DM Brainiac’s Return of the Runelords Table 2

Game Master Brainiac

Devie nods, but looks worriedly at Hope's bruising. "I could... carry you?" Devie didn't think it would be too hard, and instinctively wanted to, but as awkward as always, she could fathom having the confidence to sweep someone off their feet.

Triel leads the girls down a side street that isn’t as choked by the celebrations as the rest. It’s in a fairly affluent neighborhood of Korvosa, and a bit quieter than the rest of the city.

The two-story inn Triel finds overlooks a small park teeming with strange flowers, with footpaths crisscrossing a small lake where ducks float around. The inn’s name is engraved in brass over an image of a full moon: The Moonlit Grotto.

”Looks like a great place for someone looking to unwind.” Triel remarks.

Devie takes a deep breath at the savory smells coming from the place, her eyes shining as her stomach rumbles. Then she recognizes what meat the smell is, and looks a little in horror at the ducks in the lake. "They... wouldn't?"

"Eh?" Triel tilts her head at Devie.

Devie leans in close, and whispers "Eat the ducks?"

"...ah." Triel looks back at the ducks as they paddle about.

"I'm not sure they would eat them, really." The drow shrugs before walking up to the Grotto's door. "But we can ask the cook if they do."

Devie seemed satisfied, thinking they looked like pets, and their Da told them not to eat pets. Ever. Which of their Das was a bit muddled in her head, the separate memories are becoming even more congealed into a single person, though that could be almost as confusing at times.

Devie is used to confusion though, so shrugs and follows.

The interior of The Moonlit Grotto is softly lit, with soft melodic piano music and whispered conversations replacing the noise from outside. The clientele of this place are mostly dressed in soft purple and blue robes, and images of butterflies dot the common room's walls. The smell of well-cooked and seasoned meat fills the air.

Seated at the far end of the common room is a pretty blonde half-elven woman in deep blue robes decorated with images of stars, her fingers dancing across the ivory keys of an aged piano. Behind the bar is a violet-skinned woman with deep gold eyes and nubby horns peeking out from a cascade of deep black hair.

Devie looks around in wonder, forgetting about the ducks completely. She feels like a bull covered in pots and pans, in looks, sounds, and smells.

She can't do anything about the smell, wearing heavy armor through two battles just makes one smell. But she can the look.

Her steel clad body shifts into the black dress Sorshen had worn throughout the evening (when she wasn't disguised). Having a template to copy does help with clothes picking, but it is clear that Devie feels awkward in the form fitting silken cloth.

"What is this place?" she asks, trying to distract herself.

"It's the Moonlit Grotto, stranger." The violet-skinned tiefling says, her voice like a mix of melted chocolate and mint. "It's a place where one may retreat from the cry and clamour of the day--especially during these..." She wrinkles her nose. "...celebrations."

"My name is Tamah, and the talented musician over there--" She nods her head at the half-elven pianist. "--is Seri."

"You are adventurers, are you not?"

Smells and sounds wrap around Devie's senses like caressing hands, making her eyes widen, and smile, while her cheeks redden when those eyes drift about. "Hi, yes, I think, we are?" the warrior looks at her companions. Since she had been teleported to them, Devie hasn't really done much other than follow their lead.

"You could say that." Ahyoka says with a grin, taking in the sultry beauty of the place, and breathing in deeply, letting her senses soak in the ambiance.

A little smile appears on Tamah's lips. "I suspected as such."

Triel clears her throat and approaches the bar, her old amulet of natural armor in hand. "We'd like to avail ourselves of your finest room for a few days." She says, placing her amulet on the bar.

Tamah arches an eyebrow and picks the amulet up, her eyes abruptly shifting from gold to deep blue as she looks at the item. "...hmm. Not how I usually accept custom, but I'll allow it."

Her eyes shift from blue to gold. "Now, you all look rather peckish--how about you find yourselves a table?"

Devie leans over and whispers to Hope "what does peckish means? Does it have to do with birds?"

Hope shook her head when Devie asked if she should carry her and said, "No, I can walk, I just need to rest." She let the others guide her towards a place to stay and found the place different than what she expected. She did find her gaze drawn to the pretty half-elf at the piano and then to the tiefling at the bar, before being drawn back to the half-elf.

Hope's gaze stayed on Seri as Devie asked her what "peckish" meant. Hope had no clue what the word meant and she shrugged with a wince and said, "I don't know."

Triel sits down at a nearby round table and gestures for the others to follow. "It means hungry."

"But not quite starving, just in need of a little something, at least that is how I've understood it." Ahyoka finishes the explanation as she takes a seat on one side of Triel.

Triel places the party's orders, and soon their dishes arrive. The drow spiritualist has chosen a dish of odd, round noodles coated with cheese and with pieces of chicken meat and vegetables arranged around it.

"Lovely, really. A good change of pace from jerky, hardtack and other rations."

I've decided to let you decide the specifics of your dishes.

While the dinner continues, Triel notices the eyes Hope is making towards the Grotto's pianist... and she smiles.

