Tavern: Joyau Eats And Tries To Meet People (open)

[Joyau delaLune]

TS: late in brightening of 1st of Junctior, in the Season of Autumn, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIII Post Fractum, the First Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne


Joyau flew through the lobby of the Crown gasping in amazement. She knew it would be impossible for her to walk amongst these giants being only 2'9 3/4" tall. If they didn't like her flying, well, she was going to have to eventually learn to mingle with others at school, so she might as well learn to mingle now.

To her right was an elf, the tallest she had ever seen, and over at the bar were individuals that she never knew existed. Some had scales, some were giants, and all were scary. Fluttering her wings nervously, she almost turned around and fled. Then she spied a table in the corner that had tall legs and two chairs. It was empty. She flew over and plunked down, never taking her eyes off of the creatures at the bar. Sitting at the tall table she almost had a eye level view with some of the other customers.

Picking up the menu, she hid behind it and scanned for something she would enjoy snacking on. It had been a long time since she had eaten her last meal and she was hungry. She looked at all the portions and knew they would be much too large for her. Finally her eyes landed on an item which interested her, and the price was right. She looked for a waitress to order the Fruit Enchantment - abundant raisins - fat and juicy grapes of the finest quality - plus apples and peaches cut in the tiniest pieces, all kept together in thin jelly, covered with a surface made of little stripes of crisp shortcrust. - 1gc 5s.
The leftovers she could take home. Arlin, her pet ferret, and she could eat on them for a week.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

As usual the Crown was almost full, there wasn't a free table at sight except for one in a corner, Eyvind hurried to it before someone could take it. The recruit was used to this kind of rush because he had become a regular costumer, always asking for his fresh ale in the largest tankard available.

"Waitress, the usual please. I will be in that table over there." Eyvind said as he passed by a waitress and nodded in the direction of the free table.

When Eyvind was almost reaching the table a sprite flew by him and landed on the table picking the menu moments after. Standing there looking to the sprite Eyvind saw her reading the menu and chosing something for it, when she was about to call a waitress Eyvind stepped forward saying: "I hope you don't mind to share this large table with a poor recruit in the Legion, do you?"

It had been a long day and Eyvind was tired and in need of his ale.

[Joyau delaLune]

As Joyau finished reading the menu, she felt the table shake. Then she heard a loud voice saying something, however, by instinct she had already started to fly away, but instead flew right into a huge giant dressed in armour. The next thing she knew she was on the floor, dazed, with legs and wings askew. She put her hand to her head and began shaking all over. She looked up, it seemed miles, into the handsome face of a huge human male.

Her voice managed to squeek, "Wha . . .What happened."

[Jalun]

It was... quite an establishment, to say the least. It was unlike anything Jalun had seen in his life; the number of people here was, most likely, greater than that of the people that lived in his entire hometown. The bodies here were literally crowded wall-to-wall, with such a spectrum of races the scene might have been extracted from an encylopedia. The air was a might pungant, but that was probably an inevitability with this many souls running around. Whoever owned this place must be a millionaire of some kind, given the evident popularity of the business. It was a little daunting; he had been told this was an excellent place for a drink (best in the city, so it was said) but he hadn't quite been prepared for this. For one, there wasn't even a place to sit... every table was full, save for one. However, without any connections here and a particularly parched throat, he ventured the possible risk (which rose in his ever-active imagination) of gruesome rape and subsequent painful murder at the hands of the Sprite (who was positioned absurdly on the floor) and the Vagaran.

"Serale, sailor man, and little winged one."

His greeting was absurd by politest definition. He was not quite used to informal greetings yet: where hailed from, the entire populace was acquianted, and such things were not necessary. A simple "serale" was not comfortable for him; he was used to addressing people by their names, and since he did not know their names he felt a small description for each would be best. Without really waiting for a response of acceptance, he summoned the waitress (after briefly studying the menu) and cautiously ordered a glass of the house white. It was the cheapest wine available; he was not a man of extravagant tastes, but he held no trust for the quality of the establishment and couldn't help wondering if he would recieve a white wine that was decidedly gray, and possibly filled with deadly poisons. However, as he decided, he was already taking a considerable risk (in his mind) by drinking with these two - or as it may end up, one, depending on where the Sprite's destination was after the floor had lost its value - and perhaps ingesting lethal fluids would spare him the wrath of terrible, albeit small, Sprite-manufactured torture devices.

"I am Jalun! I am pleased to meet you, sailor man and little winged one."

