The City (IC) [M]

[Tipod]

"Well, let's just hope your little sociopathic tendencies didn't get anyone killed in there." Payden stared long and hard at Giles' face. "Because as freelance police, we don't arrest the criminally insane. We shoot them." It was becoming very difficult for Payden to muster sympathy for what was obviously a very troubled human being.

"But look at you: I've got at least half a decade on you, and you're already losing your mind. Why should I put you down when you're even more joyless and miserable than I am, still thinking about dying kids, men and women burned alive, and all the joys of being a child soldier? Living sounds like a nice enough punishment after what you've gone through." He still kept that bitter, disappointed tone. "Now, are you going to try something, or can we part ways and hope to never meet again?"

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Sister Alex looked at the small rat wobbling on his feet and gestured to the closest table, "Sit down. You need fluids and food after losing that much blood." She glanced over at Jezebel, "Before you move on to the rest of the stains, do you have some soup to help revive the patient? In fact bring enough for the healers as well. Magic tends to leave a person hungry."

Gutenberg sisters and brothers tended to have a soft spot for transients such as the rat appeared to be. Often their free libraries were one of the few warm dry places for the homeless to spend the day and as long as they were polite and quiet and at least pretended to read they were welcome.

[Cogidubnus]

Giles laughed darkly, blowing smoke above his head. He grinned at Payden. "I wouldn't say my life is a complete misery. There's still a few things I enjoy." his smile gained a manic edge. "But...no. I won't start anything. But I got to admit, I hope I do run into you again." he continued to smile, and raised his cigarette to his lips. "Somewhere where I wouldn't have to worry about killing innocent folks."

"Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales. Behold, He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Even Lebanon is not enough to burn, nor it's beasts enough for a burnt offering..."
Giles seemed to be mostly talking to himself at this point, his gaze having drifted away from Payden and towards the ruins of the city before him. There was something disturbing in his tone, and his face, like the smile of a butcher looking at a cow.

[Noone]

Kyirri relaxed as Andrace held Kyirri's shoulders. He wasn't in a position to object, so he didn't struggle. He made a soft nod in acknowledgment, and let out a soft "Thanks". He turned his attention towards Sister Alex, who had wanted him to relax as well. Kyirri thought he could stand on his feet with a few more moments of rest, but he didn't want to push his endurance too far.

He was however, somewhat alarmed when he heard Sister Alex asking for soup for him. He kept his calm demeanor, still in Andrace's hold. Soup tends to be inexpensive... hopefully at least a bit filling, I just hope it's not too expensive here, I really can't afford to be incurring too many costs. She probably doesn't know that,... I don't know her either. Calling out to her, he said "J... just nothing too expensive for me please," He took a deep breath after speaking, he didn't want to openly admit to not having barely anything to his name. I might get thrown out if I did. Then again, they did heal me for free, maybe they would cover those costs as well? This thought didn't please him however, it didn't seem fair to them to be helping him so. However, he raised no other objections.

[techmaster-glitch]

   As Traxen worked on the unfinished spider drone, he occasionally glanced over his shoulder to look at the external camera displays on the wall of monitors. Eventually, he saw the Mythos turn and head for the bar, indicating he was done talking to Moze. Traxen put his tools away, and headed up to the front of the van. As he got into the driver seat, he noticed that the two humans had both regained conciousness and were coversing with each other, but Traxen didn't really care about that.

***

  After Raek started to head away, the van inched up again towards Moze. When it was few yards away, it stopped, and the square plate on the front slid up, revealing the face of a mostly black-furred Being, inexplicably wearing goggles on his forehead, in the small window. He toggled something in the van and spoke into the headset he was wearing, and his voice sounded through unseen speakers on the van.
  "So, you're the bar owner, right? I just have a few questions. Your daughter said you've been inside this so-called City, right? Really inside it? Any particular dangers a scavenger like myself needs to keep an eye out for?"

[Aisha deCabre]

As Aisha and Gareeku crossed the bridge, and as the mist settled in around them, the panther felt the need to be more alert increasing.  Her eyes and ears tried to discern both shapes and sounds respectively in the dire environment.  Still her curiosity was as sharp as anything, laying eyes on every track and machine that had once run like clockwork in their times.  It was unlike any ghost town or ruin she had ever seen.  There was so much left.  But the life was just...gone.

