[IC] TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

[Song Book]

Ethodi

Main Tavern Floor

---

"Don’t look at me for this one, I’m not the one he wants and I’m not gonna be the one that stands up to him. If he comes our way then he'll have a problem with me, but otherwise it’s not my fight or yours so why bother?"

@Liegelord

She turned back to minding her own business. Though subtly wrapping herself tighter against the table and tucking her tail down from where it was looming over the small creature crawling amongst her meal. Her tongue flickered quickly and tasted something new in the air.

”And if you find this person, what shall you do..? Oh little necromancer.”

@Dark Light

The man and his minions was directly not the type of person Ethodi wished to even see. Reminding her quickly of those who often came to try and evict her from her palace.. Which was something she found quite rude.. she had cleaned up and claimed that property all by her self and she had stopped eating the townsfolk years ago when she found sheep and other domesticated animals are much easier prey and more useful in trade... She was getting off topic and missed what the man at the bar -@ONL had said in response to the white robed man on the stairs.

Leaning into the table more to hide the most of her appearance she proceeded to down a good third of the Mulsum left in her glass and was preparing to consume another Mollusk when she decided to say something in response again to her new acquaintance.

"Well, this does seem interesting enough as entertainment for the moment, that perhaps we should leave other questioning for after it's conclusion?"

[LiegeLord]

@Dark Light
@Dark Cloud

Truly his focus wasn’t on the naga as he watched the confrontation unfolding before him, the man that came forward in response intrigued him. His eyes showing this as he stares hard at the robed figure. In a way they reminded him of the Crusaders of Light, memories flashing through his mind of the staff wielding, plate armored clad warriors creating barriers against barrages of fire. Closing his eyes quickly as he huffs, undesiring of remembering the past as he leans back in his chair, only opening them back up after a few moments of silence.

@Song Book

However the words of Ethodi dragged him back to his senses as he nodded simply, his eyes flickering to her before back to the situation before them. “Agreed, I’m curious how this will unfold. Taking another of the pasties to nibble on after his words, like popcorn before a movie.

[Dark Light]

As all watched on eagerly to see how the situation would unfold, it’s climax came on suddenly and was quite underwhelming. With a simple word spoken by the elderly man a searing bright light flashed before him as though a portal to the sun had been opened. The harmless light faded as quickly as it had appeared taking with it the holy man.

What followed next was chaos. The two hooded shorter minions who were still standing on the upper level advanced to the railings. With a ‘Woosh’ of their cloaks each was suddenly holding an ornate, brightly decorated crossbow. One after another the two started unleashing bolts in a timed continuous rhythm.

Click. Twang. Whistle. Thud. Click. Twang. Whistle. Thud.

It was soon clear that the targets were the Imps, as silver bolts dug into the tables and floor around them, pierced through leathery wings or tore through their inky dark flesh splattering black blood throughout the tavern.

[aia2022]

( i have no idea what to do so I’m just gonna- )

Lavender pushed open the tavern’s door, keen to watch the drama that she could hear from outside. She paused for a moment, seeming to consider whether or not this was worth watching before slinking away into a shadowed corner. The beady eyes of her mask gleamed in the light as she spectated the fight with glee, her cloak hiding the rest of her body as she leaned against the wall with amusement hidden behind the fox face.

As much as she wanted a drink, a battle this harsh was definitely some good content.

[Dark Light]

@aia2022 A young boy, not yet grown into his features, stepped out from the kitchen and into the tavern. He seemed out of place in the expensive neat waiters uniform that hung from his thin frame, with his disheveled dark hair, dirt stained skin and deep green eyes. With bare feet he stepped forward and out into the danger holding some sort of bottle protectively against his chest. He weaved through the chaos of the tavern without incident or pause like it was a mere slight distraction, an everyday occurrence.
As he neared the fox faced lady a thin smile slowly spread across his lips and with a slight nod he proudly held out the bottle to her with both hands.

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

After a while of watching the chaos, Lavender took a slightly bored glance around her and startled when she saw the boy. Her eyes narrowed behind her mask as she eyed the bottle he held out. Travel through hostile lands had made her rather wary of liquid being offered to her by strangers- even if the stranger offering her a bottle was a child.

Lavender hesitantly took the bottle out of the boy’s hands. ”Thanks for whatever this is, kid. If this is poisoned though I’ll be lighting you ablaze.” She lifted her free hand and lit up her finger with her blue fire to emphasise the threat, but quickly extinguished it to avoid burning herself unnecessarily.

