The City (IC) [M]

[Mao]

The commotion had gotten quite high in the room, though Mao hardly paid it much mind.  While waiting for his food and tea, Mao stretched out with his senses and used his inner sight to take in the room as much as he could.  There were things of all walks of life here.  Their life forces all shone differently for the most part.  Some were familiar looking, others, less so.  In particular interest was the color of the things that had been identified of technological.  Mao had never seen anything of the like, though he had heard of it.  It's color was utterly different from the others.  Cold and lifeless, but there was energy there.  There was also the somewhat unfamiliar glow of humans.  Warm, but violent and unrefined to his sight, but the light was bright to be sure.  There were a mix of beings and creatures here and even a mythos, each mingling carefully and despite the calamity that was surrounding them, in a somewhat harmonious nature.  It brought a smile to his lips to see it.

"If nothing else, this place has become more interesting in the scant minutes since I sat down."

Mao decided to continue to watch the room with his inner sight, being of course careful to keep the sight limited to what would be considered normal range for eyes, lest he tax himself.

[shadowterm]

Sam looked at the mechanized insectoid in front of him. Slight hibbly jibblies were felt, but passed quickly. damnable endophobia he thought. "A bit of a different approach to the dangers of communicating with others, but I like it." Sam said. "Okay, I'm Sam, sorry I couldn't help a little sooner, it looked like you had a little trouble getting it through the window." Sam smirked. "nice souvenir though. . ." Sam trailed off, twisting around the tooth he had picked off the table.

[techmaster-glitch]

   The new drone continued "speaking" in Traxen's voice. "Different approach? This is only one of a few drones that are actually equipped with speakers, aside from a few...specialized robots. Anyway. I'm Traxen Ridgrey, technological expert and inventor extraordinaire, with a special affinity for autonomous machines. Nice to meet you."
   The drone angled itself slightly to look at the tooth in Sam's palm. "I dunno, I'd consider the tooth of the Creature that tried to eat one of my robots kind of an insult if I kept it..."

[shadowterm]

Sam tucked the tooth into his pocket. "Not so much that it bit your robot, more that it looks cool. Like he said, maybe I can come up with a story for it." Sam thought a moment. "Not that the true story isn't uninteresting in itself." Sam landed back at the introductions with an almost audible (to him) thud. "Anyway, nice to meet you too, though circumstances seem to have been a bit negative on your part." Sam decided to tell a little about himself. "I can get behind the inventor thing, I suppose if I had the patience I may have decided to go into it. As it stands, I went into Graphics Design odd jobs because it gave me the opportunity to create, and businesses hardly ever turn down a good logo or T-shirt design." Sam chuckled, "Though I suppose my technical knowledge doesn't expand much farther than A+ certification, I might fix a computer or two for someone when the need arise, but I can't program for or build something like your drones."

[Angel]

Black Magic turned away from watching Mykst for a moment to face the orangutan, quirking her mouth in a brief smile before looking like her normal self again. "Just water is fine, thanks. Also, could I have a menu?" She tried to keep in her mind that ordering a really rare steak and tearing it apart was usually frowned on in public places, but looking around, most of the people here were also predators. There was a chance it wouldn't matter.

[Cogidubnus]

 Giles grinned disconcertingly. Perhaps it was the oddly white teeth set in a face that looked like it should belong to a fireman or a coal miner, or perhaps it was something else - what was more likely was that it was a function of the expression itself, completely. There was something malevolent, as though the person he was smiling at and himself were sharing some cruel joke, like watching a person about to piss on an electric fence, or, somehow, a person about to mail his sweetheart his tax return and the IRS some rather suggestive underwear.

"I'll take as many as you have." he said, reaching down to his feet and setting a large candlestick in the shape of a cross on the table. It shone silver. "And if anybody comes asking about me, show'em that."
He paused, remembering her other question. "I don't know what brings them here, but I'm swimming in so much shit I can taste it. But no matter how much shit I'm in..." his grin faded. "I think they'd have to be insane to follow me into that city. It's a pretty deep place to hide, and I don't plan on leaving anytime soon."

[Tipod]

"Yes, I was addressing you." Payden kept his eyes locked into Mykst in a strong, mildly disapproving stare. "You and your little ladyfriend are going to the City, right? How long has it been since you graduated from the academy, or are you two just a couple of uncertified adventurers?" His apprehension was fairly evident, but he wasn't about to tell them not to go off into the City based on their age alone. "You sprats are already going into one of the deadliest locales on the whole continent. Tell me, what's the motivation here?"

