[Nexus] Trog's Tavern CCXLIII

[Rebonack]

The Farmaid isn't going to do anything about the Crusader and his stand against chugging stuff with ethanol in it. Not until some of the customers begin to complain about him at least. Having self-righteous windbags harassing people is bad for business after all!

No, for now she's just passing out drinks and sammiches as usual.

Meanwhile!

A half-drow girl who appears to be about twelve years old by human standards approaches the goblin and his wolf cautiously. She's fidgeting a bit, trying to drum up the courage to speak. Kinda rocking back and forth on her feet.

"Ummm..." Sadei speaks up hesitantly before pointing at the rather large riding wolf. "Is he nice?"

Clearly the child wants to pet the wolf.

[Mr. Moon]

From her corner of Trog's, Moon Called nurses her whiskey. She holds it in both hands, drawn out of her introspective stupor to watch the Crusader suspiciously. For now the ice elf is content to stay silent, letting the other patrons engage in debate. Life was too short to argue politics and propriety. Still, Moon keeps an eye on the situation. If things turned ugly, she wanted to be ready.

And heck. She could use a good brawl.

[Morty]

Dipsnig turns around to peer at the half-drow suspiciously.
Moderately, he finally says. You can pet him if you want.
Kullervo himself raises his head and looks at Sadei impassively. He's not as friendly and affectionate as Viima.

[Rebonack]

Friendly and affectionate animals are more fun though!

Sadei smiles, holding out a hand toward the rather large wolf. And as she does so sings...

Something.

It's whispery and clear. A strange sense of peacefulness and serenity bound up in the wordless notes. But for what purpose? Who knows.

The wolf may feel a little more comfortable around the girl, though.

"He's really big and pretty," Sadei finally observes before looking back at the goblin once again. "What's his name?"

Clearly it would be a name suitable for such a big impressive animal.

[Morty]

Kullervo seems to relax a little and lets Sadei pet him. He does so in a serious and dignified manner, however. Dipsnig's eyes, meanwhile, narrow.
His name's Kullervo. And may I ask what you just did?
He doesn't appreciate people casting spells at his wolves.

[Rebonack]

Srs wolf is srs.

Sadei runs her fingers through the wolf's fur, smiling at the warm feeling. Though... the smile doesn't last very long. When Dipsnig speaks up she pulls her hand away, fidgeting uncomfortably.

"I... I just sang to him..." she replies. Apparently she's afraid she just got in trouble. "Is... am I not supposed to do that? I'm really sorry..."

Strictly speaking there wasn't any magic in her song.

It's just...

Soothing.

Little more.

[Morty]

Dipsnig's ears fall back, having perked up in irritation before.
Nah, it's alright, he says. Singing's fine. I was worried you were casting spells at him.

[Rebonack]

Sadei relaxes a bit at that reply.

Phew!

That certainly makes her feel better. Was pretty sure she had gotten herself into trouble somehow. And that's never nice in the least. Once more she reaches out to run her hand through the wolf's fur.

"No... no spells. My brother Ib'bahhali is good at that. Not me..." she replies quietly. "I just like singing."

Singing is nice!

Singing makes people feel happy. Or sometimes sad. Or peaceful. Or excited! All depends on the type of song.

"I like animals, too. Kullervo is very pretty. Do you bring him here a lot?"

[Morty]

Dipsnig's ears twitch. Pretty. Oh well. Docile, domesticated wolves are pretty, he guesses.
Sometimes. When I visit Trog's, I ride here on one of my two wolves. Kullervo is one of them and his mate is the other.
Kullervo accepts the pets as before. He seems to enjoy them, but it's hard to tell.

[Rebonack]

"I'm Sadei Xar'cha," the girl comments quietly, offering a small smile. "What about you, what's your name?"

And speaking of small...

A teeny tiny pixelated portal swirls into being in the rafters, no more than three inches across. Certainly small enough to be missed completely. And shortly after that? A scarcely audible whisper.

Sounds vaguely like 'Random encounter detected'

Huh.

That's out of the ordinary for sure.

Wonder what's up?

[orb_of_blood]

[Cowboy's Table]

Isla listens, a growing expression of astonishment on her face. When the tale ends she's silent for a moment.

Must be nice, to be able to be resurrected with a single spell, regardless of any costs. Death on Laira is nearly always permanent.