Even if they responded with their names, the reality was he might never call them by the names their parents gave them. He had a fierce memory; he would remember what he should call them by but, without any reistance, would probably just continue calling them by his nicknames.

That was, assuming they didn't rip off his legs and pit him against a hungry wolf in a ground-race.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Kneeling and placing his right hand near the floor so the Sprite could climb up Eyvind smiled at her. "I am terribly sorry if I scared you, come here, let me pay you something." he winked.

Looking up Eyvind saw a young man coming towards him. After he heard the same young man speaking with him and calling him sailor man Eyvind couldn't reply, how could one mistake him, a Legionnaire, with a Kelpchewer from the Classis? Absurd! When the man sat on a chair and asked for wine Eyvind was still in chock. What outrage was this? Without moving Eyvind waited for the Sprite to decide if she wanted to climb on his hand or not.

[Joyau delaLune]

As Joyau sat there stunned, the giant man reached down and offered her a huge hand up, just as another man, a smaller one, came by and said hello. She was quite dumbfounded as he leisurely strolled over to her table and appropriated it for himself.

Joy shook her head at the giant and scowled, "nobody picks me up," she huffed, "I can get up by myself quite nicely." She jumped to her feet and fluffed her wings, then fluttered up towards where her chair was. Looking at the two men standing there, she noticed the smaller one looked a little scared of her. That was odd, she was the one who should look scared (which she was) .

After looking back and forth at them a couple of times, she realized they were just trying to be friendly, and didn't she come in a crowded place like this to meet people. She sighed and sat down. To the giant soldier, she waved a tiny hand and said,"If you'd like to sit down you may." To the man who called himself Jalun, she said, "You may stand there, or get yourself a chair, if you want. "I need a meal, but if you want to drink, then ask the waitress if they have any fae ale. I could use a thimble full right now."

[Jalun]

Offense was an odd thing. Often it stems from nothing; or sometimes, stereotypes are just accepted and applied where they probably shouldn't be.

Such was the case here; Jalun had not anticipated the Vagaran's reaction, which was one of apparent shock and offense. He didn't say a word or make any threatening movements, but it was evident. Jalun retained a wealth of knowledge on trivial subjects; he knew the Vagarans were traditionally seafaring folk and most of them had some significant love for the water. It seemed unlikely to him that the Vagaran would not share this passion, and Jalun had felt the name "sailor man" would be appropriate. Not just for this one, but for any one of their race... he was mistaken, however. Apparently. An apology would usually suffice here, but Jalun was also not accustomed to this notion, and said nothing in response to attone for his actions. He simply laughed at the reaction (a custom of sorts, as it seemed a reasonably small matter to Jalun and in his world of familiarity with everybody in his small town "laughing it off" was perfectly acceptable) and paid the passing waitress for his drink. She was gone in a few seconds, and he eyed the glass cautiously. The glass was clean and the wine looked appetizing, at least.

Jalun was a fan of wine. Not necessarily an enthusiast, but he enjoyed a glass more than most. This was one of the many reasons he had considered in his ambition to become a mage, although this certainly was one of the more abnormal points on the list. He had, somewhere, picked up the idea that all mages liked wine. The origins of this thought were unclear, although he stood by it with unusual dedication. He took a sip, and deemed it satisfactory. Then, it would suffice; he would most likely remain alive while he was being drowned by the Vagaran for his racial trespasses. It was a horrifying thought; Jalun couldn't even swim. He wasn't too fond of the water, as it was.

He took a chair at the offer, seating himself at the table with his wine that he was still somewhat skeptical over. It was time he cleared up some of his fears; or at least took a deceitful response at face value to comfort him temporarily.

"Ah - just so we're clear, are you going to hack off all my limbs and make me watch you eat them?"

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Eyvind nodded to the Sprite and took the other chair. "I won't hack you nor eat you young one. I just don't like being called "sailor boy" - Eyvind pronounced the words in a slightly different tone - because I belong to the Imperial Legion, not to the Classis" - Eyvind pointed to his shoulder pad where the arms of the Jade Legion could be seen.

"Before you commit another mistake I will introduce myself. My name is Eyvind but the soldiers in the militia of my village gave me the name of Redbeard as a battle honour. Either one or the other I am fine with."

Turning to the Sprite Eyvind continued "I am sorry if I scared and offended you in any way possible, I was just trying to be sympathetic."

