Decima was everything that a city could be: most of all busy, noisy and showful. Here one could see, hear, buy, sell and even smoke anything. The Imperial Palace belonging to the Orator family stood in the center of this biggest city known to people. At the edges of the city there were more peaceful and thus even rather shady areas. Even then one had to stay away from the city entrances and slummish areas to avoid the endless business (or in the case of slums, thievery).

---

Party Nº4P4 L01 – Gathering and briefingP4 L02 – Inn actionP4 L03 – Fights and dealsP4 L04 – Sewer and cellarP4 L05 – Night at the noble (!)P4 L06 – Down the drainP4 L07 – Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll

---

The inn was pretty spacious inside and looked the same there as in the outside: decent. It was, however, redder than the average inside of a building. There were a few people sitting around at the tables, and they glanced at the warriors as they entered but didn't pay them too much attention after that. On the left was the bar and counter, and behind it a couple of waiters and a bartender. On a corner in the right was a game that one could play with a wooden stick and several little wooden discs.

Geeileq entered the inn after Tabaxi. "I don't have enough money to pay even for raw materials", he said to Tabaxi. He waved his hand at the bartender and looked at what the others were doing.

Faustus wrinkled his nose at the sight of the inn. Used to more dirty and dilapidated places, he couldn’t imagine a bar fight or any other interesting activity taking place here. Taking off his hat Faustus scanned the room before looking back at the others. “Raw materials for what?” he asked Geeileq as he caught the end of the Hauken’s conversation with Tabaxi.

Toxir was a good ways away from the rest of the group, trying to find where she could check in. Approaching the bar, Toxir leaned against it casually and addressed the tender. "Excuse me, you know where to check in here?" She asked.

Tabaxi looked up at Faustus, smiling. "Raw materials for turning your weapons into masterwork weapons. I'm an expert blacksmith!" She stated proudly. "If you want something done, though, you have to pay for the parts. I can't really afford to cover it..."

Sithra walked on. She didn't have any money left at all, so it wasn't likely she'd be able to gather some raw materials. Not paying too much attention to the little cat anymore, she followed Toxir, and waited for directions towards their rooms. She was eager to get out of her armor and stretch her muscles. Her Catfolk blood yerned for some freedom, and all her years with the Dah'kin couldn't surpress it.

"After we get this done we'll have enough money to get materials", said Nal'unah, who just stood there looking at the inn. "You'll be really busy then", she said to Tabaxi. The game at the corner picked her attention. She wondered how did one play that.

“What she said” Faustus nodded over to Nal’unah while he searched his pockets for gold. “A few drinks at this place’ll probably sap what little funding I got left.” He grumbled, looking over at the tables a bit ruefully.

Geeileq listened to what the others had to say. Apparently none of them had much money, and well, they had all come here and were after money so it was pretty obvious to him. As Toxir and Sithra turned to the bartender, Geeileq also stepped forth as said to the barkeep: "These five people are with me."

The bartender, a large Lochmorian in a fairly typical bartender outfit, glanced at Toxir and put away the bottles he'd been organizing. When Geeileq made his announcement, he said: "Oh. Well, you can check in here." Having said that, he moved to a corner of the counter, pulled out a book and a bunch of keys. "I hear your staying here is paid for, ladies and gentleman, so pick a key. The rooms fit two people ideally if you want to share rooms."
Nobody was playing the strange game in the corner, the sticks and tiny discs were scattered on the wooden game board that was on top of a table.

Sithra took a key, noted the number, and looked at the others. "I do not mind sharing my room, as long as nobody touches my stuff and locks the door when they're out. I'll be in room 3."
She went up and into the room, closing the door behind her. After having inspected what was there, she put her little bag of stuff down on the bed furthest away from the door (if it makes a difference) and started undoing her armor.

Reaching forward for a key, Toxir glanced at the number. "Five." She said aloud, keeping silent about whether or not she wanted to share a room. If these people here were intelligent enough, they'd know full well that she didn't want to share her space with anyone. However, she likely wouldn't spend too much time in the room; it was far too suffocating to be in a small space. Even just being in the city was making her on edge and irritable. It was too claustraphobic. "I probably won't be in the room much, but I like my space." Toxir said before walking up to her room and shutting the door behind her.
Shutting the door behind her and looking around at the small space, Toxir's upper lip curled and she took her cloak off and tossed it on the bed. Hoping that no one would follow her into the room, Toxir took the risk and began stripping off her armor.

Faustus watched Toxir go up to her room. “Nesha, she’s even moodier than me.” He grumbled, picking up on the hints that she’d prefer her own room. He considered following the Dah’kin just to annoy her but decided he could use some peace and quiet himself. “Give me four, an’ I don’t mind sharin’ it.” Faustus said giving the remaining women a sly grin, hoping that would be enough to keep them out of his space. Taking a key, he wandered off in search for his room.
Eventually finding and entering the room, Faustus took the bed furthest from the door and sat down. He threw his bag in a corner, and propped his bow and arrows against the wall. Taking a knife out of his coat, he sat on the bed and inspected one of his kogatanas.

Unah didn't want to share her room with any of the people who had just taken their keys. She prefered to avoid the apathic dah'kin woman, that strange dah'kin friend panther (surely a shame for her kin, the planetarii could hardly imagine how a panther came to make friendship with the dah'kin) and the ravillan man was alright, she thought to herself, but it didn't look right to share a room with him. She decided not to worry about the room yet, and instead she kept looking at the game at the corner. "How does one play that thing?" she asked loud, to anyone who would care to answer.

A pair of curious eyes shot up at Nal'unah from a table as she expressed interest in the game. "Do you want to play it?" came the voice of a young Rysallean woman, who then deduced that the Terran must want to play since she asked about it. The Rysallean got up and started lining up the small discs on opposite sides of the edged game board while explaining: "I play the green ones so I line them up on the opposite side. The goal is to shoot this bigger disc with the help of the sticks at the smaller discs and send them to the four holes in each corner." She pointed at the holes where there were more pieces hidden. "You have to place the big disc on this line", she continued, indicating a line close to the edge of the board. "If one of your small discs stops at your line, you can shoot them without using the big disc."

