Present day
Interactions: Not a soul
Outfit: Normal
From a corner table, a man hid within the luxury of shadows. A chipped mug cooled beneath his fingers as his eyes scanned the room. His chair angled just enough that no one questioned why his attention drifted from one spot to another. He could see everything in this inn. Corners are such an honest place for one gifted at seeing through the lies shared there. People forgot that someone could be just around it from where they shared their juicy information. Doors and corners were how they got you, as it were. From here, he had heard Kel before he really saw her, and what he heard and saw told him that the woman was intoxicated and in a tough place. She was drunk, yes, but normally a woman like this was not careless. To the man, it suggested that something had worn thin within her. To Benni, this woman was in trouble, and trouble had found her. He watched as Random randomly picked the most vulnerable woman in the bar to soothe his fragile ego.
Benni listened as Ransom announced himself the way men like that always do. Not too loud, nor aggressive, but with a confidence crass enough to pass itself off as genuine. Benni watched him as he began to work. He approached the lone woman who was also far too drunk to be able to defend herself from the creep's advances. Normally, Benni would have stood up right then and there, marched his way across the crowd, and begin professing the sinful display he was witnessing to the crowd at large, but Benni allowed a smile to cross his face because someone else had rushed to the defense of that poor, defenseless woman. It was Cali. Beni leaned back as the two began a game of cat and mouse. The man took up the cadence of a person touched by the divine powers. He promised salvation, yet Benni knew that there were only two things a man like that wanted. The warmth found between the legs of an attractive person, and money. While Benni did not know who Ransom was beneath all the masks he wore, he knew there was a hunger lurking. A hunger that demanded that Ransom push his way towards something that he thought he was owed. And that hunger was lashing out at the world through the quoted scripture of a faithless heathen.
Cali, on the other hand, was sharper. Benni always knew her to be clever. The way her flirtation had teeth under the sweetness of the words brought an even wider grin to his face. She baited him, tested him, and while Ransom would sometimes show signs of playing the same game, Benni knew the two were leagues apart as if he were but a child trying to show up a professional. Cali peeled him apart, only to reel him back in for another easy blow. For his part, Ransom was taking the insults on the chin. A highborn was taught to be cool and collected, and Benni honed his thoughts with that assumption in mind. He watched their back and forth for a moment longer before he realized that, despite not being as astute as one would expect, Ransom was not doing bad in the battle of barbs. Was there a clever man hidden somewhere underneath the thick layers of asshole, or was this the luck of a beginner confusing the master at a few random turns? It seemed that Ransom never retreated from the thrashing he was on the other end of; it felt like he was just repositioning for another round.
Suddenly, Benni smirked even wider as Kel vomited. Benni took a sip of his drink as he crossed his legs. Tonight’s entertainment was already delivering on the promise that each night out offered. There were signs that the woman was heading to this conclusion, but Ransom couldn’t see them through the rose tinted glass that occluded his vision. Benni’s eyes gauged the reflexes of Ransom, the flash of real rage before the mask snapped back on forced a hand into his coat, ready to draw a knife.
“I see you now..” The rest of their conversation passed by in a blur. By the time Lucky barreled through like a half-lit fuse, Cali had already claimed victory. The only thing Cali had to do was stick a knife in the pig and watch the blood bleed dry, yet the cat had ruined what was surely going to be an easy end to this terrible attempt by Ransom. Benni shifted his eyes over to Kel, and he knew, deep down, that she was not going to be taken anywhere tonight against her will. Ransom had already run outside, ready to defend his honor, and Cali was quick behind. Still, the night had settled into something truly ugly and awful, and Benni did not like the way it leaned towards inevitability. He drained his mug, pushed his chair back under the table with a soft scrape, and stood up.
Kel absolutely did not follow the commotion outside. The very idea of standing, of coordinating, and finding a way to balance on her wobbly legs felt like an impossible challenge. Did she want to watch the fluufywuffy cat manhandle the prick? Yes. Did she think she could actually watch the fight in full? No. The bar swayed beneath her elbows, a slow pendulum motion that threatened to tip her clean off the stool if she leaned too far in either direction. Sound bled in from the doorway anyway and she tried to listen to what was being said. She thought she heard someone shout, someone sing, and all this talk about some guy named Unda Tekker. Her head turned towards the door. She watched it through half-lidded eyes, the doorway stretching and compressing like a lung drawing breath, and wondered vaguely when it had started doing that.
