Hotel Lobby

"Well, that's a relief," Rebecca responded as she stood up and brushed some decaying skin flakes from her cloak. "It's always a pleasure to meet another friendly witch, especially in circumstances where we can talk so openly about our profession and capabilities." Reaching into a pocket, she pulled out a grimoire of her own. Written in red ink on leather alchemically treated to look like human skin, the necromancer admitted that it made her look like a cackling lunatic, but she enjoyed playing up the stereotype.

"What sort of magic do you practice, Miss? I specialize in necromancy, but I know the basics of most schools. Perhaps we can exchange formulae- I do so love learning more about the Art. I guess you could call it an obsession, really, but one has to be obsessed to study it properly, in my opinion. If you can't do the magic perfectly, you aren't doing it right, and shouldn't be doing it unsupervised in the first place. Far too much can go wrong."

Hub Town: Town Square

Nasur nodded and put the moonstone back in his pocket. "Well, this one was a gift from one of my companions." He explained. "Those I said had problems. Quite a bit of danger. I wouldn't want to burden you with our own problems, however."

The group eventually reached the hotel, with a lot of people passing through the doorway. It was the large building Nasur had seen a few times before, thinking it was some rich person's house. He couldn't help but let out a frustrated sigh. "Of course it was this place. The one I dismissed first." He commented, before taking the initiative and entering first, giving one of the doors a strong push.

The lobby was amazingly spacious, with such amenities as a pretty water fountain and many seats where to rest. Near the fountain was his while group: Claire, the kids, and Joseph. Next to them were two more strangers. Nasur nodded with confidence. "Yes. It's them over there."

He strode enthusiastically towards the group. "Joseph, my friend!" He exclaimed as he reached said person. "It's good to see you again!"

[Hotel Lobby]

"Oh, if he needs to rest, just let him!" Amy said, "We're not in too much of a rush anyway! We need to eat!" She then turned to Rebecca. "Claire doesn't do necromancy! I think. Maybe."

It was then that Nasur walked in, with more guests, and everyone waved.

"Good to see ya, buddy!" Nick said, "We're just about to have some breakfast. Wanna join us?"

Sorry...short. I really have no energy x_x

Hotel ~ Bonnie & Carol's Room (Bonnie, Carol; Henry, Joseph)

Carol returned the nod, before scowling slightly, "Right— been meanin' t'ask, what can you two do? I mean, you're not exactly fighters or healers like me and Bonnie, but you guys surely have some kind of skills."

Bonnie looked up from her breakfast, "Carol..."

"What, they offered t'help," the dark elf said, glancing over at the rabbit-eared medic.

The two girls remained silent for the duration of Henry and Joseph's conversation, before putting forth their immediate plan for the day.

"It seems you two don't have much time, then. We'll hit the town, take a look around for something or someone who can help you two," said Bonnie, before taking out a pocket watch, "If Lily doesn't radio back in two hours, Carol will take the truck out and head back towards the forest—" She turned her attention to her girlfriend, "Don't go too far outside the radio's range, just in case you come across the wyvern." She turned back towards Henry and Joseph, "I'll stay with you guys, and carry along a radio transceiver to stay in touch with Carol. Do you guys agree?"

Carol gave a nod of agreement as everyone was finishing up their breakfast. She got up from the table and began clearing the dishes.

Jobe's Farm (Maelys; Ethani)

Maelys looked up from the 20 mm bolt-action rifle she was servicing. The weapon was of a similar design to anti-tank rifles developed during the inter-war period of Earth's 20th century, scaled up to handle firing cannon shells with devastating accuracy. "Anti-wyvern rifle. Use it to shoot shells into a wyvern's weak spots to cripple and kill it. They can be tough bastards to deal with, especially when an aggressive one shows up on Sanctuary's door-step," she told Ethani, "Works on plenty of other armored targets, like crabs. I've also managed to punch through the cockpit of a panzerkrieger with it.”

She gestured to some of the other weapons, most sharing a similar aesthetic to her rifle, "Most of these were issued by my master. Though, I know a merchant who deals in more exotic wares. Eccentric lady, but provides quality merchandise."

Lobby

Rebecca shook her head, but more out of resignation than frustration. "It figures. Even back home, I'm the last real necromancer. It's- and do pardon me for the phrasing- a dying art." The lich groaned; she'd heard all the necromancer puns over the years, but she couldn't think of a better way to put it.

When the subject of food was mentioned, though, Rebecca brightened. "I'll be there to join you. I don't necessarily need any food, but I still do enjoy the taste. Besides, dining is about more than just the food itself- it's about the conversations you can have with people, and getting new perspectives on the world."

Hotel Lobby (Samelin, Rosafa, Devad, Nasur, Joseph, Claire, Rebecca, Amy) " How in the seven hells does someone no recognize a hotel?" Devad muttered as he watch their new companion's awe.

"Be nice," Rosafa said, "He did say he was confused. And they might not have hotels where he comes from."

Samelin clapped their hands together. "Time to make friends." They strode up to Nasur and his friends. "Howdy, y'all! Name's Samelin, Inquirer Errant, and these are my associates, Rosafa and Devad. We hear y'all have been having some troubles. How can we help?"

Edited by StrixObscuro on Sep 26th 2021 at 9:48:59 AM

Hub Town ~ Hotel Lobby (Claire, Lulu; Rebecca; Joseph; the Hunters & Co.)

Claire shrugged, telling Joseph, "Look, if nothing comes of it, I'll have had a vacation from my normal routine. If not— you've got someone else who got your back." She grinned, holding up her heirloom flail.

