[Nexus] Trog's Tavern CCXXXVI

[TechnoScrabble]

The magic does nothing to stop this, and Xeni will find that the fire doesn't burn him. It's really only just above room temperature. What luck!

Now all Garrett's corpse has to do is sit back and hope this works!

[Rebonack]

Aaww...

Baby's kitty didn't like her. That's really sad.

Zee breaths a sigh of relief when she sees the little black kitty go to sleep. "Now Bast won't awaken and do horrific things," she replies. "At least not for now. That's one more Old One bound."

She wrinkles her nose a bit.

"Though if even one of them wakes up all bets will still be off. If one wakes up they all wake up."

And that would be terrible.

She offers a kind smile to the dwarf.

"Thank you."

[Chaotic Bob]

Oh that's good then.

A proper, simplified explanation shall now be presented.
The cracker sent out an energy feed to as much of Garrett's animating energy as possible (the vampirism curse), and then drew it inwards towards his heart, where it pooled.
Xeni stabbed it with the rod, which proceeded to absorb said energy and convert it back to a "normal" state.
With the application of electricity, the rod dissolved, distributing this altered energy back into Garret's body.

Life is rather literally flooding through his body now.
And his neck.

"Right, you're up, Kara."

This part's pretty easy.
Just Kara scooching over from her stool, to put a hand on Garrett's neck and pump some basic healing energy into him.
Voila, wound fixed.

Vampirism gone.
Life secured.

Also pain.
Lots of pain.
Body's been dead for a month or two, animated and given functionality by dark magic, of sorts.
And now it's not. A bit of a rapid change, tends to be unpleasant, especially when all your nerves are busily firing off to make sure they're actually work.

This is the part Xeni told Garrett he wouldn't be thanking him for.

[TechnoScrabble]

Garrett twitches. His lips curl up in a snarl. Then, he jumps up into the air, eyes wide open, arms flailing wildly.
He hasn't felt pain this severe in quite a while.
"SONOFA*somanyexpletives!*PAIN HURTS!"

[Lost_Deep]

"Well then, what next? We've got to keep going!"

He isn't scared. Okay, some part of him is, but the rest of him doesn't listen to it.

[Chaotic Bob]

Karaglen "eep"s and jumps back towards her stool and sword as the man starts flailing and swearing.

Xeni, meanwhile, stares at him and calmly drinks his Chianti.
Really glad he made Garrett buy that first.
So tasty.

"Right. So I can knock you out and carry you to your bed. Or...you can have fun like that. Your choice."
While you mull that over, not-vampire-man, the mage will give his adopted niece a thumbs up for a job well done.

[TechnoScrabble]

Originally Posted by Chaotic Bob

Karaglen "eep"s and jumps back towards her stool and sword as the man starts flailing and swearing.

Xeni, meanwhile, stares at him and calmly drinks his Chianti.
Really glad he made Garrett buy that first.
So tasty.

"Right. So I can knock you out and carry you to your bed. Or...you can have fun like that. Your choice."
While you mull that over, not-vampire-man, the mage will give his adopted niece a thumbs up for a job well done.

Garrett's a 16 year old boy...
Anywho...
"If it makes my ENTIRE FREAKING BODY stop hurting, sure!" Garrett shouts while nonchalantly sipping at a mug of cider.

[Baeleck]

Niara appears on the scene!

It was only so long before the plane-hopping artificer noticed that something big was happening in the Nexus. Dancing around between existences tends to make you more aware of these things on the whole. Whilst she's not necessarily here to do anything about it, she does enjoy being in the position of an observer, as things unfold.

Watching and learning.

Trog's had always been the anchor point for her rickety, fold-out dimensional door frame. Not only was it a central location and a (comparatively) safe place to arrive, it offered food, drink, a place to rest and, most of all, good company. She'd never get used to opening the damn thing up, though. The device buckles and twists as the woman pushes her way through. Then it closes with a painful sound - something akin to the slicing of a guillotine, the crack of a whip and the creak of rusted metal.

Niara puts her fingers to her mouth, managing to catch them on the door once again. When she's sure it's done collapsing on itself, she plucks it from the air and slips it into the pocket of her duster jacket.

Aside from the oddities in Zee's appearance and the pained young lad, Niara doesn't perceive much else of note going on. Which is... mildly disappointing. She'd witnessed far larger commotions here. This leads her to ponder, for a moment, whether what she'd sensed was just the Nexus luring her back, like it was renowned for doing.

Whatever the case, she doesn't doubt that she'll discover what's going down in due time.

[Chaotic Bob]

16 is often considered a point of manhood, in many cultures.
So m'yeah.

"As you wish. Sleep tight."
And so Xeni yawns.
A very simple action.
A very simple action laced with high quantities of magic, specifically tuned to Garrett.

The fellow, if he's not feeling particularly resistant, will find the desire to yawn in turn.
And then immediately pass out.

Don't worry, Xeni will catch his head before he smacks it on the bar or something.
And then teleport him up to the rented room.

He'll wake up.
Eventually.
Probably be fine. Maybe.