Her chin dipped, shot upwards, before it dipped again. The darkness kept tugging the edges of her vision, yet she tried to resist the advances of a sleepless, sleep filled night. She was losing the fight badly when a new weight appeared beside her. It wasn’t a sudden or shocking sensation really; it was just present enough to register once her awareness bobbed back towards the surface. A voice followed, low and conversational, like it had been there the whole time.
“Hey,” Benni said gently.
“You’re still with us, yeah?”Kel squinted at him, eyes glassy and unfocused, pupils struggling to agree on a single version of his face.
“M’tryin’,” she muttered, words slurring together at the edges. Her tail twitched, then went slack again. She studied him with the seriousness of someone trying very hard to remember why suspicion was important.
“Do *hic* do I know you?” The question sounded genuine. The poor thing.
“Not really,” Benni replied in a long drawn out drawl.
“But I know you.” He let that sit, as he placed his hands on the counter, before he quickly lifted them off and shook them violently,
“or at least, I know enough to think you should hear this before you pass out on this very sticky bar.” His eyes flicked briefly toward the door, then back to her.
“That guy. Ransom. He means you harm.”That cut through the haze as effectively as cold water across her face, and Kel straightened too fast, yet she held her head up high as she tried to stare down this new man.
“What,” she slurred, though there was less conviction in it than she would’ve liked. Her eyes narrowed, trying to focus on him properly.
“How do you figure?”Benni smiled. He leaned back slightly in the chair and kept his hands in clear view for Kel's comfort.
“For starters, what I am about to say is the conjecture of an old man sitting in the corner, and is based on what I have observed since the lot of you came into town, but that man Ransom means to hold you, Kali, and probably anyone vulnerable for a ransom. I have observed that the man carries himself with a certain confidence that reeks of a high birth, born into luxury and privilege, yet you don’t see that standard on his armor,” Benni paused as a grin crossed his face,
“That guy. Ransom, if wherever he came from was still in any standing, would probably have preferred a life where he could settle for an arranged marriage and drink wine until his belly was large. Instead, he wants to find an easy way to that goal. A bounty hunter in a town filled to the brim with bounties, it's almost poetic.”Kel, even in her state, knew that was a dangerous claim to make in a place like this. For starters, people here liked the anonymity that this place offered. Everyone came here for a reason. This was the town of second chances, and the town where the outlaws found refuge. If someone was here to collect, then it wouldn’t be long before they wound up dead. Yet, at the same time, Kel couldn’t break fully free from the alcoholic fog that fell over her. She did not know if she was at the point where she wouldn’t remember this conversation or not.
“Why hic* why tell me? Some..someome shoe do something.”"Because you’d know for the rest of the night tonight, and be unable to act on it, and you will likely forget before the sun rises tomorrow,” Benni smirked,
“I hate the idea of a poor defenseless woman like yourself being completely defenseless after all.”
Present day
Interactions: Latrom
Outfit: Normal
Edwina shifted her weight near the edge of the gathering, fingers loosely clasped at her waist. The tavern door stood open behind them, spilling warmth that dissolved into the night air. Her gaze settled on Latrom, her posture straight but unassuming.
“You mentioned visions,” she said gently,
“do they come as dreams, or when you’re awake?” She tilted her head slightly, the question offered with sincere curiosity.
“Are they clear images, or more like impressions?” She paused briefly as she exhaled. This could be any number of things, but it would be unbecoming of her to refuse a call for help.
“And do they leave you once they’ve passed?”The sound of a fight about to start pulled her attention away from Latrom. She stepped closer to Latrom’s side and turned in a smooth motion to face the commotion. Ah. The pretty boy of town wanted to fight the menace cat who had sent more than his fair share of broken bodies her way. Edwina knew just how a fight like that would end, and it would require a lot of her healing magic to repair that pretty face and body. Edwina said nothing, however, and she would not interrupt the cycle as it turned. She stood there, steady and watchful, a calm silhouette beside him while the moment threatened to fracture.
Yet the promised fight never came to pass. The gorgeous face’s gorgeous voice soothed the tension between the pretty man and the cat, who promptly went inside, and the pretty man groveled for attention. Pathetic. It looked like Ransom had bitten off more than he could chew with Cali, and she and her fox gave him a verbal beatdown, which was enough entertainment in and of itself. Edwina preferred this kind of drunken fight. The creative insults, the verbal blows, and the lack of blood on the pavement below. They were more entertaining, and she did not need to exhaust herself or her magic tending to the aftermath of a drunken brawl. As long as tonight stayed like this, it would be a good night.
