[Nexus] Trog's Tavern CCXXXVI

[Lost_Deep]

"As long as fighting is part of the repertoire, I'm willing to do most anything. However... why is it so important that we must do the things so exactly?"

Hint: the dwarf was inside before the Blood Moon rose.

[Murkus]

Originally Posted by ThirdEmperor

"No, I will be... Fine. Prometheus says, although in truth he's very much disturbed. Bellan might notice that Prometheus is doing his absolute best to avoid looking at the eldritch being, as every time he does he can't help but feel an intensely disturbing attraction to Bellan. "Um.... Might I ask what you're doing here, sir?"

"Oh. I came to speak with Zee. Certain things are waking up too soon. They must be dealt with." The giant gestures briefly at the barmaid before turning his mandibled smile on Prometheus. "And yourself...?"

[Rebonack]

Zee nods enthusiastically.

"Yes Foro! You should get out there and start right away! I'm sure there are lots of people that will need your help!" wow this sound urgent!

Foro had better hurry!

Attention back to the dwarf and hobbit!

"It has to be exact, friend dwarf, because the things that slumber in the roots of the mountains are beginning to stir. And putting them down again require careful execution."

That's an understatement.

"Fighting might be necessary. Sometimes followers of the Old One you'll be attempting to seal will go out of their way to stop you."

[ApeofLight]

Foro giggles, perhaps a little madly, before hopping off the counter and dashing out the door. " Here tentacle creepy things! Foro needs to beat you up! " He cheers just before the door to the inn slams behind him.

[Lost_Deep]

"Ooooh. Forgotten things. Saw one once, it was asleep of course. Took 213 lives before we closed it back up. I'm lucky to still be alive. And non-gibbering."

He says it all with a voice of fear and reverence, and he shifts uncomfortably.

For sometimes, deep dwarves discover that some of their neighbors cannot merely be ended with a stout back and a serrated axe.

[Rebonack]

Yeah...

That's one of the problems with living so far under the earth.

There are, after all, fouler and older things than orcs in the deep places of the world.

Zee winces slightly at the story. "Sorry to hear that... I mean, I'm not sorry that you lived. Sorry that a bunch of your kin died. I really need to make a point of marking those tombs better..."

Silly mortals.

Always breaking into the tombs.

There are no riches you fools!

Only madness!

[Warpfire]

Jacob finally looks up from his pondering of the apocalypse, and turns towards Zee.

"Is there anything I could do? Don't really know how to do much but shoot stuff and I guess sneakin' around and stuff..." he shakes his head in the midst of his drunken rambling.

"What I'm tryin' to say is, I'll help anyway I can."

He squints at the empty bottle of whiskey.

"In a few hours."

[TechnoScrabble]

Hiding in one of the darker corners of the Tavern is a horrible beast that was once a young boy. Warped, its skin leathery, the flesh around his eyes torn out and his hair yanked free of his scalp, Garrett listens in to see if anyone here might know a way to reverse his condition.
I say we just kill them all! Blood blood blood!
Obviously, the sensible thing to do is take a hostage and threaten to hurt them. That way, we don't need to actually harm anyone.
Why can't we just go in and ask someone for help?
Oh yeah, because vampires areso welcome in Inside!
Garrett jerks and twitches as multiple minds argue within his head.

[ThirdEmperor]

"Sounds like my cup of tea. So, what exactly do you want me to do?" The hobbit asks.
--------------

"I'm here to drink." Prometheus answers. "Alcohol is meant to allow people to forget their troubles, is it not?"

[Rebonack]

The creepy vampire should totally try something. Because Zee is in a great mood and totally likely to put up with that kind of crap.

Has it been mentioned that the unmitigated power of K'rax-Naggath is at her disposal at the moment on account of her being awake? 'cuz it totally is.

...though she probably wouldn't employ it.

That's bound to attract negative attention that she doesn't want right now.

She's asked questions!

Drums her fingers on the counter...

"Hmmm... What else..." she mutters aloud as she thinks. What other Old Ones are close to awakening that have relatively simple fixes... Her expression brightens suddenly! "Oh! I know! Go to the Slums and look for a mural on a red brick wall. The mural will depict a black sun over a burning landscape. Push on the wall under the sun. If anyone asks you what you're doing tell them 'The sky is weeping.' Say nothing else to them besides that no matter how much they press."

This sounds kind of complicated...

"Eventually the wall will give way. Step inside and pick up the brown paper bag you find. Immediately discard the bag and shatter the empty bottle you on the sun outside. Give the broken bottle to the first person you pass who doesn't speak to you. Tell them 'You know what must be done,' and leave. Do not look back."

[Chaotic Bob]

Karaglen finally slinks down from the stairs, peering around.
Making sure nothing horrible has happened.

Then she creeps back towards the bar, quietly dragging the sword at her side.
Yes. It came with her to prayer-time.

[TechnoScrabble]

Finally, Garrett steps out from his corner, raising one viciously clawed hand.
"Excuse me, everyone, could I have a bit of your time?"
Oh, we are screwed.
As long as there's blood!

[Rebonack]

Zee smiles and waves at Kara as she approaches!

She's still trying her best to be comforting. That dinner bamhacon may help with said comforting. Nothing horrible appears to have happened. At least not yet anyway.

Suddenly!

Person saying stuff!

Zee glances over at the vampire, quirking an eyebrow at him.

...

Zee doesn't like undead in general.

And vampires in particular. Mostly because of Sszy.

[TechnoScrabble]

"I was...attacked...and turned into a vampire, and I'd really like to know if there's a way to turn back... preferably one that doesn't involve me dying..."
Garrett looks around hopefully.

