Flynn follows zeg hurrying toward the inn and some much needed rest

Faelan can smell the hearty stew coming out from the inn. He goes all four and hops to the inn. "Last one to the inn pays the bill!!"

"Weee!" With a loop-de-loop Navi flutters along with Mercion. She was right on direction! She did it! It was practically a miracle, and not coincidentally a 50/50 chance. Nope.

Everything about the inn was really neat, well except for the feet. For some reason the humanoid appendages kind of weirded Navi out the more she thought about it. If they were mechanical or creature like, those would seem more natural to her. And that she thought funny of herself. The little fairy wiggles her toes. "Do you think they get their cheese, or jam, from the toes?" She continues to blurt her thoughts out loud. "I wonder if it ever gets thorns in its feet? Do they get sore?" She wonders. "Oh! Are they ticklish?" Gods knows hers are. "Imagine cutting all those toe nails!? Do they get ingrowns?" Her nose scrunches thinking about the smell.

(Medical for giggles: 18 )

Navi takes a few curious moments to inspect the feet supporting the inn, which seem to have a variety of different sizes. Most of the feet look smooth-skinned and well-pedicured, despite presumably stomping constantly through the swamp - maybe swamp water is good for the feet? - although some feet look a little wrinkled and calloused. On closer inspection, Navi is surprised to see that there are numerous itty-bitty baby feet budding out of the bottom of the building, too short to reach the ground, and she then realises that the feet must grow, age, and eventually wear away and be replaced from time to time.

The solid oak door swings easily and the travelers enter a warm and cosy sitting room with a burning hearth and lit lanterns. Several tables fill the room, and a strange variety of creatures are seen within. Two harengons walk out the door just as the group walk in, and silently inspect the travelers with squinty glares as they pass, particularly at Faelan. A gnarly green-skinned goblin sits alone at one table with a large mug and pays the new arrivals no heed, while a humanoid cat with smooth jet-black fur and a rapier leans against the wall near the hearth, eyeing the group quietly.

At one end of the large room is a counter, behind which sits a dark-skinned human with long grey dreadlocks. Welcome to the Inn at the End of the Road she calls out cheerily, as she strokes the feathers of a white chicken that sits on the benchtop, and beckons the group over. Rooms for four is it? And will ye be wanting a meal? The stew is fresh and the pie is almost ready. Drinks anyone? Oh, but where's me manners? Ye can call me Tsu.

Zeg ignores the harengons as he enters the inn.  He's so excited to have found the place and so looking forward to the rest he wasn't paying attention to them.  When he steps inside though, he does look around the inn and take everything in before going up to the desk.  "Uh, yes a room, and stew and pie sounds amazing! With a mead to drink yes?" he says.  "Oh, and I'm Zeg, a pleasure to meet you."

Flynn follows. "Yes the same for me please if I may"  looking around taking in the 'observers' "name is Flynn pleasure.to meet you"

“How ya’ll doing?” Faelan waves his hand and greets warmly the two Harengons. Seen that his enthusiasm is not reciprocated, he just shrugs. “Oh well.” He enters the inn following Flynn, that’s following Zeg. “Faelan Whisperwind. Please call me Cottontail Madam Tsu. Ah’m gonna have the same too.”

"Hi!" Navi waves. "Bye!" The little fairy chimes in quick succession as she zips by the harengons on her way in behind the others (and Mercion!), after thoroughly inspecting some feet.

Floating on by, still waving, Navi tilts her head in curiosity at the lonely goblin at the table. Why was he alone? Was he ever going to look up? I like their hat. That was the last thing that passed through her mind when she'd glide far enough to notice the pretty kitty. The little fairy was practically vibrating with excitement and the urge to rush over and pet them.

Hmm? Oh! Hearing the others Navi realizes she should be over there. She buzzes over to join the group. "Hi Tsu! I'm Navi!" She waves. "I'm with them." She points to the group. "Are those your feet?" She points down, meaning the inn's feet. "Yes please!" Stew and pie sounded yummy. And she needed a third, so a drink. "Tea?"

