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Post by haybalebarn on Apr 25, 2019 22:48:30 GMT
You had cut it perhaps a bit closer than you would have liked, but you had made it, to Essica. As you walked away from the docks and wandered down the crowded city streets, the peaceful, crisp morning air was charged with energy as people all around were preparing for the festival to start tomorrow, hanging up sweeping banners, pitching fortune-telling tents, trying to sell you advanced tickets for an aura reading the next day. It was hard not to enjoy the energy, to feed on it, to be swept up in it, to want to sing and dance along to it.
However, as you walked along the streets, there was a sour note mixed in with all the excitement, and you couldn’t help but listen in. A larger man stood in front of a building with a sign marking it as the Gogoat Inn, the inn’s signature pokemon stood beside him. He stood there, red in the face, yelling at a fairly disinterested looking, dark haired young man. “-n’t care what it is that you say, you’ve skipped out on a week’s worth of paying, and now you just walk in and try and ask for a room for the night without a care in world, I’m not letting you leave until you pay!”
The man sighed, looking off to the side with disinterest. “I’ve already told you, you must have mistaken me for someone else, I just got into town today…”
“Oh, stop trying to pull that crap on me, my eyes aren’t giving out boy, just give me the money for the bloody week you skipped out on.”
“I really don’t see why, I haven’t been staying here, I just stepped in to ask-”
At this point, the larger man appeared to reach his limit and grabbed the dark-haired man by the shirt, lifting him up and shaking him a little. “Don’t you dare try and ask me that again, you think I’m a fool boy?”
At this point he sighed again, turning his head to the side, and suddenly you realized his eyes were locked on you. “Fine, I’ll ask her. Do you mind telling me what town I’m in right now? Also, maybe help me talk some sense into this guy?” He inclined his head towards the man lifting him, who just grunted angrily and shook him a bit more, not that he seemed to mind. Looking around, it didn’t seem like anyone else was paying the scene much attention, and…
The red-faced man turned to look at you, expectantly. “Hey, you with this guy? If so, you better pay for him, since he won’t, or else I might have to call the guards on the two of you!”
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Post by Mithias on Apr 25, 2019 23:46:23 GMT
Sylvia wasn't all that interested in this fight aside from a passing curiosity. That was, until he started talking about just getting into town today. She eyed the smaller man, trying to figure out if this was a hustle or something else. A strange one to try to pull on someone that clearly recognized him so...perhaps. Perhaps he was telling the truth. Then he got her involved, and the red faced man turned on her as if she was involved. She held one hand up defensively, the other keeping a hold of her guitar. She stepped forward, speaking without any edge to her voice, flashing (not literally) the baby doll eyes she'd mastered long ago. "Oh come on now, do I look like I know him. I'm just a simple performer. I do however know a thing or to about looking out for con jobs. Give me a minute, and I can figure out if he really is telling the truth or not.She knew how to charm when she needed to, and terrify at other times. Right now she didn't need to draw to much attention to herself, but she was getting pulled into this one way or another. Charm Roll 4uQLLnLW4d6
4d6
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Post by haybalebarn on Apr 27, 2019 0:20:37 GMT
The innkeeper narrowed his eyes at Sylvia for a moment, trying to get a read on her. "Yeah, you're right, ye don't look like ye'd be with him."
The younger man sighs a moment, still being held up by his shirt. "You just... going to ignore my question too? What is with people in this town..." He turned to look back at the innkeeper with his blank expression. "Mind letting me down? This is getting a bit uncomfortable, and you've obviously proven you're strong enough to lift me at this point."
"Like hell I will, you'll just bloody run now that I've caught ye in the act!" Sylvia wasn't sure it was possible, but it seemed the innkeeper turned a few shades more red as he shook the other man some more, the Gogoat at his side bleating, sensing its owner's tension.
The dark haired man rolled his eyes at this, which only seemed to frustrate the innkeeper further. "If this was a scam, then it'd be a very poorly thought out one, don't you think?"