That stern, disapproving glare still remained on his face. "If it's money, then I think you could have chosen a less suicidal way to get it."

[Angel]

Mykst swallowed quietly and tensed just a bit. Having to deal with an adult was stressful enough for him, but this hardened cop only put more pressure on the matter. He hadn't directly threatened either Mykst or Kali yet, but there was clear strictness and disfavor in his expression and tone. Mykst was a meek person by nature, and sternness from authority figures tended to make that quality worse. But if he cracked, the cat would ony look suspicious or cowardly. So he breathed evenly, gripped the edge of his cloak and tried to calm down enough to answer. But even though his mismatched eyes were honest, his voice was still quiet, and there was some hesitation in his speech.

"O-our motive isn't money, sir, and, um, we never actually studied at an academy. We had a ... private teacher. He said we'd made enough progress to go on our own quest. It was...well, it was Kali's idea to go here. Our teacher kept saying it was too dangerous and we shouldn't go, but she insisted." Realizing this sounded not just dangerous but potentially lethal, he continued: "But we have plenty of ways to contact him if we get in trouble."

[SpottedKitty]

While she waited for her drink, leaning back on her elbows against the bar, Andrace amused herself seeing what she could figure out about the others in the room. The great hulking wolflike creature had to be some kind of troll, although a rather unusual one (he hadn't eaten anybody yet). The squirrel was easy, even if the symbol hanging at her neck hadn't been visible: who else but a member of the Gutenberg Order would be likely to own a book that wandered around eating pretzels?

As for the leopard and the... what was that woman... maybe a Tasmanian Devil? Both apparently adventurers, and there seemed to be some tension at their table, judging from subtle hints in their body language. It was a bit early in the day for an amusing bar fight, but so far the dark-furred woman was keeping her temper under control, she looked more amused than angry.

The white wolf with the scarred face, and the black-furred feline were also clearly adventurers, and just as obvious were the young lioness who looked so much like her sister Eugenia, and the cat she'd come in with. Definitely mages, this time, although there was something about the girl that made Andrace want to be cautious in dealing with her.

The mechanical gadgets were intriguing, she'd seen something similar in a shop window once, with a hideously exorbitant price tag attached. She wondered if there was some connection with the armoured bus she'd seen draw up outside a few minutes ago, they were the only really high-technology things she'd encountered since she arrived. She hadn't yet noticed anything particularly out of the ordinary about any of the others, except perhaps for the incredibly scruffy human. Andrace was sure when she walked in that he was the source of the smell that briefly curled her whiskers and made her eyes water, but the air was clear now, and his scent was no weirder than any other human's.

[techmaster-glitch]

   "Mmm... these little guys are actually easy. Even without my full lab setup, I can kick one of these guys out in a few days to a week, depending on how specialized they are."
   The "drone" was slient for a moment. "So...what you heading into this so-called City for? I just heard it may be a good place for salvage, though I've also heard it's overrun with all kinds of bad mumbo-jumbo."

[Boog]

Moze handed Black Magic the menu and went to get her water. This crowd was starting to worry him. The bum didn't seem to be getting any saner, the troll seemed to be offending people, and the man in the armor was grinning in a thoroughly concerning manner at his daughter. Frustrated lines congealed across the man's forehead as he made his way over...
"Fancy," The girl cooed over the candlestick, picking it up and looking it over once before her eyes narrowed at the blackguard, "And sleazy on its own right even without THAT bit of knowledge. What exactly are you running from that makes that place seem like a better idea? Things happen in there, Sugar. Things I bet you ain' seen befo- Hey!" The girl jumped as the animated book scrabbled across her hand and down the bar, where it was whisked up and snapped closed by her father. Moze strolled forward, the book squirming and rustling in his hand. Shooting what would best be described as a Look at Giles as he passed, he offered it to sister Alex with a smile.
"Was this yours, madam?" The smile brightened a notch at the symbol of the Gutenberg order hanging around her neck, "Oh hey, you a Gutenberg sister? Did some of my early adventuring work on behalf of your order."
Meanwhile, clomping noises began issuing from the top of the stairs leading to the inns rooms. A demonic girl, ram by species, was coming down supported by a crutch under one arm. A sullen glare around the room belayed any immediate comment as she laboriously made her way down, her scowl making it quite clear that it would be terminally stupid to offer to help her.

[shadowterm]

Sam looked at the woman coming down the stairs and put a hand up to hold his conversation. "I'll tell you later," he said. He then pointed toward the stairs, he wasn't sure if there was surround sound on the thing, but better safe than sorry. He wouldn't want Traxen to miss out.