Not all the way gone, apparently, as they reached a clearing in the quiet division.  Upon the steps of an elaborate building sat the human (Another one?  Is this where the creatures came from?--that's what she happened to think at the time), homeless and looking like an absolute wreck.  Her sensitive nose wrinkled in slightly visible disgust at the smell of his cigarette.

"It makes me wonder how anyone could survive in this place...I bet all the food has even been pillaged, whatever was fresh," Aisha muttered as she glanced around, setting her eyes briefly on the knick-knacks that the disheveled man had in front of him.  "Where to go from here..."

[SpottedKitty]

Out of the corner of her eye, Andrace noticed an extra movement outside, that wasn't coming from the bartender or the wolf-troll. The sherriff and the soot-blackened knight were waking up. Her ears flicked and turned back and forth and her tail-tip curled around her hocks as she split her attention: most to the people she was talking to, but at least a little towards the possible and probable threats: the Demon girl displaying award-winning grouchiness over by the bar, and the two humans, looking almost as irritated, getting to their feet in the street outside. Ah well, the lioness thought, if it hits th' fan, at least I got m' weapons on me, an' not packed away like last time. Another glance through the window showed the two ex-sleeping beauties apparently a whisker's breadth from starting their argument again.

[Kafzeil]

Jinx stopped walking, looking at Jezebel with the same kind of look she was giving him, blue smoke surrounding the feline. er expression made it seem like Jinx was attemting to swindle them.

Crap...she doesn't get it...The assassin reasoned. Obviously, she had never seen the coin in her life, and it was very likely Jinx was the first member of the League she had ever encountered, knowing or unknowingly, in her life.

However, The Hitman was in a bit of a spot...with a lawman nearby, admitting he killed people for cash might not be so wise. However, Jinx wasn't great at coming up with alaiblies on the run, so...well, might as well give her a half truth, or at least convince her to leave him alone.

"Look, Toots," His slight accent and choice of words made him seem like he walked out of a 1920s gangster flick. "Forget about it. I wasn't here...I'm a nobody, I don't exist, just....take the money, and if anyone asks, you never saw me."

It was only after he said it did Jinx really notice he might have sounded like he was threatening her, and became aware of his fax paus...

[Paladin Sheppard]

Ed watched the sleeping rat in mild amusement as he approached the open gate.  Besides being a bad idea to leave something like that wide open to the public, it made Ed's job of getting in a lot easier.  He whispered to Eph "just let 'em sleep, looks like he's having a rough day."  Smiling wickedly as he noted the type of magazine the guard had displayed across his chest.

He gently guided Eph onward with an arm around her back.  Barely touching her as they made their way through the gate and into The City's outskirts.  He gave a cursory look around at the strange place then said, "so, here we are, you have anywhere in particular you want to try and go, or just explore for now and see what we find?"

Depending on what Eph was looking at, she may or may not notice the small and unobtrusive bump coming from something underneath the backside of Ed's shirt.

Ephrael snuggled in tighter as she and Ed walked past the guard and into the City.  "Where to go...can you sense anything magical? That would be our best bet." She smiled up at him "were you planing on sharing that Mag?"

[Lisky]

Ed was taken slightly off-guard as Ephy snuggled up to him, not that he minded the gesture.  In return, he moved his arm from around back, to rest on the other side of her shoulder.  Ed then gave her a warm smile and sifted through his thoughts, coming to the conclusion that even if this city was as terrible as the stories went, he wasn't going to complain about the situation he found himself in.

As she asked about sense magic, Ed felt around with all his senses, and found it odd that there was a background tinge coming from seemingly everywhere... he tried to focus looking for more powerful sources, but really wasn't too sure at that moment.  He then focused his senses still harder, doing his best to try and locate powerful magic sources.

