Zelra chuckles at Otger's outrage and puts an elbow onto Quint's shoulder, leaning on him. "You think the boss would be willing to give us a free meal for finding this guy?"
Flustered, tears well from the man's eyes as Otger berates him. "I thought you a man of faith, but...here you are denying the gift of a goddess," he blubbers, "Well, fine. I can see that I am not welcome here. You who deny Sune's gifts on her day of celebration, the effects of the love potions will wear off within a few hours."
Quint laughs, almost reveling in the event. "This is glorious. I've been in need of a good fresh comedy song. Well, I'm not exactly employed here, I very much doubt Mildred would be happy if I bloodied her cellar. I can, however, bring you to her with this...man, if you would like. As much trouble as he's caused tonight, surely she'll be happy to be rid of him; a free meal's worth of happy, at least," he answers.
The large man has set his vials down, staring at his hands in silence. "Have I...really ruined the Sune's Day meal?" he ponders aloud.
Zelra slaps a hand on the man's shoulder. "Yes. Yes, you have."She swings her head back and laughs, slapping the man on the shoulder a few times before turning back to Quint. "Lead the way!"
The man follows you placidly as Quint leads you up the stairs, through the kitchen and back into the tavern, which has descended into bedlam. At this point, it is barely possible to tell the fights apart from those rolling around in fits of passion. The drunken man from the cellar seems legitimately distraught at the sight, staring wide-eyed and following Quint into a side room and a back office. An older human woman is frantically counting money and writing in a ledger when you enter. Her hair had been drawn into a bun but has fallen apart throughout the evening, displaying her stress. An orange and white cat sits nervously on a windowsill, twitching at every unexpected noise from beyond the door.
"Quint, my dear, you know I absolutely adore you, but today is not the day. It was a mistake to even be open today, we can't handle this many people! Between the crowd and Ruus, Josephine is at her wit's end and if Savina walks out on me, we're done! Do you see them out there? Maniacs, all of them! Get back out on stage and do something, anything!" she shouts.
Quint pats his hands in the air as she speaks, saying calmly, "I am on it at once, madam. I will do what I can." He roughly grabs the collar of the large man, thrusting him front and center toward the woman, then motions for you to step into the room behind him. "I found these two snooping around in the kitchen, and this one in the cellar, and thought it best to bring them to your attention. Though, I believe you'll be most interested to hear what the woman and the old man have to say," he finishes with a flourish, and leaves the room.
"Oh, so at least you do see what we see," Otger says to who he assumes must be Mildred, "I am Otger and this is Zelra. We were here to enjoy a wonderful evening but it came to an abrupt end after I started speaking in tongues and bar fights began sprouting everywhere. It seems this man," Otger points to the pink robed man, "is responsible for pouring his own vile mixtures into your wines and it has caused many problems tonight. Though there is one other matter that I should bring to your attention, there was a man who briefly sat down at our table, told us to ignore him, and then he vanished right there in plain sight. Not sure what that was about."
OOC: Otger doesn't realize Zelra was affected by the drink as well, thinking her accent was simply an act to mask her identity or woo the patron she was speaking to.
"I'm sorry!" the man wails, dropping to his knees with a heavy thud. "I only wanted everyone to see Sune's beauty. To understand."
The old woman stares, blinking slowly. "What is wrong with you, you fat fool? You have one chance to explain yourself before I have you thrown in jail," she says.
Placing his head and hands down, the man explains, "I am Cupid, a cleric of Sune. I was placed on probation and threatened to be kicked out of the temple a tenday ago. You see, I created a special mixture, a potion, that would open hearts and allow for the free unfettered expression of love; Sune's gift, on display for all to see. But I messed up. A priestess discovered me, horrified, having seen a vision from Sune. Our goddess was angry, you see. I had been distributing the potions among the clergy, and surely my mistake was keeping the potion to ourselves, so...you see, I wanted to win back her graces by spreading the potions freely to the populace on this blessed day. But I...I mixed up the proportions, and a batch went wrong, I...I thought if I just corrected it..." he goes silent.
"You are a fat drunken idiot," the woman deadpans, "And the two of you? You found him, and you look like a man of some faith yourself. What should I do with this...man?"
As the man speaks, Zelra shakes her head. "You are completely delusional. Did you ever think that Sune was angry because she didn't want you to force people to fall in love? Love is something that should happen naturally. It isn't real love if you've been forced to do it."
Turning to Mildred, she shrugs. "It would probably be best for you to throw this guy in prison. Never know when he might do this again."
