Ambrosia Software Web Board: The Alraeican Tavern - part VII - Ambrosia Software Web Board

"Oh, don't panic." Moonshadow told Katerei. "She'll be just fine. Just..." She frowned slightly. "Prank magic? Sheesh." She glanced at the patrons, who were still standing around gaping at how realistic it all was. "Might as well..." she muttered to herself. With her right hand, she made a flowing yet precise gesture, and everything stopped. Moonshadow nodded, satisfied. "Works quite well, doesn't it?" She asked Katerei with a happy smile. Katerei stared at her blankly. "Oh. Hmm. I guess I need to work on the selecting part." With a shrug, Moonshadow kneeled down next to Nixus and performed the usual gestures for a healing spell - of course, it didn't take any effect.. yet.
Nodding to herself, Moonshadow turned back to look at the bar, and snapped her fingers. Everything started moving once more. Before the startled eyes of everyone, Nixus wounds and the blood began to disappear.
Katerei was the first to catch herself. "Um..see. she's alright already!" She said brightly, though a bit shakily.
Moonshadow smiled at the wall, rubbed her eyes and went back to studying.

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Welcome to a world, where you always get the girl; you may lose a fight or two, but you'll win if you get through.

Theo glared at Nixus. It wasn't because he didn't like her, because he didn't even know who she was. It was the strange way she had been healed. Theo pondered a little: he was no healer, and prided himself that he knew very little about the topic, but dispite what Katerei told the crowd he was quite convinced that the wounds had been real. That, and a slight tingling sensation, not necessarily connected with the wounds but the very air around him, told him one of two things had occurred. Either a massive healing spell has been cast on the entire tavern, which would require a great number of mages working together, or the sea-shell he kept to keep him out of time fluxes was jammed again. The sea-shell?

Theo sighed and stuck his right hand in his left robe sleeve. He took the sea-shell out of its protective pocket and held it to his ear.

"Ahhhh," he said, and turned it upsidedown. Wet beechsand began flowing out, along with a few hermit crabs and a small fish or two. Within ten seconds, there was a steep mound the height of a small cat under the shell. Theo calmly replaced the shell in his robe and used his foot to brush the sand further under the table. Then, glancing around with a completely serious expression, he got up and stretched. If the seat he returned to wasn't the same, who was paying enough attention to notice?

He called back to Avatara, who by this time was having a rapid conversation with someone else, "No, you know, I really must say that any complaint from you is far from appreciated. I mean, there I was, enjoying my research, when you appear outside my door and demand I find the solution to all your problems. Now, do I complain? No, of course not. 'Oh, yes Avatara, that sounds interesting, I'll help you out.' And so I do what I can, and you have the gall to laugh at my ingenuity, ye who never got half so far. Some appreciation! Then you tell me to keep working while you go relax in the tavern. Bah! I did what I could and followed you here, all secretive so I can measure how much work you're putting into it, and I find you setting things on fire. *tsk* *tsk* But you know what I think? I think that is what you're looking for, but can't tell because because you forgot you had in mind: you know, random yet cheerful... and I'm sure even you have heard of the ancient Osdican? Eh?"

Realizing that Avatara was busy elsewhere, Theo finished his rambling with a grunt, leaned back in his chair, and returned his gaze skyward. "You know," he mumbled to no one in particular, "the skies just aren't the same anymore... poor Osdican."

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"I don't need a plan, just a goal. The rest will follow on its own"
     - MtG, "Temper"
The One And Only:
[url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/webboard/Forum5/HTML/000506.html"]~Theo Nean Donly~[/url]

Villa was amazed, here he was risking his life fending off a brutal bar crowd intent on staring; and it all turned out to be fake magic!
He wandered up to Katerei and tugged her shoulder "Can I buy some fake magic? That'll be great, if I meet anyone serious that is."
The woman looked strangely at him, very strangely.
Villa nodded encouragingly and winked.
Finally Katerei understood. Villa was an idiot. She smiled and handed him an arrow from Moonshadows quiver and winked back "It's magic, you see."