As Ephy had snuggled in closer, Ed felt something press between his shirt and fur... as he felt it press into him, he knew exactly what it was based on the texture alone... He was nervous at first what his new friend might say, lest she find the magazine amongst his belongings... As she asked if he was going to share, he was left mentally dumbfounded for a fraction of a second.  This left an almost noticable pause between her question and his response.  Ed gave Eph a crooked smile bag as he lifted his shirt and removed the guard's magazine, making it a bit of a show for Ephy in an attempt to stave off his own embarrassment... he said with an extremely obvious smirk, "Heh, i didn't think he'd really need it... and since you asked so nicely... it's all yours."   Ed then handed Ep the magazine and wrapped his arm around her, as if nothing had happened.

[Myr]

The canid paused as he reached the door, taking note of what happened in his absence. It was a pity he'd missed that Nictarl; perhaps they'd have gotten along somewhat. Then again, probably not...Raek might not have a problem with trying such, but most beings certainly had a problem with getting a long with him. So, four felines, a ram-demon, and a 'roo-rat and some fellow with enough spines on his back to make a bed of organic nails, if he wanted. Also that squirrel with the interesting book...that he still hadn't had a chance to ask about. My, had the numbers thinned out! And that wasn't including everyone outside at the moment.

Maybe I should learn to think faster, he mused as an ear quirked at the musty odor that hinted someone had a distinct lack of bladder control-to him, anyway. Not to mention, if things did suddenly escalate outside, he certainly hoped it wasn't due to his attempt at a joke. To be honest, Raek didn't think of humans as 'edible' anyway; they just didn't smell like it...no offense meant to them, of course.

Keeping an ear twitched back to listen for anything outside the door-perhaps that kind fellow Moze might decide he'd need help, afterall- the wolflike troll stepped inside.

First, he took note of the small, rodentine fellow who had looked quite like he'd been on his last leg. Seemed he'd gotten a lot better...and was currently looking to be confused, so Raek thought. Makes it easier to offer, I guess, since they're near each other, he thought as he made his way over.

"Oei," he grunted gruffly as he stopped a foot or so away from the group, "Any of you lot be interested in hiring some muscle?" He smiled again, trying not to look in the least predatory or anything. Lost more potential employers that way. "I work for pay, or at least a good meal..." His smile took on a more brutish cast. "And that doesn't include you. I've worked with spellcasters, melee, and ranged in general. I've helped find things and folk, and can follow a plan as long as you tell me in advance." That last bit he'd only recently added, to be truthful. Too many times had he been in a fight and found out that he'd done nothing according to plan. Still, wait a moment, give them a chance to answer...

And perhaps that she-demon had heard him too. If she was interested, that was her affair.

[llearch n'n'daCorna]

Witt lifted the glass, downed the beer in one long chug, and parked the glass back on the bar, another coin spinning neatly next to it before tumbling to a halt in a pool of spilt beer, signifying a request for another round.

He then turned to watch the various goings on - the crowd gathered around the downed rat in the doorway, and the big furry troll-thing that wandered in the door, apparently looking for work, and towering well over the group he was importuning. Not to mention the buzz of various conversations and the requests for soup, and the buzz of voices from outside - he couldn't make out what they were talking about, but since it was outside, it wasn't a problem. And, of course, the barmaid going to clean up the mess from the fire.

He snorted, quietly, at that, and pondered the offer by the big guy. Feeding him would be a losing proposition, most likely, unless you had a large list of enemies...

[Mao]

As Mao made his way towards the gates, he noted several other pass him by.  He certainly wasn't in any rush, though he took that as a sign that maybe he should pick up the pace a bit.  Mao took a deep breath and lengthened his stride to hurry things along.  As he was moving towards the gate, Mao started trying to look into the city with his minds eye as much as he could.  He could see the faint familiar flickers of the others who had been in the tavern with him, but the rest was still a bit hard to make out.

His stomach rumbled at the thought of the tavern.  Maybe he should have waited for his food and tea.  While he certainly had rations that would last him a week or two, he hated to use them if he didn't need to.

"Too late now, I would imagine.  I'd likely have to pay for a new plate of food."

