Jet awoke her head pounding. Not from the alcohol she has consumed the night before. Just the fact she had fallen alsepee in such a strange place caused her to have an emotional delema right there. It didn't seem anyone tried to awken her though. The place seemed quiet and peaceful. All except for the sound of a motobike starting and stalling. But that could be delt with after she sorted though what had happened the day before.

@Aisling@Song Book@Pineappletumble@Wick@timelord1101

In the space between a blink and a tear, the ignored moment of suspenseful silence between a beating heart, in the split fraction of a time that only exists when your eyes are closed; the tavern was invaded.

In what feels like but a blink a sudden rippling shockwave of wind signals the reality of the situation.
Tables were suddenly in an upturned position, random chairs were missing or replaced shattered against a corner wall. A man, only a moment ago a silent drunk, now lay sprawled out lifeless across the tavern floor meters from his chair. His head even further away.

All the devastation, destruction and clutter seemed to be focused and emanating from around a single spot. A three meter clearing existed amongst the almost magically appearing rubble.
Perfectly in the centre sat an old large treasure chest, locked by a solid complex mechanism and adorned by a folded golden letter. It clearly wasn't there a second ago...

Valyna, asleep upstairs, wakes up to the sound of chaos downstairs. "What the hell?" She mutters to herself. Jumping up she runs for the door and tears out of the room to see what is going on.

Upon her arrival the bar is a scene of destruction and debris. She noticed the trunk but her first instinct was to check on the others who were in various states around the room. At least one guy was dead. Several had been tossed around and had minor injuries.

Valyna healed who she could and she looked hard at the trunk. She could feel the magic emanating from it. She slowly moved closer to the trunk. Seeing the letter she looked at it and didn't find anything to say who it was for. She furrowed her brow in curiousity and wondered.

@Dark Light@Timelord1101@Aisling@Song book@pineappletumble

A loud noise ripped Tic's attention way from the marvel before him, he whirled around only to see some form of commotion going on from the inside of the tavern.

"Ok, now its my turn to ask you to wait for a moment" not waiting to see if the woman had hear him tic bolted towards the tavern jumping over the now unhinged door.

The bar looked like it had been hit by one of the larger gangs in town, this notion was quickly dissmissed as they never seemed to leave large trunks behind... The ebony chick from the bar was poring over the trunk and whats seemed to be a letter, he inched closer to see if he could get a look not daring to see if his wing was good for flight.

@Dark Light@Timelord1101@Aisling@Song book@pineappletumble

Jet looked up at the commotion raising an ye brow shrugging laying her head back into her arms. Getting up as the others popped into the screen. One of the girls she assumed worked here came down stairs and started healing the injured ones. She luckily was on the complete and other side of the bar. The letter was strange and she wanted to get closer. But maybe this was a regular occurrence here. strange packages forming in the middle of a bar. Yup perfectly normal Wednesday. ' ugh.'

" So are you going to open the letter or are we going to stand here with the tavern a mess?" She had gotten up and walked next to Valyna, her boots slightly clicking as she walked. @Wick She would stare at the truck in a kinda awe at the look of it. Finding it having a rugged charm. She had never seen the lock before. She hadn't seen many in her day, besides the point. Was there a key inside the letter that came?
@Pineappletumble@Dark Light

Valyna carefully opened the letter unsure of what to expect.

@Dark Light

@Dark Light@Timelord1101@Song book@pineappletumble@Wick

Shuddering Ixonia nodded and went up onto her ship then to her room. She changed clothes, got her sword and guns then her medical kit before leaving her ship. Once she was on the ground she ran to the tavern and inside to see a trunk and a total disaster. She simply looked around for an explanation.

@Wick

Inside the fancy envelope was an expensive sheet of fine parchment folded up. When opened it released a small puff of dust. On it's clear shining surface dark lines of ink began to swirl, forming the pattern of a few calligraphy written lines.