Geeileq got himself a beer and ordered a plateful of food before he noticed that a game was about to occur. He walked over to the game board and seemed like he was about to play if it went to that point. He didn't say anything, though.

"Uhu" Nal'unah said as she agreed with her head to the woman's words. It reminded her a bit of another game she had played before, so she thought it couldn't be so complicated. She could see it required some level of dexterity, and strenght measurement, wich weren't her stronger attributes, but she decided to give it a shot. "How many players do yo need to play this?" she asked, taking her eyes off the board to look at the rysallean woman.

Tabaxi took a key, Room 7, and announced to the others that she didn't mind sharing, either. Except in this case she was sincere about it. She then ordered a beer and sipped at it while watching Unah play the game.

"Two to four", replied the Rysallean woman, taking a glance at Geeileq and then set up a third color for him. She then took a stick and shot the big disc with it toward her row of eight small discs. The discs dispersed a bit but nothing else happened. "Darn. Now it's your turn. We can play for money if you like."

Sithra had undone her armor and taken off her clothes, glad nobody walked in on her. Although she wouldn't have minded a (responsible) roommate, she was glad to have some space for herself. She grabbed some clothes from her bag, a long blue skirt of light cloth and a white top with blue motifs, which didn't really cover much besides her breasts. She secured two long cloth bracers on her lower arms, and secured her charming belt around her waist. After moving her hips to see if it wasn't too tight (after that armor all day long, she really didn't want to feel trapped in anything, even if it was a charming belt) she undid her hair so it just fell down straight (reaching over her shoulders) and decided she didn't feel like pulling on boots. Seeing the room didn't have a mirror, Sithra had to hope she had enough charm to look classy and attractive, rather than looking like a whore. Just to make sure she wouldn't be unarmed when there'd be a barfight (who knew where they ended up?) she secured her boomerang to a belt on her upper leg and hid it under the skirt in such a way it wouldn't stick out. She checked one last time if her necklace was still around her neck, and brushed her fur in places it ended up fuzzy because of the armor. Then she went out of her room and made sure she locked it well, seeing her weapon, armor and bag were inside, and went down the stairs. Once down she looked around, ignoring anybody who stared at her as if she was a piece of trash (you always had whiners in a crowd) and looked for a prefarrably catfolk male who seemed rich enough to buy her drinks and food, as these were her new concerns, after having taken off her armor.

As Sithra came back down, some heads turned and smiles flashed. The looks she got were mostly merely appreciative, though of course there were also the drunken stares. Sithra noticed fairly soon a young and good-looking lion who, however, was shorter than she though otherwise quite manly. He was sitting at a table and had probably been chatting to the lynxman and two rysalleans at the same table. He looked somewhat drunk and was at the moment staring at Sithra quite dreamily. The lynx poked the lion and failing to get his attention, looked at Sithra as well.

Sithra gave them both a sweet smile, and walked towards them, waving her hips and tail but careful not to overdo it. "Hello guys, I was just wondering, would you mind me sitting here with you? I'm new in this city and I don't know much people here, and you seem very nice. And handsome too."
She tried not to sound too flirty at once, she'd need them to buy drinks and food before their hormones would berserk and reduce them to horny animals, especially since they already had some alcohol. She wouldn't like to make a scene of it either, the day had been bothersome so far, and it wouldn't do her any good if people would name her a 'bar-fight invoking slut' from the first day on.

"Ah I would prefer not to involve money on the matter yet" Unah answered to the rysallean woman. "I'm just curious to see how this works" she said while watching the woman's move. She hadn't noticed Geeileq standing there, concentrated as she was on the game, until the woman placed some discs for him to play. "Will you join us?" she asked looking at the hauken while she grabbed one of the wooden sticks. Returning her eyes to the board, she tried to imitate the rysallean's move with more luck.

Having enough time to gather his thoughts, Faustus soon abandoned his idle contemplating. Feeling a little more renewed, he put the kogatana under his coat with the rest of his blades. He thought about leaving his bow, but in the end he didn’t trust the locks on the door, so he ended up taking everything but his bag. Not wasting much time, he locked the door on his way out. Making a note of the route back to his room, in case he had to stagger back to it from a night of getting drunk, Faustus made his way down the stairs.
With a quick scan of the room, he spotted some of the other people he arrived with, the Hauken and Terran standing out of the crowd. Though with other matters to deal with, he casually leaned against the wall and scanned the room again, this time for any drunkard he could pickpocket. 

The lionman smiled quite heartwarmingly, though sillily. The two rysalleans weren't exactly drunk (at least yet), but their discussion about gardening weed wasn't from a very serious end and sounded mildly tipsy. As soon as Sithra expressed a desire to sit with them, the lion pushed the lynx's chair aside a bit and pulled up a chair for her to sit. "Please, miss...?" The lynx smiled at Sithra as well, he wasn't as drunk as the lion but not very far from the rysalleans' lightheartedness either.

The rysallean woman nodded and watched Nal'unah send the big disc going. The Terran was positively surprised as she hit just the right spot at the end of the disc row and managed to get two of the little discs sent into the corner holes. The six remaining discs dispersed a little but did not leave the edge of the board. "Well, it seems not playing for money was fortunate on my part!" the rysallean commented with a laugh. "You get another turn because you 'bagged' a disc. Oh, my name is Aelah", she said, sounding a bit embarrassed at not introducing herself before.

Faustus saw a few people who would be drunk enough to rob, but they were steadily in the company of more sober people who would probably notice his doings. Obviously these people knew how to not get drunk.

Geeileq picked a stick and started messing around with it, making the big disc roll on the narrow end of it. "Yea, I'm playing", came the reply to Unah's question, with a slightly lower voice now. He watched her score and commented somewhat quietly: "Luck." He took a sip of his beer and continued rolling the big disc as if that was more interesting than the game.

"Desneshi." Sithra introduced herself as she sat down on the chair, brushing the lion's arm as she went. "But you can call me Sithra. Now how can I call you, handsome?" She mainly spoke to the lion, because he seemed more open to flirting, but she gave the lynx a fair number of looks as well. Two could buy more than one, and if she could get them both excited, they might even try to outbid eachother, which would result in a good dinner and a good drink for her - possibly even some entertainment.