He winced at the thought.  While he had enough money to do so and not be suffering, the though of the waste grated on his nerves a bit.  He gave a surrendering shrug and just continued on towards the gate.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Ed was taken slightly off-guard as Ephy snuggled up to him, not that he minded the gesture.  In return, he moved his arm from around back, to rest on the other side of her shoulder.  Ed then gave her a warm smile and sifted through his thoughts, coming to the conclusion that even if this city was as terrible as the stories went, he wasn't going to complain about the situation he found himself in.

As she asked about sense magic, Ed felt around with all his senses, and found it odd that there was a background tinge coming from seemingly everywhere... he tried to focus looking for more powerful sources, but really wasn't too sure at that moment.  He then focused his senses still harder, doing his best to try and locate powerful magic sources.

As Ephy had snuggled in closer, Ed felt something press between his shirt and fur... as he felt it press into him, he knew exactly what it was based on the texture alone... He was nervous at first what his new friend might say, lest she find the magazine amongst his belongings... As she asked if he was going to share, he was left mentally dumbfounded for a fraction of a second.  This left an almost noticeable pause between her question and his response.  Ed gave Eph a crooked smile back as he lifted his shirt and removed the guard's magazine, making it a bit of a show for Ephy in an attempt to stave off his own embarrassment... he said with an extremely obvious smirk, "Heh, i didn't think he'd really need it... and since you asked so nicely... it's all yours."   Ed then handed Eph the magazine and wrapped his arm around her, as if nothing had happened.

The Tazzie Devil returned his smile as she opened the girly mag and started to leaf through it. "Some of these girls look like they are high on something" she said giggling "Though I do like this pose, I've done it a few times feels really good" Ephrael continued, pointing to one of the pictures and smirking up at Ed, to gauge his reaction.

[Boog]

As Ed and Eph made their way through the outer suburbs of the city that magic the incubus had detected in the background began to grow stronger. There was the occassional noticeable spike passing particular houses, but in general the place just seemed to throb with old power. What was particularly noticeable, however, were scrabbling noises from the backyard of the last house on the block, and the occassional animalistic whine.


"Toots? Toots!? Why you sleazy little-!" The orangutan bit back her words and, when she started speaking again, did so much more slowly than before. "'Course I never saw you, you're an adventurer. We don't go answerin' too many questions without a warrant." Jezebel was baring her teeth in what could only be called a very Simian manner. "It's an Inn outside of an adventurer hotspot, stupid, we can be discrete. Just don't try to tip us in goddamn monopoly money." She flicked the coin back to Jinx and stomped back inside, grumbling to herself about the nerve of some people when there'd been a fight, a fire and other crap all before noon...


When Mao reached the gate, he could see a couple of figures a few blocks down into the suburbs, one of whom looked to have wings. The rat at the gate still had his hat over his eyes, but was feeling around the booth as though he'd misplaced something. The man finally sighed sadly and slumped back in his chair with a wobble that most overweight people cared about enough to try to conceal, briefly looking up at the newcomer forlornly. "Hm?"


Moze grumbled to himself and took another swig from his flask as both men started arguing again, grumbling to himself about calling the cops if they started up again, and looked up at Traxen. "Oh hey, was wonderin' where those gizmos were comin' from. Yeah, I've been in it. Varies a lot from block to block, all sorts of different curses and hauntings and who the hell knows what else, but the most dangerous stuff to keep an eye out for is things that look perfectly normal. F'rinstance, this right here?" The man pulled back his sleeve to reveal a rather nasty looking scar, "This was from what I thought was a pigeon. There's a subway still runnin' down there, but if the lights are off don't get on it, and if it walks like a person and talks like a person that means nil. Wish I could help more, but I stopped going too deep in rather soon after my first time. Watched some bad things happen to good adventurers, nowadays I just give tours of the suburbs. My advice to you, if you're just scavengin', is to check anything you find pretty damn thoroughly before trying to take it apart."
With that he turned to head inside and fetch Giles' spear for him. He wanted him and the "officer" off his damn property.