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Post by Mithias on Apr 27, 2019 0:59:52 GMT
"Much as I hate to say it, he has a point. This would have to be one of the worst scams I've ever seen, and I've been in bigger cities than this. We're in Essica, how can you not know where you are? Hit your head, or did someone mess with it?"Sylvia put her hands on her hips, eyeing up both the angry looking inn keeper, and the strangely relaxed boy. She swapped the shoulders her guitar was strapped over, and tried to get a read on everything, going down a simple checklist. What was their disposition, who were they, what could their motivation for this be. So on and so forth. She even entertained that something could actually be messing with his head, and tried to see if she noticed anything hinting at that to. "Look, he isn't going anywhere you're pal there can't catch him, at least let him stand on his own two feet."Charm MfTEPXps4d6 Intuition 2d6 Perception 3d6 Occult Education 3d6
4d6·2d6·3d6·3d6
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Post by haybalebarn on May 3, 2019 1:08:01 GMT
The currently elevated man shrugs at Sylvia's question, his general aura of apathy not lifting much. He does blink a few times when she mentions that he's in Essica, nodding a little. "Good, I made it then... And I can't particularly remember anyone messing with my head, unless this brute hit me sometime between getting off the ship and me showing up here."The innkeeper looks for a moment like he's about to bash his captive against the wall at the latest pointed comment, but Sylvia's relaxed nature seems to break through his frustration a bit, and he sets the apathetic man down with a glare. The apathetic one lightly rolls his shoulders. "So what will it take for you to leave me alone?"The innkeeper grunts a little. "Just give me the money you owe me and we'll just call it good, alright?"The other man just nods slowly and begins slowly digging around in his pockets, then his bag, then his pockets again, then further into his bag... Until he looks back at the innkeeper and shrugs. "I don't have any money. And even if I did... I don't owe you anything."Watching the two men interact, Sylvia tries to get a read on the two of them, but it's fairly difficult, given how antagonistic they're acting towards each other. The innkeeper doesn't seem to be a particularly mean-spirited man, just quick to get a bit frustrated, and Sylvia gets the feeling that he doesn't have to deal with difficult customers all that often. The apathetic man, on the other hand, is really difficult to get a handle on. His indifferent attitude doesn't seem to be an act, but at the same time, he seems unusually good at getting this man riled up, although whether or not that's because of a lack of social graces or intentional action, it's hard to tell. Physically, the innkeeper is an imposing man, obviously rather strong, but there's nothing much of note about him beyond that. As for the smaller one, Sylvia manages to catch a glance of a pokeball underneath his baggy clothes, although he's never reached for it, and as he's digging around in his bag, she can see a wealth of cooking tools and supplies inside. As for her theory on if someone is messing with the apathetic one's head? It's hard to tell, but thinking back, Sylvia supposes it could be possible. Most of her experience is with ghosts and possession, and this sort of haze over a person's mind is definitely something that could be cause by a ghost, so it was possible it could be caused by other supernatural phenomena as well. However, there didn't seem to be any immediate evidence of something like that being the case, but it was definitely a possibility. Or, he could just be lying, or perhaps it was a medical issue.
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Post by Mithias on May 3, 2019 1:29:31 GMT
"Alright man, how much he owe you? I still need a place to stay so this is probably as good as any. I'm a bard by trade, I can put on some performances. Enough to cover what he owes you, plus a room for the night and a meal or two. Fairly standard deal, and your customers get music."Sylvia spoke to the innkeeper first. Needed to set things up eventually anyway, now was as good a time as any. She used one hand to gesture at the guitar on her back. Next she turned to the apathetic man, and studied him more closely. She only really knew occult things, not really this sort of stuff. She sighed and sat down her bag, rummaging around in it as if looking for something. She didn't pull anything out, just put it at the top of the bag before shouldering it again. "As for you, you need to go get looked at. The memory lapse is not a good thing. Head injury, possession, someone wiped your memory, doesn't matter. Whatever happened, it's trouble, and you need to deal with it before it causes more problems like this, and someone like me isn't around to help."Sylvia was more stern, telling him rather than suggesting. She was treating it like she would with her little sisters, stern but calm. It was the kind of voice that most people listened to without getting to angry, if they didn't have significant family issues. Innkeeper Charm 3qZ2__hy4d6 Apathetic Guy Charm 4d6
4d6·4d6
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Post by haybalebarn on May 3, 2019 10:45:22 GMT
The innkeeper blink in surprise and turns to look at Sylvia, the harsh retort he had on his lips completely lost, and he takes a moment to think, counting up numbers in his head. "Well, he prepaid for the first three days, and the deal was that he'd pay me for the rest of the week last Sunday, but then he up and disappeared when I went to look for him, so it would have been... 800 for the four nights." He takes moment to glance between Sylvia and the apathetic man before shrugging a bit. "But are ye sure ye want to do that lass? I won't complain having a performer for a night or two, but it really isn't yer debt to take on."