"Nice to meet you" Unah said to Aelah with a smile. "I'm Nal'unah" she introduced herself, "and this hauken friend here is Geeileq... if I didn't catch the name wrong" she added eyeing him briefly. She returned her eyes to the game. "Some call it begginner's luck" she commented her own move, "anyway, I'm starting to like this thing" she said and hitted again the big disc with the stick, trying to hit some of her smaller discs and send them to the corners.

The lion grinned happily and tried to sit more civilizedly on his chair. "Oh, um... I'm Agothinan, Agan for short. Shenishe here is a friend of mine." For some reason he didn't mention the rysalleans, of course they seemed to be too busy arguing about the effect of different kinds of water on the vegetation.

As a straight response to her previous luck, this time Nal'unah didn't hit any of the small discs, but instead the big one bounced off the edge and slid straight into a corner hole on Nal'unah's side of the board. Aelah made a grimace. "And then there's beginners bad luck", she said with a light laugh. "For 'bagging' your big disc, a new small disc is placed for you", she said, digging a small disc from the hole and putting it in the row with the others.

"Yeah", said Geeileq affirmatively to Unah about the mention of his name. He then proceeded to shoot his big disc.

Gee managed to bag one small disc and continued his turn. The next time he hit nothing, and Aelah shot again. She managed to get her discs even more dispersed, but not bagged.

The terran woman laughed too. "You aren't making up rules, are you?" Unah asked jokingly, and hoped to have more luck with her next move.

With a sigh, Faustus cursed his lack of luck. Deciding that starting a brawl would be a bad idea, he looked over to where Nal’unah and Geeileq stood. Intrigued by the game they were playing, and with little else to do, he walked over to watch.  

After a while of being in her room, Toxir smacked her lips, feeling the dryness. "Shit, I need a beer." She thought to herself as she stood up and took off whatever she didn't need. Her flail and battleaxe were propped in the corner, hidden under the cloak she'd been wearing previously in case a theif saw them and decided to make some quick cash. Stripping down to just her clothes and her hidden weapons (those little knives were handy), Toxir opened the door and shut it behind her, making sure to lock it and double check. Trust in a city was folly. Walking calmly, idly, Toxir made it back down to the bar and sat in a chair, ignoring the group she was with. Toxir did not have time for games, nor the interest for social interaction. Making eye-contact with the tender, Toxir shot her order to him. "Pint of the strongest shit you've got back there."

Sithra gave them both a big smile. "Very pleased to meet you, Agan and Shenishe."
Then, when a waitress passed with a plate of food, she looked around and watched her walk by. Then she returned to the table with a sigh, and leaned forward, resting her head on her hand, and subtly showing some more cleavage. "That food smells good, too bad I can't buy any. Ah well, guess that's what happens when you've got not enough money in the big city..."

Geeileq owned at the game and beated both the rysallean woman and Nal'unah, leaving them to settle it out while his meal arrived and he started eating. He had heard Sithra speaking and wondered why she claimed to not have enough money for buying food when the noble had told them at least twice that they all were staying in the inn at his expense and got the basic meal for free. Guessing that maybe she wanted something rare or just wanted to rob them a little, he then shrugged, continuing to chew on his meal in his lonely table.

After Geeileq left the game victorious, the rysallean woman commented: "Yes, I'm definitely glad we didn't play for money!" She then giggled and continued playing. Not too long after, she beated Nal'unah and came second – and Na'lunah only had one disc left on the game board, but it was very conveniently located at the edge of her side of the board, so it had been quite difficult to hit. "It was a good game, thank you", she said. She also smiled at Faustus, but wasn't too sure whether he wanted to play.

The bartender casually poured Toxir a pint of Boar's Blood, which she knew to be among the strongest drinks around.

The lionman Agan looked quite dreamily at Sithra and when she mentioned about the food, he said: "Oh, that's not good at all... are you saying you could exchange food money for... for something?" He seemed a bit shy but it seemed fairly obvious he wouldn't just randomly buy something for a woman he met half a minute ago.

"Weeelll, that would depend on what little something you had in mind and how badly you'd want it." Sithra replied with a wink, brushing the lion's arm some more. "Tell you what handsome, the better the food, the more I'll try to give you something good in return. What do you say, hm?"

"Uhmhm", mumbled Agan and stroked her arm with his finger as a response. Before he could reply, though, the lynx said: "That'd be nice, but I'd like to think we aren't that gullible..." Agan turned to look at his friend and seemed a bit confused.

Sithra looked at the lynx surprised. Sounding innocently, she asked: "What's wrong then?"

With the game finished, Faustus was about to lose interest and wander some more. That was until he heard something about playing for money. He quickly returned the Rysallean’s smile then looked at the board again. It seemed quite simple. “D’you mind if I try?” he asked, directing it at both Nal’unah and the other woman. 

Watching as the bartender poured her drink, Toxir zeroed in on the label and smirked. Boar's Blood. If ever she wanted a drink that would make her forget that she was in the city (or her name for that matter), Boar's Blood would be the one. Grinning slightly, Toxir took the drink. "This'll do the trick." She said to herself, nodding at the bartender to say thanks and that she could pay him later. Raising the glass to her lips, Toxir took a large swig that burned the whole way down her throat. Placing the mug back on the table as if she'd done nothing more than drink some water, Toxir waited for all the noise in the room to slowly disappear thanks to the alcohol.

Nal'unah watched Geeileq walk away from the game. "Strange person, that hauken" she commented, "I had the feeling he was a master at this and didn't say a word about it" she complained as she lost. "Oh no, thank you" she said to Aelah, "for teaching me how to play this". She then turned to Faustus. She wasn't sure if she wanted to continue playing. She sighed. "Well, I guess I could play once more. Just for you, hun", she said with a wink.

