Coughing profusely, Napoleon blinked in confusion as he stared up at this stranger, trying to see her features clearly into the shadows cast by the burning building. For some reason, she seemed... familiar. No that can't be it, he assured himself. This is only a hallucination brought on him by the stresses of a life-or-death situation. Nothing more.
"Thank you madame for rescuing me," Napoleon said as he got up and dusted off his clothes, which were repairing the scorched portions back to pristine condition. He then gave her a low bow. "If you haven't pulled me from that building, I would've been burned alive. Nevertheless, as long as that stupid doll who tried to control me are still pinned to that wall, then I'm satisfied. I trust that it will find Hell to be much more accommodating. Anyway, to who do I owe the pleasure?"
Await the strange person's response.
"Ah, my fair prince" she says with a mischievous smile that makes you feel she doesn't fully mean that "it was only fair that I get you out of there, given that I was the one who put you there in the first place."
"But to answer your question I am Lady Norie Amarante, Guardian of Silver, Knight and servant of my Queen, at your service." she says, making a small bow as she finishes.
hania - Alice is DeadHe looks at you when you say the name Brad. Looks like people here know him then.
"Hmm... So you say. And how exactly did you find this place then, Mr. ...?"
"Lucky Ike Watkins at your service, and this is my good friend and crystal wizard Zechariah. I sniffed your boy out from traces left back at Chizra. Don't worry, he didn't take anything valuable, at least nothing that I want back, I just gotta ask him where he put my best bud and noted chaos wizard Alan. Other than that we're probably cool."
"Hm. I see."
He unblocks your path and makes a gesture that you may continue.
"Your 'friend' is in there. If he wishes to speak with you is another matter entirely."
You reach out to open the door.
"Just remember where you are."
He opens his coat just enough to show you his knife. Given the multi-coloured shininess of the handle, you'd guess it's enchanted.
"You're in trouble."
With that not-so-veiled warning delivered, he leans back against the wall and laughs.
"Enjoy your stay."
You step inside the pub, the door slamming shut behind you. The entrance lead into a small room where two armed men are playing some kind of board game. They don't show any reaction to your entrance. From there you make your way into a wide open area with many rectangular tables, some of them of quite different make. There's a stage and a bar, as well as a staircase leading to a balcony overlooking the entire thing.
The low light given off by the dim torches and small magical lamps makes a stark difference to the harsh sunlight outside, helping to hide the faces of those sitting on the tables. The tables have been arranged to form uneven groups, leaving large gaps between them. Nearly everyone has a drink in front of them and some of the tables feature multi-stemmed hookahs. The smell of distilled alcohol is everywhere supplemented by faint undertones of rot and blood and the smoke is so thick one could be forgiven for the exaggeration of calling it fog. You sure are glad you have all those protective upgrades. You think the smell alone might be enough to get someone intoxicated.
Only two areas in this room are equipped with large light sources, the bar and the stage. The bar is manned by a rather fierce-looking and somewhat large woman. The stage features a man playing a stringed instrument while a scantly clad man and a similarly dressed women perform a slow dance interspersed with the occasional acrobatic feat.
One of the groups stands out for looking and smelling surprisingly clean compared to the rest of the patrons of this establishment, four men sulking in a dark corner.
Another stands out for being made out of three beastmen. One ox-man, some sort of rodent-man and a dog-man.
A third stands out due to how lively it is. Someone appears to be trying to make a speech but failing due to their drunkenness.
Another is composed of 5 women in dirty dark clothing, some of the few women around here that don't appear to be working here. They don't look like they're doing much, other than just standing there.
Another seems to be engaged in some sort of card game. Judging by the angry shouts, the stakes must be high, though you aren't certain if they are stakes of gold or of pride.
There are also interesting fellows at the bar. Like this guy full of leather and metal spikes and dark spiky hair and giant spiky mug and helmet and sword. This guy has so many edges he must be the lord of all the edges. Or that lanky guy that you're pretty sure smells too much like some other human's flesh and blood and other things that should stay inside the body even more so than everybody else around here, like he recently cut someone open and crawled inside them.
Of course, despite this assortment of interesting fellows, the person you're really interested in is nowhere to be seen. His scent tells you he's upstairs, past the guarded stairs, past the balcony and into some room of the second floor. While the stairs may be guarded by two brutish men, there's always the chance there's another less protected stairway. You could go through the corridor leading further into the pub to investigate.
Not many people seem to care about you being here to do more than give you a glance. The exception is a voluptuous half-elf woman in red who approaches you and leans against you and your companion in a quite lewd manner.
"Hello boys. Are you looking for some fun?~"
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Topic: Special People: Mechanical Syndrome (Read 1141676 times)