Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda's eyes widen as she pictured what the old man had just described to her. A human wearing only ruined cloth scraps covered in poop and partly chewed up animal bones. Just thinking about it made her imagine what this woman would smell like which made her wince.

Well, as he had said, at least she wouldn't be hard to find.

"Uh-huh." She spends a moment repressing that mental image. "Do... you have something that belongs to her? Or your wife for that matter? Since I know stuff like that can help you find people with the right sort of magic." Well, she mostly knew it could be used to curse people but surely there were less awful uses for it, right?

[Earl of Purple]

"Green scales and feathers, yellow crest, red saddle. She has four legs, the first pair also being her wings. She's the length of my forearm. Black face, but a big yellow beak with enough teeth to hurt. She's wearing a purple silk collar and she did have a bell on the end of her tail. She loves to eat moon peaches, so if you can find some and call her name she should come to you. I'm afraid I don't have any pictures of her, though." Not quite true, but the only image is a black-and-white drawing on a wanted poster which isn't very accurate besides, drawn by somebody who had heard a description of Kya Kyo and not seen her themselves.

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda continues making notes but difficult to keep up with all that so Kya Kyo will have to repeat it.
Still, she ends up shortening a lot of the words.

Grn scale - feathr
Yellw cres
Red sadle?
4 leg
2 wing
blck head
Yellw beak
Tail - bell
Collar
Moon peaches?

"Okay... but what do you mean by 'saddle' and what's a moon peach?" Raheeda inquires once she finishes writing all of that.

[Earl of Purple]

"The scales across her back are red, a pattern that looks like a saddle. It's not an actual saddle. Between her wings an' down her back a little, behind her head. Moon peaches are a fruit, one I don't like. I prefer lemons, they keep scurvy at bay. Moon peaches are too sweet for me, not for dear Tumo though." If Kya Kyo had some, she'd show Raheeda! But if the retired pirate had some, she'd be in the park calling for Tumo to try and convince her to return.

[Ironsmith]

Raheeda's eyes widen as she pictured what the old man had just described to her. A human wearing only ruined cloth scraps covered in poop and partly chewed up animal bones. Just thinking about it made her imagine what this woman would smell like which made her wince.

Well, as he had said, at least she wouldn't be hard to find.

"Uh-huh." She spends a moment repressing that mental image. "Do... you have something that belongs to her? Or your wife for that matter? Since I know stuff like that can help you find people with the right sort of magic." Well, she mostly knew it could be used to curse people but surely there were less awful uses for it, right?

"Tara... isn't exactly the worldly goods type." The old man says, nodding to himself. "Anything she has that important enough to be called 'hers', she likely has on her person. I may be able to find an old dress or something for Jubi, though. She has a lot of those still in our wardrobe." He frowns and lets out a little sigh. "...But then, she has been gone a long time. It may be none of those will count anymore. Hm..."

[Shadowcaller]

"Tara... isn't exactly the worldly goods type." The old man says, nodding to himself. "Anything she has that important enough to be called 'hers', she likely has on her person. I may be able to find an old dress or something for Jubi, though. She has a lot of those still in our wardrobe." He frowns and lets out a little sigh. "...But then, she has been gone a long time. It may be none of those will count anymore. Hm..."

"Don't human give little trinkets to one another when they get married? Or did I just misunderstand that? Since a trinket like that seems like the ideal target for a curse- er, spell. I mean, I'd have to find someone that can cast it of course but that would be easier than finding someone based on nothing." A beat. "Oh! But if you're related to Tara your blood might... well if I can find a good enough caster, anything is possible." Raheeda nods, nonetheless confident.

[Keeper]

Jacen Vallarm is enjoying another night where his daughter is off living at school.
Surely she is having a wonderful time right now and not dealing any nefarious otherworldly entities threatening her soul.

That is what parents have to tell themselves when their children around around.
The brown-haired sorcerer is trying to be casual despite his love of his blue cloak. He's currently nursing a single glass of cider.
Despite this, he appears to actually be a little tipsy. Saving the world does not make you hold your liquor any better.