[Noone]

Kyirri let out a soft "Thank you" as he took the menu. He looked through it carefully, trying to spot anything that would be both low cost and filling. He didn't really care to over spend. He didn't bother asking for recommendations, as he felt that the proprietors would try and get him to buy something expensive. Profit motive after all.

His examination of the menu however, was slightly distracted by some of the others, particularly Raek. Kyirri didn't know who, or what he was, he had never seen such a creature before, and it seemed to have attracted an uncomfortable amount of attention. Uncomfortable in Kyirri's eyes anyways. Regardless, there wasn't anything Kyirri felt he could do to change anything, the possibility of getting himself involved served no tangible benefit and could only cause problems. He tried not to listen in on the conversations around him, but he felt oddly compelled to observe, if not act.

He tried to keep his attention focused on the menu he had been given. Kyirri immediately stopped looking when he heard something coming from above, he wasn't sure what, but he gave a cursory glance at the ceiling. He stopped to glance around to see a demon coming down. He only casually observed, but again, decided to keep to himself. It was safer that way.

[Myr]

Maybe I should have thought about seeing if he had more than this, the lupine troll thought as he finished his meal in under a minute. Okay, there should be limits imposed when it comes to someone's jaw-shape not letting them chew.  Though for anyone watching him,  the ability to practically swallow a modest piece of meat-after having casually pulled the small bone free of it- in one go might be rather impressive. Or horrifically disturbing. But then I don't know how much more would cost. He frowned, suddenly having considered that he probably would have been better off foraging outside.

Oh well, I'm sure it won't be that much...it was good, afterall.

The Mythos leaned back into the corner, legs stretched in front of him-there was no way in existence he could have crossed those thickly muscled limbs anyway!- as he licked his fingers clean. He was more comfortable in this out-of-the-way spot, and he knew he thought better when he was comfortable. And the fact his stomach had quit with it's complaining, however briefly that might be, helped enormously as well.

At least I can now see what all's here. His ears twitched forward in that 'perked' fashion as he finally took stock of whom was in the place. Pale eyes focused on everyone -even those he'd talked to directly- with interest. Plenty of felines, a couple of rodentlike ones -the Nictari and the 'roo-rat among them-, that wolf, the fox he'd spoken to, and a goodly number of humans in the mix. Not to mention that odd squirrel with the book- still need to ask about that, he remembered- and what definitely looked like an oversized insect this time.

Great, another fake bug. At least he was going to assume it was fake as he noted the legs it had. Losing teeth wasn't a painful experience for him, but it was annoying. Also of note was the marsupial; That tas-devil talking to the odd-scented feline...

I feel like I'm at one of those buffet places, but I'm not allowed to eat anything, he thought jokingly to himself as his attention turned back to Aisha and her companion. Maybe he should have been clearer when he spoke to them, come to think of it. But if they wanted to talk to him in a bid to see what he meant, they would. Otherwise he'd see if he could find work from someone else here...hmm?

Raek's eyes roved towards the limping demon as she made her appearance in what looked like a rather sullen fashion. Now, he knew what those were. Being a Creature that depended on it's strength to survive, it was understandable he'd know of things that rivaled or even exceeded his own impressive strength and stamina...at least since he'd been educated.

Still, it wasn't quite the fact she was a demon that had his sudden interest- it was that instinctive, predatory urge that tried to insist she was a meal for the taking while in said state...if he followed that urge. He also knew that the average, moderately talented adventurer would go out of their way to kill one, so it was equally tempting to see if someone would try that -and thusly be willing to accept his help.

Of course, one thing could bleed into another in such an event, one way or the other...

[Aisha deCabre]

It was hard to believe for a while that anything could get even more interesting, while sitting among so many types of people within the inn's bar.  As Aisha waited for the sandwich she ordered, she kept a casual eye on everything.  Because her face was no longer obscured with the hood, people could see that her expression was neutral, if not thoughtful.  She took a few sips of her ale and noticed the goings-on.

The over-serious human, acting like the officer she supposed he was, had started questioning--to her, it seemed like interrogating--one of the two younger patrons on his motives for being there and reminding how dangerous things seemed.  Heh, I started adventuring when I was younger, the panther thought, keeping her reactions to herself.  They have to start somewhere, but I hope they know what they're doing at least.

Among other things, that enchanted book belonging to the squirrel had started skittering around again like a disobedient pet...and another strange mechanical device had entered nearby, enticing one of the others to the window to speak to its owner, it seemed.

