Bluedragon Ale

Log Info

• Title: Bluedragon Ale
• Emitter: Slixvah
• Characters: Slixvah, Patch, Schara, Merek, Jinks, Jay
• Place: The TarRaCe
• Time: October 27th. 2022
• Summary: Slow night ponderings turn into a gaggle of discussion, including but not limited to: moonlight dancers, draconic lineages, leyline shenanigans, and artificial inquiries. The night was to grow dull once more, but alas, the night crawlers decide to make it not so.

The TarRaCe, Night

It's a slow night.

So slow, the bartender on duty- a pale human woman with rust red hair in slacks, a white button up, and red suspenders, is laying on the metal bartop supine. One hand is throwing a small bird to the ceiling. The thrush's wings flare out, and they do a lazy spiral downwards until they land in an outstretched hand. Toss. Weeeee. Toss. Weee.

The other hand, white gloved, is twisting and moving to direct a ghostly mage hand to tend to the few that actually utilize the establishment.

"So... does it always feel, like, wrong doin' that?" the bartender asks the bird.

The thrush, on the down glide, answers in a tinny voice, "No. There is no wrong or right with weal or woe. It simply is."

Toss. "But why?"

Glide. "That is for you to discover."

Toss. "Such wisdom, little to chew."

Glide. "Alas, I am to give you wisdom. It is up to you to wield it."

Patch had been sweeping the stage, helping with maintenance and cleaning. A emerald glance rises, peering the way of the human-formed birdtender. "Oh, lessons within lessons?" she muses the way of the bar, turning back to her small job, and carrying the line of dirt towards one edges of the stage. "If Fidah ever talked in more than riddles, we best be worried." she muses, a dustpan resting in the direction she works.

"Did Irshya have any other notes?" Patch asks. "She said keep the stage clean, help with tables.... and?" Patch trying to recall her tasks. "Should of listened a bit harder I think."

From the door to the outside came a familiar, semi imposing figure clad in bronze armor, wearing a large fur lined cloak. They stop to close the door carefully, before striding over to the bar counter. They stop to look at the stage, and hold up one hand in greeting to Patch.

"Oh. Hello Slixvah, why are you lying on the countertop?" The artificer asks. "That looks fairly uncomfortable."

Merek is wearing his usual dark attire, which look sleek with trim and his scarf which he wears along the neck. Meanwhile, he's followed by a bluejay, taking his time to look about the place and nodding to them when they step in with him.

Human Slix snorts to Patch. "Pssh. If Fifi does that, then that means theys bein' insulting!"

The gliding birdie doesn't refute that point.

"Uhhhh..." she thinks. "... clean tha stage, table help- oh! Gotta dust out tha rafters. I can do that at the end of my shift," she chirps before she turns a bit to spy someone walking up.

"Eyyy, welcome ta tha' TarRaCe! Try tha' Bluedragon ale, it's got an electric ki- Oh! Scha-Scha! What up? I dunno. Bored. It's comfy enough."

With Merek the Seer is indeed an egalrin of the bluejay persuasion. And the Seer is very much with the egalrin from the way the bird has a wing wrapped around the man, and intimately leans into him.

The bluejay walks with a very feminine sway, wearing several veils, and a lot of glittery bangles and rings. A close inspection will show them to be fake, costume jewelry. The makeup is expertly applied and enhances the otherwise drab feathers, which are black, white and blue like a proper bluejay's, but not very interesting.

The tailfeathers switch behind, counterpointing the stride, until the egalrin notices Patch and Schara.

There's a sudden squawking and the bird-person abandons the escort, darting into the baths and leaving a few feathers fluttering in the air.

Feathers which clearly weren't well attached, part of a disguise, that failed.

GAME: Jay rolls disguise: (8)+0: 8

A short, reptilian form wrapped in robes of bright-yellow and glittering grey walks distractedly from the baths. The blunt-snouted kobold is fussing with his damp robes, trying to get them to drape right on scales that are still dewy from his recent ablutions. He carries an unremarkable book bag in one hand and his strappy leather sandals squish quietly as he goes.