Otger sighs, "That is quite the tall and a very misguided attempt to regain the favor of Sune. I agree with Zelra, however that won't do much to remove the memory of tonight's events. I'm not sure how popular the tavern will be if patrons become paranoid of something in their wine causing them to act out in an unexpected manner. Perhaps a public apology tomorrow morning from the man himself, and a promise of a more guarded wine rack." He looks over to the strange man, "You really are blind to Sune's teachings it seems. I do hope to see you again, in a better position then now. You may still be able to regain Sune's favor but definitely not like this."
Cupid winces beneath the verbal blows, particularly cowed by the scolding of a fellow cleric. "That is fine. Do what you will. I will serve my penance," is the last that he offers.
"Prison is a little severe for our small town," Mildred explains, "I don't believe he has harmed anyone, and it clearly was not his intent, though the sheer annoyance of what he has done warrants an apology to the town and more. I have been a little short-staffed lately..."
She turns to the man, whose head is still bowed low and continues, "You will work this mistake off, doing each of my employees' jobs as they rotate through some well-deserved time off. And when you are done, we will discuss what to do with you next."
________________________________
True to Cupid's word, the effects of his mixture wear off as the hours tick by, allowing Zelra and Otger time to finally finish a good meal paid in full as reward for their assistance. As the night draws to a close, Quint, the headlining half-elf bard, takes to the stage for a tamer, but still energetic crowd.
"My friends, I close out my Sune's Day performance with a song based on a true story. This is a tale of a night gone awry, and a lesson in zeal. I bid you all adieu with the tale...of Cupid's Sparrow," he says to a round of applause. Taking up his lute, his baritone voice sends the tavern's patrons to bed laughter in their hearts and joy in their eyes.
As Quint finished his song and Otger's sides ache from laughing too hard, he turns to Zelra "Well Zelra, as fun as that was I think I've had a long enough night. I'm retiring to my room, I suppose that incident worked in our favor, thanks to your quick thinking. Now I get to save my gold for tomorrow, lets hope that's the last we see of that strange man." He places a gold on the table as a tip and heads upstairs to his room.
Thus, a strange mishap beneath a small tavern in a nameless town became etched into history, as part of a bard's song. After finally finding adventure, odd as it was, Otger and Zelra would continue their travels the following morning, eyes toward Phlan, a town Quint had mentioned in many a song the night before.
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Zelra chuckles at Otger's outrage and puts an elbow onto Quint's shoulder, leaning on him. "You think the boss would be willing to give us a free meal for finding this guy?"
Flustered, tears well from the man's eyes as Otger berates him. "I thought you a man of faith, but...here you are denying the gift of a goddess," he blubbers, "Well, fine. I can see that I am not welcome here. You who deny Sune's gifts on her day of celebration, the effects of the love potions will wear off within a few hours."
Quint laughs, almost reveling in the event. "This is glorious. I've been in need of a good fresh comedy song. Well, I'm not exactly employed here, I very much doubt Mildred would be happy if I bloodied her cellar. I can, however, bring you to her with this...man, if you would like. As much trouble as he's caused tonight, surely she'll be happy to be rid of him; a free meal's worth of happy, at least," he answers.
The large man has set his vials down, staring at his hands in silence. "Have I...really ruined the Sune's Day meal?" he ponders aloud.
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Zelra slaps a hand on the man's shoulder. "Yes. Yes, you have." She swings her head back and laughs, slapping the man on the shoulder a few times before turning back to Quint. "Lead the way!"
The man follows you placidly as Quint leads you up the stairs, through the kitchen and back into the tavern, which has descended into bedlam. At this point, it is barely possible to tell the fights apart from those rolling around in fits of passion. The drunken man from the cellar seems legitimately distraught at the sight, staring wide-eyed and following Quint into a side room and a back office. An older human woman is frantically counting money and writing in a ledger when you enter. Her hair had been drawn into a bun but has fallen apart throughout the evening, displaying her stress. An orange and white cat sits nervously on a windowsill, twitching at every unexpected noise from beyond the door.
"Quint, my dear, you know I absolutely adore you, but today is not the day. It was a mistake to even be open today, we can't handle this many people! Between the crowd and Ruus, Josephine is at her wit's end and if Savina walks out on me, we're done! Do you see them out there? Maniacs, all of them! Get back out on stage and do something, anything!" she shouts.
Quint pats his hands in the air as she speaks, saying calmly, "I am on it at once, madam. I will do what I can." He roughly grabs the collar of the large man, thrusting him front and center toward the woman, then motions for you to step into the room behind him. "I found these two snooping around in the kitchen, and this one in the cellar, and thought it best to bring them to your attention. Though, I believe you'll be most interested to hear what the woman and the old man have to say," he finishes with a flourish, and leaves the room.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!
