[IC] The Lonely Tavern (Open to all)

[Spybuster]

The Lonely Tavern

Gentle, calming, soothing.. a light breeze carried the sounds of a lone pair of footsteps through the hilly grasslands. These lands had a strange presence of peacefulness, one our traveler had not felt in quite some time. He continued along the dirt path, his cloak blowing gently in the wind. The sun was high in the afternoon sky, its warmth, a reassuring touch upon the traveler's face. The man came to a stop, noticing a small shadow pass over him from above. He raised his head, noting the figure of a bird circling above. A smile formed across his face and he held a leather padded arm out to the bird. Without hesitation, the bird dived and slowed its descent to land on the man's arm. "I take it all is good up ahead ol' pal?" The traveler asked to his clockwork golem, which was now happily perched on his shoulder. His trusty friend gave him a nod and pointed its beak off towards the horizon. Xavalzo squinted his eyes slightly, hoping to better focus on the what his bird had spotted off in the distance.

"A building? All the way out here? Huh.." With a smirk, he nodded towards his bird. "Nice find. With luck we might find something of value up there, or at least shelter if nothing else." The pair continued on down the road, daydreaming about the possibilities that lied ahead.

After what felt like quite the hike, they eventually reached the top of the mountain. At the sight of the tavern, he quickly began to lose the hopefulness he had before. The duo stepped though the door, which they found ajar, and were greeted by the poor interiors of a dark, abandoned structure. Xavalzo took a piece of flint and stone out of his pocket and placed it into the talons of his bird. "Go light some candles and lanterns would you?" He asked his bird, which took flight to begin his search around the main floor.

Xavalzo waited by the door until his bird managed to make the first room decently lit. He crept into the building, glancing around at the dusty, dirty conditions of the main room, and doing a quick survey of the building to ensure no one was around. Once he was satisfied with search, he ducked behind the counter to begin his noisy rummaging. At last his bird managed to get the fireplace going, its smoke easily seen leaving its chimney from the outside surroundings.

[Polybius]

Zook

---

Zook decided he did not like traveling alone after all. It had been nearly a month (or was it two?) since his sweet Zirkla had kicked him out of the Irreverent Rhapsodists of Braisden Knoll. Truly a heartbreak for Zook. He still muttered about it often, while plucking a dusty string on his lute as he walked; and so it had been for a month....or two...and then:

The inn appeared. He had been walking a dusty road in some gods-forsaken scrubland, swatting flies and dodging potholes in the road. Is this still the Kings road? he wondered. He saw the dark shadow of the angular roof long before he approached the hill, but he had not expected to find an Inn this far into....nothing. Zook looked around for other travelors. He had not seen another soul in several days. He saw lights flicker on inside the Inn. Zook pressed on towards the strange building.

[Nevix]

Edric was practicing conjuring daggers when he saw the Tavern. It was a strange building, and he could've swore it wasn't there an hour ago. Deciding that his exhaustion was causing him to misremember things, he started towards it. From inside, he saw lamplight and heard...a lute? He approached the doors and gripped his cane warily. He opened the flimsy door and stepped inside.

He saw a smiling gnome playing his lute contentedly, and a hooded man conversing with a hawk-shaped golem on his arm. Neither took much notice of him. He strode over to the bar and said to the other patrons.

"I hate to interrupt, but do either of you know where the bartender is?"

[Spybuster]

The thief was so occupied with his searching it wasn't until Zook had entered through the door he heard someone even approaching. Xavalzo slowly poked his head over the counter to see what had stumbled into the structure much like how he did. What he saw surprised him. It was a child sized looking man! Feeling slightly more sure of himself, he stood all the way up from behind the counter and dusted himself off. "Well hello... sir?" He asked awkwardly. Perched above the fireplace, an audible whirring of machinery could be heard as the hawk preened its "feathers".

Why didn't you warn me sooner!? Xavalzo thought to himself as he gave a quick glare directed towards his bird. His attention quickly shifted back to the door as yet another traveler walked in. Where did these two come from? I swear the roads have been empty for miles.. This newcomer strolled towards the bar and asked in general if anyone knew where the bartender was. These two didn't seem like the type to chop his hands off, but most folks weren't exactly kind either way if they found out you were a thief. In that moment, Xavalzo quickly concocted a plan to get himself out of the situation. A foolish, hastily made plan.