[Ironsmith]

"Don't human give little trinkets to one another when they get married? Or did I just misunderstand that? Since a trinket like that seems like the ideal target for a curse- er, spell. I mean, I'd have to find someone that can cast it of course but that would be easier than finding someone based on nothing." A beat. "Oh! But if you're related to Tara your blood might... well if I can find a good enough caster, anything is possible." Raheeda nods, nonetheless confident.

"I am not related to either of them by blood." The old man shakes his head. "Jubi is my wife, and a foreigner to Ainran; it is both impossible for her to be my blood relative and repulsive to consider."

He's not sure what sort of society this masked lady comes from, but hopefully she understands what incest is and why he would avoid it.

"Tara is her sister by blood, not mine. And moreover, what blood she has today is no longer hers. I very much doubt my blood will lead you to her."

The old man rubs at his temple wearily. "...Perhaps our wedding broaches could lead you to her." He ponders. "Though... perhaps not. Mine is mine and hers is hers."

[Shadowcaller]

Raheeda concerningly uses the sharp end of her spear to scratch the side of her head. "Might still be worth a try..."

Then she raises a finger. "But! There's one thing all you guys got in common! You all got into this nexus place, right? Assuming Tara meet Jubi in it of course. So how does one go about doing that? Entering the nexus I mean. Since your wives method of entering might give us some clues, right?"

[Ironsmith]

"Ah. Well. That." The old man peers into his stone for a moment, before giving a little nod. "Tara, Jubi, and I came here by way of the spirit world. Or the shadow realm. Or... well, I suppose the underlying point is that there are many names for it. It would not be accurate to call it a place; the spirit world does not respect such notions as time, place, cause, or separation. If one knows how to get in, one can theoretically jettison oneself out to any place, any time, that ever existed in any sense, ever." The old man rubs at the bald spot on top of his head. "...Though doing that is dangerous for a multitude of reasons. You can never be certain that what goes into the shadow realm is what will come out. Most... most mages only dip in a proverbial toe. Enough to get a feeling for the greater, interconnected nature of the universe. If they lose their toe, it is not a great loss. But to immerse one's entire self into the spirit world, as would be needed to walk between realms... that places one's entire self at risk."

"...What I suppose I am trying to say is that her eventual exit into the Nexus does not tell us much of anything." The old man concludes. "That could be the product of millennia of travel across reality. It could be that she came here immediately. It could be that she has not even met me yet, or that she has long since forgotten who I am." He sighs. "...I would hope not. But I do not know anything for certain."

[Zefir]

Jacen Vallarm is enjoying another night where his daughter is off living at school.
Surely she is having a wonderful time right now and not dealing any nefarious otherworldly entities threatening her soul.

That is what parents have to tell themselves when their children around around.
The brown-haired sorcerer is trying to be casual despite his love of his blue cloak. He's currently nursing a single glass of cider.
Despite this, he appears to actually be a little tipsy. Saving the world does not make you hold your liquor any better.

Suddendly someone grabs one of the chairs near Jacen and let's himself fall into it. He drops a glass of whiskey in front of him and looks at the other man.

"Problems with the ladies or your kids? Hard to tell exactly but I knwo that face."

Jacen can immediatly say he never met this man before or at worst passed by him. The man looks young and seems to wear casual clother simular to todays clothes. Jeans, a t-Shirt and a bach hangs on his side. Only the fingerless leather gloves are off.

[Shadowcaller]

"The scales across her back are red, a pattern that looks like a saddle. It's not an actual saddle. Between her wings an' down her back a little, behind her head. Moon peaches are a fruit, one I don't like. I prefer lemons, they keep scurvy at bay. Moon peaches are too sweet for me, not for dear Tumo though." If Kya Kyo had some, she'd show Raheeda! But if the retired pirate had some, she'd be in the park calling for Tumo to try and convince her to return.

Yeah, an actual saddle would be pretty silly.

Fun.
But silly.

But okay, so a sweet fruit which didn't keep 'scurvy' at bay? Did that mean Scurvy might have grabbed Tumo?
"Okay, I need to, uh, contact my fellow member and we'll see what we can do about it." Raheeda nods. "If we need to contact you, do you hang out in trog's?"