Before Aisha could think of anything more, her ear quirked and her head turned...the wolf-like mythos had addressed herself and Gareeku before going to stand away from the group.  Now what was that about? she wondered with the quirk of an eyebrow.  It was understandable that he was probably looking for someone to hire him, but the tone of his voice seemed a little...apprehensive, towards the two adventurers in particular.  Did the two of them really look that intimidating?  Compared to everyone else?

And do we look like we really need a hired sword?  That's what WE happen to be, too.

After a dismissive but thoughtful shrug, the bounty hunter turned her bar stool back around to the bar and spared a smirk to the wolf next to her.  "You hear that?  Seems people are jumping to conclusions," she chuckled.  "Probably better for our own necks if we don't look weak anyway."

Of course, Aisha would have to eat the words about jumping to conclusions in a few moments, if she wasn't careful.  For not too long after, her sensitive ears caught the slow clomping noises above their heads and headed for the nearby stairwell.  A patron of the inn, she started to assume.  She took another sip of her ale, glancing back towards the stairway as the new person made themselves seen.

That's when two things happened.  One, her eyes suddenly widened...and two, while her tail ring was steady, only glowing slightly every little bit from whatever dark magic someone possessed in the room, the light peaked more as soon as the person with a crutch had touched the floor and entered the bar.

"Demon..." Aisha murmured with venom in her voice, clenching her teeth and replacing the hood over her face.  She wasn't about to cause a stir...not without a bit more observing...but the presence of that hated Creature type would probably always unnerve her.  Her hand was still close to her weapons belt, as a result.

[Cogidubnus]

 Giles grinned at the girl again, but the malice was gone from it. His eyes were distant, looking past the bar-counter and the orangutan girl in front of him, to the distant, endless fields of grass, and the burning city of Sennacherib. "I've seen things you wouldn't believe." he said, although he didn't seem to be paying attention to her. His grin faded, and the seemingly shameless man looked down. "I've seen holy fire rain down on a moonless night like blue tears from the eyes of heaven. I've seen children burned to death in that fire. Mothers, fathers. I've seen cities, nations, empires burn in that fire..."

"I saw the face of God, once. It wasn't what I expected." he soured. " So I figured they owe me a few godamn candlesticks. And if they want to shut me up, they'll have to go through hell first. Rum, please. More."

[Gareeku]

Listening to Aisha speak, Gareeku nodded his, before taking a large swig of his ale.
"Indeed. Though more than likely they'll be keeping an eye on us as well. Such is the way of the world." the wolf replied casually, looking around at the different customers. "As long as I get to drink in peace, I'll be happy. And don't worry about that thing. Looks like the big guy's keeping it occupied."

Upon hearing the lupine troll speak to him and Aisha, Gareeku turned look at the large creature. Seems like he was offering to be hired help. The wolf said nothing, instead nodding his head politely before turning back to take another big swig of his drink. The big guy would certainly be handy in a fight, but then again, Gareeku hadn't come to this place looking for a fight. Besides he was an extremely competent fighter. Nevertheless, the wolf took it also a sign of goodwill. Setting his now-empty glass down on the bartop, the lupine warrior waited for the bartender to take his order.

"Another ale...make it two." Gareeku said, ordering a drink for Aisha as well as himself, before turning back again. "...and another of whatever the big guy in the corner had for him."

No sooner had he placed his order had the wolf notice Aisha's ears prick up. Listening, he too caught the sound of footsteps coming from the floor above, before hearing them come down the stairs.
"Hey now...I can be friendly when I want to be. It's just not very often I choose to do so." he replied to Aisha with a smirk. No sooner had he finished speaking had his eyes moved to look at the staircase, where a demon had now emerged.

Knowing what Aisha's reaction would be, Gareeku heard the venom in her voice and grabbed her arm, which in turn was gripping her weapons belt underneath her cloak.
"Try and practise what you preach." the wolf said quietly but firmly, looking sternly into Aisha's eyes for a moment before gently releasing his grip on her arm. He understood why she had reacted like that, but in a place with such a diverse mix of races as this, now was not the time to get worked up.

[Tipod]

"You kids should have listened to your teacher. This is no place for a couple of neophytes." Payden gave the housecat a short once-over. Young, possibly foolhardy if he actually went along with Kali, but at least he knew how to address an elder. "...thankfully, you're among much older and wiser individuals." He held open the right side of his jacket, revealing a polished, silver star with the word "Sheriff" shining proudly in the light. "Sheriff Payden Velasquez. I may not be an adventurer, but I've seen and fought more than either of you kids combined."