[Joyau delaLune]

Joyua looked at the two men and realized she should be flattered that the two wanted to be seen with a sprite. In her experience, which wasn't much, humans didn't particularly care for faes, but seeing they were trying to become acquainted with each other, and apparently weren't going to get into a shouting match or fisticufs, she relaxed and as the drinks arrived with the waitress, and her food, also, she took a sip of the ale. As it reached her bloodstream she relaxed and begin to look carefully at her new acquaintences.

"I'm sorry if I acted offended," she said, "I come from a very closed society of faes and I've not much experience at meeting humans. I am afraid that your reputations in our villages are not necessarily peaceable."

She took another sip of her ale, then picked at a raisen in the bowl, "I have come to Alleria Prime to become a healer." She looked at Eyvind and Jalun and introduced herself, "My name is Joyau delaLune. My name means "jewel of the moon." It is a pleasure to meet you."

[Jalun]

The lack of an actual response to his query troubled Jalun immensely. He had anticipated them to at least lie to him about their intentions, but they avoided the subject entirely. Sprites were notoriously fond of feasting upon human flesh. He took a considerable drink from the glass held in his increasingly tight grip, in the hopes that on the off-chance it was fatally tainted, he would avoid having to watch an angry Vagaran and a devilish Sprite eat his arms and legs. And possibly other extremities; ones he would be far less fond of parting with. It was a ghastly thought, perhaps, but Jalun knew to look out for himself. He had been searching for the intentions of these two strangers, and had evidently located them. There was no escape for him now. What had he gotten himself into? He could think of only one resolution; he would have to gain their trust and convince them he was also fond of consuming species capable of abstract thought. Then, maybe, they would take him off the menu and put him on the guest list to their horrendous rituals; it was not exactly ideal - he hadn't really planned on eating anybody today, and hadn't much wanted to - but it was far better than the alternative.

"Oh, yes, a pleasure indeed, little winged one. And you, sai-" His words stopped mid-sentence, halted by a choking noise and a quick motion to cover his mouth with his hands. When it withdrew, he continued his sentence. "I mean... Eyvind." The name left a bit of an unpleasant taste in his mouth; it sounded awkward to him. In Olesburg, peoples' names were simple. They were easier on the memory and on the tongue, for the most part.

"A...a healer, eh? I came here to learn a little Arcana myself. Mysticism, you know. Control of peoples' minds, you see? Makes it easier to - if one wanted to, that was - control somebody." Ah, subtlety. He was some kind of genius... on some other plane, maybe. That would surely grasp their attention. He could picture it now... they would throw themselves upon him, and make him the leader of their demonic cult. Then, he would fool them into locking themselves in a basement somewhere, and society would be saved! He would be a hero to all.

"So! The Imperial Legion! I've heard your order is infamous for its intense thirst for violence." That would surely appease the one whose beard ran red with blood. Jalun leaned back in his chair with a noticeably content look on his face.

Perhaps he should have been a negiotiator or some such.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

"I do understand you, some men are rude and don't respect other races and cultures. I have never meet one of your kind before, except for those I see in the streets, therefore I can't give you a true opinion." After Eyvind heard the Sprite telling her name he continued "Quite a beautiful name! And your future profession is also one to be praised! The healing arts would be of great need in the Legion, but if you prefer to serve the public it will also benefits us all." Eyvind smiled to Joyau.

Taking his tankard Eyvind took a large sip, his throat was dry and the fresh ale made him feel vigorous. Then he heard Jalun's comment.

"If it wasn't for the Legion you wouldn't be here today lad! The Legion is the only thing that keeps this Empire together, may it fails or change sides and the Empire will be no more." Eyvind grinned with a dark thought, the Legion was indeed the greatest strength of the Empire, but was also it greatest weakness, maybe his plan wasn't that fool after all.

Eyvind laughed and took another large sip.

(OOC: Eyvind has no beard, the name Redbeard is due to a battle he had with some pirates, when it
ended Eyvind's face was all covered in blood, sheers )

[Joyau delaLune]

OOC: Bejezzes, Jalun you need therapy, hope there's some psychiatrists in Alleria......:goblin: ..or I could just study ... hummmm

IC: "Thank you, kind sir", Joyau said to Eyvind, then she took another fae draught of her ale. All of a sudden she was lightheaded and almost started to swoon. She stood on her chair and said with slightly slurred speech, "I think (hic) I've had a little too much to drink, (hic) I'm not used to this city ale. 'cuse me I think I'm going to be sick." With that she fluttered her wings and took off, right into the odd little man Jalun. She fell back on the table and looked at him to see if he thought she had attacked him ... or what. "Um, so sorry," she slurred, "very clumsy of me." She was sure her face looked a horrid shade of chartreuse.

