Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

[Murkus]

[Pink and Red and Blue]

Tsumi just nods at the two of them. "I've done all of the above and more. I run a roadhouse a ways outside the city, but I'm always looking for ways to pick up a little extra scratch. I specialize in stuff that usually involves something getting stuck with the pointy end of a sword - or at least waving one around."

The oni lowers her voice. "I've dabbled in a little 'involuntary wealth arbitration' as well. Both for myself and on commission." That usually pays the best, and often doesn't require interacting with an employer or a middleman. Sometimes a fence, though... "I tend to be a little choosy when it comes to that, though."

[bc56]

Menard grimaces. "An undignified end, even for a murderer." He shakes his head. "Oh, many. Some things I shouldn't have started, some I should. It takes far less than the 80 years of my life to build a vast library of regrets. I'd rather spare you the laundry list."
80? He doesn't look older than his 40s.

[Spectre]

Adanu nods solemnly in agreeance. "That is true. What can one do but weep?" He shuts his eyes beneath his blank white mask, but it's no use. He can still see the dead man there, as though he were sitting beside him. Adanu could never wash from his mind what he'd seen—how the man's bones had writhed under his skin like fat worms, how they finally splintered apart, and how he screamed when it happened.

"Eighty years, sir?" This does seem to pique the robed man's interest. "There are those, it is said, that can live for as many years as there are drops of water in the sea." Ponders Adanu, recalling his studies. "You would not happen to be one of these creatures, would you? If so, I would ask that I learn more of your people."

"Among your kind, are there elders, too?" He adds, after a short pause.

[bc56]

"Nay. There art a mere hundred and fifty years to our lives. Age, however, is no matter among us. So long as one is fit for duty, he or she may continue. When one is too old to work, he or she may retire." So Menard isn't immortal.

[Spectre]

The man in the mask leans forward in his seat, engrossed. "A mere hundred and fifty, sir?" Adanu is astonished. "My people live for less than a century. Do you feel as though the longevity of your life has, in some way, altered the way you experience it?" He reaches for his sleeve and retrieves a small pen. Adanu starts to write on his palm-bandages.

After a few seconds spent scribbling he peers up at Menard, waiting for an answer. "I apologize if my line of questioning is... uncomfortable, but it is my duty to record."

[bc56]

"Less than a century? Legends say my people once lived such a short life, but that our technology allows us to live much longer now. But I have not known anything else, so... No. I cannot say that it influences my perceptions." Menard can see that the tone of the conversation has changed. This is more like an interview. Luckily he's not uncomfortable in this situation.

[Hraithre]

A sound is heard from the outside, of a truck appraching. Tires rasp against the ground as the vehicle stops before the tavern, then there's sound of a door opening and someone stepping out. Heavy steps and faint chink of metal against metal precede the front doors being flung open.

"God damn it! You said there'd be zombies! You didn't say there'd be a whole damned wyrm there!"

The accusing voice belongs to a grim figure, a knight in full armor covered by a black tabard, his head covered by a horned, skull-like helmet. He leans heavily on the doorframe and a silver polaxe for support. He is followed by stench of burned rubber, gasoline, sewage and death.

[Rebonack]

Normally Zee would lead with a 'Well howdy!' here but this knight guy is yelling at her already for some reason? His description sure doesn't sound like anyone she knows right off the top of her head? There are plenty of knight-type folks who frequent the tavern. Though... technically Fighting Mans since most of them aren't specifically landed nobility but that distinction probably doesn't matter.

"Have we met already?" Zee asks, sounding honestly puzzled. "I've sent a couple people to stick it to-"
She pounds one fist into her palm for emphasis.
"-the weird zombies that have been popping up around town but I don't remember giving a quest to someone who looked like you?"

Was he wearing a different outfit at the time?

The fact that she can't get a read on his name really isn't helping matters, either.

"Wait, a worm? Or like, wyrm with a Y? Because depending on which of those it is then those would have been different quests. Was it like a great big meat-worm? Or a big lightning snake thingy? Or a doofy looking bug dragon?"

These are very important questions.

