Page 15 of 44

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Dec 31, 2022 10:40 pm
by DeBunny
"Spell matrix" is a fancy term. It implies intricate layers of runework, interacting cogs of magic and intent structured oh-so-carefully around each other in an effect-inducing geometry of elegance.

This is not that.

It is a bestial paw gripped around Henry's very being, jagged talons pierced into and restraining his soul.
And this is very, very literal.

MINE.

A second one materializes only to Verity's sight, immediately and aggressively swatting itself at her.
The intent is to brutally smack her away and disengage the snooping, before disappearing again.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Dec 31, 2022 11:01 pm
by Halae
Henry will get to see Verity's eyes widen suddenly, and then her lifting her staff up to block the incoming strike. Her staff takes the brunt of it on the shield spell built into the thing, briefly glowing in an iridescent semicircle, but the force of the blow is too great to be deflected that easily, and Verity is picked up off her feet and sent into the air, to collide with a table, break it, and slide to a stop against the wall in the furniture's wreckage.

She lets out a pained sound, and doesn't get up quite yet. But hey, she's not dead!

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 01, 2023 4:29 am
by Keeper
Henry hops to his feet in surprise, going to Verity’s side to help her up.
”Oh gosh. Are you okay? That looked nasty.”
He doesn’t say he warned her. But he did.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 01, 2023 4:39 am
by Halae
"Don't worry, the table broke my fall," Verity says, looking rather dazed and favoring her left arm, the one she landed against the table with. It's definitely fractured, not that Henry would be able to tell that at a glance, "Good news and bad news. Which would you like first?"

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 01, 2023 4:54 am
by Keeper
Henry blinks for a moment and then sighs.
”Is the bad news that I have an unbreakable binding to the crazed spirit bound to my house? Because I knew that.”

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 01, 2023 5:08 am
by Halae
"Interesting thing there, actually," Verity says, pulling herself shakily to her feet. She holds her left arm close to her body and uses the staff in her right to better support her weight, "You're not cursed or bound or whatnot; you're being held. It's not an autonomous working, but rather the spirit actively working on you right now. In theory, that means digging its claws out from in you would prevent you from getting worse, and may even allow you to be reverted."

"That, uh, is beyond my current preparations, as you may have noticed. It's possible, but I'd need a lot more help or a lot of time."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 01, 2023 1:43 pm
by Ironsmith
ForTheGnomes wrote: Dec 31, 2022 9:44 pm "Well, I did know a demon hunter for a while. He taught me a lot about monster's weaknesses, but nothing about celestials and demons." Jerick picked up a roughly bound book from one of the shelves, skimmed through it, and put it back as if confirming something. "I think if I kill your friends in their demonic forms, I can resurrect them directly as angels instead of having them live a full life before dying again which might lead to them ending right back in hell. But for that to happen, I would need to run a few tests of which you might not like."
"That's literally exactly what I tried." Marianne mutters, swirling the bottle in her hands. "And it turned out to be an unqualified disaster. I'll be lucky if eternity goes by and any of them are willing to speak to me again. As it stands... I'm pretty sure Euy would put a bullet in my head if she ever saw me again. Seriously." She throws back the bottle again, dumping an excessive amount of wine into her mouth, a little dribbling down the corners of her lips and onto her chest and shoulders. "Not that it'd be so bad if she did; we're all technically immortal, apart from that thing that can happen to demons, so shooting me would just put me waking up in Elysium a few minutes later. Still hurtful, though."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 01, 2023 6:33 pm
by Earl of Purple
Keeper wrote: Dec 30, 2022 9:47 pm"Yeah, I dunno. I guess as long as everyone's ok with that sort of arrangement it's all good. Not sure what I want to do for that sort of thing. Or when. Luckily I have time to think about it." Mina's estate is certainly big enough for a family. But she thinks she ought to work out her own identity before she starts making a family.
"Yeah, it can. So far, pretty much everyone's either been no-nos like you or up for a night of no strings." With the exception-ish of Anchor, who has had two nights of no strings. But the first didn't lead into the second, and neither will necessarily lead into a third time, if a third night occurs.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 02, 2023 4:24 pm
by ForTheGnomes
Ironsmith wrote: Jan 01, 2023 1:43 pm "That's literally exactly what I tried." Marianne mutters, swirling the bottle in her hands. "And it turned out to be an unqualified disaster. I'll be lucky if eternity goes by and any of them are willing to speak to me again. As it stands... I'm pretty sure Euy would put a bullet in my head if she ever saw me again. Seriously." She throws back the bottle again, dumping an excessive amount of wine into her mouth, a little dribbling down the corners of her lips and onto her chest and shoulders. "Not that it'd be so bad if she did; we're all technically immortal, apart from that thing that can happen to demons, so shooting me would just put me waking up in Elysium a few minutes later. Still hurtful, though."
"Well, who knows? Maybe I can do better than a demon hunter. All I would have to do is get to them and run a few tests. Then, depending on the results of said tests, I could pop back here and make a potion that could theoretically kill them then turn them into an angel within the span of a minute." Jerick pulled the leather-bound book back out of the box and, this time, took a bit more time reading it. When he finished, he set it on the workstation. "So, mind if I meet your friends?"

