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The small gnome slammed open the door to the tavern and began to tug on her goat to get it through the door. Something made it seem like the goat was just humoring her, seeing as she liked to make it look like the goat was just another stupid farm animal.
"Look at this place, sis! Its so big compared to our taverns!" She tugged on Gruff's rope a little more. "Think we can get a pint of ale? Or a glass the size of us? I could set it on fire!" She smiled wickedly at her sister while her goat slowly shook his head.
Percy walks in more quietly and more subdued than her flamboyant sister. She smiles at Allie and laughs a little. I don't think they've fireproofed this place like Halaster did back home... yet. Better keep it in the mug, just in case.
She climbs a barstool with a hiss of pain and a wince as her burned arms protest the contact with a solid surface. The pain doesn't slow her down and she quickly procures two gnome-pints and a jug for refills. She hands the jug down to Alie and says, I'll let you pick the table this time.
Allie takes her mug and the jug looking around. She drops Gruff's leash and he gets closer to her, walking beside her now. "How about over there by that window. It looks nice. Here Gruff!" She gives gruff a bit of the ale in her cup and sets up everything on the table.
"Hey sis, let me help you this time. Okay?" She takes her glass and puts it on the table and then boosts her sister onto the medium sized chair.
Percy accepts the boost with grace and smoothly flies up onto the seat. She waits for Allie to sit before asking, What's the total so far today? referring to the estimated tally of money in damage her sister does on a near daily basis.
As the gnome lasses get settled, the door to tavern opens again and in comes a tall dark-skinned man. He head is covered with a red and white patterned keffiyeh. His skin and clothes are dust and sweat stained; it is apparent the man has been traveling in the summer heat.
He looks around the room, dark eyes taking the measure of the rest of the patrons. His gaze lingers a moment on the gnome ladies and their goat in the corner, and a momentary sneer of distaste covers his features before it replaced with his usual cold gaze.
He walks to bar, scimitar swinging from his belt, and speaks to the barkeep in Eastern-accented Common. "Cold water for a traveler, my good man. And some fruit or bread should you have any. What place is this I have come too?"
Allie looks sideways at her sister. "Hey! I've been a good girl today! Probably only about 10 gold worth! That guy's fruit stand was asking for it! He told me that I was too short on gold to buy an apple! I told him I'm too short to care." She giggled and smiled at her sister. "Been real good. And I found this place!" She pet Gruff softly, smiling at the goat. she waved her hand over her head hopping up and down in her seat cutely, like a little child.
The barkeep pours the Qadiran a large glass of ice water then heads into the back for a minute. He returns with an apple, a couple bananas AND a loaf of rye bread. "Here you are, my good man. Let me know if you need anything else. You're in the town of Heldren, by the way. And just in time for the Swallowtail Festival!"
He then walks over to the Gnome table and deposits a bowl of lukewarm water and a couple carrots. He glares at Allie as he stomps back to the bar. Seems her reputation has preceded her.
A tall tiefling comes through the doors, blocking out the light for a moment. He has a close trimmed goatee, four horns sprouting from his head that are thin and follow the curve of his head, and a long tail that sweeps back and forth across the floor. He has a devilishly charming look. His black hair falls loosely to his shoulders, bouncing gently against his neck as he makes his way to the bar. He sits, placing a single muscled forearm on the bar. "Rumboozle, if you have it." His pointed tail reaches into a pouch at his belt, bringing forth a few coins that land on the table. He swivels as he waits for his drink, taking in the crowd. What a pretty pair of gnomes. He gives them a friendly smile.
As soon as the barkeep turns his back, she sticks out her tongue and giggles. She gives Gruff the water and carrots and goes on drinking. "Hey sis! Watch this!" She puts some ale in her mouth and spits a stream and casts a spell. The stream catches fire for a brief moment. "Cool huh?" She snaps her fingers again, she mutters a few words, and a small flame appears. "Thats about how the accidental fire started at the fruit stand." She giggles.
She kind of wrinkles her nose at the thought of the festival, but it would be a nice place to get into some mischief.