"Hope?" She asks, her head tilted. "What do you think?"

Hope considered the words while her eyes stayed watching the pianist and said, "Then I am not peckish, I am starving..." she frowned a little and gingerly touched the worst of her bruising, from the use of her powers and said quietly, "and I hurt..."

Once the food arrived and Hope began to eat her gaze remained on Seri as she ate ravenously. The food would help her body recover but it would still take time because of this Hope answered Triel. Whether the answer was to the question Triel asked or just a comment was up in the air since she seemed to pre-occupied with staring at Seri while she ate, "Pretty."

Triel nods. "Certainly."

She pauses for a moment, her expression turning pensive--and a bit worried. "I have to ask, Hope... were you to meet her, what sort of relationship would you wish to have with her?" She asks, her tone soft with remembrance.

I don't want a repeat of what happened with Elanna. Hope doesn't deserve to have her heart broken again.

Hope seemed to realize specifically what, or rather who, was the topic of conversation and Hope tried to consider the question seriously. She had done a lot of maturing during their journey so far, even if she was still fairly withdrawn and childish at times. , so the fact she was not simply responding but thinking, or at least trying to, was a good sign.

Hope had finished her food by the time she finished thinking, having matured or not she still work through her thoughts and feelings very quickly. Finally Hope took her gaze from Seri and focused on Triel instead as she said, "I don't know. I want someone who wants to be with me and won't hurt me by leaving or turning away like..."[-/b] her words choked off as the pain of what happened with Elanna washed through her. The mental scarring that had caused Hope was still in evidence even after all that had happened since. [b]"I don't think I can be....a fling, it is not in my nature."

Hope looked back at Seri and then continued, "She is pretty, and her music is..." she seemed to be at a loss for words to describe what she felt for the moment but given her expression amazing or wonderful or divine might well apply, "If it is only a friend then I think I can handle that, if it doesn't go further. IF it did become more then I think I could not let go."

Triel finishes her plate as Hope answers her question.

A little smile appears on her face. "...alright."

She looks over at Seri, then back to Hope with a twinkle in her sunset eye. "Would you like me to introduce you to her?"

Hope had felt nervous as she answered but it seemed that Triel was satisfied with her answer. When the drow offered to introduce her to Seri Hope's eyes widened at the thought that Triel knew the woman. Hope nodded and her voice was much more like the child she still showed at times as she said nervously, "Y-y-yes."

Triel stands up from the table, glancing at Devie and Ahyoka before leading Hope over to Seri.

The pianist finishes up her melody and rises from her bench, turning to face the approaching girls. Her eyes are a soft green in colour, much like the new leaves of spring--and around her neck is a wooden butterfly, painted completely black save for a white star in its centre.

"Miss Seri, is it?" Triel waves hello. "My friend Hope here--" She gently ushers her forward. "--really likes your music and was hoping she could meet you. She always had good taste in music."

Seri smiles, her soft red lips curling in joy. But curiously, she doesn't say anything.

Hope followed Triel over to Seri nervously and as she got closer met Seri's eyes. The woman had soft green eyes and wore a butterfly pendant that was almost entirely black except for a white star in the middle. Something about that resonated with Hope though she did not understand why, like something she once met was terrified of the symbol. Regardless of the strange familiarity Hope was entirely smitten with this woman as she was gently pushed forward by Triel after being introduced.

Hope was a bit tongue tied at first by the woman's soft lips curling into a smile made her relax a little. After a moment Hope said, "I like your music very much Miss Seri, it has been a long time since I have heard anything that good, and I don't think I've ever heard any from this instrument."

Seri beams at Hope before raising a finger. A mote of starlight appears on her fingertip and dances through the air above her head, leaving a trail of light in its wake.

It spells out words above her head.

Thank you, Hope. The message reads. Have you never seen a piano before?

Hope was surprised that the woman used a mote of starlight to spell out words instead of speaking but decided she had seen stranger and simply ignored the oddity as she read the words carefully. She puzzled a moment over the word piano but realized it must be the instrument Seri had been playing and said, ""No, I've hear lutes and ocarina and mama's voice," her words trailed off as she shuddered a little and added softly, "and the music of the hungering darkness hidden in the tapestry as it hunts for more to consume," her eys went blacker and the madness started to slip to the surface before she quashed it back down, imagining it being crushed and trapped in the depths of her power. Her gaze returning to normal she finished responding, "but never a pe-py...pi-an-o before."

Triel tenses a little as Hope mumbles something she knows she caught.

...uh oh...

Seri's eyes shift from happy to concerned when Hope's eyes change.

I am

There's a pause in the written starlit words as Seri reaches out for Hope's hand.

I am

happy

that I could introduce you to such a wonderful instrument. She finally finishes her sentence.

Seri tilts her head.

Are you alright? Her starlit words ask. Her free hand slides to the black butterfly around her neck.

