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  #16  
Old Feb 3rd, 2023, 02:28 AM
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Callie Tealeaf
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Callie was struck dumb for awhile as everyone filtered in close upon each others' heels. She'd meant to greet each of them and give them a big hug...she really had. But as her old family crowded around the table, she found herself unable to trust her own composure. Though an ear-to-ear grin split her face as she beamed upon the gathering like a miniature, benevolent goddess, she blinked back tears and struggled to breathe around the lump in her throat.

She simply watched as everyone greeted, hugged, bantered, tumbled, and laughed, feeling more whole than she had for an entire year. Collecting herself, she made her way around the table to greet and hug those who'd come in before she'd been overcome with emotion.

"Tonny," she said, squeezing the dwarf with what strength she could muster. "It's about time someone showed up who's shorter than me!" The dwarf was well over a foot taller than she was, even with Callie standing on her tip-toes in boots, but Callie didn't care.

She stuck her tongue out at Vera for calling her 'Teacup', but honestly didn't mind at all. "I see you've grown quiet and withdrawn in your old age," she snarked back, ignoring the fact that she was the oldest of the bunch. Not my fault I'm tiny and cute, she rationalized. She didn't even come up fully to Vera's waist, but she gave a tight squeeze nonetheless.

Big Ben alarmed her, though. He's lost weight, she fretted. And he looks rough. Now was not the time to question him, though. She simply gave him a big hug and huge smile, then found time later to instruct Bonnie to bring Ben an extra portion of the meat platter. Pretty sure I can either bribe or convince Vera to stuff that food down his throat if he doesn't eat it, she decided.

"They say you can choose your friends, but not your family," she chirped to the gathering, raising her mug to the lot of them. "I say we've chosen both. If a hundred thoughtless people each toss a copper into a well to make a wish, they only lose a copper. The pile at the bottom of the well, however, adds up quickly to a fortune." Climbing up onto her chair, she gave a wink and added, "A small fortune! A toast, then...to thoughtless gifts and fortunes that form in the unlikeliest of places!"
 
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Last edited by The Rat Queen; Nov 22nd, 2023 at 11:15 PM.
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Old Feb 4th, 2023, 02:06 AM
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Vera AraboltVera felt like she could truly rejoice once the six of them were gathered together at the table. "That's right! But don't worry, I can beg myself for food now!" Growler replied to her praise, she patted his shoulder in return. A lot of people had mistaken the two for actually being related, largely due to their own misunderstanding of the difference between their races. "Is that right? You know how to make anything with oranges? Captain says I need more "sick-wrist" to avoid scurvy. Don't know how that's connected to eating oranges, but Callisto's never steered me wrong."

I see you've grown quiet and withdrawn in your old age. Callie retaliated over Vera's choice of nickname. The lizard gasped, but the sound was more like a screech. There was a low rumble in her throat as she slammed her fist against the table. Her reptilian face was hard to read, she seemed angry, but that facade broke quickly as she cheered out with a hearty laugh. "Is that a challenge? Wait til ye hear my deck voice!" She started to yell as a bit, and waved her hand towards the tavern staff to show that she knew she needed to tone it down.

"...Bah, far as I’m concerned our real family’s Barker and the orphanage, not the faceless cowards that left us on their doorstep." Upon hearing that, the rumble in Vera's throat could be heard once more, lower this time. "Oi, speak for yerselves. I know Barry and ye feel a way about yer lot in life. Eggmother knew she was leaving me in good hands before she died. She cared, she just wasn't around fer the hatching." She started out loud and angry, but ended at a lower volume than she started, and her tone was more somber. "Ye got one thing right, couldn't want more outta family than you lot."

As she took her family in, enjoying the gathering after a year, she couldn't help but glance around the tavern. Her eyes landed on a friend from her travels, surprised to see them she almost called out before remembering she was busy. I spy an opportunity. Later though She thought before giving a slight wave when her contact glanced in Vera's noisy direction. Her attention was drawn back to her family as Callie declared a toast and she heartily agreed, raising her own glass of rum with a slosh.


 


 

Last edited by Dukklord; Feb 4th, 2023 at 02:08 AM.
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  #18  
Old Feb 4th, 2023, 03:57 PM
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Dragon Heist1492 DR, the Year of Three Ships Sailing
Autumn
Sunset


You sit around the sturdy wooden table lit by a brightly burning candle and littered with plates cleared of food and half-drained tankards . The sounds of gamblers yelling and drunken adventurers singing bawdy songs nearly drown out the off-key strumming of a young bard three tables over.