Meanwhile, Karaglen peers over at the newcomer.
Tries not to be suspicious, let Bahamut's influence bring back her good will.
She kind of succeeds and gives Niara a little wave, before nibbling on another cracker and seeing what her Uncle is doing now.

[Harnel]

Originally Posted by Morty

Dipsnig snorts. Paladins back home were different than here but yeah, I've heard of her, her girlfriend and their exploits. She's not a paladin, though, but some brand of godling, I forget which.

Lisor looks at Dipsnig incredulously for a moment, and then says, "Yeah, I think that sounds about right. Strange woman."

[Rebonack]

She probably will!

Though...

Probably not right away.

Mostly because Zee is nodding off again.

Sooooo sleeepy...

Or less so sleepy and more wide awake.

Just not wide awake here.

With a thud she falls head first onto the counter, snoozing away.

And on that note!

A fellow in a rather smart white suit steps into the tavern! This is offset by his rather dark complexion, rather akin to Zee's. He walks with a thin black cane and atop his head is a niez hat. Oh. And he has a beard. Nice little tight beard. Sorta long. Like what one would expect to see on a Pharaoh.

His loud orange tie really clashes with the rest of his outfit.

"Well well," he purrs to himself as he removes his hat and tucks it under one arm. "Quite the place here."

[TechnoScrabble]

Originally Posted by Chaotic Bob

16 is often considered a point of manhood, in many cultures.
So m'yeah.

"As you wish. Sleep tight."
And so Xeni yawns.
A very simple action.
A very simple action laced with high quantities of magic, specifically tuned to Garrett.

The fellow, if he's not feeling particularly resistant, will find the desire to yawn in turn.
And then immediately pass out.

Don't worry, Xeni will catch his head before he smacks it on the bar or something.
And then teleport him up to the rented room.

He'll wake up.
Eventually.
Probably be fine. Maybe.

Meanwhile, Karaglen peers over at the newcomer.
Tries not to be suspicious, let Bahamut's influence bring back her good will.
She kind of succeeds and gives Niara a little wave, before nibbling on another cracker and seeing what her Uncle is doing now.

"I'm supposed to be falling asleep here, not yo-uuuurgh..." Garrett collapses and is hopefully caught and brought up to the room he rented!

[Baeleck]

Karaglen receives a wave in return, albeit a clumsy one. The large clockwork bracer that encases Niara's left forearm looks just as cumbersome as it is. Even with her less-than-muscular frame, one might imagine how much extra clout it could give.

Perhaps that's what it was for. Clouting people.

Or, y'know... it might just be full of useful artificer gadgets!

Her attention then turns to the newcomer, her eyes drawn rather helplessly to stare at that utterly outlandish tie of his.

"It's pretty swell," she agrees, smiling. "Your first time here, I take it?"

[Chaotic Bob]

"Just rest off the pain, bud."
And so Garrett is sent off, to wake whenever the pain is gone.

Xeni quietly sips more of his Chianti, before glancing at the two latest additions to the tavern.
Doesn't immediately recognize either, but that's okay.

Since they seem to be talking, he spins around to Kara, who was watching the orange-tie fellow for a moment.
Doesn't take long for her to look back up to her Uncle, though.

A smile, a hug, a long awaited reunion.
The two finally set to catching up.

[Rebonack]

...

Zee continues to snooze away on the counter-top. She'll probably start snoring any minute now.

"Hmm, me?" the snappily dressed fellow replies. "Oh I've been to the Nexus before. Just never here. Always on business, though. This is the first time I'll really get to just enjoy my time."

He has a very likable voice and personality. Very charming. Very trustworthy. The sort of person you want to believe.

"Mostly I thought it might be nice to meet a few of my niece's friends. She's been doing such a good job here. Just look at her," he gestures at Zee with his cane. "Put herself right to sleep with all that hard work. Poor thing."

He strides further into the tavern, shoes clicking on the floor followed by the *tap!* of his cane. And then pauses, turns on his heels, and offers a hand to Niara. "But how rude of me. Call me Mister Skin."

[Harnel]

Hey! Look! It's Harnel!

The Half-Dragon walks into the tavern, continuity saying that this happens after the thing with the truck in WATCH. He's looking for Zee for information on the horrorterrors that are apparently going to try and destroy Inside. Not that they'll let that happen!

Oh... but She's asleep. Drat.

Pharaoh guy may notice Harnel coming in.

[VampireRot]

Look! On that table, right there!

There's a snoozing black kitten laying down next to a saucer of milk. How adorable.

[Murkus]

"Your case sounds... usual, I'm afraid." Bellan says to Prometheus, unsure how to help someone afflicted with such an issue. The giant tilts his head a little, clicking thoughtfully. "If you require aid, I know certain ways to remove this 'itch' from your mind, or at least suppress it."

[Chaotic Bob]

Karaglen and Xeni continue to chat.
Busily telling each other what's been going on, the latter being a little lax on various unpleasant details of his recent journeys.

They're so busy with their reunion, that the little girl has forgotten her job to keep Zee awake!
Uh oh. That's probably not good, is it?

