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Hey all, just popping in to let you know I'm still alive. I'm still working through some stuff, so not returning yet. Hopefully I will before we get too far into fall, but we'll see. I hope all of you and yours are managing to stay safe with everything going on. I'll be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Hey, I just wanted to let everyone know I'm not dead. The past two weeks have been a bit hard on me and I've been working through some issues. I'll be back soon, but I need to take a bit to work through some things. Please bot me if needed.
Talliree:
The man rubs his chin, looking at Talliree with a puzzled expression, "You came here for lessons on running a tavern? I suggest you never emulate anything to do with that tavern!" he says , chuckling. "Don't worry. I don't think Mitchell would allow us to let things get that bad," Talliree replies with a chuckle of her own. "You're lucky trouble didn't come to find you, in a place like that!" he says, shaking his head, "I'm sure there are some fine establishments quite near your tavern that you could...and should learn from." "Yes sir," she says meekly. She isn't used to having other worry over her, much less having complete strangers worry over her, and she feels... Well, not ashamed, but her emotions are somewhere close to it.
"I don't mind helpin' out with things like that. I'm pretty sure Jasper would be interested, but Kurgan and Mitchell..." Her voice trails off and she shrugs. "I think Kurgan is a decent sort, but I don't know him well enough yet. Mitchell, on the other hand, is a bit, uh, stuffy and dragon-mad. If there's coin in it, or if it's something that'd affect the tavern, he'd look into it, but I don't think he'd be willing to go around the guard or do anything for charity."
Talliree: "I w-was just tryin' to get some information on the tavern, how they do things and what they serve. Then I met the bargirl, and she seemed kinda sad, and I was hopin' to make sure she got home alright after talkin' to her. I swear Mister, I wasn't lookin' to cause any trouble!" Mr. Whiskers pokes his head out of her hood and twitches his whiskers at the man, listening to what he says next.
Sorry guys. I really didn't mean to turn this into a whole side excursion. I was just trying to find a way to pass the time without butting into what y'all had going. Still, this has me on the edge of my seat wondering what's coming next.
Talliree: Talliree's breath catches in her throat as she feels the hand and hears the voice. She regrets leaving her sword back at the manor and only arming herself with a dagger. Despite the man's words, she finds herself wanting to bolt, but he is too close and a quick lunge would have her caught before she made it more than two steps. Besides, she thought with resigned sigh, he probably had friends that could catch her even if he couldn't. She follows the man and stops after she passes him. "How deep are we going," she asks, not even bothering to hide her lowest of the low dockside accent she'd learned to hide over the past year.
Talliree: Talliree opens her mouth, but before she can speak, the girl heads back inside. For a long moment, she stands and stares at the back door of the tavern. She looks to Mr. Whiskers, who'd poked his nose out from his hiding spot, and sighs. "Well, I made a mess of things." With no more reason to stay, she pulls her hood low and begins making her way back to Trollskull manor. She pauses for just a moment to note the name of the tavern and its location. She turns away again, but stops and wheels back around. The cloak she'd gotten months ago shifts and shimmers as she finds a place to hide and watch the tavern, hopefully close enough to hear what's happening inside.
Talliree: "Okay, that's a fair point," Talliree says with a wry grin. "The Marrosons I have heard of. Just never seen them." She thinks for a moment, deciding on what to ask next when she absentmindedly asks, "Are you happy here?"
Talliree: "Not so loud! I know that gold can get us dead, but I really wanted to talk to you and I was trying to be sneaky," Talliree says in her normal voice before undoing her disguise. "As for what I want, let's start with the guys in there. I know the type, and those fellas have some awfully nice blades given how they look. Who are they with?"
Wanted to let everyone know I'm still around. I'm not feeling well, so no post tonight. I'll catch up tomorrow.
The Tavern: Talliree frowns for a moment, wondering why such rough customers would have such nice weapons, but her ruminations are interrupted by the barmaid's return. Her eyes widen as she realizes that her disguise probably isn't as good as she had hoped. "Thanks for the warning," she whispers in her normal voice before smiling brightly and standing as she reaches into her coin purse. "Yes! Thank you my dear!" Her voice is once again the lowest she can manage as she claps her hands over the barmaid's, passing off two coppers and a gold dragon as she vigorously shakes the girl's hand. Talliree steps up too close for comfort and whispers to the girl. "Meet me out back a few minutes after I leave. There'll be gold in it for some information." She steps back, chuckling as she lets go. "Sorry, my dear! I fear that I've already been made a bit drunk by the cheery atmosphere!" Even as she says it, she can see the girl's reaction and feel Mr. Whiskers facepawing in his hiding place. This was your idea, buddy. Deal with it.
