Harmonica

Log Info

• Title: Harmonica
• Emitter: Cryosanthia
• Characters: Cryosanthia, Merek
• Place: W01: Wayfarer's Inn
• Time: Saturday, September 12, 2020, 8:28 PM
• Summary: Cryosanthia and Lily are at the Wayfarer's Inn because the weather is unpleasant. Merek arrives with a present for Lily, a harmonica, which the kobold youngling greatly enjoys. Cryo and Merek talk about things, primarily the answers he has gotten regarding the Animus shards. Ea faces another Apocalypse! And it's only been a couple months since the last. So, generally not positive. The gods seem opposed, or at least warn that enemies seek them also and bad consequences will result with their discovery. Cryo suggests some further questions and explains she's asked the Silver Empress for guidance. She also puts in an order for a corset that will enhance her sorceress bloodline. Merek tells her about rescuing a caravan of ghosts. The lizards go up to sleep and the seer departs.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=<* W01: Wayfarer's Inn *>-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

The inn's main room is large yet cosy, with plaster walls and a low ceiling supported by sturdy oaken beams. The decor is sparse: there's little other furniture save for a few rough-hewn wooden tables and chairs, and the only real object of 'ornamentation' is the large, moth-eaten moose head that's set above the kitchen door at the far end of the room. Still, the inn is pleasant in a simple, rustic way, and the delicious smell of food cooking makes it all the more inviting; the place seems to be more of a restaurant than a tavern, and a bar is nowhere in sight.

The innkeeper's counter sits in the east corner, within a few paces of the main entrance. Behind the counter is a small storeroom where one can purchase traveling supplies. The west corner of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase that leads to the second storey.

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It's a cold, raw day that has turned into a worse night. Rain falls from a blackened sky, no moon or stars showing. It trickles through clothes and covering, sending icy fingers that clutch at skin. And once it has settled in, a harsh wind comes and strips what heat is left.

Cryosanthia is no stranger to cold. She likes it, in fact, and still occasionally entertains daydreams of being the Queen of Mild and Pleasant Winter. If only things had gone better with the Fae. Her little pink kobold however is not as big a fan, and the sith woman is concerned that with her small size she'll suffer it a lot more. It's been quite a while since she's had to worry about reptilian heat management, but she does now.

So, white-scale and carnation-scale are at the Wilderness Inn, seeking warmth of fire and company. Hopefully Elly and Kami will be around, but a blaze will be present for sure.

Merek makes his way into the Inn, his dark attire on along with the hood, and what looks to be a beltcape, nodding to Cryosanthia while he notices the woman, then Lily. He approaches, then he places a harmonica next to them, the project which he was working with for the Sith'Makar's ward. A little smile and nod while he thinks about it. "It's nice to see you two, I brought you the gift."

'Oh! Thank you Merek.' Cryosanthia is surprised. Lily, is not paying attention. She is poking at the fire with a poker.

"Lily, greet Merek, and thank him. He brought a present for you." The whitescale carefully tells the kobold youngling, motherly instructional tones come through even in the different language. Lily jumps up, looks around, sees the harmonica and snatches it.

"Lily, say thanks," Cryo says again.

'Peaassss. Taaaa." The small lizard peeps, blinking up at Merek. She then blows the harmonica at him. fweeee! fwaaaa! blawrrr!

Cryo settles back, her tail coiling behind her, and waves at the nearby table. 'Have a seat, you are looking ... well. Dark." <draconic> 'Peaassss. Taaaa. The small lizard peeps, blinking up at Merek. She then blows the harmonica at him. fweeee! fwaaaa! blawrrr!

Cryo settles back, her tail coiling behind her, and waves at the nearby table. 'Have a seat, you are looking ... well. Dark."

"You're welcome," Merek answers to Lily in Draconic. Then he finds a place to settle in, pulling the hood back from the messy hair. "Well, I was busy seeking answers about the... Animus. What I found was not good. I will need to secure the Shards, there's no managing to get around it, even if I wish to pursue peaceful things."

"What did you hear?" Cryosanthia looks sharply at the seer, "I'm still waiting to hear what the Silver Empress wishes. I'm starting to think Tae is right about the gods."

