[IC] Open Legend - A demon, an angel, and a psychopomp walk into a bar...

[Ms Ravenwinter]

Ilumen Conceal

One day, five cold, frigid winters ago, you entertained a guest. Brick, the merciful cleric who you would consider the only father you've ever had, introduced you to her. In your isolation you've had the pleasure to hear very few names. Most were overheard while you picked food from people's houses or stole their livestock's feed, so only three names had been given to you personally. Brick, Ilumen, and five years ago, Arianna.

Halflings weren't something you've ever seen yourself, but you had read of them before, so the moment where you first saw her and mistook her for a child was shortly passed. The woman was the curious sort, sending you a barrage of questions the entire night. Questions about your species, your relationship with Brick, how you'd come to live in the wilderness and questions of how you'd been able to feed yourself all of these years. Through all of this she kept the fire warm and kept the food flowing steadily. Before she eventually left, she asked you one last question: Would you like to go on an adventure? You were hesitant, caught off guard, but after a moment of consideration you agreed. What kind of respect could you earn while hiding in the frozen wastes?

A week ago, Brick marched back to you again, bearing provisions for you. Among the food was a letter that bore the name you had last heard five years past. It was a call to adventure. You were tasked with taking a ferry to the mainland and meeting Arianna in a tavern called the Frozen Ogre in a week's time. The letter also contained enough coin to pay for the ferry and a night in the inn. The next day you set out to port clothed in a concealing cloak, Brick's farewell gift to you to bid you safe travels, and you sailed to adventure.

Merrillka Kovascu

Not very many have received your care and lived to tell the tale. One such 'lucky' (of course, you didn't see it this way) individual was a tiny wizard who actually had the manners to introduce herself to you. Arianna Evendale. Like many before her, she asked questions; but unlike many before her, these questions were about what death is like, what kind of duties someone in your position has, if she could eat if she was dead and if she could pet Wray-Wray. The latter being something she did do, much do her dismay. Foxes like to bite.

Eventually she noticed you interact with something in the physical plane and she became ecstatic. More questions came, now squarely about you. Where you came from, who you used to be, how you're able to interact with things if you're dead, if the living can see you, et cetera. She explained herself, saying she was an adventurer who had become fatally ensnared in a bed of plunging spikes. She was the genuinely inquisitive sort, to the point where she risked her life in a lich tomb just to uncover someone's secrets. Seeing you as an entity capable of acting within the mortal plane gave her an idea that maybe you could also be an adventurer. After some time, her form stated to fade, like the others that had come to limbo and retreated back to their lives. Before she was revived, she told you that she'd send word whenever she had an adventure waiting for you as a means of occupying your weary soul. Then she vanished.

Quite recently she sent word. Another spirit came under your care. It was a man who had been standing on a ledge and contemplating jumping when suddenly, just when he had made up his mind not to, a gust of wind pushed him over. While going through the motions of consoling this man as he was essentially grieving his own death, a force seemed to come over him. He was somehow possessed. The man relayed a message that Arianna Evendale requested your assistance on an adventure and that she wished for you to meet her at the Frozen Ogre in the Summerless Isles. While an interesting trick, you refused, and the man's wits came back to him. A day later, a woman came under your care bearing the same message. And then another. And then another... Eventually you agreed with much frustration, and you and your troupe of lost souls set forth to the frigid lands to the north. Not that the cold really bothered you anymore.

Mayu Elsar

Many different kinds of faces came through the tavern in your time, and not just due to the time you've spent here. Middleton, while a modestly sized town, was host to many travelers. Some were fishers or whalers, taking advantage of the deeply populated seas of the isles. Some were simply passing through as Middleton set on the safest path between two large cities, Versalais in the forests of the South and Frostkiln in the mountains to the East. But many were adventurers, treasure hunters, prospectors and anyone intending to profit from them. You never really cared as to why, just some cobweb filled, frozen ruins that've all been picked clean by now, but they gave the tavern good business. Better yet, the kind of business that keeps the days interesting.

One of these faces has been hanging around the tavern and sleeping in the inn for a month now. A short one with baggy robes, a fancy cane and a shield as big or bigger than they were. You couldn't really place if they were a he or a she until eventually they felt the need to chat. This Arianna girl was either drunk or thick because she had no clue that you were messing with her the whole time. Whichever didn't matter, because people get thirsty when they're talking about their life stories. Which this halfling had plenty of. You could hardly tell if she was telling the truth or if she was full of shit but either way, the amount of tall tales she had was impressive.

Arianna was interesting, if annoying. She was at least entertaining enough not to punch in the face for how much she talked. Hell, she even entertained some of the patrons with her parlor tricks. After a while of her being there, you figured that she was trying to assemble a party of adventurers of her own, with no luck. Now, what were you really supposed to do? She was such a pitiable thing. You felt that horrible tinge in the back of your mind like Daddy's saying 'good girl' from ages away when you agreed to help her out.

Morning came and the sun was already held highly aloft, as it almost never ceases to be present in the sky. What ultimately woke Arianna was not the light, but the smell of the kitchens downstairs preparing the inn's breakfast. In her excitement, she scurried on downstairs, taking only her staff and nearly forgetting her cloak.

For now, as it was still early, there were few patrons sat in the tavern at the bottom floor. The facilities were moderately sized and spacious, especially for one of Arianna's height. The inner walls were layed with wooden boards as opposed to the stacked logs on the outside of the building. The floors were made with boards of assorted ages and types as they needed to be replaced more often due to drunken foolery. The furniture was especially mismatched, being so commonly replaced that the owner simply purchased any chairs and tables that were available at the time. The bar was long and lined with stools high enough for a Dwarf to comfortably sit upon. One of these stools had a small block of wood underneath it, making it effectively taller. Arianna claimed this seat as her own, peering into the kitchens that were visible just beyond through a little window opening in the wall and inhaling the scent happily.

