Skullfort Town

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quillpleasant
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Re: Skullfort Town

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On the road to Skullfort

It's been quite a journey, and Hyphaelia is tired. The gray skinned girl with the dark purple mushroom cap shakes her hair out of her eyes. She still isn't even sure what it is they're even doing, but its difficult to wrestle explanations from her dour companion at the best of times. Her thirst for knowledge keeps her from complaining, though. This journey has been nothing if not interesting.

Still, she's more than happy to dismount, sliding awkwardly to the ground. She stretches, peering at the death's head fort in the distance. Ominous.

As they approach the town, she notices the cozy looking inn with the fox sign. Tugging at the sleeve of the man's coat, she points at it.

"Are we stopping here? Do you need to rest?" For herself, she doesn't strictly need rest, but its certainly nice now and again.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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"It would be a nice place to rest, if my ass wasn't broke", the man remarks as he observes the Dancing Fox Inn, his arms crossed, "but the real reason is that such establishments typically have useful information resources for tourists. Often, for free. That's important."

This said, some respectable places would like to throw him back out of the door as soon as he'd step in.

Without further ado, he leaves his horse and heads inside.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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"Oh, good point!" Free information sounds ideal.

Lia nods and follows him towards the inn, casting a glance back at the horse as she does. She'd suggest tying it up, but it seems like the kind of beast that does whatever it wants. Shrugging, she heads inside.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

The inside of the inn is warm and lit in equally warm colors. The decor is mostly wood and cloth. Like the outside it is old fashioned but not entirely without conveniences like electricity. Some would call it cozy.
It also seems to be perhaps a bit bigger than it looked from the outside, especially given that the layout seems to be made for large people in mind with ample space between the furniture.
The reason for this is likely obvious as a centaur in a plain shirt and a black shirt trots up to them. He's relatively short for a centaur but is still the height of a person sitting on a black draft horse. He has a black and silver coat vaguely reminiscent of a black fox.

"Welcome to the Dancing Fox, folks. Can I help you with anything?" he asks cheerily, though there is something odd about him. The way there's a breeze in here even after the door swung closed. That he doesn't have a shadow but instead the shadows of a deer, fox, and owl move across the floor nearby.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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The Dancing Fox is a nice change after the grim Arkham street. Hyphaelia also appreciates the spaciousness; although she's not particularly large, her mushroom cap is essentially a huge hat she can never take off. Bumping it into things is both embarrassing and painful.

She nods pleasantly at the centaur as he trots up. She's actually more acquainted with such beasts than with horses, and immediately feels at ease. The odd amount of shadows does not escape her notice though, and she glances around to see if there's anything else living here. But like most things in these parts, its probably magic.

"Hello there! I'm Hyphaelia, but you can call me Lia. Me and the Colonel here were wondering if..." she trails off, still not sure what they're even here to find out, "Um, information? Do you have information?" She's really good at this.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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For his part, the "Colonel" looks at the outsized gaps between furniture, his head turning from side to side. When he looks up to meet the centaur face to face, it almost makes his hood fall down, and he has to keep it in place with one hand. "If I'd known this, I wouldn't have bothered to get off my horse..."

Just like the new arrivals can sense something's odd about the, presumed, innkeeper, as if being half-horse half-man wasn't odd enough, the innkeeper can sense there is something odd about the "Colonel". Despite doing his best to cover his mangled face, he can't prevent the centaur from seeing embers of crimson flame in his eyes.

"Ahem. Yes. Information", the "Colonel" joins the conversation, as jovially as he can manage. "For starters, is it common knowledge what you are in these parts? 'Cause if it is, it will simplify our discussion by a lot."

It's clear that by "what you are", he's not talking about him being a centaur.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

There are a few other living things here. Namely a snowy owl in the rafters and a couple of middle-aged reindeer-satyrs taking care of the scant few customers already here.
This place is very, very magic.

Mist raises an eyebrow. It sounds an awful lot like this man is about to start threatening him or something. In here?
”Yes, it is well known that I am Mist Danir, lord of the wind, friend to beasts and travelers, patron of the Black Herd and husband to Lady Leah Danir of the Skullfort, blah blah titles titles titles. You don’t marry the owner of a town without getting a few. What are you getting at?”
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

Completely oblivious to the rising tension, Lia prattles on, peering up at the snowy owl with obvious interest.

"Nice to meet you, lord Mist! Those titles are very impressive. This place seems really nice, I like the decor, very spacious." She absently walks further into the room, giving a little wave to some of the other customers. This place feels a little more like her own home than most places have here, which is both good and bad. She'll have to think on it a while. For now, she keeps an ear tuned to the conversation. Maybe she'll actually learn a little more of the plan.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

The "Colonel" glances at Lia, then back up at the centaur. "A lord? Uh uh. Do I need to kneel? Or would that be a bit much? I mean, I'm already down here." He gestures at the floor. His tone is conversational if it is anything.