Having finished her first beer at the conclusion of Unah's game, Tabaxi shuffled away from the game table in search of more booze. The game confused her somewhat, and attempting to play while getting snockered seemed a bad idea. It should be noted that Tabaxi never made her way up to her rooms to unpack or get comfortable like many of the others did, in fact she bopped around the bar carrying her bags, her axe and her gun like they weren't there. And so it was that after retrieving a fresh pint of ale from the bar, Sithra's attempts at flirting caught Tabaxi's attention. She walked over to them, unable to resist the urge to stick her nose in someone else's business. The lynxman and the lion soon found themselves with a very short lynxwoman on their hands, one that had a cannon strapped to her back and liked to talk too much. "Hey, Sithra, was it? Who are your friends? I didn't think any of us knew anybody in town. I'm Tabaxi." She said, giving all three of them a cheery little wave, seeming to include Sithra in case she'd forgotten her name. "She and I are sort of traveling together."

To her surprise, Sithra was actually glad to see the little lynx stick her nose in her 'hobby'. "Well Tabaxi, this Lion here's named Agan, and this lynx here is Shenishe. How's your evening so far?"

Tabaxi happily gave Sithra the rundown, instead of giving Sithra a simple "good" or "bad" reply. "Well, Gee and Unah played a game that was right confusing, the booze here's quite tasty and I plan to have several more, that Faustus chap just gets creepier every time I look at him... Um, I'm a tad disappointed that I couldn't talk anybody into letting me do some masterworking on their equipment, I think I'll try again after we get paid. Oh! And I've just met two new interesting catfolk. Hallo Agan and Shenishe!" She finally finished her monologue, saluting the two men with her flagon of ale.

Agan tried to mumble something incomprehensible as a reply to Sithra, but Shenishe managed to say something more intelligible. "Well, I mean, it's not like I don't know that you're a pretty powerful warrior..." He didn't manage to finish though before Tabaxi made her way to the table. Though they'd of course seen her when the group came in, they certainly hadn't expected someone so heavily armed to make her way to their table. Agan still stared at Sithra and it was a little unclear whether he had noticed Tabaxi's coming, but the rysalleans and Shenishe were glaring at her and being quiet. The lynx managed to utter a "hi" as a reply, and the rysalleans nodded at her before continuing their discussion about the best way of disposing dead tree leaves. After that he just listened to them talk, smiling and nodding. Agan also now noticed Tabaxi and smiled as well. They seemed to have forgotten the discussion before Tabaxi's entering, which wasn't surprising.

Toxir was sure she saw a large Lochmorian fellow wink at her.

The rysallean woman smiled at Faustus and said: "Not at all!" She started setting up the game again and asked: "Should we play for money now?

Geeileq, having finished his meal, got up, took the dishes away and asked for another drink as he walked back to the game table. He set up one more disc row for himself.

Sithra grinned at the little Tabaxi. This little chatterbox could be renamed 'social chaos'. It sure did lighten the mood. Why did it matter she was a powerful warrior? She could still let others pay for her meals, right? Agan didn't seem to mind much. "Well Tabaxi, I don't know you all that long, nor do Agan and Shen here. Since you're carrying that gaint gun of yours, tell us something about it."
Sithra was interesting as how a lynx got her hands on a hand cannon, and she was sure she heard one of her party members call Tabaxi by some kind of nickname that seemed to have a reputation.

Faustus grinned at both Nal’unah and the Rysallean. “Though I don’t have much money, it could make things more interesting.” He paused to watch Gee join the game, and then began to set a row up himself. “I’m afraid that I’m at a disadvantage, since you three already know the game so well…” Faustus said gravely, hoping he could persuade some advantage out of the others. 

Tabaxi drew the hand cannon from its bindings on her back with practiced ease, hefting the weapon for Sithra's closer inspection. "It was my great-grandfather's weapon. He left it to me at his passing. It's called the Tobaraquion, I call him "Old Toby." She says proudly, then adds, "I'm not sure where Great-Grandfather got it, he never would tell me, though I asked many times." Her smile became even brighter and wider as she talked about Old Toby, pointing out the jumping wildcats in the engraved patterns on the muzzle, and then most notedly the plethora of scratches dug into the wooden handle, marking her kill count. The wooden handle is commpletely covered on both sides with such tick marks. "-And this big scratch I put here, is the one where I blew the head off of a Tharezian warlord in Northern Rysallis. Took it clean off. And then after that, I ran out of room. The rest of my kills are marked up here." She then points at her left shoulder, where quite a few ticks have accumulated on her shoulder armor.

Finishing her drink, Toxir placed the mug back on the table and closed her eyes for a moment to let the alcohol settle. Lifting her head, Toxir saw a large Lochmorian wink at her. Arching a confused brow, Toxir did not return his gaze, but simply looked away. Catching the tender's eye, Toxir ordered another glass of Boar's Blood.

Sithra laughed. The little cat had quite a kill count. More than she had, anyway. Then again, she never noticed much of the War of Corruption, being ordered to stay at the camp and protect it. Seeing Thadre's army didn't come by her tribe, she had little to do with the entire war, apart from the fact her parents died in it. Even so, she was often blamed for being a traitor, because the Dah'kin had betrayed the Catfolk troups when Thadre was defeated. As if she had anything to do with that. Sithra's mood grew darker, and she ordered another beer. "That's quite a list of opponents you defeated then. I'm impressed. You fought in the War of Corruption then?"

Tabaxi smiled, putting her hand cannon away. "That I did. Seems like such a long time ago." She says, then stared at the floor uncomfortably for a few seconds before saying to the two men, whom she had almost forgotten, "Are either of you fighters?"

"Uh", Nal'unah said placing her hands into her pockets. "I haven't a single coin to spend" she said with a shrug. "That's why I took this job, anyway", she cleared. "Well, I'll leave the game to you then, and I'll better go leave my stuff somewhere, I use too much room carrying all this around" she smiled, excusing herself. "I'm sure you'll get how the game works quickly" she told Faustus, "Aelah here is a good teacher". Unah turned and wondered if she should share a room with someone or just pick one for herself. She headed to the counter and asked the man if there were any rooms left, before deciding.

Agan and Shenishe listened to the two women in a bit of an awe, them having barely been too young to fight in the war at the time. They also stared at Tabaxi's cannon like they'd never seen one – of course, they hadn't. Their eyes wide, they barely noticed when Tabaxi asked them the question. Shenishe immediately grinned like an idiot, seeming somewhat anxious, and Agan shook his head a little before saying: "Of course we are! I mean, not as powerful as you but uh... yeah."