At Joseph's question, Claire perked up. Gesturing with excited hands, she declared, "Lulu here is a succubus."

Lulu immediately choked, and wave her hands in a panic, "Not like that!" She composed herself, before speaking, "My presence can be therapeutic to some. Claire thought I might be able to help..." She poked her index fingers together several times as she said this, sheepishly bowing.

She then returned to her conversation with Rebecca. "I inherited a natural affinity for air and electricity-based magics, and Claire has learned a handful of spells herself— she's quite lazy at being a witch. She doesn't learn anything that doesn't suit her needs." To Amy, she said, "Oh no, neither of us have learned spells of that nature— at least as far as I'm aware."

At the mention of breakfast, Claire exchanged looks with Lulu. They both nodded at the same time, saying, "Breakfast sounds good." This prompted Claire to turn her head towards Lulu, to which the succubus shrugged. Claire then turned back towards the others, "We'll be delighted to join y'all."

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Bonnie & Carol's Room _{^> Henry, Joseph — Bonnie, Carol}


Henry and Joseph took turns opening their mouths to speak, only to find themselves short on good answers. Sure there were things they could do. Manifold things, from reciting every lyric of Styx's The Grand Illusion by heart to performing three entire yo-yo tricks. But things relevant to the situation, let alone skills that could stack up to Bonnie and Carol's impressive repertoire? The list turned up measly, with dodgy penmanship and a coffee stain to boot.

"Uh... well," Joseph searched the room for ideas, finally landing his gaze on Henry. "Oh! There's the- your- mechan- mechan- mech- cars, you work on."

"Oh, right right right," Henry nodded, "bit of a junior grease monkey here, so if there's ever any car trouble and it's a... normal... with a human-built combustion engine... and there's... well, the necessary replacement parts or somewhere to order them from..." he let out his breath and his enthusiasm with it. "Uh, yeah. I mean, I can take a look but, jeez, the auto-shop really facilitates a lot."

He studied the table for a moment, then glanced at Joseph, nudging him. "Well this guy knows the ins and outs of- what was it? Ultimate...?"

Joseph ducked his head and covered his eyes, "Oh god..."

"Ultimate something II, right? Ultimate Underground?"

"It's Ultima Underworld II, and I don't know the ins and outs. I barely even got it to play on my computer."

"But wasn't that a whole ordeal itself? See, he's like a computer whiz."

"I'm absoluthley not a computer whiz."

"And modest."

"Even if I was, I don't think knowing how a computer game works is going to come in handy."

Henry leaned back in his chair, framing Joseph with his hands, "well, look at it more broadly: you're good at figuring things out."

Joseph sighed. "Not exceptionally."

In truth, Joseph had always felt like he was slow on the uptake. It'd taken him rereading the Ultima Underworld II manual three times to realize his mistake in setting it up. Those times when he thought he'd actually made sense of something, his ideas always seemed to turn out to be way off base, as if he'd missed something crucial that literally everyone else was able to pick up on. After a lifetime of looking like an idiot, it was hard to feel particularly certain about anything. The only thing he was certain of at that moment was the pathetic bone he was being thrown.

"Oh come on," insisted Henry. "What about- I mean, look at you: you're talking. Two days ago you went from human to were-salamander, and now you're speaking in clear, understandable language like it's second nature."

Joseph perked up, opening his mouth in a ridiculous salamandrine gape and slurring, "Yeah, abzluhly theh-cuh'n nashur." He rolled his eyes and shook his head, "Anyway, I'm sure anyone else coul've figured it out faster."

"Well you're doing a bang-up job of poking holes in everything I say. Man, you're supposed to be on board your own ship, not out sinking it."

Joseph lowered his gaze and said nothing. He just stared glumly at his empty breakfast plate, pondering what he could do to keep from being just a big, lizard-shaped burden.

"Look," Henry turned his attention back to Carol, "I assure you, we're both brimming with potential, but as far as operating in this world goes, doing magic, swinging spears..." he held his arms up in a helpless shrug. "Unless you've got a pocket guide of beginner spells anyone can pick up, or know a good truncated ninja boot camp in the area, I just don't think our skills are going to be of spectacular use. But hey, I've got two good arms and legs. So does Joseph. Ah," he snapped his fingers, "plus the tail."

"I've only managed to trip on it so far."

"Yeah, but you'll figure it out. Because," he pointed at Joseph with unswerving confidence, "that's what you do."

Joseph muttered something indistinct (but distinctly doubtful) and leaned back in his chair, recalling too late that he'd turned it sideways to make space for said tail. With a sudden cry, he teetered backwards, feet flying up and banging against the bottom of the table with a loud, rattling shudder. He flung his arms forward, wrapping them around the backrest, only for the chair itself to start tipping. All seemed lost.

And then he stopped.

Glancing back, he confirmed what he felt. His tail, double-edged sword that it was, was in the way of his descent, acting like a doorstop to his untimely fall.

Henry—having since risen from his seat—very casually stepped over and tipped the chair back upward, while Joseph clung to the treacherous backrest and tried very hard not to look at anyone or anything.

"Brimming with potential," Henry said, smiling tightly to offset his quiet sigh. "Um... yeah, the plan sounds good. Just need to figure out what happened to our clothes and we'll be set. Oh, hey, lemme help you with that." He joined Carol in gathering up the empty dishes. "It's the least I can do. Well, it's a thing I can do."

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby _{^> Joseph — Rebecca — Adam, Amandus, Amy, Jackson, James, Maria, Maya, Nick and Pancake too — Claire, Lulu — Nasur — Devad, Rosafa, Samelin}


Joseph glanced at Amy. "Well he might be just as bothered that I let him sleep in, although..." he tapped his chin, his voice growing steadily quieter as he spoke, "I guess I'm a little less personally responsible for that, compared to waking him up. But if I do bug him by waking him up, isn't that just a crime of caring? By not waking him up does it seem like I don't care? But if he's having a really good dream..."

