Deck the Halls

Log Info

• Title: Deck the Halls
• Emitter: Cesran
• Characters: Cesran, Jinks, Aryia, Seyardu
• Place: Fernwood Pub
• Time: January 18, 2022
• Summary: Cesran is busy studying and having a meal in the Fernwood. Jinks arrives from the streets, having lost and found his key while Aryia comes from the rooms above. They give Cesran an update on their recent successful retrieval of a lost monk's soul over a wager of cards. Seyardu coming in to thank Cesran for the tuning forks for their travels. They speculate next steps: shoving the monk into a harmless artifice, recreating her body with powerful magics, or having to suss out the original body . The first is shot down, the second is mulled over and not stricken out, and the latter is the most probable avenue. They brainstorm some folks that could help out, but are ultimately muddled on how to proceed.

Cesran is sitting at one of the tables and he's reading through some papers with a book in front of him. He writing in the books as he looks over the papers. A half finished meal is beside him and he pauses a moment to take a bite of the food before he goes back to writing. His staff is behind him looking on, but not disturbing him. It's towards the end of the dinner hour so most in the pub have moved on to drinking, rather than eating.

"How's the head, tallman? Heard you've rented out a corner..." Jinks has made his way from the bar to Cesran's table, already a bit rubbery in the legs and flushed at the cheeks. He takes a step back and to the side, face twisting into a knot before he turns to sneeze into the crook of his arm. "... Mulria's sideways smile..." he sniffles.

The gnome pads around the table and helps himself to a seat, half-climbing and half-falling into it and lifting his bottle and glass to rest on the tabletop. "This weather," he complains through a stuffy nose.

A young, scarred mul'neissa woman slowly descends the stairs from the rooms above. Lips pursed in thought with her hands in her pockets, jacket unbuckled.

The muse's musings breaks her out of her thoughts as Aryia glances over, blinks, then adjusts course from the exit towards the growing table.

She offers a simple up-nod in greeting.

Cesran looks up from his studying and he gives a friendly smile, "Hello Jinks. It's good to see you. Thank you for the concern my head is fine or so the clerics at the Eluna Temple tell me. I just have to be careful not to dwell on certain thoughts." He nods, "Yes it looks like it's been quite bad out there, makes me glad I prepare endure elements every morning." He nods to Aryia, "Hello Aryia, how are you doing?" He asks after he puts the writing utensil and papers down so that he can speak and use hand speech.

"Don't we all." Jinks laughs when Cesran mentions his endeavors to avoid dwelling on certain topics. The gnome produces a pocket square and whips it open, wiping at his angry nose. "Misplaced by key the other night and had to double-back across the city to find where it'd fallen out of my pocket and now--" he gestures at his face.

"Coyote laughs, tallman," he turns to greet Aryia with a smile and nod. "OH!" He wags a finger at Cesran. "We're back from the Halls..."

Aryia pulls her hands free as she settles against the wall. "Then best we strive to stir any such thoughts. I'll be vague. I'm... pretty good, all things considered."

Her lips quirk up in a light, honest yet tired smile towards Jinks. She lightly nods, then motions carefully, "Yes, we went to the Grey Halls. Did a trial with Vardama. Was... kind of fucking weird, but it could not have gone any more smooth. I think Coyote was /actually/ helping this time around."

Her light smile breaks into a broader grin. "I dare not say any names for the sake of the brain worm. But...! We have sister's essence. I won't say where it is, but it's safe." <Handspeech>

Cesran ughs, "That's the worse, I'm sorry that you lost your key, but I'm glad that you were able to find it. No one should be out on the streets at night the way the weather has been lately." He ohs, "I'm glad that you were able to go and make it back and I'm overjoyed that the mission was a success. I'm sorry I wasn't able to come, the Temple of Eluna had more observations they wanted to make before I was deemed to be allowed back out into society. At least they didn't press any charges."

The doors to the fernwood pub open slowly, and with as little time to let more of the chill wind inside a familiar sith-makar slams the door shut. She was wearing a long scarf pulled tightly around her neck, but otherwise looked mostly the same. And further in she stepped, finding a table filled with several familiar faces.

"Peace on your nests, all of you. Thank you again for helping to supply the tuning forks necessary for the travel, Cesran." The silverscale greets.

"Just need someplace to stick her now, yeah?" Jinks says, grinning between Aryia and Cesran. A quick sniff and he's shaking his head and having another drink. "Maybe a little clockwork thing without any sharp bits until she works out any lingering frustrations..."

The gnome reaches into his jacket and produces his golem deck secured in the same silken ribbon. He sets it down and taps it. "Genuinely my most prized possession. Wouldn't sell this for a dukedom in Isobar-- and to think the idea came from a story about Coyote playing the Harpist at a table game for hearth and belonging. And the Harpist won in that story."

The gnome leans back in his chair and offers a limp-wristed wave at the sith-makar. "Good evening, tallman." And then his head lolls back towards Cesran. "What's the plan for, you know...?" He taps at his temple with two fingers. "Surely that isn't something you plan to just let rest."