"... if I weren't of... marrying age, doo... do-do-do-- oh, come on now, robes-- augh..." he stops and twists at the trunk to inspect his bulbous tail. "We've had talks about this..."

GAME: Patch rolls perception: (11)+8: 19

Patch scurries faster at her work, the dust being brushed into pan as the night begins to draw a crowd. "Aww, but Fidah is often insulting, and good at it too." she muses in teases

The dustpan is collected, and dumped into a larger drum as she comes off the stage's steps, moving to put the broom and pan away.

"Oh, well... what should I do then?" Patch asks when she returns, more for herself. a finger rises to tap upon her narrow chin as Jay is noticed, that outfit and demeanor earning a raised brow, but the elf does little to stop the man's fun. No, she's more focused on the kobold that enters, a hand raised with a subtle wave. "Hello, and welcome! Both of you." including Jay in the greeting.

"Ah. So it is Slixvah, and not some other human tossing a talking bird into the air. I am glad that I did not make such a mistake." The artificer notes with a nod to the egalrin on the countertop. "What is, you have electricity in your ale? I can't begin to think how that might work, it sounds dangerous. Why are you bored?"

They turn their head to the door just in time to see the panicking egalrin. "There is something for your boredom. I thought I met all the egalrin in town, but there is a new one, and they seem to be in distress. Perhaps you should check up on them?"

Slixvah, the human woman on the bar tossing a bird, misses Fiadh as the swoop back down, the tiny thrush landing with a clack on the metal bar. Her attention is caught by the figure walking in. Blink blink. "... yo hol' up-" aaaaaaaaaaaand they're gone. "Bwuh- I had several question and many compliments! Feh. I'll ask later."

Fiadh chirps, "The right words tends to cut the deepest." Can a familiar look smug? Sure can.

A white gloved hand waves to the kobold. "Howdy sugar, don't many 'bolds 'round here. Want anythin'?" she asks, extending the offer to the seer.

The bartender shakes her head. "Naw, its just really zesty. Feels like a tinglin' spark." She stares at the artificer. "... do.. you see how slow it is right now?" A gesture out to the nearly vacant establishment. "I gots six hours left. I'm jus' glad Patch is here else I'd be figuratively dying." A glance to the baths. "... well. Someone else too."

Merek looks as the Jay takes off and he blinks a little bit, with a sigh. Well, there goes that plan whatever it was. The man then walks along and will follow to see where they went, "Well, it's been a while, I do like this place, and all that it has to offer." He waves to Patch and anyone else that the Jay looks to greet.

The bluejay is currently out of sight and in the baths. The kobold, Cessili, was an unexpected obsticle to be vaulted and expertly dodged around. Presumably once past, the egalrin is disrobing or re-robing. There is no immediate re-appearance.

"Well, I didn't want to ask what it was about. I feel like people do their things for their reasons..... but paint me curious." Patch muses, and turns to Merek, seeing his glances. "Can we help you, Sir?" she asks, a small smile flashed.

"It wasn't just a bard. A many good set of others helped." Patch says to the talkings of her and Slixvah's research. Or so she assumes. Too eerie for that bard not to be her. "A group effort too, as before that Zojifa risked life when we discovered this... 'Magus Point'."

"The leylines have shifted, Slixvah and I have confirmed it. Now it's comparing the shifts with previous charts and recordings. It's... a growing ball of research." Patch then looking to Slixvah. "You're the more studied one, you can put it in the magic speak."

The kobold pauses and lifts his head a little higher to consider Slixvah, blinking his big eyes, mouth opening slightly as the gears turn. "Oh..! Because I'm sweet!" His mouth opens a little wider as he basks in the warm glow of the casual (assumed) compliment. The chubby tail bobs behind him as he walks nearer the bar.

The little fellow had managed to miss the streaking Jay entirely in his self-inspection in spite of the fact they'd nearly collided!

"Yes, please," he adds as he slings his book bag cross-shouldered. "I don't suppose rustmonster is on the menu? I had it once and it was lovely." His voice has a steady, praticed pace to it emphasizing clarity. His scales stand out in stark contrast to his robes; primarily a vibrant red-orange but a softer yellow tint on his throat and belly.