"Ah. Well. That." The old man peers into his stone for a moment, before giving a little nod. "Tara, Jubi, and I came here by way of the spirit world. Or the shadow realm. Or... well, I suppose the underlying point is that there are many names for it. It would not be accurate to call it a place; the spirit world does not respect such notions as time, place, cause, or separation. If one knows how to get in, one can theoretically jettison oneself out to any place, any time, that ever existed in any sense, ever." The old man rubs at the bald spot on top of his head. "...Though doing that is dangerous for a multitude of reasons. You can never be certain that what goes into the shadow realm is what will come out. Most... most mages only dip in a proverbial toe. Enough to get a feeling for the greater, interconnected nature of the universe. If they lose their toe, it is not a great loss. But to immerse one's entire self into the spirit world, as would be needed to walk between realms... that places one's entire self at risk."

"...What I suppose I am trying to say is that her eventual exit into the Nexus does not tell us much of anything." The old man concludes. "That could be the product of millennia of travel across reality. It could be that she came here immediately. It could be that she has not even met me yet, or that she has long since forgotten who I am." He sighs. "...I would hope not. But I do not know anything for certain."

Raheeda raises an eyebrow. "Wait, hold on. So you can completely change if you get in there? Does that mean Jubi and Tara could be completely different now? Since that could explain why Tara didn't recognize her. Or why you can't find her. Since maybe you're looking for the wrong thing."

[Ironsmith]

"Thankfully, I don't believe that is the case." The old man continues. "Anybody with passing knowledge of animakinesis... soul magic, if you would... has a better chance than most of getting out of the spirit world with their identity intact. And I've already foreseen speaking with Tara, so I know she's been more or less preserved. Tara recognized Jubi, so she must still be recognizable... if maybe not what I expect."

[Shadowcaller]

"Oh, so she did recognize her. Huh. Just need a way to track down Tara then..." She had thought that part was unclear to the old man until now.
But that reminded her of something.
"Oh yeah! What's your name, human? I assume you're human. Since I completely forgot to ask."

[Ironsmith]

"My name?" The old man stammers. "Oh. Yes. Of course. My name. Naturally." He pauses a moment, staring into the black seeing-stone of his before answering.

"...I'm called Pax. If you see Tara or Jubi, be sure to call me by that."

Then again, what else was Raheeda going to call him? Senior McElderly?

[Shadowcaller]

"Okay, Mr. Pax, sir." Raheeda nods, hoping that one name would be enough. Since sometimes you needed three names to prove your identity. "So any clue where I might find Tara? We won't find her together cause of fate-stuff but I might be able to find her on my own." In a dump perhaps?
She had never been in this city before so it was something of a wonder she had even managed to find Trog's.

[Thursday Violist]

Talah Cathwulf returns to this tavern.

She's pretty.
Supernaturally so. As in, like a "cursed fairy princess stuck in the modern world" from a fairy tale or "rebellious daughter of an infernal queen who's come to the mortal world to be some sort of...protagonist of a novel aimed at young women" or something i dunno.
Her silky red hair, her cute freckles, her long floral skirt...whatever. She really has the vibes of someone who came to the bar, not to drink or get quests or listen to music, but rather to draw attention and look pretty.

Well, in spite of that, she still orders a drink.
Llamonade, specifically.
While waiting on a barstool for her drink, she starts scrolling through her phone's feed.

[Earl of Purple]

"If I'm not here, the barmaids will know where to find me." Kya Kyo smiles and gestures to one of the barmaids, before ordering another glass of rum.

[Shadowcaller]

"Oh, and those are the bar-maids..." Raheeda writes down that too.

"Well, uh, I can't guarantee that we find them but if we do it's because we tried our very best." She gives Kya Kyo a nod. "We'll contacted you as soon as we have any news."

Then she's off almost tripping over the leg of a stool as she turns around to walk away.