[Dark Light]

A moments hesitation took the boy and worry spread across his face as his hands remained hovering out in the empty space.

“But, ah.. people come from far and wide to enjoy this poison. I, I can take it back. It’s just, I was told to, told to give it to you...”

His hands finally found his sides as he stood up tall and gave a small nod. His eyes wide and alert darted from studying her mask trying to read any hint of emotion, the fingers that produced the flame and then back to the hallway from which he came.

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

For a brief moment Lavender felt a rather random stab of pity for the boy. As dumb as a decision it was, Lavender decided to slip off her fox mask for just a while to attempt to send a small friendly smile in his direction. The mask she wore was now in the hand she previously used to threaten the boy with her fire. “No, no, kid. It’s fine. Thanks again.” The sapphire jewel she had revealed that replaced her left eye seemed to be shining in the light. Lavender uncapped the bottle somehow and took a sip while also crouching down to avoid a stray arrow that would’ve hit her straight in the head had she not dodged it.

”Who told you to give me this though? I am but a lady in a corner watching my daily dose of drama.” Lavender mock nodded graciously along with her last sentence as she stood up from her crouched position on the floor but the curious glint remained in her eye.

[Dark Light]

@aia2022A wave of relief washed over the young boys face followed by a soft proud smile, but it all slid away as he lost himself staring into that bright large gem sparkling in her eye socket.
Eyes wide, mouth hanging a jar, it was clear he missed everything she had said.

“Miss, what happened to your eye?”

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

Lavender found this quite…unexpected. Immediately she ungracefully dropped the bottle on the floor where it shattered to reach up and cover the gem protectively as she stared awkwardly at the floor, trying her best to come up with an answer for the boy.

”Uhm…it’s..a..family heirloom?” She started slowly, clearly still struggling to form a plausible explanation for the sapphire. Lavender did not want to reveal her weakness now, especially in a place where someone could easily overhear despite the on going chaos which may or may not have already died down- but hey, Lavender wasn’t paying attention anymore. ”Yea. Yea, it’s a family heirloom. The eldest- um, eldest child inherits it when the current member of the family which used to have it dies. Yep.” She continued more confidently. After she finished what she said she quickly slipped her fox mask back on, not wanting to draw anymore attention to it. ”Sorry about the bottle.” Lavender added.

[Dark Light]

@aia2022

“WOW!”
He exclaims.
“It looks amazing, it looks expensive, can you see through it, does it hurt?”
His face sinks as realisation hits him, clearly taking on all her words for face value.
“I’m sorry, who died? Was it recent? Are you ok? Do you miss them?”

He seemed to have no end of questions. Genuine questions though with real interest.

He flicked a hand dismissively towards the broken bottle and then ignored it, shadows danced over the debris and it appeared to slowly sweep itself into a neat little pile and fade into the blackness.

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

The now fox-faced woman couldn’t help but let a small, soft smile slip through behind her mask as she listened to the boy’s string of questions. If Lavender was being honest, it was rather endearing. She watched the boy’s face morph into concern and almost wanted to shake her head but stopped herself before she could blow the cover of her story. She was an orphan, for the gods’ sakes, she had no real siblings.

”It’s alright, kid. They..died a long time ago. I’m mostly over it.” Lavender relaxed a bit and returned to her calm-ish personality. She spoke with just a little truth- the orphanage had burnt down many years ago, after all. Lavender was still not over it though. ”The gem doesn’t hurt that much-“ -another lie, fantastic, it actually hurt a lot when it replaced her left eye with itself- ”I can’t see through it though.”

Lavender took a mental note of the kid’s powers as she watched the shadows sweep away the shattered bottle out of the corner of her eye. You need to be cautious, she reminded herself.

[Dark Light]

@aia2022
He was balancing on toes now, chin extended forward from his neck as he tried to get closer without getting closer, and studying the mask and eye.
His questions and curiosity clearly not sated.

”What color are things through it? Can you take it out? Who is going to get it if you die? Do you have any children or brothers and sisters?”

The final sounds of the commotion around him falling to a silence seemingly reminds him of himself and he settles back into a proper posture and clasps his hands behind his back.
“Can I get you anything to eat or perhaps another drink? Anything, anything at all.” he says as that proud smile finds its way back on his face but fails to remove the sparkling intrigue from his eyes.

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

She stared down at him as he tried to look closer but not actually get closer. Lavender actually made a face when he asked if she had any children.

