Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda's eyes widens, had Zee somehow figured it out?!
Or was it just food made of yuan-

Wait, that would be even worse!

"...what's a gyros? A-and why would you be recommending me that, Zee?" She inquires, smiling nervously yet politely at the bartender. Had Zee asked her if she had wanted this before? She suddenly couldn't recall.

[Rebonack]

"It's a wrap with lamb, yogurt and vegetables in it. They're really good!" Zee replies brightly. "And don't worry, all the food on the every-day menu has names like that. They're all references to an old game that was really popular when the tavern was opened years ago."

How many years ago?

Quite a few years ago.

"Mysterious food aside, I can buzz Pax and let him know you wanted to talk. But I don't give out room numbers to everyone who swings by. It's a customer confidentiality thing."

And Zee is very conscientious about that sort of thing allegedly.

[quillpleasant]

Okay thank Moon they're not actually made of yuan ti. That would have creeped Harley out to no end.

Snakes are friends, not food!

"Totally understand about the room, I'd appreciate you buzzing him. We're returning from a mission he sent us on, so I can't imagine he wouldn't want to see us."

Of course, he is an oracle or something isn't he? So there is the possibility that he already knows what they're going to say, and doesn't see the point in talking to him. But then, why couldn't he have foreseen how the mission would turn out anyway?

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda's eyebrows raises.
Why would they name a game, or food, after her people? Was it poisoned? Otherwise it seemed very odd. And it still didn't answer her question of why Zee had recommended it to her! Had she figured it out?!

But such thoughts are interrupted by a sudden revelation as she hears Harley point that out.

Why wouldn't he want to see them?

"What if he tracked us?" She asks out loud. "Like, if he's such an asshole maybe his plan all along was to just have us find her and then step in himself. 'Cause of magical eyes and stuff like that."

Then she realized that Zee was still here, ops.

"Uh, but you go and do that, Zee." She gives her an apologetic smile.

[Rebonack]

Zee gives a little wave to remind Raheeda that yes, she is in fact here.

For some definition of here.

"Sure! I'll send a message up to him that the people he sent out on a quest got back," Zee says. "I'm sure he'll want to hear about the results."

Then?

She pushes a big red button behind the counter. And doesn't say anything. This, apparently, somehow, sends a specific message to a specific room? Maybe? Probably something like that.

"While we're waiting did you want me to get anything for you two? This is a tavern after all."

[Ironsmith]

It doesn't take long for Pax to respond.

Or, rather, for Pax and his entourage to respond.

The Onyx King's arrival is heralded by the sound of heavy metal boots on the stairs, reverberating with intimidating unity against the boards. Two headless suits of armor appear at the top of the stairs, followed by another pair, and a third well behind them, the entire party marching down to an empty table in the main room and spreading around it to form a barrier around their charge. Pax himself quietly takes a seat at the table, waiting patiently for Raheeda and Harley to report their findings.

[quillpleasant]

Harley nods distractedly at Zee's question. "Oh, thanks... maybe later." He's too concerned by the theory Raheeda just brought up. If the plan was to magically track or scry on them, then not only did they lead Pax right to Jubilee, but he'd also know about Harley's aggression towards him. Hopefully that's not the case.

As the entourage assembles, Harley smiles nervously. Of course, there's nothing he'd like more than to attack- but even without multiple magical guards, this guy is supposed to be a heavy hitter. This is not the time or place to attempt a fight.

Okay, time to lie. Since that's not Raheeda's strong suit, it's up to him. He steps forward and bows courteously.

"Hello!" Off to a good start. "We haven't met- my name is Harley LaLune, and my compatriot and I have been following the mission you gave her. We have... good and bad news."

He hesitates for a moment, trying to give off an air of sympathy. "The good news is that we were able to find Tahara, after some other trash witches pointed us in her direction. But unfortunately, the rest is bad. She let us know that your wife was in the Nexus- but she left about five months ago through a portal. Where she went, Tahara doesn't know." Vague, but definite.

"The worse news is that before leaving, Jubilee gave Tahara a message to pass along to you, just in case you came looking for her. She doesn't want to see you ever again. That point was made extremely clear, in very... dramatic language. Apparently she hates you, and just wants a clean split." And that's all mostly true! Which the best lies often are.

"I'm very sorry this quest didn't have a happier ending. Um, Raheeda, did I miss anything?" He glances at his companion, silently willing her to go along with it.

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda gives Zee the thumbs up as she presses the button. In her experience nothing good ever came out of button pressing, as it summoned a potentially upset Pax, but she was sure that no violence would be exchange just because of a few comments.
They were all civil people and Zee was right there!
It would be rude to fight right in front of the barkeeper.

She too shakes her head at the question though. "Nah, I still don't get why they call that food 'yuan-ti'. Not, uh, that I'm one of them but the name still don't make sense to me." She had barely eaten any lamb and the vegetables humans grew were weird.
The question even still burned in her mind as Pax appeared, nearly causing her to miss him and his headless guards. She had almost forgotten that he used them too.

