Two Daeusites Walk into a Bar
Log Info
- Title: Two Daeusites Walk into a Bar
- Emitter: Andelena
- Place: The TarRaCe
- Summary: Dolan's working too hard, so Andelena insists on bringing him to the TarRaCe for a drink. Irshya greets them and gives them the rundown on the baths in addition to serving them drinks. The two Daeusites resolve to enjoy the baths once they finish their delightful conversation with Irshya.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* The TarRaCe *>--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
Inside, this two-story structure has been almost completely opened up. Generous windows on both stories allow daytime sunlight and cooling night breezes to flow in as needed, while the brick walls have been whitewashed - contrasting with the dark-stained beams and supports, and the rich polish on the wooden floor. A broad strip of stone runs from the entrance to a framed doorway set into the opposite wall, with a sign above the lintel declaring that the baths are to be found that way.
The ground floor is sprinkled with tables and chairs of assorted sizes, offering welcome to guests both large and small. One whole corner of the building - into which guests are not permitted entry - has been given over to the kitchen, which serves as the domain of the famed monster chef Ligum Serforus. Mundane meals are available, but the chef delights in offering up obscure dishes made from the freshest of monster ingredients.
Opposite the kitchen a small bar runs in front of an array of shelves, displaying a broad selection of beverages (most of them alcoholic). The bar-top has been fashioned from what looks to have been old pieces of armor, fused and welded together before being polished to provide a near-smooth finish. Set above it, three human-sized statues have been built into an alcove in the wall: Tarien, Rada and Ceinara jointly keep benevolent watch over the room and its occupants.
To the right of the entrance, a small stage offers a platform for a handful of performers at a time. To the left of the door, a spiral staircase of wrought iron winds its way up to a balcony dining area, that is chiefly reserved for special events and parties.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Dramatis Personae =--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=- Andelena 6'0" 180 Lb Human Female Redhead with steel-grey eyes and powerful build. Dolan 5'10" 174 Lb Human Male Brown-haired human with scars down his face. Irshya 3'0" 35 Lb Goblin Female A small, blue-skinned Goblin in sea-green robes. -=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-
A cold night out with the bitter winter wind is usually a good sign that one should be hunkering down indoors.
Andelena sits down at a table as she intends on doing just that. She leans back into her newly found chair and sighs, her gauntleted hand plopping down onto the table's lacquered wood. "I'm ready for this damned winter to be over," she says with a groan.
The blue Goblin wanders in from the baths area, wrapped in what looks to be three or four sets of robes.
Little wet footprints follow along in her wake as she wanders past all of the tables, and disappears behind the bar.
The man across from her, looking weary and equally prepared to hunker down after a shift like this one, barks laughter, grinning back at her. "You're always ready for winter to be over, Andie. I wouldn't mind it being a little warmer, though, that's for sure." Dolan flops into a chair across from her, brown hair sweaty at the roots, and looks around for whoever might be a purveyor of food and drink. "How'd you spend your day?"
"Training," Andelena replies as she leans forward in her chair, apparently satisfied with her one brief moment of lazy respite. "I met a woman in this very place who's powerful enough to destroy boulders with her bare fuckin' hands. Her name's Aryia. So I've been training with her every day."
She smirks a little. "That's where I go after dawn prayers," she says. "Straight to the Colosseum to get my ass kicked so I can serve Him better. Still haven't been able to land a single scratch on her. She's fast."
A full ale glass rises up from under the edge of Andelena's table, and slides itself towards the woman. "AriAri comes here to relax in the baths after she kicks your butt.", says a wee scratchy voice. A second ale glass slides its way towards Dolan.
The little Gobbo in sea-green robes waddles away from the table, again disappearing behind the bar.
"Huh. I hadn't been to the Colosseum yet. Guess I ought to give it a -" And that's when the Gobbo comes out from beneath the table. Dolan's chair scrapes back, and he's on his feet in a heartbeat, staring at Irshya. "What the-" Suddenly, he's balanced on his feet, apparently ready to defend himself, all pretense of relaxation forgotten.
"Relaaaax, Bry," Andelena says with a little laugh, her steel-grey eyes crinkling in amusement. "Pretty sure she works here and is just giving us drinks. You're not on duty. Sit your rear back down and drink. Gods know we've been working."
She picks up her glass of ale. "C'mon. Don't leave me hanging."
"Irshya is good at walking around unnoticed. Most people tend to not look to high up or too far down.", says the little voice once more, from behind the bar.
The Gobbo reappears, with a drink of her own, which she brings to Andelena's table, setting it upon the table before she climbs into a seat and settles down.
"Irshya not mean to startle you. She offers free pair of shorts if need be."
Slowly, the man settles himself back down into his chair, his movements something like a spring uncoiling. "I hate being snuck up on." He reaches for his own ale glass and picks it up, sniffing at it and then taking a long swig. "Thanks," he tells the gobber, although he does start when Irshya joins them. "Friend of yours?"
"Not yet, no," Andelena replies. She holds her mug of ale up. "Very well could be. Way I see it, anyone who's buying drinks for us in this hellish time is a friend waiting to be made. Cheers."
She knocks down a hearty gulp and puts it down. "This poor guy in particular has had a hell of a time," she explains to Irshya. "Almost got punched the other day by some bint at the Temple of Eluna while he was on guard duty because she didn't want to wait in line. So I'm making sure he gets an opportunity to kick back and relax. Otherwise he's gonna get wound up so tightly I'm gonna have to massage the knots out of his back later."
