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It's a quiet evening in the town of Little Sunbeam. A warm, gentle breeze is blowing, tumbleweeds are rolling, and the setting sun has turned the sky multicolored. Most of the residents have closed their shops, and are spending the evening in Bucky's Tavern. They're not relaxed, though - most of them are armed to the teeth, knowing a gang of outlaws could show up at any moment, as often happens around here.

One of the townspeople is Edmund Vuma, a puma/vulture hybrid who works as an undertaker. He's sitting at a table, alone, secretly regretting how he's been in the town for so long, and yet still barely knows anyone there.

No "Bowser's Fury" questions please. I haven't played it yet.

Bill, the hedgehog who works as a craftsman, takes a seat at a nearby table.

"Can I get a mug of tea, please?" he asks.

A great Mascot Mook.

(A tall cyan dinosaur resembling a hypsilophodon enters the tavern, a ten-gallon hat on her head, a pistol on her belt, and a worn-looking guitar hanging from her back. She has a seat at an empty table close by. She makes a puzzled expression upon seeing how heavily armed and on-edge a lot of the other visitors appear to be, but doesn't say anything about it and wordlessly waits for a server to come by.)

"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."

A large man in a long coat sits at his own empty table in the corner. This wouldn't be very interesting aside from the fact that his head is a floating cow skull and the three other chairs at the table are lined up with a massive rifle resting on them. There are no pupils, but it's somehow clear that the skull is scanning the room from underneath the cowboy hat nailed to it.

Enough death. Enough life.

Bucky's Tavern, Little Sunbeam - Kason Volena, monster hunter.

The doors swung open as a new figure walked in briskly. Anyone who'd seen a monster hunter in person or illustration before would probably recognize the outfit, but if they were familiar with the typical character of monster hunters, then this man's goofy grin and cheery demeanor would probably seem out of place. "Hello everyone!" Kason proclaimed loudly as he stopped a few steps in, raising both his hands as a way of greeting. It was as if he was completely oblivious to the amount of tension in the room, and likewise, the number of guns ready to be drawn at a moment's notice. "I'm sorry to intrude, but I'm in need of some information" the monster hunter begins, glancing about the room, "see I'm on the trail of someone in a band of outlaws, and I was told they had some activity in the area, so I..."

Kason trailed off as his gaze found its way to one particular person in the room, and he stopped and stammered, staring a bit wide eyed for a moment. "Is that- am- am I hallucinating, or is that some kind of undead creature sitting in that corner over there, with a large gun?" Kason asked, pointing at Dusty.

You are reading this.

The man straightens up in his seat a little and turns to look at the monster hunter.

"Sure is. And what reason do you have to care?"

One of his hands is now resting on his rifle.

Enough death. Enough life.

Bucky's Tavern, Little Sunbeam - Kason Volena, monster hunter.

Kason blinked a couple times. "Well, it's my job to care- or rather, my job to put down things like you, at least when they're malicious. Since I'm a monster hunter, you see" Kason replied, his tone still rather casual but with a hint of tension, especially as his eyes flicked to Dusty's hand resting on his gun. "But seeing as you're not trying to actively murder anyone, or turn anyone into more of... Whatever you are exactly, or curse anyone- that I can tell anyway- I suppose I can put fighting you under the 'last resort' category for now" the monster hunter said, clearly trying to defuse a standoff before it could begin.

You are reading this.

Dusty glares at the monster hunter for a long moment before coughing and relaxing in his seat again, a small cloud of sand coming from his mouth as he does so.

"Right. Well, I'll just stay here for now."

He lets out a small chuckle.

"Don't want to risk me killin' nobody or nothin'."

Enough death. Enough life.

Daniel had been bored, so he figured he'd go out for a drink. Walking into the tavern with his revolver in its holster and knife in its sheath, he sat down on a stool with a grin, showing off his filed teeth. "Gimme... How about a few shots o' vodka?" He leaned against the counter, taking in the strange people around him.

YOHOHO!

Got a feelin' bein' in this town's gonna be a trip 'n a half. (The dinosaur remarks to herself after idly watching this exchange in silence for a few moments.)

"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."

Daniel chugs all four shots of vodka in seconds, then turns to the dinosaur. "Hey... I ain't ever seen a dinosaur in person." He chuckled, approaching slowly and narrowing his eyes, his grin growing. "Where are ya from?" He knew this place was dangerous, so he cautiously rested a hand on his hip close to his bowie knife.

"I'm from Boston, myself."

YOHOHO!

Hm? (The dino realizes the peculiar-looking human (or is he a human?) just spoke to her.) Oh, near Laredo. Reckon dinosaurs ain't all that common up that way or somethin'. Ain't all that common 'round these here parts either, come to think of it.

"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."