The apathetic man blinks once at Sylvia's scolding. "I told you, I just got into town today. He's probably just trying to pull a scam on me, and got you caught up in it."
The innkeeper stiffens a little, but it seems his remaining fire has been mostly quenched, and he just shakes his head and mumbles a little "Why I oughta..." under his breath. He waves his arm for Sylvia to follow him. "Well, come on inside then, I can get ya a room key and a meal. Might have one or two rooms left."
The innkeeper then turns and goes through the door of the inn. His Gogoat sniffs the air and stamps its foot towards Sylvia for a moment in distrust, before turning and headbutting the door back open and following its owner inside.
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Post by Mithias on May 4, 2019 7:06:24 GMT
"You be quiet, whether or not you remember it you were here. He has less reason than you would to scam someone, so I'm going to choose to believe the innkeeper instead of the man who doesn't even seem to care he obviously has gaps in his memory, considering you don't even remember making it here to Essica."
Sylvia turned away from the apathetic man to follow the innkeeper inside. Once she had a meal, and a room key, she'd figure out exactly where to go from there. Some time preforming was part of the deal, but that wouldn't be all day. It'd probably be later in the day that would be the best time, when most of his guests would be in. Especially around dinner, when they would have full bellies, and full cups. Always the best time for tips anyway.
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Post by haybalebarn on May 7, 2019 1:34:24 GMT
As Sylvia enters the inn, she's hit by a pleasant, earthy sent, not unlike the smell of a forest on a warm afternoon. The tavern area of the inn was filled with obviously well used tables, although mostly empty, given that it was early morning. Each chair sat the tables hand-carved with images of gogoats and skiddos, with some of them even actively growing leaves. Each table had an indent built into the center, each filled with dirt, a small bonsai growing out of them.
The room was lit by a large chandelier made of orange and green crystals of various sizes, the crown jewel being a fist-sized fire crystal, obvious expensive and artificed to give off the glow of sunlight, and on the walls around the room there were more tradition crystal-lanterns, currently empty, most likely only used during the evening. For a backwater town like Essica, it was certainly an impressive affair, rivaling if not flat-out overshadowing most of the taverns Sylvia had played in Steria. The innkeeper stood waiting inside the door, a proud grin on his face, having mostly forgotten his bad mood. He extends out hand out to shake as he speaks in a warm voice. "Well, welcome to the Gogoat Inn! She's a real wonder, ain't she? Name's Hassik, I own the place."
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Post by Mithias on May 8, 2019 1:30:57 GMT
"A pretty nice Inn you've got here Hassik. Name's Sylvia, just got into town, good place to set up in. Place like this needs good music."
Sylvia past the man, looking around and setting her bag down at an empty table, clipping her apricorn ball to her side. She never went far without Nora, Nora was about all she had left of her life. That and the guitar, but time would only tell if she found anything else. She adjusted her guitar so she was wearing it more comfortably after the bag was off her shoulder. She turned back to Hassik, shaking the bad memories away for now.
"So, how you want to handle this? Want to wait for me to play before you set up a room or what?"
Sylvia pulled her gloves off, they were there to hide the scars, but she couldn't play with them. While she waited for Hassik's answer, she tuned her guitar, giving it a few test strums before going through a basic chord. Satisfied everything was in place, she sat down, facing Hassik.
