A Nightcap at the Wayfarer's Inn

Log Info

• Title: A Nightcap at the Wayfarer's Inn
• Emitter: Elleandra
• Characters: Elleandra, Merek, Cryosanthia
• Place: W01: Wayfarer's Inn
• Time: Friday, September 04, 2020, 11:15 PM
• Summary: Elleandra and Merek are talking at the Wayfarer's Inn when Cryosanthia arrives. The sith greets the two and introduces Lily to Elly, the little kobold girl is asleep. Merek talks about his plans to adventure again and the two attempt to dissuade him. The seer is still showing signs he hasn't recovered from the Demon Duke's torture, mostly in how he is withdrawn and drinking heavily. Cryo explains that several things that happened were poor planning and his misguided attempts to step in and save people where it wouldn't have made a difference. He expresses he would have taken her place, saved from Salina's imprisonment and Cryo remembers. He did try, she tells him. Salina erased his memory of offering to be in her place. It's another example where he didn't need to, or couldn't step in. Merek doesn't seem to accept this as having happened, but relents that his creations do bring people pleasure. Elly declares she wants a hot bath and to go to bed with her wife, and Cryo says she must complete her trip to Mictlan before her swiftraptor decides the horses nearby are actually food. They all part ways.

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The inn's main room is large yet cosy, with plaster walls and a low ceiling supported by sturdy oaken beams. The decor is sparse: there's little other furniture save for a few rough-hewn wooden tables and chairs, and the only real object of 'ornamentation' is the large, moth-eaten moose head that's set above the kitchen door at the far end of the room. Still, the inn is pleasant in a simple, rustic way, and the delicious smell of food cooking makes it all the more inviting; the place seems to be more of a restaurant than a tavern, and a bar is nowhere in sight.

The innkeeper's counter sits in the east corner, within a few paces of the main entrance. Behind the counter is a small storeroom where one can purchase traveling supplies. The west corner of the room is occupied by a spiral staircase that leads to the second storey.

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Elly has been encouraging Merek to relax, poses be added.

Merek is drunk. He was drinking earlier, before he arrived, and even though Elleandra only gave him milk, he put alcohol in it too. Something she totally missed.

"It is. It's my home now, so.. I appreciate that," replies Elly. "Kami and I agreed that we'll live here. She can write the stories of the village and travelers passing through, I can cook. We can be the bulwark of normal against all the things happening outside." She continues to work away at her food. She's hungry. "You don't have to stay up on my account. I'm sure your bath is going to be ready if you head to your room now. But of course, if you wish to stay a little longer, I will appreciate the company."

Merek nods a bit to Elle, "I think I'm able to manage a bit," he states, while he takes a sip from the cream milk, then he seems to think about it. "That's nice, I think you will like it," he adds, taking a moment to adjust that shirt of his. "I am thinking about moving into the country."

Elly is sitting with Merek at one of the tables. While he is drinking cream milk, she's finally gotten around to eating. "You should. The sky view is so much better. The city has its perks, I suppose, but you can't see real stars there. Out here you can see them all." She reaches behind herself, knuckling her lower back. "And frankly, the food tends to be fresher here than some of the places in the city, though the variety there is amazing, and I'm a fan of many of the chefs."

The outer door is pushed open and a whitescale sith'makar treads in. She's dusty from the road travel. In a small backpack, a carnation coloured kobold girl sleeps. A youngling, a foundling, difficult to distinguish from a baby sith'makar unless one is well skilled in lizard spotting and perhaps not a good thing to question the creche-mother about.

Moms can get sensitive about their offspring, after all.

Cryosanthia is here for Elleandra and Kamaria, being familiar with the Inn as their adopted residence. She looks around and spots her in conversation with Merek. She waves, heading to their table, "Peace and hello, Elly. Merek! This one did not expect to see you here."

Merek looks up to notice Cryosanthia, and it looks like he actually seems to be cheering up a little bit. He smiles, then stands up to offer the woman a quiet hug, mindful of the fact the lizard looks to be asleep. If she permits the hug. Either way, he nods a bit, "I was coming to get a drink, and wanted to catch up with Elle. Haven't seen her since... Well, you know." Then he nods a bit to Elle, "I don't know where exactly I want to built it, really."

"The nice thing about the wilds is, there's not a lot of competition, and you can be very creative," replies Elly. She stands and moves to embrace Cryosanthia, as well. She also peeks in on the slumbering girl. "Oh, what a beautiful little one," she whispers gently. She wants to scoop the kobold child up, but she knows enough to hold herself in check. A sleeping baby is not to be disturbed.

"I'm happy to see you, Cryosanthia! I hope you are having an illuminating Reckoning," she says softly. "I must say the village has such a wonderful observance."