The bartender gave Toxir another mugful. "You need to pay for the next one." To Nal'unah he said: "Yeah, there are still free rooms, it's a big inn. I'd still prefer two people in the same room."

"Surely someone could lend you a coin", commented Geeileq after Nal'unah. He looked slightly bored and eyed Faustus, as if trying to pierce him just by looking at him. Eventually Geeileq said: "So, should we play for money? Winner gets all?" He held a few silver coins in his hand and looked at the other two and glanced at Nal'unah as well, in case she changed her mind.

Faustus returned Hauken’s stare with suspicion. “Fine by me.” He finally agreed, taking out some coins from his pocket. “I could lend ‘er some, if she wanted.” Faustus told Gee with a reluctant sigh, but also considered that if he won and collected the debt, then he might make a profit, if only a little. He awaited the Rysallean’s answer while he studied the game.

"Oh... Neat." Tabaxi said, nodding her head and smiling at Agan and Shenishe, this followed by a few seconds of silent staring at the two men. She then blinked, shook her head then looked back to Sithra, pointing her thumb at the bar. "Right. So... I'm gonna grab something to eat, maybe some snacks, do you want me to grab you anything?"

"Yes, right. I'll be nice then" said Nal'unah to the bartender. Hearing Geeileq was willing to lend her some money, she turned to the players. "Well, let me get my stuff into one room first and I'll play" she said with a smile, and then looked around for Tabaxi. "Hey, Skullsplitter" she said loudly, "mind if I share the room with you?" she asked.

"That'd be great, thanks." Sithra said kindly. "Just fetch me a decent dinner, and I'll be fine. I'm mighty hungry, so a few snacks won't do."
She looked at Nal'unah who was calling out for Tabaxi. She had to think for a moment, before rememebring the planetarii's name. "Hey there Unah, Tabaxi's over here. She going to fetch some food right now. Care to join us?"

"Uhm, maybe later" replied Unah to Sithra. "I'm going to play one more round of this game here with the guys" she said, without moving from where she was, so she was speaking rather loud to be heard. "Does this game have a name?" she asked turning suddenly to the players.

"Carrom", replied Geeileq to the Terran's inquiry of the name of the game. He then stared at her much in the same fashion as he stared at Faustus just a while ago. After a moment, though, he stopped and started speaking about the bet: "One gold?" He held the coin in his hand and turned to Faustus. "Will you lend her?"

Toxir nodded to the tender, and tipped her mug back towards her lips. Feeling the affects of the powerful drink she was consuming, Toxir turned her head to look at the Lochmorian man who had winked at her, trying to figure out what exactly his deal was.

“’Just said I would.” Faustus replied to the Hauken while he sorted out the coins in his hand. “Hmm, one gold’s a little low, how ‘bout two?” he asked looking from Gee to Aelah.

Aelah smiled at Faustus but said nothing, digging out coins from her bag. She did eye him a little when he mentioned that the bet was a bit low. "Well, uh... maybe..." she muttered, obviously not having much money.

The Lochmorian that had winked at Toxir didn't even look at her now, just talked rough at his table and laughed with his buddies.

Yawning uninterestedly, Toxir turned around and finished her drink, having already lost interest in the Lochmorian. Pushing the mug away from her, Toxir sat comfortably with her elbows on the bar, leaned forward as she let the alcohol work its magic.

Tabaxi moved away from Sithra, toward Unah at the game table, waved her key at Unah, "Sure, just come get me when you're done there and we'll go up." She replied, willing to share a room with her. After having stated this, she continued toward the bar, ordered two plates of whatever was on special that night for Sithra and herself. She just happened to be standing next to Toxir as she did so. As she waited for her order to be filled, she smiled warmly and asked her, "Having fun?"

Looking lazily down to Tabaxi, Toxir nodded her head shortly as a salutation. "@#$% yeah." Toxir replied. The alcohol made her much more tolerable of the small lynx for some reason, though her mouth was horrendous, cursing like a sailor. Crossing her legs in the stool, Toxir looked to Tabaxi once more. Since the cat was smiling and seemed in a pleasant mood, Toxir dropped her usual loathing for others. "Take a seat if you want to." Toxir was clearly on her way to becoming quite drunk.

"Alright then" said Unah with a shrug and returned to the "carrom" board with all her stuff. "Let's begin this. How much gold was it then?" she asked to the players.

About to reply to Aelah, Faustus noticed Nal’unah returning to the game. “One gold.” He answered, not too concerned about lowering his wager so Aelah could play. At least he could get to grips with the rules. He continued to count out two gold from the coins in his hand, giving half of it to Nal'unah. 

Tabaxi grinned at Toxir, "I'll happily take you up on that offer, after I deliver this to Sithra." She held aloft the plate of food that she had ordered from the bartender, who had dutifully delivered it a few moments later. She nodded to Toxir, wandered off in search of Sithra. Once found again, she explains, "I think I'm gonna toss a few back with that half-Dah'kin lady, she really looks like she can hold her booze. I've yet to meet someone who could outdrink me!" She laughed, handing Sithra her food then waving goodbye, wandering back to the bar and to Toxir. She sat down on a stool next to the half Dah'kin woman in front of her own plate of food, and asked Toxir while she ate, "So what's that you're drinking?" 

Faustus seemed to have incredible luck as he scored one little disc after the other. After winning, Aelah came fairly soon second, Gee following right after her, so they made a draw. Nal'unah, then again, had again failed; it seemed like her dexterity wasn't quite at the level of the three others.
At the end, Aelah praised Faustus and his skills, giving him her piece of gold.

Toxir thought that a whole lot of people in the inn gradually started talking louder and louder and that was very annoying in her opinion.

Agan and Shenishe started gradually getting a little uncomfortable in Sithra and Tabaxi's company – though Agan obviously didn't care that much, being drunk enough. The rysalleans would probably have minded if they had not continuously come up with the most bizarre subjects to talk about.