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Post by haybalebarn on May 13, 2019 0:28:49 GMT
Hassik moved to the bar, digging around behind it for a few moments until he pulled out a key, spinning it around his finger. "Well missy, the way I see it, that guitar could just be fer show. Why don't ye play a thing or two, and if it sounds like ye know what ye're doing, ye can have this room key, and I'll whip up a meal for ya."
As Sylvia strummed at her guitar, a small goat head poked itself out from behind the bar, giving a curious little bleat. A few moments later, it click-clacked across the wooden floor to stand in front of Sylvia, looking up at her expectantly, giving a questioning little "Skid?"
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Post by Mithias on May 13, 2019 1:13:19 GMT
Sylvia smiled at the little mon, and reached for her ball, setting it on the table before letting Nora out. She always like listening when Sylvia played, it was part of how Sylvia had bonded with her in the first place. Sylvia thought for a moment as Nora acquainted herself with her new surroundings, the little flame on her head subdued as she looked around, careful not to brush against anything. She floated over to the Skiddo, and smiled. "Lit!" Victoria finally decided to do both a slower ballad, something for late night or early morning hours when things were subdued, followed immediately by a faster paced dance song, something for when the inn was full and lively. She closed her eyes as she played, slipping into the music and enjoying herself. Once she was over, she opened her eyes, and looked over her small audience to see what they thought. Charm x2 Iz5asj7J4d6 4d6
4d6·4d6
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Post by haybalebarn on May 17, 2019 0:16:35 GMT
As Sylvia plays her first song, the little skiddo stands enraptured, clearly enjoying the music. However, when Sylvia suddenly transitions to her dancing song, it bounces up and begins happily running around her, its hooves clicking against the wooden floor as it tries and (adorably) fails to bounce around in time with the music. As the song ends, it begins happily chatting with Nora, bounding around and full of energy.
Hassik for his part, stands behind the counter with a bemused expression on his face. "The first one was good enough, ye didn't hafta show off the second one, now did ye?" He sets the room key down on the counter, and turns towards a back room, speaking over his shoulder to Sylvia. "Room number is on the key, get yerself settled and I'll make some food fer ya. I'd give ye options but..." He shrugs. "I can only make one dish, but given how good it is, it's the only one ye'll need!" He chuckles to himself, the departs to the back room, leaving Sylvia alone with just a Skiddo and Nora for company.
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Post by Mithias on May 17, 2019 20:04:23 GMT
Sylvia took the key with a nod, checking the number and going to find her room. Leaving Nora to play with Skiddo while she was gone. All she did was put her bag on the bed, kept her guitar and her spare apricorn balls on her before heading back to the main room. She sat down to watch Nora play with the Skiddo, a small smile on her face as she remembered when she could play with Nora like that. She was half tempted to pull her guitar back out and continue playing, but instead she slipped her gloves back on. She was happy to have the scars from the engravings and strings on her guitar hidden once more, didn't like showing those scars much. It was unseemly of both a bard and a noble woman such as herself.
"You're an excitable little Skiddo, ain't ya? Well if you want more, I'll be around for awhile, you can hear me play all you want. Alright?"
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Post by haybalebarn on May 22, 2019 0:04:40 GMT
The skiddo pauses and looks up at Sylvia with a questioning look on its face, then gives a resounding "Skid skid!" before bounding about with Nora once more.
A few moments later, Hassik steps out of the kitchen with a plate half-covered by a large steak, the other half a steaming pile of potatoes. He sets it down in front of Sylvia and grins. "Best steak ye will ever have, I guarantee it! Ye want anything to drink with it?" He watches with anticipation, obviously nervous to see if Sylvia likes his signature dish.
After (and assuming) she takes her first bite, he strikes up conversation, barely giving her time to enjoy her food. "So, yer obviously here for the festival... just here to experience it an play yer music, or are you looking for a shot at the Oracle?"