------------

It was not long after that Moonshadow had to perform her time freezing trick, and helped Avatara remove an arrow from Villa's stomach.

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What part of "You don't understand anything!" don't you understand?

(whoa, all six of us posted within 24 hours - neato)

As night fell and the storm showed signs of finally subsiding, Theo yawned and rubbed his eyes. This was all mildly annoying, he could've been working on his research instead of waiting in this place.

"Hey, are you listening to any of this?" Avatara jabbed Theo, who jumped out of his daydream and looked around startled.

"What is it?" he asked grumpily. Noting Avatara's eyes were all but shining with curiousity, he tried to focus on the man Avatara had been talking to. It was a patron that looked like he came from up north in Odemia, and someone who had endured some kind of frightening experience from the way his hand shook.

"Its related to what I called you for. Apparently something has been ravaging people travelling through the mountains and up north. This man's group was attacked by a giant flying beast while searching for a possible mining sight closer to LKH in these northern mountains. Now, they don't quite know what it is, but how many beasts do you know have two clawlike feet, wings, and a reptillian mouth?"

"A giant bird?" Theo asked skeptically.

"Not quite, birds aren't as scaly. Anyway, the King is apparently busy with some other threat he won't disclose, which means..."

"We have to go slay a dragon? That will be tough."

"We don't have to, this thing might only be a rumor after all. Though, it might be worth investigating, gives us something to do." Avatara shrugged nonchalantly and drained his mug of beer.

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"Its all fun and games until a rampaging robot destroys half of your city."

Don't you hate it when only one word is off, and you have to edit anyway?

[This message has been edited by Avatara (edited 06-20-2004).]

Talryn, who always has this habit of listening in on conversations on acident, walked over to Avatara, "I heard something about slaying a dragon ?" Talryn said kind of queitly...

[Edit: yahoo, page 3!]
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"Ahh, the signature, The One signature, TO RULE THEM ALL!" [url="http://"http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm"]http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm[/url]

[This message has been edited by Dark Jet (edited 06-20-2004).]

[ooc]
I can't post properly, cause I'm meant to be doing my work, but I just wanted to say how cool it is that the boards are going again!
I'll post tonight.
[bic]

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What part of "You don't understand anything!" don't you understand?

OOC: Everyone's probably forgotten my characters by now... shame on me for letting them get dusty.

BIC: The door of the tavern was thrown open as a very dirty Larc fell in, closely followed by his older brother, Martel. "We are NEVER, EVER doing that again, idiot." Martel yelled as he stepped over Larc, who was still struggling to his feet. "Come on, Marty, it was fun!" Martel's glare could have stopped Ignae from burning. "Fun? You call being dragged here from Kosha by an enraged, oversized..." Martel paused, unsure of what to say next. "...THING... fun?" Larc had just sat down next to Martel. He had been about to order a drink when he paused, "It wasn't that big..." Martel was sick of it. "SHUT UP! Bartender? He needs a drink. Oh, and we'll take a room too. Two beds please. Pnyx is a long way home for me... and his house didn't survive the... incident."

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On April Fool's Day, we are reminded of what we are on the other three hundred and sixty-four. - Mark Twain

Talryn stares blankly at Avatara, awaiting his response...

ooc: Ancestral Recall, is fun but hard. It would be nice if I could play a tci/ip game with anyone. Oh, AR, is a mod for D2 LoD...the link is [url="http://"http://www.planetdiablo.com/teknokyo/"]here[/url]. Download v1.10. Email me at acrolek@yahoo.com if u are intrested...I will be waiting... bic:

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"Ahh, the signature, The One signature, TO RULE THEM ALL!" [url="http://"http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm"]http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm[/url]

*** Out of Character ***
Ancestral Recall? Crazy good magic card...
*** Back In ***

Unfortunately, Talryn spoke a little too quietly with the ruckus going on by the door, so that neither Avatara nor Theo noticed the first time. Instead, Theo blinked a bit and chose his next words carefully.