Tsu smiles at the newcomers and invites them to take a seat. She taps a few times on the bench, and a few moments later the requested meals appear on the counter top, sliding out from a small hatch off to the side. Faelan catches a glimpse through the hatch as the small leather cover-door swings shut, and swears he can see a small kitchen beyond, staffed by dozens of rats and cockroaches wearing white aprons and chef's hats. As each meal arrives, the chicken sitting on the counter crows out "Orrr-der UP!" and the black tabaxi silently pads over, collects the plates and mugs, and wordlessly delivers them to the table where the group are seated.

Zeg observes the goblin seated at the table nearby. He pays the group no heed as he seems engrossed in a map that is spread out across his table, and mutters to himself as he traces lines with his finger across the map.

Flynn notices from the moving landscape outside the window that the inn has started moving again, rocking back and forth as expected from a pedestrian building, although the interior is as still as if the building was firmly planted on a foundation.

Navi soaks in all the sights and sounds and smells... The stew is piping hot with thick gravy and plump potatoes that seem to be battling each other to stay in the warmest center of the bowl. The pie has a thick aroma that fills the room like music, and is stuffed full of huge plums as large as apples. The mead tasted either mulled or chilled depending on the drinker's preference, even when sampled from the same mug. And the tea is the most delightful dandelion tea that Navi has ever tasted, and has a lovely floral bouquet with an aftertaste that tingles like dandelion seeds being blown from their stem and scattered to the four winds. The hearth is warm and the air heavy, promising a deep and restful sleep.

The tabaxi waits patiently at the table after delivering the food, as though expecting something...

Flynn hands the tabaxi a gold.   "May I inquire your name.my good feline? And any good stories to tell?"

Faelan looks at his food with a curious look after witnessing where it came from. His head goes back and forth between the dish and the hatch. Then he notices the Tabaxi waiting patiently. “Ahh, thank you doc!! Great service you guys got here!” He shakes the Tabaxi’s hand vigorously.

The tabaxi glances at the offered gold piece but makes no move to accept it. There is no fee for services here, he purrs quietly, and the innkeeper has no interest in your coin, although an offering of reciprocity is appropriate... any old trinket will do.

In response to Flynn's greetings, the creature responds: I am known as Aleksandr, and I'm afraid I'm not much inclined to stories. However perhaps I might oblige your polite request with a bit of modest poetry. With Flynn's consent, Aleksandr stands tall and begins to recite:

I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye,
How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie:
The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat,
While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat.
When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon,
Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon:
While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl,
And concluded the banquet by ea...

At this point Aleksandr cuts his recitation short, and with an embarrassed glance at Zeg, he apologises: Forgive me. Perhaps that was not the most appropriate choice in present company... With that he bows deeply to the group and then stands erect again. Might I inquire your names in return? And perhaps you might share a tale also... not to repay my poor offering, but to fill the void created by my lack of courtesy...

Zeg almost chokes on his chilled mead as the story comes to an end. He laughs out loud and smiles at the tabaxi.  "That, that was funny.  No offense taken, a very enjoyable story." He then begins to pat his pockets and then reaches into his pack.  "Any old trinket eh?  I think I have something like that.  Lets see here." he says as he looks in his pack. He then pulls out his tinderbox.  "How's about this." as he offers the tinderbox to the tabaxi.  "As for my name, it is Zeg and it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." he says smiling

Faelan was about to comment about the owl in the Tabaxi's story, but he didn't get to say anything. "Ahhh... Faelan Whisperwind. Please call me Cottontail." He shakes the Tabaxis hands a little more. "Sorry doc, ah ain't got no good tales. Maybe Flynn or our little winged friend Navi might have a good one?"

Flynn leans back a moment eyes closed then..

"There is an inn, a merry old inn Beneath an old Grey hill And there they brew a beer so brown That the man in the moon himself came down One night to drink his fill.

The other has a tipsy cat that plays a five string fiddle And up and down he runs his bow squeezing high and purring low then sawing in the middle....

Ummm the landlord keeps a little dog that is mighty fond of jokes. When there's good cheer among the guests he cocks an ear at all the tests and laughs until he chokes....

Ahhh. Sorry ti's all that I can remember at the moment"

.