"And... to drink..." he considers the shelves and kegs behind the bar. "Oooooh... decisions, my arch-nemsis..."

He's polite, he pretends not to listen to the talk of ley lines.

A bluejay, one Integrity C Truefeather, emerges from the baths wearing his three piece suit. "Hi. Hi. Hi!" He waves at everyone, "I've been here all day. Wonderful birdbaths!"

"Oh Hello Merek, Hello Cessili, Schara, and... other people. Hi."

"Ah, it is something that is like applying electricity to someone's tongue. That sounds, curious, at the very least. And I did come here to potentially ... bend things? Get bent? Something with bending that involves alcohol. Six hours this late at night? That is an awkward time to be working for certain."

The artificer notices the kobold, and nods. "Ah, I can certainly see it now. The size difference between Aelwyn and them is significant. And hello Merek, and mister Truefeather, good to see you."

Merek looks to the Jay when they come back, then he offers a glance to Patch and blinks a little bit, "I suppose not, I apologize," he says, smiling then. He seems a bit distracted, and nods to everyone that would be about, "I'm Merek, by the way, for those that don't know me."

Slixvah giggles. "Oh, I was totes going to ask. But yeah, uh, basically me thinks something sucked up mana and corrupted it. Or things are awash with it. It's really something ova my head, but reall' fascinating. Magnus point. Yeah. That's the term."

She looks down, finally sitting upright. "I thinks we still got some of dat! Lemme get that put on fo' ya." The mage hand vanishes into the kitchens. "... Blue dragon ale?" she suggests to the little guy. A glance to Jay coming out, then to the kobold. "Cessili, you a local?"

Her attention shifts to Jay. She's human, which means it's easy to see the wide lopsided grin on her face. She doesn't mention anything. "Yo Blue. And hey, I'm Slix. I tending da bar."

"Oh. Oh! Oh hi Slix. Your face is flat! That's funny." Jay says immediately and awkwardly, "I wasn't dancing all day in a bar. Nope. Nope! I was in the baths."

"Hey anyone want a tomato? Cessili? Merek? Tomato." He has a bunch, apparently. "I'll try some of what he's having, the blue dragon ale, that sounds fun."

Patch nods once to Merek, and then casts a glance towards the growing crowd at the bar. Without the patrons needing help, and the oddtalk and her comments going ignored, she just shrugs. "Since you're getting the rafters later, I'm going to check out for a while, Slix." she hollers, turning to head towards the employee door to get her instrument.

"I suppose that I will have, I am not sure. Everyone seems to be getting the blue dragon ale, so it may be good for me to have some as well. No tomatoes though, it would be too difficult to eat them with a helmet on." The Artificer nods. "This place has baths? Fascinating. It makes sense to have them on hand now that I think about it, what with how bloodied people ended up at the ox-strength tavern."

"Ley energy is not always constantly in one place, that's why it moves. I'm unsure why it is a concern."

"Friend Integrity! Were you in the baths?" The kobold's head quirks to one side curiously. "The pumice scrub was transcendent... but I didn't think my senses had left me. Oh dear. (... I wasn't... making noise, was I?)" He mutters the last bit, mouth never quite closing all the way.

Cesseli snaps out of it, though, when the question of size comes into play. "I assure you, madame, that I can trace my line back to the great wyrms of the Duini Steppe and I can do all tasks assigned to me by the high-clerk in spite of my 'size-difference.' (Though I do need a few books to see above the table in most of the chairs)" He huffs. In spite of himself, he can't help but compliment Schara;"I like your artifice-suit. It's lovely. Very well done."

"Yes, please, friend Slixvah! Blue -dragon- ale." He does his best to lower the octave of his voice and puff his chest. "A big drink for a big clerk... but only a half-portion, please, as I have work I still need to do. Thank you, friend Slixvah.

"I'm a clerk at the Serrielite Temple, yes. Quite local." He adjusts his robes again. "... but my people come from Blar; I had my emigration sponsored."