Then all the noise is eclipsed by a shout: "Ya pig! Like killin' me mates, does ya?" Then a seven-foot-tall half-orc is hit by a wild, swinging punch from a male human whose shaved head is covered with eye-shaped tattoos. Four other humans stand behind him, ready to jump into the fray. The half-ore cracks her knuckles, roars, and leaps at the tattooed figure-but before you can see if blood is drawn, a crowd of spectators clusters around the brawl. What do you do?

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Last edited by Drachenspirit; Feb 8th, 2023 at 03:00 PM.
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  #19  
Old Feb 5th, 2023, 12:18 PM
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Ghereshk "Growler" Daylight
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"So I'm talking to another dragonborn, right? He looks at me, nods, and says, 'Show me your breath, brother.' I ask him what he means and he tells me, 'You know what I mean. You and I are of a proud red lineage. Show me how you spit fire to roast your enemies!' And I go, alright...and I tell him, 'Your mother's so fat, she sleeps on a hoard of chocolate coins!' Anyway, I didn't get the job. But the day after that, I - "

The sudden shout cuts Growler off. He looks up sharply, then pushes himself up and out of his chair. "Hold on." Guided more by reflex than thought, he hurries across the floor towards the commotion. Growler isn't especially intimidating, but on rare occasions, he's had to "encourage" rowdy customers to leave his employers' restaurant.

Beating most of the onlookers to the scene, he looks past the melee to the four humans on standby, ready to turn this brawl into a swarming. Growler doesn't know what kicked off this violence, but it can only get worse if they all step in. Growler stalks up towards them, ready to hold them back if they jump into the fray.

 
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Old Feb 6th, 2023, 01:35 AM
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Ben Cassar
“I didn’t…you know what I meant…hrmph.” Ben grumbled a bit at Vera’s interjection, half-annoyed at being corrected and half-embarrassed and ashamed at having unknowingly taken a verbal swing at one of his siblings like that. “...Sorry.” The human mumbled before slumping into his seat. He was about to change the subject by showing off one of the little gewgaws he’d been working on when suddenly he was interrupted by the sounds of a loud confrontation. “What the…?”

If he looked irritated before he was downright incensed as what looked to him like a mindless brawl spilled it’s way into the tavern. But that was quickly switched out with alarm when Growler moved to interject into the fray.

Ben didn’t hesitate. Grabbing a sturdy-looking quarterstaff that’d been strapped to his pack, the grungy man quickly left the table to back up the big pink dragonborn.


 

 

Last edited by Citizen Sam; Feb 7th, 2023 at 10:16 AM.
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  #21  
Old Feb 6th, 2023, 09:18 PM
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Callie Tealeaf
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Callie giggled at Vera's boisterousness and false offense. She hasn't changed much! Callie decided, which suited her just perfectly. She was deciding whether she wanted to continue bantering with Vera or chat up one of the others when suddenly a shout rose up above the already-loud din of the common room. Peering through the crowd, she was able to see the half-orc woman facing off against a group of would-be tough guys before the crowd blocked most of her view.

"Yagra!" she yelled, not entirely surprised that her friend was somehow involved in an altercation against stacked odds. She must've gotten bored with breaking arms during arm wrestling, Callie guessed, though it could've been anything, really. Or nothing.

Regardless, even though Yagra could handle herself in most instances, five-to-one odds was getting a little ridiculous. The least Callie could do was make sure the idiots kept it relatively fair...maybe three-to-one at most. Hopping onto and across the table, she dropped down into the sea of legs. People were moving a lot, but Callie was quick and accustomed to dodging bigger folks; she melted through the crowd like warm butter through a hot fork. It wasn't hard to tell where the fight was going on, just aim for where the commotion was the thickest.

It only took a few seconds to arrive at the bruhaha, with the punches just beginning to fly. Callie hopped up on another nearby table and drew one of her short swords, assessing the situation. It could be very dangerous jumping in to help Yagra. After all, if she weren't in any real trouble and Callie helped anyway, the half-orc would be furious at the halfling for spoiling her fun.
 
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  #22  
Old Feb 6th, 2023, 09:18 PM
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Tonwen was lost in the sea of conversation, trying to be part of all of them at once, when the pleasant reverie was broken by a shout from the other side of the room; "Ya pig!, Like killin' me mates, does ya?"
As Tonny turned to see the cause of the commotion, Growler was already on his feed and leaping in the direction, closely followed by Big. Oh this will be fun. I must see.. Grabbing her lyre from the top of her pack at her feet, she hustled through the room to get a better view, but it was hopeless as she knew it would be when surrounded by tall folk. So she would do what any self respecting dwarf would do, make herself taller.