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Post by Mithias on May 22, 2019 1:38:04 GMT
"Well, any fruity wines or a good mead wouldn't be amiss, but as I want to be in condition to play for tonight, a light ale or water will do. This is pretty good steak, haven't had anything close to it since...I left home."
Sylvia paused before mentioning home, though it was more accurate to say the capital. She took a bite of the potatoes, preferring to alternate over focusing on one piece of the dish. She thought it could use something a little spicy, but then that was a personal preference and how it was is what probably made it so widely popular. Oh well, she could eventually find some spices to mix into foods later, for now she had other concerns.
"A bit of both in all honesty, always wanted to see it, but things changed before I could make it. First a long term job, then some more personal things, so now I'm here mainly for a shot at the Oracle. Whether I get it or not, enjoying the festival should make the trip worth it."
She took another bite as she watched the Skiddo run around playing with Nora, who was using her ghostly abilities to throw the Skiddo off. Invisibility, phasing, the works. Sylvia swallowed her latest bite of the steak, obviously enjoying it, and turned back to Hassik.
"So Hassik, that Skiddo belong to you, or does it just hang around?"
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Post by haybalebarn on May 27, 2019 7:01:55 GMT
"Oh I've got ales a plenty, missy!" Hassik laughs and brings her over a light ale, a sparkle in his eye. "Aye, I figured as much. Some people that come for the festival, they just look like they're here for a good time, but ye? Ye've got a look about ye that says ya have a story, and not a finished one."
He takes a moment to glance down at the Skiddo, a warm, nurturing smile on his face. "An' all the Skiddos here are mine, aye. They're all Mari's kiddos, an' I've trained em to help out round 'ere. Makes it so I only need two human hirees, although ah'v course my cook had to quit on me last week an my bartender is probably leavin' after the festival here..." He shakes his head. "The cook was only alright, but it'll be a shame to see Hyacinthe go."
Hassik waves a hand to clear that topic all away and looks back to the prancing skiddo. "But back to what we were talkin' 'bout, ye've taken a shining to little Meadow there, have ya?"
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Post by Mithias on May 28, 2019 3:48:06 GMT
"Well, yes. Any performer with any integrity enjoys having people appreciate their chosen art. Little Meadow here seems to love my music, and so I'm flattered and quite fond of hyper little mon."
Sylvia took a drink of her ale, relaxing and watching the playing mon. It was rare to get chances to just relax and let others have the fun. Sylvia smiled as she remembered playing with her siblings in the garden behind her home. It was all gone now of course, but she might be able to get it back. Some day, eventually....she hoped.
"And I've got mroe than one unfinished story, one of the things I still need to figure out is how, if at all, do they intertwine."
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Post by haybalebarn on Jun 1, 2019 9:16:58 GMT
Hassik takes a moment, a thoughtful look on his face, before he grins widely. "Well, if ya want her, we can maybe make some sort of deal later, hrm? We've already got one goin', and I try to only make one deal with a person at a time, keeps ya from gettin' taken advantage of." He laughs warmly. "Well, that an' I'm gonna need some time to convince the momma to maybe let her go."
He examines her intensely as she fades into memories, nodding solemnly at her comment. "Aye, life can be a mess sometimes... but, if ya want an answer... Well, the Oracle certainly changed my life, so I'm certain she can change yers."
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Post by Mithias on Jun 2, 2019 19:18:08 GMT
"I have to figure out which answer I want. Figure out what's most important to me, and that's assuming I ever get the chance to ask."
Sylvia smiled sadly as Nora floated over to check on her. Sylvia gave her a reassuring pat and let her go back to playing with the Skiddo.
"Besides, even without the Oracle I can change my life. I'm just....trying to stack the deck to change it for the better. I won't pry as to how she changed yours, but if it helped lead to this inn of yours, I hope it was worth it."
Sylvia nibbled quietly at the food in front of her, for a bit, just watching the playful pokemon. She traced the pattern on her guitar with one hand as she did, finally she turned back to Hassik.
"So...what time do you want me to preform? I'm thinking I might go out and see the city for a bit, want to know when you need be back. We have a deal, I don't like breaking my deals."
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