Fear and Drinking in Alexandria
Rain falls from the sky, soaking the earth below and clattering on the rooftop in a constant reminder that its there. Occasionally a gust of wind shakes the doors of the little pub that is tucked away from the main thoroughfare. Not one of the more well-known establishments this one, but it is one known for its food being of a more palatable nature than those of other side-alley pubs.
For the last hour a woman has been singing lonely tunes in one corner of the tavern, her voice mild and fairly good but nothing to write home about. It's a comforting thing to listen to while you drink though so there's that. Now however she's stepping away from her post and heading to the bar for a drink. Either done for the night or simply taking a break.
Sometimes, you want to go where everybody knows your name. His duties done for the day, and with Andelena off doing heavens knows what, Dolan has decided to take himself somewhere where he can find some company, get out of the weather, and have a few before setting off in the morning. He's kicked back in a seat at the bar with a mug of ale in front of him, laughing and swapping bawdy tales with a couple of gentlemen to his left, his sopping cloak left by the door. When the woman comes up to the bar, he unconsciously scoots over to make room for her, whether she needs it or not.
Munch buzzes in annoyance, seated at the bar proper. The metal man hasn't been here long, but he doesn't seem too happy. "What the heck is this? I said a -strong- drink, not dirty water! Give me something that could kill a dwarf. STRONG. ...the chili is fine, thank you." Reaver, the massive adamantine battleax, is propped up on the seat beside him. The dragonhead etched into the metal rolls its eye, but keeps quiet, for now.
Halani heard once that there was a fighting style based on inebriation. That, to a certain point, the drunker the master got, the more effective he would be, erratic and irregular movements throwing his enemy off balance. Halani tried it once.
It didn't work. Since then, she hasn't tried to get drunk, but she is at the bar tonight, a half emptied pot of tea at her table and a plate bearing the crumb remnants of a halfloaf of sweetbread. Her eyes are closed, her legs crossed on her chair, almost like she's meditating.. aside from the gentle swaying and slight grin on her face as she listens to the woman sing. At least she was, until the woman stepped down.
The woman gets her drink from the bar and smiles warmly at Dolan as a sort of thanks for his making room for her. "Thank you kindly Sir."
Meanwhile the bartender fumes at Munch, growling a little and finally reaching under the bar itself for a bottle of clear liquid. "Alright then! Try this!" He pours the liquid heavily into Munch's mug and steps away muttering to himself about doubting that Munch can _taste_ the alcohol anyways.
The bar's one waitress steps up to Halani's table, taking in the mostly empty plate. "Should I take your plate miss?" She asks politely, but a little lazily.
GAME: Dolan rolls perception: (16)+9: 25 GAME: Munch rolls perception: (9)+21: 30 GAME: Halani rolls perception: (19)+29: 48
Munch can taste just fine! It's a highly unusual taste, but it still works. Kinda. The golem's face cracks open, and a long black tongue snakes out, dipping into the glass and flicking back into the Maw. "...good, thanks." The golem's leathery 'dreadlocks' twitch, and the metal man turns towards the door, magicite eyes blinking with a click.
"And the second rock exclaims "Pints?!" He turns to the bartender and tells him "two quartz"!" One of Dolan's companions is clearly into his cups, but the other two laugh anyway, and Dolan returns the woman's smile before turning to his conversation. He's about halfway there when the clang reaches his ears, and he sits up straighter, turning around in his chair and facing the door. He's still holding his drink, and takes a sip, but his attention is now on the door.
Halani pops open one eye halfway, regarding the waitress, and then the plate. She grins for the woman, bobbing her head. "Thank you, yes! It was very delicious, yeah? Thanks to you for recommending it!" She reaches for the plate, lifting it and handing it over.. only to pause and cock her head to the side. With the singing done, the din of the pub has risen.. but that clank seems out of place. "Huh. Expecting a buncha people tonight?"
"Not really." Says the waitress to Halani, taking the plate and ambling slowly away.
She doesn't get far before the front door veritably - bursts - in.
The creature that stands in the doorway is... Horrible. It's got tentacles. It's got... tiny eyes all grouped together on its massive bloated forehead. That's not what makes it so horrible. It's the _smell_ it smells worse than decay. It's like every raunchy, terrible scent that you've ever smelled has collected on this _thing_.
"What's a sewer-cleaner doing here?" Shouts one man, backing quickly away from the creature which is... slightly stuck in the door. It's quickly getting free though, urgently clawing at the doorframe to get IN.