Still, the thought that Madame de la Moy is truly blessed vanished somewhere around the point where she described her organs being ripped apart from the inside by a tree.

"What happened to the druid after you were raised? Have you seen her since?"

[Artemis97]

Victoria steps into the tavern and walks up to the bar, ordering herself a Fox Cola.

[Morty]

Xar'Cha? Hm. That's the drow family, isn't it? The one AMEN's supremely annoying leader and that guy he almost spoke to a while back belong to. The owner of Black Dragon's Den, too.
Name's Dipsnig Razortooth. The boss of NO.
He disregards the portal.

[Earl of Purple]

Cowboy's Table

"What one sees after death is immensely personal. It varies from person to person. What I saw, though, I remember. I was brought before Dalachrech, and saw Him in all His True Glory. His idols are nothing compared to actually seeing Him; for one thing, they are only a foot long, if that, and He is over twenty feet long, plus the tails curled over His back. It was astounding, and I can't really describe it. I spent a week there from my perception; I was dead, I don't know how long- I didn't want to ask. I know what awaits when I leave this immortal coil, and I'd willingly martyr myself to see it sooner, should Dalachrech wished, but it is His wish I stay here, for now at least. You won't see the same; you aren't His followers, and I don't know how personal your deity of choice is with Their worshippers after death." Gertrude knows that her faith will be rewarded well, and has experienced that reward already; however, she knows that Dalachrech wants her alive. When He's ready to keep her soul permanently, He won't let her be resurrected. "No, I haven't seen the druid since. I would not be surprised if she is deliberately avoiding at least me, if not the cult." The druid's player is currently away from the Nexus, and I haven't seen the character for a while.

[Rebonack]

"Nice to meet you Mister Razortooth," Sadei replies, offering a polite bow. She doesn't seem quite as annoying as the aforementioned AMEN leader. Maybe that's a role drow have to grow into? Couldn't possibly be that old. Probably even younger than she looks considering the weird way that the Nexus interacts with time.

The little girl peers over at the half-fiend who just entered the tavern and quirks her head off to the side a bit. "Umm... Are..."

See, the chimeras all inherited memories from their Mother. A unique selection of them to each. Helped them to be able to function as soon as they were born. Which means they all were given knowledge of various Nexus dwellers that they were to protect.

Close friends and family especially.

"Are you Victoria Rock?"

Meanwhile!

A tendril of thick soupy fog begins to slowly worm out of the portal. Soupy fog that happens to be cotton-candy pink.

[Artemis97]

Victoria gives Sadei an odd look. "Yeah... do I know you?" She couldn't recall meeting the girl before, though she was certain she'd seen her in the tavern before.

[Rebonack]

The odd look results in Sadei fidgeting.

Making Sadei fidget honestly isn't very difficult.

"I'm Sadei Xar'cha," the girl replies a moment later. "I remember you because of Mother."

She wrinkles her nose a bit.

"...sort of..."

It's kind of weird to explain aloud.

"Raril's my father. That makes us... cousins?" she continues hesitantly. That sounds about right to her at least.

Meanwhile!

The tendril of pink fog oozes through the portal and begins mounding up on the floor. The way the stuff moves gives the impression that its a really thick liquid rather than a gas. Several patrons give it odd looks.

[Morty]

Dipsnig blinks. So, the half-drow kid knows this woman but the woman doesn't know her. Oh well. None of his business. He turns around and goes back to surveying the room.

[Reinholdt]

Standing over in the dark corner is the Mysterious Hooded Figure still. MHF to be honest, doesn't look to be much bigger than a halfling. Seems kinda small for the job.



All the same, the MHF stares at you. Yes, even you, despite you being behind a pillar and in another room. MHF is just that good at staring. MHF stares at Sadei and Kullervo in particular for longer than some others, though admittedly it's hard to tell at times.

MEANWHILE...

Flaming Hawt Reinholdt Human Vampire Sniper Kitty Thing comes in and heads to the bar to take a seat and order a drink before looking around.

[Artemis97]

Victoria smiles. "Yeah, it would!" She giggles a bit, but stops short when the pink mist starts pouring out over the floor. "That's... odd." The half-fiend gets up and moves closer to the growing mound.

[Rebonack]

So much looking around! People sure do that often here at Trog's. Looking around. Surveying the room. It's just so... passive. They should see things more often! Crazy things! Because Trog's certainly has no lack of those.