Mr. Whiskers is ready to Rock and Roll! He's just finished recovering from defeating the evil kitty-lich, Misses Snowbell Fluffikins. (I've been missing this game. Looking forward to getting it going again!)
I want to apologize for my radio silence the past several days. I've been busy at work and I've also had my second covid vaccine shot. I've been out of it all weekend recovering from that. I'll be catching up and posting Monday.
Talliree does her best to appear absentmindedly looking about while keeping an eye on her surroundings.
Talliree sits in one of the seats and looks around taking everything in, the decor, the clientele, even the state of the wait staff.
After a moment she realizes that the girl is right next to her, and putting on her deepest voice, which is admittedly still rather high pitched, she makes her order. "Um, Yes! A mug of the house ale, please," she says, a bit of her natural bubbliness coming through despite her desire to not draw attention to herself. Mr. Whiskers facepaws where he is hidden, wondering why he thought this was a good idea. After the girl runs off to get her drink, Talliree returns to her study of the tavern.
After finding she hasn't a clue what she should be looking for, Talliree finds herself distracted by a familiar tickle in her ear. Following Mr. Whisker's directions, she finds a small community of mice and rats enjoying themselves at a festival. Shenanigans ensue, but that is a tale for another time. With the hour growing late and nothing to show for the day almost passed by, the young half-elf turns to her ever-present friend. "Well, today's not exactly been what I had planned." *Squeak* "Yeah, that was fun and all, but I don't think we're set up to serve your friends." *Squa-Squeak!* "Alright! Alright! I'll talk to the others about it, no reason to get snippy, and don't you start on that rodent supremacy nonsense! I still haven't forgiven you for chewing up my good socks." *Squee Squeakem* "As far as helping the tavern, it's been a bust. Have any ideas?" *Squeakem Squeak!* === Some time later, Talliree stands before one of Waterdeep's lesser known taverns dressed in a trenchcoat and a wide-brimmed hat with her hair done up in pig tails that she's used some twine to hold under her nose like the ends are an elaborate moustache. "Are you sure this will work?" *Squeak* "Hey! Don't bring that up!" *Squeakem* "Of course you don't see the problem! You're always in the buff, you hedonist." Taking another look at the door, Talliree takes in a deep breath and steels her nerves. It couldn't be any worse than that night the Crimson Breakers did the Paliona Job. Nothing could be that embarrassing, right?
On her own for at least part of the day, Talliree looks around to see if she can find the various nick-nacks and sundries that any tavern needs, but most people don't think about.
It goes about as well as one would expect for the easily distracted half-elf.
Finding the clouds over her mood lifting, Talliree chuckles, then sees that for once, she's the tallest person in the room, and starts to laugh and has to lean on Kurgan for support. "Oh yes, I think we're going to get along splendidly!"
"I'm just a mouse off the streets," Talliree says as she lets Jasper go. She chuckles at the thought of her, of all people, having a reputation worth protecting. "I promise you that I'll do my best to help run this place, and I'll try to keep Kurgan from decking anyone. Hopefully a cute girl asking nicely will do the trick. I just need to get something besides, well, this." She gestures to her clothes, which are sturdy, but not anything close to fashionable or well made. "Anyway, aren't all the workers gone? I thought they left a while ago?"
Durn. I’ll miss Black Dow. I was hoping to a chance to play with him again. I’m fine with a time lapse. I can’t think of anything in particular that I’d want to do. As far as bedrooms are concerned, can Talliree claim the upper two floors of the turret? If not, she’ll take the southeastern bedroom on the second floor, the one with the balcony.
Talliree quietly accepts the unspoken invitation to sit and have a slice of the bread he had been enjoying. As the silence grows longer between, them, she does a fair imitation of a mouse and nibbles her bread. The smile he gives her helps, calming her nerves and keeping them from tightening. No amount of good will could keep her from flinching at the mention of Alven Dorse's murder. She'd been looking to talk to Farlo, and she stumbled right into the scene of the man's murder just moments before the guard had come running. It was the only time she'd been arrested, and the experience had not been pleasant. After running from the Crimson Breakers, she'd been feeling joyful, but then to wind up accused of a murder she hadn't committed had nearly crushed her. She's wondered why they'd let her go. Now she knows. Jasper can see confusion, gratitude, and relief. Relief not just at hearing she isn't about to be clapped in irons, but at hearing that one of the people who'd most like to stick a dagger in her back is no longer in a position to even attempt it. Jasper barely has time to turn before Talliree is on her knees behind him and wrapping her arms around him. "Thank you," she whispers.