Oh geez, how did this guy get in control?

[Rebonack]

Oh neat!

Now he's announcing that he's a vampire!

But at least he's saying that he doesn't want to be a vampire anymore...

Fun fact: K'rax-Naggath is evolution given form. She's able to mutate anything. Up to and including warping non-living matter into twisted, aberrant life. But it requires her whole power to do so. And using her full power right now means that her kin start waking up.

And that would be dreadful.

However!

In her present state she's able to mutate non-living things provided she can come up with a silly pun regarding their name. When Magtok was turned into a vampire she in turn mutated the undead into a Magpie at his request.

Beat being tormented by Rot.

So with that in mind she asks, "What's your name?"

[Chaotic Bob]

More bamhacon!
Yay!
Karaglen likes that stuff almost as much as Mychasi likes his brownies.

The girl, who suddenly seems much more lively, almost glowing, bounces into a stool at the bar.
Sword is returned to a resting place leaning against said bar.

She throws Zee a much-more-genuine-than-earlier smile and politely lets her keep talking to the other people, not interrupting.
Instead just eating the supplied dinner food.

Which is delicious.

[Murkus]

Originally Posted by ThirdEmperor

"I'm here to drink." Prometheus answers. "Alcohol is meant to allow people to forget their troubles, is it not?"

"You have troubles, then?" Bellan gives a good-humoured sigh. The giant has troubles of his own, though less so these days. "Unfortunately, alcohol doesn't do much for me. But I am happy to help others." The giant shifts and draws some gold from his robes. "Perhaps I could buy you a drink?"

[ThirdEmperor]

"Indeed. Have you ever heard of the Objects?" Prometheus asks, sitting down. He needs someone to talk to, after all, and this Bellan creature seems as good as any. Better than most, really."And... Yes. Thank you."
-------

The hobbit nods and hops out of his seat. "See you again soon. And thanks for the food, you're an excellent cook." With that he sets off for Inside.

[Murkus]

"I know those foul things by a great many names." Bellan says in confirmation, a cursory frown flickering over his features. He seems genuinely concerned, if the Objects are troubling Prometheus. "What of Them?"

The giant looks between Pro and Cosmo, offering some gold to the grumpy gnome. "What will you have?"

[ThirdEmperor]

Prometheus thinks for a second, before deciding that wine would be best. "Cormyrian Fireamber. He stops again, this time wondering if he should tell the truth about the Objects, only to find that, oddly enough, he trusts the eldritch being. "I... Acquired one. Then another. Then a third. I intended to stop there, those three were all I truly needed, and yet.... And yet I cannot stop thinking of them. The desire to seek them out burns at my mind, until I can barely think, until I cannot sit still, cannot even distract myself with my work. I think I need to find a fourth, I feel that doing so would offer a reprieve from the endless itch, yet... I am not sure I should."

[Morty]

Originally Posted by Harnel

"So what was that about?" Lisor asks curiously.

It was about a job we're doing to that guy. I can't go into details, I'm afraid.
Now that Kara's gone, Viima pads over to Lisor, who smells kinda like her master.

[Harnel]

"I understand - everybody has secrets, especially if they're part of their job. I won't pry more about it."

Lisor grins at Viima, and slips off the stool to hug the wolf and begin petting and rubbing her. Lisor had lived with wolves before - they made wonderful and loyal companions and could be ridden if they were trained to bear a rider. Lisor will look up at Dipsnig and wonder if he was a warrior who rode a war wolf - And her opinion of the goblin man goes from nice guy to hero in less than a second.

[Morty]

Well, I'm a professional mercenary and professionals don't talk about their clients' business.

Viima is hugged and petted and rubs herself against the goblin girl, growling softly. On the whole, she really doesn't give the impression of a wolf a warrior would ride on.

Oh, and this is Viima. She's my wolf mount.

[Harnel]

Doesn't mean Dipsnig himself can't be heroic and badass.

"Hello Viima! You're a cute one, aren't you?" she says as she scratches the wolf behind the ears.

"... So, you're a warrior then?" Lisor looks up at Dipsnig, her eyes already sparkling with admiration.

[Morty]

Badass maybe. Heroic, though. Nah.

Viima happily accepts the scritches. Her owner doesn't like it when people treat her as an adorable cuddly pet, but what can he do?
Not really, no. I'd describe myself more as a spy and a leader. And I don't really take Viima into the fights I do end up in.

[Harnel]

Well, goblin type heroic, in a way.

Thoe sparkling eyes don't go away. Lisor's imaginings shift from him being a warrior to being a general, commanding warriors on how to fight in army to army combat, in the completely romanticized version she got from her parents as a child. and With being a spy, she imagines him almost like being a ninja when he wants to be, inflitrating anywhere, moving from shadow to shadow.

She's going to be so disappointed when she finds out >.>

"Well, she does kind of seem to cuddly for a fight, doesn't she?"

[Lost_Deep]

The dwarf listens, but is too slow and the hobbit gets the job. Ah, well.
"Anything else? I'm willing to do quite a bit to keep horrors from waking up."
And if fighting against these things increases a chance at having a discount at this fine establishment, all the better.

[Morty]

Dipsnig shrugs. I imagine she could mess people up if she had to. It's just that with all the things you encounter here in the Nexus, I don't want to endanger her needlessly.

[Harnel]

Lisor nods, "I know what you mean. Just on my way here I saw a giant turtle thing with blades for hands - frightened me silly. I wouldn't force a wolf to fight something like that."

[Morty]

Definetly. So I just ride around on her and generally keep her as a pet. She's good to have around. And she reminds me of home, since my father breeds riding wolves.