Dunny Go Alone

Log Info

• Title: Dunny Go Alone
• Emitter: Jinks
• Characters: Jay, Merek, Schara
• Place: A07: Fernwood Pub
• Time: Thursday, October 20, 2022, 7:37 PM
• Summary: Jay meets up with three of Mama Bula's kids at the Fernwood Pub. They are playing a game for chores. They are joined by Merek and Schara. Jay returns Merek's cloak, and the game being played, another game the egalrin knows using seeds, and an epic ballad are discussed. Also, the danger of imposters trying to steal the Kid's secrets is raised. Gitz gives Jay a letter, which thanks him for his assistance so far. The kids leave, Merek dozes off, and the remaining two take him to bed.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-<* A07: Fernwood Pub *>--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

The common room of the Fernwood Pub dominates the inn, spacious and airy because of the high, vaulted ceiling. Ornately carved beams of dark, polished wood form a lattice overhead, supporting the arched roof two storeys above the floor. To the right of the double-door entry is a spiral staircase, winding upwards to a balcony that rings and overlooks the main area. Large windows at this level grant an excellent view of the river to the west and colorful market stalls to the north and east. An air of coziness is salvaged by keeping the pub dimly lit; parchment-shrouded mana lanterns hang at intervals from the base of the balcony, nestled amongst lush, magically propagated ivy and ferns that grow over this false demi-ceiling and the struts that support it.

The bar is sleek and simple, comprised of meticulously polished black lacquer. Tables are set under the darker niches formed by the balcony floor as well as on the balcony itself. A few are deliberately sized to accommodate halflings and gnomes, but the majority are meant for human-sized individuals. A large common table is on the main floor, set before a semi-circular stage situated against the western wall. Beside it, with pipes mounted upon the wall and running up past the balcony and almost to the ceiling, is a refurbished pipe organ made to look like the one lost when the Fernwood was destroyed during the Merkabah Siege.

-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=-

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Appearing, in Order  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jay          5'9"     145 Lb     Eaglefolk         Male      A perky male Blue Jay with a discerning eye.
Merek        5'10"    215 Lb     Human             Male      A black-haired, dusky male with golden eyes.
Schara       5'7"     120 Lb     Unknown           Unknown   A Tall figure of burnished metal with a fur lined cloak.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  Mama Bula's Kids  =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Tamzin                           Human             Female    A rail-thin waif with a boyish build, button nose, freckles.
Gitz                             Goblin            Male      Yellow-Green skin with yellow eyes, half-shorn head.
Dunny                            Shadow Elf        Male      Dark grey skin with mottled grey blemishes, scarred scalp.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=  As the GM  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
Jinks        3'4"     39 Lb      Gnome             Male      A gnomish fellow in fancy garb and jewelry.
-=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=--=

Outside it is cold, dark, with stars glittering in a sapphire sky.

The white, black and blue egalrin that storms in the door has nothing to do with the storm brewing outside, beyond a tenuous colour correlation. He hops forward before the door slams on his tailfeathers, and adjusts his cloak. Avian eyes alight on the many present, seeking something, someone, or preparing to duck a thrown plate.

"Something to drink." The bluejay says cheerfully, "something thick and meaty to eat."

Merek makes his way into the Fernwood Pub, taking his time to adjust the dark attire which he wears, spiky ponytail pulled back while he looks to Jay when he sees them about, waving a little. The man will take the time to settle in and relax while he's about.

Three familiar forms occupy a middlish portion of the long common table, diverse in specie, activity, and mood. They really don't stand out from the general crowd-- short of being a bit more humbly-dressed than the average patron. A few empty chairs flank them.

A gobber with light yellow-green skin and freckles stands on a chair sized for a human to look and lean over the table with his back to the stage. He keeps having to lift one hand from the tabletop to push the long half of his hair back behind an ear as he considers the pieces of a gaming board smugly. "... going to sink!" He exlcaims. "You're going to sink and you'll be on chamberpots for two weeks, hah!"