Hope's lapse did not last long as her inner void compressed the emotions into a tightly condensed ball that wouldn't escape to the surface again. Hope found her hand in Seri's as she spelled out more words and the softness of the hand and the words to focus on helped bring her focus back to the here and now.

Seeing the way Seri seemed concerned for her made Hope feel better and she said, "I...I have been exposed to things that no one should ever meet, and it has hurt my mind. Sometimes I remember some of what happened, and it makes me...does what you saw." She smiled a little, it was weak but still a smile, and added, "but I am better than I was before."

Hope's expression furrowed in worry, her fear that she would be rejected by Seri now making her start to think this had been a bad idea. Still, she didn't want to be alone, and she wanted to know this woman better and she was determined to not let her fear take control of her. Hope shoved yet another set of emotions into her own little well of darkness where it too was compressed and trapped then she looked up at Seri and asked worriedly, "Are you afraid of me now?

Seri listens, her eyes softening.

When asked if she's now afraid, the pianist shakes her head.

No.

The hand on her butterfly traces the star painted on its centre.

Hope's eyes brightened a bit when Seri said she was not frightened. Her eyes were still pitch black but unlike before, where even the light did not seem to escape them, the lights seemed to reflect off of them making them look almost like the night sky. "I'm glad."

Hope looked to the pendant that Seri wore curiously. She felt the strange repulsion and fear of it that she had before, or rather the source of her power felt it. It was strange and despite the whispers from the void to stay away Hope decided to ignore them and asked, "Your necklace is pretty. Does it mean something?"

Seri looks down at her butterfly, then back up to Hope and nods.

It's a symbol of devotion. Her star mote writes above her head.

She then pointedly looks upstairs, then back to Hope.
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Triel slips back to Devie and Ahyoka.

"Well, that seemed to work out just fine." She chuckles with a pleased smirk on her face.

Hope read the words Seri spelled out and quickly understood what she meant even if she didn't know who the deity was. That would partly explain the sensations her power's source was giving off, a deity might be the only thing that could stand up to it, and likely one would have some particular domain over it. This kind of relieved Hope, that something out there existed that could scare the source of her nightmares.

When she saw how Seri looked upstairs rather pointedly Hope wasn't sure exactly what to anticipate but she nodded nervously and reached out for Seri's hand again. She let Seri lead her upstairs though her movements more than a little slow from all the harm her powers had caused her that night.

Devie was poking the brown pastry in front of her with a fork. It wiggled and shook with every thrust, much like a thing in a dungeon, which just seemed ODD. But it smelled lovely, the lovely but confused young woman leaned forward to remind her of that scent. Something like... whatever that black liquid was in mugs...

She looked up at Triel as she came back, happy since she always had a hard time thinking of what to say around Ahyoka, her tongue felt three times bigger when she looked to the other woman. Noticing the lack of Hope, she looked to see her retreating upstairs.

"She found a friend?" A trace of worry colored her voice, her protective instincts still there... even in the presence of jiggly desserts.

Triel looks back as Hope and Seri go upstairs. "It seems that way."

"Incidentally..." The drow turns back to the two women. "...have you two been enjoying yourselves?"
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"It looks that way." Ahyoka says looking at the retreating pair with an intrigued expression. "This food is absolutely delicious!" she adds, taking another bite of her last spicy cabbage roll stuffed with a mixture of ground meat, rice and hot green peppers.

”Good.” Triel nods.

”See, I sometimes have good ideas.”

"Sometimes?" Devie asked around a mouthful of yummyness. She felt Triel to to be right most of the time so was confused with the use of the word.

"Well..." Triel thinks for a bit. "...alright, I usually have good ideas."

Devie swallows, then says completely honestly "Yes. You do." then smiles at the drow.

"In that case..."

Triel's smile turns sultry and focused on both Devie and Ahyoka.

"...I'd like to propose that we check out this inn's best room--and see what amenities it has. Hopefully, it'll have a bath big enough for the three of us, eh?" She twines a finger into her new magic scarf.

"And the streak of good ideas continues." Ahyoka says with a warm smile, looking from Tiel to Devie and back, taking a slow, deep breath as her imagination wanders.

Devie is by far the most awkward off the three, but knows she must smell rather ripe. And there were stories from far away places about public bathhouses, so bathing together might not mean what it might mean... and if it did mean what it might mean? Well... Devie swallowed and nodded with bright red cheeks.

Triel slides out of her chair and leads the girls upstairs, her hips gently swaying as she goes.
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The luxury suite of the Moonlit Grotto lives up to its designation: its main living space is dominated by a window that opens up on a panoramic view of Korvosa's shore, with a pair of black felt armchairs and a similarly-coloured couch surrounding a coffee table in the centre before it. A large, white-sheeted king-sized bed sits at the far end of the suite with a small closet containing several white plush bathrobes nearby. The attached bathing chamber is dimly lit, but its bathtub is large enough for at least three people at a time.

"...well. This looks quite comfortable, no?" Triel asks, already taking off her cloak and slinging it across one of the armchairs.