She stepped from one chair, up to the table it sat by, being
Dice acrobatics +2:
1d20+2 (16)+2 Total = 18
careful not to knock the drinks over as she went.

This gave her enough of a vantage to see that a crowd was gathering around two people who were clearly not happy with each other. Tonwen had seen this happen before in other establishments she had played at in the last year, she knew what may help. So she
Dice lyre +6:
1d20+6 (8)+6 Total = 14
started up a tune on her lyre, one that didn't fight the pace of their beating hearts, but would overlay a calming rhythm with the aim to reduce the heat in their moods. While she played, she looked over at Three Strings to see if he would pick up her tune, or perhaps direct her to another melody.

 
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  #23  
Old Feb 7th, 2023, 07:11 PM
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Watch and React
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The family was finally all together eating, drinking and teasing each other when a loud commotion broke out. Nothing unusual for a bar except it was 5 to 1. Before it even registered, old Growler rushed into the fray followed by the others.

::Here to we again. No peace:: as Barakas
Dice Iniatitive:
1d20+5 (19)+5 Total = 24
moved closer to get a clear view of the fight, but far enough to keep from getting involved yet.

He decides to watch and IF any of the others jump in and make it unfair, then Barakas will cast a spell sending a
Dice Fire bolt:
1d10 9
bolt of fire into the dishonorable attacker.


 

Last edited by Clawsome; Feb 8th, 2023 at 10:47 PM.
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  #24  
Old Feb 8th, 2023, 07:44 AM
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Vera AraboltVera finished her glass of rum and demanded more than requested the complete bottle. She was happy to revel with her family and indulge in a habit she picked up from long nights at sea, drinking til she lost her sense of time. She wasn't able to begin her descent to the bottom of the bottle before a commotion broke out in the tavern. By the time Vera was even looking at the humans surrounding an half-orc her brothers had begun moving. Barakas positioned himself to strike from afar once the fighting began, and Growler closed in fast.

"It ain't a night drinking without a good tavern brawl!" Vera cheered as she stood up, knocking her chair to the ground in the process. She began Dashcharging towards the commotion dropping down to all fours, her claws digging into the wood as she used all four limbs to propel her across the building and through the crowd. When she reached Growlers side she stood back to her full height and slapped a hand on her scale brother's shoulder. "When'd ye get so fast? I hope yer ready to get red on yer white."

Vera drew her sword from behind her Gurdy, while simultaneously grabbing the crank and beginning a droning tone as she turned the wheel. She slapped her tail on the floor with a slow rhythm. A few low clocks could be heard in her throat as she scowled and yelled out at the group of humans. "You humans sure hate a fair fight, let's even the odds! No offense Big." She attempted to provoke the humans into dividing their attention from the half-orc.


 


 
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  #25  
Old Feb 8th, 2023, 11:33 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Vera Arabolt View Post
"I hope yer ready to get red on yer white."
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Growler shoots Vera an extremely anxious and uncomfortable grin. He's not ready for that at all. He just wants to hold someone back from a bare-knuckle brawl. He doesn't know why everyone's pulling out weapons all of a sudden.

 
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Old Feb 8th, 2023, 03:39 PM
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Dragon Heist1492 DR, the Year of Three Ships Sailing
Autumn
Sunset


Growler is behind one of the thugs, up against him chest to back which causes him to startle despite the crowd and the fight.

Growler and Callie can see that Yagra has a man down on the floor and she is atop him trying to hold him down and punch his face. It's clear she's connected a few times. It is the man who punched her.

As Callie jumps up on a chair next to a table to see, she has to move her head about to get view of what's going on, but manages to do so.

Everyone else can't see Yagra on the floor holding the man down, but they can see everyone straining to look down at something going on.

Someone yells out at Callie, "Put that blade away! It's a fair fight. The Man started it!"

The men with the man under Yagra start to move in on Yagra, but hesitate when they see Growler reaching for one of them, and spot Callie on the table with a blade drawn. It apparently hadn't gone unnoticed earlier than Callie and Yagra seemed to know each other.

One of the men yells to Yagra, "C'mon! Let 'em up, he's had enough! Krentz, yield!"

Yagra doesn't look like she's going to let the man up until she kills him.