Cryosanthia stiffens a little, as Merek approaches to hug, then forces herself to relax. She manages to fully relax after the second hug with Elleandra, "Apologies, instincts."

She removes her haversack, carefully setting it down on the table. The little pink kobold remains asleep as the white sith checks over the harness. She grins at Elleandra, speaking quietly, "Not sure you've met her, this is Little Fang. Or Lily. She fell asleep on the ride up."

Tilting her head, she examines the half-elf, "Oh, of the start of Autumn?"

Merek looks thoughtfully to Cryo, and nods a bit, "I apologize," he offers, noting that. He actually seems worried about it, then he inhales a bit, looking to the haversack, "Youaredoingwonderful." It's all one word, a compliment to being motherly, then he nods a bit to Elle. "I... Was just talking to Elle about adventuring. Ah... And, you know." The male looks a bit distant while he takes a drink.

"Yes. Around here it's a time of contemplation, of sharing secrets that ought to be shared, and getting closer to friends and family. Considering we are about to be shut inside for many hours together, it's a wonderful tradition. It's why there are so many candles out and why things are so quiet at night. And perhaps a bit louder during the day." Elly clearly likes the idea. "But oddly people eat.. far more during this time. Fortunately the others warned me about that or our larder would have been bare halfway through lunchtime!"

She directs her attention to Merek and smiles, "And you were going to get some rest, recover, and have fun. I think that is what we agreed to, right?" The sil reaches out, trying to pat the man's shoulder gently. "Perhaps we can go looking for a good site for your future home while you are here."

Cryo fusses a little further with Lily, checking on her and stroking the back of her neck. The small lizard is curled up, hugging a plush sith'makar, one with real scales. Cryo moves the haversack-cum-sleeper basket to the middle of the table beside them, where she can watch it easily, but the conversation will be that much quieter. And it will be far from an edge to fall off. "The toy was inspired Merek, she loves that. This one is happy I got to use it without... waiting."

Then the sith moves a stool closer so she can sit, settling on it with her tail sticking out behind her. The room is empty enough it shouldn't be a tripping hazard, or get stepped on. Her head bobs, as she listens to Elly, and there's a subtle and automatic set of gestures on her part where she prestidigitates the road dust away from herself. "Perhaps the coming winter is a fear, and they want to fatten up for insulation.

Her head turns as she looks at Merek, and she nods with Elly's words. Her voice is soft, "I know Merek, and I know I've told you if those things are too hard to deal with, forget them. You said they bring you strength, but you're still down. These are the days of Reckoning, where the boasts of the past year catch up, and grandiose plans fail, and everyone Atones for what they've done. You're never going to get any justice for what the Demon Duke did to you. You have to find a way to let it go."

"And I thought you were going to break from adventuring, to reflect on what went wrong. Or perhaps that was me."

Merek looks between the two, a little bit conflicted because of that advice that both gave were a little bit different. Then he smiles along with the words about the toy, "I'm glad, I liked your own performance at the TarRaCe." The man thinks about it a little bit, while he speaks, "Aye, it's a time to be honest, all that." A look to the two, "The god-shards. I think there will be people trying to use them, I need to protect people." Then he's leaning back into that chair he was at, "Thank you. Anyway... I don't know, perhaps that might be possible to forget it, though I don't know if that would actually change me."

Elly finds it hard to focus on anything but the little kobold. She's adorable, and the little soft toy makes it all the sweeter an image. The sil wants to be a mother so much. Still, she has friends who are talking, so some measure of politeness is called for. Still, she's rather missed most of the points being discussed. Rather than try to push her own opinion in when she's not certain of the conversation, she just listens. Well, she tries to. She keeps looking at Lily with a kind of dreamy expression.

"Merek, you're a Seer and you spend half your time looking into other planes, but you still miss the big picture." Cryosanthia says, tilting her head and facing him. Her eyes are featureless, her snout and face, not easily given to expression and currently blank. "The gods don't care and you don't have to either. If it was a big deal they would send their Divas to hunt around. Asking farmers to hand in shards if they find them in their fields? I wonder what was the point of that announcement other than to bring in people who will do anything for coin."

"You ended up with Eclavdran because you stepped in to protect Kira. Kira volunteered to go because Darius was asked to pick someone, and he picked you because of the sewers, and Darius owed a favour because the Demon Duke cornered us in the sewers also. You know, the explosion that cost you your arm, that didn't have to happen. No one thought, 'hey, doesn't Cryo have a fireworks spells that works like, a million miles away?' I forgot even myself. We didn't need that elaborate set-up. You didn't have to sacrifice your arm to save everyone, you didn't have to step in when Darius was dooming someone, and you don't need to help with this God-shard nonsense. You stopped Eclavdran hurting the rest of us, but he played you and Malik because Malik was in a pact so he wouldn't cause problems in Alexandria, leaving him more time for you."

