Umber Terra: A Shattered Realm

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You're in a town called Donovan's Fall. A small mining town in the foothills of the Craggy Mountains, along the Markham road. It's a very ordinary town by anyone's reckoning. There's a civil law building that serves as the Marshal's office, the court house, and the jail. There's a hotel with a public bath. There's a school, a barber shop, and a general store. There's a labor office, a post office,
a stable, and a public well. There are a very few residences along the south side of town, but most are scattered across the country. Most all of the buildings have a second story loft dwelling for the proprietors. Today you find yourselves having an evening drink at a Tavern called the Twisted Thorn. The entire building is made of roughly hewn timbers. All of the furniture, likewise, is made of wood. In fact, you can't recall seeing any construction in town that's not made entirely of wood. There are roughly 30 people in the tavern between the tables and the bar, a dark figure sits at the end of the bar in a heavy hooded coat, your waitress is a 3ft tall Shook with a scar across her left cheek and a very short masculine hair cut. A pair of dark skinned long haired human men are carrying on a raucous but jovial conversation at a table in the back. PThe bartender is a large lizard-folk man who is tending bar as usual when a tiny winged reptilian creature flies through an open window and lights on his shoulder. He reaches up and pulls a small rolled scroll from its leg. After reading the scroll he pulls a piece of paper from a drawer and draws up a flyer, walks around the bar and tacks it to a wooden beam near the doorway.

[Wolfykins]

Ina perched on the roof of the tavern, watching people come in and out. While she was still, the static between her feathers was absent, and her dark gray plumage could be mistaken for stone from a distance. Most people apparently didn't notice the enormous, eagle-like bird on the roof. Perhaps they mistook her for a statue, the lone piece of stone in this timber town. She watched for people who might be interesting. Someone who might need help.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Burt is drinking after a long day at the mines. His Hog body didnt sweat well, so he was looking forward to a mudbath later in order to cool down, but for now cold beer would do. He watched the patrons of the bar, staying alert of all the newer people, the old pig-o-taur had seen alot of people come and go, and most people here were vaguley familiar. He orders another drink and ponders over recent events.

[Andrew Markham]

Tekaji, a large Mintauran whose black fur has patches of grey in it, trudges towards the tavern, dragging his huge woodcutting axe behind him. Demand is always high, so he can work hard and lose himself for hours in the drudgery. His dark brown eyes are stubbornly focused on the building in front of him. Finally he reaches the entrance. He drops the axe, uncaring as to how it lands, and ducks into the building, avoiding damage to the doorframe with his wide horns. Tekaji moves to the bar, paying little heed to what is going on around him. He taps the bar twice, then sits and stares down at the wood before him.

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Ina notices the sound of the axe being drug carelessly through the street which draws her eye to the large dark haired Mintauran entering the tavern.

Burt sees a mug of beer lifted onto the table by a figure who remained hidden by the table itself. "Can I take your empty?" A high pitched voice with worn and weary undertones came from the hidden server opposite the table from him.

The bartender finishes wiping out the mug in his hand and sets it down with a klink and a thud. "Whathss it gonna be?" He asks Tekaji taking a step to close the distance between the two.

[Andrew Markham]

"Whatever's handy," he grunts in the Common tongue. The Mintauran doesn't look up.

[Wolfykins]

Ina watched the shaggy minotaur drop his axe carelessly in the doorway. That's kind of dangerous, she thought, slightly disapproving. She looked around, watching for a moment when there was a break in traffic and no one was really around. With a flurry of feathers crackling with blue static, she fluttered down from the roof and picked up the axe with her beak and then flew back onto the roof.
I'll give it back when he comes out, Ina thought.

[paladin_artea]

Ssithiss, a Yuan-ti wearing a leather coat, walking with a cane in his right hand, approached the Tavern while flexing the fingers of his left hand, the sound of bones crackling audible if you were near enough, he winced in pain as he did, then finally stepped through the door. He approached the lizardfolk bartender, sitting at the bar and put some coin on the bar, "Give me something strong tonight. I have a splitting headache," he complained.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Burt startles with a snort then looks under the table to see the server, he smiles a bit as he hands over the empty glass.

"-Snort-, keep em coming"

Burt hands over two small coins to tip the server.

He glances over to the new Taur coming into the tavern, he lifts his new mug to the creature before downing half of it and setting it down.

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The bartender slides Tekaji a tankard of tap ale and a trencher filled with some sort of stew, just in time for Ssithiss to take the seat next to him. At the Yuan-ti's request he reached up to the top shelf and brought down a round bottle with a slender neck and a waxed cork. Popping it open he poured just a sip or two of a honey brown liquor into a small glass. He replaced the cork and held the neck over a candle as he rotated it to reseal it for freshness. He pulled a small vial from under the counter and dropped two drops of a green liquid into the glass and stirred it with a glass rod. "Here you go friend, that should fix you right up."

