Bloodsong's Oasis - Jazz Club and Speakeasy

[Keeper]

Krayger blinks.
"Um. Did you compromise the security of the entire world and put billions at risk? On your first mission? You...didn't make it sound like it was that big of a thing."

[Ironsmith]

"Eh." Rose shrugs. "The guy kinda exaggerated. We're not talking about imminent collapse here or anything, but the point was to make them vulnerable. It was a big hole in the sense that we got a fair amount of sensitive information, but really, the second they invalidated his password they were safe again. So maybe, kinda, on a technicality."

[Morty]

"Interglobal does seem like a larger scale than either Krayger and I are used to." This time it's not an exaggeration on Askeladd's part. The struggles of the Exalted are mighty but they still concern only one world.

[Keeper]

Krayger scratches his head.
”I’m a little confused. Who were you working for exactly?”
He hasn’t figured out if they were some group going up against a worldwide government or some other world government or whatever. He’s not a man for complex political situations.

[Ironsmith]

"The ARC. They're kinda like Interpol, only-" Rose stops, seeming to realize the frame of reference wasn't going to catch very well with Krayger. "...Okay, so think VIGIL." She continues. "Only instead of dealing with threats here or there, we were up against another, much larger organization and we had to be much sneakier to maintain a fighting chance. Does that about clear it up?" She looks to Krayger for any sign of recognition.

[Morty]

"Hmm. Fighting an enemy who outnumbers you and outstrips your resources? Yes, I do believe I know a thing or two about that." Of course, it helps when you have Lunar Exalted on your side, each of whom can rout an army.

[Keeper]

"Um. Yeah I think that clears it up." Krayger is not very experienced in being sneaky. He can be far quieter than people would assume from looking at him. But actual espionage? Not what anyone has ever asked him to do.

[Ironsmith]

"Right. So anyway-" Rose starts again, before stopping herself and letting out a little sigh. "...You know, actually... I'm thinking I should hold off on this one." She says after a moment, taking a drink form her cup. "It gets just... just downright depressing near the end. I wasn't really thinking about that before, but... yeah. It's not really 'hey your buddy just got a promotion let's celebrate' sort of material." She grimaces, giving them an apologetic shrug at the implicit foul of starting a story and not finishing it.

[Morty]

Askeladd gives Rose a long, knowing look. She's not the only one with stories she'd rather not unearth.

"I understand. Some stories need to stay buried, at least until the right time."

[Keeper]

Krayger takes another long pull of his drink.
"Hrm. Perhaps it is time for another story then. Perhaps another with a happier ending, yes?"
Or they could always get up to something else...

[Ironsmith]

"Honestly, I don't have very many of those." Rose admits, stirring around her glass and giving a vaguely amused chuff. "And wow, that was way more depressing than I meant it. I just mean it's kind of hard to pick out any of my misadventures as having an ending, you know? Maybe that's just a me thing; I can't do the whole 'cut off continuity' schtick." She leans up near Krayger. "Like when you go on a date. When does it actually start? When you get there? When your date gets there? Or when you start getting ready? Or does the story start with you asking for a date? Or before then, to contextualize why you asked for a date? Or... well, I think you get the idea."

Rose shrugs and takes a swig of her drink. "...I suppose I could tell you about a happy time, no context. That ought to simplify things, right?" She smiles. "...You ever stand up on, like, the second story of a building and look down, and you get this weird feeling in your legs and you're reminded you're standing on a not-quite-solid building instead of dirt?" She pauses, waiting briefly for confirmation before continuing, regardless of whether she has it or not. "Imagine that feeling for a minute. Back to the railing, traffic going by underneath you, and in front of you, you've got evidence that you've been made in the form of a gun barrel pointed right at your nose." She taps the tip of her own nose for emphasis. "One step back and you're a street pancake. One step forward and you can expect to be hauled away to some hole in the ground for... god only knows what. You're trapped between a rock and a hard place."

"Now picture that... only in that exact instant, you realize that you don't have that feeling in your legs." Rose smiles. "And you know why? Because you know you're not going to fall. You know people are coming for you. It's not just a matter of trust, or of faith... these people have proven time and time again that they're not going to let you down. It's just reality at that point. And this one time, on the top of this one building, is when you finally realize you knew that all along." She looks plaintively into her drink, before smiling up at Krayger and Askeladd. "...'Sgood feeling, you know?"