"You know," he said, "you always have to bring something like that up just as I'm getting comfortable, don't you. So all that stuff you were spounting about has more than just a hunch basis, eh? Hrmmm," at which point Theo gave a few thoughtful tugs on his beard.

"Without confirmed word, maybe it would be better if I checked it out before alerting too many people," Avatara put in between a set of tugs, "Nothing -- hazardous -- has plagued the Cytheran community for some time, and who knows how they'll react to an undetermined threat."

"Then shouldn't we ask Who?" asked Theo. Avatara groaned and shook his head in disbelief at his friend's growing senility. "Ok, seriously then," continued Theo, "How about we both go and take a gimpse around? Maybe you'll actually be onto something, and if so I want to see it."

Avatara paused, which Theo noticed. "You sceered?" the old man joked, "Well, we could always leave behind a note just in case something happens, except I don't really know anyone to leave a note for. And like you said, if something were to happen, who knows if anyone would actually care to do anything..."

Just then a throat cleared and Talryn repeated the question, "What is going on?"

Theo muttered something under his breath and looked away, but Avatara turned and spoke, trying to get a measure of how many other people had been listening in on the conversation, or just what they were doing.

*** OoC again ***
Oh dear, my spelling is going out the window... among other things I tried to spell chose as choaz and comfy as combphy. *shudder* I'm melting!

Edit: Indetermined gender of Talryn. Almost got me on that one. Purposely?

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"I don't need a plan, just a goal. The rest will follow on its own"
     - MtG, "Temper"
The One And Only:
[url="http://"http://www.ambrosiasw.com/webboard/Forum5/HTML/000506.html"]~Theo Nean Donly~[/url]

[This message has been edited by Theo Nean Donly (edited 06-22-2004).]

Hi

I have some question to ask you cause im stuck

How do we get the quest for the sapphire book.I got it once but i dont remember how...
I have 3 part of the crolna.2 fit and one does not fit with the other.Where is the other one?And how we get into the tomb of the second tyrant(two paces past noon). The lever is on the other side of the door...

plz help me

Quote

ooc: i dont think i posted a bio on Talryn, he is a male half elf... still awaiting emails....bic:

Talryn still awaits his answer to a different question..."I heard something about slaying a dragon...."


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"Ahh, the signature, The One signature, TO RULE THEM ALL!" [url="http://"http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm"]http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm[/url]

Avatara's face suddenly became serious, "A dragon? What, here in Cythera? Where did you see it? Can you give me some information?" Avatara quickly leaned forward and stared intently at Talryn, who jumped back in surprise. "Well? This could be quite important, tell me what you've heard."

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"Its all fun and games until a rampaging robot destroys half of your city."

"i kinda over heard you two talking....and heard something about slaying a dragon, or something to do with one..." Talryn's (kinda whispering but loud enough to hear this time...) voice trailed off as he looked at the roof above Avatara...

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"Ahh, the signature, The One signature, TO RULE THEM ALL!" [url="http://"http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm"]http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm[/url]

"Avatara, don't startle the poor kid," Moonshadow put in from behind. "You two talked loudly enough for me to hear at the bar, so don't you try to play it off." Despite her words, she looked amused as she stepped between Theo and Avatara. "So, anything true about it?"

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Welcome to a world, where you always get the girl; you may lose a fight or two, but you'll win if you get through.