The disheveled man laughed dryly, around his cigarette. It was almost a croaking noise, like the groans made by alligators. He took another greedy drag off his cigarette and canted his head to the side. He followed her eyes to the objects he had laid out and leered in a manner that seemed in some way obscene coupled with his wide grin.
"See anythin' yer after?" The man's voice was some combination of various southern regions, plus an undertone of good old universal Drunk. If it weren't for the layers of sleaze and inebriation beneath it, he'd almost sound cultured. "After all, nobody comes here without wantin' somethin'. Doubly so for adventurers, freelance heroics gotta be the least philanthropic line o' work I ever seen..." The man then laughed abruptly, sweeping one hand out to indicate the blanket covered in objects. "Nah, you ain't here for things like this at all, are ya? Not great strong heroes like yourselves." He snickered and let his filthy hair fall back over his face. "Nah, you'd probably want what's been knockin' around the old museum, or stalkin' through the sewers. Not trinkets." He smirked. "I right?"

[Lisky]

Ed grinned wickedly as Ephy began pointing out pictures in the magazine, he shrugged and replied, "If you think that's fun, you should have seen some of the trouble i managed to get myself into back at the academy..."

The incubus paused as he started feeling a spike of magic from some of the houses... it felt... odd.  He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was but there was something old, and off, about the power that was flowing from the various buildings.  He thoughts were again interrupted as he started hearing strange noises from a house at the end of the block.  The noises had earned enough interest that Ed felt it worth checking out.  Pointing out the house in question he said to Eph, "that house has some strange noises coming from the back yard and we should check it out. You wanna try peaking over the fence, or getting on the roof?"

Ed guided his tazzy devil friend towards the house in question while awaiting her response.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Ephrael thought for a moment, "Might be best if we took it from two directions. You'll get up there quicker then I will, so I'll take the low road if you take the high?" She said to the tone of the old tune ginning.

[Lisky]

Ed nodded, then replied, "alright, if you need any help, i'll be right above you"

The pair headed for the house, and Ed listened intently to the strange sounds.  Trying to get a better guess what was causing them, he tried focusing his other senses on them as well, even going so far as to take a deep whiff of the air.

Once near enough to the house, he crouched down low, spread his wings and launched himself to the roof with a massive wing assisted jump.  He found a perch, and first looking back at Ephy with a grin, then went to take a look at whatever it was that causing the noises from the back.

[Paladin Sheppard]

Watching her new incubus friend (damn she seemed to find alot of them..She thought) make his way to the roof Ephrael readied herself, if the rumors of this place were even slightly exaggerated she wanted to be ready.

Breathing out, she slid her wide bladed daggers from their sheathes and crept slowly towards the side fence of the building, almost disappearing into the shadows so completely that you would have to have seen her go in to know she was there.

[Kafzeil]

Jinx rolled his eyes as he walked away from the Last Chance. It made sense she had never encountered a member of the League before or even likely heard of them: The League liked to keep as much of itself behind closed doors as it could. That, and he honestly doubted anyone in these small towns was likely to shell out the money for a Commission. Small, close knit towns, wouldn't have need for the League, and the League would have little interest in them.

The Assassin dropped his cigarette butt on the ground and stepped on it, snuffing it out. He might as well head for the city: He pissed off the barmaid, so an abandoned building or a street curve was looking like a better option then the room Jezebel was likely to give him. he had heard of a hostel in town, but Jinx preferred his privacy. And, lately, Jinx had been involuntarily shapeshifting in his sleep...

His rapier by bis and his revolver full loaded, Jinx headed into this city, ready to find out whatever it was that damn Angel waned to know.

Still, a feeling in his gut seemed to tell Jinx terrible things awaited him. Against his better judgement, Jinx pressed on.

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Sister Alex was a bit surprised when the young orangutan ran off while she was giving her soup order. But this seemed like an establishment that was well run on a more normal day so she must have had a good reason. When the upset looking girl returned Alex repeated the order for five bowls of soup. She then returned her attention to her new companions, giving them a motherish why aren't you already sitting? look. While squirrels weren't particularly imposing Alex found that the religious habit gave such looks enough weight that people didn't outright giggle at them.