Geeileq seemed very frustrated at the fact that Faustus was winning and kept on mumbling something about cheating and luck. He was pretty much cursing the man down to some cesspits, though didn't of course say anything about it out loud. Instead, he stared at Faustus with a murdering glare and wasn't pleased at all at seeing him winning. He leaned on the table, holding the stick rather dangerously and said frustratedly: "Again?"

Faustus didn’t seem all that shocked that he had won, and he didn’t mind flaunting that fact to the others, particularly Geeileq. “Well, I don’t wanna’ rob you of all your money. Tell ya’ what, I’ll play one last game, should give you some practise too.” He smirked under the hauken’s murderous stare, much more interested in annoying Gee rather than earning more money. “I could lend you again?” Faustus directed his attention to Nal’unah, unsure whether she still wanted to play. 

"She's a cute little bugger, ain't she?" Sithra grinned at Shen, seeing him become a bit uneasy. Keeping up her 'innocent' looks, she continued the conversation as if she didn't make any remark at all. She figured she should try and bend the conversation towards the nobleman now. "So, what do you guys do for a living anyway? You come here a lot?"

Nodding, Toxir ordered another Boar's Blood while Tabaxi delivered Sithra her food. She sneered. Why the hell couldn't Sithra get her food herself? The loudness and crowd in the inn was realy grating her nerves. Perhaps more alcohol was the last thing she needed. I'll pay you when I'm done." Toxir said to the tender as she jingled her coin pouch, letting the tender know that she intended to pay. When the little cat returned, Toxir turned slightly so she could see the cat better. Eyeing her food, Toxir arched her brow. "Boar's Blood. And what the @#$% are you doing?" Toxir asked, speaking about the food. With food in Tabaxi's stomach, it would absorb the alcohol and give her an advantage.

"We're lumberjacks", said Agan rather proudly and smiled at Sithra while nodding. Shenishe nodded as well and answered her other question: "Oh, we come here about once per week... it's a nice inn... exotic people..."

The bartender nodded at Toxir and gave her more Boar's blood. "Three gold." Unlike many in the inn, he wasn't drunk and could tell Toxir could afford her drinks. Unless she got robbed, that is.

"Aaaahg" Unah complained, a bit upset as she hopelessly lost. "And you were worried about learning how to play" she said to Faustus, crossing her arms over her chest and thinking the ravillan's luck was suspicious. "And no, thanks", she answered him as he offered to lend her more money. "I don't feel comfortable owing things..." she said, and retired from the game table. The terran woman approached then Tabaxi and Toxir at the bar. "What's in the menu for today?" she asked the bartender as she sat down.

"Really now?" Sithra asked. Perhaps this noble often hired adventuring troups. In that case, somebody had to know something about him. Perhaps one of the more regular guests would. "That sounds like fun. Who do you mean with 'exotic' people? Do they visit regurlary?"

Tabaxi raised an eyebrow and grinned at Toxir. "Well, I was going to eat dinner. Seems to me that you've got little more than alcohol in your system." She then pushes the plate away, "But I suppose I could put dinner off until later, if someone just wants to see how well I can hold my booze. The food would give me an unfair advantage... Or, hey, maybe you should eat it? You look like you could use a handicap." Tabaxi giggled, turned to the bartender and ordered a Boar's Blood for herself, explaining that if the nobleman who had hired them would cover her bar tab, and if not, she'd pay later. She then smiled brightly at Toxir, "Say, what's your name?"

Declining the offer of food, Toxir took a hearty swig of her ale. "I don't eat what I don't kill." She explained, eyeing the food suspiciously. Anything that came from a barrel was not a menu option for her. Not responding to the lynx's mention of her needing a handicap, Toxir simply smirked and drank more of her alcohol. If the cat wanted a contest, then she could participate, but Toxir couldn't really see the point anymore. All it meant was the one had more body fat than the other; alcohol was something she probably knew way too much about. Toxir didn't look over to Tabaxi as the cat grinned largely at her. She did, however, hear the cat's question. "Toxir." She replied after taking another healthy drink.

Faustus gave a smug grin upon hearing both the Terran’s comments. He had to admit that borrowing anything of value from him was foolish, so the Terran was probably smarter than he had given her credit for. “So how ‘bout you?” Faustus asked Aelah. “Or is it just me and the birdman?”

The bartender turned at Nal'unah. "Well, the usual, vegetables, beef, pork, some fruits. Today's special is fish, fresh from the nearby river, with vegetables of your choice."
To Tabaxi, he said: "No. I've been told that the basic meal is covered, nothing beyond that. That there is your basic meal, missy. You have to have real money to pay right now if you want something special." The bartender grinned then and continued, half joking: "Unless you give me a written receipt that states that whenever you do pay back, you will pay back double."

Agan and Shenishe were a little confused at Sithra's questions. "It's kind of late... I think we..." mumbled Shenishe, but not really doing much. The two rysalleans currently argued about the color of violets. Agan, then again, replied to Sithra: "Well... Most aren't regulars... I think... I have never seen anyone as exotic as you, my lady." Considering how drunk the lion was, it was likely that he was just saying that to impress Sithra.

Aelah looked at Faustus slightly dreamily until he spoke to her. "Oh. Yes, I will play again. One gold?"

"One gold", replied Geeileq to Aelah while lining up the little discs. He eyed Faustus again and said: "Of course, I would like to kick your sorry ass alone as well, I-have-no-special-abilities-man."

"You know what? I'll just take a plate of vegetables" said Unah to the bartender with a friendly smile. She didn't really need to eat anything, but she was rather bored and thought she could use chewing some stuff. She watched the women talking about drinks, but didn't say anything, just looked at them wondering if they were going to make a contest or not.

“Must be frustrating,” Faustus was still grinning but his eyes had narrowed on Geeileq, “...comin’ second to a no-special-abilities-man.” He mused out loud, wondering if all Haukens were this prideful, as well as annoyingly high-pitched. “One gold it is.”

Seeming fairly agitated, Geeileq flicked Faustus with his playing stick before starting to play.

The bartender raised an eyebrow at Nal'unah, but gave her her plate of vegetables, surprisingly fresh at this time of day.

The game was surprisingly tense and Geeileq growled at Faustus more than once. However, finally, at the end, Aelah proved her proficiency and won the game fair. After that Geeileq felt excessively proud and malicious at Faustus and came second by bagging his last disc. Faustus hadn't been too far from it either, just having two discs left, but it wasn't enough this time.