"I am! I think." He said, speaking up a little bit more. "You're looking at the new tavern owner of the uh... umm.." Again he looked about the room, but couldn't find the clue he wished to steal away. ".. The.. Lonely Tavern!" He finally managed to say. "You see.. my uh, uncle used to own this place, but sadly the.. plague got him, and I've received it through.. inheritance." Xavalzo smiled. His guise was sound. How could this ever possibly backfire on him later?

"The name's Xavalzo, but you can just call me Xav. How may I.. help you sir?"

[Nevix]

He wasn't going to lie to himself, this "Xav" seemed shifty, but he wasn't actively trying to kill and the Golem led him to believe that the man wasn't appalled by the Arcane.
"Well, two things. One, do you happen to have any food? I'm famished. Two, do you have I could rent for an indefinite amount of time?" He cleared his throat. "Granted, I don't have any coin, but I'd be willing to work! I'm a decent cook or I could wait tables." He slid a gloved finger across the bar and it came back covered in dust. "I could help clean." Xav looked at him blankly. "No average citizen goes around in clothes like that, you look like you might have use of a dagger, or perhaps...a sword?" He held out his left hand and, in a flash of blue light conjured a simple sword which he handed to the dumbfounded tavernkeep.

[Pirouette]

Vala Lynstad

Life without the Sea, without the Hearth

---

It had been four months, maybe. Whether that was an accurate count or not, the young Skjaldmær could only think any time away from her home was too long. The smell of the salted sea, the sound of churning waves... all of it was absent in this hilly landlocked plain. Yet this was her burden that she was likely to carry until her last days. Exiled and disgraced from the things she so loved... Truly, there was no greater punishment, even death would be a welcomed relief if it had not meant Vala would spend the rest of her afterlife wandering the damned shores of Helviti. So she held on because she had to. Maybe one day her ancestors might forgive her but that day could not come sooner. Until that day, she couldn't stand the sight of the open ocean.

For several months she had wandered, venturing further and further inland, until she eventually settled upon an abandoned tavern set atop a rocky hillside, no more than a fortnight ago. Vala had ran out of coin months ago which made it a perfect place for the downtrodden. As expected the place was empty and while the structural foundation was still solid, the walls and roof were slowly deteriorating with the passage of time. Still, the rent was free. Vala didn't spend much time improving the deteriorating conditions as she always felt it to be a temporary home, but she did a few things like brushing away the cobwebs. Eventually living there became a routine that distracted her, which was a welcomed sensation.

Mornings were typically a fair time to hunt. In fact, the morning of that day usually determined whether or not Vala would eat well that day or eat skimp pickings of her leftovers. Small game were the easiest to catch with her limited knowledge of traps. Sadly, Vala lacked a bow and the big game was a lot harder to come by. Thankfully a nearby stream usually had some fish the helped offset the lack of a large, hardy meal. Otherwise, Vala was left to harvest the few plants and fruits that she knew that wouldn't outright kill her if she ate them. It took a bit of experimenting but usually the local wildlife would avoid something that is entirely toxic.

Hopefully returning in the afternoon with a successful hunt, Vala would prep herself a meal and eat well. On particularly fortunate days, Vala would expend a little extra energy to make minor improvements to the tavern to prevent the place from falling apart but those days weren't common.

For the most part, Vala was isolated from the rest of the world and she kind of enjoyed the bliss that came with it. Travelers would ignore the rundown place, even looters thankfully. But today, it seemed like Vala would not be fortunate to avoid the wandering eye.

The faint flicker coming from the windows was tough to distinguished in broad daylight but the wide open front door really did help in identify the presence of someone inside. Vala drew her hatchet and tilted her spear to allow the hanging critters from this morning's hunt to fall to the ground. She never carried her shield with her as that was extra weight she never needed as well as some other items, like her armor. She always wore the thinnest hides she had as the difference in heat was clearly evident for the Northern so she had no protection outside of a sleeveless shirt and a slightly thicker set of hide trousers.

She bent down and charged the tavern, her tavern, in a sprint, trying her best to conceal footfalls. It took only a few moments but she reached the threshold of the door. As far as she knew, there wasn't another way out so whoever was inside had to get through her. She stepped through, pushing the door, which had slowly drifted to an ajar opening, aside revealing the three intruders. The three of them were strangely unique from each other and while they gave off no hostile impression, Vala had to be sure they weren't here for malicious purposes. "Undskyld!" The Skjaldmær shouted harshly like barking an order after she crossed the threshold of the doorway in her native tongue, interrupting whatever conversation they were having before. Of course she knew that they wouldn't understand that but being a giving orders in her own tongue felt natural. "What are you three doing here?" She demanded with a stern tone as she clutched her hatchet and spear tightly in her hands. The spear probably wouldn't be of much help but she was deadly with that hatchet.