As the Tiefling comes in, he catches her eyes. "be right back sis."
She heads over to where the tiefling has settled himself and tugs in his pants. "Hey there, my horny friend! Mind if I get a boost. It would be appreciated, perhaps on your lap for extra height? I would like to talk to such an interesting specimen. She gives him a wink and looks at him with a glisten in her eye.
Percy locks eyes with the devil-man and looks him up and down carefully. She's from a small town, but life experiences have taught her that book's covers lie quite frequently, and people are very much like books.
At least he was easy on the eyes.
Then Allie darts off to make friends with the devil. Percy stays put, but keeps a wary eye on her sister, for everyone's saftey.
"Rumboozle, huh? Don't get much call for that around here, but I'll see what I can do." Shortly thereafter, he slides you a tall mug of exquisitely-prepared rumboozle and grins. The grin immediately fades as Allie wanders over.
The tavern door will barely open and a small Halfling child will squeeze in through the crack. Not even three feet tall, he's dressed in a large bright white shirt and a black cap, and if their size and general cleanliness are any indicator they certainly don't belong to him. Hardened hide armor pokes out from under the shirt smeared with the same dirt that covers his cheeks.
He's fair of skin with a face full of freckles and has unruly light brown hair that seems intent on going into his eyes no matter his wishes. His dark brown irises are so dark they make his large eyes look solid black when he freezes in the doorway, scanning the room with wide eyes.
He walks a small circle then presses himself into the wall as if no one saw him walk in. He takes a few breaths to steady himself, walks up to the nearest tavern patron and yells,
"H-HELLO!"
He follows his introduction with a dazzling smile that shows off his dimples.
The dark creatures teachings rose to his mind.
"A warm greeting is a great way to start,
it makes your impression, goes right to the heart."
Inevitably when the patron responds he'll jump and flee in terror. He'll work his way towards the bar introducing himself loudly and withdrawing quickly from any attempt at conversation. He'll spend a few seconds scrambling up his mountain of a bar stool finally standing on top of it to reach at the bar.
"HELLO!"
He calls out to the bartender.
"I'd like the drink with the same color as this one!"
He'll pull out a small bag, dump a tiny pile of dirt lumps and two large crickets onto the bar. He'll wipe the dirt off one of the clumps revealing a gold piece which he'll hold out triumphantly.
"Please!"
He'll happily munch his crickets while he waits for his drink and look around the bar excitedly.
I don't know why so many people are here but they're so fun to watch!
Having never heard of the Swallowtail Festival, Hassan nods dumbly. He takes his water and simple fare to a low table and sits. He offers his thanks to Sarenrae for providing sustenance and the heat of another summer day, then eats a bit of the fruit and crust of bread.
As he chews, the devilish man enters and Hassan nearly chokes on his food. "It is as if ASmodeus himself were in this place. What pit of hell have I come to?" Spying the magical behavior of the gnomes in the corner only reinforces that this town, Heldren, the man said, was a nest of witches.
Silently, he vowed to rid this part of the world of these foul creatures even if he had to die trying.
Maldrek thanks the bartender for the drink, sipping it experimentally. Then the little gnome runs over. Surprised he was approached so suddenly, Maldrek is nevertheless happy for the company. "Sure, I've been wanting for some good company." He effortlessly picks her up with one hand, setting her on his lap like a close female friend. "Curious about this specimen? Well the correct term is tiefling, and what would you like to know?" His eyes flick over to the other sister. Cautious, that one is.
Percy usually didn't stare. It called too much attention and she was quite finished with being the center of attention, thank you. However, this little tavern was giving her good reason to stare. A screaming halfling who was shorter than her (!) was eating crickets at the bar. How could one not stare?
She is suddenly overcome with a desire to socialize. The desert man seemed good enough. She slides off her chair and walks over to Hassan.
She motions to a chair where she can still keep an eye on Allie and asks, Mind?
Maldrek notes the halfling that sits near him. I'm used to being the biggest guy in the room, but this is ridiculous.