"In any case, it sounds luck is on my side for once and I've come to the right sort of place. You see, I owe a man one or two spirit-sealing weapons, and am looking for a volunteer spirit to forge into such. For the purposes of warding off evil spirits, I am also looking for someone who commands the pure waters to, hopefully, teach me the birthing words of water. Of my own volition, I swear on the Sign of the Reaper that I will not use such things against you or yours, now or in the future. So you have at least that on the table."

He really doesn't look like he has much more to put on any table. He puts a hand on his chest, where his heart ought to be, when he says this.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"Oh gosh don't actually start calling me lord that's just weird." Mist shakes his hands.
"Uh, I don't really know any spirits, sorry. Most of the folks I talk to are fey or centaurs. But uh, you're going to have to help me with...the entire second half of what you said because I didn't get any of it." there were a lot of terms thrown at him right there.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

Lia raises an eyebrow as she listens to her companion talk. She doesn't say it, but the chance of finding a spirit willing to be forged into something seems slim at best. Not that she's an expert in any way.

She shrugs at Mist.
"If it helps, I actually have no idea what most of that means either. I've been relating a lot to Sancho Panza lately." Lia may not know much, but at least she's well read.

"Say, do you have any wine here? One of my sisters got into winemaking and I always meant to try some," she remarks, oblivious to the fact that an inn without wine is like a forest without birds, "No rush of course. Or are we in a rush?" The hollow hearted man would know better than her.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

"Aren't fey mostly different kinds of nature spirits?", the Colonel asks, "you certainly have the feel of one. Maybe if you'd introduce me to a, I don't know, a nixie or kelpie or... wait, you know who Sancho Panza is?" His head abruptly turns Lia's way, distracted by her comment. "You know that, but not how clothes worked? Good Christ!"
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

Lia shrugs, blinking as if confused by the question.

"I read a lot. It was one of the only things to do back in Autumn. I just thought it was interesting worldbuilding that humans could remove parts of themselves, it didn't occur to me it was real!" This raises a lot of questions. Next the Colonel will be saying that windmills are a real thing too.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"Wrong kind of fey. Mine's the 'etched into reality resulting in immortality and spooky happenings' not the 'stealing your name' kind. "
He does blink at Lia's comments.
"Yeah. We have wine. I assume you're new here so uh. You do have money, right?" he just kind of has to ask. He hopes that isn't rude.
"Is that Don Quixote? I never could get all the way through it. BS'd my way through that book report."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

"Not buying any, if she wants some, it's on her", the Colonel aswers the question about wine, returning his attention to Mist. "I'm not sure if the distinction you make matters. The one of fey, I mean. There are fey creatures associated with water, yes? I"m simply asking you to direct me to one. That would be good enough for a start." The Colonel has never read Don Quixote either. He recognizes the characters - well, some of them - from plays and other adaptations of the original. He's mildy surprised Mist has apparently gone to school and had to make a report on the thing.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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"Don Quixote, yeah. It was pretty light reading, I don't blame you for not getting hooked."

Hyphaelia seems a little chagrined by the request for money. "Oh yeah, currency is used here right? I'll pass then, I have nothing." It's not hyperbole; even the clothes on her back are home grown and she has no bag or coin purse.

To the Colonel, she says "Where I come from, fae creatures are everywhere, at least outside the depths. It's a pity I can't take you there." Well, not totally a pity. There has to be a reason she left, after all.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

Mist shrugs.
"Yeah, that's what I mean. The fey I know are people who have bound themselves to the world in a way. My wife is part of Message and her father has a few Charities of her own. And my estranged former forcibly-adoptive family are all woodland creatures, hence their marks on my parents." He waves a hand to the couple of deerfolk.
"I've never met a kelpie in my life. I mean I can make it rain if that's what you're talking about but that comes with the weather-god territory and I still have no idea what a birthing word of water is."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

"How do you make it rain, then, if not by reciting birthing words of water?" The Colonel's method is inquisitive more than puzzled. "Would it be too much to ask for you to show me? I mean, it won't wreck the local weather patterns too much, or will it?"

It might occur to Mist that in the man's mind, there is a method to being a "god" - one that he might be able to analyze and replicate, not too different from mundane sleight of hand.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

Lia considers for a moment, then brightens up, clapping her hands together suddenly.

"I think this is a translation issue! Or an issue of terms? Sandels, by "birthing words of water" are you just talking about summoning water?"