Payden gave a quick glance around. "Looks like you could use the help more than anyone else, and I need some young blood backing me up. You never know--"

That was when he saw the demonic ram descending the stairs. Immediately, his gaze locked upon the girl's face as one hand slowly reached into his jacket, straight for his shoulder-holstered .45 revolver. The unpredictable bane of his existence second only to 'cubi, right in the tavern. "...you never know when you'll see something despicable. Lawbreakers, the scourge of everything good and wholesome, degenerates, and complete deviants. I've handled them before." His eyes locked onto hers for only a couple of seconds, but they imparted a harsh, accusatory feeling. Don't you go breaking any laws, you hear? It'd be a shame if I was forced to blow your head off.

[Kafzeil]

The door to the bar creaked opened, as black cat, in his late twenties and looking quite tired walked in, grumbling to himself.

He's setting you up Jinx... come on,it's Kafzeil Harkonnen! You know he hates you...this is a set up, this is a goddamn set up, and you're walking right into it!Jinx thought to himself.

Jinx dragged a large case of luggage behind him, the wheels worn down. He was tired, thirsty, and crankier then usual, not helped by the circumstances in being here.

Jinx glanced at the other patrons as he quietly took his seat, luggage at his side.  Some massive creature he'd never seen before caught his eye, though Jinx avoided staring. He was too tired to start a fight with something he had no clue on how to kill. A few Adventurers, by the looks of things a burly as hell human, a bum, a demon using crutches and some blind rabbit...thing were the ones who stuck out to Jinx the most.

He took a mental note of all the other patrons, and the strange, robotic insect as he took out a gunmetal grey cigarette case and matching lighter, opening the case and pulling out a white roll and lighting up. Jinx hoped with such...colourful patrons, attention would be away from him. However, even in a dirty outfit, Jinx was dressed sharply, his blue tie loose against his neck, a sign he was ready to unwind for the night, though still like he was going drag someone off in the middle of the night and dump them in the river.

The black feline reached into his inner coat pocket, pulling out a white envelope and opening it, taking out the letter linseed. It was written in a loopy, distinctive style.

Jinx took a long puff of his cigarette as he read the paper, hoping the barkeep would get to him soon, as all the assassin wanted right now was a few pints of stout and a bed to fall asleep in.

[Cogidubnus]

Impressively for a human, Giles's ear twitched. His glass was still-upside-down and without rum, and this was generally enough to get him pissed off by itself. The human's comments, and the demonic ram's descending down the stairs, however, did not pass him by either. He turned, eyes locked on Payden. His eyes looked dangerous.
"Hey, Mister Law."  his face turned away just slightly to spit, but he kept his eyes straight on the lawman. The spit smoked for a moment on the wood. "I've seen more shit from your kind - bigmouth pricks with a badge, worried about their dick size - than from any demon I ever seen. So shut your fucking racist mouth before I shove that badge of yours through your teeth."

The hand in his jacket didn't escape his notice either. Giles laughed. "You bore the shit out of me lecturing them on stupidity," his eyes glanced at Mykst at back, "And then reach for your weapon when a crippled demon walks in? You goddam hypocrites sicken me. That or you're too-fucking-stupid to realize what's a threat and what isn't." he breathed in hard, a trickle of smoke emerging from his nose. "When I was his age I was gutting Solumnite infantry in Renazia. Do us all a favor. Keep your brilliant commentary between your teeth."

[Mel Dragonkitty]

Alex smiled thankfully at the orangutan barkeep as he returned her errant book. The smile increased as he revealed that he had worked with the order in the past. So few members of the order chose her line of work that adventurers were often hired when there was dangerous work to be done. They were an order of teachers and librarians after all. She held her hand out in greeting, "I'm Sister Alexandria Montegu, of the Pergamum Abbey. Which abbey did you work with?" Before the barkeep could answer all the attention in the bar was drawn to the demon's slow entrance. She could see the most of the patrons tense up. Alex just hoped things wouldn't erupt.

[Boog]

The demonic girl- she didn't look a day over 19, seemed amused by the rush of conversation and tension she'd caused. She winked at Aisha, made a significantly less subtle gesture at Payden involving two fingers and her tongue, smirked at Giles, and eased herself onto a seat at the bar.
"Hey, Jezebel? Something to wake me up, was out late again."
"In a sec, Hon," the barkeep refilled Giles' glass with a wry smile at the exchange between him and the other man, "Well, try not to go in there too jaded. Folks come out of the city don't talk about god too much either." She then strolled away, setting out Aisha's sandwich as she went to see to Jinx. "Welcome to the Last Chance, how can I help you?"