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 02, 2023 8:41 pm
by Ironsmith
"I'm gonna stop you right there." Marianne replies, plopping her wine bottle onto the table. "Because no, there's no way you could possibly just turn them into angels. Much the same way you couldn't make a potion to turn me into the president of... I don't know, somewhere. The point is, it's not a physiological problem, exactly. It's an issue of membership. The most you could do would be kill them and send them back through the system for a retrial, hoping they'll get to be angels this time. And that's what I did." She lowers her gaze to the floor and lets out a morose sigh. "...And that's why they hate me now."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 02, 2023 8:52 pm
by ForTheGnomes
Ironsmith wrote: Jan 02, 2023 8:41 pm "I'm gonna stop you right there." Marianne replies, plopping her wine bottle onto the table. "Because no, there's no way you could possibly just turn them into angels. Much the same way you couldn't make a potion to turn me into the president of... I don't know, somewhere. The point is, it's not a physiological problem, exactly. It's an issue of membership. The most you could do would be kill them and send them back through the system for a retrial, hoping they'll get to be angels this time. And that's what I did." She lowers her gaze to the floor and lets out a morose sigh. "...And that's why they hate me now."
"Huh. Okay then." Jerick take a smaller and better bound notebook out of a specially designed pouch on his belt and writes something down. He then closes the notebook and puts it back in the pouch. "Do you have any ideas that don't involve killing or transmogrification."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 02, 2023 9:29 pm
by Ironsmith
"No. No I do not." Marianne scowls. "That's just the way it is, okay? I didn't come here expecting to fix that particular problem. If I can't do it while being backed up by the best in the business on multiple fronts, I don't bloody well think you can do it."

Marianne crosses her arms on the table and buries her face in them. "...I just want to rest." She whimpers. "Just ten minutes where I don't have to feel like I've screwed everything up. Where I can just... just forget for a bit." The angel's shoulders shake as her voice cracks, muffled by her arms and the table. "That's all I want. Please."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 02, 2023 10:58 pm
by Keeper
Halae wrote: Jan 01, 2023 5:08 am "Interesting thing there, actually," Verity says, pulling herself shakily to her feet. She holds her left arm close to her body and uses the staff in her right to better support her weight, "You're not cursed or bound or whatnot; you're being held. It's not an autonomous working, but rather the spirit actively working on you right now. In theory, that means digging its claws out from in you would prevent you from getting worse, and may even allow you to be reverted."

"That, uh, is beyond my current preparations, as you may have noticed. It's possible, but I'd need a lot more help or a lot of time."
"Well, I don't think anyone in the family's ever gotten worse besides actually dying and changing that way, which I've already done. But point." Henry seems unsure.
"I mean the House's curse was apparently because of some holy knights who invoked a god or something. It'll probably take a pretty big undertaking. And I don't want to get anyone killed."
Earl of Purple wrote: Jan 01, 2023 6:33 pm "Yeah, it can. So far, pretty much everyone's either been no-nos like you or up for a night of no strings." With the exception-ish of Anchor, who has had two nights of no strings. But the first didn't lead into the second, and neither will necessarily lead into a third time, if a third night occurs.
"Well, I wish you luck with that, really. I know I'm having trouble finding a date, so I understand how you feel completely. And you can feel free to stop by my place if you're ever in Skyside." Mina offers. She has a lot of room for guests.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 03, 2023 12:18 am
by Halae
"Yeah, I'm sorry Henry, but I don't have that kind of thing in me right now," Verity says with a sigh, "I'll let you know, but don't hold your breath - tangling with a god has never really been something I was willing to do."