I'm not a whore but something more.
You will find the answers, if you find my door.

The curse of the paper took effect, giving a paper cut to who ever held it. The writing instantly broke as the ink skirted across the page, drawn to the blood. Like lightning it zapped to the red substance that was staining the paper but the vile ink was not content with the spillage alone and sought to run through it and into the source, the holders body.

Valyna recognized it as a curse and dropped the letter before the ink could touch her. "Ah shit" she muttered and kicked the letter away with a piece of debris. She did not pay anymore attention to the ink as it traveled across the room over her shoe and onto her leg. Her eyes were fixed on the trunk.

"I know this is not going to be good but here goes nothing." She looked for the opening on the lid and slowly lifted it up. The lid didn't budge.

@Dark Light @timelord1101@Aisling@song book

@Wick

The lid would not and could not be opened without opening the lock.
The lock could not and would not be undone without knowing the complex coding and mechanism.

This was an artefact of magic and technological amazement.
It's presence was no mere coincidence.

@Dark Light@Wick@timelord1101@Aisling@song book

Now Tic wasn't an expert on much, advanced mathematics and diplomacy may be out of his skill range but Tic knew how to get into a box, much more so one made out of a simple material such as wood. Whoever this woman was, she did not share in his wisdom when it came to the acquisition of whatever was inside locked boxes.

"If I may?" Not waiting for an answer Tic cracked his knuckles and stretched his fingers out as if to attempt to pick the lock with his fingers, then abruptly and unceremoniously Punches the chest.

@Wick
"Its not going to open. have you not seen the lock.. Also i don't think throwing the paper will remove the curse. " Jet says nonchalantly pointing out the shadow crawling across her leg. Like she had been cursed before, with her power set, she could say she was. Her powers using he same blood locating sense it seemed.
She would stare at the trunk before kneeling down towards it, examining the lock closer than her heigh could have granted before. Complex more than she thought it was when she first saw it. The message itself something of a treasure hunt. Which She could be up to if the reward was anything of note. @Dark Light

"Guess who's back ya bloody idjit's!" Snarf boots open the door, his booming bass voice resonates through the Tavern. It had been a while since Snarf had been at the tavern, he remembered all of his former co-workers, oh what fun times. "Alright who's here that I remember I need a recognizable drinking buddy."

Ixonia stood there in amazement and total horror. She had not ever seen a curse take effect, just the after effects a few times. She had not clue as to what to do but she did that she was not going to go close to the gal who was just cursed nor that trunk.

A guy @Snarfulblast just happened to bust into this mess and felt duty bound to let him know what he was getting into.

"I'd enter carefully there buddy! No drink is worth a curse." she yelled at him.

Valyna sighed and dropped her head a bit in defeat. "Just out of curiosity, does anyone know where Clay went this morning?" She lifted her shoulders and arms in frustration. The lack of answers told her that no one had seen him. "Great, that's two things I did wrong today." Valyna brushed the top of the trunk off and sat her shapely derriere right on top of it. Nothing happened. She looked around and mumbled a spell and the tavern started to repair itself, all of course except for the dead.

@Aisling@Snarfulblast@Song Book@Pineappletumble@Dark Light@Timelord1101

@Wick
" hey you work here right?" She said towards the girl who just sat on the trunk. " The letter said something about a whore, but not really one. Do you have a consort or escort type person who worked or works here?" Jet asked trying to come up with an answer to how to get the trunk open. If there was someone who had worked here, they probably had a room here swell. If anything it was a place to start. She was actually wanting to do something useful with her life.

Valyna looked at her shaking her head. "Nope, I got here yesterday. I only know Clay, who has disappeared and I met Alex and she took off." She looked at her watch and swore. "I know nothing of this place. It was my first time here. And I am late to work. So I am thinking I should be going but I am unsure what to do about this curse..." She looked down at the trunk and shook off her frustrations. "Okay,I'm with you. Lead on. I have no other idea where to start."