GAME: Halani rolls knowledge/dungeoneering: (18)+3: 21 GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+17+7-1-4: (6)+17+7+-1+-4: 25 GAME: Halani rolls 1d4+2: (3)+2: 5
Halani makes a face. Not quite a gagging motion, but definitely something unpleasant. "Oi!" she yells at it, snatching up her teapot and hurling it at the 'sewer-cleaner' as she rolls out of her seat. It shatters against the creature. "Git! Go on! Go back to your home! You stink so bad!"
GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/dungeoneering: (10)+5: 15
In an instance, as the noxious stink hits his nostrils, Dolan's drink hits the bar with a splash. He's on his feet, and takes a couple of steps towards the thing, the leather harness holding his blade left under his chair at the bar. "What the hell is _that_ doing here?" he shouts.
GAME: Munch rolls intelligence: (5)+2: 7
Munch doesn't have a nose. A fact for which he is occasionally grateful. He does, however, retract his tongue and close his face. "Whoa, slow down. Plenty of chili left." He does grab up his weapon, seat groaning under the combined weight before he stands. He doesn't want to jump to violent assumptions here, but no reason to jump to peaceful assumptions either.
GAME: Dolan rolls will: (11)+7: 18 GAME: Munch rolls will: (20)+11: 31 (CRITICAL SUCCESS) GAME: Halani rolls will: (7)+19: 26 GAME: Halani rolls athletics: (1)+22: 23 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Halani rolls athletics: (2)+22: 24 GAME: Halani rolls reflex: (14)+22: 36
Halani feels the wave of fear wash over her.. but hey, she's been dead. Twice. It seems to have left her a bit out of touch with her sense of mortality. So she hops over the table and starts rushing the Otyugh. "Hey, hey.. sorry about the teapot!" she tells it as she approaches, weaving around suddenly panicking people. "Oi! Settle down!" Okay, too many people to keep track of. "Gonna help, yeah? Please don't step on me!" And then she surges forward, and slides.
Her slide takes out one of the patrons running across, and it affects her aim a little bit.. it's a miracle she doesn't end up stomped on despite her plea. Also a miracle; sweeping the feet out from under that patron took just enough of her momentum that she doesn't end up sliding right into something just on the others side. "Augh, gross!" she yells, stopped, and underneath the Otyugh.
GAME: Dolan rolls will: (3)+7: 10 GAME: Dolan rolls cmb-2: (7)+6+-2: 11
Dolan's features suddenly twist in horror as the fear washes over him. "The hell is that?" Suddenly somehow understanding the otyugh's position, he leaps forward and, with shaking hands, grabs at a tentacle to try to pull it through.
GAME: Munch rolls strength: (9)+7: 16 GAME: Munch rolls damage0: aliased to 1d3+7: (3)+7: 10 GAME: Aftershock rolls 3d6: (5): 5 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d8+7: (5)+7: 12
Munch looks to the crowded door. Looks to the wall. Looks back to the crowded door. Back to the wall.
We all know where this is going.
Clawed toes dig into the floor as Munch sets his feet, and MOVES, shooting across the floor to slam into the wall with all the force of a charging metal lizard-golem. It's a very specific unit of measure. Wood splinters, sawdust flies. "Oh yea-ow! Ow! Dang it. Okay, just- just a second..." Thers's a brief scramble as Munch claws and wiggles his way thru the small hole. Wings do not help matters.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+13+2: (19)+13+2: 34 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+2: (11)+2: 13 GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d6+2: (5)+2: 7
The otyugh screams again, obviously being hurt by _something_. It wiggles. It jiggles. IT PULLS. Dolan pulls. Together they surge forward and Halani takes a bit of a walking-over as the Otyugh surges into the bar. People have thankfully, mostly vacated the area now. Which means that you can see a shimmering grayness at the door. A sort of viscus... something.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d20+11: (13)+11: 24 GAME: Dolan rolls will-1: (18)+7+-1: 24
"Ow! Hey! Watchit!" Halani complains, trying to shield herself with her arms as the Otyugh suddenly surges forward again, trampling her. And then she realizes.. the Otyugh is no longer blocking the slime wall. "Oh, bother," she mutters, scrambling backwards back into the pub's interior before rolling back to her feet again. "Know what that is?" she demands of no one in particular, pointing at the.. thing in the doorway.
GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/dungeoneering+3: (1)+5+3: 9 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Dolan rolls knowledge/dungeoneering+3: (5)+5+3: 13
- YANK* step step "Sorry, sorry!!" Dolan shouts, hands shaking as he finally _pulls_ the thing through and into the room. He, too, staggers backwards into the room, the tip of the massive blade trailing on the floor. He stares at the revealed ooze, the flexible side of his features twisted in revulsion and uncertainty, but strangely, being able to _see_ it helps, and he pulls himself together and regathers himself into a defensive stance. "The hell is that thing?"