Spoiler: Ssithiss

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As you drink the cocktail offered, the pain in your head and joints begins to subside.

"Sure thing mister!" The small waitress' tone seems to perk up as she drops the coins into her apron pocket and darts back behind the bar with the empty mug.

[Andrew Markham]

Tekaji drains a third of the mug in a series of slow swallows, feeling the lack of oxygen spread through his body. Finally he puts down the mug and allows air to flood his body once again. He sighs deeply, deflating slightly, enjoying the feeling of his body's decay. Finally he starts taking slow, deliberate sips from the trencher of stew, savoring the tastes.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Burt smiles seeing ssithiss and bring his beer with him to greet him, His voice jovial.

"Heya doc, having a rough day? Too many customers pulling your leg?"

Burt smiles at his often used pun.

[paladin_artea]

Ssithiss let out a small chuckle before replying to Bart, and really anyone who wished to listen, in his usual gravelly hiss, taking sips of the drink while doing so, "Not a lot of cusstomerss today. Jusst one...The miller'ss wife. Giving birth. It never cceassess to amaze me. How the femaless of the Umber raccess all sseem to cursse the exisstancce of their matess during the birthing processss. Shouting obssenitiess and wisshing they never met. Curssing hiss father for ever looking at hiss mother. Treating her coming child asss a parassite needing immediate removal...That kind of thing. Sshe did that while crusshing the miller'ss hand! Sso that gave me an extra paittent...While bandaging hiss hand, I reminded her that they came to me for fertility drugsss...sso she literally assked for this! Sshe then proceeded to crush my hand! The miller wass extremely grateful that her wrath turned on me momentarily. Desspite that, both mother and child completed the processs with no complicationsss...The other thing that alwayss amazess me...after all the sshouting, curssing, and threatsss, sshe ssudenly declared her undying love for her mate and child, weeping with joy. Thiss alwayss happenss it sseemss...It'ss much eassier with Dracokin...no fussss...jusst eggsss..." He placed the glass back on the bar and nodded at the bartender, "Now that wasss good medicine," he grinned.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Burt smiles and gives a chuckle.

"Its a balance. Making the children is so much fun. The umber deemed it right that the birthing be painful. "

He downs his beer and sets it down, waiting for his next one.

"So doc, what else has been up with you? I've got some newish people here, but aside from mc axe leaver, this place is stale with familiar people."

[paladin_artea]

"Mc Axe Leaver?" the doctor hisses quizzically, "oh he'ss going to have a time to find it. I ssaw a large bird take possssessssion of ssaid axe," he chuckled. "The sstory I regaled you with wass the mosst interessting thing to happen to me in weekss. Are there other new people here?" He asked as he looked around the room. While there were some he didn't recognize, everything looked normal, but he did see a flyer posted by the door that wasn't around the previous night, "Hello...what'ss thiss?" he asked out loud, heading to the doorway to check out the post closer...

[STDM Grizzly Ad]

Spoiler: Posted Flyer

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Reward 200 units

Recover shipment of goods hijacked north of town near redwood creek bridge. See proprietor for details.

The small waitress hops up on a stool to slide another beer to Burt while swiping his empty glass. Then she heads to the back corner where the boisterous men are waiving her down.

Tekaji finds a small bone in his stew.

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Burt looked over at the flyer as well and snorted as he saw it.

"-Snort- That sounds like a lot of money. What do you say doc, wanna talk some wipper snappers into doing the right thing and giving the stuff back?"

[paladin_artea]

"Perhapss we sshould conssider recruiting more beingss. I'm not ssure that jusst the two of uss can do thiss on our own," Ssithiss replied. He suddenly straightened up, making himself seem much taller and called out to the room, "There iss a job to recover sstolen goodss available. Any takerss?" he asked.

[Andrew Markham]

Tekaji picks up the bone from his stew, considering it. He gnaws on it some, then drops it back into the bowl. Working around it, he clears the trencher, then pushes it away.

As he sips the dregs of his drink and begins considering ordering a second, the Yuan-ti makes his announcement. Tekaji goes still. The area around him seems to grow colder. The wood of the trencher and the mug begin to rot and turn grey. Soon the discoloration begins spreading to the barstool and the bar itself. The Mintauran looks over his shoulder at the part snake. In his dark eyes, which were previously dull and disinterested, there now seems to be a war of emotions. Sithiss sees both fear and joy in those eyes, battling for supremacy. Tekaji locks eyes with him and holds them, showing intense interest for the first time since arriving at the bar. His fists tighten on the table and the decay leaps forward, creating lines in the bar.