Daniel shrugs. "Yeah, I suppose so." He decided the dinosaur probably wasn't hostile, taking his hand off his hip and sitting beside the dino. "You seen the catbird?" He points to Vuma, grinning. "Looks shady, huh?" He thought for a second. "Kinda cute, in a mystery man kind of way. Might talk to 'em."

YOHOHO!

Bucky's Tavern, Little Sunbeam - Kason Volena, monster hunter.

"Very good" Kason said with a relieved smile. Quite fascinating though. I wonder what he is exactly. Kason thought to himself, taking his wisp lantern off his belt to inspect it briefly. The wisps weren't having any reaction, still just idly floating around in it and casting their collective light around as they usually did. No response yet? Well, maybe if they were closer to him, but that will have to wait.

Kason put the lantern back, and glanced around, seeing that other people were continuing with their own conversations. "Um, so as I was saying, does anyone have information on nearby outlaw activity?" Kason asked out loud to the room in general, rather than any particular person. "Please, it is of dire importance" the monster hunter added.

You are reading this.

Meanwhile, a young girl — seemingly in her late teens — enters the tavern as well. She looks around the room, before taking a seat at an unoccupied table.

"We're usually cautious about criminals 'round here," she replied to the monster hunter. "..however, I've not heard of 'em for a while now. Though I'm sure that's just me."

artsy geek | any pronouns | "well, if you're hearing this, then chances are you've made a very poor career choice."

He kinda looks like he needs someone to talk to if ya ask me. (Heidi replies to Daniel, noticing how forlorn Vuma appears to be.) I ain't gonna stop you if ya wanna go speak to him.

(Hearing Kason ask about criminal activity in town, Heidi responds:) Wish I could help ya there, pardner, but I just got here. I dunno what's happenin' in this town yet.

"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."

Dusty's jaw clatters as he speaks.

"I know plenty ah' villains."

He stays silent for a long moment, hoping the statement sounds threatening in some way.

"A'course, none of 'em are anywhere near here."

Enough death. Enough life.

Bucky's Tavern, Little Sunbeam - Kason Volena, monster hunter.

Kason looked at the young lady, the dino, and the undead again as they all gave... Not quite helpful answers. "So... Nobody really knows? What about an orange fox, a doctor, about yea high?" Kason asked, holding his hand about four feet off the floor.

You are reading this.

Edmund is slightly embarrassed about being called cute, but he realizes that the others see him and want to talk to him. But Kason's words finally encourage him to speak up.

"He's one of them, isn't he? I think he raided my hometown one time when I was young. I didn't see him too close up, but he's still not the kind of person one forgets so easily."

No "Bowser's Fury" questions please. I haven't played it yet.

Dusty nods a little.

"I think I mighta' done a job for someone fittin' that description a few years back. Can't remember his name for the life of me, though."

Enough death. Enough life.

(Heidi now looks at the others inquisitively, particularly Vuma when he theorizes that this doctor is with "them" who raided his hometown in the past.)

Sounds like one of them BOSS varmints. (She says, wrinkling her face.) Some of their folks paid my town a visit a few months back, too.

"Lucian, don’t be afraid, we’ll make it through this."

Bucky's Tavern, Little Sunbeam - Kason Volena, monster hunter.

"'Boss', yes, those are the ones" Kason said with a nod, then raised a hand to his chin in thought. "But I thought he joined up with them after he hired me. If he was with them the whole time... He's even worse than I thought" the monster hunter thought out loud, but a bit quietly.

Then, he turned his attention back to Dusty. "Doctor Armani ring a bell?" Kason asked, the name finally bringing a bit of anger to his tone, "and pardon me for asking, but was it before, after, or during this 'job' that you, died?"

Edited by FirockFinion on Mar 2nd 2021 at 3:20:03 AM

You are reading this.

Dusty snaps his fingers.

"That's the one. Annoyin' little bastard, but he paid well."

He shifts in his seat a little.

"And it was before that job. Can't recall exactly when, but it was at least a decade or so."

Enough death. Enough life.

Bucky's Tavern, Little Sunbeam - Kason Volena, monster hunter.

Kason casually walked towards Dusty's table, snagging an empty chair from an adjacent table along the way and sliding it around to sit across from the undead. "... Would you mind telling me about the job you did for the doctor?" Kason asked, now sounding more serious than the bright and cheery tone he had when he'd entered the tavern, though he was still trying to sound polite as well.

Edited by FirockFinion on Mar 2nd 2021 at 8:32:55 AM

You are reading this.

Dusty glances up as Kason approaches. He sits up and begins recalling the job.

"Y'know, typical merc work. Threaten an official here, kill a snitch there. He had me doin' all this under some 'vow of secrecy', but he didn't pay me enough to keep quiet."

Enough death. Enough life.