But before anyone could either sit or giggle the troll returned and made his offer. Today looked to be a day of interupted thoughts. But she did keep his offer in mind if no one else needed his assistance. The abbey had given her a budget to hire help as needed and he looked as if he could not only carry a lot of books but smallish library buildings.

[Gareeku]

Gareeku looked visibly disgusted, a fang being visible as he grimaced somewhat at the human nearby. Listen to him speak, the wolf rolled his eyes.
"Whatever. Just tell us if you've seen anything suspicious or not." Gareeku growled, clearly not impressed with this...thing and the sarcasm he was making quite apparent.

He had to admit, though. As much of a prick as this human was, he was right in the sense that, yes, he wasn't after little trinkets or anything of the sort. Hell, Gareeku himself wasn't even sure what had brought him to this gods-forsaken place. He had tried to convince himself that he had come here to help in any way, but in truth, he was a fighter.

And a fighter's blood runs with the thought of battle.

[Boog]

Jezebel mumbled a quick appology to Sister Alex as she came back inside, embarassed to have let her anger at Jinx have gotten in the way of serving the other patrons. Soon five steaming hot bowls of soup were set out and waiting for the adventurers. Moze, meanwhile, fetched Giles' spear and, crinkling his nose at the odd smell, brought it back to the man outside.
"Now then, you may want to leave. Both of you." He shot Payden a Look to let him know he was included in this. "If you need someplace to stay there's a hostel in town, but you sure as hell wont be back here anytime soon."

Jinx reached the gates to the city, the rat in the gatehouse still seemingly too preoccupied to pay him and Mao, who was waiting there, much heed other than to give the man's clothing a quick glance and snickering. The gate to the suburbs were hanging open, and down a few blocks... Was someone on top of one of the houses?

The contents of the backyard were... Unexpected, to say the least. Neither of them completely recognized the creature below them, chained up as if it were a dog. It resembled a dog... if somebody had tried to breed a feral doberman with a being. One hind leg was that of a being while the other was of a distinctly more bestial cast, and it seemed to alternate between trying to walk on these two limbs or on all four. It had the upper pectoral muscles of a being and the smoother abdominal muscles of a dog. Two crooked, backward bent dogs forelegs terminated in strong, dexterious-looking hands. Most worrisome, it had to be said, was its face. The left half had all the features common to a being's face; the strong jawline, the intelligent clear blue eyes, even the remains of hair done in a ponytail. However, its teeth were misshapen for this half of its mouth, pointed predatory things. The other half of its face was more akin to a feral creature, save for its teeth being the mixed flat, pointed and grinding teeth of an omnivore.
This overall strange mix of primal and evolved features of a being were not helped by the fact that it appeared to be going absolutely apeshit. Snarling, growling, yowling and on occassion letting loose a more beinglike scream it ravaged at some indistinct cloth object. It tossed the object aside, it smacked against the edge of the roof of the house
Apruptly it stopped. Where had the object gone? It's head whipped around, before focusing on the cubi on the roof.
A low growl rose in the beasts throat as it began to strain against the rope tied to its collar...

"Have I seen anythin' suspicious?" The man asked incredulously, turning to Gareeku. "Have I-? Oh wow." His face curled into a smirk, "You must be new. Tell you what, want somethin' suspicious? Wanna be a big bad adventurer, save the people and impress the pretty lady?" He gestured to Aisha with a flourish of his fingers, the same as he'd gestured to the monkeys paws and crystal balls and car parts that he'd had out for sale. Did he just lick his lips?
"Check the ol' museum. Down on flint street. Plenty for your sort there."

[Lisky]

Ed looked at the feral-being thing with a look of disgust.  If there were cubi near by, his thoughts would have been easily read as 'what the hell is this thing? and why isn't it dead yet?' Taking a few more moments to assess the situation, he suddenly felt something wet and squishy by his foot... it looked like something a pet would use for a chew toy...  He formulated a plan, and put it into action.  First, his left hand gave off a black mist clearly showing he had some type of dark based spell ready.  He then threw the toy with his other hand, forming his right hand into claws, similar to a demon's, and his wings formed a plethora of wicked looking tentacles, complete with draconian heads.