Human Slix blinks as Patch slips out, lips parted as the start of a word dies out on her lips. They quirk down briefly before a hand rubs at her face and it's rearranged into a smile once more. "I'll work on those orders," she hums, hopping off the bar and slinking further away to fill mugs.

A moment later, she returns, regular sizes for the regulars, and a smol for the smol. "Aaand, there ya'll go!"

A wink is thrown towards Integrity. "What? You sure you haven't been dancing? I saw you that one time. It was reall' nice."

The bartender hops back up on top of the metal bar once more, hands folded together. "Oh can ya now? All them dragons? I'm sure tha makari might wanna talk to ya 'bout that. Especially if ya do such good work wit' the Knight's Daughter!"

The bluejay leans in close to Merek. Having a beak makes it hard for him to whisper discretely, he might not be heard, but it's still obvious he's saying something. This is, "The dancer, Lucky, said she had to go. She'll meet up with you later."

He hops away and around the table to sit near Slix, and flops onto a stool that allows room for tailfeathers. "Tomato?"

"No, no noise at all. Perfectly acceptible." Jay tells Cesseli, "Oh, you're from Blar? I did some law practice in Blar. It's also where I learned how to deal with hobgoblins and orcs."

He faces Slix again finally, his beak opening and closing a few times. "I... might have gotten into a certain contract with certain expectations... Hopefully Lucky won't find out she's got a stage presence here."

She would immediately want to do a performance as 'twins'.

Merek looks between the people there, and waves when Patch makes their way on, before he takes a look to the bluejay, "I would like a tomato," he adds to the conversation. That seems about the extent of what he says, seemingly a little bit overwhelmed by all the new people.

"Thank you for the drink Slixvah... wait, how much does this cost? As long as it's under a gold piece that's fine, but I should have asked before asking for one." The artificer asks, looking to the drink as she was pulling out a metal straw from one of her pouches.

"Madam? Regardless, thank you, I have put a lot of work into making sure this armor is working properly. It has been expensive, and more than a small amount of work, but it is hard to argue with the results." They nod to the kobold.

Cesseli is more than a little abashed as he considers the elaborate suit of artifce. "Sir-stroke-madame..?" He sighs, contrite, and squares his shoulders to apologize. "I get... excitable when people say I'm small-- but sensitivity is no excuse for a breach in civility..."

His stubby fingers reach into his robes and he produces a steel mirror that he hunches over to look himself in the eye. "Sensitivity is no excuse for a breach in civility!" Then he puts the mirror away.

"I can, yes, friend Slixvah. In fact, I have a Book of Lineage and an ancestral keepsake box my great-nestmother entrusted to me as I was clearly the most responsible and civic-minded of my clutch from a very early age." His tiny nostrils on his tapered, gecko-like snout flare as he inspects the meal. "This is wonderful," he says to all and none at the same time.

"Oh, no thank you, friend Integrity!" He declines the tomato. "I can see the Blarite influence in your work; it's quite meticulous and well-structured." He nods as he regards the egalrin. "The hobgoblin tribes and orcish clans are my favorite. It's, in fact, an all-way-tie between all the demihuman peoples of this great world."

Slixvah raises a brow. "Huh. Interestin'. Lemme know when this certain contract has tickets. I want a show." Another wink, and she reaches out to ruffle his noggin. "Pass on the tomato. Thanks tho' Blue."

She leans in a bit, twittering quietly to him, "You looked really cute." <Auran>

The bartender fixes herself back on the makeshift seat of the metal bar. "Two silvers fo' tha regular size. One silver for the pint-size," she snickers at her own pun, tilting her head curiously at the mantra repeated aloud. But her brows raise high. "You... do? Huh. That's pretty coo', actually. Mayhaps if I'm over at tha' temple I can gab ya 'bout that lineage? I'd totes love ta hear more. Dragons are coo'."

The human woman, in her button up and slacks, tugs at her red suspenders. "If ya want tha' tomato made inta somethin', preeetty sure there's some tomato soup vibin' in the kitchen."