The warm golden glow of morning in Cythera washed slowly over the land, revealing an absence of the storm from the night before. The great city of Cademia glistened, wet from melted snow, as its people rose and began their days, bringing life back into the sleepy land.
As the noise in the streets grew, random patrons began rolling into taverns around the city, most in search of a nice cooked breakfast. The door to the Alraeician Tavern was hooked back, welcoming several random well-dressed customers, and it was only half an hour or so before most of the tables were busy.
On the other side of the city, the hollow thump of big leather boots echoed through the narrow hallway of another inn, stirring a small bundle hiding beneath the blankets of an "unoccupied" room. The head of a small child emerged, looking both worried and amused, and was quickly followed by a little underfed body and a haggard blue backpack. The child ripped open the window on the opposite wall, threw the backpack out, and climbed the two stories to the ground. Then, dusting herself off, the child began walking casually through the city.
Some time around midday, the girl walked through the Alraeician Tavern door. She was clearly less than ten years of age. Her messy black hair hung in tangles around her ears. She wore a plain violet t-shirt covered by a long crimson cloak, which hung down to the knees of her puffy caramel brown pants. Weather-worn black leather elf-boots reached just above her ankles. She innocently blinked her over-sized glassy blue eyes, and took a table by the fire.

- - - - - - - - - -

Hours slowly crept past, the light began to fade, and eventually night had, yet again, taken Cythera. Avatara looked around at the typically crowded tavern, and a look of concern crossed his face. ‘Nixus hasn’t been up all day,’ he said to no one in particular. ‘I better check on her.’
The door handle to Nixus’s room rattled loosely and the door creaked open, revealing that Nixus was still there and seemingly fine. The mage had propped herself up in bed and was currently inspecting her belly wound. A small pile of bandages lay on the bed next to her, streaked with sticky yellow plasma. At the sound of the door, Nixus ripped her shirt back into place and looked up at the face in the door. ‘Avatara!’ she said welcomingly and beckoned him into the room.
‘How are you feeling?’ Avatara asked, moving a chair from the corner of the room over to the side of Nixus’s bed.
‘I’m fine,’ Nixus said, smiling. ‘Who ever healed me did a good job; no scab at all.’ She ran her fingers over her stomach again.
‘It was Moonshadow,’ Avatara said. ‘She specialises in healing.’
‘Moonshadow…I don’t recognise that name.’
‘I can get her for you if you’d like,’ Avatara offered.
‘I’ll be out later,’ Nixus said, ‘it’s okay. Avatara, what happened last night?’
Avatara paused, concentrating. ‘It was getting fairly late. We were all just sitting around talking when you came in and fainted.’ He laughed. ‘You caused quite a scene, stumbling in here and bleeding all over the place! Katerei had to make up some story about it being fake magic. Villa actually believed her and we ended up having to pull an arrow from his belly.’
Nixus laughed airily and sighed.
There was an uncomfortable pause. ‘Is something wrong, Nixus?’ Avatara asked.
‘Well…’ Nixus paused, staring blankly at a random place on her blanket. ‘I’m really not sure where to begin.’
‘How about you start by telling me what happened last night?’
Nixus closed her eyes and thought back for a moment, then proceeded to explain all of the events of the night before, and explained how Francis had been sent to kill her, and how Taurus was tired of waiting for him. ‘I don’t know what came over me. I was kneeling there, waiting to finally die and be with my family again and…I guess it was sort of like the opposite of freezing up in battle; I just suddenly had all the power of my people right behind me. I don’t even know what I said! But I know what it was…and what it did.’
Avatara’s eyes were deep with interest. ‘Well? What was it?’
Nixus spoke very slowly. ‘It was an Old World spell that none of my people have been able to summon in centuries. It’s the only Ancient magic in our land. It was Death.’
Avatara looked suspicious. ‘I thought you couldn’t cast magic.’
‘I can’t…I don’t know how it happened.’
‘Maybe you should try it again,’ Avatara said, and seeing the odd expression on Nixus’s face he quickly added ‘I mean a different spell!’
The mage nodded and held her hands cupped in front of herself. She closed her eyes and whispered “Firiath am’ir.’ A light shined in her hands for a moment, which suddenly exploded into flames, leaving a perfectly round fireball in its place. Nixus threw the fireball into the air and gave a waving motion with her hands, which resulted in the fireball’s disappearance.
‘Okay, that was only minor. Now for something more difficult,’ she said to herself. ‘Sam’amen ir’mith war ratarus!’ she commanded, and at almost the same time there was a red flash from the corner of the room, and a white rat appeared.
Nixus laughed merrily. ‘Do you see that?’ she asked amazedly. ‘Do you see that white furry rat in the corner? I summoned that! I actually summoned something!’ With a click of her fingers and a wave from her other hand Nixus said ‘Ratarus venite,’ and the rat flashed and disappeared.
‘Now for the last kind of magic. Only the most talented mages in my country could summon ultima magic.’ She slipped out of bed and limped over to the window. Then, pressing her hands against the cold glass she whispered ‘Redius cumulo art’rantay, Thuntorn’am wis’goth anam, Squalltir abys!’
For a moment nothing happened. But after a minute or two the air began to grow dark, and great black clouds crowded the sky. A wicked fork of light streaked through the sky and was followed by a deafening crack. Finally, a gust began to blow against the tavern and rain began to pelt the ground outside.
Nixus laughed and jumped up and down (which was a bad idea, because when she landed a great pain shot through her stomach and she fell to the ground). ‘Cumulo thuntorn squalltir’goth an’reith forte!’ she cried out amid laughter of happiness. Within minutes the storm had completely disappeared.
The mage tried to stand up, but her eyes had suddenly become very blurry, and she felt very light headed. She fell back to the floor, and Avatara had to help her to her bed.
‘You’re weak,’ he said as he drew her covers up to her chin.
‘I guess all that praying really takes it out of we Esperian mages,’ Nixus sighed, closing her eyes and letting herself fall asleep.