[quillpleasant]

The bar's door is thrown open as a young woman enters, looking around curiously. She's dressed in a white button up with black slacks, and her messy hair is covered by a bowler hat that's seen better days. Of course, all these details might be less interesting than her right arm, which seems to be made entirely from dark, shiny blood. Its fingers twitch like it has a life of its own.

She strides over to the bar, and after a brief perusal orders some celestial soda pop, which makes her arm writhe a little more uncomfortably. Turning away from the counter, her dark eyes rove around the inhabitants, as if looking for someone of interest to approach.

Oh hey, cute redhead. With a weird device. Perfect.

The woman waves at Talah from across the bar. "Heyo, need some company? Mind if I buy your drink?"

[Ironsmith]

"Okay, Mr. Pax, sir." Raheeda nods, hoping that one name would be enough. Since sometimes you needed three names to prove your identity. "So any clue where I might find Tara? We won't find her together cause of fate-stuff but I might be able to find her on my own." In a dump perhaps?
She had never been in this city before so it was something of a wonder she had even managed to find Trog's.

"If I knew where to find her, I would be talking to her." Pax replies despondently. "But I can tell you what she's like and maybe that will give you some ideas of where to look." The old man looks into his seeing stone and lets out a quiet sigh. "...She likes people. She usually busies herself helping them somehow. Maybe you'll find her just by dint of being in the same business." Pax frowns. "She loves animals, too. And I don't just mean the cute ones. I mean she's the sort to risk getting her face clawed off to pull a thorn out of a tiger's paw. And she seems to have a fascination with garbage. I don't properly understand that part, but apparently she likes it."

[Rebonack]

SUDDENLY!

Zee looks very annoyed about something. Which isn't terribly unusual. But usually that annoyance is directed at patrons making trouble or random marauding monsters or the oven giving her guff. But this time she appears to be annoyed at something unique and novel.

"Oooh no. Not a chance. You can scoot your giant eye-covered butt right on out of here, mister. I'm not going to abide any creepy eldritch blob monsters snooping on my patrons. If you want to come in here and buy a drink then fine but get outta here with the voyeurism."

There doesn't seem to be any immediate reply from whatever Zee is scolding.

"Okay, fine. If that's how it's going to be then how about this. BE OBSCURED."

The interior of the tavern is quite abruptly completely sealed off from trans-dimensional snooping. Mostly because any information crossing that boundary is hopelessly garbled via encryption. If someone wants to find out what's happening in the tavern they'll just have to exist inside it like a respectable three dimensional organism.

Aaaand shortly there after Karaglen should be arriving with her new friend.

[Thursday Violist]

The bar's door is thrown open as a young woman enters, looking around curiously. She's dressed in a white button up with black slacks, and her messy hair is covered by a bowler hat that's seen better days. Of course, all these details might be less interesting than her right arm, which seems to be made entirely from dark, shiny blood. Its fingers twitch like it has a life of its own.

She strides over to the bar, and after a brief perusal orders some celestial soda pop, which makes her arm writhe a little more uncomfortably. Turning away from the counter, her dark eyes rove around the inhabitants, as if looking for someone of interest to approach.

Oh hey, cute redhead. With a weird device. Perfect.

The woman waves at Talah from across the bar. "Heyo, need some company? Mind if I buy your drink?"

Talah looks up from her phone to see who's talking at her.

She smiles at the woman.
"I love company, it's the only thing I like more than someone buying things for me," she says.
Talah glances down at her phone and closes out of the news feed. She then considers making the woman come over to her, but figures it'll be easier if she just gets up and moves over there to her.
So, she stands (and grabs her cup and phone) and walks over to the woman, and sits down next to her.

"Thanks. I'm Talah," she says. "Talah Cathwulf. And, no, I'm not a werewolf, in case you were wondering. You'd be surprised how many times I get that question, apparently lots of people think anyone who has 'wolf' in their name is automatically a werewolf." And for good reason, though, because of how common it is.

[quillpleasant]

"Well, good thing I have money and time to spare," says the woman playfully. As Talah sits by her she leans forward with a smile, resting her chin on her normal hand.

