[Nexus] Trog's Tavern CCXLIV

[Beans]

*Upon entering the tavern you find it to be rustic, dim, cramped, and smelling of spilled beer. Moving through the crowd, half of which seem to be deadtiming, you spot a fireplace with a banjowood carving on the mantle, you also make out through the haze the curving bar and private booths hidden behind ferns. A side door leading to a patio outside reveals a hungry looking dumpster mimic sneaking towards an unsuspecting customer.

Near the stairs to the second floor rooms is a small white stone platform with a blue tree-like symbol on it. Standing on this platform will teleport someone to the Sanctuary Fortress located Inside where healers are always standing by in case of bar-brawls.

Trog's can be found right around the corner from any place in the Nexus. Somehow. It's best not to question it.

Staff:
Owner and Proprietor: Trog
Manager: El Jaspero
Bartenders: The Watchers (they're nice deranged cultists, really!), Phoebe, Ashna, Ambrosia

Trog's Tavern hires only the finest NPC servers:
((Since all are NPCs they are up for communal control. Feel free to say what they do or say to you or any other patron. To a point.))

Bouncer: Baby (NPC, a dwarf who was raised by orcs and has the intellect of Thog.)

Servers:
Nina - A fiesty and vivacious tiefling. Mean, self-centered and completely unavailable. You may have seen her recently on the WotC 4E cartoon.
Paige - A sweet, wholesome, flirty elf working her way through PC school.
Cosmo - A quick-witted and oppressed gnome scoundrel. Truly a monster. RAWR!

DRINK MENU:
Wines:
Catoblepas Sauvingnon
Chimera Cabernet - A hearty red with a hits of oak and black cherry.
Chuul Lounge - Bacardi Limon, Aberration , creme de bananes and juices into a Chuul shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well. Strain into a highball glass half-filled with ice cubes, and serve.
Constitution Crushing Wine - Fort. DC 35 or pass out!
Cormyrian Fireamber - Imported and very good.
Eladrin Carbernet - Official Feywine of the Wild Hunt
Feline's Fancy - A purplish, swirly mixture that any feline will adore.
Funky Llama - A rich fruity wine, available in white or red.
Iames Agonia - This tart, dark red wine will stun you and leave you feeling good for hours.
Kobold Chianti - Tart. Tangy. Shifty.
Merfolk Merlot - Full-bodied with a hint of rose.
Powerlust Pinot - For those corruptable humans
Shadar-Kai Shadowine - Served in a jagged, broken glass
Spoonake Chablis - Straight from the Underdark!
Warlock Wine - Best served cold
Xorn Zinfandel - Sweet and fruity!

Mixed Drinks:
A Drink - Generic booze with ice that can be shaken, stirred, or you know, whatever. Try to be more imaginative next time.
Aboleth Absinthe - Far Realmilicious!
Black Shadow - A strong concoction guaranteed to send a chill down your spine at any temperature.
Coffee Martini - Buzzzzz.
Djinn and Tonic - Whirling ice cubes, fizzy soda, and one drunk genie.
Dragon Liver Buster - Strongest drink in the house
Dwarf Spirits
Fire Archon Asylum Rum - "FAAR!!!"
Haley's Liquer - Named for the redheaded rogue, a sweet creme liquer, excellent over ice.
Hemo Colada - 100% less coconut, 100% more ichor
Ice Liquer - From the Plane of Ice: guaranteed to cool you down.
Ichor Liquor - Made from a fermented mix of various kinds of blood
Jasphattan - El J's Secret Recipie, vermouth & bitters
LEVEL UP LIQUER - Need a few extra XP? We gots XP in a bottle!
Long Island Iced Tea - Tastes better than it will make you feel in the morning
Murderita - Wasted away again...
Piña CoLlama - If you're not into yoga and have half a brain.
Rampaging Rail Mixer - Mad strong!
Rust Monster - Scotch, drambuie shaken in a wooden mixer.
Sneak on the Beach - Peach vodka, cran-pineapple juice, a cat hair
Swampwater - Phosphorescent lemon-lime
White Russian Wukei - for bounty hunters who dig dairy
Wizard Blizzard - Crushed ice and Bourbon. The effect depends on the spell stored in it.

Beers & Such:
Ales: Archon, Guilders, Balthor's Best
Grim Brewery Ginger Beer - Death-o-licious!
Mind Flayer Mead - Mmm... brains.