Eventually his voice petered off entirely, and he somehow became lost in his own thoughts, even amid the crowd half-surrounding him. Some part of him must've realized Claire was speaking to him, as when he returned to the wide awake world, he was looking at her and nodding along.

"...routine vacation, okay..." he murmured, mouth bringing his mind back up to speed. "Just so long as you don't call me a V.I.P. or anything like that. I don't think I could take the pressure."

He followed Claire's pointing to her friend, whom he had yet to properly meet, and who was talking to Rebecca, whom he had hardly properly met. He smiled pleasantly, his already large eyes widening only slightly as Lulu was identified as a succubus. He was a little rusty on his Earthly mythology—living on a different planet for half a year had that effect—but he still had a clear enough picture to go with the name. And Lulu fit the bill, especially as he found himself noticing a few distinctive features he'd first overlooked. Well, more or less fit the bill. There was an unusually casual air about her, helped along by the fact that she was a succubus, just sort of standing there in the lobby of a hotel. Of course, he was hardly one to talk, a fact he too often forgot. You gather one small crowd of friends and suddenly being a man-sized lizard isn't so weird.

Turning his thoughts back to the matter at hand, and thinking he had some grasp of what Lulu meant by 'therapeutic', he nodded slowly and spoke carefully, saying, "Oh... well, Dave might be game for that. He's a people person... on most days. And he'd probably enjoy the change in company from this guy." He thumbed at himself with a sideways smile.

When Lulu returned to her other conversation, he glanced at Claire and asked quietly, "Uh, does she know what David is..." he gritted his teeth, searching for a delicate way to express what he meant, but only wound up with "...y'know, what he's... like?"

As he waited for an answer, he suddenly heard his name called yet again in a jovial greeting from none other than his hooded, blue friend Nasur. It was getting to be a rather rapid reunion. Still, he was glad to see his friend again, and met the Narati man's greeting with both hands in the air, an excited "Nasur!", and the recurrent plock of his tail slipping into the fountain for a third time.

His excitement was quickly displaced when he was pulled off balance from his already precarious fountain seat. Quickly dropping his hands, he seized the outer edge of the fountain for dear dry life, barely holding himself at an angle worthy of the limbo championship. Slowly, and with great effort, he pulled himself back upright, just in time to notice three more people joining the crowd behind Nasur.

Phew! Crisis averted. What a boneheaded first impression that'd have been.

Shooting a quick glance down at his mystical, crowd-attracting, blue wristbands, he faced the new lot with what he hoped was a none-too-weary smile. They didn't seem all too odd by Janus standards, or even certain crowds on Earth, although he had no clue what an 'Inquirer Errant' was supposed to be. What else was new?

"Howdy back, I'm Joe." He thumbed at Adam and his group, "They can tell you more about what's going on, I think I'm only half involved anyhow."

As he tried to recall who he'd been talking to last, someone else caught his eye, someone he knew very well. At least, he was pretty sure it was her. It was hard to be certain from the brief glimpses he got through the crowd before him. Shockingly enough, this person was not already heading their way, but rather moving further into the hotel, probably heading for the elevator. If he could get her attention, maybe she'd come over and help him out of the crowd, or at least divert it enough to give him some breathing space.

" 'Scuse me a sec," he said to the newcomers, before leaning over with a big smile, waving his hand and trying to get the person's attention. But she didn't stop. For a second, he was sure she saw him, but she looked away and kept going, moving faster if anything.

So he leaned back even further, waving his hands over his head, and calling, "Hey C- ack!"

His short cry was punctuated by a loud PLOOSH as he slipped, tail and all, into the fountain.

Edited by Ryuhza on Oct 1st 2021 at 12:20:53 PM

[Jobe's Farm (Maelys; Ethani)]

"So what are you thinking for the hunt?" Ethani said. She glanced towards the domesticated plant pigs. "Their more fortunate kin may not be red pigs, but I have learned not to underestimate any boar. My rifle should suffice, for my part... but if worse comes to worse, a spell to sever nerves should finish any that tarry too long before the glass gates." She studied the domesticated pigs with an odd frown as she said this, but said nothing immediately.

Hub Town: Hotel Lobby

"Ah, of course." Nasur noticed, motioning towards Samelin, Rosafa, and Devad. "My apologies for not properly presenting them. They, uhh... helped me get away from an awkward situation, and offered possible help with your current situation." He made a pause. "Don't worry, I don't think they are working for your enemy."

Then he turned to the three newcomers. "The kids should be able tell you more. Meanwhile, I wouldn't mind settling for breakfast either." Nasur absent-mindedly put a hand on his stomach. "I hope this place can accommodate me." He muttered to himself.

"Of course, after we rescue my dear friend from this fountain." He added, quickly extending a hand towards Joseph. "Here, grab onto me."

[Hotel Lobby]

Adam felt a little bit claustrophobic with amount of new people that were joining them, but he didn't voice it. Instead, he just smiled and waved at the new people...then saw Joseph fall into the fountain.

"Uh...J-Joseph?" he said, walking over to him and also helping him up, "Are you okay?"

Maya reached into their pocket to try to pull out their phone, but Amy immediately slapped their hand, glaring.

"Fine." Maya said, smirking, "But I'm not gonna let him live this down."

Amy sighed. "Just go get breakfast."

James came back with a towel and helped his son dry off. "What happened there? You okay?"