"Moze DuChamp," Moze replied cheerfully, shaking Alex's hand. "They had me working Eastbishop Abbey, thesaurus gone rogue needed to be put down. Still got the scars." His eyes flickered over the patrons briefly, slightly concerned by the general direction of the conversations around him.

[Tipod]

"And when I was his age, I was busy helping my father, mother, and three brothers retake an entire village from scumbags and keep the bastards out. But supposing I were a brute like you with nothing greater to fight for, I would have been a slaughterer too." Payden was used to those types of insults: being called a bigoted pig, a crooked asshole cop, et cetera. People always hated authority figures, especially gruff ones.

"I didn't become a sheriff to push people around, as much as you'd all love to think so." His attention had switched almost entirely to Giles. "I became a sheriff because we live in a romantic world. You know what romanticism has led to? Kids being adventurers, assuming they can get all the money and glory they want, only to end up over heads and dying in some monstrosity's den of evil. Demons thinking there's nothing more epic or beautiful than a field of dessicated corpses, and slaughtering whole cities' worth of people to get that precious image. 'Cubi who see nothing sexier or more elegant than a mansion, slaves, and souls to feed on, and everyone else not as well endowed? Well, they're just insects to be crushed in the dust. Angels struggling for power as lords and ladies, and God damn anyone who happens to be in their way. The only thing that's pure, the only thing that's unfettered, is the Law. That's why I enforce it."

Payden took a slight breath, and removed his hand from his jacket. "If that sounds at all unreasonable to you, well... to quote the younger generation: 'Up, yours.'" He smiled, folded his hands together, and placed them flat on the table.

[Angel]

Mykst was feeling rather cornered. He got Payden's good intentions well enough, but really, did he have to be this threatening? Then the demon-girl walked in, and while Mykst did tense just a bit, he calmed down just as quickly. Had she come through the doors, he might have been more worried, but if she'd stayed here before and knew the owners, she wasn't a threat. Besides, she had a crutch, and attacking someone who hadn't directly attacked anyone and had a disadvantage was something only kids still in school or easily amused scum did.

What concerned the cat much more was the arguing between the heavily armored human at the bar and Payden.  The cop's retaliation to the armored man's challenge was almost innocent enough to slip by, but if he was the sort Mykst suspected he was, he'd light Payden's shoes on fire anyway just for the hell of it. But before Mykst could cast an Earth Shield spell out of panic, Black Magic stood up, not smirking.

"If you gentlemen are quite done ascertaining whose dick is bigger..." she said perfunctorily, joining Mykst - who visibly relaxed, but kept a wary eye on his girlfriend. She looked over at Giles. "I'll just say this: if you were a male lion, your personality would be much more understandable." She offered him a sharp-toothed grin, and decided to let him figure out if that was a compliment or not. Then she turned to Payden.

"As for you, Sheriff, you're all right, but just so you understand, I'll tell you why our teacher let us come here. Because it sure as hell wasn't only based on the déjà vu of his ex-ex-dark magic student," she began, pointing to herself on the last words. "You see, when WE were our age, or six months younger than now, our teacher, a few adventurers, Mykst and I had to save our town from a greedy bastard who wanted to use some old legend to take control. Sounds cliche, I know, but trying to stop him was hard for even skilled adventurers. Try to attack him and he'd turn into a dragon and rip you to shreds. Try to catch him while he was huge and lumbering and he'd turn into a cockroach and scuttle into some closet. Follow him in and suddenly he'd be a black mamba sinking his fangs into your jugular. And this guy was a pureblood Being. I don't doubt that what you've seen is scarier than all that, but we're not as wet behind the ears as you seem to think." At this point, Mykst put a hand on Kali's shoulder, and she took a step back. She'd said all she wanted to say anyway.

Mykst, having gained a little more confidence now that she was around, tried to mollify any disfavor Kali had caused as politely as he could. "What Black Magic means is, we're a little above being neophytes. But that being said, we know this town is way worse than what we've faced. So any help you could offer would be appreciated."