His opponent sits opposite, one elbow braced against the table as she props up her chin and clows at the pebble-stacked gameboard and considers her next move. She's rail-thin with a sloppy, uneven haircut, and the vest she wears is patched and oversized. "Yor cheatin' yer wee green monster and I'm bloody well gonna punch yer in the nose wen I find out 'ow..." accuses, Tamzin.

The last of the trio is a dark-skinned lucht afflicted with pale, random splotches and limbs that seem a bit too long. He's as amused as he is scarred, splitting his attention between the two playing the game, his drink (which he holds in two hands), and the rest of the establishments. Dunny lifts his flagon up at the egalrin when he notices Jay looking around from the bar.

The bluejay adjusts his clothes. He's wearing what appears to be a three piece suit, made out of leather, with a rather fetching mithril vest incorporated into it, serving both as a shiny embellishment and extra protection. "Hey! You're the seer, Seer! Right? Nerek, was it? Come have a drink. OH hey! They're here."

He swoops over to the table, walking, but in a dipping-dash kind of way. "Hi. Hi. Hi! Gitz! Tamzin! Dunny! You came, great. What are you playing?" His head tilts as he peers at the board, birds and pebbles kind of have a thing going.

"Send my drink and food over here!" He waves at the bar.

Merek looks then to Jay, and takes his time to consider while he nods, "Merek," he says. Then he's watching when he walks off to talk to others, "Pretty interesting," he says, chuckling a little bit while he stands up, then walks that way to see what people are doing.

The ox-strength tavern was a bust, the price of alcohol was offset by the fear of being stabbed or beaten up or tossed across a table, or any combination of the three. New plan, go to a tavern or pub in a more reasonable part of town where that was less of a risk.

The door opens and in strides a bronze war golem, or at least it looks like it at first glance. They stop at the door, helmet swiveling one way, then another, before they see at least one familiar face, which seems like a good place to start. They walk over, looking at the table, then the Egalrin. "Good to see you again mister Truefeather, I will assume this is a good pub if you are here." They state in a low tone coupled with a small bit of static as the mouthpiece of their helmet lights up behind a metal grill. "Do people play board games here? Or is this some form of gambling?"

"... 's'called 'button yor Nanny Goat Race.'" Tamzin grumbles, reaching her hand over the three-by-three board and floating her wiggling fingers over four different squares that still have two differently-colored stones in them (red and white). There's a bowl with a mixed bunch of grey, white, and pink stones sitting near to the halfling-- who only smiles wider at the tomboy's grumblings.

"She's just mad she's losing," explains Git without looking from Tamzin's hand over the board. "It's called 'Skiffs.' I'm white and Tamzin is red... this is the 'lake,'" he points at the board, "and that's the 'storm.'" He finishes by pointing at the bowl.

There are a few boxes on the board that only have a single white stone. The freckled human woman ignores those as she works on making her choice.

"I'm the distributor," Dunny chimes in after slurping at his ale. Git corrects 'dealer' out of the side of his mouth without looking up from the board. "We didn't know when you'd get here so we decided to play for the dissuasion-- and it's both!" He tells Schara. "The skiffs can be worth voluntary sums... but we play for chores."

"Oh. Oh. Neat." The bluejay says, getting a chair, waving for the wargolem and the seer to do the same. He takes a bundle out of his briefcase and hands it to Schara, "Here. It's your cloak! It was very helpful. Thanks!"

Turning back to the game, his head flicks around as he examines the positions and brings his chair close. "What sort of chores? So it's Skiff or Button your Nanny Goat Race? Is the lake better than the storm? It's okay you didn't wait, I might have worked later."

"She just means 'be quiet.'" Dunny tells Jay. "'Button your face.'" Tamzin growls as she lowers her hand to make a move...

Merek will move to take a seat, and he nods a bit to the bluejay, while he watches and listens. Doesn't seem to be that he is giving a lot to the conversation, at least while he considers. The man does take the time to order a drink.

"Oh, I haven't heard of 'Button Your Nanny Goat Race' before." The bronze figure responds, tilting their head to one side. "Are the white and grey pieces supposed to be the goats?"