"Yup! Lif's a pretty good guy!"
After the work of the day was done and the guildsmen gone, Talliree looks for an opportunity to catch Jasper alone. "Y-yer not gonna turn me in, right," she asks. Her shoulders hunch as she waits for Jasper's answer.
"Huh, Maybe we should get a bottle of everything we're thinking about servin' and set 'em out to see what he likes and doesn't," Talliree says. "I would see if he could write it out, but he didn't seem interested in writing the last time I tried that. He may have been messing with me, though." Mr. Whiskers, having thoroughly enjoyed the treats Jasper had brought with him, snoozes contentedly in his little hiding place in Talliree's cloak.
"That's Lif. He ran the tavern before Volo got the place. Lif, these fellas are here to help out. Fellas, this is Lif. He's friendly once you get to know him," Talliree says. Her voice is bright and cheerful as she gives introductions.
The half-elf began to move through the way and his smile grew a little softer as he hopped up in his chair. "Excuse me, Miss Talliree? Please come and try my family's jam. It is the closest we could ever get to the warmth of Yondalla herself. Please, I have just quit the force when I heard about the wonderful business opportunity that you and Mitchell had found. I would love to hear the story from you. Waukeenar tend to be a little dry." Talliree yelps as she sees Jasper focusing on her. It wouldn't take someone with his training to see the young half-elf is well beyond nervous. Hearing that the halfling is no longer in the guard's employ does help her relax a little. Sheepishly, she joins the others at the table and fixes a slice of bread with some jam and one of the creamier cheeses. "Well, if you want know how we wound up owning this place, I guess it'd be rude of me not to make it entertaining." She nibbles the bread as she thinks back over all that had happened since meeting Volo in the Yawning Portal. As she begins, she fixes Mr. Whiskers a mouse-sized slice of bread with a sliver of apple. "So, we'd just gotten back from this job that had us goin' all over the place. The long story short of that one was it was a bust and the guy refused to pay us even though it was his own fault. The others were in the Yawning Portal while I was getting some fresh air (few too many in love with their own musk in that place sometimes.) I come back in an' find the others talkin' up this statue o' a half-orc woman..." Talliree launches into the tale of how the party had been hired to find one of Volo's friends by the man himself after they'd help fight a troll that had come up through the Yawning Portal of the Yawning Portal. True to form, at least before learning the house was haunted by an evil hag, as Talliree gets into the story, she gets more animated and flamboyant in her telling. After a couple of hours, she finishes telling the newcomers about the fight that exorcised the hag's spirit from the place. "... And after that the place returned to normal. Hob and Himo left to take up some family business, then y'all showed up."
Talliree turns to greet the newcomers and freezes as she sees the uniform worn by Jasper Silvereye. The right corner of her mouth twitches as she slowly begins making her way to the kitchen and the door leading out of the other side of the manor.
Oh boy! This is going to be interesting! Would Jasper recognize Talliree on sight? I don't think she's ever met him, so she won't be able to know it was him that cleared her name.
”Seems like there’s a guest for ye.” "And he sounds miffed at you. That or he just naturally sounds angry."
Ah okay. So introductions will happen before Talliree tries to sneak away. ;)
”Bah! Could ne’er forget ye! Yer the only fookin’ good one there was. Remember ye fondly, aye I do. Glad ye escaped them fookers. So, ye two own this place?” Talliree sniffles as she wipes the last few tears from her eyes. She smiles, true it is a small smile, but she smiles nonetheless. "Thanks, Kurgan. That means a lot." ”Seems to me it’s missing something. Something like...a brewmaster with a luxuriously handsome beard. Aye, one so unforgettable that he could walk in after years, as broke as a looted body, and in need of a place to brew his spirits. Aye...I think this place could use one of those.” He said, meaningfully. "If you can pull weight as a bartender too, then I think we'd be fools not to have you," Talliree says. She beams, her spirits lifted considerably thanks to the dwarf and Mitchell. "So we have a brewer, a bouncer and a barmaid. I guess we need a cook, don't we?" Mr. Whiskers, who'd been busy else where scurries in from wherever he's been and climbs up Talliree to sit on her shoulder and eye the newcomer, Kurgan. "And since we're busy getting to know one another, this is my friend Mr. Whiskers," she says, introducing the mouse. "Mr. Whiskers, this is Kurgan. He'll be helping out." The mouse leans out and twitches his whiskers as he takes Kurgan's measure. After a moment, he nods as if to say you'll do, then finds his favored riding spot in Talliree's collar. "Ah, he can be a bit, uh, particular about people. At least he doesn't dislike you. I'd be worried for your socks then."