[techmaster-glitch]

   Sam abruptly got up, apparently to meet someone. Traxen manipulated the drone to turn about until the stairway came into view, and the figure that was climbing down them.
   Creature! Traxen hissed in surprise, which was fortunately barely caught by his headset microphone. A Demon, no less. Traxen would have initiated his standard "test" with her like he did with the Mythos, but from looking at the demon-girl he got the vibe she'd punt anyone that even looked at her funny. Which a lot of people seemed to be doing anyway.
   After she sat down for a drink, Traxen started turning the spiderlike drone around again, re-scanning the bar. He wished he had an actual flying camera-drone in there, but after the first incident, he figured he'd make do with what he had now. So far, not much had changed. The cloaked figure had since been revealed to be a white wolf. Another patron entered the bar, another feline, looking like an ordinary Being. and the massive armored human seemed to have a bit of a nasty streak.
   Traxen then remembered the Being who seemed to have an animated tome. Traxen directed the drone towards the table of the owner of the book. The drone pulled itself halfway up the edge of the table, where it hung there, it's "eye" lens observing silently, as the woman was already engaged in conversation with the bar owner.

[Kafzeil]

Jinx noticed the Demon girl come in, however, unlike most, he didn't really give a damn. Besides, she was crippled, and about as likely to cause terror and get some rich Family angered enough to put a Commission on her as pigs were likely to sprout wings and fly off into the sunset. If Jinx didn't get payed to hurt her, she might as well not exist in his world. Money was really the only thing that spoke to Jinx.

JInx looked up from behind a veil of blueish smoke at the young barkeep, putting down the letter. One could have never told it was an Angel Family's official parchment, due to the distinct Art Deco style surrounding the handwriting, as well as the Harkonnen Family crest in the same art style.

"Yeah...room and a pint of stout. Guinness if you got it, if not, something dry."He told her, pulling the money pouch out from his coat pocket.

The fight between the lawman and the other human caught his eye. He hated lawmen...bunch of stuck up bastards. A stupid piece of metal somehow gave them all the power in the world it seemed, at least until some Demon shoves his claw into your chest.It seemed a fight was escalating between him an an armored human, as well as the young lion girl taking a middle ground, as well as asserting the cop she and her companion could handle themselves.  "Oh...and a plate of Nachos with extra hot salsa." He muttered, feeling a bit hungry, as well as wondering how many otehrs would break up the possible fight versus the number who'd take bets on the outcome.

[Noone]

Kyirri looked over at Payden and Giles with concern, he was entirely distracted from reading his menu for what he had to eat. He tried to look at it again, to blot out what he was hearing, but he felt oddly compelled to try and break it up. It's not my business, I'll just get myself in trouble to get involved, I'm not sure what I could do... Yet, he felt he needed to, he certainly didn't want anything to get out of hand, even though it wasn't his place to do so. His legs paced over there, quietly, calmly, almost out of his own bodily control. He brought his menu with him, closed, held in his right hand. He looked over at them, worried, and also at Mykst and Kali, who seemed to have a greater grasp on their self control than the other two did, at least in his eyes. He silently wondered if his presence would just make things worse, he didn't even know their names.

"Excuse me,..." he said, trying to grab their attention. "but if you can't stand one another, I don't see any reason why you should stay in close proximity with one another. I presume that we're here to relax from the troubles of the day, and I'd rather not have that mood turn sour. If you would please, I'd certainly prefer it if you could calm yourselves." Kyirri kept a confidant look on his face, yet, doubt coursed through his head. I shouldn't be getting involved with them like this, they look dangerous. I don't even know them, and all I can realistically do is direct their spite towards me.., I can only hope that's not the case...

[Cogidubnus]

To Payden's surprise, a grin appeared on Giles's face. But the mirth of his mouth didn't match the sudden, homicidal gleam in his eye. He grabbed his drink of rum. "Thanks, sugar." he said, and raised the glass to his lips. He didn't put it down until he'd drank every last drop. He set the glass back down, somehow daintily.

"I'm sorry. Did you just say that I was a slaughterer?" He wasn't even trying to hide it now - when he breathed out, blue fire tinged the edge of his breath. "I assure you - it was not for lack of higher cause, Mr. Law. Have you ever heard of the Church of the Innocent?" his eyes bored into the other man's. "I was in the Fourth and Fifth crusades. Inducted into the Order of the Salamander at twenty. I saw Sennacherib burn. I was at Grannicus. Forty seven thousand of us fought a hundred and twenty thousand and left nothing but ashes. And you call me slaughterer? It was men like you that did these things."