"Oh, thank you for returning my cloak, Integrity. That is certainly Integrity on your part." They respond gratefully, unbundling the fabric and working on refixing it to their armor. "Ah, that was a figure of speech. The game sounds interesting, but is it wise to leave a distribution of chores up to chance?" She continues upon it being properly explained.

"Face," sighs Tamzin. "Nanny Goat Race. Face. Button yor face. None of yer ever learned ter rhyme?" She finally grabs up one of the red stones and a white stone from another of the nine squares, setting them down before her. By the way she sits back and roughly rubs her face with both hands it's easy to tell she isn't happy with the move.

Git, on the other hand, is practically hopping as he reaches out and lifts one red and two white stones from the same square. This leaves three squares with only a white stone on the diagonal. "Yes!" He hollers, dropping the three stones into his mismatched pile. "Tamzin is the Queen of the Stinkypots!"

The lucht sets his drink aside and leans forward in his tall, small-person-sized chair. He scratches his long scalp scar as he inspects the board and gives a nod. "Git wins on the damnable." He uses the longest digit on his three-fingered hand to illustrate the line. "If we played for money, Git would get the espoused agreed-upon before the game for each skiff in his pile and still on the board." The odd-looking halfling explains further, glancing around for questions before he and Git start cleaning up.

Tamzin mumbles into her hands.

"Rhyme, no, but I can recite the three hour epic of Cernan and Ceiwen stealing the sun and hatching the moon so Kakkai'on can never hide in complete darkness, only to be semi-thwarted by his black moth that endlessly circles it." The bluejay replies, watching Tamzin's move and understanding none of it.

The gobbo's triumphant win prompts a clap, followed by a question. "Is that a rhyme too, or she's won the chamber pots?"

This is followed by a nod to Dunny, "Oh, right, that makes it perfectly clear. I usually play Awale'."

Merek looks to everyone and doesn't really try to follow that whole conversation, taking his time to drink from the warm milk that he is given. The man sighs, while he takes the time to relax, finding a place next to the bird, pulling a blanket which he keeps with him to his face so that he can nap. "What's Awale." He does manage that.

"You said race, not face." The artificer notes, finishing with their cloak and giving it a billow with one of their hands to get it to resettle properly. "No, no rhyming. Didn't see much point in studying rhyming due to the lack of pertinence to my work."

"I don't know any epics either, or stories like that. It sounds interesting though, but that must be a really big moth."

"Most games I know were played with cards. Those are nice since you can play all sorts of different games with cards, so it's efficient to buy a pack of them. But you can't get into more specific games like Skiff, which require more unique playing pieces. I can see the appeal."

The loose 'skiffs' join the rest in the bowl, rattling down in infrequent cascades until the two smaller members of the trio have the table cleaned up. Then the board goes face down atop the bowl and they use a leather belt to strap it all together in an easy-to-carry bundle.

"It was my turn to empty and clean the latrines," offers Git smugly. "Now she has to do it."

"Yer 'ave magic spells that tidy the shit pots. I don't." Tamzin observes as she pinches the bridge of her nose and shakes her head. The gobber sticks his tongue out at her.

"We play cards, too," nods Dunny, "but Kerry-Anne and Heady were using our deck so we brought Skiffs with us." He knocks the board-cum-lid and winks his washed-out grey eye. "You look fancy," he adds.

"Oh?" Tamzin looks at Jay with one eye as he discusses the epics. Glancing to Merek and back at the egalrin. "Would yer singg me a song, coo-birdie?"

"Awale' is a game you play with seeds and holes, and two or four rows. You move the seeds around, sewing and then harvesting them when a certain number is in each hole. You only get so many steps, and the harvest conditions vary." Jay explains, tapping on the table to suggest a layout. "If you find rocks with little depressions ground in them, it might be a couple egalrin play there regularly. You can make the holes in dirt or just draw circles for them."

It absolutely sounds like a 'bird thing'.

The food arrives, at least Jay's does. It's a bowl of stew with a mug of hot chocolate. "Oh hey, hot chocolattes for all!"