The heads faded on many of the tentacles as they formed into bladed and pointed tips.  Ed then jumped off the roof, and slammed his left hand into the ground, unleashing a visually concealing fog around the fenced area, the black fog looked like it should have been a choking smoke, and let such little light through that day in the cloud appeared as if it were suddenly a moonless night.  To Ed, the cloud was little more than a minor inconvience, as his other senses told him exactly where the thing was.  His left hand started charging an exploding bolt spell while his winged tentacles homed in on where the creature was.  He intended to give it a quick and painless, if not a slightly overkill, and gory death, as the blades whipped around, and the points tried to skewer the beast.

[Angel]

Mykst and Black Magic were indeed hungry from using their magic so much, so the bowls of soup were a welcome sight. They each sat down, but Mykst faced the room at large instead of immediately turning to his soup. The troll-creature from before had spoken of joining with someone, and Mykst wasn't the kind to judge by species who could or could not be trusted. There was also the matter of Payden - hey, speaking of, was he coming back in? The cat doubted it, remebering the commotion he'd caused with the armored human. But as he looked around the bar, he noticed a pack of some sort sitting where Payden had been.

He tapped Black Magic's shoulder, muttering that he'd be right back and sliding off his seat to get to Payden's table. He grabbed the pack and went towards the door, taking a deep breath and trying to relax himself before actually heading outside.

"Sheriff? You forgot this," he said, focusing on Payden so he wouldn't act nervous around the innkeeper and the armored man.

*****

Black Magic didn't look up from hers oup until she was done, only nodding at Mykst when he left. Once she was finished, she licked her chops and smiled with incredibly sharp teeth. "Thanks for that," she said to the simian lady, offering up a few coins in payment. Then she turned to face the troll.

"Can't say for sure whether we could use your help or not without Mykst here, but I would like to apologize on behalf of those other hotheads for the commotion earlier," she said, the smile now less threatening. "Personally, I think dangerous people shouldn't be judged by species, but by whether or not they stab you before saying hi."

[Cogidubnus]

"Thanks, bartender." the armored man said, taking the spear and placing it in its holster on his back without a second look. It began to steam silently after a few moments, and the blackguard sniffed, his nose crinkling. He smiled wide.
"Looks like someone is having a bit of fun with me. But I appreciate your courtesy." he dropped the all-but-gone cigarette from his hands and stepped on it, grinding it into the dirt.

He stood for a moment and breathed. He looked at Payden. "Maybe I was a bit hotheaded earlier. Sorry for trying to gut you."

With that, he stretched, and moved his way around Mykst, heading down the rocky, slightly bare path towards the city, and the hostel that the barkeep had pointed him too. He might as well check it out. Just because he'd be hiding deeper in the city later didn't mean he shouldn't get used to the place in small doses.

[Aisha deCabre]

Listening to the old human speak, one thing was for certain; she definitely didn't like the tone of his voice.  Aisha was used to a bit of discrimination, being both an adventurer and a woman; but it didn't mean she had to like it.

Before the panthress could reply, Gareeku had said exactly what was on her mind.  They didn't need to be toyed with by a sarcastic regular in a city that was probably doomed to fall prey to nature.  And indeed, the trinkets weren't at all what they were looking for.  If there was a greater treasure to be found, it was in the background of the place itself, and the knowledge that there was something to do--to fight, or to help--on the horizon.

Already though, she was getting tired of the hominid's voice.  "'Pretty lady'?  Excuse me?" Aisha growled slightly and grabbed the hilt of the Dragonblade, visible on her back.  Her eyes, under her cloak, flashed red in the light...she certainly knew better than to take his phrase as a compliment.  "I'm more than capable of doing some saving and defending for myself, bato.  If this is how you treat all adventurers, I'm surprised we didn't find your body with your head lying a few feet away from it."

Still, the fact that there was a museum piqued her curiosity just a bit.  The huntress memorized the name of the street and turned with a glance to Gareeku, turning away from the human with a dismissive swish of her tail.  "Sounds like a good place to start at least...maybe we'll learn something.  Or find something to kill.  I certainly don't mind either one," she grinned.