Aryia gives Jinks an empathetic look at the lost key. Perhaps something she herself had been subjected to once or twice before.

She smiles at Cesran, giving a sharp thumbs up. "The Vardama temple is going to have to get to /love/ Jinks," she softly snickers. "That is good. Glad nothing remiss came of that."

The mute nods, chuckling. "Shit, she'd be so upset about that."

Her expression softens at seeing her silverscale friend, the pugilist waving her on over. "Hey, peace on your nest."

She nods along with Jinks. "Honestly, that deck of cards is the luckiest I've ever felt. I thought I was going to faint with that hand I pulled...."

She looks to Cesran, interested, a brow raised. "... last I heard, Verna had some new methods to attempt about that." <Handspeech>

Cesran nods politely to the silverscaled sith'makar, "Peace on your nests. Please join us. I was happy to help, I'm just glad that the Temple allowed me to produce those tuning forks for you, although I'm sure they thoroughly inspected them before giving them to you." He hmms, "Well I've had some thoughts on that. I could use a spell to recreate her body and try to put her back into it, that would just leave another body out there. Rather costly too, but she'd be back in her own body. Another thought is that we can plan some sort of ambush, but that's very dangerous given the current location of the individual and the particular set of skills that individual possesses." He ohs curiously, "I take it that deck had something to do with your adventures in the Grey Hall?" He asks curiously as he looks at the deck as it sits on the table. "I do plan to, but there was a blip, you see Seldan has the research that I need and well for a couple of days I completely forgot who Seldan was and of course now that I remember he can't be found."

"Yes. I am sure that would be incredibly helpful, Jinks." Seyardu chuffs, fixing the gnome with a long stare. "An excellent way to limit someone who has punched aspiring gods to death, making sure they do not have sharp parts."

Seyardu sighs and moves to sit down at the table. "I can not say for certain if the tuning fork made to return here worked or not, but the one to reach the grey halls was effective.

"And I worry for Verna with Jinks stopping by there every day. Hopefully she will be able to adapt. Good excercise since it is in the mountains, however, and it is important to remain active in your older age, Jinks."

"As for what you speak of? I do not know, Cesran. I do not know if it would recognize a new body, and resurrection magic may not work, since it is not dead to begin with, per say. So that is something to determine."

"The avatar we sat with suggested a game and wagers." Jinks tells Cesran, tapping his fingers on the deck. "So we played golem and made our bets. This was the one thing I was able to find when I returned to Alexandria from the Hells, tucked away in that Tsura witch's shop in her 'found oddities' section. My golem deck from Clockwork Point, gifted me by my first love-- who left me because I spent too much time at the tables and not so much with her." He smirks at the irony and sighs.

"Mourner Verna is quite the sense of humor... as I think you know," the gnome sniffs at Aryia before nursing again at the bottle and slouching down in his chair. "And I'm learning how to properly pay devotions to the Harpist." He cradles the bottle in his lap and holds up both hands, wrists crossed to immitate the Scales. "I already know a few of the songs-- and I'm still -quite young- and -spry-." He corrects Seyardu before issuing a mighty sneeze and a lengthy groan, sinking lower in the chair. "... usually."

The insight into Seldan's continued antics earn no further comment from the bard. Too many plates spinning already. But he does ask, "How much would you need to recreate her body, Cesran?" And looks blearily over the table, sniffing again.

Aryia lightly smiles. "Yes that deck was... crucial." Though, her lips morph into a faint frown. "You... forgot who Seldan was? That's... weird." she fidgets on her feet, thought of random memories going away not sitting well with her, since a decent chunk was recently removed. She scratches her head. Had she forgot who Seldan was?

The man never really occupies her thoughts, so... it was unknown.

She quirks a brow at Seyardu, smirking lightly. "I feel like she'd find a way to kick our ass regardless of what she was shoved into. But, yes, I think Seyardu might have the right of it."

She giggles silently. "Playing a card game for something as serious as that was probably the most insane thing I've done so far. And yes, I think she does," she gestures to Jinks, grinning a touch.

The topic of recreation makes the mute raise a brow. It was an avenue that they shouldn't rule out just yet. <Handspeech>

Cesran steeples his fingers as he listens and his mind is working, "Interesting. It seems like it was a gift for your winning. I hope that you don't misplace it again." He hmms, "Well for what I've done before I'd need to acquire 2 diamonds each worth 25000 gold. There might be another way, but that would require special equipment, although less then a diamond, but more importantly time and a bit of flesh from the intended individual. We'd also have to end the original, but again I'm not sure if we'd need to given the spell. These spells weren't intended to be used when a body is still living and the soul is separated from it. We also have to consider that there might be some divine aspect that would completely block my mortal magic, no matter how powerful."

Cesra nods, "Indeed it was weird and I feared that I was losing my mind. It was like he had been ripped out and then replaced, although I can remember not remembering. I'd hope that once we bring her back she wouldn't."