[Legion-114]

The light troding sound of Alex's horse slowly disappeared into a whisper.

He had traveled for miles without rest just so he was sure that he wasn't being followed by agents of The Fallen. Though their dark eye would eventually find him, his rift stone necklace should shield him for now.

Alex dismounted his horse and tied it to a nearby trough, where it dunked its head and began to drink its well deserved water. Alex, in his formal attire fit enough be pass as royalty entered the main entrance of the Raven, shocked by its state. His father's tales of this placed told of a grand taven where heroes met to speak of their adventures, not this slum that wasn't even fit enough to be classed as a brothel.

"What a trash heep." Alex exclaimed uncontrollably.

[Nevix]

"Would everyone kindly calm down!" Edric shouted, still trying to lower his heart rate from the scare the axe-wielding northerner had given him. "If everyone would put their weapons down, I'm sure that we could come to a mutual understanding." He looked at all the tavern's patrons while saying this, locking eyes with the northern woman as he said "weapons. He removed the glove on his left hand, revealing his glowing magical tattoos as a show of force. He had hoped that no one here knew that he could only do conjuring, and not anything that could directly harm them.

[Spybuster]

Before Xavalzo could answer any of Edric's requests, his heart had to skip a few beats thanks to a surprising, booming voice. He quickly turned to face a rather fierce looking woman standing between them and the doorway. Being trapped was never good for a thief, or anyone who valued their life for that matter. He turned to his bird and nodded towards the second floor, hoping his companion would understand his order. Sure enough the bird left its perch above fireplace and flew upstairs. Whether or not it would be looking for a way out was to be seen.

"Yes... like our magician said here.. lets just set our weapons down and go about this as calmly as possible.. I mean i'd hate to see this place get trashed up even more." Xavalzo added. He reached into his sleeve and removed his dagger, which he placed on the bar counter. "See, i'm not looking for a fight.." With that he reached below the counter, looking for a clean enough mug and placed it on the counter. "Lets just have some free drinks, and we'll figure out what's the issue here. Alright?" He reached behind him, and grabbed a half full unlabeled bottle and placed it on the counter, pouring a drink into the mug. He couldn't help but wonder if this would end in pleasant conversation, or him being bear bait...

[Legion-114]

Alex was oddly calm during this violent scene. With no weapon drawn, it seemed that his intention was to inspect the tavern. He glided his finger across a table and rub his hand in distaste. It was clear he wasn't very impressed.

Alex looked over the the theif pouring the drink.
"I trust that's safe to drink?" Alex asked in an oddly posh and uplifted tone, clearly he was or rather was a man of rich upbringing.

[Polybius]

Zook

---

Zook was just going to introduce himself to the two men inside the inn with a flourish and fanfare from a minor illusion spell he had been saving for a rainy day (it wasn't raining but what the heck) when the GIANT NORTHERN WOMAN burst through the door and started shoving a spear in their faces. Well, actually above Zooks head, but it was still frightening. The wizard guy seemed to be up to something. His hands were all glowy with arcane runes. Not to mention the sword he had just popped out of thin air.

And there was something not quite right about the "Owner" of the place. He seemed to be fumbling around behind the bar, as if he didn't quite know what was what. Zook had spent a lot of time in taverns with Zirklas Rhapsodists and this guy didn't seem to be the tavern-keep type.
The knight who sauntered in and calmly asked about the state of the libations was certainly unnerving.

"Just a moment my fine lady," said Zook with authority. "Like my two fine friends here said, we don't want trouble. I think were probably all running as far away from trouble as possible-last thing we want is a bare-knuckle sober brawl in this old heap of an inn after traveling all day. Besides, I think their is enough room at the bar for all of us. Peace eh? I'll play us a tune while this guy pours a round on me?" With that, Zook took a small coin pouch from his tunic and plopped it up on the bar offering it to the supposed bar keep.