"It might bring about an Apocalypse to all Ea," Merek mentions then. "And enemies seek the pieces. There are gods, not the evil ones, the ones we respect, who don't want to have him back," he states.

"Well, an Apocalypse is hardly new Merek, we just finished facing one down two months ago." Cryo says with a sigh that makes her breath visible. Perhaps the world on the brink of being destroyed anew will help her get over what saving it cost.

'wwwweet' 'wwam' 'fhmmm' 'pllaa', Lily plays with the harmonica, testing it out. Cryo looks over and smiles.

Back to the man, "I'm not surprised enemies seek the pieces. If one person starts looking, all will be obliged. Now it will be a contest to see who can secure what."

"I'm not surprised the Light Gods don't want him back. They are prevented from acting directly on Ea by the treaty, according to the Animus society, but they should have control of their metaphysical planes. As such, they could have raised Animus but ascended Sierrel instead. I'm not surprised they have no interest in bringing him back. Can you elaborate further on what you asked, and what the responses were?"

Merek looks to the fireplace, then to Cryosanthia, with a nod a bit to the woman, he looks tired and older, still he keeps that Celestial way to him. "I don't know which gods, I only know I asked if this might be apocalyptic. Yes, the Celestials aren't really clear if actually bringing him back will even be beneficial. The work of Adventurers might change things. So far, the society seems trustworthy. At least for their goal, that doesn't mean it's a great idea."

A look to the place in thought, scratching along thick stubble while he nods, "I might look into it further, all the same the answers don't make it look like the best idea, when the Celestials can't even answer if they think it might 'possibly' be beneficial."

There's a shower of sparks in the fireplace as one of the lower logs breaks under the weight of one it supports. Lily claps, and holding the harmonica in her mouth with her lips alone, she grabs the poker and starts poking again. Streams of sparks fly up the flue.

"The society didn't adequately answer my questions, or the oruch's. A god that is beholden to men for raising him, that doesn't seem a good idea. Nor the struggle that will ensue between him, Taara and Eluna. How will that disruption of magic not affect Ea? They could be successful in their actions and still doom us. Protective spells might fail, artifice might stop working, animals might get innate magic. The possibilities are large. Their approach seems to be 'better do it before someone else does, and hope for the best.'" Cryosanthia huffs an exhale again, absently casting her Arcane Mark on the table. She leans forward, "Can you ask directly, of the Dreaming Dragon, 'Do you approve?', 'Dragonfather, do you approve?', 'The Mountain, Clutch Mother to the Stars, 'Do you approve?'."

She raises her hand in a shrug, "Where is Animus, with the Death Singing Dragon? Does she approve or disapprove? These would be good things to know."

"I can attempt to reach their Court," Merek mentions, with a nod along to Cryo, then he thinks about it. "I should be able to manage," he adds. With that he would look to the fireplace, "It's all crazy, I thought we were finally able to relax," he admits. The man then looks to Lily, and back to the Sith, "You know, I mean... I want to keep people safe."

"This one does too. This one wants her, all the hatchlings in Mictlan and Am'shere to have a future. How the Gods can't act on Ea but their mistakes can fall to the ground and cause us problems. If you knock a glass off the table, it is your actions and your fault." Cryo scratches at the table again, then nods, "Let me know what you find out. This one has arranged for a message to reach the Silver Empress. I hope to hear her thoughts."

She shakes her head, "Wait, I've said that. Somehow I have egg brain without having had eggs."

Lily laughs, keeps poking the fire.

Merek nods a bit, while he takes a moment to think about it, looking to Lily, then to Cryosanthia, "I will do what I can to protect people. Like always." There's a smile while he nods a bit, "Anyway. I will look into that, you are doing well?"

Cryosanthia looks down at herself, the clothes she's wearing which are partly something light for Mictlan, with a travelling rain-cloak on top of it. She pulls a sleeve back, looking at her white scales and rests her arm on the table. "I guess you can't tell by looking and that's why you always ask."

"This one is well, tired, Lily is a joy. This one spoke with Faran's mother, and Tae. She is hunting those that destroyed Lily's nest. I do my little things in Mictlan and in town, it is well." The white sith exhales, running one hand along her horns, "this one has not been thinking ahead much. Oh! This one did have ideas for a few things, enchantments you might make. This one would pay, of course, clothes and perhaps to the tambourine."