”Everything is just black, because I just said that I can’t see anything through it. The fox-faced woman raised an eyebrow behind her mask as she said this. ”Can’t take it out either- it’ll only be removed when I’m dead I guess. It’s…been a long time since I’ve heard from my siblings, actually.” Lavender tapped a finger against her chin as she searched her memories for the last time any of the orphans that survived the fire actually reached out and contacted her. She looked around as the chaos settled down, and internally groaned. No more entertainment for her, then.

”Do you have any red wine? I’ve not any real coin but-“ Lavender reached from under her cloak and searched for a bit before she pulled out a gold necklace that glinted in the light just like her sapphire and the beady eyes of her mask. One of many she had gotten over the years, but one of her more valuable items. ”I hope the tavern accepts stuff like this as payment.”

The twinkle in the kid’s eyes did not go unnoticed.

[Dark Light]

“Oh yea.” he says, realising his question made no sense and he was getting ahead of himself. ”That makes sense then.” He added feeling a little ashamed. With a curious sigh he lifted a hand and placed it over his left eye, seemingly to see what it was like. His right eye shifted about as he looked in all directions.
Without stopping his little experiment he replied.
“Yea we definitely have red wine, we literally have everything. Well, mostly. I’m sure it’s all down there somewhere but sometimes it doesn’t let me find it, and I tell myself not to spend too long down there.”

His uncovered eye snaps back to the fox mask.
“You dont have to pay if you don’t want to. I don’t want to take your things from you... Do you still have an eyeball under that gem?” and he peeled his hand from his face and gingerly pointed at the gem like she might not know which gem he was talking about.

@aia2022

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

Lavender nodded as the kid realised his question was illogical, and watched with amusement as he tried to see the world from her point of view- with only one eye.

Everything? That’s was something interesting. The woman was also curious as to why he would tell himself not to stay down there for too long.

Lavender shook her head. ”Nope- I insist, kid. It’s not really fair if I get a drink without paying, now is it?” She paused when he asked if she still had her eyeball underneath her sapphire. Slowly, she formulated an answer inside her head and decided to just tell him.

”No. There’s..no more eyeball underneath the gem.” She said bluntly. At last- the actual truth.

[Dark Light]

With a slight shrug he gladly accepted the payment. Stuffing the necklace into a pouch on his side, unphased by its weight or beauty.
“So, how did you lose your eye?” He asked, semi fearful of the answer.

A distance behind him, a finely dress man from behind the bar pulled out a tall bottle of red and expertly uncorked it with the proficiency of much experience. Once opened he retrieved a crystal glass with a smooth curved shape and splashed the fruity red liquid into it before placing both down upon a silver tray.

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

”Ehhhh..hacked out by a cursed dagger. I’ve seen it happen twice already, it’s not that big of a deal.” A half truth. The woman shrugged as she said this as if it were a normal thing that happened daily. She hadn’t seen anyone’s eye been hacked out by a dagger or have their left eye replaced by a literal shiny stone. Lavender pushed down the trauma that came bubbling up to the surface as she recalled some certain unpleasant memories. A little bit of honesty hadn’t hurt her yet and it won’t hurt her now.

[Dark Light]

“Not a big deal!?” the boy exclaimed. His face a twisted mix of disbelief and disgust.
“It happened to you and you seen it happen to others?”
He stepped back, eyes not knowing where to look, seeming queezy and confused.
“Who, who would do that?”

He shook his head, either to remove the thought from his mind or in some sort of disagreement. ”That’s horrible.” he added with a mutter as he turned and went to collect the shiny plate holding the wine. He added some slices of cheese and bread to it absentmindedly before returning and placing it down on the table.
Sympathy now filling any look her gave her.

[aia2022]

@Dark Light

Lavender startled at the kid’s outburst. She was really, really starting to feel bad about being honest now.

The woman just watched him put the plate on the table before gently placing her hands on his shoulders. She seemed to pause in order to find the right words to say before she spoke. Just in case, she barely moved her fox mask off of her face to look the boy in the eye.”Look, kid…my family- they weren’t really good people. My uh, ancestors specifically. Let’s just say they- we deserved it. Karma, y’know?” She chuckled sadly. The orphanage kids don’t deserve their eye being hacked out though. Only she did. Her ‘siblings’ weren’t the ones that went poking around an ancient temple to steal stuff anyway. Lavender drew back and quickly moved her mask to fully cover her face again before she removed her hands from his shoulders. She picked up the glass of wine, inspecting the liquid for any visible poison before lifting her fox mask a tad bit and taking a sip a little gingerly.