[Spectre]

"Less than a century? Legends say my people once lived such a short life, but that our technology allows us to live much longer now. But I have not known anything else, so... No. I cannot say that it influences my perceptions." Menard can see that the tone of the conversation has changed. This is more like an interview. Luckily he's not uncomfortable in this situation.

Adanu nods sheepishly. "Oh yes. Often less than half of one, sir." In truth, the masked man was somewhat ashamed of his people's history. "Our world tore itself apart. By the time we realized the error of our ways, it was too late—the Storm came, and it bore the Alkari." His gaze becomes distant. "And nothing was ever the same."

Then... someone bursts the door open. The masked man turns his blank white 'face' to the door.

"Oh my. His armor is somewhat like yours, is it not, Mister Menard?"

[bc56]

Menard nods. "A more ancient and primitive equivalent." His own power armor is a masterpiece of advanced technology, not some mere metal plates.
But that's neither here nor there. "Perhaps a kindred spirit, or perhaps not. Armor does not choose its wearer."

[Thursday Violist]

[Pink and Red and Blue]

Ciara just rolls her eyes and grins at the way Tsumi teases her, turning so that she leans back against the bar. Her drink arrives around now, and she snatches it up in a manicured hand and latches onto the straw dangling out of it. "Possibly! I mean really, who knows. I'm sure we could do bounty hunting just fine. Or adventuring, or beating people up. Any other kinda work and excitement, y'know?" The witch shrugs and takes a rapid sip of her drink, looking back to Tsumi. Sure, she'd been the one looking for something exciting to do, but it was the oni's idea to come visit here.

[Pink and Red and Blue]

Tsumi just nods at the two of them. "I've done all of the above and more. I run a roadhouse a ways outside the city, but I'm always looking for ways to pick up a little extra scratch. I specialize in stuff that usually involves something getting stuck with the pointy end of a sword - or at least waving one around."

The oni lowers her voice. "I've dabbled in a little 'involuntary wealth arbitration' as well. Both for myself and on commission." That usually pays the best, and often doesn't require interacting with an employer or a middleman. Sometimes a fence, though... "I tend to be a little choosy when it comes to that, though."

[Pink and Red and Blue]

"Oh, wow, that does sound exciting," Talah says. "Meanwhile, I just do boring jobs like moving stock at the farmer's market and advertising stores and things like that." Definitely less exciting than bounty hunting or beating people up or wealth arbitration.

Hm.
Hearing that the oni mentions a roadhouse gets Talah thinking: "Hey." She looks at Ciara. "That got me wondering: you two usually work together, or you just go out together?" she asks, possibly being a bit nosy.

[Spectre]

Menard nods. "A more ancient and primitive equivalent." His own power armor is a masterpiece of advanced technology, not some mere metal plates.
But that's neither here nor there. "Perhaps a kindred spirit, or perhaps not. Armor does not choose its wearer."

Adanu doesn't seem particularly cognizant of the difference. "I see. Well said, sir." The masked man takes the time to write what Menard had said, verbatim, upon his bandaged palm. "Does not... choose..." He whispers, scribbling swiftly. He then looks up and cocks his head to the side. The gesture seems to stand in for an expression.

"Being that you are a knight, surely you must quest?" Asks Adanu after a few moments.

[bc56]

"Indeed. My order is dedicated to seeking out the being that cursed our planet." That seems reasonable. "We questing knights search for any sign that might lead us to it. I have scoured many a system for any trace of its venom to little avail."

[Arkhosia]

[Pink and Red and Blue]

"I mean, hey, I'm sure there's some fun stuff in there too! I bet there's alllll sorts of weird and funky kinds of strange Nexus businesses you've helped advertise for! Hell, I bet Tsumi's roadhouse could be one of them." Ciara flashes that trademark gremlin grin. It's hard to tell just how much of that was just to set up the joke.

The next question does surprise her however, and the warlock's brows shoot up. "Oh! Um, both - I mean, I actually help waitress there sometimes. Don't think I've caused too much chaos with the patrons, even if people just can't keep their hands off of me." Again, very hard to tell how much of this is made up in jest. She takes another sip of her soft drink, gives Tsumi a catlike look and adds "her especially."