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Last edited by Drachenspirit; Feb 8th, 2023 at 03:40 PM.
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  #27  
Old Feb 8th, 2023, 05:07 PM
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Vera AraboltAs Vera charges towards the fray a crowd builds up in her face. She slams into several patrons, unable to slow herself down before her path is blocked. She tries to push her way through the crowd but finds them unwilling to budge for her. Her lack of strength playing against her. While normally her physique was enough visually to get her way, it didn't help when she needed to actually be strong.

"Get outta me way!" She shouted at the back of the patron crowds heads. They were more interested in seeing the fight than moving to let others join in. She looked around the room and the crowd to see a way through, that's when she saw Callie hopping onto a table and got an idea. Vera bound up onto the table beside her, and used her size and experience on deck to leap from table to table over the crowd. She landed on a table next to fight, driving the tip of her sword into the table, at the same time she heard someone tell Callie it was a fair fight, and to stow her blade.

"If it's such a fair fight, then ye won't mind us keeping it that way." She growled out and bared her sharp teeth. She had initially drawn her sword out of habit, having to enter a fight at sea was rarely a civil matter. But tavern brawls aren't usually home to real weapons, so she left it stuck in the table as a warning. Was she ready to grab the blade and use it? Absolutely. But she wasn't going to be accused of making a brawl unfair. She tapped one of the men on the shoulder, and when he turned to look she grinned her reptilian grin, all her sharp teeth on display. "I've been wondering ever since I came in here. How long d'ya think it'd take for someone's screaming to stop being heard if they fell in that hole? Vicious Mockery - DC 13You look like a screamer."


 


 

Last edited by Dukklord; Feb 8th, 2023 at 05:18 PM. Reason: Added an Action to my turn
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  #28  
Old Feb 9th, 2023, 02:55 AM
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Callie glanced over when someone yelled at her to put her blade away. She'd figured someone would squawk over a naked blade being drawn over a brawl, but it was five-to-one, and the voice wasn't Durnan, so she wasn't too worried yet.

What did worry her was that Yagra had clear advantage over her opponent and the idiot's buddies hadn't jumped in yet, but she still seemed intent on punishing him disproportionally. Anyone entering a tavern in this city implicitly accepted that they might get beaten bloody, that was fact. Murdering a downed and helpless opponent over a bar brawl, however...well, Yagra was a friend, but Callie had her standards as well.

Sheathing her sword, she skipped from table to table to pause in front of the helpless man's allies. "Apologies for the wee knife, gentlemen," she said with her very most charmingest smile. "I just meant to keep things fair, but I see that you are all men of honor, and only wish to save your friend." Casting a nervous glance at Yagra, she whispered to the ruffians, "I know her. Give me a second to talk to her."

Hopping down from the table, she slid over to whisper in Yagra's ear, "You've won. Stop now, or it's murder. He's helpless, it isn't even sport anymore...let him go."
 
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Old Feb 9th, 2023, 10:28 AM
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Growler pushes past the group of men and closes on the brawl. He'd initially jumped into action assuming he would stop a five-on-one beatdown. Now he's trying to prevent the bouncer from beating a man to death with her bare hands in front of a bar full of horrified (?) patrons.

"Enough! Enough!" he shouts, wrapping one arm around the bouncer's good arm and another across her waist. With a grunt, he tries to bodily haul her up and away from the tattooed man. "You'll kill him!"

He'd heard her mention something about arm wrestling on the way in. Well, now they're wrestling with both arms, and legs, and hips, and their back. Maybe using the head and neck if things got wild. He thinks that's just called wrestling.

As he struggles with the bouncer, he turns his head towards the tattooed man's friends. "Get him out of here!" he barks.

 
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Old Feb 11th, 2023, 02:07 PM
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The excited dwarf let her heart open to the emotions of the room as she played her lyre, glad that no one was protesting at her ascention onto their table. Nope that ain't working, I have no idea what is happening. Something about a blade, it must be getting serious. What can I do? Tonny looks around for something that will help her turn the tide on what must surely be turning into a bloody affair.

More tables, lots of people, no room to get through, drink, ah yes that will do nicely. That big, yawning, blackness. This tavern is so appropriately named, it is most certainly, positively yawning, and I can see further inside from here, yet it is nothing but blackness. I feel it must be absorbing my vision, refusing to release any aspect back to my eyes. The tune from the lyre ebbs as with one hand, Tonwen can be seen to have picked up a tankard and brought it to her lips before halting, her face looking down the hole in the middle of the tavern.

What can be down there? Are all the tales true? Surely most are not? So which of them are? I must explore one day. Oh look there is a winch just over there, undoubtedly for that exact purpose. Hmmm.

 
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