“Thank you for calling pause, Ransom,” Edwina added with a faint smile,
“I would hate for bloodshed to ruin such a promising nigh-”
Present day
Interactions: Feline Friends made along the way
Outfit: Normal
Gulda’s thick fingers tightened around the human’s hand, her knuckles pale, her forearm as rigid as the forged iron that she made. The table between them creaked in protest. Gulda engaged her arm muscles even more, causing the veins on her arm to bulge. Across from her, the man gritted his teeth, face reddening, boots scraping uselessly against the tavern floor. The fucker had bet her five gold coins he could beat her at an arm wrestling contest. He had said that no matter how strong she was, there was not a chance that he was losing to a woman as desperate for coin as she was. Gulda took that personally. The surrounding patrons leaned in, the air buzzing with wagers and drunken encouragement. His friends egged him on, confident he was on the cusp of victory.
With a sharp exhale through her nose, Gulda drove his hand down. The impact rattled tankards and sent a ripple of cheers through the Wayside Inn, and caused the audible snapping of an arm bone to cause the cheers to be replaced with
”Oooooh”. The human groaned; his pride may be bruised, but his arm was broken, and he was thankful that was all he had to remember this night by. Gulda didn’t even smile. She released him with a dismissive flick and rose from her chair, shoulders rolling once beneath the weight of her armor.
“Told you,” she muttered, voice rough as gravel dragged over steel.
“You don’t out-wrestle an armorer. And you ain’t tough enough to be sayin' shit like that.”"Uggghhhhhh, You see that shit, Gulda? Gods, I fucking hate knights. And that bard? I've heard better singing from vultures. Completely ruined my smoke, those two. I need a drink......."Gulda looked down at the table and saw that her own stein was running low. It was Lucky’s lucky day.
“Guess who just got us another couple rounds for free,” Gulda paused as she picked up the gold and flashed them to Lucky,
“I’ll be back with my drinks. If you find someone for me to beat at something, I can give you one, you freeloading, furball hacking, son of a bitch.” With that, Gulda made off towards the bar, and spotted a familiar face behind it.
Behind the counter, Rosa moved like a well-oiled machine all by herself. She balanced a plate effortlessly, setting rabbit and grouse down before Grask without ceremony.
“Eat,” Rosa rumbled,
“and don’t complain unless you want to complain to the cooks themself. They take pride in their work, and handle all complaints themselves.” Her eyes shifted towards the approaching Gulda.
“You broke another one?”Gulda leaned an elbow on the counter.
“Only his ego,” an audible cough was heard somewhere behind her,
“and his arm.”Rosa huffed softly, already reaching for a mug.
“What poison tonight?”Gulda opened her mouth to answer, yet the floor trembled beneath her feet. It was faint at first, subtle enough that one might be able to explain it away as a trick of the mind, but present enough that the steins betrayed it. Gulda and Rosa looked up and watched as a lantern swayed with the rumble, light sloshing across both beams and faces alike. Gulda raised an eyebrow. An earthquake? it wasn’t unheard of in these parts, and if that was the first rumble, then they may need to get outside into the street. A second tremor rolled through and it was deeper and heavier. The wood groaned like an old man doing a menial task. A bottle tipped behind the bar, and Rosa’s hand snapped out, catching it without looking.
The tavern noise faltered, conversations stuttering into uneasy silence. Gulda straightened her back up slowly. The tavern had fallen deathly silent, with eyes scanning all around, trying to figure out if more were coming.
“What was that?”Suddenly, it hit. Dust sifted from the rafters as a man was thrown off his feet. Kel fell from her stool into the waiting arms of Benni, who quickly used his body to shield hers. Gulda grabbed the bartop and her knuckles went white as she strained to hold herself upright. A distant rumble followed the strongest quake yet, and this one was big. Gulda’s jaw tightened. Rosa’s eyes had narrowed, her massive frame going still strong yet she too was thrown towards the bartop and she had to use both hands to hold on.
Outside, the sound of crashing and crumbling filled the air as a wave of destruction sounded like it was coming their way.
Present day
Interactions: The Goddess of Death
Outfit: Normal
Edwina’s faint smile had only just formed when the words died on her lips.
The tremor was subtle at first, nothing more than the delicate shiver of the town itself drawing a sharp, uneasy breath beneath their very feet. Her eyes lifted instinctively, gaze cutting past the bodies clustered near the tavern entrance, past the lantern glow, past the drifting snow. This shake did not feel like the earthquake that she was used to in these parts. This felt close, and localized, and something told her that she might spot the cause if she just looked hard enough. She scanned for something amiss, something out of place, and she scanned until something caught her eye, and up her gaze rose, ever up towards The Arcane Tower itself, and she gasped.