Rebecca nodded as everybody started to head towards the food. She doubted the cooks here were as good as Phagora, but they might still have some spells or something. The undead picked out a seat near the center of the action, gesturing to get the attention of a waiter. "Excuse me, but I would like to get a glass of wine, and I believe my new friends here are also hungry. Could we get some service, please?"

Hotel Lobby (Samelin, Rosafa, Devad, Nasur, Joseph, Claire, Rebecca, Amy, and co.)

"I am beginning to understand why Nasur was so protective of these children," Devad deadpanned under his breath, as he watched Nasur fishing the lizard out of the fountain. "They do not seem especially... disciplined."

"Be nice, Dev," Samelin said. "Most kids are just that - kids. Ain't trained for combat and survival the way you were."

"More's the pity."

Samelin did a head count of all the people in their erstwhile party. "Rosa, darlin', I think we're gonna need your Grab Bag to cover this bill."

Rosafa smiled as she opened the bag. "Of course." Despite the Grab Bag's relatively small size, it had considerable capacity. It also always seemed to contain money in the local currency required wherever its owner went. Rosafa reached in and, after a minute or two, retrieved a nice stack of navy-blue bills with lampshades inexplicably printed on them. "Think this will be enough?"

"Let's hope so." Samelin turned to the group. "Alright, friends, let's get a table, shall we?"

Hotel ~ Bonnie & Carol's Room (Bonnie, Carol; Henry, Joseph)

Carol grinned and nodded at Henry, "Oh, a mechanic, eh? I was having a bit of trouble starting the engine earlier this morning— We can take a look at it when we go outside."

She rose from the table and gestured towards the main part of the room, "I had your stuff sent down to be washed; room service brought it back a little while ago," she said. She then headed to where her stuff was, before proceeding to finish putting on her battle-worn uniform.

Bonnie followed her girlfriend, moving to the other side of their beds to gather up the things she would be bringing with her, including a 3 kilogram (or about 6 ½ pounds) rectangular device with an antenna — a primitive hand-held radio transceiver. Notably, Bonnie loaded a crystal into it; the device used specially tuned aether crystals as batteries.

Hub Town ~ Hotel Lobby (Claire, Lulu; Joseph; Nasur; the Hunters & Co.; Samelin, Rosafa, Devad; Rebecca)

Claire grinned, "Oh good, an idea of mine hasn't gone horribly awry, yay!" she said with her usual enthusiasm, clapping her hands together to emphasize he point, "She'll definitely be good company for him."

Once Lulu rejoined them, and Joseph made an aside comment to her, Claire raised an eyebrow. "I don't see an issue here," she told him.

She idled around for a moment until the sound of Joseph falling in the fountain drew her attention back to him. She darted over next to Nasur, extending a hand of her own to the fallen salamander-man, "You alright, mate?"

Jobe's Farm (Maelys; Ethani)

Maelys brought forth a classic bolt-action military-style rifle, "Bouchard Model 1522 long rifle," she said, "More than sufficient to plant a round between the eyes of one of those swine's larger, wild cousins at a safe distance." Some of the pigplants seemed to pick up on her sentiments, squealing loudly as they shuffled around. "Empty the entire magazine in fifteen seconds or less," she added, holding up the rifle's ten-round magazine. More squeals of protest.

"If the beast manages to charge through a face full of lead, I'll introduce it to these," she said, before brandishing a pair of massive, single-action revolvers, the Laurent Model 1492 "Horsemaster" Revolver— more a brace of collector's items than standard issue equipment for the undead maid, having aimed for the most powerful handguns she could get her hands on. Each was primarily made of steel, with a foot-long barrel, and weighed over five pounds each. She returned them to the folds of her skirting, before turning to look at the pigplants, who were in turn staring at her.

She scowled, "That's assuming that the wild pigplants aren't terribly larger than their domesticated cousins here. I'll adjust my choices accordingly once I see one of the beasts for myself." Her scowl deepened, "Might need to lay down some traps, seeing how smart swine are."

Edited by WillDeRegio on Oct 28th 2021 at 3:31:50 AM

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby _{^> Joseph — Rebecca — Adam, Amandus, Amy, Jackson, James, Maria, Maya, Nick and Pancake too — Claire, Lulu — Nasur — Devad, Rosafa, Samelin}


Much as Joseph enjoyed swimming, there was a time and place for everything, and doing it there in the lobby fountain, fully dressed, in front of a small crowd of people—some of whom he'd only just met—somehow didn't feel right.

He briefly contemplated the likelihood that absolutely every one of their dozen-plus crowd had missed him gently slipping into the fountain, allowing him the opportunity to discreetly swim around to the other side of the fountain, resurface with a whisper, glide like a wet shadow across the lobby to the elevator, and get a dry change of clothes from his room, finally sneaking back in before anyone noticed his absence.

Before he could realize any one of the many points of folly in his plan for himself, an arm reached down into the fountain and realized for him. And then another arm With a bubbly sigh, he took both in his hands and allowed himself to be pulled upright, braced to face whatever embarrassment awaited above the surface. But when the water cleared from his eyes, all he found were the concerned and bemused faces of his friends.

He spat some excess water from his mouth like a proper fountain figure while they asked him what had happened. Brushing his claws across his tongue with a distasteful "blyeeah," he blinked a few times, then said, "well, that was refreshing." Reaching back into the water, he felt around until he found something small and circular. Seizing it between his claws, he withdrew his hand to reveal an odd, greenish coin of a currency he did not recognize. "Aw man, this isn't a silver dollar at all." He squinted, turning it over a few times. "It isn't even silver. And here I got so excited. Oh well."