@Song Book@Aisling@Snarfulblast@Pineappletumble@Dark Light

Having done little but hurt his hand and pride Tic was able to come to the conclusion that this was not simple wood, something the plainer girl had said raised a question.

"Where are the staff members?" he had only seen the two bartenders that seemed to run the place and they where no where to be found. The ebony haired girl seemed to be on some kind of terms with the bloke, maybe he should follow her and see what he can turn up there was credit to be made in when bar's were hit by this.

"Oi" He shouted up to the conversing women "I'm coming with, this whole things got me a little intrigued I want an equal share of the pay"

@Aisling@Snarfulblast@Dark Light@timelord1101@Song Book@Wick

Ben stepped through the portal that led into the inter-dimensional Tavern, and he blinked. This...was not his house. He looked around incredulously, not quite understanding how to react. "I am either dreaming...or I've lost myself in my imagination. Maybe both..." Ben whispered. He wore his dark red shirt and black work pants, his celtic necklace around his neck and hands in his pockets. First thing was first, and he stepped toward the Tavern counter, nearly bumping into a few tavern goers. He was so bewildered it seemed, for he was generally balanced, even agile. He found himself a seat and decided to keep to himself until someone approached him. His dark brown eyes gazed to and fro curiously. He seemed to be taking this change matter-of-factly for someone who had expected to be walking into a basement, not a Tavern.

James awoke to a splitting headache.

He gauged his next action carefully, as he didn't really want to anything to further stimulate sensory perception, which, he reflected, he had rather too much of at the moment, thank you. He decided on a small, whimpery moan, which did little to alleviate the sensation of a merry psychopath having his way on the interior of his cranium with a sledgehammer, but, he thought, was fairly effective in expressing his current mental state.

^{"something's wrong..."}
He briefly considered all the possible disadvantages and advantages of opening his eyes. After concluding that no good could possibly come of it, he instead tried to piece together from memory the chain of events that had led, apparently, to several strangers simultaneously performing an energetic Irish jig on his head while he had been unconscious on the floor

^{"oh no... oh, damn it to the ninth circle..."}
Speaking of which, how had he come to be unconscious on the floor in the first place? All he could recall was wandering into a new pub he'd never seen before, ordering a drink, and sitting down to enjoy it quietly at his table. It had only been one, hadn't it? Or was there something... else in it? Some of his fellow patrons did look a bit dodgy, upon recollection. There had been a distinct flash of violet... blunt trauma?

^{"oi, you there, you... er, what was it? ...ah, James! James, open your eyes and stand up! We need to talk."}
James finally felt the need to lie down and resume unconsciousness superseded by a need to work out exactly what was going on. With another whimper, he opened his eyes and tried to push himself to his feet. And he did indeed feel himself stagger to a standing position, but to his mild concern, his point of view (a lovely vista comprised primarily of murky floorboards) didn't seem to change at all. He tried to push himself up again, only to be rewarded with the distinct sensation of falling over and clattering painfully into a few tables and chair, but only from the neck down.

^{"ah, yes, look, this is the awkward bit... Sorry to be the one to have to break it to you mate, but you've been, er, decapitated."}
James' concern suddenly became a good deal less mild.

^{"now look here! if you'll stop screeching like a little girl and pull yourself—I mean, if for a moment you can just keep your head—ah, bloody hell"}
He took a deep breath, too ready to let out another piercing shriek, but all that came out was a third whimper.

^{"d'you think perhaps you're not getting much mileage out of that response? I can tell you it hasn't solved many of your problems so far. Far be it from me to intrude at all, but you might try asking for a bit of help. You're really making an unnecessary scene."}
Resolving to leave aside the mystery of who or what this intrusive voice in his head was and focus on one problem at a time—

^{"that's the spirit, mate"}
—he waved his hand, from wherever it currently happened to be in the room, he had no idea, and feebly said "Could I get some help over here?"