GAME: Munch rolls weapon28: (1)+20: 21 (EPIC FAIL) GAME: Munch rolls weapon28: (8)+20: 28 GAME: Munch rolls 2d6+11: (12)+11: 23
Munch strides foreward, his axe flowing like mercury as it reshapes itself into a jagged metal barbarian bat. The golem raises his weapon high, only to have the wooden deck crack beneath his foot. By dumb luck he catches himself and still lands the blow, setting the blob to quiver.
"It's a big grey blob!"
He's a helper.
GAME: Aftershock rolls 1d8+7: (3)+7: 10
The ooze slowly envelops Munch, swallowing the golem whole and wobbling around his form. Meanwhile the otyugh climbs over the bar and hides from the ooze. Trembling from head to tentacle.
GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+17+9+5: (4)+17+9+5: 35 GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+17+9+5: (2)+17+9+5: 33 GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+17+9+5: (18)+17+9+5: 49 GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+17+9+5-5: (16)+17+9+5+-5: 42 GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+17+9+5-10: (2)+17+9+5+-10: 23 GAME: Halani rolls 1d20+17+9+5-15: (14)+17+9+5+-15: 30 GAME: Halani rolls 2d8+2+5: (9)+2+5: 16 GAME: Halani rolls 2d8+2+5: (7)+2+5: 14 GAME: Halani rolls 2d8+2+5: (11)+2+5: 18 GAME: Halani rolls 2d8+2+5: (10)+2+5: 17 GAME: Halani rolls 2d8+2+5: (7)+2+5: 14 GAME: Halani rolls 2d8+2+5: (6)+2+5: 13 GAME: Dolan rolls cmb: (13)+6: 19
Without knowledge of what this thing is, or how to beat it, Halani has to give herself a mental shrug as she limbers up, her hands raising as she balances up on the balls of her feet. Time to start testing and ruling out! She flashes forward, unleashing a flurry of punches into the blooby ooze. And what happens is mostly expected. Each impact seems to send ripples and jiggles through it, without seeming to do much.. other than have Munch get knocked around as the impacts seem to translate the force of her blows right into him.
GAME: Munch RAGES!, gaining +2 to melee attack/damage/Will saves and 30 temporary HP GAME: Munch rolls weapon28+1+1-3: (19)+22+1+1+-3: 40 (THREAT) GAME: Munch rolls weapon28+1+1-3: (15)+22+1+1+-3: 36 GAME: Munch rolls weapon28+1+1-3-5: (20)+22+1+1+-3+-5: 36 (THREAT) GAME: Munch rolls weapon28+1+1-3-10: (2)+22+1+1+-3+-10: 13 GAME: Munch rolls weapon0+1+1-3-5: (13)+18+1+1+-3+-5: 25
"Hey, hold on a minute!" Dolan's blade clatters to the floor and he lunges forward. He takes a deep breath, then _plunges_ a hand into the silvery-gray ooze, reaching for whatever metal appendage is closest. "Let's get him out of there!" A hard _yank_, fueled by adrenaline, is enough to sploooorch Munch out with a massive sucking sound.
GAME: Munch rolls 2d6+13+1d6+9: (11)+13+(2)+9: 35 GAME: Munch rolls 2d6+13+1d6+9: (6)+13+(5)+9: 33 GAME: Munch rolls 2d6+13+1d6+9: (9)+13+(3)+9: 34 GAME: Munch rolls 1d6+7+9: (5)+7+9: 21
Munch shakes himself off, and nods to Dolan. "Thanks. Might wanna stand back." A shower of rainbow sparkles start are the golem's feet, swirling upwards, lending magical speed. At the same time, the golem starts to swell and steam, muscles bulging with power as dangerous chemicals surge within. The adamantine starts to drip green acid, and his face cracks apart, revealing row upon row of gleaming fangs.
What happens next has been censored by the board of No More Cruelity To Oozes. Suffice to say it's messy, and the Blob is no more.
"Ugh!" Halani says, dripping in ooze remnants. "Couldn't give /me/ a chance to 'stand back'?" she complains, trying to scrape it off of her face, then shake it off of her arms, flinging what she can to the floor.
"Sorry about that." Breathing hard, Dolan staggers back a pace or so while Munch goes to town, _staring_ at the remains of the ooze. "What in all the green garden hells was that thing?" He looks between the other two, his flesh eye wide. He, too, shakes off, ooze and otyugh slime a nasty combination.
Munch blinks with a click, peering innocently at Halani. "I gave you the same chance as you gave me." he declares, pointedly popping a wrist back into alignment. Looking to Dolan, he shrugs. "Some sorta ooze. They're usually spicier. Not sure if that's normal for this type of if this one's a mutant."