Allie looks sideways at the screaming man. "Whats your problem, shorty? CANT CONTROL YOUR VOCAL CHORDS?" She glares at him and then returns her attention to the tiefling. "Well, first off, how did you get your sexy horns?" She moves to touch one, seeing how sharp they are. "And your skin is so... fascinatingly beautiful." She rubs her little hand across his arm.
"BUGS!!!" yells the barkeep as he whips out a sap and squishes the first cricket. Seeing the halfling munching on another, he gives a sheepish grimace and mumbles an apology. "Sorry about that, buddy. Here, on the house." He hands the halfling a glass of golden liquid garnished with a lime.
He then turns to the shrieking Gnome and makes a shushing sound. "Try to keep it down, you'll disturb my other guests."
Most of the time my horns and skin scare off the ladies, this is a nice change of pace. "Born with both. Tieflings, you see, are the offspring of humans and fiends. I was born in Cheliax, but I do not share the cruelty of most members of my race so when I was old enough I fled." He smiles at the compliments. "I am...very lucky. Tieflings often mutate unexpectedly..." He raises his tail, looking at it curiously. ...no two are quite alike. I'm glad you like my appearance, too often others are afraid of me without even bothering to speak to me first."
As Maldrek continues to speak and interact with the others with his soft smile, it's clear he's comfortable in social situations. He talks smoothly and clearly, keeping his voice down and always nodding and smiling at the right time.
"Oh really? What about the screaming midget child, eh? He isn't disturbing your guests?" In the lap of the tiefling, her hands begin to move and a her hands flicker with flames. "I was quite disturbed by this screaming mutant! Am I not a guest, sir?"
Not waiting for the bartender to respond, she looks back at the tiefling, still playing with the fire in her hands. "I find it beautiful. Strange things are quite interesting. My sister and I are pretty strange ourselves." She smiles and strokes his tail softly. "What can you do with this, fiend?" Her giggle is low.
"Oh really? What about the screaming midget child, eh? He isn't disturbing your guests?" In the lap of the tiefling, her hands begin to move and a her hands flicker with flames. "I was quite disturbed by this screaming mutant! Am I not a guest, sir?"
ALLIE, Percy's voice cuts across the tavern and through any environment noise like a knife, Leave the barman alone. We can't afford to replace an Inn, and I would prefer not to get thrown out. Again.
"Strange and beautiful. I believe that is something we share in common. My name is Maldrek, by the way." He chuckles, bringing his tail up and around her head to the other side so it too sits in his lap. "It's rather dextrous, but not too strong. I've mastered picking up little things with it, but it can't handle much weight. Still, rather useful."
Blik happily watches the exchange between the two at the bar and is extactic when it becomes his turn to join in the conversation when the fiery Gnome begins yelling at him.
"HELLO!"
It was all he could think to say and he certainly hoped it would be enough.
The halfling jumps like a bolt when the sap slams down, tipping his stool back dangerously far. He managed to right himself after a moment and blurts out,
"Thank you sir!"
To the bartender. He'll spend the next few moments trying to figure out how to drink from the large glass without spilling anything before giving up and settling on popping the lime in his mouth and munching away.
Walking in through the open door is another halfling, though this one seems to at least be an adult. He stands at a mighty 3 feet tall and is wearing brown coveralls with a name tag that reads Hobbes. He blinks as he notices the sisters sitting at the bar."Whoo, there are some fine dames in this joint!" He makes his way up to a stool and hops on. "Gimme whateva ya got, and make it doity. I've had a long day."
Wow, we might actually out number the Tall Folk Percy muses while waiting for permission to sit with the desert-man.
"I must have missed the memo, shall I come back later when I'm a third as tall?"
Allie looks around the room at all the people see can actually stand eye level to, then back at the tiefling. Oh please don't go. The fun hasn't even began! her face lights up, but something about her smile is off.
Maldrek smiles. "Well as long as I'm welcome. So what brings you and your sister here?"
She giggles. Let's just say that I am not welcome in parts of the world. It's easy to blame the small one for misfortunes, they're too weak to fight it. she then frowns. Would be nice to be accepted though... She sighs, putting her little elbow on the Maldreks arm.