Looking over to Harley she nods along as he starts telling them about how it went down. A pretty good story all in all and the best part was that she didn't need to make up any of it.

"Nope! That's what happened." She nods and smiles.

...
Wait, was she supposed to do that?

She abruptly stops nodding and smiling and frowns which felt more natural since those were bad news, right?

[Ironsmith]

"...Hm."

The old man stares the two of them down, Raheeda in particular, as he absorbs the report. "...Well. I can not say that was unexpected. We did not part on amiable terms." Pax leans forward, cupping his hands around the black stone sphere in his hands. "You will be compensated as you deserve for your efforts, of course. But before I have my men fetch your payment, I must ask... which one of you is the seer?"

[quillpleasant]

Oh good! He's bought it. Harley doesn't allow himself to breathe a sigh of relief, because he doesn't want to give away that there's anything to be relieved about. Nothing nerve wracking about this situation, not at all.

He's about to wave off the payment- getting out of this situation is payment enough- when Pax asks a rather confusing question. Harley pauses, tilting his head to one side.

"The... seer? I'm a little confused, neither of us have any ability to see into the future. Unless I'm misunderstanding the question?" He rocks back on his heels nonchalantly as he judges the distance from here to the door.

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda looks equally confused, titling her head in the opposite direction, though unlike Harley she isn't judging the distance to the door.
"We can both see, though I'm more of a smeller really." She casually observes.

[Ironsmith]

Pax cracks a small smile. "That would be a fascinating method of divination, if I thought you were at all on the same page as the rest of us." He notes, barely holding back a wry chuckle at Raheeda's answer.

"But such is a common misconception, mister LaLune. A competent seer is not limited strictly to looking ahead." The Onyx King runs his hands over his seeing stone. "Most have an uncanny sight of events which are unfolding in the now, as well. And nearly all possess some ability to see into the past, to events for which they were not themselves present. It's quite handy for, among other things, confirming the facts of history and sousing out those who do not truly believe as they say."

The man's smile disappears as he stares them down again. "Which is what I would have assumed you would have applied to Tahara." He continues. "As otherwise, it sounds as though you were inclined to simply take her at her word. Which is, perhaps, not the most thorough search technique. Would I therefore instead be correct in assuming you did not have any means of confirming her story?"

[quillpleasant]

Oh, he's good. This guy clearly has a silver tongue, and he's good at steering the conversation where he wants it to go. Harley should know- it's the exact kind of thing that he used to excel at.

Which only makes him hate Pax more.

He meets the king's gaze coolly. "Yes, it's called trust. I believe that she was telling the truth. If you choose not to, that's your choice." Harley crosses his arms, showing none of the trepidation he feels. "If that's not sufficient, then you'll have to find more people to look for you. We didn't do this for a reward- we did this in order to help people, because it is my quest to make the world a better place.'

If he doesn't believe them, then unfortunately that's Jubilee's problem. Of course, she seems more than equipped to deal with anything Pax tries anyway. Despite his misgivings, Harley doubts that the king would try to attack them for more information- at least not in a public place like this. Still, he steps nonchalantly forward, just so that Raheeda is slightly behind him.

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda looks even more puzzled. Though she is getting some bad vibes from that seeing stone now.

"Uh, yeah. The better place thing." She nods in agreement with Harley. "But I didn't even think we'd meet her and even less than she would be dishonest with us. You never mentioned that she might be so I didn't think there would be a reason to." At least not as far as Raheeda could tell.

[Ironsmith]

"...No, I suppose I did not." Pax gives the two of them a cold smile. "Perhaps that was my failing. After all, what sort of world would this be if none could be considered trustworthy?"

He shuffles off of his seat, drawing himself up, still holding the seeing-stone in his hands. "One should consider themselves fortunate there are people like you around, then. Magnanimity of that sort is a rare find. Rarer still for it to remain... sooner or later, it always seems to devolve from one man's kindness to another man's cruelty." His gaze hardens on Harley. "...I wish you the best of luck on your endeavors to make this world a better place. It certainly does not need more unkindness within it."

[quillpleasant]

Harley is rarely glad for his mask, but right now it's certainly useful to hide his expression. He nods slowly, then brings his hands forward into a polite little bow.

"Indeed. There are many cruel and terrible people in this world. But..." he hesitates. "Perhaps even the worst among us can change for the better. It is not everyone's fate to fall into darkness. No matter how far gone, you can always choose to turn back." And he's actually been starting to believe that recently.

"Well, I think it's time for us to go," he says, giving Pax a last nod and then starting for the door, glancing at Raheeda. In truth, he can't get out of here soon enough.

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda couldn't tell exactly what Pax was trying to convey but with all those words it sounded like he wanted to do more than just tell them good bye. His smells, like with most humans, were confusing her though.

But she didn't give that too much thought, since she agreed with Harley, they should get out of here!

"Y-yeah, so sorry about your wife. Since she must have been the only person you could truly trust, right? I figured that when we, well, read that message. She seemed like a really honest kind of person."