(Apologies once again. Work is currently consuming my life. I haven't had time to progress the story, but feel free to interact and RP with the inhabitants of the inn and I'll respond. The group will be mostly undisturbed while at the inn, and everyone can gain the benefits of a long rest.)

Aleksandr pulls up a chair, but straddles it backwards, facing the table but with his furry black arms folded across the back of the chair. 

Fabulous! the tabaxi says in response to Flynn's poem. You have the knack for it. Perhaps... I might ask you to assist me. There's a rhyme I've been working on - a poor one - but perhaps you might lend me your craft in perfecting it.

In the wild beyond the Witchlight
the rules are simple here
Three magic edicts surely bind
the subjects of Prismeer

Hospitality: tremendous!
Fae homes are neutral ground
Take pains not to offend us!
And you'll stay 'twixt safe and sound

Reciprocity: a fickle thing
Gifts and deals are tit for tæt
Whatever good or ill you bring
Something back you’re sure to get!

Ownership: an antique notion
What was yours can soon be mine
But thefts cause a commotion
What was lost, you might well find

One more thing that’s not forgotten
Even since the high queen’s fall
Harm will never come to children
Neither young, nor very small

The rhythm and meter are clumsy, and the rhymes contrived, but it has potential, no?

“Ah… Say, Madam Tsu, where your establishment heading?” Faelan tries to make the question very casual, not weird at all.

Flynn laughs with joy "Alexandr I wouldn't change a thing , I love it"  then his face falls slightly "but then again I might not be the one to ask." He sighs "you see I'm looking for something that.was taken, and since then all I can do is stuff that's already been done. I can't create anymore only.cover the work of others" a tear falls and he looks away quickly

Faelan

Tsu replies: Well, it's difficult to predict. We used to travel a regular course through Prismeer. Now that the realm has been divided in three, the poor inn gets confused and just wanders aimlessly. Doesn't seem to affect business, but I do tire of this swamp. Thankfully the inn doesn't go anywhere near Downfall. Were you heading anywhere in particular? Before Faelan has time to reply, the main door swings open. Madam Tsu's friendly smile turns immediately stone cold as three more creatures enter...

Flynn

Ah yes, sighs Aleksandr as he sits up straighter. That's a common enough tale in these parts. Taken from you during the Carnival, I expect? You're certainly not alone - even residents of Prismeer have suffered similar fate. I even met a poor chap who's entire head was... Aleksandr cuts off his sentence as he looks around as sees three creatures enter the tavern's main door. He leaps up out of the chair and stands alert and tense...

At this moment the tavern door swings open, as the inn has apparently stopped to take on new guests. The three creatures that enter however are curious indeed: they stir vague memories in Navi and Zeg, while Flynn remembers seeing one skulking around at the Carnival! They are very small - smaller even than Navi - with pasty grey skin and huge bulbous eyes. Dressed in loose rags, they slink into the main room and spread out silently, peering at everyone. One of them sidles up to the goblin and speaks in a squeaky but bone-chilling voice: So, Toasted Cheese, this is where you've been hiding? Given up on the search, have you? You know the boss is waiting! The goblin snarls at the creature and answers back with a snap in his nasal voice: Finding the Bandersnatch is no simple task, as your mistress well knows, or she wouldn't have sought out my services. I'll not have my methods or my timing questioned by the likes of you. The tiny creature chuckles and retorts: We ought to drag your useless hide back to Bavlorna right now, and... There is a loud cough from Aleksandr, and the three creatures glare at him, but make no further threats. You can't hide here forever, goblin, the creature taunts once more, then turns and makes for the door. With another threatening glare at all the inn's guests (and more than a casual curious stare at the four travelers), the three creatures scurry out once more and the door closes behind them.

With a sigh of relief, and a comforting nod to Madam Tsu, who remained stoically silent during the entire ordeal, Aleksandr sits down once more on the chair, but the correct way around this time. Those lornlings are mostly talk and bluster, he purrs, and they'll do no harm to anyone inside the inn. But the spies of Bavlorna are efficient, and not much escapes her with those lornlings creeping around everywhere.