"Ten-years dead and they waited for me..." Jinks muses, lifting the deck and brushing his lips against it, then sliding it back out of sight. "Certainly not something to lose in the shuffle," he smirks and sniffs.

"You'll say I'm mad but I've always dreamed of doing that." The bard admits, swallowing and making a grimace as he gets a bit more than he bargained for in the process-- so he washes it down with another drink. "But... ugh... but against the Sly One. Imagine bluffing 'the Deceiver.' Coyote laughs, you'd need a bigger bed to host all the... well, nevermind." He grins lasciviously and sucks at his teeth. Drawing in a wheezing deep breath before issuing a phlegmy sigh.

"I have..." he cradles the bottle in his lap again and thinks. The illusion fades around his fingers and his rings take on a more mismatched appearance; a myriad of different-color precious metals and carved stones. He counts odd intervals off between his two pinkies and ring fingers. "... ten-thousand crowns in coin and jewels. I can get more as needed. I saw Aryia's sister fight the druid Un'eth as a massive wyrm. I can't offer any aid in fighting her if that potential power still exists in her body."

Aryia blinks at Cesran. Then blinks again. She looks down at her pockets, then pulls them out. Empty, save for some lint, a piece of hard candy ("oh shit, nice!" the mute mouths), and an ordinary key. "Yes, I don't have anywhere near that kind of coin. Guess we'll just have to beat the shit out of her body. Which, like Jinks said, would be a pain in the ass. Doubly so for me, since I don't know all her little tricks anymore. So for most of us... I'm not sure if I can go toe to toe with her. Maybe. I don't know. There'd need to be a plan."

She pats Jinks on the shoulder. "Well, dream come true. Mostly, with not as much of a fun outcome." She smiles.

There's a light, attention getting whistle that comes from up above on the second floor, a figure looking over the railing. A mul'neissa woman with an eye patch on, a violet eye peering down at the table. "Aryia, dear, I hate to press you, but we've a few more theories..."

The mute cranes her head up, sighs lightly, then waves to the group. "See you all around. Was just down here for a little bit."

She shoves her hands back into her pockets, and hops up the steps three at a time to vanish into a room above. <Handspeech>

Cesran finishes his food off before it grows even colder. "It's not mad to want to do something that grand, being able to fool the Deceiver. I'm sure every trickster has wanted to do that." He nods, "Thank you for the offer, we'll see what we will do. I'm still trying to see if I can make contact with someone who might be able to sneak us in. Hopefully we can grab the individual and get back to a safer location to get the body back so the right person can go in it." He waves to Aryia as she heads out, "It will be difficult to do as our allies who might be able to handle her seem to be growing short."

"I have gold to spare if needed, yes. It would be worth it." Seyardu sighs. "Last resort, though. And I do not envy trying to fight her currently, but it may be necessary. I just know what they are capable of."

The cleric waves off Aryia, glancing to the upstairs. "I do not know. I would hope there are still enough around still to help her. And perhaps enough planning can make up for that."

"She killed her lover with one punch." Jinks warns, draining the last of the bottle before returning the empty thing to the table. The gnome doesn't lay it flat and so it tumbles and he has to put a hand back on it to keep the glass from falling to the floor. He grins stupidly and shakes his head, taking extra care to right the bottle before standing up.

"Whatever I can do." The fancy gnome states, swaying on his feet. "Halani would help," he adds, trying to think of others but finding his head a bit too fuzzy. "But I guess I can fulfill my bargain to the Harpist from the Halls if needs be." He sniffs and coughs, holding up his pocket square and stumbling towards the door. Stumbling shoulder-first through the door as he blows his nose, the gnome makes his way out into the cold and wet Alexandrian winter.

Cesran nods, "Hopefully we can get Serene to accompany us, I had hoped Seldan would join as well, but he's now unavailable unfortunately." He looks to Jinks, "Yes that's what I'm trying to avoid. I don't need to be killed because of just one hit. I've no desire to visit the Grey Halls any time soon." He waves to Jinks, "Thank you. I'll speak with Verna, perhaps she has some information that would help."

"Then perhaps there is a way to stop it from happening again." Seyardu offers. "Spells that can be used to render that not a possibility. Not to say not to be careful, but that plans can be made to help."

She waves away the gnome, and shrugs. "I do not wish that for anyone either. I can't deal with Aya myself, but I would like to think there are things I could do to be of assistance. Of course, Verna would likely know a lot that can help us going forward."

"I hope so. Yes I've been struggling to come up with a plan for this. Getting into Charn is going to be the easy part, considering we'll have to try to locate and capture. And it's not just her it's whoever is controlling her body, they could have a whole assortment of powers that we don't know about. Yes I'll have to get in touch with her to see what we can do. Thank you for letting me know how the rescue of her soul went I'm glad it went well, but I have to be going. It was good to see you." Cesran says as he gathers up his stuff and heads out.

-End Scene-