"Now then," she starts walking away towards the door, still leaning on her staff with her left arm clutched close, "I think I'm going to go find a hospital."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 03, 2023 12:22 am
by ForTheGnomes
Ironsmith wrote: Jan 02, 2023 9:29 pm "No. No I do not." Marianne scowls. "That's just the way it is, okay? I didn't come here expecting to fix that particular problem. If I can't do it while being backed up by the best in the business on multiple fronts, I don't bloody well think you can do it."

Marianne crosses her arms on the table and buries her face in them. "...I just want to rest." She whimpers. "Just ten minutes where I don't have to feel like I've screwed everything up. Where I can just... just forget for a bit." The angel's shoulders shake as her voice cracks, muffled by her arms and the table. "That's all I want. Please."
"Well then, I don't know if I can help you. All I can say is move on, I guess. That's what I do. But, then again, I've never really had any close friends, except for some, but they died horribly..." Jerick stayed silent for a moment, as if reminiscing. Jerick suddenly snapped back. "Anyway, the only thing I can do now is either give you this—" Jerick takes a metal bottle off of his belt and holds it up, then places it back in its holster. "—Or this, if you really want." Jerick takes the pen with the gem on the end of it back out of his pocket. "Either way, the decision is up to you."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 03, 2023 11:05 am
by FireFox
Reinholdt wrote: Dec 30, 2022 6:33 am [Sacrilege]

And rings... until Reinholdt picks up! The sound of feminine giggling can be heard and a quick shushing sound. "This had better be real important."

Reinholdt glances at Kyne and Soteira, trying to gauge how important is real important. "Ah, well it i-"

He's cut off by the sounds of more giggling over the receiver and Rein distantly, but audibly saying "Mmmm... no! Bad Arielle! Sit! Stayyyy... good girl." A little more clearly as his mouth returns to the phone, he adds "Sorry, yes?"

Trog's Rein clears his throat. "It's Kyne and Soteira. They're saying they want to meet up with you for a follow up session regarding whatever happened the last time you saw them."

This piques Reinholdt's interest. "Do they? ... Alas, I'm going to be busy for awhile. You should really handle them yourself this time. Or send them over to Riverside Rein. I heard To- uup. Gottagobye." Reinholdt sounds like he just fell over or something pushed him and the phone goes dead even as Trog's Rein starts to protest.

Rein bites his lip a little and lowers the phone. "Ah... well... Rein said you should talk to the Riverside one first," Reinholdt says, more interested in diffusing the goddess' wrath via distance and time than he is performing any follow up anything right now.
For a brief moment, Kynegetis looks like she's going to be sick. The white saber in her hand shrinks to the size of a kitchen knife before blinking away entirely. Then her face smooths out to a blank expression, her eyes cold. "Very well then."
"No no no, wait." Soteira sounds nauseated and very quiet, although her reaction is of course invisible. "You failed to impress upon him how serious we are. He-"
"It is done." The Huntress takes the phone out of Rein's hand and sets it in the middle of the table. "I will go to Riverside. So will remain here for a few minutes to make sure you do not warn him. Thank you for your cooperation." She turns around and walks towards the exit and will soon be gone unless stopped.
"Maybe that one wasn't... ours. We should keep checking... Oh shit."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 03, 2023 4:53 pm
by Earl of Purple
"I'd offer the same, but... I don't actually have a fixed abode. I roost in a number of different places, depending on what's nearest when I'm tired and my mood." Jack doesn't have a reliable income, and before she found the pirate's treasure she didn't even have a lot of money to make a deposit or rent somewhere. So sleeping in forgotten attics and abandoned rooms became habit, and Jack doesn't quite understand land ownership anyway.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 03, 2023 8:45 pm
by Keeper
Earl of Purple wrote: Jan 03, 2023 4:53 pm "I'd offer the same, but... I don't actually have a fixed abode. I roost in a number of different places, depending on what's nearest when I'm tired and my mood." Jack doesn't have a reliable income, and before she found the pirate's treasure she didn't even have a lot of money to make a deposit or rent somewhere. So sleeping in forgotten attics and abandoned rooms became habit, and Jack doesn't quite understand land ownership anyway.
"Well, that's fine. I probably wouldn't fit in a home made for your size. My place is a big mansion Sai built for me in the Cloudtops. It has horns like mine on the mailbox you can't miss it." It has horns in several places, actually. Sai claims he doesn't have hobbies but he really went all out on the minotaur iconography.
Halae wrote: Jan 03, 2023 12:18 am "Yeah, I'm sorry Henry, but I don't have that kind of thing in me right now," Verity says with a sigh, "I'll let you know, but don't hold your breath - tangling with a god has never really been something I was willing to do."

