Trog's Tavern CLIII

[Rebonack]

Okay. Lots of people.

First?

Fancy wizard without a book.

Sterling

"Abrajin's Library would probably be your best bet," Zee replies thoughtfully. "But... umm... it's really weird. I mean, really weird. Weird for around here weird."

And that's saying quite a bit.

"But they have scrolls and stuff there that you can copy for free. You just have get a library card first. Getting a library card can be an experience."

That's certainly one way to put it.

"There's also the Philip Memorial Library but they specialize more in spooky stuff but you should Be Not Afraid."

All of a sudden there's a single, crystalline tone and Zee has been replaced by Yezekiel in her partially unveiled form. Humanoid at the moment, a vaguely cervine draconic entity, tall and slender. Two huge feathered wings stretch from her shoulders, two from her hips, and a smaller pair where her ears (or a cobra's hood) might be. The scales on her belly are glossy black, those on the rest of her body deep amber. The wings shimmer with green pinions glittering gold. A pair of antlers stretch back from her head, forming an interwoven ring with an orb of cosmic darkness hovering in the center, ringed in white starlight. She has no eyes in her head. But that's okay. Her wings are full of them. Glory radiates from her, filling the tavern with golden orange light. It feel likes the sun shining in its strength after a heavy rain. Clean and bright.

She keeps talking in that equally awesome and awful voice of hers. Apparently she hasn't noticed that anything has changed yet.

"-probably be careful in there. They specialize in the 'forbidden knowledge' kind of knowledge. The sort that makes you sprout eels out of your eyes. Philip Memorial is really useful if you know exactly what you're doing but otherwise maybe not the best pick? I guess they keep all the really dangerous stuff locked up. You need to bring the Librarian a new book if you want to use the Rare Book Room."

Yezekiel gives her long neck a bit of a bob. Those are the only libraries she can think of that are still around AND open to the public.

Pania

Then Pania is given what Yezekiel thinks is a friendly smile. But a friendly smile when you're a dragon looks WAY different than a friendly smile when you're a human. She hasn't noticed that she has unfolded a bit yet. The thing that she is now could NOT have fit in the same space that Zee occupied. The seraphim reaches back with one wing, using a single feather to pluck a key off the key-board and offer it to Pania.

"There you go! Usual newcomer's deal. You can stay here up to one week without worrying about paying, you'll just have to help with chores around the tavern," Yezekiel says. Then she turns her attention to a particular gnome. "Hey Cosmo? Could you grab a helping of Velvet Elfish for Pania?"

Cosmo is just standing there, mouth gaping. He had seen Zee do some weird stuff before, but nothing quite like this.

There seraph frowns at the gnome.

The light filling the tavern grows slightly, but notably, warmer.

"Fiiiine I have to do everything around here myself anyway. Not like that's anything new," she huffs, snagging a bowl off the shelf with her tail and bag of chips with her claws. The wings on her back snatch up some cheese from the fridge along with meat and other ingredients for making the sauce. A bit of time on the stove and perfect! The chips are set before Pania and the delicious smelling cheese-and-meat sauce drizzled over them.

"There you go! And don't worry about being persecuted around here. That is one of the best things about the Nexus, bar none. There are still prejudices floating around since people are going to be people, but I like to think that Inside is pretty progressive when it comes to understanding and embracing the fact that there are LOTS of different kinds of people. No need to worry about being chased by a mob unless you pop someone's head with your mind for no good reason. So probably don't do that?"

Excellent advice.

"Trade is pretty easy. If you feel like doing the adventure-y thing there are always people looking for help. If you want a normal job like maxing drinks at a bar, people are also always looking for help. You just need to get out there and find something that really speaks to you! Wield the Blade of Self with perseverance and cut your own path in life!"

Wow she's honestly feeling pretty great right now! She hasn't felt this chipper in years, probably. Yezekiel is thinking it might be because of how busy the tavern is. All these wonderful new people to meet and help is what she lives for.

Wilhelm

"Umm... based on the telomere length I would say thirteen years old, give or take?" the seraphim replies, scratching at her right head-wing absently. "That sort of thing can be really hard to estimate without a good baseline. Why does its perceived age matter so much?"

Tao and Flower Witch

Nina manages to shake the stars out of her eyes and fetches a new glass for Tao, complete with a new drink. "Don't worry. The tavern covers cost of lost drinks due to explosions."

Wow.

That's really nice of them.

"Not exactly. Not all the time, anyway. I guess I technically do something similar, but I keep it suppressed most of the time because it would be really inconvenient for everyone around me," the seraphim explains. The sort of garden she grows is kind of weird. "The short answer to the other question is... umm... it's complicated? I used to be a puppet for a not-very-nice someone and they would kind of experiment on me. Try new things all the time. But I managed to get the strings cut and now I'm my own person which is great."

She smiles that terrific dragon-smile again.

And finally notices that she's getting some weird looks.

"...what?"

But alas, she doesn't really have time to come to terms with why everyone is looking at her weirdly because a rocket powered chainsaw just came blasting in through the window.

That's so shocking it just launched Trog's straight into a NEW THREAD!