A beat as Raheeda realized she had nothing more to add.

"But, um, bye then and bye Zee!" She waves farewell and then gives a nod to Harley as to signal their departure. Then she will walk out of trog's.

[Ironsmith]

Pax, of course, allows them both to leave without incident. At least apparently so. It mighr occur to one or both of them that the man is still capable of any number of nasty curses and hexes, and they've probably annoyed him to sufficient degree for him to consider using one.

Which might explain the uncannily bad luck to follow, if that isn't just the Nexus being the Nexus.

[Zefir]

Sylas, a young man in robes returns. His attemp to enter MERC was stoped by their new policy to not let teenager join lik him. Not much he can do there and since this is one of the only places he kons he returns here. Taking a seat at aan empty table he thinks about the next steps.

[Thursday Violist]

Mogzoku's eyes widen as Venus relays her plan to him. He still looks a bit baffled as he's addressed, snapping to attention and weakly answering, "Uhh... Come again, kupo?"

Venus bites her lip, realizing that's a tall order.

She shakes her head. "Nevermind." She pauses, then figures it won't hurt to see if she can explain the difficulty, especially because she's the type of person who does all her thinking aloud. "I'm sure there's demon queens or goddesses around who would be willing to play the role, but...like, I don't know, it's just too hard to go looking for one who wants to take on a whole new congregation. And, like..."
Venus sighs, and shakes her head.
"Besides. I'm not sure if I'd be okay faking a relationship like that. It just seems too... disingenuous." What if the goddess/demon queen wants more than just a fake concubine! That would be too much.

[[brackets lover]]

Mogzoku breathes a sigh of relief, shooting a tired look at Venus. "Hiding the truth from your cultists is also disingenuous you know? Kinda what the word mean, kupo," he says, his patience shrinking a tad bit.

[Zefir]

The croup of Cyberpunk people returns to Trogs. They don't seem to be much different, but as befor the tall man looks out for the man he spoke to before while the bulky man, the small man and the woman take a seat at a table.

[Earl of Purple]

The Keldon is still here, a grey-skinned human with red eyes and white hair, a Keldon, wearing bronze lamellar armour and a matching helmet. He's armed with two weapons, an Orsimer sword and a Dwemer axe both hanging from his waist. He's also wearing a modern rucksack over the armour, with a bulky old camera strapped to the outside of it. He's limping slightly, and his lamellar has been damaged recently and not repaired.

He's also heading towards Sylas, though the cyber-group might be able to stop him.

[Zefir]

The cyberpunk guys will step in befor the Keldon can reach Sylas. Not that they care to much about a random person. He's more intressed in clearing this as soon as possible.

"Hey there." the man greats him. "We have been to the place you mentioned and we'd like to have a word with you."

[Earl of Purple]

"Oh? That's good. How'd you find it? You all came back, so... was it a successful expedition?" The Keldon looks away from Sylas, no longer paying attention to the teenager as he's accosted by the cyborgs. He smiles, and seems entirely at ease. It's hard to say if this is what he expected or not.

[Zefir]

Well, he doesn't know what to do with that since he still has an assumtion.

"More or less." he replies. " We did find one of your companions, at last he matches your description. Can you remember what happened after you ran out of the cave?"

[Thursday Violist]

Mogzoku breathes a sigh of relief, shooting a tired look at Venus. "Hiding the truth from your cultists is also disingenuous you know? Kinda what the word mean, kupo," he says, his patience shrinking a tad bit.

With her head lying on the counter, Venus turns her head to look at Mogzoku. "Yeah...you're right," Venus says. "It is."

She sighs as well, but more out of exhaustion: "I mean, I have told them before. 'Hey, I'm not a goddess, stop worshipping me.' Want to know what they did in response?"

She sits up, and says, "They followed me to the grocery store and ended up convincing the cashiers to convert. Couldn't even buy bread without people acting weird around me after that."

[[brackets lover]]

Mogzoku clicks his tongue awkwardly, looking back towards the front door then back to Venus.

"Oh, right, kupo..." Mogzoku acknowledges non-committedly, "That's rough, kupo." He then faces the counter, rasing his hand above it. "Hey, bartender! Can I get a drop of your weakest stuff?" he calls out.

[Earl of Purple]

"After I ran out? Not too much. I just tried to get away, really. Ran to where we'd left the vehicle and I drove it down here. Is... Is Edmund OK? A veteran from the Army of Callow, he's a strong sword-arm and I've never seen a shield so big used so well." Edmund Foundling being the adventurer who disappeared without the Keldon noticing, and therefore the one he expected to be alive- unlike Ser Daeron the Grey of Whiteharbour.

[Zefir]

"No not him." He reploes. " It was another member who went down with you. A knight, but he wasn t okay and attacked us." Not that he needs to speak it out loud.
"So how long did it take you to get here and for how long did you seek help?"
It does sound like he just went here but there should be days between the event and the first time they met him. Unless thats just a mixing of my part.