Bleeding in the Eye of a Brainstorm

After seeing no ill effect befall Odanais, Yatagan attacks the pie he was eying like a Dragonborn with a pie in front of him. Afterward, he searches around for a bottle of Pernod.

Rolzup wrote:

OOC: Odanais regains one healing surge.

OOC: I spell ratbastardy somewhere nearby...

Mallus wrote:

After seeing no ill effect befall Odanais, Yatagan attacks the pie he was eying like a Dragonborn with a pie in front of him. Afterward, he searches around for a bottle of Pernod.

Artichoke, standing near the exit doors, stares at the group for a while and then says, a little grumpily, "I guess we're not leaving yet, then." He walks back and takes a seat, watching the others carefully for any signs of negative effects from the food. Only once he's certain that Odanais and Yatagan are both fine does he gingerly take a little of the food and try it.

shilsen wrote:

OOC: I spell ratbastardy somewhere nearby...

Nobody falls over dead. I mean, not yet. The food is all delicious, and one soon grows more or less used to the strange emotional overtones. The occasional chuckle emitted, tear shed, fist clenched...but nobody seems to suffer any lingering aftereffects.

The cigars, for the record, carry a feeling of smug self-satisfaction.

OOC: Everyone who eats gets a healing surge back. This isn't actually Castle Amber, after all....

Rolzup wrote:

OOC: Everyone who eats gets a healing surge back. This isn't actually Castle Amber, after all....

OOC: Good to know! I was half expecting the second person to lose a surge and the third to turn into a purple cow, or something of the kind.

IC: "Interesting," says Artichoke, leaning back happily and rubbing his belly. "That was very strangely fulfilling. But now," he looks around, "Gentlemen and ladies, we really do have a job to do. Shall we?"

If the others do make a move, he proceeds to the door with them and opens it.

Yatagan puts down a goblet of Pernod and joins Artichoke at the door. "You have my axe" says the paladin as he preemptively ejaculates on his axe.

Mallus wrote:

as he preemptively ejaculates on his axe.

That just never gets old!

"Last one through the door is a reactionary!"

shilsen wrote:

That just never gets old!

Unlike Yatagan himself, I do try to use it sparingly.

Also, I couldn't resist the juxtaposition since I was quoting the 1st LotR film.

overeddie wrote:

"Last one through the door is a reactionary!"

Yatagan, being strangely prone to suggestion for a man of faith, brushes Artichoke aside and bulls his way through the door.

Mallus wrote:

Also, I couldn't resist the juxtaposition since I was quoting the 1st LotR film.

Heh! I wasn't sure if it was a coincidence or not, but knowing you I figured it was intentional.

Feeling smugly self-satisfied, Odanais stuffs a few cigars and a couple bottles of wine into his pack, then saunters over to the door.

I just want to make it clear that Lizzy did not eat any of the upper class food, preferring to dine on his own simple rations. Also, he's out the door reactionary bastards!

The doors open easily, although they slam shut behind the last person to exit.

The other door opes again at your approach, and still leads to greenhouse area. Music is not only still audible, but it sounds like precisely the same tune that was playing when you entered the tower.

Rolzup wrote:

The doors open easily, although they slam shut behind the last person to exit.

"What is it with this place and the slamming doors?" grumbles Artichoke, the closing doors just having missed his ample rear.

Quote :

The other door opes again at your approach, and still leads to greenhouse area. Music is not only still audible, but it sounds like precisely the same tune that was playing when you entered the tower.

"Well, let's go find out who's playing the music, shall we?"

Perhaps they know some stirring ballads about the struggle.

Yatagan takes point, attempting to find any hostiles by blundering into them. He finds himself fitting lyrics to the music, reusing some of his erotic propaganda/pro-pork hymns.

Odanais, part-time bard that he is, pulls out his mandolin and begins strumming along with the tune as they walk towards it.

gridley wrote:

Odanais, part-time bard that he is, pulls out his mandolin and begins strumming along with the tune as they walk towards it.

It sparks a memory, as music often does, and Odanais finds himself singing aloud as he walks.

"My staff has murdered giants/
My pack a long knife carries/
To cut mince pies from children's thighs/
With which to feed the fairies...."

It's a fae drinking tune, of a typically merry sort. There's a wonderful stanza a bit later about using the skulls of infants as drinking cups....

The forest is implausibly dense, with the trail winding through them as the only possible means of passage. Anyone with any knowledge of nature can tell that three shouldn't be able to grow, let along thrive, this tightly packed together.

The trail loops, and twists, and doubles back on itself time and again, turning a distance of forty or fifty feet into several minutes of trudging. It rather abruptly open up, however, turning into a small clearing with a bonfire blazing on the far side.

There are a pair of small hills behind the fire, atop one of which three people are sitting -- a man playing drums, another man playing a flute, a woman singing.

In front of the fire, a man and a woman are dancing a very stylized and formal-seeming dance. The flautist looks up, notices the party, and waves acknowledgment without ever interrupting his playing.

Odanais continues playing along on his mandolin as he struts up to the merry band, attempting to harmonize with the young lady singing, a pleasant smile on his face.

Yatagan accompanies Odanais, singing about the divinity of pork and evils of usury in his rich baritone.

Lizzy stays back in case he's tempted to say something offensive.

overeddie wrote:

Lizzy stays back in case he's tempted to say something offensive.

Artichoke looks around suspiciously as the group nears the fire and then, seeing him hang back, steps over to Lizzy. "I'm going to talk to these people," he says quietly, keeping his voice low and letting Odanais and Yatagan's additions to the ambient noise drown him out for anyone not near him. "Could you stay back and keep an eye out for enemies? Um, evil bourgeois assassins and the like? Thanks."

Then he walks over to the fire. Stopping when he gets close to the dancers, he bows and says politely, "Greetings. May I ask who you are?"

shilsen wrote:

Artichoke looks around suspiciously as the group nears the fire and then, seeing him hang back, steps over to Lizzy. "I'm going to talk to these people," he says quietly, keeping his voice low and letting Odanais and Yatagan's additions to the ambient noise drown him out for anyone not near him. "Could you stay back and keep an eye out for enemies? Um, evil bourgeois assassins and the like? Thanks."

Lizzy nods silently and keeps his eyes peeled for enemies of the revolution.

I really won't be surprised if they attack us, Christabel thinks, frowning. This isn't a very friendly place.

overeddie wrote:

Lizzy stays back in case he's tempted to say something offensive.

In which case he would dubtless blend right in....

Shilsen wrote:

"Greetings. May I ask who you are?"

The singer raises a hand and scowls a little, making a gesture that clearly means, "Hey, we're making music here, asshole!", and follows it with another gesture to indicate "Just wait a minute, okay, dickhead?"

She's got remarkably eloquent hands.

The music draws to a close, the dancers bow/curtsy to each other, and the flautist steps forward with a broad grin to clasp Artichoke's hand. "Tiddy Mun, sir, at yer service. Pleasure to meet you, and that's a fact! What brings you to this fine brainpan, if I may be so bold as to ask?