His hands shook. "Men like you grab a fifteen year old out of his home and throw him into a meat grinder like Cheareon, because the Law is the Law the the Church needs you. I've seen a lot of men who claim to speak for 'God' or 'The Law', mister Lawman. Did you know - demon children and human children sound very much alike when they're screaming?" He kept Payden's gaze. "It was men like you that taught me that. I tell you what, Sheriff. If you didn't become a Lawman to push people around, then fucking don't. And you'd do a lot better without them flowery speeches and philosophy. If you believe in 'Law' so much, let somebody speak two goddam words before you reach for your gun inste-"

The black cat interrupted his rant, and the blackguard turned his head sharply towards her. He blinked - seemed to remember where he was - and his hand stopped shaking. He took a deep breath.

He turned around and fell silent, waiting for his drinks. Until he heard somebody else break in - Giles assumed, anyway, that the voice was talking to him.
"Mind y'erown goddam business." he said. "I won't start anything unless he does. And as long as he keeps his mouth shut."

[Myr]

Oh, joy. As if what had almost happened earlier hadn't been bad enough...even with the slight perk that it wouldn't be his doing if all chaos ensued shortly thereafter.  Raek's ears twitched slightly as he turned his attention away from the demon -and away from idly entertaining the instinctive urge to drive another predatory creature like himself from the area. Or eat it. The Mythos allowed one hand to stray to the axe in his lap, just in case.

No, he wasn't so stupid as to start a fight. Usually, anyway. The lupine troll just wanted to be prepared.

Maybe I should just go outside, now, he thought grimly to himself as the humans argued-and one of the feline patrons moved to try and tone things down a little. Personally, Raek didn't see the value in arguing; it wasted time and energy that could be devoted to other matters...such as cracking the head of some idiot that thought he was the horrific beast terrorizing the locale.

Speaking on that, it was further irritating when the supposed 'hero' decided to state his/her goodly intentions of ridding the world of his ilk and even having the gall of telling him how they intended to do it.

Trolls by nature weren't inclined in the least towards such things, so when it looked more like the aforementioned adventurer was going to spend the next ten minutes blabbing he simply smacked them in the head with the flat of his axe and ended the matter then and there. Or with his fist. Not only did they get to live another day, he saved himself some trouble. Whether they thanked their lucky stars he didn't eat them was their concern, not his.

At least that wasn't what was going on here, thank heavens.

In fact, I think I should, Raek decided as another patron decided to join the argument-and from the tone, sounded more like they wanted it to stop. Good for them; just don't drag him into it. After I pay for my meal. Speaking of that... The Mythos huffed as he stood up, his weapon dangling negligently in one hand and the plate he'd used in the other. At least the weapon was somewhat dull, so it was less likely to cut someone on accident. Not that he needed it sharp, really, to get the same results.

As the argument took on a slightly heated moment-not that the troll wolf cared for it outside of the blue fire- he wove his way through to the bar. Ironically his course put him rather close to the demon as he set the plate down and grunted again. "Barkeep," He huffed gruffly as he reached into a pocket in this shorts he wore-closer examination would hint they were made out of some kind of cured hide...what though, was probably best left to the imagination outside of the fact they looked in rather good repair.

The money he brought out, however, wasn't.

Copper, green with verdigris-Or was it mold? Hard to tell-, a few rather tarnished bits of silver and what appeared to be a gold coin that was so heavily scuffed you might as well throw it back in the melting pot were set on the counter. "This'll cover what I ate, I think," He sounded a bit agitated, but not enough to cause worry. Though, now that he was closer to the demonic ram...a thought occurred.

To have an injury like that was rather impressive, to say the least. Or at least it meant something impressive was the result of her injury. "And how'd that happen to you," He said in what, to him, was a nonchalant fashion...though it probably sounded more like steam escaping from a fissure to anyone else, "Figure it's got to be something hard to hurt one like you." Okay, he might get a punch in the jaw for bothering her, but still.

[Mao]

Mao was surprised to sense the injured demon coming down the stairs.  He didn't need to look around to know that others were as well.

"On a crutch no less.  An unlikely and rarely seen thing considering the prowess of her race." he thought.

The group present at the bar begun to get more heated.  So far it had sounded like the usual posturing that occurs when adventurers gather and alcohol is served, but the catch to that is that very little alcohol had yet been served and that the tones were already quite aggressive.  A few of them had attempted to quell the mass already,  though Mao couldn't be sure if their comments quite had the reactions they had hoped for.  Either way, things hadn't gotten out of hand yet.

"Hmm, just in case.." Mao thought as he decided to reach down and put his satchel over his shoulder and his staff standing up between his legs."May need to relocate a bit if this gets violent."