High above, the top half of the spire stirred. It did not dance back in forth in the wind, it did not vibrate in the night sky, instead it began to rotate. The topmost section began to rotate with slow, dreadful grace, stone sliding against stone in a silent, impossible motion. How in the heavens did a tower spin like that? Edwina could not think of a single, logical explanation for what her eyes witnessed. Edwina’s breath hitched, and she did not speak. She simply stared as the circular band traced its first full revolution against the sky.
Then the sound came.
A low, cavernous groan rolled through the streets, deep enough to rattle bones. The ground lurched violently. Tankards toppled inside the tavern, and snow cascaded from rooftops in avalanches. Edwina staggered, catching herself against the doorframe as the world bucked beneath her.
The spinning top of the tower accelerated.
Far beyond the center, along the outermost ring road, the town began to die. Edwina watched in horror as entire rows of homes collapsed, walls falling flat at an instant. Chimneys snapped, timber frames twisted, a bakery folded inward, and a large plume of smoke, dust, and debris was sent skyward from every angle around the center ring of the town. Screams tore across the distance, yet as the ground beneath them spun faster and faster, the screams subsided as quickly as they started.
“No.” The whisper slipped out from Edwina, and it would be lost in the choir of death that sung out all across the town.
Above, the second segment of the tower awakened, just beneath the first. Another thunderous jolt slammed through the center ring. The pavement split in jagged veins. Lantern posts toppled. Somewhere behind her, glass exploded outward in a crystalline shriek. Inside the tavern, people were pulled from their feet by the shaking. Kel was braced against the bar by the body of the strange old man who had warned her, Gulda was trying to force themself back onto their feet as the shaking subsided once again. There were various people in various stages of injury, and more were being added with every quake.
A massive band beneath the top of the tower rotated, grinding into motion. In response, the fourth ring road of the town began to rise out of the ground, carried upward by an unseen force. The street itself tilted on its side as it ascended. Buildings that had stood for decades, some for centuries, leaned to the side, then catastrophically collapsed downward. An inn slid sideways, its foundation shearing loose. A row of shops pitched as one, facades crumbling as gravity claimed them. Masonry cascaded into the lower streets like a landslide of earth. Edwina’s eyes widened as figures tumbled with the debris. Nameless faces. Panicked silhouettes. People. She nearly fell back as a massive, circular object rose through the rising plume of smoke and dust. It was as tall as three of the ring roads were wide, and appeared to be made of some golden and silver alloy. There were still parts of the road, and even houses, attached to the structure. The houses were now on their side, and as it locked into place, completely vertical above the tower itself. The structure began to rotate around the tower, moving clockwise, and as it did, the remaining structures and remnants of the roads began to crumble completely, and the debris mixed with bodies began to fall downwards towards the tavern and the group. A man, who had just stepped outside his house, fell first as the stone archway of a home buried him in an instant with a sickening crunch. A man, further down the road, tried to jump out of the way of a falling body, and their two screams became one before the two collided, and their screams fell silent together. All across the road, debris and bodies impacted all around. Seven people were within range of the assembled group outside. Seven people who might be saved yet.
A clarity fell over Edwina’s mind at the sight. She could not comprehend what was happening all around them; she did not know why this was happening, or what had awoken this Arcane tower, but she did know that for as long as her cycle was turning, she could save these people. She looked over to her construct. The creature was already aware that something was amiss; its eyes scanned the structure with awe, but it also watched as everything fell around them. Edwina has had no success with being able to command this creature all the time, however, in times of peril, it seems to be able to act on its own accord. Like the bandits on the road, Edwina knew that this thing would not sit idly for long. Still, she could provide the push to get it moving.
“Go!” she commanded, voice suddenly fierce.
Across the chaos, a mother stumbled, clutching a small child as stone rained around them. The ground pitched again. She fell, and Edwina ran. Boots skidding over shaking cobblestones, cloak snapping behind her, she reached them just as a chunk of collapsing masonry plummeted from above. Her construct moved faster, hurling itself over the fallen woman. Impact. The stone shattered against its armored back in an eruption of dust and debris.
Edwina dropped to her knees, arms scooping the crying child from the rubble-streaked street. Tiny fingers clung to her sleeve with desperate strength. The mother, stunned and gasping, stared up through the haze.
“You’re safe,” Edwina said, breathless but steady.
“Stay under it!” The construct remained braced over the woman, its broad frame forming a shield as debris clattered and exploded on its sturdy frame. Edwina rose, cradling the child tightly, eyes blazing as she turned back toward the others near the tavern.
“Don’t just stand there!” she shouted, voice cutting through the screams and raining debris.
Help.”