- - - - - - - - - -
(ooc) I promise this is all leading up to something, but this post has gone on for quite some length, so I’ll leave it at that for now. The little girl at the table is my new character. I'll post her bio later on. Her name is Echo Terra (bic)

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When doubts arise the game begins

"I'm not a kid, just a teenager..." muttered Talryn. He looked down at his shoes wait for an answer...

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"Ahh, the signature, The One signature, TO RULE THEM ALL!" [url="http://"http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm"]http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm[/url]

Villa was getting drunker and drunker by the minute, sipping on as much wine as his new found friends would buy for him. But even he sensed that things had gotten darker and more gloomy feeling then it was yesterday. He nudged Avatara (who had almost had enough of Villa playing Silly Buggers with his foot) and sprayed him with foul, wine filled breath. "So what'sss going... on?"

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What part of "You don't understand anything!" don't you understand?

Avatara grumbled, slightly irritated with Villa, who kept interrupting his thoughts. He had so many questions running through his mind, some about Nixus and her past, and others about the mysterious "dragon" that more and more customers were mentioning. It was impossible to focus on any of them with Villa fiddling around and fouling the air with the scent of someone who had severely overdosed on alcohol. When Villa sprayed him with wine attempting to spit out a question, Avatara inwardly lost it.

"So, what'sss going on...?" Villa slurred.

"We're going to test the tavern's new anti-fire system, would you like to help?" Avatara replied smiling.

"Sshure, I can help. What ssshould I doo?" Villa looked up happily. He didn't notice Avatara's hand grab his cloak until flames suddenly shot into the air as his clothes quickly began combusting. Villa let out a drunken shriek, which turned out to be more of an off-key hoarse wail, and fell backwards, completely on fire. In response to his cry and the ever-consuming flame, the tavern responded in kind.

Strange blue runes flared to life on the ceiling of the tavern, twining the wood with a magical net that suddenly unleashed torrents of water on the helpless victim writhing on the floor. The flames quickly dissipated in a rush of smoke, and Villa's flailing subsided. Avatara reached down and grasped Villa's arm, pulling him to his feet and shaking him to get some of the water off.

"Thank you, you've been a big help. Now, if you'll excuse me..." Avatara clapped Villa on the back and hurried off to a corner to interrogate the latest worn newcomer about news of a dragon up north. Villa remained frozen in place, shuddering, yet unable to comprehend fully what just had taken place.

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"Its all fun and games until a rampaging robot destroys half of your city."