Peeking out from behind the bar the otyugh looks at the nasty slime everywhere and begins to make it's lumbering way around the group of ooze-covered individuals. "Hoooooome." It says mournfully, wanting out of this strange place it was chased to and back in the comfortable environment of its (usually) safe sewers.
The bartender and owner of the shop stares at the door. The wall. The slime. "Who's cleaning this UP?!?"
Halani raises a finger to point at Munch, opening her mouth to refute his words... then she drops her hand and nods. "Fair." she tells him as she shuffles out of the way of the shuffling Otyugh. Then she looks at the bartender, then looks at the mess, and then sighs again before she raises her hand. "Sewer sweeper," she gestures at the departing Otyugh for Dolan. "Slime," she then says, gesturing to her slime covered body.
"Yeah. Don't want to be on the wrong side of one of those things." Remembering the fear that had swept him, he shudders convulsively and walks back towards the bar. "I'll help," he says of the mess, looking around him. "Didn't realize the damn things could talk. I just knew you don't want to make one angry, because getting bitten by one is no good."
Tiny green light blink from Munch's wrist, racing across the surface of his skin to various points of injury before winking out. With each light, the dents and tears shift, repairing themselves, slowly, but steadily.
The golem raises a hand towards the bartender. "Only fair I fix the window, and can dispose of whatever slime gets swept up." Nodding to Dolan, he shrugs. "Took a minute to place it, but yeah, otyugh are smart. I mean, people smart, not like, wizard smart."
The bartender seems mollified by the efforts being made to repair his establishment. So he digs out some mops and hands one to his waitress who holds up her hands and shakes her head. "I'm NOT cleaning up slime! I quit!" She walks off through the kitchen and leaves the bartender sighing in her wake.
"Hard to find good help these days." He bemoans.
The otyugh clammors back into the sewer outside. It offers no help, but at least it doesn't try to stick around for snacks.
"Didn't think they were that smart," Halani admits, sighing as she looks at the mops being brought out. Watching the waitress enviously, perhaps, before she goes to retrieve one. And a bucket. And water. And she starts sloshing. "So. Uh. Anyone ever see that happen before?"
Dolan fixes the waitress' back with a stare, but accepts a mop and jumps in with a will. Swordsman or not, he appears to be no stranger to simple work, although he shakes his head as he takes a bucket and starts in. "She ought to be grateful nobody was seriously _hurt_."
Mop mop mop. "Can't say that I have. What in all the green garden hells _was_ that thing? Obviously it scared the shit out of the sewer sweeper."
Munch sets upon the wall, a combination of claws, fangs, axe, and magical bile swifting making for a reasonable window... hole. Hole where a window can go. The actual window is going to need someone who might be mistaken for a professional, which is to say, not Munch. "That? Sewer monster pop out and cause problems? Yeah, it happens. Not a blob quite like that, but all sorts of stuff down there, most of it happy to stay put. The occasion exception gets interesting."
Halani is definitely going to need a bath. Might be best to just toss her in the river. "Thinking maybe the sweeper wasn't the only thing chased out, yeah? Maybe one of us should let the guild know." A momentary pause. "And the guard, yeah? Definitely the guard." Slosh, slosh.
While Dolan is not in the same level of mess as the other two, he, too, is definitely going to want a good, long bath, both arms and sleeves covered to the shoulder in slime and nasty - and he sure isn't smelling anything. Spilled alcohol and tea doesn't help either, and only mingles with the miasma. "Yeah, that's a good thought. I can stop by and let the guard know, if you'll poke your nose in at the guild." Mop mop mop.
Munch buzzes quietly, and peers around. "Panicked crowd screaming about a monster, sorta surprised Watch hasn't shown up already to ask questions. Might be waiting to make sure everything dangerous is dead- I mean assure all innocent civilians are secure." Grabbing up a glob of slime, sawdust, and broken pottery, Munch's face splits open again, and with a quiet grinding, swallows the mess. A picky eater he is not. Might want to look the other way.
Halani's eye twitches when she sees Munch start to consume... things. And then she takes a small step away, lest he mistake her as something edible. "Well. Y'know. Hole in the wall, out of the way, yeah?" She gives up on the mopping for the moment, her unease turning into fascination as she watches Munch. "Yeah... I can tell the guild.." she says.
Dolan actually stops working as Munch starts to - consume - the mess. _All_ of it. He stops and frankly stares at the consumption process. "Yyyyeah." It takes him a minute to pull himself together and continue with his work.
In the end, he stays until everything is set to rights, but once that is done, leaves the mops to put away and politely excuses himself for a long, hot bath. Forget the Tornmawr. The TarRaCe sounds good.
Munch merely lives up to his name.
-End