He flicked it back into the fountain with a toothy grin, then rose to his feet in full drenched splendor, gratefully accepting the towel James had so swiftly retrieved. "Ah, thanks. And sorry about that. I could've sworn I saw Connie walking by, just a little ways over there." He gestured to a side of the lobby which eventually headed off to the main stairwell, then set about drying his head and torso. "I tried to get her attention, but she didn't notice me. So I tried a bit more so, and uh..." he paused his toweling for a moment to explain, "I fell."

With his head, shirt, and arms suitably less damp, he carefully sloshed the rest of the way back to the edge of the fountain, sitting himself sideways and working with one leg at a time. He didn't want to be caught making more of a wet mess under the distant watch of the hotel employees. If there was a scorn he could not stand to suffer, it was that from people he did not know, and would probably never see again.

"Anyway, if me falling into the fountain didn't get her attention, then I guess it really must've been someone else. Probably thinks I'm some kinda wacko. Sorry again." He got one leg pretty dry, but his shoe was still waterlogged, his other leg and tail were half submerged, and the towel was about to need its own towel. Glancing towards the lobby entrance, he mused, "I don't s'pose it's hot enough yet that I can just bake outside for a bit. Nah... too early." He sighed, turning his long head upward. "Think I just gotta go back upstairs and get changed. I guess it's as good a time as any to see if David's awake yet. I mean, if you're still interested, uh..." he looked at the succubus, concentrating hard and lightly bopping his forehead with the side of his knuckles, whichever would produce the answer first. "...Lula?"

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Bonnie & Carol's Room _{^> Henry, Joseph — Bonnie, Carol}


"Junior mechanic," Henry insisted, "working on the kinds of cars we've got back on Earth, at least the ones that aren't too European. But..." he hesitated, then conceded with a shrug, "ah sure, what the hey, it can't hurt to take a look."

He paused as a thought struck him.

"It... can't hurt to take a look, right?"

Once the dishes were taken care of, he walked about the room, looking for wherever room service had deposited their clothes. "I appreciate you taking care of that, but I'm not seeing them anywhere. I don't suppose room service looked like a desperate naked guy? No... no, you'd probably mention that."

He gave the room one more walk through, looking high and low, before coming back to the center and throwing his arms up. "Not so much as a sock. Last thing I want to do is delay things, but I think someone should go see what's up."

"I'll go!" Joseph announced.

Henry blinked, taken aback by his friend's sudden turn in enthusiasm. He'd been sitting silently at the table, head in his hands, forming the perfect portrait of salamander-shaped ignominy, so to hear him speak was almost as alarming as hearing an actual portrait speak (or an actual salamander, for that matter). Henry could already see him nodding before he even had the chance to say, "are you sure?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll do it!" he rose from the table, making quick space from his treacherous chair, "I'll go, I'll fine the clothes, I'll come back, no prolem."

"And you're okay going like...?" Henry gestured at his own largely unclothed body.

"What? I mean, yeah. It... psh, it's whahever. I got a shirt, I got," he glanced down at his boxer shorts, "leg things. An anyway, no one here knows me, and once we get home it's not like I'm gonna be seeing 'em again."

"Well..." Henry glanced at Carol and Bonnie, shrugging, "okay. But don't spend too much time on it. Find some staff, use your words. Ah, speak slowly." Joseph was already halfway out the door, but stopped to shoot Henry an incredulous glare.

"Just a bit of advice."

He rolled his eyes, then pushed the door open, glancing left and right down the long hallway. He pushed it open the rest of the way, until it came into contact with a soft door stop and would move no further. The hall was clear for the moment; a promising sign.

"Bag in a jiffy!" he called over his shoulder, before stepping out into the hall and heading for the stairs. He wasn't quite ready for the elevator, especially if it wound up being crowded. Already he could feel the wave of bluster leaving him. It was enough to get him out of the room, that dreadful room where he was loser lizard supreme, but it wasn't enough to keep him going on his own. Still, at least he had a mission. Something he could feasibly do. Something important enough to outweigh his discomfort. Maybe that would be enough.

With hot air in his chest, he marched on into the stairwell, sparing not a glance behind him, where he might have seen a small, squashed bag of clean clothes, just behind the door.


Henry stood where he was for about ten seconds before spotting his backpack at the foot of their bed. "Bah, who's got time to wait?"

He zipped open the backpack and retrieved the single article of clothing contained within: Joseph's old jeans from the night before. For the most part, they were in decent enough condition: a little dirt around the ankles, a little wrinkling throughout, but at least they hadn't been touched by moufreta meat. Of course, one also had to ignore the sizable hole torn into the seat of the pants, courtesy of Joseph's salamandrine tail. The same hole that had led him to swapping for Henry's spare hiking pants when he'd temporarily returned to his human self. If only he had swapped back.

Henry held the jeans up, considering them for a long while.

"What do you suppose is worse? Someone wandering around in his underwear, or someone wandering around wearing pants with the ass blasted out?"

[Hotel]

James handed Joseph the towel, then listened to his explination. "Connie? Who's—-"

It was then that Amy came zooming back, nearly knocking James over, as she excitedly grabbed Joseph's shoulders, shaking him. "Connie's here? She's here? Can I see her? Where is she?"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, tiger," Amandus said, making Amy let go of his "son", "Give them a moment. They probably just woke up."

Amy calmed down a little, though her smile remained. "You're right. Then I'll just wait down here to see her and Davey!"

Jackson turned to Maria and whispered. "Isn't Connie that one girl Amy and Maya told us about? Didn't expect to meet her so soon."