"The pleasure's all mine, Talah. Cool name, although werewolf certainly wouldn't be my first guess. They tend to be rougher around the edges. No, I'd peg you as more of the fae or vampire type. Or just a very exceptional human." She chuckles lightly. "Oh, and I'm Alice Q. Also not a werewolf, incidentally."

As she's talking, her blood arm turns towards Talah, swaying slightly as if its looking at her without eyes. Alice seems oblivious to this.

"So am I right? Fae? Not that it matters, I'm just curious."

[Shadowcaller]

"If I knew where to find her, I would be talking to her." Pax replies despondently. "But I can tell you what she's like and maybe that will give you some ideas of where to look." The old man looks into his seeing stone and lets out a quiet sigh. "...She likes people. She usually busies herself helping them somehow. Maybe you'll find her just by dint of being in the same business." Pax frowns. "She loves animals, too. And I don't just mean the cute ones. I mean she's the sort to risk getting her face clawed off to pull a thorn out of a tiger's paw. And she seems to have a fascination with garbage. I don't properly understand that part, but apparently she likes it."

”Garbage, animals, people…” Raheeda repeats as she writes it all down. “Anything else? Like, what should we tell her if we meet her?”

[Ironsmith]

"The same thing I told you." Pax replies simply. "'Your brother-in-law Pax is in town, he's looking for Jubi, please help him find her.' Then direct her to me, here, at Trog's. Could not be simpler."

[Earl of Purple]

A small brown bird with a bright-red chest flies into the pub via an open window and swoops in and lands first on the back of an unclaimed chair, where it has a quick look around, and then darts to the floor where it starts to grow. The feathers recede, replaced by a white t-shirt and a pair of denim culottes, the beak shifts into a human mouth and nose, black hair grows from the head until it brushes the shoulders as the wings grow fingers and turn into arms and hands. The legs change dimension and fill out, though no shoes appear on the feet as the toes swing around and shrink to human proportions.

Once the transformation is complete, a young human woman stands barefoot at the table. She looks to be nineteen or so, with black hair that touches her shoulders and bright green eyes. Her skin is tanned but not burnt, and pale where the sun hasn't reached it. She pulls a chair out and gestures with one hand, red symbols shimmering into existence- clubs, spades, hearts and diamonds- before coalescing into a battered blue rucksack which is put carefully on the table before she sits down.

[[brackets lover]]

Sitting at a vacant table near the woman was Asami with her face pressed down against the table, arms crossed. She was about as tall as an 8 or 9 year old, the kind of kid whose age an accompanying adult could easily lie about so they can get a reduced price at the establishment. She had straight light brown hair which partially covered her face and split into medium-sized spike formations at the back. She had fair skin and wore a black jacket loosely over a Sonic The Hedgehog T-Shirt, as per usual. She was constantly surrounded by rays of sunlight, making her remarkably noticeable.

The bird flying in drew her attention, causing her to give an absent-minded gaze as it transforms into a human. Intrigued, she props herself up and turns to the mysterious person. She opens her mouth slightly before holding a fist up to it and clearing her throat. She then waves to the newcomer and casually greets them in her usual high-pitched voice, though on the lower end of pitches she could comfortably reach, "So, you gotta summoner, or...?"

[Earl of Purple]

"Well, I am a summoner. Conjurer technically, but it's basically the same thing." Conjurer being a more specific term of exactly how Natalie achieves her summoning effects. "My name's Natalie. And you are?" Natalie isn't looking away from Asami, nor does she seem discomforted by the sunlight. If Asami has any mystic senses, Natalie's clothing is enchanted, but not her rucksack, and there's no permanent magical affects on Natalie either.

[[brackets lover]]

Asami raises an eyebrow at Natalie. "How is that the same thing at all?" she asks. When asked for her name, she sits up straight and her eyes widen. "Oh, um," she stutters, "Its Asami, nice to meet you." While Asami could sense any sort of metaphysical energies, in the Nexus, anything of that sort wouldn't stand out. Thus, she didn't even give it any sort of thought.

During conversational pauses, Asami would tap her feet and look around the room non-focally.