[Myr]

Despite rather interesting events occurring elsewhere, a certain lupine Mythos was more interested in the fact he'd elicited a response from someone-more precisely a feminine feline that showed at least some interest in his offer.

Granted, he didn't realize that at least a couple of the other beings in the room were currently considering his offer-be it only in passing amusement, perhaps, or waiting to see if someone else accepted first. But those considerations -however fleeting- were worthy of note.

Yes, it could be a losing proposition in keeping him fed -and while he wasn't adverse to eating intelligent beings, he had learned it was rather bad form in most situations; and while strong enough that, given a mixture of incentive, freedom, and time the brutish creature could cause a swath of chaos and mayhem in many the small community he probably couldn't carry a small library. Close, perhaps. And...it didn't mean he wouldn't try, to say the least.

Besides, being a troll did mean that, more often than not, he was just as likely to be on the bad side as the good...and this was further compounded that he was willing to accept work from either end of the spectrum. Anyway, back to reality.

Sounds like a maybe to me, Raek thought as Magic spoke to him, but before there's the others here too. And that young cat-Mykst, I think- seems like he'd be one to hide from me in fear. Still, he might say yes, if she means he's the one making the choices. The canid felt satisfied with that rationalization as he answered in what he figured was a smooth, polite fashion...despite the thick gutturals in his speech.

"Around others of my kind you'd probably be trying to keep your head out of their jaws instead of being stabbed..." True, that. Or trying to keep from being pounded into a gory paste. He smiled slightly, muzzle twisting. "They aren't ones for talking much."

"But that sounds like a maybe. Talk it over with your friend. If you decide you're both interested, I'll give you the terms I work with. They're simple enough." He grunted; one probably expected him to take a seat, despite the chairs probably not being able to hold his weight. "Also not often I find someone who thinks before stabbing anyway."

His pale eyes glanced at the lioness with the guns, then at the rodent who'd been injured earlier. "I will add that if you can't pay before I work for you, then I could accept payment after it's over." Not to mention if you drop dead for some reason or other before I can do anything, your remains tend to make a good enough payment for my troubles. Again, a very ecumenical way of thinking, for a troll; it also carried the benefit of not needing a funeral afterwards.

[Noone]

Kyirri wiggled his way out of Andrace's grasp, and paced over to a stool to sit down. He literally had to climb onto the thing, it wasn't suited for someone of his height. He let out a brief, "Thank you." as he was passed his bowl of soup. He stared intently into it before taking a sip. He was partly afraid of it, as if having it would break him. He briefly checked his wallet before having any, not a lot, he thought. He put his spoon into the bowl and tasted some, almost as if it would come out and bite him.

After his first bite, he ate relatively quickly, having even decent food was a luxury Kyirri had not had for a while, having been forced to live most of his life on scraps, and whatever was the least expensive. After he finished, he breathed a sigh of mixed relief, joy of receiving decent care coupled with a fear that he couldn't pay for it.

He glanced over at Black Magic and Raek, but didn't say anything yet. Kyirri silently awaited for his bill.

[SpottedKitty]

Andrace glanced up from tidying away the first aid kit she'd used to help heal the kangaroo rat, and caught the squirrel's speculative look at the wolf-troll's offer. "Best make sure y' know what y' gettin' wi' that 'un, Sister," she murmured quietly with a flick of her ears. This was the first time she'd met a member of the Gutenberg Order, but she'd heard of them, mainly from her older brother Mitri, who'd had dealings with them a few times.

I wonder, the lioness thought, would it be worth m' time t' tag along wi' her? Any old magic books or trinkets we come across that she don't want, maybe I can snag 'em for Despina. Not much chance o' even a fake Necrotelecomnicon — with or without th' boobytraps — in a dump like this, but a copy o' a copy o' somethin' like th' Liber Paginarum Fulvarum ought t' get Despina's knickers in a twist, an' fill a hole in her collection...

Andrace picked up the repacked first aid kit, strapped it back into its place on her pack, then licked absently at the last of the bloodstains on her hands. It would be nice for her younger sister Despina, the only real mage in the Pride right now, to owe her a favour or three for a change.