Other Fine Beverages:
Celestial Soda Pop - Soda specially brewed in Celestia. Tastes divine.
Darknight Coffee - cream has no effect
Dragon's Fire Breath (cherry Kool-Aid) - for the kids!
Fox Cola - the choice of the furry generation
Llamonade - That cool, refreshing drink for quadrupeds
Oni Tea - From the far east.
Red Minotaur Energy Drink - a-MAZE-ing energy!
Root Beer
Save vs. Slow Slurpees™ - C-c-c-cold
Hot Chocolate - Mmmmmmarshmallows

MUNCHIES MENU:
AbyssalNuts - damned and spicy
Baked Goods - Scones and Muffins and Brownies oh my! We have no cake - the cake is a lie!
Bamhacon - where the ham meets the bacon. Served with eggs.
Court of Stars Salad - Fresh fey greens
Hero Sandwiches - what else? Served with Villain vinegrette
Velvet Elfish - Trogtilla chips and hot meat and cheese dip
Yuan-ti Gyros - Lamb. Or halfling. We're not sure.
Trog's Floor Chili - Don't ask Trog where it came from and Trog won't tell you "the floor"
SMOKABLES:
Dwarven Cigars - From our axe-hewn humidor
Coffin Nail™ Cigarettes - Get Nailed!
Halfling Pipeweed - Bogart™ brand

((When this thread reaches page 50, anyone can make the next thread. However, if you want to make changes to the OP, please check in the OOC thread first to make sure everyone agrees.))

[ApeofLight]

Originally Posted by Beans

After a few pokes, the thing extrudes a pseudopod to poke in return!
Poke poke poke.

Clearly this pink ooze with it's pink pseudopod has issued a challenge towards Foro! The magma monkey can't back down now. Desperate times call for desperate measures and this is clearly one of those times that such measures must be used. What are these measures you might ask? Oh, just Foro poking the ooze with BOTH hands!

[Beans]

It responds with doublepoking of its own, seemingly trying to map his face via poking.

[ApeofLight]

One of this things is going to give up first. Wonder which one it will be. Poking from Foro continues at high speeds, even his tail is starting to poke at the ooze.

[Beans]

It suddenly stops and sort of wiggles.

[ApeofLight]

Well, that's different. Foro supposes that it deserves a different response. So, he settles back and takes out a DLB. He untwists the top off and starts to down the dangerously alcoholic drink.

[Beans]

A pseudopod sticks up, uncovering an orb of a different shade of pink.
An eye?
It watches him drink the alcohol, quite interested.

[LadyOfWar]

The first clue that this gal isn't your 'normal' nexus resident would probably be how she arrives. Instead of warping space and time or breaking a window or 'sauntering' or some other highly descriptive mode of motion she just opens the door and walks in. Her appearance is as boring as her arrival: scruffy pony tail, glasses, grey hoodie, blue jeans, sneakers.

As the door swings shut behind her she stops to take a very long look around the place... and, unfortunately, a deep breath that sends her coughing. "Smells worse than I expected."

In defense of the Tavern, the smell might be from the Orc that just walked by her.

[Rebonack]

No...

No, the smell is probably the tavern.

Wonderful aromas really aren't its high point. And with Zee's continued absence the smell of freshly made food-stuffs isn't quite as thick as usual. Instead one has to endure the smell of musk and pipe smoke and heaven knows what else mingling together in a choking miasma of tavern funk.

...

Maybe someone should open a window?

Just sayin'

Cosmo will ask the newcomer what she wants in his usual dour fashion.

[ApeofLight]

Oh look, someone just came into the tavern. A new person is clearly more interesting than some pink ooze looking at you. So, in usual Foro fashion the magma monkey ran up to the new person and... didn't actually start talking right in the person's face. Instead he just stood in front of her, watching. Waiting. Staring.

[Beans]

The pink ooze grows nostrils to smell the smell of smell. To experience this thing called smell. To---okay it puts the nostrils away for now.

[The Bushranger]

(Welcome back LoW!)

Sharon, as it happens, is still here. Perhaps the person approaching her can finally do so.

[Recaiden]

Could be, could be.

"The world seems pretty intact. I was sure it would have ended by now. Has it tried to, recently?"

They seem honestly surprised that the town is still here.

[The Bushranger]

Sharon blinks, looking up as she's suddenly addressed.
"Huh? Oh, it has a few times, but s-so far we've always won..."

[Recaiden]

"Excellent! I'd be really disappointed if the world managed to end before I saw all of it!"

The person takes a seat by Sharon and sighs.

"It will eventually. But we can sure draw it out a long time."

They sip whatever their drink is, and, looking slightly disgusted, look at it from a safe distance, before setting down at a safer distance. Sharon may notice they only have four fingers on their hands. Not that they lost one off each hand or anything.