Katerei frowned as she looked over at Villa sitting in a chair nearby. "I really don't think it was neccessary of Avatara to do that...." she muttered, then paused and shrugged. "Then again, it's not my problem."

Weaving a path through the people and furniture scattered about, she made her way over to where Avatara was listening intently to the tales of the newcomer. Currently he was in the process of describing the 'dragon'.

"...it was huge, way taller than me, and green. Six legs, I think, didn't have time to count- an incredibly long neck....

"Did it have wings?" Avatara interrupted.

"No, of course it didn't; what kind of a dragon has wings?"

Avatara exchanged a glance with Katerei before speaking. "And you say it attacked you..."

"Yes, it was trying to kill me! That thing's dangerous, I tell you!"

"I see. Well, that's...uh...very useful to know, I'm sure. Thanks." He rose from his chair, grumbling to himself, "Some people don't know the difference between a titan and a dragon...."

Katerei grabbed Avatara's elbow before he had a chance to leave. "So do you think there's actually any truth to any of this?" she asked under her breath. "Or are people just spinning yarns, like that one with the homicidal titan?"

"I don't know," Avatara confessed. "There's so many rumours going around. But there does seem to be some truth in it.... since when have we had dragons in Cythera though?"

"Don't ask me. Except if there really is a dragon going around attacking people, shouldn't we do something about it?"

"Such as send someone out to investigate?"

"Yes, exactly. If a dragon exists, we'll want to know about it as soon as possible. If it doesn't, we can assure everyone that there's no need to be concerned."

"Well, Theo and I were discussing going to check it out...."

"Not alone you won't. This -is- a dragon we're talking about. Even if we sent people out in pairs to cover more ground, or a big search party, I don't know- but we'd need a few more people."

Avatara nodded. "All right. I'll go talk to Theo, and see who we can round up. Just give us a few days to get everything prepared, and then we'll set off."

"Good. Now I'd better go do something about that Villa, he's not looking well...." Katerei frowned again and made her way back to Villa.


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The moment ideas are conceived / They'll be out of touch, obsolete / They're faking champions hand picked / And all the fights have been fixed

[ooc] Read the charater info for new charater. his name is Medoc.[bic]

The tavern door opened and a breeze or fresh air was blown into the tavern. A person walking into the tavern wearing a long black cape, he closed the foor behind him.
"I heard that you are having some problem with a dragon. Big nasty critters they are, nasty breath too." The newcomer said to no one in paticular. "I would like to help you...oh...you don't even know if there is one, well I can tell you that everything that you have heard about it is true, it is out there."
Avatara turned around and looked at him "Who are you? How did you know about the dragon?"
"I did a job for you once but you wouldn't remember. The dragon however is another story, i have been listening to you for a while now, watching whats happening and stuff like that. Lets just say that I have a talent for finding things out." He said walking over to the bartender."I would like a nice strong stout if you got one." He said to the bartender.
"You still haven't told me who you are!" Avatara announced.
"Its it great isn't it, you have to try this stout, it the best I have had in a long time." He said joyfully.
Avatara turned to Katerei. "You have a shot at this!" He ordered and walked over to Villa and sat down.
Katerei turned, "Who are you?" She said in a clan tone.
"I am Medoc. I haven't done work for you before."
"Now that we know who you are, tell us about the dragon."
Medoc and Katerei both walked over to Avatara and Villa and sat down.
"Oops, forgot my stout." Medoc said with a slight giggle as he got up and got his stout.
"He seems a little strange don't you think?" Villa wispered to the other two.

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The mind controls the body, but the heart controls the mind.
Half Truth

Kestrel was tired and dirty as he rode into town. Of course, his first stop was the Alraeican Tavern. He knew he was just passing through, but he had always enjoyed a good drink at the place in times past.

Tying his horse off, he walked through the doors, caught the barkeep's attention, and was soon sipping on a cold brew, as he put his muddy boots up.

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Legends fade and die.
-
Thinking for yourself is a wonderful thing.