Geeileq handed one gold to Aelah and grinned victoriously at Faustus. "So long, sucker", he said, downed the rest of his beer and walked off upstairs, now flapping the ravillan's face with a wing.

Only stopping himself from breaking the playing stick over Gee’s head through sheer willpower, Faustus pulled a vulgar gesture at the hauken’s back as he pranced off. “I’ll pay him back later, a stray arrow maybe.” He grumbled while he took out some coins. “I’d offer a rematch but I got other business to attend to. Another night eh?” Faustus handed the coins over to Aelah then moved over to the bar, trying to keep his distance from the others in the group. “I’ll have a Boar’s Blood if you got any.”  

"You flatter me, Agan." Sithra said with a smile. Clearly these two weren't of any help. She finished her meal, and decided just to get to the point. Agan was drunk, and this Shen guy seemed smart enough, but he lacked the personality to do anything baout her presence. "Say, does any of you know the owner of the inn? He was the one who invited me to Decima, but I don't really know him."

"There you go", said the bartender as he handed Faustus his mug.

Agan grinned and couldn't help petting Sithra's hand while he was at it. To the question about the owner of the inn, Shenishe replied: "The bartender? He's a nice guy, everyone knows him..." The lynx looked rather puzzled. "...If you want to know more about him, why don't you talk to him yourself, my lady?" he mumbled.

Sithra guessed she should do just that. Time to stir things up a bit. "Very well then. Agan, thank you for the great time, but I believe you friend here wishes me gone, and I don't want to be a burden. See you guys later, maybe."
She got up from the table, stroking Agan's mane once more before taking a seat at the bar next to Tabaxi. She mumbled something about the stupidity of some people, but not hard enough to be comprehended completly. Then she sniffed a few times and looked at the stuff Toxir and Tabaxi were drinking. "That smells extremely foul, my little big-eared friend. I've smelled poisons which rieked better than that."

Upstairs, Geeileq went to his room, pulled the curtains to the window and by stuffing them tight with the help of some furniture that was already in place made sure no one could peek in. After that, he locked the door with the key as well as the latch, and even grabbed a stool and quietly pushed it to the door handle so that it would be nearly impossible to get in. Having done that, he threw his clothes off and flopped on the bed to sleep.

"No no no... oh. Uh..." mumbled Shenishe and was pretty much speechless. After purring at Sithra, Agan looked confused as he saw her leave and looked at his friend. The lynx mumbled smething about how late it was and how drunk Agan was and that they should get home, so evetually the two catfolk and the rysalleans got up and left the inn, waving goodbye to the bartender.

Aelah's eyes pretty much gleamed when Faustus handed her the money. She found herself without fellow players, and hearing the catfolk's babbling about the lateness decided to leave as well. She also waved goodbye at the inn, and this time a few drinkers responded.

Toxir was hearing people from the tables shouting something slightly questionable – though she couldn't make even the tone out exactly, she was pretty sure it was about dah'kin-human halfbreeds.

Taking a swig of the boar’s blood, Faustus took a quick glance around the room. With the place emptying out, he decided he might as well ask some questions while the bartender was idle. “When we arrived ‘ere, you said our stay was paid for…” He started abruptly, feeling the alcohol jolt his senses a little. With a frown he looked around at the people shouting at the table before continuing. “Exactly how much is paid for, and by who?” Faustus asked bluntly, knowing from experience that subtly isn't held in high regard by most Lochmorians.

The bartender sighed, pulled up a stool as if it was a great effort (though it obviously wasn't) and sat down opposite to Faustus. "I was told that your staying and the basic meal is covered. That means you can sleep and eat, as long as you don't start eating more stuff than necessary." He pointed at Toxir and said: "She'll have to pay for that herself." The man now poured himself a drink as well and drank a bit before going on: "You don't know who you're working for? How's that possible? ...Or did you mean just his name? Damnit, that will some time start getting to my nerves. But I gotta agree with him, I mean, does it really matter that his name is Derrius Ovoanum? Are you more contented with life if you know that I'm Tomas?" The Lochmorian gave a short chuckle before shrugging at Faustus and taking a sip again.

Tabaxi grinned at Sithra, and said, while pointing at Toxir, "Toxir's drinking it, not me. I wanted to, but Tomas wants me to pay for it." She then laughed, and went back to quietly eating her dinner, unwilling to pay double for a drinking game with Toxir. Though it sounded like fun, she sure didn't have the money to spend, and she would probably already be "paying double" with a hangover the next day. As she ate, she took great interest in the conversation between Tomas the bartender and Faustus. 

Unah ate a carrot with little interest while she listened to the others talk. She watched the lochmorian man as he spoke. "Actually I am", she answered him, even as the question wasn't directed to her. "A name is a start. With it I'm able to gather information... and makes things less confusing" she said, and continued to eat her vegetables for a moment. "What time is it?" she asked, feeling slightly sleepy now.

Finishing his boar’s blood, Faustus had to admit a name was a little comforting, but wasn’t much to go on. Wondering if he was getting too paranoid about the whole situation, he started to respond to Tomas. “Names don’t mean much to me, I just like to know who I’m workin’ for.” He gave a hoarse chuckle, his voice made even coarser by the alcohol. “He’s a mysterious one, your friend. Almost had to pry the details about this test outa’ him…” Faustus yawned at Unah’s mention of time while he listened to see if Tomas had anything useful to say.

"See, that's one more reason why it's sometimes not useful to give out names, lady", the bartender said, addressing Nal'unah. "People can eventually find out inconvenient or personal information that way. Maybe." At her inquiry of the time, he replied: "It's not yet midnight, my guess is it's about 23." Turning back to Faustus, he went on: "My friend? Mister Ovoanum? What makes you think he's a friend of mine?"

Sithra was following the conversation about 'Mister Ovoanum' with interest as well. At least this would get them somewhere. "Why shouldn't he be? You don't think it's good to have friends among the nobility? Or does he jsut pretend to be a nobleman with a big showy house?"