All fine with me. :) Before you come in, are you wearing anything that would ID Jasper as a member of the guard?
We aim to please! I’m hoping to make it easy for you to really turn the screws on my character in the Age of Worms recruitment you have going on.
Mitchell's attempts to calm Talliree take a minute or two to begin their work, but strong emotions cannot last forever. They burn too bright and hot. She sniffles as she looks up, then jumps as a paper bird smacks Mitchell in the head. He begins to read before she can ask if he's okay. The moment of pain passes as she listens and wonders if she's ever seen Mitchell this excited. Before he can head out, she hears the crash of the door and the call of a familiar dwarven voice. Her eyes, still wet with tears, widen as she sees Kurgan for the first time in years. "Oh! Y-yes, Mitchell and I own now, I guess," she says as she wipes her eyes and sniffles again. She gets to her feet and comes up just a head taller than the dwarf, and much more slightly built. "I don't think I could forget you, but I was kinda hopin' you wouldn't remember me, or that I was with the Breakers..." Her voice trails off as she cast a glance over Mitchell's way. The man was a bit of a stickler and she really hoped her former association with the Crimson Breakers wasn't about to sour the friendship they had.
Post coming tomorrow. I'm just too drained to do one tonight.
Oh, I can see these working with a few different concepts.
Oh, poor Mitchell. He has no idea what he's in for. A fey-kissed lass with a quirky sense of humor and a mad dwarven brewer of holy water are bound to make quiet the pair, especially with that introduction.
After seeing Hob and Himo off, Talliree closes the door and makes it three paces before she starts to sniffle. She only makes it another one before she begins to bawl. The wounds from Farlo's betrayal were only just beginning to heal, and now she'd seen most of her new friends leave. They had reasons, good ones even, but she still feels the wounds they leave behind as they move on. Was she destined to lose all of her companions? Was she doomed to live a life filled with loneliness and pain as they left her? She knows she's being unfair and selfish, but she cares little for that at the moment. She hurts and something inside of her cries out for her to give vent to it and the anger. Only with the release of her pain could she heal. So she stands there, her head buried in her hands before she falls to her knees and sobs all the more.
Talliree's face crumples for just a moment, only as long as it would have taken Mr. Whiskers to twitch his eponymous whiskers. Hurt, anger, fear, and other emotions too muddled to catch twist her features and flash in her eyes before fading into a resigned and mournful mask. "S-safe travels," is all she can manage to say as Himo and Hob ready themselves to leave.
Oof, you have my sympathies. I have a few coworkers that have issues with migraines.
"Yep, all of last year 'twas when I was an innocent and tender lass," Talliree says in a creaky voice that sounds like an old, withered dame's. "You also got to know me as a fighter first. He still thought of me as just a young half-elf girl. He may have started it, but I definitely finished it." Her voice returns to normal as she continues and flashes Mitchell a ferocious grin. Her smile fades as she looks away. "Sorry, I guess I haven't really gotten over it." She sighs and looks back at Mitchell. "But yeah, we should probably get some help. I think it's going to be a little much for us and Hob."
I think I'm all good with the connections both Jasper and Kurgan have with Talliree. And on a happy note, I've got my desktop back out of the shop and it no longer sounds like it's trying to eat fan bearings. :D
Yup, definitely tough. Ya'll did a little too good. :P
PM sent. Have you heard from Black Dow?
Re: background connections
@Jasper: I’m all for it. Lemme know if there’s any details you want to work out. @Allie: After that parting, I can see our reunion being just a bit awkward. Great writing as usual. :D @Kurgan: That sounds good. Talliree would have definitely been uncomfortable working the protection rackets. I wonder how you would have found out about her leaving since I would have figured that the Crimson Breakers might have wanted to keep their leader getting robbed by a deserter in the down low.
Just posted. I kinda like the idea of having a former guardsman joining. Imagining Talliree’s reaction is already making me chuckle.
*waves at Black Dow*
@KHT: How long we’re you with the guard? You may have known Talliree long enough that she was still in the Crimson Breakers when they first meet. She has only been out a little over a year. Monster slaying would definitely be up her alley. The question is does she know you were in the guard?
Whoops. Maybe I should have read the recruitment thread first. :P Sorry if my posts aren’t up to my usual. I’m stuck with just the touch Keyboard of an iPad until further notice.
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