The young halfling's face will light up when he sees Hobbes walk in and sit near him. He'll excitedly brush some of the dirt he smudged onto his mug off, and slide it carefully down the bar towards him.
" Hi! Have this one mister, that guy said its on the house!"
He says pointing avidly at the barman.
"My names Blik, whats yours?"
He asks spitting out his used lime onto the bar and popping the smushed remains of his last cricket in.
Hobbes looks over at the younger halfling with an eyebrow raised. "Hobbes Bitterleaf." He replies pointing to his name tag while examining the 'drink' passed to him. He shrugs before gulping it down in one go. "Heh, I'd accept you anytime red." He winks at Allie.
"Thank you, milady" the bartender says to Percy. "I run a clean establishment, and we don't want no trouble." He slides a shot glass full of green liquid down the bar to Hobbes. Looking at Blik, he asks, "Drink not to your liking? Ya want something else?"
"Thanks a bunch, beerman." Hobbes picks the shot up and downs it just as quickly as the last. "Not bad. So what's your name sweetcheeks?" He asks looking at Allie. "And you horn-head?" He asks at Maldrek.
Nursing his sweet drink in direct contradiction to the halfling, Maldrek nods to Allie, ignoring Hobbes. "There are a few places that treat outsiders equally, but they are few and far between."
Blik states incredulously for a moment at the name tag he hadn't noticed before, amazed at the genius simplicity of it. But when Hobbes immediately tries again the engage the Gnome and... Tiefling he said he was, Blik's expression turns dour.
Oh no, you're loosing this conversation Blik, he wants to talk to the others! Think of something quick!
" You smell like rats!"
No, no! The Thing In The Dark said people don't like to talk about smells! Think Blik, think!
When the barman asks him about his drink, a defeating looking Blik will turn and mumble,
"More of these please..."
He asks detectedly, holding up the remains of his lime.
Percy decides to abandon the tables and go to the bar. Outwardly it appears to be a move to get in on the lively conversation starting up, but inwardly half of her is nervous to have her sister just one bar counter away from so much expensive alchohol. Oh, and she was seducing a Half-Devil. Percy just couldn't miss this.
She weaves her way through the tables and climbs up into the barstool opposite her sister on the other side of the devil. Perfect. Now she could see and hear everything.
"This guy is way too popular."
"So what's your name, silent but beautiful?" He asks Percy when she sits down at the bar.
Maldrek notes the sister. Oh, very sly. I imagine you get her out of trouble quite a bit. He is yanked from his thoughts as Bilk insults him, frowning. "Well I've been traveling a lot recently but I bathed in the river today. Do you have an oversensitive nose?" He asks curiously.
"This guy is way too popular."
"So what's your name, silent but beautiful?" He asks Percy when she sits down at the bar.
Smooth...Percy thinks to herself. She gives the Halfling a once-over before smiling. He's not bad looking.
She has the same red-themed beauty as her sister. They are identical in fact. The main distinguishing factor is Percy's blackened, cracked arms and, if you look closely, Allie is 1/4 inch shorter.Percy. Percy Silvershaper. You? She turns on the charm just a little, letting her typically large, expressive, gnomish eyes pick up and lock Mr Halfling's.
Maldrek cranes his neck, steadying Allie with his tail. He smiles, waving the man over. "Finally, somebody I can see eye to eye with!"
Blik, who was still failing to engage Hobbes turns up to the tall tiefling with a look of horror on his face.
"N-no, I was t-talking to him..."
He says pointing to the other halfling. He crouches and grabs his stool looking like he's about to leap off into the bar in fright when he freezes like deer caught in a bullseye lantern.
Wait! This is your chance Blik, you can join in! Maybe they do like to talk about smells...
"No, you smell fine! A little unusual, something I'm not familiar with..."
He'll clasp his little arms together in contemplation, but then excitdely points to the gnome on his lap and exclaims,
"But you smell like goat!"
Maldrek happily shakes Jamben's hand, a strong grip of a fighting man but nothing crushing. "I hope your service includes telling good stories, I've been starved for good conversation."