"I couldn't stop the demon taking you, and I doubt anything I'm saying now matters, but if you aren't well, if you're still so troubled, don't go looking for a meaningful death adventuring. I had to find at least that." The white sith exhales.

It's difficult to think on all of the speech, Merek takes each piece when Cryosanthia begins to speak about, then he inhales. The man looks to his arm, then to his whole frame, then back up to the Sith'Makar. "I'm not sure what to make of that all, still, the shards might be in the hands of others. I don't want them to bring back the gods or for trying to play games. I just want them sealed away, I want all of this nonsense sealed up."

The Mage nods a bit while he watches that lizard woman. "You did fine, I... Don't know about all the pacts, I just wanted to protect people." There's a nod offered a bit, "I know what you say is probably right, I just want to be... Useful, meaningful, I feel like I was able to do little for you after... You know. I want to be there for all of my friends." Also trying to be a little quiet for Lily.

Elleandra wasn't involved in much of what is being discussed, but while she cringes at first, fearing that a fight is about to start, Merek's response puts her at ease. No fight. Perhaps this Reckoning business is working before her eyes now? She has nothing to add, wanting to let this continue, hopeful that this will lead forward, to something better.

"Merek..." Cryosanthia says, her voice softening, "This is the Reckoning, so some words must be harsh. This one apologizes for them. Do you know, after Salina was neutralized, I went to the Explorer's Guild, and they talked about Eclavdran as if he was just another in a long line of demons that has caused problems for Alexandria. That there would be another."

"These shards will be the same thing. They might just sink into the ground and be absorbed by the magic of Ea, their fear-mongering that 'something is going to happen' is unwarranted. Something always happens, every day, an Otherworlder or a Vampire or a time-traveling Fae. Then life goes on and no one cares who got chewed up. These sleeves you made for me, reminded me of you for eighty years, that I had a friend. That toy comforts Lily like you wouldn't believe, and she saw her parents murdered. You may have done more good with these casual creations than you will throwing yourself into someone else's plan, that is dressed up nice to tug your heartstrings but still makes you dance in their direction."

"If you must, you must. If Lily, if Mictland were threatened, if the Silver Empress ordered it, I would act, but not for a group that can't accept the past, and that what has happened has happened, and seeks to change it. Remember the Mistake's lesson. 'No Amount of Magic can Undo Tragedy'. Animus' death was a tragedy. Think carefully, I worry about you." Cryo blinks once, then remains staring.

Merek seems to think about it, then closes both eyes while he inhales. Eventually, when he's focused upon it, he looks to the plush with Lily, then to Elle, then back to Cryosanthia. "That was really great timing with making that for you. Perhaps Eluna would prefer me to do what I know to do best. To be there, for the people, my friends." A look then between the two, while he thinks about what to voice.

"You are perhaps the best friend I know, not anyone deserves what you went through, Cryo. If I could take the place you were in for all those Years, I would. I know you might think it silly for me to say this when I'm agreeing with you. I know that Tower is still there, we will always be around to pull you back." He tries to meet her gaze, since she's actually staring, the Celestial Gold of the eyes luminescent while he thinks about it, "I would prefer creating."

"Follow your heart," Elly says gently. "If gods are even real, then surely they gave you wisdom and judgment for a reason." She draws in a breath, letting it out slowly, trying to still her mind. "The things that have happened to both of you, the things that happen to everyone during their lives, they give shape. Forgetting them, trying to go back and change them, these are not the paths of healing. Seek the way forward, blow once more on the light of hope burning in you, and share that with the world in what ways you believe are right. There are always baubles to distract us from who we are and what matters. My own arrogance taught me that. I am grateful that I had someone to pull me away from that life and back to where I truly belong."

"Merek..." Cryosanthia says, then gasps, "Oh my scales! I never told you. Merek. YOU TRIED to take my place. She erased your memory, made you stay in the Fernwood. You AND Faran. She didn't want you. She wouldn't take you. You couldn't have gone. Do you understand, you TRIED TO DO what you just offered, and it didn't work. I'm sorry, I should have told you. I forgot. It's how she manipulated everyone."

The white lizard stands, and she starts to pace, quietly and away from her little one. She walks between the tables, her tail swishing hard, yet never hitting anything. She ends up beside the fireplace, and stares down at a mark on one of the stones. Her mark, her eye, watching her.

"I have to live with the consequences of my actions, and I'm still trying to understand everything I did, in the bigger sense. Why I stayed so long, why I let the Tower creep into my mind. How She twisted me and Zeke so even though we care for each other we can't be together without hurting each other. It can't be undone, that's the lesson. The immortals are indifferent and if you make a mistake you hurt yourself. It's as Elly said, exactly as she said. Seek the way forward."