That growing heap of cotton-candy pink fog in the middle of the floor is just one crazy thing of many!

Anywho...

Sadei wriggles uncomfortably when she notices that she's being stared at.

...by someone behind a pillar.

She really isn't sure how that works. But it is kind of creepy.

Meanwhile!

There comes a dull thunk from the midst of the cloud as if something solid just landed on the floor inside it. Can't really see anything in there, though. That stuff is as clear as mud.

Sadei gives the fog a rather sour look. "I don't like it..."

[Artemis97]

"It can't be that bad." Really, it was shrouded in pink mist, how horrible could it be?

Cautiously, Victoria stuck her foot into the mist, trying to nudge whatever fell into it.

[Reinholdt]

Stare stare stare.

Reinholdt turns on his seat upon hearing a thunk and peers at the cloud.
"Did someone add food colouring to a solid fog spell?"

Hmm... only one thing to do here.
Pull a stick out of his hammerspace, walk up, and poke! Poke poke!

[Rebonack]

Sadei glances back at the goblin.

Then toward the cloud again. "Do you know what this is, Mister Razortooth?" she asks. Because she sure doesn't! As mentioned before magic isn't her forte. Whatever this thing is sure smells magic-y... And kind of oily and gross. But beyond that?

Of course... she has no idea that magic isn't the goblin's thing either. Gotta ask to find out!

Rein sticks a stick into the fog! He encounters no resistance to speak of. There is now a stick in the fog. Yay?

Victoria sticks a foot in the fog! As soon as she does so she should feel a rather horrible stinging sensation in the limb as the cloud of necrotic magic tries to dissolve her flesh into slimy pink organic sludge.

Brief contact shouldn't do too much damage. But it would still probably hurt quite a bit. Don't even try to imagine what breathing this stuff in might do to someone.

[Morty]

No, but I'd hazard a guess that sticking your foot into it is a very bad idea, Dipsnig says. Of course, he's too late. What is it with the surface races and their complete lack of survival instinct...
Meanwhile, Kullervo pads over to the Mysterious Hooded Figure. He wants to know why it's been starting at him.

[Artemis97]

Victoria shrieks and jumps back quickly. "Oh... that hurt... don't let it touch you!" She warns the others.

[OrchestraHc]

"Actually, that argument doesn't exactly help in this case. Sorry." it says to Amist, who's player is likely referencing Mike of It's Walky.(cookie?)

"Well, with spousal abuse, there are normally more serious problems under the seams than meer alcohol use. You have a point with drunk driving, and maybe even the sexual immorality, though I would place that much more on the advantage taker than alcohol. But this still doesn't improve your approach, maybe a less secular approach, and a more tactful one than standing on a soap box in the middle of a bar." He then tries to float between Ivaz and the crusader. "And also avoiding fights would be absolutely wonderful!" On eye looks at either of the two potential combatants. "There is no reason to fight. He means no illl will and she is simply attempting to antagonize you! Fights make my stomach lurch, so let's avoid them if we can, eh?"

[Rebonack]

One would think that sticking limbs into random pink smog that came out of a portal would be one of those obvious 'this is a poor idea'' sorts of things.

BUT!

People in the Nexus tend to be a bit silly.

After leaping away the pink cloud does...

Nothing to go after Victoria.

It just keeps steadily growing as more smog seeps out of the portal in the ceiling. Though after a few seconds further the flow of fog from the rift ceases. ...despite the fact that the cloud is still slowly growing. Given the present rate it'll fill the whole tavern in half an hour or so. Certainly not fast. Tavern patrons could walk for their lives pretty easily.

Sadei eyes the fog nervously. "Is... is it just going to keep growing?"

[Reinholdt]

Reinholdt glances over at Victoria's leg. Once he's fairly certain it's not horribly damaged, he'll return his attention to the cloud and take one step back.

"Someone open the doors and windows. We need to air this thing out of here." A wind based spell would be nice for that.


The MHF looks down at the Kullervo. Admittedly, not very far down. MHF isn't all that bigger than a wolf. Ever, ever so slightly, MHF tilts its head to the side. One might mistake it for curiosity.

[Morty]

It might keep on coming, Dipsnig says. But airing it out works. Just as long as it doesn't burn someone outside. Can't anyone here close that portal?

Kullervo, meanwhile, sniffs at MHF curiously.