"Irshya is pleased to meet you both.", the wee woman says, offering her hand up to Andelena for shaking, and the other to Dolan. "Always nice to have new people visiting her Tarrace." She eyes Dolan a moment, before glancing back to Andelena.
"Perhaps a nice long soak in the baths might help?"
Dolan chuckles and leans back, taking a good, long swig of his own, and setting aside the mug only to take the hand and shake it firmly. "Irshya, you said? Pleasure." He picks the mug back up again, eyes on Andie. "I wouldn't say no to that, if you wanted to. Did someone fix the bed yet?" His one brown eye sparkles with mischievous laughter. "A bath doesn't sound bad, either, especially not if it's hot. You have a bathhouse here?"
"Yeah, the repair guy came round. Damn thing's bolted to the wall now. Sure the landlord will have something to say about it, but we'll cross that road when we get it." Andelena smirks as she goes to down the rest of his ale.
She puts it back down and nods. "Yeah, heard about 'em. Haven't tried yet. Aryia says they're great. Just, y'know what happens if guys see me in any kind of undress--they act like my existence is suddenly a fuckin' competition and suddenly I've got them on the ground while they're sobbing for their mothers."
She shakes her head and grins. "Bry's witnessed more than enough of that."
"Irshya run the nicest baths in the city. The middle one is mixed company, and is warm... ish. The men and lady's baths are separate, but hot. Irshya could close one, and allow you two to soak on your own. If you behave." The Gobbo eyes both of the patrons, and squints. "Irshya be keeping eye on you both." She settles back and giggles brightly.
The mention of the bed has her blinking. "Which inn is this?", she wonders before she eyes Andalena suspiciously. "Are you a siren? Irshya have no patience for shenanigans."
Uproarious laughter bursts from Dolan at this exchange, and it takes him a minute before he can finish his own ale and set the mug down. "Oh, I've seen it, all right. I keep wanting to kick 'em and tell 'em hands off," he counters, but shakes his head at Irshya. "No playing in the bathhouse. Got it." Not that, from his tone, it sounds like he had any such plans anyway. "Don't worry about the bed. A little mishap, is all." He turns a look on Andelena that is at once adoring and mischievous.
"Promise you I'm about as ordinary as they come, Irshya," Andelena says with her own grin. "I'm just a powerful woman. Can't see it with all my armor on, but I have muscles that put a lot of guys to shame--so they start overcompensating for it."
She winks at Brydion in response to his adoring look, but she continues her explanation. "I got put up in this little shithole over by the lower markets," she explains. "Not an inn, just some shitty room until I figured out what I'm doing here in the city. I came here looking for Bry--that's a long story--but I also came looking for work. I'm a traveling Sunguard. Name's Andelena, by the way--sometimes I lose all of my damn manners, don't mind me."
She certainly doesn't talk like a typical Sunguard, but she's got the white cloak, shiny armor, and longsword to prove she's a Daeusite. "Anyway, I sat down on the bed the other night and it buckled underneath me. One of the legs snapped in half--anyway, nah, don't worry about us. We're not gonna do anything weird in the baths, promise."
Irshya laughs then, holding her sides.
"Irshya should have figured you'd be the Sun's own. At least..." She points an accusing finger at Dolan. "He is! You, on the other hand, I would have figured for anyone but Daeus."
Her giggle continues and she shakes her head. "Tarien, maybe. But Daeus? And now, of course, Irshya will have to see your muscles, so that she can judge just how true Andelena's words are for herself."
"Brydion," Dolan puts in, by way of addition, mirth still dancing in his eyes. "Don't judge a book by its cover, Irshya, she's more devout than I am. Maybe if she's going to show off, we'd best go back to the baths." He tilts his head at the back door where the wet footprints are drying on the floor. "Yeah, I serve the Knight, too. We'll abide by the rules, don't worry. He demands that of us.
"I know, I don't exactly sound like a fuckin' lawbook," Andelena says, "but the way I talk is better for a lot of folks. I'm a defender of the common people from evil, and a lot of them really don't like it when you have your high and mighty types talk to them like they're dumb. Because they aren't. A lot of 'em just don't have the same opportunities as nobility."
She points to Dolan across the table. "I was born into nobility, believe it or not. Born in Selentia, only daughter of three kids. Mom wanted me to be a prim and proper lady, so she sent me to a Temple of Daeus... where I met him. We fell in love, and my parents disowned me when I told them I wanted to marry him. Best decision ever, honestly. Never could stand their hoity-toity talk, and I had more in common with regular people than I do with nobility."
Andelena looks mischievous. "Sure, I could strip off my armor. Or you can watch me arm wrestle poor Bry over here and watch him fold like a stack of cards--although, heh, he's been training pretty hard, too."
Irshya seems pleased, but she shakes her head. "Irshya still has work. You two may go enjoy the baths, they are freshly cleaned. Should be quiet in there, no one was there when Irshya left." The Gobbo downs her multicoloured drink in one go.
"It was nice to meet you both. Irshya hope to see you around often. You two welcome to the Tarrace."
With that, the Gobbo hops down from the chair, little footprints following her to the kitchen, in the back.
"Thanks." Leaving the empty mug on the table, Dolan stands up, and extends a hand to Andelena. "I could do with a hot bath."
Andelena takes Dolan's hand and grins at him as she stands up to her full height from the chair, looking down at him. "Let's face it, you're just looking for an excuse to get my armor off," she says with a laugh before patting him on the head.
Her hand wraps around his as they walk to the baths.