"I can always offer magical enchantment to equipment," Merek mentions, with a nod along to Cryosanthia, then he takes a moment to look thoughtful, "As for that, it is good to know people are looking into it." He does add, "Yes, sometimes difficult to tell with you," he nods. "Well, it's good to know you have joy."

Cryo nods, "Well, you talked about robes that would bring out my draconic heritage, and I thought about those often while I was in the tower. This one is still not sure Salina didn't help me along in that direction. This one is interested in that, perhaps not as robes. A corset though, would go well with my swashbuckling ensemble, and be flattering."

She straightens in her seat, splays her hands, "Also this one heard of Mnemonic vestments, that might allow me to cast more spells. That would greatly assist. Levitation on my boots, though I should ask Delilah for those. I have wishes for an amulet that would make my hide tougher or my claws stronger, or the tambourine could have Expeditious retreat."

Lily keeps fweeeting the harmonica and stirring up the fire.

"These are doable, we will begin with the nice Robes though, most expensive, and longest to work on," Merek mentions, while he nods a bit, looking to Cryo. "With that in mind, I will make it for you, it will come to 9600 GP, to be paid up in front," he states. "I think that the corset would be perfect!"

The white sith'makar nods, pulling up her haversack. She reaches in and brings out a stack of coins, then hands them over. "The corset then, we shall discuss the others once it you've finished."

She tilts her head, "Do you need to measure me, so it will fit correctly? This one can find some string."

Merek nods a bit to Cryosanthia, while he seems to think about it, "Sure, that should work unless you already know," he notes, then takes the coins, placing them into a pack. The man looks to the fireplace, watching idly in thought, "It'll be nice to work on something like that instead of you know, the fighting."

Cryosanthia stands up. She concentrates on her sleeves and the raincoat vanishes, leaving her bare from the waist up, a long skirt covers her legs and tail. She puts a ball of twine on the table, taken from her haversack, "I don't, but use the strings, to measure around my waist then across the ribs and the middle, and the distance front and back."

Merek nods a bit, not minding doing all that. Considering she is a lizard, it's easier to gain measurements, taking the time to do all of that. When finished, he notes that, then it's back to writing, "Nice! Have all I need to make it for you," he mentions. "This will take... Fifteen days. Not as much as usual, now that I have extra details to work with."

"Oh, thanks!" Cryo says, and a little concentration later she's got a loose shirt on.

Lily manages to wack a log in half with the poker, causing more sparks and gleeful tweets on the harmonica.

"The whitescale looks over, "She does enjoy that Merek, thanks. She's playing nicely with others, mostly."

"That's nice to know, I'm glad she likes the toys," Merek mentions, while he makes a few notes, "I am enjoying you know, making things," the man mentions, while he thinks about it. "You make a wonderful mother, from what I have noticed."

"Thank you," Cryosanthia says, looking at Lily, adjusting herself on her seat, "This one raised a human, she is closer to my species. The differences are interesting, yet familiar too." She sighs, "One day..."

Sitting back the sith'makar gazes directly at Merek, "And you, have you had other projects or thoughts worth discussing?"

Merek seems to think about it a little bit, then nods to Cryosanthia, "Well, I'm working with the gardens, you know that always seems to make things a bit better." He then looks to the place, "I keep to myself, generally."

"Gardening is good, keeping to yourself makes sense." Cryo says.

Lily abandons the fire and tries to climb onto the sith'makar's lap. She keeps peeping the harmonica at her as she does. It sounds like she might be blowing the word, "Sssassa" through it.

"What brought you up to the Inn, oh, the harmonica I guess."

Merek nods a bit to the two, then he thinks about it, "Well, that as well as what I found about the Animus as well," he mentions. The man looks to the fireplace.

"I hope the Silver Empress does not ask me to find them." Cryo says, adjusting Lily on her lap and encircling her with her arms. The little kobold snuggles up against her stomach and hugs her arms around her. She exhales again, blowing through the harmonica.

'Fwwweeee'

Cryo holds her and strokes her head, "this one does not want to risk it. So the Empress herself could become a God, I would. She would join the other dragons with the knowledge of how we fallen have suffered. That, might be worth the risk."