"Hope she's as cute Amy described her as." Maria whispered back, giggling a little. "Still gotta give her that warning about Mael, though..."

Hub Town: Hotel Lobby

"Seriosly, my friend." Nasur commented amusedly, as he helped pull Joseph up from the fountain. "You seem to have some real bad luck. Want me to accompany you?"

After helping him up, Nasur paid attention to the rest of the group. Some new faces that he didn't recognize. The one lady next to Claire, Lulu, caught his attention. It wasn't the skin tone, as he had seen many different over the last day, but the tail and tiny wings which seemed oddly familiar.

Nasur approached the witch giirl. "Claire." He called to her politely. "I'm sorry if I come across as rude, but does your friend over here happen to be a demon?" He looked at Lulu, itnently. "My apologies for not presenting myself." He finally said. "My name is Nasur, humble exile of Nocturna." As Nasur presented himself, he made a short formal bow. "Just asking for curiosity. I've never seen one so close before."

Hotel Lobby (Samelin, Rosafa, Devad, Nasur, Joseph, Claire, Rebecca, Amy, and co.)

Samelin caught a restaurant employee by the elbow. "Pardon me, my good man, but my party here is quite hungry, and we would like to have a table. Please show us the way, if you'd be so kind." Their accent inexplicably switched to a more formal one.

(Hotel Lobby crew)

A waiter came up to the group and asked if they needed anything, and Rebecca nodded. "My new friends and I would like a table." Once they were seated and had some menus, the undead looked at her compatriots.

"So, what brings you to this place, anyway? I myself am looking for magical knowledge and artifacts, but I'd be more than happy to help you on any quests you may have. One of the benefits to being somewhat immortal is having plenty of time on your hands."

Hotel ~ Bonnie & Carol's Room (Bonnie, Carol; Henry, Joseph)

Disregarding the buttons on her outfit, Carol glanced up. "So, housekeeping hasn't brought your stuff back yet, eh? Keh, woulda thought they'd o'brought it up by now! Do I 'ave t'go down there myself?"

The dark elf smirked as Joseph volunteered to find the clothes. Fully dressed, Carol stood up and made for the door after him, "Oi, I'll go down with you— I wanna find out what's takin' them so long!"

Bonnie's ears perked up, "Please don't harass the staff, Carol..."

"I won't," replied Carol, "Besides, I wanna check on the truck again." With that, she took her leave, leaving Bonnie with the partially dressed Henry.

The lagokin medic sighed, before turning towards Henry, "In the meantime, I can patch those up for you, if you'd like."

Hub Town ~ Hotel Lobby (Claire, Lulu; Joseph; Nasur; the Hunters & Co.; Samelin, Rosafa, Devad; Rebecca)

Claire grinned cheekily, "I can dry you off real quick!" she said, raising a pair of magic circles above her hands.

Lulu took one look at them and blanched. "Wait— is that the spell I taught Maelys? With that formula—!" She leaped into action, launching herself into Claire to prevent her from touching Joseph. The pair ended up in the fountain. Claire skidded across the water, while Lulu splashed into it.

The drenched succubus rose to her feet, cuffing Claire on the head. "You dumbass, your version doesn't dry clothes it—"

Claire playfully shoved Lulu, activating the spell. Lulu's leotard rippled for a moment, before exploding into scraps of fabric. The succubus threw her arms across her now bare chest, glowering at Claire, "You fiend!"

One spell cast by the succubus later, and she restored her leotard— and her modesty. She then climbed out of the fountain and cast the proper version of the spell Claire had— one that quickly drew out all the water from her clothes. She then sighed, "I'm sorry about all that, my friend can be a bit of an ass at times."

Shaking her head, she turned towards Joseph, saying, "I can dry your clothes for you, if you'd like."

She and Claire then turned their attention towards Nasur as he approached, "Aye, that she is," the witch told him. Lulu nodded, returning his bow with one of her own, "My name is Luella Sitri, though, you may call me Lulu."

The two girls soon found themselves in the dining area, seated with the others at a table.

"We're on holiday," Claire told Rebecca, "Though, I'm kinda acting as a bit of a bodyguard for Joseph right now."

"Though, that most likely means we're going to have some sort of incident happen," Lulu retorted, "Things usually don't go according to plan. Some plot is discovered, and Claire usually ends up ransacking a castle and burning it down. We're likely to come across some artifacts if you stick with us."

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby _{^> Joseph — Rebecca — Adam, Amandus, Amy, Jackson, James, Maria, Maya, Nick and Pancake too — Claire, Lulu — Nasur — Devad, Rosafa, Samelin}


"Bad luck?" Joseph regarded Nasur with surprise. "Nah," he shook his head, "Nah, nah. Well maybe a bit, but not for long. It kinda oscillates, I guess. Things always seem to swing back 'round the other way before too long. Like yesterday— sure I got chased by a sand blob for like ten miles, but then I ran into you and some actual space aliens at the same time, and hey, I didn't die." He pulled off his shoe, shaking some water out of it and back into the fountain as he shrugged, "If that's not good luck, then I dunn..."

His words trailed off as he noticed Amy blazing towards him. He could scarcely widen his eyes before she was upon him.

"A-a-amy! A-a-mm-my! FFoouunnttaaiinn, Amy! Fountain!" he cried as she shook him, clinging as hard as he could to the fountain's edges to keep from being tipped back in. Once she stopped, it took him a few seconds and as many blinks to come back to his own senses.