"Thank you Cessili. Well, you are also very thorough. Your book of Lineage sounds fascinating, I'd like to have a look some time." Integrity answers the Kobold. It's the mirror, the kobold's mirror caught his attention. Flashy.

He slips the unwanted tomatoes back into a small bag, although he keeps one to eat himself. His head bobs vigorously at Slixvah, and his wings adjust, "Okay. Okay!" <auran>

"Oh, they'll take them in the kitchen?" He hops off his seat, "Maybe some salsa, and some chips to go with the salsa, and some fried bugs to go with the chips!"

Happily flappily, Jay goes into the kitchen to make an order.

"Schara." The artificer replies to the kobold, flipping open the mouthpiece of their helmet so they could sip on the ale. There's a quiet cough with the helmet not distorting anything.

Then it was back in place. "That does sound fascinating, I wouldn't mind seeing those books either, tracing your lineage back to dragons mean you probably have all sorts of history stored given their immense lifespans." They add quickly. "That is very expensive for a drink, but it is, I am sorry, I don't think I'm getting bent tonight if they are that expensive, and I'd feel bad not paying for it too. That's alright though, I'll just save up for another time."

Cesseli might burst he's enjoying the attention so much. "Oh, please. Would you? You don't have to if you're just being polite... but it's very nice of you, regardless." He returns to his food and collects the fork, tail curling up like an angler's hook as he leans in for the first bite--

"I just..! Fair warning," the kobold turns and draws a manicured claw across the bumpy ridge of his brow. "Fraykys-irgal, Conflagration's Heart..? Well, reds are often... passionate." His mouth hangs agape as he considers the next words. "... and it's not quite as many virgin sacrifices as people make it out to be. Bigger numbers make for better stories, you see?"

The kobold blinks and turns back to his plate.

"This looks lovely," he reiterates before setting in with a polite enthusiasm.

Slixvah's visage cracks a grin as the bluejay egalrin gets in a tizzy. "Don't forget the cheese!" she calls after him as Integrity dips into the kitchens. She smooths her hair back before looking down at the kobold. A blink.

"... no... ted," she mentions slowly, her gaze flicking up and to the side. Unsure if she was actually filing that away, or sidestepping it. Maybe both. "It is lovely. I'll hit ya up laters. I love a good story."

Attention shifts to Schara, her smile wide and mischievous. Much easier to read than that of an egalrin. "Well if you wanna go on a bender, I got some stock back here that's just five copper. Don't taste as good but it'll get ya twisty. I can slide ya a free one 'cause I like ya. Oh, by the by, did you ever get that shoulder fixed?"

Jay returns from the kitchen, "The order is coming. Don't forget the cheese!" He caught a few of the kobold's comments, and gazes happily at Slixvah, "The reds are more passionate? I agree. We'll have to watch out for the virgin sacrifices."

He takes a sip of his ale, instantly zapping himself. His face feathers poof, making his head look like a ball. "Wow that's shockingly powerful."

"...Sacrifices that are, excuse me?" The artificer states slowly, before looking down at the countertop. "Well then, I'll keep that in mind."

The artificer pats one of their pouches, and nods back up to Slixvah. "Ah, that is much more reasonable and within my price range. Don't worry, I'm used to eating and drinking sub par food and drink to make ends meet, so I'm sure it will be fine."

They work on undoing their helmet, turning to look at their shoulder. "I should see about adding some sort of induction port to this helmet so I do not need to do this every time. My shoulder is not working properly at the moment, but that's alright, I am sure I'll be able to fix that eventually."

"I can confirm tha' reds are mo' passionate," Slix mentions, her mouth outrunning her brain. She glances aside, clears her throat, and pretends a tinge of red isn't on her face. Ok, what are we talking about- shit, Blue is staring. Did he see? He saw. Poof? Wuh-

She looks over to Integrity before- "Bwahahaha!" -she busts out laughing. "Oh-Oh-Oh goodness gracious! Ya look like the one time my brotha Kalthi tried glidin' durin' a flashstorm! So floofy!"

