.

One of the major downsides to working at Trog's?

You get to meet lots of "interesting" people.

[billtodamax]

Paracetamol, please. Lefty says, resting his head on the bar. I give him 30/70 odds. He confides in her. Maybe 40/60 if he's ever fired those guns before.

[Zefir]

[Outside Trog's]

Geneva laughs at that question.

"Oh goodness, no, of course not," the hippogriff replies. "I've got the hornbed nerves for it. Just no actual horn. Had to do with the breeding experiments they were doing in my Vault."

She gives a little shrug with her wings.

"Though I DID find that neat artificial horn helmet. Unfortunately it didn't survive my trip to the Nexus when the old MoAS teleporter blew up."

Exploding teleporters are a popular way to reach the Nexus.

"I'm not terribly religious either," Geneva admits as she starts walking toward Inari's. "But they're kind people and helpful to newcomers."

[Outside Trog's]

Karls follows more out of having no clue where it is after all.

"Breeding experiments?" he says confused. "I heared of people doing such things in my world, but I can't imagine it. What purpose did those experiments have? Just to give you horns or take them away?

The Confused Spider

The spider is extremely confused indeed. Library? What library? she chitters back, retreating further into the mug.

The attacker is probably harmless, but she is not a bold spider.

The Confused Spider

C hits with his plastic sword against the mug making much noise for the spider inside.

"Playing dump? Everyone has at least heared of the Library of Alexandria. That building that has every book ever writen in it. No topics excluded."

[Rebonack]

"Umm... I think I have a bottle of generic acetaminophen around somewhere..." Zee says as she begins searching around under the counter.

Sorry.

Trog's is too cheap for any of that name brand stuff.

What do you take them for?

A classy establishment?

After a few minutes of rummaging, she comes up with a pair of pills and a glass of water. Both are set in front of Lefty.

"There you go. And he'll be okay, probably?" she says. Doesn't sound terribly confidant, though. "It depends on how interesting he is. That seems to be how things work in the Nexus. Interesting people usually get more breaks."

The Nexus likes to be amused.

The jerk.

[Outside Trog's]

"Oh, uuh..." Geneva shifts a little bit uncomfortably. "Well, there was this big war back home. Some segments of the population were put in vaults. Some of the vaults were just shelters. Others were... experiments. The one my ancestors were put in was an experiment in hybridizing equestrians and griffins. I guess the scientists thought that hybrids might have a better chance of surviving in a post-war wasteland. But it... well... I survived, anyway."

She did.

She definitely survived.

[Zefir]

[Outside Trog's]

"Huh, sounds to me like someone needed an excuse to play around." he says.
"What are equestrians?"

[5a Violista]

It's been a few days since she's been in here, so Half-Human Holly ^TM returns to the quest hub tavern to update her quest log.

She sits down at one of the tables, preferably closer to the corner, pulls out her notebook, and manually crosses off gibberish, chicken scratch, and weird letters. And then writes more to the side/underneath/in empty spaces.

As promised, she is wearing a mask today. It's a purple-and-silver one with a purple rose on the left side, a swan image on the mask, and both purple and black feathers.

Spoiler: image

Show

She's wearing it partially because she didn't feel like spending hours putting on and taking off makeup until she got it right. It's okay that a little bit of her scar peeks out because it's flashy enough to not matter.

...Sure, if she practiced enough, then maybe she could do it fast, but practicing takes time. ...Plus, this mask kind-of fits with her current persona of a half-elf. So it works.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

A human woman walks up to the bar. She looks to be in her mid-twenties, five feet tall with olive skin, green eyes, and raven hair that goes down to her elbows. Seemingly dressed for the cold, wearing a maroon jacket and pants, both with noticeable padding, as well as black gloves and boots. What differentiates her from a skier is her lack of head or eyewear, and the lack of a hood on her jacket. The name "Anastasia" is printed on her jacket, where one would expect a name tag to be.

Anastasia glances at the bar and sighs, her breath visible for no obvious reason. She sits herself on a stool and signals a server with a raised hand.

“An ale,” she says. As the server gets to it her fingers drum the bar top while she examines the menus, and then her eyes light up. “And cigarettes,” she adds. When her cigarettes arrive she removes her right glove and pinches the end of one between her index finger and thumb. When she raises the cigarette to her mouth, it is lit.

Anastasia takes a long drag from her cig, then exhales a veritable cloud of second-hand smoke toward the ceiling, watching it disperse. Her hands now occupied by drink and smokes, she looks around the tavern for anything interesting.

[5a Violista]

The masked woman who looks like a half-elf finishes dealing with her so-called "quest log" and stands up to go over to the bar - being that close to the corner is too boring and she assume she'll get faster service at the bar.

Holly looks at Anastasia, having coincidentally sat next to her. "Hi," she says. "Nice jacket."

Holly, on the other hand, isn't wearing a jacket. She's got a...sundress on. Nothing as fancy as jacket.

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Anastasia initially seems confused to be spoken to by a masked stranger, but she recovers quickly.

"Thanks," she says. "I have a...I like to keep warm." She puts her cigarette out in a conveniently nearby ashtray, then coughs. "Hope you don't mind the smoke," she says to her new acquaintance. "Old habit."

"That's a nice mask," she says. "Going to a party?"

[5a Violista]

"Don't particularly like it," Holly says. "I'll just try to not breathe it in." She also likes to keep warm, but not apparently as much as Anastasia does.

"I hate the cold, too."

Holly shakes her head. "No, no party yet." She looks directly at the human woman. Anastasia, if she looks closely, would be able to see some scarring on the left side, around the eyes and just farther down from the mask, on the cheek. "I just like masks," she says. She then shrugs. "I've got a whole bunch of them at home."

[Haruspex_Pariah]

Anastasia notices the scarring on Holly's face, and then becomes self-conscious as she tries not to stare.

"Masks," she says, eyes darting up as she thinks back. "The last time I wore a mask, I ended up getting arrested at the end of the day." Anastasia laughs, a little bitterly. "Not that I didn't deserve it. That was, hell, feels like ages ago."

"So, you collect masks then? Interesting hobby." Anastasia drinks some of her ale. "I haven't had time for hobbies until recently," she says. "Maybe I should pick one up."

[5a Violista]

Holly smiles, and turns back to what she had ordered. "Yup, I have a lot of them." She also collects romance novels, but that's not really relevant. So she doesn't bother to bring it up. "If you've got time, hobbies are pretty fun. Although..." She trails off, trying to decide whether or not to ask the question she just had.

"...you've got me curious. That's got to have a story behind it, getting arrested. How'd that happen?"

I mean, sure, sometimes it's a boring story. But sometimes it's really interesting. Holly definitely hopes it's the interesting kind.