She thinks for a moment. "Oh, and is it the words themselves that are necessary, or do you just need a way to create natural water? Do you need to be the one to create it, or can someone else help you?" If he actually needs to learn to do it himself, well, maybe a magic school would be a better destination than a friendly weather god.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"I mean sure, I got nothin' better to do."
He turns his head, "Mom, take over for a few minutes, gotta do god stuff." he calls to one of the satyrs and trots out through the door that the pair probably realized is sized for people of his width and height (and then some; Mist is a short centaur)
"It's really not much. We'll just go with the clouds around here so I don't screw over the entire town."
Mist reaches into the bag he keeps on his lower half and removes an elegant looking flute. Bringing it to his lips...he just plays. That's it. There's nothing particularly special aside from his musical ability, and yet the cloud overhead turns dark and in mere minutes it's raining on them.
Mist, understandably, is a weather god and doesn't mind being rained on.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

The Colonel shakes his head at Lia. "Not an issue of terms. An issue of methods. But you're on the right track." He pats the girl on the shoulder as he passes her by. She might know more about the occult than she does of clothes.

Stuffing his hands to pockets of his dirty overcoat, the man follows Mist outside. He observes carefully as the centaur plays, then turns to gaze upwards at the clouds.

"Interesting", he says, shielding his eyes with one hand as raindrops fall on his disfigured face. "Do you have a sheet for that song? Not sure I can replay it just by the ear."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"Methods...mmm..." Lia mutters, her mind whirring. She's determined to get to the bottom of this.

She does raise an eyebrow as Mist calls a satyr mom. Adoption, or magic? It would be rude to ask, so she won't. She follows the two out and listens to the weather god's music. As the rain begins to come down, she smiles widely and stretches her arms wide, letting it fall across her contentedly. It's been a while since she's had a good meal.

"I'm guessing the power isn't in the music itself, but the wielder?" she asks, smiling at the Colonel's persistence.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"I mean you can Nextube it if you really want to. Song doesn't matter, though. Just has to be thematically relevant. And not even that, probably. I've called lightning before with not much preamble." Mist shrugs, laying the flute back in its case before it gets too wet.
"And I don't even do anything for the wind. That just kind of happens on its own."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

"Oh, it's not just about the song", the Colonel muses, still gazing up to the sky, "it's this moment. If you hear me playing it in the wind sometime, that's how you'll know to send a little rain my way." Sounds like he's talking to Hyphaelia as much as to Mist.

"Ahem. Provided it is allright with you. Presumably, you want something in return. Now or in the future." He lowers his head and looks at Mist expectantly.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Hyphaelia listens to the others, letting the rainwater drip down her face. There's something incredibly comforting about a good downpour, and she can feel it rejuvenating her. It might be time for a molt soon.

But ever practical and curious, she quickly begins to ask more questions.

"Mist, can you bring rain down only in your vicinity, or can you make it happen elsewhere? And Sandels, do you need the water summoned at a specific location, or can you bring the other things you need here?" She's really hoping that this errand doesn't end in failure, so it's best to explore every possibility. And to communicate! For having a rather alien mindset, Lia still can't understand why it's so hard for people to just spell out what they want.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"If you need something from a god, there's this thing called 'praying' that is traditionally used." Mist grins.
"I'd assume I'm strongest in my vicinity. Never really tried anything else since all my followers live down the street.
Uh, what do I want? Uuuuuuh..."
he clearly hadn't prepared for this. "I dunno, you willing to pray a bit? It would help me get back the grist I just spent on you."
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

"Do your followers have a set way of doing that, or will I have to invent my own?"
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Lia heaves a sigh. Its not surprising that Sandels is once again dodging her questions, but it is exasperating.

Putting on a smile again, she nods at Mist. "Well, I've never prayed before, so we'll both be trying something new. I guess it'll be a test of your godly capabilities, and our faith." Or just the Colonel's. She's not even sure if she can help with whatever ritual he's planning, or if he even wants her help.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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Dancing Fox Inn

"Hm. I don't really have priests. I have a liaison but she's mostly to keep me from saying something stupid in front of the Herd. So uh, anything you like as long as it has the right vibe, I guess. I don't really have hard rules." Mist admits. "I don't even have a Messenger. You'd think with someone with a King of Beasts sort of title I'd have one of those." It would be a fox, obviously.
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Re: Skullfort Town

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[Dancing Fox Inn]

The Colonel shrugs. "Well then." He clasps his hands together and bows to the centaur. "Mist Danir, lord of the wind, friend to beasts and travelers. In name of the Reaper, I thank you for the rain you've brought me today and the rains you will bring me in the future. Glory to your name, to your herd and to your inn. Truly."

If Mist gains feedback for prayers he receives, he might feel an unusual shiver or a tingle - as if he didn't receive thanks from just this one soul, but a large crowd of them.

After his prayer, the man drops his hands and looks around. "Yes, lack of a messenger is a bother. I don't have my traditional one either, got left behind in the world I came from. Don't even have a phone yet. But hey, look at the bright sides. At least you have a home adress."
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