The white sith shakes her head slowly, "but for another softskin to ascend, no. They are too reckless, take too many risks, have little empathy for others. Ask Merek, if the Silver Empress should get the shards."

Merek seems to think about it, lifting his brow at the comment about his kind, although he doesn't. "Well, I can present these to your Dragon, Vardama. Perhaps Eluna for this one, it depends what you want asked of who, can you tell me which you want specifically for each question?" he asks, to clarify.

"The Dreaming Dragon or the Death Singing Dragon." Cryosanthia says, leaning forward to hug more closely her kobold youngling. "The Dreaming Dragon you have better ties with, though the Death Singing Dragon may have better answers regarding Animus. This one is afraid a poorly worded request to the Lady Greyscales might be heard as a wish to bring the Silver Empress to her. You are smarter Merek, pick the one that makes the most sense, if it doesn't matter, perhaps Lady Greyscales."

She makes a small snort of a laugh, "Don't ask The Pale Green Dragon, whom you call Ceinara. This one thinks her answer would not reveal much."

"Well, it is often their Courts that answer, although they answer in attunement with what the gods wish, I will think on that," Merek admits, while he then scratches along the thick stubble. "I will work on that." There's a look between the two, "In the meanwhile, besides what you want magic-wise, anything else I can do for you? I always like to have something to do with myself."

"Well, there's something you might do Merek." Cryosanthia says, taking the harmonica out of Little Fang's mouth. The carnation kobold has fallen asleep. The sith tucks the toy away in her haversack. "There is a town down the coast on the way to Charnath. We left some slaves we rescued there, before everything happened with the Vampires of Veyshan and Salina. The town had lost a lot of people, this one isn't sure what happened. I was considering going there, but should stay here for now, for Lily, Faran and Braelnoir. You could check though."

"Also, see if you can get the nest killing contracts at the Explorer's Guild to go away."

Merek nods a bit to Cryosanthia while he thinks about it, "I will do both of these things for you," he offers. The man looks to the fireplace, "The contracts will take a bit of work, I will pick them up then take it diplomatically. That's probably the easiest way, and perhaps... Talk to a few people to make sure that people don't put them up. I will check on the freed people. You want me to bring a few supplies to the folk?"

"I honestly have no idea what they need." Cryosanthia says, "Faran, Ezil, Shara and Zap, we meant to go back, we just hadn't. So much happened since. They might be fine, they might need supplies."

"I'll bring a few just in case," Merek mentions, while he nods a bit to Cryosanthia. "I recently assisted a few ghosts with getting to to finally find peace."

Cryosanthia blinks, "Ghosts? Aren't they evil? How did you help them?"

"No, and all of them were in a loop with what killed all of them, an evil storm. We managed to bring them to safety, which of course managed to take care of the loop. The men, women, children, all can find peace."

"Wow, that weird storm a few days ago?" Cryo sits taller, sounding surprised, "You were in that? That's what that was about. Wow. That's really good Merek."

She holds Lily protectively.

"Ya, it was magical in nature and all," Merek mentions, nodding a bit to Cryo, while he thinks about it. "We were in the middle," he admits."Anyway, it's nice to be back to... Alexandria."

"It's not really Alexandria all the way out here Merek, it's almost another world." Cryosanthia says, looking around the Inn. "I really like the TarRaCe, Sabina's place, it's nice, the bath's especially."

"It's good that you helped."

"Thank you," Merek mentions, while he nods a bit to the woman, "I appreciate it. It's just... I liked being back at my own place, not doing anything, besides watching the snow. When all this is finished, I will probably be skilled enough to create my own Plane, I will make it peaceful."

Cryosanthia blinks. She stares. "Of course Merek. Well, try sooner than later in case the Animus society dooms us all. It would be nice to have an escape."

She looks down at the foundling in her lap, "It's her bedtime, and this one's as well. It's best to rest when she does. Thank you for the visit and the present Merek. We are staying over here, so I'm going to head upstairs."

"Alright, well you take care, and if you need anything, feel free to ask, I will look into those things for ya," Merek offers, while he nods a bit. "I will keep that in mind if they do anything too crazy."

The whitescale woman nods, slipping her remaining things into her haversack and picking that up. It's slowly filling up with Lily's things, she may need to get another. She makes a short curtsey and keeps the kobold close to her hip, then she heads upstairs to bed.