[Jalun]

((I'm aware, I read through your CIR before I posted. I guess I kind of phrased that poorly; my bad, then.))

"The Legion keeps the Empire together? No, no. Let me tell you what keeps the Empire together: maps." He allowed a moment for his unusual logic to sink in. "Yes... were it not for maps, we would have no idea what was and what was not the Empire. If it were not for maps, we would just stand around, saying, 'Are we in the Empire or not?' and the whole thing would just fall to bits. It would be chaos."

Admittedly, Jalun knew very little of politics, but the idea had made sense to him. There was apparently some basis on something that wasn't entirely nonsensical, but it would take some dedicated searching and nitpicking to locate it in his unorthodox analysis of Imperial politics. He had picked up many odd ideas - or had simply formed them out of nothing - by "thinking outside the box". The reality was that while this was an ostentially desirable quality, doing it constantly had some seriously negative reprocussions. Jalun was living testament to this fact. At first glance he would seem a madman of some sorts, perhaps; while there may have been some element of truth to this, he was, technically, mentally stable. But his imagination dominated the rest of his mind for the majority of his life, and it was extremely obvious that this was the case. Perhaps, somewhere along the line, he had heard of the Sprites' racial connection with Gnolls and had confused the two. Whatever the case, he was mildly prejudiced for no significant reason, and it wasn't going well. So when the sprite physically collided with him, matters were only made worse. Much, much worse.

He screamed as she hit him, yelling something along the lines of "No! Not my flesh!", and flung his arms backwards, releasing his glass of wine into the crowd and pelting a Gnome in the back of the head (This could be seen as some kind of misguided fortune; had it hit an Orc, or an equally archetypally violent race, there may have been a brawl. Instead, there was only a muttering departure for a short bearded creature). The Sprite tumbled backwards onto the table, and Jalun looked on with eyes so wide they seemed too large for his face.

The Sprite had failed in its attempt to swallow Jalun whole; it had made the mistake of not estimating its odds of success in consuming its potential meal. Now, however, he was still alive, and scared motionless. His eyes moved slowly to Eyvind - her apparent accomplice - who, any minute, was likely to beat Jalun within an inch of unconsciousness and subsequently rip off his extremities in bite-sized chunks for favorable Sprite digestion. His expression gradated from shocked surprise to terror and absolute fear, and he sobbed lightly. He saw now the origins of the name "Redbeard"; the man was a cannibal, who enjoyed feasting upon rich Medonian body parts.

"Please! Please, don't eat me! My diet has made me thin, and stringy, and not appetizing at all! Surely you'd prefer a hefty, meaty Orc to me? I... I just don't want to die yet!" It was his last resort. He had yet to realize, however, that he was playing a part in a scenario that wasn't actually happening.

Another day in the life of Jalun.

[Eyvind Redbeard]

Poor Joyau, she was drunk and could barely say two words with any sense. When she had the misfortune to collide with Jalun it was the chaos! The man was overreacting and was talking about being eaten. Standing and taking his hand to the sword's hilt Eyvind looked around, perhaps Jalun had seen some creature approaching and preparing to attack. In the middle of all the confusion made by the other human Eyvind could only see the faces of the other costumers staring at them with faces which basicly said: "Behave..."

Turning to Jalun, Eyvind said: "What is happening? Why are you acting like that? No one here wants to eat you..."

[Joyau delaLune]

While Joyau lay on her back staring up at the two men, Jalun began screaming, "no! not my flesh!" and acting like he was having a major meltdown of emotions. Joyau held her stomach in horror and tried to get up. Then her other companion "Redbeard" reached down as if to pull his sword, his hand missing her wings by centimeters .... Joyau was so sick she could only stand in stark terror with her hands and wings wrapped around her.

When Jalun began sobbing, compassion overrode her fear and she reached out to comfort him. Unfortunately as she touched his arm, she doubled over in pain and began retching on the man. She tried to hold her hand over her mouth, but the explosion was too fierce. Within moments his face was covered in fairy puke.ops:

She began screaming her apologies while she looked around for a napkin. Finding one she attempted to fly up and wipe his face foolishly thinking she could help. All she could hear was yelling as she sank back down on the table covering her face with her hands.