“Heh, that’s one of the reasons you don’t have mine.” Faustus joked at the bartender’s wariness to name giving before continuing. “Nuthin’ really, he’s at least your employer though. Just wonderin’ where the sense is in workin’ for a man you despise.” He glanced at Sithra, or at least he thought it was Sithra; not immediately recognizing the panther out of her leather armour and combat gear, he tried to give his insight on Decima. “There’s probably a noble for each of the poor, an’ I doubt Mister Ovo’s a man of much fame or influence, just wealth. He has shabby taste in paintings, I know that…” He shrugged a little before addressing the Lochmorian again. “So, you sayin’ your not his friend?”

The bartender eyed the people asking so many questions and making obscure assumptions. "You know, that alcohol's gone straight up to your heads", he said, shaking his head and seeming amused. "Aren't you warriors or something? Do you really get paid for unknitting personal relations or what?" Of course, that thought made him realize that maybe that really was the case, and he stopped smiling for a moment. Not for long though, because soon he grinned and replied to Faustus's last question: "Nope."

Toxir lifted her head immediately as her keen ears picked up snippets of someone else's noissome conversation. This was one of the many reasons Toxir had left the city in the first place; leaving people and all their petty drama behind her. But she knew one thing for damn sure, and it was that if she had to be around people, she'd much rather be with her Dah'kin kin under the ground than with the sophomoric humans that toiled in the sun. Standing up, Toxir fished into her pocket and tossed him the appropriate coins for the drinks she'd had and the last one she was ordering. "Give me one more." she ordered to the bartender, intending to glug it quickly. Balance was becoming a problem, and there was no doubt about the fact that she was highly intoxicated, but Toxir held her liquor well. The only physical sign of drunkenness being her tendency to sway briefly as she waited for Tomas to pour her another. Drunk or not, Toxir didn't want to rush into battle if it was merely a passing thought she'd overheard. If the conversation persisted, she'd put an end to it somehow.

“And why would that be?” Faustus asked, a little more interested in the conversation now. He felt the remark about unkitting personal relations quite ironic, but didn’t bother showing it. Instead he took a glance at Toxir and wondered what had caught her attention. With a grunt, he turned back to Tomas and awaited his answer.

The bartender took Toxir's six gold while giving her the last drink. She still heard someone mention dah'kin-human halfbreeds; the conversation was taking place in one of the corners, one table away from the game few of the party had played. Faustus also heard those people mention halfbreeds and was sure that they were what had caught Toxir's attention.
The Lochmorian turned back to Faustus. "Should I be friends with everyone who gives me money? Should he be friends with everybody he gives money to?" Faustus was pretty sure the man was getting annoyed and that he didn't really know anything too useful about the noble at least.

By this time, Tabaxi had suitably stuffed her little tummy full with her dinner, and was becoming sleepy. She stood up, "Well, I think I'll retire for the evening. Unah, give a knock and I'll let you in, I like to lock my doors at night." That last she had said while jingling her keys at Unah. Then, with a hearty "Night night!" to everyone, she headed up the stairs to her designated room, lucky number 7. Once in the room, she got comfortable, stripping away the armor and sleeping in her cotton underthings, but strangely enough she had propped the handle of the axe by the bed within arm's reach, and laid the hand cannon Old Toby in the bed next to her, cuddling it like a really weird teddy bear. 

"Oh, I'll be leaving too" Unah answered Tabaxi. "It was a nice evening. See you all tomorrow" she said picking up her stuff and following the lynx to room number 7. In the room she piled all her stuff in a corner, took her clothes off and went to bed. "Ain't it dangerous to sleep with a cannon?" she asked curious to Tabaxi.

Sithra noticed the barkeep really wasn't of much use, and the rest was leaving as well. She'd eaten properly, so she saw no reason not to go to bed. They'd have the entire day to prepare tomorrow, anyway. With short "Goodnight everyone." she went up the stairs and into her room. After looking the door, she undressed and went to bed.

Watching the others leave, and feeling tired himself, Faustus shrugged off Tomas’s reply and left too. Not bothering with speech, he doubted Toxir would care for anything he said, he trudged up the stairs to his room. Locking the door and making sure the curtains were closed, he removed most of his clothes and accessories before throwing himself onto the bed. Though he made sure his weapons were nearby, slipping a blade under the pillow out of habit, as he tried to get some rest. 

Finishing the drink quickly, Toxir stood back from the bar, sliding easily out of the stool, though less graceful than usual. The alcohol had indeed affected her, but as she was accustomed to drinking in large quantities, Toxir was able to stand mostly straight. Quickly gaining her balance, she turned from the bar to look directly to the sources of the conversation she heard. Her black eyes narrowed. Walking towards the table, Toxir approached it rapidly, keeping her feet from stumbling. Upon reaching the table, Toxir laughed and smiled and put her hand on her hip. "You know what one of the best Dah'kin features is?" She asked, her voice extraordinarily cold. Toxir occupied herself looking at her nails. "Night vision." She explained. "Yup. Could hunt any of you little f---ers down on your way to bed tonight and you'd never know where I was. But I could see your every move." Toxir assured as she looked over the group talking about halfbreeds. She sighed. What swine. "Keep that in mind." She suggested before turning to exit the room. Walking down the hall, she twisted the key in the lock and shut the door behind her.
Tossing her clothes onto the floor, Toxir kicked all but the sheet off her bed and placed her knife under her pillow and put the mace by her bed. Wrapping her fist around the handle of the knife, Toxir let her head crash to the pillow and closed her eyes to the world.

The people to whom Toxir went to speak looked at her quite astonishedly, especially the only dah'kin in the group, as they had no idea what her problem was or what she was talking about. A few of them obviously got agitated, but as Toxir left, they forgot the incidence pretty much as quickly as it had come up.

---

[Veltzeh] (GM) – Geeileq Machaiktev
[Roma] – Toxir Necis Brutus
[Sturmi] – Nal'unah Obaraan
[Blood Raven] – Sithra Desneshi
[Slade] – Caius "Faustus" Ezio
[Magus Ferox] – Tabaxi Waughroon

The previous versions of this party can be seen at Party Nº4 970 and Party Nº4 693.
Back to Realms of Lemire