[Murkus]

[Pink and Red and Blue]

"Hey, at least ya don't get beat up at the farmer's market," Tsumi laments, rubbing her neck. The ogress glances at Ciara as Talah voices her query to the witch.

"Don't let her fool you. She loves the attention. She's a never ending vacuum of it, in fact," Tsumi says dryly. She shoots a skeptical look back. "You only let everybody paw you so you can see me come over and tell them to knock it off. I save all my grabbing for later." Well that's definitely only partly true. At least she's more subtle about it than most!

"Say, you really do ads?" She'll ask Talah.

[Ember]

A woman dressed in dark robes and a grand-looking hat enters through the front door - and in the very next instant, she's sitting at a table, casting her gaze about with one visible brown eye. She reaches to nothing in particular, and pulls a glass of water from the nothing. She takes a languid sip of the cool water, before the glass is sitting on her table, with no apparent movement from it or the woman.

"Taverns," she mutters to herself, adjusting her hat. "The finest source of information for any fledgling adventurer. Glad to see that remains the same no matter the realm. Why, it reminds me of simpler times..."

[Rebonack]

Ah good ol' casual use of magic.

Why do a thing that would be really easy to do when you can do the same thing but with magic and be fancier?

It's the question all wizards face on a daily basis.

"Oh, nice hat!" says the perfectly normal human barmaid (you suspect nothing) as she approaches the newcomer via placing one foot in front of the other one and taking advantage of silly things like friction to propel her forward. "Welcome to Trog's Tavern! I would ask if you wanted anything to drink but it looks like you've got a refreshment already."

Zee offers a personable smile.

"Unless you want something a little more appetizing than conjured water. Trog's Tavern can certainly supply! I'm Zee, I'll be your server today. Is there anything I can get you?"

[Zefir]

And so a regular visiter also enters the tavern. He's got no fancy dress, just jeans and a shirt and he also got no means for this silly magic. He casually walks down the the path to the bar. Zee knows that regular fellow. With a sign of hand he order the usual, an ice tea without alcohole. Not in the mood for drinking.

[Morty]

"Comin' to a tavern and conjurin' your own water is is..." A middle-aged half-elf sitting nearby seems like he decided not to say the first thing on his mind. "Unusual."

[Thursday Violist]

[Pink and Red and Blue]

Sadly, "Most of the 'weirder' businesses want something a little more than "normal human gal" for their poster girls," Talah says, even doing air quotes, showing that she totally sees herself as a normal human gal even though her name (Talah Cathwulf) just screams 'I'm totally a secret werewolf' or she gives off that 'Cursed Fairytale Princess' vibe or ... "And, well, I'm not good enough at makeup-prosthetics or acting or sewing to really sell myself as anything other than that."
She crosses her leg.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at getting out of the way when the farmer's market starts getting heated."

Intended as a joke made up in jest or not, Talah still laughs at what Ciara says. If it's true, it's funny. If it's made-up, it's hilarious.
Even more so when Tsumi goes along with it. True, funny. Made-up, hilarious. "I can understand being an attention hog," Talah says.

Anyway, serious: no more laughing. "Yes, I do," Talah says seriously as she tries to stop laughing. She nods. "Mostly just handing out fliers and pamphlets, or approaching random strangers to tell them to go spend money somewhere...done a radio ad once, too..." She shrugs. "But as long as it pays, I'm open to it." Hence, even her reference to being a poster girl earlier.

[Ember]

"Why, thank you. I must admit that I had my reservations when hats of this style began to pop up among my peers." The woman's eye briefly flitted upwards. Her hat was rather typical for the magic types - tall, pointy, with a blue jewel dangling from one side. The one distinguishing feature was the half-mask protruding downward from its base that covered her left eye. "But, once people actually thought of how to fit them with their ensemble, I became quite taken with them."