"Have you ever met a dragon?" Moonshadow asked Medoc. Her voice was polite, but those who knew her heard a hint of annoyance in it, and saw it in the way she looked at the newcomer, without ever blinking once, her eyes more golden than amber.

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Welcome to a world, where you always get the girl; you may lose a fight or two, but you'll win if you get through.

Talryn had been following Avatara around, and when he had the chance he said, "I'll help you look for the dragon. I'm staying at the inn down the street, i believe(sp?) it had a gold bowl on the sign, i dont quite remember the name, it was like The Golden Bowl Inn. Come get me when you are ready, unless im already here." After that Talryn gave a somewhat large tip to the bartender and walked out heading to the inn he described.


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"Ahh, the signature, The One signature, TO RULE THEM ALL!" [url="http://"http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm"]http://www.legendaryfrog.com/news.htm[/url]

Avatara sighed as he looked across at Theo. "Its all so inconclusive. Everybody is like that Medoc fellow: they're all certain they saw a dragon yet they refuse to give any real or accurate details. I wish I knew what we got ourselves into."

Theo nodded his agreement and sipped a drink paid for by some of Talyrn's unnoticed "missing" obols. "We'll find out in four days." In the background, a drunk noticing Moonshadow's glare attempted to remove the "gold" from her eyes, only to be painfully disarmed and knocked unconscious by the elf.

"Now who's that?" Theo pointed suddenly towards the bar.

"Who cares, he was stupid enough to pick the fight," Avatara shrugged without looking.

"No, not him - behind him, the man with his boots on the table, the one smearing mud everywhere. I swear I've seen him before." Theo pointed further right. Avatara turned and widened his eyes in surprise, "Well, I'll be...excuse me for a moment." He muttered as he got up.

********

Kestrel had just set his brew down and wiped his face, noting how the decor had changed since his last visit when suddenly he felt a *fwap* on the back of his head. "Ow, what the he-" he stopped as Avatara slid down into the seat next to him.

"That was for running off without a word." Avatara glared, then set a freshly filled mug in front of Kestrel and lightened up, "and that one is for coming back. What have you been up to?" he asked as he leaned back, sipping a mug of his own.

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"Its all fun and games until a rampaging robot destroys half of your city."

Villa had been in Cythera for quite a few months now, enough to suss out the locals and the locks, and he decided that a short trip to the mint would help clear his mind and fill his pocket.
He waved good bye to the tavern crowd, who were, as a whole, ignoring him, and walked out into the cool air. He smiled to himself and stomped off in the direction of the mint, his feet chomping the gravel.

Villa hid behind buildings and dodged imaginary guards, humming an action tune to himself. He cracked around a corner at lightning speed and shouted at no one in particular "Stick em up!" Villa knocked an arrow in his imaginary bow and fired.

The thief arrived at the mint and slid his Obol Transaction Card through the door frame, clicking open the lock. He snuck inside, poking his head out for a final peek before pulling the door shut.

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Back at the Tavern word of the dragon had spread, and the drunks had already nicknamed it. Avatara was enjoying catching up with Kestrel, sipping his ale when a full grown dragon flew in the front door, sprouting flames and wings a crashing.
Avatara calmly ignored the huge lizard. "As I was saying, the reports of a dragon are clearly over exaggerated."
Kestrel, too, ignored the fire breathing monstrosity "Yes, I'm sure everyone says this or that, but there are no real stories either way."
Medoc was swinging his sword this way and that, managing to destroy a huge number of bar stools and glasses, but never landing a successful blow on the scaly skin.
The dragons tail swung through Avatara's head, causing a great disturbing yell from even more of the drunks. Avatara smiled politely to Kestrel and signaled that he would be back.

Avatara walked casually through the body of the dragon and broke Theo's wand in half, causing the massive apparition to disappear with a puff of mist. Theo looked crestfallen, his fun spoiled.
Kestrel ordered another round of drinks, and the pair sat down again amidst the drunken terror still rampaging as a result of the fake dragon.

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They all laughed when I said I wanted to be a comedian; but no one's laughing now!