[Scarifar]

Alia pushed open a door to enter a tavern, feeling relieved. She had been walking for hours and really needed a rest and a refreshment. Smiling slightly as she walked inside, her smile faded a bit as she noticed how... messy the place looked. Still, perhaps the place was not as bad as it looked, and she had been in a few bad places before. Alia decided to give the place a chance. Ignoring the commotion with some spear-brandishing woman, she went to the bar counter and sat down at a stool. It felt good to finally be off her feet.

Looking at the others who were there, it seemed like things were calming down. Alia raised her hand, trying to flag the one with the bottle, and said, "Hey! A drink for me too!" A drink would do her good; she was feeling rather parched.

[Nevix]

"How about this." He says after smiling and nodding at the girl who had just walked in. "Since no one can agree on who's bar this is, let's just share it. If we each take a job, this could shape up to be a fine establishment. We could split the profits! I doubt I'm the only one here who could use a bit of capital, eh?" Edric cleared his throat. "I'm a conjurer, it should be no problem to conjure up a table or two, plus I'm a half decent cook. I'm looking for a place to settle down, as far away from the Eastern Inquisition as I can get, and this seems as good a place as any!"

[Pirouette]

Vala Lynstad

From One to Many

---

Vala eased up her tense stance as the others spoke, sounding sincere in their offer of peace. Still, it was best to proceed with caution. She ignored the first new addition to the collective that was gathering in the main hall of this tavern. Instead, she brushed aside the trylle, with the glowing symbols on his flesh, with the shaft end of her spear. Magic was common in her homeland but being a sailor had shown her more of the world than most of her kin, so she knew what it was and what it looked like. Despite the unknown of the strength of trylle, she thought she hadn't much to worry about concerning the others. "Fine." She grumbled as she walked past the conjurer and over the coin that was tossed onto the counter top.

She shot a challenging glance to the man behind the counter as she took the flat side of her hatchet and slammed it just onto the coin before sliding it off and into the partial grasp of her spear-holding hand, inviting the man to go ahead and try arguing for that coin. Even though this place wasn't hers, she felt she had a better claim than the others at least. "Help yourselves." Vala muttered as she continued her progress to the tavern's Hearth, warm with a fresh fire. She tossed her spear into the corner. When she turned around, another had slipped in, draped in a fine, red clothing. Vala sweared that they had to be multiplying now.

The trylle then spoke about some ridiculous proposition where they run this place like a business. "Pff.." Vala spat at the conclusion of his offer. "This place is mine more than anyone's from my count." Again, she thought she had a better claim than those that wandered in here. However, she had to admit to feeling something at the proposition of fixing the place up. It had only been two weeks but she was finding it comfortable here. "Anyway, have you taken a look around? The tavern is a ruin."

[Legion-114]

Alex crossed his arms, listening to Edric's proposition. In an odd sense, it was reassuring that he was not the only one on the run from something. The idea of rebuilding this tavern to its former glory could be a worthwhile task, and there was something about this place that didn't quite add up. Perhaps that this place would be his salvation.

Alex looked up with a smile not too big nor small, a collected one.
"While I'm not a labour worker myself, I am able to provide a very heavy lifter." He explained.

Alex removed the necklace from around his neck and grasped it tight in his hand. A faint blue aura beamed from the gaps of his fingers and then threw it to the floor. Suddenly a gust of wind began to pick up in the room and rocks from outside were sucked in like some kind of vortex, all circling around the crystal. After a moment the wind ceased and there stood a large golem that gave out a low hum.

"Meet Boldy, he'll be happy to do any heavy lifting." Alex announced.

[Polybius]

Zook

Zook let loose a whistle at the sight of the summoned golem. "Holy Orc-Sh*t look at that," he sputtered. Zook didn't count himself among the cowardly kind, but he knew of the Rift Guardians and the Fallen; not to mention Boldy was enormously intimidating. "Your a Knight of the Rift aren't you? Can't say I've ever met one myself. Zook babbled on nervously, strumming his instrument and leering warily at the golem. He hopped up a few decrepit crates stacked at the end of the bar and climbed up and took a seat. He began a new song, grinning madly. This is the most interesting thing that has happened in months! he thought.