She gets her laughter under control, the chuckles rolling out before they terminate with a sigh. "I gotcha," she intones, the mage hand from earlier getting out an ale for the artificer. "Mayb's called it... an emergency induction port? For emergency booze!"

Sky blues flick the shoulder. "So... you never went and got it fixed?" she mentions. Sharp woman.

"I'm not completely poofy." Jay protests, downing the rest of the dragon ale.

>>Zz-zzap<<

That did it, he is a complete feather duster of fluff now. "An emergency port for booze? That's neat."

"I'm going to go check on the order, and brush my feathers down, back soon." He dashes off.

"Yes, an emergency, booze? I'm not sure, I just wanted something to make drinking water and things in public easier. I guess it's kind of for emergencies when I don't want to keep having to do that."

"I guess that alcohol has some manner of unique effect on Egalrin. My hair feels just fine." The artificer notes before taking another long sip. Stop to refasten. "No, I replaced the actuators with ones I got from the junkyard, but it still doesn't work quite right. That's okay though, I'm sure I'll figure out something to fix it. Just need to keep reading more books."

Slixvah breaks into another fit of giggles as Jay becomes a ball of fluff. "Byyyyee~" she waggles her fingers before turning towards Schara.

A snort leaves her. "Well, it /is/ tha' Bluedragon ale that I was sayin'! It's got a zap to it!"

She kicks her feet, watching the being clad in brass for a moment overlong. This is... a dangerous woman. With just two points of information, she extrapolates: "This artifice. You say you need to read more books. When did you pick up the craft?"

"It did have a certain sharp taste, but maybe I just don't know enough about alcohol." The artificer shrugs, or starts to, but they stop and the shoulders drop back down before getting too high.

"That is, no, I don't need it to read books I guess, that's not correct. I picked it up, a year ago. That's when I ended up in Alexandria to learn about it."

Slixvah grins and pivots on the bar to hop back behind it. Another drink is slid over. "That one's on me," she hums warmly before leaning across the countertop and watching Schara.

"Figured," she nods to herself. "This is certainly tha' place ta learn such a thing without gettin' too ostracized fo' it. I ain't good wit' tha' kinda stuff, but if it slips inta arcane manners, lemme know, I can give a hand. Ya seem ta be getting a good grasp of the fundamentals I can tell. Else, uh, you wouldn't be in that thing. Or, you would be, and you'd be stuck. Anywho, want me ta keep tha drinks comin'?"

The artificer shakes their head and raises the glass, and they place it on one of Slixvah's hands on the countertop. "No, there. Now it's on you."

Schara corrects with a low chuckle before they take the drink back. "Ostracizing isn't a concern, but yes, it is a good place to learn." They agree. "I have a good idea what I'm doing, at least I believe I do. If I need anything enchanted, I will remember to ask you, as figuring out some of the magical parts takes a bit of time."

The artificer stops a moment, then nods. "Yes, I would be unable to move almost certainly. As long as the drinks are the inexpensive ones, then sure, I would like more as I go. As long as the total does not exceed five silver pieces."

Slixvah blinks as the glass is sat on her hand. But once more, another snicker leaves her. "Ohoho, ya got jokes," she smiles. "And here I was thinkin' ya were just as dense in the skull as tha' armor ya wear." Teasing.

But- she shakes her head. "I ain't an enchanter. I just gots the arcane knowledge for mana and stuff. But I can take a look over stuff and figure out what it does fairly easy given some prep time. Had ta learn /somethin'/ from school."

She taps the side of her head. "Runnin' total right now is two and a half silvers, Scha-Scha. I'll keep 'em comin'. Dunno how much I'll be able ta talk. 'cause knowin' my luck-"

A gaggle of night time bar crawlers come bustling into the establishment, kicking the noise levels up a number of notches.

"- I'm gonna have ta actually work work," she sighs out a chuckle. "Just wave if ya want mo'." Slix steps away.

"Oi chuckleclucks! Get ya assess in a seat or I'm tossin' ya out! Ya break, ya buy! Now what ya'll want!" she yells at the group. More come in. More. More.

Looks like it won't be a slow night after all.

-End Scene-