"Now then," she starts walking away towards the door, still leaning on her staff with her left arm clutched close, "I think I'm going to go find a hospital."
Henry cringes and follows after Verity.
"Um. Do you need help? I could um. Call you a medic." He could also very easily carry her but that would be kind of awkward.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 03, 2023 8:57 pm
by Halae
Verity gives Henry a strained smile, "Oh, could you? That'd be very helpful."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 04, 2023 9:48 am
by Reinholdt
[Sacrilege]

"Are you going to tell me what all this is about?" Reinholdt tries calling after Kyne with an accompanied worried sigh. She seemed really, really upset.

He could pose the same question to Soteira he supposes, but instead he asks a softer one for the softer psychopomp. "... Are you alright Soteira?"

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 04, 2023 12:28 pm
by Ironsmith
ForTheGnomes wrote: Jan 03, 2023 12:22 am "Well then, I don't know if I can help you. All I can say is move on, I guess. That's what I do. But, then again, I've never really had any close friends, except for some, but they died horribly..." Jerick stayed silent for a moment, as if reminiscing. Jerick suddenly snapped back. "Anyway, the only thing I can do now is either give you this—" Jerick takes a metal bottle off of his belt and holds it up, then places it back in its holster. "—Or this, if you really want." Jerick takes the pen with the gem on the end of it back out of his pocket. "Either way, the decision is up to you."
Marianne stares for a moment at the items in his hand, apparently deep in thought. That's a complicated decision, isn't it? The flask or the pen. She needs to carefully weigh the pros and cons, consider all the variables, and-

"...So what exactly are those?"

...Figure out what the decision being made here actually is.

Jerick took out the pen earlier when he offered to wipe his memory as part of their contract, so she's assuming that does something along those lines. And the flask... probably alcohol. Or something similar.

But, if the fact that she just polished off the bottle of wine she brought with her and doesn't seem to be even tipsy isn't enough of an indicator, she's not actually able to get drunk. So hopefully it's something a bit stronger than that.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 04, 2023 3:26 pm
by Earl of Purple
"I'd need to ensure a lot of the floors are sturdy enough, too. Mostly I roost in attics and such, which are already quite cramped. Not always designed for many people to stay in, either, which seems a bit pointless to me, really. Why build such a space if nobody's going to use it?" Which is why Jack doesn't feel too bad about her trespassing, squatting and general homelessness.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 04, 2023 7:15 pm
by ForTheGnomes
Ironsmith wrote: Jan 04, 2023 12:28 pm Marianne stares for a moment at the items in his hand, apparently deep in thought. That's a complicated decision, isn't it? The flask or the pen. She needs to carefully weigh the pros and cons, consider all the variables, and-

"...So what exactly are those?"

...Figure out what the decision being made here actually is.

Jerick took out the pen earlier when he offered to wipe his memory as part of their contract, so she's assuming that does something along those lines. And the flask... probably alcohol. Or something similar.

But, if the fact that she just polished off the bottle of wine she brought with her and doesn't seem to be even tipsy isn't enough of an indicator, she's not actually able to get drunk. So hopefully it's something a bit stronger than that.
"The flask is one of my more rudimentary inventions. It is a Fluid-Manipulation Container. You put any liquid in, press one of the buttons on the side and the liquid inside will morph into the chosen liquid, and if you need a fluid that isn't on it, just come back to me and I should be able to add it. While the pen, well I'm sure you already know." Before she decides, Jerick uses the pen to write labels for all of the buttons on the flask.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 05, 2023 3:44 am
by FireFox
[Sacrilege]