[Aurora Alchemi]

The door of the tavern swings open, and the figure standing within that frame gives an appreciative glance to the higher doorway. Tavern built for taller folks, which was a godsend some days. Still, they had to turn their head to the side a little so the rack sprouting from their silver locks didn’t mar the doorframe on either side. There was a practiced ease there; used to fitting the antlers into places they normally wouldn’t go, as well as some degree of an almost blindsight, as if the figure knew exactly where they were in relation to the world. “Anybody know where Ah can buy a drink? Ah smelt the brewer’s yeast from several blocks away, and Ah can’t resist no call o’ the keg.”

Then the figure straightens up. Silver hair cascades in elegantly arranged braids, some here and there complete with little rune carved beads of stone and rare wood. They sport an almond skin, and the hands of a crafter, one pinky truncated to a knuckle, the rest of the hands marked with the scars of a lifetime of work. Rolling shoulders covered in plaid, and brushing hands across a bear pelt waist cloak, emerald eyes twinkle with golden sparks before the figure cracks a wide smile. “Well naw, iff’n it ain’t a right lil’ party, with a buncha scowlin’ fools. Ya’ll need a joke or two? Ah’d be happy to supply.” Then the jovial moose bids their way into the tavern proper, sashaying a bit like they owned a corner of jolliness in every tavern ever.

[Morty]

Askeladd listens to Rose's story with fondness, but also wistfulness. He also had true and trusted friends, ready to catch him when he fell. But where were they now? Leading his former people against the Imperial Legions. Possibly getting them ignominiously slaughtered in so doing.

It's fortunate, then, that someone comes along. And bearing the kind of mood they need, no less. And with moose antlers, too. Ironic. Not that anyone here knows his own connection to these animals. But then...

"I think jokes would serve us well. We were celebrating our friend's promotion, but then our memories turned to overly sour subjects."

[Keeper]

Krayger turns, a smile breaking out at the newcomer.
"Well, your nose certainly has taste, as this is surely the most cultured and classy drinking establishment in the city."
He likes it because there's a minotaur bartender and he gets to feel classy without standing out.
"And yes, we're just celebrating a little good news I've gotten at work. You're welcome to join us, if you don't mind giving us your name. I am Krayger."

[Ironsmith]

And then, sitting next to the Exalted and minotaur, there's Rose. By comparison, she's almost painfully mundane; a short, slightly overweight woman with dark skin, eyes, and hair, who gives the beantlered figure a cheerful, slightly off-kilter wave as she approaches them.

"Heya! Yeah, sure, come on over. I left my joke book at home, so we've got a bit of a shortage!" She giggles. "...Ah, but seriously, hi! I'm Rose, this is Kr- wait, he did that part already, didn't he?" She glances over at her companions, particularly Askeladd, as she can't seem to remember if he introduced himself to the deer-lady or not.

Which is concerning.

"No more for me, please." Rose mumbles to the bartender, sliding her half-finished drink back over the bar.

[Morty]

"And I am Askeladd. You are indeed welcome." The large, bearded man nods, glancing down at Rose. She seems rather deep in the drink already. Well, she is fairly small.

[Aurora Alchemi]

Tuuli brings their hands together in a clap that raises the dust from the bar, their clothes, and probably anyone who spent any sort of time around dirt in the place. Then a booming laugh sounds from their lips as they smile, a twinkle in her eyes. “Damn, a welcoming group, and ye’ feel like listening to me jokes? Ah think Ah’m in the great grove. Or wait….” The moose lyrun waves a large paw at the bartender, first to a good sized tankard, then to a barrel of some strong whiskey. How they knew which barrel was anyone’s guess, but after settling the payment, and taking a long swig, they give a pleasured sigh. “Now I’m in the great grove. Name’s Tuulikki Kołodziejski, though most call me Tuuli, or the woodwaker, on account of me craftin’ habits. So ye’ say ye got a colored past? Some say Ah do too, seein’ as Ah used to eat color pastels.”

With that the gentle giant offers a wink of those brilliant emerald eyes, clearly joking and jovial. Then, for a moment, their face becomes grim and stern. “Shame though. Ah had to fire my assistant recently. They brought me a fine plank o’ wood…. When ah had asked for two by four!” The stern look cracks when the punchline drops, the lyrun cackling before drawing over a chair and sitting in it backwards, arms lazily crossed over the back of the chair. ”So what do ye’ all do? Ahm’ a master wood and stoneworker, an’ ah dabble a lot in other things.”