"Ah, I think you're both mistaken somewhat. Easy enough, I will grant." The woman took another sip of water. "This water is from the tavern, much like everyone else's. I didn't simply pluck it from creation - I plucked it from my next conversation with this lovely server. Zee, yes? You'll be telling me in five m... no, I think you just did. Forgive me, sometimes the sequence of events grows difficult to keep track of. Speaking of..." She waved her hand in a circular motion, and a fresh muffin appeared in her grip. "Thank you again, miss. You're really quite prompt." She lightly smiled at Zee, before turning to the other man who would speak to her soon. Or in an hour. Or... no, he just spoke to her.

"Well, now we've established that I didn't conjure my own - I engaged in equitable custom with this fine establishment. At least, I will in around six minutes or so. Any other questions?"

[Rebonack]

Oh no.

Oh no.

Time nonsense.

Zee gives a deeply forced customer service smile and says, "I'll be right back with my apprentice. She's uniquely suited for serving you today."

And then she's scooting off to go fetch Sele from whatever her daughter is up to at the moment with a rushed explanation of, "Temporal things! I think she's supposed to get a glass of water and a muffin at some point later but she's already got both and I have no idea how to deal with this without paradox this one is all yours goodluck!"

Poor Zee.

She really doesn't like temporal nonsense.

This leaves Zee to acquire an ice tea for a DIFFERENT customer in a sensibly linear fashion.

"One iced tea here ya go! What brings you in to Trog's today?"

[bc56]

Time Nonsense
"Mum, it's easy, she's getting them from the future just make whatever she has now when she orders," The speaker is a half-dark-elf, with black hair in a ponytail with a white streak in it and red eyes.
But Zee seems too spooked by the time nonsense, so she steps up. "Hi, I'm Sele, what will I get you? And when?"

The perceptive might notice a couple other Seles in the tavern serving other patrons and all pointedly ignoring each other. The very perceptive might notice that after one takes an order, she disappears for an instant and reappears holding the food.

[Zefir]

"Routine." I guess. Zefir replies as he takes a sip of his drink.

"Wasn't really ready to face this kind of disgusting abuse of Magic. Haven't seen that in a long time. Let's hope the paradoxon ends this madness sooner then it causes more trouble."

[Morty]

"Ah. Lemons." Michalson pauses. "That is, time magic for us from Sigil. I studied it once. Felt like my brains were leakin' from my brain-box afterwards." His eyes sweep over the various Selekhaels. "Huh. I never really stopped to notice that."

[Ember]

The woman's eye briefly glazes over as Sele trades places with Zee, before shrugging. "No need to worry - I'll be quite satisfied with this in around four minutes and seventeen seconds." As she speaks, the water and muffin she'd grabbed earlier blip back onto her table, as though they'd been there the entire time. "Your movement along the tapestry is quite impressive, by the by."

"Ah, so my theory was correct," she says. "After a conversation I had tomorrow, I began to speculate that I had ended up in a crossing-point between many a world. What a pleasing place to spend my twilight years." the strange woman (who looks like her twilight years were still a ways off) pauses again, blinking.

"Ah, but I get ahead of myself. I am Rhaka, mage of Mhach - at least, I was, some time ago." She inclines her head to both Michalson, and whichever image of Sele is closest to her current point in time. "You say time magic is something commonly studied in your home? I am something of a pioneer of the field in mine, so the body of work to study was rather small."

[bc56]

Selekhael smiles slightly. "Thank you, but you seem, uh, a bit tangled. Do you need help?" While Rhaka seems a bit discombobulated in time, Sele swims through time like a fish through water... But you shouldn't look too closely. Being near her true form is distinctly bad for one's health, although the tavern is warded to protect against such things. Not to mention that she could not fit her whole body into the tavern if she did unfold from her half-elf shape. It's just best not to watch her moving in five dimensions.
"Either way, we'll have that... Glass of water and muffin ready for you in... 4 minutes, 12 seconds."

[Hraithre]

Normally Zee would lead with a 'Well howdy!' here but this knight guy is yelling at her already for some reason? His description sure doesn't sound like anyone she knows right off the top of her head? There are plenty of knight-type folks who frequent the tavern. Though... technically Fighting Mans since most of them aren't specifically landed nobility but that distinction probably doesn't matter.