[Spybuster]

An empty road lead to an empty tavern, and not long after its filled with strangers. I really should start rethinking my profession if my luck is going to treat me like this.. The thief thought to himself. He wasn't really sure what to think, and his thoughts were interrupted at the sight of a coin purse plopping onto the counter. As he reached for it though, the Northerner slammed the flat of her hatchet into the pouch and slid it more towards her hand. Xavalzo had retracted his hand back so fast you'd think he was trying to avoid a viper's bite. He looked up at the woman across from him, her stare colder than the most frozen tundras. Xavalzo had to gulp down a lump of fear that had collected in his throat before his thoughts began to clear up again. Wait.. was she really challenging a thief over money. He thought to himself, confidence slowly regaining. Well then, as risky as it is, that's a game I can play...

With a smirk, the man leaned against the counter meeting the warrior's stare. He didn't say anything, but instead gave her nothing more than a wink and moved onto the next "customer" as she headed over to the hearth. "Right away missy, drink coming right up." He found another mug, which looked clean enough to be used, poured another bottle into it, and slid it along the counter down to her. Am I really serving drinks now?

As he did so, the conjuring mage with all his flashy magic came up with a rather brilliant idea. They all should share ownership of the bar. Now Xavalzo knew all about sharing things, well more so in a one way direction, but sure he knew about it. This type of sharing wasn't particularly his fancy, especially when it came to money. Although.. its not a bad idea. Would be a neat little side project, rebuilding a lonely tavern back up. The thief thought to himself. If anyone were following him or searching, he'd have a nice place to hide from them in.

"As much as i'd wish to detest splitting the profits made by my tavern, I think I can stomach sharing it amongst us if we all put the effort into getting this place up to top shape again." The thief added, eyeing the Northern warrior who was warming up by the fire. His attention was quickly stolen away by the regal looking knight and his flashy spells which summoned a lumbering giant of some sort of otherworldly looking golem. "Woah.." The thief managed, slowly taking his dagger off the counter and sliding it back into his sleeve. "Yeah he looks like he could do some heavy lifting.." Xavalzo however hoped the knight would send his golem away soon. Such a big creature being inside a ruined building did make him slightly nervous, especially since they were on the edge of a mountain cliff. The short man began playing another tune, and the thief gave him a smiling nod. Instead of howling winds and muffled breezes, a nice tune was finally being carried in the air again.

[Subject Zero]

Ember had been wandering for a while, taking in the sights of the land and conversing with the local wildlife. One bird in particular had managed to hold her attention for a surprising amount of time with its song until it got bored and flew off to find food. Ember had followed after it, chattering incessantly in her own bird whistle as they went. Slowly but surely, Ember and the bird made their way up the side of a mountain, where they came to rest in a small clump of trees. Ember eventually decided to leave her bird friend to it's meal of worms, turning her nose up at the squishy creatures as they were pulled from the ground.

She flew along for a moment, whistling the song the bird had taught her. The pixie was hidden from sight, cloaked behind an invisibility spell that all her kind new as instinctively as they knew how to fly. To anyone in the area, the moving whistle would seem like nothing more than another bird flying around somewhere.

The pixie stopped abruptly in mid air as her eyes landed on an old tavern. She scrunched her nose up at the sight of the building, which had clearly seen better days. But despite how it looked, the tavern intrigued her. She knew that the larger races had a strange love of taverns. They congregated within to drink themselves stupid...or stupider. The faint light emanating from the windows told her there were people inside. And where there were people, there was fun. Adventure. Excitement.

Ember smiled at the thought of another adventure and flew towards the taverns open door, still invisible to all.

Still hidden, she immediately flew up high after entering the tavern and planted herself on a shelf to watch the growing commotion unfold between the big people...and the one little person. She tried to keep quiet during the back and forth between them all but couldn't help giggling ever so quietly at the absurdity of them all. Arguing over this derelict old building. Despite her giggles, she went unnoticed and was rather pleased with herself. That was until one of the people seemed to summon a monster. It was massive even compared to the people that surrounded it. Ember would barely reach this things ankle. The sudden appearance caught her by surprise and she let out a loud "EEP!"

Though still invisible, Ember quickly slammed her hands over her mouth in shock. Had they heard her? And, more importantly, had she really just said "Eep"?

[Cross]

---

[Legion-114]

Impressed with himself, Alex walked up to Boldy and gave it a firm pat on what passed for its back. The huge golem gave out what could only pass as a pleased humming sound that grated from its rock interior.
Alex's attention was soon brought to Zook who had identified him as a Guardian of the Rift, which was no small feat as there were very few left.
"I'm pleased that time has not forgotten us, I'm Sir Alex Lancelow, Warden of the 3rd Brotherhood. " Alex introduced himself, offering his hand.