[Keeper]

Krayger gives Tuuli a polite chuckle. That joke was terrible, but that is the fun. Probably.
"I have been one of MERC's engineers and soldiers-for-hire for years. Now I am officially its personnel manager. A desk job, but that suits me just fine. I'm not quite so young as I used to be. Though I'm also not getting as old as I used to be so there's that."
He takes a very serious sip of his drink.
"You have very nice antlers, Tuuli. Do you polish them?" Krayger has a weakness for nice horns. It has burned him in the past. But that's life.

[Ironsmith]

Rose gives a slightly forced-sounding laugh; the sound of someone who didn't get the joke but doesn't want to stand out. She could do a more convincing one, even drunk as she is, but there's no point in dishonest feedback here.

"I work for MERC, too." Rose offers. "Psychological consultant." Technically true, but not anywhere close to her full range of duties. "Krayger was one of the first people I got involved with here. So... no way am I missing his promotion, you know?"

[Morty]

Askeladd gives a rumbling chuckle at the jokes. They strike him as purposely clumsy, in a way that breaks and eases tension.

"I am a storyteller, new to these lands. I met both Krayger and Rose by chance."

[Aurora Alchemi]

“Naw, it’s ok iffn’ ye didn’t get it dear, we’ll just have to have a board meeting to get to the benchmarks of the joke down for ye later, hmm?” The lyrun pokes a little fun at Rose just a little, giving a soft wink before looking to the group as a whole. ”Ye’ll know, Ah used to know one of the best coffin makers in all the lands. He started gettin’ sloppy though, and folks kept complaining that he had too many bodies coming out of the woodwork for their tastes.” A pause for the new pun to dawn, before a healthy guffaw and a swig of drink.

Then those shining emerald eyes, still full of mirth, look to Krayger, and then the lyrun nods. “Just a bit o’ the good old linseed oil and a bit o’ sandpaper.” Another two beat pause, before a long chuckle. “Just pullin’ yer leg. Feels good to give them a good brush at the end of a long day, put a bit’ o wax on em if Ah heading to a good ol’ fancy function, though Ah ain’t done did that in a long while. Usually Ah hang little trinkets from them, for any passen’ kiddos what could use some, but tonight is a drink’n night, so ain’t bring none of that with me this even’n.”

Then a look to the last of the party with a wide grin. ”Well shit, a storyteller? No lie? Well let’s swap stories, Ah got a few here and there, been round many places and seen many things, ‘specially when ah was bein’ architect an ‘ngineer for somma the rich folk’s back homeworl’. Ah could tell ye’ about the warriors of hedra, or the fall o’ the grove seekers,or the mighty ulfen king up nort’ with his wolven beast o’ a tribe.”

[Keeper]

Tuuli gets another quiet chuckle.
"Well, it's good to see someone taking care of their horns-and-equivalent. It's a bit of a lost fashion, I feel sometimes. And after all, now it's a balanced group."
They now have two large people with horns-and-horn-equivalents, and two smaller human folks. Even if Askeladd is big for a human.

Krayger wonders if Tuuli has to deal with shedding antlers. Probably an awkward thing to ask.

[Ironsmith]

"Pfffft!"

Rose cackles, clapping her hands together clumsily. "Oh, god, that one was just awful!" She chortles, shaking her head. It's a compliment of the highest order; crafting jokes that terrible took some serious skill, and delivering them in a way that's genuinely funny, even more so and less ironically.

Plus, Tuuli dumbed it down for her a bit and she couldn't let the effort go unappreciated.

Of course, the conversation moves away from jokes and toward stories and hygiene, which Rose is... honestly not ready for. Sure, she could share her own stories, but they just got through demonstrating what a categorically bad idea that was, and hygiene... well, she can't really offer much in the way of horn care tips, apart from what she heard secondhand from that Maldwyn girl (who wasn't big on it anyway).

So for now she just sits politely still and listens attentively, watching with her hands folded in her lap.

[Morty]

"I would be glad to. Telling and learning stories is why I've come here." Well, that's one reason at least. Then Krayger mentions a balanced party. It's true, although... a brief internal deliberation occurs. Maybe he can show a glimpse of his nature. It's not as if shapeshifting is unusual here. "I happen to know a thing or two about antlers as well. Let me demonstrate... thankfully this place has a tall ceiling."