Jay opens his beak at Tamzin, "Sure! Long as it's not a song and dance. Those are special. Any song in particular? Yellow Bird? Snowbird? Caged Bird? Freebird? Birdhouse in your Soul?"

Not to put too fine a point on it. He's the only bee in their bonnet. Build a little birdhouse in your soul.

Merek looks along to everyone and nods a little bit to the man and to Jay, "That's pretty awesome I will admit," he says, while taking the time to relax a bit. He does smile a bit to the bird.

"I'm sorry, I don't have a deck of cards on me, otherwise I'd share them with you." The artificer sighs. "Oh, Awale doesn't use cards either. Seeds are an odd choice for a game, but not that odd. Though I don't know if there are enough Egalrin around here to see something like that, Slixvah only told me there were three around here. I will defer to the lady at the table, but sure, I would like to hear some singing as well. It has been some time, most people at the hall don't take kindly to people making unnecessary noise when there's work being done."

"I were just 'avin' a laugh..." Tamzin tells Jay with a smirk. "Yer can save yor songs for the dangly-ribbon birdie." She leans back and goes to stuff her hands into pockets that aren't there on her stand-in vest, frowning and grunting. The gives a snort, too, when Sascha describes her as a 'lady.'

"That's fine," Git tells Schara on the subject of cards. "We're not staying out late while the imposters are around." The gobber bends his knees and drops into a sitting position on the oversized (for him) chair. "... but we could come out for awhile for some fresh air instead of being couped up all day," he adds, sounding like he's reciting something said to him for the last bit.

Dunny nods and scoops the Skiffs set into his bag.

"All right, I will!" Jay says cheerfully, sitting back and also adjusting his vest, before focusing on Tamzin, then Gitz. "What did that imposter Kerry-Anne take? Any idea why they're bothering you?"

He clacks his beak thoughtfully, "that does make for interesting alibis."

"Oh, so I don't get to hear the song then? That's unfortunate." Schara sighs. "Why does Slixvah wear so many ribbons anyways? Most people wear one, maybe two, in their hair. Is it a egalrin thing? I saw a giant sith-makar named Aelwyn the other day too, who wore lots of ribbons as well. Is it just something about Alexandrian fashion I am missing?"

"And what's this about an impostor? Someone impersonating people around here?"

"We're not supposed to talk about it as you might be an uncrosser," remarks Odundik. He nods and waves one of his too-longer fingers in Schara's general direction. "We can't even see you in that coaction."

Tamzin sighs and cants her head at Jay, waving him over to share a conspiratorial moment. When the egalrin draws in close enough she darts a hand out and deftly plucks a feather loose. She inspects it briefly and shows it to Dunny and Git. "He ain't a fake." She smiles an apology to the lawyer and shrugs. "Me jacket. Some fings in me pockets, coo-birdie. Mama finks they might be after 'er... or innerested in our treasure."

Git shudders. "If mister Oddskeeper can figure out the artifice..."

"They are her good luck tokens." The bluejay explains, shrugging his wings, "I don't know about the sith'makar."

He leans in as Tamzin waves at him. "Ow." He blinks, "of course not. The 'C' doesn't stand for 'Copy'."

The mention of treasure makes him sit straighter. "Oh. Yes. Some might be trying to steal that. Word is getting around. I'm sorry you lost your jacket."

"I guess she was pretty convincing."

"Ribbons are good luck tokens? But they just looked like ribbons." The artificer shrugs. "Was that necessary? I'm pretty sure plucking feathers is painful. And he's not some game bird, so scalding before plucking just wouldn't help." They then ask of Tamzin. "But I get it, something I'm not supposed to be here to listen for that justifies it, I don't know. I hope you can get your jacket back."

"..." Tamzin looks at the feather again and smiles between Schara and Jay. "Now I can curse yer if yer ever cross me," she laughs before tucking the feather into a rolled cuff of her faded shirt.