After less than a minute, the air seems to turn back to normal, and Tekaji takes a single shallow breath. He grumbles audibly, "Never again." He throws coins on the table, gets up, and stalks out of the bar. Once outside, he doesn't even look for his fallen axe, heading back towards the edge of town at a walking pace.

[Wolfykins]

"Hey! Minotaur!" Ina called out, shifting her axe from her beak to the talons of one foot.
"Aren't you forgetting something?"

[Andrew Markham]

Tekaji turns sharply at the unexpected voice coming from above him. Emotions still raw from the tavern, he is shocked at the glorious creature he beholds on the roof of the building. He bows deeply to the thunderbird. "There are other axes for cutting wood," he grunts. "You may keep that, if it pleases you. Or I will return it. It matters not."

[paladin_artea]

”Guessss that’ss a no?” Ssithiss shrugged at his dining companion, ”want to wait a few minutess? I haven’t eaten yet anyway.”

[Wolfykins]

Ina made a birdy gurgle resembling a chuckle, the crest on her head lifting along with a ring of feathers around her neck, static crackling in between the feathers as they moved.
"Do I look like I could make use of an axe?" she asked, amused. Plucking the tool from her claws with her beak, she hopped to the edge of the roof and leaned over it.
"It was dangerous to leave it on the ground. Someone could cut themselves," she said around the shaft of the axe, her speech largely unaffected by the impediment; the words coming from her throat rather than from rigid lips. "What has you so agitated that you would abandon something you bothered to bring this far with you?"

[Darius Vibrtrar]

burt let out a laugh and a snort before responding.

"-snort- yea, git your food, Im gonna have a few more drinks, I am way more charismatic with more beer in me."

Bert sat at the bar and looked to the bar tender.

"Tell me about that job over there?"

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When Ssithiss addresses the bar the boisterous men in the back went silent briefly. One of them then shouted "eh, what kind of job you say mate?" Just then, Tekaji's entropic presence caused him to once again fall silent, but this time a fear filled his eyes. As Tekaji left the bar, Tonic, the bartender said "By the scales.... feckless savages, just when you think they've been dealt with another one crawls out of the woodwork. Right here in my own damned bar too. That's gonna cost a fortune." Just then Burt interrupts his rant and he switches gears back into business mode.
"Shipment of goods got hijacked heading north bound for Markham. Got a buyer in the Black Hill district. Had two good men on that load. Message I got said they barely escaped with their lives, so I'll need someone that's not afraid of a brawl to ride up and try to recover the goods. If you're interested, I'll give you a copy of the bill of sale, and if you're successful in recovering the goods, haul em on up to Markham and complete the shipment, then come back here and I'll give you the reward. If you take help, which I'd probably recommend, you'll have to work out the cuts between yourselves. Look, I don't know if this was highwaymen, or the damned rebs so if you decide to take the job, be careful, it's not worth your life. If you fail I'll have to send up another shipment and that just costs me that much more. I'm sure you understand."

[Darius Vibrtrar]

Burt frowned at the bartenders reaction.

"Not all of us... Feckless Savages, are here to ruin the good folks town?"

Tapping into his own umber powers of creation and alteration, he partially reverses the entropy, reinforcing the bar and the surrounding objects, leaving a look of aged wood and stone.

He exhales and frowns again.

"Let me look into some people, us minotaurs can be... intimidating, so violence may not be needed. I dont intend to put my life on the line."

[Andrew Markham]

The Mintauran stares up at the bird with dark, haunted eyes. "...Things I'd rather forget. I work hard, and at night I drink. Don't want to think about it."

[Wolfykins]

Ina looked into the minotaur's eyes, and saw her own reflection. Her ice-blue eyes closed briefly, old-gold colored beak clacking on the axe's handle.
"Talking helps," she said softly as her eyes opened again. Figuring the minotaur was unlikely to come any closer to retrieve the axe, the giant, charcoal-gray bird spread her wings with a crackle of electricity and hopped from the roof, gliding awkwardly to the ground, the short distance doing her no favors.
She tilted her head as she leaned towards the minotaur, to keep him in sight, tipping her beak to hold the axe in his direction.

[Andrew Markham]

Tekaji is startled by the mutual recognition that flashes between the two. He slowly takes the axe, then nods once. "Perhaps. But not here. Will you come to my home with me? It is away from others."

[Wolfykins]

"If you like," she said, banking her still-spread wings, creating a breeze, static crackling between her primaries.
"Do you want to fly?" she asked, lifting her crest as she straightened. "There's a harness in the pouch strapped to my leg," she said, lifting her wings up and tucking her head under the right one to point with her beak at a leather satchel bound by leather straps with brass buckles to her leg.