Merek looks then to Cryosanthia and blinks a bit at that news, perhaps that is what he did, either way he nods a bit to the woman, then looks to Elle. "I know what you mean," he mentions, then looks back to the Makar, "Well, thank you. Anyway, I am glad you're back," he mentions. The man offers a little smile while he then adds, looking to kobold, "Because it all leads to that, you know. The paths we take bring us to places we didn't think about, things that are worth what we all went through." He nods to Lily, then to Cryo.

"I cannot say if the exchange was a payment for where we are now, nor that it provides equal value in the end," says Elleandra. "But the journey has happened. We must accept it, or we can never get to our feet again. The most powerful magic is not from waving hands or speaking secret words. It's simply getting up, dusting ourselves off, taking a moment to decide what we want to do, and then moving on."

Cryosanthia makes a face. "Lily is here because some adventurers killed or kidnapped her parents and a half-orc needed someone who could speak Draconic to find out what occurred. I was in the forest because Mictlan was stressing me, but I didn't need almost a century of suffering to be there. I could just as easily have been out looking at stars. A did not lead to B. Disconnected things happened. If the Tower had not been, with the time that passed, perhaps Zeke could touch me and this one would have had eggs by now. What you say is unfair to my losses, and what I have gained. Nothing of the Mistake led to this, Merek. I think she would prefer her family to tragedy, this one is a poor replacement."

As much as she is trying, and as much as her heart aches, Cryo can't accept their circumstance is somehow a reward. "The past is the past. What is gone is gone. Even an immortal Mistake with time travel couldn't undo her mistakes. That's the lesson Merek, suffering is not a virtue, it doesn't net you a reward. It is simply suffering. She lets me look forward, so I can stop staring at mine. Mikilos, says the shards give him the purpose, chasing rainbows such as he is. If you must too, so be it. Know that if they successfully bring back Animus, Eluna will likely lose magic and you will have to choose Animus or lose your powers. Perhaps you should focus on creating things instead."

"That is not what I meant in the slightest," Merek mentions then to Cryosanthia, while he inhales thoughtfully, "I didn't say it was a reward, or that there was meaning in what happened, only that moving forward from it brought us all along different paths. When we move forward and try to put it all in the past, we find something new eventually in it. I apologize though, perhaps I worded it a bit roughly."

The Mage isn't known for being wonderful with local Common on occasion. Then he offers a look to Elle, and back to Cryosanthia, "Anyway, I told you already I have no intention to bring him back, and I actually told you I should focus on creating when it was mentioned by you. I think we're all tired, everything's coming up a little bit confusing." Then he nods a bit, "I'll put it this way. We could've chosen to never step foot in the world again, but we did. You did, all of that's on you, you took initiative. Not the gods, not destiny besides that which you choose to accept. It's not always going to be great, but we do what we can, you do as well, that's what matters."

Elly smiles at Merek, "And your bath is not going to stay hot forever." She laughs gently, "I understand what you mean, though. Ultimately all we get to decide is how we think and feel about things and what we do next. And our control isn't perfect." She stretches and lets out a sigh. "And what I plan to do next is deliver this plate to the kitchen, take off my apron, head upstairs, and make very certain that Kamaria doesn't write a single word more this evening."

"Well this one needs to finish returning to Mictlan before Buttercup eats some horses. I only stopped in to say hello to Elly and Kami, but will not delay you two getting to sleep. This one will give regards next time. It was an unexpected pleasure to see you again Merek, and this one is glad you liked my performance."

Cryosanthia moves over to her haversack, checks the straps and how Lily is situated, the carefully slips the pack on. The pink foundling stirs, making small growling noises, one clawed hand reaching to grab things before tucking in again. The white sith shakes her head, watching over her shoulder.

"You have had your words of Reckonning too, and this one apologizes if I didn't absorb them all, I'll think about them on the rest of the journey." Cryo make a small curtsey towards the sage. Tail coiling about as she glances at the door. She sniffs, looking at Merek's drink, noting the alcohol in it. "Enjoy your bath, hot ones are nice. Better than some other things."

She heads towards the door and out into the darkness, for the long ride home.

"I will think on what you have said as well, I apologize if I've taken up some of your time, I know you'd like to speak to Elle," Merek then nods to the woman, then to Cryosanthia. "You walk safe, and ah... Congratulations again on that new wedding!" He then looks to the drink, then back to the Makar, "Been running around all day and trying to fix something for Gadget. Long day." Then he inclines while walking up to the Inn room prepared for him.

picture of Lily https://www.kindpng.com/picc/m/223-2231188_small-pink-kobold-hd-png-download.png