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TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Lavender grimaced. Out of all the people to approach, it really had to be this guy, didn’t it? She lifted her fox mask just a little and pointedly picked up the glass of wine to take a nonchalant sip.

She watched and she waited. Though her head was not turned towards the man’s direction she was still looking at him, waiting for his next course of action.

@aia2022

It seemed an age for the man to make his way across the floor, an age of suspense. Slow, taunting, teasing even where his movements but then he was there. Tattooed and scarred knuckles fell upon the table as he learnt heavily over it casting a large shadow over Lavender. A deliberate silence held the space as he waited for the mask to twist his way, waited for the attention to fall on him. His piercing gaze ever present.

“How’s the drink?” he asked, voice low, a bit gravelly but warm, just like the smile on his face that reached those blue eyes. “Any of these yours?” he added as he looked around at the many younger looking tavern occupants. “Not sure I should even serve them, but around here it’s hard to guess at someones age. Like you, and the mask only makes it harder.”

His grin was a well practiced grin. Friendly, welcoming, confident, charming even. Perfect white teeth, a strong jaw line and those blue eyes. It undoubtedly got him out of much trouble in the past, but judging by the way he used it, likely into just as much.

He turned to the boy sitting beside her and playfully slapped him on the chest with a flick of his wrist.
“Boy, you herd the girl, get her a hot drink.”
He said motioning towards @PhansiteMona

@Song Book The imp without hesitation rushed to the task, keen to complete its duty and appease the Naga.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Sadies

Clay was still behind the bar taunting the @Griffintaur with a smug grin and oversized container of water when the new young lad chucked down some coins. With a steady hand Clay swept them up and studied them for a moment, then looked over the kid, then back at the coins.
They jingled as they fell into his pocket and a moment later he produced a squared shape bottle and planted it directly in front of the parched newcomer.

As he expertly popped the cork vapours of the murky liquid escaped the bottle and the smell of a strong sailors alcohol tinted with hints of spice and ginger hovered over it. Clay looked at the bottle with his pale blue eyes and gave it an agreeable nod.

As if finally, those piercing pale blue eyes fell upon the Fox masked woman.@aia2022 His stare was somewhat intense. Deep, firm and unapologetic. His eyes were all serious but a playful cocky smirk tugged at the corner of his lip.

The boy sitting beside Lavender (who was surprisingly looking much better) groaned as the bare chested muscular tattooed bartender approached.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Griffintaur

“Largest water eh.” said the bartender, hands wide and face down on the bar. “Let me see what we got.”
With a cocky grin he stands, turns around and heads through the kitchen door. A moment later he returned hefting a fair sized keg under one arm.
“Largest water we got.” he says as it thuds down onto the counter top. His face slightly coloured from the strain of moving the heavy water.

“Will that be all?”
He had to lean to the side to look past the wooden container.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Sorry for the delay!
Will get something up soon :)

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@aia2022

“Th, thank you.” he said.
His face had gone slightly pale but that seemed to be more from the shock.
He slid into the seat beside her.
“Just need a little rest, a little sit down. That’s all. I’ll be fine.”
His shallow breaths became more steady even as he spoke and he even managed to give a convincing smile as he took up an awkward position on the seat.

The blue fire reflected in his eyes as he stared at it. Unfazed by the damage it was doing to the tavern he worked in or the mess he would be left to clean up.

“So, your thing is fire then?”

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

@Griffintaur
Of all the people that could have served Tharraleos, it was Clay who did. A muscular human with tattooed skin. He looked like the type who enjoyed trouble, and he wore a near constant smirk that said he was either in trouble, about to be in trouble or just getting out of trouble.
He nonchalantly staggered behind the bar taking his time. Finally when his eyes came across the creature he stared hard and let out a long slow descending whistle with an abrupt stop.

”And what in the mongrels gut are you?” he asked with no gentleness.
”Get a lot of strange in here, infact that’s nearly all we get but never seen one like you.” he looks the creature over and stands up straight.
”What can I do you for?”

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

“I’m, I’m what?” The boy stammered in shocked disbelief, wiide eyes twisting about to try see over his back still. Panic slowly settling in as the colour drained from his face.

”w, what is it? Get it it out. Get it out.” his voice was low but rushed, with a quiver to its edge as he fought to remain calm.

“Just do it please!”

He turned to face his back to Lavender and hunched forward, a gasp of pain accompanying his movement. The small patch of blood around the piercing splinter was starting to set in as it grew steadily more and more prominent, glistening in the torchlight.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

Lavender shrugged. ”Literally everyone in my family has committed multiple crimes, including myself. It’s more..” The woman paused to think of something else. ”It’s more like a ‘my mother’s great great great grand parent decided to anger some spirit and the spirit decided to curse the family so the eldest child had to deal with one eye and a sapphire’ kind of mistake.”

Lavender glanced at the imp momentarily, but her attention was quickly shifted to the absolute chaos of an entry made by a little girl. She paused, then decided that she had enough drama for today.

@aia2022

The young boy looked to be troubled, his deep green eyes reconsidering his opinion of Lavender. That worried look was quickly washed from his face when the doors suddenly burst inwards to force and flame and he was jolted forward into Lavenders table by the concussive force.

There was a loud ‘thud!’. “Bloody hell!” cursed the large tattooed man as his arrogant grin slipped from his face and he threw down one of the bodies he was carrying. He rolled his eyes at the sight of more work and let out an annoyed sigh.

Already shadow imps we’re flying to the site of disaster. While the fire struggled to maintain a hold on anything, the small patches that did were quickly stamped out by them.

When the reckless young girl came to slam her hands down on lavenders table, the boy staggered back. Stricken with confusion. He awkwardly twisted and reached at a discomfort on his back but was seemingly unable to get it. However his hands came back bloodied. As he turns, Lavender would see the foot long splinter of wood sticking from his back, blood steadily sinking into the clothes around it.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

”Wait! What?” the boy asked, dumbfounded by the response.
”You can’t really mean that, a lot of people make mistakes but surely it wasn’t that bad. Bad enough to have your eye carved out. What did you do?”
He had that worried look again. Like with his words he was walking into murky water and was afraid what he might find beneath the surface.

Just then.

One of the bulbous headed, white eyed, wiry shadow imps flew past Lavender. It’s long tail swaying behind it as it’s leathery wings furiously fluttered. It’s movement producing far less sound than you might expect. It’s oily dark skin fading into shadows and darkness as soon as it passed any.

It comes to land on a table not to far away, a table Lavender could swear was in pieces last time she looked. A crossbow bolt stuck up from the wood like a proud shiny flagpole. The little imp grasped it with its long claw like fingers and pulled... to no avail. It took a moment to secure it with both hands and really put its back into it. Still nothing. Finally it took to the air and wrapped its tail around it. It flapped and pulled, it’s little muscles bunching up tight, but it’s grip gradually slipped, and it stumbled around in the air.

The small mouthless creature frowned with its pale expressionfull eyes and slumped back down on the table in a contemplative defeat.

TNT - The Nameless Tavern. (Always Open)

“But, you didn’t deserve it! Did you?”
Once again his face held that hint of fear for the answer. A worried suspense.

In the background of the boy, the tavern was starting to look normal again. Quite oddly so. As if there had just been some small drunken brawl and not an ambushing battle with demons and the magically divine. Traces of the carnage were hard to find as the evidence slowly vanished.

The bodies remained, seemingly something that the shadowy magic of the tavern couldn’t conceal. A tall, bare chested, wide shouldered man, skin covered in tattoos, was hauling them up and taking them elsewhere one by one. He did it with a crooked smile and such nonchalance that he may as well been taking out the trash.