"Oh, so at least you do see what we see," Otger says to who he assumes must be Mildred, "I am Otger and this is Zelra. We were here to enjoy a wonderful evening but it came to an abrupt end after I started speaking in tongues and bar fights began sprouting everywhere. It seems this man," Otger points to the pink robed man, "is responsible for pouring his own vile mixtures into your wines and it has caused many problems tonight. Though there is one other matter that I should bring to your attention, there was a man who briefly sat down at our table, told us to ignore him, and then he vanished right there in plain sight. Not sure what that was about."
OOC: Otger doesn't realize Zelra was affected by the drink as well, thinking her accent was simply an act to mask her identity or woo the patron she was speaking to.
"I'm sorry!" the man wails, dropping to his knees with a heavy thud. "I only wanted everyone to see Sune's beauty. To understand."
The old woman stares, blinking slowly. "What is wrong with you, you fat fool? You have one chance to explain yourself before I have you thrown in jail," she says.
Placing his head and hands down, the man explains, "I am Cupid, a cleric of Sune. I was placed on probation and threatened to be kicked out of the temple a tenday ago. You see, I created a special mixture, a potion, that would open hearts and allow for the free unfettered expression of love; Sune's gift, on display for all to see. But I messed up. A priestess discovered me, horrified, having seen a vision from Sune. Our goddess was angry, you see. I had been distributing the potions among the clergy, and surely my mistake was keeping the potion to ourselves, so...you see, I wanted to win back her graces by spreading the potions freely to the populace on this blessed day. But I...I mixed up the proportions, and a batch went wrong, I...I thought if I just corrected it..." he goes silent.
"You are a fat drunken idiot," the woman deadpans, "And the two of you? You found him, and you look like a man of some faith yourself. What should I do with this...man?"
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As the man speaks, Zelra shakes her head. "You are completely delusional. Did you ever think that Sune was angry because she didn't want you to force people to fall in love? Love is something that should happen naturally. It isn't real love if you've been forced to do it."
Turning to Mildred, she shrugs. "It would probably be best for you to throw this guy in prison. Never know when he might do this again."
Otger sighs, "That is quite the tall and a very misguided attempt to regain the favor of Sune. I agree with Zelra, however that won't do much to remove the memory of tonight's events. I'm not sure how popular the tavern will be if patrons become paranoid of something in their wine causing them to act out in an unexpected manner. Perhaps a public apology tomorrow morning from the man himself, and a promise of a more guarded wine rack." He looks over to the strange man, "You really are blind to Sune's teachings it seems. I do hope to see you again, in a better position then now. You may still be able to regain Sune's favor but definitely not like this."
Cupid winces beneath the verbal blows, particularly cowed by the scolding of a fellow cleric. "That is fine. Do what you will. I will serve my penance," is the last that he offers.
"Prison is a little severe for our small town," Mildred explains, "I don't believe he has harmed anyone, and it clearly was not his intent, though the sheer annoyance of what he has done warrants an apology to the town and more. I have been a little short-staffed lately..."
She turns to the man, whose head is still bowed low and continues, "You will work this mistake off, doing each of my employees' jobs as they rotate through some well-deserved time off. And when you are done, we will discuss what to do with you next."
________________________________
True to Cupid's word, the effects of his mixture wear off as the hours tick by, allowing Zelra and Otger time to finally finish a good meal paid in full as reward for their assistance. As the night draws to a close, Quint, the headlining half-elf bard, takes to the stage for a tamer, but still energetic crowd.
"My friends, I close out my Sune's Day performance with a song based on a true story. This is a tale of a night gone awry, and a lesson in zeal. I bid you all adieu with the tale...of Cupid's Sparrow," he says to a round of applause. Taking up his lute, his baritone voice sends the tavern's patrons to bed laughter in their hearts and joy in their eyes.
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As Quint finished his song and Otger's sides ache from laughing too hard, he turns to Zelra "Well Zelra, as fun as that was I think I've had a long enough night. I'm retiring to my room, I suppose that incident worked in our favor, thanks to your quick thinking. Now I get to save my gold for tomorrow, lets hope that's the last we see of that strange man." He places a gold on the table as a tip and heads upstairs to his room.
OOC: Removing 1 gold from inventory.
Zelra chuckles and takes a sip of her ale, "See you tomorrow, old man. I think I'm gonna chill out a bit down here."
Thus, a strange mishap beneath a small tavern in a nameless town became etched into history, as part of a bard's song. After finally finding adventure, odd as it was, Otger and Zelra would continue their travels the following morning, eyes toward Phlan, a town Quint had mentioned in many a song the night before.
See my profile for all my PbP threads!