[JBRam2002]

You know what the worst part of this job is? Getting up in the morning after a hard night's drinking. Mayu never understood why some patrons would stay up until after midnight and others would get up at six in the bloody morning. SIX. Even the gods didn't get up that early, and she would know.

Regardless, Mayu was downstairs as the cooks began breakfast, her usual not-so-cheery self amplified by the early morning rays of sunlight and the growling in her stomach. Plus that blasted hangover. You'd think Aasimars wouldn't get hangovers after a couple hundred years, but instead they just kept coming. Probably something to do with the amount of alcohol she consumed. What did she even do last night? She was pretty sure she went to bed alone, as she found no patrons next to her that morning, but something in the back of her mind told her that she had agreed to something important.

Oh. Right. Shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttt....

Mayu immediately remembered as soon as she saw the bright and cheerful look on Arianna's face. "An adventure? I suppose it couldn't hurt. I've been here long enough anyways..." That wouldn't have been too bad, except now she realized the true folly to her answer. Arianna was, for some reason unknown to gods and men, a morning person. Was it too late to take back her response?

As she often did when she was unsure of things (which funny enough, didn't happen very often), she closed her eyes and directed her thoughts heavenward. So, Daddy. What do you think? Should I go with her? As she prayed, she set her head down on the counter, feeling the cool, smooth countertop against her aching temples. Please, for the love of all the gods, say no.

Precognition Roll

Precognition Roll: 11 + 1 = 12

Mayu felt her throbbing headache fade and the imposing sense of pressure on her temples lift for a moment after the prayer was completed. But only for a moment, as it came back suddenly and violently, causing a sharp ringing in her ear as the front door of the tavern was slammed shut in the same instant. "Thanks, Dad," she muttered out loud, lifting her head to see what asshole thought slamming the door during breakfast was a good idea.

[txgood2]

Ilumen anxiously rubs his hand across the cloak. He is gazing far into the distance, nearly the horizon. He is able to see land, meaning that this trip is nearly over after about a week of sailing. The trip wasn't particularly bad, this ferry may have been very good at some point; but, the many years seem to have caused it a lot of damage. The rails are more rust than metal at this point, the floorboards have been cracking in some portions of the ship, and he has even seen some repairs done by tying two of the parts together.

Still though, Ilumen is thankful he managed to make it this far. It had taken him nearly an hour of talking to the sailor, showing the sailor Ilumen's ticket, and avoiding giving away personal information before the sailor agreed to take him to the mainland. Ilumen knew that if the sailor knew he was a frost tiefling then the sailor would probably throw him overboard. Lucky for him, he had a nice, semi-new cloak to rely on for some semblance of a hiding place.

Ilumen sighs quite loudly now, his shoulders slump beneath the cloak to indicate the twinge of sadness and regret he had for leaving behind Brick. Brick, of course, had fully supported the decision for him to explore the mainland, but Ilumen had just not felt like he was fully prepared to leave him. Before Ilumen had traveled to the pier where he would be taking the ferry, Brick had decided to talk to him. Alongside their exchange of farewells and good lucks, Brick had given him the cloak that he is wearing at the present moment. The cloak was, and still is, a wonderful article of clothing. It is dark, navy blue with a gold yellow trim and several small, complex designs on it. Unfortunately, the cloak was probably pulled out of an old box that belonged to Brick; as the edges showed minor damages, like it had been through a lot in its time.

Ilumen Really hoped that this adventure would pay off, and that he wouldn't regret traveling with Arianna in the near future. Ilumen had, after all, put a lot of faith in the chance that he would earn respect from adventuring.

---

Ilumen is making his way through the town, trying to keep a consistent and normal pace as to not draw attention to himself. Ilumen is inconspicuously glancing side to side at the buildings, hoping to find the tavern soon. Ilumen may not be known in this village, but previous experience has taught him that not very many people like tieflings. A few glances at his direction were nearly enough to cause him to attack the nearest person and run, but Ilumen controls his actions, for now. Ilumen is thankful for the one blessing he had: there are no nearby spiders.

Ilumen does not have to look for the tavern for long; the town was not extremely large, probably a few buildings less than the town on the island. The building with a sign that read "The Frozen Ogre" stands nearby, causing Ilumen to internally give a sigh of relief. Ilumen had thought that he would cave and attack someone before finding it. Ilumen makes his way to the tavern, taking steps that are longer than usual in order to make it there faster. Ilumen makes haste to open the door the moment he reached it and, during his panic, accidentally closes the door behind him much more roughly than intended. He winces slightly at the sound it makes, hoping that he didn't just attract the attention he hates.

[Ermine]

This was not the greeting Merrillka expected. She had only just entered the town and stood near the tavern door when someone else passed before her and slammed the door in her face. She supposed it was her fault. Most people didn't pay any attention to her presence. To be fair, that was a good thing. It gave her the feeling of being dead, or at least a ghost. She was only half of either. Regardless, The Frozen Ogre was the right place - it's not an easy name to forget, nor is it a common one.

She opened the door, stepped in, and closed it much more gracefully behind her than the previous door-enterer. Casually stepping up to the bar, as if she'd been here many times before, she looked to the barkeep. Before she could utter a word (but after she raised her hand like she was going to say something profound), she noticed two things. First, the bartender looked ridiculously hungover. Second, she saw her question didn't even need to be asked. She may not have the best of facial recognition for dead people, but ones she expected to see again tended to stick. She lowered her hand and sat next to the woman who had summoned her here with a chain of dead souls.

"Arianna." She said, not so much a question as a 'this is who you are, I remember you, and I am acknowledging your existence.'