"...no," the unseen Savior admits. "I'd like to blame this on you Reinholdts and your preternatural ability to disrupt any plan, but truthfully I don't think we're handling this very well." She says this without any trace of irony, as if she and her sister usually handle things much better and threatening to maim the Treasure Hunter is an abnormal action for them.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 05, 2023 4:27 am
by Ironsmith
ForTheGnomes wrote: Jan 04, 2023 7:15 pm "The flask is one of my more rudimentary inventions. It is a Fluid-Manipulation Container. You put any liquid in, press one of the buttons on the side and the liquid inside will morph into the chosen liquid, and if you need a fluid that isn't on it, just come back to me and I should be able to add it. While the pen, well I'm sure you already know." Before she decides, Jerick uses the pen to write labels for all of the buttons on the flask.
"...How does that help me?" Marianne asks, looking over the flask. "I don't see any liquids here that help with my problem. And the pen... well, I think I know what that does, but wiping my memory is... is too much. I might lose what's bothering me, but... I'll be losing a lot of valuable memories with it." She shakes her head and stands up. "Is that all you can offer me?"

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 05, 2023 4:36 am
by ForTheGnomes
Ironsmith wrote: Jan 05, 2023 4:27 am "...How does that help me?" Marianne asks, looking over the flask. "I don't see any liquids here that help with my problem. And the pen... well, I think I know what that does, but wiping my memory is... is too much. I might lose what's bothering me, but... I'll be losing a lot of valuable memories with it." She shakes her head and stands up. "Is that all you can offer me?"
"Pretty much, yeah. I don't see any of my other inventions helping you, and I haven't really dealt with anything like this before. I'm very sorry." Jerick seems legitimately disappointed that he couldn't help. "I guess you'll have to keep looking for someone who can truly help you." Jerick puts the pen back in his pocket and the flask back on his belt. He pressed the button on the chair, returning it to its original gnomish size and moves it back to the workstation. He puts all of the boxes back on their respective shelves.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 05, 2023 5:27 am
by Reinholdt
[Sacrilege]

"... People make plans?" Reinholdt asks, confused. He thought plans were the things you make up on the spot when everything's gone bad and half the crew's been eaten and the power's out and you're drifting helplessly with no hope of help for days.

"Do you want a hug? Would a hug help?" Reinholdt continues, seeking out what little he can do with what little he knows.

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 05, 2023 1:02 pm
by Ironsmith
Marianne nods. "...It looks like it, yeah. Which I guess isn't that surprising." She stands and gives Jerick a little peck on the cheek. "Thank you anyway. Maybe we'll be able to do business some other time."

A sense of contentment radiates out from where the angel's lips make contact with Jerick's skin. For the next ten minutes or so, Jerick will experience no physical discomfort of any sort; no pain, no hunger, no anything. Just a personal nirvana, radiating out from his cheek.

">..I'm still getting used to being able to do that. But, hey, um... until next time, right?" She gestures to his pen. "And don't forget to wipe your memory, like you promised. Don't worry, the kiss should survive it."

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 05, 2023 10:56 pm
by ForTheGnomes
Ironsmith wrote: Jan 05, 2023 1:02 pm Marianne nods. "...It looks like it, yeah. Which I guess isn't that surprising." She stands and gives Jerick a little peck on the cheek. "Thank you anyway. Maybe we'll be able to do business some other time."

A sense of contentment radiates out from where the angel's lips make contact with Jerick's skin. For the next ten minutes or so, Jerick will experience no physical discomfort of any sort; no pain, no hunger, no anything. Just a personal nirvana, radiating out from his cheek.

">..I'm still getting used to being able to do that. But, hey, um... until next time, right?" She gestures to his pen. "And don't forget to wipe your memory, like you promised. Don't worry, the kiss should survive it."
Jerick was shocked when the angel pecked him on the cheek, freezing in place for a moment. Jerick regained his composure after a moment. "Thanks, I guess. At least you let me try to help" He said the last sentence with a slightly sad tone as he continued to clean up. When he was finished, the angel having left, he took out the pen, pressed the button, and pointed the gem at his head. He pressed the button again, a zap, then nothing. He continued as if the only thing that had happened was that he had a visitor.

(( End Interaction ))

Re: Trog's Tavern: Roman Numerals Are Dumb

Posted: Jan 06, 2023 3:40 am
by FireFox
[Sacrilege]

Rein can hear a sigh from across the table followed by a thunk as So presumably drops her forehead onto it. "A hug would help, especially from you. But I can't right now. I have to keep this veil up."