"Have we met already?" Zee asks, sounding honestly puzzled. "I've sent a couple people to stick it to-"
She pounds one fist into her palm for emphasis.
"-the weird zombies that have been popping up around town but I don't remember giving a quest to someone who looked like you?"

Was he wearing a different outfit at the time?

The fact that she can't get a read on his name really isn't helping matters, either.

"Wait, a worm? Or like, wyrm with a Y? Because depending on which of those it is then those would have been different quests. Was it like a great big meat-worm? Or a big lightning snake thingy? Or a doofy looking bug dragon?"

These are very important questions.

"Don't pretend you don't know!", the armored man snarls, stumbling into the tavern and slumping on the first free chair he finds. "... okay, so it was the lightning snake. Where is that barmaid who can heal people? The one who turns into eagle-coral-lion-thingy? I'm on my last leg here."

[Rebonack]

"Oh! Okay if it was a lightning snake then I know which one you were. The guy with the motorcycle and the really poorly defined name, right?" Zee replies, brightening up considerably. "I can patch you up, too. Hold still, this will itch."

Then she'll move along side the knight and reach out to lay a hand on him.

Shape
Matter
Information
BE WHOLE

Reality shifts as the reaper's parts are set aright to where they ought to be based on his body's pattern. Bones knit, nerves relink, blood vessels are restored, and soundness is returned as cells are moved and new cells are supplied where needed. This is pretty far from typical magical healing. There's no vitalism stuff going on. More like highly accelerated natural healing.

Which means!

It really itches.

Meanwhile!

"Aaww, there's no need to be grumpy about it," Zee replies with a smile. "People have always been whacky around here to some degree or another. What's considered an ostentatious magical display somewhere might be perfectly normal somewhere else!"

[Arkhosia]

► SHOW SPOILER

[Pink and Red and Blue]

"Hey, at least ya don't get beat up at the farmer's market," Tsumi laments, rubbing her neck. The ogress glances at Ciara as Talah voices her query to the witch.

"Don't let her fool you. She loves the attention. She's a never ending vacuum of it, in fact," Tsumi says dryly. She shoots a skeptical look back. "You only let everybody paw you so you can see me come over and tell them to knock it off. I save all my grabbing for later." Well that's definitely only partly true. At least she's more subtle about it than most!

"Say, you really do ads?" She'll ask Talah.

[Pink and Red and Blue]

Sadly, "Most of the 'weirder' businesses want something a little more than "normal human gal" for their poster girls," Talah says, even doing air quotes, showing that she totally sees herself as a normal human gal even though her name (Talah Cathwulf) just screams 'I'm totally a secret werewolf' or she gives off that 'Cursed Fairytale Princess' vibe or ... "And, well, I'm not good enough at makeup-prosthetics or acting or sewing to really sell myself as anything other than that."
She crosses her leg.
"Yeah, I'm pretty good at getting out of the way when the farmer's market starts getting heated."

Intended as a joke made up in jest or not, Talah still laughs at what Ciara says. If it's true, it's funny. If it's made-up, it's hilarious.
Even more so when Tsumi goes along with it. True, funny. Made-up, hilarious. "I can understand being an attention hog," Talah says.

Anyway, serious: no more laughing. "Yes, I do," Talah says seriously as she tries to stop laughing. She nods. "Mostly just handing out fliers and pamphlets, or approaching random strangers to tell them to go spend money somewhere...done a radio ad once, too..." She shrugs. "But as long as it pays, I'm open to it." Hence, even her reference to being a poster girl earlier.

[Pink and Red and Blue]

"Oh I would never engage in any scheming to drive you wild and get you all to myself." Ciara smiles sweetly at her partner, even as the woman's own remarks start to bring a faint tinge of pink to her cheeks. She leans in to listen as Talah talks shop with interest, but doesn't remark just yet, leaving the serious business talk to Tsumi - though the mention of radio ads does raise a curious eyebrow.