"Thank you. Connie, she's... she- yes... I mean..." He closed his eyes and concentrated, "She's here. Here in town, that is. Maybe in the hotel. We're together, in the same room, like- like part of the same, uh..." he made clawed finger quotes, " 'unit', which is me, and Connie, and David and this other guy Rip who knew David before either of us, 'cause they were partners, like business partners, which I guess makes us apprentices." He opened his eyes, tapping the side of his face in thought, "So then, I s'pose we're all part of the same... company? I dunno, is four people a company? Doesn't really sound right either way."

His wobbling train of thought was interrupted once again, this time by Claire's enthusiastic attempt to magically relieve him of his wet clothes problem, which wound up being foiled at the last moment. He blinked, still clutching his soggy shoe and staring speechlessly as Claire and Lulu toppled into the fountain, re-anointing him with a fresh splash. And then, well... then he had sudden cause to look away and pretend as though he hadn't seen a thing.

Trying hard to keep a straight face, he turned back to Amy, "L-long story short, I don't know where Connie is right now. She wasn't around when I got up, Rip said she went out, I thought that was her walking by just a minute ago, but if it was, then she didn't recognize me, which, uh..." he tilted his head with an odd smile, "doesn't typically happen."

To James, he added, "Connie's someone I met back i-"

He froze mid word as he recalled precisely when it was that he'd met Connie. Shortly after he'd left the gracious company of James and Amandus without so much as a goodbye. Shortly after his supposed disappearance.

"Back... back uh... around the same time I met you and Amandus. Yeah... a little after, but around then. Hopefully I'll... I'll get to introduce her to you soon."

By then, Lulu and Claire had retrieved themselves from the fountain, though not before a hotel attendant stopped by to politely inform the group that it was not a swimming pool. Joseph could only sheepishly remove his tail and still sopping left leg from the fountain, resting them on the narrow edge and making himself look like some strange fountainside yoga practitioner.

When Lulu turned to him, offering to magically dry his clothes for real, he couldn't help but slowly move his free hand down to cover his primary exposure-sensitive zone. "Uh, I mean... it's... it's fine. I wouldn't want you to use up a bunch of magical energy whichamacalit before breakfast. I should check on David anyways; if he's up, I'll try and get him to come down so you can meet him."

Nasur striking up a chat with Claire and Lulu made Joseph realize that he hadn't actually answered the blue man's question. "Oh- yeah, so you can come along if you wanna, but I'm really just going up the elevator. And no offense, but if something goes wrong in there, I don't know that there's a whole lot we can do about it." He wrenched off his other shoe, dumping as much water out of it as he could like the first. "But I think my luck's due for a change. And I don't want to keep you from breakfast either. Or good company, or whatever you can get down here."

As most of the group headed over to the dining area, he grabbed the wet towel, trying tos strike a balance between drying his left leg and just spreading the moisture around. After a valiant attempt was made, he grabbed his shoes, hopped off the fountain's edge with a squelch, and treaded as lightly as he could toward the elevators. One poked call button later, and all that was left to do was wait, which gave him time to think, and think clearly.

Quickly, he doubled back to catch Adam and company before any of them headed off to the dining area.

"Hey," he waved, before continuing in a bit of a hush, "uh, remember how I was asking about those moonstones earlier? Well I've got two more questions, if it's not too much trouble." He listed off on his fingers, "who here knows the most about what the stones can do, and can I borrow you for a bit?"

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Bonnie & Carol's Room _{^> Henry, Joseph — Bonnie, Carol}


Henry nodded in approval as Carol followed after his friend, remarking to Bonnie, "Change in company might do him some good. I mean, hey, we get along pretty well, but it's been a long pair of days, and I'm sure we've got our limits. Probably won't be a pretty sight if and when we reach them, so I'm plenty content to leave it way out there, undiscovered."

He walked closer to her, regarding the tarnished jeans once again in light of her offer. "Ah, a butt patch then. Embarrassing, but demonstrating resilience. There's beauty in that." He tossed her the pants. "Do your worst."

Waiting for her to set to work, he took a seat and asked, "You and Carol know each other long?"

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Mid-floor Hallways —> Stairwell _{^> Joseph — Carol}


Joseph had been in such a hurry to get on his way that he almost didn't realize that Carol intended to tag along. Or maybe he was hoping to ignore her, to move so quickly that she'd rethink joining him. But as he crossed into the stairwell, one quick, curious glance over his shoulder proved against any such luck. And with that same glance, feigning ignorance was no longer an option.

Hesitating a moment too long, he slapped the stairwell door just as it was about to close completely, awkwardly thrusting it back open and holding it there, as though he were shielding it from gunfire.

"Hey Carol!" he greeted, trying desperately to act casual as she caught up with him, "Sorry, didn' catch that you were headnin' out too."

It wasn't that he disliked Carol, it was just that she sometimes intimidated him with her 'indelicate' manner. To have her join him when he was so close to being free of all the quiet ridicule... Well, it was enough to make his toes curl, his fingers curl, and—if the odd sensation at his far extremity was to be understood—his tail curl, too. And that was just on the outside.

It felt as if a laser-guided harpoon had punctured his spirit. Just keeping a smile up was a struggle. Hell, he hadn't had enough mirror time with his new mug to see if he could pull off a convincing fake. For all he knew, he just looked vaguely constipated.

"So... goin' down?"

The sound of footsteps rising in the stairwell registered somewhere in the back of his mind, but for the life of him, he just couldn't bring himself to care.

[Hotel Lobby]

James listened intently to Joseph's story, but a particular detail stood out to them. "Wait. You met them a little after you met us? But...you disappeared around that time, didn't you? When did you meet them?"

Before the kids had the chance to leave, Joseph called them again, this time to ask about the moonstones.

"Oh! If you want an expert, you can speak to me," Jackson said, turning around, "And Maria. We've been using these the longest."