He steps aside and stretches. In an instant, his form blurs and shimmers, limbs growing longer. A pair of antlers sprouts from his forehead, while his beard becomes longer and darker, shot through with brown hair here and there. When the transformation is finished, he is noticeably larger, over two metres in height, with a moose's antlers and black eyes. His arms grew longer without losing their thick musculature, while his legs have transformed entirely into a moose's legs, hooves and all. He also appears to have grown a tail. His own grey hair has become longer all over and mixed with brown, resembling a moose's coat.

"I apologize if it's abrupt," he says in a deeper, more echoing voice. "But the coincidence seemed too great not to capitalize on."

[Aurora Alchemi]

"Lost fashion? In mah case it's more of a lost fashion sense, Ah think. With me plaid, and usually with me leather apron, Ah look like a chunka basalt done fallen into a granite mine. It's nice, though, if ye keep em well waxed up and whatnot, they last a good long while, make for good knife handles and the like, even if they loose they's weave." The moose then pauses, tilting their head to allow several passersby in the tavern through, though a keen eye would notice that it was done without looking, and with exactly the right timing to keep the horns away from touching the passing pair.

"Awful? Ye' got it all wrong. Me' shops all fuller then bee spittle with granite, marble, chestnut and ironwood! Ah don't thin' ah got the room for it tah be full of awe." Then there is another swig from their drink, before spinning the empty tankard on a finger, and then slapping it down on the bar. A call for another, and a bit of a show of experience in bars.

As their drink is filled, the glinting emerald eyes linger on the man as he transforms. For a moment there is a widen of their eyes, before the groveseeker gives a soft breath of a question. "Lyrri?" There is a pause, and for a moment the sitting crafter speaks in a voice or language that can only be described as the song of leaves blown windward through the creaking of the oldest forests. Blinking a few more times, Tuuli shakes their head.

"Ahm sorry, thought for a moment ye were onna mah folks. Taint' so, Ahm afeared, weave ain't right. Ye look gahd damn close to one of us though." The crafter gives several claps of their large hands, thoroughly impressed. "So les hear ourselves a story then, moose in human clothing." A wink of a single emerald eye.

[Keeper]

"I knew you were no ordinary human." Krayger says with a laugh.
"Mm. And only a muzzle short of one of my people, mostly." As always, too many fingers.
He looks away for a moment, awkwardly taking a long pull from his drink before going back to looking (respectfully).

[Ironsmith]

Rose raises an eyebrow as Askeladd shifts, quietly wondering if that was real or if she was somehow hallucinating (it wouldn't be the first time she's inadvertently ordered something with that effect) before deciding it really doesn't matter.

"...Didn't realize it was Tuesday already..." Rose mutters, before settling in for the requested story.

[Morty]

"I fear I am indeed a human, not one of your people." Askeladd bows slightly to Tuuli, careful about his increased size and antlers. "Though like Krayger says, not a regular human. I have a talent for changing my shape. If you want a story... I have one I learned recently. Though oddly enough, it's from a written book. Rather different from my usual fare. I heard it from a sailor I met, who later showed me the book in question. It's a salacious story of a beautiful Dragon-Blooded Dynast, who falls in love with a mysterious, death-touched lady from a faraway land."

[Aurora Alchemi]

“Ah damn shame, was gonna’ hav’ to make this a riot of a party iffn’ yer were. It’sal’right though, Ah guess I can make do iffn’ ye aren’t.” The gentle giant beams, and takes a deep swig of their drink, before leaning more heavily into the chair back, the wood creaking and cracking softly under the pressure. The ears of the moose crafter alert softly and face the man as he begins to talk.

The lyrun cracks their neck softly, retrieving a bit of candy that looks to be homemade from their pocket and popping it into their mouth with a gentle hum of delight. Then there is a crack of their knuckles. The moose’s eyes sparkle with the talk of dragons, and death touched, curiosity but equally respect in those eyes. Dragons, and the undead, where they came from were less something to have a salacious swing with, and more a force of nature than anything else. “Ah ain’t much of one to write meself, but ah certainly won’t shirk another to do so. Lay it out there, hoss.” And there again is that easygoing smile, as if the lyrun was peace itself.

[Keeper]

"Do you normally speak to antlered folk on Tuesday?" Krayger asks Rose, not understanding her comment at all.
"If you want to give us a second story, by all means. Tuuli didn't get to hear the first one." and missing a good story from someone like Askeladd is just terrible.