"Just be careful," Git warns Jay, pushing his broken nails back through his hair. "If you see us alone it's not us... at least not for awhile." The gobber leans forward and grabs his staff up off the floor and leans it against the table. "I could never figure out scrying or detecting but we're going to hire someone...

"Find Tamzin's jacket and then figure out what's going on." Git gives a determined nod.

Dunny nods and drinks the last of his flagon before licking his lips. "... and then they'll be really sorry." He side-eyes the unfamiliar faces at the table. "Because we'll... turn them over to the watch for equerry." "Ha!" Integrity laughs, "If that worked half the hobgoblins in Blar would have cursed me."

He considers it a moment longer, it's not as if magic is unknown here. "Don't curse me. Okay. Alone and it's not you. will make a note."

"Oh that's a great idea actually. Scrying can be expensive but it's not impossible." His head bobs, "Yes, meeting the watch generally makes you sorry. It's a good plan."

"Oh, you are some sort of witch then, I would probably ask you give that back to Integrity then, I don't see why you should keep that." The artificer states, crossing their arms. "I'll keep that in mind if I run into any of you at least. Seems obvious enough."

"Yor safe," Tamzin promises as she snaps at the two little men and stands up out of her chair. "We need ter get hammer and tack before they worry."

"You just want your 'Annie,'" Dunny drawls. The 'lucht is a bit disappointed, clearly, but stands up and shoulders his bag with the game without further complaint. "Maybe we could spar..."

"She needs to clean the latrines first!" Git reminds hopping down and taking up his staff. He reaches under his wrap and pulls out a sealed envelope, dropping that into Integrity's lap as all three gather up, wave, and head for the door.

Integrity takes the letter and quickly tucks it into his briefcase. It opens and closes like a bear-trap. Lawyers. "Good luck with the latrines."

He waits a moment for the thought to clear before taking another spoonful of stew. "Be safe."

He watches as the kids stand and depart, then exhales. "Well, tomorrow will be better."

Merek eventually looks about, while he nods to everyone, "Apologies, I think I am going to take a nap." The man seems to be a little bit distant while he yawns.

"Or not, just keep it then. I guess you're safe then, Integrity." Schara shrugs. "Take care then, I hope the cleaning won't take too long. And I hope you have a good nap."

"Always can be, I hope you're right. I've got my cloak back, so it's a bit better already." They nod. "Is this a good tavern? I've only been to the one, and it felt like the place was going to erupt into a fight at a moment's notice."

"It's a very good tavern. No one has thrown things or attacked me, and they have in just about every other one." The bluejay caws proudly. His eyes drift towards Merek, who is nodding off and hasn't finished his hot chocolate.

"He needs a room too. Allegedly." The bird clacks his beak, "I wonder if he for-saw that. He is a seer. Well, let's get him upstairs."

Integrity stands, moving to the assist the sleepyhead.

"That's good, Not being attacked in a tavern is good, I agree. I'll have to come back for one of those benders Slixvah was talking about if that is the case." The artificer nods slowly, turning her attention to the sleeping person. "I can't pay for his room, you'll have to if he needs a place and hasn't already paid."

The artificer pulls a small lever on their hooked arm, and there's a hiss of steam from the armor as plates expand and pistons rearrange themselves. "Good that still works, should give me enough extra leverage to carry them."

"Yes, I've got some coin. I'll cover it." The lawyer must be up to something. With the artificer's assistance, the seer makes it to bed.

The letter is written in a slow and practiced script on parchment that's only slightly creased and dinged at the edges.

Mr. Truefeather,

I wanted to formally thank you for your help in retrieving the missing pieces of my friend, Heady. I've come to understand that you're trying your best to help and do what's right. What happened to Ratto wasn't your fault; I know that I've made my own mistakes.

(I still believe it was wrong for the Academy to kill him.)

Things have been frightening recently but knowing what our groups of friends can accomplish when working together, I'm less worried about what we might encounter tomorrow.

With sincere gratitude,

Gitlweet Blustrunk, Necromancer-for-Good

Guardian - Guide to Slang
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/jun/09/guide-to-cockney-rhyming-slang