"I'm Alex! Pleased to meet you."

[The Bushranger]

"Sharon O'Connell," the fairly young-looking woman with the black hair with a white stripe and the metal-crescent-topped-staff introduces herself with a smile. "And given that apocalypses get pushed to page 4 of the paper, I don't think the world ending will happen anytime soon."

[Recaiden]

"Wonderful! I should probably stress the ultimate doom thing a bit more, but why bother? If we're going by full names, I'm called Alexil Chevin daArit. Alex."

The person turns out to be a young woman with red hair under the helmet and the goggles, with an ornate pair of swords on her back. Almost constantly smiling, and looks like they're accustomed to that expression. As well as to frowns.

"Just what have they been putting on the first three pages?"

[The Bushranger]

"Usually rubbish about Remnant, news about what catgirl Magclones are going out with this week, and gossip about the Church of Angela," Sharon says with a giggle, clearly not minding the thought of Ultimate DOOOOM one bit.

[Recaiden]

"This is a strange place. Churches are probably worth writing about, but Angela's? I think, probably not. Have you been here long?"
Alex shakes her head. Sharon clearly doesn't understand. But it's hard not to join in the confidence of this place.

In the NEXUS, that is.

[The Bushranger]

"More or less for five years," Sharon observes with a nod. "And, all in all, the place just becomes curiouser and curiouser the longer you stay..."

[Recaiden]

"I've been away two years now, after one exploring this place. Oh, those are my years, though. Three fives of months to you, maybe. Care for that drink?; I can't stand it myself."

"I want to say that it can't get any curiouser than it was before, but I know it can. Best place I've ever found."

[The Bushranger]

"It does have its charm," Sharon agrees, accepting the drink with a smile. "You can leave, but you can never stay away..."

[Zefir]

Mia the pristress of Deus mechanicus enters the Tavern. She doesn't look like she is waiting for anyone, just having a drink. Her loyal robot MDM is right behind her as she picks a table and orders a drink.

[LadyOfWar]

The new arrival replaces her look of disgust with a broad smile, pleased to so quickly have the attention of two 'people', even if one is the characteristically dour gnome and the other looks like he could melt her with magma.

"grkki" She tries to greet Foro, and judging by her expression she expected that word to come out differently. She holds up her index finger in a 'just give me one second' gesture. Then she slides a worn spiral bound notebook from where she had is pinned under her left arm and quickly scribbles a few words on a middle page with the pencil she keeps tucked in the metal binding.

"Hello..." she tries the greeting again. "Oh, much better... Hello." She twiddles the pencil between the fingers of her right hand while returning Foro's stare.

Then, of course, she is distracted by the offer of refreshments. "I'd like..." she takes a second look at Cosmo's scowl, "...a smile and an open window. I think the air in here is turning you sour." Now she wants to see how the waiter will respond to that. She sends a wink in Foro's direction, inviting him to be in on the fun.

All the while she keeps twirling that pencil about between her fingers.

The blop the grew a nose... and then absorbed the nose again... would have more attention from the girl in the grey hoodie if her view weren't blocked by a magma monkey.

[Recaiden]

Alex nods. "It is a place of complexity beyond most places. When I first set out, there was only the clouds and the landscape. Say, do you know anything about what was here before the city of Inside?- Ground-side cities, I've learned, are often built and destroyed and rebuilt over and over again. So before Inside, there was probably something else. Unless maybe it's too chaotic here?"
This is clearly not a leading question.

[The Bushranger]

"You know, I've never thought about that," Sharon admits. "As far as I know Inside simply...is. It used to be simply called "Town" and I know that sometimes reality shifts and replaces whole blocks that were originally in one dimension with ones from another..."

[TechnoScrabble]

This robotic fellow walks in, carrying a violin case and followed by a gentle drift of leaves that swirl slowly about his feet as he moves, ignoring any wind or lack thereof.

He may or may not be followed by a pinkish goo person.

[Beans]

Indeed, the pink lady... thing follows him in. She looks around with wide eyes, amazed at everything.

[TechnoScrabble]

John grabs a seat and gestures for not John to sit down, handing her a menu before looking over one himself.

Because robots totally need food.

[Falgorn]

That robotic fellow and pink creature may or may not see a soldier in a gaudy uniform. Seeing as the Nexus is a melting pot of times, "soldier," might not be specific enough - His uniform looks like that of a particularly showy Napoleonic army (think this, but add a larger shoulder piece). He sits, horse-free, at a booth, sipping his drink casually.