"You want to use them, honey?" Maria said, "Okay, we'll let you, but you need to—-"

"Stop handing these around like candy!" Amandus said, his face stern, "Christ, are you really sure you want still hand these out all willy nilly after last night? Did any of you learn anything from what happened to me?"

He then sighed, then turned to his son. "Look, Joseph, while these are helpful, they're not toys. When you first use them, you will lose your breakfast. Then, you'll get extremely thirsty. Finally, you'll get exhausted and sleep for a while. That's your body adjusting to the moonstones magic. Be sure not to over use them, okay?" He glanced back at the kids. "Next time, if you want to give these to others, talk to me or James. Got it?"

Everyone except Maya sighed. "Yes, Mr. Richman."

"Good!" He knelt down in front of Joseph. "Any particular reason you want to use these, son?"

Edited by Masterofchaos on Dec 3rd 2021 at 4:36:52 AM

_{^< cont. from} Hub Town - Hotel, Lobby (Near Elevators) _{^> Joseph — Adam, Amandus, Amy, Jackson, James, Maria, Maya, Nick and Pancake too}


Joseph tried to keep his panic under wraps as James came dangerously close to piecing together the truth. Luckily, he was able to hide his nervous grimace under a shiver. Falling into a fountain had its perks.

"Yeah, well... after," he shrugged, trying to explain without explaining too much. "After I was gone. You know, when I disappeared—back when that was a whole regular occurrence and all—it wasn't like I disappeared completely. I'd wind up somewhere else. Around other people, like..." he glanced nervously at Amy and Maya; evidently the story of their earlier adventure with him had not reached the James or Amandus, and he hoped it'd stay that way. At least for a little while longer. "...like Connie."

He didn't want to lie to James and Amandus— of course he didn't. Certainly not after what they had done for him. He just wasn't ready to explain everything yet. He needed time and space especially for that moment, for all that it would stir up.

Soon, he thought, soon.

Amandus warned him and the others about the stones, and Joseph, grateful for the interruption, nodded along enthusiastically. "Oh yeah. Trust me, I've heard the whole spiel and I'm abso-totally right there with you. That's why I'm trying to be hush-hush about it." He shot a quick look at those gathered by the dining area, flashing a vaguely cheerful smile in case he looked too conspiratorial. "Seems like the kinda thing that could get really out of hand if you aren't careful, hence why I'm asking for help.

"So, the deal is, Connie is sick— nothing serious, but she caught the travelers' wheeze, and she had to stay back all of yesterday while David and I were out..." He paused, briefly recalling the previous day's events. "...well, almost dying. But we were out, you know? And we weren't coughing it up..." he paused again, "...'cept I guess when I ran my guts out in the desert and my lungs just about exploded. And then I suppose when David breathed in all that smoke while the vampire alien lady was biting him. But it wasn't an all-day thing. And that's just it; it's supposed to go away after a day of rest or so, but I heard her coughing before she headed out this morning. So that really sucks. She's cooped up in here all day, and we had her really worried, and I thought-"

ding

"Oh!"

He glanced over his shoulder as the elevator arrived. Thankfully, it was vacant once its few occupants stepped out into the lobby; the fewer apologetic looks he had to give out for his wet state, the better. Turning back to the group before him, he beckoned and began walking to the open doors, "Jackson or Maria; just need to borrow one of you for a sec. I don't wanna keep the rest of you from breakfast."

Hub Town: Hotel Lobby

Nasur couldn't help but chuckle at Amy's enthusiasm. Thar girl seemed earnestly cheerful, not something he had seen in a long time. Fortunately, her glomping Joseph did not result in the two of them falling back into the fountain. So no need to pull more people out of it.

Then Claire offered to dry up Joseph's clothes, although he ended up refusing. And... judging by the immediate events that transpired, perhaps it was for the best. Like everyone else, Nasur averted his gaze, and focused best on the group next to him and his friend, who didnt't mind being accompanied. "Please, it's not a problem for me." He assured. "I know I might not be good in a fight, but in this case, I would like to at least offer my presence if it helps you."

So focused he tried to be in this conversation, that he almost missed Claire and Lulu coming back to answer his question. Lulu confirming herself to be a demon caused Nasur to frown slightly. "Ah, I see." He answered in a more serious tone. He would have liked to make another question, but Joseph was moving to the elevator, and the Narati wanted to join him, with the rest of the group already moving to the dining room. "Well, nevermind then. I'll see you later." Nasur gave a brief bow to the two of them before joining up to his friend.

Joining up with Joseph, he managed to catch the tail end of Amandus scolding one of the kids. Nasur made no comment as he moved back into the group, although something the man had said made him curious. "If I may ask." He asked Amandus with a soft tone, not wanting to possibly irritate the man further. "You word it as if you never had exposure to magic prior to these stones. Am I wrong?"

(Hotel Lobby- Rebecca, Claire, Lulu, etc.)

"Well, if you're likely to come across artifacts, then I think it would be best if I go with you. And you never know when you may come across a nasty shade or something like that. I do suggest an even split of anything we might find. Makes dividing the spoils easier, though it's been many moons since my last real adventuring. Perhaps what's in good taste in plundering has changed." Rebecca folded her hands in amusement.

"Though you have definitely piqued my interest, Miss Claire. A witch with the raw power to level a castle and the detailed control to walk on water? Rare in my experience, rare indeed..." She looked at the blonde witch with curiosity- clearly, this was a truly powerful magician. Maybe one who could even destroy a phylactery. Best to find out more about her.

Edited by daird on Dec 13th 2021 at 11:58:48 AM