Chatty chatty chat chat.

Eventually...
"Zee looks pretty tired there. Should probably nudge her and her tendrils off to bed."
"Oh no! Zee! Zee, wake up!"
Three crackers and a puff of cold wind are thrown at the barmaid in fairly quick succession.

[ThirdEmperor]

Yes, I know. I had thought, as I am a superior being compared to most mortals, I could resist their song. Perhaps that was hubris." Prometheus sighs. "If you can do anything, I would be most grateful. I fear simply discarding the Objects has ceased to be an option for me."

[Baeleck]

One has to have their wits about them when visiting other existences. People get unpredictable. Though she is very much taken by his charm, she errs on the side of caution.

Plus, she was still a little distracted by that tie.

"Relatives are a nice reason for visiting," she says, casting her gaze to the sleeping Far-maid as she's scattered with crackers. "My brother lives hereabouts, so I should probably try and track him down. Thank you for reminding me!"

She'd only talked to Zee once before, but it had become apparent that her human form was just a mask for a true form, something the mortal mind can't handle. Was this man a similar case?

The offered hand is taken after only a brief pause for thought. "A pleasure to meet you, Mister Skin. I usually just go by Niara, but if we're sticking to formalities, it's Miss Tarmikos."

[Rebonack]

Snooze Zee snooze!

But then much thwacking.

"Bwah!" the barmaid starts as she suddenly sits bolt upright just in time to see-

"A pleasure, Miss Tarmikos," Mister Skin takes Niara's hand in his own, smiling pleasantly, before leaning down to kiss said hand in a suitably chivalrous and proper fashion.

Zee's eyes go wide.

"NO!" she practically screams. "Don't let him touch you!"

What happens next?

Well. That's up to everyone else.

[Harnel]

Harnel doesn't have enough time to survey the situation and react, so he ends up with a somewhat dumbfounded expression, standing by the door.

really, Harnel. I thought you were better than that

[Baeleck]

Upon hearing Zee's warning, Niara makes an attempt to snatch her hand back, though it's a little late for no touching - Skin already had her hand in his. Furthermore, she does not have the quickest reactions ever, a fact that was demonstrated when she caught her fingers barely a minute earlier.

Quite what the repercussions to her actions are is yet to be seen.

[Lost_Deep]

A barstool flies across the room, aiming for Mr. Skin's noggin. It was thrown by Darst, who next heaves up his bloodstained barstool to beat the guy senseless if at all necessary or remotely advisable.

[Murkus]

Originally Posted by ThirdEmperor

Yes, I know. I had thought, as I am a superior being compared to most mortals, I could resist their song. Perhaps that was hubris." Prometheus sighs. "If you can do anything, I would be most grateful. I fear simply discarding the Objects has ceased to be an option for me."

"Well, there are only two options I know of. The first will only suppress your urges to seek, perhaps remove them entirely eventually." Bellan says, pondering and looking at the ceiling. "The second removes... well, most of your memories. Along with any trace of the Objects."

[Rebonack]

Mister Skin just sighs an exasperated sigh as he turns toward Zee.

Zee, who at the very moment, is displaying emotions set somewhere between uncontrollable rage and abject terror.

Yes.

Zee is terrified.

"Really my dear. You know me better than that. Claiming someone with a simple kiss to the hand? Before a deal has been struck? Don't take me for some cheap swindler."

"You-" Zee begins.

"Shush," Mister Skin cuts her off, pointing his cane at her.

Zee shushes immediately.

Mostly because her mouth is gone.

He turns back to Niara and offers an apologetic smile.

"I'm truly sorry if my niece startled you. Do understand that she's under a great deal of stress right now. This particular part of her job has always troubled her greatly."

Zee, meanwhile, is struggling behind the counter trying to get her mouth open again.

And then flying bar-stool!

When the projectile comes within about a foot of Mister Skin the stool begins to decay at an absurd rate. Metal corroding into fine powder and wood rotting away as little more than dust. By the time it reaches him the particles that remain are motes so miniscule that they don't even soil his suit.

He raises a hand toward the dwarf. "Now now, no need for that my friend. I'm here to have an enjoyable evening. Not to fight."

[ThirdEmperor]

"I think the first would be best. Even if I believed myself capable of losing my memories, I would rather keep the few that I have."

[BladeofOblivion]

Despair is not in a good mood. But all things considered, he likes Zee. Even if she shouted at him and assumed he wanted to murder Molodai. But that's in the past.

Still, it didn't seem like there was much he could do against this newcomer. He still tries to edge close enough where he could interpose himself if needed. And draws his Longsword and Shield, leaving the larger two-handed weapon on his back.

[Harnel]

Harnel's brow furrows and he moves forward. He's not stupid - if this man is claiming that Zee is his niece, he's probably older and more powerful than Zee is. The mouth thing just confirms that.

"Excuse me, but don't you feel that was rather rude of you to do to Zee?" he says it pleasantly. the man apparently fancies himself a gentleman, so Harnel is willing to play along.